Surgical outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma patients with biliary tumor thrombi

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To investigate the surgical outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with biliary tumor thrombi (BTT).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Surgical outcome of 27 HCC patients with BTT (group I) were compared with randomly selected HCC patients without BTT (group II; n = 270).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One patient in group I died of hepatic failure within 30 days after resection. The 1-, 3- and 5-year cumulative survival rates of group I were 70.3%, 25.9%, and 7.4%, respectively; these were significantly lower than those of group II (90.6%, 54.0%, and 37.7%) (<it>P <</it>0.001). The rates of early recurrence (≤ 1 year) after resection were significantly higher in group I than group II (70.3% vs. 34.8%) (<it>P </it>< 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>HCC patients with BTT had a worse prognosis after resection than those without BTT. Resection should be considered for these tumors given the lack of effective alternative therapies.</p

Comparative analysis of differential gene expression in two species of crucian carps in response to Cyprinid herpesvirus 2 (CyHV-2) infection

We assessed the expressions of MHCI, LYZC, keratin8, MPO, DUSP1, IκBα, Rab21, and Rac2 between two species of carps (Erqisi river crucian carp and allogynogenetic crucian carp) after Cyprinid herpesvirus 2 (CyHV-2) infection. The relative expressions of MHCI, LYZC, and keratin8 in the virus-challenged groups were significantly higher than control groups. Moreover, the expression of IκBα in the virus-challenged groups was significantly lower than in the control groups. Compared with the virus-challenged ERO group, the expression of IκBα in the virus-challenged ZHO group decreased. The expression of Rab21 in the virus-challenged groups gradually increased and was significantly higher than in the control groups, and then its expression began to decrease after 24 h. At 72 h, the expression of IκBα in both virus-challenged groups was significantly lower than in the control groups. In addition, the expression of Rab21 in the virus-challenged ZHO group was significantly higher than the virus-challenged ERO group at all time points except for 72 h. Before 24 h, the expression of Rac2 remained unchanged in these four groups, and its expression in the virus-challenged ZHO group was significantly higher than in the other three groups. Nevertheless, its expression began to decrease after 24 h but was still slightly higher than the control group at 72 h. MPO showed a similar expression pattern as Rac2. The expression of DUSP1 in the four groups was the same at 0 h. However, its expression in the virus-challenged ZHO group was significantly higher than in the other three groups at other time points

Study of long-termed displacements of a tunnel boring machine during its stoppage

This paper studies the long-termed displacement of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) resting on soft clay during its unscheduled stoppage for 100 days. It is based on a real case of tunneling in a coastal city of Ningbo in China. The numerical prediction is carried out by using different soil models in the software PLAXIS, and the prediction is compared with on-site measurement of the displacement. Different factors are considered in the prediction, including soil creeping and the disturbance to the soft clay during the tunneling. The study indicates that the consideration of disturbance is essential to the accurate prediction. While advanced soil models including the soft soil model and soft soil creep model are not able to accurately predict the TBM displacement, the consideration of soil disturbance leads to a very good agreement with the measurement. The accurate prediction of ground settlements also justifies consideration of the disturbance in the study of tunneling. © 2018 Elsevier Lt

Repeat hepatectomy for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma: a local experience and a systematic review

Background: This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of repeat hepatectomy for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Thirty-seven patients who underwent a curative repeat hepatectomy in our hospital were retrospectively studied. An extensive database literature search was performed to obtain for all relevant studies. Results: In our series, there were no perioperative deaths during repeat hepatectomy for recurrent HCC. Patients survival after repeat hepatectomy were similar to 429 patients undergoing initial hepatectomy. A computerized search of the Medline and PubMed databases found 29 retrospective studies providing relevant data in 1149 patients were included for appraisal and data extraction. After the repeat hepatectomy, postoperative morbidity ranged from 6.2% to 68.2% with a median per cohort of 23.5 per cent. There were 7 perioperative deaths (0.7 per cent of 993 for whom mortality data were provided). The overall median survival ranged from 21 to 61.5 months, with 1 -, 3 -, and 5-year survival of 69.0% to 100%, 21.0% to 87.0%, and 25.0% to 87.0%, respectively. Conclusions: Repeat hepatectomy can be performed safely and is associated with long-term survival in a subset of patients with recurrent HCC. However, the findings have to be carefully interpreted due to the lower level of evidence. A randomized controlled study is needed to compare repeat hepatectomy and other modalities for recurrent HCC

Study of long-termed displacements of a tunnel boring machine during its stoppage

This paper studies the long-termed displacement of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) resting on soft clay during its unscheduled stoppage for 100 days. It is based on a real case of tunneling in a coastal city of Ningbo in China. The numerical prediction is carried out by using different soil models in the software PLAXIS, and the prediction is compared with on-site measurement of the displacement. Different factors are considered in the prediction, including soil creeping and the disturbance to the soft clay during the tunneling. The study indicates that the consideration of disturbance is essential to the accurate prediction. While advanced soil models including the soft soil model and soft soil creep model are not able to accurately predict the TBM displacement, the consideration of soil disturbance leads to a very good agreement with the measurement. The accurate prediction of ground settlements also justifies consideration of the disturbance in the study of tunneling. © 2018 Elsevier Lt

Defense Responses to Short-term Hypoxia and Seawater Acidification in the Thick Shell Mussel Mytilus coruscus

The rising anthropogenic atmospheric CO2 results in the reduction of seawater pH, namely ocean acidification (OA). In East China Sea, the largest coastal hypoxic zone was observed in the world. This region is also strongly impacted by ocean acidification as receiving much nutrient from Changjiang and Qiantangjiang, and organisms can experience great short-term natural variability of DO and pH in this area. In order to evaluate the defense responses of marine mussels under this scenario, the thick shell mussel Mytilus coruscus were exposed to three pH/pCO2 levels (7.3/2800 μatm, 7.7/1020 μatm, 8.1/376 μatm) at two dissolved oxygen concentrations (DO, 2.0, 6.0 mg L−1) for 72 h. Results showed that byssus thread parameters, such as the number, diameter, attachment strength and plaque area were reduced by low DO, and shell-closing strength was significantly weaker under both hypoxia and low pH conditions. Expression patterns of genes related to mussel byssus protein (MBP) were affected by hypoxia. Generally, hypoxia reduced MBP1 and MBP7 expressions, but increased MBP13 expression. In conclusion, both hypoxia and low pH induced negative effects on mussel defense responses, with hypoxia being the main driver of change. In addition, significant interactive effects between pH and DO were observed on shell-closing strength. Therefore, the adverse effects induced by hypoxia on the defense of mussels may be aggravated by low pH in the natural environments

Effect of dietary Ginkgo biloba leaf on the growth performance and nonspecific immunity of red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii

This trial investigated the effect of dietary Ginkgo biloba leaf (GBL) on the growth performance and nonspecific immunity of red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii. 180 Crayfishes were randomly divided into three groups. One group was fed with basic diet, whereas the other two groups were fed with diets containing 1% and 3% GBL. After 32 days of feeding, GBL addition tended to increase the body weight gain rate compared with control. In 3% GBL group, the bodyweight gain rate of male crayfish was higher than that of female crayfish. While female crayfish were advantageous in terms of meat yield. Liver-related indexes were influenced by GBL addition and 3% GBL could reduce glutamic pyruvic transaminase and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase as well as total cholesterol in male crayfish, showing its function in liver protection. Moreover, GBL addition effects on liver protection was better in male crayfish than female crayfish

Infrahepatic inferior vena cava clamping in hepatectomy for tumors involving hepatocaval confluence

Massive hemorrhage and the need for blood transfusion carry a high rate of morbidity and mortality after hepatectomy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and potential benefit of infrahepatic inferior vena cava (IVC) clamping in hepatectomy for tumors involving hepatocaval confluence. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 113 consecutive patients who underwent hepatectomy with infrahepatic IVC clamping (n = 60, Group A) and without infrahepatic IVC clamping (n = 53, Group B) as the initial treatment for tumors involving hepatocaval confluence. In Group A, central venous pressure reduced from 7.6 ± 3.2 to 4.4 ± 2.7 cm H2O (p < 0.001). Patients in Group A experienced less blood loss (477.3 ± 340.3 vs. 794.5 ± 602.7 mL, p = 0.001), fewer blood transfusion requirements (8.3% vs. 22.6%, p = 0.034), lower postoperative complications (40% vs. 60.4%, p = 0.031), and shorter hospital stay (10.7 ± 2.2 vs. 12.9 ± 4.8 days, p = 0.008) than those in Group B. Infrahepatic IVC clamping is generally effective and safe in controlling bleeding during hepatectomy for tumors involving hepatocaval confluence

Complete mitochondrial genome of the deep pugnose ponyfish Secutor ruconius (Perciformes: Leiognathidae) in the East China Sea

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Secutor ruconius is firstly described in this article. The total length of mitogenome is16,465 bp. It contains 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 2 ribosomal RNA genes. The overall base composition of H-strand is 31.58% A, 28.65% C, 25.23% T, and 14.53% G, with an A + T bias of 56.81%. The phylogenetic analysis result showed that the S. ruconius, Zebrasoma flavescens, and Pristipomoides multidens were closely related

Infrahepatic inferior vena cava clamping in hepatectomy for tumors involving hepatocaval confluence

Background: Massive hemorrhage and the need for blood transfusion carry a high rate of morbidity and mortality after hepatectomy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and potential benefit of infrahepatic inferior vena cava (IVC) clamping in hepatectomy for tumors involving hepatocaval confluence. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 113 consecutive patients who underwent hepatectomy with infrahepatic IVC clamping (n = 60, Group A) and without infrahepatic IVC clamping (n = 53, Group B) as the initial treatment for tumors involving hepatocaval confluence. Results: In Group A, central venous pressure reduced from 7.6 ± 3.2 to 4.4 ± 2.7 cm H2O (p < 0.001). Patients in Group A experienced less blood loss (477.3 ± 340.3 vs. 794.5 ± 602.7 mL, p = 0.001), fewer blood transfusion requirements (8.3% vs. 22.6%, p = 0.034), lower postoperative complications (40% vs. 60.4%, p = 0.031), and shorter hospital stay (10.7 ± 2.2 vs. 12.9 ± 4.8 days, p = 0.008) than those in Group B. Conclusion: Infrahepatic IVC clamping is generally effective and safe in controlling bleeding during hepatectomy for tumors involving hepatocaval confluence