Antithrombin III associated with fibrinogen predicts the risk of cerebral ischemic stroke

Background and purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of developing plasma predictive value biomarkers of cerebral ischemic stroke before imaging evidence is acquired. Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 198 patients who attended our neurology department as emergencies - with symptoms of vertigo, numbness, limb weakness, etc. - within 4.5 h of symptom onset, and before imaging evidence was obtained and medical treatment. After the final diagnosis was made by MRI/DWI/MRA or CTA in the following 24-72 h, the above cases were divided into two groups: stroke group and non-stroke group according to the imaging results. The levels of baseline plasma antithrombin III (AT-III), thrombin-antithrombin III (TAT), fibrinogen, D-dimer and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in the two groups were assayed. Results: The level of the baseline AT-III in the stroke group was 118.07 ± 26.22%, which was lower than that of the non-stroke group (283.83 ± 38.39%). The levels of TAT, fibrinogen, hsCRP were 7.24 ± 2.28 μg/L, 5.49 ± 0.98 g/L, and 2.17 ± 1.07 mg/L, respectively, which were higher than those of the non-stroke group (2.53 ± 1.23 μg/L, 3.35 ± 0.50 g/L, 1.82 ± 0.67 mg/L). All the P-values were less than 0.001. The D-dimer level was 322.57 ± 60.34 μg/L, which was slightly higher than that of the non-stroke group (305.76 ± 49.52 μg/L), but the P-value was 0.667. The sensitivities of AT-III, TAT, fibrinogen, D-dimer and hsCRP for predicting ischemic stroke tendency were 97.37%, 96.05%, 3.29%, 7.89%, but the specificity was 93.62%, 82.61%, 100% and 100%, respectively, and all the P-values were less than 0.001. High levels of D-dimer and hsCRP were mainly seen in the few cases with severe large-vessel infarction. Conclusions: Clinical manifestations of acute focal neurological deficits were associated with plasma AT-III and fibrinogen. These tests might help the risk assessment of acute cerebral ischemic stroke and/or TIA with infarction tendency in the superacute stage before positive imaging evidence is obtained.

Organic–inorganic bismuth (III)-based material: A lead-free, air-stable and solution-processable light-absorber beyond organolead perovskites

Methylammonium bismuth (III) iodide single crystals and films have been developed and investigated. We have further presented the first demonstration of using this organic–inorganic bismuth-based material to replace lead/tin-based perovskite materials in solution-processable solar cells. The organic–inorganic bismuth-based material has advantages of non-toxicity, ambient stability, and low-temperature solution-processability, which provides a promising solution to address the toxicity and stability challenges in organolead- and organotin-based perovskite solar cells. We also demonstrated that trivalent metal cation-based organic–inorganic hybrid materials can exhibit photovoltaic effect, which may inspire more research work on developing and applying organic-inorganic hybrid materials beyond divalent metal cations (Pb (II) and Sn (II)) for solar energy applications.

2nd ESMO Consensus Conference in Lung Cancer: Locally advanced stage III non-small-cell lung cancer

To complement the existing treatment guidelines for all tumour types, ESMO organises consensus conferences to focus on specific issues in each type of tumour. The 2nd ESMO Consensus Conference on Lung Cancer was held on 11–12 May 2013 in Lugano. A total of 35 experts met to address several questions on non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in each of four areas: pathology and molecular biomarkers, first-line/second and further lines of treatment in advanced disease, early-stage disease and locally advanced disease. For each question, recommendations were made including reference to the grade of recommendation and level of evidence. This consensus paper focuses on locally advanced disease.