Theoretical study on the ferroelectric and light absorption properties of Li2SbBiO6 for harvesting visible light.

Ferroelectric oxides with large bandgaps have restricted applications in photovoltaic and photocatalytic fields. Based on recent experiments with the ferroelectric compound, LiSbO3, the stability and optoelectronic properties of a new ferroelectric compound, namely Li2SbBiO6, are investigated in this study. The calculated results demonstrate that Li2SbBiO6 satisfies the stability conditions of the elastic coefficients and phonon dynamics. Li2SbBiO6 maintains the ferroelectric polarization strength of LiSbO3 and significantly reduces the bandgap, and thus has been explored for applications in photovoltaic and photocatalytic fields. Li2SbBiO6 is a new potential ferroelectric oxide for harvesting visible light owing to its suitable bandgap and a large hole-electron effective mass ratio.

Quality of life in patients with cancer-related Brown IIb maxillary defect: A comparison between conventional obturation rehabilitation and submental flap reconstruction.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare the differences in quality of life (QOL) outcomes between the conventional obturator prostheses (COP) and the pedicled submental artery island flap (SAIF) in the reconstruction of Brown IIb maxillary defects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The QOL of 116 eligible patients who had a lapse ≥ 12 months after the cancer-related maxilla ablation was evaluated by the University of Washington quality of life scale (UW-QOL), Performance Status Scale for Head and Neck (PSS-HN), and Obturator Functioning Scale (OFS). RESULTS: Patients in the SAIF group reported statistically and clinically significant higher overall QOL scores but lower chewing scores in the UW-QOL scale when compared with those in the COP group (P < 0.05). Clinically significantly higher scores were also observed in the recreation and anxiety domains in the UW-QOL scale for the SAIF group, but there was no statistical significances. The COP group reported more complaints about the nasal leakage when swallowing and the shape of the upper lip, and had a stronger willingness to avoid family or social events in the OFS (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: For patients with Brown IIb defects, SAIF reconstruction can achieve reduced nasal leakage when swallowing, improved upper-lip contour, increased social activity, and superior overall QOL than COP. The inferior chewing function in the SAIF group indicated the need for dental rehabilitation with a conventional denture or osseointegrated implants.

Tumor-associated macrophages are associated with response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and poor outcomes in patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

Background and objective: Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play an essential role in tumor progression and metastasis. However, the role of TAMs in neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is unclear and need to be identified. The main subject of this study was to investigate whether TAMs are related to the chemotherapeutic response with triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed pretreatment tissue from patients who received NAC and followed by a mastectomy or breast-conservation for stage II-III TNBC in this study. The association between TAMs and the pathological complete response (pCR) rate of TNBC to NAC was analyzed. In addition, the correlation of the TAMs with recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with TNBC was also evaluated. Results: Of the 91 patients, 31 (34.1%) patients experienced pathological complete response (pCR) after completion of NAC. Regarding the chemotheraptic response, patients with low infiltration of CD163+ macrophages achieved a significantly higher rate of pCR. Importantly, Kaplan-Meier survival shown that patients with high infiltration of CD163+ macrophages and non-pCR had poor OS and RFS. Conclusions: our data showed that TAMs may predict chemotherapeutic response and can be used as a promising prognostic candidate for poor survival in TNBC patients treated with NAC.

Elevated Expression of CAV1 is Associated with Unfavorable Prognosis of Patients with Breast Cancer Who Undergo Surgery and Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

INTRODUCTION: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT), which is standard treatment for locally advanced breast cancer, improves the resectability of patients with early breast cancer and reduces the extent of breast and axillary surgery. Caveolin-1 (CAV1) is implicated in human cancers, although its utility for cancer prognosis is unknown. Here, we investigated the expression of CAV1 in breast cancer tissues to evaluate its prognostic significance on patients with breast cancer administered NACT. METHODS: CAV1 expression in 80 breast cancer tissue samples was evaluated using immunohistochemistry (IHC). The association between CAV1 levels and clinical factors was analyzed using the chi-square test and that between CAV1 and prognosis was evaluated using multivariate Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analyses. RESULTS: High levels of CAV1 were significantly associated with survival, and patients with overexpression of CAV1 had a poor prognosis. Adjusted multivariate Cox regression analyses revealed that a high level of CAV1 expression was an independent, significant prognostic factor for patients with breast cancer treated with NACT. DISCUSSION: Overexpression of CAV1 in patients with breast cancer administered NACT was associated with shorter disease-free survival and overall survival. Therefore, high levels of CAV1 may serve as a prognostic biomarker for such patients.

The Relationship Between White Adipose Tissue Inflammation and Overweight/Obesity in Chinese Female Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Study.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to investigate the relationship between breast white adipose tissue (WAT) inflammation and being overweight or obese, menopausal status, and metabolic syndrome-related indicators in breast cancer patients as well as the association between adipocyte size and the severity of WAT inflammation and body mass index (BMI). METHODS: The crown-like structures (CLS-B) formed by macrophages surrounding dying or dead adipocytes can be used to identify breast WAT inflammation. In this study, breast WAT and fasting blood from 136 Chinese women with breast cancer were collected for analysis. Cluster of differentiation 68 (CD68) immunohistochemical staining was performed to identify CLS-B, and the adipocyte size was measured by hematoxylin and eosin staining. RESULTS: The results showed that breast WAT inflammation usually occurs in overweight/obese breast cancer patients, and the severity of inflammation is positively correlated with adipocyte hypertrophy. We did not observe a direct association between WAT inflammation and menopausal status. In addition, the presence of WAT inflammation is associated with abnormalities in circulating factors associated with metabolic syndrome such as higher serum lipid, glucose, and C-reactive protein levels. CONCLUSION: Overweight/obese breast cancer patients may be more prone to breast WAT inflammation and may be associated with abnormalities in circulatory markers associated with metabolic syndrome.