Alloying Effect of Nickel–Cobalt Based Binary Metal Catalysts Supported on α-Alumina for Ammonia Decomposition

The development of a base metal catalyst which shows high performance for the ammonia (NH3) decomposition have been conducted. For the Ni and Co based catalysts using α-Al2O3 as a support, the performance of the single metal catalysts was lower than that of the γ-Al2O3 supported catalysts. However, its performance was greatly improved by using a binary metal catalyst system. Based on the XRD analysis, it was found that Ni and Co supported on α-Al2O3 were alloyed. TEM observation confirmed that the metal particle size in the α-Al2O3 supported Ni-Co catalyst is smaller than that of the single metal catalysts (Ni/α-Al2O3 or Co/α-Al2O3). Furthermore, in-situ XRD and H2-TPR measurements revealed that the Ni-Co alloy forms during the reduction process. The optimum mixing ratio of Ni and Co components was 1:1, and the optimum pre-reduction temperature before the performance test was 600 °C. Studies on the differences of support oxides proved that the improvement effect by alloying can be similarly obtained with the SiO2 supported catalyst, indicating that the catalyst using the support with less interaction between the active metal and the support is more likely to obtain the performance improvement effect by alloying

Clinically significant association of elevated expression of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 expression with higher glucose uptake and progression of upper urinary tract cancer

Abstract Background There is growing evidence that the transcription factor nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is the major participant in regulating antioxidants and pathways for detoxifying reactive oxygen species (ROS), as well as having a vital role in tumor proliferation, invasion, and chemoresistance. It was also recently reported that Nrf2 supports cell proliferation by promoting metabolic activity. Thus, Nrf2 is involved in progression of cancer. Upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is a biologically aggressive tumor with high rates of recurrence and progression, resulting in a poor prognosis. However, the role of Nrf2 in UTUC is largely unknown. Methods In order to study the role of Nrf2 in UTUC from the metabolic perspective, we retrospectively assessed Nrf2 expression in the surgical specimen and the preoperative maximum standard glucose uptake (SUVmax) on [18F]fluorodeoxy-glucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG-PET) of 107 patients with UTUC who underwent radical nephroureterectomy. Results Increased expression of Nrf2 in the primary lesion was correlated with less differentiated histology, local invasion, and lymph node metastasis, and was also an independent indicator of shorter overall survival according to multivariate analysis. Furthermore, increased expression of Nrf2 was associated with higher preoperative SUVmax by the primary tumor on 18F-FDG-PET, while Nrf2 expression and SUVmax were also significantly correlated in the metastatic lymph nodes. Among the 18 patients with lymph node metastasis at nephroureterectomy who underwent retroperitoneal lymph node dissection and received adjuvant chemotherapy, the patients with higher Nrf2 expression in the primary tumor had worse recurrence-free survival. Conclusions These results suggest that constitutive activation of Nrf2 might be linked with tumor aerobic glycolysis and progression of UTUC, indicating that Nrf2 signaling in the tumor microenvironment promotes progression of UTUC

Immunohistochemical expressionof sodium-dependent glucose transporter - 2 (SGLT-2) in clear cell renal carcinoma: possible prognostic implications

ABSTRACT Purpose: Glucose is a major energy resource for tumor cell survival and growth, and its influx into cells is mainly carried out by facilitative glucose transporters (GLUTs). Sodium - dependent glucose transporters (SGLTs) have been highlighted as playing important roles in diabetic treatment. However, their potential roles in cancer remain unclear. We examined expression patterns of SGLTs in tumor tissues together with conventional pathological variables to determine prognostic significance in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Materials and Methods: Nephrectomy specimens were obtained from 68 patients. GLUT - 1, - 2 and SGLT - 1, - 2 expression in tumor and adjacent normal tissues were analyzed by immunohistochemical staining, and intensity was quantified using an image analyzer. Results: The four glucose transporters evaluated were broadly distributed in tumor tissues as well as throughout the normal parenchyma. There was no significant correlation between transporter expression and conventional pathological variables. However, increased SGLT - 2 expression was significantly associated with shorter overall survival (p < 0.01), regardless of metastatic status. Conclusions: We propose possible prognostic significance of SGLT - 2 expression in human RCC. Given that glucose is a major energy resource for tumor cells and that glucose transport is largely mediated by SGLT, SGLT - 2 may serve as a possible therapeutic target in RCC

Additional file 1 of Clinically significant association of elevated expression of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 expression with higher glucose uptake and progression of upper urinary tract cancer

Figure S1 Association between immunostaining intensity for Nrf2 and expression levels of Nrf2 detected by western blotting and pathological characteristics. (A). The tumors with intense immunostaining of Nrf2 showed increased expression of Nrf2. X–axis is intensity of immunestaining of Nrf2. Y-axis for Nrf2 is a ratio of the optical density for the tumor specimen to that for the corresponding non-neoplastic specimen (set at 1.0) by western blotting. The median value is the central line, the box is the interquartile range, the bars are the full range, and the points are the outliers. (B). Higher immunostaining of Nrf2 was associated with poorer histological grading, local invasion (pT), regional lymph node metastasis (pN), and lymphovascular invasion (LVI). (TIFF 1521 kb