Correlation Between Basal Metabolic Rate and Clinical Outcomes in Gastric Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Study.

OBJECTIVES: Hypermetabolism is associated with clinical prognosis of cancer patients. The aim of this study was to explore the association between basal metabolic rate (BMR) and postoperative clinical outcomes in gastric cancer patients. METHODS: We collected data of 958 gastric cancer patients admitted at our center from June 2014 to December 2018. The optimal cutoff value of BMR (BMR ≤1149 kcal/day) was obtained using the X-tile plot. Logistic and Cox regression analyses were then performed to evaluate the relevant influencing factors of clinical outcomes. Finally, R software was utilized to construct the nomogram. RESULTS: A total of 213 patients were defined as having a lower basal metabolic rate (LBMR). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that gastric cancer patients with LBMR were more prone to postoperative complications and had poor long-term overall survival (OS). The established nomogram had good predictive power to assess the risk of OS in gastric cancer patients after radical gastrectomy (c-index was 0.764). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, LBMR on admission is associated with the occurrence of postoperative complications in gastric cancer patients, and this population has a poorer long-term survival. Therefore, there should be more focus on the perioperative management of patients with this risk factor before surgery.

Protocatechuic acid inhibits hepatitis B virus replication by activating ERK1/2 pathway and down-regulating HNF4α and HNF1α in vitro.

AIMS: Protocatechuic acid (PCA) is a phenolic compound found in many antiviral Chinese herbal medicines. HNF4α and HNF1α, the members of hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF) family, play an important regulatory role in the gene transcription of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Previous studies found that PCA inhibited HBV antigen secretion and HBV DNA replication in HepG2.2.15 cells, but its anti-HBV mechanism has not been fully understood. We aim to illustrate the anti-HBV mechanism of PCA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MTT was used to estimate cytotoxicity. The content of HBsAg or HBeAg was detected using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. HBV DNA in cell-free culture media was detected by PCR kit. HNF1α and HNF4α mRNA expression was detected by real-time PCR. HNF1α, HNF4α and ERK1/2 protein expression was detected by western blotting and HBV promoter activity was tested by luciferase reporter assay. KEY FINDINGS: Our results demonstrated that PCA inhibited the gene transcription and protein translation of HNF1α and HNF4α in Huh7 and HepG2.2.15 cells, as well as the promoter activities of HBV X and preS1 in Huh7 cells transfected with the luciferase reporter plasmid of HBV promoter. Further study suggested that PCA induced the phosphorylation of extracellular-signal-related kinase (ERK) 1/2, and thereby inhibited HNF4α and HNF1α expression in HepG2.2.15 cells to exert its antiviral activity. SIGNIFICANCE: To our knowledge, this study is the first to reveal the anti-HBV mechanism of PCA. Our results demonstrate that PCA inhibits HBV replication by activating ERK1/2 pathway and subsequently down-regulating HNF4α and HNF1α in HepG2.2.15 cells.

[Dynamics of soil physical properties and biological soil crust during the vegetation restoration process of abandoned croplands in the Ordos Plateau, China]. / 鄂尔多斯高原弃耕农田恢复过程中土壤物理性质和生物结皮的变化.

A series of typical abandoned croplands in the regions of Ruanliang and Yingliang in the Ordos Plateau, China, were selected, and dynamics of the surface litter, biological soil crust and soil bulk density, soil texture, and soil moisture in different soil layers were investigated. The results showed that in the abandoned cropland in Ruanliang, the clay particle content and surface litter of the surface soil layer (0-10 cm) increased during the restoration process, while that of soil bulk density substantially decreased and soil water content slightly increased in the surface soil. In the medium soil layer (10-30 cm), the clay particle content increased and the soil water content slightly decreased. In the deep soil layer (30-50 cm), there was a relatively large variation in the physical properties. In the abandoned cropland in Yingliang, the coverage of litter and the coverage and thickness of the biological soil crust increased during the abandonment process. The surface soil bulk density, soil clay particle content and soil water content remained constant in 0-10 cm soil layer, while the physical properties varied substantially in 10-40 cm soil layer. The shallow distribution of the soil water content caused by the accumulation of the litter and clay particles on the soil surface might be the key reason of the replacement of the semi-shrub Artemisia ordosica community with a perennial grass community over the last 20 years of the abandoned cropland in Ruanliang. The relatively high soil water content in the shallow layer and the development of the biological soil crust might explain why the abandoned cropland in Yingliang was not invaded by the semi-shrub A. ordosica during the restoration process.

The histone deacetylase inhibitor Scriptaid improves in vitro developmental competence of ovine somatic cell nuclear transferred embryos.

Although the success rate of sheep cloning remains extremely low, using a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor to increase histone acetylation in SCNT embryos has significantly enhanced developmental competence in several species. The objective was to determine whether HDAC inhibitors trichostatin A (TSA) and the novel inhibitor Scriptaid enhance cloning efficiency in sheep cumulus cell (passage 2) reconstructed embryos. In this study, 0.2 µmol/L Scriptaid yielded a high blastocyst development rate, almost twice that of the untreated group (25/103 [24.3%] vs. 12/101 [11.9%]; P < 0.05). Furthermore, 0.2 µmol/L Scriptaid was more effective than 0.05 µmol/L TSA in terms of the blastocyst percentage for cloned ovine embryos in vitro (17/66 [25.7%] vs. 11/65 [16.8%]; P < 0.05). Furthermore, treatment with Scriptaid increased acetylation (compared with the Control, P < 0.05) at lysine residue 12 of histone H4 (acH4K12) and lysine residue 9 of histone H3 (acH3K9) in one-, two-, four-, and eight-cell stages, as well as blastocyst stages, in cloned embryos. In conclusion, Scriptaid was more effective than TSA to enhance in vitro developmental competence in ovine SCNT embryos; furthermore, Scriptaid improved epigenetic status.