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Abstract Background In this study, we aimed at elucidating the postoperative survival and prognostic factors in patients with biliary neuroendocrine neoplasm (NEN). Methods Cases of biliary system NEN and adenocarcinoma from 1975 to 2016 were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. A propensity score matching (PSM) method was used to adjust baseline differences in clinicopathological characteristics in our analysis. The Kaplan–Meier analysis was carried out for survival analysis. Results A total of 233 patients with biliary system NEN were enrolled in this study, of which 119 patients’ lesions located in gallbladder, while the others’ located in bile duct. The postoperative overall survival of bile duct NEN is significantly longer than that of gallbladder NEN (P

The films of vinylidene fluoride and trifluoroethylene (P(VDF-TrFE)) are widely used in piezoelectric tactile sensors, vibration energy harvesters, optical frequency conversion materials and organic photo-voltaic devices because of high electroactive, good optical and nonlinear optical properties, respectively. In this work, the multilayer structured ultrathin films were fabricated by the Langmuir–Blodgett technique, and the thickness per layer can be controlled accurately. It was found that as the collapse pressure of P(VDF-TrFE) (25:75) and the optimal dipping value are 60~70 mN/m and 15 mN/m, respectively, a high-density film can be obtained due to the compression of molecules. The surface topography and optical properties of the LB films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, white light interferometer and variable-angle spectrum ellipsometer. It was observed that the films are transparent in the visible region and IR-band, but show a high absorption in the UV band. Besides, the transmittance of the films ranges from 50% to 85% in the visible region, and it linearly decreases with the number of monolayers. The average thickness of per deposition layer is 2.447 nm, 2.688 nm and 2.072 nm, respectively, under three measurement methods. The calculated refractive index ranged from 1.443 to 1.598 (600~650 nm) by the Cauchy-model.

Abstract Background Neurokinin1 (NK1) receptor has played a vital role in the development of tumor. However, NKP608 as a NK1 receptor antagonist whether has the effect of the resistance of colorectal cancer is still unclear. Thereby, in this study, we investigated the role of NKP608 on human colorectal cancer and explored the underlying mechanism. Methods The cell proliferation of colorectal cancer cells was detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay, cell migration and invasion were assessed by transwell assay, the apoptotic ratio of cells was assessed by Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide stained and flow cytometry. The involvement of molecular mechanisms was examined by western blot. Results In this study, we found that NKP608 inhibited the proliferation, migration/invasion of HCT116 cells. In addition, NKP608 reduced expressions of Wnt-3a, β-catenin, Cyclin D1, and (vascular endothelial growth factor) VEGF while induced expression of E-Cadherin. Furthermore, flow cytometry analyzed that NKP608 induced apoptosis of HCT116 cells, consistently, western blotting detecting of apoptosis-related proteins revealed that NKP608 downregulated Bcl-2 while upregulated Bax and Active-Caspase-3. Conclusions Taken together, our results demonstrated that NKP608 inhibited colorectal cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion via suppressing the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Therefore, NKP608 might represent a promising therapeutic agent in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between pancreatic cancer (PC) and diabetes mellitus. METHODS: All PC patients diagnosed and treated at Zhongshan hospital from January 1991 to December 2007 were retrospectively analyzed. During this period, 770 non-digestive tract, non-neoplastic and non-hormone-related patients matched for sex and age were collected as controls. The incidence of diabetes mellitus between the two groups was compared. RESULTS: Between the PC group and the control group, sex and age of the patients were well matched. The incidence of diabetes mellitus was 34.63% in the PC group and 8.83% in the control group ( P < 0.001, RR = 5.19). In the PC group there was no correlation between age, sex, site of the cancer, tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, TNM staging and the incidence of diabetes mellitus. In this group with diabetes, 74.56% experienced onset within two years of cancer diagnosis. Of the control patients, 57.35% had had diabetes for under 2 years ( P = 0.009, RR = 2.18). In the PC group with diabetes, 5.9% had had diabetes for more than 10 years while compared with 8.8% of the controls ( P = 0.42). CONCLUSION: Whether diabetes mellitus is a result of or a risk factor for PC is still unclear. The incidence of diabetes mellitus is much higher in the PC patients. The onset of diabetes mellitus in adults might be an alerting factor that could lead to an early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monocytes/macrophages are important in the development of systemic lupus erythematosus. To research M1 and M2 macrophage-like monocytes in the peripheral blood of children with systemic lupus erythematosus and explore the clinical significance, M1 and M2 macrophage-like monocytes, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1, interleukin-6, interleukin-10, and interleukin-18 are tested in the peripheral blood of children with systemic lupus erythematosus by flow cytometry. A correlation analysis is made between M1 and M2 macrophage-like monocytes and erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein. As we found, the absolute number and percentage of M1 macrophage-like monocytes (CD163 – CD14 + ) in macrophage-like monocytes (CD14 + ) in peripheral blood of the severe systemic lupus erythematosus group were higher than those of the control group and the mild–moderate systemic lupus erythematosus group ( F = 28.4, 21.7, 122, 81.7; P

AIM: To compare the optometric examination results of myopic young children between those diagnosed in the period from 1998 to 2000 and those diagnosed in the period from 2008 to 2010; and to find out the causes of myopia and factors that worsen the condition, and suggest methods of its prevention and treatment.METHODS: This study was a retrospective case study. We randomly selected sample from out-patient department register of cases and divided them into two main groups, ‘ten year before group'(TYBG)(1998/2000 year cases)and ‘ten years later group'(2008/2010 year cases)(TYLG). Each group was further subdivided into three sub-groups by age: under-six years old children group(CG), seven-twelve years old primary-school group(PSG)and thirteen-eighteen years old middle-school group(MSG). The optometric examination results were statistically analyzed.RESULTS: The difference of the mean dioptre between the TYBG and TYLG was strongly statistically significant, also forward-lead trend of age when children suffered from myopia was found(P<0.01). There was a significant increase of dioptre among PSG and MSG in TYLG compared to TYBG(PCONCLUSION: Our study shows that the age of getting myopia was forward lead, the dioptre increases by 1.00 degree and the prevalence of myopia is increasing gradually. This situation may due to the modern life style and changes of living standard of the population. Therefore, prevention of myopia should concentrate more on younger children at kindergarten and primary school stage students.

Gefitinib (GEF) is the first epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeting agent launched as an anticancer drug. It is an accepted opinion that modifying GEF strong hydrophobicity and poor bioavailability would not only enhance its antitumor effects, but also reduce its side effects. In this study, GEF-loadedpoly(ε-caprolactone)-poly(ethyleneglycol)-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCEC) -bearing nanoparticles (GEF-NPs) were prepared by a solid dispersion method and characterized. The particle sizes increased with the increase in GEF/PCEC mass ratio in feed. GEF-NPs (10%) were mono-dispersed, smaller than 24 nm, zeta potential was approximately −18 mV, percentage encapsulation and loading, were more than 9% and 92%, respectively, and drug was slowly released but without a biphasic pattern. Microscopy studies of the optimized formulation confirmed that the prepared nanoparticles are spherical in nature. Cytotoxicity results indicated that cell growth inhibition induced by free GEF and GEF-NPs were dose and time dependent. Compared with free GEF, GEF-NPs enhanced antitumor effects, reduced side effects and significantly prolonged survival time in vivo. CD31, ki-67 and EGFR expression were significantly lower in the GEF-NPs group compared with other groups (p