Metabolic modulation of histone acetylation mediated by HMGCL activates the FOXM1/ß-catenin pathway in glioblastoma.

BACKGROUND: Altered branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism modulates epigenetic modification, such as H3K27ac in cancer, thus providing a link between metabolic reprogramming and epigenetic change, which are prominent hallmarks of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Here, we identified mitochondrial 3-hydroxymethyl-3-methylglutaryl-CoA lyase (HMGCL), an enzyme involved in leucine degradation, promoting GBM progression and glioma stem cell (GSC) maintenance. METHODS: In silico analysis was performed to identify specific molecules involved in multiple processes. Glioblastoma multiforme cells were infected with knockdown/overexpression lentiviral constructs of HMGCL to assess malignant performance in vitro and in an orthotopic xenograft model. RNA sequencing was used to identify potential downstream molecular targets. RESULTS: HMGCL, as a gene, increased in GBM and was associated with poor survival in patients. Knockdown of HMGCL suppressed proliferation and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Acetyl-CoA was decreased with HMGCL knockdown, which led to reduced NFAT1 nuclear accumulation and H3K27ac level. RNA sequencing-based transcriptomic profiling revealed FOXM1 as a candidate downstream target, and HMGCL-mediated H3K27ac modification in the FOXM1 promoter induced transcription of the gene. Loss of FOXM1 protein with HMGCL knockdown led to decreased nuclear translocation and thus activity of ß-catenin, a known oncogene. Finally, JIB-04, a small molecule confirmed to bind to HMGCL, suppressed GBM tumorigenesis in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in acetyl-CoA levels induced by HMGCL altered H3K27ac modification, which triggers transcription of FOXM1 and ß-catenin nuclear translocation. Targeting HMGCL by JIB-04 inhibited tumor growth, indicating that mediators of BCAA metabolism may serve as molecular targets for effective GBM treatment.

Effects of exogenous trehalose on filling characteristics and sugar component content of wheat under high temperature stress during the filling period.

Taking the heat-sensitive wheat variety 'Fanmai 5' (FM5) and the heat-tolerant variety 'Huaimai 33' (HM33), which were screened out in the previous experiments, as experimental materials, we conducted a field experiment with passive heat-enhancing shelters to simulate post-flowering high-temperature environment (average temperature increase of 5.13 ℃) during 2021-2022. During the filling period, we analyzed the effects of exogenous trehalose (10, 15 and 20 mmol·L-1) on the filling characteristics and sugar fraction under high temperature, with no spraying at ordinary temperature as control (CK). The results showed that treating without spraying exogenous trehalose at high temperature (H) significantly reduced wheat grain yield and grain weight during the filling period, and spraying exogenous trehalose alleviated the reduction of grain yield and grain weight at the filling stage under high temperature stress. Compared with the H treatment, grain yield and grain weight of HM33 and FM5 wheat varie-ties increased by 3.5%, 6.7% and 4.2%, 5.4%, respectively. High temperature stress significantly increased the trehalose content and trehalase (THL) activity in flag leaves of both wheat varieties, and decreased the fructose and glucose contents. Spraying exogenous trehalose increased the contents of trehalose, fructose, and glucose in flag leaves, and decreased the trehalase activity in flag leaves compared with H treatment, which could improve the glucose metabolism capacity of wheat at filling stage. The increasing effect of FM5 was higher than that of HM33. High temperature stress significantly reduced starch content of flag leaves and grains, while spraying exogenous trehalose alleviated the decrease of starch content of flag leaves and grains under high temperature stress, which was profit able for the substance accumulation of wheat grains under high temperature stress. Under the conditions of this experiment, spraying 15 mmol·L-1 trehalose at flowering stage was the best treatment for the two wheat varieties.

Molecular genomic landscape of pediatric solid tumors in Chinese patients: implications for clinical significance.

PURPOSE: Pediatric solid tumors are significantly different from adult tumors. Studies have revealed genomic aberrations in pediatric solid tumors, but these analyses were based on Western populations. Currently, it is not known to what extent the existing genomic findings represent differences in ethnic backgrounds. EXPERIMENTAL: DESIGN: We retrospectively analyzed the basic clinical characteristics of the patients, including age, cancer type, and sex distribution, and further analyzed the somatic and germline mutations of cancer-related genes in a Chinese pediatric cohort. In addition, we investigated the clinical significance of genomic mutations on therapeutic, prognostic, diagnostic, and preventive actions. RESULTS: Our study enrolled 318 pediatric patients, including 234 patients with CNS tumors and 84 patients with non-CNS tumors. Somatic mutation analysis showed that there were significant differences in mutation types between CNS tumors and non-CNS tumors. P/LP germline variants were identified in 8.49% of patients. In total, 42.8% patients prompted diagnostic, 37.7% patients prompted prognostic, 58.2% patients prompted therapeutic, and 8.5% patients prompted tumor-predisposing and preventive, and we found that genomic findings might improve clinical management. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first large-scale study to analyze the landscape of genetic mutations in pediatric patients with solid tumors in China. Genomic findings in CNS and non-CNS solid pediatric tumors provide evidence for the clinical classification and individualized treatment of pediatric tumors, and they will facilitate improvement of clinical management. Data presented in this study should serve as a reference to guide the future design of clinical trials.

3D LiDAR Point Cloud Registration Based on IMU Preintegration in Coal Mine Roadways.

Point cloud registration is the basis of real-time environment perception for robots using 3D LiDAR and is also the key to robust simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) for robots. Because LiDAR point clouds are characterized by local sparseness and motion distortion, the point cloud features of coal mine roadway environments show a weak texture and degradation. Therefore, for these environments, the traditional point cloud registration method to register directly will lead to problems, such as a decline in registration accuracy, z-axis drift, and map ghosting. To solve the above problems, we propose a point cloud registration method based on IMU preintegration with the sensor characteristics of LiDAR and IMU. The system framework of this method mainly consists of four modules: IMU preintegration, point cloud preprocessing, point cloud frame matching and point cloud registration. First, IMU sensor data are introduced, and IMU linear interpolation is used to correct the motion distortion in LiDAR scanning, and the IMU preintegration error function is constructed. Second, the point cloud segmentation is performed using the ground segmentation method of RANSAC to provide additional ground constraints for the z-axis displacement and to remove the unstable flawed points from the point cloud. On this basis, the LiDAR point cloud registration error function is constructed by extracting the feature corner points and feature plane points. Finally, the Gaussian Newton solution is used to optimize the constraint relationship between the LiDAR odometry frames to minimize the error function, complete the LiDAR point cloud registration and better estimate the position and pose of the mobile robot. The experimental results show that compared with the traditional point cloud registration method, the proposed method has a higher point cloud registration accuracy, success rate and computational efficiency. The LiDAR odometry constructed using this method can better reflect the authenticity of the robot trajectory and has higher trajectory accuracy and smaller absolute position and pose error.

Prodigiosin inhibits the proliferation of glioblastoma by regulating the KIAA1524/PP2A signaling pathway.

Prodigiosin (PG), a member of a family of natural red pigments produced by a variety of bacteria, was first discovered in Serratia marcescens. PG has been reported to have an apoptosis-inducing effect in many cancers, such as lymphoma, colon cancer and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. For this study, we used three glioblastoma (GBM) cell lines (LN229, U251 and A172) to explore the effect of prodigiosin on GBM cells. A CCK8 assay was used to evaluate cell viability. We determinedthe cell cycle distribution by flow cytometry and measured proliferation by an EdU incorporation assay. The expression of different molecules was investigated by western blotting and RT-PCR. We further confirmed our results by plasmid transfection and lentiviral transduction. The LN229 xenograft model was used to study the effect of prodigiosin in vivo. We confirmed that prodigiosin played an anticancer role in several GBM cell lines through the KIAA1524/PP2A/Akt signalling pathway. Prodigiosin inhibited the protein expression of KIAA1524 by suppressing its transcription, which led to activation of PP2A. Afterward, PP2A inhibited the phosphorylation of Akt, thereby inducing increased expression of p53/p21. Furthermore, it was verified that prodigiosin inhibited the KIAA1524/PP2A/Akt axis in vivo in the LN229 xenograft model. These data improve the understanding of the anticancer effects of prodigiosin and further highlight the potential of prodigiosin for the development of anti-glioma drugs.

A Tightly Coupled LiDAR-Inertial SLAM for Perceptually Degraded Scenes.

Realizing robust six degrees of freedom (6DOF) state estimation and high-performance simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) for perceptually degraded scenes (such as underground tunnels, corridors, and roadways) is a challenge in robotics. To solve these problems, we propose a SLAM algorithm based on tightly coupled LiDAR-IMU fusion, which consists of two parts: front end iterative Kalman filtering and back end pose graph optimization. Firstly, on the front end, an iterative Kalman filter is established to construct a tightly coupled LiDAR-Inertial Odometry (LIO). The state propagation process for the a priori position and attitude of a robot, which uses predictions and observations, increases the accuracy of the attitude and enhances the system robustness. Second, on the back end, we deploy a keyframe selection strategy to meet the real-time requirements of large-scale scenes. Moreover, loop detection and ground constraints are added to the tightly coupled framework, thereby further improving the overall accuracy of the 6DOF state estimation. Finally, the performance of the algorithm is verified using a public dataset and the dataset we collected. The experimental results show that for perceptually degraded scenes, compared with existing LiDAR-SLAM algorithms, our proposed algorithm grants the robot higher accuracy, real-time performance and robustness, effectively reducing the cumulative error of the system and ensuring the global consistency of the constructed maps.

A radiomics model can distinguish solitary pulmonary capillary haemangioma from lung adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: Solitary pulmonary capillary haemangioma (SPCH) is a benign lung tumour that presents as ground-glass nodules on computed tomography (CT) images and mimics lepidic-predominant adenocarcinoma. This study aimed to establish a discriminant model using a radiomic feature analysis to distinguish SPCH from lepidic-predominant adenocarcinoma. METHODS: In the adenocarcinoma group, all tumours were of the lepidic-predominant subtype with high purity (>70%). A classification model was proposed based on a two-level decision tree and 26 radiomic features extracted from each segmented lesion. For comparison, a baseline model was built with the same 26 features using a support vector machine as the classifier. Both models were assessed by the leave-one-out cross-validation method. RESULTS: This study included 13 and 49 patients who underwent complete resection for SPCH and adenocarcinoma, respectively. Two sets of features were identified for discrimination between the 2 different histology types. The first set included 2 principal components corresponding to the 2 largest eigenvalues for the root node of the two-level decision tree. The second set comprised 4 selected radiomic features. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity were 0.954, 91.9%, 92.3% and 91.8% in the proposed classification model, and were 0.805, 85.5%, 61.5% and 91.8% in the baseline model, respectively. The proposed classification model significantly outperformed the baseline model (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The proposed model could differentiate the 2 different histology types on CT images, and this may help surgeons to preoperatively discriminate SPCH from adenocarcinoma.

Role of TRPV4-P2X7 Pathway in Neuropathic Pain in Rats with Chronic Compression of the Dorsal Root Ganglion.

Transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) is a Ca2+-permeable non-selective cation channel that is involved in the development of neuropathic pain. P2X7 receptor (P2X7) belongs to a class of ATP-gated nonselective cation channels that plays an important role in neuropathic pain. Nevertheless, little is known about the interaction between them for neuropathic pain. In this paper, we investigated role of TRPV4-P2X7 pathway in neuropathic pain. We evaluated the effect of TRPV4-P2X7 pathway on neuropathic pain in a chronic compression of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) (hereafter termed CCD) model. We analyzed the effect of P2X7 on mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia mediated by TRPV4 in CCD. Furthermore, we assessed the effect of TRPV4 on the expression of P2X7 and the release of IL-1ß and IL-6 in DRG after CCD. We found that intraperitoneal injection of TRPV4 agonist GSK-1016790A led to a significant increase of mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia in CCD, which was partially suppressed by P2X7 blockade with antagonist Brilliant Blue G (BBG). Then, we further noticed that GSK-1016790A injection increased the P2X7 expression of CCD, which was decreased by TRPV4 blockade with antagonist RN-1734 and HC-067047. Furthermore, we also discovered that the expressions of IL-1ß and IL-6 were upregulated by GSK-1016790A injection but reduced by RN-1734 and HC-067047. Our results provide evidence that P2X7 contributes to development of neuropathic pain mediated by TRPV4 in the CCD model, which may be the basis for treatment of neuropathic pain relief.

Deployment of a bioabsorbable plate as the rigid buttress for skull base repair after endoscopic pituitary surgery.

BACKGROUND: Bioresorbable alloplastic implants have become desirable as a rigid buttress for reconstructing skull base defects. This study aimed to describe the use of a biodegradable plate (PolyMax RAPID) in skull base repair of endoscopic endonasal pituitary surgery and to investigate the clinical outcome and safety of this novel method. METHODS: Between January 2019 and January 2020, 22 patients with pituitary adenomas who underwent endoscopic skull base repair with a Polymax RAPID plate were included. After endonasal transsphenoidal surgery, a trimmed bioresorbable plate was placed in the position between the dura and the bone of the skull base to reconstruct the sellar floor and buttress the pituitary gland and sellar packing. The patient demographics, radiologic imaging, and postoperative outcomes were carefully reviewed. All patients were followed up by a routine nasal endoscopic assessment and radiologic examinations. RESULTS: The present study comprised 10 (45.5%) males and 12 (54.4%) females with an average age of 51.9 years. There were 7 (31.8%) growth hormone (GH) secreting adenomas, 2 (9.1%) thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) secreting adenomas, and 13 (59.1%) non-functioning adenomas. Enlarged sellar floor and paranasal sinusitis were seen in 13 (59.1%) and 11 (50.0%) cases shown by preoperative computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), respectively. There were 6 (27.3%) grade-1 and 16 (72.7%) grade-0 cases by intraoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak grading. None of these patients received lumbar drains postoperatively and no postoperative CSF rhinorrhea was detected in our series. The PolyMax RAPID plates which could be clearly identified on postoperative CT or sagittal T1-weighted MRI were shown to provide an ideal rigid buttress for sellar repair. CONCLUSIONS: The Polymax RAPID plate can be an optimal implant to achieve rigid repair of sellar floor defects after endonasal transsphenoidal pituitary surgery.

Glioblastoma Therapy Using Codelivery of Cisplatin and Glutathione Peroxidase Targeting siRNA from Iron Oxide Nanoparticles.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and lethal type of malignant brain tumor in adults. Currently, interventions are lacking, the median overall survival of patients with GBM is less than 15 months, and the postoperative recurrence rate is greater than 60%. We proposed an innovative local chemotherapy involving the construction of gene therapy-based iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) as a treatment for patients with glioblastoma after surgery that targeted ferroptosis and apoptosis to address these problems. The porous structure of IONPs with attached carboxyl groups was modified for the codelivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting glutathione peroxidase 4 (si-GPX4) and cisplatin (Pt) with high drug loading efficiencies. The synthesized folate (FA)/Pt-si-GPX4@IONPs exerted substantial effects on glioblastoma in U87MG and P3#GBM cells, but limited effects on normal human astrocytes (NHAs). During intracellular degradation, IONPs significantly increased iron (Fe2+ and Fe3+) levels, while Pt destroyed nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA, leading to apoptosis. Furthermore, IONPs increased H2O2 levels by activating reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase (NOX). The Fenton reaction between Fe2+, Fe3+, and intracellular H2O2 generated potent reactive oxygen species (ROS) to initiate ferroptosis, while the co-released si-GPX4 inhibited GPX4 expression and synergistically improved the therapeutic efficacy through a mechanism related to ferroptosis. As a result, superior therapeutic effects with low systemic toxicity were achieved both in vitro and in vivo, indicating that our nanoformulations might represent safe and efficient ferroptosis and apoptosis inducers for use in combinatorial glioblastoma therapy.

Data on the evolution of curing characteristics and properties during the room-temperature annealing process in SSBR/BR gums and SSBR/BR/SiO2 composites.

The present article contains the data of tensile stress-strain curves, crosslinking characteristics curves, filler dispersion images and dynamic mechanical properties of SSBR/BR blends and SSBR/BR/SiO2 composites during room-temperature annealing. The data in this article aims to accurately describe the evolution of the network structures and physical mechanical properties of rubber composites during annealing process. Tensile stress-strain curves of un-vulcanized rubber gums and compounds were obtained by an electrical tensile tester with a speed of 100 mm/min. The crosslinking characteristics of the un-vulcanized rubber blends or composites after different annealing time were measured by a rotor-free vulcameter at 150 °C. The macroscopic filler dispersion of the filled vulcanizates was analyzed on a smooth cross-section of cut rubber. The dynamic mechanical properties of vulcanized SSBR/BR blends and SSBR/BR/SiO2 composites were investigated by a dynamic mechanical thermal analyser with different temperature ranges and strains. These findings may serve as references for the scientific processing of green tire materials in automotive industry, and this article is related to our research article entitled "Effect of room-temperature annealing on structures and properties of SSBR/BR blends and SSBR/BR/SiO2 composites" (Xinping Zhang et al., 2019).

Aluminum-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks Derived Al2O3-Loading Mesoporous Carbon as a Host Matrix for Lithium-Metal Anodes.

Li-metal anode attracts great focus owing to its ultra-high specific capacity and the lowest redox potential. However, the uncontrolled growth of Li dendrite leads to severe security issues and limited cycle life. Herein, Al2O3 loading mesoporous carbon (Al2O3@MOF-C) derived from Al-based metal-organic frameworks (Al-MOFs) was investigated as the stable host matrix for Li metal, in which, Al2O3 was served as nano seeds for the Li deposition and decrease the Li nucleation overpotential. Except that, the high specific surface area and wide pore distribution can also buffer the volume changes of Li and fasten electron transfer, hence a dendrite-free morphology was observed even after 50 cycles at 2 mA cm-2. High Li coulombic efficiency of 97.9% after 100 cycles at 1 mA cm-2, 1 mAh cm-2, and 97.6% after 50 cycles at 1 mA cm-2 and 6 mAh cm-2 were performed by Al2O3@MOF-C electrodes. Good performances were also obtained for Li-sulfur and LiFePO4 batteries. The performances of Al2O3@MOF-C@Li were compared with Li foil and Cu@Li in full cell configurations. The electrochemical tests of full cells based on Al2O3@MOF-C@Li indicated that this Al-based functional host matrix can enhance the Li-utilization and lead to significant enhancement of the cycling performance of Li anodes.

Anterior Cerebral Artery Rupture During Extended Endoscopic Endonasal Transsphenoidal Approach for Severely Calcified Craniopharyngioma.

BACKGROUND: This report discusses the risks and complications of using the extended endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach (EEETA) in a special craniopharyngioma case to caution neurosurgeons. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 38-year-old woman with craniopharyngioma underwent EEETA surgery. Her anterior cerebral artery was punctured intraoperatively and clipped using an aneurysm clip through the nose in an emergency procedure. CONCLUSIONS: The coexistence of severe calcified craniopharyngiomas, especially with sharp calcified spurs, a narrow distance between the anterior communicating artery and the planum sphenoidale, and a narrow distance between the bilateral internal carotid arteries is a significant warning signal during EEETA for craniopharyngiomas. In this circumstance, it may be preferable to use open microsurgical approaches. If the anterior communicating artery or anterior cerebral artery is punctured during EEETA, another method is available to fix the problem using an aneurysm clip through the nose, and not only endovascular embolization.

The diagnostic value and functional roles of phosphoglycerate mutase 1 in glioma.

Previous studies indicated that phosphoglycerate mutase 1 (PGAM1) is involved in many cancer types and promotes breast cancer progression. However, the role of PGAM1 in glioma remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the association of PGAM1 expression with glioma grade and the role of PGAM1 in proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion of glioma cells. The mRNA and protein expression of PGAM1 was analysed in glioma tissues and normal brain tissues. The expression of PGAM1 was examined further by immunohistochemical analysis. In addition, we inhibited the expression of PGAM1 in glioma cell line by siRNA to evaluate its role in glioma proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion. The mRNA and protein expression of PGAM1 was significantly greater in glioma than normal brain tissues. PGAM1 expression was associated with the WHO grade of glioma. siRNA knockdown of PGAM1 significantly inhibited glioma cell proliferation, promoted glioma cell apoptosis, induced S phase cell cycle arrest and inhibited glioma cell migration and invasion in vitro. PGAM1 may be associated with the grade of glioma and be involved in the biological behavior of glioma cells. PGAM1 might be a novel therapeutic target in glioma.

Glycinergic-Fipronil Uptake Is Mediated by an Amino Acid Carrier System and Induces the Expression of Amino Acid Transporter Genes in Ricinus communis Seedlings.

Phloem-mobile insecticides are efficient for piercing and sucking insect control. Introduction of sugar or amino acid groups to the parent compound can improve the phloem mobility of insecticides, so a glycinergic-fipronil conjugate (GlyF), 2-(3-(3-cyano-1-(2,6-dichloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-4-((trifluoromethyl)sulfinyl)-1H-pyrazole-5-yl)ureido) acetic acid, was designed and synthesized. Although the "Kleier model" predicted that this conjugate is not phloem mobile, GlyF can be continually detected during a 5 h collection of Ricinus communis phloem sap. Furthermore, an R. communis seedling cotyledon disk uptake experiment demonstrates that the uptake of GlyF is sensitive to pH, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), temperature, and p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonic acid (pCMBS) and is likely mediated by amino acid carrier system. To explore the roles of amino acid transporters (AATs) in GlyF uptake, a total of 62 AAT genes were identified from the R. communis genome in silico. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that AATs in R. communis were organized into the ATF (amino acid transporter) and APC (amino acid, polyaminem and choline transporter) superfamilies, with five subfamilies in ATF and two in APC. Furthermore, the expression profiles of 20 abundantly expressed AATs (cycle threshold (Ct) values <27) were analyzed at 1, 3, and 6 h after GlyF treatment by RT-qPCR. The results demonstrated that expression levels of four AAT genes, RcLHT6, RcANT15, RcProT2, and RcCAT2, were induced by the GlyF treatment in R. communis seedlings. On the basis of the observation that the expression profile of the four candidate genes is similar to the time course observation for GlyF foliar disk uptake, it is suggested that those four genes are possible candidates involved in the uptake of GlyF. These results contribute to a better understanding of the mechanism of GlyF uptake as well as phloem loading from a molecular biology perspective and facilitate functional characterization of candidate AAT genes in future studies.

Clinical Features and Surgical Treatment of Aggressive Meningiomas.

AIM: To explore the clinical features and surgical treatment of aggressive meningiomas (AMs). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Samples from 55 patients with AMs were analyzed, and their clinical characteristics, molecular biological mechanism, and surgical treatment were studied in combination with the literature. RESULTS: The main clinical and imaging features of AMs included manifestations of local structures invaded by tumors, frequently irregular or flat tumors in shape, more obvious cerebral edema surrounding the tumors, seldom calcification of tumor, more frequent and typical dural tail sign, often absent white or black ring sign, partial or complete occlusion of venous sinus and hyperplasia and destruction of local skull. Simpson I resection was achieved in 31 cases, II in 13, III-IV in 11. No severe complications and death occurred after operation. CONCLUSION: AMs have prominent clinical features. Appropriate surgery can provide a good therapeutic effect.

Primary extradural meningiomas in head: a report of 19 cases and review of literature.

Primary extradural meningiomas (PEMs) in head were rare tumors. Here we analyzed 231 cases of PEMs in head (including our 19 cases) reported in the literature during the CT era. We found that PEMs in head accounted for 0.8%-1.8% of all meningiomas. The constituent ratio of male PEMs in head increases markedly. PEMs in head have bimodal distribution of ages. The most common presenting symptom was a mass in the region of the lesion. The average duration of symptom was 2.38 years. The skull convexities, paranasal sinuse and nasal cavity, and middle ear ranked as the top three of all sites of tumors. The most common type was Type II (calvarial or diploic). Among 231 cases, total, subtotal and partial removals of tumors were achieved in 89%, 5.5% and 3.1% respectively, and no death occurred perioperatively in all patients. 90% were benign, 5.6% atypical and 3.9% malignant in the 231 cases. The most common histopathological subtype was meningothelial meningioma. The recurrence and tumor-related death rates were 22.4% and 8.2% respectively during a mean 3.03-year follow-up. Our results demonstrate that PEMs in head have some marked clinical characteristics compared with primary intradural meningiomas. Total tumor removal together with a wide excision of all involved tissues followed by the reconstruction of tissue defects is the best surgical project. The prognoses are good in the benign cases after complete surgical resections.

Clinical features and surgical treatment of asymptomatic meningiomas.

AIM: To explore clinical features and surgical treatment of asymptomatic meningiomas (AMs). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Clinical materials of 122 patients with AMs treated surgically were analyzed retrospectively and the associated literatures were reviewed. RESULTS: There were 39 males and 83 females whose ages ranged from 38 to 72 years with a mean of 58.6 years in this series. The cerebral convexity (32.8%), parasagittal region (31.1%), and parafalcine (29.5%) ranked in the top three of all locations of AMs. The average size of the tumors was 2.8 cm in diameter, with a tumoral calcification rate of 33.6%. Among the 82 cases of AMs monitored with serial computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scannings, 44 had no obvious growth during a period of 3 to 18 months (mean 10.5 months) whereas 38 increased in diameter from 0.2 to 1.8 cm (mean 0.4 cm) every year during a period of 6 to 38 months (mean 26 months). Total resection was achieved in all cases. No death or permanent neurological deficits occurred. CONCLUSION: AMs have some marked clinical characteristics compared with the symptomatic meningiomas. Their definitive treatment project rests with patients'age, results of follow-up, surgical risk-effect ratio, size, calcification of the tumor as well as patient preference.

Chronic subdural haematoma evolving from traumatic subdural hydroma.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the incidence and clinical characteristics of chronic subdural haematoma (CSDH) evolving from traumatic subdual hydroma (TSH). METHODS: The clinical characteristics of 44 patients with CSDH evolving from TSH were analysed retrospectively and the relevant literature was reviewed. RESULTS: In 22.6% of patients, TSH evolved into CSDH. The time required for this evolution was 14-100 days after injury. All patients were cured with haematoma drainage. CONCLUSIONS: TSH is one possible origin of CSDH. The clinical characteristics of TSH evolving into CSDH include polarization of patient age and chronic small effusion. The injuries usually occur during deceleration and are accompanied by mild cerebral damage.

Role of colchicine-induced microtubule depolymerization in hyperalgesia via TRPV4 in rats with chronic compression of the dorsal root ganglion.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of microtubule depolymerization by colchicine on hyperalgesia mediated by transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) in a neuropathic pain model of chronic compression of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) (hereafter termed CCD) in rat. Intrathecal administration of microtubule-depolymerizing agent, colchicine, attenuated the activated effect of 4alpha-phorbol 12, 13-didecanoate (4alpha-PDD, TRPV4 specific agonist) on mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia in CCD rats. This observation is in agreement with our in vitro experiments with DRG cells that showed a significant attenuation of 4alpha-PDD-activated Ca(2+)-influx and substance P (SP) release with the colchicine treatment. We conclude that microtubule depolymerization by colchicine can regulate pain sensitivity by depressing the hyperalgesia mediated by TRPV4.