Associations of genetic variants in the PSCA, MUC1 and PLCE1 genes with stomach cancer susceptibility in a Chinese population.

Background: Several genetic variants including PSCA rs2294008 C>T and rs2976392 G>A, MUC1 rs4072037 T>C, and PLCE1 rs2274223 A>G have shown significant association with stomach cancer risk in the previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs).

Methods: To evaluate associations of these SNPs in the Han Chinese, an independent hospital based case-control study was performed by genotyping these four polymorphisms in a total of 692 stomach cancer cases and 774 healthy controls acquired by using frequency matching for age and gender. False-positive report probability (FPRP) analysis was also performed to validate all statistically significant findings.

Association of the miR-146a, miR-149, miR-196a2 and miR-499 polymorphisms with susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis in the Chinese Uygur, Kazak and Southern Han populations.

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within precursor microRNAs (miRNAs) can affect miRNAs expression, and may be involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). This study aimed to investigate potential associations between the four precursor miRNA SNPs (miR-146a C > G, miR-149 T > C, miR-196a2 T > C, and miR-499 T > C) and susceptibility to pulmonary TB in the Chinese Uygur, Kazak, and Southern Han populations.

Methods: A case-control study was performed on Chinese Uygur (n = 662), Kazak (n = 612), and Southern Han (n = 654) populations using the PCR-PFLR method.

Aquatic debris detection using embedded camera sensors.

Aquatic debris monitoring is of great importance to human health, aquatic habitats and water transport. In this paper, we first introduce the prototype of an aquatic sensor node equipped with an embedded camera sensor. Based on this sensing platform, we propose a fast and accurate debris detection algorithm.

Valsartan decreases platelet activity and arterial thrombotic events in elderly patients with hypertension.

Background: Angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT 1 R) antagonists are extensively used for blood pressure control in elderly patients with hypertension. This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effects of AT 1 R antagonist valsartan on platelet aggregation and the occurrence of cardio-cerebral thrombotic events in elderly patients with hypertension.

Methods: Two-hundred and ten patients with hypertension and aged > 60 years were randomized to valsartan (n = 140) or amlodipine (n = 70) on admission.

[Effect of antibiotics on postoperative inflammatory complications after surgical extraction of the impacted mandibular third molar].

Objective: To investigate the effect of antibiotics on postoperative inflammatory complications after surgical extraction of the impacted mandibular third molar.

Methods: Ninety-Six patients had their bilateral third molars removed through a split-mouth, double-blind, controlled, clinical trial in two visits. On one side amoxicillin (or clindamycin) was used (antibiotics group) from 1 h pre-operation to 3 d post-operation.

[Association of myocardial bridge in the left anterior descending coronary with coronary atherosclerosis proximal to the bridge site in diabetic patients].

Objective: To investigate whether myocardial bridging (MB) is an independent risk factor for coronary atherosclerosis proximal to the bridge site in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) in diabetic patients.

Methods: From March 2011 to December 2012, 9862 patients with suspected coronary disease underwent coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) using a dual-source CT scanner. The baseline clinical characteristics (age, gender, smoking history, presence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, family history of heart attack and body mass index) and the results of CCTA were reviewed.

Functional degeneration in dorsal and ventral attention systems in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: an fMRI study.

Attention deficits in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) have already been previously proposed. However, previous studies lacked systematic comparisons on multiple phases of disease progression. In this work, we compared spontaneous functional connectivity in dorsal and ventral attention networks (DAN, VAN) in patients with aMCI and AD.

Impaired glucose metabolism in response to high fat diet in female mice conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF) or ovarian stimulation alone.

Individuals conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF) may be at increased risk of cardio-metabolic disorders. We recently reported that IVF conceived male mice displayed impaired glucose metabolism at normal and high body weights. In this study, we examined glucose metabolism in mature female C57BL/6J mice that were conceived by natural conception (NC), by ovarian stimulation (OS) or by IVF following chow or high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks.

Systemic Epstein-Barr virus-positive T/natural killer-cell lymphoproliferative disorder: a case report and review of literature.

Systemic Epstein-Barr virus-positive T/natural killer-cell lymphoproliferative disorder (EBV + LPD) has predominantly been observed among pediatric patients as a life-threatening condition. The present study presents a rare case of EBV + LPD in an adult with good outcome. This patient's history is more than 2 years and her condition was stable.

The role of Axl in drug resistance and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of non-small cell lung carcinoma.

Axl, a member of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), has been established as a strong candidate for targeted therapy of cancer. Some reports showed that Axl is a promising therapeutic target to enhance EGFR TKI response in selected EGFR WT NSCLC patients. The present study was aimed to investigate the role of Axl in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) drug resistance and the progress of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

Osteoconductivity and osteoinductivity of porous hydroxyapatite coatings deposited by liquid precursor plasma spraying: in vivo biological response study.

The beneficial effect of a porous structure on the biological functions of calcium phosphate bulk ceramic or scaffold has been well documented. Nevertheless, the effect of a porous structure on the in vivo performance of hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings has been rarely reported, partly due to the difficulty in synthesizing porous HA coatings suitable for commercial applications. In this study, we have carried out a systematic in vivo study of porous HA-coated Ti implants (with and without surface modification) prepared by the liquid precursor plasma spraying process, in terms of its osteoconductivity and osteoinductivity.

Profiling gene promoter occupancy of Sox2 in two phenotypically distinct breast cancer cell subsets using chromatin immunoprecipitation and genome-wide promoter microarrays.

Introduction: Aberrant expression of the embryonic stem cell marker Sox2 has been reported in breast cancer (BC). We previously identified two phenotypically distinct BC cell subsets separated based on their differential response to a Sox2 transcription activity reporter, namely the reporter-unresponsive (RU) and the more tumorigenic reporter-responsive (RR) cells. We hypothesized that Sox2, as a transcription factor, contributes to their phenotypic differences by mediating differential gene expression in these two cell subsets.

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator promotes dendritic spine recovery and improves neurological outcome following ischemic stroke.

Spines are dendritic protrusions that receive most of the excitatory input in the brain. Early after the onset of cerebral ischemia dendritic spines in the peri-infarct cortex are replaced by areas of focal swelling, and their re-emergence from these varicosities is associated with neurological recovery after acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) is a serine proteinase that plays a central role in tissue remodeling via binding to the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR).

Study on screening and antagonistic mechanisms of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens 54 against bacterial fruit blotch (BFB) caused by Acidovorax avenae subsp. citrulli.

Bacterial fruit blotch (BFB) was a serious threat to cucurbitaceae crops. It was caused by the gram-negative bacterium Acidovorax avenae subsp. citrulli.

Polymorphisms in the TERT gene are associated with lung cancer risk in the Chinese Han population.

Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate among cancers; however, its nosogenesis is still unclear. Genome-wide association studies have shown that the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene, located in the chromosome 5p15.33 region, is one of the genes associated with the risk of lung cancer.

Analyzing the differentially expressed genes and pathway cross-talk in aggressive breast cancer.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the genes and pathways involved in the aggressive breast cancer cells.

Methods: The gene expression profiles of GSE40057, including four aggressive breast cell lines and six less aggressive cell lines, were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The gene differential expression analysis was carried out with limma software with the method of Bayes for multiple tests.

[Establishment of in vitro and cell-based drug screening model for Notch signaling pathway].

Notch signal pathway is closely related to the organism's development and a variety of cancers. Current models available for screening modulators of Notch signal pathway all use mouse Notch protein as substrates and those models which use human Notch protein have not been reported. To make the screen results much more reliable, the authors cloned a truncated form of human Notch1 called N100, and built the screening models for the use of it instead of mouse Notch protein.

Novel therapeutic strategy for neurodegeneration by blocking Aβ seeding mediated aggregation in models of Alzheimer's disease.

Aβ accumulation plays a central role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent studies suggest that the process of Aβ nucleated polymerization is essential for Aβ fibril formation, pathology spreading and toxicity. Therefore, targeting this process represents an effective therapeutic strategy to slow or block disease progression.

[Evaluation of association of myocardial bridge in the left anterior descending coronary with coronary atherosclerosis (stenosis > 50%) in the segment proximal to the site of bridge on coronary cta in hypertension subjects].

Objective: To investigate whether myocardial bridging (MB) is an independent risk factor for coronary atherosclerosis (stenosis > 50%) proximal to MB in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) in subjects with hypertension identified by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA).

Methods: From March 2011 to December 2012, Patients with suspected coronary disease underwent CCTA using dual-source CT scanner. The baseline clinical characteristics (age, gender, smoking history, presence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, family history of heart attack and body mass index (BMI) ) and the results of CCTA were reviewed.

[Myeloid-derived Gr-1⁺ CD11b⁺ suppressor cells are involved in immunoregulation of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis].

Objective: To explore the change in the number and role of Gr-1⁺ CD11b⁺ myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).

Methods: Totally 30 healthy female C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups: EAE-induced group (n=15) and control group (n=15). EAE was induced by immunization with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptide 35-55 (MOG35-55), and pathological changes in spinal cords were revealed by HE staining and Luxol fast blue (LFB) staining.

Endurance capacity is not correlated with endothelial function in male university students.

Background: Endurance capacity, assessed by 1000-meter (1000 m) run of male university students, is an indicator of cardiovascular fitness in Chinese students physical fitness surveillance. Although cardiovascular fitness is related to endothelial function closely in patients with cardiovascular diseases, it remains unclear whether endurance capacity correlates with endothelial function, especially with circulating endothelial microparticles (EMPs), a new sensitive marker of endothelial dysfunction in young students. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between endurance capacity and endothelial function in male university students.

How Do Smokers Respond to Cigarette Taxes? Evidence from China's Cigarette Industry.

This paper examines how Chinese smokers respond to tax-driven cigarette price increases by estimating a discrete choice model of demand for differentiated products, using annual nationwide brand-level cigarette sales data in China from 2005 to 2010. We allow for substitution between different cigarette brands and also incorporate key features of rational addiction theory into the model. Results show that the average own-price elasticity of demand for cigarettes at the brand level is -0.

Immune response to Fc tagged GP5 glycoproteins of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) glycoprotein 5 (GP5) is the most abundant envelope glycoprotein and a key target for neutralizing antibodies. Previous studies have demonstrated that the native GP5 glycoprotein is poorly immunogenic and not able to induce robust protective responses, probably due to the presence of a non-neutralizing decoy epitope and shielding N-linked glycans close to its neutralizing epitope. In the present report, two Fc tagged GP5 proteins (GP5-Fc containing a truncated GP5 with the deletion of its signal peptide and transmembrane regions, and GP5N-Fc containing only the ectodomain of GP5) were designed based on the sequences of a highly pathogenic PRRSV strain and produced using a baculovirus/insect cell expression system.

Value of coronary computed tomography angiography in ruling out coronary artery disease before intermediate- and high-risk non-cardiac surgery.

Objective: To assess the value of preoperative coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) in the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients planned to undergo non-cardiac surgery at intermediate or high risk to avoid unnecessary invasive coronary angiography (ICA).

Methods: The study protocol was approved by our institutional review board and informed consent was given. In this prospective study, 157 consecutive patients who underwent CCTA before undergoing non-cardiac surgery at intermediate or high risk was involved.

Orientation measurement based on magnetic inductance by the extended distributed multi-pole model.

This paper presents a novel method to calculate magnetic inductance with a fast-computing magnetic field model referred to as the extended distributed multi-pole (eDMP) model. The concept of mutual inductance has been widely applied for position/orientation tracking systems and applications, yet it is still challenging due to the high demands in robust modeling and efficient computation in real-time applications. Recently, numerical methods have been utilized in design and analysis of magnetic fields, but this often requires heavy computation and its accuracy relies on geometric modeling and meshing that limit its usage.