Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, an inhibitor of histone deacetylase, suppresses vasculogenic mimicry and proliferation of highly aggressive pancreatic cancer PaTu8988 cells.

Background: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive human malignancies with a extremely low 5-year survival rate. Hence, the search for more effective anti-pancreatic cancer agents is urgent.

Methods: PaTu8988 pancreatic cancer cells were treated with different concentrations of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), cell survival, proliferation, migration and vasculogenic mimicry (VM) were analyzed.

Multiple biological functions and pharmacological effects of lycorine.

Lycorine is the major active component from the amaryllidaceae family plant , a represent traditional Chinese medicinal herb, and is one of the typical alkaloids with pyrrolophenanthridine nucleus core. Lycorine has drawn great interest in medicinal field due to its divergent chemical structures and multiple biological functions, as well as pharmacological effects on various diseases. Accumulated evidence shows that lycorine not only possesses strong pharmacological effects on many diseases, including anti-leukemia, anti-tumor, anti-angiogenesis, anti-virus, anti-bacteria, anti-inflammation, and antimalaria, but also exerts many other biological functions, such as inhibition of acetylcholinesterase and topoisomerase, suppression of ascorbic acid biosynthesis, and control of circadian period length.

[Voluntary HIV counseling and testing among peacekeepers in Liberia: acceptability and influential factors].

Objective: To investigate the acceptability and influential factors of Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing (VCT) among the Chinese and Ethiopian peacekeepers in Liberia so as to conduct more effective health education of AIDS and enhance the acceptance of VCT.

Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was used to investigate the attitudes to VCT among 518 Chinese (aged 23-51) and 648 Ethiopian (aged 25-49) peacekeepers in Liberia.

Results: The rates of those who claimed to have never heard of HIV/AIDS were 8.

[An investigation on AIDS knowledge of Chinese peacekeepers in Liberia and effects of relevant health education].

Objective: To investigate and analyze AIDS knowledge of the Chinese peacekeepers in Liberia and to evaluate the effects of AIDS education in order to conduct more effective health education of AIDS and increase AIDS knowledge among the Chinese peacekeepers in the areas with a high incidence of AIDS.

Methods: A questionnaire was designed on the basis of that recommended by WHO to investigate the knowledge of AIDS among the 528 Chinese peacekeepers in Liberia respectively before and after relevant health education, and the results were compared.

Results: There was an obvious deficiency in AIDS knowledge among the subjects before the education and an evident increase after it, and the difference was significant (P <0.