Prognostic significance of 14v-lymph node dissection to D2 dissection for lower-third gastric cancer

BACKGROUND Radical gastrectomy with D2 lymph node (LN) dissection is the standard surgical procedure for patients with resectable gastric cancer (GC). In the fifteenth edition of the Japanese Classification of Gastric Carcinoma, the 14v LN (LNs along the root of the superior mesenteric vein) was defined as the regional gastric LN. The efficacy of 14v LN dissection during radical distal gastrectomy for lower-third GC remains controversial. AIM To analyze whether the addition of 14v LN dissection improved the survival of patients with lower-third GC. METHODS The data from 65 patients who underwent 14v LN dissection and 65 patients treated without 14v LN dissection were selected using the propensity scorematched method from our institute database constructed between 2000 and 2012. Overall survival was compared between the groups. RESULTS Overall survival was similar between patients with 14v LN metastasis and those with distant metastasis (P = 0.521). Among patients with pathological stage IIIA disease, those who were treated with 14v LN dissection had a significantly higher overall survival than those treated without it (P = 0.020). Multivariate analysis showed that age < 65 years and pT2-3 stage were independent favorable prognostic factors for prolonged overall survival in patients with pathological stage IIIA disease. Patients with No. 1, No. 6, No. 8a, or No. 11p LN metastasis were at higher risk of having 14v LN metastasis.CONCLUSION Adding 14v LN dissection to D2 dissection during radical distal gastrectomy may improve the overall survival of patients with pathological stage IIIA lower-third GC.

Protective effect of ginkgo proanthocyanidins against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury associated with its antioxidant effects

Proanthocyanidins have been shown to effectively protect ischemic neurons, but its mechanism remains poorly understood. Ginkgo proan-thocyanidins （20, 40, 80 mg/kg） were intraperitoneally administered 1, 24, 48 and 72 hours before reperfusion. Results showed that ginkgo proanthocyanidins could effectively mitigate neurological disorders, shorten infarct volume, increase superoxide dismutase activity, and de-crease malondialdehyde and nitric oxide contents. Simultaneously, the study on grape seed proanthocyanidins （40 mg/kg） confirmed that different sources of proanthocyanidins have a similar effect. The neurological outcomes of ginkgo proanthocyanidins were similar to that of nimodipine in the treatmen＇t of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. （Sur results suggestthat-ginkgo proanthocyanidins can effectively lessen cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury and protect ischemic brain tissue and these effects are associated with antioxidant properties.

Prognostic significance of KIF23 expression in gastric cancer

BACKGROUND Kinesin super family 23(KIF23)is a member of the KIF family,and it plays an important role in mitosis and cytokinesis.Loss of expression can cause mitotic arrest.The Oncomine database is one of the largest oncogene chip databases in the world,and is an integrated data mining platform for cancer gene information.By querying the database,differences in expression between tumor tissue and normal tissue can be determined.AIM To study the expression and prognostic significance of KIF23 in gastric cancer(GC).METHODS We used immunohistochemistry to compare the expression of KIF23 in GC and normal gastric tissues.We mined the data on the expression and prognosis of KIF23 in GC using Oncomine and Kaplan-Meier plotter database.RESULTS Compared with normal gastric tissues,KIF23 expression was increased in GC tissues,and correlated with T,N,and tumor-node-metastasis stages.Survival analysis showed that patients with high expression of KIF23 had a poor overall survival.There were five studies in the Oncomine database in which expression of KIF23 was significantly higher in GC tissues than in normal gastric tissues(P<0.05).Kaplan-Meier plotter database analysis showed that recurrence-free survival,overall survival,distant metastasis free survival,and post progression survival of patients with high expression of KIF23 were lower than those of patients with low expression.Further stratified analysis found that prognostic survival indicators worsened in patients with T2 and T3 poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma with high expression of KIF23.CONCLUSION KIF23 is highly expressed in GC and is associated with a poor prognosis of patients.It may be of great significance in the diagnosis,treatment,and prognostic evaluation of GC.

Subtotal gastrectomy combined with chemotherapy: An effective therapy for patients with circumscribed Borrmann type Ⅳ gastric cancer

BACKGROUND Although Borrmann type Ⅳ(B-4) gastric cancer has a higher mortality rate and presents distant metastasis easily, especially peritoneal metastasis, when diagnosed, some B-4 patients were found to have no distant metastasis by preoperative detection and underwent curative surgery, which was defined as circumscribed B-4 in our study. In this study, we focused on the circumscribed B-4 patients without distant metastasis during surgery to identify factors related to prognosis and postoperative peritoneal cavity metastasis(PPCM), which is important for selecting an appropriate therapeutic strategy.AIM To identify factors related to the prognosis and PPCM of B-4 patients.METHODS A total of 117 B-4 patients who underwent gastrectomy between January 2005 and December 2012 were included in this study. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox multivariate models. Pearson correlation analyses were performed to identify the factors related to PPCM. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 20.0.RESULTS Lymph node status, gastrectomy type, and postoperative chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors in 117 circumscribed B-4 patients. Subtotal gastrectomy combined with chemotherapy could significantly improve the longterm survival time. Six patients who were diagnosed with pN0 and received the combination therapy had a 3-year survival rate of 100% and a median survival of 77.7 mo. Even for patients with metastatic lymph nodes(n = 13), the combination therapy also increased the 3-year overall survival rate to 57.1%. In addition, positive lymph node status was the only factor(P = 0.005) correlated with PPCM in certain B-4 patients, and chemotherapy was useful for suppressing PPCM in patients with subtotal gastrectomy but not in those with total gastrectomy.CONCLUSION Lymph node status is an independent prognostic factor for circumscribed B-4 patients. In addition, subtotal gastrectomy and postoperative chemotherapy could effectively improve prognosis and even suppress PPCM.

Efficient CO_(2) photoreduction enabled by the energy transfer pathway in metal-organic framework

Many studies in metal-organic frameworks(MOFs)aiming for high photocatalytic activity resort to self-assembling both energy donor and acceptor building units in skeleton to achieve effective energy transfer,which,however,usually needs tedious synthetic procedure and design of a new MOF.In this work,we demonstrated that building a Förster resonance energy transfer(FRET)pathway can be realized through suitable molecular doping in a given MOF structure without altering the original porous structure,presenting an alternative strategy to design efficient photocatalysts for CO_(2)reduction.In situ electron spin resonance,ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy,and computational studies reveal that the FRET-induced excitation has dramatically altered the exciton transfer pathway in structure and facilitated electron-hole separation.As a result,the molecular doped MOFs synthesized through one-pot reaction show outstanding selectivity(96%)and activity(1314μmol⋅g^(−1)⋅h^(−1))for CO production versus almost no activity for the pristine MOFs,and this result stands out from existing competitors.Furthermore,the reaction mechanism was proposed and the intermediate signals were detected by in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopies.This study presents a clear picture of building FRET process in MOFs through molecular doping and provides a new design strategy for MOF-based photocatalysts.

Post-modification of metal-organic framework for improved CO_(2) photoreduction efficiency

Utilizing metal-organic frameworks(MOFs) to design photocatalysts for CO_(2) reduction catalysts is an excellent idea but currently restricted by the relatively low activity. Enhancing CO_(2) affinity and tuning the oxidation state of metal clusters in MOFs might be a solution to improve the catalytic performance.Herein, the Cl-bridge atoms in the metal clusters of a cobalt MOF were easily exchanged with OH-,which simultaneously oxidized a portion of Co(Ⅱ) to Co(Ⅲ) and resulted in a much enhanced photocatalytic activity for CO_(2) reduction. In contrast, the original framework does not exhibit such superior activity. Comprehensive characterizations on their physicochemical properties revealed that the introduction of hydroxyl group not only greatly increases the CO_(2) affinity but also alters the oxidation state of metal clusters, resulting in significantly improved photocatalytic activities for CO_(2) reduction. This work provides important insight into the design of efficient photocatalysts.

Photocatalytic CO_(2)-to-Ethylene Conversion over Bi_(2)S_(3)/CdS Heterostructures Constructed via Facile Cation Exchange

Solar-driven CO_(2)conversion to multicarbon(C_(2+))products has emerged as a key challenge,yet this calls for a systematic investigation on the overall reaction process and mechanism at an atomic level based on the rational design of highly selective photocatalysts.Herein,we report the synthesis of compact Bi_(2)S_(3)/Cds heterostructures via facile cation exchange,by which a unique pathway of CO_(2)-to-C_(2)H_(4) photoconversion is achieved.Specifically,the BCS-30 shows an optimal C_(2)H_(4) production rate of 3.49μmolh^(-1)g^(-1) based on the regulation of band structures and energy levels of photocatalysts by controlled growth of Bi_(2)S_(3) at CdS surface.Both experimental and theoretical results(DFT calculations)identify Bi atoms as new catalytic sites for the adsorption of CO*and formation of*CO-*CO dimers that further hydrogenate to produce ethylene.Overall,this work demonstrates vast potentials of delicately designed heterostructures for CO_(2) conversion towards C_(2+)products under mild photocatalytic conditions.

Experimental study of an ellipsoidal particle in tube Poiseuille flow

Behaviors of a prolate ellipsoid inside circular tube Poiseuille flow are studied experimentally. In the study, Reynolds number Re ∈ (100,700) and the confinement ratio D/A ∈ (1.2,2.8) are considered, where D is the diameter of the tube and A is the length of the major axis of the ellipsoid. Two typical stable motion modes are identified, namely, the horizontal, and inclined modes. Then another inclined mode (inclined mode II) is found at high Reynolds number (Re ∈ (1000,3200)) and small D/A, and the inclined angle of ellipsoid increases with the increase of Re. The possible mechanism is explained. Our experiment shows that the lagging velocity U increases as Re increases. Further numerical analysis using FLUENT shows that due to the increase of U, the moment acting on the particle would make the inclined angle of the particle increase.