Transforming growth factor β( TGF-β) plays an important role in regulating cell proliferation , differentiation and apoptosis , and also in the carcinogenesis .Unlike its tumor suppressor function in normal tissue , continuous activation of TGF-βsignaling pathway in inflammatory microenvironment and cancer tissue promotes the progression of hepatocellular carcino-ma ( HCC) .Loss of Smad4 and epithelial to mesenchymal tran-sition ( EMT ) may be the potential mechanisms how TGF-βtransforms from a tumor suppressor to a tumor promoter .Further studies on regulatory mechanism of TGF-βsignaling pathway are of great significance , which could provide new evidence for pre-venting and treating HCC .

Statins, hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors , are widely used as a class of lipid-lowering drugs in clinic. Recent studies have shown that the use of statins can be anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrosis and reduce the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which may provide a new method for the preventive treatment of HCC. This article will review the current research progress of statins, including the clinical evidence, the molecular mechanisms of anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrosis and anti-tumor in liver.

Laparoscopic surgery for upper-third gastric cancer has gradually been accepted by experienced surgeons as the mature of this technique.Different from the standardized and programmed D2 lymph node dissection in Laparoscopy-assisted Billroth Ⅰ gastrectomy,the indications and methods for laparoscopic splenic hilar lymphadectomy in the upper-third gastric cancer remains controversial.Unsolved problems include joint organs resection,appropriate surgical approach selection and variable vascular anatomy of the splenic hilum.Meanwhile,the long-term efficacy and safety of laparoscopic splenic hilar lymphadectomy for the upper-third gastric surgery need to be confirmed by evidence-based medical trials.With the advance of the theory and clinical practice,laparoscopic splenic hilar lymph node dissection will continue to progress.

Objective To evaluate the imaging quality and diagnostic value of different MR sequences for abnormalities of knee cartilage. Methods Three sequences of MR, including double echo steady state (DESS), multi echo data imagine combination (MEDIC) and true fast imaging with steady state precession (TrueFISP) were performed in 18 healthy volunteers. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of knee cartilage and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) to surrounding tissues were measured and compared. Results SNR of cartilage was the highest in MEDIC sequence imaging, CNR of cartilage-synovia was the highest in DESS sequence imaging among three sequences (P<0.05). Conclusion Compared with the other sequences, DESS seems to be optimal in diagnosis of abnormalities in knee cartilage.

Objective:To investigate the use of antibacterial drugs during the perioperative period of a cesarean section and observe the differences before and after antibacterial drug remediation. Methods:1 569 cesarean cases from 2010 to 2012 were investigated, and the use of antibacterial drugs, drug categories, drug combinations, medical expenses, and so on was statistically analyzed with the use of the statistical software SPSS13. 0. Results:The rate of antibacterial drug usage within the 1 569 cesarean cases was 100%;for pre-operative antibacterial drug remediation, azithromycin, cefathiamidine, and ornidazole were the top three, while the top three antibacterial drugs for post-oper-ative remediation were arecefathiamidine, cefuroxime, and clindamycin. There was no significant difference between the two groups of incision infections, and the rate for combined use of drugs dropped. The analysis of drug costs is of statistical significance. Conclusion:The analysis of antibacterial drug remediation is useful for the rational use of anti-bacterial drugs and a reduction of costs.

Objective To analyze the clinical effects, as well as its advantages and disadvantages, of laparoscopic surgery for appendicitis in obese patients. Methods Clinical data of 80 obese patients receiving appendectomy, including 38 cases of open appendectomy and 42 cases of laparoscopic appendectomy, were analyzed retrospectively.The operative time, blood loss, analgesic and antibiotic use, postoperative fever, postoperative complications, length of hospital stay, and hospitalization cost were compared between the two operative methods. Results Conversions to open surgery were required in 2 patients in the laparoscopic group. There was no significant difference in operative time between the 2 groups (P >0.05).Compared with the open group, the laparoscopic group had less blood loss [(14.98 ±12.77) ml vs.(31.58 ±19.00) ml, t=-4.550, P=0.000], shorter time of postoperative antibiotic use [(2.7 ±1.0) d vs.(4.1 ±1.2) d, t=-5.470, P=0.000], less postoperative analgesics needed [5.0%(2/40) vs.26.3%(10/38),χ2 =6.802, P=0.009], less drainage [2.5% (1/40) vs.18.4% (7/38), χ2 =5.367, P=0.021], less postoperative fever [5.0%(2/40) vs.23.7%(9/38),χ2 =5.616, P=0.018], less postoperative wound healing [5.0%(2/40) vs.21.1%(8/38),χ2 =4.493, P=0.034], and shorter hospital stay [(5.9 ±3.2) d vs.(8.7 ±4.1) d, t=-3.345, P=0.001], but the higher cost of hospitalization [(7800 ±396) yuan vs.(4914 ±434) yuan, t=30.716, P=0.000]. Conclusion For obese patients with appendicitis, laparoscopic appendectomy has less surgical trauma, faster recovery, less postoperative pain, fewer complications,and shorter hospital stay, being a preferred method of treatment.

Objective To evaluate the academic quality and characteristics of edition of the Chinese Journal of Geriatrics. Methods Within the database of Chinese Medical Citation Index(CMCI), the citation analysis was used to analyze the number and its distribution of the cited original articles published in the Journal 1999-2004. Results The average freguency for a single article cited by other researchers was 2.82, and there were more articles cited than other journals. The authors of these articles were distributed in the 30 province and municipalities, among which Beijing, Guangdong Province, Shanghai were in the front of Geriatrics research. There were 514 cited journals, and self-citing rate was 6.07%. Conclusions The Chinese Journal of Geriatrics has published high quality articles, and has its own edition characteristics to keep its steady level of research. It is one of the most important information resources for the geriatrics researchers and one of the most important medical journal.

Whole rice grain was dissected by hand into fractions of pericarp, ale-urone, scutellum, embryo and endosperm. For the convenience of having enough amount of samples for amino acids assay some of which were recom-bined and finally three parts, pericarp +aleurone layer, scutellum + embryo and endosperm, were obtained. Protein, lysine, methionine, threonine and valine contents were determined for each part. The data obtained indicated that although total weight of the first two parts accounted for only 7.27-8.43% of the whole grain, they contributed 14.5-15.8% protein, 29.0-30.5% lysine, 11.8% melhionine, 16.8% valine and 19.4% threonine, contained in the whole grain. During husking process it indicated that the lesser amounts of pericarp, aleurone, scutellum and embryo were retained and the larger percentage of protein and lysine was lost. This fact was identified either by a specially designed miller in the laboratory or a commonly used sand wheel miller in the factory. The suitable degree of milling for rice was discussed and it was proposed that 92% extration for rice rather rational.

Lysine and methionine contents were determined in proteins of 21 rice samples including 17 varieties grown in 11 provinces. Ranges of lysine and methionine contents on crude protein basis were 3.21-3.76% and 1.63-2.06% respectively. The lysine content was found to be negatively correlated with the protein content of rice, but no correlation was found in case of methionine when they were expressed on the basis of crude protein. The absolute amounts of lysine and methionine were positively correlated with protein contained in the samples. The importance of breeding rice variety with protein of high lysine content was discussed in relation to promoting the protein nutritive status in South China.

A convenient microbiological method with high accuracy for cystine assay was introduced. Common foods including cereals, beans, sweet potato, fishes and other aquatic products as well as meats were selected for cystine and methionine analysis. Based on the data obtained, a brief discussion was made on the way for resolution of sulfur amino acids problem inherently in our traditional soy-cereal based diet.