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Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is one of the most effective reperfusion strategies for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) despite myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, causing one of the causes of most cardiomyocyte injuries and deaths. The pathological processes of myocardial I/R injury include apoptosis, autophagy, and irreversible cell death caused by calcium overload, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Eventually, myocardial I/R injury causes a spike of further cardiomyocyte injury that contributes to final infarct size (IS) and bound with hospitalization of heart failure as well as all-cause mortality within the following 12 months. Therefore, the addition of adjuvant intervention to improve myocardial salvage and cardiac function calls for further investigation. Phytochemicals are non-nutritive bioactive secondary compounds abundantly found in Chinese herbal medicine. Great effort has been put into phytochemicals because they are often in line with the expectations to improve myocardial I/R injury without compromising the clinical efficacy or to even produce synergy. We summarized the previous efforts, briefly outlined the mechanism of myocardial I/R injury, and focused on exploring the cardioprotective effects and potential mechanisms of all phytochemical types that have been investigated under myocardial I/R injury. Phytochemicals deserve to be utilized as promising therapeutic candidates for further development and research on combating myocardial I/R injury. Nevertheless, more studies are needed to provide a better understanding of the mechanism of myocardial I/R injury treatment using phytochemicals and possible side effects associated with this approach., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Chen, Yu, Cheng, Xu, Cai, Jin, Feng, Xie, Qu, Li, Liu, Li, Cui, Lu, Zhou, Lin and Wan.)

Objective: To assess the cardiovascular safety of celecoxib compared to non-selective non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs or placebo., Methods: We included randomized controlled trials of oral celecoxib compared with a non-selective NSAID or placebo in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis patients. We conducted searches in EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL, MEDLINE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP, Wanfang, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database. Study selection and data extraction were done by two authors independently. The risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane's risk-of-bias Tool for Randomized Trials. The effect size was presented as a risk ratio with their 95% confidence interval., Results: Until July 22nd, 2021, our search identified 6279 records from which, after exclusions, 21 trials were included in the meta-analysis. The overall pooled risk ratio for Antiplatelet Trialists Collaboration cardiovascular events for celecoxib compared with any non-selective non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs was 0.89 (95% confidence interval: 0.80-1.00). The pooled risk ratio for all-cause mortality for celecoxib compared with non-selective non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs was 0.81 (95% confidence interval: 0.66-0.98). The cardiovascular mortality rate of celecoxib was lower than non-selective non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (risk ratio: 0.75, 95% confidence interval: 0.57-0.99). There was no significant difference between celecoxib and non-selective non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs or placebo in the risk of other cardiovascular events., Conclusion: Celecoxib is relatively safe in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis patients, independent of dose or duration. But it remains uncertain whether this would remain the same in patients treated with aspirin and patients with established cardiovascular diseases., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Rapid growth of tumor cells needs to consume large amounts of oxygen and glucose, due to lack of blood supply within the tumor, cells live in an environment that lack of oxygen and nutrients. This environment results in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and activates the UPR (unfolded protein response). More and more evidence suggests UPR provides a growth signal pathway required for tumor growth. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between XBP1, one transcription factor in UPR, and the expression of LOX. We found that ER stress induces high expression of XBP1, one transcription factor in UPR, in both 2D culture and 3D culture; but only promotes growth of lung adenocarcinoma cells in in vitro 3D culture other than 2D culture. In 3D culture, we further showed that knockdown XBP1 expression can block Tm/Tg-induced cell growth. LOX genes may be key downstream effector of XBP1. Knockdown LOX expression can partially block XBP1-induced cell growth. Then we showed XBP1 suppressed by RNA interference (RNAi) can reduce the expression of LOX. For the first time, it is being shown that XBP1 can regulate the expression of LOX to promote cell growth.

The development of lung cancer is significantly associated with genetic susceptibility. Findings from previous individual studies regarding the effect of X-ray repair cross-complementing group 3 Thr241Met (XRCC3 Thr241Met) polymorphism on lung cancer risk remained conflicting and inconclusive. Thus, a meta-analysis of previous relevant studies was performed to estimate this effect more precisely and to shed some light on the contradictory findings. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) with the corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CIs) were calculated to assess the correlation of XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism with lung cancer susceptibility. Stratified analysis according to ethnicity and sensitivity analysis was both conducted for further confirmation. Seventeen independent case-control studies involving 12,610 subjects totally were included into this meta-analysis. Overall, meta-analysis of total included studies showed that the XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism was not associated with risk of lung cancer in all genetic contrast models (OR Met allele vs. Thr allele = 1.01, 95 % CI 0.91-1.13, P OR = 0.810; OR Met/Met vs. Thr/Thr = 1.16, 95 % CI 0.88-1.54, P OR = 0.281; OR Thr/Met vs. Thr/Thr = 0.95, 95 % CI 0.86-1.04, P OR = 0.240; OR Met/Met + Thr/Met vs. Thr/Thr = 0.97, 95 % CI 0.89-1.06, P OR = 0.538; OR Met/Met vs. Thr/Thr + Thr/Met = 1.18, 95 % CI 0.91-1.52, P OR = 0.204). Stratified analyses in Asians and Caucasians showed similar results. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the stability and reliability of the findings. This meta-analysis of all available data did not support any appreciable association between the XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism and lung cancer risk in any populations.

Background and Objectives: The objective of this study is to explore clinical risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in postoperative lung cancer patients in order to provide a basis for the prevention and treatment of postoperative VTE., Methods: A total of 1,001 lung cancer patients were retrospectively analyzed. Each patient was confirmed with surgical pathology diagnosis and had a complete clinical and follow-up record. VTE was identified in a combination of spiral computed tomography (CT), pulmonary angiography, and color Doppler ultrasound. We used life table method to create an occurrence frequency curve of thrombosis. We also searched for high risk factors for postoperative VTE with Cox multivariate regression model and created frequency curves of thrombosis against different risk factors using Kaplan-Meier method., Results: As of July 31, 2011, the median follow-up time is 25.73 ± 0.11 months (19.23-31.37). The cumulative frequency of VTE among 1,001 lung cancer patients is 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, and 5.3% over 1, 3, 6, 12, and 30 months after the surgery. COX regression analysis showed that the hazard ratio of VTE occurrence in patients with incomplete resection relative to ones with complete resection is 9.867 (95% CI: 5.275-18.459, P = 0.000). And the hazard ratio of VTE occurrence is 3.472 (95% CI: 1.761-6.845, P = 0.000) in patients with anti-angiogenesis treatment compared to patients without such treatment. The hazard ratio of VTE occurrence is 2.808 (95% CI: 1.439-5.479, P = 0.002) in patients with EGFR-TKI treatment relative to patients without the treatment, and 7.520 (95% CI: 3.968-14.250, P = 0.000) in patients with an increase in D-dimer level relative to normal ones, Conclusions: The highest incidence of VTE is within 1 month after lung cancer surgery. High risk factors for VTE include incomplete surgical resection, postoperative use of anti-angiogenesis drugs, EGFR-TKI application and an increase in preoperative D-dimer level., (Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objective: To explore the role and mechanism of motilin in colonic motility disorder., Methods: A total of 20 male Wistar rats (180 - 200 g) were randomly divided into 2 groups: water avoidance stress (WAS, n = 10) and sham water avoidance stress (SWAS, n = 10). Rats were exposed to 1 h WAS or SWAS daily for 10 consecutive days. Motilin in plasma was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Proximal colon circular smooth muscle cells (PCSM) were isolated by enzymatic digestion and L-type calcium currents (ICa(L)) recorded by patch-clamp techniques., Results: The fecal pellets during 1 h WAS significantly increased (5.4 ± 1.0 vs 2.4 ± 0.7, P < 0.01, n = 10). The motilin in plasma had significant difference between WAS rats and SWAS rats ((135 ± 35) vs (89 ± 24) pg/ml, P < 0.01, n = 10). The ICa(L) of two rats had no significant difference. But 6 × 10(-5) mmol/L motilin increased ICa(L) more in WAS than in SWAS rats at 0 mV ((1.6 ± 0.4) vs (1.0 ± 0.3) pA/pF, P < 0.05, n = 10)., Conclusion: WAS leads to elevated motilin levels in plasma and active L-type Ca(2+) channels in colon. And it contributes to colonic motility disorder.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of short-term intermittent prophylactic use of a recombinant human thrombopoietin (rhTPO) in chemotherapy-induced severe thrombocytopenia in lung cancer patients., Methods: 24 advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who experienced severe thrombocytopenia in the last chemotherapy cycle received prophylactic rhTPO treatment in the next chemotherapy cycle (prophylactic treated cycle, PTC). rhTPO was given subcutaneously 300 U×kg(-1)×d(-1) on days 2, 4, 6, and 9 after the initiation of chemotherapy. Platelet count was monitored and compared with that in the previous treatment cycle (control cycle, CC)., Results: The lowest platelet count in the prophylactic rhTPO cycle was significantly higher than that in control cycle [(56 ± 16) × 10(9)/L vs. (28 ± 13) × 10(9)/L, P < 0.001]. The duration of thrombocytopenia was also shortened by the prophylactic rhTPO [(8 ± 2) d vs. (12 ± 3) d, P < 0.001]. The area under curve (AUC) of platelet count (21 days) was significantly increased [(3517 ± 685) × 10(9)/L vs. (2063 ± 436) × 10(9)/L, P < 0.001]. The time to platelet nadir and peak was not affected., Conclusion: Prophylactic use of rhTPO can attenuate the severity and shorten the duration of chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia in lung cancer patients.

This study identifies the natural background, anthropogenic background and distribution of contamination caused by heavy metal pollutants in soil in Chunghua County of central Taiwan by using a finite mixture distribution model (FMDM). The probabilities of contaminated area distribution are mapped using single-variable indicator kriging and multiple-variable indicator kriging (MVIK) with the FMDM cut-off values and regulation thresholds for heavy metals. FMDM results indicate that Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn can be individually fitted by a mixture model representing the background and contamination distributions of the four metals in soil. The FMDM cut-off values for contamination caused by the metals are close to the regulation thresholds, except for the cut-off value of Zn. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve validates that indicator kriging and MVIK with FMDM cut-off values can reliably delineate heavy metals contamination, particularly for areas lacking background information and high heavy metal concentrations in soil.

We studied the effects of isoquinoline alkaloid neferine (Nef) extracted from the seed embryo of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn on Human ether-à-go-go-related gene (HERG) channels stably expressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells using whole-cell patch clamp technique, western blot analysis and immunofluorescence experiment. Nef induced a concentration-dependent decrease in current amplitude according to the voltage steps and tail currents of HERG with an IC(50) of 7.419 microM (n(H) -0.5563). Nef shifted the activation curve in a significantly negative direction and accelerated recovery from inactivation and onset of inactivation, however, slowed deactivation. In addition, it had no significant influence on steady-state inactivation curve. Western blot and immunofluorescence results suggested Nef had no significant effect on the expression of HERG protein. In summary, Nef can block HERG K(+) channels that functions by changing the channel activation and inactivation kinetics. Nef has no effect on the generation and trafficking of HERG protein. A blocked-off HERG channel was one mechanism of the anti-arrhythmic effects by Nef.

Objective: To investigate the incidence, survival, and influential factors of lung cancer in the Shanghai populations., Methods: Data of individual cases of lung cancer 2000 - 2004 were obtained from the Shanghai Cancer registry System. The annual prevent change (APC) of incidence of lung cancer from 1972 to 2004 was calculate by crude and standardized rates so as to analyze the time trends. Cox proportional risk model was used to analyze the factors influencing the survival., Results: 23,196 new cases of lung cancer were diagnosed 2002 - 2004. The crude incidence rate of lung cancer in the females was 33.73/100,000, and the age-adjusted rate was 30.90/100,000. The crude incidence rate of lung cancer and the age-adjusted rate for the males were 81.65/100,000 and 33.73/100,000 respectively, both higher than those of females. The APC values of crude incidence 2004 for both the males and females increased by 1.723% and 2.036% respectively in comparison with the values 1972 (both P < 0.01). The age-adjusted APC of standardized incidence rate for the males in the city center was -0.605% (P < 0.01), showing a tendency to reduce; while the age-adjusted APC of standardized incidence rate for the females in the city center was -0.136 (P > 0.05). The proportion of stage IV cases in the females was 47.5%, significantly higher than that in the males (40.0%, P < 0.05). The proportion of adenocarcinoma in the females was 86.1%, significantly higher than that in the males (47.8%, P < 0.05). The 3-year survival rate and median survival time of adenocarcinoma in the females were 30.38% and 1.48 years respectively, both significantly higher than those in the males (22.66% and 0.98 years, both P < 0.01). Female gender, being younger, living in urban area, squamous cancer, early stage, visit to higher-grade hospital were the factors beneficial to the prognosis of lung cancer., Conclusion: The age adjusted incidence rate of lung cancer in Shanghai is much closer to that of Western Europe and North America. The beneficial factors for higher survival rate are female, younger age, urban residency, squamous cell lung cancer, earlier stage of diagnosis, and higher grade hospital for treatment. Women have statistically better outcomes than men in different stages of disease.

The effect of carbon properties and water characteristics on the adsorption of m-LR by activated carbon was evaluated using kinetic and isotherm tests. The results showed that both physical and chemical effects simultaneously affect the adsorption process. The activated carbon with a high ratio of mesopore and macropore volume showed an increased m-LR adsorption capacity. The micropores in carbon offer only a nominal internal surface for adsorption. The adsorption capabilities of different activated carbon generally followed their pH(zpc) values. Activated carbons with higher pH(zpc) values exhibit a neutral or positive charge under typical pH conditions, promoting m-LR adsorption on the carbon surface. The competitive effects of natural organic matter (NOM) on activated carbon were evaluated and showed that caused a reduction in the capacity of carbon for m-LR. Furthermore, when pre-chlorination was preceded by adsorption, then the residual chlorine would react with activated carbon caused a decrease in sorption capacity of m-LR, while that chlorine at normal treatment plant dosages is not effective for degrading m-LR.

Consumers generally concern taste and odor in drinking water. In the Southern Taiwan, more than 5,000,000 people are suffered from earth/musty odor in drinking water, especially in the summer. Thus, ozonation of geosmin (GSM), 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB), and 2-furfural (2-FF) in eutrophic surface waters has been studied in the present work. Experimentally, it was found that the water contained high dissolved organic carbon (DOC), humic substances, and specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) resulting the highly ozone (O3) demand. The natural organic matters (NOM) in the waters had a significant effect on the ozonation of GSM, 2-MIB and 2-FF. Their destruction rates were increased with high contents of aromatics, phenolics, and SUVAs. In addition, during ozonation of raw waters, O3 and OH. played an important role in destruction of algae cells and caused excretion of extracellular organic matter (EOM) to the bulk phase.

Objective: To study the synthesis, cloning, expression and antigenicity of therapeutic multi-epitope gene of hepatitis B virus., Methods: The therapeutic multi-epitope gene of hepatitis B virus was synthesized and cloned into the vector pWR450-1, then was expressed in E.coli and the products were purified. The immunogenicity of the expressed protein was analyzed by Western-blotting., Results: Recombinant plasmid PWR/BPT was constructed successfully and the protein of multi-epitope gene of hepatitis B virus was expressed in E. coli, which showed ideal antigenicity by Western-blotting., Conclusions: The designed multi-epitope therapeutic gene of hepatitis B virus was proved to be correct and the expressed protein may be a good therapeutic vaccine.

Ricin-containing galactosyl ceramide liposomes (ricin-GCLs) lyophilized product was made by the dehydration-rehydration vesicles(DRV) method and its toxicity to human heptocarcinoma cell line 7721 and to mice was investigated. The results indicated that the maximum encapsulation efficiency of ricin was 74.1%. The distribution of ricin-GCLs' sizes accords with intravenous injection standard and changes little in half a year at 4 degrees. In the cytotoxicity assay, the ratio of ricin-GCLs' to free ricin's IC50 was 1.00:3.89, which indicated that the ricin entrapped in GCLs was more effective than the free one in killing human heptocarcinoma cell line 7721. In vivo, the mice's LD(50) of ricin-GCLs ((41.8+/-9.33) &mgr;g/kg)is more than that of free ricin ((30.6+/-8.49) &mgr;g/kg) by 36.29%. So, ricin entrapped in GCLs promotes its cytotoxicity and reduces its toxic side-effect.