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Producing ammonia (NH 3 ) by electrocatalytic N 2 fixation is a promising and environmentally friendly strategy, in comparison to the Haber-Bosch process with high consumption of energy and CO 2 emissions. Because of the extremely high bond energy, it is indispensable to explore valid catalysts to activate the triple bond. In this paper, Cr-doped CeO 2 nanorods are developed to serve as non-noble-metal electrocatalysts for an electrocatalytic N 2 reduction reaction. Introducing Cr into the catalyst leads to an increase of the oxygen vacancies. In a 0.1 M Na 2 SO 4 solution, the Cr 0.1 CeO 2 nanorods achieve a high Faradaic efficiency (3.84%) and a large NH 3 yield (16.82 μg h -1 mg cat. -1 ) at -0.7 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. The Cr 0.1 CeO 2 nanorods also exhibit high stability during the reaction.

Background: The prevalence of comorbid depression is high in chronic gastrointestinal disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). For these two disorders in particular, the findings have not been consistent. This meta-analysis systematically compares the rates and severity of comorbid depression between IBS and IBD patients., Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, Cochrane Library, Wan Fang, SinoMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure from their inception date to September 12, 2017 for comparative studies on IBS and IBD patients. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) and odds ratios (OR) of comorbid depression were calculated using random effect models. Data on comorbid anxiety in the included studies were also extracted and analyzed., Results: Altogether, 22 studies with 1,244 IBS and 1,048 IBD patients were included. While there was no significant group difference in the prevalence of depression (10 studies, OR = 1.18, 95%CI: 0.87-1.60, P = 0.29), the IBS group had more severe depression (pooled SMD = 0.18, 95%CI: 0.04-0.33, P = 0.01) and anxiety than the IBD group (pooled SMD = 0.31, 95%CI: 0.14-0.49, P = 0.0006). Sixteen (72.7%) studies were assessed as 'high quality' using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS)., Conclusions: Although the prevalence of comorbid depression was similar between groups, IBS patients had more severe comorbid depressive and anxiety symptoms compared to IBD patients. Appropriate assessment and treatment of depressive and anxiety symptoms in these patient groups should be implemented., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A facile, cost-effective, non-toxic, and surfactant-free route has been developed to synthesize MoS 2 /carbon (MoS 2 /C) nanocomposites. Potassium humate consists of a wide variety of oxygen-containing functional groups, which is considered as promising candidates for functionalization of graphene. Using potassium humate as carbon source, two-dimensional MoS 2 /C nanosheets with irregular shape were synthesized via a stabilized co-precipitation/calcination process. Electrochemical performance of the samples as an anode of lithium ion battery was measured, demonstrating that the MoS 2 /C nanocomposite calcinated at 700 °C (MoS 2 /C-700) electrode showed outstanding performance with a high discharge capacity of 554.9 mAh g - 1 at a current density of 100 mA g - 1 and the Coulomb efficiency of the sample maintained a high level of approximately 100% after the first 3 cycles. Simultaneously, the MoS 2 /C-700 electrode exhibited good cycling stability and rate performance. The success in synthesizing MoS 2 /C nanocomposites via co-precipitation/calcination route may pave a new way to realize promising anode materials for high-performance lithium ion batteries.

Background and Objective: 50%-70% of patients with advanced lung cancer will develop bone metastases. The aim of this study is to establish the nude mice bone metastasis model of lung adenocarcinoma using A549, H1299, SPC-A-1 and XL-2, all of which own different invasion and migration abilities in vitro and supervise the bone metastases by MicroCT., Methods: fifty BALB/C-nu/nu nude mice were grouped into five groups on average randomly. Cells of the four cell lines were injected into the left cardiac ventricle of mice in the four experimental groups (0.2 mL/mouse) respectively; meanwhile, mice in the control group were injected with normal saline (0.2 mL/mouse) in the same manner. Periodical radiological examination was carried out to supervise the variation of the mice since the second week after injection. When mice in each group became thin obviously, end the experiment of this group. Before the end, pathological sections of bone tissues were made. We classified the bone metastatic sites into axial skeleton and limb bone, in order to compare the metastatic rates of these two different parts. The bone metastatic abilities of the four cell lines was statistically analyzed by comparing the average time cost in the appearance of bone metastases and the percentage of bone metastases among the experimental groups., Results: Different metastatic sites which had been identified both by MicroCT and pathological sections appeared in each group of the four experimental groups. By contrast, no metastasis was observed in the control group. The percentage of cancer metastasizing to axial skeleton was remarkably higher than the percentage of tumor metastasizing to the limb bone in each experimental group, which was consistent with the clinical regularity and characteristics of skeletal metastases with lung cancer. Thus, the model has been established triumphantly. However, there were no statistical differences in the average time consumed and skeletal metastatic rate among the four experimental groups., Conclusions: The disruption in the bone can be clearly detected by MicroCT, which is benefit to supervise the osseous metastasis. We successfully developed the nude mice bone metastasis model of lung adenocarcinoma, which will pave the way for exploring novel prevention and therapy strategies clinically. The four cell lines varied in invasion and migration abilities in vitro, but there was no statistical difference in the metastatic ability in vivo, and the reason need to be explored further in future.

Introduction: The purpose of the present study was to detect the presence of BASC-like stem cell-related indicators, such as clara cell secretory protein (CCSP), Octamer-4 (OCT4) and Bmi-1, and evaluate their implications in the prognosis of patients with lung adenocarcinoma., Methods: Specimens of 134 cases of lung adenocarcinoma were collected after radical surgery from January 1999 to June 2004., Results: One hundred and twenty-six cases showed cells that were positive for CCSP, 99 cases positive for OCT4, 91 cases simultaneous expression of CCSP and OCT4 and 74 cases positive for Bmi-1. Bmi-1 was significantly higher in patients at stage III compared to patients at stages I and II. The pattern of survival curves showed that Bmi-1 was a significant prognostic factor of poor overall survival in lung adenocarcinoma patients (P = 0.0000), and the patients with OCT4(+) expression showed a greater increase in mortality than OCT4(-) patients (P = 0.0103). The results of univariate and multivariate Cox analysis revealed that the pathological stages of tumor node metastases (P = 0.037), OCT4 (P = 0.046) and Bmi-1 expression (P = 0.001) were independent prognostic factors., Conclusions: OCT4 and Bmi-1 may be good biomarkers to predict the prognosis of patients with completely resected lung adenocarcinoma., (2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to detect the presence of cancer stem-like cells with bronchioalveolar stem cells (BASCs) properties and investigate the clinicopathological role of expression of OCT4 as well as the correlation with clinical outcomes in adenocarcinoma of the lung., Methods: Specimens of 112 cases of Stage IB-IIIA lung adenocarcinoma after radical surgery were collected from June 1999 to June 2002. The putative cancer stem cells in tumor sections were visualized immunofluorescently by using the antibodies against three bronchioalveolar stem cells markers: surfactant protein C (SPC), Clara cell secretary protein (CCSP) and Octamer-4 (OCT4). Cancer stem-like cells with bronchioalveolar stem cell properties in human lung adenocarcinoma were subdivided into two phenotypes: OCT4(+)BASC (SPC(+)CCSP(+)OCT4(+)) and OCT4(-)BASC (SPC(+)CCSP(+)OCT4(-))., Results: Cancer cells with CCSP(+)SPC(+)BASC phenotype were detected in 107 cases, 80 cases with OCT4(+)BASC phenotype (SPC(+)CCSP(+)OCT4(+)) and 27 cases with SPC(+)CCSP(+)OCT4(-). There was a correlation between differentiation and OCT4 expression (P = 0.047). The pattern of survival curves shows the expected trend of decreasing survival with increasing stage at diagnosis (P = 0.015) and with OCT4(+)BASC expression (P = 0.019). Multivariate Cox's analysis reveals that pathological stages of TNM (P = 0.008) and bronchioalveolar stem cells phenotypes (P = 0.015) are the independent prognostic factors., Conclusions: The cancer cells with bronchioalveolar stem cells phenotype are detectable in adenocarcinoma of the lung and the expression of self-renewal regulatory gene OCT4 in these cells indicated the worse clinical outcomes.

Objective: To detect the cancer stem cells and to evaluate their prognostic implication in patients with lung adenocarcinoma., Methods: Three phenotypic markers of cancer stem cells (SP-C, CCSP and OCT4) in lung adenocarcinoma were detected by immunofluorecence staining. The correlation among the clinicopathological parameters and phenotypes of cancer stem cells as well as survival were analyzed by Cox proportional hazard method., Results: Of the 57 cases, cancer stem cells were detected in 52, including OCT4(+) bronchioloalveolar stem cell (BASC) phenotype (SP-C(+) CCSP(+) OCT4(+)) in 40 cases and OCT4(-) BASC phenotype (SP-C(+) CCSP(+) OCT4(-)) in 12 cases. Statistical analysis revealed that the phenotype of cancer stem cells was related with the cellular differentiation, i.e. the OCT4(+) BASC phenotype occurred more frequently in the well-differentiated tumors, while the OCT4(-) BASC phenotype usually presented in most of the poorly-differentiated ones. Cox analysis showed that the OCT4(+) BASC phenotype was one of prognostic factors., Conclusion: The lung adenocarcinoma stem cells have phenotypic features of bronchioalveolar stem cells (SP-C(+) CCSP(+)). The expression of self-renewal regulatory gene OCT4 in these cells indicates an aggressive nature and unfavorable prognosis.

Background: Lung adenocarcinomas are proposed to originate from the malignant transformation of bronchioalveolar stem cells (BASC). This hypothesis, however, has not been confirmed in humans yet. In the present study, we determined to analyze the BASC properties in human lung adenocarcinoma stem cells., Methods: The human lung adenocarcinoma stem cells were obtained by flow cytometry (FCM) and induced with the sphereforming assay. The markers associated with BASC were measured by immunofluorescent staining, and their metastatic capacity was evaluated by injecting into NOD/SCID mice via tail vein., Results: The majority of A549 and SPC-A1 human lung adenocarcinoma cells expressed the type II alveolar cell-specific marker SP-C. However, a minority of cells also expressed the bronchiolar Clara cell-specific marker CCSP and the embryonic stem cell marker OCT4, suggesting that these cells may belong to cancer stem cells with BASC properties. The CD24(+)CD221(+) human lung adenocarcinoma stem cells were purified by FCM and then subjected to the immunofluorescent staining. The results documented that these cells had the phenotype of CCSP(+)SP-C(+)OCT4(+), with the same phenotype as mouse BASC. Furthermore, the floatgrowing spheres (named pulmospheres) were developed after 2-week incubation of cancer cells in the serum-free medium containing EGF, IGF-1, and FGF-10. Again, the resultant pulmosphere cells had the phenotype of BASC. These cells were able to differentiate when incubated for two weeks in serum-containing conditions, exhibiting the loss of CCSP and OCT4 markers. Animal studies indicated that the pulmosphere cells had the highly metastatic capacity., Conclusions: The human lung adenocarcinoma stem cells may originate from the transformation of BASC, as their mouse counterparts. These primitive cancer cells are characterized to express the BASC markers as well as the embryonic stem cell gene OCT4.

This is our first time report of S-180 cell handled with various voltages, capacity and pulse number. Many pores on the S-180 cell membrane can be observed under scanning electron microscope. By the stains of trypan blue, we have known the influence of electric parameters on the ratio of poration. The results show that the ratio of electroporation has positive correlation with the voltages and the pulse number while negative correlation with the capacity.

This study evaluated the effects of electric pulses combined with antitumor drugs on S180 tumor cells. It was found that the growth of S180 sarcoma was inhibited with a maximum inhibition ratio of 95.5% after the use of electric pulses in combination with the injection of bleomycin (BLM), and the blood vessels of tumor were obviously fewer than those of the untreated tumor in vivo. The mitochondria of S180 tumor cells were swollen after the use of electric pulses in combination with adriamycin. The results showed that electrochemotherapy has evident inhibitory effect on the growth of S180 sarcoma and the mechanism may involve the suppression of tumor angiogenesis and changes in the ultrastructures of tumor cells.