The Diagnostic Value of the Modified STdmax/MET Criterion in Treadmill Exercise Electrocardiographic Test for Coronary Artery Disease in an Aged Population.

Objective: The primary objective of this study is to assess the diagnostic value of treadmill exercise electrocardiographic test (EET) for coronary artery disease (CAD) in the aged population, emphasizing the need for improved diagnostic criteria due to the limitations of traditional EET in accurately diagnosing CAD among elderly patients. This focus is critical as the aged population has a higher prevalence of CAD, and early and accurate diagnosis is essential for effective management and treatment. Methods: This study comprised two stages. Initially, we retrospectively analyzed data from patients aged > 60 years who underwent treadmill EET within two weeks of coronary angiography (CAG) during hospitalization from June 1, 2014, to May 31, 2017. We evaluated the diagnostic value of treadmill EET using both the standard criterion (ST depression > 0.1 mV) and a modified criterion (the ratio of ST depression to metabolic equivalent [STdmax/MET]), explaining our choice of the modified criterion as it potentially offers a more nuanced assessment by considering the patient's exercise capacity. A subgroup analysis was also conducted. Subsequently, a prospective study to further investigate the modified criterion was carried out. Results: In the retrospective analysis, 190 patients were enrolled, with 71.5% confirmed to have CAD. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the standard criterion were 66.2%, 42.6%, and 59.5%, respectively. With a cut-off value for STdmax/MET set at 0.255 mV·W/m2, these metrics improved to 79.4%, 55.7%, and 72.4%, respectively, for the modified criterion. The prospective study, involving 47 patients, confirmed significant improvements in sensitivity (85.7% vs. 64.3%, P = .041) and specificity (68.4% vs. 31.6%, P = .046) when applying the modified criterion. Conclusions: The introduction of the novel modified diagnostic criterion, STdmax/MET, significantly enhances the diagnostic value of treadmill EET for detecting CAD in elderly patients. The adoption of this modified criterion could potentially improve clinical outcomes by facilitating more accurate and timely diagnosis of CAD in this high-risk group.

Analysis of the impact of temperature on the spectral shift in ultraviolet hyperspectral imaging spectrometers.

The imaging spectrometer's high performance in practical applications may be compromised by environmental factors, particularly temperature variations, posing a challenge to its stability. Temperature fluctuations can induce spectral shift, directly impacting the accuracy of spectral measurements, subsequently influencing the precision of radiometric measurements. To address this issue, this study investigates a dual-channel UV imaging spectrometer. This instrument boasts a wavelength calibration accuracy of 0.01 nm. This paper conducts an in-depth analysis of the various mechanisms through which temperature changes influence the spectral line offset in the imaging spectrometer, integrating actual orbital temperature data to discuss the instrument's temperature load settings. The impact of temperature on spectral shift is examined using finite element analysis and optical design software. Estimations of spectral shift were made based on temperature variations. Simulation results indicated that the maximum deviation of spectral shift is estimated at 0.018 nm under a temperature condition of 16 ± 1°C. Under a more controlled orbital temperature condition (16 ± 0.3°C), the maximum deviation of spectral shift decreased to 0.01 nm. Experimental data revealed that at 16 ± 1°C, the maximum deviation of spectral shift did not exceed 0.01 nm. This effectively corroborates our theoretical analysis. The relationship between temperature and spectral shift offers a crucial theoretical foundation for calibrating spectral measurements and managing the thermal conditions of the instrument.

An adaptive predefined time sliding mode control for uncertain nonlinear cyber-physical servo system under cyber attacks.

Malicious attacks are often inevitable in cyber-physical systems (CPS). Accuracy in Cyber physical system for position tracking of servos is the major concern now a days. In high precision industrial automation, it is very hard to achieve accuracy in tracking especially under malicious cyber-attacks, control saturations, parametric perturbations and external disturbances. In this paper, we have designed a novel predefined time (PDT) convergence sliding mode adaptive controller (PTCSMAC) for such kind of cyber physical control system. Main key feature of our control is to cope these challenges that are posed by CPS systems such as parameter perturbation, control saturation, and cyber-attacks and the whole system then upgrade to a third-order system to facilitate adaptive control law. Then, we present an adaptive controller based on the novel PDT convergent sliding mode surface (SMS) combined with a modified weight updated Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) which is used to approximate the uncertain part of the system. Another significant advantage of our proposed control approach is that it does not require detailed model information, guaranteeing robust performance even when the system model is uncertain. Additionally, our proposed PTCSMAC controller is nonsingular regardless of initial conditions, and is capable of eradicating the possibility of singularity problems, which are frequently a concern in numerous CPS control systems. Finally, we have verified our designed PTCSMAC control law through rigorous simulations on CPS seeker servo positioning system and compared the robustness and performance of different existing techniques.

Design and analysis of ELM-based predefined time sliding mode adaptive controller for PMLM position control under physical constraints.

Achieving accurate position tracking for robotics and industrial servo systems is an extremely challenging task, particularly when dealing with control saturation, parameter perturbation, and external disturbance. To address these challenges, a predefined time convergent sliding mode adaptive controller (PTCSMAC) has been proposed for a permanent magnet linear motor (PMLM). A novel sliding mode surface (SMS) with predefined time convergence PDTC has been constructed, which ensures that the error converges to zero within the prescribed time. The system not only meets the expected performance standards but also has a uniformly bounded motor speed. The trajectory tracking error in SMS is proven to converge to zero within the predefined time. This predefined time stability of the closed-loop system has been demonstrated by using the Lyapunov stability criterion with PDTC. The convergence time (CT) can be arbitrarily set, and the upper bound of it is not affected by the initial value and control parameters of the system. A new updated version of extreme learning machine (ELM) is introduced to approximate the uncertain part of the system based on PDTC. The ELM is also provided with the hyperbolic tangent function to estimate the saturation constraint. This is done by converting the function into a linear function concerning the unconstrained control input variable. Then, based on established stability, a novel sliding mode adaptive controller (PTCSMAC) with predefined time convergence is designed. The convergence time (CT) of the controller is unaffected by the initial conditions as well as the control parameters. The rigorous numerical simulations on the PMLM model with complex disturbances verify the strong robustness and high-precision tracking characteristic of the proposed control law.

Near-Infrared Dual Greenhouse Gas Sensor Based on Hollow-Core Photonic Crystal Fiber for Gas-Cell In-Situ Applications.

A greenhouse gas sensor has been developed to simultaneously detect multiple gas species within a hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber (HC-PBF) structure entirely composed of fibers. To enhance sensitivity, the gas cell consists of HC-PBF enclosed between two single-mode fibers fused with a reflective end surface to double the absorption length. The incorporation of side holes for gas diffusion allows for analysis of the relationship between gas diffusion speed, number of drilled side holes, and energy loss. As the number of drilled holes increases, the response time decreases to less than 3 min at the expense of energy loss. Gas experiments demonstrated detection limits of 0.1 ppm for methane and 2 ppm for carbon dioxide, with an average time of 50 s. In-situ testing conducted in rice fields validates the effectiveness of the developed gas detection system using HC-PBF cells, establishing all-fiber sensors with high sensitivity and rapid response.

The impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on the clinical efficacy and serum tumor marker levels in patients undergoing radical surgery for gastric cancer.

The objective of this article is to study the impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) on the clinical efficacy and serum tumor marker levels in patients undergoing radical surgery for gastric cancer (GC). Thirty patients who underwent routine radical surgery for GC in our hospital from January 2020 to June 2021 were included in the control group. Thirty patients who underwent radical surgery for GC after receiving NAC from July 2021 to December 2022 were included in the observation group. The treatment outcomes of the observation group were assessed and analyzed. The surgical indicators, tumor markers, Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS), and occurrence of adverse reactions were compared between the 2 groups. Comparisons were made between the 2 groups in terms of surgical duration, number of lymph node dissections, intraoperative blood loss, time to postoperative ambulation, length of hospital stay, and time to postoperative passage of flatus (P > .05). The observation group had a higher proportion of R0 resection at the surgical margin compared to the control group (P < .05). The serum tumor markers of the 2 groups were compared before treatment (P > .05). After treatment, the levels of serum carcinoembryonic antigen, alpha-fetoprotein, cancer antigen 125, and carbohydrate antigen 72-4 decreased in both groups, and the observation group showed a greater reduction in these tumor marker levels compared to the control group (P < .05). The KPS scores of the 2 groups were compared before treatment (P > .05). After treatment, the KPS scores increased in both groups, with the observation group showing a higher improvement compared to the control group (P < .05). The overall incidence of adverse reactions, including incision infection, pleural effusion, pulmonary infection, intestinal obstruction, and gastric emptying disorders, was lower in the observation group (6.67%) compared to the control group (26.67%) (P < .05). The combination of NAC with radical surgery for GC is safe and feasible. It can significantly increase the R0 resection rate, effectively improve the levels of serum tumor markers, enhance patient's quality of life, and result in fewer surgical adverse reactions.

Solid Particle Swarm Measurement in Jet Fuel Based on Mie Scattering Theory and Extinction Method.

To overcome the disadvantages of small and random samples in static detection, this paper presents a study on dynamic measurements of solid particles in jet fuel using large samples. In this paper, the Mie scattering theory and Lambert-Beer law are used to analyze the scattering characteristics of copper particles in jet fuel. We have presented a prototype for multi-angle scattered and transmitted light intensity measurements of particle swarms in jet fuel which is used to test the scattering characteristics of the jet fuel mixture with 0.5-10 µm particle sizes and 0-1 mg/L concentrations of copper particles. The vortex flow rate was converted to an equivalent pipe flow rate using the equivalent flow method. Tests were conducted at equivalent flow rates of 187, 250 and 310 L/min. Through numerical calculations and experiments, it has been discovered that the intensity of the scattering signal decreases as the scattering angle increases. Meanwhile, both the scattered light intensity and transmitted light intensity would vary with the particle size and mass concentration. Finally, the relationship equation between light intensity and particle parameters has also been summarized in the prototype based on the experimental results, which proves its detection capability.

Serum homocysteine is a valuable marker for predicting aggravation of infection in intestinal obstruction patients.

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of serum homocysteine (HCY), procalcitonin (PCT), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in abdominal infectious disease and analyze their relationship with the degree of abdominal infection. We conducted a retrospective study involving 157 patients with abdominal infections at Xuzhou Central Hospital between January 2016 and October 2019. The patients were composed of intestinal obstruction (73 cases), appendicitis (45 cases), perforation of the digestive tract (25 cases), and cholecystitis (14 cases). The HCY, PCT, and CRP levels of patients with abdominal infections were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and correlation analysis between the HCY, PCT, and CRP levels and abdominal infection was performed using Pearson's correlation analysis. Compared with before treatment, the HCY, PCT, and CRP levels in the four groups decreased significantly after treatment. The levels in the patients in the intestinal obstruction group decreased more markedly than in those in the other groups. There were positive correlations among the HCY level, PCT, and CRP before treatment only in patients with intestinal obstruction (P < 0.001). The difference was statistically significant in the HCY level between the non-operation and the operation groups in patients with intestinal obstruction (P < 0.001). Serum HCY may be a valuable marker for predicting aggravation of infection in patients with intestinal obstruction.

A combined generalized Warblet transform and second order synchroextracting transform for analyzing nonstationary signals of rotating machinery.

In recent years, considerable attention has been paid in time-frequency analysis (TFA) methods, which is an effective technology in processing the vibration signal of rotating machinery. However, TFA techniques are not sufficient to handle signals having a strong non-stationary characteristic. To overcome this drawback, taking short-time Fourier transform as a link, a TFA methods that using the generalized Warblet transform (GWT) in combination with the second order synchroextracting transform (SSET) is proposed in this study. Firstly, based on the GWT and SSET theories, this paper proposes a method combining the two TFA methods to improve the TFA concentration, named GWT-SSET. Secondly, the method is verified numerically with single-component and multi-component signals, respectively. Quantized indicators, Rényi entropy and mean relative error (MRE) are used to analyze the concentration of TFA and accuracy of instantly frequency (IF) estimation, respectively. Finally, the proposed method is applied to analyze nonstationary signals in variable speed. The numerical and experimental results illustrate the effectiveness of the GWT-SSET method.

Modeling and prediction for diesel performance based on deep neural network combined with virtual sample.

The performance models are the critical step for condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of diesel engines, and are an important bridge to describe the link between input parameters and targets. Large-scale experimental methods with higher economic costs are often adopted to construct accurate performance models. To ensure the accuracy of the model and reduce the cost of the test, a novel method for modeling the performances of marine diesel engine is proposed based on deep neural network method coupled with virtual sample generation technology. Firstly, according to the practical experience, the four parameters including speed, power, lubricating oil temperature and pressure are selected as the input factors for establishing the performance models. Besides, brake specific fuel consumption, vibration and noise are adopted to assess the status of marine diesel engine. Secondly, small sample experiments for diesel engine are performed under multiple working conditions. Moreover, the experimental sample data are diffused for obtaining valid extended data based on virtual sample generation technology. Then, the performance models are established using the deep neural network method, in which the diffusion data set is adopted to reduce the cost of testing. Finally, the accuracy of the developed model is verified through experiment, and the parametric effects on performances are discussed. The results indicate that the overall prediction accuracy is more than 93%. Moreover, power is the key factor affecting brake specific fuel consumption with a weighting of 30% of the four input factors. While speed is the key factor affecting vibration and noise with a weighting of 30% and 30.5%, respectively.

Long-term changes in ischemic burden after chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention: a retrospective observational study.

OBJECTIVE: There is uncertainty of the benefit of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic coronary total occlusion (CTO). The study aimed to investigate potential long-term changes in ischemic burden in patients with CTO after PCI. METHODS: Patients who underwent CTO PCI with available records of 15O-H2O positron emission tomography within 3 months prior to and at least 6 months after successful CTO PCI were retrospectively included. Data on perfusion defect size, hyperemic myocardial blood flow (MBF), and coronary flow reserve (CFR) within the CTO area before and after CTO PCI were extracted and compared for evaluating ischemic burden. The comparisons were also performed after stratifying by baseline perfusion defect sizes. RESULTS: A total of 74 eligible patients were included with an average age of 62.0±7.5 years. Significant decrease in perfusion defect size (3 (2-4) versus 1 (0-2) segments, P<0.001) and significant increase in hyperemic MBF (1.32±0.39 versus 2.27±0.52 mL/min/g, P<0.001) and CFR (1.72±0.47 versus 2.73±0.73, P<0.001) were observed after CTO PCI when compared to that at baseline. When stratifying by baseline perfusion defect size, no significant differences were observed between groups in changes of hyperemic MBF (P=0.301) and CFR (P=0.850), but patients with larger perfusion defect size exhibited greater reduction in perfusion defect size (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: CTO PCI relieved ischemic burden for at least 6 months, and patients with larger baseline perfusion defect size might benefit more from CTO PCI in terms of ischemic burden.

Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol 4: The Notable Risk Factor of Coronary Artery Disease Development.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, which has a long asymptomatic period of atherosclerosis. Thus, it is crucial to develop efficient strategies or biomarkers to assess the risk of CAD in asymptomatic individuals. Methods: A total of 356 consecutive CAD patients and 164 non-CAD controls diagnosed using coronary angiography were recruited. Blood lipids, other baseline characteristics, and clinical information were investigated in this study. In addition, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) subfractions were classified and quantified using the Lipoprint system. Based on these data, we performed comprehensive analyses to investigate the risk factors for CAD development and to predict CAD risk. Results: Triglyceride, LDLC-3, LDLC-4, LDLC-5, LDLC-6, and total small and dense LDL-C were significantly higher in the CAD patients than those in the controls, whereas LDLC-1 and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) had significantly lower levels in the CAD patients. Logistic regression analysis identified male [odds ratio (OR) = 2.875, P < 0.001], older age (OR = 1.018, P = 0.025), BMI (OR = 1.157, P < 0.001), smoking (OR = 4.554, P < 0.001), drinking (OR = 2.128, P < 0.016), hypertension (OR = 4.453, P < 0.001), and diabetes mellitus (OR = 8.776, P < 0.001) as clinical risk factors for CAD development. Among blood lipids, LDLC-3 (OR = 1.565, P < 0.001), LDLC-4 (OR = 3.566, P < 0.001), and LDLC-5 (OR = 6.866, P < 0.001) were identified as risk factors. To predict CAD risk, six machine learning models were constructed. The XGboost model showed the highest AUC score (0.945121), which could distinguish CAD patients from the controls with a high accuracy. LDLC-4 played the most important role in model construction. Conclusions: The established models showed good performance for CAD risk prediction, which can help screen high-risk CAD patients in asymptomatic population, so that further examination and prevention treatment might be taken before any sudden or serious event.

Development and validation of a risk prediction model and scoring system for post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND: A few models have been proposed for the prediction of the risk of post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis (PEP), but many include factors that are not assessed routinely. Herein, we intend to develop and validate a predictive model for the occurrence of PEP. METHODS: Data of patients who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) from January 01, 2016 to May 16, 2019 (training set and internal test set) and from May 17, 2019 to December 25, 2019 (external test set) were retrospectively collected. The performance of the model was validated in the two validation cohorts. RESULTS: A total of 342 patients were included for the external test set, and 47 (13.7%) developed PEP. The variables included in the scoring system were gastrectomy history, high direct bilirubin (DBIL), high albumin (ALB), villous type of papillary orifice, nodular type of papillary orifice, pancreatic guidewire passages, precut sphincterotomy, and high operator experience. A total score >5 indicated high risk. In the external test set, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.718, the sensitivity was 0.723, and the specificity was 0.676. In the external test set, the probability of PEP was 6.1%, 17.0%, and 37.5% in patients with low (<0), moderate (0-5), and high (>5) risk scores, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study established a scoring system for predicting the risk of PEP using routinely measured clinical variables. Its application in routine work warrants further investigation.

Potential value of guard-wire technology in the interventional treatment for ostial coronary lesions.

BACKGROUND: To explore potential value of guard-wire technology during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with ostial coronary lesions. METHODS: Patients, who underwent PCI, were collected between October 2011 and March 2017. Of the 141 patients, 63 (44.7%) have ostial lesions, and 78 (55.3%) have distal bifurcation sites. They were divided into group A (n = 71) and group B (n = 70). Group A received PCI after guard-wire technology. Group B were given balloon dilation and stent after placing guide wire through target lesion vessel. X-ray exposure time, contrast agent dosage, total PCI duration, pressure incarceration times, cases of malignant arrhythmia and cases of failed PCI of all patients were analyzed, respectively. RESULTS: The general clinical characteristics includes patients age, sex ratio, the proportion of complications, smoking ratio and left ventricular ejection fraction of both groups was not significantly different. X-ray exposure time, contrast agent dosage, PCI total time, stent positioning time, pressure infestation frequency, arrhythmia frequency and complication number of group B were higher than those of group A. There is no case of malignant arrhythmia and case of failed PCI in group A, while there were five malignant arrhythmia and four failed PCI in group B. Contrast agent dosage and cases of failed PCI increased in group B compared with group A. CONCLUSION: The guard wire technology is safer and more feasible to patients with ostial coronary lesions who underwent PCI.

miR­155 inhibition represents a potential valuable regulator in mitigating myocardial hypoxia/reoxygenation injury through targeting BAG5 and MAPK/JNK signaling.

Increasing evidence has indicated that miR­155 is closely associated with apoptosis, which may protect the myocardium and diminish the infarct area in myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI). In addition, studies have revealed that miR­155 serves a leading role in promoting fibroblast inflammation, cardiac dysfunction and other aspects of myocardial injury. The present study aimed to uncover the function and potential biological mechanism of miR­155 in myocardial IRI. The rat H9c2 myocardial cells was treated with hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) to simulate IRI in vitro. Reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT­qPCR) was used to detect the expression levels of miR­155 mRNA. Cell Counting Kit­8 and flow cytometry assays and western blot analysis were applied to determine the biological behaviors of the H/R­treated cells. The association between miR­155 and BAG family molecular chaperone regulator 5 (BAG5) was predicted by bioinformatics software and was confirmed by dual luciferase assay. RT­qPCR and western blot analysis were used to analyze the expression of BAG5. The key proteins involved in mitogen­activated protein kinase (MAPK)/JNK signaling pathway were detected by western blot analysis. The data from the RT­qPCR assay indicated that the expression of miR­155 was markedly upregulated in the H/R model, and that downregulation of miR­155 may promote cell proliferation and inhibit cell apoptosis, and vice versa. BAG5, which was downregulated in the H/R model, was confirmed as a target of miR­155 and negatively modulated by miR­155. The key proteins involved in MAPK/JNK signaling, which were highly expressed in the H/R model, were suppressed by treatment with the miR­155 inhibitor, and overexpression of BAG5 promoted the protective effect of miR­155 inhibition on cell injury caused by H/R. In addition, the expression patterns of hypoxia­inducible factor 1­α and von Hippel­Lindau were altered following different treatments. Taken together, the data from the present study indicated that miR­155 inhibition represented a potential treatment strategy to improve myocardial H/R injury, which may be associated with targeting BAG5 and inhibition of the MAPK/JNK pathway.

MiR-16, as a potential NF-κB-related miRNA, exerts anti-inflammatory effects on LPS-induced myocarditis via mediating CD40 expression: A preliminary study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the biological effect of miR-16 on myocarditis and the underlying molecular mechanism. H9c2 cells were treated with 10 µg/mL lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 12 hours to form a myocarditis injury model. We observed that LPS treatment distinctly decreased the level of miR-16 in H9c2 cells. Upregulation of miR-16 increased cell proliferation and reduced cell apoptosis. Then, CD40 was predicted and verified as a target gene of miR-16 by TargetScan and luciferase reporter assay, respectively. Furthermore, the messenger RNA and protein expression of CD40 are negatively regulated by miR-16. The relative expression of inflammatory factors was dramatically decreased by the miR-16 mimic. Cells cotransfected with miR-16 mimic and si-CD40 could significantly abolish the injury of cardiomyocytes caused by myocarditis. Our study illustrated that the upregulation of miR-16 has a protective effect on LPS-damaged H9c2 cells, which may be achieved by regulating CD40 and the nuclear factor kappa B pathway.

Long noncoding RNA FOXD2-AS1 promotes glioma cell cycle progression and proliferation through the FOXD2-AS1/miR-31/CDK1 pathway.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are vital mediators involved in cancer progression. Previous studies confirmed that FOXD2 adjacent opposite strand RNA 1 (FOXD2-AS1) is upregulated in tumor diseases. The potential influence of FOXD2-AS1 in glioma progression, however, remains unknown. In this paper, FOXD2-AS1 was found to be upregulated in glioma tissues. Its level was linked with glioma stage. Moreover, glioma patients expressing high level of FOXD2-AS1 suffered worse prognosis. Biological functions of FOXD2-AS1 in glioma cells were analyzed through integrative bioinformatics and TCGA RNA sequencing data analysis. Pathway enrichment analysis uncovered that FOXD2-AS1 was mainly linked with cell cycle regulation in both low-grade glioma and glioblastoma. Further experiments demonstrated that silence of FOXD2-AS1 inhibited proliferation, arrested cell cycle and downregulated cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) in human glioma cells. Dual-luciferase reporter assay confirmed that FOXD2-AS1 upregulated CDK1 by sponging miR-31. Rescue assays were performed and confirmed the regulatory loop FOXD2-AS1/miR-31/CDK1 in glioma. Collectively, our results indicated that the FOXD2-AS1/miR-31/CDK1 axis influenced glioma progression, providing a potential new target for glioma patients.

Inhibition of the hypoxia-induced factor-1α and vascular endothelial growth factor expression through ginsenoside Rg3 in human gastric cancer cells.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to probe in the inhibitory effects of ginsenoside Rg3 on the expression of hypoxia-induced factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in human gastric cancer cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human gastric cancer BGC823 cells were divided into the control group and experiment group, and expression levels of HIF-1α and VEGF were detected by immunocytochemistry and Western blot after cells were cultured under hypoxia for different durations. RESULTS: Under hypoxia, expression of HIF-1α and VEGF in human gastric cancer BGC823 cells showed an increasing trend, and that was remarkably lower in experiment group than in the control group after applying Rg3, which was obvious at 12 and 24 h (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Rg3 can inhibit expression of HIF-1α and VEGF in human gastric cancer cells and may influence abdominal implantation metastasis of gastric cancer through inhibiting its expression.

Plasma oxidized high-density lipoprotein and glycated apolipoprotein A-I concentrations in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients with stress hyperglycaemia or high thrombus burden.

BACKGROUND: High-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles exert many beneficial actions that may help protect against cardiovascular disease. However, recent work has demonstrated that HDL can be oxidized and glycated under certain circumstances and may become pro-atherogenic. The present study investigated the impact of oxidized high-density lipoprotein (ox-HDL) and glycated apolipoprotein A-I (gly-ApoA-I) in patients presenting with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: We assessed 55 consecutive patients with STEMI. Patients were divided into: (1) a stress hyperglycaemia (SH) and a no SH group; and (2) a high thrombus burden (HTB) group and a low thrombus burden (LTB) group. Meanwhile, 48 healthy volunteers were recruited as controls. Plasma ox-HDL and gly-ApoA-I concentrations were measured on admission and 7 days after admission. RESULTS: Higher concentrations of ox-HDL and gly-ApoA-I were found in the STEMI group than in the control group on admission and at d7. Further subgroup analysis showed that ox-HDL and gly-ApoA-I were higher in the SH group than in the no SH group at both time points; the HTB group had higher ox-HDL and ox-HDL/HDL-C levels than the LTB group on admission and at d7. However, gly-ApoA-I and the relative intensity of ApoA-I glycation showed no significant differences between the HTB and LTB groups. CONCLUSIONS: The present data indicate that: (1) SH is associated with increased plasma concentrations of ox-HDL and gly-ApoA-I and therefore aggressive treatment is recommended; and (2) that ox-HDL and ox-HDL/HDL-C were higher in the HTB group and may be used to quantify thrombus burden.

Long noncoding RNA linc-UBC1 promotes tumor invasion and metastasis by regulating EZH2 and repressing E-cadherin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Recent reports have shown that long noncoding (lnc) RNAs are critical during tumorigenesis. This study focused on the influence of linc-UBC1 on the metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and the underlying mechanism. METHODS: In 50 ESCC tissues and 5 ESCC cell lines, linc- UBC1 expression was detected by RT-qPCR. Moreover, correlation analysis was conducted between linc-UBC1 expression level and clinicopathological features. Overall survival of these ESCC patients was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method. In addition, wound healing assay and cell invasion assay were utilized to identify whether linc-UBC1 could affect the migration and invasion ability of ESCC cells. Western blotting and luciferase assay were used to explore the potential mechanism. RESULTS: In ESCC tissues, linc-UBC1 expression level was significantly higher and was remarkably related with clinical features such as TNM stage and nodal metastasis. Meanwhile, overall survival of ESCC patients with high expression of linc-UBC1 was significantly worse than that of patients with low expression. Besides, the migration and invasion ability of ESCC cells was inhibited via knockdown of linc-UBC1. Further study showed that knockdown of linc-UBC1 could suppress the protein level of EZH2 and promote the protein level of E-cadherin. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that linc-UBC1 is a novel oncogene in tumorigenesis and could promote the metastasis via EZH2 and E-cadherin, which may offer a possible therapeutic target in ESCC.