Enhanced Electrokinetic Transport of Sulfate in Saline Soil

The electrokinetic transport of sulfate was investigated as a means of treating and restoring a sulfate-accumulating saline soil. The electrokinetic treatment decreased the electrical conductivity of the soil, an indicator of soil salinity, to 58.6%, 73.1%, and 83.5% for 7, 14 and 21 days, respectively. More than 96% of the chloride and nitrate were removed within 7 days. However, the removal of sulfate was highly influenced by the anode material. An iron anode removed sulfate effectively, whereas, sulfate was hyper-accumulated in the anodic region when an inert anode was used. The iron anode was oxidized in a sacrificial anodic reaction, which competed with the electrolysis reaction of water at the anode, and finally the reaction prevented the severe acidification of the soil in the anodic region. However, the competing reactions produced hydrogen ions at the anode, and the ions were transported toward the cathode, which, in turn, acidified the soil, especially, in the anodic region. The acidification switched the surface charge of the soil from negative to positive, increasing the interaction between the soil surface and sulfate, and thus inhibiting the transport of sulfate under the electric field. The zeta potential analysis of the soil provided an explanation. The results indicate that preventing severe acidification is an important factor which influences the transport of anions and iron anode for the enhanced removal of anionic pollutants by electrokinetic remediation

Cyr61 Expression is associated with prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND: Cysteine-rich 61 (Cyr61), a member of the CCN protein family, possesses diverse functionality in cellular processes such as adhesion, migration, proliferation, and survival. Cyr61 can also function as an oncogene or a tumour suppressor, depending on the origin of the cancer. Only a few studies have reported Cyr61 expression in colorectal cancer. In this study, we assessed the Cyr61 expression in 251 colorectal cancers with clinical follow up. METHODS: We examined Cyr61 expression in 6 colorectal cancer cell lines (HT29, Colo205, Lovo, HCT116, SW480, SW620) and 20 sets of paired normal and colorectal cancer tissues by western blot. To validate the association of Cyr61 expression with clinicopathological parameters, we assessed Cyr61 expression using tissue microarray analysis of primary colorectal cancer by immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS: We verified that all of the cancer cell lines expressed Cyr61; 2 cell lines (HT29 and Colo205) demonstrated Cyr61 expression to a slight extent, while 4 cell lines (Lovo, HCT116, SW480, SW620) demonstrated greater Cyr61 expression than HT29 and Colo205 cell lines. Among the 20 cases of paired normal and tumour tissues, greater Cyr61 expression was observed in 16 (80%) tumour tissues than in normal tissues. Furthermore, 157 out of 251 cases (62.5%) of colorectal cancer examined in this study displayed strong Cyr61 expression. Cyr61 expression was found to be associated with pN (p = 0.018). Moreover, Cyr61 expression was associated with statistically significant cancer-specific mortality (p = 0.029). The duration of survival was significantly lesser in patients with Cyr61 high expression than in patients with Cyr61 low expression (p = 0.001). These results suggest that Cyr61 expression plays several important roles in carcinogenesis and may also be a good prognostic marker for colorectal cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Our data confirmed that Cyr61 was expressed in colorectal cancers and the expression was correlated with worse prognosis of colorectal cancers

Gastro-Colo-Cutaneous Fistula Occurring After Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Procedure

An 82-year-old man diagnosed with supraglottic cancer sought a consultation for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placement. Preoperative chest radiography (posterior-anterior [PA] view) revealed no abnormalities, and PEG tube placement was performed using the “pull” method. Chest radiography (PA view) performed 3 days postoperatively showed free air that was not observed immediately after PEG tube placement; therefore, the patient was diagnosed with pneumoperitoneum. Abdominal computed tomography confirmed that the PEG tube was appropriately positioned within the stomach; however, the colon was observed between the abdominal wall and stomach, which indicated that the PEG tube had passed through the colon. Review of preoperative chest radiographs (PA views) confirmed that the colon was visualized in the area wherein usually stomach gas should have been observed. The patient was diagnosed with a gastro-colo-cutaneous fistula that occurred postoperatively, following a procedure that was performed without confirmation of anatomical variations. The PEG tube was removed surgically, and we performed percutaneous gastrostomy

Enhancement of phase separation in the InGaN layer for self-assembled In-rich quantum dots

The enhancement of phase separation in the InGaN layer grown on a GaN layer with a rough surface was investigated for the formation of self-assembled In-rich quantum dots(QDs) in the InGaN layer. Transmission electron microscopy images showed that In-rich QDs with a size of 2–5 nm were formed even in an InGaN layer with a low indium content, and a layer thickness less than the critical thickness. The room-temperature photoluminescence(PL) spectrum of this layer showed emission peaks corresponding to In-rich QDs. The temperature-dependent PL spectra showed dominant peak shifts to the lower energy side, indicating that the self-assembled In-rich QDs are formed in the InGaN layer grown on a rough GaNsurface and that the carriers are localized in In-rich QDs

Thermal Ablation for Benign Thyroid Nodules: Radiofrequency and Laser

Although ethanol ablation has been successfully used to treat cystic thyroid nodules, this procedure is less effective when the thyroid nodules are solid. Radiofrequency (RF) ablation, a newer procedure used to treat malignant liver tumors, has been valuable in the treatment of benign thyroid nodules regardless of the extent of the solid component. This article reviews the basic physics, techniques, applications, results, and complications of thyroid RF ablation, in comparison to laser ablation

Systemic chemotherapy for treatment of advanced small bowel adenocarcinoma with prognostic factor analysis: retrospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We sought to evaluate prognostic factors affecting overall survival (OS), and to investigate the role of palliative chemotherapy using propensity score-based weighting, in patients with advanced small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data from a total of 91 patients diagnosed with advanced SBA at the Asan Medical Center between January 1989 and December 2009 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were split into two groups, those who did and did not receive palliative chemotherapy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, 81 patients (89.0%) died, at a median survival time of 6.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.5 - 7.5 months). The 40 patients receiving chemotherapy showed overall response and disease control rates of 11.1% and 37.0%, respectively, with OS and progression-free survival (PFS) of 11.8 months (95% CI, 4.6 - 19.0 months) and 5.7 months (95% CI, 3.5 - 8.0 months), respectively. The 41 patients who did not receive chemotherapy had an OS of 4.1 months (95% CI, 3.1 - 5.1 months) and a PFS of 1.3 months (95% CI, 0.8 - 1.7 months). Multivariate analysis showed that lack of tumor resection, non-prescription of chemotherapy, liver metastasis, and intra-abdominal lymph node metastasis, were all independently associated with poor survival outcomes. After inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) adjustment, the group that did not receive chemotherapy was at a significantly higher risk of mortality (HR 3.44, 95% CI 2.03 - 5.83, p < 0.001) than were patients receiving chemotherapy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Palliative chemotherapy may improve survival outcomes in patients with advanced SBA.</p

Clinical significance of carcinoembryonic antigen in peritoneal fluid detected during operation in stage I–III colorectal cancer patients

Background/AimsEarly diagnosis of peritoneal metastases in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) can influence patient prognosis. The aim of this study was to identify the clinical significance of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in peritoneal fluid detected during operation in stage I–III CRC patients.MethodsBetween April 2009 and April 2015, we reviewed medical records from a total of 60 stage I–III CRC patients who had peritoneal fluid collected during operation. Patients who had positive cytology in the assessment of peritoneal fluid were excluded. We evaluated the values of CEA in peritoneal fluid (pCEA) to predict the long-term outcomes of these patients using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression models.ResultsThe median follow-up duration was 37 months (interquartile range, 21–50 months). On receiver operating characteristic analysis, pCEA had the largest area under the curve (0.793; 95% confidence interval, 0.635–0.950; P=0.001) with an optimal cutoff value of 26.84 (sensitivity, 80.0%; specificity, 76.6%) for predicting recurrence. The recurrence rate was 8.1% in patients with low pCEA (<26.84 ng/mL, n=37), and 52.2% in patients with high pCEA (≥26.84 ng/mL, n=23). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, high pCEA (≥26.84 ng/mL) was a risk factor for poor cancer-free survival (CFS) in stage I–III patients.ConclusionsIn this study, we determined that high pCEA (≥26.84 ng/mL) detected during operation was helpful for the prediction of poor CFS in patients with stage I–III CRC