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Abstract Polpyrrole (PPy)/Ag nanocomposites were successfully synthesized at the interface of water and ionic liquid by one-step UV-induced polymerization. Highly dispersed PPy/Ag nanoparticles were obtained by controlling the experimental conditions. The results of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the UV-induced interface polymerization leaded to the formation of PPy incorporating silver nanoparticles. It was also found that the electrical conductivity of PPy/Ag nanocomposite was about 100 times higher than that of pure PPy.

Polythiophene (PTH) and poly(3-methyl thiophene) (PMT) films were electrochemically polymerized in an electrolyte solution of boron fluoride-ethyl ether. Ozone-pretreated PTH and PMT films were subjected to UV-light-induced graft copolymerization with different monomers, including poly(ethylene glycol) monomethacrylate, acrylic acid, and glycidyl methacrylate. Surface grafting with the hydrophilic polymers gave rise to more hydrophilic PTH and PMT films. The structure and chemical composition of each copolymer surface were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The surface grafting with the hydrophilic polymers resulted in a more hydrophilic PTH film. The dependence of the density of surface grafting and the conductivities of the grafted PTH and PMT films on the ozone pretreatment was also studied. A large amount of the grafted groups at the surface of the PTH and PMT films remained free for further surface modification and functionalization. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features, immunophenotypes, molecular genetic alterations, and prognosis of succinate dehydrogenase-deficient renal cell carcinoma (SDH-RCC)., Methods: A total of 11 cases of SDH-RCC diagnosed at West China Hospital, Sichuan University between 2016 and 2023 were selected for clinicopathological, immunohistochemical, and DNA sequencing analyses., Results: Among the 11 cases of SDH-RCC, there were 5 male patients and 6 female patients. The patients' ages ranged from 12 to 71 years, with an average age of 39.7 years. Among them, 5 patients had tumors located in the right kidney, 5 had tumors located in the left kidney, and 1 patient had bilateral tumors. Microscopic observation showed that the tumor cells of the SDH-RCC patients displayed a wide spectrum of structures, forming sheet-like, nested, and glandular structures. In addition, tumor cells in papillary structures were observed in some cases. The tumor cells had abundant cytoplasm, was eosinophilic, and contained flocculent materials. Intracytoplasmic vacuolations were observed in some of the cells. Among all the patients, 7 (7/11, 63.6%) showed typical low-grade features (grade 1-2 according to the International Society of Urological Pathology [ISUP]/WHO 2016 classification), and 4 (4/11, 36.4%) showed high-grade features (grade 3 according to the ISUP/WHO 2016 classification). The average ages of patients with low-grade and high-grade features were 32.1 years and 58.0 years, respectively. Immunohistochemical staining of all 11 cases demonstrated negative results for SDHB and cytokeratin 7 (CK7), and positive staining results for paired box 8 (PAX-8), fumarate hydratase (FH), and epithelial membrane antigen (EMA). Their Ki-67 index was 1%-30%. In one case, the loss of SDHB expression was also accompanied by a loss of SDHA expression. Sanger sequencing was performed to examine all the exons of SDHB in 7 cases. One case showed a frameshift mutation, c.236Tdel (p.K80Rfs*), and another case harbored a missense mutation, c.725G>A (p.Arg242His). In another case, next generation sequencing revealed that large fragments of SDHB (Exon 4-8 del) were missing. Follow-up data were available for 10 patients. The follow-up time ranged from 4 to 138 months, with the average being 32.8 months, and all patients survived. Metastasis and recurrence were reported in 5 cases, with 3 of them showing high-grade features and 2 showing low-grade features., Conclusion: SDH-RCC is rare and the patients demonstrate a relatively young age of onsets. Patients may present with bilateral tumors. Tumors with low-grade features usually occur in young patients, with their Ki-67 index usually being lower than 5%. Individual cases may experience tumor recurrence and metastasis over a long period of follow-up. Tumors with high-grade features tend to occur in older patients who have a higher Ki-67 index, and who are prone to recurrence and metastasis. Negative immunohistochemical staining results for SDHB can assist in tumor diagnosis, but the loss of SDHB protein expression does not necessarily lead to the detection of SDHB gene mutation., Competing Interests: 利益冲突　本文作者周桥是本刊编委会编委。该文在编辑评审过程中所有流程严格按照期刊政策进行，且未经其本人经手处理。除此之外，所有作者声明不存在利益冲突。, (© 2024《四川大学学报（医学版）》编辑部 版权所有Copyright ©2024 Editorial Office of Journal of Sichuan University (Medical Sciences).)

The high-mobility group A protein 2 (HMGA2) is a non-histone chromatin factor highly expressed in fetal tissue and malignant tumors but rarely detected within normal adult tissues. The clinical implications and biological functions of HMGA2 in endometrial carcinoma are largely unknown. Here we report that HMGA2 expression was barely detected in benign endometrium samples (2 of 28 samples). However, HMGA2 expression increased significantly from precancerous lesion endometrial glandular dysplasia (7 of 17, 41.2%), to serous endometrial intraepithelial carcinoma (5 of 8, 62.5%) and to full blown endometrial serous carcinoma (39 of 59, 66.1%). Functional characterization of HMGA2 revealed that the gene has both tumor growth promotion and metastasis. In addition, HMGA2 induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through modulation vimentin and β-catenin. Furthermore, HMGA2 overexpression started from endometrial serous precancers, non-invasive cancers, as well as in full blown carcinomas in a p53 knockout mouse model we recently established in our laboratory. Our findings suggest that HMGA2 may serve as a useful diagnostic marker in the assessment of endometrial serous cancer and its precursor lesions.