Fatty liver is a risk factor for liver metastasis in Chinese patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Background The hepatic microenvironment, which may include chronic inflammation and fibrosis, is considered to contribute to the development of liver metastases. Hepatic steatosis (HS) might cause liver inflammation and fibrosis. However, to date, no studies have investigated the impact of HS on liver metastasis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed on patients who received NSCLC treatment at two hospitals affiliated with the Southern Medical University from January 2005 to December 2015. The patients were grouped according to the presence of HS. The clinicopathological features of patients between the two groups were compared. The effect of HS on liver metastasis and overall metastasis was evaluated, adjusting for other confounders using Cox regression analyses. Results In total, 1,873 patients with NSCLC with no distant metastases were included in this study, and 408 (21.8%) patients were diagnosed with HS (at the time of diagnosis or before diagnosis). Liver metastases occurred in 166 (8.9%) patients. Liver metastasis-free survival was significantly worse in the study (HS) group (hazard ratio (HR) 1.42; (95% CI [1.03–1.96]); P = 0.031). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that HS was an independent risk factor for liver metastasis (HR 1.43; 95% CI [1.02–2.01]; P = 0.039). However, HS was not associated with overall metastasis of NSCLC (HR 0.99; 95% CI [0.84–1.17]; P = 0.895). Conclusion Hepatic steatosis was an independent predictor of liver metastasis from in patients with NSCLC

Increased p38-MAPK is responsible for chemotherapy resistance in human gastric cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chemoresistance is one of the main obstacles to successful cancer therapy and is frequently associated with Multidrug resistance (MDR). Many different mechanisms have been suggested to explain the development of an MDR phenotype in cancer cells. One of the most studied mechanisms is the overexpression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), which is a product of the <it>MDR1 </it>gene. Tumor cells often acquire the drug-resistance phenotype due to upregulation of the <it>MDR1 </it>gene. Overexpression of <it>MDR1 </it>gene has often been reported in primary gastric adenocarcinoma.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study investigated the role of p38-MAPK signal pathway in vincristine-resistant SGC7901/VCR cells. P-gp and MDR1 RNA were detected by Western blot analysis and RT-PCR amplification. Mitgen-activated protein kinases and function of P-gp were demonstrated by Western blot and FACS Aria cytometer analysis. Ap-1 activity and cell apoptosis were detected by Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay and annexin V-PI dual staining.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The vincristine-resistant SGC7901/VCR cells with increased expression of the multidrug-resistance 1 (<it>MDR1</it>) gene were resistant to P-gp-related drug and P-gp-unrelated drugs. Constitutive increases of phosphorylated p38-MAPK and AP-1 activities were also found in the drug-resistant cells. Inhibition of p38-MAPK by SB202190 reduced activator protein-1 (AP-1) activity and <it>MDR1 </it>expression levels and increased the sensitivity of SGC7901/VCR cells to chemotherapy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Activation of the p38-MAPK pathway might be responsible for the modulation of P-glycoprotein-mediated and P-glycoprotein-unmediated multidrug resistance in the SGC7901/VCR cell line.</p

Effect of Nitrogen Addition on Selection of Germination Trait in an Alpine Meadow on the Tibet Plateau

Seed germination requirements may determine the kinds of habitat in which plants can survive. We tested the hypothesis that nitrogen (N) addition can change seed germination trait-environmental filter interactions and ultimately redistribute seed germination traits in alpine meadows. We determined the role of N addition on germination trait selection in an alpine meadow after N addition by combining a 3-year N addition experiment in an alpine meadow and laboratory germination experiments. At the species level, germination percentage, germination rate (speed) and breadth of temperature niche for germination (BTN) were positively related to survival of a species in the fertilized community. In addition, community-weighted means of germination percentage, germination rate, germination response to alternating temperature and BTN increased. However, germination response to wet-cold storage (cold stratification) and functional richness of germination traits was lower in alpine meadows with high-nitrogen addition than in those with no, low and medium N addition. Thus, N addition had a significant influence on environmental filter-germination trait interactions and generated a different set of germination traits in the alpine meadow. Further, the effect of N addition on germination trait selection by environmental filters was amount-dependent. Low and medium levels of N addition had less effect on redistribution of germination traits than the high level

Transformational leadership and trust in leadership impacts on employee commitment

Purpose -This study explores the effects of leadership style and trust in leadership on employees' affective commitment in the context of a global pandemic. Design/methodology/approach -A total of 580 valid questionnaires were collected online, targeting hospitality and tourism employees working from home during a particular period of the COVID-19 Coronavirus crisis. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data with AMOS software. Findings -The findings indicated that perceived transformational leadership was a positive predictor of trust in leadership and affective commitment. In addition to the positive contribution to commitment, trust in leadership also mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational commitment. Originality/value -The current study contributes to the literature on leadership and organizational commitment. The results of this study may provide a valuable guide to organizations, leaders, and young employees

The Genomes of Oryza sativa: A History of Duplications

We report improved whole-genome shotgun sequences for the genomes of indica and japonica rice, both with multimegabase contiguity, or almost 1,000-fold improvement over the drafts of 2002. Tested against a nonredundant collection of 19,079 full-length cDNAs, 97.7% of the genes are aligned, without fragmentation, to the mapped super-scaffolds of one or the other genome. We introduce a gene identification procedure for plants that does not rely on similarity to known genes to remove erroneous predictions resulting from transposable elements. Using the available EST data to adjust for residual errors in the predictions, the estimated gene count is at least 38,000–40,000. Only 2%–3% of the genes are unique to any one subspecies, comparable to the amount of sequence that might still be missing. Despite this lack of variation in gene content, there is enormous variation in the intergenic regions. At least a quarter of the two sequences could not be aligned, and where they could be aligned, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rates varied from as little as 3.0 SNP/kb in the coding regions to 27.6 SNP/kb in the transposable elements. A more inclusive new approach for analyzing duplication history is introduced here. It reveals an ancient whole-genome duplication, a recent segmental duplication on Chromosomes 11 and 12, and massive ongoing individual gene duplications. We find 18 distinct pairs of duplicated segments that cover 65.7% of the genome; 17 of these pairs date back to a common time before the divergence of the grasses. More important, ongoing individual gene duplications provide a never-ending source of raw material for gene genesis and are major contributors to the differences between members of the grass family

Work engagement, emotional disorders and conflict management styles in paediatric nurse: A mediating effect model

Abstract Aim The mediating role of emotional disorders between conflict management styles and work engagement was explored based on constructing structural equation models in paediatric nurses. Design A cross‐sectional study. Methods According to a cross‐sectional survey, 300 paediatric nurses were selected from three tertiary hospitals (Chang sha, China), the data were collected using demographic questionnaires, the Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory‐II, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. The Structural Equation Model was employed to investigate the mediating role of emotional disorders between conflict management styles and work engagement. Results Among conflict management styles, emotional disorders and work engagement, the associations were all significant (p < .05). In the mediation models, emotional disorders partially mediate the relationships between conflict management styles and work engagement (indirect effect 0.095, p < .01; direct effect −0.330, p < .01; total effect −0.330, p < .01) and between conflict management styles and work engagement (indirect effect 0.095, p < .01; direct effect 0.329, p < .01; total effect 0.424, p < .01)

A Transformation of the Mainland Chinese Market in Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry

This paper analyzes the data of market size, profiles, and behavioral patterns of mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong from 1997 to 2018. With the economic boom and fewer restrictions on travel visas for mainland China, and attracted by a mixture of Eastern and Western cultures, the mainland Chinese market\u27s access to Hong Kong has been strengthening for the past three decades, leading to a transformation of the mainland Chinese market in Hong Kong. This paper illustrates how mainland Chinese tourists have transformed from an international tourism market to a domestic one based on market access theory. Because the mainland Chinese market will continue to be Hong Kong\u27s largest tourist source, more suitable travel policies should be launched for the sustainable development of tourism in Hong Kong

The dynamic partitioning of airborne phthalates in indoor environment: effects of ventilation

Low energy consumption buildings with strong air tightness such as passive buildings are the development trend in the world. However, ventilation directly affects the emission and dynamic transport of indoor phthalates. A transient partition model considering the dynamic behavior of size-resolved particle was utilized to investigate the influence of ventilation on the airborne Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). The air exchange rate (a) was set to 0.15 h-1, 0.3 h-1, 0.6 h-1, 2h-1 for the different conditions. The predicted gas-phase concentration of DEHP in the initial 70 days is unaffected for different a and constant hms, whereas it raises until the a increases to 2 h-1. The equilibrium gas-phase concentration decreases from 0.257 to 0.203 μg/m3. Meanwhile, the higher a also reduced the particle-phase concentration of DEHP. Furthermore, the changes of airborne DEHP were analyzed by considering the impact of a on hms caused by ventilation. The results indicates that more ventilation leads to higher gas-phase concentration for the whole stage. The gas-phase concentration at equilibrium increases from 0.237 to 0.440 μg/m3. The total airborne (gas-phase + particle-phase) concentration decreases with the higher ventitation rate, which indicates that the ventitation has a positive effect on indoor airborne DEHP

Can cruise services satisfy Chinese outbound travelers? An importance–performance analysis

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Routledge in Journal of China Tourism Research, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/19388160.2021.1888837 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.This study aims to explore tourists’ satisfaction with cruise services and the gap between expectation and satisfaction, focusing on Chinese outbound tourists traveling to South Korea. Using a mixed-methods approach, in-depth interviews were conducted to summarize items of cruise services for measurement; importance–performance analysis was performed to simultaneously examine the matching degree between tourists’ perceived importance and performance. Tourists’ expectation is measured by the side of importance, meanwhile, performance represents their satisfaction. This study suggests that cruising is an important way for Chinese tourists to travel abroad, and tourists were generally satisfied with the services provided by immigration, customs, and the cruises. However, a gap remains between the perceived expectation and satisfaction. In terms of cruise service, the most important item was the good language and communication skills of the staff, and the most satisfactory performance was the effective boarding service. The biggest gap was observed in the effective service of handling ticket bookings, cancellations, and confirmations. The results of this study can provide insight into enhancing cruise services and marketing, specifically for companies working with the Chinese market.Published onlin

Can Cruise Services Satisfy Chinese Outbound Travelers? An Importance-Performance Analysis

This study aims to explore tourists\u27 satisfaction with cruise services and the gap between expectation and satisfaction, focusing on Chinese outbound tourists traveling to South Korea. Using a mixed-methods approach, in-depth interviews were conducted to summarize items of cruise services for measurement; importance–performance analysis was performed to simultaneously examine the matching degree between tourists\u27 perceived importance and performance. Tourists\u27 expectation is measured by the side of importance, meanwhile, performance represents their satisfaction. This study suggests that cruising is an important way for Chinese tourists to travel abroad, and tourists were generally satisfied with the services provided by immigration, customs, and the cruises. However, a gap remains between the perceived expectation and satisfaction. In terms of cruise service, the most important item was the good language and communication skills of the staff, and the most satisfactory performance was the effective boarding service. The biggest gap was observed in the effective service of handling ticket bookings, cancellations, and confirmations. The results of this study can provide insight into enhancing cruise services and marketing, specifically for companies working with the Chinese market