Nanostructured materials for water desalination

Desalination of seawater and brackish water is becoming an increasingly important means to address the scarcity of fresh water resources in the world. Decreasing the energy requirements and infrastructure costs of existing desalination technologies remains a challenge. By enabling the manipulation of matter and control of transport at nanometer length scales, the emergence of nanotechnology offers new opportunities to advance water desalination technologies. This review focuses on nanostructured materials that are directly involved in the separation of water from salt as opposed to mitigating issues such as fouling. We discuss separation mechanisms and novel transport phenomena in materials including zeolites, carbon nanotubes, and graphene with potential applications to reverse osmosis, capacitive deionization, and multi-stage flash, among others. Such nanostructured materials can potentially enable the development of next-generation desalination systems with increased efficiency and capacity.

Notl-Msell methylation-sensitive amplied fragment length polymorhism for DNA methylation analysis of human cancers

We have applied a methylation-sensitive restriction endonuclease, NotI, to the existing amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) method and developed NotI-MseI methylation-sensitive-AFLP (MS-AFLP). NotI-MseI MS-AFLP allows the analysis of DNA methylation alterations at the NotI sites scattered over the genome. Hypermethylation and hypomethylation are visualized by the decrease and increase in the band intensity of DNA fingerprints. Identification of consistent changes can be facilitated through parallel electrophoresis of multiple samples. DNA fragments exhibiting alterations can be cloned from fingerprint bands by amplification of gel-eluted DNA with the same pair of primers used for radioactive fingerprint presentation. Fluorescent NotI-MseI MS-AFLP offers a safer method of studying the alterations in DNA methylation, and may be applied to the hybridization of DNA microarrays in the future. Using NotI-MseI MS-AFLP, we observed frequent hypomethylation of a satellite DNA repeat sequence in a majority of breast tumors.

Prognostic Significance of the C-Reactive Protein-to-Albumin Ratio in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treated With Trifluridine/Thymidine Phosphorylase Inhibitor as Later-line Chemotherapy

BACKGROUND/AIM

New drugs for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) have been recently developed for use in later-line chemotherapy and have contributed to further prolongation of the survival of patients. However, in later-line chemotherapy, treatment failure may lead to discontinuation of chemotherapy and the transition to best supportive care. Therefore, a biomarker able to predict the effects of later-line chemotherapy is required. The C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR), which is an inflammatory marker, has been reported to correlate with therapeutic outcome in patients with mCRC who underwent first-line chemotherapy. However, the significance of the CAR as a marker for predicting the chemotherapeutic outcome in patients with mCRC treated with later-line chemotherapy is unknown.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 40 patients with mCRC who were treated with trifluridine/thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor (FTD/TPI) as a later-line chemotherapy. The CAR was calculated from the blood samples obtained within 1 week before the initiation of FTD/TPI by dividing the serum C-reactive protein level by the serum albumin level.

RESULTS

According to the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, we set 0.122 as the CAR cut-off, and patients were classified into groups with high or low CAR. The low-CAR group had a significantly higher disease control rate than the high-CAR group. The progression-free and overall survival rates were significantly better in the low-CAR group than in the high-CAR group. A high-CAR was associated with a greater number of prior regimens, higher serum lactate dehydrogenase level and more organs with metastases, considered to be correlated with the rate of disease progression. However, no significant differences were observed in the incidence of grade 3 or more adverse events, the relative dose intensity, or the rate of discontinuing chemotherapy between the two groups.

CONCLUSION

The CAR may be a useful indicator for predicting the chemotherapeutic outcome in patients with mCRC treated with FTD/TPI as a late-line chemotherapy. The correlation between a high-CAR and poor prognosis was presumed to be due to the rate of cancer growth and increased resistance to chemotherapy rather than an insufficient dose of the drug.

Prognostic Significance of the Immunological Indices in Patients Who Underwent Complete Resection of Pulmonary Metastases of Colorectal Cancer

BACKGROUND/AIM

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the density of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have been reported as immunological prognostic factors for various cancers. We evaluated the association between the prognosis and the immunological status in patients who underwent complete resection of pulmonary metastases of colorectal cancer (CRC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We evaluated the associations between the NLR before the resection of pulmonary metastases and the relapse-free survival (RFS) or overall survival (OS), or between the density of TILs in the pulmonary metastasis and the RFS or OS.

RESULTS

The RFS and OS were significantly worse in the NLR-High group than in the NLR-Low group. The RFS was significantly longer in the CD3⁺TILs-High group than in the CD3⁺TILs-Low group.

CONCLUSION

The NLR and the density of TILs may have prognostic significance in patients who undergo complete resection of pulmonary metastases of CRC.

Combining Bevacizumab With Trifluridine/Thymidine Phosphorylase Inhibitor Improves the Survival Outcomes Regardless of the Usage History of Bevacizumab in Front-line Treatment of Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

BACKGROUND/AIM

The efficacy of trifluridine/thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor (FTD/TPI) plus bevacizumab as later-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) has been demonstrated. However, little is known about the impact of a usage history of bevacizumab in front-line treatment on the clinical benefit of combining bevacizumab with FTD/TPI.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 62 patients with mCRC treated with FTD/TPI±bevacizumab was enrolled and assessed for chemotherapeutic efficacy and adverse events.

RESULTS

Regardless of the usage history of bevacizumab in front-line treatment, the FTD/TPI plus bevacizumab group had a significantly better progression-free survival rate than the FTD/TPI monotherapy group, and no significant differences in the safety profile were observed between the two groups.

CONCLUSION

Combining bevacizumab with FTD/TPI improves the survival outcomes with manageable toxicity, regardless of the usage history of bevacizumab in front-line treatment, in patients with mCRC.

Lactate Dehydrogenase Is a Useful Marker for Predicting the Efficacy of Bevacizumab-containing Chemotherapy in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

BACKGROUND/AIM

No biomarkers that predict the benefit from anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibodies have been identified. It is necessary to discover biomarkers that can identify patients who are more likely to benefit from bevacizumab-containing treatment, especially those who are more likely to benefit from treatment with bevacizumab beyond progression (BBP). Levels of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), reported to be an indirect marker of hypoxia and angiogenesis, may be a useful marker for monitoring the efficacy of suppression of angiogenesis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The clinical data of 91 patients with unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer who were treated with bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy as first-line treatment were collected and studied.

RESULTS

In the second-line treatment, the bevacizumab plus chemotherapy group showed significantly better progression-free survival (PFS) in comparison to the chemotherapy-alone group in patients with low post-first-line-treatment serum LDH levels. On the other hand, no significant differences in the PFS rate were observed between the two groups in patients with high post-first-line-treatment serum LDH levels.

CONCLUSION

The post-first-line-treatment serum LDH levels may, therefore, be useful marker for predicting the efficacy of treatment with BBP.

Athermal operation of multi-section slotted tunable lasers

Two distinct athermal bias current procedures based on thermal tuning are demonstrated for a low-cost, monotlithic, three section slotted single mode laser, achieving mode-hop free wavelength stability of ± 0.04 nm / 5 GHz over a temperature range of 8-47 °C. This is the first time that athermal performance has been demonstrated for a three-section slotted laser with simple fabrication, and is well within the 50 GHz grid spacing specified for DWDM systems. This performance is similar to experiments on more complex DS-DBR lasers, indicating that strong athermal performance can be achieved using our lower-cost three section devices. An analytical model and thermoreflectance measurements provide further insight into the operation of multi-section lasers and lay the foundation for an accurate predictive tool for optimising such devices for athermal operation.

Elevated Postoperative Levels of Serum C-reactive Protein Are Associated With Shorter Long-term Survival After Resection of Colorectal Liver Metastases, Regardless of the Occurrence of Infectious Complications

BACKGROUND/AIM

Recently, elevated levels of postoperative inflammatory markers have been reported to be associated with poorer long-term survival outcomes, regardless of the occurrence of infectious complications, in gastroenterological malignancies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between postoperative inflammation and shorter long-term survival after resection of colorectal liver metastases.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 104 patients who underwent R0 resection for colorectal liver metastases were enrolled. The CRP_max levels were defined as the highest postoperative serum C-reactive protein levels during hospital stay.

RESULTS

The high-CRP_max group had a significantly lower relapse-free survival rate than the low-CRP_max group, regardless of the occurrence of infectious complications.

CONCLUSION

In colorectal liver metastasis as well as other malignancies, elevated postoperative levels of serum C-reactive protein are associated with shorter long-term survival, regardless of the occurrence of infectious complications.

Enhancing autism care through remote support: A family-centered approach

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) poses significant challenges for families, with limited access to specialized care being a critical concern. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote support, highlighting its potential to enhance family-centered care for children with ASD. In this editorial, we comment on the article by Lu et al, emphasizing the effectiveness of integrating remote support courses with traditional caregiver-mediated interventions. We further explore the benefits of remote support in delivering family-centered care, summarize the essential components of effective family-centered remote support, outline key considerations for implementation, and discuss potential future research directions. We conclude that family-centered remote support has the potential to significantly improve outcomes and quality of life for individuals with ASD and their families.