Background
Health‐related quality of life (HRQL) is an important outcome measure in studies of cancer therapy. This study aimed to investigate HRQL and survival in patients with small hepatocellular ...carcinoma (HCC) treated with either surgical resection or percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA).
Methods
Between January 2006 and June 2009, patients with newly diagnosed solitary, small (3 cm or less) HCC were invited to participate in this non‐randomized prospective parallel cohort study. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – Hepatobiliary (FACT‐Hep) instrument was used for assessing HRQL. HRQL and survival were compared between the two treatment groups.
Results
A total of 389 patients were enrolled. Questionnaires were completed fully by 99·7 per cent of invited participants (388 of 389) at baseline, 98·7 per cent (383 of 388) at 3 months, 99·0 per cent (379 of 383) at 6 months, 98·4 per cent (365 of 371) at 1 year, 96·6 per cent (336 of 348) at 2 years and 95·1 per cent (289 of 304) at 3 years. There were no significant differences in disease‐free and overall survival between the two groups. Patients treated with percutaneous RFA had significantly better HRQL total scores after 3, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months than those who had surgical resection (P < 0·001, P < 0·001, P = 0·001, P = 0·003 and P = 0·025 respectively). On multivariable analysis, the presence of concomitant disease, cirrhosis and surgical resection were significant risk factors associated with a worse HRQL score after treatment.
Conclusion
Percutaneous RFA produced better post‐treatment HRQL than surgical resection for patients with solitary small (no more than 3 cm) HCC.
Radiofrequency ablation is a good alternative for surgery
A topological meron features a non-coplanar structure, whose order parameters in the core region are perpendicular to those near the perimeter. A meron is half of a skyrmion, and both have potential ...applications for information carrying and storage. Although merons and skyrmions in ferromagnetic materials can be readily obtained via inter-spin interactions, their behaviour and even existence in ferroelectric materials are still elusive. Here we observe using electron microscopy not only the atomic morphology of merons with a topological charge of 1/2, but also a periodic meron lattice in ultrathin PbTiO
films under tensile epitaxial strain on a SmScO
substrate. Phase-field simulations rationalize the formation of merons for which an epitaxial strain, as a single alterable parameter, plays a critical role in the coupling of lattice and charge. This study suggests that by engineering strain at the nanoscale it should be possible to fabricate topological polar textures, which in turn could facilitate the development of nanoscale ferroelectric devices.
Soil bacteria play a key role in nutrient cycling, but the mechanisms behind seasonal variation of bacterial communities in different types of soil remain unclear. In this study, the bacterial ...composition during four seasons and at four soil depths (0–10, 10–20, 20–40 and 40–60 cm) in a Betula albosinensis forest of the Qinling Mountains (southern Shaanxi Province, China) was investigated. Illumina 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to analyse soil bacterial diversity and communities. The soil properties, including temperature, pH, water content, organic carbon and total nitrogen content, were determined. Soil bacterial diversity did not decrease with increasing depth, indicating that the bacterial communities in the top‐ and sub‐soil had adapted to the availability of different substrates at different depths. The Chao1 richness and Shannon diversity indices at the four depths typically decreased by 54.43–86.87% and 13.31–33.91%, respectively, from warm summer to cold winter, which was probably a result of the decrease in soil temperature. Moreover, the abundance of Acidobacteria increased with soil temperature, whereas the abundance of Bacteroidetes decreased with increasing temperature. Soil temperature accounted for 49% of the total variation among the bacterial taxa. Overall, the results suggested that changes in the bacterial communities were attributable to physiological adaptation, which was controlled by soil temperature.
Highlights
We assessed the effects of soil depth and season on soil bacterial community structure.
We used Illumina 16S rRNA sequencing to study bacterial diversity and community composition.
Changes in bacterial Shannon index with soil depth were influenced by carbon type, not quantity.
Soil temperature had important effects on bacterial communities and abundance.
The microstructure and mechanical properties of the extruded Mg–2Gd–1.2Y–0.5Zn (at.%) alloy with Mn or Zr addition were investigated. The results show that Zr addition refines the microstructure of ...the homogenized alloy more efficiently and facilitates the dissolution of the secondary phases in comparison with Mn addition. After extrusion at 400 °C, both Mn and Zr added alloys exhibit bimodal microstructure comprising fine dynamically recrystallized (DRXed) grains with random orientations as well as coarse unDRXed grains with strong
10
1
¯
0
//ED fiber texture. Thin long period stacking ordered phases and
γ
precipitates distribute in the unDRXed grains and nano-sized
β
phases mainly pin at the DRXed grain boundaries. While the coarse initial grain size of homogenized Mn added alloy leads to its lower DRX ratio and stronger texture intensity after extrusion with respect to Zr added alloy. High strength, moderate ductility and improved yield anisotropy are obtained in both extruded alloys. The Mn added alloy exhibits higher strength with ultimate tensile strength of 437 MPa, 0.2% tensile proof stress of 381 MPa but lower elongation to failure of 4.7% than Zr added alloy, which is mainly due to the lower DRX ratio of Mn added alloy.
The aluminum sheet behavior after pulse current-assisted rolling was analyzed with hardness, abrasion, and other test methods. The hardness variations and wearability of aluminum sheets at different ...strain rates were evaluated. The microhardness after pulse current-assisted rolling is shown to significantly increase as compared to traditional cold rolling. The latter first decreases and then increases with the strain rate. The microhardness reaches its minimum (79.03 ± 2.5)HV0.1 and the specific wear rate attains its maximum (0.00176 mm
3
/N ·m) when the strain rate ranges 65%. The pulse current-assisted rolling contributes to a lower specific wear rate of the aluminum sheet. It can also enhance the wear resistance, improve the surface lubricity, and reduce the friction coefficient of the aluminum sheet.
Macathiohydantoin S (
1
), a new thiohydantoin derivative, was isolated from the roots of
Lepidium meyenii
(Maca) collected from Qujing, Yunnan Province of China. The structure of
1
was elucidated on ...the basis of extensive spectroscopic data, including 1D NMR (
1
H NMR,
13
C NMR), 2D NMR (HSQC, HMBC, and COSY) and HR-ESI-MS techniques. The cytotoxicities against five human cancer cell lines of compound
1
were also evaluated.
Direct mass measurements of
78Kr projectile fragments have been performed in the recently commissioned storage ring CSRe employing the isochronous mass spectrometry method. A new data-analysis ...technique has been developed to correct the drifts in the revolution frequencies caused by instabilities of the magnetic fields in the CSRe, thus yielding a mass resolving power of
R
=
m
/
Δ
m
≈
1.7
×
10
5
(sigma). Masses for
45V,
47Cr,
49Mn and
51Fe nuclei are determined with a relative mass precision of
δ
m
/
m
≈
2
×
10
−
7
(sigma) which is an improvement by a factor of
∼
2
compared to the literature values.
High-energy photons from the Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula contains a pulsar that excites the surrounding gas to emit high-energy radiation. The combination of the pulsar's youth and nearby location ...makes the nebula the brightest gamma-ray source in the sky. The LHAASO Collaboration report observations of this source at energies of tera– to peta–electron volts, extending the spectrum of this prototypical object. They combine these data with observations at lower energies to model the physics of the emission process. The multiwave-length data can be explained by a combination of synchrotron radiation and inverse Compton scattering.
Science
, abg5137, this issue p.
425
Detection of the Crab Nebula at peta–electron volt energies constrains the gamma-ray emission mechanism.
The Crab Nebula is a bright source of gamma rays powered by the Crab Pulsar’s rotational energy through the formation and termination of a relativistic electron-positron wind. We report the detection of gamma rays from this source with energies from 5 × 10
−4
to 1.1 peta–electron volts with a spectrum showing gradual steepening over three energy decades. The ultrahigh-energy photons imply the presence of a peta–electron volt electron accelerator (a pevatron) in the nebula, with an acceleration rate exceeding 15% of the theoretical limit. We constrain the pevatron’s size between 0.025 and 0.1 parsecs and the magnetic field to ≈110 microgauss. The production rate of peta–electron volt electrons, 2.5 × 10
36
ergs per second, constitutes 0.5% of the pulsar spin-down luminosity, although we cannot exclude a contribution of peta–electron volt protons to the production of the highest-energy gamma rays.
Summary
Background
Studies have showed that 10‐day sequential treatment regimen achieved higher Helicobacter pylori eradication rate than standard triple therapies.
Aim
To compare a 10‐day sequential ...therapy and standard triple therapy in Chinese children with H. pylori infection.
Methods
A prospective, multicentre, open‐label, randomised controlled trial was conducted in four tertiary medical centres in China. Children with H. pylori gastritis were randomly assigned to a 10‐day sequential therapy consisting of omeprazole and amoxicillin for 5 days followed by omeprazole, clarithromycin and metronidazole for the remaining 5 days, or 7‐day or 10‐day standard triple therapy comprising of omeprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin. H. pylori eradication was assessed by H. pylori stool antigen test.
Results
A total of 360 patients were included. The eradication rate achieved with the 10‐day sequential therapy was significantly higher than either the 7‐day or 10‐day standard triple treatment, either by the intention‐to‐treat analysis (81.4% vs. 61.9% or 67.7%, P < 0.05) or per‐protocol analysis (89.7% vs. 70.8% or 77.8%, P < 0.05).
Conclusions
The 10‐day sequential regimen was significantly more effective than standard 7‐day or 10‐day triple regimens in eradicating H. pylori infection in Chinese children.
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