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Abstract The centrality of job satisfaction in fostering the stability and progression of the teaching cadre and in underpinning the effective operation of educational institutions is paramount. Drawing from motivation theory and the Job Demands-Resources model, this research delves into the influence of psychological empowerment on the job satisfaction of 533 preschool educators in China, employing the Psychological Empowerment Questionnaire, the Occupational Identity Questionnaire, and the Job Satisfaction Scale. The inquiry probes the intermediary function of occupational identity in the nexus between psychological empowerment and job satisfaction within the cohort of preschool teachers. The findings underscore that psychological empowerment substantially foretells heightened job satisfaction in preschool educators, and concurrently, occupational identity serves as a partial mediator in the association between psychological empowerment and job satisfaction. Augmenting levels of psychological empowerment and occupational identity among preschool teachers is a strategic avenue for fortifying their holistic contentment in their professional roles, thereby contributing indispensably to the fortification of a robust teaching workforce in kindergarten establishments.

Abstract Background Systemic conversion therapy provides patients with initially unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) the chance to salvage radical liver resection and superior survival outcomes, but the optimal conversion strategy is unclear. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library between 2007 and 2024 focusing on studies reporting conversion therapy for HCC. The treatment groups were divided into Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), TKI plus loco-regional therapy (LRT), TKI plus anti-PD-1 therapy (TKI + PD-1), TKI + PD-1 + LRT, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) plus LRT, and Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (A + T) groups. The conversion to surgery rate (CSR), objective response rate (ORR), grade ≥ 3 treatment-related adverse events (AEs), overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed. Results 38 studies and 4,042 patients were included. The pooled CSR were 8% (95% CI, 5-12%) in TKI group, 13% (95% CI, 8-19%) in TKI + LRT group, 28% (95% CI, 19-37%) in TKI + PD-1 group, 33% (95% CI, 25-41%) in TKI + PD-1 + LRT group, 23% (95% CI, 1-46%) in ICI + LRT group, and 5% (95% CI, 3-8%) in A + T group, respectively. The pooled HR for OS (0.45, 95% CI, 0.35–0.60) and PFS (0.49, 95% CI, 0.35–0.70) favored survival benefit of conversion surgery. Subgroup analysis revealed that lenvatinib + PD-1 + LRT conferred higher CSR of 35% (95% CI, 26-44%) and increased ORR of 70% (95% CI, 56-83%). Conclusions The current study indicates that TKI + PD-1 + LRT, especially lenvatinib + PD-1 + LRT, may be the superior conversion therapy with a manageable safety profile for patients with initially unresectable HCC. The successful conversion therapy favors the superior OS and PFS compared with systemic treatment alone. Trial registration International prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) (registration code: CRD 42024495289).

The generation of complex tailings from iron mining is continuously increasing, reaching a reserve of 500 million tons. The iron tailings mainly contain 0.10–0.50 wt% ultrafine SnO2 (−9.6 μm, >50 %), acid-solule Sn (MgSn(OH)6) and 0.20–1.50 wt% Zn and are recognized as an important secondary Sn resource. Unfortunately, traditional mineral processing techniques have a low Sn recovery ratio. In this study, a novel method is proposed for effectively recovering Sn and Zn from complex iron tailings through reduction-sulfurization roasting, and their transformation behavior is determined. The results reveal that MgSn(OH)6 is first transformed into MgSnO3 at 1073 K, and SnO2 is reduced to SnO(g) and then sulfurized to SnS(g). COS acts as the main curing agent during the roasting process, which originates from the oxidation of FeS. As the temperature increases from 1173 to 1273 K, part of SnO2 can combine with CaO to form Ca2SnO4, and the generated CaSnO3 and MgSnO3 are further reduced to Sn(l) and Fe–Sn alloy. Meanwhile, ZnO and ZnS can be efficiently converted to Zn(g). Interestingly, the Fe–Sn alloy cannot be removed due to low Sn activity (a[Sn]). However, the Sn recovery ratio increases to 90 % due to low SnS partial pressure (PSnS) at 1373 K. Under optimal conditions, 90.10 wt% Sn and 94.90 wt% Zn can be extracted in the dust, which can be further processed into higher value-added Sn concentrate. Compared with current beneficiation process, the recovery ratio of SnO2 increased by 20 %. More importantly, MgSn(OH)6 can be efficiently recovered. This is of great significance for sustainable metallurgy of Sn.

Abstract Microvascular invasion (MVI) has been widely valued in the field of liver surgery because MVI positivity indicates poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. However, the potential molecular mechanism underlying the poor prognosis of MVI‐positive HCC patients is unclear. Therefore, this study focused on identifying the key genes leading to poor prognosis in patients with a high degree of malignancy of HCC by examining the molecular signaling pathways in MVI‐positive HCC patients. Through RNA sequencing, TOX high mobility group box family member 3 (TOX3) was demonstrated to be significantly highly expressed in MVI‐positive HCC tissues, which was associated with poor prognosis. The results of in vivo and in vitro showed that TOX3 can promote the oncogenesis and development of HCC by targeting key molecules of the MAPK and EMT signaling pathways. The IP‐MS results indicated that proteasome degradation of TOX3 in HCC cells is potentially mediated by a tripartite motif containing 56 (TRIM56, an E3 ligase) in HCC cells. Inhibiting TRIM56 enhances TOX3 protein levels. Overall, our study identified TOX3 as a key gene in the MAPK and EMT signaling pathways in HCC, and its overexpression confers significant proliferation and invasiveness to tumor cells.

Pulmonary actinomycosis is a rare chronic purulent granulomatous disease, which can be easily misdiagnosed as lung cancer, tuberculosis, and other diseases. However, diagnosis relies on histopathological evidence, and early diagnosis is conducive to the patient's recovery. In this study, a case of a 70-year-old man with a soft tissue density mass at the right lower lung was studied, with initial chest CT suggesting lung cancer, pulmonary actinomycosis was confirmed by subsequent pathological biopsy of lung tissues eventually. The patient responded well to antibiotics treatment. This paper is to explore the clinical characteristics of the disease, providing insight into the disease, and its diagnosis and treatment.

Abstract Introduction Young children’s epidemic awareness and risk prevention about public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 are issues of great importance deserving research. Objective To explore the effect of young children’s epidemic cognition on their coping behavior, and the mediating role of emotion. Method An online anonymous survey was administrated on 2221 Chinese parents of young children aged three to six during the COVID-19 overwhelming period. Results (1) The epidemic cognition (M = 4.17, SD = 0.73), the coping behavior (M = 4.16, SD = 0.65), and the emotion (M = 3.99, SD = 0.81) were at a relatively high level. (2) Young children’s epidemic cognition significantly predicted their coping behavior (β = 0.71, t = 45.29, P

Spent cathode carbon (SCC) is a hazardous solid waste discharged from the aluminium electrolysis industry that poses a serious environmental pollution risk. In this paper, the migration transformation route and distribution ratio of fluorine during the reduction of copper slag by SCC were investigated. The results show that fluorine accounts for 57.92% of the slag phase, and the main phase is CaF2, which accounts for 41.75% of the gas phase and 0.33% of the alloy phase when reduced at 1460 °C with 10 wt% SCC for 90 min. The recoveries of reduced Cu and Fe reached 94.42% and 40.32%, respectively. After reduction by metallization, the F− leaching toxicity in the leaching slag was 38 mg/L, which is far below the regulatory limit (100 mg/L). In the process of copper slag reduction by SCC metallization, the copper and iron in the slag were effectively recovered, thus realizing the resourceful and harmless utilization of SCC. This achieves the goal of “treating waste with waste” and significantly reduces the treatment cost of SCC.

The duration of the high-grade matte converting process is short, the amount of slag is small, and it is difficult for the original impurity removal operation in the low-grade matte converting process to meet the current production demand. Because the removal method for impurity elements during high-grade matte converting is unclear, the phase transformation of impurity elements during this process is investigated in this study. The results show that arsenic exists mainly in the form of FeAsO4 and As2O5, antimony in the form of Sb and Sb2O5, and lead in the form of PbS and PbO in high-grade matte. During the converting process, arsenic and antimony mainly exist in the melt in the form of oxides and gradually aggregate into large particles with increasing copper content in the melt. Lead exists in matte in the form of PbS until the end of the converting process, and PbS is not completely oxidized until the matte converted to blister copper phase. The phase transformation characteristics of copper, iron, sulfur and impurity elements in the process of high-grade matte converting were revealed. This study provides a theoretical reference for the formulation of an efficient impurity removal scheme for the converting process.

Recently, the depletion of nickel sulfide resources barely meet the increasing demand and laterite nickel ore gain a special attention as the main source of nickel in the future. Even laterite nickel ore has become a hot spot of research due to its rich reserves, easy mining, and convenient transportation, the effective treatment and efficient utilization of laterite nickel ore is still very appealing. In this article, we mainly introduces the smelting methods and technologies of different laterite nickel ore from different ore layers, summarizes the laterite nickel ore of different ore layers and their applicable smelting processes, analyzes the processing technology of different laterite nickel ore, and realizes different types of laterite comprehensive utilization of nickel ore.

The traditional fossil reductant used in the copper slag cleaning process cannot fulfill the requirements of sustainable development of the copper industry and environmental protection. Therefore, a new approach of employing renewable rubber seed oil (RSO) instead of a non-renewable fossil reductant to clean copper slag (reduce magnetite concentration and improve matte recovery) was put forward in this study. The cracking characteristics of RSO at high temperature and the effects of technical parameters (such as reduction temperature, oil amount and settling time) on the copper loss, magnetite concentration and RSO utilization degree were thoroughly investigated. The results indicated that the cracking products of RSO at high temperature were mainly composed of C and H2. Under the conditions of a temperature of 1250 °C, an injection of 4 mL of RSO, and a settling time of no less than 1.5 h, the content of magnetite was reduced to less than 1 wt.%, and the content of copper in the upper level of the slag was lowered to be less than 0.57 wt.%, which met the criteria for discarding slag industrially. The copper slag cleaning by RSO is a process of carbon neutrality. The results provide a theoretic basis for the application of bioenergy in non-ferrous metal smelting process.

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most serious malignant cancers and has a high fatality rate. However, clinical strategies for the effective treatment of HCC remain lacking. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) with aberrant expression have been closely correlated with the occurrence and development of HCC. Here we investigated the underlying mechanism of the lncRNA CERS6-AS1 in HCC progression. The expression and prognosis of CERS6-AS1 in HCC patients was explored using The Cancer Genome Atlas. PCR analysis was utilized to measure the expression of CERS6-AS1 in tissues and cell lines. Transwell, wound healing, proliferation and glycolysis assays were conducted to evaluate the function of CERS6-AS1 on HCC cell functions. Bioinformation methods and luciferase assays were used to screen and verify potential target miRNAs and genes. A subcutaneous tumorigenesis model was constructed in nude mice to assess the effect of CERS6-AS1 on tumorigenesis in vivo. CERS6-AS1 was highly expressed in HCC tissues and cell lines. Upregulated CERS6-AS1 expression was remarkably correlated with poor prognosis of HCC patients. High CERS6-AS1 expression facilitated cell growth, invasion and glycolysis of HCC cells. Bioinformatics analyses combining with PCR analysis identified miR-30b-3p as the potential target of CERS6-AS1, and MDM2 mRNA was verified as the target of miR-30b-3p. The expression of miR-30b-3p was negatively correlated with CERS6-AS1, whereas MDM2 was positively associated with CERS6-AS1. Mechanistic studies showed that CERS6-AS1 may sponge miR-30b-3p to elevate MDM2, thus promoting the MDM2-mediated ubiquitin-dependent degradation of the p53 tumor suppressor. MDM2 overexpression or miR-30b-3p inhibitors blocked the inhibitory effect of CERS6-AS1 knockdown on proliferation, migration and glycolysis. CERS6-AS1 depletion reduced tumor formation in the in vivo mouse model. The CERS6-AS1/miR-30b-3p/MDM2/p53 signaling axis may play key roles in regulating HCC progression. CERS6-AS1 may exert as a novel biomarker or therapeutic target for HCC.

The cleaning of copper slag is an important way to realize the sustainable development of the copper metallurgy industry. MgO is a commonly used additive in the cleaning process and has an important impact on the physicochemical properties of copper slag. However, there are few studies on the mechanism of the phase transformation of the ISASMELT copper slag with different additive amounts of MgO. In this study, the mechanism of the phase transformation of copper slag with different additive amounts of MgO and the effect of MgO on the mass action concentration of slag component, physicochemical properties of copper slag and copper loss were elucidated. The results showed that when the MgO was added to copper slag, high melting point hortonolite was formed in the slag. When the additive amount of MgO was more than 4%, high melting point pleonaste was formed. With increasing MgO additive amount, the slag viscosity increased, and the silicate structure tended to be complex. Adding MgO to slag was not conducive to the recovery of matte from copper slag. The results provide a theoretical basis for selecting the most reasonable slag type in the cleaning process of ISASMELT copper slag and selecting the reasonable raw material in the ISASMELT process of copper concentrate.

Settling time, system temperature and reductant amount play an important role in the recovery of matte from copper slag. This study investigated the settling behavior of matte particles in copper slag and the effects of the settling time, system temperature, and reductant amount on the macrostructure of slag, microstructure of matte particles, and copper loss. The results showed that the settling behavior of matte particles in slag at the experimental temperature was a process of aggregation and growth. With an increase in settling time and temperature, as well as the addition of an appropriate amount of anthracite, the foaming slag layer of the slowly cooled slag gradually disappeared, while the recovery of matte increased. However, when the amount of anthracite was too high, Fe–Cu alloy formed at the experimental temperature, which resulted in worsened fluidity of the matte in the molten slag and copper loss increased. At the experimental temperature, the settling environment of matte particles in the liquid phase layer was superior to that of the foaming slag layer. The novel idea of using rubber seed oil instead of a traditional fossil reductant to clean the copper slag was put forward. At the temperature of 1250 °C, 4 mL of rubber seed oil was injected, resulting in a settling time of ≥90 min, after which the copper content in the upper part of the slowly cooled slag was less than 0.57 wt.%, reaching the acceptable level of discardable slag in industry.

The method of precipitation treatment of high-nickel waste electrolytic slag was studied, coupled with multi-step treatment to improve the recovery rate of nickel. In this study, HNO3 was used as dissolving agent, NaOH and Na2CO3 as precipitating agents, and the waste electrolytic slag was dissolved in the liquid phase and then precipitated. The results show that the electroslag with high nickel content can be completely dissolved under the optimal solid-liquid ratio of 1:10. When the pH of the leaching solution was adjusted to 7.5 by 5% NaOH solution, the iron removal rate could reach 99.3%. When the pH was adjusted to 11 with 5% Na2CO3, the nickel could be completely precipitated after standing, and the main component was basic nickel carbonate. The further recovery experiments show that high purity NiO can be obtained after the basic nickel carbonate is oxidized and calcined, and the average recovery rate of nickel is 92.4%. This study is of great practical significance to improve the treatment efficiency of the chemical precipitation method, reduce the operating cost of the chemical precipitation method, and reduce the production of secondary pollutants in the process of nickel recycling.

Objective: To establish a new classification of biliary tumor thrombus (BTT). Methods: Overall survival of patients with BTT was first used to determine whether it correlated with current hepatocellular carcinoma staging systems. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine factors affecting the overall survival (OS) to form the basis of our new classification for BTT. Results: All 6 international staging systems showed overlapping survival curves. Univariate followed by multivariate analyses showed that total bilirubin and intrahepatic/extrahepatic BTT were significant risk factors of OS. Based on these data, a new BTT classification was defined as: Type I: intrahepatic BTT; and Type II: extrahepatic BTT involving a common bile duct or common hepatic duct. Type I was further subdivided into type Ia: BTT involving a second-order intrahepatic duct or above, and type Ib: BTT involving a first-order intrahepatic duct. Type II was further subdivided into type IIa and type IIb using a cut-off total bilirubin (TB) > 300 μmol/L. The numbers (percentages) of patients with types I and II BTT were 69 (34.2%) and 133 (65.8%), respectively. The median OS of type I patients was significantly higher than that of type II patients (37.5 months vs. 23.2 months; P = 0.002). Using subgroup analyses, OS outcomes were significantly different between the subgroups of type IIb and type IIa, although there was no significant difference between the type Ia and type Ib subgroups (P = 0.07). Conclusions: A new BTT classification was established to predict prognoses of HCC patients with BTT who underwent liver resection.

In recent years, the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry has led to an increase in the production of used lithium-ion batteries. The recycling of waste lithium-ion batteries is expected to alleviate the shortage of valuable metals in battery materials. The electrode material is adhered to the collector by a viscous organic binder such as PVDF. A key step in recycling is to separate the anode material and aluminum foil from the waste lithium batteries to obtain materials rich in valuable metals. Compared with chemical dissolution and decomposition, pyrolysis pretreatment is a simple and feasible method. By reducing the binding force between the binder and the positive active substance at a high temperature, organic matter can be eliminated by thermal decomposition at a high temperature. At the same time, the organic component of PVDF has a high calorific value, and the energy can be recycled and reused, which can save energy. The pyrolysis process and pyrolysis behavior of spent LIBs materials were studied in this paper. FWO, Friedman and KAS conversion methods were spent to compare the pyrolysis kinetics of positive electrode materials. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that the cathode material is decomposed into three stages with mass losses of 1.7%, 1.2% and 3.3%, respectively. The activation energy (Eα) calculated by the three model-free methods is best fitted by the FWO method. During the pyrolysis process, the concentration of F decreases gradually with the increase in temperature, and the concentrations of Ni, Mn, Co and Li remain stable. Most of the harmful element (F) in spent LIBs is converted into HF gas, which can be adsorbed by alkaline solution. The analysis of pyrolysis kinetics and pyrolysis products is of great significance for large-scale pretreatment of spent lithium-ion batteries.

Abstract Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with a dismal prognosis, and prediction of the prognosis of HCC can assist in therapeutic decision-makings. An increasing number of studies have shown that the texture parameters of images can reflect the heterogeneity of tumors, and may have the potential to predict the prognosis of patients with HCC after surgical resection. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of computed tomography (CT) texture parameters in patients with HCC after hepatectomy and to develop a radiomics nomogram by combining clinicopathological factors and the radiomics signature. Methods In all, 544 eligible patients were enrolled in this retrospective study and were randomly divided into the training cohort (n = 381) and the validation cohort (n = 163). The tumor regions of interest (ROIs) were delineated, and the corresponding texture parameters were extracted. The texture parameters were selected by using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox model in the training cohort, and a radiomics signature was established. Then, the radiomics signature was further validated as an independent risk factor for overall survival (OS). The radiomics nomogram was established based on the Cox regression model. The concordance index (C-index), calibration plot and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to evaluate the performance of the radiomics nomogram. Results The radiomics signature was formulated based on 7 OS-related texture parameters, which were selected in the training cohort. In addition, the radiomics nomogram was developed based on the following five variables: α-fetoprotein (AFP), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), largest tumor size, microvascular invasion (MVI) and radiomics score (Rad-score). The nomogram displayed good accuracy in predicting OS (C-index = 0.747) in the training cohort and was confirmed in the validation cohort (C-index = 0.777). The calibration plots also showed excellent agreement between the actual and predicted survival probabilities. The DCA indicated that the radiomics nomogram showed better clinical utility than the clinicopathologic nomogram. Conclusion The radiomics signature is a potential prognostic biomarker of HCC after hepatectomy. The radiomics nomogram that integrated the radiomics signature can provide a more accurate estimation of OS than the clinicopathologic nomogram for HCC patients after hepatectomy.

Waste engine oil (WEO), as a waste resource, has not been fully exploited. Using WEO as a reductant for copper slag cleaning is quite meaningful. Fe3O4 is an important element in copper slag cleaning. So the laws of thermal cracking of WEO at different temperatures and the effect on thermal cracking of WEO in the presence of Fe3O4 were investigated. The results show that the high-temperature cracking of WEO mainly produces H2, CO, CH4, CO2, and small molecules such as C. Raising the temperature is good for the cracking of WEO. When the temperature rises from 700 °C to 1300 °C, the total amount of gases produced by cracking 700 μL of WEO increases from 177.08 mL to 1010.2 mL. At 1300 °C, the total amount of gases produced by the cracking of WEO in the presence of Fe3O4 was 1408.11 mL. The result indicates that Fe3O4 can promote the pyrolysis of waste oil. This research provides a novel approach to the clean utilization of WEO.

The relationship between age and the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been widely investigated. However, few studies have focused on the influence of patient age on the prognosis of HCC with microvascular invasion (MVI). Patients with histologically confirmed HCC with MVI who underwent hepatectomy between 2008 and 2016 were retrospectively enrolled in this study and allocated to younger (young group) and older age groups (old group) according to age< or ≥60 years. A propensity score matching analysis was performed, and prognostic factors evaluated by Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression. Intraoperative and postoperative characteristics were compared between the two groups. A total of 374 patients were enrolled in this study. There were 84 patients in each group after a 1 : 1 propensity score matching analysis. The rates of both disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) differed significantly between the age groups. By univariate and multivariate analyses, age

This study focused on the preparation of high-grade ferronickel concentrate, the behavior of efficient migration and the polymerization of ferronickel particles during reduction roasting, by adding calcium fluoride and a ferronickel concentrate to low-grade laterite ore from Yunnan. The effects of temperature, holding time, reductant content, ferronickel concentrate content and magnetic field intensity on the preparation of the ferronickel concentrate were studied and the optimum conditions were determined as follows: 30% ferronickel concentrate (metal Ni-4.68%, metal Fe-45.0%), 8% coal, 7% calcium fluoride, reduction temperature of 1250 °C, reduction time of 60 min and the intensity of magnetic separation is 150 mT. The proportion of nickel and iron in ferronickel concentrate was 88.7% (metal Ni-8.62%, metal Fe-80.1%), and the recovery efficiency of nickel and iron are 98.8% and 82.4%, respectively. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy indicated that ferronickel-concentrate, as an activating agent, improved the aggregation effect of ferronickel particles. The efficient migration and polymerization of ferronickel particles in the ore significantly increased the size of the ferronickel particles with additives, therefore a high-grade ferronickel concentrate was prepared, and the reduction and recovery efficiency of laterite nickel ore was improved.

Abstract To improve the recovery of copper, the viscosity of copper molten slag is decreased by the reduction of magnetic iron, which, in turn, accelerates the settling and separation of copper droplets from the slag. A new technology is proposed in which waste cooking oil is used as a reductant to reduce magnetic iron in the copper smelting slag and consequently reduce carbon emissions in the copper smelting process. A kinetic model of the reduction of magnetic iron in copper slag by waste cooking oil was built using experimental data, and the accuracy of the model was verified. The results indicated that the magnetic iron content in the copper slag decreased with increasing reduction time and an increase in temperature more efficiently reduced magnetic iron in the copper slag. The magnetic iron in the copper slag gradually transformed to fayalite, and the viscosity of the copper molten slag decreased as the magnetic iron content decreased during the reduction process. The reduction of magnetic iron in the copper molten slag using waste cooking oil was a first-order reaction, and the rate-limiting step was the mass transfer of Fe3O4 through the liquid boundary layer.

Direct-to-blister copper smelting is an important smelting process due to its short process, low energy consumption and environmental protection. This study attempts to use high-grade chalcocite as the raw material for direct-to-blister smelting to realize the production of blister in a single furnace. The issues and required conditions of the process are analyzed from the thermodynamics viewpoint. By adjusting the ratio of iron to silica, the flux content and other raw material components, the direct-to-blister smelting is finally realized in a lab-scale. The copper recovery is over 82%, and the copper loss in the slag is analyzed in detail. This work offers a theoretical guidance for the short-process smelting of high-grade copper concentrate.

Background and objective Malignant pleural effusions are a common complication in advanced malignancy. Talc, bleomycin and the tetracyclines are the three most frequently used sclerosants. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and adverse effects of patients with malignant pleural effusions treated with talc and bleomycin. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Chinese biomedicine literature database (CBM), CNKI, VIP, references of included studies for randomized controlled trials comparing talc with bleomycin for patients with malignant pleural effusions. The quality of included studies was assessed independently by two reviewers, discrepancies were resolved by discussion with the third person. We analyzed the data using Review Manager (version 5.0) software. Results Six studies totaling 224 patients were included. Meta analysis results were as follows: there was significantdifference in treatment success (RR=1.22, 95%CI: 1.05-1.42), recurrence rate (RR=0.31, 95%CI: 0.11-0.87) between talc group and bleomycin group, there was no significant difference between the two groups in case fatality rate (RR=1.39, 95%CI: 0.84-2.30), fever (RR=0.68, 95%CI: 0.24-1.94), pain (RR=0.22, 95%CI: 0.01-4.32). Conclusion Current evidence indicate that talc is super to bleomycin for patients with malignant pleural effusions in terms of improvingtreatment success and reducing recurrence rate, there is no significant difference between the two group with regard to casefatality rate, fever, pain, the results mentioned above still need to be confirmed by high quality, large sample, multicenter randomized controlled trial.

AimsTo evaluate the impact of small-for-size grafts (SFSG) in adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation (AALDLT) on outcomes of recipients with different model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score in a single liver transplant center.Materials and methodsClinical data of 118 patients underwent right-lobe AALDLT from January 2004 to December 2011 were retrospectively analyzed, Patients were divided into Group L (MELD score ≤ 25) and Group H (MELD score > 25) according to MELD score. The patients were further stratified into Group LS (MELD score ≤ 25, GBWR < 0.8%), Group LN (MELD score ≤ 25, GBWR ≥ 0.8%), Group HS (MELD score > 25, GBWR < 0.8%), and Group HN (MELD score > 25, GBWR ≥ 0.8%) to investigate the impact of graft size on recipients' complications and outcomes. Pre-operative characteristics, post-operative complications graded by the Clavien score and patient survival were analyzed.ResultsMELD scores between the two groups were significant different (12.4 ± 4.9 vs 34.5 ± 7.5, P = 0.026). There was no significant difference in preoperative demographic data as well as postoperative liver function. Complication rate, length of ICU and hospital stay, graft loss, and mortality were similar in both groups. The 1- and 3- year survival were similar between group H and group L. When recipients were further stratified into group LS, LN, HS, and HN, no significant difference was found among groups in 1- and 3- year survival rate. In multivariate analysis, HCC was not a predictor for long term survival.ConclusionOur single institution experience demonstrates that it is safe to use SFSGs in high pre-MELD score recipients with the improvement of intensive care and the selection of listing criteria.

Conversion of methane to syngas using a chemical-looping concept is a novel method for syngas generation. This process is based on the transfer of gaseous oxygen source to fuel (e.g., methane) by means of a cycling process using solid oxides as oxygen carriers to avoid direct contact between fuel and gaseous oxygen. Syngas is produced through the gas-solid reaction between methane and solid oxides (oxygen carriers), and then the reduced oxygen carriers can be regenerated by a gaseous oxidant, such as air or water. The oxygen carrier is recycled between the two steps, and the syngas with a ratio of H2/CO = 2.0 can be obtained successively. Air is used instead of pure oxygen allowing considerable cost savings, and the separation of fuel from the gaseous oxidant avoids the risk of explosion and the dilution of product gas with nitrogen. The design and elaboration of suitable oxygen carriers is a key issue to optimize this method. As one of the most interesting oxygen storage materials, ceria-based and perovskite oxides were paid much attention for this process. This paper briefly introduced the recent research progresses on the oxygen carriers used in the chemical-looping selective oxidation of methane (CLSOM) to syngas.

BACKGROUND: Microsomal epoxide hydrolase (EPHX1) plays an important role in both the activation and detoxification of PAHs, which are carcinogens found in cooked meat and tobacco smoking. Polymorphisms at exons 3 and 4 of the EPHX1 gene have been reported to be associated with variations in EPHX1 activity. The aim of this study is to quantitatively summarize the relationship between EPHX1 polymorphisms and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. METHODS: Two investigators independently searched the Medline, Embase, CNKI, and Chinese Biomedicine Databases for studies published before June 2012. Summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for EPHX1 Tyr113His (rs1051740) and His139Arg (rs2234922) polymorphisms and CRC were calculated in a fixed-effects model and a random-effects model when appropriate. RESULTS: This meta-analysis yielded 14 case-control studies, which included 13 studies for Tyr113His (6395 cases and 7893 controls) and 13 studies for His139Arg polymorphisms (5375 cases and 6962 controls). Overall, the pooled results indicated that EPHX1 Tyr113His polymorphism was not associated with CRC risk; while the His139Arg polymorphism was significantly associated with decreased CRC risk (Arg/His vs. His/His, OR = 0.90, 95%CI = 0.83-0.98; dominant model, OR = 0.92, 95%CI = 0.85-0.99). The statistically significant association between EPHX1 His139Arg polymorphism and CRC was observed among Caucasians and population-based case-control studies. This association showed little heterogeneity and remained consistently strong when analyses were limited to studies in which genotype frequencies were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, or limited to studies with matched controls. When cumulative meta-analyses of the two associations were conducted by studies' publication time, the results were persistent and robust. CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis suggests that EPHX1 Tyr113His polymorphism may be not associated with CRC development; while the EPHX1 His139Arg polymorphism may have a potential protective effect on CRC.

BACKGROUND: Salvage liver transplantation (SLT) is restricted to patients who develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence within Milan criteria (MC). Little is known about outcomes for SLT in patients with recurrent HCC within University of California San Francisco (UCSF) criteria after liver resection (LR). METHODS: Between January 2001 and December 2011, 380 patients with HCC meeting UCSF criteria, 200 of which were resected (LR group) from a perspective of SLT in case of recurrence, and 180 directly underwent LT (PLT). We compared patient characteristics, perioperative and long-term outcomes between SLT and PLT groups. We also assessed the outcome of LR and PLT groups. RESULTS: Among the 200 patients in LR group, 86 (43%) developed HCC recurrence and 15/86 (17%) of these patients presented HCC recurrence outside UCSF criteria. Only 39 of the 86 patients underwent SLT, a transplantation rate of 45% of patients with HCC recurrence. Compared with PLT group, LR group showed lower overall survival rate (P = 0.005) and higher recurrence rate (P = 0.006). Although intraoperative blood loss and required blood transfusion were more frequent in SLT group, the perioperative mortality and posttransplant complications were similar in SLT and PLT groups. The overall survival and recurrence rates did not significantly differ between the two groups. When stratifying by graft type in the SLT group, overall survival and recurrence rates did not significantly differ between deceased donor LT (DDLT) and living donor LT (LDLT) groups. In the subgroup analysis by MC, similar results were observed between patients with recurrent HCC meeting MC and patients with recurrent HCC beyond MC but within UCSF criteria. CONCLUSION: Our single institution experience demonstrated that prior hepatectomy and SLT for recurrent HCC within UCSF criteria was feasible and SLT could achieve the same outcome as PLT.

The direct-to-blister process is considered as a short process, low energy consumption and environmentally friendly pyrometallurgical copper smelting process. In this study, direct-to-blister smelting experiments were conducted on a laboratory scale using high-grade chalcocite as the raw material and employing the SiO2-FeO-CaO slag system. The effects of smelting parameters including Fe/SiO2 ratio, oxygen blowing volume, and smelting temperature on copper recovery were investigated, and the optimal experimental scenario under the SiO2-FeO-CaO slag was ultimately obtained. The results showed that the maximum copper recovery of 96.23 wt.% was realized at the Fe/SiO2 ratio of 1.2 and with CaO addition of 2.8 wt.%. Moreover, the copper losses in the slag and the phases in the slag were analyzed in detail. The results of this paper may provide theoretical guidance for direct-to-blister of high-grade copper concentrates under SiO2-FeO-CaO slag system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contradiction between the supply and demand of nickel resources is intensifying, and it is urgent to develop new processing and smelting processes for laterite nickel ore. Gas based smelting with H2 and CH4 as reductants is of great significance to solve the "double carbon" problem faced by the traditional metallurgical industry. Taking low-grade laterite nickel ore as the research object, CH4 as the reductant and elemental sulfur as the additive, under the conditions of different reduction temperature, reduction time, gas concentration and additive dosage, this paper discusses the reduction behavior of CH4 and iron nickel oxide in laterite nickel ore. Combined with XRD, SEM-EDS, gas analysis and other characterization methods, the phase and morphology of laterite nickel ore and its reduction products were deeply analyzed. Results surface: under the conditions of reduction temperature 800°C, reduction time 60 min, CH4 concentration 20%, elemental sulfur dosage 4%, the metallization rate of nickel and iron in the reduction product can reach 98.01% and 8.44%, respectively. Nickel oxide is almost completely reduced to nickel, and most of iron is reduced to low-price iron oxide. In the reduction process, the amorphous silicate recrystallizes into magnesium olivine phase in the reduction process. It hinders further reduction of nickel. According to SEM-EDS analysis, some metal iron and elemental sulfur generate FeS around the iron oxide region, which hinders the contact between reducing gas and FeO. Therefore, the reduction of iron is inhibited and the iron oxide content increases. It promoted the selective reduction of nickel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]