Curcumin inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition in oral cancer cells via c-Met blockade.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common type of oral cancer. OSCC cells are highly invasive, a characteristic that involves epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT); the conversion of immotile epithelial cells into motile mesenchymal cells. EMT is involved in the progression of various types of cancer by promoting tumour cell scattering and conferring to these cells cancer stem cell (CSC)-like characteristics, such as self-renewal. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) signalling plays an important role in EMT induction and, therefore, contributes to cell invasion and metastasis in cancer. Due to its potential chemopreventative and anti-tumour activities, curcumin has attracted much interest and has been shown to act as a potent EMT inhibitor in various types of cancer. However, at present, the potential effects of curcumin on HGF-induced EMT in OSCC have not been investigated. Here, we demonstrated that HGF signalling could induce EMT in the HSC4 and Ca9-22 OSCC cell lines via the HGF receptor c-Met and downstream activation of the pro-survival ERK pathway. Notably, curcumin inhibited HGF-induced EMT and cell motility in HSC-4 and Ca9-22 cells via c-Met blockade. Therefore, these findings establish curcumin as a candidate drug for OSCC treatment. Furthermore, curcumin was able to effectively inhibit the HGF-induced increase in the levels of vimentin by downregulating the expression of phosphorylated c-Met, an ERK. In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrated that curcumin was able to reverse HGF-induced EMT, possibly by inhibiting c-Met expression in oral cancer cells, providing a strong basis for the development of novel approaches for the treatment of oral cancer.

Study on the transdermal penetration mechanism of ibuprofen nanoemulsions.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to research the mechanism of percutaneous penetration of Ibuprofen (IBU) nanoemulsion. METHOD: Transdermal penetration mechanism of IBU nanoemulsion was investigated by using Fourier transform infra-red spectral analysis (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter thermogram (DSC), and activation energy (Ea) measurement. The in vivo skin penetration test of rats was carried out using Rhodamine B nanoemulsion to simulate the process of drug penetration into the skin, and the frozen section of the skin was observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). RESULT: FTIR spectra and DSC thermogram of rat skin treated with IBU nanoemulsion showed that infiltration occurred due to disruption of the stratum corneum (SC) protein-lipid structure and increasing of fluidity, hydration, and disruption of the lipid bilayer structure of the SC. The significant reduce in Ea (1.255 kcal/mol) for IBU permeating rat skin suggested crucial disruption of the SC lipid bilayers (P < 0.05), which is speculated that nanoemulsion may create new pathways to promote drug penetration. CLSM revealed that Rhodamine B penetrated into the SC in a shorter period of time and it accumulated around the sebaceous glands. CONCLUSION: The study of skin penetration mechanism indicated that nanoemulsion can be perfectly well used as the transdermal penetration of poorly soluble drugs.

Therapeutic Effect of Shenling Baizhu Powder Combined with Erchentang in Treatment of Senile Pneumonia and Influence on Procalcitonin / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To observe the efficacy of Shenling Baizhu powder combined with Erchentang in treatment of senile pneumonia, and its influence on serum procalcitonin. Methods With randomized controlled trial, 100 patients were randomly divided into two groups. The control group (49 cases) was treated by routine western medicine, and the treatment group (51 cases) was treated by Shenling Baizhu powder combined with Erchentang additionally. The treatment course was 1 week, and the therapeutic effect was observed after two courses. The improvement time of clinical symptoms and signs, and the change of serum procalcitonin were detected. Results Clinical efficacy of the two groups had no significant difference (P>0.05). The improvement time of signs and symptoms in treatment group was better than that in control group (P<0.05). The serum procalcitonin improved in treatment group was better than that in control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Shenling Baizhu powder combined with Erchentang has obvious anti-infection effect, and can improve symptoms and signs of senile pneumonia rapidly.

Investigation of the relationship between aircraft noise and community annoyance in China.

A survey of community annoyance induced by aircraft noise exposure was carried out around Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport. To investigate the relationship curves between aircraft noise and the percentage of "highly annoyed" persons in China and also to get annoyance threshold of aircraft noise in China. Noise annoyance induced by aircraft noise exposure was assessed by 764 local residents around the airport using the International Commission on Biological Effect of Noise (ICBEN) scale. The status quo of aircraft noise pollution was measured by setting up 39 monitoring points. The interpolation was used to estimate the weighted effective continuous perceived noise levels (LWECPN) in different areas around the airport, and the graph of equal noise level contour was drawn. The membership function was used to calculate the annoyance threshold of aircraft noise. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16.0 and Origin 8.0. The results showed that if LWECPN was 64.3 dB (Ldn was 51.4 dB), then 15% respondents were highly annoyed. If LWECPN was 68.1 dB (Ldn was 55.0 dB), then 25% respondents were highly annoyed. The annoyance threshold of aircraft noise (LWECPN) was 73.7 dB, while the annoyance threshold of a single flight incident instantaneous noise level (LAmax) was 72.9 dB. People around the airport had felt annoyed before the aircraft noise LWECPN reached the standard limit.

Application of self-expanding stent placement for carotid artery stenosis / 中国微创外科杂志

Objective To explore the practicability of self-expanding stent placement treatment in the management of carotid artery stenosis. Methods 14 self-expanding stent treatments were performed at 10 sites carotid artery stenosis in 9 patients with TIA and 70%-95% carotid stenosis. Results All patients were free from TIA. Residual stenosis was