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Background Epidermal growth factor-like domain 7 (Egfl7), a recently identified secreted protein, was significantly increased in patients with HCC by our previous studies. However, its efficacy in the diagnosis of early HCC remains unknown. In this study, we therefore evaluate the efficacy of serum Egfl7 for early HCC diagnosis and compare it with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). Methods Serum Egfl7 levels in testing cohort (1081 participants) and validation cohort (476 participants) were measured by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). The cut-off value of Egfl7 was determined by Youden’s index and the efficacies of Egfl7 and AFP in diagnosing early HCC were estimated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC). Results Serum Egfl7 was significantly elevated in patients with early HCC than all non-HCC controls in whatever Testing Cohort or Validation Cohort. In the Testing Cohort, ROC curves showed the optimum cut-off value of Egfl7 was 2610 ng/mL and Egfl7 showed a significantly higher sensitivity than AFP in discriminating early HCC from healthy individuals (77.4% vs. 65.3%, P = 0.0013) but the area under ROC (AUROC) and accuracy of Egfl7 and AFP were similar (0.860 vs. 0.868, P = 0.704; 80.2% vs. 83.8%, P = 0.184). In distinguishing patients with early HCC from patients with chronic liver disease (CLD), the AUROC, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of Egfl7 were 0.800, 75.2, 71.7 and 73.5%, which were all significantly higher than AFP (0.675, 61.8, 62.0 and 61.9% in order). Egfl7 also showed a significant higher sensitivity and accuracy than AFP (76.6% vs. 64.0%, P = 0.0031; 79.9% vs. 66.1%, P Conclusion Egfl7 is a valuable serum marker in the diagnosis of early HCC and could complement the efficacy of AFP, especially in distinguishing early HCC from CLD and identifying patients with AFP-negative early HCC.

Three highly efficient adsorbents Pb-IIMS-SBA-15, Pb-IIMS-MCM-41 and Pb-IIMS-FDU-12 for Pb(II) were prepared by grafting the functional monomer 4-(di (1H-pyrazol-1-yl) methyl) phenol (DPP) on corresponding mesoporous silicas with Pb(II) as temple. All these three Pb(II) ion-imprinted mesoporous silica (Pb-IIMS) were characterized by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), solid-state 29 Si and 13 C NMR spectra, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), N 2 adsorption–desorption analysis and small angel X-ray diffraction (XRD). The adsorption experiments revealed three Pb-IIMS all possessed considerable adsorption performance for Pb(II), their adsorption profiles obeyed pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm model. Compared with their corresponding non-imprinted materials, three Pb-IIMS displayed satisfactory selectivity to Pb(II) over seven competing metal ions. Among them, Pb-IIMS-MCM-41 particularly owned outstanding adsorption performance and selectivity, the maximum adsorption capacity as high as 344.8 mg g −1 , as well as excellent reusability through twelve adsorption-desorption cycles. Additionally, Pb-IIMS-MCM-41 was employed as packing material to construct a solid-phase extraction column for detection of Pb(II), which exhibited detection limit of 0.015 μg L −1 , then method was successfully applied to the removal and determination of trace Pb(II) in practical water samples.

2-Arylbenzazoles are promising molecules for potential applications in medicine and material areas. Efficient protocols for direct regioselective functionalization of 2-arylbenzoxazoles are in high demand. Herein, we disclose a general method for selective ortho-olefination of 2-arylbenzo[d]oxazoles with alkenes enabled by versatile Cp*Rh(III) in high yields. This protocol features broad functional group tolerance and high regioselectivity. Intermolecular competition studies and kinetic isotope effect experiments imply that the oxidative olefination process occurs via an electrophilic C-H activation pathway. The molecular structure of the m-fluoro-substituted olefination product confirms regioselective C-H activation/olefination at the more hindered site in cases where the meta F atom or heteroatom substituent existed. Apparent torsion angles were observed in the structures of mono- and bis-olefination products, which resulted in distinct different chemical shifts of olefinic protons. Additionally, two gram-scale reactions and further transformation experiments demonstrate that this method is practical for synthesis of ortho-alkenylated 2-arylbenzoxazole derivatives.