Comprehensive characterization of B7 family members in breast cancer: B7-H5 switch reverses breast cancer from "immuno-cold" into "immuno-hot" status.

The members of the classic B7 family regulate the immune microenvironment of several malignant tumors. However, the potential relationship between the B7 family and the breast cancer (BrCa) tumor immune microenvironment has remained elusive. In the present study, we provide a comprehensive explanation of the expression, clinical significance, mutation, and immune cell infiltration of B7 family molecules in BrCa. First, we recruited 10 patients with BrCa surgery from the Wuxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital and performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis to investigate the distribution of B7 family members in multiple immune cell subsets. We focused on B7-2, B7-H3, and B7-H5 molecules of the B7 family and constructed tumor microarrays by self-recruiting patients to perform multiple immunohistochemical (mIHC) analyses and study tumor expression of B7-2, B7-H3, B7-H5 and CD8+ immune cell infiltration. B7-H5 displayed a strong correlation with CD8+ immune cell infiltration. In summary, B7-H5 provides a new perspective for the identification of immunothermal subtypes of BrCa and could function as a switch to reverse BrCa from an "immunologically cold" state to an "immunologically hot" state.

Can environmental protection tax force enterprises to improve green technology innovation?

The introduction of an environmental protection tax enables a smooth shift from the sewerage charge system to the environmental protection tax scheme. This, in turn, promotes a more sustainable development of enterprise growth, emphasizing eco-friendliness. This is of immense importance in advancing environmentally aware practices and sustainability. Based on data collected from A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2014 to 2021, this paper investigates the influence of environmental protection taxes on the advancement of green technology and the underlying mechanisms. Taking the execution of the Environmental Protection Tax Law in 2018 as a quasi-natural experiment, a double-difference model is employed to examine the causal relationship between environmental protection taxes and the adoption of green technology by companies. The findings indicate that the introduction of an environmental tax could markedly enhance the extent of green technological innovation within corporations. The evidence arising from the testing mechanism implies that such a tax can encourage firms to boost their investments in research and development, upgrade their innovative human capital, and mitigate financing limitations. The study found that there is heterogeneity in the promotion effect of the environmental protection tax on the green technological innovation of businesses in different regions and provinces with varying tax burdens and types of equity capital. Further research shows that the environmental protection tax has a greater impact on the promotion of utility model patent applications for green technology innovation. This paper presents empirical evidence to support further enhancement of the environmental protection tax system. It recommends designing the environmental protection tax policy with consideration for enterprises and local conditions and bolstering the system's capacity for guiding and stimulating enterprises' green development.

Dyadic effects of social support, illness uncertainty on anxiety and depression among lung cancer patients and their caregivers: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the dyadic relationships between perceived social support, illness uncertainty, anxiety, and depression among lung cancer patients and their family caregivers. To examine the potential mediating role of illness uncertainty and the moderating role of disease stage in lung cancer patient-caregiver dyads. METHODS: A total of 308 pairs of lung cancer patients and their family caregivers from a tertiary hospital in Wuxi, China, from January 2022 to June 2022 were included. Participants' perceived social support, illness uncertainty, anxiety, and depression were assessed by corresponding questionnaires. To test for dyadic relationships between the variables, we employed the actor-partner interdependence mediation model. RESULTS: There were actor and partner effects of both patient and caregiver perceived social support on anxiety and depression, and illness uncertainty mediated the effect of perceived social support on anxiety and depression. Lung cancer stage plays a moderating role in lung cancer patient-caregiver dyads. There is an indirect positive partner effect of perceived social support from family caregivers on anxiety and depression in patients with early lung cancer; there is a direct or indirect negative partner effect of social support from family caregivers on anxiety and depression in patients with advanced lung cancer. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed the dyadic interdependence between perceived social support, illness uncertainty, anxiety, and depression among lung cancer patients and family caregivers. Furthermore, studies on differences between different lung cancer stages may provide a theoretical basis for different dyadic supportive interventions based on lung cancer stages.