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The pollution caused by nitrogen dioxide is a major environmental problem in China. This study introduces a new type of atmospheric trace gas remote-sensing instrument, an airborne fiber imaging spectrometer. This spectrometer has a spectral range of 300–410 nm and works in push-broom mode with a 30° field of view on a flight path. Flight experiments were conducted on 30 December 2022 and 5 January 2023, covering heavily polluted areas east of Beijing and Tangshan. This equipment obtained the density distribution of NO2 over the flight area. The results showed that pollution was mainly concentrated in the Caofeidian area and at the power station in the north, and the main source of pollution was anthropogenic. Satellite and airborne data near the pollution points were compared, and the two datasets showed a positive correlation with a correlation coefficient of 0.78 and 0.7, on the two days, respectively. This study demonstrates the capability of an airborne fiber imaging spectrometer for NO2 regional emission remote sensing and identifying the pollution points.

Background: Optimal sagittal alignment of the femoral prosthesis is critical to the success of total knee arthroplasty (TKA). While robotic-assisted TKA can improve alignment accuracy, the efficacy of default femoral alignment versus individualized alignment remains under scrutiny. This study aimed to compare the differences in prosthetic alignment, anatomical restoration, and clinical outcomes between individualized femoral sagittal alignment and default sagittal alignment in robotic-assisted TKA. Methods: In a prospective randomised controlled trial, 113 patients (120 knees) underwent robotic-assisted TKA were divided into two groups: 61 with individualized femoral flexion (individualized alignment group) and 59 with default 3–5° flexion (default alignment group). The individualized alignment was based on the distal femoral sagittal anteverted angle (DFSAA), defined as the angle between the mechanical and distal anatomical axes of the femur. The radiographic and clinical outcomes were compared. Results: Despite similar postoperative femoral flexion angles between groups (P = 0.748), the individualized alignment group exhibited significantly lower incidences of femoral prosthesis extension and higher rates of optimal 0–3° prosthesis flexion (9.8% vs. 27.1%, P = 0.014,78.7% vs. 55.9%, p = 0.008, respectively). The individualized alignment group also demonstrated more favourable changes in sagittal anatomy, with higher maintenance of postoperative anterior femoral offset within 1 mm (54.1% vs. 33.9%, P = 0.026) and posterior condylar offset within 1 mm and 2 mm (44.3% vs. 25.4%, p = 0.031,73.8% vs. 50.8%, p = 0.010, respectively). Although slight improvement in the Hospital for Special Surgery Knee Score (HSS) at three months was observed (P = 0.045), it did not reach a minimal clinically important difference. Conclusion: Individualized tailoring of femoral sagittal alignment in robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty (TKA) enhances prosthetic alignment and anatomical restoration, suggesting potential improvements in postoperative outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An operational synoptic-scale sea ice forecasting system for the Southern Ocean, namely the Southern Ocean Ice Prediction System (SOIPS), has been developed to support ship navigation in the Antarctic sea ice zone. Practical application of the SOIPS forecasts had been implemented for the 38th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition for the first time. The SOIPS is configured on an Antarctic regional sea ice–ocean–ice shelf coupled model and an ensemble-based localized error subspace transform Kalman filter data assimilation model. Daily near-real-time satellite sea ice concentration observations are assimilated into the SOIPS to update sea ice concentration and thickness in the 12 ensemble members of the model state. By evaluating the SOIPS performance in forecasting sea ice metrics in a complete melt–freeze cycle from 1 October 2021 to 30 September 2022, this study shows that the SOIPS can provide reliable Antarctic sea ice forecasts. In comparison with non-assimilated EUMETSAT Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF) data, annual mean root mean square errors in the sea ice concentration forecasts at a lead time of up to 168 h are lower than 0.19, and the integrated ice edge errors in the sea ice forecasts in most freezing months at lead times of 24 and 72 h maintain around 0.5×106 km 2 and below 1.0×106 km 2 , respectively. With respect to the scarce Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) observations, the mean absolute errors in the sea ice thickness forecasts at a lead time of 24 h are lower than 0.3 m, which is in the range of the ICESat-2 uncertainties. Specifically, the SOIPS has the ability to forecast sea ice drift, in both magnitude and direction. The derived sea ice convergence rate forecasts have great potential for supporting ship navigation on a fine local scale. The comparison between the persistence forecasts and the SOIPS forecasts with and without data assimilation further shows that both model physics and the data assimilation scheme play important roles in producing reliable sea ice forecasts in the Southern Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-Ga2O3 with an ultra-wide bandgap demonstrates great promise in applications of space missions as power electronics and solar-blind photodetector. Unraveling the radiation damage effects on its material properties is of crucial importance, especially for improving the radiation tolerance of Ga2O3-based devices. Herein, we evaluate the formation energy of gallium and oxygen vacancy defects and comprehensively investigate their influence on the electronic and optical properties of β-Ga2O3 using first-principles calculations. Ga vacancies act as deep acceptors and produce p-type defects in β-Ga2O3, while the defective Ga2O3 with O vacancies exhibits the n-type characteristics. A semimetal characteristic is observed in the defective Ga2O3 with Ga vacancies, and an apparent optical absorption peak in the infrared spectral range emerges. Moreover, the self-compensation effect emerges when β-Ga2O3 contains both Ga vacancies and O vacancies, leading to the reduced absorption peak. The doping effect on the defect formation energy of β-Ga2O3 is also investigated, and Ga vacancies are found to be easily formed in the case of In doped β-Ga2O3 (InGa2O3) compared to the undoped β-Ga2O3, while O vacancies are much harder to form. This work provides insights into how gallium and oxygen vacancy defects alter electronic and optical properties of β-Ga2O3, seeking to strengthen its radiation tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The equipment cabins of high‐speed trains encountered alternating pressure loads during operation. A fatigue evaluation methodology based on sub‐zone aerodynamic loading was proposed. Theoretical model was given between pressure load at each zone and the accompanying six structural stress components. Stress recovery matrix was formulated by finite element analysis (FEA) in sub‐zone loading cases to relate the stress to the measured pressure loads. Vehicle test gathered the pressure time‐history data of cabin sub‐zones at the head car in different ambient conditions, from which the two‐dimensional stress spectrum was derived by rain‐flow counting. The fatigue damage of welds was then assessed utilizing the Miner's and Corten Dolan's rules, yielding maximum equivalent damages of 0.72 and 0.23, respectively. The structural fatigue damage under high environmental wind conditions was 1–3 times greater than in calm weather. Nonetheless, the fatigue damage incurred by the metal matrix was significantly lower, demonstrating a substantial safety margin. Highlights: Proposed a sub‐zone aerodynamic load‐stress conversion model.Welds exhibit higher aerodynamic fatigue damage than metal matrix.Strong winds heighten fatigue damage in the equipment cabin of high‐speed trains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The dysregulation of TGF‐β signaling is a crucial pathophysiological process in tumorigenesis and progression. LncRNAs have diverse biological functions and are significant participants in the regulation of tumor signaling pathways. However, the clinical value of lncRNAs related to TGF‐β signaling in glioma is currently unclear. Methods: Data on glioma's RNA‐seq transcriptome, somatic mutation, DNA methylation data, and clinicopathological information were derived from the CGGA and TCGA databases. A prognostic lncRNA signature was constructed by Cox and LASSO regression analyses. TIMER2.0 database was utilized to deduce immune infiltration characteristics. "ELMER v.2" was used to reconstruct TF‐methylation‐gene regulatory network. Immunotherapy and chemotherapy response predictions were implemented by the TIDE algorithm and GDSC database, respectively. In vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to verify the results and clarify the regulatory mechanism of lncRNA. Results: In glioma, a TGF‐β signaling‐related 15‐lncRNA signature was constructed, including AC010173.1, HOXA‐AS2, AC074286.1, AL592424.1, DRAIC, HOXC13‐AS, AC007938.1, AC010729.1, AC013472.3, AC093895.1, AC131097.4, AL606970.4, HOXC‐AS1, AGAP2‐AS1, and AC002456.1. This signature proved to be a reliable prognostic tool, with high risk indicating an unfavorable prognosis and being linked to malignant clinicopathological and genomic mutation traits. Risk levels were associated with different immune infiltration landscapes, where high risk was indicative of high levels of macrophage infiltration. In addition, high risk also suggested better immunotherapy and chemotherapy response. cg05987823 was an important methylation site in glioma progression, and AP‐1 transcription factor family participated in the regulation of signature lncRNA expression. AGAP2‐AS1 knockdown in in vitro and in vivo experiments inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of glioma cells, as well as the growth of glioma, by downregulating the expression levels of NF‐κB and ERK 1/2 in the TGF‐β signaling pathway. Conclusions: A prognostic lncRNA signature of TGF‐β signaling was established in glioma, which can be used for prognostic judgment, immune infiltration status inference, and immunotherapy response prediction. AGAP2‐AS1 plays an important role in glioma progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The key role of thrombospondin 1 (THBS1) in the pathogenesis of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is unclear. Here, we present a transcriptome approach to evaluate THBS1 as a potential biomarker in ACLF disease pathogenesis. Methods: Biobanked peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 330 subjects with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related etiologies, including HBV-ACLF, liver cirrhosis (LC), and chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and normal controls (NC) randomly selected from the Chinese Group on the Study of Severe Hepatitis B (COSSH) prospective multicenter cohort underwent transcriptome analyses (ACLF = 20; LC = 10; CHB = 10; NC = 15); the findings were externally validated in participants from COSSH cohort, an ACLF rat model and hepatocyte-specific THBS1 knockout mice. Results: THBS1 was the top significantly differentially expressed gene in the PBMC transcriptome, with the most significant upregulation in ACLF, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (ACLF = 110; LC = 60; CHB = 60; NC = 45) was used to verify that THBS1 expression corresponded to ACLF disease severity outcome, including inflammation and hepatocellular apoptosis. THBS1 showed good predictive ability for ACLF short-term mortality, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.8438 and 0.7778 at 28 and 90 days, respectively. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay validation of the plasma THBS1 using an expanded COSSH cohort subjects (ACLF = 198; LC = 50; CHB = 50; NC = 50) showed significant correlation between THBS1 with ALT and γ-GT (P = 0.01), and offered a similarly good prognostication predictive ability (AUROC = 0.7445 and 0.7175) at 28 and 90 days, respectively. ACLF patients with high-risk short-term mortality were identified based on plasma THBS1 optimal cut-off value (< 28 µg/ml). External validation in ACLF rat serum and livers confirmed the functional association between THBS1, the immune response and hepatocellular apoptosis. Hepatocyte-specific THBS1 knockout improved mouse survival, significantly repressed major inflammatory cytokines, enhanced the expression of several anti-inflammatory mediators and impeded hepatocellular apoptosis. Conclusions: THBS1 might be an ACLF disease development-related biomarker, promoting inflammatory responses and hepatocellular apoptosis, that could provide clinicians with a new molecular target for improving diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-Ga2O3 is a new generation of semiconductor material with a wide bandgap of 4.9 eV. However, the β-Ga2O3 devices inevitably produce defects within them after irradiation, leading to changes in their thermal conductivities. At present, the effect of radiation-damage-induced defects on thermal conductivity of β-Ga2O3 has not been carried out. Herein, we have employed molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the impact of defects on the thermal transport of β-Ga2O3, and the obtained thermal conductivity of non-defect β-Ga2O3 is in good agreement with recent reports. Our findings indicate that the thermal conductivity of β-Ga2O3 at room temperature exhibits a consistent decrease with an increase in the concentration of Ga vacancies, but shows a decreasing and then increasing trend as the number of O vacancies increases. In addition, doping/alloying is found to improve the irradiation resistance of β-Ga2O3 based on reported defect formation energy calculations, so the mechanism of alloying effect on the thermal conductivity is deeply analyzed through first-principles calculations. Moreover, the lattice thermal conductivities of ordered InGaO3 and BGaO3 alloys are predicted by solving the phonon Boltzmann transport equation. The obtained results that κ(Ga2O3) = κ(BGaO3) > κ(InGaO3) are attributed to the combined effect of volume, specific heat capacity, group velocity, and phonon lifetime of the three materials. This work can help to disclose the radiation damage influence on thermal properties of β-Ga2O3 semiconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of topology optimisation is to determine the optimal distribution of material phases within the periodic cells of a microstructure. In this paper, the density of grid points under element volume fraction is constructed to replace the finite elements in the traditional SIMP framework, avoiding jagged and blurry boundaries in the computational process due to grid dependence. This is then combined with homogenisation theory, a microstructure topology optimisation algorithm with maximum bulk modulus under prescribed volume constraints is proposed, which can obtain 2D and 3D topologies with smooth boundaries. In addition, a closed form expression for the two-dimensional topological concave edge structure (taking the most typical topology as an example) was derived, and a compression experiment was conducted on the topological microstructure based on 3D metal printing technology. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the powder bonded on the surface of the printed structure was not completely melted and the step effect caused the finite element analysis results to be higher than the experimental results. Overall, the finite element simulation and experimental results of the concave surface structure have good consistency, with high strength and energy absorption effects. Topologies based on grid point density obtain microstructures with smooth boundaries, and the introduction of the Heaviside smoothing function and multiple filtering steps within this algorithm leads to more robust optimisation, facilitating 3D or 4D printing of microstructures that meet specific design requirements and confirming the feasibility of the proposed topology for lightweighting studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the traditional active noise control method, a phased-array secondary sound source was designed to replace the traditional sound source. Adopting a 4 × 4 array distributed design, we still maintain a single-in single-out system. Simulations show that the phased-array secondary sound source better controls noise reduction in a certain area of space, with better noise reduction effect, larger static area, and less impact on other non-control areas. A verification experiment was performed in a semi-anechoic chamber, with noise reduction conducted in different directions. The noise reduction effect of the phased-array secondary sound source was >10 dB higher than that of the traditional secondary sound source, with less influence on other points. The phased-array secondary sound source can be combined with tracking equipment to achieve a better follow-up noise reduction effect in space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lattice structures are characterized by a light weight, high strength, and high stiffness, and have a wide range of applications in the aerospace field. Node stress concentration is a key factor affecting the mechanical performance of lattice structures. In this paper, a new equal-strength body-centered cubic (ES-BCC) lattice structure was additively manufactured using 316L stainless steel via selective laser melting (SLM). The results of a mechanical compression test and finite element analysis revealed that the failure location of the ES-BCC structure changed from the nodes to the center of the struts. At the same density, the energy absorption, elastic modulus, and yield strength of the ES-BCC structure increased by 11.89%, 61.80%, and 53.72% compared to the BCC structure, respectively. Furthermore, the change in angle of the ES-BCC structure achieves significant changes in strength, stiffness, and energy absorption to meet different design requirements and engineering applications. The equal-strength concept design can be applied as a general design method to the design of other lightweight energy-absorbing lattice structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species, Uncifera motuoensis (Orchidaceae: Epidedroideae: Aeridinae) from Xizang Autonomous Region, China is described and illustrated with detailed photos and scientific illustration. Detailed morphological comparisons indicate that U. motouensis is similar to U. obtusifolia, but differs in having entire mid-lobe of lip, narrower leaf blade and wider pollinarium stipe. For the identification, a key to the known seven species of Uncifera is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Receptor chromatography is an efficient analytical technique that combines the high separation ability of chromatography with the high specificity of receptors for drug recognition. In addition, this technique offers the advantages of active recognition, online separation, and convenient multidimensional target tracking. This strategy allows target active ingredients in complex systems, such as traditional Chinese medicines, to be efficiently screened and accurately identified. Furthermore, the interactions between ligands and immobilized proteins can be studied. To avoid a loss in function, receptor chromatography requires efficient, mild, and simple immobilization methods that do not damage the structure of the immobilized receptors. Improvements in the activity, stability, and ligand-recognition specificity of immobilized functional proteins can be achieved by selecting appropriate immobilization conditions. Notably, the protein immobilization method is not only closely related to the recognition ability of receptor chromatography but also determines the accuracy of the technique. Common methods for immobilizing functional proteins include physical adsorption, chemical reactions, biological affinity reactions, and click chemistry. Despite being easy to operate under mild reaction conditions, these methods have shortcomings, including poor reaction specificity and the necessity of using high-purity functional proteins to prepare chromatography columns. Maintaining the high activity of immobilized receptors and ensuring excellent identification and separation abilities are key challenges in the further development of receptor chromatography. In this work, these issues were addressed by introducing a specific bioorthogonal reaction involving haloalkane dehalogenase (Halo) and 6-chlorohexanoic acid for the immobilization of the α 1A -adrenergic receptor ( α 1A -AR). Specifically, Halo- α 1A -AR was immobilized on the surface of 6-chlorohexanoic acid-modified aminopropyl silica gel in one step. The stationary phase with immobilized Halo- α 1A -AR was characterized using scanning electron microscopy. Moreover, the activity of the Halo- α 1A -AR chromatographic column was evaluated using specific ligands (terazosin hydrochloride, phentolamine mesylate, tamsulosin hydrochloride, and urapidil) and nonspecific ligands (yohimbe and metoprolol) for α 1A -AR. Halo- α 1A -AR was successfully immobilized on the silica gel surface with good stability over 30 days, and the Halo- α 1A -AR chromatographic column exhibited good ligand-recognition activity. The nonlinear chromatography results indicated that prazosin hydrochloride, terazosin hydrochloride, and urapidil interacted with immobilized Halo- α 1A -AR through one type of binding site, with association constants of 3.85×10 5 , 5.00×10 5 , and 5.90×10 5 L/mol, respectively. In contrast, phentolamine mesylate and tamsulosin hydrochloride interacted with immobilized Halo- α 1A -AR through two types of binding site. The association constants with the high- and low-affinity binding sites were 3.12×10 6 and 6.01×10 5 L/mol, respectively, for phentolamine mesylate and 9.98×10 5 and 0.21×10 5 L/mol, respectively, for tamsulosin hydrochloride. Compared with the traditional carbonyldiimidazole method, the immobilization method developed in this work did not require receptor purification and thus minimized the loss of receptor activity. The affinity constants obtained with immobilized Halo- α 1A -AR were consistent with the values determined for receptor-ligand binding in solution, indicating that the Halo- α 1A -AR chromatography column is suitable for studying drug-protein interactions. This approach also provides a foundation for the efficient screening and accurate determination of target active ingredients in complex systems.

Rationale: Patients with hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF) have a high short-term mortality rate. Semaphorin-6B (SEMA6B) plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of HBV-ACLF, but its molecular basis remains unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms of SEMA6B in HBV-ACLF progression. Methods: A total of 321 subjects with HBV-ACLF, liver cirrhosis (LC), chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and normal controls (NC) from a prospective multicenter cohort were studied. 84 subjects (HBV-ACLF, n = 50; LC, n = 10; CHB, n = 10; NC, n = 14) among them underwent mRNA sequencing using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to clarify the mechanisms of SEMA6B in HBV-ACLF. These mechanisms were validated through in vitro studies with hepatocytes and macrophages, as well as in vivo using SEMA6B knockout mice and mice treated with synthetic SEMA6B siRNA. Results: Transcriptome analysis of PBMCs showed that SEMA6B was among the most differentially expressed genes when comparing patients with HBV-ACLF to those with LC, CHB, or NC. ROC analysis demonstrated the reliable diagnostic value of SEMA6B for HBV-ACLF in both the sequencing cohort and an external validation cohort (AUROC = 0.9788 and 0.9026, respectively). SEMA6B levels were significantly higher in the HBV-ACLF patients, especially in non-survivors, with high expression mainly observed in macrophages and hepatocytes in liver tissue. Genes significantly associated with highly expressed SEMA6B were enriched in inflammation and apoptosis pathways in HBV-ACLF non-survivors. Overexpression of SEMA6B in macrophages activated systemic inflammatory responses, while its overexpression in hepatocytes inhibited proliferation through G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and induced apoptosis. Knocking out SEMA6B rescued mice with liver failure by improving liver functions, reducing inflammatory responses, and decreasing hepatocyte apoptosis. Transcriptome analysis of liver tissue showed that SEMA6B knockout significantly ameliorated the liver failure signature, significantly downregulating inflammation-related pathways. Importantly, therapeutic delivery of synthetic SEMA6B siRNA also improved liver function, and reduced both inflammation and hepatocyte apoptosis in mice with liver failure. Conclusion: SEMA6B, a potential diagnostic biomarker for HBV-ACLF, exacerbates liver failure through macrophage-mediated systemic inflammation and hepatocyte apoptosis. These findings highlight SEMA6B as a promising early treatment target for HBV-ACLF patients., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists., (© The author(s).)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the mechanism by which STAT5B inhibits ferroptosis in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) by promoting DCAF13 transcriptional regulation of p53/xCT pathway., Methods: The correlations between STAT5B, DCAF13 and ferroptosis in MCL were analyzed using Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA, http://gepia.cancer-pku.cn/index.html). The expression levels and pairwise correlations of STAT5B, DCAF13, p53 and xCT in MCL patients were detected, respectively. STAT5B was silenced to confirm their criticality in MCL ferroptosis. the effects of blocking necrosis, apoptosis and ferroptosis on the anti-MCL effects of STAT5B were examined. Cells with STAT5B overexpression and/or DCAF13 silencing were constructed to confirm the involvement of DCAF13 in the STAT5B-regulated p53/xCT pathway. The regulation of p53 ubiquitination was confirmed by DCAF13 overexpression and MG132. The effects of silencing DCAF13 and MG132 on STAT5B overexpression on MCL was clarified by a tumor-bearing nude mouse model., Results: DCAF13 was overexpressed in MCL and positively correlated with STAT5B, negatively correlated with p53, and positively correlated with xCT. Inhibition of ferroptosis alleviated the inhibitory effects of siSTAT5B on MCL, while inhibition of necrosis and apoptosis had few effects. Silencing of DCAF13 led to the blocking of STAT5B regulation of p53/xCT and ferroptosis. The changes in DCAF13 and the addition of MG132 did not have statistically significant effects on p53 mRNA. Elevation of DCAF13 resulted in downregulation of p53 protein levels, and this inhibition was reversed by MG132. In animal models, the promotion of MCL and the inhibition of ferroptosis by STAT5B. Silencing of DCAF13 blocked STAT5B inhibition of p53 and induction of xCT, GPX4, and GSH., Conclusion: STAT5B suppresses ferroptosis by promoting DCAF13 transcription to regulate p53/xCT pathway to promote MCL progression., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2024 Zhang et al.)

Purpose: Lung cancer has a high morbidity and mortality rate of all cancers worldwide. Therefore, there is an urgent need for reliable cancer markers for diagnosis and prognosis of patients with lung cancer., Methods: In this study, we used the bioinformatics database to compare the expression of the TBX2 subfamily at the transcriptional and protein levels in non-small cell lung cancer. Then, to confirm our bioinformatics analysis above, we used western bloting to determine the expression of TBX2, TBX3, TBX4 and TBX5 in human lung squamous carcinoma cell lines. Besides, low expression of TBX2 subfamily predicted a poor prognosis of patients with lung cancer. Finally, The methylation database was used to explore the relationship between the low expression of TBX2 subfamily and methylation of gene promoter region., Results: Our data showed a significant decrease of TBX2 subfamily expression in lung cancer tissues of several histological subtypes. Finally, the methylation of TBX2 subfamily members in the promoter region of NSCLC was significantly higher than that in normal tissues., Conclusion: Our research provided sufficient evidence that TBX2 subfamily might play an inhibitory role in malignancy progression of lung cancer, which is promising to shed light on discovering a novel reliable cancer marker for prognosis of lung cancer patients., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objectives: Radiation-induced oropharyngeal injury is a dose-limiting toxicity in head and neck cancer patients. Delineation of the "oropharyngeal mucosa" and limiting its dose to spare the oropharynx was investigated., Methods: In this retrospective study, computed tomography imaging from eight patients with previously untreated head and neck cancer was employed. An adaptive contouring brush within the planning software Monaco was used to create an air cavity within the oropharynx, and then the air cavity was expanded uniformly 2 mm to create the "oropharyngeal mucosa". Three plans were independently generated for each patient: Plan1: dose constraint was applied for the oropharynx; Plan2: dose constraints were applied for the oropharynx and the "oropharyngeal mucosa"; Plan3: dose constraint was applied for the "oropharyngeal mucosa". T-tests were used to compare the dosimetry variables., Results: All plans had adequate target coverage and there were no statistical differences among plans. The mean dose, D30%, D45%, D50%, D85%, D90%, D95%, D100%, V25 Gy, V30 Gy, V35 Gy, V40 Gy, and V45 Gy of the oropharynx and "oropharyngeal mucosa" in Plan1 were significantly higher than those in Plan2 and Plan3. There were no significant differences between Plan2 and Plan3. There were no significant differences in the dosimetric parameters of any other organs at risk., Conclusion: Delineation of the "oropharyngeal mucosa" and limiting its dose should be an easy and effective method to spare the oropharynx., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.