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Aim To analyze the effect of preserving the left colic artery (LCA) on long-term oncologic outcomes during laparoscopic low anterior resection of rectal cancer. Methods Clinicopathological and follow-up patients undergoing laparoscopic low anterior resection of rectal cancer in general surgery department of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital from January 2014 to December 2015 were retrospectively collected. According to the difference surgical methods of inferior mesenteric artery (IMA), 159 cases were divided into the LCA preservation group and 225 cases in the LCA non-preservation group. The 5-year rates of overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were compared between two group. Results 384 patients were included in final analysis. Anastomotic leakage occurred in 7 patients (4.4%) in the LCA preservation group and in 16 patients (7.1%) in the LCA non-preservation group. The follow-up rate was 91.2% (145/159) during 5–60 months in LCA preservation group, and 89.8% (202/225) during 5–60 months in the LCA non-preservation group. The number of patients who developed death, local recurrence and metastasis were 59 (37.1%), 13 (8.2%) and 60 (37.7%) in the LCA preservation group, and 86 (38.2%), 20 (8.9%) and 92 (40.9%) in the LCA non-preservation group, without significant differences (all P ༞ 0.05). The 5-year OS and DFS rates were 69.0% and 59.3% in the LCA preservation group, and 68.8% and 55.9% in the LCA non-preservation group, without significant differences (all P ༞ 0.05). After stratification by TNM Stage, the difference on 5-year OS rates and DFS rates of I stage, II stage and III stage in two groups were no significant as well (all P ༞ 0.05). Conclusions The long-term oncologic outcomes of laparoscopic low anterior resection of rectal cancer with preservation of the LCA are comparable with ligation at origin of IMA.

Background There is uncertainty in the literature about preserving the left colic artery (LCA) during low anterior resection for rectal cancer. We analyzed the effect of preserving the LCA on long-term oncological outcomes. Methods We retrospectively collected clinicopathological and follow-up details of patients who underwent low anterior resection for rectal cancer in the General Surgery Department of Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, from January 2014 to December 2015. Cases were divided into low ligation (LL), LCA preserved, or high ligation (HL), LCA not preserved, of the inferior mesenteric artery. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were compared between the two groups. Results Altogether, there were 221 and 295 cases in the LL group and HL groups, respectively. Operating time in the LL group was significantly longer than in the HL group (224.7 vs. 211.7 min, p = 0.039). Postoperative 30-day mortality, early complications including anastomotic leakage showed no significant differences between the LL and HL groups (postoperative 30-day mortality, 0.9% LL, 1.4% HL, p = 0.884; early complications, 41.2% LL, 38.3% HL, p = 0.509; anastomotic leakage 8.6% LL, 13.2% HL, p = 0.100). The median follow-up periods were 51.4 (7–61) months in the LL group and 51.2 (8–61) months in the HL group. During follow-up, the percentages of patients who died, had local recurrence, or had metastases were 39.8, 7.7, and 38.5%, respectively, in the LL group and 39, 8.5, and 40%, respectively, in the HL group; these differences were not significant (all p > 0.05). The 5-year OS and DFS were 69.6 and 59.6% in the LL group, respectively, and 69.1 and 56.2% in the HL group, respectively; these differences were not significant (all p > 0.05). After stratification by tumor-node-metastasis stage, the difference between the 5-year OS and DFS for stages I, II, and III cancer were not significant (all p > 0.05). Conclusions The long-term oncological outcomes of LL group are comparable with HL group. LL cannot be supported due to the absence of lower complication rates and the longer operating times.

Halide perovskite quantum dots (QDs) are regarded as a family of promising materials owing to their outstanding optoelectronic properties. Nevertheless, this class of nanocrystals generally displays unsatisfactory activity in such fields as photovoltaics and photocatalysis, as a result of the serious charge recombination and poor carrier separation. Herein, with the aim to enhance the charge transport property of halide perovskite QDs, we anchored CsPbI3 QDs on a conducting polymer, polypyrrole (PPy) and obtained a CsPbI3 QDs/PPy microrod 0D/1D heterostructure. Due to high electrical conductivity of the PPy polymer, the obtained CsPbI3/PPy composite displayed efficient charge transfer property, as proved by increased photocurrent response and decreased PL intensity. Our work reveals a promising way for enhancing the charge transport property of halide perovskite QDs, thereby facilitating their potential applications in photovoltaics and photocatalysis.

Multidrug-resistant (MDR)Acinetobacter baumanniiinfections are difficult to treat owing to the extremely limited armamentarium. Expectations about antimicrobial peptides' use as new powerful antibacterial agents have been raised on the basis of their unique mechanism of action.Musca domesticacecropin (Mdc), a novel antimicrobial peptide from the larvae of Housefly (Musca domestica), has potently active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria standard strain. Here we evaluated the antibacterial activity of Mdc against clinical isolates of MDR-A. baumanniiand elucidate the related antibacterial mechanisms. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Mdc was 4 μg/mL. Bactericidal kinetics of Mdc revealed rapid killing ofA. baumannii(30 min). Flow cytometry using viability stain demonstrated that Mdc causesA. baumanniimembrane permeabilization in a concentration- and time-dependent process, which correlates with the bactericidal action. Moreover, transmission electron microscopic (TEM) examination showed that Mdc is capable of disrupting the membrane of bacterial cells, resulting in efflux of essential cytoplasmic components. Overall, Mdc could be a promising antibacterial agent for MDR-A. baumanniiinfections.