Objective To assess the clinical efficacy and adverse effect of pemetrexed-based chemotherapy as first-line treatment in elderly patients with advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods A total of 40 elderly patients with advanced non-squamous NSCLC confirmed by pathology were retrospective analyzed in the study,who received pemetrexed plus cisplatin (group A,n =18) or pemetrexed plus carboplatin (group B,n =22) as the first-line treatment.RECIST was used to assess the efficacy of the treatment and NCI-CTC AE version was used to describe adverse events.Results In the 40 patients,no one received complete response (CR),17 patients showed partial response (PR),16 had stable disease (SD),7 had progress disease (PD),the objective response rate (ORR) was 42.5 ％ (17/40) and the disease control rate (DCR) was 82.5 ％ (33/40).The median progression-free survival (PFS) time was 5.3 months.1 year suvival rate was 63.2 ％ (24/38).In further subgroup analyses,the ORR,DCR,PFS and 1 year suvival rate in group A were higher than those in group B,but they had no statistically significant difference (P ＞ 0.05).The drug-related adverse events were myelosuppression,gastrointestinal response,most of which were grade 1 to 2.Conclusion Pemetrexed combined with cisplatin or carboplatin may be recommended as first-line chemotherapy for elderly patients with advanced non-squamous NSCLC because of its safety and efficacy.

Objective To value the clinical efficacy and toxicity of S-1 compared to gemcitabine combined with S-1 in treatment of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.Methods From January 2011 to December 2013,the data of 46 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer were analyzed retrospectively,including 24 patients receiving S-1 alone (group A) and 22 patients who received gemcitabine combined with S-1 (group B).The results were evaluated by objective response rate (ORR),disease control rate (DCR),survival time and safety.Results In group A the ORR was 20.8 ％ (5/24),DCR was 66.7 ％ (16/24),median progression-free survival was 4.8 months,median overall survival was 9.6 months,and 1 year survival was 12.5 ％.In group B the ORR was 27.3 ％ (6/22),DCR was 72.7 ％ (16/22),median progression-free survival was 5.9 months,median overall survival was 10.3 months,and 1 year survival was 22.7 ％.There was no significant difference between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).The incidence rates of leukopenia,neutropenia and thrombopenia in group A were significantly lower than those in group B (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion S-1 alone and gemcitabine combined with S-1 have similar effects in the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer,but the toxicity of S-1 is mild and tolerable.

Objective: To observe the effect of hypoxia on changes of proliferation ability of cultured human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HPLFS) in vitro. Methods: HPLFS were randomly divided into two groups (experimental group and control group) by different oxygen concentrations. The oxygen concentration of control group was 21%. The oxygen concentrations of experiment group were 10%, 5% and 2%. The proliferation ability of HPLFS was detected by MTT colorimetric assay. The cell ultrastructure was observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). Results: MTT assay results showed that compared with the control group, at the 12 h and 24 h, cell proliferation was enhanced with the hypoxia degree. At 24 h, cell proliferation showed significant differences. At 48 h and 72 h, proliferation of the cultured HPLFS in severe hypoxia group reduced significantly. Observed by TEM, at 24 h, not only the number of mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum but also cell process increased in the cultured HPLFS in severe hypoxia group. At 72 h, the number of lysosome increased and the cell structure degenerated. Conclusion: Long-time severe hypoxia may lower the repair and remodeling abilities of periodontium, which might be one of the important etiological factors of periodontal disease under condition of high altitude.

AIK is a novel cationic peptide with potential antitumor activity. In order to construct the AIK expression vector by Gateway technology, and establish an optimal expression and purification method for recombinant AIK, a set of primers containing AttB sites were designed and used to create the AttB-TEV-FLAG-AIR fusion gene by overlapping PCR. The resulting fusion gene was cloned into the donor vector pDONR223 by attB and attP mediated recombination (BP reaction), then, transferred into the destination vector pDESTl 5 by attL and attR mediated recombination (LR reaction). All the cloning was verified by both colony PCR and DNA sequencing. The BL21 F. coli transformed by the GST-AIR expression plasmid was used to express the GST-AIK fusion protein with IPTG induction and the induction conditions were optimized. GST-AIR fusion protein was purified by glutathione magnetic beads, followed by rTEV cleavage to remove GST tag and MTS assay to test the growth inhibition activity of the recombinant AIR on human leukemia HL-60 cells. We found that a high level of soluble expression of GST-AIK protein (more than 30% out of the total bacterial proteins) was achieved upon 0.1 mmol/L ITPG induction for 4 h at 37 °C in the transformed BL21 F. coli with starting OD₆₀₀ at 1.0. Through GST affinity purification and rTEV cleavage, the purity of the resulting recombinant AIK was greater than 95%. And the MTS assays on HL-60 cells confirmed that the recombinant AIK retains an antitumor activity at a level similar to the chemically synthesized AIK. Taken together, we have established a method for expression and purification of recombinant AIK with a potent activity against tumor cells, which will be beneficial for the large-scale production and application of recombinant AIK in the future.
Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides ; biosynthesis ; Antineoplastic Agents ; metabolism ; Escherichia coli ; metabolism ; Genetic Vectors ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

Objective To evaluate the clinical effects and safety of paclitaxel liposome or gemcitabine combined with cisplatin in elderly patients with advanced lung squamous cell cancer. Methods A total of 52 elderly patients with advanced lung squamous cell cancer in Kunshan First People's Hospital from January 2012 to October 2016 who received paclitaxel liposome with cisplatin (n=24) or gemcitabine with cisplatin(n = 28) were analyzed retrospectively. The patients received at least 2 cycles of chemotherapy, 2-6 cycles in total. CT was rechecked every 2 cycles. The clinical effects and adverse reactions were evaluated by National Cancer Institute Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (NCI RECIST) and NCI Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE). Results The objective response rate (ORR) and the disease control rate(DCR)in paclitaxel liposome group and in gemcitabine group had a lot in common [ORR:29.2 %(7/24)vs.32.1 %(9/28),χ2=0.054,P =0.817;DCR:70.8 %(17/24)vs.71.4 %(20/28),χ2=0.002,P =0.962]. The median progression-free survival(PFS) time in gemcitabine group was longer than that in paclitaxel liposome group (5.7 months vs. 5.4 months, χ2= 0.466, P = 0.495). One-year survival rate in gemcitabine group (37.0 %) was higher than that in paclitaxel liposome group (34.8 %) and there was no statistically significant difference (χ 2= 0.027, P = 0.869). However, hematologic adverse reactions in paclitaxel liposome group were lower than those in gemcitabine group (P< 0.05). Conclusion The effect of paclitaxel liposomes combined with cisplatin for treatment of elderly patients with advanced lung squamous cell carcinoma is not inferior to gemcitabine combined with cisplatin, which has less adverse reactions and may be recommended as the first-line chemotherapy for the patients.

Objective The Kellinghaus grading method was used to manually read and grade the thin-layer CT of sternal end of clavicle,and a variety of traditional statistical methods as well as machine learning methods were used to construct age estimation models for adolescents and adults in early adulthood,to explore the value of the application of machine learning technology in the study of age estimation of the Han Chinese population in Sichuan.Methods Thin-section CT images of the chest were retrospectively collected from 491 individuals aged 10～30 years,and the collected samples were assigned a reading grade with reference to the Kellinghaus grading method.10%of the xases were randomly selected as the test set,and the remaining data were used as the training set to construct a variety of traditional statistical regression models and machine learning models for estimating the age of adolescents and adults in early adulthood,and the performance of the models was evaluated by using the mean absolute error(MAE).Results The statistical regression model with the best efficacy was the cubic regression model,with an MAE value of 1.34 for males and 1.57 for females;of the three machine learning models,the Random Forest model had the best predictive efficacy for males,with an MAE value of 1.39,and the Support Vector model had the best predictive efficacy for females,with an MAE value of 1.51.Conclusion In the construction of age estimation models for sternal end of clavicle,the machine learning model has a certain improvement in the accuracy of age prediction,but there is no obvious advantage compared with the traditional statistical regression model,and the use of the machine learning method in age estimation based on sternal end of clavicle still needs further exploration.

OBJECTIVE： To study the effects of ADRB2 （rs1042713） gene polymorphism on therapeutic efficacy of anticholinergic drug in the treatment for refractory asthma pediatric patients. METHODS： 171 children with refractory asthma were selected from outpatient department of Kunming Children’s Hospital during Nov. 2016 to Jul. 2019. The distribution of ADRB2 （rs1042713） genotype， the clinical efficacy [asthma control test （C-ACT） score， FEV1， FVC， PEF， maximal mid-expiratory flow （MMEF）] of anticholinergic drug were analyzed statistically； the response of different genotypes to the use of anticholinergic drug were also analyzed statistically. RESULTS： 148 of 171 refractory asthmatics pediatric patients were administered anticholinergic drug， among them 50 of the 71 AA genotype and 36 of the 77 GA genotype responded to anticholinergic drug treatment. Statistical analysis showed that 71 children with AA refractory asthma had improved C-ACT score， FEV1， FVC， PEF and MMEF， there was statistical significance， compared with GA genotype （P＜0.05）； the response rate of the AA genotype to anticholinergic drugs was 2.71 times that of the GA genotype [OR＝2.71， 95％CI （1.38， 5.34）， P＝0.005]. CONCLUSIONS： The detection of ADRB2 （rs1042713） gene polymorphism has some guiding significance in the treatment of refractory asthma with anticholinergic drugs， and the response of AA genotype is better.

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is a destructive pest native to America and has recently become an invasive insect pest in China. Because of its rapid spread and great risks in China, understanding of FAW genetic background and pesticide resistance is urgent and essential to develop effective management strategies. Here, we assembled a chromosome-level genome of a male FAW (SFynMstLFR) and compared re-sequencing results of the populations from America, Africa, and China. Strain identification of 163 individuals collected from America, Africa and China showed that both C and R strains were found in the American populations, while only C strain was found in the Chinese and African populations. Moreover, population genomics analysis showed that populations from Africa and China have close relationship with significantly genetic differentiation from American populations. Taken together, FAWs invaded into China were most likely originated from Africa. Comparative genomics analysis displayed that the cytochrome p450 gene family is extremely expanded to 425 members in FAW, of which 283 genes are specific to FAW. Treatments of Chinese populations with twenty-three pesticides showed the variant patterns of transcriptome profiles, and several detoxification genes such as AOX, UGT and GST specially responded to the pesticides. These findings will be useful in developing effective strategies for management of FAW in China and other invaded areas.
Animals ; China ; Genomics ; Humans ; Male ; Pesticides ; Spodoptera/genetics* ; Transcriptome