Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2011; 33: 1104–1112
Summary
Background The role of anti‐viral therapy in prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence is to be defined.
Aim To investigate the role ...of anti‐viral therapy in prevention of tumour recurrence after curative treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐related HCC.
Methods A systematic electronic search on keywords including HCC and different anti‐viral therapies was performed through eight electronic databases, including Medline, EMBASE and Cochrane Databases. The primary outcome was HCC recurrence after curative treatment of HBV‐related HCC. The secondary outcomes were mortality related to HCC, mortality related to liver failure and the overall mortality.
Results Nine cohort studies were included with a total number of 551 patients: 204 patients with anti‐viral treatment group and 347 patients without anti‐viral treatment (control group). There was significant difference in the incidence of HCC recurrence in favour of the anti‐viral treatment group (55% vs. 58%; odds risk (OR) = 0.59, 95% CI 0.35–0.97, P = 0.04). The risk of HCC was reduced by 41% in the anti‐viral treatment group. There were also significant differences in favour of anti‐viral treatment group in terms of liver‐related mortality (0% vs. 8%; OR = 0.13, 95% CI 0.02–0.69, P = 0.02) and overall mortality (38% vs. 42%; OR = 0.27, 95% CI 0.14–0.50, P < 0.001).
Conclusions Anti‐viral therapy has potential beneficial effects after the curative treatment of HBV‐related hepatocellular carcinoma in terms of tumour recurrence, liver‐related mortality and overall survival. Anti‐viral therapy should be considered after curative treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Thioamides antithyroid‐drugs (ATDs) are important in hyperthyroid disease management. Identification of the susceptibility locus of ATD‐induced agranulocytosis is important for clinical management. ...We performed a genome‐wide association study (GWAS) involving 20 patients with ATD‐induced agranulocytosis and 775 healthy controls. The top finding was further replicated. A single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs185386680, showed the strongest association with ATD‐induced agranulocytosis in GWAS (odds ratio (OR) = 36.4; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 12.8–103.7; P = 1.3 × 10‐24) and replication (OR = 37; 95% CI = 3.7–367.4; P = 9.6 × 10‐7). HLA‐B*38:02:01 was in complete linkage disequilibrium with rs185386680. High‐resolution HLA typing confirmed that HLA‐B*38:02:01 was associated with carbimazole (CMZ)/methimazole (MMI)‐induced agranulocytosis (OR = 265.5; 95% CI = 27.9–2528.0; P = 2.5 × 10‐14), but not associated with propylthiouracil (PTU). The positive and negative predictive values of HLA‐B*38:02:01 in predicting CMZ/MMI‐induced agranulocytosis were 0.07 and 0.999. Approximately 211 cases need to be screened to prevent one case. Screening for the risk allele will be useful in preventing agranulocytosis in populations in which the frequency of the risk allele is high.
Finding a needle in a haystack: A new technology is demonstrated to enrich circulating tumor cells (CTCs) with high efficiency by integrating an antibody‐coated silicon nanopillar (SiNP, see picture; ...gray) substrate with an overlaid polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic chaotic mixer (turquoise). It shows significantly improved sensitivity in detecting rare CTCs from whole blood, thus providing an alternative for monitoring cancer progression.
We present conductance-matrix measurements of a three-terminal superconductor-semiconductor hybrid device consisting of two normal leads and one superconducting lead. Using a symmetry decomposition ...of the conductance, we find that antisymmetric components of pairs of local and nonlocal conductances qualitatively match at energies below the superconducting gap, and we compare this finding with symmetry relations based on a noninteracting scattering matrix approach. Further, the local charge character of Andreev bound states is extracted from the symmetry-decomposed conductance data and is found to be similar at both ends of the device and tunable with gate voltage. Finally, we measure the conductance matrix as a function of magnetic field and identify correlated splittings in low-energy features, demonstrating how conductance-matrix measurements can complement traditional single-probe measurements in the search for Majorana zero modes.
Background The use of N95 respirators prevents spread of respiratory infectious agents, but leakage hampers its protection. Manufacturers recommend a user seal check to identify on-site gross ...leakage. However, no empirical evidence is provided. Therefore, this study aims to examine validity of a user seal check on gross leakage detection in commonly used types of N95 respirators. Methods A convenience sample of 638 nursing students was recruited. On the wearing of 3 different designs of N95 respirators, namely 3M-1860s, 3M-1862, and Kimberly-Clark 46827, the standardized user seal check procedure was carried out to identify gross leakage. Repeated testing of leakage was followed by the use of a quantitative fit testing (QNFT) device in performing normal breathing and deep breathing exercises. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and likelihood ratios were calculated accordingly. Results As indicated by QNFT, prevalence of actual gross leakage was 31.0%-39.2% with the 3M respirators and 65.4%-65.8% with the Kimberly-Clark respirator. Sensitivity and specificity of the user seal check for identifying actual gross leakage were approximately 27.7% and 75.5% for 3M-1860s, 22.1% and 80.5% for 3M-1862, and 26.9% and 80.2% for Kimberly-Clark 46827, respectively. Likelihood ratios were close to 1 (range, 0.89-1.51) for all types of respirators. Conclusions The results did not support user seal checks in detecting any actual gross leakage in the donning of N95 respirators. However, such a check might alert health care workers that donning a tight-fitting respirator should be performed carefully.
Subway systems are indispensable for urban societies, but microbiological characteristics of subway aerosols are relatively unknown. Previous studies investigating microbial compositions in subways ...employed methodologies that underestimated the diversity of microbial exposure for commuters, with little focus on factors governing subway air microbiology, which may have public health implications. Here, a culture-independent approach unraveling the bacterial diversity within the urban subway network in Hong Kong is presented. Aerosol samples from multiple subway lines and outdoor locations were collected. Targeting the 16S rRNA gene V4 region, extensive taxonomic diversity was found, with the most common bacterial genera in the subway environment among those associated with skin. Overall, subway lines harbored different phylogenetic communities based on α- and β-diversity comparisons, and closer inspection suggests that each community within a line is dependent on architectural characteristics, nearby outdoor microbiomes, and connectedness with other lines. Microbial diversities and assemblages also varied depending on the day sampled, as well as the time of day, and changes in microbial communities between peak and nonpeak commuting hours were attributed largely to increases in skin-associated genera in peak samples. Microbial diversities within the subway were influenced by temperature and relative humidity, while carbon dioxide levels showed a positive correlation with abundances of commuter-associated genera. This Hong Kong data set and communities from previous studies conducted in the United States formed distinct community clusters, indicating that additional work is required to unravel the mechanisms that shape subway microbiomes around the globe.
We had previously identified visual impairment increasing risk of incident dementia. While a bi-directional vision-cognition association has subsequently been proposed, no study has specifically ...examined the longitudinal association between dementia and incidence of clinically defined visual impairment. In this territory-wide community cohort study of 10,806 visually unimpaired older adults, we examined their visual acuity annually for 6 years and tested if dementia at baseline was independently associated with higher risk of incident visual impairment (LogMAR ≥ 0.50 in the better eye despite best correction, which is equivalent to moderate visual impairment according to the World Health Organization definition). By the end of Year 6, a total of 3151 (29.2%) participants developed visual impairment. However, we did not find baseline dementia associating with higher risk of incident visual impairment, after controlling for baseline visual acuity, cataract, glaucoma, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, heart diseases, stroke, Parkinson's disease, depression, hearing and physical impairments, physical, intellectual and social activities, diet, smoking, age, sex, educational level, and socioeconomic status. Among different covariables, baseline visual acuity appears to be more important than dementia in contributing to the development of visual impairment. Our present findings highlight the need for re-evaluating whether dementia is indeed a risk factor for visual impairment.
Recent developments in the instrumentation and data analysis of synchrotron small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) on biomolecules in solution have made biological SAXS (BioSAXS) a mature and popular ...tool in structural biology. This article reports on an advanced endstation developed at beamline 13A of the 3.0 GeV Taiwan Photon Source for biological small‐ and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS–WAXS or SWAXS). The endstation features an in‐vacuum SWAXS detection system comprising two mobile area detectors (Eiger X 9M/1M) and an online size‐exclusion chromatography system incorporating several optical probes including a UV–Vis absorption spectrometer and refractometer. The instrumentation and automation allow simultaneous SAXS–WAXS data collection and data reduction for high‐throughput biomolecular conformation and composition determinations. The performance of the endstation is illustrated with the SWAXS data collected for several model proteins in solution, covering a scattering vector magnitude q across three orders of magnitude. The crystal‐model fittings to the data in the q range ∼0.005–2.0 Å−1 indicate high similarity of the solution structures of the proteins to their crystalline forms, except for some subtle hydration‐dependent local details. These results open up new horizons of SWAXS in studying correlated local and global structures of biomolecules in solution.
A new endstation for biological small‐ and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering is detailed, which provides development opportunities for studying correlated local and global structures of biomolecules in solution.
Entangling Macroscopic Diamonds at Room Temperature Lee, K. C.; Sprague, M. R.; Sussman, B. J. ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
12/2011, Letnik:
334, Številka:
6060
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Quantum entanglement in the motion of macroscopic solid bodies has implications both for quantum technologies and foundational studies of the boundary between the quantum and classical worlds. ...Entanglement is usually fragile in room-temperature solids, owing to strong interactions both internally and with the noisy environment. We generated motional entanglement between vibrational states of two spatially separated, millimeter-sized diamonds at room temperature. By measuring strong nonclassical correlations between Raman-scattered photons, we showed that the quantum state of the diamonds has positive concurrence with 98% probability. Our results show that entanglement can persist in the classical context of moving macroscopic solids in ambient conditions.
1. Rapidly increasing atmospheric CO₂ is not only changing the climate system but may also affect the biosphere directly through stimulation of plant growth and ecosystem carbon and nutrient cycling. ...Although forest ecosystems play a critical role in the global carbon cycle, experimental information on forest responses to rising CO₂ is scarce, due to the sheer size of trees. 2. Here, we present a synthesis of the only study world-wide where a diverse set of mature broadleaved trees growing in a natural forest has been exposed to future atmospheric CO₂ levels (c. 550 ppm) by free-air CO₂ enrichment (FACE). We show that litter production, leaf traits and radial growth across the studied hardwood species remained unaffected by elevated CO₂ over 8 years. 3. CO₂ enrichment reduced tree water consumption resulting in detectable soil moisture savings. Soil air CO₂ and dissolved inorganic carbon both increased suggesting enhanced below-ground activity. Carbon release to the rhizosphere and/or higher soil moisture primed nitrification and nitrate leaching under elevated CO₂; however, the export of dissolved organic carbon remained unaltered. 4. Synthesis. Our findings provide no evidence for carbon-limitation in five central European hardwood trees at current ambient CO₂ concentrations. The results of this long-term study challenge the idea of a universal CO₂ fertilization effect on forests, as commonly assumed in climate-carbon cycle models.
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