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By exploring the prime decomposition of undirected graphs, this work investigates the hyper Markov property within the framework of arbitrary undirected graph, which can be seen as the generalization of that for decomposable graphical models proposed by Dawid and Laurizten. The proposed hyper Markov properties of this article can be used to characterize the conditional independence of a distribution or a statistical quantity and helpful to simplify the likelihood ratio functions for statistical test for two different graphs obtained by removing or adding one edge. As an application of these properties, the G-Wishart law is introduced as a prior law for graphical Gaussian models for Bayesian posterior updating, and a hypothesis test for precision matrix is designed to determine the model structures. Our simulation experiments are implemented by using the Gibbs Sampler algorithm and the results show that it performs better in convergence speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malignant ascites is a common complication of some advanced cancers. Although intraperitoneal (IP) administration of chemotherapy drugs is routinely used to treat cancerous ascites, conventional drugs have poor retention and therefore need to be administered frequently to maintain a sustained anti-tumor effect. In this study, a thermosensitive hydrogel composite loaded with norethindrone nanoparticles (NPs) and oxaliplatin (N/O/Hydrogel) was developed to inhibit ascites of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through IP injection. N/O/Hydrogel induced apoptosis in the H22 cells in vitro, and significantly inhibited ascites formation, tumor cell proliferation and micro-angiogenesis in a mouse model of advanced HCC with ascites, and prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing mice. Histological examination of the major organs indicated that the hydrogel system is safe. Taken together, the N/O/Hydrogel system is a promising platform for in-situ chemotherapy of malignant ascites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemotherapy is the primary treatment for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, related dose-dependent toxicity limits its clinical use. Therefore, it is necessary to explore new strategies for improving the clinical outcomes while reducing the side effects of chemotherapy in the treatment of NSCLC. In this study, we designed and synthesized epidermal growth factor (EGF)-modified doxorubicin nanoparticles (EGF@DOX-NPs) that selectively targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) overexpressed in lung tumor cells. When administered in combination with low-dose X-ray radiotherapy (RT), the NPs preferentially accumulated at the tumor site due to radiation-induced outburst of the local intra-tumoral blood vessels. Compared with DOX alone, EGF@DOX-NPs significantly decreased the viability and migration and enhanced the apoptosis rates of tumor cells in vitro. Also, the EGF@DOX-NPs significantly inhibited tumor growth in vivo, increasing the survival of the tumorbearing mice without apparent systemic toxic effects through RT-induced aggregation. The tumor cell proliferation was greatly inhibited in the RTþEGF@DOX-NPs group. Contrarily, the apoptosis of tumor cells was significantly higher in this group. These results confirm the promising clinical application of radiotherapy in combination with EGF@DOX-NPs for lung cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]