Adjuvant treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma after orthotopic liver transplantation: do we really need this?

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) continues to rise and is still a major cause of mortality. Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) continues to give patients the best chance for cure, but recurrence of the disease remains a problem. Even with the implementation of the Milan criteria, recurrence rates have been shown to be 8-15% in most studies and even higher in patients who are beyond the Milan criteria. Therefore, several investigators have looked into the value of adjuvant therapy using systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy in HCC after OLT. Unfortunately, most of the trials are very small, and the results have been disappointing. But trials using Licartin seem to be promising, and other drugs such as FOLFOX and sorafenib warrant further investigation based on their efficacy in the advanced disease. In this review, we will review the current data on efficacy and rationale of adjuvant treatment for HCC after OLT including novel biomarkers.

Chiral self-assembly of designed amphiphiles: optimization for nanotube formation

Four amphiphiles with L-aspartic acid headgroups (Asp) and a diphenyldiazenyl group (Azo) contained within the hydrophobic tails were designed and synthesized for self-assembly into helically based nanotubes. The amphiphiles of the form R'-{4-[(4-alkylphenyl)diazenyl]phenoxy}alkanoyl-L-aspartic acid (where R' is 10 or 11) varied only in alkyl chain lengths either side of the azo group, having 4, 7, or 10 carbon distal chains and 10 or 11 carbon proximal chains (R-Azo-R'-Asp, where R denotes the number of carbons in the distal chain and R' denotes the number of carbons in the proximal chain). Despite the molecular similarities, distinct differences were identified in the chiral order of the structures self-assembled from hot methanolic aqueous solutions using microscopy and spectroscopic analyses. This was reflected in dominant thermodynamic aggregate morphologies that ranged from amorphous material for 10-Azo-10-Asp, through twisted ribbons (196 ± 49 nm pitch) for 7-Azo-11-Asp, to the desired helically based nanotubes for 4- and 7-Azo-10-Asp (81 ± 11 and 76 ± 6 nm diameters, respectively). Another key variable in the self-assembly of the amphiphiles was the use of a second method to precipitate aggregates from solution at room temperature. This method enabled the isolation of thermodynamically unstable and key transitional structures. Helical ribbons were precursor structures to the nanotubes formed from 4- and 7-Azo-10-Asp as well as the wide, flattened nanotube structures (587 ± 85 nm width) found for 4-Azo-10-Asp. Overall, the results highlighted the interplay of influence of the headgroup and the hydrophobic tail on self-assembly, providing a basis for future rational design of self-assembling amphiphiles.

Asymmetrically tilted alignment of rigid-rod helical polysilanes on a rubbed polyimide surface

The homogeneous alignments of helical rod-like polysilanes on a rubbed polyimide alignment layer were investigated by polarized optical microscopy (POM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses. The POM and AFM observations determined that polysilanes with a series of aliphatic side chains helically arranged around the main chains were tilted to the right and left by 33° from the rubbing direction when the handedness of the side-chain helical array is left and right, respectively. It is interesting to note that the side-chain arrays run perpendicular to the rubbing direction on the polyimide surface, which is different from intuitive "knob and hole" packing of the extended polyimide chain and the helical grooves between the side-chain arrays surrounding the polysilane backbone. More surprisingly, both right- and left-tilting smectic domains were simultaneously observed with an equal probability for an achiral polysilane, which apparently has the interconverting right- and left-handed helical segments separated by helical reversals. This might be the first observation of the chiral segregation of dynamic helical polymers.

Chiroptical generation and inversion during the mirror-symmetry-breaking aggregation of dialkylpolysilanes due to limonene chirality

We observed the emergence and inversion of chiroptical handedness in three chiroptically silent dialkylpolysilanes during aggregation in limonene-methanol-THF tersolvents.

A chiral π-stacked vinyl polymer emitting white circularly polarized light

An optically active, π-stacked poly[2,7-bis(4-tert-butylphenyl)dibenzofulvene] having a preferred-handed helical conformation was synthesized by anionic polymerization. A thin film sample of the polymer exhibited broad-band white circularly polarized light (CPL) emission on photo excitation.

Preparation of Ti/B Binary Oxides by Sol-Gel Method and Their Photocatalytic Activity for Stoichiometric H2O Decomposition

A titanium-boron binary oxide has been prepared by the sol-gel method and characterized using SEM, TEM, UV-VIS reflectance, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopies. These measurements indicated that the obtained Ti/B gel with no treatment exhibited an amorphous structure. After calcination in O2, the crystalline structure of titanium oxide species in the Ti/B binary oxide was changed while boron oxide species maintained in the state of amorphous. Titanium oxide species in the Ti/B binary oxide calcined at 673 K showed an anatase phase of TiO2, and changed with the calcination temperatures from anatase phase to rutile phase. The Pt loaded Ti/B photocatalysts in aqueous suspension system decomposed water stoichiometrically under UV-irradiation. Their photocatalytic activities decreased with increasing the calcination temperature, indicating the photocatalytic activities of the Ti/B binary oxides were depended on the crystal phase of titanium oxide in the Ti/B photocatalysts.

Rational concept to recognize/extract single-walled carbon nanotubes with a specific chirality

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have remarkable and unique electronic, mechanical, and thermal properties, which are closely related to their chiralities; thus, the chirality-selective recognition/extraction of the SWNTs is one of the central issues in nanotube science. However, any rational materials design enabling one to efficiently extract/solubilize pure SWNT with a desired chirality has yet not been demonstrated. Herein we report that certain chiral polyfluorene copolymers can well-recognize SWNTs with a certain chirality preferentially, leading to solubilization of specific chiral SWNTs. The chiral copolymers were prepared by the Ni(0)-catalyzed Yamamoto coupling reaction of 2,7-dibromo-9,9-di-n-decylfluorene and 2,7-dibromo-9,9-bis[(S)-(+)-2-methylbutyl]fluorene comonomers. The selectivity of the SWNT chirality was mainly determined by the relative fraction of the achiral and chiral side groups. By a molecular mechanics simulation, the cooperative interaction between the fluorene moiety, alkyl side chain, and graphene wall were responsible for the recognition/dissolution ability of SWNT chirality. This is a first example describing the rational design and synthesis of novel fluorene-based copolymers toward the recognition/extraction of targeted (n, m) chirality of the SWNTs.

Use of tissue plasminogen activator in liver transplantation from donation after cardiac death donors

Ischemic-type biliary stricture (ITBS) occurs in up to 50% after liver transplantation (LT) from donation after cardiac death (DCD) donors. Thrombus formation in the peribiliary microcirculation is a postulated mechanism. The aim was to describe our experience of tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) administration in DCD-LT. TPA was injected into the donor hepatic artery on the backtable (n = 22). Two recipients developed ITBS including one graft failure. Although excessive postreperfusion bleeding was seen in 14 recipients, the amount of TPA was comparable between those with and without excessive bleeding (6.4 ± 2.8 vs. 6.6 ± 2.8 mg, p = 0.78). However, donor age (41 ± 12 vs. 29 ± 9 years, p = 0.02), donor BMI (26.3 ± 5.5 vs. 21.7 ± 3.6 kg/m(2) , p = 0.03), previous laparotomy (50% vs. 0%, p = 0.02) and lactate after portal reperfusion (6.3 ± 4.6 vs. 2.8 ± 0.9 mmol/L, p = 0.005) were significantly greater in recipients with excessive bleeding. In conclusion, the use of TPA may lower the risk of ITBS-related graft failure in DCD-LT. Excessive bleeding may be related to poor graft quality and previous laparotomy rather than the amount of TPA. Further studies are needed in larger population.

Matrix metalloprotease-9 activity in the cerebrospinal fluid and spinal injury severity in dogs with intervertebral disc herniation

We investigated whether matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 expression in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of dogs with intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH) is associated with the severity of neurological signs and prognosis. CSF from the cisterna magna (C-CSF) and the lumbar spine (L-CSF) of 34 dogs with IVDH was analyzed using zymography. Activity of MMP-9 in L-CSF was detected in 6 of 34 dogs with IVDH, often for more than 7 days after injury. MMP-9 activity was not detected from any of the C-CSF samples. Of the six cases that were MMP-9 positive, all four cases with grade V that had loss of deep pain were non-ambulatory 6 months after treatment. The remaining two cases with grade III and IV could recover mobility. In dogs with grade V thoracolumbar IVDH, MMP-9 expression in the CSF may indicate severe spinal cord injury with poor prognosis.

Ambidextrous circular dichroism and circularly polarised luminescence from poly(9,9-di-n-decylfluorene) by terpene chirality transfer

Solvent chirality transfer using enantiomeric pairs of limonene and α-pinene allowed for the successful production of ambidextrous CD-/CPL-active polyfluorene aggregates from achiral polyfluorenes at 25 °C in a few minutes.