OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to estimate probabilities of achieving the statistical cure from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with hepatic resection (HR) and liver transplantation (LT).
...BACKGROUND:Statistical cure occurs when the mortality of a specific population returns to values of that of general population. Resection and transplantation are considered potentially curative therapies for HCC, but their effect on the residual entire life-expectancy has never been investigated.
METHODS:Data from 3286 HCC patients treated with LT (n = 1218) or HR (n = 2068) were used to estimate statistical cure. Disease-free survival (DFS) was the primary survival measure to estimate cure fractions through a nonmixture model. Overall survival (OS) was a secondary measure. In both, patients were matched with general population by age, sex, year, and race/ethnicity. Cure variations after LT were also adjusted for different waiting-list drop-outs.
RESULTS:Considering DFS, the cure fraction after LT was 74.1% and after HR was 24.1% (effect size >0.8). LT outperformed HR within all transplant criteria considered (effect size >0.8), especially for multiple tumors (>0.9) and even in presence of a drop-out up to 20% (>0.5). Considering OS, the cure fraction after LT marginally increased to 75.8%, and after that HR increased to 40.5%. The effect size of LT over HR in terms of cure decreased for oligonodular tumors (<0.5), became small for drop-out up to ∼20% (<0.2), and negligible for single tumors <5 cm (∼0.1).
CONCLUSION:As other malignancies, statistical cure can occur for HCC, primarily with LT and secondarily with HR, depending on waiting-list capabilities and efficacy of tumor recurrence therapies after resection.
Indium antimonide nanowires (InSb NWs) are attractive building-block candidates for bottom-up construction of high-efficiency electronics and optoelectronics due to their narrow direct band gap, fast ...room temperature carrier mobilities and small exciton binding energy. However, InSb NWs synthesized by the vapor-liquid-solution (VLS) mechanism generally suffer from an increased carrier and phonon scattering rate, which is thought to be caused by randomly distributed crystal defects along the NW growth direction. In this study, by utilizing the recently developed low-temperature, solution-processed technique, these crystal defects were successfully suppressed by periodically distributed twin planes to form twinned InSb nanowires. Importantly, measurements of the electrical transport properties of field effect transistors (FETs) reveal that the InSb NWs exhibit a hole-dominated conductivity with room temperature mobilities of up to 50.71 cm
2
V
−1
s
−1
, which is distinctly contrary to the intrinsic n-type InSb NWs. This observation of n-p switching behavior is probably attributed to the surface band bending effect with regard to the Fermi energy level, which is caused by surface oxide trap states arising from the native-oxide layer at the surface of the InSb NWs. All these results illustrate that the as-prepared colloidal InSb NWs can potentially be used as p-type materials for integration with next-generation nanoscale electronics and optoelectronics
via
surface engineering.
The single NWFET devices were firstly fabricated from solution-grown twinned InSb NWs and exhibited n-p switching behavior.
In the coherent signal environments caused by multipath propagation, the interference suppression performance of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) receivers decreases sharply. In this ...paper, a robust space-time adaptive processing (STAP) method for GNSS receivers is proposed to suppress interferences in coherent signal environments, by using the modified space-time two-dimensional iterative adaptive approach (ST2D-IAA) spectrum estimation. This method applies the IAA algorithm to the ST2D signal model of GNSS receivers, and further modifies the ST2D-IAA algorithm to accurately estimate the power spectrum and noise power simultaneously. The space-time interference-plus-noise covariance matrix (STINCM) is reconstructed by using the estimated power spectrum and noise power in the interference angle region. Based on the reconstructed STINCM, we construct the STAP beamforming optimization problem for the space-time steering vector (STSV) error vector, and further correct the STSV of GNSS signal. Finally, the weight vector of STAP beamforming is calculated by using the reconstructed STINCM and the corrected STSV of GNSS signal. Simulation results show that the proposed method can suppress interferences in coherent signal environments and outperforms the current methods.
Abstract The aim of this work was to develop a new type of d -alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate mono-ester (TPGS) coated multi-functional (theranostic) liposomes, which contain both ...docetaxel and quantum dots (QDs) for cancer imaging and therapy. Non-targeting and folate receptor targeting TPGS coated theranostic liposomes were prepared by the solvent injection method and characterized for their particle size, polydispersity, zeta potential, surface chemistry and drug encapsulation efficiency. MCF-7 breast cancer cells of folate receptor overexpression were employed as an in vitro model to assess cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of the drug and QDs loaded liposomes. The mean particle size of the non-targeting and the targeting liposomes was found to be 202 and 210 nm, respectively. High resolution field emission transmission electron microscopy (FETEM) confirmed the presence of quantum dots in the peripheral hydrophobic membranes of the liposomes. The qualitative internalization of multi-functional liposomes by MCF-7 cells was visualized by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The IC50 value, which is the drug concentration needed to kill 50% cells in a designated time period, was found to be 9.54 ± 0.76, 1.56 ± 0.19 and 0.23 ± 0.05 μg/ml for the commercial Taxotere® , non-targeting and targeting liposomes, respectively after 24 h culture with MCF-7 cells. The targeting multi-functional liposomes showed greater efficacy than the non-targeting liposomes and thus great potential to improve the cancer imaging and therapy.
Abstract
The energy crisis of the 1970s sparked growing concern over minimizing fuel consumption in water, land, and air transportation. Researchers fascinated by sharks' effortless swimming ...abilities investigated shark skin denticles and uncovered functions beyond drag reduction, such as antifouling, protection, and bioluminescence. Over the past five decades, significant progress has been made in comprehending drag reduction and antifouling functions of denticle structures; however, the investigation of other functions remains limited. Recent discoveries of diverse denticle morphologies have ignited a keen interest in obtaining morphogroups that can aid other functional studies. This work integrates advances in antifouling, hydrodynamics, aerodynamics, bioluminescence, and protective functions to provide a holistic understanding of their diverse roles. Additionally, this work also dictates multi‐functional adaptations of denticles and contributes to the relatively less‐explored but essential aspects, such as protective functions and denticle morphogroups. By examining these functions together, this work aims to uncover potential synergies and interactions, facilitating the development of multifunctional materials inspired by shark skin denticles.
Cooperatively breeding animals occur in virtually every ecosystem on earth. Comparative and biogeographic studies suggest that both benign and harsh—as well as stable and fluctuating—environments can ...favor the evolution of cooperative breeding behavior. The fact that cooperative societies occur in environments of such contrasting quality creates a paradox of environmental quality and sociality. The dual benefits framework—which leads to the prediction that the ecological consequences of sociality (e.g., range size) vary depending on the benefits that individuals of each species receive by forming social groups—offers a potential resolution to this paradox. Here we use a case study of two avian lineages, starlings (Sturnidae) and hornbills (Bucerotidae), in which environmental unpredictability appears to have opposite effects on the evolution of cooperation to test the dual benefits framework. Consistent with previous work, harsh and unpredictable environments promote cooperative breeding behavior in starlings, which in turn leads to larger geographic ranges. However, cooperatively breeding hornbills occur in benign and stable environments, but sociality does not influence range size. Our study suggests that the paradox of environmental quality and sociality arises largely because cooperative breeding is an umbrella term encompassing social species that form groups for different reasons. We demonstrate that differentiating among the functional causes of social group formation is critical for developing a predictive framework for understanding the evolution of cooperative breeding behavior.
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to play pivotal roles in a variety of cancers. However, lncRNAs involved in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) initiation and progression remain largely ...unclear. In this study, we identified an lncRNA gradually increased during hepatocarcinogenesis (lncRNA-GIHCG) using publicly available microarray data. Our results further revealed that GIHCG is upregulated in HCC tissues in comparison with adjacent non-tumor tissues. High GIHCG expression is correlated with large tumor size, microvascular invasion, advanced BCLC stage, and poor survival of HCC patients. Functional experiments showed that GIHCG promotes HCC cells proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro, and promotes xenografts growth and metastasis in vivo. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that GIHCG physically associates with EZH2 and the promoter of
miR-200b/a/429
, recruits EZH2 and DNMT1 to the
miR-200b/a/429
promoter regions, upregulates histone H3K27 trimethylation and DNA methylation levels on the
miR-200b/a/429
promoter, and dramatically silences miR-200b/a/429 expression. Furthermore, the biological functions of GIHCG on HCC are dependent on the silencing of miR-200b/a/429. Collectively, our results demonstrated the roles and functional mechanisms of GIHCG in HCC, and indicated GIHCG may act as a prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for HCC.
Key Message
lncRNA-GIHCG is upregulated in HCC and associated with poor survival of patients.
GIHCG significantly promotes tumor growth and metastasis of HCC.
GIHCG physically associates with EZH2.
GIHCG upregulates H3K27me3 and DNA methylation levels on the
miR-200b/a/429
promoter.
GIHCG epigenetically silences miR-200b/a/429 expression.
This study aimed to establish an effective prognostic nomogram for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) after partial hepatectomy.
The nomogram was based on a retrospectively study on 367 patients ...who underwent partial hepatectomy for ICC at the Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital from 2002 to 2007. The predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomogram were determined by concordance index (C-index) and calibration curve and compared with five currently used staging systems on ICC. The results were validated using bootstrap resampling and a prospective study on 82 patients operated on from 2007 to 2008 at the same institution.
On multivariate analysis of the primary cohort, independent factors for survival were serum carcinoembryonic antigen, CA 19-9, tumor diameter and number, vascular invasion, lymph node metastasis, direct invasion, and local extrahepatic metastasis, which were all selected into the nomogram. The calibration curve for probability of survival showed good agreement between prediction by nomogram and actual observation. The C-index of the nomogram for predicting survival was 0.74 (95% CI, 0.71 to 0.77), which was statistically higher than the C-index values of the following systems: American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) seventh edition (0.65), AJCC sixth edition (0.65), Nathan (0.64), Liver Cancer Study Group of Japan (0.64), and Okabayashi (0.67; P < .001 for all). It was also higher (0.74) in predicting survival for the mass-forming type of ICC (P < .001). In the validation cohort, the nomogram discrimination was superior to the five other staging systems (C-index: 0.75 v 0.60 to 0.63; P < .001 for all).
The proposed nomogram resulted in more-accurate prognostic prediction for patients with ICC after partial hepatectomy.
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are original cancer cells that are of characteristics associated with normal stem cells. CSCs are toughest against various treatments and thus responsible for cancer ...metastasis and recurrence. Therefore, development of specific and effective treatment of CSCs plays a key role in improving survival and life quality of cancer patients, especially those in the metastatic stage. Nanomedicine strategies, which include prodrugs, micelles, liposomes and nanoparticles of biodegradable polymers, could substantially improve the therapeutic index of conventional therapeutics due to its manner of sustained, controlled and targeted delivery of high transportation efficiency across the cell membrane and low elimination by intracellular autophagy, and thus provide a practical solution to solve the problem encountered in CSCs treatment. This review gives briefly the latest information to summarize the concept, strategies, mechanisms and current status as well as future promises of nanomedicine strategies for treatment of CSCs.
In the blood sample management pipeline environment, we have innovatively improved the traditional A-star algorithm to enhance the efficiency of mobile robots. This study employs a grid environmental ...modeling approach to accurately simulate medical testing laboratories. On the grid map, we utilize an 8-neighbor search method for path planning to accommodate the complex structure within the laboratory. By introducing an improved evaluation function and a bidirectional search strategy, we have successfully reduced the number of search nodes and significantly improved path search efficiency. Additionally, we eliminate redundant nodes in the path, smooth the path using cubic uniform B-spline curves, remove unnecessary inflection points, and further optimize the motion trajectory of the robot. The experimental results of the path planning simulation under different scenarios and specifications show that the improved A-star algorithm has higher search efficiency and traverses fewer nodes compared to the traditional A-star algorithm and the bidirectional A-star algorithm. Overall, the simulation experiments verify the feasibility of the improved A-star algorithm, which can better meet the needs of actual mobile robots in real medical testing laboratories.
