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The mortality rate of pancreatic cancer (PC) remains high due to late diagnosis, early metastasis, and difficulty of complete resection. The online databases showed that potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily H member 2 (KCNH2) was highly expressed in pancreatic tumor tissues and was closely related to the poor survival of patients with PC. However, the mechanism of action of KCNH2 in PC is still unclear. In the present study, for the first time, we explored the regulatory effect of KCNH2 in PC. The results showed that KCNH2 was upregulated in PC compared with normal pancreatic tissues. High KCNH2 expression was associated with low tissue differentiation, high malignancy, and poor prognosis of PC. Moreover, knockdown of KCNH2 inhibited the proliferation and apoptosis of PC cells, as well as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process, thereby promoting PC cell migration and invasion. In addition, KCNH2 knockdown inhibited the progression and metastasis of PC in a mouse xenograft model. In conclusion, these findings highlighted the potential of KCNH2 as a targeted molecule in the treatment of PC.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide, and identification of novel targets is necessary for its diagnosis and treatment. This study aimed to investigate the biological function and clinical significance of tweety homolog 3 (TTYH3) in HCC. TTYH3 overexpression promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and inhibited HCCM3 and Hep3B cell apoptosis. TTYH3 promoted tumor formation and metastasis

Background. HLA-DR+ T cell, accounting for 1.2%–5.8% of peripheral lymphocyte, is a type of activated T lymphocyte. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of HLA-DR+ T cell for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after curative surgery. Patients and Methods. Clinicopathological data of 192 patients who underwent curative resection for hepatocellular carcinoma in the affiliated hospital of Qingdao University between January 2013 and December 2021 were collected and analyzed. Statistical tests used in this study were the chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test. The prognostic value of the HLA-DR+ T cell ratio was analyzed using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. The Kaplan–Meier curves were drawn by the R programming language. Results. HCC patients were divided into high (≥5.8%) and low ( P = 0.003 ) and AFP-positive (≥20 ng/ml) HCC patients ( P = 0.020 ). HCC patients and AFP-positive HCC patients in the high HLA-DR+ T cell ratio group were prone to have a higher T cell ratio, a higher CD8+T cell ratio, and a lower B cell ratio than the low HLA-DR+ T cell ratio group. However, the HLA-DR+ T cell ratio was not a statistically significant predictor for OS in HCC patients ( P = 0.57 ) as well as PFS ( P = 0.088 ) and OS ( P = 0.63 ) in AFP-negative HCC patients. Conclusions. This study confirmed that the HLA-DR+ T cell ratio was a significant predictor of PFS in HCC patients and AFP-positive HCC patients after curative surgery. This association may have guiding significance for the follow-up work of HCC patients after surgery.

Chemotherapy resistance is a huge challenge in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma because resistance to nab-paclitaxel largely affects the efficacy of chemotherapy. An increased expression of fibronectin type III domain containing 5 (FNDC5) in hepatocellular carcinoma cells can predict post-hepatectomy complications in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and also stimulate proliferation and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells; however, its role in the chemotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma cells has never been evaluated. Thus, this study aimed to explore whether FNDC5 regulates chemoresistance in hepatocellular carcinoma. We identified by immunohistochemistry that hepatocellular carcinoma tissues had a higher FNDC5 expression than normal tissues adjacent to the cancer cells. Subsequently, knockdown of FNDC5 in hepatocellular carcinoma cells resulted in their diminished resistance to cell death after chemotherapy with nab-paclitaxel. By contrast, overexpression of FNDC5 in hepatocellular carcinoma cells increased the resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma cells to treatment. Moreover, FNDC5 mechanistically promoted autophagy via the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway, thereby reducing cell death induced by nab-paclitaxel. Finally, we tested our hypothesis by conducting animal experiments. In conclusion, FNDC5 could be used as a biomarker for predicting chemotherapeutic efficacy in hepatocellular carcinoma treated with nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy, and as a therapeutic target to overcome resistance to nab-paclitaxel in hepatocellular carcinoma chemotherapy.

An evacuated flat-plate photovoltaic/thermal (E-PV/T) collector was proposed. The inner space of the E-PV/T collector is vacuumed to suppress non-radiative heat losses, thus increasing thermal efficiency of the collector. Therefore, the E-PV/T collector has the potential to simultaneously deliver electricity and heat at high temperatures. A mathematic model was developed to evaluate the performance of the E-PV/T collector. The effect of some key parameters (e.g., initial water temperature in the water tank, vacuum degree, long-wave panel emissivity, and temperature coefficient of solar cells) on the performance of the E-PV/T system was investigated and the results were compared with a normal flat-plate PV/T (N-PV/T) system. Results suggest that the vacuum helps to enhance the total efficiency by nearly 10% points in high-temperature conditions (>80 °C). The vacuum degree of the upper space exerts a greater effect on system efficiencies compared to that of the lower space. Lower long-wave panel emissivity and greater temperature coefficient of the solar cell promote the performance of the collector. By lowering the long-wave panel emissivity from 0.95 to 0.05, the total efficiency soars from 26.82% to 61.20%. This study may help to guide parametric optimization and operation strategy of flat-plate PV/T collectors for high-temperature applications.

Solar thermal collectors are generally unproductivity at night without sunlight. Radiative cooling, on the other hand, is another renewable technology harvesting coldness from extraterrestrial space and can effectively work nocturnally. Therefore, this study proposes a scheme that integrates the nocturnal radiative cooling mechanism into a solar air collector as a supplementary. Incoming air is heated by the solar absorber during the daytime and cooled down by the glass cover at night. Experimental results indicate that, with an air mass flow rate of 0.03 kg/s, the dual-mode collector (named as PT-RC collector) realized a daytime solar thermal efficiency of 34.2% at zero-reduced temperature (e.g., when the inlet air temperature equals the ambient temperature) and a net radiative cooling power (e.g., when the inlet air temperature equals the ambient temperature) of 27.9 W/m2, which are 72.2% and 2.4 times those of the typical solar air collector. As the air mass flow rate increased from 0.01 to 0.05 kg/s, the two performance indicators lifted from 19.8% to 34.5% and from 16.9 to 33.0 W/m2, respectively. The PT-RC collector shows potential to be applied in four-season regions where heating and cooling are both required throughout the year or tropical zones where cooling is much more desired.

Searching for catalysts of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) that can replace Pt is critical. Here, we investigated the HER electrocatalytic activity of pentagonal PdS2 (penta-PdS2) and PdSe2 (penta-PdSe2) by first-principles calculations. Three types of vacancies (VS/Se, VPd, DVS/Se) were constructed to activate the inert basal planes of PdS2 and PdSe2. The results show that S/Se and Pd vacancies significantly improve HER performance, and the Gibbs free energy (ΔGH) of systems can be further regulated by vacancy concentration. Particularly, PdS2 with 2.78% VS, 50% VPd and PdSe2 with 12.5% VSe display the optimal ΔGH value and the highest exchange current density. Further analysis of charge transfer and band structures were described that the introduce of vacancies efficiently regulates the electronic properties, resulting in the diminution of bandgap, and accelerates the charge transfer, thereby contributing to an enhanced electron environment for HER process. Our results provide a theoretical guidance for the applications of pentagonal transition-metal dichalcogenides as catalysts of hydrogen evolution reaction.

Background: A considerable part of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients also have chronic hepatitis B (CHB), esp. in Asia. The effect of concomitant active CHB on the hazard of colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) remains unclear. To evaluate the effect of concomitant active CHB on the risk of CRLM. Methods: The medical record of all newly diagnosed CRC patients who were hospitalized to the three hospitals between January 2010 to January 2016 were reviewed, the prevalence of synchronous CRLM (synCRLM) were retrospectively studied. Totally 7187 cases of newly diagnosed CRC, including 368 cases with concomitant CHB were recruited. The prevalence of synCRLM in HBsAg+/HBeAg+ patients was compared to that in HBsAg+/HBeAg- patients. Significant risk factors for synCRLM were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Results: The overall prevalence of synCRLM was 8.72% (627/7187) and was significantly higher in HBsAg+ patients (43/368) than HBsAg- patients (576/6742) (11.68% vs. 8.54%, P=0.037; χ2 test).In 368 HBsAg+ patients, 365 patients also had HBeAg information. synCRLM was also more prevalent inHBsAg+/HBeAg+ patients (13/69) compared to HBsAg+/HBeAg- patients (30/296) (18.84% vs. 10.14%, P=0.043; χ 2 test). In univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis, HBeAg positivity was the second strongest predictor of synCRLM (multivariate: OR, 2.622, P=0.020) after CEA. (univariate: OR, 2.920, P=0.001). Conclusions: HBeAg positivity is a clinical risk factor for CRLM that can be readily identified and addressed. Whether anti-CHB treatment can decrease the risk of CRLM worth carefully-designed prospective trials to define.

This paper proposes a comprehensive thermodynamic and economic model to predict and compare the performance of concentrated solar power plants with traditional and novel receivers with different configurations involving operating temperatures and locations. The simulation results reveal that power plants with novel receivers exhibit a superior thermodynamic and economic performance compared with traditional receivers. The annual electricity productions of power plants with novel receivers in Phoenix, Sevilla, and Tuotuohe are 8.5%, 10.5%, and 14.4% higher than those with traditional receivers at the outlet temperature of 550°C. The levelized cost of electricity of power plants with double-selective-coated receivers can be decreased by 6.9%, 8.5%, and 11.6%. In Phoenix, the optimal operating temperature of the power plants is improved from 500°C to 560°C by employing a novel receiver. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis of the receiver heat loss, solar absorption, and freeze protection temperature is also conducted to analyze the general rule of influence of the receiver performance on power plants performance. Solar absorption has a positive contribution to annual electricity productions, whereas heat loss and freeze protection temperature have a negative effect on electricity outputs. The results indicate that the novel receiver coupled with low melting temperature molten salt is the best configuration for improving the overall performance of the power plants.

In tropical and subtropical regions, air-conditioning commonly consumes the most energy in buildings. The chillers used in existing air-conditioning systems are largely based on thermodynamic vapour compression cycle because the cycle is highly effective, efficient and practical. Moreover, the system installation and operation are convenient when grid electricity is available. Popular vapour compression chiller types include air-cooled, water-cooled, seawater-cooled and oil-free chillers. In addition, thermal-driven absorption and adsorption chillers have become available in the market. Viable sources of thermal energy input include fuel combustion, renewable solar energy, waste heat, and so on. This paper provides an overview of different types of chillers and system configurations in terms of mechanisms, characteristics, energy efficiency, environmental performance and costs. The technical information and comparisons should help engineers select the chiller type in air-conditioning system design for achieving high sustainability.

Chemo-gene therapy is an emerging synergetic modality for the treatment of cancers. Herein, we developed pH-responsive multifunctional DNA nanomicelles (DNMs) as delivery vehicles for controllable release of doxorubicin (Dox) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-specific siRNA for the chemo-gene synergetic therapy of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Methods: DNMs were synthesized by performing in situ rolling circle amplification (RCA) on the amphiphilic primer-polylactide (PLA) micelles, followed by functionalization of pH-responsive triplex DNA via complementary base pairing. The anticancer drug Dox and ALK-specific siRNA were co-loaded to construct Dox/siRNA/DNMs for chemo-gene synergetic cancer therapy. When exposed to the acidic microenvironment (pH below 5.0), C-G·C+ triplex structures were formed, leading to the release of Dox and siRNA for gene silencing to enhance the chemosensitivity in ALCL K299 cells. The chemo-gene synergetic anticancer effect of Dox/siRNA/DNMs on ALCL was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Results: The pH-responsive DNMs exhibited good monodispersity at different pH values, good biocompatibility, high drug loading capacity, and excellent stability even in the human serum. With the simultaneous release of anticancer drug Dox and ALK-specific siRNA in response to pH in the tumor microenvironment, the Dox/siRNA/DNMs demonstrated significantly higher treatment efficacy for ALCL compared with chemotherapy alone, because the silencing of ALK gene expression mediated by siRNA increased the chemosensitivity of ALCL cells. From the pathological analysis of tumor tissue, the Dox/siRNA/DNMs exhibited the superiority in inhibiting tumor growth, low toxic side effects and good biosafety. Conclusion: DNMs co-loaded with Dox and ALK-specific siRNA exhibited significantly enhanced apoptosis of ALCL K299 cells in vitro and effectively inhibited tumor growth in vivo without obvious toxicity, providing a potential strategy in the development of nanomedicines for synergetic cancer therapy.

Our society has been facing a decentralizing effect on multiscale complexity in low-carbon transitions. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the roles of transaction rate, energy and carbon market regulation, energy consumption and energy capacity in single and one-way climate policy linked system in low carbon transition for distributed energy systems through agent-based simulation. A set of agent behavioral rules for the competition of high and low carbon energies mimics the domestic and exotic local dynamics of the energy production of distributed energy systems and the energy consumption of industrial firms under the impact of energy and carbon market fluctuation. Simulation results show that a single system cannot achieve low carbon transition, while a one-way climate policy linked system can realize low carbon transition. The results also show that the larger high and low energy capacity is, the system is less likely to achieve low carbon transition in the circumstance of the same transaction rate with the constant emission policy bias. Policy implications are drawn regarding the regulation of localized carbon markets in single and climate policy linked systems.

The sun (∼6,000 K) and outer space (∼3 K) are two significant renewable thermodynamic resources for human beings on Earth. The solar thermal conversion by photothermal (PT) and harvesting the coldness of outer space by radiative cooling (RC) have already attracted tremendous interest. However, most of the PT and RC approaches are static and monofunctional, which can only provide heating or cooling respectively under sunlight or darkness. Herein, a spectrally self-adaptive absorber/emitter (SSA/E) with strong solar absorption and switchable emissivity within the atmospheric window (i.e., 8 to 13 μm) was developed for the dynamic combination of PT and RC, corresponding to continuously efficient energy harvesting from the sun and rejecting energy to the universe. The as-fabricated SSA/E not only can be heated to ∼170 °C above ambient temperature under sunshine but also be cooled to 20 °C below ambient temperature, and thermal modeling captures the high energy harvesting efficiency of the SSA/E, enabling new technological capabilities.

Taking the frigid outer space as the heat sink, a terrestrial body can cool itself to a sub-ambient temperature via radiative sky cooling (RC) scheme. However, poor seasonal and regional adaptabilities and low cooling power density of the RC technology confine its effective applications only in hot seasons and regions with RC-friendly ambient conditions. Similarly, a solar thermal collector cannot work at night and is of little value when heat is needless. To tackle these challenges, a hybrid solar photothermic and radiative cooling (PT-RC) collector equipped with a rotatable absorber/emitter panel is proposed and experimentally investigated. This dual-mode collector can flexibly switch between PT and RC to match specific energy demands in different scenarios. The daily solar thermal efficiency of the PT-RC system at zero-reduced temperature reached 50.4%, a typical level of flat-plate solar water heating systems. The PT-RC system could not provide cooling energy during most daytime hours. However, the system could easily achieve nighttime cooling, with the cooling power of the collector decreasing from about 60 to 50 W/m2 as the circulated water being continuously cooled down from around 20 to 12 °C. The average nocturnal cooling power of the PT-RC collector ranged from 30.5 to 57.5 W/m2 in a multi-night RC test. This rotatable PT-RC collector offers a new strategy to flexibly deliver heat and coldness in a renewable and environmental-friendly manner and shows the potential of smart thermal management in buildings, vehicles, agriculture, etc.

Background The precancerous disease of breast cancer is an inevitable stage in the tumorigenesis and development of breast neoplasms. Quercetin (Que) has shown great potential in breast cancer treatment by inhibiting cell proliferation and regulating T cell function. γδ T cells are a class of nontraditional T cells that have long attracted attention due to their potential in immunotherapy. In this study, we revealed the immunomodulatory function of Que through regulation of the JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway, which was followed by the synergistic killing of breast cancer cells. Methods In the experimental design, we first screened target genes with or without Que treatment, and we intersected the Que target with the disease target by functional enrichment analysis. Second, MCF-10A, MCF-10AT, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines were treated with Que for 0 h, 24 h and 48 h. Then, we observed the expression of its subsets by coculturing Que and γδ T cells and coculturing Que and γδ T cells with breast tumor cells to investigate their synergistic killing effect on tumor cells. Finally, Western blotting was used to reveal the changes in proteins related to the JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway after Que treatment in MCF-10AT and MCF-7 cells for 48 h. Results The pathway affected by Que treatment was the JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway and was associated with precancerous breast cancer, as shown by network pharmacology analysis. Que induced apoptosis of MCF-10AT, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner (P 0.05). Most importantly, Que promoted the differentiation of γδ T cells into the Vδ2 T cell subpopulation. The best ratio of effector cells to target cells (E/T) was 10:1, the killing percentages of γδ T cells against MCF-10A, MCF-10AT, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231 were 61.44 ± 4.70, 55.52 ± 3.10, 53.94 ± 2.74, and 53.28 ± 1.73 (P = 0.114, P = 0.486, and P = 0.343, respectively), and the strongest killing effect on precancerous breast cancer cells and breast cancer cells was found when the Que concentration was 5 μM and the E/T ratio was 10:1 (64.94 ± 3.61, 64.96 ± 5.45, 55.59 ± 5.98, and 59.04 ± 5.67, respectively). In addition, our results showed that Que increased the protein levels of IFNγ-R, p-JAK2 and p-STAT1 while decreasing the protein levels of PD-L1 (P 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, Que plays a synergistic role in killing breast cancer cells and promoting apoptosis by regulating the expression of IFNγ-R, p-JAK2, p-STAT1 and PD-L1 in the JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway and promoting the regulation of γδ T cells. Que may be a potential drug for the prevention of precancerous breast cancer and adjuvant treatment of breast cancer.

The demands of cooling, heating and electricity in residential buildings are varied with seasons. This article presented a seasonal solar combined cooling heating and power (CCHP) system based on evacuated flat-plate collectors and organic Rankine cycle. The heat collected by evacuated flat-plate collectors is used to drive the organic Rankine cycle unit in spring, autumn and winter, and drive the double-effect lithium bromide absorption chiller in summer. The organic Rankine cycle condensation heat is used to yield hot water in spring and autumn, whereas supply heating in winter. The system thermodynamic performance was analyzed. The results show that the system thermal efficiency in spring, autumn and winter, ?sys,I, increases as organic Rankine cycle evaporation temperature, T6, and evacuated flat-plate collectors outlet temperature, T2, decrease. The maximum ?sys,I of 67.0% is achieved when T6 = 80?C and T2 =100?C. In summer, the system thermal efficiency, ?sys,II, increases first and then decreases with the increment of T2. The maximum ?sys,II of 69.9% is obtained at T2 =136?C. The system output performance in Beijing and Lanzhou is better than that in Hefei. The average output power, heating capacity, hot water and cooling capacity are 50-72 kWh per day, 989-1514 kWh per day, 49-57 ton per day and 1812-2311 kWh per day, respectively. The system exergy efficiency increases from 17.8-40.8% after integrating the organic Rankine cycle unit.

An innovative solar thermal power generation system using cascade steam-organic Rankine cycle (SORC) and two-stage accumulators has recently been proposed. This system offers a significantly higher heat storage capacity than conventional direct steam generation (DSG) solar power plants. The steam condensation temperature ( T 2 ) in the proposed system is a crucial parameter because it affects the SORC efficiency ( η SORC ) in normal operations and the power conversion of the bottoming organic Rankine cycle (ORC) in the unique heat discharge process. The present study develops a methodology for the design of T 2 with respect to a new indicator, that is, the equivalent heat-to-power efficiency ( η eq ). η eq is a compromise between the efficiencies in different operation modes. The effects of main steam temperature ( T 1 ), Baumann factor (a), mass of storage water ( M w ), and ORC working fluid on T 2 are investigated. Results show that η eq is a better indicator than η SORC . The optimum steam condensation temperature ( T 2 , o p t ) that corresponds to the maximum η eq ( η eq , m a x ) is generally higher than that based on the maximum η SORC . T 2 , o p t reduces as T 1 , a, and M w decrease. η eq , m a x rises with the increment of T 1 and the decrement of a and M w . Pentane is a more preferable ORC fluid than benzene and R245fa. The T 2 , o p t and η eq , m a x of pentane are, respectively, 139–190 °C and 20.93%-24.24%, provided that T 1 ranges between 250 °C and 270 °C, a varies from 0.5 to 1.5, and M w changes from 500 ton to 1500 ton.

The environment-friendly and energy-free nature of radiative sky cooling fosters its application in buildings where a radiative cooler is usually positioned at a tilted angle. However, though the cooling capacity of various radiative cooling materials placed horizontally is extensively explored, their performance when mounted with an inclination angle are generally unclear. Therefore, the present work carried out an outdoor experimental investigation on quantitatively uncovering the relationship between the cooling capacity of the flat-plate radiative cooler and its inclination angle. Generally, the cooling performance deteriorates at elevated inclination angles, but the deteriorating tendency is not always linearly. The inclination angle shows relatively weak influences on the cooling performance when less than 20°. The two key performance indicators, sub-ambient emitter temperature drop and net radiative cooling power, decrease by about 50% when the inclination angle increases to 70° and 73°, respectively. Both indicators drop by around 66.7% when the inclination angle increases to 90° from 0°. This study may pave the way for predicting the cooling potential of building-integrated devices such as pitched roof-mounted radiative coolers, radiative cooling-regulated smart windows, radiative cooling-assisted solar photovoltaic panels, etc.

Background: The precancerous disease of breast cancer is an inevitable stage in the emergence and development of breast neoplasms. Breast cancer (BC) is a common malignant tumor in female worldwide. A large number of literatures have proved that, as antitumor drugs, flavonoid compounds can promote proliferation and immune regulation of T cell. Many researchers believe that Quercetin (Que) has great potential in the field of anti-breast cancer. Besides that, γδ T cells are a class of non-traditional T cells, which have long attracted attention due to their potential in immunotherapy. Above all, JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway is closely related to the immunity.MethodsIn the experiment designed in this paper, we first used Que, one of the flavonoids, to screen the target gene. Then, MCF-10A, MCF-10AT, MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 BC cells were co-cultured with Que for 24h and 48h, apoptosis was found in some the cells. We then cultured Que with γδ T cells and found that Que can promote the proliferation of Vδ2 T cell subsets of γδ T cells, thus enhancing the killing effect of γδ T cells. Western blot was use to showed the change of JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway related proteins after the Que was co-cultured with MCF-10AT and MCF-7 for 48h.ResultsNetwork pharmacology has shown that Que related pathways include the JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway and are associated with precancerous breast cancers. Que induced apoptosis of MCF-10AT, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 in a time and concentration-dependent manner. Most importantly, Que can promote the differentiation of γδ T cells into the Vδ2 T cell subpopulation, this means that Que and γδ T cells may play a synergistic role in killing tumor cells and cellular immune regulation. In addition, our results showed that Que can increase in protein levels of IFNγ-R, p-JAK2 and p-STAT1, while the concomitant decrease protein levels of PD-L1.ConclusionsIn conclusion, Que plays a synergistic role in killing BC cells and promoting apoptosis by regulating the expression of IFNγ-R, p-JAK2, p-STAT1, and PD-L1 in the JAK/STAT1 signaling pathway and promoting the regulation of γδ T cells. Que may be a potential drug for the prevention of precancerous breast cancer and adjuvant treatment of BC.

Background: immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for solid tumors had significantly improved overall survival (OS). Positive response to PD-1/PD-L1 blockades was observed in the treatment of solidtumors. Breast cancer (BC) patients are no exception. However, the efficacy of immunocheckpoint therapy in BC patients remains poor. A particularly important factor is the lack of studies on the expression patterns of immune checkpoints in BC patients. Method: in this study, the microarray dataset GSE10810 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Database Synthesis (GEO) to analyze the differential expression of BC genes and perform GO and KEGG analysis. Then, we explored theprognostic value of ICs for BC patients by analyzing RNA-seq and mutation data from 657 BC patients from theCancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Next, we analyzed the differences in the expression of relevant immune checkpoints between 1085 BC patients and 291 healthy controls (HC) in the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) database. Finally, we analyzed the expression levels of IFNγ-R, PD-L1, STAT1, IDO and other genes in MCF-10A, MF-10AT, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 cell lines.Results: It was found that increased expression of PD-1, PD-L1, STAT1, CTLA-4 was associated with poor OS in BC patients. In addition, co-expression of PD-L1 with PD-1, STAT1or CTLA-4 and co-expression of PD-1 with CTLA-4was related to poor OS. We analyzed associations between the proportionate expression of PD-L1 and PD-1, PD-L1 and STAT1, PD-1 and CTLA-4, PD-1 and LAG3, PD-L1 and CTLA-4 in BC patients, there was significance in correlation in both of the BC patients.The expression of STAT1 in BC patients was compared with that of HC, and it was found that STAT1 was highly expressed in BC patients. Conclusions: our results suggest that transcriptome-based co-expression of STAT1 and PD-L1 is a predictor for poor OS in BC patients, which might provide novel insight into designing combinational targeted therapy for BC.

IntroductionGallbladder cancer (GBC), the sixth most common gastrointestinal tract cancer, poses a significant disease burden in China. However, no national representative data are available on the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of GBC in the Chinese population.Methods and analysisThe Chinese Research Group of Gallbladder Cancer (CRGGC) study is a multicentre retrospective registry cohort study. Clinically diagnosed patient with GBC will be identified from 1 January 2008 to December, 2019, by reviewing the electronic medical records from 76 tertiary and secondary hospitals across 28 provinces in China. Patients with pathological and radiological diagnoses of malignancy, including cancer in situ, from the gallbladder and cystic duct are eligible, according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 2019 guidelines. Patients will be excluded if GBC is the secondary diagnosis in the discharge summary. The demographic characteristics, medical history, physical examination results, surgery information, pathological data, laboratory examination results and radiology reports will be collected in a standardised case report form. By May 2021, approximately 6000 patient with GBC will be included. The clinical follow-up data will be updated until 5 years after the last admission for GBC of each patient. The study aimed (1) to depict the clinical characteristics, including demographics, pathology, treatment and prognosis of patient with GBC in China; (2) to evaluate the adherence to clinical guidelines of GBC and (3) to improve clinical practice for diagnosing and treating GBC and provide references for policy-makers.Ethics and disseminationThe protocol of the CRGGC has been approved by the Committee for Ethics of Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SHEC-C-2019–085). All results of this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at relevant conferences.Trial registration numberNCT04140552, Pre-results.

BackgroundWe investigated the impact of elevated glucose levels on the early recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)after open radical hepatectomy.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study analyzed. The clinical data of 112 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent open radical hepatectomy from January 2013 to December 2014 at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University. After radical resection of the hepatocellular carcinoma, 86 patients with an average fasting blood glucose(FBG) level of 3.9–6.1 mmol/L and 26 patients with an FBG level ≥ 6.1 mmol/L were divided into the normal group and hyperglycemic group, respectively. The recurrence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma was compared between the two groups 1 and 2 years after the operation.ResultsThe postoperative 1- and 2-year recurrence rates of HCC were 19.8% (17/86) and 33.7% (29/86), respectively, in the normal group and42.3% (11/26) and 61.5% (16/26), respectively, in the hyperglycemic group; there were significant differences between the two groups (χ2 = 6.719,P = 0.01;χ2 = 6.427༌P = 0.011). The univariate analysis showed that FBG, history of alcohol drinking, extent of hepatectomy, histopathological differentiation, maximal tumor diameter, satellite lesion, and the postoperative adjuvant treatment were risk factors affecting the tumor-free survival rate after open radical resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (P P ConclusionAn elevated FBG level has a stimulating effect on the early recurrence of tumor after open radical resection of hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, postoperative monitoring and blood glucose control may facilitate a decrease in the early recurrence rate in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

The efficiency improvement of household refrigerators is of significance to electricity consumption reduction of residential buildings. The cold loss recovery in household refrigerators is a promising development direction. In this study, a refrigerator improved by heat pipes is designed to reduce the cold loss at freezer walls to enhance the overall efficiency of the refrigerator. A complete steady-state mathematical model is built for characterizing its overall energy saving behaviors by introducing the real structural parameters of a Midea BCD-111 refrigerator and measured temperature boundary conditions. The performances of the improved refrigerator are investigated with typical operating states, variable ambient temperature, and heat pipe design. The simulative results indicate that the cold loss of the freezer of the improved refrigerator can be reduced by 8.3&ndash, 16.5%, and the energy saving capability is relatively reliable. Results verify that the cold loss recovery of the improved refrigerator is feasible in various operating conditions.