Effect of preoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization on proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells

AIM： To evaluate the effect of preoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization （TACE） on proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） cells. METHODS： A total of 136 patients with HCC underwent liver resection. Of 136 patients, 79 patients received 1 to 5 courses of TACE prior to liver resection （TACE group）, who were further subdivided into four groups： Group A （n = 11） who received i to 4 courses of chemotherapy alone; Group B （n = 33） who received i to 5 courses of chemotherapy combined with iodized oil; Group C （n = 23） who received i to 3 courses of chemotherapy combined with iodized oil and gelatin sponge; and Group D （n = 12） who received 1 to 3 courses of chemotherapy combined with iodized oil, ethanol and gelatin sponge. The other 57 patients only received liver resection （non- TACE group）. The expressions of Ki-67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen （PCNA） protein were detected in the liver cancer tissues by immunohistochemical method. RESULTS： The Ki-67 protein expression was significantly lower in Groups C and D as compared with non-TACE group （31.35% ± 10.85% vs 44.43% ± 20.70%, 30.93% ± 18.10% vs 44.43% ± 20.70%, respectively, P 〈 0.05）. The PCNA protein expression was significantly lower in Groups C and D as compared with non-TACE group （49.61% ± 15.11% vs 62.92% ± 17.21%, 41.16% ± 11.83% vs 62.92% ± 17.21%, respectively, P 〈 0.05）. The Ki-67 protein expression was significantly higher in Group A as compared with non-TACE group （55.44% ± 13.72% vs 44.43% ± 20.70%, P 〈 0.05）. The PCNA protein expression was significantly higher in Groups A and B as compared with non-TACE group （72.22% ± 8.71% vs 62.92% ± 17.21%, 69.91% ± 13.38% vs 62.92% ± 17.21%, respectively, P 〈0.05）. CONCLUSION： Preoperative multi-material TACE suppresses the proliferation of HCC cells, while a single material embolization and chemotherapy alone enhance the proliferation of HCC cells.

Mechanistic Insights into the Shear Effects on Isotactic Polypropylene Crystallization Containingβ-Nucleating Agent

The crystalline structures and crystallization behaviors of iPP containing β nucleation agent TMB-5 （iPP/TMB-5） were investigated by synchrotron radiation wide angel X-ray diffraction （SR-WAXD）, differential scanning calorimeter （DSC） and polarized light microscope （PLM）. It was found that α-crystallization lagged behind β-crystallization at normal temperatures, but the discrepancy reduced with increasing temperature. TMB-5 could not induce β-iPP when the nucleation agent is wrapped up with α-crystal that crystallized at high temperatures. The polymorphic composition of iPP/TMB-5 was susceptible to the introductory moment of shear. New crystallization process of β-nucleated iPP was proposed to understand the experimental phenomena which could not be explained by those reported in the literature. It was supposed that polymer crystallization initiated from mesophase, and the formations of iPP crystals involved the organization of helical conformation ordering within rnesophase. It was proposed that the iPP melt contained mesophases with stereocomplex-type ordering of right-handed and left-handed helical chains which could be disturbed by shear or TMB-5, leading to different polymorphic structures.

In-line Plasma-induced Graft-copolymerization of Pentaerythritol Triacrylate onto Polypropylene

Pentaerythritol triacrylate （PETA） was successfully grafted onto the plasma-treated isotactic polypropylene （iPP） via the in situ melt processing. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） results showed that the hydroxyl and carbonyl groups, and peroxides could be generated via plasma treatment. The content of free radical in plasma-treated iPP （PiPP） was measured by 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl （DPPH）. It was found that the resulting peroxides induced the grafting copolymerization of PETA onto iPP, and the grafted PETA promoted the formation of β-crystal in PiPP, which was evidenced by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）, differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） and wide-angle X-ray diffraction （WAXD） measurements, respectively.

聚丁烯-1熔体结晶直接形成晶型Ⅲ

通过广角X射线衍射和示差扫描量热技术测定了低等规度聚丁烯-1(PB-1)在不同温度熔融并非等温结晶后形成的结晶结构.首次观测到在常压条件下均聚聚丁烯-1熔体结晶形成晶型Ⅲ,并且发现非等温结晶过程中晶型Ⅲ的相对含量随熔融温度的升高而增加,实验结果将有助于理解PB-1的结晶和晶型转变行为.

Ultrafast Form Ⅱ to Ⅰ Transition of Isotactic Polybutene-1

Isotactic polybutene-1 (iPB-1) is a semi-crystalline polymer with polymorph and puzzled structural transitions. The stable form I of iPB-1 with excellent physical and mechanical properties can hardly be obtained directly from the melt;instead, metastable form II will spontaneously and slowly transform into form I. Bypassing the unstable form II formation is of great significance in polymer processing, which inspires extensive research on seeking the pathways to direct formation of form I. Methods for accelerating form II to I transition are another main focus in terms of practical approach for directly obtaining form I. Taking advantage of the solvent, an ultrafast transition of iPB-1 from form II to I within minutes has been achieved at room temperature. Such an ultrafast transition is detected after treating with dichloromethane (DCM) at 30 ℃, though the framework of isothermally crystalized iPB-1 spherulite morphology could not be fully modified. The ultrafast II-I transition of iPB-1 is attributed to the solvent-induced packed-mesophase and temperature-selected chain conformation adjustment.This ultrafast transition would shed light on understanding the mechanisms of polymorphic transitions in iPB-1.