Expression Pattern of Cytokines in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Receiving PEGinterferon Therapy.

Purpose: Chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB) infection is a worldwide health problem. Polyethylene glycol (PEG)ylated interferon (PEG-IFN) is an available therapy for CHB that has antiviral and immunomodulatory effects. However, PEG-IFN therapy is limited by the fact that only a subset of patients show a sustained response, its severe side effects, and high cost. The aim of this study was to explore novel biomarkers for the early prediction of PEG-IFN treatment response and to uncover its underlying mechanism. Patients and Methods: We enrolled 10 paired patients with Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive CHB who received PEG-IFN-α2a monotherapy. Patient serum samples were collected at 0, 4, 12, 24, and 48 weeks and serum samples were collected from eight healthy people as healthy controls. For confirmation, we enrolled 27 patients with HBeAg-positive CHB receiving PEG-IFN therapy and serum samples at 0 and 12 weeks were obtained. Serum samples were analyzed using Luminex technology. Results: Among 27 assessed cytokines, 10 cytokines were identified to have high expression levels. Among them, six cytokines had significant differences in their levels between the patients with HBeAg-positive CHB and the healthy controls (P < 0.05). Potentially, treatment response could be predicted using the early time points of 4, 12, and 24 weeks. Moreover, after 12 weeks of PEG-IFN treatment, increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and decreased levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines were observed. The fold change of IP-10 between 12 weeks and 0 weeks correlated with the decrease in ALT levels from 0 to 12 weeks (r = 0.2675, P = 0.0024). Conclusion: In patients with CHB, we observed a certain pattern in the levels of cytokines during treatment with PEG-IFN, and the cytokine IP-10 might be a potential biomarker for treatment response.

A repeated dose 28-day oral toxicity study of sodium dehydroacetate (DHA-S) in Wistar rats.

Sodium dehydroacetate (DHA-S) is a food additive and preservative. The present study was conducted to investigate the potential toxicity of repeated oral doses of DHA-S. DHA-S was administered orally by gavage to Wistar rats at doses of 0, 50, 100, or 200 mg/kg BW/day for 28 days, after which growth indicators, clinical pathology, organ weights, and histopathology were determined. Body weight and food consumption were significantly reduced at doses of 100 or 200 mg/kg BW, and some hematological indexes and organ weight were significantly affected, particularly in female rats. At a dose of 200 mg/kg BW, the blood coagulation activities were significantly reduced in female rats. At a dose of 100 or 200 mg/kg BW, the main blood biochemical parameters of both sexes were obviously affected. Similar histological changes in the hepatic and renal tissues were observed in both the treated (200 mg/kg BW DHA-S) and control animals. Female rats were more susceptible to most of the toxic effects caused by DHA-S, which further indicating a gender difference in the toxic phenotype profile of rats. Based on these results, the no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) of DHA-S was determined to be 50 mg/kg BW/day in rats.

Real-world study on HBsAg loss of combination therapy in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B patients.

Combination therapy with pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) and nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) can enhance hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) clearance. However, the specific treatment strategy and the patients who would benefit the most are unclear. Therefore, we assessed the HBsAg loss rate of add-on PEG-IFN and explored the factors associated with HBsAg loss in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. This was a real-world cohort study of adults with CHB. Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative NAs-treated patients with baseline HBsAg ≤1500 IU/ml and HBV DNA < the lower limit of detection, or 100 IU/ml, received 48 weeks of add-on PEG-IFN. The primary outcome of the study was the rate of HBsAg loss at 48 weeks of combination treatment. Using multivariable logistic regression analysis, we determined factors associated with HBsAg loss. HBsAg loss in 2579 patients (mean age: 41.2 years; 80.9% male) was 36.7% (947 patients) at 48 weeks. HBsAg loss was highest in patients from south-central and southwestern China (40.0%). Factors independently associated with HBsAg loss included: increasing age (odds ratio = 0.961); being male (0.543); baseline HBsAg level (0.216); HBsAg decrease at 12 weeks (between 0.5 and 1.0 log10 IU/ml [2.405] and >1.0 log10 IU/ml [7.370]); alanine aminotransferase (ALT) increase at 12 weeks (1.365); haemoglobin (HGB) decrease at 12 weeks (1.558). There was no difference in the primary outcomes associated with the combination regimen. In conclusion, HBsAg loss by combination therapy was higher in patients from southern China than those from the north. An increased chance of HBsAg loss was associated with baseline characteristics and dynamic changes in clinical indicators.

Retraction Notice to: Knockdown of KCNQ1OT1 Suppresses Cell Invasion and Sensitizes Osteosarcoma Cells to CDDP by Upregulating DNMT1-Mediated Kcnq1 Expression.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2019.06.010.].

The Higher Expression of CDCA2 Associated with Poor Prognosis in Glioma.

Glioma is the most common primary intracranial tumor and is related to poor clinical outcomes. The developments of sensitive markers can be applied to reveal the mechanisms involved in the progression of glioma. This study examined CDCA2 expression in glioma samples and its significance in predicting glioma patient outcome. GEPIA and GEO datasets were used to explore the expression of CDCA2 in glioma. Kaplan-Meier and multivariate assays were applied to delve into the prognostic values of CDCA2 expression in glioma patients using CGGA datasets. Our group also determined the associations between CDCA2 and clinical characteristics. Coexpression analysis was performed. In this research, we observed that CDCA2 expression was distinctly upregulated in glioma specimens compared with nontumor specimens. The prognosis of glioma with high CDCA2 expression was distinctly worse compared with that of glioma with low CDCA2 expression. Additionally, multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that high CDCA2 expression was an independent poor prognostic indicator for glioma patients. High expression of CDCA2 was positively associated with advanced clinical progression. Coexpression analysis revealed that CDCA2 could be positively related to ASPM, SKA1, DLGAP5, NCAPG, and CDCA8 and was negatively associated with ETNPPL, LDHD, MRVI1, CBX7, and CENPJ. Overall, our findings revealed that CDCA2 might serve as an independent prognosis indicator for glioma.

Transport properties of a quasisymmetric binary nitrogen-oxygen mixture in the warm dense regime.

Transport properties of mixtures in the warm dense matter (WDM) regime play an important role in natural astrophysics. However, a physical understanding of ionic transport properties in quasisymmetric liquid mixtures has remained elusive. Here, we present extensive ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations on the ionic diffusion and viscosity of a quasisymmetric binary nitrogen-oxygen (N-O) mixture in a wide warm dense regime of 8-120 kK and 4.5-8.0 g/cm^{3}. Diffusion and viscosity of N-O mixtures with different compositions are obtained by using the Green-Kubo formula. Unlike asymmetric mixtures, the change of proportions in N-O mixtures slightly affects the viscosity and diffusion in the strong-coupling region. Furthermore, the AIMD results are used to build and verify a global pseudo-ion in jellium (PIJ) model for ionic transport calculations. The PIJ model succeeds in reproducing the transport properties of N-O mixtures where ionization has occurred, and provides a promising alternative approach to obtaining comparable results to AIMD simulations with relatively small computational costs. Our current results highlight the characteristic features of the quasisymmetric binary mixtures and demonstrate the applicability of the PIJ model in the WDM regime.

Effects of lanthanum nitrate on behavioral disorder, neuronal damage and gene expression in different developmental stages of Caenorhabditis elegans.

Rare earth elements (REEs) are widely used in the industry, agriculture, biomedicine, aerospace, etc, and have been shown to pose toxic effects on animals, as such, studies focusing on their biomedical properties are gaining wide attention. However, environmental and population health risks of REEs are still not very clear. Also, the REEs damage to the nervous system and related molecular mechanisms needs further research. In this study, the L1 and L4 stages of the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans were used to evaluate the effects and possible neurotoxic mechanism of lanthanum(III) nitrate hexahydrate (La(NO3)3·6H2O). For the L1 and L4 stage worms, the 48-h median lethal concentrations (LC50s) of La(NO3)3·6H2O were 93.163 and 648.0 mg/L respectively. Our results show that La(NO3)3·6H2O induces growth inhibition and defects in behavior such as body length, body width, body bending frequency, head thrashing frequency and pharyngeal pumping frequency at the L1 and L4 stages in C. elegans. The L1 stage is more sensitive to the toxicity of lanthanum than the L4 stage worms. Using transgenic strains (BZ555, EG1285 and NL5901), we found that La(NO3)3·6H2O caused the loss or break of soma and dendrite neurons in L1 and L4 stages; and α-synuclein aggregation in L1 stage, indicating that Lanthanum can cause toxic damage to dopaminergic and GABAergic neurons. Mechanistically, La(NO3)3·6H2O exposure inhibited or activated the neurotransmitter transporters and receptors (glutamate, serotonin and dopamine) in C. elegans, which regulate behavior and movement functions. Furthermore, significant increase in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was found in the L4 stage C. elegans exposed to La(NO3)3·6H2O. Altogether, our data show that exposure to lanthanum can cause neuronal toxic damage and behavioral defects in C. elegans, and provide basic information for understanding the neurotoxic effect mechanism and environmental health risks of rare earth elements.

The relationship between SARS-COV-2 RNA positive duration and the risk of recurrent positive.

BACKGROUND: The management of discharge COVID-19 patients with recurrent positive SARS-CoV-2 RNA is challenging. However, there are fewer scientific dissertations about the risk of recurrent positive. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between SARS-COV-2 RNA positive duration (SPD) and the risk of recurrent positive. METHODS: This case-control multi-center study enrolled participants from 8 Chinese hospital including 411 participants (recurrent positive 241). Using unadjusted and multivariate-adjusted logistic regression analyses, generalized additive model with a smooth curve fitting, we evaluated the associations between SPD and risk of recurrent positive. Besides, subgroup analyses were performed to explore the potential interactions. RESULTS: Among recurrent positive patients, there were 121 females (50.2%), median age was 50 years old [interquartile range (IQR): 38-63]. In non-adjusted model and adjusted model, SPD was associated with an increased risk of recurrent positive (fully-adjusted model: OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.02-1.08, P = 0.001); the curve fitting was not significant (P = 0.286). Comparing with SPD < 14 days, the risk of recurrent positive in SPD > 28 days was risen substantially (OR = 3.09, 95% CI: 1.44-6.63, P = 0.004). Interaction and stratified analyses showed greater effect estimates of SPD and risk of recurrent positive in the hypertension, low monocyte count and percentage patients (P for interaction = 0.008, 0.002, 0.036, respectively). CONCLUSION: SPD was associated with a higher risk of recurrent positive and especially SPD > 28 day had a two-fold increase in the relative risk of re-positive as compared with SPD < 14 day. What's more, the risk may be higher among those with hypertension and lower monocyte count or percentage.

[Analysis of lumbosacral sagittal balance parameter variation in minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion with real-time 3D navigation techniques].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the dynamic changes of lumbosacral sagittal parameters after real-time three-dimensional navigation assisted minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) and traditional open TLIF for treatment of lumbar degenerative disease. METHODS: The clinical data of 61 patients with lumbar degenerative disease underwent single-segment surgery from September 2017 to September 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 31 cases underwent MIS-TLIF with 3D navigation techniques (MIS-TLIF group) and another 30 cases underwent conventional open TLIF (traditional open TLIF group). The basic information, operative time and intraoperative blood loss were collected. The sagittal radiologic parameters were measured before surgery and 3 months after surgery, including lumbar lordosis (LL), segmental lordosis (SL), pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), sacral slope (SS), anterior disc height (ADH), posterior disc height(PDH).And the average disc height(DH) and pelvic incidence to lumbar lordosis mismatch (PI-LL) were calculated. RESULTS: Operative time and intraoperative blood loss in MIS-TLIF group were significantly less than in traditional open TLIF group(P<0.05). In MIS-TLIF group, LL, SL, PI-LL, and DH were significantly improved at 3 months after surgery (P<0.05), while PI, PT, and SS were not statistically different from those before surgery (P>0.05). LL, PI-LL, and DH of patients in the traditional open TLIF group were significantly improved at 3 months after surgery (P<0.05), while the PI, PT, SS, and SL were not statistically different from those before surgery (P>0.05). LL change showed a significant correlation with SL change (r= 0.433, P<0.001). Change in SL closely correlated to change in ADH (r=0.621, P<0.05) and PDH(r=0.527, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Real-time navigation-assisted MIS-TLIF and traditional open TLIF can recover DH in a short term for lumbar degenerative diseases, improve LL and PI-LL, and make the arrangement of the sagittal plane of the lumbosacral region more coordinated after surgery. But only the navigation assisted MIS -TLIF can significantly improve SL. Compared with traditional open TLIF, real-time navigation assisted MIS-TLIF in the treatment of degenerative lumbar diseases has the advantages of short operation time and less intraoperative bleeding.

Multishock to Quasi-Isentropic Compression of Dense Gaseous Deuterium-Helium Mixtures up to 120 GPa: Probing the Sound Velocities Relevant to Planetary Interiors.

Shock reverberation compression experiments on dense gaseous deuterium-helium mixtures are carried out to provide thermodynamic parameters relevant to the conditions in planetary interiors. The multishock pressures are determined up to 120 GPa and reshock temperatures to 7400 K. Furthermore, the unique compression path from shock-adiabatic to quasi-isentropic compressions enables a direct estimation of the high-pressure sound velocities in the unexplored range of 50-120 GPa. The equation of state and sound velocity provide particular dual perspectives to validate the theoretical models. Our experimental data are found to agree with several equation of state models widely used in astrophysics within the probed pressure range. The current data improve the experimental constraints on sound velocities in the Jovian insulating-to-metallic transition layer.

Benchmarking the effective one-component plasma model for warm dense neon and krypton within quantum molecular dynamics simulation.

The effective one-component plasma (EOCP) model has provided an efficient approach to obtaining many important thermophysical parameters of hot dense matter [J. Clérouin, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 115003 (2016)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.116.115003]. In this paper, we perform extensive quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) simulations to determine the equations of state, ionic structures, and ionic transport properties of neon and krypton within the warm dense matter (WDM) regime where the density (ρ) is up to 12 g/cm^{3} and the temperature (T) is up to 100 kK. The simulated data are then used as a benchmark to explicitly evaluate the EOCP and Yukawa models. It is found that, within present ρ-T regime, the EOCP model can excellently reproduce the diffusion and viscosity coefficients of neon and krypton due to the fact that this model defines a system which nearly reproduces the actual physical states of WDM. Therefore, the EOCP model may be a promising alternative approach to reasonably predicting the transport behaviors of matter in WDM regime at lower QMD computational cost. The evaluation of Yukawa model shows that the consideration of the energy level broadening effect in the average atom model is necessary. Finally, with the help of EOCP model, the Stokes-Einstein relationships about neon and krypton are discussed, and fruitful plasma parameters as well as a practical ρ-T-dependent formula of the effective coupling parameter are obtained. These results not only provide valuable information for future theoretical and experimental studies on dense neon and krypton but also reveal the applicability of the EOCP model and the limitation of the Yukawa model in WDM regime and further support the continuing search for a unified description of ionic transport in dense plasma.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy as a comprehensive treatment in patients with laryngeal and hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is important for advanced laryngeal and hypopharyngeal carcinoma (LHC).Aims/objectives: To determine the efficacy and toxicity of the combination of docetaxel, nedaplatin, and 5-fluorouracil in induction treatment of advanced LHC.Material and methods: A total of 157 cancer patients were included. The primary endpoints of this study were overall response rate, pathological complete response rate, the safety of induction treatment, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS).Results: After two-cycle induction treatment, 17(10.8%) patients experienced complete remission, 76 (48.4%) experienced partial remission, 47 (30.0%) had stable disease, and 17 (10.8%) had progressive disease. The TNM stage decreased by two or more in 17 cases, decreased by one in 71 cases, increased in 15 cases, and did not change in 54 cases after induction treatment. Most of the adverse chemotherapy responses were alleviated by symptomatic management. After the induction treatment, 29 patients continued receiving chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy, and 112 underwent surgical management depending on tumor site followed by radiotherapy. The median PFS was 13.00 ± 2.10 months and the median OS was 14.20 ± 0.29 months.Conclusions and significance: Combination of docetaxel, nedaplatin, and 5-fluorouracil plays an important role in the comprehensive treatment of advanced LHC.

New possible candidate structure for phase IV of solid hydrogen.

It has been proved in experiments that there are at least five phases of solid hydrogen at high pressure, however, only the structure of phase I has been absolutely determined. We revisited the phase space of solid hydrogen in the pressure range of 200-500 GPa using the particle swarm optimization technique combined with first-principles simulations. A novel orthorhombic structure named Ama2 is proposed as a possible candidate structure for phase IV. The Ama2 structure is a 'mixed structure' with two different types of layers and is distinctly different from the previously reported Pc structure. Enthalpies and Gibbs free energies show that Ama2 and Pc are competitive in the pressure region of phase IV. Nevertheless, the Raman and infrared vibron frequencies of Ama2 calculated by using density functional perturbation theory based on first-principles lattice dynamics show a better agreement with the experimental measurements than those of the Pc structure. And the pressure dependence of these low-frequency Raman vibrons of Ama2 obtained from the first-principles molecular dynamics simulation shows a steeper slope, which resolves the long-standing issue of large discrepancies between the calculated Raman frequencies and the experimental ν 1 [P. Loubeyre, F. Occelli and P. Dumas, Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter Mater. Phys., 2013, 87, 134101 and C. S. Zha, R. E. Cohen, H. K. Mao and R. J. Hemley, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 2014, 111, 4792]. Structural and vibrational analyses show that the hydrogen molecules in the weakly bonded molecular layer of Ama2 form distorted hexagonal patterns, and their vibration can be used to explain the experimental ν 1 vibron. It is found that the weakly bonded layer is almost the same as the layers in the C2/c structure. This confirms the experimental conclusion [P. Loubeyre, F. Occelli and P. Dumas, Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter Mater. Phys., 2013, 87, 134101] that the ordering of hydrogen molecules in the weakly bonded molecular layers of the 'mixed structure' for phase IV is similar to that in the layers of the C2/c structure.

Abscisic acid dynamics, signaling, and functions in plants.

Abscisic acid (ABA) is an important phytohormone regulating plant growth, development, and stress responses. It has an essential role in multiple physiological processes of plants, such as stomatal closure, cuticular wax accumulation, leaf senescence, bud dormancy, seed germination, osmotic regulation, and growth inhibition among many others. Abscisic acid controls downstream responses to abiotic and biotic environmental changes through both transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms. During the past 20 years, ABA biosynthesis and many of its signaling pathways have been well characterized. Here we review the dynamics of ABA metabolic pools and signaling that affects many of its physiological functions.

Determination of higenamine in multi-matrix by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with derivatization technology.

Higenamine (HG), a cardioactive component of some foods and medicines, has been listed in the doping category by the International Olympic Committee, which may lead to misuse by athletes. We report the development of a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method for determination of HG in various matrix samples (biological samples, different forms of Chinese patent medicine, Chinese herbal medicine) based on acylation derivatization of HG by heptafluorobutyric anhydride. Under optimal conditions, the linearity of HG in the range of 5-200 ng mL-1 was acceptable (R2 > 0.999), and the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) for HG was 1.52 ng mL-1 and 5 ng mL-1, respectively. Low, medium, and high concentrations (25, 100 and 160 ng mL-1) of HG were added to plasma, urine, oral liquid, capsule, watered bolus, honeyed bolus and Chinese herbal medicine samples, with recovery ranging from 82.70 to 109.80%, intra-day and inter-day precisions were both less than 3.39%. The results indicated that the method had sufficient sensitivity for analysis of biological samples, and Chinese patent and herbal medicine.

Knockdown of KCNQ1OT1 Suppresses Cell Invasion and Sensitizes Osteosarcoma Cells to CDDP by Upregulating DNMT1-Mediated Kcnq1 Expression.

Osteosarcoma is a malignant bone tumor, with a high incidence worldwide. The involvement of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cancers and their molecular association with the progression of osteosarcoma have been previously discussed. We conducted the present study to examine the effect of lncRNA KCNQ1 opposite strand/antisense transcript 1 (KCNQ1OT1) on osteosarcoma cell invasion and chemosensitivity to cisplatin (CDDP). After determination of the expression of Kcnq1 in osteosarcoma tissues and cells, the plasmids with overexpression or knockdown KCNQ1OT1 were introduced into the cells to aid the identification of cell proliferation, migration, invasion, chemosensitivity to CDDP, and apoptosis. Then, the interaction between KCNQ1OT1 and the Kcnq1/DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) axis was evaluated by measuring the level of Kcnq1 promoter region methylation and DNMT1 enrichment of the Kcnq1 promoter region. Low Kcnq1 expression and high KCNQ1OT1 expression were shown in osteosarcoma tissues and cells. Kcnq1 was negatively mediated by KCNQ1OT1 via DNMT1. The overexpression of Kcnq1 or knockdown of KCNQ1OT1 inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion, and it promoted the chemosensitivity to CDDP and apoptosis of MG-63 cells and its CDDP-resistant cell lines. Moreover, the same trend was observed in the cells following methylation inhibitor treatment. Collectively, knockdown of KCNQ1OT1 can inhibit the osteosarcoma progression through the Kcnq1/DNMT1 axis.

The efficacy of low molecular weight heparin in severe acute pancreatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: The effects of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) on severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) have been controversial. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of LMWH on prognosis of SAP by systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: We searched relevant studies published up to March 2019 in five databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials in Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and the Chinese Journal of Science and Technology of VIP database). RESULTS: Sixteen randomized controlled trials with 1625 patients were included in the final analysis. Most studies were from China. In analysis of laboratory parameters and clinical scores, SAP patients receiving LMWH treatment had lower white blood cell counts, C-reactive protein level, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, and computed tomography severity index. In clinical outcomes, SAP patients who received LMWH treatment had shorter hospital stay (pooled mean difference [95% confidence interval; CI] -8.79 [-11.18, -6.40], P < .01), lower mortality (pooled risk ratio [RR] [95% CI] 0.33 [0.24-0.44], P < .01), lower incidences of multiple organ failure (pooled RR [95% CI] 0.34 [0.23-0.52], P < .01), pancreatic pseudocyst (pooled RR [95% CI] 0.49 [0.27-0.90], P = .02), and operation rate (pooled RR [95% CI] 0.39 [0.31-0.50], P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: LMWH could improve the prognosis of SAP, and has a potential role in reducing hospital stay, mortality, incidences of multiple organ failure, pancreatic pseudocyst, and operation rate.

Matched-pair analysis of survival in the patients with T3 laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma treated with supracricoid partial laryngectomy or total laryngectomy.

BACKGROUND: The survival outcomes between supracricoid partial laryngectomy (SCPL) and total laryngectomy (TL) were compared in the groups of matched-pair patients with T3 laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). METHODS: Patients with T3 LSCC were matched based on prognostic factors. The Kaplan-Meier curve and the Cox proportional hazards model were used for analysis on survival. RESULTS: A total of 212 patients with T3 LSCC were included after matching (106 underwent SCPL and 106 underwent TL). Multivariable analysis showed no differences in overall survival (hazard risk [HR]=1.15; 95% CI: 0.79-1.67; P=0.47), disease-specific survival (HR=1.11; 95% CI: 0.69-1.80; P=0.66), and recurrence-free survival (HR=1.07; 95% CI: 0.68-1.68; P=0.77) between the SCPL group and TL group. CONCLUSION: SCPL provides reliable therapeutic outcomes and can be used to avoid a TL surgery in some patients with advanced primary laryngeal cancer.

[Effects of microRNA-145 on epithelial-mesenchymal transition of TGF-ß1-induced human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of microRNA-145 (miR-145) on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of TGF-ß1-induced human renal proximal tubular epithelial (HK-2) cells. METHODS: The gene sequence of miR-145 was synthesized and cloned into pCMV-myc to construct recombinant plasmid pCMV-miR-145. HK-2 cells were divided into four groups: control (untreated), TGF-ß1 (treated with TGF-ß1), blank+TGF-ß1 (treated with TGF-ß1 after HK-2 cells transfected with blank plasmid) and miR-145+TGF-ß1 (treated with TGF-ß1 after HK-2 cells transfected with pCMV-miR-145 recombinant plasmid). Expression of miR-145 was detected by real-time PCR (RT-PCR). TGF-ß1, Smad3, Smad2/3, p-Smad2/3, α-SMA, FN and type I collagen (Col I) protein levels were detected by Western blot. Concentrations of fibronectin (FN) and Col I in cell culture supernatants were measured using ELISA. RESULTS: pCMV-miR-145 recombinant plasmid was successfully transfected into HK-2 cells. Compared with the control group, the miR-145+TGF-ß1 group showed a significant up-regulation in the expression level of miR-145 (P<0.01). However, the TGF-ß1 and blank+TGF-ß1 groups showed a significant down-regulation in the expression level of miR-145 compared with that in the control and miR-145+TGF-ß1 groups (P<0.01). Compared with the TGF-ß1 and blank+TGF-ß1 groups, the miR-145+TGF-ß1 group showed significantly reduced levels of the signal proteins TGF-ß1, Smad3, Smad2/3 and p-Smad2/3 (P<0.05), as well as significantly reduced levels of the biomarkers α-SMA, FN and Col I (P<0.05). Meanwhile, concentrations of FN and Col I in cell culture supernatants also decreased (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: miR-145 modulates the EMT of HK-2 cells treated with TGF-ß1, possibly by inhibition of the activation of TGF-ß-dependent Smad signaling pathway.

Determination and analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Wugangtong grey goose.

Mitochondrial DNA plays an important role in living organisms. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the Wugangtong grey goose was reported in Human Province first, which was determined through PCR-based method. The total length of the mitogenome is 16,740 bp. It contains the typical structure, including 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes and 1 non-coding control region (D-loop region) as that of most other vertebrates. The overall composition of the mitogenome was estimated to be 30.22% for A, 22.67% for T, 32.05% for C and 15.07% for G. All the protein initiation codons are ATG, except for COX1, COX2 and ND5 are GTG, ND6 is CTA. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the Wugangtong grey goose will provides an important data set for the study in genetic mechanism of goose in Hunan province.