The clinicopathological significance of ALK rearrangements and KRAS and EGFR mutations in primary pulmonary mucinous adenocarcinoma.

Primary pulmonary mucinous adenocarcinoma (PPMA) is one of the important subtypes of lung adenocarcinoma. Detection of anaplastic lymphoma receptor tyrosine kinase (ALK) rearrangements and of KRAS and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations will help in diagnosing and predicting treatment outcome. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological significance of ALK rearrangements, KRAS and EGFR mutations in PPMA. ALK expression was detected immunohistochemically. KRAS and EGFR mutations were determined by the amplification refractory mutation system. Seventy-three patients of PPMA were enrolled. ALK rearrangements were detected in 34.2 % of patients and were more frequent in upper/middle lobe, stage III-IV, lymphatic permeation-positive patients and non-smokers. ALK rearrangements were significantly increased in the solid tumor predominant with mucin production subtype, and in special tissue structures, including signet ring cells, cribriform, and micropapillary patterns. KRAS mutations were observed in 23.3 % of patients and were more prevalent in invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma and lower lobe tumors. Only one case of ALK rearrangements harbored KRAS mutation, and no cases manifested with the coexistence of ALK rearrangements and EGFR mutations. KRAS and EGFR co-mutation was detected in one case. PPMA patients with ALK rearrangements or KRAS mutation represent a unique subtype in NSCLC. The results provide basis data for target therapy screening of PPMA patients.

[Relationship between expression of anaplastic lymphoma kinase in pleural effusion and clinicopathological features of patients with lung adenocarcinoma and the response to crizotinib].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the expression of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) protein in pleural effusion cells from patients with lung adenocarcinoma and to investigate the relationship between ALK status and the clinicopathological features, and the response to crizotinib. METHODS: Eighty-five cases were reviewed from Sept. 2013-Nov. 2014 at Beijing Chest Hospital. There were 42 males and 43 females, with a median age of 58 (30-87). ALK rearrangements were screened by using immunohistochemistry on Benchmark XT auto-stainer. RESULTS: The frequency of ALK positive reactivity was 15.3% among the 85 patients. The incidence of ALK expression was more frequent in patients <60 years as compared with patients ≥ 60 years of age (26.1%, 2.6%, χ² =9.015, P=0.002). Among the ALK-positive patients, 8 were males and 5 were females (19.1%, 11.6%, χ² =0.903, P=0.259). There were 8 never-smokers and 5 smokers harboring ALK rearrangement (17.0%, 13.5%, χ²=0.379, P=0.827). Among patients with ALK rearrangement, 6 received EGFR detection, and 5 showed no EGFR mutation, and 1 showed 19del EGFR mutation. Among the 13 ALK-positive patients, 4 received crizotinib therapy, and all showed partial response. CONCLUSION: Patients with lung adenocarcinoma with ALK rearrangement were significantly younger than those with ALK wild-type, and ALK rearrangement was rarely concur with EGFR mutation. Screening ALK fusion protein expression in patients with lung adenocarcinoma by paraffin-embedded sediments of pleural effusion was useful in guide of crizotinib therapy.

[Expression pattern of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Ag85B and its value in pathological diagnosis].

OBJECTIVE: To detect the expression of Mycobacterium tuberculosis secreted protein Ag85B in paraffin-embedded tissues by immunohistochemistry (IHC), and to evaluate its application in the pathological diagnosis of tuberculosis. METHODS: One hundred and five tuberculosis specimens (54 pulmonary tuberculosis, 51 lymph nodal tuberculosis) and 51 specimens of other diseases (8 lung cancer, 10 pulmonary abscess, 10 bronchiectasis, 7 lymphoma, 5 necrotizing lymphadenitis, 4 reactive hyperplasia lymphoid, and 7 sarcoidosis) were collected from January 2012 to July 2013 from Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University. One-step IHC was performed on paraffin-embedded tissues using antibody directed against Ag85B. RESULTS: IHC and Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) acid-fast staining showed that distribution and intensity of Ag85B expression were concordant with the distribution and number of acid-fast bacilli. IHC showed significantly higher sensitivity than ZN staining (50.5%, 53/105 vs. 31.4%, 33/105; χ² = 7.877, P = 0.005). The combined sensitivity of IHC and ZN staining was 59.0%. Moreover, oil immersion was not necessary for IHC, allowing more rapid diagnosis. CONCLUSION: IHC detection of Ag85B is a simple method with higher sensitivity than ZN staining, and demonstrated good value in the pathological diagnosis of tuberculosis.

Removal of a broken guide wire entrapped in a fractured femoral neck.

Guide wire plays an important role in the fixation of femoral neck fracture with dynamic hip screw (DHS). Breakage of a guide wire during operation is a very rare condition. We met such a dilemma in DHS fixation of a 54-year-old male patient who sustained Garden type IV fracture of the right femoral neck. The distal end of the guide wire broke and was entrapped in the fractured femoral neck. We tried to get the broken part out by a cannulated drill. Reaming was started with the cannulated drill slowly rotating around the guide K-wire until the reamer fully contained the target under fluoroscope. A bone curette was used to get the broken wire out but failed, so we had to use the cannuated drill to dredge this bone tunnel. Finally the broken wire end was taken out, mixed with blood and bone fragments. Through the existing drilling channel, DHS fixation was easily finished. The patient had an uneventful recovery without avascular necrosis of femoral head or non-union of the fracture at one year's follow-up. A few methods can be adopted to deal with the broken guide wire. The way used in our case is less invasive but technically challenging. When the guide wire is properly positioned, this method is very practical and useful.

How Human-like Behavior of Service Robot Affects Social Distance: A Mediation Model and Cross-Cultural Comparison.

Previous studies on the human likeness of service robots have focused mainly on their human-like appearance and used psychological constructs to measure the outcomes of human likeness. Unlike previous studies, this study focused on the human-like behavior of the service robot and used a sociological construct, social distance, to measure the outcome of human likeness. We constructed a conceptual model, with perceived competence and warmth as mediators, based on social-identity theory. The hypotheses were tested through online experiments with 219 participants from China and 180 participants from the US. Similar results emerged for Chinese and American participants in that the high (vs. low) human-like behavior of the service robot caused the participants to have stronger perceptions of competence and warmth, both of which contributed to a smaller social distance between humans and service robots. Perceptions of competence and warmth completely mediated the positive effect of the human-like behavior of the service robot on social distance. Furthermore, Chinese participants showed higher anthropomorphism (perceived human-like behavior) and a stronger perception of warmth and smaller social distance. The perception of competence did not differ across cultures. This study provides suggestions for the human-likeness design of service robots to promote natural interaction between humans and service robots and increase human acceptance of service robots.

TRIM27 regulates the expression of PDCD4 by the ubiquitin­proteasome pathway in ovarian and endometrial cancer cells.

Programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) is regarded as an important tumor suppressor that is lowly expressed or deleted in numerous human types of cancer, including ovarian and endometrial cancer. Tripartite motif­containing 27 (TRIM27) is closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors and is highly expressed in numerous types of cancer such as ovarian and endometrial cancer. PDCD4 can be degraded through ubiquitination, while TRIM27 has the E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. However, whether TRIM27 may regulate the expression of PDCD4 by ubiquitination effect remains unclear. In the present study, the expression of PDCD4 and TRIM27 in different ovarian and endometrial cancer cell lines was detected by reverse transcription­quantitative PCR (RT­qPCR), western blotting and immunocytochemistry. The impact of TRIM27 overexpression and knockdown on PDCD4 expression and the effective mechanism of TRIM27 regulating PDCD4 expression were also investigated in vitro by RT­qPCR, western blotting, co­immunoprecipitation assay, Transwell migration and Matrigel invasion assays. The results showed that the expression of TRIM27 and PDCD4 had a negative association at the protein level, and the distribution of TRIM27 and PDCD4 proteins had a phenomenon of co­localization in different ovarian and endometrial cancer cell lines. TRIM27 promoted the degradation of PDCD4 through the ubiquitin­proteasome pathway. To sum up, TRIM27 could increase the migration and invasion of ovarian and endometrial cancer cells by promoting the ubiquitination and degradation of PDCD4. The present findings may provide a new target for the treatment of ovarian and endometrial cancer.

Performance of the MeltPro MTB Assays in the Diagnosis of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Using Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded Tissues.

OBJECTIVES: The MeltPro MTB assays for detection of resistance to antituberculosis (TB) drugs perform well in genotypic drug susceptibility testing (DST) of clinical samples, but their effectiveness with formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues is unknown. METHODS: FFPE tissues were obtained from 334 patients with TB. Susceptibility to rifampicin (RIF), isoniazid (INH), and fluoroquinolones was examined using the MeltPro MTB assays, with Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) and/or phenotypic DST (pDST) results as references. Samples with discordant results were analyzed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction-targeted amplicon sequencing (MTA-seq). RESULTS: With pDST as the reference, the MeltPro MTB assays sensitivity for RIF, INH, levofloxacin (LVX), and moxifloxacin (MXF) was 95.00%, 96.00%, 100%, and 100%, respectively, and the specificity was 95.15%, 95.92%, 94.69%, and 89.92%, respectively. Concordance was 99.08% between the MeltPro MTB and Xpert (κ = 0.956) for RIF and 95.12% (κ = 0.834), 95.93% (κ = 0.880), 95.12% (κ = 0.744), and 90.24% (κ = 0.367) between the MeltPro MTB and pDST for RIF, INH, LVX, and MXF, respectively. MTA-seq confirmed the discordancy between the MeltPro MTB and pDST for 26 (89.66%) of 29 samples. CONCLUSIONS: The MeltPro MTB assays rapidly and efficiently predict Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistance to the main first- and second-line anti-TB drugs in FFPE tissues.

Characterization of resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis toxin Cry1Ac in Plutella xylostella from China.

A field population (SZ) of Plutella xylostella, collected from the cabbage field in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province of China in 2002, showed 2.3-fold resistance to Cry1Aa, 110-fold to Cry1Ab, 30-fold to Cry1Ac, 2.1-fold to Cry1F, 5.3-fold to Cry2Aa and 6-fold resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk) compared with a susceptible strain (ROTH). The SZBT strain was derived from the SZ population through 20 generations of selection with activated Cry1Ac in the laboratory. While the SZBT strain developed 1200-fold resistance to Cry1Ac after selection, resistance to Cry1Aa, Cry1Ab, Cry1F, and Btk increased to 31-, 1900-,>33- and 17-fold compared with the ROTH strain. However, little or no cross-resistance was detected to Cry1B, Cry1C and Cry2Aa in the SZBT strain. Genetic cross analyses between the SZBT and ROTH strains revealed that Cry1Ac-resistance in the SZBT strain was controlled by a single, autosomal, incompletely recessive gene. Binding studies with (125)I-labeled Cry1Ac showed that the brush border membrane vesicles (BBMVs) of midguts from the resistant SZBT insects had lost binding to Cry1Ac. Allelic complementation tests demonstrated that the major Bt resistance locus in the SZBT strain was same as that in the Cry1Ac-R strain which has "mode 1" resistance to Bt. An F(1) screen of 120 single-pair families between the SZBT strain and three field populations collected in 2008 was carried out. Based on this approach, the estimated frequencies of Cry1Ac-resistance alleles were 0.156 in the Yuxi population from Yunnan province, and 0.375 and 0.472 respectively in the Guangzhou and Huizhou populations from Guangdong province.

A Systematic Review of Literature on User Behavior in Video Game Live Streaming.

Video game live streaming is a kind of real-time video social media that integrates traditional broadcasting and online gaming. With the rapid popularity of video game live streaming in the past decade, researchers have started to investigate the relationship between the use of video game live streaming and various psychological variables. In order to fully understand the factors that affected user participation (streamers and audiences) in video game live streaming and provide a reference to the mental health issues of Internet addiction, this paper summarizes the relevant literature on user behavior in video game live streaming. First, we comprehensively searched literature in six social science databases and thus obtained 24 papers that meet our inclusion criteria. Second, the above literature was presented in table form for classification and we found that the effect factors of user behavior in video game live streaming mainly include user demands and platform impact. Based on Use and Satisfaction theory, this paper reviewed the following four aspects: streamer demand, audience demand, interaction behavior and platform impact, then a relevant theoretical framework was constructed. Finally, this paper looks forward to possible future research topics based on the research platform, research data and research content and so on, hoping to provide a foundation and new ideas for future research.

[Expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin and their significance in non-small cell lung cancer].

BACKGROUND: Because invasion and metastasis of cancer threaten seriously human's life, it is of more important clinical significance to understand and evaluate the biologic behavior of can-(cer) correctly. Abnormal expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin plays important roles in invasion and metastasis of cancer. The objective of this study is to investigate their expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to find out their correlation with histological type, cell differentiation, metastasis and prognosis of NSCLC. METHODS: The expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin was detected in 129 NSCLC tissues by high sensitive S-P immunohistochemical method. RESULTS: The abnormal expression rate of E-cadherin and ß-catenin was 62.0% and 65.1% respectively. The abnormal expression rate of E-cadherin in squamous cell carcinoma was much higher than that in adenocarcinoma (P < 0.05). The abnormal expression rate of E-cadherin and ß-catenin in poorly differentiated cells was significantly higher than that in well and moderately differentiated cells (P < 0.05, P < 0.05). Stage III/IV NSCLC showed markedly higher abnormal expression rate of E-cadherin and ß-catenin than stage I/II NSCLC did (P < 0.01, P < 0.01). The abnormal expression rate of E-cadherin and ß-catenin in patients with lymphatic metastasis was significantly higher than that in those without lymphatic metastasis (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The mean survival duration and 5-year survival rate in patients with normal E-cadherin and ß-catenin expression were remarkably higher than those in patients with abnormal expression (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The abnormal expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin is closely related to histological type, differentiation and metastasis in NSCLC. Detection of their expression might be helpful to predict prognosis of NSCLC.

[Effects of ryegrass and arbuscular mycorrhiza on activities of antioxidant enzymes, accumulation and chemical forms of cadmium in different varieties of tomato].

Pot experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of ryegrass and arbuscular mycorrhiza on the plant growth, malondialdehyde (MDA), antioxidant enzyme activities of leaf and root, accumulation and chemical forms of cadmium (Cd) in tow varieties of tomato when exposed to Cd (20 mg x kg(-1)). The results showed that dry weights of fruit and plant, and contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and antioxidant enzyme activities of leaf and root, and concentrations and accumulations of Cd significantly differed between two varieties of tomato. Dry weights of fruit, roots, stem, leaf and plant were increased by single or combined remediation of ryegrass and arbuscular mycorrhiza, while MDA contents and antioxidant enzyme activities of leaf and root reduced. The total extractable Cd, F(E), F(W), F(NaCl), F(HAc), F(HCl), and F(R) in fruit of two varieties of tomato reduced by 19.4% - 52.4%, 31.0% - 75.2%, 19.7% - 59.1%, 3.1% - 48.2%, 20.0% - 65.0%, 40.7% - 100.0% and 15.2% - 50.0%, respectively. Cadmium accumulations in tomato were in the order of leaf > stem > fruit > root. Cadmium concentrations in leaf, stem, root and fruit of both varieties decreased by single or combined remediation of ryegrass and arbuscular mycorrhiza, and Cd accumulations of stem and plant of two varieties also reduced. Cd accumulations in fruit of two varieties decreased by 42.9% and 43.7% in the combined remediation treatments, respectively. Tolerance and resistance of 'LUO BEI QI' on Cd was more than 'De Fu mm-8', and Cd concentrations and Cd accumulations in fruit and plant were in the order of 'LUO BEI QI' < 'De Fu mm-8' in the presence or absence of single or combined remediation of ryegrass and arbuscular mycorrhiza.

[Effect of exogenous iron on accumulation and chemical forms of cadmium, and physiological characterization in different varieties of tomato].

Pot experiments were carried out to investigate the influence of different iron (Fe) levels (0, 50, 100, 200 and 400 micromol.L-1) on the plant growth, activities of antioxidant enzymes, accumulation and chemical forms of cadmium (Cd) in tomato when exposed to Cd (10 mg.kg-1). The results showed that dry weights of fruit, roots, stem, leaf, and plant, and concentration and accumulation of Cd significantly differed between the two varieties of tomato tested. Dry weights of fruit, roots, stem, leaf, and plant increased in the presence of Fe. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) of root in both varieties, and activities of catalase (CAT) of root in Yufenl09 deceased at first, and then increased with increasing levels of Fe, but activities of peroxidase (POD) of root in both varieties and activities of CAT of root in 4641 increased at first, and then reduced with increasing levels of Fe. Chemical forms of Cd in fruit of tomato were in the order of FR > FHCl > FE > FNaCl > FHAC > FW. All chemical forms of Cd obviously decreased after the application of adequate Fe compared to the control, while FHcI and FR of 4641, and the total extractable Cd, FE, FNaCl and FR of Yufenl09 increased at 400 micromol.L-1Fe treatment. Cadmium accumulations of tomato were in the order of leaf > stew > fruit > roots. Cadmium concentration in leaf, stem, roots and fruit of both varieties decreased by 7. 1% -25.3% , 30. 8% -50. 4% , 13.0% -45. 1% and 2.8% -11.7% in the presence of Fe when exposed to Cd, and the Cd concentration of fruit and Cd accumulations in plant were in the order of 4641 < Yufenl09 in the presence or absence of Fe.