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Yuanjue Sun,1,* Liguo Liu,2,* Yaling Wang,3 Aina He,3 Haiyan Hu,3 Jianjun Zhang,3 Mingyong Han,1 Yujing Huang3 1Cancer Therapy and Research Center, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, 250021, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, 200233 Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, 200233 Shanghai, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: The aims of this study were to determine the effect of curcumin on osteosarcoma (OS) cells due to inactivation of the p-JAK2/p-STAT3 pathway and evaluate the prognostic value of this pathway in OS. Materials and methods: We exposed a human OS cell line (MG-63) to different concentrations of curcumin. Then, we characterized the effects on MG-63 cells using assays (cell viability, colony formation, cell cycle, wound healing, invasion), flow cytometry, Western blot, immunohistochemical analyses, and tumor xenograft. Results: The half-maximal inhibitory of curcumin for MG-63 cells at 24 hours was 27.6 µM. The number of colonies of MG-63 cells was decreased obviously upon curcumin (10 and 20 µM) treatment. We also found increased accumulation of MG-63 cells in the G2/M phase upon curcumin (10 and 20 µM) treatment. Apoptosis was increased in 10 and 20 µM curcumin-treated MG-63 cells. After incubation of physically wounded cells for 24 hours, the percentage wound width increased upon curcumin exposure. Curcumin obviously decreased the expression of pJAK-2 and pSTAT-3 in MG-63 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Curcumin dose-dependently inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of MG-63 cells and induced arrest of the G0/G1 phase and apoptosis by inhibiting the p-JAK2/p-STAT3 pathway. The linear correlativity between expression of p-JAK2 and STAT3 was very prominent, and both were closely associated with lung metastasis. In vivo study suggested that curcumin suppressed tumor growth through JAK2/STAT3 signaling. Conclusion: Curcumin-mediated inhibition of the proliferation and migration of MG-63 cells was associated with inactivation of JAK/STAT signaling. Keywords: osteosarcoma, curcumin, multiplication, invasion

An alarming settlement has been observed during the operation of transport infrastructures built on soft clay areas. Considering the long duration of traffic load, analyzing the long-term cyclic behavior of saturated soft clay considering different drainage conditions is of considerable significance. In this study, a series of cyclic triaxial tests were conducted on undisturbed soft clay from Wenzhou under the partially drained and undrained conditions, respectively. The test results reveal that: (a) more permanent strain was generated of the soft clay specimen under partially drainage condition, which is due to the volume change caused by both the decrease of void ratio and the shape deformation of specimens; (b) under partially drained condition, the resilient strain and hysteretic loops both exhibit a sudden increase in strain due to transient softening induced by excess pore water generated in the early stage followed by a reduction until a steady value is attained; (c) it is obvious that the allowable cyclic stress ratio (CSR) under undrained condition is larger than that under partially drained condition, indicating that considering partially drained condition is necessary in practical engineering design.

In this article, the technology of salt bath carburizing at low temperature (640 °C) is used to prepare the titanium carbide thin film on Ti6Al4V alloy surface. The processed alloy sample surface phase and elements are observed by XRD and EDAX. The hardness of sample surface and permeability layer are measured by the MH-3 type microhardness meter. And the friction and wear contrast tests of the uncarburized and carburized samples are carried out using the M2000 friction and wear testing machine. The results show that: high hard phase carbide Ti8C5 is generated on the sample surface. The processed sample surface hardness is 953.28HV, which is 2.57 times of the original; The friction and wear properties of the carburized sample improve significantly; At 100 N, the uncarburzed wearing loss is 29 times of the carburized wearing loss, and at 300 N, the friction coefficient is reduced by 55.9 %.

Background Tumor invasion or adherence to the portal vein–superior mesenteric vein (PV/SMV) may be encountered during pancreatic surgery. In such cases, venous resection and reconstruction might be required for complete resection of the tumor. We report an innovative technique in which the graft for PV/SMV reconstruction was made with the falciform ligament. Methods Between May 2011 and July 2016, PV/SMV reconstruction with a falciform ligament graft was performed in 10 cases during pancreatectomy. Among these cases, including six cases with a patch graft and four cases with a conduit graft. Retrospective reviews of medical records and radiologic studies were performed. Results Ten patients with pancreatobiliary cancer underwent en bloc tumor resection with concurrent PV/SMV resection and reconstruction with a falciform ligament graft. There were six males and four females, and the mean age was 65.3 ± 9.4 (48-80) y. Using Doppler ultrasound examination, all 10 grafts were shown to be patent at postoperative 2 wk. However, occlusion was found in one case with conduit graft and stenosis in the other three cases with conduit graft using enhanced computed tomography at postoperative 2 mo. Complete patency was shown in three of six cases with patch graft and stenosis in the other three cases at 2 mo after the operation. Although occlusion or stenosis of the grafts was observed, no severe adverse events occurred, and normal liver function was discovered in all 10 cases at postoperative 2 mo. Conclusions Falciform ligament grafts might be considered for reconstruction of PV/SMV in the absence of appropriate vascular grafts.

Combination of liquid hot water pretreatment (LHWP) and wet disk milling (WDM) was investigated in this study to enhance the sugar recovery yield both in prehydrolyzate and enzymatic hydrolyzate. The results show that WDM with LHWP at 180 °C for 20 min produced maximum xylose and glucose yields of 91.62% and 88.12%, respectively, which are higher than that of dilute acid pretreatment or individual LHWP. Corresponding concentration of fermentation inhibitors such as acetic acid, HMF, and furfural in the prehydrolyzate are about 0.98, 0.07 and 0.78 g/L, respectively, which indicated that the detoxification may be not required in the next fermentation step. The acid-insoluble lignin recovery in the insoluble solid resulting from enzymatic hydrolysis, was 25.67/100 g raw material, representing 90.7% of acid-insoluble lignin in the eucalyptus biomass. It can be concluded that liquid hot water pretreatment combined with wet disk milling can be successfully applied to eucalyptus.

Objective: To study the clinical features of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: The clinical manifestations, imaging features, pathological subtypes and treatment outcome of two cases with NAFLD-associated HCC were analyzed. Results: In these two cases, both were young, obese male patients, with contrast enhanced CT scan of hemangioma-like features. They had undergone surgical resection and both were reported as well-differentiated HCC pathologically. They were followed-up respectively up to 46 and 36 months post-operatively with no evidence of recurrence or metastasis. Conclusions: NAFLD-associated HCC has different radiological presentations from typical HCC. Incidental finding of any liver occupying lesions in NAFLD patients should raise immediate clinical attention.