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BACKGROUND Primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumors (PHNETs), a group of neuroendocrine neoplasms, are extremely rare. There are only few case reports about PHNETs in the literature. The lack of large samples and multicenter research results in poor diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. AIM To discuss the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of PHNETs and risk factors related to survival. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data, imaging features, immunohistochemistry data, and treatment efficacy of 40 patients who were pathologically diagnosed with PHNETs and admitted to The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 1, 2014 to November 15, 2019. Finally, survival analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for survival. RESULTS The main symptoms and signs included intermittent abdominal pain (19 patients, 47.5%) and bloating (8 patients, 20.0%). The positive rates of tested tumor markers were recorded as follows: Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) (6 patients, 15.0%), CA72-4 (3 patients, 7.5%), carcinoembryonic antigen (7 patients, 17.5%), and alpha-fetoprotein (6 patients, 15.0%). Immunohistochemical staining results showed positivity for Syn in 38 (97.4%) of 39 patients, for chromogranin A in 17 (65.4%) of 26 patients, for CD56 in 35 (94.6%) of 37 patients, for AE1/AE3 in 28 (87.5%) of 32 patients, and for Ki-67 in all 40 (100.0%) patients. The overall survival rate was significantly related to the tumor grade, AE1/AE3, and Ki-67. No significant correlation was found between other parameters (age, gender, tumor number, tumor size, metastasis, and treatment) and overall survival. CONCLUSION Higher grade, negative AE1/AE3, and higher Ki-67 are associated with a worse survival rate. Kinds of treatment and other parameters have no significant influence on overall survival.

What is known and objective Terlipressin has been shown to be effective in controlling variceal bleeding and decreasing associated mortality. Terlipressin is a synthetic analogue of vasopressin and is safer than arginine vasopressin; it induces selective vasoconstriction by stimulating the vasopressin V1 receptors that are predominantly located in the splanchnic tissues. However, severe hyponatraemia may occur during terlipressin treatment, resulting in neurological manifestations. Case summary We describe two patients who presented a marked decrease in serum sodium levels and developed obvious neurological manifestations after receiving terlipressin therapy. Although the two patients were given sodium supplementation, their serum sodium levels continually declined. After the discontinuation of terlipressin, their serum sodium levels rapidly recovered to normal limits, and the neurological manifestations subsequently disappeared in both patients. What is new and conclusion Some studies have reported hyponatraemia as a side effect of terlipressin; however, severe hyponatraemia with neurological manifestations has rarely been reported. We presented the cases of 2 patients with obvious neurological manifestations after receiving terlipressin therapy. Severe hyponatraemia may develop in patients treated with terlipressin, resulting in associated neurological symptoms. Therefore, the close monitoring of serum sodium is necessary.

Graphene oxide is a potent composite material for corrosion applications due to the presence of abundant functional groups and chemical stability [ 1 , 2 ]. Nickel-graphene oxide (Ni/GO) composite coating has been widely employed in various sectors such as marine, aerospace, and automobile industries due to their higher mechanical and anti-corrosive properties [3] . However, the conventional electrodeposition of nickel-graphene oxide coating does not reach a higher performance due to the limited incorporation and agglomeration of GO. This study presents the high-performance corrosion resistance of Ni/GO composite coating prepared through the ultrasonic-assisted supercritical-CO2 (US-SC CO2) electrodeposition process. For comparison, pure Ni and Ni/GO coatings prepared from both the conventional and SC CO2 electrodeposition processes were probed. The structural and morphological properties of the deposited films were scrutinized using various physiochemical characterization techniques. Then we looked into the electrochemical studies on corrosion resistance behavior of prepared films based on the changes in their morphology, crystal phase, size, core level oxidation state, carbon presence, coating hardness, and charge transfer resistance properties. Interestingly the observed results revealed that incorporating the GO nanosheets through US-SC CO2 condition enhanced the Ni/GO composite coating's anti-corrosion performance (Rp = 9073.8 Ω/cm2) than conventional Ni/GO composite coating (Rp = 3935.7 Ω/cm2) and pure Ni-coating (Rp = 1483.7 Ω/cm2). Thereby, we have successfully demonstrated the efficient and eco-friendly US-SC CO2 electrodeposition method, improving the Ni/GO composite coating's hardness and anti-corrosion properties.

BACKGROUND Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are tumor cells that leave the primary tumor site and enter the bloodstream, where they can spread to other organs; they are very important in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of malignant tumors. However, few studies have investigated CTCs in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The aim of this study was to investigate the CTCs in blood of ESCC patients and its potential relevance to clinicopathological features and prognosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS CTCs were acquired by a negative enrichment method that used magnetic activated cell sorting (MACSTM). Fluorescent immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to identify the CTCs. Then, the positive CTC patients with ESCC were analyzed, after which the relationship between CTCs and clinicopathologic features was evaluated. RESULTS In the present study, 62 out of 140 (44.3%) patients with ESCC were positive for CTCs. The positive rate of CTCs was significantly related with stage of ESCC patients (P=0.013). However, there was no relationship between CTC status and age, sex, smoking tumor history, tumor location, differentiation of tumor, lymphatic invasion, or lymph venous invasion (P>0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients positive for CTCs had significantly shorter survival time than patients negative for CTCs. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that stage and CTC status were significant prognostic factors for patients with ESCC. CONCLUSIONS CTCs positivity is an independent prognostic biomarker that indicates a worse prognosis for patients with ESCC.

The pipe heat transfer models were constructed, respectively, to simulate the cryogenic insulated structure, nonlinear partial differential equations was obtained considering the temperature-dependent variation in thermal conductivity of insulation materials. In order to get the temperature profile of insulation layer, Kirchhoff integral method was introduced to process, program, and iteratively calculate the simplified energy equations. The influence of heat-transfer process related to the thermal conductivities of four cold insulators was analyzed. Results indicate that phenolic foam, hydrophobic perlite, and RPUR have superior low-temperature insulation at cryogenic environment, while foam glass has better low-temperature insulation at normal temperature. The thickness of inner cryogenic-insulation layer can be reduced largely by using a multicomponent cold insulator in the discharge pipe of LNG stations, which can save both materials and costs. Meanwhile, it offers a new method to solve variable thermal conductivities.