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This study aimed to analyze the heterogeneity in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutation and its impact on clinical outcomes in primary tumor and corresponding brain metastasis (BM) in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Primary pulmonary tumors and paired BMs of 27 NSCLC patients were surgically removed. All brain lesions were histologically confirmed as metastatic NSCLC. EGFR gene mutation status was detected by using amplification refraction mutation system. McNemar test was performed to compare EGFR mutation status between lung primary tumors and metastatic brain tumors and Kappa test was performed to quantify the agreement between the two.Of the 27 patients, nine cases were found to have EGFR mutations in BMs and 10 had a positive EGFR mutation status in primary lung tumor tissue. The rate of consistency of the matched tumor was 24/27 (88.9%). Among the three cases presenting EGFR mutational heterogeneity, two patients harbored an EGFR mutation in the primary tumor but not in the BMs; meanwhile, the last patient demonstrated the opposite pattern. Compared to patients with consistent EGFR mutations, patients with inconsistent mutations showed better outcomes. Further analysis revealed that the two patients whose EGFR mutant-type primary tumor progressed to wild-type cerebral metastatic tumor had longer overall survival than the patient whose EGFR wild-type primary tumor progressed to mutant-type brain metastatic tumor.Heterogeneity of EGFR mutation status was observed between primary NSCLC and paired BM. Patients possessing a wild-type EGFR mutation in BM might have better outcomes, especially those with transition from mutant to wild-type.

Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for obese T2D. As one of the most effective bariatric surgeries, SADI-S was recently introduced in China, and there is limited evidence of its efficacy and safety in the treatment of obese T2D. The aim of this study is to investigate the safety and efficacy of SADI-S in the treatment of obese T2D in China.The clinical data of 32 obese T2D patients who underwent SADI-S was included in this study. Changes in weight-related indicators, diabetes-related indicators, and patient nutritional outcomes were analyzed.SADI-S was conducted successfully in all of the 32 cases without conversion to laparotomy or death. The incidence of surgical complications was 15.6% (5/32). The major complication rate was 6.3% (2/32). At 1 year after surgery, the BMI (kg/mThe SADI-S has excellent curative effect in the treatment of Chinese obese T2D, but the operation is challenging and the complication rate is high. Its long-term efficacy and safety require further study.

We study an optimal stretching problem, which is a variant lattice point problem, for convex domains in $\mathbb{R}^d$ ($d\geq 2$) with smooth boundary of finite type that are symmetric with respect to each coordinate hyperplane/axis. We prove that optimal domains which contain the most positive (or least nonnegative) lattice points are asymptotically balanced.

Self-cleaning surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates dependent on versatile two-dimensional semiconductors offer an efficient channel for the sensitive monitoring and timely degradation of hazardous molecules. Herein, a kind of sophisticated SERS-active nanocomposites was developed by incorporating Au-Ag nanoparticles onto black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets via photo-induced self-reduction. Combining the substantial electromagnetic "hot spots" triggered by bimetallic plasma coupling effect and the efficient charge transfer from BP to probe molecules, the proposed nanocomposites featured attractive SERS enhancement, facilitating a limit of detection down to 4.5 × 10

The water-level fluctuation zone (WLFZ) has been considered as a hotspot for mercury (Hg) methylation. Flooding-tolerant herbs are gradually acclimated to this water-land ecotone, tending to form substantial root systems for improving erosion resistance. Accompanying rhizosphere microzone plays crucial but unclear roles in methylmercury (MeHg) formation in the WLFZ. Thus, we conducted this study in the WLFZ of the Three Gorges Reservoir, to explore effects of the rhizosphere of a dominant flooding-tolerant herb (bermudagrass) on MeHg production. The elevated Hg and MeHg in rhizosphere soils suggest that the rhizosphere environment provides favorable conditions for Hg accumulation and methylation. The increased bioavailable Hg and microbial activity in the rhizosphere probably serve as important factors driving MeHg formation in the presence of bermudagrass. Simultaneously, the rhizosphere environments changed the richness, diversity, and distribution of hgcA-containing microorganisms. Here, a typical iron-reducing bacterium (Geobacteraceae) has been screened, however, the majority of hgcA genes detected in rhizosphere, near-, and non-rhizosphere soils of the WLFZ were unclassified. Collectively, these results provide new insights into the elevated MeHg production as related to microbial processes in the rhizosphere of perennial herbs in the WLFZ, with general implications for Hg cycling in other ecosystems with water-level fluctuations.

Visible light-assisted catalysis has recently attracted considerable attention because it is efficient, cost effective, and does not cause indoor air pollution. Several birnessite-type MnO

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) is a naturally degradable polyester with good biocompatibility. However, several disadvantages including poor bioactivity and mechanical properties limit the biomedical application of PHA. To circumvent these drawbacks, PHA needs to be blended with other materials to improve performance. Beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) has emerged as one of the most promising bone repair materials due to its good biocompatibility, satisfactory mechanical properties, and excellent bone osteoconductivity. In this study, PHA filled with β-TCP in 0 wt%, 5 wt%, 10 wt%, 20 wt%, and 30 wt% of concentrations were produced using a twin-screw extruder. The extruded 3D filaments made with 20% β-TCP exhibited the maximum mechanical properties to manufacture 3D scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. We then prepared the 3D-printed PHA/β-TCP scaffolds by using the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique. The compressive strength and the shore hardness of the PHA/20%β-TCP scaffold were 36.7 MPa and 81.1 HD. The produced scaffolds presented compressive strength compatible with natural bone. In addition, the scaffolds with a well-controlled design of pore shape and size provided sufficient space for cellular activity. In vitro studies demonstrated that the addition of β-TCP could significantly improve the proliferation, adhesion, and migration of MC3T3-E1 cells in the PHA/β-TCP scaffold. Moreover, the osteogenesis-related genes expression of the PHA/β-TCP scaffold was enhanced compared to the PHA scaffolds. Therefore, the 3D-printed PHA/β-TCP scaffold represents an effective strategy to promote mechanical and biological properties, showing huge potential for bone tissue engineering applications.