The C-Reactive Protein to Albumin Ratio Is an Independent Prognostic Factor in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Undergoing Transarterial Chemoembolization: A Large Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after transcatheter chemoembolization (TACE). METHODS: Totally, 958 HCC patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage B were incorporated into the secondary analysis. X-Tile software was applied to determine the optimal cutoff point for CAR, and the total patients were divided into two groups. Cox proportional hazard regression models and Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to estimate the relationship between CAR and overall survival (OS). Stratified analyses were performed to evaluate the prognostic role of CAR in subgroups of major confounding factors, such as alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), diameter of the main tumor, Glasgow prognostic score (GPS) and modified GPS (mGPS). RESULTS: The optimal cutoff level for the CAR was 0.06. There was a direct correlation between an elevated CAR (≥ 0.06) and shorter OS after adjustment (HR:1.580; 95%CI:1.193-2.092). Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test showed a significant difference in OS curves between the two groups (P < 0.001). CAR showed the distinct value of prognostic stratification in most subgroups, especially in the subgroup of GPS-0 (HR:1.966; 95%CI:1.453-2.660), mGPS-0 (HR:1.984; 95%CI:1.509-2.608) and AFP ≤ 400 ng/ml (HR:1.925; 95%CI:1.393-2.659). CONCLUSION: The CAR was one of the prognostic factors for HCC patients undergoing TACE treatment. CAR could also provide further prognostic stratification for HCC patients who appear to have a good prognosis, such as patients with AFP-negative, GPS-0 or mGPS-0 to identify patients at a higher risk of death for closer follow-up or more aggressive treatment. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3, Cohort Study.

Covalent SO Bonding Enables Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performance of Cu2 S/Fe2 O3 Heterojunction for Water Splitting.

The severe charge recombination and the sluggish kinetic for oxygen evolution reaction have largely limited the application of hematite (α-Fe2 O3 ) for water splitting. Herein, the construction of Cu2 S/Fe2 O3 heterojunction and discover that the formation of covalent SO bonds between Cu2 S and Fe2 O3 can significantly improve the photoelectrochemical performance and stability for water splitting is reported. Compared with bare Fe2 O3 , the heterostructure of Cu2 S/Fe2 O3 endows the resulting electrode with enhanced charge separation and transfer, extended range for light absorption, and reduced charge recombination rate. Additionally, due to the photothermal properties of Cu2 S, the heterostructure exhibits locally a higher temperature under illumination, profitable for increasing the rate of oxygen evolution reaction. Consequently, the photocurrent density of the heterostructure is enhanced by 177% to be 1.19 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. This work may provide guideline for future in the design and fabrication of highly efficient photoelectrodes for various reactions.

Controlled charge-dynamics in cobalt-doped TiO2 nanowire photoanodes for enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting.

In this study, we report for the first time the controlled Co-doping in TiO2 nanowire (NW) arrays grown on the FTO substrate for highly efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The Co/TiO2 and pristine TiO2 are single crystalline with a tetragonal rutile structure, while the primary peaks were transformed to (0 0 2) with the adding of Co. Compared to pristine TiO2 NW photoanode, the photocurrent of as-prepared Co/TiO2 NW arrays electrodes show a higher PEC activity with up to ∼150% of photocurrent density increase under simulated solar radiation. The Co-doping enabled to control the charge dynamics in TiO2 photoanode and thus can achieve an enhanced photocurrent density. The electrochemical impedance measurement indicates that the density of photogenerated carriers can be significantly increased by the Co doping. The Co/TiO2 NW photoanodes exhibit high stability in photoelectrochemical conversion and show great potential for a variety of solar energy driven applications.