Closed-loop recovery of molybdenum and value-added reuse of tungsten from alloy waste in additive manufacturing.

As metal additive manufacturing (MAM) technology is booming in the aerospace sector, alternatives to the traditional production methods of metals such as mining, processing, and refining with severe emissions are urgently needed. This study proposed a closed-loop route for efficient recovery of molybdenum (Mo) and value-added reuse of tungsten (W) from Cr-Co-Ni-Mo-W alloy waste in MAM. The results showed that the leaching efficiency of Mo and W reached 99.3% and 99.9%, respectively, using the dual chemical-physical means of mixed-alkali roasting and leaching by microwave heating, while the discharge of waste liquor containing Cr6+ was reduced. Leaching kinetic studies revealed that the metal leaching process was controlled by chemical reaction mechanism. Moreover, the 10%N1923 (primary amine)-5%TRPO (tri-alkyl phosphine oxide)-kerosene extraction system exhibited a synergistic extraction effect on Mo and W. After purification, Mo was recovered as Mo powder for MAM. Simultaneously, the recovered product of W, MnWO4, was applied as a photocatalytic material with excellent degradation of methylene blue dye. Ultimately, the proposed method obtained recovery efficiencies of 98.4% and 99.3% for Mo and W, respectively, achieving efficient and environmentally-friendly reuse of these key metals.

Preparation and Performance of Regenerated Al2O3-Coated Cathode Material LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 from Spent Power Lithium-Ion Batteries.

In this study, LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2@x%Al2O3-coated cathode materials were regeneratively compounded by the solid-phase sintering method, and their structural characterization and electrochemical performance were systematically analyzed. The regenerated ternary cathode material precursor synthesized by the co-precipitation method was roasted with lithium carbonate at a molar ratio of 1:1.1, and then completely mixed with different contents of aluminum hydroxide. The combined materials were then sintered at 800 °C for 15 h to obtain the regenerated coated cathode material, LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2@x%Al2O3. The thermogravimetry analysis, phase composition, morphological characteristics, and other tests show that when the added content of aluminum hydroxide is 3%, the regenerated cathode material, LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2@1.5%Al2O3, exhibits the highest-order layered structure with Al2O3 coating. This material can better inhibit the production of Ni2+, and improve material structure and electrochemical properties. The first charge-discharge efficiency of the battery assembled with this regenerated cathode material is 97.4%, a 50-cycle capacity retention is 93.4%, and a 100-cycle capacity retention is 87.6%. The first charge-discharge efficiency is far better than that of the uncoated regenerated battery.

Features of X-Band Radar Backscattering Simulation Based on the Ocean Environmental Parameters in China Offshore Seas.

The X-band marine radar has been employed as a remote sensing tool for sea state monitoring. However, there are few literatures about sea spectra considering both the wave parameters and short wind-wave spectra in China Offshore Seas, which are of theoretical and practical significance. Based on the wave parameters acquired from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis data (ERA-Interim reanalysis data) during 36 months from 2015 to 2017, a finite depth sea spectrum considering both wind speeds and ocean environmental parameters is established in this study. The wave spectrum is then built into a modified two-scale model, which can be related to the ocean environmental parameters (wind speeds and wave parameters). The final results are the mean backscattering coefficients over the variety of sea states at a given wind speed. As the model predicts, the monthly maximum backscattering coefficients in different seas change slowly (within 4 dB). In addition, the differences of the backscattering coefficients in different seas are quite small during azimuthal angles of 0° to 90° and 270° to 360° with a relative error within 1.5 dB at low wind speed (5 m/s) and 2 dB at high wind speed (10 m/s). With the method in the paper, a corrected result from the experiment can be achieved based on the relative error analysis in different conditions.

Efficient purification and high-quality regeneration of graphite from spent lithium-ion batteries by surfactant-assisted methanesulfonic acid.

With the vigorous development of the new energy industry, the use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is growing exponentially, and the recycling of spent LIBs has gradually become a research hotspot. Currently, recycling both cathode and anode materials of LIBs is important to environmental protection and resource recycling. This research reportsa method ofefficient purification and high-quality regeneration of graphite from spent LIBs by surfactant-assisted methanesulfonic acid (MSA). Under the optimal conditions (0.006 mol/L sodium dodecyl sulfonate, 0.25 mol/L MSA, 10 vol% hydrogen peroxide, liquid-solid ratio of 30:1 mL/g, 60 °C, 1.5 h), the purity of the regenerated graphite was 99.7 %, and the recovery efficiency was 98.0 %. The regenerated graphite showed the characteristics of small interplanar spacing, high degree of graphitization, a small number of surface defects, and excellent pore structure, which was closer to commercial graphite. Furthermore, the regenerated graphite electrode exhibited superior rate performance and cycling stability with a high specific capacity of 397.03 mAh/g after 50 cycles at 0.1C and a charge-discharge efficiency of 99.33 %. The recovery of anode graphite beneficial for resource utilization, environmental protection, and cost control throughout the entire production chain.

Association Between Family History in Patients with Primary Gout and Left Ventricular Diastolic Function: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: This study aimed to employ echocardiography for measuring the markers of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function to investigate the effects of family history of gout on the LV diastolic function in patients with primary gout. Methods: Two hundred and eighty-four patients with primary gout who visited the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College from September 2020 to July 2022 were selected and their family history of gout, general information, and laboratory markers were recorded. Parameters of LV diastolic function were measured via echocardiography. The correlation between family history and LV diastolic function markers was analyzed using univariate and multivariate regression and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. Results: LV diastolic function parameters, peak early mitral diastolic velocity (E)/peak late mitral diastolic velocity (A), and early septal mitral annulus diastolic motion velocity (Sepe'), early lateral mitral annulus diastolic motion velocity (Late') and their mean (e'), were significantly lower in patients with familial primary gout, while left atrial volume index (LAVI) and E/e' were markedly elevated in patients with sporadic primary gout. In patients with family history, the proportion of grade ≥2 LV diastolic insufficiency was distinctly higher than that in patients without family history (41.6% vs 12.3%). Even after adjusting for confounding variables, LAVI, E/A, Sepe', Late', e', E/e' were obviously associated with family history of gout. The area under ROC of family history combined with SUA level for identifying grade ≥2 LV diastolic insufficiency in patients with primary gout was 0.872 (P<0.05). Conclusion: Family history of gout was closely related to echocardiographic LV diastolic function parameters in patients with gout, what is more, family history of gout combined with SUA level was found to be a valuable indicator for discriminating grade ≥2 LV diastolic insufficiency in patients with primary gout.

Safety and efficacy evaluation of personalized exercise prescription during chemotherapy for lung cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: To explore the safety and effectiveness of personalized exercise intervention during chemotherapy for lung cancer patients who were relatively weak and with compromised cardiopulmonary function. METHODS: Thirty-eight lung cancer patients treated with chemotherapy at Peking University Third Hospital were enrolled in this prospective study. The exercise group (N = 21) received individualized exercise guidance based on personal test results and exercised regularly, while the control group (N = 17) only received exercise education and planed exercise methods according to their own preferences. Both groups underwent three fitness tests and clinical indicator assessments at 0, 6, and 12 weeks after starting the exercise, and the differences in trends of various indicators between the two groups were compared. RESULTS: No exercise-related adverse events occurred during the 12-week exercise period. After 12 weeks of exercise training, in terms of fitness, the exercise group showed significant improvements in 6-min walk test (6MWT) (p < 0.001), peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) (p = 0.005), muscle content (p < 0.001), muscle percentage (p < 0.001), and grip strength (p = 0.008) compared to the control group. In terms of clinical indicators, the exercise group showed significant improvements in vital capacity (p = 0.018), D-dimer (p = 0.031), and C-reactive protein (CRP) (p = 0.01), uric acid (p = 0.003), triglycerides (p < 0.001), functional average score (p < 0.001), and main symptom average score (p = 0.004) compared to the control group in trends over time. CONCLUSION: Rehabilitation exercises using individualized exercise prescriptions tailored by exercise prescription specialists during chemotherapy are safe for lung cancer patients. Adhering to exercise can achieve comprehensive improvements in physical fitness and quality of life at 12 weeks.

Cytogenetic analysis in 16-year follow-up study of a mother and fetus exposed in a radiation accident in Xinzhou, China.

In November 1992, a radiation accident occurred in Xinzhou, due to the collection by a farmer of an unused (60)Co source; 37 individuals were exposed to ionizing radiation. Three individuals died and the farmer's 19-weeks-pregnant wife suffered acute radiation symptoms. Conventional chromosome analysis, cytokinesis-block micronuclei (CBMN) assay and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) painting with three pairs of whole chromosome probes were used to analyze chromosomal aberrations for the pregnant female and her baby during the 16 years following the accident. The yields of dicentrics and rings (dic+r) continually declined between 41 days and 16 years after the accident. The frequency of binucleated MN also decreased over time for both mother and daughter. Sixteen years after exposure, the yields of dic+r and binucleated MN decreased to normal levels, but the reciprocal translocation frequencies remained elevated, for both mother and daughter. FISH results showed a decreasing yield of translocations with time. Based on the changes in maternal translocation frequency, the daughter's dose at the time of exposure was estimated as 1.82 (1.35-2.54)Gy. This was consistent with the clinical manifestations of severe mental retardation and low IQ score. FISH-based translocation analysis can be used for follow-up studies on accidental exposure and, after correction, for retrospective dose estimation for individuals prenatally exposed to radiation.

[Long-term outcome and analysis of prognostic factors in 114 cases of postoperative stage III gastric cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the results of long-term follow up of patients with postoperative stage III gastric cancer and the prognostic factors. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological data of 114 patients with stage III gastric cancer treated in our hospital from April 1998 to January 2006. Kaplan-Meier univariate analysis and Cox regression analysis were performed to evaluate the candidate prognostic factors, such as gender, age, pathological stage, histological differentiation, lymphovascular tumor thrombus, tumor residual and postoperative chemotherapy. RESULTS: In the 114 cases, the 5-year overall survival rate was 28.6% and 10-year survival rate was 22.6%. The 5-year survival rates of stage IIIA, IIIB and IIIC patients were 38.3%, 33.8% and 19.5%, respectively, and 10-year survival rates were 33.5%, 29.6% and 11.1%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that pathological stage, tumor residual and postoperative chemotherapy were significantly correlated with prognosis (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that pathological stage, tumor residual and postoperative chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors of stage III gastric cancer patients (P < 0.05 for all). CONCLUSIONS: The long-term survival of stage III gastric cancer patients remains poor. Pathological stage, tumor residual and postoperative chemotherapy are the most significant factors influencing prognosis of stage III gastric cancer after radical resection. Postoperative chemotherapy can improve their survival.

Clinical observation of peripheral nerve injury in 2 patients with cancer after radiotherapy.

AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aims to analyze the clinical manifestations and sequelae of peripheral nerve radiation damage of two cases of cancer patients after radiotherapy at the corresponding sites in clinical practice and to summarize experiences and lesions in order to provide a reference for future tumor radiotherapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Some data of two cases of patients, such as doses of radiotherapy, clinical manifestations and damage occurrence time, were collected and examinations were conducted to define diagnosis. Afterwards, therapies and follow-up were conducted. RESULTS: Case 1 (rectal cancer) was diagnosed as mild left lower extremity nerve damage. After the symptomatic treatment, the disease condition was improved, and there was no tumor recurrence sign. Case 2 (breast cancer) was diagnosed as left brachial plexus damage, and left upper extremity movement function was lost completely. While the analgesic treatment was conducted, anti-tumor relevant treatments were being carried out. CONCLUSIONS: Radiotherapy can cause different extents of radioactive nerve damage. In practice, it is necessary to constantly improve the radiotherapy technology level and actively prevent the occurrence of complications. Once symptoms appear, the diagnosis and treatment should be conducted as early as possible in order to avoid aggravating damage to cause dysfunction and cause lifetime pain to patients.

PD-L1 Biomolecules Associated with Clinical Features in Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer.

Background: Increasing evidence has indicated that several B7 family members play critical roles in the progress of many cancers. However, the clinical significance of the B7 family in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is still elusive. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential role of B7-H1 biomolecules (PD-L1) in regulating the tumorigenesis and progression of cSCC, the most common non-melanoma skin cancer. Methods: We collected transcriptome data of cSCC patients from TCGA databases (n = 496) and subjected the transcription data to bioinformatical analysis. Differential expression of B7-H1 genes with a grade-dependent pattern was identified. We collected paraffin sections of skin squamous carcinoma and analyzed by immunohistochemical staining. We further examined the PD-L1 levels of CD14+ cells in peripheral blood of each cSCC patient and normal subjects by flow cytometry. Results: It was found that higher expression of PD-L1 was associated with poor prognosis of cSCC patients and shorter overall survival. These observations were further verified in the clinical paraffin sections and in peripheral blood T cells. Conclusion: Our study reveals that PD-L1 is a potential prognostic marker in clinical prognosis for cSCC patients and could be valuable for cSCC treatment.

Diagnostic value and safety of ultrathin bronchoscope and endobronchial ultrasonography with a guide sheath combined with rapid on-site evaluation system for peripheral pulmonary infectious diseases.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value and safety of ultrathin bronchoscope and endobronchial ultrasonography with a guide sheath (EBUS-GS) combined with rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) system for peripheral pulmonary infectious diseases. METHODS: The clinical data of 196 patients visiting our hospital, who had peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs) indicated by spiral computed tomography (CT) of the chest and were finally diagnosed as infectious PPLs, were retrospectively collected. Then the patients were divided into ultrathin bronchoscope + ROSE group, EBUS-GS + ROSE group and ultrathin bronchoscope + EBUS-GS + ROSE group based on different diagnostic techniques. Moreover, the general conditions, diagnostic results and specific operation parameters of the patients were recorded, and the diagnostic rate, sensitivity and complications were compared. RESULTS: In ultrathin bronchoscope + EBUS-GS + ROSE group, the time of localizing lesions and operation time were the shortest, and the grade of bronchi reached by the bronchoscope was the highest. The differences were significant between any two groups (P<0.05). Patients with bacterial pneumonia, and patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacterial disease, ultrathin bronchoscope + EBUS-GS + ROSE group exhibited the highest definite diagnosis rate of bronchoscope and diagnostic sensitivity of ROSE system, with significant differences from those of the other two groups (P<0.05). The incidence rates of complications were low in all groups, and there were no significant differences between any two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Ultrathin bronchoscope and EBUS-GS combined with ROSE system can prominently decrease the time of localizing lesions and operation time, remarkably improve the diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity and result in fewer complications.

A comprehensive Drosophila resource to identify key functional interactions between SARS-CoV-2 factors and host proteins.

Development of effective therapies against SARS-CoV-2 infections relies on mechanistic knowledge of virus-host interface. Abundant physical interactions between viral and host proteins have been identified, but few have been functionally characterized. Harnessing the power of fly genetics, we develop a comprehensive Drosophila COVID-19 resource (DCR) consisting of publicly available strains for conditional tissue-specific expression of all SARS-CoV-2 encoded proteins, UAS-human cDNA transgenic lines encoding established host-viral interacting factors, and GAL4 insertion lines disrupting fly homologs of SARS-CoV-2 human interacting proteins. We demonstrate the utility of the DCR to functionally assess SARS-CoV-2 genes and candidate human binding partners. We show that NSP8 engages in strong genetic interactions with several human candidates, most prominently with the ATE1 arginyltransferase to induce actin arginylation and cytoskeletal disorganization, and that two ATE1 inhibitors can reverse NSP8 phenotypes. The DCR enables parallel global-scale functional analysis of SARS-CoV-2 components in a prime genetic model system.

A prospective, multicenter, controlled, observational study to evaluate the efficacy of a patient support program in improving patients' persistence to adjuvant aromatase inhibitor medication for postmenopausal, early stage breast cancer.

Since the rate of persistence to adjuvant endocrine therapy such as 5-year aromatase inhibitors (AI) would decrease over time in patients with hormone-sensitive breast cancer, it is necessary to investigate if a patient support program could modify patients' beliefs and improve their persistence to AI treatment. This was a prospective, multicenter, controlled, observational study to evaluate the efficacy of a patient support program in improving postmenopausal patients' persistence to adjuvant AI medication for early stage breast cancer (NCT00769080). The primary objective was to compare the rates of 1-year persistence to upfront adjuvant AI for patients in the two observational arms (standard treatment group and standard treatment plus patient support program group). In this study, 262 patients were enrolled in the standard treatment group and 241 patients in the standard treatment plus patient support program group. The mean 1-year persistence rates were 95.9 and 95.8% for the standard treatment group and the standard treatment plus patient support program group, respectively (P=0.95). The mean times to treatment discontinuation were 231.2 days in the standard treatment group and 227.8 days in the standard treatment plus patient support program group, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.96). There was also no statistically significant difference in the reason for treatment discontinuation (P=0.32). There was a significant relationship between the patient centered care questionnaire and poor persistence (odds ratio=3.9; 95% CI, 1.1-13.7; P=0.035), suggesting that the persistence rate of patients with whom the doctor always or usually spends time is greater than that of patients with whom the doctor sometimes or never spends time. Patients' persistence to adjuvant AI medication for postmenopausal, early stage breast cancer is relatively high in the first year and is not significantly increased by adding a patient support program to standard treatment.

[A clinical study on multi-disciplinary team and surgery for resectable colorectal cancer with liver metastases].

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the survival outcomes of the surgery for colorectal cancer with liver metastases (CRCLM), and study the mode of multi-disciplinary team (MDT) for CRCLM. METHODS: The retrospective analysis was conducted for 38 patients with CRCLM received MDT management and surgical treatment from January 2009 to August 2011. The peri-operative and survival outcomes of MDT and surgery were evaluated. RESULTS: All the cases met the present criteria of resetability for CRCLM, but only 4 cases (10.5%) met the previous one. Coloproctectomy and hepatectomy were performed in all cases, with 39 colorectal neoplasms and 155 liver lesions removed. One case died of postoperative septic shock. Colorectal and hepatic specific complications were absent in the others patients except one case of biliary leak which was treated with conservative management. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was arranged in 13 cases. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered for every patient. After a mean follow-up of (22 ± 10) months according to the finding time of liver metastases, recurrence and metastases were observed in 16 cases and 6 cases died of late-stage cachexia. The 1-, 2- and 3-overall survival rate were 94.4%, 85.3% and 75.8% respectively, and the 1-, 2- and 3-disease-free survival rate were 70.1%, 54.2% and 54.2% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: MDT mode for resectable CRCLM is recommendable. Surgical resection of CRCLM is feasible and safe, which seems to achieve favourable short-middle oncologic outcomes. And long-term survival is expected.

Novel Styrene-Based Polyamine Sorbent for Efficient Selective Separation of Molybdenum.

Tungsten (W) and molybdenum (Mo) are important strategic resources but the two coexist in both primary ore and waste. Before a single metal product is obtained, it is often necessary to separate the two. In this work, we reported two new polyamine resins (D301@PA and D301@TA), which can be obtained by an assembled amine (primary amine or tertiary amine) and traditional D301 resin by the dipping method. Then, the sorption experiments with the amine resins were carried out, and the selectivity and sorption capacity of the two new polyamine resins for MoS4 2- have been significantly improved. Among them, D301@TA showed the highest sorption capacity of 414 mg·g-1 and a separation factor of 108. Finally, the sorption mechanism can be inferred through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS); the Cl- ions in the amine resin and the MoS4 2- ions were subjected to ion exchange. This work provides a green and efficient approach for separating tungsten and molybdenum.

Construction of Circadian Clock Signature for Tumor Microenvironment in Predicting Survival for Cutaneous Melanoma.

OBJECTIVE: We explored circadian clock-related genes (CCRG) to establish a risk model and identify associations with the tumor immune microenvironment in cutaneous melanoma (CM). METHODS: Circadian clock genes were downloaded from Circadian Gene Database. To explore CM-related circadian clock genes, we combined multivariate cox regression associated with least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and validated it in the GSE65904 dataset. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and Kaplan-Meier analysis were calculated to determine a CCRG risk score model. In addition, the overall survival nomograms of clinicopathological factors and circadian clock-related gene signatures. Additionally, we evaluated the connection between circadian clock-related genes with immune checkpoint inhibitors and immune cell infiltration. RESULTS: Two circadian clock-related signatures were established. The risk model included SEMA4D (p<0.001, HR: 0.709, 95% CI: 0.581 to 0.867) and SOD-2 (p=0.009, HR: 0.790, 95% CI: 0.663 to 0.944) in patients with TCGA melanoma. The risk model was based on two CCRGs enriched in base excision repair, glycosylphosphatidyl (GPI), and one carbon of the folate pathway. The overall survival was lower in the high-risk group. In addition, the circadian-clock signature may be able to evaluate the immunotherapy response. CONCLUSIONS: We developed and validated a circadian signature to characterize the clinical significance and tumor microenvironment of cutaneous melanoma, revealing that circadian rhythms may impact cutaneous melanoma.

An expanded toolkit for Drosophila gene tagging using synthesized homology donor constructs for CRISPR-mediated homologous recombination.

Previously, we described a large collection of Drosophila strains that each carry an artificial exon containing a T2AGAL4 cassette inserted in an intron of a target gene based on CRISPR-mediated homologous recombination. These alleles permit numerous applications and have proven to be very useful. Initially, the homologous recombination-based donor constructs had long homology arms (>500 bps) to promote precise integration of large constructs (>5 kb). Recently, we showed that in vivo linearization of the donor constructs enables insertion of large artificial exons in introns using short homology arms (100-200 bps). Shorter homology arms make it feasible to commercially synthesize homology donors and minimize the cloning steps for donor construct generation. Unfortunately, about 58% of Drosophila genes lack a suitable coding intron for integration of artificial exons in all of the annotated isoforms. Here, we report the development of new set of constructs that allow the replacement of the coding region of genes that lack suitable introns with a KozakGAL4 cassette, generating a knock-out/knock-in allele that expresses GAL4 similarly as the targeted gene. We also developed custom vector backbones to further facilitate and improve transgenesis. Synthesis of homology donor constructs in custom plasmid backbones that contain the target gene sgRNA obviates the need to inject a separate sgRNA plasmid and significantly increases the transgenesis efficiency. These upgrades will enable the targeting of nearly every fly gene, regardless of exon-intron structure, with a 70-80% success rate.

Safety and effectiveness of apatinib in elderly patients with metastatic gastric cancer: a sub-analysis from the large-scale, prospective observational study of apatinib for gastric cancer treatment in a real-world clinical setting (AHEAD-G202).

Background: Apatinib was shown to improve the survival of Chinese patients with refractory metastatic gastric cancer (mGC). As an orally administered drug, it has been widely used in elderly patients because the dosing schedule can be adjusted flexibly. However, data on the efficacy and safety of apatinib in elderly patients is scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxicity and effectiveness of apatinib for elderly patients with mGC in a real-world setting. Methods: Data from the sub-population of patients who were ≥65 years enrolled in the AHEAD-G202 trial were analyzed. Patients with mGC were prospectively registered and initially received ≤850 mg oral apatinib daily combined or not combined with chemotherapy, at the investigator's discretion. The primary endpoint was safety. The secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Results: A total of 117 patients were included. There were 51 (43.59%) patients in the low-dose (250 mg) group, 60 (51.28%) patients in the mid-dose (425 to 500 mg) group, and 6 (5.13%) patients in the high-dose (850 mg) group according to the initial daily doses. Hypertension (6.84%) was the only grade 3-4 adverse event (AE) with a prevalence of more than 5% and across the low-dose (11.76%), mid-dose (3.33%) and high-dose group (0%). The median OS and PFS were 7.13 months (95% CI: 5.04 to 9.22 months) and 4.27 months (95% CI: 3.24 to 5.29 months), respectively. The OS and PFS were similar among the 65-74 and ≥75 years groups (χ2=1.406, P=0.306; χ2=0.378, P=0.066, respectively). The OS and PFS were also comparable among the 3 dose groups. Conclusions: Elderly patients with mGC can tolerate and benefit from apatinib therapy. A lower initial daily dosing strategy may be a suitable choice for elderly patients in clinical practice.

Clinical observation of a 16-year-old female exposed to radiation in utero: follow-up after the Shanxi Xinzhou radiation accident.

A follow-up study of the late effects of intrauterine exposure to irradiation has been made on a 16-year-old girl whose mother was exposed to external (60)Co irradiation during the Xinzhou radiation accident 16 years previously. The outcomes of the general medical examinations, conventional chromosome aberration analyses and fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) are presented and the China-revised Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (C_WISC) was used to identify her IQ level, which was well below normal for her age. The biological dose of the radiation to which she was exposed when she was in her mother's uterus was inferred to be 1.85 Gy. Although there is no evidence of any other developmental changes or tumour induction at this stage in her life, the child's total intelligence level does appear to have been affected.

Follow-up study of a pregnant woman 16 years after exposure in the Xinzhou radiation accident.

To investigate the late effects of radiation on child-bearing women, a follow-up study was performed on a 39-year-old survivor 16 years after a (60)Co radiation accident. The woman, Fang, was 19 weeks pregnant at the time of exposure. Physical examinations, a full range of clinical laboratory and imaging tests, as well as cytogenetic analyses were conducted to evaluate Fang's current health conditions. Fang shows the appearance of premature ageing and has a decreased menstrual period. Laboratory studies and imaging tests suggest nodular goitre disease and osteoporosis. Otherwise, no apparent abnormalities were found in the major organs. No malignant tumours were detected by either tumour markers or imaging tests. However, the existence of chromosome aberrations warrants long-term follow-up for tumour incidence in the future. Fang became pregnant 8 years after the accident, but suffered a miscarriage due to the death of the foetus at 6 months into the pregnancy. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the intrauterine death of the foetus might be associated with the previous exposure. There is no evidence of malignant tumours as of the date of the follow-up study. Non-cancerous diseases, i.e. thyroid disease and osteoporosis, which may be related to radiation exposure, are the major manifestations of the long-term effects of the accident.