Case report: Pathological complete response to perioperative treatment of radiotherapy combined with angiogenesis inhibitor in a patient with pleomorphic liposarcoma

BackgroundLiposarcomas (LPS) are mesenchymal malignancies with four principal subtypes presenting distinct molecular and clinical features. Pleomorphic liposarcoma (PLPS) is one of the rarest and most aggressive subtypes of LPS. Surgical resection is currently a preferred curative approach for localized PLPS. However, the prognosis of unresectable PLPS is extremely poor, and there is no standard treatment.Case presentationA 59-year-old Chinese woman was diagnosed with unresectable PLPS. The case was discussed and managed by specialists from a multidisciplinary team at Fudan Zhongshan Hospital. Preoperative radiotherapy (RT) of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) at 50 Gy/25 Fx concurrently with the angiogenesis inhibitor anlotinib (8 mg, days 1–14, every 3 weeks) was prescribed to the patient. The dosage of anlotinib was increased to 10 mg after RT. After 6 months of treatment, the tumor had significantly shrunk and was successfully resected. Examination of the surgical specimens showed a pathological complete response (pCR). Until the latest follow-up (April 2022), no recurrence was observed, and disease-free survival has exceeded 14 months.ConclusionThis case sheds light on the probability that perioperative RT combined with an angiogenesis inhibitor can be effectively used in PLPS, which is resistant to chemotherapy and usually considered to have a poor prognosis. Further studies with randomized controlled clinical trials will improve our knowledge of this preoperative treatment strategy

Modelling habitat suitability for fish in the fluvial and lacustrine regions of a new Eco-City

An eco-hydraulic model was used to determine the levels of fish habitat suitability in the fluvial and lacustrine regions of a new Eco-City. This model has been developed by combining a depth integrated hydrodynamic and water quality model with a habitat suitability index model. Carps were selected as the target species because they represent the major fish population in the study area. Water depth, flow velocity and dissolved oxygen (DO) were used as the suitability indicators. Hydrologic data recorded during 2001–2010 were analysed to determine the base flow, average flow and high flow rates, which were used to represent the discharges in the river for the three stages of the carp life cycle: overwintering, spawning and growth, respectively. Numerical model simulations were undertaken to determine the levels of habitat suitability for carps to live at these three life stages. The model results indicate that under the current flow regime the habitat suitability level in the lacustrine region is too low for carps at the growth and overwintering stages. DO depletion, overriding the role of velocity and depth, is attributed to the poorly suited habitat conditions in the lacustrine region. To improve the suitability conditions in the lacustrine region, a DO enhancement scheme was used. Model results show that the scheme has significantly enhanced the water quality, with the ideally suited area increased from 24.4% to 67.9% for the overwintering stage and from 44.5% to 77.5% for the growth stage. Due to the high flow requirement for carps to spawn in the fluvial region, further numerical model simulations were undertaken to investigate the effect of flow augmentation on the carp spawning habitat suitability. Non-traditional water obtained from recycled domestic and industrial wastewater in the Eco-City was used as an additional water resource. The analysis indicates that the Eco-City has sufficient non-traditional water to meet the high flow requirement for carps to spawn in the fluvial region

miR-30a-3p participates in the development of asthma by targeting CCR3

This study aimed to investigate the role and relevant mechanism of miR-30a-3p action in asthma. The results of this study revealed that the expression levels of miR-30a-3p were significantly decreased in the peripheral blood of asthmatic patients. In addition, we found that the CC chemokine receptor (CCR3) was a target of miR-30a-3p. Subsequently, an asthma mouse model was established using ovalbumin (OVA). The results showed that the expression of miR-30a-3p and CCR3 was downregulated and upregulated, respectively, in the peripheral blood of asthmatic mice. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in asthmatic mouse serum demonstrated that miR-30a-3p mimic treatment significantly decreased the secretion of OVA-specific IgE, eotaxin-1, interleukin (IL)-5, and IL-4. These results suggested that miR-30a-3p inhibited CCR3 signaling pathway and relieved the inflammatory response against asthma in vivo. Eosinophils have also been implicated in the asthmatic inflammatory response. Therefore, the in vitro effects of miR-30a-3p on eosinophil activity were determined. Findings suggested that miR-30a-3p mimic significantly reduced eosinophil viability and migration and induced apoptosis. In addition, CCR3 and eotaxin-1 downregulation were observed. The aforementioned results were significantly reversed following CCR3 overexpression. This study suggested that miR-30a-3p was involved in asthma by regulating eosinophil activity and targeting CCR3

Modelling of man-made flood routing in the lower Yellow River, China

Large-scale prototype experiments of regulating flow and sediment have been conducted annually in the Yellow River, China since 2002, with large amounts of observed hydrological data being collected during the experiments. In the present study, a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model based on the finite-volume method has been refined, with an improvement being made in the spatial reconstruction method of the state variables. The enhanced spatial reconstruction method can account for the effect of a wet or dry interface on the calculation of numerical fluxes, especially for low discharges, which can avoid the occurrence of unreal flow fluxes. The refined model was applied to simulate flood routing in the 2004 and 2006 experiments in the lower Yellow River and relatively close agreement between the model predictions and observed data was obtained. The effect of different bed roughness values on the predicted results was investigated using a sensitivity test, and various factors influencing the accuracy of the predicted discharges are presented. The simulated results also show that the refined spatial reconstruction method results in higher predictive accuracy for low discharges, different bed roughness coefficients have only a slight effect on the predicted discharges and the predictive accuracy of the model is also influenced by the resolution of bed topography and the way in which the open boundary conditions are specified

Numerical assessment of people and vehicle safety in flash floods

Flash flooding often leads to extremely dangerous and sometimes catastrophic conditions in rivers due to characteristics such as: short timescales, the limited opportunity for issuing warnings, and the frequent high average mortality. Many past extreme flood events have been accompanied by flash floods, and they have also been one of the main sources of serious loss of human life among the world’s worst natural disasters. Flash floods can also cause large loss of property, such as the recent floods in Pakistan and the damage to vehicles in the 2004 Boscastle flood in the UK. It is therefore desirable to be able to assess the degree of safety of people and vehicles during flash floods using numerical models. In the current study, an algorithm for assessing the flood hazard risk to people and vehicles has been integrated into an existing two-dimensional hydrodynamic model capable of simulating flash floods. In the algorithm, empirical curves relating water depths and corresponding critical velocities for children and adults, developed by previous researchers, are used to assess the degree of people safety, and a new incipient velocity formula is used to evaluate the degree of vehicle safety. The developed model was then applied to three real case studies, including: the Glasgow and Boscastle floods in the UK, and the Malpasset dam-failure flood in France. According to the analysis of model predictions, the following conclusions have been obtained: (i) simulated results for the Glasgow flood showed that children would be in danger of standing in the flooded streets in a small urban area; (ii) simulations for the Boscastle flood indicated that vehicles in the car park would be flushed away by the flow with high velocity, which indirectly testified the predictive accuracy of the incipient formula for vehicles; and (iii) simulations for the Malpasset dam-failure flood showed that the adopted method for the assessment of people safety was applicable, and some local people living below the dam would have been swept away, which corresponded well with the report of casualties. Therefore, the developed integrated model can be used to evaluate the flood hazard risk to people and vehicles in flash floods, and these predictions can be used in flood risk management

The combined effects of UV-C radiation and H2O2 on Microcystis aeruginosa, a bloom-forming cyanobacterium

In order to get insight into the impacts of UVC/H2O2 on Microcystis aeruginosa, physiological and morphological changes as well as toxicity were detected under different UVC/H2O2 treatments. In the presence of sole UVC or H2O2, the net oxygen evolution rate decreased significantly (p < 0.05) since activity of photosystem II (PSII) was inhibited. Meanwhile, increase of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), degradation of microcystin (MC) and ultrastructure destructions were observed. Under sole UVC treatment, no changes happened in the activity of photosystem I (PSI), but the degradation of D1 protein was observed. Under sole H2O2 treatment, an increase of malondialdehyde, aggregation of D1 protein and deformation of the thylakoid membrane were observed. ROS content under H2O2 treatment was about 5 times than that under UVC treatment. Combined use of UVC and H2O2, as well as 20 mJ cm(-2) UVC and 60 mu M H2O2, showed high synergetic effects. Obvious damage to membrane systems, the marked degradation of MC and inhibition of the photosystems were observed. It could be deduced that UVC worked on intracellular membrane components directly and the damaged oxygen-evolving complex, which was followed by the D1 protein degradation. H2O2 oxidised the membrane lipids via an ROS-mediated process, with thylakoid injury and the aggregation of D1 protein being the lethal mechanisms, and both PSII and PSI being the attacking targets. With regard towards the effective inactivation of M. aeruginosa and high removal of MC, UVC/H2O2 proposed a novel practical method in controlling cyanobacterial blooms. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Modelling dam-break flows over mobile beds using a 2D coupled approach

Dam-break flows usually propagate along rivers and floodplains, where the processes of fluid flow, sediment transport and bed evolution are closely linked. However, the majority of existing two-dimensional (2D) models used to simulate dam-break flows are only applicable to fixed beds. Details are given in this paper of the development of a 2D morphodynamic model for predicting dam-break flows over mobile beds. In this model, the common 2D shallow water equations are modified, so that the effects of sediment concentrations and bed evolution on the flood wave propagation can be considered. These equations are used together with the non-equilibrium transport equations for graded sediments and the equation of bed evolution. The governing equations are solved using a matrix method, thus the hydrodynamic, sediment transport and morphological processes can be jointly solved. The model employs an unstructured finite volume algorithm, with an approximate Riemann solver, based on the Roe-MUSCL scheme. A predictor–corrector scheme is used in time stepping, leading to a second-order accurate solution in both time and space. In addition, the model considers the adjustment process of bed material composition during the morphological evolution process. The model was first verified against results from existing numerical models and laboratory experiments. It was then used to simulate dam-break flows over a fixed bed and a mobile bed to examine the differences in the predicted flood wave speed and depth. The effects of bed material size distributions on the flood flow and bed evolution were also investigated. The results indicate that there is a great difference between the dam-break flow predictions made over a fixed bed and a mobile bed. At the initial stage of a dam-break flow, the rate of bed evolution could be comparable to that of water depth change. Therefore, it is often necessary to employ the turbid water governing equations using a coupled approach for simulating dam-break flows