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The gut microbiota is a large symbiotic community of anaerobic and facultative aerobic bacteria inhabiting the human intestinal tract, and its activities significantly affect human health. Increasing evidence has suggested that the gut microbiome plays an important role in tumor-related immune regulation. In the tumor microenvironment (TME), the gut microbiome and its metabolites affect the differentiation and function of immune cells regulating the immune evasion of tumors. The gut microbiome can indirectly influence individual responses to various classical tumor immunotherapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy and adoptive immunotherapy. Microbial regulation through antibiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) optimize the composition of the gut microbiome, improving the efficacy of immunotherapy and bringing a new perspective and hope for tumor treatment.

Background: Congenital absence of the internal carotid artery (ICA) is a very rare congenital anomaly of the ICA. Most reports in the literature are of individual cases, and most were diagnosed by computed tomographic angiography (CTA) or digital subtraction angiography (DSA). There are few reports on the diagnosis of congenital absence of the ICA by carotid Doppler ultrasound (CDUS). Case presentation: A 61-year-old male patient who was admitted to the hospital because of dizziness and showed no abnormality on CDUS conducted at another hospital. CDUS conducted at our hospital found maldevelopment of the right common carotid artery (RCCA) with normal a blood flow velocity and spectrum. A high-resistance frequency spectrum could be detected in the “ICA” that continued directly from the RCCA, and two adjacent small blood vessel branches were also observed. Superficial temporal artery tap and tracing of the courses of the small blood vessels confirmed that the RCCA directly continued to the external carotid artery (ECA). The final diagnosis was congenital absence of the ICA, which was confirmed during the clipping of an anterior communicating artery (ACoA) aneurysm.Conclusion: CDUS, as a noninvasive and rapid screening tool for cervical vascular diseases, offers a new approach for the diagnosis of congenital absence of the ICA.

The expression of miR-126 and serine‐arginine protein kinase 1 (SRPK1) are linked to tumor development; nevertheless, its role in the tumor growth and invasion of gastric cancer (GC) and the underlying mechanism have not been clarified. Here the expression and role of miR-126 and SRPK1 were investigated in GC tissues and cells by in vitro assay, and then targets of miR-126 were identified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. In this study, miR-126 expression was downregulated and associated with lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis as well as SRPK1 expression. In vitro assay revealed that miR-126 obviously inhibited the proliferative and invasive capabilities of GC cells. The dual-luciferase reporter assay showed that miR-126 targets the 3′-UTR of SRPK1 and downregulates its expression. SRPK1 overexpression promoted cell migration and invasion. In conclusion, the reduced expression of miR-126 is suggestive of the risk of GC recurrence and metastasis, and miR-126 functions as a tumor suppressor by targeting SRPK1 expression in the development of GC.

A new fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensor for the rapid detection of bismuth (III) ions has been facilely synthesized using Rhodamine 6G, ethylenediamine and pyromellitic dianhydride. Highly selective fluorescent enhancement and distinct colorimetric change were detected upon the addition of bismuth ion (Bi3+) into the sensor solution in EtOH/CH3CN (1:4, v:v) at pH 5.0–7.0. A linear relationship between the fluorescent emission intensity and the Bi3+ concentration from 10 μM to 35 μM (with the detection limit of 2.69 μM) was observed. The UV absorbance at 525 nm increased linearly when the concentration of Bi3+ was increased from 15 μM to 45 μM and the detection limit is 0.69 μM. In addition, the sensor could be used for the detection of bismuth containing drugs in the aqueous solution.

Herein, we report Rhodamine 6G derivative-infiltrated SiO2 inverse opal photonic crystals (IOPC) as a fluorescence-enhancing film sensor for the detection of Bi3+ ions. In the presence of Bi3+ ions, the as-constructed sensor emits strong fluorescence at a wavelength of 553 nm due to the coordination interaction between the derivative molecules and Bi3+ ions. The fluorescence intensity is significantly enhanced by the slow photon effect of the photonic crystals when the emission wavelength overlaps with the blue band edge of the photonic stopband of the selected IOPC. This fluorescence enhancement improves the detection sensitivity of the sensor for Bi3+ ions and its limit of detection is 0.1 nM. The interconnected macroporous structure of inverse opal with a high surface area endows the sensor with a quick fluorescence response of under 30 s. This sensor exhibits good selectivity and has no interference by other metal ions due to the specific interaction between the derivative molecules and Bi3+ ions. Furthermore, the sensor can be reactivated by CH3COO−, which is used as a competing ligand to release Bi3+ ions from the coordination complex. Therefore, the as-constructed fluorescence-enhancing IOPC sensor realizes highly effective detection of Bi3+ ions with high sensitivity, quick response, excellent selectivity and convenient reusability and can be used to detect Bi3+ ions in drugs, which provides a platform for the design of novel fluorescence sensing materials.

Yanfen Yao,1 Qiaorong Li,1 Hong Wang2 1Department of Intensive Care Unit, Shandong Provincial Third Hospital, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of General Surgery, Shandong Provincial Third Hospital, Jinan, People’s Republic of China Background: MiR-216b has been reported to be involved in the development of some cancers, however, the role of miR-216b in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear.Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the mechanism underlying miR-216b-induced CRC development.Methods: We detected the expression of miR-216b in 80 cases of CRC tissues and cell lines, and further analyzed the association between miR-216b and clinical pathological indicators as well as prognosis. In vitro, the miR-216b overexpression cell model was established for further functional assay.Results: We demonstrated that miR-216b in CRC tissues and cell lines was markedly decreased compared with corresponding adjacent normal tissues and colonic mucosal epithelial cell line, and was obviously associated with the TNM stage, lymph node metastases, and poor overall survival as well as recurrence-free survival. Furthermore, we found that miR-216b inhibited cell proliferation, cell cycle, migration, and invasion by targeting 3'-UTR of SRPK1. Besides, SRPK1 over-expression reversed miR-216b-inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion, while SRPK1 inhibition aggravated these effects.Conclusions: We identified that miR-216b suppresses colorectal cancer proliferation, migration and invasion by targeting SRPK1, which shed light on how miR-216b functions in CRC pathogenesis. Keywords: MiR-216b, SRPK1, colorectal cancer, proliferation, migration, invasion

To study a optimal method and pass criterion for newborn hearing screening.Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions(TEOAE) was used for hearing screening in 1,277 (2,554 ears) newborns. The pass criterion was defined as signal-noise-ratio(SNR)or = 3 dB in 3 of 4 frequency bands.Pass rates were 89.37%. The best tested time at 2-4 days after birth.TEOAE may be an ideal method for newborn hearing screening, SNRor = 3 dB for frequency bands was the appropriate pass criteria.