Fast-track surgery improves postoperative recovery in patients undergoing partial hepatectomy for primary liver cancer: A prospective randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Fast-track surgery (FTS), combining several techniques with evidence-based adjustments, has shown its effectiveness to accelerate recovery, reduce morbidity and shorten hospital stay in many operations. This randomized controlled study was carried out aiming to compare the short-term outcomes of partial hepatectomy for liver cancer managed with FTS or with conventional surgery (CS).

METHODS

To compare the short-term effects between FTS and CS, a randomized controlled trial was carried out for liver cancer patients undergoing partial hepatectomy from September 2010 to June 2012.

RESULTS

Patients with liver cancers before receiving partial hepatectomy were randomized into the FTS group (n = 80) and the CS group (n = 80). Compared with the CS group, the FTS group had significantly less complications (P < 0.05), shorter durations of nausea/vomiting, paralytic ileus and hospital stay, higher general comfort questionnaire measures (GCQ) by Kolcaba Line (all P < 0.05), and lower serum levels of C-reactive protein on postoperative days 1, 3, and 5.

CONCLUSIONS

FTS was safe and efficacious. It lessened postoperative stress reactions and accelerated recovery for patients undergoing partial hepatectomy for liver cancer.

Search for pair production of third-generation leptoquarks and top squarks in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for the pair production of third-generation scalar and vector leptoquarks, as well as for top squarks in R-parity-violating supersymmetric models. In either scenario, the new, heavy particle decays into a τ lepton and a b quark. The search is based on a data sample of pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV, which is collected by the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 fb(-1). The number of observed events is found to be in agreement with the standard model prediction, and exclusion limits on mass parameters are obtained at the 95% confidence level. Vector leptoquarks with masses below 760 GeV are excluded and, if the branching fraction of the scalar leptoquark decay to a τ lepton and a b quark is assumed to be unity, third-generation scalar leptoquarks with masses below 525 GeV are ruled out. Top squarks with masses below 453 GeV are excluded for a typical benchmark scenario, and limits on the coupling between the top squark, τ lepton, and b quark, λ(333)(') are obtained. These results are the most stringent for these scenarios to date.

Measurement of the Υ1S, Υ2S, and Υ3S polarizations in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV

The polarizations of the Υ(1S), Υ(2S), and Υ(3S) mesons are measured in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV, using a data sample of Υ(nS) → μ +μ- decays collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb(-1). The dimuon decay angular distributions are analyzed in three different polarization frames. The polarization parameters λ[symbol see text], λ(φ), and λ([symbol see text]φ), as well as the frame-invariant quantity λ, are presented as a function of the Υ(nS) transverse momentum between 10 and 50 GeV, in the rapidity ranges |y|<0.6 and 0.6<|y|<1.2. No evidence of large transverse or longitudinal polarizations is seen in the explored kinematic region.

Study of the mass and spin-parity of the Higgs boson candidate via its decays to Z boson pairs

A study is presented of the mass and spin-parity of the new boson recently observed at the LHC at a mass near 125 GeV. An integrated luminosity of 17.3 fb(-1), collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, is used. The measured mass in the ZZ channel, where both Z bosons decay to e or μ pairs, is 126.2 ± 0.6(stat) ± 0.2(syst) GeV. The angular distributions of the lepton pairs in this channel are sensitive to the spin-parity of the boson. Under the assumption of spin 0, the present data are consistent with the pure scalar hypothesis, while disfavoring the pure pseudoscalar hypothesis.

Measurement of the sum of WW and WZ production with W+dijet events in pp collisions at [Formula: see text]

A measurement of the inclusive WW+WZ diboson production cross section in proton-proton collisions is reported, based on events containing a leptonically decaying W boson and exactly two jets. The data sample, collected at [Formula: see text] with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb-1. The measured value of the sum of the inclusive WW and WZ cross sections is σ(pp→WW+WZ)=68.9±8.7 (stat.)±9.7 (syst.)±1.5 (lum.) pb, consistent with the standard model prediction of 65.6±2.2 pb. This is the first measurement of WW+WZ production in pp collisions using this signature. No evidence for anomalous triple gauge couplings is found and upper limits are set on their magnitudes.

Measurement of the azimuthal anisotropy of neutral pions in Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt[s](NN)] = 2.76 TeV

First measurements of the azimuthal anisotropy of neutral pions produced in Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt[s(NN)] = 2.76 TeV are presented. The amplitudes of the second Fourier component (v(2)) of the π(0) azimuthal distributions are extracted using an event-plane technique. The values of v(2) are studied as a function of the neutral pion transverse momentum (p(T)) for different classes of collision centrality in the kinematic range 1.6<p(T) <8.0 GeV/c, within the pseudorapidity interval |η|<0.8. The CMS measurements of v(2) (p(T)) are similar to previously reported π(0) azimuthal anisotropy results from sqrt[s(NN)] = 200 GeV Au-Au collisions at RHIC, despite a factor of ∼ 14 increase in the center-of-mass energy. In the momentum range 2.5<p(T)<5.0 GeV/c, the neutral pion anisotropies are found to be smaller than those observed by CMS for inclusive charged particles.

Evidence for associated production of a single top quark and W boson in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 TeV

Evidence is presented for the associated production of a single top quark and W boson in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7  TeV with the CMS experiment at the LHC. The analyzed data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.9  fb(-1). The measurement is performed using events with two leptons and a jet originated from a b quark. A multivariate analysis based on kinematic properties is utilized to separate the tt background from the signal. The observed signal has a significance of 4.0σ and corresponds to a cross section of 16(-4)(+5)  pb, in agreement with the standard model expectation of 15.6±0.4(-1.2)(+1.0)  pb.

Search for heavy neutrinos and W(R) bosons with right-handed couplings in a left-right symmetric model in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for heavy, right-handed muon neutrinos, N(μ), and right-handed W(R) bosons, which arise in the left-right symmetric extensions of the standard model. The analysis is based on a 5.0  fb(-1) sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, collected by the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No evidence is observed for an excess of events over the standard model expectation. For models with exact left-right symmetry, heavy right-handed neutrinos are excluded at 95% confidence level for a range of neutrino masses below the W(R) mass, dependent on the value of M(W(R)). The excluded region in the two-dimensional (M(W(R)), M(N(μ)) mass plane extends to M(W(R))=2.5  TeV.

Study of the Dijet mass spectrum in pp → W+jets events at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV

We report an investigation of the invariant mass spectrum of the two jets with highest transverse momentum in pp → W+2-jet and W+3-jet events to look for resonant enhancement. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb(-1) collected with the CMS detector at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV. We find no evidence for the anomalous structure reported by the CDF Collaboration, and establish an upper limit of 5.0 pb at 95% confidence level on the production cross section for a generic Gaussian signal with mass near 150 GeV. Additionally, we exclude two theoretical models that predict a CDF-like dijet resonance near 150 GeV.

Measurement of the relative prompt production rate of χc2 and χc1 in pp collisions at [Formula: see text]

A measurement is presented of the relative prompt production rate of χc2 and χc1 with 4.6 fb-1 of data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at [Formula: see text]. The two states are measured via their radiative decays χc→J/ψ+γ, with the photon converting into an e+e- pair for J/ψ rapidity |y(J/ψ)|<1.0 and photon transverse momentum pT(γ)>0.5 GeV/c. The measurement is given for six intervals of pT(J/ψ) between 7 and 25 GeV/c. The results are compared to theoretical predictions.

Observation of sequential Υ suppression in PbPb collisions

The suppression of the individual Υ(nS) states in PbPb collisions with respect to their yields in pp data has been measured. The PbPb and pp data sets used in the analysis correspond to integrated luminosities of 150 μb(-1) and 230 nb(-1), respectively, collected in 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC, at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 2.76 TeV. The Υ(nS) yields are measured from the dimuon invariant mass spectra. The suppression of the Υ(nS) yields in PbPb relative to the yields in pp, scaled by the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions, R(AA), is measured as a function of the collision centrality. Integrated over centrality, the R(AA) values are 0.56±0.08(stat)±0.07(syst), 0.12±0.04(stat)±0.02(syst), and lower than 0.10 (at 95% confidence level), for the Υ(1S), Υ(2S), and Υ(3S) states, respectively. The results demonstrate the sequential suppression of the Υ(nS) states in PbPb collisions at LHC energies.

Search for new physics in the multijet and missing transverse momentum final state in proton-proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

A search for physics beyond the standard model is performed in events with at least three jets and large missing transverse momentum produced in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of √s=7 TeV. No significant excess of events above the expected backgrounds is observed in 4.98 fb(-1) of data collected with the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The results are presented in the context of the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model and more generically for simplified models. For the simplified models of gluino-gluino and squark-squark production, gluino masses below 1.0 TeV and squark masses below 0.76 TeV are excluded in case the lightest supersymmetric particle mass is below 200 GeV. These results significantly extend previous searches.

Suppression of hepatocarcinoma model in vitro and in vivo by ECRG2 delivery using adenoviral vector

Hepatocarcinoma represents one of the most malignant cancer types. Esophageal cancer-related gene 2 (ECRG2) is found to be critical in the process of carcinogenesis. It regulates urokinase-type plasmin activator receptor and extracellular matrix function and its polymorphism in exon 4 is associated with cancer relapse. To explore new strategies to fight against cancer, here we first systematically evaluated the therapeutic potential as a biological tool using adenoviral vector (Ad-ECRG2). Ad-ECRG2 is exogenously expressed in cytoplasm and is potent to suppress the growth of cancer cell by inducing apoptosis as effective as Ad-p53. Ad-ECRG2 is able to suppress the invasion and adhesion of cancer cells at low titers. It alters the expression of a panel of cancer-related molecules, including nuclear factor-kB, matrix metalloproteinase 2 and E-cadherin, contributing to reverse malignancy phenotype of cancer cells. In vivo experiments show a significant inhibition of cancer growth by intratumoral Ad-ECRG2 administration. No evident toxicity was observed in the model animal during the study. We concluded that ECRG2 is a potential molecular target in biological therapy strategies for cancer treatment.

Measurement of the pseudorapidity and centrality dependence of the transverse energy density in Pb-Pb collisions at √(s(NN))=2.76 TeV

The transverse energy (E(T)) in Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy (√(s(NN)) has been measured over a broad range of pseudorapidity (η) and collision centrality by using the CMS detector at the LHC. The transverse energy density per unit pseudorapidity (dE(T)/dη) increases faster with collision energy than the charged particle multiplicity. This implies that the mean energy per particle is increasing with collision energy. At all pseudorapidities, the transverse energy per participating nucleon increases with the centrality of the collision. The ratio of transverse energy per unit pseudorapidity in peripheral to central collisions varies significantly as the pseudorapidity increases from η=0 to |η|=5.0. For the 5% most central collisions, the energy density per unit volume is estimated to be about 14 GeV/fm(3) at a time of 1 fm/c after the collision. This is about 100 times larger than normal nuclear matter density and a factor of 2.6 times higher than the energy density reported at √(s(NN))=200 GeV at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.

Search for a W' or techni-ρ decaying into WZ in pp Collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV

A search is performed in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7  TeV for exotic particles decaying via WZ to final states with electrons and muons. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of approximately 5  fb(-1). No significant excess is observed in the data above the expected standard model background. Upper bounds at 95% confidence level are set on the production cross section of the W' boson described by the sequential standard model and on the W' WZ coupling. W' bosons with masses below 1143 GeV are excluded. Limits are also set in the context of low-scale technicolor models, under a range of assumptions concerning the model parameters.

Search for a light pseudoscalar Higgs boson in the dimuon decay channel in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV

The dimuon invariant mass spectrum is searched in the range between 5.5 and 14 GeV for a light pseudoscalar Higgs boson a, predicted in a number of new physics models, including the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model. The data sample used in the search corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.3 fb(-1) collected in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. No excess is observed above the background predictions and upper limits are set on the cross section times branching fraction σ × B(pp→a→μ(+)μ(-)) in the range of 1.5-7.5 pb. These results improve on existing bounds on the abb coupling for m(a) < m(Υ(1S)) and are the first significant limits for m(a) > m(Υ(3S)). Constraints on the supersymmetric parameter space are presented in the context of the next-to-minimal model.