New barrigenol derivatives from the husks Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge and their anti-tumor activities.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a complex bioelectrical signal. Analysis of which can provide researchers with useful physiological information. In order to recognize and classify EEG signals, a pattern recognition method for optimizing the support vector machine (SVM) by using improved squirrel search algorithm (ISSA) is proposed. The EEG signal is preprocessed, with its time domain features being extracted and directed to the SVM as feature vectors for classification and identification. In this paper, the method of good point set is used to initialize the population position, chaos and reverse learning mechanism are introduced into the algorithm. The performance test of the improved squirrel algorithm (ISSA) is carried out by using the benchmark function. As can be seen from the statistical analysis of the results, the exploration ability and convergence speed of the algorithm are improved. This is then used to optimize SVM parameters. ISSA-SVM model is established and built for classification of EEG signals, compared with other common SVM parameter optimization models. For data sets, the average classification accuracy of this method is 85.9%. This result is an improvement of 2–5% over the comparison method.

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Inflammation is a complex biological response to stimulation. Natural cassane diterpenoids from Caesalpinia genus exhibit significant anti-inflammation activity. Eight new cassane diterpenoids (1-8) along with seven known ones (9-15) were obtained from the seed kernels of Caesalpinia cucullata Roxb. This is the first report on chemical investigation of the seed kernels of C. cucullata, and the cassane diterpenes were found in this plant for the first time. Their structures were elucidated based on the extensive spectroscopic analyses, and the absolute configurations were identified by ECD calculation and X-ray crystallography. All compounds were evaluated for their anti-inflammation activity by inhibiting NO production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Compounds 1-2 and 9-11 exhibited effective inhibitory activity with inhibition rate more than 50%. The iNOS enzyme activity and molecular docking experiments were performed to explore the preliminary mechanism. Eventually, a potential anti-inflammatory mechanism revealed that the bioactive cassane inhibited overproduction of NO by targeting key residues in the iNOS active cavity to reduce iNOS enzymatic activation.

Background Recurrences are the main reasons for unfavorable outcomes for patients with stage II colorectal cancer (CRC). To obtain a clear understanding of the high-risk factors, further investigation is warranted. The present study aimed to analyze the risk factors associated with postoperative recurrence in patients with stage II CRC. Methods Eligible patients with pathologically confirmed stage II CRC were enrolled in the study retrospectively based on a prospectively maintained database from April 2008 to March 2019. The Kaplan–Meier method were used to calculate the overall survival (OS) rate and the cumulative recurrence rate. Univariate and multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for recurrence. Results There were 2515 patients included, of whom 233 (9.3%) developed local or distant recurrence. Recurrence was associated with a significantly worse 5-year OS (45.4% vs. 95.5%, p < 0.0001). The 5-year cumulative recurrence rate was 13.0% in patients with stage II CRC. On multivariable Cox analysis, tumor size (Hazard Ratio (HR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] = 1.79[1.38, 2.33]), preoperative carbohydrate antigen (CA) 125 level (HR [95% CI] = 1.78[1.17, 2.70]), preoperative CA 199 level (HR [95% CI] = 1.56[1.09, 2.22]), and ulcerating tumor (HR [95% CI] = 1.61[1.19, 2.17]) were found to be associated with postoperative recurrence. Adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with a lower cumulative recurrence rate in patients with these risk factors (p = 0.00096). Conclusion The tumor diameter, preoperative CA125 level, preoperative CA199 level, and an ulcerative tumor can predict postoperative recurrence in patients with stage II CRC, and postoperative chemotherapy could reduce the cumulative recurrence rate in patients with these high-risk factors.

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BackgroundEsophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma (EGJA) is a special malignant tumor with unknown biological behavior. PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors have been recommended as first-line treatment for advanced EGJA patients. However, the biomarkers for predicting immunotherapy response remain controversial.MethodsWe identified stromal immune-related genes (SIRGs) by ESTIMATE from the TCGA-EGJA dataset and constructed a signature score. In addition, survival analysis was performed in both the TCGA cohort and GEO cohort. Subsequently, we explored the differences in tumor-infiltrating immune cells, immune subtypes, immune-related functions, tumor mutation burden (TMB), immune checkpoint gene expression, immunophenoscore (IPS) between the high SIRGs score and low SIRGs score groups. Finally, two validation cohorts of patients who had accepted immunotherapy was used to verify the value of SIRGs score in predicting immunotherapy response.ResultsEight of the SIRGs were selected by LASSO regression to construct a signature score (SIRGs score). Univariate and multivariate analyses in the TCGA and GEO cohort suggested that SIRGs score was an independent risk factor for the overall survival (OS) and it could increase the accuracy of clinical prediction models for survival. However, in the high SIRGs score group, patients had more immune cell infiltration, more active immune-related functions, higher immune checkpoint gene expression and higher IPS-PD1 and IPS-PD1-CTLA4 scores, which indicate a better response to immunotherapy. The external validation illustrated that high SIRGs score was significantly associated with immunotherapy response and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can improve OS in patients with high SIRGs score.ConclusionThe SIRGs score may be a predictor of the prognosis and immune-therapy response for esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma.