Feasibility of optimizing intensity-modulated radiation therapy plans based on measured mucosal dose adjacent to dental fillings and toxicity outcomes.

We prospectively investigated the feasibility of IMRT treatment plan optimization based on dosimeter measurements of lateral tongue mucosal dose adjacent to the dental fillings and evaluated dose-toxicity relationship and factors affecting oral mucositis (OM) in head and neck cancer patients. Twenty-nine head and neck cancer patients with metallic dental fillings who were scheduled to undergo fractionated external beam radiation therapy (RT) ± chemotherapy were enrolled. The lateral tongue dose was measured and if the calculated dose for the entire treatment was ≥35 Gy, a re-plan was generated to reduce the lateral tongue mucosal dose.

CD38 Deficiency Promotes Inflammatory Response through Activating Sirt1/NF-B-Mediated Inhibition of TLR2 Expression in Macrophages.

CD38 was first identified as a lymphocyte-specific antigen and then has been found to be widely expressed in a variety of cell types. The functions of CD38 are involved in numerous biological processes including immune responses. Here, we showed the downregulations of both TLR2 mRNA and protein in macrophages from CD38 mice and in CD38 knockdown RAW264.

The Role of Structural Enthalpy in Spherical Nucleic Acid Hybridization.

DNA hybridization onto DNA-functionalized nanoparticle surfaces (e.g., in the form of a spherical nucleic acid (SNA)) is known to be enhanced relative to hybridization free in solution.

Glycine Transporter-1 and glycine receptor mediate the antioxidant effect of glycine in diabetic rat islets and INS-1 cells.

Oxidative stress is the main inducer of β-cell damage, which underlies the pathogenesis of diabetes. Evidence suggests that glycine, a recognized antioxidant, may improve β-cell function; however, its mechanism in protecting diabetic β-cells against oxidative stress has not been directly investigated. Using a streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat model and INS-1 pancreatic β-cells, we evaluated whether glycine can attenuate diabetic β-cell damage induced by oxidative stress.

miR-92b-3p Promotes Colorectal Carcinoma Cell Proliferation, Invasion, and Migration by Inhibiting FBXW7 In Vitro and In Vivo.

microRNA (miR)-92b is an oncogenic miRNA. F-box and WD-40 domain protein 7 (FBXW7/hCdc4) is a tumor suppressor and a target of miR-92b-3p. This study was designed to investigate the effect of miR-92b-3p on colorectal carcinoma (CRC) invasion.

Efficacy of prophylactic probiotics in combination with antibiotics versus antibiotics alone for colorectal surgery: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

This meta-analysis aimed to determine whether prophylactic probiotics in combination with antibiotics are superior to antibiotics alone in the prevention of surgical site infection (SSI) after colorectal surgery. Fourteen trials involving 1524 participants were included. Compared with antibiotics alone, prophylactic probiotics in combination with antibiotics reduced the risk of SSI as well as other complications, shortened the cumulative duration of antibiotic therapy.

Downregulation of microRNA-17-5p inhibits drug resistance of gastric cancer cells partially through targeting p21.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are endogenous small non-coding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate the expression of genes and serve crucial roles in diverse biological processes. The present study aimed to examine the miRNA expression profile and drug resistance in the SGC7901 cell line and its isogenic drug-resistant counterpart, SGC7901/cisplatin (DDP) cell line. The potential role of miR-17-5p in modulating drug resistance in gastric cancer cells was investigated.

Immune-related adverse events for anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 drugs: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To evaluate rates of serious organ specific immune-related adverse events, general adverse events related to immune activation, and adverse events consistent with musculoskeletal problems for anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) drugs overall and compared with control treatments.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources: Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus searched to 16 March 2017 and combined with data from ClinicalTrials.

Perceptual expertise impacts preattentive processing of visual simple feature: a visual mismatch negativity study.

Perceptual expertise can be defined as enhanced abilities of discriminating, learning, and recognizing object of special categories. It is unclear whether the perceptual expertise effects occur at the preattentive stage. In the present study, visual mismatch negativity (vMMN) elicited by deviant orientation (90°/270° vs.

Immunogenicity in chickens with orally administered recombinant chicken-borne Lactobacillus saerimneri expressing FimA and OmpC antigen of O78 avian pathogenic Escherichia coli.

Purpose: Avian colibacillosis is responsible for economic losses to poultry producers worldwide. To combat this, we aimed to develop an effective oral vaccine for chicken against O78 avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) infection through a Lactobacillus delivery system.

Methodology: Eight Lactobacillus strains isolated from the intestines of broiler chickens were evaluated based on their in vitro adherence ability to assess their potential as a delivery vector.

Asiatic acid suppresses neuroinflammation in BV2 microglia via modulation of the Sirt1/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Asiatic acid, a triterpenoid derived from Centella asiatica, has been found to exhibit multiple bioactivities. In this study, we investigated the effects of asiatic acid on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation and explored the mechanism of its action in BV2 microglia. We found that asiatic acid (0.

Human Leukocyte Antigen-G Inhibits the Anti-Tumor Effect of Natural Killer Cells via Immunoglobulin-Like Transcript 2 in Gastric Cancer.

Background/aims: Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) plays an important role in inhibiting natural killer (NK) cell function and promoting immune escape. However, the specific mechanism of HLA-G on NK in gastric cancer (GC) remains not well understood. This study investigated the expression of HLA-G in GC and the role of HLA-G-effected NK cells in GC progression.

(-)-Epicatechin protects the intestinal barrier from high fat diet-induced permeabilization: Implications for steatosis and insulin resistance.

Increased permeability of the intestinal barrier is proposed as an underlying factor for obesity-associated pathologies. Consumption of high fat diets (HFD) is associated with increased intestinal permeabilization and increased paracellular transport of endotoxins which can promote steatosis and insulin resistance. This study investigated whether dietary (-)-epicatechin (EC) supplementation can protect the intestinal barrier against HFD-induced permeabilization and endotoxemia, and mitigate liver damage and insulin resistance.

SUMO-specific protease 2-mediated deSUMOylation is required for NDRG2 stabilization in gastric cancer cells.

N-myc downstream regulated gene 2 (NDRG2) is frequently down-regulated in various cancers and functions as a candidate tumor suppressor gene. NDRG2 has been shown to be SUMOylated on the lysine 333 residue, which promoted its ubiquitination and sequentially degradation by the SUMO-targeted ubiquitin E3 ligase RNF4. However, how to regulated NDRG2 deSUMOylation process remains largely unknown.

MicroRNA-149* suppresses hepatic inflammatory response through antagonizing STAT3 signaling pathway.

Chronic inflammation is increasingly recognized as an important component of tumorigenesis and metabolic diseases. The roles of microRNA149* (miRNA149*) in inflammation remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that miR-149* is a suppressor of STAT3-mediated inflammation.

The Effect of Velvet Antler Proteins on Cardiac Microvascular Endothelial Cells Challenged with Ischemia-Hypoxia.

Velvet antler (VA) is a precious traditional Chinese medicine that is capable of repeated regeneration. Based on the Chinese medicine theory of coordination the heart and kidneys, VA has been employed to treat heart diseases, including ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and arrhythmia. We examined the effects of VA proteins on primary cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (CMECs) that were subjected to ischemia-hypoxia (IH) to investigate their effects on and mechanism of action in the treatment of ischemic heart disease.

Upregulation of GNL3 expression promotes colon cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition via the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

G protein nucleolar 3 (GNL3), a nucleolar GTP-binding protein, is highly expressed in progenitor cells, stem cells, and various types of cancer cells. Therefore, it is considered to have an important role in cancer pathogenesis. GNL3 has been reported to play crucial roles in cell proliferation, cell cycle regulation, inhibition of differentiation, ribosome biogenesis, and the maintenance of stemness, genome stability and telomere integrity.

Improving trehalose synthase activity by adding the C-terminal domain of trehalose synthase from Thermus thermophilus.

The aim of this work was to study the activities of four other TreS enzymes from different sources linked with or without TtTreS-C. The results showed that a flexible linker peptide between TreS enzymes and TtTreS-C is essential for their activity enhancement. Moreover, the specific activities of the four enzymes were also improved by linking to the TtTreS-C fragment.

DIMT1 overexpression correlates with progression and prognosis in gastric carcinoma.

We investigated the expression of dimethyladenosine transferase 1 homolog (DIMT1) in human gastric carcinoma (GC) tissues, pericarcinoma histologically normal tissues, and normal gastric tissues and explored its clinical significance. Immunohistochemistry staining was used to detect the expression of DIMT1, and the findings were compared with clinicopathological features of patients with GC. The result also was ascertained by Western blotting.

Identification of Cronobacter species by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry with an optimized analysis method.

Rapid and precise identification of Cronobacter species is important for foodborne pathogen detection, however, commercial biochemical methods can only identify Cronobacter strains to genus level in most cases. To evaluate the power of mass spectrometry based on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF MS) for Cronobacter species identification, 51 Cronobacter strains (eight reference and 43 wild strains) were identified by both MALDI-TOF MS and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Biotyper RTC provided by Bruker identified all eight reference and 43 wild strains as Cronobacter species, which demonstrated the power of MALDI-TOF MS to identify Cronobacter strains to genus level.

MicroRNA-22 suppresses the growth, migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cells through a Sp1 negative feedback loop.

MicroRNAs have recently emerged as regulators of many biological processes including cell proliferation, development and differentiation. This study identified that miR-22 was statistically decreased in colorectal cancer clinical specimens and highly metastatic cell lines. Moreover, low miR-22 expression was associated with tumor metastasis, advanced clinical stage and relapse.

Quercetin Inhibits LPS-Induced Inflammation and ox-LDL-Induced Lipid Deposition.

Aberrant activation of inflammation and excess accumulation of lipids play crucial role in the occurrence and progression of atherosclerosis (AS). Quercetin (QCT) has been tested effectively to cure AS. It is widely distributed in plant foods and has been proved to have potential antioxidative and anticancer activities.

Feeble Antipyretic, Analgesic, and Anti-inflammatory Activities were Found with Regular Dose 4'-O-β-D-Glucosyl-5-O-Methylvisamminol, One of the Conventional Marker Compounds for Quality Evaluation of Radix Saposhnikoviae.

Introduction: 4'-O-β-D-glucosyl-5-O-methylvisamminol (GML) is a conventional marker compound for quality control of Radix Saposhnikoviae. Despite that, neither pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic information is available with regard to GML. As such, the aim of thisstudy was to assess the conventional evaluation indices for the quality of Radix Saposhnikoviae.