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Accumulating evidence showed that the claudin-6 (CLDN6) expression was abnormal in many cancers, while its expression and biological functions in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unclear. The present study demonstrated that CLDN6 was upregulated in HCC tissues compared with tumour-adjacent tissues. CLDN6 silencing was significantly inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of HepG2 cells. Meanwhile, downregulation of CLDN6 remarkably inhibited the activation of EGFR/AKT/mTOR signalling pathway. Interestingly, the effect of CLDN6 overexpression on HepG2 cell proliferation and invasion could be inhibited by EGFR/AKT/mTOR signalling pathway inhibitor (AG1478). SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: These findings suggested that CLDN6 may act as an oncogene in HCC and improve HepG2 cell proliferation, migration, and invasion may via EGFR/AKT/mTOR signalling pathway.

The aim of the present study was to identify the effect of swimming on nerve root pain in rats with lumbar disc herniation (LDH). A total of 72 male Sprague Dawley rats (215±15 g) were randomly divided into three groups (n=24/group): The sham operation, model and exercise intervention groups, with the latter undergoing 4 weeks of swimming training. On days 0, 7, 14 and 28 following surgery, the changes in the post-limb mechanical claw threshold, the phospholipase A2 (PLA2), interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α mRNA expression levels, the secretory PLA2 (sPLA2) expression, the IL-6 and TNF-α content, the nuclear factor (NF)-κBp65 protein expression level in the nucleus pulposus, and the apoptotic rate of the nucleus pulposus cells were detected. The results demonstrated that, in the model group, the threshold of hind paw withdrawal was decreased, and that the sPLA2 expression, IL-6 and TNF-α content, PLA2, IL-6 and TNF-α mRNA and NF-κBp65 protein expression levels in the nucleus pulposus were increased. The apoptotic rate of the nucleus pulposus cells was increased from day 7 following surgery, as compared with the sham operation group. In the exercise intervention group, the hind paw withdrawal threshold increased and the TNF-α and IL-6 content, sPLA2 expression and PLA2, IL-6 and TNF-α mRNA and NF-κBp65 protein expression levels were decreased from day 14 following surgery, and the apoptotic nucleus pulposus cells were decreased from day 7 following surgery, as compared with the model group. Collectively, the present data suggest that swimming can significantly reduce nerve root pain and inhibit inflammatory reaction in LDH, which can have positive effects on the treatment of LDH.

China's encounter with Western cultures since the late Qing was generally viewed as a one-side “borrowing” and a radical “break” from traditional culture. “Westernization” became the dominant characteristic of the descriptions and interpretations of modern Chinese culture. Although Wang's work on comparative Chinese and Western philosophical studies has received much attention, there has been little attention given to the problem of Western influences, the domination of which, when appraising Wang's thought has persisted for a long time and has caused many misunderstandings regarding his literary-aesthetic and philosophical thinking. Using the hermeneutical lens of Kierkegaard and especially Heidegger to look through to help correct our vision of interpreting Wang in light of his own culture, we propose that there is a specific Chinese sensibility crucial for understanding his use of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, a sensibility that has been ignored by those who later sought to reconstruct and evalua...

One of the best academic publishing houses in China, Beijing Sanlian Bookstore, once made a survey of one hundred books that had most influenced Chinese society in the past twenty years (1978-1998); Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex was on the list. If one were to do a survey on the history of western feminism in China, one would find that the attention paid to and celebration of Beauvoir in Chinese society is a unique instance, unsurpassed by that of any other feminist of both Europe and the U.S. This chapter demonstrates how exploring this fact not only provides a fresh perspective on the development of Women's Studies in Chinese society, but how it also calls into question the very use of the notion of 'western feminism' for explaining contemporary Chinese women's art. The work of Chen Lingyang is used as an example to demonstrate the problem. Keywords: Chen Lingyang; Chinese society; Contemporary Chinese Women's art; Simone de Beauvoir; The Second Sex ; western feminism; women's studies

Writing is a means of linguistic communication. Among the forms of script it assumes, Chinese characters, which are graphically iconic and not primarily a representation of phonetics, are a very special case. Despite being used in Chinese calligraphy for aesthetic reasons, they are at the same time not without semantic function. Considering this, Xu Bing’s (b. 1955) artworks constitute an unprecedented investigation of script, not necessarily connected to meaning and whose expression of artistic individuality can be questioned. In my article, I am going to focus on Xu Bing’s new employment of script in communication, while also attempting to refer it to the Chinese calligraphic tradition.