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Haemaphysalis longicornis is an important ectoparasite of domestic and wild animals that can transmit many pathogens including viruses, fungi, bacteria and protozoa. In this study, we examined genetic variation and population genetics in three mitochondrial (mt) genes [cox1 (cytochrome c subunit 1), rrnL (large subunit ribosomal RNA) and nad5 (NADH dehydrogenase 5)] among four H. longicornis populations from China. The sizes of the partial sequences of cox1, rrnL and nad5 were 776 bp, 409 bp, 510 bp, respectively. Among the obtained sequences, we identified 22 haplotypes for cox1, 2 haplotypes for rrnL and 17 haplotypes for nad5. Low gene flow and significant genetic differentiation (66.2%) were detected among H. longicornis populations. There was no rapid expansion event in the demographic history of four H. longicornis populations in China. In addition, phylogenetic analyses confirmed that all the Haemaphysalis isolates were H. longicornis which were segregated into two major clades. The mt DNA genes provide a potential novel genetic marker for molecular epidemiology of H. longicornis and assist in the control of tick and tick-borne diseases in humans and animals.

Genome editing using engineered nucleases has rapidly transformed from a niche technology to a mainstream method used in various host cells. Its widespread adoption has been largely developed by the emergence of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system, which uses an easily customizable specificity RNA-guided DNA endonuclease, such as Cas9. Recently, CRISPR/Cas9 mediated genome engineering has been widely applied to model organisms, including Bacillus subtilis, enabling facile, rapid high-fidelity modification of endogenous native genes. Here, we reviewed the recent progress in B. subtilis gene editing using CRISPR/Cas9 based tools, and highlighted state-of-the-art strategies for design of CRISPR/Cas9 system. Finally, future perspectives on the use of CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering for sequence-specific genome editing in B. subtilis are provided.

To analyze the success rate and influencing factors for collecting peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) by combination of cyclophosphamide (CTX) or E-CHOP chemotherapy combined with granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in patients with multiple myeloma.The clinical data of 75 patients with multiple myeloma in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received CTX or E-CHOP chemotherapy combined with G-CSF mobilization to collect HSC, and the success rate (CD34A total of 86 collections by mobilization were performed in 75 patients, with the average 3.22 (0.12-22.28)×10There are no significant effects of sex, disease type, ISS staging and mobilization methods on the success rate of HSC collection in patients with multiple myeloma, and the less course number of chemotherapy (5) before collection show a higher success rate of HSC collection.

Aims: To identify and characterize the top-cited articles in the field of islet transplantation. Methods: We used the Science Citation Index Expanded database to identify the most frequently cited articles published after 1900. Articles were evaluated using the following characteristics: citation number, publication year, study design, references, country and institution of origin, authorship, and journal. Keyword analysis and citation networks were used to analyze research trends. Results: The most frequently cited articles received between 146 and 2988 citations; the median was 291. All of the most frequently cited articles were published between 1972 and 2012, and 85 articles were published after 1990. The most popular study design involved basic science (75 articles). The leading countries were the United States (US) and Canada, and the leading institutions were the University of Alberta, Canada, and the University of Minnesota, in the US. Journals specializing in diabetes or transplantation published more than half of the articles (n = 53, 52%), with the journal Diabetes publishing the largest number (n = 30). No association was found between a journal's impact factor and the number of top-cited articles it published. There was no correlation between the number of citations and the number of years since publication, authors, participating institutions, or countries involved. Top-cited articles focused on 2 themes: the use of antirejection immunotherapy or biocompatible encapsulations to prolong graft survival, and assessments of the efficacy of islet transplants, in particular, islet allografts. Conclusions: Our study can help researchers to identify and decipher the characteristics of top-cited articles in the field of islet transplantation. Just as clinically successful allografts are carried out using the Edmonton protocol, autografts and xenografts should be similarly strengthened to solve problems relating to immune rejection and islet sources, respectively.

Ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are thought to play primary roles in aggravating air pollution-induced health problems. However, the effects of joint O3/NO2 on the allergenicity of pollen allergens are unclear. Humulus japonicus pollen allergen 1 (Hum j1) is a profilin protein that causes widespread pollinosis in eastern Asia. In order to study the effects of combined O3/NO2 on the allergenicity of Hum j1, tandem six-histidine peptide tag (His6)-fused recombinant Hum j1 (rHum j1) was expressed in a prokaryotic system and purified through His6 affinity chromatography. The purified rHum j1 was used to immunize SD rats. Rat sera with high titers of IgG and IgE antibodies against rHum j1 were used for allergenicity quantification. The rHum j1 was exposed to O3/NO2, and changes in allergenicity of the exposed rHum j1 were assayed using the immunized rat antibodies. Tandem LC-MS/LC (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer/liquid chromatography spectrometer) chromatography and UV and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy were used to study the structural changes in rHum j1. Our data demonstrated that a novel disulfide bond between the sulfhydryl groups of two neighboring cysteine molecules was formed after the rHum j1 exposure to joint O3/NO2, and therefore IgE-binding affinity was increased and the allergenicity was reinforced. Our results provided clues to elucidate the mechanism behind air pollution-induced increase in pollinosis prevalence.

BACKGROUND Laparoscopic right hepatectomy (LRH) is one of the most challenging procedures. Right liver resections have been always performed in open procedure and open right hepatectomy (ORH) was initially considered as routine way. Moreover, it is unclear how beneficial the minimally invasive technique is to patients; thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to acquire a more reliable conclusion about the feasibility and safety of LRH compared with ORH. METHODS We comprehensively searched the electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library using the key words. Meta-analysis was performed using the Review Manager, with results expressed as odds ratio and weighted mean difference with 95% confidence intervals. The fixed-effect model was selected initially if high heterogeneity was not present between the studies; otherwise, the randomized-effect model was used. Subgroup analysis was performed based on different surgical methods of pure laparoscopic operation or hand-assisted operation. RESULTS Seven studies with 467 patients were included. In the overall analysis, less intraoperative blood loss (MD = -155.17; 95% CI, -238.89, -71.45; P = .0003) and a shorter length of stay (MD = -4.45; 95% CI, -5.84, -3.07; P

Based on improved A* algorithm, this paper proposes the optimal path planning of robot fish in globally known environment, so as to achieve better coordination between the robot fish by means of improving their path planning. In the known obstacle environment which is rasterized, target nodes are generated via smoothing A* algorithm. The unnecessary connection points are removed then and the path is smoothed at the turning points. That improved algorithm, in combination with distributed scroll algorithms, is applied to multi-robot path planning in an effort to optimize the path with the avoidance of collision. The experimental results on the 2D simulation platform have verified the feasibility of that method.

Fergana Basin, Central Asia's oldest oil and gas exploration area, reached an output of approximately 1.5 million tons per year in 1950s.【1,2】. Even after years of exploration and development, there is still a great resource potential【3】The exploration of block A in the south of the Fergana basin was started in 1930s suspended when the USSR collapsed. It was resumed in 2011 after it was acquired by company Z. There are some problems for the log interpretation such as the lack of related data, the low formation pressure caused by excessive exploration,. These problems cause the decline in terms of similarity between the log interpretation and the testing data. Based on the above issues, this paper studies the analysis of the problems and put forward reasonable proposals to the next step of the work to provide a sound basis for further exploration.

Metastasis associated in colon cancer 1 (MACC1), a key regulator of the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/MET signaling pathway, has been implicated in multiple human cancers. However, little is known regarding its expression and biological function in human gallbladder cancer (GBC). In this study, we focused on the clinical significance and biological functions of MACC1 in GBC and found that MACC1 protein overexpression was frequently detected in GBC tissues. Patients with MACC1-positive tumors had worse overall survival than patients with MACC1-negative tumors. Furthermore, treatment of GBC lines with MACC1-targeting small interfering RNA oligonucleotides (MACC1-siRNA) significantly reduced the proliferation of GBC-SD and OCUG-1 cell lines and diminished both anchorage-independent growth on soft agar and cell migration. These data indicate that MACC1 acts as a putative oncogene in GBC and could be a novel diagnostic and therapeutic target for GBC.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (DOT) is interested in new technologies to improve transportation asset management (TAM) practices. A central component of TAM is pavement condition and performance assessment. To investigate methods to improve TAM data collection, the Michigan DOT and the Center for Automotive Research researched the potential for connected vehicle data to contribute to pavement condition and performance assessment. This effort included the review, critical analysis, and synthesis of several research reports and pilot projects to determine feasible methods of using connected vehicle data for pavement condition and performance assessment. The scope of connected vehicle data was defined to include data collected by sensors installed on consumer available vehicles and smartphones. The technology to allow for data capture from embedded vehicle systems and smartphones was established, but implementing such practices into TAM had not yet proved to be practical. One possibility for effe...

In a wide variety of high-power pulsed devices, vacuum surface flashover plays an important role in the system performance. The capability of grooved dielectric to hold off high-voltage pulse is investigated experimentally by using a long pulse electron beam accelerator, which is capable of generating a quasi-square wave with pulse duration of 180 ns and output voltage of 100-400 kV. It is found that both concavely and convexly grooved dielectrics increase promisingly the flashover time lags. With groove width of 2 mm, depth of 2 mm, period of 4 mm, electrode gap spacing of 100 mm, and diode voltage of 265 kV, the flashover time lag for polycarbonate is found to increase from 93.0 ns to 182.6 ns. While for polytetrafluoroethylene, its flashover time lag is increased from 45.0 ns to 81.2 ns, and for high-density polyethylene, its flashover time lag is increased from 72.4 ns to 100.5 ns. Electrical and optical diagnoses on temporal evolution of flashover channel confirm that surface flashover in vacuum is characterized by three-phase development, namely the secondary electron emission avalanche (SEEA), impact ionization in desorbed gas, and the final plasma driven breakdown. Based on this analyzing, it is found that the increase of flashover time lags is mainly due to the suppressing of SEEA process by using grooved structures.

Autophagy is an important mechanism for recycling cell materials upon encountering stress conditions. Our previous studies had shown that TMV infection could lead to systemic PCD in the distal uninfected tissues, including root tip and shoot tip tissues. But it is not clear whether there is autophagy in the distal apical meristem of TMV-induced plants. To better understand the autophagy process during systemic PCD, here we investigated the formation and type of autophagy in the root meristem cells occurring PCD. Transmission electron microscopy assay revealed that the autophagic structures formed by the fusion of vesicles, containing the sequestered cytoplasm, multilamellar bodies, and degraded mitochondria. In the PCD progress, many mitochondria appeared degradation with blurred inner membrane structure. And the endoplasmic reticulum was broke into small fragments. Finally, the damaged mitochodria were engulfed and degraded by the autophagosomes. These results indicated that during the systemic PCD process of root tip cells, the classical macroautophagy occurred, and the cell contents and damaged organelles (mitochondria) would be self-digested by autophagy.

The surface hardness field, modificative layer microstructure and fatigue properties of carburized M50NiL steel after ordinary grinding and precision grinding, were studied using Vickers hardness tester, XRD, TEM, HRTEM and the rotating bending fatigue tester. The results showed that two grinding processes are different only on the amount of feed and surface roughness, but bring larger changes in the surface hardness field, modificative layer microstructure and fatigue properties. Two kinds of grinding have different effects on the hardness depth, the impact depth of precision grinding is smaller; There was more austenite on ordinary grinding surface, and the surface layer showed a clear modificative layer of austenitic effective grain ; precision grinding surface modificative layer is very small deformation nano-martensite, but also shows a clear effective grain phenomenon; effective grain no obvious interface; effective grain turning phenomenon is apparent, adjacent effective grain rotation angle is up to 14 ◦ , while, there are slight turning phenomenon within the effective

As the development of the pulsed power technology, high voltage pulse transformer (HVPT) is usually used instead of Marx generator as a charging device for the pulse forming line (PFL) of intense electron-beam accelerator (IEBA), and which make the IEBA compact. However, during the operation of the IEBA, the HVPT may be destroyed for the failure of electrical insulation and the over-voltage. So in this paper, the output voltage characteristics of IEBA, characteristics of the voltage at the output terminal of HVPT at four kinds of load conditions are analyzed, including load matching, load short, load open, and surface flashover in the vacuum chamber. It is found that load short, load open, and surface flashover in vacuum chamber will affect the voltage at the output terminal of HVPT, and an oscillation wave could be formed, which affect the electrical insulation of HVPT and decrease the lifetime of HVPT. Meanwhile, the waveform of the load voltage is also modified, especially at the conditions of load open and surface flashover in vacuum chamber. When the load is open, the amplitude of the output main pulse of IEBA is twice the charging voltage of BPFL. However, the amplitude of the output pulse of IEBA is modified by the voltage at the output terminal of HVPT, and the resistance of main switch channel has a great effect on the amplitude of the load voltage. When surface flashover occurs in the vacuum chamber, the pulse duration of the output voltage will be decreased. So, during the operation of IEBA, load short, load open and surface flashover in vacuum chamber should be avoided.

An experimental investigation of surface flashover characteristics in vacuum pressure of 1.3×10-2 Pa (10-4 Torr) was introduced by using a quasi-square pulse generated by an intense electron beam accelerator (IEBA) with duration of 180 ns and voltage of 180-300 kV, and the gap spacing length was varied from 100 to 210 mm. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), High density Polyethylene plastics (HDPE) and Polyamide (PA) were chosen as the investigating insulator dielectrics in this paper. The effects of insulator material, applied voltage and gap spacing length on the surface flashover characteristics are presented. Meanwhile, the delay time, flashover current and impedance of the flashover channel are also discussed.

The Blumlein pulse forming line (BPFL) consisting of an inner coaxial pulse forming line (PFL) and an outer coaxial PFL is widely used in the field of pulsed power, especially for intense electron-beam accelerators (IEBA). The output voltage waveform determines the quality and characteristics of the output beam current of the IEBA. Comparing with the conventional BPFL, an IEBA based on a strip spiral type BPFL can increase the duration of the output voltage in the same geometrical volume. However, for the spiral type BPFL, the voltage waveform on a matched load may be distorted, which influences the electron-beam quality. In this paper, the output waveform of an IEBA based on strip spiral BPFL is analyzed. It is found that there is fluctuation on the flattop of the main pulse, and the flatness is increased with the increment of the output voltage. According to the time integrated pictures of the cathode holder during the operation of the IEBA, the electron emission of the cathode holder is one of the reasons to cause the variance of the flatness. Furthermore, the distribution of the current density of spiral middle cylinder of the BPFL is calculated by using electromagnetic simulation software, and it is obtained that the current density is not uniform, and which leads to the nonuniformity of the impedance of BPFL. Meanwhile, when the nonuniformity of the BPFL is taken into account, the operation of the whole accelerator is simulated using a circuit-simulation code called PSpice. It is obtained that the nonuniformity of the BPFL influences the flatness of the output voltage waveform. In order to get an ideal square pulse voltage waveform and to improve the electron beam quality of such an accelerator, the uniformity of the spiral middle cylinder should be improved and the electron emission of the cathode holder should be avoided. The theoretical analysis and simulated output voltage waveform shows reasonable agreement with that of the experimental results.

An intense electron-beam accelerator, which consists of a primary storage capacitor system, a magnetic core Tesla transformer, Blumlein pulse forming line of water dielectric, and a field-emission diode, are constructed and described. The experimental results show that the output voltage of transformer is more than 740 kV, the rise time is about 5 µs, the diode voltage is about 596 kV, electron beam current is about 60 kA, the duration is about 100 ns, and the power is 36 GW when charging voltage is 40 kV. It was suitable to drive magnetically insulated transmission line oscillator. And it can be also used in materials surface modification. This accelerator is very compact and works stably and reliably.

Experiments on the surface flashover under 180-ns quasi-square waves with voltage of several hundred kilovolts are reported. In the experiments, employing a 280-kV 180-ns full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) voltage on the load, no flashover occurred. When the voltage was up to 350 kV, even 420 kV, surface flashover along the insulator occurred, and it started at the top part of the applied voltage pulse, so the FWHM of the output voltage of pulse generator was reduced to 150 ns, even 120 ns. Also, the experiment results show that surface flashover channel could be recovered quickly if a heteropolarity voltage was applied on the flashover channel. Finally, the characteristics of the surface flashover are present, including the flashover time, flashover current, and resistance.

In considering transmissibility of force and the output force of actuator, the transfer function was got between input excitations and out performance. Adopting different feedback control variable as velocity, force, full state etc, the H2 optimal control was applied to double layer isolation system. By analyzing the amplitude-frequency characteristics of transfer function, comparing the advantages and disadvantages of various feedback control strategy, the best control method of H2 is determined.

The active vibration control system are described in this paper, and the controller was designed for the active control system, the controller is based on ARM Cortex M3 microcontroller core, ICP series acceleration sensor is use for signal acquisition module, the A / D converter module was designed based on ADS1158 chip, the D/ A converter module was designed based on DAC8564 chip. The controller has the characteristics of high speed and versatility.

Objective To investigate the correlation between the structure of the left ventricle and exercise tolerance of patient with essential hypertension.Methods The clinical data of 339 hypertensive patients(226 males and 113 females) were consecutively collected from Feb.2008 to Feb.2010 in cardiovascular clinic of Zhejiang Hospital.All the patients underwent Doppler echocardiography in order to appraise the left ventricular structure,and walking tolerance was assessed by 6-minute walk distance test.During each test,peak oxygen consumption(VO2) was measured using a portable metabolic system.The patients were divided into two groups according to left ventricular mass index(LVMI),hypertension with left ventricular hypertrophy(LVH)(n=145) and hypertension without LVH(n=194).Unadjusted correlation analysis and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used to investigate the correlation between the left ventricular structure,e.g.left ventricular end diastolic dimension(LVEDD),left ventricular end systolic dimension(LVESD),interventricular septal thickness(IVST) and posterior wall thickness(PWT),LVMI,and 6-minute walk distance and peak VO2.Results Unadjusted correlation analysis showed that LVEDD(r=-0.157,P=0.004),LVESD(r=-0.139,P=0.01),IVST(r=-0.193,PP

Synthesized considering several performance target, robust optimal control was applied to uncertain double layer vibration isolation system then the transfer function was got between input disturbance and out performance. By analyzing the amplitude-frequency characteristics of transfer function, the result show that the robust LQ control can successfully improve the isolation performance of uncertain hybrid vibration isolation system, realize the multi-objective optimization.

1. Our objective is to investigate the alterations of hepatic drug transporters and metabolizing enzymes in hypercholesterolemia. Male Sprague–Dawley rats were fed high-cholesterol chows for 8 weeks to induce hypercholesterolemia. Protein levels of hepatic drug transporters and metabolizing enzymes were analyzed by iTRAQ labeling coupled with LC TRIPLE-TOF. 2. Total 239 differentially expressed proteins were identified using proteomic analysis. Among those, protein levels of hepatic drug transporters (MRP2, ABCD3, OAT2, SLC25A12, SCL38A3, SLC2A2 and SLC25A5) and metabolizing enzymes (CYP2B3, CYP2C7, CYP2C11, CYP2C13, CYP4A2 and UGT2B) were markedly reduced, but the levels of CYP2C6 and CYP2E1 were increased in hypercholesterolemia group compared to control. Decreased expressions of drug transporters MRP2 and OAT2 were further confirmed by real time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and western blot. 3. Ingenuity pathway analysis revealed that these differentially expressed proteins were regulated by various signaling pathways including nuclear receptors and inflammatory cytokines. One of the nuclear receptor candidates, liver X receptor alpha (LXRα), was further validated by RT-qPCR and western blot. Additionally, LXRα agonist T0901317 rescued the reduced expressions of MRP2 and OAT2 in HepG2 cells in hypercholesterolemic serum treatment. 4. Our present results indicated that hypercholesterolemia affected the expressions of various drug transporters and metabolizing enzymes in liver via nuclear receptors pathway. Especially, decreased function of LXRα contributes to the reduced expressions of MRP2 and OAT2.

Background Increasing evidence indicates that the dysregulation of miRNAs expression is involved in the tumorigenesis by acting as tumor suppressors or oncogenes. However, no study investigates the function and mechanisms of miR-24 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods Quantitative RT-PCR, MTT, colony formation, soft-agar, wound healing, Transwell migration and invasion assays, and xenograft tumor growth and lung metastasis models were performed to test the expression levels and functions of miR-24 in NPC. Luciferase reporter assay, quantitative RT-PCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry were used to identify and verify the target of miR-24. Results The results showed that MiR-24 was obviously downregulated in NPC cell lines and tissue samples (P

Understanding origin, evolution and functions of small RNA (sRNA) genes has been a great challenge in the past decade. Molecular mechanisms underlying sexual reversal in vertebrates, particularly sRNAs involved in this process, are largely unknown. By deep-sequencing of small RNA transcriptomes in combination with genomic analysis, we identified a large amount of piRNAs and miRNAs including over 1,000 novel miRNAs, which were differentially expressed during gonad reversal from ovary to testis via ovotesis. Biogenesis and expressions of miRNAs were dynamically changed during the reversal. Notably, phylogenetic analysis revealed dynamic expansions of miRNAs in vertebrates and an evolutionary trajectory of conserved miR-17-92 cluster in the Eukarya. We showed that the miR-17-92 cluster in vertebrates was generated through multiple duplications from ancestor miR-92 in invertebrates Tetranychus urticae and Daphnia pulex from the Chelicerata around 580 Mya. Moreover, we identified the sexual regulator Dmrt1 as a direct target of the members miR-19a and -19b in the cluster. These data suggested dynamic biogenesis and expressions of small RNAs during sex reversal and revealed multiple expansions and evolutionary trajectory of miRNAs from invertebrates to vertebrates, which implicate small RNAs in sexual reversal and provide new insight into evolutionary and molecular mechanisms underlying sexual reversal.

To explore the application of three-dimensional (3D) high-definition (HD) laparoscopy in radical operation for stomach carcinoma.A total of 12 cases of radical operation for stomach carcinoma were performed under 3D laparoscopy. The procedures included total gastrectomy (n = 6) and distal gastrectomy (n = 6). The operative duration, intraoperative blood loss, number of lymph node harvested, postoperative first flatus day and time of food intake were recorded and analyzed.All cases were successfully operated without complications. The operative duration was 180-210 min, blood loss 50-150 ml, number of lymph node harvested 32-54 and postoperative first faltus day 1-3 days. Also all cases could take fluids at Days 4-5 postoperation.3D laparoscopic radical operation for gastric cancer may be performed safely and effectively with decreased surgical difficulties.

To compare the accuracy of computer tomography (CT) plus diagnostic laparoscopy in preoperative staging of potentially resectable gastric cancer.A total of 194 gastric cancer patients underwent combined CT and laparoscopic staging. Then the results were compared with those of pathologic TNM staging.Comparing with pathologic TNM stage, the T staging accuracy of CT was lower than that of laparoscopy (72.7% vs 89.6%, χ² = 7.844, P = 0.005), the N staging accuracies of CT and laparoscopy were 55.6% and 70.1% (χ² = 4.329, P = 0.037) and the M staging accuracies 90.7% and 97.9% respectively (χ² = 4.722, P = 0.030). The diagnostic laparoscopy uncovered 14 patients with peritoneal metastases.The value of CT is limited in preoperative staging of gastric cancer.However its accuracy may be enhanced by laparoscopy through detecting more peritoneal metastasis.

In 1997 the Ann Arbor (Michigan) Transportation Authority began deploying a set of integrated, advanced public transportation system technologies in its vehicles, stations, and control center. Selected findings are summarized of a multidimensional evaluation of the effects of the system on schedule adherence and transfer time, passenger perception, and drivers. Some improvement in on-time performance was observed in vehicle departures from major transfer points, though not in arrivals. Modest improvements were observed in transfer coordination for routes planned for timed transfers. Deployment of the system did not raise passengers’ rating of relevant aspects of their transit experience, but impacts of individual system elements were rated favorably. Focus groups and a driver survey revealed a fundamentally favorable attitude toward the deployment of technology coupled with some concern about limitations that it might impose on driver communications and on-the-job creativity. Benefits of the system that were not apparent during the period of the evaluation but may materialize over the longer term include prevention of and response to safety- and security-related incidents and enhanced information for transit planning.

To explore the expression of metastasis-associated colon cancer 1 (MACC1) proteins in esophageal carcinoma and neighboring tissues.The expressions of MACC1 were detected in 60 specimens of esophageal carcinoma and neighboring tissues with immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. All the specimens were selected from 2010-2012 of Guangfu Hospital of Jinhua, 38 males and 22 females, aged (50 ± 12) years. And the correlations of the expressions of MACC1 proteins with the clinicopathologic features of esophageal carcinoma were also analyzed.Expression of MACC1 protein was predominantly located in cytoplasm and membrane. The positivity rates of MACC1 protein were 68.3% (41/60) in esophageal carcinoma tissue and there were significant differences from those in neighboring tissue (25.0(15/60), P0.01). Western blotting analysis showed that the expression level of MACC1 protein in esophageal carcinoma was greater than that in corresponding adjacent tissues (0.64 ± 0.05 vs 0.21 ± 0.10, P0.05). Moreover, the positivity rates and relative expressions of MACC1 showed significant correlations with TNM stage and pathology grade (all P0.05).The abnormal expression of MACC1 may be associated with malignant progression of esophageal carcinoma.

To explore the changes of brachial flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and soluble VEGF receptor 1 (sFLT) in patients with severe sepsis and evaluate their prognostic values.A total of 128 patients with severe sepsis were consecutively recruited from January 2009 to January 2011 at Intensive Care Unit of Zhejiang Hospital. And their general profiles and clinical characteristics were analyzed. Brachial artery FMD was measured by ultrasound upon admission after a diagnosis of severe sepsis. The plasma levels of VEGF and sFLT were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The average age was (69.0 ± 10.1) years and the 28-day mortality rate stood at 41.4%. Compared with the survivors, the non-survivors had a lower brachial FMD (P0.001) and a higher plasma concentration of sFLT (P = 0.006). However, the survivors and non-survivors had a similar plasma level of sFLT (P = 0.32). In addition, brachial FMD was inversely correlated with sFLT (r = -0.39, P0.001), but not with plasma VEGF (r = 0.07, P = 0.11). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that the optimal FMD (sensitivity 81%, specificity 76%) and plasma sFLT (sensitivity 77%, specificity 71%) cutoff values were 4.5% and 398 pg/ml for 28-day mortality respectively. The multiple Logistic regression analysis revealed that brachial FMD (OR = 0.48, 95%CI: 0.22 - 0.81, P = 0.04) and plasma sFLT (OR = 1.86, 95%CI: 1.21 - 3.08, P = 0.02) were independent predictors of 28-day mortality rate.Lower brachial FMD and higher plasma sFLT may reflect endothelial function impairment and carry a higher risk of mortality in patients with severe sepsis and have. Non-invasive ultrasonic assessment of flow-mediated dilation is recommended.