Overexpression of kallikrein gene 10 is a biomarker for predicting poor prognosis in gastric cancer

AIM:To analyze the expression of kallikrein gene 10(KLK10)in gastric cancer and to determine whether KLK10 has independent prognostic value in gastric cancer.METHODS:We studied KLK10 expression in 80 histologically confirmed gastric cancer samples using realtime quantitative reverse transcription-PCR and hK10expression using immunohistochemistry.Correlations with clinicopathological variables(lymph node metastasis,depth of invasion and histology)and with outcomes(disease-free survival and overall survival)during a median follow-up period of 31 mo were assessed.Gastric cancer tissues were then classified as KLK10 positive or negative.RESULTS:KLK10 was found to be highly expressed in 57/80(70%)of gastric cancer samples,while its expression was very low in normal gastric tissues.Positive relationships between KLK10 expression and lymph node metastasis(P=0.048),depth of invasion(P=0.034)and histology(P=0.015)were observed.Univariate survival analysis revealed that gastric cancer patients with positive KLK10 expression had an increased risk for relapse/metastasis and death(P=0.005 and0.002,respectively).Cox multivariate analysis indicated that KLK10 was an independent prognostic indicator of disease-free survival and overall survival in patients with gastric cancer.CONCLUSION:KLK10 expression is an independent biomarker of unfavorable prognosis in patients with gastric cancer.

Transfer of Paralytic Shellfish Toxins via Marine Food Chains:A Simulated Experiment

Objective To study the transfer of paralytic shellfish toxins （PST） using four simulated marine food chains： dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense→Artemia Artemia salina→Mysid shrimp Neomysis awatschensis; A. tamarense→N. awatschensis; A. tamarense→A, salina→Perch Lateolabrax japonicus; and A. tamarense→L, japonicus. Methods The ingestion of A. tamarense, a producer of PST, by L. japonicus, N. awatschensis, and A. salina was first confirmed by microscopic observation of A. tamarense cells in the intestine samples of the three different organisms, and by the analysis of Chl.a levels in the samples. Toxin accumulation in L. japonicus and N. awatschensis directly from the feeding on A. tamarense or indirectly through the vector of A. salina was then studied, The toxicity of samples was measured using the AOAC mouse bioassay method, and the toxin content and profile of A. tamarense were analyzed by the HPLC method. Results Both A. salina and N. awatschensis could ingest A. tamarense cells. However, the ingestion capability of A. salina exceeded that of N. awatschensis. After the exposure to the culture of A. tamarense （2 000 cells·mL^-1） for 70 minutes, the content of Chl.a in A. salina and N. awatschensis reached 0.87 and 0.024 μg.mg^-1, respectively. Besides, A. tamarense cells existed in the intestines of L. japonicus, N. awatschensis and A. salina by microscopic observation. Therefore, the three organisms could ingest A. tamarense cells directly. A. salina could accumulate high content of PST, and the toxicity of A. salina in samples collected on days 1, 4, and 5 of the experiment was 2.18, 2.6, and 2.1 MU.g^-1, respectively. All extracts from the samples could lead to death of tested mice within 7 minutes, and the toxin content in anemia sample collected on the 1st day was estimated to be 1.65×10 ^5 μg STX equal/individual. Toxin accumulation in L japonicus and N. awatschensis directly from the feeding on A. tamarense or indirectly from the vector ofA. salina was also studied. The mice injected with extracts from L japonicus and N. awatschensis samples that accumulated PST either directly or indirectly showed PST intoxication symptoms, indicating that low levels of PST existed in these samples. Conclusion Paralytic shellfish toxins can be transferred to L. japonicus, N. awatschensis, and A. salina from A. tamarense directly or indirectly via the food chains.

Integrated Modeling of Process–Microstructure–Property Relations in Friction Stir Additive Manufacturing

Friction stir additive manufacturing is a newly developed solid-state additive manufacturing technology.The material in the stirring zone can be re-stirred and reheated,and mechanical properties can be changed along the building direction.An integrated model is developed to investigate the internal relations of process,microstructure and mechanical properties.Moving heat source model is used to simulate the friction stir additive manufacturing process to obtain the temperature histories,which are used in the following microstructural simulations.Monte Carlo method is used for simulation of recrystallization and grain growth.Precipitate evolution model is used for calculation of precipitate size distributions.Mechanical property is then predicted.Experiments are used for validation of the predicted grains and hardness.Results indicate that the average grain sizes on diff erent layers depend on the temperature in stirring and re-stirring processes.With the increase in building height,average grain size is decreased and hardness is increased.The increase in layer thickness can lead to temperature decrease in reheating and re-stirring processes and then lead to the decrease in average grain size and increase of hardness in stir zone.