The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic role of CRP in ovarian cancer and to assess whether CRP can be combined with tumor markers to enhance the diagnostic efficacy toward ovarian cancer. Area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated to access the diagnostic ability of each singly and combined as markers for ovarian cancer. The CRP cut-off value was then calculated to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of CRP for ovarian cancer. Our results showed that values for all markers were significantly higher in the cancer group than in the control group. Receiver operating characteristic curve results showed that CA125 had the highest diagnostic efficacy for ovarian cancer, while the sensitivity for CRP was higher than for CA125, and the specificity for CRP was equal to that of CA125. The combination of CRP, CA125, and HE4, however, provided the strongest diagnostic capability. Furthermore, the diagnostic cut-off value for CRP with regard to ovarian cancer was 9.8 mg/L, and high levels of CRP were correlated with stage and tumor size of ovarian cancer. Our study indicated that CRP is valuable in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer, and that combining CRP with CA125 and HE4 improved the diagnostic efficacy with respect to ovarian cancer.

No abstract

Lack of access to adequate sanitation facilities has serious health implications for rural dwellers and can degrade the ecosystems. This study offers a systemantic and quantitative overview of historical data on rural domestic waste (RDW) production and past and current management practices in a prototype region in China, where rural areas are undergoing rapid urbanization and are confronted with great environmental challenges associated with poor RDW management practices. The results indicate that RDW is characterized with a large fraction of kitchen waste (42.9%) and high water content (53.4%). The RDW generation (RDWG) per capita between 2012 and 2020 is estimated to increase from 0.68 to 1.01 kg/d-cap. The Hill 1 model is able to adequately simulate/project the population growth in a rural area from 1993 to 2020. The annual RDWG in the region is estimated to double from 6,033,000 tons/year in 2008 to 12,030,000 tons/year by 2020. By comparing three RDW management scenarios based on the life-cycle inventory approach and cost-benefit analysis, it is strongly recommended that the present Scenario 2 (sanitary landfill treatment) be upgraded to Scenario 3 (source separation followed by composting and landfill of RDW) to significantly reduce the ecological footprint and to improve the cost-effectiveness and long-term sustainability.Implications: Rural domestic waste (RDW) is affecting 720 million people in China and more than 3221 million people worldwide. Consequently, handling and disposal of RDW have serious health implications to rural dwellers and the ecosystems. This study offers a systemantic and quantitative overview and analysis of historical data on RDW production and management practices in a prototype region in China, which is confronted with great environmental challenges associated with RDW. Then we predict future production of RDW and propose a sustainable RDW management strategy, which holds the promise of greatly mitigating the mounting environmental pressure associated with RDW and provides science-based guidance for decision makers and practitioners for assuring rapid yet "green" economic development.

Background: Anoctamin-1 (ANO1) plays a pivotal role in cancer progression. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the potential prognostic role of ANO1 in cancers. Methods: A total of 1760 patients from 7 eligible studies were included into the analysis. Pooled hazard ratios or odds ratios were extracted and calculated with a random-effects model, and analyses of heterogeneity bias were conducted. Results: Our results showed that over expression of ANO1 was significantly correlated with poor overall survival in all cancers (HR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.19–1.92; P = .0006). Subgroup analysis indicated that there was a significant association between over expression of ANO1 and poor prognosis breast cancer (HR = 3.24; 95% CI: 1.74–6.04), head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HR = 1.14; 95% CI: 1.00–1.30), esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (HR = 1.93; 95% CI: 1.07–3.50), gastric cancer (HR = 1.62; 95% CI: 1.12–2.34) and colorectal cancer (HR = 1.38; 95% CI: 1.03–1.85). In addition, over expression of ANO1 was not associated with TNM stage, histological grade, lymph node metastasis, tumor size, age and gender. However, ANO1 was significantly associated with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, but not associated with progesterone receptor or estrogen receptor in breast cancer. Conclusions: Our results indicate that ANO1 can be a predictive factor for prognosis of cancer.

ANO1 is a calcium-activated chloride channel protein that has been used to diagnose GISTs after tissue biopsy. Recently, ANO1 mRNA amplification in the blood has received considerable attention as a useful method for the diagnosis of GISTs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic ability of ANO1 mRNA in distinguishing GIST patients from healthy subjects. We constructed a logistic regression model for examining the diagnostic ability of ANO1 mRNA in comparison with conventional tumor markers, including CEA, CA199, and CA724. Our results showed that ANO1 mRNA was significantly amplified in PBMCs, the average expression level and range of ANO1 mRNA in the blood were increased along with the expression of ANO1 in the tissues, and the extent of amplification of ANO1 was associated with tumor size. In addition, ROC curve analysis showed that ANO1 mRNA in the blood had the highest specificity when compared with conventional tumor markers. Moreover, a combined analysis with ANO1 mRNA and conventional tumor markers had the highest sensitivity in diagnosing GISTs. Our study indicated that detection of ANO1 mRNA in PBMCs is a promising method for diagnosis of GISTs in vitro .