CENPE and LDHA were potential prognostic biomarkers of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Most sarcomatoid differentiated renal cell carcinoma was differentiated from Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (KICH) and related to a bad prognosis. Thus, finding biomarkers is important for the therapy of KICH. METHODS: The UCSC was used for determining the expression of mRNA and miRNA and clinical data in KICH and normal samples. KEGG and GO were used for predicting potential function of differently expressed genes (DEGs). Optimal prognostic markers were determined by Lasso regression. Kaplan-Meier survival, ROC, and cox regression were used for assessing prognosis value. GSEA was used for predicting potential function of markers. The relations between markers and immune cell infiltration were determined by Pearson method. The upstream miRNA of markers was predicted in TargetScan and DIANA. RESULTS: The 6162 upregulated and 13,903 downregulated DEGs were identified in KICH. Further CENPE and LDHA were screened out as optimal prognostic risk signatures. CENPE was highly expressed while LDHA was lowly expressed in KICH samples, and the high expressions of 2 genes contributed to bad prognosis. The functions of CENPE and LDHA were mainly enriched in proliferation related pathways such as cell cycle and DNA replication. In addition, the correlation of 2 genes with immune infiltrates in KICH was also observed. Finally, we found that has-miR-577 was the common upstream of 2 genes and the binding sites can be predicted. CONCLUSION: CENPE and LDHA were identified as the important prognostic biomarkers in KICH, and they might be involved in the proliferation of cancer cell.

A diagnostic test: diagnostic value of gastrointestinal endoscopy narrow-band imaging (NBI) for colorectal laterally spreading tumor (LST) and submucosal invasion.

Background: Endoscopic ultrasonography is an effective endoscopic examination method for determining the depth of colorectal cancer invasion. Narrow-band imaging (NBI) techniques increase the contrast of vascular structures and more clearly highlight subtle structures on mucosal surfaces, thereby improving the accuracy of endoscopic assessment. This study investigated the diagnostic efficacy of NBI in colorectal laterally spreading tumor (LST) and its submucosal invasion. Methods: A total of 224 patients with colorectal LST admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Putian University from January 2015 to December 2021 were enrolled in this study. The patients were divided into NBI and endoscopic ultrasonography groups according to the different examination methods they received. Subsequently, the clinicopathological characteristics of the patients were collected, and the rates of submucosal invasion of the four subtypes (LST-G-H, LST-G-NM, LST-NG-F, LST-NG-PD) were compared between the two groups. Also, the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of judging the depth of LST lesions of the two examination methods were compared, taking the results of pathological tissue examination as the gold standard. Results: This study enrolled 224 patients with LST (mean onset age: 57.98±6.48 years), including 123 males and 101 females. In terms of tumor location, 21 cases were located in the cecum, 22 cases in the ascending colon, 38 cases in the transverse colon, 11 cases in the descending colon, 12 cases in the descending sigmoid junction, 23 cases in the sigmoid colon, and 97 cases in the rectum. The sizes of the tumors ranged from 18.81 to 52.88 mm. Moreover, there were 21 cases of lesion infiltration into the submucosa, and the infiltration rate was 9.38%. Furthermore, the accuracy of NBI in diagnosing colorectal LST was significantly higher than that of endoscopic ultrasonography (87.05% vs. 57.14%); NBI was more accurate than endoscopic ultrasonography in the preoperative diagnosis of LST lesion depth in the rectal, non-rectal, granular (LST-G), non-granular (LST-NG), <40, and ≥40 mm groups. Conclusions: Gastrointestinal NBI has a superior accuracy rate and value than endoscopic ultrasonography in diagnosing colorectal LST, tumor lesion depth, and submucosal invasion. Therefore, gastrointestinal NBI deserves to be promoted in clinical work.

[Response of understory species distribution of Robinia pseudoacacia plantation to environmental factors in loess hilly region, China.] / é»„åœŸä¸˜é™µåŒºåˆºæ§ç¾¤è½æž—ä¸‹ç‰©ç§åˆ†å¸ƒå¯¹çŽ¯å¢ƒå› å­çš„å“åº”.

We explored the distribution characteristics and influencing factors of understory species in Robinia pseudoacacia plantation in Wuqi, Ansai, Mizhi, Yichuan and other places, in combination with niche breadth, soil, altitude and other environmental factors. We analyzed the response mechanism of species distribution to environmental factor to provide a scientific basis for the mana-gement of R. pseudoacacia plantation in loess hilly region. The results showed that the broadly distributed understory species in R. pseudoacacia plantation were Setaria viridis, Heteropappus altaicus, Artemisia scoparia, Poa sphondylodes, Artemisia leucophylla, Ixeris sonchifolia, and Incarvillea sinensis. With the increasing rehabilitationage, the dominant understory species distribution followed the order: Artemisia capillaries → P. sphondylodes → A. scoparia → others (Rubia cordifolia, Rosa rubus and so on) → A. leucophylla → S. viridis. Results from principal component analysis showed that soil total phosphorus (25.6%), altitude (20.3%) and soil total nitrogen (19.3%) were the key factors influencing understory species distribution in R. pseudoacacia plantation. Soil organic carbon content, soil total nitrogen content, soil total phosphorus content, soil water content and the number of understory species distribution in R. pseudoacacia plantation were generally positively correlated with the degree of correlation varying across different species. There was no correlation between the slope aspect and the understory species distribution in R. pseudoacacia plantation. In conclusion, topography and soil factors played important roles in driving understory species distribution. The steeper the slope, the higher the altitude, the fewer understory species in R. pseudoacacia plantation. Understory species distribution was mainly affected by soil total phosphorus content and altitude. The understory species distribution reflected the differences of soil nutrient status, which had a certain guiding role in the management of R. pseudoacacia plantation.

[Stoichiometric characteristics of Artemisia sacrorum communities under different site conditions and their correlation with soil nutrients]. / ä¸åŒç«‹åœ°é“æ†è’¿åŒ–å­¦è®¡é‡ç‰¹å¾åŠå ¶ä¸ŽåœŸå£¤å »åˆ†çš„å ³ç³».

We explored the stoichiometric characteristic of Artemisia sacrorum communities and its correlation with soil characters by considering the aspect and slope position, and variation of soil nutrient in Yangqingchuan catchment of Wuqi. Our results showed that total carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus contents and C:N ratio in A. sacrorum (both shoot and root) in the top of hillock>sunny slope>semi-shady slope>shady slope. The C:P ratio in shoot and the N:P ratio in root decreased consistently. The N:P ratio in shoot and the C:P ratio in root decreased first and then increased. While the total nitrogen and total phosphorus in shoot, and the organic carbon in root increased first and then decreased with the decreases of slope position, the C:N ratio and N:P ratio in shoot decreased first and then increased. The stoichiometric characteristic of A. sacrorum communities was positively correlated with the soil stoichiometric characteristics. However, the C:N ratio, C:P ratio and N:P ratio of A. sacrorum and the total phosphorus of root were negatively correlated to corresponding soil indices. The correlation between shoot nutrition and soil was greater than that between soil and root nutrition. In conclusion, middle position of shady slope was optimal for the growth of A. sacrorum. The stoichiometric characteristics of plants were significantly correlated with soil nutrient condition. Aspect and slope position had a significant effect on the stoichiometric cha-racteristics of A. sacrorum community and soil. Proper A. sacrorum community could help restore soil nutrition.

Ureteral double J stent displaced into vena cava and management with laparoscopy: A case report and review of the literature.

We reported displacement of a ureteral double J stent into the vena cava and laparoscopic management in a 69-year-old patient with a history of ureteral stent placement. Preoperative computed tomography and plain X-rays showed malpositioning of the double J stent and displacement into the inferior vena cava. The characteristics of stent misplacement precluded endovascular procedures and explorative laparoscopic surgery was performed. The intra- and postoperative periods were uneventful. Postoperative imaging demonstrated that the new double J stent was in the right position. The patient was discharged 7 d after the operation and was symptom free at the 4-mo follow-up.

CUL4B promotes bladder cancer metastasis and induces epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition by activating the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

Increased expression of cullin 4B (CUL4B) is linked to progression in several cancers. This study aims to explore the effects of CUL4B on bladder cancer (BC) metastasis and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and potential correlation to the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. We collected BC tissues and adjacent normal tissues from 124 BC patients. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting were employed in order to detect the expression of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway-related proteins and EMT markers. MTT and Transwell assays were used in order to measure cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. BC 5637 cells were transfected with control, siRNA scramble control (siRNA-NC), si-CUL4B, and CUL4B or Wnt inhibitory factor 1 (WIF-1) overexpression constructs. Levels of CUL4B mRNA and protein were increased in BC tissues in comparison with the adjacent normal tissues. CUL4B expression was negatively correlated with the expression of E-cadherin and positively correlated to the expression of N-cadherin and Vimentin. Compared to the control group, levels of ß-catenin, cyclinD1, c-myc, MMP7, and EMT markers were reduced, whereas phosphorylated GSK3ßSer9 and E-cadherin levels were increased in the si-CUL4B and WIF-1 groups. In addition, cell proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities were also increased. Increasing CUL4B expression had the opposite effect. These findings suggest that CUL4B induces EMT and promotes metastasis of BC by activating the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

[Niche of main populations and environmental interpretation in grassland of Loess Plateau hilly region, China]. / é»„åœŸä¸˜é™µåŒºè‰åœ°ä¸»è¦ç§ç¾¤ç”Ÿæ€ä½åŠå ¶çŽ¯å¢ƒè§£é‡Š.

Focused on different rehabilitation ages grassland in Wuqi County in loess hilly region, the present study aimed to explore niche characteristics of populations and their influence factors. The results showed that the dominant species were Artemisia sacrorum, A. leucophylla, A. scoparia, Lespedeza daurica and Poa sphondylodes, and the dominant species varied along with the rehabilitation age. The niche breadth of dominant populations increased with increasing rehabilitation age from 5 to 10 years, indicating enhanced adaptability to the environment. The niche breadth indices of the populations decreased from 10 to 20 years, and then increased from 20 to 25 years. After 25 years, the niche breadth of the grassland narrowed gradually, indicating weakened adaptability. The niche breadth indices of most populations peaked at 10 and 25 years, respectively. There was no li-near relationship between synthetic dominance index and niche breadth in different grass communities. With the increasing rehabilitation age, the niche overlap indices were highest at 15 years with a single hump pattern, indicating that the interspecific competition increased to the highest at 15 years and then decreased. It was shown that attitude, soil water content (SWC) and soil organic matter content (SOM) were the main factors affecting the niche breadth, while soil total nitrogen content (STN), attitude and SWC were the main factors affecting the niche overlap. There was no linear relationship between niche breadth and niche overlap of tested species in different rehabilitation ages due to resource spatial heterogeneity and growth stages of grass species. These findings indicated that with the increasing rehabilitation age, the population adaptability to the environment are generally enhanced and the resource competition among populations increases and then decreases. It was concluded that attitude, SWC and STN were the key environmental factors that affect population adaptability and interspecific relationship in natural grassland of loess hilly region.