Search

Early‐onset gastric cancer (EOGC) is predominant in females, diffuse histology, and hereditary pattern. Germline mutation of CDH1 and p53 has been reported previously and female dominance was speculated to be associated with estrogen and its receptors. Expression of E‐cadherin, estrogen receptor α (ER α), estrogen receptor β (ER β), and p53 in EOGC remains unclear, which was the focus of this study, to assess clinical significance of their expression in EOGC. The expression of E‐cadherin, ER α, ER β, and p53 in tumors and normal tissues from surgically resected EOGCs was assessed by immunohistochemistry (n = 139) and Western blot (n = 7) methods, respectively. The expression in tumor tissues was significantly higher for ER α, ER β, and p53, but lower for E‐cadherin, compared to uninvolved mucosa. Positive staining of ER β and p53 was more frequently observed in younger patients with advanced TNM stages. For E‐cadherin, significant correlation was observed between the immunopositivity and TNM stages IA+IB. P53‐negative patients had significantly better outcomes than p53‐positive patients. Significant association between expression of E‐cadherin and histologic types was found in familial, but not in sporadic, EOGC. In conclusion, our results demonstrated E‐cadherin may have a role in initiation of EOGC and positive ER β and p53 expression may partially explained early‐onset and tumor progression of EOGC.

Despite the great advantages of microporous carbons for applications in gas phase separation, liquid phase enrichment, and energy storage devices, direct experiment data and theoretical calculations on the relevance of properties and structures are quite limited. Herein, two model carbon materials are designed and synthesized, i.e., microporous carbon nanosheets (MCN) and microporous carbon spheres (MCS). They both have nearly same composition, surface chemistry, and specific surface area, known morphology, but distinguishable diffusion paths. Based on these two types of materials, a reliable relationship between the morphology with different diffusion paths and adsorption kinetics in both gas phase and liquid phase environments is established. When used for CO2 capture, MCN shows a high saturated CO2 capacity of 8.52 μmol m(-2) and 18.4 mmol cm(-3) at 273 K and ambient pressure, and its calculated first-order rate constant is ≈7.4 times higher than that of MCS. Moreover, MCN shows a quick and high uptake of Cr (VI) and a higher-rate performance for supercapacitors than MCS does. These results strongly confirm that MCN exhibits improved kinetics in gas phase separation, liquid phase enrichment, and energy storage devices due to its shorter diffusion paths and larger exposed geometrical area resulting from the nanosheet structure.

SummaryBackground/Purpose This meta-analysis was designed to compare the efficacy, cosmetic outcome and safety of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with other procedures for the treatment of primary basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Methods A computerized search through electronic databases was performed to search for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published before October 2013. Only RCTs that compared PDT to non-PDT for patients with BCC were selected. The risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Results Eight studies with a total of 1583 patients met the inclusion criteria. PDT was associated with lower complete clearance rate (RR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.89–0.98), higher 1-year recurrence rate (RR: 12.42, 95% CI: 2.34–66.02) and 5-year recurrence rate (RR: 6.79, 95% CI: 2.43–18.96) when compared with surgical excision. There was no statistically significant difference in complete clearance rate (RR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.85–1.00), 1-year recurrence rate (RR: 1.04, 95% CI: 0.46 to 2.39) or 5-year recurrence rate (RR: 1.08, 95% CI: 0.62–1.86) when PDT was compared with cryotherapy. PDT had higher complete clearance rate compared with placebo but no statistically significant difference in complete clearance rate and 1-year recurrence rate when compared with pharmacologic treatment (topical imiquimod and 5-fluorouracil). PDT had a significantly better cosmetic outcome than surgery and cryotherapy. Conclusions PDT is a useful method for the treatment of BCC, more efficient than placebo and with a similar efficiency to cryosurgery and pharmacologic treatment. Even though it is less effective than surgical excision, PDT has cosmetic advantages over surgery and cryosurgery.

Summary Objective This study explored the association between the risk of carbamazepine (CBZ)–induced Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS)/toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and CBZ dose, dose-adjusted concentration, and ABCB1, CYP3A4, EPHX1, FAS, SCN1A, MICA, and BAG6 polymorphisms in patients of Han ethnicity with epilepsy who were living in northeastern China. Materials and methods We determined the genotypes of patients with CBZ-SJS/TEN and CBZ-tolerant patients, who were used as controls, for ABCB1, CYP3A4, EPHX1, FAS, SCN1A, MICA, and BAG6 polymorphisms by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and direct sequencing. We measured the steady-state serum CBZ concentrations using fluorescence polarization immunoassay for the control patients. Results We observed statistically significant differences in EPHX1 c.337T>C polymorphisms between patients with CBZ-SJS/TEN and CBZ-tolerant controls in terms of allelic and genotypic frequencies (p = 0.011 and p = 0.007, respectively). The C allele and the C-G diplotype of EPHX1 may play important roles in increasing the risk of CBZ-SJS/TEN development (odds ratio [OR] 0.478, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.267–0.855, p = 0.011; OR = 0.213, 95% CI = 0.049–0.930, p = 0.025, respectively). We did not observe any significant associations between ABCB1, CYP3A4, EPHX1, FAS, SCN1A, MICA or BAG6 genes and CBZ dose or dose-adjusted concentration in CBZ-tolerant patients. Significance We found a significant association between EPHX1 c.337T>C polymorphisms and the development of CBZ–SJS/TEN in patients of Han ethnicity living in northeastern China. EPHX1 c.337T>C polymorphisms may contribute to the risk of severe CBZ-SJS/TEN by increasing the concentration of a CBZ metabolite, CBZ-10,11-epoxide, in patients with epilepsy. A PowerPoint slide summarizing this article is available for download in the Supporting Information section here.

Background and Objectives: Intense pulsed light (IPL) is regarded as the gold standard of nonablative photorejuvenation. Yet there is still a need to observe its efficacy and safety on dark skin using a split-face module. Study Design/Materials and Methods: Twenty-four Chinese women with photoaging were enrolled in this study. Patients were randomized to receive four IPL treatments at 3- to 4-week intervals on one side of face, with the other side spared as control. Changes of photoaging were evaluated using a global evaluation, an overall self-assessment, a Mexameter and a Corneometer. Skin biopsies were taken after four sessions of treatment on one side of face. The melanocyte density and the contents of melanin, collagen fibers, and elastic fibers were stained and used to evaluate the improvement on dyschromia and other signs of photoaging. Results: The global scores of photoaging on treated side decreased significantly from 3.02 to 1.22, while it remained unchanged on the untreated side. Twenty-one of 24 patients (87.5%) rated their improvement as excellent or good. The difference on the values of melanin index and erythema index on treated side were significantly larger than those on untreated side after the 1st session, the 4th session and at 3-month follow-up (P

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether the sunscreen-containing 2–5% green tea extracts (GTEs) protect ultraviolet irradiation (UVR)-induced photoaging and photoimmunosuppression. Materials and methods: Twenty volunteers were exposed to repetitive solar-simulated UVR (ssUVR) on the upper back at a dosage of 1.5 minimal erythema doses (MED) per day for four consecutive days. Thirty minutes before each UVR and 6, 24, and 48 h after the last UV exposure, the products containing vehicle, and 2–5% GTEs were applied onto five sites on the dorsal skin, respectively. The skin biopsies were obtained 72 h after the last UVR. The thickness of the stratum corneum and epidermis was measured under the microscope and the expression of cytokeratins (CK)-5/6, CK16, metalloproteinases (MMP)-2, MMP-9, and the CD1a+ Langerhans cells (LCs) were determined using immunohistochemistry. Results: Our results showed that UVR substantially induced cutaneous erythema, thickening of the epidermis, overexpression of CK5/6, CK16, MMP-2, MMP-9, and depletion of CD1a+ LCs. The sunscreens containing different concentrations of GTEs conferred significant protection against the photoaging and photoimmunology-related biological events. Interestingly, the protective effects were not parallel to the concentrations of GTEs, with 2% and 3% GTEs showing the most efficacious photoprotection. Conclusions: GTEs-containing sunscreens have potential photoprotective effects on UVR-induced photoaging and photoimmunosuppression.

Gas-to-liquid (GTL) processes are becoming attractive due to the increasing price of crude oil. Process simulation analysis on the integrated GTL process is essential as part of an extended process integration analysis of the research subjects. The two sub-process models for the GTL process, i.e., the syngas generation process and the Fischer Tropsch synthesis (FTS) process, are analyzed in detail with ASPEN Plus. The autothermal reforming process (ATR) is analyzed using Aspen Plus based on the Gibbs reactor model, while FTS is simulated with ASPEN Plus based on detailed kinetic models for industrial iron and cobalt catalysts. Integrated GTL processes with iron and cobalt-based catalysts were simulated using ASPEN Plus. The optimal flowsheet structures were selected for each catalyst based on the overall performance in terms of thermal and carbon efficiency and product distributions. For the cobalt-based catalyst, the full conversion concept without CO2 removal from the FT tail gas is optimal. On the other hand, the once-through concept with two series reactors and CO2 removal from raw syngas is considered optimal for the iron-based catalyst. The thermal efficiency to crude products is likely to be ca. 60 % for the cobalt-based catalyst, whereas it is in the range of 49–55 % for the iron-based catalyst. The carbon efficiency using the water-gas shift reaction is lower using the iron-based catalyst (61–68 %) than the cobalt-based catalyst (73–75 %). As expected, the cobalt-based catalyst is more active and selective, which offers better selectivity towards C5+ (75–79 %). The selectivity towards C5+ for the iron-based catalyst lies in the range 63–75 %.

Production of fuels/chemicals from syngas (CO + H 2 ) is receiving increased attention with the background of the resource depletion and the unstable prices of petroleum oil. The fuels, especially diesel, obtained from the syngas conversion via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS), are proved to be of very high quality that will contribute much to environmental protection and raising the energy efficiency in the transportation sector when modern diesel engines are massively applied in vehicles. FTS technologies developed in recent years have reached the stage for the feasibility of construction of large-scale complexes. Under a long-term consideration of developing the field of coal to liquids (CTL), major issues in successfully applying CTL technologies are those controlling the feasibility of all kinds of projects. Points identified are, in general: (1) efficiency advantage over conventional processes (e.g. thermal power generation process); (2) cost and economic benefit; (3) environment advantage. These questions have been better answered using CTL-based poly-generation schemes. Among all the different schemes, in principle, the co-production of liquid fuels and electricity are naturally the main frame. The simple efficiency increase due to the better energy balance in the co-production mode and the environment protection advantage due to the easy-to-apply technology in the pollutant removal and treatment from syngas in a liquid fuel process has projected a bright future even for applying the more capital intensive IGCC + F-T scheme, which can raise the efficiency (to end products) from 43-46 % in either single schemes to about 52-60 %. This new process will guarantee a better solution to environment protection.

The depolymerization of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) in supercritical methanol was carried out with a batch-type autoclave reactor at temperatures ranging from 280 to 340°C, at pressures ranging from 2.0 to 14.0 MPa, and for reaction time of up to 60 min. PTT quantitatively decomposed into dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) and 1,3-propaniol (PDO) under the designed conditions. The yields of DMT and PDO greatly increased as the temperature rose. The yields of the monomers markedly increased as the pressure increased to 10.0 MPa, and they leveled off at higher pressures. The final yield of DMT at 320°C and 10.0 MPa reached 98.2%, which was much closer to the extent of the complete reaction. A kinetic model was used to describe the depolymerization reaction, and it fit the experimental data well. The dependence of the forward rate constant on the reaction temperature was correlated with an Arrhenius plot, which gave an activation energy of 56.8 kJ/mol. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 2363–2368, 2004