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Traditional fluorescent materials used in anti-counterfeiting field usually exhibit monochromatic luminescence at a single-wavelength excitation, which is easily be forged by sophisticated counterfeiters. In this work, Zn2GeO4:Mn, x%Li (x=0 and 20), Zn2GeO4­NaLiGe4O9:Mn, x%Li (x=50 and 70) and NaLiGe4O9:Mn micro-phosphors with the multi-chromatic and multi-mode luminescence have been successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal approach followed by an annealing treatment. As expected that these Li+ doped Zn2GeO4:Mn and NaLiGe4O9:Mn phosphors exhibit a double peak emission including a long green afterglow (~540 nm) and a red photoluminescence (∼668 nm). By tuning Li+ doping concentrations, a gradual colour output and a tuneable afterglow duration are achieved. Particularly, the Zn2GeO4:Mn,Li and NaLiGe4O9:Mn phosphors exhibit excellent performance as security inks for printing luminescent numbers and anti-counterfeiting patterns, which shows an afterglow time-dependent or excitation wavelength-dependent luminescence colour evolution. This work proves the feasibility of Li+ doping strategy in emission tuning, which can stimulate further studies on multi-mode luminescent materials in anti-counterfeiting applications.

For anti-counterfeiting and full-color display applications, adjusting the Yb3+ concentrations or excitation conditions is the basic and simple way to control luminescence color and intensity. However, this approach is significantly limited because the luminescence color is not very sensitive to the response of doped Yb3+ concentrations or excitation conditions. Herein, we have demonstrated that the as-synthesized NaLuF4:Yb/Er and their annealed counterpart LuOF:Yb/Er microrods exhibit upconversion/downshifting double-mode luminescence with complementary and rich colors from green, yellow to red under 980/365/488 nm excitation. The anti-counterfeiting patterns printed with these microrods inks have the ability of the color response to the excitation wavelength, excitation power and laser scanning speed, which make them be hard to duplicate. This study indicates that Yb/Er doping NaLuF4 and their complementary LuOF microrods have great potential in multilevel anti-counterfeiting application and display. In addition, heat treatment way also brings novel ideas to the synthesis of high efficient luminescence materials.

Shuai Zhou, Chao Zhu, Shi Lei Chen, Jin Ang Li, Kang Lin Qu, Hao Jing, Yong Wang, Qing Pang, Hui Chun Liu Department of Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery, Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Anhui, 233000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Hui Chun Liu; Qing PangDepartment of Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery, Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Anhui, 233000, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail liuhcdoctor@126.com; portxiu2@126.comBackground: Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive malignant tumor of the digestive system and the fourth leading cause of tumor-related death. Intracavitary 125I seed irradiation has been recently developed as a therapy for locally advanced pancreatic head carcinoma. However, there are still many limitations, and more investigations are needed in order to optimize this new treatment method.Methods: Sixty-seven patients were included in our study; 41 cases treated by SEMS-CL-125I intracavular irradiation (SEMS-CL-125I group) and 26 cases treated by SEMS-CL-125I intracavular irradiation combined with 125I particle implantation in the tumor body (the combined group). Among the 67 patients, 43 were males and 24 were females, with an average age of 69.64± 8.84 years. Tumor site size was determined based on the MRI or CT imaging scans, and the number and radius of 125I particle placement were calculated according to a specific formula. 125I particles were inserted into the tumor with a radius of 1.5 cm and a row spacing of 1 cm. The main postoperative biochemical indexes, imaging analysis, postoperative analgesia degree, median survival time and rate of complications were compared between the two groups.Results: Jaundice and liver function improved in both groups after treatment for 6 months. The combined group did better. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that patients in the combined group had a significantly better overall survival than those in the SEMS-CL-125I group. Patients in the combined group had less complications than those in the SEMS-CL-125I group (23.1% vs 34.1%), and the postoperative pain status of the combined group was improved (26.8% vs 53.8%).Conclusion: Compared with the SEMS-CL-125I intracavular irradiation alone, the combination of 125I seed implantation with solid tumor 125I seed implantation had a better therapeutic effect in LAPHC patients, with improved biochemical indicators, survival prognosis, pain relief, and fewer complications.Keywords: locally advanced pancreatic cancer, 125I, metal biliary stent

Based on the characteristics of modern weapon injury, a repetitive model of traumatic systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and an evaluation system were established. The models were treated with GFP-labeled tree shrew umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs). Forty out of 50 tree shrews were used to make a unilateral femoral comminuted fracture. Lipopolysaccharide was injected intravenously to create a traumatic SIRS model. The other 10 shrews were used as normal controls. After the model was established for 10 days, 20 tree shrews were injected intravenously with GFP-labeled UCMSCs, and 18 tree shrews were not injected as the model control group. The distribution of GFP-labeled cells in vivo was measured at 2 and 10 days after injection. Twenty days after treatment, the model group, the normal control group, and the treatment group were taken to observe the pathological changes in each tissue, and blood samples were taken for the changes in liver, renal, and heart function. Distribution of GFP-positive cells was observed in all tissues at 2 and 10 days after injection. After treatment, the HE staining results of the treatment group were close to those of the normal group, and the model group had a certain degree of lesions. The results of liver, renal, and heart function tests in the treatment group were returned to normal, and the results in the model group were abnormally increased. UCMSCs have a certain effect on the treatment of traumatic SIRS and provide a new technical solution for modern weapon trauma treatment.

Background Platelet-albumin-bilirubin (PALBI) has been demonstrated to be superior to conventional Child-Pugh (C-P) grade in evaluating liver function and prognosis of HCC patients. However, both thrombocytosis and thrombocytopenia are unfavorable for HCC survival. The aim of this study was to preliminarily investigate the prognostic value of PALBI in HCC patients with thrombocytopenia and excluding thrombocytopenia. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we reviewed 465 cases of HCC patients who underwent radical surgery. PALBI grade was calculated based on preoperative serological examinations. The primary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS), which were assessed by Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression. The prognostic performances of PALBI and other models were estimated by using the concordance index (C-index). Results During a median follow-up time of 28 months, 31.6% (147/465) of patients died and 33.5% (156/465) experienced recurrence. Multivariate analyses revealed that both thrombocytosis and thrombocytopenia were independently associated with poor OS and RFS compared with normal platelet count (PLT) in HCC patients. Stratified analysis further revealed that PALBI was a significant predictor for HCC survival in patients excluding thrombocytopenia but not in patients with thrombocytopenia. In particular, in HCC patients excluding thrombocytopenia, the combination of tumor size with PALBI (C-index = 0.730, 95% CI: 0.674-0.786) may be superior to the classical Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) and Cancer of Liver Italian Program (CLIP) staging systems in predicting survival. Conclusion In conclusion, PALBI grade, in particular the combination with tumor size, is an effective model for discriminating survival in HCC patients excluding thrombocytopenia but not in thrombocytopenic HCC patients.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is causing huge impact on health, life, and global economy, which is characterized by rapid spreading of SARS-CoV-2, high number of confirmed cases and a fatality/case rate worldwide reported by WHO. The most effective intervention measure will be to develop safe and effective vaccines to protect the population from the disease and limit the spread of the virus. An inactivated, whole virus vaccine candidate of SARS-CoV-2 has been developed by Wuhan Institute of Biological Products and Wuhan Institute of Virology. The low toxicity, immunogenicity, and immune persistence were investigated in preclinical studies using seven different species of animals. The results showed that the vaccine candidate was well tolerated and stimulated high levels of specific IgG and neutralizing antibodies. Low or no toxicity in three species of animals was also demonstrated in preclinical study of the vaccine candidate. Biochemical analysis of structural proteins and purity analysis were performed. The inactivated, whole virion vaccine was characterized with safe double-inactivation, no use of DNases and high purity. Dosages, boosting times, adjuvants, and immunization schedules were shown to be important for stimulating a strong humoral immune response in animals tested. Preliminary observation in ongoing phase I and II clinical trials of the vaccine candidate in Wuzhi County, Henan Province, showed that the vaccine is well tolerant. The results were characterized by very low proportion and low degree of side effects, high levels of neutralizing antibodies, and seroconversion. These results consistent with the results obtained from preclinical data on the safety.

Rare earth-doped upconversion (UC) micro/nanocrystals have important applications in varying fields including multilevel anti-counterfeiting, photonics, deep-tissue imaging, and therapeutics. However, one of the major hurdles is the weak luminescence associated with the constraints of conventional multi-peak emissions in achieving photoluminescence imaging with high spatial resolution and sensitivity. Herein, a technique for the heat treatment of a NaYF4 maternal lattice is presented for achieving porous one-dimensional NaYF4:Yb/Er@YOF:Yb/Er hybrid structures with excellent optical performance through in situ ion-exchange. In the course of detailed studies, an irreversible spatially confined recrystallization of maternal crystals to different phases is found, which preserves the crystal's original morphology and size. The enhanced single-band dark red luminescence emission has been achieved and the responding mechanisms are proposed based on the control of the UC path by phonon mediation. Particularly, these porous one-dimensional NaYF4:Yb/Er@YOF:Yb/Er hybrid structures have been used as potential security ink for writing, indicating immensely promising results for direct anti-counterfeiting applications. Our results demonstrate that the heat treatment technology opens the door for the synthesis of highly efficient single-band red phosphors with expanded applications.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a persistent and chronic disease that is characterized by destructive gastrointestinal (GI) inflammation. Researchers are trying to identify and develop new and more effective treatments with no side effects. Acute and chronic mouse models of IBD were established using dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) solution. To evaluate the efficacy and mechanism, umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs) were obtained from Kunming (KM) mice and humans. In the chronic IBD study, the survival rates of the normal control, model, mouse UCMSC (mUCMSC) and human UCMSC (hUCMSC) groups were 100%, 40%, 86.7%, and 100%, respectively. The histopathological scores of the normal control, intraperitoneal injection, intravenous treatment, and model groups were 0.5 ± 0.30, 5.9 ± 1.10, 8.7 ± 1.39, and 8.8 ± 1.33 (p = 0.021). UCMSCs promoted the expression of the intestinal tight junction protein occludin, downregulated the protein expression of the autophagy marker LC3A/B in colon tissue, and upregulated the expression of VEGF-A and VEGFR-1 at the injured site. This study provides an experimental model for elucidating the therapeutic effects of UCMSCs in IBD. We provide a theoretical basis and method for the clinical treatment of IBD using UCMSCs.

Shuangchi Liu,1 Zhiduan Xu,1 Zhuling Fang,2 Dengyong Zhang,1 Zhongqiang Qin,1 Longfei Fan,1 Jiakang Duan,1 Hongxiang Yin,1 Yigang Zhang,1 Qing Pang,1,3 Yi Tan1 1Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, 233000, Anhui, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Medical Laboratory, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui, 233000, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710061, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yi Tan; Qing PangDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui, 233000, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail doctortanyi2007@126.com; portxiu2@126.comBackground: Advanced liver fibrosis can lead to cirrhosis, portal hypertension and liver failure. Besides, advanced liver fibrosis and cirrhosis are the major risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Almost all patients with HCC also have liver cirrhosis. This study aims to predict the survival rate of hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by age, international standardized ratio, albumin and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (AIAG), an indicator measuring the degree of cirrhosis.Methods: A total of 501 hepatitis B-related HCC patients experiencing radical surgery were analyzed, retrospectively. General data about demographics and labs were collected at the date of diagnosis to calculate AIAG [age, international standardized ratio (INR), albumin and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT)]. The Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox analysis were used to evaluate overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). The C-index was calculated in R software (version 4.0.3) to evaluate the accuracy of the prognostic model.Results: During a median follow-up period of 30 months, 31.1% (156/501) of the patients died, and 34.3% (172/501) experienced the recurrence of HCC. Compared with patients with lower AIAG score, patients with higher AIAG score had higher Child-Pugh grade and were at higher Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage (both P< 0.05). Multivariate analysis suggested that GGT, alpha fetoprotein (AFP), tumor size, BCLC stage and AIAG grade were independent predictors of OS and RFS. Furthermore, the combined use of tumor size, AFP and AIAG stage could predict survival significantly better (C-index=0.710, 95% CI: 0.669– 0.751) than BCLC stage.Conclusion: AIAG is significantly associated with survival of HCC patients, and provides additional prognostic information for patients with HCC. Our findings suggest that the combination of AIAG, tumor size and AFP stage has a better predictive value for the prognosis of patients with hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma. However, it is necessary for more external evidences to determine clinical utility.Keywords: AIAG, hepatocellular carcinoma, survival, prognosis

Posthepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) is a life-threatening complication after liver resection, resulting in an increased morbidity and mortality. Epidemiological evidence of the association between preoperative albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score, a newly established model for assessing liver functional reserve, and the risk of PHLF and mortality remains controversial. A systematical search for relevant literature was performed in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases from December 2014 to September 2020. Odds ratio (OR) value and 95% confidence interval (CI) were extracted or calculated to synthetically estimate the association of preoperative ALBI score with PHLF and mortality. Meta-analyses were performed using a random-effects model. Twelve studies with a total of 21,348 patients were included in this meta-analysis. It was indicated that, compared to patients with a lower preoperative ALBI grade, patients with a higher grade had a significantly elevated risk of PHLF (6 studies, 18,291 patients; OR = 2.48, 95%CI: 2.00–3.07) and mortality (4 studies15, 139 patients; OR = 2.35, 95% CI: 1.38–4.00). In addition, when it was expressed as a continuous variable, ALBI was also a significant predictor of PHLF (6 studies, 3,833 patients; OR = 3.16, 95% CI: 2.07–4.81, per 1-point increase in ALBI score). No significant publication biases were detected as suggested by funnel plots inspection and Begg’s tests. The current meta-analysis demonstrates that preoperative elevated ALBI is associated with higher risk of PHLF and mortality after hepatectomy.

Background There is increasing evidence supporting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related coagulopathy. In the available literature, only 2 cases of superior mesenteric vein thrombosis have been described. Methods We present a peculiar case of high-grade small bowel obstruction in a patient with COVID-19 infection. Results Exploratory laparotomy revealed a congenital adhesion band with associated focal bowel ischemia contributed by superior mesenteric vein thrombosis and positive lupus anticoagulant. Conclusions It is important to consider the rare differential of mesenteric vein thrombosis and its related sequelae of mesenteric ischemia in a patient with COVID-19 who presents with abdominal pain.

Aim: To explore the prognostic significance of Syt-7 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the potential mechanisms. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression of Syt-7. Overall survival and disease-free survival were compared between Syt-7 positive and negative groups. The effects of Syt-7 knockdown on BEL-7404 cells were further evaluated. Results: Syt-7 expression was significantly higher in HCC tumorous tissues compared with paracancerous tissues. Syt-7 was closely associated with α-fetoprotein tumor size, vascular invasion, tumor node metastasis stage and tumor differentiation. Syt-7 was an independent risk factor for overall survival and disease-free survival. Additionally, Syt-7 knockdown inhibited proliferation and colony formation and induced cell cycle arrest in HCC cells. Conclusion: Syt-7 overexpression forecasts unfavorable prognosis and promotes cell proliferation in HCC.

To compare the efficacy and outcomes of self-expandable metallic stent combined with catheter-loaded iodine-125 seeds (SEMS-CL-125I) brachytherapy versus conventional palliative surgery (PS) in advanced extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHCC). The retrospective analysis consisted of 101 advanced EHCC patients who received SEMS-CL-125I (n = 67) or underwent PS (n = 34). The clinical characteristics, postoperative complications and overall survival (OS) were compared between the two groups. Serum levels of bilirubin, transaminase, and albumin (ALB) were significantly improved at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months postoperatively in both groups (all P

A model of allergic rhinitis (AR) in BALB/c mice was established and evaluated to provide experimental subjects for further research. Preparation of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs), including isolation, expansion culture, passaging, cryopreservation, and preparation of cell suspensions, provided materials for experimental research and clinical treatment. The mouse AR model was established by ovalbumin (OVA) intraperitoneal injection and the nasal stimulation induction method, and the model had a good effect and high repeatability. GFP-labeled hUCMSCs had good effects and were stable cells that could be used for tracking in animals. Transplantation of hUCMSCs by intraperitoneal and tail vein injections had a specific effect on the AR model of mice, and tail vein injection had a better effect. Tracking of hUCMSCs in vivo showed that the three groups of mice had the greatest number of hUCMSCs in the nose at week 2. The mouse AR model was used to evaluate the efficacy of hUCMSC transplantation via multiple methods for AR. The distribution of hUCMSCs in vivo was tracked by detecting green fluorescent protein (GFP), and the treatment mechanism of hUCMSCs was elucidated. This study provides technical methods and a theoretical basis for the clinical application of hUCMSCs.

Ischemia-reperfusion injury is an important contributor to acute kidney injury and a major factor affecting early functional recovery after kidney transplantation. We conducted this experiment to investigate the protective effect of induced multipotent stem cell transplantation on renal ischemia-reperfusion injury. Forty rabbits were divided into four groups of 10 rabbits each. Thirty rabbits were used to establish the renal ischemia-reperfusion injury model, and ten rabbits served as the model group and were not treated. Among the 30 rabbits with renal ischemia-reperfusion injury, 10 rabbits were treated with induced peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and 10 other rabbits were treated with noninduced PBMCs. After three weekly treatments, the serum creatinine levels, urea nitrogen levels and urine protein concentrations were quantified. The kidneys were stained with hematoxylin-eosin (HE), periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and Masson’s trichrome and then sent for commercial metabolomic testing. The kidneys of the rabbits in the model group showed different degrees of pathological changes, and the recovery of renal function was observed in the group treated with induced cells. The results indicate that PBMCs differentiate into multipotent stem cells after induction and exert a therapeutic effect on renal ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Iterative Laplacian Score (IterativeLS), an extension of Laplacian score (LS) for unsupervised feature selection, iteratively updates the nearest neighborhood graph for evaluating the importance of a feature by its local preserving ability. However, LS and IterativeLS separately measure the importance of each feature and do not consider the association of features. To remedy it, this paper proposes an enhanced version of IterativeLS, called fast backward iterative Laplacian score (FBILS). The goal of FBILS is to fast remove some unimportant features by taking into account the association of features. The proposed FBILS evaluates the feature importance according to the joint local preserving ability that reflects the association of features. In addition, FBILS deletes more than one feature in an iteration, which would speed up the process of feature selection. Extensive experiments are conducted on UCI and microarray gene datasets. Experimental results confirm that FBILS can achieve a good performance.

This study aimed at investigating the efficacy of percutaneous transhepatic biliary stenting (PTBS) combined with 125I seeds intracavitary irradiation in the treatment of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHC) and to preliminarily explore the prognostic values of inflammation-based scores in these patients. A total of 113 clinically/pathologically diagnosed cases of EHC who received PTBS combined with 125I seeds implantation were retrospectively analyzed. The postoperative changes of clinical symptoms and serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total serum bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL), and albumin (ALB) were observed. Preoperative clinical data were extracted to calculate inflammation-based scores, including systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelets-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR). Kaplan–Meier survival curves and Cox regression analyses were used to evaluate the prognostic significance of inflammation-based scores. After operation, clinical symptoms such as jaundice and fever significantly improved in all patients. At 1 month and 3 months postoperatively, serum levels of ALT, AST, ALP, TBIL, and DBIL significantly reduced, and ALB significantly increased, compared with preoperative values. The median survival time of the patients was 12 months and the 1-year survival rate was 56.8%. Univariate analysis revealed that factors related to overall survival were CA19-9, TBIL, ALB, SII, and NLR. Multivariate analysis further identified SII and NLR as independent prognostic models. The combination of PTBS and 125I seeds intracavitary irradiation is an effective palliative treatment for advanced EHC. Elevated SII and NLR can be used to predict poor survival.

Background To date, epidemiological evidence of the association between preoperative prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains controversial. Methods A literature search was performed in the databases of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. Hazard ratio (HR), odds ratio (OR), and 95% confidence interval (CI) were extracted to estimate the association of preoperative PNI with overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and postoperative recurrence of HCC, respectively. A random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled effect size. Results Thirteen studies with a total of 3,738 patients with HCC met inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis. It indicated that a lower level of preoperative PNI was a significant predictor of worse OS (HR = 1.82, 95%CI: 1.44-2.31) and DFS (HR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.06-2.07). In addition, risk of postoperative recurrence was significantly higher in patients with a lower preoperative PNI (OR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.33-2.76). Subgroup analysis based on therapeutic intent demonstrated a significant positive association between preoperative low PNI and worse OS for those patients undergoing surgical resection and for those undergoing TACE or non-surgical treatment. Conclusion The current meta-analysis demonstrates that preoperative PNI is a prognostic marker in HCC.

Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) exert strong immunomodulatory effects and can repair organs. However, their roles in radiation injury remain unclear. We show that in tree shrews with acute radiation injury, injected UC-MSCs significantly improved survival rates, reduced lung inflammation and apoptosis, prevented pulmonary fibrotic processes, recovered hematopoiesis, and increased blood counts. A protein microarray analysis showed that serum levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and IL-13 and the growth factors BMP-5, BMP-7, HGF, insulin, NT-4, VEGFR3, and SCF were significantly higher, while those of the inflammatory cytokines IL-2, TIMP-2, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-1ra, and IL-8 and the fibrosis-related factors PDGF-BB, PDGF-AA, TGF-β1, IGFBP-2, and IGFBP-4 were significantly lower in UC-MSC-injected animals. A transcriptome analysis of PBMCs showed that the mRNA expression of C1q was upregulated, while that of HLA-DP was downregulated after UC-MSC injection. These results confirm the immunohistochemistry results. eGFP-labeled UC-MSCs were traced in vivo and found in the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, thymus, small intestine and bone marrow. Our findings suggest that UC-MSC transplantation may be a novel therapeutic approach for treating acute radiation injury.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate the prognostic significance of several inflammation-based models in hepatitis B-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 470 cases of hepatitis B-associated HCC. Preoperative data were collected to calculate the inflammation-based markers, including systemic immune-inflammation index (neutrophil×platelets/lymphocyte), platelets-to-lymphocyte ratio, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Overall survival and recurrence-free survival were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox analysis. RESULTS During a median follow-up time of 29 months, 34.0% (160/470) of patients died and 36.0% (169/470) experienced recurrence. Compared with patients with lower scores of inflammation models, patients in the higher group had larger tumor diameter and higher risk of vascular invasion (both P

Qing Pang,1,* Hao Jin,1,* Kai Qu,2,* Zhongran Man,1 Yong Wang,1 Song Yang,1 Lei Zhou,1 Huichun Liu1 1Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui, 2Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China *These authors contributed equally tothis work Background: Recent studies have showed that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) could reduce the risk of several types of cancer. However, epidemiological evidence of the association between NSAIDs intake and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains controversial. Methods: To assess the preventive benefit of NSAIDs in HCC, we simultaneously searched the databases of PubMed, EmBase, Web of Science, and Scopus and screened eligible publications. Results: A total of twelve articles (published from 2000 to 2017) from five countries were identified by retrieval. We observed a significantly lower risk of HCC incidence among users of NSAIDs than among those who did not use NSAIDs (pooled hazard ratio [HR] value =0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.69–0.94). No evidence of publication bias was observed (Begg’s test, P=0.755; Egger’s test, P=0.564). However, when stratified according to the categories of NSAIDs, users of non-aspirin NSAIDs (HR =0.81, 95% CI: 0.70–0.94), but not aspirin (HR=0.77, 95% CI: 0.58–1.02), showed a statistically significant reduced HCC incidence. We also found that NSAIDs use significantly reduced the recurrent risk of HCC, with a HR value of 0.79 (95% CI: 0.75–0.84), whereas there was no statistically significant association between NSAIDs use and HCC mortality, with a HR value 0.65 (95% CI: 0.40–1.06). Conclusion: Taken together, our meta-analysis demonstrates that NSAIDs significantly reduce the incident and recurrent risk of HCC. Keywords: NSAIDs, aspirin, hepatocellular carcinoma, incidence, recurrence

Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection with a high mortality. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is an important regulatory factor in inflammation. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of 5-HT on cecal ligation and puncture- (CLP-) induced sepsis in the mouse model. CLP was performed on C57B/6 wild-type (WT) mice and tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH1) knockout (KO) mice. The results showed that the 5-HT-sufficient group mice had a significantly lower survival rate than the 5-HT-deficient group in CLP-induced sepsis and septic shock. The KO-CLP sepsis group received a lower clinical score than the WT-CLP sepsis group. Meanwhile, the body temperature of mice in the KO-CLP sepsis group was higher than that in the WT-CLP sepsis group and was much closer to the normal body temperature 24 hours after CLP. The tissue histopathology analysis revealed that 5-HT markedly exacerbated histological damages in the peritoneum, lung, liver, kidney, intestinal tissue, and heart in sepsis. Moreover, significant lower levels of TNF-α, IL-6, bacterial loads, MPO, and ROS were discovered in the KO-CLP sepsis group in contrast to the WT-CLP sepsis group. In conclusion, 5-HT drives mortality and exacerbates organ dysfunction by promoting serum cytokines and bacterial loads as well as facilitating oxidative stress in the process of sepsis.

Background/Aims: Stem cell-based therapy is attractive in many clinical studies, but current data on the safety of stem cell applications remains inadequate. This study observed the safety, immunological effect of cynomolgus monkey umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (mUC-MSCs) injected into cynomolgus monkeys, in order to evaluate the safety of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) prepared for human clinical application. Methods: Eighteen cynomolgus monkeys were divided into three groups. Group 1 is control group, Group 2 is low-dose group, Group 3 is high-dose group. After repeated administrations of mUC-MSCs, cynomolgus monkeys were observed for possible toxic reactions. Results: During the experiment, no animal died. There were no toxicological abnormalities in body weight, body temperature, electrocardiogram, coagulation and pathology. In the groups 2 and 3, AST and CK transiently increased, and serum inorganic P slightly decreased. All animals were able to recover at 28 days after the infusion was stopped. In the groups 2 and 3, CD3+ and IL-6 levels significantly increased, and recovery was after 28 days of infusion. There were no obvious pathological changes associated with the infusion of cells in the general and microscopic examinations. Conclusions: The safe dosage of repeated intravenous infusion of mUC-MSCs in cynomolgus monkeys is 1.0 × 107/kg, which is 10 times of that in clinical human use.

We aimed to compare the efficacy of percutaneous transhepatic biliary stenting (PTBS) and PTBS combined with 125I particles implantation in the treatment of advanced extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHC). A total of 184 advanced EHC patients, who received PTBS (PTBS group) or PTBS combined with 125I particles implantation (PTBS + 125I group) from January 2012 to April 2017 in our department, were retrospectively reviewed. The improvement of jaundice and liver function was observed in both groups. The postoperative complications, risk of biliary re-obstruction, and overall survival (OS) were compared between the two groups. Amongst, 71 cases received PTBS and 113 had the additional implantation of 125I particles. The jaundice and liver function were significantly improved in all patients, especially in PTBS + 125I group. There was no significant difference in the risk of postoperative complications between the two groups. However, the risk of biliary re-obstruction significantly reduced in PTBS + 125I group (19.5% vs. 35.2%, p = 0.017). Kaplan Meier analysis showed that patients in PTBS + 125I group had a significantly better OS, both for hilar and distal cholangiocarcinoma. Univariate analysis demonstrated that preoperative levels of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), total bilirubin, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, and different therapeutic method were significant factors affecting OS. Multivariate analysis further identified the treatment of PTBS combined with 125I particles implantation as an independent protective prognostic factor (HR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.17–0.39, p 125I particles implantation is superior to PTBS alone in improving liver function, inhibiting biliary re-obstruction, and prolonging survival time.

Background: Laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH) has been reported as a safe and efficacious treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. However, in cirrhosis patients, LH may be more ...

The strain effect on the electronic and optical properties of Germanene/MoS2 heterobilayer have been investigated by using first principles calculations with vdW corrections. Different stacking patterns of Germanene/MoS2 heterobilayer have been designed, which all show similar electronic and optical properties. Germanene is found to interact with MoS2 monolayer via weak vdW interactions, only leading to a tiny band gap opened with its Dirac cone well preserved. This implies MoS2 monolayer can be a suitable semiconducting substrate for germanene adhension. Through various in-plane external strains, the opened Dirac gap of heterobilayer can be further modulated and a semiconductor-metal transition even occurs. In addition, the Germanene/MoS2 heterobilayer can exhibit much wider optical adsorption range together with a red-shift in adsorption edge compared to individual layers. The position and intensity of optical adsorption peaks in ultraviolet and visible light regions also can be effectively tuned by applying external strains. With the strain controllable electronic and optical properties, Gemanene/MoS2 heterobilayer is expected to be a candidate for applications in new functional nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices.

Silicon solar cells are still dominating the solar cell market due to its mature technology, but its efficiency was limited due to its ineffective response to solar spectrum. Phosphor could modify the solar spectrum by transferring the Sunlight that cannot be effectively used to optimal response range of silicon solar cell. Here, Ba3Y(BO3)3: Ce3+, Nd3+ with near-infrared (NIR) emission were prepared via solid-state reaction route, which offer wide blue-violet light of Ce3+ ions and intense near-infrared light of Nd3+ ions locating at the maximal spectral response of silicon solar cell. The near-infrared emission intensity of Ce3+-Nd3+ sample was increased in comparison with that of Nd3+ single-doped sample, which show that Ce3+ act as an efficient sensitizer with broad absorption cross-section. The energy transfer mechanism was also analyzed. Results reveal that Ba3Y(BO3)3: Ce3+, Nd3+ co-doped phosphor have promising applications as solar spectral convertor for silicon-based solar cells.

The pretreatment nutritional and immunological status play indispensable roles in predicting the outcome of patients with various types of malignancies. The aim of the study was to investigate whether preoperative prognostic nutritional index (PNI), which simply accounts for nutritional and immunological status, was associated with overall survival (OS) in patients with gallbladder carcinoma (GBC). The retrospective study included a total of 315 GBC patients after surgery between 2002 and 2012. PNI was calculated according to the following formula: 10× serum albumin (g/dl) +0.005× total lymphocyte count (per mm3). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for survival prediction was plotted to verify the optimal cutoff value for LMR, which was set at 46.14. According the value, patients were categorized into two different groups, namely high-PNI group (n = 133) and low-PNI group (n = 182). The univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to identify the independent prognostic factors. The results showed that low pretreatment PNI value was significantly associated with elderly age, partial surgery procedure, and advanced tumor status such as tumor stage, node stage, and tumor-node-metastasis stage (P

Evidence is accumulating highlighting the importance of extracellular miRNA as a novel biomarker for diagnosing various kinds of malignancies. MiR-21 is one of the most studied miRNAs and is over-expressed in cancer tissues. To explore the clinical implications and secretory mechanisms of extracellular miR-21, we firstly meta-analyzed the diagnostic efficiency of extracellular miR-21 in different cancer types. Eighty-one studies based on 59 articles were finally included. In our study, extracellular miR-21 was observed to exhibit an outstanding diagnostic accuracy in detecting brain cancer (area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve or AUC = 0.94), and this accuracy was more obvious in glioma diagnosis (AUC = 0.95). Our validation study (n = 45) further confirmed the diagnostic and prognostic role of miR-21 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for glioma. These findings inspired us to explore the biological function of miR-21. We next conducted mechanistic investigations to explain the secretory mechanisms of extracellular miR-21 in glioma. TGF-β/Smad3 signaling was identified to participate in mediating the release of miR-21 from glioma cells. Further targeting TGF-β/Smad3 signaling using galunisertib, an inhibitor of the TGF-β type I receptor kinase, can attenuate the secretion of miR-21 from glioma cells. Taken together, CSF-based miR-21 might serve as a potential biomarker for diagnosing brain cancer, especially for patients with glioma. Moreover, extracellular levels of miR-21 were affected by exogenous TGF-β activity and galunisertib treatment.

Kai Qu,1,* Qing Pang,1,* Ting Lin,1 Li Zhang,2 Mingliang Gu,3 Wenquan Niu,4 Chang Liu,1,* Ming Zhang5 1Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University College of Medicine, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Ultrasound Diagnostics, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, People’s Republic of China; 3Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Otolaryngology, Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Recent studies have showed interleukin 10 (IL-10) is a critical cytokine that determines antiviral immune response and is related to virus-associated cancers. However, whether genetically elevated circulating IL-10 levels are associated with the risk of human papilloma virus and Epstein–Barr virus-associated cancers (HEACs) is still unclear. Mendelian randomization method was implemented to meta-analyze available observational studies by employing IL-10 three variants (-592C>A, -819C>T, and -1082A>G) as instruments. Atotal of 24 articles encompassing 11,170 subjects were ultimately eligible for the meta-analysis. Overall, there was a significant association between IL-10 promoter variant -1082A>G and HEACs under allelic and dominant models (both PG was significant for nasopharyngeal cancer under allelic, homozygous genotypic and dominant models (all P

Hindlimb ischemia is still a clinical problem with high morbidity and mortality. Patients suffer from consequent rest pain, ulcers, cool limbs, and even amputation. Angiogenesis is a promising target for the treatment of ischemic limbs, providing extra blood for the ischemic region. In the present study, we investigated the role of umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) in regulating angiogenesis and relieving hindlimb ischemia. UC-MSCs were isolated from the umbilical cord of tree shrews. Angiography results showed that UC-MSCs injection significantly promoted angiogenesis in tree shrews. Moreover, the ankle brachial index, transcutaneous oxygen pressure, blood perfusion, and capillary/muscle fiber ratio were all markedly increased by the application of UC-MSCs. In addition, the conditioned culture of human umbilical vein endothelial cells using medium collected from UC-MSCs showed higher expression of angiogenic markers and improved migration ability. In short, the isolated UC-MSCs notably contributed to restoring blood supply and alleviating the symptoms of limb ischemia through enhancing angiogenesis.

Although overweight and obesity increase cancer risk, it is still controversial with respect to cancer mortality. In the current study, we enrolled 2670 patients of 14 tumor types from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project, to identify the prognostic role of overweight and obesity in cancer patients. After dividing the patients into different groups by the body mass index (BMI), we found significant lower mortality in the obesity group. In addition, we also treat BMI value as a binary categorical variable or continuous variable, respectively. We found significant lower mortality in the higher BMI group. Furthermore, when focusing on each tumor type, cervical cancer and bladder cancer showed lower mortality in the patients with higher BMI values. Taken together, our results demonstrate that postdiagnosis obesity might indicate a better prognosis in cancer patients. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously because of small sample size.

King's score (KS) has been developed to predict the presence of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic liver diseases. We aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of the KS in hepatitis B-associated HCC.We retrospectively analyzed 319 hepatitis B-associated HCC patients. Preoperative data were collected to calculate the KS (age × aspartate aminotransferase × international normalized ratio/platelet count). The primary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), which was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Then, we carried out a multivariate Cox analysis to assess the independent significance of the KS. Additional analyses were carried out after patients were stratified on the basis of cirrhosis status and therapy methods to investigate the significance of KS in different subgroups.During a median follow-up period of 44 months, 199 (62.4%) patients died and 144 (45.1%) experienced recurrence. The cut-off value for the KS was determined to be 33.31 with 56.8% sensitivity and 66.7% specificity. Compared with patients with low KS, the high group showed a higher probability of cirrhosis and worse Child-Pugh class (both P0.05). Multivariate analysis identified older age, tumor size 5 or more, palliative therapy, high Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage, and high KS as significant factors for predicting poor OS and DFS. A combination of the KS and tumor size showed better discrimination ability for survival than Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage.The KS is an effective index for predicting OS and DFS in hepatitis B-associated HCC. Larger cohorts are needed to validate our finding.

BACKGROUND: At present, the effect of western-medicine (WM) therapy to treat diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is limited. Moxibustion is a representative external treatment in traditional Chinese medicine that has been beneficial to DPN. We aim to systematically assess the efficacy and safety of moxibustion in treating DPN, following PRISMA guidelines. METHODS: Eight electronic databases were searched to acquire information on eligible trials published from inception to June 1, 2019. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) applying moxibustion therapy with a minimum of 14-days treatment duration for DPN patients compared with placebo, no intervention, or conventional WM interventions. The primary outcomes in our study include the sensory-nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) and motor-nerve conduction velocity (MNCV). We used the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool to assess the methodological quality of eligible RCTs. Statistical analyses were conducted using Review Manager 5.3. Risk ratios (RR) and mean differences (MD) were calculated with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The χ test was applied to assess the heterogeneity. RESULTS: In total, 11 RCTs were included that involved 927 DPN patients. Compared with the control group, there was an increase in median MNCV (MD = 6.26, 95% CI 2.64-9.89, Z = 3.39, P = .0007) and peroneal MNCV (MD = 6.45, 95% CI 5.30-7.61, P 

Neighborhood discriminant index (NDI) is an effective feature selection method for supervised learning. In reality, it is easy to obtain unlabeled data and is costly to tag them all. Thus, the given dataset commonly has only a small amount of tagged samples and a large amount of unlabeled ones, which cannot be handled by supervised learning methods. For this situation, we propose a semi-supervised feature selection method called semi-supervised neighborhood discriminant index (SSNDI) that combines NDI and the Laplacian score method to effectively deal with both labeled and unlabeled samples. The goal of SSNDI is to find an optimal feature subset that has a good ability to keep local geometrical structure and to distinguish samples belonging to different classes. In SSNDI, the classical Laplacian score method is modified to cooperate the iterative form of NDI. In each iteration, SSNDI picks up an important feature according to the new criterion that is a mixture of NDI and the modified Laplacian score. Extensive experiments are conducted on UCI and microarray gene datasets. Experimental results confirm that SSNDI can achieve a better performance than NDI and the other state-of-the-art semi-supervised methods.

Aim. Child-Pugh (CP) grade has been used to assess liver function and postoperative outcomes in biliary tract neoplasms. The aim of this study was to preliminarily explore the prognostic significance of an alternative model of liver function, called albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, in patients with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHC). Methods. A total of 109 advanced EHC patients, who received percutaneous transhepatic biliary stenting combined with iodine-125 seed implantation from January 2012 to April 2017 in our department, were enrolled. Preoperative clinical data were collected to calculate the CP and ALBI grades. The performance of ALBI score in predicting postoperative death was compared with that of CP score by using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression model were performed for overall survival (OS) analysis. Results. The median survival time of our cohort was 12 months, and the 1-year and 2-year survival rates were 56.9% and 12.8%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve of ALBI score for predicting death was significantly greater than the CP score (0.751, 95% CI: 0.641–0.861, P<0.001 vs. 0.688, 95% CI: 0.567–0.809, P<0.001). The univariate analysis revealed that the factors related to overall survival of EHC were carbohydrate antigen 19-9, total bilirubin, albumin, ALBI grade, and CP score. In multivariate analysis, ALBI grade (HR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.04–2.61, P=0.032), but not CP score, was identified as an independent prognostic model. Conclusion. We demonstrated that the ALBI grade could be used as a predictor of survival in unresectable EHC patients.

We mainly aimed to preliminarily explore the prognostic values of nutrition-based prognostic scores in patients with advanced hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HCCA). We retrospectively analyzed 73 cases of HCCA, who underwent percutaneous transhepatic biliary stenting (PTBS) combined with 125I seed intracavitary irradiation from November 2012 to April 2017 in our department. The postoperative changes of total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and albumin (ALB) were observed. The preoperative clinical data were collected to calculate the nutrition-based scores, including controlling nutritional status (CONUT), C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR), and prognostic nutritional index (PNI). Kaplan–Meier curve and Cox regression model were used for overall survival (OS) analyses. The serum levels of TBIL, DBIL, ALT, AST, and ALP significantly reduced, and ALB significantly increased at 1 month and 3 months postoperatively. The median survival time of the cohort was 12 months and the 1-year survival rate was 53.1%. Univariate analysis revealed that the statistically significant factors related to OS were CA19-9, TBIL, ALB, CONUT, and PNI. Multivariate analysis further identified CA19-9, CONUT, and PNI as independent prognostic factors. Nutrition-based prognostic scores, CONUT and PNI in particular, can be used as predictors of survival in unresectable HCCA.

Background and Aim Although the influence of cigarette smoking on the incident risk of liver cancer has been determined, the association between smoking and liver cancer mortality remains uncertain. Methods We searched Pubmed, EmBase, and Web of Science databases to obtain eligible studies. Hazard ratio (HR) value and 95% confidential intervals (CI) were pooled by using a random-effects model, and dose–response analyses were conducted to quantify associations between smoking and mortality from liver cancer. Results A total of 27 articles involving four million participants from seven countries by retrieval (published 1986–2014) were finally included. Pooled HR values for liver cancer mortality was 1.45 (95% CI: 1.33–1.59), 1.22 (95% CI: 1.11–1.34) and 1.16 (95% CI: 1.01–1.32) for current, former, and ever smokers, respectively, when compared with nonsmokers. The risk increased by 7.1% (95% CI: 1.4–13.2) for per additional 10 cigarettes per day and by 5.2% (95% CI: 0.02–11.2) for per additional 10 pack-years. In our population recruiting 597 patients with liver cancer, smoking status was further identified as a significant determinant factor of tumor size and serum level of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, but not a significant prognostic factor. Conclusions Cigarette smoking, especially current smoking, significantly increased mortality risk from liver cancer.

Background: To compare the clinicopathological features and prognosis between younger and aged patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: We analyzed the outcome of 451 HCC patients underwent liver resection, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation, respectively. Then risk factors for aged and younger patients' survival were evaluated by multivariate analysis, respectively. Results: The patients who were older than 55 years old were defined as the older group. The overall survival for aged patients was significantly worse than those younger patients. The younger patients had similar liver functional reserve but more aggressive tumor factors than aged patients. Cox regression analysis showed that the elevated levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (Wald χ 2 = 3.963, P = 0.047, hazard ratio [ HR ] =1.453, 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 1.006-2.098), lower albumin (Wald χ 2 = 12.213, P HR = 1.982, 95% CI : 1.351-2.910), tumor size (Wald χ 2 = 8.179, P = 0.004, HR = 1.841, 95% CI : 1.212-2.797), and higher alpha-fetoprotein level (Wald χ 2 = 4.044, P = 0.044, HR = 1.465, 95% CI : 1.010-2.126) were independent prognostic factors for aged patients, while only elevated levels of AST (Wald χ 2 = 14.491, P HR = 2.285, 95% CI : 1.493-3.496) and tumor size (Wald χ 2 = 21.662, P HR = 2.928, 95% CI : 1.863-4.604) were independent prognostic factors for younger patients. Conclusions: Age is a risk factor to determine the prognosis of patients with HCC. Aged patients who have good liver functional reserve are still encouraged to receive curative therapy.

Background. Hepatocellular carcinogenesis is associated with the progression of cirrhosis, and the latter further aggravates tumor development and prognosis. The aim of the study was to investigate the prognostic values of 12 cirrhosis-relative noninvasive models in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods. We retrospectively analyzed 363 HCC patients who either underwent partial hepatectomy (PH) or received transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TCAE). Preoperative data were collected to calculate these indices using the original formulas. Diagnostic accuracy of these models in detection of cirrhosis was evaluated by area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis. Multivariate analyses were performed to assess the independent prognostic signifi cance of the 12 indicators. Results. Aspartate aminotransferase-platelet ratio index (APRI) and Goteborg University Cirrhosis Index (GUCI) were found to be signifi cant in discriminating cirrhotic patients from non-cirrhotic individuals. When the indices were expressed as continuous variables, multivariate analyses indicated that APRI and GUCI were independent indices to predict overall survival in patients underwent PH, with a hazard ratio (HR) value 1.04 ( p 0.005) and 1.07 ( p 0.001), respectively. In the cohort of TACE, APRI and GUCI were independently associated with survival as well. Conclusion. Of the 12 indices, APRI and GUCI were relatively accurate predictors of cirrhosis status as well as outcome of HCC. As only a limited study population was enrolled in the current study, larger cohorts are needed to validate our results.

As a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription, Xin-Sheng-Hua Granule (XSHG) has been applied in China for more than 30 years to treat postpartum diseases, especially anemia. However, underlying therapeutic mechanisms of XSHG for anemia were still unclear. In this study, plasma metabolomics profiling with UHPLC-QTOF/MS and multivariate data method was firstly analyzed to discover the potential regulation mechanisms of XSHG on anemia rats induced by bleeding from the orbit. Afterward, the compound-target-pathway network of XSHG was constructed by the use of network pharmacology, thus anemia-relevant signaling pathways were dissected. Finally, the crucial targets in the shared pathways of metabolomics and network pharmacology were experimentally validated by ELISA and Western Blot analysis. The results showed that XSHG could exert excellent effects on anemia probably through regulating coenzyme A biosynthesis, sphingolipids metabolism and HIF-1α pathways, which was reflected by the increased levels of EPOR, F2, COASY, as well as the reduced protein expression of HIF-1α, SPHK1, and S1PR1. Our work successfully explained the polypharmcological mechanisms underlying the efficiency of XSHG on treating anemia, and meanwhile, it probed into the potential treatment strategies for anemia from TCM prescription.

Discovering a new cell transplantation approach for treating chronic renal insufficiency is a goal of many nephrologists. In vitro-cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were reprogrammed into induced mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs) by using natural inducing agents made in our laboratory. The stem cell phenotype of the iMSCs was then identified. Unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) was used to create an animal model of chronic renal insufficiency characterized by renal interstitial fibrosis. The induced and non-induced PBMCs were transplanted, and the efficacy of iMSCs in treating chronic renal insufficiency was evaluated using a variety of methods. The ultimate goal was to explore the effects of iMSC transplantation on the treatment of chronic renal insufficiency, with the aim of providing a new therapeutic modality for this disease.

Child-Pugh (CP) grade A patients with early stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are candidates for curative surgery, while some patients still have a poor outcome. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic values of 2 new evaluation models for liver function, named albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) and platelet-albumin-bilirubin (PALBI) grades, in CP grade A patients with HCC.In this retrospective cohort study, we reviewed 134 cases of CP grade A patients with hepatitis B-associated HCC who underwent radical surgery. ALBI and PALBI grades were calculated based on preoperative serologic examinations. Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were estimated by Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox regression. The prognostic performances of the models were estimated by using the concordance index (C-index).During a median follow-up time of 27 months, 27.6% (37/134) of patients died and 26.1% (35/134) experienced recurrence. Kaplan-Meier analyses showed that ALBI and PALBI grades were significantly associated with OS and RFS. Multivariate analyses further revealed that both ALBI and PALBI grades were independent predictors for survival. Furthermore, the prognostic values of the combination of tumor size with ALBI (C-index = 0.754, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.675-0.849) or with PALBI (C-index = 0.762, 95% CI: 0.664-0.844) may be comparable with both Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer and Cancer of Liver Italian Program staging systems.The ALBI and PALBI grades, in particular the combination with tumor size, are effective models for discriminating survival in CP grade A patients with HCC.

Ground-roll is an interferential wave existing widely in seismic data, and it is an important step in seismic data processing to suppress ground-roll. Wavelet Transform lacks of detecting the singularities of the signal with straight line or curve, and the method can separate the different waves at the same time because of Curvelet transform simultaneously has the characteristics of frequency and direction. The experiment results show that the Curvelet transform has better effects in ground-roll suppression.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of transplanted bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) administered via internal jugular vein injection, carotid artery injection, or intraventricular transplantation for the treatment of cerebral infarction, which was modeled in rats. The neurological scores of the treated rats and the distribution of the transplanted cells (GFP-labeled) in the infarction area were evaluated. The cerebral infarction model was produced by inserting a modified Zea-longa suture, which generated middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). The GFP-labeled BMSCs were transplanted through the jugular vein or the carotid artery or by stereotactic intraventricular delivery to the infarction models 1 week after the cerebral infarction was established. The 'Nerve Function Score' of the model rats was recorded before and after BMSC transplantation. Brain tissue sections were examined under a fluorescence microscope. We determined that the transplanted BMSCs rescued brain function, which was indicated by a decrease in the neurological scores (P