Bismuth-Doped Carbon Dots Decorated Escherichia coli for Enhanced Hydrogen Production.

Photosynthetic inorganic biohybrid systems (PBSs) combining an inorganic photosensitizer with intact living cells provide an innovative view for solar hydrogen production. However, typical whole-cell biohybrid systems often suffer from sluggish electron transfer kinetics during transmembrane diffusion, which severely limits the efficiency of solar hydrogen production. Here, a unique biohybrid system with a quantum yield of 8.42% was constructed by feeding bismuth-doped carbon dots (Bi@CDS) to Escherichia coli (E. coli). In this biohybrid system, Bi@CDS can enter the cells and transfer the electrons upon light irradiation, greatly reducing the energy loss and shortening the distance of electron transfer. More importantly, the photocatalytic hydrogen production of the E. coli-Bi@CDs biohybrid system reached up to 0.95 mmol within 3 h under light irradiation (420-780 nm, 2000 W m-2), which is 1.36 and 2.38 times higher than that in the E. coli-CDs biohybrid system and the E. coli system, respectively. In addition, the mechanism of enhanced hydrogen production was further explored. It was found that the accelerated decomposition of glucose, the accelerated production of pyruvate, the inhibition of lactic acid, and the increase of formic acid were the reasons for the increase of hydrogen production. This work provides a novel strategy for improving the hydrogen production in photosynthetic inorganic biohybrid systems.

NaBiF4 upconversion nanoparticle-based electrochemiluminescent biosensor for E. coli O157 : H7 detection.

Foodborne or water-borne pathogens pose great threats to human beings and animals. There is an urgent need to detect pathogens with cheap, rapid and sensitive point-of-care diagnostic assays. Herein, we report the electrochemiluminescent (ECL) behaviors of NaBiF4 : Yb3+/Er3+ upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) which were synthesized via a fast and environment-friendly method at room temperature for the first time. The UCNPs together with K2S2O8 exhibit high ECL intensity and stable cathodic signals. Further, the Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) and Anti-E. coli O157 : H7 antibody were assembled on the surface of UCNPs successively to construct a novel ECL immunosensor for the detection of deadly E. coli O157 : H7. The as-prepared ECL immunosensor reveals high sensitivity to E. coli O157 : H7 in a linear range of 200-100 000 CFU mL-1, and the minimum detection limit could reach up to 138 CFU mL-1. The designed UCNP-based biosensor demonstrates high specificity, good stability and remarkable repeatability, and the strategy will provide a sensitive and selective method for rapid detection of E. coli O157 : H7 in food safety and preclinical diagnosis.

The efficacy and safety of low-dose Apatinib in the management of stage IV luminal-type breast cancer: a case report and literature review.

Advanced breast cancer (ABC) is incurable. Previous studies have shown that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors play a significant role in the angiogenesis of breast carcinoma. Apatinib, a highly selective orally administered small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR2) has successfully been used as a second- and third-line agent in the management of ABC. There are also multiple reported cases where Apatinib was miraculously effective in the management of triple-negative and HER2-positive tumors. However, case reports of its effectiveness against luminal-type tumors are rare. Here, we report the case of a 34-year-old woman with hormone receptor-positive and HER2-negative ABC who was successfully treated with low-dose Apatinib. Owing to necrosis of the center of the tumor due to the effective anticancer effect of Apatinib, a large cavity formed rapidly in the primary lesion; thus, the quality of life of the patient was seriously affected. This report aims to caution physicians about this unique phenomenon when using Apatinib in clinical practice.

MiR-212 promotes proliferation and inhibits apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells via regulating hedgehog signaling pathway.

PURPOSE: To explore the effects of micro ribonucleic acid 212 (miR-212) on proliferation and apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells via the Hedgehog signaling pathway. METHODS: hFOB1.19 cells were enrolled as normal group, and osteosarcoma MG63 cells were divided into osteosarcoma group and miR-212 mimics group. The cells in the normal and osteosarcoma group were cultured normally, while those in miR-212 mimics group were cultured in medium containing miR-212 mimics. After 24 h of culture, the cells were collected for detection. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay was performed to determine the expression level of miR-212. The Gli1 expression level was measured by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Additionally, cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and flow cytometry, respectively. RESULTS: Based on immunohistochemistry, the average optical density of Gli1 positive expression was evidently increased in osteosarcoma group and miR-212 mimics group compared with that in normal group. The results of Western blotting and qRT-PCR showed that compared with those in normal group, the relative protein expression level of Gli1 and relative expression level of miR-212 were notably raised in the other two groups, and these levels were remarkably higher in miR-212 mimics group than those in osteosarcoma group. According to CCK-8 assay, the proliferation rate of cells was overtly higher in osteosarcoma group and miR-212 mimics group than that in normal group, and also distinctly higher in miR-212 mimics group than that in osteosarcoma group. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-212 promotes the proliferation and inhibits the apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells by up-regulating the Hedgehog signaling pathway.

Long-term clinical response of advanced lung adenocarcinoma to maintenance treatment of gemcitabine: A case report.

RATIONALE: Advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is an aggressive malignancy that generally leads to poor outcomes, with <5% long-term survival at 5 years; however, several researches have shown improvements in the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) on the maintenance therapy after the first-line chemotherapy. we report a case of metastatic NSCLC patient treated with maintenance therapy of gemcitabine with brilliant results. PATIENT CONCERNS: Clinical data and treatment of a 68-year-old man with NSCLC are summarized. The Ethics Committee of People's hospital of Leshan, approved this study. DIAGNOSIS: Lung adenocarcinoma metastasized to the mediastinal lymph node, cervical lymph node, and adrenal gland, without epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation. INTERVENTIONS: Continued treatment with gemcitabine alone following the 6 cycles of cisplatin-gemcitabine chemotherapy, prolonging the interval of chemotherapy when he could not tolerate the toxicity of the drug. OUTCOMES: Partial response of the disease for 4.5 years and significant clinical benefit. LESSONS: This case shows that patients will benefit from the maintenance therapy, and gemcitabine may be a good choice.

Surgery of the primary tumor improves survival in women with stage IV breast cancer in Southwest China: A retrospective analysis.

The International Consensus Guidelines for advanced breast cancer (ABC) considers that the surgery of the primary tumor for stage IV breast cancer patients does not usually improve the survival. However, studies have showed that resection of the primary tumor may benefit these patients. The correlation between surgery and survival remains unclear.The impact of surgery and other clinical factors on overall survival (OS) of stage IV patients is investigated in West China Hospital. Female patients diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer between 1999 and 2014 were included (N = 223). Univariate and multivariate analysis assessed the association between surgery and OS.One hundred seventy-seven (79.4%) underwent surgery for the primary tumor, and 46 (20.6%) had no surgery. No significant differences were observed in age at diagnosis, T-stage, N-stage, histological grade, molecular subtype, hormone receptor (HR), and number of metastatic sites between 2 groups. Patients in the surgery group had dramatically longer OS (45.6 vs 21.3 months, log-rank P < .001). In univariate analysis, survival was associated with surgical treatment, residence, tumor size, lymph node, HR status, hormonal therapy, and radiotherapy. In multivariate analysis, surgery was an independent prognostic factor for OS [hazard ratio (HR), 0.569; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.329-0.984, P = .044]. Additional independent prognostic factors were hormonal therapy (HR, 0.490; 95% CI 0.300-0.800) and radiotherapy (HR, 0.490; 95% CI 0.293-0.819). In addition, a favorable impact of surgery was observed by subgroup analysis.Our study showed that surgery of the primary breast tumor has a positive impact on OS in with stage IV breast cancer patients.

Malignant pleural and pericardial effusions and meningeal infiltrates without other metastases in breast cancer: A case report.

Breast cancer metastasizing to the pleura, pericardium and leptomeninges, but not to other sites, is rare. Although malignant pericardial and pleural effusions are common complications during the course of malignancies, they are rarely the initial manifestations of malignant disease, particularly pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade. This report describes a case of breast carcinoma in a 44-year-old woman who initially presented with malignant pleural effusion and pericardial tamponade and suffered from meningeal metastases after 4.5 months. Unfortunately, the patient succumbed to pericardial tamponade 7 months later. There was no metastasis identified in other organs during the course of the disease. To the best of our knowledge, no similar case has been reported in the literature to date.