[The role and mechanism of 2-deoxyglucose in reversing osimertinib-acquired resistance of non-small cell lung cancer cell line]

Objective: To explore the role and mechanism of 2-deoxyglucose (2-dg) in reversing osimertinib- acquired resistance of non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)cell line. Methods: The NSCLC line H1975 (purchased from the American Type Culture Collection) was conducted by induction method in vitro to construct the osimertinib-resistance NSCLC cell line H1975-OR. The osimertinib-resistance of H1975-OR cell line was examined by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, colony-formation assay, Ki67 incorporation assay and the expression of apoptosis-related protein. The glycolysis level was assayed by the lactic acid production measured in the culture medium supernatant of H1975 and H1975-OR. The expression of glycolysis key enzymes (HK2, GLUT1, P-PKM2) and apoptosis-related protein (BIM, Bcl-2) were detected by Western blot. The cells were divided into control group, 2-deoxyglucose (4 mmol/L) monotherapy group, osimertinib (3 μmol/L) monotherapy group and 2-deoxyglucose (4 mmol/L)+ osimertinib (3 μmol/L) combination therapy group, then the apoptosis rate of cells was measured by flow cytometry to evaluate the pro-apoptotic ability of drugs. Date were analyzed by Independent-Samples t-test using SPSS 16.0 statistical software. Results: The glycolysis level of osimertinib-sensitive cell line H1975 was lower than that of osimertinib-resistance cell line H1975-OR [the yield of lactic acid, respectively, was (21.0±0.9) and (26.5±2.8) mmol·L(-1)·10(4)cells(-1), P<0.05]. The osimertinib- acquired resistance of H1975-OR could be reversed by 4 mmol/L 2-deoxyglucose(the IC(50) value of osimertinib in H1975-OR cell line decreased from (7.0±1.9) μmol/L to (1.4±0.1) μmol/L, which was close to the IC(50) value of osimertinib in H1975 cell line (1.0±0.2) μmol/L. The apoptosis rate of H1975-OR was significantly higher in 2-deoxyglucose + osimertinib combination therapy group (26.7±2.4)%, compared to control group (5.1±0.7)%, 2-deoxyglucose monotherapy group (6.1±2.5)% and osimertinib monotherapy group (11.4±2.7)%(all P<0.05). The expression of pro-apoptotic protein BIM in H1975-OR was significantly higher in 2-deoxyglucose+ osimertinib combination therapy group (177.8±28.1)% and the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 in H1975-OR was significantly lower in 2-deoxyglucose+ osimertinib combination therapy group (24.6±5.2)%, compared to control group (100±0)%, all P<0.05. Conclusion: 2-deoxyglucose can reverse the acquired resistance of NSCLC cell line to osimertinib, which may be related to the inhibition of cell glycolysis and the induction of apoptosis.

Abstract P4-08-14: Invasive micropapillary carcinoma had no difference in prognosis compared with invasive ductal carcinoma: A propensity-matched analysis

Background: Invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC) is a rare histopathological variant of breast carcinoma and usually performs poor clinical characteristics, such as high tendency of lymph nodes metastases. But whether it has worse prognosis than invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) is still controversial nowadays. We conducted this retrospective study to figure out the prognostic difference between IMPC and IDC, then guide therapy of IMPC ultimately.

Methods: In this study, we analyzed 327 cases of IMPC patients and 4979 cases of IDC who underwent primary resection in our institution during 2008 to 2012. By using propensity score matching, two groups were matched at a ratio of 1:1 by age, tumor size, nodal status, hormone and HER2 status to demonstrate the difference of prognosis assessed by Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox regression analysis.

Result: After a mean follow-up of 52 months, we established the IMPC group and figured out 324 IDC patients from the control group by propensity score matching (3 IMPC patients were canceled because of data missing). The result of survival analysis indicated that women diagnosed with IMPC had no significant reduced overall survival (OS) (p = 0.752) and disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.578) compared with women with IDC. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that IMPC was not found as an independent prognostic factor for DFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.858; 95% confidential interval [CI], 0.419-1.757) or OS (HR = 0.720; 95%CI, 0.353-1.469).

Conclusion: The consequence of survival analysis manifested that there was no statistically significant difference between 2 groups, and elucidated proactive or radical clinical therapy was unnecessary.

Citation Format: Hao S, Zhao Y-Y, Peng J-J, Yang W-T, Ren F, Yu K-D, Shao Z-M. Invasive micropapillary carcinoma had no difference in prognosis compared with invasive ductal carcinoma: A propensity-matched analysis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-08-14.

High Water Content Prediction of Oil-Water Emulsions Based on Terahertz Electromagnetically Induced Transparency-like Metamaterial

This work aims to investigate the electromagnetically induced transparency-like (EIT-like) metamaterial for high water cut emulsions' detection in the terahertz band. The electromagnetic responses of the selected metamaterial covering emulsions exhibit red-shifted resonant frequency with increasing water volume from 60 to 98%. Three numerical models coinciding with theory analysis were built based on the extracted resonant frequencies at the transmission peak and dips to predict water concentration. The results show that the built models accurately predicted the water content with absolute errors less than 0.26, 0.41, and 0.24%, respectively. The EIT-like resonance is introduced by coupled bright and dark modes, making it similar to a weakened plasma resonance. Consequently, the permittivity-dependent frequency would help develop both economically feasible and socially beneficial sensors for high water content prediction.

Optimization of Sparse Planar Arrays with Minimum Spacing and Geographic Constraints in Smart Ocean Applications

Sparse arrays can fix array aperture with a reduced number of elements to maintain resolution while reducing cost. However, grating lobe suppression, high peak side-lobe level reduction (PSLL), and constraints on the location of the array elements in the practical deployment of arrays are challenging problems. Based on simulated annealing, the element locations of a sparse planar array in smart ocean applications with minimum spacing and geographic constraints are optimized in this paper by minimizing the sum of PSLL. The robustness of the deployment-optimized spare planar array with mis-calibration is further considered. Numerical simulations show the effectiveness of the proposed solution.

Surfactant-free synthesis of hollow mesoporous carbon spheres and their encapsulated Au derivatives using biopolymeric chitosan

To realize surfactant-free synthesis of biomass-derived hollow mesoporous carbon spheres and their derivatives, choice of synthetic methodology and carbon precursor is crucial. Herein, a brand-new hollow mesoporous carbon sphere (HMCS) is first synthesized from 8-quinolinol modified chitosan via an in situ stöber templating approach without surfactant followed by pyrolysis and alkali washing. The resultant HMCS is uniform, and shows a cavity size of 417 nm, a shell thickness of 5 nm, and a narrow mesopore size distribution centered at 3.9 nm. The HMCS is then upgraded by encapsulation of a single Au nanocrystal (NC) into the void of HMCS to form a yolk-shell architecture, YS-Au@HMCS. Its cavity size and shell thickness are decreased to 187 and 3 nm, while the mesopore size is increased to 4.3 nm, the surface area (215 m² g^-1) and mesoporosity (74.7%) are triple and twice that of HMCS, respectively, just by halving the delay time of carbon source addition. Owing to the unique hollow interiors and mesopores, as well as their synergism with the encapsulated Au NCs, the elaborately fabricated YS-Au@HMCS exhibits appealing catalytic performances towards the deposal of sewage. It delivers a large activity factor of 34.32, 13.29 and 0.05 s^-1 g^-1 in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol and methylene blue using sodium borohydride, and in the photodegradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation, respectively. These advances shed new light on the synthesis of hollow mesoporous carbon spheres and the designed synthesis of functional carbon materials with versatile applications.

Fe2TiO5 as an Efficient Co-catalyst To Improve the Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Performance of BiVO4

Fe₂TiO₅ was synthesized via the solvothermal method and adopted as co-catalyst to improve the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting performance of BiVO₄ photoanode. After surface modification by Fe₂TiO₅, the BiVO₄/Fe₂TiO₅ photoanode shows a 300 mV cathodic shift in onset potential and 3 times enhancement in photocurrent, which delivers a photocurrent density of 3.2 mA/cm² at 1.23 V vs reverse hydrogen electrode. Systematic optical, electrochemical, and intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy characterizations were performed to explore the role of Fe₂TiO₅ and reveal that the enhanced PEC performance is mainly caused by the surface passivation effect of Fe₂TiO₅.

[Retrospective analysis of cuffed-tunneled catheters in pediatric patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis]

Objective: To summarize the characteristics of cuffed-tunneled catheters insertion and investigate the values of cuffed-tunneled catheters in pediatric patients. Methods: Between March 2015 and July 2017, all the pediatric patients who received maintenance hemodialysis at least 3 consecutive months in our center were included. Sixteen cuffed-tunneled hemodialysis catheters were inserted in patients for long-term hemodialysis access. The clinical manifestations and complications were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Fifteen pediatric patients with end stage ranal disease (ESRD) were included in this study and they received 16 cuffed-tunneled catheters for long-term vascular access, including 10 males and 5 females; median age at start of catheter insertion was 11.5 (4.2-14.5) years. Body weight was (27.8±8.0)kg (16.0-39.4 kg) . The size and the length of the catheters were based on the height of patients as follows: 28 cm for (115.6±10.6) cm (102.0-130.0 cm) ,36 cm for (148.6±9.9)cm (140.0-167.0 cm) . Cuffed-tunneled catheters outcome: 10 cuffed-tunneled catheters were still functional at the end of the study; 5 catheters were removed after successful kidney transplantation. Catheter failure occurred in 1 out of 16 cuffed-tunneled catheters due to catheter-related infections. The median catheter survival time was 11.9 months (range 3.5-21.3 months). Complications of cuffed-tunneled catheters: Catheter placements operation was successful in 15 cases using ultrasound guidance. No serious complications were observed in any patients receiving catheter inserting operation. The overall rate of catheter-related infections and thrombosis/malposition was 6.3% and 18.7%, respectively. Conclusions: Ultrasound guidance is suggested in pediatric patients during the catheters insertion. The size and the length of the catheters should be based on the height of patients. Cuffed-tunneled hemodialysis catheters could be effectively used for maintenance of hemodialysis vascular access for pediatric patients with ESRD.

The chromosome-level genome assemblies of two rattans (Calamus simplicifolius and Daemonorops jenkinsiana)

Background

Calamus simplicifolius and Daemonorops jenkinsiana are two representative rattans, the most significant material sources for the rattan industry. However, the lack of reference genome sequences is a major obstacle for basic and applied biology on rattan.

Findings

We produced two chromosome-level genome assemblies of C. simplicifolius and D. jenkinsiana using Illumina, Pacific Biosciences, and Hi-C sequencing data. A total of ∼730 Gb and ∼682 Gb of raw data covered the predicted genome lengths (∼1.98 Gb of C. simplicifolius and ∼1.61 Gb of D. jenkinsiana) to ∼372 × and ∼426 × read depths, respectively. The two de novo genome assemblies, ∼1.94 Gb and ∼1.58 Gb, were generated with scaffold N50s of ∼160 Mb and ∼119 Mb in C. simplicifolius and D. jenkinsiana, respectively. The C. simplicifolius and D. jenkinsiana genomes were predicted to harbor  51,235 and  53,342 intact protein-coding gene models, respectively. Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs evaluation demonstrated that genome completeness reached 96.4% and 91.3% in the C. simplicifolius and D. jenkinsiana genomes, respectively. Genome evolution showed that four Arecaceae plants clustered together, and the divergence time between the two rattans was ∼19.3 million years ago. Additionally, we identified 193 and 172 genes involved in the lignin biosynthesis pathway in the C. simplicifolius and D. jenkinsiana genomes, respectively.

Conclusions

We present the first de novo assemblies of two rattan genomes (C. simplicifolius and D. jenkinsiana). These data will not only provide a fundamental resource for functional genomics, particularly in promoting germplasm utilization for breeding, but also serve as reference genomes for comparative studies between and among different species.

Dual Phase Synergy Enabled Large Elastic Strains of Nanoinclusions in a Dislocation Slip Matrix Composite

Freestanding nanomaterials (such as nanowires, nanoribbons, and nanotubes) are known to exhibit ultralarge elastic strains and ultrahigh strengths. However, harnessing their superior intrinsic mechanical properties in bulk composites has proven to be difficult. A recent breakthrough has overcome this difficulty by using a martensitic phase transforming matrix in which ultralarge elastic strains approaching the theoretical limit is achieved in Nb nanowires embedded in the matrix. This discovery, breaking a long-standing challenge, still limits our ability of harnessing the exceptional properties of nanomaterials and developing ultrahigh strength bulk materials to a narrow selection of phase transforming alloy matrices. In this study, we investigated the possibility to harness the intrinsic mechanical properties of nanoinclusions in conventional dislocation slip matrix based on a principle of synergy between the inclusion and the matrix. The small spacing between the densely populated hard and dislocation-impenetrable nanoinclusions departmentalize the plastic matrix into small domains to effectively impede dislocation motion within the matrix, inducing significant strengthening and large local elastic strains of the matrix, which in turn induced large elastic strains in the nanoinclusions. This dual phase synergy is verified in a Ti₃Sn inclusions/B2-NiTi(Fe) plastic matrix model materials system. The maximum elastic strain of Ti₃Sn inclusion obtained in the dislocation slip matrix is comparable to that achieved in a phase transforming matrix. This finding opens new opportunities for the development of high-strength nanocomposites.

Draft genome sequence of the Tibetan medicinal herb Rhodiola crenulata

Rhodiola crenulata, a well-known medicinal Tibetan herb, is mainly grown in high-altitude regions of the Tibet, Yunnan, and Sichuan provinces in China. In the past few years, increasing numbers of studies have been published on the potential pharmacological activities of R. crenulata, strengthening our understanding into its putitive active ingredient composition, pharmacological activity, and mechanism of action. These findings also provide strong evidence supporting the important medicinal and economical value of R. crenulata. Consequently, some Rhodiola species are becoming endangered because of overexploitation and environmental destruction. However, little is known about the genetic and genomic information of any Rhodiola species. Here we report the first draft assembly ofthe R. crenulata genome, which was 344.5 Mb (25.7 Mb Ns), accounting for 82% of the estimated genome size, with a scaffold N50 length of 144.7 kb and a contig N50 length of 25.4 kb. The R. crenulata genome is not only highly heterozygous but also highly repetitive, with ratios of 1.12% and 66.15%, respectively, based on the k-mer analysis. Furthermore, 226.6 Mb of transposable elements were detected, of which 77.03% were long terminal repeats. In total, 31 517 protein-coding genes were identified, capturing 86.72% of expected plant genes in BUSCO. Additionally, 79.73% of protein-coding genes were functionally annotated. R. crenulata is an important medicinal plant and also a potentially interesting model species for studying the adaptability of Rhodiola species to extreme environments. The genomic sequences of R. crenulata will be useful for understanding the evolutionary mechanism of the stress resistance gene and the biosynthesis pathways of the different medicinal ingredients, for example, salidroside in R. crenulata.

Ru nanoparticles dispersed on magnetic yolk-shell nanoarchitectures with Fe3O4 core and sulfoacid-containing periodic mesoporous organosilica shell as bifunctional catalysts for direct conversion of cellulose to isosorbide

A green and sustainable approach for biorefining involves the development of bifunctional catalysts for the one-pot conversion of cellulosic biomass to isosorbide. This requires highly efficient, easily separated and versatile metal-acid catalysts for hydrolysis-hydrogenation-dehydration cascade reactions. Herein, we report a new type of metal-acid bifunctional catalyst by dispersing Ru nanoparticles (NPs) on magnetic yolk-shell nanoarchitectures comprising an Fe₃O₄ core and a sulfoacid (SO₃H)-containing periodic mesoporous organosilica shell. The resultant magnetic Ru-SO₃H nanoreactors are highly porous and have large surface areas (>350 m² g^-1), uniform mesopores (∼3.8 nm), well-dispersed Ru NPs (<1.5 wt%) and superior magnetization. Tailoring the size of the Ru NPs and the amount of SO₃H moieties produced a highly efficient Ru-SO₃H nanocatalyst, which delivered a high yield of isosorbide of 58.1% with almost complete conversion of cellulose in 2 h and achieved maximum productivity of 2.19 mol_Isosor h^-1 g_Ru^-1, which was one order of magnitude higher than that achieved using other Ru-containing acidic catalysts. Moreover, the elaborately fabricated Ru-SO₃H nanocatalyst can be easily separated by applying an external magnetic field and can be cycled four times. This work reveals new possibilities for the fabrication of highly efficient, easily separated metal-acid catalysts in virtue of the concept of nanoreactor design.

Versatile NiO/mesoporous carbon nanodisks: controlled synthesis from hexagon shaped heterobimetallic metal-organic frameworks

Hexagonal NiO/mesoporous carbon nanodisks (NiO/MCN) are facilely and controllably synthesized via constructing nickel-zinc trimesic acid heterobimetallic metal-organic framework (HMOF) disks before pyrolysis at 910 °C. Tailoring the Ni/(Zn + Ni) feed ratio and the reaction time during the HMOF synthesis creates a well-defined hexagonal carbon nanodisk with properly populated NiO nanocrystals while maintaining high porosity and conductivity. Such an elaborately fabricated NiO/MCN is highly stable, and exhibits the largest specific capacitance of 261 F g^-1 and the highest specific activity factor of 1.93 s^-1 g^-1 of any composite nanodisk during the capacitive test and 4-nitrophenol reduction, respectively.

Adverse impact of intermittent portal clamping on long-term postoperative outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction To evaluate the impact of intermittent portal clamping (IPC) on long-term postoperative outcomes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Clinical records of 355 patients underwent curative liver resection for HCC in January 2007 to December 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. According to how portal clamping was performed, patients were grouped as: IPC, n=113; other portal clamping (OPC), n=190; and no portal clamping (NPC), n=52. Results Median recurrence-free survival (RFS) was statistically significantly shorter in the IPC (39.4 months) than OPC (47.3 months, p=0.010) and NPC groups (51.4 months, p=0.008). Median overall survival (OS) was also significantly shorter with IPC (46.3 months), versus 52.9 months with OPC (p=0.022) and 56.2 months with NPC (p=0.015). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that 5-year cumulative RFS was much lower in the IPC (42.5%) than OPC (50.9%, p=0.014) and NPC groups (49.6%, p=0.013). Five-year cumulative OS was also much lower in the IPC (44.9%) than OPC (58.0%, p=0.020) and NPC groups (57.7%, p=0.025). On univariate analysis, tumour grade, size and number, TNM stage, blood transfusion, vascular invasion and IPC were significantly inversely correlated with RFS and OS. On multivariate analysis, tumour size and number, blood transfusion, vascular invasion and IPC remained significant. Conclusions Our study suggests that IPC is an independent risk factor for poor long-term postoperative outcomes in patients with HCC.

Ru–Fe alloy mediated α-Fe2O3 particles on mesoporous carbon nanofibers as electrode materials with superior capacitive performance

Ru–Fe alloy mediated α-Fe₂O₃ particles on mesoporous carbon nanofibers were in situ fabricated and used as electrode materials with superior capacitive performance.

Loss of Dnmt3b accelerates MLL-AF9 leukemia progression

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous hematopoietic disorder with a poor prognosis. Abnormal DNA methylation is involved in the initiation and progression of AML. The de novo methyltransferases Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b are responsible for the generation of genomic methylation patterns. While DNMT3A is frequently mutated in hematological malignancies, DNMT3B is rarely mutated. Although it has been previously reported that Dnmt3b functions as a tumor suppressor in a mouse model of Myc-induced lymphomagenesis, its function in AML is yet to be determined. In this study, we demonstrated that deletion of Dnmt3b accelerated the progression of MLL-AF9 leukemia by increasing stemness and enhancing cell cycle progression. Gene profiling analysis revealed upregulation of the oncogenic gene set and downregulation of the cell differentiation gene set. Furthermore, loss of Dnmt3b was able to synergize with Dnmt3a deficiency in leukemia development. Taken together, these results demonstrate that Dnmt3b plays a tumor suppressive role in MLL-AF9 AML progression, thereby providing new insights into the roles of DNA methylation in leukemia development.