Nutritional Status and Its Association With Radiation-Induced Oral Mucositis in Patients With Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma During Radiotherapy: A Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Malnutrition is a concern in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) during chemoradiotherapy (CRT)/radiotherapy (RT), which is considered to be related with radiation-induced oral mucositis (ROM). The study aimed to evaluate the nutritional status of NPC patients during RT and investigate its association with ROM. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted in NPC patients. Patients were divided into three subgroups (mild, moderate, and severe groups) based on the duration of severe ROM (≥ grade 3). Body weight, body mass index (BMI), albumin, prealbumin, NRS2002, and ROM grade were assessed on a weekly basis before and during CRT/RT. The statistical analysis was performed in the overall group and between three subgroups. RESULTS: A total of 176 patients were included. In the overall group, body weight and BMI kept decreasing since week 1 of RT, and NRS2002 score and ROM grade increased (p < 0.001). NRS2002 score and prealbumin levels were significantly different between each subgroup (p ≤ 0.046). Significant differences were observed in the proportion of patients receiving enteral nutrition, duration of parenteral nutrition, and total calories provided by nutritional support among three subgroups (p = 0.045-0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Malnutrition occurred early in NPC patients and worsened continuously during RT. ROM was strongly associated with nutritional status. Nutritional support should be provided at the start of RT, especially in patients at high-risk of severe ROM.

The effectiveness of probiotics in prevention and treatment of cancer therapy-induced oral mucositis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Oral mucositis (OM) is a common and troublesome adverse side effect of many cancer therapy modalities (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and chemo-radiotherapy), which can cause pain, ulceration, dysphagia, malnutrition, even treatment interruption. Probiotics may be effective in preventing and treating of cancer therapy-induced OM. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of probiotics in prevention and treatment of cancer therapy-induced OM. Four databases and one trial registry were searched as of the 12th of May 2019 to identify all eligible randomized controlled trials (RCT). Five studies involving 435 patients were included in this study. Methodological quality and outcomes were evaluated in every study included. Pooled results showed a moderate heterogeneity (P = 0.15, I2 = 44%). The pooled RRs indicated that the use of probiotics decreased the risk of OM for grade ≥3 (RR = 0.66, 95%CI = 0.54-0.81, P < 0.0001) as well as all grades (RR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.72-0.97, P = 0.02). There was no significant difference between probiotics and placebo for cancer therapy completion rate (RR = 1.14, 95%CI = 0.65-2.00, P = 0.64). The subgroup analysis indicated that the use of probiotics was not statistically significant for patients receiving chemo-radiotherapy (RR = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.26-1.04, P = 0.07). In conclusion, probiotics may reduce the incidence and mitigate the severity of cancer therapy-induced OM. Further trials with a randomized, double-blind and multicentric study design are needed to confirm this effect. The PROSPERO registration number of this systematic review and meta-analysis is CRD42019130414.

Effects of pH and gallic acid on the adsorption of two ionizable organic contaminants to rice straw-derived biochar-amended soils.

The existing form of ionizable organic contaminants (IOCs) could affect their adsorption characteristics to soil and biochar. In this study, 2 IOCs, namely, sulfadiazine and imazalil, were selected to study their adsorption by rice straw-derived biochar-amended soils, as well as the effect of pH and gallic acid on their adsorption. The results showed that the soil adsorption isotherms of the two ionizable organic contaminants could be fitted well by a linear equation and the Freundlich equation, and r2 was more than 0.80. The adsorption coefficient (Kd) in the three kinds of soil ranged from 0.262 to 4.07 L kg-1 for sulfadiazine and from 3.11 to 96.5 L kg-1 for imazalil. After the addition of biochar, the adsorption of sulfadiazine and imazalil in the soil increased. The adsorption of sulfadiazine by biochar gradually decreased with the increase in pH; the adsorption of imazalil increased when the pH increased from 2 to 5 and then gradually decreased with increasing pH. Gallic acid enhanced the adsorption of the two IOCs to pure soil and biochar-amended soil.

Effect of viscosity on pseudo-Scholte wave propagation at liquid/porous medium interface.

A theory of pseudo-Scholte wave propagating in a saturated porous medium loaded on its interface by a viscous compressible liquid is described. The porous medium is simulated by the Biot theory with high-frequency correction, and the overlying liquid is simulated by the linearized Navier-Stokes equation. An analytical expression for the complex dispersion equation of pseudo-Scholte wave through boundary conditions is established. Then the Riemann sheets related to body waves are discussed and the real and imaginary parts of the complex dispersion equation are separated and solved numerically. The resulting phase velocity, attenuation, as well as displacement and pressure fields are analyzed and comparisons are drawn with the non-viscous model. Finally, a set of parametric analyses is carried out to describe the effects of the phase velocity ratios of the S-wave in the porous medium to Ls-mode in overlying liquid on phase velocity and attenuation of the pseudo-Scholte waves.

Effects of hepatic blood inflow on liver ultrastructure and regeneration after extensive liver resection in rats with cirrhosis.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of hepatic blood inflow on liver function, liver ultrastructure and the regeneration of future liver remnant (FLR) following major hepatectomy in rats with liver cirrhosis. A rat model of cirrhosis was established through intraperitoneal injection of carbon tetrachloride for 8 consecutive weeks. Extensive liver resection and different blood inflow models by portal vein (PV) and/or hepatic artery (HA) stenosis were conducted on the cirrhosis rats. Animal models were constructed as follows: Control (group A), low-flow PV + high-flow HA (group B), low-flow PV + low-flow HA (group C), high-flow PV + high-flow HA (group D) and high-flow PV + low-flow HA (group E). Hepatic blood inflow was detected by laser speckle contrast analysis, liver function and pathological changes were analyzed, Masson staining was used to identify the fibrosis of the liver and Periodic acid-Schiff staining was used to identify glycogen synthesis and hepatocyte function. The liver cell ultrastructure was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy, and the expression of Ki-67 in hepatocytes and the weight of the FLR were recorded to determine the regeneration of the FLR. Five days after major hepatectomy and liver blood inflow modulation, pathological examination of the livers from groups B and C revealed less congestion and less extensive hepatocellular injury. The serum alanine aminotransferase level of group B at 1, 3 and 5 days after hepatectomy and blood inflow modulation was 460.9±31.7, 331.0±22.0 and 285.6±15.8 U/l, respectively (control group: 676.9±41.7, 574.9±28.0 and 436.1±32.7 U/l, respectively; P<0.05); the total bilirubin of group B at 1, 3 and 5 days was 20.4±1.5, 16.1±1.0 and 13.5±0.6 µmol/l, respectively (control group: 30.3±1.4, 26.5±0.8 and 22.1±1.2 µmol/l, respectively; P<0.05). The size of the endoplasmic reticulum in the low-flow PV groups increased significantly and the mitochondrial swelling was alleviated. The positive rate of Ki-67 in the hepatocytes of groups B, C and D was 23.9±3.6, 15.7±2.3 and 12.9±2.4%, respectively (control group: 10.1±2.1%, P<0.05), and the positive rate of Ki-67 in group E was 6.1±1.4% (compared with that of the control group, P<0.05). The remnant liver weight of group B was 15.4±1.0 g (compared with that of the control group, P<0.05). Therefore, decreased portal blood flow combined with increased hepatic arterial blood flow alleviated the congestion in the liver following major hepatectomy in cirrhotic rats, improved the pathological status and liver function, increased the expression of Ki-67 and promoted liver regeneration.

The significance of prophylactic transarterial chemoembolization after radical resection of small hepatocellular carcinoma: A retrospective analysis.

PURPOSE: To clarify the necessity of prophylactic transarterial chemoembolization (pTACE) after radical resection for small hepatocellular carcinoma (sHCC) (<3.0 cm) and identify prognostic determinants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive 161 patients with sHCC in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital from May 2009 to May 2014 were retrospectively studied. In these patients, 87 patients only received radical resection alone (control group), while other 74 patients received pTACE after radical resection (pTACE group). The overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier method and the related factors on OS and RFS were analyzed by Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: The median OS for all patients was 33.6 months. The median OS in the pTACE and control group was 34.1 and 33.4 months, respectively (P = 0.508). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 91.9%, 73.4%, and 42.7% in the pTACE group and 93.1%, 77.9%, and 51.4% in the control group, respectively. The median RFS in pTACE and control group was 21.6 and 31.3 months (P = 0.002), respectively. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year RFS rate in pTACE group and control group was 81.0%, 47.4%, and 27.6% and 86.9%, 71.7%, and 49.9%, respectively. Preoperative gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) serum level ≥60 U/L (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.603, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.506-4.501, P = 0.001) and recurrence (HR = 6.034, 95% CI = 2.931-12.421, P = 0.003) were independent prognostic determinants associated with poor prognosis in multivariate analysis. Resection followed by pTACE (HR = 2.046, 95% CI = 1.262-3.319, P = 0.004) and preoperative GGT serum level ≥60 U/L (HR = 1.864, 95% CI = 1.152-3.017, P = 0.011) were independent prognostic factors associated with higher rate of recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Instead of improving the survival time, postoperative pTACE increased the rate of recurrence in sHCC patients. Preoperative GGT serum level ≥60 U/L and recurrence were independent prognostic determinants associated with poor prognosis.

Reduced sulfentrazone phytotoxicity through increased adsorption and anionic species in biochar-amended soils.

Burning straw in the field is a common agricultural practice. The effects of adding biochar derived from rice straw to soils on the phytotoxicity of sulfentrazone to Oryza sativa L. were observed. Overall, when 1 % biochar was added to three different soils, the phytotoxicity of sulfentrazone to O. sativa L. decreased, and the concentration that inhibits growth by 50 % (IC50) increased by 1.4 to 7.6 times. To illuminate the influencing mechanisms, the changes in sulfentrazone adsorption to the soil, the soil pH, and the bioavailable sulfentrazone extracted from the soil solution using hollow fiber-based liquid-phase microextraction were studied. The Freundlich constant (K f ) of sulfentrazone to the soil increased 1.5 to 25 times relative to the K f in the three unamended soils, and the soil pH increased by 0.36 to 1.36 units resulted in a fraction of dissociated sulfentrazone increased by 10.2-17.4 %. In addition, the average concentrations of sulfentrazone in the three unamended soil solutions were 1.3-6.1 times relative to those in the three biochar-amended soil solutions. These results suggest that the sulfentrazone adsorption and soil pH increased when soils were amended with biochar, which decreased the bioavailable concentrations and reduced its phytotoxicity to O. sativa L.

[Radiotherapy Techniques and Radiation Pneumonitis: A Lot To A Little Or A Little To A Lot?].

Radiotherapy is one of the main treatment for patients with lung cancer. Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) are widely used to deliver radiation. Here, we focus on the correlations between dose distribution in lung and radiation pneumonitis according to the analysis about radiotherapy for lung cancer: A lot to a little or a little to a lot, which is the main cause of radiation pneumonitis?

[Glyoxylate cycle is required for the overproduction of glutamate but is not essential for Corynebacterium glutamicum growth on glucose].

The glyoxylate cycle was hypothesed to be indispensable for glutamate overproduction in coryneform bacteria, for it was thought to fulfill anaplerotic functions and to supply energy during the growth phase. During glutamate overproduction phase, however, it has been noted that the high level of the cycle is detrimental to the glutamate production. In order to clarify the relationship between the glutamate production and the glyoxylate cycle, a chromosomal aceA-disrupted mutant of wild-type C. glutamicum ATCC 13032 was constructed. The isocitrate lyase (ICL) activity of the parental strain was 0.011 u/mg of protein and reached 1.980 u/mg of protein after acetate induction; the mutant strain WTdeltaA, however, had no detectable ICL activity and was no longer able to grow on minimal medium with acetate as the sole carbon source. Compared with the wild-type C. glutamicum WT, the mutant strain WTdeltaA, exhibited the same growth rate with glucose as the sole carbon source, indicating glyoxylate cycle is not required for its growth on glucose. On the contrary, the glutamate production in WTdeltaA was severely impaired and more residual glucose was found in the fermentation broth at the end of fermentation with the mutant strain than with the wild-type strain. Further investigations into the relationship between the glutamate production and the glyoxylate cycle are under the way, which may help to elucidate the mechanism of glutamate overproduction.