Objective To investigate the expression of ERCC1 in smoking patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) and its relationship with clinical features and prognosis.Methods The expression of ERCC1 was detected in 96 patients with advanced NSCLC by PCR assay.The clinicopathologic factors, treatment effect and survival time were observed.Results The expression of ERCC1 was related to smoking index(P=0.029), but it was not related to other clinicopathological factors.The patients with low expression of ERCC1 had better response rate and median survival time when compared to those with high expression patients.The difference was statistically significant(P=0.001,P<0.01).Conclusion ERCC1 expression is associated with smoking index and the patients with low expression of ERCC1 shows higher chemotherapy efficiency and longer median survival than patients with high expression, which indicates that detection of ERCC1 may be a useful parameter in evaluating the therapeutic effect and prognosis of smoking patients with advanced NSCLC.

Objective To investigate the association of the major histocompatibility complex class Ⅰ chain-related antigens A (MICA)-129 gene polymorphism and soluble MICA (sMICA) levels with ulcerative colitis (UC) in Hubei Han nationality. Methods The genetic polymorphism of MICA-129 was examined using a polymerase chain reaction-sequence based test (PCR-SBT) in 256 UC patients and 460 healthy controls. From the above subjects, 80 patients and 90 healthy individuals were randomly selected for determining serum sMICA concentrations by ELISA. Results The frequencies of variant allele (G) and genotype (GG) in MICA-129 gene were significantly higher in the UC patients than in the controls(76. 8%vs 72. 2%, P =0. 060; 55.9% vs 46. 3% ,P =0. 016). Serum sMICA levels were significantly elevated in the patients compared to the controls[(576. 47 ±279. 02) ng/L vs( 182. 17 ±73. 11 ) ng/L,P ＜0. 001]. In addition, the sMICA levels were higher in the patients carrying MICA-129 GG genotypes than in those carrying ( GA + AA) genotypes [( 638. 87 ± 347. 15 ) ng/L vs ( 507. 51 ± 152. 87 ) ng/L, P = 0. 035].Conclusions The genetic polymorphism of MICA-129 and sMICA levels are correlated with the UC patients in Hubei Han nationality. Our findings demonstrate that MICA-129 gene may contribute to the pathogenesis of UC.

Objective : To compare the clinical effect of the reconstruction of defects of the surgical area with the facial-submental artery island flap (FSAIF) after resection of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OC-SCC) and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OP-SCC). Methods: A total of 203 cases of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma and 72 cases of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma were treated with the FSAIFs. The complications and success rate of the two groups were observed. The swallowing and voice functions of the two groups were evaluated and compared 6 months after the operation. The survival of the two groups was followed up. Results: No significant differences were found in TNM stage, the skin paddle of the flap, the rate of flap failure, or local complications between the OC-SCC and OP-SCC groups (P > 0.05). Significant differences in swallowing and speech outcomes were observed between the groups (P < 0.05). No significant differences were found in survival outcome between the groups after 9-59 months of follow-up. Conclusion FSAIF can be used for reconstructing the defect in oral cavity or oropharynx, but the swallowing function of reconstructing the defect in oropharynx is poor.

ObjectiveTo investigate the therapeutic effect of Siegesbeckiae Herba water decoction （SWD） at different doses on atherosclerosis （AS） in a mouse model induced by a high-fat diet and analyze its potential mechanism of action. MethodsThirty-six male ApoE^-/- mice were randomly divided into six groups： blank control group， model group， low-dose， medium-dose， and high-dose SWD groups， and positive control group. Firstly， the AS mouse model was created by feeding mice a high-fat diet. After successful modeling， the low-， medium-， and high-dose SWD groups were intragastrically administered with SWD at 0.65， 1.3， 2.6 g·kg^-1， respectively. The positive control group was intragastrically administered with 30 mg·kg^-1 of atorvastatin calcium aqueous solution， while the blank and model groups received an equal volume of 0.9% sodium chloride solution via oral gavage， all administered for 12 weeks. During the administration period， the general condition of the mice was observed and recorded daily. Before sampling， color Doppler ultrasound was performed to observe the pathological changes in atherosclerotic plaques in the aortic wall of mice. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to observe the pathological changes in aortic tissue in mice， and oil red O staining was used to detect the atherosclerotic plaque area in the aorta. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to detect the serum lipid indices and the levels of interleukins （IL-1β， IL-4， IL-6， and IL-10） and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） in mice. Protein expression levels of IKKα， IKKβ， and NF-κB p65 in mouse aortic tissue were detected by Western blot. ResultsCompared with the blank control group， the model group showed a significant increase in body weight. The results of color Doppler ultrasound showed enhanced vascular wall echo， suggesting the presence of atherosclerotic plaques. HE staining showed foam cell aggregation， fibrous connective tissue proliferation， and vascular intima injury in the aortic tissue. Oil red O staining showed a significant increase in the plaque area in the aortic tissue （P<0.01）. ELISA results indicated significantly elevated levels of IL-1β， IL-6， TNF-α， total cholesterol （TC）， triglyceride （TG）， and low-density lipoprotein （LDL） in mouse serum （P<0.01）， as well as significantly decreased levels of IL-4， IL-10， and high-density lipoprotein （HDL） （P<0.01）. Western blot results showed that the expression of IKKα， IKKβ， and NF-κB p65 in mouse aortic tissue increased significantly （P<0.01）. Compared with those in the model group， mice in the middle- and high-dose SWD groups showed significant weight loss. In the high-dose group， the aortic vascular wall echoes were weakened， and the atherosclerotic plaques were reduced. The aortic lesions of mice in the medium- and high-dose SWD groups were significantly alleviated. The plaque area percentage showed an inverse correlation with the administered dose in all groups treated with SWD （P<0.05）. In the medium-dose SWD group， serum levels of IL-1β， IL-6， TNF-α， TC， TG， and LDL were significantly decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， while those of IL-4 and IL-10 were significantly increased （P<0.01）. In the high-dose SWD group， levels of IL-1β， IL-6， TNF-α， TC， TG， and LDL were significantly decreased （P<0.01）， while IL-4， IL-10， and HDL were significantly increased （P<0.01）. The IKKα and IKKβ expression was significantly decreased in the low-dose SWD group （P<0.05）， and IKKα， IKKβ， and NF-κB p65 were significantly decreased in the medium- and high-dose SWD groups （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionSWD may exert therapeutic effects on AS by regulating the expression of related inflammatory factors through the NF-κB signaling pathway， thereby reducing inflammation， plaque area， and lipid content in the body.