Integrated 3D Open Network of Interconnected Bismuthene Arrays for Energy-Efficient and Electrosynthesis-Assisted Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction.

Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2 RR) toward formate production can be operated under mild conditions with high energy conversion efficiency while migrating the greenhouse effect. Herein, an integrated 3D open network of interconnected bismuthene arrays (3D Bi-ene-A/CM) is fabricated via in situ electrochemically topotactic transformation from BiOCOOH nanosheet arrays supported on the copper mesh. The resulted 3D Bi-ene-A/CM consists of 2D atomically thin metallic bismuthene (Bi-ene) in the form of an integrated array superstructure with a 3D interconnected and open network, which harvests the multiple structural advantages of both metallenes and self-supported electrodes for electrocatalysis. Such distinctive superstructure affords the maximized quantity and availability of the active sites with high intrinsic activity and superior charge and mass transfer capability, endowing the catalyst with good CO2 RR performance for stable formate production with high Faradaic efficiency (≈90%) and current density (>300 mA cm-2 ). Theoretical calculation verifies the superior intermediate stabilization of the dominant Bi plane during CO2 RR. Moreover, by further coupling anodic methanol oxidation reaction, an exotic electrolytic system enables highly energy-efficient and value-added pair-electrosynthesis for concurrent formate production at both electrodes, achieving substantially improved electrochemical and economic efficiency and revealing the feasibility for practical implementation.

Elevated serum YKL-40 level predicts poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma after surgery.

BACKGROUND: YKL-40 is a member of the mammalian chitinase-like proteins. Elevated serum YKL-40 levels in patients with gastrointestinal cancer at time of diagnosis are associated with poor prognosis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prognostic value of serum YKL-40 before surgery and during follow-up in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients receiving curative resection. METHODS: Serum YKL-40 levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Overall and recurrence-free survival (RFS) curves were constructed using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by the log-rank test. A Cox proportional-hazards regression model was performed to identify independent prognostic factors. Median follow-up time was 35 months. RESULTS: Baseline serum YKL-40 was elevated in 56% of patients with HCC receiving curative resection. Patients with elevated serum YKL-40 had significantly shorter overall and RFS than patients with normal serum YKL-40 (P = 0.003 and P = 0.001, respectively). Multivariate Cox regression analyses indicated that baseline serum YKL-40 was an independent prognostic variable for overall and RFS [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.968, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.093-3.543, P = 0.024; HR = 1.891, 95% CI: 1.106-3.232, P = 0.020; respectively]. After curative resection, high serum YKL-40 (log-transformed continuous variable) within 6 months predicted significantly poorer overall survival (HR = 3.003, 95% CI: 1.323-6.817, P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that serum YKL-40 was an independent prognostic factor for overall and RFS in HCC patients receiving curative resection. Serial monitoring of serum YKL-40 after curative resection may provide prognostic information.

DJ-1: a promising marker in metastatic uveal melanoma.

PURPOSE: Overexpression of DJ-1 was associated with metastatic uveal melanoma (UM). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of serum DJ-1 as a biomarker for metastasis of uveal melanoma. METHODS: Serum DJ-1 levels were determined by ELISA assays in 27 patients with metastatic UM metastatic uveal melanoma and in 76 patients who were disease free for at least 10 years and 30 age- and sex-matched controls. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the feasibility of DJ-1 in detection of metastatic uveal melanoma. RESULTS: Serum DJ-1 levels were significantly higher in patients with metastatic UM compared with patients who were disease free for at least 10 years (P < 0.001) or with controls (P < 0.001). ROC curve for DJ-1 revealed an area under the curve of 86.3%, and when 3.350 ng/mL was used as the cutoff value, a sensitivity of 74.1% and a specificity of 94.3% were achieved. Comparison of DJ-1 and liver function tests (LFTs) ROC curves indicated that DJ-1 was superior to LFTs in detection of metastatic UM. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that DJ-1 might be a promising serum marker for monitoring metastatic uveal melanoma.

Serum YKL-40 independently predicts outcome after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization of hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the most widely used treatment option for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Elevated serum YKL-40 level has been shown to predict poor prognosis in HCC patients undergoing resection. This study was designed to validate the prognostic significance of serum YKL-40 in patients with HCC undergoing TACE treatment. METHODS: Serum YKL-40 level was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Overall survival (OS) was evaluated with the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by the log-rank test. Multivariate study with Cox proportional hazard model was used to evaluate independent prognostic variables of OS. RESULTS: The median pretreatment serum YKL-40 in HCC patients with was significantly higher than that in healthy controls (P<0.001). The YKL-40 could predict survival precisely either in a dichotomized or continuous fashion (P<0.001 and P = 0.001, respectively). Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that serum YKL-40 was an independent prognostic factor for OS in HCC patients (P = 0.001). In further stratified analyses, YKL-40 could discriminate the outcomes of patients with low and high alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level (P = 0.006 and 0.016, respectively). Furthermore, the combination of serum YKL-40 and AFP had more capacity to predict patients' outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Serum YKL-40 was demonstrated to be an independent prognostic biomarker in HCC patients treated with TACE. Our results need confirmation in an independent study.