Background: Coagulation and nutrition play important roles in cancer progression. We aim to investigate the impact of the fibrinogen/albumin ratio(FAR) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 1135 patients with radical esophagectomy for ESCC from January 2008 to December 2010 in our center. X-tile software was used to determine the optimal cutoff levels for these biomarkers.Results: The optimal cutoff value was 0.08 for the FAR by the X-tile software. The FAR was statistically significantly associated with age(p=0.003), sex(p=0.030), tumor length (p=0.043), pT status(p<0.001) and pN status(p<0.001). Pearson's correlation indicated that the FAR were positively associated with the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) ( r=0.583, p<0.001), and the NLR ( r=0.316, p<0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that age, tumor grade, pT status, pN status and preoperative FAR were independent prognostic factors in patients with ESCC.Conclusions: Preoperative FAR was an independent prognostic factor in ESCC patients. Lower FAR may improve OS of ESCC patients.

Biological ion channels are known as membrane proteins which can turn on and off under environmental stimulus to regulate ion transport and energy conversion. Rapid progress made in biological ion channels provides inspiration for developing artificial nanochannels to mimic the structures and functions of ion transport systems and energy conversion in biological ion channels. Due to the advantages of abundant pore channels, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have become competitive materials to control the nanofluidic transport. Herein, a facile in situ synthesis method is developed to prepare hybrid nanochannels constructed by 2D MOFs and porous anodic aluminum (PAA). The introduction of asymmetries in the chemical composition and surface charge properties gives the hybrid outstanding ion current rectification properties and excellent ion selectivity. A power density of 1.6 W m−2 is achieved by integrating it into a salinity‐gradient‐driven device. With advantages of facile fabrication method and high ion selectivity, the prepared 2D MOFs/PAA hybrid membrane offers a promising candidate for power conversion and water desalination.

Two ruthenium nitrosyl porphyrins have been synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic and electrochemical methods. The investigated compounds are represented as [(TPP)Ru(NO)(H(2)O)]BF(4) and (TPP)Ru(NO)(ONO) where TPP is the dianion of 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin. (TPP)Ru(NO)(ONO) crystallizes in the tetragonal space group I4, with a = 13.660(1) Å, c = 9.747(1) Å, V = 1818.7(3) Å(3), and Z = 2, 233 K. The most chemically interesting feature of the structure is that the nitrosyl and O-bound nitrito groups are located axial and trans to one another. Both complexes undergo an irreversible reduction at the metal center which is accompanied by dissociation of the axial ligand trans to NO. The addition of 1-10 equiv of pyridine to [(TPP)Ru(NO)(H(2)O)]BF(4) in CH(2)Cl(2) containing 0.1 M TBAP leads to the formation of [(TPP)Ru(NO)(py)](+), a species which is reversibly reduced at E(1/2) = -0.29 V. The electrochemical data indicate that (TPP)Ru(NO)(ONO) can also be converted to [(TPP)Ru(NO)(py)](+) in CH(2)Cl(2) solutions containing pyridine but only under specific experimental conditions. This reaction does not involve a simple displacement of the ONO(-) axial ligand from (TPP)Ru(NO)(ONO) but occurs after reduction of (TPP)Ru(NO)(ONO) to (TPP)Ru(NO)(py) followed by reoxidation to [(TPP)Ru(NO)(py)](+).

LNR is an independent prognostic factor after tri-incisional esophagectomy, regardless of the number of retrieved LNs. In ESCC, LNR might reduce stage migration, have more potential for predicting patient outcomes, and compensate for deficiencies in UICC/AJCC pN categories.

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Background: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery has been identified as priori choice compared with open approaches in esophageal cancer surgery. With the developments in the Da Vinci robotic system, the robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) has been increasingly popular. However, whether RAMIE could be a better choice over thoraco-laparoscopic minimally invasive esophagectomy (TLMIE) is unclear. Methods: The clinicopathological characteristics of patients who received RAMIE or TLMIE with modern two-field lymph node dissection in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between Jan 2016 to Jan 2018 were retrospectively retrieved. The 1:1 propensity score match analysis was performed to compare the shortterm effectiveness and safety between the two groups. Results: Two hundred and fifteen esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients received RAMIE (101 patients) or TLMIE (114 patients) were included in the analysis. After a 1:1 propensity score matching, 108 patients (54 pairs) who received RAMIE or TLMIE displayed no significant variance in baseline clinicopathological characteristics. No significant difference in operative time, intraoperative blood loss, number of resected lymph nodes, and R0 resection rates were observed between the matched groups.However, the recurrent laryngeal nerve protection was better in RAMIE group (P=0.021). Nevertheless, both the incidences of common postoperative complications and length of ICU (hospital) stay were similar in two groups. The average total (P=0.009) and daily (P=0.028) expenses of RAMIE were higher. Conclusions: In general, RAMIE could benefit patients by providing better recurrent laryngeal nerve protection. In order to promote the applications of RAMIE, more efforts should be made to reduce the costs by the social and medical insurance agencies.

The independent prognostic significance of LVI existed only in node-negative patients with ESCC, and the combination of LVI and the TNM system enhanced the predictive accuracy of prognosis. After confirmation, node-negative patients with LVI might be considered for upstaging in pathological staging.

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