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Mucosal‐associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are important in antibacterial immune responses; however, during sepsis, they are few in number and exhibit highly activated phenotypes. The relationship between MAIT cells in peripheral blood and the prognosis of sepsis is not well understood. Thus, this study aimed to examine the levels and phenotypes of MAIT cells in early sepsis, evaluate their clinical relevance, and investigate their association with patient prognosis. This prospective observational study enrolled 72 septic patients defined according to the Sepsis 3.0 criteria and 21 healthy controls matched for age and sex. Their peripheral blood samples were used to assay the expression of immune activation (CD69 and HLA‐DR) and immune checkpoint (PD‐1 and PD‐L1) markers on MAIT cells. The systemic inflammatory response syndrome, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II, and sequential organ failure assessment scores were recorded. Subsequently, the association between MAIT cell characteristics and clinical indicators was assessed using Spearman's rank correlation analysis, and binary logistic regression analysis with a forward stepwise approach assessed independent risk factors for 28‐day mortality. We noted a decrease in the percentage of MAIT cells in the patients' peripheral blood, which exhibited an activated phenotype. Besides, HLA‐DR+ MAIT cell percentage and the APACHE II score were independently associated with the 28‐day mortality and, in combination, were the best indicators of mortality. Thus, the percentage of HLA‐DR+ MAIT cells in early sepsis serves as a novel prognostic biomarker for predicting mortality and improves the predictive capacity of the APACHE II score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new type of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes bisDOPO-NH2-POSS flame retardant consisting of one polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS), two units of 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) and reactive –NH2 groups, was synthesized and characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, and 31P NMR. It was applied to modified conventional environmentally friendly E0 grade urea formaldehyde (UF) resin to prepare flame-retardant plywood. Two other POSS structure flame retardants were used for comparison. The results showed that the addition of bisDOPO-NH2-POSS flame retardant to E0 UF resin improved bonding strength while lowering formaldehyde emission owing to the increase in cross-linking of the UF molecule chain in condensation. TGA curves showed that bisDOPO-NH2-POSS-E0 UF exhibited the highest thermal stability. The flammability characteristics of the plywood were evaluated by a cone calorimeter test (CCT), and the results indicated that the heat release and smoke production of flame-retardant plywood were lower than those of the control E0-UF plywood. Moreover, compared to E0-UF plywood, the char residue remaining after the CCT test of the flame-retardant plywood with POSS structure increased. In particular, bisDOPO-NH2-POSS-E0-plywood had a continual compact outer carbon layer, which was conducive to effectively forming a physical barrier to hinder the penetration of oxygen and heat and exhibiting the outstanding synergistic effect of phosphorous, silicon and nitrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]