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We propose and demonstrate a compact tunable lens with high transmittance using a dielectric elastomer sandwiched by transparent conductive liquid. The transparent conductive liquid not only serves as the refractive material of the tunable lens but also works as the compliant electrode of the dielectric elastomer. The overall dimensions of the proposed tunable lens are 16 mm in diameter and 10 mm in height, and the optical transmittance is as high as 92.2% at 380–760 nm. The focal power variation of the tunable lens is − 23.71 D at an actuation voltage of 3.0 kV. The rise and fall times are 60 ms and 185 ms, respectively. The fabrication process of the tunable lens is free of the deposition of opaque compliant electrodes. Such a tunable lens promises a potential solution in various compact imaging systems.

Portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) is one of the most serious forms of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) vessel metastasis and has a poor survival rate. However, the molecular mechanism of PVTT has not yet been elucidated. In this study, the molecular mechanism of AXL expressed in tumor-derived endothelial cells (TECs) in vessel metastasis was investigated. High AXL expression was observed in TECs, but not in the tumor cells of HCC patients with PVTT and this was associated with poor overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). AXL overexpression was positively associated with CD 31 expression both in vitro and in vivo. AXL promoted the cell proliferation, tube formation, and migration of both TECs and normal endothelial cells (NECs). High expression of AXL in TECs promoted the cell migration, but not the proliferation of HCC cells. Further studies demonstrated that AXL promoted cell migration and tube formation through activation of the PI3K/AKT/SOX2/DKK-1 axis. AXL overexpression in HUVECs promoted tumor growth and liver or vessel metastasis of HCC in xenograft nude mice, which could be counteracted by treatment with R428, an AXL inhibitor. R428 reduced tumor growth and CD 31 expression in HCC in PDX xenograft nude mice. Therefore, AXL over-expression in TECs promotes vessel metastasis of HCC, which indicates that AXL in TECs could be a potential therapeutic target in HCC patients with PVTT.

Traditional lidar scans the target with a fixed-size scanning spot and scanning trajectory. Therefore, it can only obtain the depth image with the same pixels as the number of scanning points. In order to obtain a high-resolution depth image with a few scanning points, we propose a scanning and depth image reconstruction method with a variable scanning spot and scanning trajectory. Based on the range information and the proportion of the area of each target (PAET) contained in the multi echoes, the region with multi echoes (RME) is selected and a new scanning trajectory and smaller scanning spot are used to obtain a finer depth image. According to the range and PAET obtained by scanning, the RME is segmented and filled to realize the super-resolution reconstruction of the depth image. By using this method, the experiments of two overlapped plates in space are carried out. By scanning the target with only forty-three points, the super-resolution depth image of the target with 160 × 160 pixels is obtained. Compared with the real depth image of the target, the accuracy of area representation (AOAR) and structural similarity (SSIM) of the reconstructed depth image is 99.89% and 98.94%, respectively. The method proposed in this paper can effectively reduce the number of scanning points and improve the scanning efficiency of the three-dimensional laser imaging system.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) commonly occurs in patients with splenomegaly. This study aimed to investigate the impact of splenomegaly with or without splenectomy on long-term survival of HCC patients with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) treated with liver resection (LR). METHODS: HCC patients with PVTT who underwent LR from 2005 to 2012 from 6 hospitals were retrospectively studied. The long-term overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were compared between patients with or without splenomegaly, and between patients who did or did not undergo splenectomy for splenomegaly. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed to match patients in a 1:1 ratio. RESULTS: Of 716 HCC patients with PVTT who underwent LR, 140 patients had splenomegaly (SM group) and 576 patients had no splenomegaly (non-SM group). The SM group was further subdivided into 49 patients who underwent splenectomy (SPT group), and 91 patients who did not received splenectomy (non-SPT group). PSM matched 140 patients in the SM group, and 49 patients in the SPT group. Splenomegaly was an independent risk factor of poor RFS and OS. The OS and RFS rates were significantly better for patients in the non-SM group than the SM group (OS: P

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is one of the standards of care for early stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, rapid progression of residual tumor after RFA has been confirmed. The aim of this study was to investigate the underlying mechanism of this phenomenon. Human HCC cell lines HCCLM3 and HepG2 were employed to establish insufficient RFA models in vivo and in vitro, respectively. The effects of insufficient RFA on metastatic potential of residual tumors were evaluated. The molecular changes after insufficient RFA were evaluated by PCR array, western blot, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry. Results showed that insufficient RFA significantly promoted lung and intrahepatic residual tumor cells in vivo, and heat intervention promoted migration and invasion of hepatoma cells in vitro. PCR array revealed that the expression of integrin β3 (ITGB3) and MMP2 were up-regulated in the residual tumors of HCCLM3 xenograft model. The up-regulation of ITGB3 was confirmed by qRT-PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Knockdown ITGB3 expression in HCCLM3 cells by shRNA significantly lowered the pro-metastatic effects of insufficient RFA. Mechanism studies indicated that ITGB3 mediated the expression of MMP2 by activing FAK/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. The up-regulation of ITGB3 contributed to enhanced metastatic potential of residual cancer in HCCLM3 model after insufficient RFA. Targeting ITGB3 expression may further improve the clinical effects of RFA.

Optical liquids are ideal materials for designing apochromatic lens due to their lower refractive index and higher Abbe numbers than those of the ordinary optical glasses. Based on the Buchdahl dispersion formula, the dispersion coefficient diagram of liquids and glasses is established. The liquid-glass combination lens(LGCL) with small secondary spectrum is obtained by calculating the combination structure with low dispersion liquid and glasses. The initial optical structure of the liquid-glass apochromatic lens(LGAL) can be obtained by replacing two glass lenses in an initial optical system with the LGCL. Using the multi-configuration optimization of ZEMAX, the liquid-glass achromatic zoom lens (LGAZL) can be designed by optimizing the LGAL. The LGAZL has an objective field of view ϕ63 mm–ϕ57 mm, an image field of view 8 mm, a working distance 240 mm and the zoom range of focal length 75–85 mm. The chromatic aberration and the secondary spectrum of the LGAZL are all less than 3 μm in the whole zoom range.

Solid and liquid lenses are commonly used in optical design. Such lenses have suitable thicknesses due to their working principle and processing mode. Thus, zoom optical systems comprising solid and liquid lenses are extremely large. This work presents a new ultrathin tunable lens (UTL) comprising two liquid film lenses (LFLs) obtained through aspheric deformation and produced from the surface of a micro-liquid under gravity and boundary tension. The UTL can flexibly change focal lengths between positive and negative lenses when the device thickness is merely 2.15 mm. The proposed lens has the advantages of small volume, light weight, simple fabrication, and independence from external force during zooming. This research makes up for the drawback that traditional solid and liquid lenses cannot further reduce their thicknesses. The proposed UTL provides a new lens form and fabrication method, and can be used to replace solid and liquid lenses for designing miniature zoom optical systems.

Tumor-associated endothelial cells (TEC) directly facilitate tumor progression, but little is known about the mechanisms. We investigated the function of CD109 in TEC and its clinical significance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The correlation between CD109 expressed on tumor vessels and the prognosis after surgical resection of HCC was studied. The effect of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) with different CD109 expression on hepatoma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion was compared in co-culture assay. Associated key factors were screened by human cytokine antibody array and validated thereafter. HUVEC with different CD109 expression were co-implanted with HCCLM3 or HepG2 cells in nude mice to investigate the effect of CD109 expression on tumor growth and metastasis. Reduced expression of CD109 on tumor vessels was associated with large tumor size, microvascular invasion, and advanced tumor stage. CD109 was an independent risk factor for disease-free survival (P = 0.001) after curative resection of HCC. CD109 knockdown in HUVEC promoted hepatoma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) was a key tumor-promoting factor secreted from CD109 knockdown HUVEC. CD109 knockdown upregulated IL-8 expression through activation of TGF-β/Akt/NF-κB pathway in HUVEC. Co-implantation with CD109 knockdown HUVEC accelerated tumor growth and metastasis in mice models. In conclusion, CD109 expression on tumor vessels is a potential prognostic marker for HCC, and its reduced expression on TEC promoted tumor progression by paracrine IL-8.

The S100 protein family is widely involved in the pathological process of various types of cancer. However, the prognostic value of the S100 protein family member S100A12 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. A total of 139 patients undergoing curative surgical resection for HCC from December 2005 to June 2006 were investigated. Immunohistochemistry of S100A12 tissue was performed and expression was classified according to the total positive staining area. Co-expression of S100A12 with cluster of differentiation (CD)11B, CD15 and CD68 was evaluated using immunofluorescence. Associations between S100A12 expression and preoperative clinicopathological parameters were assessed using a χ2 test or independent sample Student's t-test. Kaplan-Meier estimator survival analysis and multivariate Cox's proportional hazard regression model were used to evaluate the prognostic value of S100A12 expression. The expression of S100A12 was restricted exclusively to stroma cells, primarily to myeloid-derived immune cells, CD15-positive neutrophils and CD68-positive macrophages in particular. A total positive staining area of 1,600 µm2 was selected as the threshold between high and low S100A12 expression. There was a statistically significant association between intratumoral S100A12 expression and tumor differentiation (P=0.010). High expression of S100A12 on intratumoral stroma cells was an independent prognostic factor for the overall (P=0.002) and disease-free survival (P=0.007) rates of HCC following curative surgical resection. No significant association was identified between peritumoral S100A12 expression and HCC prognosis. The results of the present study demonstrated that high expression of S100A12 on intratumoral stroma cells is associated with poor HCC prognosis following curative resection, which may serve as a potential target for an adjuvant therapy.

To reduce the impact of shaft-rate electric field (SRE) on the concealment of the ship, The electric field immunity test is simulated with the laboratory scale model ship based on the analysis of the energy source of SRE. Experimental results show that the ship SRE can be suppressed effectively by the system, and the concealment of the ship is enhanced.

To reduce the impact of shaft-rate electric field (SRE) on the concealment of the ship, the ship SRE real-time suppression is proposed based on the compensated negative potential and the real-time close-loop system for the ship SRE suppression is designed and realized£¬which greatly promoted the development of ship SRE suppression technique.

In order to enhancement the stealth capability of ship electric fields, the similar characters of ship electric and magnetic fields produce mechanism were studied. The similar effect characters to battle effectiveness of ship electric and magnetic fields were analyzed. The communicate theory of ship electric and magnetic fields were researched. The similar characters of analytical methods and stealth technology strategy of ship electric and magnetic fields were discussed. It is shown that the stealth technology between ship electric and magnetic fields is similar and the research can be developed by the same methods and the same experimentation.

Precise machine vision detection for a large object at a finite working distance (WD) requires that the lens has a high resolution for a large field of view (FOV). In this case, the effect of a secondary spectrum on image quality is not negligible. According to the detection requirements, a high resolution apochromatic objective is designed and analyzed. The initial optical structure (IOS) is combined with three segments. Next, the secondary spectrum of the IOS is corrected by replacing glasses using the dispersion vector analysis method based on the Buchdahl dispersion equation. Other aberrations are optimized by the commercial optical design software ZEMAX by properly choosing the optimization function operands. The optimized optical structure (OOS) has an f-number (F/#) of 3.08, a FOV of φ60 mm, a WD of 240 mm, and a modulated transfer function (MTF) of all fields of more than 0.1 at 320 cycles/mm. The design requirements for a nonfluorite material apochromatic objective lens with a large field and high definition for machine vision detection have been achieved.

Background & Aims We previously demonstrated the pro-metastasis effect of sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is mediated by down-regulation of tumor suppressor HTATIP2. The aim of the present study was to determine whether aspirin minimizes this effect and improves survival. Methods The effects of sorafenib, aspirin, and combined sorafenib and aspirin were observed in HCCLM3 and HepG2 xenograft nude mice. Tumor growth, intrahepatic metastasis (IHM), lung metastasis, and survival were assessed. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array, real-time (RT)-PCR, and Western blotting were used to examine gene expression. The anti-invasion and anti-metastasis effects of aspirin were studied in HTATIP2-knockdown and HTATIP2-overexpressing HCC cell lines. The molecular mechanism of HTATIP2 regulation by aspirin was explored. Results Aspirin suppressed the pro-invasion and pro-metastasis effects of sorafenib in HCC and up-regulated HTATIP2 expression. Aspirin did not inhibit the proliferation of HCC cells, but it decreased the invasiveness of HCC with lower expression of HTATIP2 and increased expression of a set of markers, indicating a mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition in tumor cells. The up-regulation of HTATPI2 expression by aspirin is most likely mediated through inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) 2 expression. Conclusions Aspirin minimized the pro-metastasis effect of sorafenib by up-regulating the tumor suppressor HTATIP2; this mechanism is mediated through inhibition of COX2.

Aims: To investigate the effect of colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) inhibitor on macrophages and tumor pathogenesis. Methods: CSF1 and CSF2 stimulated macrophages were obtained from mouse bone marrow derived monocytes cultured with CSF1 and CSF2. Mouse hepatoma cell line Hepa 1-6, and human hepatoma cell lines, HCCLM3 and HepG2 were used to established a allograft or xenograft tumor models to examine the effect of CSF1R inhibitor on tumor growth and distribution of macrophages. The characteristics of macrophages were determined by flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, cell motility and Western blotting assays. Results: CSF1R inhibitor suppressed tumor growth in the tumor models derived from three hepatoma cell lines, and prolonged hosts’ survival, but CSF1R inhibitor did not decreased the number of macrophages in Hepa1-6 allograft tumors. in vitro study showed CSF1R inhibitor suppressed proliferation and motility of CSF1 stimulated macrophages but not CSF2 stimulated macrophages. Furthermore, we found CSF1R inhibitor treatment decreased the ability of THP-1 macrophages to promote migration and invasion of tumor cells. Conclusions: CSF1R inhibitor suppressed tumor growth in hepatoma animal models by modulating function of tumor associating macrophages. Citation Format: Hui-Chuan Sun, Jian-Yang Ao, Hao Cai, Zong-Tao Chai, Xiao-Dong Zhu. Modulating function of tumor associated macrophages by CSF1R inhibitor suppressed tumor growth in hepatocellular carcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 758.

Arterioportal fistula (APF) is a rare cause of portal hypertension and may lead to death. APF can be congenital, post-traumatic, iatrogenic (transhepatic intervention or biopsy) or related to ruptured hepatic artery aneurysms. Congenital APF is a rare condition even in children. In this case report, we describe a 73-year-old woman diagnosed as APF by ultrasonography, computed tomography, and hepatic artery selective arteriography. The fistula was embolized twice but failed, and she still suffered from alimentary tract hemorrhage. Then, selective arteriography of the hepatic artery was performed again and venae coronaria ventriculi and short gastric vein were embolized. During the 2-year follow-up, the patient remained asymptomatic. We therefore argue that embolization of venae coronaria ventriculi and short gastric vein may be an effective treatment modality for intrahepatic APF with severe upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Aims We assessed the role of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the differential diagnosis between benign and malignant portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in patients who had liver tumors. Methods Seventeen consecutive patients who had cirrhosis, liver tumors, and PVT were prospectively studied with CEUS. CEUS was performed at low mechanical index after intravenous administration of a second-generation contrast agent (SonoVue, Bracco, Milan, Italy). Presence or absence of thrombus enhancement on CEUS were considered diagnostic for malignant or benign PVT. Five patients also underwent percutaneous portal vein fine-needle biopsy under US guidance. All patients were followed-up. Shrinkage of the thrombus and/or recanalization of the vessels on CDUS during follow-up were considered definitive evidence of the benign nature of the thrombosis, whereas the enlargement of the thrombus, disruption of the vessel wall, and parenchymal infiltration over follow-up were considered consistent with malignancy. Results Follow-up showed signs of malignant thrombosis in 14 of 17 patients. CEUS showed early arterial enhancement of the PVT in 14 patients of 14 malignant PVT, 1 patient of 3 benign PVT and the absence of thrombus enhancement in 2 patients of 3 benign PVT. FNB confirmed the results for malignant PVT in four of five patients, for benign granulomatous inflammation PVT in one of five patients in which CEUS showed early arterial enhancement of the PVT. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy is 100%, 66.7% and 93.3% at diagnosis of malignant PVT using CEUS. In one patient with intrahepatic bile duct stone, CEUS were positive for malignant PVT, whereas FNB was negative (benign granulomatous inflammation PVT); follow-up examination confirmed benign PVT. Conclusion CEUS seems to be the pretty sensitive and specific test for diagnosing malignant portal vein thrombosis in patients with cirrhosis and tumors.

Angiogenesis is essential for cancer growth and metastasis. Since present anti-angiogenesis strategies could not fulfill the expected clinical efficacy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), novel key regulatory molecules involving this process are still under investigation. It has been reported that the axon guidance receptor gene Robo1 is involved in tumor angiogenesis. Here, we report the function of Robo1 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) as well as the hepatocellular carcinoma endothelial cells. High Robo1 expression in the tumor vessels associated with a poor survival in patients. Over-expression of Robo1 in HUVEC cell lines results in increased proliferation, migration and tube formation in HUVECs. These changes could be reversed by knockdown of Robo1. Moreover, we show that Robo1 expression promoted CDC42 and Rho expression in HUVEC. We demonstrated that Robo1/CDC42/Rho signaling axis in HUVECs, which is important for function of HUVECs. Taken together, our results showed that Robo1 promoted angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma and provide new target for anti-angiogenesis therapy in HCC Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting. Citation Format: Hui-Chuan Sun, Jian-Yang Ao, Zong-Tao Chai, Yuan-Yuan Zhang. Robo1 promotes angiogenesis through CDC42/Rho GTPases signaling pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 4168. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-4168

Purpose To Study molecular changes specific to tumor-derived endothelial cells. Materials and methods Tumor tissue and adjacent nontumor tissue were obtained from 27 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Primary cultured CD31+ and CD105+ tumor endothelial cells (TECs) and nontumor endothelial cells (NECs) were isolated by magnetic-activated cell sorting. Affymetrix GeneChip Human Gene ST Arrays were used to determine gene expression profiles of HCC cells and matched TECs and NECs. A capillary tube formation assay was used to evaluate tube formation by the endothelial cells. The tumorigenicity of isolated TECs was monitored in nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient mice. Results The isolated CD31+ and CD105+ TECs and NECs displayed features of endothelial cells. Both cultured HCC cells and TECs induced capillary tube formation in vitro and were incorporated into tumor vasculature in vivo. The TEC isolates had a gene signature resembling that of HCC cells, and TEC-specific genes were associated with poorer HCC survival. Conclusions A subset of TECs may originate from tumor cells, and they express a unique set of genes linked to HCC prognosis. Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting. Citation Format: Zong-Tao Chai, Xiao-Dong Zhu, Jian-Yang Ao, Ling-Qun Kong, Yuan-Yuan Zhang, Hui-Chuan Sun. microRNA-26a expression may suppress tumor growth by modulating macrophage infiltration in tumor through down-regulation of M-CSF in hepatocellular carcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1095. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1095