Sofosbuvir-velpatasvir for 12 weeks provides a highly effective and well-tolerated therapy for Japanese patients with HCV and decompensated cirrhosis. Ribavirin did not improve efficacy but increased toxicity.

Among Japanese patients with HCV genotype 2, 12 weeks of treatment with ledipasvir-sofosbuvir resulted in high rates of SVR12 that were non-inferior to sofosbuvir + ribavirin.

With the competitive nature of the liner shipping industry, the transshipment hub port selection process has become complicated with numerous decision-making criteria that need to be considered, and competition between hub ports has accelerated across different regions. The emergence of different liner service networks, such as "hub and spoke" and "relay," has also intensified the complexity of the hub port selection process. The overlapping of maritime markets simultaneously served by multiple competitive hub ports has offered various hub port choices for shipping lines. Therefore, the criteria for hub port selection for both hub and spoke and relay networks are separately discussed in this study, which evaluates the performances of four competitive hub ports located around the Bay of Bengal: Colombo, Singapore, Kelang, and Tanjung Pelepas. The hub port selection criteria are evaluated based on the monetary, time, port traffic, location, operation, and liner-related categories using a questionnaire survey administered to shipping lines. The results provide a detailed discussion on the significant criteria for both network types and also highlight the dominant performance of the Singapore port and the performance of the other hub ports based on the individual criteria.

Background: Anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) antibody is an immune checkpoint inhibitor, and anti-PD-1 therapy improves the anti-tumor functions of T cells and affects tumor microenvironment. We previously reported that anti-PD-1 treatment affected tumor glycolysis by using 2-deoxy-2-[ 18 F]fluoro-D-glucose ([ 18 F]FDG) positron emission tomography (PET). That study showed that anti-PD-1 therapy in a mouse B16F10 melanoma model increased glucose metabolism in cancer cells at the point where anti-PD-1 therapy did not cause a significant inhibition of tumor growth. However, the B16F10 melanoma model is poorly immunogenic, so it is not clear how anti-PD-1 treatment affects glucose metabolism in highly immunogenic cancer models. In this study, we used a cyclic dinucleotide GMP-AMP (cGAMP)-injected B16F10 melanoma model to investigate the effect of anti-PD-1 therapy on [ 18 F]FDG uptake in a highly immune activated tumor in mice. Results: To compare the cGAMP-injected B16F10 model with the B16F10 model, experiments were performed as described in our previous manuscript. [ 18 F]FDG-PET was measured before treatment and 7 days after the start of treatment. In this study, [ 18 F]FDG uptake in tumors in the cGAMP/anti-PD-1 combination group was lower than that in the anti-PD-1 treatment group tumors on day 7, as shown by PET and ex vivo validation. Flow-cytometry was performed to assess immune cell populations and glucose metabolism. Anti-PD-1 and/or cGAMP treatment increased the infiltration level of immune cells into tumors. The cGAMP/anti-PD-1 combination group had significantly lower levels of GLUT1 high cells/hexokinase II high cells in CD45 − cancer cells compared with tumors in the anti-PD-1 treated group. These results suggested that if immune responses in tumors are higher than a certain level, glucose uptake in cancer cells is reduced depending on that level. Such a change of glucose uptake might be caused by the difference in infiltration or activation level of immune cells between the anti-PD-1 treated group and the cGAMP/anti-PD-1 combination group. Conclusions: [ 18 F]FDG uptake in cancer cells after anti-PD-1 treatment might be affected by the tumor immune microenvironment including immune cell infiltration, composition, and activation status.

In recent years, China’s influence as the dominant importer of waste products has reshaped global waste trade through restrictive programs such as Operation Green Fence in 2013 and National Sword in 2017. These restrictions have greatly affected not only China’s import of waste products but also the international trade and global logistics of these products. China’s import restrictions in 2017 decreased the country’s import of waste plastic by 92% and used paper by 56%. It also increased the unit value of these two categories of waste by 27% and 13%, respectively, showing an improvement in the quality of imported waste. Most of these impacts originate from intensive margins. The restrictions diverted the flow of waste mostly to the low- and middle-income countries of the East Asian and Pacific regions along with Europe and Central Asia, as their imports increased by 161% and 266% for waste plastic and 101% and 77% for used paper, respectively. Compared with Operation Green Fence, the impact of the 2017 National Sword has been much higher, with shipping companies faced with a lack of products on backhaul routes and forced to change their longstanding practices.