Environmental benefits of electronic commerce over the conventional retail trade? A case study in Shenzhen, China.

Electronic commerce has been becoming the new driver of the retail industry. The large-scale expansion of electronic commerce with additional packaging certainly increases stress on the environment. However, a comparative analysis of environmental impacts of electronic commerce and conventional retail trade channels is unavailable.

Silencing Aurora-A with siRNA inhibits cell proliferation in human lung adenocarcinoma cells.

Aurora kinase A (AURKA) is an oncogenic serine/threonine kinase, it plays important roles in tumorigenesis and chemoresistance. In this study, we investigated the expression of AURKA in lung adenocarcinoma tissues, the role of small interference RNA targeting AURKA on growth, cell cycle, and apoptosis of lung adenocarcinoma cell lines in vitro. The AURKA is highly expressed in lung adenocarcinoma tissues and human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines.

Clinicopathological significance of Fas and Fas ligand expressions in esophageal cancer.

Esophageal carcinomas have recently been shown to express Fas ligand (FasL) and down-regulate Fas to escape from host immune surveillance. However, the prognostic importance of Fas/FasL and their correlation with clinicopathological characteristics are yet to be delineated in this highly malignant carcinoma. Specimens from 106 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients were used for immuno-histochemical evaluation of Fas, FasL, and CD8 expressions.

Suppression of Grb2 expression improved hepatic steatosis, oxidative stress, and apoptosis induced by palmitic acid in vitro partly through insulin signaling alteration.

In this study, we aimed to study the role of growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 (Grb2) in palmitic acid-induced steatosis and other "fatty liver" symptoms in vitro. HepG2 cells, with or without stably suppressed Grb2 expression, were incubated with palmitic acid for 24 h to induce typical clinical "fatty liver" features, including steatosis, impaired glucose metabolism, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. MTT and Oil Red O assays were applied to test cell viability and fat deposition, respectively.

Regulation of inflammatory response in human chondrocytes by lentiviral mediated RNA interference against S100A10.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of S100A10 silencing on the inflammatory response in human chondrocytes (HCs).The inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was investigated in HCs in which the S100A10 was blocked with a lentiviral shRNA vector.

Methods: A lentiviral shRNA vector targeting S100A10 was constructed and packaged to effectively block S100A10 expression in HCs.

Bif-1 is overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma and correlates with shortened patient survival.

Bax-interacting factor-1 (Bif-1) interacts with Beclin1 [the mammalian ortholog of yeast autophagy-related gene 6 (Atg6)] and affects the formation of autophagosomes during autophagy. The aim of this study was to explore Bif-1 expression and its prognostic significance in comparison with various clinicopathological predictors of survival. Bif-1 protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry in 206 hepatocellular carcinomas.

Protective effect of apocynin in an established alcoholic steatohepatitis rat model.

Apocynin is a widely used antioxidant in both basic and clinical research. The current study aimed to investigate the protective effect of apocynin in an established alcoholic steatohepatitis rat model. Healthy SD rats were gastrically fed with ethanol (4.

Tumor cell lysate-pulsed dendritic cells induce a T cell response against colon cancer in vitro and in vivo.

To investigate whether tumor cell lysate-pulsed (TP) dendritic cells (DCs) induce cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity against colon cancer in vitro and in vivo. Hematopoietic progenitor cells were magnetically isolated from BALB/c mice bone marrow cells. These cells were cultured with cytokines GM-CSF, IL-4, and TNFalpha to induce their maturation.

Nuclear protein IkappaB-zeta inhibits the activity of STAT3.

STAT3 (Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) is a key transcription factor of the JAK-STAT (Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription) pathway that regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis. Activation of STAT3 is under tight regulation, and yet the different signaling pathways and the mechanisms that regulate its activity remain to be elucidated. Using a yeast two-hybrid screening, we have identified a nuclear protein IkappaB-zeta that interacts in a novel way with STAT3.