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OBJECTIVE: To detect the expression of long non-coding ribonucleic acid (lncRNA) NCK1-AS1 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), analyze the association between its expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of NSCLC patients, and study the biological function of NCK1-AS1 in vitro. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The relative expression of NCK1-AS1 in NSCLC tissues and cells was detected via quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The association between the expression of NCK1-AS1 and the clinicopathological characteristics of NSCLC was statistically analyzed. The effects of interference in the expression of NCK1-AS1 on the biological behaviors of NSCLC cells were detected via in vitro experiments, including Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, colony formation assay and flow cytometry. After interference in the expression of NCK1-AS1, the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) was determined using Western blotting. RESULTS: The results of qRT-PCR showed that the expression of NCK1-AS1 was up-regulated in 50 out of 64 cases of NSCLC tissues. It was found via statistical analysis that highly expressed NCK1-AS1 was positively correlated with tumor size, TNM stage and lymph node metastasis. The results of qRT-PCR revealed that the expression of NCK1-AS1 was also up-regulated in NSCLC cells. After interference in the expression of NCK1-AS1, the proliferation of NSCLC cells was inhibited, and the cell cycle was arrested at G2/M phase. The results of Western blotting manifested that the expression of CDK1 was suppressed after interference in the expression of NCK1-AS1. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of NCK1- AS1 is up-regulated in NSCLC, which indicates a poor prognosis. Highly expressed NCK1- AS1 promotes the proliferation of NSCLC cells through activating CDK1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the expression level of long intergenic non-coding ribonucleic acid 1605 (LINC01605) in colorectal cancer (CRC), and to explore the effects of the LINC01605/microRNA (miR)-3960/sex-determining region Y-box 11 (SOX11) regulatory axis on the biological behaviors of CRC cells and the molecular mechanism therein. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Tissue specimens were collected from 38 patients with CRC, and the relative expression level of LINC01605 in the CRC tissues and CRC cells was measured using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Then, the effects of LINC01605 on the proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and metastasis of CRC cells were observed via in vitro assays [cell counting kit (CCK)-8 assay, flow cytometry and transwell assay]. Besides, the possible miRNAs binding to LINC01605 were predicted by the bioinformatics method, and they were screened and verified using qRT-PCR and Dual-Luciferase reporter gene assay. Finally, the downstream target genes of miR-3960 were predicted by means of bioinformatics, and they were also screened and confirmed via qRT-PCR and Dual-Luciferase reporter gene assay. RESULTS: According to the results of qRTPCR, the expression of LINC01605 was up-regulated in 31 out of 38 cases of CRC tissue specimens, and its expression in CRC cells was higher than that in normal colorectal cells. The results of in vitro assays revealed that the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of CRC cells were weakened, with an increased apoptosis rate after interference with LINC01605 expression. Based on the results of qRT-PCR and Dual-Luciferase reporter gene assay, miR-3960 was the target of LINC01605, while SOX11 was the target of miR-3960. Moreover, the expression of miR-3960 rose, but that of SOX11 declined after interference with LINC01605 expression. It was found through Western blotting that the protein expression of SOX11 was lowered after interference with LINC01605 expression. CONCLUSIONS: LINC01605 has an up-regulated expression in CRC, and accelerates the proliferation, migration and metastasis of CRC cells by the miR-3960/SOX11 regulatory axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barriers to continuous cropping of poplar plantations are closely related to the accumulation of phenolic acids in the soil. The purpose of this study was to explore the mechanism through which phenolic acid stress affects poplar productivity. The results showed that phenolic acids had a significant inhibitory effect on the photosynthesis of poplar. The inhibition of photosynthesis due to phenolic acids occurred mainly because, during electron transfer at the PSII reaction center, the primary quinone acceptor of PSII (QA) in the oxidized state was reduced, and excess light energy was lost in the form of heat dissipation; thus, poplar productivity decreased. At low phenolic acid concentrations (0X--1.5X), the activity of the PSII reaction center was temporarily inactivated, mainly because of stomatal limiting factors. At high phenolic acid concentrations (1.5X--3.0X), the PSII reaction centers were damaged, and photoinhibition occurred, mainly because of nonstomatal limiting factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: JAK-STAT3 signaling pathway is related to tumor invasion and metastasis that can regulate matrix metalloproteninase-9 (MMP-9) expression. MicroRNA-124 (MiR-124) was found downregulated in renal cell carcinoma. Bioinformatics analysis revealed the complementary binding site between miR-124 and 3'-UTR of signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3). This study investigated the role of miR-124 in regulating Janus kinase (JAK)-STAT3 activity, MMP-9 expression, and renal cell carcinoma invasion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Luciferase assay was used to test the targeting regulatory effect of miR-124 on STAT3. MiR-124, STAT3, phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3), and MMP-9 expressions were compared in HK-2, 769-P, and OS-RC-2 cells. Transwell assay was applied to evaluate cell invasion. OS-RC-2 cells were divided into control, miR-NC, miR-124 mimic, STAT3 inhibition, and miR-124 mimic+Stattic groups. RESULTS: MiR-124 targeted inhibited STAT3 expression. OS-RC-2 cells exhibited the strongest invasive ability, followed by 769-P and HK-2 cells. STAT3, p-STAT3, and MMP-9 expressions were highest in OS-RC-2 cells, followed by 769-P and HK-2 cells. MiR-124 demonstrated the opposite expression trend. MiR-124 mimic and/or Stattic treatment attenuated cell invasion through reducing STAT3, p-STAT3, and MMP-9 levels. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-124 down-regulation was associated with renal cancer cell OS-RC-2 invasion enhancement. Over-expression of miR-124 attenuated OS-RC-2 cell invasion by down-regulating STAT3 and MMP-9. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathway participate in cell proliferation and apoptosis. Suppressors of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) are negative regulators of JAK-STAT3. SOCS3 was found significantly declined, while microRNA-221 (miR-221) obviously up-regulated in bladder cancer tissue. Bioinformatics analysis revealed the complementary binding site between miR-221 and 3'- UTR of SOCS3. This study investigated the role of miR-221 in regulating SOCS3/JAK-STAT3 signaling pathway and bladder cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Bladder cancer tumor tissue and para-carcinoma tissue were collected from patients to test miR-221 and SOCS3 expressions. Dual luciferase assay was used to test the targeting regulatory effect of miR-221 on SOCS3. MiR-221, SOCS3, p-JAK1, p-JAK2, and survivin expressions were compared in T24 and HBEC cells. T24 cells were divided into miR-NC, miR-221 inhibitor, pSicoR-blank, pSicoR-SOCS3, and miR-221 inhibitor + pSicoR-SOCS3 groups. Flow cytometry was applied to detect cell apoptosis. EdU staining was adopted to evaluate cell proliferation. RESULTS: MiR-221 significantly increased, while SOCS3 obviously reduced in bladder cancer tissue compared with para-carcinoma tissue. MiR-221 targeted inhibited SOCS3 expression. MiR-221, phosphorylated JAK1 (p-JAK1), phosphorylated JAK2 (p-JAK2), phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) and survivin levels markedly up-regulated, whereas SOCS3 expression apparently declined in T24 cells compared with that in HBEC cells. MiR-221 inhibitor and/or pSicoR- SOCS3 elevated SOCS3 expression, decreased p-JAK1, p-JAK2, p-STAT3 and survivin levels, enhanced cell apoptosis and attenuated cell proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-221 elevated, while SOCS3 reduced in bladder cancer tissue. Inhibition of miR-221 suppressed T24 cell proliferation and induced apoptosis by up-regulatingSOCS3 expression, lowering JAK-STAT3 signaling pathway activity and attenuating survivin expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alignment calibration of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and Doppler sensors is a key factor that limits the accuracy of inertial navigation system (INS)/Doppler velocity log (DVL) integrated navigation. The commonly used methods in alignment calibration that need continuous externally-aided information are inconvenient for underwater vehicle applications. In this paper, we propose a simple and easy alignment calibration method, which only needs one additional position besides the initial position. Nevertheless, the DVL-aided INS initial alignment is still a challenge, as it impacts the accuracy of the proposed calibration method. Therefore, an attitude backtracking technique that can improve the calibration robustness is proposed. Experimental results show that the proposed method is able to eliminate the effects of the INS initial alignment and hence yield reliable calibration results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction is presented to the article "Inhibition of miR-221 influences bladder cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis", which appeared in the previous issue of the periodical.

A total of 49 patients with cerebellopontine angle cholesteatoma from the Department of Neurosurgery, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University between January 2013 and January 2021 were recruited. All patients were evaluated by MRI scan before surgery and tumor resection was performed under microscope via retrosigmoid sinus approach. Then residual tumor was searched with 0°and 30°neuroendoscopy, and tumor resection was performed.Residual tumors were foundand resectedin 38 cases under theneuroendoscopy after routine microsurgery.Total and subtotalresections were performed in 44 cases and 5 cases, respectively. Complications included aseptic meningitis ( n =8), cerebrospinal fluid leakage ( n =1) and intracranial hematoma ( n =2). Follow-up[42±3(6-72)months] was available in all patients. During follow-up, 45 cases (91.8%) had a Kar-nofsky Performance Status (KPS)score ≥80.Neuroendoscopy-assisted microsurgery for cerebellopontine angle cholesteatomas helps enhance the total resection rate and decrease the operative risk.

Objective: To screen and analyze the key differentially expressed genes characteristics in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with bioinformatics method. Methods: NAFLD-related expression matrix GSE89632 was downloaded from the GEO database. Limma package was used to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in healthy, steatosis (SS), and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) samples. WGCNA was used to analyze the output gene module. The intersection of module genes and differential genes was used to determine the differential genes characteristic, and then GO function and KEGG signaling pathway enrichment analysis were performed. The protein-protein interaction network (PPI) was constructed using the online website STRING and Cytoscape software, and the key (Hub) genes were screened. Finally, R software was used to analyze the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) of the Hub gene. Results: 92 differentially expressed genes characteristic were obtained through screening, which were mainly enriched in inflammatory response-related functions of "lipopolysaccharide response and molecular response of bacterial origin", as well as cancer signaling pathways of "proteoglycan in cancer" and "T-cell leukemia virus infection-related". 10 hub genes (FOS, CXCL8, SERPINE1, CYR61, THBS1, FOSL1, CCL2, MYC, SOCS3 and ATF3) had good diagnostic value. Conclusion: The differentially expressed hub genes among the 10 NAFLD disease-related characteristics obtained with bioinformatics analysis may become a diagnostic and prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target for NAFLD. However, further basic and clinical studies are needed to validate.

Objective: To study the binding target of photosensitizer and bacteria in antimicrobial photodynamic therapy with computer-simulated target prediction and molecular docking research methods and to calculate the binding energy., Methods: The protein names of Porphyromonas gingivalis ( Pg ) were obtained and summarized in Uniprot database and RCSB PDB database; the structure diagrams of methy-lene blue were screened in SciFinder database, PubChem database, ChemSpider database, and Chemical Book, and ChemBioDraw software was used to draw and confirm the three-dimensional structure for target prediction and Cytoscape software was used to build a visual network diagram; a protein interaction network was searched and built between the methylene blue target and the common target of Pg in the String database; then we selected FimA, Mfa4, RgpB, and Kgp K1 proteins, used AutoDock software to calculate the docking energy of methylene blue and the above-mentioned proteins and performed molecular docking., Results: The target prediction results showed that there were 19 common targets between the 268 potential targets of methylene blue and 1 865 Pg proteins. The 19 targets were: groS, radA, rplA, dps, fabH, pyrG, thyA, panC, RHO, frdA, ileS, bioA, def, ddl, TPR, murA, lepB, cobT, and gyrB. The results of the molecular docking showed that methylene blue could bind to 9 sites of FimA protein, with a binding energy of -6.26 kcal/mol; with 4 sites of Mfa4 protein and hydrogen bond formation site GLU47, and the binding energy of -5.91 kcal/mol, the binding energy of LYS80, the hydrogen bond forming site of RgpB protein, was -5.14 kcal/mol, and the binding energy of 6 sites of Kgp K1 protein and the hydrogen bond forming site GLY1114 of -5.07 kcal/mol., Conclusion: Computer simulation of target prediction and molecular docking technology can initially reveal the binding, degree of binding and binding sites of methylene blue and Pg proteins. This method provides a reference for future research on the screening of binding sites of photosensitizers to cells and bacteria.

Scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a widely used tool for analysing the micro/nanoscale structural information. In the process of the SEM imaging, the temperature rise caused by the electron beam bombardment has already become an issue because the SEM results might thus be modified by it as the specimen downsizes. This work aims to explore the relationship between the total electron yield (TEY) and the temperature rise in order to directly evaluate the heat accumulation inside the solid during the imaging using a Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. The rules of profiles of the TEY and the temperature rise integral with various primary electron (PE) beam energies and incident angles were first investigated focusing on a semi-infinite gold (Au) bulk. Based on this rule, it is concluded that, with the increase of the TEY, the temperature rise integral decreases almost linearly (As the PE energy getting larger, the linear correlation is more obvious). In addition, this result was also applied to evaluate the heat built up for two specific SEM imaging examples: nanoscale Au balls and arbitrary shaped Au particles on a carbon (C) substrate. Their temperature contour maps present an almost inverse contrast compared with their respective SEM images. Furthermore, the influence of external electric field (full extraction and no extraction modes) for thermal effect was discussed. It is concluded that the full extraction mode can effectively avoid the local overheating. The mechanism of these observations was explained in detail. On the one hand, this work gives a better elucidation and understanding for physical mechanism of electron-beam-induced deposition, of which reliability, process control and performance can thus be greatly improved. On the other hand, because some damages caused by nonuniform heat accumulation in various local geometric structures of specimen during imaging process could be effectively analysed and even reduced, this work thus greatly benefits for the analysis of the correlation between thermal effect and the structures of samples., (© 2020 Royal Microscopical Society.)

In the Huang di nei jing ( Huangdi ' s Internal Classic ), jin ye (fluid and humor) is described in two senses, broad and narrow, though not so strictly.Sometimes, jin ye is explained ambiguously as "sweat" and "urine" , as in the phrase "the bladder, being a house of jin ye " , here " jin ye " refers to the urine. In the Qi jue lun pian of Su wen ( Chapter on Qi - Syncope of Plain Questions ) , the " bao " in the sentence "heat of bao moved to bladder" refersto the uterus. In the Shi cong rong lun pian ( Chapter of Readily Inspecting ) of Plain Questions , the "bladder" in the phrase "gallbladder, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, spleen, bao and bladder" , which, being an annotation of " bao " originally, is mistakenly incorporated into the text of the Classic . In the Wu wei lun of Ling shu ( On Five Tastes in Miraculous Pivot ) , the " bao " in " bao of bladder" refers to the external hou (external manifestation) of the bladder, that is the scrotum. In the Bei ji qian jin yao fang ( Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies ) , the short sentence " pang guang zou bao " is an error in itself. In the sentence of "settled in the bao and zhi causing to dream of defecation and urination" in the Yin xie fa meng (Dreams due to Evils) of Miraculous Pivot , " bao " refers to uterus, and " zhi " to anus. In Bi lun pian ( Chapter on Impediment ) of Plain Questions , "the man suffered bao bimight feel internal pain when the lesser abdomen and bladder are pressed" , here, " bao " refers to the bladder. In the Wu yin wu wei ( Chapter on Five Sound and Five Tastes ) of Miraculous Pivot , the " bao " in the sentence "thoroughfare vessel and conception vessel all starts from bao " , again, " bao " here refers to the bladder, rather than to the uterus. From the above descriptions of "bladder" and " bao " in the Huangdi ' s Internal Classic , the "bladder" in ancient medical books refers to the substantial bladder, an anatomical organ, and " bao " refers to cystiform organs, including the bladder, uterus, scrotum etc.

Objective: To explore the risk factors of pancreatic fistula after pancreatoduodenectomy and its relationship with pancreatic fibrosis. Methods: Retrospective analysis was made including 408 patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy from January 2013 to December 2015 in Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Third Military Medical University. There were 274 males and females, aging from 14 to 82 years with an average age of 54.6 years. Postoperative pathological diagnosis: 285 cases with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, 81 cases with gastrointestinal tumors, 13 cases with neuroendocrine tumors, 16 cases with inflammatory changes, 8 cases with pancreatic papillary tumors, 4 cases with serous cystadenoma, 1 case with retroperitoneal liposarcoma.Univariate analysis using pearson's χ(2) test, multivariate analysis using binary Logistic regression analysis, correlation analysis using Spearman rank correlation analysis and the predictive value of pancreatic fibrosis in pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve. Results: There were 123 cases (30.1%) with postoperative pancreatic fistula among 408 patients. Univariate analysis showed that body mass index(BMI)( P =0.005), preoperative gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase content( P =0.046), pancreatic duct diameter( P =0.001), CT value of pancreatic tissue( P =0.049), operation time( P =0.037), pancreatic stiffness (intraoperative judgment)( P =0.001) and percentage of pancreatic fibrosis( P =0.034) were the prognostic factors of pancreatic fistula. Multivariate analysis showed that BMI≥25 kg/m(2), pancreatic duct diameter ≤3 mm, pancreatic tissue CT value <40 Hu, pancreatic hardness (intraoperative judgments) for the soft and pancreatic lobular fibrosis percentage ≤25% of postoperative pancreatic fistula occurrence of high-risk factor( P <0.05). Pancreatic fistula's CT value and percentage of pancreatic fibrosis were significantly lower than non-pancreatic fistula group, the difference was statistically significant( P <0.05). There were significant differences in CT value and pancreatic lobular fibrosis among different grades of pancreatic fistulae( P <0.05). Pancreatic fistula severity was negatively correlated with the CT value of pancreatic body and the percentage of fibrosis of the pancreas( P =0.005, 0.019), and there was a significant correlation between CT value of pancreatic body and the percentage of fibrosis of the pancreas( r =0.699, P =0.028). The areas under the ROC curve of percentage of pancreatic fibrosis and CT value of the pancreatic body were 0.745 and 0.714, respectively. Both of them were moderate predictive value for pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy. Conclusions: The degree of pancreatic fibrosis is a prognostic factor for pancreatic texture and pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy. CT value of pancreatic body can be used as a quantitative index of pancreatic fibrosis, and predict the prognostic of pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy.

BACKGROUND Intravenous calcium supplements are often required following parathyroidectomy to avoid postoperative hypocalcaemia. The aim of this study was to compare application effect of a femoral central venous catheter (CVC) and peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) on intravenous calcium supplements after parathyroidectomy. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the hospital records of 73 patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism who underwent a successful parathyroidectomy at the Huashan Hospital attached to Fudan University between 1 April 2011 and 1 February 2016. RESULTS Of the 73 study participants, 39 (53.4%) had a PICC and 34 (46.6%) had a CVC, respectively. Patients in the CVC group needed 6-7 days of intravenous calcium supplements, while patients in PICC group needed only 2-3 days to achieve normal serum calcium concentration (2.2-2.6 mmol/L). Furthermore, the duration of calcium supplementation was 71.62 ± 4.48 hours in PICC group and 100.4 ± 5.43 hours in CVC group (P < 0.05). Of the patients in PICC group, the incidence of catheter occlusion, operation failure and hypocalcaemia was 0%, which was significantly lower than those in CVC group (2.56%, 7.69% and 7.69%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS PICC is a safe and efficient alternative in contrast to CVC for providing venous access for calcium supplementation in surgical patients after parathyroidectomy.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) on glycogen storage disease typeⅡ(GSDⅡ). Method: The clinical data of three juvenile onset and two infant onset GSDⅡpatients were collected from First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in October 2015 to July 2016.Patient 1 was female, the age of onset was 15 months. Patient 2 was male, the age of onset was 20 months. Patient 3 was female, the sister of patient 2, the age of onset was 47 months. Patient 4 was male, the age of onset was 5 months. Patient 5 was male, the age of onset was 1 month.The age at the start of ERT of the 5 patients was 32, 31, 56, 34, and 3 months respectively and the duration of ERT was 19, 9, 4, 5, 5 doses respectively.ERT was administered at 20 mg/kg every 2 weeks.Dexamethasone was regularly given before each infusion. Result: ERT was well tolerated, only one time, Patient 1 developed tachycardia and hypertension without using dexamethasone.Patient 2 underwent successfully ventilator weaning.Patient 1 underwent a tracheotomy, also needed mechanical ventilation treatment.Patient 4 noninvasive ventilation was tried. Conclusion: Recombinant human alpha-glucosidase treatment was effective and well tolerated in patients with GSDⅡ.

Objective: To investigate the value of temporary balloon occlusion of the abdominal aorta in the treatment of complete placenta previa with placenta accreta. Methods: From January 2015 to February 2016, 24 cases of complete placenta previa with placenta accreta were treated with temporary balloon occlusion of the abdominal aorta(the study group)before cesarean, and 24 cases of complete placenta previa with placenta accreta did not receive balloon occlusion(the control group). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, intraoperative blood transfusion volume, the perioperative hemoglobin level, the hysterectomy rate and the related complications were compared retrospectively.Also, the hospitalization time, the blood coagulation parameters after operation, including activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT), fibrinogen(FIB), D-Dimer and reperfusion injury parameters including creatine phosphokinase(CK), creatine phosphokinase isoenzyme(CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)and serum creatinine were compared between the 2 groups. Results: The blood loss[750 ml(400- 2 000 ml)vs 2 000 ml(1 500- 2 375 ml); Z =-3.214, P =0.001]and blood transfusion volume[200 ml(0-800 ml)vs 800 ml(0-1 200 ml); Z =- 2.173, P =0.030]in the study group were lower than in the control group. The hemoglobin difference between before and after operation in the study group was lower than the control group[(12.8±13.4)g/L vs(22.9±20.1)g/L; t =-2.041, P =0.047]. In the study group, there were still bleeding in 13 cases after releasing the balloon, 5 of them received uterine artery embolization, 5 cases received uterine artery ligation, and 3 cases received uterine packing. One case had venous thrombosis in the right lower limb. Two cases(8%,2/24)in the control group had hysterectomy, while none in the study group, there was no statistical significance( P = 0.489). Conclusions: Temporary balloon occlusion of the abdominal aorta can effectively reduce blood loss and blood transfusion in the treatment of complete placenta previa with placenta accreta, but there is still the risk of continuing bleeding after releasing the balloon. Other methods of hemostasis might be needed.

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is an important vegetable crop that ranks second in salt tolerance among the Cucurbitaceae. Previous studies on the two muskmelon cultivars 'Bing XueCui' (BXC) and 'Yu Lu' (YL) revealed that they had different characteristics under salt stress, but the molecular basis underlying their different physiological responses is unclear. Here, we combined a physiological study with a genome-wide transcriptome analysis to understand the molecular basis of genetic variation that responds to salt stress in the melon. BXC performed better under salt stress than YL in terms of biomass and photosynthetic characteristics, because it exhibited less reduction in transpiration rate, net photosynthesis rate, and stomatal conductance under 150-mM NaCl stress than YL. A transcriptome comparison of the leaves of the cultivars revealed that 1171 genes responded to salt stress in BXC while 1487 genes were identified as salt-stress-responsive in YL. A real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis of 12 of the responsive genes revealed that there was a strong, positive correlation with RNA sequencing data. The genes were involved in several pathways, including photosynthesis, the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, metabolism, and plant hormone signal transduction, and their expression levels differed between the two cultivars in response to salt stress. This study provides a molecular perspective of two melon cultivars in response to salt stress, and its results could be used to investigate the complex molecular mechanisms underlying salt tolerance in the melon.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ST2825, an inhibitor of myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), on the proliferation and apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells as well as the potential mechanism and clinical significance of ST2825 in the treatment of HCC. Immunohistochemical staining with an MyD88 antibody was performed on tissues from 80 human HCC patients and adjacent normal tissues. In the in vitro experiment, human HCC HepG-2 cells cultured in vitro were divided into the following groups: blank, control (1% DMSO), low-dose (2 μM), medium-dose (10 μM), and high-dose ST2825 (20 μM). Cell apoptosis was detected by the Annexin V-FITC assay, and HepG-2 cell proliferation was detected by the MTT assay. The expression of IκB, p65, cyclin D1, caspase-3, and bcl-2 in the cells after a 48-h treatment was assayed by western blot analysis. MyD88 expression in the HCC tissue was significantly higher than that in the adjacent normal tissue (P < 0.05). The proliferation and apoptosis rates of control HCC cells displayed no significant differences compared with those of the blank group (P > 0.05). Compared with the control, ST2825 significantly inhibited the proliferation of and promoted the apoptosis of HCC cells. Moreover, ST2825 significantly decreased bcl-2 expression, increased cleaved caspase-3 expression (P < 0.05), and reduced p65 nuclear expression (P < 0.05) in a dose-dependent manner. ST2825 inhibits the proliferation of and promotes the apoptosis of HCC cells, thereby suggesting that ST2825 may be a new drug for HCC treatment.