Construction of an immunogenic cell death-based risk score prognosis model in breast cancer

Immunogenic cell death (ICD) is a form of regulated cell death that elicits immune response. Common inducers of ICD include cancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy. A better understanding of ICD might contribute to modify the current regimens of anti-cancer therapy, especially immunotherapy. This study aimed to identify ICD-related prognostic gene signatures in breast cancer (BC). An ICD-based gene prognostic signature was developed using Lasso-cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis based on datasets acquired from the Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus. A nomogram model was developed to predict the prognosis of BC patients. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GESA) and Gene Set Variation Analysis (GSVA) were used to explore the differentially expressed signaling pathways in high and low-risk groups. CIBERSORT and ESTIMATE algorithms were performed to investigate the difference of immune status in tumor microenvironment of different risk groups. Six genes (CALR, CLEC9A, BAX, TLR4, CXCR3, and PIK3CA) were selected for construction and validation of the prognosis model of BC based on public data. GSEA and GSVA analysis found that immune-related gene sets were enriched in low-risk group. Moreover, immune cell infiltration analysis showed that the immune features of the high-risk group were characterized by higher infiltration of tumor-associated macrophages and a lower proportion of CD8+ T cells, suggesting an immune evasive tumor microenvironment. We constructed and validated an ICD-based gene signature for predicting prognosis of breast cancer patients. Our model provides a tool with good discrimination and calibration abilities to predict the prognosis of BC, especially triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)

Properties of Cement Mortar by Use of Hot-Melt Polyamides as Substitute for Fine Aggregate

This paper presents an experimental study on use of hot-melt polyamide (HMP) to prepare mortar specimens with improved crack healing and engineering properties. The role of HMP in the crack repairing of cement mortar subjected to several rounds of heat treatment was investigated. Compatibility between HMP and hydraulic cement was investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) technology. Mortar specimens were prepared using standard cement mortar mixes with HMP at 1%, 3% and 5% (by volume) for fine aggregate substitute. After curing for 28 days, HMP specimens were subjected to heating at temperature of 160 °C for one, two, and three days and then natural cooling down to ambient temperature. Mechanical and durability properties of the heated HMP mortars were evaluated and compared with those of the corresponding mortars without heating. The microscopic observation of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) of HMP mortar was conducted through environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). Results reveal that incorporation of HMP improves the workability of the HMP/cement binder while leading to decrease in compressive strength and durability. The heated HMP mortars after exposure to heating for one, two, and three days exhibit no obvious change in compressive strength while presenting notable increase in flexural strength and durability compared with the corresponding mortars without heating. The XRD, FTIR and ESEM analyses indicate that no obvious chemical reaction occurs between HMP and hydraulic cement, and thus the self-repairing for interfacial micro-crack in HMP/cement composite system is ascribed to the physical adhesion of HMP to cement matrix rather than the chemical bonding between them

Surface Chloride Concentration of Concrete under Shallow Immersion Conditions

Deposition of chloride ions in the surface layer of concrete is investigated in this study. In real concrete structure, chloride ions from the service environment can penetrate into concrete and deposit in the surface layer, to form the boundary condition for further diffusion towards the interior. The deposit amount of chloride ions in the surface layer is normally a function of time, rather than a constant. In the experimental investigation, concrete specimens with different mix proportions are immersed in NaCl solution with a mass concentration of 5%, to simulate the shallow immersion condition in sea water, and the surface chloride concentrations are measured at different ages. It is found that the surface chloride concentration increases following the increasing immersion durations, and varies from a weight percentage of 0.161%–0.781% in concretes with different mix proportions. The w/c (water-to-cement ratio) influences the surface chloride concentration significantly, and the higher the w/c is, the higher the surface chloride concentration will be, at the same age. However, following the prolonging of immersion duration, the difference in surface chloride concentration induced by w/c becomes smaller and smaller. The incorporation of fly ash leads to higher surface chloride concentration. The phenomena are explained based on pore structure analyses

Exploring the Effect of Pt Addition on the Fracture Behavior of CrN Coatings by Finite Element Simulation

Previous research confirmed that Pt addition induced a prominent refinement effect of CrN coating, resulting in an enhanced conductivity and corrosion resistance. In this work, a detailed finite element simulation and scratch test were employed to calculate and characterize the fracture failure behaviors (stress distribution, crack damage process, critical coating load, and coating–substrate adhesion energy) of CrN coatings with different Pt contents. Simulation results showed that the synergistic action of dynamic scratch load and extrusion load induced the fracture of the coatings. S11 and S22 caused transverse cracks in the CrN coating, S11 caused longitudinal cracks in the CrN-Pt coating and CrN-3Pt coatings, S22 led to the inclined propagation of cracks in these coatings, and S11 and S22 jointly induced the separation of the coating from the substrate. The doping Pt element in the CrN coating will make the coating easier to fracture and reduce the adhesion strength between the coating and substrate. Scratch test results revealed that adding Pt into the CrN coating will make this coating easier to fracture and cause more serious damage; the simulation results are in good accordance with the scratch test characterizations. The current founding provided a comprehensive understanding for the fracture damage mechanism of Pt-doped nitride coatings

Pozzolanic Reactivity of Silica Fume and Ground Rice Husk Ash as Reactive Silica in a Cementitious System: A Comparative Study

This study comparably assessed the pozzolanic effect of silica fume (SF) and ground rice husk ash (RHA) as supplementary cementing materials on the properties of blended cement pastes and concretes. A commonly commercial silica fume (SF) and locally-produced rice husk ash (RHA) samples with two finenesses (one with larger size than cement and the other with smaller size than cement) were used in this study. Material properties of SF and RHA were experimentally characterized. Hydration and mechanical properties of cement pastes incorporating SF and RHA were determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and compressive strength tests, respectively. Properties of concretes regarding workability, mechanical property, durability, and microstructure were evaluated. Results showed that, although the finely ground RHA used in this study possessed lower SiO2 content and higher particle size compared to SF, it exhibited comparable pozzolanic reactivity with SF due to the nano-scale pores on its each single particle, leading to a higher specific surface area. The optimal replacement levels of SF and RHA were 10% by weight of cement in pastes and concretes. Although addition of SF and RHA led to a significant reduction in slump for the fresh mixtures, inclusion of up to 30% of SF or 15% of ground RHA did not adversely affect the strength of concretes. At the same mix, incorporation of finely-ground RHA in cement composites provided comparable mechanical properties, hydration degree, and durability with SF blended cement composites, owing to the porous structure and high specific surface area of RHA particles. Microstructure morphology analysis of concretes explored by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) further validated the strength and the durability test results

Efficient Fresnel zoneplate pattern data preparation for high-resolution nanofabrication

A Fresnel zoneplate is a diffractive optical element consisting of concentric rings (zones) for which the transmitted light produces a focal spot that is used in all wavelength regimes, including X-rays. The pattern of transmission openings determines the location of the spot and the sub-half wavelength size of the openings can adjust the intensity. Today, very general transmission zoneplate patterns are used for many special imaging and image compensation purposes. Manufacturing zoneplates require a zoneplate pattern file, which precisely describes the size, shape, and contour of the rings based on the desired optical properties of the lens. Generating such a pattern requires the delicate balance of achieving the required optical performance while maintaining manageable file sizes and computation times. Here we describe a new algorithm meeting these needs. By precisely controlling the number of shapes in each zone, the algorithm simultaneously optimizes the desired optical tolerances with the pattern file size