Perioperative blood transfusion is one of the factors that affect the prognosis of gastric cancer.

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the potential significance of perioperative blood transfusion on the prognosis of gastric cancer. METHODS: Data from 234 patients who were subjected to radical gastrectomy in our hospital were obtained and retrospectively analyzed. Patients' age, gender, preoperative anemia, tumor size, location, invasion depth, lymph node metastasis, TNM stage, presence or absence of blood transfusion and blood transfusion volume were observed and analyzed. RESULTS: The difference of tumor recurrence in patients whose blood transfusion volume was greater than 2U was significant (p<0.001). The tumor recurrence in patients whose blood transfusion was less than 2U was significantly shorter than in those whose transfusion volume was greater than 4U (p=0.03). The survival in the blood transfusion group was significantly lower in comparison with the nonblood transfusion group (p=0.002). The survival of transfusion group in TNM stage III and IV was significantly shorter than that in non-transfusion group (p=0.03). Statistical significance was found in survival between the transfusion group and non-transfusion group when the tumor size was less than 5 cm and greater than 5 cm (p=0.006, p=0.04, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Perioperative transfusion is one of the factors for predicting the prognosis of postoperative gastric cancer patients, and the larger the perioperative transfusion, the shorter the tumor recurrence, the worse the prognosis. Therefore, it is of great significance reducing the intraoperative blood loss and strict controlling blood transfusion indications.

Characterization of the thermal/thermal oxidative stability of fluorinated graphene with various structures.

Considering practical applications, the thermal/thermal oxidative stability of fluorinated graphene should be given sufficient attention. Herein, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were used to investigate in detail the differences in the thermal stabilities of two types of fluorinated samples, fluorinated graphene (FG) and fluorinated porous graphene (FPG) with various fluorine contents, respectively, as well as the reasons for these differences. It was demonstrated that the thermal stability of FG and FPG was improved upon increasing the fluorine content, which was mainly caused by the enhancement of bond energy of the covalent C-F bonds. Moreover, compared to that of the raw graphene samples, the thermal oxidative stability of FG was reduced due to the defects brought by fluorination, while the thermal oxidative stability of FPG was improved, originating from the inflaming retarding effect of the fluorine element. Interestingly, the thermal oxidative stability of the fluorinated samples was even better than their thermal stability. Using a comparison of the two types of fluorinated samples and support from the computational simulations of the model molecules, it was suggested that a greater amount of CFn (n = 2, 3) groups or defects in the FG samples resulted in its relatively worse thermal stabilities. Furthermore, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was introduced to analyze the thermal stabilities of the fluorinated graphene samples as a novel method. The changes in the spin centers in samples after thermal treatment were studied, which indicated that the lower amount of the more stable spin centers of FPG was another reason leading to its more outstanding thermal stabilities in comparison to FG samples.

Defluorination and covalent grafting of fluorinated graphene with TEMPO in a radical mechanism.

Fluorinated graphene (FG) can be regarded as the representative two-dimensional (2D) material to study the characteristics of "2D chemistry", whereas its derivative reaction mechanism is still required to be revealed for the destination of deciduous fluorine atoms after defluorination of FG. Herein, we proposed a particular derivative reaction of FG by employing 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) as the attacking reagent, and the products were characterized via Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (EPR), Mass Spectrometry (MS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was demonstrated that the defluorination caused by TEMPO occurred in a radical mechanism, thus leading to formations of new spin centers on graphene nanosheets as well as C[double bond, length as m-dash]C bonds. More importantly, the deciduous fluorine atoms after defluorination, which existed in TEMPO fluoride molecules, have been detected for the first time. Meanwhile, some TEMPO molecules were covalently grafted on the nanosheet, which resulted from the coupled reaction between TEMPO radical and the spin center on the FG nanosheet. These findings deepen the research of derivative reactions of FG, meanwhile providing a particular view to investigate the chemistry characteristics of 2D materials from a radical mechanism.

English learning anxiety of Chinese rural junior high school students under the online class mode.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought tremendous changes to the field of education, transferring traditional offline teaching to online teaching on a large scale globally. Junior high school students, as a special group, may experience foreign language learning anxiety different from anxiety experienced by college students in the process of online English learning. This research aims at investigating the level of, sources and strategies for English learning anxiety of Chinese rural junior high school students under online class mode. A total of 120 students from Dongshan Junior High School in Haikou participated in this study and asked to fill in the questionnaires, and 12 of them were randomly chosen to be interviewed. IBM SPSS Statistics 26 was used to analyze the data. This research found that Chinese rural junior high school students generally had a moderate level of English learning anxiety, and there is statistically no significant relation between the gender difference and anxiety in online foreign language classes. It was also found that factors influencing English learning anxiety of Chinese rural junior high school students included the students themselves, their home environments, the teacher and the school, and the social environment. Lastly, the research found five strategies to relieve foreign language learning anxiety, including recognizing the existence of anxiety correctly, communicating the anxiety honestly with others, improving the psychological quality, being positive about life' s setbacks, and setting up some realistic goals in English learning.

Efficacy of trastuzumab combined with SOX or IP chemotherapy regimen in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of S-1 + oxaliplatin (SOX) chemotherapy regimen combined with trastuzumab and irinotecan + cisplatin (IP) chemotherapy regimen combined with trastuzumab in treating human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2)-positive advanced gastric cancer. METHODS: A total of 138 patients with HER-2-positive advanced gastric cancer were divided into SOX group (SOX chemotherapy regimen combined with trastuzumab; n=69) and IP group (IP chemotherapy regimen combined with trastuzumab; n=69). Then, the clinical efficacy, incidence rate of adverse reactions, quality-of-life score and other indicators were compared between the two groups of patients. Additionally, the levels of myeloid-related protein-14 (MRP-14), stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), fibroblast-specific protein-1 (FSP-1) and CXC chemokine receptor-4 (CXCR4) in peripheral blood and the changes in neovascularization markers were detected, and the survival of patients was followed up and recorded. RESULTS: The disease control rate (DCR) was clearly better in SOX group than that in IP group. Serum levels of MRP-14, SDF-1, FSP-1 and CXCR4 were obviously lower in SOX group than those in IP group. The scores of physical function, behavioral function, role function and social function were higher in SOX group than those in IP group. Moreover, the follow-up results revealed that the PFS of patients was overtly longer in SOX group than that in IP group. CONCLUSIONS: Trastuzumab combined with SOX chemotherapy regimen has an obvious curative effect in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer, which prominently improves the quality of life of patients, lowers the serum tumor marker levels in patients, delays tumor progression, and results in tolerable adverse reactions. Therefore, it is worthy of application in clinical practice.

MiR-200b Suppresses Gastric Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion by Inhibiting NRG1 through ERBB2/ERBB3 Signaling.

PURPOSE: Accumulating evidence indicates that miRNAs (miRs) play crucial roles in the modulation of tumors development. However, the accurately mechanisms have not been entirely clarified. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of miR-200b in the development of gastric cancer (GC). METHODS: Western blot and RT-PCR were applied to detect epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) marker expression and mRNA expression. Transwell assay was used for measuring the metastasis and invasiveness of GC cells. TargetScan system, luciferase reporter assay, and rescue experiments were applied for validating the direct target of miR-200b. RESULTS: MiR-200b was prominently decreased in GC tissues and cells, and its downregulation was an indicator of poor prognosis of GC patients. Reexpression of miR-200b suppressed EMT along with GC cell migration and invasion. Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) was validated as the target of miR-200b, and it rescued miR-200b inhibitory effect on GC progression. In GC tissues, the correlation of miR-200b with NRG1 was inverse. CONCLUSION: MiR-200b suppressed EMT-related migration and invasion of GC through the ERBB2/ERBB3 signaling pathway via targeting NRG1.

LINC00662 promotes cell viability and metastasis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by sponging miR-340-5p and upregulating HOXB2.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that lncRNA LINC00662 plays an important role in pathogenesis of malignancies. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the regulatory mechanism of LINC00662 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: In this study, the regulatory mechanism of LINC00662 was investigated by RT-qPCR. MTT, transwell and dual luciferase reporter assays. RESULTS: Upregulation of LINC00662 was found in ESCC and associated with worse clinical outcomes in ESCC patients. More importantly, knockdown of LINC00662 restrained cell proliferation, migration and invasion in ESCC. In addition, LINC00662 acts as a molecular sponge for miR-340-5p in ESCC, and miR-340-5p directly targets HOXB2. HOXB2 expression can be positively regulated by LINC00662 in ESCC. Furthermore, HOXB2 downregulation or miR-340-5p overexpression weakened the carcinogenesis of LINC00662 in ESCC. CONCLUSIONS: LncRNA LINC00662 promotes the progression of ESCC by upregulating HOXB2 by sponging miR-340-5p.

Oncogenic Activities Of UBE2S Mediated By VHL/HIF-1α/STAT3 Signal Via The Ubiquitin-Proteasome System In PDAC.

PURPOSE: Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2S (UBE2S) is important for the development and progression of several types of cancer. However, neither the role of UBE2S in pancreatic cancer nor its mechanism is clear. METHODS: We analyzed three GEO datasets to obtain 150 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and non-cancerous samples. Moreover, GSEA and mutation analysis were also done for UBE2S. The UBE2S expression in PDAC was measured by immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR. Colony formation, scratch wound-healing and tumor growth assays were conducted to examine the effect of UBE2S on PDAC cells. Migration was detected using Transwell assay. UBE2S knockdown pancreatic cells were treated with proteasome inhibitor MG132. Immunofluorescence was undertaken for interaction between UBE2S and VHL. The expression of Snail and Twist1 and the changes of HIF-1α/STAT3 pathway were detected by Western blotting. RESULTS: The mRNA of UBE2S was significantly upregulated in human pancreatic cancer compared to normal tissues. Immunohistochemistry confirmed that the protein level of UBE2S increased in tissue microarrays (TMAs) and was associated with lymph nodes metastasis and distant metastasis. CONCLUSION: UBE2S could enhance EMT by the VHL/HIF-1α/STAT3 pathway via the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Co-expression of CDC20 may represent a novel and promising therapeutic target for the patients with PDAC.

Renal cell carcinoma associated with Xp11.2 translocations, report of a case.

Renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) associated with Xp11.2 translocations (Xp11.2 translocation RCCs) are rare and occur predominantly in children and adolescents. A case of such tumor in a 12-year boy is reported. Grossly the cut surface of the ill-defined mass was polychromatic, containing areas of hemorrhage and necrosis. Microscopically, the tumor was composed of epithelioid cells with clear to weakly eosinophilic cytoplasm arranged in nested, alveolar, and pseudopapillary formations. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells were positive for transcription factor E3 and CD10. We concluded that this case was an Xp11.2 translocation RCC.