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BackgroundPeritoneal metastasis (PM) is a late-stage manifestation of intra-abdominal malignancies. The current standard of care indicates that cure can only be achieved with cytoreductive surgery (CRS) which is often indicated with concurrent adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). However, the utility of HIPEC within subsets of PM is not fully understood. We seek to compare the effectiveness of HIPEC in improving peritoneal recurrence rates in PM of different origins.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review of trials on the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases, last searched in August 2021. Biases were assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing the risk of bias in randomized trials as well as the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS) framework.Results7 gastric PM studies, 3 ovarian PM studies, and 3 colorectal PM studies were included. Recurrence-free survival was improved in the HIPEC + CRS cohort in 5 gastric trials but only 1 ovarian trial and none of colorectal origin.DiscussionOur findings indicate decent effectiveness of HIPEC in gastric PM, but limited utility in ovarian and colorectal PM. Limitations in the current literature are attributed to the paucity of data available, a lack of homogeneity and consideration of novel and personalised treatment regimens. We implore for further studies to be conducted with a focus on patient selection and stratification, and suggest a reframing of approach towards modern molecular and targeted therapeutic options in future studies of HIPEC.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.researchregistry.com/browse-the-registry#registryofsystematicreviewsmeta-analyses/registryofsystematicreviewsmeta-analysesdetails/60c1ffff0c1b78001e8efbe3/, identifier reviewregistry1166.

Background: Malnutrition has been shown to be associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes in many patient populations.Aims: To investigate the prognostic significance of malnutrition as defined by nutritional risk index (NRI) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and whether NRI could improve the GRACE score based prognostic models.Methods: This study applied NRI among 1,718 patients with ACS undergoing PCI. Patients were divided into three nutritional risk groups according to their baseline NRI: no nutritional risk (NRI ≥ 100), mild nutritional risk (97.5 ≤ NRI

Norovirus (NoV) is a zoonotic virus that causes diarrhea in humans and animals. Outbreaks in nosocomial settings occur annually worldwide, endangering public health and causing serious social and economic burdens. The latter quarter of 2016 witnessed the emergence of the GII.P16-GII.2 recombinant norovirus throughout Asia. This genotype exhibits strong infectivity and replication characteristics, proposing its potential to initiate a pandemic. There is no vaccine against GII.P16-GII.2 recombinant norovirus, so it is necessary to design a preventive vaccine. In this study, GII.P16-GII.2 type norovirus virus-like particles (VLPs) were constructed using the baculovirus expression system and used to conduct immunizations in mice. After immunization of mice, mice were induced to produce memory T cells and specific antibodies, indicating that the VLPs induced specific cellular and humoral immune responses. Further experiments were then initiated to understand the underlying mechanisms involved in antigen presentation. Towards this, we established co-cultures between dendritic cells (DCs) or macrophages (Mø) and naïve CD4+T cells and simulated the antigen presentation process by incubation with VLPs. Thereafter, we detected changes in cell surface molecules, cytokines and related proteins. The results indicated that VLPs effectively promoted the phenotypic maturation of Mø but not DCs, as indicated by significant changes in the expression of MHC-II, costimulatory factors and related cytokines in Mø. Moreover, we found VLPs caused Mø to polarize to the M1 type and release inflammatory cytokines, thereby inducing naïve CD4+ T cells to perform Th1 immune responses. Therefore, this study reveals the mechanism of antigen presentation involving GII.P16-GII.2 recombinant norovirus VLPs, providing a theoretical basis for both understanding responses to norovirus infection as well as opportunities for vaccine development.

GLP-1 is derived from intestinal L cells, which takes effect through binding to GLP-1R and is inactivated by the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4). Since its discovery, GLP-1 has emerged as an incretin hormone for its facilitation in insulin release and reduction of insulin resistance (IR). However, GLP-1 possesses broader pharmacological effects including anti-inflammation, neuro-protection, regulating blood pressure (BP), and reducing lipotoxicity. These effects are interconnected to the physiological and pathological processes of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), hypertension, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Currently, the underlying mechanism of these effects is still not fully illustrated and a better understanding of them may help identify promising therapeutic targets of AD, hypertension, and NASH. Therefore, we focus on the biological characteristics of GLP-1, render an overview of the mechanism of GLP-1 effects in diseases, and investigate the potential of GLP-1 analogues for the treatment of related diseases in this review.

Background: Homeostasis of thyroid hormones has significant effects on the cardiovascular system. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between free triiodothyronine (FT3) and adverse cardiovascular events in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who were undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: A total of 1701 patients with ACS undergoing PCI were included in this study. All patients were divided into three groups according to the tertiles of FT3 level: the lowest tertile (FT3

Due to human activities, excessive phosphorus emissions into water bodies are increasing, leading to eutrophication. The phosphorus-induced eutrophication can directly result in deterioration of water quality and biological imbalance in aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, it is important to develop efficient and cost-effective approaches to phosphorus removal from waters. As a novel bioremediation technology, microbially-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) has been widely employed to mitigate heavy metal contamination. However, it is still unclear whether MICP is a suitable strategy for reducing phosphorus-based water eutrophication. To achieve this goal, the present study evaluated the effect of MICP using a typical ureolytic bacterium Sporosarcina pasteurii on the removal of soluble phosphate in the range of 150~400 mg/L. The results showed that the concentration of soluble phosphate quickly declined within 2 hours when MICP was initiated by Ca2+ additive. Upon the treatment of MICP, the removal extents of soluble phosphate for the systems with 150, 300 and 400 mg/L reached 95.4%, 87.72% and 72.05%, respectively. The resulting bio-precipitates were collected for mineralogical analyses. The data showed that phosphate was removed from solution by the adsorption of microbial calcite under low phosphorus conditions (150 and 300 mg/L). However, phosphate was mainly removed via the co-precipitation process when the initial phosphate concentration was 400 mg/L. The co-precipitated minerals were composed of hydroxyapatite and phosphorus-containing calcite. This study reveals that MICP has a great potential for removing and fixing phosphorus from water bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Across the different classes of sodium‐ion battery cathodes, Prussian Blue holds the greatest promise because of its high working potentials, abundance, low‐toxicity and ease of synthesis. However, its performance as a sodium‐ion battery cathode has generally been limited to less than 120 mAh g−1, which is inferior compared to commercial lithium‐based counterparts. Here, sodium–Prussian Blue rechargeable batteries with a remarkably high discharge specific capacity of 153 ± 6 mAh g−1 at 1C is reported. This is achieved through the employment of excess ascorbic acid during the colloidal preparation of Prussian Blue crystals, followed by a 200 °C heat‐vacuum drying process. The optical, structural and thermogravimetric investigations show that the chelation of ascorbic acid to the iron ions disrupts the growth of Prussian Blue, and lead to the formation of a useful nano‐porous crystal structure. This allows for deeper percolation of sodium ions into the Prussian Blue crystals, and successfully unlocked useful inner volumes that are otherwise unreachable, thereby leading to an outstanding 47% elevation in specific capacity. This development brings sodium‐based battery technology significantly closer to the incumbent lithium‐ion batteries, and marks an important early step towards its practical application in commercial devices.

Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is often associated with malnutrition and an inability to tolerate enteral feeding. Although total parenteral nutrition (TPN) can be lifesaving for patients with no other means of nutritional support, its use in the management of PC patients remains controversial. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the benefit of TPN on the overall survival of PC patients, in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. A total of 187 articles were screened; 10 were included in this review and eight were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled median overall survival of patients who received TPN was significantly higher than patients who did not receive TPN (p = 0.040). When only high-quality studies were included, a significant survival advantage was observed in PC patients receiving TPN (p < 0.001). Subgroup analysis of patients receiving chemotherapy demonstrated a significant survival benefit (p = 0.008) associated with the use of TPN. In conclusion, TPN may improve survival outcomes in PC patients. However, further studies are needed to conclude more definitively on the effect of TPN.

Up to 10% of well-differentiated liposarcoma (WDLS) progress to dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLS). We aimed to identify gene expression changes associated with dedifferentiation and whether these were informative of tumour biology of DDLS. We analysed datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO, ID = GSE30929) database to identify differentially expressed genes between WDLS (n = 52) and DDLS (n = 39). We validated the signature on whole and laser-capture microdissected samples from patients with tumours consisting of mixed WDLS and DDLS components. A subset of this signature was applied to an independent dataset from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA, n = 58 DDLS) database to segregate samples based on gene expression and compared for recurrence and overall survival (OS). A 15-gene signature consisting of genes with increased expression in DDLS compared to WDLS was generated. This signature segregated WDLS and DDLS samples from patients with mixed component tumours and across multiple recurrences. A further subset of this signature, consisting of five genes (AQP7, ACACB, FZD4, GPD1, LEP), segregated DDLS in a TCGA cohort with a significant difference in OS (p = 0.019) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) (p = 0.061). The five-gene model stratified DDLS into prognostic groups and outperformed clinical factors in existing models in retroperitoneal DDLS.

In view of the variability in recommendations for essential amino acid (EAA) and the use of amino acids supplements in shrimp diets, this study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of crystalline amino acids (CAA) in practical shrimp feeds. The basal diet was designed to contain 30% protein and 6% lipid. The primary protein source of the basal diet included: 5% fishmeal, 37% soybean, and 5% gelatin. The intact protein was incrementally reduced to produce diets with 28%, 26%, 24%, and 22% protein. In a second series of diets, CAA were supplemented to the reduced protein diets to return the diets to 30% crude protein. Thus, producing a series of diets containing 30% protein with 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8% crystalline amino acids. The trial was conducted twice to confirm results. Data within treatments for both trials were variable, resulting in limited statistical differences. From a biological standpoint, percentage weight gain (PWG) and mean final weight (MFW) appeared to decrease with intact protein level of the diet (R2 value [PWG], trial 1: 0.30, trial 2: 0.34, R2 value, [MFW] trial 1: 0.44, trial 2: 0.38). None of the diets with supplemented CAA appeared to have reached the same MFW or PWG as the basal diet. Another trial was run using a fishmeal-based diet (30% CP), which in theory should be replete in all essential amino acids, and a soybean meal-based diet at two different protein levels (30% and 35% CP). The soybean meal-based diets were supplemented with essential CAA in one set and only methionine in another to reach the same level as a percent protein, compared to the fishmeal-based diet. No significant differences were observed between the diets in terms of PWG. However, the fishmeal-based diet seemed to outperform most of the other diets in terms of protein retention efficiency. Based on the results of these trials, it is questionable whether CAA are sufficiently utilized by shrimp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]