Targeting anoikis resistance as a strategy for cancer therapy.

Anoikis, known as matrix detachment-induced apoptosis or detachment-induced cell death, is crucial for tissue development and homeostasis. Cancer cells develop means to evade anoikis, e.g. anoikis resistance, thereby allowing for cells to survive under anchorage-independent conditions. Uncovering the mechanisms of anoikis resistance will provide details about cancer metastasis, and potential strategies against cancer cell dissemination and metastasis. Here, we summarize the principal elements and core molecular mechanisms of anoikis and anoikis resistance. We discuss the latest progress of how anoikis and anoikis resistance are regulated in cancers. Furthermore, we summarize emerging data on selective compounds and nanomedicines, explaining how inhibiting anoikis resistance can serve as a meaningful treatment modality against cancers. Finally, we discuss the key limitations of this therapeutic paradigm and possible strategies to overcome them. In this review, we suggest that pharmacological modulation of anoikis and anoikis resistance by bioactive compounds could surmount anoikis resistance, highlighting a promising therapeutic regimen that could be used to overcome anoikis resistance in cancers.

Pharmacologically inducing anoikis offers novel therapeutic opportunities in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Tumor metastasis occurs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), leading to tumor progression and therapeutic failure. Anoikis is a matrix detachment-induced apoptosis, also known as detachment-induced cell death, and mechanistically prevents tumor cells from escaping their native extracellular matrix to metastasize to new organs. Deciphering the regulators and mechanisms of anoikis in cancer metastasis is urgently needed to treat HCC. Several natural and synthetic products induce anoikis in HCC cells and in vivo models. Here, we first briefly summarize the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms of anoikis regulation and relevant regulators involved in HCC metastasis. Then we discuss the therapeutic potential of pharmacological induction of anoikis as a potential treatment against HCC. Finally, we discuss the key limitations of this therapeutic paradigm and propose possible strategies to overcome them. Cumulatively this review suggests that the pharmacological induction of anoikis can be used a promising therapeutic modality against HCC.

Exploring the biological basis of CT imaging features in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: a two-center study.

Objective Medical imaging offered a non-invasive window to visualize tumors, with radiomics transforming these images into quantitative data for tumor phenotyping. However, the intricate web linking imaging features, clinical endpoints, and tumor biology was mostly uncharted. This study aimed to unravel the connections between CT imaging features and clinical characteristics, including tumor histopathological grading, clinical stage, and endocrine symptoms, alongside immunohistochemical markers of tumor cell growth, such as the Ki-67 index and nuclear mitosis rate. Approach We conducted a retrospective analysis of data from 137 patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors who had undergone contrast-enhanced CT scans across two institutions. Our study focused on three clinical factors: pathological grade, clinical stage, and endocrine symptom status, in addition to two immunohistochemical markers: the Ki-67 index and the rate of nuclear mitosis. We computed both predefined (2D and 3D) and learning-based features (via sparse autoencoder, or SAE) from the scans. To unearth the relationships between imaging features, clinical factors, and immunohistochemical markers, we employed the Spearman rank correlation along with the Benjamini-Hochberg method. Furthermore, we developed and validated radiomics signatures to foresee these clinical factors. Main results The 3D imaging features showed the strongest relationships with clinical factors and immunohistochemical markers. For the association with pathological grade, the mean absolute value of the correlation coefficient (CC) of 2D, SAE, and 3D features was 0.3318±0.1196, 0.2149±0.0361, and 0.4189±0.0882, respectively. While for the association with Ki-67 index and rate of nuclear mitosis, the 3D features also showed higher correlations, with CC as 0.4053±0.0786 and 0.4061±0.0806. In addition, the 3D feature-based signatures showed optimal performance in clinical factor prediction. Significance We found relationships between imaging features, clinical factors, and immunohistochemical markers. The 3D features showed higher relationships with clinical factors and immunohistochemical markers.

PNMC: Four-dimensional conebeam CT reconstruction combining prior network and motion compensation.

Four-dimensional conebeam computed tomography (4D CBCT) is an efficient technique to overcome motion artifacts caused by organ motion during breathing. 4D CBCT reconstruction in a single scan usually divides projections into different groups of sparsely sampled data based on the respiratory phases. The reconstructed images within each group present poor image quality due to the limited number of projections. To improve the image quality of 4D CBCT in a single scan, we propose a novel reconstruction scheme that combines prior knowledge with motion compensation. We apply the reconstructed images of the full projections within a single routine as prior knowledge, providing structural information for the network to enhance the restoration structure. The prior network (PN-Net) is proposed to extract features of prior knowledge and fuse them with the sparsely sampled data using an attention mechanism. The prior knowledge guides the reconstruction process to restore the approximate organ structure and alleviates severe streaking artifacts. The deformation vector field (DVF) extracted using deformable image registration among different phases is then applied in the motion-compensated ordered-subset simultaneous algebraic reconstruction algorithm to generate 4D CBCT images. Proposed method has been evaluated using simulated and clinical datasets and has shown promising results by comparative experiment. Compared with previous methods, our approach exhibits significant improvements across various evaluation metrics.

A retrospective study of occlusal reconstruction in patients with old jaw fractures and dentition defects.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the methods and clinical effects of multidisciplinary collaborative treatment for occlusal reconstruction in patients with old jaw fractures and dentition defects. METHODS: Patients with old jaw fractures and dentition defects who underwent occlusal reconstruction at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University from January 2018 to December 2022 were enrolled. Clinical treatment was classified into 3 phases. In phase I, techniques such as orthognathic surgery, microsurgery, and distraction osteogenesis were employed to reconstruct the correct three-dimensional (3D) jaw position relationship. In phase II, bone augmentation and soft tissue management techniques were utilized to address insufficient alveolar bone mass and poor gingival soft tissue conditions. In phase III, implant-supported overdentures or fixed dentures were used for occlusal reconstruction. A summary of treatment methods, clinical efficacy evaluation, comparative analysis of imageological examinations, and satisfaction questionnaire survey were utilized to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy in patients with traumatic old jaw fractures and dentition defects. All data are summarized using the arithmetic mean and standard deviation and compared using independent sample t-tests. RESULTS: In 15 patients with old jaw fractures and dentition defects (an average age of 32 years, ranging from 18 to 53 years), there were 7 cases of malocclusion of single maxillary fracture, 6 of malocclusion of single mandible fracture, and 2 of malocclusion of both maxillary and mandible fractures. There were 5 patients with single maxillary dentition defects, 2 with single mandibular dentition defects, and 8 with both maxillary and mandibular dentition defects. To reconstruct the correct 3D jaw positional relationship, 5 patients underwent Le Fort I osteotomy of the maxilla, 3 underwent bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy of the mandible, 4 underwent open reduction and internal fixation for old jaw fractures, 3 underwent temporomandibular joint surgery, and 4 underwent distraction osteogenesis. All patients underwent jawbone augmentation, of whom 4 patients underwent a free composite vascularized bone flap (26.66%) and the remaining patients underwent local alveolar bone augmentation. Free gingival graft and connective tissue graft were the main methods for soft tissue augmentation (73.33%). The 15 patients received 81 implants, of whom 11 patients received implant-supported fixed dentures and 4 received implant-supported removable dentures. The survival rate of all implants was 93.82%. The final imageological examination of 15 patients confirmed that the malocclusion was corrected, and the clinical treatment ultimately achieved occlusal function reconstruction. The patient satisfaction questionnaire survey showed that they were satisfied with the efficacy, phonetics, aesthetics, and comfort after treatment. CONCLUSION: Occlusal reconstruction of old jaw fractures and dentition defects requires a phased sequential comprehensive treatment, consisting of 3D spatial jaw correction, alveolar bone augmentation and soft tissue augmentation, and implant-supported occlusal reconstruction, achieving satisfactory clinical therapeutic efficacy.

UBES: Unified scatter correction using ultrafast Boltzmann equation solver for conebeam CT.

A semi-analytical solution to the unified Boltzmann equation is constructed to exactly describe the scatter distribution on a flat-panel detector for high-quality conebeam CT (CBCT) imaging. The solver consists of three parts, including the phase space distribution estimator, the effective source constructor and the detector signal extractor. Instead of the tedious Monte Carlo solution, the derived Boltzmann equation solver achieves ultrafast computational capability for scatter signal estimation by combining direct analytical derivation and time-efficient one-dimensional numerical integration over the trajectory along each momentum of the photon phase space distribution. The execution of scatter estimation using the proposed ultrafast Boltzmann equation solver (UBES) for a single projection is finalized in around 0.4 seconds. We compare the performance of the proposed method with the state-of-the-art schemes, including a time-expensive Monte Carlo (MC) method and a conventional kernel-based algorithm using the same dataset, which is acquired from the CBCT scans of a head phantom and an abdominal patient. The evaluation results demonstrate that the proposed UBES method achieves comparable correction accuracy compared with the MC method, while exhibits significant improvements in image quality over learning and kernel-based methods. With the advantages of MC equivalent quality and superfast computational efficiency, the UBES method has the potential to become a standard solution to scatter correction in high-quality CBCT reconstruction.

Prediction of SBRT response in liver cancer by combining original and delta cone-beam CT radiomics: a pilot study.

This study aims to explore the feasibility of utilizing a combination of original and delta cone-beam CT (CBCT) radiomics for predicting treatment response in liver tumors undergoing stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). A total of 49 patients are included in this study, with 36 receiving 5-fraction SBRT, 3 receiving 4-fraction SBRT, and 10 receiving 3-fraction SBRT. The CBCT and planning CT images from liver cancer patients who underwent SBRT are collected to extract overall 547 radiomics features. The CBCT features which are reproducible and interchangeable with pCT are selected for modeling analysis. The delta features between fractions are calculated to depict tumor change. The patients with 4-fraction SBRT are only used for screening robust features. In patients receiving 5-fraction SBRT, the predictive ability of both original and delta CBCT features for two-level treatment response (local efficacy vs. local non-efficacy; complete response (CR) vs. partial response (PR)) is assessed by utilizing multivariable logistic regression with leave-one-out cross-validation. Additionally, univariate analysis is conducted to validate the capability of CBCT features in identifying local efficacy in patients receiving 3-fraction SBRT. In patients receiving 5-fraction SBRT, the combined models incorporating original and delta CBCT radiomics features demonstrate higher area under the curve (AUC) values compared to models using either original or delta features alone for both classification tasks. The AUC values for predicting local efficacy vs. local non-efficacy are 0.58 for original features, 0.82 for delta features, and 0.90 for combined features. For distinguishing PR from CR, the respective AUC values for original, delta and combined features are 0.79, 0.80, and 0.89. In patients receiving 3-fraction SBRT, eight valuable CBCT radiomics features are identified for predicting local efficacy. The combination of original and delta radiomics derived from fractionated CBCT images in liver cancer patients undergoing SBRT shows promise in providing comprehensive information for predicting treatment response.

Combination of Minimally Invasive Methods for the Treatment of Varicose Veins.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of minimally invasive methods for the treatment of incompetent great saphenous vein and perforating veins. METHODS: Between December 2019 and October 2020, F-care radiofrequency ablation combined with ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy and residual perforator ligation and concomitant microphlebectomy were adopted for all eligible patients. The clinical symptoms scores, complications, and quality of life were recorded. RESULTS: 49 patients (64 limbs) with a mean age of 63.29 ± 10.14 years, and 60.9%4 were male. The 1-year truncal closure rate was 63/64 (98.4%).1 A significant improvement in the Venous Disability Score, the Venous Segmental Disease Score, the Venous Clinical Severity Score and Chronic Venous Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire Score, at 12 months after the combination of minimally invasive treatment, were observed in the study. One patient developed intermuscular vein thrombosis that was successfully managed with rivaroxaban. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of minimally invasive methods is a safe and effective method for the treatment of lower extremity varicose veins. Further large-scale, prospective, multi-center studies are needed to further verify the findings of this study.

Enhanced copper anticorrosion from Janus-doped bilayer graphene.

The atomic-thick anticorrosion coating for copper (Cu) electrodes is essential for the miniaturisation in the semiconductor industry. Graphene has long been expected to be the ultimate anticorrosion material, however, its real anticorrosion performance is still under great controversy. Specifically, strong electronic couplings can limit the interfacial diffusion of corrosive molecules, whereas they can also promote the surficial galvanic corrosion. Here, we report the enhanced anticorrosion for Cu simply via a bilayer graphene coating, which provides protection for more than 5 years at room temperature and 1000 h at 200 °C. Such excellent anticorrosion is attributed to a nontrivial Janus-doping effect in bilayer graphene, where the heavily doped bottom layer forms a strong interaction with Cu to limit the interfacial diffusion, while the nearly charge neutral top layer behaves inertly to alleviate the galvanic corrosion. Our study will likely expand the application scenarios of Cu under various extreme operating conditions.

Inferring pseudogene-MiRNA associations based on an ensemble learning framework with similarity kernel fusion.

Accumulating evidence shows that pseudogenes can function as microRNAs (miRNAs) sponges and regulate gene expression. Mining potential interactions between pseudogenes and miRNAs will facilitate the clinical diagnosis and treatment of complex diseases. However, identifying their interactions through biological experiments is time-consuming and labor intensive. In this study, an ensemble learning framework with similarity kernel fusion is proposed to predict pseudogene-miRNA associations, named ELPMA. First, four pseudogene similarity profiles and five miRNA similarity profiles are measured based on the biological and topology properties. Subsequently, similarity kernel fusion method is used to integrate the similarity profiles. Then, the feature representation for pseudogenes and miRNAs is obtained by combining the pseudogene-pseudogene similarities, miRNA-miRNA similarities. Lastly, individual learners are performed on each training subset, and the soft voting is used to yield final decision based on the prediction results of individual learners. The k-fold cross validation is implemented to evaluate the prediction performance of ELPMA method. Besides, case studies are conducted on three investigated pseudogenes to validate the predict performance of ELPMA method for predicting pseudogene-miRNA interactions. Therefore, all experiment results show that ELPMA model is a feasible and effective tool to predict interactions between pseudogenes and miRNAs.

Transcatheter arterial embolization for cancer-related non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding: A multicenter retrospective study of 107 patients.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the outcome of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) in the treatment of cancer-related non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB). MATERIALS AND METHODS: One-hundred and seven patients who underwent TAE for the treatment of cancer-related non-variceal UGIB at five institutions between June 2016 and May 2019 were retrospectively included. There were 78 men and 29 women, with a mean age of 60.6 ± 13.2 (SD) (age range: 31-87 years). Clinical success was defined as no rebleeding within 30 days after TAE. Rebleeding was defined as non-variceal UGIB resulting in a decrease in hemoglobin > 2 g/dL within 24 h. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate actuarial probabilities of rebleeding and survival within 30 days after TAE. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to identify variables associated with clinical success and 30-day mortality. RESULTS: Technical success was achieved in 106 out of 107 patients (99.1%). Positive angiographic findings (contrast extravasation and pseudoaneurysm) were observed in 30/107 patients (28.0%). Empiric embolization was performed in 77/107 patients (72.0%). Clinical success was achieved in 60/107 patients (56.1%). The 3-day, 7-day, and 30-day actuarial probabilities of rebleeding were 21.5%, 31.0%, and 44.6%, respectively. No variables were identified as predictors of clinical success. Nineteen patients (19/107; 17.8%) died within 30 days after TAE; of them, 14 (14/107; 13.1%) died due to bleeding-related causes. The 3-day, 7-day, and 30-day actuarial probabilities of survival were 91.6%, 88.8%, and 77.4%, respectively. A baseline hemoglobin level of ≤ 60 g/L (Odds ratio [OR]: 3.376; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.223-9.318; P = 0.019) and clinical failure (OR: 6.149; 95% CI: 2.113-17.893; P = 0.001) were identified as predictors of 30-day mortality. Major complications (gastrointestinal perforation) occurred in one patient (1/107; 0.9%). Minor complications (abdominal pain, fever, and vomiting) occurred in 19 patients (19/107; 17.8%). CONCLUSION: TAE is a safe treatment option for patients with cancer-related non-variceal UGIB, and seems to be effective in more than half of these patients.

Serum inflammatory factors such as MMP-9 are associated with post-percutaneous transluminal angioplastyacute myocardial infarction in coronary heart disease patients complicated by lower extremity arteriosclerosis obliterans.

This clinical study mainly analyzed the correlation of changes in serum inflammatory factors (IFs), such as matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interleukin (IL)-6 with post-percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA)acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in coronary heart disease (CHD)patients complicated by lower extremity arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO). This retrospective study selected sixty ASO+CHD patients (ASO group) who underwent lower limb angioplasty between January 2014 and June 2016, as well as 50 concurrent healthy controls (HCs, HC group). According to the occurrence of AMI after PTA, cases were further subdivided into AMI (n = 18) and non-AMI (n = 42) groups. For all participants, IFs (MMP-9, hs-CRP, TNF-α, and IL-6) were detected on an empty stomach. The correlations of these IFs with the post-PTAAMI risk of ASO + CHD patients were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients, and their predictive value for AMI was visualized by receiver operating characteristic (ROC)curves. Finally, the prognostic factors of perioperative AMI in ASO+CHD patients were identified by multivariate analysis using the Cox model. MMP-9, hs-CRP, TNF-α and IL-6 presented statistically higher levels in the AMI group than in non-AMI and HC groups and were positively correlated with AMI. ROC analysis data showed that MMP-9, hs-CRP, TNF-α and IL-6 had better diagnostic performance, sensitivity and specificity for post-PTAAMI in patients with ASO+CHD. According to Cox multivariate analysis, high levels of MMP-9, hs-CRP and IL-6 increased the risk of perioperative AMI in ASO+CHD patients after PTA. This study shows a significant correlation between the changes of serum IFs (MMP-9, hs-CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α) and post-PTA AMI in ASO patients complicated by CHD. Patients with upregulated post-PTA levels of the above Ifs in serum are at an elevated risk of developing AMI, and active and effective control will help to prevent AMI.

Pharmacological therapy of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease-driven hepatocellular carcinoma.

In light of a global rise in the number of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), now known as metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), has become the leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with the annual occurrence of MASLD-driven HCC expected to increase by 45%-130% by 2030. Although MASLD has become a serious major public health threat globally, the exact molecular mechanisms mediating MASLD-driven HCC remain an open problem, necessitating future investigation. Meanwhile, emerging studies are focusing on the utility of bioactive compounds to halt the progression of MASLD to MASLD-driven HCC. In this review, we first briefly review the recent progress of the possible mechanisms of pathogenesis and progression for MASLD-driven HCC. We then discuss the application of bioactive compounds to mitigate MASLD-driven HCC through different modulatory mechanisms encompassing anti-inflammatory, lipid metabolic, and gut microbial pathways, providing valuable information for future treatment and prevention of MASLD-driven HCC. Nonetheless, clinical research exploring the effectiveness of herbal medicines in the treatment of MASLD-driven HCC is still warranted.

Early osseointegration of micro-arc oxidation coated titanium alloy implants containing Ag: a histomorphometric study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate bone response to micro-arc oxidation coated titanium alloy implants containing Ag. METHODS: 144 titanium alloy implants were prepared by machine grinding and divided into three treatment groups as following, SLA group: sand-blasting and acid-etched coating; MAO group: micro-arc oxidation without Ag coating; MAO + Ag group: micro-arc oxidation containing Ag coating. Surface characterization of three kind of implants were observed by X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, scanning electron microscopy, High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope and roughness analysis. The implants were inserted into dog femurs. 4, 8 and 12 weeks after operation, the bone response to the implant to the bone was evaluated by push-out experiment, histological and fluorescent labeling analysis. RESULTS: MAO + Ag group consisted of a mixture of anatase and rutile. Ag was found in the form of Ag2O on the surface. The surface morphology of MAO + Ag group seemed more like a circular crater with upheaved edges and holes than the other two groups. The surface roughness of MAO and MAO + Ag groups were higher than SLA group, but no statistical difference between MAO and MAO + Ag groups. The contact angles in MAO + Ag group was smallest and the surface free energy was the highest among three groups. The maximum push-out strength of MAO and MAO + Ag groups were higher than SLA group at all time point, the value of MAO + Ag group was higher than MAO group at 4 and 8 weeks. Scanning electron microscopy examination for the surface and cross-section of the bone segments and fluorescent labeling analysis showed that the ability of bone formation and osseointegration in MAO + Ag group was higher than that of the other two groups. CONCLUSION: The micro-arc oxidation combination with Ag coating is an excellent surface modification technique to posse porous surface structure and hydrophilicity on the titanium alloy implants surface and exhibits desirable ability of osseointegration.

Continuous epitaxy of single-crystal graphite films by isothermal carbon diffusion through nickel.

Multilayer van der Waals (vdW) film materials have attracted extensive interest from the perspective of both fundamental research1-3 and technology4-7. However, the synthesis of large, thick, single-crystal vdW materials remains a great challenge because the lack of out-of-plane chemical bonds weakens the epitaxial relationship between neighbouring layers8-31. Here we report the continuous epitaxial growth of single-crystal graphite films with thickness up to 100,000 layers on high-index, single-crystal nickel (Ni) foils. Our epitaxial graphite films demonstrate high single crystallinity, including an ultra-flat surface, centimetre-size single-crystal domains and a perfect AB-stacking structure. The exfoliated graphene shows excellent physical properties, such as a high thermal conductivity of ~2,880 W m-1 K-1, intrinsic Young's modulus of ~1.0 TPa and low doping density of ~2.2 × 1010 cm-2. The growth of each single-crystal graphene layer is realized by step edge-guided epitaxy on a high-index Ni surface, and continuous growth is enabled by the isothermal dissolution-diffusion-precipitation of carbon atoms driven by a chemical potential gradient between the two Ni surfaces. The isothermal growth enables the layers to grow at optimal conditions, without stacking disorders or stress gradients in the final graphite. Our findings provide a facile and scalable avenue for the synthesis of high-quality, thick vdW films for various applications.

A meta-analysis of combined generic-covered stent-graft with or without bare-metal stent for refractory variceal bleeding.

Objectives: The meta-analysis was conducted to systematically assess the efficacy and safety of generic stent-graft/bare-stent combination compared with Fluency stent alone in transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt procedure for refractory variceal bleeding. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science and the Cochrane Database were searched for relevant studies from January 1990 to September 2020; outcome measures studied were primary patency, hepatic encephalopathy, survival, re-bleeding and portal venous pressure. Results: Four studies (1 randomised controlled trial and 3 retrospective studies) with 449 subjects (157 patients in the combined stent group and 292 patients in the covered stent group) were included. No significant difference was observed in the incidence of mortality (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.069, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.524, 2.178]), hepatic encephalopathy (odds ratio [OR] = 0.860, 95% CI [0.341, 2.169], P = 0.750) and re-bleeding (OR = 1.049, 95% CI [0.226, 4.881], P = 0.951). Compared with Fluency stent alone, combination therapy was associated with moderate decrease in outcomes on the post-operative portal venous pressure (standard mean difference [SMD] -0.210, 95% CI [-0.418, -0.001], P = 0.049) and was not associated with significant decrease in outcomes on the pre-operative portal venous pressure (SMD - 0.129, 95% CI [-0.336, 0.078], P = 0.223). The primary patency was significantly lower in the Fluency/bare-stent combination group (HR = 0.473, 95% CI [0.288, 0.776]). Conclusions: Generic stent-graft/bare-stent combination therapy was associated with significantly lower primary patency compared to Fluency stent alone.

Multi-view learning for lymph node metastasis prediction using tumor and nodal radiomics in gastric cancer.

Purpose.This study aims to develop and validate a multi-view learning method by the combination of primary tumor radiomics and lymph node (LN) radiomics for the preoperative prediction of LN status in gastric cancer (GC).Methods.A total of 170 contrast-enhanced abdominal CT images from GC patients were enrolled in this retrospective study. After data preprocessing, two-step feature selection approach including Pearson correlation analysis and supervised feature selection method based on test-time budget (FSBudget) was performed to remove redundance of tumor and LN radiomics features respectively. Two types of discriminative features were then learned by an unsupervised multi-view partial least squares (UMvPLS) for a latent common space on which a logistic regression classifier is trained. Five repeated random hold-out experiments were employed.Results.On 20-dimensional latent common space, area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), precision, accuracy, recall and F1-score are 0.9531 ± 0.0183, 0.9260 ± 0.0184, 0.9136 ± 0.0174, 0.9468 ± 0.0106 and 0.9362 ± 0.0125 for the training cohort respectively, and 0.8984 ± 0.0536, 0.8671 ± 0.0489, 0.8500 ± 0.0599, 0.9118 ± 0.0550 and 0.8882 ± 0.0440 for the validation cohort respectively (reported as mean ± standard deviation). It shows a better discrimination capability than single-view methods, our previous method, and eight baseline methods. When the dimension was reduced to 2, the model not only has effective prediction performance, but also is convenient for data visualization.Conclusions.Our proposed method by integrating radiomics features of primary tumor and LN can be helpful in predicting lymph node metastasis in patients of GC. It shows multi-view learning has great potential for guiding the prognosis and treatment decision-making in GC.

Up-regulated miR-204-5p promoted the migration, invasion, and angiogenesis of endothelial progenitor cells to enhance the thrombolysis of rats with deep venous thrombosis by targeting SPRED1.

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) endangers human health. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) were proven to promote thrombolysis and miR-204-5p was discovered to be low-expressed in DVT patients. This study concentrated on exploring whether miR-204-5p had a regulatory effect on EPCs and DVT. Concretely, the expression of miR-204-5p in DVT patients' blood was detected by qRT-PCR. The target of miR-204-5p was predicted by bioinformatics and verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. After rat EPCs were isolated, identified, and transfected with miR-204-5p agomiR, antagomiR, or SPRED1 plasmids, the viability, migration, invasion, and tube formation of EPCs were detected by MTT, wound healing, Transwell, and tube formation assays, respectively. MiR-204-5p, SPRED1, p-PI3K, PI3K, p-AKT, AKT, VEGFA, and Ang1 expressions in EPCs were measured by qRT-PCR or Western blot. EPCs transfected with miR-204-5p overexpression lentivirus plasmid were injected into the DVT rat model. The histopathology of the thrombus and the homing of EPCs to thrombus in the DVT rats were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and confocal microscopy, respectively. We found that miR-204-5p was low-expressed in DVT patients and SPRED1 was a target gene of miR-204-5p. MiR-204-5p agomiR promoted the viability, migration, invasion, and tube formation of EPCs, the levels of VEGFA and Ang1 and the activation of PI3K/AKT pathway in EPCs, while miR-204-5p antagomiR and SPRED1 worked oppositely. SPRED1 reversed the effect of miR-204-5p agomiR on EPCs. Up-regulated miR-204-5p inhibited thrombosis and promoted EPCs homing to thrombus in DVT rats. Collectively, up-regulated miR-204-5p enhanced the angiogenesis of EPCs and thrombolysis in DVT rats by targeting SPRED1.

Visualizing electron localization of WS2/WSe2 moiré superlattices in momentum space.

The search for materials with flat electronic bands continues due to their potential to drive strong correlation and symmetry breaking orders. Electronic moirés formed in van der Waals heterostructures have proved to be an ideal platform. However, there is no holistic experimental picture for how superlattices modify electronic structure. By combining spatially resolved angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with optical spectroscopy, we report the first direct evidence of how strongly correlated phases evolve from a weakly interacting regime in a transition metal dichalcogenide superlattice. By comparing short and long wave vector moirés, we find that the electronic structure evolves into a highly localized regime with increasingly flat bands and renormalized effective mass. The flattening is accompanied by the opening of a large gap in the spectral function and splitting of the exciton peaks. These results advance our understanding of emerging phases in moiré superlattices and point to the importance of interlayer physics.

Application of Combined Superficial Femoral Artery Stenting and Deep Femoral Artery Profundoplasty in Chinese Patients With Lower Extremity Artery Disease.

Objective: Lower extremity artery disease (LEAD) increases sharply with age and results in severe burden in individuals and in society. This study aimed to compare the efficiency of simple superficial femoral artery stenting (SFAS) and the hybrid operation, such as combined SFAS and deep femoral artery profundoplasty (DFAP), in the treatment of Chinese patients with LEAD, classified as Rutherford grades 3-5. Methods: There were 200 patients with LEAD classified as Rutherford grades 3-5 included in the simple SFAS group (n = 100) and the combined SFAS and DFAP group (n = 100). Results: All the patients had median age of 71 years, and there were 143 males (71.5%). Not only the increase rate of ankle brachial index (ABI), but also reduction rate of Rutherford grade, were significantly higher after surgery in the combined SFAS and DFAP group than in the simple SFAS group (P < 0.05 for all). The patency rate of patients in the combined SFAS and DFAP group was significantly higher than that of patients in the simple SFAS group during the follow-up (P < 0.05). Proportion of amputation and claudication distance <200 m had no significant difference between the two groups during the 2-year follow-up (P > 0.05 for all). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that, compared with SFAS, combined SFAS and DFAP improved not only the ABI and the Rutherford grade after surgery but also the patency rate during the follow-up in Chinese patients with LEAD. Hybrid operation has significant value in alleviating clinical symptoms after surgery, and, thereby, improving vascular prognosis in Chinese patients.