Dual inhibition of autophagy and PI3K/mTOR pathway as a potential therapeutic strategy against laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: New and effective chemotherapy or targeted therapy strategies are needed against laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). We aimed to explore the antitumor effect of dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor combined with autophagy suppression on LSCC and its underlying mechanism. Methods: Hep-2 and AMC-HN-8 cell lines were treated with the Akt inhibitor LY294002, mTOR inhibitor rapamycin, and dual inhibitor NVP-BEZ235 separately. The biological characteristics of in vitro proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, migration, invasion, and autophagy were analyzed, and the expression levels of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway-related proteins were also measured. The in vivo effects of NVP-BEZ235 combined with inhibition of autophagy using pharmacological inhibitor was further assessed. Results: Compared with Akt or mTOR inhibitor, NVP-BEZ235 had the most significant biological effects on LSCC cells. When combined with various autophagy inhibitors, along with siRNA against ATG7, NVP-BEZ235 showed a synergic antitumor effect in LSCC through increasing cell apoptosis and death both in vitro and vivo. Conclusions: NVP-BEZ235 exerted potent antitumor effects on LSCC, especially when combined with the autophagy inhibitor both in vitro and vivo, providing convincing experimental data for new molecular targeted therapy for LSCC.

[Freezing resistance and injury indices for different cultivars of winter-spring wheat in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain. I . Comparison of freezing resistance for different cultivars of winter-spring wheat during mid-winter period].

The relationships between mortality rate and low temperature for different cultivars of winter-spring wheat during mid-winter period were identified through two-year outdoor potting experiments and indoor manually controlled freezing experiments. We defined the lethally critical temperature and the density of antifreeze capability when the mortality rate reached 10%, 20% and 50% for different cultivars of winter-spring wheat during mid-winter period. The strong-winterness wheat (Yanda 1817 and Jing 411) showed the best freezing resistance and the 50%-lethal temperatures (LT50) of these two cultivars were -21.5 °C and -21.2 °C, respectively. The freezing resistance of winterness wheat and weak-winternes wheat were worse than that of strong-winterness wheat. The LT50 of winterness wheat cultivars Nongda 211 and Nongda 5363 were -21.1 °C and -20.3 °C, while that of weak-winterness wheat cultivars Zheng 366 and Ping' an 8 were -18.5 °C and -18.4 °C , respectively. Springness wheat (Zheng 9023 and Yanzhan 4110) showed the worst freezing resistance, and the LT50 were -15.4 °C and -14.7 °C, respectively. When temperature declined to freezing injury occurred, mortality rate increment for weak-winterness wheat was the highest for each 1 °C decrease. The mortality rates of weak-winterness wheat cultivars Zheng 366 and Ping' an 8 increased by 16.8% and 25.8%, and that of winterness wheat cultivars Nongda 211 and Nongda 5363 increased by 14.7% and 18.9%. The mortality rate of strong-winterness wheat cultivars Yanda 1817 and Jing 411 increased by 15.4% and 13.1%, and that of springiness wheat cultivas Zheng 9023 and Yanzhan 4110 increased by 13.8% and 15.1%. Comparatively, if temperature decreased continuously after the occurrence of freezing injury, the weak-winterness wheat would suffer greater risk.

Malignant minor salivary gland carcinomas of the larynx.

AIMS: To explore the clinical characteristics and treatment of malignant minor salivary gland carcinomas of the larynx. METHODS: Clinical patient information regarding presentation, pathology, treatment and outcome was obtained through a review of patient charts. RESULTS: Malignant minor salivary carcinomas in the larynx were confirmed pathologically in 15 patients (11 males, 4 females) between 2003 and 2010 in our hospital; 6 patients had mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC; 40%), 6 had adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC; 40%) and 3 had adenocarcinoma (20%). The most common tumour location was the subglottis (60%), followed by the supraglottis (33%). In total, 13 patients underwent surgery, of which 10 (77%) had positive/insufficient resection margins. The mean follow-up time was 42.3 months, with a range of 8-129 months. The 3- and 5-year overall survival rates were 46.7 and 20%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Malignant minor salivary gland carcinoma of the larynx is a rare disease that showed male predominance in our study. The carcinomas were most often localised in the subglottic region, and the most common histological types were ACC and MEC. Wide-margin surgery with postoperative radiotherapy is advocated. The overall prognosis is poor compared to squamous cell carcinomas of the same location and tumour stage.

Hierarchical macroporous Zn(2)SnO(4)-ZnO nanorod composite photoelectrodes for efficient CdS/CdSe quantum dot co-sensitized solar cells.

A hierarchical macroporous Zn2SnO4-ZnO nanorod composite film is prepared through a drop-casting process of PS@Zn2SnO4 and subsequent hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorod. CdS/CdSe co-sensitized solar cells based on the macroporous Zn2SnO4-ZnO nanorod composite photoelectrode exhibits an enhancement of 34.4% in power conversion efficiency (1.68%) compared to the pristine macroporous Zn2SnO4 photoelectrode (1.25%). Especially worth noting is that the growth of ZnO nanorods contributes greatly to the enlargement of surface area and improvement of light scattering ability of the composite film, which dominates the increase of Jsc values and eventual power conversion efficiency. QDSSCs based on the optimized 9 µm thick composite photoanode film exhibits a power conversion efficiency of 2.08%, which is the highest value for the reported QDs sensitized solar cells based on the Zn2SnO4 photoelectrode.

Hydrothermal fabrication of hierarchically macroporous Zn2SnO4 for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells.

Hierarchical macroporous Zn(2)SnO(4) consisting of nanoparticles has been synthesized for the first time through an in situ hydrothermal and a following annealing process in the presence of a polystyrene (PS) template. Zn(2)SnO(4) macropore sizes are tuned in the range of 180-650 nm by selecting the appropriate size of PS spheres, and the building unit size of the Zn(2)SnO(4)macropore is 4.2 nm regardless of the PS sizes. The photovoltaic performances of the dye-sensitized solar cell based on hierarchical macroporous Zn(2)SnO(4) with 200, 400, 600 and 750 nm PS spheres are 5.01, 4.76, 4.39 and 3.92%, respectively. The smaller pore size of Zn(2)SnO(4) exhibits higher photovoltaic performance, which is ascribed to the higher dye loading, faster electron transport rate and slower electron recombination rate. These are confirmed by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy, intensity-modulated photovoltage spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The double layered photoelectrode based on a Zn(2)SnO(4) nanoparticles dye adsorption layer (4.2 nm in particle size, 15 µm in film thickness) and a macroporous light scattering layer (180 nm in macropore size, 4.0 µm in thickness) shows a remarkable enhancement in power conversion efficiency (6.10%) compared to that of Zn(2)SnO(4) nanoparticles photoelectrode (5.36%) because of its superior light scattering ability.

Macroporous SnO2 synthesized via a template-assisted reflux process for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells.

Macroporous SnO2 composed of small SnO2 nanoparticles with diameters around 10 nm is prepared via a reflux process. This novel structure is designed as the photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), intending to improve the light utilization efficiency with its excellent light scattering ability. Though the dye adsorption of macroporous SnO2 (14.00 × 10(-8) mol cm(-2)) is lower than that of SnO2 nanoparticles (19.24 × 10(-8) mol cm(-2)), the photovoltaic performance of the DSSCs based on the former is 4.87% compared to 4.41% for SnO2 nanoparticles, showing over 10% increment than the latter. This improvement is mainly due to the enhanced light scattering ability and charge collection efficiency of the macroporous structure, both of which contribute to a higher short current density and hence for the better power conversion efficiency. Furthermore, a double-layer structure composed of SnO2 nanoparticles (active layer) and macroporous SnO2 (scattering layer) possess both large dye adsorption (22.82 × 10(-8) mol cm(-2)) and scattering property, thus leads to a significant overall conversion efficiency of 5.78%.

Fast onset of action of sublingual immunotherapy in house dust mite-induced allergic rhinitis: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To investigate how quickly an allergic rhinitis (AR) patients' symptoms will improve with sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). STUDY DESIGN: Double-blind placebo study. METHODS: This is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of SLIT used to treat house dust mite-induced AR. A total of 120 AR patients, aged 4 to 60 years, were treated for 6 months and randomized into two groups: 1) SLIT with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (D.p.) and Dermatophagoides farina (D.f.) extract (n = 60) ; and 2) matched placebo controls (n = 60). Symptom, medications received, and a visual analog scale score were recorded during the whole study. Serum-specific IgE and IgG4 to D. p. and D. f. were assessed before and after the treatment. RESULTS: Eighty-five patients (70.8%) completed the study. Twelve patients (20%) chose to withdraw from the SLIT group, but none because of serious adverse effects. The total symptom and visual analog scores VAS in the SLIT group decreased significantly when compared to the placebo controls (P <0.05) after week 14, as well as for the significant (P <0.05) improvement of all individual AR symptoms in the SLIT group (e.g., sneezing, nasal discharge, itching, and nasal obstruction) after week 22. There was a significant (P <0.05) increase of IgG4 to both D.f. and D.p. in the SLIT, but not in the placebo group after treatment. CONCLUSION: SLIT with a mixture of D.f. and D.p. extract is an effective and safe treatment for patients with house dust mite-induced AR. Its onset of action can be observed as early as 14 weeks after treatment.

[Characteristics of agricultural climate resources in three provinces of northeast China under global climate change].

Based on the 1961-2007 weather data from 72 meteorological stations in three provinces of Northeast China, the change characteristics of agricultural climatic factors including yearly and temperature-defined growing season's mean air temperature, > or =10 degrees C accumulated temperature, precipitation, reference evapotranspiration, and sunshine hours were analyzed. In 1961-2007, the yearly mean air temperature in the three provinces had an increasing trend, with a rate of 0.38 degrees C x 10 a(-1). The > or =10 degrees C accumulated temperature in temperature-defined growing season also had an increasing trend, and the border of > or =10 degrees C accumulated temperature belt moved northward and eastward. The area of > or =3200 degrees C x d accumulated temperature increased by 2.2 x 10(4) km2. The belt of 2800-3200 degrees C x d moved northward about 0.85 degrees and eastward about 0.67 degrees, while that of 2400-2800 degrees C x d moved northward about 1.1 degrees. The sunshine hours decreased significantly, especially in the east part of Songnen Plain, central and west plains of Jilin Province, and west part of Liaohe River Plain. The area with sunshine hours > 2800 h decreased from 13.6 x 10(4) km2 to 4. 1 x 10(4) km2, and the zone with sunshine hours 2600-2800 h moved westward about 1.5 degrees. The average sunshine hour in temperature-defined growing season was 1174 h. Comparing with that in 1961-1980, the region with more sunshine hours in temperature-defined growing season in 1981-2007 narrowed significantly, and the zone with sunshine hours 1200-1400 h moved westward about 0.9 degrees. In 1961-2007, both the yearly and the temperature-defined growing season's precipitation decreased, and the yearly reference evapotranspiration increased in Heilongjiang Province and in the eastern mountain areas of Jilin Province but decreased in the central and west plains of Jilin Province and in Liaoning Province. Comparing with that in 1961-1980, the zone of reference evapotranspiration with the value of > or =900 mm in 1981-2007 moved westward about 1 degree, and the reference evapotranspiration in temperature-defined growing season increased in most regions of Heilongjiang and Jilin Province but decreased in a rate of 0-14 mm x 10 a(-1) in most regions of Liaoning Province.

[Treatment of glottic cancer with CO2 laser].

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the indications, surgical technique and complications of CO2 laser in the treatment of glottic cancer. METHODS: Sixty cases of glottic cancer (T1 = 52, T2 = 8) operated with CO2 laser between 2003 and 2006 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: All patients had remarkable hoarseness after the surgery. Their voice improved progressively in the process of the postoperative healing. Most of our patients had a near normal voice or only had a mild hoarseness in a year. None of our patients had tracheotomy during and after the operation. No aspiration occurred as well. Except adhesion of anterior commission occurred in two cases of T1b tumors who underwent bilateral vocal cords resection, no other complications occurred in this series. Among 60 cases of glottic carcinoma, 54 cases were followed up postoperatively from 2 to 5 years without recurrence. Four cases had local recurrences. One patient had salvage surgery with CO2 laser and was followed up for 2 years without recurrence. Other three cases had salvage total laryngectomy. One patient followed up for 2 years without recurrence, while another two cases died of recurrence. Two cases were lost during the follow up. Three-year and five-year overall survival rate were 100.0% and 91.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: CO2 laser surgery is a minimally invasive, effective and safe procedure for T1 and T2 glottic cancer. Satisfactory exposure, good surgical skill and appropriate surgical indication are fundamental for the success of treatment.