[Clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of 11 patients with renal mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma].

Objective: To explore the clinicopathological features, treatment and prognosis of renal mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma (MTSCC).

Methods: The clinicopathological data of eleven patients of pathologically confirmed renal MTSCC were reviewed retrospectively. Among the 11 patients, there were 4 males and 7 females with a mean age of 51.

MCP-1 stimulates spinal microglia via PI3K/Akt pathway in bone cancer pain.

Accumulating evidence suggests that chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is significantly involved in the activation of spinal microglia associated with pathological pain, at the same time that the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Protein Kinase B (PI3K/Akt) pathway localized in spinal microglia is involved in both neuropathic and inflammatory pain. However, whether there is a connection between MCP-1 and the PI3K/Akt pathway and in their underlying mechanisms in bone cancer pain (BCP) has not yet been elucidated. In the current study, we investigated the expression changes of p-Akt in microglia and OX-42 (microglia marker) after being stimulated with MCP-1 in vitro, as well as in a BCP model that was established by an intramedullary injection of mammary gland carcinoma cells(Walker 256 cells) into the tibia of rats.

A Unified Semi-Supervised Community Detection Framework Using Latent Space Graph Regularization.

Community structure is one of the most important properties of complex networks and is a foundational concept in exploring and understanding networks. In real world, topology information alone is often inadequate to accurately find community structure due to its sparsity and noises. However, potential useful prior information can be obtained from domain knowledge in many applications.

Procedure used for denuding pig oocytes influences oocyte damage, and development of in vitro and nuclear transfer embryos.

The effects of different denuding procedures used during the in vitro culture of porcine embryos on oocyte damage and aspects of porcine embryo development were investigated in a series of studies. Oocytes were denuded by vortexing or pipetting after 44h in vitro maturation (IVM) or pre-denuded after 22h IVM. The total oocyte death rate was significantly (P<0.

Catalpol Inhibited the Proliferation of T24 Human Bladder Cancer Cells by Inducing Apoptosis Through the Blockade of Akt-Mediated Anti-apoptotic Signaling.

Catalpol is an iridoid glucoside extracted from the traditional Chinese medicinal plant called Rehmannia glutinosa, and it is reported to possess a variety of pharmacological activities. The goal of this research was to explore the effect of catalpol on the human bladder cancer cells T24. The cells were treated for different durations with various concentrations of catalpol.

Novel genipin-collagen immobilization of polylactic acid (PLA) fibers for use as tissue engineering scaffolds.

The material surface plays an important role in the case of biomaterials used as tissue engineering scaffolds. On exposure to a biological environment, extra cellular matrix (ECM) proteins are adsorbed non-specifically onto the surface and cells interact indirectly with the surface through the adsorbed proteins. Most synthetic polymeric biomaterials lack the desirable surface properties for cells as well as have poor cellular adhesion due to their hydrophobic nature.

Prevalence of and risk factors for pterygia in a rural Northern Chinese population.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of and associated risk factors for pterygia development in a high-latitude-dwelling Northern Chinese population.

Methods: A prospective population-based survey was conducted between November 2008 and July 2009. A stratified, clustered, randomized sampling procedure was used to select 8445 subjects, aged ≥18 years, all with diagnosed, graded pterygia.

Alcohol consumption and visual impairment in a rural Northern Chinese population.

Purpose: To investigate alcohol drinking status and the association between drinking patterns and visual impairment in an adult population in northern China.

Methods: Cluster sampling was used to select samples. The protocol consisted of an interview, pilot study, visual acuity (VA) testing and a clinical examination.

Bio-inspired synthetic nanovesicles for glucose-responsive release of insulin.

A new glucose-responsive formulation for self-regulated insulin delivery was constructed by packing insulin, glucose-specific enzymes into pH-sensitive polymersome-based nanovesicles assembled by a diblock copolymer. Glucose can passively transport across the bilayer membrane of the nanovesicle and be oxidized into gluconic acid by glucose oxidase, thereby causing a decrease in local pH. The acidic microenvironment causes the hydrolysis of the pH sensitive nanovesicle that in turn triggers the release of insulin in a glucose responsive fashion.

A low glycemic index staple diet reduces postprandial glucose values in Asian women with gestational diabetes mellitus.

Background: A low glycemic index (GI) diet is beneficial for glucose control in patients with diabetes mellitus. This study aimed to investigate the influence of a low-GI diet on postprandial glucose levels in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Methods: Pregnant women with GDM were randomized to receive a normal diabetic control diet or a low-GI staple diet for 5 days.

Evaluation of clinical outcomes of antiangiogenic-targeted therapy in patients with pulmonary metastatic renal cell carcinoma using non-contrast-enhanced computed tomography.

Rationale And Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess whether changes to radiographic parameters before and after treatment with antiangiogenic drugs would improve performance in predicting tumor response with non-contrast-enhanced computed tomography (NCECT) compared to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST).

Material And Methods: The exploration sample group and the validation sample group consisted of 58 and 25 patients, respectively, who had pulmonary metastatic renal cell carcinoma and were receiving antiangiogenic drugs. All patients underwent NCECT scans at baseline and at first evaluation (after two cycles of treatment) with the same scan protocol.

Long-term outcome of computed tomography-guided percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation for classic trigeminal neuralgia patients older than 70 years.

The incidence of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) in elderly patients is higher. However, for those with poor fitness, the optimal surgical treatment for those refractory to medical treatment is controversial. The aim of current study was to investigate the long-term outcome of computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation (PRT) for 304 TN patients 70 years or older.

Changes in histone H3 lysine 36 methylation in porcine oocytes and preimplantation embryos.

Histone H3 lysine 36 (H3K36) methylation is known to be associated with transcriptionally active genes, and is considered a genomic marker of active loci. To investigate the changes in H3K36 methylation in pig, we determined the mono-, di-, and tri-methylations of H3K36 (H3K36me1, H3K36me2 and H3K36me3, respectively) in porcine fetal fibroblasts, oocytes and preimplantation embryos by immunocytochemistry using specific antibodies and confocal microscopy. These analyses revealed that only H3K36me3 in porcine fetal fibroblasts consistently colocalized with transcription sites identified as actively synthesizing RNA based on fluorouridine (FU) incorporation.

Repeated CT-guided percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation for recurrent trigeminal neuralgia.

Aims: To investigate the long-term outcomes of repeated percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation (PRT) for recurrent trigeminal neuralgia (TN) patients.

Methods: Between 2002 and 2012, 33 patients with recurrent TN following an initial PRT procedure were retrospectively studied and underwent 43 repeated PRT procedures.

Results: The mean length of follow-up after repeated PRT was 34 months.

Distinct roles of ROCK1 and ROCK2 during development of porcine preimplantation embryos.

Cell-to-cell contact mediated by cell adhesion is fundamental to the compaction process that ensures blastocyst quality during embryonic development. In this study, we first showed that Rho-associated coiled-coil protein kinases (ROCK1 and ROCK2) were expressed both in porcine oocytes and IVF preimplantation embryos, playing different roles in oocytes maturation and embryo development. The amount of mRNA encoding ROCK1 and the protein concentration clearly increased between the eight-cell and morula stages, but decreased significantly when blastocysts were formed.

The human health effects of Florida red tide (FRT) blooms: an expanded analysis.

Human respiratory and digestive illnesses can be caused by exposures to brevetoxins from blooms of the marine alga Karenia brevis, also known as Florida red tide (FRT). K. brevis requires macro-nutrients to grow; although the sources of these nutrients have not been resolved completely, they are thought to originate both naturally and anthropogenically.

Outcomes and barriers to uptake of cataract surgery in rural northern China: the Heilongjiang Eye Study.

Purpose: To report visual outcomes and barriers to uptake of cataract surgery among subjects of all ages in Mingshui County, Heilongjiang Province, China.

Methods: Cluster sampling was used to select a cross-sectional sample of people living in the Heilongjiang Province. Each subject underwent a participant interview, presenting and best-corrected vision measurements and an ocular examination.

Emerging micro- and nanotechnology based synthetic approaches for insulin delivery.

Insulin is essential for type 1 and advanced type 2 diabetics to maintain blood glucose levels and prolong lives. The traditional administration requires frequent subcutaneous insulin injections that are associated with poor patient compliance, including pain, local tissue necrosis, infection, and nerve damage. Taking advantage of emerging micro- and nanotechnologies, numerous alternative strategies integrated with chemical approaches for insulin delivery have been investigated.

Link community detection using generative model and nonnegative matrix factorization.

Discovery of communities in complex networks is a fundamental data analysis problem with applications in various domains. While most of the existing approaches have focused on discovering communities of nodes, recent studies have shown the advantages and uses of link community discovery in networks. Generative models provide a promising class of techniques for the identification of modular structures in networks, but most generative models mainly focus on the detection of node communities rather than link communities.

The determinants of fishing vessel accident severity.

The study examines the determinants of fishing vessel accident severity in the Northeastern United States using vessel accident data from the U.S. Coast Guard for 2001-2008.

Effects of sorbitol on porcine oocyte maturation and embryo development in vitro.

In the present study, a porcine system was supplemented with sorbitol during in vitro maturation (IVM) or in vitro culture (IVC), and the effects of sorbitol on oocyte maturation and embryonic development following parthenogenetic activation were assessed. Porcine immature oocytes were treated with different concentrations of sorbitol during IVM, and the resultant metaphase II stage oocytes were activated and cultured in porcine zygote medium-3 (PZM-3) for 7 days. No significant difference was observed in cumulus expansion and the nuclear maturation between the control and sorbitol-treated groups, with the exception of the 100 mM group, which showed significantly decreased nuclear maturation and cumulus expansion.

Teratogenic potential of antiepileptic drugs in the zebrafish model.

The zebrafish model is an attractive candidate for screening of developmental toxicity during early drug development. Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) arouse concern for the risk of teratogenicity, but the data are limited. In this study, we evaluated the teratogenic potential of seven AEDs (carbamazepine (CBZ), ethosuximide (ETX), valproic acid (VPN), lamotrigine (LMT), lacosamide (LCM), levetiracetam (LVT), and topiramate (TPM)) in the zebrafish model.

Chromosomes in the porcine first polar body possess competence of second meiotic division within enucleated MII stage oocytes.

To determine whether chromosomes in the porcine first polar body (PB1) can complete the second meiotic division and subsequently undergo normal pre-implantation embryonic development, we examined the developmental competence of PB1 chromosomes injected into enucleated MII stage oocytes by nuclear transfer method (chromosome replacement group, CR group). After parthenogenetic activation (PA) or in vitro fertilization (IVF), the cleavage rate of reconstructed oocytes in the IVF group (CR-IVF group, 36.4 ± 3.

Ultrasound-triggered regulation of blood glucose levels using injectable nano-network.

The integration of an injectable insulin-encapsulated nano-network with a focused ultrasound system (FUS) can remotely regulate insulin release both in vitro and in vivo. A single subcutaneous injection of the nano-network with intermittent FUS administration facilitates reduction of the blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetic mice for up to 10 d.