Serum HER2 as a predictive biomarker for tissue HER2 status and prognosis in patients with gastric cancer.

Aim: To investigate the association between serum human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) extracellular domain (ECD) and tissue HER2 status, and the prognostic value of serum HER2 ECD in patients with gastric cancer.

Methods: A total of 239 patients with gastric cancer were enrolled from December 2012 to June 2013. Serum HER2 ECD was determined by chemiluminescent assay, and tissue HER2 status was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and fluorescence hybridization assay.

[The effect of rosuvastatin therapy on CCR2 expression in mononuclear cells and its upstream pathway].

Objective: To investigate the effect of rosuvastatin therapy on C-C chemokine receptor(CCR2)expression in mononuclear cells in patients with carotid atherosclerosis and explore the possible upstream mechanism.

Methods: Twenty patients without previous statin treatment were enrolled. Rosuvastatin were given 5 to 20 mg/day for 3 months.

IL-17A stimulates the progression of giant cell tumors of bone.

Purpose: Giant cell tumors of bone (GCTB) exhibit aggressive bone lytic behavior. Studies have shown that interleukin 17A (IL-17A) is involved pathologic bone resorption in various skeletal disorders. Thus, we have investigated the role of IL-17A in GCTBs.

Anisotropic swelling and fracture of silicon nanowires during lithiation.

We report direct observation of an unexpected anisotropic swelling of Si nanowires during lithiation against either a solid electrolyte with a lithium counter-electrode or a liquid electrolyte with a LiCoO(2) counter-electrode. Such anisotropic expansion is attributed to the interfacial processes of accommodating large volumetric strains at the lithiation reaction front that depend sensitively on the crystallographic orientation. This anisotropic swelling results in lithiated Si nanowires with a remarkable dumbbell-shaped cross section, which develops due to plastic flow and an ensuing necking instability that is induced by the tensile hoop stress buildup in the lithiated shell.

Raman analysis of CdSe/CdS core-shell quantum dots with different CdS shell thickness.

We report the first-order and high-order Raman scattering from core-shell CdSe/CdS nanocrystals and investigate the evolution of the longitudinal mode of CdSe (LO1) and CdS (LO2), and the surface mode of CdSe (SO1) and CdS (SO2) with increasing shell thickness (0-5.5 ML (monolayer)). We find that the shift of the LO2 peak from 268 to 291 cm(-1) agrees well with the theoretical values based on the phonon confinement model.