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ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of interventional therapy (iodine-125[125I] seed strand and portal vein stent [PVS] implantation plus transarterial chemoembolization [TACE]) combined with systemic therapy (lenvatinib plus anti-PD-1 antibody) as first-line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with Vp4 portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT).Patients and methodsFrom December 2018 to October 2021, 87 HCC patients with Vp4 PVTT were included in this single-center retrospective study. Forty-seven patients underwent interventional therapy combined with lenvatinib and anti-PD-1 antibody (group A), while 40 cases underwent interventional therapy combined with lenvatinib only (group B). Overall response rate (ORR), stent occlusion rates (SOR), median overall survival (OS), median progression-free survival (PFS) and median stent patency time (SPT) were compared between the 2 groups.ResultsThe mean intended dose (r = 10 mm; z = 0; 240 days) was 64.9 ± 1.0 Gy and 64.5 ± 1.1 Gy in group A and B, respectively (p = 0.133). ORR and SOR were significantly different between group A and B (ORR, 55.3% vs 17.5%, p < 0.001; SOR, 12.8% vs 35.0%, p = 0.014). In the propensity-score matching (PSM) cohort, the median OS, median PFS and median SPT were significantly longer in group A compared with group B (32 PSM pairs; OS, 17.7 ± 1.7 vs 12.0 ± 0.8 months, p = 0.010; PFS, 17.0 ± 4.3 vs 8.0 ± 0.7 months, p < 0.001; SPT, not-reached vs 12.5 ± 1.1 months, p = 0.028).ConclusionThis interventional therapy combined with lenvatinib and anti-PD-1 antibody is safe and effective for HCC patients with Vp4 PVTT.

In recent years, the high-power single-frequency fiber lasers have developed rapidly, and they have been used in nonlinear frequency conversion and gravitational wave detection. The main factors limiting the output power of single-frequency fiber lasers are the nonlinear effect and transverse mode instability (TMI) effect. In general, large-core fibers can mitigate nonlinear effects while small-core fibers help to suppress the TMI effect. Owing to the core diameter varying in the longitudinal direction, tapered double clad fiber (T-DCF) is a promising solution to simultaneously suppress the nonlinearity and TMI effects. In the present study, we have fabricated a piece of 2.2-m-long Ytterbium-doped T-DCF. The core diameter and the cladding diameter of this fiber vary gradually from 30.3 μm to 49.3 μm and from 245 μm to 404 μm, respectively. Using this homemade fiber, we constructe an all-fiberized single-frequency master oscillator power amplifier system, which is pumped by laser diodes with a central wavelength of 976 nm. The seed of the system has a central wavelength of 1064 nm, and output power of 30 mW. The T-DCF is coiled on a piece of cooling plate, whose output end is cleaved at a 8° angle. The laser is output to free space and collimated by a free-space collimator. After the collimator, dichroic mirror is utilized to strip out the residual pump power for measuring power, spectrum, time-domain signal and beam quality. The output power increases linearly with the pumping power increasing. When the pumping power is 502 W, the output power reaches 400 W. And there is no stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) nor TMI under the power level. The corresponding slope efficiency is 81.7% while the M2 is measured to be 1.29, exhibiting the single-mode output characteristic of the system. When the output power is further increased to 418 W, the TMI effect is observed, which limits further the power scaling of the single-mode output. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest output power of single-frequency fiber laser based on home-made gain fibers. The results indicate that T-DCFs can simultaneously suppress the nonlinearity and TMI, thus providing a useful reference for further power scaling of single-frequency fiber lasers. Higher output power is expected by optimizing the parameters of T-DCF and the structure of system.

Two red iridium( ) complexes with Ir–S–P–S structures were obtained rapidly at room temperature in 5 min with high yields, and their devices achieve good performances with a maximum external quantum efficiency of 24.90%., Due to the strong coordination ability between sulfur and iridium atoms, , -diphenyl S-hydrogen phosphorodithioate acid (opss) and , -di(naphthalen-1-yl) S-hydrogen phosphorodithioate acid (onss) were applied as ancillary ligands in two red iridium( ) complexes. Both complexes, (tfmpqz) Ir(opss) and (tfmpqz) Ir(onss), with Ir–S–P–S four membered ring structures were obtained rapidly at room temperature in 5 min with high yields, in which 4-(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-quinazoline (tfmpqz) was used as the main ligand, and the calculated Gibbs free energy changes of both complex formation reactions further prove that they are exothermic and thermodynamically beneficial processes. Both Ir( ) complexes show identical PL emissions at 600 nm with high phosphorescence quantum yields of 0.68 and 0.79, respectively. Using the two complexes as dopants, organic light emitting devices with the structure of ITO/HATCN (hexaazatriphenylenehexacabonitrile, 5 nm)/TAPC (bis(4-( , -ditolylamino)phenyl)cyclohexane, 30 nm)/(tfmpqz) Ir(opss) or (tfmpqz) Ir(onss): 26DCzppy (2,6-bis-(3-(carbazol-9-yl)phenyl)pyridine) (12 wt%, 10 nm)/TmPyPB (1,3,5-tris((3-pyridyl)-phen-3-yl)benzene, 30 nm)/LiF (1 nm)/Al (100 nm) achieve good performances. Especially, due to a larger conjugated degree of the (tfmpqz) Ir(onss) complex, its device exhibits better device performances with a maximum luminance of 52 030 cd m , a maximum current efficiency of 57.98 cd A , a maximum power efficiency of 44.40 lm W and a maximum external quantum efficiency of 24.90%.

This study sought to develop a reliable and easy-to-use scoring model to guide the decision to perform postsurgical adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (PA-TACE) in patients with hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The study included 235 consecutive patients with hepatitis B-related HCC undergoing PA-TACE at our medical center. Patients were assigned to 2 sets according to the PA-TACE date: initial (2005–2007; n = 130) and internal validation (2008–2009; n = 105) sets. With the aid of a Cox regression model, we developed a risk-scoring model from the independent predictive factors of our initial set designed as a guide for PA-TACE, and the performance of the model was validated with an internal set. External validation was also performed with an independent dataset (n = 84) to assess the discriminatory power of the scoring model. In the multivariate analysis, 4 risk factors (an increase in Child-Pugh score of at least 1 point, hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid [HBV-DNA] level >104 IU/mL, tumor diameter ≥5 cm, and the presence of vascular invasion) were significantly associated with prognosis. These factors were incorporated into a novel clinicopathological scoring model (assessment for PA-TACE [APT] risk-scoring model) ranging from 0 to 8 that was correlated with prognosis. Different survival outcomes were identified in three groups (0–2 points, 3–6 points, and 7–8 points). The risk-scoring model was further confirmed with 2 independent sets. The novel APT risk-scoring model, merging 4 prognostic factors, may achieve an optimal postsurgical prediction of PA-TACE in HBV-related HCC. The risk for an individual patient with an APT score of ≥7.0 prior to the PA-TACE, who may not profit from further PA-TACE, can be determined, and this may lead to a more appropriate choice of treatment.