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Objective: The aim of the study is to assess the therapeutic effect and applicability of pectoralis major muscle turnover flap reconstruction for treatment of deep sternal wound infection after cardiac surgery in infants and children. Methods: From march 2013 to october 2021, 23 patients with deep sternal wound infection after cardiac surgery underwent pectoralis major muscle turnover flap reconstruction.The data and outcomes of the patients were retrospectively analyzed. Results: 20 patients were treated with unilateral pectoralis major muscle turnover flap reconstruction,3 patients were treated by bilateral pectoralis major muscle turnover flap. All of the sternal wounds healed successfully. All patients survived and were discharged without evidence of infection. In a follow-up period, ranging from 15 to 83 months (mean 32.6 months), all patients demonstrated normal development with no limitations to limb movements. There were no signs of chronic sternal infection in all of them. Conclusion:Pectoralis major muscle turnover flap reconstruction is a simple,feasible and effective treatment of deep sternal wound infection after cardiac surgery in infants and children,with minimal developmental problems.

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) is an evergreen fruit tree species of the Rosaceae, and its unique flowering time greatly hinders its production. To explore the artificial regulation of loquat flowering time, we removed the main inflorescence (by cutting it) to induce reflowering. For different loquat tree cultivars with different stages, the inflorescence was removed by cutting the main floral axis at two alternative positions: the upper or the lower position beneath the inflorescence, and it was found that the proportion of reflowering resulting from removing the upper position of the main floral axis of yellow-flesh loquat cultivars during the full-bloom stage was the highest. In addition, compared with those of the normal-growing panicles, the number of flower buds and branch axes of the reflowering panicles decreased significantly after cutting. Importantly, these newly produced inflorescences flowered 2–4 months later than normal-growing inflorescences did, effectively prolonging both the flowering and fruiting time. In addition, qRT-PCR results showed that EjFT1, EjFT2, EjAP1-1 and EjAP1-2 were highly expressed in the floral axis. These findings highlighted a new method for extending the production cycle of loquat and provided a reference for the flowering regulation of loquat and other economically important fruit tree species.

Tubby-like proteins (TLPs) play important roles in plant growth and development and in responses to abiotic stress. However, TLPs in strawberry remain poorly studied. In this study, eight TLPs were identified in woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca subspecies vesca ‘Ruegen’). Protein structure analysis revealed that the structure of FvTLPs is highly conserved, but evolutionary and gene structure analyses revealed that the evolutionary pattern of FvTLP family members differs from that of their orthologous genes in Arabidopsis, poplar, and apple. Subcellular localization assays revealed that FvTLPs were localized to the nucleus and plasma membrane. FvTLPs showed no transcriptional activity. Yeast two-hybrid assays revealed that FvTLPs interact with specific FvSKP1s. The expression patterns of FvTLPs in different tissues and under various abiotic stresses (salt, drought, cold, and heat) and hormone treatments (ABA (abscisic acid) and MeJA (methyl jasmonate)) were determined. The expression patterns of FvTLPs indicated that they play a role in regulating growth and development and responses to abiotic stress in F. vesca. The GUS (beta-glucuronidase) activity of FvTLP1pro::GUS plants in GUS activity assays increased under salt and drought stress and abscisic acid treatment. The results of this study provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the functions of TLPs.

Purpose Referring to global cancer statistics, the incidence of gastric cancer (GC) was ranked sixth; however, detailed mechanisms underlying its development were not thoroughly investigated. Previous studies have reported that inhibition of ubiquitin-specific peptidase 8 (USP8) induced degradation of several receptor tyrosine kinases, such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), embryonic stem cells (ESCs), etc. Nevertheless, the regulation of HER-2 by USP8 and the molecular mechanisms controlling their role in the pathogenesis of GC remain unknown. Patients and methods A total of 69 patients with histologically confirmed GC were recruited to satisfy the purpose of this study. Initially, tumor samples and GC cell lines were used to detect USP8 and HER-2 levels. Next, MTT and colony formation assays were applied to analyze cell proliferation capability. Cell migration and invasion ability were examined by transwell assays. To examine related mRNA and protein expressions, Western blot assays and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) were performed. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the effect of USP8 inhibitor on GC cells. Finally, in vivo experiments were used to examine the effect of USP8 inhibitor. Results Patients with USP8 high-expression tumors have shown worse overall survival while opposite results found in patients with low USP8 expressions. Regarding disease prognosis, patients with low expression of USP8 and HER-2 were performed better prognosis, whereas those with overexpression of USP8 and HER-2 shown poor prognosis. USP8 inhibitor significantly inhibited HER-2 positive cell NCI-N87 proliferation and metastasis. In addition, USP8 stabilizes HER-2, preventing it from ubiquitin proteasome-mediated degradation. In vivo studies confirmed that the USP8 inhibitor inhibited HER-2 positive cell NCI-N87 tumor growth. However, it did not affect the HER2-negative cell MGC-803. Careful investigation unraveled that the USP8 inhibitor significantly inhibited NCI-N87 cell proliferation and metastasis via phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases/protein-serine-threonine kinase (PI3K/AKT) pathway. Conclusion The USP8 inhibited HER-2 positive GC cell proliferation and migration in vivo and in vitro and probably served as a novel potential therapeutic biomarker for HER-2 positive GC.

Background Ubiquitin specific peptidase 8 (USP8) has been reported to induce the degradation of several receptor tyrosine kinases such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), among which human epidermal growth factor receptor-3 (HER-3) is one of them. However, the role and functional mechanisms of USP8 and HER-3 in gastric cancer (GC) remain unknown. Objective To explore the function and mechanism of USP8 and HER-3 in the progression of GC. Materials and methods Eighty-eight patients with histologically confirmed GC were recruited for this study. Tumor samples and GC cell lines were used to detect USP8 and HER-3 levels. MGC803 (HER-3 negative GC cell) was selected as the control group and NCI-N87, MKN-45 and AGS (HER-3 positive GC cells) as the experimental group. USP8i and si-RNA were then used to down-regulate USP8 in each group. Apoptosis and cell-cycle experiments were performed to detect the effects of USP8 on GC cells. Cytotoxicity Assay Kit (MTT) and colony formation assays were used to analyze cell proliferation. Cell migration and invasion ability were examined by wound healing. The expression of related mRNA and protein was detected by Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). In vivo experiments were used to examine the effect of USP8 and HER-3. Results Patients with high expression of USP8 or HER-3 tumors alone died earlier than those with low expression and the patients with both USP8 and HER-3 high expression had a shorter overall survival than those with the opposite pattern (both USP8 and HER-3 low expression). Down-regulation of USP8 inhibited cell proliferation and cell metastasis and also reduced the HER-3 expression. We also observed that down-regulation of USP8 inhibited the proliferation of GC cells which highly expressed HER-3. Moreover, down-regulation of USP8 could promote the apoptosis of HER3-positive GC cells and inhibit the proliferation of them by affecting the cell-cycle. In vivo studies demonstrated that down-regulation of USP8 inhibited HER-3 positive tumors growth. Conclusion Down-regulation of USP8 inhibits HER-3 positive GC cells proliferation in vivo and in vitro, which indicate that USP8 represents a feasible choice as a therapeutic target for HER-3 positive GC cells.

Current Therapeutic modalities provide no survival advantage to gastric cancer (GC) patients. Targeting the human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) is a viable therapeutic strategy against advanced HER-2 positive GC. Antibody-drug conjugates, small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), and bispecific antibodies are emerging as novel drug forms that may abrogate the resistance to HER-2-specific drugs and monoclonal antibodies. Chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells (CAR-T) targeting HER-2 have shown considerable therapeutic potential in GC and other solid tumors. However, due to the high heterogeneity along with the complex tumor microenvironment (TME) of GC that often leads to immune escape, the immunological treatment of GC still faces many challenges. Here, we reviewed and discussed the current progress in the research of anti-HER-2-CAR-T cell immunotherapy against GC.

The application of camrelizumab in gastrointestinal tumors is in ongoing clinical trials and has shown good outcomes, which provides a new idea for the diagnosis, treatment and research of gastric cancer. A 70-year-old male patient with advanced gastric cancer developed liver and lung metastasis one year after laparoscopic-assisted radical total gastrectomy, despite postoperative trastuzumab and conventional chemotherapy. To treat this metastatic tumor, camrelizumab was started on August 8, 2019. On November 11, 2020, a CT review showed significantly reduced multiple liver metastases as well as nodules in the left upper lung. At the same time, patients had achieved free progression survival of 16 months and overall survival of more than 31 months. This case report provides a new and strong evidence for the treatment of hepato-pulmonary metastasis with camrelizumab in gastric cancer.

Sun J, Shen D, Gao Y, et al. Onco Targets Ther. 2020;13:7973– 7984. The authors have advised due to an error at the time of figure assembly, Figure 3 on page 7980 is incorrect. The correct Figure 3 is shown in Download Article. The authors apologize for this error and advise it does not affect the results of the paper. Read the original article

Aquaporins (AQPs) are essential membrane proteins involved in seed maturation and germination, stomata movement, photosynthesis, and regulation of plant flowering processes. Pitaya flowers are open at night and wither at daybreak, which shows an obvious circadian rhythm. In this study, a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of AQPs in Hylocereus undantus was conducted to screen key genes associated with flowering processes. A total of 33 HuAQP genes were identified from the H. undantus genome. The 33 HuAQPs were grouped into four subfamilies: 10 PIPs, 13 TIPs, 8 NIPs, and 2 SIPs, which were distributed on 9 out of 11 pitaya chromosomes (Chr) (except for Chr7 and Chr10). Results from expression profiles showed that HuNIP6;1 may be involved in pitaya’s floral opening. HuNIP6;1 was localized exclusively in the cell membrane. Overexpression of HuNIP6;1 in Arabidopsis thaliana significantly promoted early flowering through regulating negative flowering regulators of MJM30, COL9, and PRR5, suggesting that HuNIP6;1 plays key roles in regulating flowering time. The present study provides the first genome-wide analysis of the AQP gene family in pitaya and valuable information for utilization of HuAQPs.

Sb2S3/perylene diimide derivatives composite micro-spheres composed of slight dendrites were synthesized by solvothermal reaction. Perylene diimide derivative with two carboxyl groups at amine position as morphology-controlling reagent is the key factor for determining the microscopic morphology of Sb2S3 in this system. Time-dependent experiments have been conducted to track the formation of Sb2S3 micro-spheres. Moreover, the composite material showed an excellent sensitivity of 29.8 μA mM−1 cm2 with a low detection limit of 50 pM, it also showed better stability and selectivity in hydrazine detection. This approach not only regulate the morphology and composition of Sb2S3 submicron materials effectively, but also provide new ideas for the manufacture of metal sulfide- perylenediimide amino acid derivative materials, which will be suitable for sensing, catalysis, and photovoltaic applications.

This study investigated the role and action of the Salvador 1 protein (SAV1, also called WW45) in colorectal cancer (CRC). For this, CRC SW480 and HCT116 cells were infected with lentiviruses of SAV1 overexpression vector (lenti-SAV1) and SAV1 short hairpin RNA (sh-SAV1) to overexpress and silence SAV1 respectively, or transfected with microRNA-21 (miR-21) mimic to overexpress miR-21. Relative mRNA levels of SAV1 and relative miR-21 levels in CRC tissues or cells were detected. The effects of SAV1 and miR-21 on cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated using the MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay and annexin V – fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) – propidium iodide (PI) flow cytometry, respectively. Our results revealed that SAV1 was downregulated in CRC tissues compared with the adjacent noncancerous tissues. Furthermore, SAV1 overexpression inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis in SW480 and HCT116 cells, whereas knockdown of SAV1 exerted the opposite effect. Additionally, the tumorigenesis of SW480 cells in xenografted mice was significantly inhibited by SAV1 overexpression but promoted by SAV1 knockdown. MiR-21 levels significantly and negatively correlated with SAV1 expression in CRC tissues. More importantly, miR-21 overexpression significantly abolished the SAV1-mediated inhibition of proliferation and stimulation of apoptosis of SW480. In conclusion, SAV1 suppresses tumor growth in CRC and is regulated by miR-21.

The first report of the cloning and characterization of the flowering time-regulating genes GI and CO homologs from loquat. Flowering time is critical for successful reproduction in plants. In fruit trees, it can also influence the fruit yield and quality. In the previous work, we cloned the important florigen one EdFT and two EdFDs from wild loquat (Eriobotrya deflexa Nakai forma koshunensis); however, the upstream transcription factors are still unknown. The photoperiod pathway genes GIGANTEA (GI) and CONSTANS (CO) have been reported to mainly regulate FT expression in model plants. In this work, we first cloned photoperiod pathway orthologs EdGI and EdCO from E. deflexa Nakai f. koshunensis. Phylogenetic analysis showed they are highly conserved to those from Arabidopsis. They are mainly expressed in the leaves. The EdGI and EdCO were localized in the nucleus. Their expression showed in photoperiodic regulation, while the EdCO transcripts reached the peak at different periods from that of CO in Arabidopsis. Moreover, EdCO significantly activated the EdFT promoter activity. In the transgenic Arabidopsis, downstream-flowering genes like FT and AP1 were obviously upregulated, and consequently resulted in early-flowering phenotype compared to the wild type. These data revealed that the EdGI and EdCO may play a similar role as GI and CO in Arabidopsis, and regulate flower initiation in loquat.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a major health problem worldwide, with high prevalence and mortality. The present GC staging system provides inadequate prognostic information and does not reflect the chemotherapy benefit of GC.Two hundred fifty-five patients who underwent surgical resection were enrolled in our study (training cohort = 212, internal validation cohort = 43). Nine clinicopathologic features were obtained to construct an support vector machine (SVM) model. The cohorts from 4 domestic centres and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were used for external validation.In the training cohort, the AUCs were 0.773 (95% CI 0.708-0.838) for 5-year overall survival (OS) and 0.751 (95% CI 0.683-0.820) for 5-year disease-free survival (DFS); in the domestic validation cohort, the AUCs were 0.852 (95% CI 0.810-0.894) and 0.837 (95% CI 0.792-0.882), respectively. The model performed better than the TNM staging system according to the receiver operator characteristic(ROC) curve. GC patients were significantly divided into low, moderate and high risk based on the SVM. High-risk TNM stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ patients were more likely to benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy than low-risk patients.The SVM-based model may be used to predict OS and DFS in GC patients and the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in TNM stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ GC patients.

Significance Plants are a primary source of both traditional and modern drugs due to their astounding capability to synthesize diverse molecules. The fruit tree loquat in the apple tribe has been long used in medicine to treat cough, chronic bronchitis, and asthma, yet why loquat—but not its relatives—evolved these medicinal properties is unknown. Here, we generate high-quality genomes of loquat and a relative, which are separated by a recent whole-genome duplication (WGD) around 13.5 to 27.1 Mya. We revealed the post-WGD diversification of triterpene biosynthesis and the exceptionally high levels of bioactive ursane-type triterpenes specifically in loquat. Our work underscores the importance of WGD-associated metabolic diversification underlying the bioactivity of some medicinal plants., Whole-genome duplication (WGD) plays important roles in plant evolution and function, yet little is known about how WGD underlies metabolic diversification of natural products that bear significant medicinal properties, especially in nonmodel trees. Here, we reveal how WGD laid the foundation for co-option and differentiation of medicinally important ursane triterpene pathway duplicates, generating distinct chemotypes between species and between developmental stages in the apple tribe. After generating chromosome-level assemblies of a widely cultivated loquat variety and Gillenia trifoliata, we define differentially evolved, duplicated gene pathways and date the WGD in the apple tribe at 13.5 to 27.1 Mya, much more recent than previously thought. We then functionally characterize contrasting metabolic pathways responsible for major triterpene biosynthesis in G. trifoliata and loquat, which pre- and postdate the Maleae WGD, respectively. Our work mechanistically details the metabolic diversity that arose post-WGD and provides insights into the genomic basis of medicinal properties of loquat, which has been used in both traditional and modern medicines.

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the world. Microbiota is believed to be associated with GC. Growing evidences showed Helicobacter pylori played a key role in GC development. However, little was known about the microbiota in gastric juices and tissues in GC patients, and thus it was difficult to understand other potential microbial causation for GC. Here, we collected the gastric juice and surgically removed gastric tissues from GC patients to give insight into GC microbiota. Most microbes identified in the gastric samples were opportunistic pathogens or resident flora of the human microbiota. Further network analyses identified five opportunistic pathogens as keystone species. H. pylori is the direct cause of GC, but other opportunistic microbes might also function in GC development. The microbiota in the gastric juice and gastric tissue of the GC patients were complex, and some dominant opportunistic pathogens contributed to the GC development. This study introduces microbiota in gastric juice, gastric normal tissue and gastric cancer tissue of GC patients, and highlights the potential keystone microbes functioned during GC development.

Gastrointestinal tumor (GIT) is a common malignant tumor of the digestive system, which seriously threatens people's health and life. With the deepening of the study on the mechanism of tumor immune escape, programmed death receptor ligand 1 (PD-L1) has been proved to interact with the tumor microenvironment to mediate tumor immune escape. PD-L1 inhibitor is a hot spot in tumor immunotherapy in recent years, which can restore the activity of T cells, enhance the body's ability of immune response, and ultimately enable the immune system to effectively identify and kill gastric cancer cells, then achieve long-term tumor remission in patients with GITs. At present, variety of PD-L1 inhibitors such as pembrolizumab, nivolumab and avelumab have been approved for the market, and they have achieved good results in clinical studies on the GIT. This paper reviews the progress of PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy in GITs which include gastric cancer, colon cancer and rectal cancer.

Background A simple and safe triangle-valve technique (TVT) was applied to proximal gastrectomy (PG) in order to prevent post-surgery gastric reflux among patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG). Its clinical outcomes were evaluated in comparison to those of the canonical total gastrectomy (TG). Method This retrospective study of 74 AEG patients compared two surgical procedures PG-TVT (n = 44) and TG (n = 30) in terms of their surgical outcomes, postoperative complications, and nutritional status. All patients were followed-up for 6 months. Reflux Disease Questionnaire (RDQ) was used to evaluate reflux esophagitis. patients with the RDQ score of ≥12 points were diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Results The mean operation time was significantly shorter in PG-TVT group (242.6 minutes) than in TG group (288.1 minutes). The overall postoperative complication rate was not significantly different between PG-TVT and TG groups. All patients were followed up by 6 months. None of them developed cancer recurrence in distant organs, remnant stomach, or lymph nodes. The GERD incidence was similar between PG-TVT and TG groups. The mean levels of total protein and albumin within the 6 months were significantly higher in PG-TVT group than in TG group after adjusting the time effect and the interaction of time and surgical methods. The level of total protein significantly increased within 6 months in PG-TVT but decreased in TG group. Conclusion PG-TVT provides several advantages including a shorter operating time, better postoperative nutritional status, and similar incidence of GERD over TG for AEG patients.

Restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing (RAD‐seq) was used to illuminate the genetic relationships among Eriobotrya species. The raw data were filtered, and 221 million clean reads were used for further analysis. A total of 1,983,332 SNPs were obtained from 23 Eriobotrya species and two relative genera. We obtained similar results by neighbor‐joining and maximum likelihood phylogenetic trees. All Eriobotrya plants grouped together into a big clade, and two out‐groups clustered together into a single or separate clade. Chinese and Vietnam accessions were distributed throughout the dendrogram. There was nonsignificant correlation between genotype and geographical distance. However, clustering results were correlated with leaf size to some extent. The Eriobotrya species could be divided into following three groups based on leaf size and phylogenetic analysis: group A and group B comprised of small leaves with

The age pathway is important for regulating flower bud initiation in flowering plants. The major regulators in this pathway are miR156 and SPL transcription factors. To date, SPL genes have been identified in many species of plants. Loquat, as a woody fruit tree of Rosaceae, is unique in flowering time as it blooms in winter. However, the study of its SPL homologous genes on the regulation mechanism of flowering time is still limited. In this study, four SPL homologs&mdash, EjSPL3, EjSPL4, EjSPL5, and EjSPL9&mdash, are cloned from loquat, and phylogenetic analysis showed that they share a high sequence similarity with the homologues from other plants, including a highly conserved SQUAMOSA promoter binding protein (SBP)-box domain. EjSPL3, EjSPL4, EjSPL5 are localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus, and EjSPL9 is localized only in the nucleus. EjSPL4, EjSPL5, and EjSPL9 can significantly activate the promoters of EjSOC1-1, EjLFY-1, and EjAP1-1, overexpression of EjSPL3, EjSPL4, EjSPL5, and EjSPL9 in wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana can promote flowering obviously, and downstream flowering genes expression were upregulated. Our work indicated that the EjSPL3, EjSPL4, EjSPL5, and EjSPL9 transcription factors are speculated to likely participate in flower bud differentiation and other developmental processes in loquat. These findings are helpful to analyze the flowering regulation mechanism of loquat and provide reference for the study of the flowering mechanism of other woody fruit trees.

The epigenetic regulation of gene expression (via DNA methylation, histone modification and microRNA interference) contributes to a variety of diseases, particularly cancer. Protein deubiquitination serves a key role in the mechanism underlying histone modification, and consequently influences tumor development and progression. Improved characterization of the role of ubiquitinating enzymes has led to the identification of numerous deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) with various functions. Gastric cancer (GC) is a highly prevalent cancer type that exhibits a high mortality rate. Latest analysis about cancer patient revealed that GC is sixth deadliest cancer type, which frequently occur in male (7.2%) than female (4.1%). Complex associations between DUBs and GC progression have been revealed in multiple studies; however, the molecular mechanism underpinning the metastasis and recurrence of GC is yet to be elucidated. Generally, DUBs were upregulated in gastric cancer. The relation of DUBs and tumor size, classification and staging was observed in GC. Besides, 5-yar survival rate of patients with GC is effeccted by expression level of DUBs. Among the highly expressed DUBs, specifically six DUBs namely UCHs, USPs, OTUs, MJDs, JAMMs and MCPIPs effect on this survival rate. Consequently, the association between GC and DUBs has received increasing attention in recent years. Therefore, in the present review, literature investigating the association between DUBs and GC pathophysiology was analyzed and critically appraised.

The MADS-box transcription factor SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1 (SOC1) integrates environmental and endogenous signals to promote flowering in Arabidopsis. However, the role of SOC1 homologs in regulating flowering time in fruit trees remains unclear. To better understand the molecular mechanism of flowering regulation in loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.), two SOC1 homologs (EjSOC1-1 and EjSOC1-2) were identified and characterized in this work. Sequence analysis showed that EjSOC1-1 and EjSOC1-2 have conserved MADS-box and K-box domains. EjSOC1-1 and EjSOC1-2 were clearly expressed in vegetative organs, and high expression was detected in flower buds. As observed in paraffin-embedded sections, expression of the downstream flowering genes EjAP1s and EjLFYs started to increase at the end of June, a time when flower bud differentiation occurs. Additionally, high expression of EjSOC1-1 and EjSOC1-2 began 10 days earlier than that of EjAP1s and EjLFYs in shoot apical meristem (SAM). EjSOC1-1 and EjSOC1-2 were inhibited by short-day (SD) conditions and exogenous GA3, and flower bud differentiation did not occur after these treatments. EjSOC1-1 and EjSOC1-2 were found to be localized to the nucleus. Moreover, ectopic overexpression of EjSOC1-1 and EjSOC1-2 in wild-type Arabidopsis promoted early flowering, and overexpression of both was able to rescue the late flowering phenotype of the soc1-2 mutant. In conclusion, the results suggest that cultivated loquat flower bud differentiation in southern China begins in late June to early July and that EjSOC1-1 and EjSOC1-2 participate in the induction of flower initiation. These findings provide new insight into the artificial regulation of flowering time in fruit trees.

A simple and safe triangle-valve technique (TVT) was applied in proximal gastrectomy (PG) in order to prevent postoperative gastric reflux among patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG). The clinical outcomes were evaluated in comparison to those of canonical total gastrectomy (TG). This retrospective study of 74 AEG patients compared two surgical procedures, PG-TVT (n=44) and TG (n=30), in terms of surgical outcomes, postoperative complications and nutritional status. The Reflux Disease Questionnaire (RDQ) was used to evaluate reflux esophagitis, and patients with an RDQ score of ≥12 points were diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The mean operative time was significantly shorter in the PG-TVT group (242.6 min) compared with that in the TG group (288.1 min). The overall postoperative complication rate did not differ significantly between the PG-TVT and TG groups. All the patients were followed up for 6 months, and none developed cancer recurrence in distant organs, gastric remnant, or lymph nodes. The GERD incidence was similar between the PG-TVT and TG groups. The mean levels of total protein and albumin within 6 months were significantly higher in the PG-TVT group compared with those in the TG group after adjustingtthe time effect and the interaction of time and surgical methods. The level of total protein significantly increased within 6 months in the PG-TVT group, but decreased in the TG group. Therefore, PG-TVT has several advantages over TG for patients with AEG, including a shorter operative time and better postoperative nutritional status, whereas the incidence of GERD was found to be similar between the two techniques.

To determine the incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) after abdominal surgery and to further evaluate the related risk factors of SSI in China.The multicenter cross-sectional study collected clinical data of all adult patients who underwent abdominal surgery from May 1, 2018 to May 31, 2018 in 30 domestic hospitals, including basic information, perioperative parameters, and incisional microbial culture results. The primary outcome was the incidence of SSI within postoperative 30 days. SSI was classified into superficial incision infection, deep incision infection, and organ/gap infection according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria. The secondary outcome variables were ICU stay, postoperative hospital stay, total hospital stay, 30-day mortality and treatment costs. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors of SSI.A total of 1666 patients were enrolled in the study, including 263 cases of East War Zone Hospital of PLA, 140 cases of Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, 108 cases of The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, 87 cases of Central War Zone Hospital of PLA, 77 cases of West China Hospital, 74 cases of Guangdong General Hospital, 71 cases of Chenzhou First People's Hospital, 71 cases of Zigong First People's Hospital, 64 cases of Zhangjiagang First People's Hospital, 56 cases of Nanyang City Central Hospital, 56 cases of Lanzhou General Hospital of Lanzhou Military Command, 56 cases of Shandong Provincial Hospital, 52 cases of Shangqiu First People's Hospital, 52 cases of People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 48 cases of The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 48 cases of Chinese PLA General Hospital, 44 cases of Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, 38 cases of Hunan Province People's Hospital, 36 cases of Dongguan Kanghua Hospital, 30 cases of Shaoxing Central Hospital, 30 cases of Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, 29 vases of The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 27 cases of General Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, 22 cases of Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, 21 cases of The Second Hospital of University of South China, 18 cases of Tongji Hospital, 15 cases of Nanchong Central Hospital, 12 cases of The 901th Hospital of PLA, 11 cases of Hunan Cancer Hospital, 10 cases of Lanzhou University Second Hospital. There were 1019 males and 647 females with mean age of (56.5±15.3) years old. SSI occurred in 80 patients (4.8%) after operation, including 39 cases of superficial incision infection, 16 cases of deep incision infection, and 25 cases of organ/interstitial infection. Escherichia coli was the main pathogen of SSI, and the positive rate was 32.5% (26/80). Compared with patients without SSI, those with SSI had significantly higher ICU occupancy rate [38.8%(31/80) vs. 13.9%(220/1586), P0.001], postoperative hospital stay (median 17 days vs. 7 days, P0.001) and total hospital stay (median 22 days vs. 13 days, P0.001), and significantly higher cost of treatment (median 75 000 yuan vs. 44 000 yuan, P0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that male rise(OR=2.110, 95%CI:1.175-3.791, P=0.012), preoperative blood glucose level rise(OR=1.100, 95%CI: 1.012-1.197, P=0.026), operative time (OR=1.006, 95%CI:1.003-1.009, P0.001) and surgical incision grade (clean-contaminated incision:OR=10.207, 95%CI:1.369-76.120, P=0.023; contaminated incision: OR=10.617, 95%CI:1.298-86.865, P=0.028; infection incision: OR=20.173, 95%CI:1.768-230.121, P=0.016) were risk factors for SSI; and laparoscopic surgery (OR=0.348, 95%CI:0.192-0.631, P=0.001) and mechanical bowel preparation(OR=0.441,95%CI:0.221-0.879, P=0.020) were protective factors for SSI.The incidence of postoperative SSI in patients with abdominal surgery in China is 4.8%. SSI can significantly increase the medical burden of patients. Preoperative control of blood glucose and mechanical bowel preparation are important measures to prevent SSI.

Objectives SAV1 is a human homologue of Salvador that contains two protein-protein interaction modules known as WW domains and acts as a scaffolding protein. SAV1 participates in the development of diverse types of cancer. We aimed to investigate the role of SAV1 in human colorectal cancer. Materials and methods Human colorectal cancer samples were used to study the expression of SAV1 and YAP. Loss-of-function and gain-of-function strategies were used to study the effects of SAV1 on colorectal cancer cell growth. Rapamycin was used to treat cells and mice to investigate the effect of mTOR signalling. Results SAV1 represses the development of colorectal cancer by inhibiting the Akt-mTOR signalling in a YAP-dependent manner. The mRNA and protein levels of SAV1 are down-regulated in human colorectal cancer tissues compared with adjacent non-cancer tissues. SAV1 knockdown promotes the growth of colorectal cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, whereas SAV1 overexpression leads to opposing results. SAV1 represses the activation of the Akt-mTOR signalling, and rapamycin treatment blunts the effects of SAV1 on in vitro and in vivo growth of colorectal cancer cells. Finally, we show that SAV1 promotes the phosphorylation and inactivation of YAP, which contributes to the effect of SAV1 on Akt-mTOR signalling pathway. Conclusions SAV1 is a repressor during the development of human colorectal cancer by inhibiting the YAP-Akt-mTOR signalling pathway.

Perylene diimide and its various derivatives tend to form stable anion radicals, which can usually form a variety of aggregates with special properties. Herein, we reported synthesis and properties of the benzo[ghi]perylene trimide and its anion radical π-bonded dimer. The dimer exhibited high stable in solid status and in most organic solvents, but conversion of L-type π-bonded dimer to face to face type π-bonded dimer or π-stacked oligomer occurs in dimethyl formamide solution. The temperature and crystallization influenced the π-bonded length in the dimer and the partial memory can be reserved and probed in solution at room temperature.

Few epidemiological studies have examined the relationship between dietary fat, which may affect immune function and risk of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that high dietary intake of fat and specific subtypes of fat is associated with the risk of HL among 486 HL cases and 630 population-based controls recruited between 1997 and 2000 in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) stratified by age and gender. Among younger adults, HL risk was significantly and positively associated with higher intake of saturated fat [ORs for increasing quartiles = 1.3, 1.8, and 2.1; p trend = 0.04] and negatively associated with higher intake of monounsaturated fat [ORs for increasing quartiles = 0.5, 0.5, and 0.4; p trend = 0.03), after adjustment for potential confounders including lifestyle and other dietary factors. The associations with saturated fat (ORs for increasing quartile = 2.4, 3.2, and 4.4; p trend < 0.01] and monounsaturated fat (ORs for increasing quartile = 0.3, 0.6, and 0.3; p trend = 0.04) were most apparent in younger women, whereas there was no significant association between intake of total fat or any type of fat and risk of HL in older females or younger or older males. These findings show that the associations between dietary fat and risk of HL may vary by gender and age and require confirmation in other populations.

In angiosperms, regulation of flowering is a vital process for successful reproduction. To date, the molecular mechanism of flowering is well-studied in the model plant, Arabidopsis, in which key genes such as FLOWERING LOCUST (FT) or FD have been identified to regulate flowering. However, the flowering mechanisms are still largely unknown in fruit trees like loquat. To this end, we first cloned one FT- and two FD-like genes from the loquat (Eriobotrya deflexa Nakai f. koshunensis) and referred to as EdFT, EdFD1, and EdFD2, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis has shown that EdFT, EdFD1, and EdFD2 are conserved during the evolution process. EdFT is mainly expressed in reproductive tissues (e.g., flower buds, flowers, and fruits), while EdFD1 and EdFD2 are mainly expressed in apical buds including leaf buds and flower buds. EdFT is localized in the whole cell, while EdFD1 or EdFD2 is localized in the nucleus. Ectopic expression of EdFT, EdFD1, and EdFD2 in Arabidopsis results in early flowering. In addition, we have also revealed that the EdFT interacts with both EdFD1 and EdFD2. Overall, these data suggest that the EdFT, EdFD1, and EdFD2 are the functional homologs of FT and FD, respectively, which might act together to regulate loquat flowering through a similar mechanism found in Arabidopsis.

Descriptive studies have indicated a rising trend in Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) incidence in young adults, especially females. Increasing evidence has suggested that some risk factors associated with HL may vary by age or gender. Recent studies have reported an increased risk of HL associated with increasing body mass index (BMI), but the results have been inconsistent. The objectives of this study were to examine whether the associations between measures of body size (height, weight, and BMI) and HL risk vary by age and/or gender.A population-based case-control study was conducted in Connecticut and Massachusetts. A total of 567 HL cases and 679 controls were recruited in 1997-2000. Unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs).Among younger women35 years old, being overweight (25-29.9 kg/m(2)) versus normal weight (18.5-24.9 kg/m(2)) was significantly associated with an increased risk of HL (OR = 2.1, 95 % CI = 1.1-4.0). The risk increased with increasing weight and BMI (p trends0.01). Among women ≥35 years old, by contrast, higher weight and BMI were associated with a reduced risk of HL (p trends0.01). Conversely, there was no significant association between BMI and risk of HL in younger or older males.These findings show that the associations between body size and risk of HL vary by gender and age, and require confirmation in other populations.

Unraveling the role of genes annotated as protein of unknown function is of importance in progression of plant science. l-Galactono-1,4-lactone (l-GalL) is the terminal precursor for ascorbic acid (AsA) biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana, and a previous study showed two DUF (domains of unknown function) 642 family genes (At1g80240 and At5g25460, designated as DGR1 and DGR2, respectively) to be sensitive to it. In this work, leaves from wild-type Arabidopsis were fed with d-glucose, l-galactose, l-GalL and AsA, and the expression level of the At1g80240 and At5g25460 genes showed a specific response to l-GalL, but not to the other supplements despite the increases of the tissue AsA contents. Analysis of promoter-β-glucuronidase (GUS) transgenic plants showed the two genes to be complementarily expressed at the root apex and in the rest of the root excluding the apex, respectively, in both young and old seedlings, and to be expressed at the leaf primordia. The GUS activity under the control of the At5g25460 promoter was high in the cotyledon and leaf veins of young seedlings. These findings were consistent with the results of quantitative real-time PCR. Interestingly, the T-DNA insertion mutant of At5g25460 (SALK_125079) displayed shorter roots and smaller rosettes than Col-0; however, no phenotypic difference was observed between the T-DNA insertion mutant of At1g80240 and the wild type. This is the first report on the expression and functional analysis of these two DUF642 family genes, with the results revealing the contribution of DGR genes to the development of Arabidopsis.