Dynamic changes in autophagy activity in different degrees of pulmonary fibrosis in mice.

The aim of this study is to observe the changes in autophagy activities in lung tissues of mice with different degrees of pulmonary fibrosis (PF), and explore the association between PF and autophagy activity. The PF model was established by bleomycin (BLM, 25 and 35 mg/kg) atomization inhalation in C57BL/6 mice, samples were collected on the 7, 14, and 28 days after BLM administration. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the pathological changes in lung tissues. Masson staining was utilized to assess areas of blue collagen fiber deposition in lung tissues. Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the mRNA expressions of autophagy-related genes, including Atg5, Atg7, and Atg10 in lung tissues. Western blot was used to detect the protein expressions of autophagy-related genes, including p62 and LC3II/LC3I in lung tissues. Compared with control group, BLM dose-dependently decreased PaO2, mRNA expressions of Atg5, Atg7, Atg10, and LC3II/LC3I, while increased lung wet weight, lung coefficient, PF score, the blue area of collagen fibers, and p62 protein on the 7th, 14th, and 28th days. In conclusion, the more severe the PF induced by BLM, the lower the autophagy activity.

Diagnostic value of conventional tumor markers in young patients with pulmonary nodules.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is one of the most common malignancies, and there is a trend of increasing incidence in young patients. The preoperative diagnosis of pulmonary nodules is mainly based on the combination of imaging and tumor markers. There is no relevant report on the diagnostic value of tumor markers in young pulmonary nodules. Our study was designed to explore the value of five tumor markers in young patients with pulmonary nodules. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 390 young patients (age ≤45 years) with pulmonary nodules treated at two separate centers from January 1, 2015, to January 1, 2021. Malignant pulmonary nodules were confirmed in 318 patients, and the other 72 patients were diagnosed with benign pulmonary nodules. The gold standard for diagnosis of pulmonary nodules was surgical biopsy. The conventional serum biomarkers included cytokeratin 19 (CYFRA21-1), pro-gastrin-releasing-peptide (ProGRP), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and squamous cell carcinoma-associated antigen (SCCA). The diagnostic values of five tumor markers were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the expression of five tumor markers between the groups (p > 0.05). Single tumor marker (CYFRA21-1, ProGRP, CEA, NSE, and SCCA) showed a limited value in the diagnosis of malignant pulmonary nodules, with the AUC of 0.506, 0.503 0.532, 0.548, and 0.562, respectively. The AUC of the combined examination was only 0.502~0.596, which did not improve the diagnostic value. CONCLUSIONS: Five conventional tumor markers had a limited diagnostic value in young patients with pulmonary nodules.

Outcomes in Patients With Lung Adenocarcinoma With Transformation to Small Cell Lung Cancer After EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Resistance: A Systematic Review and Pooled Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinoma can transform into small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) when resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) develops. Approximately 3% to 10% of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) could transform to SCLC. This phenomenon has been described in several case reports and small patient series. However, the characteristics and treatment outcomes of this population have not been comprehensively reported, and their clinical course is poorly characterized. METHODS: We performed a systematic review of the published literature to summarize the clinical and pathological features and prognosis of the reported cases and analyzed the demographics, disease features, and outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 72 patients (50 females and 22 males) initially diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma were included. EGFR mutations included 19-deletion (75%), L858R (22%), and G719X (3%). All patients received EGFR-TKIs before SCLC transformation. The median time from diagnosis to transformation was 20.5 months (95% CI, 15.45 to 26.55 months). Of the 67 patients with post-translational gene test results, 58 maintained their EGFR mutation, and only 1 of 18 with prior T790M positivity retained T790M mutation. After the pathological transformation, both conventional chemotherapy regimen and chemotherapy combined targeted therapy yielded high response rates. The disease control rate of first-line therapy after transformation was 76%, while the objective response rate was 48%. The median overall survival (OS) since diagnosis was 27 months (95% CI, 22.90 to 31.10 months), whereas median OS since SCLC transformation was 8.5 months (95% CI, 5.50 to 11.60 months). CONCLUSION: The prognosis of transformed SCLC is worse than primary SCLC. The response rate to conventional chemotherapy was high. However, the progression-free survival and OS after transformation were short and the prognosis was poor with first-line therapies. New therapies are needed in the management of transformed SCLC.

Preparation of Partially Unzipped Carbon Nanotube/Ag (PUCNTs/Ag) Nanocomposite and Its Application for H2O2 Based Non-Enzymatic Sensor.

In the present work, the nanocomposite of the silver nanoparticles decorated partially unzipped carbon nanotubes (PUCNTs) (PUCNTs/Ag) was fabricated by in situ method, and its application as a sensitive non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) sensor was then explored correspondingly. The measurements of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and ultraviolet visible (UV-vis) absorption spectrum proved that the PUCNTs/Ag composite has been successfully prepared and the Ag nanoparticles dispersed on the surface of the PUCNTs and entered the inner of unzipped MWCNTs. Cyclic voltammetric (CV) measurement indicated that the PUCNTs/Ag nanocomposite showed the well-defined redox characteristics in 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS, pH = 7.5), and under the optimized experimental conditions, the current response of the as-obtained sensor towards electrochemical oxidation of H2O2 was linear with the concentration of H2O2 in the range of 0.0419 mM to 87 mM (R = 0.997) in the solution of 0.1 M PBS (pH = 7.5) at the applied potential of 0 V. The detection limit was 1 µM with the sensitivity calculated as 1.115 × 103 µA · M-1 · cm-2 and the fast response achieved within 3 s. The constructed non-enzymatic sensor is one of the promising candidates due to it's good sensitivity, selectivity, and reproducibility.

A fast electrochromic polymer based on TEMPO substituted polytriphenylamine.

A novel strategy to obtain rapid electrochromic switching response by introducing 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO) moiety into polytriphenylamine backbone has been developed. The electrochromic properties of the integrated polymer film are investigated and a possible mechanism is proposed with TEMPO as a counterion-reservoir group to rapidly balance the charges during electrochromic switching, which leads to significantly improved electrochromism performance.

Structure and Characteristic of LiFePO4 Cathode Material Synthesized in the Mixed Solvent Environment.

In this paper, LiFePO4 samples were synthesized in the water/ethanol mixture solvent environment with different volume ratio of water/ethanol, and the effects of different solvent environment (different water/ethanol ratio) on the morphology, the crystal structure and the cell performances were studied in detail. The prepared samples were investigated comparatively by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and various electrochemical testing techniques. The results showed that the water/ethanol ratio seriously affected the crystal structure, the micro-morphologies and the electrochemical properties of the resulting LiFePO4-based electro-active material. And the growth of [010] direction of LiFePO4 crystal was limited with the increase of alcohol proportion in the mixed solvent, while the size of obtained particles became small in the same process. In addition, LiFePO4 samples obtained at high alcohol content presented the improved specific capacity and rate performances. Specially, the LFP-D electrode displayed the discharge capacity of 153.2 mAh · g⁻¹ at the rate of 0.1 C and the improved rate performance of 150.6, 143.6, 133.8, 121.4, 99.5 and 78.2 mAh · g⁻¹ at 0.2 C, 0.5 C, 1 C, 2 C, 5 C and 10 C, respectively.

Amperometric glutamate biosensor based on self-assembling glutamate dehydrogenase and dendrimer-encapsulated platinum nanoparticles onto carbon nanotubes.

A novel amperometric biosensor based on self-assembling glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) and poly(amidoamine) dendrimer-encapsulated platinum nanoparticles (Pt-PAMAM) onto multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been developed for the determination of glutamate. The formation of the self-assembled (GLDH/Pt-PAMAM)(n)/CNTs construction was investigated by zeta-potential and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The results indicated the uniform growth of the layer-by-layer nanostructures onto carboxyl-functionalized CNTs. The electrocatalytic property of the (GLDH/Pt-PAMAM)(n)/CNTs modified electrode to glutamate in presence of NAD(+) (beta-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, 0.1mM) was investigated at a low overpotential 0.2V by electrochemical measurements. The results showed it had series of attractive characteristics, such as a large determination range (0.2-250muM), a short response time (within 3s), a high sensitivity (433muA/mM(-1)cm(2)) and good stability (85% remains after 4 weeks).