Parecoxib Suppresses CHOP and Foxo1 Nuclear Translocation, but Increases GRP78 Levels in a Rat Model of Focal Ischemia

Parecoxib, a novel COX-2 inhibitor, functions as a neuroprotective agent and rescues neurons from cerebral ischemic reperfusion injury-induced apoptosis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying parecoxib neuroprotection remain to be elucidated. There is growing evidence that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress plays an important role in neuronal death caused by brain ischemia. However, very little is known about the role of parecoxib in mediating pathophysiological reactions to ER stress induced by ischemic reperfusion injury. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated whether delayed administration of parecoxib attenuates brain damage via suppressing ER stress-induced cell death. Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were administered parecoxib (10 or 30 mg kg^?1, IP) or isotonic saline twice a day starting 24 h after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for three consecutive days. The expressions of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and oxygen-regulated protein 150 (ORP150) and C/EBP-homologous protein (CHOP) and forkhead box protein O 1 (Foxo1) in cytoplasmic and nuclear fraction were determined by Western blotting. The levels of caspase-12 expression were checked by immunohistochemistry analysis, served as a marker for ER stress-induced apoptosis. Parecoxib significantly suppressed cerebral ischemic injury-induced nuclear translocation of CHOP and Foxo1 and attenuated the immunoreactivity of caspase-12 in ischemic penumbra. Furthermore, the protective effect of delayed administration of parecoxib was accompanied by an increased GRP78 and ORP150 expression. Therefore, our study suggested that elevation of GRP78 and ORP150, and suppression of CHOP and Foxo1 nuclear translocation may contribute to parecoxib-mediated neuroprotection during ER stress responses.     

High dose Losartan and ACE gene polymorphism in IgA nephritis

Background/aims Several studies have reported varying results of the influence of ACE gene on ACEI/ARB therapy. The efficacy of high dose ARB and its influence on ACE gene have not been explored. This is a 6 year randomised trial in IgA nephritis comparing high dose ARB (Losartan 200 mg/day) with normal dose ARB (Losartan 100 mg/day), normal dose ACEI (20 mg/day) and low dose ACEI (10 mg/day). Results Patients on high dose ARB had significantly lower proteinuria, 1.0 ± 0.8 gm/day compared to 1.7 ± 1.0 g/day in the other groups (P = 0.0005). The loss in eGFR was 0.7 ml min^?1year^?1 for high dose ARB compared to 3.2–3.5 ml min^?1year^?1 for the other three groups (P = 0.0005). There were more patients on high dose ARB with improvement in eGFR compared to other three groups (P < 0.001). Comparing patients with the three ACE genotypes DD, ID and II, all three groups responded well to therapy with decrease in proteinuria (P < 0.002). Only those on low dose ACEI (10 mg/day) with the I allele had increased in ESRF (P = 0.037). Conclusion High dose ARB is more efficacious in reducing proteinuria and preserving renal function when compared with normal dose ARB and ACEI, and also obviates the genomic influence of ACE gene polymorphism on renal survival.     

Influence of GSTO2 (N142D) genetic polymorphism on acute renal rejection

Acute renal allograft rejection remains an important problem following kidney transplantation. Several immunological and non-immunological factors intervene in renal graft rejection. Glutathione S-transferase super family is one of the important enzymes for biotransformation of both exogenous and endogenous xenobiotic compounds such as immunosuppressive drugs. The new class of this family is omega that includes two subunits GSTO1 and GSTO2. In this study 282 samples were collected from renal recipients of Namazi hospital in Shiraz-Iran during 2007–2010 years. Also 300 healthy samples as control group were collected from Shiraz population, included in our study. The primary outcome of this study was defined as biopsy-proven acute rejection during 1 year of renal transplantation. We applied polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism method for determination of GSTO2 N142D polymorphism. Our result showed no significant association between GSTO2 polymorphism and acute rejection. Also this genetic variant has no significant effect with the risk of end stage renal disease. Cadaveric donor type for acute rejection significantly differed between acute rejection and non acute rejection patients (P = 0.004). The combination effect of donor type and GSTO2 polymorphism indicates DD genotype with cadaver donor type increase risk of acute rejection (OR = 3.82, 95 % CI 1.80–12.37, P = 0.02).     

Aortic Pulse Wave Velocity is Associated with Measures of Subclinical Target Organ Damage in Patients with Mild Hypertension

We evaluated the temporal association between aortic arterial stiffness and subclinical target organ damage, including renal function decline, left ventricular geometric remodeling, and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in patients with mild hypertension. Automatic pulse wave velocity (PWV) measuring system was applied to examine carotid-femoral PWV (CFPWV) reflecting aortic arterial stiffness in 644 essential hypertensive patients. Clinical data were collected, and cardiac structure and function were assessed by echocardiography. CFPWV was significantly and positively associated with left ventricular mass index (r = 0.153, P = 0.018), relative wall thickness (r = 0.235, P < 0.001), and left atrial diameter (r = 0.192, P = 0.003), and negatively with E/A ratio (r = ?0.361, P < 0.001) and creatinine clearance (r = ?0.248, P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that CFPWV remained significantly correlated with renal function decline (P = 0.011), left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (P = 0.009) and left ventricular geometric remodeling (P = 0.020). Higher CFPWV was independently associated with greater burden of subclinical disease in renal impairment, left ventricular geometric remodeling and diastolic dysfunction.     

帕瑞昔布联合股神经阻滞用于膝关节置换术后镇痛的效果评价及其对患者免疫功能的影响

目的:探讨帕瑞昔布联合股神经阻滞用于膝关节置换术后镇痛的效果及对患者免疫功能的影响。方法:选择2016年10月-2017年10月我院骨科住院部收治并行单侧膝关节置换的患者108例,按镇痛方式分为对照组和观察组各54例。对照组患者采用单纯股神经阻滞,观察组采用股神经阻滞联合帕瑞昔布。比较两组静息及活动状态下术后VAS评分、术后膝关节HSS评分、不良反应的发生情况及免疫指标的变化情况。结果:静息及活动状态下,观察组术后VAS评分均明显低于对照组(P均0.05),膝关节HSS评分显著高于对照组(P0.05)。两组术后不良反应的发生情况比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。手术结束时,两组CD4~+较麻醉前均显著下降(P均0.05);术后72 h,两组CD4~+、CD8~+及CD4~+/CD8~+较麻醉前均无显著差异(P均0.05)。观察组术后72 h CD4~+比对照组高(P0.05),而CD4~+/CD8~+显著低于对照组(P0.05)。结论:帕瑞昔布联合股神经阻滞对膝关节置换术后镇痛临床效果好,利于保护和改善患者免疫功能,促进膝关节功能的康复。     

Effect of Intravenous Infusion of Dexmedetomidine Combined with Inhalation of Isoflurane on Arterial Oxygenation and Intrapulmonary Shunt During Single-Lung Ventilation

To investigate the changes in arterial oxygenation and intrapulmonary shunt during one-lung ventilation (OLV) with intravenous infusion of dexmedetomidine combined with isoflurane inhalation. ASA I–II 60 patients aged 18–70 year, undergoing OLV during elective thoracic surgery were randomly allocated to two groups: (1) isoflurane + saline (group NISO, n = 30) and (2) isoflurane + dexmedetomidine (group DISO, n = 30). After induction, anesthesia was maintained with intravenous infusion of remifentanil 0.1–0.2 μg kg^?1 min^?1 and inhalation isoflurane (1.0–2.0 %). In addition, anesthesia was maintained with intravenous infusion of dexmedetomidine 0.7 μg kg^?1 h^?1 in DISO group and saline 0.25 ml kg^?1 h^?1 in NISO group. Bispectral Index values were maintained within 40–60 by changing the concentration of isoflurane in all groups. Arterial blood gas samples and central venous blood gas samples were taken as follows: during two-lung ventilation before OLV and during the first 40 min of OLV. 45 Patients completed the study, with 23 patients in DISO group and 22 patients in NISO group. The two groups were comparable in terms of demographic variables, hemodynamic, PaO₂, Qs/Q_T, end expiration isoflurane and BIS levels during the operation. Compared with patients in the group NISO, there were significant increases with PaO₂, significant decrease with Qs/Q_T, significant decrease with end expiration isoflurane, and significant decrease with HR in the group DISO during the first 40 min of OLV (P < 0.05). Dexmedetomidine infusions decrease the requirement for isoflurane, decrease intrapulmonary shunt, and moderate the change in PaO₂ and may be useful in managing OLV.     

右美托咪定联合帕瑞昔布钠对老年腹腔镜胃癌手术患者应激反应、细胞免疫功能和认知功能的影响

摘要 目的：探讨帕瑞昔布钠和右美托咪定联合麻醉对老年腹腔镜胃癌手术患者细胞免疫功能、应激反应和认知功能的影响。方法：纳入2019年8月~2022年7月期间西安交通大学第二附属医院收治的150例老年腹腔镜胃癌手术患者。按照随机数字表法将患者分为帕瑞昔布钠组（n=50,帕瑞昔布钠）、右美托咪定组（n=50,右美托咪定）和联合组（n=50,右美托咪定联合帕瑞昔布钠）。对比三组临床指标、视觉模拟评分法（VAS）、简易精神状态检查表（MMSE）评分、术后认知功能障碍（POCD）发生率、应激反应指标[皮质醇（Cor）、肾上腺素（E）、促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH）]、细胞免疫功能变化情况。结果：联合组的术后住院天数、肛门排气时间短于右美托咪定组、帕瑞昔布钠组（P<0.05）。联合组术后12 h、术后24 h、术后48 h VAS评分低于右美托咪定组、帕瑞昔布钠组（P<0.05）。联合组术后24 h、术后72 h MMSE评分高于右美托咪定组、帕瑞昔布钠组（P<0.05）。联合组的POCD发生率低于右美托咪定组、帕瑞昔布钠组（P<0.05）。三组术后1 d Cor、E、ACTH升高,但联合组低于帕瑞昔布钠组、右美托咪定组同期（P<0.05）。三组术后1 d CD8⁺升高,但联合组低于帕瑞昔布钠组、右美托咪定组同期;CD3⁺、CD4⁺、CD4⁺CD8⁺下降,但联合组高于帕瑞昔布钠组、右美托咪定组同期（P<0.05）。结论：右美托咪定联合帕瑞昔布钠应用于老年腹腔镜胃癌手术患者,镇痛效果显著,可减轻机体的应激反应、免疫抑制及对认知功能的损害。     

A functional variant of pre-miRNA-196a2 confers risk for Behcet’s disease but not for Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada syndrome or AAU in ankylosing spondylitis

This study aimed to investigate the predisposition of common pre-miRNA SNPs with Behcet’s disease (BD), Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) syndrome and acute anterior uveitis (AAU) associated with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). A two-stage association study was carried out in 859 BD, 400 VKH syndrome, 209 AAU⁺AS⁺ patients and 1,685 controls all belonging to a Chinese Han population. Genotyping, the expression of miR-196a and Bach1 (the target gene of miR-196a), cell proliferation, cytokine production were examined by PCR–RFLP, real-time PCR, CCK8 and ELISA. In the first stage study, the results showed significantly increased frequencies of the miR-196a2/rs11614913 TT genotype and T allele in BD patients (adjusted P _c = 0.024, OR = 1.63; adjusted P _c = 5.4 × 10^?3, OR = 1.45, respectively). However, no significant association of the tested SNPs with VKH and AAU⁺AS⁺ patients was observed. The second stage and combined studies confirmed the association of rs11614913 with BD (TT genotype: adjusted P _c = 6×10^?5, OR = 1.53; T allele: adjusted P _c = 8×10^?6, OR = 1.35; CC genotype: adjusted P _c = 0.024, OR = 0.68). A stratified analysis showed an association of the rs11614913 TT genotype and T allele with the arthritis subgroup of BD (P _c = 5.3 × 10^?3, OR = 1.89; P _c = 0.015, OR = 1.56, respectively). Functional experiments showed a decreased miR-196a expression, an increased Bach1 expression and an increased production of IL-1β and MCP-1 in TT cases compared to CC cases (P = 0.023, P = 0.0073, P = 0.012, P = 0.002, respectively). This study shows that a functional variant of miR-196a2 confers risk for BD but not for VKH syndrome or AAU⁺AS⁺ by modulating the miR-196a gene expression and by regulating pro-inflammatory IL-1β and MCP-1 production.     

Lipid metabolism in pigs fed supplemental conjugated linoleic acid and/or dietary arginine

We proposed that the combination of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and arginine would decrease adiposity by depressing lipid synthesis in liver and adipose tissues of growing pigs. Pigs were allotted to treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial design with two lipids (CLA or canola oil) and two amino acids [l-arginine or l-alanine (isonitrogenous control)]; supplements were provided from 80 to 110 kg body weight (approximately 4 weeks). Treatment groups (n = 4) were: control (2.05% l-alanine plus 1% canola oil); CLA (2.05% l-alanine plus 1% CLA); arginine (1.0% l-arginine plus 1.0% canola oil); arginine plus CLA (1.0% arginine plus 1.0% CLA). Arginine increased backfat thickness (P = 0.07) in the absence or presence of CLA, and arginine supplementation increased subcutaneous and retroperitoneal adipocyte volume, especially in combination with dietary CLA (interaction P = 0.001). Arginine increased palmitate incorporation into total lipids by over 60% in liver (P = 0.07). Dietary CLA increased palmitate incorporation into lipids in longissimus muscle by over 100% (P = 0.01), and CLA increased longissimus muscle lipid by nearly 20%. CLA increased glucose oxidation to CO₂ by over 80% in retroperitoneal and subcutaneous adipose tissues (P = 0.04), and doubled palmitate oxidation to CO₂ in intestinal duodenal mucosal cells (P = 0.07). Arginine supplementation decreased muscle pH at 45 min postmortem (P = 0.001), indicating elevated early postmortem glycolysis, and CLA and arginine independently increased PGC-1α gene expression in longissimus muscle. CLA but not arginine depressed mTOR gene expression in intestinal duodenal mucosal cells. CLA decreased serum insulin by 50% (P = 0.02) but increased serum triacylglycerols by over 40%. CLA supplementation increased (P ≤ 0.01) total saturated fatty acids in liver and adipose tissue. In conclusion, neither CLA nor arginine depressed tissue lipid synthesis in growing/finishing pigs, and in fact dietary CLA promoted elevated intramuscular lipid and arginine increased carcass adiposity.     

Hydrolytic Enzyme Production is Associated with Candida Albicans Biofilm Formation from Patients with Type 1 Diabetes

Oral candidosis is common in patients with diabetes mellitus, as yeasts, particularly Candida albicans, have the propensity to colonise, form biofilms and release hydrolytic enzymes which cause inflammation. This study aimed to investigate these characteristics in isolates from three groups of patients with type 1 diabetes: individuals with better controlled diabetes (BCD; ≥6 <8%), individuals with poorly controlled diabetes (PCD; ≥8%) and non-diabetics (ND; HbA_1c <5.9%). The biomass (Bm), phospholipase (P_z), haemolysin (H_z) and proteinase (Pr_z) were assessed using a microtitre biofilm assay and agar-based hydrolytic enzyme assays. Biofilm formation was significantly increased in the PCD group compared to ND and BCD groups (P < 0.05). No significant differences in P_z levels were observed between groups, whereas both H_z and Pr_z were significantly greater in the diabetes groups than in the healthy control group (P < 0.05). Statistically significant correlations were found to exist between the HbA_1c levels of the patients and the Bm (R = 0.384; P = 0.033), haemolysin activity (R = ?0.455; P = 0.010) and proteinase activity (R =  ?0.531; P = 0.002). There was no apparent correlation between the Bm and P_z activity (R = ?0.305; P = 0.053) or H_z activity (R = ?0.100; P = 0.296). However, a negative correlation was found between Bm and Pr_z values (R = ?0.343; P = 0.030). These data suggest that biofilm formation is likely to play a role in the pathogenicity of oral candidosis, and in patients with diabetes, this may be due to the ability of C. albicans to adapt to the altered physiological environment. The production of hydrolytic enzymes is independently associated with this growth modality.     

Ontogeny of hypoxic modulation of cardiac performance and its allometry in the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis

The ontogeny of cardiac hypoxic responses, and how such responses may be modified by rearing environment, are poorly understood in amphibians. In this study, cardiac performance was investigated in Xenopus laevis from 2 to 25 days post-fertilization (dpf). Larvae were reared under either normoxia or moderate hypoxia (PO₂ = 110 mmHg), and each population was assessed in both normoxia and acute hypoxia. Heart rate (f _h ) of normoxic-reared larvae exhibited an early increase from 77 ± 1 beats min^?1 at 2 dpf to 153 ± 1 beats min^?1 at 4 dpf, followed by gradual decreases to 123 ± 3 beats min^?1 at 25 dpf. Stroke volume (SV), 6 ± 1 nl, and cardiac output (CO), 0.8 ± 0.1 μl min^?1, at 5 dpf both increased by more than 40-fold to 25 dpf with rapid larval growth (~30-fold increase in body mass). When exposed to acute hypoxia, normoxic-reared larvae increased f _h and CO between 5 and 25 dpf. Increased SV in acute hypoxia, produced by increased end-diastolic volume (EDV), only occurred before 10 dpf. Hypoxic-reared larvae showed decreased acute hypoxic responses of EDV, SV and CO at 7 and 10 dpf. Over the period of 2–25 dpf, cardiac scaling with mass showed scaling coefficients of ?0.04 (f _h ), 1.23 (SV) and 1.19 (CO), contrary to the cardiac scaling relationships described in birds and mammals. In addition, f _h scaling in hypoxic-reared larvae was altered to a shallower slope of ?0.01. Collectively, these results indicate that acute cardiac hypoxic responses develop before 5 dpf. Chronic hypoxia at a moderate level can not only modulate this cardiac reflex, but also changes cardiac scaling relationship with mass.     

The Impact of Microbial Immune Enteral Nutrition on the Patients with Acute Radiation Enteritis in Bowel Function and Immune Status

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of microbial immune enteral nutrition by microecopharmaceutics and deep sea fish oil and glutamine and Peptisorb on the patients with acute radiation enteritis in bowel function and immune status. From June 2010 to January 2013, 46 acute radiation enteritis patients in Liaocheng People’s Hospital were randomized into the microbial immune enteral nutrition group and the control group: 24 patients in treatment group and 22 patients in control group. The immune microbial nutrition was given to the study group, but not to the control group. The concentration of serum albumin and prealbumin and the number of CD₃ ⁺ T cell, CD₄ ⁺ T cell, CD₈ ⁺ T cell, CD₄ ⁺/CD₈ ⁺ and natural killer cell of the two groups were detected on the 1, 7 and 14 days after treatment. The arm muscle circumference and triceps skinfold thickness (TSF) were recorded, and the tolerance of the two groups for enteral nutrition and intestinal symptoms was collected and then comparing the two indicators and get results. The tolerance of microbial immune enteral nutrition group about abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhea was better than the control group (P values were 0.018, 0.04 and 0.008 after 7 days; P values were 0.018, 0.015 and 0.002 after 14 days); and the cellular immune parameters were better than the control group(^△ P = 0.008, P = 0.039, ^☆ P = 0.032); No difference was found in nutrition indicators. To the patients with acute radiation enteritis, microbial immune enteral nutrition could improve the patient’s immune status, and the tolerance of enteral nutrition could be better for the bowel function and the patients’ rehabilitation.     

A Randomized and Controlled Multicenter Prospective Study of the Chinese Medicinal Compound Fufang Xuelian Burn Ointment for the Treatment of Superficial and Deep Second-Degree Burn Wounds

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a traditional Chinese medicine, Fufang Xuelian Burn Ointment (FXBO), to treat superficial and deep second-degree burn wounds. A four-center, randomized, controlled, and prospective study was conducted. Overall, 240 patients with either superficial or deep second-degree burn wounds were enrolled consecutively in this study. Patients who were randomly assigned to the control group (superficial: 72, deep: 48) underwent common burn wound therapy, whereas those randomized to the treatment group (superficial: 72, deep: 48) received common burn wound therapy plus topical FXBO. The healing rate, healing time, effective rate, and safety data were compared between the two groups. The baseline characteristics were comparable for the two groups. The healing rate was 94.79(±7.50) in the control group and 98.60(±5.69) in the FXBO group after 14 days for patients with superficial second-degree burn wounds (P = 0.000), and 95.17(±9.68) versus 97.44(±9.81) at 28 for deep second-degree burn wounds (P = 0.025). The median healing time in the FXBO group were 9 and 21 days for superficial and deep second-degree burns, respectively, compared to 10.5 and 22.5 days, respectively, in control group (P _superficial = 0.000 and P _deep = 0.009). The results of the effective rate showed that comprehensive efficacy of the FXBO group was improved compared to the control group for either superficial or deep second-degree burns (P _superficial = 0.035 and P _deep = 0.003). There were no reported drug-related adverse events in both groups. Therefore, FXBO was well tolerated and more effective than control group for treating superficial and deep second-degree burn wounds.     

帕瑞昔布在肺癌手术多模式镇痛效果及其对凝血功能的影响

目的:研究帕瑞昔布在胸部肺癌手术后多模式镇痛效果及其对凝血功能的影响。方法:自2012年1月到2013年12月期间,全麻复合硬膜外麻醉下实施肺癌手术病人120例,分为3组,对照组(C组)和不同帕瑞昔布钠处理组(P1组和P2组)。对照组采用硬膜外镇痛,P1此基础上术前静脉用帕瑞昔布,P2组在P1基础上术后加用帕瑞昔布。观察三组手术时间、术中出血量、术中瑞芬太尼及术后吗啡用量、不同时间段VAS和术前术后凝血功能。结果:C组、P1和P2组术中出血量三组间的差异有统计学意义,P2组出血量最少(p0.05)。C组、P1和P2组术中瑞芬太尼和术后吗啡使用剂量差异有统计学意义(P均0.05)。C组、P1组和P2组术后6个月时间内疼痛发生率和6个月时间内疼痛发生天数差异有统计学意义(P均0.05)。术中PT、APTT在三组间的差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:帕瑞昔布可降低病人开胸术后慢性疼痛综合征的发生,增加凝血功能,减少吗啡用量,且不增加不良反应发生几率,临床应用安全性可靠。     

Prognostic prediction and diagnostic role of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM1) expression in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

The intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM1) has been reported to function in multiple malignancies, but its effect on clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) hasn’t been discussed yet. This study aimed to identify the potential role of ICAM1 in prognostic prediction and early diagnosis of ccRCC. ICAM1 expression was inspected by immunohistochemistry and correlated with clinicopathologic variables. Association between protein expression and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of ccRCC patients was evaluated and the value of area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve (AUC) was calculated to measure the protein’s diagnostic accuracy. ICAM1 was positively immunostained in 83.2 % of 173 ccRCC tissues, but negatively immunostained in all the para-cancerous normal epitheliums of renal tubules. High ICAM1 expression was significantly related to male sex (P = 0.00241), T3/T4 stage (P = 0.02249), non-N0M0 stage (P = 0.03797) and positive renal pelvis invasion (P = 0.04227). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis illustrated that high ICAM1 expression was significantly correlated to a decreased CSS (P = 0.00006). Multivariate Cox analysis indicated that ICAM1 was an independent predictor for CSS of patients (P = 0.00451). Furthermore, the AUC value of ICAM1 in diagnosing ccRCC was 0.916 (P < 0.00001). In conclusion, high ICAM1 expression on tumor cells indicates a poor outcome of patients and ICAM1 is likely to be an independent predictor for the prognosis of ccRCC. Moreover, ICAM1 has a high AUC value and may be a potential and useful diagnostic marker.     

Proving of a Mathematical Model of Cell Calculation Based on Apparent Diffusion Coefficient

OBJECTIVES: Recently, Atuegwu et al. proposed a mathematical model based on ADC_mean and ADC_min to calculation of cellularity. Our purpose was to compare the calculated cellularity according to the formula with the estimated cell count by histopathology in different tumors. METHODS: For this study, we re-analyzed our previous data regarding associations between ADC parameters and histopathological findings. Overall, 134 patients with different tumors were acquired for the analysis. For all tumors, the number of tumor cells was calculated according to Atuegwu et al. 2013. We performed a correlation analysis between the calculated and estimated cellularity. Thereby, Pearson's correlation coefficient was used and P < .05 was taken to indicate statistical significance in all instances. RESULTS: The estimated and calculated cellularity correlated well together in HNSCC (r = 0.701, P = .016) and lymphomas (r = 0.661, P = .001), and moderately in rectal cancer (r = 0.510, P = .036). There were no statistically significant correlations between the estimated and calculated cellularity in uterine cervical cancer, meningiomas, and in thyroid cancer. CONCLUSION: The proposed formula for cellularity calculation does not apply for all tumors. It may be used for HNSCC, cerebral lymphomas and rectal cancer, but not for uterine cervical cancer, meningioma, and thyroid cancer. Furthermore, its usefulness should be proved for other tumors.     

Factors Affecting Distribution of Earthworms in Kashmir Valley: A Multivariate Statistical Approach

Soil characteristics influence earthworm population dynamics, species distribution and community structure. According in the present study an attempt was made to determine the soil physiochemical factors influencing earthworms of Kashmir valley with a view to improve the soil productivity by enhancing earthworm diversity under different pedoecosystems. Data collection on 15 soil parameters from 20 earthworm inhabiting sites revealed significant variation within and among the sites in soil temperature (F_{23, 19} = 148.83, 9.71; P < 0.05), moisture (F_{23, 19} = 16.91, 46.20; P < 0.05), pH (F₁₉ = 47.21; P < 0.05), electrical conductivity (F_{23, 19} = 11.67, 87.13; P < 0.05), sodium (F_{23, 19} = 2.46, 211.25; P < 0.05), potassium (F₁₉ = 22.91; P < 0.05), calcium (F₁₉ = 15.90; P < 0.05), magnesium (F_{23, 19} = 1.76, 104.51; P < 0.05), organic carbon (F_{23, 19} = 64.60, 222.50; P < 0.05), organic nitrogen (F_{23, 19} = 4.59, 3.81; P < 0.05) and phosphorous (F_{23, 19} = 5.11, 137.87; P < 0.05). Aporrectodea caliginosa trapezoides and A. rosea rosea exhibited wide range of distribution whereas Octolasion cyaneum, A. c. trapezoides and A. parva showed restricted distribution. Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped 20 earthworm collection sites into three clusters—earthworm absent sites, low earthworm diversity sites and moderate earthworm diversity sites. Principal component analysis assisted from the data set of 20 sites, resulting into four latent factors accounting for 77.95 % of total variance, identified the factors affecting earthworm communities are mainly related to physical habitat factor, chemical factor, soil texture factor and growth factor, each accounting for 26.41, 20.16, 18.25 and 13.13 % of total variance respectively.     

Effects of High Dose of Anisodamine on the Respiratory Function of Patients with Traumatic Acute Lung Injury

The objective of this study is to observe the effects of high dose of anisodamine in the respiratory function of patients with acute lung injury (ALI) induced by trauma. Fifty cases of patients with complicated ALI after trauma were randomly divided into the anisodamine treatment group (n = 26) and the conventional treatment group (n = 24). Intravenous injection of high dose of anisodamine was administrated in the anisodamine treatment group on the basis of conventional treatment. Acute lung injury scores, oxygenation index, PaO₂, respiratory mechanic index, mechanical ventilation time, and the occurrence of adverse reactions in the two groups were observed. Acute lung injury scores and respiratory parameters were all significantly improved in the two groups of patients after the treatment (P < 0.05); compared with the conventional treatment group, the improvements of respiratory function in the anisodamine treatment group were more obvious (P < 0.05), the mechanical ventilation time was shorter (P < 0.05), and there was no significant adverse reaction. In conclusion, high dose of anisodamine contributed to improve the respiratory function of the patients with traumatic ALI.     

Oxidized Low Density Lipoprotein and Inflammation in Gout Patients

To analyze the levels of oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) and inflammatory cytokines in the plasma of gout patients. The levels of ox-LDL, hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-1β, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured in the plasma of 41 gout patients [28 in acute phase episode, 13 in intermittent phase (IP)], and in 40 healthy controls. The relationship between ox-LDL and inflammation was also explored by measuring the levels of several pro-inflammatory cytokines in the plasma. The plasma levels of ox-LDL, hs-CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly increased in patients with gout in the acute phase compared to those in the IP group and healthy controls (P < 0.05), but the levels of TGF-β were significantly lower in the acute phase group than in the IP group and healthy controls (P < 0.01). The levels of ox-LDL in the gout patients in the IP were significantly higher than those in healthy controls (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis indicated that the levels of ox-LDL were positively correlated with hs-CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α (r = 0.343, r = 0.386, r = 0.659, P < 0.01, respectively), but negatively correlated with TGF-β levels in patients in the acute phase (r = ?0.240, P < 0.05). The levels of ox-LDL in gout patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls. The changes in ox-LDL levels may be associated with enhanced inflammation in gout patients.     

Pre-mir-27a rs895819 polymorphism and cancer risk: a meta-analysis

Aberrant expression of miRNAs plays critical roles in cancer development. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in miRNA precursors may affect miRNA expression levels. An important SNP in the pre-mir-27a with a A to G change (rs895819) was identified. Several original studies have explored the role of this SNP in cancer risk, but the results of these studies remain conflicting rather than conclusive. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis of the published studies to derive a more precise estimation of the association between pre-mir-27a rs895819 polymorphism and cancer risk. In this meta-analysis, a total of 6 case–control studies (including 3,255 cases and 4,181 controls) were analyzed. The results of the overall meta-analysis did not suggest any associations between pre-mir-27a rs895819 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility. However, an decreased risk was observed in the subgroup of breast cancer patients (G vs A: OR = 0.90, 95 % CI = 0.83 ~ 0.97; P _{heterogeneity}  = 0.75) or in the subgroup of Caucasian race (G vs A: OR = 0.90, 95 % CI = 0.83 ~ 0.97, P _{heterogeneity}  = 0.78, I ² = 0; AG vs AA: OR = 0.84, 95 % CI = 0.75 ~ 0.94, P _{heterogeneity}  = 0.35, I ² = 3.7 %; GG+AG vs AA: OR = 0.85, 95 % CI = 0.76 ~ 0.94, P _{heterogeneity}  = 0.48, I ² = 0). The findings suggest that pre-mir-27a rs895819 polymorphism may have some relation to breast cancer susceptibility or cancer development in Caucasian.