[en] The ⁶⁰Co γ-irradiation on culture in vitro of Pogostemon cablin is studied to breed new variety. The explants used for ⁶⁰Co γ-irradiation were the leaf segments, nodular stem segments, stem segments and root tips from Pogostemon cablin. The media for culture in vitro were MT basal media containing 0.05mg/L BA. As irradiation dosage increased, the mortality of different explants from Pogostemon cablin increased. The irradiation dosage of LD50 for leaf segments, nodular stem segments and stem segments were 72, 64 and 66Gy, respectively, which were deduced from the regression equation. As the irradiation dosage increased, the ability of the plant regeneration of the explants decreased. ⁶⁰Co γ-irradiation could make the explants damage or die. Irradiation could inhibit the regeneration of explants from Pogostemon cablin obviously. The changes in the appearance of the regenerated plants were also observed. (authors)

[en] Objective: To evaluate the treatment outcome, prognostic factors, radiation dose, and toxicities in patients with early-stage primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of Waldeyer's ring (WR-DLBCL) treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Methods: This study included 80 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of stage I-II primary WR-DLBCL who were admitted to our hospital from 2008 to 2015. Only 3 patients received radiotherapy alone, and the other patients received radiotherapy and chemotherapy. After chemotherapy, 24 patients achieved complete remission (CR), and 53 patients achieved partial remission (PR). IMRT was given to the primary lesion and cervical lymphatic drainage region. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. The Cox model was used for analysis of prognostic factors. The toxicities were scored using the RTOG criteria. Results: The median follow-up was 64 months. The 5-year locoregional control (LRC), overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 94%, 88%, and 84%, respectively. The dose-volume histogram showed that the maximum, mean, and minimum doses to primary gross tumor volume were 54.47 Gy, 52.27 Gy, and 38.83 Gy, respectively. Prognostic analysis showed that age > 60 years and increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were influencing factors for OS (P = 0.009 and 0.002), and that aged > 60 years, IPI ≥ 2, and increased LDH were influencing factors for PFS (P = 0.001, 0.035, and 0.007). Among all patients, 12, 53, and 8 experienced grade 1-3 radiation-induced acute oral mucositis, respectively, and 16 and 13 experienced grade 1 and 2 xerostomia as the late toxicity, respectively. Conclusions: For patients with early-stage primary WR-DLBCL, IMRT results in satisfactory OS, PFS, and LRC and has tolerable early or late radiation-induced toxicities. (authors)

[en] Human Cripto-1, a member of the EGF-CFC family, is indispensable for early embryonic development. Cripto-1 plays an important oncogenic role during tumorigenesis and is overexpressed in a wide range of epithelial carcinomas, yet little is known about Cripto-1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The aim of this study was to analyze the roles of Cripto-1 in the progression and clinical characteristics in NPC clinical samples and cell lines. The expression of Cripto-1 at mRNA level was detected by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and real time RT-PCR, and western blot was used to examine the protein expression. Cripto-1 expression and its clinical characteristics were investigated by performing immunohistochemical analysis on a total of 37 NPC clinical tissue samples. Lentiviral vectors were constructed to get an efficient expression of anti-Cripto-1 siRNA in CNE-2 and C666-1 cells, with invalid RNAi sequence as control. After the inhibition of the endogenous Cripto-1, the growth, cell cycle and invasion of cells were detected by MTT, FACS and Boyden chamber assay respectively. Moreover, in vivo, the proliferation of the tumor cells was evaluated in xenotransplant nude mice model with whole-body visualizing instrument. The results of real-time RT-PCR and western blot showed that the expression level of Cripto-1 was markedly higher in NPC cell lines than that in the immortalized nasopharyngeal epithelial cell at both mRNA and protein levels. RT-PCR of 17 NPC tissues showed a high expression rate in 76.5% (13/17) cases. In an immunohistochemical study, Cripto-1 was found to express in 54.1% (20/37) cases of NPC. In addition, Cripto-1 overexpression was significantly associated with N classification (p = 0.034), distant metastasis (p = 0.036), and clinical stage (p = 0.007). Inhibition of endogenous Cripto-1 by lentivirus-mediated RNAi silencing technique suppressed NPC cell growth and invasion in vitro. In vivo, the average weight (p = 0.026) and volume (p = 0.044) of tumor in CNE-2/GFP⁺/Cripto-1^- xenotransplant mice group were significantly lower than those in the control group. The Ki67 index was obviously lower in Cripto-1 RNAi treated tumors (p < 0.01). Data of this study suggest that Cripto-1 overexpression is connected with the tumorigenesis and progression of NPC, lentivector-mediated RNAi might be feasible for the inhibition of the growth and invasion of NPC

[en] Highlights: • DOM enrichment increased biomass, N and P accumulation in periphytic biofilms • Growth and decay of periphytic biofilms release humic and protein-like substances • Biomass decay of periphytic biofilms reduced WSP but released AAP to the soil Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays vital roles in carbon and other nutrient transformation at soil-water interfaces (SWI) in paddy fields. It is associated with the growth and withering of periphytic biofilms. However, the interactions between DOM and periphytic biofilms remain largely unknown. In this study, a microcosm experiment with different initial DOM contents elucidated that the biomass, and biomass nitrogen and phosphorus contents were greatly influenced by humic-like substances (C2 and C3), while the growth of periphytic biofilms increased the contents of humic-like (C1 and C2) and tryptophan-like substances (C5) in soil. Moreover, the decomposition of periphytic biofilms significantly increased soil pH, DOM, C2, C3 and C5 contents, but caused decrease in Eh, with consequent reduce in water soluble phosphorus (WSP) and release of algal available phosphorus (AAP). Results from this study revealed how DOM interacts with periphytic biofilms and the consequent effects on changes of bioactive phosphorus fractions, and provide practical information for designing periphytic biofilm based biofertilizer from the perspective of soil DOM.

[en] The structure and performance characteristics of nickel-coated graphite composite powder (NCG) are outlined. Several commonly used methods for preparing NCG, including hydrogenation reduction, electroless plating, electrodeposition, and chemical vapor deposition methods, are described. The principles, advantages, and disadvantages of each preparation method are studied. The application and development prospects of NCG in electromagnetic shielding, battery field, coatings, and conductive fillers are discussed. This paper speculates on the future application potential of NCG to better develop and apply high quality, industrialized, and practical NCG and lays a certain theoretical basis.