[Pharmacological Effects of Different Prepared Typhonii Rhizoma].

Objective: To evaluate the different actions of crude and prepared Typhonii Rhizoma through pharmacological and statistical methods. Methods: Spontaneous activity test, sleep test, and seizure induced by dimefline in mice were used to examine the sedative and anticonvulsant effects of different prepared products of Typhonii Rhizoma. Twisting induced by acetic acid, law pain induced by formaldehyde, and ear swelling caused by xylene were applied to examine the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of those different prepared products. Then the pharmacological effects of different prepared Typhonii Rhizoma were comprehensively analyzed by principal components analysis method. Results: Typhonii Rhizoma significantly reduced the spontaneous activities of mice, prolonged the convulsions latency,decreased twisting times, licking time and ear swelling. The principal components analysis results showed that the sample order from strong to weak was Typhonii Rhizoma prepared by ginger and alum, prepared by alum,crude Typhonii Rhizoma, and those prepared by ginger. Conclusion: Crude and prepared Typhonii Rhizoma exert sedative, anticonvulsant, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects in different degrees.

Immune-related adverse events associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors for advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have shown promising efficacy in treatment and clinical management of advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer. However, the inhibitors also cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs). The current systematic review and meta-analysis study aimed to investigate the incidence and nature of irAEs caused by ICIs. AIM: To investigate the incidence and nature of irAEs in advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer. METHODS: This systematic review was registered with PROSPERO (Reg. number: CRD42020152291). Data included in this study were collected from patients diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction cancer and treated with ICIs. A systematic literature search was conducted using the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases. Meta-analysis was carried out using the single sample rate method. Synthesis and analysis of the data was conducted using Stata/SE and Review Manager Software. RESULTS: The patients enrolled in the present study included 14 patients from 14 case reports, 326 patients from 6 case series, and 1249 patients from 8 clinical trials. It was found that the overall incidence of irAEs was 16% [95% confidence interval (CI): 11-20] for all grades and 3% (95%CI: 2-4) for the severe grade. It was evident that the incidence of irAEs varied with the type of inhibitor and organs. A comparative study of the anti-programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1) and anti-programmed death receptor-ligand 1 (PD-L1) treatments showed that the anti-PD-1 group had a higher overall incidence of irAEs (20%) as compared with that of the anti-PD-L1 group (13%). Results of this study showed that the endocrine system experienced the highest incidence of organ-specific irAEs (7.4%), including hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, thyroiditis, diabetes, and adrenal insufficiency, followed by gastroenterology (2.2%), pulmonology (1.8%), neurology (1.4%), dermatology (1.4%), hematology (0.8%), and hepatology (0.7%). In clinical trials, it was found that the incidence of death related to irAEs was 1% (95%CI: 0-2.0), whereby colitis and interstitial lung diseases were the leading causes of death. CONCLUSION: It was evident that the incidence and nature of irAEs are both organ- and inhibitor-specific. The anti-PD-1 group had the highest incidence of all irAEs grades including the severe grades of irAEs. Early identification and management of irAEs allows clinical oncologists to effectively consider the pros and cons and hence enables them to strike a balance.

[Microscopic versus laparoscopic varicocelectomy in the treatment of varicocele: effects and complications].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects and postoperative complications of microscopic varicocelectomy (MV) and laparoscopic varicocelectomy (LV) in the treatment of varicocele. METHODS: We assigned 72 varicocele patients to two groups of equal number to be treated by MV and LV. We compared the two groups in the semen parameters before and 3 months after surgery, postoperative complications, and pregnancy rates of the patients'wives. RESULTS: The operative time was significantly longer in the MV than in the LV group (P<0.05). The postoperative hospital stay showed no significant difference between the MV and LV groups ([2.2 +/- 2.7] d vs [2.8 +/- 0.8] d). Sperm concentration, sperm motility and the percentage of grade a + b sperm were significantly increased in both groups after surgery (P<0.05), but with no significant differences between the two. The pregnancy rate was 65.2% in the former and 57.1% in the latter. Postoperative hydrocele occurred in 5 cases in the LV, but none in the MV group. There were no statistically significant differences in recurrence between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: MV is superior to LV for its minimal invasiveness, economical anesthesia, faster recovery and lower rates of postoperative complications and recurrence.

Ubiquitous mitochondrial creatine kinase is overexpressed in the conditioned medium and the extract of LNCaP lineaged androgen independent cell lines and facilitates prostate cancer progression.

BACKGROUND: Androgen independent prostate cancer (AIPC) is not responsive to androgen ablation therapy. The biomarkers of AIPC are lack. Numerous proteomics studies have focused on finding new markers of AIPC and exploring their possible functions, but little is known about the difference between conditioned medium (CM) from AIPC and androgen dependent prostate cancer (ADPC) cells. METHODS: We performed a proteome analysis of CM from LNCaP, C4-2, and C4-2B cells by a two dimensional electrophoresis based technology. Western blots and immunohistochemical studies were employed to explore the expression pattern of the identified protein in prostate cancer cell lines and clinical specimens, respectively. Then we examined the possible roles and mechanisms of the ubiquitous mitochondrial creatine kinase (uMtCK) in vitro. RESULTS: Besides prostate specific antigen (PSA) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-2 (IGFBP2), uMtCK was identified in the CM of AIPC cells. uMtCK was up-regulated in AIPC cells and in human prostate cancer tissues at WHO grade III. Stably transfected exogenous uMtCK showed a growth promoting effect rather than mock vector in LNCaP cells, with or without bicalutamide in culture medium. Further assays showed that higher degrees of ROS generation and Akt signaling pathway activation in LNCaP-uMtCK than in LNCaP-neo cells. CONCLUSIONS: We showed that uMtCK could be easily detected in CM of LNCaP lineaged AIPC cells. Exogenous uMtCK in LNCaP cells surprisingly contributed to overproduction of ROS, activation of Akt signaling pathway and more aggressive phenotypes including androgen independence development.

Single-cell-gap transflective liquid-crystal display based on photo- and nanoparticle-induced alignment effects.

This work presents a transflective liquid-crystal (LC) display with a single cell gap in a dual-alignment configuration. This dual structure was fabricated via single-step laser-light exposure through a photomask. The vertical alignment induced by nanoparticles of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes can be changed into a homogeneous alignment via absorption of photoexcited azo dye. The LC molecules at the transmissive and reflective pixels are homogeneous and hybrid alignment, respectively, at which optimal phase retardations of half and quarter wavelengths are achieved.

A novel set of surgical instruments facilitate the procedure of laparoscopic pyeloplasty.

BACKGROUND: Open pyeloplasty has been historically described as the gold standard for the surgical treatment of ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO), even if new techniques have recently gained a prominent role in this field. Laparoscopic pyeloplasty (LP) is not widely prevelant because of the technically challenging nature and it represents the gold standard for UPJO only in expert hands. To overcome some difficulties and technical challenges encountered during pure laparoscopic pyeloplasty, we designed a set of new instruments and assessed them using porcine model. METHODS: According to the ideas from the surgeons, our medical engineer designed three new instruments, including the right angle laparoscopy scissors, the petal-shape ureter dilator and the guide tube. Four experienced laparoscopic experts were involved in a no survival porcine study to assess the help of these new instruments. Four experiments were conducted on live pigs that weighed 22 to 25 kg at the same time. After general anesthesia was administered, transperitoneal ureteroureterostomy was performed using standard laparoscopic instruments, including placing the double J stent anterograde. Then, the opposite lateral was done by the same surgeon plus these new devices for side-by-side comparative analysis. All experts were interviewed to assess these new instruments by the questionnaire based on the visual analog scale (VAS) from 1 (none) to 10 (very much). RESULTS: The procedures were all technically successful. The right angle laparoscopy scissors and the guide tube were accepted by all participants and the Help Score were 6.75 and 4.25 respectively, at the same time the New Difficulty Score 1.25 and 1.75. However, the petal-shape ureter dilator got 1.5 Help Score and 6.5 New Difficulty Score. These surgeons made a negative comment and one of surgeons recommended the stone basket was more suitable. CONCLUSION: The right angle laparoscopy scissors and the guide tube may be helpful to minimize some difficulties in pure laparoscopic pyeloplasty.

Differential proteome analysis of conditioned medium of BPH-1 and LNCaP cells.

BACKGROUND: Although the introduction of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measurements into clinical practice has revolutionized the care of patients with prostate cancer, there are well-recognized limitations of PSA, and there is a critical need to identify additional prostate cancer biomarkers to assist in early detection and prognosis. In this regard, high resolution proteomic technology has the unexceptionable superiority to find those high abundance biomarkers. The purpose of this study was to search new tumor markers by proteomic technology. METHODS: The proteins in conditioned medium (CM) of BPH-1 and LNCaP cells were profiled by two-dimensional electrophoresis and identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). The corresponding mRNA levels of some identified proteins were analyzed by RT-PCR. RESULTS: Totally 11 differentially expressed proteins (6 up-regulated including creatine kinase, brain (CKB), triosephosphate isomerase 1 (TPI1), isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2) and 5 down-regulated including glutathione S-transferase pi (GST-pi)) in the CM were identified using MALDI-TOF-MS and database search. The expression pattern between mRNA and CM protein levels of CKB, IDH2, TPI1 and GST-pi in BPH-1 and LNCaP was similar. CONCLUSION: We proved a feasible and effective way to search new tumor markers by a proteomics-based strategy and identified 11 potentially useful proteins in CM of BPH-1 and LNCaP cells to distinguish prostate cancer from benign prostatic hypertrophy.