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Nickel oxide (NiO) is a typical transparent conductive oxide with intrinsic p-type conductivity. In this study, NiO thin films were prepared by magnetron sputtering and then subject to rapid thermal annealing (RTA, 50–450 °C) under an ambient atmosphere. The experimental results show that RTA critically affects the optoelectronic properties and crystallinity of NiO films. RTA affects the optoelectronic properties of the films by changing their lattice constants and the formation energy of various defects, and an appropriate annealing temperature is important for obtaining NiO films with ideal optoelectronic properties. The NiO film annealed at 350 °C exhibited the optimal optoelectronic performance, with an enhanced figure of merit (average visible light transmittance of 45% and room temperature resistivity of 384.5 Ω·cm) that is nearly three orders of magnitude higher than that of the films annealed at other temperatures.

Metformin was proposed to be a candidate for host-directed therapy for COVID-19. However, its efficacy remains to be validated. In this study, we compared the outcome of metformin users and nonusers in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with diabetes. Hospitalized diabetic patients with confirmed COVID-19 in the Tongji Hospital of Wuhan, China, from January 27, 2020 to March 24, 2020, were grouped into metformin and no-metformin groups according to the diabetic medications used. The demographics, characteristics, laboratory parameters, treatments, and clinical outcome in these patients were retrospectively assessed. A total of 283 patients (104 in the metformin and 179 in the no-metformin group) were included in this study. There were no significant differences between the two groups in gender, age, underlying diseases, clinical severity, and oxygen-support category at admission. The fasting blood glucose level of the metformin group was higher than that of the no-metformin group at admission and was under effective control in both groups after admission. Other laboratory parameters at admission and treatments after admission were not different between the two groups. The length of hospital stay did not differ between the two groups (21.0 days for metformin versus 19.5 days for no metformin, P = 0.74). However, in-hospital mortality was significantly lower in the metformin group (3/104 (2.9%) versus 22/179 (12.3%), P = 0.01). Antidiabetic treatment with metformin was associated with decreased mortality compared with diabetics not receiving metformin. This retrospective analysis suggests that metformin may offer benefits in patients with COVID-19 and that further study is indicated.

Aim: KRAS SNPs may increase KRAS transcription and KRAS levels. SNPs of KRAS 3′UTR can affect carcinoma risk and prognosis. Materials & methods: The rs8720 and rs7960917 in KRAS 3′UTR for colorectal carcinoma (CRC) risk and survival were investigated in a case–control study. Association between SNPs and CRC risk, survival analysis were analyzed by an unconditional logistic regression model, log-rank test, Kaplan–Meier estimation, Cox regression model and one-way analysis of variance. Results & conclusion: The genotype CT of rs8720 was significantly increased risk of CRC, decreased overall survival and event-free survival, and KRAS mRNA and protein expressions were significantly increased in individuals with rs8720 CT, TT genotype. rs8720 may be an important factor in CRC development and prognosis.

Pulmonary large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC), which accounts for approximately 1% of all lung cancers, is a rare and highly aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis. Therefore, it is important to devise an effective treatment strategy. In the treatment of locally advanced complex LCNEC, it is unique to first administer radiotherapy combined with albumin-bound paclitaxel plus carboplatin, followed by durvalumab for immune maintenance treatment after concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy to achieve complete remission. We report a 54-year-old man who smoked and who felt chest tightness for 2 weeks and was diagnosed as having combined pulmonary LCNEC. For patients with locally advanced pulmonary LCNEC, chemoradiotherapy increases overall survival. After surgical resection and chemoradiotherapy, our patient achieved complete remission. Durvalumab was then started to consolidate the treatment. After six courses of immune maintenance therapy, the patient developed grade 2 immune-related pneumonitis and took prednisone orally until the symptoms resolved, and then reached complete remission again. The patient achieved complete remission, which was a challenge with this rare carcinoma, through albumin-bound paclitaxel plus platinum-based chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy and durvalumab for immune maintenance therapy. This approach may provide a treatment option for locally advanced combined pulmonary LCNEC.

SUMMARY: Nine tumor and various potential biomarkers were measured and combined the information to diagnose disease, all patients accepted fiber bronchoscopy brush liquid based cytologyand histopathology examination in order to reliably detect lung cancer. The samples from 314 Chinese lung cancer patients were obtained and CK5/6, P63, P40, CK7, TTF-1, NapsinA CD56, Syn and CgA were measured with the immunohistochemical SP method and analyzed correlation of the expression of these markers with pathological and clinical features of squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and small cell lung carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and small cell carcinoma were 61 cases, 114 cases and 139 cases,CK5/6 and P63 expression were more frequent in squamous cell carcinoma, with sensitivity and specificity of 77.05 % and 96.44 %, 83.61 % and 88.93 %,and compared with adenocarcinoma and small cell carcinoma difference was statistically significant (P

To evaluate the safety and efficiency of sunitinib and sorafenib in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC).Databases were searched up till February 28, 2018. Two reviewers independently assessed trials for eligibility, quality, and extracted relevant data. Results are expressed as risk ratio (RR) or hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Six studies including 3112 patients were accessed. Sorafenib group exhibited higher median progression-free survival (mPFS) compared to sunitinib group (MD, -1.30; 95% CI, -2.56 to -0.03), especially in the first-line treatment (MD, -1.33; 95% CI, -2.61 to -0.04). However, sunitinib significantly reduced the risk of progression-free survival (PFS) compared to sorafenib (HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.6-0.82). Sunitinib also significantly reduced risk of overall survival (OS) compared to sorafenib (HR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.65-0.92), while median OS was similar in both groups (MD, -0.48; 95% CI, -3.40-2.43). With regards to safety, the risk of rash (RR, 0.31, 95% CI, 0.12-0.79) was greater in sunitinib than sorafenib group, while the risk of decreased appetite (RR 2.10, 95% CI: 1.33-3.30) and dehydration (RR 2.73, 95% CI: 1.14-6.56) was smaller in contrast.Based on risk of PFS and OS, sunitinib was a better treatment option for RCC treatment while patients faced with severe skin reaction. And for those Asian patients classified under MSKCC moderate risk, whether in first or second-line treatment, had difficulty in feeding, sorafenib is a better choice for prolong mPFS.

Hai-Sheng Wang,1,* Xiaobo Nie,2,* Rui-Bing Wu,1 Hong-Wei Yuan,1 Yue-Hong Ma,1 Xiu-Lan Liu,1 Jian-Yu Zhang,1 Xiu-Ling Deng,1 Qin Na,1 Hai-Yan Jin,1 Yan-Chao Bian,1 Yu-Min Gao,3 Yan-Dong Wang,4 Wei-Dong Chen,1,2 1Key Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, School of Basic Medical Science, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, 2Key Laboratory of Receptors-Mediated Gene Regulation and Drug Discovery, School of Medicine, Henan University, Kaifeng, 3Epidemiology Section, Public Health School, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, 4State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Aberrant activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways is closely involved in the occurrence and progression of several types of human malignancies. However, as a fundamental component in this cascade, Wnt3 has not been well understood for the expression level and pathogenic mechanism in gastric carcinogenesis. Here, this research was undertaken to elucidate the important role of Wnt3 in gastric cancer. Wnt3 expression in gastric carcinomas and their respective normal tissues was examined by immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry. In all cases, Wnt3 expression was significantly elevated in gastric carcinomas compared with normal tissues. Knocking down Wnt3 in MGC-803 gastric cancer cells by small interfering RNAs transfection led to an obvious decrease in both transcript and protein levels. Silence of Wnt3 expression in gastric cancer cells inhibited the expression of β-catenin and cyclin D1 genes in Wnt/β-catenin pathway, significantly blocked cellular proliferation, delayed cell cycle, suppressed cell invasion and metastasis, accompanied by a higher apoptosis rate. Together, we conclude that upregulation of Wnt3 plays a crucial role in gastric tumorigenesis by inducing proliferation, migration, and invasion and inhibiting apoptosis of cancer cells, and Wnt3 might be a potential target for the treatment of gastric cancer. Keywords: gastric carcinogenesis, gastric carcinoma, β-catenin, siRNA, invasion

As a special focus in initiating and maintaining atrial fibrillation (AF), cardiomyocytes in superior vena cava (SVC) have distinctive electrophysiological characters. In this study, we found that comparing with the right atrial (RA) cardiomyocytes, the SVC cardiomyocytes had longer APD90 at the different basic cycle lengths; the conduction block could be observed on both RA and SVC cardiomyocytes. A few of SVC cardiomyocytes showed slow response action potentials with automatic activity and some others showed early after depolarization (EAD) spontaneously. Further more, we found that there are nonselective cation current (INs) in both SVC and RA cardiomyocytes. The peak density of I Ns in SVC cardiomyocytes was smaller than that in RA cardiomyocytes. Removal of extracellular divalent cation and glucose could increase INs in SVC cardiomyocytes. The agonist or the antagonist of INs may increase or decrease APD. To sum up, some SVC cardiomyocytes possess the ability of spontaneous activity; the difference of transmembrane action potentials between SVC and RA cardiomyocytes is partly because of the different density of INs between them; the agonist or the antagonist of INs can increase or decrease APD leading to the enhancement or reduction of EAD genesis in SVC cardiomyocytes. INs in rabbit myocytes is fairly similar to TRPC3 current in electrophysiological property, which might play an important role in the mechanisms of AF.

Objective To investigate the effects of the potent immunosuppressive agent cyclosporin A (CsA) on the proliferation of human endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression in EPCs. Methods and Results The EPCs were obtained from cultured mononuclear cells, which were isolated from the peripheral blood of healthy adults, and stimulated with CsA (10 μg/mL) in the presence or absence of either vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF; 50 ng/mL) or L-arginine (1 mM). To explore the effect of different concentrations of CsA alone on EPC proliferation, some cells were treated with CsA in a series of final concentrations ranging from 0 to 10 μg/mL. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were determined, respectively, by the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling staining. The expression of eNOS was assayed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis while nitric oxide (NO) generation was detected using the Griess method. The effects of CsA on EPC proliferation, apoptosis, and eNOS/NO production were dose dependent in the concentration ranging from 0.1 μg/mL to 10 μg/mL. Treatment with VEGF (50 ng/mL) significantly promoted EPC proliferation and eNOS/NO production, which were completely abrogated by pre-incubation with CsA (10 μg/mL). The supplement of L-arginine (1 mM) promoted NO production that enhanced EPC proliferation and attenuated the effect of CsA on EPC proliferation and apoptosis. Conclusion CsA significantly inhibited proliferation, eNOS mRNA expression and NO production of human EPCs, in a dose-dependent manner.

This study examined the potential deleterious effect of high-dose nitroglycerin (NTG) on cardiac function and cellular injury after ischemia (30 min) and reperfusion (120 min) in isolated perfused rat hearts. Low-dose (0.75 microg/h), medium-dose (3.75 microg/h), high-dose (15 microg/h) NTG or high-dose NTG plus glutathione (GSH, 1 mmol/L) was administrated at the time of reperfusion. Administration of high-dose NTG significantly exacerbated cardiac reperfusion injury as evidenced by increased creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase activity in coronary effluent, increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis and necrosis, and decreased cardiac function recovery after reperfusion. Compared with the vehicle group, formation of nitrotyrosine, a footprint for peroxynitrite (ONOO) production, was markedly increased in the hearts treated with medium-dose or high-dose NTG. Most interestingly, cotreatment with GSH blocked high-dose NTG-induced ONOO formation and attenuated myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. Taken together, our present results demonstrated that administration of high-dose NTG aggravated, rather than attenuated myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury likely via increasing ONOO formation. Coadministration of GSH may reverse the advert action of high-dose NTG.

Objective: To detect the modulation of cytokines production by acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells before or after exposure to all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA). Methods: Diagnoses were performed according to the FAB cytological classification criteria and cytogenetic criteria. Bone marrow or blood samples from APL patients were collected in heparinized microfuge tube. Primary APL cells were separated and purified by traditional Ficoll-Hypaque density centrifugation and enriched after adherence to plastic surfaces. IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNFα and G-CSF levels in the supernatants of cultured leukemia cells were estimated by ELISA method. NBT method was used to detect the differentiation of APL cells at the same time. Results: 96 h after exposure to ATRA at 10−6 M in vitro or 60 mg/day in vivo, APL cells showed a significant increase of IL-1β (P

Objective: To detect the minimal residual diseases (MRD) in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) after complete remission (CR) and to analyze its clinical value in prognosis. Methods: Reverse transcription Polymerase chain reaction (RT/PCR) was used to detect MRD of patients with APL. Results: MRD positive rate in patients with APL was 92.8% (39/42) before treatment and 56.7 (21/37) immediately after the ATRA or chemotherapy-induced CR. Furthermore, MRD positive rate was related to the relapse in APL patients and could be considered as a marker to predict the relapse of patients with APL after CR. The MRD detection could also be applied to direct the consolidation therapy to prevent relapses. Conclusion: RT-PCR is valuable to monitor MRD and can be used as a marker to predict relapses.

Background The presence of diabetes and plasma glucose concentration on admission are associated with adverse outcomes after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), as high glucose can induce vascular endothelial cell apoptosis. This study explored the relative associations among admission plasma glucose level, soluble Fas (sFas) concentration, and long-term survival in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods This prospective cohort study include 83 patients with acute STEMI. Based on their admission plasma glucose levels (7.8 and 11.1 mmol/L as the limits for low and high levels, respectively), patients were allocated into one of three groups: normal glucose (n = 33), median glucose (n = 24), and high glucose (n = 26). The admission plasma level of sFas was measured with a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Patients were followed up for an average of 89 ± 20 months for all causes of death and cardiovascular death. Results sFas levels were significantly higher in the high glucose group compared to the normal glucose group (5.87 ± 1.70 mmol/L vs. 3.07 ± 0.93 mmol/L, respectively, P

Postconditioning has been shown to reduce infarct size, ischemic/reperfusion injury and myocardial injury in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study tested the hypothesis that postconditioning attenuates the elevation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and improves heart function in patients with AMI after PCI.A total of 75 patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: the routine group (n = 26), in which no intervention was given at the onset of reperfusion; and the Postcon-30s (n = 25) or Postcon-60 s (n = 24) groups, in which 3 cycles of 30- or 60-second balloon deflation and inflation were repetitively performed. TNF-alpha serum concentration was measured by ELISA. Global and regional left ventricular systolic function was determined by echocardiography at 1 year. Thirty-four normal controls (NC) were enrolled in the study.The TNF-alpha concentration in patients with AMI was significantly elevated at baseline compared to controls (P0.01). Concentration levels increased in the routine and Postcon-30s, but not in Postcon-60s group at 7 days (P0.05). As for linear associations among the three groups, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and wall motion score index (WMSI) were ranked as follows: Postcon-60sPostcon-30sroutine (P values all0.05, 65% vs. 57% vs. 52% and 1.10 vs. 1.27 vs. 1.53) after 1 year. More importantly, there was a significant relevance between the soluble TNF-alpha serum concentration at 7 days and LVEF or WMSI after 1 year (P values all0.0001).Postconditioning, in particular Postcon-60s was associated with long-term cardioprotective effects for inhibition of the inflammatory response and reperfusion injury. The soluble TNF-alpha serum concentration provided powerful prognostic information of global and regional left ventricular systolic function in patients with AMI.

To investigate the effects of ShenSongYangXin on action potential and some current channels in isolated rabbit pulmonary vein cardiomyocytes and to elucidate its possible mechanism of curing atrial fibrillation.Action potentials as well as L-type calcium channel current (I(Ca-L)), transient outward potassium current (I(K1)) and inward rectifier potassium current (I(To)) were recorded using whole cell patch-clamp technique.ShenSongYangXin prolonged the action potential duration (APD) significantly, APD90 was enlarged from (187 +/- 49) ms to (286 +/- 76) ms at the concentration of 5 mg/ml and to (312 +/- 82) ms at the concentration of 10 mg/dl respectively (P0.05). It also depressed the current of I(Ca-L), I(K1) and Iro in a concentration-dependent manner.ShenSongYangXin can be used to treat atrial fibrillation through its actions on multiple current channels.

Circulating autoantibodies against the M2-muscarinic acetylcholine receptor ( CHRM2 ) have been detected in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). However, it has yet to be determined whether the pathogenesis of familial DCM may be linked to the genetic variability of the CHRM2 gene. The coding regions of the CHRM2 gene were examined by direct DNA sequencing. Plasma concentrations of autoantibodies against CHRM2 were determined by ELISA in 7 unrelated DCM families. Linkage analysis demonstrated cosegregation of the microsatellite markers, D7S509 and D7S495 that flank the CHRM2 gene, with the familial form of DCM. A novel missense mutation (C722G) replacing cysteine with tryptophane (Cys176Trp) was identified in the CHRM2 gene in all affected members but was absent in unaffected members. Additionally, 139 sporadic DCM patients and 450 normal volunteers were screened for the same mutation, but none were identified. Among the 12 affected members with familial DCM, 5 patients had died suddenly and 7 experienced ventricular arrhythmia, atrioventricular conduction block, and heart failure. All mutation carriers were positive for autoantibodies against CHRM2 . Survival analysis disclosed that prognosis in patients who were mutation carriers with familial DCM was poorer than that seen in patients who were noncarriers with sporadic DCM (( P CHRM2 gene associated with familial DCM. We also show that this variant correlates with the presence of autoantibodies against CHRM2 . Patients with C722G mutation have more progressive disease, characterized by sudden death, arrhythmia, and heart failure.