Micro- and nanopatterning of cost-effective addressable metallic nanostructures has been a long endeavor in terms of both scientific understanding and industrial needs. Herein, a simple and efficient dynamic meniscus-confined electrodeposition (MCED) technique for precisely positioned copper line micropatterns with superior electrical conductivity (greater than 1.57 × 10 S/cm) on glass, silicon, and gold substrates is reported. An unexpected higher printing speed in the evaporative regime is realized for precisely positioned copper lines patterns with uniform width and height under horizontal scanning-mode. The final line height and width depend on the typical behavior of traditional flow coating process, while the surface morphologies and roughness are mainly governed by evaporation-driven electrocrystallization dynamics near the receding moving contact line. Integrated 3D structures and a rapid prototyping of 3D hot-wire anemometer are further demonstrated, which is very important for the freedom integration applications in advanced conceptual devices, such as miniaturized electronics and biomedical sensors and actuators.
Tumor angiogenesis is required for tumor growth and metastasis, and the Ang/Tie-2 axis plays a pivotal role in angiogenesis. B7-H3, a new member of the B7 family of costimulatory molecules, has a critical function in the T-cell-mediated antitumor immune response, and abnormal tumor B7-H3 expression is frequently associated with a poor prognosis. However, the relationship between B7-H3 and angiogenesis in clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC) remains unclear. In this study, we used immunohistochemical methods to detect tumor vascular expression of B7-H3 and Tie-2 in tissue microarrays of 82 ccRCC patient samples. According to the results, B7-H3 is highly expressed in the tumor vascular endothelium of ccRCC and is associated with the ccRCC grade and tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage. Although vascular Tie-2 expression was also correlated with T stage and lymph node metastasis, it was not related to ccRCC grade or distant metastasis. The microvessel density (MVD) labeled by CD34 was correlated with tumor grade and TNM stage. Expression of B7-H3 and Tie-2 was positively correlated, and the levels were positively associated with the MVD. Additionally, immunofluorescence staining revealed coexpression of B7-H3 and Tie-2 in the vascular endothelia of ccRCC. Collectively, our findings suggest that expression of B7-H3 and Tie-2 in ccRCC tumor vasculature is closely related to the progression and prognosis of the disease. Furthermore, B7-H3 possibly promotes ccRCC angiogenesis through the Tie-2 pathway. Thus, B7-H3 might serve as an effective endothelial marker for ccRCC prognosis and become a promising target for ccRCC anti-angiogenic-targeted therapy.
Increasing evidence suggests B7-H3 is aberrantly expressed in various cancers, though its prognostic significance in solid tumors remains controversial. We therefore performed a meta-analysis to clarify the prognostic value of B7-H3 expression in human solid tumors. The PubMed and Embase databases were searched, and 28 studies involving 4623 patients were ultimately included in the analysis. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were utilized as effect estimates to evaluate the association between B7-H3 expression and overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). The pooled results showed B7-H3 was associated with poor OS (HR = 1.58; 95% CI: 1.32–1.90; P < 0.00001) and PFS (HR = 1.67; 95% CI: 1.05–2.65; P = 0.031), but not RFS (HR = 1.17; 95% CI: 0.89–1.53; P = 0.267). These results suggest B7-H3 is a negative predictor of OS and PFS in patients with solid tumors. B7-H3 may thus be a useful prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for human solid tumors. However, further studies will be needed to more precisely determine the prognostic value of B7 H3 expression.
Helical metallic micro/nanostructures as functional components have considerable potential for future miniaturized devices, based on their unique mechanical and electrical properties. Thus, understanding and controlling the mechanical properties of metallic helices is desirable for their practical application. Herein, we implemented a direct-writing technique based on the electrodeposition method to grow copper microhelices with well-defined and programmable three-dimensional (3D) features. The mechanical properties of the 3D helical structures were studied by the electrically induced quasistatic and dynamic electromechanical resonance technique. These methods mainly explored the static pull-in process and the dynamic electromechanical response, respectively. It was found that the center-symmetric and vertical double copper microhelix structure with 1.2 μm wire diameter has a flexural rigidity of 0.9 × 10 N m and the single vertical copper microhelix structure with 1.1 μm wire diameter has a flexural rigidity of 0.5989 × 10 N m. By comparing with microwires and other reported micro/nanohelices, we found that the copper microhelices reported here had an ultralow stiffness (about 0.13 ± 0.01 N m). It is found that the experimental results agree well with the finite element calculations. The proposed method can be used to fabricate and measure the flexural properties of three-dimensional complex micro/nanowire structures, and may have a profound effect on the application of microhelices in various useful microdevices such as helix-based microelectromechanical switches, sensors and actuators based on their unique mechanical properties.
Prostate cancer is a heritable and clinically heterogeneous cancer. Both long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRs) have been implicated in the pathogenesis and development of prostate cancer. Analysis of microarray data indicated that the lncRNA LINC01207 was differentially expressed in prostate cancer. In silico analysis predicted the interaction between LINC01207 and miR‐1972 as well as the interaction between miR‐1972 and the mRNAs LIM and SH3 protein 1 (LASP1). Thus, we explored the role of LINC01207 and miR‐1972 in the growth and progression of prostate cancer. Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction revealed that LINC01207 and LASP1 were highly expressed in prostate cancer, while miR‐1972 expression was lower. The interaction among LINC01207, miR‐1972, and LASP1 was confirmed by RNA‐fluorescence in situ hybridization, RNA immunoprecipitation, and dual luciferase reporter assay, which verified that LINC01207 could bind to miR‐1972 and downregulate miR‐1972, and miR‐1972 targeted LASP1 and negatively regulated its expression. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments found that silencing LINC01207 inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion and tumor formation and enhanced apoptosis in prostate cancer cells, suggesting that LINC01207 functioned as a tumor promoter in prostate cancer and that it may represent a novel therapeutic target.
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