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Background A subset of patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative, and node-negative breast cancer experience recurrences. Predicting patients who will have recurrences within 5 years of surgery is essential so that patients can be selected to receive adjuvant chemotherapy. The 95-gene classifier (95-GC) has been validated as a method to differentiate patients into high and low-risk groups for early recurrence. Methods In this study, we performed 95-GC analysis on 56 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples from patients who underwent surgery for ER-positive, HER2-negative, and node-negative breast cancer and did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy. We associated the obtained high- and low-risk groups with clinicopathological characteristics and recurrence-free survival (RFS).Results We classified 12 out of 56 patients into the high-risk recurrence group. We found significantly higher KI67 scores in patients in the high-risk group. Other clinicopathological characteristics were not associated with the 95-GC risk groups. Patients in the 95-GC low-risk group had a significantly better prognosis than those in the high-risk group (p = 0.0387). The 5-year RFS rate was 97.6% in the low-risk group and 74.1% in the high-risk group, while the 10-year RFS rates were 90.1% and 74.1%, respectively.Conclusions Our study shows that the 95-GC score can accurately predict RFS within 5 years of surgery for ER-positive, HER2-negative, and node-negative breast cancer using FFPE tissue samples. These prediction models could help assign patients to the most effective treatment regimen.

One of the main objectives of tourism development (TD) is to enhance the quality of life (QOL) of communities and stakeholders. The enhancement of tourism activities can progressively enhance the popular possibilities for community regeneration. Decentralization in the tourism sector will enhance the livelihood of residents and stakeholders. This study aimed at investigating how decentralization in the tourism sector can enhance and improve the life of tourism stakeholders and the local residents. This research is a qualitative research that involves the stakeholders from various public and private tourism sectors in both the English and French speaking regions in Cameroon (both control by a single government). In addition, in-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with relevant key informants. The results indicate that tourism is still at its unawareness and infant stage. Vital outcomes suggest that, while respondents generally agreed that decentralization has many positive benefits on tourism stakeholders, such benefits are often concentrated at government level (centralized), or contained within privately owned businesses. The lack of decentralization sharing can be attributed to the low level of involvement of residents and stakeholders in the sector, unsuitable management practices that promote neither inclusiveness, nor the nomination of resident. The study recommends that policies and strategies that encourage urban development should be decentralized rather than centralized in the country, to ensure that the appropriate structures are put in place for the equitable distribution of the economic benefits to resident to enhance their quality of life. This paper is to demonstrate how well decentralization can enable and improve the life of tourism stakeholders.

Lithium/carbon fluoride (Li/CFx) batteries have been widely researched due to their high theoretical specific energy. To create a high-performance electrode, the fluorinated hard carbon (FHC) is prepared by direct gas-phase fluorination. It has a high F/C ratio of 0.95 based on the gravimetric method. Selecting hard carbon (HC) with a high surface area as the carbon source allows for FHC to achieve suitable interlayer spacing and specific surface area, as well as abundant pore structures to facilitate rapid lithium ion transportation. Additionally, a composite of graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is coated on the surface of FHC, enhancing electron transport speed. The resulting FHC&C exhibits a very high energy density of 1256 Wh kg−1 and an excellent power density of 72,929 W kg−1 at a high rate of 40 C. Moreover, compared to commercial CFx, FHC&C exhibits higher energy and power densities, thus presenting a promising practical application prospect.

Simple Summary Extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHCC) is an aggressive tumor. The five-year survival rate for patients who undergo surgical resection is only 20-40% due to recurrences. Therefore, elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying invasion and metastasis in EHCC is crucial for developing adjuvant therapy. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) contributes to the metastatic cascade in various tumors. C-C chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) interacts with its ligand, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 19 (CCL19), to promote EMT. The association between CCR7 expression and clinicopathological features and EMT status was examined via the immunohistochemical staining of tumor sections from 181 patients with perihilar cholangiocarcinoma. This association was then investigated in two EHCC cell lines. CCR7 mediates cell invasion and migration in EHCC by inducing EMT, which was abrogated by a CCR7 antagonist. CCR7 may be a potential target for adjuvant therapy in EHCC. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) contributes to the metastatic cascade in various tumors. C-C chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) interacts with its ligand, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 19 (CCL19), to promote EMT. However, the association between EMT and CCR7 in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHCC) remains unknown. This study aimed to elucidate the prognostic impact of CCR7 expression and its association with clinicopathological features and EMT in EHCC. The association between CCR7 expression and clinicopathological features and EMT status was examined via the immunohistochemical staining of tumor sections from 181 patients with perihilar cholangiocarcinoma. This association was then investigated in TFK-1 and EGI-1 EHCC cell lines. High-grade CCR7 expression was significantly associated with a large number of tumor buds, low E-cadherin expression, and poor overall survival. TFK-1 showed CCR7 expression, and Western blotting revealed E-cadherin downregulation and vimentin upregulation in response to CCL19 treatment. The wound healing and Transwell invasion assays revealed that the activation of CCR7 by CCL19 enhanced the migration and invasion of TFK-1 cells, which were abrogated by a CCR7 antagonist. These results suggest that a high CCR7 expression is associated with an adverse postoperative prognosis via EMT induction and that CCR7 may be a potential target for adjuvant therapy in EHCC.

Objective. To investigate the quantity of CD4+T, CD4+T, CD8+T, and γδT cells in peripheral blood of HIV-infected/AIDS patients as well as to explore the possible role of CD4/CD8 ratio and γδT cells in the progression of HIV/AIDS, aimed at providing evidence for the diagnosis and treatment of AIDS. Methods. The quantity levels of CD3+T cells, CD4+T cells, CD8+T cells, and γδT cells in peripheral blood of 46 HIV-infected/AIDS patients and 30 healthy controls were detected by using flow cytometry. Results. The count of CD3+T, CD4+T, CD8+T, and γδT cells ( x ¯ ± s , A/μl) in the peripheral blood was 1183.64 ± 132.58 , 278.39 ± 122.38 , 863.13 ± 82.38 , and 22.53 ± 1.74 in the experimental group as well as 1456.46 ± 124.37 , 788.74 ± 189.67 , 569.61 ± 46.49 , and 10.96 ± 0.28 in the control group, respectively. The p values of the two groups were t -test, revealing a statistically significant difference. The proportion of CD3+T, CD4+T, CD8+T, and γδT cells in total lymphocytes in the two groups ( x ¯ ± s , %) was 71.83 ± 5.37 , 13.39 ± 2.23 , 62.93 ± 5.81 , and 3.67 ± 0.87 in the experimental group, respectively. In the control group, the values were expressed as 66.72 ± 5.48 , 42.77 ± 3.38 , 31.41 ± 3.62 , and 1.73 ± 0.36 , respectively. After performing the t -test, p values in the two groups were 0.33 ± 0.11 in the experimental group and 1.48 ± 0.29 in the control group, t = 26.528 , p < 0.001 , exhibiting a significant statistical difference. Conclusion. HIV infection induces the activation and proliferation of CD8+T and γδT cells, contributing to the decrease of CD4+T cells, while CD8+T and γδT cells are involved in the immune response and tissue damage after HIV infection.

Purpose Organic coatings are one of the most widely applied methods for corrosion protection of metallic materials such as the tubing used in sour gas field. However, such coatings usually encounter the risk of failure due to the harsh and complex environment. Therefore, the study of failure of the organic coating is highly significant. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the effects of Cl-concentration, HCl content, hydrogen sulfide/carbon dioxide (H2S/CO2), temperature and flow rate on the failure of epoxy-phenolic coating on the internal surface of BG90S steel tubing were investigated using adhesion force measurement, metallographic microscope, electrochemistry impedance spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Findings The results show that the Cl-concentration, HCl content and H2S/CO2 do not affect the failure process too much as the ion concentration increased. However, the flow rate at the high temperature is the most important factor affecting the corrosion resistance of the inner coating tubing. With the increase of the flow rate, the pore resistance of the coating shows a decreasing trend, and the rate of decrease in pore resistance is first rapid and then slow. It demonstrates that the penetration speed of the electrolyte solution into the coating varied from fast to slowly. A weakening influence of the flow rate on the penetration failure of the inner coating can be found as the increase of the flow rate. Once the HS-ions penetrate through the coating and reach at the coating/steel interface where H2 could be formed through the adsorption reaction, the coating failure occurs. Originality/value The failure of the coating depends on the penetration rate of water and ions, with the presence of exposed or punctured holes is accelerated and HS- was adsorpted by substrate Fe, and form H2 molecules between the coatings and substrate, that results failure of coatings.

This study aimed at assessing the implementation of TQM in government secondary schools in improving students' academic achievement in Manyoni district Singida region. The researcher used three objectives to guide the study. To examine the association among total quality management principles and students' school success in public secondary schools in Manyoni District, to identify the challenges encountered by school heads in the whole process of quality supervision in schools and learners' academic attainment and to identify possible measures to the challenges in the implementation of total quality management in public secondary schools in Manyoni District. The study employed total quality management theory that founded by Deming in 1950s. It employed a mixed approaches research design, specifically convergent parallel mixed-method research design. The study used probability and non-probability in selecting sample. A total of 164 respondents from four public secondary schools were involving in the current study. The major instruments used were questionnaires that had a coefficient coloration of 0.73 to prove the reliability of the instruments. Other instruments used were in-depth interview guide. The researchers employed Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20 for analysis of quantitative data. The information were analysed using descriptive approaches such as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations, and results presented using tables, pie charts, and bar graphs. Qualitative data were analysed by means of open coding, categories, meaningful themes, as well as summarization of data. The results indicated that total quality management ideologies were very crucial in enhancing academics development in secondary schools. However, the study found that total quality management in public secondary schools in Manyoni is not implemented effectively. Therefore the government should ensure that all secondary schools are implementing TQM.

Rhodopsin and cone opsins are essential for light detection in vertebrate rods and cones, respectively. It is well established that rhodopsin is required for rod phototransduction, outer segment disk morphogenesis, and rod viability. However, the roles of cone opsins are less well understood. In this study, we adopted a loss-of-function approach to investigate the physiological roles of cone opsins in mice. We showed that cones lacking cone opsins do not form normal outer segments due to the lack of disk morphogenesis. Surprisingly, cone opsin-deficient cones survive for at least 12 mo, which is in stark contrast to the rapid rod degeneration observed in rhodopsin-deficient mice, suggesting that cone opsins are dispensable for cone viability. Although the mutant cones do not respond to light directly, they maintain a normal dark current and continue to mediate visual signaling by relaying the rod signal through rod-cone gap junctions. Our work reveals a striking difference between the role of rhodopsin and cone opsins in photoreceptor viability.

Image- and non-image-forming vision are essential for animal behavior. Here we use genetically modified mouse lines to examine retinal circuits driving image- and non-image-functions. We describe the outer retinal circuits underlying the pupillary light response (PLR) and circadian photoentrainment, two non-image-forming behaviors. Rods and cones signal light increments and decrements through the ON and OFF pathways, respectively. We find that the OFF pathway drives image-forming vision but cannot drive circadian photoentrainment or the PLR. Cone light responses drive image formation but fail to drive the PLR. At photopic levels, rods use the primary and secondary rod pathways to drive the PLR, whereas at the scotopic and mesopic levels, rods use the primary pathway to drive the PLR, and the secondary pathway is insufficient. Circuit dynamics allow rod ON pathways to drive two non-image-forming behaviors across a wide range of light intensities, whereas the OFF pathway is potentially restricted to image formation.