ABSTRACT
Long-distance entanglement distribution is essential for both foundational tests of quantum physics and scalable quantum networks. Owing to channel loss, however, the previously achieved distance was limited to ~100 kilometers. Here we demonstrate satellite-based distribution of entangled photon pairs to two locations separated by 1203 kilometers on Earth, through two satellite-to-ground downlinks with a summed length varying from 1600 to 2400 kilometers. We observed a survival of two-photon entanglement and a violation of Bell inequality by 2.37 ± 0.09 under strict Einstein locality conditions. The obtained effective link efficiency is orders of magnitude higher than that of the direct bidirectional transmission of the two photons through telecommunication fibers.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Monocarboxylate transporter 4 (MCT4) is a critical component in the glycolytic metabolism of cancer cells, and is also important for malignant behavior. We investigated the expression profile of MCT4, its prognostic value in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, its role in HCC cell proliferation and metastasis, and associated initial molecular mechanism. METHODS: MCT4 expression was examined through immunohistochemical staining of pathological specimens from 318 HCC patients who had undergone hepatectomy. The HCC cell lines were used to validate the relationship between MCT4 expression and cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. RESULTS: The results show that high MCT4 expression is indicative of elevated alpha fetoprotein levels and larger tumor size, which leads to poorer disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Multivariate regression analysis shows that MCT4 expression is an independent prognostic factor for DFS and OS in HCC patients. In 91 recurrent HCC patients who underwent transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment, low MCT4 expression predicted an effective treatment response and improved OS. Furthermore, in cell line experiments with MCT4 siRNA, cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were closely correlated with the MCT4 expression. Knockdown of MCT4 was associated with down-regulation of phosphorylated AKT and HIF-1α. CONCLUSIONS: MCT4 expression can predict survival and TACE treatment response for HCC patients. Furthermore, MCT4 plays an important role in HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The inhibition of MCT4 can induce inactivation of HIF-1α and inhibit phosphorylation of AKT. MCT4 may be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of HCC.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/diagnosis , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology , Cell Movement/genetics , Cell Proliferation/genetics , Liver Neoplasms/diagnosis , Liver Neoplasms/pathology , Monocarboxylic Acid Transporters/genetics , Muscle Proteins/genetics , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics , Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/genetics , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/therapy , Chemoembolization, Therapeutic , Female , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Humans , Liver Neoplasms/genetics , Liver Neoplasms/therapy , Male , Middle Aged , Monocarboxylic Acid Transporters/metabolism , Muscle Proteins/metabolism , Neoplasm Metastasis , Prognosis , Treatment Outcome , Tumor Cells, CulturedABSTRACT
Liver transplantation for autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is usually successful with excellent long-term outcomes, but primary disease may recur. The recurrence of AIH is a significant cause of graft loss. This study was to analyze the effect of splenectomy in preventing AIH relapse. The clinical courses of 12 patients who had transplantation for AIH were analyzed retrospectively. All patients were subjected to transplantation for end-stage liver disease caused by chronic AIH. Based on the duration of immunosuppressive treatment before liver transplantation, simultaneous splenectomy was performed in ten patients. Two patients underwent liver transplantation without splenectomy, one of them developed recurrent AIH and died from graft failure caused by AIH relapse. However, no episode of AIH recurrence was observed in patients who had undergone simultaneous splenectomy. Splenectomy might be an option to prevent AIH relapse in some patients with high risk factors.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis, Autoimmune/surgery , Liver Transplantation , Splenectomy , Adult , Aged , End Stage Liver Disease/diagnosis , End Stage Liver Disease/etiology , End Stage Liver Disease/mortality , End Stage Liver Disease/surgery , Female , Hepatitis, Autoimmune/complications , Hepatitis, Autoimmune/diagnosis , Hepatitis, Autoimmune/mortality , Humans , Immunosuppressive Agents/administration & dosage , Liver Transplantation/adverse effects , Liver Transplantation/mortality , Middle Aged , Recurrence , Retrospective Studies , Risk Factors , Splenectomy/adverse effects , Splenectomy/mortality , Time Factors , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Protein phosphatase magnesium-dependent 1δ (PPM1D) is an oncogene, overexpressed in many solid tumors, including ovarian cancer and breast cancer. The current study examined the expression and the prognostic value of PPM1D mRNA in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: Total RNA was extracted from 86 HCC and paired non-cancerous liver tissues. PPM1D mRNA expression was determined by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Immunohistochemistry assay was used to verify the expression of ppm1d protein in the HCC and non-cancerous liver tissues. HCC patients were grouped according to PPM1D mRNA expression with the average PPM1D mRNA level in non-cancerous liver tissue samples as the cut-off. Correlations between clinicopathologic variables, overall survival and PPM1D mRNA expression were analyzed. FINDINGS: PPM1D mRNA was significantly higher in HCC than in the paired non-cancerous tissue (p<0.01). This was confirmed by ppm1d staining. 56 patients were classified as high expression group and the other 30 patients were categorized as low expression group. There were significant differences between the two groups in term of alpha-fetoprotein (α-FP) level (p<0.01), tumor size (p<0.01), TNM stage (p<0.01), recurrence incidence (p<0.01) and family history of liver cancer (p<0.01). The current study failed to find significant differences between the two groups in the following clinical characteristics: age, gender, portal vein invasion, lymphnode metastasis, hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and alcohol intake. Survival time of high expression group was significantly shorter than that of low expression group (median survival, 13 months and 32 months, respectively, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Up-regulation of PPM1D mRNA was associated with progressive pathological feature and poor prognosis in HCC patients. PPM1D mRNA may serve as a prognostic marker in HCC.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/genetics , Liver Neoplasms/genetics , Liver/pathology , Phosphoprotein Phosphatases/genetics , RNA, Messenger/genetics , Adult , Aged , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/diagnosis , Female , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Humans , Liver/metabolism , Liver Neoplasms/diagnosis , Male , Middle Aged , Prognosis , Protein Phosphatase 2C , Up-Regulation , Young AdultABSTRACT
In the title compound, C(17)H(16)BrNO(2), the two benzene rings make a dihedral angle of 7.4â (3)°; the hy-droxy group links to the carbonyl group via an intra-molecular O-Hâ¯O hydrogen bond. In the crystal, weak C-Hâ¯O inter-actions link the mol-ecules into a supra-molecular chain running along the c axis.
