Models for Predicting Early Death in Patients With Stage IV Esophageal Cancer: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Based Cohort Study.

Background: Despite enormous progress in the stage IV esophageal cancer (EC) treatment, some patients experience early death after diagnosis. This study aimed to identify the early death risk factors and construct models for predicting early death in stage IV EC patients.

Methods: Stage IV EC patients diagnosed between 2010 and 2015 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were selected.

A comprehensive profiling of soluble immune checkpoints from the sera of patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Immunotherapy was widely used for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, whether inhibition of immune checkpoints individually or simultaneously could improve the therapeutic efficacy of NSCLC remains to be investigated. Here, we explored the aberrant levels of several checkpoints and evaluated their potential diagnostic values for NSCLC.

Long noncoding RNA FAM225A promotes the malignant progression of gastric cancer through the miR-326/PADI2 axis.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a global health problem and further studies of its molecular mechanisms are needed to identify effective therapeutic targets. Although some long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to be involved in the progression of GC, the molecular mechanisms of many GC-related lncRNAs remain unclear. In this study, a series of in vivo and in vitro assays were performed to study the relationship between FAM225A and GC, which showed that FAM225A levels were correlated with poor prognosis in GC.

Development and Validation of Prognostic Survival Nomograms for Patients with Anal Canal Cancer: A SEER-Based Study.

Objective: Anal canal cancer is a rare malignancy with increasing incidence in recent times. This study aimed to develop two nomograms to predict the overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of patients with anal canal cancer.

Methods: Information of patients with anal canal cancer from 2004 to 2015 was extracted from the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) database.

Human genome-wide analysis and identification of the hyperphosphorylation-elicited interactions between subarachnoid tau protein and phosphoprotein-binding domains.

Abnormally hyperphosphorylated tau can be recognized by a variety of phosphoprotein-binding domains (PBDs) to elicit downstream tau signaling in neuropathology, which has been found to have a potential association with subarachnoid hemorrhage. In this study, the genome-wide binding behavior of tau phosphorylation sites (p-sites) to PBDs involved in subarachnoid hyperphosphorylation events was systematically profiled at molecular level by integrating peptide docking, structural minimization, affinity scoring, and binding assay, from which a number of potent PBD-p-site interaction pairs were identified. It was revealed that the PBD domains exhibit distinct binding preferences for phosphotyrosine, phosphoserine, and phosphothreonine p-sites; the PBD-recognition specificity of different tau p-sites is not overlapped with each other, and their phosphorylations would therefore regulate varying biological functions in tau signaling.

Comparison of clinical characteristics between cluster and isolated seizures associated with benign convulsions with mild gastroenteritis.

Background And Purpose: Cluster seizures have not been specifically reported in benign convulsions with mild gastroenteritis (CWG), which are usually considered to have serious outcomes. We aimed to identify the differences between cluster and isolated seizures associated with CWG.

Method: We retrospectively analyzed the medical data of children hospitalized and diagnosed with CWG from May 2018 to December 2020.

Extreme body mass index is associated with poor survival outcomes after radical cystectomy: a retrospective cohort study in a Chinese population.

Background: Body mass index (BMI) has been evidenced to be a significant prognostic factor in multiple cancers. This retrospective study aimed to investigate the association between BMI and survival outcomes after radical cystectomy (RC) in patients with bladder cancer (BCa).

Methods: Clinical and pathological parameters of patients who were diagnosed with BCa and received RC between 2010 and 2018 were collected.

Circular RNA cerebellar degeneration-related protein 1 antisense RNA (Circ-CDR1as) downregulation induced by dexmedetomidine treatment protects hippocampal neurons against hypoxia/reoxygenation injury through the microRNA-28-3p (miR-28-3p)/tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor-3 (TRAF3) axis.

Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (CI/R) injury results in serious brain tissue damage, thereby leading to long-term disability and mortality. It has been reported that dexmedetomidine (DEX) exerted neuroprotective effects in CI/R injury. Herein, we intended to investigate whether and how circular RNA (circRNA) cerebellar degeneration-related protein 1 antisense RNA (circ-CDR1as) was involved in the DEX-mediated protection on hippocampal neurons.

Coexistence of a novel NBEA-ALK, EML4-ALK double-fusion in a lung adenocarcinoma patient and response to alectinib: A case report.

Objectives: The echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 gene (EML4) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene (ALK) fusion is the most common ALK rearrangements in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Herein, we firstly report that coexistence of a novel Neurobeachin (NBEA)-ALK, EML4-ALK double-fusion is sensitive to alectinib.

Materials And Methods: Hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE), fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), and next-generation sequencing (NGS) was performed on the biopsy sample.

Deep Learning-Based Computed Tomography Imaging to Diagnose the Lung Nodule and Treatment Effect of Radiofrequency Ablation.

This study aimed to detect and diagnose the lung nodules as early as possible to effectively treat them, thereby reducing the burden on the medical system and patients. A lung computed tomography (CT) image segmentation algorithm was constructed based on the deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN). The clinical data of 69 patients with lung nodules diagnosed by needle biopsy and pathological comprehensive diagnosis at hospital were collected for specific analysis.

Effects of individual dietary intervention on blood glucose level and pregnancy outcomes in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) increases the incidence of adverse outcomes in pregnant women. Individual diet intervention (IDI) was developed in our center through collaboration with nutritionists to treat GDM and prevent further complications. We then aimed to analyze the effects of IDI on the level of blood glucose and pregnancy outcomes in pregnant women with GDM.

Molecular insight into the affinity, specificity and cross-reactivity of systematic hepatocellular carcinoma RALT interaction profile with human receptor tyrosine kinases.

The ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) contains four members: EGFR, ErbB2, ErbB3 and ErbB4; they are involved in the tumorigenesis of diverse cancers and can be inhibited natively by receptor-associated late transducer (RALT), a negative feedback regulator of ErbB signaling in human hepatocytes and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although the biological effects of RALT on EGFR kinase have been widely documented previously, the binding behavior of RALT to other ErbB/RTK kinases still remains largely unexplored. Here, the intermolecular interactions of RALT ErbB-binding region (EBR) as well as its functional sections and peptide segments with ErbBs and other human RTKs were systematically investigated at molecular and structural levels, from which we were able to identify those potential kinase targets of RALT protein, and to profile the affinity, specificity and cross-reactivity of RALT EBR domain and its sub-regions against various RTKs.

A novel long non-coding RNA TTN-AS1/microRNA-589-5p/FOXP1 positive feedback loop increases the proliferation, migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer cell lines.

Numerous reports have found that long non-coding (lnc) RNAs were associated with pancreatic cancer (PC) initiation and development. The lncRNA titin antisense RNA 1 (TTN-AS1) was identified as a tumor promoter in certain types of cancer; however, its role and mechanism in PC remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of TTN-AS1 in PC and elucidate the underlying mechanism.

Risk characteristics with seven epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related genes are used to predict the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes (ERGs) have been shown to play an important role in cancer invasion, tumor resistance, and tumor metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma. This study sought to examine the prognostic value of ERGs and other pre-hepatoma genes.

Methods: Relevant data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were analyzed and synthesized.

Effects of Bivalirudin and Unfractionated Heparin on Liver and Renal Function in Chinese Patients with Coronary Artery Disease Undergoing Coronary Angiography with/without Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background And Aims: Unfractionated heparin (UFH) and bivalirudin are widely used as anticoagulants in cardiovascular medicine, including for thrombosis prevention during coronary angiography (CAG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Little is known of the effects of UFH and bivalirudin on liver and kidney function in patients subjected to these procedures. This study compared the effects of bivalirudin and UFH on liver/renal function in patients with coronary artery disease who underwent CAG, with or without PCI.

Imaging observation of percutaneous compression plate use in promoting femoral neck fracture healing.

Objective: To examine the imaging evidence of the use of percutaneous compression plate (PCCP) in promoting femoral neck fracture healing compared with cannulated screws (CS).

Methods: This retrospective study enrolled patients with femoral neck fractures undergoing internal fixation procedures. The patients were divided into a PCCP group and a CS group with imaging as the primary outcome and Harris hip score (HHS) as the secondary outcome.

Hyperuricemia is a Adverse Prognostic Factor for Colon Cancer Patients.

Objective: Hyperuricemia is linked to the prognosis of a number of cancers; however, its association with colon cancer survival has not been fully elucidated. To investigate whether hyperuricemia affects the prognosis of colon cancer, we conducted a retrospective study.

Methods: The study included age- and sex-matched colon cancer patients, of whom 60 patients were diagnosed with hyperuricemia, and 120 patients did not have hyperuricemia.

SOX9 is a critical regulator of TSPAN8-mediated metastasis in pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the deadliest cancer mainly owing to its proclivity to early metastasis and the lack of effective targeted therapeutic drugs. Hence, understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying early invasion and metastasis by PDAC is imperative for improving patient outcomes. The present study identified that upregulation of TSPAN8 expression in PDAC facilitates metastasis in vivo and in vitro.

Effect of nursing mode under the seamless connection between operating room and ward on severe traumatic brain injury patients in coma.

Objective: The goal of the present study was to test the effects of the nursing mode under the seamless connection between operating room and ward on severe traumatic brain injury (STBI) patients in coma period.

Methods: Totally, 120 STBI inpatients in coma admitted to our hospital from June 2018 to June 2019 were recruited and equally randomized into a study group and a control group. The control group underwent routine neurosurgery nursing, while the study group received nursing with seamless connection between the operating room and the ward.

Long non-coding NEAT1 weakens the protective role of sevoflurane on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury by mediating the microRNA-140/RhoA axis.

The function of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1) has been revealed in injury caused by myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), however, its association with Sevoflurane (Sev), an anesthetic effective for regulating inflammation and oxidative stress, is not yet clear in I/R injury. The aim of this study was to functionally validate and elucidate the mechanism-of-action for Sev-mediated NEAT1 in myocardial I/R injury. Firstly, reduced NEAT1 was revealed in myocardial I/R injured mice treated with Sev.

Genetic polymorphisms of Cathepsin B are associated with gastric cancer risk and prognosis in a Chinese population.

Background: Genetic polymorphisms are believed to represent a key aspect of predisposition to gastric cancer (GC). Therefore, considering the important role of Cathepsin B (CTSB) in promoting cancer onset and development, it could be very worthful to explore the function of CTSB-related genetic polymorphisms in GC.

Objective: In this study, we investigated the correlation of CTSB-related polymorphisms (rs9009A>T, rs6731T>C, rs1293303G>C, rs1874547C>T, rs3779659C>T, rs17814426C>T and rs148669985C>T) with GC risk and prognosis in a case-control study of 994 cases and 1000 controls.

Effects of parathyroidectomy on plasma PTH fragments and heart rate variability in stage 5 chronic kidney disease patients.

Introduction: Circulating intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels include full-length (1-84) PTH and long C-PTH fragments, but primarily (7-84) PTH, which have been reported to have antagonistic effects on the bones and kidneys. However, their effects on the cardiovascular system remain unclear. In this study, the relationships between the plasma PTH fragments levels and heart rate variability (HRV) in stage 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD5) patients are explored.

Identification of key genes in calcific aortic valve disease via weighted gene co-expression network analysis.

Background: Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is the most common subclass of valve heart disease in the elderly population and a primary cause of aortic valve stenosis. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

Methods: The gene expression profiles of GSE83453, GSE51472, and GSE12644 were analyzed by 'limma' and 'weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA)' package in R to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and key modules associated with CAVD, respectively.