Acute toxicity of Zanthoxylum bungeanum against two stored product insects and synergistic interactions between two major compounds limonene and linalool.

In order to find and develop new botanical pesticides against storage pests, components of the essential oil (EO) from Zanthoxylum bungeanum were identified by GC-MS and their insecticidal activity against the stored product pests were studied. The EO was obtained by steam distillation. Results showed that EO was rich in limonene (23.67), linalool (21.76) and linalyl anthranilate (10.87). In contact assays, linalool exhibited strongest toxicity to red flour beetle adult (LD50 = 17.06 µg/adult) and larvae (LD50 = 16.42 µg/larvae), and linalool was the most active one against the Lasioderma serricorne (LD50 = 15.36 µg/larvae). Then limonene and linalool showed different levels of fumigant activities against the two insect species. Synergism effect existed in the proportion of contact assays against Tribolium castaneum adults, and additive was observed in the proportion of 7:1 against T. castaneum larvae. This work provides important information for the development and utilization of Z. bungeanum and suggests that the EO of Z. bungeanum has the potential to serve as bio-insecticides for controlling pest damage in stored products.

Study on clinical application of susceptibility weighted imaging ombined with diffusion weighted imaging in patients with Liver Cirrhosis complicated with small Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical value of susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) combined with diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) in patients with liver cirrhosis complicated with small hepatocellular carcinoma (SHCC). METHODS: A total of 40 patients with liver cirrhosis and 44 nodules were treated with conventional nuclear magnetic scanning (T1WI, T2WI) and SWI combined with DWI; the results were judged by two senior physicians; the t test, χ2 test, rank sum test, and other methods were used for contrastive analysis of the pathological results of different scanning methods after operation or puncture. RESULTS: Contrast analysis of the different MRI scanning methods and pathological results showed that among the 32 nodules of small hepatocellular carcinoma, 24 cases were diagnosed by conventional MRI, with the coincidence rate being 75%, 30 cases were diagnosed by SWI DWI, with the coincidence rate being 96%; significant difference was found between the two groups (p=0. 04). Significant differences were found in the specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of different scanning methods in the diagnosis of small hepatocellular carcinoma (specificity, accuracy, p=0.04; sensitivity p=0.01). The SWI of small hepatocellular carcinoma nodules showed hyperintensity, and the degree of iron deposition was low. Significant difference was found between small hepatocellular carcinoma nodules and other nodules (comparison of SWI signal degree, p=0.01; comparison of iron deposition degree, p=0.00). CONCLUSION: The SWI of small hepatocellular carcinoma nodules showed hyperintensity, and the degree of iron deposition was low. The coincidence rate of SWI+DWI scanning is higher than that of conventional scanning methods in the diagnosis of small hepatocellular carcinoma, and the difference in specificity, sensitivity and accuracy has obvious advantages. SWI+DWI scanning can improve the detection rate of liver cirrhosis complicated with small hepatocellular carcinoma.

Overexpression of hsa_circ_0001715 is a Potential Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker in Lung Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in tumorigenesis, including lung cancer. However, the expression profile and clinical value of circRNAs in lung adenocarcinoma remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to establish the circRNAs expression profile of lung adenocarcinoma and determine its potential diagnostic and prognostic value. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The global expression profile of circRNAs in lung adenocarcinoma tissue was determined from five paired lung adenocarcinoma tissues and adjacent normal tissues. The expression levels of selected candidate circRNA were validated by qRT-PCR. Sequence analysis was used to confirm the specificity of amplified circRNA. The candidate circRNA level was further detected in plasma samples from lung adenocarcinoma patients and healthy controls. The relationships between their levels and clinicopathological factors were explored. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to differentiate lung adenocarcinoma from healthy controls. Kaplan-Meier was performed to show survival curves and survival characteristics. The significance of different prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: CircRNA microarray showed 394 circRNAs were differentially expressed, including 215 up-regulated and 179 down-regulated circRNAs. Hsa_circ_0001715 was the most up-regulated circRNA in lung adenocarcinoma tissues. Plasma hsa_circ_0001715 levels were significantly higher in lung adenocarcinoma patients versus healthy controls (P < 0.001). We further found that high plasma hsa_circ_0001715 was significantly correlated with TNM stage (P = 0.039) and distant metastasis (P = 0.030). Furthermore, ROC curve analysis showed that hsa_circ_0001715 had high diagnostic value, and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.871. Lung adenocarcinoma patients with plasma hsa_circ_0001715 levels over 0.417 had significantly shorter OS than those with lower levels (P = 0.004). Univariate and multivariate survival analysis showed that plasma hsa_circ_0001715 level was an independent prognostic factor for the OS. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed an aberrant circRNA expression profile in lung adenocarcinoma, and hsa_circ_0001715 is up-regulated and could act as a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for lung adenocarcinoma.

Experimental Transmission of Quantum Information Using a Superposition of Causal Orders.

Communication in a network generally takes place through a sequence of intermediate nodes connected by communication channels. In the standard theory of communication, it is assumed that the communication network is embedded in a classical spacetime, where the relative order of different nodes is well defined. In principle, a quantum theory of spacetime could allow the order of the intermediate points between sender and receiver to be in a coherent superposition. Here we experimentally realize a tabletop simulation of this exotic possibility on a photonic system, demonstrating high-fidelity transmission of quantum information over two noisy channels arranged in a superposition of two alternative causal orders.

Experimental test of fine-grained entropic uncertainty relation in the presence of quantum memory.

The uncertainty principle, which gives the constraints on obtaining precise outcomes for incompatible measurements, provides a new vision of the real world that we are not able to realize from the classical knowledge. In recent years, numerous theoretical and experimental developments about the new forms of the uncertainty principle have been achieved. Among these efforts, one attractive goal is to find tighter bounds of the uncertainty relation. Here, using an all optical setup, we experimentally investigate a most recently proposed form of uncertainty principle-the fine-grained uncertainty relation assisted by a quantum memory. The experimental results on the case of two-qubit state with maximally mixed marginal demonstrate that the fine-graining method can help to get a tighter bound of the uncertainty relation. Our results might contribute to further understanding and utilizing of the uncertainty principle.

Overexpressed D2 Dopamine Receptor Inhibits Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Progression through Inhibiting NF-κB Signaling Pathway.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the deadliest cancers worldwide. Dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) has multiple roles in clinical progression of NSCLC and functional maintenance of cancer cells. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism. Here, we clarified whether DRD2 inhibits lung cancer progression and identified the underlying downstream signaling. METHODS: DRD2 mRNA and protein levels were detected in clinical specimens by qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively. MTT and colony formation assays were applied to analyze cell proliferation. The underlying molecular mechanism was identified by dual luciferase, western blot, qRT-PCR, cAMP detection, immunoprecipitation, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. A murine NSCLC model was used to clarify the role of DRD2 in tumor cell proliferation. RESULTS: We found that DRD2 ablated tumor cell growth. DRD2 expression in NSCLC tissues was lower than in adjacent normal lung tissues. Moreover, DRD2 mRNA and protein levels in NSCLC were negatively correlated with the tumor size, TNM status, and patient overall survival. In vitro experiments showed that disruption of DRD2 promoted the proliferation of NSCLC cell lines A549 and SK-MES-1 by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway. Furthermore, DRD2 overexpression not only blocked lipopolysaccharide-induced A549 and SK-MES-1 cell proliferation and growth, but also inhibited the tumorigenesis in murine xenograft models. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that DRD2 may be a potential therapeutic target for lung cancer patients with high DRD2 expression by ablating the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Mutation analysis of the EGFR gene and its downstream signaling pathway in thymic carcinoma patients from a Chinese Han population.

INTRODUCTION: For thymic carcinoma (TC), which is a rare epithelial neoplasm of the thymus gland, median survival with current treatments is only 2 years. OBJECTIVES: Mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene or its downstream effectors may cause constitutive activation that leads to cell proliferation and metastases. Thus, molecular profiling is essential for selecting TC patients who may respond to anti-EGFR therapies. METHODS: Genomic DNA was extracted from 61 histological samples of TCs. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct sequencing were used to assess the mutations in the EGFR downstream pathway. RESULTS: Gene mutations were identified in seven patients (11.5%). In particular, the identified mutations included four mutations in the KRAS gene, one mutation in the BRAF gene, one mutation in the PIK3CA gene, and only one mutation in the EGFR gene itself. Gene mutations in the EGFR downstream pathway were associated with shorter survival time and were observed to be an independent prognostic factor for TC patients. CONCLUSION: Mutations in the EGFR downstream pathway are not rare in TCs. These data offer interesting possibilities for the future management of TCs, particularly in the era of new targeted therapies.

Experimentally Robust Self-testing for Bipartite and Tripartite Entangled States.

Self-testing is a method with which a classical user can certify the state and measurements of quantum systems in a device-independent way. In particular, self-testing of entangled states is of great importance in quantum information processing. An understandable example is that the maximal violation of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality necessarily implies that the bipartite system shares a singlet. One essential question in self-testing is that, when one observes a nonmaximum violation, how far is the tested state from the target state (which maximally violates a certain Bell inequality)? The answer to this question describes the robustness of the used self-testing criterion, which is highly important in a practical sense. Recently, J. Kaniewski derived two analytic self-testing bounds for bipartite and tripartite systems. In this Letter, we experimentally investigate these two bounds with high-quality two-qubit and three-qubit entanglement sources. The results show that these bounds are valid for various entangled states that we prepared. Thereby, a proof-of-concept demonstration of robust self-testing is achieved, which improves on the previous results significantly.

Experimental realization of narrowband four-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state in a single cold atomic ensemble.

Multi-photon entangled states not only play a crucial role in research on quantum physics but also have many applications in quantum information fields such as quantum computation, quantum communication, and quantum metrology. To fully exploit the multi-photon entangled states, it is important to establish the interaction between entangled photons and matter, which requires that photons have narrow bandwidth. Here, we report on the experimental generation of a narrowband four-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state with a fidelity of 64.9% through multiplexing two spontaneous four-wave mixings in a cold Rb85 atomic ensemble. The full bandwidth of the generated GHZ state is about 19.5 MHz. Thus, the generated photons can effectively match the atoms, which are very suitable for building a quantum computation and quantum communication network based on atomic ensembles.

Experimental test of genuine multipartite nonlocality under the no-signalling principle.

Genuine multipartite nonlocality (GMN) has been recognized as the strongest form of multipartite quantum correlation. However, there exist states that cannot violate the Svetlichny inequality derived from the standard definition of GMN, even though they possess GMN properties. The reason is that the standard definition of GMN allows correlations that permit signalling among parties, which is inconsistent with an operational definition. Here, for the first time, we present an experimental test of GMN in the no-signalling scenario, with a three-photon pure state |ψs〉 and a noisy W state. The experimental results show that these states cannot violate the Svetlichny inequality. However, our results also demonstrate that they do violate a new inequality derived from the definition of GMN based on the no-signalling principle, i.e., these states can exhibit GMN under the requirement of no-signalling. Our results will be useful for the study and applications of GMN in quantum communications and quantum computation.

In vitro and in vivo antitumor evaluation of berbamine for lung cancer treatment.

PURPOSE: Lung cancer, one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers in the world, is characterized by relatively high morbidity and mortality. Berbamine (BER) has been initially reported to exert anti-proliferative effects against a series of cancers. METHODS: In this study the in vitro cytotoxicity of BER was measured by MTT assay. In vivo anti-cancer efficacy of BER was assessed in A549 xenografts. RESULTS: Cytotoxicity tests showed dose-dependent cell growth inhibition effects of BER against A549 cells. Moreover, BER significantly reduced the growth of lung cancer in a dose-dependent manner in nude mice with prolonged survival time. CONCLUSION: Therefore, BER might be in herbal medicine for cancer therapy and further efforts are needed to explore therapeutic strategies.

Special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 promotes cell growth and metastasis in colorectal cancer.

AIM: To evaluate the expression of special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 (SATB1) gene in colorectal cancer and its role in colorectal cancer cell proliferation and invasion. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the protein expression of SATB1 in 30 colorectal cancer (CRC) tissue samples and pair-matched adjacent non-tumor samples. Cell growth was investigated after enhancing expression of SATB1. Wound-healing assay and Transwell assay were used to investigate the impact of SATB1 on migratory and invasive abilities of SW480 cells in vitro. Nude mice that received subcutaneous implantation or lateral tail vein were used to study the effects of SATB1 on tumor growth or metastasis in vivo. RESULTS: SATB1 was over-expressed in CRC tissues and CRC cell lines. SATB1 promotes cell proliferation and cell cycle progression in CRC SW480 cells. SATB1 overexpression could promote cell growth in vivo. In addition, SATB1 could significantly raise the ability of cell migration and invasion in vitro and promote the ability of tumor metastasis in vivo. SATB1 could up-regulate matrix metalloproteases 2, 9, cyclin D1 and vimentin, meanwhile SATB1 could down-regulate E-cadherin in CRC. CONCLUSION: SATB1 acts as a potential growth and metastasis promoter in CRC. SATB1 may be useful as a therapeutic target for CRC.

Effects of osteopontin downregulation on the growth of prostate cancer PC-3 cells.

Osteopontin (OPN) has been recognized as a significant cytokine in the processes of tumorigenicity, tumor progression and metastasis in many types of human cancer. However, the functions of OPN in prostate cancer remain poorly understood. To investigate the function of OPN in human prostate cancer, the growth of prostate cancer PC-3 cells was examined following OPN down-regulation by RNA interference (RNAi). PC-3 cells were transfected by two constructs containing short interfering RNAs designed to cleave two different regions of OPN mRNA. The expression of OPN in the transfected cells was markedly inhibited by RNAi at the mRNA and protein levels. Cell growth was retarded and S-phase arrest and apoptosis were observed in the transfected cells. The number and size of the colonies of the transfected cells in soft agarose were markedly decreased, as compared with those of the control cells. From these results, we conclude that the selective down-regulation of OPN expression by RNAi may lead to S-phase arrest, apoptosis and a decline in the malignant phenotype in PC-3 cells, suggesting that OPN plays a significant role in the growth of prostate cancer and may be a potential therapeutic target.