Influence of antiviral therapy on survival of patients with hepatitis B-associated hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing transarterial chemoembolization

Purpose: To examine the prognostic value of antiviral therapy among hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients undergoing transarterial chemoembolization (TACE).Method: A total of 356 patients with HCC undergoing TACE were recruited for the purpose of current study. All the patients were categorized into two groups; antiviral (n = 132) and non-antiviral group (n = 224). All the clinical and laboratory parameters were noted at baseline. Patients were then followed up for five years. The mortality rates in two groups were evaluated with Kaplan-Meier estimate.Results: The average age of the participants was 51.2 ± 6.17 years. A majority (329; 92.4 %) of the patients were male while females constituted only 7.6 %. During five years follow-up period, a total of 274 (76.9 %) died, with 89 patients belonging to the antiviral group while the remaining 185 patients were in the non-antiviral group. Mortality rate significantly differed between the antiviral and non-antiviral groups (67.4 % versus 82.5 %, p = 0.028). The results of Cox regression demonstrated that being a smoker, low serum albumin, local ablation and resection decreased overall survival while female gender, antiviral therapy, and early tumor site-node-metastatis (TNM) staging increased overall survival.Conclusion: Antiviral therapy for underlying hepatitis B in HCC patients undergoing TACE prolongs overall survival and prevents or delays reactivation of tumor.Keywords: Cancer, Chemoembolization, Hepatitis, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Research on monitoring method of shaft tilt deformation based on SLAM

In view of the problems existing in traditional shaft safety monitoring methods such as low efficiency(need monitoring after production stop), less data and large error, a method of monitoring shaft tilt deformation with laser SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technology was proposed. The main shaft of Niuerzhuang Mine of Fengfeng Group was taken as the research object, the monitoring plan was designed and the laser SLAM technology was used to perceive the internal information of shaft. The K′-means algorithm was adopted to extract the point cloud of shaft boundary, the Markov mathematical model was established to get the center of point cloud slice, and then to the shaft center datum line was set up, the shaft tilt deformation was analyzed based on integral and subsection methods. The results showed that the overall vertical inclination of the shaft was 1.99‰, the vertical inclination of upper shaft(0-100 m away from the shaft head) was 3.06‰, and the vertical inclination of lower shaft(150-205 m away from the shaft head) was 1.85‰. Compared with the traditional monitoring method, the working time of laser SLAM can be shortened from one day or even longer to one hour. The monitoring work can be completed within the maintenance time of the shaft cage, and the work efficiency is significantly improved without stopping production

A two-stage robust low-carbon operation strategy for interconnected distributed energy systems considering source-load uncertainty

Interconnected distributed energy systems (DESs) can facilitate multi-energy consumption, improve energy efficiency, and advance decarbonization goals. In this context, this study proposes an energy sharing framework that considers multiple uncertainties to optimize the low-carbon robust economic operation of interconnected DESs. First, a low-carbon dispatch model for DESs that includes electricity and heat sharing, integrated demand response (IDR), and low-carbon policies is constructed. Then, a two-stage robust optimization model is developed considering the source-load uncertainty, and the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) condition is introduced to transform the max-min problem in the second stage into a single-layer issue. In addition, an approach combining the alternating direction multiplier method (ADMM) with the column-and-constraint generation algorithm (CCG) is proposed for a distributed and hierarchical solving of the two-stage energy sharing problem. Finally, to address the issue of transactional payments for energy sharing, a profit allocation model based on multi-factor contributions is developed to ensure that the benefits generated by the sharing system are fairly distributed. Based on actual data simulation, the effectiveness of the two-stage robust sharing scheme presented in this study is demonstrated for economy and carbon reduction