Diameter thresholds for pure ground-glass pulmonary nodules at low-dose CT screening: Chinese experience.

Background: Limited research exists on screening thresholds for low-dose CT in detecting malignant pure ground-glass lung nodules (pGGNs) in the Chinese population.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis of the Guangzhou Lung-Care programme was conducted, retrieving average transverse diameter, location, histopathology, frequency and follow-up intervals. Diagnostic performances for 'lung cancers' were evaluated using areas under the curve (AUCs), decision curve analysis (DCA), sensitivities and specificities, with thresholds ranging from 5 mm to 10 mm.

Pancreatic cancer-derived exosomal miR-510 promotes macrophage M2 polarization and facilitates cancer cell aggressive phenotypes.

Extensive tumor microenvironment (TME) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) contribute to the initiation and progression of pancreatic cancer (PC). Cancer cell-derived exosomal miRNAs that stimulate macrophage M2 polarization might play an important role in the process. In the current study, we observed significant upregulation of miR-510 in PC cell lines in comparison to normal HPDE cell line, with PANC-1 exhibiting the highest and MIA PaCa-2 the lowest miR-510 levels.

A Radiological-Radiomics model for differentiation between minimally invasive adenocarcinoma and invasive adenocarcinoma less than or equal to 3 cm: A two-center retrospective study.

Objective: To develop a Radiological-Radiomics (R-R) combined model for differentiation between minimal invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) and invasive adenocarcinoma (IA) of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and evaluate its predictive performance.

Methods: The clinical, pathological, and imaging data of a total of 509 patients (522 lesions) with LUAD diagnosed by surgical pathology from 2 medical centres were retrospectively collected, with 392 patients (402 lesions) from center 1 trained and validated using a five-fold cross-validation method, and 117 patients (120 lesions) from center 2 serving as an independent external test set. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method was utilized to filter features.

Platelet-rich plasma alleviates neuropathic pain in osteoarthritis by downregulating microglial activation.

Background: The development of neuropathic pain (NP) is one of the reasons why the pain is difficult to treat, and microglial activation plays an important role in NP. Recently, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has emerged as a novel therapeutic method for knee osteoarthritis (KOA). However, it's unclarified whether PRP has analgesic effects on NP induced by KOA and the underlying mechanisms unknown.

Optimization and validation of voxel size-related radiomics variability by combatting batch effect harmonization in pulmonary nodules: a phantom and clinical study.

Background: Broad generalization of radiomics-assisted models may be impeded by concerns about variability. This study aimed to evaluate the merit of combatting batch effect (ComBat) harmonization in reducing the variability of voxel size-related radiomics in both phantom and clinical study in comparison with image resampling correction method.

Methods: A pulmonary phantom with 22 different types of nodules was scanned by computed tomography (CT) with different voxel sizes.

Transcranial direct current stimulation attenuates chronic pain in knee osteoarthritis by modulating BDNF/TrkB signaling in the descending pain modulation system.

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is the most common cause of chronic pain, but its pain mechanisms are complex and may be closely related to the descending pain modulation system. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is used for relieving pain, but its analgesic mechanisms are still being explored. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of BDNF/TrkB signaling in chronic pain in KOA and to investigate whether this signaling is related to the analgesic effect of tDCS.

Increased Tumor Intrinsic Growth Potential and Decreased Immune Function Orchestrate the Progression of Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Background: The overall 5-year survival of lung cancer was reported to be only ~15%, with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) as the main pathological subtype. Before developing into invasive stages, LUAD undergoes pre-invasive stages of adenocarcinoma (AIS) and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA), where surgical resection gives an excellent 5-year survival rate. Given the dramatic decline of prognosis from pre-invasive to invasive stages, a deeper understanding of key molecular changes driving the progression of LUAD is highly needed.

A comparative study for the evaluation of CT-based conventional, radiomic, combined conventional and radiomic, and delta-radiomic features, and the prediction of the invasiveness of lung adenocarcinoma manifesting as ground-glass nodules.

Aim: To investigate and compare the performance of conventional, radiomic, combined, and delta-radiomic features to predict the invasiveness of lung adenocarcinoma manifesting as ground-glass nodules (GGNs).

Materials And Methods: The present retrospective study included 216 GGNs confirmed surgically as pulmonary adenocarcinomas. All the thin-section computed tomography (CT) images were imported into the software of the United Imaging Intelligence research portal, and radiomic features were extracted with three-dimensional (3D) regions of interest.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Alleviates the Chronic Pain of Osteoarthritis by Modulating NMDA Receptors in Midbrain Periaqueductal Gray in Rats.

Purpose: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common cause to lead to chronic pain. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been widely used to treat nerve disorders and chronic pain. The benefits of tDCS for chronic pain are apparent, but its analgesic mechanism is still unclear.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of C-17-Amino-Substituted Pyrazole-Fused Betulinic Acid Derivatives as Novel Agents for Osteoarthritis Treatment.

A series of pyrazole-fused betulinic acid (BA) derivatives were designed and synthesized by replacing the carboxyl group at C-17 with aliphatic amine, amide, and urea groups. The suppressive effects of the compounds on osteoclast (OC) formation and inflammatory cytokine production were evaluated on murine macrophages, RAW264.7 cells, conditioned with receptor activator for nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL)/macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), respectively.

Maternal Immune Activation Causes Social Behavior Deficits and Hypomyelination in Male Rat Offspring with an Autism-Like Microbiota Profile.

Maternal immune activation (MIA) increases the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring. Microbial dysbiosis is associated with ASD symptoms. However, the alterations in the brain-gut-microbiota axis in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced MIA offspring remain unclear.

FGFBP1-mediated crosstalk between fibroblasts and pancreatic cancer cells via FGF22/FGFR2 promotes invasion and metastasis of pancreatic cancer.

Fibroblast growth factor-binding protein 1 (FGFBP1) promotes fibroblast growth factor (FGF) activity by releasing FGFs from extracellular matrix storage. We previously reported that the tumor suppressor F-box and WD repeat domain-containing 7 suppresses FGFBP1 by reducing expression of c-Myc, which inhibits the proliferation and migration of pancreatic cancer cells. However, the potential mechanism by which FGFBP1 facilitates pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains unexplored.

The value of various peritumoral radiomic features in differentiating the invasiveness of adenocarcinoma manifesting as ground-glass nodules.

Objectives: To evaluate the ability of CT radiomic features extracted from peritumoral parenchyma of 2 mm and 5 mm distinguishing invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) from adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS)/minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA).

Methods: For this retrospective study, 121 lung adenocarcinomas appearing as ground-glass nodules on thin-section CT were evaluated. Quantitative radiomic features were extracted from the peritumoral parenchymal region of 2 mm and 5 mm on CT imaging, and the radiomic models of External2 and External5 were constructed.

Evidence of TWIST1 and transforming growth factor-B1 aberrant expressions as novel therapeutic targets in modulating the severity of osteoarthritis with focus on biologic agents.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is marked by transcriptional factors. Twist-related protein 1 (TWIST-1) leads to the down-regulation of functional transcriptional regulators such as transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) and Wnt signals, thus blocking the growth and maturation of chondrocytes and providing new pathways to the production of therapeutic targets in OA therapy. Our research assesses the role of aberrant expressions TWIST1 and TGF-β1 as therapeutic targets in the regulation of osteoarthritis by treating with piperlongumine, a known biological agent.

Use of relative CT values to evaluate the invasiveness of pulmonary subsolid nodules in patients with emphysema.

Background: Lung cancer is a major cause of death, and adenocarcinoma is the most common histologic subtype. Precise diagnosis and treatment of invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) can substantially improve the survival of patients. However, early-stage adenocarcinomas frequently appear as subsolid nodules (SSN) on computed tomography (CT), and the optimal cut-off CT value for differentiating the invasiveness of SSNs in emphysematous patients is unclear.

Identification of Novel Fragments Binding to the PDZ1-2 Domain of PSD-95.

Inhibition of PSD-95 has emerged as a promising strategy for the treatment of ischemic stroke, as shown with peptide-based compounds that target the PDZ domains of PSD-95. In contrast, developing potent and drug-like small molecules against the PSD-95 PDZ domains has so far been unsuccessful. Here, we explore the druggability of the PSD-95 PDZ1-2 domain and use fragment screening to investigate if this protein is prone to binding small molecules.

A radiomics study to predict invasive pulmonary adenocarcinoma appearing as pure ground-glass nodules.

Aim: To establish a machine-learning model to differentiate adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) or minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) from invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) appearing as pure ground-glass nodules (pGGNs).

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 136 patients with histopathologically diagnosed with AIS, MIA, and IAC. All pGGNs were divided randomly into a training and a testing dataset at a ratio of 7 : 3.

Optimization of CT windowing for diagnosing invasiveness of adenocarcinoma presenting as sub-solid nodules.

Purpose: To evaluate the optimal window setting to diagnose the invasiveness of lung adenocarcinoma in sub-solid nodules (SSNs).

Methods: We retrospectively included 437 SSNs and randomly divided them 3:1 into a training group (327) and a testing group (110). The presence of a solid component was regarded as indicator of invasiveness.

Pulmonary adenocarcinoma appearing as ground-glass opacity nodules identified using non-enhanced and contrast-enhanced CT texture analysis: A retrospective analysis.

The present study aimed to investigate the ability of CT-based texture analysis to differentiate invasive adenocarcinoma (IA) from pre-invasive lesions (PIL) or minimally IA (MIA) appearing as ground-glass opacity (GGO) nodules, and to further compare the performance of non-enhanced CT (NECT) images with that of contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) images. A total of 77 patients with GGO nodules and surgically confirmed pulmonary adenocarcinoma were included in the present retrospective study. Each GGO nodule was manually segmented and its texture features were extracted from NECT and CECT images using in-house developed software coded in MATLAB (MathWorks).

FGFBP1, a downstream target of the FBW7/c-Myc axis, promotes cell proliferation and migration in pancreatic cancer.

The secreted fibroblast growth factor (FGF) binding protein (FGF-BP), which is an extracellular chaperone molecule for FGFs, has been demonstrated to enhance the biological and biochemical activities of FGFs and to be closely related to the growth of several cancers. However, the role of FGFBP1 in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has not been studied extensively. We previously reported that decreased FBW7 could induce pancreatic cancer proliferation and progression.

Diagnostic ability of percutaneous core biopsy immediately after microwave ablation for lung ground-glass opacity.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine the diagnostic ability of percutaneous core biopsy immediately after microwave ablation (MWA) for lung ground-glass opacity (GGO).

Materials And Methods: Seventy-four patients with 74 lung GGOs were enrolled and treated with MWA. A percutaneous core needle biopsy was performed pre- and immediately post-MWA.

Can texture features improve the differentiation of infiltrative lung adenocarcinoma appearing as ground glass nodules in contrast-enhanced CT?

Objectives: To investigate the validity and efficacy of comparing texture features from contrast-enhanced images with non-enhanced images in identifying infiltrative lung adenocarcinoma represented as ground glass nodules (GGN).

Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted with patients presenting with lung adenocarcinoma and treated at a single centre between January 2015 to December 2017. All patients underwent standard and contrast-enhanced thoracic CT scans with 0.

The GLP-1 agonist, liraglutide, ameliorates inflammation through the activation of the PKA/CREB pathway in a rat model of knee osteoarthritis.

Background: Inflammation is a common pathological phenomenon of osteoarthritis (OA). Accumulated evidence indicates that ameliorating or suppressing inflammation might be a promising and effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of OA. Notably, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based drugs are being successfully used to control glucose levels in patients with diabetes mellitus.