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6′-O-Caffeoylarbutin from Que Zui tea ameliorates acetaminophen-induced liver injury in vitro and in vivo.

The solvation structure and dynamics of small organic molecules at the methanol-silica interface are important for understanding the reaction dynamics in heterogeneous catalysis as well as the transport mechanisms in liquid chromatography. The role of solute polarity in interfacial solvation at the methanol-silica interface has been investigated via umbrella sampling molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and 1,3-propanediol and n-pentane were selected as representative species of polar and apolar solutes. Free energy calculations reveal that it took a similar free energy cost to transfer both solute molecules from the interface to the bulk, despite the huge difference in their polarities. The 1,3-propendiol molecule can penetrate the adsorbed methanol layer and form hydrogen bonds with the silica surface with its backbone perpendicular to the silica surface, resulting in a significant slowdown of translational and rotational dynamics. Further analysis of solvent density and solute orientations suggest that at the minimum of the adsorption free energy curve, the 1,3-propanediol molecule is in a desolvated state, while n-pentane is in a solvated state. The collective effect of solute concentration has also been studied by unbiased MD simulations, and the free energy barriers of transferring the solute molecule from the interface to bulk, as well as the parallel diffusion coefficients at the interface, show a non-monotonic dependence on solute concentration, which can be related to the crowded environment in the interfacial layers.

The solvation and transport of amino acid residues at liquid-solid interfaces have great importance for understanding the mechanism of separation of biomolecules in liquid chromatography. This study uses umbrella sampling molecular dynamics simulations to study the adsorption and transport of three amino acid molecules with different side chains (phenylalanine (Phe), leucine (Leu) and glutamine (Gln)) at the silica-water-acetonitrile interface in liquid chromatography. Free energy analysis shows that the Gln molecule has stronger binding affinity than the other two molecules, indicating the side chain polarity may play a primary role in adsorption at the liquid-solid interface. The Phe molecule with a phenyl side chain exhibits stronger adsorption free energy than Leu with a non-polar side chain, which can be ascribed to the better solvated configuration of Phe. Further analysis of molecular orientations found that the amino acid molecules with apolar side chains (Phe and Leu) have 'standing up' configurations at their stable adsorption state, where the polar functional groups are close to the interface and the side chain is far from the interface, whereas the amino acid molecule with a polar side chain (Gln) chooses the 'lying' configuration, and undergoes a sharp orientation transition when the molecule moves away from the silica surface. Extending our simulation studies to systems with different solute concentrations reveals that there is a decrease in the adsorption free energy as well as surface diffusion as the solute concentration increases, which is related to the crowding in the interfacial layers. This simulation study gives a detailed microscopic description of amino acid molecule solvation and transport at the acetonitrile-water-silica interface in liquid chromatography and will be helpful for understanding the retention mechanism for amino acid separation.

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in China, and the liver is the most common metastatic site in patients with advanced CRC. Hepatectomy is the gold standard treatment for colorectal liver metastases. For patients who cannot undergo radical resection of liver metastases for various reasons, ablation therapy, interventional therapy, and systemic chemotherapy can be used to improve their quality of life and prolong their survival time. AIM To explore the prognostic factors and treatments of liver metastases of CRC. METHODS A retrospective analysis was conducted on 87 patients with liver metastases from CRC treated at the Liaoning Cancer Hospital and Institute between January 2005 and March 2011. According to different treatments, the patients were divided into the following four groups: Surgical resection group (36 patients); ablation group (23 patients); intervention group (15 patients); and drug group (13 patients). The clinicopathological data and postoperative survival of the four groups were analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis, and the Cox proportional hazards regression model was used for multivariate analysis. RESULTS The median survival time of the 87 patients was 38.747 ± 3.062 mo, and the 1- and 3-year survival rates were 87.5% and 53.1%, respectively. The Cox proportional hazards model showed that the following factors were independent factors affecting prognosis: The degree of tumor differentiation, the number of metastases, the size of metastases, and whether the metastases are close to great vessels. The results of treatment factor analysis showed that the effect of surgical treatment was better than that of drugs, intervention, or ablation alone, and the median survival time was 48.83 ± 4.36 mo. The drug group had the worst prognosis, with a median survival time of only 13.5 ± 0.7 mo (P < 0.05). For patients with liver metastases of CRC near the great vessels, the median survival time (27.3 mo) of patients undergoing surgical resection was better than that of patients using other treatments (20.6 mo) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Patients with a low degree of primary tumor differentiation, multiple liver metastases (number of tumors > 4), and maximum diameter of liver metastases > 5 cm have a poor prognosis. Among drug therapy, intervention, ablation, and surgical treatment options, surgical treatment is the first choice for liver metastases. When liver metastases are close to great vessels, surgical treatment is significantly better than drug therapy, intervention, and ablation alone.

Cu3SbSe4-based thermoelectric materials are a class of thermoelectric materials with diamond-like structure which exhibit high thermoelectric properties at moderate temperature region and have broad research prospects. In this study, the p-type Co-doped Cu3-xCoxSbSe4 (x=0-0.015) thermoelectric materials were fabricated by melting-annealing-ball milling-hot pressing process to investigate the effects of Co doping on the thermoelectric properties of Cu3SbSe4. It is found that the average power factor of Cu2.995Co0.005SbSe4 was increased by 30% compared with the pure sample, indicating that Co doping had a great effect on the electrical properties of Cu3SbSe4. The energy gap of ternary p-type semiconductor Cu3SbSe4 was around 0.27eV. As the Co content increasing, the lattice distortion enhanced the phonon scattering, which led to the decrease in lattice thermal conductivity. The maximum thermoelectric figure of merit, ZTmax, reached 0.46 at 600K for the Cu2.995Co0.005SbSe4.

Melodinus cochinchinensis (Lour.) Merr. is a Yunnan endemic folk medicine. Our previous study showed that 11-methoxytabersonine (11-MT) isolated from M. cochinchinensis has strong cytotoxicity on human T-ALL cells, but its molecular mechanism has not been studied. In current study, the cytotoxicity and possible mechanism of 11-MT on T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia was explored using network pharmacology and molecular biology techniques. 11-MT significantly inhibited the cell proliferations on different four human T-ALL cells (MOLT-4, Jurkat, CCRF-CEM, and CEM/C1 cells). 11-MT triggered ROS accumulation, calcium concentration and cell apoptosis, and decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in human T-ALL cells, especially MOLT-4 cells. Western blot analysis showed that it can induce MOLT-4 cell apoptosis by up-regulating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Therefore, 11-MT induces human T-ALL cells apoptosis via up-regulation of ROS-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction and down-regulation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.

The interfacial properties of the acetonitrile (ACN)-water-silica interface have great implications in both liquid chromatography and heterogeneous catalysis. We have performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of ACN and water binary solutions to give a comprehensive study of the collective effect of silica surface polarity and ACN concentration on interfacial structures and dynamics by tuning both surface charges and ACN concentration. MD simulation results indicate that many properties in the liquid-solid interface region undergo a monotonic change as the silica surface is tuned from polar to apolar due to the weakening of hydrogen bonding, while their dependence on ACN concentration is presumably governed by the preferential adsorption of water at the silica surface over ACN. However, at apolar surfaces, the interfacial structures of both water and ACN behave like the liquid-vapor interface, and this resemblance leads to an enrichment of ACN at the interface as well as accelerated dynamics, which is very different from that in the bulk solution. The organization of ACN molecules at both polar and apolar surfaces can be attributed to the amphiphilic nature of ACN, by which the micro-heterogeneity domain formed can persist both in the bulk and at the liquid-solid interface. Moreover, extending diffusion analysis to the second layer of the interface shows that the interfacial transport pathways at polar surfaces are likely very different from that of apolar surfaces. These simulation results give a full spectrum description of the ACN/water liquid-solid interface at the microscopic level and will be helpful for explaining related spectroscopic experiments and understanding the microscopic mechanisms of separation protocols in current chromatography applications.

Plastic-film mulch is a globally applied agricultural practice. However, its effects on soil aggregation and pH have been hardly studied. We assessed the effects of plastic-film mulch on soil aggregate water-stability and pH in fields used for maize ( Zea mays L.) production, at two sites in a cold semiarid environment, China. Four treatments were used: (i) no plastic-film mulch and no straw incorporation, (ii) plastic-film mulch only, (iii) straw incorporation only, and (iv) straw incorporation plus mulch. Seven years after continuous treatment application, the use of plastic-film mulch increased the proportion of water-stable macroaggregates (>0.25 mm) in the top 15-cm soil layer by 16–28%, across sampling times and sites. Straw incorporation similarly increased the proportion of water-stable macroaggregates. However, the effects of mulch, on increasing the mean weight diameter of aggregates were greater in non-straw-incorporated soils than in straw-incorporated soils, and vice versa. Soil bulk density in the top 15-cm soil layer marginally increased in the mulched treatments, relative to the non-mulched treatments, while it decreased in straw-incorporated treatments. In addition, there was a decrease in soil pH, by 0.19–0.54 units, in the mulched, relative to the non-mulched soils. Combining our previous results, we suggested that increases in maize root growth and microbial activity were linked to the increased soil aggregation while accumulation in soil nitrate resulting from the stimulated soil nitrogen mineralization was responsible for the marginally decreased soil pH in the plastic-film mulched relative to the non-mulched soils, due to increased soil hydrothermal conditions.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical step in the acquisition of metastatic and invasive power for tumor cells. Colorectal adenocarcinoma (CRC) is a common cancer where metastasis is directly linked to patient survival. Recent studies show that pleomorphic adenoma gene like-2 (PLAGL2) could induce tumor EMT and is an independent predictive factor associated with poor prognosis in cancer. In the present study, we confirmed the role of PLAGL2 in the prognosis of CRC patients and provide molecular evidence of PLAGL2 promoted EMT in CRC cell line SW480. We found that PLAGL2 expression was upregulated in the paraffin-embedded CRC tissues compared to borderline or benign tissues. Experimental EMT induced by PLAGL2 plasmid transfection proved PLAGL2 protein overexpression could enhance the cell scratch wound-healing and transwell ability and significantly upregulated mesenchymal marker proteins, N-cadherin and vimentin and concurrently downregulated epithelial marker of E-cadherin. Subsequently, through western blot assay, we found that PLAGL2 could activate the wnt-signaling component β-catenin in the nuclei. More CRC cell metastasis to the lungs was observed when the PLAGL2 overexpressing SW480 cells were injected into the tail vein of rats, compared with the cell control and PLAGL2 silence group. Our findings indicated that PLAGL2 might be a very upstream key molecule regulating EMT involved in Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway.

Purpose: To investigate the correlation of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] with leptin (LEP) and visceral fat area (VFA) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with osteoporosis (OP). Methods: A total of 135 T2DM patients with newly diagnosed admitted to the Department of Endocrinology, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical College. The patients were divided into three groups according to BMD status: (1) DMNB group, n=45; (2) DMLB group, n=45; and (3) DMOP group, n=45. The control group consisted of 50 age and gender matched subjects recruited from the Physical Examination Center (NC group). All patients were examined for general biochemical indicators and QCT was used to measure VFA. Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to evaluate the serum levels of 25 (OH)D and LEP, respectively. Results: Compared with NC group, the levels of 25 (OH)D, L1-L4 lumbar vertebrae and left femoral neck BMD in DMNB group, DMLB group and DMOP group were significantly lower (P

Plastic-film mulch is widely used to increase soil temperature and reduce water evaporation in vegetable production. In China, it is also extensively used for growing grain crops, especially in temperature and rainfall limited areas. However, it remains unclear whether the technology is sustainable in terms of maintenance of soil organic carbon (SOC) balance. We assessed the effects of plastic-film mulch on the SOC balance in maize (Zea mays L.) production in a range of cold semiarid environments. We imposed four treatments: (i) no plastic-film mulch or straw incorporation, (ii) plastic-film mulch, (iii) straw incorporation in soil without mulch, and (v) straw incorporation plus mulch, in ridge–furrow prepared fields at five sites along a hydrothermal gradient for up to six years. Maize root biomass across sites increased by 23–38% in mulched plots associated with the increase in aboveground biomass, indicating an increased SOC input, compared to that in non-mulched plots. The plastic-film mulch increased SOC mineralization, indicated by the stimulated decomposition of buried maize straw, and a 4–5% reduction in the concentration of light-fraction SOC (

Transparent plastic-film mulch combined with ridge-furrow technology is widely used to improve crop productivity in cold semiarid areas of China, but whether the technology has similar benefits in different climatic environments is not known. The present study was initiated to assess the variation of plastic-film mulch on maize (Zea mays L.) production in different semiarid environments. Four treatments: (i) plastic-film mulch, (ii) straw incorporation in soil without plastic-film mulch, (iii) straw incorporation plus plastic-film mulch, and (iv) no plastic-film mulch or straw incorporation (control) were imposed in ridge-furrow prepared fields at five sites along a hydrothermal gradient for up to 6 years. Compared to non-mulched plots, maize grain yield and aboveground biomass in mulched plots increased by 30–107% and 37–69%, respectively, across sites due to increased soil temperature and moisture principally during early growth. Plastic mulch increased grain yield to a greater extent at sites with higher hydrothermal limitations. Plastic mulch increased the harvest index of maize at cooler sites, but showed a decrease in harvest index at warmer sites, compared with no mulch. The mulch decreased the year-to-year variation in maize yield at the more hydrothermally-limited sites, but increased the variation at less hydrothermally-limited sites. Compared to no straw incorporation, straw incorporation increased grain yield and aboveground biomass by 7–12% and 8–12%, respectively, across the five sites. The present study suggests that the benefits of plastic-film mulch on maize grain yield and its stability varied significantly with local climatic conditions and that plastic-film mulch can be preferentially applied for maize production where both insufficient rainfall and low spring temperatures are limiting factors.

The present reported study was designed to assess the interactive effects between film fully-mulched ridge–furrow (FMRF) cropping and the presence of a crop on soil moisture. Four treatments were evaluated in 2011 and 2012 at a rainfed semi-arid site: (1) no mulch + no crop planting, (2) mulch + no crop planting, (3) no mulch + crop planting, and (4) mulch + crop planting. Narrow and wide ridges were alternated in all treatments and maize (Zea mays L.) was seeded in furrows only for the crop planting treatments. In 2011, soil water storage in the 0–100 cm layer was higher at all measurements after sowing under mulched compared to unmulched treatment with no maize planting, whereas it increased at measurements in the first two and a half months only under mulched compared to unmulched treatment with maize planting. This indicated that the effect of mulch on soil–water storage was associated with increased transpiration. Mulch under no maize planting increased water storage to the field holding capacity by the end of one growing season, conserving 100 mm more water in the 0–170 cm layer than no mulch. This highlighted that FMRF was very efficient at conserving rainwater in soil. In 2012, soil moisture dynamics under the four treatments were different from those in 2011 because of residue effects and higher precipitation. Compared to no mulch, mulch increased grain yield and water use efficiency by 70–72% and 57–77%, respectively, over the two experiment years. The results suggest that increased transpiration under mulch contributes to increased grain yield and water use efficiency compared with no mulch.

Alleviating the hydrothermal limitations to growth, clear film fully mulched ridge-furrow (FMRF) cropping significantly improves maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield on the Loess Plateau of China. Major concerns for FMRF cropping are the stability of maize productivity and whether the system is detrimental to the soil organic C (SOC) balance under changed hydrothermal conditions. We investigated the effects of maize production with FMRF and its effect on SOC concentration for five consecutive years from 2008 to 2012. Three treatments were imposed: no mulch (narrow ridges with the crop sown beside the ridges), half mulch (the same as no mulch, except the narrow ridges were mulched), and full mulch (i.e., FMRF; alternate narrow and wide ridges, all mulched, with maize in furrows). The 5-yr average of the grain yield was 3.8 Mg ha(-1) under no mulch. Half and full mulch increased the grain yield by 68 and 102%, respectively, relative to no mulch. Root biomass was 69 and 104% greater under half and full mulch, respectively, than no mulch. The maize yield and biomass differed among years depending on the growing-season precipitation and its distribution, but the increased yield and biomass from mulching was consistent in all years. The mulch stimulated SOC mineralization and enzymatic activity but had no effect on light (density

This study evaluated the effects of plastic mulched ridge-furrow cropping on soil biochemical properties and maize (Zea mays L.) nutrient uptake in a semi-arid environment. Three treatments were evaluated from 2008 to 2010: no mulch (narrow ridges with crop seeded next to ridges), half mulch (as per no mulch, except narrow ridges were mulched), and full mulch (alternate narrow and wide ridges, all mulched with maize seeded in furrows). Compared to the no mulch treatment, full mulch increased maize grain yield by 50% in 2008 and 25% in 2010, but reduced yield by 21% in 2009 after low precipitation in early growth. Half mulch had a similar grain yield to no mulch in the three cropping years, suggesting half mulch is not an effective pattern for maize cropping in the area. Mulch treatments increased aboveground nitrogen (N) uptake by 21−34% and phosphorus (P) uptake by 21−42% in 2008, and by 16−32% and 14−29%, respectively, in 2010; but in 2009 mulching did not affect N uptake and decreased P uptake....

The Cr2O3/Cu composites with different Cr2O3-content performed in this paper were prepared by surface internal oxidation of Cu-Cr solid alloy. The Cr2O3/Cu composite wires were slid against a copper-based powder metallurgy strip under unlubricated conditions. The wear behavior of Cr2O3/Cu composite was researched under different currents from 0-50A and sliding distance from 0-72Km. Worn surfaces of the Cr2O3/Cu composite were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). The results indicate that the wear rate of Cr2O3/Cu composite increases with the increase in electrical current and sliding distance. The wear rate increases abruptly at the beginning and smoothly subsequently. And the variety of electrical currents has slight influence on the wear rate. The wear rate of the Cr2O3/Cu composites decreases with the increase in Cr2O3-content. The wear rate of 0.478 Cr2O3/Cu composite is 2-3 times that of 1.25Cr2O3/Cu composite at the same experimental conditions. Abrasive wear and electrical erosion wear are the dominant wear mechanisms during the electrical sliding wear processes.

The nano-Al2O3p/Cu composite performed in this paper was prepared by internal oxidation. The nano-Al2O3p/Cu composite wire and the Cu-Ag alloy wire were slid against a copper-based powder metallurgy strip under unlubricated conditions. The wear behavior of nano-Al2O3p/Cu composite and Cu-Ag alloy were researched under different currents from 0~50A and sliding distance from 0~72Km. Worn surfaces of the nano-Al2O3p/Cu composite were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). The results indicate that the nano-Al2O3p/Cu composite surface is dispersed with Al2O3 particles having a size of 10~20nm; the wear rate of both 0.60Al2O3p/Cu (containing 0.60wt.% Al2O3) composite and Cu-Ag alloy increases with the increasing electrical current and sliding distance, which increases abruptly at the beginning and smoothly subsequently; The wear rate of Cu-Ag alloy is 2-5 times that of 0.60Al2O3p/Cu composite without electrical current; The wear rate of Cu-Ag alloy is 5-10 times that of 0.60Al2O3p/Cu composite with electrical current of 30A-50A; The sensitivity of electrical current on the Cu-Ag alloy is more apparently than that on 0.60Al2O3p/Cu composite. Adhesive, abrasive, and electrical erosion wear are the dominant mechanisms during the electrical sliding processes.

Background: Macroscopic serosal classification of gastric cancer has been reported in previous studies, but rarely reported about it of colorectal cancer. The purpose of this study was to propose a macroscopic serosal classification of colorectal cancer and to investigate clinical significance of this classification. Materials and methods: Morphologic features of colorectal cancer were analyzed according to the macroscopic serosal appearance and clinicopathologic characteristics of these patients were retrospectively reviewed. Microscopic serosal structure was compared between different types under light microscope and transmission electron microscope. Results: Macroscopic serosal classification was divided into normal type, reactive type, nodular type and colloid type according to the macroscopic serosal appearance and microscopic structure. There were significant differences in tumor size, tumor gross type, histological type, histological grade, tumor necrosis, pT stage, number of nodes metastasis, lymph node metastasis ratio, pN stage, M stage and peritoneal metastasis between patients with different serosal types. Univariate analysis of prognosis revealed macroscopic serosal classification as one of factors significantly correlated with patient survival. However, multivariate analysis only revealed TNM stage significantly correlated with patient survival, while macroscopic serosal classification did not, maybe due to insufficient samples. Conclusions: Macroscopic serosal classification of colorectal cancer is preliminarily defined and divided into four types. Different macroscopic serosal types indicate different clinicopathologic features and correlate with prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer, but still cannot be proven as an independent factor.

The aim of the present study was to assess the clinicopathological features and prognostic factors of primary small gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) outside the stomach. The clinical data, clinicopathological features and prognostic factors of 20 patients with a pathologically-confirmed diagnosis of non-gastric GIST that were treated at Liaoning Cancer Hospital & Institute between July 2006 and December 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. In total, 15 patients were male and 5 were female, with a median age of 58 years (range, 44–82 years). A change in bowel habits was the original symptom of rectal small GISTs in 6 out of 8 patients, while patients with small GISTs in other locations demonstrated no overt symptoms and the lesions were detected by systematic examinations of other diseases or abdominal surgical procedures performed on other organs. In total, 19 patients out of the total 20 patients underwent surgery, and 1 patient with rectal GIST received continuous oral imatinib mesylate (400 mg once a day) instead of undergoing surgery. The mean diameter of tumors was 1.55±0.54 cm (range, 0.3–2.0 cm) and the median was 1.70 cm. The pathomorphology of the lesions was mainly spindle cell, and immunohistochemistry revealed the expression rate of cluster of differentiation (CD)117, CD34 and discovered on GIST-1 were 85, 80 and 70%. According to the mitosis index, small rectal GISTs were more frequent compared with other positions (P1 cm in size was not significantly different from the frequency of small GISTs ≤1 cm in size (P=0.995). All 20 patients were followed up, with a median follow-up duration of 49.5 months (range, 10.5–94.4 months). At the end of the follow-up period, tumor recurrence occurred in 5 patients and 1 patient succumbed following progression. According to the analysis of the tumor sites, the RFS time of patients with small rectal GISTs was significantly different than the RFS time in patients with small GISTs in other positions. The clinical symptoms of non-gastric small GISTs were not evident and were challenging to detect. Small GISTs, regardless of size, possessed malignant potential and once detected, GISTs should be surgically resected. Lesions located in the rectum demonstrated an increased degree of malignancy and were more likely to recur. The tumor size and Ki67 index could not be considered as prognostic factors of non-gastric small GISTs.

Objectives For advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) patients who are responding to imatinib mesylate, the role of surgery has not been formally demonstrated. This multicenter randomised controlled trial was designed to assess whether surgery to treat residual disease for patients with recurrent/metastatic GISTs responding to imatinib mesylate (IM) improved progression free survival (PFS) compared with IM treatment alone. Methods Between 3 and 12 months after starting IM for recurrent/metastatic GISTs, eligible patients were randomised to two arms: Arm A (surgery for residual disease) and Arm B (IM treatment alone). In Arm A (19 pts), surgery was performed to remove residual macroscopic lesions as completely as possible, and IM treatment continued after surgery. In Arm B (22 pts), IM was given alone at a dose of 400 mg per day until disease progression. The primary end-point was PFS measured from the date IM started. This study was registered in the ChiCTR registry with the ID number ChiCTR-TRC-00000244. Results This randomised trial was closed early due to poor accrual. Only 41 patients were enrolled as opposed to 210 patients planned. 2-year PFS was 88.4% in the surgery arm and 57.7% in the IM-alone arm (P = 0.089). Median overall survival (mOS) was not reached in the surgery arm and 49 months in patients with IM-alone arm (P = 0.024). Conclusions While no significant differences were observed in the two arms, this study suggests that surgical removal of the metastatic lesion may improve the outcome of advanced GIST patients and should stimulate additional research on this topic.

Synchronous or metachronous occurrence of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) and other primary gastrointestinal neoplasms has previously been reported. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are few studies regarding metachronous multiple GISTs and adenocarcinoma of the colon. The current case of an 80-year-old male patient who underwent a laparoscopic right hemicolectomy for colonic adenocarcinoma, located in the ascending colon, is presented. Twenty-one months after receiving the laparoscopic right hemicolectomy, two new disc-like bulge lesions in the descending colon and rectosigmoid were identified during an endoscopic follow-up examination, and a segmental bowel resection was performed. The final diagnosis of multiple colonic GISTs was established as a result of histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry.

In an attempt to understand the pathogenesis of renal vein thrombosis occurring early after renal transplantation, gene expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) was investigated by an in-situ hybridization technique. The cases examined were six transplant kidneys complicated by renal vein thrombosis, four 'normal' kidneys and five time-matched transplant kidneys not complicated by renal vein thrombosis but showing acute tubular necrosis, infection, or normal histology. The cell types expressing PAI-1 mRNA were also studied by combined in-situ hybridization and immunohistochemical double staining techniques. Our results showed that PAI-1 mRNA was expressed in transplant kidneys complicated by renal vein thrombosis but there was no detectable expression in 'normal' kidneys, nor in time-matched transplant kidneys not complicated by thrombosis. Double staining showed that PAI-1 mRNA was predominantly expressed by capillary endothelial cells, particularly around large- or medium-sized renal arteries and small nerves. Smooth-muscle cells in the wall of major or medium-sized renal arteries also showed positive expression of PAI-1 in three of six thrombosed transplants. However, endothelium in the major renal vein showed relatively little signal. The pattern was different from that in rejection. The possible relevance of these findings is discussed.