Hormonal and reproductive factors and risk of esophageal cancer in women: a meta-analysis.

Currently published studies on the relationship between hormonal and reproductive factors and esophageal cancer (EC) risk in women have yielded contradictory findings. For a better understanding of this relationship, we first performed this meta-analysis by pooling all available publications. Sixteen independent studies were retrieved after a comprehensive search in PubMed and Embase databases. The pooled relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated. The pooled RRs implicated that hormone replacement therapy was negatively associated with the risk of EC (RR = 0.72, 95% CI 0.60-0.86, P < 0.001) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (RR = 0.68, 95% CI 0.48-0.97, P = 0.031). Menopausal women were at an increased risk of EC (RR = 1.47, 95% CI 1.07-2.03, P = 0.018), particularly esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (RR = 1.66, 95% CI 1.12-2.48, P = 0.012). Additionally, decreased risk of EC (RR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.68-0.92, P = 0.003) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (RR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.53-0.82, P < 0.001) was demonstrated among women with breast-feeding history. Moreover, such associations were more significant among Caucasians, but not Asians. Our study suggests that menopause is an independent risk factor for EC, while hormone replacement therapy and breast-feeding history play a protective role against EC, particularly among Caucasians. All results are consistent with the hypothesis that effects of estrogen may lower the risk of EC in women.

[COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF CURRENT METHODS OF ANESTHESIA IN PERFORMANCE OF TRANSRECTAL PROSTATE BIOPSY].

Prostate biopsy guided by transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) is largely used in prostate cancer diagnostics. This procedure is usually quite painful and fear of pain could scare patients from this important research. The aim of the study was to compare methods of anesthesia for prostate biopsy. The patients were divided into 4 groups (40 patients in each group). TRUS-guided periprostatic anesthesia with 1% solution of lidocaine (10 ml) was carried out in the first group. An intrarectal introduction of 5 g EMLA cream (lidocaine 2,5% and prilocaine 2,5%) was applied in the second group. The intrarectal introduction of 10% lidocaine spray (3 doses) was used in the third group. Placebo as ultrasonic gel was utilized for the fourth group. The authors used the 100-score linear visual analog scale (LVS 1-100) and 5-score numeric visual scale (NVS-4). Minimal scores of pain were obtained in patients using TRUS-guided periprostatic anesthesia with 1% solution of lidocaine (10 ml). This type of anesthesia didn't lead to increase of the number of complications.

Tunable interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in symmetrical Au/[Fe/Au]n multilayers.

The interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (i-DMI) has been exploited in as-made symmetrical Au/[Fe/Au]n structures. By tailoring the chirality of the i-DMI at the Au/Fe interface, an overall enhancement of the i-DMI can be obtained in such a symmetrical structure. Furthermore, the tunability of the i-DMI was realized by changing the stacking number n. Compared to the top of Fe, a large tensile stress at the bottom of Fe due to lattice mismatch was responsible for the chirality change in the sub/Au/Fe system. Layer-resolved DMI calculations revealed that the sign of the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) energy was changed for Au near the interface of Au/Fe under tensile stress, subsequently reversing the chirality of the i-DMI from left-handed to right-handed. Our findings provide a simplest way to tune the i-DMI in a multilayer system, further benefiting the application of skyrmion-based devices.

Mitochondrial Perturbation in Alzheimer's Disease and Diabetes.

Mitochondria are well-known cellular organelles that play a vital role in cellular bioenergetics, heme biosynthesis, thermogenesis, calcium homeostasis, lipid catabolism, and other metabolic activities. Given the extensive role of mitochondria in cell function, mitochondrial dysfunction plays a part in many diseases, including diabetes and Alzheimer's disease (AD). In most cases, there is overwhelming evidence that impaired mitochondrial function is a causative factor in these diseases. Studying mitochondrial function in diseased cells vs healthy cells may reveal the modified mechanisms and molecular components involved in specific disease states. In this chapter, we provide a concise overview of the major recent findings on mitochondrial abnormalities and their link to synaptic dysfunction relevant to neurodegeneration and cognitive decline in AD and diabetes. Our increased understanding of the role of mitochondrial perturbation indicates that the development of specific small molecules targeting aberrant mitochondrial function could provide therapeutic benefits for the brain in combating aging-related dementia and neurodegenerative diseases by powering up brain energy and improving synaptic function and transmission.

Study of flux pinning mechanism under hydrostatic pressure in optimally doped (Ba,K)Fe2As2 single crystals.

Strong pinning depends on the pinning force strength and number density of effective defects. Using the hydrostatic pressure method, we demonstrate here that hydrostatic pressure of 1.2 GPa can significantly enhance flux pinning or the critical current density (Jc) of optimally doped Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 crystals by a factor of up to 5 in both low and high fields, which is generally rare with other Jc enhancement techniques. At 4.1 K, high pressure can significantly enhance Jc from 5 × 10(5 )A/cm(2) to nearly 10(6 )A/cm(2) at 2 T, and from 2 × 10(5 )A/cm(2) to nearly 5.5 × 10(5 )A/cm(2) at 12 T. Our systematic analysis of the flux pinning mechanism indicates that both the pinning centre number density and the pinning force are greatly increased by the pressure and enhance the pinning. This study also shows that superconducting performance in terms of flux pinning or Jc for optimally doped superconducting materials can be further improved by using pressure.

Roxithromycin reduces the viability of cultured airway smooth muscle cells from a rat model of asthma.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of roxithromycin on apoptosis of airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) from a rat model of asthma and uncover signaling pathway underlying the cytotoxicity of roxithromycin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: ASMCs were isolated from a rat model of asthma and treated with or without roxithromycin for 48 h before parameter detection. Cell viability was assessed by WST-8 assay and flow cytometry after Annexin V/PI double staining. Changes in the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) were measured by flow cytometry using JC-1. Cytochrome C (Cyt c), cleaved Caspase-9/3 and P27 were evaluated by Western Blot. RESULTS: Incubation with roxithromycin reduced ASMCs proliferation and enhanced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Flow cytometry revealed a loss of ΔΨm and Western Blot displayed Caspase-9/3 activation as well as Cyt c release from mitochondria to the the cytosol after the treatment of roxithromycin. In addition, P27 were more strongly expressed in AMSCs treated with roxithromycin compared with the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Roxithromycin induced apoptosis of ASMCs derived from a rat model of asthma in a dose-dependent manner via a caspase-3- and caspase-9-dependent mitochondrial pathway, involving the up-regulation of P27.

Meigs' syndrome--a case report.

Bilateral ovarian fibromas combined with as and hydrothorax is a rare disorder. A case of bilateral ovarian fibromas combined with ascites and hyrothorax is presented. The ascites and hydrothorax disappeared spontaneously after removal of the ovarian tumors.

A modulatory lipoprotein related to cancer cell inhibition.

Three fractions of lipoprotein were isolated from sera and ascites of cancer-bearing mice by polyanion precipitation and density centrifugation. The cancer modulatory activity of isolated lipoproteins was estimated by means of trypan blue exclusion and cell potassium content. The activity of one of the isolated lipoprotein fractions was to kill cancer cells in vitro with little effect on normal bone marrow cells. This lipoprotein migrated as one band on agarose electrophoresis. After incubating cancer cells with the lipoprotein, the membrane fluidity of the cancer cells was markedly changed (p less than 0.01). The mechanism of modulation may be related to interaction of lipoprotein with plasma membrane of cancer cells.

Resistance to multiple fluoroquinolones in a clinical isolate of Streptococcus pyogenes: identification of gyrA and parC and specification of point mutations associated with resistance.

A strain of Streptococcus pyogenes resistant to multiple fluoroquinolones was isolated from the blood of an immunocompromised patient. Resistance to fluoroquinolones in S. pyogenes has not been previously studied. Compared to 10 sensitive strains of S. pyogenes, the fluoroquinolone-resistant clinical isolate of S. pyogenes presented point mutations in gyrA, predicting that serine-81 was changed to phenylalanine and that methionine-99 was changed to leucine, and in parC, predicting that serine-79 was changed to tyrosine. The mechanism of fluoroquinolone resistance in this isolate of S. pyogenes appears to be analogous to previously reported mechanisms for Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Performance of three enzyme immunoassays and two direct fluorescence assays for detection of Giardia lamblia in stool specimens preserved in ECOFIX.

ECOFIX is a single-vial stool preservative that is both formalin- and mercury-free. We evaluated the abilities of three commercial Giardia lamblia-specific enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) (ProSpecT Giardia Microplate Assay [Alexon-Trend Inc.], Giardia Test [Techlab], and Premier Giardia lamblia [Meridian Diagnostics, Inc.]) and two commercial direct fluorescent-antibody (FA) assays for G. lamblia (Crypto/Giardia IF Test [Techlab] and Merifluor Cryptosporidium/Giardia [Meridian Diagnostics, Inc.]) to detect G. lamblia in 34 G. lamblia-positive and 44 G. lamblia-negative stool specimens (determined by traditional examination for ova and parasites) preserved in ECOFIX compared to their abilities to detect G. lamblia in the same specimens preserved in formalin as the "gold standard" for each assay. Of the 34 formalin-fixed positive specimens, the number detected by each assay was as follows:, Alexon EIA, 34; Meridian EIA, 27; Techlab EIA, 29; Meridian FA assay, 31; and Techlab FA assay, 28. Both FA tests and the Alexon EIA performed well with ECOFIX, but the other two EIAs detected fewer positive specimens (the difference was statistically significant with the Techlab EIA) when ECOFIX was the preservative. Use of G. lamblia cyst antigen from cultured organisms preserved in formalin and ECOFIX demonstrated that the Alexon EIA could detect smaller amounts of antigen in ECOFIX than the other two EIAs could and suggested that cyst antigen is more stable in formalin. We recommend that laboratories use an FA assay or the Alexon EIA if they plan to use ECOFIX as their stool preservative.