Efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy/maintenance chemotherapy after induction chemotherapy and concurrent chemoradiotherapy in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Experiences of two centers.

Background And Objective: In general, there are not many studies exploring the clinical value of adjuvant chemotherapy or maintenance chemotherapy (AC/MC) after induction chemotherapy and concurrent chemoradiotherapy (IC+CCRT+AC/MC). The purpose of this study was to establish a clinical nomogram for the use of AC/MC in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC).

Material And Methods: Two centers (Guangzhou Medical University Cancer Center [N = 1226] and Zhongshan People's Hospital [N = 150]) recruited 1376 patients with LA-NPC.

Diagnosis and genetic analysis of a case with Bardet-Biedl syndrome caused by compound heterozygous mutations in the BBS12 gene.

Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a rare autosomal recessive ciliopathy, which is caused by mutations mainly in genes encoding BBSome complex and IFT complex. Here, we reported a 21-year-old female with BBS characterized by three primary features including obesity, retinitis pigmentosa sine pigmento and bilateral renal cysts. She also had some secondary features such as diabetes mellitus, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, subclinical hypothyroidism and mild conductive hearing damage.

Which Is Safer, Chinese Medicine or Western Medicine? Comparative Analysis Based on Chinese Spontaneous Reporting Database.

Objective: To compare the safety differences between Chinese medicine (CM) and Western medicine (WM) based on Chinese Spontaneous Reporting Database (CSRD).

Methods: Reports of adverse events (AEs) caused by CM and WM in the CSRD between 2010 and 2011 were selected. The following assessment indicators were constructed: the proportion of serious AEs (PSE), the average number of AEs (ANA), and the coverage rate of AEs (CRA).

[Prediction of potential distribution of Carpinus cordata in China under climate change.].

Climate change seriously affects the geographical distribution of plants. Regional diffe-rences in plant response to climate change will provide important guidance for species introduction and conservation. Based on ArcGIS and MaxEnt model, we used 176 geographic information of Carpinus cordata and 13 climatic variables to reconstruct its current and future niche.

Intergeneric Relationships within the Family Salicaceae based on Plastid Phylogenomics.

Many Salicaceae plants are recognized for their important role in the production of products such as wood, oils, and medicines, and as a model organism in life studies. However, the difference in plastid sequence, phylogenetic relationships, and lineage diversification of the family Salicaceae remain poorly understood. In this study, we compare 24 species representing 18 genera of the family.

Identification of two clip domain serine proteases involved in the pea aphid's defense against bacterial and fungal infection.

Phenoloxidases (POs) are required for the pea aphid's defense against bacterial and fungal infection. Prophenoloxidases (PPOs) are proteolytically converted to its active form PO through a clip domain serine protease cascade. In this study, we identified five clip domain serine proteases in the pea aphids.

Association of body mass index and age with incident diabetes in Chinese adults: a population-based cohort study.

Objective: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is increasing in young adults, and greater adiposity is considered a major risk factor. However, whether there is an association between obesity and diabetes and how this might be impacted by age is not clear. Therefore, we investigated the association between body mass index (BMI) and diabetes across a wide range of age groups (20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60, 60-70 and ≥70 years old).

Endocrinal description of two Chinese Kennedy's disease pedigrees.

Kennedy's disease (KD), also known as X-linked spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), is caused by the expansion of cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeats in the first exon of the androgen receptor (AR) gene. KD is a late-onset neural-endocrinal disease that is characterized by the degeneration of motor neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord. In addition, partial androgen insensitivity is an important manifestation of KD.

Hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, hypocalciuria, and recurrent tetany: Gitelman syndrome in a Chinese pedigree and literature review.

Gitelman syndrome is an autosomal recessive disease mostly associated with loss-of-function mutations of the gene and featured by clinical hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, hypocalciuria, and histologically hypertrophy of the juxtaglomerular apparatus. A novel homozygous mutation (p.Arg399Pro) at the extracellular domain of SLC12A3 was found and correlated with the severe clinical manifestations.

[Spatio-temporal variability of habitat quality in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Area based on land use change].

Land use change is the core content of global change. To achieve sustainable land use planning, it is necessary to evaluate the habitat quality pattern and its spatio-temporal variation resulted from land use change, which can provide basis for the formulation of land management policy. Based on the analysis of land use change from 2000 to 2010, this study investigated the spatio-temporal variation of habitat quality pattern of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Area.

[Odor Emission Characteristics from Biochemical Treatment Facilities of Kichen Waste in China].

Xining, Ningbo and Beijing were closen as the representative cities about biochemical treatment of kichen waste. The treatment facilities of these cities were investigated and set as the sampling points. The main compositions and the material contents were analyzed by GC/MS, the odor concertration was obtained by the Triangle odor bag method.

Looking for agonists of β2 adrenergic receptor from Fuzi and Chuanwu by virtual screening and dual-luciferase reporter assay.

More and more studies demonstrated that β2 adrenergic receptor (β2-AR) plays a crucial role for the treatment of heart failure. Chuanwu and Fuzi have been used over thousands of years in China for the treatment of heart failure. Considering the effects of these herbs are very similar to β2-AR agonists, we presume whether β2-AR agonists can be found from Fuzi and Chuanwu.

[Absorption and distribution of K, Na and Mg in Avicennia marina seedlings under cadmium stress].

In this paper, mangrove seedlings Avicennia marina were treated with various contents of cadmium (0, 0.5, 5, 25, 50, 100, 150 mg · L(-1)). These seedlings were cultivated by man-made seawater with a salinity of 15 in sand for 90 days in a greenhouse.

[Characteristics of Total Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus Pollution and Eutrophication Assessment of Secondary River in Urban Chongqing].

To understand the secondary river quality in Chongqing urban area, six typical secondary rivers were chosen to investigate the pollution characteristics of total nitrogen and total phosphorus and to evaluate the water eutrophication level according to the monitoring data of water physicochemical characteristics and chlorophyll content from April 2013 to March 2014. The study results showed that: the six rivers mentioned above have been seriously polluted by TN and TP, with the monthly mean values of TN and TP far exceeding the universally accepted threshold values of water eutrophication. Water eutrophicaton appraisal result indicated that all rivers in each season were in a state of eutrophication, and the eutrophication level could be arranged in the order of Panxi River > Qingshui River > Tiaodeng River > Huaxi River > Funiu River > Chaoyang River.

Midgut immune responses induced by bacterial infection in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.

Insect gut epithelial cells produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) to protect hosts from pathogenic microorganisms. In this study, we evaluate the pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus bombysepticus in the silkworm, Bombyx mori. Survival curves show that B.

Development and characterization of EST-SSR markers in Ostryopsis (Betulaceae).

Premise Of The Study: A set of expressed sequence tag (EST) microsatellite markers were developed and characterized using next-generation sequencing technology for the Chinese genus Ostryopsis (Betulaceae). •

Methods And Results: A total of 38 high-quality simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers were identified, of which 15 could be successfully amplified. Subsequently, we selected 80 individuals to represent the three species of the genus to evaluate the efficacy of these markers for examining genetic diversity of each species in the future.

Physiological roles of mycothiol in detoxification and tolerance to multiple poisonous chemicals in Corynebacterium glutamicum.

Mycothiol (MSH) plays important roles in maintaining cytosolic redox homeostasis and in adapting to reactive oxygen species in the high-(G + C)-content Gram-positive Actinobacteria. However, its physiological roles are ill defined compared to glutathione, the functional analog of MSH in Gram-negative bacteria and most eukaryotes. In this research, we explored the impact of intracellular MSH on cellular physiology by using MSH-deficient mutants in the model organism Corynebacterium glutamicum.

Baicalin regulates neuronal fate decision in neural stem/progenitor cells and stimulates hippocampal neurogenesis in adult rats.

Background: Recent studies revealed that baicalin, a flavonoid compound derived from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, could promote neuron differentiation of NSPCs after commencing the differentiation process in vitro. However, this may not be the most efficacious strategy to determinate cell fate. Here, we have investigated whether baicalin can influence early events of neuron generation and stimulate adult neurogenesis.

Fasting plasma glucose correlates with angiographic coronary artery disease prevalence and severity in Chinese patients without known diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). While there is a clear association of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) with microvascular complications, the risk for CAD conferred by FPG is relatively less clear. Therefore, we investigate the association between different FPG and the prevalence and severity of angiographic CAD in high-risk Chinese patients without known diabetes.

The obesity-related polymorphism PCSK1 rs6235 is associated with essential hypertension in the Han Chinese population.

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin-type 1 (PCSK1) is a prohormone convertase that has an important role in prohormone maturation including the process of prorenin to renin. We studied the association of the PCSK1 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs6235 (encoding an S690T substitution) with essential hypertension (EH), obesity and related traits in the Han Chinese population. The rs6235 SNP in the PCSK1 gene was investigated using a case-control study design, with 1034 hypertension cases and 1112 normotensive controls.

[Relationship of epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutations, clinicopathologic features and prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer].

Objective: To investigate epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations in exons 19 and 21 of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to analyze the relationship of EGFR mutations with clinicopathological features and prognosis.

Methods: The EGFR gene exons 19 and 21 of paraffin-embedded tumor tissue were amplified by PCR, followed by direct sequencing in 282 surgically-removed specimens of NSCLC. The relationship of EGFR gene mutations in NSCLC with clinicopathological features and prognosis were analyzed.

Association of the aldosterone synthase gene -344T>C polymorphism with essential hypertension and glucose homeostasis: a case-control study in a Han Chinese population.

1. Aldosterone is a hormone that affects both blood pressure and glucose homeostasis. We studied the association of the aldosterone synthase gene (CYP11B2) polymorphism -344T>C with essential hypertension (EH) and glucose homeostasis in people in China.

[Efficacy and safety of high-dose α-lipoic acid in the treatment of diabetic polyneuropathy].

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of high-dose α-lipoic acid in the treatment of diabetic polyneuropathy with regards to sensory symptoms and nerve conduction velocity.

Methods: A total of 236 diabetics with symptomatic polyneuropathy were enrolled into this 5-center, randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of α-lipoic acid 1800 mg daily (n = 117) or matching placebo (n = 119) for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was total symptom score (TSS).

Implantation of bFGF-treated islet progenitor cells ameliorates streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats.

Aim: To examine whether implantation of islet preparation-derived proliferating islet cells (PIC) could ameliorate diabetes in rats.

Methods: PIC were expanded from rat islet preparation by supplementation of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and implanted into rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes through the portal vein. Body weight and blood glucose levels were measured.