Search

The methylation of the lysine residue can affect some fundamental biological processes, and specific biological effects of the methylations are often related to product specificity of methyltransferases. The question remains concerning how active-site structural features and dynamics control the activity as well as the number (1, 2, or 3) of methyl groups on methyl lysine products. SET domain containing protein 3 (SETD3) has been identified recently as the β-actin histidine73-N

A robust and efficient shrinkage-type variable selection procedure for varying Coefficient models is proposed, selection consistency and oracle properties are established. Furthermore, a BIC-type criterion is suggested for shrinkage parameter selection and theoretical property is discussed. Numerical studies and real data analysis also are included to illustrate the finite sample performance of our method.

Background Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common urological condition in aging men. While dihydroartemisinin (DHA) exhibits a wide range of pharmacological activities, to date, there have been no studies examining the effects of DHA on BPH. Methods An in vivo BPH model was constructed in rats via daily subcutaneous injection of testosterone propionate (TP) for 28 consecutive days. Rats were randomly distributed into four groups and treated as follows: (I) control; (II) TP treatment; (III) TP and finasteride treatment (positive control); and (IV) TP and DHA treatment. At the end of the experiment, rats were sacrificed and the prostate weight, prostate index, thickness of the epithelium, collagen deposition, serum dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels, 5α-reductase 2 (5AR-2) expression, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) levels in the prostate were examined. Normal human prostatic epithelial RWPE-1 cells were used in in vitro experiments to further investigate the anti-proliferative effects of DHA. Results TP increased the prostate weight and prostate index in rats, and this effect was reduced with DHA treatment. In addition, DHA attenuated the morphological changes and collagen deposition in the prostate tissue induced by TP. Furthermore, DHA reduced the expression of PCNA, serum DHT, and prostatic 5AR-2 in rats with TP-induced BPH. In vitro analysis revealed that DHA significantly inhibited the proliferation of TP-treated RWPE-1 cells. Conclusions DHA significantly inhibited the development of BPH by suppressing serum DHT levels, prostatic 5AR-2 expression, and the proliferation of benign prostatic epithelial cells. Thus, DHA is a novel medicinal agent with potential therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of patients with BPH.

Economic shale gas production requires hydraulic fracture stimulation to increase the formation permeability. Hydraulic fracturing strongly depends on geomechanical parameters such as Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio. Fracture-prone sweet spots can be predicted by prestack inversion, which is an ill-posed problem; thus, regularization is needed to obtain unique and stable solutions. To characterize gas-bearing shale sedimentary bodies, elastic parameter variations are regarded as an anisotropic Markov random field. Bayesian statistics are adopted for transforming prestack inversion to the maximum posterior probability. Two energy functions for the lateral and vertical directions are used to describe the distribution, and the expectation–maximization algorithm is used to estimate the hyperparameters of the prior probability of elastic parameters. Finally, the inversion yields clear geological boundaries, high vertical resolution, and reasonable lateral continuity using the conjugate gradient method to minimize the objective function. Antinoise and imaging ability of the method were tested using synthetic and real data.

Background: Relations of the 25 mammalian selenoprotein genes with obesity and the associated inflammation remain unclear. Objective: This study explored impacts of high-fat diet-induced obesity on inflammation and expressions of selenoprotein and obesity-related genes in 10 tissues of pigs. Methods: Plasma and 10 tissues were collected from pigs (n = 10) fed a corn-soy–based control diet or that diet containing 3–7% lard from weanling to finishing (180 d). Plasma concentrations (n = 8) of cytokines and thyroid hormones and tissue mRNA abundance (n = 4) of 25 selenoprotein genes and 16 obesity-related genes were compared between the pigs fed the control and high-fat diets. Stepwise regression was applied to analyze correlations among all these measures, including the previously reported body physical and plasma biochemical variables. Results: The high-fat diet elevated (P < 0.05) plasma concentrations of tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-6, leptin, and leptin receptor by 29–42% and affected (P < 0.05–0.1) tissue mRNA levels of the selenoprotein and obesity-related genes in 3 patterns. Specifically, the high-fat diet up-regulated 12 selenoprotein genes in 6 tissues, down-regulated 13 selenoprotein genes in 7 tissues, and exerted no effect on 5 genes in any tissue. Body weights and plasma triglyceride concentrations of pigs showed the strongest regressions to tissue mRNA abundances of selenoprotein and obesity-related genes. Among the selenoprotein genes, selenoprotein V and I were ranked as the strongest independent variables for the regression of phenotypic and plasma measures. Meanwhile, agouti signaling protein, adiponectin, and resistin genes represented the strongest independent variables of the obesity-related genes for the regression of tissue selenoprotein mRNA. Conclusions: The high-fat diet induced inflammation in pigs and affected their gene expression of selenoproteins associated with thioredoxin and oxidoreductase systems, local tissue thyroid hormone activity, endoplasmic reticulum protein degradation, and phosphorylation of lipids. This porcine model may be used to study interactive mechanisms between excess fat intake and selenoprotein function.

Gas insulated switchgear (GIS) has excellent performances such as small area, not affected by atmosphere, high reliability. So it has been used more and more widely in the power system. However, But the partial discharge (PD) would occur because of insulation defect, PD will lead to the GIS insulation damage after a long time, and will lead to serious consequences without treatment in time, therefore, the PD detection is particularly important. Article simulates the high voltage conductor spikes, basin insulator metal particles on the surface and the shell spike the insulation of the three kinds of typical defects, using the pulse current method and ultrasonic method to test partial discharge signals and get the corresponding signal characteristics, which play a certain guiding significance for field applications.

The glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) that is expressed in intestine epithelial cells of mammals, is important for intestinal barrier function and regulation of tight junction (TJ) proteins. However, there is little known about the intracellular mechanisms of GLP-2 in the regulation of TJ proteins in piglets’ intestinal epithelial cells. The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that GLP-2 regulates the expressions of TJ proteins in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway in piglets’ intestinal epithelial cells. The jejunal tissues were cultured in a Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium/high glucose medium containing supplemental 0 to 100 nmol/L GLP-2. At 72 h after the treatment with the appropriate concentrations of GLP-2, the mRNA and protein expressions of zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), occludin and claudin-1 were increased (p

According to IEC60060-1, IEC60060-2 requirements, the large transformer should take impulse voltage test in site. However, this test is not performed in the field for the impulse voltage generator huge and difficult to operate. To solve this problem, IEC60060-3 propose using oscillating impulse voltage for equipment on-site impulse withstand voltage test. Oscillating impulse voltage has higher generation efficiency and close to the actual voltage waveform that electrical equipment bear. For the transformer, the oscillating impulse voltage can generated through inductive method. In order to study the generation of oscillating impulse voltage through inductive method for transformer, the simulation circuit is established using ATP soft and the oscillating switching impulse voltage characteristics is studied in this paper. The result show that the oscillating switching impulse voltage waveform that accordance with IEC requirements can be generated through inductive method for transformer.

Partial discharge (PD) detection is a technique widely used for high voltage equipment insulation condition assessment. The metal protrusion is a situation that often appear in transformer. Metal protrusion will cause the electric field concentration and lead to partial discharge. In this paper, PD characteristics in transformer oils are examined under AC conditions, using a needle-to-plane electrode system. The PD activity in transformer oil is confirmed as appearing in pulse burst form and the PD number and amplitude will increase with the applied voltage increase. The PRPD pattern display behavior typical of corona PD in oil.

Our objectives were to determine if porcine serum could be enriched with selenium (Se) by feeding pigs with high concentrations of dietary Se and if the Se-biofortified serum inhibited proliferation of 3 types of human cancer cells. In Expt. 1, growing pigs (8 wk old, n = 3) were fed 0.02 or 3.0 mg Se/kg (as sodium selenite) for 16 wk and produced serum with 0.5 and 5.4 μmol/L Se, respectively. In Expt. 2, growing pigs (5 wk old, n = 6) were fed 0.3 or 1.0 mg Se/kg (as Se-enriched yeast) for 6 wk and produced serum with 2.6 and 6.2 μmol/L Se, respectively. After the Se-biofortified porcine sera were added at 16% in RPMI 1640 to treat NCI-H446, DU145, and HTC116 cells for 144 h, they decreased (P < 0.05) the viability of the 3 types of human cancer cells by promoting apoptosis, compared with their controls. This effect was replicated only by adding the appropriate amount of methylseleninic acid to the control serum and was mediated by a downregulation of 8 cell cycle arrest genes and an upregulation of 7 apoptotic genes. Along with 6 previously reported selenoprotein genes, selenoprotein T (Selt), selenoprotein M (Selm), selenoprotein H (Selh), selenoprotein K (Selk), and selenoprotein N (Sepn1) were revealed to be strongly associated with the cell death-related signaling induced by the Se-enriched porcine serum. In conclusion, porcine serum could be biofortified with Se to effectively inhibit the proliferation of 3 types of human cancer cells and the action synchronized with a matrix of coordinated functional expression of multiple selenoprotein genes.

Successful anastomosis is essential in esophagogastrectomy, and the application of the circular stapler effectively reduces the anastomotic leakage, although stricture formation has become more frequent. The present study, a randomized controlled trial, compared the recently developed semi-mechanical anastomosis with a hand-sewn or circular stapled esophagogastrostomy in prevention of anastomotic stricture.Between November 2007 and September 2008, 160 consecutive patients with esophageal carcinoma underwent surgical treatment our department. Five patients were excluded from this study, and the remaining 155 patients were completely randomized to receive either an everted plus side extension esophagogastrostomy (semi-mechanical [SM] group) or a conventional hand-sewn esophagogastric anastomosis ([HS] group) or a circular stapled ([CS] group) esophagogastric anastomosis, after dissection of the esophageal tumor and construction of a tubular stomach. The primary outcome was the incidence of an anastomotic stricture at 3 months after the operation (defined as the diameter of the anastomotic orifice ≤ 0.8 cm on esophagogram). Secondary outcomes were the dysphagia score and reflux score, as well as the anastomotic diameter.The anastomotic stricture rate was 0 % (0/45) in the SM group, 9.6 % (5/52) in the HS group, and 19.1 % (9/47) in the CS group (p0.001). The mean diameter of the anastomotic orifice was 18.2 ± 4.7 mm in the SM group, 11.5 ± 2.4 mm in the HS group, and 9.5 ± 3.0 mm in the CS group (p0.001). The reflux/regurgitation score among the three groups was similar.Semi-mechanical esophagogastric anastomosis could prevent stricture formation more effectively than hand-sewn or circular stapler esophagogastrostomy, without increasing gastroesophageal reflux.

Background Glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) is a potent epithelium-specific intestinal growth factor. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the prolonged effect of GLP-2 on the growth performance of weaned piglets. Forty piglets weaned at the age of 28 d with an average BW of 6.8 ± 0.4 kg were assigned to four treatments: (i) non-challenged control; (ii) LPS-challenged control; (iii) LPS + low GLP-2; and (iv) LPS + high GLP-2. Piglets in groups (i), (ii), and (iv) were s.c. injected with PBS supplemented with human [Gly2]GLP-21-34 at doses of 0, 2 and 10 nmol/kg BW per day for seven consecutive days. BW, gain:feed ratio (G:F), and plasma GLP-2 levels were determined on d 0, 7, and 14 after weaning. Piglets were challenged with i.p. administration of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at a dose of 100 μg/kg on d 14 to induce intestinal damage. Twenty-four hours later, intestinal tract samples were collected to assess intestinal morphology and quantify enzyme activity. Results Plasma GLP-2 levels decreased after weaning, but in the high GLP-2 group, plasma GLP-2 was maintained on d 7 and even increased to a level higher than the preweaning level on d 14 (P

This study was conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of Fourier near-infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIRS) to detect and quantifying low concentrations (3.00–1056.80mg kg-1) of melamine contamination in fishmeal and to choose a better chemo metric method by comparing the results of the models based on different chemo metric methods. The qualitative calibration models were established based on PCA-Euclidean Distance and least squares-support vector machine (LS-SVM) respectively and the quantitative calibration models were established based on partial least squares (PLS) regression algorithm and least squares-support vector machine (LS-SVM) respectively. Savitzky-Golay second derivative with smoothing over five points and vector normalization were the best pre-processing methods. A qualitative model, established based on this pre-processing method, was capable of identifying the testing set samples with melamine concentrations higher than 136mg kg-1, with a 100% correct classification rate. Further, the qualitative models based on PCA-Euclidean distance, S-G first derivative with smoothing over nine points and vector normalization pre-processing methods and the frequency ranges of 9099-8246 cm-1 and 7398-6545cm-1 were the best parameters selected by the optimizing process. Quantitative models based on these parameters accurately predicted the samples with melamine concentration of higher than 208mg kg-1, with the mean relative forecasting deviation less than 5%. The model based on LS-SVM was obviously not better than that based on PLS. The results show that FT-NIR can be used to detect and quantify low concentrations of melamine contamination in fishmeal.

We previously determined the effects of dietary selenium (Se) deficiency or excess on mRNA abundance of 12 selenoprotein genes in pig tissues. In this study, we determined the effect of dietary Se on mRNA levels of the remaining porcine selenoprotein genes along with protein production of 4 selenoproteins (Gpx1, Sepp1, Selh, and Sels) and body glucose homeostasis. Weanling male pigs (n = 24) were fed a Se-deficient (

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary protein/carbohydrate (CH 2 O) ratio on fat deposition and expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and heart fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) genes in muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue in pigs. Twenty pigs (73.9 ± 1.2 kg BW) were used in a single factorial experiment, and allocated by BW and ultrasound backfat thickness to the two treatments: low protein/CH 2 O ratio (LP; 11.2% CP and 68.2% CH 2 O for phase I, and 10.1% CP and 69.3% CH 2 O for phase II) diet, or high protein/CH 2 O ratio (HP; 22.7% CP and 58.3% CH 2 O) diet. Pigs were housed individually in pens, and had ad libitum access to feed and water. After 80-d feeding, 6 pigs from each treatment were selected and slaughtered. Dietary protein/CH 2 O ratio had no effect on growth performance; however, the intramuscular fat (IMF) in longissimus muscle (LM) was increased ( P P P P = 0.09) in LM but not in subcutaneous fat, although the difference of H-FABP gene expression in LM was not statistically significant. The mRNA abundance of PPARγ in muscle correlated positively with IMF content ( P

An experiment was conducted in a singly factorial design to study the effect of glycyl-glutamine dipeptide on enzyme activity, cell proliferation and apoptosis of jejunal tissues from weaned piglets at different glycyl-glutamine concentration levels of 2, 4, 10, 20, and 30 mmol L−1, respectively. The glutaminase activity, diamine oxidase (DAO) activity, cell peoliferation, apoptosis, and perotein metabolism were measured by the tissue culture method in vitro using jejunal tissues. The immunohistochemical method was used to study the cell proliferation and apoptosis of jejunal tissues. The results showed that compared to the blank control, the percentage and MOD value of BrdU-positicve cells incubated with glycyl-glutamine dipeptide solution were significantly (P

A 3H-leucine (3H-Leu) single-injection method was proposed for determining the endogenous amino acid losses of broilers. This method was based on the hypothesis that the ratio of the specific radioactivity (SR) of endogenous Leu in excreta (SRe) to that of free Leu in trichloroacetic acid-soluble plasma (SRp) remains constant after a single subcutaneous injection of 3H-Leu into birds fed different diets.Two experiments were designed to clarify this hypothesis. In experiment 1, 40 female broilers were randomly divided into four groups and were force-fed a nitrogen-free diet (NFD), NFD plus enzyme-hydrolyzed casein (EHC), 5% crude protein (CP) and SBM (soybean meal), or 20% CP-SBM. In experiment 2, 24 broilers were randomly divided into four groups and were fasted or force-fed the NFD, 20% CP-SBM, or 20% CP and cottonseed meal (CSM) diet. After the forced feeding, broilers were administered 3H-Leu by a single subcutaneous injection at a rate of 30 μCi/kg of body weight. Blood samples were taken at 5 min, 30 min, 4 h, 24 h, 36 h, and 48 h after the injection. The excreta were totally collected and pooled over the 48-h experiment.The ratios of SRe to SRp remained the same for the birds force-fed the NFD, NFD+EHC, and 5% CP-SBM diets in experiment 1 and for the birds fasted and force-fed the NFD diet in experiment 2. The proportions of endogenous Leu to total Leu in excreta were 72.8%, 61.4%, and 57.5% for birds force-fed with the 20% CP-SBM diet in experiment 1 and 20% CP-SBM and 20% CP-CSM diets in experiment 2, respectively. Broilers fed the 5% CP-SBM and 20% CP-SBM diets excreted more (P0.05) endogenous Leu than those fed the NFD and NFD+EHC diets in experiment 1. Broilers fed the 20% CP-SBM diet excreted more (P0.05) endogenous Leu than those fed the NFD diet and fasted and the 20% CP-CSM diet was intermediate (P0.05) in experiment 2.The present study verified the hypothesis that the ratio of SRe to SRp remains constant after a single subcutaneous injection of 3H-Leu into broilers and proposes a new method to determine endogenous amino acid losses of broilers.

This paper deals with the unsteady flow and heat transfer of a generalized Maxwell fluid over a moving flat plate with variable temperature and hyperbolic sine velocity. Exact solutions are established for the velocity and temperature fields in terms of discrete Fourier sine transform coupled with Laplace transform for the fractional calculus. Graphs are sketched for values of parameters and associated dynamic characteristics are analyzed.

Expression and function of selenoproteins in endocrine tissues remain unclear, largely due to limited sample availability. Pigs have a greater metabolic similarity and tissue size than rodents as a model of humans for that purpose. We conducted 2 experiments: 1) we cloned 5 novel porcine selenoprotein genes; and 2) we compared the effects of dietary selenium (Se) on mRNA levels of 12 selenoproteins, activities of 4 antioxidant enzymes, and Se concentrations in testis, thyroid, and pituitary with those in liver of pigs. In Experiment 1, porcine Gpx2, Sephs2, Sep15, Sepn1, and Sepp1 were cloned and demonstrated 84–94% of coding sequence homology to human genes. In Experiment 2, weanling male pigs (n = 30) were fed a Se-deficient (0.02 mg Se/kg) diet added with 0, 0.3, or 3.0 mg Se/kg as Se-enriched yeast for 8 wk. Although dietary Se resulted in dose-dependent increases (P < 0.05) in Se concentrations and GPX activities in all 4 tissues, it did not affect the mRNA levels of any selenoprotein gene in thyroid or pituitary. Testis mRNA levels of Txnrd1 and Sep15 were decreased (P < 0.05) by increasing dietary Se from 0.3 to 3.0 mg/kg. Comparatively, expressions of Gpx2, Gpx4, Dio3, and Sep15 were high in pituitary and Dio1, Sepp1, Sephs2, and Gpx1 were high in liver. In conclusion, the mRNA abundances of the 12 selenoprotein genes in thyroid and pituitary of young pigs were resistant to dietary Se deficiency or excess.

Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes are closely related to body fat in humans and mice, which are the two dominant bacterial divisions of gut microbiota in mammals. Here real-time PCR analysis indicated that Meishan pigs had a 34% reduction in percentage Bacteroidetes (P = 0.008) and a significantly lower proportion of Bacteroides (P = 0.013) than Landrace pigs. The percentage of Bacteroidetes or Bacteroides had a negative correlation with body fat (R2 was 0.63 for Bacteroidetes and 0.57 for Bacteroides, P < 0.05). There was a trend that the percentage of Firmicutes in Meishan pigs was higher in numerical value than in Landrace pigs, although this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.290) between the two breeds. These suggested that body fat correlated with the percentage of Bacteroidetes division of the gut microbiota in the common pig breeds, and the differences of gut microbial ecology in obese versus lean animals may be analogous.

Two experiments were conducted to determine the additivity of apparent or true digestibility of phosphorus (P) in soybean meal (SBM), peas, faba beans, corn, oats, broken rice meal, rough rice meal, buckwheat, and sorghum for growing pigs. Chromic oxide (0.3%) was used as a digestion marker in both experiments. Each experiment lasted for 12 d, which consisted of a 7-d dietary adaptation period followed by a 5-d fecal collection period. Experiment 1 involved 6 diets: the SBM-based control diet; 4 diets with corn, oats, rough rice meal and broken rice meal substituted for SBM; and an additional diet with a representative mixture of the 5 ingredients. In Experiment 2, 6 diets were prepared similarly, except that the tested ingredients besides SBM were faba beans, peas, buckwheat, and sorghum. In each experiment, six barrows with an initial average individual BW of 20.5 kg were fed one of the six diets according to a 6×6 Latin square design. The apparent and true P digestibility values for the nine tested ingredients were determined by the substitution method. There were no differences (p>0.05) between the determined and the predicted true P digestibility values for the mixture of ingredients in Experiments 1 and 2. However, the determined and the predicted apparent P digestibility values for the mixture of ingredients differed (p = 0.059) in Experiment 1, but not in Experiment 2. These results indicate that true P digestibility values are additive in ingredients containing low levels of phytate phosphorus and anti-nutritional factors, whereas the apparent P digestibility

Two digestibility experiments were carried out to comparatively measure true phosphorus (P) digestibility and the faecal endogenous P loss associated with soybean meal (SBM) and wheat middling meal (WM) for growing pigs by the simple linear regression analysis technique and the substitution method. Eight barrows, with an average initial body weight 21 kg, were randomly divided into two groups of four pigs with each group being fed four test diets according to a 4 × 4 Latin square design. Eight maize starch-based diets containing four levels (on dry matter basis) of P (0.20, 0.24, 0.36 and 0.42%) and P (0.181, 0.26, 0.36, and 0.43%) were formulated from SBM and WM as a sole source of P, respectively. Chromic oxide (0.30%) was used as a digestibility marker. Each experimental period comprised 8 d with a 4-d adaptation and a 4-d collection of faecal samples. Levels of the assay ingredient substitutions had no effects (P > 0.05) on true P digestibility and the endogenous P loss associated with SBM and WM measured by the substitution method. There were no differences (P > 0.05) between the regression technique and the substitution method in measuring the true P digestibility (SBM: 49.4 ± 3.51 vs. 50.6 ± 2.4; WM: 63.7 ± 5.0 vs. 63.2 ± 5.4%) as well as the faecal endogenous P loss (SBM: 0.62 ± 0.10 vs. 0.71 ± 0.11; WM: 0.65 ± 0.16 vs. 0.70 ± 0.17 g/kg dry matter intake) for the growing pig. Thus, true P digestibility and the faecal endogenous P loss in feed ingredients for pigs may be measured by using the regression analysis technique and the substitution method.

Glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) is important for intestinal barrier function and regulation of tight junction (TJ) proteins, but the intracellular mechanisms of action remain undefined. The purpose of this research was to determine the protective effect of GLP-2 mediated TJ and transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stressed IPEC-J2 cells and to test the hypothesis that GLP-2 regulate TJ and TER through the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (Akt)-mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in IPEC-J2 cells. Wortmannin and LY294002 are specific inhibitors of PI3K. The results showed that 100 μg/mL LPS stress decreased TER and TJ proteins occludin, claudin-1 and zonula occludens protein 1 (ZO-1) mRNA, proteins expressions (p

The purpose of this study was to compare messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of selenoprotein genes between hepatoma HepG2 and normal hepatocytes LO2 cell lines. Liver HepG2 and LO2 cells were cultured in 12-well plates under the same condition until cells grew to complete confluence, and then cells were harvested for total RNA and protein extraction. The qPCRs were performed to compare gene expression of 14 selenoprotein genes and 5 cancer signaling-related genes. Enzyme activities were also assayed. The results showed that human hepatoma HepG2 cells grew faster than normal hepatocytes LO2 cells. Among the genes investigated, 10 selenoprotein genes (Gpx1, Gpx3, Gpx4, Selx, Sepp, Sepw1, Sepn1, Selt, Seli, Selh) and 3 cancer signaling-related genes (Bcl-2A, caspase-3, and P38) were upregulated (P < 0.05), while Selo and Bcl-2B were downregulated (P < 0.05) in hepatoma HepG2 cells compared to LO2 cells. Significant correlations were found between selenoprotein genes and the cancer signaling-related genes Caspase3, P53, Bc1-2A, and Bc1-2B. Our results revealed that selenoprotein genes were aberrantly expressed in hepatoma HepG2 cells compared to normal liver LO2 cells, which indicated that those selenoprotein genes may play important roles in the occurrence and development of liver carcinogenesis.

To assess the metastatic frequency of subcarinal lymph nodes of thoracic esophageal carcinoma and its influencing factors, in order to determine the adequate range of lymph node dissection during esophagectomy.The clinical data from a cohort of 782 patients with thoracic esophageal carcinoma who underwent esophagectomy with lymphadenectomy were analyzed retrospectively with respect to the impact of subcarinal lymph nodes dissection or no dissection on the incidence of postoperative complications.The metastasis rate of subcarinal lymph nodes was 17.5%. The metastasis rates in the upper, middle and lower esophageal carcinomas were 8.3%, 19.1% and 16.2%, respectively (P0.05). For T1, T2, T3 and T4, they were 0, 4%, 22.2% and 34%, respectively (P0.05). The overall incidence of postoperative complications with and without subcarinal lymph nodes dissection was 19.0% versus 14.6% (P0.05), and the incidence of pulmonary complications was 10.3% versus 7.3% (P0.05).Thoracic esophageal carcinomas have a high metastasis rate of subcrinal lymph nodes, and subcarinal lymph nodes dissection is not associated with increasing perioperative complications. Therefore, for the thoracic esophageal carcinoma, no matter the tumor site, esophageal cancer length or size, once the tumor invades the outer membrane, routine subcarinal lymph node dissection should be done.

Dear Editor, We have read with the great interest the article by Brown et al. [1] entitled ‘‘Accuracy of PET-CT in predicting survival in patients with esophageal cancer’’: They concluded that ‘‘This study does not support the use of SUVmax on pretreatment PET scans as a prognostic tool for patients with esophageal cancer, especially in those who have received neoadjuvant therapy.’’ However, we have several concerns about their conclusion. Many articles have already reported on the use of positron emission tomography (PET) in pretreatment evaluation of esophageal cancer, as was mentioned in the Brown et al. report [1]. Metabolic activity of carcinoma could be evaluated by measuring tumor glucose metabolism with the glucose analog [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) [2]. There is accumulating evidence that supports the fact that the pathologic response after neoadjuvant therapy is the major determinant of long-term survival of patients with esophageal cancer. Patients treated with neoadjuvant therapy who achieve pathologic complete response (pCR) have a significantly higher rate of complete resection, fewer recurrences, and improved 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival [3]. However, in the Brown et al. report there was a lack of analysis on the pCR subgroup and no discussion about the relationship between the pretreatment standard uptake value (SUV) and the pathologic response. Furthermore, PET could predict the pathologic response by comparing the SUVs from before and after neoadjuvant therapy, not just the pretreatment SUV. Ott et al. [2] classified patients as metabolic responders when tumor metabolic activity had decreased by more than 35 % 2 weeks after the end of neoadjuvant therapy. Metabolic responders showed a high pathologic response rate (44 %), with a 3-year survival rate of 70 %, compared to metabolic nonresponders with a pathologic response rate of 5 % (P = 0.001) and a 3-year survival rate of 35 % (P = 0.01). Brucher et al. [4] analyzed pathologic responses after neoadjuvant therapy. In pathologic responders, the SUV decreased by 72 ± 11 %, while in pathologic nonresponders it decreased by only 42 ± 22 % (P \ 0.05), between pretreatment and 3 weeks after the end of neoadjuvant therapy. Nonresponders to PET scanning had a significantly worse survival rate after resection than responders. The data from Flamen et al. [5] further found that the agreement between the assessment of the change in tumor activity by PET preand post-neoadjuvant therapy and pathologic evaluation could achieve 78 %. Therefore, we believe that PET scanning could predict the response to neoadjuvant therapy and the long-term survival of the patients with esophageal cancer. It is feasible to predict the pathologic response of neoadjuvant therapy by assessing the SUV reduction ratio before and after treatment and thereby predict long-term survival. The SUV reduction ratio and the pathologic response, which have been ignored by authors, are two crucial factors

To investigate the association between the number of lymph nodes retrieval and the incidence of postoperative complications in patients with esophageal carcinoma.From January 2008 to December 2009, 794 patients with esophageal carcinoma underwent esophagectomy and lymphadenectomy in the Department of Thoracic Surgery at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University. The clinical data, surgeons, the extent of lymphadenectomy and its association with operative morbidity were retrospectively analyzed.There was no operative death. A total of 84 patients with complication(10.6%) were documented. There were 11,770 lymph nodes harvested in total with an average of 14.8. Multivariate logistic regression showed that gender, number of metastatic lymph nodes, level of anastomosis, and surgeons' experience were risk factors associated with postoperative complications (all P0.05), while the number and group of lymph node resection were not(all P0.05).Within a rational range of lymphadenectomy(50) following esophagectomy, the postoperative complications are significantly associated with the gender, extent of regional lymph nodes metastasis, site of anastomosis and the expertise of the surgeons, but not associated with the number and group of lymph nodes resection.

Background The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor, gefitinib, has been reported to successfully treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients with genetic mutations in EGFR. The aim of this study was to investigate the existence of EGFR mutations in carcinoma of esophagogastric junction, and also to explore the possibility of treating carcinoma of esophagogastric junction using gefitinib. Methods From Aug. 2009 to Jun. 2010, 65 patients with carcinoma of esophagogastric junction underwent surgical resection. The tumor tissue and corresponding blood specimens were collected from all cases. The DNA was extracted and PCR amplification was accomplished based on designed primers for exons 18, 19, 20, and 21. EGFR exons 18, 19, 20 and 21 of both cancer cell and white blood cell were finally successfully sequenced. Results In exon 20, a variant from CAG to CAA at codon 787 (2361G-> A) was identified in 19 patients, which was a genomic variation of EGFR since it was found in both cancer tissue and white blood cells. This EGFR alteration was a synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) since CAA and CAG were encoding the same amino-acid of Glutamine (Q787Q, NCBI database 162093G > A, SNP ID: rs10251977). No genetic alteration was found in exons 18, 19 or 21. Conclusions Adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction rarely presents EGFR mutation, especially gefitinib-associated mutations such as L858R, or delE746-A750. This means that the gefitinib-based gene target therapy should not be recommended for treating carcinoma of esophagogastric junction.

Although supranutrition of selenium (Se) is considered a promising anti-cancer strategy, recent human studies have shown an intriguing association between high body Se status and diabetic risk. This study was done to determine if a prolonged high intake of dietary Se actually induced gestational diabetes in rat dams and insulin resistance in their offspring. Forty-five 67-day-old female Wistar rats (n=15/diet) were fed a Se-deficient (0.01 mg/kg) corn–soy basal diet (BD) or BD+Se (as Se-yeast) at 0.3 or 3.0 mg/kg from 5 weeks before breeding to day 14 postpartum. Offspring (n=8/diet) of the 0.3 and 3.0 mg Se/kg dams were fed with the same respective diet until age 112 days. Compared with the 0.3 mg Se/kg diet, the 3.0 mg/kg diet induced hyperinsulinemia (P

The aim of this study was to retrospectively compare the operative effects of linear stapled intrathoracic esophagogastrostomy with hand-sewn or circular stapled anastomosis in prevention of anastomotic stricture. Between October 2007 and October 2009, 293 patients with esophageal or gastric cardia cancer underwent a curative intent resection. Patients received either a linear stapled (LS group, n = 166), conventional hand-sewn (HS group, n = 59), or circular stapled intrathoracic esophagogastric anastomosis (CS group, n = 68). The patients were followed-up and compared at 3 months after the operation. Three groups of patients were comparable on clinical baseline characteristics. There was one operative death in the HS group. The operative complications were documented in 15 patients (5.1%), with no difference among three groups (χ 2 = 2.215, P = 0.330). The follow-up rate was 96.9%. The anastomotic diameter was 1.6 ± 0.4 cm in the LS group, 1.2 ± 0.3 cm in the HS group, and 1.0 ± 0.4 cm in the CS group, respectively (F = 58.110, P

To study the effect of selenium-enriched yeast (SeY) level on selenoprotein genes expression and the relation between gene expression and antioxidant status and meat quality, 30 selenium (Se)-depleted pigs (7-week old, 10.30±0.68 kg) were randomly divided into 3 groups and fed a basal diet plus 0, 0.3 and 3.0 mg Se/kg as SeY for 8 weeks. Results showed that dietary SeY supplementation improved the antioxidant status in muscle. The increased levels of SeY decreased (P

Aims: To investigate whether the relative abundance of the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes divisions in pigs is different between obese and lean animals. Methods and Results: Group-specific primers were designed to target the 16S rRNA genes of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes present in the gut. After the validation of their specificity, these primers were used in the real-time PCR quantification of all Bacteria, Firmicutes division, Bacteroidetes division and Bacteroides spp. in the faecal samples of obese and lean pigs from Banna mini-pig inbred line. The obese pigs had a ∼61% fewer percentage (based on all Bacteria) of Bacteroidetes division (P = 0·033) and a ∼56% fewer proportion of Bacteroides spp. (P = 0·047) than the lean pigs. The proportions of both Bacteroidetes and Bacteroides had a negative correlation (P