Background
Postoperative complications have a great impact on the postoperative course and oncological outcomes following major cancer surgery. Among them, infective complications play an important ...role. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether postoperative infective complications influence long‐term survival after liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Methods
Patients who underwent resection with curative intent for HCC between July 2003 and June 2016 were identified from a multicentre database (8 institutions) and analysed retrospectively. Independent risk factors for postoperative infective complications were identified. After excluding patients who died 90 days or less after surgery, overall survival (OS) and recurrence‐free survival (RFS) were compared between patients with and without postoperative infective complications within 30 days after resection.
Results
Among 2442 patients identified, 332 (13·6 per cent) had postoperative infective complications. Age over 60 years, diabetes mellitus, obesity, cirrhosis, intraoperative blood transfusion, duration of surgery exceeding 180 min and major hepatectomy were identified as independent risk factors for postoperative infective complications. Univariable analysis revealed that median OS and RFS were poorer among patients with postoperative infective complications than among patients without (54·3 versus 86·8 months, and 22·6 versus 43·2 months, respectively; both P < 0·001). After adjustment for other prognostic factors, multivariable Cox regression analyses identified postoperative infective complications as independently associated with decreased OS (hazard ratio (HR) 1·20, 95 per cent c.i. 1·02 to 1·41; P = 0·027) and RFS (HR 1·19, 1·03 to 1·37; P = 0·021).
Conclusion
Postoperative infective complications decreased long‐term OS and RFS in patients treated with liver resection for HCC.
From a multi‐institutional database, 2442 patients who underwent resection with curative intent for hepatocellular carcinoma between 2003 and 2016 were analysed retrospectively. Among them, 332 patients (13·6 per cent) had postoperative infective complications within 30 days after surgery. Multivariable Cox regression revealed that postoperative infective complications decreased long‐term overall and recurrence‐free survival after liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma.
Complications decrease long‐term overall survival
With mycobacteriosis increasing, the study of non-tuberculous mycobacteria is imperative for clinical therapy and management. Nontuberculous mycobacteria are naturally resistant to most ...anti-tuberculosis drugs. Accordingly, it is important to decipher the biology of the novel non-tuberculous mycobacteria through complete genomic analysis of novel pathogenic mycobacteria. We describe Mycobacterium sinense JDM601, a novel, slow-growing mycobacterium of the Mycobacterium terrae complex resistant to nine antibiotics, by clinical presentation, cultural and biochemical characteristics, minimal inhibitory concentrations, and genome-sequencing analysis. JDM601 is closest to Mycobacterium nonchromogenicum according to mycolic acid composition, but closest to Mycobacterium algericum sp. nov according to 16S rDNA. JDM601 is resistant to isoniazid, streptomycin, rifampin, euteropas, protionamide, capromycin, ciprofloxacin, amikacin and levofloxacin but not ethambutol. The clinical information, mycolic acid composition, and virulence genes indicate that JDM601 is an opportunistic pathogen.
We report a successful observation of pressure-induced superconductivity in a topological compound Bi 2 Te 3 with T c of ∼3 K between 3 to 6 GPa. The combined high-pressure structure investigations ...with synchrotron radiation indicated that the superconductivity occurred at the ambient phase without crystal structure phase transition. The Hall effects measurements indicated the hole-type carrier in the pressure-induced superconducting Bi 2 Te 3 single crystal. Consequently, the first-principles calculations based on the structural data obtained by the Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction patterns at high pressure showed that the electronic structure under pressure remained topologically nontrivial. The results suggested that topological superconductivity can be realized in Bi 2 Te 3 due to the proximity effect between superconducting bulk states and Dirac-type surface states. We also discuss the possibility that the bulk state could be a topological superconductor.
Aim To explore the altered spontaneous cerebral activity patterns and impaired functional regions in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging ...(rs-fMRI) based on the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) algorithm. Materials and methods Twenty-one patients with DR (mean age, 54.9±9.9 years; 11 females) and 17 healthy control subjects (54.8±5.7 years; 9 females) were prospectively studied. The DR patients underwent laboratory tests. All individuals underwent a neuropsychological test. The differences in the ALFF values between the two groups were compared. The relationships between ALFF values and clinical measurements were analysed using a multiple-factor analysis. Results Compared to the controls, the DR group showed significantly increased ALFF values in the bilateral occipital gyrus, right lingual gyrus, and precuneus, and decreased values in the right posterior/anterior cerebellar lobe and the parahippocampal, fusiform, superior temporal, inferior parietal, and angular gyrus. Furthermore, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores were negatively correlated with decreased ALFF values in the right occipital lobe of the DR group, while increased ALFF values in the right precuneus and lingual gyrus were found to be positively correlated with glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. Conclusions Patients with DR showed spontaneous cerebral activity abnormalities in many cerebral regions that were associated with cognitive impairments. HbA1c levels altered spontaneous cerebral activity in DR patients.
Immunity acquired from infection or vaccination protects humans from symptomatic hepatitis E. However, whether the risk of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is reduced by the immunity remains ...unknown. To understand this issue, a cohort with 12 409 participants randomized to receive the hepatitis E vaccine Hecolin® or placebo were serologically followed up for 2 years after vaccination. About half (47%) of participants were initially seropositive. A total of 139 infection episodes, evidenced by four-fold or greater rise of anti-HEV level or positive seroconversion, occurred in participants who received three doses of treatment. Risk of infection was highest among the baseline seronegative placebo group participants (2.04%). Pre-existing immunity and vaccine-induced immunity lower the risk significantly, to 0.52% and 0.30%, respectively. In conclusion, both vaccine-induced and naturally acquired immunity can effectively protect against HEV infection.
This paper presents an evaluation of the Earth Observing System (EOS) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) thermal infrared bands and the status of land surface temperature (LST) ...version-3 standard products retrieved from Terra MODIS data. The accuracy of daily MODIS LST products has been validated in more than 20 clear-sky cases with in situ measurement data collected in field campaigns in 2000-2002. The MODIS LST accuracy is better than 1°C in the range from −10 to 50°C. Refinements and improvements were made to the new version of MODIS LST product generation executive code. Using both Terra and Aqua MODIS data for LST retrieval improves the quality of the LST product and the diurnal feature in the product due to better temporal, spatial and angular coverage of clear-sky observations.
Topological materials with exotic quantum properties are promising candidates for quantum spin electronics. Different classes of topological materials, including Weyl semimetal, topological ...superconductor, topological insulator and Axion insulator, etc., can be connected to each other via quantum phase transition. For example, it is believed that a trivial band insulator can be twisted into topological phase by increasing spin-orbital coupling or changing the parameters of crystal lattice. With the results of LDA calculation and measurement by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we demonstrate in this work that the electronic structure of SrSn2As2 single crystal has the texture of band inversion near the critical point. The results indicate the possibility of realizing topological quantum phase transition in SrSn2As2 single crystal and obtaining different exotic quantum states.
Fresh air ventilation is central to indoor environmental control. Total heat exchangers can be key equipment for energy conservation in ventilation. Membranes have been used for total heat exchangers ...for more than a decade. Much effort has been spent to achieve water vapor permeability of various membranes; however, relatively little attention has been paid to the selectivity of moisture compared with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) through such membranes. In this investigation, the most commonly used membranes, both hydrophilic and hydrophobic ones, are tested for their permeability for moisture and five VOCs (acetic acid, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, toluene, and ethane). The selectivity of moisture vs. VOCs in these membranes is then evaluated. With a solution‐diffusion model, the solubility and diffusivity of moisture and VOCs in these membranes are calculated. The resulting data could provide some reference for future material selection.
Practical Implications
Total heat exchangers are important equipment for fresh air ventilation with energy conservation. However, their implications for indoor air quality in terms of volatile organic compound permeation have not been known. The data in this article help us to clarify the impacts on indoor VOC levels of membrane‐based heat exchangers. Guidelines for material selection can be obtained for future use total heat exchangers for building ventilation.
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