The pre-leukemia transcription factor 3 (PBX3) is a member of the PBX family of transcription factors, which is known to increase DNA-binding/transcriptional activity of HOX proteins and regulate genes involved in development. Recently, PBX3 was reported to be involved in a variety of cancers, while its implication in gastric cancer is unclear. This study aimed to investigate its clinical significance and biological function in gastric cancer. PBX3 expression was analyzed in 90 gastric cancer specimens using immunohistochemistry. PBX3 was overexpressed in 30 cases (33.33%). Importantly, PBX3 overexpression positively correlated with advanced invasion depth (p = 0.0017), Clinical stage (p = 0.0127) and grade of tumor differentiation (p = 0.0158). PBX3 was also overexpressed in gastric cancer cell lines. Plasmid transfection was performed in AGS and SGC-7901 gastric cancer cell line with low endogenous PBX3 expression. MTT and colony formation assay were carried out to assess the role of PBX3 in proliferation. PBX3 overexpression in gastric cancer cell lines accelerated cell proliferation rate and colony formation ability, with upregulation of PCNA expression. In addition, matrigel invasion assay showed that PBX3 transfection also increased cell-invading ability. These results validate the role of PBX3 as a clinically relevant oncoprotein and establish PBX3 as a promising therapeutic target of gastric cancer.

A series of hyperbranched poly(E-caprolactone) (HPCLs, denoted as D X ) with different molecular weights were synthesized by the copolymerization of GPCL (PCL initiated by glycidol) and succinic anhydride. The chemical structure of D X was characterized by 1 H-NMR gel permeation chromatography and inherent viscosity, and D X was used as the plasticizer for poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) compared to traditional plasticizer di-(ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). The thermal properties, morphology, mechanical properties, and migration stabilities of PVC films were explored with differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscope, tensile, and migration tests. PVC/D 1 exhibited the best plasticization efficiency up to 107%, with enhanced tensile strength (18.5 MPa) and ultimate elongation (416%) compared to PVC/DEHP (11.5 MPa and 375%, respectively). PVC/D 1 exhibited remarkably high plasticization efficiency as compared to PVC/DEHP at a plasticizer concentration of PVC below 40 wt %. Moreover, the migration test for PVC/D X films exhibited minimal plasticizers migration even at very harsh conditions.

A series of multiarm structure hyperbranched polyester‐b‐poly(ε‐caprolactone) (HEPCLs) with different lengths of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) segments (s = 3, 6, 7, 8) were synthesized. Hyperbranched polyester (HE) was synthesized from glycidol and succinic anhydride and used as a macromolecular polymerization initiator for ε‐caprolactone. The HEPCLs were used as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plasticizers and the mechanical properties, thermal properties, morphology, and migration stabilities of PVC films were explored. The plasticizing efficiency increased with the increase in PCL segments, and the plasticizing efficiency of HEPCL8 exceeded that of dioctyl phthalate. Scanning electron microscopy and solid‐state 1H NMR showed that the HEPCLs possess better compatibility with PVC than HE. Moreover, HEPCLs exhibited excellent migration stability even at very harsh condition, indicating that HEPCLs can be used as no‐migration PVC plasticizers in medical products, children's toys, and food packaging. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 26:35–42, 2020. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers

Background: Morin is a flavanoid which exhibits potent antioxidant activity in various oxidative stress related diseases. The current study was attempted to scrutinize the preclinical bio-efficacy of morin on focal ischemia. Methods: The animal model of focal cerebral ischemic injury was done by midbrain carotid artery occlusion (MCAO) method, followed by Morin (30mg/kg) administration for seven days. Results:The outcome of the study showed that treatment with morin displayed positive effects in reducing the focal cerebral ischemia. This effect was evident with the improvements in neurological deficits, reduction in MDA content and elevation of antioxidant levels (SOD, GSH and Gpx). Furthermore, protein expression of Bax and caspase-3 were effectively down-regulated, whilst the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly elevated. On the other hand, the mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines was significantly reduced in focal cerebral ischemic rats upon morin intervention. Conclusion: Thus, the beneficial effects of morin on cerebral ischemia assault may result from the reduction of oxidative stress, inhibition of apoptosis and inflammation. The neuroprotective effects of morin supplement may serve as potent adjuvant in the amelioration of ischemic stroke.

One dodecahedral bismuth(III) complex [Bi(HL)(NO(3))(3)] (1) (HL = 2-acetylpyridine N(4)-pyridylthiosemicarbazone) has been synthesized and structurally characterized. The analytical data reveals the formation of 1 : 1 (metal : ligand) stoichiometry. The bismuth(III) ion is nine-coordinated by one electron pair (6s(2)) of the bismuth(III) atom, two nitrogen and one sulfur atoms from the N(2)S tridentate ligand and five oxygen atoms from three nitrate ions. Biological studies, carried out in vitro against eight selected bacteria, and four human cancer cells, respectively, have indicated that 1 shows better growth-inhibiting properties. Upon further investigation, 1 might produce cytotoxicity through apoptosis.

Pancharatnam–Berry (PB) phase has become an effective tool to realize the photonic spin Hall effect (PSHE) in recent years, due to its capacity of enhancing the spin-orbit interaction. Various forms of PSHEs have been proposed by tailoring the PB phase of light, however, the propagation trajectory control of the separated spin states has not been reported. In this paper, we realize the oscillated spin-dependent separation by using the well-designed PB phase optical elements based on the transverse-to-longitudinal mapping of Bessel beams. Two typical oscillated PSHEs, i.e., the spin states are circulated and reversed periodically, are experimentally demonstrated with two PB phase elements fabricated with liquid crystal. The displacements and periods of these oscillations can be controlled by changing the transverse vector of the input Bessel beam. The proposed method offers a new degree of freedom to manipulate the spin-dependent separation, and provides technical supports for the application in spin photonics.

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CTNNB1, encoding β-catenin, is a well-known tumor-related gene in the wnt signaling pathway. It has been reported that CTNNB1 polymorphisms are associated with cancer risk. However, the data were inconsistent. In this article, we conducted a systematic review for the researches related to the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CTNNB1 with overall cancer risk. Meanwhile, a series of inclusion and exclusion criteria were set to select articles for quantitative analysis. Consequently, eight case-control studies containing 4388 cases and 4477 controls were included in a meta-analysis of four highly studied CTNNB1 SNPs (rs1798802 A/G, rs4135385 A/G, rs11564475 A/G, and rs2293303 C/T). The association between each SNP and cancer risk was estimated by calculating odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs). The results showed rs1798802 (AA compared with GG: P=0.044, OR=0.72) and rs2293303 (TT compared with CC: P=0.002, OR=2.86; recessive model: P=0.006, OR=2.91; T compared with C: P=0.004, OR=1.19) polymorphisms were associated with overall cancer risk. In stratified analysis, rs4135385 polymorphism was found to elevate the risk in Caucasian or in gastrointestinal cancer subgroup. Additionally, rs2293303 conferred to an increased cancer risk when the source of control groups was hospital-based (HB). In conclusion, the three CTNNB1 SNPs were suggested to have the potential to be novel biomarkers for risk prediction of cancer in overall population or some specific subgroups. Our study could provide research clues for further related investigations.