Comparison of Two Ultrasmall Superparamagnetic Iron Oxides on Cytotoxicity and MR Imaging of Tumors

Purpose: This study was performed to compare the cytotoxicity and magnetic resonance (MR) contrast in diverse cultured cells and xenograft tumors models of two ultra-small superparamagnetic iron oxides (USPIOs), thermally cross-linked superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (TCL-SPION) and monocrystalline iron oxide nanoparticles (MION-47)

Inventarisasi Tanaman Peneduh Jalan Penjerap Timbal di Purwokerto

Tanaman peneduh jalan adalah tanaman yang berada di tepi jalan. Tanaman peneduh jalan memiliki dua fungsi yaitu sebagai estetika dan ekologis. Salah satu fungsi ekologis tanaman peneduh jalan adalah mengakumulasi bahan pencemar. Jenis pencemaran yang memerlukan penanganan secara sistematis dan komprehensif adalah pencemaran timbal (Pb). Pb banyak dihasilkan oleh aktivitas pembakaran bahan bakar minyak kendaraan bermotor. Jenis tanaman peneduh jalan yang berpotensi mengakumulasi Pb belum tereksplorasi sehingga dilakukan riset yang dapat menghasilkan database jenis spesies yang mampu mengurangi Pb di lingkungan. Tujuan penelitian adalah menginventarisasi jenis tanaman peneduh jalan penjerap Pb. Manfaat penelitian adalah mendapatkan jenis tanaman peneduh jalan yang berpotensi penjerap Pb. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah survai di 8 (delapan) jalan di wilayah Purwokerto. Sampel daun tanaman peneduh jalan diambil secara acak terpilih di sepanjang jalan tersebut. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan jenis-jenis tanaman peneduh jalan yang berpotensi menjerap Pb adalah Glodogan (Polyalthea longifolia), Angsana (Pterocarpus indicus), Filicium (Filicium decipiends), Ketapang (Terminalia catappa), Beringin (Ficus benjamina), Kupu-kupu (Bauhinia tomentosa), Puspa (Schima wallichii), Kenari (Canarium ovatum) dan Genitu (Chrysophyllum cainito)

Breast Cancer Immunohistochemical Image Generation: a Benchmark Dataset and Challenge Review

For invasive breast cancer, immunohistochemical (IHC) techniques are often used to detect the expression level of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) in breast tissue to formulate a precise treatment plan. From the perspective of saving manpower, material and time costs, directly generating IHC-stained images from hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained images is a valuable research direction. Therefore, we held the breast cancer immunohistochemical image generation challenge, aiming to explore novel ideas of deep learning technology in pathological image generation and promote research in this field. The challenge provided registered H&E and IHC-stained image pairs, and participants were required to use these images to train a model that can directly generate IHC-stained images from corresponding H&E-stained images. We selected and reviewed the five highest-ranking methods based on their PSNR and SSIM metrics, while also providing overviews of the corresponding pipelines and implementations. In this paper, we further analyze the current limitations in the field of breast cancer immunohistochemical image generation and forecast the future development of this field. We hope that the released dataset and the challenge will inspire more scholars to jointly study higher-quality IHC-stained image generation.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, 2table

Gradient differences of immunotherapy efficacy in metastatic melanoma related to sunlight exposure pattern: A population-based study

BackgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized metastatic melanoma (MM) treatment in just a few years. Ultraviolet (UV) in sunlight is the most significant environmental cause of melanoma, which is considered to be the main reason for tumor mutation burden (TMB) increase in melanoma. High TMB usually predicts that PD-1 inhibitors are effective. The sunlight exposure pattern of MM might be a clinical feature that matches TMB. The relationship between sunlight exposure patterns and immunotherapy response in MM is unclear. This study aims to investigate the correlation between sunlight exposure patterns and immunotherapy response in MM and establish nomograms that predict 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) rate.MethodsWe searched the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and enrolled MM cases from 2005-2016. According to the advent of ICIs in 2011, the era was divided into the non-ICIs era (2005-2010) and the ICIs era (2011-2016). Patients were divided into three cohorts according to the primary site sunlight exposure patterns: head and neck in the first cohort, trunk arms and legs in the second cohort, and acral sites in the third cohort. We compared survival differences for each cohort between the two eras, performed stratified analysis, established nomograms for predicting 3- and 5-year OS rate, and performed internal validation.ResultsComparing the survival difference between the ICIs and non-ICIs era, head and neck melanoma showed the greatest improvement in survival, with 3- and 5-year OS rate increasing by 10.2% and 9.1%, respectively (P=0.00011). In trunk arms and legs melanoma, the 3- and 5-year OS rate increased by 4.6% and 3.9%, respectively (P<0.0001). There is no improvement in survival in acral melanoma (AM) between the two eras (P=0.78). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, area under the ROC curve (AUC) and calibration graphs show good discrimination and accuracy of nomograms. Decision curve analysis (DCA) suggests good clinical utility of nomograms.ConclusionsBased on the classification of sunlight exposure patterns, there is a gradient difference in immunotherapy efficacy for MM. The degree of sunlight exposure is positively correlated with immunotherapy response. The nomograms are sufficiently accurate to predict 3- and 5-year OS rate for MM, allowing for individualized clinical decisions for future clinical work

An HR-MAS MR Metabolomics Study on Breast Tissues Obtained with Core Needle Biopsy

BACKGROUND: Much research has been devoted to the development of new breast cancer diagnostic measures, including those involving high-resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopic techniques. Previous HR-MAS MR results have been obtained from post-surgery samples, which limits their direct clinical applicability. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the present study, we performed HR-MAS MR spectroscopic studies on 31 breast tissue samples (13 cancer and 18 non-cancer) obtained by percutaneous core needle biopsy. We showed that cancer and non-cancer samples can be discriminated very well with Orthogonal Projections to Latent Structure-Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA) multivariate model on the MR spectra. A subsequent blind test showed 69% sensitivity and 94% specificity in the prediction of the cancer status. A spectral analysis showed that in cancer cells, taurine- and choline-containing compounds are elevated. Our approach, additionally, could predict the progesterone receptor statuses of the cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: HR-MAS MR metabolomics on intact breast tissues obtained by core needle biopsy may have a potential to be used as a complement to the current diagnostic and prognostic measures for breast cancers

Efficiency Analysis of Private Lending Market in China—Based on Hurst Index

This paper explored the efficiency of the private lending market based on the fractal market theory. We used the rescaled range analysis method and the generalized Hurst exponent analysis method respectively, and we got that the private lending market had not yet reached the weakly efficient level and was anti-persistent. Then we further used the time-varying Hurst index to describe the dynamic changes in the efficiency of the private lending market and analyzed the Chinese stock market and foreign exchange market as a comparative analysis. We found that among the three markets, the efficiency of the private lending market was the lowest, and that there was a correlation between the efficiencies of the three markets, and its effectiveness was affected by the other two markets. Finally, based on the above analysis results, we put forward relevant suggestions on the development of the private lending market and provided a decision basis for investors in the private financing market

The dynamic causality between Chinese and ASEAN stock markets

COVID-19 has caused severe shocks to the Chinese and ASEAN stock markets. This paper investigates the relationship between the Chinese and ASEAN stock markets using the bootstrap rolling-window causality test. The results show that there is a bidirectional Granger causality relationship between the Chinese and ASEAN stock markets with time-varying characteristics. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the interaction between the Chinese and ASEAN stock markets was mainly positive. After the COVID-19 outbreak, during the off-peak period, the interaction between the Chinese and ASEAN stock markets was positive or negative at different periods; during the peak period of the epidemic, the ASEAN stock markets had negative impacts on the Chinese stock market. In addition, the relationship between the Chinese and ASEAN stock markets was enhanced during COVID-19. According to the interaction mechanism, economic and political factors would affect the relationship between the Chinese and ASEAN stock markets, but major events such as COVID-19 have a greater impact. Therefore, macroeconomic policy should play a positive role in the stock market