Lymph node harvesting after laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision colectomy in colon cancer with practical application of glacial acid, absolute ethanol, water, and formaldehyde solution: A prospective cohort study.

Objectives: Quality of surgery has recently become an essential topic in the prognosis of colon cancer. Complete mesocolic excision for colon cancer has recently gained popularity with high-quality surgery. Patient specimens after complete mesocolic excision with central vessel ligation procedures have an integrity of the mesocolon and the yield of three fields of lymph node harvest. We apply the glacial acid, absolute ethanol, water, and formaldehyde solution to each specimen based on the Japanese classification of lymph node groups and station numbers. We aim to identify the distribution and status of lymph node metastasis according to each tumor site and some pathological characteristics related to this disease. Methods: A prospective cohort study was performed on 45 laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision surgery patients. Results: 2791 lymph nodes were harvested after complete mesocolic excision surgery. The average number was 62.0 ± 22.3 nodes. The mean tumor size (in the largest dimension) was 4.2 ± 1.8 cm. The average length of the resected bowel segments was 29.1 ± 7.7 cm. There are 63 (2.3%) node metastases in 2791 lymph nodes, in which 17/45 (37.8%) patients had pN(+). The minimum positive node size was 1 mm. The positive pericolic lymph nodes (station 1) accounted for the highest rate, with 53 nodes (1.9%). The number of lymph nodes in young age ⩽60 is more significant than in older. The results were similar, with a more significant node retrieval in the group with a tumor size >4.5 cm and specimen length >25 cm. The number of lymph nodes in lower tumor invasive (pT1,3) was smaller than pT4. Our research shows that the cecum, ascending, and descending colon had greater nodes than others, with a mean number of 78.6, 74.2, and 71.3, respectively. Conclusions: The metastasis and harvested lymph nodes accounted for the highest rate of colon cancer in station 1 and the lowest rate in station 3. The number of retrieved lymph nodes was significantly associated with tumor location, size, specimen length, and patient age.

Bio-guided isolation of alpha-glucosidase inhibitory compounds from Vietnamese liverwort Marchantia polymorpha: in vitro and in silico studies.

Bio-guided isolation was applied to Vietnamese Marchantia polymorpha L. to find alpha-glucosidase inhibition. Fifteen compounds were isolated and structurally determined, including two new compounds, marchatoside (7) and marchanol (8), along with thirteen known compounds: marchantin A (1), isoriccardin C (2), riccardin C (3), marchantin K (4), lunularin (5), 3R-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl)-5,7-dimethoxyphthalide (6), vitexilactone (9), 12-oleanene-3-one (10), 3,11-dioxoursolic acid (11), ursolic acid (12), artemetin (13), kaempferol (14), and quercetin (15). The structures of these compounds were determined through extensive spectroscopic analyses (1D and 2D NMR, HRESIMS, and ECD) and by comparisons to the existing literature. There are five types of carbon skeleton, including bibenzyl (1-5), 3-benzylphthalide (6 and 7), diterpenoid (8 and 9), triterpenoid (10-12), and flavonoid (13-15). Compounds 6-12 were reported for the first time within the genus Marchantia. Compounds 1-12 were evaluated for their alpha-glucosidase inhibition. Among them, 1-5 and 10-12 displayed potent inhibition, with IC50 values ranging from 28.9 to 130.6 µM, compared to the positive control acarbose 330.9 µM. A kinetic study and molecular docking were also performed to understand the mechanism.

Linking local retention, self-recruitment, and persistence in marine metapopulations.

Three indices of larval retention have been used in the literature to assess the tendency for self-maintenance of local marine populations: local retention (LR), self-recruitment (SR), and relative local retention (RLR). Only one of these, LR, defined as the ratio of locally produced settlement to local egg production, has a clear relationship to self-persistence of individual sites. However, SR, the ratio of locally produced settlement to settlement of all origins at a site, is generally easier to measure experimentally. We use theoretical, simulation, and empirical approaches to bridge the gap between these different indices, and demonstrate that there is a proportional relationship between SR and LR, for metapopulations close to a stable state and with lifetime egg production (LEP) approximately uniform over space. Similarly, for systems where larval mortality rates are a relatively uniform function of release site, RLR (defined as the ratio of locally produced settlement to all settlement of local origin) and LR will also be proportional. Therefore, SR and RLR provide information on relative rates of LR for systems satisfying these conditions. Furthermore, the ratio between LR and SR can be used to evaluate global persistence of metapopulations, and therefore provides valuable information not necessarily available if only LR is considered.

A mathematical model of a fishery with variable market price: sustainable fishery/over-exploitation.

We present a mathematical bioeconomic model of a fishery with a variable price. The model describes the time evolution of the resource, the fishing effort and the price which is assumed to vary with respect to supply and demand. The supply is the instantaneous catch while the demand function is assumed to be a monotone decreasing function of price. We show that a generic market price equation (MPE) can be derived and has to be solved to calculate non trivial equilibria of the model. This MPE can have 1, 2 or 3 equilibria. We perform the analysis of local and global stability of equilibria. The MPE is extended to two cases: an age-structured fish population and a fishery with storage of the resource.

Spatial synchrony in host-parasitoid models using aggregation of variables.

We consider a host-parasitoid system with individuals moving on a square grid of patches. We study the effects of increasing movement frequency of hosts and parasitoids on the spatial dynamics of the system. We show that there exists a threshold value of movement frequency above which spatial synchrony occurs and the dynamics of the system can be described by an aggregated model governing the total population densities on the grid. Numerical simulations show that this threshold value is usually small. This allows using the aggregated model to make valid predictions about global host-parasitoid spatial dynamics.

Propagation of 'Nam Roi' pummelo (Citrus grandis (L.) Osbeck.) by cuttings.

'Nam Roi' pummelo is a famous fruit tree in the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam. Therefore, in recent years, growers extended the cultured area because it guarantees a high income. As a consequence there is a high demand for planting material, and we studied the possibilities of vegetative propagation by cuttings during the period from March 1999 to February 2000. The results of our study showed that a rice husk substrate was better than sand, and that naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) 1000 ppm stimulated rooting (84% rooted). The type of cutting was also a factor affecting the success rate; we studied three types of cuttings.