Development and validation of a nomogram to predict B-cell primary thyroid malignant lymphoma-specific survival: A population-based analysis.

B cell primary thyroid malignant lymphoma (BC-PTML) accounts for 95% of all cases of PTML. However, development of effective treatment and management strategies for BC-PTML is challenging owing to the rarity of this disease. This study assessed data from 1,152 patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database who were diagnosed with BC-PTML during 2000-2015. Patients were randomly divided into a training group (n=806) and a test group (n=346) at a ratio of 7:3 using the hold-out method. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank tests were used to calculate the survival rate of patients. Subsequently, a stepwise Cox regression model was established to screen the prognostic factors of patients with BC-PTML, and these variables were used to construct a nomogram to predict 5-, 10-, and 15-year BC-PTML cancer-specific survival (CSS). The discrimination and calibration of the new model were evaluated using the concordance index (C-index) and calibration curves, and the accuracy and benefits of the model were assessed through comparison with the traditional Ann Arbor staging system using decision curve analysis (DCA). After stepwise regression, the optimal model included radiotherapy, primary site surgery, Ann Arbor Stage, chemotherapy, histological subtype, and age at diagnosis. The C-index, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and DCA suggested that the nomogram had improved discriminatory ability and clinical benefit compared with the Ann Arbor staging system. In summary, this study established an effective nomogram to predict CSS in patients with BC-PTML and assist clinicians in developing effective individualized treatment strategies.

Construction of Urban Flood Disaster Emergency Management System Using Scenario Construction Technology.

Due to the global climate anomaly, ecological environment damage, human activities, and other reasons, flood disaster has become a major threat to mankind. The emergency rescue resources under different subject management and different emergencies have different characteristics, attributes, and management modes, which restrict the unified dispatching, overall management, and efficient utilization of the comprehensive rescue command platform. The frequent occurrence of natural disasters can not only easily affect the public security of society but also pose a great threat to the safety of Chinese people's lives and property. As the first-line person in charge of China's response to natural disasters, local governments cannot deal with natural disasters well. More than thousands of people die from natural disasters in China every year. The economic losses caused amounted to hundreds of billions. The occurrence of various floods and natural disasters not only affects the local economic and social development but also relates to the production and life of the local people, and the stability of the local society and national unity. How to effectively deal with flood disaster is also an important index system to test the execution and management ability of the Party and the government. Therefore, it is necessary to deeply study flood disaster from the theoretical height, hoping to provide reference theoretical support and practical guidance for local county-level government flood disaster emergency management. At the beginning of the urban flood disaster, how to choose an appropriate response plan and implement it in time is an important way to effectively reduce disaster losses. Starting with the basic concept of flood disaster, this study studies and discusses the related theories of flood disaster emergency management, introduces the general situation of flood disaster emergency management, and analyzes the application of scenario construction technology in emergency management.

Concentrically Encapsulated Dual-Enzyme Capsules for Synergistic Metabolic Disorder Redressing and Cytotoxic Intermediates Scavenging.

Enzyme therapy has important implications for the treatment of metabolic disorders and biological detoxification. It remains challenging to prepare enzymatic nanoreactors with high therapeutic efficiency and low emission of cytotoxic reaction intermediates. Here, we propose a novel strategy for the preparation of enzymes-loaded polypeptide microcapsules (EPM) with concentrically encapsulated enzymes to achieve higher cascade reaction rates and minimal emission of cytotoxic intermediates. Mesoporous silica spheres (MSS) are used as a highly porous matrix to efficiently load a therapeutic enzyme (glucose oxidase, GOx), and a layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly strategy is employed to assemble the scavenging enzyme (catalase) and polyelectrolyte multilayers on the MSS surface. After removal of the MSS, a concentrically encapsulated EPM is obtained with the therapeutic enzyme encapsulated inside the capsule, and the scavenging enzyme immobilized in the polypeptide multilayer shell. Performance of the concentrically encapsulated GOx-catalase capsules is investigated for synergistic glucose metabolism disturbance correction and cytotoxic intermediate H2O2 clearance. The results show that the EPM can simultaneously achieve 99% H2O2 clearance and doubled glucose consumption rate. This strategy can be extended to the preparation of other dual- or multi-enzyme therapeutic nanoreactors, showing great promise in the treatment of metabolic disorders.

Ginsenoside Rg2 attenuates myocardial fibrosis and improves cardiac function after myocardial infarction via AKT signaling pathway.

With the popularization of percutaneous coronary intervention technology in clinical applications, the mortality rate of acute myocardial infarction has been significantly reduced. However, ventricular remodeling following myocardial infarction (MI) has attracted extensive attention for that it can cause malignant arrhythmia, heart failure, and even death. We aimed to investigate the effects of ginsenoside Rg2 on cardiac function and myocardial fibrosis after MI and its potential mechanism. The results demonstrated that ginsenoside Rg2 improved cardiac function and inhibited collagen deposition in mice after MI. In addition, ginsenoside Rg2 reduced the levels of fibrosis-associated genes Collagen I (Col 1), Collagen III (Col 3), and alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) by activating phosphorylated AKT in angiotensin II-induced cardiac fibroblasts. Taken together, ginsenoside Rg2 improves cardiac function and attenuates cardiac fibrosis via the AKT pathway, suggesting that ginsenoside Rg2 may be a promising drug for the prevention of ventricular remodeling after MI. Abbreviations: MI: myocardial infarction; AMI: acute myocardial infarction; LAD: left anterior descending; ECM: extracellular matrix; Col 1: collagen I; Col 3: collagen III; α-SMA: alpha-smooth muscle actin; ROS: reactive oxygen species; SOD: superoxide dismutase; GSH: glutathione; HO-1: heme oxygenase-1; WST8: water-soluble tetrazolium salt 8.

Silica nanowires with tunable hydrophobicity for lipase immobilization and biocatalytic membrane assembly.

Silica nanowires (NWs) with tailored hydrophobicity are synthesized by capping different length of alkyl groups on surface via a one-pot anisotropic sol-gel growth approach. Lipase from Burkholderia Cepacia (BCL) is successfully immobilized onto the silica NWs via hydrophobic interaction. The specific activity of the immobilized BCL increases with the increasing length of the capping alkyl groups and surface hydrophobicity of the NWs. BCL immobilized onto the octadecyl groups-capped silica NWs displays the highest specific catalytic activity, which is also notably higher than that of BCL immobilized on octadecyl groups-modified mesoporous silicate. The superior performance can be ascribed to the combination of the interfacial activation of lipases induced by capped-octadecyl groups on the NWs and the improved mass transfer efficiency of reactants around the one-dimensional silica NWs. The BCL-loaded NWs are further used as "building blocks" to assemble filter paper-like biocatalytic membrane via vacuum-assisted filtration method. The free-standing biocatalytic membrane can be operated in a continuous mode to avoid the separation of catalyst from reaction products. This work provides new opportunity in enzyme immobilization and biocatalytic membrane preparation through using discrete silica NWs as supports and building blocks.

Promoting DNA loading on magnetic nanoparticles using a DNA condensation strategy.

Maximizing DNA loading on magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) is crucial for their successful utilization in gene transfer, DNA isolation, and bio-analytical applications. This enhancement is typically achieved by altering particle size and surfaces as well as charge density and ionic strength. We demonstrate a novel route for promoting DNA loading on amino-modified silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles (ASMNPs) by prior condensation of elongated DNA to a compact globule before adsorption. The enhanced DNA-loading capacity, as demonstrated by a reduction in the number of ASMNPs needed to achieve complexation, was presumably due to the elimination of DNA wrapping around nanoparticles and substantially reduced electrostatic interactions of DNA with nanoparticles because the compacted DNA globule conformation decreases its exposed surface charge. The maximum loading capacity of ASMNPs for condensed DNA was 4.4 times greater than that for elongated coiled DNA, achieving the highest ever reported value of 385 µg mg(-1). Practical applications for plasmid DNA isolation from cleared lysate confirmed the reliability of the proposed method.

Application of magnetic hydroxyapatite nanoparticles for solid phase extraction of plasmid DNA.

We developed a facile method for plasmid DNA (pDNA) extraction from crude Escherichia coli lysate using magnetic hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (MHapNPs) in the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG)/NaCl. DNA condensation induced by PEG/NaCl is a prerequisite for achieving pronounced DNA recovery. The quality and quantity of MHapNP-purified pDNA under optimal binding buffer conditions (0.5 volume of 20% PEG 8000/2M NaCl) were comparable to those obtained using organic solvents or commercial kits. This MHapNP technique is rapid, simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly and has the potential to extract DNA from other cell lysates.