Introducing gradient Er ions and oxygen defects into SrCoO3 for regulating structural, electrical and magnetic transport properties.

The SrCoO3-δ system has broad application potential due to its diverse crystal structures, oxidation stoichiometric ratio, and significant electrical and magnetic properties. However, it faces the challenges of a complex crystal structure and oxygen defect control in this material system. Herein, we introduce oxygen defects into SrCoO3-δvia Er doping to regulate the structural, electrical and magnetic transport properties. Sr1-xErxCoO3-δ (x = 0-0.25) undergoes an evolution of structure and oxygen content (measured using the iodometric method) from hexagonal SrCoO2.626 (H + Co3O4) to cubic perovskite Sr0.9Er0.1CoO2.689 (CP) and finally to ordered tetragonal Sr0.8Er0.2CoO2.635 (OT). Among the three phases, Sr0.9Er0.1CoO2.689 (CP) exhibits the lowest resistivity, only 4.06 mΩ cm at room temperature, which is attributed to its high three-dimensional symmetry, overlap of O 2p and Co 3d orbitals at high oxygen ion concentration. Further introduction of Er ions and oxygen defects promotes the transformation from low spin Co4+ (LS, t52ge0g, S = 1/2) to high spin Co3+ (HS, t42ge2g, S = 2), and from the CoO6 octahedron (low magnetic moment transformation) to the CoO4.25 tetrahedron (high magnetic moment). The oxygen-deficient CoO4.25 layer appears, which can enhance the ordering of A sites and oxygen vacancies, and the CP phase transforms into room-temperature ferromagnetic Sr0.8Er0.2CoO2.635 (OT, TC∼330 K). Er ions provide unpaired electrons in the 2f orbital, which results in a strong magnetization of Sr0.8Er0.2CoO2.635 (OT, 4.66 µB/Co) at low temperatures.

Thermal and electrical transport properties of two-dimensional Dirac graphenylene: a first-principles study.

The development of high performance two-dimensional thermoelectric (TE) materials is crucial for enhancing the conversion of waste heat into electricity and for achieving the transition to new energy. In recent years, two-dimensional Dirac materials with high carrier mobility and non-trivial topological properties have been expected to extend the application of carbon-based materials in the TE field. However, research on the TE properties of two-dimensional Dirac materials is still scarce, and the relevant physical mechanisms that affect the TE figure of merit of the materials are still unclear. Therefore, we carefully selected a typical and experimentally synthesized Dirac structure, graphenylene, and systematically studied its thermal transport and electrical transport properties using density functional theory (DFT) and Boltzmann transport theory. The results show that the ZT value of graphenylene exhibits an extremely significant anisotropy. There is a significant discrepancy in the figure of merit (ZT) values of n-type and p-type systems at the optimum doping concentration, i.e., the ZT value of the n-type system (0.49) is one order of magnitude greater than that of the p-type system (0.06). Graphenylene exhibits excellent electronic performance due to its unique electronic band structure and has an extremely high conductivity (for the n-type system, electrical conductivity at room temperature is 109 S m-1). Interestingly, graphenylene has an unusually higher ZT at low temperature (0.5 at 300 K) than at high temperature (0.3 at 800 K) for n-type doping along the x-axis, contrary to the conventional view that higher ZT values exist in the high temperature range. This work provides a deep insight into the TE properties of two-dimensional Dirac carbon materials and offers new perspectives for enhancing the TE performance and application of carbon-based nanomaterials.

Utilizing the Transverse Thermoelectric Effect of Thin Films for Pulse Laser Detection.

In this work, pulse laser detectors based on the transverse thermoelectric effect of YBa2Cu3O7-δ thin films on vicinal cut LaAlO3 (001) substrates have been fabricated. The anisotropic Seebeck coefficients between ab-plane (Sab) and c-axis (Sc) of thin films are utilized to generate the output voltage signal in such kind of detectors. Fast response has been determined in these sensors, including both the rise time and the decay time. Under the irradiation of pulse laser with the pulse duration of 5-7 ns, the output voltage of these detectors shows the rise time and the decay time of 6 and 42 ns, respectively, which are much smaller than those from other materials. The small rise time in YBa2Cu3O7-δ-based detectors may be due to its low resistivity. While the high thermal conductivity and the large contribution of electronic thermal conductivity to the thermal conductivity of YBa2Cu3O7-δ are thought to be responsible for the small decay time. In addition, these detectors show good response under the irradiation of pulse lasers with a repetition rate of 4 kHz, including the precise determinations of amplitude and time. These results may pave a simple and convenient approach to manufacture the pulse laser detectors with a fast response.

[Corrigendum] Sevoflurane post­conditioning reduces rat myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury through an increase in NOS and a decrease in phosphorylated NHE1 levels.

Following the publication of the above article, an interested reader drew to the authors' attention that the data shown for the I/R and L­NAME experiments in Fig. 2A appeared to be strikingly similar. After having re­examined their raw data, the authors realized that the data panel of the L­NAME group was inadvertently loaded incorrectly, resulting in a duplication of the I/R data in the Figure. The revised version of Fig. 2, containing the correct data for the L­NAME group in Fig. 2A, is shown below. The authors are grateful to the Editor of International Journal of Molecular Medicine for granting them the opportunity to publish this Corrigendum, and stress that this error did not significantly affect either the results or the conclusions of the paper. All the authors agree with the publication of this Corrigendum, and apologize to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [the original article was published in International Journal of Molecular Medicine 36: 1529-1537, 2015; DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2015.2366].

The Influencing Factors of Venous Intravasation During Transvaginal Four-dimensional Hysterosalpingo-contrast Sonography With SonoVue.

Transvaginal 4-D hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography with SonoVue (TV 4-D HyCoSy) is the preferred imaging method for evaluating tubal patency. However, venous intravasation in 4-D HyCoSy may affect the diagnosis of tubal patency. The objective of this study was to analyze influencing factors of venous intravasation during TV 4-D HyCoSy. This study included 643 infertile patients who underwent TV 4-D HyCoSy. We analyzed the relationship between the incidence of venous intravasation and patients' basic clinical data, endometrial thickness, inspection timing (clean day of menstruation) and tubal patency. A total of 169 (26.28%) patients exhibited intravasation during TV 4-D HyCoSy. The following are risk factors for venous intravation: secondary infertility, type C + C, type B + C and type B + B in bilateral fallopian tubal patency grouping; endometrial thickness ≤5.45 mm; and taking TV 4-D HyCoSy after menstruation ≤6 d. Infertility duration, intrauterine lesions, a history of pelvic inflammatory disease and a history of pelvic surgery were uncorrelated with venous intravasation. To reduce the incidence of venous intravasation, TV 4-D HyCoSy should be performed 7-10 d after menstruation or when endometrial thickness is thicker than 5.45 mm.

Intravasation Affects the Diagnostic Image Quality of Transvaginal 4-Dimensional Hysterosalpingo-Contrast Sonography With SonoVue.

OBJECTIVES: We aim to retrospectively analyze the diagnostic image quality of transvaginal 4-dimensional hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography from infertile patients and determine the significant influencing factors. METHODS: A total of 445 patients visiting infertility clinics were included in the study, of which 167 were primary infertile and 278 were secondary infertile. The factors were recorded, including age; examination time; infertility type; history of pelvic inflammatory disease, pelvic surgery, intrauterine surgery, and ectopic pregnancy; endometrial thickness; uterine position; ovarian position; 2-dimensional image quality; intravasation quantity, position, and time; balloon volume; and the dosage of contrast agent or the sterile saline solution. All the factors were compared among different diagnostic image quality groups. The method of rank logistic regression analysis was adopted to analyze the risk factors affecting the diagnostic image quality. RESULTS: Among the 445 infertile patients, 124 (27.9%) patients had intravasation occur during transvaginal 4-dimensional hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography. The diagnostic image quality between the 2 sonographers was consistent (Cronbach's alpha, 0.993). Different intravasation quantities, positions, and times; increased of balloon volume; and history of pelvic surgery were substantial risk factors for the diagnostic image quality. The diagnostic image quality diminished with the increase of intravasation. In the patient with cornual intravasation, the diagnostic image quality was substantially worse than that with non-cornual intravasation. Moreover, early onset of intravasation seriously affected the diagnostic image quality. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, intravasation affected the diagnostic image quality, especially early cornual massive intravasation.

miR-150-504-519d inhibits the growth of human colorectal cancer cell line SW48 and downregulates c-FLIP receptor.

microRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding RNAs that regulates the expression of target messenger RNAs (mRNAs). c-FLIP is an inhibitor of cell apoptosis through inhibition of caspase 8. miR-150, miR-504, and miR-519d were related to cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and migration in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the role of miR-150-504-519d in CRC has not been studied and the relationship between miR-150-504-519d and c-FLIP remains unclear. In this study, we found that c-FLIP was upregulated in CRC tissues, without detectable expression in normal CRC tissues. Using SW48 cell line, we further showed that miR-150-504-519d inhibited migration, invasion, and promoted apoptosis of SW48 cells. Moreover, in SW48 cell line transfected with miR-150-504-519d, the protein expression of c-FLIP was significantly lower compared with cells transfected with scramble. Our results demonstrated upregulation of c-FLIP in CRC, which was downregulated in SW48 cells after the transfection of miR-150-504-519d, suggesting that manipulation of miR-150-504-519d expression might be a novel approach for the treatment of colorectal cancer.

DRAM1 regulates the migration and invasion of hepatoblastoma cells via autophagy-EMT pathway.

DNA-damage regulated autophagy modulator 1 (DRAM1) is known as a target of TP53-mediated autophagy, and has been reported to promote the migration and invasion abilities of glioblastoma stem cells. However, the precise contribution of DRAM1 to cancer cell invasion and migration, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, small interfering (si)RNA or short hairpin RNA mediated knockdown of DRAM1 was performed in hepatoblastoma cells and the migration and invasion abilities were detected in vitro and in vivo. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to detect the expression of autophagy-associated proteins and epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT)-associated markers. The results showed that DRAM1 knockdown by specific siRNA abrogated cell autophagy, as well as inhibited the migration and invasion of HepG2 cells in Transwell assays, which may be reversed by rapamycin treatment. In addition, DRAM1 knockdown increased the expression of E-Cadherin while decreased the expression of vimentin in HepG2 cells, which was also be reversed by rapamycin treatment. Taken together, these results suggest that DRAM1 is involved in the regulation of the migration and invasion of HepG2 cells via autophagy-EMT pathway.

Expression of serum AMPD1 in thyroid carcinoma and its clinical significance.

This study investigated the expression of adenosine monophosphate deaminase 1 (AMPD1) in serum of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and its clinical significance. The expression levels of AMPD1 mRNA in serum of 157 patients with PTC and 100 normal controls were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the relationships between expression level of AMPD1 in serum of PTC patients and clinicopathological factors as well as prognosis were analyzed. The results of real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR showed that the expression of AMPD1 mRNA in serum of PTC patients was lower than that in normal human serum (P<0.01). The expression of AMPD1 in serum of PTC patients was not significantly different from the clinicopathological features such as sex, age, lymph node metastasis and the number of lesions (P>0.05); there were distinct differences between its expression and tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging and tumor diameter (P<0.05). The single factor Cox analysis revealed that sex, age, number of lesions, TNM staging and the occurrence of lymph node metastasis were significantly correlated with the prognosis of patients (P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis showed that TNM staging hazard ratio (HR)=2.93, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.52-7.04, P=0.015 was an independent prognostic factor in PTC patients. Survival analysis indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in the 5-year overall survival rate between patients with high expression of AMPD1 and those with low expression (P=0.007). In conclusion, the expression of AMPD1 in serum of patients with PTC is closely related to the malignant evolution of PTC and clinical prognosis of patients. AMPD1 is expected to become an important molecule in judging the clinical prognosis of PTC patients, and may become a new target for molecular targeted therapy of PTC.

Associations between mutations of the cell cycle checkpoint kinase 2 gene and gastric carcinogenesis.

Gastric cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the digestive system. The etiology of gastric cancer is complex, and susceptibility at the genetic level remains to be fully elucidated in genetic investigations. In the present study, mutations of the cell cycle checkpoint kinase 2 (CHEK2) gene and its association with gastric cancer were examined. Reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction technology was used to detect the expression of CHEK2 and it was found that the expression of CHEK2 was low in gastric cancer. Using sequencing analysis, it was found that the low expression level of CHEK2 was associated with expression of its mutation. The present study also established a CHEK2­overexpressing mutant and confirmed that CHEK2 promoted gastric cancer cell proliferation. Overexpression of the CHEK2 mutation was confirmed to promote cancer cell migration and invasion. Furthermore, western blot analysis results revealed that overexpression of the CHEK2 mutation downregulated E­cadherin and upregulated vimentin expression, indicating the mechanism underlying the altered biological behavior. These results suggested that there was a correlation between mutation of the CHEK2 gene and gastric cancer, and provided an experimental basis for antitumor drug investigation and development according to its mutation target.

MicroRNA gene polymorphisms and the risk of colorectal cancer.

The present study was carried out to demonstrate the epidemiological value of microRNA (miRNA) in colorectal cancer (CRC) by investigating the association between miRNA gene polymorphisms and the susceptibility to CRC. Multiple meta-analyses of reported data were conducted, and odds ratio values and 95% confidence intervals were used to assess these associations. Stata 11.0 software was used to analyze the data and the modified Jadad quality score was employed to evaluate the quality of the retrieved studies. We retrieved 38 studies on the association between miRNA polymorphisms and risk of CRC, however only 15 met the requirements of the inclusion criteria. In conclusion, we identified a variety of miRNAs (miRNA-let-7, miR-34b/c, miR-146a, miR-603 and miR-149) gene polymorphisms that are associated with susceptibility to CRC. However, some miRNAs (miR-192a, miR-608 and miR-27a) are associated with CRC, but not susceptibility to CRC. The results have limitations given the relatively low number of studies available. Therefore, it is necessary to collect data from large sample-size studies to further validate the results.

Comparison of Assessment Methods for Fallopian Tubal Patency and Peritubal Adhesion Between Transvaginal 4-Dimensional Hysterosalpingo-Contrast Sonography and Laparoscopic Chromopertubation.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to compare transvaginal 4-dimensional hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography with laparoscopic chromopertubation and evaluate the former's clinical value in assessing fallopian tubal patency and peritubal adhesion. METHODS: Fifty-six patients visiting infertility clinics were included in the study and underwent surgery by their own choice in 1 month. In total, 112 fallopian tubes were assessed. Twenty-five were primarily infertile, and the rest were secondarily infertile. Laparoscopic chromopertubation was taken as the reference standard. RESULTS: In a comparison of fallopian tubal patency between transvaginal hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography and laparoscopic chromopertubation, the sensitivity, specify, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography for diagnosing blocked fallopian tubes were 88.4%, 85.2%, 90.5%, and 82.1% respectively. In a comparison of spray at the fimbrial end between the no-peritubal adhesion and peritubal adhesion groups, the spray score at the fimbrial end in the no-peritubal adhesion group was significantly lower than that in the peritubal adhesion group. In a comparison of periovarian diffusion between the no-peritubal adhesion and peritubal adhesion groups, the periovarian diffusion score in the no-peritubal adhesion group was significantly lower than that in the peritubal adhesion group. In a comparison of periovarian diffusion between the patent-tube and blocked groups confirmed by chromopertubation, the periovarian diffusion score in the patent group was significantly lower than that in the blocked group. CONCLUSIONS: Transvaginal hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography is a method with high sensitivity and specificity for screening fallopian tubal patency and peritubal adhesion.

Identification of candidate biomarkers for the prediction of gestational diabetes mellitus in the early stages of pregnancy using iTRAQ quantitative proteomics.

PURPOSE: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common medical problems of pregnancy. This study is designed to identify serum biomarkers, which can predict the subsequent development of GDM at early stages. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Maternal blood was obtained prospectively from pregnant women at 12-16 wk of pregnancy. Among these, 30 women were subsequently diagnosed with GDM at 24 to 28 wk and were selected as case studies along with 30 normoglycemic women as controls. Serum samples were analyzed by using iTRAQ analysis. RESULTS: Thirty three differentially expressed proteins were identified between case and control groups. They were involved in various signaling processes previously implied in GDM. Of which four proteins, i.e. apolipoprotein E, coagulation factor IX, fibrinogen alpha chain, and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 5 were successfully verified by ELISA. Combinations of these four proteins, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, sensitivity, and specificity were 0.985, 80% and 95%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results highlight the roles of complement system, inflammatory and immune response, and blood coagulation in the pathogenesis of GDM. The panel of four candidate proteins could distinguish women subsequently developed with GDM from controls with high sensitivity and specificity.

Primary Closure Following Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Reexploration for the Patients Who Underwent Prior Biliary Operation.

To assess feasibility of primary closure following laparoscopic common bile duct reexploration for the patients who underwent prior biliary operation, we retrospectively studied 50 patients with recurrent or residual common bile duct (CBD) stones who underwent laparoscopic biliary reoperation between June 2008 and June 2013. Endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) was treated for all these patients and validated failed. They were divided into two groups. Primary closure following laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE) was performed in 25 cases (group A); LCBDE plus T-tube drainage was performed in others (group B). The items of operation were compared. The duration of the operation in group A was shorter than that in group B (141 ± 85 vs 158 ± 71 min, p < 0.05), as was postoperative hospital stay (16 ± 2.3 vs 23 ± 2.3 h, p < 0.05) and the times of postoperative gastrointestinal function recovery (16 ± 2.3 vs 23 ± 2.3 h, p < 0.05). Just one duodenum was damaged in group B. Postoperative clinically significant bile leakage occurred in two patients in group A and one case in group B. The median follow-up was 18 months. No postoperative pancreatitis, postoperative bleeding, bile peritonitis after T-tube removal, stricture of bile duct, and death occurred in the two groups. Just two cases in group B were verified residual stones after 1 month. Primary closure following laparoscopic common bile duct reexploration for the patients who underwent prior biliary operation appears to be a minimally invasive, safe, feasible, and effective procedure when done by expert laparoscopic surgeons.

Comparison of early and late decompressive craniectomy on the long-term outcome in patients with moderate and severe traumatic brain injury: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have searched whether early decompressive craniectomy (DC) can improve the long-term outcome of patients with moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the effects of early DC remain unclear. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess whether early DC (time to surgery after injury <24 h) is better than late DC (>24 h) after moderate and severe TBI. METHOD: Two reviewers independently searched Pubmed, Embase, ISI web of science, the Cochrane Library and Scopus databases from inception to 4 November 2014. Studies comparing the long-term outcome of patients following early and late DC after TBI were included. The long-term outcomes were evaluated by Glasgow Outcome Score, Extended Glasgow Outcome Score. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the methodological quality of included studies. Characteristics of the selected studies were extracted. Pooled results were presented by odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs. I(2) was used to test heterogeneity. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to detect the relationship between bilateral pupil abnormality and unfavourable outcome. RESULTS: Five articles were eligible for this meta-analysis. The pooled results of comparison of unfavourable outcome and mortality revealed no significant difference in the early and late groups (ORs: 1.469; 95% CIs: 0.495-4.362; p > 0.05; I(2 )=70.5% and ORs: 1.262; 95% CIs: 0.385-4.137; p > 0.05; I(2 )=77.6%, respectively). Pearson correlation coefficient indicated that bilateral pupil abnormality was positive related to the unfavourable outcomes and mortality (r = 0.833; p < 0.05) (0.829; p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Bilateral pupil abnormality is positive related to unfavourable outcome and mortality in the patients following DC after moderate and severe TBI. Early DC may be more helpful to improve the long-term outcome of patients with refractory raised intracranial cerebral pressure after moderate and severe TBI. However, more RCTs with better control of patients with bilateral pupil abnormality divided into the early and late groups are needed in the future.

New-Style Laparoscope and Endoscope Cooperative Gallbladder-Preserving Surgery for Polyps.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility and safety of a new style of Laparoscope and Endoscope Cooperative gallbladderpreserving Surgery (LECS), an improved method of minimally invasive gallbladder-preserving polypectomy. STUDY DESIGN: An experimental study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, China, from January 2009 to July 2013. METHODOLOGY: Clinical data of patients subjected to LECS and Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (LC) was analysed. The inclusion criteria were normal size clear gallbladder bile with total volume (FV) of the gallbladder = 15 - 25 ml, the Residual Volume (RV) = 5 ml, and the Emptying Figure (EF) > 75%, with polyps diagnosed definitively by B-type ultrasonic imaging or CTdesirous of preserving gallbladder. Exclusion criteria were a history of midsection surgery, serious diseases of any organ, hepatic injury, or coagulation disturbance. Mean hospital stay and complications were also noted. Independent sample t-test, the frequency comparison used chi-square test (N > 5), and Fisher's exact test (N < 5) were used for statistical test. RESULTS: The mean hospital stay after LECS was 3.50 ±0.31 days, and 3.50 ±0.31 days for the LC group. The mean age in LC and LECS group was 50 ±25.4 and 44 ±12.1 years, respectively. Complications after operation in the LECS were indigestion and diarrhea; LC group had indigestion (9.33%), diarrhea (10.67%), and gastroesophageal reflux (6.6.7%). In the 3 months follow-up after discharging from the hospital, no patient had recurrence of any gallbladder disease; at 1 year follow-up, 1 patient (1.28%) developed cholesterol crystals; at 3-year follow-up, 3 cases (3.84%) were found to have recurring polyps (2~4 pieces), and 2 (2.56%) patients developed cholesterol crystals. CONCLUSION: Minimally invasive gallbladder-preserving polypectomy which used a CHIAO cholecystoscopy compared with a laparoscope is safe, feasible, and can effectively reduce the vestiges and recrudescence of polyps in gallbladderpreserving surgery.

Hybrid Approaches for Complex Parastomal Hernia Repair.

Parastomal hernia is one of the major complications of colostomy with high occurrence. From October 2011 to November 2014, a retrospective study was conducted by analyzing and following up data of 16 patients suffering from parastomal hernia who underwent a hybrid technique repair. The safety and efficacy of the hybrid technique for parastomal hernia repair was investigated in terms of complications. All cases were operated successfully and had no major immediate postoperative complications other than mild abdominal pain in 5 cases. No long-term postoperative complications were reported in the follow-up. The authors found hybrid technique to be safe and effective for parastomal hernia repair with fewer complications.

The lower expression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer.

AIMS: Expression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor (GnRHR) has been demonstrated in a number of malignancies. The aim is to investigate the expression of GnRHR and prognosis in gastric cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: GnRHR mRNA was examined in tumor and non-tumor tissues from 48 gastric cancer patients by Real-time PCR. The GnRHR protein expression was performed by immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS: The expression of GnRHR mRNA was higher (mean ± SD, -10.06 ± 1.28) in gastric tumor tissues than matched non-tumor tissues (mean ± SD, -12.43 ± 1.33). GnRHR mRNA expression was associated with lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and TNM stage. We found the decreased expression of GnRHR mRNA were significantly correlated with poor overall survival (P = 0.003). Immunocytochemical staining of GnRHR in tumor tissues showed mainly weak staining (43.48%, 10/23) and moderate staining (21.74%, 5/23) in high GnRHR mRNA patients, and mainly negative staining in low GnRHR mRNA patients. And the staining of GnRHR was not detection in tumor tissues for more than half of gastric patients (52.08%, 25/48). These results implied that the loss of GnRHR protein could be a main event in gastric cancer. CONCLUSION: The GnRHR expression is very low in gastric cancer, and the loss of GnRHR expression could be a poor prognostic factor, which implied that GnRHR could play an important role in the development of gastric cancer.

Sevoflurane post-conditioning reduces rat myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury through an increase in NOS and a decrease in phopshorylated NHE1 levels.

The protective effects of sevoflurane post-conditioning against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury (MIRI) have been previously reported. However, the mechanisms responsible for these protective effects remain elusive. In this study, in order to investigate the molecular mechanisms responsible for the protective effects of sevoflurane post-conditioning on isolated rat hearts subjected to MIRI, Sprague-Dawley rat hearts were randomly divided into the following 6 groups: i) the sham-operated control; ii) 2.5% sevoflurane; iii) ischemia/reperfusion (I/R); iv) 2.5% sevoflurane post-conditioning plus I/R; v) 2.5% sevoflurane post-conditioning + NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) plus I/R; and vi) L-NAME plus I/R. The infarct size was measured using 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. Additionally, the myocardial nitric oxide (NO), NO synthase (NOS) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) levels were determined. Autophagosomes and apoptosomes in the myocardium were detected by transmission electron microscopy. The levels of Bcl-2, cleaved caspase-3, Beclin-1, microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3)­I/II, Na+/H+ exchanger 1 (NHE1) and phosphorylated NHE1 protein were measured by western blot analysis. NHE1 mRNA levels were measured by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Compared with the I/R group, 15 min of exposure to 2.5% sevoflurane during early reperfusion significantly decreased the myocardial infarct size, the autophagic vacuole numbers, the NHE1 mRNA and protein expression of cleaved caspase-3, Beclin-1 and LC3-I/II. Post-conditioning with 2.5% sevoflurane also increased the NO and NOS levels and Bcl-2 protein expression (p<0.05 or p<0.01). Notably, the cardioprotective effects of sevoflurane were partly abolished by the NOS inhibitor, L-NAME. The findings of the present study suggest that sevoflurane post-conditioning protects the myocardium against I/R injury and reduces the myocardial infarct size. The underlying protective mechanisms are associated with the inhibition of mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening, and with the attenuation of cardiomyoctye apoptosis and excessive autophagy. These effects are mediated through an increase in NOS and a decrease in phopshorylated NHE1 levels.

Genetic Variation in the 3'-Untranslated Region of NBN Gene Is Associated with Gastric Cancer Risk in a Chinese Population.

NBN plays a crucial role in carcinogenesis as a core component for both homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) repair pathways. Genetic variants in the NBN gene have been associated with multiple cancers risk, suggesting pleiotropic effect on cancer. We hypothesized that genetic variants in the NBN gene may modify the risk of gastric cancer. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the association between four potentially functional single nucleotide polymorphisms in NBN and gastric cancer risk in a case-control study of 1,140 gastric cancer cases and 1,547 controls in a Chinese population. We found that the A allele of rs10464867 (G>A) was significantly associated with a decreased risk of gastric cancer (odds ratio [OR] = 0.81, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.71-0.94; P = 4.71×10-3). Furthermore, the association between A allele of rs10464867 and decreased risk of gastric cancer was more significantly in elder individuals (per-allele OR = 0.72[0.59-0.88], P = 1.07×10-3), and male individuals (per-allele OR = 0.73[0.62-0.87], P = 3.68×10-4). We further conducted a haplotype analysis and identified that the NBN Ars10464867Grs14448Grs1063053 haplotype conferred stronger protective effect on gastric cancer (OR = 0.76[0.65-0.89], P = 6.39×10-4). In summary, these findings indicate that genetic variants at NBN gene may contribute to gastric cancer susceptibility and may further advance our understanding of NBN gene in cancer development.