Response of dissolved inorganic carbon dynamics to simulated tidal hydrological processes in coastal wetlands.

To clarify the impacts of tidal hydrological process shifts caused by sea level rise on the blue carbon cycle, a typical coastal wetland in Jiaozhou Bay was selected for this study. The soils of Suaeda salsa (SS) and Phragmites australis (PA) wetlands were collected to simulate the effects of three types of tidal hydrological processes (Neap tide group, NT; Middle tide group, MT; Spring tide group, ST) on the soil-water dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) dynamic. The results showed that the concentration of water dissolved inorganic carbon (WDIC) increased rapidly (115% higher) at early stage (days 0-4) under the influence of the tidal hydrological processes. Significant differences were found in WDIC concentration during different tidal hydrological processes (P < 0.05), which were expressed as MT (52.7 ± 13.3 mg L-1) > ST (52.5 ± 12.9 mg L-1) > NT (48.4 ± 10.1 mg L-1). After experiencing the tidal hydrological processes, the soil DIC content showed a net accumulation (55.1 ± 1.29 mg L-1vs. 46.7 ± 1.76 mg L-1, P < 0.001), whereas the soil inorganic carbon (SIC) decreased (2.73 ± 1.64 mg L-1vs. 4.61 ± 1.71 mg L-1), which may be attributed to the dissolution of SIC caused by the uptake of CO2 to form DIC. The accumulation of soil DIC was directly related to the SIC (λ = 1.03, P < 0.01), and indirectly related to soil nutrients (SOC substrate, λ = -0.003) and microbes (microbial biomass, λ = -0.10), and was mainly dominated by abiotic processes (abiotic: 58.1 ± 1.8% to 82.7 ± 2.46% vs. biotic: 17.4 ± 2.46% to 41.9 ± 1.76%). The increase of tidal frequency generally inhibited the accumulation of soil DIC content and promoted the output of WDIC. However, the response of soil DIC in different wetland types to tidal frequency was divergent, which was mainly regulated by the trade-off between soil nutrients and SIC content. Taken together, tidal hydrological processes and their frequency changes reshaped DIC dynamics, promoted the dissolution of SIC and the potential uptake of CO2. These findings enhance the comprehension of the inorganic carbon cycle within coastal wetlands, particularly amidst the backdrop of climate change and the rising sea levels.

Divergent response of blue carbon components to wetland types and hydrological effects in typical estuarine wetlands of Jiaozhou Bay, China.

As ecosystems subject to periodic tides, estuarine wetlands have a significant capacity to sequester carbon over time. Understanding the distribution patterns of soil carbon components and identifying the key factors influencing these patterns are key to gaining insight into the function of "blue carbon" in coastal wetlands. To clarify the response of soil carbon components to wetland types and hydrological effects in estuarine wetlands, the typical estuarine wetlands in Jiaozhou Bay, China were selected as the study area, and the soil organic carbon (SOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), soil inorganic carbon (SIC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) under different wetland types and hydrological effects were investigated. The results showed that the SOC, SIC, and MBC contents were significantly influenced by the wetland types. The SOC and MBC contents were as follows: mudflat (GT) > Phragmites australis wetland (PA) > Suaeda salsa wetland (SS). The overall content of SIC was highest in PA, followed by GT and SS. Hydrological effects had significant influence on the soil MBC, DOC and DIC contents. With the increase hydrological effects, the soil MBC content decreased by 38.89%-72.22%, while the DOC and DIC contents increased by 15.13%-19.89% and 13.41%-86.70%, respectively. The results of the correlation analysis and structural equation model indicated that wetland types and hydrological effects directly or indirectly (through changes in soil pH, bulk density, water content, and salinity) drove the changes in soil carbon contents in estuarine wetlands. Altogether, our findings implied that the alterations of wetland types and hydrological effects will affect the blue carbon function of estuarine wetlands. In the future, for accurate assessment of a blue carbon budget for estuarine wetlands, the differences in wetland types and hydrological effects of different areas should be considered.

[Application of Bionano-DNA Full-Length Optical Mapping Technology in Genetic Diagnosis of Hemophilia A Carriers].

OBJECTIVE: To apply Bionano Saphyr visual full-length DNA optical mapping technology to the precise genetic diagnosis of hemophilia A carriers. METHODS: For 2 suspected F8 gene deficiency female carriers who could not be diagnosed by conventional next-generation sequencing technology, the full-length DNA optical mapping technology was used to detect and scan the sample X chromosome full-length visual haplotype characteristic map, which was compared with the normal haplotype. The gene structure variation information of the samples was obtained by compare with DNA atlas library. RESULTS: The average fluorescent marker length of the X chromosome DNA molecular where the F8 gene was located in the two samples was greater than 2.5 Mbp, and the average copy number was greater than 20×. After comparative analysis, one of the samples was a proximal inversion of intron 22 of the F8 gene, and another was an inversion of intron 22 accompanied by multiple deletions of large fragments. CONCLUSIONS: Bionano technology has a good detection rate for gene defects with large length and complex variation. In the absence of a proband or accurate genetic diagnosis results of the proband, the application of this technology to detect the heterozygous complex variant of the F8 gene is of great significance for the prenatal diagnosis and pre-pregnancy diagnosis of hemophilia carriers.

Potential of plant DNA information in determining the provenance and identify of unknown victims.

Determination of the personal identity of victims is particularly important for the settlement of criminal cases. Unfortunately, useful information for identification is not always available. We here propose that the particles (pollens) of some plants with specific geographical distributions extracted from human lung tissues contribute to further determining the provenance or long-term residence of unknown victims, thereby considerably narrowing the search scope of the victims. We collected lung tissues from 155 victims with diverse causes of death, extracted DNA from lung tissues, sequenced the DNA fragments of plants on the Illumina Hiseq platform, and barcoded the plant species using phylogenetic methods. Finally, 108 unique plant sequences were detected in 55 samples and identified to belong to 36 species in 32 genera of 29 families. These plants were predominantly insect-pollinated crops and ornamental plants. No significant difference was observed between male and female samples, between urban and rural samples, or among samples of different ages and different sample sizes. There were 16 samples with 21 wild plant species. The original sources of 15 samples were overlapped with the distribution regions of detected plants; 2 samples narrowed the original sources to 2 provinces, which were quite coincident with their source places; 1 sample had no overlapping with its victim source region. Although plant information was only found in one-third of the samples, we further demonstrated the great potential of plant eDNA in identifying the source of unnamed corpses in a real-world case. We used plant eDNA from lung tissues to explore the provenance of an unknown female corpse found in Beijing. The source place of this victim was narrowed to Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, and finally, we confirmed her true identity in the list of missing persons in Guangxi Province. In the presence of a well-covered local reference library, the plant species detected in the lungs can be accurately identified. In difficult criminal cases where physical evidence is relatively weak, plant DNA information may provide new clues. In conclusion, the plant particles trapped in the lungs are promising to help forensic experts narrow the search scope for the identity of unknown victims.

Durable underwater super-oleophobic/super-hydrophilic conductive polymer membrane for oil-water separation.

Oily sewage has made serious impact on environment and people's life, and its treatment has become a global problem to be urgently solved. Oil-water separation has been considered to be an effective method to treat oily sewage at present. In this work, an underwater super-oleophobic/super-hydrophilic membrane with oil-water separation and self-cleaning properties was fabricated by electrochemical oxidation of sodium lignosulfonate doped polypyrrole. The membrane showed super-hydrophilicity for water-removal in air and super-hydrophilicity for oil-removal underwater in both oxidation and reduction states. The oil-water separation efficiency of the membranes for different organics exceeded 98.44%, no matter in oxidation or reduction state. Moreover, the membrane still exhibited excellent performance in terms of the oil-water separation efficiency and flux after 70 cycles, which were greater than 97.18% and 70.14 L·m-2·h-1, respectively. Simultaneously, through exploration of the mechanism, it was found that the larger anion kept intact in the membrane during the redox process, which made the stability of composition and performance. Thus, the membrane with advantageous properties, including underwater super-oleophobic/super-hydrophilicity, high oil-water separation efficiency, high circulating rate and stability, has significant potential in separation and collection of oily sewage.

Estrogen promotes Epithelial ovarian cancer cells proliferation via down-regulating expression and activating phosphorylation of PTEN.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most common of cancer death among malignant tumors in women, its occurrence and development are strongly linked to estrogen. Having identified the phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) is a potent tumor suppressor regulating cell proliferation, migration, and survival. Meanwhile, there is a correlation between PTEN protein expression and estrogen receptor expression in EOC. However, no study has amplified on the molecular regulatory mechanism and function between estrogen and PTEN in the development of EOC. In this research, we found that PTEN shows a low expression level in EOC tissues and estrogen decreased PTEN expression via the estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) in EOC cells. Knockdown of PTEN enhanced the proliferation and migration level of EOC cells driven by estrogen. Moreover, PTEN was also phosphorylated by G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30)-Protein kinase C (PKC) signaling pathway upon estrogen stimulation. Inhibiting the phosphorylation of PTEN weakened the proliferation and migration of estrogen induced-EOC cells estrogen and decreased the phosphorylation of Protein kinase B (AKT) and Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). These results indicated that estrogen decreased PTEN expression level via the ESR1 genomic pathway and phosphorylated PTEN via the GPR30-PKC non-genomic pathway to activate the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, thereby determining the fate of EOC cells.

Adult-type granulosa cell tumor of the ovary.

Adult-type Granulosa Cell Tumor of the Ovary (AGCT) is a relatively rare subtype of ovarian cancer, accounting for 2-4% of all ovarian cancer. AGCT originates from proliferating normal preovulatory granulosa cells (GCs) and retains several features of those GCs. The hormonal features of AGCT explain the clinical manifestations and provide reliable markers for early diagnosis and recurrence prediction of the disease. Most AGCT patients are diagnosed at an early stage and usually demonstrate a better prognosis than patients with other types of ovarian cancer. Surgery is crucial for both initial and post-relapse treatments, whereas adjuvant therapy is still in the exploratory stage. In 2009, a population-based screening makes an exciting step, about 97% of AGCT has somatic missense mutations in the transcription factor FOXL2 gene and the FOXL2 mutation is considered to be a molecular characteristic of AGCT. Unfortunately, the FOXL2 mutation does not fully explain the development of AGCT. Ongoing research is focusing on signalling pathways in the molecular pathogenesis of AGCT to identify the possible pathogenetic factors and signal transduction pathways and provide a theoretical basis for targeted treatment. Postoperative recurrence of ovarian AGCT is common and is associated with a high mortality rate, which necessitates regular follow-up. The life management of postoperative patients is also crucial, which requires multidisciplinary experts to design recurrence treatment from the perspective of patients and implement meaningful treatment measures.

Research on the Impact of Home Nursing Based on Intelligent Medical Internet of Things on the Quality of Life of Patients with Hemophilia.

The purpose of this paper is to study the feasibility and economic benefits of intelligent medical Internet of Things (IOT) systems for improving the quality of life of hemophilia patients, thereby reducing the risk of teratogenicity and disability for patients. This article selects 60 severe hemophilia patients who were followed up in our hospital from 2018 to 2019 as the research object. In the intelligent medical system, the Gaussian mixture model discretization algorithm is used to preprocess patient data collection. The observation group uses the intelligent medical system to implement home nursing for the patients, and the control group uses ordinary home nursing. This paper evaluates the quality of life of the two groups of patients 6 months after the intervention, including self-care ability, transfer function, and home nursing cognitive ability. The research results show that the home nursing based on smart medical IOT proposed in this paper is feasible and effective for improving the quality of life of patients. It can effectively improve the patient's self-care ability and joint functions and has important reference value for the development of intelligent medical IOT equipment.

Risk of Second Primary Malignancies Based on the Histological Subtypes of Colorectal Cancer.

Background: Previous studies have revealed an increased risk of second primary malignancies (SPMs) after colorectal cancer (CRC); however, no previous investigation has quantified differences in the risk of SPMs based on the histological subtypes of first primary CRC. Methods: Patients diagnosed with first primary CRC between 2000 and 2011 were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registries. The patients were divided into three cohorts: classical adenocarcinoma (CA), mucinous adenocarcinoma (MA), and signet-ring cell carcinoma (SRCC). Standardized incidence ratios were calculated to assess the risk of SPMs among the patients. Results: Overall risk of SPMs was significantly higher among patients with three histological subtypes of CRC than in the general population. The risk of esophagus cancer was significantly increased in SRCC. The risk of small intestine, colon and rectum, and corpus uteri cancers was high in three histological subtypes, with the highest risk observed in SRCC, followed by MA. Increased risks of second stomach, uterus, urinary bladder, kidney, and thyroid cancers were only observed in CA patients, while increased risk of second renal pelvis cancer was limited to MA patients. Furthermore, the high overall risk of SPMs in CA patients persisted regardless of clinicopathological factors. After surgery combined with chemotherapy treatment, CA patients were more prone to developing second small intestine, colon and rectum cancers than those treated with surgery only. A lower second prostate cancer risk was observed in rectal CA patients treated with surgery combined with radiotherapy than in patients treated with surgery only. Conclusion: The present study revealed that the risk of developing SPMs after CRC varied based on the histological subtypes of the first primary CRC. Although the mechanisms underlying the observed patterns of SPM risk remain unknown, the study provided insights into future cancer surveillance based on the histological subtypes of CRC.

Comparative study on diatom morphology and molecular identification in drowning cases.

In the field of criminal investigations, in the event that a body is found in water, the ability to differentiate whether the cause of death was drowning or the body was murdered then dumped into water elsewhere is difficult but important for case detection. Detecting diatoms in human organs can be used to effectively identify if the cause of death was drowning. At present, diatom detection methods are roughly divided into morphological and molecular detection methods, but both methods have different limitations. In this study, a total of 79 samples from 23 victims in 19 known drowning deaths were collected. The diatom morphological identification combined with DNA metabarcoding technology was used to compare the reliability of the diatom detection method. Microscopic observations revealed that the positive detection rate of diatoms was 52.6 %, 26.3 % and 58.8 % respectively in the kidney, liver and lung samples. DNA metabarcoding analysis found that the positive detection rate of diatoms was 31.6 %, 31.6 % and 35.3 % respectively in kidney, liver and lung samples. When compared with barcode BacirbcL, barcode 18S605 detected more diatoms, while diatoms in BacirbcL were more consistent with environmental samples. The comparative analysis found that microscopic observations were not highly correlated with the identification results of DNA barcoding technology. There were no obvious differences in the effect of internal organs on diatom enrichment, and different organs should be tested at the same time. At present, the DNA barcode reference sequence is gravely insufficient and has many errors, which leads to restrictions in the application of this technology, resulting in many OTU not being accurately identified. This explains why the success rate of molecular identification is not higher than that of microscopic identification. Construction of a reliable diatom DNA barcode reference sequence database is an urgent task for drowning forensics.

Etoposide Amorphous Nanopowder for Improved Oral Bioavailability: Formulation Development, Optimization, in vitro and in vivo Evaluation.

INTRODUCTION: Etoposide refers to a derivative of podophyllotoxin, which plays an important role in the treatment of cancer due to its prominent anti-tumor effect. As a BCS IV drug, etoposide exhibits insufficient aqueous solubility and permeability, thereby limiting its oral absorption. To enhance the oral bioavailability of etoposide, this study developed an amorphous nanopowder. METHODS: Based on preliminary screening and experimental design, the stabilizer and preparation process of etoposide nanosuspension were explored. Subsequently, using a Box-Behnken design, the effects of independent factors (ultrasonication time, ratio of two phases and stabilizer concentration) on response variables (particle size and polydispersity index) were studied, and then the formulation was optimized. Finally, nanosuspension was further freeze dried with 1% of mannitol resulting in the formation of etoposide amorphous nanopowder. RESULTS: The optimized etoposide nanopowder showed as spherical particles with an average particle size and polydispersity index of 211.7 ± 10.4 nm and 0.125 ± 0.028. X-ray powder diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry confirmed the ETO in the nanopowder was amorphous. Compared with coarse powder and physical mixture, etoposide nanopowder achieved significantly enhanced saturated solubility and dissolution in various pH environments. The Cmax and AUC0-t of etoposide nanopowder after oral administration in rats were respectively 2.21 and 2.13 times higher than the crude etoposide suspension. Additionally, the Tmax value of nanopowder was 0.25 h, compared with 0.5 h of reference group. DISCUSSION: In the present study, the optimized amorphous nanopowder could significantly facilitate the dissolution and oral absorption of etoposide and might act as an effective delivery method to enhance its oral bioavailability.

17ß-Estradiol via Orai1 activates calcium mobilization to induce cell proliferation in epithelial ovarian cancer.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most lethal estrogen-sensitive gynecological cancer. Studies have reported that estrogen induces rapid cellular calcium mobilization in cells and can determine the fate of a cell. We found that estrogen increased the calcium release-activated calcium channel modulator 1 (Orai1) protein expression levels in SK-OV-3 cells. However, to date, there has been no research on the functional relationship and molecular mechanism of estrogen-regulating Orai1 during EOC development. In our study, Orai1 had a high expression level in high-grade serous ovarian tumor tissues and SK-OV-3 cells. Estrogen promoted cell proliferation and migration while inhibiting cell apoptosis in SK-OV-3 cells. Orai1 silencing suppressed estrogen-induced cell migration and proliferation. Overexpression of Orai1, however, enhanced the ability of 17ß-estradiol (E2) to exert its function. Estrogen induced rapid calcium influx in SK-OV-3 cells. Knockdown of Orai1 in SK-OV-3 cells blocked E2-induced stored-operated Ca2+ influx. The messenger RNA expression of caspase 3, matrix metallopeptidase 1, and cyclin-dependent kinase 6 were regulated via Orai1 under E2 treatment. Our results suggest that estrogen, by regulating Orai1, induced calcium influx to determine cell fate.

Diatom DNA barcodes for forensic discrimination of drowning incidents.

The presence of diatoms in victim's internal organs has been regarded as a gold biological evidence of drowning. The idea becomes true at the advent of DNA metabarcoding. Unfortunately, the DNA barcode of diatoms are far from being applicable due to neither consensus on the barcode and nor reliable reference library.In this study we tested 23 pairs of primers, including two new primer pairs, Baci18S (V4 of 18S) and BacirbcL (central region of rbcL), for amplifying fragments of 16S/18S, 23S/28S, COI, ITS and rbcL. A total of five pairs of primers performed satisfactory for diatoms. We used three of them, 18S605 (V2 + V3 of 18S), Baci18S and BacirbcL, to barcode four water samples using next generation sequencing platform. The results showed that these primers worked well for NGS metabarcoding of diatoms. We suggest that 18S605, Baci18S and BacirbcL be barcodes of diatoms and the corresponding primer pairs be used. Considering a quite high proportion of sequences deposited in GenBank were mislabeled, the most urgent task for DNA barcoding of diatoms is to create standard sequences using correctly identified specimens, ideally type specimens.

Safety and Efficacy of a Mouth-Rinse with Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor in Patients with Chemotherapy-Induced Oral Mucositis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety and effectiveness of a mouth-rinse with G-CSF (JiSaiXin, produced by NCPC Biotechnology Co., Ltd) in treating patients with chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis (CIM). METHOD: A consecutive cohort of patients with advanced cancers and CIM were treated with mouth-rinse G-CSF. All chemotherapy for patients with advanced cancers was adopted from regimens suggested by NCCN guidelines. The mouth-rinse with G-CSF at a dose of 150-300ug plus 100ml-500ml normal saline was started from the time of oral mucositis was confirmed and continuously used for at least 7 days as one course. After at least two courses of treatment, safety and efficacy were evaluated. RESULTS: There were 7 female and 7 male patients with advanced cancer and CIM recruited into this study, including 5 with colorectal, 2 with lung, 1 patient with gastric, 1 with cervical and 1 with pancreatic cancer, as well as 2 patients with diffuse large B cell lymphomas, 1 with nasopharyngeal and 1 with gastric cancer. The median age was 57 (41-79) years. Grade 1 to 2 myelosuppression was observed in 3/14 patients, and Grade 4 myelosuppression in 1/14. Adverse effects on the gastrointestinal tract were documented in 5/14 patients, and were Grade 1 to Grade 3. No treatment related death was documented. Regarding CIM, the median response time to mouth rinse of G-CSF was 2 (1-5) days, and all patients with CIM demonstrated a positive response. CONCLUSIONS: Mouth-rinse with G-CSF proved to be safe and effective in treating patients with advanced cancers and CIM. However, further randomized controlled studies should be conducted to clarify the effectiveness of this treatment with other lesions.

Safety of Lienal Polypeptide Injection Combined with Chemotherapy in Treating Patients with Advanced Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety of Liena polypeptide injection (produced by JILIN FSENS PHARMACEUTICAL CO.,LTD) combined with chemotherapy in treating patients with advanced cancers. METHOD: A consecutive cohort of patients with advanced cancers were treated with Liena polypeptide injection combined with chemotherapy. And chemotherapy for patients with advanced cancers were adopted from regimens suggested by NCCN guideline. Liena polypeptide injection was intravenously injected at a dosage of 2 ml plus 100ml normal saline for continuous 7 days during chemotherapy as one course. After at least two courses of treatment, safety and side effects were evaluated. RESULTS: There were 20 female and 14 male patients with advanced cancer recruited into this study, including 10 patients with breast, 8 patients with colorectal, 8 patients with lung, 4 patients with gastric, and 1 patient with esophageal cancer, as well as 1 patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 1 patient with low pharyngeal and 1 patient with urethral cancer. The median age of patients was 59 (40-82) years. Incidences of Grade 1 to 2 myelosuppression was observed in 5/34 patients, and Grade 1 to 2 elevation of hepatic enzyme was recorded in 3/34 patients. Adverse effects on the gastrointestinal tract were documented in 5/34 patients, and were Grade 1. No Grade 3-4 toxicities were diagnosed. No treatment related death was found. CONCLUSIONS: Liena polypeptide injection combined with chemotherapy was safe in treating several sites of tumors, that mainly included lung, colorectal and breast cancer. However, further study should be conducted to clarify the effectiveness of this treatment.

Thalidomide Combined with Chemotherapy in Treating Patients with Advanced Colorectal Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety and effectiveness of thalidomide (produced by CHANGZHOU PHARMACEUTICAL FACTORY CO.LTD) combined with chemotherapy in treating patients with advanced colorectal cancer. METHOD: A consecutive cohort of pretreated patients with advanced colorectal cancer were treated with thalidomide combined with chemotherapy. And chemotherapy for patients with advanced colorectal cancer were administered according to the condition of patients. Thalidomide was orally administered at a dosage of 50mg/day to 150 mg/day before sleeping for at least 14 days. After at least 14 days of treatment, safety and side effects were evaluated. RESULTS: There were 12 female and 3 male patients with advanced cancer recruited into this study, including 9 patients with colon, 6 patients with rectal cancer. The median age of patients was 57(41- 82) years. Partial response was observed in 2 patients (2/15), and stable disease in 3 patients(3/15). Incidences of Grade 1 to 2 myelosuppression was observed in 1/15 patients, and Grade 1 to 2 elevation of hepatic enzyme was recorded in 1/15 patients. Adverse effects on the gastrointestinal tract were documented in 1/15 patients, and were Grade 1. No Grade 3-4 toxicities were diagnosed. No treatment related death was found. CONCLUSIONS: Thalidomide combined with chemotherapy was safe and mildly effective in treating patients with advanced colorectal cancer. However, further study should be conducted to clarify the effectiveness of this combination.

Effects of analgecine on oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity in patients with gastrointestinal cancer.

BACKGROUND: As the third generation of platinum-based antineoplastic agent aginst gastrointestinal cancer, oxaliplatin is considered to be associated with severe sensory neurotoxicity. Acorrding to previous studies, vitaminE, intravenous Ca/Mg and glutamine may partly reduce the incidence and severity of oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of analgecine for preventing oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity in the patients with gastrointestinal tumors. METHOD: In this study, patients undergoing oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy were assigned to analgecine (experimental) group or control group. Analgecine 6ml was administered once a day for seven days from the day of oxaliplatin treatment. The National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE; version 3) was used to evaluate oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity. The incidence rates and grade of neurotoxicity of patients were assessed before and during (after four and eight cycles) treatment. RESULTS: Totally, 82 patients were enrolled in this study, 42 in experimental group and 40 in control group. The occurrence of each grade neurotoxicity in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in control group. The overall occurrence rate was 31% vs 55% (P=0.043) after 4 cycles and 52% vs 75% (P=0.050) after 8 cycles. CONCLUSION: Analgecine appears could be effective in reducing oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity and be applicated for patients with gastrointestinal tumors who would be treated with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy.

Xenon augmented hypothermia reduces early lactate/N-acetylaspartate and cell death in perinatal asphyxia.

OBJECTIVE: Additional treatments for therapeutic hypothermia are required to maximize neuroprotection for perinatal asphyxial encephalopathy. We assessed neuroprotective effects of combining inhaled xenon with therapeutic hypothermia after transient cerebral hypoxia-ischemia in a piglet model of perinatal asphyxia using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) biomarkers supported by immunohistochemistry. METHODS: Thirty-six newborn piglets were randomized (all groups n = 9), with intervention from 2 to 26 hours, to: (1) normothermia; (2) normothermia + 24 hours 50% inhaled xenon; (3) 24 hours hypothermia (33.5°C); or (4) 24 hours hypothermia (33.5°C) + 24 hours 50% inhaled xenon. Serial MRS was acquired before, during, and up to 48 hours after hypoxia-ischemia. RESULTS: Mean arterial blood pressure was lower in all treatment groups compared with normothermia (p < 0.01) (although >40mmHg); the combined therapy group required more fluid boluses (p < 0.05) and inotropes (p < 0.001). Compared with no intervention, both hypothermia and xenon-augmented hypothermia reduced the temporal regression slope magnitudes for phosphorus-MRS inorganic phosphate/exchangeable phosphate pool (EPP) and phosphocreatine/EPP (both p < 0.05); for lactate/N-acetylaspartate (NAA), only xenon-augmented hypothermia reduced the slope (p < 0.01). Xenon-augmented hypothermia also reduced transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling (TUNEL)(+) nuclei and caspase 3 immunoreactive cells in parasagittal cortex and putamen and increased microglial ramification in midtemporal cortex compared with the no treatment group (p < 0.05). Compared with hypothermia, however, combination treatment did not reach statistical significance for any measure. Lactate/NAA showed a strong positive correlation with TUNEL; nucleotide triphosphate/EPP showed a strong negative correlation with microglial ramification (both p < 0.01). INTERPRETATION: Compared with no treatment, xenon-augmented hypothermia reduced cerebral MRS abnormalities and cell death markers in some brain regions. Compared with hypothermia, xenon-augmented hypothermia did not reach statistical significance for any measure. The safety and possible improved efficacy support phase II trials.