Background: Relevant serum tumor markers have been indicated to be associated with peritoneal dissemination (PD) of gastric cancer (GC). Fibrinogen has been shown to play an important role in the systemic inflammatory response (SIR) and in tumor progression. However, the clinical significance of the fibrinogen-to-lymphocyte ratio (FLR) in GC with PD has not been studied.Methods: The clinical data of 391 patients with GC were collected, including 86 cases of PD. Then, 1:3 matching was performed by propensity score matching (PSM), and the clinical data of the matched 344 patients were analyzed by univariate and multivariate conditional logistic regression. Classification tree analysis was used to obtain the decision rules and a random forest algorithm to extract the important risk factors of PD in GC. A nomogram model for risk assessment of PD in GC was established by using the rms package of R software.Results: Univariate analysis showed that the factors related to PD in GC were: carbohydrate antigen (CA) 125 (P < 0.0001), CA19-9 (P < 0.0001), CA72-4 (P < 0.0001), FLR (P < 0.0001), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (P < 0.0001), albumin-to- lymphocyte ratio (ALR) (P < 0.0001), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) (P = 0.013), and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) (P = 0.031). Conditional logistic regression found that CA125 (OR: 1.046; P < 0.0001), CA19-9 (OR: 1.002; P < 0.0001), and FLR (OR: 1.266; P = 0.024) were independent risk factors for GC with PD. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the decision rules for detecting PD of GC were 89.5, 77.4, 94.0, 82.8, and 91.8%, respectively. According to the important variables identified by the classification tree and random forest algorithm, the risk assessment model of PD in GC was established. The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the model were 91, 89.5, and 79.5%, respectively.Conclusion: CA125 > 17.3 U/ml, CA19-9 > 27.315 U/ml, and FLR > 2.555 were the risk factors for GC with PD. The decision rules and nomogram model constructed by CA125, CA19-9, CA72-4, and FLR can correctly predict the risk of PD in GC.

New epoxynorbornane linseed oils (ENLOs) were prepared as a function of the norbornene content. The cationic photopolymerization of ENLOs was investigated with real‐time infrared spectroscopy and photo‐differential scanning calorimetry. The effects of reactive and nonreactive diluents on the polymerization rate were also studied. The diluents reduced the viscosity of the formulations, markedly accelerated the rate of polymerization of ENLOs, and increased their final conversions. The effects of the reactive diluent were compared for ENLOs and epoxidized linseed oil. The relative reactivity of the oxiranes was not as important as the viscosity of the reacting system, and it was proposed that the cationic photopolymerization of ENLOs was controlled by diffusion. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 3440–3456, 2003

Aberrant expression of musashi2 (MSI‐2) has been detected in several malignancies. However, its role in the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown. Our study was designed to investigate the expression and prognostic significance of MSI‐2 protein in patients with colorectal cancer. The expression of MSI‐2 was detected in 164 patients’ colorectal cancer and control specimens by the tissue microarray technique and immunohistochemical staining. The correlations between MSI‐2 expression and clinicopathological variables including overall survival were analyzed. The prognostic value of liver metastasis is evaluated by logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. MSI‐2 was highly expressed in 32.9% (54/164) of the colorectal cancer. Overexpression of MSI‐2 was associated with depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, liver metastasis, Tumor Node Metastasis (TNM) clinical stage, and Carcinoembryonicantigen (CEA) level (P = 0.040, 0.014, <0.001, <0.001, 0.003, and 0.002, respectively). In the Cox multivariate test, MSI‐2 overexpression, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis were found to be the independent prognostic factors (P = 0.027, 0.010, and 0.001, respectively). Further logistic regression suggested that TNM stage and MSI‐2 high expression were related to liver metastasis in colorectal cancer patients. Conclusively, our study indicates that MSI‐2 overexpression is associated with an unfavorable prognosis and may be a potential biomarker for liver metastasis in colorectal cancer patients.

Background: This study was to explore differential RNA splicing patterns and elucidate the function of the splice variants served as prognostic biomarkers in colorectal cancer (CRC).Methods: Genome-wide profiling of prognostic alternative splicing (AS) events using RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program was conducted to evaluate the roles of seven AS patterns in 330 colorectal cancer cohort. The prognostic predictors models were assessed by integrated Cox proportional hazards regression. Based on the correlations between survival associated AS events and splicing factors, splicing networks were built.Results: A total of 2,158 survival associated AS events in CRC were identified. Interestingly, most of these top 20 survival associated AS events were adverse prognostic factors. The prognostic models were built by each type of splicing patterns, performing well for risk stratification in CRC patients. The area under curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) for the combined prognostic predictors model could reach 0.963. Splicing network also suggested distinguished correlation between the expression of splicing factors and AS events in CRC patients.Conclusion: The ideal prognostic predictors model for risk stratification in CRC patients was constructed by differential splicing patterns of 13 genes. Our findings enriched knowledge about differential RNA splicing patterns and the regulation of splicing, providing generous biomarker candidates and potential targets for the treatment of CRC.