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Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a B-cell malignancy with poor clinical outcome and undefined pathogenesis. Development of clinically relevant cellular models for MCL research is an urgent need. Our preliminary observations lead the development of two novel hypotheses that we tested in this study: 1. multicellular spheroid might be a unique growth mode of early-stage cells in MCL; 2. MCL might be a polyclonal tumor. We made the following original observations that have not been reported: First, we have provided a new experiment method for enriching MCL early-stage cells and characterized the spheroid mode of growth as a unique feature of early-stage MCL cells in cell line as well as in clinical samples. Second, we have established a clinically relevant cellular model of MCL, the JeKo-1-spheroid cell line, that was highly enriched in early-stage sub-clones. JeKo-1-spheroid cells and the spheroid growing cells enriched from MCL patients exhibited comparably enhanced tumorigenic abilities and similar biological features. Third, Immunophenotypic analysis has revealed that MCL may be derived from precursor-B(pre-B), immature-B and mature-B cells, not only the mature-B cells as WHO classified in 2016. Fourth, MCL may be a polyclonal disease composed of CD19–/IgM–, CD19–/IgM+, CD19+/IgM+ three sub-clones, of which the CD19–/IgM+ sub-clone might be the dominant sub-clone with the strongest tumorigenic ability. Fifth, CD19+/IgM– that differentiates MCL and normal B cells may represent a new marker for MCL early detection, minor residual disease monitoring after therapies and prognosis. Keywords: JeKo-1-spheroid, Mantle cell lymphoma, Pathology, Sub-clone, CD19

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) manifests itself as a paroxysm of vertigo and nystagmus lasting several seconds, which is self-limiting. The clinical characteristics and risk factors for the recurrence of BPPV in different ages have not yet been investigated. Materials and Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Neurology in Beijing Tiantan Hospital from July 2009 to June 2015. The study included 1,012 patients aged 18–93 years. All patients received the definitive diagnosis and canalith repositioning maneuvers treatment and finally accomplished follow-up. Demographic variables, potential recurrence risk factors, neurological examination, and laboratory indexes were assessed. Data Analyses: The t-test or chi-squared test was first performed for group comparison, then logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the risk factors of BPPV recurrence. Results: The 1-year recurrence rates of BPPV patients after reposition maneuvers were, respectively, 22.79% (aged 18–45 years), 23.92% (aged 45–60 years), 28.89% (over 60 years). The recurrence rates among the three groups have no statistically significant difference. Logistic regression analysis shows that women BPPV patients have more recurrence risks than do men. Ménière's disease (odds ratio = 6.009, 95% confidence interval: 2.489–14.507, p < 0.001), hypertension (odds ratio = 1.510, 95% confidence interval: 1.095–2.084, p = 0.012), migraine (odds ratio = 2.534, 95% confidence interval: 1.164–5.516, p = 0.019), and hyperlipemia (odds ratio = 1.419, 95% confidence interval: 1.024–1.968, p = 0.036) were risk factors for the recurrence of BPPV in patients. Conclusion: We conclude that Ménière's disease, hypertension, migraine, and hyperlipemia may be independent risk factors for the recurrence of BPPV in patients, but aging does not increase the recurrence risk.

Background and Objective Insulin resistance is well known to exhibit essential effects on the progression of diabetes mellitus (DM). Guava leaf was also reported to exhibit anti-diabetic effects including decreasing blood glucose. Therefore, this present study aims to explore the role guava leaf extract (GLE) plays in insulin resistance and its mechanism of action via the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Methods KK-Ay mice is a spontaneous genetic type 2 diabetes mouse model induced by feeding a high fat and high sugar diet. Mice were randomly assigned into three groups: diabetic mice (DM), DM + MET (diabetic mice treated with metformin) and DM + GLE (diabetic mice treated with GLE) groups. After 8 weeks of treatment, body weight and levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), fasting insulin and lipids in plasma were measured. Mice were sacrificed and mRNA and protein expression of insulin receptor substrate1 (IRS1), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and serine/threonine kinase protein B (Akt) in livers were measured. Results GLE markedly reduced body weight, FPG, fasting insulin and insulin resistance index but increased the insulin sensitivity index of diabetic KK-Ay mice. Moreover, GLE upregulated the expression of IRS-1, PI3K and Akt mRNAs in livers of diabetic KK-Ay mice. In addition, GLE also elevated IRS-1, PI3K, Akt, p-PI3K and p-Akt protein expression in their livers. The results of the DM + MET group were similar to those of the DM + GLE group. Conclusion GLE plays anti-diabetic roles by ameliorating insulin resistance in KK-Ay diabetic mice and this is related to the activation of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

The homeobox B8 (HOXB8) functions as a sequence-specific transcription factor that is involved in development. Increased expression of this gene is associated with a wide variety of tumor; however, its function in gastric cancer has not been clarified. In the present study, the expression of HOXB8 in gastric cancer tissues and influence of HOXB8 on gastric cancer cellular were evaluated. The expression levels of HOXB8 mRNA in human gastric cancer tissues were analyzed through quantitative RT-PCR. To test the role of HOXB8 in gastric cancer metastasis, the cell transwell assay was performed. Microarray, ChIP-qPCR, and Western blot were used to explore the possible mechanism that HOXB8 promotes gastric cancer cells metastasis. In this study, we found that HOXB8 showed higher expression in metastatic tissues than no-metastatic tissues. Overexpression of HOXB8 can promote gastric cancer cells migration and invasion, while silencing HOXB8 leads to the opposite results. Overexpression of HOXB8 also increases the rate of metastasis in NCI-N87 mice, while silencing HOXB8 has the opposite results. Furthermore, HOXB8 promotes epithelial–mesenchymal transformation of AGS cells. We also found that ZEB2 can interact with HOXB8 and may be a downstream factor of HOXB8 by using microarray. Knockdown of ZEB2 can inhibit HOXB8-induced migration and invasion capacity, as well as the epithelial–mesenchymal transformation in gastric cancer cells. The results showed that HOXB8 plays an important role in the development and metastasis of gastric carcinoma.

A differential carbon monoxide (CO) concentration sensing device using a self-fabricated spherical mirror (e.g. light-collector) and a multi-pass gas-chamber is presented in this paper. Single-source dual-channel detection method is adopted to suppress the interferences from light source, optical path and environmental changes. Detection principle of the device is described, and both the optical part and the electrical part are developed. Experiments are carried out to evaluate the sensing performance on CO concentration. The results indicate that at 1.013×105 Pa and 298 K, the limit of detection (LoD) is about 11.5 mg/m3 with an absorption length of 40 cm. As the gas concentration gets larger than 115 mg/m3 (1.013×105 Pa, 298 K), the relative detection error falls into the range of −1.7%—+1.9%. Based on 12 h long-term measurement on the 115 mg/m3 and 1 150 mg/m3 CO samples, the maximum detection errors are about 0.9% and 5.5%, respectively. Due to the low cost and competitive characteristics, the proposed device shows potential applications in CO detection in the circumstances of coal-mine production and environmental protection.

A portable dual-channel digital/analogue hybrid lock-in amplifier (LIA) is developed, and its amplitude detection error is less than 10% when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is larger than −12 dB. Then, a differential mid-infrared methane (CH4) detection device is experimentally demonstrated based on a wideband incandescence wire-source and a multi-pass spherical reflector. The experiments are carried out to obtain the sensing performance of the device. With the absorption length of only ∼4.8 cm, the limit of detection (LoD) is about 71.43 mg/m3, and the detection range is from 0 mg/m3 to 5.00×104 mg/m3. As the concentration gets larger than 714.30 mg/m3, the relative detection error falls into the range of −5%–+5%. Two seven-hour-measurements are done on the CH4 samples with concentrations of 1.43×103 mg/m3 and 4.29×103 mg/m3, respectively, and the results show that the maximum relative error is less than 5%. Because of the cost effective incandescence wire-source, the small-size and inexpensive dual-channel LIA, and the small-size absorption pool and reflector, the developed device shows potential applications of CH4 detection in coal mine production and environmental protection.

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the common reasons of cancer-related death with few biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis. Solute carrier family 2 (facilitated glucose transporter) member 1 protein SLC2A1, also known as glucose transporter type 1 (GLUT1), has been associated with tumor progression, metastasis, and poor prognosis in many human solid tumors. However, little is reported about its clinical significance and biological functions in GC. Here we observed a strong up-regulation of SLC2A1 in patients with GC and found that SLC2A1 was significantly correlated with depth of invasion and clinical stage. Additionally, over-expression of SLC2A1 in GC cells promotes cellular proliferation and metastasis in vitro and enhances tumor growth in vivo as well as enhancement of glucose utilization. Meanwhile, elevated SLC2A1 also contributes to tumor metastasis in vitro. Our results indicate SLC2A1 exhibits a pivotal role in tumor growth, metastasis and glucose metabolism, and also suggest SLC2A1 as a promising target for gastric cancer therapy.

A portable dual-channel digital/analogue hybrid lock-in amplifier (LIA) was developed, and its amplitude detection error is less than 10% when the signal-to-noise ratio is larger than −12 dB. Then, a differential mid-infrared methane detection device was experimentally demonstrated based on a wideband incandescence wire-source and a multi-pass spherical reflector. Detailed detection principle was described, and key modules including the optical part and the electrical part were designed and fabricated. Detailed experiments were carried out to obtain the device’s sensing performances. With the absorption length of only ∼4.8 cm, the limit of detection (LoD) is about 100 ppm within the detection range of 0–70 k ppm. As the concentration gets larger than 1 k ppm, the relative detection error falls into the range of −5% ∼ +5%. Based on two seven-hour-measurements on the 2 k and 6 k ppm methane samples, the maximum absolute error is less than 5%. Because of the cost effective incandescence wire-source, the small-size and inexpensive dual-channel LIA, and the small-size absorption pool and reflector, the developed standalone device shows potential applications of methane detection in coal mine production and environmental protection.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression by inhibiting translation of target messenger RNAs (mRNAs) through pairing with miRNA recognition elements (MREs), usually in 3'-UTRs. miRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of several types of cancers. Specifically, microRNA-32 (miR-32) is overexpressed in colorectal carcinoma, wherein accumulating evidence indicates that it functions as an oncogene. However, the function of miR-32 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been totally elucidated. In the present study, we found the expression of miR-32 was up-regulated in HCC tissue and cell lines, inversely the expression of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) decreased. Besides, miRNA-32 down-regulates PTEN through binding to 3'-UTR of PTEN mRNA from luciferase reporter assay, and the expression level of miR-32 could affect the proliferation, migration, and invasion of liver cancer cell lines via PTEN/Akt signaling pathway. Down-expression of PTEN could significantly attenuate the inhibitory effects of knockdown miR-32 on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of liver cancer cells, suggesting that miR-32 could be a potential target for HCC treatment.

This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic mechanism of treating SMMC-7721 liver cancer cells with magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH) using Fe2O3 nanoparticles. Hepatocarcinoma SMMC-7721 cells cultured in vitro were treated with ferrofluid containing Fe2O3 nanoparticles and irradiated with an alternating radio frequency magnetic field. The influence of the treatment on the cells was examined by inverted microscopy, MTT and flow cytometry. To study the therapeutic mechanism of the Fe2O3 MFH, Hsp70, Bax, Bcl-2 and p53 were detected by immunocytochemistry and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). It was shown that Fe2O3 MFH could cause cellular necrosis, induce cellular apoptosis, and significantly inhibit cellular growth, all of which appeared to be dependent on the concentration of the Fe2O3 nanoparticles. Immunocytochemistry results showed that MFH could induce high expression of Hsp70 and Bax, decrease the expression of mutant p53, and had little effect on Bcl-2. RT-PCR indicated that Hsp70 expression was high in the early stage of MFH (

The centipedes are a type of traditional Chinese herb and can treat cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we aimed to isolate bioactive peptides from the enzymatic hydrolysates of centipedes. Three novel antithrombotic peptides were isolated from centipedes hydrolysates using a combination of ultrafiltration, Sephadex G-50 column, and RP-HPLC C8 column. The molecular mass of the purified peptides are 753, 515 and 985 Da measured by Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry. The primary structures of these peptides were determined to be Phe-Ser-Ala-Pro-Ala-Val-Tyr (FSAPAVY), Ile-Arg-Asp-Leu (IRDL) and Asp-Leu-Asp-His-Tyr-Ser-Phe (DLDHYSF) using Edman degradation method. All isolated peptides potently prolonged the activated partial thromboplastin time. Moreover, IRDL and DLDHYSF can inhibit platelet aggregation, prolong bleeding time and clotting time. These results indicate that the enzymatic hydrolysate of Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans may contribute to the antithrombotic activity of the centipede for treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

PNPLA3polymorphisms serve as the genetic basis of hepatic steatosis in normal population and lead to dysregulated glucose metabolism. Whether it underlies the hepatic steatosis and glucose homeostasis in chronic hepatitis B patients remains uncertain. Here, we investigated thePNPLA3polymorphisms in biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis B patients with (CHB+HS group,n=52) or without hepatic steatosis (CHB group,n=47) and non-CHB subjects with (HS group,n=37) or without hepatic steatosis (normal group,n=45). When compared to the TT genotype, C-allele atPNPLA3rs1010023 (CC and TC genotypes) conferred higher risk to hepatic steatosis in chronic hepatitis B patients (odds ratio (OR) = 1.768, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.027–3.105;P=0.045) independent of age, gender, and body mass index. In contrast to their role in hepatic steatosis, CC and TC genotypes ofPNPLA3rs1010023 were correlated to significant improvement of homeostasis model assessment index (HOMA-IR) as compared to TT genotype in the CHB+HS group. Downregulated fasting blood glucose also characterized the CHB+HS patients with C-allele atPNPLA3rs1010023 (CC/TC versus TT: 4.81 ± 0.92 mmol/L versus 5.86 ± 2.11 mmol/L,P=0.02). These findings suggest thatPNPLA3rs1010023 may predispose chronic hepatitis B patients to hepatic steatosis but protects them from glucose dysregulation by attenuating insulin resistance.

Methane is a colorless, odorless, flammable and explosive gas, which not only is the cause to induce significant security risk in coal mining operation, but also one of the important greenhouse gases, so the monitoring of methane is extremely critical. A trace methane gas sensor is designed and developed using the combination of tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) and wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) detection technology, which is based on the methane R(3) absorption branch in 2v3 second harmonic band. Through tuning parameters -0.591 cm(-1) x K(-1), using the method that change the working temperature of distributed feedback (DFB) laser to obtain the best absorption wavelength of methane at 1.654 μm. When the mid-wavelength of DFB laser is selected, the appropriate emitting intension can be obtained via adjusting the amplitude of inject current of DFB laser. Meanwhile, combining the frequency modulation technology to move the bandwidth of detection signal from low frequency to high frequency to reduce the 1/f noise. With aspect to the optical structure, utilizing herriott cell with 76 m effective optical path to guarantee the detection of trace methane is successful. Utilizing the proposed trace methane sensor to extract the second harmonic signal of detected methane in the range of 50 to 5 000 μmol x mol(-1), and adopting minimum mean square error criterion to fit the relationship between methane concentration and signal noise ratio, harmonic peak signal and methane concentration, respectively. In addition, the minimum detection limit is 1.4 μmol x mol(-1). The experiment results show the symmetry of harmonic waveform is good, no intensity modulation, and the factor of intensity-modulated impacts on harmonic detection is eliminated.

Experimental evidence shows that cadmium (Cd) could induce oxidative stress and then causes DNA damage in animal cells, however, whether such effect exists in plants is still unclear. In the present study, Vicia faba plants was exposed to 5 and 10 mg/L Cd for 4 d to investigate the distribution of Cd in plant, the metal effects on the cell lipids, antioxidative enzymes and DNA damages in leaves. Cd induced an increase in Cd concentrations in plants. An enhanced level of lipid peroxidation in leaves and an enhanced concentration of H2O2 in root tissues suggested that Cd caused oxidative stress in Vicia faba. Compared with control, Cd-induced enhancement in superoxide dismutase activity was more significant at 5 mg/L than at 10 mg/L in leaves, by contrast, catalase and peroxidase activities were significantly suppressed by Cd addition. DNA damage was detected by neutral/neutral, alkaline/neutral and alkaline/alkaline Comet assay. Increased levels of DNA damages induced by Cd occurred with reference to oxidative stress in leaves, therefore, oxidative stress induced by Cd accumulation in plants contributed to DNA damages and was likely an important mechanism of Cd-phytotoxicity in Vicia faba plants.

Based on different basic routing elements, device architectures and design schemes of three kinds of four-port optical routers with the same routing function are studied. First, the structural parameters of the routing elements including cross-coupling one microring resonator (CCO-MRR), cross-coupling two microring resonators (CCT-MRR) and parallel-coupling one microring resonator (PCO-MRR), are optimized for single-mode transmission, low optical loss and phase-match between microring waveguide and channel waveguide. Then, detailed routing topologies of the three routers are presented, and a thorough comparison among them is made on their routing performances. The used MRR numbers of the CCO-MRR-based and PCO-MRR-based routers (four rings) are half of that of the CCT-MRR-based router (eight rings); the PCO-MRR-based router depicts the minimum insertion loss (0.02–0.6 dB); the CCT-MRR-based router reveals the minimum crosstalk (

This study quantitatively measured neonicotinoids in various foods that are common to human consumption. All fruit and vegetable samples (except nectarine and tomato) and 90% of honey samples were detected positive for at least one neonicotinoid; 72% of fruits, 45% of vegetables, and 50% of honey samples contained at least two different neonicotinoids in one sample, with imidacloprid having the highest detection rate among all samples. All pollen samples from New Zealand contained multiple neonicotinoids, and five of seven pollens from Massachusetts detected positive for imidacloprid. These results show the prevalence of low-level neonicotinoid residues in fruits, vegetables, and honey that are readily available in the market for human consumption and in the environment where honeybees forage. In light of new reports of toxicological effects in mammals, the results strengthen the importance of assessing dietary neonicotinoid intakes and the potential human health effects.

This study investigated the effect of different Mueller–Hinton agars and media age on tigecycline MICs, obtained by Etest. Variations in MIC values on different Mueller–Hinton were noted, which may result in changes in categoric susceptibility. The use of stored Mueller–Hinton media had minimal effect on MIC values.

The local supply of physicians has a strong influence on the availability and the quality of services provided by rural hospitals. Nevertheless, there are no published studies that describe the composition of rural hospital medical staffs and, in particular, the availability of specialists on these staffs. This study uses 1991 and 1994 survey data from rural hospitals located in eight states to describe the specialty composition and factors that influence the presence of specialists on rural hospital medical staffs. The results show a strong, positive association between the level of medical staff specialization in rural hospitals and the level of medical specialization of their closest rural neighbors, which suggests there is competition among rural hospitals based on the composition of the hospital medical staff. Analysis by specialty type, however, indicates that the degree of competition may differ for different types of specialists.

It laid the foundation of the large sample data mining for a comprehensive summary concerning four properties theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and also provided theory clues on determination of four properties for the new resource development of TCM and the clinical use of Chinese medicine.Four properties data of 8 980 Chinese medicines from "Chinese herbal medicine (CHM)" and associated function index data were chose as data sets. Then, the IBM SPSS Clementine 14.1 data mining platform and Apriori model were adopted to mining classification-association rules, setting the minimum support threshold of rule antecedent and the minimum confidence threshold as 0.5% and 60%.11 classification-association rules involved in warm, cold and mild natures were found.It was discovered that the TCM with functions of "dispelling wind-cold, warming the middle, stopping pain and expelling wind-removing dampness, tonifying kidney yang, unblocking meridians and expelling wind-removing dampness, dispelling cold to stop pain, strengthening sinews-bones and expelling wind-removing dampness" was likely warm-natured, with functions of "tonifying the lung" was likely mild-natured, and with functions of " clearing heat and drying dampness, clearing heat and purging fire, eliminating restlessness" was likely cold-natured.

In order to provide theoretical clues and data support for the use of Chinese medicine clinical drug, experimental study of Chinese materia medica and development of new resources of Chinese materia medica, the four properties as the core, the relationships of property, flavor, channel tropism and toxicity in nature data of Chinese materia medica were analyzed.The spearman rank correlation method was employed to analyze 8 356 Chinese drugs with characteristic of four properties from " Chinese Herbal Medicine" based on data level coding.It was discovered that four properties showed significant positive correlations with tastes of "pungent and sweet" , channels of "spleen" , "stomach" , "kidney" and "toxicity" , but also showed significant negative correlations with tastes of "bitter" and "light" and six channels such as "large intestine" , "heart", "bladder" , "gallbladder" , "small intestine" and "lung" (in descending order of correlation ) (P0. 01).It was indicated that the more hot the Chinese medicine nature, the more possible it contained "toxicity" , tastes of "pungent" and "sweet" , and the more possible it was belong to channels of "spleen" , "stomach" and "kidney". As well, the more cold the Chinese medicine nature, the more possible it contained tastes of "bitter" and "light", and the more possible it was belong to six channels such as "large intestine", etc.

With the increasing demand for new energy, nuclear industry has been developing very fast, and uranium (U) pollution becomes a serious environmental problem especially in the mining area. The discharge of U products and wastes can contaminate soil and water, and finally threaten human health. On the other side, as an environment-friendly biotechnology, the importance of mycorrhizal technology in remediation of polluted environments has received much attention in recent years. Following a brief introduction of the environmental impacts of U contamination, this review summarized the effects of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) on U uptake and accumulation by plants based on recent research progresses, suggested possible application of AM fungi in remediation of U contaminated environment, and finally discussed about the perspectives in relevant research area.

This study is to prepare the pantoprazole sodium enteric-coated tablet which is compacted by pellets. The enteric-coated pantoprazole sodium pellets were prepared by fluid bed coating technology. The pantoprazole sodium enteric-coated tablets were prepared by direct compression of the enteric-coated pellets and suitable excipients. In vitro dissolution method and scanning electron microscope method were used for the observation of the drug release behavior before and after compression of the pellets. The optimized formulation is: the coating level is 55%, the plasticizer content is 20%, the ratio of Eudragit L30D-55/NE30D is 8 : 2, enteric-coated pellets/excipients (MCC/PPVP/PEG 6000 = 2 : 1 : 1) is 5 : 5, the enteric-coated tablets release in artificial gastric fluid in 2 h is less than 10%, while in artificial intestinal fluid in 1 h is more than 85%. The release behavior of pantoprazole sodium enteric-coated pellets-type tablet is quite well. And it may be used in industrial production.

To find out the advantages and insufficiency of the 3D reconstruction and traditional anatomy by comparing them with each other. 1. Infused with the radio-opaque material from the arteries and veins, respectively, fresh lower extremity specimens were subjected to spiral CT scanning and then 3D reconstruction was conducted to obtain 3D vessels. 2. Anatomizing the specimens to show the vessel system. 3. Comparing the images of 3D reconstruction and photos of the dissected specimens. 3D software could dissect and reconstruct the bones, vessels, skin and muscles, and the reconstructed photos could be shown, respectively or combinedly. On the other hand, the course, distribution, and anastomoses of the vessels could be viewed from different aspects and different layers, but the results were not completely correct, so they were not suitable for data acquisition. While the vessel systems could be observed clearly on the dissected specimens, so could the origin, course, distribution and the anastomoses of any vessel. The data acquisition could be conducted. The method of angiography with 3D reconstruction is very good and has considerable advantages for observing the 3D state of human blood vessels, and their distribution at different angles and different levels, but it cannot totally represent or replace the traditional dissected specimens.

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of soil moisture content on plant growth and the rhizosphere microbial community structure of four plant species (white clover, alfalfa, sudan grass, tall fescue), grown individually or in a mixture. The soil moisture content was adjusted to 55% or 80% water holding capacity (WHC). The results indicated that the total plant biomass of one pot was lower at 55% WHC. At a given soil moisture, the total plant biomass of white clover and tall fescue in the mixture was lower than that in a monoculture, indicating their poor competitiveness. For leguminous plants, the decrease in soil moisture reduced the total microbial biomass, bacterial biomass, fungal biomass, and fungal/bacterial ratio in soil as assessed by the phospholipid fatty acid analysis, whereas, lower soil moisture increased those parameters in the tall fescue. The microbial biomass in the soil with legumes was higher than that in the soil with grasses and the two plant groups differed in soil microbial community composition. At high soil moisture content, microbial communities of the plant mixture were similar to those of the legume monoculture, and the existence of legumes in the mixture enhanced the bacterial and fungal biomass in the soil compared to the grasses grown in the monoculture, indicating that legumes played a dominant role in the soil microbial community changes in the plant mixture.

Chun-Ying Qu,1,* Min Zhou,1,* Ying-wei Chen,2 Mei-mei Chen,3 Feng Shen,1 Lei-Ming Xu11Digestive Endoscopic Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Shanghai Key Laboratory of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 3Digestive Department, Xinhua Hospital, School of medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workPurpose:The first-line chemotherapy treatment protocol for gastric cancer is combination chemotherapy of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin (CDDP). The aim of this study was to engineer prodrug-based nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) platform for codelivery of 5-FU and CDDP to enhance therapy and decrease toxicity.Methods:First, 5-FU-stearic acid lipid conjugate was synthesized by two steps. Second, 5-FU-stearic acid prodrug and CDDP were loaded in NLC. Finally, hyaluronic acid (HA) was coated onto NLC surface. Average size, zeta potential, and drug loading capacity of NLC were evaluated. Human gastric cancer cell line BGC823 (BGC823 cells) was used for the testing of in vitro cytotoxicity assays. In vivo antitumor activity of NLC was evaluated in mice bearing BGC823 cells model.Results: HA-coated 5-FU-stearic acid prodrug and CDDP-loaded NLC (HA-FU/C-NLC) showed a synergistic effect in combination therapy and displayed the greatest antitumor activity than all of the free drugs or uncoated NLC in vitro and in vivo.Conclusion: This work reveals that HA-coated NLC could be used as a novel carrier to codeliver 5-FU and CDDP for gastric cancer therapy. HA-FU/C-NLC could be a promising targeted and combinational therapy in nanomedicine.Keywords: gastric cancer, nanostructured lipid carriers, hyaluronic acid, combination chemotherapy, lipid prodrug