Background
The Child–Pugh (CP) score is used widely to assess liver function and predict postoperative outcomes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recently, the albumin–bilirubin (ALBI) ...score has been validated as a predictor of overall survival in these patients. This study aimed to compare the ability of the ALBI and CP scores to predict outcomes in patients with HCC after liver resection with curative intent.
Methods
Consecutive patients who underwent liver resection with curative intent for HCC between January 2007 and July 2013 were included in this retrospective study. The performance of the ALBI score in predicting postoperative liver failure (PHLF) and long‐term survival was compared with that of the CP score.
Results
A total of 1242 patients were enrolled. Of these, 166 (13·4 per cent) experienced PHLF. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the ALBI score for predicting PHLF was greater than that of the CP score (0·723 versus 0·607; P < 0·001). Similar to findings for CP grade, the incidence and severity of PHLF increased with increasing ALBI grade. The ALBI grade stratified patients into at least two distinct overall survival cohorts (P < 0·001), whereas the CP grade did not. The ALBI grade also classified patients with CP grade A disease into two distinct overall survival cohorts (P < 0·001), and overall survival rates in the group with poorer survival were similar to those in the majority of patients with CP grade B disease. Both CP and ALBI scores had low power in predicting disease‐free survival.
Conclusion
The ALBI grade predicted PHLF and overall survival in patients with HCC undergoing liver resection with curative intent more accurately than the CP grade.
ALBI score may be better
High-β_{θe} (a ratio of the electron thermal pressure to the poloidal magnetic pressure) steady-state long-pulse plasmas with steep central electron temperature gradient are achieved in the ...Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak. An intrinsic current is observed to be modulated by turbulence driven by the electron temperature gradient. This turbulent current is generated in the countercurrent direction and can reach a maximum ratio of 25% of the bootstrap current. Gyrokinetic simulations and experimental observations indicate that the turbulence is the electron temperature gradient mode (ETG). The dominant mechanism for the turbulent current generation is due to the divergence of ETG-driven residual flux of current. Good agreement has been found between experiments and theory for the critical value of the electron temperature gradient triggering ETG and for the level of the turbulent current. The maximum values of turbulent current and electron temperature gradient lead to the destabilization of an m/n=1/1 kink mode, which by counteraction reduces the turbulence level (m and n are the poloidal and toroidal mode number, respectively). These observations suggest that the self-regulation system including turbulence, turbulent current, and kink mode is a contributing mechanism for sustaining the steady-state long-pulse high-β_{θe} regime.
Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are important chaperones, which are involved in various signal pathways and regulate lots of physiological processes. Early research suggested that some Hsps are involved ...in insect development. However, few studies have been carried out to explore the roles of Hsps, especially in larval−pupal metamorphosis. In the present study, 49 Hsp unigenes were identified in the Spodoptera litura transcriptome and their mRNA expression profiles during midgut metamorphosis were examined using a tag‐based digital gene expression system. The genes with the most different levels of expression were then cloned and their expression patterns in midguts from sixth instar larvae to pupae were analysed using real time quantitative PCR. The responses of these genes to juvenile hormone (JH) and 20‐hydroxyecdysone (20E) were also studied. The results showed that the mRNA levels of 22 Hsp unigenes changed significantly during midgut metamorphosis. Amongst these 22 unigenes, hsp70, hsp20.4 and hsp20.8 were the most up‐regulated members, and hsp15.9, hsp19.3 and hsp22.0 were the most down‐regulated ones. Further studies showed that hsp70, hsp20.4 and hsp20.8 were remarkably up‐regulated by JH. In addition, 20E slightly increased the mRNA levels of both hsp20.4 and hsp20.8. However, hsp15.9, hsp19.3 and hsp22.0 did not respond to either JH or 20E. These results indicate that Hsp70 and small Hsps (sHsps) are probably the major players in midgut metamorphosis in S. litura. The current findings provide valuable insights into the roles of the Hsp superfamily in insect metamorphosis.
Periodontitis is a common infectious disease. Recent studies have indicated that the progression of periodontitis may be regulated by interactions between host immunity and periodontopathic bacteria. ...Although periodontopathic bacteria can destroy periodontal tissue, a dysfunctional host immune response triggered by the bacteria can lead to more severe and persistent destruction. Toll‐like receptors (TLRs), a type of pattern recognition receptor (PRR) that recognizes pathogens, have been implicated in host innate immune responses to periodontopathic bacteria and in the activation of adaptive immunity. TLR‐targeted drugs may hold promise to treat periodontal disease. This review summarizes recent studies on the role of TLRs in periodontitis and discusses areas needing further research. We believe TLRs may be an effective biomarker for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of periodontitis in the near future.
Divertor detachment offers a promising solution to the challenge of plasma-wall interactions for steady-state operation of fusion reactors. Here, we demonstrate the excellent compatibility of ...actively controlled full divertor detachment with a high-performance (β
~ 3, H
~ 1.5) core plasma, using high-β
(poloidal beta, β
> 2) scenario characterized by a sustained core internal transport barrier (ITB) and a modest edge transport barrier (ETB) in DIII-D tokamak. The high-β
high-confinement scenario facilitates divertor detachment which, in turn, promotes the development of an even stronger ITB at large radius with a weaker ETB. This self-organized synergy between ITB and ETB, leads to a net gain in energy confinement, in contrast to the net confinement loss caused by divertor detachment in standard H-modes. These results show the potential of integrating excellent core plasma performance with an efficient divertor solution, an essential step towards steady-state operation of reactor-grade plasmas.
Parasitic wasps rely on olfaction to locate their hosts in complex chemical environments. Odorant receptors (ORs) function together with well‐conserved odorant coreceptors (ORcos) to determine the ...sensitivity and specificity of olfactory reception. Campoletis chlorideae (Hymenoptera: Ichneunmonidae) is a solitary larval endoparasitoid of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, and some other noctuid species. To understand the molecular basis of C. chlorideae’s olfactory reception, we sequenced the transcriptome of adult male and female heads (including antennae) and identified 211 OR transcripts, with 95 being putatively full length. The tissue expression profiles, as assessed by reverse‐transcription PCR, showed that seven ORs were expressed only or more highly in female antennae. Their functions were analysed using the Xenopu slaevis oocyte expression system and two‐electrode voltage‐clamp recordings. CchlOR62 was tuned to cis‐jasmone, which was attractive to female C. chlorideae adults and H. armigera larvae in the subsequent behavioural assays. Further bioassays using caged plants showed that the parasitism rate of H. armigera larvae by C. chlorideae on cis‐jasmone‐treated tobacco plants was higher than on the control plants. Thus, cis‐jasmone appears to be an important infochemical involved in the interactions of plants, H. armigera and C. chlorideae, and CchlOR62 mediates the attractiveness of cis‐jasmone to C. chlorideae.
With the aid of the recent Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS) measurements made onboard the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft, we construct empirical models for the ...vertical density distributions of 12 species in the dayside Martian ionosphere over the altitude range of 150–450 km, from abundant species such as O2+ ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}^{+}$, CO2+ ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{O}}_{2}^{+}$, and O+ to trace species such as HO2+ ${\mathrm{H}\mathrm{O}}_{2}^{+}$ and OCOH+. Two different sets of formulism are proposed to parameterize the ion density distribution characterized either by a distinctive layer structure or by a near exponential decay above 150 km. Both the solar control and magnetic control of ion distribution are taken into account in our modelings. In general, our empirical models are in good agreement with the NGIMS measurements. The full set of parameters constrained by data‐model comparison is tabulated for reference. This allows the easy computation of any individual ion density profile for a unique combination of solar zenith angle, solar extreme ultraviolet flux, and ambient magnetic elevation, which in turn facilitates comparisons with photochemical model results. The empirical models reported in this study are an extension of previous empirical models constructed for the electron distribution in the dayside Martian ionosphere using both radar sounding and radio occultation data.
Key Points
We construct empirical models of ion density distribution in the dayside Martian ionosphere over the altitude range of 150–450 km
Two different sets of formulism are proposed to parameterize ion density distribution either with or without a distinctive layer structure
Our empirical models describe reasonably both the solar control and magnetic control of the measured ion density distributions
Nowadays the mechanism of homosexuality is little known. Few studies have been carried out to explore the brain functional changes of homosexual men during sexual arousal. We used functional MR ...imaging (fMRI) to determine whether the patterns of brain activation in homosexual and heterosexual men differed during visually evoked sexual arousal.
To all the subjects (10 homosexual and 10 heterosexual), real-time visual stimulation was provided by 3-minute exposure to 3 types of erotic film: heterosexual couples (F-M), male homosexual couples (M-M), and female homosexual couples (F-F) engaged in sexual activity, during which time fMRI was used to determine the patterns of brain activation. Self-reports of level of sexual arousal were collected immediately afterward.
Statistical parametric mapping showed that viewing erotic film excerpts that induced sexual arousal was associated, in both groups, with activation of the middle prefrontal gyrus, bilateral temporal lobe and postcentral gyrus, thalamus, insula, vermis, left precuneus, occipital cortex, parietal cortex, and cerebellum. In homosexual men, the left angular gyrus, left caudate nucleus, and right pallidum were activated; in contrast, heterosexual men showed no activation in these regions. However, heterosexual men showed activation in the bilateral lingual gyrus, right hippocampus, and right parahippocampal gyrus, areas not activated in homosexual men. In both groups, region-of-interest analysis revealed no correlation between the magnitude of amygdala or thalamus activation and the reported level of sexual arousal.
Our findings indicate that different neural circuits are active during sexual arousal in homosexual and heterosexual men and may contribute to a better understanding of the neural basis of male sexual orientation.
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