Systemic Therapy and Its Surgical Implications in Patients with Resectable Liver Colorectal Cancer Metastases. A Report from the Western Canadian Gastrointestinal Cancer Consensus Conference

The Western Canadian Gastrointestinal Cancer Consensus Conference (WCGCCC) convened virtually on 4 November 2021. The WCGCCC is an interactive multi-disciplinary conference attended by health care professionals, including surgical, medical, and radiation oncologists; pathologists; radiologists; and allied health care professionals from across four Western Canadian provinces, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, who are involved in the care of patients with gastrointestinal cancer. They participated in presentation and discussion sessions for the purpose of developing recommendations on the role of systemic therapy and its optimal sequence in patients with resectable metastatic colorectal cancer.     

What is the function of psychosocial factors in predicting length of time since last dental visit? A secondary data analysis

Aim: To conduct a secondary analysis of the Adult Dental Health Survey, UK (ADHS.UK) data to investigate the function of psychosocial factors (costs, dental anxiety, communication) and whether their interaction mediates the relationship between perception of need and length of time since last dental visit. Materials and methods: The data used from the ADHS.UK interview questionnaires included demography, costs, perception of treatment need, communication, dental anxiety and reported dental attendance. The data were subjected to χ²‐analysis and hierarchical logistic regression analysis. Results: Time since last dental visit was significantly associated with all demographic and psychosocial variables. The hierarchical logistic regression analysis tested three models. Model 1 examined the demography and explained 2% of the variance. Model 2 showed that those in intermediate (e.g. clerical staff) and routine (e.g. agriculture workers) occupations and those who were unemployed/never worked had a greater likelihood of increased interval between dental visits, explaining an additional 2% of the variance of the time interval between dental visits. Model 3 provided an additional 10% of the variance, which included costs, perceived need, communication and dental anxiety. The interaction of the perception of need by extreme dental anxiety (OR = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.40, 0.69) improved the fit of the model [χ² (df1) = 22.85, P < 0.001]. Conclusion: This study revealed that dental anxiety, communication and treatment costs acted as barriers to accessing dental care. Dental anxiety acted as a mediator in the relationship between perception of need and increased time interval between dental visits.     

TIPS in Variceal Bleeding: New and Old Indications

Variceal bleeding is one of the most dreaded complications of cirrhosis and its occurrence is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. During the past 30 years preventative therapies have reduced the risk of the first variceal bleed. Once variceal bleeding occurs use of pharmacologic and endoscopic therapies prevent rebleeding in most patients. The existing recommendations are that TIPS only be used in those patients who fail medical therapy. We reviewed recent literature focusing on the role of early TIPS in management of acute variceal hemorrhage and prevention of re-bleeding.     

Burkholderia cepacia infection and lung transplantation

Burkholderia cepacia has emerged as an important pathogen in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) undergoing lung transplantation. Taxonomic analyses have divided B. cepacia into 7 closely related species called genomovars. The prevalence of B. cepacia infection ranges from 2% to 13% in CF patients with genomovar III being most prevalent. Risk factors for the acquisition of B. cepacia include greater severity of underlying CF, increasing age, having a sibling colonized with B. cepacia, and previous hospitalizations. One-year survival in patients with CF undergoing lung transplantation usually have been reported to be less than 70%. The antimicrobial resistance pattern of B. cepacia has correlated with inconsistent effect on survival. Presence of genomovar III also has been linked with survival of B. cepacia-infected patients; the survival rates were inferior for genomovar III as compared with non-genomovar III patients. Standard infection control techniques including isolation of both colonized and noncolonized individuals with frequent sputum culture have been recommended to prevent CF patients from acquiring B. cepacia infection. B. cepacia is inherently resistant to antipseudomonal antibiotics, colistin, and polymyxin.The combination of 2 or more antibiotics usually is recommended for the treatment of B. cepacia infections. Studies delineating the epidemiology and influence of B. cepacia infection on lung transplantation are warranted. This is a US government work. There are no restrictions on its use.     

A CTAB-mediated antisolvent vapor route to shale-like Cs4PbBr6 microplates showing an eminent photoluminescence

Compared with nanoscale quantum dots (QDs), the large-sized perovskite crystals not only possess better stability but also are convenient for application exploration. Herein, we develop a facile and efficient antisolvent vapor-assisted recrystallization approach for the synthesis of large-sized Cs₄PbBr₆ perovskite crystal microplates. In this method, for the first time, the shale-like Cs₄PbBr₆ microplates with lateral dimensions of hundreds of microns are fabricated by employing cetyltriethylammnonium bromide (CTAB) as a morphology-directing agent. FESEM, TEM, and AFM characterizations indicate that the as-obtained shale-like Cs₄PbBr₆ microplates are actually formed by 6–8 nm thick Cs₄PbBr₆ nanosheets with orientational stacking. Importantly, such highly crystalline Cs₄PbBr₆ microplates with shale-like morphology exhibit a narrow and intense green PL emission with a 59% PL quantum yield. Moreover, the planar structure of shale-like Cs₄PbBr₆ microplates makes it easy to form a preferred orientation on a substrate, which endow them with promising potential in optoelectronic devices such as lighting and displays.

Highly luminescent shale-like Cs₄PbBr₆ microplates with hundreds of microns in lateral dimension and formed by thin nanosheets with orientational stacking.     

Palladium nanoparticles as efficient catalyst for C–S bond formation reactions

The development of green, economical and sustainable chemical processes is one of the primary challenges in organic synthesis. Herein, we report an efficient and heterogeneous palladium-catalyzed sulfonylation of vinyl cyclic carbonates with sodium sulfinates via decarboxylative cross-coupling. Both aliphatic and aromatic sulfinate salts react with various vinyl cyclic carbonates to deliver the desired allylic sulfones featuring tri- and even tetrasubstituted olefin scaffolds in high yields with excellent selectivity. The process needs only 2 mol% of Pd₂(dba)₃ and the in situ formed palladium nano-particles are found to be the active catalyst.

Heterogenous catalysis: economical and sustainable synthesis of allylic sulfone featuring tri- and even tetrasubstituted olefin scaffold via decarboxylative cross-coupling from vinyl cyclic carbonates with sodium sulfinates using PdNPs as a catalyst.     

Interferon in the treatment of hairy-cell leukemia

The introduction of alpha interferon in 1984 initiated a new and exciting turnaround in the treatment of hairy-cell leukemia. Until that time splenectomy was the only known effective therapy for this disease. Interferon proved to benefit hairy-cell leukemia patients with active disease, whether or not they had undergone prior splenectomy. However, most interferon-induced responses were partial and were of relatively short duration. Purine analogues such as cladribine and pentostatin have since been found to be more effective than alpha interferon and, therefore, have now replaced interferon as first-line therapy for hairy-cell leukemia. At the present time, interferon has a relatively limited role in the treatment of hairy-cell leukemia and it is reserved for a group of selected patients who have failed nucleoside analogue therapy. In this chapter, we discuss the efficacy of interferon and its response duration, toxicity and possible mechanism of action in patients with hairy-cell leukemia.     

A C-Terminal Hydrophobic Region is Required for Homo-Oligomerization of the Hepatitis E Virus Capsid (ORF2) Protein

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the causative agent of hepatitis E, anacute form of viral hepatitis. The open reading frame 2 (ORF2) of HEV encodes the viral capsid protein, which can self-oligomerize into virus-like particles. To understand the domains within this protein important for capsid biogenesis, we have carried out in vitro analyses of association and folding patterns of wild type and mutant ORF2 proteins. When expressed in vitro or in transfected cells, the ORF2protein assembled as dimers, trimers and higher order forms. WhileN-terminal deletions up to 111 amino acids had no effect, the deletion of amino acids 585–610 led to reduced homo-oligomerization. This deletion also resulted in aberrant folding of the protein, as determined by its sensitivity to trypsin. This study suggests that a C-terminal hydrophobic region encompassing amino acids 585–610 of the ORF2 protein might be critical for capsid biogenesis.