EPHX1 Tyr113His and His139Arg polymorphisms in esophageal cancer risk: a meta-analysis

Microsomal epoxide hydrolase 1 (EPHX1) is an important biological phase II metabolic enzyme that is extensively involved in the metabolism of diverse environmental carcinogens such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines. Many articles have reported the association between EPHX1 (Tyr113His and His139Arg) polymorphisms and esophageal cancer risk, but the results are controversial. This study aimed to identify the association between EPHX1 (Tyr113His and His139Arg) polymorphisms and esophageal cancer risk by meta-analysis. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was used to evaluate the strength of the associations. Heterogeneity was estimated by the chi-square-based Q-statistic test and the P value. Meanwhile, the random-effect or fixed-effect model was used according to the between-study heterogeneity. Begg's funnel plot and the Egger test were performed to assess the publication bias of articles. Finally, 8 case-control studies involving 1158 cases and 1868 controls for the Tyr113His polymorphism and 7 case-control studies involving 901 cases and 1615 controls for the His139Arg polymorphism were included in this meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed that the Tyr113His polymorphism was a stronger power trend towards risk for esophageal cancer using a recessive model (CC versus CT+TT, OR = 1.204, 95%CI = 1.001-1.450, P = 0.049). However, no significant associated risk was found between the His139Arg polymorphism and esophageal cancer. These findings suggest that the Tyr113His polymorphism might be a stronger power trend towards risk for esophageal cancer. However, no evidence was found for the association between the EPHX1 His139Arg polymorphism and esophageal cancer risk.

Effects of lipopolysaccharide on the stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase mRNA level in bovine primary hepatic cells

This study aimed to compare the effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase (SCD) gene expression in mouse primary hepatic cells. To obtain sufficient total RNA, primary hepatic cells were plated on 6-cm diameter-type collagen 1-coated dishes (1 x 106 cells per dish). The test was divided into 6 groups with 6 replications per group. The 6 groups were treated with the following volumes of LPS (0.1 mg/mL): 0, 1, 1.5, 2, 4, and 8 μL. The cells were cultured for 24 h, and the total RNA was extracted from samples. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze SCD mRNA levels. With increasing LPS amounts, the SCD mRNA expression first decreased and then increased slightly; the expression was the lowest in the 2-μL LPS condition. The SCD mRNA levels from the 4- and 8-μL LPS conditions were slightly higher than that from the 2-μL LPS condition, but the difference was not significant (P > 0.05). The SCD mRNA level from the 2-μL LPS condition was obviously lower than that from the 0-, 1-, and 1.5-μL LPS condition, and the differences were significant (P < 0.05), and the SCD mRNA levels from the 0-, 1-, and 1.5-μL LPS conditions were not significantly different (P > 0.05). The SCD mRNA levels from the 4- and 8-μL LPS conditions were obviously lower than those from the 0- and 1-μL LPS conditions, and the differences were significant (P < 0.05).

Hypocycloid-shaped hollow-core photonic crystal fiber Part I: arc curvature effect on confinement loss

We report on numerical and experimental studies showing the influence of arc curvature on the confinement loss in hypocycloid-core Kagome hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. The results prove that with such a design the optical performances are strongly driven by the contour negative curvature of the core-cladding interface. They show that the increase in arc curvature results in a strong decrease in both the confinement loss and the optical power overlap between the core mode and the silica core-surround, including a modal content approaching true single-mode guidance. Fibers with enhanced negative curvature were then fabricated with a record loss-level of 17 dB/km at 1064 nm.

Molecular cloning and expression of the porcine S14R gene in Escherichia coli

We amplified S14R protein gene cDNA of porcine, cloned it into a prokaryotic expression plasmid, and expressed it in Escherichia coli. A pair of primers was designed based on the cDNA sequence of the porcine S14R gene in GenBank. The target gene fragment from porcine liver tissue was amplified by RT-PCR. Confirmed by auto-sequencing, the target gene fragment was subcloned into an expression vector of pET28a. The pET28a-S14R construct was subsequently transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3). This construct was verified by restriction endonuclease digestion and sequencing. Using isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside induction, a new recombinant protein with the expected relative molecular mass of 24 kDa appeared. The result was identified by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. Porcine S14R includes 549bp (GenBank No. JN793537), with an open reading frame of 549 bp coding 182 amino acids.

16,17-dihydroxycyclooctatin, a new diterpene from Streptomyces sp. LZ35

Genome sequence analysis of Streptomyces sp. LZ35 has revealed a large number of secondary metabolite pathways, including a complete gene cluster for the biosynthesis of cyclooctatin. This cluster contains four genes, cotB1-4, located in a 5-kb region. Optimization of fermentation medium for LZ35Δheng (SR107) led to the identification of cyclooctatin (1) and 16,17-dihydroxycyclooctatin (2), a new diterpene. The structures of these substances were elucidated on the basis of 1D-, 2D-NMR, and HRESIMS data. Cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 and A549 cell lines was also evaluated. Results demonstrated that gene cluster and pathway analysis are key to guided isolation of new natural products.

A one-step molecular biology method for simple and rapid detection of grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella reovirus (GCRV) HZ08 strain

Six reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) primers designed against conserved regions of segment 6 (s6) gene were used for the detection of grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella reovirus (GCRV) HZ08 subtype. The entire amplification could be completed within 40 min at 62·3° C. The RT-LAMP showed higher sensitivity than reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The RNA detection limit was 10 copies µl⁻¹ for RT-LAMP assay and 100 copies µl⁻¹ for conventional RT-PCR. In specificity tests, no cross-reactivity was detected in other viruses from common aquatic animals. In addition, the reaction results can be visualized by using calcein fluorescent dye. Furthermore, a total of 86 samples were tested by RT-LAMP, RT-PCR and virus isolation. The results demonstrated that all 54 specimens identified as positive by virus isolation were also positive when detected by RT-LAMP. Seven out of 54 samples, however, were misidentified by RT-PCR. The RT-LAMP method is more accurate than conventional RT-PCR. The results indicate that RT-LAMP has potential as a simple and rapid diagnosis technique for the detection of GCRV HZ08 subtype infection.

Tuning of uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in amorphous CoFeB films

We demonstrate that the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (UMA) of amorphous CoFeB films can be tuned by crystallinity and orbital moment ratio, combining the results of magnetization reversal and ferromagnetic resonance with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, x-ray-absorption near-edge structure and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. Isotropic polycrystalline buffers of tungsten (W), tantalum (Ta), and copper (Cu) between CoFeB and Si(100) substrates have direct and crucial bearing on the interfacial microstructure and orbital moment ratio. Compared with Ta and Cu buffer, CoFeB with W buffer exhibits obvious UMA and has lower crystallinity at the interface and higher orbital moment. Amorphous phase distributed homogeneously in CoFeB film grown on W buffer contributes to improve the easy-axis squareness with a sharp magnetization reversal. Our demonstrations not only realize effective tuning of UMA in amorphous CoFeB, but also provide an appealing alternative buffer (W) for CoFeB-based magnetic tunnel junctions.

Polymorphisms in Kallikrein7 and 10 genes and oral cancer risks in Taiwan betel quid chewers and smokers

OBJECTIVES

We investigated the association between mRNA levels, polymorphisms of Kallikrein7 (KLK7) and Kallikrein10 (KLK10), and the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We recruited 217 OSCC patients and 138 healthy controls. All were men, betel quid chewers, cigarette smokers, and Minnan ethnicity. Genotyping was performed using a TaqMan probe genotyping assay. Gene expression levels were determined using real-time polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) for 20 pairs of cancerous and non-cancerous tissues.

RESULTS

Kallikrein10 rs3745535G>T polymorphisms were significantly associated with OSCC development [adjusted OR (AOR) = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.02-2.59], but KLK7 polymorphisms were not. The KLK7 rs10581213(wt/ins + ins/ins) genotypes were significantly associated with early-stage cancer (AOR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.14-0.78), but KLK10 polymorphisms were not. Relative expression analysis indicated that an increase in KLK7 and KLK10 mRNA levels was found in cancerous tissues (2(-ΔΔCT) = 25.23 ± 8.85 and 10.89 ± 4.97, respectively). A significantly higher level of KLK7 was expressed in early-stage cancer with the rs10581213(wt/ins + ins/ins) genotypes, but there was no significant difference in the mRNA levels of KLK7 and KLK10 between early- and advanced-stage cancers.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first correlation of OSCC with KLK10 rs3745535G>T polymorphisms. Early-stage OSCC and high KLK7 mRNA levels were correlated with the rs10581213(wt/ins + ins/ins) genotypes. More studies with large sample sizes are needed to verify our findings.

Rapid and sensitive detection of Curvularia lunata associated with maize leaf spot based on its Clg2p gene using semi-nested PCR

Curvularia lunata (Wakker) Boed, the causative agent of Curvularia leaf spot in maize, was determined according to conidiophore and conidium morphology in a previous study. In the current study, a sensitive polymerase chain reaction assay was developed for the detection of C. lunata. Two specific forward (ClgD1/ClgD2) and one reverse primers (ClgD3) were designed based on a Ras-related (Clg2p) gene. Eight C. lunata isolates that represent different virulent strains in maize, six other Curvularia spp., and 22 fungal plant pathogens were used to test the specificity of the primers. PCR amplification using ClgD1/ClgD3 as the first-round primers resulted in an 870-bp band from the C. lunata isolates. The detection sensitivity using ClgD1/ClgD3 was 100 pg of genomic DNA. In the second round of PCR, a 1 : 50 dilution of the first-round PCR products was used as a template with the ClgD2/ClgD3 primer pair, which increased the detection sensitivity to 1 fg. This semi-nested PCR procedure could also be used to detect C. lunata from infected maize leaves. The proposed PCR-based assay may be used for diagnosing and monitoring maize Curvularia leaf spot.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

The semi-nested PCR assay may provide researchers and laboratory technologists a tool to rapidly detect C. lunata, which causes maize Curvularia leaf spot, compared with histological examination.

The effect of locoregional transarterial infusion chemotherapy on liver metastasis after gastric cancer resection

OBJECTIVE

A retrospective clinical study to evaluate the effect of transarterial infusion (TAI) chemotherapy and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) on liver metastasis after gastric cancer resection.

METHODS

The study recruited patients who underwent surgical resection for stage T(2)N(2)M(0) gastric adenocarcinoma without liver metastasis. Patients chose to receive either TAI or systemic chemotherapy, based on the advantages and disadvantages of each regimen as explained by physicians. Both regimens comprised 100 mg/m2 oxaliplatin and 500 mg/m2 fluorodeoxy uridine, administered via TAI or a peripheral vein, commencing 30 days postsurgery. Patients who developed liver metastasis during the 3-year follow-up period were offered TACE.

RESULTS

Mean time from gastric cancer diagnosis to liver metastasis was significantly longer in the TAI group (n = 13) than in the systemic chemotherapy group (n = 29); 944 ± 231 days versus 506 ± 77 days. Patients who received TACE (n = 32) had a partial remission rate of 46.9% and a median survival of 14.7 months after diagnosis of liver metastasis.

CONCLUSIONS

Locoregional TAI chemotherapy was more effective in reducing liver metastasis after gastric cancer resection than conventional systemic chemotherapy. TACE is an effective treatment for liver metastasis.

Comparative antioxidant activity of cultivated and wild Vaccinium species investigated by EPR, human neutrophil burst and COMET assay

OBJECTIVES

The Vaccinium (V.) spp. berries are considered a source of antioxidants, mainly belonging to polyphenols, specifically flavonoids and anthocyanins. Wild genotypes generally contain more antioxidants than cultivated counterparts. So, seven different antioxidants assays on extracts from cultivated and wild Vaccinium berries were performed, to evaluate their difference in terms of bioactivity on oxidative protection and minimum dosage to have a significant action.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Four cell-free antioxidant assays (ABTS radical scavenging and electronic paramagnetic resonance using Fremy's salt, superoxide anion and hydroxyl radical), and three assays on human cells (two luminol amplified chemiluminescence, LACL, one on DNA damage, COMET) were used to measure the effects of cultivated blueberry (V. corymbosum) and wild bilberry (V. myrtillus) on the differently induced oxidative stress. Concentrations vs activity patterns were obtained by successive dilutions of extracts in order to identify both EC50 and minimum significant activity (MSA).

RESULTS

All the assays (except for the hydroxyl radical scavenging) showed a good relationship mainly with anthocyanin and polyphenol content and the significant greater activity of wild Vaccinium extracts. In fact, LACL data gave an EC50 of 11.8 and an MSA of 5.2 g were calculated as fresh weight dosage in cultivated berries, compared with lower doses in wild berries, EC50 of 5.7 g and MSA of 3.4 g.

CONCLUSIONS

Wild Vaccinium extracts averaged 3.04 and 2.40 fold more activity than cultivated extracts by EC50 and MSA, respectively. COMET assay confirmed the stronger action on DNA protection in wild samples.

First Report of Leaf Spot of Soybean Caused by Aristastoma guttulosum in China

In fall, 2008, leaf spots were observed during the flowering stage of the Zhong Huang 13 cultivar of soybean in the fields of Anhui Province, China. The leaf spots were irregularly shaped, necrotic, brown-black, and surrounded by yellow halos. Often, on a given leaf, several spots joined one another to form a large blighted area. Finally, those leaves turned yellow followed by defoliation. Damaged leaves showed scattered black spots (i.e., numerous pycnidia) on the lower side. Fresh material was collected from infected plants and a single spore of the putative causal pathogen was isolated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 25°C during a 12-h dark/light cycle. The isolate produced a white fungal colony and black pycnidia after 30 days. The pycnidia are characterized as globose, dark brown-black, and distinctly papillate, with ostiolar setae, and are more or less straight, unbranched, and tapered at the apex. The conidia are clavate, hyaline, mostly with three transverse septa per cell; conidia are either straight or slightly bent, obviously guttulate, and 16 to 29 × 2.5 to 3.5 μm. This pathogen is similar to other Aristastoma guttulosum Sutton (1964), but with the following differences: (a) it has more than 10 versus 4 to 9 setae; (b) conidia are 16 to 29 × 2.5 to 3.5 μm versus 32 to 42 × 3.9 to 4.6 μm as reported for A. guttulosum (1). Conidia of the Chinese isolate were used to inoculate leaves of soybean. Five soybean leaves from potted plants, 1 month old, were sprayed with a suspension of conidia in water. Conidia were harvested from PDA cultures and the suspension was adjusted to 3 × 10⁵ conidia/ml with a hemocytometer. Five leaves were sprayed with sterile distilled water as controls. Inoculated plants were kept in the greenhouse. All five of the inoculated leaves displayed the same symptoms observed in the fields. The symptoms developed initially as brown pinhead spots on the upper side of the leaves, gradually increasing to large brown spots. These spots were irregularly shaped, brown and necrotic in the center and surrounded by a yellow halo. Black pycnidia appeared after 1 week whereas the controls remained asymptomatic. The pathogen was reisolated from the inoculated soybean leaves according to standard Koch's postulates. Primers ITS1 and ITS4 were used in PCR reactions to amplify the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) (3). Sequencing was performed using the same primers. The ITS sequence (GenBank Accession No. JF825548.1) for this pathogen (587 bp) was submitted to a BLAST search in GenBank. Since the ITS sequence of the genus Aristastoma has never been previously submitted, results did not show high similarity with any extant GenBank sequences. The genus Aristastoma Tehon (1933) was described by Tehon (2). Five of the species in this genus were described by Sutton (1). The number of septate conidium and lack of obvious guttulate within the conidium are the morphological basis to separate these five species. Morphological features of the pathogen from soybean leaves in China were slightly different from those of A. guttulosum. To our knowledge, this is the first report of leaf spot caused by A. guttulosum on soybean in China. References: (1) B. C. Sutton. Mycological Papers. 97:10, 1964. (2) L. R. Tehon. Mycologia XXV. 25:249, 1933. (3) T. J. White et al. Academic Press, San Diego, 1990.

Room-temperature perpendicular exchange coupling and tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance in an antiferromagnet-based tunnel junction

We investigate the exchange coupling between perpendicular anisotropy (PMA) Co/Pt and IrMn in-plane antiferromagnets (AFMs), as well as tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR) in [Pt/Co]/IrMn/AlO_{x}/Pt tunnel junctions, where Co/Pt magnetization drives rotation of AFM moments with the formation of exchange-spring twisting. When coupled with a PMA ferromagnet, the AFM moments partially rotate with out-of-plane magnetic fields, in contrast with being pinned along the easy direction of IrMn for in-plane fields. Because of the superior thermal tolerance of perpendicular exchange coupling and the stability of moments in ~6 nm-thick IrMn, TAMR gets significantly enhanced up to room temperature. Their use would advance the process towards practical AFM spintronics.

Electronic structure inheritance and pressure-induced polyamorphism in lanthanide-based metallic glasses

We report that a series of lanthanide-based bulk metallic glasses show a pressure-induced polyamorphic phase transition observed by in situ angle-dispersive x-ray diffraction under high pressures. The transition started from a low-density state at lower pressures, and went through continuous densification ending with a high-density state at higher pressures. We demonstrate that, under high pressure, this new type of polyamorphism in densely packed metallic glasses is inherited from its lanthanide-solvent constituent and related to the electronic structure of 4f electrons. The found electronic structure inheritance could provide the guidance for designing new metallic glasses with unique functional physical properties.

Design and fabrication of hollow-core photonic crystal fibers for high-power ultrashort pulse transportation and pulse compression

We report on the recent design and fabrication of kagome-type hollow-core photonic crystal fibers for the purpose of high-power ultrashort pulse transportation. The fabricated seven-cell three-ring hypocycloid-shaped large core fiber exhibits an up-to-date lowest attenuation (among all kagome fibers) of 40 dB/km over a broadband transmission centered at 1500 nm. We show that the large core size, low attenuation, broadband transmission, single-mode guidance, and low dispersion make it an ideal host for high-power laser beam transportation. By filling the fiber with helium gas, a 74 μJ, 850 fs, and 40 kHz repetition rate ultrashort pulse at 1550 nm has been faithfully delivered at the fiber output with little propagation pulse distortion. Compression of a 105 μJ laser pulse from 850 fs down to 300 fs has been achieved by operating the fiber in ambient air.

Characterisation of the antioxidant effects of Aesculus hippocastanum L. bark extract on the basis of radical scavenging activity, the chemiluminescence of human neutrophil bursts and lipoperoxidation assay

OBJECTIVES

Oxidative stress is increasingly recognised as a pivotal factor that plays a number of roles in the inflammatory response to environmental signals. It has been claimed that Aesculus hippocastanum extracts have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, but these claims are mainly based on the results of chemical reactions and folk-medicine.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The aim of this study was to examine whether a bark extract of Aesculus hippocastanum interferes with reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) during the course of human neutrophil respiratory bursts, and to establish the lowest concentration at which it still has antioxidant activity by means of luminol amplified chemiluminescence (LACL). We also studied its ability to counteract lipid peroxidation (LPO) in human cells. Before investigating its antioxidant effects on human cells, we analysed its scavenging activity against ABTS*+, hydroxyl radical, superoxide anion, and Fremy's salt (those last three by means of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometry).

RESULTS

The extract of Aesculus hippocastanum exerted its anti-ROS/RNS activity in a concentration-dependent manner with significant effects being observed for even very low concentrations: 10 microg/ml without L-Arg, and 5 microg/ml when L-Arg was added to the fMLP test. The LPO assay confirmed these results, which were paralleled by the EPR study.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings are interesting for improving the antioxidant network and restoring redox balance in human cells, and extend the possibility of using plant-derived molecules to antagonise the oxidative stress generated in living organisms when the balance is in favour of free radicals as a result of the depletion of cell antioxidants.

Millijoule laser pulse delivery for spark ignition through kagome hollow-core fiber

We report on power handling oriented design of kagome lattice hollow-core fiber and demonstrate through it for the first time nanosecond laser pulses induced spark ignition in a friendly manner. Two different core designs and transmission bands are investigated and evaluated. The energy threshold damage was measured to be in excess of the 10 mJ level and the output power density is approaching the TW/cm2 after focusing; demonstrating the outstanding ability of such fiber for high power delivery.

Carnitine and carnitine orotate affect the expression of the prolactin-releasing peptide gene

Carnitine is involved in fatty acid metabolism in mammals and is widely used as a nutritional supplement; carnitine orotate is a more absorbable form of carnitine. We investigated the effects of carnitine and carnitine orotate on mouse prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) mRNA expression. Twenty-four female mice were randomly divided into four groups of six; control mice were orally drenched with physiological saline solution (250 mg/kg body weight) and treatment mice were orally drenched with carnitine (250 mg/kg) or carnitine orotate (250 or 750 mg/kg), once a day, for 20 days from parturition. The carnitine or carnitine orotate was dissolved in saline solution before administration. The hypothalamus, pituitary and ovary were sampled on day 21 after parturition, and PrRP mRNA levels in these tissues were measured by semi-quantitative PCR, with glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase as a control. Expression of PrRP in mice treated with carnitine and carnitine orotate was significantly increased in the ovary and significantly reduced in the pituitary gland. Compared with the control, hypothalamus PrRP mRNA increased significantly in the carnitine and low-dose carnitine orotate groups and decreased significantly in the high-dose carnitine orotate group. We conclude that carnitine and carnitine orotate regulate expression of PrRP in the pituitary gland and ovaries.

Epidermal growth factor receptor genotype in plasma DNA and outcome of chemotherapy in the Chinese patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

The genotype of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is associated with tyrosine kinase inhibitor and effectiveness of therapy, but its role in cytotoxic chemotherapy is still unknown. Previous studies indicated that certain EGFR mutations were associated with response and progression free survival following platinum based chemotherapy. Our recent studies have identified that EGFR genotypes in the tumour tissues were not associated with response to the first-line chemotherapy in Chinese patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we investigated associations of EGFR genotypes from plasma of patients with advanced NSCLC and response to first-line chemotherapy and prognosis.

METHODS

We enrolled 145 advanced NSCLC patients who had received first-line chemotherapy in our department. We examined plasma EGFR genotypes for these patients and associations of EGFR mutations with response to chemotherapy and clinical outcomes.

RESULTS

There were 54 patients with known EGFR mutations and 91 cases of wild types. No significant difference was detected in the response rate to first-line chemotherapy between mutation carriers and wild-type patients (37.0% vs. 31.9%). The median survival time and 1-, 2-year survival rates were higher in mutation carriers than wild-types (24 months vs. 18 months, 85.7% vs. 65.7% and 43.7% vs. 25.9%, P = 0.047). Clinical stage (IV vs. IIIb), response to the first-line chemotherapy (partial vs. no) and EGFR genotype were independent prognostic factors.

CONCLUSION

Plasma EGFR mutations in the Chinese patients with advanced NSCLC is not a predictor for the response to first-line chemotherapy, but an independent prognostic factor indicating longer survival.

[Accumulation characteristics of applied cinnamic acid in cucumber seedling-soil system under NaCl stress]

Taking cucumber cultivars' Jinlv No. 5' (salt-tolerant) and 'Jinyou No. 1' (salt-sensitive) as test materials, a pot experiment was conducted to study the effects of applying cinnamic acid on the accumulation of applied cinnamic acid in cucumber seedling-soil system under NaCl (585 mg x kg(-1) soil) stress. The concentration of applied cinnamic acid was the main factor affecting the accumulation of the exogenous cinnamic acid in the cucumber plant and soil. With the increasing concentration of applied cinnamic acid, except in the treatment of highest concentration (200 mg x kg(-1) soil) cinnamic acid, the total content of cinnamic acid in cucumber plant was increased. NaCl stress enhanced the toxicity of cinnamic acid. In the treatments of low and medium concentration cinnamic acid, the cinnamic acid content in cucumber plant increased; whereas in the treatments of high concentration cinnamic acid, the decline of the seedlings growth was observed, and led to the decrease of the cinnamic acid content in the plant. The content of cinnamic acid in 'Jinlv No. 5' plant decreased at the concentration of applied cinnamic acid being > 200 mg x kg(-1) soil, while that in 'Jinyou No. 1' started to decrease when the concentration of applied cinnamic acid was > 100 mg x kg(-1) soil, reflecting the discrepancy in salt tolerance of the two cultivars. For the cucumber plant, its leaf had the highest content of cinnamic acid. In the cucumber seedling-soil system, most of applied cinnamic acid was mainly accumulated in soil.

Temporal pulse compression in a xenon-filled Kagome-type hollow-core photonic crystal fiber at high average power

In this study we demonstrate the suitability of Hollow-Core Photonic Crystal Fibers (HC-PCF) for multiwatt average power pulse compression. We spectrally broadened picosecond pulses from a SESAM mode-locked thin disk laser in a xenon gas filled Kagome-type HC-PCF and compressed these pulses to below 250 fs with a hypocycloid-core fiber and 470 fs with a single cell core defect fiber. The compressed average output power of 7.2 W and 10.2 W at a pulse repetition rate of approximately 10 MHz corresponds to pulse energies of 0.7 µJ and 1 µJ and to peak powers of 1.6 MW and 1.7 MW, respectively. Further optimization of the fiber parameters should enable pulse compression to below 50 fs duration at substantially higher pulse energies.

Terahertz-wave water concentration and distribution measurement in thin biotissue based on a novel sample preparation

The measurement of water concentration and distribution in thin biotissues with terahertz (THz)-wave has been proposed. In this paper, a novel sample preparation approach was introduced to effectively preserve tissue freshness at room temperature. Excellent stability of this method was demonstrated by measuring the transmittance spectroscopy and imaging many times within a certain time. Moreover, the reliability of water volume concentration measurement with THz-wave was evaluated. Measurement results using THz-wave were in good agreement with volume concentration measurement results based on other quantitative methods. The results suggest that water concentration and distribution measurement in thin biotissues using THz-wave will be a potential modality for medical and biological diagnosis.

Enhancement of excretory production of an exoglucanase from Escherichia coli with phage shock protein A (PspA) overexpression

Production of recombinant proteins by excretory expression has many advantages over intracellular expression in Escherichia coli. Hyperexpression of a secretory exoglucanase, Exg, of Cellulomonas fimi was previously shown to saturate the SecYEG pathway and result in dramatic cell death of E. coli. In this study, we demonstrated that overexpression of the PspA in the JM101(pM1VegGcexL-pspA) strain enhanced excretion of Exg to 1.65 U/ml using shake-flask cultivation, which was 80% higher than the highest yield previously obtained from the optimized JM101(pM1VegGcexL) strain. A much higher excreted Exg activity of 4.5 U/ml was further achieved with high cell density cultivation using rich media. Furthermore, we showed that the PspA overexpression strain enjoyed an elevated critical value (CV), which was defined as the largest quotient between the intracellular unprocessed precursor and its secreted mature counterpart that was still tolerable by the host cells prior to the onset of cell death, improving from the previously determined CV of 20/80 to the currently achieved CV of 45/55 for Exg. The results suggested that the PspA overexpression strain might tolerate a higher level of precursor Exg making use of the SecYEG pathway for secretion. The reduced lethal effect might be attributable to the overexpressed PspA, which was postulated to be able to reduce membrane depolarization and damage. Our findings introduce a novel strategy of the combined application of metabolic engineering and construct optimization to the attainment of the best possible E. coli producers for secretory/excretory production of recombinant proteins, using Exg as the model protein.

Immediate Versus Delayed Treatment with EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors after First-line Therapy in Advanced Non-small-cell Lung CANCER

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the outcomes of patients who received TKI immediately after the first-line without progression as maintenance treatment (immediate group) vs. those received delayed treatment upon disease progression as second-line therapy (delayed group).

METHODS

The study included 159 no-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who received gefitinib or erlotinib as maintenance treatment in the immediate group (85 patients) or as second-line therapy in the delayed group (74 patients). The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). EGFR mutation status was detected using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC).

RESULTS

PFS was 17.3 and 16.4 months in the immediate and delayed groups, respectively (hazard ratio [HR], 0.99; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.69-1.42; P=0.947). In a subgroup analysis that included only patients with EGFR mutation, however, PFS was significantly longer in the immediate group than in the delayed group (HR, 0.48; 95% CI: 0.27-0.85; P=0.012). In patients with wild type EGFR, the risk for disease progression was comparable between the two groups (HR, 1.23; 95% CI: 0.61-2.51; P=0.564). No significant difference was demonstrated between the immediate and delayed group in terms of the overall survival (OS) (26.1 months vs. 21.6 months, respectively; HR=0.53; 95% CI: 0.27 to 1.06; P=0.072). There was also no difference in the incidence of adverse events between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

EGFR TKI maintenance improves PFS in patients with EGFR mutation. Prospectively designed clinical studies that compare TKI immediate vs. delayed treatment after first-line chemotherapy upon disease progression are needed.

Prolactin-releasing peptide mRNA expression in mouse medulla remains relatively stable during pregnancy and lactation

We compared levels of prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) mRNA expression in mouse medulla at different stages of pregnancy and lactation. Mouse medulla samples were collected on days 6, 12 and 18 of pregnancy and lactation, respectively (six per group), for mRNA. Expression levels of PrRP mRNA in the medulla were measured by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, with glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase as a control. PrRP mRNA was highly expressed in mouse medulla oblongata on day 6 of pregnancy (0.53), followed by 0.43 at lactation day 6, and 0.42 at lactation day 12. The expression level of PrRP mRNA on days 12 and 18 of pregnancy and day 18 of lactation shared the same value of 0.36. PrRP mRNA levels during lactation decreased slightly compared with that during pregnancy, but the differences between them were not significant. In summary, PrRP mRNA levels in the medulla oblongata remain relatively stable during pregnancy and lactation. This is evidence that medulla PrRP is not involved in the regulation of prolactin secretion.