Panel studies show a consistent association between increase in the cardiovascular hospitalizations with air pollutants in economically developed regions, but little evidence in less developed inland areas. In this study, a time-series analysis was used to examine the specific effects of major air pollutants [particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter (PM₁₀), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and nitrogen dioxides (NO₂)] on daily hospital admissions for cardio-cerebrovascular diseases in Lanzhou, a heavily polluted city in China. We examined the effects of air pollutants for stratified groups by age and gender, and conducted the modifying effect of seasons on air pollutants to test the possible interaction. The significant associations were found between PM₁₀, SO₂ and NO₂ and cardiac disease admissions, SO₂ and NO₂ were found to be associated with the cerebrovascular disease admissions. The elderly was associated more strongly with gaseous pollutants than younger. The modifying effect of seasons on air pollutants also existed. The significant effect of gaseous pollutants (SO₂ and NO₂) was found on daily hospital admissions even after adjustment for other pollutants except for SO₂ on cardiac diseases. In a word, this study provides the evidence for the detrimental short-term health effects of urban gaseous pollutants on cardio-cerebrovascular diseases in Lanzhou. Full article

The prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer remains poor; only patients with small tumors and complete resection have a chance of a complete cure. Pancreatic cancer responds poorly to conventional therapies, including chemotherapy and irradiation. Snail is a transcription factor that has been associated with anti-apoptotic and chemoresistant properties in pancreatic cancer cells. In this study, we investigated whether knockdown of Snail suppresses growth of and/or sensitizes pancreatic cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents and irradiation through induction of apoptosis. An adeno-associated virus vector was used to deliver Snail siRNA and knockdown Snail expression in untreated pancreatic cancer cells and in pancreatic cancer cells treated with chemotherapeutic agents or γ-irradiation. Our data indicate that our adeno-associated virus vector can efficiently deliver Snail siRNA into PANC-1 cells both in vitro and in vivo, resulting in the knockdown of Snail expression at the mRNA and protein levels. We further show that knockdown of Snail expression results in potent growth suppression of pancreatic cancer cells and suppresses xenograft tumor growth in vivo through induction of apoptosis. Finally, knockdown of Snail expression significantly sensitizes pancreatic cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents and γ-irradiation through induction of apoptosis. In conclusion, our findings indicate that Snail is an important modulator of therapeutic responses of pancreatic cancer cells and is potentially useful as a sensitizer in pancreatic cancer therapy. Full article