Selective internal radiation therapy across Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages of hepatocellular carcinoma: literature review.

Background And Objective: Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) represents an endovascular treatment option for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Its use is widely recognized in the intermediate and advanced HCC, but it has become more prevalent in recent years in different Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages. The aim of this review is to summarize the role of SIRT and its clinical implications through different stages of HCC.

Cold plasma irradiation of chitosan: A straight pathway to selective antitumor therapy.

Plasma-activated chitosan (PAC) colloids for cancer treatment were obtained by using the cold atmospheric plasma technique. Chitosan solutions were irradiated by plasma ignited in argon gas and in a mixture of argon with nitrogen and oxygen gases in certain ratios. The structural modifications of chitosan and the chemical species generated in plasma were investigated by EPR, LC-MS/MS, XRD, DLS, and TGA methods.

Prognostic factors influencing outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing selective internal radiation therapy.

Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) has emerged as a viable endovascular treatment strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). According to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) classification, SIRT is currently recommended for early- and intermediate-stage HCC that is unsuitable for alternative locoregional therapies. Additionally, SIRT remains a recommended treatment for patients with advanced-stage HCC and portal vein thrombosis (PVT) without extrahepatic metastasis.

Energy store & release facilitating movement in stick & slip friction, animal jump, and earthquake.

Nature abounds in examples of evolutionary designs (bio and non-bio) that evolve freely into configurations that provide easier and greater access for movement. The present article considers three seemingly unrelated phenomena that appear to obstruct flow: stick-slip friction, animal jump, and earthquake. The analysis is based on simple models of rhythmic energy store & release motion.

The physics of the urge to have freedom.

Freedom, safety, and ease of movement are innate human urges attributed to conscience along with many other preferences such as attractiveness (beauty), economy, and life. This article addresses the physics basis of the innate urge to have freedom. It unveils the connection between animal freedom and the universal (constructal) tendency toward easier movement and greater access in all evolutionary systems throughout nature (animate & inanimate).

Evolution and irreversibility: Two distinct phenomena and their distinct laws of nature.

To clarify the place of time direction of change in nature (time arrow), the present article shows why Evolution and Irreversibility are two distinct phenomena. Their distinct laws of nature are the Constructal Law and the Second Law, respectively. The demonstration is based on the simplest setting imaginable: a solid body moving in a pool of water.

[Design and evaluation options of multimedia applications to support the care of people with mild dementia].

Background: In order to cognitively and physically activate people with dementia (MMD) in institutional settings, there are numerous touch-based multimedia applications specifically designed for this target group that are actually being used in practice. In contrast, the use of similar applications in domestic settings has been relatively limited.

Aim And Method: This study is based on 11 expert interviews guided by questions and examines design options and requirements for application content as well as requirements for study designs to provide evidence of the effectiveness of touch-based multimedia applications for MMD and their caregiving relatives (PA).

Animal design advantage from the analogy between friction and body heat loss.

When a fluid accelerates as it sweeps a solid surface there are two consequences: the friction and the heat transfer (thermal contact) between fluid and solid increase simultaneously. This is known as the universal analogy between fluid friction and heat transfer. In thermal engineering these two effects are problematic because improved thermal contact is beneficial, and increased friction (i.

Locomotion rhythm makes power and speed.

This article addresses two questions, why certain animals (frogs, breaststroke swimmers, hovering fliers, jellyfish) push rapidly against the surrounding fluid and then reach forward slowly, and whether this rhythm of propulsion is a manifestation of the universal phenomenon of design evolution in nature. Emphasis is on the distribution of time periods of locomotion in which, during the driving phase of cyclic movement (the motive stroke, phases 1 and 2, in alternating sequence with the dissipative stroke, phase 3), the work is generated (phase 1) and dissipated (phase 2). The relative lengths of the characteristic times t and t of the phases 1 and 2, are predicted.

The principle underlying all evolution, biological, geophysical, social and technological.

This article addresses the main research areas identified in the call for contributions to this special issue. With examples from published articles and books, the present article shows that all the identified areas are already covered by the universal principle underlying all evolution: the constructal law (1996), i.e.

Perfection is the enemy of evolution.

The universal phenomenon of evolution consists of change after change in flow configuration in a time direction that is perceptible to the observer. This reality clashes with the doctrine of precise optima, minima, and maxima, now rigidly in place because of calculus and computational simulations of all kinds of flowing and changing configurations. With two dissimilar examples, access on an area (a human settlement) and along a line (animal locomotion), it is shown that even a 1-percent imperfection in performance is accompanied by a sizable bandwidth of freedom to hit the 'target', that is, an easily accessible design with close to perfect performance.

Outstanding Sorption of Copper (II) Ions on Porous Phenothiazine-Imine-Chitosan Materials.

The aim of this work was to investigate the ability of a solid-state material, prepared by crosslinking chitosan with a phenothiazine-based aldehyde, to remove copper (II) ions from aqueous solutions, in a fast and selective manner. The metal uptake experiments, including the retention, sensibility, and selectivity against eight different metal ions, were realized via batch adsorption studies. The capacity of the material to retain copper (II) ions was investigated by spectrophotometric measurements, using poly(ethyleneimine) complexation agent, which allowed detection in a concentration range of 5-500 µM.

The Diffusion Model of Intra-Golgi Transport Has Limited Power.

The Golgi complex (GC) is the main station along the cell biosecretory pathway. Until now, mechanisms of intra-Golgi transport (IGT) have remained unclear. Herein, we confirm that the goodness-of-fit of the regression lines describing the exit of a cargo from the Golgi zone (GZ) corresponds to an exponential decay.

Development and CT image-domain validation of a computational lung lesion model for use in virtual imaging trials.

Purpose: Computational abnormalities (e.g., lesion models) for use in medical imaging simulation studies are frequently generated using data collected from clinical images.

Microporous Polymelamine Framework Functionalized with Re(I) Tricarbonyl Complexes for CO Absorption and Reduction.

A mixture of polymeric complexes based on the reaction between Re(CO)Cl and the porous polymeric network coming from the coupling of melamine and benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxaldehyde was obtained and characterized by FTIR, NMR, SEM, XPS, ICP, XRD, and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The formed rhenium-based porous hybrid material reveals a noticeable capability of CO absorption. The gas absorption amount measured at 295 K was close to 44 cm/g at 1 atm.

Night contact lenses used for myopia - personal experience.

The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of vision of patients who have chosen orthokeratology, and to identify different incidents that occur in patients who used this type of therapy. The study was conducted on a group of 10 patients who had a follow-up period of at least 4 years and presented regularly to ophthalmological check-ups. The clinical parameters that were analyzed are the following: ocular refraction before and after orthokeratology therapy, the appearance of corneal topography, the slit-lamp examination of the anterior segment of the eye, incidents determined by night contact lenses, as well as ocular comfort.

Evolution, physics, and education.

Evolution is a universal phenomenon of nature, bio, and non-bio. Evolution belongs in physics and general education. This step clarifies and enhances the transmission and retention of knowledge.

Effect of Protonation on Optical and Electrochemical Properties of Thiophene-Phenylene-Based Schiff Bases with Alkoxy Side Groups.

Three polyazomethines and their corresponding model compounds were protonated with trifluoroacetic acid, and its effect on their optical (UV-vis absorption and photoluminescence) properties and electrochemical behavior has been studied, in the context of the presence and elongation of alkoxy side groups. Moreover, the effect of environment dielectric constants (i.e.

Cell and extracellular matrix growth theory and its implications for tumorigenesis.

Cells associated with an abnormal (cancerous) growth exchange flows, morph freely and grow hand-in-glove with their immediate environment, the extracellular matrix (ECM). The cell structure experiences two mass flows in counterflow. Flowing into the structure are nutrients and flowing out is refuse from the metabolically active biomass within.

Spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of thiophene-phenylene based Shiff-bases with alkoxy side groups, towards photovoltaic applications.

The influence of presence and elongation of alkoxy side chains in the π-conjugated Schiff-bases has been considered on the basis of UV-Vis absorption and photoluminescence spectra of model compounds and polymers solutions in chloroform and binary solvents of different polarity. The results of these investigations have been supported by electrochemical data. It has been demonstrated that introduction of electron donating methoxy side groups decreases the energy gap, however the elongation of alkyl chains only slightly affects the electronic structure of model compounds.

Inflected wings in flight: Uniform flow of stresses makes strong and light wings for stable flight.

Flying animals morph and flex their wings during their flight. Their wings morph with the turbulent flow created around them. The wings of modern airplanes do not have this ability.

Phenothiazine-chitosan based eco-adsorbents: A special design for mercury removal and fast naked eye detection.

The aim of the paper was to investigate the ability of an eco-friendly luminescent xerogel prepared by chitosan crosslinking with a phenothiazine luminogen to detect and remove heavy metals. Its ability to give a divergent morphological and optical response towards fifteen environmental relevant metals was investigated by naked eye and UV lamp, fluorescence spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. A distinct response was noted for mercury, consisting in the transformation of the xerogel into a rubber-like material accompanied by the red shifting of the color of emitted light from yellow-green to greenish-yellow domain.