Objective:To evaluate the impacts of radioactivity in foods since begining of the operation of the Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant (HNPP).Methods:The levels of radioactivity in foods collected within 30 km of HNPP from 2013 to 2020 were analyzed by comparison of the control samples and those collected before the operation. The impacts on the operation of the HNPP on foods were evaluated.Results:The man-made radionuclides such as 131I, 134Cs, 60Co, 58Co, 110Ag m were not found in food samples. The nautral radionuclides such as 238U, 226Ra, 232Th, 40K were at the normal levels, with the average levels of (0.088±0.053), (0.155±0.178), (0.314±0.388)and(81.3±18.1)Bq/kg(fresh weight)in foods, respectively. The average levels of man-made nuclide 137Cs in foods were (0.013±0.010) Bq/kg (fresh weight). There was no increase in radionuclide levels compared with the control samples and the samples before the operation. Conclusions:The impacts on foods due to the operation of HNPP was not found.

Objective To investigate the food radioactivity levels in areas around the Xudabao nuclear plant before operation. Methods The food radioactivity levels were achieved by detecting samples collected within 30 km around the Xudabao nuclear power plant with a HPGe detector. Results The major radionuclides in food were ²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K and the man-made radionuclide of ¹³⁷Cs. The average activity levels of natural ²³⁸U、²²⁶Ra、²³²Th、⁴⁰K were(1.2 × 10⁻¹¹ ± 2.6 × 10⁻¹¹)、(9.2 × 10⁻¹² ± 1.6 × 10⁻¹¹)、(3.6 × 10⁻¹¹ ± 6.5 × 10⁻¹²)、(9.0 × 10¹ ± 5.8 × 10¹)Bq/kg respectively. The average level of ¹³⁷Cs in food was (1.2 × 10⁻¹² ± 9.0 × 10⁻¹³)Bq/kg. Conclusion The man-made radionuclides were not detected except ¹³⁷Cs in the collected food. The radioactivity concentrations were lower than the national standards. The effective dose for local residents by ingestion of ¹³⁷Cs was around 6.0 × 10⁻¹² µSv/a.

Objective To investigate the clinical application value of fluorescence laparoscopy in radical resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods Data of totally 113 patients with HCC in Henan Provincial People's Hospital between June 2016 to June 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.Among the 113 patients,46 patients underwent laparoscopic hepatectomy (LLR),and 67 patients underwent fluorescence guided laparoscopic hepatectomy (FLLR).Results No significant differences were observed between LLR group and FLLR group in terms of age,male proportion,liver function classification,surgical resection methods,and operation time (P＞0.05).The positive ratio of specimen surgical margin in LLR group was significantly higher than that in FLLR group,13.0％ vs.3.0％,and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).In the FLLR group,22 patients received fluorescence guided anatomic hepatectomy with indocyanine green (ICG),10 with positive staining and 12 with negative staining,and fluorescence imaging was observed 2 minutes after ICG injection.There was no significant difference in operation time,hospitalization cost and length of stay between positive and negative staining (P＞ 0.05).Conclusion Fluorescence laparoscopy has certain advantages in hepatectomy,and can display the boundary of hepatocellular carcinoma in real time to ensure the safe margin of tumor resection.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs), a subpopulation of cancer cells with ability of initiating tumorigenesis, exist in many kinds of tumors including breast cancer. Cancer stem cells contribute to treatment resistance and relapse. Conventional treatments only kill differentiated cancer cells, but spare CSCs. Combining conventional treatments with therapeutic drugs targeting to CSCs will eradicate cancer cells more efficiently. Studying the molecular mechanisms of CSCs regulation is essential for developing new therapeutic strategies. Growing evidences showed CSCs are regulated by non-coding RNA (ncRNA) including microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and histone-modifiers, such as let-7, miR-93, miR-100, HOTAIR, Bmi-1 and EZH2. Herein we review the roles of microRNAs, lncRNAs and histone-modifiers especially Polycomb family proteins in regulating breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs).
Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Histones ; metabolism ; Humans ; Neoplastic Stem Cells ; metabolism ; RNA, Untranslated ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To compare the value of assessment with DWI and contrast-enhanced MRI (CE-MRI) in activity of sacroiliitis of patients with ankylosing spondylitis(AS).Methods Ninety-six patients conforming to modified New York criteria were prospectively collectedas the AS group, and twenty-one healthy volunteers were enrolled into the control group. According to the Bath AS disease activity index (BASDAI), erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reaction protein, AS patients were divided into the active AS group (n=60) and the chronic AS group (n=36) . All subjects were performed with conventional MRI, DWI and CE-MRI of bilateral sacroiliac joints. The MRI manifestations were reviewed and the ADC values and signal intensity enhancement rate (ΔSI) were measured.ANOVA was performed for the comparison ofΔSI and ADC values among active AS group, chronic AS group and control group with BASDAI and lab test results as the gold standards. ROC was analyzed with ΔSI and ADC values for activity of AS and paired
samples t test was obtained to comparethe areas under the ROC ofΔSI and ADC values.Results Among 96 cases of AS patients, MRI of sacroiliac jointsshowed that 62 cases had subchondral bone edema (57 cases of active group, 5 cases of chronic group), that 11 cases had bone surface erosion(4 cases of active group, 7 cases of chronic group), that 15 cases had bone sclerosis(6 cases of active group, 9 cases of chronic group) and that 58 cases had fat deposition on the sacroiliac joints (27 cases of active group, 31 cases of chronic group). The ΔSI values of the active group, the chronic group and control group were respectively (2.51 ± 1.69)%,(1.19 ± 0.67)%and(0.75 ± 0.21)%, and the ADCvalues were(1.33 ± 0.33)× 10-3,(1.00 ± 0.43)× 10-3 and(0.38±0.13)×10-3mm2/s. There were significant differences forΔSI and ADC values among three groups (F=18.375, 16.366. P<0.01), and statistical significance ofΔSI and ADC values were found between every two groups of three(P< 0.05).The area under the ROC between ΔSI and ADC to determine activity of AS patients were respectively 0.814 and 0.730, which had nostatistical significance(t=1.632, P=0.103). The sensitivity and specificity to determine activity of AS patients byΔSI=1.44%were 81.67%and 80.00%.The sensitivity and specificity to determine activity of AS patients by ADC=1.15 × 10-3/mm2 were 76.67% and 71.43%.Conclusion DWI and CE-MRI performed equally in detecting activity of AS patients.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of transfusion of necrotic cells on regulatory T (Treg) and Th17 cell balance in septic mice.

METHODSThirty-four C57BL/6 mice were randomized into PBS group (n=5), sham-operated group (n=5), sepsis group (n=12), and necrotic cell transfusion group (n=12) and subjected to intraperitoneal PBS injection, sham operation by separating the cecum only, cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), and injection of 2 × 10⁷ necrotic cells 5 days before CLP, respectively. All the mice were sacrificed 2 weeks after CLP for analyzing the proportion of CD4⁺Foxp3⁺Treg cells and CD4⁺IL17A⁺Th17 cells in the peripheral blood, spleen and thymus by flow cytometry.

RESULTSThe percentage of Th17 cells and Treg/Th17 ratio in the spleen was significantly higher in CLP group than in the sham-operated group and PBS group (P<0.01). The percentage of Treg cells in the thymus was significantly lower in CLP group than in the sham-operated group (P<0.01). Pre-infusion of necrotic cells redressed the abnormality of Treg and Th17 cell percentages and Treg/Th17 imbalance in mice following CLP (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONPre-infusion of necrotic cells can reverse Treg/Th17 imbalance in septic mice.

Animals ; Cecum ; Flow Cytometry ; Interleukin-17 ; Ligation ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Necrosis ; Sepsis ; therapy ; Spleen ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; cytology ; Th17 Cells ; cytology ; Thymus Gland

Objective To investigate the effect of transfusion of necrotic cells on regulatory T (Treg) and Th17 cell balance in septic mice. Method Thirty-four C57BL/6 mice were randomized into PBS group (n=5), sham-operated group (n=5), sepsis group (n=12), and necrotic cell transfusion group (n=12) and subjected to intraperitoneal PBS injection, sham operation by separating the cecum only, cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), and injection of 2 × 107 necrotic cells 5 days before CLP, respectively. All the mice were sacrificed 2 weeks after CLP for analyzing the proportion of CD4+Foxp3+Treg cells and CD4+IL17A+Th17 cells in the peripheral blood, spleen and thymus by flow cytometry. Results The percentage of Th17 cells and Treg/Th17 ratio in the spleen was significantly higher in CLP group than in the sham-operated group and PBS group (P<0.01). The percentage of Treg cells in the thymus was significantly lower in CLP group than in the sham-operated group (P<0.01). Pre-infusion of necrotic cells redressed the abnormality of Treg and Th17 cell percentages and Treg/Th17 imbalance in mice following CLP (P<0.05). Conclusion Pre-infusion of necrotic cells can reverse Treg/Th17 imbalance in septic mice.

Objective To investigate the effect of transfusion of necrotic cells on regulatory T (Treg) and Th17 cell balance in septic mice. Method Thirty-four C57BL/6 mice were randomized into PBS group (n=5), sham-operated group (n=5), sepsis group (n=12), and necrotic cell transfusion group (n=12) and subjected to intraperitoneal PBS injection, sham operation by separating the cecum only, cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), and injection of 2 × 107 necrotic cells 5 days before CLP, respectively. All the mice were sacrificed 2 weeks after CLP for analyzing the proportion of CD4+Foxp3+Treg cells and CD4+IL17A+Th17 cells in the peripheral blood, spleen and thymus by flow cytometry. Results The percentage of Th17 cells and Treg/Th17 ratio in the spleen was significantly higher in CLP group than in the sham-operated group and PBS group (P<0.01). The percentage of Treg cells in the thymus was significantly lower in CLP group than in the sham-operated group (P<0.01). Pre-infusion of necrotic cells redressed the abnormality of Treg and Th17 cell percentages and Treg/Th17 imbalance in mice following CLP (P<0.05). Conclusion Pre-infusion of necrotic cells can reverse Treg/Th17 imbalance in septic mice.

Metastasis is a multistep process involving modification of morphology to suit migration, reduction of tumor cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix, increase of cell mobility, tumor cell resistance to anoikis, and other steps. MicroRNAs are well-suited to regulate tumor metastasis due to their capacity to repress numerous target genes in a coordinated manner, thereby enabling their intervention at multiple steps of the invasion-metastasis cascade. In this study, we identified a microRNA exemplifying these attributes, miR-124, whose expression was reduced in aggressive MDA-MB-231 and SK-3rd breast cancer cells. Down-regulation of miR-124 expression in highly aggressive breast cancer cells contributed in part to DNA hypermethylation around the promoters of the three genes encoding miR-124. Ectopic expression of miR-124 in MDA-MB-231 cells suppressed metastasis-related traits including formation of spindle-like morphology, migratory capacity, adhesion to fibronectin, and anoikis. These findings indicate that miR-124 suppresses multiple steps of metastasis by diverse mechanisms in breast cancer cells and suggest a potential application of miR-124 in breast cancer treatment.
Anoikis ; Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Adhesion ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; Connective Tissue Growth Factor ; metabolism ; DNA Methylation ; Down-Regulation ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; rho GTP-Binding Proteins ; metabolism ; rho-Associated Kinases ; metabolism