Flexible and robust silicon/carbon nanotube anodes exhibiting high areal capacities.

The fast development of flexible devices has greatly boosted the demands for flexible lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Accordingly, a broad exploration of flexible electrodes in LIBs is crucial. At present, the major challenge in the flexible electrode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is how to achieve an excellent electrochemical performance (particularly high-energy density) while maintaining superior mechanical flexibility.

Functional variations of the TLR4 gene in association with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pulmonary tuberculosis.

Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) share a number of common risk factors, including innate immunity-related genetic factors. In the present study, we compared the role of genetic variations of the TLR4 gene in susceptibility to COPD and PTB and illuminated the underlying molecular mechanism of functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

Methods: A population-based case control study was performed in a Chinese Han population and included 152 COPD cases, 1601 PTB cases and 1727 controls.

Application of a hybrid model in predicting the incidence of tuberculosis in a Chinese population.

To investigate suitable forecasting models for tuberculosis (TB) in a Chinese population by comparing the predictive value of the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model and the ARIMA-generalized regression neural network (GRNN) hybrid model. We used the monthly incidence rate of TB in Lianyungang city from January 2007 through June 2016 to construct a fitting model, and we used the incidence rate from July 2016 to December 2016 to evaluate the forecasting accuracy. The root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), mean absolute error (MAE) and mean error rate (MER) were used to assess the performance of these models in fitting and forecasting the incidence of TB.

Upregulated circ RNA hsa_circ_0000337 promotes cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: As a new class of endogenous ncRNAs, circRNAs have been recently verified to be involved in the carcinogenesis and progression of human cancers. In the current study, we attempted to explore the potential function of a candidate circRNA (hsa_circ_0000337) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Patients And Methods: The altered expression of hsa_circ_0000337 was validated in clinical samples from 48 patients with ESCC.

Vitamin D and the promoter methylation of its metabolic pathway genes in association with the risk and prognosis of tuberculosis.

Background: A variety of abnormalities in vitamin D metabolism have been reported in patients with active tuberculosis. However, intervention trials have produced inconsistent results. We hypothesized that genetic and epigenetic changes in the key genes of the vitamin D metabolic pathway may partly explain the differences between studies.

Profiles of differentially expressed circRNAs in esophageal and breast cancer.

Introduction: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) function as efficient microRNA sponges with gene-regulatory potential and are promising cancer biomarkers. In this study, we used the Arraystar Human circRNA Array to construct a genome-wide circRNA profile of esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) and breast cancer (BC).

Patients And Methods: Expression levels between cancer lesions and adjacent normal-appearing tissues were compared.

Sputum bacteriology conversion and treatment outcome of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

Purpose: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) requires long-term treatment, has a high fatality rate, and constitutes a global threat. Earlier detection of treatment failure is required to predict therapeutic efficacy.

Patients And Methods: We enrolled MDR-TB patients consecutively from January 2011 through December 2012 in Lianyungang, China.

MicroRNAs in the prognosis of triple-negative breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous group of tumors characterized by their aggressive nature and poor associated survival. MicroRNAs (miRs) have been found to play an important role in the occurrence and development of human cancers, but their role in the prognosis of TNBC patients remains unclear. We performed a meta-analysis to explore the prognostic value of miRs in TNBC.

Identification of circular RNAs as a promising new class of diagnostic biomarkers for human breast cancer.

Endogenous noncoding circular RNAs (circRNAs) have gained attention for their involvement in carcinogenesis, but their expression pattern in breast cancer has remained largely unknown. In this two-stage study, we first used an Arraystar Human circRNA Array to construct a genome-wide circRNA profile. We then selected candidate circRNAs for validation using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction system.

Accumulated promoter methylation as a potential biomarker for esophageal cancer.

We performed a two-stage molecular epidemiological study to explore DNA methylation profiles for potential biomarkers of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in a Chinese population. Infinium Methylation 450K BeadChip was used to identify genes with differentially methylated CpG sites. Sixteen candidate genes were validated by sequencing 1160 CpG sites in their promoter regions using the Illumina MiSeq platform.