No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

BackgroundProstate cancer (PCa) is among the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. Ferroptosis refers to an iron-dependent form of regulated cell death and is involved in prostate tumorigenesis. A few ferroptosis-related gene signatures have been developed to predict the prognosis for PCa patients. However, previous signatures were typically established based on biochemical recurrence-free survival, which has proven not to be a good surrogate for overall survival (OS). This study aimed to construct a novel ferroptosis-related gene prognostic index (FRGPI) to predict disease-free survival (DFS) and response to immunotherapy for PCa patients after radical prostatectomy.MethodsGene expression and clinicopathological data on PCa patients were obtained from the TCGA database. Ferroptosis-related hub genes associated with DFS of PCa patients were identified by an in-depth bioinformatics analysis using a novel and comprehensive algorithm based on functional enrichment, consensus clustering, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network construction. The FRGPI was established on the basis of the genes selected using multivariate cox regression analysis and further validated in two additional PCa cohorts. Next, the clinicopathological, molecular, and immune profiles were characterized and compared between FRGPI-high and FRGPI-low subgroups. Finally, the predictive role of the FRGPI in response to immunotherapy was estimated using a metastatic urothelial cancer cohort treated with an anti-PD-L1 agent.ResultsThe FRGPI was constructed based on four genes (E2F1, CDC20, TYMS, and NUP85), and FRGPI-high patients had worse DFS than FRGPI-low patients. Multivariate cox regression analysis revealed that FRGPI could act as an independent prognostic factor for PCa patients after radical prostatectomy. A prognostic nomogram comprising the FRGPI and other clinicopathological parameters was established to predict the DFS for PCa patients quantitatively. In addition, comprehensive results demonstrated that high FRGPI scores showed a significantly positive correlation with worse clinicopathological features, higher mutation counts, increased frequency of copy number variations (CNVs), higher homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) and immune scores, higher mRNAsi, and more importantly, enhanced sensitivity to immunotherapy.ConclusionsFRGPI is not only a promising and robust prognostic biomarker, but also a potential indicator of immunotherapeutic outcomes for PCa patients after radical prostatectomy.

One of the most challenging requirements in a solid rocket motor (SRM) is the integrity of the charge structure which is a multilayer adhesive joint involving the propellant, liner, and insulation. The propellant/liner/insulation interface is considered to be the weakest part of the whole structure. This interface has some of the usual features of an adhesively bonded interface, as well as its own special characteristics: the co-cured process, ingredient migration between interfaces, and complicated damage mechanisms. We give a technical and critical review of the past fifty years of existing research on many aspects of the propellant/liner/insulation interface in terms of the adhesive properties and adhesive mechanisms, ingredients migration, damage determination, and fracture analysis.To present a comprehensive outline of this interface we also clarify some remaining problems which should be addressed in the future. With significant improvements in the theoretical and experimental studies of the propellant/liner/insulation interface, the problem of integrity failure of the charge structure in SRM will be well resolved. Downloaded by [Cambridge University Library] at 07:15 14 August 2015 2

By using the method of eigenvalues and eigenstates, the emission and cavity-field spectra of a cascade three-level atom interacting with a single-mode electromagnetic field are studied in both intensity-dependent coupling (IDC) and intensity-independent coupling (IIC) cases. The photon statistics of the field on the spectra are investigated for the initial field in the pure number state, the coherent state and the thermal state. In the resonant case and the strong field limit, the pure-number-state emission spectrum exhibits six peaks and three peaks, respectively, for the IDC case and the IIC case. For a strong initial coherent state field or a strong thermal state field, the central structure of the emission spectrum at the field frequency is a doublet in the IDC case and a singlet in the IIC case. The cavity-field spectrum has three peaks in the IDC case and a single peak in the IIC case in the strong field limit for all of the three kinds of initial fields considered. Results indicate that in the emission spectrum merging of spectral peaks occurs for the IIC case as the initial field becomes stronger while it does not happen for the IDC case.

In this paper, we investigate the fourth‐order nonlinear Schrödinger equation with parameterized nonlinearity that is generalized from regular cubic‐quintic formulation in optics and ultracold physics scenario. We find the exact solution of the fourth‐order generalized cubic‐quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equation through modified F‐expansion method, identifying the particular bright soliton behavior under certain external experimental setting, with the system's particular nonlinear features demonstrated. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.