• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.3525-3531
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• 2014

Objective: Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG-PET) is a new technique for identifying different malignant tumors using different uptake values between tumor cells and normal tissues. Here we assessed the diagnostic accuracy of 18F-FDG-PET in patients with testicular cancer by pooling data of existing trials in a meta-analysis. Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Central Trials databases were searched and studies published in English relating to the diagnostic value of FDG-PET for testicular cancer were collected. The summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve was used to examine the FDG-PET accuracy. Results: A total of 16 studies which included 957 examinations in 807 patients (median age, 31.1 years) were analyzed. A meta-analysis was performed to combine the sensitivity and specificity and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs), from diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), positive likelihood ratios (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR). SROC were derived to demonstrate the diagnostic accuracy of FDG-PET for testicular cancer. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.75 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.70-0.80) and 0.87 (95% CI, 0.84-0.89), respectively. The pooled DOR was 35.6 (95% CI, 12.9-98.3). The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.88. The pooled PLR and pooled NLR were 7.80 (95% CI, 3.73-16.3) and 0.31 (95% CI, 0.23-0.43), respectively. Conclusion: In patients with testicular cancer, 18F-FDG-PET demonstrated a high SROC area, and could be a potentially useful tool if combined with other imaging methods such as MRI and CT. Nevertheless, the literature focusing on the use of 18F-FDG-PET in this setting still remains limited.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.2169-2177
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• 2014

Matrine, a main active component extracted from dry roots of Sophora flavecens, has been reported to exert antitumor effects on A549 human non-small lung cancer cells, but its mechanisms of action remain unclear. To determine effects of matrine on proliferation of A549 cells and assess possible mechanisms, MTT assays were employed to detect cytotoxicity, along with o flow cytometric analysis of DNA content of nuclei of cells following staining with propidium iodide to analyze cell cycle distribution. Western blotting was performed to determined expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2, VEGF and HDAC1, while a microarray was used to assessed changes of miRNA profiles. In the MTT assay, matrine suppressed growth of human lung cancer cell A549 in a dose- and timedependent manner at doses of 0.25-2.5 mg/ml for 24h, 48h or 72h. Matrine induced cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase and decreased the G2/M phase, while down-regulating the expression of Bcl2 protein, leading to a reduction in the Bcl-2/Bax ratio. In addition, matrine down regulated the expression level of VEGF and HDAC1 of A549 cells. Microarray analysis demonstrated that matrine altered the expression level of miRNAs compared with untreated control A549 cells. In conclusion, matrine could inhibit proliferation of A549 cells, providing useful information for understanding anticancer mechanisms.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.2205-2210
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• 2014

Objective: To retrospectively review the clinical characteristics and analyze the prognostic factors of Chinese patients with pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors. Materials and Methods: The clinical data of 176 patients with pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors in Chinese PLA General Hospital from Mar., 2000 to Oct., 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. The parameters were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis, including the gender, age, smoking history, family history, TNM staging, localization (central or peripheral), tumor size, nodal status, histological subtype and treatment (operation or non-operation). Results: There were 23 patients with typical carcinoids (TC) (13.1%), 41 with atypical carcinoids (AC) (23.3%), 10 with large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) (5.7%) and 102 with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (57.9%). The median follow-up time was 64.5 months for AC, 38 months for LCNEC and 27 months for SCLC. The typical carcinoid censored data was 18 (more than 50% of the patients), so the median follow-up time was not obtained, and actuarial 5-year survivals for TC, AC, LCNEC and SCLC were 75.1%, 51.7%, 26.7% and 38.8%, respectively. COX univariate analysis revealed that the age (P=0.001), histological subtype (P=0.005), nodal status (P=0.000), treatment (P=0.000) and TNM staging (P=0.000) were the prognostic factors of the patients with pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors, whereas its multivariate analysis showed that only the age(P=0.001), TNM staging (P=0.002) and treatment (P=0.000) were independent prognostic factors. Conclusions: Radical surgery remains the treatment of choice, and is the only curative option. The age, TNM staging and treatment are confirmed to be the independent prognostic factors in multivariable models for pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.5263-5272
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• 2012

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common cancers in China. Adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) is a routine auxiliary treatment for GC recommended by the guidelines issued in 2011 by the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China, but the relevant credible consequences in China have been insufficient because of China's late start and ethical concerns. Methods: A series of databases, including Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Chinese database of the National Knowledge Infrastructure and the VIP database, were searched by 2 reviewers independently for studies investigating AC for GC through March 2012. The retrieved literature was screened according to the eligibility criteria. Results: A total of 35 randomized control trials (RCTs) were subjected to the final analysis, including 4,043 patients in treatment group and 3,884 in the control group, as well as 4 clinical-control trials (CCTs), which accessed the final analysis with 238 and 252 patients, respectively. AC reduced the risk of death as a protective treatment with statistical significance (HR=0.91, 95%CI: [0.85, 0.97], P=0.002), and it seemed more effective for Asian than non-Asian patients. The effects of AC were not influenced by the starting time (P>0.05). D2 lymphadenectomy-based chemotherapy was effective (HR=0.89, 95%CI: [0.80, 0.99], P=0.04). Oral S-1 40 mg/m2 after D2 lymphadenectomy might be a better choice for Asians with advanced GC and might result in a greater reduction of adverse events than in non-Asian patients. GRADE quality assessment determined that the strength of the evidence from foreign studies from Europe, the United States and Asian countries other than China was high, while it was moderate for Chinese studies. Conclusion: AC was effective or even curative in Chinese patients in general, although it is still necessary to optimize a targeted AC scheme for Chinese patients with GC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.811-816
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• 2013

Background: Pervious studies suggested occupational workers exposure to pentachlorophenol (PCP) might contribute to increased risk of cancer. However, few studies have focused on associations between PCP and cancer risk at the community level. Objective: The present study was to explore the cancer risk for the community population living long-term in a PCP contaminated area. Methods: All the cancer cases diagnosed in 2009-2011 in Tongling City were collected. The cancer patients' residencies were geo-referenced in each district. The historical PCP usage for each district of Tongling was calculated as the PCP pollution index, which was further used to divide into PCP exposure categories. Standardized rate ratios (SRRs) of cancer incidence were applied to detect the cancer risk as exposure grade elevated. Correlation analysis was performed to analyze the relationship between PCP pollution and cancer incidence. Results: A total of 5,288 cancer cases (3,451 male and 1,837 female) were identified. PCP usage was correlated with the incidence of leukemia (r=0.88, P=0.002) for males, and with cancer of the esophagus for males (r=0.83, P=0.008) and females (r=0.71, P=0.020). Compared with the low exposure category, significant SRRs for total cancer sites was obtained for high PCP exposure category (SRR=1.61, 95%CI=1.59-1.62). Most SRR values of the cancer sites were significantly increased as exposure grade elevated and exposure time extended. Conclusion: The present study found that community residents living in the PCP contaminated area had increased risk of cancers. Leukemias, lymphomas and nasopharyngeal and esophageal cancers are most possibly associated with PCP exposure.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.8
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• pp.422-427
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• 2013

Although BMP9 is highly capable of promoting osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cell (MSCs), the molecular mechanism involved remains to be fully elucidated. Here, we explore the possible involvement and detail role of JNKs (c-Jun N-terminal kinases) in BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. It was found that BMP9 stimulated the activation of JNKs in MSCs. BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of MSCs was dramatically inhibited by JNKs inhibitor SP600125. Moreover, BMP9-activated Smads signaling was decreased by SP600125 treatment in MSCs. The effects of inhibitor are reproduced with adenoviruses expressing siRNA targeted JNKs. Taken together, our results revealed that JNKs was activated in BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. What is most noteworthy, however, is that inhibition of JNKs activity resulted in reduction of BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, implying that activation of JNKs is essential for BMP9 osteoinductive activity.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.558-566
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• 2020

Purpose: Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) is a rare genetic autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in ATP8B1, ABCB11 or ABCB4. Mutational analysis of these genes is a reliable approach to identify the disorder. Methods: We collected and analyzed relevant data related to clinical diagnosis, biological investigation, and molecular determination in nine children carrying these gene mutations, who were from unrelated families in South China. Results: Of the nine patients (five males, four females) with PFIC, one case of PFIC1, four cases of PFIC2, and four cases of PFIC3 were diagnosed. Except in patient no. 8, jaundice and severe pruritus were the major clinical signs in all forms. γ-glutamyl transpeptidase was low in patients with PFIC1/PFIC2, and remained mildly elevated in patients with PFIC3. We identified 15 different mutations, including nine novel mutations (p.R470HfsX8, p.Q794X and p.I1170T of ABCB11 gene mutations, p.G319R, p.A1047P, p.G1074R, p.T830NfsX11, p.A1047PfsX8 and p.N1048TfsX of ABCB4 gene mutations) and six known mutations (p.G446R and p.F529del of ATP8B1 gene mutations, p.A588V, p.G1004D and p.R1057X of ABCB11 gene mutations, p.P479L of ABCB4 gene mutations). The results showed that compared with other regions, these three types of PFIC genes had different mutational spectrum in China. Conclusion: The study expands the genotypic spectrum of PFIC. We identified nine novel mutations of PFIC and our findings could help in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.29-42
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• 2017

As the "Guidelines for GHG Environmental Assessment" was revised, it pointed out that the developers should evaluate GHG sequestration and storage of the developing site. However, the current guidelines only taking into account the quantitative reduction lost within the development site, and did not consider the qualitative decrease in the carbon sequestration capacity of forest edge produced by developments. In order to assess the quantitative and qualitative effects of vegetation carbon uptake, the CASA-NPP model and satellite image spatial-temporal fusion were used to estimate the annual net primary production in 2005 and 2015. The development projects between 2006 and 2014 were examined for evaluate quantitative changes in development site and qualitative changes in surroundings by development types. The RMSE value of the satellite image fusion results is less than 0.1 and approaches 0, and the correlation coefficient is more than 0.6, which shows relatively high prediction accuracy. The NPP estimation results range from 0 to $1335.53g\;C/m^2$ year before development and from 0 to $1333.77g\;C/m^2$ year after development. As a result of analyzing NPP reduction amount within the development area by type of forest development, the difference is not significant by type of development but it shows the lowest change in the sports facilities development. It was also found that the vegetation was most affected by the edge vegetation of industrial development. This suggests that the industrial development causes additional development in the surrounding area and indirectly influences the carbon sequestration function of edge vegetaion due to the increase of the edge and influx of disturbed species. The NPP calculation method and results presented in this study can be applied to quantitative and qualitative impact assessment of before and after development, and it can be applied to policies related to greenhouse gas in environmental impact assessment.

• The Journal of Korean Medical History
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.11-24
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• 2002

First, during Jin and Sui dynasty, It is possible that the theory of the contraindications of needling according to whereabouts of the self-guarding energy and demon, affected considerably to the practise of acupuncture and moxibustion, but the detailed situations are unknown. Only, there are some records of the process about circulation of the self-guarding energy and demon by a periodicity of 30 days in the "The prescriptions of Fan-Wang" by Fan-Wang in Jin dynasty and "Hua Tuo Fa" by a nameless person. But the theory differs form the theory of "Huang Di Xia Mo Jing" in some respect. Also, there is the contraindications of needling to abscesses according to whereabouts of the self-guarding energy and demon by every year in the "Liu Juan Zi Gui Yi Fang". but the book has no specific rule in use. Second, during Tang dynasty there were a vasty development on the contraindications of needling according to whereabouts of the self-guarding energy and demon. In the medical works in Tang dynasty, the contents of the contraindications of needling are included in various periodicities and directions such as 12 regions according to the year, 9 regions according to the year, 9 palaces in the body according to the year, whereabouts of the self-guarding energy and demon according the four seasons, every 10 days, every 12 days, every 30 days, and every dozen hours. Also, during Tang dynasty period, the contraindications of needling according to whereabouts of the self-guarding energy and demon were formulated through several adjustments and modifications by many medical scholars. Third, the period between Jin and Tang dynasty, because of historical situations, the documentary data are insufficient in the study of the recommendations and contraindications on the acupuncture, moxibution, and herb medicine according to the specific days and times. And the detailed informations are unknown. Only but once in Tang dynasty the considerable and theoretical adjustments were performed in the "Qian Jin Yao Fang". In Song dynasty, there were also much theoretical fluctuations in the study of the choice of the favorable or the injurious days and times or directions in the acupuncture, moxibustion and the prescription and processing of herbs. Fourth, contraindications on the acupuncture, moxibution, and herb medicine did not include acute and serious disease among the effect province, only include chronic and not serious disease. If the doctors had treated a surgical patients and abscess patients with deeply attached contraindications on the acupuncture, moxibution, and herb medicine, the patients would have became more serious. So the theory was not used for treatment by doctor.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.534-538
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• 2013

The effects of lights with different wavelengths on the growth and the yield of extracellular polysaccharides of Nostoc flagelliforme cells were investigated in a liquid cultivation. N. flagelliforme cells were cultured for 16 days in 500 ml conical flasks containing BG11 culture medium under $27{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ of light intensity and $25^{\circ}C$ on a rotary shaker (140 rpm). The chlorophyll a, phycocyanin, allophycocyanin, and phycoerythrin contents in N. flagelliforme cells under the lights of different wavelengths were also measured. It was found that the cell biomass and the yield of polysaccharide changed with different wavelengths of light. The biomass and the yield of extracellular polysaccharides under the red or violet light were higher than those under other light colors. Chlorophyll a, phycocyanin, and allophycocyanin are the main pigments in N. flagelliforme cells. The results showed that N. flagelliforme, like other cyanobacteria, has the ability of adjusting the contents and relative ratio of its pigments with the light quality. As a conclusion, N. flagelliforme cells favor red and violet lights and perform the complementary chromatic adaptation ability to acclimate to the changes of the light quality in the environment.