Highly Stable, Bending-Tolerant, and Sustainable Flexible Heater through a Scalable Papermaking Procedure.

Flexible electrothermal heaters have attracted abundant attention in recent years due to their wide applications, but their preparation with high efficiency remains a challenge. Here in this work, a highly stable and bending-tolerant flexible heater was fabricated with graphite nanosheets and cellulose fibers through a scalable papermaking procedure. Its electrothermal property can be enhanced by a hot-pressing treatment and introduction of cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) during the papermaking protocol. The flexible heater may quickly reach its maximum temperature of 239.8 °C in around 1 min at a voltage of 9 V. The power density was up to 375.3 °C cm2 w-1. It appeared to have a high tolerance for bending deformation with various curvatures, and the temperature remained stable even under 100 bending with frequency of around 0.17 Hz. Over 100 alternatively heating and cooling cycles, it worked stably as well. It was proved to be used as wearable heating equipment, soft heaters, and aircraft deicing devices, suggesting its great prospect in the field of heat management.

Effects of Ultrasonic Treatment on Physical Stability of Lily Juice: Rheological Behavior, Particle Size, and Microstructure.

The aim of this study was to investigate the rheological properties, particle size distribution, color change, and stability of lily juice under different ultrasonic treatment conditions (152 W, 304 W, 456 W, 608 W, and 760 W). The results showed that the lily juice exhibited non-Newtonian shear thinning behavior, and the viscosity decreased with the increase in ultrasonic power. Under ultrasonic treatment conditions, there was no significant change in the pH value and zeta potential value of the samples. The content of cloudy value and total soluble solids (TSS) increased gradually. However, both the sedimentation components and centrifugal sedimentation rate showed a downward trend and an asymptotic behavior. In addition, high-power ultrasound changed the color index (L* value decreased, a* value increased), tissue structure, and particle distribution of the sample, and small particles increased significantly. To sum up, ultrasonic treatment has great potential in improving the physical properties and suspension stability of lily juice.

Exploring thyroxine binding globulin structural changes and its release from human hepatoblastoma cells upon interaction with silica particles: A prelude to unrevealing the mechanism of thyroid hormone dysregulation.

Endocrine dysregulation in the presence of environmental chemical risk factors is a global adverse health concern. The aim of this investigation was to explore the structural changes and binding affinity of thyroxine (T4) binding protein (TBG) upon interaction with SiO2 particles as the second largest mineral in the Earth's crust and one of the most important constituents of rock, soil, and dust. Therefore, the interaction of TBG with SiO2 particles was assessed by fluorescence quenching, molecular docking, ANS and synchronous fluorescence, and far-UV CD analyses. Also, the release of TBG from human hepatoblastoma cell line, Hep G2, was assessed by ELISA assay. The results displayed that the value of stoichiometry of binding site (n) of TBG for T4 was approximately equal to one, which was reduced to 0.36 in the presence of SiO2 particles. Also, the binding affinity (Kb) values revealed that the binding affinity between T4 and TBG was strong (97.90 × 105 L/mol), while the presence of SiO2 particles resulted in the calculation of a Kb around 0.00159 × 105 L/mol, which was significantly lower than that of the absence of SiO2 particles. This data was also verified by molecular docking analyses which indicated that SiO2 particles interacted with the T4 binding pocket of TBG. Moreover, further studies exhibited that although the equimolar concentration of T4 to TBG resulted in the superior stability of TBG-T4 complex relative to free TBG, the presence of SiO2 particles with the same concentration led to denaturation of the secondary structure of TBG. Furthermore, it was seen that the amount of released TBG in the cell culture medium of Hep G2 was about 2.21 ng/mL protein, whereas this amount in SiO2 particles-treated cell group was significantly reduced to 1.71 ng/mL protein (*P < 0.05). In conclusion, this study implies that SiO2 particles show the potential to result in inhibition of TBG release, TBG denaturation, and interfere with TBG binding affinity which may lead to dysregulation of the thyroid hormone transport and associated signaling pathways.

Solitary fibrous tumor of the liver: A case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare neoplasm. Up to now, only 90 cases have been reported in the English language literature. This report describes a case of SFT of the liver misdiagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma. CASE SUMMARY: A 42-year-old male had a two-year history of a gradually enlarging intrahepatic nodule. The preoperative imaging revealed a mass with a size of 2.7 cm × 2.3 cm located in the segment IV of the liver. The patient was subjected to the resection of the segment IV, such as the medial segment of the left lobe of the liver. The histological examination of the mass showed various spindled cells irregularly arranged in the stroma. The immunohistochemistry of this mass revealed a positive staining for CD34 and STAT6. The history of intracranial tumor and postoperative pathological results led to the diagnosis of SFT of the liver (SFTL) due to a metastasis from the brain. CONCLUSION: SFTL is an uncommon mesenchymal neoplasm that can be easily overlooked or misdiagnosed. The best treatment choice is the complete surgical resection of the mass. A regular follow-up after the surgery should be performed due to the poor prognosis of metastatic or recurrent SFT.

Clinical characteristics and patient outcomes of molecular subtypes of small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that according to the expression levels of achaete-scute homolog 1 (ASCL1), neurogenic differentiation factor 1 (NEUROD1), and POU class 2 homeobox 3 (POU2F3), small cell lung cancer (SCLC) can be divided into four subtypes: SCLC-A (ASCL1-dominant), SCLC-N (NEUROD1-dominant), SCLC-P (POU2F3-dominant), and SCLC-I (triple negative or SCLC-inflamed). However, there are limited data on the clinical characteristics and prognosis of molecular subtypes of SCLC. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect the expression levels of ASCL1, NEUROD1, and POU2F3 in 53 patient samples of resectable SCLC. The subtype was defined by the differential expression of the transcription factors for ASCL1, NEUROD1, and POU2F3 or the low expression of all three factors with an inflamed gene signature (SCLC-A, SCLC-N, SCLC-P, and SCLC-I, respectively). The clinicopathological characteristics, immunological features (programmed death ligand 1 [PD-L1] expression and CD8+ tumor infiltrating lymphocyte [TIL] density), and patient outcomes of the four subtypes of SCLC were analyzed. RESULTS: Positive ASCL1, NEUROD1, and POU2F3 staining was detected in 43 (79.2%), 27 (51.0%), and 17 (32.1%) SCLC specimens by IHC. According to the results of IHC analysis, SCLC was divided into four subtypes: SCLC-A (39.6%), SCLC-N (28.3%), SCLC-P (17.0%), and SCLC-I (15.1%). The 5-year overall survival (OS) rates of these four subtypes were 61.9%, 69.3%, 41.7%, and 85.7%, respectively (P=0.251). There were significant differences in smoking status among different subtypes of SCLC (P= 0.031). However, we did not confirm the correlation between subtypes of SCLC and other clinicopathological factors or immune profiles. Cox multivariate analysis showed that N stage (P=0.025), CD8+ TILs (P=0.024), Ki-67 level (P=0.040), and SCLC-P (P=0.023) were independent prognostic factors for resectable SCLC. CONCLUSIONS: Our IHC-based study validated the proposed classification of SCLC using the expression patterns of key transcriptional regulatory factors. We found that SCLC-P was associated with smokers and was one of the poor prognostic factors of limited-stage SCLC. In addition, no correlation was found between PD-L1 expression or CD8+ TIL density and SCLC subtypes.

Malignant solitary fibrous tumor of the pancreas with systemic metastasis: A case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare neoplasm of intermediate biological potential. So far, only 22 cases have been reported since 1999. All the cases, except one, exhibited benign features. Here, we report the first case of malignant pancreatic SFT with typical Doege-Potter syndrome, along with the clinical and pathologic evidence of its systemic metastasis. CASE SUMMARY: The patient was a 48-year-old man with a 1-year history of pancreatic and liver masses and refractory hypoglycemia. Increased uptake of the tracer fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) was found in the liver and bones by fluorine-18 FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography. After multidisciplinary discussion, a distal pancreatectomy procedure was performed, and histological examination showed a lesion composed of abundant heterogeneous spindle cells with localized necrosis. On immunohistochemistry evaluation, STAT6 was found to be diffusely expressed in the tumor. Based on the overall evidence, the patient was diagnosed with malignant pancreatic SFT with liver and bone metastases. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of malignant SFT requires comprehensive evidence including clinical, immunohistochemistry, and histological features. This case may be presented as a reference for diagnoses and management of malignant pancreatic SFTs with systemic metastasis.

Plumbagin protects against hydrogen peroxide-induced neurotoxicity by modulating NF-κB and Nrf-2.

INTRODUCTION: Redox signaling initiates pathogenesis of neuronal degeneration. Plumbagin is a potential antioxidant with anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and radio sensitizing properties. In the present study, we aimed to determine the protective role of plumbagin against H2O2-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells by determining nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf-2) pathways. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We analyzed oxidative stress by determining reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitrite levels, and antioxidant enzyme activities. Nrf-2 and NF-κB p65 nuclear localization was determined through immunofluorescence. Further, nuclear levels of p-Nrf-2 and downstream expression of NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1 (NQO1), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and glutathione-s-transferase (GST) were determined by western blot. Anti-inflammatory activity was analyzed by evaluating NF-κB p65, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and interleukin (IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1) expression. RESULTS: The results showed that plumbagin increased (p < 0.01) the cell viability against H2O2-induced cell death in PC12 cells. Plumbagin effectively ameliorated H2O2-induced oxidative stress through reducing oxidative stress (p < 0.01) and activating p-Nrf-2 levels. Further, plumbagin up-regulated antioxidant enzyme activities (p < 0.01) against H2O2-induced oxidative stress. Plumbagin showed anti-inflammatory effect by suppressing NF-κB p65 activation and down-regulating NF-κB p65 and COX-2 expression. In addition, plumbagin modulated (p < 0.01) inflammatory cytokine expression against H2O2-induced neurotoxic effects. CONCLUSIONS: Together, our results show that plumbagin modulated NF-κB and Nrf-2 signaling. Thus, plumbagin might be an effective compound in preventing H2O2-induced neurotoxicity and its associated inflammatory responses.

Cytoplasmic FOXP1 expression is correlated with ER and calpain II expression and predicts a poor outcome in breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Nuclear forkhead box protein P1 (N-FOXP1) expression in invasive breast cancer has been documented in the literature. However, the FOXP1 expression patterns at different stages of breast cancer progression are largely unknown, and the significance of cytoplasmic FOXP1 (C-FOXP1) expression in breast cancer has not been well illustrated. The aims of this study were to investigate FOXP1 expression patterns in invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) and usual ductal hyperplasia (UDH), and to analyze the clinicopathological relevance of C-FOXP1 and its prognostic value in IDC. METHODS: N-FOXP1 and C-FOXP1 expression in cases of IDC, DCIS, ADH and UDH was determined using immunohistochemistry. The correlation between C-FOXP1 expression and clinicopathological parameters as well as the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates of patients with IDC were analyzed. RESULTS: Exclusive N-FOXP1 expression was found in 85.0% (17/20), 40.0% (8/20), 12.2% (5/41) and 10.8% (9/83) of UDH, ADH, DCIS, and IDC cases, respectively, and exclusive C-FOXP1 expression was observed in 0% (0/20), 0% (0/20), 4.9% (2/41), and 31.3% (26/83) of the cases, respectively. Both N- and C-FOXP1 staining were observed in 15.0% (3/20), 60.0% (12/20), 82.9% (34/41) and 48.2% (40/83) of the above cases, respectively, while complete loss of FOXP1 expression was observed in only 9.6% (8/83) of IDC cases. Estrogen receptor (ER) expression in C-FOXP1-positive IDC cases (31/66, 47.0%) was significantly lower than that in C-FOXP1-negative cases (13/17, 76.5%) (p = 0.030). Calpain II expression was observed in 83.3% (55/66) of C-FOXP1-positive IDC cases, which was significantly higher than that in C-FOXP1-negative cases (9/17, 52.9%) (p = 0.007). Calpain II was significantly associated with pAKT (p = 0.029), pmTOR (p = 0.011), p4E-BP1 (p < 0.001) and p-p70S6K (p = 0.003) expression levels. The 10-year OS and DFS rates of the C-FOXP1-positive patients were 60.5% and 48.7%, respectively, both of which were lower than those of the C-FOXP1-negative patients (93.3, 75.3%). The OS curve showed a dramatic impact of C-FOXP1 status on OS (p = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS: Cytoplasmic relocalization of FOXP1 protein was a frequent event in breast IDC. Calpain II might play an important role in nucleocytoplasmic trafficking of FOXP1 and the AKT pathway might be involved in this process. C-FOXP1 expression was inversely associated with ER expression and might be a predictor of poor OS in patients with IDC.

FTO regulates the chemo-radiotherapy resistance of cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) by targeting ß-catenin through mRNA demethylation.

The role of N6 -methyladenosine (m6 A) demethylase fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) in the regulation of chemo-radiotherapy resistance remains largely unknown. Here, we show that the mRNA level of FTO is elevated in cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) tissues when compared with respective adjacent normal tissues. FTO enhances the chemo-radiotherapy resistance both in vitro and in vivo through regulating expression of ß-catenin by reducing m6 A levels in its mRNA transcripts and in turn increases excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) activity. Clinically, the prognostic value of FTO for overall survival is found to be dependent on ß-catenin expression in human CSCC samples. Taken together, these findings uncover a critical function for FTO and its substrate m6 A in the regulation of chemo-radiotherapy resistance, which may bear potential clinical implications for CSCC treatment.

Prognostic Value of Neutrophil-Related Factors in Locally Advanced Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients Treated with Cisplatin-Based Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy.

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between neutrophil-related factors, including neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the responses of neutrophil to granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (RNG), and the prognosis of patients with locally advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma (LACSCC) undergoing cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCCRT). A total of sixty LACSCC patients were enrolled in this study. We analyzed the association of NLR or RNG with clinicopathologic characteristics of these patients. The prognostic factors were evaluated by univariate and multivariate survival analysis. The optimal cut-off value of the NLR was determined to be 2.0 for the overall survival (OS). A higher level of the NLR was associated with younger age (P = 0.017) and higher baseline platelet count (P = 0.040). NLR was identified to be the only independent prognostic factor for OS by multivariate analysis (P = 0.037). The median RNG was 3.01, with a range of 1.19-16.84. RNG level was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis of these patients (P = 0.023). And higher RNG was identified as being a closely independent poor prognostic factor for OS (P = 0.055). This study showed that NLR and RNG may be used as potential biomarkers for survival prediction in patients with LACSCC receiving CCCRT.

[Clinical value of radial endorectal ultrasound in the assessment of preoperative staging of rectal carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical value of radial endorectal ultrasound (ERUS) in the assessment of preoperative staging of rectal carcinoma. METHODS: One hundred and ten patients with rectal cancer underwent preoperative endorectal ultrasound (ERUS) examination in our hospital from February 2010 to September 2011. ERUS was performed using a Hitachi 900, Hitachi HI Vision Preirus US scanner, with a 5 - 10 MHz rigid rotating radial transducer and a focal length of 2 - 5 cm. The size, shape, echo pattern, infiltration depth, degree of circumferential involvement, extra-rectal invasion of the lesions and lymph node involvement were observed. The results of ERUS staging were compared with histopathological findings of the surgical specimens. RESULTS: The accuracy of ERUS for T staging was 91.4%. The accuracy of ERUS in diagnosing stage T1, T2, T3, T4 cancers was 92.7%, 88.2%, 88.2% and 96.4%, respectively. The sensitivity of ERUS in diagnosing stage T1, T2, T3, T4 cancers was 92.3%, 72.7%, 85.4% and 71.4%, respectively. The specificity of ERUS in diagnosing stage T1, T2, T3, T4 cancer was 92.9%, 92.0%, 90.3% and 100.0%, respectively. Comparing the consistency of preoperative T-staging and postoperative pathological results, the Kappa value was 0.75, with a considerable consistency. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of ERUS in the assessment of lymph node metastasis were 74.2%, 89.9% and 85.5%, respectively. Comparing the consistency of preoperative N-staging and postoperative pathological results, the Kappa value was 0.64, with a considerable consistency. CONCLUSIONS: ERUS is a practical and accurate tool in assessment of preoperative staging of rectal tumors in regard to tumor invasion depth (T) and regional lymph node status (N), with advantages of simple operation, less pain, and high accuracy.

Clinical value of radial endorectal ultrasound in the assessment of preoperative staging of rectal carcinoma / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the clinical value of radial endorectal ultrasound (ERUS) in the assessment of preoperative staging of rectal carcinoma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and ten patients with rectal cancer underwent preoperative endorectal ultrasound (ERUS) examination in our hospital from February 2010 to September 2011. ERUS was performed using a Hitachi 900, Hitachi HI Vision Preirus US scanner, with a 5 - 10 MHz rigid rotating radial transducer and a focal length of 2 - 5 cm. The size, shape, echo pattern, infiltration depth, degree of circumferential involvement, extra-rectal invasion of the lesions and lymph node involvement were observed. The results of ERUS staging were compared with histopathological findings of the surgical specimens.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The accuracy of ERUS for T staging was 91.4%. The accuracy of ERUS in diagnosing stage T1, T2, T3, T4 cancers was 92.7%, 88.2%, 88.2% and 96.4%, respectively. The sensitivity of ERUS in diagnosing stage T1, T2, T3, T4 cancers was 92.3%, 72.7%, 85.4% and 71.4%, respectively. The specificity of ERUS in diagnosing stage T1, T2, T3, T4 cancer was 92.9%, 92.0%, 90.3% and 100.0%, respectively. Comparing the consistency of preoperative T-staging and postoperative pathological results, the Kappa value was 0.75, with a considerable consistency. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of ERUS in the assessment of lymph node metastasis were 74.2%, 89.9% and 85.5%, respectively. Comparing the consistency of preoperative N-staging and postoperative pathological results, the Kappa value was 0.64, with a considerable consistency.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>ERUS is a practical and accurate tool in assessment of preoperative staging of rectal tumors in regard to tumor invasion depth (T) and regional lymph node status (N), with advantages of simple operation, less pain, and high accuracy.</p>

ERCC1 mRNA levels can predict the response to cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy of locally advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) mRNA expression could predict treatment response of patients with locally advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma (LACSCC) who underwent cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCCRT). METHODS: A total of sixty LACSCC patients, treated with radical CCCRT from a single institution were evaluated. ERCC1 mRNA expression was determined by quantitative real-time RT-PCR in pre-treatment tumor tissues. The association of ERCC1 status with clinicopathological characteristics (age, histological grade, tumor size, parametrial invasion, lymph node metastasis and FIGO stage) and treatment response were analyzed. RESULTS: No significant association between ERCC1 mRNA expression and clinicopathological characteristics were observed. Patients with low ERCC1 mRNA level had a significantly higher rate of complete response (86.21%) than patients with high level of ERCC1 expression (19.36%; p < 0.001). In the logistic regression analysis, low ERCC1 mRNA level retained an independent role in predicting complete response to CCCRT (P < 0.001). An ERCC1 expression level of 0.0901 was determined as an optimal cutoff value to identify complete response patients to CCCRT treatment. The sensitivity for detection of a complete response was 81.48% with a specificity of 96.97% (area under the curve, 0.893; 95% confidence interval, 0.804-0.983). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first analysis of the association between ERCC1 mRNA levels and treatment response in patients with LACSCC. Low ERCC1 mRNA level appears to be a highly specific predictor of response to CCCRT in LACSCC.

Infiltrating memory/senescent T cell ratio predicts extrahepatic metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The density of tumor-infiltrating immunocytes (TICs) has been proposed as an independent predictor of intrahepatic recurrence in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the relative roles of TIC density in predicting tumor extrahepatic metastasis remain to be elucidated. METHODS: The densities of CD3(+), CD8(+), granzyme B(+), FoxP3(+), CD45RO(+), CD20(+), CD1a(+), CD83(+), CD57(+), and CD68(+) TICs were assessed by immunohistochemistry in tissue microarrays containing paired intratumoral (IT) and peritumoral (PT) tissues from 206 consecutive HCC patients who underwent liver transplantation. Occurrence of extrahepatic metastasis, recurrence-free survival (RFS), and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were assessed retrospectively in relation to TIC densities. RESULTS: CD45RO(+) memory T cell density was lower in tumor tissue compared with peritumor, whereas CD57(+) senescent T cell density was higher. Univariate analysis revealed that increased CD45RO (IT) (+) and decreased CD57 (PT) (+) densities were statistically significantly associated with favorable RFS and CSS, while other types of TICs, intratumorally or peritumorally, showed no prognostic values. Further, the CD45RO (IT) (+) /CD57 (PT) (+) ratio could stratify patients more accurately in terms of RFS and CSS than either marker used alone. Finally, multivariate analysis indicated that a high CD45RO (IT) (+) /CD57 (PT) (+) ratio was independently associated with better RFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.42 to 0.98; P = 0.040) and CSS (HR = 0.51; 95% CI, 0.31 to 0.83; P = 0.007), but not CD45RO (IT) (+) or CD57 (PT) (+) individually. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the CD45RO (IT) (+) /CD57 (PT) (+) (memory/senescent T cell) ratio is of vital importance in preventing HCC extrahepatic metastasis and in particular demonstrates its independent prognostic value in liver transplant recipients.