Aims To evaluate the clinical inference of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) response in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients undergoing percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Materials and ...methods Three hundred and thirteen previously untreated HCC patients were enrolled in the study. The optimal AFP response was defined as >20% decrease from baseline after 1 month of RFA for those with a baseline AFP level of ≥100 ng/ml. The impact of AFP response on prognosis was analysed and prognostic factors were assessed. Results After a median follow-up of 26.7 ± 19.1 months, 49 patients died and 264 patients were alive. The cumulative 5 year survival rates were 75.3 and 57.4% in patients with an initial AFP of <100 ng/ml and ≥100 ng/ml, respectively ( p = 0.003). In the 58 patients with a baseline AFP of ≥100 ng/ml and initial completed tumour necrosis after RFA, the cumulative 5 year survival rates were 62.4 and 25.7% in optimal and non-optimal AFP responders, respectively ( p = 0.001). By multivariate analysis, the prothrombin time international normalized ratio >1.1 ( p = 0.009), non-optimal AFP response ( p = 0.023), and creatinine >1.5 mg/dl ( p = 0.021) were independent risk factors predictive of poor overall survival. Besides, the cumulative 5 year recurrence rates were 83.4 and 100% in optimal and non-optimal AFP responders, respectively ( p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated platelet count ≤105 /mm3 ( p = 0.048), tumour size >2 cm ( p = 0.027), and non-optimal AFP response ( p < 0.001) were independent risk factors associated with tumour recurrence after RFA. Conclusions Serum AFP response may be a useful marker for predicting prognosis in HCC patients undergoing RFA.
Summary
Plant protoplasts are useful for assessing the efficiency of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR‐associated protein 9 (Cas9) mutagenesis. We improved the ...process of protoplast isolation and transfection of several plant species. We also developed a method to isolate and regenerate single mutagenized Nicotianna tabacum protoplasts into mature plants. Following transfection of protoplasts with constructs encoding Cas9 and sgRNAs, target gene DNA could be amplified for further analysis to determine mutagenesis efficiency. We investigated N. tabacum protoplasts and derived regenerated plants for targeted mutagenesis of the phytoene desaturase (NtPDS) gene. Genotyping of albino regenerants indicated that all four NtPDS alleles were mutated in amphidiploid tobacco, and no Cas9 DNA could be detected in most regenerated plants.
Over the past decade, the development in the valorization of biomass technologies keeps increasing because the biomass utilization for manufacturing fine chemicals and fuels has diverse advantages ...over fossil feedstock. The review focuses on the utilization of metal–organic framework-derived (MOF-derived) materials as effective solid catalysts for the valorization of biomass into platform chemicals. MOFs compose of abundant organic ligands and metal cluster, and additional functional groups, could be modified on ligands (or metal clusters) serving as active sites. On the other hand, MOFs could also be converted into porous carbons or metal oxide composites by calcination at nitrogen or air, respectively, for catalytic reactions. These MOF-derived catalysts feature advantages like high specific surface area, porosity, and active sites from mother MOFs. More importantly, stronger interactions between guests (i.e., metal or alloy NPs) and hosts (i.e., MOF-derived carbons or metal oxides) make these catalysts more efficient than conventional catalysts where guests are deposited on hosts by impregnation. We summarize the studies of lignocellulosic biomass conversion including (1) dehydration of sugars such as glucose, fructose, and xylose into furans, (2) hydrogenation of furans into fine chemicals, and (3) sugars into sugar alcohols using MOF-derived catalysts. The challenges and prospective of MOF-derived materials applied in biomass conversion are also described.
Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), a subclass of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) built with tetrahedral metal ions and imidazolates, offer permanent porosity and high thermal and chemical ...stabilities. While ZIFs possess some attractive physical and chemical properties, it remains important to enhance their functionality for practical application. Here, an overview of the extensive strategies which have been developed to improve the functionality of ZIFs is provided, including linker modifications, functional hybridization of ZIFs via the encapsulation of guest species (such as metal and metal oxide nanoparticles and biomolecules) into ZIFs, and hybridization with polymeric matrices to form mixed matrix membranes for industrial gas and liquid separations. Furthermore, the developed strategies for achieving size and shape control of ZIF nanocrystals are considered, which are important for optimizing the textural characteristics as well as the functional performance of ZIFs and their derived materials/hybrids. Moreover, the recent trends of using ZIFs as templates for the derivation of nanoporous hybrid materials, including carbon/metal, carbon/oxide, carbon/sulfide, and carbon/phosphide hybrids, are discussed. Finally, some perspectives on the potential future research directions and applications for ZIFs and ZIF‐derived materials are offered.
Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), offer permanent porosity and high thermal and chemical stabilities. The developed strategies for enhancing the functionality of ZIFs, including linker functionalization and hybridization with guest species and polymers, are discussed. Finally, the utilization of ZIFs as templates for fabricating nanoporous hybrid materials and the future trends and prospects in the functionalization of ZIFs are examined.
Controlling the shape of noble metal nanoparticles is a challenging but important task in electrocatalysis. Apart from hollow and nanocage structures, concave noble metal nanoparticles are considered ...a new class of unconventional electrocatalysts that exhibit superior electrocatalytic properties as compared with those of conventional nanoparticles (including convex and flat ones). Herein, several facile and highly reproducible routes for synthesizing nanostructured concave noble metal materials reported in the literature are discussed, together with their advantages over noble metal nanoparticles with convex shapes. In addition, possible ways of optimizing the synthesis procedure and enhancing the electrocatalytic characteristics of concave metal nanoparticles are suggested. Nanostructured noble metals with concave features are found to show better catalytic activity and stability hence improve their practical applicability in electrocatalysis.
Concave noble metal nanocrystals represent the new class of electrocatalyst materials. In recent decades, extensive works have been employed in the search for excellent catalyst materials for electrocatalysis applications. The surface defects and structural stability are considered responsible for the superiority of concave noble metals compared to their conventional convex counterparts.
Hyperuricemia (HUA) is associated with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and cardiovascular risks in various populations. HUA is also able to induce cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in mouse ...models. However, the dose-response effects of serum uric acid (SUA) on the prevalence of MetS and electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) are unclear.
We retrospectively collected data from 18,932 individuals who underwent an annual health examination between 1/1/2016 and 12/31/2016. We excluded those with systemic diseases or missing questionnaires. The primary study endpoints were the prevalence of MetS and LVH, which were defined by the criteria for the Taiwanese population and the “SPRINT” trial. The cohort consisted of 17,913 individuals with a mean age of 31.2 years (SD 7.4) and a mean body mass index of 24.6 kg/m2 (SD 3.6); 87.1% of the individuals were men. The prevalence rates of HUA, MetS, and LVH were 29.5%, 9.4%, and 0.32%, respectively, in the overall study population. The HUA group was predominantly male and had significantly poorer lifestyle choices and greater laboratory cardiometabolic biomarker values than did the normouricemic group. However, the frequencies of physical activity were comparable between the two groups. After adjusting for confounders, SUA was associated with MetS (OR:1.473, 95% CI:1.408–1.540, P < 0.001) and LVH (OR:1.301, 95% CI:1.064–1.591, P = 0.01).
We demonstrated that the dose-response effects of SUA are associated with the prevalence of MetS and electrocardiographic LVH in healthy individuals from Taiwan. Based on this evidence, future studies should investigate urate-lowering therapy and cardiovascular benefits in individuals with HUA (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT03473951).
•Serum uric acid (SUA) was associated with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and LVH.•The association is independent of life style choice and physical activity.•The association did not change with adjustment for kidney function.•Future studies might evaluate urate-lowering effects on the improvement of metabolic syndrome and LVH.
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•The optimal pretreatment is the diluted NaOH solution (3wt%) at 60°C for 24h.•The most efficient catalyst is CrCl3.6H2O.•The most efficient solvent is 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium ...chloride (BMIMCl).•The maximum HMF yield from biomass is 79mol%.•The activation energy for producing HMF is calculated to be around 74kJ/mol.
An efficient production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from raw lignocellulosic biomass is achieved through combinational treatments of diluted acid/base-assisted pretreatment and catalytic conversion. Remarkably, an HMF yield of around 79mol% could be achieved when the raw lignocellulosic biomass (wood chips) was pre-treated in diluted NaOH solution (3wt%) and then catalyzed in the system using CrCl3·6H2O as the catalyst and 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride (BMIMCl) as the solvent at 120°C for 2h. In addition, the activation energy for producing HMF was calcuted to be around 74kJ/mol in our system. The combinational treatments proposed in this study demonstrate an effective transformation of raw lignocellulosic biomass into HMF with a high yield.
An efficient evaporation‐induced coating method combining microwave‐assisted hydrothermal transformation and annealing is developed to fabricate an ideal electrode material from composites with a ...layer of hydrous RuO2 on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), for a high‐performance supercapacitor. Total and RuO2‐based specific capacitances are as high as 1125 and 2000 F g−1, respectively.
Silver(i) chalcogenide/chalcogenolate clusters are promising photofunctional materials for sensing, optoelectronics and solar energy harvesting applications. However, their instability and poor ...room-temperature luminescent quantum yields have hampered more extensive study. Here, we graft such clusters to adaptable bridging ligands, enabling their interconnection and the formation of rigid metal-organic frameworks. By controlling the spatial separation and orientation of the clusters, they then exhibit enhanced stability (over one year) and quantum yield (12.1%). Ultrafast dual-function fluorescence switching (<1 s) is also achieved, with turn-off triggered by O
and multicoloured turn-on by volatile organic compounds. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction of the inclusion materials, obtained by single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation, enables precise determination of the position of the small molecules within the framework, elucidating the switching mechanism. The work enriches the cluster-based metal-organic framework portfolio, bridges the gap between silver chalcogenide/chalcogenolate clusters and metal-organic frameworks, and provides a foundation for further development of functional silver-cluster-based materials.
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