Is Hepatectomy for Huge Hepatocellular Carcinoma (≥10cm in Diameter) Safe and Effective? A Single-center Experience

Yang, Jian,Li, Chuan,Wen, Tian-Fu,Yan, Lu-Nan,Li, Bo,Wang, Wen-Tao,Yang, Jia-Yin,Xu, Ming-Qing Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.17

Background: This retrospective study aimed to validate the safety and effectiveness of hepatectomy for huge hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and Methods: Data of patients who underwent hepatectomy for HCC between January 2006 and December 2012 were reviewed. The patients were divided into three groups: huge HCC(${\geq}10cm$ in diameter), large HCC(${\geq}5$ but<10 cm in diameter) and small HCC(<5cm in diameter). Results: Characteristics of pre-operative patients in all three groups were homogeneously distributed except for alpha fetal protein (AFP)(p<0.001).The 30, 60, 90-day post-operative mortality rates were not different among the three groups (p=0.785, p=0.560, and p=0.549). Laboratory data at 1, 3, and 7 days after surgery also did not vary. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates in the huge and large HCC groups were lower than that of the small HCC group (OS: 32.5% vs 36.3% vs 71.2%, p=0.000; DFS: 20.0% vs 24.8% vs 40.7%, p=0.039), but there was no difference between the huge and large HCC groups (OS: 32.5% vs 36.3%, p=0.667; DFS: 20.0% vs 24.8%, p=0.540). In multivariate analysis, five independent poor prognostic factors that affected OS were significantly associated with worse survival (p<0.05), namely, AFP level, macrovascular invasion, Edmondsone Steiner grade, surgical margin and Ishak score. AFP level, macrovascular invasion, microvascular invasion, and surgical margin influenced disease-free survival independently (p<0.05). Conclusions: The safety of hepatectomy for huge HCC is similar to that for large and small HCC; and this approach for huge HCC may achieve similar long-term survival and disease-free survival as for large HCC.

Exact Sum-Rate Analysis of MIMO Broadcast Channels with Random Unitary Beamforming

Hong-Chuan Yang,Peng Lu,Hyung-Ki Sung,Young-Chai Ko IEEE 2011 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS Vol.59 No.11

<P>Random unitary beamforming (RUB) is an attractive transmission scheme for MIMO broadcast channels because of its ability to achieve high sum-rate capacity with limited feedback. In this letter, we derive the exact analytical expressions for the ergodic sum rate of MIMO broadcast channels with RUB. The analysis is facilitated by the development of the complete statistical characterization of ordered beam SINRs for a user, which can find their application in many related problems.</P>

Performance Analysis of Permanent Magnet Brushless Motors for Mobility Scooters

Yu-Chuan Lu,Ming-Yang Cheng,Chun-Hsien Wu,Wei-Chih Chen,Cheng-Hu Chen 전력전자학회 2011 ICPE(ISPE)논문집 Vol.2011 No.5

Most modern commercial electric scooters are still equipped with the DC brush motor. This type of motor has mechanical structures such as permanent magnet, brush, and commutator. Therefore, it has attractive features, e.g., large start-up torque and easy to control. However, this kind of mechanical commutation often leads to drawbacks such as low power density, low reliability, and poor heat dissipation. In contrast, the Permanent Magnet Brushless Motors (PMBLMs) have advantages such as high efficiency and maintenance free, etc. Hence, the PMBLMs have great potential in becoming the actuators for electric scooters. In this paper, the performance of the PMBLMs with trapezoidal and sinusoidal back-emf waveforms driven by square wave commutation and sinusoidal commutation is investigated. To reduce the cost, low-resolution Hall sensors are used to implement sinusoidal commutation.

Histological Validation of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance T1 Mapping for Assessing the Evolution of Myocardial Injury in Myocardial Infarction: An Experimental Study

Zhang Lu,Yang Zhi-gang,Xu Huayan,Yang Meng-xi,Xu Rong,Chen Lin,Sun Ran,Miao Tianyu,Zhao Jichun,Zhou Xiaoyue,Fu Chuan,Guo Yingkun 대한영상의학회 2020 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.21 No.12

Objective: To determine whether T1 mapping could monitor the dynamic changes of injury in myocardial infarction (MI) and be histologically validated. Materials and Methods: In 22 pigs, MI was induced by ligating the left anterior descending artery and they underwent serial cardiovascular magnetic resonance examinations with modified Look-Locker inversion T1 mapping and extracellular volume (ECV) computation in acute (within 24 hours, n = 22), subacute (7 days, n = 13), and chronic (3 months, n = 7) phases of MI. Masson’s trichrome staining was performed for histological ECV calculation. Myocardial native T1 and ECV were obtained by region of interest measurement in infarcted, peri-infarct, and remote myocardium. Results: Native T1 and ECV in peri-infarct myocardium differed from remote myocardium in acute (1181 ± 62 ms vs. 1113 ± 64 ms, p = 0.002; 24 ± 4% vs. 19 ± 4%, p = 0.031) and subacute phases (1264 ± 41 ms vs. 1171 ± 56 ms, p < 0.001; 27 ± 4% vs. 22 ± 2%, p = 0.009) but not in chronic phase (1157 ± 57 ms vs. 1120 ± 54 ms, p = 0.934; 23 ± 2% vs. 20 ± 1%, p = 0.109). From acute to chronic MI, infarcted native T1 peaked in subacute phase (1275 ± 63 ms vs. 1637 ± 123 ms vs. 1471 ± 98 ms, p < 0.001), while ECV progressively increased with time (35 ± 7% vs. 46 ± 6% vs. 52 ± 4%, p < 0.001). Native T1 correlated well with histological findings (R2 = 0.65 to 0.89, all p < 0.001) so did ECV (R2 = 0.73 to 0.94, all p < 0.001). Conclusion: T1 mapping allows the quantitative assessment of injury in MI and the noninvasive monitoring of tissue injury evolution, which correlates well with histological findings.

Dual Effect of Hepatic Macrophages on Liver Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury during Liver Transplantation

Tian-Fei Lu,Tai-Hua Yang,Cheng-Peng Zhong,Chuan Shen,Wei-Wei Lin,Guang-Xiang Gu,Qiang Xia,Ning Xu 대한면역학회 2018 Immune Network Vol.18 No.3

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a major complication in liver transplantation (LT) and it is closely related to the recovery of grafts' function. Researches has verified that both innate and adaptive immune system are involved in the development of IRI and Kupffer cell (KC), the resident macrophages in the liver, play a pivotal role both in triggering and sustaining the sterile inflammation. Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), released by the initial dead cell because of the ischemia insult, firstly activate the KC through pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) such as toll-like receptors. Activated KCs is the dominant players in the IRI as it can secret various pro-inflammatory cytokines to exacerbate the injury and recruit other types of immune cells from the circulation. On the other hand, KCs can also serve in a contrary way to ameliorate IRI by upregulating the anti-inflammatory factors. Moreover, new standpoint has been put forward that KCs and macrophages from the circulation may function in different way to influence the inflammation. Managements towards KCs are expected to be the effective way to improve the IRI.

Determination of Protein, Fat, Starch, and Amino Acids in Foxtail Millet [Setaria italica (L.) Beauv.] by Fourier Transform Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy

Xiu-Shi Yang,Li-Li Wang,Xian-Rong Zhou,Shaomin Shuang,Zhi-Hua Zhu,Nan Li,Yan Li,Fang Liu,San-Cai Liu,Ping Lu,Guixing Ren,Chuan Dong 한국식품과학회 2013 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.22 No.6

Quantitative detection of protein, fat, starch,and amino acids in foxtail millet using Fourier transformnear-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was investigated. Foxtail millet samples (n=259) were analyzed using NIRS. Spectral data were linearized with data from chemicalanalyses. Calibration models were established using apartial least-squares (PLS) algorithm with cross-validation. Optimized models were tested using external validation setsamples with coefficients of determination in the externalvalidation (R2val) of >0.90. Residual predictive deviation(RPD) values were nearly equal to or >2.5 for crudeprotein, alanine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, isoleucine,leucine, and serine. However, for glycine, histidine,phenylalanine, proline, threonine, tyrosine, and valine, theR2val values were >0.83 and RPD values were nearly equalto or >2.0. For crude fat, total starch, arginine, and lysine,the R2val values were >0.70 and RPD values were >1.5. NIRS is a rapid determination tool for foxtail milletbreeding, and for quality control.

Development of the vapor film thickness correlation in porous corrosion deposits on the cladding in PWR

Shen Yuan,Duan Zhengang,Lu Chuan,Ji Li,Jiao Caishan,Hou Hongguo,Chao Nan,Zhang Meng,Zhou Yu,Gao Yang 한국원자력학회 2022 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.54 No.12

The porous corrosion deposits (known as CRUD) adhered to the cladding have an important effect on the heat transfer from fuel rods to coolant in PWRs. The vapor film is the main constituent in the two-phase film boiling model. This paper presents a vapor film thickness correlation, associated with CRUD porosity, CRUD chimney density, CRUD particle size, CRUD thickness and heat flux. The dependences of the vapor film thickness on the various influential factors can be intuitively reflected from this vapor film thickness correlation. The temperature, pressure, and boric acid concentration distributions in CRUD can be well predicted using the two-phase film boiling model coupled with the vapor film thickness correlation. It suggests that the vapor thickness correlation can estimate the vapor film thickness more conveniently than the previously reported vapor thickness calculation methods.

A Novel Kinetic Analysis of Crystallization of Polypropylene (PP) in Dynamically-vulcanized PP/Ethylene-propylene-diene Rubber (EPDM) Blends Using an In-situ Measurement Technique

Lei Hu,Bin Yang,Yan-Li Deng,Fei-Xue Lu,Ru Xia,Zheng-Zhi Zheng,Ji-Bin Miao,Jia-Sheng Qian,Chuan-Ru Zhang,Peng Chen,Yu-Chuan Zhang 한국고분자학회 2017 폴리머 Vol.41 No.4

The effects of cooling medium temperatures and plastic/rubber ratios on solidification and crystallization kinetics of dynamically-vulcanized polypropylene/ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (PP/EPDM) blends were investigated with the aid of an in-situ measurement technique. The cooling medium temperature heavily influenced the solidification kinetics primarily due to a combination of latent heat liberated from the molten polymer and the heat transferred away via the metallic wall during the cooling period. Interestingly, the parameter C in three-parameter model was not only affected by the material properties, but also by the cooling condition, different from the previous literature. The crystallization kinetics analysis indicated that the effect of EPDM in the blends consisted of both nucleation-promoting effect (low EPDM loading) and steric effect (higher EPDM loading). The present kinetic analysis may be helpful to further studies on improving the product performances for industrial applications.

Dynamic mechanism of HIV replication inhibitor peptide encapsulated into carbon nanotubes

Bao-Dong Chen,Chuan-Lu Yang,Jun-Sheng Yang,Mei-Shan Wang,Xiao-Guang Ma 한국물리학회 2013 Current Applied Physics Vol.13 No.6

Biomolecules encapsulated in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted much interest and facilitated exciting opportunities for biological and biomedical applications of CNTs. Understanding the fundamental interaction and change in biomolecules during encapsulation is indispensable but remains a challenge for both theoretical and experimental investigations. This paper focuses on the interaction between HIV replication inhibitor peptide (HRIP) and CNTs in a neutral solution with molecular dynamics simulation. We observed that HRIP spontaneously inserts into the CNTs and oscillates around the center of the tube, where the non-covalent interaction is minimum. The effects of the diameters of the CNTs on HRIP were investigated. The optimal diameter of the CNT that can provide the most effective encapsulation and causes minimum conformational change in HRIP was found. The present results provide valuable insights in the understanding of nanoscale drug delivery using CNT-based devices.

OPE molecular junction as a hydrogen gas sensor

Jian-Guo Xin,Chuan-Lu Yang,Mei-Shan Wang,Xiao-Guang Ma 한국물리학회 2018 Current Applied Physics Vol.18 No.3

Oligo(phenylene ethynylene) (OPE) molecular junction has been suggested as a H2 molecule sensor based on calculations using the first principles of density–functional theory and non-equilibrium Green's function. The electronic transport properties of the OPE molecule between two Au electrodes with or without adsorbed H2 molecules are investigated. Results show that the adsorbed H2 molecule significantly changes the characteristics of the current–voltage curve of the OPE molecular junction. The pure OPE molecular junction exhibits a significant negative differential resistance, but this kind of phenomenon will disappear or weaken after hydrogen molecules are adsorbed. The conductance of the junction also obviously decreases in the bias range of [−0.4, 0.4] V after adsorbing H2 molecules. These effects can be used to design a H2 molecule sensor.