Absolute monocyte and lymphocyte count prognostic score for patients with gastric cancer

AIM:To measure the prognostic significance of absolute monocyte count/absolute lymphocyte count prognostic score(AMLPS) in patients with gastric cancer.METHODS:We retrospectively examined the combination of absolute monocyte count(AMC) and absolute lymphocyte count(ALC) as prognostic variables in a cohort of 299 gastric cancer patients who underwent surgical resection between 2006 and 2013 and were followed at a single institution.Both AMC and ALC were dichotomized into two groups using cut-off points determined by receiving operator characteristic curve analysis.An AMLPS was generated,which stratified patients into three risk groups:low risk(both low AMC and high ALC),intermediate risk(either high AMC or low ALC),and high risk(both high AMC and low ALC).The primary objective of the study was to validate the impact of AMLPS on both disease-free survival(DFS) and overall survival(OS),and the second objective was to assess the AMLPS as an independent prognostic factor for survival in comparison with known prognostic factors.RESULTS:Using data from the entire cohort,the most discriminative cut-off values of AMC and ALC selected on the receiver operating characteristic curve were 672.4/μL and 1734/μL for DFS and OS.AMLPS risk groups included 158(52.8%) patients in the lowrisk,128(42.8%) in the intermediate-risk,and 13(4.3%) in the high-risk group.With a median followup of 37.2 mo(range:1.7-91.4 mo),five-year DFS rates in the low-,intermediate-,and high-risk groups were 83.4%,78.7%,and 19.8%,respectively.And fiveyear OS rates in the low-,intermediate-,and high-risk groups were 89.3%,81.1%,and 14.4%,respectively.On multivariate analysis performed with patient- and tumor-related factors,we identified AMLPS,age,and pathologic tumor-node-metastasis stage as the most valuable prognostic factors impacting DFS and OS.CONCLUSION:AMLPS identified patients with a poor DFS and OS,and it was independent of age,pathologic stage,and various inflammatory markers.

来自一项艾日布林联合吉西他滨对比紫杉醇联合吉西他滨作为HER2阴性转移性乳腺癌的一线化疗的Ⅱ期、多中心、随机试验的包含神经病变相关量表的生活质量结果：韩国癌症研究组试验(KCSG BR13-11)

背景与目的一项比较艾日布林联合吉西他滨(eribulin plus gemcitabine,EG)或紫杉醇联合吉西他滨(paclitaxel plus gemcitabine,PG)作为转移性乳腺癌(metastatic breast cancer,MBC)患者一线化疗方案的II期临床试验发现,EG方案的神经毒性较低,但疗效与PG方案相似。在本研究中,我们分析了该临床实验中的癌症患者生命质量测评量表–紫杉烷(functional assessment of cancer therapy-taxane,FACT-Taxane)问卷评分以确定他们的生活质量(quality of life,QoL)。方法使用韩国版的FACT-Taxane问卷评估QoL。在评估基线之后,前12个疗程中每2个疗程评估1次QoL,之后每3个疗程评估1次QoL。使用线性混合模型评估EG组和PG组QoL的差异。结果在118例入组患者中,117例在基线时回复了FACT-Taxane问卷,PG组中有1例患者没有回复。EG组和PG组之间的基线QoL评分没有差异。在治疗期间,除了第11个疗程外,在第2–13个化疗疗程后,PG组紫杉烷亚量表评分显著高于EG组(均P<0.05)。神经病变特异性分析显示PG组患者的神经病症状比EG组患者更早出现且更严重(P<0.001)。结论在我们的QoL分析中,与PG方案相比,EG方案延迟并减少神经病变的发生。因此,艾日布林是MBC一线化疗药物紫杉醇的合理替代品。

Spin Self-Assembled Clay Nanocomposite Passivation Layers Made from a Photocrosslinkable Poly（vinyl alcohol） and Na^-Montmorillonite Enhance the Environmental Stability of Organic Thin-Film Transistors

We investigated the effects of the multilayer polymer-clay nanohybrid passivation films on the stability of pentacene organic thin-film transistors （OTFTs） exposed to air and UV irradiation. Well-ordered multilayer films were deposited by the spin-assisted layer-by-layer assembly method using photocrosslinkable poly（vinyl alcohol） with the N-methyl-4（4＇-formylstyryl）pyridinium methosulfate acetal group （SbQ-PVA） and Na＋-montmorillonite in a water-based solution process. When photocrosslinked, these SbQ-PVA/clay multilayers were found to serve as excellent barriers to 02 and UV-light. Moreover, when used as passivation layers, they enhanced the stability of pen- tacene OTFT devices exposed to air and UV radiation.

Bee venom phospholipase A2 ameliorates amyloidogenesis and neuroinflammation through inhibition of signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 pathway in Tg2576 mice

Background:Neuroinflammation and accumulation ofβ-amyloid(Aβ)play a significant role in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease(AD).Our previous study demonstrated that signal transducer and activator of transcription-3(STAT3)plays a major role in neuroinflammation and amyloidogenesis.Methods:In the present study,we investigated the inhibitory effect of bee venom phospholipase A2(bvPLA2)on memory deficiency in Tg2576 mice,which demonstrate genetic characteristics of AD and the mechanism of its action at the cellular and animal level.For in vivo study,we examined the effect of bvPLA2 on improving memory by conducting several behavioral tests with the administration of bvPLA2(1 mg/kg)to Tg2576 mice.For in vitro study,we examined the effect of bvPLA2 on amyloidogenesis and neuroinflammation by treating bvPLA2 on LPSactivated BV2 cells.Results:We found that bvPLA2 alleviated memory impairment in Tg2576 mice,as demonstrated in the behavioral tests assessing memory.In the bvPLA2-treated group,Aβ,amyloid precursor protein(APP),and β-secretase 1(BACE1)levels and β-secretase activity were significantly decreased.Expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammation-related proteins decreased in the brain of bvPLA2-treated group,whereas anti-inflammatory cytokines increased.In addition,bvPLA2 reduced STAT3 phosphorylation in the brains of the bvPLA2-treated group.At the cellular level,bvPLA2 inhibits production of nitric oxide,pro-inflammatory cytokines,and inflammation-related proteins including p-STAT3.Additionally,bvPLA2 inhibits the production of Aβin cultured BV-2 cells.Results from the docking experiment,pull-down assay,and the luciferase assay show that bvPLA2 directly binds STAT3 and,thus,regulates gene expression levels.Moreover,when the STAT3 inhibitor and bvPLA2 were administered together,the anti-amyloidogenic and anti-inflammatory effects were further enhanced than when they were administered alone.Conclusion:These results suggest that bvPLA2 could restore memory by inhibiting the accumulation of Aβ and inflammatory responses via blockage of STAT3 activity.

Neuromorphic devices based on fluorite-structured ferroelectrics

A continuous exponential rise has been observed in the storage and processing of the data that may not curtail in the foreseeable future.The required data processing speed and power consumption are restricted by the buses between the logic and memory devices that are characteristic of the von Neumann computing architecture.Bio-mimicking neuromorphic computing has garnered considerable academic and industrial interest to resolve these challenges.Additionally,devices based on emerging nonvolatile memories capable of mimicking the behaviors of synapses and neurons,which are the main elements in biological computing systems(brains),are attracting significant interest from the device community.With the discovery of ferroelectricity in fluorite-structured oxides,such as HfO2 and ZrO2,which are compatible with the state-of-the-art complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor processes,ferroelectric devices have rapidly evolved as the main direction of these research and development activities.Fundamental science related to fluorite-structured ferroelectrics has been intensively studied over the last decade.At present,the focus is gradually moving to practical applications,including neuromorphic computing and advanced classical processing or memory units in the conventional von Neumann architecture.However,despite its rapid development,the wealth of recent progress in neuromorphic computing devices based on fluorite-structured ferroelectrics has not been reviewed and systemized.This progress report comprehensively reviews and systemizes the recent progress in artificial synaptic and spiking neuron devices for neuromorphic computing based on fluorite-structured ferroelectrics.

Quality of life outcomes including neuropathy-associated scale from a phase II,multicenter,randomized trial of eribulin plus gemcitabine versus paclitaxel plus gemcitabine as first-line chemotherapy for HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer:Korean Cancer Study Group Trial(KCSG BR13-11)

Background: A phase II clinical trial of the comparison between eribulin plus gemcitabine (EG) and paclitaxel plus gemcitabine (PG) as first-line chemotherapy for patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) found that the EG regimen was less neurotoxic, but was similar in efficacy to the PG regimen. In the present study, we analyzed functional assessment of cancer therapy-taxane (FACT-Taxane) questionnaires from patients in this clinical trial to determine their quality of life (QoL). Methods: QoL was assessed using the Korean version of the FACT-Taxane questionnaires. After baseline assessment, QoL was assessed every 2 cycles for 12 cycles and every 3 cycles thereafter. The linear mixed model was used to evaluate the difference in QoL between the EG and PG arms. Results: Of the 118 enrolled patients, 117 responded to the FACT-Taxane questionnaires at baseline, 1 in the PG arm did not. Baseline QoL scores were not different between the EG and PG arms. During treatment, taxane subscale scores were significantly higher in the PG arm than in the EG arm after 2-13 cycles of chemotherapy (all P < 0.05), except for the 11th cycle. Neuropathy-specific analysis showed that patients in the PG arm had earlier and more severe neuropathic symptoms than those in the EG arm (P < 0.001). Conclusions: In our QoL analysis, the EG regimen delayed and decreased neuropathy as compared with the PG regimen. Therefore, eribulin would be a reasonable substitute for paclitaxel as first-line chemotherapy for MBC.

Depolarization mitigated in ferroelectric Hf_(0.5)Zr_(0.5)O_(2)ultrathin films(<5 nm)on Si substrate by interface engineering

(Hf,Zr)O_(2)offers considerable potential for next-generation semiconductor devices owing to its nonvolatile spontaneous polarization at the nanoscale.However,scaling this material to sub-5 nm thickness poses several challenges,including the formation of an interfacial layer and high trap concentration.In particular,a low-k SiO_(2)interfacial layer is naturally formed when(Hf,Zr)O_(2)films are directly grown on a Si substrate,leading to high depolarization fields and rapid reduction of the remanent polarization.To address these issues,we conducted a study to significantly improve ferroelectricity and switching endurance of(Hf,Zr)O_(2)films with sub-5 nm thicknesses by inserting a TiO_(2)interfacial layer.The deposition of a Ti film prior to Hf_(0.5)Zr_(0.5)O_(2)film deposition resulted in a high-k TiO_(2)interfacial layer and prevented the direct contact of Hf_(0.5)Zr_(0.5)O_(2)with Si.Our findings show that the high-k TiO_(2)interfacial layer can reduce the SiO_(2)/Si interface trap density and the depolarization field,resulting in a switchable polarization of 60.2μC/cm^(2)for a 5 nm thick Hf_(0.5)Zr_(0.5)O_(2)film.Therefore,we propose that inserting a high-k TiO_(2)interfacial layer between the Hf_(0.5)Zr_(0.5)O_(2)film and the Si substrate may offer a promising solution to enhancing the ferroelectricity and reliability of(Hf,Zr)O_(2)grown on the Si substrate and can pave the way for next-generation semiconductor devices with improved performance.