Search

Background: In this study, we aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics and prognosis of children with retinoblastoma (RB) in a single center in China with a large sample collection spanning 17 years. Methods: The clinical data of 2790 children with RB treated in Beijing Tongren Hospital from 2005 to 2021 were collected, and a retrospective analysis was conducted. Results: The median age of the participants was 28.3 months. There were 3624 affected eyes, 12.4% of which were in groups A–C, 67.1% in groups D–E and 16.2% were not specified. The primary symptom observed in most cases was a white pupil, accounting for 66.5%, followed by strabismus (12.8%). The median follow-up time was 59.7 months. The enucleation rate was 71.3% (703/986) in a single left eye and 72.5% (702/968) in a single right eye. The overall survival (OS) rate was 95.8% (2444/2552) because 237 patients dropped out, and 109 died. Kaplan‒Meier survival analysis showed that the median survival time (MST) was 125.92 months [95% confidence interval (CI) = 124.83–127.01]. Cox multivariate survival analysis showed that trilateral RB (P = 0.017), metastasis site (P = 0.001), and combined distant tissue metastasis (P = 0.001) were independent prognostic factors for RB. The OS of 44 cases of familial RB was 93.2% (41/44), with an MST of 80.62 months (95% CI = 67.70–93.54). Conclusions: The timing of eye protection treatment and enucleation should be comprehensively judged to avoid worsening prognosis due to operation time delay. More importantly, the promotion and popularization of diagnosis and treatment technologies are necessary to further improve RB prognosis. E4PcSvZkzAG-n1U_2P1icm [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains controversial, especially for tumors larger than 5 cm. We compared the short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic and open liver resection (OLR) for large HCC. Methods: Patients with large HCC after curative hepatectomy were enrolled. To compare the short-term outcomes, propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW) were performed to reduce the effect of confounding factors, respectively. Subsequently, Cox-regression analyses were conducted to identify the independent risk factors associated with decreased recurrence-free survival (RFS) and poor overall survival (OS). Result: There were 265 patients enrolled in the final analysis: 146 who underwent OLR and 119 who underwent LLR. There was no significant difference between the OLR and LLR groups according to PSM and IPTW analysis (all P > 0.05). Multivariable analysis revealed that LLR was not independently associated with poorer OS (HR 1.15, 95% CI 0.80–1.67, P = 0.448) or RFS (HR 1.22, 95% CI 0.88–1.70, P = 0.238). Conclusion: There were no significant differences in perioperative complications or long-term prognosis between LLR and OLR for large HCC, which provides evidence for standard laparoscopic surgical practice with adequate surgeon experience and careful patient selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surgical resection is the only potentially curative treatment for patients with resectable perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (PHC). There is still no consensus on the value of lymphadenectomy despite evidence indicating lymph node (LN) status is an important prognostic indicator for postoperative long-term survival. We sought to perform a meta-analysis to summarize the current evidence on the value of lymphadenectomy among patients undergoing surgery for PHC. The PubMed (OvidSP), Embase and Cochrane Library were systematically searched for studies published before July 2020 that reported on lymphadenectomy at the time of surgery for PHC after curative surgery. 7748 patients from 28 studies were included in the meta-analysis. No survival benefit was identified with increased number of LN resected (all P > 0.05). Meanwhile, overall LN status was an important prognostic factor. Patients with lymph node metastasis had a pooled estimate hazard ratio of death that was over two-fold higher than patients without lymph node metastasis (HR 2.07, 95% CI 1.65–2.59, P < 0.001). The examination of 5 LNs on histology was associated with better staging of lymph node status and stratification of patients into positive or negative LN groups. While the extent of LN dissection was not associated with a survival benefit, examination of more than 5 LNs better staged patients into positive or negative LN groups with a lower risk of nodal understaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aseptic joint loosening is a key factor that reduces the life span of arthroplasty. There are currently few effective treatments for joint loosening except surgical revision. We explored the inhibitory effects of p110β-targeted small interfering RNA (siRNA) and lentivirus on particle-induced inflammatory cytokine expression in the murine macrophage cell line, RAW264.7. siRNA- and lentivirus-targeting p110β were transfected and infected prior to particle stimulation, respectively. Ceramic and titanium particles of different sizes were prepared to stimulate macrophages. Fluorescence microscopy showed that the efficiency of siRNA transfection and lentivirus infection were 74.2 ± 4.2 and 92.3 ± 2.6 %, respectively. TNF-alpha mRNA in the particle stimulation plus RNA interference (RNAi) groups were significantly lower compared with the particle stimulation-only groups ( P < 0.05). Similarly, protein levels of TNF-alpha in RNAi-treated groups were significantly decreased after transfection or infection ( P < 0.05). It showed that Phosphor-AKT (Ser473) activation was significantly reduced by RNAi through western blot. As assessed by CT, micro-CT and histological analysis, particle implantation induced a significant osteolysis in mice calvaria, which was limited by p110β lentivirus addition. These results suggested that p110β subtype of PI3K, followed by activation of Ser473, may possibly participate in the regulation of macrophages activity by wear particles, ultimately resulting in the TNF-α secretion and osteolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reperfusion is the key strategy in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) care, and it is time-dependent. Shortening the time from symptom to reperfusion and choosing the optimal reperfusion strategy for STEMI patients are great challenges in practice. We need to improve upon the problems of low reperfusion rate, non-standardized treatment, and economic burden in STEMI care. This article briefly reviews the current status of reperfusion strategy in STEMI care, and also introduces what we will do to bridge the gap between the guidelines and implementation in the clinical setting through the upcoming China STEMI early reperfusion program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the tensile bond anchorage properties of Australian 500N steel bars in concrete, 111 pullout tests were conducted. The precise bond slip values have been gained by using the laser displacement sensor with high resolution, including the complete bond-slip curves. How the main anchorage factors such as concrete strength, bar diameter (8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32 and 36 mm) the concrete covered, embedded length and transverse reinforcement influencing the bond anchorage properties was studied under tensile condition. The process of the tensile force-slip failure for Australian 500N reinforcing steel can be divided into five stages: elastic stage, local slip stage, slip in ascent stage, slip in descent stage and remnant stage. The formula for calculating the tensile bond strength of Australian 500N reinforcing bar in concrete was proposed according to the test results, including the consistent model for tensile bond-slip relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hollow core slabs are becoming of increasing interest as the construction industry attempts to minimise the impact of its activities on the environment. By forming voids in the interior of a concrete slab, the amount of concrete used can be reduced without significantly altering the capacity of the structure. In this study, we examined the inner force transfer mechanism of a column-supported cast-in-situ hollow core slab using finite element analysis. Both a hollow core slab and the corresponding solid slab were analysed using ANSYS and the results were compared. The orientation of the tube fillers causes the stiffness of the hollow slab to be orthotropic, potentially changing the distribution of load carried in the two orthogonal directions. Both the cross-section's moments in the column strip and near the columns in the hollow core slab become larger than that in the solid floor. As well, the cross-section's stiffness along the tube arrangement direction is larger than that of the radial cross-section, which causes the direction along the hole of the hollow core slab to carry more moment than the radial direction. The conversion factors of the two directions are proposed from the comparison for four typical areas of the hollow core slab, as are the moment distribution coefficients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A further numerical study of the theory that the drag reduction in the turbulence is related to the viscosity profile growing linearly with the distance from the wall was performed. The constant viscosity in the Navier-Stokes equations was replaced using this viscosity model. Some drag reduction characteristics were shown comparing with Virk’s phenomenology. The mean velocity and Reynolds stress profiles are consistent with the experimental and direct numerical simulation results. A drag reduction level of 45% was obtained. It is reasonable for this linear viscosity model to explain the mechanism of turbulence drag reduction in some aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the effect and implication of nonmyeloablative donor specific bone marrow (DSBM) infusion on the immunoreaction of liver allotransplantation. Methods: Orthotopic liver transplantation model was used in this study. Groups were set as follows: Group I, syngeneic control (Wistar-to-Wistar); Group II, acute rejection (SD-to-Wistar); Group III, acute rejection treated with cyclosporine A (CsA) by intramuscular injection (SD-to-Wistar+CsA); Group IV, bone marrow infusion at 7 d pretransplantation followed by short-term CsA treatment (SD-to-Wistar+DSBM); Another group of short-term CsA treatment preoperatively without bone marrow infusion was also set as control. General characteristics and survival time were observed. Histological grades of rejection were determined by pathological examination. IL-2 and IFN-γ level in peripheral blood and donor liver were detected respectively by Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA) and Western blot. Chimerism of donor cells was measured by PCR for a male-specific marker (Y-chromosome-specific sequence, Sry). Results: No signs of rejection were found in Group I. Acute rejection occurred in both Group II and the short-term CsA treated group. All the recipients died at (9:_15) d posttransplantation with a median survival time of (10.7±0.5) d and (11.2±2.4) d, respectively. Only mild rejection could be seen in Group III. In Group IV, 4 out of 6 recipients had long-term survival (>100 d), the histological grade of rejection was significantly lower than that of Group II, so did the expression level of IL-2 and IFN-γ in both peripheral blood and grafted liver. Y-chromosome-specific sequence (Sry) of male SD rats could be detected in the bone marrow, spleen and thymus of female recipients at 15 d after bone marrow infusion. Conclusion: Mild preconditioning nonmyeloablative donor specific bone marrow infusion can enhance chimerism formation in recipients, alleviate the rejection of liver allotransplantation and prolong survival of liver allotransplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hematopoietic stem cells have been successfully employed for tolerance induction in a variety of rodent and large animal studies. However, clinical transplantation of fully allogeneic bone marrow or blood-borne stem cells is still associated with major obstacles, such as graft-versus-host disease or cytoreductive conditioning-related toxicity. Here we show that when rat embryonic stem cell-like cells of WKY origin are injected intraportally into fully MHC-mismatched DA rats, they engraft permanently (>150 days) without supplementary host conditioning. This deviation of a potentially alloreactive immune response sets the basis for long-term graft acceptance of second-set transplanted WKY cardiac allografts. Graft survival was strictly correlated with a state of mixed chimerism, which required functional thymic host competence. Our results provide a rationale for using preimplantation-stage stem cells as vehicles in gene therapy and for the induction of long-term graft acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]