Targeted Microwave Ablation for Prostate Cancer Under Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Ultrasound Fusion and Organ-based Tracking: Final Results from the First Phase 2 Trial (TMA-HK).

Targeted microwave ablation (TMA) is a novel focal therapy modality for prostate cancer (PC). TMA-HK is the first phase 2 trial investigating the efficacy and functional outcomes of transperineal TMA (NCT04113811) in 30 men with low- or intermediate-risk PC. TMA was performed transperineally with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-ultrasound fusion guidance and organ-based tracking.

Risk factors of hematoma after SWL for renal calculi: analysis from RCTs and a literature review.

Objective: To identify risk factors of perinephric hematoma following extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) for renal calculi through combined analysis of two randomized controlled trials.

Patients And Methods: This post-hoc analysis included adult patients with solitary renal calculi ranging from 5 to 15 mm, treated with SWL between 2016 and 2022. All patients received cross-sectional imaging (either non-contrast computer tomography scan or magnetic resonance imaging) two days post-SWL to assess the presence and severity of perinephric hematoma.

Fate of quaternary ammonium compounds upon the UV/monochloramine process: Kinetics, transformation pathways and the formation of N-nitroso-N-methyl-N-alkylamines.

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are widely detected in the aquatic environment due to their extensive use in a wide array of antibacterial products during the pandemic. In the current study, UV/monochloramine (UV/NHCl) was used to degrade three typical QACs, namely benzalkonium compounds (BACs), dialkyl dimethyl ammonium compounds (DADMACs), and alkyl trimethyl ammonium compounds (ATMACs). This process achieved high efficiency in removing BACs from water samples.

Effect of Focal Zone Size on Treatment Outcomes and Renal Injury Following Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy of Renal Calculi: A Prospective Randomized Study.

The narrower focal zone (FZ) size of modern lithotripter was considered as one of the factors that resulted in suboptimal treatment result of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (SWL). Therefore, we investigate the efficacy and safety of standard narrow or extended (FZ) sizes in SWL for patients with renal stones. In this prospective study conducted between April 2018 and October 2022, patients with renal stones were randomized to receive SWL with either standard or extended FZ.

In vitro cytotoxicity of human urine and its potential toxic parameters towards bladder cancer cells.

Background: Bladder cancer (CaB) has a high recurrence rate despite surgery. As bladder is constantly filled with urine, it is worthwhile to investigate whether it could have any detrimental effects on bladder cancer cells.

Methods: We investigated the cytotoxicity of urine samples from CaB patients and normal controls on four CaB cell lines and tested the percentage of cell death, proliferation, adhesion, invasion and colonies formation ability.

In vitro assessment of intra-operative and post-operative environment in reducing bladder cancer recurrence.

Urinary bladder cancer is a common cancer worldwide. Currently, the modality of treating and monitoring bladder cancer is wide. Nonetheless, the high recurrence rate of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer after surgical resection is still unsatisfactory.

Urinary Cell-Free DNA in Bladder Cancer Detection.

Urinary bladder cancer is a common urological cancer. Although flexible cystoscopy is widely employed in bladder cancer detection, it is expensive, invasive, and uncomfortable to the patients. Recently, urinary cell-free DNA (ucfDNA) isolated from urine supernatant has been shown to have great potential in bladder cancer detection and surveillance.

Ambient fine particulate matter inhibits 15-lipoxygenases to promote lung carcinogenesis.

Background: Epidemiological observations have demonstrated that ambient fine particulate matter with d < 2.5 μm (PM) as the major factor responsible for the increasing incidence of lung cancer in never-smokers. However, there are very limited experimental data to support the association of PM with lung carcinogenesis and to compare PM with smoking carcinogens.

Patterns of growth and tract formation during the early development of secondary lineages in the Drosophila larval brain.

The Drosophila brain consists of a relatively small number of invariant, genetically determined lineages which provide a model to study the relationship between gene function and neuronal architecture. In following this long-term goal, we reconstruct the morphology (projection pattern and connectivity) and gene expression patterns of brain lineages throughout development. In this article, we focus on the secondary phase of lineage morphogenesis, from the reactivation of neuroblast proliferation in the first larval instar to the time when proliferation ends and secondary axon tracts have fully extended in the late third larval instar.

Lineage-associated tracts defining the anatomy of the Drosophila first instar larval brain.

Fixed lineages derived from unique, genetically specified neuroblasts form the anatomical building blocks of the Drosophila brain. Neurons belonging to the same lineage project their axons in a common tract, which is labeled by neuronal markers. In this paper, we present a detailed atlas of the lineage-associated tracts forming the brain of the early Drosophila larva, based on the use of global markers (anti-Neuroglian, anti-Neurotactin, inscuteable-Gal4>UAS-chRFP-Tub) and lineage-specific reporters.

Estrogen receptor alpha promotes smoking-carcinogen-induced lung carcinogenesis via cytochrome P450 1B1.

Unlabelled: Smoking carcinogen N-nitrosamines such as 4-methylnitrosamino-l-3-pyridyl-butanone (NNK) require metabolic activation to exert their genotoxicity. The first activation step is mainly catalyzed by cytochrome P450 (CYP) family. Estrogen receptor α (ERα) plays a role in lung pathology.

Thromboxane A2 receptor α promotes tumor growth through an autoregulatory feedback pathway.

Tobacco smoking can cause a number of cancers. The role of thromboxane synthase (TxAS) in smoking-related cancers is largely unknown. In this study, 37 pairs of tumor and non-tumor lung tissues of non-small-cell lung cancer, 5 lung cancer cell lines, and a mouse tumor model were used to study TxAS and its related molecules.

Anticancer efficacy of 5F in NNK-induced lung cancer development of A/J mice and human lung cancer cells.

The mechanism responsible for the apoptotic effect induced by ent-11α-hydroxy-15-oxo-kaur-16-en-19-oic-acid (5F) is not fully understood and its in vivo effect has not been tested. In this study, the effect and mechanism of 5F was investigated in cigarette smoking carcinogen 4-methylnitrosamino-1-3-pyridyl-butanone (NNK)-induced mouse lung tumor model and in cultured lung cancer cells NCI-H23 and CRL-2066. 5F were given to mice after they were treated with NNK for 18 weeks.

Roles of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha and -gamma in the development of non-small cell lung cancer.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-α and PPARγ participate in cell proliferation and apoptosis. Few studies have simultaneously investigated both PPARα and PPARγ in lung cancers in vivo. The roles of PPARα and -γ were investigated in the development of pulmonary tumors induced in the adult A/J mouse by treatment with 4-(methylnitrosamino)-l-(3-pyridyl)-lbutanone (NNK).