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We previously identified that serum EFNA1 and MMP13 were potential biomarker for early detection of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In this study, our aim is to explore the diagnostic value of serum EFNA1 and MMP13 for gastric cancer. We used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect the expression levels of serum EFNA1 and MMP13 in 210 GCs and 223 normal controls. The diagnostic value of EFNA1 and MMP13 was evaluated in an independent cohorts of GC patients and normal controls (n = 238 and 195, respectively). Receiver operating characteristics were used to calculate diagnostic accuracy. In training and validation cohorts, serum EFNA1 and MMP13 levels in the GC groups were significantly higher than those in the normal controls (P < 0.001). The area under the curve (AUC) of the combined detection of serum EFNA1 and MMP13 for GC was improved (0.794), compared with single biomarker used. Similar results were observed in the validation cohort. Importantly, the combined measurement of serum EFNA1 and MMP13 to detect early-stage GC also had acceptable diagnostic accuracy in training and validation cohort. Combined detection of serum EFNA1 and MMP13 could help identify early-stage GC, suggesting that it may be a promising tool for the early detection of GC.

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Our previous study showed that levels of circulating insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) has potential diagnostic value for early-stage upper gastrointestinal cancers. This study aimed to assess whether serum IGFBP-1 is a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for CRC patients. IGFBP-1 mRNA expression profile data of peripheral blood in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients were downloaded and analyzed from Gene Expression Omnibus database. We detected serum IGFBP-1 in 138 CRC patients and 190 normal controls using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Blood IGFBP-1 mRNA levels were higher in CRC patients than those in normal controls (P = 0.027). In addition, serum IGFBP-1 protein levels in the CRC group were significantly higher than those in normal control group (P < 0.0001). Serum IGFBP-1 demonstrated better diagnostic accuracy for all CRC and early-stage CRC, respectively, when compared with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen19-9 (CA 19-9) or the combination of CEA and CA19-9. Furthermore, Cox multivariate analysis revealed that serum IGFBP-1 was an independent prognostic factor for OS (HR = 2.043, P = 0.045). Our study demonstrated that serum IGFBP-1 might be a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of CRC. In addition, the nomogram might be helpful to predict the prognosis of CRC.

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Backgrounds: Early detection might help in reducing the burden and promoting the survival rate of gastric cancers. Herein, we tried to explore the diagnostic value of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) in gastric cancers. Methods: In this study, we first analyzed the expression levels and prognostic value of IGFBP7 mRNA in gastric cancers from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Then, we recruited 169 gastric cancer patients and 100 normal controls as training cohort, and 55 gastric cancer patients and 55 normal controls as independent validation cohort. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was applied to test the serum levels of IGFBP7. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and the area under the curve (AUC) were applied to evaluation the diagnostic value. Results: TCGA showed that IGFBP7 mRNA was dysregulated and associated with prognosis in gastric cancer patients. Then, we examined the expression of serum IGFBP7 and found that serum IGFBP7 expressed lower in gastric cancer patients than normal controls both in training and independent validation cohorts (p < 0.0001). In training cohort, with the cutoff value of 1.515 ng/ml, the AUC for distinguishing gastric cancer patients was 0.774 (95% CI [0.713-0.836]) with sensitivity of 36.7% (95% CI [29.5-44.5]) and specificity of 90.0% (95% CI [82.0-94.8]). As for early-stage EJA, the AUC was 0.773 (95% CI [0.701-0.845]) with the sensitivity of 33.3% (95% CI [14.4-58.8]). In independent validation cohort, with the same cutoff value, the AUC reached to 0.758 (95% CI [0.664-0.852]). Similarly, for early-stage gastric cancer diagnosis in the independent validation cohort, the AUC value was 0.778 (95% CI [0.673-0.882]). Conclusions: This study indicated that serum IGFBP7 might act as a potential early diagnostic marker for gastric cancers.

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Next-generation wearable electromagnetic interference (EMI) materials need to be provided with oxidation resistance, lightness, and flexibility. In this study, a high-performance EMI film with synergistic enhancement of Zn2+@Ti3C2T x MXene/cellulose nanofibers (CNF) was found. The unique Zn@Ti3C2T x MXene/CNF heterogeneous interface facilitates the loss of interface polarization, making the total electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMI SET) and shielding effectiveness per unit thickness (SE/d) of the films reach 60.3 dB and 5025 dB mm-1, respectively, in the X-band at the thickness of 12 µm ± 2 µm, significantly exceeding that of other MXene-based shielding materials. In addition, the coefficient of absorption gradually increases with the increasing CNF content. Moreover, under the synergistic effect of Zn2+, the film shows excellent oxidation resistance (maintaining stable performance after 30 days), greatly exceeding the previous test cycle. Furthermore, the mechanical performance and flexibility of the film are greatly enhanced (tensile strength at 60 MPa, and maintaining stable performance after 100 times bending tests) due to the CNF and hot-pressing process. Therefore, with the enhancement of the EMI performance, high flexibility and oxidation resistance under high temperature and high humidity conditions, the as-prepared films have wide practical significance and broad application prospects in a series of complex applications, such as flexible wearable fields, ocean engineering fields and high-power device packaging fields.

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BACKGROUND: Esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma (EJA) lacks serum biomarkers to assist in diagnosis and prognosis. Here, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) in EJA patients. METHODS: 320 participants were recruited from November 2016 to January 2020, who were randomly divided into a training cohort (112 normal controls and 102 EJA patients including 24 early-stage patients) and a validation cohort (56 normal controls and 50 EJA patients including 12 early-stage patients). We used receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) to evaluate diagnostic value. The predictive performance of the nomogram was evaluated by the concordance index (C-index). RESULTS: Serum IGFBP3 levels were significantly lower in early-stage EJA or EJA patients than those in controls (P < 0.01). Measurement of serum IGFBP3 demonstrated an area under curve of 0.819, specificity 90.18% and sensitivity 43.14% in training cohort. Similar results were observed in validation cohort (0.804, 87.50%, 42.00%). Importantly, serum IGFBP3 had a satisfactory diagnostic value for early-stage EJA (0.822, 90.18%, 45.83% and 0.811, 84.48%, 50.00% in training and validation cohorts, respectively). Furthermore, survival analysis demonstrated that lower serum IGFBP3 level was related to poor prognosis (P < 0.05). Cox multivariate analysis revealed that serum IGFBP3 was an independent prognostic factor (HR = 0.468, P = 0.005). Compared with TNM stage, a nomogram based on serum IGFBP3, tumor size and TNM stage indicated an improved C-index in prognostic prediction (0.625 vs. 0.735, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We found that serum IGFBP3 was a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker of EJA. Meanwhile, the nomogram might predict the prognosis of EJA more accurately and efficiently.

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BACKGROUND: Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP3) has been reported to be related to the risk of some cancers. Here we focussed on serum IGFBP3 as a possible biomarker of diagnosis and prognosis for oesophageal squamous carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the serum IGFBP3 level in the training cohort including 136 ESCC patients and 119 normal controls and the validation cohort with 55 ESCC patients and 42 normal controls. The receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) was used to assess the diagnosis value. Cox proportional hazards model was applied to select factors for survival nomogram construction. RESULTS: Serum IGFBP3 levels were significantly lower in early-stage ESCC or ESCC patients than those in normal controls (p < .05). The specificity and sensitivity of serum IGFBP3 for the diagnosis of ESCC were 95.80% and 50.00%, respectively, with the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.788 in the training cohort. Similar results were observed in the validation cohort (88.10%, 38.18%, and 0.710). Importantly, serum IGFBP3 could also differentiate early-stage ESCC from controls (95.80%, 52.54%, 0.777 and 88.10%, 36.36%, 0.695 in training and validation cohorts, respectively). Furthermore, Cox multivariate analysis revealed that serum IGFBP3 was an independent prognostic risk factor (HR = 2.599, p = .002). Lower serum IGFBP3 level was correlated with reduced overall survival (p < .05). Nomogram based on serum IGFBP3, TNM stage, and tumour size improved the prognostic prediction of ESCC with a concordance index of 0.715. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that serum IGFBP3 was a potential biomarker of diagnosis and prognosis for ESCC. Meanwhile, the nomogram might help predict the prognosis of ESCC. Key MessageSerum IGFBP3 showed early diagnostic value in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma with independent cohort validation. Moreover, serum IGFBP3 was identified as an independent prognostic risk factor, which was used to construct a nomogram with improved prognosis ability in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

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Self-healable polyurethanes can be used in various fields for extended service life and reduced maintenance costs. It is generally believed that the shape memory effect is helpful for achieving a high healing efficiency. The morphological features were focused on in this study as microphase separation is one of the main factors affecting various performances of polyurethanes, including their shape memory behavior and mechanical properties. Microphase separation can be regulated by changing the content and types of the hard segments. With this in mind, polyurethanes from polycaprolactone diol, hexamethylene diisocyanate, and different chain extenders were synthesized, characterized, and designed as promising self-healing polymers. All the polyurethane specimens were equipped with a similar content of hard segments but diverse types, such as aliphatic, aromatic, and disulfide-bonded. Differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffractometry, infrared spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy were used to describe the microstructures of the polyurethanes, including the crystalline regions. The relationship between the microphase separation structures and material properties was focused on in this examination. Various properties, including the thermal stability, mechanical behavior, hydrophobicity, and self-healing efficiency showed significant differences due to the change in the hard segments' structure and multiphase distribution. The aliphatic disulfide stimulated the conformation of a proper microphase separation structure (the large heterogeneous structure at physical length scales as well as a more sufficient combination of soft and hard phases), which helped to improve the healing effect as much as possible by effective wound closure and the exchange reactions of disulfide bonds.

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The orientation of ultrahigh aspect ratio thermally conductive fillers can construct a heat transfer path to enhance the thermal conductivity of composite materials effectively with low filler loading. Nevertheless, single orientation (vertical or horizontal) limited the application of these materials when there was the need for isotropic heat transferring. Here we report a novel strategy to prepare thermally conductive flexible cycloaliphatic epoxy resin nanocomposites with an oriented three-dimensional staggered interconnected network of vertically aligned h-BN (hexagonal boron nitride) platelets and randomly dispersed CNT-NH2 (aminated carbon nanotubes). In this structure, h-BN platelets coated with magnetic particles could respond to the external magnetic field; however, the CNT-NH2 couldn't. The obtained composites exhibited both through-plane (0.98 ± 0.037 W/m·K) and in-plane (0.99 ± 0.001 W/m·K) thermal conductivity enhancement at low h-BN loading of 30 wt %, and also presented excellent electrical insulating properties (<1.2 × 10-12 S/cm). In addition, the equal value of thermal conductivity of two directions (in-plane and through-plane) was shown when the content of h-BN was about 26.43 wt % and of CNT-NH2 was 2 wt %, displaying no difference between the thermal conductivity of two directions (in-plane and through-plane). The infrared imaging tests showed the outstanding heat dissipation capability of the composites by capturing the surface temperature variations of a heater with the composites as the heat dissipating material.