Summary
Background
A meta‐analysis on the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes is warranted as the current data are conflicting.
Aim
To investigate the ...relative risk of HCC among the four major HBV genotypes (A–D).
Methods
A meta‐analysis was performed based on literature search from electronic databases and bibliography between 1950 and 2012. All s with keywords ‘hepatitis B’, ‘hepatocellular carcinoma’ and ‘genotype’ were screened. Studies were included if they reported HBV genotype as an exposure and HCC as an outcome.
Results
Nine hundred and eighty‐eight s were found through literature search, among them 43 studies were eligible for this meta‐analysis. A total of 14 545 patients with an average age of 43 years were included; 71% were male patients and 17% had cirrhosis. In 33 studies, HCC was found in 1541/6060 (25%) genotype C vs. 550/4417 (12%) genotype B HBV‐infected patients odds ratio (OR) = 2.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.52–2.76, P < 0.001. No difference in the risk of HCC was found among genotype A (71/517, 14%) vs. genotype D (170/1506, 11%) HBV‐infected patients in 14 studies (OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.67–1.32). In 10 studies, the risk of HCC was also found higher among genotype C (498/1659, 30%) than genotype A&D (103/1403, 7%) HBV‐infected patients (OR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.63–3.34, P < 0.001). Subgenotype Ce and Cs HBV‐infected patients had similar risk on HCC (OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 0.76–1.67, P = 0.54). On funnel plot analysis, there was no significant publication bias in all comparisons.
Conclusion
Genotype C hepatitis B virus is associated with a higher risk of hepatocellular carcinoma than other major hepatitis B virus genotypes.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in millions of patients infected worldwide and indirectly affecting even more individuals through disruption of daily living. Long-term ...adverse outcomes have been reported with similar diseases from other coronaviruses, namely Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Emerging evidence suggests that COVID-19 adversely affects different systems in the human body. This review summarizes the current evidence on the short-term adverse health outcomes and assesses the risk of potential long-term adverse outcomes of COVID-19. Major adverse outcomes were found to affect different body systems: immune system (including but not limited to Guillain-Barré syndrome and paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome), respiratory system (lung fibrosis and pulmonary thromboembolism), cardiovascular system (cardiomyopathy and coagulopathy), neurological system (sensory dysfunction and stroke), as well as cutaneous and gastrointestinal manifestations, impaired hepatic and renal function. Mental health in patients with COVID-19 was also found to be adversely affected. The burden of caring for COVID-19 survivors is likely to be huge. Therefore, it is important for policy makers to develop comprehensive strategies in providing resources and capacity in the healthcare system. Future epidemiological studies are needed to further investigate the long-term impact on COVID-19 survivors.
Abstract
We present experimental results of the trace argon impurity puffing in the ohmic plasmas of Aditya-U tokamak performed to study the argon transport behaviour. Argon line emissions in visible ...and Vacuum Ultra Violet (VUV) spectral ranges arising from the plasma edge and core respectively are measured simultaneously. During the experiments, space resolved brightness profile of Ar
1+
line emissions at 472.69 nm (3p
4
4s
2
P
3/2
–3p
4
4p
2
D
3/2
), 473.59 nm (3p
4
4s
4
P
5/2
–3p
4
4p
4
P
3/2
), 476.49 nm (3p
4
4s
2
P
1/2
–3p
4
4p
2
P
3/2
), 480.60 nm (3p
4
4s
4
P
5/2
–3p
4
4p
4
P
5/2
) are recorded using a high resolution visible spectrometer. Also, a VUV spectrometer has been used to simultaneously observe Ar
13+
line emission at 18.79 nm (2s
2
2p
2
P
3/2
–2s2p
2
2
P
3/2
) and Ar
14+
line emission at 22.11 nm (2s
2
1
S
0
–2s2p
1
P
1
). The diffusivity and convective velocity of Ar are obtained by comparing the measured radial emissivity profile of Ar
1+
emission and the line intensity ratio of Ar
13+
and Ar
14+
ions, with those simulated using the impurity transport code, STRAHL. Argon diffusivities ~ 12 m
2
/s and ~ 0.3 m
2
/s have been observed in the edge (ρ > 0.85) and core region of the Aditya-U, respectively. The diffusivity values both in the edge and core region are found to be higher than the neo-classical values suggesting that the argon impurity transport is mainly anomalous in the Aditya-U tokamak. Also, an inward pinch of ~ 10 m/s mainly driven by Ware pinch is required to match the measured and simulated data. The measured peaked profile of Ar density suggests impurity accumulation in these discharges.
Background Current practice of adding concurrent–adjuvant chemotherapy to radiotherapy (CRT) for treating advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma is based on the Intergroup-0099 Study published in 1998. ...However, the outcome for the radiotherapy-alone (RT) group in that trial was substantially poorer than those in other trials, and there were no data on late toxicities. Verification of the long-term therapeutic index of this regimen is needed. Methods Patients with nonkeratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma staged T1-4N2-3M0 were randomly assigned to RT (176 patients) or to CRT (172 patients) using cisplatin (100 mg/m2) every 3 weeks for three cycles in concurrence with radiotherapy, followed by cisplatin (80 mg/m2) plus fluorouracil (1000 mg per m2 per day for 4 days) every 4 weeks for three cycles. Primary endpoints included overall failure-free rate (FFR) (the time to first failure at any site) and progression-free survival. Secondary endpoints included overall survival, locoregional FFR, distant FFR, and acute and late toxicity rates. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results The two treatment groups were well balanced in all patient characteristics, tumor factors, and radiotherapy parameters. Adding chemotherapy statistically significantly improved the 5-year FFR (CRT vs RT: 67% vs 55%; P = .014) and 5-year progression-free survival (CRT vs RT: 62% vs 53%; P = .035). Cumulative incidence of acute toxicity increased with chemotherapy by 30% (CRT vs RT: 83% vs 53%; P < .001), but the 5-year late toxicity rate did not increase statistically significantly (CRT vs RT: 30% vs 24%; P = .30). Deaths because of disease progression were reduced statistically significantly by 14% (CRT vs RT: 38% vs 24%; P = .008), but 5-year overall survival was similar (CRT vs RT: 68% vs 64%; P = .22; hazard ratio of CRT = 0.81, 95% confidence interval = 0.58 to 1.13) because deaths due to toxicity or incidental causes increased by 7% (CRT vs RT: 1.7% vs 0, and 8.1% vs 3.4%, respectively; P = .015). Conclusions Adding concurrent–adjuvant chemotherapy statistically significantly reduced failure and cancer-specific deaths when compared with radiotherapy alone. Although there was no statistically significant increase in major late toxicity, increase in noncancer deaths narrowed the resultant gain in overall survival.
Hidden photons and axion-like particles are candidates for cold dark matter if they were produced non-thermally in the early universe. We conducted a search for both of these bosons using 800 ...live-days of data from the XMASS detector with 327 kg of liquid xenon in the fiducial volume. No significant signal was observed, and thus we set constraints on the α′/α parameter related to kinetic mixing of hidden photons and the coupling constant gAe of axion-like particles in the mass range from 40 to 120 keV/c2, resulting in α′/α<6×10−26 and gAe<4×10−13. These limits are the most stringent over this mass range derived from both direct and indirect searches to date.
Understanding the spatial spreading patterns of plant-available sulphur (S) (AS) and plant-available micronutrients (available zinc (AZn), available iron (AFe), available copper (ACu), available ...manganese (AMn) and available boron (AB)) in soils, especially in coastal agricultural soils subjected to various natural and anthropogenic activities, is vital for sustainable crop production by adopting site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) strategies. We studied the spatial distribution patterns of AS, AZn, AFe, ACu, AMn, and AB in cultivated soils of coastal districts of India using geostatistical approaches. Altogether 39,097 soil samples from surface (0 to 15 cm depth) layers were gathered from farm lands of 68 coastal districts. The analysis of soil samples was carried out for soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), soil organic carbon (SOC) and AS, AZn, AFe, ACu, AMn, and AB. Soil pH, EC and SOC varied from 3.70 to 9.90, 0.01 to 7.45 dS m.sup.-1 and 0.02 to 3.74%, respectively. The concentrations of AS, AZn, AFe, ACu, AMn, and AB varied widely in the study area with their corresponding mean values were 37.4±29.4, 1.50±1.53, 27.9±35.1, 2.14±1.74, 16.9±18.4 and 1.34±1.52 mg kg.sup.-1, respectively. The coefficient of variation values of analyzed soil parameters varied from 14.6 to 126%. The concentrations of AS, AZn, AFe, ACu, AMn, and AB were negatively and significantly correlated with soil pH and positively and significantly correlated with SOC. The geostatistical analysis indicated stable, Gaussian and exponential best-fit semivariogram models with moderate to strong spatial dependence for available nutrients. The generated spatial spreading maps revealed different distribution patterns for AS, AZn, AFe, ACu, AMn, and AB. There were variations in spatial spreading patterns of AS, AZn, AFe, ACu, AMn, and AB in east- and west-coastal area. About 62, 35, 12, 0.4, 23 and 45% of the study area had deficiency of AS, AZn, AFe, ACu, AMn, and AB, respectively. The spatial spreading maps will be highly useful for SSNM in the cultivated coastal soils of the country. This study could also be used as a base for assessing spatial spreading patterns of soil parameters in cultivated coastal areas of other parts of the world.
The efficacy of programmed death-1 blockade in epidermal growth factor receptor gene (EGFR) mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with different mechanisms of acquired ...resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is unknown. We retrospectively evaluated nivolumab efficacy and immune-related factors in such patients according to their status for the T790M resistance mutation of EGFR.
We identified 25 patients with EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC who were treated with nivolumab after disease progression during EGFR-TKI treatment (cohort A). Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) density in tumor specimens obtained after acquisition of EGFR-TKI resistance were determined by immunohistochemistry. Whole-exome sequencing of tumor DNA was carried out to identify gene alterations. The relation of T790M status to PD-L1 expression or TIL density was also examined in an independent cohort of 60 patients (cohort B).
In cohort A, median progression-free survival (PFS) was 2.1 and 1.3months for T790M-negative and T790M-positive patients, respectively (P=0.099; hazard ratio of 0.48 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.20–1.24). Median PFS was 2.1 and 1.3months for patients with a PD-L1 expression level of≥1% or<1%, respectively (P=0.084; hazard ratio of 0.37, 95% confidence interval of 0.10–1.21). PFS tended to increase as the PD-L1 expression level increased with cutoff values of≥10% and≥50%. The proportion of tumors with a PD-L1 level of≥10% or≥50% was higher among T790M-negative patients than among T790M-positive patients of both cohorts A and B. Nivolumab responders had a significantly higher CD8+ TIL density and nonsynonymous mutation burden.
T790M-negative patients with EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC are more likely to benefit from nivolumab after EGFR-TKI treatment, possibly as a result of a higher PD-L1 expression level, than are T790M-positive patients.
KEY MESSAGE : A set of NILs carrying major blast resistance genes in a Basmati rice variety has been developed. Also, the efficacy of pyramids over monogenic NILs against rice blast pathogen ...Magnaporthe oryzae has been demonstrated. Productivity and quality of Basmati rice is severely affected by rice blast disease. Major genes and QTLs conferring resistance to blast have been reported only in non-Basmati rice germplasm. Here, we report incorporation of seven blast resistance genes from the donor lines DHMASQ164-2a (Pi54, Pi1, Pita), IRBLz5-CA (Pi2), IRBLb-B (Pib), IRBL5-M (Pi5) and IRBL9-W (Pi9) into the genetic background of an elite Basmati rice variety Pusa Basmati 1 (PB1). A total of 36 near-isogenic lines (NILs) comprising of 14 monogenic, 16 two-gene pyramids and six three-gene pyramids were developed through marker-assisted backcross breeding (MABB). Foreground, recombinant and background selection was used to identify the plants with target gene(s), minimize the linkage drag and increase the recurrent parent genome (RPG) recovery (93.5–98.6 %), respectively, in the NILs. Comparative analysis performed using 50,051 SNPs and 500 SSR markers revealed that the SNPs provided better insight into the RPG recovery. Most of the monogenic NILs showed comparable performance in yield and quality, concomitantly, Pusa1637-18-7-6-20 (Pi9), was significantly superior in yield and stable across four different environments as compared to recurrent parent (RP) PB1. Further, among the pyramids, Pusa1930-12-6 (Pi2+Pi5) showed significantly higher yield and Pusa1633-7-8-53-6-8 (Pi54+Pi1+Pita) was superior in cooking quality as compared to RP PB1. The NILs carrying gene Pi9 were found to be the most effective against the concoction of virulent races predominant in the hotspot locations for blast disease. Conversely, when analyzed under artificial inoculation, three-gene pyramids expressed enhanced resistance as compared to the two-gene and monogenic NILs.
Molecular surface science has made enormous progress in the past 30 years. The development can be characterized by a revolution in fundamental knowledge obtained from simple model systems and by an ...explosion in the number of experimental techniques. The last 10 years has seen an equally rapid development of quantum mechanical modeling of surface processes using Density Functional Theory (DFT). Chemical Bonding at Surfaces and Interfaces focuses on phenomena and concepts rather than on experimental or theoretical techniques. The aim is to provide the common basis for describing the interaction of atoms and molecules with surfaces and this to be used very broadly in science and technology. The book begins with an overview of structural information on surface adsorbates and discusses the structure of a number of important chemisorption systems. Chapter 2 describes in detail the chemical bond between atoms or molecules and a metal surface in the observed surface structures. A detailed description of experimental information on the dynamics of bond-formation and bond-breaking at surfaces make up Chapter 3. Followed by an in-depth analysis of aspects of heterogeneous catalysis based on the d-band model. In Chapter 5 adsorption and chemistry on the enormously important Si and Ge semiconductor surfaces are covered. In the remaining two Chapters the book moves on from solid-gas interfaces and looks at solid-liquid interface processes. In the final chapter an overview is given of the environmentally important chemical processes occurring on mineral and oxide surfaces in contact with water and electrolytes. * Gives examples of how modern theoretical DFT techniques can be used to design heterogeneous catalysts * This book suits the rapid introduction of methods and concepts from surface science into a broad range of scientific disciplines where the interaction between a solid and the surrounding gas or liquid phase is an essential component * Shows how insight into chemical bonding at surfaces can be applied to a range of scientific problems in heterogeneous catalysis, electrochemistry, environmental science and semiconductor processing * Provides both the fundamental perspective and an overview of chemical bonding in terms of structure, electronic structure and dynamics of bond rearrangements at surfaces
PDF
