Objective Some colorectal cancer patients still face high recurrence rates and poor prognoses even after they have undergone the surgical treatment of radical resection.Identifying potential biochemical markers and therapeutic targets for the prognostic evaluation of patients undergoing radical resection of colorectal cancer is crucial for improving their clinical outcomes.Recently,it has been reported that the T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain protein 3(Tim-3)and its ligand galactose lectin 9(galectin-9)play crucial roles in immune dysfunction caused by various tumors,such as colorectal cancer.However,their expressions,biological functions,and prognostic value in colorectal cancer are still unclear.This study aims to investigate the relationship between Tim-3 and galectin-9 expression levels and the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of patients undergoing radical resection of colorectal cancer.Methods A total of 171 patients who underwent radical resection of colorectal cancer at Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital between February 2018 and March 2019 were selected.Immunohistochemistry was performed to assess the expression levels of Tim-3 and galectin-9 in the cancer tissue samples and the paracancerous tissue samples of the patients.The relationship between Tim-3 and galectin-9 expression levels and the baseline clinical parameters of the patients was analyzed accordingly.Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to assess the association between Tim-3 and galectin-9 expression levels and the relapse-free survival(RFS)and the overall survival(OS)of colorectal cancer patients.Cox regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with adverse prognosis in the patients.Results The immunohistochemical results showed that the high expression levels of Tim-3 and galectin-9 were observed in 70.18%(120/171)and 32.16%(55/171),respectively,of the colorectal cancer tissues,whereas the low expression levels were 29.82%(51/171)and 67.84%(116/171),respectively.Furthermore,the expression score of Tim-3 was significantly higher in colorectal cancer tissues than that in the paracancerous tissues,while the expression score of galectin-9 was lower than that in the paracancerous tissues(P＜0.05).Further analysis revealed that the expression of Tim-3 and galectin-9 was associated with the depth of tumor infiltration,vascular infiltration,and clinical staging(P＜0.05).During the follow-up period of 14-63 months,7 out of 171 patients were lost to follow-up.Among the remaining patients,49 and 112 cases presented abnormally low expression of Tim-3 and galectin-9,respectively,whereas 115 and 52 cases presented high expression of Tim-3 and galectin-9,respectively.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that patients with high Tim-3 expression in colorectal cancer tissues had significantly lower RFS and OS than those with low expression did(RFS:log-rank=22.66,P＜0.001;OS:log-rank=19.71,P＜0.001).Conversely,patients with low galectin-9 expression had significantly lower RFS and OS than those with high expression did(RFS:log-rank=19.45,P＜0.001;OS:log-rank=22.24,P＜0.001).Cox multivariate analysis indicated that TNM stage Ⅲ(HR=2.26,95%CI:1.20-5.68),high expression of Tim-3(HR=0.80,95%CI:0.33-0.91),and low expression of galectin-9(HR=1.80,95%CI:1.33-4.70)were independent risk factors affecting RFS and OS in patients(P＜0.05).Conclusion Aberrant expression of Tim-3 and galectin-9 is observed in colorectal cancer tissues.High expression of Tim-3 and low expression of galectin-9 are closely associated with adverse clinico-pathological characteristics and prognosis.They are identified as independent influencing factors that may trigger adverse prognostic events in patients.These findings suggest that Tim-3 and galectin-9 have potential as new therapeutic targets and clinical indicators.

The important role of intestinal microorganisms in human health has been widely confirmed. At present, most of the studies on intestinal microorganisms are based on amplification of the V3-V4 region of bacterial 16S rRNA gene, and little attention has been paid to archaea. In this study, a primer set which can amplify 16S rRNA gene of both bacteria and archaea at the same time was used. By comparing the community changes before and after probiotics intake, it showed that this primer set is suitable for analyzing the changes of human intestinal bacteria and archaea communities. The fecal samples of volunteers were collected, and the amplification and high-throughput sequencing were carried out by using bacterial primer set (B primer) and bacterial and archaeal universal primer (AB primer); several commonly used rRNA databases were used to determine the amplification ability of the primer set to bacteria and archaea. The results showed that AB primer could display the bacterial community amplified by B primer, and could obtain the sequence of common methanogenic archaea in intestinal tract. AB primer set can analyze the bacteria and archaea in the intestinal tract at the same time by only one amplification and sequencing, which can show the structure of intestinal microbial community more comprehensively, which is suitable for the research of intestinal microorganisms.
Archaea/genetics* ; Bacteria/genetics* ; DNA Primers ; DNA, Bacterial ; Humans ; Microbiota/genetics* ; Phylogeny ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics*

BACKGROUND: Preliminary study has prepared three-dimensional printing β-tricalcium phosphate scaffold loaded with icariin. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of three-dimensional printing β-tricalcium phosphate scaffold loaded with icariin in the repair of rabbit models of osteonecrosis of the femoral head. METHODS: New Zealand white rabbits (provided by Qinglongshan Laboratory Animal Center of Nanjing) were selected to establish the steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head. The 27 model rabbits underwent core decompression and debridement, were randomly divided into three groups, and then implanted with autologous bone, β-tricalcium phosphate scaffold, three-dimensional printing β-tricalcium phosphate scaffold loaded with icariin (composite scaffold group) , respectively. The micro-CT scanning and pathological observation were performed at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after implantation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Micro-CT showed that at 4 weeks after implantation, trabecular bone was observed around and in implants in each group. In the autologous bone group, there were a large number of trabecular bones in the grafting area at 8 weeks, and the trabecular bone structure was dense at 12 weeks after implantation. In the tricalcium phosphate and composite scaffold groups, the scaffolds were well integrated with the bone interface. At 4 weeks after implantation, there was a certain amount of trabecular bone surrounding the scaffold, and trabecular grew into the scaffold until 8 weeks in the composite scaffold group. At 4 weeks after implantation, few thin trabecular bone was visible, and extensive trabecular bone formation was observed around the scaffold at 8 weeks in the tricalcium phosphate group. (2) Hematoxylin-eosin staining results showed that there were many mature osteoblasts, and few cartilage matrix, newly born bones integrated well to the implants at 12 weeks in the autologous bone and tricalcium phosphate groups. In the composite scaffold group, there were many cartilage matrixes, and newly born bones integrated poorly to the implants. (3) Masson staining showed that at 12 weeks after implantation, the osteogenic capacity in the composite scaffold group was lower than that in the autologous bone group (P < 0.05) , but higher than that in the tricalcium phosphate group (P < 0.05) . (4) TRAP staining results at 12 weeks after implantation revealed that the amount of osteoclast in composite scaffold group was less than that in the tricalcium phosphate group (P < 0.05) , and was not significantly different from the autologous bone group (P> 0.05) . (5) Immunohistochemical staining at 12 weeks after implantation revealed that the positive rate of vascular endothelial growth factor in the composite scaffold group was higher than that in the tricalcium phosphate group (P < 0.05) , and lower than that in the autologous bone group (P < 0.05) . (6) In summary, three-dimensional printing β-tricalcium phosphate scaffold loaded with icariin implanted into the rabbit model of osteonecrosis of the femoral head can promote the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts, inhibit the viability of osteoclasts, promote the angiogenesis, and contribute to the repair of osteonecrosis of the femoral head in rabbits.

OBJECTIVETo study the biomechanical mechanism of head injuries beaten with sticks, which is common in the battery or assaultive cases.

METHODSIn this study, the Hybrid-III anthropomorphic test device and finite element model (FEM) of the total human model for safety (THUMS) head were used to determine the biomechanical response of head while being beaten with different sticks. Total eight Hybrid-III tests and four finite element simulations were conducted. The contact force, resultant acceleration of head center of gravity, intracranial pressure and von Mises stress were calculated to determine the different biomechanical behavior of head with beaten by different sticks.

RESULTSIn Hybrid-III tests, the stick in each group demonstrated the similar kinematic behavior under the same loading condition. The peak values of the resultant acceleration for thick iron stick group, thin iron stick group, thick wooden stick group and thin wooden stick group were 203.4 g, 221.1 g, 170.5 g and 122.2 g respectively. In finite element simulations, positive intracranial pressure was initially observed in the frontal comparing with negative intracranial pressure in the contra-coup site. Subsequently the intracranial pressure in the coup site was decreasing toward negative value while the contra-coup intracranial pressure increasing toward positive values.

CONCLUSIONSThe results illustrated that the stiffer and larger the stick was, the higher the von Mises stress, contact force and intracranial pressure were. We believed that the results in the Hybrid-III tests and THUMS head simulations for brain injury beaten with sticks could be reliable and useful for better understanding the injury mechanism.

Biomechanical Phenomena ; Brain Injuries ; etiology ; Finite Element Analysis ; Humans ; Intracranial Pressure ; Manikins

Animals ; DNA, Viral ; blood ; Ethanol ; pharmacology ; Hepatitis B ; metabolism ; virology ; Hepatitis B virus ; genetics ; physiology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Transgenic ; Virus Integration ; drug effects ; Virus Replication ; drug effects