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Background It has been discovered that tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are essential for the emergence of bladder cancer (BCa). This study aimed to research TIL-related genes (TILRGs) and create a gene model to predict BCa patients' overall survival. Methods The RNA sequencing and clinical data were downloaded from the TGCA and GEO databases. Using Pearson correlation analysis, TILRGs were evaluated. Moreover, hub TILRGs were chosen using a comprehensive analysis. By dividing the TCGA-BCa patients into different clusters based on hub TILRGs, we were able to explore the immune landscape between different clusters. Results Here, we constructed a model with five hub TILRGs and split all of the patients into two groups, each of which had a different prognosis and clinical characteristics, TME, immune cell infiltration, drug sensitivity, and immunotherapy responses. Better clinical results and greater immunotherapy sensitivity were seen in the low-risk group. Based on five hub TILRGs, unsupervised clustering analysis identify two molecular subtypes in BCa. The prognosis, clinical outcomes, and immune landscape differed in different subtypes. Conclusions The study identifies a new prediction signature based on genes connected to tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, providing BCa patients with a new theoretical target.

Masson pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) is one of the most economically important and widely distributed forest species in China. Understanding the genetic diversity and population structure of masson pine germplasms has crucial significance to effective collection, conservation, and utilization of the resource. In the present study, we explored the characteristics of the genetic diversity (H) and genetic structure between three typical seed orchards in South China and revealed the degree of genetic differentiation between different economic superior traits by 24 EST-SSR molecular markers. All the loci were polymorphic and showed several alleles per locus with a mean of 6 alleles and 168 rare alleles in the population. The mean value of polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.7011, which indicated that the markers were informative. There were moderate genetic differentiation and genetic diversities (H) among the masson pine subpopulations. Most of the genetic variation existed within the population, and only a small part existed among the populations. However, although the genetic differentiation among populations only accounted for a small part, significant differences in pairwise genetic differentiation in different subpopulations occurred. And the estimated value of the migration coefficient indicated a low gene flow in our populations. STRUCTURE analysis showed 3 clusters grouped similar to the Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic (UPGMA) clustering and principal coordinates analysis (PCoA). The clusters were neither strictly classified by geographical region nor classified according to the traits, especially for the FG-NN group had a relatively pure structure. These results provided comprehensive information about the collection and protection of these valuable masson pine germplasm resources in southern China.

The high strength obtained in Cu–Cr alloys is mainly attributed to the precipitation strengthening, dislocation strengthening, and grain-boundary strengthening. The precipitate size, dislocation density, and grain size are related to thermomechanical treatment. The strength of Cu–Cr alloys can be controlled by the thermomechanical treatment process. In this study, the microstructure and strengthening mechanisms of Cu–0.8Cr–0.1Zr (wt%) alloy after one-step and two-step thermomechanical treatment were studied. The results showed that after the following thermomechanical treatments, solution treated at 950 °C for 60 min, thickness reduction at first cold rolled for 60%, annealed at 450 °C for 180 min, and then 30% thickness reduction in secondary cold rolling, the microhardness, tensile strength, and conductivity reach 215 HV, 623 MPa, and 74.5% IACS, respectively. The main difference of strength between one-step and two-step thermomechanical treatment in the Cu–0.8Cr–0.1Zr alloy is due to the difference of dislocation strengthening effect. The dislocation strengthening achieved in two-step thermomechanical treatment (175.6 MPa) is 95 MPa greater than that of one-step thermomechanical treatment (80.6 MPa).

The influence of minor solute additions of Sn on hardening behavior and microstructure evolution of the Cu–Cr–Sn alloys has been investigated with help of an optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, and the Vickers hardness tester. Experimental results show that the Sn solutes, homogeneously distributed within the Cu matrix, provide a weak solid solution strengthening effect in the Cu–Cr–Sn alloy, nevertheless are important in enhancing precipitation hardening. The Cu–0.43Cr–0.36Sn alloy exhibits a significant age-hardening effect with a hardness increase by 62 HV after peak aging at 450°C, which is stronger than that of the Cu–0.43Cr–0.08Sn and the Cu–0.43Cr–0.17Zr–0.05Mg–0.1RE alloys. A trace amount of Sn is highly effective at suppressing the transformation of the Cr-rich phase from the face-centered cubic (FCC) into the body-centered cubic (BCC) structure in the Cu–Cr alloys during the aging process, and therefore the FCC Cr-rich precipitate is the dominant strengthening phase in the Cu–Cr–Sn alloys. Besides, a higher areal number density of Cr-rich precipitates (~4.2 · 1015 m–2) was observed in peak-aging Cu–0.43Cr–0.36Sn alloy as compared to Cu–0.43Cr–0.08Sn alloy, which shows that the adding Sn to Cu–Cr alloy can accelerate the nucleation of the Cr-rich precipitates. The improvement of precipitation hardening and hardening kinetics in the Cu–0.43Cr–0.36Sn alloy is mainly attributed to the acceleration in the nucleation of Cr-rich precipitates through Sn addition.

Background Preoperative diagnosis of pheochromocytoma (PHEO) accurately impacts preoperative preparation and surgical outcome in PHEO patients. Highly reliable model to diagnose PHEO is lacking. We aimed to develop a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based radiomic-clinical model to distinguish PHEO from adrenal lesions. Methods In total, 305 patients with 309 adrenal lesions were included and divided into different sets. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression model was used for data dimension reduction, feature selection, and radiomics signature building. In addition, a nomogram incorporating the obtained radiomics signature and selected clinical predictors was developed by using multivariable logistic regression analysis. The performance of the radiomic-clinical model was assessed with respect to its discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness. Results Seven radiomics features were selected among the 1301 features obtained as they could differentiate PHEOs from other adrenal lesions in the training (area under the curve [AUC], 0.887), internal validation (AUC, 0.880), and external validation cohorts (AUC, 0.807). Predictors contained in the individualized prediction nomogram included the radiomics signature and symptom number (symptoms include headache, palpitation, and diaphoresis). The training set yielded an AUC of 0.893 for the nomogram, which was confirmed in the internal and external validation sets with AUCs of 0.906 and 0.844, respectively. Decision curve analyses indicated the nomogram was clinically useful. In addition, 25 patients with 25 lesions were recruited for prospective validation, which yielded an AUC of 0.917 for the nomogram. Conclusion We propose a radiomic-based nomogram incorporating clinically useful signatures as an easy-to-use, predictive and individualized tool for PHEO diagnosis.

Based on the hot compressive tests in the temperature range of 700-900 °C and strain rate range of 0.01-10 s−1, the hot deformation behavior of a Cu-Cr-In alloy was investigated. The true stress–strain curves of the alloy were obtained, and a constitutive equation for the alloy was established by the method of equivalent stress. The processing maps were constructed based on the constitutive equation, and the microstructural evolutions were analyzed and correlated with the processing maps. The results show that the true stress of the alloy increased with decreasing strain rate and decreased with increasing temperature. The microstructures of the alloy deformed under different conditions were in good accordance with the processing maps results. According to the processing maps and the microstructures of the alloy with true strains of 0.4 and 0.8, the optimal hot deformation conditions lie in the range of 850-900 °C and strain rate range of 0.01-0.1 s−1.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) represent a subclass of regulatory RNAs that have been shown to have significant regulatory roles in cancer progression. However, the biological functions of circRNAs in bladder cancer (BCa) are largely unknown.Cell invasion models were established, and invasion-related circRNAs were detected by qPCR. Using above method, circ-ZKSCAN1 was picked out for further study. Circ-ZKSCAN1 expression and survival analyses were performed through qPCR. The survival curves were generated by the Kaplan-Meier method, and the log-rank test was used to assess the significance. Cell proliferation, migration and invasion were examined to investigate the function of circ-ZKSCAN1. Tumorigenesis in nude mice was assessed to determine the effect of circ-ZKSCAN1 in bladder cancer. Biotin-coupled probe pull-down assays, FISH and luciferase reporter assays were conducted to confirm the relationship between circ-ZKSCAN1 and microRNA. RNA-seq revealed different molecular changes in downstream genes.Here, we found that circ-ZKSCAN1 was downregulated in BCa tissues and cell lines. Circ-ZKSCAN1 levels were associated with survival, tumor grade, pathological T stage and tumor recurrence. Overexpressed circ-ZKSCAN1 inhibits cell proliferation, migration, invasion and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that circ-ZKSCAN1 upregulated p21 expression by sponging miR-1178-3p, which suppressed the aggressive biological behaviors in bladder cancer.These results reveal that Circ-ZKSCAN1 acts as a tumor suppressor via a novel circ-ZKSCAN1/miR-1178-3p/p21 axis, which have the important role in the proliferation, migration and invasion ablitities of BCa cells and provide a novel perspective on circRNAs in BCa progression.

WD repeat domain 5 (WDR5) plays an important role in various biological functions through the epigenetic regulation of gene transcription; however, its role in bladder cancer remains largely unknown. Our study investigated the role of WDR5 in bladder cancer and demonstrated that WDR5 was upregulated in bladder cancer tissues and elevated WDR5 protein levels positively correlated with advanced tumor stage and poor survival. Through gain or loss of function, we demonstrated that WDR5 promoted proliferation, self-renewal and chemoresistance to cisplatin in bladder cancer cells in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, WDR5 regulated various functions in bladder cancer by mediating the transcription of cyclin B1, cyclin E1, cyclin E2, UHMK1, MCL1, BIRC3 and Nanog by histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation. Therefore, we have discovered that WDR5 plays an important role in bladder cancer suggesting that WDR5 is a potential biomarker and a promising target in the treatment of bladder cancer.