Effectiveness of adjuvant chemotherapy for elderly patients with triple-negative breast cancer

There is little evidence determining whether elderly patients (from 70 to 90 years old) with triple-negative breast cancer could benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy (AC).  This study explores the effect of AC in these population following surgery. A total of 4610 patients were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (2010-2018). Multiple imputation by chained equations was performed to impute missing data. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was applied to reduce the selection bias. IPTW-adjusted Kaplan-Meiers survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards models were performed to compare breast cancer specific survival (BCSS) and overall survival (OS) in the two treatment groups. The patients were classified into the chemotherapy (n=1989) and the observation (n=2621) groups. The percentage of patients receiving AC versus observation increased significantly from 2010 to 2018 (estimated annual percentage change, 1.49%; 95%CI, 0.75-2.16%, p=0.002). The 5-year IPTW-adjusted rates of BCSS and OS in AC group were better than that in observation group (BCSS: 82.32% vs. 78.42%, p=0.010; OS: 75.54% vs. 64.65%, p0.050). In conclusion, we presented a BCSS and OS benefit from AC in elderly patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). AC remained a reasonable treatment approach in these specific patients. For the patients with T1ab, de-escalated treatment would be administrated with caution

UV Solar‐Blind‐Region Phase‐Matchable Optical Nonlinearity and Anisotropy in a π‐Conjugated Cation‐Containing Phosphate

Wide ultraviolet (UV) transparency, strong second-harmonic generation (SHG) response, and sufficient optical birefringence for phase-matching (PM) at short SHG wavelengths are vital for practical UV nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. However, simultaneously optimizing these properties is a major challenge, particularly for metal phosphates. Herein, we report a non-traditional π-conjugated cation-based UV NLO phosphate [C(NH2)3]6(PO4)2⋅3 H2O (GPO) with a short UV cutoff edge. GPO is SHG active at 1064 nm (3.8 × KH2PO4 @ 1064 nm) and 532 nm (0.3 × β-BaB2O4 @ 532 nm) and also possesses a significant birefringence (0.078 @ 546 nm) with a band gap >6.0 eV. The PM SHG capability of GPO can extend to 250 nm, indicating GPO is a promising UV solar-blind NLO material. Calculations and crystal structure analysis show that the rare coexistence of wide UV transparency, large SHG response, and optical anisotropy is due to the introduction of π-conjugated cations [C(NH2)3]+ and their favorable arrangement with [PO4]3− anions.This research was financially supported by the NationalNatural Science Foundation of China (nos. 51432006,52002276), the Ministry of Education of China for theChangjiang Innovation Research Team (no. IRT14R23), theInnovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Com-mission, and the Ministry of Education and the StateAdministration of Foreign Experts Affairs for the 111 Project(no. B13025). M.G.H. thanks the Australian Research Coun-cil for support (DP170100411)

Giant Optical Anisotropy in the UV-Transparent 2D Nonlinear Optical Material Sc(IO3 )2 (NO3 )

Birefringence is a fundamental optical property for linear and nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. Thus far, it has proved to be very difficult to engineer large birefringence in optical crystals functioning in the UV region. Herein, we report the first 2D rare-earth iodate-nitrate crystal Sc(IO3)2 (NO3) (SINO), which is shown to exhibit giant optical anisotropy. Air-stable SINO possesses a short UV absorption edge (298 nm), a strong NLO response (4.0 times that of benchmark KH2 PO4) for the nitrate family, and the largest birefringence (Δn=0.348 at 546 nm) of inorganic oxide optical crystals. The unusually large birefringence and NLO response can be attributed to an optimized 2D layered structure, combined with highly polarizable and anisotropic building units [IO3]- and [NO3]-. These findings will facilitate the development of UV linear and NLO materials with giant optical anisotropy and promote their potential application in optoelectronic devices.This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 51432006), the Ministry of Education of China for the Changjiang Innovation Research Team (no. IRT14R23), the Ministry of Education and the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs for the 111 Project (no. B13025), and the Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission. C.W. thanks the National and Shanghai Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents (nos. BX201800216 and 2018192). M.G.H. thanks the Australian Research Council for support (DP170100411)

Giant Second-Harmonic Generation Response and Large Band Gap in the Partially Fluorinated Mid-Infrared Oxide RbTeMo2O8F

Strong second-harmonic generation (SHG) and a wide band gap are two crucial but often conflicting parameters that must be optimized for practical nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. We report herein the first d0-transition-metal (TM) tellurite with half of the d0-TM-octahedra partially fluorinated, namely, quinary RbTeMo2O8F, which exhibits giant SHG responses (27 times that of KH2PO4 (KDP) and 2.2 times that of KTiOPO4 (KTP) with 1064 and 2100 nm laser radiation, respectively), the largest SHG values among all reported metal tellurites. RbTeMo2O8F also possesses a large band gap (3.63 eV), a wide optical transparency window (0.34-5.40 μm), and a significant birefringence (Δn = 0.263 at 546 nm). Theoretical calculations and crystal structure analysis demonstrate that the outstanding SHG responses can be definitively attributed to the uniform alignment of the polarized [MoO5F]/[MoO6] octahedra and the seesaw-like [TeO4], and the consequent favorable summative polarization of the three distinct SHG-active polyhedra, both induced by partial fluorine substitution on the [MoO6] octahedra.This research was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 51432006), Ministry of Education of China for Changjiang Innovation Research Team (no. IRT14R23), Ministry of Education and State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs for 111 Project (no. B13025), and the Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission. M.G.H. thanks the Australian Research Council for support (DP170100411)

Large Second-Harmonic Response and Giant Birefringence of CeF2(SO4) Induced by Highly Polarizable Polyhedra

Second-harmonic generation (SHG) response and birefringence are two critically important properties of nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. However, the simultaneous optimization of these two key properties remains a major challenge because of their contrasting microstructure requirements. Herein, we report the first tetravalent rare-earth metal fluorinated sulfate, CeF2(SO4). Its structure features novel net-like layers constructed by highly distorted [CeO4F4] polyhedra, which are further interconnected by [SO4] tetrahedra to form a three-dimensional structure. CeF2(SO4) exhibits the strongest SHG effect (8 times that of KH2PO4) and the largest birefringence for sulfate-based NLO materials, the latter exceeding the birefringent limit for oxides. Theoretical calculations and crystal structure analysis reveal that the unusually large SHG response and giant birefringence can be attributed to the introduction of the highly polarizable fluorinated [CeO4F4] polyhedra as well as the favorable alignment of [CeO4F4] polyhedra and [SO4] tetrahedra. This research affords a new paradigm for the designed synthesis of high-performance NLO materials.This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 51432006), the Ministry of Education of China for the Changjiang Innovation Research Team (no. IRT14R23), the Ministry of Education and the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs for the 111 Project (no. B13025), the Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, and the National and Shanghai Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents (nos. BX201800216 and 2018192). M.G.H. thanks the Australian Research Council for support (DP170100411)

Cognitive impairment in diffuse axonal injury patients with favorable outcome

Background and purposeTraumatic brain injury (TBI), especially the severe TBI are often followed by persistent cognitive sequalae, including decision-making difficulties, reduced neural processing speed and memory deficits. Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is classified as one of the severe types of TBI. Part of DAI patients are marginalized from social life due to cognitive impairment, even if they are rated as favorable outcome. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the specific type and severity of cognitive impairment in DAI patients with favorable outcome.MethodsThe neurocognition of 46 DAI patients with favorable outcome was evaluated by the Chinese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Basic (MoCA-BC), and the differences in the domains of cognitive impairment caused by different grades of DAI were analyzed after data conversion of scores of nine cognitive domains of MoCA-BC by Pearson correlation analysis.ResultsAmong the 46 DAI patients with favorable outcome, eight had normal cognitive function (MoCA-BC ≥ 26), and 38 had cognitive impairment (MoCA-BC < 26). The MoCA-BC scores were positively correlated with pupillary light reflex (r = 0.361, p = 0.014), admission Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) (r = 0.402, p = 0.006), and years of education (r = 0.581, p < 0.001). Return of consciousness (r = −0.753, p < 0.001), Marshall CT (r = −0.328, p = 0.026), age (r = −0.654, p < 0.001), and DAI grade (r = −0.403, p = 0.006) were found to be negatively correlated with the MoCA-BC scores. In patients with DAI grade 1, the actually deducted scores (Ads) of memory (r = 0.838, p < 0.001), abstraction (r = 0.843, p < 0.001), and calculation (r = 0.782, p < 0.001) were most related to the Ads of MoCA-BC. The Ads of nine cognitive domains and MoCA-BC were all proved to be correlated, among patients with DAI grade 2. However, In the DAI grade 3 patients, the highest correlation with the Ads of MoCA-BC were the Ads of memory (r = 0.904, p < 0.001), calculation (r = 0.799, p = 0.006), orientation (r = 0.801, p = 0.005), and executive function (r = 0.869, p = 0.001).ConclusionDAI patients with favorable outcome may still be plagued by cognitive impairment, and different grades of DAI cause different domains of cognitive impairment

Disruption of a gene for rice sucrose transporter, OsSUT1, impairs pollen function but pollen maturation is unaffected

Sucrose transporters (SUTs) are known to play critical roles in the uptake of sucrose from the apoplast in various steps of sugar translocation. Because developing pollen is symplastically isolated from anther tissues, it is hypothesized that SUTs are active in the uptake of apoplastic sucrose into pollen. To investigate this possibility, a comprehensive expression analysis was performed for members of the SUT gene family in the developing pollen of rice (Oryza sativa L.) using real-time RT-PCR combined with a laser microdissection technique. Among the five SUT genes, OsSUT1 and OsSUT3 were found to be preferentially expressed and had temporal expression patterns that were distinct from each other. Expression of OsSUT1 in pollen was confirmed by a promoter–GUS fusion assay. The physiological function of OsSUT1 in pollen was further investigated using retrotransposon insertion mutant lines. While the homozygote of disrupted OsSUT1 (SUT1–/–) could not be obtained, heterozygote plants (SUT1+/–) showed normal grain filling. Their progeny segregated into SUT1+/– and SUT1+/+ with the ratio of 1:1, suggesting that the pollen disrupted for OsSUT1 is dysfunctional. This hypothesis was reinforced in vivo by a backcross of SUT1+/– plants with wild-type plants and also by in vitro pollen germination on the artificial media. However, starch accumulation during pollen development was not affected by disruption of OsSUT1, suggesting that the sugar(s) required for starch biosynthesis is supplied by other sugar transporters

Identification of Pns6, a putative movement protein of RRSV, as a silencing suppressor

RNA silencing is a potent antiviral response in plants. As a counterdefense, most plant and some animal viruses encode RNA silencing suppressors. In this study, we showed that Pns6, a putative movement protein of Rice ragged stunt virus (RRSV), exhibited silencing suppressor activity in coinfiltration assays with the reporter green fluorescent protein (GFP) in transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana line 16c. Pns6 of RRSV suppressed local silencing induced by sense RNA but had no effect on that induced by dsRNA. Deletion of a region involved in RNA binding abolished the silencing suppressor activity of Pns6. Further, expression of Pns6 enhanced Potato virus × pathogenicity in N. benthamiana. Collectively, these results suggested that RRSV Pns6 functions as a virus suppressor of RNA silencing that targets an upstream step of the dsRNA formation in the RNA silencing pathway. This is the first silencing suppressor to be identified from the genus Oryzavirus

Deep-Sequencing Analysis of the Mouse Transcriptome Response to Infection with Brucella melitensis Strains of Differing Virulence

Brucella melitensis is an important zoonotic pathogen that causes brucellosis, a disease that affects sheep, cattle and occasionally humans. B. melitensis strain M5-90, a live attenuated vaccine cultured from B. melitensis strain M28, has been used as an effective tool in the control of brucellosis in goats and sheep in China. However, the molecular changes leading to attenuated virulence and pathogenicity in B. melitensis remain poorly understood. In this study we employed the Illumina Genome Analyzer platform to perform genome-wide digital gene expression (DGE) analysis of mouse peritoneal macrophage responses to B. melitensis infection. Many parallel changes in gene expression profiles were observed in M28- and M5-90-infected macrophages, suggesting that they employ similar survival strategies, notably the induction of anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic factors. Moreover, 1019 differentially expressed macrophage transcripts were identified 4 h after infection with the different B. melitensis strains, and these differential transcripts notably identified genes involved in the lysosome and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. Further analysis employed gene ontology (GO) analysis: high-enrichment GOs identified endocytosis, inflammatory, apoptosis, and transport pathways. Path-Net and Signal-Net analysis highlighted the MAPK pathway as the key regulatory pathway. Moreover, the key differentially expressed genes of the significant pathways were apoptosis-related. These findings demonstrate previously unrecognized changes in gene transcription that are associated with B. melitensis infection of macrophages, and the central signaling pathways identified here merit further investigation. Our data provide new insights into the molecular attenuation mechanism of strain M5-90 and will facilitate the generation of new attenuated vaccine strains with enhanced efficacy