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Introduction. The global incidence of brain tumors, the most common of which is lower grade glioma (LGG), remains high. Pleckstrin homology domain-containing family A member 4 (PLEKHA4) has been reported to be related to tumor invasion and growth. However, its role and correlation with immunity in LGG remain elusive. Methods. We evaluated the expression pattern, prognostic value, biological functions, and immune effects of PLEKHA4 in LGG. We also analyzed the association between PLEKHA4 levels in different tumors, patient prognosis, and its role in tumor immunity. Depending on the type of research data, we used statistical methods such as Student's t -tests, Mann–Whitney U tests one-way ANOVA tests Kruskal–Wallis tests Pearson's or Spearman's correlation analysis Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests in this paper. Results and Conclusions. The results revealed that PLEKHA4 levels were markedly elevated in most tumors (such as LGG). High PLEKHA4 levels are associated with poor overall survival (OS), progression-free interval (PFI) rates, and disease-specific survival (DSS) in LGG patients. Cox regression analysis and nomograms showed that PLEKHA4 levels are independent prognostic factors for LGG patients. According to functional enrichment analysis, PLEKHA4 levels in LGG are associated with immune infiltration and immunotherapy. In conclusion, PLEKHA4 is a potential prognostic marker and immunotherapy target for LGG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MK8722 is a potent and systemic pan-AMPK activator. It is an effective, direct, allosteric activator of AMPK complex in many mammals. This study tried to explore the underlying anti-cancer molecular mechanism of MK8722 in human pancreatic cancer cells (PCCs). The anti-proliferation, invasion and migration functions of MK8722 in human pancreatic cancer analyzed by real time cellular analysis, colony formation assay, cell migration assay, transwell assay and flow cytometery analysis. Moreover, the potential targeted signaling pathway was tested via RNA-seq and pathway enrichment analysis. In the present study, we investigated the anti-PCCs effects of MK8722 on two different human pancreatic cancer cell lines (PANC-1 and Patu8988). The results showed that MK8722 significantly inhibited human tumor cells proliferation and migration/invasion in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, the influence of MK8722 was examined by analyzing the expression of potential key genes and pathways, which may provide novel insights to the mechanism of MK8722. The inhibition of pancreatic cancer by MK8722 through a number of pathways that inhibit carcinoma proliferation, invasion and migration. The potential effect of MK8722 might be determined by regulating the expression of AL162151, IER2, REPIN1, KRT80 to inhibit cycle arrest and migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: CuS–ZnO nanocomposite films were prepared by a simple sol–gel process. The microstructure, morphology, and tribological properties of the prepared films were investigated via X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and by an UMT-2 tribometer. Results show that the films are uniform and compact with hexagonal ZnO phase. The films display excellent wear resistance and friction-reduction performance. Particularly, the molar ratio of 5% CuS of sample “c” obtains the best result. Frictional trace observation suggests that the wear mechanism of the film has slight scuffing, adhesion, and abrasion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Lead iodide (PbI2) films/crystals with various nano/micro morphologies (e.g., Nanoflake, block and microrod) were rapidly synthesized by taking advantage of a simple sonochemical method. The PbI2 crystals with uniform nanoflake structures could be fabricated directly on lead foils with the irradiation time as short as 36s via interfacial reaction between lead foils and elemental iodine in ethanol at ambient temperature. It was found experimentally that the morphologies of the resulting thin films/crystals could be well controlled by the adjustment of several parameters including irradiation time, reaction solvents, iodine concentration, ultrasonic power, and reaction temperature. Most importantly, the resultant PbI2 films are stable enough to resist rolling under the drastic ultrasound irradiation in a liquid media. This method is believed to be the fastest way for in situ fabrication of morphology-controlled semiconductor films on various metal substrates for subsequent applications related to the other metal iodide or metal sulfide semiconductor films. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Thin films of metal iodides (e.g., CuI, AgI and PbI2) were rapidly synthesized by a sonochemical method. For example, perfect CuI crystals with uniform polyhedral structures could be formed directly on copper foils with the irradiation time as short as 10 s via interfacial reaction between copper foils and elemental iodine in ethanol at ambient temperature. The products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoluminescence spectra (PL). A probable mechanism was proposed to explain the rapid growth of CuI crystals. This facile approach could also be used to grow other metal iodides such as AgI and PbI2 nanocrystals. It was found experimentally that the resultant metal iodide films could better resist spinning under the drastic ultrasound irradiations in a liquid media. Particularly, the resulting CuI films showed strong, room temperature PL emissions at the energy around their band gaps. This method is believed to be the fastest way for in-situ fabrication of semiconductor films on various metal substrates for subsequent applications related to the metal iodide semiconductor films. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cation disordered rock-salt Li-excess cathode materials can deliver high reversible capacities (>250 mAh g−1). However, their commercialization has come to a standstill because of practical drawbacks, such as voltage fading, voltage hysteresis, and poor rate capability. Therefore, it is urgent to probe the kinetic and transport properties of this kind of cathode materials. For this aim, Li 1.25 Nb 0.25 Mn 0.5 O 2 , a typical material with cation disordered rock-salt structure, is used as an object for the investigations of kinetic properties for the first time. Through a series of detailed electrochemical measurements, D Li values are calculated to be in the order of 10−13–10−10 cm2 s−1 based on the GITT results. It is also found that the minimum values of the electrochemical impedances are in the middle range during both charge and discharge processes. Our findings may provide useful information for the design and modification of this kind of cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries. • Li-ion diffusion coefficient of cation disordered Li-excess material was studied. • D Li increased, then decreased in the first charge process • D Li of cation disordered material was higher than that of layered material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer has been one of the wide public health burdens with its high morbidity and mortality over several decades. As the unconventional modules among RNA families, circular RNAs present their blazing biological effects during gastric carcinogenesis. Though diverse hypothetical mechanisms were reported, further tests were necessitated for authentication. Herein, this study pinpointed a representative circDYRK1A which screened from vast amounts of public data sets using surprisingly novel bioinformatics approaches together with validations from the in vitro findings and then concluded that circDYRK1A tethered the biological behavior and swayed the clinicopathological features with gastric cancer patients thus providing an in-depth awareness for gastric carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long noncoding (lnc) RNAs regulate cancer progression. However, the importance of lncRNAs and how they are regulated in colorectal cancer (CRC) are unclear. We aim to evaluate the function of lncRNA ADAMTS9-AS2 in CRC and its fundamental mechanism. Levels of ADAMTS9-AS2, miR-27a-3p, and B-cell translocation gene 2 (BTG2) were measured by qPCR. Cell viability was analyzed by CCK-8 and colony formation. Migration and invasion were tested by transwell assay. The interactions among ADAMTS9-AS2, miR-27a-3p, BTG2, and YTHDF2 were analyzed by luciferase test, immunoblotting, RNA pull-down, or RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP). An animal model was adopted to assess ADAMTS9-AS2's function. Overexpressing ADAMTS9-AS2 inhibited cell migration, invasion, colony formation capacity, and proliferation in vitro. The direct targeting of miR-27a-3p by ADAMTS9-AS2 abrogated the latter's effect in CRC cells. BTG2 was identified a target of miR-27a-3p, and silencing BTG2 weakened miR-27a-3p's effect. Knocking down ADAMTS9-AS2 abolished sh-YTHDF2's inhibitory effect on cell proliferation and invasion. Finally, overexpressing ADAMTS9-AS2 restrained xenograft growth. M6A reader YTHDF2-mediated degradation of ADAMTS9-AS2 promotes colon carcinogenesis via miR-27a-3p/BTG2 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Peritoneal dissemination is the most common type of recurrence in advanced gastric cancer. The main mechanism is thought to be via the exfoliation of free cancer cells (FCCs) from tumor in the gastric serosa. The frequency of recurrence thus increases once the tumor cells penetrate the serosa. However, this type of recurrence also occurs in patients without serosal invasion, though the mechanisms responsible for have not been fully established. We therefore investigated the factors associated with peritoneal dissemination in patients with non-serosa-invasive gastric cancer.Methods: A total of 685 patients with non-serosa-invasive gastric cancer who underwent curative resection with retrieval of more than 15 nodes were selected. The associations between clinicopathological features and peritoneal dissemination were analyzed. Among them, the tumor infiltrating growth pattern (INF) were classified into α, β and γ according to the Japanese Classification of Gastric Carcinoma (JCGC).Results: The overall incidence of peritoneal metastasis was 20% (137/685). Age, Borrmann type, differentiation, INF, nodal status and free cancer cells (FCCs) were correlated with peritoneal dissemination using univariate analysis. However, only INF, Borrmann type and TNM node stage were identified as independent correlated factors with peritoneal metastasis by multivariate analysis when FCCs were excluded, and these were also prognostic factors. Peritoneal dissemination was more common in patients with INFγ, Borrmann III/IV and N3 stage. Among patients without FCCs, nodal involvement or vessel invasion, only INF remained an independent associated factor according to multivariate analysis.Conclusions: Tumor infiltrating growth pattern (INF), together with Borrmann type and TNM node stage, are important factors associated with peritoneal metastasis in non-serosa-invasive gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Glioma is the most common primary intracranial tumor.Glioma involves a wide variety of cells and is highly aggressive, so most patients with glioblastoma have a poor prognosis.Glioma involves a wide variety of cells and is highly aggressive, so most patients with glioblastoma have a poor prognosis. CRISPR/Cas9 has the property of precise localization, and more and more studies focus on using it for the treatment of glioma and the exploration of its pathogenesis.This paper mainly discusses the role of CRISPR/Cas9 in the treatment of glioma patients, screening of key targets for clinical prognosis, and exploring the pathogenesis of glioma.The future research prospects of CRISPR/Cas9 in glioma treatment and potential opportunities and challenges are also pointed out. In order to help readers comprehensively understand the application and development of CRISPR/Cas9 in glioma research. Glioma refers to a tumor that is derived from brain glial stem cells or progenitor cells and is the most common primary intracranial tumor. Due to its complex cellular components, as well as the aggressiveness and specificity of the pathogenic site of glioma, most patients with malignant glioma have poor prognoses following surgeries, radiotherapies, and chemotherapies. In recent years, an increasing amount of research has focused on the use of CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology in the treatment of glioma. As an emerging gene-editing technology, CRISPR/Cas9 utilizes the expression of certain functional proteins to repair tissues or treat gene-deficient diseases and could be applied to immunotherapies through the expression of antigens, antibodies, or receptors. In addition, some research also utilized CRISPR/Cas9 to establish tumor models so as to study tumor pathogenesis and screen tumor prognostic targets. This paper mainly discusses the roles of CRISPR/Cas9 in the treatment of glioma patients, the exploration of the pathogenesis of neuroglioma, and the screening targets for clinical prognosis. This paper also raises the future research prospects of CRISPR/Cas9 in glioma, as well as the opportunities and challenges that it will face in clinical treatment in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important organic semiconductor, copper phthalocyanine has been widely used in various photo/electronic devices. Until now, the one-step synthesis of copper phthalocyanine micro/nano-crystals is mainly limited to the high cost physical vapor deposition technology. Herein, for the first time, we proposed a green and low-cost solvothermal method for direct synthesis of highly crystalline copper phthalocyanine needles in nontoxic anhydrous ethanol medium at 190 °C. The purification of the as prepared copper phthalocyanine needles just required washing unreacted reactants with ethanol. The structures and morphologies of the copper phthalocyanine needles were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffractometor, and scanning electronic microscopy, respectively. Moreover, the thermal and photoelectronic performances were investigated preliminarily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyroptosis is a novel type of programmed cell death, initiated by inflammasome. Pyroptosis inhibits the development and metastasis of colon cancer and is associated with patients' prognosis. However, how the pyroptosis-related genes predict the survival of patients is still unclear. In the study, colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) patients were divided into two groups according to the expression of pyroptosis-related regulators through consensus clustering. DEGs between two clusters were analyzed by using COX and Lasso regression. Then, regression coefficients in Lasso were used to calculate the risk score for every patient. Patients were classified into two types: low- and high-risk group according to their risk score. The difference of immune microenvironment infiltration and clinicopathological characteristics between subgroups was performed. Moreover, the nomogram model was built on the bases of risk model and clinicopathological factors. The TCGA-COAD cohort and GEO cohort were used as training and validating set respectively. 398 COAD patients in TCGA training set were identified as two regulation patterns via unsupervised clustering method. Patients in cluster 2 showed better prognosis (P = 0.002). Through differentiated expression analysis, COX and Lasso regression, a 5-gene prognostic risk model was constructed. This risk model was significantly associated with OS (HR: 2.088, 95% CI: 1.183–3.688, P = 0.011), validated in GEO set (HR:1.344, 95%CI: 1.061–1.704, P = 0.014), and patients with low risk had better prognosis (P < 0.001 in TCGA; P = 0.038 in GEO). Through ROC analysis, it can be found that this model presented better predictive accuracy for long-term survival. Clinical analyses demonstrated that high-risk group had more advanced N stage, higher risk of metastasis and later pathological stage. Immune-related analysis illustrated that low-risk group had more immune cell infiltration and more activated immune pathways. The pyroptosis-related risk model can be predictive for the survival of COAD patients. That patients with higher risk had poorer prognosis was associated with more advanced tumor stage and higher risk of metastasis, and resulted from highly activated pro-tumor pathways and inhibited immune system and poorer integrity of intestinal epithelial. This study proved the relationship between pyroptosis and immune, which offered basis for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Recently, Chang et al. proposed an authentication and key agreement protocol for satellite communications, and they claimed that their scheme could withstand various attacks. However, in this paper, we will show that their scheme is vulnerable to the denial of service attack and the impersonation attack. Moreover, we also point out that the adversary could compute the session key through the intercepted message. The analysis shows the scheme of Chang et al. is not secure for practical applications. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] ZnSn(OH)6 with perfect cubic shapes was formed through the chemical conversion. [•] We could control the morphologies of ZnSn(OH)6 by changing reaction conditions. [•] Calcination of ZnSn(OH)6 could produce different products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this work, ZnO coatings were fabricated by the RF-sputtering method on quartz substrates in an inert gas ambient of Ar followed by a thermal oxidation process in air at different temperatures. The effect of thermal oxidation temperatures on the structures and photoluminescence (PL) properties of the coatings were studied. The structural characteristics of the samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The PL spectra were obtained by using a Xe laser as a light source with an excitation wavelength of 325nm at room temperature. The force-curves were obtained by AFM. The results show that all the prepared ZnO coatings have a compact hexagonal wurtzite structure. With the increasing annealing temperature from 400°C to 600°C, the particle size, surface RMS roughness, photoluminescence intensity and adhesion force of the prepared ZnO coatings were increased as well. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Crystalline hierarchical hydroxyapatite [Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2, HAp)] fibers were successfully synthesized via a biomimetic route by using cotton cloth as a natural bio-template. The effects of pH value, aging time, ultrasonic cleaning time, and calcination temperature on the purity and morphology of the resulting hydroxyapatite (HAp) were monitored by scanning election microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and infrared spectrophotometer (IR) to obtain an optimized reaction condition, namely, pH 9, ultrasonic cleaning for 1min, aging for 24h, and calcination at 600°C for 4h. We found that the natural cellulose could not only control the morphology of HAp but also lower its phase transformation temperature. The impact of this method lies in its low cost and successful production of large-scale patterning of three-dimensional hierarchical HAp fibers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Neural tumors can generally be divided into central nervous system tumors and peripheral nervous tumors. Because this type of tumor is located in the nerve, even benign tumors are often difficult to remove by surgery. In addition, the majority of neural tumors are malignant, and it is particular the same for the central nervous system tumors. Even treated with the means such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, they are also difficult to completely cure. In recent years, an increasingly number of studies have focused on the use of mRNA to treat tumors, representing an emerging gene therapy. The use of mRNA can use the expression of some functional proteins for the treatment of genetic disorders or tissue repair, and it can also be applied to immunotherapy through the expression of antigens, antibodies or receptors. Therefore, although these therapies are not fully-fledged enough, they have a broad research prospect. In addition, there are many ways to treat tumors using mRNA vaccines and exosomes carrying mRNA, which have drawn much attention. In this study, we reviewed the current research on the role of mRNA in the development, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of neural tumors, and examine the future research prospects of mRNA in neural tumors and the opportunities and challenges that will arise in the future application of clinical treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The number of positive lymph nodes, which was defined as "N stage", is mostly used to predict the survival of D2-resected gastric cancer patients, not the location. A "central lymph node" (CnLN) was defined by Ikoma et al., included common hepatic, celiac and proximal splenic artery LNs. CnLNs located in the extraperigastric area are included in the D2 LN station for gastric cancer. We speculate that CnLNs can be regarded as a predictor of survival.Methods: Eligible advanced gastric cancer patients who underwent curative resection and D2 lymph node dissection between 2004 and 2012 at our institution were identified. The frequency of CnLN metastases and risk factors affecting DFS were examined. Survival differences were assessed by log-rank tests and Kaplan-Meier curves.Results: The study identified 1178 patients who underwent curative surgery or D2 or more extensive lymphadenectomy. A total of 342 patients had been proven to have CnLN metastasis. Larger tumor size (P < 0.001), more frequent lymphatic vessel invasion (P < 0.001), signet ring cell histology (P = 0.014), and more advanced pathological T stage (P = 0.013) were significantly related to CnLNs metastasis. The patients with CnLN metastasis had a poor prognosis (HR for DFS of 1.366, 95%CI = 1.138-1.640, P = 0.001). For the pN2/3 patients, CnLN metastasis was associated with shorter 5-year DFS (for pN2 patients: 25.9% vs 39.3%, P = 0.017; for pN3 patients: 11.5% vs 23.4%, P = 0.005).Conclusion: Gastric cancer patients with CnLN metastasis who underwent D2 resection had a poor prognosis. With the same N stage, the patients with positive CnLNs had shorter survival. CnLNs metastasis could be a supplement to N stage and a predictor of survival in gastric cancer patients. Large sample, multicenter, randomized clinical trials are still needed in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Whether young patients with gastric cancer (GC) had a distinct prognostic outcome from older patients remains controversial. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinicopathologic characteristics and prognostic factors of young GC patients and evaluate the survival outcome in comparison to their older counterparts. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinicopathologic and survival data of 2022 patients who underwent curative resection for GC. All patients were divided into the young patient group (18–40 years) and older patient group (>40 years) according to the patient age. Clinicopathologic characteristics and prognostic factors of young GC patients were analyzed, and the survival difference between the two groups was compared. Results: The incidence of GC in the patients 18–40 years of age was 8.1% (164/2022). The young patient group had different clinicopathologic features from the older group, including a significant female predominance, a larger number of retrieved lymph nodes, a higher proportion of undifferentiated histology type, and middle or lower 1/3 GC. However, the survival outcome of young patients was similar to that of their older counterparts (5-year disease free survival [DFS]: 47.0% vs. 44.0%, p = 0.247), even when comparison based on the TNM stage was made. Deeper tumor invasion (T3-T4 stage, hazard ratios [HR]: 5.791, 95% confidence intervals [CIs]: 2.908–11.533, p < 0.001), lymph node metastasis (HR: 2.500, 95% CIs: 1.308–4.781, p = 0.006), and lymphovascular invasion (HR: 2.191, 95% CIs: 1.306–3.677, p = 0.003) were independent prognostic factors for young GC patients. Conclusions: Young age (18–40 years) was not associated with poorer survival outcome in GC patients. However, early diagnosis and curative resection with adequate lymphadenectomy will still be necessary for improving the survival outcome of young GC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyroptosis is a form of cell death that is uniquely dependent on caspase‐1. Pyroptosis involved in oxidized low‐density lipoprotein (ox‐LDL)‐induced human macrophage death through the promotion of caspase‐1 activation is important for the formation of unstable plaques in atherosclerosis. The mitochondrial outer membrane protein NIX directly interacts with microtubule‐associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3). Although we previously showed that NIX‐mediated mitochondrial autophagy is involved in the clearance of damaged mitochondria, how NIX contributes to ox‐LDL‐induced macrophage pyroptosis remains unknown. Here, immunoperoxidase staining Nix expression decreased in human atherosclerosis. When we silenced NIX expression in murine macrophage cell, active caspase‐1, and mature interleukin‐1β expression levels were increased and LC3 was reduced. In addition, LDH release and acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining indicated that damage to macrophage cell membranes induced by ox‐LDL was substantially worse. Moreover, intracellular reactive oxygen species and NLRP3 inflammasome levels increased. Taken together, these results demonstrated that NIX inhibits ox‐LDL‐induced macrophage pyroptosis via autophagy in atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the prognostic significance of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) for patients with gastric cancer (GC).Methods: A total of 1,720 consecutive patients who underwent curative gastrectomy were retrospectively identified. The association between LVI and clinicopathologic characteristics was determined and its impact on survival outcome was evaluated.Results: LVI was detected in 21.3% of GC patients, 5.9% of patients with early GC, 24.0% of patients with advanced GC, and 6.7% of node-negative patients using H&E staining. Tumor size (odds ratio [OR], 1.509; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.159-1.965; P < .01), differentiated type (OR, 1.817; 95% CI, 1.377-2.398; P < .001), and the depth of tumor invasion (OR, 3.011; 95% CI, 2.174-4.171; P < .001) were independent predictive factors for LVI. LVI-positive patients have a poorer prognosis than LVI-negative patients, irrespective of tumor stage or lymph node metastasis. LVI was an independent prognostic factor for patients with GC (hazard ratio, 1.299; 95% CI, 1.112-1.518; P < .001).Conclusions: LVI provided additional prognostic information for GC patients, and LVI-positive patients should be considered candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Three-dimensional (3D) laparoscopic surgery is becoming more popular with the development of laparoscopic devices. The objective of this study was to explore whether the 3D imaging system could improve surgical outcomes of laparoscopic surgery for gastrointestinal cancer compared with the 2D imaging system. Methods: Systematic literature search was performed using PubMed and Embase databases and relevant data were extracted. Surgical quality, postoperative complications, and postoperative recovery between 3D and 2D laparoscopic surgery groups were compared using a fixed or random effect model. Results: A total of 12 studies involving 1456 patients (3D group 683 patients and 2D group 773 patients) were included in this meta-analysis. The results indicated that mean operation time was significantly shorter in 3D group than in 2D group (WMD, − 9.08; 95% CI, − 14.77, − 3.40; P = 0.002; I2 = 70.3%), especially for gastric cancer patients (WMD, − 14.61; 95% CI, − 26.00, − 3.23, P = 0.012; I2 = 74.1%). In addition, 3D laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer had an advantage than 2D group in reducing the amount of intraoperative blood loss (WMD, − 13.60, 95% CI, − 21.48, − 5.72; P = 0.001; I2 = 0%). The number of retrieved lymph nodes in 3D group was not significantly different from that in 2D group, regardless of laparoscopic gastrectomy (WMD, 1.10; 95% CI, − 0.67, 2.88; P = 0.222; I2 = 18.8%) and laparoscopic colorectal surgery (WMD, 0.55, 95% CI; − 1.99, 3.09; P = 0.671; I2 = 76.9%). In addition, there was no significant difference between 3D and 2D laparoscopic surgery for postoperative complications and postoperative recovery. Conclusion: Main advantages of 3D laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer were that it could shorten the operation time and reduce the amount of intraoperative blood loss. However, 3D laparoscopic surgery had no obvious advantage over 2D laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recently, increased evidence indicated that additional surgery should be performed in highly selected patients with non-curative endoscopic resection. In this study, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the risk factors associated with lymph node metastasis for the patients with non-curative endoscopic resection of early gastric cancer.Methods: The related studies were identified by searching PubMed and Embase databases. According to the status of lymph node metastasis, all patients were classified into node-negative group and node-positive group. The relevant clinicopathologic factors were extracted, and the pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CIs) were assessed using a fixed effects model or random effects model.Results: A total of nine relevant studies involving 1720 early gastric cancer patients who underwent additional surgery following the non-curative endoscopic resection were included in this meta-analysis. The results indicated that deeper submucosal invasion (SM2) (OR 3.44, 95% CI 1.94-6.10, P < 0.001; I2 = 0%), positive vertical margin (OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.57-3.53, P < 0.001; I2 = 0%), lymphatic invasion (OR 11.06, 95% CI 5.47-22.36, P < 0.001; I2 = 0%), and vascular invasion (OR 2.79, 95% CI 1.68-4.64, P < 0.001; I2 = 0%) were significantly associated with lymph node metastasis for these patients. However, horizontal margin, tumor size, differentiation type, and ulceration were not identified as risk factors associated with lymph node metastasis.Conclusion: Lymphatic invasion, vascular invasion, deeper submucosal invasion (SM2), and positive vertical margin should be strongly considered in selecting the candidates for additional surgery treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers of the digestive system and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate whether miR-26b is involved in the proliferation and resistance to paclitaxel chemotherapy in gastric cancer cells.Material and Methods: The expression of miR-26b in gastric cancer cell lines was determined by quantitative real-time PCR. Bioinformatics software was used to predict potential target genes of miR-26b. Luciferase assay was used to verify the interactions between target genes and miR-26b. CDC6 protein expression was measured by Western blot. The proliferation and chemotherapy resistance were analyzed by MTT assay. Cell invasion was evaluated by Transwell assay.Results: MiR-26b was down-regulated in gastric cancer cell lines compared to normal control cells, and its expression in drug resistance cells was even lower (p < 0.05). CDC6 was identified as a potential target gene of miR-26b by using bioinformatics analysis software. The expression of CDC6 was inhibited by miR-26b both at RNA level, which was determined by luciferase assay, and at protein level, which was determined by Western blot (p < 0.05). Silencing CDC6 inhibited cell proliferation, invasion, and promoted apoptosis of gastric cancer cell lines, BGC823 and SGC7901 (p < 0.05). Moreover, CDC6 knockdown inhibited chemotherapy resistance to paclitaxel, IC50 to paclitaxel decreased from 153.17 ±0.49 μg/l to 39.81 ±0.28 μg/l (p < 0.05).Conclusions: miR-26b inhibits growth and resistance to paclitaxel chemotherapy by silencing the CDC6 gene in the gastric cancer cell line SGC7901. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In this study, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of preoperative underweight status on postoperative complications and survival outcome of gastric cancer (GC) patients. Methods: The related studies were identified by searching PubMed and Embase databases. According to the body mass index (BMI), all patients were classified into underweight group (<18.5 kg/m2) and normal weight group (≥18.5 kg/m2, <25 kg/m2). The relevant data were extracted and pooled effect size were assessed using a fixed effect model or random effect model. Results: A total of 12 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The results indicated that underweight patients had a higher risk of postoperative complications than normal weight patients (RR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.01–1.61, P < 0.05; I2 = 57.3%), especially for pulmonary infection (RR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.03–2.43, P < 0.05; I2 = 47.7%). However, there was no significant difference between underweight and normal weight patients for major surgery-related complications such as anastomotic leakage, wound infection, and intra-abdominal infection. In addition, the short-term (RR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.47–3.06, P < 0.001; I2 = 0%) and long-term survival (HR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.14–2.07, P < 0.01; I2 = 64.0%) of underweight patients was significantly poorer than that of normal weight patients. Conclusion: Preoperative underweight status was significantly associated with unfavorable postoperative outcome of GC patients. The status may represent excessive nutritional consumption and malnutrition resulting from aggressive tumor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although various risk classification systems for GISTs have been proposed, the optimum one remains uncertain. In the present study, we compared the prognostic stratification of different risk classification systems for GIST patients. Methods: We reviewed those patients who were pathologically diagnosed with GISTs in the SEER database between 2009 and 2014. All patients were classified into different risk groups according to the NIH criteria, AFIP criteria and AJCC staging system, respectively. The prognostic differences between different risk groups were compared and clinicopathologic features were analyzed. Results: The prognosis of small intestinal GISTs was not significantly different from that of gastric GISTs. For gastric GIST patients, there was no significant prognostic difference between very low risk and low risk group according to the NIH and AFIP criteria. However, the prognostic stratification for two groups could be improved by the AJCC staging system. For small intestinal GIST patients, the prognostic difference between low risk and intermediate risk group was not stratified properly by the NIH and AFIP criteria. However, the prognostic difference between two groups could reach statistical significance according to the AJCC staging system. Unlike gastric GISTs, tumor size was not identified as an independent factor influencing the prognosis of small intestinal GISTs. Conclusions: The AJCC staging system could provide a better prognostic stratification for GIST patients compared with the NIH and AFIP criteria, regardless of gastric or small intestinal tumor. However, primary tumor location and tumor size may be reconsidered and revised in the risk classification system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile, environmentally-friendly and low-cost method for one-step synthesis of zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) prism-shaped crystals was proposed. The well-defined crystalline prisms (ZnPc, up to 8 mm and CoPc, more than 1 mm) can be grown during a solvothermal process at 160 °C for 6 h. It is noted that ethanol (pentanol or benzyl alcohol) was used as the reaction medium and no surfactants or other chemical additives were used in this preparation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the green and direct synthesis from simple raw materials to large ZnPc and CoPc crystals with high quality. Compared to the traditional preparation of MPc solids and their re-crystallization purification by using H2SO4, our method is very convenient, safe and time-efficient. The complete characterization, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), single crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectrometry, was performed to measure the molecular structures, crystal structures, and surface morphologies. The highly predominant crystal face of ZnPc crystals was determined to be (100) and the probable crystal growth mechanism was proposed. Moreover, the thermal and photoelectric measurements of ZnPc and CoPc crystals show their excellent thermal stability and photoelectric transformation performance, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Although the numeric-based lymph node (LN) staging was widely used in the worldwide, it did not represent the anatomical location of metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) and not reflect extent of LN dissection. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated whether the anatomical location of MLNs was still necessary to evaluate the prognosis of node-positive gastric cancer (GC) patients. Methods:We reviewed 1451 GC patients who underwent radical gastrectomy in our institution between January 1986 and January 2008. All patients were reclassified into several groups according to the anatomical location of MLNs and the number of MLNs. The prognostic differences between different patient groups were compared and clinicopathologic features were analyzed. Results:In the present study, both anatomical location of MLNs and the number of MLNs were identified as the independent prognostic factors (p < .01). The patients with extraperigastric LN involvement showed a poorer prognosis compared with the perigastric-only group (p < .001). For the N1–N2 stage patients, the prognostic discrepancy was still observed among them when the anatomical location of MLNs was considered (p < .05). For the N3-stage patients, although the anatomical location of MLNs had no significant effect on the prognosis of these patients, the higher number of MLNs in the extraperigastric area was correlated with the unfavorable prognosis (p < .05). Conclusion:The anatomical location of MLNs was an important factor influencing the prognostic outcome of GC patients. To provide more accurate prognostic information for GC patients, the anatomical location of MLNs should not be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose: Urothelial carcinoma associated 1 (UCA1) gene is a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), which shows expression and function abnormality in some kinds of malignant cancers. This study aimed to investigate its clinical significance and to examine its regulative effects of malignant proliferation and chemosensitivity to doxorubicin in gastric cancer cells.Methods: The expression of UCA1 was detected by quantitative real-time PCR. Statistical analysis was used to determine the relationship between UCA1 expression and clinical features and the prognostic value of UCA1 for disease-free survival. MTT assay was used to detect cell proliferation ability and chemosensitivity. Dual-color flow cytometric method was used to detect cell apoptosis. The expression of cleaved PARP and Bcl-2 protein was examined by Western blot.Results: UCA1 was highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues and cells, and its high expression level had a positive correlation with some malignant pathological characteristics of gastric cancer, such as higher grade and poor differentiation. Moreover, UCA1 was an independent prognostic biomarker of disease-free survival for gastric cancer patients. Silence of UCA1 could significantly inhibit the cell proliferation of gastric cancer BGC-823 and SGC7901 cells. The chemotherapy resistance to adriamycin of SGC7901/ADR cells was depressed by UCA1 silence, and IC50 for adriamycin presented a conspicuous depression. UCA1 silence advanced apoptosis induced by adriamycin in SGC7901/ADR cells, up-regulated cleaved PARP protein expression and depressed the expression of anti-apoptosis protein Bcl-2. These results demonstrated that chemotherapy resistance changes induced by UCA1 silence might be mediated by the cell apoptosis pathway.Conclusions: In summary, lncRNA UCA1 was an independent prognostic biomarker of disease-free survival in gastric cancer patients and acted as an oncogene to regulate the malignant proliferation and resistance to adriamycin in gastric cancer cells. UCA1 might provide a new potential therapeutic target and stratagem for gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The cellulose was grafted homogeneously with acrylic acid by in situ polymerization in an ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide ([Bmim]I) as reaction medium. This polymer is suitable for quasi-solidification of electrolytes in DSSCs by in situ synthesis because the polymerization reaction proceeds in the ionic liquid containing iodide ion. Using the matrix as polymer host, KI and I2 as ionic conductors, an ionic conductivity of the gel polymer electrolyte was achieved 7.33mScm−1. Based on the optimized gel electrolyte, the best result of the quasi-solid state dye-sensitized solar cell (QS-DSSC) was the light-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 5.51% under a light intensity of 100mWcm−2 (AM 1.5). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, lead iodide and lead oxide iodide crystalline films/crystals with various micro/nano-morphologies were synthesized by taking advantage of simple hydrothermal/solvothermal reactions between lead foil and element iodine under different conditions. The resulting products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was found that the morphologies of the resulting thin films/crystals could be well controlled by the adjustment of several parameters including iodine concentration, reaction time, temperature and reaction solvents. Possible growth mechanisms of the lead iodide crystalline compounds were also discussed. The present research work may provide new insights into the morphology-controlled synthesis of metal iodide as well as other inorganic materials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Nano-sized nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) was prepared by hydrothermal method at low temperature. The crystalline phase, morphology and specific surface area (BET) of the resultant samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and nitrogen physical adsorption, respectively. The particle sizes of the resulting NiFe2O4 samples were in the range of 5–15nm. The electrochemical performance of NiFe2O4 nanoparticles as the anodic material in lithium ion batteries was tested. It was found that the first discharge capacity of the anode made from NiFe2O4 nanoparticles could reach a very high value of 1314mAhg−1, while the discharge capacity decreased to 790.8mAhg−1 and 709.0mAhg−1 at a current density of 0.2mAcm−2 after 2 and 3 cycles, respectively. The BET surface area is up to 111.4m2 g−1. The reaction mechanism between lithium and nickel ferrite was also discussed based on the results of cycle voltammetry (CV) experiments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of this study is to identify the brain activity associated with amphetamine craving for understanding the neuro- biology of addiction by watching pictures of happy, sad or amphetamine. Brain activity was measured in 12 amphetamine addicts and 12 healthy subjects by fMRI while the subjects watched pictures designed to elicit happy feelings, sad feelings, or the desire to use amphetamine. The result demonstrated that amphetamine cues led to abnormally high cingutate and low frontal lobe activation in amphetamine addicts, who showed abnormalities in affect-related brain activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CXCR3, predominately expressed on memory/activated T cells, is a receptor for both interferon-γ inducible protein-10/CXC ligand 10 (CXCL10) and monokine induced by interferon-γ/CXCL9. We reported here that CXCR3 was highly up-regulated on infiltrating eosinophils in Schistosoma japonicum egg-induced granuloma in the mouse liver. It was also highly and functionally up-regulated on peritoneal exudate eosinophils in mice infected with S. japonicum. The phenomena were demonstrated at protein and mRNA levels using immunohisto- and immunocytochemistry evaluation of biopsy, flow cytometry and real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction technique, and verified by Northern blotting and chemotaxis assay in vitro. We also found that CCR3 expression on the infiltrating and peritoneal exudate cells was significantly decreased, CXCR4 expression was unchanged during the 42-day period of infection. We screened mRNA expression levels of the all known chemokine receptors in purified peritoneal exudate eosinophils and liver granuloma dominated by eosinophils. CXCR3 was highly and functionally up-regulated on peritoneal exudate eosinophils in mice infected with S. japonicum, meanwhile CCR3 was significantly and functionally down-regulated in these cells. The findings could lead to a better understanding of the chemokine receptor expression pattern of eosinophils at inflamed tissue sites caused by parasites. These could be also crucial for establishing a therapeutic strategy for eosinophilic inflammation via intervention in chemokine actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]