Emulsifiable oil-formulated Beauveria bassiana competes with imidacloprid for seasonal control of cereal aphids in Zhejiang, China.

BACKGROUND: Alternatives to neonicotinoids against cereal aphids are needed to mitigate aphid resistance and non-target effects. The emulsifiable oil formulations of two Beauveria bassiana strains, namely Bb registered as a mycoinsecticide and TBb overexpressing an endogenous virulence factor, were tested for seasonal control of cereal aphids at the elongating (April 7) to milk ripening (May 12) stages of winter wheat crop in Yuhang, Zhejiang. Each of three field trials consisted of blank control and the treatments (three randomized 100-m2 plots per capita) of each fungal strain sprayed biweekly at rates of 1.0 × 1013 and 1.5 × 1013 conidia ha-1 and 10% imidacloprid WP sprayed biweekly at a label rate. RESULTS: Tiller infestation percentage and aphid density in the 5-week field trials after the first spray were reduced to 18.7-22.4% and 9.1-12.4 aphids per tiller in the fungal treatments, and 12.8-25.3% and 2.8-20.9 aphids per tiller in the chemical treatment, contrasting with 49.2-60.3% and 37.1-108.5 aphids per tiller in the control. Percent control efficacies (±SD) computed with weekly aphid densities over the period averaged 84.0 ± 1.6 and 85.3 ± 1.8 versus 78.0 ± 4.0 and 79.9 ± 3.2 in the high-rate versus low-rate treatments of Bb and TBb, respectively, and 84.5 ± 7.8 in the chemical treatment. Imidacloprid showed faster kill action but more variable efficacy than the fungal treatments throughout the trials. CONCLUSION: Either Bb or TBb formulation competes with imidacloprid in reducing percent infestation and aphid density. The overall efficacy was significantly higher in the treatments of TBb than of Bb. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

MED12 variants associated with X-linked recessive partial epilepsy without intellectual disability.

OBJECTIVES: The MED12 gene encodes mediator complex subunit 12, which is a component of the mediator complex involved in the transcriptional regulation of nearly all RNA polymerase II-dependent genes. MED12 variants have previously been associated with developmental disorders with or without nonspecific intellectual disability. This study aims to explore the association between MED12 variants and epilepsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Trios-based whole-exome sequencing was performed in a cohort of 349 unrelated cases with partial (focal) epilepsy without acquired causes. The genotype-phenotype correlations of MED12 variants were analyzed. RESULTS: Five hemizygous missense MED12 variants, including c.958A>G/p.Ile320Val, c.1757G>A/p.Ser586Asn, c.2138C>T/p.Pro713Leu, c.3379T>C/p.Ser1127Pro, and c.4219A>C/p.Met1407Leu were identified in five unrelated males with partial epilepsy. All patients showed infrequent focal seizures and achieved seizure free without developmental abnormalities or intellectual disability. All the hemizygous variants were inherited from asymptomatic mothers (consistent with the X-linked recessive inheritance pattern) and were absent in the general population. The two variants with damaging hydrogen bonds were associated with early-onset seizures. Further genotype-phenotype analysis revealed that congenital anomaly disorder (Hardikar syndrome) was associated with (de novo) destructive variants in an X-linked dominant inheritance pattern, whereas epilepsy was associated with missense variants in an X-linked recessive inheritance pattern. Phenotypic features of intellectual disability appeared as the intermediate phenotype in terms of both genotype and inheritance. Epilepsy-related variants were located at the MED12-LCEWAV domain and the regions between MED12-LCEWAV and MED12-POL. CONCLUSION: MED12 is a potentially causative gene for X-linked recessive partial epilepsy without developmental or intellectual abnormalities. The genotype-phenotype correlation of MED12 variants explains the phenotypic variations and can help the genetic diagnosis.

Impact of preoperative [18F]FDG PET/CT vs. contrast-enhanced CT in the staging and survival of patients with clinical stage I and II non-small cell lung cancer: a 10-year follow-up study.

OBJECTIVES: To elucidate the impact of [18F]FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) vs. CT workup on staging and prognostic evaluation of clinical stage (c) I-II NSCLC. METHODS: We retrospectively identified 659 cI-II NSCLC who underwent CT (267 patients) or preoperative CT followed by PET/CT (392 patients), followed by curative-intended complete resection in our hospital from January 2008 to December 2013. Differences were assessed between preoperative and postoperative stage. Five-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier approach and compared with log-rank test. Impact of preoperative PET/CT on survival was assessed by Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: The study included 659 patients [mean age, 59.5 years ± 10.8 (standard deviation); 379 men]. The PET/CT group was superior over CT group in DFS [12.6 vs. 6.9 years, HR 0.67 (95% CI 0.53-0.84), p < 0.001] and OS [13.9 vs. 10.5 years, HR 0.64 (95% CI 0.50-0.81), p < 0.001]. In CT group, more patients thought to have cN0 migrated to pN1/2 disease as compared with PET/CT group [26.4% (66/250) vs. 19.2% (67/349), p < 0.001], resulting in more stage cI cases being upstaged to pII-IV [24.7% (49/198) vs. 16.1% (47/292), p = 0.02], yet this was not found in cII NSCLC [27.5% (19/69) vs. 27.0% (27/100), p = 0.94]. Cox regression analysis identified preoperative PET/CT as an independent prognostic factor of OS and DFS (p = 0.002, HR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.54-0.88; p = 0.004, HR = 0.72, 95% CI 0.58-0.90). CONCLUSION: Addition of preoperative [18F]FDG PET/CT was associated with superior DFS and OS in resectable cI-II NSCLC, which may result from accurate staging and stage-appropriate therapy.

Selective conversion of carbon dioxide into heavy olefins over Ga modified delafossite-CuFeO2.

Ga-modified CuFeO2 used as an efficient catalyst for CO2 hydrogenation to heavy olefins (C=5+) can achieve a high heavy olefin selectivity of 53.5%, which lies at a high level among reported catalysts, at a single pass CO2 conversion of 41.5%. It also displays an excellent long-term stability over 100 h, exhibiting its promising potential for industrial applications.

A nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube confined CuCo nanoalloy catalyzing one-pot conversion of levulinic acid to 1,4-pentanediol.

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube confined CuCo nanoalloy catalysts are fabricated by using ZIF-67 as a sacrificial template for the one-pot selective hydrogenation of levulinic acid (LA) to 1,4-pentanediol (1,4-PDO). The optimal catalyst achieves a high 1,4-PDO yield of 87.8% at full LA conversion. It also exhibits good recycling stability and can be reused at least 5 times.

Can whole-tumor apparent diffusion coefficient histogram analysis be helpful to evaluate breast phyllode tumor grades?

PURPOSE: To investigate whether whole-tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis could be helpful to evaluate breast phyllode tumor (PT) grades. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This institutional review board-approved retrospective study included 56 PTs (23 benign lesions, 22 borderline lesions, and 11 malignant lesions) from August 2011 to November 2017. MRI was performed using a 1.5 T MR system equipped with a 4-channel SENSE breast coil. All cases were divided into two groups, benign PT (BPT) and borderline or malignant PT (BMPT). The conventional MR parameters included age, longest diameter, shape, margin, internal enhancement characteristics, cystic component of the tumor, wall of the cystic component, peritumoral edema on T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) and T2WI signal intensity, time-signal intensity curve (TIC) patterns and early-stage enhancement ratio (EER). The ADC values were determined in three different types of regions of interest (ROIs), including a circular ROI (ROI-c), single-slice ROI (ROI-s), and whole-tumor ROI (ROI-w). All ADC values were measured twice by Observer A and B (with a 2-week interval). The Ki-67 index was determined, and cases were classified into a "negative group" (Ki-67<14%) and a "positive group" (Ki-67≥14%). SPSS Statistics V21.0 was used for the statistical analyses. RESULTS: Our study included 23 cases of BPT and 33 cases of BMPT (including 22 borderline PTs and 11 malignant PTs). Only 23 patients in BMPT group had Ki-67 results, and 17 of these were positive. Regarding conventional MR features, significant differences were observed in the margin (P = 0.011), cystic component (P<0.001), peritumoral edema on T2WI (P<0.001), and cystic wall (P = 0.011) of the PT between the BPT and BMPT groups. Regarding the ADC value, good intraobserver agreement for ROI-c, ROI-s and ROI-w measurements was obtained. For the three different ROIs, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values were 0.905 for ROI-c (P > 0.05), 0.965 (P > 0.05) for ROI-s and 0.994 (P > 0.05) for ROI-w. ADC parameter indicated that the figure of ROI-s tended to be higher than the ROI-c and ROI-w, while the ROI-c and ROI-w values were similar. However, no significant difference was found in ADC values between the BPT and BMPT groups for ROI-c, ROI-s and mean ROI-w values and the 10th, 25th, 50th and 75th ROI-w. The areas under the ROC curves for the mean ROI-w and the 10th, 25th, 50th and 75th ROI-w were 0.568, 0.613, 0.567, 0.544, and 0.540, respectively. CONCLUSION: Based on the results obtained in our study, the whole-tumor ADC histogram could not improve differentiation of the breast PT grade, while conventional MR images could provide more meaningful information, so morphological characteristics may be valuable than ADC value, and ADC could be used as a supplemental method to differentiate PT grades.

Direct Production of 2,5-Dimethylfuran with High Yield from Fructose over a Carbon-Based Solid Acid-Coated CuCo Bimetallic Catalyst.

A carbon-based solid acid, which functionalized with p-toluenesulfonic acid (TsOH), an encapsulated non-noble CuCo multifunctional heterogeneous catalyst was for the first time developed and used to catalyze the one-pot direct conversion of fructose into 2,5-dimethylfuran (2,5-DMF) without purification of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) from the reaction solutions. Fructose was first transformed into intermediate 5-HMF over the outer shell carbon-based solid acid sites via dehydration, and subsequently 5-HMF was further converted to produce 2,5-DMF over the non-noble metal active sites in the core. As high as 71.1 mol % yield of 2,5-DMF was achieved in tetrahydrofuran at 220 °C and 3 MPa H2 for 10 h, which is higher than the yield reported for the direct conversion of fructose to 2,5-DMF. Besides, the carbon-based solid acid-coated CuCo catalyst could be reused up to five times.

Enhanced Room-Temperature Phosphorescence of Mn-Doped ZnS Quantum Dots Composited with PDDA for Detection of Adriamycin.

In this work, a simple room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) method was first proposed to detect adriamycin, by using a functional material of Mn doped ZnS quantum dots (Mn-ZnS QDs) composited with poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA). After PDDA was associated to the Mn-ZnS QDs, the RTP intensity was significantly enhanced. As a result, Mn-ZnS QDs/PDDA nanoassemblies greatly improve the adriamycin detection ability of QDs and provide an important method for developing more effective and sensitive adriamycin detection sensor. The method based upon RTP has a linear range from 0.5 to 64.0 µM with a detection limit (3σ/s) for adriamycin of 0.45 µM. The developed method was further successfully applied to detect adriamycin in human serum samples (diluted 50 times) with satisfactory results, and the recovery ranged from 98.3 to 101.3.

Whole-lesion histogram analysis of the apparent diffusion coefficient: Evaluation of the correlation with subtypes of mucinous breast carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the utility of the whole-lesion histogram apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for characterizing the heterogeneity of mucinous breast carcinoma (MBC) and to determine which ADC metrics may help to best differentiate subtypes of MBC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study involved 52 MBC patients, including 37 pure MBC (PMBC) and 15 mixed MBC (MMBC). The PMBC patients were subtyped into PMBC-A (20 cases) and PMBC-B (17 cases) groups. All patients underwent preoperative diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) at 1.5T and the whole-lesion ADC assessments were generated. Histogram-derived ADC parameters were compared between PMBC vs. MMBC and PMBC-A vs. PMBC-B, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine optimal histogram parameters for differentiating these groups. RESULTS: The PMBC group exhibited significantly higher ADC values for the mean (P = 0.004), 25th (P = 0.004), 50th (P = 0.004), 75th (P = 0.006), and 90th percentiles (P = 0.013) and skewness (P = 0.021) than did the MMBC group. The 25th percentile of ADC values achieved the highest area under the curve (AUC) (0.792), with a cutoff value of 1.345 × 10-3 mm2 /s, in distinguishing PMBC and MMBC. The PMBC-A group showed significantly higher ADC values for the mean (P = 0.049), 25th (P = 0.015), and 50th (P = 0.026) percentiles and skewness (P = 0.004) than did the PMBC-B group. The 25th percentile of the ADC cutoff value (1.476 × 10-3 mm2 /s) demonstrated the best AUC (0.837) among the ADC values for distinguishing PMBC-A and PMBC-B. CONCLUSION: Whole-lesion ADC histogram analysis enables comprehensive evaluation of an MBC in its entirety and differentiating subtypes of MBC. Thus, it may be a helpful and supportive tool for conventional MRI. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:391-400.

Establishment of a Predictive Diagnostic Model for Acute Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Infection in Elderly Patients with Community-acquired Pneumonia.

We established a diagnostic model to predict acute Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumonia) infection in elderly Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients. We divided 456 patients into acute and non-acute M. pneumoniae infection groups. Binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to establish a predictive model. The following independent factors were identified: age ⋝ 70 years; serum cTNT level ⋝ 0.05 ng/mL; lobar consolidation; mediastinal lymphadenopathy; and antibody titer in the acute phase ⋝ 1:40. The area under the ROC curve of the model was 0.923 and a score of ⋝ 7 score predicted acute M. pneumoniae infection in elderly patients with CAP. The predictive model developed in this study has high diagnostic accuracy for the identification of elderly acute M. pneumoniae infection.

BI-RADS 3-5 microcalcifications can preoperatively predict breast cancer HER2 and Luminal a molecular subtype.

PURPOSE: To investigate associations between breast cancer molecular subtype and the patterns of mammographically detected calcifications. RESULTS: Identified were 93 (19.1%) Luminal A, 242 (49.9%) Luminal B, 108 (22.2%) HER2 and 42 (8.7%) basal subtypes. In univariate analysis, the clinicopathological parameters and BI-RADS 3-5 microcalcifications, which consisted 9 selected features was significantly associated with breast cancer molecular subtype (all P < 0.05). Among subtypes, multivariate analysis showed that calcification >2 cm in range (OR: 1.878, 95% CI: 1.150 to 3.067) and calcification > 0.5 mm in diameter (OR:2.206, 95% CI: 1.235 to 3.323) was independently predictive of HER2 subtype. The model showed good discrimination for predicting HER2 subtype, with a C-index of 0.704. In addition, multivariate analysis showed that calcification morphology (amorphour or coarse heterogenous calcifications OR: 2.847, 95% CI: 1.526 to 5.312) was independently predictive of Luminal A subtype. The model showed good discrimination for predicting Luminal A subtype, with a C-index of 0.74. And we demonstrated that amorphour or coarse heterogenous calcifications were associated with a higher incidence of Luminal A subtype than pleomorphic or fine linear or branching calcifications. There was no significant difference between breast cancer subtypes (Luminal B vs. other; Basal vs. other) and the patterns of mammographically detected calcifications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mammographic images of 485 female patients were included. The correlation between mammographic imaging features and breast cancer subtype was analyzed using Chi-square test, univariate and binary logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that BI-RADS 3-5 microcalcifications can be conveniently used to facilitate the preoperative prediction of HER2 and Luminal A molecular subtype in patients with infiltrating ductal carcinoma.

The Relationship between Interleukin-6 Promotor Polymorphisms and Slow Coronary Flow Phenomenon.

BACKGROUND: Several lines of evidence suggest that slow coronary flow (SCF) phenomenon seems to be an early form of atherosclerosis and low-grade inflammation plays a role in the development of SCF. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine, functions as a mediator of inflammatory response, and has both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between IL-6 -634C/G polymorphism and SCF in Han Chinese. METHODS: 250 subjects who underwent coronary angiography and had normal coronary arteries of varying coronary flow rates without any atherosclerotic lesion were enrolled in this study. 41 patients who had thrombolysis in myocardial infarction frame counts (TFC) above the normal cutoffs were considered to have SCF and 209 subjects within normal limits served as normal coronary flow (NCF) group. The PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique was used to assess the genotypes. RESULTS: The distribution of the IL-6 -634C/G genotypes (CC, CG, and GG) was 56.94%, 37.80%, and 5.26% in the NCF subjects, and 36.59%, 48.78%, and 14.63% in the SCF group, respectively (p = 0.0173). The frequency of the G allele in the SCF (39.02%) group was significantly higher than that in the NCF (24.16%) group (p = 0.0054). Compared with the CC genotype, the G allele carriers (CG + GG genotypes) had increased risk of SCF in both unadjusted and adjusted analyses. In SCF patients, the average serum IL-6 levels (pg/mL) in CG + GG genotype (4.78 ± 0.42) were statistically higher than in CC genotype (3.93 ± 0.36) (p = 0.0000). CONCLUSIONS: Our data support that IL-6 -634C/G polymorphism is associated with SCF and the G allele has increased risk for SCF in Han Chinese.

[Value of mamography, CT and DCE-MRI in detecting axillary lymph node metastasis of breast cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic value of mammography, computed tomography (CT), and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) for axillary lymph node staging in breast cancer patients. METHODS: From February, 2014 to October, 2015, 109 women with breast cancer received examinations with preoperative mamography, CT, and DCE-MRI. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the 3 modalities were evaluated using histopathologic assessments as the gold standard. RESULTS: In total, 39.4% (43/109) of the patients had axillary lymph node metastasis. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of mamography for determining lymph node metastasis were 14.0%, 84.8%, 56.9%, 37.5% and 60.0%, respectively; those of CT were 93.0%, 57.6%, 71.6%,58.8% and 92.7%, and those of DCE-MRI were 95.3%, 65.2%, 77.1%, 64.1% and 95.6%, respectively. Compared with the histopathologic result, the Kappa coefficients of mamography, CT, and DCE-MRI were -0.13, 0.459 and 0.558, respectively. The specificity of mamography was significantly higher (P<0.05), but its sensitivity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were significantly lower than those of CT and DCE-MRI (P<0.05). Compared with CT, DCE-MRI had significantly higher sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for diagnosis of lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: DCE-MRI has a greater diagnostic power than CT and mammography, and CT has a greater diagnostic power than mammography for axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer patients. Mamography alone should be used cautiously for the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis.

Imaging Anatomy of Waldeyer's Ring and PET/CT and MRI Findings of Oropharyngeal Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to analyze positron emission tomography (PET) / computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performance with oropharyngeal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (ONHL). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The complete image data of 30 ONHL cases were analyzed, all patients were performed PET / CT and MRI examination before the treatment, with the time interval of these two inspections not exceeding 14 days. The distribution, morphology, MRI signal characteristics, enhancement feature, standardized uptake value (SUV) max value and lymph node metastasis way of the lesions were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 30 cases, 23 cases were derived from the B-cell (76.7%), 5 cases were derived from the peripheral T cells (16.7%) and 2 cases were derived from the NK/T cells (6.7%). 19 cases exhibited the palatine tonsil involvement (63.3%). As for the lesion appearance, 10 cases appeared as mass, 8 cases were the diffused type and 12 cases were the mixed type. 25 cases exhibited the SUVmax value of PET / CT primary lesions as 11 or more (83.3%). MRI showed that all patients exhibited various degrees of parapharyngeal side-compressed narrowing, but MRI still exhibited the high-signal fat, and the oropharyngeal mucosa was intact. 25 cases were associated with the neck lymph node metastasis, among who 22 cases had no necrosis in the metastatic lymph nodes, while the rest 3 cases exhibited the central necrosis in the metastatic lymph nodes. CONCLUSIONS: PET / CT and MRI have important value in diagnosing and determining the lesion extent of ONHL.

To evaluate the damage of renal function in CIAKI rats at 3T: using ASL and BOLD MRI.

PURPOSE: To investigate noninvasive arterial spin-labeling (ASL) and blood oxygen level-dependent imaging (BOLD) sequences for measuring renal hemodynamics and oxygenation in contrast induced acute kidney injury (CIAKI) rat. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen SD rats were randomly grouped into CIAKI group and control group. Both ASL and BOLD sequences were performed at 24 h preinjection and at intervals of 0.5, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h postinjection to assess renal blood flow (RBF) and relative spin-spin relaxation rate (R2(*)), respectively. RESULTS: For the CIAKI group, the value of RBF in the cortex (CO) and outer medulla (OM) of the kidney was significantly decreased (P < 0.05) at 12-48 h and regressed to baseline level (P = NS) at 72-96 h. In OM, the value of R2(*) was increased at 0.5-48 h (P < 0.05) and not statistically significant (P = NS) at 72 and 96 h. CONCLUSIONS: RBF in OM and CO and oxygen level in OM were decreased postinjection of CM. ASL combining BOLD can further identify the primary cause of the decrease of renal oxygenation in CIAKI. This approach provides means for noninvasive monitoring renal function during the first 4 days of CIAKI in clinical routine work.

[Synthesis and Spectroscopic Study of a Chemosensor for Naked Eye Recognition of Cu2+ and Hg2+].

Compound L, as the procedural sensor for the detection of Cu2+ and Hg2+, was designed and synthesized based on the coumarin-modified rhodamine derivative. The structure of compound L was characterized by NMR, high resolution mass spectrometry and infrared method. Its sensing behavior toward various metal ions was investigated with absorbance methods. The study found that L had good selectivity and sensitivity for Cu2+. When addition of various metal ions (Zn2+, Hg2+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Cd2+, CO2+, Ni2+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Al3+, La3+, K+, Na+, Mn2+, Pb2+ and Ag+), only Cu2+ could induce a visible change of solution from colourless to pink and a new absorption band centered at 534 nm appear, which indicated that compound L could be used for the naked eye detection of Cu2+. From UV titration, the detection limit was about 1.9 X 10(-8) mol x L(-1). Test strips based on L were fabricated, and this test strips could act as a convenient and efficient Cu2+ test kit. The binding ratio of the complex of L-Cu2+ was 1:1 according to the Job's plot and high resolution mass spectrometer (HRMS) experiments. Moreover, Upon addition of 1 equiv. EDTA to the mixture of L and Cu2+ in DMSO solution, colour changed from pink to almost colourless, indicating that the EDTA replaced the receptor L to coordinate with Cu2+. Therefore, L could be classified as a reversible sensor for Cu2+. In addition, when adding Hg2+ to L-Cu2+ complexes, a visible change of solution from pink to colourless was observed, while other metal ions didn't cause this change. Thus, L-Cu2+ complex also could be used for the naked eye recognition of Hg2+, and the detection limit was calculated about 2.9 x 10(-1) mol x L(-1) according to the UV titration. Consequently, this procedural sensor L could be use for the orderly naked eye recognition of Cu2+ and Hg2+.

Association between dietary behavior and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Yanting.

BACKGROUND: Yanting is one of high risk areas for esophageal cancer and the screening program was therefore initiated there. This study was aimed to investigate the dietary behaviors on the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), among the individuals with normal and abnormal esophagus mucosa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A frequency matched case-controls study was proposed to estimate the different distribution of dietary behavior between individuals of control, esophagitis and cancer groups. Cancer cases were selected from hospitals. Esophagitis cases and controls were selected from screening population for ESCC. Health workers collected data for 1 year prior to interview, in terms of length of finishing a meal, temperature of eaten food and interval between water boiling and drinking. Chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis tests and unconditional logistic regression model were used to estimate differences and associations between groups. RESULTS: Compared with controls, length of finishing a meal≥15 mins was related to a reduced OR for cancer (OR=0.46, 95%CI, 0.22- 0.97) and even compared with cases of esophagitis, the OR of cancer was reduced to 0.30 (95%CI, 0.13-0.72). The OR for often eating food at a high temperature was 2.48 (95%CI 1.06, 5.82) for ESCC as compared with controls. Interval between water boiling and drinking of ≥10 mins was associated with lower risk of cancer: the OR was 0.18 compared with controls and 0.49 with esophagitis cases (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Length of eating food≥15 mins and interval between water boiling and drinking ≥10 mins are potentially related to reduced risk of esophageal SCC, compared with individuals with normal and abnormal esophageal mucosa. Recommendations to Yanting residents to change their dietary behaviors should be made in order to reduce cancer risk.

[Y chromosome microdeletions, chromosome karyotypes and reproductive hormones in patients with azoospermia and severe oligozoospermia].

OBJECTIVE: To study the correlation of azoospermia and severe oligozoospermia with Y chromosome microdeletions, chromosome karyotype and reproductive hormones in male infertility patients. METHODS: We collected semen samples from 63 patients with azoospermia, 49 with severe oligozoospermia and 60 men with normal semen parameters, and determined the incidence of Y chromosome microdeletions, chromosome karyotypes and the levels of reproductive hormones. RESULTS: The incidence rate of Y chromosome microdeletions was 11.11% in the azoospermia and 8.16% in the severe oligozoospermia patients, as compared with 0 in the normal controls (P<0.05). The rate of chromosome abnormalities was 9.52% in the azoospermia group, with statistically significant differences from the severe oligozoospermia and normal control men (both 0) (P<0.05). The levels of FSH and LH were significantly higher in the azoospermia ([20.41 +/- 19.34] IU/L and [11.44 +/- 9.48] IU/L) and the severe oligozoospermia patients ([8.88 +/- 7.04] IU/L and [6.78 +/- 3.85] IU/L) than in the normal males ([3.88 +/- 2.21] IU/L and [4.63 +/- 1.51] IU/L) (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Examinations of genetics and reproductive hormones are necessary for infertile males with azoospermia and severe oligozoospermia, which may contribute to early diagnosis and treatment.

Catalytic dehydration of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural over Nb2O5 catalyst in organic solvent.

The catalytic dehydration of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in DMSO was performed over Nb2O5 derived from calcination of niobic acid at various temperatures (300-700 °C). The catalysts were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, N2 physical adsorption, temperature-programed desorption of NH3, n-butylamine titration using Hammett indicators, infrared spectroscopy of adsorbed pyridine, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that both catalytic activity and surface acid sites decrease with increasing calcination temperatures. The Nb2O5 derived from calcination of niobic acid at 400 °C reveals the maximum yield of HMF among all the catalysts, although the amount of acid sites on the catalyst is lower than that on the sample calcined at 300 °C. The results suggest that the presence of larger amounts of strong acid sites on the surface of the Nb2O5 calcined at 300 °C may promote side reactions. The Nb2O5 prepared at 400 °C shows 100% fructose conversion with 86.2% HMF yield in DMSO at 120 °C after 2 h. The activity of the catalyst decreases gradually during recycle because of coke deposition; however, it can be fully recovered by calcination at 400 °C for 2 h, suggesting that this catalyst is of significance for practical applications.

Silencing Bmi-1 enhances the senescence and decreases the metastasis of human gastric cancer cells.

AIM: To evaluate the impact of Bmi-1 on cell senescence and metastasis of human gastric cancer cell line BGC823. METHODS: Two pairs of complementary small hairpin RNA (shRNA) oligonucleotides targeting the Bmi-1 gene were designed, synthesized, annealed and cloned into the pRNAT-U6.2 vector. After DNA sequencing to verify the correct insertion of the shRNA sequences, the recombinant plasmids were transfected into BGC823 cells. The expression of Bmi-1 mRNA and protein was examined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting. The effects of Bmi-1 knockdown on cell senescence and metastasis were determined by the ß-Gal activity assay and Boyden chamber assay, respectively. RESULTS: The double-stranded oligonucleotide fragments of Bmi-1 short interfering RNA (siRNA) cloned into pRNAT-U6.2 vector conformed to the inserted sequence. RT-PCR and Western blotting indicated that the expression levels of Bmi-1 gene mRNA and protein were markedly decreased in transfected BGC823 cells with pRNAT-U6.2-si1104 and pRNAT-U6.2-si1356, especially in transfected BGC823 cells with pRNAT-U6.2-si1104, compared with two control groups (empty vector and blank group). In particular, Bmi-1 protein expression was almost completely abolished in cells transfected with the recombinant vector harboring shRNA targeting the sequence GGAGGAGGTGAATGATAAA (nt1104-1122). Compared with untransfected cells and cells transfected with the empty vector, the mean percentage of senescent cells increased and the number of cells passing through the Matrigel decreased in cells transfected with the recombinant vectors. CONCLUSION: Silencing Bmi-1 by RNA interference can increase the senescent cell rate and effectively reduce the metastasis of gastric cancer cells.