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Objective: We aimed to develop and validate a nomogram based on MRI radiomics to predict overall survival (OS) for patients with de novo oligometastatic prostate cancer (PCa). Methods: A total of 165 patients with de novo oligometastatic PCa were included in the study (training cohort, n = 115; validating cohort, n = 50). Among them, MRI scans were conducted and T2‐weighted imaging (T2WI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) sequences were collected for radiomics features along with their clinicopathological features. Radiological features were extracted from T2WI and ADC sequences for prostate tumors. Univariate Cox regression analysis and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) combined with 10‐fold cross‐validation were used to select the optimal features on each sequence. Then, a weighted radiomics score (Rad‐score) was generated and independent risk factors were obtained from univariate and multivariate Cox regressions to build the nomogram. Model performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration, and decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score, absolute neutrophil count (ANC) and Rad‐score were included in the nomogram as independent risk factors for OS in de novo oligometastatic PCa patients. We found that the areas under the curves (AUCs) in the training cohort were 0.734, 0.851, and 0.773 for predicting OS at 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. In the validating cohort, the AUCs were 0.703, 0.799, and 0.833 for predicting OS at 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. Furthermore, the clinical relevance of the predictive nomogram was confirmed through the analysis of DCA and calibration curve analysis. Conclusion: The MRI‐based nomogram incorporating Rad‐score and clinical data was developed to guide the OS assessment of oligometastatic PCa. This helps in understanding the prognosis and improves the shared decision‐making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ten compounds, including three new bioflavonoids (1–3) and seven known compounds (4–10), were identified in the ethyl acetate fraction of the 85 % ethanol extract of Selaginella delicatula. The structures of the new compounds were determined through spectroscopic data analysis, and their absolute configurations were established using circular dichroism (CD). All the isolated compounds were tested for their antiproliferative effects on MCF‐7, HepG2, and HEK 293T cells. Compounds 1 and 5 exhibited significant cytotoxicity against MCF‐7 cells, effectively inhibiting their proliferation. Meanwhile, compounds 1, 2, 5, and 7 respectively exhibited strong inhibitory effects on HepG2 cells. Furthermore, when we combined the IC50 values of compounds 3, 5, and 7 on HEK 293T cells, we discovered that they selectively inhibited cell growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the predictive value of body composition parameters for biochemical response to abiraterone acetate (AA) in metastatic castration‐resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients with prior chemohormonal therapy. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the clinicopathologic information of 132 mCRPC cases receiving AA treatment after chemohormonal therapy at hormone‐sensitive stage from July 2018 to June 2021. All patients were divided into AA responders and non‐responders according to the biochemical response to AA (prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) reduction ≥50% than pretreatment). Multivariate Logistic analysis was used to determine the independent predictors and develop predictive model of biochemical response to AA. Cox regression analysis was utilized to investigate the prognostic factors for time to biochemical progression (TTBP), radiological progression‐free survival (rPFS), failure‐free survival (FFS), and overall survival (OS) after AA treatment. Results: There were 57 AA responders and 75 AA non‐responders. Periprostatic fat area/prostate area (PPFA/PA) was decreased and skeletal muscle index (SMI) was increased in AA responders compared with AA non‐responders. Multivariable logistic analysis demonstrated that ADT duration ≥12 months, bone metastasis only, high SMI and low PPFA/PA were independent predictors of biochemical response to AA treatment. The FFS, TTBP, rPFS, and OS of patients with lower SMI or higher PPFA/PA was decreased compared with that of patients with higher SMI or lower PPFA/PA, respectively. Combining SMI, PPFA/PA, ADT duration and metastatic sites performed well in differentiating AA responders from non‐responders. Conclusions: High SMI and low PPFA/PA could predict biochemical response to AA treatment and preferable prognosis in mCRPC patients with prior chemohormonal therapy at hormone‐sensitive stage. This study aimed to investigate the predictive value of body composition parameters for biochemical response to abiraterone acetate (AA) in metastatic castration‐resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients with prior chemohormonal therapy. We found that high SMI and low PPFA/PA could predict biochemical response to AA treatment and preferable prognosis in mCRPC patients with prior chemohormonal therapy at hormone‐sensitive stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To study the impact of dose distribution on volume-effect parameter and predictive ability of equivalent uniform dose (EUD) model, and to explore the improvements. Methods and Materials: The brains of 103 nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with IMRT were segmented according to dose distribution (brain and left/right half-brain for similar distributions but different sizes; V D with different D for different distributions). Predictive ability of EUDVD (EUD of V D) for radiation-induced brain injury was assessed by receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC). The optimal volume-effect parameter a of EUD was selected when AUC was maximal (mAUC). Correlations between mAUC, a and D were analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis. Both mAUC and a in brain and half-brain were compared by using paired samples t -tests. The optimal D V and V D points were selected for a simple comparison. Results: The mAUC of brain/half-brain EUD was 0.819/0.821 and the optimal a value was 21.5/22. When D increased, mAUC of EUDVD increased, while a decreased. The mAUC reached the maximum value when D was 50–55 Gy, and a was always 1 when D ≥55 Gy. The difference of mAUC/ a between brain and half-brain was not significant. If a was in range of 1 to 22, AUC of brain/half-brain EUDV55 Gy (0.857–0.830/0.845–0.830) was always larger than that of brain/half-brain EUD (0.681–0.819/0.691–0.821). The AUCs of optimal dose/volume points were 0.801 (brain D2.5 cc), 0.823 (brain V70 Gy), 0.818 (half-brain D1 cc), and 0.827 (half-brain V69 Gy), respectively. Mean dose (equal to EUDVD with a = 1) of high-dose volume (V50 Gy–V60 Gy) was superior to traditional EUD and dose/volume points. Conclusion: Volume-effect parameter of EUD is variable and related to dose distribution. EUD with large low-dose volume may not be better than simple dose/volume points. Critical-dose-volume EUD could improve the predictive ability and has an invariant volume-effect parameter. Mean dose may be the case in which critical-dose-volume EUD has the best predictive ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To estimate whether adjuvant radiotherapy is necessary for patients with stage IA1-IIA1 cervical cancer after laparoscopic hysterectomy, 221 patients were retrospectively analyzed. Sixty-two of them were treated with laparoscopic hysterectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy (group A), 115 underwent open surgery (group B) and 44 received laparoscopic hysterectomy alone (group C). Results showed that the 3-year local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) rates of group A, B and C were 98.4%, 97.4% and 86.4%, respectively. The LRFS rates of group A and B surpassed C (A vs. B, p=0.634; A vs. C, p=0.011; B vs. C, p=0.006). The inter-group differences of 3-year overall survival (OS) and distant metastasis free survival (DMFS) were not statistically significant. In subgroup analysis of stage IB disease, the 3-year LRFS rates of group A, B and C were 100%, 98.8% and 83.1%, the 3-year OS rates of group A, B and C were 100%, 98.9% and 91.5%, respectively. The 3-year LRFS and OS rates of group A and B were significantly superior to group C (p<0.05). Our findings suggest that adjuvant radiotherapy can reduce the risk of recurrence for women with early-stage cervical cancer after laparoscopic hysterectomy and bring survival benefits for patients with stage IB disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the role of half-brain delineation in the prediction of radiation-induced temporal lobe injury (TLI) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) receiving intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Methods and Materials: A total of 220 NPC cases treated with IMRT and concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed. Dosimetric parameters of temporal lobes, half-brains, and brains included maximum dose (Dmax), doses covering certain volume (DV) from 0.03 to 20 cc and absolute volumes receiving specific dose (VD) from 40 to 80 Gy. Inter-structure variability was assessed by coefficients of variation (CV) and paired samples t -tests. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and Youden index were used for screening dosimetric parameters to predict TLI. Dose/volume response curve was calculated using the logistic dose/volume response model. Results: CVs of brains, left/right half-brains, and left/right temporal lobes were 9.72%, 9.96%, 9.77%, 27.85%, and 28.34%, respectively. Each DV in temporal lobe was significantly smaller than that in half-brain (P < 0.001), and the reduction ranged from 3.10% to 45.98%. The area under the curve (AUC) of DV and VD showed an "increase-maximum-decline" behavior with a peak as the volume or dose increased. The maximal AUCs of DVs in brain, half-brain and temporal lobe were 0.808 (D2cc), 0.828 (D1.2cc) and 0.806 (D0.6cc), respectively, and the maximal AUCs of VDs were 0.818 (D75Gy), 0.834 (V72Gy) and 0.814 (V70Gy), respectively. The cutoffs of V70Gy (0.86 cc), V71Gy (0.72 cc), V72Gy (0.60 cc), and V73Gy (0.45 cc) in half-brain had better Youden index. TD5/5 and TD50/5 of D1.2cc were 58.7 and 80.0 Gy, respectively. The probability of TLI was higher than >13% when V72Gy>0 cc, and equal to 50% when V72Gy = 7.66 cc. Conclusion: Half-brain delineation is a convenient and stable method which could reduce contouring variation and could be used in NPC patients. D1.2cc and V72Gy of half-brain are feasible for TLI prediction model. The dose below 70 Gy may be relatively safe for half-brain. The cutoff points of V70–73Gy could be considered when the high dose is inevitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient route to constructing C-S bonds has been developed by TBHP (tert-butyl hydroperoxide) mediated C-H thiolation of tetrahydrofuran with disulfides. This route is promoted by catalytic amounts of Na2CO3 and gives various tetrahydrofuran-containing sulfides in moderate to high yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient route to constructing C-S bonds has been developed by TBHP (tert-butyl hydroperoxide) mediated C-H thiolation of tetrahydrofuran with disulfides. This route is promoted by catalytic amounts of Na2CO3 and gives various tetrahydrofuran-containing sulfides in moderate to high yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient and metal-free method was developed to synthesise 3-sulfenylindoles via the iodine-mediated electrophilic cyclisation of 2-alkynylanilines with disulfides. In the presence of I2, various 3-sulfenylindoles were obtained in moderate to high yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water was found to promote the ligand-free Pd(OAc)2-catalysed Heck cross-coupling reaction. In the presence of 3 mol% Pd(OAc)2, 2 equiv. of Cs2CO3 and 15 mg of water, the coupling of a wide variety of aryl halides with alkenes proceeded smoothly in TBAB (n-Bu4NBr) in moderate to excellent yield. The Pd(OAc)2/TBAB system could be recovered and reused at least three times without loss of catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome was reported as expressed in schistosomiasis-induced liver fibrosis (SSLF). We used an NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor, MCC950, to investigate whether it inhibited liver fibrosis, and explored the preliminary molecular mechanism. Methods: BALB/c mice were infected with 15 cercariae through the abdominal skin. They received intraperitoneal injections of MCC950 on the day of infection and at day 22 post-infection. We examined their SSLF phenotype and the effect on liver fibrosis, primary Kupffer cells (KCs), and HSCs. Human hepatic stellate cell lines (human LX-2 cells) were treated with soluble egg antigen (SEA) released from the eggs. We then determined the expression of NLRP3 inflammasome and liver fibrosis-associated markers, liver granuloma and ALT/AST. Results: NLRP3 inflammasome expression in the liver was significantly increased, and eosinophilic granuloma and collagen deposition were found around the eggs in mice infected for 56 days. Additionally, IL-1β, ALT/AST in plasma, and NF-κB in liver tissue and in KCs were all greatly significantly increased. The above-mentioned indicators were largely reduced in mice treated with MCC950 on the day of infection. In vitro, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/SEA could induce LX-2 cells to express NLRP3 and fibrosis markers, and the SEA-treated group was reversed by MCC950. Furthermore, NLRP3 inflammasome and liver fibrosis-associated markers were both increased in the primary KCs and HSCs isolated from infected mice. However, this effect was not observed in the same cells from the mice treated with MCC950 on the day of infection. Contrary to the aforementioned results, MCC950 treatment at day 22 post-infection aggravated this process. Surprisingly, NLRP3 inflammasome was involved in liver fibrosis mostly from KCs. Conclusions: MCC950 acts dually on SSLF pathology and fibrosis in infected mice. Although MCC950 treatment improved SSLF on the day of infection, it exacerbated the pathological effects at day 22 post-infection. These dual effects were mediated via NF-κB. Moreover, NLRP3 inflammasome mainly came from KCs. Our results suggest that blocking NLRP3 on the day of infection may prove to be a promising direction in preventing SSLF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A graphical abstract for the study "TBHP-Mediated C--H Thiolation of Tetrahydrofuran with Disulfides Promoted by Catalytic Amounts of Na2CO3," is presented.

Rationale and Objectives: To assess the predictive value of MRI-based radiomics of periprostatic fat (PPF) and tumor lesions for predicting Gleason score (GS) upgrading from biopsy to radical prostatectomy (RP) in prostate cancer (PCa)., Methods: A total of 314 patients with pathologically confirmed prostate cancer (PCa) after radical prostatectomy (RP) were included in the study. The patients were randomly assigned to the training cohort (n = 157) and the validating cohort (n = 157) in a 1:1 ratio. All had pre-surgery MRI followed by transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy. Radiological features were extracted from T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) sequences for PPF and tumors. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression identified independent clinical risk factors, and a combined model was established by integrating radiomic features of PPF and PCa. Model performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration, and decision curve analysis., Results: The combined model, incorporating radiomic features of PPF, PCa, and clinical data, predicted GS upgrading from biopsy to RP excellently (AUC=0.925, 95%CI0.872-0.979) in the training cohort. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test confirmed model fit (χ 2 = 9.316, P = 0.316). The nomogram was validated in the validating cohort; it showed good accuracy (AUC= 0.937, 95% CI, 0.891-0.983) and was well calibrated (χ 2 = 12.871, P = 0.116). Decision curve analysis indicated good clinical utility of the radiomic nomogram., Conclusion: The combined model incorporating PPF, PCa, and clinical data showed excellent performance in predicting GS upgrading from biopsy to RP in PCa patients. This offers a novel and reliable noninvasive tool for GS upgrading risk stratification., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Piperine, a natural amide isolated from the genus of Piper , serves as a pharmacophore in medicinal chemistry. In this study, we synthesised and evaluated 18 novel piperine-acylhydrazone hybrids ( 4a - 4r ) for their antiproliferative activities in vitro . The structures of these hybrids were validated using 1 H, 13 C NMR, and HR-ESI-MS data. Furthermore, we screened all synthesised compounds for their antiproliferative activities against three human cancer cell lines: FaDu (laryngeal carcinoma cells), HepG2 (hepatoblastoma carcinoma cells), and MGC803 (gastric carcinoma cells). Among them, compound 4o exhibited significantly inhibitory activities against FaDu, HepG2, and MGC803 with IC 50 values of 13.85 ± 0.19, 11.02 ± 1.45, and 13.47 ± 3.43  μ M, respectively, which was approximately two-fold lower than the positive control cisplatin. These findings suggest that compound 4o has the potential to be promising leads for the design of anti-cancer drugs.

Background: Bioinformatics analysis showed that the expression of the poly(A)-specific ribonuclease (PARN) gene in gastric cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma, cervical cancer and lung squamous cell carcinoma tissues was significantly higher than that in normal tissues and was associated with high stage and poor prognosis. The expression of the PARN gene in esophageal cancer (EC) tissue is also significantly higher than that in normal tissues, but the effect of PARN on the proliferation, migration and invasion of EC cells remains unclear., Aim: To investigate the relationship between PARN and the proliferation, migration and invasion of EC cells., Methods: The EC tissues of 91 patients after EC surgery and 63 paired precancerous healthy tissues were collected. PARN mRNA levels were measured using a tissue microarray, and the PARN expression level was evaluated using immunohistochemistry to analyze the relationship between PARN expression and clinicopathologic features as well as the survival and prognosis of patients. In addition, the effects of PARN gene knockout on tumor cell proliferation, invasion and migration were studied by using shRNA during the in vitro culture of EC cell lines Eca-109 and TE-1, and the effects of the PARN gene on tumor growth in vivo were verified by a xenotransplantation nude mice model., Results: The expression of PARN in EC tissues was higher than that in adjacent normal tissues, and the level of PARN expression was significantly positively correlated with lymphatic metastasis. Patients with high PARN levels had poor overall survival. BIM, IGFBP-5 and p21 levels were significantly increased in the PARN knockout group, while the expression levels of the antiapoptotic proteins Survivin and sTNF-R1 were significantly decreased in the apoptotic antibody array data. In addition, the expression levels of Akt, p-Akt, PIK3CA and CCND1 in the downstream signaling pathway regulating EC progression were significantly decreased. The culture of EC cell lines confirmed that the apoptosis rate of EC cells was significantly increased, the growth and proliferation of tumor cells were significantly inhibited, and the invasion and migration ability of tumor cells were significantly decreased after PARN gene knockout. In vivo experiments of BALB/c nude mice transfected with Eca-109 cells expressing control shRNA (sh-NC) and PARN shRNA (sh-PARN) showed that the tumor volume and weight of nude mice treated with sh-PARN were significantly decreased compared with those of nude mice treated with sh-NC, indicating that PARN knockdown significantly inhibited tumor growth in vivo ., Conclusion: PARN has antiapoptotic effects on EC cells and promotes their proliferation, invasion and migration, which is associated with the development of EC and poor patient prognosis. PARN may become a potential target for the diagnosis, prognosis prediction and treatment of EC., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Periostin, an extracellular matrix protein, plays a significant role in adverse cardiac remodeling. However, no report has documented the function of periostin in left ventricular remodeling of streptozototin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. The aim of the present study was to observe the expression of periostin in Wistar rat's myocardium of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) and the effect of valsartan on it., Methods: Immunohistochemistry, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot analysis were used to determine the degree of expression and location of periostin, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, TGF-β1 type II receptor (TGF-β1 R II), and Type I and III collagens in the myocardium of STZ-induced diabetic rats., Results: Periostin, TGF-β1, TGF-β1 R II, and Type I and III collagens were significantly increased in the myocardium of diabetic rats compared with control group on both messenger ribonucleic acid and protein levels. In addition, diabetic rats treated with valsartan could have reduced expression of periostin and improved cardiac remodeling of DCM., Conclusions: Periostin may play a crucial role in cardiac remodeling and myocardial interstitial fibrosis process of DCM and it could be one of the important mechanisms for valsartan to improve the ventricular remodeling of DCM.