Explore the vast range of titles available.

Bisphenol S (BPS) is widely used as a raw material in industry, resulting in its ubiquitous distribution in natural environment, including the aqueous environment. However, the effect of BPS on the thyroid endocrine system is largely unknown. In this study, zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos were exposed to BPS at 1, 3, 10, and 30 μg/L, from 2 h post-fertilization (hpf) to 168hpf. Bioconcentration of BPS and whole-body thyroid hormones (THs), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations as well as transcriptional profiling of key genes related to the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis were examined. Chemical analysis indicated that BPS was accumulated in zebrafish larvae. Thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) levels were significantly decreased at ≥ 10 and 30 μg/L of BPS, respectively. However, TSH concentration was significantly induced in the 10 and 30 μg/L BPS-treated groups. After exposure to BPS, the mRNA expression of corticotrophin releasing hormone (crh) and thyroglobulin (tg) genes were up-regulated at ≥10 μg/L of BPS, in a dose-response manner. The transcription of genes involved in thyroid development (pax8) and synthesis (sodium/iodide symporter, slc5a5) were also significantly increased in the 30 μg/L of BPS treatment group. Moreover, exposure to 10 μg/L or higher concentration of BPS significantly up-regulated genes related to thyroid hormone metabolism (deiodinases, dio1, dio2 and uridinediphosphate glucoronosyltransferases, ugt1ab), which might be responsible for the altered THs levels. However, the transcript of transthyretin (ttr) was significantly down-regulated at ≥ 3 μg/L of BPS, while the mRNA levels of thyroid hormone receptors (trα and trβ) and dio3 remained unchanged. All the results indicated that exposure to BPS altered the whole-body THs and TSH concentrations and changed the expression profiling of key genes related to HPT axis, thus triggering thyroid endocrine disruption.

Background Massive occurrences of interstitial loss of heterozygosity (LOH) likely resulting from gene conversions were found by us in different cancers as a type of single-nucleotide variations (SNVs), comparable in abundance to the commonly investigated gain of heterozygosity (GOH) type of SNVs, raising the question of the relationships between these two opposing types of cancer mutations. Methods In the present study, SNVs in 12 tetra sample and 17 trio sample sets from four cancer types along with copy number variations (CNVs) were analyzed by AluScan sequencing, comparing tumor with white blood cells as well as tissues vicinal to the tumor. Four published “nontumor”-tumor metastasis trios and 246 pan-cancer pairs analyzed by whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and 67 trios by whole-exome sequencing (WES) were also examined. Results Widespread GOHs enriched with CG-to-TG changes and associated with nearby CNVs and LOHs enriched with TG-to-CG changes were observed. Occurrences of GOH were 1.9-fold higher than LOH in “nontumor” tissues more than 2 cm away from the tumors, and a majority of these GOHs and LOHs were reversed in “paratumor” tissues within 2 cm of the tumors, forming forward-reverse mutation cycles where the revertant LOHs displayed strong lineage effects that pointed to a sequential instead of parallel development from “nontumor” to “paratumor” and onto tumor cells, which was also supported by the relative frequencies of 26 distinct classes of CNVs between these three types of cell populations. Conclusions These findings suggest that developing cancer cells undergo sequential changes that enable the “nontumor” cells to acquire a wide range of forward mutations including ones that are essential for oncogenicity, followed by revertant mutations in the “paratumor” cells to avoid growth retardation by excessive mutation load. Such utilization of forward-reverse mutation cycles as an adaptive mechanism was also observed in cultured HeLa cells upon successive replatings. An understanding of forward-reverse mutation cycles in cancer development could provide a genomic basis for improved early diagnosis, staging, and treatment of cancers.

Aberrant promoter methylation of RUNX3 has been reported in several tumors including human breast cancer (BC). However, the association between RUNX3 hypermethylation and incidence of BC remains elusive. In this study, a detailed literature search was performed in Medline and Google Scholar for related research publications. Analysis of pooled data were executed. Odds ratios with corresponding confidence intervals were determined and summarized, respectively. Finally, 13 studies were identified for the meta-analysis. Analysis of the pooled data showed that RUNX3 hypermethylation was significantly higher in both ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) than in normal breast tissues. In addition, RUNX3 methylation was significantly higher in IDC than in benign tumor. However, RUNX3 methylation was not significantly higher in IDC than in ductal carcinoma in situ. We also determined that RUNX3 hypermethylation was significantly higher in ER positive BC than in ER negative BC. In addition, high RUNX3 mRNA expression was found to be correlated with better overall survival and relapse-free survival for all BC patients. Our results strongly support that RUNX3 hypermethylation may play an important role in BC incidence. RUNX3 methylation is a valuable early biomarker for the diagnosis of BC. Further large-scale studies will provide more insight into the role of RUNX3 hypermethylation in the carcinogenesis and clinical diagnosis of BC patients.

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a rare but highly aggressive cancer for which no well-accepted prognostic biomarkers have been identified. Thymus cell antigen 1 (Thy1), also known as cluster of differentiation (CD)90, and integrin α6 (ITGA6), also known as CD49f, are important molecules in cancer and putative markers of various stem cell types. However, their role in GBC remains to be elucidated. In the present study, Thy1 and ITGA6 expression status in clinical GBC samples, which comprised squamous cell/adenosquamous carcinoma (SC/ASC) and adenocarcinoma (AC) subtypes, was investigated. The associations between Thy1 and ITGA6 expression and clinical parameters and survival rate were analyzed separately. The THY1 and ITGA6 messenger RNA levels were significantly higher in both SC/ASC and AC tissues than in adjacent non-tumor tissues (all P<0.001). These results were subsequently confirmed by immunohistochemical analyses. Overexpression of Thy1 and ITGA6 was correlated with poor differentiation, large tumor size, lymph node metastasis and great invasiveness in SC/ASC (Thy1, P=0.045, P=0.005, P=0.003 and P=0.009, respectively, and ITGA6, P=0.029, P=0.011, P=0.009 and P=0.004, respectively) and AC (Thy1, P=0.027, P<0.001, P=0.003 and P 0.004, respectively, and ITGA6, P=0.002, P=0.003, P=0.006 and P=0.006, respectively). Both Thy1 and ITGA6 were expressed at higher levels in AC with advanced tumor-node-metastasis stage (TNM) than in AC with low TNM stage (P=0.001 and P=0.018, respectively). In addition, patients with elevated Thy1 or ITGA6 expression had shorter overall survival than those with negative Thy1 or ITGA6 expression. Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that Thy1 (SC/ASC, P=0.001 and AC, P=0.005) and ITGA6 (both P=0.003) were independent predictors of poor prognosis in both SC/ASC and AC patients. In conclusion, Thy1 and ITGA6 could be clinical prognostic markers for GBC.

Earlier, prominent occurrences of interstitial loss-of-heterozygosities (LOHs) were found in different cancers as a type of single-nucleotide-variations (SNVs), at rates far exceeding those of the commonly investigated gain-of-heterozygosities (GOHs) type of SNVs. Herein, such co-occurrences of LOHs and GOHs were confirmed in 102 cases of four cancer types analyzed with three different next-generation sequencing platforms, comparing non-tumor, paratumor, and tumor tissues with white-blood-cell controls; and in 246 pan-cancer cases of whole-genome tumor-control pairs. Unexpectedly, large numbers of SNVs enriched with CG>TG GOHs and copy-number-variations (CNVs) proximal to these GOHs were detected in the non-tumor tissues, which were extensively reversed in paratumors showing prominent TG>CG LOHs with proximal CNVs, and less so in tumors to form forward-reverse mutation cycles. Lineage effects in the reversions, likely resulting from directional selection, supported a sequential rather than parallel mode of evolution as described in a 'Stage Specific Populations' model of cancer development.

Aim： Hyperoside is a flavonol glycoside mainly found in plants of the genera Hypericum and Crataegus, which has shown anti-oxidant, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities. In this study, we investigated the effects of hyperoside on human rheumatoid fibroblast- like synoviocytes （FLSs） in vitro and on mouse collagen-induced arthritis （CIA） in vivo. Methods： FLSs were isolated from primary synovial tissues obtained from rheumatoid arthritis （RA） patients and exposed to LPS （1 μg/mL）. Cell viability and proliferation were measured with MTT and BrdU assay. Cell migration was assessed using wound-healing assay and Transwell assay. DNA binding of NF-KB was measured using a TransAM-NFkappaB kit. The localization of p65 subunit was detected with immunocytochemistry. CIA was induced in mice by primary immunization with Bovine Type II collagen （C11） emulsified in CFA, followed by a booster injection 3 weeks later. The arthritic mice were treated with hyperoside （25, 50 mg·kg^-1·d^-1, ip） for 3 weeks, and the joint tissues were harvested for histological analysis. Results： Hyperoside （10, 50, 100 pmol/L） dose-dependently inhibited LPS-induced proliferation and migration of human RA FLSs in vitro. Furthermore, hyperoside decreased LPS-stimulated production of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1 and MMP-9 in the cells. Moreover, hyperoside inhibited LPS-induced phosphorylation of p65 and IκBα, and suppressed LPS-induced nuclear translocatien of p65 and DNA biding of NF-KB in the cells. Three-week administration of hyperoside significantly decreased the clinical scores, and alleviated synovial hyperplasia, inflammatory cell infiltration and cartilage damage in mice with CIA. Conclusion： Hyperoside inhibits LPS-induced proliferation, migration and inflammatory responses in human RA FLSs in vitro by suppressing activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway, which contributes to the therapeutic effects observed in mice with CIA.

The objective of the present study was to retrospectively review the surgical outcome of 309 craniopharyngioma cases treated by a single neurosurgeon in China. A total of 309 cases of craniopharyngioma that were treated surgically from January 1996 to May 2006. Among them, 162 (52.4%) patients were male and 147 (47.6%) were female. There were 259 (83.8%) patients older than 15 years (mean 35.8 years) and 50 (16.2%) younger than 15 years (mean 8.8 years). The tumor size varied in diameter from 2.0 cm to 9.0 cm (mean 34.5 mm). Pterional approach was performed in 211 (68.3%) cases, trans-laminal terminal approach through frontobasal interhemispheric fissure in 55 (17.8%) cases, subfrontal approach in 20 (6.5%) cases, and transcallosum approach into the anterior third ventricle in 11 (3.6%) cases. Total, subtotal, and partial removal of tumors were achieved in 276 (89.3%), 20 (6.5%), and 13 (4.2%) patients, respectively. The pituitary stalk was preserved in 186 (60.2%) cases, severed in 49 (15.9%) cases, and unidentified in 74 (23.9%) cases during surgery. There were 12 (3.9%) patients died within 1 month after surgery. A total of 204 (66%) patients were followed from 6 months to 8 years (mean 2.1 years). In the 167 patients with total tumor removal, 23 (13.7%) had tumor recurrence within an average of 1.8 years. While, in the 32 patients with subtotal or partial resection, 24 (75%) had recurrence within an average of 0.5 years. There were five deaths occurred during follow-up. Pre-surgery neuroimaging evaluations have improved our knowledge of intricate anatomical relationship between craniopharyngioma and the structures of the hypothalamus, pituitary stalk, and optic apparatus, which make total tumor resection feasible with the preservation of these vital structures to ensure a lower recurrence rate with acceptable mortality. However, excessive long-term morbidity, mostly related to hypopituitarism, which leads to the poor quality of life for the craniopharyngioma patients, is still remained. Further effort should be invested to monitor and maintain the normal hormone levels, hence improve the quality of life for craniopharyngioma patients.

This paper described a new system for small LED display, which was based on the computer and MCU master-slave structure. The focus of host computer design is the extraction of Chinese characters dot-matrix data and the transmission of information using infrared serial communication. The lower computer has already accomplished dynamic LED display design with LPC900 series single-chip and the hardware drive circuit of LED display. The LED display system possessed a high performance-price ratio, and could be widely used in automated instrumentation panel and sensor online shows. This system also gets other extraordinary characters like small size (45×80×3mm3), light weight, low (power) consumption, and simple operation and so on.

Objective To retrospectively analyze effective methods for surgical management of posterior circulation aneurysms. Methods There were 42 patients with posterior circulation aneurysms [26 cases of basilar aneurysm (27 aneurysms), 16 cases of vertebral aneurysm (17 aneurysms)]. There were 15 patients underwent bypass surgery [4 external carotid artery ⁃ P2 segment of posterior cerebral artery (ECA ⁃ P2), 2 internal carotid artery ⁃ P2 segment of posterior cerebral artery (ICA ⁃ P2), 2 internal maxillary artery⁃P2 segment of posterior cerebral artery (IMA⁃P2), 2 intracranial segment of vertebral artery⁃extracranial segment of vertebral artery, 5 occipital artery⁃posterior inferior cerebellar artery (OA⁃PICA)] and 27 patients underwent simple surgical clipping. Results Activities of daily life of 37 patients recovered to normal (14 patients with aneurysm on the top of basilar artery, 3 with aneurysm on the trunk of basilar artery, 9 with vertebral aneurysm, 5 with posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysm, 4 with aneurysm on the junction of P1-P2 segment of posterior cerebral artery, 1 with superior cerebellar artery, and 1 with anterior inferior cerebellar aneurysm). None of them occurred operation ⁃ related neurological dysfunction. The recovery rate was 88.09% . Among the other patients, 1 with aneurysm on the top of basilar artery presented severe signs and symptoms of neurological defect and cannot take care of oneself, 2 patients (1 with aneurysm on the top of basilar artery, 1 with aneurysm on the trunk of basilar artery) occurred brain stem hemorrhage after operation, and died at perioperative period, 2 with vertebral aneurysm relapsed and was cured after treatment. Conclusion Posterior circulation aneurysm which is not suitable for surgical clipping can be treated with intra⁃ and extra⁃cranial vessel bypass. It may avoid the risk of surgical clipping of aneurysm.

A protein conjugate of streptomycin （streptomycin-bovine serum albumin （BSA） conjugate） was prepared and used as immunogen to produce monoclonal antibodies （MAb）. One hybridoma secreting anti-streptomycin MAb was obtained and then used to produce MAb. The MAb named 13H5 showed the 50% maximal inhibitory concentra- tion （IC50） value of 4.65 ng/ml and the IC20value of 0.21 ng/ml in phosphate buffered saline （PBS）. At optimum con- ditions, an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） and a colloidal gold-based immuno- chromatographic assay （CGIA） were developed and applied to detect streptomycin residues in milk and swine urine samples. The developed ELISA showed that the minimum detection limit was 2.0 and 1.9 ng/ml for milk and swine urine samples, respectively, without obvious cross-reactivity to other tested antibiotics except dihydrostreptomycin which gave a 118.32% cross reaction value. Milk and swine urine samples spiked with streptomycin at 10, 50, 100 and 200 ng/rnl were analyzed by the established ELISA. The mean recovery of streptomycin was from 81.9% to 105.5% and from 84.3% to 92.2% for milk and swine urine, respectively. The optimized CGIA showed that the minimum de- tection limit was 20.0 ng/ml for milk and swine urine samples. The results of spiked analysis and specific analysis demonstrate that the CGIA could be applicable for screening milk and swine urine samples for the presence of streptomycin residues on-site. The established ELISA and CGIA allow the rapid, low-cost, and sensitive determination of streptomycin residues in food samples.