Prognostic value of BCL2 and TP53 genetic alterations for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients treated with R-CHOP

Objective:Limited data about the prognostic significance of BCL2 mutations and BCL2 copy number variations in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL)are available.This study aimed to comprehensively describe BCL2 genetic alterations in DLBCL patients,and examine correlation of BCL2,TP53 and other genetic alterations with outcomes in patients treated with R-CHOP.Methods:Probe capture-based high-resolution sequencing was performed on 191 patients diagnosed with de novo DLBCL.MYC,BCL2,and BCL6 protein expressions were detected by immunohistochemistry.Results:The presence of BCL2 alterations significantly correlated with poor progression-free survival(PFS)(5-year PFS:13.7%vs.40.8%;P=0.003)and overall survival(OS)(5-year OS:34.0%vs.70.9%;P=0.036).Importantly,patients who harbored BCL2 gain/amplifications(BCL2GA/AMP)also had a remarkably inferior 5-year PFS(11.1%vs.38.3%;P<0.001)and OS(22.1%vs.69.6%;P=0.009).In contrast,neither BCL2 mutations nor BCL2 translocations were significantly prognostic for survival.Multivariable analyses showed that the presence of BCL2 alterations,especially BCL2GA/AMP,TP53 mutations,and International Prognostic Index(IPI)were significantly associated with inferior PFS and OS.Novel prognostic models for OS were constructed based on 3 risk factors,including BCL2 alterations(Model 1)or BCL2GA/AMP(Model 2),TP53 mutations,and IPI,to stratify patients into 4 risk groups with different survival outcomes.Conclusions:This study showed that DLBCL patients treated with R-CHOP,BCL2 alterations,especially BCL2GA/AMP and TP53 mutations were significantly associated with inferior outcomes,which were independent of the IPI.The novel prognostic models we proposed predicted outcomes for DLBCL patients treated with R-CHOP,but further validation of the prognostic models is still warranted.

On the Genesis of Zhongshu Qian’s Fortress Besieged

Significant portions of Zhongshu Qian’s classic twentieth century novel,Fortress Besieged,are closely correlated with Hunan.This article explores the connections between the novel and Qian’s experiences in National Hunan Normal College(NHNC),later to become Hunan Normal University(HNNU).More than one third of Fortress Besieged describes the experiences of its main character,Hongjang Fang,at the fictional SanlüUniversity.This article argues that Qian’s time at NHNC had formative impact on Fortress Besieged,in which four pivotal chapters are fictionalized versions of his actual encounters in Hunan.Drawing on archival documents,this article analyzes the novel to determine the relative levels of historical veracity versus imaginative recreations.The ultimate goal is to demonstrate where depictions are realistic or fantastic,and the ways in which Fortress Besieged and NHNC become mutually constitutive reflections of each other.

Opportunities and Challenges:Internationalized Higher Education in the Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Age

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented crisis all over the world,while it also marks the coming of a new era of opportunities and challenges,especially for higher education.Universities should be more inclusive and innovative in communication and cooperation,promoting opportunities for collaborations in all aspects and reshaping international education.

Merger estimates for a disformal Kerr black hole in quadratic degenerate higher-order scalar-tensor theories

We investigate the main features of a disformal Kerr black hole merger in quadratic degenerate higher-order scalar-tensor theories.In the ringdown stage of the black hole merger,for the prograde orbit,the real part of the quasinormal modes decreases with an increase in the disformal parameter,and the imaginary part also decreases,except in the Kerr case for a large spin parameter.However,for the retrograde orbit,the real part increases with an increase in the disformal parameter,and the imaginary part always decreases with it.For the approximate final spin,regardless of an equal spin,unequal spin,or generic spin configuration merger,the final black hole spin always increases with an increase in the disformal parameter.Our results show that the disformal parameter in the disformal Kerr solution and the MOG parameter in the Kerr-MOG case have obviously different effects on the black hole merger,which suggests the differences between these two spacetime structures.