Sox2 enhances the tumorigenicity and chemoresistance of cancer stem-like cells derived from gastric cancer

Gastric cancer stem-like cells（GCSCs） have been identified to possess the ability of self-renewal and tumor initi-ation.However,the mechanisms involved remain largely unknown.Here,we isolated and characterized the GCSCs by side population（SP） sorting procedure and cultured sphere cells（SC） from human gastric cancer cell lines SGC-7901,BGC-823,MGC-803,HGC-27 and MKN-28.The sorting and culture assay revealed that SP cells proliferated in an asymmetric division manner.In addition,SP cells exhibited a higher potential of spheroid colony formation and greater drug resistance than non-SP cells（NSP）.Moreover,the SC were found with enhanced capabilities of drug resistance in vitro and tumorigenicity in vivo.Sox2 mRNA and protein was highly and significantly overex-pressed in the SP cells and SC.Importantly,downregulation of Sox2 with siRNA obviously reduced spheroid colony formation and doxorubicin efflux,as well as increased apoptosis rate in sphere cells in vitro and suppressed tumori-genicity in vivo.These results suggest that both SP cells and cultured SC enrich with GCSCs and that Sox2 plays a pivotal role in sustaining stem cell properties and might be a potential target for gastric cancer therapy.

Sonic hedgehog elevates N-myc gene expression in neural stem cells

Proliferation of neural stem cells is regulated by the secreted signaling molecule sonic hedgehog. In this study, neural stem cells were infected with recombinant adeno-associated virus expressing sonic hedgehog-N-enhanced green fluorescent protein. The results showed that overexpression of sonic hedgehog in neural stem cells induced the increased expression of Gill and N-myc, a target gene of sonic hedgehog. These findings suggest that N-myc is a direct downstream target of the sonic hedgehog signal pathway in neural stem cells. Sonic hedgehog and N-myc are important mediators of sonic hedgehog-induced proliferation of neural stem cells.

Maggot homogenate is associated with neural regeneration and wound healing in the rat

BACKGROUND：Live delivery limits the clinical application of maggot therapy. To date in China, there are no in vivo reports regarding wound healing mechanisms of maggot therapy or the effects of maggot homogenate on wound nerve regeneration.OBJECTIVE：To avoid complications due to the use of live maggots, an aseptic maggot homogenate was applied. Substance P （SP） and gene protein product 9.5 expression in a cutaneous wound was analyzed to explore possible mechanisms of neural regeneration and wound healing in the rat.DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING：A random grouping and controlled animal study was performed at the laboratory of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University from August 2008 to April 2009.MATERIALS：Live maggots were cultured and provided by the laboratory of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, China.METHODS：A total of 48 adult rats were selected and two acute, full-thickness wounds （round, 1.5 cm diameter） were created on the back of each rat. The two wounds were randomly assigned to homogenate product and control groups. Following two-step disinfection of maggots, a homogenate was produced from 10 maggots and applied to the wound area in the homogenate product group, while the wounds in the control group were treated with normal saline alone.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES：On days 1,3, 7, 10, 14, and 21 following injury, the wound tissue was excised. Histological examination of the wound was observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining or Masson＇s Trichrome staining. SP and protein gene product 9.5 expressions were examined by immunohistochemistry to evaluate wound neural regeneration.RESULTS：On days 7, 10, and 14, the rate of wound healing was significantly greater in the homogenate product group compared with the control group （P 〈 0.05）, and homogenate healing was better than that seen in the control group. On days 3, 7, and 10, SP expression in cells and regenerative nerves was significantly greater in the homogenate product group compared with the control group （P 〈 0.05）. On days 7 and 10, protein gene product 9.5 expression was detected in the regenerative nerve, and expression level was significantly greater in the homogenate product group compared with the control group （P 〈 0.05）.CONCLUSION：Maggot homogenate resulted in upregulated SP and protein gene product 9.5 expressions, thereby promoting neural regeneration and wound healing.

Possible Candidates for Chirality in the Odd-Odd As Isotopes

The deformations and the corresponding configurations of the odd-odd As isotopes are investigated using the adiabatic and configuration-fixed constrained triaxial relativistic mean field(RMF)theory.Energy minima with triaxial deformations and high-j particle-hole configurations are obtained in 72,74,76,78,80As,where the chiral doublet bands are possible to appear.The existence of multiple chiral doublet(MχD)is demonstrated in 74,76,78As.Based on the calculated single-particle levels,we also find possible coexistence of chiral and pseudospin symmetries in the odd-odd As isotopes.

Advancing multi-wavelength photoelasticity through single-exposure detection

In this paper,we present a method to expedite multi-wavelength photoelasticity for efficient stress analysis.By modulating two slightly different-wavelength illumination beams and simultaneously capturing dark-field and bright-field images,our approach acquires four essential polarized images.Spatial filtering of Fourier transforms streamlines inner stress computation,enabling multi-wavelength photoelasticity with a single detector exposure.Theoretical foundations are outlined,and proof-of-principle experiments validate the feasibility with a measurement error below 6.4%.The high measurement speed,determined by the detector’s frame rate,facilitates dynamic sample measurements at video frequency,offering promising advancements in material stress analysis.

Experimental studies for nuclear chirality in China

In the last decade,chiral symmetry in atomic nuclei has attracted significant attention and become one of the hot topics in current nuclear physics frontiers.This paper provides a review of experimental studies for nuclear chirality in China.In particular,the experimental setups,chiral mass regions,lifetime measurements,and simultaneous breaking of chirality and other symmetries are discussed in detail.These studies found a new chiral mass region(A≈80),extended the boundaries of the A≈100 and 130 chiral mass regions,and tested the chiral geometry of^(130)Cs,^(106)Ag,^(80)Br and^(76)Br by lifetime measurements.In addition,simultaneous breaking of chirality and other symmetries have been studied in^(74)As,^(76)Br,^(78)Br,^(80)Br,^(81)Kr and^(131)Ba.

Novel optical properties and induced magnetic moments in Ru-doped hybrid improper ferroelectric Ca3Ti2O7

Hybrid improper ferroelectric Ca3Ti2O7 and Ca3Tii 9RuO.iO7 ceramics were successfully synthesized by conventional solid-state reaction method.Two strongest diffraction peaks located around 2θ=33°shifted towards the lower angle region with Ru substitution,reflecting structure variation.Grain growth and higher oxygen vacancy concentration after doping resulted in a reduction in the coercive field about 20 kV/cm.Optical bandgap estimated by UV-vis diffuse reflectance(DR)spectrum and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)valence band spectra showed a decreasing trend due to the existence of impurity energy level upon Ru doping,which was consistent with the results of first-principles calculations.The origin of the unexpected induced magnetic moments in Ru-dope Ca3Ti2O7 is also discussed.

Genetic diversity and phylogenetic analysis of Chinese Han and Li ethnic populations from Hainan Island by 30 autosomal insertion/deletion polymorphisms

With the characteristics of low mutation rate,length variation and short amplicon size,insertion/deletion polymorphisms(InDels)have the advantages of both short tandem repeats(STRs)and single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs).Herein,people of two ethnicities from Hainan Island were genotyped for the first time using the Investigator DIPplex kit.We investigated the forensic parameters of the 30 InDels and the phylogenetic relationships among different populations.The accumulated powers of discrimination and powers of exclusion were 0.9999999999646 and 0.9897 in the Hainan Han population and 0.9999999999292 and 0.9861 in the Hainan Li population,respectively.Additionally,population comparisons among geographically,ethnically and linguistically diverse populations via cluster heatmap,multidimensional scaling,principal component analysis,phylogenetic tree and STRUCTURE analyses demonstrated that the Hainan Han population had genetic similarities to the other Han,She and Tujia populations,while the Hainan Li population had close genetic relationships to the Zhuang and Miao groups;both populations had a high degree of genetic differentiation from most Turkic-speaking populations.Aforementioned results suggested that the 30 autosomal InDels are highly polymorphic and informative,which are suitable for human identification and population genetics.

Candidate chiral nuclei in bromine isotopes based on triaxial relativistic mean field theory

Following the observation of candidate chiral doublet bands in ^(78,80)Br, triaxial deformations with corresponding configurations in odd-odd bromine isotopes have been investigated using adiabatic and configuration-fixed constrained triaxial relativistic-meanfield calculations with an aim of finding the boundary of chirality in the chain of Br isotopes. Several minima with triaxial deformation and the proper particle-hole configuration were obtained in ^(74,76,78,80,82)Br, where the chiral doublet bands have the possibility of occurrence. Furthermore, the possible existence of multiple chiral doublet(MχD) bands is demonstrated in ^(74,76,78,80,82)Br.Experiments to explore the chirality and MχD properties of Br isotopes are conducted to verify the predictions.

Population genetics and forensic efficiency of 30 InDel markers in four Chinese ethnic groups residing in Sichuan

Sichuan Province is located at the transitional junction regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the low-altitude plains.It also serves as the corridor of Sino Tibetan-speaking population migration and expansion since neolithic expansion of Proto-Tibeto-Burman populations from Middle/Upper Yellow River during Majiayao period(3300-2000 BC).However,the population structure and the corresponding genetic diversity of forensic-related markers in this region remain unclear.Thus,we genotyped 30 insertion-deletion(InDel)markers in 444 samples from four ethnic groups(Han,Tibetan,Hui and Yi)from Sichuan Province using the Investigator■ DIPplex kit to explore the characteristics of population genetics and forensic genetic focuses.All the loci were found to be in Hardy-Weinberg Equlibrium(HWE)after applying a Bonferroni correction and no pairwise loci showed prominent linkage disequilibrium.The combined matching probability(CMP)and the combined power of discrimination(CPD)are larger than 1.8089×10^(11)and 0.9999999995,respectively.Principal component analysis,multi-dimen-sional scaling plots and Neighbour-Joining tree among 65 worldwide populations indicated that Sichuan Hui and Han are genetically close to Hmong-Mien and Tai-Kadai-speaking popula-tions,and Sichuan Tibetan and Yi bear a strong genetic affinity with Tibeto-Burman-speaking populations.The model-based genetic structure further supports the genetic affinity between the studied populations and linguistically close populations.

Influence of functional polymorphism in MIF promoter on sudden cardiac death in Chinese populations

Sudden cardiac death(SCD)is defined as an unexpected natural death without any obvious non-cardiac causes that occurs within 1 h with witnessed symptom onset or within 24 h without witnessed symptom onset.Genetic studies conducted during the past decade have markedly illuminated the genetic basis of the cardiac disorders associated with SCD.Macrophage migration inhibitory factor(MIF)is an upstream immunoregulatory cytokine associated with the pathogenesis of many inflammatory diseases including atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction.Previous studies have reported that the functional -794(CATT)_(5-8) polymorphism in MIF is unrelated to sudden infant deth syndrome susceptibility.However,there are no reports concerning the association between the polymorphism and adult SCD susceptibility.In the current study,we investigated the association between the-794(CATT)_(5-8) polymorphism and adult SCD susceptibility using 79 adult SCD cases and 313 healthy controls.All samples were analysed using a conventional polymerase chain reaction(PCR)technique.We found that CATT_(6) and 5-6 were the most common allele and genotype in both groups,respectively,while no significant association was found between the-794(CATT)_(5-8) polymorphism and SCD susceptibility.We also summarized the allele frequencies of 794(CATT)_(5-8) in cohorts of healthy people from different countries and found that the allele frequency distributions of the polymorphism in Chinese populations were quite different from that of American and European populations(P=0.005,P=0.0001,respectively),but similar to Japanese populations(P=0.827).In conclusion,this study indicates that the-794(CATT)_(5-8) polymorphism may not be associated with adult SCD susceptibility in Chinese populations.Different allele frequency distributions of the polymorphism in multiple populations may provide a useful reference for further genetic association studies.