A case-control study on risk factors of breast cancer in China

Introduction: To screen the risk factors associated with breast cancer among Chinese women in order to evaluate the individual risk of developing breast cancer among women in China. Material and methods: A case-control study on 416 breast cancer patients and 1156 matched controls was conducted in 14 hospitals in 8 provinces of China in 2008. Controls were age- and region-matched to the cases. Clinicians conducted in-person interviews with the subjects to collect information on demographics and suspected risk factors for breast cancer that are known worldwide. Conditional logistic regression was used to derive odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between risk factors and breast cancer. Results: Compared with matched controls, women with breast cancer were significantly more likely to have higher body mass index (BMI, OR = 4.07, 95% CI; 2.98-5.55), history of benign breast disease (BBD) biopsy (OR = 1.68, 95% CI; 1.19-2.38), older age of menarche (AOM) (OR = 1.41, 95% CI: 107-187), stress anticipation (SA), for grade 1-4, OR = 2.15, 95% CI; 1.26-3.66; for grade 5-9, OR = 3.48, 95% CI; 2.03-5.95) and menopause (OR = 2.22, 95% CI: 1.50-3.282) at the level of p < 0.05. Family history of breast cancer (FHBC) in first-degree relatives (OR = 1.66, 95% CI; 0.77-3.59) and use of oral contraceptives (OC) (OR = 1.59, 95% CI; 0.83-3.05) were associated with an increased risk of breast cancer at the level of p < 0.20. Conclusions: Our results showed that BMI, history of BBD biopsy, older AOM, SA and menopause were associated with increased risk of breast cancer among Chinese women. The findings derived from the study provided some suggestions for population-based prevention and control of breast cancer in China.Medicine, General & InternalSCI(E)15ARTICLE2303-309

Melatonin-related dysfunction in chronic restraint stress triggers sleep disorders in mice

Stress may trigger sleep disorders and are also risk factors for depression. The study explored the melatonin-related mechanisms of stress-associated sleep disorders on a mouse model of chronic stress by exploring the alteration in sleep architecture, melatonin, and related small molecule levels, transcription and expression of melatonin-related genes as well as proteins. Mice undergoing chronic restraint stress modeling for 28 days showed body weight loss and reduced locomotor activity. Sleep fragmentation, circadian rhythm disorders, and insomnia exhibited in CRS-treated mice formed sleep disorders. Tryptophan and 5-hydroxytryptamine levels were increased in the hypothalamus, while melatonin level was decreased. The transcription and expression of melatonin receptors were reduced, and circadian rhythm related genes were altered. Expression of downstream effectors to melatonin receptors was also affected. These results identified sleep disorders in a mice model of chronic stress. The alteration of melatonin-related pathways was shown to trigger sleep disorders

Wolfberry genomes and the evolution of Lycium (Solanaceae)

AbstractWolfberry Lycium, an economically important genus of the Solanaceae family, contains approximately 80 species and shows a fragmented distribution pattern among the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Although several herbaceous species of Solanaceae have been subjected to genome sequencing, thus far, no genome sequences of woody representatives have been available. Here, we sequenced the genomes of 13 perennial woody species of Lycium, with a focus on Lycium barbarum. Integration with other genomes provides clear evidence supporting a whole-genome triplication (WGT) event shared by all hitherto sequenced solanaceous plants, which occurred shortly after the divergence of Solanaceae and Convolvulaceae. We identified new gene families and gene family expansions and contractions that first appeared in Solanaceae. Based on the identification of self-incompatibility related-gene families, we inferred that hybridization hotspots are enriched for genes that might be functioning in gametophytic self-incompatibility pathways in wolfberry. Extremely low expression of LOCULE NUBER (LC) and COLORLESS NON-RIPENING (CNR) orthologous genes during Lycium fruit development and ripening processes suggests functional diversification of these two genes between Lycium and tomato. The existence of additional flowering locus C-like MADS-box genes might correlate with the perennial flowering cycle of Lycium. Differential gene expression involved in the lignin biosynthetic pathway between Lycium and tomato likely illustrates woody and herbaceous differentiation. We also provide evidence that Lycium migrated from Africa into Asia, and subsequently from Asia into North America. Our results provide functional insights into Solanaceae origins, evolution and diversification.</jats:p

Biodegradable Thermosensitive Hydrogel for SAHA and DDP Delivery: Therapeutic Effects on Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Xenografts

Background: OSCC is one of the most common malignancies and numerous clinical agents currently applied in combinative chemotherapy. Here we reported a novel therapeutic strategy, SAHA and DDP-loaded PECE (SAHA-DDP/PECE), can improve the therapeutic effects of intratumorally chemotherapy on OSCC cell xenografts. Objective/Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the SAHA-DDP/PECE in situ controlled drug delivery system on OSCC cell xenografts. Methods: A biodegradable and thermosensitive hydrogel was successfully developed to load SAHA and DDP. Tumorbeared mice were intratumorally administered with SAHA-DDP/PECE at 50 mg/kg (SAHA) +2 mg/kg (DDP) in 100 ul PECE hydrogel every two weeks, SAHA-DDP at 50 mg/kg(SAHA) +2 mg/kg(DDP) in NS, 2 mg/kg DDP solution, 50 mg/kg SAHA solution, equal volume of PECE hydrogel, or equal volume of NS on the same schedule, respectively. The antineoplastic actions of SAHA and DDP alone and in combination were evaluated using the determination of tumor volume, immunohistochemistry, western blot, and TUNEL analysis. Results: The hydrogel system was a free-flowing sol at 10uC, become gel at body temperature, and could sustain more than 14 days in situ. SAHA-DDP/PECE was subsequently injected into tumor OSCC tumor-beared mice. The results demonstrated that such a strategy as this allows the carrier system to show a sustained release of SAHA and DDP in vivo, and coul

Search for the decay J/ψ→γ+invisibleJ/\psi\to\gamma + \rm {invisible}

We search for $J/\psi$ radiative decays into a weakly interacting neutral particle, namely an invisible particle, using the $J/\psi$ produced through the process $\psi(3686)\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi$ in a data sample of $(448.1\pm2.9)\times 10^6$ $\psi(3686)$ decays collected by the BESIII detector at BEPCII. No significant signal is observed. Using a modified frequentist method, upper limits on the branching fractions are set under different assumptions of invisible particle masses up to 1.2 $\mathrm{\ Ge\kern -0.1em V}/c^2$. The upper limit corresponding to an invisible particle with zero mass is 7.0$\times 10^{-7}$ at the 90\% confidence level

Ni-based bimetallic heterogeneous catalysts for energy and environmental applications

Bimetallic catalysts have attracted extensive attention for a wide range of applications in energy production and environmental remediation due to their tunable chemical/physical properties. These properties are mainly governed by a number of parameters such as compositions of the bimetallic systems, their preparation method, and their morphostructure. In this regard, numerous efforts have been made to develop “designer” bimetallic catalysts with specific nanostructures and surface properties as a result of recent advances in the area of materials chemistry. The present review highlights a detailed overview of the development of nickel-based bimetallic catalysts for energy and environmental applications. Starting from a materials science perspective in order to obtain controlled morphologies and surface properties, with a focus on the fundamental understanding of these bimetallic systems to make a correlation with their catalytic behaviors, a detailed account is provided on the utilization of these systems in the catalytic reactions related to energy production and environmental remediation. We include the entire library of nickel-based bimetallic catalysts for both chemical and electrochemical processes such as catalytic reforming, dehydrogenation, hydrogenation, electrocatalysis and many other reactions