Feasibility and Safety of PD-1 Blockades Among Elderly Patients with Metastatic Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Real-World Study.

Objective: This study aimed to identify the effectiveness and safety of PD-1 blockades among elderly patients with metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) clinically.

Methods: A total of 78 elderly patients with previously treated metastatic ESCC aged ≥65 years who received PD-1 blockades monotherapy were included retrospectively. Demographic characteristics, therapeutic effectiveness and adverse reactions of the elderly patients who underwent PD-1 blockade therapy were recorded.

Comparative study on emotional behavior and parental job stress of only-child and non-only-child preschool children.

Background: Studies have revealed that Children's psychological, behavioral, and emotional problems are easily influenced by the family environment. In recent years, the family structure in China has undergone significant changes, with more families having two or three children.

Aim: To explore the relationship between emotional behavior and parental job stress in only preschool and non-only preschool children.

[Effects of Fertilizer Application Strategy Adjustments on Nitrogen and Phosphorus Loss from Typical Crop Systems in Taihu Lake Region].

The intensity of crop farming fertilizer input is generally high in the Taihu Lake Region, with chemical fertilizer as the main form. Due to inappropriate fertilizer application, nitrogen and phosphorus loss have occurred, causing serious agricultural non-point source pollution. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China has launched the "zero-growth action for chemical fertilizer use" and "replacement action with organic fertilizer" ("two actions" for short) campaigns since 2015.

A novel effect of PDLIM5 in α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor upregulation and surface expression.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are widespread throughout the central nervous system. Signaling through nAChRs contributes to numerous higher-order functions, including memory and cognition, as well as abnormalities such as nicotine addiction and neurodegenerative disorders. Although recent studies indicate that the PDZ-containing proteins comprising PSD-95 family co-localize with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and mediate downstream signaling in the neurons, the mechanisms by which α7nAChRs are regulated remain unclear.

[Effects of Film Materials on Ammonia Volatilization Emissions from a Paddy System After Reducing Nitrogen Fertilizer Application].

Ammonia volatilization emissions constitute the main pathway of nitrogen loss from paddy systems. Present control technologies are based on reducing the amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied. However, ratio of nitrogen loss through ammonia volatilization emissions has not changed, and it has become a bottleneck for promoting nitrogen use efficiency.

Th17 cell frequency and IL-17A production in peripheral blood of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

Objective: This study investigated the frequency of T-helper (Th)17 lymphocytes and production of cytokine interleukin (IL)-17 in peripheral blood of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and their use as a marker of clinical value.

Methods: Sixty patients with NSCLC and 60 healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. Flow cytometry was used to detect the frequency of Th17 lymphocytes in peripheral blood, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect serum levels of IL-17.

Impaired regulation of KCC2 phosphorylation leads to neuronal network dysfunction and neurodevelopmental pathology.

KCC2 is a vital neuronal K/Cl cotransporter that is implicated in the etiology of numerous neurological diseases. In normal cells, KCC2 undergoes developmental dephosphorylation at Thr and Thr We engineered mice with heterozygous phosphomimetic mutations T906E and T1007E ( ) to prevent the normal developmental dephosphorylation of these sites. Immature (postnatal day 15) but not juvenile (postnatal day 30) mice exhibited altered GABAergic inhibition, an increased glutamate/GABA synaptic ratio, and greater susceptibility to seizure.

Chronic Stress Disturbs Metabolome of Blood Plasma and Urine in Diabetic Rats.

About 30% of diabetes patients suffer from varying degrees of depression. Diabetes itself is associated with abnormal carbohydrate and energy metabolism. Whether chronic stress-induced depression-like behavior impacts the metabolome of blood plasma and urine in diabetes is not clear.

The KCC2 Cotransporter and Human Epilepsy: Getting Excited About Inhibition.

The cation-Cl cotransporter KCC2, encoded by SLC12A5, is required for the emergence and maintenance of GABAergic fast synaptic inhibition in organisms across evolution. These findings have suggested that KCC2 deficiency might play a role in the pathogenesis human epilepsy, but this has only recently been substantiated by two lines of genetic evidence. The first is the discovery of heterozygous missense polymorphisms in SLC12A5, causing decreased KCC2-dependent Cl extrusion capacity, in an Australian family with inherited febrile seizures and in a French-Canadian cohort with severe genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE).

In vitro comparative studies of resveratrol and triacetylresveratrol on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and STAT3 and NFκB signaling in pancreatic cancer cells.

Resveratrol (RES) has been studied extensively as an anticancer agent. However, the anticancer effects of triacetylresveratrol (TRES, an acetylated analog of RES) which has higher bioavailability have not been well established. We comparatively evaluated their effects on cell proliferation, apoptosis and the molecular changes in STAT3, NFκB and apoptotic signaling pathways in pancreatic cancer cells.

Nicotine recruits glutamate receptors to postsynaptic sites.

Cholinergic neurons project throughout the nervous system and activate nicotinic receptors to modulate synaptic function in ways that shape higher order brain function. The acute effects of nicotinic signaling on long-term synaptic plasticity have been well-characterized. Less well understood is how chronic exposure to low levels of nicotine, such as those encountered by habitual smokers, can alter neural connections to promote addiction and other lasting behavioral effects.

WNK1-regulated inhibitory phosphorylation of the KCC2 cotransporter maintains the depolarizing action of GABA in immature neurons.

Activation of Cl(-)-permeable γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors elicits synaptic inhibition in mature neurons but excitation in immature neurons. This developmental "switch" in the GABA function depends on a postnatal decrease in intraneuronal Cl(-) concentration mediated by KCC2, a Cl(-)-extruding K(+)-Cl(-) cotransporter. We showed that the serine-threonine kinase WNK1 [with no lysine (K)] forms a physical complex with KCC2 in the developing mouse brain.

Integration of donor mesenchymal stem cell-derived neuron-like cells into host neural network after rat spinal cord transection.

Functional deficits following spinal cord injury (SCI) primarily attribute to loss of neural connectivity. We therefore tested if novel tissue engineering approaches could enable neural network repair that facilitates functional recovery after spinal cord transection (SCT). Rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), genetically engineered to overexpress TrkC, receptor of neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), were pre-differentiated into cells carrying neuronal features via co-culture with NT-3 overproducing Schwann cells in 3-dimensional gelatin sponge (GS) scaffold for 14 days in vitro.

The synthetic melanocortin (CKPV)2 exerts anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory effects against Candida albicans vaginitis via inducing macrophage M2 polarization.

In this study, we examined anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory effects of the synthetic melanocortin peptide (Ac-Cys-Lys-Pro-Val-NH2)2 or (CKPV)2 against Candida albicans vaginitis. Our in vitro results showed that (CKPV)2 dose-dependently inhibited Candida albicans colonies formation. In a rat Candida albicans vaginitis model, (CKPV)2 significantly inhibited vaginal Candida albicans survival and macrophages sub-epithelial mucosa infiltration.

The integration of NSC-derived and host neural networks after rat spinal cord transection.

Rebuilding structures that can bridge the injury gap and enable signal connection remains a challenging issue in spinal cord injury. We sought to determine if genetically enhanced expression of TrkC in neural stem cells (NSCs) and neurotrophin-3 in Schwann cells (SCs) co-cultured in a gelatin sponge scaffold could constitute a neural network, and whether it could act as a relay to rebuilt signal connection after spinal cord transection. Indeed, many NSCs in the scaffold assumed neuronal features including formation of synapses.

[Cis-CA1P inhibits tumor cell proliferation and prevents blood vessel formation].

Objective: To investigate the effects of cis-combretastatin-A1 phosphate (cis-CA1P) on tumor cell proliferation, and its effects on the blood vessel formations.

Methods: MTT and IC50 values were used to assess the inhibitory effects of cis-CA1P on tumor cell proliferation. Chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane and thoracic aorta annulations isolated from rats were used to investigate the effects of cis-CAIP on the blood vessel formation.

[An outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by contaminated well water in a village, Henan province].

Objective: To identify the cause and mode of transmission of a gastroenteritis outbreak in a village, Henan province.

Methods: Gastroenteritis patients were identified through family visits, interviewing the village doctors and reviewing diagnosis and prescription records at the village health clinic. Cases were defined as onset of one of the four symptoms from the village resident during July 20 to August 12, 2010.

Effects of carvedilol on delayed rectifier and transient inactivating potassium currents in rat hippocampal CA1 neurons.

1. The aims of the present study were to investigate the mechanism(s) underlying the protective effect of carvedilol against neural damage. 2.

MicroRNA-17 post-transcriptionally regulates polycystic kidney disease-2 gene and promotes cell proliferation.

To identify the possible microRNAs (miRNAs) which target the polycystic kidney disease-2 gene (PKD2), and clarify effects of the miRNAs on PKD2. We preliminarily used bioinformatics to analyze 3'UTR (3'untranslated regions) of PKD1 and PKD2 in order to predict the potential microRNAs targeted on them. Subsequently, the stable cell lines with overexpression of microRNA-17 (miR-17) were screened, and luciferase assay combined with the mutation 3'UTR of PKD2 were performed to verify PKD2 is the target of miR-17.

Down-regulation of Pkd2 by siRNAs suppresses cell-cell adhesion in the mouse melanoma cells.

The Pkd2 gene encodes an integral protein (~130 kDa), named polycystin-2 (PC-2). PC-2 is mainly involved in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Recently, polycystin-1/polycystin-2 complex has been shown to act as an adhesion complex mediating or regulating cell-cell or cell-matrix adhesion, suggesting that PC-2 may play a role in cell-cell/cell-matrix interactions.

Purification and characterization of a novel high molecular weight exotoxin produced by red tide phytoplankton, Alexandrium tamarense.

Our recent studies have demonstrated that the aqueous extract prepared from Alexandrium tamarense, a harmful red tide phytoplankton, showed cytotoxicity on Vero cells. In this study, the toxic substance was purified from the culture supernatant of A. tamarense.

Verapamil blocks HERG channel by the helix residue Y652 and F656 in the S6 transmembrane domain.

Aim: The objectives of this study were to investigate the inhibitory action of verapamil on wild-type(WT) and mutation HERG K+ channel current (I(HERG)), and to determine whether mutations in the S6 region are important for the inhibition of I(HERG) by verapamil.

Methods: HERG channels (WT, Y652A, and F656A) were expressed in oocytes of Xenopus laevis and studied using the 2-electrode voltage- clamp technique.

Results: WT HERG is blocked in a concentration-dependent manner by verapamil (half-maximal inhibition concentration [IC(50)]=5.

[Calcium-dependent chloride channels in plasma membrane of oocytes from toad, Bufo bufo gargarizans].

In this paper, membrane current properties of the fully-grown oocytes from toad, Bufo bufo gargarizans, were studied by using two-microelectrode voltage clamp technique. Axion of adult female toad was destroyed, and then ovarian lobes containing oocytes in stage I to VI were removed and incubated in Ca(2+)-free ND96 solution with collagenase (1.5 mg/ml) for 1 h.