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Hypoxia and ferroptosis are crucial in the occurrence and development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and they both affect the immune status of the tumor microenvironment. Previous studies have also shown a link between hypoxia and ferroptosis.In all, 814 HCC cases from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases were used as the discovery cohort, and 230 HCC cases from the International Cancer Genome Consortium database were used as the validation cohort. Hypoxia subtypes and ferroptosis subtypes were identified by consensus cluster analysis according to 174 hypoxia-related genes and 193 ferroptosis-related genes. The prognostic signature was constructed using the Cox and LASSO regression analyses, and two risk groups were identified. A comprehensive analysis of the clinical and immune characteristics between the two risk groups was further performed.Two hypoxia subtypes and two ferroptosis subtypes were distinguished and verified; subsequently, a five-gene prognostic signature was constructed and the risk score could be acquired by the following formula: risk score = 0.0604*Expression (CA9)-0.0714*Expression (ANXA10) + 0.1501*Expression (CDC20)-0.0853*Expression (CYP7A1) + 0.0530*Expression (SPP1). Compared with the low-risk group, the high-risk group had a worse prognosis. The high-risk group also showed a higher level of immune infiltration than the low-risk group, and immune checkpoints were generally upregulated in the high-risk group. The antigen presentation ability of the low-risk group was poor, which may be related to the immune escape mechanism. Drug sensitivity analysis indicated that the high- and low-risk groups were sensitive to tyrosine kinase inhibitors and chemotherapeutic drugs, respectively.The hypoxia-, ferroptosis-, and immune-associated prognostic signature we constructed could stratify patients with HCC and guide precise treatment.

A new structure-preserving model order reduction technique based on Laguerre-Gramian for second-order form systems is presented in this article. The main task of the proposed approach is to use the Laguerre polynomial expansion of the matrix exponential function to obtain the approximate low-rank decomposition of the Gramians for the equivalent first-order representation of the original second-order form system. The approximate balanced system is generated by a balancing transformation which is directly computed from the expansion coefficients of impulse responses in the space spanned by Laguerre polynomials, without computing the full Gramians for the first-order representation. Then, the reduced second-order model is constructed by truncating the states with small approximate Hankel singular values (HSVs). The above method has a disadvantage that it may unexpectedly result in unstable systems although the original one is stable. Therefore, modified reduction procedure combined with the dominant subspace projection method is presented to alleviate the limitation. Finally, two numerical experiments are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithms.

This article investigates the attitude tracking control problem for a rigid spacecraft without angular velocity feedback, in which external disturbances, parametric uncertainties, and input saturation are considered. Initially, an angular velocity observer is developed incorporated with adaptive technique, which could tackle the unmeasurable angular velocity and system uncertainties simultaneously. By introducing adaptive updating law into the proposed observer, the synchronized uncertainties are handled such that robustness of the observer is enhanced, even in the presence of external disturbances. Further, for solving the input constraints problem, command filter and backstepping method are utilized; thus, a bounded attitude tracking control law is derived. Finally, the attitude tracking performance is evaluated by numerical examples.

Heterocyclic compounds were widely used in many domains; pyrrolidone is a derivative of heterocycles that can be used to synthesize anticancer drugs. A new fluorine-containing rhopaladins’ analog(E)-2-(4-bromobenzoyl)-N-(tert-butyl)-4-(4-fluoro benzylidene)-5-oxo-1-propylpyrrolidine-2-carboxamide (RPDPD for short) of 2-aroyl-4-arylidene-5-oxopyrrolidine derivative was synthesized by the one-pot synthesis method and evaluated for its anti-tumor activity in vitro via CCK8 assay and annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) staining of HeLa cells. The results exhibited that compound RPDPD has inhibited the proliferation of HeLa in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50 of 24.23 μmol/L (p < 0.05) and has low hepatotoxicity with an IC50 of 235.6 μmol/L (p < 0.05) to normal hepatocyte LO2 cells. The apoptotic assay demonstrated that compound RPDPD has induced apoptosis in HeLa cells (from 14.26 to 23.4%, p < 0.05). qRT-PCR results showed that the compound RPDPD could inhibit the expression of oncogene E6/E7 mRNA (p < 0.05) of human papillomavirus (HPV). The results of Western blot showed that the compound RPDPD promoted the expression of TIMP3 protein and inhibited the expression of MMP3 (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the compound RPDPD can inhibit the proliferation of cervical cancer cells and induce the apoptosis of cervical cancer cells, and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of E6 mRNA and E7 mRNA expressions, and the anticancer effect of the compound RPDPD on cervical cancer is closely related to the TIMP3/MMP3 signaling axis.

Additional file 1: Fig. S1. Double immunofluorescence of p-JNK and NeuN, Iba1, GFAP in the spinal cord of sham and neuropathic pain rats. (a) Double immunofluorescence of p-JNK and NeuN, Iba1, GFAP in the spinal cord of sham rats. (b) Double immunofluorescence of p-JNK and NeuN, Iba1, GFAP in the spinal cord of SNI rats. (c-e) Histogram showed that p-JNK co-localization with Iba-1, or GFAP was increased in the SNI 7d group (*p

Additional file 5: Fig. S5. The improved neuroinflammation caused by rDKK3 was abolished by Kremen-1 siRNA or DVL-1 siRNA in neuropathic pain rats. (a-c) Western blot results indicated that rDKK3 reduced the pro-inflammatory cytokines level of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the spinal cord caused by neuropathic pain, while administration with Kremen-1 siRNA or DVL-1 siRNA up-regulated the decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines level of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the spinal cord caused by neuropathic pain (*p

Additional file 3: Fig. S3. rDKK3 alleviated neuroinflammation in the spinal cord induced by neuropathic pain. (a-c) Western blot results indicated that administration with rDKK3 reduced the pro-inflammatory cytokines level of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the spinal cord caused by neuropathic pain (*p

Additional file 4: Fig. S4. The Flow cytometry result of the Sham group, SNI + Vehicle group, SNI + rDKK3 group, SNI + rDKK3 + scramble siRNA group, SNI + rDKK3 + Kremen-1 siRNA group, and SNI + rDKK3 + DVL-1 siRNA group. (a) Representative dot spot of flow cytometry for microglia. (b) Histogram showed that rDKK3 promoted the switch of microglia from M1 type to M2 type in the spinal cord of rats with neuropathic pain, while Kremen-1 siRNA and DVL-1 siRNA could abrogate the effect of rDKK3 on microglia polarization (**p

In this paper, we propose a model order reduction algorithm based on low-rank Gramian approximation for bilinear systems. The main idea of the approach is to use approximate low-rank factors of the controllability and observability Gramians, which are constructed from the expansion coefficients of the matrix exponential functions in the space spanned by Laguerre functions using a recurrence formula, to generate approximate balanced system for the large-scale bilinear system. Then, the reduced-order model is obtained by truncating the states corresponding to the small approximate generalized Hankel singular values. Finally, a numerical experiment is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

In this work, thermophoretic sampling experiments are carried out in a constant volume combustion chamber (CVCC) accompanied by the subsequent high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) imaging to investigate the morphology, nanostructure, and size of soot particles directly sampled within the reacting diesel jet spray flame under ambient conditions close to practical engine combustion. The experiments are performed with different fuel injection masses to examine the variation of the morphological and nanostructural parameters of soot primary particles and aggregates with the fuel injection quantity, Qs. The results show the particles sampled in the cases with low fuel injection quantity (Qs) have a fraction of separately existing small primary particles and small aggregates made up of only several primary particles. As the fuel injection mass is further increased, the number of soot particles increase but the projection area becomes smaller. The fractal dimension of the sampled aggregates i...

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-4-tar-10.1177_1753466620981858 for Targeted inhibition of β-catenin alleviates airway inflammation and remodeling in asthma via modulating the profibrotic and anti-inflammatory actions of transforming growth factor-β1 by Rujie Huo, Xinli Tian, Qin Chang, Dai Liu, Chen Wang, Jingcui Bai, Runjuan Wang, Guoping Zheng and Xinrui Tian in Therapeutic Advances in Respiratory Disease

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-5-tar-10.1177_1753466620981858 for Targeted inhibition of β-catenin alleviates airway inflammation and remodeling in asthma via modulating the profibrotic and anti-inflammatory actions of transforming growth factor-β1 by Rujie Huo, Xinli Tian, Qin Chang, Dai Liu, Chen Wang, Jingcui Bai, Runjuan Wang, Guoping Zheng and Xinrui Tian in Therapeutic Advances in Respiratory Disease

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-tar-10.1177_1753466620981858 for Targeted inhibition of β-catenin alleviates airway inflammation and remodeling in asthma via modulating the profibrotic and anti-inflammatory actions of transforming growth factor-β1 by Rujie Huo, Xinli Tian, Qin Chang, Dai Liu, Chen Wang, Jingcui Bai, Runjuan Wang, Guoping Zheng and Xinrui Tian in Therapeutic Advances in Respiratory Disease

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-5-tar-10.1177_1753466620981858 for Targeted inhibition of β-catenin alleviates airway inflammation and remodeling in asthma via modulating the profibrotic and anti-inflammatory actions of transforming growth factor-β1 by Rujie Huo, Xinli Tian, Qin Chang, Dai Liu, Chen Wang, Jingcui Bai, Runjuan Wang, Guoping Zheng and Xinrui Tian in Therapeutic Advances in Respiratory Disease

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-4-tar-10.1177_1753466620981858 for Targeted inhibition of β-catenin alleviates airway inflammation and remodeling in asthma via modulating the profibrotic and anti-inflammatory actions of transforming growth factor-β1 by Rujie Huo, Xinli Tian, Qin Chang, Dai Liu, Chen Wang, Jingcui Bai, Runjuan Wang, Guoping Zheng and Xinrui Tian in Therapeutic Advances in Respiratory Disease

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-tar-10.1177_1753466620981858 for Targeted inhibition of β-catenin alleviates airway inflammation and remodeling in asthma via modulating the profibrotic and anti-inflammatory actions of transforming growth factor-β1 by Rujie Huo, Xinli Tian, Qin Chang, Dai Liu, Chen Wang, Jingcui Bai, Runjuan Wang, Guoping Zheng and Xinrui Tian in Therapeutic Advances in Respiratory Disease

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-tar-10.1177_1753466620981858 for Targeted inhibition of β-catenin alleviates airway inflammation and remodeling in asthma via modulating the profibrotic and anti-inflammatory actions of transforming growth factor-β1 by Rujie Huo, Xinli Tian, Qin Chang, Dai Liu, Chen Wang, Jingcui Bai, Runjuan Wang, Guoping Zheng and Xinrui Tian in Therapeutic Advances in Respiratory Disease

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-3-tar-10.1177_1753466620981858 for Targeted inhibition of β-catenin alleviates airway inflammation and remodeling in asthma via modulating the profibrotic and anti-inflammatory actions of transforming growth factor-β1 by Rujie Huo, Xinli Tian, Qin Chang, Dai Liu, Chen Wang, Jingcui Bai, Runjuan Wang, Guoping Zheng and Xinrui Tian in Therapeutic Advances in Respiratory Disease

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-3-tar-10.1177_1753466620981858 for Targeted inhibition of β-catenin alleviates airway inflammation and remodeling in asthma via modulating the profibrotic and anti-inflammatory actions of transforming growth factor-β1 by Rujie Huo, Xinli Tian, Qin Chang, Dai Liu, Chen Wang, Jingcui Bai, Runjuan Wang, Guoping Zheng and Xinrui Tian in Therapeutic Advances in Respiratory Disease

ObjectiveThere is little evidence that adjuvant therapy after radical surgical resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) improves recurrence-free survival (RFS) or overall survival (OS). We conducted a multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase IV trial evaluating the benefit of an aqueous extract of Trametes robinophila Murr (Huaier granule) to address this unmet need.Design and resultsA total of 1044 patients were randomised in 2:1 ratio to receive either Huaier or no further treatment (controls) for a maximum of 96 weeks. The primary endpoint was RFS. Secondary endpoints included OS and tumour extrahepatic recurrence rate (ERR). The Huaier (n=686) and control groups (n=316) had a mean RFS of 75.5 weeks and 68.5 weeks, respectively (HR 0.67; 95% CI 0.55 to 0.81). The difference in the RFS rate between Huaier and control groups was 62.39% and 49.05% (95% CI 6.74 to 19.94; p=0.0001); this led to an OS rate in the Huaier and control groups of 95.19% and 91.46%, respectively (95% CI 0.26 to 7.21; p=0.0207). The tumour ERR between Huaier and control groups was 8.60% and 13.61% (95% CI −12.59 to −2.50; p=0.0018), respectively.ConclusionsThis is the first nationwide multicentre study, involving 39 centres and 1044 patients, to prove the effectiveness of Huaier granule as adjuvant therapy for HCC after curative liver resection. It demonstrated a significant prolongation of RFS and reduced extrahepatic recurrence in Huaier group.Trial registrationNCT01770431; Post-results.

Thermochemical energy storage (TCS) stores and releases heat through a reversible chemical reaction. And since thermochemical material (TCM) is the most important part of an energy storage system, its properties directly affect the entire system. On account of a variety of advantages such as low cost, broad availability and suitable temperature range, thermochemical method based on reversible decomposition reaction has become a famous research. In this study, a TCS experimental setup was built to investigate thermal cycling stability of the Ca(OH)2/CaO system. Through successive 20 dehydration-hydration cycles, amount of stored thermal capacity and cyclic reversibility of the Ca(OH)2/CaO system are analyzed. After research and analysis, existing problems of the Ca(OH)2/CaO energy storage system including agglomeration and sintering, poor thermal conductivity, unevenness of heat release rate are concluded and raised. After an explanation of superior performance and existing problems occurred during the dehydration and hydration process, this research lays the foundation of applying the Ca(OH)2/CaO system to practical.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (about 85–90% of primary liver cancer) is particularly prevalent in China because of the high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B infection. HCC is the fourth most common malignancy and the third leading cause of tumor-related deaths in China. It poses a significant threat to the life and health of Chinese people. Summary: This guideline presents official recommendations of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China on the surveillance, diagnosis, staging, and treatment of HCC occurring in China. The guideline was written by more than 50 experts in the field of HCC in China (including liver surgeons, medical oncologists, hepatologists, interventional radiologists, and diagnostic radiologists) on the basis of recent evidence and expert opinions, balance of benefits and harms, cost-benefit strategies, and other clinical considerations. Key Messages: The guideline presents the Chinese staging system, and recommendations regarding patients with HCC in China to ensure optimum patient outcomes.

Summary As one of the most promising thermochemical energy storage medium, research on the Ca(OH)2/CaO system provides an important way of understanding energy storage/release rates of the entire energy storage system. In this paper, a high-precision thermogravimetric analysis is adopted to investigate thermal decomposition processes of the Ca(OH)2 samples in pure N2 atmosphere at different heating rates. The results demonstrate that during the thermal decomposition process, two weight loss processes respectively occur during 623.15 ~ 773.15 and 873.15 ~ 973.15 K, and the weight loss rates are close to 21% and 2% severally. Multi-heating rate methods are applied to the study of thermal decomposition dynamics. Findings show that the obtained kinetic parameters are related to reaction conversion, heating rate, and the chosen model-methods. To further understand the decomposition mechanism of Ca(OH)2, differential method, integral method, and multiple scanning method are used to deal with the experimental data. Through the most probable mechanism function analysis, under certain experimental conditions, thermal decomposition kinetics model of Ca(OH)2 accords well with the shrinking cylinder mechanism. These conclusions provide theoretical bases for applying the Ca(OH)2/CaO system to the thermochemical energy storage field. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The rough sea bottom has a large effect on underwater acoustic propagation and underwater acoustic detection applications. By using the typical shallow water environment from the Yellow Sea, the acoustic propagation characteristics under the condition of both periodic rough sea bottom and strong negative thermocline layer are systematically analyzed by using the parabolic equation model RAM (where RAM stands for range-dependent acoustic model) and ray theory. For a low-frequency and short-range acoustic source, the transmission loss (TL) increases up to about 5–30 dB due to the existence of the periodic rough bottom. Abnormal TLs and pulse arrival structures with different source depths, different periods and heights of the rough bottom are analyzed and summarized. Specifically, when the period of the rough bottom is constant, TL increases with the height of the rough bottom increasing. When the height of the rough bottom is constant, the effect of the rough bottom on the sound propagation becomes smaller with the increase of the period. The mechanism of the TL difference caused by rough bottom is explained by using the ray theory. The incidence and reflection angle of the sound ray on the sea bottom are changed due to the periodic rough bottom, which makes small grazing angles of some of the rays incident at sea bottom become large grazing angles, and the bottom loss increases. On the other hand, the change of the reflection angle increases the number of ray interaction with the sea bottom, causing the reversion propagation. Therefore, the energy of the sound field will attenuate with range increasing. The influence of the periodic rough bottom on the sound pulse propagation is mainly reflected in the energy conversion between sound rays (or normal modes) with different angles, the increasing of energy attenuation of some sound rays with large angles, and the decreasing of multipath structure. The change of the arrival time and relative amplitude of the multipath structure affect the frequency spectrum of the sound field, which will affect the performance of the method based on matching field localization. Most of existing studies focus on the influence of the change in large scale sea bottom topography on the sound field, but there are few studies on small scale periodic sea bottom fluctuations, and the relevant summary of the law of sound propagation is lacking. When sonar is used in the actual shallow water environment, more attention should be paid to the influence of the periodic rough bottom. In addition, the present research results also have important reference significance for the spatial accuracy of surveying and mapping of sea bottom topography.

Risk of bias summary: each risk of bias item for each included study (DOCX 180 kb)

The purpose of this study is to define the role for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in mixed-lineage-leukemia (MLL)-rearranged acute leukemia, which is now poorly understood. A prospective, multi-center cohort study to determine whether allo-HSCT could decrease relapse rates and improve long-term survival of MLL+ leukemia patients was performed. Fifty-six consecutive patients diagnosed with MLL-rearranged acute leukemia undergoing allo-HSCT from two transplant centers in China were enrolled between October 2007 and October 2012. The trial was registered at www.chictr.org as # ChiCTR-ONC-12002739. The incidences of grades II to IV acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) and of grades III and IV aGVHD were 28.8% (CI, 16.87-40.8%), and 14.2% (CI, 5.4-23.0%), respectively. The cumulative incidences for chronic GVHD (cGVHD) at 2 years after HSCT were 35.2% (CI, 21.2-49.2%). Up to April 30, 2013, 12 patients had relapsed and 11 died from relapse, and 37 patients were still alive without disease recurrence. The relapse and NRM rates at 3 years were 25.3% (CI, 12.7-37.9%) and 18.0% (CI, 2.6-33.4%), respectively. The probalities of overall survival and leukemia free survival were 61.8% (CI, 46.0-77.6%) and 56.3% (CI, 38.1-74.5%) at 3 years, respectively. Patients transplanted during their hematological first complete remission (CR1) had a lower relapse rate (17.9% vs. 48.1%, P = 0.03) compared with patients transplanted beyond CR1. The median overall survival for the 29 patients not receiving allo-HSCT during the study period was 145 days from diagnosis. This study showed that allo-HSCT could be a valuable treatment choice for MLL+ acute leukemia.

δ-Catenin is the only member of the p120 catenin (p120ctn) subfamily whose normal pattern of expression is restricted to the brain. Similar to p120ctn, δ-catenin can bind to the juxtamembrane domain of E-cadherin. We examined the expression of δ-catenin, p120ctn, and E-cadherin using immunohistochemistry in 95 cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) and 15 normal colon tissues. Co-immunoprecipitation was used to examine whether δ-catenin competed with p120ctn to bind E-cadherin in CRC cells. The effects of δ-catenin overexpression or siRNA-mediated knockdown on the proliferation and invasive ability of CRC cells were investigated using the MTT and Matrigel invasion assays. The results showed that positive δ-catenin expression was significantly more frequent in CRC compared to normal colon tissues and associated with poor differentiation, stage III–IV disease, and lymph node metastasis in CRC (all P

In order to study the temperature simulation of berry slices in microwave vacuum puffing process, numerical simulation method was used to simulate the temperature in different time according to theoretical calculation result and the deviation had been verificated throughout the experiment. The better uniform of temperature between experiment and simulation could be concluded except in the period of rapid temperature increase. The temperature reached the high point of 130.25°C in the middle point of slices at 100 s, while the temperature was over 50°C in external parts of slices for the reason of thermal diffusion. Conclusions could be drawn that the model was effective and numerical analysis could simulate the temperature simulation for berry leather in microwave vacuum puffing process.

BACKGROUND In recent years, interventional tumor therapy, involving implantation of intra-cholangial metal stents through percutaneous trans-hepatic punctures, has provided a new method for treating cholangiocarcinoma. (103)Pd cholangial radioactive stents can concentrate high radioactive dosages into the malignant tumors and kill tumor cells effectively, in order to prevent re-stenosis of the lumen caused by a relapsed tumor. The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of gamma-rays released by the (103)Pd biliary duct radioactive stent in treating cholangiocarcinoma via induction of biliary cholangiocarcinoma cell apoptosis. METHODS A group of biliary duct cancer cells was collectively treated with a dose of gamma-rays. Cells were then examined by the 3-(4, 5-dimethyl thiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl terazolium-bromide (MTT) technique for determining the inhibition rate of the biliary duct cancer cells, as well as with other methods including electron microscopy, DNA agarose gel electrophoresis, and flow cytometry were applied for the evaluation of their morphological and biochemical characteristics. The growth curve and the growth inhibition rate of the cells were determined, and the changes in the ultrastructure of the cholangiocarcinoma cells and the DNA electrophoresis bands were examined under a UV-lamp. RESULTS The gamma-ray released by (103)Pd inhibited cholangiocarcinoma cell growth, as demonstrated when the growth rate of the cells was stunned by a gamma-ray with a dosage larger than 197.321 MBq. Typical features of cholangiocarcinoma cell apoptosis were observed in the 197.321 MBq dosage group, while cell necrosis was observed when irradiated by a dosage above 245.865 MBq. DNA agarose gel electrophoresis results were different between the 197.321 MBq irradiation dosage group, the 245.865 MBq irradiation dosage group, and the control group. CONCLUSIONS (103)Pd radioactive stents which provide a radioactive dosage of 197.321 MBq are effective in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma; (103)Pd radioactive stents should be useful for the clinical treatment of cholangiocarcinoma.

Acetone, which is volatile, flammable, toxic, expensive and causing serious air pollution, is often used as extracting solvent in the production of powdery soy phospholipid. Recycling and reusing acetone is the key of reducing the cost of production. Therefore, saving energy and reducing emission when recycling acetone are the most important technologies during the production of phospholipid. On the basis of the productivity of powdery phospholipid being 2.4 t every day, 43.2 t acetone is reused every 8 h and the total volume of acetone gas emitted is 450.75 m3(about 901.5 kg). According to the current price of acetone, the lost money is about 7212 yuan RMB.

OBJECTIVE To explore the effects of Shenfu Injection on prostacyclin, thromboxane A2 and the activities of ATPases in rats exposed to hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury. METHODS Twenty-four male Wistar rats weighing 200-250 g were randomly divided into two groups: Shenfu Injection (SF)-treated group (rats were treated with Shenfu Injection of 10 ml/kg through intraperitoneal injection) and untreated group (rats were administered with normal saline at the same dose and served as a control group). Hepatic ischemia was caused by Pringle's maneuver and lasted for fifteen minutes, and then one-hour or three-hour reperfusion was performed. Venous blood samples for the measurement of thromboxane B(2) (TXB(2)) and 6-keto-prostaglandin F(1 alpha)(6-keto-PGF(1 alpha)) were collected three hours after reperfusion. Liver tissue samples were collected one hour or three hours after reperfusion for the measurement of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase and Ca(+)-Mg(+)-ATPase and for morphological studies. RESULTS Plasma TXB(2) was lower in the SF-treated group than that in the untreated group after three-hour reperfusion (P>0.05), while 6-keto-PGF(1 alpha) was higher in the SF-treated group than that in the untreated group (P>0.05). The ratio of TXB(2) and 6-keto-PGF(1 alpha) was significantly lower in the SF-treated group than that in the untreated group (P

The temperature is 56.5°C when acetone gas is rectified during the production of powdery phospholipid. If heat exchanger is added, heat energy that is reclaimed can be used by other heaters. On the basis of exchange hot water (51°C) 4m3 every minute, a factory with the productivity of powdery phospholipid being 10 ton a day can save 533.2 ton standard coal which is equivalent to 746.48 ton common coal. If this technique of saving energy and reducing emission could be widely used in correlative industries of all over the country, economic benefits will be prominent.

The clinical application of hypothermia dates back to the surgical treatment of blue babies (1949) and the early days of open heart surgery (1952), when generalized cooling was employed. The induction of hepatic hypothermia began with whole-body cooling in experimental models in 1953 and clinically in 1961. It was designed to minimize the ischemia-reperfusion injury associated with hepatic inflow occlusion. Body surface cooling and cooling via an extracorporeal circuit, however, were not widely accepted for hepatic surgery because of the adverse effects on the extrahepatic organs. Consequently, with the introduction of improved venovenous bypass techniques, in situ cold hepatic perfusion has been used in selected patients since 1971. In situ hypothermic hemihepatic perfusion, introduced in 1995, prevents an ischemic insult to the contralateral hepatic lobe. Topical cooling using ice slush under total or hemihepatic inflow occlusion was reported in 1993. This technique does not require cumbersome hypothermic perfusion equipment. In attempts to minimize intraoperative bleeding by vascular occlusion, the liver surgeon must consider the benefits and technical demands of hepatic hypothermia.

The purpose of this study is to define the role for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in mixed-lineage-leukemia (MLL)-rearranged acute leukemia, which is now poorly understood. A prospective, multi-center cohort study to determine whether allo-HSCT could decrease relapse rates and improve long-term survival of MLL+ leukemia patients was performed. Fifty-six consecutive patients diagnosed with MLL-rearranged acute leukemia undergoing allo-HSCT from two transplant centers in China were enrolled between October 2007 and October 2012. The trial was registered at www.chictr.org as # ChiCTR-ONC-12002739. The incidences of grades II to IV acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) and of grades III and IV aGVHD were 28.8% (CI, 16.87-40.8%), and 14.2% (CI, 5.4-23.0%), respectively. The cumulative incidences for chronic GVHD (cGVHD) at 2 years after HSCT were 35.2% (CI, 21.2-49.2%). Up to April 30, 2013, 12 patients had relapsed and 11 died from relapse, and 37 patients were still alive without disease recurrence. The relapse and NRM rates at 3 years were 25.3% (CI, 12.7-37.9%) and 18.0% (CI, 2.6-33.4%), respectively. The probalities of overall survival and leukemia free survival were 61.8% (CI, 46.0-77.6%) and 56.3% (CI, 38.1-74.5%) at 3 years, respectively. Patients transplanted during their hematological first complete remission (CR1) had a lower relapse rate (17.9% vs. 48.1%, P = 0.03) compared with patients transplanted beyond CR1. The median overall survival for the 29 patients not receiving allo-HSCT during the study period was 145 days from diagnosis. This study showed that allo-HSCT could be a valuable treatment choice for MLL+ acute leukemia.

Background Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection is usually self-limited, but some fulminant cases are fatal, even when occurring in previously healthy individuals. It can also be the cause of overwhelming postsplenectomy infection (OPSI). Case presentation We report a case of OPSI in a 41-year-old woman with hypersplenism associated with hepatitis B cirrhosis. We detected a significant Mycoplasma pneumoniae agglutination titer, but no evidence of infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae, Legionnella spp., or any other bacterial or fungal pathogens. She eventually died despite aggressive therapy. Conclusions M. pneumoniae could be an underestimated cause of OPSI, and should be suspected in fulminant infectious cases in asplenic patients.

Background This study aimed to examine the hepatocyte apoptosis in a hepatic blood inflow occlusion rat model without hemi-hepatic arterial control and its association with the expressions of the apoptosis-regulating genes bcl-2 and bax. Materials and Methods Wistar rats were equally and randomly assigned to undergo sham operation (control group, n = 8), Pringle’s maneuver (group PR, n = 32), hemi-hepatic occlusion (group HH, n = 32), or hemi-hepatic artery-preserved portal occlusion (group HP, n = 32). The hepatic blood inflow was interrupted for 30 min using a microvascular clip in the three experimental groups. The clips were removed to achieve hepatic reperfusion for up to 24 h. Blood samples and liver specimens were collected following reperfusion to perform pathologic examination, serum transferase assay, apoptosis analysis, and determination of bcl-2 and bax mRNA and protein expressions. Results The reperfusion-related hepatocytic injuries were more severe in the PR group than in the HH and HP groups, both pathologically and biochemically. More reperfused hepatocytes became apoptotic in the PR group than in the HH and HP groups. However, the values of the HH and HP groups were comparable in cellularity, levels of serum transferases, and apoptosis rate following reperfusion. The ratios of bcl-2/bax were reversed, which was more evident in the HH and HP groups than in the PR group. Conclusion Hemi-hepatic artery-preserved portal occlusion had little effect on hepatocyte apoptosis compared with Pringle’s maneuver and caused minor ischemia-reperfusion injury as shown by the reversed bcl-2/bax ratio.

Purpose: The study aimed to compare the outcomes of patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from partially matched related donors (PMRD) and unrelated donors (URD) for hematologic malignancies without the use of in vitro T cell depletion. Experimental Design: HSCT was done on 297 consecutive patients from URDs (n = 78) and PMRDs (n = 219) during the same time period. Incidences of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), relapse, nonrelapse mortality, overall survival, and leukemia-free survival between the PMRD and URD groups were compared. Results: All patients achieved full engraftment. The cumct65ulative incidences of grades II to IV acute GVHD in the PMRD and URD cohorts were 47% [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 33-62%] versus 31% (CI, 20-42%; P = 0.033), with a relative risk of 1.72 (95% CI, 1.01-2.94; P = 0.046). The incidence of chronic GVHD did not differ significantly between the two cohorts (P = 0.17). The 2-year incidences of nonrelapse mortality and relapse were 20% (CI, 15-26%) versus 18% (CI, 10-27%), with P = 0.98, and 12% (CI, 8-16%) versus 18% (CI, 10-27%), with P = 0.12, for the PMRD versus the URD cohort, respectively. The 4-year overall survival and leukemia-free survival were 74% (CI, 67-80%) versus 74% (CI, 62-85%), with P = 0.98, and 67% (CI, 59-75%) versus 61% (CI, 47-74%), with P = 0.74, respectively. Conclusions: Our comparisons show that every major end point, including relapse, nonrelapse mortality, overall survival, and leukemia-free survival, was comparable between the PMRD and the URD groups.

To research on the main pattern of hepatic cells death during hepatic ischemia/ reperfusion (I/R) injury in cirrhotic rat.Cirrhotic rat model was established by carbon tetrachloride replication. These rats were randomly divided into sham operation group and I/R group. In the I/R group, 70% i/R injury model was established and then the liver samples were taken 0, 1, 6, 24, and 48 hours after reperfusion. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels, Na+ - K+ ATPase, and Ca2+ ATPase were compared. the percentage of apoptotic/oncotic hepatic cells was measured with flow cytometry, and the changes in hepatic cellular structures were observed under transmission electron microscope.Compared with the sham operation group, the levels of serum AST and ALT significantly increased in the I/R group (P0.05), reaching their peak levels at the 6th hour. The activities of Na+ - K+ ATPase and Ca2+ ATPase dramatically decreased one hour after reperfusion and then gradually recovered (P0.05). Hepatic cells mainly suffered oncosis at the early stage after reperfusion (within 6 hours); at the late stage (around 24 hours after reperfusion), apoptosis became the main death pattern.Oncosis is the main pattern of hepatic cells death during I/R injury in cirrhotic rat, and the severity of hepatic injury correlates with the oncosis.

To summarize the experience of hepatectomy for patients with centrally located primary liver cancer.The clinical data of patients with centrally and non-centrally located primary liver cancer were retrospectively reviewed. The biochemical indicators, operation duration, hepatic inflow occlusion time, hospital stay, operative blood loss, amount of blood transfusion, complication, and effectiveness of three occlusion methods (semi-hepatic inflow occlusion, Pringle's manoeuvre, and modified Pringle's manoeuvre) were analyzed.Tumor diameter, Child-Pugh score, indocyanine green retention rate, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, glutamyltransferase, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, albumin, prealbumin, cholinesterase, hepatic inflow occlusion time, blood transfusion, postoperative complications, and operative blood loss were not significantly different between patients with centrally and non-centrally located primary liver cancer. Patients with centrally located liver cancer had significantly longer operation duration and hospital stay than patients with non-centrally located liver cancer (P0.05). The modified Pringle's manoeuvre of hepatic inflow occlusion had the same effectiveness of the Pringle's manoeuvre and could be performed in a simpler way.Hepatectomy is safe and feasible for patients with centrally located primary liver cancer. Appropriate preoperative evaluation and preparation, sufficient knowledge of liver anatomy, and proper selection of hepatic inflow occlusion method are key factors to guarantee the success of the resection.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) remains the only proven curative therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), but lack of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched sibling or unrelated donors has restricted its application. Recently, we developed an effective method for haploidentical allo-HSCT achieving comparable outcomes to HLA-identical transplantation.To evaluate the outcomes of CML patients who underwent haploidentical allo-HSCT.Ninety-three patients were treated with a modified busulfan (BU)/cyclophosphamide (CY) 2 regimen, including antithymocyte globulin followed by unmanipulated blood and marrow transplantation.Our data showed that the cumulative incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was 64.52%, and grade III-IV was 26.45%, 61.79% had chronic GVHD, and 28.93% had extensive chronic GVHD. Non-relapse mortality varied at 8.72% (100 days), 20.72% (1 year) and 20.72% (2 years). Probability of 1-year and 4-year leukemia-free survival was similar in chronic phase (CP) 1, CP2/CR2, accelerated phase, and blast crisis patients. Probability of 4-year overall survival varied as 76.5% (CP1), 85.7% (CP2/CR2), 73.3% (accelerated phase), and 61.5% (blast crisis). Multivariate analysis indicated that factors affecting transplantation outcomes were HLA-B+DR mismatches versus others for II-III acute GVHD and III-IV acute GVHD, the stage of disease at transplantation for relapse, and the time from diagnosis to transplantation for leukemia-free survival, overall survival, and transplantation-related mortality. In our protocol, survival of HSCT for advanced CML was similar to stable stage.For patients lacking an HLA-identical related donor, haploidentical relatives are alternative HSCT donors.

AIM: To investigate the protective effect and mechanism of alanyl-glutamine dipeptide (Ala-Gln) against hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. METHODS: Rats were divided into group C as normal control Group (n=16) and group G as alanyl-glutamine pretreatment (n=16). Rats were intravenously infused with 0.9% saline solution in group C and Ala-Gln -enriched (2% glutamine) 0.9% saline solution in group G via central venous catheter for three days. Then all rats underwent hepatic warm ischemia for 30 min followed by different periods of reperfusion. Changes in biochemical parameters, the content of glutathione (GSH) and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in liver tissue, Bcl-2 and Bax protein expression and morphological changes of liver tissue were compared between both groups. RESULTS: One hour after reperfusion, the levels of liver enzymes in group G were significantly lower than those in group C (P

We report a case of undifferentiated (embryonal) sarcoma of the liver (UESL), which showed cystic formation in a 20-year-old man with no prior history of any hepatitis or liver cirrhosis. He was admitted with abdominal pain and a palpable epigastric mass. The physical examination findings were unremarkable except for a tenderness mass and the results of routine laboratory studies were all within normal limits. Abdominal ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) both showed a cystic mass in the left hepatic lobe. Subsequently, the patient underwent a tumor excision and another two times of hepatectomy because of tumor recurrence. Immunohistochemical study results showed that the tumor cells were positive for vimentin, alpha-1-antichymotrypsin (AACT) and desmin staining, and negative for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and eosinophilic hyaline globules in the cytoplasm of some giant cells were strongly positive for periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining. The pathological diagnosis was UESL. The patient is still alive with no tumor recurrence for four months.

Primary liver cancer (PLC) is one of the most frequently seen tumors in China. Thirty years ago, patients with PLC were often detected at relatively late stage, with a palpable mass or marked clinical symptoms and poor prognosis. In the past 30 years, the diagnosis and treatment of PLC have been greatly improved with better prognosis.In order to study the changes of PLC during the 30 years, the clinical data of 3250 patients with PLC from 10 medical institutions of China were collected, analyzed, and compared with those of 3254 PLC patients before the 30 years.In the 3250 patients aged 1-80 years, with an average age of 49.1 years, the male to female ratio (2.3:1) was lower than that before the 30 years. 73.5% of the 3250 patients sought medical advice within 3 months after the onset of the disease in contrast to 63.8% before the 30 years. Compared with those patients before the 30 years the symptoms and signs were alleviated generally. The HBsAg positive rate was 81.0%, but the HCV-Ab positive rate was 13.2%. The AFP level in 75% of patients was elevated, but in the remaining 25% was normal. 1912 patients (58.8%) were confirmed pathologically. Among them 1755 patients (91.8%) had hepatocellular carcinoma. The overall resection rate was 46.3%. Those who had early, middle, late stage carcinoma accounted for 29.9%, 51.5%, and 18.6% respectively in contrast to 0.4%, 47.0%, and 52.6% reported before the 30 years. The 1-, 3-, 5-year survival rates of the patients were 66.1%, 39.7%, and 32.5% respectively, whereas 93.5%, 70.1%, and 59.1% for the early stage patients, and 65.3%, 30.5%, and 23.5% for the middle stage patients. The half and 1-year survival rates of the late stage patients were 52.5%, and 14.7%, respectively.Comparison with the clinical data before and after the 30 years show that PLC can be diagnosed early. More PLC patients tend to undergo resection while receiving a better conservative treatment, which ensures a prognosis.

To study the changes of the clinical aspects of primary liver cancer (PLC) during the past 30 years.The clinical data of 3,250 patients with PLC, from 10 regions of China were collected, analyzed, and compared with the clinical data of 3254 PLC cases 30 years before.The 3,250 patients were aged 1- 80, with an average age of 49.1 years, younger than those 30 years before (43.7 years). The male to female ratio was 2.3:1, lower than that 30 years before (7.7:1). 73.5% of them sought medical advice within 3 months after the onset in comparison of 63.8% 30 years before. Compared with those 30 years before the symptoms and signs were alleviated in general. The HBsAg positive rate was 81.0%, the HCV-Ag positive rate was 13.2%, and the alpha-fetoprotein positive rate was 75%. 1912 cases underwent pathological examination of which 91.8% were diagnosed as with hepatocellular carcinoma. The overall resection rate was 46,3%. Those of early, median, and late stages accounted for 29.9%, 51.5%, and 18.6% respectively in comparison with the rates of 0.4%, 47.0%, and 52.6% 30 years before. The one-year survival rate, three-year survival rate, and five-year survival rate were 66.1%, 39.7%, and 32.5% respectively for the whole group, 93.5%, 70.1%, and 59.1% for the early stage patients, and 65.3%, 30.5%, and 23.5% respectively for the median stage patients. The half-year survival rate and one-year survival rate of the late stage patients were 52.5% and 14.7% respectively. Compared with the data 30 years before a lower percentages of the patients died of hepatic coma, hemorrhage of upper digestive tract and hemorrhage due to rupture of tumor, and a higher percentage of then died of asthenia universalis and other causes.In comparison with the situation 30 years ago, PLC can be diagnosed earlier. More patients undergo resection. The prognosis of PLC has been improved greatly.

In this paper we investigate the influence of microstructure on the CH4 adsorption behavior of deep coal. The coal microstructure is characterized by N2 adsorption at 77 K, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The CH4 adsorptions are measured at 298 K at pressures up to 5.0 MPa by the the volumetric method and fitted by the Langmuir model. The results show that the Langmuir model fits well with the experimental data, and there is a positive correlation with surface area, pore volume, ID/IG, and CH4 adsorption capacity. The burial depth also affects the methane adsorption capacity of the samples.