Adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization after curative resection of hepatocellular carcinoma: propensity score analysis.

AIM: To compare survival and recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who did or did not receive adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). METHODS: A consecutive sample of 229 patients who underwent curative resection between March 2007 and March 2010 in our hospital was included. Of these 229 patients, 91 (39.7%) underwent curative resection followed by adjuvant TACE and 138 (60.3%) underwent curative resection alone. In order to minimize confounds due to baseline differences between the two patient groups, comparisons were conducted between propensity score-matched patients. Survival data and recurrence rates were compared using the Kaplan-Meier method. Independent predictors of overall survival and recurrence were identified using Cox proportional hazard regression. RESULTS: Among 61 pairs of propensity score-matched patients, the 1-, 2-, and 3-year overall survival rates were 95.1%, 86.7%, and 76.4% in the TACE group and 86.9%, 78.5%, and 73.2% in the control group, respectively. At the same time, the TACE and control groups also showed similar recurrence rates at 1 year (13.4% vs 24.8%), 2 years (30.6% vs 32.1%), and 3 years (40.1% vs 34.0%). Multivariate Cox regression identified serum alpha-fetoprotein level ≥ 400 ng/mL and tumor size > 5 cm as independent risk factors of mortality (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: As postoperative adjuvant TACE does not improve overall survival or reduce recurrence in HCC patients, further study is needed to clarify its clinical benefit.

Quantitative study of GaAs nanowires catalyzed by Au film of different thicknesses.

In this letter, we quantitatively investigated epitaxial GaAs nanowires catalyzed by thin Au films of different thicknesses on GaAs (111)B substrates in a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition reactor. Prior to nanowire growth, the de-wetting of Au thin films to form Au nanoparticles on GaAs (111)B in AsH3 ambient at different temperatures is investigated. It is found that with increasing film thickness, the size of the Au nanoparticles increases while the density of the nanoparticles reduces. Furthermore, higher annealing temperature produces larger Au nanoparticles for a fixed film thickness. As expected, the diameters and densities of the as-grown GaAs nanowires catalyzed by these thin Au films reflect these trends.

Silicon-induced oriented ZnS nanobelts for hydrogen sensitivity.

Oriented ZnS nanobelts were grown on an Si substrate using hydrogen-assisted thermal evaporation under moist gas conditions. It was found that these ZnS nanobelts had a single crystal hexagonal wurtzite structure growing along the [0001] direction. They had a rectangular cross section with lengths of up to tens of micrometres, a typical width of 50-150 nm, and a thickness of ∼40 nm. A silicon-induced vapour-liquid-solid process was proposed for the formation of the ZnS nanobelts and their assembly. These oriented nanobelts have much faster response time to hydrogen gas than that of pure ZnO and Pd-sensitized ZnO, showing excellent hydrogen sensing properties.

Amorphous TiO(2) nanotube arrays for low-temperature oxygen sensors.

Titania nanotube arrays (TNTA) were synthesized on a titanium substrate using anodic oxidation in an electrolyte containing ammonium fluoride and evaluated for low-temperature oxygen sensing. Their sensing properties were tested at different temperatures (50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 °C) when exposed to various oxygen concentrations. The as-prepared TNTA are amorphous and exhibit much higher carrier concentration than that of annealed TNTA. Such amorphous TNTA show much higher sensitivity than that of annealed TNTA, SrTiO(3) and Ga(2)O(3) sensors. This sample demonstrates the lowest detectable oxygen concentration of 200 ppm, excellent recovery and good linear correlation at 100 °C. These results indicate that TNTA are indeed very attractive oxygen-sensing materials.