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OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the expression levels of the MKNK2 gene in pan-cancer, its prognostic significance, and its relationship with the tumor immune microenvironment, as well as to assess its potential as an immunological and prognostic biomarker. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The research utilized data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), and Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE), including clinical and mutational information. Bioinformatic tools were employed to analyze the association of MKNK2 with carcinogenesis, including its links to prognosis, immune cell infiltration, tumor immune microenvironment, gene mutation, and the stemness of various tumor cells. A variety of statistical software and analytical tools were applied, including R software, SPSS 27.0, TIMER, CIBERSORT algorithm, and EPIC algorithm. RESULTS: The study found that MKNK2 is abnormally expressed in pan-cancer and is associated with a poor prognosis. The levels of MKNK2 are highly related to immune cell infiltration and tumor stemness. Notably, in liver hepatocellular carcinoma, glioblastoma multiforme, low-grade gliomas, and acute myeloid leukemia, MKNK2 expression shows a strong correlation with clinical outcomes and immune infiltration. Furthermore, the expression of MKNK2 shows signifi- cant correlations with immune cell infiltration, immune checkpoints, tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), and stemness scores across various cancers. CONCLUSIONS: The abnormal expression of MKNK2 is associated with tumor progression, immune checkpoint genes, immune cell infiltration, microsatellite instability (MSI), tumor mutational burden (TMB), and stemness in a variety of tumors, especially in glioblastoma multiforme low-grade gliomas (GBMLGG). Therefore, MKNK2 may serve as a potent prognostic physiological marker and provide new avenues for the development of tumor mechanisms and therapeutic strategies targeting MKNK2 to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Lichen sclerosus is a chronic inflammatory genital skin condition that can cause destructive urethral scarring. To our knowledge no prior study has described lichen sclerosus in isolated bulbar urethral stricture segments without progressive disease originating from the penile urethra. We report the incidence of lichen sclerosus in isolated bulbar urethral stricture segments. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed the records of 70 patients after urethroplasty for isolated bulbar stricture disease was performed from 2007 to 2013. Stricture specimens were re-reviewed by a single uropathologist. Cases were evaluated using common histological features of lichen sclerosus, including hyperkeratosis or epithelial atrophy, basal cell vacuolar degeneration, lichenoid lymphocytic infiltrate and superepithelial sclerosis. Results Average patient age was 46.5 years (range 19 to 77) and average stricture length was 3.5 cm (range 1 to 7). Of the patients 51 (73.0%) underwent excision and primary anastomosis, and 19 (27.1%) underwent buccal mucosal onlay. In 6 patients (8.6%) stricture recurred during a median followup of 22 months (IQR 14, 44). Three of those patients had lichen sclerosus. Initial pathology assessment revealed lichen sclerosus in 5 patients (7.1%, 95% CI 1.0-13.3). On re-review of specimens using pathology criteria specific to lichen sclerosus 31 patients (44.3%, 95% CI 32.4-56.2) showed pathology findings highly suggestive of (13) or diagnostic for (18) lichen sclerosus (p = 0.0001). On pathological re-review lichen sclerosus was associated with recurrent stricture. Conclusions On re-review of surgical specimens we noted a significant incidence of lichen sclerosus in isolated bulbar strictures in men undergoing urethroplasty. The incidence of lichen sclerosus may be higher than reported in isolated bulbar urethral segments without evidence of distal to proximal progressive urethral disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIM: This study aimed to determine the effect of Lactuside B isolated from Pterocypsela alata on the expression of AQP4 and TRPM7 mRNAs after cerebral ischemic injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Brain ischemia injury was established by occluding the MCA (middle cerebral artery) for 2 h, followed by reperfusion in rats. The neurologic deficit scores were used to determine the success of the model. All drugs were intraperitoneally administered once a day (5 ml/kg). Eight animals from each group were investigated for the Na+ level, and the others were examined for AQP4 and TRPM7 mRNA changes. RESULTS: Compared with the model group, the neurologic deficit scores and Na+ levels decreased in the lactuside B groups (p < 0.05 vs. p < 0.01). All lactuside B groups had significantly decreased AQP4 and TRPM7 mRNA expression compared with the model group (p < 0.05 vs. < 0.01). Dose dependence was observed between low and medium doses. CONCLUSIONS: Lactuside B protected against cerebral edema and nerve cell damage caused by cerebral ischemic injury by decreasing the expression of AQP4 and TRPM7 mRNAs in the cerebral cortex of rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by excessive proliferation of keratinocytes. Fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF10) acts as a growth factor for keratinocyte proliferation.The aim of this study is to investigate whether FGF10 blockage, a new monoclonal antibody against FGF10 we generated, could mitigate topical propranolol-induced psoriasis-like lesions in guinea pigs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The monoclonal anti-FGF10 was generated by a routine method and purified by affinity chromatography. The effect of FGF10 and anti-FGF10 on human keratinocyte HaCaT cell proliferation was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT). The back of the ears of individual guinea pigs was topically exposed to 5% propranolol emulsion to induce psoriasis-like lesions and randomly treated topically with phosphate buffered saline (PBS), hydrocortisone butyrate, or different doses of antiFGF10. The pathologic changes and the degrees of inflammation in the auricular areas of individual animals were examined histologically. RESULTS: Characterization revealed that antiFGF10 had a purity of 90% and a titer of 1:12800. We found that FGF10 stimulated HaCaT cell proliferation while treatment with different doses of antiFGF10 inhibited FGF10-induced cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner (100, 200 ng/ml, p < 0.05 vs. control; 400, 800, 1600 ng/ml, p < 0.01 vs. control). Compared to PBS-treated psoriatic animals, treatment with anti-FGF10, like hydrocortisone butyrate, greatly inhibited the severity of psoriasislike lesions by reducing the Baker's scores, the thickness of epidermis, and the numbers of monocyte infiltrates in the dermis of animals. CONCLUSIONS: The newly generated antiFGF10 monoclonal antibody inhibited the proliferation of human keratinocytes in vitro and mitigated inflammation and pathogenic changes in propranolol-induced psoriasis-like lesions in animals. Therefore, these findings may provide a proof of principle that blockage of FGF-10 may inhibit psoriasis-related inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: To inquire into the morbidity of congenital cataract which affects the visual development of infants in Tianjin, find the proportion of cases caused by genetic factors, and to provide the baseline information for discovering amblyopia in an early stage so as to reduce vision disability. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Babies no more than two months old were screened for congenital cataract under normal pupil conditions. The check-up was performed using ophthalmoscope and a portable slit lamp. RESULTS: Among the 268,989 babies (537,978 eyes) being checked, 44 cases (75 eyes) of congenital cataract (13 unilateral cases and 31 bilateral cases) were detected and a morbidity rate of 0.016‰ was reported. 13 of the 44 babies (0.048‰) face difficulties in vision development. In the 44 positive cases, 7 had a family history of congenital cataract (15.91%), 8 (18.18%) had high risk factors and the other 29 cases (65.91%) reported no known reasons. CONCLUSIONS: Babies eyes screening under normal pupil conditions is an effective, rapid and acceptable method for discovering congenital cataract cases. Unlike findings in other related literatures, we found that genetic factors accounted for 15.91% of the incidence of congenital cataract, while 65.91% cases can't be explained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, three-dimensional (3D) turbulent flow in the porous media formed by periodic arrays of particles is numerically investigated. 3D Navier-Stokes equations and a standard k-ε turbulence model with enhanced wall function are adopted to model the turbulent flow inside the pores. Both local and macroscopic turbulence characteristics for different particle types (cubic, spherical, and ellipsoidal particles) and array forms [simple cubic (SC) and body center cubic arrays (BCC)] with different pore Reynolds numbers and porosities are carefully examined. It is revealed that, in the structural arrays of particles, the effects of particle shape and array form would be remarkable. With the same Reynolds number and porosity, the magnitudes of turbulence kinetic energy and its dissipation rate for the simple cubic array of spheres (SC-S) would be higher than those for the other arrays. Furthermore, with a nonlinear fitting method, the macroscopic correlations for extra turbulence quantities k∞ and ε∞ in the structural arrays for different particle types and array forms are extracted. The forms of present correlations can fit well with those of Nakayama and Kuwahara's correlations [Nakayama and Kuwahara, 1999, "A Macroscopic Turbulence Model for Flow in Porous Media," ASMEJ. Fluids Eng., 121(2), pp. 427-433], but some model constants would be lower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Skin flap grafting (SFG) is a common surgical operation, and hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) is an important strategy for restoring the grafted skin flap. Thus, we employed a rat skin flap grafting model treated with HBO, and expression levels of high mobility group protein 1 (HMGB1) and NF-kappaB (nuclear factor-kappaB) were characterized. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty rats were randomly assigned to 5 groups: (1) sham-operation (SH), (2) ischemia followed by reperfusion 3 days after operation (IR3d), (3) ischemia followed by reperfusion 5 days after operation (IR5d), (4) ischemia followed by reperfusion and HBOT 3 days after operation (HBO3d), and (5) ischemia followed by reperfusion and HBOT 5 days after operation (HBO5d). Elevated pedicled skin flaps were designed (size, 9 cm x 6 cm), and feeding vessels were clamped. The microvascular clamp was removed 3 h later and flow was restored. In the HBO3d and HBO5d groups, rats received 1 h of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) starting immediately after surgery for 3 days and 5 days, respectively. Upon completion of animal experiments, rats were euthanized by general anesthesia, and blood samples were taken for testing. The tissues were sectioned for western blotting and immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: Expression of HMGB1 and NF-κB proteins in the HBO groups was lower than in the IR groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that HBOT can be used to reduce ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury of skin flap grafts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perivascular epithelioid cell tumors (PEComas) are mesenchymal tumors containing variable component of smooth muscles, fat and vessels. They occured pretty rare in the liver and no characteristic of imaging data have been demonstrated up to now. We herein present a case of a 58-year-old man with a hepatic PEComa which was correct diagnosed through immunohistochemical confirmation with HMB-45. The clinicopathological and imaging features of hepatic PEComa were analyzed retrospectively. This is the first paper which demonstrated the characteristic of imaging data among liver PEComas and other liver lesions. However, the diagnostic criteria of PEComa depends on pathology. Hepatectomy is the effective treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractHIV viremia is associated with a wide range of immune dysfunctions that contribute to the immunocompromised state. HIV viremia has been shown to have a broad effect on several immune cell types and/or their interactions that are vital for mounting an effective immune response. In this study, we investigated the integrity of plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC)-NK cell interactions among HIV viremic, aviremic, and seronegative individuals. We describe a critical defect in the ability of pDCs from HIV-infected individuals to secrete IFN-α and TNF and subsequently activate NK cells. We also describe an inherent defect on NK cells from HIV-infected individuals to respond to pDC-secreted cytokines. Furthermore, we were able to demonstrate a direct effect of HIV trimeric gp120 on NK cells in vitrosimilar to that described ex vivo. Finally, we were able to establish that the HIV gp120-mediated suppressive effect on NK cells was a result of its binding to the integrin α4β7expressed on NK cells. These findings suggest a novel mechanism by which HIV is capable of suppressing an innate immune function in infected individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the development of deep ultraviolet AlGaN multiple quantum well light emitting diodes on sapphire with peak emission wavelength from 278 nm to 340 nm. The high quality of the n+-AlGaN buffer layer was achieved using a new pulsed atomic layer epitaxy growth technique to deposit a high quality AlN buffer layers followed by a strain relief AlN/AlGaN superlattice. These devices exhibited pulsed powers as high as 3 mW, 10 mW and 13 mW for 1 A of pumping current. Under pulsed pumping, the external quantum efficiencies of about 0.1% (278 nm), 0.45% (325 nm) and 0.55% (340 nm) represent record high values and the shortest LED emission wavelengths to date. (© 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]