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Background: The efficacy of systemic therapy regimens, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (IO‐TKI) and targeted therapy, for metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remains unpredictable due to the lack of effective biomarkers. Neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) plays an important role in promoting ccRCC. This study explores the NET predictive value of the efficacy in metastatic ccRCC. Methods: In this retrospective study, patients with metastatic ccRCC who received targeted drugs and IO‐TKI were included. Immunofluorescence staining was utilized to quantify the levels of tissue NETs through cell counts of H3Cit(+) and MPO(+) cells. Results: A total of 183 patients with metastatic ccRCC were enrolled, including 150 patients who received TKIs and 33 patients who received IO‐TKI. The levels of NETs in tumor tissue were significantly higher than in para‐tumor tissue (p < 0.001). In terms of predicting drug efficacy, a correlation between NET levels and progression‐free survival (PFS) was observed in the TKI with metachronous metastasis group (HR 1.73 [95% CI 1.02–2.91], log‐rank p = 0.037), while no correlation was observed in the TKI with synchronous metastasis group and IO‐TKI group. Regarding overall survival (OS), activated NET levels were associated with poor OS in both TKI (HR 1.60 [95% CI 1.05–2.43], log‐rank p = 0.017) and IO‐TKI group (HR 4.35 [95% CI 1.06–17.82], log‐rank p =0.047). IMDC score (HR 1.462 [95% CI 1.030–2.075], p = 0.033) and tumor tissue NET levels (HR 1.733 [95% CI 1.165–2.579], p = 0.007) were independent prognostic risk factors for OS in patients with metastatic ccRCC.NET level was associated with poor OS in both TKI (HR 1.60 [95% CI 1.05–2.43], log‐rank p = 0.017). Conclusions: The active NET levels in tumor tissue can predict drug efficacy in patients with metastatic ccRCC who received systemic therapy. Elevated levels of NETs in tumor tissue were also associated with poor efficacy in OS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: About 5%–15% of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients undergoing stent implantation have concomitant atrial fibrillation and need both antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapies. The optimal antithrombotic regimen remains uncertain in this scenario. Hypothesis: A multicenter randomized controlled trial (OPtimal management of anTIthroMbotic Agents [OPTIMA]‐4) is designed to test the hypothesis that, for ACS patients with concomitant nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and having low‐to‐moderate risk of bleeding, clopidogrel is comparable in efficacy but superior in safety compared to ticagrelor while being used in combination with dabigatran after new‐generation drug‐eluting stent (DES) implantation. Methods: ACS patients who have low‐to‐moderate risk of bleeding (e.g., HAS‐BLED score ≤ 2) and require anticoagulation therapy (CHA2DS2‐VASc score ≥ 2) will be recruited after implantation of new‐generation DES. A total of 1472 eligible patients will be randomly assigned to receive a 12‐month dual antithrombotic treatment of either clopidogrel 75 mg daily or ticagrelor 90 mg twice daily in combination with dabigatran 110 mg twice daily. Participants will be followed up for 12 months after randomization. The primary efficacy endpoint is a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, unplanned revascularization, ischemic stroke, and systemic thromboembolism. The primary safety endpoint is set as major bleeding or clinically relevant nonmajor bleeding defined by the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis. The enrollment and follow‐up have been launched. Results: The first enrollment occurred on March 12, 2018. The recruitment is anticipated to be completed before December 31, 2024. Conclusions: The OPTIMA‐4 trial offers an opportunity to assess the optimal dual antithrombotic regimen in ACS patients with concomitant NVAF after the implantation of new‐generation DES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Metastatic renal cell carcinoma can occur synchronously or metachronously. We characterized the time from diagnosis to systematic therapy as a categorical variable to analyze its effect on the overall survival and first‐line treatment efficacy of metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients. Methods: We initially enrolled 949 consecutive metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients treated with targeted therapies retrospectively from December 2005 to December 2019. X‐tile analysis was used to determine cut‐off values of time from diagnosis to systematic therapy referring to overall survival. Patients were divided into different groups based on the time from diagnosis to systematic therapy and then analyzed for survival. Results: Of 358 eligible patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, 125 (34.9%) had synchronous metastases followed by cytoreductive nephrectomy, and 233 (65.1%) had metachronous metastases. A total of 28 patients received complete metastasectomy. Three optimal cut‐off values for the time from diagnosis to systematic therapy (months) – 1.1, 7.0 and 35.9 – were applied to divide the population into four groups: the synchro group (time from diagnosis to systematic therapy ≤1.0), early group (1.0 < time from diagnosis to systematic therapy ≤ 7.0), intermediate group (7.0 < time from diagnosis to systematic therapy < 36.0) and late group (time from diagnosis to systematic therapy ≥36.0). The targeted therapy‐related overall survival (P < 0.001) and progression‐free survival (P < 0.001) values were significantly different among the four groups. Patients with longer time from diagnosis to systematic therapy had better prognoses and promising efficacy of targeted therapy. With the prolongation of time from diagnosis to systematic therapy, complete metastasectomy was more likely to achieve and bring a better prognosis. Conclusions: The time from diagnosis to systematic therapy impacts the survival of metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients treated with targeted therapy. The cutoff points of 1, 7 and 36 months were statistically significant. The statistical boundaries might be valuable in future model establishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon has attracted a lot of attention as a potential anode material for next‐generation lithium ion batteries (LIBs) because of its high energy density, high theoretical capacity, and abundance. Herein, we introduce an effortless synthesis of coral‐like silicon powders with a three‐dimensional (3D) interlinked network using a scalable method that consist of magnesiothermic reduction and chemical vapor deposition. The porous structure achieved by silicon nanospheres can create room for the volume expansion and alleviate the built strain that would occur upon lithiation. In addition, intertwined coral‐like framework provides a shortened path for lithium ion diffusion, which can improve the ionic conductivity of the cells. At a high current rate of C/2, a reversible capacity of 3172 mAh g−1 was delivered by the silicon‐carbon nanocomposite electrode, and the capacity still remains as high as 1018 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles, while the Columbic efficiency is higher than 99%. The inexpensive, effective, and scalable fabrication of porous silicon‐carbon nanocomposite spheres possessing a 3D interlinked network could establish a basis for developing high energy density anode materials to be used in next‐generation LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many industries including distilleries continue to contribute to environmental pollution due to significant release of organic and inorganic pollutants as wastewater. This wastewater contains heavy metals and other toxic chemicals that lead to health‐related problems. Despite the advancement in treatment technologies, major treatment methods such as conventional treatment methods are still battering with the many challenges including high treatment and operational cost, and extensive use of chemicals that may lead to ecological imbalance. In this study, various treatment methods and pollutants removal capabilities were comprehensively discussed. This article also takes a comprehensive look at the alcohol production process and its wastewater generation, chemical characteristics and the health dangers posed by the distillery wastewater (DW). The article also looked at the various available treatment methods, emerging treatment methods, microalgae treatment method as well as challenges associated with microalgae wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizochytrium sp. AB-610 accumulates relatively higher amount of DHA-rich lipid in the cells, and it was found that DHA yield was closely related to the cell morphology and pH value during fermentation period. DHA production from Schizochytrium sp. AB-610 in fed-batch fermentation was investigated and four growth stages were clarified as lag stage, balanced growth stage, lipid accumulation stage, and lipid turnover stage, based on the morphologic observation and key parameters changes. Then a simple strategy of two-stage pH control was developed, in which pH 7.0 was kept until 12 h after the end of balanced growth stage, and then shifted to 5.0 for the rest period in fermentation. A maximal DHA production of 11.44g/L was achieved. This approach has advantage of easy scaling up for industrial DHA fermentation from Schizochytrium sp. cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal foams are utilized in various applications, such as in the automotive industries and for electrochemical devices. Herein, a Ni nanofoam is synthesized using a facile method for Li-ion batteries. Self-aligned Ni wires or randomly linked webs are produced with or without magnetic field, respectively. Ni granular beads or spiky clusters form at 370 or 450 °C, respectively. The surface area of Ni wires is increased by oxalic acid etching at 80 °C using 5-30 wt % water, leading to Ni oxalate nanosheets, nanowires (NWs), or nanoleaves. Metallic Ni NWs are obtained by reducing Ni oxalate NWs with H2 at 350 °C in 10 min. Carbon-coated Si nanoparticles on Ni NW foam (C-Si NP/Ni NWF) show 38 % rate enhancement (1222 vs. 889 mAh g−1) in comparison to C-Si NP/Cu foil. Higher stability of C-Si NP/Ni NWF with a capacity retention of 91 % is reached vs. 73 % for C-Si NP/Cu foil over 180 cycles. The ambient-pressure solution process with low temperature and fast reaction time could make large-scale production plausible for these nanoarchitectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To evaluate the efficacy and safety of abiraterone acetate-prednisone versus placebo-prednisone in Asian metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients who have failed docetaxel-based chemotherapy. Methods In this double-blind, phase 3 study from China, 214 patients were randomized (2:1) to abiraterone acetate 1000 mg once daily plus prednisone 5 mg twice daily and placebo plus prednisone 5 mg twice daily in 28-day treatment cycles. Results Abiraterone acetate-prednisone treatment significantly decreased prostate-specific antigen progression risk by 49%, with longer median time to prostate-specific antigen progression of 5.55 months versus 2.76 months in the placebo-prednisone group (hazard ratio 0.506, P = 0.0001, primary end-point). There was a strong trend for improved overall survival in the abiraterone acetate-prednisone group, with a 40% decrease in the risk of death (hazard ratio 0.604, P = 0.0597); however, median survival was not reached in either group because of the short follow-up period (12.9 months) and limited number of observed death events. The prostate-specific antigen response rate was higher in the abiraterone-prednisone group (49.7%) than in the placebo-prednisone group (14.1%). A total of 37.1% patients in this group had pain progression events compared with 50.7% in the placebo-prednisone group. Abiraterone-prednisone significantly decreased the risk of pain progression by 50% (hazard ratio 0.496, P = 0.0014). The incidence of adverse events was similar between the two groups; the most common adverse events being anemia (25.9% for abiraterone-prednisone vs 22.5% for placebo-prednisone), hypokalemia (25.9% and 11.3%), bone pain (23.8% and 21.1%), hypertension (16.1% and 12.7%) and increased aspartate aminotransferase (14.7% and 15.5%), respectively. Conclusions Abiraterone-prednisone significantly delays disease and pain progression, and prostate-specific antigen, with a favorable benefit-risk ratio in Asian metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients in the post-docetaxel setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, Ni nanodendrite (ND) with diameter ≈30-100 nm directly synthesized on Ni foam is utilized as an effective support for hydrous RuO2 in symmetric supercapacitors operated at 1.6 V. Highest specific capacitance 678.57 F g−1 can be achieved with energy density 60.32 Wh kg−1. Even at large current density 100 A g−1, high energy density 19.73 Wh kg−1 can still be maintained with power density 40 kW kg−1 owing to the pristine metal nanostructure without any carbon additive and resistive binder. Long lifespan is shown with marginal performance improvement (≈4%) over 10 000 cycles. More importantly, the template-less and self-assembled Ni ND synthesis requires only low temperature and eco-friendly chemicals, and can be simply dip-coated with RuO2 nanoparticles. All of these render the RuO2-Ni ND foam readily adapted into mass manufacturing without efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the impact of pancreatic cancer cell interaction with macrophages on the differentiation and function of macrophages and the behaviors of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro is evaluated. The expression of immunocompetent cell-associated markers in 22 pancreatic cancer specimens was characterized by immunohistochemistry. The impact of pancreatic cancer cells (PANC-1 and BxPC-3) on the differentiation and migration of human U937 monocytes and the effect of U937-derived macrophages on the proliferation and invasion of PANC-1 and BxPC-3 were determined by transwell assays. The potential effect on U937-derived macrophages or on the behaviors of pancreatic cancer cells following coculture in a transwell system was analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The high levels of macrophage-related CD68 and CD163 expression were detected in the pancreatic cancer specimens. Pancreatic cancer cells promoted the differentiation of U937 cells and migration of U937-derived macrophages, but decreased the mRNA transcripts of macrophage polarization-related genes of interleukin (IL)-10, IL-12p40, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and CD163, particularly for iNOS. Furthermore, U937-derived M2 macrophages inhibited the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells, but promoted their invasion. Coculture of pancreatic cancer cells with U937-derived macrophages upregulated the mRNA expression of genes associated with the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process, angiogenesis, and stemness of pancreatic cancer, but downregulated the expression of E-cadherin in pancreatic cancer cells. The interaction between pancreatic cancer cells and tumor-associated macrophages may play a pivotal role in the progression of pancreatic cancer. © 2014 IUBMB Life, 66(12):835-846, 2014 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camphor-10-sulfonic acid (HCSA) doped polyaniline (PANI)/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) composite nanofibers with different compositions (12 to 52 wt.% of PANI) were synthesized by an electrospinning method and their properties including optical, electrical and sensing were systematically investigated. FT-IR shows that an increase of IR absorbance ratios of aromatic CC stretching vibration of benzenoid rings of PANI to COC symmetric vibrational modes of PEO confirmed that the PANI content in nanofiber mats increased proportionally with increase in PANI content in electrospinning solution. The band gap of PANI was determined to be 2.5 eV using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The electrical conductivities of the nanofibers increased with an increase in the PANI content in the nanofibers. Additionally, the sensitivity toward NH3 increased as the PANI content increased, but branched nanofibers reduced sensing response. The humidity sensitivity changed from positive to negative as the PANI content increased. The electron transport mechanism was studied by measuring the temperature dependence electrical resistivity. The negative temperature coefficient of resistance revealed a semiconducting behavior for the PANI/PEO nanofibers. The activation energy, calculated by Arrhenius plot, increased as the PANI content decreased. The power law indicated that electrons were being transported in a three dimensional matrix, and the longer hopping distance required more hopping energy for electron transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]