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Background: This study explores the significance of computed tomography (CT) radiomic features, along with inflammation and nutrition biomarkers, in the prognosis of postoperative patients with T3N0M0 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The study aims to construct a related nomogram., Methods: A total of 114 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to training and validation cohorts in a 7:3 ratio. Radiomic features were extracted from their preoperative chest-enhanced CT arterial images of the primary tumor, and inflammatory and nutritional indices, including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), and prognostic nutritional index (PNI), were calculated based on laboratory data from the 3 days before surgery. Intra-class correlations coefficient (ICC) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) were applied to screen valuable radiomics features predicting overall survival (OS), and the Rad-score was calculated. In the training cohort, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses identified independent prognostic factors, which were adopted to establish the nomogram., Results: Eight radiomic features were selected for Rad-score calculation. Multivariate Cox regression revealed Rad-score, PNI, NLR, and PLR as independent prognostic factors for ESCC patients (p < 0.05). A nomogram was constructed based on these variables. The concordance index (C-index) for the nomogram was 0.797 (95% CI: 0.726-0.868) in the training cohort and 0.796 (95% CI: 0.702-0.890) in the validation cohort. Calibration curves indicated good calibration ability, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated superior discriminative ability for the nomogram in comparison to the Rad-score alone. Decision curve analysis (DCA) confirmed the clinical utility of the nomogram., Conclusion: We developed and validated a nomogram for predicting the OS of postoperative T3N0M0 ESCC patients, integrating nutritional, inflammatory markers, and radiomic signature. The combined nomogram can serve as a robust tool for risk stratification and clinical management., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.)

Preoperative laboratory data indicators significantly affect the prognosis of a variety of tumors. Nevertheless, the combined effect of systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) on overall survival (OS) in patients with esophageal carcinoma remains unclear. Thus, we examined these associations among patients with postoperative staged T3N0M0 esophageal carcinoma. The data of 246 patients with postoperative staged T3N0M0 esophageal carcinoma from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2022, were retrospectively analyzed. OS was measured from the date of pathological diagnosis until either death or the last follow-up. The Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox regression model were used to analyze the relationship between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (LMR), SII, PNI, and OS. The predictive value of SII and PNI as a combined index was analyzed by the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). A total of 246 patients aged 65.5 ± 7.4 years were included in this study and 181 (73.6%) were male. The univariate analysis revealed that differentiation, vessel involvement, postoperative treatment, NLR, SII, PLR, LMR, PNI were predictors of OS (P < .05). After adjusted for potential confounds, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the differentiation, SII, PNI, and postoperative treatment were independent prognostic factors correlated with OS in patients with postoperative staged T3N0M0 esophageal carcinoma (P < .05). SII and PNI, as a combined indicator, have a higher predictive value for OS. The NLR, SII, PLR, LMR, and PNI could all be used as independent predictors of OS in patients with postoperative staged T3N0M0 esophageal carcinoma. The combination of SII and PNI can significantly improve the accuracy of prediction., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Purpose: The beneficial effects of family resilience and meaning in life on patients are established, but limited is known for the effect of perceived social support. We aim to investigate the impact of family resilience on the meaning of life among Chinese patients with breast cancer (BC) and to further detect whether perceived social support mediated this association., Methods: From February to June 2022, we conducted this cross-sectional study with 276 women who were diagnosed with BC in a tertial hospital in Guangdong province, China. The Chinese version of Meaning in Life Scale (C-MiLS) was used to measure the meaning in life. The Chinese version of the family resilience assessment scale (C-FRAS) and the perceived social support scale (PSSS) were adopted to obtain the family resilience and perceived social support, respectively. The mediating effect of perceived spousal support was estimated using the bootstrapped confidence interval (CI) via IBM SPSS AMOS 22.0., Results: The mean scores were 60.79 ± 11.63 for meaning in life, 82.08 ± 11.48 for family resilience, and 62.72 ± 12.19 for perceived social support, respectively. Our results indicated the positive correlations of meaning in life with family resilience (β = 0.822, P < 0.05) and perceived social support (β = 0.886, P < 0.05). The perceived social support exerted the mediating effect in the relationship between family resilience and meaning in life (β = 0.368 [95%CI, 0.274, 0.450], P < 0.001), accounting for 54.6% of the variance in meaning in life., Conclusions: Our findings highlight that family resilience and perceived social support should be enhanced for BC patients to improve their meaning in life. In particular, the association between family resilience and meaning in life was positively mediated by perceived social support. Thus, interventions for improving family resilience and perceived social support might be useful in easing psychological distress and improving meaning in life in individuals with BC., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

In this study, we explored the prognostic risk factors of elderly patients (≥65 years old) with lymph node-negative esophageal cancer (EC) and established a nomogram to evaluate the cancer-specific survival of patients. The surveillance, epidemiology, and end results database was used to collect data on patients diagnosed with EC. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were used to determine independent prognostic factors, and the nomogram for predicting cancer-specific survival of EC patients was constructed based on the independent prognostic factors obtained from the multivariate Cox analysis. To evaluate the predictive ability of the nomogram, calibration curves, concordance index (C-index), receiver operating characteristic curves, and decision curve analysis were conducted. Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the long-term outcomes of EC patients with different risk stratifications. A total of 3050 cases with lymph node-negative EC were randomized into the training cohort (1525) and the validation cohort (1525). Cancer-specific mortality at 1, 3, and 5 years in the entire cohort was 30.7%, 41.8%, and 59.2%, respectively. In multivariate Cox analysis, age (P < .001), marital status (P < .001), tumor size (P < .001), Tumor-node-metastasis stage (P < .001), chemotherapy (P = .011), radiotherapy (P < .001), and surgery (P < .001) were independent prognostic factors. The C-index for the training cohort was 0.740 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.722-0.758), and the C-index for the validation cohort was 0.738 (95% CI: 0.722-0.754). The calibration curve demonstrated the great calibration ability of the nomogram. Based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, the nomogram demonstrated a higher sensitivity than the tumor-node-metastasis stage. Decision curve analysis showed the good clinical utility of the nomogram. The risk stratification system was established using the Kaplan-Meier curve and verified by the log-rank test (P < .001). The nomogram and risk stratification system can improve the accuracy of prediction to help clinicians identify high-risk patients and make treatment decisions., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

This study aimed to investigate the impact of distinct metastasis patterns on the overall survival (OS) of individuals diagnosed with organ metastatic lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). OS was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to further assess prognostic factors. A total of 36,025 cases meeting the specified criteria were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Among these patients, 30.60% (11,023/36,025) were initially diagnosed at stage IV, and 22.03% (7936/36,025) of these individuals exhibited metastasis in at least 1 organ, including the liver, bone, lung, and brain. Among the 4 types of single metastasis, patients with bone metastasis had the lowest mean OS, at 9.438 months (95% CI: 8.684-10.192). Furthermore, among patients with dual-organ metastases, those with both brain and liver metastases had the shortest mean OS, at 5.523 months (95% CI: 3.762-7.285). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that metastatic site is an independent prognostic factor for OS in patients with single and dual-organ metastases. Chemotherapy was beneficial for patients with single and multiple-organ metastases; although surgery was advantageous for those with single and dual-organ metastases, it did not affect the long-term prognosis of patients with triple organ metastases. Radiotherapy only conferred benefits to patients with single-organ metastasis. LUSC patients exhibit a high incidence of metastasis at the time of initial diagnosis, with significant differences in long-term survival among patients with different patterns of metastasis. Among single-organ metastasis cases, lung metastasis is the most frequent and is associated with the longest mean OS. Regarding treatment options, patients with single-organ metastasis can benefit from chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy, and those with metastasis in 2 organs can benefit from chemotherapy and surgery. Patients with metastasis in more than 2 organs, however, can only benefit from chemotherapy. Understanding the variations in metastasis patterns assists in guiding pretreatment assessments and in determining appropriate therapeutic interventions for LUSC., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

We have observed that patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma can obtain survival benefits from surgical resection of the primary tumor. A model was developed to evaluate the prognosis of patients. The patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database and divided into surgery group and non-surgical group. Through Kaplan-Meier analysis, the survival rate of the non-surgical group was found to be significantly lower no matter before or after propensity score matching. One thousand one hundred and seventy surgical patients were divided into a training group and a verification group. In the training group, univariate and multivariate Cox models were used to explore the prognostic factors, and logistic regression was used to establish a nomogram based on significant predictors. In total, 12,228 patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma were recognized; primary tumor surgery accounted for 9.5%. After propensity score matching, the median survival time of 2 groups was significantly different. For the training group, univariate and multivariate COX analysis was conducted, and a nomogram was constructed. Acceptable agreement has been achieved between the predicted and observed survival rates, and the nomogram can divide patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma into different risk groups and predict their prognostic survival rate., Competing Interests: SEER database belongs to public databases. The patients involved in the database have obtained ethical approval. Users can download relevant data for free for research and publish relevant articles. Our study is based on open source data, so there are no ethical issues and other conflicts of interest. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Objective: The relative contribution of some products with prebiotic effects, such as inulin, together with medications specific to the human gut microbiome has not been comprehensively studied. The present study determined the potential for manipulating populations in the gut microbiome using inulin alone and combined with other agents in individuals with metabolic syndrome (MetS). The study also assessed whether there is relationship variability in multiple clinical parameters in response to intervention with the changes in the gut milieu. Participants/Methods . This single-centre, single-blinded, randomised community-based pilot trial randomly assigned 60 patients (mean age, 46.3 y and male, 43%) with MetS to receive either inulin, inulin+traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), or inulin+metformin for 6 months. Lipid profiles, blood glucose, and uric acid (UA) levels were analysed in venous blood samples collected after overnight fast of 8 h at baseline and at the end of the follow-up period. Microbiota from stool samples were taxonomically analysed using 16S RNA amplicon sequencing, and an integrative analysis was conducted on microbiome and responsiveness data at 6 months., Results: The results of 16S rRNA sequencing showed that inulin resulted in a higher proportion of Bacteroides at the endpoint compared with inulin+TCM and inulin+metformin ( p = 0.024). More Romboutsia ( p = 0.043), Streptococcus ( p < 0.001), and Holdemanella ( p = 0.011) were found in inulin+TCM and inulin+metformin samples. We further identified gut microbiota relationships with lipids, UA, and glucose that impact the development of MetS., Conclusion: Among the groups, inulin alone or combined with metformin or TCM altered specific gut microbiota taxa but not the general diversity. Accordingly, we analysed metabolites associated with microbiota that might provide more information about intrinsic differences. Consequently, a reliable method could be developed for treating metabolic syndrome in the future., Competing Interests: The authors declare that this research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Ruiping Tian et al.)

Background: Fatigue is a common symptom in adults that may cause physical and psychological problems and reduce quality of life. Aromatherapy could possibly provide relief for those suffering from fatigue. Here, we evaluated the effect of aromatherapy on fatigue in adults., Methods: We searched the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature, SinoMed, Wanfang, and Chinese Scientific Journal Database databases for randomized controlled trials of aromatherapy treatment for fatigue in adults from their inception to June 2021. Two reviewers searched independently, extracted the characteristics of the studies, and assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool and Stata v. 14.0., Results: Nineteen studies were included in this systematic review. Aromatherapy had a significant effect on fatigue (standardized mean difference -0.64, 95% confidence interval-1.14, -0.15, I 2 94.4%, P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis according to aromatic type, substance, frequency, treatment duration, intervention, outcomes measurement, and population type showed that aromatherapy had a significantly greater effect in the intervention group, compared to the control group. Funnel plots and Egger's test indicated no significant publication bias., Conclusion: Our results suggest that aromatherapy ameliorates fatigue in adults who suffer from chronic diseases. A rigorous intervention program and larger randomized controlled trials are needed., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Qiuting Wang et al.)

Objective: To investigate the capability of computed tomography (CT) radiomic features to predict the therapeutic response and local control of the locoregional recurrence lymph node (LN) after curative esophagectomy by chemoradiotherapy., Methods: This retrospective study included 129 LN from 77 patients (training cohort: 102 LN from 59 patients; validation cohort: 27 LN from 18 patients) with postoperative esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The region of the tumor was contoured in pretreatment contrast-enhanced CT images. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator with logistic regression was used to identify radiomic predictors in the training cohort. Model performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC). The Kaplan-Meier method was used to determine the local recurrence time of cancer., Results: The radiomic model suggested seven features that could be used to predict treatment response. The AUCs in training and validated cohorts were 0.777 (95% CI: 0.667-0.878) and 0.765 (95% CI: 0.556-0.975), respectively. A significant difference in the radiomic scores (Rad-scores) between response and nonresponse was observed in the two cohorts (p < 0.001, 0.034, respectively). Two features were identified for classifying whether there will be relapse in 2 years. AUC was 0.857 (95% CI: 0.780-0.935) in the training cohort. The local control time of the high Rad-score group was higher than the low group in both cohorts (p < 0.001 and 0.025, respectively). As inferred from the Cox regression analysis, the low Rad-score was a high-risk factor for local recurrence within 2 years., Conclusions: The radiomic approach can be used as a potential imaging biomarker to predict treatment response and local control of recurrence LN in ESCC patients., (© 2021 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, LLC on behalf of The American Association of Physicists in Medicine.)

Background: There are no standard therapeutic strategies for local lymph node (LN) recurrence after radical resection of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and prognostic risk factors remain controversial. We assessed clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) or radiotherapy (RT) for LN recurrence of ESCC after curative resection., Methods: A total of 117 ESCC patients with LN recurrence after radical resection receiving salvage treatment at our hospital were retrospectively reviewed from 2014 to 2017. Overall survival (OS) was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method; clinical characteristics were assessed using the Log rank test in the univariate analysis. Multivariate prognostic analysis was performed using the Cox proportional hazard model., Results: With a median follow-up of 19 months, the 1-, 2- and 3-year OS rates were 75.2%, 40.2% and 27.4%, respectively. The median survival time (MST) was 19.0 months. On univariate analysis for OS, pathological TNM stage, number of LN metastasis, LN maximum (Max) diameter, salvage treatment mode and tumor response were significantly associated with OS (P = 0.0074, P = 0.015, P = 0.0011, P = 0.028, P < 0.000, respectively). On multivariate analysis, tumor response [Response vs No-response hazard ratio (HR), 2.43; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.53-3.90, P < 0.000] and LN Max diameter (≤28 mm vs >28 mm HR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.33-3.32, P = 0.012) were independent prognostic factors., Conclusion: Salvage CRT or RT was safe and effective for treating LN recurrence after radical resection in ESCC. Patients with the small LN Max diameter (≤28 mm) and obtained response after salvage therapy appeared to achieve long-term OS., Competing Interests: All authors reported no conflicts of interest for this work., (© 2021 Gu et al.)

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes psychological distress and can have a negative impact on the general mental health and rehabilitation in affected patients under currently implemented isolation guidelines. Auricular point pressure (APP) as well-established technique in traditional Chinese medicine may help to relieve sleep disturbance and anxiety in COVID-19 patients., Methods: During the early phase of the epidemic/pandemic, patients were enrolled in this study (02/2020 until 03/2020 n = 84). They were strictly isolated on specific wards at the Hubei Provincial Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine in Hubei. The retrospective cohort study design included two groups. Group A patients were treated with an auricular point pressure (APP) in addition to standard intensive care medicine while Group B participants (No-APP) received routine nursing measures alone. Treatment outcome was measured using the St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire (SMH) Score and the 7-Item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7). Both scores were measured in each patient at baseline and on the discharge day., Results: The SMH score and sleep status changed in APP patients at the end of the treatment period when compared with No-APP patients ( P < 0.01). APP-treated patients demonstrated lower GAD-7 scores than No-APP controls ( P < 0.01). Further, no significant differences in safety or adverse events between the APP and No-APP groups were observed., Conclusion: The results from our snapshot study during the early phase of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic/pandemic suggest that auricular point pressure could be a simple and effective tool to relieve insomnia and situational anxiety in hospitalized patients suffering from COVID-19 and kept under disconcerting conditions of isolation., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this study., (Copyright © 2021 Yueming Luo et al.)

Background: The aim of this study was to explore the influence of preoperative tumor volume, length, maximum diameter and the number of postoperative pathologically lymph node metastasis (LNM) regions on survival prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients., Methods: A total of 296 patients with ESCC treated by standard curative esophagectomy were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were grouped for further analysis according to the optimal threshold of preoperative tumor volume, length, maximum diameter and the number of postoperative pathologically LNM regions. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival rate and survival comparison was performed by Log rank test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to carry out univariate and multivariate analyses. Nomogram model was established by integrating statistically significant clinicopathological parameters, and the predictive value was further verified by calibration curve, concordance index (C-index) and decision curve., Results: The univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis all showed that differentiation grade, TNM stage, adjuvant therapy, preoperative tumor volume and the number of post operative pathologically LNM regions were independent prognostic factors for PFS and OS (all P <0.05). The C-indexes of PFS and OS by nomograms were predicted to be 0.747 (95% CI: 0.717-0.777) and 0.732 (95% CI: 0.697-0.767), respectively, which were significantly higher than the 7th AJCC TNM stage, the C-indexes 0.612 (95% CI: 0.574-0.650) and 0.633 (95% CI: 0.595-0.671), separately. In addition, the calibration curves of nomogram models were highly consistent with actual observation for the five-year PFS and OS rate, and the decision curve analysis also showed that nomogram models had higher clinical application potentials than TNM staging model in predicting survival prognosis of thoracic ESCC after surgery., Conclusion: The nomograms incorporated preoperative tumor volume and the number of postoperative pathologically LNM areas are of great value in predicting survival prognosis of patients with thoracic ESCC., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests., (© 2021 Guo et al.)

The long noncoding RNASBF2-AS1 can promote the occurrence and development of many kinds of tumours, but its role in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is unknown. We found that SBF2-AS1 was up-regulated in ESCC, and its expression was positively correlated with tumor size (P = 0.0001), but was not related to gender, age, TNM stage, histological grade, and lymphnode metastasis (P > 0.05). It was further found that the higher the expression of SBF2-AS1, the lower the survival rate. COX multivariate analysis showed that the expression of SBF2-AS1 was an independent prognostic factor. Functional experiments show that inhibition of SBF2-AS1 can inhibit the proliferation of ESCC through in vivo and in vitro, and overexpression of SBF2-AS1 can promote the proliferation of ESCC and inhibit its apoptosis. In mechanism, SBF2-AS1/miR-338-3P, miR-362-3P/E2F1 axis are involved in the regulation of ESCC growth. In general, SBF2-AS1 may be used as ceRNA to combine with miR-338-3P and miR-362-3P to up-regulate the expression ofE2F1, and ultimately play a role in promoting cancer. It may be used as a therapeutic target and a biomarker for prognosis.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Constipation is a functional gastrointestinal disorder and one of the most prevalent conditions encountered in primary care settings. Rhubarb navel dressings have been used for more than 2,000 years in Chinese medicine to treat constipation. However, the effect of topical rhubarb administration has still not been well recognized and this strategy is not yet established as an evidence-based approach., Aim of the Study: In this study, we performed a prospective multicentric randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rhubarb navel plasters for patients with chronic constipation., Materials and Methods: A total of 374 patients from six teaching hospitals were prospectively included between 09/2016 and 10/2017 in the study based on Rome III criteria. All participants were randomly assigned (1:1) into verum/placebo group and given either Rheum officinale rhubarb powder or a placebo flour stick on the navel for 6 h/day/8 days. Primary outcome measures were the Cleveland Constipation Score (CCS) for the feces condition and Bristol Stool Scale (BSS) for stool consistency and 24 h defecation frequency., Results: The groups demonstrated no statistical differences in demographic data, clinical diagnoses and concomitant medication at baseline. In patients treated with the verum CCS was 5.61 (day 8, 95% CI 5.15-6.07) compared to 8.62 (95% CI 8.07-9.18) in placebo-treated controls (P < 0.001). The mean change of CCS at the end of treatment (day 8 versus [vs] day 0) was 6.04 in verum-treated vs 2.73 in placebo-treated controls (P < 0.001). Also 24 h defecation frequency (BSS) showed superior results (day 5: 0.84 vs 0.62, 95% CI 0.67-0.80, P < 0.001; day 6: 0.82 vs 0.60, 95% CI 0.64-0.78, P < 0.01 and day 8: 0.82 vs 0.60, 95% CI 0.64-0.78, P < 0.01) and better BSS type classification during treatment than controls (P < 0.05). No significant differences in adverse events between both groups became obvious., Conclusion: Rhubarb navel plaster administration over an 8-day-treatment period resulted in significantly improved bowel function as demonstrated by the CCS, 24 h defecating frequency and BSS. Our results suggest that rhubarb navel plasters represent a feasible, safe and efficient application route for the treatment of patients suffering from chronic constipation., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

To measure the retinal microvascular density in patients with anisometropic amblyopia using optical coherence tomographic angiography (OCTA) and to evaluate the effects of successful amblyopia treatment on microvasculature in retina. 59 children (5-12 years old) including 22 newly diagnosed unilateral anisometropic amblyopia, 16 recovered unilateral anisometropic amblyopia, and 21 control children were imaged with OCTA using 6 × 6-mm macular scan pattern. Vessel densities of the superficial capillary plexus (SCP), the deep capillary plexus (DCP), and the overall macular thickness were acquired and compared among the three groups. After adjustment for axial length, the amblyopia group showed lower macular vessel density in the SCP (P = 0.005) and in the DCP (P = 0.004) compared with that of the control group. However, for the recovered amblyopia group, no difference of vessel density was found when compared with the control group in both the SCP (P = 0.548) and the DCP (P = 0.124). No difference of the mean macular thickness was found among three groups (P ≥ 0.15). Children with anisometropic amblyopia have reduced macular vessel density in OCTA, while no difference of macular vessel density was found between the recovered amblyopic and control eyes. Macular thickness showed no difference in anisometropic amblyopia and remained unchanged after amblyopic treatment.

Purpose: To report the application of 14-MHz ultrasonography with tissue harmonic imaging (14 MHz + THI) to determine the integrity of the posterior capsule (PC) in traumatic cataract (TC)., Methods: Patients with TC who were scheduled to undergo cataract extraction and whose PC could not be observed by slit lamp examination were included in the study. The status of the PC was determined by 14 MHz + THI before cataract extraction and confirmed during surgery. The results regarding PC integrity obtained from 14 MHz + THI and intraoperative direct observation were compared., Result: The study enrolled 52 eyes of 52 patients (49 men and 3 women), with a mean age of 42.15 years ± 11.23 (SD). The nature of the trauma was blunt (3 eyes) or sharp (49 eyes). The 14 MHz + THI method showed 21 PCs to be intact and 31 to have ruptured before cataract surgery. During surgery, 23 PCs were observed to be intact, while 29 PCs were ruptured. 27 PCs were ruptured and 19 were intact, as determined by the two methods. The 14 MHz + THI observations were consistent with the intraoperative observations of the PC (kappa = 0.764), with no significant difference between the two methods ( P =0.687). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 14 MHz + THI for observation of the PC were 93.10%, 82.60%, and 88.46%, respectively., Conclusion: The 14 MHz + THI method can accurately reveal the integrity of the PC in TC. It has important clinical value in the selection of cataract surgery methods and the prediction of complications during TC surgery., Competing Interests: The authors have no financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned., (Copyright © 2019 Bin Wu et al.)

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most fatal malignancies in females worldwide, with increasing incidence recently in China. MiR-153 was reported to be dysregulated in some human cancers, including EOC. In this study, we explored the roles of miR-153 and its target AKT1 in regulating growth and migration in EOC. Cell proliferation was measured with a CCK-8 assay. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR was performed to investigate expression levels of miR-153. Cell cycle features were analyzed by Flow cytometry system. The direct target gene was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay. We found the expression levels of miR-153 were generally lower in the EOC tissues than in the matched normal tissues. The miR-153 mimics caused significant G0/G1 arrest in A2780 cells. Overexpression of miR-153 suppressed cell proliferation and migration in ovarian cancer. Results of dual-luciferase reporter assay suggested that AKT1 was a direct target of miR-153 in ovarian cancer cells. Overexpression of AKT1 reverses the inhibition effect of miR-153 on cell proliferation. Introduction of miR-153 into EOC cell lines leaded to inhibition of cell proliferation and migration by directly targeting AKT1. MiR-153 may have prognostic or therapeutic value for the future management of ovarian cancer patients., Competing Interests: None., (IJCEP Copyright © 2017.)

Background/aims: The HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR), a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), plays an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of multiple tumors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in HOTAIR are related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) susceptibility in a Chinese population., Methods: We genotyped three SNPs of HOTAIR in a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) case-control study, including 482 cases and 520 control subjects. SNPs were genotyped using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Associations between gene polymorphisms and HCC were evaluated using multiple logistic regression analysis. The allele-specific effects on HOTAIR expression in HCC were confirmed by real time quantitative PCR and luciferase activity assays. The influence of HOTAIR SNPs on the proliferation of HCC cells was evaluated using a CCK-8 assay., Results: Significant associations were observed between the HOTAIR rs920778 C>T polymorphism and HCC risk (TT versus CC: OR = 1.634, 95% CI =1.028-2.598, P = 0.046) and the allelic model (allele T versus allele C: OR =1.293, 95% CI = 1.060-1.577, P = 0.011). However, no statistically significant differences of rs4759314 and rs1899663 genotypes were observed between patients and controls (both P > 0.05). The increased risk for rs920778 TT genotype carriers was more evident in a sub-group of drinkers (OR = 3.103, 95% CI = 1.151-8.368, p=0.025) and in people positive for HBV infection (OR = 2.885, 95% CI = 1.086-7.663, p=0.034). RT-PCR and luciferase activity assay confirmed that the rs920778 TT genotype induced significantly higher HOTAIR levels than did the CC genotype (P < 0.05). CCK-8 assays and colony formation assays demonstrated that the rs920778 TT genotype had a higher proliferation rate of HCC cells than did the CC genotype (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: These results suggest that SNP rs920778 of HOTAIR acts as a potential biomarker for predicting hepatocellular carcinoma, and further studies are warranted to confirm these findings., (© 2017 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background/aims: A growing body of evidence indicates that the abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in sensitizing the cellular response to ionizing radiation (IR). The aim of this study was to investigate whether the expression of miR-124 correlated with radiosensitivity in the context of non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC)., Methods: Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to quantify miR-124 expression in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. The role of miR-124 in NSCLC proliferation and radiosensitivity was analyzed using CCK-8 and flow cytometry apoptosis assays. Luciferase activity assays, RT-PCR, and Western blot assays were performed to confirm the target gene of miR-124., Results: In this study, we found that miR-124 was downregulated both in clinical NSCLC samples and in cell lines. miR-124 inhibited the proliferation of NSCLC cells and enhanced the apoptosis of NSCLC cells exposed to ionizing radiation. We identified signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) as a direct target of miR-124 by using target prediction algorithms and luciferase assays. Overexpression of STAT3 in A549 cell lines restored the enhanced radiosensitivity induced by miR-124., Conclusion: Taking these observations into consideration, we illustrated that miR-124 is a potential target for enhancing the radiosensitivity of NSCLC cells by targeting STAT3., (© 2017 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

As an influencing factor of visual quality, straylight is a functional measure of the effect of light scatter across the retina. The phenomenon depends on the refractive index and the turbidity of the ocular media. This light scattering reduces the contrast of the image projected on the retina, and thus decreases the quality of vision. The review focuses on the concept and classification of straylight, and the relationship between straylight and visual quality.

Purpose: To investigate the characteristics of forward light scatter changes after small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and to compare these changes with those after femtosecond laser-assisted LASIK (femto-LASIK) and epipolis LASIK (epi-LASIK)., Methods: A total of 303 eyes (SMILE group = 118 eyes, femto-LASIK group = 90 eyes, epi-LASIK group = 95) of 157 patients were included in this study. Forward straylight was measured preoperatively and 1 month, 6 months, and 1 year postoperatively using a C-Quant straylight meter (Oculus Optikgeräte, Wetzlar, Germany)., Results: A significant increase in straylight was found in the femto-LASIK group only at 1 month after the procedure (P = .002), whereas significant increases were found in the epi-LASIK group at 1 month, 6 months, and 1 year after the procedure (P < .001). There were no significant increases in the straylight values after SMILE (P = .310) compared with the preoperative values, although the straylight values were slightly increased at 1 month. Significant differences in the postoperative-preoperative straylight value (Δlog[s]) changes were found between the SMILE, femto-LASIK, and epi-LASIK groups over the follow-up period (P < .001 for all). The correlations between the ablation depth/central corneal thickness ratios and the straylight values were statistically significant in the femto-LASIK and epi-LASIK groups, whereas no significant correlation between the lenticule thickness/central corneal thickness ratios and the stray-light values was found in the SMILE group., Conclusions: Forward straylight was slightly increased in the early stage after the femto-LASIK procedure and was significantly increased throughout the follow-up period after epi-LASIK surgery. The SMILE procedure appeared to have a smaller effect on forward light scatter within the 1-year follow-up period., (Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.)

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies and one of the major causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. In the present study, we investigated the association between miR-449a rs112310158 SNP and GC risk. Our findings revealed that a variant GG genotype increased the risk of occurrence of GC compared to a wild type AA genotype (OR = 2.542, 95% CI: 1.304-4.954, P = 0.005). Specifically, the G allele reduced the risk of occurrence of cervical cancer in women compared to the A allele (OR = 1.279, 95% CI: 1.012-1.617, P = 0.043). In conclusion, our findings suggest that miR-449a rs112310158 is a genetic risk factor for GC.

Integrated photonics provides a miniaturized and potentially implantable platform to manipulate and enhance the interactions between light and biological molecules or tissues in in-vitro and in-vivo settings, and is thus being increasingly adopted in a wide cross-section of biomedical applications ranging from disease diagnosis to optogenetic neuromodulation. However, the mechanical rigidity of substrates traditionally used for photonic integration is fundamentally incompatible with soft biological tissues. Cytotoxicity of materials and chemicals used in photonic device processing imposes another constraint towards these biophotonic applications. Here we present thin film TiO2 as a viable material for biocompatible and flexible integrated photonics. Amorphous TiO2 films were deposited using a low temperature (<250 °C) sol-gel process fully compatible with monolithic integration on plastic substrates. High-index-contrast flexible optical waveguides and resonators were fabricated using the sol-gel TiO2 material, and resonator quality factors up to 20,000 were measured. Following a multi-neutral-axis mechanical design, these devices exhibit remarkable mechanical flexibility, and can sustain repeated folding without compromising their optical performance. Finally, we validated the low cytotoxicity of the sol-gel TiO2 devices through in-vitro cell culture tests. These results demonstrate the potential of sol-gel TiO2 as a promising material platform for novel biophotonic devices.

BRAF activated non-coding RNA (BANCR), a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), is crucial for cell migration in melanoma cells and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. However, little is known regarding the role of this gene in the proliferation of colorectal cancer. Therefore, we investigated the involvement of BANCR in the proliferation of colorectal cancer cells. In this study, we show that BANCR expression was significantly down-regulated in colorectal cancer tissues compared with normal tissues, and overexpression of BANCR suppressed colorectal cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo. We also determined that pCDNA-BANCR-mediated colorectal cancer cell proliferation was associated with induction of G0/G1 cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis enhancement through regulation of p21, and its effects were most likely posttranscriptional. Taken together, our findings suggest that down-regulation of BANCR contributes to the proliferation of colorectal cancer cells, at least in part, through the regulation of p21 protein.

Background: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged recently as a new class of genes that regulate cellular processes, such as cell growth and apoptosis. The SPRY4 intronic transcript 1 (SPRY4-IT1) is a 708-bp lncRNA on chromosome 5 with a potential functional role in tumorigenesis. The clinical significance of SPRY4-IT1 and the effect of SPRY4-IT1 on cancer progression are unclear., Methods: Quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to investigate the expression of SPRY4-IT1 in 48 breast cancer tissues and four breast cancer cell lines. Gain and loss of function approaches were used to investigate the biological role of SPRY4-IT1 in vitro. Microarray bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify the putative targets of SPRY4-IT1, which were further verified by rescue experiments, and by western blotting and qRT-PCR., Results: SPRY4-IT1 expression was significantly upregulated in 48 breast cancer tumor tissues comparedwith normal tissues. Additionally, increased SPRY4-IT1 expression was found to be associated with a larger tumor size and an advanced pathological stage in breast cancer patients. The knockdown of SPRY4-IT1 significantly suppressed proliferation and caused apoptosis of breast cancer cells in vitro. Furthermore, we discovered that ZNF703 was a target of SPRY4-IT1 and was downregulated by SPRY4-IT1 knockdown. Moreover, we provide the first demonstration that ZNF703 plays an oncogenic role in ER (-) breast carcinoma cells., Conclusions: SPRY4-IT1 is a novel prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic candidate for breast cancer.

Background and Aims: Single nucleotide polymorphisms in miRNA binding sites, which are located in mRNA 3' untranslated regions (3'-UTRs), were recently found to influence microRNA-target interactions. Specifically, such polymorphisms can modulatebinding affinity or create or destroy miRNA-binding sites; such variants have also been found to be associated with cancer risk. In this study, we explored the effect of a functional variant at the miR-214 binding site in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene (rs114673809) on gastric cancer (GC) risk in a hospital-based case-control study in a Chinese Han population., Methods and Results: We genotyped the rs114673809 polymorphism in 345 gastric cancer patients and 376 cancer-free controls using the polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique. The functions of rs114673809 were investigated using a luciferase activity assay and validated by immunoblotting. We found that participants carrying the rs114673809 AA genotype or A allele had a significantly increased risk of gastric cancer (OR = 1.667, 95% CI = 1.044-2.660, P = 0.034; OR = 1.261, 95% CI = 1.017-1.563, P = 0.037, respectively) compared to those carrying the GG genotype and G allele. In addition, rs114673809 modified the binding of hsa-miR-214 to MTHFR as well as MTHFR protein levels in gastric cancer patients., Conclusion: Our data suggested that rs114673809, which is located at the miR-214 binding site in the 3'-UTR of MTHFR, may play an important role in the development of gastric cancer in a Chinese Han population., (© 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Small glutamine-rich tetratricopeptide repeat-containing protein alpha (SGTA) was reported to be implicated in various cellular processes and involved in control of cell cycle regulation and transcription. It may play a critical role in oncogenesis. In this study, to investigate the potential roles of SGTA in breast cancer, expression patterns, interaction and the correlation with clinical/prognostic factors of SGTA and Ki-67 were examined among patients with breast cancer. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis were performed for SGTA in 100 breast carcinoma samples. The data were correlated with clinicopathological features. The univariate and multivariate survival analyses were also performed to determine the prognostic significance. We found that SGTA was overexpressed in breast carcinoma compared with the adjacent normal tissues. High expression of SGTA was positively associated with histological grade (P = 0.002) and Ki-67 (P = 0.001). Univariate analysis showed that SGTA expression was associated with a poor prognosis (P = 0.002). Kaplan-Meier survival curves of the study population showed that high expression level of SGTA significantly correlated with short-term survival. While in vitro, SGTA depletion by small interfering RNA inhibited cell proliferation and cell cycle in breast cancer cell lines. Western blot analyses showed that SGTA depletion decreased cyclin A, cyclin B and CDK2, whereas increased p27 levels. Additionally, treatment of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor LY294002 could arrest cells growth and diminish SGTA expression. These results suggested that SGTA overexpression was involved in the pathogenesis of breast cancer which might serve as a future target for novel treatment in breast cancer.

Alterations in microRNA (miRNA) expression have been shown to be involved in the tumor response to chemotherapy. However, the possible role of miR‑101 in cisplatin sensitivity in human bladder cancer cells remains unclear. In this study, quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting were utilized to determine the expression profiles of miR‑101 and cyclooxygenase‑2 (COX‑2) in human bladder cancer cells. The effect of miR‑101 and small interfering RNA (siRNA) against COX‑2 on cell viability was evaluated using MTT assays, and apoptosis levels were determined using fluorescence‑activated cell sorting analysis of Annexin V/propidium iodide‑stained cells. Luciferase reporter plasmids were constructed to confirm direct targeting. This study found that the expression of miR‑101 was downregulated in the cisplatin‑resistant cell line T24/CDDP as compared with that in the parental line, T24. Furthermore, overexpression of miR‑101 significantly increased the anti‑proliferative effects and apoptosis induced by cisplatin, whereas knockdown of miR‑101 significantly decreased the anti‑proliferative effects and apoptosis induced by cisplatin. In addition, downregulation of miR‑101 induced cell survival and cisplatin resistance through the upregulation of COX‑2 expression. Luciferase gene reporter assays confirmed that COX‑2 was a direct target gene of miR‑101. Inhibition of COX‑2 using COX‑2 siRNA abrogated the cisplatin resistance induced by miR‑101 downregulation. These results suggest that miR‑101 may provide a novel mechanism for understanding cisplatin resistance in bladder cancer by modulating the COX‑2 pathway.

Purpose: To investigate characteristics of straylight before and after thin-flap LASIK performed with femtosecond laser versus with mechanical microkeratome and assess changes at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 6 months, and 1 year postoperatively., Methods: One hundred twenty-eight consecutive eyes from 66 patients were included in this prospective study. Sixty-one eyes of 31 patients had thin-flap LASIK with femtosecond laser. In addition, 67 eyes from 35 patients underwent thin-flap LASIK with mechanical microkeratome were included for comparison. Following flap creation, all eyes were ablated using the VIXS S4 excimer laser system (Visx USA, Inc., Santa Clara, CA). Straylight values were measured using the C-Quant straylight meter (Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany) preoperatively and 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 6 months and 1 year postoperatively., Results: Preoperatively, the mean straylight values were 0.93 ± 0.11. After femtosecond laser-assisted thin-flap LASIK, the values were 1.00 ± 0.11, 0.98 ± 0.10, and 0.99 ± 0.12 at 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month, respectively, and significantly increased (F = 7.62, P > .0001) compared to preoperative values. However, these values decreased and returned to preoperative levels at 6 months and 1 year postoperatively (0.92 ± 0.09 and 0.89 ± 0.13, respectively; P > .05). The postoperative-preoperative increases in straylight were reduced in the femtosecond laser group compared to the mechanical microkeratome group (0.05 ± 0.13 vs 0.10 ± 0.13 at 1 month postoperatively; P < .05). This difference was statistically significant at 1 month postoperatively (P = .04). A negative significant correlation was also found between preoperative straylight values and postoperative-preoperative increases., Conclusions: Straylight increased significantly in the early stages after femtosecond laser-assisted thin-flap LASIK. However, these values improved over time and gradually returned to preoperative levels, which may be related to the progression of corneal healing., (Copyright 2013, SLACK Incorporated.)