A Simple Polypyrrole/Polyvinylidene Fluoride Membrane with Hydrophobic and Self-Floating Ability for Solar Water Evaporation.

The traditional hydrophobic solarevaporator is generally obtained through the modification of alkyl or fluoroalkyl on the photothermal membrane. However, the modified groups can easily be oxidized in the long-term use process, resulting in the poor salt resistance and stability of photothermal membrane. In order to solve this problem, a simple polypyrrole/polyvinylidene fluoride membrane, consisting of an intrinsic hydrophobic support (polyvinylidene fluoride) and a photothermal material (polypyrrole), was fabricated by ultrasonically mixing and immersed precipitation. This photothermal membrane showed good self-floating ability in the process of water evaporation. In order to further improve the photothermal conversion efficiency, a micropyramid structure with antireflective ability was formed on the surface of membrane by template method. The micropyramids can enhance the absorption efficiency of incident light. The water evaporation rate reached 1.42 kg m-2 h-1 under 1 sun irradiation, and the photothermal conversion efficiency was 88.7%. The hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride ensures that NaCl cannot enter into membrane during the evaporation process of the brine, thus realizing the stability and salt resistance of polypyrrole/polyvinylidene fluoride in 3.5%wt and 10%wt NaCl solution.

Preeclampsia and cancer risk in women in later life: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.

IMPORTANCE: Results of this work may provide some guidance for subsequent ovarian cancer screening in women with preeclampsia and provide new directions for future studies. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the difference in cancer risk between women with preeclampsia and women with a normal pregnancy. EVIDENCE REVIEW: Electronic databases, namely PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library, were searched for relevant studies from database inception to February 4, 2021. The results are expressed as risk ratios (RRs). FINDINGS: The study included 13 cohort studies comprising 5,254,150 participants. The difference in the total cancer risk between the control and preeclampsia groups was statistically nonsignificant. However, breast cancer (BC) risk was lower in the preeclampsia group (RR = 0.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.83-0.93; I2 = 57.2%). A subgroup analysis stratified by reproductive factors demonstrated that BC risk in the preeclampsia population decreased in parous women (RR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.72-0.87; I2 = 0%), women with full-term pregnancies (RR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.75-0.84; I2 = 0%), and women with increasing parity. Furthermore, BC risk reduced in women with preeclampsia regardless of their menopausal status and the sex of their offspring. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Overall, women with preeclampsia have a decreased BC risk and increased ovarian cancer risk compared with the normal population. A subgroup analysis stratified by reproductive factors demonstrated that BC risk decreased in the preeclampsia population in parous women, women with full-term pregnancies, and women with increasing parity regardless of their menopausal status and the sex of their offspring.

Circular RNA PCDH10 regulates the tumorigenesis of pancreatic cancer through the miR-338-3p/hTERT axis.

Protocadherin-10 (PCDH10) was previously identified as a pancreatic cancer (PC) suppressor by reducing telomerase activity through binding with human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT). However, we did not observe any effects of PCDH10 on hTERT mRNA or protein expression. Our research found that the PCDH10 gene could be transcribed into linear mRNA or circular RNA, and FUS could bind to the introns flanking the circularized exons, inducing the PCDH10 linear mRNA to shift to circPCDH10 in PC cells. Knockdown of circPCDH10 significantly inhibited PC progression. Mechanistically, circPCDH10 acted as a sponge of miR-338-3p, which could negatively regulate hTERT expression in PC cells. The inhibitory effects of circPCDH10 knockdown on PC cells could be notably reversed by miR-338-3p inhibition and ectopic expression of hTERT. Overall, we propose that the increased FUS expression in PC cells made circPCDH10 the preferred product of the PCDH10 gene, and circPCDH10 might promote PC progression through upregulation of hTERT expression by targeting miR-338-3p.

NOD2 maybe a biomarker for the survival of kidney cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 2 (NOD2) may play an important role in the outcome of kidney cancer patients. To explore the relationship between NOD2 and the prognosis of kidney cancer patients, a databank-based reanalysis was conducted. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data related to kidney cancer patients at least with survival information, was obtained mainly from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Some clinical data, not available online, was collected by personal email to the author. Then, we reanalyzed all the data in order to make a conclusion about the relationship between NOD2 gene and the prognosis of kidney cancer patients. RESULTS: A total of 1953 samples with NOD2 information from four databanks of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were enrolled in this study. The results of KIPAN showed the Kaplan-Meier curve for risk groups, concordance index, and p-value of the log-rank testing equality of survival curves ( Concordance Index = 56.57, Log-Rank Equal Curves p=0.0009006, R^2 = 0.036/0.953, Risk Groups Hazard Ratio = 1.61 (conf. int. 1.21 ~ 2.13), p = 0.001005) , while a box plot across risk groups, including the p-value testing for difference using t-test (or f-test for more than two groups) was shown. There was a statistical significance for the p value of the result (p < 0.01 ). The similar results could be seen in KIRC and the fourth data (including 468 samples). CONCLUSIONS: The status of NOD2 gene maybe a biomarker for the survival of kidney cancer patients.

The relationship between tumor necrosis factor-α polymorphisms and gastric cancer risk: An updated meta-analysis.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and the development of gastric cancer, and to investigate whether it can be used as a biological marker for gastric cancer. In the current study, a new meta-analysis was performed to assess the association between TNF-α gene polymorphisms and gastric cancer susceptibility. Subgroup analyses based on ethnicity, control population source and non-cardia cancers were also conducted. Summary odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random-effects model. TNF-α 308 polymorphisms indicated a significant relationship with gastric cancer risk among a normal population [GA/AA vs. GG; 1.17 (1.10-1.23)]. In analysis stratified by ethnicity, TNF-α 238 displayed an association with gastric cancer risk in eastern populations [GA/AA vs. GG: 1.24 (1.02-1.50)], but not in western populations [GA/AA vs. GG: 0.96 (0.79-1.18)]. The overall ORs (95% CIs) for TNF-α 857, TNF-α 1031 and TNF-α 863 were 1.13 (1.04-1.24), 0.94 (0.85-1.05) and 0.89 (0.78-1.02), respectively, under dominant genetic model comparison. Among the above three SNPs, only TNF-α 857 was robustly associated with gastric cancer inclination, and this association remained consistently robust when limited to non-cardia gastric cancers [GA/AA vs. GG: 1.16 (1.03-1.31)]. TNF-α 308 and TNF-α 857 genotypes were potential risk factors of statistical significance in gastric cancer, and TNF-α 238 indicated to be significantly associated with gastric cancer risk only in eastern populations. TNF-α 1031 and TNF-α 863 were not significantly associated with gastric cancer risk.

[A 24-hour continuous infusion of paclitaxel in the treatment of advanced esophageal cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a 24-hour continuous infusion of paclitaxel in combination with oxaliplatin in the treatment of advanced esophageal cancer. METHODS: A total of 43 subjects with III-IV stage advanced esophageal cancer were enrolled from March 2008 to June 2009. There were squamous cell carcinoma (n = 32) and adenocarcinoma (n = 11). Among them, 36 patients had no prior chemotherapy, 7 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy and 4 accepted taxane-based regiments. The median age was 56 years old. All patients were treated with paclitaxel 175 mg/m(2) by a 24-hour continuous infusion, oxaliplatin 130 mg/m(2) at Day 2, 3 weeks as one cycle. RESULTS: Forty-three patients completed 130 cycles (median: 3). And the efficacy and safety of 41 patients could be evaluated. According to the WHO standard, there were complete response (CR) (n = 4), partial response (PR) (n = 16), stable disease (SD) (n = 9), progressive disease (PD) (n = 12) and response rate (RR) 48.7%. Thirty cases of squamous cell carcinoma could be evaluated, CR 4, PR 14, SD 4, PD 8, RR 60.0%; Adenocarcinoma CR 0, PR 2, SD 5, PD 4, RR 18.2%. Statistical test show that RR of squamous was higher than that of adenocarcinoma (P < 0.05). The most common toxicity was hematological. Grade III-IV neutropenia was seen in 16 patients (41.4%), alopecia 60.9%, vomiting 26.8%, neuropathy 22% and myalgia 19.5%. Most of them were of Grade I-II. CONCLUSIONS: The efficacy of a 24-hour continuous infusion of paclitaxel plus oxaliplatin in the treatment of advanced esophageal cancer is excellent. All toxicities are well tolerated. So this protocol may be considered a main regimen in the treatment of advanced esophageal cancer.