The long arm of chromosome 6 is frequently deleted in diverse human neoplasms. Our previous study showed a minimum deletion region between markers D6S1056 and D6S300 on chromosome 6q in primary prostate cancer (CaP). In this study, we further refined a 200-kb minimal region of deletion (6qTSG1) centered around D6S1013 marker. The 6qTSG1 transcripts contained complex multiple splicing variants with low or absent expression in CaP cells. None of the transcripts identified contained open reading frames that code for a protein in the NCBI database. The expression of 6qTSG transcripts revealed interesting hormonal regulation relevant to CaP biology. Expression of 6q TSG transcript was induced in LNCaP cells that were cultured in charcoal-stripped serum medium suggesting an upregulation of 6qTSG transcript by androgen ablation and cell growth inhibition/apoptosis. Induction of 6qTSG1 expression in response to androgen ablation was abrogated in androgen-independent derivatives of LNCaP cells. In summary, we have defined a candidate CaP suppressor locus on chromosome 6q16.1, and deletions of this locus are frequently associated with prostate tumorigenesis. In the light of emerging role of noncoding RNAs in cancer biology including CaP, future investigations of 6qTSG11 locus is warranted.

Montmorillonite is a major mineral present in ion-adsorption rare earth ores, and the microscopic adsorption states of rare earth ions on its surface are of a great significance for the efficient exploitation of ion-adsorption rare earth ores. In this article, density functional theory calculations were used to investigate the adsorption mechanisms and bonding characteristics of hydrated Pr, Mg and NH₄ ions on the (001) surface of montmorillonite. Pr³⁺ exhibited a directed tendency geometry with Pr(H₂O)₁₀³⁺, which was adsorbed onto montmorillonite by hydrogen bonding with an adsorption energy of −1182 kJ/mol, and one coordinated H₂O ligand was separated from the first hydration layer of Pr. Both hydrated Mg and NH₄ ions were adsorbed onto the montmorillonite surface through hydrogen bonds, and the adsorption energies were −206 and −188 kJ/mol, respectively, indicating that the adsorption stability of the hydrated Mg ion was slightly higher than that of the hydrated NH₄ ion, but both were lower than that of hydrated Pr (−1182 kJ/mol). Hence, higher concentrations of Mg and NH₄ ions than rare earth ions would be necessary in the leaching process of ion-adsorption rare earth ores. Additionally, desorption experiments revealed that the recovery of Pr³⁺ by Mg²⁺ with a concentration of 38 mmol/L is 80%, while it is only 65% with the same concentration of NH₄⁺, and the concentrations of Mg²⁺ and NH₄⁺ were much higher than that of Pr³⁺ in lixivium, which is consistent with the DFT calculations.

Kaolinite is one of the principal rare earth element (REE) ion-adsorption clays that hosts a wide range of elements, including Dy(III) as a representative example. Ammonium sulfate is a typical salt used to leach REEs. Due to the carbon dioxide emissions which occur during ammonia production, it is urgently necessary to develop low environmental pollution leaching agents that can replace (NH₄)₂SO₄. MgSO₄ is regarded as the most promising eco-friendly leaching agent. Herein, the first-principles plane-wave pseudopotential method based on the density functional theory (DFT) was used to investigate the stable adsorption structures of Dy(III) and its hydrated ions, MgSO₄ leaching agent ions and the corresponding hydrated ions on the surface of kaolinite, which revealed the adsorption mechanism of Dy(III), Mg(II), and SO₄²⁻ on the silico–oxygen plane and the aluminum–hydroxyl plane of kaolinite. Based on the research results of the steric hindrance effect of Dy(III) on the silico–oxygen plane and the aluminum–hydroxyl plane of kaolinite, the adsorption of Dy(H₂O)₁₀³⁺ was more stable on the silico–oxygen plane. It was easier to leach out Dy(III) with MgSO₄, while SO₄²⁻ tended to interact with the rare earth ions in an aqueous solution. The results provide theoretical guidance for efficient rare earth extraction and obtaining novel efficient leaching agents.

To the Editor: Although the causes and mechanisms of lung cancer (LC) are still not clear, with the advances in science and technology and the progress in research methods, it has been shown that tumor cells aggregate with platelets (PLTs) and escape being recognized by the immune system. They adhere to distant vascular endothelial cells and continue to metastasize, invade and grow through the blood circulation.[1] Therefore, the hypercoagulable state and enhancement of PLT functions promote tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis.[2,3] Therefore, the effective reduction in PLT counts and their activities can help reduce the progression and prognosis of LC. We conducted this research to explore the effect of the tumor on circulating platelets in patients with LC. Forty patients with LC (LC group) hospitalized in the 96th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army of China were selected for the study. This study follows relevant ethical regulations and is approved by the Ethics Committee of the 96th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army of China (2016 Number 40, the Jinan Military Region General Hospital). All the patients provided written informed consent. The group included 28 men and 12 women (mean age: 58.08 ± 10.22 years). Among these patients, 12, 26 and 2 had squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and small cell carcinoma, respectively. During the same period, 50 healthy individuals formed the control group and included 32 men and 18 women (mean age: 58.52 ± 11.93 years). Fasting venous blood samples were collected in the morning from both the LC and control group subjects who were not given hemostasis and anticoagulant medication for up to two weeks prior to the blood sampling. Thromboelastograms were drawn using a thromboelastograph, and PLT counts were determined using an automatic blood analyzer. From the initial study sample, 30 NSCLC patients (17 men and 13 women, mean age: 61.27 ± 7.90 years) and 20 control individuals (11 men and nine women, mean age: 57.00 ± 10.08 years) were selected for determination of CD62P positivity. Peripheral blood samples (2 mL) were centrifuged at 2000 r/min for 10 min. Using a straw-type pipette 100 μL of the intermediate gray cloudy interfacial layer, containing PLT-rich plasma was removed (making sure not to recover other layers) and transferred into a flow tube. PLT-rich plasma (5 μL each) was taken into test tube A (negative control tube) and test tube B (study tube). While CD61-FITC + IgG1-PE antibody (5 μL) was added to tube A, CD61-FITC + CD62P-PE antibody (5 μL) was added to tube B and incubated in the dark at room temperature for 20 min. Cells were washed once with 5 volumes of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution, centrifuged at 2000 r/min for 5 min, and discarded the supernatant. CD62P positive rate = (CD61 + CD62P + count/CD61 + count) × 100%. Compared with the control group, the LC group showed lower values of reaction time (R), K time (K), and PLT distribution width (PDW). However, values of angle, maximum amplitude (MA), coagulation composite index (CI), PLT, mean PLT volume (MPV) and FIB were higher in the LC group compared to the control group. Based on the 2017 version of clinical TNM staging, patients were divided into two groups: early stage (I/II) and late stage (III/IV). The differences in MA values were statistically significant between the two groups [Table 1]. The PLT counts in the LC group was (250.60 ± 57.09) × 109/L, which was significantly higher than that in the control group (192.35 ± 43.37) ×109/L. At the same time, patients with LC also had a significantly higher rate (%) of CD62P positive expression (50.42 ± 15.42), compared to the control group (27.31 ± 18.16).

The weak antilocalization (WAL) effect is known as a quantum correction to the classical conductivity, which never appeared in two-dimensional magnets. In this work, we reported the observation of a WAL effect in the van der Waals ferromagnet Fe5-xGeTe2 with a Curie temperature Tc ~ 270 K, which can even reach as high as ~ 120 K. The WAL effect could be well described by the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka and Maekawa-Fukuyama theories in the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Moreover, A crossover from a peak to dip behavior around 60 K in both the magnetoresistance and magnetoconductance was observed, which could be ascribed to a rare example of temperature driven Lifshitz transition as indicated by the angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements and first principles calculations. The reflective magnetic circular dichroism measurements indicate a possible spin reorientation that kills the WAL effect above 120 K. Our findings present a rare example of WAL effect in two-dimensional ferromagnet and also a magnetotransport fingerprint of the strong SOC in Fe5-xGeTe2. The results would be instructive for understanding the interaction Hamiltonian for such high Tc itinerant ferromagnetism as well as be helpful for the design of next-generation room temperature spintronic or twistronic devices.