Clinicopathological significance of SOX4 expression in primary gallbladder carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>SOX4, as a member of the SRY-related HMG-box (SOX) transcription factor family, has been demonstrated to be involved in tumorigenesis of many human malignancies; however, its role in primary gallbladder carcinoma (PGC) is still largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate SOX4 expression in PGC and its prognostic significance.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>From 1997 to 2006, 136 patients underwent resection for PGC. The median follow-up was 12.8 months. Immunostainings for SOX4 were performed on these archival tissues. The correlation of SOX4 expression with clinicopathological features including survival was analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SOX4 was expressed in 75.0% (102/136) of PGC but not in the normal epithelium of the gallbladder. In addition, the over-expression of SOX4 was significantly associated with low histologic grade (<it>P </it>= 0.02), low pathologic T stage (<it>P </it>= 0.02), and early clinical stage (<it>P </it>= 0.03). The levels of SOX4 immunostainings in PGC tissues with positive nodal metastasis were also significantly lower than those without (<it>P </it>= 0.01). Moreover, Kaplan-Meier curves showed that SOX4 over-expression was significantly related to better overall (<it>P </it>= 0.008) and disease-free survival (<it>P </it>= 0.01). Furthermore, multivariate analyses showed that SOX4 expression was an independent risk factor for both overall (<it>P </it>= 0.03, hazard ratio, 3.682) and disease-free survival (<it>P </it>= 0.04, hazard ratio, 2.215).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data indicate for the first time that the over-expression of SOX4 in PGC was significantly correlated with favorable clinicopathologic features and was an independent prognostic factor for better overall and disease-free survival in patients. Therefore, SOX4 might be an auxiliary parameter for predicting malignant behavior for PGC.</p> <p>Virtual slides</p> <p>The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: <url>http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1534825818694957</url>.</p

Application of Multiple Approaches to Investigate the Hydrochemistry Evolution of Groundwater in an Arid Region: Nomhon, Northwestern China

Groundwater is a critical water resource for human survival and economic development in arid and semi-arid areas. It is crucial to understand the groundwater circulation and hydrochemical evolution for sustainable management and utilization of groundwater resources in those areas. To this end, an investigation of the hydrochemical characteristics of surface water and groundwater was conducted in Nomhon, an arid area located in the Qaidam Basin, northwest China, by using hydrochemical (major and trace elements) and stable isotopes (&#948;D and &#948;18O) approaches. Stable isotopes and ion ratios were analyzed to determine the recharge sources, hydrochemistry characteristics, and major hydrogeochemical processes. Meanwhile, inverse geochemistry modeling was applied to quantitatively determine the mass transfer of hydrogeochemical processes. The results showed that groundwater in the study area is mainly recharged by atmospheric precipitation in mountainous areas, and the groundwater in the center of basin might originate from ancient water in cold and humid environments. Along the groundwater flow path, the TDS of groundwater increased gradually from fresh to salty (ranging from 462.50 to 19,604.40 mg/L), and the hydrochemical type changed from Cl&#183;HCO3&#8315;Na&#183;Mg&#183;Ca to Cl&#8315;Na. Groundwater chemical composition and mass balance modeling results indicated that from alluvial fan to lacustrine plain, the main hydrogeochemical processes changed from the dissolution of halite and albite and the precipitation of dolomite and kaolinite to the dissolution of halite and gypsum, precipitation of calcite, redox (SO42&#8722; reduction), and cation exchange. This study would be helpful for water resources management in this area and other similar areas