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No-touch combined directed perfusion radiofrequency ablation (NTDP-RFA) is a new technique for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term efficacy of this new technique for the treatment of small HCC with cirrhosis. From January 2017 to March 2018, 56 consecutive patients treated with NTDP-RFA at our center were enrolled in this retrospective study. All NTDP-RFA procedures involved the use of internally cooled wet electrodes with a directional injection function, which can perform both intraelectrode cooling and extraelectrode saline perfusion. Survival curves were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier methods, and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to assess predictors of tumor progression and overall survival. Operative characteristics and complications were also assessed. No technical failure occurred, and the complete ablation rate after single NTDP-RFA treatment was 98.2%. The median tumor diameter and ablation time were 26 (18.0 − 28.0) mm and 8 (6 – 8) min, respectively. Mild complications occurred in five patients (8.9%) postoperatively, and the median hospital stay was 4 (4 − 5) days. In the 18 patients (32.1%) with poor liver function reserve (indocyanine green retention rate at 15 min > 15%, their liver function returned to normal on the third day after the postoperation. The 1- and 2-year local and distant progression rates were 1.7%, 7.1%, 3.5% and 10.7%, respectively. NTDP-RFA in the treatment of small HCC with cirrhosis has a low incidence of complications and provides a high survival rate without local tumor progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The etiology of granulomatous lobular mastitis (GLM) remains unknown. This study aimed to detect bacteria in GLM using Nanopore sequencing and identify the relationship between GLM and Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii. The bacterial detection on fresh samples (including breast pus and tissue) of 50 GLM patients using nanopore sequencing and culture methods. The bacterial detection rate of participants with different stages were compared and analyzed. Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues from 39 patients were performed on Gram staining to identify Gram-positive bacilli (GPB) within lipid vacuoles. Moreover, the clinicopathological characteristics of GLM patients in different bacterial subgroups were also conducted. In 50 GLM patients, the detection rate of bacteria was 78% using nanopore sequencing method, especially in the early stage of GLM (over 80%), which was significantly higher than that using culture methods (24%, p < 0.001). The dominant bacteria were Corynebacterium species (64%), especially for the Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii. The detection rate of C. kroppenstedtii in nanopore sequencing method (56%) was higher than that in culture methods (16%, p < 0.001). Gram staining positive of bacteria in 7 patients, and 5 of them were C. kroppenstedtii. Thirty-one patients (31/39, 79.5%) exhibited typical histological structure of cystic neutrophilic granulomatous mastitis (CNGM), and eighteen patients detected with C. kroppenstedtii. Nanopore sequencing showed rapid and accurate bacteria detection over culture method in GLM patients. GLM is not sterile inflammation and closely related to C. kroppenstedtii. CNGM was associated with Corynebacterium infection, especially for C. kroppenstedtii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Granulomatous lobular mastitis (GLM), also known as idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM), is a chronic inflammatory lesion of the breast. The incidence of GLM has been increasing in recent years, especially among young women. The etiologies of GLM have not been fully elucidated but are associated with autoimmunity and bacterial infection. Bacteria, especially Corynebacterium species, play important roles in GLM. In this article, we review research progress regarding the bacteriology of GLM attained with the application of several new high-throughput detection techniques. Accurate detection might be important for deepening our understanding of the pathogenesis of GLM and hold promise for personalized GLM therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phloem-feeding insects feed on plant phloem using their stylets. While ingesting phloem sap, these insects secrete saliva to circumvent plant defenses. Previous studies have shown that, to facilitate their feeding, many phloem-feeding insects can elicit the salicylic acid- (SA-) signaling pathway and thus suppress effective jasmonic acid defenses. However, the molecular basis for the regulation of the plant's defense by phloem-feeding insects remains largely unknown. Here, we show that Bt56, a whitefly-secreted low molecular weight salivary protein, is highly expressed in the whitefly primary salivary gland and is delivered into host plants during feeding. Overexpression of the Bt56 gene in planta promotes susceptibility of tobacco to the whitefly and elicits the SA-signaling pathway. In contrast, silencing the whitefly Bt56 gene significantly decreases whitefly performance on host plants and interrupts whitefly phloem feeding with whiteflies losing the ability to activate the SA pathway. Proteinprotein interaction assays show that the Bt56 protein directly interacts with a tobacco KNOTTED 1-like homeobox transcription factor that decreases whitefly performance and suppresses whiteflyinduced SA accumulation. The Bt56 orthologous genes are highly conserved but differentially expressed in different species of whiteflies. In conclusion, Bt56 is a key salivary effector that promotes whitefly performance by eliciting salicylic acid-signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the association among the polymorphisms of the cytochrome P450 1A1 and 2E1 genes, smoking, drinking and the risk of prostate cancer (PCa) in a Han nationality population in Southern China. Methods: A case–control study including 225 PCa patients and 250 age-matched controls was conducted. The six polymorphic sites of the CYP 1A1 and CYP2E1 genes were analysed by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) or allele-specific PCR technique using genomic DNA isolated from peripheral blood lymphocytes. Results: We found that the CYP1A1 Val/Val genotype significantly increased the risk for PCa (OR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.09–4.68). In contrast, the CYP2E1 C1/C2 (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.46–0.99) or C2/C2 genotype (OR, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.10–1.00) significantly decreased the risk. Furthermore, the individuals carrying the CYP1A1 Val allele and the CYP2E1 C1/C1 genotype showed the highest risk (OR, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.45–4.29). Though there was no significant difference with smoking history ( P = 0.237) or drinking habit ( P = 0.499) between cases and controls, a deep smoking habit (OR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.28–3.17) and heavy smoking history (OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.04–2.50) significantly increased the susceptibility of PCa after stratification by smoking method and accumulative smoking amount. Moreover, both the CYP1A1 Val allele (OR, 2.82; 95% CI, 1.49–5.35) and CYP2E1 C1/C1 genotype (OR, 2.57; 95% CI, 1.31–5.02) had obvious interaction with heavy smoking history that significantly raised the risk. We also discovered a significant interaction between the CYP2E1 C1/C1 genotype and drinking (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.04–3.28). Conclusions: Individuals carrying the CYP1A1 Val allele or the CYP2E1 C1/C1 genotype with a smoking or drinking habit were at increased risk of PCa, which also showed a positive correlation with exposure dose of tobacco. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of percutaneous ultrasound-guided ‘three-step’ radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of giant hepatic hemangioma. Patients with giant hepatic hemangioma who underwent percutaneous ultrasound-guided ‘three-step’ RFA (n = 52) and conventional RFA (n = 54) at our center from June 2013 to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The ‘three-step’ RFA proceeds as follows. Step 1: Ablate the feeding artery of the hemangioma. Step 2: Aspirate blood from the tumor. Step 3: Ablation the lesion. Intraoperative information, postoperative recovery, therapeutic effects, and complications were compared between the two groups. The duration of RFA was significantly shorter (19.2 ± 0.8 min versus 44.5 ± 2.8 min, p < 0.001), the number of punctures was significantly lower (3.2 ± 0.1 versus 4.7 ± 0.3, p = 0.002), and the duration of hospital stay was significantly shorter (9.0 ± 0.5 versus 11.5 ± 0.7, p = 0.013) in the TS-RFA group than in the C-RFA group. The complete ablation rate (86.5% versus 40.7%), the maximum postoperative pain score (2.5 ± 1.3 versus 4.1 ± 2.0) and symptom relief were also significantly better in the TS-RFA group than in the C-RFA group (p < 0.05). No postoperative death occurred in either group. There were no grade III or higher complications in the TS-RFA group, but one patient in the C-RFA group developed the grade III complication of postoperative abdominal bleeding. ‘Three-step’ RFA is a safe and effective minimally invasive treatment for giant hepatic hemangioma. It is worthy of further promotion and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The osmotic technique was calibrated at various temperatures (20–40 °C) using a high-capacity tensiometer. The effect of temperature on the calibration curve of the high-capacity tensiometer in the positive range has been found to be insignificant, i.e., about 0.03%/°C. The measurement at ambient temperature shows that the suction value is not significantly dependent either on the molar mass of polyethylene glycol (PEG) or on the molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) of the semipermeable cellulose membrane. On the other hand, the matric suction measured in the present work by tensiometer was lower than the total suction found in the literature measured by psychrometer. This shows that the so-called membrane effects must be characterized by not only the crossing of PEG molecules but also other complex phenomena. The calibration at controlled temperatures showed a slight suction decrease of 1%/°C. One possible explanation for this decrease is that increasing the temperature decreases the viscosity of PEG solutions, possibly accelerating the crossing of PEG molecules. It is also possible that increasing the temperature changes the physicochemical properties of the PEG solutions, resulting in a suction decrease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]