A hypoxia risk score for prognosis prediction and tumor microenvironment in adrenocortical carcinoma

Background: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignant endocrine tumor derived from the adrenal cortex. Because of its highly aggressive nature, the prognosis of patients with adrenocortical carcinoma is not impressive. Hypoxia exists in the vast majority of solid tumors and contributes to invasion, metastasis, and drug resistance. This study aimed to reveal the role of hypoxia in Adrenocortical carcinoma and develop a hypoxia risk score (HRS) for Adrenocortical carcinoma prognostic prediction.Methods: Hypoxia-related genes were obtained from the Molecular Signatures Database. The training cohorts of patients with adrenocortical carcinoma were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas, while another three validation cohorts with comprehensive survival data were collected from the Gene Expression Omnibus. In addition, we constructed a hypoxia classifier using a random survival forest model. Moreover, we explored the relationship between the hypoxia risk score and immunophenotype in adrenocortical carcinoma to evaluate the efficacy of immune check inhibitors (ICI) therapy and prognosis of patients.Results: HRS and tumor stage were identified as independent prognostic factors. HRS was negatively correlated with immune cycle activity, immune cell infiltration, and the T cell inflammatory score. Therefore, we considered the low hypoxia risk score group as the inflammatory immunophenotype, whereas the high HRS group was a non-inflammatory immunophenotype. In addition, the HRS was negatively related to the expression of common immune checkpoint molecules such as PD-L1, CD200, CTLA-4, and TIGIT, suggesting that patients with a lower hypoxia risk score respond better to immunotherapy.Conclusion: We developed and validated a novel hypoxia risk score to predict the immunophenotype and response of patients with adrenocortical carcinoma to immune check inhibitors therapy. These findings not only provide fresh prognostic indicators for adrenocortical carcinoma but also offer several promising treatment targets for this disease

Platelet index on admission as a predictor of bacteremia in acute cholangitis: a 7-year retrospective observational study

Bacteremia frequently occurs in patients with acute cholangitis, which could increase the risk of mortality. This single-center retrospective observational study was conducted from July 2013 to July 2020 to evaluate the predictive value of platelet index for bacteremia at admission for acute cholecystitis. A total of 285 patients with acute cholangitis were divided into bacteremia group and non-bacteremia group. The incidence of bacteremia in acute cholangitis was 48.42%. The bacteremia group had more grade III patients, higher 30d mortality rate [17(12.32%) vs 8(5.44%), p = .040] and higher incidence of thrombocytopenia [76(55.07%) vs 35(23.81%), p < .001]. Platelet counts and plateletcrit were significantly lower in the bacteremia group [84.5(60, 180) vs 162(102,225) ×109/L and 0.10(0.07, 0.21)% vs 0.18(0.12, 0.25) %, both p < .001]. ROC analysis indicated a high predictive value of platelet count and plateletcrit for bacteremia in patients with acute cholangitis and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) were 0.649 and 0.655, respectively. These results support the value of platelet count and plateletcrit in early prediction of bacteremia at admission for acute cholangitis

Advances in the study of the correlation between vitamin D-24-hydroxylase and thyroid carcinoma

Thyroid carcinoma(TC) is the most common malignant tumor of endocrine system. Patients with vitamin D deficiency have an increased risk of TC. Vitamin D-24-hydroxylase (CYP24A1) is main inactivating enzyme of active vitamin D which may inhibit the antiproliferative effect of vitamin D and promote the development of TC by inactivating 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3

Analytical evaluation of circulating tumor DNA sequencing assays

Abstract In China, circulating tumor DNA analysis is widely used and numerous assays are available. Systematic evaluation to help users make informed selections is needed. Nine circulating tumor DNA assays, including one benchmark assay, were evaluated using 23 contrived reference samples. There were two sample types (cell-free DNA and plasma samples), three circulating tumor DNA inputs (low,  50 ng), two variant allele frequency ranges (low, 0.1–0.5%; intermediate, 0.5–2.5%), and four variant types (single nucleotide, insertion/deletion, structural, and copy number). Sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility, and all processes from cell-free DNA extraction to bioinformatics analysis were assessed. The test assays were generally comparable or superior to the benchmark assay, demonstrating high analytical sensitivity. Variations in circulating tumor DNA extraction and quantification efficiency, sensitivity, and reproducibility were observed, particularly at lower inputs. These findings will guide circulating tumor DNA assay choice for research and clinical studies, allowing consideration of multiple technical parameters

Vanadium Hexacyanoferrate as a High-Capacity and High-Voltage Cathode for Aqueous Rechargeable Zinc Ion Batteries

Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) are widely used as electrode materials for secondary batteries because of their cheapness, ease of synthesis, and unique structural properties. Nevertheless, the unsatisfactory capacity and cyclic stability of PBAs are seriously preventing their practical applications. Here, vanadium hexacyanoferrate (VHCF) is successfully prepared and used as a cathode for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). When using 3 M Zn(CF3SO3)2 as the electrolyte, a high capacity of ~230 mA h g&minus;1 and a high voltage of ~1.2 V can be achieved. The XRD result and XPS analysis indicate that the outstanding Zn2+ storage capability is due to the presence of dual electrochemical redox centers in VHCF (Fe2+ &#8651; Fe3+ and V5+ &#8651; V4+ &#8651; V3+). However, the battery shows a short cycle life (7.1% remaining capacity after 1000 cycles) due to the dissolution of VHCF. To elongate the cycle life of the battery, a high-concentration hybrid electrolyte is used to reduce the activity of water molecules. The improved battery exhibits an impressive capacity of 235.8 mA h g&minus;1 and good capacity retention (92.9%) after 1000 cycles

High-Capacity and Long-Lifespan Aqueous LiV3O8/Zn Battery Using Zn/Li Hybrid Electrolyte

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are promising candidates for large-scale energy storage because of their low cost and high safety. However, their practical applications are impeded by low energy density and short service life. Here, an aqueous Zn2+/Li+ hybrid-ion battery is fabricated using the LiV3O8 nanorods as the cathode, metallic Zn as the anode, and 3 M Zn(OTf)2 + 0.5 M LiOTf aqueous solution as the electrolyte. Compared with the batteries using pure 3 M Zn(OTf)2 electrolyte, the cycle performance of the hybrid-ion battery is significantly improved. After 4000 cycles at 5 A g1, the remaining capacity is 163.9 mA h g−1 with impressive capacity retention of 87.0%. Ex-situ XRD, ex-situ XPS, and SEM tests demonstrate that the hybrid electrolyte can inhibit the formation of the irreversible Zn3(OH)2V2O7·2H2O by-product and restrict Zn dendrite growth during cycling, thereby improving the cycle performance of the batteries

Effects of Sulfuric Acid on the Curing Behavior and Bonding Performance of Tannin–Sucrose Adhesive

The development of biomaterials-based adhesives is one of the main research directions for the wood-based material industry. In previous research, tannin and sucrose were used as adhesive to manufacture particleboard. However, the reaction conditions need to be optimized. In this study, sulfuric acid was added to the tannin–sucrose adhesive as a catalyst to improve the curing process. Thermal analysis, insoluble mass proportion, FT-IR, and solid state ¹³C NMR were used to investigate the effects of sulfuric acid on the curing behavior of tannin and sucrose. Thermal analysis showed weight loss and endotherm temperature reduced from 205 and 215 to 136 and 138 °C, respectively, by adding sulfuric acid. In case of the adhesive with pH = 1.0, the insoluble mass proportion achieved 81% at 160 °C, which was higher than the reference at 220 °C. FT-IR analysis of the uncured adhesives showed that adding sulfuric acid leads to hydrolysis of sucrose; then, glucose and fructose converted to 5-hydroxymehthylfurfural (HMF) and levulinic acid. Dimethylene ether bridges were observed by FT-IR analysis of the cured adhesives. The results of solid state ¹³C NMR spectrum indicated that 5-HMF participated in the curing process and formed methylene bridges with the C8 position of the resorcinol A-rings of tannin, whereas dimethylene ether bridges were detected as a major chemical chain of the polymer. Lab particleboards were produced using 20 wt % resin content at 180 °C and 10 min press time; the tannin–sucrose adhesive modified with sulfuric acid to pH = 1.0 exhibited better performance than the unmodified tannin–sucrose adhesive; the properties of the boards fulfilled the requirement of Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) A5908 type 15

New Synthetic Approach of Fluorine-Containing Graphene Oxide for Improving Dielectric and Mechanical Properties of Polyimide Composites

A new approach to synthesize fluorine-containing graphene oxide (FCGO) was proposed, in which a less toxic reagent was used rather than fluorine gas or anhydrous hydrogen fluoride. The dielectric and mechanical properties of polyimide composites were improved by incorporating a small amount of FCGO. FCGO served as not only nanofiller to lower the dielectric constant of PI films but also inorganic toughening particles to improve the toughness of PI films. The dielectric constant of PI films with 0.6 wt % FCGO was decreased from 3.33 for pure PI to 2.34. In addition, both the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of PI films with 0.6 wt % FCGO were increased to 141 MPa and 4.95 GPa from 118 MPa and 2.81 GPa for pure PI, respectively. In addition, its tensile energy to break was enhanced to 31.6 MJ/m³ from 20.8 MJ/m³

A Pd/Monolayer Titanate Nanosheet with Surface Synergetic Effects for Precise Synthesis of Cyclohexanones

A catalyst composed of monolayer nonstoichiometric titanate nanosheets (denoted as TN) and Pd clusters is constructed for precise synthesis of cyclohexanone from phenol hydrogenation with high conversion (>99%) and selectivity (>99%) in aqueous media under light irradiation. Experimental and DFT calculation results reveal that the surface exposed acid and basic sites on TN could interact with phenol molecules in a nonplanar fashion via a hexahydroxy hydrogen-bonding ring to form a surface coordination species. This greatly facilitates the adsorption and activation of phenol molecules and suppresses the further hydrogenation of cyclohexanone. Moreover, the surface Pd clusters serve as the active sites for the adsorption and dissociation of hydrogen molecules to provide active H atoms. The synergistic effect of the surface coordination species, TN and Pd clusters remarkably facilitate the high yield of cyclohexanone in photocatalysis. Finally, the possible thermo/photocatalytic mechanisms on Pd/TN are proposed. This work not only highlights the great potential for monolayer nonstoichiometric composition nanosheets in the construction of catalysts for precise organic synthesis but also provides insight into the inherent catalytic behavior at a molecular level