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Due to low costs, pipelines are commonly used for transporting hazardous substances such as combustible liquids and gasses. Currently, chemical industrial parks and gas production stations have dense pipeline networks. In the case of a pipeline leakage and subsequent fire accident, the adjacent pipelines could be directly impinged by the flame or engulfed in hot smoke, with the potential to result in a chain of accidents and catastrophic consequences. It is thus of practical importance to develop an efficient thermal protection material for pipelines. In this study, a new type of bio-based gel material was prepared for pipeline thermal protection, using guar gum (GG) as the gelling agent, sodium tetraborate (B) as the crosslinking agent and magnesium chloride (MgCl2) as the fire retardant. Firstly, orthogonal experiments were conducted to examine the gelling time of the gel and determine the optimal formulations that meet the protection requirements. Subsequently, water retention, thermal stability and the microstructure of these formulations were analyzed. Finally, the thermal protection performance of the gel formulations was evaluated under the direct impingement of flames or high-temperature smoke. The results indicated that the best performance was achieved by the formulation with GG, B and MgCl2 mass fractions of 2.5, 0.6 and 0.5 wt%, respectively. This formulation also exhibited the best water retention capacity and thermal stability. In the pipeline thermal protection experiments, this formulation achieved effective protection times of 216 s (for a 90 mm diameter) and 312 s (for a 120 mm diameter) for the lower part of the pipeline under direct flame impingement. Under high-temperature smoke impingement, this formulation also showed excellent performance. These research and findings can provide an important foundation for the further development of thermal protection materials for pipelines under fire conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterised by immune evasion that contribute to poor prognosis. Cancer‐associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play a pivotal role in orchestrating the PDAC tumour microenvironment. We investigated the role of CAF‐derived extracellular vesicle (EV)‐packaged long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in immune evasion and explored gene therapy using engineered EVs loading small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) as a potential therapeutic strategy. Our findings highlight the significance of EV‐packaged lncRNA RP11‐161H23.5 from CAF in promoting PDAC immune evasion by downregulating HLA‐A expression, a key component of antigen presentation. Mechanistically, RP11‐161H23.5 forms a complex with CNOT4, a subunit of the mRNA deadenylase CCR4‐NOT complex, enhancing the degradation of HLA‐A mRNA by shortening its poly(A) tail. This immune evasion mechanism compromises the anti‐tumour immune response. To combat this, we propose an innovative approach utilising engineered EVs as natural and biocompatible nanocarriers for siRNA‐based gene therapy and this strategy holds promise for enhancing the effectiveness of immunotherapy in PDAC. Overall, our study sheds light on the critical role of CAF‐derived EV‐packaged lncRNA RP11‐161H23.5/CNOT4/HLA‐A axis in PDAC immune evasion and presents a novel avenue for therapeutic intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a malignant disease characterized by onset occult, rapid progression, high relapse rate, and high mortality. However, data on how the tumor microenvironment (TME) regulates ICC metastasis at the transcriptomic level remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the mechanisms and interactions between hepatocytes and ICC cells. Methods: We analyzed the interplay between ICC and liver microenvironment through cytokine antibody array analysis. Then we investigated the role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification and the downstream target in vitro, in vivo experiments, and in clinical specimens. Results: Our study demonstrated that cytokine CCL3, which is secreted by hepatocytes, promotes tumor metastasis by regulating m6A modification via vir-like m6A methyltransferase associated (VIRMA) in ICC cells. Moreover, immunohistochemical analyses showed that VIRMA correlated with poor outcomes in ICC patients. Finally, we confirmed both in vitro and in vivo that CCL3 could activate VIRMA and its critical downstream target SIRT1, which fuels tumor metastasis in ICC. Conclusions: In conclusion, our results enhanced our understanding of the interaction between hepatocytes and ICC cells, and revealed the molecular mechanism of the CCL3/VIRMA/SIRT1 pathway via m6A-mediated regulation in ICC metastasis. These studies highlight potential targets for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of ICC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor metastasis occurs naturally in pancreatic cancer, and the efficacy of chemotherapy is usually poor. Precision medicine, combining downregulation of target genes with chemotherapy drugs, is expected to improve therapeutic effects. Therefore, we developed a combined therapy of micro RNA-21 antisense oligonucleotides ( ASO-miR-21) and gemcitabine (Gem) using a targeted co-delivery nanoparticle ( NP) carrier and investigated the synergistic inhibitory effects on pancreatic cancer cells metastasis and growth. Polyethylene glycol-polyethylenimine-magnetic iron oxide NPs were used to co-deliver ASO-miR-21 and Gem. An anti- CD44v6 single-chain variable fragment (scFv CD44v6) was used to coat the particles to obtain active and targeted delivery. Our results showed that the downregulation of the oncogenic miR-21 by ASO resulted in upregulation of the tumor-suppressor genes PDCD4 and PTEN and the suppression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, which inhibited the proliferation and induced the clonal formation, migration, and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro. The co-delivery of ASO-miR-21 and Gem induced more cell apoptosis and inhibited the growth of pancreatic cancer cells to a greater extent than single ASO-miR-21 or Gem treatment in vitro. In animal tests, more scFv CD44v6- PEG-polyethylenimine/ ASO-magnetic iron oxide NP/Gem accumulated at the tumor site than non-targeted NPs and induced a potent inhibition of tumor proliferation and metastasis. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to observed tumor homing of NPs. These results imply that the combination of miR-21 gene silencing and Gem therapy using an scFv-functionalized NP carrier exerted synergistic antitumor effects on pancreatic cancer cells, which is a promising strategy for pancreatic cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary gastrointestinal lymphoma (PGIL) is a rare malignant tumor without standard diagnosis and treatment methods. This study is aimed to systematically analyze its clinical characteristics and draw out an appropriate flow chart of diagnosis and treatment process for PGIL in China.This study retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological characteristics, diagnostic approaches, prognostic factors, and therapeutic modalities in 415 cases of PGIL in Chinese province of Guangdong. A systematic review was conducted in 118 studies containing 5075 patients to further identify clinical manifestations and mortalities of therapeutic modalities.The most common clinical presentations were abdominal pain and bloody stools. Endoscopic biopsy was an important diagnostic means, and usually more than once to make a definite diagnosis. Retrospective multicenter clinical study showed that younger onset age (<60 years), female, one region involved, one lesion, early stage, International Prognostic Index (IPI ≤1), normal lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), normal albumin, and nonemergency operation were significant prognostic factors for B-cell lymphoma; non-B symptom, tumor restricted to gastric or ileocecal region, one lesion, performance status (PS ≤1), normal LDH, and nonsurgery alone were significant prognostic factors for T-cell lymphoma. Site of origin and IPI were independent prognostic factors for B-cell lymphoma; PS was the independent prognostic factor for T-cell lymphoma. And T-cell lymphoma had worse overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) than B-cell lymphoma. Among different therapeutic modalities, chemotherapy alone or combined with surgery showed better OS and PFS than surgery alone for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) of stage I/II E and T-cell lymphoma. For DLBCL of stage III E/IV and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, OS and PFS did not differ among different therapeutic groups. In meta-analysis, surgery plus chemotherapy showed lowest mortality.Chemotherapy alone or combined with surgery may be the first-line treatment for DLBCL of stage I/II E and T-cell lymphoma. A flow chart of diagnosis and treatment process for PGIL was approximately drew out., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.