Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play an important role in the progression and prognostication of numerous cancers. However, the role and clinical significance of TAM markers in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has not been elucidated. The present study was designed to investigate the correlation between the expression of TAM markers and pathological features in OSCC by tissue microarray. Tissue microarrays containing 16 normal oral mucosa, 6 oral epithelial dysplasia, and 43 OSCC specimens were studied by immunohistochemistry. We observed that the protein expression of the TAM markers CD68 and CD163 as well as the cancer stem cell (CSC) markers ALDH1, CD44, and SOX2 increased successively from the normal oral mucosa to OSCC. The expressions of CD68 and CD163 were significantly associated with lymph node status, and SOX2 was significantly correlated with pathological grade and lymph node status, whereas ALDH1 was correlated with tumor stage. Furthermore, CD68 was significantly correlated with CD163, SOX2, and ALDH1 (P < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that OSCC patients overexpressing CD163 had significantly worse overall survival (P < 0.05). TAM markers are associated with cancer stem cell marker and OSCC overall survival, suggesting their potential prognostic value in OSCC.

The 2019 novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is an emerging pathogen of critical significance to international public health. Knowledge of the interplay between molecular-scale virus-receptor interactions, single-cell viral replication, intracellular-scale viral transport, and emergent tissue-scale viral propagation is limited. Moreover, little is known about immune system-virus-tissue interactions and how these can result in low-level (asymptomatic) infections in some cases and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in others, particularly with respect to presentation in different age groups or pre-existing inflammatory risk factors like diabetes. A critical question for treatment and protection is why it appears that the severity of infection may correlate with the initial level of virus exposure. Given the nonlinear interactions within and among each of these processes, multiscale simulation models can shed light on the emergent dynamics that lead to divergent outcomes, identify actionable "choke points" for pharmacologic interactions, screen potential therapies, and identify potential biomarkers that differentiate response dynamics. Given the complexity of the problem and the acute need for an actionable model to guide therapy discovery and optimization, we introduce a prototype of a multiscale model of SARS-CoV-2 dynamics in lung and intestinal tissue that will be iteratively refined. The first prototype model was built and shared internationally as open source code and interactive, cloud-hosted executables in under 12 hours. In a sustained community effort, this model will integrate data and expertise across virology, immunology, mathematical biology, quantitative systems physiology, cloud and high performance computing, and other domains to accelerate our response to this critical threat to international health.

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The direct production of light α‐olefins (C2=‐C4=) from CO2 is of great importance as this process can convert the greenhouse gas into the desired chemicals. In this study, the crucial roles of Na and Mn promoter in CO2 hydrogenation to produce light α‐olefins via the Fischer‐Tropsch synthesis (FTS) over Fe3O4‐based catalysts are investigated. The results indicate that both Na and Mn promoter can enhance the reducibility of Fe3O4. In situ XPS and DFT calculations show that Na facilitates the reduction by electron donation from Na to Fe as the oxygen vacancy formation energy is reduced by Na. In contrast, Mn promotes the reduction by the presence of oxygen vacancy in MnO as the oxygen in Fe oxide can spillover to the vacancy in MnO spontaneously. For un‐promoted Fe3O4 catalysts, CO2 hydrogenation dominantly produces light n‐paraffins. The addition of Na remarkably shifts the selectivity to light α‐olefins with a sharp decline in the selectivity to light n‐paraffins, which is attributed to the electron donation from Na to Fe resulting in the promoted CO dissociation and the favorable β‐H abstraction of surface short alkyl‐metal intermediates. The addition of Mn into Na‐containing Fe3O4 catalysts can obviously further enhance the selectivity to light α‐olefins as the spatial hindrance of Mn suppresses the chain growth to increase the amount of surface short alkyl‐metal intermediates.

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