We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study to investigate the influence of hospital volume, delay of surgery, and both together on the long-term survival of postoperative cancer ...patients.
Using information from the Korea Central Cancer Registry from 2001 through 2005 and the National Health Insurance claim database, we determined survival for 147 682 patients who underwent definitive surgery for any of six cancers.
Regardless of cancer site, surgical patients in low- to medium-volume hospitals showed significantly worse survival adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.36–1.86 than those in high-volume hospitals in multivariable analyses. Among the latter, treatment delays > 1 month were not associated with worse survival for stomach, colon, pancreatic, or lung cancer but were for rectal aHR = 1.28; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.17–1.40 and breast (aHR = 1.59; 95% CI, 1.37–1.84) cancer. For patients in low- to medium-volume hospitals, treatment delay was associated with worse survival for all types of cancer (aHR = 1.78–3.81).
Our findings suggest that the effect of hospital volume and surgical treatment delay on overall survival of cancer patients should be considered in formulating or revising national health policy.
ABSTRACT
Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Salmonella serotypes isolated from 7 chicken meat brands produced by different integrated broiler operations in Korea were determined. In ...total, 210 samples were collected from retail supermarkets in Seoul, South Korea, and analyzed for the presence of Salmonella. Of 210 chicken meat samples, overall Salmonella prevalence was 22.4%. Salmonella Enteritidis was the dominant serovar, with an isolation rate of 57.4% from the Salmonella-positive chickens, followed by Salmonella Montevideo. Salmonella isolates frequently were resistant to various antibiotics, including 100% to erythromycin, 87% to cephalothin, 85% to nalidixic acid, and 70% to streptomycin. Of the 47 isolates, 41 (87.2%) isolates were resistant to 3 or more antibiotics. Moreover, the Salmonella profiles of each chicken meat brand were different by broiler operation. Brand A showed the highest prevalence of Salmonella (18 isolates, 60%), whereas brand G showed the lowest prevalence (one isolate, 3.3%). Eight among the 18 isolates of brand A were resistant to 11 antibiotics, whereas 5 of the 6 brand C isolates were resistant to only 2 antibiotics. This study demonstrates that a high proportion of chicken meat in Korea is contaminated with Salmonella and the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance patterns of Salmonella of chicken meat differ significantly according to the integrated broiler operation.
Mammalian sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) has connected to an ever widening circle of activities that encompass cellular stress resistance, energy metabolism and tumorigenesis. However, underlying mechanisms ...leading to oncogenic SIRT1 overexpression are less understood. In this study, we identified SIRT1 regulatory microRNA (miRNA) and its function in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Aberrant SIRT1 overexpression was demonstrated in a subset of human HCCs. SIRT1 knockdown suppressed HCC cell growth by transcriptional deregulation of cell cycle proteins. This led to hypophosphorylation of pRb, which inactivated E2F/DP1 target gene transcription, and thereby caused significant increase of HCC cells to remain in the G1/S phase. A comprehensive miRNA profiling analysis indentified five putative endogenous miRNAs that are significantly downregulated in HCC. Ectopic expression of miRNA mimics evidenced miR-29c to suppress SIRT1 in HCC cells. Notably, ectopic miR-29c expression repressed cancer cell growth and proliferation, and it recapitulated SIRT1 knockdown effects in HCC cells. In addition, miR-29c expression was downregulated in a large cohort of HCC patients, and low expression of miR-29c was significantly associated with poor prognosis of HCC patients. Taken together, we demonstrated that miR-29c suppresses oncogenic SIRT1 by way of binding to 3'-untranslated region of SIRT1 mRNA causing translational inhibition in liver cancer cells. The loss or suppression of miR-29c may cause aberrant SIRT1 overexpression and promotes liver tumorigenesis. Overall, we suggest that miR-29c functions as a tumor suppressor by regulating abnormal SIRT1 activity in liver.
L-ascorbate (L-ascorbic acid, vitamin C) clearly has an inhibitory effect on cancer cells. However, the mechanism underlying differential sensitivity of cancer cells from same tissue to L-ascorbate ...is yet to be clarified. Here, we demonstrate that L-ascorbate has a selective killing effect, which is influenced by sodium-dependent vitamin C transporter 2 (SVCT-2) in human breast cancer cells. Treatment of human breast cancer cells with L-ascorbate differentially induced cell death, dependent on the SVCT-2 protein level. Moreover, knockdown of endogenous SVCT-2 via RNA interference in breast cancer cells expressing high levels of the protein induced resistance to L-ascorbate treatment, whereas transfection with SVCT-2 expression plasmids led to enhanced L-ascorbate chemosensitivity. Surprisingly, tumor regression by L-ascorbate administration in mice bearing tumor cell xenograft also corresponded to the SVCT-2 protein level. Interestingly, SVCT-2 expression was absent or weak in normal tissues, but strongly detected in tumor samples obtained from breast cancer patients. In addition, enhanced chemosensitivity to L-ascorbate occurred as a result of caspase-independent autophagy, which was mediated by beclin-1 and LC3 II. In addition, treatment with N-acetyl-L-cysteine, a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger, suppressed the induction of beclin-1 and LC3 II, implying that the differential SVCT-2 protein-dependent L-ascorbate uptake was attributable to intracellular ROS induced by L-ascorbate, subsequently leading to autophagy. These results suggest that functional SVCT-2 sensitizes breast cancer cells to autophagic damage by increasing the L-ascorbate concentration and intracellular ROS production and furthermore, SVCT-2 in breast cancer may act as an indicator for commencing L-ascorbate treatment.
Discovery of two dimensional (2D) magnets, showing intrinsic ferromagnetic (FM) or antiferromagnetic (AFM) orders, has accelerated development of novel 2D spintronics, in which all the key components ...are made of van der Waals (vdW) materials and their heterostructures. High-performing and energy-efficient spin functionalities have been proposed, often relying on current-driven manipulation and detection of the spin states. In this regard, metallic vdW magnets are expected to have several advantages over the widely-studied insulating counterparts, but have not been much explored due to the lack of suitable materials. Here, we report tunable itinerant ferro- and antiferromagnetism in Co-doped Fe
GeTe
utilizing the vdW interlayer coupling, extremely sensitive to the material composition. This leads to high T
antiferromagnetism of T
~ 226 K in a bulk and ~210 K in 8 nm-thick nanoflakes, together with tunable magnetic anisotropy. The resulting spin configurations and orientations are sensitively controlled by doping, magnetic field, and thickness, which are effectively read out by electrical conduction. These findings manifest strong merits of metallic vdW magnets as an active component of vdW spintronic applications.
Summary
The wide geographic spread of Eurasian Goose/Guangdong lineage highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) clade 2.3.4.4 viruses by wild birds is of great concern. In December 2014, an H5N8 HPAI ...clade 2.3.4.4 Group A (2.3.4.4A) virus was introduced to North America. Long‐distance migratory wild aquatic birds between East Asia and North America, such as Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), were strongly suspected of being a source of intercontinental transmission. In this study, we evaluated the pathogenicity, infectivity and transmissibility of an H5N8 HPAI clade 2.3.4.4A virus in Northern Pintails and compared the results to that of an H5N1 HPAI clade 2.3.2.1 virus. All of Northern Pintails infected with either H5N1 or H5N8 virus lacked clinical signs and mortality, but the H5N8 clade 2.3.4.4 virus was more efficient at replicating within and transmitting between Northern Pintails than the H5N1 clade 2.3.2.1 virus. The H5N8‐infected birds shed high titre of viruses from oropharynx and cloaca, which in the field supported virus transmission and spread. This study highlights the role of wild waterfowl in the intercontinental spread of some HPAI viruses. Migratory aquatic birds should be carefully monitored for the early detection of H5 clade 2.3.4.4 and other HPAI viruses.
Abstract
Efforts have been ongoing to establish superconducting spintronics utilizing ferromagnet/superconductor heterostructures. Previously reported devices are based on spin-singlet ...superconductors (SSCs), where the spin degree of freedom is lost. Spin-polarized supercurrent induction in ferromagnetic metals (FMs) is achieved even with SSCs, but only with the aid of interfacial complex magnetic structures, which severely affect information imprinted to the electron spin. Use of spin-triplet superconductors (TSCs) with spin-polarizable Cooper pairs potentially overcomes this difficulty and further leads to novel functionalities. Here, we report spin-triplet superconductivity induction into a FM SrRuO
3
from a leading TSC candidate Sr
2
RuO
4
, by fabricating microscopic devices using an epitaxial SrRuO
3
/Sr
2
RuO
4
hybrid. The differential conductance, exhibiting Andreev-reflection features with multiple energy scales up to around half tesla, indicates the penetration of superconductivity over a considerable distance of 15 nm across the SrRuO
3
layer without help of interfacial complex magnetism. This demonstrates potential utility of FM/TSC devices for superspintronics.
Summary
The pathogenicity and transmissibility of a reassortant clade 2.3.4.4 avian influenza A (H5N6) virus were evaluated in ferrets. Virus excretion was detected in the upper respiratory tract, ...but the ferrets did not show any clinical signs of infection. Transmission did not occur between cohoused or respiratory droplet‐contact ferrets.
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