Expression and prognostic significance of Golgiglycoprotein73 (GP73) with Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) related molecules in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer and the third cause of cancer-related deaths, worldwide. It is essential to develop an effective prognostic biomarker and determine the mechanisms underlying HCC invasion and metastasis. AIMS: This study aimed to investigate the expression of Golgi glycoprotein73 (GP73) and Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) molecules such as E-cadherin and Vimentin in HCC. We also evaluated the prognostic value of GP73 in HCC. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to determine the expression of GP73 and EMT molecules in 75 HCC specimens and the corresponding paracarcinomatous liver (PCL) tissues. Spearman’s correlation test was used to analyze the correlation of GP73 and EMT molecules. Clinicopathological features of the HCC patients were also analyzed. Univariate survival analysis was performed by the Kaplan–Meier method and differences among the groups were analyzed by the Log-rank test. RESULTS: GP73 expression in HCC was higher compared with PCL tissues (χ( 2 ) = 73.60, P < 0.05). EMT molecules were also detected in HCC and PCL tissues. GP73 was negatively correlated with E-cadherin (r = − 0.49, P < 0.05), but positively correlated with Vimentin (r = 0.46, P < 0.05) in HCC. GP73 was correlated with the clinicopathological features including Edmondson grade, vascular invasion and TNM stage (P < 0.05), which was also associated with overall survival (OS) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: GP73 was negatively with E-cadherin and positively correlated with Vimentin. It might be associated with aggressive behavior of HCC and had influence on patients’ OS. Further research is needed to determine the potential of GP73. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/29 vs/1504046946108618; http://med.motic.com/MoticGallery/Slide?id=3b6a037e-f60e-4c68-9106-41e790de9431&user=2C69F0D6-A478-4A2B-ABF0-BB36763E8025; http://med.motic.com/MoticGallery/Slide?id=a25b5b32-b613-47b0-9f8b-e1e67a95d1bf&user=2C69F0D6-A478-4A2B-ABF0-BB36763E8025

Geometric bionics: Lotus effect helps polystyrene nanotube films get good blood compatibility

Various biomaterials have been widely used for manufacturing biomedical applications including artificial organs, medical devices and disposable clinical apparatus, such as vascular prostheses, blood pumps, artificial kidney, artificial hearts, dialyzers and plasma separators, which could be used in contact with blood^1^. However, the research tasks of improving hemocompatibility of biomaterials have been carrying out with the development of biomedical requirements^2^. Since the interactions that lead to surface-induced thrombosis occurring at the blood-biomaterial interface become a reason of familiar current complications with grafts therapy, improvement of the blood compatibility of artificial polymer surfaces is, therefore a major issue in biomaterials science^3^. After decades of focused research, various approaches of modifying biomaterial surfaces through chemical or biochemical methods to improve their hemocompatibility were obtained^1^. In this article, we report that polystyrene nanotube films with morphology similar to the papilla on lotus leaf can be used as blood-contacted biomaterials by virtue of Lotus effect^4^. Clearly, this idea, resulting from geometric bionics that mimicking the structure design of lotus leaf, is very novel technique for preparation of hemocompatible biomaterials

Structure and superconductivity of Mg(B1-xCx)2 compounds

In this paper, we reported the structural properties and superconductivity of Mg(B1-xCx)2 compounds. Powder x-ray diffraction results indicate that the samples crystallize in a hexagonal AlB2-type structure. Due to the chemical activity of Mg powders, a small amount of MgO impurity phase was detected by x-ray diffraction. The lattice parameters decrease slightly with increasing carbon content. Magnetization measurements indicate the non-stoichiometry of MgB2 has no influence on the superconducting transition temperature and the transition temperature width. The addition of carbon results in a decrease of Tc and an increase in the superconducting transition width, implying the loss of superconductivity.Comment: PDF files, 5 pages,3 figures, Accepted by Chinese Physics on Feb. 26, 2001(in press

Extended Stochastic Gradient Identification Method for Hammerstein Model Based on Approximate Least Absolute Deviation

In order to identify the parameters of nonlinear Hammerstein model which are contaminated by colored noise and peak noise, the least absolute deviation (LAD) is selected as the objective function to solve the problem of large residual square when the identification data is disturbed by the impulse noise which obeys symmetrical alpha stable (SαS) distribution. However, LAD cannot meet the need of differentiability required by most algorithms. To improve robustness and to solve the nondifferentiable problem, an approximate least absolute deviation (ALAD) objective function is established by introducing a deterministic function to replace absolute value under certain situations. The proposed method is derived from ALAD criterion and extended stochastic gradient method. Due to the differentiability of the objective function, we can get a recursive identification algorithm which is simple and easy to calculate compared with LAD. The convergence of the proposed identification method is also proved by Lyapunov stability theory, and the simulation experiments show that the proposed method has higher accuracy and stronger robustness than the least square (LS) method in the identification of Hammerstein model with colored noise and impulse noise. The impact of impulse noise can be restrained effectively

Experimental quantum advantage with quantum coupon collector

An increasing number of communication and computational schemes with quantum advantages have recently been proposed, which implies that quantum technology has fertile application prospects. However, demonstrating these schemes experimentally continues to be a central challenge because of the difficulty in preparing high-dimensional states or highly entangled states. In this study, we introduce and analyse a quantum coupon collector protocol by employing coherent states and simple linear optical elements, which was successfully demonstrated using realistic experimental equipment. We showed that our protocol can significantly reduce the number of samples needed to learn a specific set compared with the classical limit of the coupon collector problem. We also discuss the potential values and expansions of the quantum coupon collector by constructing a quantum blind box game. The information transmitted by the proposed game also broke the classical limit. These results strongly prove the advantages of quantum mechanics in machine learning and communication complexity.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables, Accepted by Researc

Lnc RNA HOTAIR functions as a competing endogenous RNA to regulate HER2 expression by sponging miR-331-3p in gastric cancer

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence indicates that the long non-coding RNA HOTAIR plays a critical role in cancer progression and metastasis. However, the overall biological role and clinical significance of HOTAIR in gastric carcinogenesis remains largely unknown. METHODS: HOTAIR expression was measured in 78 paired cancerous and noncancerous tissue samples by real-time PCR. The effects of HOTAIR on gastric cancer cells were studied by overexpression and RNA interference approaches in vitro and in vivo. Insights of the mechanism of competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) were gained from bioinformatic analysis, luciferase assays and RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP). The positive HOTAIR/HER2 interaction was identified and verified by immunohistochemistry assay and bivariate correlation analysis. RESULTS: HOTAIR upregulation was associated with larger tumor size, advanced pathological stage and extensive metastasis, and also correlated with shorter overall survival of gastric cancer patients. Furthermore, HOTAIR overexpression promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of gastric carcinoma cells, while HOTAIR depletion inhibited both cell invasion and cell viability, and induced growth arrest in vitro and in vivo. In particular, HOTAIR may act as a ceRNA, effectively becoming a sink for miR-331-3p, thereby modulating the derepression of HER2 and imposing an additional level of post-transcriptional regulation. Finally, the positive HOTAIR/HER2 correlation was significantly associated with advanced gastric cancers. CONCLUSIONS: HOTAIR overexpression represents a biomarker of poor prognosis in gastric cancer, and may confer malignant phenotype to tumor cells. The ceRNA regulatory network involving HOTAIR and the positive interaction between HOTAIR and HER2 may contribute to a better understanding of gastric cancer pathogenesis and facilitate the development of lncRNA-directed diagnostics and therapeutics against this disease

AC-NP: A Novel Chimeric Peptide with Natriuretic and Vasorelaxing Actions

The aim of this study was to evaluate the cardiovascular and renal activities of a newly designed natriuretic peptide (NP). Here, we engineered a novel 28-amino acid chimeric peptide, termed AC-NP that combined the 17-amino acid ring of C type natriuretic peptide (CNP) with the 6-amino acid N-terminus and 5-amino acid C-terminus of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP). Both in vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to determine the actions of AC-NP. In normal rats, AC-NP proved to be more potentially diuretic, natriuretic and hypotensive compared with other NPs, such as ANP, CNP and vasonatrin peptide (VNP), which is another man-made NP. In relaxation of isolated abdominal aorta from rat, AC-NP was equally effective to ANP, CNP and VNP. Elevated levels of 3′,5′-guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) in plasma and urine cGMP excretion indicated the participation of cGMP in the functions of AC-NP. Taken together, innovative designed AD-NP might be a new candidate therapeutic peptide against cardiorenal disorders

Chinese Herbal Decoction Based on Syndrome Differentiation as Maintenance Therapy in Patients with Extensive-Stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer: An Exploratory and Small Prospective Cohort Study

Objective. To investigate the treatment effect and treatment length of Chinese herbal decoction (CHD) as maintenance therapy on patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) and to reflect the real syndrome differentiation (Bian Zheng) practices of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Patients and Methods. Different CHDs were prescribed for each patient based on syndrome differentiation. The length of CHD treatment was divided into two phases for analyzing progression-free survival (PFS) and postprogression survival (PPS). Results. Three hundred and fifty-seven CHDs were prescribed based on syndrome differentiation during the study period. Median PFS was significantly longer in patients who received CHD >3 months than patients who received CHD ≤3 months in the first phase (8.7 months versus 4.5 months; hazard ratio (HR), 0.52; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.41–0.99; P=0.0009). Median PPS was significantly longer in patients who received CHD >7 months than patients who received CHD ≤7 months in the second phase (11.7 months versus 5.1 months; HR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.90–2.74; P=0.002). Conclusion. CHD could improve PFS and PPS, which are closely related to treatment time and deepness of response of first-line therapy. In addition, CHD could improve body function and keep patients in a relatively stable state

Mendelian randomization suggests a causal relationship between gut dysbiosis and thyroid cancer

BackgroundAlterations in gut microbiota composition and function have been linked to the development and progression of thyroid cancer (TC). However, the exact nature of the causal relationship between them remains uncertain.MethodsA bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (TSMR) analysis was conducted to assess the causal connection between gut microbiota (18,340 individuals) and TC (6,699 cases combined with 1,613,655 controls) using data from a genome-wide association study (GWAS). The primary analysis used the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method to estimate the causal effect, with supplementary approaches including the weighted median, weighted mode, simple mode, and MR-Egger. Heterogeneity and pleiotropy were assessed using the Cochrane Q test, MR-Egger intercept test, and MR-PRESSO global test. A reverse TSMR analysis was performed to explore reverse causality.ResultsThis study identified seven microbial taxa with significant associations with TC. Specifically, the genus Butyrivibrio (OR: 1.127, 95% CI: 1.008-1.260, p = 0.036), Fusicatenibacter (OR: 1.313, 95% CI: 1.066-1.618, p = 0.011), Oscillospira (OR: 1.240, 95% CI: 1.001-1.536, p = 0.049), Ruminococcus2 (OR: 1.408, 95% CI: 1.158-1.711, p &lt; 0.001), Terrisporobacter (OR: 1.241, 95% CI: 1.018-1.513, p = 0.032) were identified as risk factors for TC, while The genus Olsenella (OR: 0.882, 95% CI: 0.787-0.989, p = 0.031) and Ruminococcaceae UCG004 (OR: 0.719, 95% CI: 0.566-0.914, p = 0.007) were associated with reduced TC risk. The reverse MR analysis found no evidence of reverse causality and suggested that TC may lead to increased levels of the genus Holdemanella (β: 0.053, 95% CI: 0.012~0.094, p = 0.011) and decreased levels of the order Bacillales (β: -0.075, 95% CI: -0.143~-0.006, p = 0.033). No significant bias, heterogeneity, or pleiotropy was detected in this study.ConclusionThis study suggests a potential causal relationship between gut microbiota and TC, providing new insights into the role of gut microbiota in TC. Further research is needed to explore the underlying biological mechanisms