Pre-Chemoradiotherapy FDG PET/CT cannot Identify Residual Metabolically-Active Volumes within Individual Esophageal Tumors

Objective

To study whether subvolumes with a high pre-chemoradiotherapy (CRT) FDG uptake could identify residual metabolically-active volumes (MAVs) post-CRT within individual esophageal tumors. Accurate identification will allow simultaneous integrated boost to these subvolumes at higher risk to improve clinical outcomes.

Methods

Twenty patients with esophageal cancer were treated with CRT plus surgery and underwent FDG PET/CT scans before and after CRT. The two scans were rigidly registered. Seven MAVs pre-CRT and four MAVs post-CRT within a tumor were defined with various SUV thresholds. The similarity and proximity between the MAVs pre-CRT and post-CRT were quantified with three metrics: fraction of post-CRT MAV included in pre-CRT MAV, volume overlap and centroid distance.

Results

Eight patients had no residual MAV. Six patients had local residual MAV (SUV ≥2.5 post-CRT) within or adjoining the original MAV (SUV ≥2.5 pre-CRT). On average, less than 65% of any post-CRT MAVs was included in any pre-CRT MAVs, with a low volume overlap <45%, and large centroid distance >8.6 mm. In general, subvolumes with higher FDG-uptake pre-CRT or post-CRT had lower volume overlap and larger centroid distance. Six patients had new distant MAVs that were determined to be inflammation from radiation therapy.

Conclusions

Pre-CRT PET/CT cannot reliably identify the residual MAVs within individual esophageal tumors. Simultaneous integrated boost to subvolumes with high FDG uptake pre-CRT may not be feasible.

First Report of Bean common mosaic virus in Cudrania tricuspidata in Korea

Cudrania tricuspidata (Moraceae) is a deciduous tree widely distributed in East Asia, including China, Korea, and Japan. It produces delicious fruit, and its cortex and root bark have been used as a traditional medicine to treat neuritis and inflammation. As C. tricuspidata has become known as a functional food, its cultivation area and production gradually have increased in Korea. However, information of viral disease in C. tricuspidata is very limited. In September 2012, open-field-grown C. tricuspidata trees showing virus-like symptoms of mosaic, yellowing, and distortion on the leaves were found in Naju, Korea. The fruit production in the diseased trees decreased to 20 to 40% of that in healthy trees. To identify causal agent(s), total RNA was isolated from the symptomatic leaves and used to generate a transcriptome library using the TruSeq Stranded Total RNA with Ribo-Zero Plant kit (Illumina, San Diego, CA) according to the manufacturer's instruction. The transcriptome library was analyzed by next-generation sequencing (NGS) using an Illumina HiSeq2000 sequencer. NGS reads were quality filtered and de novo assembled by the Trinity pipeline, and the assembled contigs were analyzed against the viral reference genome database in Genbank by BLASTn and BLASTx searches (3). The entire NGS procedure was perofrmed by Macrogen Inc. (Seoul, South Korea). Among the analyzed contigs, one large contig (10,043 bp) was of viral origin. Nucleotide blast searches showed that the contig has a maximum identity of 89% (with 100% coverage) to the isolate MS1 (Genbank Accession No. EU761198) of Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV), which was isolated from Macroptilium atropurpureum in Australia. The presence of BCMV was confirmed by a commercially available double-antibody sandwich (DAS)-ELISA kit (Agdia, Elkhart, IN). To confirm the BCMV sequence obtained by NGS, two large fragments covering the entire BCMV genome were amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using two sets of specific primers (5'-AAAATAAAACAACTCATAAAGACAAC-3' and 5'-AGACTGTGTCCCAGAGCATTTC-3' to amplify the 5' half of the BCMV genome; 5'-GCATCCTGAGATTCACAGAATTC-3' and 5'-GGAACAACAAACATTGCCGTAG-3' to amplify the 3' half of the BCMV genome) and sequenced. To obtain the complete genome sequence, the 5' and 3' terminal sequences were analyzed by the 5' and 3' rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) method as described previously (1). The assembled full-length sequence of BCMV isolated from C. tricuspidata was 10,051 nucleotides in length without a poly(A) tail. It was deposited in Genbank under the accession number KM076650. BCMV, a member of the genus Potyvirus, is one of the most common viruses naturally infecting legumes, including Phaseolus vulgaris (2). In general, BCMV is known to have a restricted host range outside legume species (2). Therefore, the identification of BCMV from C. tricuspidata in this report is very exceptional. Because BCMV is easily transmitted by various aphids like other potyviruses, a large-scale survey may be required for exact investigation of the BCMV incidence in C. tricuspidata to prevent rapid spread of the virus. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of BCMV in C. tricuspidata. References: (1) H.-R. Kwak et al. Plant Pathol. J. 29:274, 2013. (2) M. Saiz et al. Virus Res. 31:39, 1994. (3) S.-E. Schelhorn et al. PLoS Comput. Biol. 9:e1003228, 2013.

Silver catalyzed gallium phosphide nanowires integrated on silicon and in situ Ag-alloying induced bandgap transition

In this work, we demonstrate a silver catalyzed heteroepitaxial growth of gallium phosphide nanowires (GaP NWs) on silicon. The morphology and growth direction of GaP NWs on differently orientated Si substrates were investigated. From crystallographic analysis, we inferred that Ag from catalyst is incorporated into the GaP during the chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) process. Using the PL spectrum and time-resolved emission spectroscopy, the optical properties of Ag-catalyzed GaP NWs were greatly modified, with bandgap transitions in the blue range. The Raman characterizations further confirmed the Ag incorporation into GaP during the growth. From the bandgap calculations, it was deduced that Ag was substituted on the Ga site with bandgap broadening. The in situ Ag-alloying during the growth of Ag-catalyzed GaP NWs greatly modified the band structure of GaP, and could lead to further applications in optoelectronics for low-dimensional GaP-based nanomaterials.

The prognostic value of pretreatment of systemic inflammatory responses in patients with urothelial carcinoma undergoing radical cystectomy

Background:

Systemic inflammatory response (SIR) is important in the relationship between the tumour, the host, and outcome in cancer patients. However, limited data exist regarding the prognostic significance of SIR in bladder cancer. We investigate the utility of pretreatment SIR in patients with urothelial carcinoma undergoing radical cystectomy.

Methods:

The study cohort consisted of 419 patients with a median follow-up of 37.7 months. The SIRs used for each described prognostic nomogram are consistent with previously published data: C-reactive protein, albumin, white cell count, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, and platelet count. Primary end point was disease-specific survival (DSS) and overall survival (OS) after surgery. Cox regression models were used to determine the time to disease-specific and overall mortality. Multivariate regression coefficients of the predictors were used to develop nomograms for predicting 5-year DSS and OS probability.

Results:

Multivariate Cox regression analyses revealed that albumin, lymphocyte count, and platelet count were significantly associated with a significantly increased risk for death from bladder cancer. The nomograms including each index were developed to predict the probability of 5-year DSS and OS after radical cystectomy. The C statistics were 77.8% and 77.3%, respectively, and exceeded the 2002 AJCC (72.0% and 70.3%, respectively). In the decision curve analyses, the nomograms including SIR demonstrated higher net benefit gains compared with the models without SIR.

Conclusions:

Cellular components of SIR have better prognostic values compared with acute-phase protein in patients undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer.

Simultaneous reduction and nitrogen doping of graphite oxide by using electron beam irradiation

Nitrogen-doped graphenes were successfully obtained by electron beam irradiation from graphite oxide colloid solution in the presence of aqueous ammonia at room temperature under ambient conditions.

Dietary supplement use and its effect on nutrient intake in Korean adult population in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey IV (2007-2009) data

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Although there is an increasing trend of dietary supplement (DS) use, few researches have evaluated nutrient intake from DS. This study aimed to establish a nutrient database (NDB) for DS and estimate the effect of DS on total nutrient intake by Korean adults.

SUBJECTS/METHODS

The NDB for DS was established using the label information of products reported in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) IV. Of the 16,031 participants who were ≥20 years old, 2053 products were reported as being taken by 5606 subjects. But nutrient composition could be identified by searching product name only in 1158 products consumed by 3844 subjects (DS users). Total nutrient intake of DS users was obtained by combining intakes from diet and DS.

RESULTS

Dietary supplement use was higher in women, in middle-aged people and in those with higher education and low smoking and drinking preferences. Nutrients obtained from food were higher in DS users than in nonusers for most nutrients, particularly in women. When total nutrient intake was evaluated in DS users, the percentage of subjects whose intake was below the estimated average requirement for Koreans decreased for several vitamins and minerals, but the percentage of subjects whose intake was above the tolerable upper intake levels increased for vitamin A, vitamin C and iron.

CONCLUSIONS

The newly developed NDB for DS will be an important resource for more accurate assessment of nutrient intake as well as evaluation of the relationship between nutrition and health. Further research is needed to update a more comprehensive NDB applicable to diverse populations.

Epidemiology of egg drop syndrome virus in ducks from South Korea

Egg drop syndrome virus (EDSV) is an important pathogen of poultry that decreases egg production in chickens and causes respiratory disease in goslings. In 2011, we obtained serum samples from 139 domestic Pekin ducks, 416 one-day-old Pekin ducklings, and 75 wild ducks (67 mallards and 8 pintails) to survey their exposure to EDSV. A total of 123 of 139 sera (88.5%) from Pekin ducks, 396 of the ducklings (95.2%), and 16 of 67 mallards (23.9%) were positive. Field cases of EDSV in wild and domestic ducks were investigated. Six cases from domestic Pekin ducks were identified by PCR detection and were used for virus isolation and molecular analysis. Phylogenetic analyses of the partial hexon and full fiber genes showed that the D11-JW-012 and D11-JW-017 strains among 6 isolates belonged to different clusters compared with other known strains including the 127 strain. We assessed cell growth efficiency by hemagglutination (HA) titers and cytopathic effects in duck embryo liver cells and chicken embryo liver (CEL) cells to investigate host adaptation. The D11-JW-017 strain propagated more in chicken embryo liver than the D11-JW-012 strain and the field isolate from chickens. Our results demonstrate the high prevalence of EDSV in wild and domestic ducks in South Korea and provide information on EDSV from ducks that showed variable adaptability in chickens.

Association between lncrna PCGEM1 polymorphisms and prostate cancer risk

BACKGROUND

Prostate cancer (PCa) gene expression marker 1 (PCGEM1), a long noncoding RNA, has drawn increasing attention for its important role in PCa. However, the association between genetic variations in the PCGEM1 gene and risk of PCa has not been investigated yet.

METHODS

We investigated the effect of two tagging single-nucleotide polymorphism (tSNPs; rs6434568 and rs16834898) in PCGEM1 gene on PCa risk in the Chinese men. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the association.

RESULTS

We found a significantly decreased risk of PCa for rs6434568 AC and AC/AA genotype (adjusted OR=0.76, 95% CI=0.60-0.97 for AC; adjusted OR=0.76, 95% CI=0.61-0.96 for AC/AA), as well as rs16834898 AC and AC/CC genotype (adjusted OR=0.76, 95% CI=0.59-0.97 for AC; adjusted OR=0.79, 95% CI=0.62-0.99 for AC/CC), compared with the CC and AA genotypes, respectively. When we evaluated these two tSNPs together based on the risk alleles (that is, rs6434568 C and rs16834898 A), we found that the combined genotypes with four risk alleles were associated with an increased risk of PCa compared with those carrying 0-3 risk alleles (1.53, 1.19-1.97), and this increased risk was more pronounced among subjects of≤70 years (1.80, 1.24-2.62), Gleason score≥7 (1.68, 1.28-2.22) and PSA level≥20 (1.64, 1.24-2.18).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicated that PCGEM1 polymorphisms may contribute to PCa risk in Chinese men. Additional functional analyses are required to detect the detailed mechanism underlying the observed association.

Efficacy and safety of glimepiride/metformin sustained release once daily vs. glimepiride/metformin twice daily in patients with type 2 diabetes

AIMS

The study investigated the clinical equivalence in reducing haemoglobin A1c (A1C) between glimepiride/metformin sustained release (GM-SR) 2/500 mg, a fixed-dose combination, once daily and glimepiride/metformin (GM) 1/250 mg, a fixed-dose combination, twice daily in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

METHODS

A multicentre, randomised, double-blind, double-dummy study was conducted in 14 hospitals in Korea. Inclusion criteria were age 30-75 years, T2D diagnosis no longer than 10 years previously, A1C between 7% and 10%, and body mass index <40 kg/m(2) . A total of 207 subjects were randomised into the GM-SR group (n=101) or the GM group (n=106). Participants were assessed at baseline, 8 weeks and 16 weeks after treatment.

RESULTS

After 16 weeks treatment, no difference in baseline-adjusted changes of A1C (primary efficacy variable) was observed between the two groups (-0.59% for GM-SR group vs. -0.61% for GM group, 95% CI: -0.17 to 0.21; p=0.84). In addition, there were no significant differences in secondary efficacy parameters between the two groups, including changes in A1C up to week 8, changes in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 2-h-postprandial plasma glucose up to week 8 and week 16, response rate, drug compliance and hypoglycaemic events. However, there was a difference in baseline-adjusted changes of FPG between the two groups (-1.01 mmol/l for GM-SR group vs. -1.52 mmol/l for GM group, p=0.01 in the intention to treat set).

CONCLUSIONS

GM-SR 2/500 mg once daily was as effective as GM 1/250 mg twice daily in lowering A1C. In addition, no difference was noted in hypoglycaemic events between the two groups.