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Abstract Background To determine whether transrectal ultrasound and urologist_dually guided pelvic floor muscle exercise is associated with immediate, early and long-term urinary continence after radical prostatectomy. Materials and methods Data from 114 patients with localized prostate cancer (PC) who underwent RP at Henan Cancer Hospital from November 2018 to April 2021 were included in the retrospective study. Of the 114 patients, 50 patients in the observation group underwent transrectal ultrasound and urologist_dually guided PFME, and 64 patients in the control group underwent verbally_guided PFME. Contractile function of the external urinary sphincter was in the observation group was evaluated. The immediate, early and long-term urinary continence rates were assessed in both groups, and the factors affecting urinary continence were analyzed. Results The urinary continence rate at 2 weeks and 1, 3, 6 and 12 months in the observation group after RP was significantly higher than that in the control group (52.0% vs. 29.7%, 70.0% vs. 39.1%, 82% vs. 57.8, 88% vs. 70.3%, 98.0 vs. 84.4%, p

Simple Summary: Partial hepatectomy (PH) is a common clinical surgery for managing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A common concern about PH is the high tumor recurrence rate following PH. Previous studies have reported that PH can promote the growth of transplanted HCC in rodents. In the current study, we have used an inducible krasG12V-driven zebrafish HCC model to investigate the effects of PH on the oncogene-induced de novo HCC development. We found that PH can significantly promote the development of krasG12V-induced HCC in zebrafish. This enhancing effect could be attributed to the increased oxidative stress and the enhanced deregulation of molecular factors. Our findings may provide references for the future development of novel therapeutic strategies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of PH on the development of oncogenic krasG12V-induced HCC in zebrafish. The inducible HCC model in Tg(fabp10a:rtTA2s-M2; TRE2:EGFP-krasG12V) zebrafish was used. PH or sham surgery was performed before the induction of oncogenic krasG12V expression in the livers of transgenic zebrafish. Histological analysis was carried out to determine the progression of HCC and other HCC-associated features including hepatocyte proliferation, extracellular matrix production, and local oxidative stress. The similarity between the process of PH-induced liver regeneration and that of krasG12V-induced HCC development was further compared by RNA-Seq analysis. The results show that PH promotes the development of krasG12V-induced HCC in zebrafish possibly through enhancing neutrophil-mediated oxidative stress and promoting the upregulation of s100a1, and the downregulation of ribosome biogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background : Bladder cancer (BLCA) ranks 10th in incidence among malignant tumors and 6th in incidence among malignant tumors in males. With the application of immune therapy, the overall survival (OS) rate of BLCA patients has greatly improved, but the 5-year survival rate of BLCA patients is still low. Furthermore, not every BLCA patient benefits from immunotherapy, and there are a limited number of biomarkers for predicting the immunotherapy response. Therefore, novel biomarkers for predicting the immunotherapy response and prognosis of BLCA are urgently needed. Methods : The RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data, clinical data and gene annotation files for The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) BLCA cohort were extracted from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) Xena Browser. The BLCA datasets GSE31684 and GSE32894 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were extracted for external validation. Immune-related genes were extracted from InnateDB. Significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using the R package "limma," and Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis for the DEGs were performed using R package "clusterProfiler." Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis were used to construct the signature model. The infiltration level of each immune cell type was estimated using the single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) algorithm. The performance of the model was evaluated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and calibration curves. Results : In total, 1,040 immune-related DEGs were identified, and eight signature genes were selected to construct a model using LASSO regression analysis. The risk score of BLCA patients based on the signature model was negatively correlated with OS and the immunotherapy response. The ROC curve for OS revealed that the model had good accuracy. The calibration curve showed good agreement between the predictions and actual observations. Conclusions : Herein, we constructed an immune-related eight-gene signature that could be a potential biomarker to predict the immunotherapy response and prognosis of BLCA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-field susceptible ceramic composite with an ultra high percolation threshold (fc) and extraordinary performance is of great interest and significance for the design of multifunctional devices. In this work, the percolative BaTiO3 (BTO)/Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 (NZFO) ceramic composite with fc above 0.9 and extraordinary dielectric and magnetic properties was successfully synthesized by a critical-sintering-rapid-cooling-and-post-annealing (CSRC-PA) method. XRD, SEM and EDS were used to analyze the phase structure and observe the morphology of the composite. The analyses reveals that a small amount of crystalline BTO phase enwraps a large amount of bigger-sized crystalline NZFO phase completely and tightly, successfully elevating the percolation threshold above 0.9 (volume fraction of ferrite ∼92%). A precision impedance analyzer and vibrating sample magnetometer were used to measure the dielectric and magnetic properties of the composite. The effective permittivity exceeds 40 000, which is extraordinarily high with a minimum loss tangent of only ∼0.3. The initial permeability and saturation magnetization of the composite, which are ∼106 and ∼76 emu g−1, respectively, approach quite closely to the values of single-phased NZFO ferrite. The composite may be a potential candidate in promoting the miniaturization and integration of modern multifunctional devices, while the CSRC-PA method, based on fundamental chemical principles, is applicable in preparing high-fc bi-phased composites that cannot spontaneously form an enwrapped microstructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study is to summarize the surgical experience of renal artery cold perfusion combined with laparoscopic nephron preserving surgery for the treatment of complex renal angiomyolipoma and to evaluate the safety and feasibility of this surgical protocol., Materials and Methods: Clinical data of nine patients who received renal artery cold perfusion combined with laparoscopic nephron preserving surgery for complex renal angiomyolipoma in our hospital from February 2017 to August 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The study parameters included imaging findings, total renal function before and after surgery, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of affected kidney before and after surgery, and related complications., Results: Eight of the nine patients successfully completed the operation, one patient was intolerant to renal artery balloon implantation, and the success rate of the operation was 88.89%. The mean maximum tumor diameter was 6.8 cm, and RENAL score was 7 points. Postoperative total renal function and GFR of the affected kidney had no significant changes compared with that before surgery, and imaging examination showed no tumor residue or recurrence., Conclusion: This surgical procedure is safe and feasible for complex renal angiomyolipoma and can be used as a surgical option for renal hamartoma. The long-term effect needs to be confirmed by further studies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Zhu, Yin, Zhao, Ma, Sun, Zhu, Du and Yang.)

Background: Bladder cancer (BLCA) is a common malignant tumor of the genitourinary system, and there is a lack of specific, reliable, and non-invasive tumor biomarker tests for diagnosis and prognosis evaluation. Homeobox genes play a vital role in BLCA tumorigenesis and development, but few studies have focused on the prognostic value of homeobox genes in BLCA. In this study, we aim to develop a prognostic signature associated with the homeobox gene family for BLCA. Methods: The RNA sequencing data, clinical data, and probe annotation files of BLCA patients were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database and the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), Xena Browser. First, differentially expressed homeobox gene screening between tumor and normal samples was performed using the "limma" and robust rank aggregation (RRA) methods. The mutation data were obtained with the "TCGAmutation" package and visualized with the "maftools" package. Kaplan-Meier curves were plotted with the "survminer" package. Then, a signature was constructed by logistic regression analysis. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were performed using "clusterProfiler." Furthermore, the infiltration level of each immune cell type was estimated using the single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) algorithm. Finally, the performance of the signature was evaluated by receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calibration curve analyses. Results: Six genes were selected to construct this prognostic model: TSHZ3, ZFHX4, ZEB2, MEIS1, ISL1, and HOXC4. We divided the BLCA cohort into high- and low-risk groups based on the median risk score calculated with the novel signature. The overall survival (OS) rate of the high-risk group was significantly lower than that of the low-risk group. The infiltration levels of almost all immune cells were significantly higher in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group. The average risk score for the group that responded to immunotherapy was significantly lower than that of the group that did not. Conclusion: We constructed a risk prediction signature with six homeobox genes, which showed good accuracy and consistency in predicting the patient's prognosis and response to immunotherapy. Therefore, this signature can be a potential biomarker and treatment target for BLCA patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Dong, Liang, Li, Song, Song, Zhu, Zhao, Ma and Yang.)