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Brain-computer interface (BCI) has been widely used in sports training and rehabilitation training. It is primarily based on action simulation, including movement imagery (MI) and movement observation (MO). However, the development of BCI technology is limited due to the challenge of getting an in-depth understanding of brain networks involved in MI, MO, and movement execution (ME). To better understand the brain activity changes and the communications across various brain regions under MO, ME, and MI, this study conducted the fist experiment under MO, ME, and MI. We recorded 64-channel electroencephalography (EEG) from 39 healthy subjects (25 males, 14 females, all right-handed) during fist tasks, obtained intensities and locations of sources using EEG source imaging (ESI), computed source activation modes, and finally investigated the brain networks using spectral Granger causality (GC). The brain regions involved in the three motor conditions are similar, but the degree of participation of each brain region and the network connections among the brain regions are different. MO, ME, and MI did not recruit shared brain connectivity networks. In addition, both source activation modes and brain network connectivity had lateralization advantages.

Background Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) is a promising method for analyzing minor amounts of nucleic acid. However, its application has not been reported in pleural fluid, which is an ideal sample source for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation analysis in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Methods The extracted DNA from supernatants of pleural fluid was selected from our sample bank and re-analyzed by our previously established ddPCR assay. The results were compared with the former outcomes detected by direct sequencing or the amplification-refractory mutation system (ARMS). Results A total of 95 samples were selected, and 64 and 31 of them had been performed with direct sequencing and ARMS tests, respectively. The EGFR mutation detection rate of ddPCR was significantly elevated, compared with both direct sequencing (75.4% vs. 43.8%, P P = 0.016). Compared with ARMS, Fisher's exact test showed that EGFR-positive patients who were redefined by ddPCR had higher objective response rates (ORRs): 57.9% vs. 16.7%, P = 0.032. Compared with direct sequencing results, Kaplan-Meier curves demonstrated that EGFR-positive patients who were redefined by ddPCR had longer progression-free survival (PFS): 8.0 vs. 2.0 months, P = 0.0001. Conclusion We have demonstrated the clinical value of ddPCR in pleural fluid samples. The experience obtained from the present study is practical and favorable for the proper application of this new assay.

We investigated the clinical significance of serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase isoform 5b (TRACP 5b) and type I collagen carboxyterminal telopeptide (ICTP) as bone metabolic markers for bone metastasis (BM) screening in lung cancer patients.Newly diagnosed advanced lung cancer patients with (N = 130) and without (N = 135) BM were enrolled in the study. Serum BAP, TRACP 5b and ICTP were measured before the treatment.BAP, TRACP 5b and ICTP values were higher in patients with BM compared with patients without BM (all P0.0001). Area under ROC curve (AUC) of BAP, TRACP 5b and ICTP was 0.760, 0.753 and 0.835 (all P0.0001), respectively. The cut-off values for BAP, TRACP 5b and ICTP were 21.8 μg/l, 7.8 U/l and 8.8 μg/l, respectively. When TRACP 5b and ICTP were combined, AUC was elevated to 0.895 (P0.0001), and the cut-off values were TRACP 5b 7.6 U/l and ICTP 8.4 μg/l.We conclude that serum BAP, TRACP 5b and ICTP may serve as useful tools for BM screening in lung cancer patients.

The rapid determination of metastasis in sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) of breast cancer patients plays a significant role in the selection of a surgery strategy. Although a previous one-step nucleic acid amplification assay that uses reverse-transcription (RT) loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) has showed specific advantages over traditional pathological examination, its target marker requires optimisation. In addition to epithelial-specific CK19, the internal control gene PBGD and the breast-specific PIP were included in the new method. After the RT-LAMP primers were designed and verified using a cell line, the performance of our method was evaluated by comparing it with the corresponding result of the Food and Drug Administration approved breast lymph node (BLN) assay and routine pathological examination. One hundred and seventy-four valid SLN samples from 101 patients were collected from five hospitals. The threshold of reaction time for CK19, PIP and PBGD was defined as 16, 20 and 20 min, respectively. Compared with the BLN assay, the concordance rate of our method was 95.4 % (166/174). Statistical analysis revealed that the two methods are consistent (kappa = 0.890, P

Background This study was initiated to investigate the prognostic significance of circulating tumor cell (CTC) enumeration and the predictive value of CTC HER2 expression for efficient anti-HER2 therapy in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients. Methods Sixty HER2-positive MBC patients were enrolled in the present study. Before the initiation of systemic treatment, CTCs from 7.5 ml of blood were analyzed using the CellSearch system. The progression-free survival (PFS) of the patients was estimated using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Results CTCs were detected in 45% (27/60) of the patients, who had shorter median PFS than those without CTCs (2.5 vs. 7.5 months, P = 0.0125). Furthermore, referring to the standard HER2 testing that uses immunohistochemistry (IHC), we proposed a CTC HER2-positive criterion, defined as >30% of CTCs over-expressing HER2. Among patients undergoing anti-HER2 therapy, those with HER2-positive CTCs had longer PFS (8.8 vs. 2.5 months, P = 0.002). Among patients with HER2-positive CTCs, the median PFS for those receiving anti-HER2 therapy was significantly longer than those who were not (8.8 vs. 1.5 months, P = 0.001). Notably, up to 52% (14/27) of the HER2-positive patients were CTC HER2-negative, and anti-HER2 therapy did not significantly improve the median PFS in these patients (2.5 vs. 0.9 months, P = 0.499). Conclusions Our findings underscore the necessity of a comprehensive CTC analysis, which may provide valuable prognostic and predictive information for optimizing individually tailored therapies in HER2-positive MBC patients. To test this idea, additional large cohort, multi-center and prospective clinical trials are needed.