[Analysis of risk factors of axillary lymph node metastasis and prognosis in T1 breast cancer: a large-scale retrospective study based on the SEER database].

Objective: To analyze the clinicopathological characteristics of T1 breast cancer, the risk of lymph node metastasis and related prognostic factors. Methods: The National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology and Results (SEER) database was utilized to search and screen out 73 421 female patients with T1 breast cancer from 2010 to 2015 for retrospective analysis. Logistic regression was used to assess the risk factors of lymph node metastasis. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to analysis overall survival (OS) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS); Log-rank test and Cox risk model were used for prognostic analysis. Results: A total of 73 421 female patients were enrolled, including 61 955 (84.4%) N0 stage, 9 995 N1 stage (13.6%), 1 087 N2 stage (1.5%) and 384 N3 stage (0.5%). Patients with invasive cancer, histological grade 3, T1c stage, progesterone receptor (PR) positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) positive were most likely to develop lymph node metastasis (all P<0.05). The median follow-up time was 55 months. The 5-year survival rate was 93.8%, and the 5-year BCSS rate was 98.2%. Cox regression analysis showed that T stage (HR=1.517, 95%CI: 1.382-1.666, P<0.01), N stage (HR=5.173, 95%CI: 4.424-6.049, P<0.01), estrogen receptor (ER) status (HR=0.774, 95%CI: 0.607-0.987, P=0.039), PR status (HR=0.745, 95%CI: 0.689-0.806, P<0.01) and subtype (HR=1.439, 95%CI: 1.078-1.478, P=0.011) were independent prognostic risk factors for the OS. Histological grade (HR=2.100, 95%CI: 1.766-2.483, P<0.01), T stage (HR=1.310, 95%CI: 1.193-1.439, P<0.01), N stage (HR=21.230, 95%CI: 17.980-25.060, P<0.01), PR status (HR=0.855, 95%CI: 0.791-0.925, P<0.01) were independent prognostic risk factors for the BCSS in T1 breast cancer. Conclusions: The lymph node metastasis rate of T1 breast cancer is low and the overall prognosis is good. Pathological type, histological grade, tumor size and subtype maybe helpful in predicting the lymph node metastasis of T1 breast cancer.

Routine or enhanced imaging to differentiate between type 1 and type 2 papillary renal cell carcinoma.

AIM: To investigate imaging features and differentiating qualities of type 1 and type 2 papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC) by different imaging techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2007 to 2019, 107 patients with type 1 pRCC (T1-pRCC) and 147 with type 2 pRCC (T2-pRCC) were included in this retrospective study. All patients underwent conventional ultrasound (US); some also underwent contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT), or contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI). Tumour Fuhrman grade or World Health Organization (WHO)/International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade (after June 2016) and invasive ranges were recorded. The two types of pRCC were analysed and compared for imaging features including tumour position, size, margin, echo type, and colour Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) using US as well as enhanced features from CEUS, CECT, or CE-MRI. RESULTS: T2-pRCC showed a higher Fuhrman grade (p<0.001) and greater propensity to invade extrarenal tissue (p<0.001) than T1-pRCC. On US imaging, T2-pRCC was more likely to be a cystic-solid lesion (p<0.001), and colour flow with a higher resistance index (RI; p=0.014) was more easily detected (p=0.001) in T2-pRCC than in T1-pRCC. Within contrast-enhanced examinations, more T2-pRCC lesions had blurred tumour borders (p=0.003), hypervascular characteristics (p=0.003), and heterogeneous enhancement (p<0.001) than those of T1-pRCC. CONCLUSIONS: T2-pRCC manifests more aggressively than T1-pRCC. T2-pRCC has a higher proportion of hypervascular and heterogeneous enhancement than T1-RCC.

[Optimization of TNM staging and control of pathological quality in gastric cancer].

Comprehensive treatment of gastric cancer is mainly based on the pathological staging. The T stage mainly depends on the accurate determination of the depth of the tumor invasion. The accurate T stage should be standardized pathological examination and continuous sectioning. N stage may be influenced by the number of lymph node examined. Insufficient lymph node examined may lead to stage migration. Therefore, standardizing lymph node dissection and lymph node harvest after surgery is important. M stage is mainly to improve the detection rate of peritoneal lavage cytology (CY), identify high risk factors for peritoneal metastasis, and optimize the prediction of peritoneal metastasis molecular markers, as a complementary methods of clinical examination. Currently, the quality of standardized pathological diagnosis of gastric cancer in China still needs to be improved. This article mainly elucidates the related studies and clinical experience of our center on how to do better in the optimization of gastric cancer TNM staging and pathological quality control.

Comparison of Billroth I, Billroth II, and Roux-en-Y reconstructions after distal gastrectomy according to functional recovery: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Gastric cancer is common, with a high mortality rate. Billroth I (B-I), Billroth II (B-II), and Roux-en-Y (R-Y) are the major reconstruction procedures after distal gastrectomy. In our study, we aimed to evaluate the functional recovery following the B-I, B-II, and R-Y reconstructions through a network meta-analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched until April 2018. From the included studies, first oral-intake time, early complications, endoscopic finding, quality of life (QoL), and body weight changes were extracted as the short- and long-term outcomes of reconstructions. The network meta-analysis was performed with R 3.4.2 software as well as "gemtc" and "forestplot" packages. RESULTS: Our work included a total of 26 articles involving 6212 patients with gastric cancer. Network meta-analysis revealed that R-Y reconstruction has a lower risk and degree of residual gastritis and bile reflex than B-I and B-II reconstructions. However, no differences in first oral-intake time, complications, risk of reflux esophagitis, and residual food, QoL, and body weight changes existed among the three reconstructions. CONCLUSIONS: R-Y may be the appropriate reconstruction procedure after distal gastrectomy based on postoperative functional recovery. However, more reports with a large sample size are warranted to investigate its long-term outcomes.

[Current social support and social adaptation of HIV/AIDS patients in Henan province].

Objective: To understand the status quo of social support for and social adaptation of HIV/AIDS patients in Henan province, analyze the relationship between social support and social adaptation, and provide reference for improving the quality of life of HIV/AIDS patients. Methods: A multi-stage stratified random sampling method was adopted to select HIV/AIDS patients in high HIV prevalence areas (Shangcai, Shenqiu), middle epidemic areas (Queshan, Yongcheng), low prevalence areas (Jiyuan, Sanmenxia) in Henan province. A social support scale was used to investigate the three dimensions of objective support, subjective support and support utilization. A social adaptation scale was used to investigate the three dimensions of patient cognitive willingness, social interaction and role adaptation. Finally, the characteristics of the social support, social adaptation and their relationships were analyzed. Results: The overall score of 506 HIV/AIDS patients' social support was 36.30±9.34, the score of objective support was 7.48±3.01, the score of subjective support was 22.35±5.79, and the score of support utilization was 6.28±2.38, the overall score and the scores of three dimensions of social support of HIV/AIDS patients were lower than the national levels, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The overall score of patients' social adaptation was39.10±7.10, the score of cognitive willingness was 9.96±3.23, the score of social interaction was 18.57±3.25, and the score of role adaptation was 10.57±2.52. The average score of social adaptation of patients was less than 2/3 of the overall score, and the average cognitive willingness score was less than 1/2 of the overall score. The differences in social support score and social adaptation score among patients with different gender, age, marital status, occupation, transmission route, number of symptoms were statistically significant (P<0.05). For the HIV/AIDS patients, there was a correlation between the social support and the social adaptation (r=0.14, P<0.05). Conclusion: HIV/AIDS patients had a low level of social support and social adaptation, and social support might be a contributing factor to the social adaptation of HIV/AIDS patients.

Imaging features of pure mucinous breast carcinoma: correlation with extracellular mucus content.

AIM: To analyse the correlation between imaging features using multiple techniques and extracellular mucus content in pure mucinous breast carcinoma (PMBC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of available images from 25 patients with 25 PMBC tumours was conducted, with ultrasonography (US), ultrasonic elastography (USE), mammography, and breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) available for 25, 15, 11, and eight patients, respectively. Microscopic slides from each tumour were evaluated for extracellular mucus content. The correlation between imaging features and mucus content was analysed using linear-by-linear association chi-square tests or Spearman's rank correlation analyses. RESULTS: On US images, a significant correlation was found between mucus content and echo pattern (p=0.042) and colour Doppler blood flow (p=0.032), with a trend that the lower mucus content present in tumours, the more likely they were detected with isoechoic echo and high blood flow. On USE images, a moderate negative correlation (r=-0.60, p=0.029) was observed between mucus content and tumour stiffness. On BSGI images, a strong negative correlation (r=-0.92, p=0.001) was shown between mucus content and lesion to non-lesion ratio (L/N) values of radioactivity counts. No significant correlation was found between mucus content and mammography imaging features (all p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Imaging features at US, USE, and BSGI correlated with extracellular mucus content in PMBC tumours, among which the L/N value using BSGI imaging is the most relevant feature.

[Problems for the conversion therapy in advanced gastric cancer].

Patients with advanced gastric cancer have a poor prognosis, which remains the clinical concerned hot topic. The main previous treatments for advanced gastric cancer were adjuvant chemotherapy and palliative surgery, however, the application of conversion therapy has improved the survival in recent years. There are still many problems and challenges for conversion therapy because of its initial stage, such as the definition of advanced gastric cancer and conversion therapy, the selection of suitable population for conversion therapy, and the role of surgery in conversion therapy. Precision medicine will be applied to conversion therapy for advanced gastric cancer in the future, which would benefit more patients.

Circular RNA_LARP4 is lower expressed and serves as a potential biomarker of ovarian cancer prognosis.

OBJECTIVE: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been identified as important regulators in regulating cancer progression. The study aims to investigate the expression of circular RNA_LARP4 (circ LARP4) and clinical significance in ovarian cancer (OC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression of circ LARP4 was detected in a total of 78 paired ovarian cancer tissue and adjacent normal tissue samples using quantitative Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) analyses. The chi-square test was used to assess the association between expression of circLARP4 and clinical-pathological parameters. Survival plot was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The multivariate Cox analysis model was used for tumor prognosis analysis. RESULTS: We identified that circLARP4 expression was significantly down-regulated in ovarian cancer tissues compared with corresponding controls. Furthermore, we found that circLARP4 expression was significantly associated with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage and lymph node metastases. Lower circLARP4 expression was associated with poor prognosis of OC patients. Moreover, multivariate Cox analysis showed that lower circLARP4 was an independent risk for OC prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that circLARP4 expression was lower and highlighted that circLARP4 was identified as a potential biomarker of ovarian cancer prognosis.

[Meta analysis of surgical treatment for old Monteggia fracture in children].

Objective: To analysis the treatment effect of the ulnar osteotomy and ring-shaped ligament reconstruction for the treatment of old Monteggia fracture in children by using Meta analyze, and the difference of clinical curative effect was compared in order to provide the basis for the selection of clinical treatment options for old Monteggia fractures in children. Methods: We searched databases such as CNKI, Wanfang database, Medline, PubMed, Embase and Science through computer, at the same time, the references of relevant documents were retrieved manually, and the data processing was carried out by the RevMan5.3 statistical software provided by the Cochrane cooperation network by incorporating the exclusion criteria. The results were obtained and analyzed. Results: A total of 17 standard literature, 438 cases, 224 cases of ulnar osteotomy, 214 cases with ring ligament repair and reconstruction were obtained. The operation scheme, which was mainly based on the lengthening of ulna osteotomy, was superior to the reconstruction of ring ligament reconstruction. The complications and second operation rates of the former was less than that of the latter. Conclusion: The surgical methods for the reconstruction of the ulna osteotomy and the ring-shaped ligament have advantages and disadvantages. The choice of the operative plan for the old Monteggia fracture should be based on the following factors: the time of the old Monteggia fracture formation, the degree of the ulnar and radial deformity and the familiarity of the operative method.

MicroRNA-200c suppresses tumor metastasis in oral squamous carcinoma by inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the potential mechanisms implicating miR-200c and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in oral squamous carcinoma (OSC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 32 pairs of OSC tissue samples and matched para-carcinoma normal tissue from patients undergoing routine surgery in the Xuzhou Stomatological Hospital from 2014-2016. HOC313 cells were cultured and transfected with miR-200c mimics and scrambled mimics. Cell migration, invasion assays, Luciferase reporter assay, and Western blot assay were conducted. RESULTS: miR-200c was downregulated in OSC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues (n=32). miR-200c knockdown in the human oral cancer cell line HOC313 significantly suppressed cell invasion and migration, indicating the ability to inhibit tumor progression. Luciferase reporter assay indicated that miR-200c directly bound to the 3'-untranslated regions (3'-UTR) of Zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox (ZEB1) directly. Moreover, miR-200c significantly inhibited HOC313 cell EMT via negatively regulating ZEB1 protein expression. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-200c plays a pivotal role in controlling OSC metastasis via inhibiting EMT, which provides potential therapeutic targets for OSC.

Increase in G protein-coupled receptor autoantibodies with decline of cardiac function in hypercholesterolemic rats.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the effects of diet-induced hypercholesterolemia (HC) on the production of G protein-coupled receptor autoantibodies and to elucidate the potential mechanisms involved. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male Wistar rats were fed a normal or high-cholesterol diet for 8 weeks. Cardiac function, autoantibodies against G protein-coupled receptors, the beat frequency of neonatal cardiomyocytes, the CD4+/CD8+ T-lymphocyte ratio and lymph leukocyte counts in the spleen were determined. RESULTS: Diet-induced hypercholesterolemia significantly increased the levels of autoantibodies against α1- and ß1-adrenergic receptors and the angiotensin II type 1 receptor in sera, as well as the CD4+/CD8+ T-lymphocyte ratio and lymph leukocyte count in the spleen, and decreased cardiac function. There were strong negative correlations between the levels of autoantibodies and cardiac injury. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates, for the first time, that G protein-coupled receptor autoantibodies exist in the sera of hypercholesterolemic rats and that the levels of these autoantibodies are related to cardiac function, which implies that these cardiac receptor autoantibodies may play a role in cardiac dysfunction in hypercholesterolemic rats.

Transgenic expression of ephrinB2 in periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) modulates osteogenic differentiation via signaling crosstalk between ephrinB2 and EphB4 in PDLSCs and between PDLSCs and pre-osteoblasts within co-culture.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The goal of periodontal therapy is to regenerate/reconstruct the damaged supporting tissues of diseased teeth and to facilitate recovery of their physiological functions. Combination of stem cell transplantation and gene therapy offers a viable method for accelerating periodontal repair and regeneration. In this study, the role of the ephrinB2/EphB4 signaling pathway in regulating osteogenic differentiation of periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) and crosstalk between PDLSCs and pre-osteoblasts within co-culture was investigated through ephrinB2 transgenic expression in PDLSCs. MATERIAL AND METHODS: PDLSCs isolated from premolar teeth of teenage patients undergoing orthodontic treatment were transfected with transgenic (hEfnB2-GFP-Bsd) vector or empty vector (GFP-Bsd). Vector-PDLSCs, EfnB2-PDLSCs, MC3T3-E1 and co-cultures of vector-PDLSCs with MC3T3-E1, and EfnB2-PDLSCs with MC3T3-E1 were subjected to osteogenic induction. The osteogenic differentiation of EfnB2-PDLSCs, vector-PDLSCs and co-cultures were assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assay and Alizarin-red S staining. Protein expression levels of ephrinB2, EphB4, phosphorylated ephrinB2 and EphB4 were analyzed by western blot, immunoprecipitation and co-immunoprecipitation assays. RESULTS: ALP assay and Alizarin-red S staining demonstrated higher ALP activity and increased mineralization with EfnB2-PDLSCs vs. vector-PDLSCs and with co-culture of EfnB2-PDLSCs and MC3T3-E1 vs. vector-PDLSCs and MC3T3-E1. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction revealed that the expression of human odonto/osteogenic markers were significantly enhanced in EfnB2-PDLSCs compared to vector-PDLSCs, and that the expression of mouse odonto/osteogenic markers were significantly higher in co-culture of EfnB2-PDLSCs with MC3T3-E1 vs. vector-PDLSCs with MC3T3-E1. The EphB4 receptor was activated through phosphorylation during osteogenic differentiation. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that transgenic expression of ephrinB2 in PDLSCs could promote osteogenic differentiation via stimulation of the phosphorylation of ephrinB2 and EphB4, which regulates cell communication between PDLSCs and between PDLSCs and pre-osteoblasts within co-culture.

Electron transfer driven highly valent silver for chronic wound treatment.

Although silver is widely added to various chronic wounds to kill higher concentrations (107-108 CFU mL-1) of bacteria, overdose of silver remains a major cause of diverse side effects, such as cytotoxicity and tissue and organ damage. Here we showed that reducing the dose level of silver, additionally conferring electron transfer potential, could simultaneously achieve good biocompatibility and strong bactericidal ability without introducing extra chemical residuals for chronic wound treatment. A systematic investigation demonstrated that 1 ppm trivalent silver ions performed rapid (5 min) and effective antibacterial activities against pathogens while not significantly affecting cell viability which were equivalent to 20 ppm monovalent silver ions with cytotoxicity, and accelerated the healing process and improved the tissue quality of burn wounds. The killing effect is independent of material and is mainly controlled by the electron transfer potentials of trivalent silver ions, which disrupts the electron transport of bacteria membrane respiration and leads to the death of bacteria. Together, such trivalent silver opens up new possibilities for dispelling the concern of silver usage in biosafety and provides an avenue for designing antibiotics or other biomedical applications.

Increased CD56(+) NK cells and enhanced Th1 responses in human unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion.

Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is reported to be associated with immune imbalance at the maternal-fetal interface. Immune cells in the decidual tissue are involved in maintaining immune tolerance during pregnancy; however, whether natural killer (NK) and T cells are altered in unexplained RSA (URSA) remains unknown. In this study, we compared the number and percentage of CD56(+) NK cells, CD4(+) T cells and CD8(+) T cells by flow cytometry in 30 URSA patients and 30 normal pregnant controls. We found that there are a higher proportion of CD4(+) T cells and CD16(+)CD56(+) NK cells and a lower number of CD8(+) T cells in the decidual tissue of URSA patients compared to normal controls. In addition, the number of T helper type 1 (Th1) cells and the Th1/Th2 ratio were higher in URSA patients compared to normal pregnant controls. In conclusion, our results indicate that the changes in the proportion of local T lymphocyte subsets, NK and Th1 cells, in the maternal-fetal interface may be related to occurrence of URSA.

Clinicopathologic significance of S100A4 expression in osteosarcoma.

OBJECTIVE: Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignancy, mainly arising from the metaphysis of the long bones of adolescents and young adults. Its poor prognosis is strongly associated with invasion and distant metastasis. The calcium-binding protein S100A4 promotes metastasis in several experimental animal models, including osteosarcoma (OS), and S100A4 protein expression is associated with patient outcome in a number of tumor types. In the present study, we investigated the expression of S100A4 and its clinicopathologic significance in OSs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: S100A4 were examined immunohistochemically in resected OSs from 120 patients with OS to clarify their clinicopathologic significance. Multivariate survival analyses were carried out on all investigated parameters. RESULTS: The immunohistochemical assays revealed that S1004A expression in osteosarcoma tissues was significantly higher than that in corresponding noncancerous bone tissues (p < 0.001). In addition, positive S100A4 expression more frequently occurred in osteosarcoma tissues with advanced clinical stage (p = 0.003), positive distant metastasis (p = 0.001) and poor response to chemotherapy (p = 0.04). In Kaplan-Meier analysis, only S100A4 positively stained cases showed a significantly decreased overall survival time and disease-free survival compared with negatively stained cases (both p < 0.001). On Cox multivariate analysis, positive S100A4 expression was an independent and significant prognostic factor to predict poor overall survival and disease-free survival (both p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Expression of S100A4 protein in OS may be related to the prediction of metastasis potency, response to chemotherapy and poor prognosis for osteosarcoma patients, suggesting that S100A4 may serve as a prognostic marker for the optimization of clinical treatments.

Simultaneous determination of ß-agonists and psychiatric drugs in feeds by LC-MS-MS.

A method was developed for the simultaneous determination of nine ß-agonists (cimaterol, ractopamine, terbutaline, zilpaterol, salbutamol, clenbuterol, mabuterol, bambuterol and brombuterol) and six psychiatric drugs (diazepam, nitrazepam, oxazepam, chlorpromazine, promethazine and perphenazine) in animal feed by using solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). Conditions were optimized for the extraction of the target analytes from animal feed and for clean-up with MCX SPE cartridges. The eluent was evaporated to dryness under nitrogen, and the residue was dissolved in a solution of acetonitrile and 1% formic acid (2:8, v/v) and analyzed by LC-MS-MS using an isotopic internal standard for quantification. Under the optimum conditions, the recovery values of the target analytes were between 70.1 and 110%, with coefficients of variation between 1.9 and 18.4%. The method was very reliable for the simultaneous determination of nine ß-agonists and six psychiatric drugs in animal feed.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 regulates TGF-ß1 production in airway epithelia and asthmatic airway remodeling in mice.

BACKGROUND: Transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1 produced in airway epithelia has been suggested as a contributor to the airway remodeling observed in asthma patients. The protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 is a demonstrable modulator of TGF-ß1 production and thus a potential regulator of airway remodeling. OBJECTIVES: To define the signal event by which SHP2 regulates asthmatic responses in airway epithelial cells by using a mouse model of experimental OVA-induced airway remodeling. METHODS: The airways of Shp2(flox/flox) mice were infected with recombinant adenovirus vectors expressing a Cre recombinase-green fluorescence protein (GFP) fusion protein as part of allergen provocation studies using mice sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) and repeatedly challenged with OVA. Several endpoint pathologies were assessed, including airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR), lung inflammatory score, peribronchial collagen deposition, and α-smooth muscle actin (SMA) hyperplasia. In vitro studies using airway epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) were used to investigate the role of SHP2 in the regulation of pulmonary remodeling events, including the expression of collagen, α-SMA, and TGF-ß1. RESULTS: Chronic OVA challenges in wild-type mice resulted in airway remodeling and lung dysfunction (e.g., increased inflammatory scores, collagen deposition (fibrosis), smooth muscle hyperplasia, and a significant increase in AHR). These endpoint pathology metrics were each significantly attenuated by conditional shp2 gene knockdown in airway epithelia. In vitro studies using BEAS-2B cells also demonstrated that the level of TGF-ß1 production by these cells correlated with the extent of shp2 gene expression. CONCLUSIONS: SHP2 activities in airway epithelial cells appear to modulate TGF-ß1 production and, in turn, regulate allergic airway remodeling following allergen provocation. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Our findings identify SHP2 as a previously underappreciated contributor to the airway remodeling and lung dysfunction associated with allergen challenge. As such, SHP2 represents a potentially novel therapeutic target for the treatment of asthmatics. CAPSULE SUMMARY: Airway epithelial protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 appears to modulate TGF-ß1 activities as part of one or more cellular pathways leading to regulating the airway remodeling and lung dysfunction occurring in mouse models of allergic respiratory inflammation.

Enhanced performance of biodegradable poly(butylene succinate)/graphene oxide nanocomposites via in situ polymerization.

Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS)/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites were facilely prepared via in situ polymerization. The properties of the nanocomposites were studied using FTIR, XRD, and (1)H NMR, and the state of dispersion of GO in the PBS matrix was examined by SEM. The crystallization and melting behavior of the PBS matrix in the presence of dispersed GO nanosheets have been studied by DSC and polarized optical microscopy. Through the mechnical testing machine and DMA, PBS/GO nanocomposites with 3% GO have shown a 43% increase in tensile strength and a 45% improvement in storage modulus. This high performance of the nanocomposites is mainly attributed to the high strength of graphene oxide combined with the strong interfacial interactions in the uniformly dispersed PBS/GO nanocomposites.

Dental caries area of rat molar expanded by cigarette smoke exposure.

OBJECTIVES: Passive smoking is the involuntary inhalation of cigarette smoke (CS) and has an adverse impact on oral health. We examined the effect of CS exposure on caries risk and experimental dental caries. METHODS: Experimental dental caries was induced in rat maxillary molars which were inoculated orally with Streptococcus mutans MT8148 and maintained on a cariogenic diet (diet 2000) and high sucrose water during the experimental period. CS-exposed rats were intermittently housed in an animal chamber with whole-body exposure to CS until killed. Whole saliva was collected before CS exposure (day 0) and for 30 days after the start of CS exposure. Saliva secretion was stimulated by administration of isoproterenol and pilocarpine after anesthesia. Maxillary molars were harvested on day 31. RESULTS: The increase in body weight of the CS-exposed rats was less than that of the control rats. Salivary flow rate, concentration of S. mutans in the stimulated saliva and caries activity score did not significantly differ between 0 and 30 days after the start of CS exposure. Histological examination of the caries-affected area on maxillary molars 30 days after CS exposure showed expansion compared to control rats. In the electron probe microanalysis, no differences were observed between the mineral components of the CS-exposed teeth and the control teeth. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that CS exposure expands the caries-affected area in the maxillary molars of the rat.