Radiomics of Preoperative Multi-Sequence Magnetic Resonance Imaging Can Improve the Predictive Performance of Microvascular Invasion in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background: The aim of the study is to demonstrate that radiomics of preoperative multi-sequence magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can indeed improve the predictive performance of microvascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: A total of 206 patients with pathologically confirmed HCC who underwent preoperative enhanced MRI were retrospectively recruited. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis identified the independent clinicoradiologic predictors of MVI present and constituted the clinicoradiologic model. Recursive feature elimination (RFE) was applied to select radiomics features (extracted from six sequence images) and constructed the radiomics model. Clinicoradiologic model plus radiomics model formed the clinicoradiomics model. Five-fold cross-validation was used to validate the three models. Discrimination, calibration, and clinical utility were used to evaluate the performance. Net reclassification improvement (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) were used to compare the prediction accuracy between models. Results: The clinicoradiologic model contained alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)_lg10, radiological capsule enhancement, enhancement pattern and arterial peritumoral enhancement, which were independent risk factors of MVI. There were 18 radiomics features related to MVI constructed the radiomics model. The mean area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) of clinicoradiologic, radiomics and clinicoradiomics model were 0.849, 0.925 and 0.950 in the training cohort and 0.846, 0.907 and 0.933 in the validation cohort, respectively. The three models' calibration curves fitted well, and decision curve analysis (DCA) confirmed the clinical usefulness. Compared with the clinicoradiologic model, the NRI of radiomics and clinicoradiomics model increased significantly by 0.575 and 0.825, respectively, and the IDI increased significantly by 0.280 and 0.398, respectively. Conclusions: Radiomics of preoperative multi-sequence MRI can improve the predictive performance of MVI in HCC.

Human-Guided Functional Connectivity Network Estimation for Chronic Tinnitus Identification: A Modularity View.

The functional connectivity network (FCN) has been used to achieve several remarkable advancements in the diagnosis of neuro-degenerative disorders. Therefore, it is imperative to accurately estimate biologically meaningful FCNs. Several efforts have been dedicated to this purpose by encoding biological priors. However, owing to the high complexity of the human brain, the estimation of an 'ideal' FCN remains an open problem. To the best of our knowledge, almost all existing studies lack the integration of domain expert knowledge, which limits their performance. In this study, we focused on incorporating domain expert knowledge into the FCN estimation from a modularity perspective. To achieve this, we presented a human-guided modular representation (MR) FCN estimation framework. Specifically, we designed an adversarial low-rank constraint to describe the module structure of FCNs under the guidance of domain expert knowledge (i.e., a predefined participant index). The chronic tinnitus (TIN) identification task based on the estimated FCNs was conducted to examine the proposed MR methods. Remarkably, MR significantly outperformed the baseline and state-of-the-art(SOTA) methods, achieving an accuracy of 92.11%. Moreover, post-hoc analysis revealed that the FCNs estimated by the proposed MR could highlight more biologically meaningful connections, which is beneficial for exploring the underlying mechanisms of TIN and diagnosing early TIN.

MoSnf5 Regulates Fungal Virulence, Growth, and Conidiation in Magnaporthe oryzae.

Snf5 (sucrose nonfermenting) is a core component of the SWI/SNF complexes and regulates diverse cellular processes in model eukaryotes. In plant pathogenic fungi, its biological function and underlying mechanisms remain unexplored. In this study, we investigated the biological roles of MoSnf5 in plant infection and fungal development in the rice blast pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. The gene deletion mutants of MoSNF5 exhibited slower vegetative hyphal growth, severe defects in conidiogenesis, and impaired virulence and galactose utilization capacities. Domain dissection assays showed that the Snf5 domain and the N- and C-termini of MoSnf5 were all required for its full functions. Co-immunoprecipitation and yeast two-hybrid assays showed that MoSnf5 physically interacts with four proteins, including a transcription initiation factor MoTaf14. Interestingly, the ∆MoTaf14 mutants showed similar phenotypes as the ∆Mosnf5 mutants on fungal virulence and development. Moreover, assays on GFP-MoAtg8 expression and localization showed that both the ∆Mosnf5 and ∆MoTaf14 mutants were defective in autophagy. Taken together, MoSnf5 regulates fungal virulence, growth, and conidiation, possibly through regulating galactose utilization and autophagy in M. oryzae.

Pathological Analysis and Endoscopic Characteristics of Colorectal Laterally Spreading Tumors.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to analyze the endoscopic and pathological characteristics of colorectal laterally spreading tumors (LSTs) to assist malignant risk stratification to inform selection of the appropriate treatment strategy. METHODS: Patients with colorectal LST were selected as retrospective study objects. Characteristics, including endoscopic findings and the most common site of LSTs of different diameters and histological types, were analyzed. The risk factors for malignancy in colorectal LST were explored by multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: LSTs with diameters of ≥20 mm were found mainly in the rectum and mainly with granular-mixed (G-M) morphology (36% and 44.6%, respectively; p < 0.05), while LSTs with diameters of <20 mm were found mainly in the ascending colon and mainly with granular-homogenous (G-H) morphology (40.9% and 46.2%, respectively; p < 0.05). Adenoma was the main histological type in patients with tumors of all diameters. However, the cancerization rate of LSTs was 31% in patients with tumor diameter ≥20 mm, while there was no invasive cancer in patients with tumor diameter < 20 mm. In the low-grade dysphasia (adenoma) group, most of the lesions were located in the ascending colon and most had the morphology LST-G-H (35.8% and 39.2%, respectively; p < 0.05). In the cancerization group, most of the lesions were located in the rectum, with the morphology LST-G-M (51.6% and 67.2%, respectively; p < 0.05), and the diameter was larger than that of the adenoma group (33.84 ± 17.99 mm vs 21.68 ± 8.99 mm). CONCLUSION: The rectum was the most common site for an LST with a diameter ≥20 mm and cancerization, of which the morphology was mainly LST-G-M (endoscopic submucosal dissection is the preferred treatment for this type of LST). LST malignancy was found to be correlated with lesion diameter, location, and morphological appearance.

Prevalence, social-demographic and cognitive correlates of depression in Chinese psychiatric medical staff.

BACKGROUND: The high prevalence of depression in general population was related to its social-demographics and cognitive performance. However, no studies investigated the prevalence of depression, its social-demographic and cognitive correlates in psychiatric medical staff. Thus, the aims of this study investigated the prevalence, social-demographic and cognitive correlates of depression in Chinese psychiatric medical staff. METHODS: 186 Chinese psychiatric medical staff were enrolled in Wenzhou Kangning Hospital. Depressive symptom score was assessed by the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). Cognition was assessed by the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). RESULTS: The prevalence of depression was 17.74% in these medical staff. The RBANS total score in participants with depressive symptom was significantly lower than that in participants with not depressive symptom after controlling for the confounding variables. The Person correlation analysis found that the normal SDS score in these medical staff was significantly related to age, education, occupations, RBANS total score and subscale scores. Stepwise multivariate regression analysis further identified that age and RBANS total score were significantly associated with the normal SDS score in these medical staff. LIMITATIONS: The limitations included cross-sectional study design, the small sample size, and the self-rating scale of depression. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of depression in Chinese psychiatric medical staff was higher in comparison with Chinese general population, but lower in comparison with Chinese medical staff. Cognitive deficits might be considered a core feather of depression that should be a valuable target for future interventions. Age influenced depressive symptom in these medical staff .

Association between decreased HDL levels and cognitive deficits in patients with bipolar disorder: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive deficits are common in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). Abnormal high density lipoprotein (HDL) levels have been implicated in cognitive deficits associated with ageing and neurodegenerative disorders. The present study aimed to investigate serum HDL levels, cognitive deficits and their association in patients with BD. METHODS: Thirty-seven patients with BD and 37 gender- and age-matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited in a case-control study. Cognition was assessed using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), and serum HDL levels were measured using enzymatic colourimetry. RESULTS: There was no difference in serum HDL levels between patients with BD and HCs after adjusting for gender, age, education and body mass index (BMI). Cognitive test scores in patients with BD were significantly lower than those in HCs except for the visuospatial/constructional index after adjusting for confounding variables. Serum HDL levels were positively correlated with RBANS total score and language score in patients with BD. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that serum HDL levels were significantly correlated with RBANS total score and subscale scores on immediate memory and language in patients with BD after adjusting for confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that patients with BD had poorer cognitive performance than HCs except for the visuospatial/constructional domain, and decreased serum HDL levels were correlated with cognitive deficits, especially in immediate memory and language domains in patients with BD.

Effect of olprinone on ischemia-reperfusion induced myocardial injury in rats.

AIMS: This study investigated the effect of olprinone on ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) induced cardiac injury, and the underlying mechanism. MAIN METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to a 30-min coronary arterial occlusion followed by 24 h reperfusion. After the start of reperfusion, rats were respectively treated with olprinone in three different dosages (0.2, 0.6, 2 mg/kg, intraperitoneal injection, i.p./12 h). Twenty-four hours later, a mean arterial pressure (MAP) heart function analysis system was used to monitor hemodynamic parameters; TTC staining method was used to detect the myocardial infarct size; 24-hour mortality of rats was recorded; western blot was used to detect the protein expressions of Caspase-3, Bax, Bcl-2, Beclin-1 and LC3-II/LC3-I. RESULTS: Cardiac function in I/R group was lower than that in sham group (dp/dt max: 1348.29 ± 266.01 vs. 3333.73 ± 1258.03, -dp/dt max: 1163.23 ± 588.18 vs. 3198.93 ± 1416.00, P < 0.05), which was significantly improved by treatment with high dosage of olprinone (dp/dt max: 1348.29±266.01 vs. 2022.43±493.39, -dp/dt max: 1163.23±588.18 vs. 1784.50±418.92, P < 0.05). The percentage of myocardial infarct size in medium and high dosages of olprinone group was lower than that in I/R group (42.67 ± 2.94, 22.33 ± 3.63 vs. 63.67 ± 5.86, P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in mortality among each group within 24 h. Compared with sham group, the expression of Caspase-3 was significantly up-regulated in I/R group (3.44±0.47-fold of sham, P < 0.05), which was inhibited by medium dosage of olprinone treatment (2.00±0.52-fold of sham, P < 0.05 vs. I/R group); also, expression of Bax was increased compared with sham group (4.06±0.25-fold of sham, P < 0.05), which was markedly inhibited by all dosages of olprinone treatment (low: 2.16±0.61-fold, medium: 2.74±0.66-fold, high 1.65±0.55-fold, P < 0.05 vs. I/R group). Expression of Bcl-2 was increased after I/R (1.17±0.06-fold, P < 0.05), which was further elevated in all dosages of olprinone treatment (low: 1.62 ± 0.13-fold, medium: 1.46 ± 0.13-fold, high: 1.82 ± 0.39-fold, P < 0.05 vs. I/R group). In addition, compared with sham group, the expression of Beclin-1 was up-regulated to 1.44±0.05-fold of sham in I/R group (P < 0.05), which was further increased in low and medium dosages of olprinone group (low: 2.46±0.44-fold, medium: 2.80±0.75-fold, P < 0.05 vs. I/R group). Moreover, expression of LC3-II was elevated in low dosage of olprinone treated group (low: 4.50±0.47-fold, P < 0.05 vs. I/R group). CONCLUSIONS: Olprinone improves the cardiac function in response to myocardial I/R injury by regulation of anti-apoptotic, pro-apoptotic. In addition, autophagic signal pathways may also play a role in olprinone's therapeutic effect.

Hypermethylation of CpG islands is associated with increasing chromosomal damage in chinese lead-exposed workers.

Lead is a widely existing environmental pollutant with potential carcinogenicity. To investigate the association of blood lead level (B-Pb) with potential chromosomal damage and cancer, we analyzed micronucleus (MN) frequency of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and the methylation status of six human tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) post lead exposure. In the study, 147 lead-exposed workers were divided into two groups according to their B-Pb P50 value, with other 50 lead-unexposed workers as a control group. The cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus (CBMN) assay was performed to detect chromosomal damage of PBLs of both lead-exposed and -unexposed workers. The methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP-PCR) was further used to examine the methylation status of six TSGs (GSTP1, hMLH1, MGMT, p14, p15, and p16). Results showed that MN frequencies of high B-Pb workers 8.1 ± 3.1‰ and low B-Pb workers 5.7 ± 2.3‰ were significantly higher than that of control group 2.8 ± 1.9‰ (P < 0.01), while the MN frequency of high B-Pb workers was also higher than that of the low B-Pb workers (P < 0.01). The MN frequency in PBLs of lead-exposed group with the methylated TSGs was significantly higher than that in PBLs with the unmethylated TSGs (P < 0.05). Notably, the CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) correlated with chromosome damage (P < 0.05). Additionally, workers with high B-Pb had higher chromosome damage than those with low B-Pb (P < 0.05). Taken altogether, the results suggest that lead-exposed workers with CIMP positive and high B-Pb have a higher risk of being vulnerable to tumorigenesis. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 59:549-556, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Glutamate synthase MoGlt1-mediated glutamate homeostasis is important for autophagy, virulence and conidiation in the rice blast fungus.

Glutamate homeostasis plays a vital role in central nitrogen metabolism and coordinates several key metabolic functions. However, its function in fungal pathogenesis and development has not been investigated in detail. In this study, we identified and characterized a glutamate synthase gene MoGLT1 in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae that was important to glutamate homeostasis. MoGLT1 was constitutively expressed, but showed the highest expression level in appressoria. Deletion of MoGLT1 resulted in a significant reduction in conidiation and virulence. The ΔMoglt1 mutants were defective in appressorial penetration and the differentiation and spread of invasive hyphae in penetrated plant cells. The addition of exogenous glutamic acid partially rescued the defects of the ΔMoglt1 mutants in conidiation and plant infection. Assays for MoAtg8 expression and localization showed that the ΔMoglt1 mutants were defective in autophagy. The ΔMoglt1 mutants were delayed in the mobilization of glycogens and lipid bodies from conidia to developing appressoria. Taken together, our results show that glutamate synthase MoGlt1-mediated glutamate homeostasis is important for pathogenesis and development in the rice blast fungus, possibly via the regulation of autophagy.

Association of Telomere Length With Chromosomal Damage Among Chinese Workers Exposed to Vinyl Chloride Monomer.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between relative telomere length (RTL) and chromosomal damage represented by micronucleus (MN) frequencies among vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) -exposed workers. METHODS: A group of 126 VCM-exposed workers, 60 internal controls, and 25 external controls were examined for RTL by Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and MN frequencies by cytokinesis-block micronucleus test. Cumulative exposure dose was used to estimate the exposure of VCM-exposed workers. RESULTS: The RTL were significantly shorter in exposed workers and internal controls than in external controls. The exposed workers had significantly increased MN frequencies than both control groups. Additionally, MN frequencies were negatively associated with RTL in VCM-exposed group. CONCLUSIONS: VCM exposure may alter telomere length, which could be a potential biomarker of susceptibility to chromosomal damage.

Analysis of microRNA expression and micronuclei frequency in workers exposed to vinyl chloride monomer in China.

AIM: To identify differently expressed miRNAs associated with vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and micronuclei (MN) frequency. METHOD: In discovery stage, we used microarray to detect miRNAs expression in peripheral blood lymphocytes between six low and six high VCM-exposed workers grouped by medium cumulative exposure dose. Then we validated four miRNAs using real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) and detected the micronuclei frequencies using cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay in 94 VCM-exposed workers and 53 healthy control subjects. RESULTS & CONCLUSION: We found eight miRNAs significantly downregulated and seven miRNAs upregulated (|Fold Change| >2; p < 0.05) in the high-exposure group through microarray. We validate that miR-222-3p, miR-146a-5p and miR-151a-5p were downregulated, while miR-22-3p was upregulated in VCM-exposed group (all p < 0.01). Furthermore, we found that expression of miR-22-3p was upregulated in the high micronuclei (MN) frequency subjects. In conclusion, our study suggested that these four miRNAs could be biomarkers of VCM exposure, and moreover miR-22-3p was correlated with MN frequency.

[Effect of obesity on pulmonary function in asthmatic children of different age groups].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of obesity on pulmonary function in newly diagnosed asthmatic children of different age groups. METHODS: Two hundred and ninety-four children with newly diagnosed asthma were classified into preschool-age (<6 years) and school-age (6 to 12.5 years) groups. They were then classified into obese, overweight, and normal-weight subgroups based on their body mass index (BMI). All the children underwent pulmonary function tests, including large airway function tests [forced vital capacity (FVC%) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1%)] and small airway function tests [maximal expiratory flow at 25% of vital capacity (MEF25%), maximal expiratory flow at 50% of vital capacity (MEF50%), and maximal expiratory flow at 75% of vital capacity (MEF75%)]. RESULTS: The school-age group showed lower FEV1%, MEF25%, and MEF50% than the preschool-age group (P<0.05) after adjustment for sex and BMI. The normal-weight children in the school-age group had lower FEV1%, MEF25%, and MEF50% compared with their counterparts in the preschool-age group (P<0.05). The overweight children in the school-age group showed lower FVC% and MEF50% than those in the preschool-age group. However, all the pulmonary function parameters showed no significant differences between the obese children in the preschool-age and school-age groups. In the preschool-age group, FVC%, FEV1%, and MEF75% of the obese children were lower than those of the normal-weight children. In the school-age group, only FVC% and FEV1% showed differences between the obese and normal-weight children (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The effect of obesity on the pulmonary function varies with age in children with asthma, and the effect is more obvious in those of preschool age.

[An analysis of skin prick test reactivity to dust mite in overweight and normal weight children with allergic asthma before and after specific immunotherapy].

OBJECTIVE: To study the skin prick test (SPT) reactivity to house dust mite allergens in overweight and normal weight children with allergic asthma before and after standard subcutaneous specific immunotherapy. METHODS: Two hundred and fifteen children with allergic asthma who had positive SPT responses to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (DP) and Dermatophagoides farinae (DF) were enrolled. According to the weight index, they were classified into overweight (n=63) and normal weight groups (n=152). Skin indices (SI) to DP and DF were compared between the two groups at 6 months and 1 year after standard subcutaneous specific immunotherapy. RESULTS: The overweight group had a significantly larger histamine wheal diameter than the normal weight group after controlling the variation in testing time (P<0.05). After controlling the variation in weights, there were significant differences in the SIs to DP and DF before specific immunotherapy and at 6 months and 1 year after specific immunotherapy. At 6 months and 1 year after specific immunotherapy, the SIs to DP and DF were significantly reduced in both groups (P<0.05), and the overweight group had greater decreases in the SIs to DP and DF than the normal weight group. CONCLUSIONS: The overweight children with allergic asthma have stronger responses to histamine than the normal weight patients. Specific immunotherapy can reduce the reactivity to dust mite allergens in children with allergic asthma. Within one year after specific immunotherapy, the overweight children with allergic asthma have a significantly greater decrease in the reactivity to dust mite allergens than the normal weight patients.

MoCps1 is important for conidiation, conidial morphology and virulence in Magnaporthe oryzae.

Conidia play important roles in primary and secondary infections of airborne fungal pathogens. In this study, an insertional mutant with reduced capacity for conidiation was isolated from the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. The mutant has a T-DNA insertion that disrupts a gene named MoCPS1. The deduced MoCps1 protein contains three AMP-binding domains. Gene complementation and gene knockout assays confirmed that MoCPS1 is important for conidiation. Conidia produced by the MoCPS1 deletion mutants are much more slender and longer than those produced by the wild-type strain. The Mocps1 mutants are less efficient in both appressorial penetration and invasive growth of infection hyphae, resulting in attenuated virulence toward host plants. MoCPS1 is highly expressed in a mature appressorium. Interestingly, the expression levels of several genes related to conidiation and pathogenicity have been significantly altered in the MoCPS1 deletion mutants. Taken together, our results indicated that MoCPS1 is important for conidiogenesis, conidial morphogenesis, and pathogenesis in the rice blast fungus.

Benchmark Doses Based on Abnormality of WBC or Micronucleus Frequency in Benzene-Exposed Chinese Workers.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to calculate benchmark dose for chromosomal damage and reduced white blood cell (WBC) associated with exposure to benzene (BZ). METHODS: A group of 317 exposed workers and 102 controls were examined for WBC count and genotoxicity by micronucleus (MN) frequency. The cumulative exposure concentration of BZ was calculated by ambient air BZ concentration at worksites in conjunction with job type and associated service duration. RESULTS: MN frequency (P < 0.01) was higher and WBC count was lower (P < 0.01) in exposed workers on average than in the controls. MN frequency was a more sensitive than WBC; workers older than 30 were more susceptible to abnormal MN frequency and WBC count reduction than those younger than 30. CONCLUSIONS: Benchmark dose estimates indicated that BZ exposure at levels below the current occupational exposure standard can induce genotoxicity and hematotoxicity.

[The cost effectiveness analysis of minimally invasive surgery and conservative treatment in elderly osteoporotic spinal fracture].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the cost effectiveness of conservative treatment, percutaneous vertebroplasty(PVP)and percutaneous kyphoplasty(PKP)for elderly osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture(OVCF). METHODS: The clinical data of 152 patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures, collected in the orthopedic department of 309th Hospital of PLA from October 2013 to July 2014, was retrospectively analyzed. According to the therapeutic methods, the patients who met the inclusion criteria were divided into conservative treatment group (51 cases), percutaneous vertebroplasty group (50 cases) and percutaneous kyphoplasty group(51 cases). The average medical cost (C) in hospital period and 1 year after discharging, and the treatment effect (E) according to standard of "cure" (VAS score less than or equal to 2) or "improvement" (VAS score was 3 to 8) was recorded. Then the C/E value indicated the cost effectiveness in different standards. RESULTS: The average hospitalization days of the PVP and PKP group was 3 to 5 days with an average of(3.4±0.6) days. The conservative group was 12 to 15 days with an average of (14.0±0.6) days. During the hospitalization period, the cost effectiveness of the conservative group, PVP group and PKP group were RMB 1 253.88, 935.75, 983.99 yuan, respectively, according to the standard of "cure". The PVP group was superior to the PKP group and the latter was superior to the conservative group. If "improvement" was used as the standard of evaluation, the results were RMB 97.80, 449.16, 501.84 yuan, respectively, suggesting that the conservative group was better than the PVP group and the latter was better than the PKP group. After hospital discharge, the cost effectiveness of the conservative group, PVP group and PKP group were RMB 3 834.05, 1 878.41 and 1 916.11 yuan, respectively, according to the standard of "cure". The PVP group was superior to the PKP group and the latter exceeded the conservative group. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that the PVP was the best choice at the evaluation criterion of "cure", while taking "improvement" as the evaluation criterion, the conservative treatment was the best one. Either way, the PVP was the best choice after hospital discharge.

Follow-up of N400 in the Rehabilitation of First-episode Schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: The N400 component of event-related potentials (ERP) has recently drawn widespread attention at home and abroad. This study was to explore the relationship between N400 changes and risperidone treatment and rehabilitation infirst-episode schizophrenia (FES). METHODS: ERP component N400 was recorded by Guangzhou Runjie WJ-1 ERP instruments, in 58 FES before and 6 months, 15 months after risperidone treatment, and in 62 normal controls. The patients' syndromes were assessed by Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). And the stimuli are Chinese sentences with matching (congruent) or mismatching (incongruent) ending words. RESULTS: N400 latencies were prolonged, and amplitudes were decreased in Cz, Pz, Fz, C3, C4, in FES compared with in NC, before treatment. The prolonged N400 latencies and decreased amplitudes were negatively correlated with the patients' positive scale and total scale of PANSS. There are significant differences of N400 amplitudes and latencies in 6 months and 15 months follow-up after treatment. Before treatment, 6 months and 15 months after treatment, N400 latencies are 446 ± 35 ms, 440 ± 37 ms, 414 ± 31 ms (F = 9.72, P < 0.01) in incongruent situation; N400 amplitudes are 5.2 ± 4.6 µV, 5.7 ± 4.8 µV, 7.3 ± 5.0 µV (F = 2.06, P > 0.05) in congruent situation, and 8.5 ± 5.9 µV, 10.1 ± 5.0 µV, 11.9 ± 7.0 µV (F = 3.697, P < 0.05) in incongruent situation. CONCLUSIONS: N400 could be used to predict the effects of treatment of schizophrenia to some degree. The linguistic and cognitive impairment in schizophrenia can be improved by antipsychotic drugs.

Synthesis and structure of dicopper(II) complexes bridged by N-(5-chloro-2-hydroxyphenyl)-N'-[3-(methy lamino)propyl]oxamide: evaluation of DNA/protein binding, DNA cleavage, and in vitro anticancer activity.

Three new dicopper(II) complexes bridged by N-(5-chloro-2-hydroxyphenyl)-N'-[3-(methylamino)-propyl]oxamide (H3chmpoxd) and end-capped with 1,10-phenanthroline (phen); 2,2'-diamino-4,4'-bithiazole (dabt); and 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy), namely [Cu2(chmpoxd)(H2O)(phen)](ClO4)⋅CH3CN (1), [Cu2(chmpoxd)(dabt)(C2H5OH)](NO3) (2) and [Cu2(chmpoxd)(H2O)(bpy)](NO3)⋅CH3CN (3), were synthesized and structurally characterized. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that both the copper(II) ions bridged by the cis-chmpoxd(3-) ligands in the three complexes are in square-planar and square-pyramidal environments, respectively. The reactivity towards herring sperm DNA (HS-DNA) and protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) indicated that these copper(II) complexes can interact with the DNA in the mode of intercalation, and bind to BSA responsible for quenching of tryptophan fluorescence by the static quenching mechanism. The cytotoxicity and DNA cleavage suggested that all the dicopper(II) complexes are active against the selected tumor cell lines, and the complex 1 exhibits the cleavage capacity for plasmid DNA.

Effect of polymorphic metabolizing genes on micronucleus frequencies among benzene-exposed shoe workers in China.

It is well-known that metabolism of benzene is required for the induction of toxicity and consequent health problems. Therefore, genetic variation in benzene (BZ) metabolism genes can influence health outcomes. However, large population studies are needed to provide more evidence for such relationship. We have conducted a large population investigation (385 BZ-exposed shoe workers and 197 matched healthy controls) on the association between inheritance of certain BZ metabolizing genes and the expression of micronuclei (MN). The latter was based on the cytokinesis-blocked MN assay. We analyzed the polymorphisms of GSTM1, GSTT1, GSTP1 (rs1695), CYP2E1 (rs3813867), CYP2E1 (rs2031920), CYP2E1 (rs6413432), mEH exon 3 (rs1051740), mEH exon 4 (rs2234922). Univariate Poisson regression analysis demonstrated that the BZ-exposed workers had significantly increased MN frequency compared with the controls (FR=1.84, 95% CI: 1.56-2.18; P<0.001), and showed a cumulative exposure dose-response relationship. The CYP2E1 rs3813867 mutant allele (CC+GC) (FR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02-1.29; P=0.020) and rs2031920 variant allele (CT+TT) (FR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.09-1.37, P<0.01) was associated with higher MN frequency significantly compared with the wild genotype separately. Furthermore, the MN frequency in rs2031920 variant allele (CT+TT) (FR=1.17, 95% CI: 1.04-1.31, P<0.01) was also higher than the wild genotype when the age, gender and cumulative exposure dose was adjusted in Poisson regression. In addition, the CYP2E1, however, GSTM1null, GSTT1null, GSTP1 rs1695, rs6413432, rs1051740 and rs2234922 polymorphisms showed no association with MN frequency. Our results indicate that two promoter polymorphisms in the CYP2E1 gene, especially the rs2031920 variant allele, were involved with the BZ-induction of MN and may contribute to risk of cancer among exposed workers.

[Impacts of preoperative radiochemotherapy on operation and postoperative complications in patients with mid-low rectal carcinomas].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of preoperative radiochemotherapy on postoperative complications in patients with mid-low rectal carcinomas. METHODS: Clinicopathologic data of T3 and T4 patients with mid-low rectal carcinomas in the Department of Colorectal Surgery at the Changhai Hospital of The Second Military Medical University from January 2009 to December 2010 were analyzed retrospectively. This cohort included 81 patients treated with preoperative radiochemotherapy followed by operation(radiochemotherapy group) and 93 cases who underwent surgery alone(control group). RESULTS: Both resection rate and sphincter preservation rate were higher in the radiochemotherapy group(100% and 86.4%) than those in the control group(94.6% and 73.1%), and the difference in sphincter preservation rate was statistically significant(P=0.039). There were no significant differences in the mean operative time [(130±15) min vs.(125±20) min, P>0.05] and mean amount of bleeding [(100±15) ml vs. (95±10) ml, P>0.05] between the two groups. The overall incidence of postoperative complications was similar(9.9% vs. 9.7%, P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative radiochemotherapy can significantly increase sphincter preservation rate of mid-low rectal carcinomas, and does not increase the difficulty in surgical procedure and postoperative complications.