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RopB is a quorum-sensing regulator that binds to the SpeB-inducing peptide (SIP) under acidic conditions. SIP is known to be degraded by the endopeptidase PepO, whose transcription is repressed by the CovR/CovS two-component regulatory system. Both SIP-bound RopB (RopB-SIP) and SIP-free RopB (apo-RopB) can bind to thespeBpromoter; however, only RopB-SIP activatesspeBtranscription. In this study, we found that the SpeB expression was higher in theropBmutant than in the SIP-inactivated (SIP*) mutant. Furthermore, the deletion ofropBin theSIP* mutant derepressedspeBexpression, suggesting that apo-RopB is a transcriptional repressor ofspeB. Up-regulation of PepO in thecovSmutant degraded SIP, resulting in the down-regulation ofspeB. We demonstrate that deletingropBin thecovSmutant derepressed thespeBexpression, suggesting that thespeBrepression in this mutant was mediated not only by PepO-dependent SIP degradation but also by apo-RopB. These findings reveal a crosstalk between the CovR/CovS and RopB-SIP systems and redefine the role of RopB in regulatingspeBexpression in group AStreptococcus.

Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is a rare entity of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The clinicopathological features of and optimal treatment for HIV-negative PBL remain largely unknown. Methods To gain insight into this distinct lymphoma, we summarized the clinicopathologic characteristics of 8 unpublished HIV-negative PBLs and performed a comprehensive review of 394 published cases. Results Of the 8 unpublished PBLs, the median patient age was 53.0 years. Four patients presented with stage IV disease. All 8 patients showed a plasma cell-like immunophenotype. Of the six patients who received anthracycline-based chemotherapy, including two who received bortezomib, three patients achieved a continuous complete response, two patients died due to disease progression, and one patient was lost to follow-up. The other two patients achieved continuous complete response after receiving chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy and surgery. Of the 402 patients, the majority were male, with a mean age of 58.0 years. EBV infection was detected in 55.7% of the patients. The median survival times of the patients who received CHOP or CHOP-like regimens and intensive regimens were not reached and 23.0 months, respectively, and the intensive regimen did not improve the survival outcome (P=0.981). Multivariate analysis showed that EBER remained the only independent factor affecting overall survival (OS). Conclusion HIV-negative PBL is a distinct entity with a predilection for elderly and immunosuppressed individuals. Intensive chemotherapy had no apparent survival benefits over the CHOP regimen in terms of OS; the prognosis of this disease is poor with current chemotherapy methods, and treatment remains a challenge.

In this work, a novel thermoresponsive switching transistor is developed through the rational design of active materials based on the typical field-effect transistor (FET) device configuration, where the active material is composed of a blend of a thermal expansion polymer and a polymeric semiconductor. Herein, polyethylene (PE) is employed as the thermal expansion polymer because of its high volume expansion coefficient near its melting point (90–130 °C), which similarly corresponds to the overheating point that would cause damage or cause fire in the devices. It is revealed that owing to the thermistor property of PE, the FET characteristics of the derived device will be largely decreased at high temperatures (100–120 °C). It is because the high volume expansion of PE at such high temperature (near its Tm) effectively increases the distance of the crystalline domains of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) to result in a great inhibition of current. Besides, the performance of this device will recover back to its original value after cooling from 120 to 30 °C owing to the volume contraction of PE. The reversible FET characteristics with temperature manifest the good thermal sensitivity of the PE-based device. Our results demonstrate a facile and promising approach for the development of next-generation overheating shutdown switches for electrical circuits.

A straightforward mechanism for the photorecovery behavior of photoresponsive nonvolatile organic field-effect transistor (OFET) memories is proposed by employing a commercially available conjugated polymer, the poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO), the conjugated monomer fluorene (FO), and the nonconjugated poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), as charge storage layers beneath the semiconducting pentacene layer. As photoexcitons are generated upon light exposure, the respective charges recombine with the trapped charges in electrets and neutralize the memory device. However, whether the excitons are generated in the semiconducting layer or the electret part, the origin that mainly governs the photorecovery behavior remains unclear. In this study, we show that when PVA, a nonphotoactive electret, replaces PFO the photorecovery behavior is totally absent, and it confirms the photorecovery behavior dominated by the excitons in situ generated in a charged electret. Moreover, PFO as a photoactive electret, exhibiting an excellent hole-trapping ability over 24 h in the dark and high Ion/Ioff current ratio of 108, has successfully demonstrated rapid photoinduced recovery under UV light. The devices also display a reliable switching ability between electrical charge trapping and optical recovery cycles for optical-recording application. This report presents a clear understanding behind photorecovery phenomena that demonstrates useful guidance to boost the development of photoactive OFET memories based on conjugated polymer electrets.

ImportanceMicrobiota-tumor interactions have qualified microbiota as a promising prognostic biomarker in various types of cancers. Although the nasopharynx acts as a crucial niche of the upper respiratory tract microbiome, whether the intratumoral microbiota exists and its clinical significance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remain uncertain.ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical significance of intratumoral microbiota for individual prognostication in patients with NPC.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis retrospective cohort study included NPC biopsy samples from 2 hospitals: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (Guangzhou, China) and Zhejiang Cancer Hospital (Hangzhou, China) between January 2004 and November 2016, with follow-up through November 2020. A total of 802 patients were included according to the following criteria: with histologically proven NPC, without distant metastasis at initial diagnosis, had not received antitumor treatment before biopsy sampling, aged between 18 and 70 years, with complete medical records and regular follow-up, without a history of cancer, and successfully extracted enough DNA for experiments.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe primary end point was disease-free survival, and the secondary end points included distant metastasis–free survival and overall survival. To assess the existence and load of intratumoral microbiota in 96 patients with NPC with or without tumor relapse, 16S rRNA sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used. The associations between intratumoral bacterial load and clinical outcome were evaluated in 241 fresh-frozen NPC samples (training cohort) and validated in paraffin-embedded NPC samples of internal (n = 233) and external (n = 232) validation cohorts. Metagenomic and transcriptome analyses were performed to ascertain the origin and underlying mechanism of intratumoral bacteria.ResultsA total of 802 patients with NPC (mean [SD] age, 46.2 [10.6] years; 594 [74.1%] male) were enrolled. Microbiota presented within NPC tumor tissues, among which Corynebacterium and Staphylococcus predominated. Patients with a high bacterial load in the training cohort had inferior rates of disease-free survival (hazard ratio [HR], 2.90; 95% CI, 1.72-4.90; P P P Conclusions and RelevanceIntratumoral bacterial load was a robust prognostic tool for patients with NPC in this cohort study, indicating potential guidance for treatment decisions in patients at different levels of risk of malignant progression.

Although conventional combination therapy is effective for most patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), many still do not respond to current therapies. Therefore, novel combination regimens that better target cellular processes involved in RA pathogenesis are required. Preliminary studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of a combination of cyclophosphamide (CTX) and methotrexate (MTX) in models of RA. Using western blotting, real-time polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and immunofluorescent staining, we demonstrated that the combination of 4-hydroperoxy CTX (4-H-CTX) and MTX inhibited the expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) in fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) treated with the interleukin (IL)-6/soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) complex. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying this effect, we treated RA-FLS with the JAK2/STAT3 inhibitor AG490 or p38MAPK inhibitor SB203580. The results showed that IL-6/sIL-6R-induced RANKL upregulation required phosphorylation-mediated activation of STAT3 and p38 signaling, and that 4-H-CTX and/or MTX inhibited RANKL expression in IL-6/sIL-6R-stimulated FLS by suppressing JAK2/STAT3 and p38MAPK signaling. This study demonstrated for the first time the inhibitory effects of 4-H-CTX and MTX on RANKL expression in IL-6/sIL-6R-stimulated FLS via suppression of STAT3 and p38MAPK phosphorylation. These results identify promising therapeutic agents that might have clinical applications in patients with RA who are at high risk of bone erosion or do not respond well to conventional therapy.

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) in combination with efflux inhibitors and metal chelators against multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli. In vitro syn...

Fertilizer application for rice production has increased significantly in southern China to raise yields, but has led to problems with lodging, quality decline and environmental pollution. Therefore, research on fertilizer-saving cultivation technologies for high-yielding rice is necessary. A two-factor experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of seedling-addition treatment (SAT) and nitrogen-saving treatment (NST) on yield formation and nitrogen absorption of individual plants and plant groups under the seedling-throwing cultivation system. Numbers of spikelets per panicle and filled grains per panicle of individual plants declined under decreased nitrogen application, but was compensated by substantially increased effective panicles number and total number of glumous flowers under SAT. Under the optimal SAT–NST treatments of 18% less N fertilizer and 32% additional seedlings, yield increased 1.79% and 4.29% compared with that of conventional practice (CK) in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The mature-stage individual-plant biomass under SAT–NST treatments decreased by 27.46% and 20.49% compared with CK in 2015 and 2016, but plant-group biomass did not differ significantly (all >16 t ha−1). Under SAT–NST treatments, effective number of panicles was positively correlated with maximum number of seedlings (r = 0.643) and N absorption amount in the tillering stage (r = 0.901).

Objective. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) multidrug resistance is associated with P-glycoprotein (P-gp) overexpression. We investigated the effects of methotrexate (MTX) alone and combined with 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide (4-HC) on P-gp expression in fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) from patients with RA and examined the signaling pathway involved. Methods. RA-FLSs were treated with MTX, MTX + 4-HC, AG490 + MTX, or AG490 + MTX + 4-HC for 72 h. Proliferation inhibition rates were determined by MTT assay; P-gp expression was measured by flow cytometry and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR); JAK2 and STAT3 were measured by RT-PCR and cell-based ELISA to assess STAT3 signaling. Results. MTX alone significantly induced P-gp expression and mRNA production in RA-FLSs. P-gp expression and mRNA levels were lower in the MTX + 4-HC group than in the MTX-alone group. In contrast to MTX, MTX + 4-HC reduced the STAT3 phosphorylation and downregulated JAK2 and STAT3 mRNA production. Inhibition of constitutively active STAT3 accompanied by 4-HC suppressed P-gp levels in RA-FLSs. The MTT assays revealed no significant differences in proliferation inhibition rates among groups. Conclusions. The increased anti-P-gp effect of MTX + 4-HC versus MTX alone in RA-FLSs was mediated via inhibition of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway and may have helped reverse MDR in refractory RA patients with high-P-gp levels.

// Xiao-Lin Luo 1, * , Guang-Zheng Zhong 2, * , Li-Yang Hu 3, * , Jie Chen 4 , Ying Liang 3 , Qiu-Yan Chen 5 , Qing Liu 6 , Hui-Lan Rao 7 , Kai-Lin Chen 3 , Qing-Qing Cai 3 1 Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China 2 Department of Urology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China 3 Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China 4 Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, Radiotherapy Department, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China 5 Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China 6 Department of Cancer Prevention Research, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China 7 Department of Pathology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Qing-Qing Cai, e-mail: caiqq@sysucc.org.cn Keywords: non-metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), prognosis Received: May 06, 2015 Accepted: October 09, 2015 Published: October 19, 2015 ABSTRACT Background: We investigated the value of pretreatment serum apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) in complementing TNM staging in the prognosis of non-metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Patients and methods: We retrospectively reviewed 1196 newly diagnosed patients with non-metastatic NPC. Disease-specific survival (DSS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS) rates were compared according to serum ApoA-I level. Multivariate analysis was performed to assess the prognostic value of serum ApoA-I. Results: The 5-year DSS, DMFS, and LRFS rates for patients with elevated or decreased serum ApoA-I were 81.3% versus 69.3% ( P < 0.001), 83.4% versus 67.4% ( P < 0.001), and 80.9% versus 67.3% ( P < 0.001), respectively. ApoA-I ≥ 1.025 g/L was an independent prognostic factor for superior DSS, DMFS, and LRFS in multivariate analysis. After stratification by clinical stage, serum ApoA-I remained a clinically and statistically significant predictor of prognosis. Conclusion: Our data suggest that the level of ApoA-I at diagnosis is a novel independent prognostic marker that could complement clinical staging for risk definition in non-metastatic NPC.

Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by irreversible joint destruction and disability. At present, the biggest challenge in the field of RA treatment is the emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR) in the application of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs).The Multidrug resistance Related Protein and Multi Drug Resistance protein 1, also called P-glycoprotein can decreases the intracellular concentration of different drugs. Moreover, cytokines play an increasingly important role in the expression regulation mechanisms of P-gp, especially inflammatory cytokines IL-6. Previously, We have indicated that Interleukin-6 up-regulates P-gp in peripheral blood lymphocytes via the JAK2-STAT3 pathway in RA patients. Through more than ten-years9 clinical research, we observed that the therapeutic cycle alliance of methotrexate (MTX) and cyclophosphamide (CTX) has had better curative effect and lower rate of adverse reaction in treating RA. And we didn9t found the emergence of MDR. How can the therapeutic alliance of MTX and CTX overcome MDR in RA patients? This study will give the answer. Objectives To Clarify whether the therapeutic alliance of MTX and 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide (4-HC) suppress expression and mRNA of P-gp in peripheral blood lymphocytes of RA through JAK2-STAT3 pathway. Methods RA patients without any DMARDs and biologic therapy (n=15) were enrolled. P-gp expression level was detected by Flow Cytometry. P-gp mRNA of peripheral blood lymphocytes and the intracellular signaling pathway mediating the effects of MTX and 4-HC on IL-6-stimulated JAK2-STAT3 activation was assessed by RT-PCR. Results Compared with blank control group, IL-6 induced P-gp, JAK2 and STAT3 expression levels increased significantly ( P P P >0.05). Conclusions Our data indicated that MTX combined with CTX significantly inhibited IL-6 induced JAK2-STAT3 activation, as well as the induction of P-gp. Inhibition of IL-6-mediated multidrug resistance signaling pathways by the alliance of MTX and CTX may represents a new reversing drug-resistance therapeutic strategy for RA. References Li HX, Zhao W, Shi Y, et al. Retinoic acid amide inhibits JAK/STAT pathway in lung cancer which leads to apoptosis. Tumour Biol. 2015; 36(11): 8671–8678. Oh HM, Lee SW, Yun BR, et al. Vigna angularis inhibits IL-6-induced cellular signalling and ameliorates collagen-induced arthritis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2014; 53(1): 56–64. Li R, Cai L, Ren DY, Xie XF, Hu CM, Li J. Therapeutic effect of 7, 39-dimethoxy hesperetin on adjuvant arthritis in rats through inhibiting JAK2-STAT3 signal pathway. Int Immunopharmacol. 2012; 14(2): 157–163. Yun M, Lee D, Park MN, et al. Cinnamaldehyde derivative (CB-PIC) sensitizes chemo-resistant cancer cells to drug-induced apoptosis via suppression of MDR1 and its upstream STAT3 and AKT signalling. Cell Physiol Biochem. 2015; 35(5): 1821–1830. Disclosure of Interest None declared

Hintergrund Pflegende AngehOrige stellen ihre Hilfe taglich zu Verfugung und sind hohen Belastungen ausgesetzt. Um pflegende AngehOrige zu informieren, zu schulen oder ihnen den Kontaktaustausch mit anderen Betroffenen zu ermOglichen, gibt es Pflegekurse. In Hamburg wird eine Vielzahl von Pflegekursen angeboten. Jedoch ist der Zugang fur betroffene AngehOrige haufig nicht einfach.

The effects of mulching mode on population physiology and ecology of rice were studied using a combination P88S/1128 as the material under three mulching cultivation modes including plastic film mulching, straw mulching and liquid film mulching, as well as bare cultivation (control). The results indicated that mulching mode had significant effects on micro-meteorological factors and individual growth of rice, as shown by an increase of relative humidity, a better internal micro-meteorological environment of rice population, a significant reduction under the rice canopy temperature, especially during high-temperature periods. Rice plants under mulching cultivation conditions displayed a stronger transpiration and lower leaf temperature, thereby improving the ability of anti-high temperature stress and markedly increasing the photosynthetic rate. Furthermore, the yield components of rice were significantly optimized under mulching cultivation, of which with plastic film mulching displayed the highest grain number per panicle and seed-setting rate, and a yield increase of 16.81% compared with the control; and with straw mulching displayed an increase of effective panicle number and a 9.59% increase of total yield compared to the control.

This study utilized electroless nickel (EN) and cathodic arc evaporation (CAE) technologies, which have the well-known advantage of low processing temperature (EN = 90 °C and CAE = 230 °C), to treat the austempered ductile iron (ADI) substrate. The eligibility of applying the EN and CAE-CrTiAlN duplex coatings on ADI, along with the coating properties, such as structure, roughness, and adhesion, was evaluated and analyzed. Wear and erosive tests were also performed to further understand the effects of the coatings on the abrasive and erosive behaviors of ADI. The results show that the unique microstructure of ADI does not deteriorate after EN and CAE treatments. With regard to erosion resistance, the duplex coated specimens perform better than do the uncoated and monolithic EN or CrTiAlN coated ones. Moreover, the duplex coatings achieve a remarkable reduction in ADI's friction coefficient from 0.85 to 0.6.

In this study, CrTiAlN coatings were deposited on AISI 304 stainless steel by cathodic arc evaporation under a systematic variation of the substrate bias voltage. The coating morphology and properties including surface roughness, adhesion, hardness/elastic modulus ( H / E ) ratio, and friction behavior were analyzed to evaluate the impact of the substrate bias voltage on the coating microstructure and properties. The results suggest that for an optimized value of the substrate bias voltage, i.e. − 150 V, the CrTiAlN coatings showed increased Cr content and improved properties, such as higher adhesion strength, hardness, and elastic modulus in comparison to the coatings deposited by other substrate bias voltage. Moreover, the optimum coatings achieved a remarkable reduction in the steel friction coefficient from 0.65 to 0.45.

Acorus tatarinowii Schott is a traditional Chinese medicine plant and has multiple bioactivities in medicine and pesticide field. In this study, the antifungal compound 1,2-dimethoxy-4(2-propenyl) benzene was isolated from A. tatarinowii Schott by activity-directed isolation method, and the inhibitory activity of the extract and 1,2-dimethoxy-4(2-propenyl) benzene against seven plant pathogenic fungi was evaluated. The results showed that the extract and 1,2-dimethoxy-4(2- propenyl) benzene had high inhibitory activity against hyphal growth of Thielaviopsis paradoxa (de Seynes) V. Hohnel, Pestalotia mangiferae P. Henn., Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (E. F. Smith) Syn. et Hans., Alternaria alternate Tanaka, Colletotrichum musae (Berk et Curt) V. Arx, Sphaceloma fawcettii Jenk., and Mycosphaerella sentina (Fr.) Schroter. The EC50 values of extract were 1.6162, 1.6811, 1.1253, 3.5771, 1.7024, 2.2284, and 2.2221 g L^(-1), respectively, and the EC50 values of 1,2-dimethoxy-4(2-propenyl) benzene were 0.1021, 0.0997, 0.0805, 0.1742, 0.1503, 0.1853, and 0.1924 g L^(-1), respectively. 1,2-Dimethoxy-4(2-propenyl) benzene also inhibited spores germination of T. paradoxa (de Seynes) V. Hohnel and F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum (E. F. Smith) Syn. et Hans., with the inhibitory rates of 98.81 and 100% at a concentration of 0.4 g L^(-1) after 8 h, respectively. 1, 2-Dimethoxy-4(2-propenyl) benzene is a potential botanical antifungal agent for controling of plant fungal diseases.

This study utilized electroless nickel (EN) and cathodic arc evaporation (CAE) technologies, with the known advantage of low processing temperature (EN = 90 °C and CAE = 230 °C), to treat the austempered ductile iron (ADI) substrate. The eligibility of applying the EN and CAE–CrTiAlN duplex coatings on ADI, along with the coating properties, such as structure, roughness, and adhesion, were evaluated and analyzed. Moreover, polarization and immersion tests were performed to further understand the effects of the coatings on the corrosion resistance of ADI. The results showed that the unique microstructure of ADI did not deteriorate after EN and CAE treatments. With regard to corrosion resistance, the duplex coated specimens performed better than did the uncoated and monolithic EN or CrTiAlN coated ones in 3.5 wt.% NaCl and 10 vol.% H 2 SO 4 aqueous solutions.

This study utilized electroless nickel (EN) and cathodic arc deposition (CAD) technologies, with the known advantage of low processing temperature, to treat the austempered ductile iron (ADI) substrates. The eligibility of applying the CrN/EN and Cr 2 O 3 /EN duplex coatings on ADI, along with the effect of these coatings on corrosion resistance of ADI were evaluated. Two kinds of corrosion media were used in this experiment such as NaCl and H 2 SO 4 aqueous solutions. In addition, surface roughness and film adhesion of the coatings were analyzed, and the microstructures of ADI were also observed before and after the surface treatments. The results showed that not only these coatings have been smoothly deposited on the substrate, but also ADI's unique microstructure did not deteriorate after the surface treatments. Although the use of EN interlayer resulted in the slight increase of surface roughness, this EN interlayer evidently improved the adhesion of the CrN and Cr 2 O 3 coated substrates. In the corrosion resistance, all the coated ADIs performed better than that of uncoated one when the specimens were exposed to 3.5 wt.% NaCl and 10 vol.% H 2 SO 4 aqueous solutions, respectively. In particular, the Cr 2 O 3 /EN coated specimen had the best performance on corrosion protection for ADI among all the coated specimens.

This study utilized electroless nickel (EN) and cathodic arc deposition (CAD) technologies, with the known advantage of low processing temperature, to treat the austempered ductile iron (ADI) substrate. The eligibility of applying the EN and CrN duplex coatings on ADI, along with the coating properties, such as surface roughness, surface hardness, and coating adhesion were evaluated and analyzed. Moreover, the microstructures of ADI were observed before and after the surface treatment. In addition, polarization tests were carried out to further understand the effect of the coatings on the corrosion resistance of ADI. The results showed that the unique microstructure of ADI did not deteriorate after EN and CAD treatments. Although the use of EN interlayer resulted in the increase of surface roughness, the interlayer evidently improved adhesion and hardness for the CrN arc-coated substrate. With regards to the corrosion resistance, the coated specimens performed better than that of the uncoated one in 3.5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution. Moreover, the coating with EN interlayer was superior to that without EN interlayer.

The prognostic nutritional index (PNI), an indicator of nutritional status and systemic inflammation, is associated with survival in several types of tumors. The prognostic value of the PNI in lymphoma remains unclear. The present study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of the PNI in patients with extranodal natural killer/T cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKTL). This retrospective study in two institutions was comprised of 177 patients with newly diagnosed ENKTL. Patients with a combined albumin (g/L) + 5 × total lymphocyte count × 109/l ≥ 45 were allocated a PNI score of 0. Patients in whom this total was

The corrosion potential and corrosion activity of three transparent coated and uncoated steels in 3.5% NaCl solutions were investigated. The relationship between corrosion potential and corrosion activity was analyzed in this study.

Introduction Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation has been reported in B-cell lymphoma patients with resolved hepatitis B (hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg]-negative and hepatitis B core antibody [HBcAb]-positive). This study aimed to assess HBV reactivation and hepatitis occurrence in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients with resolved hepatitis B receiving rituximab-containing chemotherapy compared with HBsAg-negative/HBcAb-negative patients to identify risk factors for HBV reactivation and hepatitis occurrence and to analyze whether HBV reactivation and hepatitis affect the survival of DLBCL patients with resolved hepatitis B. Methods We reviewed the clinical data of 278 patients with DLBCL treated with rituximab-containing therapy between January 2004 and May 2008 at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, China. Predictive factors for HBV reactivation, hepatitis development, and survival were examined by univariate analysis using the chi-square or Fisher’s exact test and by multivariate analysis using the Cox regression model. Results Among the 278 patients, 165 were HBsAg-negative. Among these 165 patients, 6 (10.9%) of 55 HBcAb-positive (resolved HBV infection) patients experienced HBV reactivation compared with none (0%) of 110 HBcAb-negative patients (P = 0.001). Patients with resolved hepatitis B had a higher hepatitis occurrence rate than HBsAg-negative/HBcAb-negative patients (21.8% vs. 8.2%, P = 0.013). HBcAb positivity and elevated baseline alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were independent risk factors for hepatitis. Among the 55 patients with resolved hepatitis B, patients with elevated baseline serum ALT or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were more likely to develop hepatitis than those with normal serum ALT or AST levels (P = 0.037, P = 0.005, respectively). An elevated baseline AST level was an independent risk factor for hepatitis in these patients. Six patients with HBV reactivation recovered after immediate antiviral therapy, and chemotherapy was continued. HBcAb positivity, HBV reactivation, or hepatitis did not negatively affect the survival of DLBCL patients. Conclusions DLBCL patients with resolved hepatitis B may have a higher risk of developing HBV reactivation and hepatitis than HBsAg-negative/HBcAb-negative patients. Close monitoring and prompt antiviral therapy are required in these patients.