Conclusion: The selected scFv antibody could specifically recognize and target nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and could be applied to clinical diagnosis and therapy. Objective: The aim was to construct and screen fully human anti-NPC single chain Fv fusion phage libraries, and to identify the specificity of the scFv antibody. Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with NPC were immunized in vitro by NPC cells and transformed by Epstein-Barr virus. The total RNAwas used to construct the scFv libraries. By means of ELISA and immunochemistry, the positively bound scFv was selected and identified. The positive scFv was fused to EGFP, and was then expressed in E. coli strain BL21 (DE3) and purified. Furthermore, we observed the binding bioactivity. Results: The fusion protein has the biological activity of binding the NPC cells and emitting green fluorescence. In targeting experiments in vivo, the results showed that the fusion protein can successfully target the NPC.
Reconstruction of the defect following limb-sparing resection of malignant bone tumors is controversial and extremely challenging. Extracorporeal irradiation (ECI) and re-implantation have been used for limb salvage surgery for patients, with major advantages, including biological reconstruction, ready availability and preservation of bone stock, over replacement with a megaprosthesis. The purpose of the present study was to present our experience and details of all patients treated with this surgery. Between June 2005 and December 2014, we followed-up 23 patients with limb malignancies who were treated with en bloc excision followed by 50-Gy single dose ECI and re-implantation of involved bone segments. All cases were evaluated based on clinical and radiological examinations, complications and Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) score. Mean follow-up period was 77.6 months (range, 17-116 months). A total of 17 patients (73.9%) demonstrated no evidence of disease, 5 (21.7%) patients succumbed to the disease and 1 (4.3%) patient was alive with the disease at the final follow-up. Local recurrence occurred in 3 patients (recurrence rate, 13.0%) in the bed outside of the irradiated graft, and 4 of the 5 patients that lost their lives did so due to associated metastatic disease. The mean value of the MSTS score was 78.8% (50-93.3%). The majority of patients demonstrated solid bony union; however, 3 patients had non-union (13.0%) and 1 had a delayed union (4.3%). Early or late complications occurred in 11 patients (47.8%). Although the complication rate (47.8%) and re-operation rate (39.1%) were high, ECI and re-implantation may be a useful and cheap technique following en bloc resection for limb salvage in appropriately selected patients.
Karst environment is very common in southwest China. Soil and vegetation are the most sensitive elements for the variation of karst environment. The weathering of carbonate is important soil formation mechanism in karst area. But its soil forming ability is so poor that the thickness of soil layer becomes thin by the water erosion, though the soil loss is insignificant but serious. The karst process, the ecology process, the hydrology process are three important circulation mechanisms in the karst multiple media environment. In the Chinese North and South karst area, the eco-environmental protection and restoration has already been the important part as the national territorial resources and the environmental comprehensive development and management. The character of karst plants mainly depends on the environmental conditions, i. e. lack of water, richness of Ca, poor soil and shortage of organic matter. The plants have low growth pace and low life-form resource; it is vulnerable under the disturbance of irrational human activities. Therefore, the rocky desertification is the final result of karst ecosystem degradation. But ecological condition is severe in the North and South karst area, especially in the south karst stone mountainous area and the north arid karst area. There are many problems with the eco-environmental protection and restoration. This paper takes the karst multiple media environment as a core, comprehensively discusses the relations of the three processes-karst, hydrology, and ecology, and puts forward direction of the research on karst ecology hydrology and the future.
microRNAs have been reported to play important roles in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study examined the effects of miR-522 on the biological behaviors of RA synovial fibroblasts. The expression levels of miR-522 and relevant genes were measured by quantitative real-time PCR. The protein levels of cytokines were determined by ELISA assay. The protein levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) were determined by western blot assay. Luciferase reporter assay was used to confirm the potential target of miR-522. Our results showed that miR-522 was upregulated in synovial fibroblasts from RA patients, and miR-522 expression level was significantly associated with the RA-associated clinical parameters. miR-522 overexpression increased the mRNA and protein expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and MMPs (MMP-1, MMP-3, and MMP-13) in RA synovial fibroblasts. Lipopolysaccharide induced the upregulation of TNF-α, IL-1β, and MMPs in RA synovial fibroblasts, which was reversed by miR-522 knockdown. Bioinformatics analysis identified SOCS3 as a potential target of miR-522, and this target of miR-522 was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay, and miR-522 overexpression suppressed the mRNA and protein expression levels of SOCS3. The enforced expression of SOCS3 attenuated the enhanced effects of miR-522 on mRNA expression levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and MMPs. Collectively, our results suggested that miR-522 regulated the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and MMPs partly via targeting SOCS3 in RA synovial fibroblasts, which may contribute to pathogenesis of RA.
Abstract On 4 April 2013, a 1.5 million cubic meter landslide occurred in Sunjia Town, Wanzhou County, Three Gorges Reservoir, China. After initiation, the Sunjia landslide traveled about 30 m toward the northeast and destroyed most of the infrastructure in its path. The landslide was triggered by heavy rainfall and previous slope excavations, but this slope also displayed a complicated failure process: the overlying earth slope first deformed and then induced sliding along underlying rock surfaces. Surface displacements that resulted from continuous creeping of the post-event slope were observed by an emergency monitoring system that revealed the disequilibrium state of the slope. To discuss the stability and future movements of the remaining unstable debris deposits, we developed a geotechnical model of the post-slide slope, calculated how it can slide again in an extreme rainfall scenario, and estimated the potential runout distance using the Tsunami Squares method. We then estimated the number of people and the value of the infrastructure threatened by this potential landslide. Lastly, we analyzed the vulnerability of elements at risk and quantitatively evaluated the hazard risk associated with the most dangerous scenario. This quantitative risk analysis provides a better understanding of, and technical routes for, hazard mitigation of rainfall-induced complex landslides.