Patients with PA-HVOD had different characteristics than those with HSCT-HVOD. Anticoagulation and TIPS treatment may be effective for patients with PA-HVOD.

Growing evidence indicates that nomogram combined with the biomarkers of systemic inflammation response could provide more accurate prediction than conventional staging systems in tumors. This study aimed to establish an effective prognostic nomogram for resectable thoracic esophageal squamouscell carcinoma (ESCC) based on the clinicopathological parameters and inflammation-based prognostic scores. We retrospectively investigated 916 ESCC patients who underwent radical esophagectomy. The predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomogram were determined by concordance index (C-index) and calibration curve, and compared with the 6th and 7th AJCC TNM classifications. The neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), C-reactive protein albumin (CRP/Alb) ratio, histological grade, T stage and modified N stage were integrated in the nomogram. The C-index of the nomogram for predicting the survival was 0.72, which showed better predictive ability of OS than the 6th or 7th TNM stages in the primary cohort (P < 0.001). The calibration curve showed high consistency between the nomogram and actual observation. The decision curve analysis showed more potential of clinical application of the prediction models compared with TNM staging system. Moreover, our findings were supported by the validation cohort. The proposed nomogram showed more accurate prognostic prediction for patients with ESCC after radical esophagectomy.

The stent length is associated with the position of the distal loop and the related urinary symptoms. A longer stent causes an overlong intravesical segment and more irritative symptoms. On the other hand, the stent length is not associated with either the position of the proximal loop or flank pain. Based on the analysis of both stent configurations on images and related symptoms, a 22-cm stent is more appropriate for those whose height ranges from 149.5 cm to 178.5 cm with a median of 161.9 cm.

Our previous investigations showed that mobilized endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are enriched in non-tumor tissues (NT) surrounding hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), compared to in tumor tissues (TT). This particular recruitment of EPCs is worth investigating further. The mobilization, recruitment, homing, and incorporation of EPCs into tumors require the participation of multiple factors, including angiogenic factors, adherent molecules, endothelial cells, hypoxic environment, etc. Therefore, we hypothesized that NT might be a hypoxic and highly angiogenic area, into which many more EPCs are recruited and homed. In the last three years, we evaluated the hypoxic condition, angiogenic factors and angiogenic index using frozen tissues or tissue microarrays from 105 patients who had undergone hepatectomy for HCC, and here we review our results and the studies of others. All results showed the expression of Hypoxiainducible factor-1α was higher in NT than in TT. The expression of VEGFA, bFGF, TGF-β, MCP-1, MMP-9, TIMP-2, and endostatin in NT was significantly higher than in normal liver and TT. Meanwhile, the expression of CD105—the surface marker of activated endothelial cells—was also higher in NT than in TT at the protein and mRNA levels. These investigations showed that NT is a hypoxic and highly angiogenic area, which may be the ‘niche’ of EPCs. The particular background in HCC may be related to liver cirrhosis. Therefore, non-tumor tissues surrounding HCC may be the ‘niche’ of endothelial progenitor cells.

BackgroundWe investigated the distribution and clinical significance of mobilized endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We found that many more EPCs were recruited to nonmalignant liver tissue (especially into adjacent non-tumor tissues (AT)) than to tumor vessels. These results suggest that the mechanism underlying the recruitment of EPCs into microvessels in AT merits further investigationMethodsAngiogenic factors were detected in three tissue microarrays comprising normal liver, paired tumor tissue (TT) and AT from 105 patients (who had undergone hepatectomy for HCC) using immunohistochemistry. Also, the number of EPCs (positive for Sca-1, Flk-1 and c-Kit) in the blood and liver of cirrhotic mice were determined by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. The distribution of these labeled EPCs in tumor and non-tumor tissues was then studied.ResultsThe results from the tissue microarrays showed that the expression levels of VEGF-A, bFGF, TGF-β, MCP-1, TSP-1, MMP-9, TIMP-2, and endostatin were significantly higher in AT than in either normal liver or TT (p < 0.05), but no significant difference was found in the expression levels of COX-2 and NOS-2 between AT and TT. The expression of VEGF-A, bFGF, TGF-β, MCP-1, TSP-1, MMP-9, TIMP-2, endostatin, COX-2, and NOS-2 in normal liver tissue was weaker than that in AT or TT. In cirrhotic mice, the number of circulating endothelial progenitor cells gradually increased, before decreasing again. In this mouse model, increased numbers of EPCs were recruited and homed specifically to the cirrhotic liver.ConclusionsBoth liver cirrhosis and HCC led to increased expression of pro-angiogenic factors, which resulted in the recruitment of EPCs into AT. Also, EPCs were mobilized, recruited and homed to cirrhotic liver. The unique pathology of HCC coupled with liver cirrhosis may, therefore, be associated with the distribution and function of EPCs.

Background: Although Bankart repair with remplissage is commonly performed to treat anterior shoulder instability, there is limited information on specific outcomes or patients’ fears regarding return to sports (RTS). Purpose: To study recurrence rates, pain, shoulder function, active range of motion (ROM), RTS rate, and patients’ fears and expectations for RTS after arthroscopic Bankart repair with remplissage for anterior shoulder instability. We compared these outcomes with those after Bankart repair alone. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was carried out between 2007 and 2017 among patients who underwent arthroscopic Bankart repair with remplissage (group BR) and Bankart repair alone (group B). At the final follow-up, outcomes including recurrence, pain, shoulder function, active ROM, RTS rate, and fear toward RTS were assessed. The specific outcomes for RTS were evaluated based on 3 levels: return to normal life, RTS at any level (RTSA), and RTS at previous level (RTSP). Results: A total of 70 patients were included (29 in group BR and 41 in group B) with a mean 67.2 months of follow-up. Group BR demonstrated a significantly lower recurrence rate than did group B (0 vs 22.0%, respectively; P = .007) as well as higher postoperative Rowe score (92.8 ± 7.1 vs 83.3 ± 16.2, respectively; P = .005). There were no differences between the groups in postoperative visual analog scale for pain score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, Oxford Shoulder Instability Score, or active ROM. The rates of RTSA (100% vs 84.2%; P = .03) and RTSP (77.8% vs 50.0%; P = .02) were higher in group BR than in group B, respectively, and significantly fewer patients in group BR reported fear of RTS (40.7% vs 63.2%; P = .04). Conclusion: In this study, recurrence rate, pain, shoulder function, active ROM, and RTS rate were satisfactory after arthroscopic Bankart repair with remplissage. Patients who underwent this procedure reported less fear toward RTS and higher rates of RTSA and RTSP than did those who undergo Bankart repair alone.

Network slicing (NS) has been well discussed in the transport network (TN) and core network (CN) domains. This paper extends it to the radio access network (RAN) domain, and the NS in RAN, TN and CN domains is defined as end-to-end (E2E) NS system. The advantages of using NS in the RAN domain with two-level resource allocation scheme are studied and shown by numerical simulations. Then the E2E NS system architecture and components are proposed and demonstrated with hardware and software. The demonstration shows the capability with very fine spectral granularity, and the slice creation, delete and adjustment schemes in sub-minute time, which could be used in the operator's network. INDEX TERMS End-to-end network slicing, radio access network, spectrum allocation, demonstration.

BackgroundTo evaluate whether apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value of gastric cancer obtained from diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) correlates with the HER2 status.MethodsForty-five patients, who had been diagnosed with gastric cancer through biopsy, were enrolled in this IRB-approved study. Each patient underwent a DWI (b values: 0 and 1,000 sec/mm2) prior to surgery (curative gastrectomy or palliative resection). Postoperative microscopic findings, HER2 status by immunohistochemical analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were obtained. HER2 status was compared among gastric cancers with various histopathological features using the chi square test. The ADC values of gastric cancers with positive and negative HER2 were compared using the student t test.ResultsA weak yet significant correlation was observed between the mean ADC values and HER2 status (r = 0.312, P = 0.037) and scores (r = 0.419, P = 0.004). The mean ADC value of HER2-positive gastric cancers was significantly higher than those of HER2-negative tumors (1.211 vs. 0.984 mm2/s, P = 0.020). The minimal ADC value of HER2-positive gastric cancers was significantly higher than those of HER2-negative tumors (1.105 vs. 0.905 × 10−3 mm2/s, P = 0.036).ConclusionsIn this pilot study, we have demonstrated that the ADC values of gastric cancer correlate with the HER2 status. Future research is warranted to see if DWI can predict HER2 status and help in tailoring therapy for gastric cancer.