Quantification of ectopic fat storage in the liver and pancreas using six-point Dixon MRI and its association with insulin sensitivity and β-cell function in patients with central obesity.

Objectives: To assess the association of ectopic fat deposition in the liver and pancreas quantified by Dixon magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with insulin sensitivity and β-cell function in patients with central obesity.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional study of 143 patients with central obesity with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), prediabetes (PreD), and untreated type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was conducted between December 2019 and March 2022. All participants underwent routine medical history taking, anthropometric measurements, and laboratory tests, including a standard glucose tolerance test to quantify insulin sensitivity and β-cell function.

Overexpression of Ubiquilin4 is associated with poor prognosis in patients with cervical cancer.

Background: Ubiquilins (UBQLNs) are important factors for cell proteostasis maintenance. UBQLNs are involved in the modulation of the cell cycle, as well as in apoptosis, membrane receptors regulation, DNA repair, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and miRNA activities. They also affect the selection of double-strand break repair pathways.

Aerobic denitrification performance and nitrate removal pathway analysis of a novel fungus Fusarium solani RADF-77.

Increasing nitrogenous contaminants have caused immense challenges to the environment and human health. As compared to physical and chemical methods, biological denitrification is considered to be an effective solution due to its environmental friendliness, high efficiency, and low cost. In the present work, a novel fungal strain identified as Fusarium solani (RADF-77) was isolated from cellulose material-supported denitrification reactor; this strain is capable of removing nitrogen under aerobic conditions.

Skin Biophysical Parameters and Patch Test Results in People Predisposing to Xiaotong Tiegao Induced Irritant Contact Dermatitis.

Background: Xiaotong Tiegao (XTT) is an ancient topical Tibetan medicine plaster which is widely used in China. Irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) caused by XTT is very common. It is still unclear why some people are more prone to develop ICD.

A HD-ZIP II HOMEBOX transcription factor, PpHB.G7, mediates ethylene biosynthesis during fruit ripening in peach.

Homeobox transcription factors belong to a superfamily that has been widely studied in plant growth and development, but little is known regarding their role in fruit development and ripening. Using a genome-wide expression analysis of homeobox (HB) genes and quantitative real-time PCR, a HD-ZIP II member, PpHB.G7, which presented higher levels of expression in ripening fruits than in developing fruits in all of the tested cultivars, was isolated from peach.

Evaluation of changes in skin biophysical parameters and appearance after pneumatic injections of non-cross-linked hyaluronic acid in the face.

Background: Pneumatic injections of non-cross-linked hyaluronic acid are effective in skin rejuvenation, however, the associated biophysical parameters and appearance have not been evaluated.

Objectives: To determine the changes in skin biophysical parameters after facial pneumatic injections of non-cross-linked hyaluronic acid.

Patients And Methods: Twenty-eight healthy female volunteers received pneumatic injections of non-cross-linked hyaluronic acid into the face for consecutive 5 weeks.

Transcriptome analysis unravels an ethylene response factor involved in regulating fruit ripening in pear.

Ethylene response factor (ERF) has been widely studied in regulating fruit ripening in tomato, apple, banana and kiwifruit, but little is known in pear. In this study 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) treatment, an inhibitor of ethylene perception, was conducted at approximately 30 days before harvest to delay fruit ripening in a climacteric white pear cultivar Yali. Transcriptome libraries were constructed and sequenced in pre-ripening, ripening, and 1-MCP treated fruits.

Survey of Occupational Allergic Contact Dermatitis and Patch Test among Clothing Employees in Beijing.

Occupational population-based epidemiological data relating to occupational contact allergies in the Chinese clothing industry are limited. To investigate the prevalence of occupational allergic contact dermatitis (OACD) and to identify the causative allergens among clothing employees in China, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 529 clothing employees at 12 clothing factories in Beijing. All employees were subjected to an interview using self-administered questionnaire and skin examination, and those who were diagnosed with occupational contact dermatitis (OCD) were patch tested.

mTOR regulate EMT through RhoA and Rac1 pathway in prostate cancer.

Recently, an increasing number of studies have suggested that mTOR plays a critical role in the regulation of tumor cell motility, invasion and cancer metastasis. However, little is known about the signaling mechanisms in regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of prostate cancer. In this study, we found that the expression levels of Raptor and Rictor in prostate cancer tissues were elevated, which may suggest that Raptor and Rictor signaling pathways are associated with prostate cancer progression and metastasis.

[Combination of acupoints based on the theory of qi tonification, blood regulation and strengthening the primary source].

The acupuncture technique of tonifying qi, regulating blood and strengthening the primary source of human life is established on the base of the new pathology of dementia due to dysfunction of sanjiao by Prof. HAN Jing-xian. It is held that Tanzhong (CV 17), Zhongwan (CV 12), Qihai (CV 6), Xuehai (SP 10), Zusanli(ST 36) and Waiguan (TE 5) were the basic points for treatment of dementia.

Resveratrol induces apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells.

Background: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal human cancers with a very low survival rate of 5 years. Conventional cancer treatments including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or combinations of these show little effect on this disease. Several proteins have been proved critical to the development and the progression of pancreatic cancer.

Identification of pathways involved in paclitaxel activity in cervical cancer.

Paclitaxel is one of the key chemotherapeutic drugs widely used to treat various types of cancer. Many cervical cancer patients exhibit selectivity in response to thereapy, however, which is considered to be correlated with drug-gene-pathways. The aim of this study was to identify pathways involved in paclitaxel activity in cervical cancer.

DNA methylation and carcinogenesis of PRDM5 in cervical cancer.

Objective: PR (PRDI-BF1 and RIZ) domain proteins (PRDM) are a subfamily of the kruppel-like zinc finger gene products and play key roles during cell differentiation and malignant transformation. PRDM5 (PR domain containing 5 PFM2) is a new PR-domain-containing gene. The purpose of the present study was to examine the expression of PRDM5 and evaluate its carcinogenesis in cervical cancer.

[Application of ATP based bioluminescence tumor chemosensitivity assay in the chemotherapy of pediatric solid tumor].

Objective: To explore the clinical significance of ATP based bioluminescence in vitro tumor chemosensitivity assay (ATP-TCA) in the chemotherapy of pediatric solid tumor.

Methods: The cell culture technique and ATP-TCA were used to study chemosensitivity assay in specimens from 50 cases who underwent resection surgery for solid tumor (15 malignant neurogenic tumor, 8 malignant germ cell tumors, 10 Wilms' tumors, 10 hepatoblastomas, 6 rhabdomyosarcomas, 1 adrenocortical carcinoma), 8 chemotherapeutic drugs and 8 drug combination schedules were applied in every specimen.

Results: (1) Specimens of 46 of 50 pediatric patients with solid tumors were suitable for evaluation and were evaluated, the overall evaluation rate was 92% (46/50).

Age-related decrease in constructive activation of Akt/PKB in SAMP10 hippocampus.

Aging is the greatest risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Age-dependent alterations of cell signaling play an important role in the onset of AD. The serine/threonine kinase Akt is a critical cell signaling to neuronal survival.

[Studies on chemical constituents from Rhizoma Heterosmilacis Japonicae].

Six compounds were isolated from Rhizoma Heterosmilacis Japonicae. They were identified as beta-sitosterol (I) dau-costerol (II),3,3',5,5'-tetrahydroxy-4'-methoxystilbene (III), naringenin (IV), alpha-L-butylsorbopyranoside (V) and macrozamin (VI). The compounds III, IV, V and VI were isolated from this genus for the first time.

[Exploration on the increased sensitivity to docetaxel and reversing mechanism of drug resistance of antisense survivin RNA in gastric cancer cell line SGC7901 cells].

Objective: To explore the effects of survivin antisense RNA on apoptosis and chemosensitivity to docetaxel in gastric cancer line SGC7901 cells, and its relation to mdr-1.

Methods: survivin antisense eukaryotic vector anti-pcDNA3-svv was transfected into SGC7901 cells by electorporation and positive clone was screened out. survivin protein and mdr-1 mRNA were determined by Western blot and RT-PCR.

Spatial memory performance and hippocampal neuron number in osteoporotic SAMP6 mice.

The senescence-accelerated mouse strain P6 (SAMP6) is an inbred mouse that represents a clinically relevant model of senile osteoporosis. However, whether osteoporotic SAMP6 mice have cognitive deficits remains largely unexplored. Here, we used Morris water maze to assess reference memory and working memory performance in SAMP6 mice and SAMR1 controls, at 4 and 8 months of age.