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Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains a challenging malignancy, with radiotherapy, alone or combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors, often failing to achieve durable disease control. Here, by conducting longitudinal multi-omic analyses of pre- and post-radiation biopsies from patients receiving a pre-operative hypofractionated radiation regimen, we uncover that radiation rapidly depletes a subpopulation of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), characterized by a proliferative, cytotoxic, and tissue-resident gene signature (T Prolif_Tox ). We provide multi-dimensional evidence for tumor antigen-specificity of T Prolif_Tox clonotypes and show that post-radiation tumors are instead repopulated by regulatory and non-specific clones. Finally, TIL depletion correlates with radiorecurrent disease after conventional radiation, emphasizing the potential impact of radiation-induced TIL loss regardless of fractionation. Thus, this study provides key insights into radiotherapy-induced alterations in the immune microenvironment that drive immunologic radioresistance and proposes restoring tumor antigen-specific T cell clonotypes as a strategy to improve radioimmunotherapy responses in HNSCC. Combining radiation therapy (RT) with immunotherapy has had limited therapeutic benefits in the treatment of head and neck cancer (HNSCC). Here, the authors present a multi-omics analysis of patient biopsies pre- and post- hypofractionated RT and uncover RT-mediated depletion of tumor-reactive CD8+ T cells as the underlying cause of immunologic radioresistance in HNSCC.

Background/objectives: Improvements in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) treatment have reduced mortality. While chemoradiation before surgery was previously a standard of care, updated guidelines recommend peri-operative chemotherapy without chemoradiation. Continued investigation into optimal non-operative treatment paradigms for patients who defer surgery or are not candidates for surgery and certain chemotherapy regimens is needed. The impact of induction chemotherapy prior to chemoradiation on survival and surgical outcomes remains unclear. This study assessed survival and surgical outcomes in a real-world cohort of EAC patients receiving induction chemotherapy before chemoradiation. Methods: This single-institution, IRB-approved, retrospective cohort study included patients with newly diagnosed stage II-IVb (oligometastatic for IVb) EAC who received definitive chemoradiation (radiation ≥ 40 Gy and two cycles of chemotherapy) +/− esophagectomy from 2007 to 2022. Patients receiving induction chemotherapy were compared to those who did not. Endpoints included survival and surgical outcomes. Results: A total of 141 EAC patients received definitive chemoradiation; 83 received induction chemotherapy before chemoradiation. Patients receiving induction chemotherapy were younger (p < 0.01) with slightly lower performance status (p = 0.27) and presented at a more advanced stage (p < 0.001). Median OS was 3.5 years in the induction chemotherapy group compared to 2.2 years (p = 0.10). There was no difference in pathologic complete response (p = 0.81), esophagectomy frequency (p = 0.87), or surgical downstaging between treatment groups (p = 0.84). Conclusions: In this real-world, single-institutional patient cohort investigating induction chemotherapy prior to chemoradiation in EAC, patients receiving induction chemotherapy did well but did not have a statistically significant improvement in survival outcomes or surgical outcomes. This study showed that significant numbers of real-world patients may not receive esophagectomy. Thus, prospective, randomized clinical trials are warranted to better delineate the efficacy and selection of patients for induction chemotherapy when non-operative approaches are favored.

BackgroundMemory NKG2C+ natural killer (NK) cells play a critical role in controlling human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection and are increasingly recognized for their potent antitumor activity. These long-lived NK cells exhibit enhanced cytotoxicity and cytokine production, contributing to immune defense against both viral infections and malignancies. Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) rank among the most common cancers worldwide, with a poor 5-year survival rate of 10–50% in advanced stages. Despite improvements in therapy, treatment options for recurrent or metastatic disease remain limited. NK cells are essential for tumor surveillance; however, in HNSCC, they are highly susceptible to tumor-driven immune evasion, leading to impaired function and promoting both local and systemic disease progression. The transcriptional and functional characteristics of Memory NKG2C+ NK cells within the immunosuppressive HNSCC tumor microenvironment remain poorly defined. In our current study, we identify a significant enrichment of Memory NKG2C+ NK cells with enhanced effector function in regional lymph nodes of HNSCC patients.MethodsLymph node samples were collected from two patients undergoing resection for HNSCC, including both metastatic and non-metastatic nodes. To serve as comparative controls, four additional lymph nodes were obtained from cancer-free individuals: two HCMV+ and two HCMV-. All samples were processed into single-cell suspensions for single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). cDNA libraries were prepared, and sequenced, and raw reads were aligned to the human reference genome using Cell Ranger. After alignment, cells were filtered for quality and clustered based on uniquely expressed genes. Module scores of each subset differentially expressed genes were utilized to characterize the distinct subsets of NK cells.ResultsUnbiased clustering of NK cells from all lymph node samples revealed six distinct subsets, which were visualized using a Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection plot. Regional metastatic lymph nodes contained a significantly higher proportion of functionally immature NK cells characterized by the expression of inhibitory and suppressor genes such as KLRC1, TIGIT, and LAG3. In contrast, non-metastatic regional lymph nodes demonstrated a significant enrichment of Memory NKG2C+ NK cells, marked by elevated expression of activating receptors including CD16, NKG2C, IL7R and CD3e. Additionally, we identified a distinct transcriptional program in NK cells from metastatic lymph nodes, including a unique set of upregulated transcription factors associated with NK cell dysfunction.ConclusionsThese findings suggest a potential protective role of Memory NKG2C+ NK cells in limiting metastatic spread and highlight their relevance as targets for therapeutic intervention in HNSCC.

Decontamination of organic dyes from wastewater requires efficient and compatible materials that must be able to remove dyes with different charges at the same time. In this study, composites of layered double hydroxide (LDH) and hydrochar (HC) were prepared and tested for use as general-purpose sorbents for the simultaneous removal of cationic and anionic dyes (i.e., methylene blue (MB), methyl orange (MO), and reactive yellow (RY)). Characterization studies reveal that the surface functional groups on composites are –OH, NO3, M–O bonds. It was observed that crystallinity of LDH decreased with an increasing amount of HC. Preliminary experiments showed that the dyes (i.e., MB, MO, and RY) were well removed simultaneously onto the composite with HC (2.0 g HC/prepared composite). This composite was selected for more experiments, and the adsorption efficiency was optimized by the multivariate technique using the response surface methodology (RSM). Removal efficiency of 100% was obtained for all three dyes with an adsorption capacity of 243, 5.3, and 16.3 µmol g−1 for MB, MO, and RY, respectively. Elovich’s initial intake rates (α) were 4,272, 441, and 99.5 mg g−1 min−1 for RY, MB, and MO, respectively. Data fitted in various models suggested second-order multiplex kinetics, where the surface heterogeneity response was sorbate dependent.

In the present study, the esterification of oleic acid with methanol was studied in batch to batch method over hydrothermal carbon catalyst (HTCC) from Ziziphus Mauritiana L.. The synthesized catalyst was characterized by FT-IR, XRD, XPS, SEM, and BET analysis. The surface area and acid density of prepared HTCC were found to be 15.97 m2 g−1 and 2.53 mmol g−1, respectively. Statistical analysis was performed by using ANOVA, mean, standard deviation and variance method. Statistically there is no significant difference among the means of the 4 variables at the 95% confidence level and the P-value of the F-test is equal to or greater than the 0.05. The maximum oleic acid conversions from methanol were obtained upto 91%. Furthermore, reusability and regeneration study were also carried out to assess to check catalytic performance. The study reveals that HTCC obtained from Ziziphus Mauritiana L. is an excellent catalyst and can be used for esterification of oleic acid to produce biodiesel.

Residential buildings are turning out to be huge power-consumption units that accommodate multiple families. To limit energy consumption and environmental impacts, conventional buildings are being retrofitted as green buildings. However, due to the lack of awareness among residents and construction agencies, the adoption pace of green building retrofitting is slow. Under current retrofitting procedures, the building envelopes have been given great attention, which is an expensive and complex process. However, the sizing of lighting and cooling loads has not been considered in the retrofitting process, and careful attention is needed as they are major building loads. In this research, an appropriate sizing of lighting and cooling loads, along with optimized water consumption, is performed. The sizing is obtained using the parametric variations, i.e., varying the coefficient of utilization (CU) factor of lighting and the wall-to-window ratio (WWR) of different rooms to quantify their impact on power consumption. The optimization of water consumption is performed using particle swarm optimization. A case study of a residential building was taken, and a residential unit was considered in the study. It was found that parametric variations can reduce sizing, which has a significant impact on the overall power consumption, whereas optimizing the water consumption can significantly reduce the utilization of water in the building. Finally, the comparison is made in terms of power consumption for the current practices and the optimal analysis. It was found that with the proposed sizing and subsequent retrofitting, the lighting consumption was reduced to 34%, whereas the space cooling requirements were reduced to 19%.

This paper demonstrates a broad exploration of existing authentication and secure communication of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a ‘6G network’. We begin with an overview of existing surveys that deal with UAV authentication in 6G and beyond communications, standardization, applications and security. In order to highlight the impact of blockchain and UAV authentication in ‘UAV networks’ in future communication systems, we categorize the groups in this review into two comprehensive groups. The first group, named the Performance Group (PG), comprises the performance-related needs on data rates, latency, reliability and massive connectivity. Meanwhile, the second group, named the Specifications Group (SG), is included in the authentication-related needs on non-reputability, data integrity and audit ability. In the 6G network, with blockchain and UAV authentication, the network decentralization and resource sharing would minimize resource under-utilization thereby facilitating PG targets. Furthermore, through an appropriate selection of blockchain type and consensus algorithms, the SG’s needs of UAV authentication in 6G network applications can also be readily addressed. In this study, the combination of blockchain and UAV authentication in 6G network emergence is reviewed as a detailed review for secure and universal future communication. Finally, we conclude on the critical identification of challenges and future research directions on the subject.