High expression of nucleophosmin is closely related to the grade and invasion of colorectal cancer

420-426This study explores the differential protein expression in the colorectal cancer (CRC) patients to validate a new biomarker for tumor progression. CRC tissues and their adjacent non-cancerous tissues were analyzed by two-dimensional LC/MS/MS. Nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) was selected and confirmed its differential expression by Western blot. Immunohistological staining of NPM1 in tissues was performed to validate its correlation with clinicopathologic parameters of CRC patients. There were 39 candidates with significant difference between cancerous tissues and their adjacent non-cancerous tissues, which included 19 increased proteins and 20 decreased proteins in CRC samples. Especially, NPM1 was correlated with poor differentiation, and lymph node metastasis according to the analysis of patients’ clinicopathologic parameters. Increased expression of NPM1 can be as a critical biomarker for clinical diagnosis of tumor progression of CRC patients

High expression of nucleophosmin is closely related to the grade and invasion of colorectal cancer

To explore the differential protein expression in the colorectal cancer (CRC) patients to validate a new biomarker for tumor progression. CRC tissues and their adjacent non-cancerous tissues were analyzed by two-dimensional LC/MS/MS. Nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) was selected and confirmed its differential expression by Western blot. Immunohistological staining of NPM1 in tissues was performed to validate its correlation with clinicopathologic parameters of CRC patients. There were 39 candidates with significant difference between cancerous tissues and their adjacent non-cancerous tissues, which included 19 increased proteins and 20 decreased proteins in CRC samples. Especially, NPM1 was correlated with poor differentiation, and lymph node metastasis according to the analysis of patients’ clinicopathologic parameters. Increased expression of NPM1 can be as a critical biomarker for clinical diagnosis of tumor progression of CRC patients

Genetic variation and forensic efficiency of 30 indels for three ethnic groups in Guangxi: relationships with other populations

Aim In this study, we used a series of diallelic genetic marker insertion/deletion polymorphism (indel) to investigate three populations of Yao, Kelao, and Zhuang groups in the Guangxi region of China and to evaluate their efficiency in forensic application. Result No deviations for all 30 loci were observed from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium after Bonferroni correction (p > 0.05/30 = 0.0017). The allele frequencies of the short allele (DIP-) for the above three populations were in the range of 0.0520–0.9480, 0.0950–0.8780, and 0.0850–0.915, respectively. The observed heterozygosity of the 30 loci for the three populations was in the ranges 0.0802–0.5802, 0.1908–0.6053, and 0.1400–0.5600, respectively. The cumulative power of exclusion and combined discrimination power for Yao, Kelao, and Zhuang groups were (0.9843 and 0.9999999999433), (0.9972 and 0.9999999999184), and (0.9845 and 0.9999999999608), respectively. The DA distance, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis indicated a clear regional distribution. In addition, Zhuang groups had close genetic relationships with the Yao and Kelao populations in the Guangxi region. Conclusion This study indicated that the 30 loci were qualified for personal identification; moreover, they could be used as complementary genetic markers for paternity testing in forensic cases for the studied populations

The Research Progress of Vision-Based Artificial Intelligence in Smart Pig Farming

Pork accounts for an important proportion of livestock products. For pig farming, a lot of manpower, material resources and time are required to monitor pig health and welfare. As the number of pigs in farming increases, the continued use of traditional monitoring methods may cause stress and harm to pigs and farmers and affect pig health and welfare as well as farming economic output. In addition, the application of artificial intelligence has become a core part of smart pig farming. The precision pig farming system uses sensors such as cameras and radio frequency identification to monitor biometric information such as pig sound and pig behavior in real-time and convert them into key indicators of pig health and welfare. By analyzing the key indicators, problems in pig health and welfare can be detected early, and timely intervention and treatment can be provided, which helps to improve the production and economic efficiency of pig farming. This paper studies more than 150 papers on precision pig farming and summarizes and evaluates the application of artificial intelligence technologies to pig detection, tracking, behavior recognition and sound recognition. Finally, we summarize and discuss the opportunities and challenges of precision pig farming

Prenatal triclosan exposure impairs mammalian lung branching morphogenesis through activating Bmp4 signaling

Triclosan (TCS) is a commonly used antibacterial agent present in personal care and household products. Recently, there have been increasing concerns about the association between children’s health and TCS exposure during gestation, but the toxicological effects of TCS exposure on embryonic lung development remain undetermined. In this study, through using an ex vivo lung explant culture system, we found that prenatal exposure to TCS resulted in impaired lung branching morphogenesis and altered proximal-distal airway patterning. These TCS-induced dysplasias are accompanied by significantly reduced proliferation and increased apoptosis within the developing lung, as a consequence of activated Bmp4 signaling. Inhibition of Bmp4 signaling by Noggin partially rescues the lung branching morphogenesis and cellular defects in TCS-exposed lung explants. In addition, we provided in vivo evidence that administration of TCS during gestation leads to compromised branching formation and enlarged airspace in the lung of offspring. Thus, this study provides novel toxicological information on TCS and indicated a strong/possible association between TCS exposure during pregnancy and lung dysplasia in offspring

Effect of celecoxib on E-cadherin, VEGF, microvessel density and apoptosis in gastric cancer

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) plays a crucial role in the development and invasion of gastric cancer. COX-2 inhibitors have been shown to be chemopreventive against gastrointestinal cancers. In vitro studies have suggested that the mechanisms may be related to induction of apoptosis and inhibition of angiogenesis. COX-2 may also have impact on E-cadherin. In our study we investigate the effect of Celecoxib on expression of E-cadherin and serum soluble E-cadherin, as well as on apoptosis and angiogenesis in patients with gastric cancer. Fifty nine gastric cancer patients were randomly divided into two groups: Surgery group (n = 22), in which patients underwent surgical resection after diagnosis, and Celecoxib + Surgery group (n = 37), in which patients received oral Celecoxib 200 mg twice daily for 7 days before curative resection. Twenty healthy subjects (Healthy controls) were recruited as normal controls. After curative resection, COX-2, E-cadherin, VEGF, and MVD were detected by immunohistochemistry. Serum soluble E-cadherin was quantitatively measured using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Apoptosis was determined by TUNEL assay. Significantly decreased expression of COX-2, increased E-cadherin and apoptosis, decreased VEGF and MVD were observed in gastric cancer tissues from patients receiving Celecoxib compared to Surgery group. Compared to Healthy controls, the serum soluble E-cadherin levels were higher in gastric cancer patients which were decreased by Celecoxib. This in vivo study demonstrated that Celecoxib induces apoptosis and inhibit angiogenesis of gastric cancer. Its impact on E-cadherin may suggest that this agent may suppress the invasion of advanced gastric cancer. ©2007 Landes Bioscience.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

A model to assess fundamental and realized carrying capacities of island ecosystem: A case study in the southern Miaodao Archipelago of China

Shi H, Shen C, Zheng W, et al. A model to assess fundamental and realized carrying capacities of island ecosystem: A case study in the southern Miaodao Archipelago of China. Acta Oceanologica Sinica. 2016;35(2):56-67

Investigation of Zinc and Phosphorus Elements Incorporated into Micro-Arc Oxidation Coatings Developed on Ti-6Al-4V Alloys

In order to clarify the mechanism that zinc and phosphorus elements entering the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) coatings developed on Ti-6Al-4V alloys, anodic coatings containing different zinc and phosphorus were fabricated using an orthogonal experiment of four factors with three levels in an electrolyte containing EDTA-ZnNa2, KOH, and phytic acid. Surface morphology, element composition, chemical state and phase structure of MAO coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The concentrations of zinc and phosphorus in the electrolyte were analyzed by an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The results show that zinc and phosphorus elements in MAO coatings exist in the form of Zn3(PO4)2. Phytic acid is the most important factor on both zinc and phosphorus contents of MAO coatings. With the increase of phytic acid concentration or the decrease of KOH concentration, the contents of zinc and phosphorus in MAO coatings present a similarly increasing tendency. Our results indicate that phosphorus takes part in coating formation mainly by diffusion, while zinc enters into MAO coatings with phosphorus from phytic acid