[Implication of enhanced recovery after surgery in the surgical management of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma].

Objective: To investigate the safety and efficacy of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in the clinical management of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC). Methods: In this retrospective study, a total of 168 patients with pyriform sinus carcinoma in Qilu Hospital of Shandong University from January 2015 to January 2019 were divided into two groups, based on the different perioperative interventions that patients received, i.e. the ERAS group (n=64) and the conventional group (n=104), including 164 males and 4 females, whose ages ranged from 42 to 84 years old. The difference between two groups in the operative time, postoperative nutritional status, incidences of postoperative complications and postoperative hospitalization time were compared using the student's t test, Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test. Results: Compared with the conventional group, patients in the ERAS group had significantly shorter operative time [(166.8±58.2) min vs. (183.3±39.9) min,t=-2.72, P=0.031], higher levels of postoperative serum albumin [(38.3±4.2) µmol/L vs. (36.6±3.3) µmol/L, t=2.73, P=0.007] and more body weight [(65.4±9.4) kg vs. (62.1±9.4) kg, t=2.22, P=0.028], lower incidences of postoperative subcutaneous infection [7.8% (5/64) vs. 20.2% (21/104), χ²=4.64, P=0.03] and severe pneumonia [4.7% (3/64) vs. 15.4% (16/104), χ²=4.52, P=0.03], and shorter postoperative hospitalization time [(16.5±3.9) d vs. (18.2±4.3) d, t=-2.65, P<0.05]. Conclusion: ERAS is effective and safe in the surgical management of HSCC, with benefits in reducing the operative stress via saving operation time, shortening the hospitalization time, ameliorating nutritional status and decreasing the incidences of complications.

Vaccinia virus hemagglutinin. A novel member of the immunoglobulin superfamily.

Striking similarities between vaccinia virus hemagglutinin (VVHA) and proteins belonging to the Ig superfamily clearly indicate that VVHA, a 315-amino acid glycoprotein expressed on the surface of the infected cells, is a novel viral protein that can be added to the expanding list of the Ig superfamily. Its deduced amino acid sequence contains one Ig-like domain at the NH2 terminus, followed by two tandem repeating units and a hydrophobic region, suggestive of membrane spanning. The results offer an opportunity for the further study of the probable evolutionary and possible functional relationship between VVHA and other members of the Ig superfamily. Our observation, together with a recent finding that human CMV possibly encodes a protein similar to the MHC class I antigens (13), provides evidence supporting the fact that the viral capture of cellular Ig-related genes is more common than expected in vaccinia and other viruses, and that usage of an Ig-like domain as recognition signals might be extended from higher animals to animal viruses.

N-doped SiO2/TiO2 mesoporous nanoparticles with enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation.

Mesoporous nanocrystalline N-doped SiO2/TiO2 visible-light photocatalysts were prepared by treating SiO2/TiO2 xerogels in a flow of nitrogen gas bubbled through concentrated ammonia solution. Structural characterization and performance analysis results revealed that the addition of SiO2 remarkably altered the phase composition, specific surface area, microstructure, as well as the photocatalytic activity of N-doped TiO2. The presence of SiO2 in N-doped TiO2 particles suppressed the formation of rutile phase and the crystal growth of N-doped TiO2 particles during thermal calcinations. When weight ratio of SiO2/TiO2 was in 0.05-0.20, the N-doped SiO2/TiO2 exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than the N-doped TiO2, and optimum ratio was found to be 0.05. The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be attributed to the higher specific area, larger pore volume, and more surface hydroxyl groups in the catalyst.

Development of the Forensically Important Beetle Creophilus maxillosus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) at Constant Temperatures.

Creophilus maxillosus (L., 1758) is a common and widely distributed beetle species found on corpses, and its development duration is far longer than species belonging to the genus Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae. Therefore, C. maxillosus can be used as a supplementary indicator to estimate minimum postmortem interval (PMImin), and could greatly extend the range of PMImin when the primary colonizers are no longer associated with the corpse or have emerged from pupae. Better descriptions of C. maxillosus development are needed to apply this species for forensic investigations. In this study, the development of C. maxillosus at seven constant temperatures ranging from 17.5-32.5 °C was studied. Through regression analyses, the simulation equations of larval body length variation with time after hatching were obtained. Isomegalen diagrams of the changes of larval body length over time at specific temperatures, and the isomorphen diagrams on the duration of different developmental milestones at specific temperatures were generated. In addition, thermal summation models of different developmental stages and the overall development process of C. maxillosus were generated through regression analysis, by estimating the development threshold temperatures (D0) and the thermal summation constants (K). These results provide important tools for forensic investigations to generate a long-range of PMImin estimation based on the development of C. maxillosus.

Scavengase p20: a novel family of bacterial antioxidant enzymes.

A novel antioxidant enzyme designated scavengase p20 was identified in various pathogenic bacteria through database searching for sequences strikingly homologous to a recently discovered Escherichia coli thiol peroxidase p20. The direct biochemical evidence for the existence of scavengase p20 in Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Helicobacter pylori was provided by protein microsequencing and by in vitro assays for antioxidant activities. Overlapping genes encoding scavengase p20 and superoxide dismutase were recognized in H. pylori and their functional implications are discussed.

Enhanced anti-tumor effect of an IFN-gamma-EGF fusion protein.

The novel fusion proteins harboring human or mouse interferon combined with epidermal growth factor receptor binding domain were constructed using methods of genetic and protein engineering. The fusion proteins were assayed to retain complete antiviral activities. The EGF receptor binding moiety of the fusion proteins exhibited competitive binding against 125I-EGF for EGF receptors on A431 cells. The fusion proteins were shown to be more potent in inhibiting the growth of cultured target carcinoma cells than interferon-gamma alone. Experimental data derived from mouse B16 malignant melanoma models indicates that the weight of tumor in mice treated with IFN fusion proteins was significantly smaller than that of mice treated with interferon-gamma alone. The work here is unprecedented in the world and provides a reliable evidence to support the upcoming clinical employment of a class of interferons that specifically target tumor cell.

[Constitutive expression of human fibroblast interferon gene controlled by SV40 early promoter in CHO cells].

HindII fragment encoding human fibroblast interferon (IFN beta) gene coding sequence was fused at 60 bp downstream from the RNA start site of SV40 early gene to be a constitutive expression plasmid pSVE beta. This recombinant plasmid was transfected into the dihydrofolate reductase (dhfr)-deficient Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells together with a selectable dhfr gene. About half of transformants continuously secreted IFN beta into the supernatant without inducement. One of the subclone transformants constitutively produced up to 852U IFN beta/2 X 10(6) cells/ml. 48hr in common medium.

The vaccinia virus HindIII K fragment encodes a novel protein belonging to the serpin superfamily.

The 1983-base pair nucleotide sequence of the EcoRI-HindIII fragment of vaccinia virus Tiantan strain HindIII K clone is determined by the dideoxy chain termination method. A search in the NBRF protein sequence database using FASTA and other microcomputer programs reveals that several proteins belonging to the serpin (serine protease inhibitor) superfamily have striking similarities to the protein encoded by the HindIII K1 ORF. On the basis of the dot-matrix analysis and sequence alignment, the K1-encoded protein is shown as a novel member of the serpin superfamily. The putative reactive site and switch sequence of this novel serpin are then compared with those of other serpins. The probable evolutionary and possible functional relationships are discussed.

Molecular cloning of a new variant of human papillomavirus type 6 isolated from a Chinese woman and expression of its L1 gene in E. coli--molecular cloning & expression of HPV6 gene.

A human papillomavirus genome DNA of 7.9 kb from a Chinese woman with genital condyloma acuminata was cloned in BamHI site of pAT153. According to the results obtained from Southern blotting, restriction mapping as well as partial DNA sequencing, the isolated genome (HPV6BV) had obvious variance and was referred to as a new variant of HPV6 found in China the first time. HPV6BV L1 gene was successfully expressed in E. coli as a fusion protein with pUR288. The beta-galactosidase/L1 fusion protein reacted with both beta-galactosidase antiserum and HPV antibody using Western blot technique. The E. coli-produced fusion protein, possessing HPV antigenicity, may provide a reagent for clinical diagnosis and epidemiological survey.

Synthesis and expression in Escherichia coli of a human neutrophil activating protein-1/interleukin-8 gene.

The complete gene coding for human neutrophil activating protein-1/interleukin-8 was synthesized using a semi-chemical semi-enzymatic method. The synthetic gene was then overexpressed in Escherichia coli under the temperature-regulated control of the PRPL tandem promoters. As determined by SDS-PAGE and densitometry, the overexpressed protein comprised up to 18.5% and 10.9% of the total soluble protein in E. coli cells grown in shake flasks and in batch fermentation, respectively. The recombinant NAP-1/IL-8 was then purified to > 95% homogeneity by gel filtration and cation exchange chromatography. The purified protein appeared as a single band on the SDS-PAGE gel and possessed potent chemotactic activity in the concentration of < 10 ng/ml, as assayed by the agarose plate method. An early skin reactivity was also observed when the pure NAP-1/IL-8 was injected subcutaneously into the rabbits. The N-terminal 36 amino acid sequence of the recombinant NAP-1/IL-8 was determined using the Edman method and was shown to be identical to that of the native protein.

Cloning, sequencing and expression in E. coli of interferon-omega 1 gene.

Human interferon omega 1 (huIFN-omega 1) gene was isolated and cloned from chromosome DNA derived from a Chinese fetal liver via polymerase chain reaction (PCR). By determining its nucleotide sequence we proved that the 88th codon should be GGA, coding for Gly. After engineering the original IFN-omega 1 gene clone to a form that may be expressed as a nonfused protein, we also took the IFN-omega 1 gene under the control of the PRPL promoter with an expression vector pBV220 in E. coli. The antivirus activity of the recombinant IFN-omega 1 is about 6.5 x 10(7) units/L CULTURE (OD600 = 0.75). Since IFN-omega 1 not only has antivirus activity but also shows considerably high homology with animal trophoblast proteins which have been proved antiluteolysins as a maternal recognition signal for pregnancy, we believe that study on it will be practically and theoretically significant.

A new human interferon-gamma mutant harboring EGF receptor-interfering sequence possesses high antiproliferative activity.

An interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) mutant gene harboring an additional epidermal growth factor (EGF) sequence at its 3' terminal was constructed and highly expressed in E. coli by using pBV220 as a vector. The new fusion protein-IFN-gamma-EGF possesses not only high antiviral activity, but also high antiproliferative effect as demonstrated by 3H-TdR incorporation method using CN II cells which are rich in EGF receptors.

A novel variant of human interferon alpha 1 gene.

A 520-base pair human IFN-alpha gene was isolated by PCR method twice from chromosome DNA of a Chinese (Han Nationality) fetal liver. The nucleotide sequences were determined. These two separately amplified DNA fragments shared the completely identical nucleotide sequence but possessed C and G at positions 410 and 541, respectively, which differ from those of IFN-alpha 1 and IFN-alpha D previously described. Therefore the deduced amino acid sequence would have an Ala at position 114 and a Val at position 158. At all other sites it has the same amino acids as those in IFN-alpha 1 and IFN-alpha D. We recommend that IFN-alpha D gene, IFN-alpha I gene and IFN-alpha I/158V gene found in our laboratory, be named IFN-alpha 1a gene, IFN-alpha 1b gene and IFN-alpha 1c gene.

Newly identified respiratory viruses associated with acute lower respiratory tract infections in children in Lanzou, China, from 2006 to 2009.

Nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from 813 children ≤ 14 years old with acute lower respiratory tract infections in Lanzhou, China, from December 2006 to November 2009. PCR or RT-PCR was used to screen for the presence of 10 respiratory viruses. Viral agents were identified in 73.92% (601/813) of specimens, including RSV in 40.71%, hMPV in 6.15%, IFVA in 7.13%, IFVB in 0.98%, PIV1-3 in 7.87%, HCoV-HKU1 in 2.21%, HCoV-NL63 in 3.81%, HRV in 19.93%, AdV in 7.50% and HBoV in 11.56%. Two or more viruses were detected in 34.44% (280/813) of cases. The newly identified respiratory viruses, HBoV, hMPV, HCoV-HKU1 and HCoV-NL63, accounted for 22.01% of the detected viral pathogens. RSV and HRV were frequently detected in patients with bronchiolitis, and hMPV was frequently associated with pneumonia. HCoV-NL63 was found to be one of the causative agents of acute respiratory wheezing in young children. No seasonal variation was found in the incidence of detection of HCoV-HKU1, HCoV-NL63 or HBoV. This 3-year study demonstrated that viral pathogens play an important role in children with ALRTIs, and more attention should be paid to these newly identified viral agents.