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Magnesia-carbon refractories have been widely used in smelting processes. However, they undergo more severe oxidation and degradation under low oxygen pressure. In this study, the oxidation behavior of MgO–C samples prepared from different magnesia in a protective inert atmosphere at 1600 °C and the effect of superoxide free radicals on the magnesia-carbon reaction were studied. Magnesia with MgO content of 98, 97 and 90 wt pct were used for the experiment. The results indicate that oxygen vacancies in magnesia can promote the formation of superoxide free radicals. Superoxide free radicals significantly increase the oxidation activity of magnesia and accelerate the magnesia-carbon reaction. Compared with sintered magnesia of the same grade (MgO content is 97 wt pct), the oxidation activity of fused magnesia increases owing to more superoxide free radicals. Magnesia containing spinel has low oxidation activity due to the consumption of superoxide free radicals in the spinel reaction. It is expected to improve the oxidation resistance and prolong the service life of magnesia-carbon refractories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monozygotic (MZ) twins are theoretically genetically identical. Although they are revealed to accumulate mutations after the zygote splits, discriminating between twin genomes remains a formidable challenge in the field of forensic genetics. Single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) are responsible for a substantial portion of genetic variation, thus potentially serving as promising biomarkers for the identification of MZ twins. In this study, we sequenced the whole genome of a pair of female MZ twins when they were 27 and 33 years old to approximately 30 × coverage using peripheral blood on an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 Sequencing System. Potentially discordant SNVs supported by whole-genome sequencing were validated extensively by amplicon-based targeted deep sequencing and Sanger sequencing. In total, we found nine bona fide post-twinning SNVs, all of which were identified in the younger genomes and found in the older genomes. None of the SNVs occurred within coding exons, three of which were observed in introns, supported by whole-exome sequencing results. A double-blind test was employed, and the reliability of MZ twin discrimination by discordant SNVs was endorsed. All SNVs were successfully detected when input DNA amounts decreased to 0.25 ng, and reliable detection was limited to seven SNVs below 0.075 ng input. This comprehensive analysis confirms that SNVs could serve as cost-effective biomarkers for MZ twin discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the importance of hydrogen metallurgy for the low-carbon and green iron and steel industries, the reduction behavior and microstructure evolution of two iron oxides (hematite and magnetite) at various temperatures were investigated in a pure hydrogen environment (99.999%). The weight loss ratio, total oxygen content, reduction degree, and phase composition of the iron oxides were also discussed. The hematite shows a better reducibility compared to magnetite. It is indicated that hematite and magnetite transform into iron metal with total oxygen contents below 6790 and 25,200 ppm, respectively, when the reduction temperature exceeds 800 °C. Simultaneously, a porous iron skeleton was formed at 800 °C, and the densification of the porous iron occurred with increasing temperature. The impurities in iron oxides significantly affect the microstructure evolution, weight loss ratio, and total oxygen content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Minimal residual disease (MRD) is proposed to be responsible for tumor recurrence. The role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) to detect MRD, monitor recurrence, and predict prognosis in liver cancer patients undergoing liver transplantation (LT) remains unrevealed. Methods: Serial blood samples were collected to profile ctDNA mutational changes. Baseline ctDNA mutational profiles were compared with those of matched tumor tissues. Correlations between ctDNA status and recurrence rate (RR) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were analyzed, respectively. Dynamic change of ctDNA was monitored to predict tumor recurrence. Results: Baseline mutational profiles of ctDNA were highly concordant with those of tumor tissues (median, 89.85%; range 46.2–100%) in the 74 patients. Before LT, positive ctDNA status was associated with higher RR (31.7% vs 11.5%; p = 0.001) and shorter RFS than negative ctDNA status (17.8 vs 19.4 months; p = 0.019). After LT, the percentage of ctDNA positivity decreased (17.6% vs 47.0%; p < 0.001) and patients with positive ctDNA status had higher RR (46.2% vs 21.3%; p < 0.001) and shorter RFS (17.2 vs 19.2 months; p = 0.010). Serial ctDNA profiling demonstrated patients with decreased or constant negative ctDNA status had lower RR (33.3% vs 50.0%; p = 0.015) and favorable RFS (18.2 vs 15.0 months, p = 0.003) than those with increased or constant positive ctDNA status. Serial ctDNA profiling predicted recurrence months ahead of imaging evidence and serum tumor biomarkers. Conclusions: ctDNA could effectively detect MRD and predict tumor recurrence in liver cancer patients undergone LT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Room temperature vulcanised (RTV) silicone rubber is widely used in daily life. Ordinary and traditional flame-retarding RTV silicone rubber are easy to turn into brittle char layer or ashes without any self-supporting and bonding ability after experiencing a combustion process, which could not inhibit the secondary disasters after fire. To improve the fire-resistance performances of RTV silicone rubber, a new single component ceramifiable RTV silicone rubber was prepared in this work. The tack-free time, mechanical properties and thermal properties of different formulations were tested. The flexural strength and adhesion strength of the ceramic residues were studied by orthogonal designed experiments, which exhibited the maximum of 8.80 and 0.300 MPa after sintering at 1000 °C, respectively. The ceramifying process of the single component ceramifiable RTV silicone rubber at high temperatures was also investigated. These results will provide a basis for the development of fire-resistant silicone adhesive with better performance that can meet the actual needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Spontaneous rupture is a fatal complication of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study compared the prognosis of spontaneously ruptured HCC (srHCC) with that of non-ruptured HCC (nrHCC). Methods: A total of 185 srHCC patients and 1085 nrHCC patients treated by hepatectomy between February 2005 and December 2017 at Zhongshan Hospital were retrospectively reviewed and enrolled. The overall survival (OS) and time to recurrence (TTR) were evaluated. A 1:2 propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed using the nearest neighbor matching with a caliper of 0.2. Results: Before PSM, patients with srHCC who underwent hepatectomy (n = 185) had a poorer prognosis than those with nrHCC (n = 1085; 5-year OS, 39.1% vs 59.2%, P < 0.001; 5-year TTR, 83.8% vs 54.9%, P < 0.001). After PSM, patients with srHCC (n = 156) had higher 5-year TTR (83.2% vs 69.0%, P < 0.001) but comparable 5-year OS with those with nrHCC (n = 312, 44.0% vs 46.0%, P = 0.600). Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated spontaneous rupture as an independent risk factor for TTR (hazard ratio [HR], 1.681; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.326–2.132; P < 0.001), but not for OS (HR: 1.074; 95% CI 0.823–1.401; P = 0.600). Further analysis revealed that srHCC was not appropriate to be assigned as T4 stage in American Joint Committee on Cancer classification. Conclusion: Spontaneous rupture of HCC is not a risk factor for survival. If resected eventually, srHCC may achieve comparable survival with nrHCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-performance topping concrete overlay would significantly reduce the fatigue stresses at susceptible details of orthotropic steel deck (OSD) and effectively improve the fatigue performance. Full-scale fatigue tests and numerical simulations were carried out to quantify the effects of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) topping pavement in reducing the OSD fatigue stresses based on a practical bridge design. Fatigue stress of the OSD critical details was measured from tests and cracking was observed in the SFRC overlay. Both an innovative pre-pump-pulse Brillouin optical time domain analysis (PPP-BOTDA) distributed optical fiber sensor and strain gauges were also used to measure the stress at OSD fatigue-prone details, including the crossbeam cut-out, rib-to-deck weld, rib-to-crossbeam weld and splice of U-rib. The corresponding three-dimensional (3-D) finite element model was then established and verified by the test results, and used to conduct a parametric study to obtain a quantitative expression of fatigue stress reduction factor, in terms of relative elastic modulus and thickness of overlay and steel deck plate. The proposed quantitative model of the fatigue stress reduction effect can guide the cost-effective design of composite bridge deck. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bloodstains are crucial pieces of physical evidences found at violent crime scenes, providing valuable information for reconstructing forensic cases. However, there is limited data on how bloodstain lipidomes change over time after deposition. Hence, we deployed a high-throughput high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS) approach to construct lipidomic atlases of bloodstains, whole blood, plasma, and blood cells from 15 healthy adults. A time-course analysis was also performed on bloodstains deposited for up to 6 months at room temperature (~ 25°C). The molecular levels of 60 out of 400 detected lipid species differed dramatically between bloodstain and whole blood samples, with major disturbances observed in membrane glycerophospholipids. More than half of these lipids were prevalent in the cellular and plasmic fractions; approximately 27% and 10% of the identified lipids were uniquely derived from blood cells and plasma, respectively. Furthermore, a subset of 65 temporally dynamic lipid species arose across the 6-month room-temperature deposition period, with decreased triacylglycerols (TAGs) and increased lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs) as representatives, accounting for approximately 8% of the total investigated lipids. The instability of lipids increased linearly with time, with the most variability observed in the first 10 days. This study sheds light on the impact of air-drying bloodstains on blood components at room temperature and provides a list of potential bloodstain lipid markers for determining the age of bloodstains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen-based direct reducing iron production (H-DRI) possesses great potential for energy saving and emission reduction of greenhouse gas in metallurgical industries. Although the relevant research has been studied since long, the thermodynamics and process of reduction by pure H2 in a broad temperature range are not well understood. Hence, we conducted a thermodynamic analysis of different iron ores (hematite and magnetite) reduced by H2 at 300–1700 K to study the phase-composition variation with temperature. Subsequently, we explored the reduction process of iron ores by pure H2 at 1173 K and 1673 K, respectively, to further investigate the influence of ore species and temperature on the microstructure evolution of ultimate metallic iron. The results reveal that excessive H2 favors the transition from FeO to Fe in the last reduction step, and the magnetite achieves a higher reduction extent than hematite. Temperature above 837 K is beneficial for avoiding the occurrence of the disproportionation reaction and promoting the FeO → Fe transition to improve the reduction extent. Meanwhile, the higher volume mismatch and the associated stresses between hetero-phases at 1673 K contributed to the formation of large-size pores or cracks. The higher content of dense Fe layers formed in magnetite at relatively lower temperature served as barriers against the diffusion of O, leading to the retention of abundant closed pores in the iron matrix. The oxide impurities cannot be reduced by H2 at 1673 K instead translated into oxide inclusions due to their low oxide-formation free energies, of which the coagulation was facilitated by increasing temperature as the higher velocity of migration and movement. With this study, we aim to provide theoretical direction for the practical application development of H-DRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There exist no treatment guidelines for spontaneously ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (srHCC) and its prognosis remains controversial. Methods: Patients were retrospectively enrolled and grouped based on hemodynamics and tumor resectability. The 30-day mortality, 5-year overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), peritoneal metastasis (PM) and intrahepatic metastasis (IM) rates were compared. Results: In general, 239 patients were classified into four groups: patients with stable hemodynamics underwent semi-elective hepatectomy (n = 119), and those with unstable hemodynamics received emergent hepatectomy (n = 17), sequential hemostatic-transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE)/-laparotomy with late hepatectomy (n = 49), or TACE only (n = 54). Hepatectomy was safer and provided better OS and PFS than TACE both before and after propensity score matching. Emergent hepatectomy was associated with higher 30-day mortality (6.2%, P < 0.05) and poorer prognosis whereas semi-elective hepatectomy and sequential treatment had comparable mortality (both 0%) and survival (36.3% vs 45.2%, P > 0.05). Compared with hemostatic TACE in the sequential treatment group, early surgical intervention (semi-elective hepatectomy, emergent hepatectomy, and sequential laparotomy with late hepatectomy) decreased PM (13.6% vs 34.2%, P = 0.003) whereas had higher IM (68.0% vs 50.0%, P = 0.039), but neither procedure had affected OS. In srHCC patients with high risk of recurrence (multiple tumors, micro- and macro-vascular invasion), postoperative adjuvant TACE improved OS. Conclusion: Hepatectomy could provide better prognosis than TACE for srHCC patients while semi-elective hepatectomy and sequential hemostatic-TACE with staged hepatectomy are viable options for srHCCs with stable and unstable hemodynamics, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MnS inclusions are the primary non-metallic inclusions in U75V high-carbon heavy rail steel and can be detrimental to the mechanical properties of this material. With the aim of identifying means of controlling the amount and morphology of these inclusions, the present work examined the precipitation thermodynamics and growth kinetics of MnS during the solidification of molten steel using the FactSage 7.0 software package with various modeling calculations. The results indicated that the equilibrium partition coefficients of both Mn (kMn) and S (kS) decreased monotonically with increases in the solid fraction, and the kMn and kS values ranged from 0.6557 to 0.6941 and from 0.0141 to 0.019, respectively. This work also demonstrated that MnS precipitates in the two-phase region during the late stage of solidification to a solid fraction of 0.9263, while increasing the solute concentrations generates earlier precipitation. The Mn and S concentrations were shown to increase rapidly prior to MnS precipitation, after which the Mn concentration continued to increase while the S concentration decreased. Increasing the cooling rate and decreasing the S concentration tended to reduce the size of MnS inclusions but decreasing the Mn concentration had the opposite effect. The sizes of MnS inclusions were calculated using a coupling model and determined to be in the range of 4.4–12.4 μm, in good agreement with values obtained from scanning electronic microscopy observations of a steel billet. Observations of MnS inclusions before and after the rolling process indicated that the deformation ability (defined as the ratio of the length (after the rolling process) to the diameter (before the rolling process) of inclusions) of MnS was in the range of 11.89 to 54.88. This work provides an improved understanding of the precipitation and growth of MnS inclusions in U75V high-carbon heavy rail steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The fused-cast refractory is the key lining material for glass furnaces; Its high corrosion resistance and low thermal conduction, which are determined by the phase structure, are a main focus of its development. In this paper, the relationship between the phase composition, the thermal conductivity and the corrosion resistance to glass-liquid was investigated by means of numerical simulation combined with a melting test. A phase structure and thermal conductivity corrosion resistant model with a eutectic content of 40-70 % and an average equivalent eutectic grain size 5-25 μm was established. It shows that the uniformity of thermal insulation and corrosion resistance of the material can be achieved by increasing the eutectic content and refining the eutectic grains. At the same time, by using a computer-controlled melting process, low thermal conductivity and high corrosion resistance of fused-cast AZS refractories can be produced, which can improve the energy saving effect with a glass furnace insulation and a safe operation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation and removal of exogenous inclusions in a real-size two-strand tundish is simulated by the proposed unsteady 3D comprehensive numerical model of the respective fluid-structure interaction, which takes into account the impacting and washing effects on the refractory wear. A large eddy simulation is employed to describe the molten steel vortex flow. Thus, the thermal profiles of the molten steel and refractory lining are constructed. One-way coupled unsteady Euler-Lagrange approach is adopted to estimate the detachment and motion of the exogenous inclusion. The inclusion's Reynolds number is utilized for evaluating the inclusion separation at the refractory lining after formation and at the upper surface of the molten steel. At a 1.2 m/min casting speed, 49 and 38 pct of exogenous inclusions are created at the turbulent inhibitor inner bottom and long nozzle inner wall, respectively. In contrast, only 13 pct of new inclusions are produced at all other inner walls. About 80 pct of newly generated inclusions are then trapped by free surfaces, 78 pct of which are removed at the first free surface. The initial diameter of exogenous inclusions ranges from 13 to 48 μm. The removal ratio of exogenous inclusions in the tundish first grows from 61 to 80 pct, with the casting speed rising from 1.0 to 1.2 m/min and then drops to 63 pct after the further casting speed rise to 1.4 m/min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatilization loss of molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) always takes place during the synthesis of Mo-containing alloying steel in the steelmaking process. In this work, the sublimation kinetics and mechanism of MoO3 in the range of 1273 to 1373 K were analyzed, in which the methods of model fitting, FE-SEM, EDS, and thermodynamic calculation were adopted. The results showed that sublimation of high-purity MoO3 (defined as the case III) and industrial grade MoO3 with the thickness of 3 mm (defined as the case II) were mainly controlled by the chemical reaction on the surface; increasing the thickness of industrial grade MoO3 to 7 mm (defined as the case I), the diffusion model was obeyed, instead. Activation energies of the three cases were extracted to be 127.489 (case III), 197.418 (case II), and 89.76 kJ/mol (case I), respectively. With the adoption of lever principle, the weight ratio of melting (from solid to liquid) to vaporization (from liquid to gas) during the whole volatilization process was estimated, i.e., 2.52:1 for case III, 0.84:1 for case II, and 5.89:1 for case I. The possible sublimation mechanism of industrial grade MoO3 was also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sintered magnesia refractories combined by in situ intergranular CaZrO3 phases were synthesized using natural MgO-containing natural minerals with CaO and SiO2 impurities and nano-sized ZrO2 additive. A homogenous distribution of intergranular CaZrO3, independent from the intergranular CaO-MgO-SiO2 phases, was formed in situ within the sintered magnesia aggregates by introducing 0.75 wt pct nano-sized ZrO2 into the magnesite. The formation mechanism of the in situ intergranular CaZrO3 phases was determined. The nano-sized ZrO2 was introduced and uniformly distributed at grain boundaries of the magnesia due to the micron-nano-sized particles composite system and wetting grinding process. Then the CaO in impurities were prior to SiO2 to react with the ZrO2 for generating CaZrO3 at the grain boundaries by increasing sintering temperature. Nevertheless, the nano-sized ZrO2 particles were encapsulated in the MgO crystallites with similar particle size decomposed from brucite and prevented from reacting with CaO impurities in magnesite. The mixing homogeneity of magnesite particles and ZrO2 particles and the direct contact between ZrO2 and CaO impurities in magnesite has a crucial effect on the formation of intergranular CaZrO3 phases. Furthermore, the intergranular CaZrO3 phases could enhance the bonding of magnesia grains and have great potential for improving the service performance of magnesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-hole ceramic filter is regarded as an effective and cheap method of additional flow control device in tundish. In order to evaluate the performance of the ceramic filter, a transient three-dimensional (3D) comprehensive numerical model has been developed to study the flow pattern, temperature distribution and residence time of the molten steel, as well as the elimination of inclusion in a full size two-strand tundish. One-way coupled Euler–Lagrange approach with random walk model was adopted to track the inclusion motion trajectory. The gravity, buoyancy, drag, virtual mass, lift, pressure gradient, and rebound forces were included. The inclusion Reynolds number was utilized for the judgment of the inclusion separation at the slag-steel interface and the internal surface of the filter hole. Besides, the residence time distribution curve has been analyzed for figuring out the macroscopic mixing of the molten steel. The results indicate that the ceramic filter increases the flow resistance of the molten steel in the tundish, resulting in a longer residence time and a higher temperature drop. Except removed by the covering molten slag, the inclusion could also be trapped by the filter hole when the molten steel travels through the ceramic filter. The elimination of the smaller inclusion is significantly improved. The removal ratio of the 1 μm inclusion in the tundish without ceramic filter is only 59.3 pct, while the value is improved to 65.3 pct if we apply the ceramic filter with slenderness ratio of 3 to the tundish. And with the slenderness ratio changing from 3 to 5, the removal ratio of the 1 μm inclusion increases from 65.3 to 72.0 pct. Additionally, the ceramic filter could counteract certain side effects of the increasing inclusion density on the removal, especially for the smaller inclusion. With the inclusion density increasing from 3990 to 5000 kg/m3, the removal ratio of the 1 μm inclusion decreases by 14.5 pct in the tundish without ceramic filter, and after using the ceramic filter, the removal ratio decreases by 13.0, 7.4, and 5.0 pct with the slenderness ratio varies from 3 to 5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To improve the utilization and evaluation of metallurgical solid waste, the investigation of slag has become a focused research subject in the recent years. However, when slag with various compositions was smelted to produce high value-added products in the slag furnace, the SiO2-MgO based slag caused serious damage to the refractory lining material of the furnace compared to the common CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 based slag. The tabular alumina, lightweight alumina, silicon carbide, mullite and brown fused alumina aggregates were selected for testing. The static crucible method was used to investigate the SiO2-MgO based slag corrosion and comparative analysis was performed. The results show that mullite-silicon carbide or tabular alumina-silicon carbide refractories are promising for the use as lining materials of SiO2-MgO slag smelting furnaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electromagnetic metallurgical technology has become an important method for the smelting of high purity steel with the development of metallurgical technology. The electromagnetic fields existing extensively in the steelmaking process can not only affect the smelting efficiency and the cleanness of steel, but also the interfacial behavior between the refractory and the molten slag. Focusing on alumina-magnesia castables, an important lining material in ladles, the interfacial behavior between the castable and different ladle slags with or without an alternating magnetic field (AMF) is studied in this paper. The results showed that the slag corrosion and especially the slag penetration of the alumina-magnesia castable are more severe under an AMF. Moreover, an AMF accelerates the migration of Fe, Mn and their oxides from the molten slag to the castable. Meanwhile, some low melting point phases such as diopside and anorthite form in the corrosion layer of the castable, which was deduced to accelerate the slag corrosion and penetration of the alumina-magnesia castable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) has been used as an alternative to open gastrectomy (OG) to treat early gastric cancer. However, the use of LG for advanced gastric cancer (AGC) has been in debate. Methods: Literature retrieval was performed by searching PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane library up to July 2014. Potential studies comparing the surgical effects between LG with OG were evaluated and data were extracted accordingly. Meta-analysis was carried out using RevMan. The pooled risk ratio and weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) were calculated. Results: Overall, 26 studies were included in this meta-analysis. LG had some advantages over OG, including shorter hospitalization (WMD, −3.63, 95 % CI, −4.66 to −2.60; P < 0.01), less blood loss (WMD, −161.37, 95 % CI, −192.55 to −130.18; P < 0.01), faster bowel recovery (WMD, −0.78, 95 % CI, −1.05 to −0.50; P < 0.01), and earlier ambulation (WMD, −0.95, 95 % CI, −1.47 to −0.44; P < 0.01). In terms of surgical and oncological safety, LG could achieve similar lymph nodes (WMD, −0.49, 95 % CI, −1.78 to 0.81; P = 0.46), a lower complication rate [odds ratio (OR), 0.71, 95 % CI, 0.59 to 0.87; P < 0.01], and overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) comparable to OG. Conclusions: For AGCs, LG appeared comparable with OG in short- and long-term results. Although more time was needed to perform LG, it had some advantages over OG in achieving faster postoperative recovery. Ongoing trials and future studies could help to clarify this controversial issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We summarized the recent findings of liquid biopsy in cancer field and discussed its potential utility in hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: Literature published in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Science Direct electronic databases was searched and reviewed. Results: Liquid biopsy specially referred to the detection of nucleic acids (circulating cell-free DNA, cfDNA) and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood of cancer patients. Compared to conventional single-site sampling or biopsy method, liquid biopsy had the advantages such as non-invasiveness, dynamic monitoring, and the most important of all, overcoming the limit of spatial and temporal heterogeneity. The genomic information of cancer could be profiled by genotyping cfDNA/CTC and subsequently applied to make molecular classification, targeted therapy guidance, and unveil drug resistance mechanisms. The serial sampling feature of liquid biopsy made it possible to monitor treatment response in a real-time manner and predict tumor metastasis/recurrence in advance. Conclusions: Liquid biopsy is a non-invasive, dynamic, and informative sampling method with important clinical translational significance in cancer research and practice. Much work needs to be done before it is used in the management of HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical and thermal insulation properties of expanded vermiculite (EV)/forsterite composite materials before and after the modification of EV by in situ alumina gel were characterized by three-point bending test, compressive strength test, and the flat-plate method for the determination of the thermal conductivity. The estimation method for the determination of the thermal conductivity of modified EV/forsterite composite materials was put forward, and the thermal conductivity in case of a high content of modified EV (the substitution rate of modified EV is more than 50 wt.%) is forecasted in this paper. The results show that, the mechanical properties and thermal insulation properties of the composite materials were significantly improved by increasing the modified EV content. When the substitution rate of modified EV was 50 wt.%, the flexural and compressive strength were 11.55 and 22.80 MPa, improved by 23.8 and 44.9%, respectively, compared with the unmodified sample; and the thermal conductivity was 0.169 W/m/K (at 1073 K), improved by 30.5%. The estimated thermal conductivities of modified EV/forsterite composite materials show good agreement with that of experiments, and the thermal conductivity of modified EV/forsterite composite materials was 0.157 W/m/K (at 1073 K) in case the substitution rate of modified EV was 100 wt.% through estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purging plug is an indispensable refining component; its slit structure and distribution are important factors that influence refining efficiency. We have fabricated a purging plug with adjustable slit structure and we have studied the mixing time of molten steel and the removal rate of inclusions in the ladle with a purging plug of different slit structure and blowing parameters by water modelling. The effects of the slit width, slit distribution and blowing parameters on the application of the purging plug in a ladle are discussed herein. The results show that if the gas flow rate is less than 0.89 m3/h, the mixing time difference is obviously larger; however, when the gas flow rate reaches or exceeds 0.89 m3/h, the mixing time difference becomes very small. When the slit width is more than 0.05 mm, the mixing time and inclusion removal rate are improved significantly. A smaller slit width is better for the formation of small bubbles and the removal of small inclusions, while bigger slits are conducive to stirring and a removal rate of inclusions of more than 50 μm. Bottom blowing using a d-type purging plug with collocation of slits with different widths and interval gap distribution not only ensures the removal rate of inclusions of more than 50 μm, but also highly improves the removal rate of inclusions of less than 50 μm. Thus, the total inclusion removal rate increases significantly and is as high as 67.21 %. In order to guarantee good refinement, the distance of the location of the purging plug from the centre of the circle should be greater than 0.4 R, which is a critical location for better blowing metallurgy and avoidance of more serious wear of local lining refractories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The oncological superiority, i.e., lower circumferential resection margin (CRM) involvement, lower intraoperative perforation (IOP), and local recurrence (LR) rates, of extralevator abdominoperineal resection (EAPR) over conventional abdominoperineal resection (APR) for rectal cancer is inconclusive. This meta-analysis systematically compared the rates of CRM involvement, IOP, and LR of rectal cancer patients treated by EAPR and APR, respectively. Methods: An electronic literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library through May 2013 was performed by two investigators independently to identify studies evaluating the CRM involvement, IOP, and LR rates of EAPR and APR, and search results were cross-checked to reach a consensus. Data was extracted accordingly. A Mantel-Haenszel random effects model was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) with 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI). Results: Six studies with a total of 881 patients were included. Meta-analysis of CRM involvement and IOP data from all six studies demonstrated significant lower CRM involvement (OR, 0.36; 95%CI, 0.23-0.58; P < 0.0001) and IOP (OR, 0.31; 95%CI, 0.12-0.80; P = 0.02) rates of EAPR. Data from four studies also showed that EAPR was associated with a lower LR rate than APR (OR, 0.27; 95%CI, 0.08-0.95; P = 0.04). No differences of between-study heterogeneity or publication bias were seen in any of the meta-analyses. Conclusions: Extralevator abdominoperineal resection could achieve better CRM involvement outcome and lower IOP and LR rates, demonstrating an oncological superiority over conventional abdominoperineal resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstracts: Transmembrane protease/serine 4 (TMPRSS4), a member of the type II transmembrane serine protease family, is highly expressed in some human cancers and involved in the EMT regulation of cancer cells. The prognostic value of TMPRSS4 in colorectal cancer (CRC) has not been discussed. This study aims to evaluate the association between TMPRSS4 expressions and survival in CRC patients. Immunohistochemistry revealed high expression of TMPRSS4 in 69/122 CRC samples, compared with 14/47 in normal tissues ( P < 0.01). Correlation analysis showed high expression of TMPRSS4 was significantly associated with advanced TNM stage ( P = 0.011), pT ( P = 0.019), pN ( P = 0.035), and pM status ( P = 0.004). Higher TMPRSS4 predicted shorter overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in CRC patients ( P < 0.01, both). Moreover, both TMPRSS4 expression and TNM stage were independent predictive factors of OS and DFS in Cox regression analysis. The findings in our study demonstrated the potential value of TMPRSS4 expression level as a prognostic biomarker for CRC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to parameters of the refining ladle with argon bottom blowing, the mathematical model describing the erosion behavior of ladle lining materials was established, the flow process of molten steel and thermal transmission of ladle lining were coupled, and the erosion of ladle lining in the condition of blowing argon at the bottom was researched. It has been found that either single or double blowing is applied, the larger erosion rates are mainly distributed in the slag line and the area of ladle lining near purging plugs, and the erosion is accelerated with the gas flow rate increasing, so the areas with higher erosion rates of the lining should be enhanced to avoid early partial damage. The erosion rate of ladle lining with double blowing is larger and the distribution of erosion is obviously different as the gas flow rate is increasing; serious erosion areas are in the slag line region and the higher erosion areas are concentrated on the slag lining and extended toroidally. And, as the distance between the purging plug and the lining of ladle is shortened, the partial erosion is easy to deteriorate and the refractories in the area with higher erosion rate need specialized selection and design. Meanwhile, the purging plug should be located away from the lining wall under the condition of good blowing effect in order to avoid increasing of the partial erosion and shortening of the lining service life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We created an immunosensing platform for the detection of proteins in a buffer solution. Our sensing platform relies on graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets conjugated with antibodies to provide quantitative binding sites for analyte proteins. When analyte proteins and standard fluorescein-labelled proteins are competing for the binding sites, the assay exhibits quantitative fluorescence quenching by GO for the fluorescein-labelled proteins as determined by the analyte protein concentration. Because of this mechanism, measured fluorescence intensity from unquenched fluorescein-labelled protein was shown to increase with an increasing analyte protein concentration. As an alternative to the conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), our method does not require an enzyme-linked second antibody for protein recognition and the enzyme for optical signal measurement. Thus, it is beneficial with its low cost and fewer systematic errors caused by the series of antigen-antibody recognition steps in ELISA. Immune globulin G (IgG) was introduced as a model protein to test our method and our results showed that the limit of detection for IgG was 4.67 pmol mL−1 in the buffer solution. This sensing mechanism could be developed into a promising biosensor for the detection of proteins, which would broaden the spectrum of GO applications in both analytical biochemistry and clinical diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]