Development of a Nomogram to Predict Disease-Specific Survival for Patients After Resection of a Non-Metastatic Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreatic Body and Tail.

Background: Models for predicting patient survival after resection of a non-metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic body and tail (APBT) are scarce. We wished to establish and validate a nomogram to predict disease-specific survival (DSS) of these patients.

Methods: A total of 1,435 patients screened from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were included and divided randomly into a training set (TS; = 1,007) and internal validation set (IVS; = 428) at a ratio of 7:3.

Substance P restores spermatogenesis in busulfan-treated mice: A new strategy for male infertility therapy.

Male infertility has become an important health problem that is primarily caused by testicular dysfunction with abnormal spermatogenesis. In this study, we demonstrated that the neuropeptide, substance P (SP), is essential for spermatogonia proliferation in a seminiferous tubule culture system. In addition, SP (5 nmol/kg) treatment markedly restored spermatogenesis, improved sperm quality, and increased the number of ZBTB16 or LIN28 undifferentiated spermatogonia as well as STRA8 differentiated spermatogonia in a busulfan-induced non-obstructive azoospermic mouse model.

The Clinicopathological and Imaging Characteristics of Primary Hepatic Carcinosarcoma and a Review of the Literature.

Purpose: To improve the understanding of hepatic carcinosarcoma (HCS) by analyzing radiological imaging data and clinicopathological features.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on four patients with HCS confirmed immunohistochemically. The analysis included three males and one female, aged 29 to 64 years.

Novel 2D/2D BiOBr/UMOFNs direct Z-scheme photocatalyst for efficient phenol degradation.

A novel 2D/2D BiOBr/ultrathin metal-organic framework nanosheets (UMOFNs) direct Z-scheme photocatalyst was successfully synthesized by using a simple deposition-precipitation method. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated under light irradiation, which revealed that the 2D/2D BiOBr/UMOFNs Z-scheme photocatalyst exhibits higher photocatalytic degradation of phenol compared to pristine BiOBr and UMOFNs. A BiOBr/UMOFNs-40% (mass ratio for BiOBr and UMOFNs of 1:0.

Monocyte chemotactic protein-inducing protein 1 negatively regulating asthmatic airway inflammation and mucus hypersecretion involving γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptor signaling pathway in vivo and in vitro.

Background: Mounting evidence, consistent with our previous study, showed that γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptor (GABAAR) played an indispensable role in airway inflammation and mucus hypersecretion in asthma. Monocyte chemotactic protein-inducing protein 1 (MCPIP1) was a key negative regulator of inflammation. Recent studies showed that inflammation was largely suppressed by enhanced MCPIP1 expression in many inflammatory diseases.

Friction force reduction for electrical terminals using graphene coating.

Multi-layer graphene, serving as a conductive solid lubricant, is coated on the metal surface of electrical terminals. This graphene layer reduces the wear and the friction between two sliding metal surfaces while maintaining the same level of electrical conduction when a pair of terminals engage. The friction between the metal surfaces was tested under dry sliding in a cyclical insertion process with and without the graphene coating.

Hardware implementation of Bayesian network building blocks with stochastic spintronic devices.

Bayesian networks are powerful statistical models to understand causal relationships in real-world probabilistic problems such as diagnosis, forecasting, computer vision, etc. For systems that involve complex causal dependencies among many variables, the complexity of the associated Bayesian networks become computationally intractable. As a result, direct hardware implementation of these networks is one promising approach to reducing power consumption and execution time.

H258R mutation in KCNAB3 gene in a family with genetic epilepsy and febrile seizures plus.

Purpose: The aim of this was to discover disease-causing gene mutations linked to genetic epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+) in a family in the Southern Chinese Han population. Of a three-generation pedigree of 18 members in this family, 4 were affected with GEFS+.

Method: Blood samples of 7 family members-3 affected and 4 unaffected individuals-were collected.

Early-stage bilayer tissue-engineered skin substitute formed by adult skin progenitor cells produces an improved skin structure in vivo.

Background: In recent years, significant progress has been made in developing highly complex tissue-engineered skin substitutes (TESSs) for wound healing. However, the lack of skin appendages, such as hair follicles and sweat glands, and the time required, are two major limitations that hinder its broad application in the clinic. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a competent TESS in a short time to meet the needs for clinical applications.

[Development of programmed death receptor-1 and programmed death receptor-1 ligand in oral squamous cell carcinoma].

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common malignant tumor in the oral and maxillofacial region. At present, the treatment of OSCC is mainly based on surgical oriented comprehensive sequence therapy, especially the triple therapy of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, the overall five-year survival rate is relatively low.

CDK1, CCNB1, and CCNB2 are Prognostic Biomarkers and Correlated with Immune Infiltration in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Orderly G2/M transition in the cell cycle is controlled by the cyclin-dependent kinase 1/cyclin B (CDK1/CCNB) complex. We aimed to comprehensively investigate the roles of CDK1, CCNB1, and CCNB2 via multi-omics analysis and their relationships with immune infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIAL AND METHODS The transcriptional data and the epigenetic and genetic alterations of CDK1, CCNB1, and CCNB2, as well as their impacts on prognosis in HCC patients, were identified using multiple databases.

Adoptive transfer of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) alleviates OVA-induced allergic airway inflammation in asthmatic mice.

Airway dendritic cells (DCs) are recognized as important factors in the mechanisms of allergic inflammatory diseases. Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) is involved in regulating the functions of T cells and macrophages, but the roles of SOCS3-expressing DCs in the pathogeneses of allergic inflammatory diseases are still controversial. We compared the effects of adoptively transferred SOCS3 and SOCS3 bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) on airway inflammation in ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized asthmatic mice.

Interrelationship between Interpersonal Interaction Intensity and Health Self-Efficacy in People with Diabetes or Prediabetes on Online Diabetes Social Platforms: An In-Depth Survey in China.

The peer interaction-based online model has been influential in the recent development of diabetes management. This model "extends and innovates" the traditional mode of doctor-patient guidance, transforming it into a mode in which both doctor-patient guidance and patient-patient interaction coexist; this new mode has the added advantage of offering "extended continual intervention." This study contributes to research on extending diabetes management models by investigating how patients with diabetes or prediabetes interact in online health communities, focusing on the interrelationship between self-efficacy characteristics and online participation during patient-patient interactions.

Y-27632 Enriches the Yield of Human Melanocytes from Adult Skin Tissues.

The isolation and culture of primary melanocytes from skin tissues is very important for biological research and has been widely used for clinical applications. Isolating primary melanocytes from skin tissues by the conventional method usually takes about 3 to 4 weeks to passage sufficiently. More importantly, the tissues used are usually newborn foreskins and it is still a challenge to efficiently isolate primary melanocytes from adult tissues.

Effect of Activated Protein Kinase C Beta Type Mediated Phosphorylation of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 4 on Proliferation and Phenotypic Transformation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells After Vascular Injury Induced by Nano-SiO₂.

The excessive proliferation, endothelial migration, and phenotype transformation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) lead to increased extracellular matrix secretion, which induces vascular intimal hyperplasia, which is an important restenosis mechanism after vascular injury. In our study, we verified the cytotoxicity of SiO₂ nanoparticles to VSMC. To explore the role of endothelial repairs and molecular mechanisms after vascular injuries, we sequenced the transcriptome of injured vessels in the carotid artery of mice.

Wavefront reconstruction based on deep transfer learning for microscopy.

The application of machine learning in wavefront reconstruction has brought great benefits to real-time, non-invasive, deep tissue imaging in biomedical research. However, due to the diversity and heterogeneity of biological tissues, it is difficult to train the dataset with a unified model. In general, the utilization of some unified models will result in the specific sample falling outside the training set, leading to low accuracy of the machine learning model in some real applications.

HIF-1a regulates hypoxia-induced autophagy via translocation of ANKRD37 in colon cancer.

Autophagy is a basic catabolic response that eukaryotic cells use to degrade unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular components in an orderly and regulated manner. It plays important roles in maintaining cellular homeostasis, energy homeostasis, response to environmental stimuli, and the development of cancer. In solid tumors, hypoxia induces an increased HIF-1a that activates autophagy.

Effects of reconstruction techniques after proximal gastrectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Additional studies comparing several reconstruction methods after proximal gastrectomy have been published; of note, it is necessary to update systematic reviews and meta-analysis from the current evidence-based literature.

Aim: To expand the current knowledge on feasibility and safety, and also to analyze postoperative outcomes of several reconstructive techniques after proximal gastrectomy.

Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, and Medline databases were searched for original studies, and relevant literature published between the years 1966 and 2019 concerning various reconstructive techniques on proximal gastrectomy were selected.

Genetic driver mutations introduced in identical cell-of-origin in murine glioblastoma reveal distinct immune landscapes but similar response to checkpoint blockade.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor. In addition to being genetically heterogeneous, GBMs are also immunologically heterogeneous. However, whether the differences in immune microenvironment are driven by genetic driver mutation is unexplored.

Multimodal single-cell analysis reveals distinct radioresistant stem-like and progenitor cell populations in murine glioma.

Radiation therapy is part of the standard of care for gliomas and kills a subset of tumor cells, while also altering the tumor microenvironment. Tumor cells with stem-like properties preferentially survive radiation and give rise to glioma recurrence. Various techniques for enriching and quantifying cells with stem-like properties have been used, including the fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS)-based side population (SP) assay, which is a functional assay that enriches for stem-like tumor cells.

Establishment and application of a method of next generation sequencing of 285 genes in lung cancer based on Ion-Proton platform.

Background: The development of "precision medicine" needs a novel genetic screening and diagnostic technique for clinical detection. This study aims to establish a method for highly parallel multiplexed detection of genetic mutations in Chinese lung cancer samples through testing 285 genes by customized next generation sequencing (NGS) on Ion-Proton platform.

Methods: We reviewed the related literature and collected data of genomic alteration that occurred in lung cancer.

Concomitant genetic alterations having greater impact on the clinical benefit of EGFR-TKIs in EGFR-mutant advanced NSCLC than BIM deletion polymorphism.

Background: In previous studies, the predictive role of BIM deletion polymorphism with respect to responses to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) has been controversial. The potential reasons for these inconsistent findings were unknown.

Methods: Data from CTONG0901 clinical trial and medical records of Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute (GLCI) were retrospectively pooled.

Integrated analysis of lncRNA-associated ceRNA network identified potential regulatory interactions in osteosarcoma.

This study aimed to identify potential therapeutic targets in osteosarcoma (OS) through the network analysis of competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs). The differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMIs) and mRNAs (DEMs) were identified between OS cell lines and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) from the data deposited under GSE70415 using limma package. Functional analysis of DEMs was performed using DAVID and clusterProfiler to identify significantly enriched Gene Ontology biological processes and KEGG pathways, respectively.

Systematic analysis of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression in salivary glands reveals underlying transmission mechanism caused by SARS-CoV-2.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic that has caused severe health threats and fatalities in almost all communities. Studies have detected severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in saliva with a viral load that lasts for a long period. However, researchers are yet to establish whether SARS-CoV-2 can directly enter the salivary glands.

Graphene oxide modified membrane for highly efficient wastewater treatment by dynamic combination of nanofiltration and catalysis.

Stacked graphene oxide (GO) nano-sheets with plentiful nanopores incorporated onto polymeric membrane are promising for water purification. However, maintaining high water permeability without sacrificing separation efficiency remains a challenge. Delamination of the GO layer from the membrane surface is another bottleneck affecting the efficiency of the material.