Prognostic Factors of Liver Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Database Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify new, more accurate risk factors of liver transplantation for liver cancer through using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. METHODS: Using the SEER database, we identified patients that had undergone surgical resection for non-metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and subsequent liver transplantation between 2010 and 2017. Overall survival (OS) was estimated using Kaplan-Meier plotter. Cox proportional hazards regression modelling was used to identify factors independently associated with recurrent disease [presented as adjusted hazard ratios (HR) with 95% CIs]. RESULTS: Totally, 1530 eligible patients were included in the analysis. There were significant differences in ethnicity (P=0.04), cancer stage (P<0.001), vascular invasion (P<0.001) and gall bladder involvement (P<0.001) between the groups that survived, died due to cancer, or died due to other causes. In the Cox regression model, there were no significant differences in OS at 5 years with different operative strategies (autotransplantation versus allotransplantation), nor at survival at 1 year with neoadjuvant radiotherapy. However, neoadjuvant radiotherapy did appear to improve survival at both 3 years (HR: 0.540, 95% CI: 0.326-0.896, P=0.017) and 5 years (HR: 0.338, 95% CI: 0.153-0.747, P=0.007) from diagnosis. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated differences in patient characteristics between prognostic groups after liver resection and transplantation for HCC. These criteria can be used to inform patient selection and consent in this setting. Preoperative radiotherapy may improve long-term survival post-transplantation.

Polystyrene microplastics induce autophagy and apoptosis in birds lungs via PTEN/PI3K/AKT/mTOR.

Microplastics (MPs) seriously pollute and potentially threaten human health. Birds are sentinels of environmental pollutants, which respond quickly to contamination events and reveal current environmental exposure. Therefore, birds are good bioindicators for monitoring environmental pollutants. However, the mechanism of lung injury in birds and the role of the PTEN/PI3K/AKT axis are unknown. In this study, broilers treated with different polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) (0, 1, 10, and 100 mg/L) were exposed to drinking water for 6 weeks to analyze the effect of PS-MPs on lung injury of broilers. The results showed that with the increase of PS-MPs concentration, malonaldehyde (MDA) content increased, and catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH) activity decreased, further leading to oxidative stress. PS-MPs caused the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway to be inhibited by phosphorylation, and autophagy accelerated formation (LC3) and degradation (p62), causing autophagy. In PS-MPs exposed lung tissues, the expression of Bax/Bcl-2 and Caspase family increased, and MAPK signaling pathways (p38, ERK, and JNK) showed an increase in phosphorylation level, thus leading to cell apoptosis. Our research showed that PS-MPs could activate the antioxidant system. The antioxidant system unbalance-regulated Caspase family, and PTEN/PI3K/AKT pathways initiated apoptosis and autophagy, which in turn led to lung tissue damage in chickens. These results are of great significance to the toxicological study of PS-MPs and the protection of the ecosystem.

Fast measurement of the laser beam quality factor based on phase retrieval with a liquid lens.

In this paper, a new method for measuring the beam quality (M2) of lasers based on phase retrieval with a liquid lens is proposed. With intensity profiles obtained under different focal lengths in a certain position, a variable-focus iterative retrieval algorithm is established for the reconstruction of the complex amplitude. Then M2 can be calculated with the angular spectrum theory. Feasibility of the proposed method is demonstrated with single- and multimode lasers through both simulations and experiments. Compared with the traditional liquid lens method, the M2 of lasers can be measured faster with the proposed method.

[Research progress on medicinal values of scorpion venom components].

For thousands of years, scorpions and their venoms have been applied in traditional medicine in China to treat a variety of difficult miscellaneous diseases. The venom is a complex mixture of bioactive molecules, such as peptides and proteins (e.g. neurotoxins). Among them, neurotoxins (named scorpion toxins) are the most important bioactive components. Up to now, more and more characterized venom components have been isolated from different scorpions, providing numerous candidate molecules for drug design and development. Many investigations have shown the potent effects of venom or its components against the nervous, immune, infection, cardiovascular and neoplastic diseases. Moreover, the scorpion toxins could be used as molecular backbone to develop new specific drugs based on their unique structures and functions. In this review, we focus on the medicinal values and the possible mechanisms of scorpion toxins with promising medicinal prospect against the relative diseases, providing the data basis for further development of relative drugs.

Amorfrutin A inhibits TNF-α induced JAK/STAT signaling, cell survival and proliferation of human cancer cells.

CONTEXT: Amorfrutin A is a natural product isolated from the fruits of Amorpha fruticosa L. and has been shown to exhibit multiple bioeffector functions. In the present study, we investigated whether amorfrutin A exerts anticancer effects by inhibiting STAT3 activation in cervical cancer cells. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of amorfrutin A as a treatment of cancer, and determine the underlying pharmacological mechanism of action. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HeLa, SK-Hep1, MDA-MB-231 and HCT116 cells were used in this study. Major assays were luciferase reporter assay, MTT, Western blot analysis, immunofluorescence assay, reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), flow cytometric analysis, EdU labeling and immunofluorescence, xenografted assay. RESULTS: Amorfrutin A significantly inhibited tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of STAT3 in human cervical carcinoma cells. Amorfrutin A also inhibited activation of the upstream kinases Janus-activated kinase 1 (JAK1), JAK2 and Src signaling pathways. Furthermore, amorfrutin A increased the expression of p53, p21, p27, induced cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase as well as decreased levels of various oncogene protein products. In vivo studies further confirmed the inhibitory effect of amorfrutin A on the expression of STAT3 proteins, leading to a decrease growth of HeLa cells in a xenograft tumor model. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that amorfrutin A is a potent inhibitor of STAT3 and provide new perspectives into the mechanism of its anticancer activity.

Electrochemical sensors using gold submicron particles modified electrodes based on calcium complexes formed with alizarin red S for determination of Ca(2+) in isolated rat heart mitochondria.

A simple glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with gold submicron particles (AuSPs), characterized by a mean diameter of about0.15-0.20µm has been developed. Herein, the complexation reaction of Ca(2+) with alizarin red S (ARS), in 0.1M KOH, has been followed by electrochemical methods using the modified electrode which is able to catalyze the electro-reduction of ARS. When the stoichiometry ratio of Ca(2+) and ARS is 1:2, a new reduction peak at a higher negative potential of -0.975V appeared, and the peak of ARS at -0.815V disappeared. The peak current of ARS in alkaline solution is proportional to the concentration of Ca(2+) in the range 6.0×10(-7)-1.2×10(-4)M with a limit of detection (LOD) of 5.1×10(-7)M. Furthermore, the complex site of Ca(2+) with ARS was analysized by the experimental UV-vis and infrared spectrums and those calculated electronic and vibrational spectroscopies with density functional theory (DFT). The good accordance between theoretical and experimental data confirms that chelation of calcium ion preferentially occurs at the deprotonated catechol site. Then, we implemented an electrochemical assay for the investigation of Ca(2+) in preparations of isolated rat heart mitochondria, which demonstrates the submicron particles modified electrode is a simple and rapid sensor for determining the Ca(2+) in the biological samples.

Glycerophosphate-based chitosan thermosensitive hydrogels and their biomedical applications.

Chitosan is non-toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable polysaccharide composed of glucosamine and derived by deacetylation of chitin. Chitosan thermosensitive hydrogel has been developed to form a gel in situ, precluding the need for surgical implantation. In this review, the recent advances in chitosan thermosensitive hydrogels based on different glycerophosphate are summarized. The hydrogel is prepared with chitosan and ß-glycerophosphate or αß-glycerophosphate which is liquid at room temperature and transits into gel as temperature increases. The gelation mechanism may involve multiple interactions between chitosan, glycerophosphate, and water. The solution behavior, rheological and physicochemical properties, and gelation process of the hydrogel are affected not only by the molecule weight, deacetylation degree, and concentration of chitosan, but also by the kind and concentration of glycerophosphate. The properties and the three-dimensional networks of the hydrogel offer them wide applications in biomedical field including local drug delivery and tissue engineering.