The association of breastfeeding duration on metabolic syndrome among children and adolescents, stratified by birth weight for gestational age.

Background And Objectives: This study aimed to examine the associations between breastfeeding duration and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adolescents and to further investigate the role of birth weight for gestational age (GA) on these associations.

Methods: A total of 10 275 participants aged 7 to 18 years were included applying multistage cluster random sampling from a Chinese national survey. Birth weight was classified into small for GA (SGA), appropriate for GA (AGA) and large for GA (LGA).

Heterogeneous expression of mismatch repair proteins and interpretation of immunohistochemical results in colorectal cancer and endometrial cancer.

To investigate the heterogeneous expression patterns of four mismatch repair (MMR) proteins in colorectal cancer (CRC) and endometrial cancer (EC), and their effects on the interpretation of immunohistochemical (IHC) results. A total of 1636 CRC and EC specimens were collected from two hospitals. Seventy-eight cases had heterogeneous expression of MMR proteins, including 49 CRC and 29 EC cases.

Central retinal vein occlusion with moyamoya disease: a case report.

Moyamoya disease is mainly caused by stenosis or occlusion of the terminal internal carotid artery, anterior cerebral artery, and proximal middle cerebral artery, and an abnormal vascular network is formed near the stenosis or occlusion of vascular lesions. Moyamoya disease can lead to a series of complications such as transient cerebral ischemia, cerebral infarction, and cerebral hemorrhage, which have been reported in the literature. Eye involvement with moyamoya disease is relatively rare in the literature.

A simple and accurate method to quantify real-time contraction of vascular smooth muscle cell in vitro.

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) constitute the medial layer of the blood vessel wall. Their contractile state regulates blood flow in physiological and pathological conditions. Current methods for assessing the contractility of VSMCs are not amenable to the high-throughput screening of pharmaceutical compounds.

Synergistic effects of and 5-fluorouracil on the hepatocellular carcinoma in and in through regulating activating mitochondrial pathway.

Paeoniflorin-6'-O-benzene sulfonate () has therapeutic potential for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). 5-Fluorouracil (5-Fu) has been a conventional chemotherapeutic agent for HCC. Unfortunately, the nonspecific cytotoxicity and multidrug resistance caused by long-term use limited the clinical efficacy of 5-Fu.

18[Formula: see text]-Glycyrrhetinic Acid Inhibits TGF-[Formula: see text]-Induced Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Targeting STAT3.

18[Formula: see text]-glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) is the active ingredient of the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma. We previously demonstrated that GA inhibited tumor growth in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the effect of GA on transforming growth factor-[Formula: see text] (TGF-[Formula: see text]-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis were still unclear.

Obesity increases neuropathic pain via the AMPK-ERK-NOX4 pathway in rats.

This study focused on the relationship between extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) and obesity-induced increases in neuropathic pain. We fed rats a high-fat diet to establish the obesity model, and rats were given surgery to establish the chronic compression of the dorsal root ganglia (CCD) model. U0126 was applied to inhibit ERK, and metformin or 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside (AICAR) was applied to cause AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation.

TLR4/AP-1-Targeted Anti-Inflammatory Intervention Attenuates Insulin Sensitivity and Liver Steatosis.

Insulin resistance has been shown to be the common pathogenesis of many metabolic diseases. Metainflammation is one of the important characteristics of insulin resistance. Macrophage polarization mediates the production and development of metainflammation.

Flavonoids as human carboxylesterase 2 inhibitors: Inhibition potentials and molecular docking simulations.

In our search for natural human carboxylesterase 2 (hCE 2) inhibitors from natural products, we investigated inhibitory effects and mechanisms of flavonoids (1-16) against hCE 2. The results demonstrated that kurarinone (1), baicalein (2), 2-[(2'-(1-hydroxy-1-methylethyl)-7'-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)-2',3'-dihydrobenzofuran)-5-yl]-7-hydroxy-8-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)chroman-4-one (5), luteolin (6), kushenol X (9), and kushenol C (11) displayed significantly inhibitory effects against hCE 2 with IC values of 1.46 ± 0.

The Functional Role of the 3' Untranslated Region and Poly(A) Tail of Duck Hepatitis A Virus Type 1 in Viral Replication and Regulation of IRES-Mediated Translation.

The duck hepatitis A virus type 1 (DHAV-1) is a member of family, the genome of the virus contains a 5' untranslated region (5' UTR), a large open reading frame that encodes a polyprotein precursor and a 3' UTR followed by a poly(A) tail. The translation initiation of virus proteins depends on the internal ribosome-entry site (IRES) element within the 5' UTR. So far, little information is known about the role of the 3' UTR and poly(A) tail during the virus proliferation.

What may cause fetus loss from acute pancreatitis in pregnancy: Analysis of 54 cases.

Acute pancreatitis in pregnancy (APIP) poses a serious threat to the mother and her fetus, and might lead to fetal loss including miscarriage and stillbirth in certain patients. We sought to identify possible factors that affect fetal distress and evaluated outcomes of patients with APIP.We retrospectively reviewed clinical records of 54 pregnant women with APIP, who were treated at 2 tertiary clinical centers over a 6-year period.

Protective effects of Celastrol on diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocellular carcinoma in rats and its mechanisms.

Celastrol, an active ingredient of Tripterygium Wilfordii, is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, which has attracted interests for its potential anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-tumor effect of Celastrol against diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in rats and furthermore, to explore the underlying mechanism. Sprague-Dawley rats were intragastrically administered with DEN (10mg/kg) for 6 days every week and persisting 16 weeks.

[Effect of puerarin on PI3K/AKT pathway-mediated apoptosis of PASMCs].

To discuss the effect of puerarin (Pue) on the proliferation of hypoxia-induced pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and discuss whether the extracellular signal PI3K/AKT pathway was involved in the Pue-induced PASMC apoptosis. With the serum starvation group (SD group) as the control group, the MTT colorimetry method, Annexin V-FITC apoptosis detection kit and Western blot were used to detect Pue's effect on apoptosis of rat PASMCs. The protein immunoblot assay was used to detect whether PI3K/AKT pathway was involved in the inhibition of hypoxia-induced PASMC apoptosis process.

[Effect of puerarin on hypoxia induced proliferation of PASMCs by regulating reactive oxygen].

To discuss the effect of puerarin (Pue) on the proliferation of hypoxia-induced pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and discuss whether its mechanism is achieved by regulating reactive oxygen. PASMCs of primarily cultured rats (2-5 generations) were selected in the experiment. MTT, Western blot, FCM and DCFH-DA were used to observe Pue's effect the proliferation of PASMCs.

Use of epidermal growth factor receptor antibody-gold cluster conjugates with good renal excretion in targeted cancer radiation treatment.

Ultra-small gold clusters have been shown to have great potential in biomedical applications; however, it is crucial that the targeting clusters can be rapidly excreted from the body. We prepared epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibody-gold cluster conjugates with tumour-specific targeting, which also enhanced the effects of therapeutic radiation and had good renal clearance properties. We systematically investigated the effects of these clusters on targeted radiation treatment, renal clearance and toxicity over a period of 25 days in mice.

Celastrol induces mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma Bel-7402 cells.

Celastrol is a natural terpenoid isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii, a well-known Chinese medicinal herb that presents anti-proliferative activities in several cancer cell lines. Here, we investigated whether celastrol induces apoptosis on hepatocellular carcinoma Bel-7402 cells and further explored the underlying molecular mechanisms. Celastrol caused a dose- and time-dependent growth inhibition and apoptosis of Bel-7402 cells.

Storage of gold nanoclusters in muscle leads to their biphasic in vivo clearance.

Ultrasmall gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) show great potential in biomedical applications. Long-term biodistribution, retention, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics profiles are pre-requisites in their potential clinical applications. Here, the biodistribution, clearance, and toxicity of one widely used Au NC species-glutathione-protected Au NCs or GSH-Au NCs-are systematically investigated over a relatively long period of 90 days in mice.

Passing through the renal clearance barrier: toward ultrasmall sizes with stable ligands for potential clinical applications.

The use of nanoparticles holds promise for medical applications, such as X-ray imaging, photothermal therapy and radiotherapy. However, the in vivo toxicity of inorganic nanoparticles raises some concern regarding undesirable side effects which prevent their further medical application. Ultrasmall sub-5.

TGF-β favors bone marrow-derived dendritic cells to acquire tolerogenic properties.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most powerful antigen-presenting cells that have an important role in the immunity and immune tolerance. Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) is a pleiotropic cytokine widely expressing in various tissues and cells, which regulates cellular proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of several immune cells and is considered to be a key factor in inducing immune tolerance. The effect of TGF-β on DCs is very complex.

Enhanced tumor accumulation of sub-2 nm gold nanoclusters for cancer radiation therapy.

A new type of metabolizable and efficient radiosensitizers for cancer radiotherapy is presented by combining ultrasmall Au nanoclusters (NCs, <2 nm) with biocompatible coating ligands (glutathione, GSH). The new nanoconstruct (GSH-coated Au25 NCs) inherits attractive features of both the Au core (strong radiosensitizing effect) and GSH shell (good biocompatibility). It can preferentially accumulate in tumor via the improved EPR effect, which leads to strong enhancement for cancer radiotherapy.

Sex differences in the toxicity of polyethylene glycol-coated gold nanoparticles in mice.

Gold nanoparticles have received wide interest in disease diagnosis and therapy, but one of the important issues is their toxicological effects in vivo. Sex differences in the toxicity of gold nanoparticles are not clear. In this work, body weight, organ weight, hematology, and biochemistry were used to evaluate sex differences in immune response and liver and kidney damage.