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Hou C, Dong Y, Du B. Cancer Manag Res. 2020;12:13071–13084. At the authors request, the Editor and Publisher of Cancer Management and Research wish to retract the published article. Following publication of the Expression of Concern for their article, the authors contacted the journal but were unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for any similarities observed between tumor figures presented in this article, and tumor figures presented in articles by different authors groups. In addition, the authors were unable to provide adequate original data for their study and requested to retract the article. Our decision-making was informed by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retraction. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”. This retraction relates to this paper

Background: Both fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean kurtosis (MK) in diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) have value in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD). We here investigated the sensitivity and specificity of FA and MK to explore which of these methods were more efficient in the early diagnosis of the PD rat model. Materials and Methods: Twenty male SD rats were injected with 6-OHDA into the right substantia nigra (SN) for modeling, and other 20 rats were included in control group. DKI was performed 5 weeks after modeling. The FA and MK values of the right SN were measured and analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the above two value in the identifying PD. Immunohistochemistry of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), Tunel assay, and Nissl staining in the SN was performed. Results: The FA, MK and FA+MK values in the PD group obtained on the 5th week were statistically significantly different from those of the control group (P < 0.01). The optimal cut-off FA+MK value (with respective area under the curve, sensitivity, specificity) was 1.404 (0.925, 95%, 75%), the Youden's index of FA+MK was higher than of either of the two alone. The FA, MK and FA+MK values correlated positively with the Tunel staining, while they correlated negatively with the TH and Nissl staining. Conclusions: At the 5th week, the diagnostic efficiency of the combined FA and MK values was better than of either of the two alone in diagnosing PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Intraoperative electron radiotherapy (IOeRT) is considered the first clinical translation of FLASH with electrons. A crucial aspect is represented by the precise dose monitoring and measurement; tothis aim, we propose a method fully based on Monte Carlo (MC) simulation that uses as input the beam current measurement and the beam optics simulation. To validate this approach, we chose the NOVAC11 (produced by Sordina IORT Technologies SpA) accelerator, which provides a well-studied model. Methods: We used FLUKA and FRED MC software to simulate in detail the geometry of the NOVAC11 and the coupled applicator usually adopted in clinical practice to deliver the dose in the surgical bed. The simulation results of the longitudinal and off-axis profiles and dose per pulse obtained in a water phantom with different applicators are compared to the experimental data. Results: A very good agreement not only for the relative dosimetry in both the longitudinal and off-axis profiles, with a gamma index pass rate of 100% with 3%/3 mm acceptance criteria, but also for the absolute dosimetry was obtained. Conclusion: The results completely validate the MC description of the system and provide a reliable evaluation of the dose per pulse and output factor with an accuracy of the order of few % for different sets of applicator diameters and lengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of thermotherapy in eliminating apple rubbery wood virus 2 (ARWV-2) in six infected apple varieties collected from regions in China. These plants were subjected to high-temperature treatment, followed by excision of shoot tips, which were subsequently grafted onto the rootstock. All varieties exhibited high thermostability, but the survival rates (average: 30.5%) of the shoot tips varied markedly. The regenerated plants were tested using semi-nested PCR; the results showed that the ARWV-2 elimination efficiencies differed greatly among the varieties. The elimination rates were > 80% for Baxianzaofu and Ruixue and < 50% for HL, Longkou no. 3, and Yishuihong. Notably, all surviving Longkou no. 3 plants remained infected with ARWV-2. The average ARWV-2 elimination efficiency was 44.3%, closely aligning with that of the apple stem pitting virus and apple stem grooving virus. This suggests that the presence of ARWV-2 may influence the ability of certain varieties to yield virus-free germplasm. Moreover, analysis of the ARWV-2 sequences from Baxianzaofu, Ruixue, Longkou no. 3, and Yishuihong revealed that the elimination rate exhibited minimal correlation with the virus diversity. The consistency and identity of the different variants within the same isolates or among the four isolates were high. Our findings can serve as a valuable foundation for developing treatment strategies to address ARWV-2 infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yanan Dong,1–3 Rongzhan Fu,1–3 Jing Yang,1–3 Pei Ma,1–3 Lihua Liang,2 Yu Mi,1–3 Daidi Fan1–31Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Degradable Biomedical Materials, School of Chemical Engineering, Northwest University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710069, People’s Republic of China; 2Shaanxi R&D Center of Biomaterials and Fermentation Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Northwest University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710069, People’s Republic of China; 3Biotech & Biomed Research Institute, Northwest University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710069, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yu Mi; Daidi FanShaanxi Key Laboratory of Degradable Biomedical Materials, School of Chemical Engineering, Northwest University, 229 North Taibai Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710069, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail mi_yu@nwu.edu.cn; fandaidi@nwu.edu.cnBackground and purpose: Ginsenoside Rg5 (Rg5), a triterpene saponin, extracted from the natural herbal plant ginseng, is one of the most potent anticancer drugs against various carcinoma cells. However, the therapeutic potential of Rg5 is limited by its low solubility in water, poor bioavailability, and nontargeted delivery. Therefore, we prepared folic acid (FA)-modified bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanoparticles (FA-Rg5-BSA NPs) to improve the therapeutic efficacy and tumor targetability of Rg5.Methods: Various aspects of the FA-Rg5-BSA NPs were characterized, including size, polydispersity, zeta potential, morphology, entrapment efficiency (EE), drug loading (DL), in vitro drug release, thermal stability, in vitro cytotoxicity, cell apoptosis, cellular uptake, in vivo antitumor effects and in vivo biodistribution imaging.Results: The FA-Rg5-BSA NPs showed a particle size of 201.4 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.081, uniform spherical shape, and drug loading of 12.64±4.02%. The aqueous solution of FA-Rg5-BSA NPs had favorable stability for 8 weeks at 4°C. The FA-Rg5-BSA NPs dissolved under acidic conditions. Moreover, the Rg5-BSA NPs and FA-Rg5-BSA NPs had advanced anticancer activity compared with Rg5 in MCF-7 cells, while poor cytotoxicity was observed in L929 cells. The FA-Rg5-BSA NPs facilitated cellular uptake and induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. In addition, in an MCF-7 xenograft mouse model, the in vivo antitumor evaluation revealed that FA-Rg5-BSA NPs were more effective in inhibiting tumor growth than Rg5 and Rg5-BSA NPs. The in vivo real-time bioimaging study showed that the FA-Rg5-BSA NPs exhibited superior tumor accumulation ability.Conclusion: The results suggested that FA-Rg5-BSA NPs could serve as a promising system to improve the antitumor effect of Rg5.Keywords: ginsenoside Rg5, drug delivery, nanoparticles, antitumor activity, human MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Haohai Huang,1 Dan Liao,2 Yong Dong,3 Rong Pu41Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Dongguan Third People’s Hospital, Affiliated Dongguan Shilong People’s Hospital of Southern Medical University, Dongguan, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Gynaecology, Dongguan Third People’s Hospital, Affiliated Dongguan Shilong People’s Hospital of Southern Medical University, Dongguan, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Cancer Center, Dongguan Third People‘s Hospital, Affiliated Dongguan Shilong People’s Hospital of Southern Medical University, Dongguan, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Clinical Laboratory, Dongguan Third People’s Hospital, Affiliated Dongguan Shilong People‘s Hospital of Southern Medical University, Dongguan, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaPurpose: The previous investigations which considered the possible effect of the quercetin supplementation for overweight and obesity have led to inconsistent results. Here, we aimed to evaluate the effects of quercetin on weight loss using a meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs).Methods: Relevant studies were systematically searched from the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases. RCTs that investigated the effects of quercetin on weight loss in humans were included for quality assessment, meta-analyses, sensitivity analysis, subgroup analyses, and publication bias assessment. Effect size was expressed as weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% CI by using a random-effects model. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology was used to rate the level of evidence.Results: Nine RCTs (11 treatment arms) with 525 participants were finally included for data pooling. Our meta-analysis revealed that daily quercetin supplementation did not significantly affect the body weight (WMD: −0.35 kg, 95% CI: −2.03, 1.33; P=0.68), body mass index (WMD: −0.04 kg/m2 95% CI: −0.54, 0.45; P=0.87), waist circumference (WMD: −0.37 cm, 95% CI: −1.81, 1.06; P=0.61), and waist to hip ratio (WMD: −0.01, 95% CI: −0.03, 0.01; P=0.48). Subgroup analysis could not identify factors significantly influencing these parameters. These results were robust in sensitivity analysis, and no significant publication bias was found.Conclusion: The current evidence suggests that quercetin intake did not show a notably favorable effect on weight loss. Future well-designed and long-term clinical trials are required to confirm these results.Keywords: quercetin, body weight, obesity, overweight, meta-analysis

Ailin Qu,1 Wenfei Wang,2,3 Yongmei Yang,4 Xin Zhang,4 Yuhuan Dong,4 Guixi Zheng,4 Qiuyan Wu,4 Mingjin Zou,4 Lutao Du,1 Yunshan Wang,1 Chuanxin Wang11Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250033, People’s Republic of China; 2Humanistic Medicine Research Center, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, People’s Republic of China; 3Humanistic Medicine Research Center, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Clinical Laboratory, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, People’s Republic of ChinaPurpose: Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are a novel class of small non-coding RNAs, which are not easily degraded but detectable in human body fluids. Recent studies have shown that aberrant piRNA expression is a signature feature across multiple tumor types. However, the expressions of piRNAs in serum of tumor patients and their potential clinical values remain largely unclear.Patients and methods: High-throughput sequencing was performed to investigate the serum piRNA profiles, followed by evaluations in serum samples of 220 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and 220 healthy controls using reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). Biomarker panels including piRNA-based Panel I and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-based Panel II, were developed by logistic regression model, and their diagnostic potentials were compared. Fagan’s nomogram was plotted to promote clinical application.Results: We identified five differentially expressed serum piRNAs (piR-001311, piR-004153, piR-017723, piR-017724 and piR-020365), which, when combined in the piRNA-based Panel I, outperformed the CEA-based Panel II (P

Dongyang Li,1 Xuanyu Hao,2 Yudi Dong,3 Mo Zhang,1 Yongsheng Song1 1Department of Urology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, People’s Republic of China; 3Laboratory of Experimental Oncology, Medical Research Center, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Benxi, Liaoning, People’s Republic of China Background: PF4V1 is a novel protein in inflammation, angiogenesis, and cancer. However, the pathogenesis, underlying mechanisms, and the prognostic value of PF4V1 in prostate cancer (PCa) are still unclear.Materials and methods: The PF4V1 expression and relation with survival were analyzed based on a large sample size in the Cancer Genome Atlas. In vitro, the overexpression of PF4V1 was conducted in DU145 and LNCaP cells. Cell Counting Kit-8, colony formation, wound healing, and Transwell® assays were preformed to test biological functions of PF4V1 and miR-875-3p in PCa. Western blotting was used to measure downstream markers in AKT pathways and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). In vivo experiments were performed to test the therapeutic effect of PF4V1 protein to PCa via a mouse model.Results: The expression of PF4V1 was significantly lower in 497 PCa samples than in 52 normal controls (P=0.0012). High PF4V1 expression (normalized by TP53) was associated with poor disease-free survival (DFS) and good overall survival (OS) in PCa (P

Hui Wang,* Xiaoye Liu,* Xuechao Jiang, Yongchun Song, Xiaoguang Wang, Jingsheng Wang, Yang Dong, Fengtong Li, Zhiqiang Wu, Yuhan Zhang, Zhiyong Yuan Department of Radiation Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin’s Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: Traditionally, radiosurgery was considered less effective for patients with cystic brain metastases. However, comparisons of prognosis between cystic and solid brain metastases in cancer patients have been seldom reported. We aimed to compare the survival between cystic and solid brain metastases and assess risk factors for overall survival after brain metastases (BMOS) in patients who underwent radiosurgery treatment. Patients and methods: The Kaplan–Meier method and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to compare survival time and evaluate risk factors for BMOS. Results: A total of 356 patients (including 498 brain metastases) were analyzed in our study, including 67 patients (67/356, 18.8%) with 75 cystic brain metastases. There is no statistical significance in BMOS between patients with cystic (17 months, range: 3–64 months) and solid (17.5 months, range: 1–65 months) brain metastases (P=0.148). However, the volume of cystic brain metastases decreased more slowly than solid brain metastases (P

Haili Tang,1,* Shujia Peng,1,* Yanming Dong,1,* Xiaojun Yang,1 Ping Yang,1 Lin Yang,1 Bing Yang,2 Guoqiang Bao1 1Department of General Surgery, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710038, China; 2Department of General Surgery, JingYang Country Hospital, XianYang, Shaanxi 713700, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Human MARCH5 is a mitochondrial localized E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase that is critical for the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics. A body of evidence has indicated the close links between unbalanced mitochondrial dynamics and cancers. However, the expression, biological functions, and prognostic significance of MARCH5 in breast cancer (BC) have not been determined. Materials and methods: The mRNA and protein expressions of MARCH5 were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot analysis in BC cell lines and tumor tissues. Clinical prognostic significance of MARCH5 was assessed in 65 patients with BC. The biological functions of MARCH5 were determined by in vitro cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle, migration and invasion assays, and in vivo tumor growth and metastasis assays through knockdown or overexpression of MARCH5 in BC cells. In addition, the underlying mechanisms by which MARCH5 regulated BC cell growth and metastasis were explored. Results: MARCH5 was substantially upregulated in BC cells mainly due to the downregulation of miR-30a, which contributed to the poor survival of BC patients. MARCH5 promoted the growth and metastasis of BC cells both in vitro and in vivo by inducing G1–S cell cycle arrest and epithelial–mesenchymal transition. Mechanistic investigations revealed that the oncogenic effect of MARCH5 was mainly mediated by increased mitochondrial fission and subsequent ROS production in BC cells. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that MARCH5 plays a critical oncogenic role in BC cells, which provides experimental evidence supporting MARCH5 as a potential therapeutic target in BC therapy. Keywords: MARCH5, proliferation, invasion, prognosis, BC

Run Liu,1,* Bi-Xia Liu,2,* Mingyue Ma,1,* Dan Kong,3,* Guanglin Li,4 Junle Yang,1 Xiaoping Wu,1 Jiyong Zheng,3 Yan Dong1 1Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Xi’an Central Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710004 Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of ICU, Jiangxi Provincial Cancer Hospital, Nanchang, 330029 Jiangxi, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Medical Imaging, The Affiliated Huaian No. 1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huaian, 223300 Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China; 4Honghui Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710054 Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Objective: To identify whether the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) analysis has the potential to serve as a biological marker to detect alcohol-induced spontaneous brain activities and distinguish the patients with alcohol dependence from the healthy subjects. Methods: We utilized the ALFF analysis to report on the alcohol-induced spontaneous brain activities in 29 patients with alcohol dependence (9 female, 20 male) relative to 29 status-matched healthy subjects (11 female, 18 male). Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to test the ability of the ALFF analysis in discriminating the patients with alcohol dependence from the healthy subjects. Pearson correlation was used to evaluate the relationships between the signal value of those ALFF differences in brain areas and behavioral characteristics. Results: Alcohol-induced brain differences located in the right inferior parietal lobule and right supplementary motor area with significant higher ALFF values, and in the left precuneus and bilateral cerebellum posterior lobe with lower ALFF values. The movement-related areas were significantly correlated with each other (P

Sujing Jiang,1 Guannan Wang,1 Jieyu Chen,2 Ying Dong1 1Department of Medical Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; 2Department of Medical Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China Background: The clinicopathological characteristics, outcomes and prognostic factors of primary extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma (EES) remained insufficiently explored. We aimed to examine these aspects and compared the same with skeletal Ewing sarcoma (SES).Patients and methods: We identified Ewing sarcoma, peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors or Askin tumor patients who were registered in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database from 1973 to 2014. Clinicopathological features were assessed by using Fisher’s exact tests. Cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated by using the Kaplan–Meier method and the Cox proportional hazards model. Prognostic factors were identified by multivariate Cox regression analysis.Results: The age of patients with EES was diagnosed to be higher and they were more likely to be female (46.1% vs 36.2%; P

A retrodirective array (RDA) capable of retransmitting predictable polarization with respect to any received polarization state is presented. RDAs have the unique ability to scatter the received signal back to the interrogator without prior knowledge of the source location. In addition to this unique feature, the proposed system can receive any polarization and always retransmits the signal that is orthogonally polarized with respect to the received polarization state. This added feature helps to maintain a more stable communication link between the RDA and the interrogator by mitigating the polarization mismatch loss. The proposed system shows excellent retrodirectivity for various received linear and circular polarizations. © 2013 IEEE.