Ultrasensitive optical fiber SPR sensor enhanced by Au-NPs-film modified with functionalized CQDs for label-free detecting cobalt (II) ion.

Background: Cobalt, an essential trace element, is vital for maintaining human nervous system function, aiding in DNA synthesis, and contributing to red blood cell production. It is helpful for disease diagnosis and treatment plan evaluation by precisely monitoring its concentration changes in the human body. Despite extensive efforts made, due to its ultra-low concentration, the current limit of detection (LOD) as reported is still inadequate and cannot be satisfied with the precise clinical applications.

Advanced Integration of Glutathione-Functionalized Optical Fiber SPR Sensor for Ultra-Sensitive Detection of Lead Ions.

It is crucial to detect Pb accurately and rapidly. This work proposes an ultra-sensitive optical fiber surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor functionalized with glutathione (GSH) for label-free detection of the ultra-low Pb concentration, in which the refractive index (RI) sensitivity of the multimode-singlemode-multimode (MSM) hetero-core fiber is largely enhanced by the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)/Au film coupling SPR effect. The GSH is modified on the fiber as the sensing probe to capture and identify Pb specifically.

Proxalutamide in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: Primary analysis of a multicenter, randomized, open-label, phase 2 trial.

We aim to assess the safety and efficacy of proxalutamide, a novel androgen receptor antagonist, for men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in a multicenter, randomized, open-label, phase 2 trial. In our study, the enrolled mCRPC patients were randomized to 100, 200 and 300 mg dose groups at 1:1:1. The primary efficacy endpoint was prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response rate.

Polyacrylic Acid/Polyaniline-Coated Multimode Interferometer for Ammonia Detection.

A coaxial optical fiber interferometer (COFI) is proposed here for ammonia sensing, which comprises two light-carrying single-mode fibers (SMF) fused to a section of no-core fiber (NCF), thus forming an optical interferometer. The outer surface of the COFI is coated with a layer of polyacrylic acid (PAA)/polyaniline (PAni) film. The refractive index (RI) of the sensitive layer varies when PAA/PAni interacts with ammonia, which leads to the resonance wavelength shift.

Rapid-Response and Wide-Range pH Sensors Enabled by Self-Assembled Functional PAni/PAA Layer on No-Core Fiber.

The measurement of pH has received great attention in diverse fields, such as clinical diagnostics, environmental protection, and food safety. Optical fiber sensors are widely used for pH sensing because of their great advantages. In this work, an optical fiber pH sensor is fabricated, by combining the merits of the multimode interference configuration and pH-sensitive polyaniline/polyacrylic acid (PAni/PAA) coatings, which was successfully in situ deposited on the no-core fiber (NCF) by the layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly method.

Propensity-matched pair analysis of safety and efficacy between laparoscopic and open radical nephrectomy for the treatment of large renal masses (>10 cm): a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Open radical nephrectomy (ORN) is a practical procedure for treating patients with large renal carcinomas >10 cm in size, and few studies have focused on feasibility and safety of laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN). The current study was to assess the safety and effectiveness of LRN and ORN in large renal carcinoma patients by propensity matched pair analysis.

Methods: In this cohort study, a retrospective review of radical nephrectomy data from October 2010 to October 2018 at Changhai Hospital was conducted.

Tracing and Forecasting Metabolic Indices of Cancer Patients Using Patient-Specific Deep Learning Models.

We develop a patient-specific dynamical system model from the time series data of the cancer patient's metabolic panel taken during the period of cancer treatment and recovery. The model consists of a pair of stacked long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural networks and a fully connected neural network in each unit. It is intended to be used by physicians to trace back and look forward at the patient's metabolic indices, to identify potential adverse events, and to make short-term predictions.

Effect of functional polymorphism on renal cell carcinoma is influenced by tumor necrosis factor-α and transcriptional repressor ETS1.

Human apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide (APOBEC) 3 cytidine deaminases are the prominent drivers of somatic mutations in cancers. However, the effect of functional polymorphisms on the development of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains unknown. Five genetic polymorphisms affecting the expression of APOBEC3A (A3A), APOBEC3B, and APOBEC4 and uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG) were genotyped in 728 RCC patients and 1500 healthy controls.

Preclinical profile and phase I clinical trial of a novel androgen receptor antagonist GT0918 in castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Purpose: We conducted preclinical experiments and phase I clinical trial to investigate the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK) and antitumour effects of GT0918 in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

Experimental Design: An androgen receptor (AR) competitive binding assay was performed, followed by evaluation of GT0918 on AR protein expression. The efficacy of GT0918 was investigated in a castration-resistant xenograft model.

Molecular molds for regularizing Kondo states at atom/metal interfaces.

Adsorption of magnetic transition metal atoms on a metal surface leads to the formation of Kondo states at the atom/metal interfaces. However, the significant influence of surrounding environment presents challenges for potential applications. In this work, we realize a novel strategy to regularize the Kondo states by moving a CoPc molecular mold on an Au(111) surface to capture the dispersed Co adatoms.

A genomic and epigenomic atlas of prostate cancer in Asian populations.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide. Over the past decade, large-scale integrative genomics efforts have enhanced our understanding of this disease by characterizing its genetic and epigenetic landscape in thousands of patients. However, most tumours profiled in these studies were obtained from patients from Western populations.

Development and external validation of a nomogram predicting prognosis of upper tract urothelial carcinoma after radical nephroureterectomy.

Objective: To create multivariable models with readily available clinicopathologic variables for predicting the prognosis of upper tract urothelial carcinomas (UTUC).

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients diagnosed as UTUC and underwent radical nephroureterectomy in 2 high volumes, tertiary care centers. A total of 445 patients and 227 patients met the inclusion criteria were included for constructing the prediction model and external validation, respectively.

Follistatin-like protein 1 plays a tumor suppressor role in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma.

Background: We previously showed that the expression of follistatin-like protein 1 (FSTL1) was significantly down-regulated in metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). In this study, we aimed to characterize the role of FSTL1 in the development of ccRCC.

Methods: The effects of FSTL1 on cell activity and cell cycle were investigated in ccRCC cell lines with altered FSTL1 expression.

Quantum Control of Graphene Plasmon Excitation and Propagation at Heaviside Potential Steps.

Quantum mechanical effects of single particles can affect the collective plasmon behaviors substantially. In this work, the quantum control of plasmon excitation and propagation in graphene is demonstrated by adopting the variable quantum transmission of carriers at Heaviside potential steps as a tuning knob. First, the plasmon reflection is revealed to be tunable within a broad range by varying the ratio γ between the carrier energy and potential height, which originates from the quantum mechanical effect of carrier propagation at potential steps.

Whole-genome and Transcriptome Sequencing of Prostate Cancer Identify New Genetic Alterations Driving Disease Progression.

Background: Global disparities in prostate cancer (PCa) incidence highlight the urgent need to identify genomic abnormalities in prostate tumors in different ethnic populations including Asian men.

Objective: To systematically explore the genomic complexity and define disease-driven genetic alterations in PCa.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The study sequenced whole-genome and transcriptome of tumor-benign paired tissues from 65 treatment-naive Chinese PCa patients.

The development of plasma pseudotargeted GC-MS metabolic profiling and its application in bladder cancer.

Bladder cancer (BC) is a fatal malignancy with considerable mortality. BC urinary metabolomics has been extensively investigated for biomarker discovery, but few BC blood metabolomic studies have been performed. Hence, a plasma pseudotargeted metabolomic method based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring (GC-MS-SIM) was developed to study metabolic alterations in BC.

[Surgical treatment of azoospermia caused by iatrogenic injury to bilateral vas deferens].

Objective: To investigate the treatment of azoospermia induced by iatrogenic injury to the bilateral vas deferens.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 11 cases of azoospermia caused by iatrogenic injury to bilateral vas deferens. The patients were aged 20－33 years, all diagnosed with azoospermia preoperatively and none with a history of pelvic operation.

A genetic polymorphism affects the risk and prognosis of renal cell carcinoma: association with follistatin-like protein 1 expression.

Few single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with the risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) have been identified, yet genetic predisposition contributes significantly to this malignancy. We previously showed that follistatin-like 1 (FSTL1) was significantly down-regulated in clear cell RCC (ccRCC), in particular metastatic ccRCC. In the present study, we systemically investigated the associations of the 6 SNPs within FSTL1-coding genomic region with RCC risk and postoperative prognosis.

Nomograms for predicting Gleason upgrading in a contemporary Chinese cohort receiving radical prostatectomy after extended prostate biopsy: development and internal validation.

The current strategy for the histological assessment of prostate cancer (PCa) is mainly based on the Gleason score (GS). However, 30-40% of patients who undergo radical prostatectomy (RP) are misclassified at biopsy pathologically. Thus, we developed and validated nomograms for the prediction of Gleason score upgrading (GSU) in patients who underwent radical prostatectomy after extended prostate biopsy in a Chinese population.

A genetic study and meta-analysis of the genetic predisposition of prostate cancer in a Chinese population.

Prostate cancer predisposition has been extensively investigated in European populations, but there have been few studies of other ethnic groups. To investigate prostate cancer susceptibility in the under-investigated Chinese population, we performed single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array analysis on a cohort of Chinese cases and controls and then meta-analysis with data from the existing Chinese prostate cancer genome-wide association study (GWAS). Genotyping 211,155 SNPs in 495 cases and 640 controls of Chinese ancestry identified several new suggestive Chinese prostate cancer predisposition loci.

A feed-forward regulatory loop between androgen receptor and PlncRNA-1 promotes prostate cancer progression.

We previously reported that PlncRNA-1, a long non-coding RNA that is up-regulated in prostate cancer (PCa), affects the proliferation and apoptosis of PCa cells. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects remain largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that long non-coding RNA PlncRNA-1, whose expression is promoted by Androgen Receptor (AR), protects AR from microRNA-mediated suppression in PCa cells.