GPC2 as a diagnostic and prognostic marker regulated progression of colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Glypican 2 (GPC2) is a member of the glypican gene family and is expressed in multiple kinds of cancer. However, the function and mechanism of GPC2 in colorectal cancer remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to identify the role of GPC2 on tumor cell proliferation and survival in colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ten pairs of colon cancer and matched normal colon tissues were collected in this research. GEPIA was used to analysis the GPC2 gene expression profile in TGCA data base. RT-qPCR and western blot assay were performed to determine the mRNA and protein expressions. CCK-8, Flow cytometry and colon formation assay were applied to evaluate cell viability. IHC staining was performed to evaluate the protein expression in tissues. The function of GPC2 in vivo was verified by an animal model of colon cancer. RESULTS: Through the bioinformatics analysis and qRT-PCR validation, we found that GPC2 was upregulated in the colon cancer tissues and cells. GPC2 knockdown suppressed cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo was confirmed by the results of CCK-8, colony formation assays, and tumor xenograft models. Moreover, by the analysis of flow cytometry assay and gain-or-loss function experiments, we discovered that CEP164 was highly associated with the expression state of GPC2, and mediated G2/M-phase arrest in GPC2-downregulated tumor cells. CONCLUSION: GPC2 might be a novel oncogenic gene in colorectal cancer, suggesting that it could be a considerable marker for the diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer.

Enhanced You Only Look Once X for surface defect detection of strip steel.

Using deep learning-based methods to detect surface defects in strip steel can reduce the impact of human factors and lower costs while maintaining accuracy and efficiency. However, the main disadvantages of this method is the inability to tradeoff accuracy and efficiency. In addition, the low proportion of valid information and the lack of distinctive features result in a high rate of missed detection of small objects. In this paper, we propose a lightweight YOLOX surface defect detection network and introduce the Multi-scale Feature Fusion Attention Module (MFFAM). Lightweight CSP structures are used to optimize the backbone of the original network. MFFAM uses different scales of receptive fields for feature maps of different resolutions, after which features are fused and passed into the spatial and channel attention modules in parallel. Experimental results show that lightweight CSP structures can improve the detection frame rate without compromising accuracy. MFFAM can significantly improve the detection accuracy of small objects. Compared with the initial YOLOX, the mAP and FPS were 81.21% and 82.87Hz, respectively, which was an improvement of 4.29% and 12.72Hz. Compared with existing methods, the proposed model has superior performance and practicality, verifying the effectiveness of the optimization method.

Prevalence and risk factors analysis for low back pain among occupational groups in key industries of China.

BACKGROUND: With the acceleration of industrialization and population aging, low back pain (LBP) has become the leading cause of life loss years caused by disability. Thus, it places a huge economic burden on society and is a global public health problem that needs urgent solution. This study aimed to conduct an epidemiological investigation and research on a large sample of workers in key industries in different regions of China, determine the incidence and distribution characteristics of LBP, explore the epidemic law, and provide a reference basis for alleviating global public health problems caused by LBP. METHODS: We adopted a modified epidemiological cross-sectional survey method and a stratified cluster sampling method. All on-duty workers who fulfill the inclusion criteria are taken as the research participants from the representative enterprises in key industries across seven regions: north, east, central, south, southwest, northwest, and northeast China. The Chinese version of the musculoskeletal disease questionnaire, modified by a standardized Nordic questionnaire, was used to collect information, and 57,501 valid questionnaires were received. Descriptive statistics were used, and multivariate logistic regression analysis (p < 0.05) was performed to explore the association between musculoskeletal disorders and potential risk factors. RESULTS: LBP annual incidence among workers in China's key industries is 16.4%. There was a significant difference in LBP incidence among occupational groups across different industries (p < 0.05). The multivariate regression model showed the following as risk factors for LBP: frequent repetitive movements with the trunk, working in the same positions at a high pace, trunk position, frequently turning around with your trunk, often working overtime, lifting heavy loads (i.e., more than 20 kg), education level, staff shortage, working age (years), cigarette smoking, use of vibration tools at work, body mass index, lifting heavy loads (i.e., more than 5 kg), and age (years). Physical exercise, often standing at work, and absolute resting time were protective factors. CONCLUSION: LBP incidence among key industries and workers in China is high. Thus, it is urgent to take relevant measures according to the individual, occupational, and psychosocial factors of LBP to reduce the adverse impact of LBP on workers' health.

Expression of claudin-5, -7, -8 and -9 in cervical carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues.

Recent data indicate that the tight junction proteins are abnormally regulated in several human cancers and the expression of these proteins is involved in the etiology and progression of cancer. To explore the expression distinction of the tight junction proteins claudin-5, -7, -8 and -9 in the adjacent non-neoplastic tissues and cervical carcinoma tissues, 72 cervical carcinoma tissues and the samples of non-neoplastic tissues adjacent to the tumors were examined for expression of claudin-5, -7, -8 and -9 by streptavidin-perosidase immunohistochemical staining method. The positive expression rates of claudin-5 in cervical carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues were 31.9% (23/72) and 51.4% (37/72) respectively (P < 0.05). The positive expression rates of claudin-7 in cervical carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues were 47.2% and 50.0% respectively (P = 1.000). The positive expression rates of claudin-8 in cervical carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues were 54.2 % and 27.8% respectively (P < 0.01). The positive expression rates of claudin-9 in cervical carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues were 38.9% and 56.9% respectively (P < 0.05). Thus in our study, the expression of claudin-5 and claudin-9 was down-regulated while the expression of claudin-8 was up-regulated in cervical carcinoma tissues compared with adjacent non-neoplastic tissues. The expression of claudin-7 has no obviously difference between cervical carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues. In addition, correlations between claudin-5, -8 and -9 expression with lymphatic metastasis were observed. Our study reveals that the expression of claudin-5, -8 and -9 altered between in cervical carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues.

[Investigation of occupational hazards of ultraviolet radiation and protective measures for workers in electric welding].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate and analyze the occupational hazards of ultraviolet radiation, protective measures and related factors for typical symptoms among workers in electric welding, and to provide basic information for revision of the occupational standards of UV. METHODS: Questionnaires and physical examinations were used in this investigation. A total of 828 workers from four vehicle manufacturers in Beijing and Guangdong Province were selected. Corresponding analyses were conducted with SPSS 16.0 statistic software. RESULTS: The top three injuries of faces and hands were burning tingling (48.7% & 41.3%), itch of skin (39% & 34.9%) and pigmentation (31.9% & 24.5%).The major injuries of eyes were ophthalmodynia (61.5%) , photophobia and tearing (61.4%), and blurred vision (50.2%). The incidences of facial and hands burning tingling, hands flushing, hands macula and papula were significantly different between the welders and auxiliary workers (P<0.05). The differences of facial and hands burning tingling, flushing, facial disesthesia and anaesthesia, symptoms and signs of eyes were significant in different working years groups (P<0.05). The top three usages of protective measures were welding masks (87.2%), gloves (84.3%) and glasses (65.9%). Except for UV cut cream, the usages of other protective equipments in the auxiliary workers were significantly lower than those in the welders (P<0.05). The logistic regression analysis showed that prolonged exposure to arc welding, using argon arc welding and CO(2) gas shielded arc welding, not wearing welding masks, and not using UV cut cream was significantly associated with the increased risk of face burning tingling, and the ORs were 3.894 (6 h to 8 h), 2.665 (4 h to 6 h), 2.052, 1.765, 1.759, 1.833, respectively; working years might be a protective factor, and the OR was 0.440, respectively. CONCLUSION: The study suggested that the UV radiation produced during welding operations not only caused harm to welders, but also to the auxiliary workers. Protection should be strengthened,for example, wearing welding masks, glasses, etc. Meanwhile automatic welding machines should be adopted by the factories to reduce the exposure time for workers.