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We introduce a method to study anisotropic flow parameter vn as a collective probe to Quark Gluon Plasma in relativistic heavy ion collisions. The emphasis is put on the use of the Fourier expansion of initial spatial azimuthal distributions of participant nucleons in the overlapped region. The coefficients n of Fourier expansion are called the spatial anisotropy parameter for the n-th harmonic. We propose that collective dynamics can be studied by vn/n. In this paper, we will discuss in particular the second (n = 2) and the fourth (n = 4) harmonics.

This paper is devoted to characterizing the Riemann-Stieltjes operators and pointwise multipliers acting on Mobius invariant spaces Q(p), which unify BMOA and Bloch space in the scale of p. The boundedness and compactness of these operators on Q(p) spaces are determined by means of an embedding theorem, i.e. Q(p) spaces boundedly embedded in the non-isotropic tent type spaces T-q(infinity). (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A simple and versatile method for the introduction of redox unites onto the surface of magnetic nanoparticles has been developed based on "click" chemistry. Azide-functionalized Fe2O3 magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized and further reacted with ethynylferrocene via Cu(I)-catalyzed azide alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. The functionalized magnetic nanoparticles were characterized using a powder X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FTIR), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The resulting materials have properties of both magnetism and electrochemistry, and the electrochemical properties of the nanoparticles are dependent on the features of ethynylferrocene, while the magnetic properties remain independent of ethynylferrocene. Because of the magnetism of Fe2O3 nanoparticles and the electrocatalytic activity of ferrocene unites, a recyclable, magneto-switchable bioelectrocatalytic system for glucose oxidation in the presence of glucose oxidase is developed by alternate positioning of an external magnet, and the system has a linear response for glucose biosensing over the range of 1.0-10.0 mM.

In order to process the hardened face-gear, and improve the surface’s accuracy, the grinding process of face gear is studied. According to the equation of tooth surface, the tooth surface is drawn by a series of space curve, the contact point’s trajectory and velocity at the processing of grinding are determined in three coordinate directions. The model of grinding machine is set up, and analyses the movement of relationship between tool and face-gear. The simple grinding wheel apply complex movement to grinding process the face-gear is successful.

A simple and versatile method based on noncovalent supramolecular attachment and layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly is proposed to prepare nanostructured hybrid conducting polymer. The negatively charged poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) wrapped multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is doped with cationic polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers via LBL assembly, and a well-defined PANI/MWCNTs composite was obtained. The LBL assembly process is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometry and electrochemical methods. It was found that PSS wrapped MWCNTs inside the multilayer film can dope nanostructured PANI effectively and shift its electroactivity to a neutral pH environment. Moreover, the conducting composites show amperometric response for hydrogen peroxide with a linear range of 2.0 × 10 −7 –1.0 × 10 −3 mol L −1 .

Caudatin-2,6-dideoxy-3-O-methy-β-D-cymaropyranoside (CDMC), the C-21 steroidal glycoside recently extracted from the traditional Chinese medicinal plant, the root of Cynanchum auriculatum Royle ex Wight (Asclepiadaceae), has been shown to possess potent antitumor properties. However, the bioactivities of CDMC are still largely unknown, especially the antitumor effect and its mechanism. This study investigated the CDMC antitumor effects on human hepatoma cell line SMMC7721 cells by analysis of cell viability, cell cycle phases and apoptosis. The results showed that CDMC inhibited the growth of SMMC7721 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner and resulted in cell cycle arrest in G(0)/G(1) phase. Furthermore, CDMC induced SMMC7721 cell apoptosis rather than necrosis through caspase 3 activation, and a caspase 3 inhibitor, Ac-DEVD-CHO, could attenuate the apoptosis induced by CDMC. The results suggested that the anticancer activity of CDMC could be attributed partially to its inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis associated with caspase 3 activation.

In this paper, a simple, facile and general strategy was proposed for the covalent biofunctionalization of Au surface with hemoglobin (Hb). Structurally well-defined azide-terminated organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) were formed on Au surface from a mixture solution of azidoundecanethiol and dilute thiol. 4-Pentynoic acid was used as a bifunctional linker to immobilized Hb via a selective, reliable, robust click reaction and a widely used carbodiimide reaction. The surface modification was characterized by reflectance absorption infrared (RAIR) spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The experimental data indicate that the proposed methodology is a highly versatile strategy for quantitative, stable and covalent attachment of biomacromolecules onto solid interface. The Hb functionalized Au electrode shows a pair of well-defined and quasi-reversible peaks at about -0.210 V (vs. SCE) in 0.1 mol/L pH 5.0 buffers, which stands for the reduction and oxidation of Hb Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox couple. The electron transfer rate constant (k(s)) was estimated to be 0.78 s(-1). The maximal surface coverage (Gamma) of the immobilized Hb was 8.3 x 10(-12) mol cm(-2), indicating the formation of a monolayer. Moreover, the biocatalytic activity of the Hb biofunctonalized electrode was investigated and an excellent electrocatalytic reduction toward O(2) and H(2)O(2) was observed.

Form of matter created in high-energy heavy ion collisions is pertinent to color deconfinement. We calculate time dependences of number densities of pions, rhos, kaons, vector kaons, free quarks and antiquarks. Due to medium screening which leads to constant confinement at large distances, meson-meson reactions [Formula: see text] in hadronic matter below the critical temperature Tc produce an appreciable amount of quarks and antiquarks freely moving in hadronic matter and establish a new mechanism for deconfinement of quarks and antiquarks in hadronic matter. We therefore arrive at a new form of matter below Tc: hadrons plus free quarks and antiquarks.

A stepwise strategy is reported for the design of a meditor-free amperometric tyrosinase biosensor. It is based on the azide-alkyne click reaction and carbodiimide coupling. Firstly, azide-terminated alkane thiols monolayers were self-assembled on the Au electrode surface. Then, nitrophenyl groups were covalent attached to the self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) via the click reaction of copper(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of azide-alkyne. Finally, the nitrophenyl group terminated SAMs were converted to aminophenyl-terminated interface by electrochemical reduction, and tyrosinase was covalent immobilized onto the Au electrode via carbodiimide reaction. Based on the stepwise strategy, a meditor-free amperometric tyrosinase biosensor was farbricated, and it showed good electrocatalytic reduction ability toward phenol, pyrocatechol and m-Cresol. Their linear ranges were over the range of 0.2 to 15.0 μmol·L−1, 0.2 to 73.0 μmol·L−1, and 0.2 to 33.0 μmol·L−1, respectively.

Active control landing gears are used to alleviate vibration during aircraft taxiing. A nonlinear stochastic dynamics model is established, considering the aircraft body pitch movement and elastic vibration excited by the random runway. The equivalent linearization method is adopted to ensure the model linearity near the balance point, and the Gaussian random process of the runway is generated from the Gaussian white noise using a shape filter. Based on the stochastic optimal control theory, the LQG controller is designed along with weighted quadratic performance index for a better ride comfort, shock absorption, road holding and least energy expenditure. The algebraic Riccati and Lyapunov equations are solved to obtain stationary response while taxiing aircraft at a constant velocity and the differential Riccati and Lyapunov equations are solved to obtain the nonstationary response while taxiing aircraft at a variable velocity. The aircraft dynamic responses are obtained through the runway random process modeled by Monte Carlo method. Simulation results show that active control landing gear can give a better ride comfort, shock absorption and road holding performance no matter whether taxiing is at constant or variable velocity.

According to the theory of planet gear drive and the actual design requirements of ship reducer, the mathematical model of optimization for power distributional planet gear drive is set up, the optimization design variables, the optimization objective function and the restraint conditions are definited. On the base of the establishment of three hierarchical optimization method, to take advantage of its powerful optimization toolbox in Matlab, combine the basic algorithm of optimization design, optimize respectively power distributional planet gear drive from three single-objective optimization for the lightest weight, the smallest center distance, most efficient and from one multi-objective optimization of the lightest weight and smallest center distance. The optimal results showed that ship reducer weight could be further reduced.

Iodinated contrast media (iodinated CM) have increased ability to absorb x-rays and to visualize structures that normally are impossible to observe in a radiological examination. The use of iodinated CM may destory renal function, commonly known as contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN), which can result in acute renal failure (ARF). This review article mainly focuses on the following areas: (1) classifications of iodinated CM: ionic or non-ionic, high-osmolarity contrast media (HOCM), low-osmolarity contrast media (LOCM) and iso-osmolarity contrast media (IOCM); (2) an introduction to the physical and chemical properties of the non-ionic iodinated CM; (3) the management of anaphylactic reaction by iodinated CM; (4) a suggested single injection of adult doses and maximum dose for non-ionic iodinated CM; (5) the molecular mechanism of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN); (6) In vitro studies on iodinated CM. Based on above information, this review article provide an insight for understanding the drug safety of iodinated CM.

The “click” chemistry, Cu(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction, was applied to covalently functionalize the poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) conducting polymer film with an excellent electron transfer mediator (ferrocene). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the ferrocene-grafted PEDOT conducting polymer film, and it was proved that the grafting procedure via click reaction had a high efficiency. The ferrocene groups covalently grafted in the polymer films turned out to own a relatively fast electron transfer rate and show multi-color states via adjusting applied potential. Keywords: Click reaction, Ferrocene, Conducting polymer, Electrochemistry, Electrochromic property

In this paper, we described a simple and facile method for the covalent functionalization of Au surface with nitrophenyl group via stepwise strategy. Structurally well-defined azide-terminated organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) were formed on Au surface from a commercially available mixture solution of azidoundecanethiol and dilute thiol. Subsequent, derivatization of the azide-terminated monolayers was conducted in aqueous environments with ethynyl nitrobenzene via a selective, reliable, robust click reaction. By this way, the nitrophenyl group was covalently and quantitatively grafted on Au surface, which was confirmed by Raman Spectrometry and electrochemical methods. These results demonstrated the efficiency of using click chemistry in assembling covalently linked nanostructures. Keywords: Click reaction, Covalent grafting, Self-assembled monolayers, Nitrophenyl group, Azidoundecanethiol

Because rigidity of either hub or rim of diaphragm coupling is much greater than that of the disk, and asymmetrical bending is under the condition of high speed revolution, an assumption is made that each circle in the middle plane before deformation keeps its radius unchanged after deformation, but the plane on which the circle lies has a varying deflecting angle. Based on this assumption, and according to the principle of energy variation, the corresponding Euler’s equation can be obtained, which has the primary integral. By neglecting some subsidiary factors, an analytic solution is obtained. Applying these formulas to a hyperbolic model of diaphragm, the results show that the octahedral shear stress varies less along either radial or thickness direction, but fluctuates greatly and periodically along circumferential direction. Thus asymmetrical bending significantly affects the material’s fatigue.

Axially substituted tin phthalocyanines, namely dichloride-tetra-(α-pentyloxy) tin (IV) phthalocyanine 2, dihydroxy-tetra-(α-pentyloxy) tin (IV) phthalocyanine 3 and its dimmer di-μ-oxo- tetra-(α-pentyloxy) tin(IV) phthalocyanine 4 were synthesized. The catalytic effect of H2O-free CaCl2 in quinoline was used for condensation of dihydroxy tin phthalocyanine 3 to the cofacially array dimmer 4. Their structures were characterized by UV–vis, IR, elemental analysis, MS, as well as 1HNMR spectroscopy.

In this paper, the pointwise multipliers M ( D τ , Q p ) and M ( D τ , Q p , 0 ) are characterized in the unit ball of C n for the values of τ , p in the three cases: (i) τ n , n − 1 n p ⩽ 1 , (ii) τ = n , n − 1 n p ⩽ 1 , and (iii) τ > n , n − 1 n p ⩽ 1 . In particular, the multiplier spaces M ( D τ , BMOA ) and M ( D τ , VMOA ) are discussed correspondingly for all τ, and the sharp embeddings of M ( D n , BMOA ) and M ( D n , VMOA ) in α-Bloch spaces are shown, respectively.

A novel anthraquinone phthalocyanine Al(Ⅲ) 4 and Co(Ⅱ) 5 were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV/ vis, 1H NMR, HPLC and MS. The photophysical properties of the two metal complexes were studied and compared by fluorescence spectrum method.

Polymer-supported phosphine ligand 3b derived from ferrocene was prepared, and applied in palladium-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura reactions. A range of aryl bromides can couple with phenylboronic acid to obtain corresponding biaryls in excellent yields. The recycling of the polymer-bound catalyst was tested without adding palladium.

To elucidate the clinical significance of the methylated status of CpG site count of PCDH10 promoter in the survival prediction in gastric cancer (GC).In the previous study, we demonstrated that the methylated CpG site count was significantly associated with the overall survival (OS) of GC patients by using the bisulfite genomic sequencing (BGS) with no less than five clones per sample. It was so complex and expensive for patients to undergo the BGS clones. In this study, we detected the different CpG site counts (hypermethylated and hypomethylated) of PCDH10 DNA promoter in GC samples of 471 patients by directly bisulfite genomic sequencing (D-BGS) without any clone. Furthermore, we evaluated the relationships between the methylated status of PCDH10 promoter and OS.Two hundred and fifty-seven of 471 (54.6%) GC patients were identified to present with PCDH10 promoter methylation by D-BGS. Patients who presented with 5 or more methylated CpG site counts of PCDH10 promoter had significantly poorer prognosis than patients who with less than 5 methylated CpG site counts of PCDH10 promoter (p= 0.039). With the multivariate survival analysis, we demonstrated that T stage, N stage and the hypermethylated CpG site counts of PCDH10 DNA promoter were the independent predictors of OS of GC patients. In addition, the hypermethylated CpG site counts of PCDH10 DNA promoter had smaller Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC) values than the other two independent predictors of the OS, indicating the hypermethylated CpG site counts of PCDH10 DNA promoter as the best prognostic predictor of GC.Our present findings suggested that the hypermethylated CpG site counts of PCDH10 DNA promoter for evaluating the prognosis of GC was reasonable by using the D-BGS.

Our previous research has shown that seeding amniotic epithelial cells (AECs) in chemically extracted acellular muscle scaffold (CEAMC) better promotes the functional recovery of spinal cord injury (SCI) than scaffold alone. However, the massive death of transplanted cells, which is related to early inflammatory response, is still a problem in cell therapy. Our previous study proved that nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) inhibits inflammation after SCI. In this study, we tested a strategy of combining the early administration of NDGA and the transplantation of AEC-seeded CEAMC to treat SCI. The results showed that simply increasing the number of surviving AECs had no significant benefits in SCI therapy, but NDGA administration ameliorated transplanted AEC survival demonstrating the potential value of NDGA in the cellular transplantation treatment of SCI.

The photoinduced intra-molecular energy transfer in phthalocyanine zinc(II) bearing poly (aryl benzyl ether) dendritic substituents with carboxylic terminal was studied by steady-state, time-resolved fluorescence and UV/Vis spectroscopic methods. The result shows that the complexes mainly existed as monomers in dimethyl sulfoxide. The light-harvesting ability of this series of dendritic phthalocyanines increased with the dendron generation under 270 nm. The effects of the dendron generation on the fluorescence characteristics of phthalocyanine cores was significantly, and the fluorescence lifetime and fluorescent quantum yield decreased with the increase of the dendron generation. Intra-molecular energy could be transferred from peripheral dendron acting as an energy hydrazine to the phthalocyanine core during a photo-induced process. With the dendrimer increasing, the intra-molecular energy transfer quantum yield increased. These results obviously indicated that this series of dendritic phthalocyanines is a king of novel compound with light-harvesting structure.

Ag+-doped ZnS nanocrystals surface-capped with thiourea (expressed as ZnS: Ag/thiourea) were synthesized through sol-gel method with thiourea as a surface modifier and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray fluorescence spectrum (XRF), infrared spectrum (IR), UV-Vis absorption spectrum(UV-Vis), and photoluminescence spectrum (PL). The results show that Ag+ ions are doped in ZnS nanocrys-tals, and the sulfur atoms in thiourea molecules coordinate with metal ions on the surface of the nanocrystals. The spherical ZnS: Ag/thiourea nanocrystals with an average diameter of 5 nm have good fluorescent characteristics, and therefore have great potential for use in molecular assembly and novel luminescence materials.

Three ferromagnetic shape-memory alloys with the chemical compositions of Ni53Mn25Ga22, Ni48Mn30Ga22, and Ni48Mn25Ga22Co5 were prepared by the induction-melting and hot-forging process. The crystal structures were investigated by the neutron powder diffraction technique, showing that Ni53Mn25Ga22 and Ni48Mn25Ga22Co5 have a tetragonal, 14/mmm martensitic structure at room temperature, while Ni48Mn30Ga22 has a cubic, L21 austenitic structure at room temperature. The development of textures in the hot-forged samples shows the in-plane plastic flow anisotropy from the measured pole figures by means of the neutron diffraction technique. Significant texture changes were observed for the Ni48Mn25Ga22Co5 alloy after room temperature deformation, which is due to the deformation-induced rearrangements of martensitic variants. An excellent shape-memory effect (SME) with a recovery ratio of 74 pct was reported in this Ni48Mn25Ga22Co5 polycrystalline alloy after annealing above the martensitic transformation temperature, and the “shape-memory” influence also occurs in the distributions of grain orientations.

We investigate the internal strain and crystallographic orientation (texture) in physical-vapor deposited metal nitride coatings of TiN and CrN. A high-energy diffraction technique is presented tha ...

In our previous studies, caudatin-2,6-dideoxy-3-O-methy-β-d- cymaropyranoside (CDMC) was for the first time isolated from Cynanchum auriculatum Royle ex Wightand and was reported to possess a wide range of biological activities. However, the routes and metabolites of CDMC produced by intestinal bacteria are not well understood. In this study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) technique combined with Metabolynx(TM) software was applied to analyze metabolites of CDMC by human intestinal bacteria. The incubated samples collected for 48 h in an anaerobic incubator and extracted with ethyl acetate were analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS within 12 min. Eight metabolites were identified based on MS and MS/MS data. The results indicated that hydrolysis, hydrogenation, demethylation and hydroxylation were the major metabolic pathways of CDMC in vitro. Seven strains of bacteria including Bacillus sp. 46, Enterococcus sp. 30 and sp. 45, Escherichia sp. 49A, sp. 64, sp. 68 and sp. 75 were further identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing owing to their relatively strong metabolic capacity toward CDMC. The present study provides important information about metabolic routes of CDMC and the roles of different intestinal bacteria in the metabolism of CDMC. Moreover, those metabolites might influence the biological effect of CDMC in vivo, which affects the clinical effects of this medicinal plant.

Behcet's disease (BD) accompanied by intestinal involvement is called intestinal BD. Although recent studies have attained positive feedback with the administration of anti-TNF-α agents in patients with BD, only a few reports on the study of etanercept in intestinal BD have been found. In this study, 35 cases of intestinal BD were treated with conventional therapy (prednisone or methotrexate) for a minimum period of 3 months (group 1). Another 19 patients who failed to respond to conventional therapy were then treated with etanercept (25 mg twice a week for 3 months). During each subsequent relapse, the patients were given the same treatment. The main outcome measures were the four criteria for diagnosis of BD (buccal ulcers, genital ulcers, ocular lesions, and skin lesions), the manifestation of intestinal involvement (abdominal symptoms, double-balloon enteroscopy), laboratory examinations of the acute phase reactants (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and C-reactive protein, and relapses. As a result of the administered therapy, the healing rate of buccal and genital ulcers, the remission rate of ocular lesions, skin lesions, and abdominal symptoms, the healing rate of intestinal ulcers, and the recovery rate of ESR and CRP were significantly higher in group 2 than those of group 1. The relapse rate in the etanercept therapy was reduced significantly when compared with conventional therapy group. In conclusion, etanercept treatment, in contrast to the conventional therapy, can result in better curative effect and less adverse reactions in intestinal BD.

To compare post-operative long-term complications and quality of life of two digestive reconstruction procedures after total gastrectomy.A total of 109 gastric cancer patients in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital from March 2012 to February 2013 were prospectively enrolled and randomly divided into functional jejunal interposition (FJI) group (52 cases) and Roux-en-Y (R-Y) group (57 cases). The post-operative complications, nutritional status, and the quality of life were compared between two groups.One, 3 and 6 months after operation, the incidence of R-S syndrome in FJI group was lower as compared to R-Y group[13% (6/45) vs. 37% (18/49), 3% (1/30) vs. 42% (14/33), 5% (1/21) vs. 48% (11/23), all P0.01], while 3 months after operation, the incidence of reflux and heartburn in FJI group was higher[53% (16/30) vs. 21% (7/33), P0.01; 37% (11/30) vs. 12% (4/33), P0.05]. There were no significant differences in quality of life questionnaire QLQ-C30 between R-Y and FJI groups. QLQ-STO22 stomach module revealed in FJI group, the eating score was better, but reflux score was worse as compared to R-Y group 3 months after operation (all P0.01).Functional jejunal interposition keeps intestinal continuity preserving and food duodenal passing, which is a reasonable digestive reconstruction procedure.

AIM: To investigate the impact of prognostic nutritional index (PNI) on the postoperative complications and long-term outcomes in gastric cancer patients undergoing total gastrectomy. METHODS: The data for 386 patients with gastric cancer were extracted and analyzed between January 2003 and December 2008 in our center. The patients were divided into two groups according to the cutoff value of the PNI: those with a PNI ≥ 46 and those with a PNI < 46. Clinicopathological features were compared between the two groups and potential prognostic factors were analyzed. The relationship between postoperative complications and PNI was analyzed by logistic regression. The univariate and multivariate hazard ratios were calculated using the Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS: The optimal cutoff value of the PNI was set at 46, and patients with a PNI ≥ 46 and those with a PNI < 46 were classified into PNI-high and PNI-low groups, respectively. Patients in the PNI-low group were more likely to have advanced tumor (T), node (N), and TNM stages than patients in the PNI-high group. The low PNI is an independent risk factor for the incidence of postoperative complications (OR = 2.223). The 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 54.1% and 21.1% for patients with a PNI ≥ 46 and those with a PNI < 46, respectively. The OS rates were significantly lower in the PNI-low group than in the PNI-high group among patients with stages II (P = 0.001) and III (P < 0.001) disease. CONCLUSION: The PNI is a simple and useful marker not only to identify patients at increased risk for postoperative complications, but also to predict long-term survival after total gastrectomy. The PNI should be included in the routine assessment of advanced gastric cancer patients.

To investigate the effects of extended lymphadenectomy and postoperative chemotherapy on gastric cancer without lymph node metastasis.Clinical data of 311 node-negative gastric cancer patients who underwent potentially curative gastrectomy with more than 15 lymph nodes resected, from January 2002 to December 2006, were analyzed retrospectively. Patients with pT4 stage or distant metastasis were excluded. We analyzed the relationship between the D2 lymphadenectomy and the 5-year survival rate among different subgroups stratified by clinical features, such as age, tumor size, tumor location and depth of invasion. At the same time, the relationship between postoperative chemotherapy and the 5-year survival rate among different subgroups were also analyzed.The overall 5-year survival rate of the entire cohort was 63.7%. The 5-year survival rate was poor in those patients who were: (1) more than 65 years old; (2) with tumor size larger than 4 cm; (3) with tumor located in the upper portion of the stomach; and (4) with pT3 tumor. The survival rate was improved significantly by extended lymphadenectomy only in patients with pT3 tumor (P = 0.019), but not in other subgroups. Moreover, there was no significant difference in survival rate between patients with and without postoperative chemotherapy among all of the subgroups (P0.05).For gastric cancer patients without lymph node metastasis, extended lymphadenectomy could improve the survival rate of those who have pT3-stage tumor. However, there was no evidence of a survival benefit from postoperative chemotherapy alone.

To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors of patients with pathological stage pN3 gastric cancer.A retrospective study of 310 patients with histologically confirmed pN3 stage gastric cancer undergoing radical gastrectomy from January 2000 to December 2006 in our department was performed. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the survival. Log-rank test and Cox regression model were carried out for univariate and multivariate analyses.All the patients were followed up for 2 to 103 (mean 35.7) months. The overall 5-year survival rate was 14.6%. There were 201 cases with stage pN3a and 109 cases with stage pN3b, and the 5-year survival rates were 16.8% and 10.3% respectively (P=0.013). Univariate analysis showed that tumor location, Borrmann type, depth of tumor invasion, surgical method, metastatic lymph node ratio, and pN stage were associated with postoperative survival (all P0.05). The multivariate analysis revealed that depth of tumor invasion, surgical method and metastatic lymph node ratio were independent prognostic factors, while the pN stage was not. The difference of 5-year survival rate between pN3a and pN3b subgroups was significant in pT4a patients (16.1% vs. 12.8%, P=0.001), while such difference was not significant in pT4b patients (8.6% vs. 3.1%, P=0.137).Prognosis of patients with pN3 stage gastric cancer after radical resection is poor. Depth of tumor invasion and surgical method are independent prognostic factors for pN3 stage gastric cancer. Metastatic lymph node ratio is valuable to predict the prognosis of pN3 stage patients. The pN3 staging of the 7th UICC provides a more accurate prediction of prognosis.

East Dongting Lake is one of the national nature reserves in China, and an important habitat for the wintering of waterfowls in China, and even, global wetlands. To study the relationships between waterfowl community and environmental factors is of vital significance in providing useful data and necessary information for the restoration of bird habitat. In the winters of 2010 and 2011, a survey was conducted on the wintering waterfowls in East Dongting Lake wetland, and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was adopted to reveal the relationships between the distribution of dominant wintering waterfowl species and environmental factors. The partial CCA was also employed to assess the respective importance of environmental factors on the waterfowl species distribution and diversity. The factors including the distance to roads, distance to residents, patch density, number of vegetation types, water area, and sedge area had significant effects on the waterfowl distribution (P0.05), with the affecting intensity in the order of sedge areapatch densitydistance to residentsnumber of vegetation typeswater areadistance to road. Sedge area and patch density had highly significant effects (P0.01) on the distribution of the waterfowls, being the two major factors affecting the wintering waterfowls in the wetland, while landscape diversity index and reed area had no significant effects (P0.05). The regression analysis showed that environmental factors had different effects on the species richness. The richness of Platalea leucorodia, Anas falcata, and Calidris alpina decreased with the increase of sedge area, while increased with the increase of patch density. However, the richness of Anserfabalis, Anser albifrons, Anser erythro- pus, and Anas crecca increased with increase of sedge area while decreased with the increase of patch density. It was suggested that the distribution of wintering waterfowls in East Dongting Lake wetland was affected by a variety of environmental factors, among which, sedge area and patch density played the most important roles.

To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors of bone metastasis in gastric cancer patients.Clinicopathological data of 66 gastric cancer patients with bone metastasis, who were treated at the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from October 1997 to September 2011, were analyzed retrospectively. The clinicopathological characteristics of the primary cancer and bone metastasis were summarized and the prognosis was analyzed.Of 66 patients, 4 underwent operation, 28 chemotherapy, 32 inhibitors of bone resorption,8 local treatment and 23 symptomatic treatment alone. The median survival time of these 66 patients was 5 months (95%CI:3.3-6.7 months). The 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rates were 9.1%, 3.0% and 1.5%, respectively. Univariate Log-rank test indicated that gender, bone metastasis combined with other distant metastasis and chemotherapy were significant prognostic factors (all P0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed bone metastasis combined with other distant metastasis was an independent prognostic factor (P=0.011, RR=2.067, 95%CI:1.178-3.626).Prognosis of patients with bone metastasis from gastric cancer is poor. Chemotherapy-based comprehensive treatment may improve the prognosis of these patients.

Recently, stathmin 1 has been proposed to function as an oncogene based on some relevant studies in multiple types of human cancers. However, the role of stathmin 1 in gastric cancer carcinogenesis has not been elucidated yet. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of stathmin 1 as well as its association with overall survival of gastric cancer patients. The expression of stathmin 1 was detected by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting in gastric cancer and adjacent nontumor tissues. In addition, stathmin 1 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in paraffin samples from 210 primary gastric cancer patients. The expression levels of stathmin 1 mRNA and protein in gastric cancer tissues were both significantly higher than those in adjacent nontumor tissues. In addition, the expression of stathmin 1 is correlated with Lauren's classification, depth of invasion, lymph node metastases, and tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage (all P < 0.05). Univariate analysis showed that high stathmin 1 expression was associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients (P = 0.040). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that only lymph node metastasis and TNM stage were the independent prognostic indicators for gastric cancer. Stathmin 1 expression status is not an independent prognostic factor for patients with gastric cancer. Further subgroup analysis revealed that stathmin 1 expression was significantly correlated with prognosis in diffuse type gastric cancer. This research showed that the stathmin 1 overexpression might play an important role in the pathogenesis and subsequent progression of gastric cancer. Stathmin 1 could also be a potential therapeutic target in gastric cancer, especially for diffuse type gastric cancer.

Objectives The present study is aimed to investigate the effect of Gualou Xiebai Decoction (GXD) ethanol extract on myocardial fibrosis and clarify the possible mechanism. Methods Rats with ligated left anterior descending coronary artery were treated with GXD ethanol extract (1.14 g/kg, 2.27 g/kg, 4.53 g/kg) daily via gavage for 4 weeks. Histopathological changes and collagen distribution were evaluated by haematoxylin and eosin and Masson staining. The mRNA levels of Collagen I and Collagen III were detected by real-time PCR. The expressions of TGF-β1, TGFβ receptor (TGFβR)I, TGFβRII, P-Smad2/3 and Smad7 were determined by Western blot. Results GXD treatment was significantly reduced the heart weight/body weight ratio (P < 0.05) as well as the left ventricle weight/body weight ratio (P < 0.05). It also significantly alleviated the degree of inflammation, decreased myocardial collagen volume fraction (P < 0.05 ∼ 0.01), together with markedly prevented the upregulations of Collagen I and Collagen III (P < 0.05 ∼ 0.01). Moreover, GXD downregulated expressions of TGF-β1, TGFβRI, TGFβRII, Smad2/3 whereas improved Smad7 expression in the myocardial fibrosis rats. Conclusions GXD ameliorates myocardial fibrosis induced by cardiac infarction with ligated left anterior descending coronary artery, the mechanism maybe involve in inhibiting the TGF-β1 signalling pathway.