Soundscape Evaluation Outside a Taoist Temple: A Case Study of Laojundong Temple in Chongqing, China

The unique architectural form and religious background of Taoist buildings can lead to a special acoustic environment, but there is a lack of research on the soundscape evaluation of Taoist buildings. Laojundong Taoist Temple was selected as the research site. The psychological and physiological responses of Taoist priests and ordinary people, and strategies for soundscape renovation were investigated by conducting field measurements, interviews, soundwalks, and audio–visual experiments. There was significant negative linear regression between the LAeq,5min and soundscape comfort (p < 0.01). The visual landscape comfort of ordinary people was notably correlated with landscape diversity (p < 0.01), whereas their soundscape comfort was markedly correlated with the degree of natural soundscape and audio–visual harmony (p < 0.01). The soundscape evaluation by Taoist priests was affected by their belief, activity types, social factors, and spatial positions. With the increasing proportion of the natural elements in the visual landscape in the temple, the acoustic comfort of Taoist priests and ordinary people significantly increased with the addition of bird sounds (p < 0.01). However, with the increasing proportion of Taoist scenes, Taoist music only significantly improved the acoustic comfort and heart rate of ordinary people (p < 0.01)

miR-638 is a new biomarker for outcome prediction of non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs, mediate gene expression by either cleaving target mRNAs or inhibiting their translation. They have key roles in the tumorigenesis of several cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of miR-638 in the evaluation of NSCLC patient prognosis in response to chemotherapy. First, we detected miR-638 expression levels in vitro in the culture supernatants of the NSCLC cell line SPC-A1 treated with cisplatin, as well as the apoptosis rates of SPC-A1. Second, serum miR-638 expression levels were detected in vivo by using nude mice xenograft models bearing SPC-A1 with and without cisplatin treatment. In the clinic, the serum miR-638 levels of 200 cases of NSCLC patients before and after chemotherapy were determined by quantitative real-time PCR, and the associations of clinicopathological features with miR-638 expression patterns after chemotherapy were analyzed. Our data helped in demonstrating that cisplatin induced apoptosis of the SPC-A1 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner accompanied by increased miR-638 expression levels in the culture supernatants. In vivo data further revealed that cisplatin induced miR-638 upregulation in the serum derived from mice xenograft models, and in NSCLC patient sera, miR-638 expression patterns after chemotherapy significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis. Moreover, survival analyses revealed that patients who had increased miR-638 levels after chemotherapy showed significantly longer survival time than those who had decreased miR-638 levels. Our findings suggest that serum miR-638 levels are associated with the survival of NSCLC patients and may be considered a potential independent predictor for NSCLC prognosis

Impact of the Number of Dissected Lymph Nodes on Survival for Gastric Cancer after Distal Subtotal Gastrectomy

Objectives. To investigate the prognostic impact of the number of dissected lymph nodes (LNs) in gastric cancer after curative distal gastrectomy. Methods. The survival of 634 patients who underwent curative distal gastrectomy from 1995 to 2004 was retrieved. Long-term surgical outcomes and associations between the number of dissected LNs and the 5-year survival rate were investigated. Results. The number of dissected LNs was one of the most important prognostic indicators. Among patients with comparable T category, the larger the number of dissected LNs was, the better the survival would be (P < 0.05). The linear regression showed that a significant survival improvement based on increasing retrieved LNs for stage II, III and IV (P < 0.05). A cut-point analysis yields the greatest variance of survival rate difference at the levels of 15 LNs (stage I), 25 LNs (stage II) and 30 LNs (stage III). Conclusion. The number of dissected LNs is an independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer. To improve the long-term survival of patients with gastric cancer, removing at least 15 LNs for stage I, 25 LNs for stage II, and 30 LNs for stage III patients during curative distal gastrectomy is recommended

Development of a thiophene derivative modified LDH coating for Mg alloy corrosion protection.

A new thiophene derivative corrosion inhibitor (CI) was developed to functionalize the layered double hydroxide (LDH) primer on Mg alloy to enhance corrosion protection. Compared with bare LDH coating, the composite coatings consisting of a MgAl-LDH primer and an outer CI layer showed highly compact surface structures without large pores and gaps, thereby indicating the enhanced capability to resist the penetration of corrosive species. Electrochemical tests revealed that the MgAl-LDH film modified with the newly synthesized CI exhibited higher charge transfer resistance and lower corrosion current density than films modified with commercial CIs. The highest enhancement in corrosion resistance was linked to the film's ability to repair physical damage by forming precipitates through chemical complexation and adsorption of the CIs. These findings open up new opportunities for the design and synthesis of a thiophene-contained inhibitor to modify LDH films and to obtain a composite coating with superior corrosion protection

Current Status of Indocyanine Green Tracer-Guided Lymph Node Dissection in Minimally Invasive Surgery for Gastric Cancer

With the rapid development and popularization of laparoscopic and robotic radical gastrectomy, gastric cancer surgery has gradually entered a new era of precise minimally invasive surgery. The era of precision medicine has put forth new requirements for minimally invasive surgical treatment of patients with gastric cancer at different disease stages. For patients with early gastric cancer, avoiding surgical trauma caused by excessive lymph node dissection improves quality of life while pursuing radical treatment of the tumor. In patients with advanced gastric cancer, systematic lymph node dissection can be achieved without increasing surgical complications. With the successful application of indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging technology in minimally invasive surgical instrumentation in recent years, researchers have found that ICG fluorescence imaging yields good tissue penetration and can identify lymph nodes in fat tissue better than other dyes. Therefore, whether ICG fluorescence imaging technology can guide surgeons in performing safe and effective lymph node dissection has attracted much attention. The present review discusses the clinical applications and research progress of ICG tracer-guided lymph node dissection in patients with gastric cancer

PLOD1 contributes to proliferation and glycolysis in hepatocellular carcinoma by regulating E2F1

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of procollagen-lysine 1,2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase 1 (PLOD1) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: HCC cells were subjected to loss of function assays via transfection with siRNA targeting PLOD1. Colony formation and cell counting kit 8 (CCK8) were used to determine cell proliferation. Cell cycle was evaluated by flow cytometry while extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) levels, glucose consumption, and lactate production were determined to investigate aerobic glycolysis. Results: PLOD1 was significantly up-regulated in HCC tissues and cells compared to normal tissues and cells (p &lt; 0.001). Silencing of PLOD1 significantly repressed cell proliferation (p &lt; 0.001) and induced cell cycle arrest in HCC at the G1 phase. ECAR levels, glucose consumption, and lactate production in HCC were reduced by knockdown of PLOD1. Loss of PLOD1 down-regulated the expression of E2F1, while over-expression of E2F1 attenuated PLOD1 knockdown-induced decreases in cell viability, glucose consumption, and lactate production in HCC. Conclusion: Knockdown of PLOD1 inhibits cell proliferation and aerobic glycolysis in HCC via down-regulation of E2F1. Thus, PLOD1 may help in developing an effective strategy for the management of liver cancer