Development of a model based on the age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index to predict survival for resected perihilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: Perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (pCCA) has a poor prognosis and urgently needs a better predictive method. The predictive value of the age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (ACCI) for the long-term prognosis of patients with multiple malignancies was recently reported. However, pCCA is one of the most surgically difficult gastrointestinal tumors with the poorest prognosis, and the value of the ACCI for the prognosis of pCCA patients after curative resection is unclear.

Textbook outcomes in liver surgery for gallbladder cancer patients treated with curative-intent resection: a multicenter observational study.

Background: Cholecystectomy, hepatectomy, and lymphadenectomy are recommended as the curative treatment for resectable gallbladder cancer (GBC). Textbook outcomes in liver surgery (TOLS) is a novel composite measure that has been defined by expert consensus to represent the optimal postoperative course after hepatectomy. This study aimed to determine the incidence of TOLS and the independent predictors associated with TOLS after curative-intent resection in GBC patients.

Assessment of the prognostic value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in perihilar cholangiocarcinoma patients following curative resection: .

Background & Aims: Tumor-associated chronic inflammation has been determined to play a crucial role in tumor progression, angiogenesis and immunosuppression. The objective of this study was to assess the prognostic value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (pCCA) patients following curative resection.

Methods: Consecutive pCCA patients following curative resection at 3 Chinese hospitals between 2014 and 2018 were included.

Alpha-fetoprotein, protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II, lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of alpha-fetoprotein alone and in combination for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A multicenter analysis.

Background: Current surveillance strategies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are insufficient. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II (PIVKA-II), lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of AFP (AFP-L3), and their combinations in HCC underlying NAFLD patients.

Methods: Serologic AFP, AFP-L3, and PIVKA-II levels in NAFLD patients with and without HCC were measured.

Development and Validation of a Prognostic Model to Predict Recurrence-Free Survival After Curative Resection for Perihilar Cholangiocarcinoma: A Multicenter Study.

Background: Recurrence is the main cause of death in perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (pCCA) patients after surgery. Identifying patients with a high risk of recurrence is important for decision-making regarding neoadjuvant therapy to improve long-term outcomes.

Aim: The objective of this study was to develop and validate a prognostic model to predict recurrence-free survival (RFS) after curative resection of pCCA.

Postoperative morbidity adversely impacts oncological prognosis after curative resection for hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: Postoperative morbidity after curative resection for hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HCCA) is common; however, whether it has an impact on oncological prognosis is unknown.

Aim: To evaluate the influence of postoperative morbidity on tumor recurrence and mortality after curative resection for HCCA.

Methods: Patients with recently diagnosed HCCA who had undergone curative resection between January 2010 and December 2017 at The First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University in China were enrolled.

Percutaneous biliary stent combined with brachytherapy using I seeds for treatment of unresectable malignant obstructive jaundice: A meta-analysis.

Background: Malignant obstructive jaundice (MOJ) is a common pathologic manifestation of malignant biliary obstruction. Recently, several clinical trials have explored the clinical effectiveness of intraluminal I seed-based brachytherapy for MOJ patients, and various outcomes have been reported.

Aim: To assess the efficacy and safety of percutaneous biliary stents with I seeds compared to conventional metal stents in patients with unresectable MOJ.

Investigating State Restriction in Fluorescent Protein FRET Using Time-Resolved Fluorescence and Anisotropy.

Most fluorescent proteins exhibit multiexponential fluorescence decays, indicating a heterogeneous excited state population. FRET between fluorescent proteins should therefore involve multiple energy transfer pathways. We recently demonstrated the FRET pathways between EGFP and mCherry (mC), upon the dimerization of 3-phosphoinositide dependent protein kinase 1 (PDK1), to be highly restricted.

Fluorescence Self-Quenching from Reporter Dyes Informs on the Structural Properties of Amyloid Clusters Formed in Vitro and in Cells.

The characterization of the aggregation kinetics of protein amyloids and the structural properties of the ensuing aggregates are vital in the study of the pathogenesis of many neurodegenerative diseases and the discovery of therapeutic targets. In this article, we show that the fluorescence lifetime of synthetic dyes covalently attached to amyloid proteins informs on the structural properties of amyloid clusters formed both in vitro and in cells. We demonstrate that the mechanism behind such a "lifetime sensor" of protein aggregation is based on fluorescence self-quenching and that it offers a good dynamic range to report on various stages of aggregation without significantly perturbing the process under investigation.

[Root anatomical structure and hydraulic traits of three typical shrubs on the sandy lands of northern Shaanxi Province, China].

Root xylem anatomical structure and hydraulic traits of three typical shrubs, i.e., Salix psammophila, Caragana korshinskii and Hippophae rhamnoides, within two soil layers (0-20 cm and 30-50 cm) were compared.

A method to quantify FRET stoichiometry with phasor plot analysis and acceptor lifetime ingrowth.

FRET is widely used for the study of protein-protein interactions in biological samples. However, it is difficult to quantify both the FRET efficiency (E) and the affinity (Kd) of the molecular interaction from intermolecular FRET signals in samples of unknown stoichiometry. Here, we present a method for the simultaneous quantification of the complete set of interaction parameters, including fractions of bound donors and acceptors, local protein concentrations, and dissociation constants, in each image pixel.