Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most wide-spread malignancies in the world. The oncogenic role of signaling of fibroblast growing factors (FGFs) and their receptors (FGFRs) in gastric tumorigenesis ...has been gradually elucidated by recent studies. The expression pattern and clinical correlations of FGF and FGFR family members have been comprehensively delineated. Among them, FGF18 and FGFR2 demonstrate the most prominent driving role in gastric tumorigenesis with gene amplification or somatic mutations and serve as prognostic biomarkers. FGF-FGFR promotes tumor progression by crosstalking with multiple oncogenic pathways and this provides a rational therapeutic strategy by co-targeting the crosstalks to achieve synergistic effects. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the pathogenic mechanisms of FGF-FGFR signaling in gastric adenocarcinoma together with the current targeted strategies in aberrant FGF-FGFR activated GC cases.
Summary
It has been proved that extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) could promote new bone formation. Therefore, we designed an experiment to test the efficiency of ESWT on BMD in postmenopausal ...osteoporotic patients. The results showed that ESWT could effectively improve the local bone mass of the treated bone area within a short duration.
Introduction
This study evaluated the short-term effectiveness of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on bone mineral density (BMD).
Methods
A total of 64 postmenopausal osteoporotic patients were recruited and randomized into 3 groups in 2015. Groups A (
n
= 20) and B (
n
= 21) patients received a single-session of low- or high-energy flux density (EFD) ESWT in the left hip, respectively, whereas group C (
n
= 23) patients served as controls without the ESWT treatment. All patients self-administered alendronate sodium tablets orally for a year. The BMD of the lumbar spine (L2-L4), femoral neck, great tuberosity, and total left hip was measured before ESWT treatment and at 3, 6, and 12 months using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).
Results
At 12 months, the lumbar spine, femoral neck, great tuberosity, and total left hip BMD in all patients had increased (
p
< 0.01). The increase in lumbar spine BMD in group A patients was higher than that in group B patients (
p
= 0.03); other between-group differences were not observed (
p
= 0.73, group A vs. C;
p
= 0.06, group B vs. C). The femoral neck, great tuberosity, and total left hip BMD increases in group B patients were higher than that in either group A or C (
p
< 0.01, group B vs. A;
p
< 0.01, group A vs. C).
Conclusion
This study showed that ESWT could efficiently improve the local BMD; relatively, the high dosage was effective.
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•Swine wastewater is a suitable medium for microalgae growth and biomass production.•Pollutants in swine wastewater can be removed by harvesting microalgae.•Correlations between ...microalgae and toxicants/bacteria need further investigation.•Harvested biomass from wastewater has great potential to convert into bioenergy.
Ever-increasing swine wastewater (SW) has become a serious environmental concern. High levels of nutrients and toxic contaminants in SW significantly impact on the ecosystem and public health. On the other hand, swine wastewater is considered as valuable water and nutrient source for microalgae cultivation. The potential for converting the nutrients from SW into valuable biomass and then generating bioenergy from it has drawn increasing attention. For this reason, this review comprehensively discussed the biomass production, SW treatment efficiencies, and bioenergy generation potentials through cultivating microalgae in SW. Microalgae species grow well in SW with large amounts of biomass being produced, despite the impact of various parameters (e.g., nutrients and toxicants levels, cultivation conditions, and bacteria in SW). Pollutants in SW can effectively be removed by harvesting microalgae from SW, and the harvested microalgae biomass elicits high potential for conversion to valuable bioenergy.
Monodisperse spinel CoFe2O4 nanoparticles have been synthesized through the solvothermal-assisted phase transfer method using aqueous soluble metal salts as starting materials and sodium oleate (SO) ...as the phase-transfer agent. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, ultraviolet and visible spectrophotometry and Mössbauer spectrum. The results revealed that the as-obtained nanoparticles have a cubic spinel structure and an average diameter of 2–6nm. It was found that SO played an important role during the transfer of the hydrophilic inorganic precursor from aqueous phase to the organic phase. On the basis of the experimental results, a possible mechanism for the formation of the nanoparticles was proposed. Surface functionalization of the as-prepared nanoparticles was conducted to render the hydrophobic nanoparticles water-soluble, which makes the nanoparticles suitable for catalytic applications. The nanoparticles showed catalytic activity in the oxidation of methylene blue with H2O2 as an oxidizing agent.
•Size-controllable monodisperse cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were prepared.•The method developed to prepare the nanoparticles was facile and low-cost.•The nanoparticles showed high catalytic activity for oxidizing methylene blue.
Climate variability and increasing drought events have become significant concerns in recent years. However, there is limited published research on body weight (BW) change of dairy heifers with ...different genetic merit when grazing on drought impacted pastures in southern Australia. Achieving target body weight (BW) is vital for dairy heifers, especially during critical stages like mating and calving. This study aimed to assess dry matter (DM) intake, BW change, urinary nitrogen excretion, and grazing behaviours of high vs. low genetic dairy heifers grazing pasture during a 43-day experimental period in a drought season. Forty-eight Holstein Friesian heifers grazed on ryegrass-dominant pasture and were divided into two groups based on their high and low Balanced Performance Index (HBPI and LBPI, respectively). Each group was further stratified into six plots, with similar BW, resulting in four heifers per replication group. Data from the five measurement days were averaged for individual cows to analyse the dry matter intake, nitrogen intake and nitrogen excretion. The statistical model included the treatment effect of BPI (H and L) and means were analysed using ANOVA. The pasture quality was poor, with metabolizable energy 9.3 MJ/Kg DM and crude protein 5.9% on a DM basis. Nitrogen intake and urinary nitrogen excretion were significantly higher (
p
< 0.05) in HBPI compared to the LBPI. However, despite these differences, the study did not find any advantages of having HBPI heifer grazing on low quality forage in terms of BW performance.
Background
Gastric slow wave dysrhythmias are accompanied by deviations in frequency, velocity, and extracellular amplitude, but the inherent association between these parameters in normal activity ...still requires clarification. This study quantified these associations using a joint experimental‐theoretical approach.
Methods
Gastric pacing was conducted in pigs with simultaneous high‐resolution slow wave mapping (32‐256 electrodes; 4‐7.6 mm spacing). Relationships between period, velocity, and amplitude were quantified and correlated for each wavefront. Human data from two existing mapping control cohorts were analyzed to extract and correlate these same parameters. A validated biophysically based ICC model was also applied in silico to quantify velocity‐period relationships during entrainment simulations and velocity‐amplitude relationships from membrane potential equations.
Key Results
Porcine pacing studies identified positive correlations for velocity‐period (0.13 mm s−1 per 1 s, r2=.63, P<.001) and amplitude‐velocity (74 μV per 1 mm s−1, r2=.21, P=.002). In humans, positive correlations were also quantified for velocity‐period (corpus: 0.11 mm s−1 per 1 s, r2=.16, P<.001; antrum: 0.23 mm s−1 per 1 s, r2=.55; P<.001), and amplitude‐velocity (94 μV per 1 mm s−1, r2=.56; P<.001). Entrainment simulations matched the experimental velocity‐period relationships and demonstrated dependence on the slow wave recovery phase. Simulated membrane potential relationships were close to these experimental results (100 μV per 1 mm s−1).
Conclusions and Inferences
These data quantify the relationships between slow wave frequency, velocity, and extracellular amplitude. The results from both human and porcine studies were in keeping with biophysical models, demonstrating concordance with ICC biophysics. These relationships are important in the regulation of gastric motility and will help to guide interpretations of dysrhythmias.
Positive relationships were quantified between gastric slow wave period and velocity, and between velocity and extracellular amplitude, through a combination of gastric pacing, human in vivo studies, and biophysically based modeling. These relationships contribute to the regulation of normal gastric motility and these findings will help to inform diagnostic advances for gut electrophysiological disorders.
The phase transformation from austenite to acicular ferrite in the simulated coarse grained heat affected zone of a high strength low alloy steel was investigated by means of analytical ...characterisation techniques such as in situ microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and electron backscattered diffraction analysis. The acicular ferrite grains nucleated on inclusions (Zr-Ti oxides) in coarse austenite grain grew in different directions and effectively partitioned coarse austenite grain into several finer and separate regions. The crystallographic grain size became small for coarse austenite grains due to the effective partitioning by acicular ferrite laths or plates.
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