Search

Background: Synchronous multiple primary lung cancer (sMPLC) exhibits distinct histopathological characteristics among pulmonary nodules. However, a comprehensive understanding of the somatic mutation landscape and transcriptome heterogeneity is lacking. Therefore, our study aims to meticulously investigate genomic distinctions among multiple pulmonary nodules within individual patients. Methods: We performed targeted DNA sequencing on tumor specimens and conducted bulk RNA transcriptome analysis on 53 multiple nodules originating from 26 lung cancer patients. The multiple nodules from the same patient was determined as major nodule and minor nodule. Additionally, the tumor tissues underwent histopathological evaluation through H&E staining, complemented by a comprehensive series of immunohistochemistry (IHC) analyses to detect protein expression. The detected protein markers encompassed PD-L1, Ki67, and others. Results: For the 53 nodule samples from 26 MPLCs patients, EGFR was the mostly mutated genes, and the TP53 mutation frequency was notably different between major and minor nodules. Furthermore, pathway enrichment analysis based on the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between major and minor nodules revealed the significantly active cell cycle and p53 pathways in the major nodules. Additionally, both major and minor nodules demonstrated mostly similar immune microenvironment and PD-L1 protein expression, and a significantly higher expression of Ki67. A noteworthy suppression was observed in the immune microenvironment in nodules, revealed by the expression of macrophage, neutrophils, and NK cells. Furthermore, minor nodules exhibited a modestly elevated expression of macrophages compared to major nodules. Additionally, among the significantly up-regulated cell cycle-related genes in the major nodules when compared with minor nodules, CCNE1 mRNA expression demonstrated significant correlation with poor prognosis in the lung cancer. Furthermore, the MYC inhibitor demonstrated more sensitivity for the major nodules than minor nodules. Conclusions: This study validated molecular distinctions between samples from major and minor nodules in patients with sMPLC at both genomic and transcriptomic levels. The major nodules exhibited heightened activity in tumor cell proliferation pathways and demonstrated malignancy-related biological characteristics, which correlated with pathological assessment results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a wear-resistant ultra-thin wear layer was fabricated with polyurethane as an adhesive to investigate its durability for pavement applications. Its road performance was investigated based on indoor tests. First, the abrasion test was performed using a tire–pavement dynamic friction analyzer (TDFA), and the surface elevation information of the wear layer was obtained by laser profile scanning. The relationship between the anti-skid properties of the wear layer and the macro-texture was analyzed. Second, a Fourier infrared spectrometer and scanning electron microscope were employed to analyze the evolution of polyurethane aging properties in the pull-out test and accelerated ultraviolet (UV) aging test. The results showed that the mean profile depth (MPD), arithmetic mean wavelength of contour (λa), surface wear index (SBI), stage mass loss rate (σ), and total stage mass loss rate (ω) of the abrasive layer aggregate had significant multivariate quadratic polynomial relationships with the skidding performance of the abrasive layer. The tensile strength of the polyurethane ultra-thin abrasive layer decreased by only 2.59% after 16 days of UV aging, indicating a minimal effect of UV action on the aggregate and structural spalling of the polyurethane abrasive layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Neoadjuvant immunotherapy plus chemotherapy has ushered in a new era for surgical treatment for patients with NSCLC. This study aimed to examine the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant immunotherapy plus chemotherapy in NSCLC. Methods: Eligible studies were identified from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, and conference meeting abstracts. The endpoints included major pathological response (MPR), complete pathological response (pCR), surgical resection rate, R0 resection, treatment‐related adverse events (TRAEs), severe adverse events (SAEs), surgical complications, treatment discontinuation, surgical delay, and treatment‐related death. Stata 18 software was used for statistical analysis, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Twenty‐two studies including a total of 1108 patients were eligible for this study. Results: Among the patients who received neoadjuvant immunotherapy plus chemotherapy, the pooled MPR rate was 51% (95% CI [0.44–0.58]), and pCR rate was 34% (95% CI [0.28–0.40]). The pooled surgical resection rate was 85% (95% CI [0.81–0.89]), and the pooled R0 rate was 94% (95% CI [0.91–0.96]). The pooled rate of pathological tumor downstaging was 84% (95% CI [0.79–0.88]), and the pooled rate of pathological nodal downstaging was 38% (95% CI [0.23–0.57]). During the treatment of neoadjuvant immunotherapy plus chemotherapy with or without surgery, the pooled rate of TRAEs (any grade) was 84% (95% CI [0.73–0.91]), and the pooled rate of SAEs was 29% (95% CI [0.21–0.38]). Surgical complications pooled rate was 25% (95% CI [0.14–0.41]). The pooled rate of treatment discontinuation (11%, 95% CI [0.09–0.13]), surgical delay (3%, 95% CI [0.02–0.05]), and treatment‐related death (2%, 95% CI [0.02–0.03]) were conducted. Conclusion: Neoadjuvant immunotherapy plus chemotherapy provides a high pathological response, surgical resection rate, R0 resection rate, and pathological downstage rate and has a low risk of increasing the incidence of SAEs, surgical complications, treatment discontinuation, surgical delay, and treatment‐related death. The validation of prospective and large sample studies is needed to confirm this conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of computer software to facilitate learning in political science courses is well established. However, the statistical software packages used in many political science courses can be difficult to use and counter-intuitive. We describe the results of a preliminary user study suggesting that visually-oriented analysis software can help students query a political data set faster and more accurately than by using traditional non-visual software tools. We hope that our experience will encourage future collaboration between educators in computing and in other academic disciplines.

Electron tomography usually suffers from so-called “missing wedge” artifacts caused by limited tilt angle range. An equally sloped tomography (EST) acquisition scheme (which should be called the linogram sampling scheme) was recently applied to achieve 2.4-angstrom resolution. On the other hand, a compressive sensing inspired reconstruction algorithm, known as adaptive dictionary based statistical iterative reconstruction (ADSIR), has been reported for X-ray computed tomography. In this paper, we evaluate the EST, ADSIR, and an ordered-subset simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (OS-SART), and compare the ES and equally angled (EA) data acquisition modes. Our results show that OS-SART is comparable to EST, and the ADSIR outperforms EST and OS-SART. Furthermore, the equally sloped projection data acquisition mode has no advantage over the conventional equally angled mode in this context.

Simple Summary: Dumeng sheep is a novel, specialized meat sheep breed created through crossbreeding innovation, cross-fixation, and herd expansion, using Dorper sheep as the father and Mongolian sheep as the mother. Given the critical role of early growth and development stages in determining the meat production potential of livestock animals, estimating the genetic parameters of early growth traits is crucial for the genetic advancement of meat sheep populations. This study aimed to investigate the genetic and non-genetic factors that affect the nine early growth traits of Dumeng sheep, as well as to estimate the variance components and genetic parameters associated with these traits. It was found that the growth traits of Dumeng sheep could be improved indirectly by selecting for weaning weight. This study aimed to estimate the genetic and non-genetic factors that affect the nine early growth traits of Dumeng sheep, as well as to estimate the variance components and genetic parameters associated with these traits. A dataset containing detailed information on 17,896 preweaning trait records of 4474 lambs was collected. In addition, 5015 postweaning trait records of 1003 lambs were documented. The effects of recipient dam age, sex, year, season, and herd on the early growth traits were assessed using the general linear model procedure of the statistical analysis system, revealing different levels of significance across different traits. To determine the most suitable model for estimating the genetic parameters, the likelihood ratio (LR) test was employed, fitting six animal models that either excluded or included maternal genetic and maternal permanent environmental effects within the average information restricted maximum likelihood (AIREML) framework using WOMBAT software (Version: 23/11/23). The model incorporating direct additive genetic effects, maternal genetic effects, and maternal permanent environment effects as random effects (model 6) provided the best fit for birth weight (BW) estimation. In contrast, the model combining direct additive genetic effects and maternal permanent environment effects as random effects (model 2) demonstrated a superior fit for estimating the genetic parameters of weaning weight (WW), average daily gain weight from birth to weaning (ADG1), and Kleiber ratio from birth to weaning (KR1). With regard to the genetic parameters of body weight at 6 months of age (6MW), average daily gain weight from weaning to 6 months (ADG2), average daily gain weight from birth to 6 months (ADG3), Kleiber ratio from weaning to 6 months (KR2), and Kleiber ratio from birth to 6 months (KR3), model 1, which incorporates only direct additive genetic effects, was identified as the optimal choice. With the optimal model, the heritability estimates ranged from 0.010 ± 0.033 for 6MW to 0.1837 ± 0.096 for KR3. The bivariate analysis method was employed to estimate the correlation between various traits using the most suitable model. The absolute values of genetic correlation coefficients among the traits spanned a range from 0.1460 to 0.9998, highlighting both weak and strong relationships among the studied traits. Specifically, the estimated genetic correlations between WW and ADG1, ADG3, KR1, and KR3 were 0.9859, 0.9953, 0.9911, and 0.9951, respectively, while the corresponding phenotypic correlations were 0.9752, 0.7836, 0.8262, and 0.5767. These findings identified that WW could serve as an effective selection criterion for enhancing early growth traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This expert consensus reviews current literature and provides clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of multiple ground glass nodule-like lung cancer. The main contents of this review include the following: ① follow-up strategies, ② differential diagnosis, ③ diagnosis and staging, ④ treatment methods, and ⑤ post-treatment follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]