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Objective: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-associated disease characterized by placental dysfunction and increased oxidative stress. Apocyanin is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory which has shown beneficial effects on PE pathogenesis. Aspirin is recognized as the recommendable drug in PE prevention and therapy. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effects of combining apocyanin and aspirin to treat PE on rat models induced by N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) from gestational day (GD) 6 to 16 and elucidate the potential mechanisms.Methods: First, female pregnant rats were divided into five different groups: pregnant control, PE, PE + apocyanin, PE + aspirin, and PE + apocyanin + aspirin. Animals received apocyanin (16 mg/kg/day) orally or aspirin by gavage (1.5 mg/kg BM/day) from GD 4 to 16. Blood pressure and urine protein content were monitored every 4 days.Results: In the PE rat model, elevated systolic blood pressure and proteinuria were ameliorated by the combination of apocyanin and aspirin. Meanwhile, compared with single-dose apocyanin or aspirin, the combined treatment significantly corrected abnormal pregnancy outcomes, decreased sFlt-1 and PlGF, and alleviated oxidative stress both in blood and placental tissues. Moreover, the combined treatment upregulated PI3K, Akt, Nrf2, and HO-1 protein levels in the placental tissues from PE rats.Conclusion: Overall, our results suggested that combined treatment of apocyanin and aspirin ameliorates the PE symptoms compared with single-dose apocyanin or aspirin in a PE rat model. Also, we demonstrated that activating the PI3K/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway can be a valuable therapeutic target to improve the pregnancy outcomes of PE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Patients with advanced pancreatic cancer (APC) and liver metastases have much poorer prognoses than patients with other metastatic patterns. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop and validate a radiomics model to discriminate patients with pancreatic cancer and liver metastases from those with other metastatic patterns. METHODS: We evaluated 77 patients who had APC and performed texture analysis on the region of interest. 58 patients and 19 patients were allocated randomly into the training and validation cohorts with almost the same proportion of liver metastases. An independentsamples t -test was used for feature selection in the training cohort. Random forest classifier was used to construct models based on these features and a radiomics signature (RS) was derived. A nomogram was constructed based on RS and CA19-9, and was validated with calibration plot and decision curve. The prognostic value of RS was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier methods. RESULTS: The constructed nomogram demonstrated good discrimination in the training (AUC = 0.93) and validation (AUC = 0.81) cohorts. In both cohorts, patients with RS > 0.61 had much poorer overall survival than patients with RS < 0.61. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents a radiomics nomogram incorporating RS and CA19-9 to discriminate patients who have APC with liver metastases from patients with other metastatic patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the diagnosis, treatment, and maternal and fetal outcomes of placental abruption.Materials and Methods: We recruited 585 cases of placental abruption from the Women and Children's Hospital Affiliated to Xiamen University between January 2012 and December 2017. Cases were categorized into four groups (class 0-III) according to the clinical guidelines published by the Obstetrics and Gynecology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association. We then compared clinical data and auxiliary examinations across the four groups.Results: The differences were statistically significant (p < .01) among the four groups of placental abruption with regard to the incidence of an abnormal ultrasound finding. Positive ultrasound signs were evident in 6.4% of the patients categorized as class 0 and 100.0% of patients categorized as class III. Monitoring showed that fetal heart rate (FHR) was abnormal in class II patients with placental abruption; patients in class III showed no fetal heart sounds. Cesarean section was carried out for 26.6%, 75.1%, 65.2%, and 47.1% of patients in classes 0, I, II, and III, respectively. The rate of cesarean section for classes I and II was the highest, while the lowest rate occurred for class 0. Postpartum hemorrhage occurred in 2.5%, 9.3%, 15.2%, and 29.4% of patients across the four groups, DIC occurred in 0.0%, 1.3%, 2.3%, and 23.5% of cases, and perinatal death occurred in 1.0%, 1.3%, 7.6%, and 100.0% of cases, respectively. The highest incidence of postpartum hemorrhage was in class III (29.4%) and the lowest was in class 0 (2.5%). The highest incidence of DIC was in class III (23.5%) and the lowest was in class 0 (0.0%). The highest incidence of neonatal asphyxia was in class II (34.1%) and the lowest was in class 0 (10.1%). Regarding perinatal death, the highest incidence was in class III (100.0%) and the lowest was in class 0 (1.0%). These data showed significance differences when compared across the four groups of patients (p < .01).Conclusions: We recommend that the diagnosis of placental abruption should consider risk factors, clinical features, FHR monitoring, and dynamic ultrasound monitoring. Early diagnosis and treatment can improve maternal and infant prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transposable elements exist widely throughout plant genomes and play important roles in plant evolution. Auxin is an important regulator that is traditionally associated with root development and drought stress adaptation. The DEEPER ROOTING 1 (DRO1) gene is a key component of rice drought avoidance. Here, we identified a transposon that acts as an autonomous auxin‐responsive promoter and its presence at specific genome positions conveys physiological adaptations related to drought avoidance. Rice varieties with a high and auxin‐mediated transcription of DRO1 in the root tip show deeper and longer root phenotypes and are thus better adapted to drought. The INDITTO2 transposon contains an auxin response element and displays auxin‐responsive promoter activity; it is thus able to convey auxin regulation of transcription to genes in its proximity. In the rice Acuce, which displays DRO1‐mediated drought adaptation, the INDITTO2 transposon was found to be inserted at the promoter region of the DRO1 locus. Transgenesis‐based insertion of the INDITTO2 transposon into the DRO1 promoter of the non‐adapted rice variety Nipponbare was sufficient to promote its drought avoidance. Our data identify an example of how transposons can act as promoters and convey hormonal regulation to nearby loci, improving plant fitness in response to different abiotic stresses. Role of auxin regulating drought avoidance remains unclear. In this study, an INDITTO2 transposon inserted at a DRO1 locus conveys auxin‐regulated transcription of the DRO1 and thus enhances rice root drought avoidance. It shows that the interaction of transposon and auxin can improve plant fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naïve and memory T cells play a pivotal role in solid tumor pathogenesis but their role in pancreatic cancer progression remains elusive. Thus, we aimed to investigate their clinical potential in advanced pancreatic cancer (APC). Flow cytometry was performed to evaluate the level of baseline peripheral naïve and memory T cells from 137 APC patients before receiving first‐line chemotherapy. Interrelationships between naïve, memory T cells and clinicopathological variables were evaluated using Pearson's correlation. The prognostic impact of naïve and memory T cells were assessed by Kaplan‐Meier analysis and Cox regression. The correlation between naïve/memory T cells and tumor progression was investigated by Student's t test. CD4+ naïve/memory ratio showed close correlations with hemoglobin, red blood cell (RBC), absolute neutrophil count (ANC) and platelet while CD8+ naïve/memory ratio was correlated with hemoglobin, RBC and CEA. Higher baseline lever of CD4+CD45RO+/CD4+ was correlated with better overall survival (OS) (P = 0.036). Patients with CD4+ naïve/memory ratio ≥0.36 had a poorer OS than those with CD4+ naïve/memory ratio <0.36 (P = 0.021). In addition, CD4+ naïve/memory ratio showed independent prognostic impact (HR 1.427, 95% CI 1.033‐1.973, P = 0.031). Furthermore, poorer clinical response was correlated with higher level of CD8+ naïve/memory ratio after the third cycle of chemotherapy (P = 0.01). Besides, patients with a lower level of CD8+ naïve/memory ratio had longer progression‐free survival (PFS) (P = 0.028). We propose CD4+ naïve/memory ratio as a novel prognostic biomarker for APC. In addition, CD8+ naïve/memory ratio can be a candidate marker for predicting PFS and the change of its level may reflect the progression of APC. We propose CD4+ naive/memory ratio as a novel prognostic biomarker for APC. In addition, CD8+ naive/memory ratio can be a candidate marker for predicting PFS and the change of its level may reflect the progression of APC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of combined epidural and general anesthesia on gastric cancer patients undergoing tumor resection. A total of 107 patients with early-stage gastric cancer who underwent surgery between January 2014 and January 2017 were enrolled in the present study. All patients in the control group (n=54) were treated with general anesthesia, while patients in the observation group (n=53) were treated with combined epidural and general anesthesia. The percentages of viable T lymphocyte subsets and the levels of carcinoembryonic antigen in the serum were measured. Furthermore, the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1, IL-8, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were measured. Compared with those in the control group, the percentages of CD3+ and CD4+ T lymphocytes and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio in the observation group were increased, while the population of CD8+ cells was decreased. Furthermore, the serum levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1, IL-8, hs-CRP and TNF-α in the observation group were reduced compared with those in the control group. In addition, the incidence of nausea and vomiting, as well as post-operative agitation were lower in the observation group compared with those in the control group. In conclusion, compared with general anesthesia, combined anesthesia inhibits the inflammatory response and improves immune function in early-stage gastric cancer patients undergoing tumor resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]