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Cancer remains a significant global challenge, with an estimated 47% increase in cancer patients from 2020 to 2040. Increasing research has identified microorganism as a risk factor for cancer development. The oral cavity, second only to the colon, harbors more than 700 bacterial species and serves as a crucial microbial habitat. Although numerous epidemiological studies have reported associations between oral microorganisms and major systemic tumors, the relationship between oral microorganisms and cancers remains largely unclear. Current research primarily focuses on respiratory and digestive system tumors due to their anatomical proximity to the oral cavity. The relevant mechanism research mainly involves 47% dominant oral microbial population that can be cultured in vitro. However, further exploration is necessary to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the association between oral microbiota and tumors. This review systematically summarizes the reported correlations between oral microbiota and common cancers while also outlining potential mechanisms that may guide biological tumor treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial reduction is an eective way to deal with hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] contamination in the environment, which can significantly mitigate the biotoxicity and migration of this pollutant. The present study investigated the influence of environmental factors on aqueous Cr(VI) removal by a newly isolated facultative anaerobic bacterium, Exiguobacterium sp. PY14, and revealed the reduction mechanism. This strain with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 400 mg/L showed the strongest Cr(VI) removal capacity at pH 8.0 because of its basophilic nature, which was obviously depressed by increasing the Cr(VI) initial concentration under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. In contrast, the removal rate constant for 50 mg/L of Cr(VI) under anaerobic conditions (1.82 × 10−2 h −1 ) was 3.3 times that under aerobic conditions. The co-existence of Fe(III) and Cu(II) significantly promoted the removal of Cr(VI), while Ag(I), Pb(II), Zn(II), and Cd(II) inhibited it. Electron-shuttling organics such as riboflavin, humic acid, and anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate promoted the Cr(VI) removal to varying degrees, and the enhancement was more significant under anaerobic conditions. The removal of aqueous Cr(VI) by strain PY14 was demonstrated to be due to cytoplasmic rather than extracellular reduction by analyzing the contributions of dierent cell components, and the end products existed in the aqueous solution in the form of organo-Cr(III) complexes. Several possible genes involved in Cr(VI) metabolism, including chrR and chrA that encode well-known Chr family proteins responsible for chromate reduction and transport, respectively, were identified in the genome of PY14, which further clarified the Cr(VI) reduction pathway of this strain. The research progress in the influence of crucial environmental factors and biological reduction mechanisms will help promote the potential application of Exiguobacterium sp. PY14 with high adaptability to environmental stress in Cr(VI) removal in the actual environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasing evidence indicates the importance of CD8+ T cells in autoimmune attack against CNS myelin and axon in multiple sclerosis (MS). Previous research has also discovered that myelin-reactive T cells have memory phenotype functions in MS patients. However, limited evidence is available regarding the role of CD8+ memory T cell subsets in MS. This study aimed to explore potential antigen-specific memory T cell-related biomarkers and their association with disease activity. Methods: The myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-specific CD8+ memory T cell subsets and their related cytokines (perforin, granzyme B, interferon (IFN)-γ) and negative co-stimulatory molecules (programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), T-cell Ig and mucin domain 3 (Tim-3)) were analyzed by flow cytometry and real-time PCR in peripheral blood of patients with relapsing-remitting MS. Results: We found that MS patients had elevated frequency of MOG-specific CD8+ T cells, MOG-specific central memory T cells (TCM), MOG-specific CD8+ effector memory T cells (TEM), and MOG-specific CD8+ terminally differentiated cells (TEMRA); elevated granzyme B expression on MOG-specific CD8+ TCM; and, on MOG-specific CD8+ TEM, elevated granzyme B and reduced PD-1 expression. The Expanded Disability Status Scale score (EDSS) in MS patients was correlated with the frequency of MOG-specific CD8+ TCM, granzyme B expression in CD8+ TCM, and granzyme B and perforin expression on CD8+ TEM, but with reduced PD-1 expression on CD8+ TEM. Conclusion: The dysregulation of antigen-specific CD8+ memory T cell subsets, along with the abnormal expression of their related cytokines and negative costimulatory molecules, may reflect an excessive or persistent inflammatory response induced during early stages of the illness. Our findings strongly suggest positive regulatory roles for memory T cell populations in MS pathogenesis, probably via molecular mimicry to trigger or promote abnormal peripheral immune responses. Furthermore, downregulated PD-1 expression may stimulate a positive feedback effect, promoting MS-related inflammatory responses via the interaction of PD-1 ligands. Therefore, these parameters are potential serological biomarkers for predicting disease development in MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this experiment were to evaluate feeding palm oil products on feedlot cattle performance and methane production. Steers (n = 320; 380 ± 14.5 kg) were allocated to 40 pens in a randomized block design and assigned to 1 of 5 treatments consisting of different sources of supplemental fat: 1) No Oil; negative control containing 0.0% supplemental fat, 2) Corn Oil; positive control containing 4.0% supplemental corn oil, 3) Whole Palm; 4.0% supplemental whole palm oil, 4) Olein; 4.0% supplemental palm olein oil, or 5) Stearin; 4.0% supplemental palm stearin oil. Cattle consuming Corn Oil, Olein and Stearin all had greater (P = 0.04) final body weight (BW) and hot carcass weight (HCW) than cattle consuming no oil but were not different (P > 0.11) from each other or from Whole Palm, which was intermediate. Dry matter intake (DMI) of cattle consuming No Oil, Whole Palm and Stearin oil was not different from each other; however, cattle fed Corn Oil had greater intake than Whole Palm (P = 0.03). Corn Oil, Olein, and Stearin all had greater average daily gain (ADG) than cattle consuming No Oil (P = 0.04) but were not different (P > 0.12) from Whole Palm. Adding fat improved feed efficiency (gain to feed; G:F) as all diets including added fat had greater (P < 0.01) G:F than No Oil. Marbling scores were greater (P = 0.01) for Olein and Stearin than Corn and Whole Palm. There were no differences in backfat, ribeye area or liver abscess rate among any treatments (P > 0.74). Gas emissions were evaluated for only the No Oil and Whole Palm treatments. Total methane and methane produced per pound of dry matter intake was less for cattle consuming Whole Palm than No Oil by 14.8% (P < 0.04) while cattle were in the methane chamber. Methane produced per kilogram of ADG for Whole Palm was also reduced (P < 0.01) by 21.4% compared with No Oil. The results of this study indicate feeding palm oil products as a source of supplemental fat in finishing diets increases final BW, ADG, and HCW compared with feeding no supplemental fat, but had minimal impact on DMI resulting in an improvement in G:F. Adding supplemental fat reduced methane emissions in cattle when feeding Whole Palm compared with No Oil. The value of palm oil products in feedlot finishing diets is comparable with feeding corn oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nano drug delivery system (NDDS) can significantly improve the delivery and efficacy of drugs against pancreatic cancer (PC) in many ways. The purpose of this study is to explore the related research fields of NDDS for PC from the perspective of bibliometrics. Methods: Articles and reviews on NDDS for PC published between 2003 and 2022 were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace, VOSviewer, R-bibliometrix, and Microsoft Excel were comprehensively used for bibliometric and visual analysis. Results: A total of 1329 papers on NDDS for PC were included. The number of papers showed an upward trend over the past 20 years. The United States contributed the most papers, followed by China, and India. Also, the United States had the highest number of total citations and H-index. The institution with the most papers was Chinese Acad Sci, which was also the most important in international institutional cooperation. Professors Couvreur P and Kazuoka K made great achievements in this field. JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE published the most papers and was cited the most. The topics related to the tumor microenvironment such as “tumor microenvironment”, “tumor penetration”, “hypoxia”, “exosome”, and “autophagy”, PC treatment-related topics such as “immunotherapy”, “combination therapy”, “alternating magnetic field/magnetic hyperthermia”, and “ultrasound”, and gene therapy dominated by “siRNA” and “miRNA” were the research hotspots in the field of NDDS for PC. Conclusion: This study systematically uncovered a holistic picture of the performance of NDDS for PC-related literature over the past 20 years. We provided scholars to understand key information in this field with the perspective of bibliometrics, which we believe may greatly facilitate future research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Gastric cancer (GC) is a common malignant tumor with a high morbidity and mortality worldwide. It has been reported that V-Myb avian myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog-like 2 (MYBL2) could be a promising prognostic biomarker for GC. However, the specific role of MYBL2 in GC progression remains unclear. Objectives. To examine the role of MYBL2 in GC progression and investigate the underlying mechanisms. Materials and methods. The mRNA levels of target genes were detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and protein expression was measured with western blot analysis. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assays were employed to inspect HGC-27 cell proliferation, and cellular apoptosis was determined with TUNEL staining. Finally, the interaction of MYBL2 and cell division cycle 20 (CDC20) was verified with immunoprecipitation. Results. MYBL2 was confirmed to be overexpressed in GC cells. MYBL2 knockdown inhibited HGC-27 cell proliferation and promoted cellular apoptosis, and these effects were reversed by CDC20 overexpression. Interestingly, MYBL2 interacted with CDC20 and regulated its expression. MYBL2 knockdown also inhibited activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, while CDC20 overexpression showed the opposite effect. Conclusions. In summary, the synergy between MYBL2 and CDC20 induced the proliferation of GC cells and inhibited cell apoptosis; these effects may have involved the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Thus, MYBL2 may be a promising target for GC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the relationship between acid reflux and esophageal motility in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Methods: From January 2018 to December 2019, 80 patients with typical gastroesophageal reflux symptoms such as reflux and heartburn were randomly selected from the Department of Gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital of guangxi university of chinese medicine. The patients were divided into pathological group, sensitive group and physiological group based on the percentage of acid exposure time and reflux-symptom correlation. The GerdQ score, quality of life score, esophageal acid test and esophageal manometry related parameters of the three groups of patients were compared. Results: Compared with the sensitive group and the physiological group, the GerdQ score, DeMeester score, orthostatic acid reflux time, orthostatic acid reflux time, longest acid reflux time and acid reflux times in the pathological group were significantly higher.Sf-36 score, lower esophageal sphincter pressure and effective rate of deglutition were all significantly reduced, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05).Compared with the physiological group, the GerdQ score of the sensitive group was higher. The sf-36 score was low, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The acid indexes in the sensitive group were higher than those in the physiological group, but the differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05).Compared with the physiological group, the distal contraction integral and the amplitude of the lower esophageal sphincter 3cm above the pathological group and the sensitive group decreased significantly (P < 0.05).There were no statistically significant differences in the length of the lower esophageal sphincter, the length of the lower esophageal sphincter in the abdominal segment, the amplitude of the upper esophageal sphincter at 7cm and 11cm and the peristaltic wave velocity of the esophageal body in the three groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: the decrease of lower esophageal sphincter pressure is the key factor leading to pathological acid reflux, and acid reflux is closely related to distal contraction integral and peristaltic amplitude of 3cm on lower esophageal sphincter in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel molecular classification of gastric cancer by the Asian Cancer Research Group (ACRG) is a potential advance in diagnosis and treatment, and it helps to determine prognosis. The use of immunohistochemistry (IHC) rather than gene expression analysis to determine tumor subtypes was evaluated with the aim of determining the feasibility of using the ACRG molecular classification. A total of 69 esophagogastric junction (EGJ) carcinomas were classified as microsatellite instable (MSI, 17.40%, 12 of 69), microsatellite stable with markers of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (MSS/EMT, 18.84%, 13 of 69), microsatellite stable with active tumor protein 53 (MSS/TP53+, 27.53%, 19 of 69), and microsatellite stable with inactive TP53 (MSS/TP53-, 36.23%, 25 of 69). The molecular classification did not significantly correlate with anyone of the clinicopathological characteristics of the EGJ carcinoma patients, including age, gender, depth of tumor invasion, the presence of lymph node metastasis, histologic grade, and p-TNM stage of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (P.0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and log rank tests showed that molecular classification, histologic grade, p-TNM stage, and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy were significantly associated with overall survival (OS; P,0.05). MSI tumors had the best overall prognosis followed by MSS/TP53- and MSS/TP53+. MSS/EMT tumors had the worst overall prognosis. Multivariate analysis revealed that histologic grade (hazard ratio [HR] =2.216, 95% CI =1.202-4.086), p-TNM stage (HR =2.216, 95% CI =1.202-4.086), and molecular subtype (HR =2.216, 95% CI =1.202-4.086) were independently associated with OS. The preliminary results suggested that the ACRG molecular classification may be a valuable independent prognostic marker for EGJ carcinoma patients and could be performed by IHC analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method--multifractal temporally weighted detrended cross-correlation analysis (MF-TWXDFA)--is proposed to investigate multifractal cross-correlations in this paper. This new method is based on multifractal temporally weighted detrended fluctuation analysis and multifractal cross-correlation analysis (MFCCA). An innovation of the method is applying geographically weighted regression to estimate local trends in the nonstationary time series. We also take into consideration the sign of the fluctuations in computing the corresponding detrended cross-covariance function. To test the performance of the MF-TWXDFA algorithm, we apply it and the MFCCA method on simulated and actual series. Numerical tests on artificially simulated series demonstrate that our method can accurately detect long-range cross-correlations for two simultaneously recorded series. To further show the utility of MF-TWXDFA, we apply it on time series from stock markets and find that power-law cross-correlation between stock returns is significantly multifractal. A new coefficient, MF-TWXDFA cross-correlation coefficient, is also defined to quantify the levels of cross-correlation between two time series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Luffa echinata Roxb. (LER) (Cucurbitaceae) showed tremendous medicinal importance and are being used for the treatment of different ailments. Objective: In this study, the antiproliferative properties and cell death mechanism induced by the extract of the fruits of LER were investigated. Materials and Methods: MTT and LDH assay were used to test the antiproliferative and cytotoxicity of LER extract, respectively. The intracellular ROS were measured by a fluorometric assay. The expression of several apoptotic-related proteins in SW-480 cells treated by LER was evaluated by Western blot analysis. Results: The methanolic extract of LER fruits inhibited the proliferation of human colon cancer cells (SW-480) in both dose- and time-dependent manners. The LER-treated cells showed obvious characteristics of cell apoptosis, including cell shrinkage, destruction of the monolayer, and condensed chromatin. In addition, treatments of various concentrations of LER extracts caused the release of lactate dehydrogenase as a dose-dependent manner via stimulation of the intracellular metabolic system. LER induced apoptosis, DNA fragmentation, and cellular ROS accumulation in SW-480 cells. Treatment of LER on SW-480 cells promoted the expression of caspases, Bax, Bad, and p53 proteins and decreased the levels of Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL. Conclusions: These results indicated that treatment with LER-induced cell death in mitochondrial apoptosis pathway by regulating pro-apoptotic proteins via the up regulation of the p53 protein. These findings highlight the potentials of LER in the treatment of human colon cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The objective of the current study was to establish a rat model to investigate apoptosis in steroid-induced femoral head osteonecrosis occurring via the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Methods: Male Sprague--Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a control group (group A), model group (group B) and sFRP1 group (group C), each consisting of 24 rats, and the rats were intravenously injected with LPS (10 µg/kg body weight). After 24 h, three injections of MPS (20 mg/kg body weight) were administered intramuscularly at 24-h intervals. The rats in group C were injected intramuscularly with 1 µg/kg sFRP1 protein per day for 30 days, beginning at the time of the first MPS administration. The group A rats were fed and housed under identical conditions but received saline injection. All animals were sacrificed at weeks 2, 4 and 8 from the first MPS injection. Histopathological staining was preformed to evaluated osteonecrosis. Apoptosis was detected via quantitative terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labelling (TUNEL) staining, caspase-3 activity assay, and detection of Bcl-2 and Bax protein expression by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Wnt/β-catenin pathway signalling molecules, including activated β-catenin and c-Myc, were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Results: Typical osteonecrosis was observed in groups B and C. Apoptosis gradually increased with increasing time in both groups B and C. More severe osteonecrosis and apoptosis were observed in group C compared with group B. The expression levels of caspase-3 and Bax were higher while that of Bcl-2 was lower in group C compared with group B. The expression levels of activated β-catenin and c-Myc gradually decreased with increasing time in both groups B and C, and they were lower in group C compared with group B. Conclusions: The Wnt/β-catenin pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of early stage SANFH, as we have demonstrated in an SANFH rat model, and it may act through the regulation of c-Myc, which affects the cell cycle and cell apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four three-dimensional lanthanide-polyoxometalate complexes, [K4Ln3(H2IDC)3(HIDC)3(H2O)3(SiW12O40)]·nH2O (Ln = La (1), n = 7 and Ce (2), n = 6; H3IDC = 4,5-imidazoledicarboxylic acid) and [Ln4(HIDC)4(H2O)8(SiW12O40)]·11H2O (Ln = La (3) and Ce (4)), have been synthesized by solvothermal reactions. Compounds 1 and 2 are 3D architectures that include 2D layered structures connected by K+ cations, which were realized by tuning the reaction media with different ratios of water and ethanol. By comparison, in the cases of 3 and 4, lanthanide ions coordinate to tridentate HIDC ligands forming 2D Ln-organic networks, which are further pillared by α-Keggin type [SiW12O40]4- polyoxoanions and thus constructing new 3D frameworks featuring 1D channels along the a and b axes. All of these complexes could induce the formation of Ag nanocomposites possessing high catalytic activity towards the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in the presence of NaBH4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BAG3 protein, a member of the BAG co-chaperones family, sustains cell survival in a variety of normal and neoplastic cell types, via its interaction with a variety of partners, such as the heat shock protein (HSP) 70, Bcl-2, Raf-1 and others. Expression of BAG3 is induced by some stressful stimuli, such as heat shock, heavy metal exposure. We have reported that proteasome inhibitors can also induce BAG3 expression at the transcriptional level and the induction of BAG3 compromises proteasome inhibitors-mediated apoptosis. However, the molecular mechanism of BAG3 upregulation has not been elucidated. In the current study, we provide evidence that heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) is involved in BAG3 induction by proteasome inhibitor MG132. Using a series of varying lengths of 5′-flanking region of the BAG3 gene into luciferase reporter vectors, we found that MG132 stimulated the promoter activity via the -326/-233 and -825/-689 regions, which contains one putative heat shock-responsive element (HSE) for HSF1-binding, respectively. Site-directed deletion of the sites abrogated the enhanced reporter activity in response to MG132 treatment. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay demonstrated that HSF1 directly bound to the MG132-responsive site on the BAG3 promoter. Activation of HSF1 occurred with MG132 along with BAG3 upregulation. Furthermore, knockdown HSF1 by small interfering RNA attenuated the BAG3 upregulation due to MG132.These results indicate that the proteasome inhibitor MG132 induces BAG3 expression through HSF1 activation. J. Cell. Physiol. 218: 631–637, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulsars can be used to search for stochastic backgrounds of gravitational waves of cosmological origin within the very low frequency band (VLF), 10[SUP-7] to 10[SUP-9] Hz. We propose to construct a special 50 m radio telescope. Regular timing measurements of about 10 strong millisecond pulsars will perhaps allow the detection of gravitational waves within VLF or at least will give a more stringent upper limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C38H42MnN4O14, monoclinic, C2/c (no. 15), a = 19.165(12) Å, b = 10.116(6) Å, c = 20.734(13) Å, β = 99.021(11)°, V = 3970(4) ų, Z = 4, Rgt(F) = 0.0486, wRref(F²) = 0.1442, T = 293(2) K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]