Comparing prognostic value of preoperative platelet indexes in patients with resectable gastric cancer.

The ratio of mean platelet volume (MPV) to count (PC) (MPV/PC) has been applied in the diagnosis and prognosis of various malignancies. However, the prognostic value of MPV/PC in gastric cancer has not been studied yet. This study aims to explore the prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), combined neutrophil-platelet score (CNPS), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and MPV/PC in patients with resectable gastric cancer. In this study, the medical records of patients with gastric cancer in two centers were retrospectively analyzed. Kaplan-Meier and log-rank were tests applied to analyze the survival differences of patients with various inflammation indexes. A nomogram prognostic model was established to predict the 3- and 5-year survival rate of patients with resectable gastric cancer. In the two cohorts, Kaplan-Meier analysis that the postoperative survival time of gastric cancer patients with low MPV/PC, high NLR, high PLR and high SII was significantly shorter than that of patients with high MPV/PC, low NLR, low PLR or low SII. Compared with NLR, PLR, SII and CNPS, MPV/PC was more accurate in determining the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer than other indexes, and multivariate analysis confirmed that MPV/PC was an independent prognostic factor for patients with resectable gastric cancer. The nomogram model established based on tumor size, TNM stage and MPV/PC was more accurate than TNM stage in predicting the 3- and 5-year survival rate of patients with resectable gastric cancer. Preoperative MPV/PC is a new independent prognostic index and a potential marker for treatment response monitoring in patients with resectable gastric cancer. The nomogram model for postoperative prognosis of gastric cancer established based on MPV/PC, tumor size and TNM stage is helpful for developing more accurate and timely individualized therapeutic regimens.

Factors Limiting the Apparent Hydrogen Flux in Asymmetric Tubular Cercer Membranes Based on La27W3.5Mo1.5O55.5-δ and La0.87Sr0.13CrO3-δ.

Asymmetric tubular ceramic-ceramic (cercer) membranes based on La27W3.5Mo1.5O55.5-δ-La0.87Sr0.13CrO3-δ were fabricated by a two-step firing method making use of water-based extrusion and dip-coating. The performance of the membranes was characterized by measuring the hydrogen permeation flux and water splitting with dry and wet sweep gases, respectively. To explore the limiting factors for hydrogen and oxygen transport in the asymmetric membrane architecture, the effect of different gas flows and switching the feed and sweep sides of the membrane on the apparent hydrogen permeability was investigated. A dusty gas model was used to simulate the gas gradient inside the porous support, which was combined with Wagner diffusion calculations of the dense membrane layer to assess the overall transport across the asymmetric membrane. In addition, the stability of the membrane was investigated by means of flux measurements over a period of 400 h.

Thermochemically stable ceramic composite membranes based on Bi2O3 for oxygen separation with high permeability.

Ceramic oxygen separation membranes can be utilized to reduce CO2 emissions in fossil fuel power generation cycles based on oxy-fuel combustion. State-of-the-art oxygen permeable membranes based on Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ (BSCF) offer high oxygen permeability but suffer from long-term instability, especially in the presence of CO2. In this work, we present a novel ceramic composite membrane consisting of 60 vol% (Bi0.8Tm0.2)2O3-δ (BTM) and 40 vol% (La0.8Sr0.2)0.99MnO3-δ (LSM), which shows not only comparable oxygen permeability to that of BSCF but also outstanding long-term stability. At 900 °C, oxygen fluxes of 1.01 mL min-1 cm-2 and 1.33 mL min-1 cm-2 were obtained for membranes with thicknesses of 1.35 mm and 0.75 mm, respectively. Moreover, significant oxygen fluxes were obtained at temperatures down to 600 °C. A stable operation of the membrane was demonstrated with insignificant changes in the oxygen flux at 750 °C for approx. one month and at 700 °C with 50% CO2 as the sweep gas for more than two weeks.