Room-temperature stabilizing strongly competing ferrielectric and antiferroelectric phases in PbZrO3 by strain-mediated phase separation.

PbZrO3 has been broadly considered as a prototypical antiferroelectric material for high-power energy storage. A recent theoretical study suggests that the ground state of PbZrO3 is threefold-modulated ferrielectric, which challenges the generally accepted antiferroelectric configuration. However, such a novel ferrielectric phase was predicted only to be accessible at low temperatures. Here, we successfully achieve the room-temperature construction of the strongly competing ferrielectric and antiferroelectric state by strain-mediated phase separation in PbZrO3/SrTiO3 thin film. We demonstrate that the phase separation occurs spontaneously in quasi-periodic stripe-like patterns under a compressive misfit strain and can be tailored by varying the film thickness. The ferrielectric phase strikingly exhibitsa threefold modulation period with a nearly up-up-down configuration, which could be stabilized and manipulated by the formation and evolution of interfacial defects under applied strain. The present results construct a fertile ground for further exploring the physical properties and applications based on the novel ferrielectric phase.

Sulfidation-Induced Surface Local Electronic and Atomic Structures in a Silver Catalyst Enables Silicon Photocathode for Selective and Efficient Photoelectrochemical CO2 Reduction.

Converting CO2 to value-added chemicals through a photoelectrochemical (PEC) system is a creative approach toward renewable energy utilization and storage. However, the rational design of appropriate catalysts while being effectively integrated with semiconductor photoelectrodes remains a considerable challenge for achieving single-carbon products with high efficiency. Herein, we demonstrate a novel sulfidation-induced strategy for in situ grown sulfide-derived Ag nanowires on a Si photocathode (denoted as SD-Ag/Si) based on the standard crystalline Si solar cells. Such an exquisite design of the SD-Ag/Si photocathode not only provides a large electrochemically active surface area but also endows abundant active sites of Ag2S/Ag interfaces and high-index Ag facets for PEC CO production. The optimized SD-Ag/Si photocathode displays an ideal CO Faradic efficiency of 95.2% and an onset potential of +0.26 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode, ascribed to the sulfidation-induced synergistic effect of the surface atomic arrangement and electronic structure in Ag catalysts that promote charge transfer, facilitate CO2 adsorption and activation, and suppress hydrogen evolution reaction. This sulfidation-induced strategy represents a scalable approach for designing high-performance catalysts for electrochemical and PEC devices with efficient CO2 utilization.

Accelerating Charge Kinetics in Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction by Modulating the Cobalt Coordination in Heterostructures of Cadmium Sulfide/Metal-Organic Layer.

Artificial photocatalytic CO2 reduction (CO2 R) holds great promise to directly store solar energy into chemical bonds. The slow charge and mass transfer kinetics at the triphasic solid-liquid-gas interface calls for the rational design of heterogeneous photocatalysts concertedly boosting interfacial charge transfer, local CO2 concentration, and exposure of active sites. To meet these requirements, in this study heterostructures of CdS/MOL (MOL = metal-organic layer) furnishing different redox Co sites are fabricated for CO2 R photocatalysts. It is found that the coordination environment of Co is key to photocatalytic activity. The best catalyst ensemble comprising ligand-chelated Co2+ with the bipyridine electron mediator demonstrates a high CO yield rate of 1523 µmol h-1 gcat -1 , selectivity of 95.8% and TON of 1462.4, which are ranked among the best seen in literature. Comprehensive photochemical and electroanalytical characterizations attribute the high CO2 R performance to the improved photocarrier separation and charge kinetics originated from the proper energy band alignment and coordination chemistry. This work highlights the construction of 2D heterostructures and modulation of transition metal coordination to expedite the charge kinetics in photocatalytic CO2 reduction.

Low voltage-driven high-performance thermal switching in antiferroelectric PbZrO3 thin films.

Effective control of heat transfer is vital for energy saving and carbon emission reduction. In contrast to achievements in electrical conduction, active control of heat transfer is much more challenging. Ferroelectrics are promising candidates for thermal switching as a result of their tunable domain structures. However, switching ratios in ferroelectrics are low (<1.2). We report that high-quality antiferroelectric PbZrO3 epitaxial thin films exhibit high-contrast (>2.2), fast-speed (<150 nanoseconds), and long-lifetime (>107) thermal switching under a small voltage (<10 V). In situ reciprocal space mapping and atomistic modelings reveal that the field-driven antiferroelectric-ferroelectric phase transition induces a substantial change of primitive cell size, which modulates phonon-phonon scattering phase space drastically and results in high switching ratio. These results advance the concept of thermal transport control in ferroic materials.

Interfacial Bi-S bonds modulate band alignment for efficient solar water oxidation.

Introducing suitable interfacial chemical bonds into heterojunctions can increase the charge carrier density, propel the charge separation, and facilitate interfacial charge extraction in photoanodes for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation. However, tuning chemical bonds at heterojunction interfaces and elucidating their influences on band alignment and the associated evolution of PEC performance remain elusive. Herein, Bi-S bonds were introduced into the interface of a CdIn2S4 (CIS)/Bi2WO6 (BWO) heterojunction. In situ irradiated X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron spin resonance signals confirm that the Bi-S bond transforms the band alignment from type II to the direct Z-scheme, significantly enhancing the carrier separation efficiency. Theoretical calculations show that the Bi-S bond not only acts as an atomic-level charge transfer channel, but also changes the migration pathway and distance within the heterojunction. As a result, the optimized CIS/BWO photoanode exhibits a relatively high PEC performance of 4.25 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE (VRHE) and a low onset potential of 0.30 VRHE. This work presents a new avenue to construct comprehensively improved photoanodes by tuning the interfacial structures at the atomic level.

Self-Enhancing Photoelectrochemical Properties in van der Waals Ferroelectric CuInP2S6 by Photoassisted Acid Hydrolysis.

Transition metal thiophosphate, CuInP2S6 (CIPS), has recently emerged as a potentially promising material for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting due to its intrinsic ferroelectric polarization for spontaneous photocarrier separation. However, the poor kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) greatly limits its practical applications. Herein, we report self-enhancing photocatalytic behavior of a CIPS photocathode due to chemically driven oxygen incorporation by photoassisted acid oxidation. The optimal oxygen-doped CIPS demonstrates a >1 order of magnitude enhancement in the photocurrent density compared to that of pristine CIPS. Through comprehensive spectroscopic and microscopic investigations combined with theoretical calculations, we disclose that oxygen doping will lower the Fermi level position and decrease the HER barrier, which further accelerates charge separation and improves the HER activity. This work may deliver a universal and facile strategy for improving the PEC performance of other van der Waals metal thiophosphates.

Subculture and Cryopreservation of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Organoids: Pros and Cons for Single Cell Digestion.

The lack of suitable translational research models reflecting primary disease to explore tumorigenesis and therapeutic strategies is a major obstacle in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) have recently emerged as a remarkable preclinical model in a variety of cancers. However, there are still limited protocols available for developing EAC PDOs. Once the PDOs are established, the propagation and cryopreservation are essential for further downstream analyses. Here, two different methods have been standardized for EAC PDOs subculture and cryopreservation, i.e., with and without single cell digestion. Both methods can reliably obtain appropriate cell viability and are applicable for a diverse experimental setup. The current study demonstrated that subculturing EAC PDOs with single cell digestion is suitable for most experiments requiring cell number control, uniform density, and a hollow structure that facilitates size tracking. However, the single cell-based method shows slower growth in culture as well as after re-cultivation from frozen stocks. Besides, subculturing with single cell digestion is characterized by forming hollow structures with a hollow core. In contrast, processing EAC PDOs without single cell digestion is favorable for cryopreservation, expansion, and histological characterization. In this protocol, the advantages and disadvantages of subculturing and cryopreservation of EAC PDOs with and without single cell digestion are described to enable researchers to choose an appropriate method to process and investigate their organoids.

Steering the Pathway of Plasmon-Enhanced Photoelectrochemical CO2 Reduction by Bridging Si and Au Nanoparticles through a TiO2 Interlayer.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) conversion of CO2 in an aqueous medium into high-energy fuels is a creative strategy for storing solar energy and closing the anthropogenic carbon cycle. However, the rational design of catalytic architectures to selectively and efficiently produce a target product such as CO has remained a grand challenge. Herein, an efficient and selective Si photocathode for CO production is reported by utilizing a TiO2 interlayer to bridge the Au nanoparticles and n+ p-Si. The TiO2 interlayer can not only effectively protect and passivate Si surface, but can also exhibit outstanding synergies with Au nanoparticles to greatly promote CO2 reduction kinetics for CO production through stabilizing the key reaction intermediates. Specifically, the TiO2 layer and Au nanoparticles work concertedly to enhance the separation of localized surface plasmon resonance generated hot carriers, contributing to the improved activity and selectivity for CO production by utilizing the hot electrons generated in Au nanoparticles during PEC CO2 reduction. The optimized Au/TiO2 /n+ p-Si photocathode exhibits a Faradaic efficiency of 86% and a partial current density of -5.52 mA cm-2 at -0.8 VRHE for CO production, which represent state-of-the-art performance in this field. Such a plasmon-enhanced strategy may pave the way for the development of high-performance PEC photocathodes for energy-efficient CO2 utilization.

Optimal Power Allocation for Channel-Based Physical Layer Authentication in Dual-Hop Wireless Networks.

Channel-based physical-layer authentication, which is capable of detecting spoofing attacks in dual-hop wireless networks with low cost and low complexity, attracted a great deal of attention from researchers. In this paper, we explore the likelihood ratio test (LRT) with cascade channel frequency response, which is optimal according to the Neyman-Pearson theorem. Since it is difficult to derive the theoretical threshold and the probability of detection for LRT, majority voting (MV) algorithm is employed as a trade-off between performance and practicality. We make decisions according to the temporal variations of channel frequency response in independent subcarriers separately, the results of which are used to achieve a hypothesis testing. Then, we analyze the theoretical false alarm rate (FAR) and miss detection rate (MDR) by quantifying the upper bound of their sum. Moreover, we develop the optimal power allocation strategy between the transmitter and the relay by minimizing the derived upper bound with the optimal decision threshold according to the relay-to-receiver channel gain. The proposed power allocation strategy takes advantage of the difference of noise power between the relay and the receiver to jointly adjust the transmit power, so as to improve the authentication performance on condition of fixed total power. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed power allocation strategy outperforms the equal power allocation in terms of FAR and MDR.

Comparison of outcomes between neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer: A network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) or neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) followed by surgery are two standard strategies in treating locally advanced esophageal cancer (EC). We aim to compare NCRT and NCT in the management of locally advanced EC patients. METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, and conferences were systematically searched for clinical trials published up to September 2021. Pairwise comparisons and Bayesian network meta-analyses were conducted to compare overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) by reporting the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% credible intervals (CrIs). The study was registered at PROSPERO (CRD42020170619). FINDINGS: 25 trials with 4563 EC patients met inclusion criteria. NCRT improved OS (HR: 0·72, 95%CrI: 0·63-0·82) and DFS (HR: 0·72, 95%CrI: 0·63-0·81) compared to surgery alone. NCRT improved OS (HR: 0·83, 95%CrI: 0·69-0·99) and DFS (HR: 0·83, 95%CI: 0·69-0·99) compared to NCT. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that both NCRT (HR: 0·77, 95%CrI: 0·65-0·90) and NCT (HR: 0·81, 95%CrI: 0·67-0·99) improved OS than surgery in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. No significant differences were observed between NCRT and NCT regarding OS (HR: 0·95, 95%CrI: 0·75-1·19) and DFS (HR: 0·90, 95%CrI: 0·50-1·62) in ESCC. The short-term outcomes were similar between NCRT and NCT. The three treatment strategies were comparable in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) subpopulations. INTERPRETATION: The study corroborated current guidelines in addressing the importance of analysing EC according to histopathological types. The analysis suggested that in locally advanced ESCC patients, both NCRT and NCT improved OS as compared to surgery alone, whereas no clear evidence supported the optimal strategies between NCRT and NCT. More RCTs comparing different therapeutic strategies in EAC patients are warranted. FUNDING: Köln Fortune Program, University of Cologne.

A Retrospective Study of 52 Patients With Primary Small Cell Carcinoma of the Esophagus Treated With Radical Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Primary small cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE) is a rare and extremely fatal disease. We aim to evaluate the efficacy of radical surgery for resectable SCCE and to explore potential prognostic factors. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 52 consecutive SCCE patients who underwent radical surgery from February 1993 to November 2014 at a single institution. The Kaplan-Meier estimator with log-rank test was used to assess overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS) and median survival time. Univariate and multivariable analyses were used to evaluate prognostic factors through Cox proportional hazard regression model. RESULTS: Twenty-five (48.1%) patients were treated with surgery alone, whereas 27 (51.9%) patients underwent adjuvant therapy after surgery. The median OS time was 17.4 months (95% CI: 13.5-21.3). The median DFS time was 13.4 months (95% CI: 7.7-19.0). Patients whose tumors were located in the lower part of thoracic esophagus and the esophagogastric junction showed significantly better OS (27.0 vs. 13.2 months, P = 0.016) and DFS (27.0 vs. 11.3 months, P = 0.017) than those located in the upper and middle parts. Patients with N0 status experienced significantly better OS (21.4 vs. 11.6 months, P = 0.012) and DFS (21.4 vs. 8.6 months, P = 0.012) than those with N+ status. Patients whose tumor lengths were shorter than 5 cm had a better OS (17.4 vs. 5.7 months, P = 0.035) than those longer than 5 cm. Patients who underwent chemotherapy experienced a significantly improved OS (21.0 vs. 14.1 months, P = 0.032) compared to surgery alone. Multivariable analysis showed that lower tumor location, shorter tumor length, pN0 status and chemotherapy independently predicted better OS; lower tumor location and pN0 status independently predicted better DFS. CONCLUSIONS: Radical surgery in combination with chemotherapy has better outcomes than surgery alone for resectable SCCE. Higher tumor location, longer tumor length, lymph node metastasis and not undergoing chemotherapy independently predict worse prognoses.

Aldo-Keto Reductase 1C3 Mediates Chemotherapy Resistance in Esophageal Adenocarcinoma via ROS Detoxification.

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is one of the most lethal malignancies, and limits promising treatments. AKR1C3 represents a therapeutic target to combat the resistance in many cancers. However, the molecular mechanism of AKR1C3 in the chemotherapy resistance of EAC is still unclear. We found that the mRNA level of AKR1C3 was higher in EAC tumor tissues, and that high AKR1C3 expression might be associated with poor overall survival of EAC patients. AKR1C3 overexpression decreased cell death induced by chemotherapeutics, while knockdown of AKR1C3 attenuated the effect. Furthermore, we found AKR1C3 was inversely correlated with ROS production. Antioxidant NAC rescued chemotherapy-induced apoptosis in AKR1C3 knockdown cells, while the GSH biosynthesis inhibitor BSO reversed a protective effect of AKR1C3 against chemotherapy. AKT phosphorylation was regulated by AKR1C3 and might be responsible for eliminating over-produced ROS in EAC cells. Intracellular GSH levels were modulated by AKR1C3 and the inhibition of AKT could reduce GSH level in EAC cells. Here, we reported for the first time that AKR1C3 renders chemotherapy resistance through controlling ROS levels via AKT signaling in EAC cells. Targeting AKR1C3 may represent a novel strategy to sensitize EAC cells to conventional chemotherapy.

Targeting Glutaminolysis: New Perspectives to Understand Cancer Development and Novel Strategies for Potential Target Therapies.

Metabolism rewiring is an important hallmark of cancers. Being one of the most abundant free amino acids in the human blood, glutamine supports bioenergetics and biosynthesis, tumor growth, and the production of antioxidants through glutaminolysis in cancers. In glutamine dependent cancer cells, more than half of the tricarboxylic/critic acid (TCA) metabolites are derived from glutamine. Glutaminolysis controls the process of converting glutamine into TCA cycle metabolites through the regulation of multiple enzymes, among which the glutaminase shows the importance as the very first step in this process. Targeting glutaminolysis via glutaminase inhibition emerges as a promising strategy to disrupt cancer metabolism and tumor progression. Here, we review the regulation of glutaminase and the role of glutaminase in cancer metabolism and metastasis. Furthermore, we highlight the glutaminase inhibitor based metabolic therapy strategy and their potential applications in clinical scenarios.

Linking Cancer Stem Cell Plasticity to Therapeutic Resistance-Mechanism and Novel Therapeutic Strategies in Esophageal Cancer.

Esophageal cancer (EC) is an aggressive form of cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and adenocarcinoma (EAC) as two predominant histological subtypes. Accumulating evidence supports the existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) able to initiate and maintain EAC or ESCC. In this review, we aim to collect the current evidence on CSCs in esophageal cancer, including the biomarkers/characterization strategies of CSCs, heterogeneity of CSCs, and the key signaling pathways (Wnt/ß-catenin, Notch, Hedgehog, YAP, JAK/STAT3) in modulating CSCs during esophageal cancer progression. Exploring the molecular mechanisms of therapy resistance in EC highlights DNA damage response (DDR), metabolic reprogramming, epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), and the role of the crosstalk of CSCs and their niche in the tumor progression. According to these molecular findings, potential therapeutic implications of targeting esophageal CSCs may provide novel strategies for the clinical management of esophageal cancer.

Overexpression of OsPT8 Increases Auxin Content and Enhances Tolerance to High-Temperature Stress in Nicotiana tabacum.

Temperature is a primary factor affecting the rate of plant development; as the climate warms, extreme temperature events are likely to increasingly affect agriculture. Understanding how to improve crop tolerance to heat stress is a key concern. Wild plants have evolved numerous strategies to tolerate environmental conditions, notably the regulation of root architecture by phytohormones, but the molecular mechanisms of stress resistance are unclear. In this study, we showed that high temperatures could significantly reduce tobacco biomass and change its root architecture, probably through changes in auxin content and distribution. Overexpression of the OsPT8 phosphate transporter enhanced tobacco tolerance to high-temperature stress by changing the root architecture and increased the antioxidant ability. Molecular assays suggested that overexpression of OsPT8 in tobacco significantly increased the expression of auxin synthesis genes NtYUCCA 6, 8 and auxin efflux carriers genes NtPIN 1,2 under high-temperature stress. We also found that the expression levels of auxin response factors NtARF1 and NtARF2 were increased in OsPT8 transgenic tobacco under high-temperature stress, suggesting that OsPT8 regulates auxin signaling in response to high-temperature conditions. Our findings provided new insights into the molecular mechanisms of plant stress signaling and showed that OsPT8 plays a key role in regulating plant tolerance to stress conditions.

Multiple primary malignancies for squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.

BACKGROUND: Patients with esophageal cancer (EC) frequently have multiple primary cancers. We conducted the present study to assess the risk of multiple primary malignancies for patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (AC) of the esophagus and to investigate the influence of multiple primary tumors on the prognosis of EC patients. METHODS: Using the data of 44,091 EC patients from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database, we calculated the standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for overall multiple primary cancers and cancers at particular sites among EC survivors. The SIRs of esophageal SCC and AC patients were compared using Poisson regression. The Kaplan-Meier (KM) method was used for survival analysis. RESULTS: Multiple primary cancer risk was significantly increased among both esophageal SCC and AC survivors (SIR: 2.28 and 1.57, respectively; P<0.001). Among SCC patients, the highest SIRs were found in the oral cavity and pharynx (SIR: 16.54), esophagus (SIR: 10.02), and larynx (SIR: 10.34). Also, the highest SIRs following AC cases were observed in the esophagus (SIR: 8.81), stomach (SIR: 9.29), and small intestine (SIR: 4.95). SIRs for the oral cavity and pharynx, lung, and larynx were significantly higher among SCC survivors than AC survivors (all P<0.05). KM analysis revealed no significant difference of overall survival (OS) for multiple primary cancers, including those of the esophagus, stomach, oral cavity and pharynx, and lung among EC patients (log rank =2.04; P=0.564), except for prostate cancer (log rank =96.65; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Multiple primary malignancy risk differed by the histological type of esophageal SSC and AC survivor. However, no significant relationship between survival and the multiple primary cancer sites, except for prostate cancer, was observed.

A novel preoperative plasma indicator to predict prognoses for patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after radical esophagectomy: fibrinogen-to-lymphocyte ratio.

Purpose: The inflammatory microenvironment and hemostatic system are involved in several stages of tumor progression. The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic effect of fibrinogen-to-lymphocyte ratio (FLR) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients who underwent radical esophagectomy. Patients and methods: We retrospectively reviewed 673 consecutive patients with ESCC who underwent radical esophagectomy from January 2009 to December 2012 at a major cancer hospital in Guangzhou, southern China. The cutoff points were defined by the X-tile software. The prognostic value of FLR for overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and first-year mortality after surgery were analyzed using Cox proportional hazard regression model and logistic regression model. Survival was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier estimator and compared using the log-rank test. Results: The optimal cutoff point of FLR was 3.03. Compared with the FLR-low (≤3.03) group, the FLR-high (>3.03) group included older patients (χ2=7.267, P=0.007), showed higher postoperative overall morbidity (24.7% vs 14.8%, χ2=5.414, P=0.020) and tended to die within one year (23.5% vs 10.9%, χ2=10.871, P=0.001). The FLR-high group showed significant lower 5-year OS rates (41.2% vs 53.7%, log-rank=6.827, P=0.009) and 5-year DFS rates (35.3% vs 48.0%, log-rank=5.954, P=0.015) than the FLR-low group. Multivariate analyses suggested that high FLR was an independent negative predictor of OS (HR: 1.448, 95%CI: 1.073-1.952, P=0.015), DFS (HR: 1.445, 95%CI: 1.084-1.925, P=0.012) and first-year mortality (HR: 2.123, 95%CI: 1.157-3.898, P=0.015). Conclusion: The preoperative FLR level could be used as a simple, noninvasive, inexpensive, and potentially effective indicator to evaluate the prognosis of ESCC patients following radical esophagectomy.

Comparison of short- and long-term outcomes between 3-field and modern 2-field lymph node dissections for thoracic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a propensity score matching analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to compare short- and long-term outcomes between 3-field lymphadenectomy (3-FL) and modern 2-field lymphadenectomy (2-FL) in patients with thoracic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS: We reviewed clinical outcomes for 298 patients with thoracic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma who underwent 3-FL or modern 2-FL from March 2008 to December 2013 at a major cancer hospital in Guangzhou, southern China. Propensity score matching was used to balance baseline differences, and 83 pairs of cases were selected. Postoperative complications, recurrence patterns and survival outcomes were compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS: Compared with modern 2-FL, 3-FL led to higher overall operative morbidity rates [78.3% vs 61.4%, odds ratio (OR) 2.266, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.143-4.490; P = 0.019], with higher recurrent nerve palsy rates (47.0% vs 19.3%, OR 3.712, 95% CI 1.852-7.438; P < 0.0001), more respiratory failures (18.1% vs 6.0%, OR 3.441, 95% CI 1.189-9.963; P = 0.023) and longer postoperative hospital stays (23 vs 17 days, P = 0.002). The 5-year overall survival rate (58.5% vs 59.4%; P = 0.960) and the 5-year disease-free survival rate 50.1% vs 54.5%; P = 0.482) were comparable between the 2 groups. Multivariable analysis showed that additional cervical lymph node dissection was not associated with overall survival [hazard ratio (HR) 1.039, 95% CI 0.637-1.696; P = 0.878] and disease-free survival (HR 0.868, 95% CI 0.548-1.376; P = 0.547). The overall recurrence rate and cervical nodal recurrence rate were not significantly different between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: Additional cervical lymphadenectomy did not lead to added survival benefit when compared with modern 2-FL in patients with thoracic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Recurrence was similar in patients undergoing 3-FL and modern 2-FL. 3-FL resulted in more postoperative complications.

NtMYB12 Positively Regulates Flavonol Biosynthesis and Enhances Tolerance to Low Pi Stress in Nicotiana tabacum.

Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient for plant growth and development. The concentration of flavonol, a natural plant antioxidant, is closely related to phosphorus nutritional status. However, the regulatory networks of flavonol biosynthesis under low Pi stress are still unclear. In this study, we identified a PFG-type MYB gene, NtMYB12, whose expression was significantly up-regulated under low Pi conditions. Overexpression of NtMYB12 dramatically increased flavonol concentration and the expression of certain flavonol biosynthetic genes (NtCHS, NtCHI, and NtFLS) in transgenic tobacco. Moreover, overexpression of NtMYB12 also increased the total P concentration and enhanced tobacco tolerance of low Pi stress by increasing the expression of Pht1-family genes (NtPT1 and NtPT2). We further demonstrated that NtCHS-overexpressing plants and NtPT2-overexpressing plants also had increased flavonol and P accumulation and higher tolerance to low Pi stress, showing a similar phenotype to NtMYB12-overexpressing transgenic tobacco under low Pi stress. These results suggested that tobacco NtMYB12 acts as a phosphorus starvation response enhancement factor and regulates NtCHS and NtPT2 expression, which results in increased flavonol and P accumulation and enhances tolerance to low Pi stress.