Bark Extract of Lantana camara in 1M HCl as Green Corrosion Inhibitor for Mild Steel

Lantana camara, an invasive species that adversely affects habitant, bioregions and environment has been studied as corrosion inhibitor. Methanolic extract of barks of Lantana camara in 1 M hydrochloric acid was tested as corrosion inhibitor on mild steel using potentiodynamic polarization technique. The corrosion inhibition efficiency of extract varied with concentration of extract and immersion of time. The inhibition was found to increase with increase in concentration of the extract. The polarization behavior of mild steel revealed that maximum inhibition efficiency is 97.33 % and 89.93 % respectively in the 1000 and 200 ppm concentration of the inhibitor respectively. The results showed that the extract of the barks of Lantana camara served as a mixed type inhibitor

Distribution of Microplastic Contamination in Sapta-Gandaki River System, Nepal

Microplastic (MP) contamination has been reported in many Rivers worldwide. However, there is an increasing concern regarding data quality, particularly in the studies that do not account for positive and negative controls. Additionally, spatiotemporal distribution of MP in transboundary Himalayan River is underexplored. Here, we report spatiotemporal distribution of MP in the second largest river of Nepal; Sapta-Gandaki River system which is 810 km long starting from Himalayan headstream to the Ganges with a catchment area of 46,300 km^2. A total of 120 integrated water samples were collected in pre and post monsoons from 30 sites (2850-140 masl) along three tributaries of Saptagandaki River. The MP data were corrected for procedural blanks (n=23) and positive controls (n=18). We found that the MPs count (cut off size ≥30μm) in pre (dry) monsoon time was significantly higher (61.2±27.8 MP/L, p<0.01) than in post monsoon (winter) time (24.7±10.8 MP/L). High count was observed in the sites near major cities and highways. A gradual increase in MPs count was observed as the River stretches up to downstream (r=-0.6). The shape, size, and color dominance were fragments>pellets>fibers, 30-100>100-250>250-500>500-5000µm, blue>black>transparent; respectively. Most MP particles consisted of polyethylene terephthalate, cellophane, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride type material. Annual flux discharge calculation showed that Saptagandaki River discharges 0.7×10^8 MP/s. The findings of this study provide baseline data for MPs contamination in one of the major Himalayan River water systems of Nepal and the data could be useful to identify potential control measures

PD-L1 Over-Expression Varies in Different Subtypes of Lung Cancer: Will This Affect Future Therapies?

Programmed death-ligand (PD-L) 1 and 2 are ligands of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) receptor. They are members of the B7/CD28 ligand-receptor family and the most investigated inhibitory immune checkpoints at present. PD-L1 is the main effector in PD-1-reliant immunosuppression, as the PD-1/PD-L pathway is a key regulator for T-cell activation. Activation of T-cells warrants the upregulation of PD-1 and production of cytokines which also upregulate PD-L1 expression, creating a positive feedback mechanism that has an important role in the prevention of tissue destruction and development of autoimmunity. In the context of inadequate immune response, the prolonged antigen stimulation leads to chronic PD-1 upregulation and T-cell exhaustion. In lung cancer patients, PD-L1 expression levels have been of special interest since patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) demonstrate higher levels of expression and tend to respond more favorably to the evolving PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the PD-1 inhibitor, pembrolizumab, alone as front-line single-agent therapy instead of chemotherapy in patients with NSCLC and PD-L1 ≥1% expression and chemoimmunotherapy regimens are available for lower stage disease. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines also delineate treatment by low and high expression of PD-L1 in NSCLC. Thus, studying PD-L1 overexpression levels in the different histological subtypes of lung cancer can affect our approach to treating these patients. There is an evolving role of immunotherapy in the other sub-types of lung cancer, especially small cell lung cancer (SCLC). In addition, within the NSCLC category, squamous cell carcinomas and non-G12C KRAS mutant NSCLC have no specific targetable therapies to date. Therefore, assessment of the PD-L1 expression level among these subtypes of lung cancer is required, since lung cancer is one of the few malignances wherein PD-L1 expression levels is so crucial in determining the role of immunotherapy. In this study, we compared PD-L1 expression in lung cancer according to the histological subtype of the tumor

Incidence, Survival Analysis and Future Perspective of Primary Peritoneal Mesothelioma (PPM): A Population-Based Study from SEER Database

Background: Primary peritoneal mesothelioma (PPM) is a rare and aggressive tumor arising from the visceral and parietal peritoneum. The diagnosis and treatment of PPM are often delayed because of non-specific clinical presentation, and the prognosis is worse. The current study investigated the demographic, clinical, and pathological factors affecting patient prognosis and survival in PPM. Methods: Demographic and clinical data of 1998 patients with PPM were extracted from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database (1975–2016). The chi-square test, paired t-test, and multivariate analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: The majority of PPM patients were male (56.2%, p p 4 cm in size (8%), respectively, were most common, p p 4 cm (OR = 3.9, CI = 3.2–4.5), Caucasian race (OR = 2.9, CI = 2.6–4.4), and distant SEER stage (OR = 2.5, CI = 1.1–3.2) were all linked with increased mortality (p < 0.001). Conclusion: An extremely rare and aggressive peritoneal tumor, PPM may be difficult to identify at the time of diagnosis. Radiation therapy likely to have a limited function in the treatment of this condition, with surgery and chemotherapy being the primary choices. All PPM patients should be enrolled in a nationwide registry to improve our understanding of the pathogenesis and identify factors affecting survival

Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST): A Population-Based Study Using the SEER Database, including Management and Recent Advances in Targeted Therapy

Introduction: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal neoplasm of the gastrointestinal (GI) system. Most GISTs originate from the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC), the pacemaker cell situated between the circular and longitudinal layers of the muscularis propria along the GI tract. In this population-based study using the SEER database, we sought to identify demographic, clinical, and pathologic factors that affect the prognosis and survival of patients with this neoplasm. Molecular genetic advances, current management guidelines, and advances in targeted therapy are discussed. Methods: Demographic and clinical data from GIST patients were retrieved from the SEER research plus database for the period 2000&ndash;2018. Statistical analysis was performed with IBM SPSS&reg; v20.2 software using the Chi-square test, paired t-test, multivariate analysis, and Kaplan&ndash;Meier functions. Results: A total of 10,833 patients with GIST were identified. Most patients were between 60&ndash;74 years of age: 40%, Caucasian: 68%, and the male to female ratio was 1.1:1. The most common primary tumor sites were stomach: 63%, small intestine: 30%, rectum: 3%, and esophagus: 0.7%. When reported, the grade of differentiation was well: 38%, moderately: 32%, undifferentiated: 19%, poorly: 12%. The size of most tumors ranged between 6&ndash;10 cm: 36% and they were treated by surgical intervention: 82% and/or chemotherapy/targeted therapy: 39%. The stage was localized: 66%, advanced: 19%, and regional: 15%. The 5-year survival was 74% (95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 72.6&ndash;74.7), and the 5-year cause-specific survival 82% (95% CI = 80.7&ndash;82.6). The 5-year cause-specific survival by treatment included surgery at 86% (95% CI = 85.4&ndash;87.3), chemotherapy/targeted therapy with or without surgery at 77% (95% CI = 75.7&ndash;78.9), and radiation at 75% (95% CI = 74.5&ndash;80). On multivariable analysis tumor size &gt; 5 cm, poorly and undifferentiated grade, age &gt; 60, and distant metastases at presentation were associated with worse overall survival. Conclusion: GISTs comprise 1&ndash;2% of malignancies of the GI tract, usually affect male Caucasians between the ages of 60 and 74 years, most tumors occur in the stomach and small intestine, and are usually &gt;5 cm, but still localized, at the time of diagnosis. Most tumors receive multimodality surgical and chemotherapy/targeted therapy treatment, with a 5-year overall survival of 74% and cause-specific survival of 82%. GIST patients would benefit from enrollment in large clinical trials to establish better therapy guidelines for unresectable, treatment-refractory, and recurrent tumors

Parathyroid Carcinoma: Incidence, Survival Analysis, and Management: A Study from the SEER Database and Insights into Future Therapeutic Perspectives

Introduction: Parathyroid carcinoma (PC) is an extremely rare entity, with a frequency of 0.005% of all malignancies. Most data related to this rare disease are limited to case series and a few database studies. We present a large database study that aims to investigate the demographic, clinical, and pathological factors, prognosis, and survival of PC. Methods: Data of parathyroid carcinoma were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) diagnosed between 1975 and 2016. Results: PC had a slightly higher incidence in men (52.2%, p p p p p p p p 4 cm, age > 40 years, male sex, Caucasian race, distant spread, and poorly differentiated grade as independent risk factors for mortality (p < 0.001). Conclusion: PC is a very rare tumor mostly affecting Caucasian individuals in the fifth decade. Older age, poor histologic differentiation, and distant metastasis are associated with a worse prognosis. Surgical resection offers the best survival outcome. To better understand the pathogenesis and factors affecting survival, all PC patients should be enrolled in national and international registries

Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Salivary Gland: Demographics and Comparative Analysis in U.S. Children and Adults with Future Perspective of Management

Background: Salivary gland neoplasms are uncommon in both pediatric and adult populations. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is one of the most common salivary gland tumors and usually presents with atypical clinical features. This study sought to evaluate the demographic and clinical factors affecting outcomes in adults and pediatric populations with MEC that could be used to risk stratification for treatment selection and clinical trial enrollment. Methods: Data on 4507 MEC patients were extracted from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Result (SEER) database (2000&ndash;2018). Patients aged &le; 18 years were classified into the pediatric population, and those older than 18 years were placed in the adult group. Kaplan&ndash;Meier survival curves were created to analyze survival probabilities for various independent factors. Results: The pediatric population comprised 3.7% of the entire cohort, with a predominance of females (51.5%), while the adult population constituted 96.3% of the cohort, with a predominance of female patients (52.2%). Caucasians were the predominant race overall (75.3%), while more African Americans were seen in the pediatric group. In tumor size of &lt;2 cm overall, poorly differentiated tumors with higher metastasis rates were observed more in adults (11.3% and 9.3%) than in the pediatric population (3.0% and 4.8%, p &lt; 0.05). Surgical resection was the most common treatment option (53.9%), making up 63.6% of the pediatric and 53.5% of the adult groups. A combination of surgical resection and radiation was used in 29.8% of the entire cohort while a combination of surgical resection, radiation, and chemotherapy made up only 3.2%. The pediatric group had a lower overall mortality rate (5.5%) than the adult group (28.6%). Females had a higher 5-year survival rate in comparison to males (86.5%, and 73.7%, respectively). Surgical resection led to a more prolonged overall survival and 5-year cancer-specific survival (98.4% (C.I, 93.7&ndash;99.6) in the pediatric group and 88.8% (C.I, 87.5&ndash;90.0) in the adult group), respectively. Metastasis to the lung, bone, brain, and/or liver was found to have significantly lower survival rates. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that adults (hazard ratio [HR] = 7.4), Asian or Pacific Islander (HR = 0.5), male (HR = 0.8), poorly differentiated histology (HR = 3.8), undifferentiated histology (HR = 4.5), regional spread (HR = 2.1), and distant spread (HR = 3.2) were associated with increased mortality (p &lt; 0.05). Conclusions: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the salivary glands primarily affects Whites and is more aggressive in adults than in the pediatric population. Even with surgical resection, the overall survival is poor in the adult population as compared to its pediatric counterparts. Advanced age, larger tumor size, male sex, and lymph node invasion are associated with increased mortality

Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Salivary Gland: Demographics and Comparative Analysis in U.S. Children and Adults with Future Perspective of Management

Background: Salivary gland neoplasms are uncommon in both pediatric and adult populations. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is one of the most common salivary gland tumors and usually presents with atypical clinical features. This study sought to evaluate the demographic and clinical factors affecting outcomes in adults and pediatric populations with MEC that could be used to risk stratification for treatment selection and clinical trial enrollment. Methods: Data on 4507 MEC patients were extracted from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Result (SEER) database (2000–2018). Patients aged ≤ 18 years were classified into the pediatric population, and those older than 18 years were placed in the adult group. Kaplan–Meier survival curves were created to analyze survival probabilities for various independent factors. Results: The pediatric population comprised 3.7% of the entire cohort, with a predominance of females (51.5%), while the adult population constituted 96.3% of the cohort, with a predominance of female patients (52.2%). Caucasians were the predominant race overall (75.3%), while more African Americans were seen in the pediatric group. In tumor size of p p < 0.05). Conclusions: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the salivary glands primarily affects Whites and is more aggressive in adults than in the pediatric population. Even with surgical resection, the overall survival is poor in the adult population as compared to its pediatric counterparts. Advanced age, larger tumor size, male sex, and lymph node invasion are associated with increased mortality