Neck muscle training improving the setup of reproducibility in patient with head and neck cancer receiving radiotherapy - a prospective randomized controlled study.

Background And Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a cervical muscle training intervention in decreasing setup errors in patients head and neck cancer (HNC) undergoing radiotherapy (RT).

Materials And Methods: HNC patients opting for RT at our center. The patients were randomly allocated to either the muscle training group or the control group in a 1:1 ratio.

The characteristics of surgical site infection with class I incision in neurosurgery.

Objective: Surgical site infections (SSIs) were recognized to be the most common complication of neurological surgery, with substantial life quality threats to patients and additional cost burdens to healthcare facilities. This study sought to expound the infection characteristics of class I incision and provide clinical indication for the prevention and treatment of SSIs.

Methods: A 2-year retrospective analysis was conducted according to patients who performed neurological surgery with class I incision in a tertiary comprehensive hospital in Shaanxi Province, China.

Expert consensus on the clinical strategies for orthodontic treatment with clear aligners.

Clear aligner treatment is a novel technique in current orthodontic practice. Distinct from traditional fixed orthodontic appliances, clear aligners have different material features and biomechanical characteristics and treatment efficiencies, presenting new clinical challenges. Therefore, a comprehensive and systematic description of the key clinical aspects of clear aligner treatment is essential to enhance treatment efficacy and facilitate the advancement and wide adoption of this new technique.

Overcoming three-dimensional challenges through objective decomposition and virtual-digital design: A multidisciplinary case on hypodontia treatment.

A 15-year-old female sought multidisciplinary treatment for hypodontia, three-dimensional problems, deep overbite, multiple occlusal interferences, and collapse of the occlusion. Through virtual-digital design with objective decomposition, this patient underwent five steps of orthodontic treatment under the guidelines of the principles: removal of occlusal restriction is a prerequisite; transverse problems are solved first; then sagittal problems; and vertical correction runs through the treatment. After orthodontic and prosthetic treatment, aesthetic appearance and functional occlusion were achieved.

Disulfidptosis: a novel gene-based signature predicts prognosis and immunotherapy efficacy of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Disulfidptosis, a novel form of disulfide stress-induced cell death involved in tumor progression, hasn't be well defined the function in tumor progression. And the clinical impacts of disulfidptosis-related genes (DRGs) in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) remain largely unclear. In this study, we identified two distinct disulfidptosis subtypes and found that multilayer DRG alterations were associated with prognosis and TME infiltration characteristics.

Danshensu Derivatives: A Series of Promising Drugs With Protective Effects Against Cardiocerebrovascular Diseases and Cancers.

Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen in Chinese) is a traditional medicinal plant with an extensive range of cardiocerebrovascular protective effects widely used in China and other Asian countries. Danshensu (DSS) is the most important water-soluble component of Danshen and has significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiplatelet aggregation, antitumor, and other pharmacological activities. However, DSS has poor fat solubility and is unstable due to its o-phenol hydroxyl and α-hydroxy carboxylic acids.

PGC7 maintains the pluripotency of F9 embryonic carcinoma cells by promoting Nanog translation.

Primordial germ cell 7 (PGC7) is prominently expressed in primordial germ cells (PGCs) and embryonic stem cells (ESCs), serving as a pivotal marker for discerning stem cell pluripotency. However, the role of PGC7 in regulating core pluripotency factors remains unclear. In this study, the expression dynamics of PGC7 and pluripotency- associated proteins are systematically evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis.

Causal association between metabolic syndrome and ovarian dysfunction: a bidirectional two-sample mendelian randomization.

Background: The relationship between Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and ovarian dysfunction has been widely reported in observational studies, yet it remains not fully understood. This study employs genetic prediction methods and utilizes summary data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to investigate this causal link.

Methods: We employed a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) analysis utilizing MetS and ovarian dysfunction summary data from GWAS.

Regulation of immune microenvironments by polyetheretherketone surface topography for improving osseointegration.

Optimizing the immune microenvironment is essential for successful implant osseointegration. In this study, four different nano/microstructures were fabricated on polyetheretherketone (PEEK) substrates by varying the agitation speed during sulfonation to influence osteoimmunomodulation and implant integration. The results indicate that nano/microstructures with minimal dimensions (SP450) inhibit actin polymerization by reducing calcium influx through PIEZO1, activating the anti-inflammatory M2 macrophage phenotype.

Effectiveness of personalized open-face mask combined with styrofoam fixation in radiotherapy treatment of head and neck cancers: a prospective randomized controlled trial.

Objective: The primary aim of this investigation is to assess the effectiveness of implementing an innovative immobilization approach, spec ically the utilization of personalized open-face masks in combination with styrofoam fixation, for head and neck cancers receiving radiotherapy. The study seeks to evaluate the influence of this method on improving patients' precision in positioning and their overall comfort during the treatment process, in addition to exploring its potential capacity to mitigate the occurrence of anxiety and depression in this patient population.

Methods: A prospective, randomized controlled trial was undertaken to investigate the comparative efficacy of two immobilization approaches for the radiotherapy treatment of head and neck cancers.

S-ketamine exposure in early postnatal period induces social deficit mediated by excessive microglial synaptic pruning.

The impact of general anesthetics on neurodevelopment is highly controversial in terms of clinical and preclinical studies. Evidence mounted in recent years indicated development of social cognitions was more susceptible to general anesthesia in early life. However, the behavioral characterization during adolescence and underlying mechanisms remains unclear.

LATS1-modulated ZBTB20 perturbing cartilage matrix homeostasis contributes to early-stage osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common degenerative joint diseases in the elderly, increasing in prevalence and posing a substantial socioeconomic challenge, while no disease-modifying treatments available. Better understanding of the early molecular events will benefit the early-stage diagnosis and clinical therapy. Here, we observed the nucleus accumulation of ZBTB20, a member of ZBTB-protein family, in the chondrocytes of early-stage OA.

Neutrophil extracellular traps-triggered hepatocellular senescence exacerbates lipotoxicity in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

Introduction: Neutrophils are initial responders in inflammation and contribute to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) progression to steatohepatitis (NASH). Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are implicated in liver injury, yet their precise mechanisms in NASH progression remains unclear.

Objectives: This study investigates how NETs drive NASH progression by disrupting hepatocyte lipotoxicity and explore the regulatory mechanism of NETs formation and its downstream effects on liver pathology.

Potent synergistic effect of natural product-inspired Sinomenine derivatives with fluconazole against azole-resistant Candida albicans.

Candida albicans (C. albicans) is the most common cause of invasive Candida infections worldwide. The acquired resistance of C.

A narrative review: Ultrasound-Assisted drug delivery: Improving treatments via multiple mechanisms.

Safe and efficient drug delivery is as important as drug development. Biological barriers, such as cell membranes, present significant challenges in drug delivery, especially for newly developed protein-, nucleic acid-, and cell-based drugs. Ultrasound-mediated drug delivery systems offer a promising strategy to overcome these challenges.

Superiority of Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT over mpMRI for lateralization accuracy of diagnosing intra-glandular prostate cancer lesions: avoiding fluke targeting.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT and multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) in detecting unilateral and bilateral intra-glandular prostate cancer lesions.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 73 prostate cancer patients diagnosed via biopsy, all of whom underwent both Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT and mpMRI prior to surgery. Two independent readers, blinded to each other's results and to pathology findings, evaluated the imaging modalities to make a diagnosis of unilateral (left or right) or bilateral lesions for suspected prostate lesions.

Inhibition of HDAC4 in granulosa cells improved co-cultured oocyte maturation in vitro independent of LH in porcine.

In domestic animals, the mechanisms by which the luteinizing hormone (LH) surge induces oocyte meiosis resumption and maturation through follicular somatic cells remain unclear. Given the pivotal roles of histone deacetylases (HDACs) in regulating gametogenesis, this study investigated the roles of HDACs in follicular granulosa cells (GCs) in mediating LH action during oocyte maturation in pigs. The results showed that histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) levels in cultured GCs increased in a time-dependent manner with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) stimulation but significantly decreased with LH treatment.

Melatonin Increased Autophagy Level to Facilitate Osteogenesis of Inflamed PDLSCs Through TMEM110 Signaling Pathways.

Periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) bring new hope to patients with poor periodontium recovery and impaired regeneration. However, the complex inflammatory microenvironment continually inhibits stem cell function and hinders stem cell therapy effectiveness. Melatonin is a naturally occurring neurohormone that participates in the regulation of a large spectrum of biological functions.

The role of estrogen in the sex difference for the risk factors of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a major subtype of heart failure, primarily characterized by a normal or mildly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction along with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction. Recent studies have shown that the prevalence of HFpEF is higher in women than that in men, particularly in postmenopausal women. Concurrently, it has been observed that the incidence of risk factors contributing to HFpEF (such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation) also notably increases post-menopause, affecting the incidence of HFpEF.

N-terminal domain of CTRP9 promotes cardiac fibroblast activation in myocardial infarction via Rap1/Mek/Erk pathway.

Background: In developed nations, myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality, resulting in a significant economic burden and becoming a global public health problem. C1q/tumor necrosis factor-related protein 9 (CTRP9) is a secreted protein comprising a variable domain, a collagenous region, and a C-terminal trimerizing globular C1q (gC1q) domain. In vivo, the full-length CTRP9 (fCTRP9) can be cleaved into the globular domain of CTRP9 (gCTRP9).

Prognostic Factors Influencing Postoperative Survival in Patients With Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of the Bladder: A Population-Based Study.

Background: This study aimed to identify prognostic factors influencing survival in patients with bladder neuroendocrine carcinoma (NC).

Methods: This study utilized the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (2004-2015) to compare NC with urothelial carcinoma (UC). We evaluated the prognostic value of clinicopathological characteristics and survival outcomes for bladder NC patients.

Effect of Orbicularis Oculi Muscle Suspension Combined With Overlap in Modified Sub-Brow Blepharoplasty: A Prospective Study.

Background: Sub-brow blepharoplasty (SBB) has emerged as one of the primary methods for addressing periorbital aging among East Asian women in recent years. Numerous surgeons have continued to refine and innovate this technique; however, challenges remain in maintaining the stability of surgical outcomes and addressing issues such as abnormal postoperative eyelid wrinkles.

Objective: This study aims to conduct a prospective clinical investigation to demonstrate that improvements in SBB techniques can lead to enhanced postoperative eyelid morphology and sustained long-term results.

Diverse nanoparticles deliver mRNA to enhance tumor immunotherapy.

Limited efficacy and severe side effects often result in suboptimal outcomes to solid tumor therapies. In contrast, the reduced side effects and potential long-term benefits of tumor immunotherapy offer promise, notwithstanding the challenges of variable patient responses and immune-related adverse events hindering its widespread application. Recent advances in mRNA technology have revolutionized cancer immunotherapy.

Microbial dysbiosis with tryptophan metabolites alteration in lower respiratory tract is associated with clinical responses to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Lower respiratory tract microbiome constitutes a unique immune microenvironment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer as one of dominant localized microbial components. However, there exists little knowledge on the associations between this regional microbiome and clinical responses to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy from clinical perspectives. Here, we equivalently collected bronchoalveolar lavage fluids from 56 advanced NSCLC participants treated with none (untreated, n = 28) or anti-PD-1 immunotherapy (treated, n = 28), which was further divided into responder (n = 17) and non-responder (n = 11) subgroups according to clinical responses, aiming to compare their microbial discrepancy by performing metagenomic sequencing and targeted metabolic alterations by tryptophan sequencing.

Endothelial Piezo1 mediates barrier dysfunction and NLRP3 inflammasomes activation in psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by abnormal dilation of microvessels in the dermal papillary layer. Multiple studies have demonstrated that vascular endothelial cells regulate vascular function rather than merely acting as passive barriers. Piezo1 serves as a critical mechanical switch, sensing mechanical changes induced by vasodilation.