Integration of Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Analyses Reveals the Molecular Mechanisms of Flower Color Formation in Prunus mume.

Flower color is an important trait that affects the economic value of Prunus mume, a famous ornamental plant in the Rosaceae family. P. mume with purple-red flowers is uniquely charming and highly favored in landscape applications. However, little is known about its flower coloring mechanism, which stands as a critical obstacle on the path to innovative breeding for P. mume flower color. In this study, transcriptomic and targeted metabolomic analyses of purple-red P. mume and white P. mume were performed to elucidate the mechanism of flower color formation. In addition, the expression patterns of key genes were analyzed using an RT-qPCR experiment. The results showed that the differential metabolites were significantly enriched in the flavonoid synthesis pathway. A total of 14 anthocyanins emerged as the pivotal metabolites responsible for the differences in flower color between the two P. mume cultivars, comprising seven cyanidin derivatives, five pelargonium derivatives, and two paeoniflorin derivatives. Moreover, the results clarified that the metabolic pathway determining flower color in purple-red P. mume encompasses two distinct branches: cyanidin and pelargonidin, excluding the delphinidin branch. Additionally, through the integrated analysis of transcriptomic and metabolomic data, we identified 18 key genes responsible for anthocyanin regulation, thereby constructing the gene regulatory network for P. mume anthocyanin synthesis. Among them, ten genes (PmCHI, PmGT2, PmGT5, PmGST3, PmMYB17, PmMYB22, PmMYB23, PmbHLH4, PmbHLH10, and PmbHLH20) related to anthocyanin synthesis were significantly positively correlated with anthocyanin contents, indicating that they may be the key contributors to anthocyanin accumulation. Our investigation contributes a novel perspective to understanding the mechanisms responsible for flower color formation in P. mume. The findings of this study introduce novel strategies for molecular design breeding aimed at manipulating flower color in P. mume.

Microstructure, Tensile Properties, and Fracture Toughness of an In Situ Rolling Hybrid with Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing AerMet100 Steel.

As a type of ultra-high strength steel, AerMet100 steel is used in the aerospace and military industries. Due to the fact that AerMet100 steel is difficult to machine, people have been exploring the process of additive manufacturing to fabricate AerMet100 steel. In this study, AerMet100 steel was produced using an in situ rolling hybrid with wire arc additive manufacturing. Microstructure, tensile properties, and fracture toughness of as-deposited and heat-treated AerMet100 steel were evaluated in different directions. The results reveal that the manufacturing process leads to grain fragmentation and obvious microstructural refinement of the AerMet100 steel, and weakens the anisotropy of the mechanical properties. After heat treatment, the microstructure of the AerMet100 steel is mainly composed of lath martensite and reversed austenite. Alloy carbides are precipitated within the martensitic matrix, and a high density of dislocations is the primary strengthening mechanism. The existence of film-like austenite among the martensite matrix enhances the toughness of AerMet100 steel, which coordinates stress distribution and restrains crack propagation, resulting in an excellent balance between strength and toughness. The AerMet100 steel with in situ rolling is isotropy and achieves the following values: an average ultimate strength of 1747.7 ± 16.3 MPa, yield strength of 1615 ± 40.6 MPa, elongation of 8.3 ± 0.2% in deposition direction, and corresponding values in the building direction are 1821.3 ± 22.1 MPa, 1624 ± 84.5 MPa, and 7.6 ± 1.7%, and the KIC value up to 70.6 MPa/m0.5.

Self-assembly of colloids with competing interactions confined in spheres.

At low temperatures, colloidal particles with short-range attractive and long-range repulsive interactions can form various periodic microphases in bulk. In this paper, we investigate the self-assembly behaviour of colloids with competing interactions under spherical confinement by conducting molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the cluster, mixture, cylindrical, perforated lamellar and lamellar structures can be obtained, but the details of the ordered structures are different from those in bulk systems. Interestingly, the system tends to form more perforated structures when confined in smaller spheres. The mechanism behind this phenomenon is driven by the relationship between the energy of the ordered structures and the bending of the confinement wall, which is different from the mechanism in copolymer systems.

Methylmercury Degradation by Trivalent Manganese.

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a potent neurotoxin and has great adverse health impacts on humans. Organisms and sunlight-mediated demethylation are well-known detoxification pathways of MeHg, yet whether abiotic environmental components contribute to MeHg degradation remains poorly known. Here, we report that MeHg can be degraded by trivalent manganese (Mn(III)), a naturally occurring and widespread oxidant. We found that 28 ± 4% MeHg could be degraded by Mn(III) located on synthesized Mn dioxide (MnO2-x) surfaces during the reaction of 0.91 µg·L-1 MeHg and 5 g·L-1 mineral at an initial pH of 6.0 for 12 h in 10 mM NaNO3 at 25 °C. The presence of low-molecular-weight organic acids (e.g., oxalate and citrate) substantially enhances MeHg degradation by MnO2-x via the formation of soluble Mn(III)-ligand complexes, leading to the cleavage of the carbon-Hg bond. MeHg can also be degraded by reactions with Mn(III)-pyrophosphate complexes, with apparent degradation rate constants comparable to those by biotic and photolytic degradation. Thiol ligands (cysteine and glutathione) show negligible effects on MeHg demethylation by Mn(III). This research demonstrates potential roles of Mn(III) in degrading MeHg in natural environments, which may be further explored for remediating heavily polluted soils and engineered systems containing MeHg.

The Preparation of Covalent Bonding COF-TpBD Coating in Arrayed Nanopores of Stainless Steel Fiber for Solid-Phase Microextraction of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Water.

Covalent organic framework (COF)-TpBD was grafted on the arrayed nanopores of stainless steel fiber (SSF) with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane as the cross-linking agent. The prepared SSF bonded with COF-TpBD showed high thermal and chemical stability and excellent repeatability. The prepared SSF bonded with COF-TpBD was also used for the solid-phase microextraction (SPME) of seven kinds of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in actual water samples, followed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) determination, which exhibited low limits of detection (LODs), good relative standard deviation (RSD) and high recoveries.

Finding the bulk periodicity of lamellar and cylindrical structures using the pressure tensor.

It has been known for nearly thirty years that in all molecular simulations of periodic ordered morphologies (such as those formed by block copolymers), when the periodic boundary conditions of the simulation box do not match the bulk periodicity L0 of the morphology, they change the structure and even the stability of the morphologies obtained in the simulations. Few studies, however, have focused on finding L0 in simulations. Taking dissipative particle dynamics simulations of asymmetric diblock copolymer melts as an example, we found a simple way of using the pressure tensor, which can be readily calculated in molecular simulations in the continuum, to find L0 of lamellae and (regular-hexagonally packed) cylinders regardless of their orientation in (cuboid) simulation boxes. Variation of the diagonal and off-diagonal elements of the pressure tensor with the orientation of lamellae and cylinders in the box is explained by coordinate system rotation and confirmed by our simulation results. We also showed that the pressure tensor cannot be used to find L0 of 3D periodic ordered structures with a cubic symmetry such as the double gyroid.

Periodicity and global order parameter of hexagonally packed cylinders in a periodic box.

In all molecular simulations of periodic ordered morphologies (such as those formed by block copolymers), the periodic boundary conditions (PBCs) of the simulation box usually do not match the bulk periodicity L0 of the morphology, thus changing the structure and even the stability of the morphologies obtained in the simulations. To address this problem for hexagonally packed cylinders, we first proposed a general method of calculating the periodicity of such cylinders in a cuboid simulation box with the PBCs applied in all directions, which further allows one to enumerate all possible orientations and periodicities of such cylinders within an estimated range that can fit into a cuboid box of given lengths. We then showed how to choose the lengths of a cuboid box such that regular-hexagonally packed (RHP) cylinders with given intercylinder distance and orientation can fit into the box. Next, taking as an example the dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations of a cylinder-forming diblock copolymer melt, we showed that L0 of RHP cylinders oriented along the body diagonal of a cubic box is found when all the off-diagonal elements of the pressure tensor vanish. Finally, based on our general method of calculating the periodicity of hexagonally packed cylinders, we designed a global order parameter for such cylinders, which takes into account their ordering only for the orientations that can fit into the simulation box. Using again the DPD simulations, we showed that our global order parameter can be used to quantify the formation of hexagonally packed cylinders in each collected configuration and to monitor their orientation (thus periodicity) during the simulation run.

A blockchain-based creditable and distributed incentive mechanism for participant mobile crowdsensing in edge computing.

With the popularization of portable smart devices, the advance in ubiquitous connectivity and the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile crowdsensing is becoming one of the promising applications to acquire information in the physical world of edge computing and is widely used in Smart Cities. However, most of the existing mobile crowdsensing models are based on centralized platforms, which have some problems in reality. Data storage is overly dependent on third-party platforms leading to single-point failures. Besides, trust issues seriously affect users' willingness to participate and the credibility of data. To solve these two problems, a creditable and distributed incentive mechanism based on Hyperledger Fabric (HF-CDIM) is proposed in this paper. Specifically, the HF-CDIM combines auction, reputation and data detection methods. First, we develop a multi-attribute auction algorithm with a reputation on blockchain by designing a smart contract, which achieves a distributed incentive mechanism for participants. Second, we propose a K-nearest neighbor outlier detection algorithm based on geographic location and similarity to quantify the credibility of the data. It is also used to update the user's reputation index. This guarantees the credibility of sensing data. Finally, the simulation results using real-world data set verify the effectiveness and feasibility of above mechanism.

Population Pharmacokinetics of Tadalafil in Pediatric Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: A Combined Adult/Pediatric Model.

BACKGROUND: Tadalafil 40 mg once daily is approved for adult patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). To investigate and potentially fulfill an unmet need in pediatric patients with PAH, pharmacokinetic (PK) data were explored in a pediatric phase Ib/II study and pooled with prior phase III (pulmonary arterial hypertension and response to tadalafil [PHIRST-1]) adult data to develop the first population PK model for tadalafil in pediatric patients with PAH. METHODS: H6D-MC-LVIG (NCT01484431) was an open-label, multicenter, multiple ascending dose study in pediatric patients with PAH, while PHIRST-1 was a phase III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel design study in adults with PAH who received one of five treatments (tadalafil 2.5, 10, 20, or 40 mg, or placebo orally, once daily). PK data from the studies were pooled to develop a pediatric population PK model for tadalafil that characterized relationships among dose, exposure, and the effects of covariates with an aim to develop a population PK model that could simulate concentration-time profiles and assess exposure-matched dosing strategies in a pediatric PAH population. RESULTS: In line with the observed data, modeling and simulation demonstrated that the doses studied in the pediatric population produced area under the concentration-time curves (AUCs) within the range of those associated with improved exercise ability in adults with PAH. The analyses included 1430 observations from 305 adult patients (PHIRST-1: 69 males and 236 females, 1102 observations) and 19 pediatric patients (LVIG: 6 males and 13 females, 328 observations) who received tadalafil once daily at different dose levels. The best-fit base model retained an effect of weight on apparent volume of distribution (V/F), fixed to the allometric scaling value of 1, and did not include an effect of weight on apparent clearance (CL/F). Other covariate effects were that bosentan increased CL/F, V/F decreased with decreasing body weight, and bioavailability (F) decreased with increasing dose and decreasing age. The PK model reliably predicted the observed concentrations and overall variability evident from the overlap of the individual observed concentrations with the distributions of simulated concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: A one-compartment model parameterized in terms of F, absorption rate constant, CL/F, and V/F described the data well. The model demonstrated that plasma tadalafil concentrations in pediatric patients aged 2 to < 18 years were similar to those in adults at similar doses, and confirmed that dosing of 40 mg once daily in pediatric patients with a bodyweight ≥ 40 kg, and a dose of 20 mg once daily in patients with a body weight < 40 kg and aged ≥ 2 years are suitable for phase III evaluation. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER (DATE OF REGISTRATION): LVIG: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01484431 (2 December 2011). PHIRST-1: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00125918 (2 August 2005).

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling of tadalafil to inform pediatric dose selection in children with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Tadalafil, a phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor, is being investigated as a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in children aged 6 months to less than 18 years. Tadalafil pharmacokinetic (PK) data in children less than 2 years old are unavailable, therefore a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was developed to enable estimation of tadalafil doses in children less than 2 years old. The model was verified in adults and extended for use in children by modifying CYP3A-mediated intrinsic clearance to include CYP3A7. To account for co-dosing of the commonly prescribed moderate CYP3A4 inducer bosentan, predicted exposures were increased by a factor of 1.54 based on changes in exposure in adults with PAH. This factor was predictable using a bosentan PBPK model. The tadalafil model was verified in children aged greater than or equal to 2 years by comparing predicted and observed exposures. Tadalafil doses for children less than 2 years old were calculated as target area under the concentration curve from zero to 24 h (AUC0-24 )/predicted AUC0-24 , with target AUC0-24 of 10,000 ng*h/ml based on adult 40 mg single dose exposures determined in patients without bosentan background treatment. These doses were 2 mg, 3 mg, 4 mg, and 6 mg, respectively, for children aged birth to less than 1 month, 1 month to less than 6 months, 6 months to less than 1 year, and 1 to less than 2 years. Due to uncertainties in CYP maturation, a nonmechanistic steady-state volume scalar, and lack of PK data in children less than 2 years old, accumulation of tadalafil to steady-state in children less than 2 years was not verifiable. Safety of proposed doses is supported by postmarketing research and investigator-led trials.

Follow-up analysis and histopathological study of gastric mucosa in patients with Helicobacter pylori infection.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the histomorphological characteristics of the gastric mucosa and the prognosis in patients with Helicobacter pylori infection. METHODS: Progressive damage to the gastric mucosa was examined by immunohistochemistry in 2294 patients with H. pylori infection and follow-up information was analyzed. RESULTS: H. pylori initially colonized the mucus layer covered by the gastric mucosa epithelium, then selectively adhered to and destroyed the surface mucus cells causing intra-gastric and extra-gastric lesions. Gastric mucosal damage induced by H. pylori was divided into five stages according to the depth of H. pylori invasion and degree of lesion deterioration: mucilaginous, surface mucocellular, lamina propria lesion, mucosal atrophy, and intraepithelial neoplasia stages. Morphological follow-up analysis revealed no significant difference in 6-month curative effects between stage I and stage II, but significant differences were found between stages II and III, stages III and IV, and between stages IV and stage V, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This novel staging strategy may be a valuable tool for diagnosing and predicting the results of gastric mucosal damage induced by H. pylori infection.

Simple-to-use nomogram for predicting the risk of syphilis among MSM in Guangdong Province: results from a serial cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a simple-to-use nomogram for the prediction of syphilis infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Guangdong Province. METHODS: A serial cross-sectional data of 2184 MSM from 2017 to 2019 was used to develop and validate the nomogram risk assessment model. The eligible MSM were randomly assigned to the training and validation dataset. Factors included in the nomogram were determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis based on the training dataset. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves was used to assess its predictive accuracy and discriminative ability. RESULTS: A total of 2184 MSM were recruited in this study. The prevalence of syphilis was 18.1% (396/2184). Multivariate logistic analysis found that age, the main venue used to find sexual partners, condom use in the past 6 months, commercial sex in the past 6 months, infection with sexually transmitted diseases (STD) in the past year were associated with syphilis infection using the training dataset. All these factors were included in the nomogram model that was well calibrated. The C-index was 0.80 (95% CI 0.76-0.84) in the training dataset, and 0.79 (95% CI 0.75-0.84) in the validation dataset. CONCLUSIONS: A simple-to-use nomogram for predicting the risk of syphilis has been developed and validated among MSM in Guangdong Province. The proposed nomogram shows good assessment performance.

Efficacy and safety of tadalafil in a pediatric population with pulmonary arterial hypertension: phase 3 randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study.

This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of tadalafil in pediatric patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. This phase-3, international, randomized, multicenter (24 weeks double-blind placebo-controlled period; two-year, open-labeled extension period), add-on (patient's current endothelin receptor antagonist therapy) study included pediatric patients aged <18 years with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Patients received tadalafil 20 mg or 40 mg based on their weight (heavy-weight: ≥40 kg; middle-weight: ≥25 to <40 kg) or placebo orally once daily for 24 weeks. Primary endpoint was change from baseline in six-minute walk distance in patients aged ≥6 years at Week 24. Sample size was amended from 134 to ≥34 patients, due to serious recruitment challenges. Therefore, statistical significance testing was not performed between treatment groups. Results showed that patient demographics and baseline characteristics (N = 35; tadalafil = 17; placebo = 18) were comparable between treatment groups; median age was 14.2 years (6.2-17.9 years) and majority (71.4%, n = 25) of patients were in the heavy-weight cohort. Least square mean (standard error) changes from baseline in six-minute walk distance at Week 24 was numerically greater with tadalafil versus placebo (60.48 (20.41) vs 36.60 (20.78) meters; placebo-adjusted mean difference (standard deviation) 23.88 (29.11)). Safety of tadalafil treatment was as expected without any new safety concerns. During study Period 1, two patients (one in each group) discontinued due to investigator's reported clinical worsening, and no deaths were reported. In conclusion, the statistical significance testing was not performed between the treatment groups due to low sample size; however, the study results show positive trend in improvement in non-invasive measurements, commonly utilized by clinicians to evaluate the disease status for children with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Safety of tadalafil treatment was as expected without any new safety signals.

A statistical measure for the skewness of X chromosome inactivation for quantitative traits and its application to the MCTFR data.

BACKGROUND: X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is that one of two chromosomes in mammalian females is silenced during early development of embryos. There has been a statistical measure for the degree of the skewness of XCI for qualitative traits. However, no method is available for such task at quantitative trait loci. RESULTS: In this article, we extend the existing statistical measure for the skewness of XCI for qualitative traits, and the likelihood ratio, Fieller's and delta methods for constructing the corresponding confidence intervals, and make them accommodate quantitative traits. The proposed measure is a ratio of two linear regression coefficients when association exists. Noting that XCI may cause variance heterogeneity of the traits across different genotypes in females, we obtain the point estimate and confidence intervals of the measure by incorporating such information. The hypothesis testing of the proposed methods is also investigated. We conduct extensive simulation studies to assess the performance of the proposed methods. Simulation results demonstrate that the median of the point estimates of the measure is very close to the pre-specified true value. The likelihood ratio and Fieller's methods control the size well, and have the similar test power and accurate coverage probability, which perform better than the delta method. So far, we are not aware of any association study for the X-chromosomal loci in the Minnesota Center for Twin and Family Research data. So, we apply our proposed methods to these data for their practical use and find that only the rs792959 locus, which is simultaneously associated with the illicit drug composite score and behavioral disinhibition composite score, may undergo XCI skewing. However, this needs to be confirmed by molecular genetics. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend the Fieller's method in practical use because it is a non-iterative procedure and has the similar performance to the likelihood ratio method.

A simulation study of the self-assembly of ABC star terpolymers confined between two parallel surfaces.

The phase behavior of ABC star terpolymers confined between two identical parallel surfaces is systematically studied using a simulated annealing method. Several phase diagrams are constructed for systems with different bulk phases or with different interfacial interaction strength ratios in the space of surface distance (D) and surface preference for different arms, or in the space of D and the arm-length ratio x. Phases, including tiling patterns [6.6.6], [8.8.4], [8.6.6; 8.6.4], [8.6.6; 8.6.4; 10.6.6; 10.6.4] and hierarchical lamellar structures of lamella + cylinders and lamella + rods, are identified both in the bulk and in the films. Our results suggest that the self-assembled structure of a phase is largely controlled by x, while an increase of the interfacial interaction strength ratio shifts the x-window for each phase to the smaller x side. The orientation of a confined phase depends on the "effective surface preference" which is a combined effect of the interfacial interaction strength ratio, the surface preference, and the entropic preference. In the case of neutral or weak "effective surface preference", phases with a perpendicular orientation are usually observed, while in the case of strong "effective surface preference" phases with a perpendicular orientation or also with outermost wetting-layers can be frequently observed under some circumstances.

Controlling the chirality and number of strands of helices self-assembled from achiral block copolymers confined inside a nanopore: a simulation study.

Achiral block copolymers can self-assemble into helical structures when confined inside a cylindrical nanopore. However, controlling the chirality and the number of strands of helices is challenging. We present our simulation results of the influence of a chiral patch added to the confining nanopore on the structures and chirality of helices self-assembled from achiral cylinder-forming diblock copolymers under the confinement. Our results indicate that, when the designed patch is of proper geometry, it can induce the formation of helical structures and exhibit good control over their chirality. The bottom surface of the patch can induce the formation of a characteristic local structure near and parallel to it. It is the characteristic local structure that directs the formation of helices and of their chirality consistent with that of the patch. A large patch angle or the top/bottom surface of a weakly selective pore promotes the formation of double-helices compared to single-helices by enlarging the pitch of the helices near the patch or through the entropic attraction of the top surface of the pore to the minority blocks.

Histomorphological Characteristics and Pathological Types of Hyperproliferation of Gastric Surface Epithelial Cells.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the histomorphological characteristics and pathological types of hyperproliferation of gastric surface epithelial cells. METHODS: Hematoxylin and Eosin, Periodic acid-Schiff, and immunohistochemical staining were performed on biopsy specimens obtained from 723 patients with hyperproliferation of gastric surface epithelial cells and/or hyperplasia of gastric pits. Follow-up gastroscopic reexaminations were performed on 475 patients included. Improvement probability was analyzed using Kaplan-Meyer as well as Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: Seven different histomorphologies and clinicopathologies of hyperproliferation of gastric surface epithelial cells were identified: (1) common hyperplasia of gastric epithelial cells, which was characterized by focal glandular epithelial hyperplasia of gastric pits with chronic inflammation; (2) drug-induced hyperplasia of gastric epithelial cells, which was characterized by increased hyperplasia of gastric pits and cells arranged in a monolayer; (3) Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection-induced hyperplasia of gastric epithelial cells, which was characterized by the disappearance of oval, spherical, and bounded membrane-enclosed mucus-containing granules in the cytoplasm and on the nucleus together with cytoplasmic swelling and vacuolation; (4) metaplastic hyperplasia of gastric epithelial cells, which was characterized by the coexistence of intestinal metaplastic cells with hyperplastic gastric epithelial cells; (5) atrophic hyperplasia of gastric epithelial cells, which was characterized by the mucosal atrophy accompanied with hyperplasia of gastric pits; (6) low-grade neoplasia of epithelial cells, which was characterized by the mild to moderate dysplasia of gastric epithelial cells; and (7) high-grade neoplasia of epithelial cells, which was characterized by the evident dysplasia of hyperplastic epithelial cells and losses of cell polarity. The different pathological types are associated with different improvement probabilities. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the histomorphological characteristics and pathological types, which might guide clinicians to track malignant cell transformation, perform precise treatment, predict the clinical prognosis, and control the development of gastric cancer.

Transformable Colloidal Polymer Particles with Ordered Internal Structures.

Based on studies combining experiments and simulations, internally ordered colloidal particles that are able to undergo morphological transformations both in shape and internal structure are presented. The particles are prepared by emulsion solvent evaporation-induced 3D soft confined assembly of di-block copolymer polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP). Control over the solvent selectivity leads to a dramatic change in shape and internal structure for particles. Pupa-like particles of lamellar morphology are obtained when using a non-selective solvent, while patchy particles possessing a plum pudding structure formed when the solvent is selective for PS-block. More interestingly, 3D soft confined annealing drives order-order morphological transformation of the particles. The morphology of reshaped particles can be well controlled by varying the solvent selectivity, annealing time, and interfacial interaction. The experimental results can be explained based on simulations. This study can offer considerable scope for the design of new stimuli-responsive colloidal particles for potential applications in photonic crystal, drug delivery and release, sensor and smart coating, etc.

Clinicopathological features and differential diagnosis of gastrofibromatosis-like undifferentiated carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinicopathological features and differential diagnosis of gastrofibromatosis-like undifferentiated carcinoma (GFLUC). METHODS: Three patients with GFLUC underwent histological and immunophenotypic analyses and fluorescence in situ hybridization to detect human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2) gene amplification. RESULTS: Among the three patients (2 male [36 and 44 years old], 1 female [58 years old]), two had lesions in the gastric body and one had lesions in the gastric antrum. Histological analysis revealed mixtures of aggressive fibromatosis and undifferentiated carcinoma in all three cases. Highly invasive fibromatous tissue, consisting of fibroblasts, proliferating myofibroblasts, and collagenous fibrous tissues, accounted for >90% of the tumor, with undifferentiated cancerous tissue accounting for <10% scattered in the gaps within the invasive fibromatous tissue, with no glandular ducts or nests. Immunophenotypic analysis showed that the undifferentiated cancerous cells were positive for pan-cytokeratin, CDX2, villin, and p53, while the cytoplasm of invasive fibromatous cells was positive for vimentin, ß-catenin, and smooth muscle actin. No HER2 gene amplification was detected. CONCLUSIONS: Unlike other gastric carcinomas, GFLUC shows specific histological, biological, and immunophenotypic characteristics.