Data of RNA-seq transcriptomes of gastrocnemius muscle, epididymal adipose tissue in obese rats under normoxia/hypoxic exercise environments.

Studies on the crosstalk between muscle and adipose tissue can provide beneficial help in elucidating the pathogenesis and treatment of obesity-related diseases [1]. In this data article, we performed RNA sequence analysis of mRNA isolated from epididymal adipose tissue and gastrocnemius muscle tissue in obese rats. Twenty-two samples were selected for gene expression analysis. Raw data from the Illumina Hiseq™ platform sequencer was used for differential gene expression analysis using DESeq and deposited in the GEO public repository under accession number GSE237950. With the economic development and the change of people's lifestyle, obesity has become a major public health problem that endangers global health. Obesity is a metabolic disorder caused by excessive accumulation of white adipose tissue, which can further induce metabolic syndrome such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Studies have shown that altitude hypoxic exercise can not only improve muscle buffering capacity and body performance, but also reduce body weight and body fat more significantly. In many countries, it has been used as a treatment program for obesity diseases [2]. Hypoxic exercise can improve lipid metabolism, reduce blood lipid levels, inhibit fatty acid synthesis, and promote fatty acid decomposition and oxidation, which is the mechanism of hypoxic exercise to significantly reduce weight and fat. However, the mechanism of the cross-talk between muscle and fat tissue is not well understood under hypoxia exercise and normoxia exercise conditions. The data contained rat's four different states: normoxia quiet, normoxia exercise, hypoxic quiet, and hypoxic exercise. RNA-seq data will provide insights into the cross-talk between muscle and fat, and the mechanisms of fat metabolism. The data of this study have not been published and are hereby published on this platform to study the cross talk between muscle tissue and adipose tissue in rats under different oxygen content and exercise environment.

Primary study of the relative and compound biological effectiveness model for boron neutron capture therapy based on nanodosimetry.

BACKGROUND: The current radiobiological model employed for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) treatment planning, which relies on microdosimetry, fails to provide an accurate representation the biological effects of BNCT. The precision in calculating the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) and compound biological effectiveness (CBE) plays a pivotal role in determining the therapeutic efficacy of BNCT. Therefore, this study focuses on how to improve the accuracy of the biological effects of BNCT. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to propose new radiation biology models based on nanodosimetry to accurately assess RBE and CBE for BNCT. METHODS: Nanodosimetry, rooted in ionization cluster size distributions (ICSD), introduces a novel approach to characterize radiation quality by effectively delineating RBE through the ion track structure at the nanoscale. In the context of prior research, this study presents a computational model for the nanoscale assessment of RBE and CBE. We establish a simplified model of DNA chromatin fiber using the Monte Carlo code TOPAS-nBio to evaluate the applicability of ICSD to BNCT and compute nanodosimetric parameters. RESULTS: Our investigation reveals that both homogeneous and heterogeneous nanodosimetric parameters, as well as the corresponding biological model coefficients α and ß, along with RBE values, exhibit variations in response to varying intracellular 10B concentrations. Notably, the nanodosimetric parameter M 1 C 2 $M_1^{{{\mathrm{C}}}_2}$ effectively captures the fluctuations in model coefficients α and RBE. CONCLUSION: Our model facilitates a nanoscale analysis of BNCT, enabling predictions of nanodosimetric quantities for secondary ions as well as RBE, CBE, and other essential biological metrics related to the distribution of boron. This contribution significantly enhances the precision of RBE calculations and holds substantial promise for future applications in treatment planning.

[Pollution Level and Risk Assessment of OPEs in Typical River Basins of China].

Organophosphate esters(OPEs), as a substitute for brominated flame retardants, are widely used in production and life, and their environmental pollution and toxic effects have attracted widespread attention. In this study, the concentrations and distribution characteristics of OPEs in seven major drainage basins of China were sorted out. The average daily dose of OPEs in Chinese adults, adolescents, and children was calculated to assess the health risks, and the reliability of the results was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation. The toxic effect concentrations of 12 OPEs on aquatic organisms were investigated, and the species sensitivity distribution(SSD) curve was constructed to assess the ecological risk. The results showed that the 5th percentile concentration of ΣOPEs in the seven drainage basins was 52.61 ng·L-1 under the low exposure scenario. The median concentration of ΣOPEs in the seven basins was 499.74 ng·L-1, with trichloroethyl phosphate(TCEP), triethyl phosphate(TEP), and triethyl phosphate(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) esters(TDCP) as the main contaminants. Under the high exposure scenario, the 95th percentile concentration of ΣOPEs in the seven basins was 1904.4 ng·L-1, 3.8 times that of the intermediate exposure scenario, and the Yangtze River Basin had the highest ΣOPEs concentration under the high exposure scenario. The health risk assessment showed that the non-carcinogenic risk of OPEs exposure through drinking water was within acceptable limits for different populations. Trimethyl phosphate(TMP), triisobutyl phosphate(TiBP), and TCEP were the main contributors to cancer risk. The results of ecological risk assessment showed that TCEP had medium ecological risk at the high exposure level, tributyl phosphate(TnBP) had medium ecological risk under the intermediate exposure scenario, and there was higher ecological risk under the high exposure scenario. Triphenyl phosphate(TPhP) had a risk quotient greater than 1 under the low, intermediate, and high exposure scenarios, and there was a high ecological risk, which requires special attention.

Proposal of an automated tumor-stromal ratio assessment algorithm and a nomogram for prognosis in early-stage invasive breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The tumor-stromal ratio (TSR) has been verified to be a prognostic factor in many solid tumors. In most studies, it was manually assessed on routinely stained H&E slides. This study aimed to assess the TSR using image analysis algorithms developed by the Qupath software, and integrate the TSR into a nomogram for prediction of the survival in invasive breast cancer (BC) patients. METHODS: A modified TSR assessment algorithm based on the recognition of tumor and stroma tissues was developed using the Qupath software. The TSR of 234 invasive BC specimens in H&E-stained tissue microarrays (TMAs) were assessed with the algorithm and categorized as stroma-low or stroma-high. The consistency of TSR estimation between Qupath prediction and pathologist annotation was analyzed. Univariable and multivariable analyses were applied to select potential risk factors and a nomogram for predicting survival in invasive BC patients was constructed and validated. An extra TMA containing 110 specimens was obtained to validate the conclusion as an independent cohort. RESULTS: In the discovery cohort, stroma-low and stroma-high were identified in 43.6% and 56.4% cases, respectively. Good concordance was observed between the pathologist annotated and Qupath predicted TSR. The Kaplan-Meier curve showed that stroma-high patients were associated with worse 5-DFS compared to stroma-low patients (p = 0.007). Multivariable analysis identified age, T stage, N status, histological grade, ER status, HER-2 gene, and TSR as potential risk predictors, which were included in the nomogram. The nomogram was well calibrated and showed a favorable predictive value for the recurrence of BC. Kaplan-Meier curves showed that the nomogram had a better risk stratification capability than the TNM staging system. In the external validation of the nomogram, the results were further validated. CONCLUSIONS: Based on H&E-stained TMAs, this study successfully developed image analysis algorithms for TSR assessment and constructed a nomogram for predicting survival in invasive BC.

Spatial distribution, receptor modelling and risk assessment of organophosphate esters in surface water from the largest freshwater lake in China.

The occurrence and risk of organophosphate esters (OPEs) has become a global concern in recent years. This study investigated the occurrence, spatial distribution, and potential sources of thirteen OPEs and their associated ecological and human health risks in water samples from the largest freshwater lake, Poyang Lake, together with its five major inflow rivers and the water channel to Yangtze River. The total OPEs concentrations ranged from 38.44 ng/L to 428.94 ng/L, and the largest tributary Ganjiang River was much more polluted than other rivers. Chlorinated OPEs, such as tris (1-chloro­2-propyl) phosphate and tri (2-chloroethyl) phosphate occupied the dominant composition of OPEs in the research area. Principal component analysis with multiple linear regression, positive matrix factorization, and correlation analysis were used to apportion the potential sources of OPEs in surface water. The combined contribution of polyvinyl chloride, polyester resins, and polyurethane foam (68.64%), antifoam agent and hydraulic fluids (21.50%), and the release of decorative materials and electric equipment from indoor (9.86%) were identified as the OPEs sources in the study region. The risk quotients (RQs) showed the ecological risk was negligible, but 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate exposures posed medium ecological risk to aquatic organisms. The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of the target OPEs were below the theoretical risk threshold values, however, toddlers were much more sensitive to the OPEs exposure in surface water than teenagers and adults. Oral ingestion was the principal exposure pathway, and the health risk via oral ingestion was 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than dermal contact exposure route.

Whether green technology innovation is conducive to haze emission reduction: empirical evidence from China.

With the acceleration of industrialization, haze pollution has become a severe environmental pollution problem, and green technology innovation is one feasible way to alleviate it. Based on the PM2.5 concentration data of 30 provinces in mainland China from 2011 to 2017, we use a spatial panel model to investigate the spatial characteristics of haze pollution and examine the impact of green technology innovation on it. Results show that haze pollution has spatial correlation and a time lag. Its spatial correlation is associated with geographical distance as well as the compound influence of distance and economic development. Green technology innovation and foreign investment have inhibitory and negative spillover effects on haze pollution. Industrial structure and energy consumption structure play a partial intermediary role between green technology innovation and haze pollution, and the former has a significant negative spillover, while the latter has a positive effect. To reduce haze pollution, China should improve the level of green technology innovation, use foreign investment wisely, and enhance policy support and guidance. It should also promote the rationalization of industrial structure, optimize energy structure, and implement energy substitution. Finally, it is crucial that it should strengthen regional collaborative governance and build a multi-agent governance system.

Assessment of the effectiveness of parent-targeted interventions for the use of child restraint systems: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: It is essential to implement parent-targeted interventions to increase the use of child restraint systems (CRS) and thus reduce the injuries and deaths of children due to motor vehicle collisions. To optimize future intervention designs, this meta-analysis sought to quantify the effects of parent-targeted interventions and explore potential intervention moderators. Methods: Studies met inclusion criteria if they included a parents-targeted intervention that focused on increasing CRS use for children, published from the inception of the databases to January 2022, were systematically retrieved from the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, Web of Science, Sinomed, Wanfang, and CNKI databases. Next, 2 researchers independently screened the retrieved articles, evaluated their quality according to the Cochrane Tool, and extracted the data. Finally, Stata12.0 was used for the meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was examined with I2, stratified analyses, and meta-regression. Results: Of the 1,690 articles retrieved, 9 studies, comprising 22,329 parents of children aged 0-12 years, were ultimately included in the analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the CRS use rate of the intervention group was 1.62 times higher than that of the control group [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.25-2.11, Z=3.616, P<0.001], indicating the positive effect of parent-targeted interventions on promoting the use of CRS. The subgroup analysis found that interventions guided by behavioral theories increased the use of CRS (odds ratio: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.27-1.63, n=5). The difference in the use of CRS between the groups in the studies that were not guided by theories was not statistically significant, indicating that interventions guided by behavioral theories may be the source of the heterogeneity. Risk of bias was low in most studies. Conclusions: It is necessary to conduct interventions with parents to increase the use of CRS. The effects on CRS use appear to differ depending on whether the interventions are guided by behavioral theories. In-depth research needs to be conducted to explore the characteristics of the interventions, especially those guided by different behavioral theories, to reduce child vehicle injuries.

The effect of the universal two-child policy on medical insurance funds with a rapidly ageing population: evidence from China's urban and rural residents' medical insurance.

BACKGROUND: With the rapid growth of the ageing population, the operating burden of China's basic medical insurance fund is becoming increasingly heavy. To counter rapid population ageing and ameliorate a series of problems, China has adjusted its fertility policies several times. On January 1, 2016, the universal two-child policy was implemented. This study analysed the impacts of the adjustment to the fertility policy and potential improvements in fertility intention on the insured population and medical insurance fund sustainability. METHODS: We used an actuarial science method and took the urban and rural residents' basic medical insurance (URRBMI) of China, which covers most urban and rural residents, as an example to build a dynamic forecast model of population growth and a dynamic actuarial model of medical insurance funds. RESULTS: Compared with the original policy, under the current fertility intention (40%) with the universal two-child policy, the ageing of the population structure of URRBMI participants will decline significantly after 2026, and individuals aged 65 and over will account for only 19.01% of the total participants in 2050. The occurrence of the current deficit and accumulated deficit of the URRBMI fund will be postponed for one year to 2022 and 2028, respectively. If fertility intentions continue to rise, the ageing degree of the population structure will decrease, and the deficit would be further delayed. CONCLUSIONS: The universal two-child policy is conducive to improving the degree of overall population ageing, delaying the occurrence of a URRBMI fund deficit, and improving the sustainability of URRBMI funds. If fertility intention increases, the effects would be stronger. However, since the adjustment of the universal two-child policy has a certain time lag, it will take time to demonstrate this impact. Therefore, while actively promoting the universal two-child policy, other measures should be taken, such as improving the fertility desire among couples of childbearing age and reforming medical insurance payment methods.

Quantitative assessment of SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia and outcome in patients with coronavirus disease 2019.

The disease spectrum of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) varies from asymptomatic infection to critical illness and death. Identification of prognostic markers is vital for predicting progression and clinical practice. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA, known as RNAemia, has been detected in the blood. However, the potential clinical value of SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia remains unknown. We, therefore, conducted a meta-analysis using a random-effects model to estimate the pooled prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia as well as summary strength of RNAemia in association with disease severity and unfavorable clinical outcomes. A total of 21 studies involving 2181 patients were included. SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia in COVID-19 patients varied from 9.4% to 74.1%, with a pooled estimate of 34% (95% confidene interval [CI]: 26%-43%). Overall, SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia was associated with COVID-19 severity with odds ratio (OR) of 5.43 (95% CI: 3.46-8.53). In addition, SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia was a significant risk factor for unfavorable clinical outcomes (OR = 6.54, 95% CI: 3.82-11.21). The summary OR was 4.28 (95% CI: 2.20-8.33) for intensive care unit (ICU) admission, 11.07 (95% CI: 5.60-21.88) for mortality. Furthermore, RNAemia was also a significant risk factor for invasive mechanical ventilation and multiple organ failure. SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia is associated with disease severity, ICU admission, death in COVID-19, and may serve as a clinical predictor. More prospective trials in evaluating the potential of SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia as a prognostic indicator are necessary.

Hydride Affinities for Main-Group Hydride Reductants: Assessment of Density Functionals and Trends in Reactivities.

In the present study, we have examined hydride affinities relevant to a range of group 13 and group 14 reductants. We use the high-level W1X-G0, G4(MP2)-XK, and DSD-PBEP86 methods to obtain the RHA42 set of accurate reductant hydride affinities. Assessment of DFT methods with the RHA42 set shows that all functionals that we have examined are fairly accurate. Overall, we find ωB97X-V to be the most accurate. The MN12-SX screened-exchange functional and the nonhybrid B97-D3BJ method also perform well, and they may provide a lower-cost means for obtaining hydride affinities. The trend in the hydride affinities suggests an increased reducing power when one moves down the periodic table, e.g., with TlH3 being a stronger reductant than BH3. We also find that group 13 hydrides are stronger reductants than the group 13 analogues. In general, substitution of a hydrogen, e.g., BH2+ → BHMe+, and the formation of dimer, e.g., BH2+ → B2H5+, also lead to stronger reductants. A notable observation is the small hydride affinities for silyl cations, which are indicative of the potential of silanes as strong reducing agents. In particular, poly(methylhydrosiloxane) (PMHS) cations are associated with especially small hydride affinities owing to the presence of intramolecular oxygen atoms that can stabilize the cation center. We have further found the germanium analogues of the silanes to be more reactive, and they may further widen the scope of main-group hydride reducing agents.

Rapid, user-friendly, and inexpensive detection of azidothymidine.

Strict adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is very important to improve the quality of life for HIV-positive patients to reduce new infections and determine treatment success. Azidothymidine (AZT) is an antiretroviral drug commonly used in HAART treatment. In this research, an "add, mix, and measure" assay was developed to detect AZT within minutes. Three different probes designed to release fluorophores when samples containing AZT are added were synthesized and characterized. The limit of detection to AZT in simulated urine samples was determined to be 4 µM in 5 min for one of the probes. This simple and rapid point-of-care test could potentially be used by clinicians and health care workers to monitor the presence of AZT in low resource settings.

Spatiotemporal scale and integrative methods matter for quantifying the driving forces of land cover change.

Land cover change (LCC) is a major part of environmental change. Exploring the spatiotemporal differences in LCC and the driving factors is the basis for comprehensive research on landscape planning, and it is of great significance for future effective and sustainable landscape management. In this respect, cross-scale research with integrated methods is worthy of more attention, although some studies have discussed the driving forces of LCCs at either regional or local scale. We combined a structural equation model and a mixed-effects model for quantifying the driving forces of LCCs across different scales in the Loess Plateau (China), which is a typical region that has experienced significant LCCs over recent decades. The impacts of biophysical and socioeconomic factors on different change trajectories (agricultural intensification, urbanization and ecological restoration) were found to be inconsistent at different temporal and spatial scales. We found that topography had a negative effect on agricultural intensification during 1990-2010 and on urbanization during 1990-2000, but it had a positive effect on ecological restoration during 2000-2015 at the regional scale. Moreover, although there was no significant impact from economic development on any type of LCCs at the regional scale, its important influence could be seen in some of the township categories. Therefore, the path and scale dependence of driving forces is an important consideration in landscape planning and management to accommodate local conditions and fine-tuned analysis as decision-making supports.

Environmental and operational conditions effects on Lamb wave based structural health monitoring systems: A review.

Lamb wave is widely recognized as one of the most encouraging tools for structural health monitoring (SHM) systems. In spite of many favourable characteristics of Lamb wave for SHM, real-world application of these systems is still quite limited. Beside the complexities derived from multi-modal, dispersive and multi-path characteristics of Lamb waves, one of the main challenges in Lamb wave based SHM is sensitivity of these systems to environmental and operational conditions (EOCs) parameters. This paper provides a state of the art review of the effects of EOCs parameters including: temperature, moisture, load, vibration and bonding (adhesive layer shear modulus and thickness, bond defects), on Lamb wave propagation. Moreover, this paper provides a summary of compensation strategies to account for EOCs effects as well as baseline free techniques. An objective is also to understand the future directions and areas requiring attention of the researchers.

Quantitative Assessment of Phenolic Acids, Flavonoids and Antioxidant Activities of Sixteen Jujube Cultivars from China.

Increasing attention has been paid to the nutritional values and pharmacological effects of Ziziphus jujuba. Therefore, in this study, four phenolic and flavonoid fractions of 16 jujube cultivars from different geographic regions of China were separated and quantified. In addition, the antioxidant activity was evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH·) scavenging method and the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. The total phenols and flavonoids contents ranged from 253.4 to 494.9 mg GAE/100 g and 125.3 to 425.4 mg rutin/100 g, respectively. Subsquently, a total of 10 phenolic acids and two flavonoids were identified, and most quantified phenolic acids with antioxidant activity were mainly present in the glycosided and insoluble-bound phenolic fractions. The results of this study indicate that some jujube cultivars, especially Zanghuang Z. jujuba, Leling Z. jujuba, and Jiaxian Z. jujuba could be selected to promote a healthy diet due to their more plentiful nutritional and phytochemical beneficial effects.

Investigation of pathology malpractice claims in China from 2002-2015.

OBJECTIVE: To examine pathology-related medical claims in China and identify the most common errors to result in such claims. METHOD: A retrospective analysis was performed of 71 forensic evaluation reports carried out in two Chinese institutes of forensic medicine between 2002 and 2015 due to suspicion of medical malpractice. The judicial outcomes of each case were also reviewed when available. RESULTS: Of 71 cases, 54 cases had judicial outcomes. The most frequently claimed events were false-negative diagnoses of skin cancer, invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast, and osteosarcoma; and false positive diagnoses of uterine cervical squamous cell carcinoma, gastric carcinoma, and soft tissue carcinoma. The most common cause of error (82%, 56 of 68) was pathological misinterpretation. Plaintiffs in most cases (89%, 48 of 54) received compensation. CONCLUSION: Our data are in agreement with other findings regarding the most frequent medical malpractice allegations related to pathology. Addressing the issues at the root of these claims would lead to a decline in the number of medical errors. Quality assurance programs and good pathologist-clinician communication may decrease the risk of litigation.

Safety validation of decision trees for hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: To evaluate a different decision tree for safe liver resection and verify its efficiency. METHODS: A total of 2457 patients underwent hepatic resection between January 2004 and December 2010 at the Chinese PLA General Hospital, and 634 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients were eligible for the final analyses. Post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) was identified by the association of prothrombin time < 50% and serum bilirubin > 50 µmol/L (the "50-50" criteria), which were assessed at day 5 postoperatively or later. The Swiss-Clavien decision tree, Tokyo University-Makuuchi decision tree, and Chinese consensus decision tree were adopted to divide patients into two groups based on those decision trees in sequence, and the PHLF rates were recorded. RESULTS: The overall mortality and PHLF rate were 0.16% and 3.0%. A total of 19 patients experienced PHLF. The numbers of patients to whom the Swiss-Clavien, Tokyo University-Makuuchi, and Chinese consensus decision trees were applied were 581, 573, and 622, and the PHLF rates were 2.75%, 2.62%, and 2.73%, respectively. Significantly more cases satisfied the Chinese consensus decision tree than the Swiss-Clavien decision tree and Tokyo University-Makuuchi decision tree (P < 0.01，P < 0.01); nevertheless, the latter two shared no difference (P = 0.147). The PHLF rate exhibited no significant difference with respect to the three decision trees. CONCLUSION: The Chinese consensus decision tree expands the indications for hepatic resection for HCC patients and does not increase the PHLF rate compared to the Swiss-Clavien and Tokyo University-Makuuchi decision trees. It would be a safe and effective algorithm for hepatectomy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Seasonal variations in the energy budget of Elliot's pheasant (Syrmaticus ellioti) in cage.

This study aimed to discuss the energy budget of Elliot's pheasant Syrmaticus ellioti in different seasons, with life and health, good growth and normal digestion of Elliot's pheasant as the tested objects, The energy budget of Elliot's pheasant was measured by daily collection of the trial pheasants' excrement in the biological garden of Guangxi Normal University from March 2011 to February 2012. The results showed that the gross energy consumption, metabolic energy and excrement energy varied by season, increasing as temperature decreased. There was significant difference in gross energy consumption, metabolic energy, excrement energy between adults and nonages. There was also a trend that food digestibility of pheasants increases as temperature increases. In the same season, the food digestibility of adults was better than that of nonages. Throughout spring, summer, autumn and winter, the metabolic energy of 4-year adults were 305.77±13.40 kJ/d, 263.67±11.89 kJ/d, 357.23±25.49 kJ/d and 403.12±24.91 kJ/d, respectively, and the nonages were 284.86±17.22 kJ/d, 284. 66±15.16 kJ/d, 402. 26±31.46 kJ/d and 420. 30±31.98 kJ/d, respectively. The minimum metabolic energies were 247.65±21.81 g, 265.86±26.53 g, respectively for each group, detected between 4-year adults and 1-year nonages. Further study is needed to determine whether 29.6 C is the optimal temperature for the Elliot's pheasant.

Validation of the laparoscopically stapled approach as a standard technique for left lateral segment liver resection.

BACKGROUND: Left lateral sectionectomy (LLS) is the most common type of anatomic laparoscopic liver resection performed, accounting for 20 % of all laparoscopic hepatectomies. Because there has been no standardized surgical technique for laparoscopic left lateral sectionectomy (LLLS), we offer an established operation: laparoscopically stapled left lateral sectionectomy (LSLLS). Our aim was to perform a case-controlled study of LSLLS with traditional (without vascular staplers) laparoscopic left lateral sectionectomy (TLLLS), validating the standardization and reproducibility of LSLLS. METHODS: From February 2009 to December 2011, a total of 49 LSLLSs were performed. The results were compared with 33 cohort-matched TLLLSs from an earlier time period. Ordered sample cluster analysis was used to determine the learning curve of LSLLS based on the operating time and blood loss. RESULTS: All LSLLS were performed successfully. There were no conversions to laparotomy or hand-assisted laparoscopic resection. Two endoscopic linear staplers were used in each case. Despite a higher hospital cost ($10,892 ± $944 vs. $8,962 ± $943, p < 0.05), LSLLS compared favorably with TLLLS regarding operating time (103 ± 21 vs. 151 ± 32 min, p < 0.05) and blood loss (70.8 ± 41.6 vs. 173.3 ± 131.1 ml, p < 0.05). No specific complications related to laparoscopy were observed. Ordered sample cluster analysis demonstrated a learning curve of 18 cases for LSLLS. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the standardization and reproducibility of LSLLS. We therefore propose LSLLS as the standard technique for lesions located in the left lateral section of the liver.

China: current trends in pharmaceutical drug discovery.

Pharmaceutical discovery and development is expensive and highly risky, even for multinational corporations. As a developing country with limited financial resources, China has been seeking the most cost-effective means to reach the same level of innovation and productivity as Western countries in the pharmaceutical industry sector. After more than 50 years of building up talent and experience, the time for China to become a powerhouse in pharmaceutical innovation is finally approaching. Returnee scientists to China are one of the reasons for the wave of new discovery and commercialization occurring within the country. The consolidation of local Chinese pharmaceutical companies and foreign investment is also providing an agreeable environment for the evolution of a new generation of biotechnology. The opportunity for pharmaceutical innovation is also being expedited by the entry of multinational companies into the Chinese pharmaceutical market, and by the outsourcing of research from these companies to China.