Quality of life and functional outcomes in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer receiving total neoadjuvant therapy versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy: An analysis of the XXX trial.

Objective: To explore differences in the effects of total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) and preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) on quality of life and functional outcomes in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Methods: In the study, 591 patients with distal or middle-third, clinical primary tumor stage cT3-4 and/or regional lymph node-positive rectal cancer were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive short-term radiotherapy (25 Gy in five fractions) followed by 4 cycles of CAPOX (TNT group, n=297) or standard concurrent chemoradiotherapy (50 Gy in 25 fractions concurrently with oral capecitabine) (CRT group, n=294) before surgery. After a 6-year follow-up, the surviving patients were sent surveys, including the EORTC QLQ-C30, EORTC QLQ-CR29, and Wexner incontinence score questionnaires.

Evolution of inclusions in DH36 grade ship plate steel during high heat input welding.

In this paper, the solid solution and precipitation behavior of inclusions on the surface and 1/2 thickness of the tested steel plate under the condition of welding heat input of 400 kJ/cm is investigated by using laser confocal experiments with hot-rolled state DH36 ship plate steel as the research object, and the mechanism of the effect of inclusions on the phase transformation of an acicular ferrite is revealed. The results show that the inclusions of the tested steel are mainly composed of Oxide-MnS, MnS, Oxide, TiN, Spinel, etc. The amount of inclusions on the surface of the tested steel plate is significantly higher than that at the 1/2 thickness position.

Clinical applications of telemedicine services using a regional telemedicine platform for cancer treatment: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Telemedicine is beneficial for improving treatment efficiency and reducing medical expenses of cancer patients. This study focuses on cancer patients participating in teleconsultations through a regional telemedicine platform in China, analyzes the consultation process, and provides references for the clinical application of telemedicine.

Methods: We collected information on teleconsultations of cancer patients conducted from 2015 to 2022 through the regional telemedicine platform.

Phase Engineered Composite Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Manipulation.

Phase change materials (PCMs) present a dual thermal management functionality through intrinsic thermal energy storage (TES) capabilities while maintaining a constant temperature. However, the practical application of PCMs encounters challenges, primarily stemming from their low thermal conductivity and shape-stability issues. Despite significant progress in the development of solid-solid PCMs, which offer superior shape-stability compared to their solid-liquid counterparts, they compromise TES capacity.

G-quadruplexes promote the motility in MAZ phase-separated condensates to activate CCND1 expression and contribute to hepatocarcinogenesis.

G-quadruplexes (G4s) can recruit transcription factors to activate gene expression, but detailed mechanisms remain enigmatic. Here, we demonstrate that G4s in the CCND1 promoter propel the motility in MAZ phase-separated condensates and subsequently activate CCND1 transcription. Zinc finger (ZF) 2 of MAZ is a responsible for G4 binding, while ZF3-5, but not a highly disordered region, is critical for MAZ condensation.

A deep neural network predictor to predict the sensitivity of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer.

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) is widely used for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). This study aimed to conduct an effective model to predict NCRT sensitivity and provide guidance for clinical treatment. Biomarkers for NCRT sensitivity were identified by applying transcriptome profiles using logistic regression and subsequently screened out by Spearman correlation analysis and four machine learning algorithms.

Key Factors Influencing the Operationalization and Effectiveness of Telemedicine Services in Henan Province, China: Cross-Sectional Analysis.

Background: Telemedicine has demonstrated its potential in alleviating the unbalanced distribution of medical resources across different regions. Henan, a province in China with a population of approximately 100 million, is especially affected by a health care divide. The province has taken a proactive step by establishing a regional collaborative platform for telemedicine services provided by top-tier provincial hospitals.

scInterpreter: a knowledge-regularized generative model for interpretably integrating scRNA-seq data.

Background: The rapid emergence of single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) data presents remarkable opportunities for broad investigations through integration analyses. However, most integration models are black boxes that lack interpretability or are hard to train.

Results: To address the above issues, we propose scInterpreter, a deep learning-based interpretable model.

Enhancing efficiency and capacity of telehealth services with intelligent triage: a bidirectional LSTM neural network model employing character embedding.

Background: The widespread adoption of telehealth services necessitates accurate online department selection based on patient medical records, a task requiring significant medical knowledge. Incorrect triage results in considerable time wastage for both patients and medical professionals. To address this, we propose an intelligent triage model based on a Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (Bi-LSTM) neural network with character embedding to enhance the efficiency and capacity of telehealth services.

Implementation, service effectiveness and satisfaction with teleconsultation services in China during the COVID-19 pandemic: from the Perspective of Primary Health Care Professionals.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate satisfaction and service effectiveness of primary hospital physicians participating in the National Telemedicine Center of China during the COVID-19 period, and to identify potential improvement suggestions.

Methods: An online questionnaire was developed to assess the impact and satisfaction of teleconsultation services. A teleconsultation manager from each of the 98 hospitals randomly invited the medical staff involved in teleconsultation to complete the online questionnaire.

Integrative genomic analyses of promoter G-quadruplexes reveal their selective constraint and association with gene activation.

G-quadruplexes (G4s) regulate DNA replication and gene transcription, and are enriched in promoters without fully appreciated functional relevance. Here we show high selection pressure on putative G4 (pG4) forming sequences in promoters through investigating genetic and genomic data. Analyses of 76,156 whole-genome sequences reveal that G-tracts and connecting loops in promoter pG4s display lower or higher allele frequencies, respectively, than pG4-flanking regions, and central guanines (Gs) in G-tracts show higher selection pressure than other Gs.

Metastasis risk stratification and response prediction through dynamic viable circulating tumor cell counts for rectal cancer in a neoadjuvant setting.

Purpose: Distant metastasis (DM) and neoadjuvant treatment response prediction remain critical challenges in the management of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical relevance of viable circulating tumor cells (CTCs) for DM or response in patients with LARC in a neoadjuvant setting.

Methods: The detection of viable CTCs at different stages of treatment was planned for consecutive patients from a prospective trial.

[Practices of integrating the undergraduate and graduate teaching of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology].

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology are the cornerstone courses of talent training in the field of life science. Taking these course as an example, this study explored reconstructing the knowledge framework, developing teaching cases, sharing teaching resources, innovating teaching means and establishing ideological education patterns. Supported by the scientific research achievements with discipline characteristics and online teaching platform, this research explored and practiced an integrated curriculum reform mode.

Polydatin Inhibits Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Proliferation and Sensitizes Doxorubicin and Cisplatin through Targeting Cell Mitotic Machinery.

Polydatin (PD) is a natural compound with anticancer activities, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely unclear. To understand how PD inhibited hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we studied PD treatments in HCC HepG2 and SK-HEP1 cells, and normal liver HL-7702 cells. PD selectively blocked the proliferation of HCC cells but showed low toxicity in normal cells, while the effects of doxorubicin (DOX) and cisplatin (DDP) on HCC and normal liver cells were opposite.

The safety of an MRI simulation-guided boost after short-course preoperative radiotherapy for unresectable rectal cancer (SUNRISE): interim analysis of a randomized phase II trial.

Purpose: The safety of an MRI simulation-guided boost after short-course preoperative radiotherapy (SCPRT) for unresectable rectal cancer is assessed with a planned interim analysis.

Methods And Materials: Patients diagnosed with clinical stage T3-4 or regional lymph node-positive disease with positive mesorectal fascia or T4b disease evaluated by pelvic MRI were randomly assigned to the SCPRT-boost group (25 Gy in 5 fractions plus 4 Gy delivered to the gross tumor volume, followed by four cycles of chemotherapy) or preoperative chemoradiotherapy group (50 Gy in 25 fractions with concurrent chemotherapy). Then, patients received total mesorectal excision surgery after preoperative treatment.

Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy adjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced Siewert type II/III adenocarcinoma of gastroesophageal junction after D2/R0 resection.

Background: For Siewert type II/III adenocarcinoma of gastroesophageal junction (AGE), the efficacy of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) after D2/R0 resection remains uncertain.

Aim: To determine whether CRT was superior to chemotherapy (CT) alone after D2/R0 resection for locally advanced Siewert type II/III AGE.

Methods: We identified 316 locally advanced Siewert type II/III AGE patients who were treated with D2/R0 resection at National Cancer Center from 2011 to 2018.

Adjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Versus Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Stage III Gastric or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer After D2/R0 Resection.

Purpose: To compare the survival benefit in the adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) group and chemotherapy (CT) group for stage III gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer after D2/R0 resection.

Methods And Materials: From January 2011 to May 2018, 819 patients (CRT group: 215 patients, CT group: 604 patients) diagnosed as pathological stage III after D2/R0 resection were retrospectively collected and the survival and recurrence patterns were analyzed. The baseline characteristics were balanced based on propensity score matching (PSM).

Total neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced gastric cancer and esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma: study protocol for a prospective, multicenter, single-arm, phase II clinical trial.

Background: Gastric cancer ranks high in terms of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Multimodal therapy is therefore essential for locally advanced gastric cancer. Recent studies have demonstrated that both perioperative chemotherapy and neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy can improve the prognosis of patients.

Phase-change materials reinforced intelligent paint for efficient daytime radiative cooling.

Passive cooling of buildings has become increasingly important for green and low-carbon development, especially in the near decade where daytime radiative cooling technology (DRCT) has drawn attention with big breakthroughs. However, irresistibly importing heat from sunlight and surroundings results in notable temperature rise, thus limiting the cooling effect. Here, we report a radiative paint with latent heat storage capacity to store imported heat by coupling randomly-distributed phase-change materials (PCMs) based microcapsules with acrylic resin to enhance cooling performance.

Phase-Separated Subcellular Compartmentation and Related Human Diseases.

In live cells, proteins and nucleic acids can associate together through multivalent interactions, and form relatively isolated phases that undertake designated biological functions and activities. In the past decade, liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) has gradually been recognized as a general mechanism for the intracellular organization of biomolecules. LLPS regulates the assembly and composition of dozens of membraneless organelles and condensates in cells.

Correlation between microalbuminuria and atherosclerotic intracranial and extracranial arterial stenosis in patients with cerebral infarction.

Background And Aims: Microalbuminuria (MAU) reflects the generalized vascular endothelial dysfunction. Whether MAU has correlation with atherosclerotic intracranial and extracranial arterial stenosis in cerebral infarction patients is not known and is explored in the present investigation.

Methods: We enrolled 255 cerebral infarction patients hospitalized at the department of neurology.