Search

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent cancer type in clinical settings; its early signs can be difficult to detect, which often results in late-stage diagnoses in many patients. The early detection and diagnosis of CRC are crucial for improving treatment success and patient survival rates. Recently, imaging techniques have been hypothesized to be essential in managing CRC, with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spiral computed tomography (SCT) playing a significant role in enhancing diagnostic and treatment approaches., Aim: To explore the effectiveness of MRI and SCT in the preoperative staging of CRC and the prognosis of laparoscopic treatment., Methods: Ninety-five individuals admitted to Zhongshan Hospital Xiamen University underwent MRI and SCT and were diagnosed with CRC. The precision of MRI and SCT for the presurgical classification of CRC was assessed, and pathological staging was used as a reference. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of blood volume, blood flow, time to peak, permeability surface, blood reflux constant, volume transfer constant, and extracellular extravascular space volume fraction on the prognosis of patients with CRC., Results: Pathological biopsies confirmed the following CRC stages: 23, 23, 32, and 17 at T1, T2, T3, and T4, respectively. There were 39 cases at the N0 stage, 22 at N1, 34 at N2, 44 at M0 stage, and 51 at M1. Using pathological findings as the benchmark, the combined use of MRI and SCT for preoperative TNM staging in patients with CRC demonstrated superior sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy compared with either modality alone, with a statistically significant difference in accuracy ( P < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed the predictive values for laparoscopic treatment prognosis, as indicated by the areas under the curve for blood volume, blood flow, time to peak, and permeability surface, blood reflux constant, volume transfer constant, and extracellular extravascular space volume fraction were 0.750, 0.683, 0.772, 0.761, 0.709, 0.719, and 0.910, respectively. The corresponding sensitivity and specificity values were also obtained ( P < 0.05)., Conclusion: MRI with SCT is effective in the clinical diagnosis of patients with CRC and is worthy of clinical promotion., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

The miRNA-302 family plays a critical role in carcinogenesis. As an enzyme that regulates the N6-methyladenosine modification, methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) plays important roles in the development and progression of various tumours. However, the upstream regulatory mechanisms of METTL3 in melanoma have not yet been fully investigated. Herein, we investigated the functions of miR-302a-3p and its target RNA METTL3 on proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion of melanoma. Quantitative real-time PCR and immunofluorescence staining were used to measure the expression of METTL3 mRNA and protein level after transfection. miR-302a-3p expression was determined by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. The cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, apoptosis, colony formation, migration, and cell invasion ability were determined using MTT assay, propidium iodide (PI) staining, Annexin V/PI flow cytometry, plate clone assay, and Transwell migration and invasion assays, respectively. Melanoma cell metastasis was also evaluated using an in vivo model. The effect of METTL3 on the phosphorylation of PI3K and AKT was measured with western blot analysis. Our results showed that miR-302a-3p was significantly downregulated in melanoma and exerted a tumour suppressive role against melanoma progression. We identified METTL3 as a direct target of miR-302a-3p in melanoma cells using bioinformatics analysis and luciferase assay. Furthermore, the enforced overexpression of METTL3 promoted the proliferation, cell cycle progression, cell invasion, migration, expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition markers, and the PI3K-AKT signalling pathway as well as suppressed the apoptosis of melanoma cells. Meanwhile, silencing the expression of METTL3 with specific shRNA demonstrated reverse outcomes of the above phenotypes in melanoma cells. By rescue experiments, we found that the restoration of METTL3 expression in miR-302a-3p-overexpressing melanoma cells successfully recovered the miR-302a-3p-mediated melanoma suppression. The in vivo results also showed that miR-302a-3p substantially inhibited melanoma cell growth and metastasis. In summary, this study demonstrated that miR-302a-3p targets METTL3 and plays tumour suppressive roles in the proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and migration of melanoma cells.

Melatonin can attenuate cardiac microvascular ischemia/reperfusion injury, but it remains unclear whether melatonin can also ameliorate cerebral microvascular abnormalities. Rat models of Alzheimer's disease were established by six intracerebroventricular injections of amyloid-beta 1-42, administered once every other day. Melatonin (30 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally administered for 13 successive days, with the first dose given 24 hours prior to the first administration of amyloid-beta 1-42. Melatonin ameliorated learning and memory impairments in the Morris water maze test, improved the morphology of microvessels in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, increased microvessel density, alleviated pathological injuries of cerebral neurons, and decreased the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1 and 2. These findings suggest that melatonin can improve microvessel abnormalities in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus by lowering the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptors, thereby improving the cognitive function of patients with Alzheimer's disease. This study was approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Jinzhou Medical University, China (approval No. 2019015) on December 6, 2018., Competing Interests: None

Myocardial fibrosis (MF) is an important pathological process of cardiac remodeling in patients with heart failure; however its etiology has not been clear. It has been known that the angiotensin II type 1 receptor autoantibody (AT1-AA) is present in patients with heart failure, but it is unclear whether this antibody directly causes MF. In this study, we investigated the role of AT1-AA in MF and its effects on cardiac fibroblasts (CFs). The AT1-AA positive rat model was established by active immunization method, and the measurement of indexes were made in the 8th week after active immunity. The results of heart echocardiography showed that the cardiac systolic and diastolic functions of AT1-AA positive rats were impaired with reduced left ventricular wall thickness and enlarged heart chambers. HE staining results showed that the myocardial fibers were disorganized and ruptured, and Masson staining revealed that the area of collagen fibers around the myocardium and coronary arteries was significantly increased in AT1-AA positive group compared with that of the control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, primary CFs isolated from neonatal rats were cultured and treated with AT1-AA for 48 h. CCK-8 and immunofluorescence staining results showed that AT1-AA enhanced proliferation rate of CFs (P < 0.001), and Western blot results showed that AT1-AA significantly increased expressions of collagen I (Col I), Col III, matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 in CFs (all P < 0.05). Taken together, these results suggest that AT1-AA may induce MF and cardiac dysfunction via activating CFs.

A new method of direct precision frequency measurement is proposed in this paper, which uses the clock cursor effect between the sampling clock signal and input signal and ADC (analog to digital converter) quantization error suppression technique in the background of digital measurement with double ADC. On this basis, a precision frequency corrector is designed. Compared with the traditional frequency synthesizer, this device takes the non-standard frequency signal of the crystal oscillator as the reference to realize the standard frequency signal output through the frequency correction function. Meanwhile, the output signal is obviously narrower in range, from 0.0001 Hz to 0.1 Hz. The frequency corrector can also realize the second stability of less than 3 × 10 -12 and a small frequency correction of 10 -11 orders of magnitude.

The stability of β-carotene microcapsules using Maillard reaction products (MRPs) derived from whey protein isolate (WPI) and galactose as coating materials, was studied under the varying environmental conditions of temperature, pH, air, incandescent light, and ultraviolet (UV) light. Scanning electron microscopy showed that microcapsules prepared by WPI-galactose MRPs displayed a smooth and less concave-convex surface and that the particle size (D 50 ) of the microcapsules made with WPI-galactose MRPs was smaller than those made with WPI-galactose mixture. The storage stability of β-carotene microencapsulated in WPI-galactose MRPs was remarkably better than that of β-carotene microencapsulated in the WPI-galactose mixture and that of β-carotene crystal, in respect of temperature, pH, air, incandescent light, and UV light measurements. When the storage temperature was increased from 5 to 105 °C, the retention rate of β-carotene microcapsules significantly decreased (P<0.05). When pH values were increased from 1 to 12, the β-carotene retention rate of the microcapsules significantly increased and afterward decreased. Compared with the retention rate of β-carotene microencapsulated in a WPI-galactose mixture, the retention rate of β-carotene microencapsulated in WPI-galactose MRPs was at a maximum between pH 8 and 9. Under the actions of air, incandescent light, and UV light, the retention rates of β-carotene microcapsules in WPI-galactose MRPs and WPI-galactose mixture, as well as in β-carotene crystal, decreased significantly as the storage time increased (P<0.05). Therefore, the use of WPI-galactose MRPs as coating materials can aid in improving the storage stability of β-carotene microcapsules.

Traditional methods for detecting lactoperoxidase (LP) are complex and time-consuming, so a test strip was made based on the enzymatic reaction principle to enable quick and convenient detection of LP in raw milk. In this study 0.1 mol/L citric acid (CA)/0.2 mol/L disodium hydrogen phosphate (NaP) buffer solution (pH 5.0), 22 mmol/L 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), 0.6 mmol/L hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and 0.5% Tween-20 or 0.3% cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) were optimal for preparing a quick, sensitive, and accurate LP test strip. The coefficient of variation (CV) of the estimated LP concentrations ranged from 2.47% to 6.72% and the minimum LP concentration detected by the test strip was 1-2 mg/L. Estimates of active LP in sixteen raw milk samples obtained using the test strip or the TMB method showed a good correlation (r=0.9776). So the test strip provides a quick, convenient, and accurate method for detecting the LP concentration of raw milk.

Objective: To discuss the correlation between diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measurements, diffusion tensor tractography and the clinical symptoms of cervical spondylotic myelopathy., Methods: Based on the Japanese Orthopedics Association (JOA) score, 104 cervical spondylotic myelopathy cases were first divided into four groups: mild, moderate, severe and serious groups. According to lesion signal characteristics, all cases were again divided into three groups: A(N/N): normal signal in both T1WI and T2WI; B (N/H): normal signal in T1WI but high signal in T2WI; and C (L/H): low signal in T1WI and high signal in T2WI. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), fractional anisotropy (FA), λ1, λ2, and λ3 were measured and diffusion tensor tractography was performed in the seriously compressed section of the spinal cord., Results: The FA values were positively correlated with JOA scores (r=0.883, P<0.05), and significantly different among four JOA groups (P<0.05). The ADC, λ2, and λ3 were significantly different among the moderate, severe and serious groups as well as among the A, B, and C groups (P<0.05). Declining FA values were found associated with increasing fiber bundle damage., Conclusions: The FA values and the change patterns of fiber bundle were more sensitive than T2WI for spinal cord lesion, and were positively correlated with clinical symptoms., (Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.)

Objective: To analyze the cost effect of surrounding acupuncture plus electric acupuncture, cotton-sheet moxibustion, puncturing with red-hot needles, tapping plus cupping on herpes zoster., Methods: Five hundred patients with herpes zoster were randomly divided into group A (surrounding acupuncture plus electric acupuncture), group B (cotton-sheet moxibustion), group C (puncturing with red-hot needles), group D (tapping plus cupping), and group E (Western medicine). The treatment was carried out twice a day in group E and once a day in the other four groups. The curative effect was observed on the 10th day of treatment; the cost was calculated for the five therapies, and the cost-effect ratio (C/E) and increment ratio (delta C/delta E) were analyzed., Results: After the 10-day treatment, there was no statistical difference (P > 0.05) in the curative effect among the five groups. Pain being alleviated one day faster than in group E amounted to a saving of RMB 21.90 yuan in group A, a saving of RMB 21.87 yuan in group B, a saving of RMB 26.00 yuan in group C, and a saving of RMB 20.23 yuan in group D. Compared with group C, the values of delta C/delta E were RMB 1.55, 2.81, and 0.21 yuan in groups A, B, and D, respectively., Conclusions: The curative effect in groups A, B, C, and D was similar to that in group E, but the C/E was better than in group E.

Based on Hyperion hyperspectral image data, the image-derived shifting sand, false-Gobi spectra, and field-measured sparse vegetation spectra were taken as endmembers, and the sparse vegetation coverage (< 40%) in Minqin oasis-desert transitional zone of Gansu Province was estimated by using fully constrained linear spectral mixture model (LSMM) and non-constrained LSMM, respectively. The results showed that the sparse vegetation fraction based on fully constrained LSMM described the actual sparse vegetation distribution. The differences between sparse vegetation fraction and field-measured vegetation coverage were less than 5% for all samples, and the RMSE was 3.0681. However, the sparse vegetation fraction based on non-constrained LSMM was lower than the field-measured vegetation coverage obviously, and the correlation between them was poor, with a low R2 of 0.5855. Compared with McGwire's corresponding research, the sparse vegetation coverage estimation in this study was more accurate and reliable, having expansive prospect for application in the future.

Objective: To investigate detailed clinical features of a Chinese pedigree with Waardenburg syndrome type 2., Methods: Members of this pedigree were interviewed to identify personal or family medical histories of hearing loss, the use of aminoglycosides, and other clinical abnormalities by filling questionnaire. The audiological and other clinical evaluations of the proband and other members of this family were conducted, including pure-tone audiometry, immittance and auditory brain-stem response and ophthalmological, dermatologic, hair, temporal bone CT examinations., Results: This family is categorized as Waardenburg syndrome type 2 according to its clinical features. It's an autosomal dominant disorder with incomplete penetrance. The clinical features varied greatly among family members and characterized by sensorineural hearing loss, heterochromia irides, freckle on the face and premature gray hair. Hearing loss can be unilateral or bilateral, congenital or late onset in this family., Conclusion: This Chinese family has some unique clinical features comparing with the international diagnostic criteria for Waardenburg syndrome. This study may provide some evidences to amend the diagnostic criteria for Waardenburg syndrome in Chinese population.