Preoperative elevation of serum C-reactive protein as an indicator of poor prognosis for early-stage esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Preoperative elevation of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) is reportedly associated with poor prognosis in several types of cancer. This study investigated the role of serum CRP as a prognostic factor in early-stage esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The preoperative serum CRP levels were measured in 156 newly diagnosed pT1–2N0M0 patients using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Correlations between serum CRP levels and other clinical parameters were analyzed. Multivariate analyses were performed to find prognostic markers using Cox's proportional hazards model. CRP concentrations were within the normal range in 117 (75%) individuals, but were elevated in 39 (25%) patients. Serum CRP levels were significantly correlated with the tumor length (p = 0.032), depth (T classification, p = 0.0157), or histologic grade (p = 0.034). The overall 5-year survival rates were 76.3% and 50.2% in the low- and high-CRP groups, respectively (p = 0.005). By multivariate analyses, the elevated serum CRP level was found to be an independent prognostic factor for poor survival (hazard ratio = 2.131; p = 0.007), regardless of tumor classification or other prognostic factors. In conclusion, preoperative, high serum CRP is an independent determinant of poor prognosis in early-stage ESCC.     

An intelligent FFR with a self-adjustable ventilation fan

This article presents an intelligent Filtering Facepiece Respirator (FFR) with a self-adjustable ventilation fan for improved comfort. The ventilation fan with an intelligent control aims to reduce temperature, relative humidity, and CO₂ concentrations inside the facepiece. Compared with a previous version of the FFR, the advantage of this new FFR is the intelligent control of the fan's rotation speed based on the change in temperature and relative humidity in the FFR dead space. The design of the control system utilizes an 8-bit, ultra-low power STC15W404AS microcontroller (HongJin technology, Shenzhen, China), and adopts a high-precision AM2320 device (AoSong electronic, Guangzhou, China) as temperature and relative humidity sensor so that control of temperature and relative humidity is realized in real time within the FFR dead space. The ventilation fan is intelligently driven and runs on a rechargeable lithium battery with a power-save mode that provides a correspondingly longer operational time. Meanwhile, the design is simplistic. Two experiments were performed to determine the best location to place the fan.     

Systemic bevacizumab to facilitate anticoagulation in antiphospholipid syndrome and bleeding gastrointestinal angiodysplasia

Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis - Bleeding gastrointestinal angiodysplasia may occur in patients with vasculitis and can be challenging to treat. We describe the novel use of bevacizumab...     

蒸馏水与其化疗药物溶液对胃癌MGC-803细胞作用1分钟的灭活效果比较

目的：观察常温蒸馏水、温热蒸馏水和常温蒸馏水加不同化疗药的溶液短时间（1分钟）作用于胃癌细胞MGC-803的结果，从中筛选出能杀灭癌细胞的最低冲洗浓度，为临床胃癌术野的蒸馏水化疗药物冲洗提供实验依据。方法：选取常见胃癌细胞MGC-803为实验对象，以蒸馏水（DW）、43℃温热蒸馏水（HDW）和常用化疗药阿霉素（ADM）、顺铂（DDP）、5-氟尿嘧啶（5-FU）与蒸馏水混合溶液作为干预方法，分别以不同浓度（DW＋ADM/DDP/5-FU：10/10/50μg/ml、20/20/100μg/ml、40/40/200μg/ml、80/80/400μg/ml、160/160/800μg/ml、320/320/1600μg/ml、640/640/3200μg/ml）的水溶液作用细胞1分钟并用培养液继续培养72小时后进行细胞形态学及MTT实验。结果：蒸馏水化疗药溶液相对于单纯蒸馏水和温热蒸馏水对胃癌细胞具有更强的杀伤作用，结果具有统计学意义（P＜0．01）；筛选出3种化疗药物的最低完全抑制浓度（抑制率＞90％），分别为：ADM 160μg/ml、DDP 320μg/ml、5-FU 1600μg/ml。结论：蒸馏水化疗药溶液相比于单纯蒸馏水及温热蒸馏水可明显增加对胃癌细胞的杀伤作用，筛选出的蒸馏水化疗药溶液最低浓度可对临床胃癌手术以及其他癌症手术术野冲洗液的选择提供一定的实验依据。     

Regulation of pigmentation by substrate elasticity in normal human melanocytes and melanotic MNT1 human melanoma cells

The elasticity of the cellular microenvironment is a key regulator of cellular physiology in many cell types. To investigate the effects of substrate stiffness on the pigmentation process, we cultured normal human melanocytes (NHM) and MNT1 melanoma cells on laminin‐coated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates of different stiffness. The dendricity of NHM and MNT1 cells was reduced as the substrate stiffness decreased, and the degree of melanosome transfer from NHM or MNT1 cells to normal human keratinocytes was decreased on softer substrates with the reduced dendricity. Gene and protein expressions of MITF, tyrosinase, TRP2, and gp100/PMEL17 exhibited a consistent decreasing trend with the decreasing stiffness. Because the stiffness sensing is mediated by focal adhesion complex through integrin receptors, we checked laminin specific integrin alpha 6 and p‐FAK for MNT1 cells to observe that the substrate adhesion was weakened as the substrate stiffness decreased. Weaker adhesion on a softer substrate was accompanied by dynamic shape changes in MNT1 cells with higher speed and larger scattering. Dendritic MNT1 cells cultured on a stiffer substrate exhibited lower migration with smaller root mean squared displacement. These results demonstrate the possibility that skin pigmentation can be influenced by mechanical properties of the cellular microenvironment and can increase when the skin becomes stiff.     

Incidence of Augmentation in Primary Restless Legs Syndrome Patients May Not Be That High: Evidence From A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Augmentation is a common complication of primary restless legs syndrome (RLS) during treatment; however, its incidence rate remains unclear.The aim of this study is investigate the rate of augmentation during RLS treatment.We searched 6 databases, including PubMed, OVID, Embase, Wiley citations, Web of Science research platform (including SciELO Citation Index, Medline, KCI Korean Journal Database, the Web of Science™ Core Collection), and the Cochrane library, and screened the reference lists of the included trials and recently published reviews.Randomized controlled trials and observational studies that reported augmentation events during RLS treatment.Primary RLS patients older than 18 years.No restrictions regarding intervention types were applied.Three investigators independently extracted and pooled the data to analyze the augmentation rate of the total sample and of patient subgroups with different interventions, treatment durations and drug regimens and different geographic origins. Fixed-effects or random-effects model was used for pooled analysis.A total of 60 studies involving 11,543 participants suggested an overall augmentation rate of 5.6% (95% confidence intervals (CI), 4.0–7.7). The augmentation incidence was 6.1% (95% CI, 4.1–9.1) for long-term treatment and 3.3% (95% CI, 1.4–7.3) for short-term treatment. In addition, 27.1% (95% CI, 12.3–49.5) of the levodopa-treated patients, 6.0% (95% CI, 4.1–8.8) of the patients treated with dopamine agonists, and 0.9% (95% CI, 0.2–3.3) of the patients taking pregabalin or gabapentin developed augmentation. Augmentation occurred in 7.2% (95% CI, 5.0–10.3) of the patients taking immediate-release drugs and in 1.7% (95% CI, 0.6–5.0) of the patients taking transdermal application.The main limitations are that the augmentation rates were not evaluated according to drug dosage, gender, and age and symptom severity.Approximately 5 to 6 in 100 RLS patients developed augmentation during treatment.     

SOX1 inhibits breast cancer cell growth and invasion through suppressing the Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathway

Abnormal activation of the Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathway is common in human cancers. Several studies have demonstrated that SRY (sex‐determining region Y)‐box (SOX) family genes serve as either tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes by regulating the Wnt signaling pathway in different cancers. However, the role of SOX1 in breast cancer and the underlying mechanism is still unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the effect and mechanism of SOX1 on the breasted cancer cell growth and invasion. In this study, we established overexpressed SOX1 and investigated its function by in vitro experiments. SOX1 was down‐regulated in breast cancer tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of SOX1 inhibited cell proliferation and invasion in vitro, and it promoted cell apoptosis. Furthermore, SOX1 inhibited the expression of β‐catenin, cyclin D1, and c‐Myc in breast cancer cells. Taken together, these data suggest that SOX1 can function as a tumor suppressor partly by interfering with Wnt/β‐catenin signaling in breast cancer.