[en] Objective: To investigate the inhibitory effect of sorafenib in combination use with oxaliplatin (L-OHP) on the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells and to explore the possible molecular mechanism. Methods: The inhibitory effect of sorafenib together with L-OHP on the growth of human hepatic carcinoma cell line HepG2 in vitro was evaluated by CCK8 assay. The cell cycle changes and the apoptotic rate of the treated cells were determined by flow cytometry, and the expressions of ERK and pERK were observed by using Western blott. Results: Both sorafenib and L-OHP when used alone could significantly inhibit the proliferation of HepG2 cells, and a synergistic or adding effect could by achieved when both sorafenib and L-OHP were used together (P<0.05). Sorafenib and L-OHP could cause cell cycle to stagnate at G1 phase and S phase, respectively. Combined use of the two drugs resulted in cell cycle arresting at G1 phase and S phase. The combination use of the drugs significantly increased the apoptosis rate of the cell as compared with that when only sorafenib or L-OHP was used (P<0.05). Sorafenib and L-OHP, whether used alone or in combination, did not produce obvious effect on ERK expression. However, pERK expression in the HepG2 cells was significantly lowered after the treatment with sorafenib alone or in combination with L-OHP, especially in the combination use group. Conclusion: The combination use of sorafenib and L-OHP shows a synergistic or adding effect in inhibiting the proliferation and inducing apoptosis of HepG2 cells. The mechanism of this synergistic effect may be closely related to the double blockage of the cell cycle as well as to the inhibition of Raf/MEK/ERK pathway. (authors)

[en] The power-law scaling behaviours of the quantum discord and the scaled concurrence are presented in two coupled atom ensembles, which exhibit the Dicke-like quantum phase transition. In the super-excitation phase, the quantum discord reaches its maximum beyond the critical point and then decreases monotonically, which is ascribed to the double-degenerated ground state in the strong coupling limit. However, the scaled concurrence exhibits the maximum atomic quantum entanglement at the critical point. Moreover, we find that the persistence of the quantum discord is suppressed by different asymmetric effects in the super-excitation phase. (paper)

[en] Objective: To evaluate the short-term efficacy and safety of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plus concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ) in patients with malignant gliomas and to provide basis for selection of clinical therapy program. Methods: Forty-six postoperative patients with malignant gliomas confirmed by pathology were randomly divided into combined therapy group (n=22, IMRT + TMZ) and radiotherapy group (n=24, IMRT alone). All the patients were followed up for 12-31 months, and the median follow-up time was 19 months. The median progression-free survival, 1-year survival rate and the incidence of adverse reactions were observed. Results: All the patients were carried out according to the plan. The median progression-free survival was 10 months in combined therapy group and 7.6 months in radiotherapy group; the 1-year survival rates were 86.36% and 58.33% (P<0.05), respectively. The main adverse reactions in two groups were myelosuppression and gastrointestinal reactions of grade Ⅰ-Ⅱ, there was no significant difference between two groups (P>0.05), and the patients could tolerate well. Conclusion: The combination of IMRT and TMZ can achieve much better short-term efficacy than IMRT alone, and the adverse reactions are little, which is a safe and effective method for postoperative malignant glioma. (authors)

[en] Objective: To evaluate the inhibitory effect of human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells on radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Methods: A total of 48 male Sprague-Dawley rats were enrolled in this study. For establishing the model of radiation-induced lung injury, 36 rats were randomly selected to administrate a dose of 15 Gy to their whole right lungs. Thereafter, the irradiated rats were randomly classified into three groups. Each group contained 12 rats. Phosphate buffered sodium (PBS group), human skin-derived fibroblasts (fibroblast group) and human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (Ad-MSC group) were injected into rat through the tail vein respectively. The rest 12 rats without semi-thoracic irradiation were set as healthy controls. At 24 weeks post-irradiation, radiological imaging and pathological analyses were used for evaluating the histological changes in irradiated lungs. The pathological analyses included H&E staining for reflecting pulmonary architecture, Masson's Trichrome (M.T) staining for evaluating extracellular matrix (ECM) formation and IHC-staining for identifying the expressions of alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and TGF-β1 in irradiated lungs. Additionally, the concentrations of HGF and TGF-β1 in serum and BALF were tested by ELISA assay. Quantitative real-time PCR assay was used to test the gene-expressions in irradiated lungs, including Collagen Ⅰ-α1 and Collagen Ⅲ-α1. Results: The chest radiological imaging revealed that high-density shadows were presented in the irradiated lungs at 24 weeks post-irradiation. The lower lobes were predominant disease. However, the lesion of high-density shadow was not obvious in Ad-MSC group. Histological analysis by H&E staining indicated that the irradiated lungs in both PBS and fibroblast groups lost their architectures, representing by alveolar collapse and thickening alveolar septa. Moreover, compared to Ad-MSC group, excessive ECM formation together with significantly up-regulated expressions of Collagen Ⅰ-α1 and Collagen Ⅲ-α1 (F = 4.39, 7.73, P < 0.05) were also found within the injured tissue treated with PBS or fibroblasts. Apart from this, obvious expressions of α-SMA and TGF-β1 in the injured tissue were the common features after treating with PBS or fibroblasts. Thus, with the treatment of Ad-MSCs, the concentrations of HGF in serum and BALF were significantly higher than those in PBS and fibroblast groups (F = 14.97, 41.13, P < 0.05), and the concentration of TGF-β1 significantly lower than those in PBS and fibroblast groups (F = 172.49, 62.82, P < 0.05). Conclusions: Infusion of human Ad-MSCs could protect lungs against radiation-induced fibrosis. (authors)

[en] Highlights: • ZrC skeleton reinforced PyC composites with different weight ratio of ZrC/PyC were designed and fabricated. • The mechanical strength, thermophysical properties and ablation resistance of ZrC-C composites can be tuned. • High-content ZrO₂ skeleton formed by the oxidation of ZrC could further restrain the composite consumption. • ZrC-C composites have isotropic mechanical properties, low ablation rates and controllable thermal expansion coefficients. Zirconium carbide skeleton reinforced pyrocarbon (ZrC-C) composites with different weight ratio of ZrC/PyC were designed and prepared by hot-pressing sintering and isothermal chemical vapor infiltration. Their thermal expansion coefficients at 200–1500 ℃ were controlled in the range of 4.95 × 10⁻⁶–7.34 × 10⁻⁶ ℃⁻¹. As the weight ratio of ZrC/PyC increased from 1.4 to 2.4, the compressive strengths of ZrC-C composites along the Z direction increased from 188.0 ± 6.9–252.6 ± 11.2 MPa. After ablation for 60 s using oxyacetylene torch with a heat flux of 2.4 MW/m², the surface temperatures of the samples increased from 2177 to 2272 ℃, but their linear and mass ablation rates decreased from 5.290 ± 1.267 to −0.766 ± 0.587 μm/s and 3.504 ± 0.375 to 0.451 ± 0.138 mg/s, respectively. High-content ZrO₂ skeleton formed by the oxidation of ZrC could further restrain the composite consumption. Finite element simulation results showed that the thermal stresses increased with the increase of the weight ratios of ZrC/PyC.

[en] Recently, immunologists have payed the attention to the effects of ionizing radiation on tumor immunity, and attempted to induce and improve anti-tumor immune effects with it. More and more evidences showed that by adopting exact radiotherapy scheme and irradiation dose, particularly combined with immunotherapy, could induce or regulate systemic immune response and contributed to tumor control and inflammatory occurrence. This paper reviewed the effects and mechanisms of radiotherapy on tumor immune and the results in combination with immunotherapy here for guiding the effective combined application of radiotherapy and immunotherapy. (authors)

[en] We study the two-site Hubbard-Holstein model by using an extended phonon coherent state. For the nontrivial singlet bipolarons, the double occupancy probability, the fidelity and the entanglement entropy are calculated to characterize the ground-state properties in both two-site and single-site bipolaron-dominated regimes. We use the localized minimum of the fidelity to define a crossover and plot the bipolaron phase diagram, which separates the large and small entanglement region. Furthermore, the relation between the bipolaron entanglement and the correlation functions demonstrates that the large entanglement corresponds to the large magnitude of lattice deformations induced by electrons.

[en] The dipole-coupled two-level atoms (qubits) in a single-mode resonant cavity are studied by extended bosonic coherent states. The numerical solution is presented. The first-order quantum phase transitions may occur in finite systems, in contrast to the original Dicke model. This system also exhibits a second-order quantum phase transition from the normal to the superradiant phase, as in the original Dicke model. Finite-size scaling for several observables - such as average fidelity susceptibility, order parameter, and concurrence - is performed for different interatomic interactions. The scaling exponents obtained suggest that interatomic interactions do not change the universality class.

[en] Exposure to ionizing radiation often induces T helper (Th) cell differentiation, resulting in an imbalance of Th1 and Th2 cellular subtypes, which can affect the efficacy of cancer radiotherapy. The aim of this study was to analyze differential expression of Th1, Th2 and Th3/Type 1 regulatory T cell (Tr1) subtype–related genes and cytokines in mouse thymocytes after high- and low-dose systemic radiation, using functional classification gene arrays and Elisa assays, and to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying radiation’s immune effects and their relationship with Th1/Th2 immunity. We found that expression of 8 genes was upregulated after LDR, while expression of 5 genes was downregulated. After HDR, 54 genes were upregulated and 3 genes were downregulated, including genes related to Th1, Th2 and Th3/Tr1 cellular subtypes, Th1/Th2-type immune response genes and transcription factor–related genes. In the foregoing results, LDR and HDR in the thymus induced opposite patterns of expression for Th1-, Th2- and Th3-type related cytokines TGF-β, C/EBP-β and TNF-α. We also found that expression of Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and Interleukin-2 (IL-2), which have a moderating effect on immune function, was upregulated after LDR. Furthermore, the secretion of negative regulatory factors Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), Interleukin-4 (IL-4), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and Interleukin-21 (IL-21) was reduced after LDR, but HDR produced the opposite effect and stimulated their expression. These findings suggest that LDR may induce a Th1-type immune response, while HDR may lead to a Th2-type immune response.

[en] Radiotherapy (RT) is an effective treatment for head and neck cancer (HNC). Radiation-induced temporal lobe injury (TLI) is a serious complication of RT. Late symptoms of radiation-induced TLI are irreversible and manifest as memory loss, cognitive impairment, and even temporal lobe necrosis (TLN). It is currently believed that the mechanism of radiation-induced TLI involves microvascular injury, neuron and neural stem cell injury, glial cell damage, inflammation, and the production of free radicals. Significant RT-related structural changes and dose-dependent changes in gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volume and morphology were observed through computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which were common imaging assessment tools. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), dispersion kurtosis imaging (DKI), susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI), resting-state functional magnetic resonance (rs-fMRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and positron emission tomography (PET) can be used for early diagnosis and prognosis evaluation according to functional, molecular, and cellular processes of TLI. Early diagnosis of TLI is helpful to reduce the incidence of TLN and its related complications. This review summarizes the clinical features, mechanisms, and imaging of radiation-induced TLI in HNC patients. Radiation-induced temporal lobe injury (TLI) is a clinical complication and its symptoms mainly include memory impairment, headache, and cognitive impairment. The mechanisms of TLI include microvascular injury, cell injury, and inflammatory and free radical injury. Significant RT-related structural changes and dose-dependent changes in TL volume and morphology were observed through CT and MRI. SWI, MRS, DTI, and DKI and other imaging examinations can detect anatomical and functional, molecular, and cellular changes of TLI.