β-Glucan ameliorates nonalcoholic steatohepatitis induced by methionine and choline-deficient diet in mice.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is becoming a huge global health problem. Studies showed that β-glucan displayed potent anti-inflammatory and other multi-beneficial pharmacological properties. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of β-glucan on NASH mice induced by the MCD diet.

Downregulation of CRABP2 Inhibit the Tumorigenesis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma In Vivo and In Vitro.

Cellular retinoic acid-binding protein 2 (CRABP2) binds retinoic acid (RA) in the cytoplasm and transports it into the nucleus, allowing for the regulation of specific downstream signal pathway. Abnormal expression of CRABP2 has been detected in the development of several tumors. However, the role of CRABP2 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has never been revealed.

Sirt3 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma cells sensitivity to regorafenib through the acceleration of mitochondrial dysfunction.

Regorafenib, a multiple kinase inhibitor, is recently approved for treatment of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Previous studies demonstrated that regorafenib was a mitochondrial toxicant, which associated with the impairment of mitochondria. Sirt3 is involved in the regulation of mitochondrial function in cancers.

How does comorbid bronchiectasis affect asthmatic patients? A meta-analysis.

Objective: Asthma and bronchiectasis are known to be two distinct diseases with different etiology, pathophysiology, management, and prognosis. However, a high prevalence of bronchiectasis has been reported in patients with severe asthma. Thus, it is of great importance to identify the impact of bronchiectasis on asthmatic patients.

Serum amyloid a, a potential biomarker both in serum and tissue, correlates with ovarian cancer progression.

Background: Ovarian cancer is the most fatal gynecologic malignancy worldwide due to its vagueness, delay in diagnosis, recurrence, and drug resistance. Therefore, a new type of ovarian cancer treatment prediction biomarker is urgently needed to supplement existing tools. A total of 230 people participated in this study.

A single-center clinical study of hepatic artery variations in laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy: A retrospective analysis of data from 218 cases.

Hepatic artery variations increase the difficulty of laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD). The safety and efficacy of LPD in the presence of aberrant hepatic arteries (AHA) must be further verified.Patients with normal and variant hepatic arteries who underwent LPD and preoperative arterial angiography were retrospectively analyzed.

Hybrid membrane camouflaged copper sulfide nanoparticles for photothermal-chemotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Biomimetic nanoparticles (NPs) coated with cell membranes show enhanced biocompatibility and specificity for homotypic cells, and have gained considerable attention for targeted anti-tumor therapy. We constructed cancer cell-macrophage hybrid membrane-coated near infrared (NIR)-responsive hollow copper sulfide nanoparticles encapsulating sorafenib and surface modified with anti-VEGFR (CuS-SF@CMV NPs).

Application of Laparoscopic Pancreatoduodenectomy in Elderly Patients.

Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) involves complicated surgical procedures and is associated with high postoperative mortality. PD can be performed using laparoscopy; however, there is a lack of evidence on laparoscopic PD (LPD) outcomes in elderly patients. Therefore, this study aimed to compare LPD outcomes in elderly patients with those in patients aged <65 years and assess elderly outcomes according to the LPD surgical learning curve.

The Prediction and Prognostic Significance of INPP5K Expression in Patients with Liver Cancer.

Liver cancer is a devastating disease for humans with poor prognosis. Although the survival rate of patients with liver cancer has improved in the past decades, the recurrence and metastasis of liver cancer are still obstacles for us. Inositol polyphosphate-5-phosphatase K (INPP5K) belongs to the family of phosphoinositide 5-phosphatases (PI 5-phosphatases), which have been reported to be associated with cell migration, polarity, adhesion, and cell invasion, especially in cancers.

Endoscopic Nasogallbladder Drainage Combined with Laparoscopic Surgery for Type I Mirizzi Syndrome with Acute Cholecystitis: A Case Series Report.

Objective: To investigate the safety and feasibility of endoscopic nasogallbladder drainage (ENGBD) combined with laparoscopic surgery for Mirizzi syndrome type I with acute cholecystitis.

Methods: An analysis of 4 patients with type I Mirizzi syndrome with acute cholecystitis admitted to the First Hospital of Jilin University.

Results: The patients underwent ENGBD, and laparoscopic surgery was evaluated postoperatively.

Aggravated endothelial endocrine dysfunction and intimal thickening of renal artery in high-fat diet-induced obese pigs following renal denervation.

Background: Renal denervation (RDN) targeting the sympathetic nerves in the renal arterial adventitia as a treatment of resistant hypertension can cause endothelial injury and vascular wall injury. This study aims to evaluate the risk of atherosclerosis induced by RDN in renal arteries.

Methods: A total of 15 minipigs were randomly assigned to 3 groups: (1) control group, (2) sham group, and (3) RDN group (n = 5 per group).

The Nrf2-Keap1 pathway: A secret weapon against pesticide persecution in Drosophila Kc cells.

Nrf2-Keap1 pathway defends organisms against the detrimental effects of oxidative stress, and play pivotal roles in preventing xenobiotic-related toxicity. We designed experiments to explore and verify its role and function under deltamethrin (DM) stress. In experiments, DM was selected as the inducer, and Drosophila Kc cells were treated as the objects.

Neuroendocrine tumors of the gallbladder.

A gallbladder neuroendocrine neoplasm (GB-NEN) is a unique heterogeneous neoplasm, originating from neuroendocrine cells and able to secrete peptides as its neurotransmitter. Among all the neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), the GB-NEN prevalence is 0.5%, which accounts for ~2.

RCC2 contributes to tumor invasion and chemoresistance to cisplatin in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Tumor metastasis and chemoresistance are the main causes of treatment failure and high mortality in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Therefore, it is critical to clarify the biological action and potential mechanisms in HCC cells to develop novel therapeutics. The regulator of chromosome condensation 2 (RCC2), a component of the chromosomal passenger complex, was shown to have important roles in tumor development and radio-chemotherapy resistance.

RETRACTED: Long non-coding RNA LINC00160 functions as a decoy of microRNA-132 to mediate autophagy and drug resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma via inhibition of PIK3R3.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).

Efficient Organic Solar Cells Based on Non-Fullerene Acceptors with Two Planar Thiophene-Fused Perylene Diimide Units.

We designed and synthesized two non-fullerene acceptors (CDT-TFP and C8X-TFP), which comprise a central 4-cyclopenta[2,1-:3,4-']dithiophene (CDT) as the bridge and two thiophene-fused perylene diimide (TFP) units. The bulky side chains, such as the 4-hexylphenyl side chains, on the CDT bridge can effectively prevent the acceptor molecules from forming large aggregates, and the π-π stacking of the terminal planar TFP units can form effective electron transport pathways when blending with the donor polymers. These non-fullerene acceptors are used to fabricate organic solar cells (OSCs) by blending with the regioregular middle bandgap polymer reg-PThE.

Total laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy versus open pancreaticoduodenectomy (TJDBPS01): study protocol for a multicentre, randomised controlled clinical trial.

Introduction: Pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) is one of the most complex abdominal operations to perform, and it is usually conducted for tumours of the periampullary region and chronic pancreatitis. Minimally invasive surgery has been progressively being developed for pancreatic surgery, first with the advent of hybrid-laparoscopy and recently with total laparoscopic surgery. Issues including the safety and efficacy of total laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (TLPD) and open pancreaticoduodenectomy (OPD) are currently being debated.

The prognostic value of lncRNA SNHG4 and its potential mechanism in liver cancer.

Background And Object: Emerging evidence shows that non-coding RNA functions as new gene regulators and prognostic markers in several cancers, including liver cancer. Here, we focused on the small nucleolar RNA host gene 4 (SNHG4) in liver cancer prognosis based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data.

Methods: The expression data and clinical information were downloaded from TCGA.

Preventive and Therapeutic Roles of Berberine in Gastrointestinal Cancers.

Berberine (BBR) is an isoquinoline alkaloid isolated from various types of plants, including those from the Berberidaceae, Ranunculaceae, and Papaveraceae families. It has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine for treating diarrhea and gastrointestinal disorders. The medicinal properties of BBR include antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, lipid-regulatory, and antidiabetic actions.

Tribological investigation of additive manufacturing medical Ti6Al4V alloys against AlO ceramic balls in artificial saliva.

Additive manufacturing Ti6Al4V alloys have found their potential applications in artificial teeth and hip joints. In this work, the relationships between wear resistance, hardness and microstructure of Ti6Al4V alloys fabricated using various routes were investigated in artificial saliva. The results indicate that comparing with wrought and wrought + heat treated (HT) samples, the as-SLMed samples with hcp-α' martensite and few bcc-β phase exhibit higher hardness (∼410 HV) and better wear resistance.

A systematic review with meta-analysis of gastroesophageal reflux disease and exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) was suggested to be associated with exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in recent years. The aim of this study was to examine the association between GERD and COPD exacerbation through a meta-analysis.

Methods: Databases including EMBASE, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched with a systematic searching strategy for original articles, published until Jan 2019, without language restriction.

ILF2 cooperates with E2F1 to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis and promote small cell lung cancer progression.

Objective: Mitochondria play multifunctional roles in carcinogenesis. Deciphering uncertainties of molecular interactions within mitochondria will promote further understanding of cancer. Interleukin enhancer binding factor 2 (ILF2) is upregulated in several malignancies, however, much remains unknown regarding ILF2 in small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Regulating the Packing of Non-Fullerene Acceptors via Multiple Noncovalent Interactions for Enhancing the Performance of Organic Solar Cells.

Three noncovalently fused-ring electron acceptors (, , and ) are synthesized. Single crystals of and are prepared, and structure analyses reveal that the molecular backbone can be planarized via the formation of the intramolecular noncovalent interactions. These acceptor molecules can be packed closely in the solid state via π-π stacking and static interactions between the central phenylene unit and the terminal group with a distance of 3.

Study on the grain size control of metatitanic acid in a mixture acid system based on Arrhenius and Boltzmann fitting.

Herein, to control the particle size of metatitanic acid produced titanium thermal hydrolysis in sulfuric-chloric mixture acid (SCMA) solutions, the relationship between its grain size and hydrolysis parameters is discussed, and the corresponding mathematical model was established using the experimental data. Firstly, Ti(OH)(SO)(Cl)(HO) was selected as the most likely initial structure in the SCMA solution by comparing the experimental and corresponding simulated Raman spectra by density functional theory (DFT). Secondly, according to the predicted initial structure of TiO and the experimental data for the hydrolysis process, with an increase in the concentration of TiO and reaction temperature, the hydrolysis rate and grain size increased, while the agglomerate particle size decreased.