Trends in Swallowing Outcomes Following Deintensified Treatment in Selected p16+ Oropharyngeal Carcinoma.

Objective: Identify trends in swallowing outcomes in p16+ oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma following neoadjuvant chemotherapy+surgery (NAC+S) versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy+surgery+radiation (NAC+S+R).

Study Design: Cohort study.

Setting: Single academic institution.

Comparison of quality of life outcomes in a de-intensification treatment regimen for p16 + oropharyngeal cancer.

Background: Platinum and taxane-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy with surgery (NAC + S) is a novel de-intensified treatment modality that is currently under investigation.

Methods: All patients treated for HPV positive OPSCC with NAC + S at a single institution between 2006 and 2020 were contacted to complete the University of Washington Quality of life questionnaire (UW-QOL) at least 2 years following the completion of treatment.

Results: The UW-QOL surveys were received from 25 of 48 eligible patients (52.

Swallowing Function Following Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Transoral Robotic Surgery for Oropharyngeal Carcinoma: A 2-Year Follow-up.

Objective: To evaluate 2-year follow-up swallowing function in patients with human papillomavirus-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV+ OPSCC) who completed neoadjuvant chemotherapy and transoral robotic surgery (NAC+S).

Study Design: Retrospective analysis of patients with OPSCC treated with NAC+S between 2010 and 2021.

Setting: A single academic institution.

Quantifying tensile forces at cell-cell junctions with a DNA-based fluorescent probe.

Cells are physically contacting with each other. Direct and precise quantification of forces at cell-cell junctions is still challenging. Herein, we have developed a DNA-based ratiometric fluorescent probe, termed DNAMeter, to quantify intercellular tensile forces.

Patterning Neuroepithelial Cell Sheet a Sustained Chemical Gradient Generated by Localized Passive Diffusion Devices.

Recent advances in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs)-derived models open a new avenue for studying early stage human development. While current approaches leverage the self-organizing capability of hPSCs, it remains unclear whether extrinsic morphogen gradients are sufficient to pattern neuroectoderm tissues . While microfluidics or hydrogel-based approaches to generate chemical gradients are well-established, these systems either require continuous pumping or encapsulating cells in gels, making it difficult for adaptation in standard biology laboratories and downstream analysis.

Evaluating measurement accuracy and repeatability with a new device that records spatial knee movement.

Purpose: A novel portable system has been used to evaluate spatial knee movement, but its accuracy and repeatability is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy and repeatability of the measurement.

Methods: Ten healthy participants were included, and the knee motion trajectory during walking were assessed.

Heavy Metal Exposure Leads to Rapid Changes in Cellular Biophysical Properties.

Biophysical properties of cells, such as cell mechanics, cell shape, and cell migration, are emerging hallmarks for characterizing various cell functions. Conversely, disruptions to these biophysical properties may be used as reliable indicators of disruptions to cell homeostasis, such as in the case of chemical-induced toxicity. In this study, we demonstrate that treatment of lead(II) nitrate and cadmium nitrate leads to dosage-dependent changes in a collection of biophysical properties, including cellular traction forces, focal adhesions, mechanical stiffness, cell shape, migration speed, permeability, and wound-healing efficacy in mammalian cells.

Endometrial cancer combined with polycystic ovary syndrome in 9 women under 40-years old: A case report.

The aim of the present study was to discuss the clinicopathological characteristics of endometrial carcinoma in young females with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and to review the current literature. A total of 9 patients with histopathologically confirmed endometrial cancer in young females with PCOS at the West China Second Hospital of Sichuan University between December 2007 and September 2013 were included. The clinicopathological characteristics of the patients were analyzed.

Outpatient Parotidectomy: A Retrospective Series.

Objectives: Recent literature suggests that outpatient head and neck surgery is safe and may decrease costs. This study assesses whether outpatient parotidectomy differs in complication type and rate from inpatient surgery.

Methods: Patients who underwent parotidectomy at our institution from 2011 to 2019 were retrospectively reviewed and divided by inpatient or outpatient status.

Single-Cell Optogenetic Control of Calcium Signaling with a High-Density Micro-LED Array.

Precise optogenetic control, ideally down to single cells in dense cell populations, is essential in understanding the heterogeneity of cell networks. Devices with such capability, if built in a chip scale, will advance optogenetic studies at cellular levels in a variety of experimental settings. Here we demonstrate optogenetic control of intracellular Ca dynamics at the single cell level using a 16-μm pitched micro-light emitting diode (LED) array that features high brightness, small spot size, fast response, and low voltage operation.

The effects of marathon running on three-dimensional knee kinematics during walking and running in recreational runners.

Background: Running-related musculoskeletal injuries are common. Knee injuries are most frequent, and often occur during or shortly after marathons.

Research Question: The effects of a marathon on runners' knee kinematics remain unclear.

Biomechanical Microenvironment Regulates Fusogenicity of Breast Cancer Cells.

Fusion of cancer cells is thought to contribute to tumor development and drug resistance. The low frequency of cell fusion events and the instability of fused cells have hindered our ability to understand the molecular mechanisms that govern cell fusion. We have demonstrated that several breast cancer cell lines can fuse into multinucleated giant cells in vitro, and the initiation and longevity of fused cells can be regulated solely by biophysical factors.

Shaping nanoparticle fingerprints at the interface of cholesteric droplets.

The ordering of nanoparticles into predetermined configurations is of importance to the design of advanced technologies. Here, we balance the interfacial energy of nanoparticles against the elastic energy of cholesteric liquid crystals to dynamically shape nanoparticle assemblies at a fluid interface. By adjusting the concentration of surfactant that plays the dual role of tuning the degree of nanoparticle hydrophobicity and altering the molecular anchoring of liquid crystals, we pattern nanoparticles at the interface of cholesteric liquid crystal emulsions.

Towards organogenesis and morphogenesis in vitro: harnessing engineered microenvironment and autonomous behaviors of pluripotent stem cells.

Recently, researchers have been attempting to control pluripotent stem cell fate or generate self-organized tissues from stem cells. Advances in bioengineering enable generation of organotypic structures, which capture the cellular components, spatial cell organization and even some functions of tissues or organs in development. However, only a few engineering tools have been utilized to regulate the formation and organization of spatially complex tissues derived from stem cells.

Visualizing Intercellular Tensile Forces by DNA-Based Membrane Molecular Probes.

Mechanical forces play critical roles in collective cell behaviors such as cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Extensive efforts have been made to measure forces between cells and extracellular matrices. However, force studies at cell-cell junctions remain a challenge.

Minimally elevated preoperative parathyroid hormone level influences the management of primary hyperparathyroidism.

Objectives/hypothesis: To determine the effect of preoperative parathyroid hormone (PTH) level on the extent of surgery and the accuracy of parathyroid imaging in primary hyperparathyroidism.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort.

Methods: Final diagnosis of single-gland adenoma and its location versus multigland disease was established in this retrospective cohort study.

Curvature-Driven Migration of Colloids on Tense Lipid Bilayers.

Inspired by proteins that generate membrane curvature, sense the underlying membrane geometry, and migrate driven by curvature gradients, we explore the question: Can colloids, adhered to lipid bilayers, also sense and respond to membrane geometry? We report the migration of Janus microparticles adhered to giant unilamellar vesicles elongated to present spatially varying curvatures. In our experiments, colloids migrate only when the membranes are tense, suggesting that they migrate to minimize membrane area. By determining the energy dissipated along a trajectory, the energy field is inferred to depend on the local deviatoric curvature, like curvature driven capillary migration on interfaces between immiscible fluids.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and transoral surgery as a definitive treatment for oropharyngeal cancer: A feasible novel approach.

Background: The purpose of this study was to present our evaluation of the outcome of oropharyngeal cancer managed with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and transoral surgery (TOS) with neck dissection as definitive treatment.

Methods: This is a case series of 17 patients with advanced oropharyngeal cancer who were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by TOS. The treatment details and oncologic outcome are reported.

Lassoing saddle splay and the geometrical control of topological defects.

Systems with holes, such as colloidal handlebodies and toroidal droplets, have been studied in the nematic liquid crystal (NLC) 4-cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl (5CB): Both point and ring topological defects can occur within each hole and around the system while conserving the system's overall topological charge. However, what has not been fully appreciated is the ability to manipulate the hole geometry with homeotropic (perpendicular) anchoring conditions to induce complex, saddle-like deformations. We exploit this by creating an array of holes suspended in an NLC cell with oriented planar (parallel) anchoring at the cell boundaries.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss after Combined Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy and Cisplatin-Based Chemotherapy for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

Purpose: The incidence of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) after treatment with combination of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and cisplatin-based chemotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients was evaluated, and relationships of SNHL with host factors, treatment-related factors, and radiation dosimetric parameters were investigated.

Methods: Fifty-one NPC patients treated with IMRT from 2004 to 2009 were analyzed. All patients received neoadjuvant, concurrent, or adjuvant use of cisplatin.

MiR-130a and MiR-374a Function as Novel Regulators of Cisplatin Resistance in Human Ovarian Cancer A2780 Cells.

Chemoresistance remains a major obstacle to effective treatment in patients with ovarian cancer, and recently increasing evidences suggest that miRNAs are involved in drug-resistance. In this study, we investigated the role of miRNAs in regulating cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer cell line and analyzed their possible mechanisms. We profiled miRNAs differentially expressed in cisplatin-resistant human ovarian cancer cell line A2780/DDP compared with parental A2780 cells using microarray.

[Regulatory effects and associated mechanisms of miR-130a molecules on cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer A2780 cell lines].

Objective: To determine the regulatory effects and associated mechanisms of miR-130a on cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer A2780 cell lines (including cisplatin sensitive A2780s and its resistant A2780/DDP cells).

Methods: A2780s and A2780/DDP cells were divided into four groups, and treated with lipo2000 (Lip), miR-negative (miR-NC) control, miR-130a-mimics (miR-130a-M increasing the expression of miR-130a and the agent), and miR-130a-inhibitor (miR-130a-I downregulating miR-130a expression), respectively. The proliferation of cells and their sensitivity to cisplatin were detected by MTT assay.

Comprehensive clinic-pathological characteristics of cervical cancer in southwestern China and the clinical significance of histological type and lymph node metastases in young patients.

Objective: To analyze the clinic-pathological characteristics of women with cervical cancers in southwestern China and discuss the features and prognosis of young patients.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed, which consisted of 1,543 patients diagnosed with cervical cancer and underwent treatment at West China Second University Hospital between November 2005 and December 2010. Among them, 154 young patients with surgical procedures between November 2005 and December 2008 were selected for a 5-year follow-up and prognostic analysis.

Establishment and characterization of novel cell lines from sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma.

Purpose: Sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma (SNUC) is a rare and aggressive cancer. Despite the use of multimodality treatment, the overall prognosis remains poor. To better understand the biologic features of SNUC and help develop new therapies for the disease, we established SNUC cell lines and characterized their biologic behaviors.