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Introduction: EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) is the standard adjuvant treatment for patients with stages IB to IIIA EGFR-mutated NSCLC. Nevertheless, adapting this approach to include a molecular residual disease (MRD)-guided de-escalation strategy warrants further investigation. Methods: From January 2019 to December 2022, 71 patients with stages I to III NSCLC and EGFR (exon 19 deletion or L858R) mutations were enrolled in this observational study. A total of 375 blood samples were analyzed using the MRD_Navigator assay. Among them, 27 patients suspended EGFR TKI treatment based on undetectable MRD and were thus included in the adaptive, de-escalation group. Results: Overall, the sensitivity of longitudinal MRD was 86.2%. Only four patients (11.8%) recurred with longitudinal undetectable MRD, indicating a negative predictive value of 88.2%. Of the patients who had detectable MRD after surgery, nine subsequently received EGFR TKI treatment, with only one (11.1%) achieving persistent circulating tumor DNA clearance post–EGFR TKI. Furthermore, 22 patients with stages IB to III disease who had previously suspended their TKI treatment based on undetectable MRD were included in the adaptive group, with an average duration of TKI 3.9 (range: 0–35.0) months. The 2-year disease-free survival rate of these 22 patients was 80.2%, and the median was not reached. Five patients (n = 5 of 22, 22.7%) had disease recurrence during the period of drug cessation but were stable under EGFR TKI treatment until the latest follow-up. Two patients remained in complete remission. Conclusions: Our initial findings underscore the potential of an adaptive, de-escalation approach to adjuvant EGFR TKIs based on circulating tumor DNA-MRD monitoring.

LncRNA PRR34-AS1 overexpression promotes the proliferation and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, but whether it affects HCC energy metabolism remains unclear. Mitochondrial division and glycolytic reprogramming play important roles in tumor development. In this study, the differential expression of PRR34-AS1 is explored via TCGA analysis, and higher levels of PRR34-AS1 are detected in patients with liver cancer than in healthy individuals. A series of experiments, such as CCK-8, PCR, and immunofluorescence staining, reveal that the proliferation, invasion, glycolysis, and mitochondrial division of PRR34-AS1-overexpressing hepatoma cells are significantly promoted. TCGA analysis and immunohistochemistry reveal high expression of the mitochondrial dynamin MIEF2 in liver cancer tissues. Dual-luciferase reporter assays confirm that miR-498 targets and binds to mitochondrial elongation factor 2 (MIEF2). In addition, we show that PRR34-AS1 can sponge miR-498. Therefore, we further investigate the effects of the lncRNA PRR34-AS1/miR-498/MIEF2 axis on the growth, glucose metabolism, and mitochondrial division in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. A series of experiments are performed on hepatocellular carcinoma cells after different treatments. The results show that the proliferative activity, invasive ability, and glycolytic level of hepatocellular carcinoma cells are decreased in HCC cells with low PRR34-AS1 expression, and the miR-498 expression level is increased in these cells. Inhibition of miR-498 or overexpression of MIEF2 restored the proliferative activity, invasive ability, glycolysis, and mitochondrial division in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Thus, PRR34-AS1 regulates MIEF2 by sponging miR-498, thereby promoting mitochondrial division, mediating glycolytic reprogramming and ultimately driving the growth and invasion of HCC cells. Furthermore, in vivo mouse experiments yield results similar to those of the in vitro experiments, verifying the above results.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of machine learning (ML) models in predicting 5-year type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk within the Chinese population by retrospectively analyzing annual health checkup records. Methods We included 46,247 patients (32,372 and 13,875 in training and validation sets, respectively) from a national health checkup center database. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were performed to identify factors influencing T2DM risk. Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression (LR), and random forest (RF) models were trained to predict 5-year T2DM risk. Model performances were analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for discrimination and calibration plots for prediction accuracy. Results Key variables included fasting plasma glucose, age, and sedentary time. The LR model showed good accuracy with respective areas under the ROC (AUCs) of 0.914 and 0.913 in training and validation sets; the RF model exhibited favorable AUCs of 0.998 and 0.838. In calibration analysis, the LR model displayed good fit for low-risk patients; the RF model exhibited satisfactory fit for low- and high-risk patients. Conclusions LR and RF models can effectively predict T2DM risk in the Chinese population. These models may help identify high-risk patients and guide interventions to prevent complications and disabilities.

Abstract This prospective multicenter phase II study evaluated the clinical efficacy of neoadjuvant nivolumab-exclusive (N) and nivolumab–chemotherapy (N/C) combinations based on PD-L1 expression. Eligible patients exhibited resectable clinical stage IIA–IIIB (AJCC 8th edition) NSCLC without EGFR/ALK alterations. Patients received either mono-nivolumab (N) or nivolumab + nab-paclitaxel+ carboplatin (N/C) for three cycles based on PD-L1 expression. The primary endpoint was the major pathological response (MPR). Key secondary endpoints included the pathologic complete response (pCR), objective response rate (ORR), and event-free survival (EFS). Baseline PD-L1 expression and perioperative circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) status were correlated with pCR and EFS. Fifty-two patients were enrolled, with 46 undergoing surgeries. The MPR was 50.0% (26/52), with 25.0% (13/52) achieving pCR, and 16.7% and 66.7% for patients with PD-L1 ≥ 50% in N and N/C groups, respectively. Thirteen (25.0%) patients experienced grade 3 or higher immune-related adverse events during neoadjuvant treatment. Patients with post-neoadjuvant ctDNA negativity was more likely to have pCR (39.1%) compared with those remained positive (6.7%, odds ratio = 6.14, 95% CI 0.84-Inf, p = 0.077). With a median follow-up of 25.1 months, the 18-month EFS rate was 64.8% (95% CI 51.9–81.0%). For patients with ctDNA– vs. ctDNA + , the 18m-EFS rate was 93.8% vs 47.3% (HR, 0.15; 95% CI 0.04, 0.94; p = 0.005). Immunochemotherapy may serve as an optimal neoadjuvant treatment even for patients with PD-L1 expression ≥ 50%. ctDNA negativity following neoadjuvant treatment and surgery could help identify superior pathological and survival benefits, which requires further confirmation in a prospective clinical trial (NCT04015778).

BackgroundSerum lipids were found to be correlated with chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. Here, we aimed to research the potential causal associations between five serum lipid parameters and the risk of diabetic nephropathy using several Mendelian Randomization methods.MethodsGenetic data was obtained from the UK Biobank datasets. Causal effects were estimated using multiple MR methods. Heterogeneity and pleiotropy tests were performed.ResultsMR analysis revealed that HDL-C and TG exhibited causal associations with diabetic nephropathy (P

To investigate the effect of group gliding formation on the hydrodynamic performance of manta rays, numerical simulations were used to investigate the drag, the lift and pressure distribution of multiple manta rays in tandem, triangular and diamond-shaped arrangements. The simulation results show that the leader manta ray at the head of the group always suffers the least drag, and in most cases, the companion manta ray at the tail of the group suffers the most drag. The pressure distribution in the flow field shows that the drag reduction effect mainly comes from the distribution of high pressure and low pressure zones among the individual rays in the cluster, the high pressure zone is beneficial to the manta rays at the front of the group, and under certain circumstances, the presence of low pressure zone generates forward suction to reduce the drag of the manta rays at the end of the group. It is found that when manta rays glide in "two in front and one at the back", four-body diamond, six-body tandem and six-body diamond arrangement, the average drag of the system can be reduced, which provides theoretical guidance for the formation of bionic vehicle groups.

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has potential as a promising biomarker for molecular residual disease (MRD) detection in lung cancer. As the next‐generation sequencing standardized panel for ctDNA detection emerges, its clinical utility needs to be validated. We prospectively recruited 184 resectable lung cancer patients from four medical centers. Serial postoperative ctDNAs were analyzed by a standardized panel. A total of 427 postoperative plasma samples from 177 eligible patients were enrolled. ctDNA positivity after surgery was an independent predictor for disease recurrence and preceded radiological recurrence by a median of 6.6 months (range, 0.7–27.0 months). ctDNA‐positive or ‐negative patients with tumors of any stage had similar disease‐free survival (DFS). Patients who received targeted therapy had significantly improved DFS than those not receiving adjuvant therapy or receiving chemotherapy, regardless of baseline/preadjuvant ctDNA status. According to whether the ctDNA variants were detected in its matched tissue, they were classified into tissue derived and non‐tissue derived. Patients with detectable postoperative ctDNA with tissue‐derived mutations had comparable DFS with those with non‐tissue‐derived mutations. Collectively, we demonstrated that postoperative ctDNA has the potential to stratify prognosis and optimize tumor stage in resectable lung cancer. ctDNA variants not identified in tissue samples should be considered in MRD test.

Summary: Pulmonary nodules with part-solid imaging features manifest during the progression from preinvasive to invasive lung adenocarcinoma. To define the spatial composition and evolutionary trajectories of early-stage lung adenocarcinoma, we combined spatial transcriptomics (ST) and pathological annotations from 20 part-solid nodules (PSNs), four of which were matched with single-cell RNA sequencing. Two malignant cell populations (MC1 and MC2) were identified, and a linear evolutionary relationship was observed. Compared to MC2, the pre-existing malignant MC1 exhibited a lower metastatic signature, corresponding to the preinvasive component (lepidic) on pathology and the ground glass component on PSN imaging. Higher immune infiltration was observed among MC1 regions in ST profiles, and further analysis revealed that macrophages may be involved in this process through the CD74 axis. This work provides deeper insights into the evolutionary process and spatial immune cell composition behind PSNs and highlights the mechanisms of immune escape behind this adenocarcinoma trajectory.

Abstract Propofol is widely used in clinical anesthesia due to its advantages of rapid onset and less adverse reactions. This study focused on the role of propofol in the balance of Th17/Treg in elderly patients with lung cancer during perioperative period. Patients undergoing lung cancer surgery were anesthetized by propofol or sevoflurane. Veinal blood was collected at different time points to evaluate the changes of Th17/Treg cell. Propofol better maintained the balance of Th17/Treg in vivo. The peripheral blood of patients with lung cancer was collected in vitro before surgery. Cluster of differentiation (CD)4+ T cells were obtained and then treated with propofol at different concentrations and γ-aminobutyric acid A (GABAA) receptor antagonists. Propofol affected Th17/Treg cell balance by increasing Th17 cells, decreasing Treg cells, thus elevating Th17/Treg ratio, and inhibited invasion and migration of lung cancer cells through GABAA receptor, which was counteracted by GABAA receptor inhibitors. Subsequently, tumor in situ model of lung cancer in aged mice was established. Propofol anesthetized mice had lower change of Th17/Treg ratio, higher survival rate and less metastasis. In brief, propofol regulated balance of Th17/Treg in elderly patients undergoing lung cancer surgery through GABAA receptor. Additionally, propofol could inhibit metastasis of lung cancer.

Abstract Background Starting with low metastatic capability, T4N0M0 (diameter ≥ 7 cm) non‐small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) constitute a unique tumor subset, as with a large tumor size but no regional or distant metastases. We systematically investigated intratumoral heterogeneity, clonal structure, chromosomal instability (CIN), and immune microenvironment in T4N0M0 (≥7 cm) NSCLCs. Methods Whole‐exome sequencing, RNA sequencing, and multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC) staining were conducted to analyze 24 spatially segregated tumor samples from eight patients who were pathologically diagnosed with T4N0M0 (diameter ≥ 7 cm) NSCLCs. The adjacent normal tissues and peripheral blood served as controls. Results In total, 35.2% of mutations and 91.1% of somatic copy number alterations were classified as subclonal events, which exhibited widespread genetic intratumoral heterogeneity. In contrast, a low degree of CIN was observed. None of the patients had genome doubling. The burden of loss of heterozygosity, aneuploidy, and the genome instability index of these tumors were significantly lower than those in the TRACERx cohort. Expression profiles revealed significantly upregulated expression of cell division‐related signals and the G2/M checkpoint pathway. In addition, a similar expression pattern of the immune microenvironment was observed in different regions of the tumor, which was confirmed by mIHC profiles. Conclusions Our study indicates the presence of intratumoral genetic heterogeneity and immune microenvironmental heterogeneity features in T4N0M0 NSCLCs, and the low degree of CIN may be related to the low metastatic capability.

Adjuvant gefitinib improves outcomes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients compared to chemotherapy, but not in all cases. Here, the authors find genomic biomarkers of response to gefitinib in NSCLC patients from the ADJUVANT trial, and propose a score to stratify them by potential benefit from the treatment.

BackgroundEstimating the growth of pulmonary sub-solid nodules (SSNs) is crucial to the successful management of them during follow-up periods. The purpose of this study is to (1) investigate the measurement sensitivity of diameter, volume, and mass of SSNs for identifying growth and (2) seek to establish a deep learning-based model to predict the growth of SSNs.MethodsA total of 2,523 patients underwent at least 2-year examination records retrospectively collected with sub-solid nodules. A total of 2,358 patients with 3,120 SSNs from the NLST dataset were randomly divided into training and validation sets. Patients from the Yibicom Health Management Center and Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital were collected as an external test set (165 patients with 213 SSN). Trained models based on LUNA16 and Lndb19 datasets were employed to automatically obtain the diameter, volume, and mass of SSNs. Then, the increase rate in measurements between cancer and non-cancer groups was studied to evaluate the most appropriate way to identify growth-associated lung cancer. Further, according to the selected measurement, all SSNs were classified into two groups: growth and non-growth. Based on the data, the deep learning-based model (SiamModel) and radiomics model were developed and verified.ResultsThe double time of diameter, volume, and mass were 711 vs. 963 days (P = 0.20), 552 vs. 621 days (P = 0.04) and 488 vs. 623 days (P< 0.001) in the cancer and non-cancer groups, respectively. Our proposed SiamModel performed better than the radiomics model in both the NLST validation set and external test set, with an AUC of 0.858 (95% CI 0.786–0.921) and 0.760 (95% CI 0.646–0.857) in the validation set and 0.862 (95% CI 0.789–0.927) and 0.681 (95% CI 0.506–0.841) in the external test set, respectively. Furthermore, our SiamModel could use the data from first-time CT to predict the growth of SSNs, with an AUC of 0.855 (95% CI 0.793–0.908) in the NLST validation set and 0.821 (95% CI 0.725–0.904) in the external test set.ConclusionMass increase rate can reflect more sensitively the growth of SSNs associated with lung cancer than diameter and volume increase rates. A deep learning-based model has a great potential to predict the growth of SSNs.

Anonymous communication system refers to a network that is built on the network application layer and combines data forwarding, content encryption, traffic obfuscation and other technologies to realize the association between communication entities and the hidden content of the communication content from third parties. In the usage scenarios of business secret transmission and electronic voting, it is an important evaluation standard to ensure that the user′s personal identity and behavior are not recognized by eavesdroppers. Anonymous communication system is to solve the above problems. Anonymous communication system has the characteristics of untraceable message and communication cannot be monitored by a third party. On the one hand, from the perspective of hidden data transmission, anonymous communication systems can enhance the security of the system. On the other hand, due to the abuse of anonymous communication technology, illegally constructed private hidden services are numerous and endless, bringing network security and social stability.Sorting out the current anonymous communication systems and technologies is helpful to understand the development status of anonymous communication technologies, and then use anonymous communication technologies more reasonably to build anonymous communication systems to achieve safe and reliable transmission of information.

Background Localization of small pulmonary nodules is an inevitable challenge for the thoracic surgeon. This study aimed to investigate the accuracy of three‐dimensional (3D) printing technology for localizing small pulmonary nodules, especially ground‐glass nodules (GGNs). Methods This study enrolled patients with peripheral small pulmonary nodules (≤ 2 cm) who required preoperative localization. In the comparison period, patients underwent both computed tomography‐guided (CT‐G) and 3D‐printing template guided (3D‐G) localization to compare the accuracies of the two methods. In the testing period, the 3D‐printing technique was implemented alone. The 3D‐printing physical navigational template was designed based on data from perioperative CT images. Clinical data, imaging data, surgical data, and evaluation index were collected for further analysis. The learning curve of the 3D‐printing localization technique was assessed using cumulative sum (CUSUM) analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. Results In the comparison period (n = 14), the success rates of CT‐G and 3D‐G were 100% and 92.9% (P = 0.31), respectively; in the testing period (n = 23), the success rate of 3D‐G was 95.6%. The localization times of CT‐G, 3D‐G (comparison), and 3D‐G (testing) were 23.6 ± 5.3, 19.3 ± 6.8, and 9.8 ± 4.6 minutes, respectively. The CUSUM learning curve was modeled using the equation: Y = 0.48X2 − 0.013X − 0.454 (R2 = 0.89). The learning curve was composed of two phases, phase 1 (the initial 20 patients) and phase 2 (the remaining 17 patients). Conclusions 3D printing localization has adequate accuracy and is a feasible and accessible strategy for use in localizing small pulmonary nodules, especially in right upper lobe. The use of this technique could facilitate lung nodule localization prior to surgery.

Backgrounds Immunotherapy is less effective in patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Lower programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and tumor mutation burden (TMB) are reported to be the underlying mechanism. Being another important factor to affect the efficacy of immunotherapy, tumor microenvironment (TME) characteristics of this subgroup of NSCLC are not comprehensively understood up to date. Hence, we initiated this study to describe the specific TME of EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) from cellular compositional and functional perspectives to better understand the immune landscape of this most common subtype of NSCLC.Methods We used single-cell transcriptome sequencing and multiplex immunohistochemistry to investigate the immune microenvironment of EGFR-mutant and EGFR wild-type LUADs and determined the efficacy of immunotherapy. We analyzed single cells from nine treatment-naïve samples and compared them to three post-immunotherapy samples previously reported from single cell perspective using bioinformatics methods.Results We found that EGFR-mutant malignant epithelial cells had similar characteristics to the epithelial cells in non-responders. EGFR-mutant LUAD lacked CD8+ tissue-resident memory (TRM) cells, which could promote tertiary lymphoid structure generation by secreting CXCL13. In addition, other cell types, including tumor-associated macrophages and cancer-associated fibroblasts, which are capable of recruiting, retaining, and expanding CD8+ TRM cells in the TME, were also deficient in EGFR-mutant LUAD. Furthermore, EGFR-mutant LUAD had significantly less crosstalk between T cells and other cell types via programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and PD-L1 or other immune checkpoints compared with EGFR wild-type LUAD.Conclusions Our findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the immune landscape of EGFR-mutant LUAD at the single-cell level. Based on the results, many cellular components might have negative impact on the specific TME of EGFR-mutant LUAD through influencing CD8+ TRM. Lack of CD8+ TRM might be a key factor responsible for the suppressive TME of EGFR-mutant LUAD.

Introduction: Pulmonary atypical carcinoid (PAC) is a rare subtype of pulmonary neuroendocrine neoplasm. Although EML4-ALK fusion has been detected in PAC, EGFR mutations have not been reported before. Methods: We performed hematoxylin and eosin staining, immunohistochemistry, and next-generation sequencing on tissues at baseline and after surgery. Results: The patient was diagnosed with having advanced PAC harboring the EGFR L858R mutation and then received a combination of icotinib and irinotecan plus cisplatin chemotherapy, achieving a partial response before the operation. Postoperative histology results revealed SCLC harboring the EGFR L858R mutation. Surprisingly, both the KRAS amplification and the RB1 deletion disappeared. Conclusions: EGFR tyrosine inhibitors plus irinotecan plus cisplatin chemotherapy might be a potential treatment option for advanced pulmonary neuroendocrine neoplasms harboring EGFR mutations.

Surgical method improvements aim to optimize the patient experience. The problem of healing of the drainage tube hole has not received attention and is of concern because it can plague patient recovery. In this article we report on how we have improved the method of suturing the drainage tube hole and explore the safety and effectiveness of this method. Between December 2017 to August 2018, 102 patients underwent thoracoscopic lung resection (single port or single utility port) using different methods of suturing drainage tube holes. The intervention group received improved methods with subcuticular and intradermal suture and removal‐free stitches, whilst the control group received a conventional mattress suture and fixed chest tube. A preset line was left to tie knots and close the hole after the removal of the chest tube. The stitches were removed 7–12 days after surgery. The baseline clinical features of the patients were subsequently analyzed. The objective and subjective conditions of scars were evaluated using the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) and the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) at one month after surgery. The intervention group (n = 71) and control group (n = 31) had balanced baseline clinical characteristics. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of three‐day postoperative pain and postoperative hospital stay. In the intervention group, three patients (4.23%) had wound splitting that required re‐suturing, which was better than five patients (16.13%) in the control group (P

Background Increasing identification of small pulmonary nodules promotes sublobar resection, but localization and surgical margins of non‐palpable pulmonary nodules through sublobar resection are challenging. Our aim was explicate the feasibility of applying indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence to localized nodules, and to carry out surgical resection. Methods A total of 46 patients with subpleural pulmonary nodules

The connecting rod breaked in the logo position at the middle of the connecting rod body, when it was subjected to cyclin load fatigue experiment. The material and manufacturing process of the experimental samples were checked and there was no defect. The three-dimension solid model of the experimental connecting rod was built by 3-D modeling software, and the stress concentration had occurred at the same location logo with the experimental sample connecting rod by using finite element method. Then three schemes were designed and the influence on the distance between the logo words, the height of logo to connecting rod body surface and the positing of the logo to stress were analysis, the results showed that: the stress was reduced by appropriately increasing the spacing between logo words. The depressing logo could greatly reduce the stress comparing with the protruding logo. The positon of the logo had the most influence to the stress, and the stress concentration of the connecting rod disappeared when the logo moved from middle of the connecting rod to the outside of the connecting rod cap.

The pulse generator is the basic equipment for device drivers and control, widely used in many occasions, such as power electronics, motion control, vehicle control, etc. However, the used pulse generator is weak in communication, which cannot meet high-speed control requirements or be used in the intelligent manufacturing application. To solve the above problem, this paper designed a pulse generator with real-time industrial ethernet EtherCAT and Loongson processor LS1C. The designed pulse generators can form the daisy chain and ring topology by EtherCAT. And the pulse generator is very flexible and suited for many different applications with its four operation modes. Finally, experiment results are presented to demonstrate the operation modes and performance.

Abstract Background Right upper lobectomy (RUL) for lung cancer with different dissecting orders involves the most variable anatomical structures, but no studies have analyzed its effects on postoperative recovery. This study compared the conventional surgical approach, VAB (dissecting pulmonary vessels first, followed by the bronchus), and the alternative surgical approach, aBVA (dissecting the posterior ascending arterial branch first, followed by the bronchus and vessels) on improving surgical feasibility and postoperative recovery for lung cancer patients. Methods According to the surgical approach, consecutive lung cancer patients undergoing RUL were grouped into aBVA and VAB cohorts. Their clinical, pathologic, and perioperative characteristics were collected to compare perioperative outcomes. Results Three hundred one patients were selected (109 in the aBVA cohort and 192 in the VAB cohort). The mean operation time was shorter in the aBVA cohort than in the VAB cohort (164 vs. 221 min, P 0.05). The median disease-free survival was comparable for all patients in the two cohorts (not arrived vs. 41.97 months) and for patients with disease recurrences (13.25 vs. 9.44 months) (both P > 0.05). The recurrence models in two cohorts were also comparable for patients with local recurrences (6.4% vs. 7.8%), distant metastases (10.1% vs. 8.3%), and both (1.8% vs. 1.6%) (all P > 0.05). Conclusions Dissecting the right upper bronchus before turning over the lobe repeatedly and dissecting veins via the aBVA approach during RUL would promote surgical feasibility and achieve comparable postoperative recovery for lung cancer patients.

Sulfoxaflor, the first commercially available sulfoximine insecticide, has been used for the control of sap-feeding insect pests such as plant bugs and aphids on a variety of crops. However, its sublethal effects on the mirid bug Apolygus lucorum, one of the key insect pests of Bt cotton and fruit trees in China, have not been fully examined. Here, we evaluated the demography and feeding behaviour of A. lucorum exposed to sulfoxaflor. The leaf-dipping bioassay showed that the LC10 and LC30 of sulfoxaflor against 3rd-instar nymphs of this insect were 1.23 and 8.37 mg L-1, respectively. The LC10 significantly extended the nymphal duration and decreased the oviposition period by 5.29 days and female fecundity by 56.99% in the parent generation (F0). The longer duration of egg, 5th-instar nymphs, preadult, and male adult longevity were observed in the F1 generation (F1) at LC10. At the LC30, the duration of egg and 1st-instar nymph, female adult longevity, and oviposition period of the F1 were significantly shorter, while the nymphal duration in the F0 and duration of 5th-instar nymphs, preadult survival rate, and male adult longevity in the F1 significantly increased. The net reproductive rate (R0), intrinsic rate of increase (r), and finite rate of increase (λ) in the F1 were not significantly affected by these two concentrations, whereas the mean generation time (T) was lower at the LC30. Additionally, the probe counts and cells mixture feeding time were markedly lengthened by the LC10 and LC30, respectively, when A. lucorum nymphs exposed to sulfoxaflor fed on Bt cotton plants without insecticides. These results clearly indicate that sulfoxaflor causes sublethal effects on A. lucorum and the transgenerational effects depend on the tested concentrations.

In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of orange swift, Triodia sylvina, was recovered through Illumina sequencing data. This complete mitochondrial genome of T. sylvina is 15,040 bp in length and has a base composition of A (41.0%), T (41.2%), C (10.4%), G (7.5%), demonstrating an extreme bias of high AT content (82.2%). The mitochondrial genome contains a typically conserved structure among moth mitogenomes, encoding 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, two ribosomal RNA (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA) genes and a control region (D-loop region). Seven PCGs were located on the H-strand, others were located on the L-strand. ATP8 gene and ATP6 gene were overlapped by 6 bp. ND4 gene and ND4L gene were overlapped by 9 bp. The whole mt genome of T. sylvina and other moth and butterfly mitogenomes (100 species, in total) were used for phylogenetic analysis. The result indicated T. sylvina represents a distinct genus, which separated far from genus Hepialus.

In this study, we evaluated the diagnostic value and molecular characteristics of plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs)-derived miRNAs for patients with solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs), particularly ground-glass nodules (GGNs). This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov under registration number NCT03230019. Small RNA sequencing was performed to assess plasma EVs miRNAs in 59 patients, including 12 patients with benign nodules (2017, training set). MiRNA profiles of 40 an additional individuals were sequenced (2018, validation set). Overall, 16 pure GGNs, 21 mixed GGNs, and 42 solid nodules were included, with paired post-operative plasma samples available for 20 patients. The target miRNA/reference miRNA ratio was used to construct a support vector machine (SVM) model. The SVM model with the best specificity showed 100% specificity in both the training and validation sets independently. The model with the best sensitivity showed 100% and 96.9% sensitivity in the training and validation sets, respectively. Principal component analysis revealed that pure GGN distributions were distinct from those of solid nodules, and mixed GGNs had a diffuse distribution. Among differentially expressed miRNAs, miR-500a-3p, miR-501-3p, and miR-502-3p were upregulated in tumor tissues and enhanced overall survival. The SVM classifier accurately distinguished malignant GGNs and benign nodules. The distinct profile characteristics of miRNAs provided insights into the feasibility of EVs miRNAs as prognostic factors in lung cancer.

Based on the diamond and inorganic sol, spray-drying method was used to prepare diamond-vitrified bond composite powders and then the bulk samples were obtained after pressing and sintering the powders. The surface morphology and particle size distribution of the composite powders were examined by scanning electron microscope and laser particle size analyzer,the sintering temperature of the composites was selected with the aid of the comprehensive thermal analysis instrument,the bending strength, fracture morphology and crystal phases of sintered samples prepared by spray-drying method and melting method were characterized by motorized bending tester, scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction, respectively. The results show that the composite powders prepared by spray-drying are spherical,which is beneficial to mould forming. Their wide size distribution helps to improve the density of diamond-vitrified bond green body. The sintering temperature of the composites is 820℃.The bonding and wrapping of diamond can be realized at this temperature. With the increase of bond content, the bending strength of sintered samples prepared by two methods increases and porosity decreases. When the vitrified bond content is 32%(mass fraction), the microstructure of samples prepared by spray-drying is uniform and is easy to be crystallized, and the bending strength and porosity are 99.46MPa and 38.55%;while for samples obtained from melting method, the corresponding figures are 72.42MPa and 39.89%.

Based on carbon steel surface corrosion,a study was conducted on multifunction acid water-based surface tolerant coatings. The focus was placed on the effect of antirust components and preparation processes on the coating properties. The barrier property was evaluated and compared with imported counterparts. The results show that when the treatment level of the substrate material surface is St1,the adhesive force of the coatings rises at the beginning and then goes downward as the content of the antirust components keeps increasing. The chelating agent contains active groups which stabilize the substrate surface corrosion,resulting in the adhesion performance of the coatings increasing. The compound rust conversion agent improves the coating adhesive force further by translating the corroded substrate surface complexation. The best preparation process needs to mix at low speed and add the compound rust agent at the end of the steps. The adhesive forces of the coatings on the substrate material surfaces treated at St1 and St3 levels show no difference,and they are larger than 5 MPa. The corrosion resisting properties,resistant to salt water for 1200 h,salt spray for1000 h and ultraviolet aging for 2000 h,are much higher than those of similar imported water-based rust primers. The coatings are suitable for the maintenance of complex steel components in atmospheric environment.

The initial corrosion behavior of the acrylic polyurethane coating/carbon steel interface in a 3.5% NaCl solution was in-situ investigated by electronic speckle pattern interferometry(ESPI),electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS) and scanning electrochemical microscopy(SECM). The effect of nano-TiO2 on the interfacial behavior was examined. At the beginning stage without macroscopic defects,a tiny change at the interface was successfully detected by ESPI. EIS results could reflect the change of low frequency impendence moduli,which were agreed with the electrochemical morphology obtained by SECM. In other words,the interfacial changing velocity(corrosion initiation rate) of the coating without nano-TiO2 is faster than that of the coating with nano-TiO2,indicating that the addition of nano-TiO2 slows down the corrosion of the acrylic-based polyurethane/carbon steel interface.

The bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.), is a major insect pest of cereal crops in many countries. Imidacloprid has been widely used for controlling piercing-sucking insect pests worldwide, but its sublethal effects on R. padi have not been well addressed. In this study, we investigated the sublethal effects of imidacloprid on biological parameters and five enzyme activities of R. padi. The LC10, LC20, and LC25 of imidacloprid to adult aphids were 0.0053, 0.0329 and 0.0659 mg L-1, respectively. These concentrations significantly decreased pre-adult survival rate, but prolonged the development duration of 1st instar nymphs, pre-oviposition period, and adult longevity. Adult oviposition period was also extended by LC20. The intrinsic rate of increase (r), net reproductive rate (R0), and finite rate (λ) decreased at all three concentrations, whereas mean generation time (T) increased. Moreover, LC20 and LC25 significantly inhibited superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, but increased catalase (CAT) activity. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity also increased at LC20. However, cytochrome P450 enzyme and peroxidase (POD) activity did not differ between imidacloprid treatments and the control. In conclusion, the imidacloprid concentrations tested here have negative impacts on the performance of R. padi by reducing its nymphal survival, extending the development duration of some stages, decreasing the rate of population growth, and altering enzyme activities.

Background and objective Pleural effusions, a common feature among patients with lung cancer, should be differentiated into benign or malignant pleural effusions. F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is one of accurate diagnostic tool for differentiating benign from malignant disease and for mediastinal lymph node staging. We explored the clinical role of PET/CT for differentiating malignant pleural effusion from benign pleural effusion among patients with lung cancer. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the data from all patients with lung cancer and pleural effusion who underwent F-18 FDG PET/CT. The PET/CT results were compared with the pathologic diagnosis or clinical follow-up. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of PET/CT for detecting malignant pleural metastases were calculated. Results A total of 33 patients were enrolled. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of PET/CT were 81.5%, 83.3%, 95.7%, 50.0%, and 81.8%, respectively, for detecting malignant pleural effusions lung cancer patients. Conclusion Our results suggest that F-18 FDG PET/CT can play a significant role in diagnosing lung cancer patients with pleural diffusions, with low false-positive rate. However, negative findings under PET/CT should be confirmed through further tests.