精神贵族的反俗——《斜阳》中的直治

《斜阳》中的人物直治是一个无赖。通过对文本中直治言行的分析,认为其所说的“贵族”实质为精神贵族。直治推崇拥有本真、纯粹的品质的精神贵族,对虚伪的社会与人类充满不信,批判着世俗。

《斜阳》中直治的多余人形象分析

太宰治一生命运多舛。作为一个旧贵族,生活在新旧秩序交替的社会中,又恰逢战争结束,经济一片萧条。贵族势力没落,太宰治不能作为一个理想中的贵族生活,又不愿与世俗同流合污,这就造就了他本人在社会中的“多余人”地位。同时,在他的晚期作品《斜阳》中,最符合他本人形象的直治也变成了“多余人”。在社会中苦苦挣扎,积极争取和逃避现实两种想法在脑海中权衡,最终还是无法面对现实,无法排解心中苦闷选择自杀。本文拟通过对直治的人物形象分析,探讨他“多余人”的形象。

斜阳中幻灭的人物形象——直治

《斜阳》中的直治与现实中太宰治的经历十分契合,例如吸食吗啡、欠巨额债务、生活能力低下等,这也使得研究者试图通过直治去探寻太宰治的现实生活与思想。试从生活能力的欠缺、对战后社会的批判、对贵族的留恋与背叛的矛盾心理三个方面形象立体地去剖析直治这一人物形象,以期更好地去理解太宰治的一生。

无托槽隐形矫治器与传统直丝弓系统治疗轻中度拥挤错畸形疗效分析

目的:比较无托槽隐形矫治器与传统直丝弓系统治疗轻中度拥挤错畸形的治疗优势,为患者临床治疗选择提供参考。方法:选取笔者医院收治的30例轻中度拥挤错畸形患者,按照治疗方法不同分为对照组与观察组,每组15例。对照组采用传统直丝弓系统矫治器治疗,观察组采用无托槽隐形矫治器。测量两组患者治疗前后上下颌牙齿错位、上下颌颊侧区咬关系、覆盖、覆、中线PAR指数,记录两组矫治所需时间,分别于治疗后2h、12h、24h、2d、7d评价两组患者疼痛强度。结果:两组患者治疗前后上下颌牙齿错位、上下颌颊侧区咬关系、覆盖、覆、中线PAR指数比较,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05),且两组治疗后各项指数比较,差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。观察组平均矫治时间(14.25±1.23)个月,明显长于对照组(9.58±0.76)个月(t=12.509,P=0.000);两组患者治疗后24h、2d时疼痛强度比较,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:无托槽隐形矫治器治疗轻中度拥挤错畸形具有较好效果,且可减轻患者疼痛感,提高舒适性,但所需矫治疗时间更长。

钱乙《小儿药证直诀》五脏证治初探

钱乙的辨证纲领,以五脏为辨证基础,以证候为依据,辨别其虚实寒热以作为论治的准则。其中用"风、惊、困、喘、虚"来归纳肝、心、脾、肺、肾五脏的主要症候特点,用虚实寒热来判断脏腑的病理变化,用五行来阐述五脏之间及五脏与气候时令之间的相互关系,立五脏补泻诸方作为治疗的基础方剂。并且其临证时极为重视五脏之间的相互影响,顺应四时的变化。

论太宰治《斜阳》中年轻一代的抗争

和子与直治这两位没落贵族子弟在战后的社会变革中,选择了截然不同的人生结局。表面上分别代表了奔向新生和堕入黑暗,实际上她们的抉择却是超越"生"与"死"的斗争。太宰治笔下的和子和直治,正是动乱时期满怀对理想社会的憧憬、反抗旧制度旧思想的年轻一代的缩影。

Ultrasonically activated scalpel versus monopolar electrocautery shovel in laparoscopic total mesorectal excision for rectal cancer

AIM： To investigate the feasibility and safety of monopolar electrocautery shovel （ES） in laparoscopic total mesorectal excision （TME） with anal sphincter preservation for rectal cancer in order to reduce the cost of the laparoscopic operation, and to compare ES with the ultrasonically activated scalpel （US）. METHODS： Forty patients with rectal cancer, who underwent laparoscopic TME with anal sphincter preservation from June 2005 to June 2007, were randomly divided into ultrasonic scalpel group and monopolar ES group, prospectively. White blood cells （WBC） were measured before and after operation, operative time, blood loss, pelvic volume of drainage, time of anal exhaust, visual analogue scales （VAS） and surgery-related complications were recorded. RESULTS： All the operations were successful; no one was converted to open procedure. No significant differences were observed in terms of preoperative and postoperative d I and d 3 WBC counts （P = 0.493, P = 0.375, P = 0.559）, operation time （P = 0.235）, blood loss （P = 0.296）, anal exhaust time （P = 0.431）, pelvic drainage volume and VAS in postoperative d 1 （P = 0.431, P = 0.426） and d 3 （P = 0.844, P = 0.617） between ES group and US group. The occurrence of surgery-related complications such as anastomotic leakage and wound infection was the same in the two groups.CONCLUSION： ES is a safe and feasible tool as same as US used in laparoscopic TME with anal sphincter preservation for rectal cancer on the basis of the skillful laparoscopic technique and the complete understanding of laparoscopic pelvic anatomy. Application of ES can not only reduce the operation costs but also benefit the popularization of laparoscopic operation for rectal cancer patients.

Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy combined with FOLFOX4 chemotherapy for unresectable recurrent rectal cancer

AIM： To investigate the effect of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy （3-DCRT） in combination with FOLFOX4 chemotherapy for unresectable recurrent rectal cancer. METHODS： Forty-eight patients with unresectable recurrent rectal cancer were randomized and treated by 3-DCRT or 3-DCRT combined with FOLFOX4 chemotherapy between September 2001 and October 2003. For the patients without prior radiation history, the initial radiation was given to the whole pelvis by traditional methods with tumor dose of 40 Gy, followed by 3-DCRT for the recurrent lesions to the median total cumulative tumor dose of 60 Gy （range 56-66 Gy）; for the post-radiation recurrent patients, 3-DCRT was directly given for the recurrent lesions to the median tumor dose of 40 Gy （36-46 Gy）. For patients in the study group, two cycles chemotherapy with FOLFOX4 regimen were given concurrently with radiotherapy, with the first cycle given simultaneously with the initiation of radiation and the second cycle given in the fifth week for patients receiving conventional pelvis radiation or given in the last week of 3-DCRT for patients receiving 3-DCRT directly. Another 2-4 cycles （average 3.6 cycles） sequential FOLFOX4 regimen chemotherapy were given to the patients in the study group, beginning at 2-3 wk after chemoradiation. The outcomes of symptoms relieve, tumor response, survival and toxicity were recorded and compared between the study group and the control group. RESULTS： For the study group and the control group, the pain-alleviation rates were 95.2% and 91.3%（P〉 0.05）; the overall response rates were 56.5% and 40.0% （P〉0.05）; the 1-year and 2-year survival rates were 86.9%, 50.2% and 80.0%, 23.9%, with median survival time of 25 mo and 16 mo （P〈 0.05）; the 2-year distant metastasis rates were 39.1% and 56.0% （P= 0.054）, respectively. The side effects, except peripheral neuropathy which was relatively severer in the study group, were similar in the the two groups and well tolerated. CONCLUSION： Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy combined with FOLFOX4 chemotherapy for unresectable recurrent rectal cancer is a feasible and effective therapeutic approach, and can reduce distant metastasis rate and improve the survival rate.

Role of probiotics,prebiotics and synbiotics in chemoprevention for colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is the third most common form of cancer.Current treatments are all associated with a high risk of complications and a low success rate.Recently,synbiotics have been proposed as a new preventive and therapeutic option.There is no direct experimental evidence for cancer suppression in humans as a result of the consumption of pro-,pre-or synbiotics.However,there is a wealth of evidence emerging from laboratory studies.The mechanisms by which pro-,pre-and synbiotics may inhibit colon cancer are now beginning to be understood and will be addressed in the present review.

Long-term outcomes of hepatectomy vs percutaneous ablation for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma≤4 cm

AIM： To determine which treatment modality - hepatectomy or percutaneous ablation - is more beneficial for patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） （≤4 cm） in terms of long-term outcomes. METHODS： A retrospective analysis of 149 patients with HCC ≤ 4 cm was conducted. Eighty-five patients underwent partial hepatectomy （anatomic in 47 and nonanatomic in 38） and 64 underwent percutaneous ablation （percutaneous ethanol injection in 37, radiofrequency ablation in 21, and microwave coagulation in 6）. The median follow-up period was 69 mo. RESULTS： Hepatectomy was associated with larger tumor size （P〈0.001）, whereas percutaneous ablation was significantly associated with impaired hepatic functional reserve. Local recurrence was less frequent following hepatectomy （P〈0.0001）. Survival was better following hepatectomy （median survival time： 122 mo） than following percutaneous ablation （median survival time： 66 mo; P= 0.0123）. When tumor size was divided into ≤ 2 cm vs 〉 2 cm, the favorable effects of hepatectomy on long-term survival was seen only in patients with tumors 〉2 cm （P= 0.0001）. The Cox proportional hazards regression model revealed that hepatoctomy （P= 0.006） and tumors ≤ 2 cm （P=0.017） were independently associated with better survival. CONCLUSION： Hepatectomy provides both better local control and better long-term survival for patients with HCC ≤4 cm compared with percutaneous ablation. Of the patients with HCC ≤4 cm, those with tumors 〉 2 cm are good candidates for hepatectomy, provided that the hepatic functional reserve of the patient permits resection.

Bevacizumab plus infusional 5-fluorouracil,leucovorin and irinotecan for advanced colorectal cancer that progressed after oxaliplatin and irinotecan chemotherapy:A pilot study

AIM： To evaluate the combination of bevacizumab with infusional 5-fluorouracil （5-FU）, leucovorin （LV） and irinotecan （FOLFIRI） in patients with advanced colorectal cancer （CRC） pretreated with combination regimens including irinotecan and oxaliplatin. METHODS： Fourteen patients （median age 56 years） with advanced CRC, all having progressed after oxaliplatin- and irinotecan-based combination chemotherapy, were enrolled in this study. Patients were treated with 2 h infusion of irinotecan 150 mg/m2 on d 1, plus bevacizumab 5 mg/kg iv infusion for 90 min on d 2, and iv injection of LV 20 mg/m2 followed by a bolus of 5-FU 400 mg/m2 and then 22 h continuous infusion of 600 mg/m2 given on two consecutive days every 14 d. RESULTS： The median number of cycles of chemotherapy was six （range 3-12）. The response rate was 28.5%, one patient had a complete response, and three patients had a partial response. Eight patients had stable disease. The median time to progression was 3.9 mo （95% CI 2.0-8.7）, and the median overall survival was 10.9 mo （95% CI 9.6-12.1）. Grade 3/4 neutropenia occurred in five patients, and two of these developed neutropenic fever. Grade 3 hematuria and hematochezia occurred in one. Grade 2 proteinuria occurred in two patients. However, hypertension, bowel perforation or thromboembolic events did not occur in a total of 90 cycles. CONCLUSION： Bevacizumab with FOLFIRI is well tolerated and a feasible treatment in patients with heavily treated advanced CRC.

Identification of Lynch syndrome: How should we proceed in the 21^(st) century?

Lynch syndrome, also known as hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), is the most common form of hereditary colorectal cancer. Although great advances in the understanding of its molecular basis have taken place in the last decade, optimal selection of individuals for HNPCC genetic testing remains controversial. This is especially relevant since colonoscopy has been proven effective for reducing colorectal cancer incidence and mortality in individuals at-risk for this disorder. In this manuscript, we summarize the most significant contributions to this important issue that have appearedin the last few years.

Prognostic significance of BMP and activin membrane-bound inhibitor in colorectal cancer

AIM： To investigate the clinical significance of BMP and activin membrane-bound inhibitor （BAMBI） which is a pseudoreceptor of transforming growth factorbeta （TGF-β） type 1 receptors and acts as a negative regulator of TGF-β signaling and expression aberrantly elevated in colorectal cancers （CRCs）. We studied BAMBI expression in CRCs. METHODS： We studied BAMBI expression in 183 surgically resected CRCs by immunochemical and immunoblotting analyses using a generated monoclonal anti-BAMBI antibody. Commercially available anti-β- catenin and anti-p53 antibodies were also applied for immunochemical analyses as a comparison control.RESULTS： Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that BAMBI expression was observed in 148 （80.8%）, and strong BAMBI expression was observed in 46% of the CRCs. Strong BAMBI expression was positively correlated with histological type, depth of invasion, lymph node metastases, and tumor node metastasis （TNM） stage （P 〈 0.05）. Clear associations were found between BAMBI and β-catenin （P = 0.035） and p53 （P =0.049） expression. In curatively resected CRC, 5-year recurrence-free survival was 51.9% （P = 0.037） for strong BAMBI expression compared to 79.8% for weak BAMBI expression. In the Cox＇s multivariate analysis, lymph node metastases （relative risk 6.685; P 〈 0.001） and depth of invasion （RR 14.0; P = 0.013） were significant indicators for recurrence, and strong BAMBI expression （RR 2.26; P = 0.057） tended to be significant. CONCLUSION： BAMBI was linked to a potentially aggressive tumor phenotype and predicted tumor recurrence and cancer-related death in CRC. BAMBI expression might be applicable in the routine clinical setting of CRC.

Anemia and long-term outcome in adjuvant and neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy of stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ rectal adenocarcinoma:The Freiburg experience(1989-2002)

AIM： To evaluate the long-term outcome of standard 5-FU based adjuvant or neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy and to identify the predictive factors, especially anemia before and after radiotherapy as well as hemoglobin increase or decrease during radiotherapy. METHODS： Two hundred and eighty-six patients with Union International Contre Cancer （UICC） stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ rectal adenocarcinomas, who underwent resection by conventional surgical techniques （low anterior or abdominoperineal resection）, received either postoperative （n = 233） or preoperative （n = 53） radiochemotherapy from January 1989 until July 2002. Overall survival （OAS）, cancer-specific survival （CSS）, disease-free survival （DFS）, local-relapse-free （LRS） and distant-relapse-free survival （DRS） were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier, Log-rank test and Cox＇s proportional hazards as statistical methods. Multivariate analysis was used to identify prognostic factors. Median follow-up time was 8 years. RESULTS： Anemia before radiochemotherapy was an independent prognostic factor for improved DFS （risk ratio 0.76, P= 0.04） as well as stage, grading, R status （free radial margins）, type of surgery, carcinoembryonic antigen （CEA） levels, and gender. The univariate analysis revealed that anemia was associated with impaired LRS（better local control） but with improved DFS. In contrast, hemoglobin decrease during radiotherapy was an independent risk factor for DFS （risk ratio 1.97, P= 0.04）. During radiotherapy, only 30.8% of R0-resected patients suffered from hemoglobin decrease compared to 55.6% if R1/2 resection was performed （P= 0.04）. The 5-year OAS, CSS, DFS, LRS and DRS were 47.0%, 60.0%, 41.4%, 67.2%, and 84.3%, respectively. Significant differences between preoperative and postoperative radiochemotherapy were not found. CONCLUSION ： Anemia before radiochemotherapy and hemoglobin decrease during radiotherapy have no predictive value for the outcome of rectal cancer. Stage, grading, R status （free radial margins）, type of surgery, CEA levels, and gender have predictive value for the outcome of rectal cancer.

Risk for colorectal cancer in ulcerative colitis:Changes,causes and management strategies

The risk of colorectal cancer for any patient with ulcer-ative colitis is known to be elevated, and is estimated to be 2% after 10 years, 8% after 20 years and 18% after 30 years of disease. Risk factors for cancer in-clude extent and duration of ulcerative colitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, a family history of sporadic colorectal cancer, severity of histologic bowel inflam-mation, and in some studies, young age at onset of colitis. In this review, the authors discuss recent epide-miological trends and causes for the observed chang-es. Population-based studies published within the past 5 years suggest that this risk has decreased over time, despite the low frequency of colectomies. The crude annual incidence rate of colorectal cancer in ulcerative colitis ranges from approximately 0.06% to 0.16% with a relative risk of 1.0-2.75. The exact mechanism for this change is unknown; it may partly be explained by the more widespread use of maintenance therapy and surveillance colonoscopy.

Evolution in the treatment of metastatic colorectal carcinoma of the liver

Metastatic colorectal cancer to the liver is associated with a uniform poor prognosis without treatment. Advances in therapy over the past decades have now allowed surgical resections of the liver to occur with a low morbidity and mortality. Improvements in chemotherapy regimes have paralleled technical improvements and now allow a new group of patients to become eligible for surgical resection. This chapter will review the recent advances in surgical and chemotherapeutic regimes in metastatic colorectal cancer to the liver.

Lymphovascular invasion in rectal cancer following neoadjuvant radiotherapy: A retrospective cohort study

AIM: To investigate the meaning of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) in rectal cancer after neoadjuvant radiotherapy. METHODS: A total of 325 patients who underwent radical resection using total mesorectal excision (TME) from January 2000 to January 2005 in Beijing cancer hospital were included retrospectively, divided into a preoperative radiotherapy (PRT) group and a control group, according to whether or not they underwent preoperative radiation. Histological assessments of tumor specimens were made and the correlation of LVI and prognosis were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The occurrence of LVI in the PRT and control groups was 21.4% and 26.1% respectively. In the control group, LVI was signifi cantly associated with histological differentiation and pathologic TNM stage, whereas these associations were not observed in the PRT group. LVI was closely correlated to disease progression and 5-year overall survival (OS) in both groups. Among the patients with disease progression, LVI positive patients in the PRT group had a signifi cantly longer median disease-free period (22.5 mo vs 11.5 mo, P = 0.023) and overall survival time (42.5 mo vs 26.5 mo, P = 0.035) compared to those in the control group, despite the fact that no signifi cant difference in 5-year OS rate was observed (54.4% vs 48.3%, P = 0.137). Multivariate analysis showed the distance of tumor from the anal verge, pretreatment serum carcinoembryonic antigen level, pathologic TNM stage and LVI were the major factors affecting OS. CONCLUSION: Neoadjuvant radiotherapy does not reduce LVI significantly; however, the prognostic meaning of LVI has changed. Patients with LVI may benefi t from neoadjuvant radiotherapy.

Qing Dai, a traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of chronic hemorrhagic radiation proctitis

Objective： To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Qing Dai （indigo naturalis）, a traditional Chinese medicine, in the treatment for chronic hemorrhagic radiation proctitis. Methods： Ten patients with chronic hemorrhagic radiation proctitis between January 2005 to January 2008 were treated with Qing Dai. Qing Dai was administered orally at a dose of 1.5 g, bid for 5 consecutive days, every 2 weeks for two courses. Patients were followed up every 3 months. The clinical response and side-effects were evaluated. Results： Six patients showed improvement of rectal bleeding to grade 0-1 after 1 course of Qing Dai therapy. Four patients had reduced rectal bleeding to grade 0-1 after 2 courses of the therapy. The median follow-up time was 10 months （range： 6-24）. During the follow-up period, 1 patient experienced recurrent rectal bleeding and was managed with topical formalin dabbing, which controlled the symptom. No treatment toxicity was observed. Conclusion： Qing Dai may be a safe and effective treatment for chronic hemorrhagic radiation proctitis.

Obesity and colorectal cancer risk: A meta-analysis of cohort studies

TO evaluate the association between obesity and colorectal cancer risk. METHODS： We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library up to January 1, 2007. Cohort studies permitting the assessment of causal association between obesity and colorectal cancer, with clear definition of obesity and well-defined outcome of colorectal cancer were eligible. Study design, sample size at baseline, mean follow-up time, co-activators and study results were extracted. Pooled standardized effect sizes were calculated.

Modern management of rectal cancer: A 2006 update

The goal of this review is to outline some of the important surgical issues surrounding the management of patients with early (T1/T2 and NO), as well as locally advanced (T3/T4 and/or N1) rectal cancer. Surgery for rectal cancer continues to develop towards the ultimate goals of improved local control and overall survival, maintaining quality of life, and preserving sphincter, genitourinary, and sexual function. Information concerning the depth of tumor penetration through the rectal wall, lymph node involvement, and presence of distant metastatic disease is of crucial importance when planning a curative rectal cancer resection. Preoperative staging is used to determine the indication for neoadjuvant therapy as well as the indication for local excision versus radical cancer resection. Local excision is likely to be curative in most patients with a primary tumor which is limited to the submucosa (T1N0M0), without high-risk features and in the absence of metastatic disease. In appropriate patients, minimally invasive procedures, such as local excision, TEM, and laparoscopic resection allow for improved patient comfort, shorter hospital stays, and earlier return to preoperative activity level. Once the tumor invades the muscularis propria (T2), radical rectal resection in acceptable operative candidates is recommended. In patients with transmural and/or node positive disease (T3/T4 and/or N1) with no distant metastases, preoperative chemoradiation followed by radical resection according to the principles of TME has become widely accepted. During the planning and conduct of a radical operation for a locally advanced rectal cancer, a number of surgical management issues are considered, including: (1) total mesorectal excision (TME); (2) autonomic nerve preservation (ANP); (3) circumferential resection margin (CRM); (4) distal resection margin; (5) sphincter preservation and options for restoration of bowel continuity; (6) laparoscopic approaches; and (7) postoperative quality of life.