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In the electroless nickel-boron coating process, surfactant helps to minimize the surface tension between the substrate and the electrolyte in the bath. Despite, its high cost and the formation of micelles from monomeric surfactant molecules at its critical micelle concentration (CMC), it is essential to optimize the concentration while using in the bath. In this study, to solve this problem, mathematical models are developed using regression and artificial neural network (ANN) techniques to relate the concentration of amphoteric surfactant (0-0.162 g/L) as an independent variable and microhardness as a dependent variable. Then, the developed model was used to optimize microhardness at CMC using a genetic algorithm (GA). The goodness of fit of the models was evaluated using the coefficient of determination (R2). The ANN model was found to be the best fit with R2 = 0.99. The maximum microhardness of 852 HV was achieved at the CMC of 0.064 g/L, from the GA using the validated model as a fitness function.

A subset of endometrial endometrioid carcinomas (EECs) with low-grade histology recur with poor outcomes. Published evidence suggests that poor outcomes may be associated with loss of expression of ER-alpha (ER-α) as well as with β-Catenin-1 (CTNNB1) and Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) mutations. This study reports on institutional experience with the incidence of recurrence in low-grade EEC and their association with CTNNB1and KRASmutations as well as estrogen/progesterone receptor (ER/PR) expression. Forty-eight (8.5%) out of 568 cases of low-grade EEC with biopsy-proven recurrence were identified; and were analyzed by immunohistochemistry for ER, PR, p53, MMR protein, and mutation analysis for exon 3 of the CTNNB1and exon 2 of KRASin relation to recurrence type, local or distant metastasis/recurrence. Twenty-three patients (4%) developed local, and 25 patients (4.4%) developed distant metastases/recurrence. Decreased expression or loss of ER/PR was found in 17/44 (38.6%) patients with recurrence. Eighty-four percent of patients with low-grade EEC and local recurrence had CTNNB1mutations. Seventy-three percent of patients with distant metastasis/recurrence had KRASmutations. The association of these mutations with the type of recurrence was statistically significant for both. Five cases with the morphology of low-grade EEC were reclassified as mesonephric-like carcinoma and were universally characterized by distant metastasis/recurrence, loss of ER/PR expression, large tumor size, absence of CTNNB1mutations, and the presence of KRASmutations. In low-grade EEC, CTNNB1and KRASmutations are associated with local recurrence and distant metastasis/recurrence, respectively, suggesting that these 2 different progression types may be conditioned by tumor genotype. ER/PR immunohistochemistry may be helpful in identifying poor performers in low-grade EEC. Furthermore, identification of the decreased expression or loss of ER/PR in tumors with low-grade histology should prompt consideration of mesonephric-like carcinoma, which is a more aggressive tumor than the low-grade EEC. KRASmutations were associated with distant metastasis/recurrence in tumors with and without mesonephric-like phenotype.

Background/aimTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of ruthenium-106 (Ru-106) plaque brachytherapy in managing invasive ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN).MethodsThis is a retrospective, non-comparative, interventional case series of 42 eyes with OSSN with histopathologically-proven corneal stromal and/or scleral invasion that underwent Ru-106 plaque brachytherapy. Main outcome measures were tumour regression, eye salvage, final visual acuity, treatment complications and metastasis.ResultsAt presentation, the mean tumour basal diameter was 9.3 mm (range 5–26 mm) and thickness 3.1 mm (range 1.5–11 mm). Prior treatment included excision biopsy in two patients (5%), incision biopsy and topical interferon in one each (2%). Following excision with 4 mm clinically clear margins, corneal stromal and/or scleral invasion of OSSN was confirmed in all 42 cases, with the excised base showing invasive squamous cell carcinoma. A total dose of 5000 cGy over a mean duration of 19.7 hours (range 7–41 hours) was provided to an axial depth of 2 mm using Ru-106 surface plaque. Over a mean follow-up of 36.9 months (range 22.3–72 months), complete tumour regression was achieved in all eyes (100%). Two eyes (5%) showed conjunctival tumour growth remote from the site of prior treatment. Visual acuity was maintained at ≥20/200 in 35 eyes (83%), with a loss of >2 Snellen lines in 1 eye (2%). There was no evidence of regional lymph node or systemic metastasis.ConclusionHistopathology-guided use of Ru-106 surface plaque brachytherapy is a safe and an effective adjuvant therapy in the management of corneal stromal and/or scleral invasion of OSSN.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection can result in severe immune dysfunction, hospitalization, and death. Many patients also develop long‐COVID‐19, experiencing symptoms months after infection. Although significant progress has been made in understanding the immune response to acute SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, gaps remain in our knowledge of how innate immunity influences disease kinetics and severity. We hypothesized that cytometry by time‐of‐flight analysis of PBMCs from healthy and infected subjects would identify novel cell surface markers and innate immune cell subsets associated with COVID‐19 severity. In this pursuit, we identified monocyte and dendritic cell subsets that changed in frequency during acute SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and correlated with clinical parameters of disease severity. Subsets of nonclassical monocytes decreased in frequency in hospitalized subjects, yet increased in the most severe patients and positively correlated with clinical values associated with worse disease severity. CD9, CD163, PDL1, and PDL2 expression significantly increased in hospitalized subjects, and CD9 and 6‐Sulfo LacNac emerged as the markers that best distinguished monocyte subsets amongst all subjects. CD9+monocytes remained elevated, whereas nonclassical monocytes remained decreased, in the blood of hospitalized subjects at 3–4 months postinfection. Finally, we found that CD9+monocytes functionally released more IL‐8 and MCP‐1 after LPS stimulation. This study identifies new monocyte subsets present in the blood of COVID‐19 patients that correlate with disease severity, and links CD9+monocytes to COVID‐19 progression. SARS‐CoV‐2 infection induces long‐lasting changes in the myeloid cell compartment, and novel monocyte subsets, distinguished by expression of CD9 and Slan, correlate with COVID‐19 severity.