Genetic polymorphisms in plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 predict susceptibility to steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head in Chinese population

BACKGROUND: Steroid usage has been considered as a leading cause of non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH), which is involved in hypo-fibrinolysis and blood supply interruption. Genetic polymorphisms in plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) have been demonstrated to be associated with ONFH risk in several populations. However, this relationship has not been established in Chinese population. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of PAI-1 gene polymorphisms with steroid-induced ONFH in a large cohort of Chinese population. METHODS: A case–control study was conducted, which included 94 and 106 unrelated patients after steroid administration recruited from 14 provinces in China, respectively. Two SNPs (rs11178 and rs2227631) within PAI-1 were genotyped using Sequenom MassARRAY system. RESULTS: rs2227631 SNP was significantly associated with steroid-induced ONFH group in codominant (P = 0.04) and recessive (P = 0.02) models. However, there were no differences found in genotype frequencies of rs11178 SNP between controls and patients with steroid-induced ONFH (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our data offer the convincing evidence for the first time that rs2227631 SNP of PAI-1 may be associated with the risk of steroid-induced ONFH, suggesting that the genetic variations of this gene may play an important role in the disease development. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1569909986109783

Label-Free Fluorescent Determination of Sunset Yellow in Soft Drinks Based on an Indicator-Displacement Assay

This work reported a fluorescence sensing platform for Sunset Yellow (SY) determination based on competitive host-guest interaction between cucurbit[7]uril (CB7) and signal probe/target molecules. Luteolin/epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and SY were selected as the probe and target molecules, respectively. When luteolin or EGCG entered the CB7 host, its fluorescence significantly improved. However, upon the presence of SY in the performed luteolin·CB7 or EGCG·CB7 complex, this led to a remarkable decrease in fluorescence. This result was due to the fact that the binding constant of CB7/SY (4.9×104 M−1) was greater than that of CB7/luteolin (3.2×103 M−1) or CB7/EGCG (4.8×103 M−1). The fluorescence intensities of CB7/luteolin and CB7/EGCG complexes decreased linearly with increased SY concentration ranges of 0.5–50.0 and 2.0–50.0 μM. The proposed method had detection limits of 0.12 and 0.45 μM and was successfully used to determine SY samples with good recoveries ranging from 96.3% to 103.8%. This competitive mode provided a promising fluorescence assay strategy for potential applications in food safety

Highly thermostable mixed lanthanide organic frameworks with high quantum yield for warm white light-emitting diodes

A mixed lanthanide organic framework was prepared via hydrothermal methods using m-phthalic acid (m-H2BDC), 1,10-phenanthroline (1,10-Phen), and Ln3+ ions, formulated as [HNMe2][Eu0.095Tb1.905(m-BDC)3(phen)2] (ZTU-6). The structure and stability of ZTU-6 were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), which revealed a three-dimensional pcu topology with high thermal stability. Fluorescence tests showed that ZTU-6 emitted orange light with a high quantum yield of 79.15%, and it can be effectively encapsulated in a light-emitting diode (LED) device emitting orange light. In addition, ZTU-6 was found to be compatible with BaMgAl10O17:Eu2+ (BAM) blue powder and [(Sr,Ba)2SiO4:Eu2+] silicate yellow and green powder to create a warm white LED with a high colour rendering index (CRI) of 93.4, a correlated colour temperature (CCT) of 3908 K, and CIE coordinates of (0.38, 036)

Learning in Hybrid-Project Systems: The Effects of Project Performance on Repeated Collaboration

This study advances contingency theories of performance-outcome learning in hybrid-project systems, in which both project participants and superordinate organizations influence the formation of project ventures. We propose that performance-outcome learning depends on the perceived relevance of prior performance and on organizational control over project participants. We examine this framework using data on 239 U.S. movie projects from the years 1931-40. In keeping with our theory, higher project performance led to future collaborations with the same partners, contingent on prior collaborations, project similarity, and organizational control. Our findings imply distinct patterns of network evolution and unfolding adaptation of hybrid-project systems through slow-moving, local adjustments

Small RNA AvrA Regulates IscR to Increase the Stress Tolerances in SmpB Deficiency of Aeromonas veronii

The superbacteria Aeromonas veronii displays not only a strong pathogenicity but also the resistance to nine kinds of antibiotics, resulting in the economic losses and health hazards. Small Protein B (SmpB) plays an important role in protein quality control, virulence, and stress reactions. Transcriptomic data revealed that expressions of the type IV pilus assembly and type VI secretion system (T6SS) proteins were downregulated in SmpB deficiency, indicating that the virulence of A. veronii might be attenuated. Although SmpB deletion decreased colonization in the mouse spleen and liver, LD50 of the smpB mutant was not altered as expected, compared with the wild type. Further, the transcriptomic and quantitative RT-PCR analyses showed that the combination of the downregulated AvrA and the upregulated iron-sulfur protein activator IscR, mediated the oxidative tolerance in smpB deletion. Next a reporter plasmid was constructed in which the promoter of iscR was applied to control the expression of the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) gene. When the reporter plasmid was co-expressed with the AvrA expression into E. coli, the relative fluorescence intensity was decreased significantly, suggesting that AvrA bound to iscR mRNA by base pairing, which in turn relieved the inhibition of iscR and intensified the downstream iron-sulfur proteins. Collectively, the smpB mutant exhibited an attenuated virulence in mice and enhanced tolerances to oxidative stress. This study demonstrates the complexity of gene regulation networks mediated by sRNA in systems biology, and also reflects the strong adaptability of superbacteria A. veronii in the process of evolution

AKTIVITAS ANTIOKSIDAN SEDIAAN NANOPARTIKEL KITOSAN EKSTRAK ETANOL KELOPAK ROSELA (Hibiscus sabdariffa L) PADA TIKUS HIPERKOLESTEROL : PENGUKURAN KADAR MALONDIALDEHID (MDA)

Hypercholesterolemia can induce oxidative stress and are associated with atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular disorders. Administration of a preparation of chitosan nanoparticles roselle extract (NKER) can prevent oxidative stress because it contains flavonoids which have an effect as an antioxidant anthocyanin. Decreased oxidative stress can be determined by measuring the levels of malondealdehid (MDA) produced by the reaction of lipid peroxidation. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of administration of a preparation of chitosan nanoparticles roselle calyx ethanol extract of antioxidant activity by measuring the levels of MDA. This study used 25 adult rats of Sprague Dawley strain were divided into 5 groups. The first group was given a standard feed diet as baseline, group II was induced with pure cholesterol. Group III, IV and V induced pure cholesterol as well as the dosage given NKER with successive doses of 25 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/KgBB. The treatment was done for 30 days. On day - 31 each rat blood taken for measurement of total cholesterol, as well as the measurement of MDA using thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS). The results showed an increase in levels of MDA in mice induced pure cholesterol (group II) with a mean concentration of 7.13 ± 0.22 nmol / ml significantly different to the baseline with a mean concentration of 0.87 ± 0.77 nmol / ml (p≤0,05). The mean levels of MDA in group III, IV and V respectively was 5.49 ± 0.18 nmol / ml; 4.18 ± 0.37 nmol / ml; and 2.18 ± 0.15 nmol / ml,significantly different when compared with the baseline group and the group II (p≤0,05). Decreased levels of MDA in mice given dosage NKER hypercholesterolemia showed that nker preparations have antioxidant activity, which is owned by the highest antioxidant activity NKER dosage dose 100mg/KgBB. Keywords : Antioxidant, Nanoparticles, Roselle, malondialdehyd

Effect of external beam radiation therapy versus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for non-diffuse hepatocellular carcinoma (≥ 5 cm): a multicenter experience over a ten-year period

BackgroundThe optimal local treatment for HCC with tumor diameter ≥ 5 cm is not well established. This research evaluated the effectiveness of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) versus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for HCC with tumor diameter ≥ 5 cm.MethodsA total of 1210 HCC patients were enrolled in this study, including 302 and 908 patients that received EBRT and TACE, respectively. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to identify patient pairs with similar baseline characteristics. Overall survival (OS) was the primary study endpoint.ResultsWe identified 428 patients using 1:1 PSM for survival comparison. Compared with the TACE group, the EBRT group had a significantly longer median OS (mOS) before (14.9 vs. 12.3 months, p = 0.0085) and after (16.8 vs. 11.4 months, p = 0.0026) matching. In the subgroup analysis, compared with the TACE group, the EBRT group had a significantly longer mOS for HCC with tumor diameters of 5-7 cm (34.1 vs. 14.3 months, p = 0.04) and 7-10 cm (34.4 vs. 10 months, p = 0.00065), whereas for HCC with tumor diameters ≥ 10 cm, no significant difference in mOS was observed (11.2 vs. 11.2 months, p = 0.83). In addition, the multivariable Cox analysis showed that Child-A, alkaline phosphatase < 125 U/L, and EBRT were independent prognostic indicators for longer survival.ConclusionEBRT is more effective than TACE as the primary local treatment for HCC with tumor diameter ≥ 5 cm, especially for HCC with tumor diameter of 5-10 cm

A Systems Biology-Based Classifier for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Diagnosis

AIM: The diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the early stage is crucial to the application of curative treatments which are the only hope for increasing the life expectancy of patients. Recently, several large-scale studies have shed light on this problem through analysis of gene expression profiles to identify markers correlated with HCC progression. However, those marker sets shared few genes in common and were poorly validated using independent data. Therefore, we developed a systems biology based classifier by combining the differential gene expression with topological features of human protein interaction networks to enhance the ability of HCC diagnosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: In the Oncomine platform, genes differentially expressed in HCC tissues relative to their corresponding normal tissues were filtered by a corrected Q value cut-off and Concept filters. The identified genes that are common to different microarray datasets were chosen as the candidate markers. Then, their networks were analyzed by GeneGO Meta-Core software and the hub genes were chosen. After that, an HCC diagnostic classifier was constructed by Partial Least Squares modeling based on the microarray gene expression data of the hub genes. Validations of diagnostic performance showed that this classifier had high predictive accuracy (85.88∼92.71%) and area under ROC curve (approximating 1.0), and that the network topological features integrated into this classifier contribute greatly to improving the predictive performance. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that this modeling strategy is not only applicable to HCC, but also to other cancers. CONCLUSION: Our analysis suggests that the systems biology-based classifier that combines the differential gene expression and topological features of human protein interaction network may enhance the diagnostic performance of HCC classifier