Flavonoids and post haemorrhoidectomy recovery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Haemorrhoidectomy is the gold standard for definitive treatment of high-grade symptomatic haemorrhoids but is often associated with substantial pain. This systematic review aims to explore the potential of flavonoids in alleviating the postoperative symptom burden following excisional haemorrhoidectomy.

Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines (PROSPERO CRD42023472711).

Effectiveness of Computerized Cognitive Training on Working Memory in Pediatric Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Interactive features of computerized cognitive training (CCT) may enhance adherence to training, providing a relatively low-cost intervention. A robust systematic review on the effectiveness of CCT for improving working memory (WM) among pediatric survivors with cancer is lacking.

Objective: To summarize the available evidence and determine the effectiveness of CCT for WM among pediatric survivors with cancer.

Towards a global partnership model in interprofessional education for cross-sector problem-solving.

Objectives: A partnership model in interprofessional education (IPE) is important in promoting a sense of global citizenship while preparing students for cross-sector problem-solving. However, the literature remains scant in providing useful guidance for the development of an IPE programme co-implemented by external partners. In this pioneering study, we describe the processes of forging global partnerships in co-implementing IPE and evaluate the programme in light of the preliminary data available.

Polo-like kinase 1 promotes Cdc42-induced actin polymerization for asymmetric division in oocytes.

Polo-like kinase I (Plk1) is a highly conserved seronine/threonine kinase essential in meiosis and mitosis for spindle formation and cytokinesis. Here, through temporal application of Plk1 inhibitors, we identify a new role for Plk1 in the establishment of cortical polarity essential for highly asymmetric cell divisions of oocyte meiosis. Application of Plk1 inhibitors in late metaphase I abolishes pPlk1 from spindle poles and prevents the induction of actin polymerization at the cortex through inhibition of local recruitment of Cdc42 and Neuronal Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome protein (N-WASP).

Depletion of oocyte dynamin-related protein 1 shows maternal-effect abnormalities in embryonic development.

Eggs contain about 200,000 mitochondria that generate adenosine triphosphate and metabolites essential for oocyte development. Mitochondria also integrate metabolism and transcription via metabolites that regulate epigenetic modifiers, but there is no direct evidence linking oocyte mitochondrial function to the maternal epigenome and subsequent embryo development. Here, we have disrupted oocyte mitochondrial function via deletion of the mitochondrial fission factor Drp1.

Oocyte mitochondria-key regulators of oocyte function and potential therapeutic targets for improving fertility.

The development of oocytes and early embryos is dependent on mitochondrial ATP production. This reliance on mitochondrial activity, together with the exclusively maternal inheritance of mitochondria in development, places mitochondria as central regulators of both fertility and transgenerational inheritance mechanisms. Mitochondrial mass and mtDNA content massively increase during oocyte growth.

HENMT1 is involved in the maintenance of normal female fertility in the mouse.

PIWI-interacting small RNAs (piRNAs) maintain genome stability in animal germ cells, with a predominant role in silencing transposable elements. Mutations in the piRNA pathway in the mouse uniformly lead to failed spermatogenesis and male sterility. By contrast, mutant females are fertile.

Mitochondria-targeted therapeutics, MitoQ and BGP-15, reverse aging-associated meiotic spindle defects in mouse and human oocytes.

Study Question: Do mitochondria-targeted therapies reverse ageing- and oxidative stress-induced spindle defects in oocytes from mice and humans?

Summary Answer: Exposure to MitoQ or BGP-15 during IVM protected against spindle and chromosomal defects in mouse oocytes exposed to oxidative stress or derived from reproductively aged mice whilst MitoQ promoted nuclear maturation and protected against chromosomal misalignments in human oocytes.

What Is Known Already: Spindle and chromosomal abnormalities in oocytes are more prevalent with maternal aging, increasing the risk of aneuploidy, miscarriage and genetic disorders such as Down's syndrome. The origin of compromised oocyte function may be founded in mitochondrial dysfunction and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Changes in subcellular structures and states of pumilio 1 regulate the translation of target and cyclin B1 mRNAs.

Temporal and spatial control of mRNA translation has emerged as a major mechanism for promoting diverse biological processes. However, the molecular nature of temporal and spatial control of translation remains unclear. In oocytes, many mRNAs are deposited as a translationally repressed form and are translated at appropriate times to promote the progression of meiosis and development.

Parameter estimation for a point-source diffusion-decay morphogen model.

In this paper we present a novel method for finding unknown parameters for an unknown morphogen. We postulate the existence of an unknown morphogen in a given three-dimensional domain due to the spontaneous arrangement of a downstream species on the domain boundary for which data is known. Assuming a modified Helmholtz model for the morphogen and that it is produced from a single source in the domain, our method accurately estimates the source location and other model parameters.

Capturing instructive cues of tissue microenvironment by silica bioreplication.

Cells in tissues are enveloped by an instructive niche made of the extracellular matrix. These instructive niches contain three general types of information: topographical, biochemical and mechanical. While the combined effects of these three factors are widely studied, the functions of each individual one has not been systematically characterised, because it is impossible to alter a single factor in a tissue microenvironment without simultaneously affecting the other two.

Effects of vicarious pain on self-pain perception: investigating the role of awareness.

The observation of pain in others may enhance or reduce self-pain, yet the boundary conditions and factors that determine the direction of such effects are poorly understood. The current study set out to show that visual stimulus awareness plays a crucial role in determining whether vicarious pain primarily activates behavioral defense systems that enhance pain sensitivity and stimulate withdrawal or appetitive systems that attenuate pain sensitivity and stimulate approach. We employed a mixed factorial design with the between-subject factors exposure time (subliminal vs optimal) and vicarious pain (pain vs no pain images), and the within-subject factor session (baseline vs trial) to investigate how visual awareness of vicarious pain images affects subsequent self-pain in the cold-pressor test.

Label-free in vivo Raman microspectroscopic imaging of the macromolecular architecture of oocytes.

Confocal Raman spectroscopy (CRS) can provide information about oocyte competency through measurement of changes in the macromolecular architecture during oocyte development and maturation. Hitherto most spectroscopic studies have been limited to fixed oocytes due to the inherent difficulties working with live cells. Here we report the first three-dimensional images of living murine oocytes using CRS.

Cyclin A2 modulates kinetochore-microtubule attachment in meiosis II.

Cyclin A2 is a crucial mitotic Cdk regulatory partner that coordinates entry into mitosis and is then destroyed in prometaphase within minutes of nuclear envelope breakdown. The role of cyclin A2 in female meiosis and its dynamics during the transition from meiosis I (MI) to meiosis II (MII) remain unclear. We found that cyclin A2 decreases in prometaphase I but recovers after the first meiotic division and persists, uniquely for metaphase, in MII-arrested oocytes.

Identification of an activation site in Bak and mitochondrial Bax triggered by antibodies.

During apoptosis, Bak and Bax are activated by BH3-only proteins binding to the α2-α5 hydrophobic groove; Bax is also activated via a rear pocket. Here we report that antibodies can directly activate Bak and mitochondrial Bax by binding to the α1-α2 loop. A monoclonal antibody (clone 7D10) binds close to α1 in non-activated Bak to induce conformational change, oligomerization, and cytochrome c release.

Radiofrequency ablation versus transarterial chemoembolization for unresectable solitary hepatocellular carcinomas sized 5-8 cm.

Objectives: This retrospective review was conducted to compare the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) with that of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in treating large (5-8 cm) unresectable solitary hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs).

Methods: Patients with large unresectable solitary HCCs primarily treated by RFA or TACE were reviewed. The primary endpoint was overall survival.

Improved anterior hepatic transection for isolated hepatocellular carcinoma in the caudate.

Background: One of the best treatments for isolated hepatocellular carcinoma in the caudate lobe is major hepatectomy with caudate lobectomy, but it is not suitable for patients with poor liver function reserve. Isolated caudate lobectomy, which is a very difficult operation, is thus an alternative option.

Methods: Here we report an isolated caudate lobectomy with an anterior approach in the treatment of a large hepatocellular carcinoma with underlying cirrhosis, with focus on the technical aspects.

Surgical management of recurrent pyogenic cholangitis: 10 years of experience in a tertiary referral centre in Hong Kong.

Background: Recurrent pyogenic cholangitis (RPC) is common in Asia. Its management differs from centre to centre.

Methods: A retrospective review of 80 patients undergoing surgery for RPC was performed.

Loss of GGN leads to pre-implantation embryonic lethality and compromised male meiotic DNA double strand break repair in the mouse.

The integrity of male germ cell genome is critical for the correct progression of spermatogenesis, successful fertilization, and proper development of the offspring. Several DNA repair pathways exist in male germ cells. However, unlike somatic cells, key components of such pathways remain largely unidentified.

Long-term survival analysis of pure laparoscopic versus open hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis: a single-center experience.

Introduction: Laparoscopic liver resection has been reported as a safe and effective approach to the management of liver cancer. However, studies of long-term outcomes regarding tumor recurrence and patient survival in comparison with the conventional open approach are limited. The aim of this study was to analyze the survival outcome of laparoscopic liver resection versus open liver resection.

Outcome of laparoscopic versus open hepatectomy for colorectal liver metastases.

Background: Liver resection provides one of the best oncological outcomes for liver metastases in patients with colorectal cancer. However, long-term results concerning laparoscopic resection versus open hepatectomy for stage IV colon cancer are still limited. The aim of this study is to compare the survival outcome of laparoscopic liver resection with open liver resection for colorectal metastases.

DNA double strand breaks but not interstrand crosslinks prevent progress through meiosis in fully grown mouse oocytes.

There is some interest in how mammalian oocytes respond to different types of DNA damage because of the increasing expectation of fertility preservation in women undergoing chemotherapy. Double strand breaks (DSBs) induced by ionizing radiation and agents such as neocarzinostatin (NCS), and interstrand crosslinks (ICLs) induced by alkylating agents such as mitomycin C (MMC), are toxic DNA lesions that need to be repaired for cell survival. Here we examined the effects of NCS and MMC treatment on oocytes collected from antral follicles in mice, because potentially such oocytes are readily collected from ovaries and do not need to be in vitro grown to achieve meiotic competency.

Impact of antiviral therapy on the survival of patients after major hepatectomy for hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objectives: To assess whether commencement of antiviral therapy after hepatectomy improves the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in preoperatively antiviral-naive patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

Design: Retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database.

Setting: University teaching hospital.

Continuous improvement of survival outcomes of resection of hepatocellular carcinoma: a 20-year experience.

Objective: To investigate the trend of the posthepatectomy survival outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients by analysis of a prospective cohort of 1198 patients over a 20-year period.

Background: The hospital mortality rate of hepatectomy for HCC has improved but the long-term survival rate remains unsatisfactory. We reported an improvement of survival results 10 years ago.