Prognostic value of systemic immune-inflammation index in patients with urinary system cancers: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), an inexpensive and widely available hematologic marker of inflammation, has been linked to tumor progression, metastatic spread, and poor patient prognosis. The objective of this study is to explore the prognostic value of SII in patients with urinary system cancers (USCs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted by searching the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang databases from inception to May 10, 2020, to identify potential studies that assessed the prognostic role of the SII in USCs. The hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to evaluate the correlation between SII and overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in USCs patients. RESULTS: A total of 12 studies, including 2,693 USCs patients, were eventually included in the meta-analysis. Elevated SII index was significantly associated with poor OS (HR=1.28, 95% CI: 1.17-1.39, p<0.001), PFS (HR=1.51, 95% CI: 1.25-1.82, p<0.001) and CSS (HR=3.42, 95% CI: 1.49-7.91, p<0.001). Furthermore, subgroup analysis indicated that higher SII than a cutoff value could predict poor OS in renal cell carcinoma (HR=1.23, p<0.001), prostate carcinoma (HR=1.95, p<0.001), bladder carcinoma (HR=5.40, p<0.001), testicular cancer (HR=6.09, p<0.001) and upper tract urothelial carcinoma (HR=2.19, p<0.001). Besides, these associations did not vary significantly by tumor subtypes and stages of USCs, sample sizes, study types, cutoff value defining elevated NLR, treatment methods, and NOS scores. CONCLUSIONS: SII may serve as a useful prognostic indicator in USCs and contribute to prognosis evaluation and treatment strategy formulation. However, more well-designed studies are warranted to verify our findings.

Surgical treatment of type III temporomandibular joint ankylosis with a lateral arthroplasty while retaining the medially displaced condyle.

INTRODUCTION: We discuss our findings on the retention of the medially displaced residual condyle during the treatment of type III temporomandibular joint ankylosis, as well as the postoperative results observed during follow-up. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two patients with type III temporomandibular joint ankylosis that met the inclusion criteria of the study were included as subjects. The morphological integrity of the medially displaced residual condyle was verified in all of the participating patients through the use of cone beam computed tomography. The duration of the ankylosis ranged from 2 to 12 years. The maximum length that patients were able to open their mouths ranged from 6 mm to 14 mm. The surgical treatments used in this report included the separation of bony fusions between the condyle and the glenoid fossa, resection of the ankylosed sites, preservation of the displaced condyles in their medial position and suturing the remains of the disc to its typical position or taking the temporalis myofascial flap instead. The long-term results were evaluated by computed tomography and clinical follow-up examinations. RESULTS: Three-year postoperative follow-up examinations were performed for all of the patients included in this study. No recurrences were observed in the patients who adhered to the postoperative therapeutic advice. Patients had an average maximal mouth opening distance of 34.50 ± 5.75 mm as recorded during the final follow-up examination. CONCLUSIONS: The released medially residual condyle can still function normally in temporomandibular joint movement and without reankylosis after a bone fusion resection. The displaced condyle should thus be preserved instead of being removed during the treatment of type III temporomandibular joint ankylosis.

A modified approach from the edge of the tragus in the surgical treatment of mandibular condyle fractures.

Introduction We present our experiences using a modified surgical approach from the edge of the tragus for mandibular condyle fractures, to reduce the risk of postoperative complications and visible scars. Materials and methods Thirty-two patients presenting with mandibular condyle fractures were treated through a modified approach on the edge of the tragus. The age of the patients ranged from 6 to 62 years. All mandibular condyle fractures were fixed. The patients were asked to start open-mouth training one week postoperatively, undergoing a cone-beam computed tomography examination and clinical follow-up. Postoperative complications were evaluated after surgery. Results Mouth opening was normal (average 39.5 mm) in all the patients during the operation and the occlusion improved significantly compared with preoperatively. No cases of damaged facial nerves were observed during the final follow-up at six months and postoperative scars were less noticeable. Conclusions The modified surgical approach from the edge of the tragus for mandibular condyle fractures provides a good view of the operative field, reduces the risk of facial nerve damage and produces a less noticeable postoperative scar.

Varied line-space grating for flat spectral response of coupling to single-mode fiber.

We use a planar linear grating with varied line-space grooves to introduce a tailored one-dimensional phase variation profile that results in an aberrated point-spread function at the focal plane. A design procedure for the period chirp map for such gratings is developed. As an example, we present theoretical and experimental results on a mechanically ruled, varied line-space echelle grating in single-mode fiber-coupled optical multiplexers in the wavelength region of 1545 nm. The varied line-space grating changes the multiplexer's Gaussian spectral response function to a flat-top dependence with reduced sensitivity to source laser wavelength drift.

Two new pregnane glycosides from soft coral Cladiella krempfi.

Two new pregnane-type steroidal glycosides, pregna-5,20-dien-3-O-alpha-fucopyranoside (1) and pregna-20-en-3-O-alpha-fucopyranoiside (2), along with two known pregnane derivatives, were isolated from the soft coral Cladiella krempfi. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic data analysis.