A vertically-stacked MXene/rGO composite membrane for highly efficient H2/CO2 separation.

A vertically-stacked MXene/rGO composite membrane with ultrashort transport channels is reported here, which demonstrated outstanding molecular sieving, i.e., H2/CO2 selectivity of up to 83 together with high H2 permeance of 2.7 × 10-7 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1 at 120 °C, highlighting its applicability for H2/CO2 separation in CO2 capture and sequestration.

Correlation between circulating tumor cells and different molecular biological characteristics in breast cancer patients.

Background: This study sought to detect the number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in breast cancer patients, and examine the relationship between CTCs and molecular biological characteristics. Methods: From June 2016 to June 2018, 150 female patients with invasive breast cancer detected by CTCs at the Department of Breast Surgery, Fudan University Cancer Hospital were enrolled in this study. The patients had an average age of 52.6±7.8 (range, 35-77) years. Routine pathological and immunohistochemical examinations were performed on tissues obtained during surgery. In this study, CTCs were detected using the immunomagnetic bead negative enrichment technique (i.e., the Cyttel technique). The measurement data are expressed by x ± s, and were compared by t-tests. A univariate analysis of variance was used to compare differences between groups. The count data are expressed as the absolute value, and the test χ2 or Fisher's exact test were used to compare differences. Results: There were 109 cases of positive CTC (≥3 CTCs/4 mL) (72.7%), and 41 cases of negative CTC (<3 CTCs/4 mL) (27.3%). There were no significant differences in terms of age and menopausal status between the two groups (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the positive rate of CTC in T1, T2, and T3 and above patients (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the CTC positive rate between ER positive and negative patients, PR positive and negative patients, and Ki-67 ≥14% and <14% patients (P>0.05). However, there was a statistical difference in the positive rate of CTC between human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) positive and negative patients (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the CTC positive rate among patients with Luminal A type, B type, HER-2 overexpression type, and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the positive rate of CTC among patients with invasive ductal carcinoma, invasive lobular carcinoma, and other types of invasive carcinoma (P>0.05). Conclusions: It can be concluded that there is a relationship between CTC and HER-2 expression, which has certain predictive value for patients with positive HER-2 expression, thus predicting poor prognosis.

PLK1 as a potential prognostic marker of gastric cancer through MEK-ERK pathway on PDTX models.

BACKGROUND: PLK1 has been identified as having a great effect on cell division and maintaining genomic stability in mitosis, spindle assembly, and DNA damage response by current studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We assessed PLK1 expression in cervical cancer tissues and cells. We have also evaluated the effects of PLK1 on gastric cancer cell proliferation, migration, and apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: Our results show that PLK1 is overexpressed in gastric cancer tissues and cells. Inhibition of PLK1 contributes cell cycle G2-phase arrest and inhibits the proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of gastric cancer (GC) cells, whereas its overexpression promotes proliferation, migration, and apoptosis in these cells. Moreover, PLK1 inhibition reduces expression of pMEK and pERK. More importantly, in vivo by analyzing tumorigenesis in patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDTX) models, the inhibition of PLK1 activity by BI6727 significantly decreased the volume and weight of the tumors compared with control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Our results found that PLK1 has a significant impact on the survival of GC cells; it may become a prognostic judge, a potential therapeutic target, and a preventative biomarker of GC.

Comparison between uncut Roux-en-Y and Roux-en-Y reconstruction after distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer: A meta-analysis.

AIM: To compare uncut Roux-en-Y (U-RY) gastrojejunostomy with Roux-en-Y (RY) gastrojejunostomy after distal gastrectomy (DG) for gastric cancer. METHODS: A literature search was conducted in Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and China Science and Technology Journal Database to identify studies comparing U-RY with RY after DG for gastric cancer until the end of December 2017. Pooled odds ratio or weighted mean difference with 95% confidence interval was calculated using either fixed- or random-effects models. Perioperative outcomes such as operative time, intraoperative blood loss, and hospital stay; postoperative complications such as anastomotic bleeding, stricture and ulcer, reflux gastritis/esophagitis, delayed gastric emptying, and Roux stasis syndrome; and postoperative nutritional status (serum hemoglobin, total protein, and albumin levels) were the main outcomes assessed. Meta-analyses were performed using RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS: Two randomized controlled trials and four nonrandomized observational clinical studies involving 403 and 488 patients, respectively, were included. The results of the meta-analysis showed that operative time [weighted mean difference (WMD): -12.95; 95%CI: -22.29 to -3.61; P = 0.007] and incidence of reflux gastritis/esophagitis (OR: 0.40; 95%CI: 0.20-0.80; P = 0.009), delayed gastric emptying (OR: 0.29; 95%CI: 0.14-0.61; P = 0.001), and Roux stasis syndrome (OR: 0.14; 95%CI: 0.04-0.50; P = 0.002) were reduced; and the level of serum albumin (WMD: 0.71; 95%CI: 0.24-1.19; P = 0.003) was increased in patients undergoing U-RY reconstruction compared with those undergoing RY reconstruction. No differences were found with respect to intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay, anastomotic bleeding, anastomotic stricture, anastomotic ulcer, the levels of serum hemoglobin, and serum total protein. CONCLUSION: U-RY reconstruction has some clinical advantages over RY reconstruction after DG.

Giant mucinous adenocarcinoma of the appendix: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Appendiceal mucinous adenocarcinoma is an extremely rare disease in clinical practice. Here, we report a case of unprecedented size that occupied the entire abdomen of a man. CASE PRESENTATION: A 49-year-old Chinese Han man presented with symptoms of abdominal distension. During a computed tomography imaging examination, a cystic-solid mass that occupied his entire abdominal cavity was detected. During exploratory laparotomy, an appendiceal tumor in his abdominal-pelvic cavity measuring 27.6 × 14.2 cm was found, and he underwent tumor resection. The pathology of the tumor identified a well-differentiated appendiceal mucinous adenocarcinoma with mucin infiltrating into the soft tissue of the lump edge and omentum tissue. After surgery, our patient accepted intraperitoneal infusion chemotherapy. At present, he has had no recurrence for 15 months. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, the present case is the largest appendiceal mucinous adenocarcinoma reported. Surgical tumor resection is the preferred treatment for appendiceal mucinous adenocarcinoma. This is supplemented by chemotherapy which can further prolong survival.