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BackgroundThe clinical efficacy of triple semicircular canal occlusion (TSCO) and vestibular nerve resection (VNS) for patients with Ménière's disease has been unclear.ObjectiveTo explore changes in vestibular symptoms after TSCO and its advantages compared to the classical operation of VNS in patients with Menière's disease.MethodsIn total, 36 patients with Menière's disease performed TSCO or VNS at Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, China from May 2005 to July 2021, and all of them were enrolled in our study. Twelve of them underwent TSCO, 23 underwent VNS, and 1 had both treatments. We compared the demographic parameters, clinical symptoms, and selected test results between the two surgical methods. Ten patients each who underwent TSCO and VNS completed the follow-up. We collected and compared data pertaining to changes in vestibular symptoms.ResultsNo significant difference in demographic parameters, clinical symptoms, or auditory or vestibular test results was detected between the two groups preoperatively. The TSCO group with vertigo as the main complaint experienced less residual paroxysmal dizziness after surgery than the VNS group (P = 0.020). Also, 57% of the patients in the VNS group had unsteadiness after surgery, while no such problems were reported in the TSCO group (P = 0.025).ConclusionsOur study shows that TSCO controls vertigo in most Menière's disease patients, and also has the advantage of lower rates of postoperative paroxysmal dizziness and unsteadiness than VNS. Thus, TSCO may be an effective surgery for refractory Menière's disease.

BACKGROUND: Granulomatous lobular mastitis (GLM) is a chronic benign inflammatory breast disease, and mainly mass-like granulomatous lobular mastitis (MGLM) clinically. There are few reports on applications of stage I implant breast reconstruction in GLM. This observational study was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of stage I implant breast reconstruction in the treatment of MGLM. METHODS: Patients suffering from MGLM who visited at hospital from April 2019 to June 2020 were selected and graded according to the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination. Patients with MGLM were grouped into the prosthesis implantation group and the traditional treatment group according to their preferences. Clinical parameters of the two groups were analyzed before and after surgery, such as postoperative infection, recurrence, and satisfaction with appearance and aesthetics were observed. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the implant breast reconstruction in MGLM. RESULTS: There were 59 cases of MGLM, 31 cases of grade 3–4 GLM, 11 cases of bilateral metachronous GLM. There were 18 patients in the prosthesis implantation group, including 9 patients with bilateral metachronous GLM, 2 patients with synchronous GLM, and 41 patients in the traditional treatment group. All the patients were followed up with a median of 17.5 months. One patient in the observation group had an infection on the reconstructed side 3 weeks after surgery, and the implant was retained after 2 weeks of conservative treatment such as antibiotics. Two patients in the prosthesis implantation group were not satisfied with size of the reconstructed breast was smaller than the opposite side. In the traditional treatment group, there were 3 cases of postoperative infection or delayed wound healing, and 26 cases of postoperative breast asymmetry. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with MGLM, it is safe to select stage I prosthesis implantation after conservative treatment, with exact effect and high patient satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: This paper aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of ovarian transposition (OT) and the dose constraint for preserving ovarian function in young cervical cancer patients who underwent postoperative volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted of young cervical cancer patients who accepted postoperative VMAT in the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from September 2015 to September 2018. VMAT plans for OT and non-OT patients were compared, and the patients’ ovarian function was followed up. The transposed position of the ovaries and the radiation dose constraint were further explored using a receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: A total of 51 young patients (age ≤40 years) were included in the study, 32 of whom underwent OT and 19 of whom did not. For these OT and non-OT patients, the homogeneity index (HI), conformity index (CI), organs at risk (OARs), average number of monitor units (MUs), and mean treatment time were similar and showed no statistically significant difference (P≥0.05). Through follow-up studies, the number of patients with preserved ovarian function was found to be 22 (out of 32) and 0 (out of 19) in the OT and non-OT patients, respectively. The minimal distance for preserving ovarian function was determined as 2.1 cm between the center of a transposed ovary and the planning target volume (PTV) margin. The optimal limited radiation doses were estimated as maximum dose (D(max)) 9.8 Gy and mean dose (D(mean)) 4.6 Gy, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: OT shows no negative effects on dose distribution, target region conformity, protection of OARs, or treatment efficacy and is therefore a reliable method in the preservation of ovarian function for young cervical cancer patients undergoing postoperative radiotherapy using the VMAT technique. Specifically, when the distance between the center of a transposed ovary and the PTV margin is more than 2.1 cm, and the radiation dose is limited to a D(max) of less than 9.8 Gy and a D(mean) of less than 4.6 Gy, the function of transposed ovaries may be preserved.

A novel fluorescent probe L was designed for rapid detection of Al3+ with high selectivity in water-acetonitrile medium based on aggregation-induced emission (AIE). The recognition mechanism was investigated by fluorescence spectra, SEM, FI-IR, 1H NMR, and mass spectra. The detection limit of Al3+ was 5.3 × 10−8 M. The recoveries were within the range of 84.5–103.3% and the relative standard deviation (RSD) values were within the range of 1.7–6.4%. The AIE behavior could be attributed to the J-aggregates formation and the chelation-enhanced fluorescence (CHEF) in water-acetonitrile medium. The probe L can be used to detect Al3+ in food and environmental samples. What’s more interesting is that the L could detect intracellular Al3+ in live cells by bioimaging.

Mechanical and intelligent mining technology reduces labor intensity, accidents and casualties while improving mining efficiency in underground coal mines. Such advanced mining methods are gradually realized in China with increasing application of an Internet of Things (IoT) technique. In this study, a dynamic information platform is established for underground coal mine based on IoT technology. The platform aims to satisfy various objectives of potential users through combining four subsystems, including data acquisition, transmission, analyzation and application systems. To achieve such functions, six functional layers are composed of the platform, including the supporting layer, perception layer, transmission layer, service layer, data extraction layer and application layer. The platform can monitor and record working conditions data of the coal mine production systems as well as location information of underground equipment and miners. Based on cloud computing techniques, big data related to underground coal mining can be analyzed quickly, and critical data associated with user requirements can be extracted precisely. The platform provides a 3D virtual mine system, safety diagnosis system, safety inspection system and emergency rescue system for coal mines. With the established platform, the danger-spotting and subsequent decision-making capabilities of users can be greatly enhanced to ensure underground mining safety.

At present, pathological voice recognition is mainly based on the classification of pathological voice. However, almost all the researches are based on the single vowel \a\ samples, but few on multi-vowels. In addition, the current researches on multi-vowels recognition are mainly for normal voices, which are unsuitable for the speech recognition of normal and pathological multi-vowels simultaneously. This paper concentrates on developing an accurate and robust feature called enhanced-bark line spectrum pair (E-BLSP) to detect and classify normal and pathological multi-vowels. We explore the impact of E-BLSP feature on recognition performance and propose an effective method based on the combination of three features including E-BLSP for pathological and normal multi-vowels. In this paper, first LSP and difference of adjacent LSP (DAL) features of a vowel are extracted. Then LSP feature is warped at bark domain to get bark line spectrum pair (BLSP). In addition, then E-BLSP feature is calculated by adjusting BLSP using DAL feature. Finally, the adjusted E-BLSP feature and other two traditional features, including linear prediction cepstrum coefficient (LPCC) and mel-frequency cepstrum coefficients (MFCC) are applied to support vector machine (SVM) and deep neural network (DNN) classifiers to explore the classification performance of single feature and feature combinations for pathological and normal vowels /a/, /i/ and /u/. The results show that the highest achieved accuracies for DNN and SVM network are 98.6190% and 96.2693%, while the largest achieved area under curves (AUC) are 0.9925 and 0.9868, correspondingly with the combination of three features including LPCC, MFCC, and E-BLSP.

BACKGROUND: The exact etiology and pathogenesis of granulomatous lobular mastitis (GLM) are yet to be illuminated. This study aimed to investigate CD68, CD163-positive M2 macrophages, CD57-positive natural killer (NK) cells, and IgG4 in GLM lesion tissue to explore their correlation with the occurrence and clinical features of GLM. METHODS: Surgical pathologic specimens of GLM were collected from patients admitted to Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital between October, 2014 and October 2015. Based on the postoperative pathological diagnosis, the tissues were divided into 3 groups: the experimental group (GLM, n=36), control group 1 (plasma cell mastitis, PCM, n=17), and control group 2 (breast cystic hyperplasia, n=10). Immunohistochemical staining was carried out using Elivision super testing to detect CD68, CD163, CD57, and IgG4 expression in the pathological tissue samples. The relationship between clinical parameters, including age, reproductive condition, nipple retraction, and tumor size, and the expressions of CD68, CD163, CD57, and IgG4 was analyzed. RESULTS: There was no obvious difference in the levels of CD68, CD163, and CD57 expression between the GLM group and the PCM group, although both groups had higher expression levels of expression than the breast cystic hyperplasia group (P2 years after lactation was significantly higher than in patients ≤2 years after lactation (P

In situ hybridization (ISH) is a very informative technique to present cellular distribution patterns of specific genes (e.g., mRNA and ncRNA) in tissues. The sipunculid worm Sipunculus nudus is a crucial fishery resource as it has high nutritional and medicinal values. Currently, the research on the molecular biology of Sipunculus nudus is still in its infancy. The purpose of this article is to develop a sensitive method for localizing specific mRNA in Sipunculus nudus coelomic fluid. The protocol includes detailed steps of ISH, including digoxigenin-labeled antisense and sense riboprobe preparation, coelomic fluid collection and section preparation, specific riboprobe hybridization, antibody incubation, coloration and post-coloration treatments. The representative results obtained from a successful experiment using this method are demonstrated. The protocol should be applicable to other Sipuncula species as well.

Background Although long-term retention of a ventilation tube is required in many ear diseases, spontaneous removal of conventional ventilation tube is observed in patients within 3 to 12 mo. To address this issue, we aimed to determine a new method for long-term retention of the ventilation tube. Aim To explore the value of removing the biofilm for long-term retention of tympanostomy ventilation tubes. Methods A case-control study design was used to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of long-term tube retention by directly removing the biofilm (via surgical exfoliation) in patients who underwent myringotomy with ventilation tube placement. The patients were randomly divided into two groups: Control group and treatment group. Patients in the treatment group underwent regular biofilm exfoliation surgery in the clinic, whereas those in the control group did not have their biofilm removed. Only conventional ventilation tubes were placed in this study. Outcome measures were tube position and patency. Tube retention time and any complications were documented. Results Eight patients with biofilm removal and eight patients without biofilm removal as a control group were enrolled in the study. The tympanostomy tube retention time was significantly longer in the treatment group (43.5 ± 26.4 mo) than in the control group (9.5 ± 6.9 mo) (P = 0.003). More tympanostomy tubes were found to be patent and in correct position in the treatment group during the follow-up intervals than in the control group (P = 0.01). Conclusion Despite the use of short-term ventilation tubes, direct biofilm removal can be a well-tolerated and effective treatment for long-term tube retention of tympanostomy ventilation tubes in patients who underwent myringotomy.

In situ hybridization (ISH) is a very informative technique to present cellular distribution patterns of specific genes (e.g., mRNA and ncRNA) in tissues. The sipunculid worm Sipunculus nudus is a crucial fishery resource as it has high nutritional and medicinal values. Currently, the research on the molecular biology of Sipunculus nudus is still in its infancy. The purpose of this article is to develop a sensitive method for localizing specific mRNA in Sipunculus nudus coelomic fluid. The protocol includes detailed steps of ISH, including digoxigenin-labeled antisense and sense riboprobe preparation, coelomic fluid collection and section preparation, specific riboprobe hybridization, antibody incubation, coloration and post-coloration treatments. The representative results obtained from a successful experiment using this method are demonstrated. The protocol should be applicable to other Sipuncula species as well.

Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides are extensively used in agriculture. Some SDHI fungicides show developmental toxicity, immune toxicity and hepatotoxicity to fish. Fluxapyroxad (FLU) is a broad spectrum pyrazole-carboxamide SDHI fungicide and its potential impacts on fish embryonic development are unknown. We exposed zebrafish embryos to 1, 2 and 4 μM FLU. Developmental malformations, including yolk sac absorption disorder, decreased pigmentation and hatch delay were induced after FLU exposure. FLU caused significantly increased transcription levels in the ectoderm marker foxb1a but no significant changes in endoderm and mesoderm development markers (foxa2, ntl and eve1). Transcription levels of genes in the early stage embryos (gh, crx, neuroD and nkx2.4b) decreased significantly after FLU treatments. The content of glutathione (GSH) increased after FLU exposure. This study shows that FLU is toxic to zebrafish through its developmental effects and oxidative stress. FLU may pose risks to other non-target aquatic organisms.

Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is an inherited auditory-pigmentary syndrome characterized by deafness and pigment abnormalities. Here, we generated an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line using episomal plasmid vectors from the fibroblasts of an 8-year-old boy affected with WS, caused by a novel mutation in the SOX10 gene (NM_006941.3: c.937_947del; p.Tyr313Argfs*85), with a concurrent hotspot mutation in the GJB2 gene (NM_004004.5:c.235delC; p.Leu79Cysfs*3). The expression of pluripotency markers of the iPSC cell line was verified at both the mRNA and protein levels and the pluripotency state of the cell line was demonstrated by the capability to differentiate into all three germ layers.

Blockchain is a new technology for processing complex and disordered information with respect to business and other industrial applications. This work is aimed at studying the consensus algorithm of blockchain to improve the performance of blockchain. Despite their advantages, the proof of stake (POS) algorithm and the practical Byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) algorithm have high latency, low throughput, and poor scalability. In this paper, a blockchain hybrid consensus algorithm which combines advantages of the POS and PBFT algorithms is proposed, and the algorithm is divided into two stages: sortition and witness. The proposed algorithm reduces the number of consensus nodes to a constant value by verifiable pseudorandom sortition and performs transaction witness between nodes. The algorithm is improved and optimized from three dimensions: throughput, latency, and scalability. The experimental results show that the improved hybrid consensus algorithm is significantly superior to the previous single algorithms for its excellent scalability, high throughput, and low latency.

Background Developments in high-throughput genomic technologies have led to improved understanding of the molecular underpinnings of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, there is currently no model that combines the clinical features and gene expression signatures to predict outcomes. Methods We obtained data from the GSE53625 database of Chinese ESCC patients who had undergone surgical treatment. The R packages, Limma and WGCNA, were used to identify and construct a co-expression network of differentially expressed genes, respectively. The Cox regression model was used, and a nomogram prediction model was constructed. Results A total of 3654 differentially expressed genes were identified. Bioinformatics enrichment analysis was conducted. Multivariate analysis of the clinical cohort revealed that age and adjuvant therapy were independent factors for survival, and these were entered into the clinical nomogram. After integrating the gene expression profiles, we identified a "2-gene score" associated with overall survival. The combinational model is composed of clinical data and gene expression profiles. The C-index of the combined nomogram for predicting survival was statistically higher than the clinical nomogram. The calibration curve revealed that the combined nomogram and actual observation showed better prediction accuracy than the clinical nomogram alone. Conclusions The integration of gene expression signatures and clinical variables produced a predictive model for ESCC that performed better than those based exclusively on clinical variables. This approach may provide a novel prediction model for ESCC patients after surgery.

Objective Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most common gynecologic tumors in women worldwide, with poor prognosis and low survival rate. In this study, we identified SNAP23 as a potential tumor suppressor gene in CC. Methods The expression of SNAP23 in tissues and cell lines were measured by qRT-PCR, western blot and IHC. Knockdown of SNAP23 by siRNA and ectopic expression of SNAP23 by overexpression plasmid were performed to observe the biological function of SNAP23 in CC. Xenograft nude mice models were established to measure its function in vivo. Results SNAP23 was downregulated in CC tissues and had a negative correlation with advanced clinical characteristics. Ectopic expression of SNAP23 suppressed malignant phonotype of CC while knockdown of SNAP23 promoted the progression of CC in vitro. The flow cytometry analysis revealed that SNAP23 exerted its tumor suppressor activity via inducing G2/M cell cycle arrest. Moreover, xenograft tumor models showed that SNAP23 suppresses tumor growth in vivo. Conclusions Our results revealed that SNAP23 suppressed progression of CC and induced cell cycle G2/M arrest via upregulating p21cip1 and downregulating CyclinB1.

To uncover the distinction in the electronic density of states (DOS) near Fermi level at the graphene and metal, we compare the standard rate constant k0 values for quinone species at graphene and gold nanoelectrodes, which might be affected by the electronic DOS near Fermi level. The experimental result indicates that the k0 value obtained at the individual graphene flake of nanometer size is very close to that obtained on gold nanoelectrode, and higher than that at large graphene flake. Unlike the high electronic DOS in gold nanoelectrodes, the difference of k0 values at graphene nanoelectrodes of different sizes will reveal the size-dependent DOS at single graphene flake. Keywords: Graphene, Nanoelectrode, Electron transfer, Defect, DOS

Background Gitelman syndrome is an autosomal recessive inherited renal disorder characterized by hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, and hypocalciuria. Since the symptoms are not severe and laboratory results are not always clear, Gitelman syndrome can go unnoticed by physicians. Here, we report our experiences with a patient that presented with hypokalemia and proteinuria; genetic analysis revealed a new homozygous mutation in the SLC12A3 gene. Case presentation A 47-year-old man presented with hypokalemia and proteinuria. He had come to the hospital with the same symptoms 11 months and 3 years prior. His laboratory tests showed hypokalemia, hypocalciuria, and increased plasma angiotensin-2 activity. His renal pathology was consistent with the development of minimal lesions. Genetic analysis found a new homozygous mutation in exon 6 on the SLC12A3 gene (p.Trp281Arg) in the patient and in his brother; his mother and sister were diagnosed as heterozygous carriers of the same gene mutation. Finally, the patient was diagnosed with Gitelman syndrome. Conclusions This case is the first to report a homozygous mutation in the 841th nucleotide of exon 6 on the SLC12A3 gene (p.Trp281Arg), which may cause Gitelman syndrome. At the same time, this report might stimulate interest in discussing the relationship between different mutations in the SLC12A3 gene and renal pathology.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the dosimetric parameters of 9 field intensity modulated radiotherapy (9F-IMRT) and two kinds of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for postoperative cervical cancer patients with paraaortic lymph node (PALN) metastasis, and to provide the reasonable selection of the cervical cancer patients with para-aortic lymph node metastasis who need postoperative radiotherapy in clinic. Methods: Fifteen patients of postoperative cervical cancer patients with para-aortic lymph node metastasis were planed with the same dose prescription and optimization parameters by means of 9-field IMRT (9F-IMRT), a single arc (Arcl) and dual arc (Arc2) VMAT, respectively. The dosimetric differences of planning target volume (PTV), organs at risk(OAR), the number of monitor units (MUs) and treatment time were compared among the three treatment plans. Results: The conformity index (CI) and the homogeneity index (HI) of PTV for Arc2 plans were superior to 9F-IMRT (P < 0.05). The V40, V50 of the rectum, V50 of the intestine, bladder and femoral head for Arc2 plans were better than 9F-IMRT plans. V50 of the femoral head and the mean dose of kidney for Arc1 and Arc2 plans were all better than 9F-IMRT plans. The number of MUs of 9F-IMRT plans (1,105.27 ± 107.12) was significantly higher than the Arc1 plans (755.23 ± 225.98) and Arc2 plans (967.24 ± 198.41), the difference was statistically significant (F = 12.736, P < 0.01). The treatment time of 9F-IMRT plans (430.47 ± 36.45) was significantly higher than the Arc1 plans (304.20 ± 48.42) and Arc2 plans (332.93 ± 47.62), the difference was statistically significant (F = 33.180, P < 0.01). Conclusion: Compared to 9F-IMRT, Arc1 and Arc2 plans can better to meet the clinical requirements for the postoperative cervical cancer patients with para-aortic lymph node metastasis. And the Arc2 VMAT plans is superior to Arc1 VMAT plans, there will significantly improve the treatment efficiency.

Freshwater shortage has been a terrible threat for the sustainable progress and development of human society in 21st century. Inspired from natural creatures, harvesting water from atmosphere has been a feasible and effective method to alleviate water shortage crisis. However, the recent works related to water collection just focuses on how to optimize fog-harvesting manners and efficiencies, the safety and availability of collected water are always ignored. In this paper, we proposed a new strategy accessed to freshwater resources through combining water collection and purification together on eco-friendly superwettable material inspired by cactus spines and desert beetles. Six superhydrophilic wedge-shaped patterns prepared by P25 TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were constructed on candle soot@polydimethylsiloxane (CS@PDMS) superhydrophobic coating. The special superhydrophilic regions not only effectively captured water from foggy environment but generated Laplace pressure gradient to faster drive water away. The bioinspired material exhibited an efficient water collection rate (WCR) of 14.9 ± 0.2 mg min−1 cm−2, which was 5.3 and 2.5 times larger than that on uniformed superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic surfaces, respectively. Because of the existence of photocatalytic P25 NPs in wetting areas, the harvested wastewater containing nine kinds of pesticides (0.5 mg/L) could be purified in low concentrations (

Porous hierarchical Ni(OH)2 composed of petal-like nanosheets with a mix of α- and β-phase was synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method using urea as precipitating agent. In order to tune the pore properties and optimize phase compositions of Ni(OH)2, different types of alcohols (methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol and glycerol) were added into the hydrothermal systems. It was found that the addition of methanol would retain the porous hierarchical structure of Ni(OH)2, enlarge the pore size and volume, make the transformation of β phase to α phase. However, other alcohols (ethanol, ethylene glycol and glycerol) would destroy the porous hierarchical structure and have little impact on the phase transformation. Using the as-prepared samples as adsorbents for the removal of Congo red (CR), Ni(OH)2 synthesized in methanol aqueous solution exhibited excellent adsorption performance than other samples. When the volume ratio of methanol to water is 1:1, the as-prepared Ni(OH)2 (Ni(OH)2-m1/1) exhibited best adsorption capacity. The adsorption kinetics fitted well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model of Ni(OH)2-m1/1. Equilibrium data were best described by Langmuir model. The estimated maximum adsorption capacity of Ni(OH)2-m1/1 for CR was 206.2 mg/g, making it a promising candidate for wastewater treatment.

This study investigated the concentrations of Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in surface soil and corn cob samples collected from agricultural fields near a coal mine from Huaibei, China. Meanwhile, the mobility and availability of heavy metals in soil samples were evaluated by a modified three-step The European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) sequential extraction procedure. The total concentrations of metals in soil pose no ecological threats to the local plants. Transfer factors of essential metals, Cu and Zn, as well as those of non-essential metal Pb, were higher than those of the remained metals. The results of BCR fractionation analysis revealed that the acid soluble, reducible and oxidizable fractions of the Mn, Pb and Zn were higher than those of the residual fraction, suggesting that these elements may be more bioavailable. The pH and organic matter contents of soil were significant parameters affecting speciation of metals in soil samples. Hierarchical cluster analysis indicated signi...

// Run Shi 1, 2, 4, * , Chunrong Zhang 1, 4, 6, * , Yaqin Wu 1, 4, * , Xin Wang 1, 2, 4 , Qi Sun 5 , Jing Sun 3 , Wenjie Xia 1, 2, 4 , Gaochao Dong 1 , Anpeng Wang 1, 2, 4 , Feng Jiang 1, 2 , Lin Xu 1, 2 1 Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Cancer Research, Cancer Institute of Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu, China 2 Department of Thoracic Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu, China 3 The First Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China 4 The Fourth Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China 5 Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Jinling Hospital, Southern Medical University, Nanjing, China 6 Department of Thoracic Surgery, Nantong Tumor Hospital, Jiangsu, China * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Feng Jiang, email: zengnljf@outlook.com Lin Xu, email: xulin83cn@outlook.com Keywords: CDCA2, lung adenocarcinoma, TCGA, proliferation, prognosis Received: July 10, 2016 Accepted: January 10, 2017 Published: February 19, 2017 ABSTRACT Cell division cycle associated 2(CDCA2) is overexpressed in neuroblastoma and oral squamous cell carcinoma, and its overexpression positively correlates to tumor progression. However, the biological and clinical significance of CDCA2 in lung adenocarcinoma(LAC) has never been investigated. We determined the expression profile and clinical significance of CDCA2 using The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA) and tissue microarray(TMA). Furthermore, we explored the biological function of CDCA2 both in vitro and in vivo . A great upregulation of CDCA2 was observed in LAC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. Importantly, Cox regression analysis indicated that high level of CDCA2 was an independent risk factor for overall survival(OS) in LAC patients (TCGA: HR = 1.720, p = 0.004; TMA: HR = 1.971, p = 0.023). Inhibition of CDCA2 suppressed the proliferation of LAC cells via G1 phase arrest by downregulating cyclin E1(CCNE1), while overexpression of CDCA2 promoted LAC cells proliferation by upregulating CCNE1. Moreover, the oncogenic activity of CDCA2 was also confirmed in vivo . In conclusion, CDCA2 promotes proliferation of LAC cells and predicts poor prognosis in LAC patients. CDCA2 might play a significant role in LAC progression.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of modifying polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) denture base material with polyimide (PI) on its flexural property and biocompatibility. Low molecular weight (1,500 g/mol) PI was synthesized and small amount of PI (0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1 wt%) was dispersed into the PMMA matrix. Three-point bending tests, scanning electron microscopy and thermal cycling were used to measure the mechanical properties, while MTT assay was used to evaluate the biocompatibility of the denture base material. The results showed that 0.6% addition of PI significantly increased flexural strength of PMMA denture base material by 13.5%, compared with the control group (p

Given the incidence of congenital auricular anomalies varies racially, this study aimed to investigate the efficacy and timing of ear correction molding in infants with auricular anomalies.A total of 141 auricular anomalies of 100 infants less than 4 months of age were treated using the Earlimn molding system. Treatment outcomes were graded (three categories) in terms of auricular morphology. The efficacies and outcomes of modeling were evaluated in infants according to age and anomaly type.The mean age at which correction was initiated was 35.13 days of life, and the average treatment duration was 17.81 days. Of all anomalies, 86% were corrected. Both deformations and certain malformations were satisfactorily corrected. The outcomes of children with conchal crura and mixed anomalies were relatively poor. Although no differences in treatment efficiency were evident among the three age groups, infants 3 weeks old required shorter treatment courses than those 6 weeks old. The only complications were mild skin ulcers.Ear correction molding is remarkably effective for infants with auricular deformations/malformations. Molding efficacy depends on the type of anomaly. Initiation of molding at less than 6 weeks of age is essential to minimize treatment duration.This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

Background Cancer/testis antigens (CTAs) are a special type of tumor antigen and are believed to act as potential targets for cancer immunotherapy. Methods In this study, we first screened a rational CTA MAGE-A1 for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and explored the detailed characteristics of MAGE-A1 in LUAD development through a series of phenotypic experiments. Then, we developed a novel MAGE-A1-CAR-T cell (mCART) using lentiviral vector based on our previous MAGE-A1-scFv. The anti-tumor effects of this mCART were finally investigated in vitro and in vivo. Results The results showed striking malignant behaviors of MAGE-A1 in LUAD development, which further validated the rationality of MAGE-A1 as an appropriate target for LUAD treatment. Then, the innovative mCART was successfully constructed, and mCART displayed encouraging tumor-inhibitory efficacy in LUAD cells and xenografts. Conclusions Taken together, our data suggest that MAGE-A1 is a promising candidate marker for LUAD therapy and the MAGE-A1-specific CAR-T cell immunotherapy may be an effective strategy for the treatment of MAGE-A1-positive LUAD.

Auxin response factor (ARF) is a transcription factor that can specifically bind to the promoter of auxin-responsive genes in plants and plays an important regulatory role in plant growth and development. The previous studies have predicted 25 ARF genes in Sorghum bicolor (SbARFs) and indicated that SbARFs play complex roles in salt and drought stresses. In this study, we reclassified and analyzed the structures of ARFs in three plants, including sorghum, rice, and Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analyses categorized 73 ARF into five classes. By studying the characterization of the structures, it was found that SbARFs from the same evolutionary branches showed similar motif patterns. Furthermore, the expression patterns of SbARF genes during development and temperature stress were investigated in sorghum. Quantitative transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) results suggested that they had different expression patterns in vegetative and reproductive organs at various developmental stages. High and low-temperature treatments and qRT-PCR demonstrated some of them changed dramatically along with the increase of treatment time. Additionally, in situ hybridization results displayed that SbARF genes were accumulated in vascular tissues under temperature stress. These findings provide evidence that SbARFs may play important roles in sorghum vegetative development, reproductive development, and auxin response to temperature stress.

Deltamethrin (DM) is a widely used insecticide and reveals neural, cardiovascular and reproductive toxicity to various aquatic organisms. It has been known that DM negatively affects motion of zebrafish (Danio rerio). However, little is known in relation to the impacts of DM on development of swim bladder, which is a key organ for motion. In the present study, zebrafish embryos were exposed to 20 and 40 µg/L DM. The changes of swim bladder morphology were observed and transcription levels of key genes were compared between DM treatments and the control. The results showed that DM treatments significantly blocked the formation of progenitor and tissue layers in swim bladder of zebrafish embryos, leading to failed inflation of swim bladder. Compared with the control, the key genes (pbx1, foxA3, mnx1, has2, anxa5b, hprt1l and elovl1a) responsible for swim bladder development also showed decreased levels in response to DM treatments, suggesting that DM might specifically affect swim bladder development. Moreover, transcription levels of genes in the Wnt (wnt5b, tcf3a, wnt1, wnt9b, fzd1, fzd3 and fzd5) and Hedgehog (ihhb, ptc1 and ptc2) signaling pathways all decreased significantly in response to DM treatments, compared with the control. Considering the importance of Wnt and Hedgehog pathways in development of swim bladder, these results suggested that DM might affect swim bladder development through inhibiting the Wnt and Hedgehog pathways. Overall, the present study reported that swim bladder might be a potential target organ of DM toxicity in zebrafish, which contributed more information to the evaluation of DM’s environmental risks.

A novel fluorescence probe pyrene based derivatives (1) with aggregation induced emission (AIE) properties was synthesized by an easy procedure. The probe 1 was characterized by UV-vis, Fluorescent, NMR, MS, SEM etc. It displayed high sensitivity and selectivity to Hg

We designed a prospective study to evaluate changes in tinnitus after vestibular schwannoma (VS) surgery. Subjects included 41 patients who were diagnosed with a VS and underwent translabyrinthine microsurgery (TLM) between January 2015 and May 2016. All patients underwent related examinations and were asked to answer the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) scale and a visual analog scale (VAS) of tinnitus severity both pre- and postoperatively. Of the 41 patients, 31 (75.6%) suffered from tinnitus before surgery. Microsurgery was associated with an overall decrease in tinnitus (p p = 0.001 and p = 0.005, respectively). The decrease in THI scores in the low-frequency group was significantly larger than that of the mid- and high-frequency groups after surgery (p = 0.034 and p = 0.001, respectively). The loudness of tinnitus decreased significantly after surgery (p = 0.031). Tinnitus in patients with VS improved after TLM. Patients with mid-/high-frequency tinnitus and louder tinnitus preoperatively seemed to have a worse prognosis than those with low-frequency and quieter tinnitus.

Additional file 8: Table S3. MAGE-A1-scFv amino acid sequence.

Inflammation and alveolar bone destruction constitute the main pathological process of periodontitis. However, the molecular mechanisms of bone destruction under the inflammation environment remain unclear. This study aims to explore the role of Ephrin-B2/EphB4 signaling in osteogenic differentiation under the inflammation environment. Mouse pre-osteoblasts MC3T3-E1 were pretreated with lipopolysaccharide of Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg-LPS). The Ephrin-B2/EphB4 signaling was activated, and the osteogenic differentiation of cells was examined. The results showed that activation of Ephrin-B2/EphB4 signaling promoted the expression levels of osteogenic differentiation-related genes, and also relieved the inhibitory effect of Pg-LPS on osteogenesis. Noticeably, the effect of Ephrin-B2/EphB4 signaling might be related to the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. While applying Ephrin-B2-Fc and EphB4-Fc to periodontitis mice, we observed the reduction of alveolar crest destruction. The current study revealed the possible role of Ephrin-B2/EphB4 signaling in reducing bone destruction in periodontitis and suggested its potential values for further research.

It has been reported that cyclic stretch could induce inflammatory reaction in human periodontal ligament cells (HPDLCs). Though reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been reported to be involved in pathogen-induced periodontal inflammatory reaction, its role in the force-related periodontal diseases has not been well clarified. This study inspected the role of ROS in the cyclic stretch-induced inflammatory reaction in HPDLCs and studied the inhibitory effect of antioxidant apocynin on this inflammatory reaction. Results confirmed that cyclic stretch induced inflammatory reaction and production of ROS in HPDLCs. This inflammatory reaction was inhibited by apocynin through blocking the production of ROS. The cyclic stretch also induced the expression of caspase-1 and NLRP3 inflammasome, which could also be inhibited by apocynin. Moreover, the cyclic stretch-induced inflammatory reaction was inhibited by caspase-1 inhibitor. Collectively, it is the first time that increased intracellular ROS was proved to play as an intermediate signal in the cyclic stretch-induced inflammatory reaction in HPDLCs, via a caspase-1-dependent pathway. The inhibitory effect of apocynin on the cyclic stretch-induced inflammatory reaction in HPDLCs shows the potential of antioxidants in the treatment of force-related periodontal inflammatory diseases.

// Dan Zhao 1, 2, * , Yaqin Wu 1, 2, * , Jiabao Zhuang 1, 2 , Chun Xu 1, 2 , Fuqiang Zhang 1, 2 1 Department of Prosthodontics, Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China 2 Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology & Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology, Shanghai, China * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Chun Xu, email: imxuchun@163.com Fuqiang Zhang, email: fqzhang810@163.com Keywords: inflammasome, pyroptosis, IL-1β, cyclic stretch, human periodontal ligament cell Received: July 11, 2016 Accepted: September 07, 2016 Published: September 10, 2016 ABSTRACT Inflammasomes have been reported to be present in periodontal inflammatory tissue, but the exact role of inflammasomes in periodontal inflammatory reactions especially those related to mechanical stimulations has not been clarified. In this study, it was shown that cyclic stretch activated the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor containing pyrin domain 1 and 3 (NLRP1 and NLRP3) inflammasomes and induced the release of IL-1β and pyroptosis via a caspase-1-related mechanism in human periodontal ligament cells (HPDLCs). This study firstly demonstrated that activation of NLRP inflammasomes contributed to the stretch-induced inflammatory response in HPDLCs. As inflammasomes have been reported to be involved in both programmed cell death and inflammation, further studies are required to elucidate the exact roles and signaling pathway of inflammasomes in stretch-induced periodontal inflammation.

Concentrations of elements from fly ash (forty-three) or leachate (fifteen) were detected, they were divided into six groups according to their changes of concentration with time. The study demonstrated that element concentration of B, Ba, Pb, Sb and Zn in monitoring wells followed different trend when time increased. Obeying some proportional relation, element concentration of B, Pb, Sb and Zn (except Ba) in monitoring wells showed the similar change when flow velocity was changed. In addition, the concentration of elements (B, Ba, Pb, Sb and Zn) in monitoring wells with different initial quality of fly ash was examined and there is a remarkable positive correlation between them. The capacity of element transformation decreased as follows: Pb > Ba > Sb > B > Zn. What’s more, elements can also be divided into two groups (Ba, Pb, Sb, Zn or B) based on different changes of concentration in shallow or deep groundwater. Elements have significant dynamic change trends in simulating region. The highest element concentrations (or lowest) of fly ash appeared downstream. There are abundant evidences to show elements from fly ash pollute groundwater due to the migration.

Amplification Refractory Mutation System (ARMS) is the most popular technology for EGFR gene mutation analysis in China. Cutoff Ct or ΔCt values were used to differentiate low mutation abundance cases from no mutation cases. In this study, all of 359 NSCLC samples were tested by ARMS. Seventeen samples with larger Ct or ΔCt than cutoff values were retested by PCR-sequencing. TKI treatment responses were monitored on the cases with ARMS negative and PCR-sequencing positive results. One exon 18 G719X case, 67 exon 19 deletion cases, 2 exon 20 insertion cases, 1 exon 20 T790M case, 60 exon 21 L858R cases, 5 exon 21 L861Q cases and 201 wild type cases were identified by ARMS. Another 22 cases were evaluated as wild type but had later amplification fluorescent curves. Seventeen out of these 22 cases were retested by PCR-sequencing. It turns out that 3 out of 3 cases with exon 19 deletion later amplifications, 2 out of 2 cases with L858R later amplifications and 4 out of 12 cases with T790M later amplifications were identified as mutation positive. Two cases with exon 19 deletion and L858R respectively were treated by TKI and got responses. Our study indicated that PCR-sequencing might be a complementary way to confirm ARMS results with later amplifications.

Speech endpoint detection is an important part of modern speech information processing technology. The success of endpoint detection directly improves the performance and quality of speech coding, speech recognition, speech synthesis and human interaction. The robustness and detection accuracy of algorithms have always been hot topics for many scholars in the condition of low Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and complex noise. In this paper, we aim to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art in time domain, frequency domain and cepstrum domain for speech endpoint detection algorithms and to cast a glance at the challenges for future research.

Pulsatile tinnitus, ear fullness, vertigo, hearing disorders, and vestibular dysfunction have been found to be related to high jugular bulb. Anatomical variation in this region also affects surgical planning and approaches. Therefore, knowledge on the detailed anatomy of the high jugular bulb is critical for middle ear and lateral skull base surgery. Prevalence of high jugular bulb is uncertain as data are usually derived from temporal bone specimens and patient reports from hospitals. Therefore, a community-based epidemiological study is necessary to understand the significance of high jugular bulb anatomy. Here, we report a cross-sectional study to characterize the prevalence of high jugular bulb and jugular bulb size using a 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging. Furthermore, we studied the relationship between the prevalence of high jugular bulb and age-related changes. We enrolled 4539 permanent residents (9078 ears) from two communities in the Shanghai region who underwent magnetic resonance imaging between 2007 and 2011. We divided participants into four subgroups according to age: 35-44 (early middle age), 45-54 (middle age), 55-64 (late middle age), and 65-75 (late adulthood) years. We found that the overall prevalence of high jugular bulb was 14.5% in a Chinese population. There was a higher prevalence of high jugular bulb on the right side and especially in women (both p < 0.001). The occurrence of high jugular bulb was higher in the early middle age group and gradually decreased with age, but was still present in the late adulthood group (p = 0.039). These findings provide useful information on the prevalence of high jugular bulb in a Chinese population and the distribution in age groups, suggesting that high jugular bulb should be considered, even in those without ear disorders. This work serves as a foundation for further research on the relationship between jugular bulb changes and disease symptoms.

Objective Cervical cancer (CC) is the most common malignancy in women. The zinc finger protein 692 (ZNF692) has been identified as a transcription factor and its aberrant expression participates in tumorigenesis of various cancers. However, its biological function and molecular mechanisms in cervical cancer remain unclear. Methods Microarrays were analysed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) to investigate the expression of ZNF692 in cervical cancer and its relationship with clinicopathologic characteristics. siRNAs and expression plasmids were used to reveal the biological function of ZNF692 in CC and subcutaneous xenograft model to examine the role of ZNF692 in vivo. Chromatin Immunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter assay were performed to ascertain whether ZNF692 binds to the promoter region of p27kip1. Results By analyzing The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset, we confirmed ZNF692 as a potential oncogene in CC. ZNF692 expression was up-regulated in CC tissues compared with that in adjacent normal tissues, and its overexpression was correlated with poor clinicopathologic characteristics. Moreover, ZNF692 promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of CC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Regarding molecular mechanisms, up-regulation of ZNF692 was found to enhance the G1/S transition via regulating the p27kip1/PThr160-CDK2 signal pathway in CC cells. Conclusion ZNF692 promotes CC cells proliferation and invasion through suppressing p27kip1 transcription by directly binding its promoter region, which suggests that ZNF692 may serve as an underlying therapeutic target and prognostic marker in CC.

Purpose The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the failure risk and marginal bone loss of dental implants inserted by flapless or flapped procedure. Materials and methods Studies were identified by searching PubMed, Web of Knowledge, and the Cochrane Library within 10 years, along with a hand search of the reference lists of the retrieved articles. Results A total of 2717 articles were filtered after the searching strategy, and 31 studies were finally selected. Failure rate of dental implants was statistically affected by different insertion procedures (flapless or flapped) with a risk ratio (RR) of 1.70 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13-2.55; P = 0.01; heterogeneity: I = 0.0%; P heterogeneity = 0.97). Subgroup analysis indicated that in the situation of immediate/early loading, the flapless procedure showed a higher risk of implant failure comparing with flapped procedure (RR = 2.24; 95% CI: 1.05-4.78; P = 0.04; heterogeneity: I = 0.0%; P heterogeneity = 0.91). Mean difference of marginal bone loss between the flapless group and the flapped group was -0.10 mm (95% CI: -0.18 to -0.02; P = 0.02; heterogeneity: I = 82%; P heterogeneity = 0.00). Conclusions This meta-analysis revealed that flapless procedure may increase the failure risk of the dental implants, especially in the situation of immediate/early loading. Nevertheless, flapless procedure showed a superiority in preserving bone tissues.

A novel fluorescence probe pyrene based derivatives (1) with aggregation induced emission (AIE) properties was synthesized by an easy procedure. The probe 1 was characterized by UV–vis, Fluorescent, NMR, MS, SEM etc. It displayed high sensitivity and selectivity to Hg2+ compared with other metal ions in H2O/DMF solvent and the detection limit was 4.2 × 10−7 M. Upon addition of Hg2+, the 1 − Hg2+ compound was formed with the formation of 2:1. More importantly, the probe exhibited very low cytotoxicity and strong fluorescence emission in live cells. This showed that the probe had potential applications for detection of Hg2+ in environment and biosystems.

Background Developments in high‐throughput genomic technologies have led to improved understanding of the molecular underpinnings of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, there is currently no model that combines the clinical features and gene expression signatures to predict outcomes. Methods We obtained data from the GSE53625 database of Chinese ESCC patients who had undergone surgical treatment. The R packages, Limma and WGCNA, were used to identify and construct a co‐expression network of differentially expressed genes, respectively. The Cox regression model was used, and a nomogram prediction model was constructed. Results A total of 3654 differentially expressed genes were identified. Bioinformatics enrichment analysis was conducted. Multivariate analysis of the clinical cohort revealed that age and adjuvant therapy were independent factors for survival, and these were entered into the clinical nomogram. After integrating the gene expression profiles, we identified a “2‐gene score” associated with overall survival. The combinational model is composed of clinical data and gene expression profiles. The C‐index of the combined nomogram for predicting survival was statistically higher than the clinical nomogram. The calibration curve revealed that the combined nomogram and actual observation showed better prediction accuracy than the clinical nomogram alone. Conclusions The integration of gene expression signatures and clinical variables produced a predictive model for ESCC that performed better than those based exclusively on clinical variables. This approach may provide a novel prediction model for ESCC patients after surgery.

The aim of this study was to investigate the possible relationships between sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) patients with distinct audiographic data and nucleate cell count and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR). SSNHL patients differed in audiographic curves were included, 40 with low-frequency SSNHL (LF-SSNHL), 33 with high-frequency SSNHL (HF-SSNHL), 36 with all-frequency SSNHL (AF-SSNHL), 34 with total-deafness SSNHL (TD-SSNHL), and 31 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Peripheral venous blood samples were collected and nucleate cell such as white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil and lymphocyte, and NLR were measured. Each group was divided into recovery and unrecovery subgroup according to hearing levels after 1-month therapy, and then compared the difference of the count of WBC, neutrophil and lymphocyte, and NLR between the 2 subgroups. The WBC count of the HF-SSNHL, AF-SSNHL, and TD-SSNHL group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P = .024, P = .003, P = .008, respectively), not for LF-SSNHL group (P = .248). WBC count between LF-SSNHL and AF-SSNHL group was significantly different (P = .045). The neutrophil count of the HF-SSNHL, AF-SSNHL, and TD-SSNHL group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P = .002, P = .000, P = .000, respectively), not for LF-SSNHL group (P = .069). Neutrophil count of LF-SSNHL was significantly lower than that of AF-SSNHL and TD-SSNHL groups (P = .014, P = .013). The lymphocyte count of AF-SSNHL and TD-SSNHL group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P = .027, P = .003), not for LF-SSNHL and HF-SSNHL group (P = .119, P = .054). NLR of HF-SSNHL, AF-SSNHL, and TD-SSNHL group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P = .001, P = .000, P = .000, respectively), not for LF-SSNHL group (P = .070). NLR of LF-SSNHL was significantly lower than that of AF-SSNHL and TD-SSNHL group (P = .041, P = .005). In HF-SSNHL patients, lymphocyte count of unrecovery subgroup was significantly lower, while NLR of the unrecovery subgroup were significantly higher than those of recovery subgroup (P = .017, P = .015). The count of WBC, neutrophil, lymphocyte, and NLR may be related to SSNHL, but they were unreliable at predicting SSNHL characterized by differences in audiometric curves. Higher NLR and lower lymphocyte count maybe used to evaluate prognosis of HF-SSNHL patients.

In our previous studies, programmed cell death (PCD) was induced in human periodontal ligament (PDL) cells, through activation of caspase-3 and upregulation of CASP5 gene (encoding caspase-5 protein), in response to mechanical stretch loading. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between the inflammatory caspase, caspase-5, and the apoptotic executioner protein, caspase-3, in human PDL cells. Here, we found that cyclic stretching upregulated the activity and the protein expression level of caspase-3 and -5 and the addition of the caspase-3 inhibitor or caspase-5 inhibitor significantly inhibited the stretch-induced PCD. Meanwhile, the inhibition of caspase-5 inhibited the activation of caspase-3 and vice versa. The result of coimmunoprecipitation also demonstrated that the expression of caspase-3 was immunoprecipitated with caspase-5. Thus, our study revealed that the in vitro application of cyclic stretching induced PCD by activation of caspase-3 and -5 in human PDL cells, and these two caspases could interact with each other after mechanical stretch loading. The study may facilitate further studies on the mechanism of stretch-induced PCD and help us understand the force-related periodontal homeostasis and remodeling better.