Surface modification of graphene oxide (GO) is one of the most important issues to produce high performance GO/epoxy composites. In this paper, the imidazole ionic liquid (IMD-Si) was introduced onto the surface of GO sheets by a cheap and simple method, to prepare a reinforcing filler, as well as a catalyst in epoxy resin. The interlayer spacing of GO sheets was obviously increased by the intercalation of IMD-Si, which strongly facilitated the dispersibility of graphene oxide in organic solvents and epoxy matrix. The addition of 0.4 wt % imidazolium ionic liquid modified graphene oxide (IMD-Si@GO), yielded a 12% increase in flexural strength (141.3 MPa), a 26% increase in flexural modulus (4.69 GPa), and a 52% increase in impact strength (18.7 kJ/m 2 ), compared to the neat epoxy. Additionally the IMD-Si@GO sheets could catalyze the curing reaction of epoxy resin-anhydride system significantly. Moreover, the improved thermal conductivities and thermal stabilities of epoxy composites filled with IMD-Si@GO were also demonstrated.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy has shown remarkable clinical benefit in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients. Genomic mutations may be applicable to predict the response to ICIs. Eph receptor A5 (EPHA5) is frequently mutated in breast cancer, lung cancer and other tumors; however, its association with outcome in patients who receive immunotherapy remains unknown. Methods: Somatic mutation data, gene expression data and clinicopathologic information were curated from patients with LUAD who were treated with ICI therapy (MSKCC ICI-treated cohort) and patients with LUAD who did not receive ICI therapy (TCGA-LUAD cohort). The CIBERSORT and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) algorithms were separately used to infer the relative abundance of leukocytes and significantly enriched pathways in the defined subgroups. Tumor mutation burden (TMB), tumor neoantigen load, the fraction of copy number variants (CNVs), the mutation frequency of DNA damage repair (DDR) genes, and the prognosis of patients were compared between the EPHA5-mutated subgroup and the EPHA5 wild-type subgroup. Wholeexome sequencing (WES) data and drug sensitivity data downloaded from the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) database were used to evaluate the relationship of the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of multiple drugs and the EPHA5 mutation status in LUAD cells. Results: EPHA5 mutations were associated with increased TMB, neoantigen load, levels of immune-related gene expression signatures, and enhanced tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Patients with EPHA5 mutations in the immunotherapy cohort achieved a longer progression-free survival (PFS) time than patients with wild-type EPHA5. Immune response pathways were among the top enriched pathways in samples with EPHA5 mutations. In addition , patients with EPHA5 mutations tended to be more sensitive to certain targeted molecular inhibitors , including serdemetan, lox2 and PF1-1. Conclusion: Our results suggest that identifying mutations in the EPHA5 gene may provide insight into the genome-wide mutational burden and may serve as a biomarker to predict the immune response of patients with LUAD.

Purpose X-ray scatter is a significant barrier to image quality improvements in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). A moving blocker-based strategy was previously proposed to simultaneously estimate scatter and reconstruct the complete volume within the field of view (FOV) from a single CBCT scan. A blocker consisting of lead stripes is inserted between the x-ray source and the imaging object, and moves back and forth along the rotation axis during gantry rotation. While promising results were obtained in our previous studies, the geometric design and moving speed of the blocker were set empirically. The goal of this work is to optimize the geometry and speed of the moving block system. Methods Performance of the blocker was examined through Monte Carlo (MC) simulation and experimental studies with various geometry designs and moving speeds. All hypothetical designs employed an anthropomorphic pelvic phantom. The scatter estimation accuracy was quantified by using lead stripes ranging from 5 to 100 pixels on the detector plane. An iterative reconstruction based on total variation minimization was used to reconstruct CBCT images from unblocked projection data after scatter correction. The reconstructed image was evaluated under various combinations of lead strip width and interspace (ranging from 10 to 60 pixels) and different moving speed (ranging from 1 to 30 pixels per projection). Results MC simulation showed that the scatter estimation error varied from 0.8% to 5.8%. Phantom experiment showed that CT number error in the reconstructed CBCT images varied from 13 to 35. Highest reconstruction accuracy was achieved when the strip width was 20 pixels and interspace was 60 pixels and the moving speed was 15 pixels per projection. Conclusions Scatter estimation can be achieved in a large range of lead strip width and interspace combinations. The moving speed does not have a very strong effect on reconstruction result if it is above 5 pixels per projection. Geometry design of the blocker affected image reconstruction accuracy more. The optimal geometry of the blocker has a strip width of 20 pixels and an interspace three times the strip width, which means 25% detector is covered by the blocker, while the optimal moving speed is 15 pixels per projection.