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Activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSCs) are the major source of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the liver. Though the crosstalk between aHSCs and colorectal cancer (CRC) cells supports liver metastasis (LM), the mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated BMI-1, a polycomb-group protein family member, which is high-expressed in LM, in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation and interacting with CRC cells while promoting colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRLM). We found the positivity of BMI-1 expression in the liver of CRLM patients was 77.8%, and the expression level of BMI-1 continued to increase during CRLM in mice. We overexpressed BMI-1 in HSCs (LX2) by lentivirus infection, and HSCs were activated, accompanied by increased expression levels of α-SMA, Fibronectin, TGF-β1, MMPs, and IL-6. CRC cells (HCT116 and DLD1) were cultured in HSCs-conditioned medium (LX2 NC CM or LX2 BMI-1 CM), and CRC cells cultured in BMI-1 CM exhibited enhanced proliferation and migration ability, and EMT phenotype with activation of TGF-β/SMAD pathway. Besides, a TFG-βR inhibitor SB-505124 largely diminished the effect of the BMI-1 CM on Smad2/3 phosphorylation in CRC cells. A mouse subcutaneous xenotransplantation tumor model was established by co-implantation of HSCs (LX2 NC or LX2 BMI-1) and CRC cells, andBMI-1 overexpressed LX2 HSCs promoted tumor growth and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype in vivo. In conclusion, BMI-1 activates HSCs to promote the EMT of CRC cells partially through the TGF-β/SMAD pathway. These findings demonstrate BMI-1 activated HSCs might be a new target in CRC therapy.

Background The study investigated the predictive value of tumor angiogenesis observed by 18F-ALF-NOTA-PRGD2 II (denoted as 18F-Alfatide II) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) before concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for treatment response and survival among patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC). Methods Patients with unresectable stage IIIA or IIIB NSCLC (AJCC Cancer Staging 7th Edition) who received CCRT were included in this prospective study. All patients had undergone 18F-Alfatide PET/CT scanning before CCRT, and analyzed parameters included maximum uptake values (SUVmax) of primary tumor (SUVP) and metastatic lymph nodes (SUVLN) and mean uptake value of blood pool (SUVblood). Tumor-to-background ratios (TBRs) and changes in tumor diameter before and after CCRT (ΔD) were calculated. The ratios of SUVP to SUVblood, SUVLN to SUVblood, and SUVP to SUVLN were denoted as TBRP, TBRLN, and T/LN. Short-term treatment response, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were evaluated. Results Of 38 enrolled patients, 28 completed CCRT. SUVP, SUVLN, TBRP, TBRLN and T/LN showed significant correlation with PFS (all P P was negatively correlated with OS (P = 0.005). SUVP and TBRP were higher in non-responders than in responders (6.55 ± 2.74 vs. 4.61 ± 1.94, P = 0.039; 10.49 ± 7.58 vs. 7.73 ± 6.09, P = 0.023). ΔD was significantly greater in responders (2.78 ± 1.37) than in non-responders (-0.16 ± 1.33, P P (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.764, P = 0.018), with a cutoff value of 6.52, as the only parameter significantly predictive of the response to CCRT, with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy values of 71.43%, 78.57%, and 75.00%, respectively. ROC curve analysis also identified SUVP (AUC = 0.942, P P (AUC = 0.895, P = 0.001, cutoff value 4.95) as predictive of OS with high sensitivity (84.21%, 93.75%), specificity (100.00%, 66.67%), and accuracy (89.29%, 82.14%). Conclusions Evaluation of tumor angiogenesis by 18F-Alfatide II at baseline may be useful in predicting the short-term response to CCRT as well as PFS and OS in patients with LA-NSCLC.

Multiple-input single-output (MISO) have extraordinary propagation properties, making it possible to further improve the performance of underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC). In this paper, a tilted MISO-UWOC system consists of a beam array and an aperture averaged detector, academically called multiple-input aperture-average (MIAA) systems, are proposed. Different from the original approach where beams are parallel to each other, the tilted approach has a series of multiple beam transmitters individually aimed at the receiver. The MIAA systems are extensively compared to single-input single-output (SISO) systems on scintillation index and SNR for various oceanic turbulence conditions and system configurations by wave optics simulation (WOS). Our results reveal that tilted MIAA systems show tremendous advantages over the parallel MIAA systems including the reduced scintillation and the improved signal to noise ratio (SNR) under the same configuration. The obtained results can be useful for the UWOC system design.

Background:Tumor angiogenesis plays a key role in tumor growth, development, and metastasis, so the exploratory study of tumor neovascularization imaging is one of the potential methods to predict survival. This study aims to examine the predictive capacity of 18F-ALF-NOTA-PRGD2 II (denoted 18F-Alfatide II) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) before antitumor therapy (ATR) in patients with lung cancer.Results The median follow-up was 31 (1.3~57.0) months. Among the patients, 6 were lost to follow-up. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 40.0 (3.50~57.0) months and 21.30 (2.0~56.0) months, respectively. The maximum uptake values (SUVmax) of the metastatic lymph nodes (SUVLN) and tumor node metastasis (TNM) staging were significant predictors of PFS and OS (all PLN and 0.96 for the TNM stage (PLN and TNM stage cutoff values were 2.50 and II, and their sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative prediction were 77.42%, 80.0% and 82.76% and 74.07%; and 87.10%, 60.0% and 72.97% and 78.95%, respectively. Patients with a lower SUVLN and early stage had a longer PFS and OS (all PConclusions For lung cancer, low SUVLN and an early TNM stage (≤stage II) as assessed before ATR by 18F-alfatide II PET/CT represents a favorable subgroup with increased PFS and OS.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to explore the benefit of (18)F-AlF-NOTA-PRGD2 positron emission tomography/computed tomography (denoted as (18)F-RGD PET/CT) imaging for determining the clinical pathologic features of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Seventy-two patients with NSCLC (37 cases of adenocarcinoma and 35 cases of squamous carcinoma) were enrolled to receive (18)F-RGD PET/CT scanning pretreatment. The peak standard uptake value (SUV(peak)), mean standard uptake value (SUV(mean)), angiogenic tumor volume (ATV) and total lesion angiogenesis (TLA) of tumors were determined using an automated contouring program. Cases were classified according to the tumor, lymph node, metastasis (TNM) stage. RESULTS: Significant differences in ATV and TLA were observed among T1, T2, T3 and T4 cases (ATV, P=0.000; TLA, P=0.000). ATV and TLA also differed significantly among cases of clinical stage I, II, III and IV (ATV, P=0.002; TLA, P=0.011). However, no significant differences in any values were observed between stage III and IV NSCLC cases (SUV(peak), P=0.675; SUV(mean), P=0.668; ATV, P=0.52; TLA, P=0.634). All assessed values were higher in squamous cell carcinoma cases than in adenocarcinoma cases (SUV(peak), P=0.045; SUV(mean), P=0.014; ATV, P=0.003; TLA, P=0.001). For clinical stage III and IV cases specifically, SUV(peak), SUV(mean), and TLA were higher for squamous cell carcinoma than for adenocarcinoma (SUV(peak), P=0.015; SUV(mean), P=0.009; TLA, P=0.036). Conclusions: (18)F-RGD PET/CT imaging revealed the presence of increased angiogenesis in the tumor microenvironment of NSCLC, especially squamous cell carcinoma, and thus may be valuable in planning therapeutic regimens for individual patients.

Purpose The study aims to investigate the role of 18F-alfatide positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in predicting the short-term outcome of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods Eighteen patients with advanced NSCLC had undergone 18F-alfatide PET/CT scans before CCRT and PET/CT parameters including maximum and mean standard uptake values (SUVmax/SUVmean), peak standard uptake values (SUVpeak) and tumor volume (TVPET and TVCT) were obtained. The SUVmax of tumor and normal tissues (lung, blood pool and muscle) were measured, and their ratios were denoted as T/NT (T/NTlung, T/NTblood and T/NTmuscle). Statistical methods included the Two-example t test, Wilcoxon rank-sum test, Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and logistic regression analyses. Results We found that SUVmax, SUVpeak, T/NTlung, T/NTblood and T/NTmuscle were higher in non-responders than in responders (P = 0.0024, P = 0.016, P

In this paper, based on the extended Rytov theory that combines modified large-scale and small-scale amplitude spatial-frequency filters, we theoretically derive the scintillation index (SI) of the plane and spherical waves by means of the approximate oceanic refractive-index spectrum with the variable eddy diffusivity ratio propagating through moderate-to-strong oceanic turbulence. The mean bit-error rate (BER) of the underwater optical wireless communication systems is analyzed by use of the predicted SI and the gamma-gamma distribution model. Numerical results show that the obtained SI models are in good agreement with the results in weak-fluctuation regions. Also, we find that in weak turbulence, the mean BER drops sharply with the increase in mean signal-to-noise ratio, while in moderate-to-strong turbulence, the situation is opposite. We also note that the mean BER differs between the cases of unity and the variable eddy diffusivity ratio.

In this paper, we theoretically analyze the beam wander variance for the Gaussian beam propagation through weak oceanic turbulence. Particularly, we consider the effect of the eddy diffusivity ratio of salinity to temperature as well as the outer scale on the beam wander. To get to the tractable theoretical results, we first develop an approximate oceanic refractive-index spectrum with the outer scale and variable eddy diffusivity ratio. Based on this spectrum in weak turbulence, we then derive the closed-form expression for the beam wander variance. We present numerical results to show that the beam wander is either overestimated or underestimated as compared to the previous analyses which set the eddy diffusivity ratio to one. In addition, the finite outer scale of turbulence can significantly reduce the beam wander for Gaussian beams.

Generally, the eddy diffusivity ratio of salinity to temperature is not equal to one, especially in the upper and mid-to-high latitude ocean. In this paper, the performance of practical underwater optical communication (UOC) systems is investigated by considering the influence of the eddy diffusivity ratio other than one. Specifically, using the Rytov theory in weak turbulence, the aperture-averaged scintillation indices for the plane and spherical waves are derived. The typical performance criteria including the mean signal-to-noise ratio and bit error rate are further studied. It is found that the scintillation index and the associated UOC performance differ between the cases of the unity and variable eddy diffusivity ratio. Such a difference becomes smaller as the receiving aperture increases.

Ligase detection reaction (LDR) is adaptable to a wide variety of applications ranging from scientific research to clinical diagnosis, especially in the field of nucleotide polymorphism discrimination and analysis. Efficiency and specificity of LDR are the most two important characteristics that influence its application. To improve the specificity or efficiency of ligase, optimization of the design of LDR probes and the reaction of LDR were investigated previously by most researchers. But the effects of additives on LDR have not been reported. In this study, the effects of additives (DMSO, Tween-20, glycerol, formamide, and PEG- 6000) on LDR efficiency and specificity were investigated. The results showed that all of these compounds, except for Tween-20, could improve the specificity of LDR. PEG-6000 was proved to be the best additive among the five tested with an optimal concentration of 5% at which the highest yield was obtained with a relatively improved specificity.

e20558 Background: Both 18F-alfatide positron emission tomography/computed tomography(PET/CT) and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET/CT were potential in predicting thearapy sensitivity, in this study,we recruited patients with advanced NSCLC to detect and compare the potential predictive vaue of them on the CRT sensitivity of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: According to the design of Natural Science Foundation ofChina (NSFC) 81372413, twenty-four patients with advanced NSCLC accepted 18F-alfatide PET/CT before radiotherapy (T1), another thirty-nine patients underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT at both T1 and during CRT (40Gy of radiotherapy, T2). Logistic regression analyse was used to evaluate the correlations between PET parameters and CRT sensitivity providing an odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI) and p value. Propensity score matching (PSM) approach was used to control confounding. Results: Logistic regression analyse showed that Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) score was correlative with CRT sensitivity. After PSM, controlling KPS scores, twenty-four pairs of patients were matched. The results showed that SUVmax obtained from baseline 18F-alfatide PET/CT was associated with CRT sensitivity in both univariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis (OR: 0.532, 95% CI: 0.305–0.927, p = 0.026; OR:0.376, 95% CI: 0.165-0.860, p = 0.021), but the baseline 18F-FDG PET/CT was not. Univariate analyses showed that the percent change in MTV of 18F-FDG PET/CT between T1 and T2 was correlative with CRTsensitivity (OR: 1.039, 95% CI: 1.003-1.077, p = 0.036). When patients’ KPS score was considered simultaneously, it was still related to CRT sensitivity (OR:1.038, 95% CI: 1.001-1.077, p = 0.045). Conclusions: 18F-alfatidePET/CT may be better than 18F-FDG PET/CT in predicting CRT sensitivity, and 18F-FDG PET/CT is potential in monitoring the tumor response to CRT in patients with advanced NSCLC.

The efficiency evaluation of enterprise management is a fundamental factor in the promptness of evaluating enterprises, surveying the management situation and taking measures to be efficient, and also one of the key factors determining enterprise development. It is necessary to explore effective ways of management in order to enhance the competitiveness and adaptability of enterprises. When evaluating enterprise management efficiency, two methods-quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis are applied. And furthermore the corresponding evaluation indexes are established by combining the two methods. Finally based on the performance evaluation methods available and by adopting weighted allocation Delphi and data envelopment analysis, a new evaluation model has been created. The empirical research demonstrates that this model is effective and credible.

The amount of sales un-house is important basis for inventory management of commerce enterprises. Through carefully analyzing about previous researching results, we find that tradition forecasting methods, such as time series analysis, regression analysis, Kalman filtering and the predictions of neural networks, have some defects in large information demanding, the numerical instability and insensibility to environment changes. So, based on GM (1,1) model and combining calamity grey prediction at residual hour, this paper establishes a REM-GM (1,1) model and with the aid of cluster prediction method successfully forecasts the amount of sales un-house of commerce enterprises. The empirical studies observe that the model of un-house forecasting, no matter whether one step forecast or multi-step long time forecast, has a more remarkable prediction precision.

Objective: The kisspeptin/GPR54 pathway has been proven to be crucial in the process of puberty onset, yet the polymorphisms in the KISS1 gene and their relationships with central precocious puberty (CPP) have not been investigated. This study was performed to reveal the relationship between the gene and the disease. Design and Methods: 272 Chinese Han girls diagnosed to be CPP patients were recruited as Case Group I, 43 unrelated African women as Case Group II, and 288 unrelated normal Chinese Han girls as Control Group. Polymorphism scans of the KISS1 gene were performed for the first time by bidirectional resequencing of the whole gene in a subset of the patients, and then by ligase detection reaction some of the polymorphisms identified were typed in the two groups and the respective haplotypes were constructed. The relationships of the typed polymorphisms and the haplotypes with CPP were evaluated by an association study between genotypes and phenotypes. Results: By resequencing, eight polymorphisms were identified, five of which were typed forming 18 haplotypes. Although one novel nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphism substituting one amino acid in kisspeptin (P110T) was found to be statistically related to the disease (P = 0.025), no further supporting evidence has yet been found. The other polymorphisms and all the haplotypes were not found to be related. Conclusion: The polymorphism scanning and typing of KISS1 uncovered several potentially meaningful polymorphisms, but the conclusion was not solid and further studies are necessary for function validation of these polymorphisms.

In order to investigate whether the variances in the candidate genes (Insulin receptor substrate IRS-1, beta3-adrenergic receptor ADRB3, 3 beta-hydro-xysteroid dehydrogenase HSD3B2, glucocorticoid receptor GRL and 21-hydroxylase CYP21) which affect the metabolism of adrenal steroids hormone and body composition, are associated with precocious puberty in Chinese girls.PCR-RFLP analysis method was applied in the typing of six activity SNPs in five genes in two groups: 176 precocious puberty girls as case and 192 healthy girls as control.The typing results showed that the frequencies of the allele CYP21 L282 polymorphism were 32.7% and 32.6% in case and control groups (P=0.518), respectively. For IRS-1 R972, they were 0.6% in cases and 2.3% in controls (P=0.043), for ADRB3 R64, 13.6% in cases and 12% in controls (P=0. 378), and for GRL S363, 7.4% in cases and 5.73% in controls (P=0.335). No sample in the two groups carries the variation of CYP21 I172N and HSD3B2 L236S.Among these six activity SNPs in five candidate genes, IRS-1 972R was statistically associated with the onset time of puberty in Chinese girls. In order to confirm whether the candidate genes have any other activity SNPs that are associated with the onset time of puberty in Chinese girls, resequencing of these candidate genes is needed in following time.