Gastric cancer ranked fourth for incidence and mortality of all cancers in Vietnam. Clinical symptoms in the early stages are often nonspecific. Patients may have epigastric pain, anorexia or weight loss. Gastroscopy combined with biopsy is a clinical test that helps diagnose gastric cancer.

There is limited data about the clinic-pathological features and the predictors of survival in gastric cancer patients who received adjuvant SOX post-operation in Vietnam. This study aimed to identify the correlation between clinic-pathological features and clinical outcomes for this population.

Gastric cancer (GC) sometimes presents as asymptomatic or exhibits only nonspecific symptoms in its initial stages, resulting in delayed diagnosis and subsequent starvation. Patients with gastric cancer who had preoperative malnutrition faced a heightened risk of unfavorable clinical outcomes.

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the common types of cancer in Vietnam. Over 50% of GCs are diagnosed at an unresectable stage. Deficiency in mismatch repair proteins (MMR) leading to microsatellite instability (MSI-H) is a crucial prognostic factor currently under investigation in these patients.

To investigate the prevalence of Helicobacter Pylori (H. Pylori) infection by the gastric biopsy for urease test and association with lesion imaging in patients undergoing oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD).

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) are common genetic changes in the human genome. In recent time, many scientists have shown their interests in studies on SNPs’ roles in the pathological risk especially in cancer and metabolic diseases.

Calcitonin (Ct) is a 32-residue peptide hormone that is mainly known for its hypocalcemic effect and the inhibition of bone resorption. Our previous studies have led to potent, side-chain lactam-bridged human Ct (hCt) analogues [Kapurniotu, A. Kayed, R., Taylor, J.W. & Voelter W. (1999) Eur. J. Biochem.265, 606±618; Kapurniotu, A. & Taylor, J.W. (1995)J. Med. Chem.38, 836±847]. We have hypothesized that a possibly type Ibturn/bsheet confor-mation in the region 17±21 may play an important role in hCt bioactivity. ...

Hevamine is a chitinase from the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis. Its active site contains Asp125, Glu127, and Tyr183, which interact with the )1 sugar residue of the substrate. To investigate their role in catalysis, we have successfully expressed wild-type enzyme and mutants of these residues as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli. After refolding and purification they were characterized by both structural and enzyme kinetic studies. Mutation of Tyr183 to phenylalanine produced an enzyme with a lower kcat and a slightly higher Km than the wild-type enzyme. Mutating Asp125 and Glu127 to alanine gave mutants with  2% residual activity....

Most (78%) mitochondrial genomes in the studied mutant strain of Drosophila subobscura have undergone a large-scale deletion (5 kb) in the coding region. This mutation is stable, and is transmitted intact to the offspring. This animal model of major rearrangements of mitochondrial genomes can be used to analyse the involvement of the nuclear genome in the production and maintenance of these rearrangements.

The spermine analogue N1,N11-diethylnorspermine (DENSPM) efficiently depletes the cellular pools of putrescine, spermidine and spermine by down-regulating the activity of the polyamine biosynthetic enzymes and up-regulating the activity of the catabolic enzyme spermidine/ spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT). In the breast cancer cell line L56Br-C1, treatment with 10 lM DENSPM induced SSAT activity 60 and 240-fold at 24 and 48 h after seeding, respectively, which resulted in polyamine depletion. ...

Retinoids are potent immune modulators that inhibit Fas ligand (FasL) expression and thereby repress the activationinduced apoptosis of immature thymocytes and T-cell hybridomas. In this study, we demonstrate that all-transretinoic acid (all-trans-RA) directly represses the transcriptional activity of the nuclear factors of activated T-cells (NFAT), which is an important transactivator of the FasL promoter. The analysis of reporter constructs containing the FasL promoter and wild-type or mutant NFAT bindingsites indicated that all-trans-RA repression was mediated via an NFAT binding element located in the promoter. A reporter construct comprising the NFAT binding sequence linked to a heterologous SV-40 promoter showed that...

Tetraalkylammonium (TAA) salts are well known reversible inhibitors of cholinesterases. However, at concentrations around 10 mM, they have been found to activate the hydrolysis of positively charged substrates, catalyzed by wild-type human butyrylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8) [Erdoes, E.G., Foldes, F.F., Zsigmond, E.K., Baart, N. & Zwartz, J.A. (1958) Science 128, 92].

From the lipopolysaccharide of the deep rough mutant I-69 Rd–/b+ of Haemophilus influenzae two oligosaccharides were obtained after de-O-acylation and separation by high-performance anion exchange chromatography. Their chemical structures were determined by one- and two-dimensional 1H-, 13C- and 31P-NMR spectroscopy as aKdo-4P-(2 fi 6)-bGlcN-4P-(1 fi 6)-aGlcN-1P and aKdo-5P-(2 fi 6)-bGlcN-4P-(1 fi 6)-aGlcN-1P.

In the O2– generating flavocytochrome b, the membranebound component of the neutrophil NADPH oxidase, electrons are transported from NADPH to O2 in the following sequence: NADPH fi FAD fi heme b fi O2. Although p-iodonitrotetrazolium (INT) has frequently been used as a probe of the diaphorase activity of the neutrophil flavocytochrome b, the propensity of its radical to interact reversibly with O2 led us to question its specificity. This study was undertaken to reexamine the interaction of INT with the redox components of the neutrophil flavocytochrome b. ...

Thioredoxin is a ubiquitous dithiol oxidoreductase found in many organisms and involved in numerous biochemical processes. Human thioredoxin-like protein (hTRXL) is differentially expressed at different development stages of human fetal cerebrum and belongs to an expanding family of thioredoxins. We have solved the crystal structure of the recombinant N-terminal catalytic domain (hTRXL-N) of ˚ hTRXL in its oxidized form at 2.2-A resolution.

Penicillin acylase of Escherichia coli catalyses the hydrolysis and synthesis of b-lactam antibiotics. To study the role of hydrophobic residues in these reactions, we have mutated three active-site phenylalanines. Mutation of aF146, bF24 and bF57 to Tyr, Trp, Ala or Leu yielded mutants that were still capable of hydrolysing the chromogenic substrate 2-nitro-5-[(phenylacetyl)amino]-benzoic acid. Mutations on positions aF146 and bF24 influenced both the hydrolytic and acyl transfer activity.

The structure of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa immunotype 1 was studied after mild acid and strong alkaline degradations by MS and NMR spectroscopy. Three types of LPS molecules were found, including those with an unsubstituted glycoform 1 core (A) or an isomeric glycoform 2 core substituted with one O-polysaccharide repeating unit (B) or with a long-chain O-polysaccharide. Therefore, of two core glycoforms, only glycoform 2 accepts the O-polysaccharide. LPS molecules, an O-acetyl group is present in the outer core region at unknown position....

A series of chimeric receptors was generated between the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor, ErbB-1, and its homologue, ErbB-4, to investigate the roles of the extracellular domains (I–IV) in the ligand specificities. As compared with ErbB-1 and the chimeras with both domains I and III of ErbB-1, the chimeras with only one of these domains exhibited reduced binding of 125I-labeled EGF. Particularly, the contribution of domain III was appreciably larger than that of domain I of ErbB-1 in 125I-labeled EGF binding. Nevertheless, the chimeras with domain III of ErbB-1 and domain I of ErbB-4 were prevented from binding to 125...

The amyloid protein precursor (APP) was incorporated into liposomes or phospholipid monolayers. APP insertion into liposomes required neutral lipids, such as L-a-phosphatidylcholine, in the target membrane. It was prevented in vesicles containing L-a-phosphatidylserine. The insertion was enhanced in acidic solutions, suggesting that it is modulated by specific charge/charge interactions. Surfaceactive properties and behaviour of APP were characterized during insertion of the protein in monomolecular films of L-a-phosphatidylcholine, L-a-phosphatidylethanolamine or L-a-phosphatidylserine. ...

Prolamellar bodies (PLB) contain two photochemically active forms of the enzyme protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase POR-PChlide640 and POR-PChlide650 (the spectral forms of POR-Chlide complexes with absorption maxima at the indicated wavelengths). Resuspension of maize PLB in media with a pH below 6.8 leads to a rapid conversion of POR-PChlide650 to POR-PChlide640 and a dramatic re-organization of the PLB membrane system. In the absence of excess NADPH, the absorption maximum of the POR complex undergoes a further shift to about 635 nm....