Mechanism of c-MET in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer and Its Treatment and Testing

Hepatocyte growth factor/c-MET (HGF/c-MET) signaling pathway can be abnormal activated by many mechanisms such as c-MET mutation, amplification and the overexpression of HGF, and it plays an important role in the development of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as well as in the tolerance of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) in NSCLC. Therefore, c-MET is a new molecular target for the therapy of NSCLC since EGFR and ALK. At present, although the c-MET inhibitors have shown a potential prospect in some clinical trials, its assessment of safety and effectiveness in clinical applications, and the choice of testing methods and standards still need a further discussion. In this paper, we summarized the mechanism of c-MET in NSCLC, as well as its treatment prospect and selection of testing methods

Na2Fe(SO4)2: an Anhydrous 3.6 V, Low Cost and Good Safety Cathode for Rechargeable Sodium-Ion Battery

Iron-based sulfate cathode materials are promising for rechargeable batteries due to their elevated operating voltages and earth-abundant elemental composition. However, the inherent unstable SO42- units in those sulfate materials result in their low-temperature decomposition (<450 °C) and lead to SO2 gas evolution, which would hinder sulfate electrodes from outputting high voltage in safety. Herein, a new alluaudite-type sulfate cathode Na2Fe(SO4)2 for sodium ion battery is reported, which displays a high operating voltage at ~3.6 V based on Fe2+/Fe3+ redox couple as well as superior thermal stability (~580 °C). In both air and inert ambient, its SO42-units demonstrates high thermal stability, assuring good safety for battery application. Furthermore, the Na2Fe(SO4)2 cathode material shows superior stability toward moisture for ease handling. The cathode exhibits a reversible capacity of 82 mAh g-1 at 0.1 C under nonoptimal carbon coating and maintains over 60% capacity retention at 2 C. The excellent sodium storage ability tested at 0 °C and 55 °C further demonstrates the advantages of Na2Fe(SO4)2 for future energy storage applications in a wide temperature range. The present exploration on Na2Fe(SO4)2 for sodium ion battery can pave the way for developing low cost sulfate cathodes combining high voltage and good safety

A Rigid and Planar Aza-Based Ternary Anhydride for the Preparation of Cross-Linked Polyimide Membrane Displaying High CO2/CH4 Separation Performance

In this study, based on the preparation of hexaazatriphenylene-ternary-anhydride (HAT-T), polyimide membranes were prepared by reaction of 4,4&prime;-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride (6FDA), 4,4&prime;-diaminodiphenyl sulfide (SDA), 2,2&prime;-bis (trifluoromethyl)diaminobiphenyl (TFDB) and 5-amino-2-(4-aminophenyl) benzimidazole (PABZ). Polyimide films with a hexazobenzo structure have good film-forming properties, high molecular weight (Mn = 0.79&ndash;11.79 &times; 106, Mw = 1.03&ndash;16.60 &times; 106) and narrow molecular weight distribution (polymer dispersity index = 1.17&ndash;1.54). With the introduction of rigid HAT-T, the tensile strength and elongation at break of polyimide films are 195.63&ndash;510.37 MPa and 4.00&ndash;9.70%, respectively, with excellent mechanical properties. The gas separation performance test shows that hexaazatriphenylene-containing polyimide films have good gas selectivity for CO2/CH4. In particular, the separation performance of PIc-t (6FDA/PABZ/HAT-T) surpasses the &ldquo;2008 Robeson Upper Bound&rdquo;. The selectivity of 188.43 for CO2/CH4 gas reveals its potential value in the separation and purification of methane gas

MiR-200c increases the radiosensitivity of non-small-cell lung cancer cell line A549 by targeting VEGF-VEGFR2 pathway.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been demonstrated to participate in many important cellular processes including radiosensitization. VEGF family, an important regulator of angiogenesis, also plays a crucial role in the regulation of cancer cell radiosensitivity. VEGFR2 mediates the major growth and permeability actions of VEGF in a paracrine/autocrine manner. MiR-200c, at the nexus of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), is predicted to target VEGFR2. The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that regulation of VEGFR2 pathway by miR-200c could modulate the radiosensitivity of cancer cells. Bioinformatic analysis, luciferase reporter assays and biochemical assays were carried out to validate VEGFR2 as a direct target of miR-200c. The radiosensitizing effects of miR-200c on A549 cells were determined by clonogenic assays. The downstream regulating mechanism of miR-200c was explored with western blotting assays, FCM, tube formation assays and migration assays. We identified VEGFR2 as a novel target of miR-200c. The ectopic miR-200c increased the radiosensitivity of A549 while miR-200c down-regulation decreased it. Besides, we proved that miR-200c radiosensitized A549 cells by targeting VEGF-VEGFR2 pathway specifically, thus leading to inhibition of its downstream pro-survival signaling transduction and angiogenesis, and serves as a potential target for radiosensitizition research

Ethanolysis of Glucose into Biofuel 5-Ethoxymethyl-Furfural Catalyzed by NH4H2PO4 Modified USY Zeolite

5-Ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) can be considered as a potential biofuel because of its excellent combustion properties, such as high energy density and low carbon smoke emissions. In this study, Ultra-stable Y (USY) zeolite was modified with NH4H2PO4 and then used as an efficient solid catalyst for the catalytic synthesis of EMF via ethanolysis of glucose First, the NH4H2PO4-modified USY was characterized by FT-IR, XRD, BET, and NH3-TPD. The effect of reaction temperature, reaction time, substrate concentration, and catalyst loading on the yield of EMF was investigated. The P0.2-USY optimal EMF yield was 39.6 mol%, which increased by 20.7% compared to USY, and still had better activity after being reused for 5 cycles. Moreover, the pseudo-homogeneous first-order kinetics model was developed to elucidate the kinetics of EMF formation from glucose, and the kinetics results showed that the activation energy of EMF formation (64.2 kJ⋅mol-1) was lower than that of humins formation (73.2 kJ⋅mol-1). Finally, the ethanolysis pathway was proposed based on the product distribution

Low-carbon and energy-efficient strategy to convert CO2 into carbons with tunable graphitization degree as lithium storage materials toward ultra-long cycle life

Converting greenhouse gas CO2 into high-performance energy storage materials is of great significance due to its capability of simultaneously addressing environmental issues and energy crises. However, great challenges still remain for the low-carbon and energy-efficient conversion of CO2. Herein, we report an energy-efficient and time-saving strategy for converting CO2 into carbon materials by the reaction of CO2 with Mg(AlH4)2 at about 126–136 ℃ in seconds. The chemical reaction of CO2 with Mg(AlH4)2 is reported for the first time. Importantly, the graphitization degree and pore structure of as-synthesized carbon materials are found to be regulated by CO2 pressure. As a lithium storage application, the graphitization degree-dependent electrochemical performance is revealed for the carbon anodes. The highly graphitized carbon prepared at high CO2 pressure exhibits high capacity and ultra-long cycle life, delivering a high reversible capacity of 487 mAh g−1 at 1.0 A g−1 after 3500 cycles. This study develops a green and low-temperature strategy to synthesize CO2-derived carbon materials with tunable graphitization degree for energy storage

Interfacial Polymerization of Self-Standing Covalent Organic Framework Membranes at Alkane/Ionic Liquid Interfaces for Dye Separation

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a promising candidate for advanced water treatment membranes due to their numerous benefits, such as adjustable pore diameters, high crystallinity, chemical stability, and a well-organized channel structure. Liquid–liquid interfacial polymerization is an effective method for COF membrane synthesis owing to its comparatively milder reaction conditions and efficient collection of products from the reaction system. However, the fabrication of continuous COF membranes at a non-alkane/water interface remains a formidable task due to membrane flaws caused by solvent evaporation and the restriction of water-soluble monomers. At the alkane/ionic liquid interface, we synthesized two self-standing, flexible, imine-linked COF membranes with different thicknesses and morphologies. The ionic liquid as a solvent can dissolve various amines, and polyamide nanofilms can be formed by the intermolecular reaction between amines and trimesoyl chloride. The freestanding ultrathin selective membrane is created with continuous, defect-free, and vast areas of up to 2 cm in diameter wafer-scale pore sizes as ultrafast molecular sieving. The membrane exhibited an extremely high water flow of 67.37 L m–2 h–1 bar–1 as well as an excellent rejection (98.7% for methylene blue). The resulting polyamide nanofilms displayed ultrahigh water permeability and good dye rejection selectivity

Screening and Identification of Key Biomarkers for Bladder Cancer: A Study Based on TCGA and GEO Data

Bladder cancer (BLCA) is a common malignant cancer, and it is the most common genitourinary cancer in the world. The recurrence rate is the highest of all cancers, and the treatment of BLCA has only slightly improved over the past 30 years. Genetic and environmental factors play an important role in the development and progression of BLCA. However, the mechanism of cancer development remains to be proven. Therefore, the identification of potential oncogenes is urgent for developing new therapeutic directions and designing novel biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of BLCA. Based on this need, we screened overlapping differentially expressed genes (DEG) from the GSE7476, GSE13507, and TCGA BLCA datasets. To identify the central genes from these DEGs, we performed a protein-protein interaction network analysis. To investigate the role of DEGs and the underlying mechanisms in BLCA, we performed Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Gene and Genomic Encyclopedia (KEGG) analysis; we identified the hub genes via different evaluation methods in cytoHubba and then selected the target genes by performing survival analysis. Finally, the relationship between these target genes and tumour immunity was analysed to explore the roles of these genes. In summary, our current studies indicate that both cell division cycle 20 (CDC20) and abnormal spindle microtubule assembly (ASPM) genes are potential prognostic biomarkers for BLCA. It may also be a potential immunotherapeutic target with future clinical significance

Green synthesis of graphite from CO2 without graphitization process of amorphous carbon

Green synthesis of graphite is a great challenge in the absence of the graphitization of amorphous carbon at high temperatures. Here, the authors report a green approach of synthesizing graphite from carbon dioxide at low temperature in seconds timescale