Hierarchical Structures Composed of Cu(OH)2 Nanograss within Directional Microporous Cu for Glucose Sensing.

Cu(OH)2 nanomaterials are widely investigated for non-enzymatic glucose sensors due to their low-cost and excellent performance. Cu(OH)2 nanomaterials usually grow on substrates to form sensor electrodes. Reported works mainly focus on structure adjusting of the Cu(OH)2 nanostructures, while the optimization of substrates is still lacking. In the present work, directional porous Cu (DPC) was applied as the substrate for the growth of Cu(OH)2 nanograss (NG), and hierarchical structures of Cu(OH)2@DPC were prepared by alkaline oxidation. The morphology and microstructure evolution of the prepared hierarchical structures was investigated, and the non-enzymatic glucose sensing performance was evaluated. Cu(OH)2@DPC exhibits enhanced comprehensive non-enzymatic glucose sensing performance compared to the reported ones, which may benefit from both the effective adsorption of the Cu(OH)2 NG with a relatively high surface area and the high solute exchange of the DPC by a channel effect. This work provides new insights into the further improvement of the non-enzymatic glucose sensing performance of Cu(OH)2 nanostructures by optimizing the substrate structure.

[The generation characteristics and purchasing points of Gamma Knife].

With the rapid development of the computer technology and the constant updating of the radiotherapy equipment, a huge improvement has been manifested by the new generation of the Gamma Knife radiotherapy system. Not only its functions are being improved, but also the treatment indications are expanding. These advances have been widely recognized by the clinical medical experts, breaking off the forbbiden zone of surgical operations, saving a lot of tumor patients with both malignant and benign lesions, who are not suitable for surgical operations due to local anatomical limitations. However, there are still a lot of clinicians being not clear about the funcitons and generations of Gamma Knife radiotherapy system. Moreover, variant guidances by different manufacturerers have given rise to confusions, especially on the equipment purchasing. Therefore, in this report we summarize the features of Gamma radiotherapy systems produced by different manufacturers in recent years, to supply reference data for the organization and expert buyers.

[Clinical analysis of 108 cases with adenocarcinoma Barretts's esophagus].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prognostic factors and to analyze the efficacy of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy for Barrett's esophageal adenocarcinoma after radical surgical resection. METHODS: The clinical data of 108 patients with adenocarcinoma Barrett's esophagus picking out from 783 esophageal adenocarcinoma patients surgically treated between June 1978 to June 2001 in the Shandong Provincial Hospital and Shandong Qianfoshan Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. 60Co gamma-irradiation or 6MVX-ray with conventional fraction were used for radiotherapy with a total volume dosage of 55-70 Gy. The chemotherapy was either FAM (iv infusion of 5-Fu 500 mg, d1-d5; ADM 50 mg d1; MMC 12 mg, d1) or CMF regimen (iv infusion of CTX 800 mg d1, d8; MTX 30 mg d1; 5-Fu 500 mg, d1-d5) for 4-6 cycles. The Kaplan-Meier amalysis was used to estimate the survival rate. Log rank test was used for comparison of the survival difference among different groups. RESULTS: In this series, 76 of 92 patients who underwent radical surgical resection received postoperative radiotherapy alone, and 16 received radiotherapy plus chemotherapy. Twelve of the other 16 patients who underwent palliative surgical resection received chemotherapy plus radiotherapy, the remaining 4 patients died of operative complications during surgery. The overall 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rate of this series was 81.5%, 51.9% and 22.2%, respectively. In the radical resection group, it was 15.8% for the patients received radiotherapy alone versus 75.0% for those treated by chemotherapy plus radiotherapy. The 5-year survival rate was 33.3% for the patients without extra-esophageal infiltration and 33.3% for the patients without lymph node metastasis, respectively. However, it was only 9.1% for the patients with extra-esophageal infiltration and 14.3% for those with lymph node metastasis, respectively. For the patients who had palliative surgical resection, though they received chemotherapy plus radiotherapy postoperatively, none of them survived longer than 5-year. Statistically significant difference among these groups was demonstrated by Log rank test (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Chemotherapy plus radiotherapy after radical surgical resection may improve the survival of patients with adenocarcinoma in Barrett's esophagus adenocarcinoma patient. The pathological stage, extra-esophageal infiltration, lymph node metastasis and postoperative chemotherapy plus radiotherapy are important prognostic factors.