Objective To explore the synergistic effectiveness of hyperthermia and chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer.Methods Eighty-nine patients with advanced gastric cancer were randomly assigned to a study group which received a CapeOx chemotherapy regimen supplemented with hyperthermia or to a control group which received only the CapeOx regimen.The regimen consisted of capecitabine (1000 mg/m2,bid,orally for 14 consecutive days) plus oxalipaltin (130 mg/m2) on day 1.The hyperthermia was at 43℃ for 60 min in the tumor area on day 1 and twice a week thereafter.One cycle was 21 days.After 2 treatment cycles,efficacy was evaluated according to RECIST standards,improvements in the quality of life were assessed according to Karnofsky's performance status (KPS) and the side-effects of therapy were recorded.Results The response rate was 68.9％ in the study group and 36.4％ in the control group,showing a significant difference between the groups after two treatment cycles.The median progress-free survival (PFS) was 8.3 months in the study group vs 5.2 months for the controls.The 1-year survival rate was 66.4％ vs 45.5％ and the rate of improvement in KPS was 77.8％ vs 45.5％.All these differences were statistically significant.The common adverse effects were gastrointestinal toxicity,marrow depression and peripheral nerve abnormalities,but these adverse effects were all mild and similar in the two groups.Conclusion Hyperthermia when combined with the CapeOx chemotherapy regimen might improve the therapeutic effect in advanced gastric cancer without obviously increasing the adverse effects.

Pre-S2 protein in 78 samples of liver from patients with various types of hepatitis B was determined by immunohistochemical method.45 out of 78 samples (57.69%) were positive for pre-S2.The location and expression patterns of pre-S2 were similar to those of HBsAg,i.e.,pre-S2 was found in cytoplasm of hepatocytes,epithelial cells of bile ducts,and hepatocellular carcinoma cells,etc,Four different patterns diffuse,inclusion,submembranous,and membranous type were demonstrated.The membranous expression of pre-S2 was often associated with activity of liver diseases.The positive rate of pre-S2 was significantly higher in HBcAg positive group than HBcAg negative group.It seems that pre-S2 protein of HBV may be a replicative marker of HBV.

Objective To investigate the relationship between cognitive impairment and SH2 domain-containing inositol phosphatase-1 (SHIP-1) induced by hippocampal neuritis in intrauterine infected mice.Methods Thirty C57BL/6 female mice and 15 male mice were caged in a ratio of 2 ∶ 1.After that,the pregnant mice were divided into 2 groups.A mice model of intrauterine infection was established that intrauterine infection group (lipopolysaccharides,LPS group) induced by LPS at the concentration of 350 μg/kg and control group treated with same volume of saline (9 g/L).At 3 days postpartum,15 mice in each group were killed for hippocampus,and the protein levels of SHIP-1,nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB) p65 and phosphorus NF-κB(NF-κBp) in the hippocampus of the newborn mice were detected by Western blott,while the levels of interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α)were detected by using enzyme linked immunosoobent assay.When the remaining mice were 8 weeks old(10 in each group),Morris water maze experiments were performed respectively,which the mice were tested for evaluating learning and memory function by positioning navigation and space exploration experiments.Results The expression of SHIP-1 was significantly increased in control group (0.677 ± 0.074) compared with LPS group (0.317 ± 0.095,t =2.984,P =0.041),while the levels of NF-κB p65,and NF-κBp,were significantly lower in control group (0.630 ± 0.109,0.352 ± 0.084) than LPS group(0.630 ± 0.109,0.352 ± 0.084) (t =3.516,5.161,P =0.025,0.007).Moreover,LPS significantly enhanced the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α [(5.875 ± 0.349) pg/mg,(14.256 ± 0.784)pg/mg] compared with control group[(1.621 ± 0.151) pg/mg,(3.984 ± 0.255) pg/mg],and the differences were significant(t =11.190,12.460,P=0.000,0.000).By the average Escape Latency tests for6 days,LPS group [at 1-6 days (58.286±1.418) s,(56.036 ±2.252) s,(55.071 ±1.856) s,(50.071 ±3.251) s,(52.893 ±2.372) s,(46.929 ±3.761) s] markedly impaired the learning capacity compared with the control group[(53.679 ±2.413) s,(47.571 ±3.529) s,(54.071 ±2.777) s,(47.250 ±2.864) s,(45.107 ±3.447) s,(42.393 ±3.463) s],and the difference was significant (F =4.466,P =0.001).Concurrently,in probe trains LPS group increased the time of in zone southeast latency to first [(44.080 ± 6.313) s] compared with the control group [(25.900 ± 6.033) s],while shortened the period of in zone platform duration and in zone SE duration [(0.000 ± 0.040) s,(4.000 ± 1.693) s],decreased the times of in zone SE frequency and in zone platform frequency[(0.100 ±0.100) times,(1.000 ±0.394)times] compared with the control group [(0.400 ± 0.202) s,(14.360 ± 5.000) s,(0.600 ± 0.267) times,(3.400 ±0.763) times] (t=2.082,1.746,1.962,2.794,1.756,P=0.026,0.049,0.033,0.006,0.048).Conclusion The expression of SHIP-1 in hippocampus of newborn mice with intrauterine infection is decreased,and the inhibitory effect of SHIP-1 on the expression of downstream pro-inflammatory cytokines NF-κB,inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α is decreased,along with cognitive impairments.

UNLABELLEDBackround N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a reliable predictor in acute coronary artery disease (CAD). Little is known about patients with stable CAD, especially Chinese patients with CAD. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of NT-proBNP levels with the severity of CAD in patients with normal left ventricular ejection fraction.

METHODSA total of 658 consecutive patients were divided into two groups based on angiograms: CAD group (n = 484) and angiographic normal control group (n = 174). The severity of CAD was evaluated by modified Gensini score, and its relationship with NT-proBNP was analyzed.

RESULTSThe prevalence of risk factors such as age, male gender, diabetes mellitus (DM), dyslipidemia, smoking, and family history of CAD in the CAD group were higher than that in the control group. In multivariate regression model analysis, age, gender, and DM were determinants of the presence of CAD. NT-pro BNP was found to be an independent predictor for CAD (OR:1.66 (95% CI: 1.06-2.61), P < 0.05). In a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, an NT-proBNP value of 641.15 pmol/L was identified as a cut-off value in the diagnosis or exclusion of CAD (area under curve (AUC) = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.51-0.61). Furthermore, NT-proBNP was positively correlated with Gensini score (r = 0.14, P < 0.001) in patients with CAD.

CONCLUSIONNT-proBNP was an independent predictor for Chinese patients with CAD, suggesting that the NT-proBNP level might be associated with the presence and the severity of CAD.

Coronary Disease ; blood ; physiopathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; blood ; Peptide Fragments ; blood ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Severity of Illness Index ; Stroke Volume