Efficacy of astragalus combined with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers in the treatment of stage III diabetic nephropathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy and safety of Astragalus combined with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) blockers in treating stage III diabetic nephropathy (DN) by meta-analysis. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Wiley, and Web of Science databases were searched for articles published between August 2007 and August 2022. Clinical studies on Astragalus combined with RAAS blockers for the treatment of stage III DN were included. Meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.1 and Stata 14.3 software. RESULTS: A total of 32 papers were included in this meta-analysis, containing 2462 patients from randomized controlled trials, with 1244 receiving the combination treatment and 1218 solely receiving RAAS blockers. Astragalus combined with RAAS blockers yielded a significantly higher total effective rate (TER) (mean difference [MD] 3.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.59-5.09) and significantly reduced urinary protein excretion rate (UPER), serum creatinine (Scr), blood urine nitrogen (BUN) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAlc) levels. In subgroup analysis, combining astragalus and angiotensin receptor blocker significantly lowered fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 24 h urinary protein (24hUTP) levels, compared with the combined astragalus and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor treatment. Meanwhile, the latter significantly decreased the urinary microprotein (ß2-MG). Importantly, the sensitivity analysis confirmed the study's stability, and publication bias was not detected for UPER, BUN, HbAlc, FPG, or ß2-MG. However, the TER, SCr, and 24hUTP results suggested possible publication bias. CONCLUSIONS: The astragalus-RAAS blocker combination treatment is safe and improves outcomes; however, rigorous randomized, large-scale, multi-center, double-blind trials are needed to evaluate its efficacy and safety in stage III DN.

Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors are commonly used to treat diabetic neuropathy (DN) and Astragalus membranaceus components are known to improve DN symptoms.We aimed to establish the efficacy and safety of using Astragalus combined with RAAS inhibitors.Astragalus combined with RAAS inhibitors enhances the total effective rate of diabetic neuropathy response to treatment and reduces urinary protein excretion rate, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and HbAlc.Sensitivity analysis affirms study stability, while publication bias was detected for total effective rate, serum creatinine, and 24 h urinary protein levels.

The contribution of lysophosphatidic acid receptors in the response of human lower esophageal sphincter under the electrical field stimulation.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to identify the impact on the reaction while the clasp and sling fibers of the human lower esophageal sphincter are under the electrical field stimulation, by adding lysophosphatidic acid receptor subtypes antagonist. METHODS: Between March 2018 to December 2018, muscle strips were isolated from 28 patients who underwent esophagectomy for mid-third esophageal carcinomas. Muscle tension measurement technique in vitro and electrical field stimulation were used to examine the effects of selective lysophosphatidic acid receptor antagonist on the clasp and sling fibers of human lower esophageal sphincter. RESULTS: The optimal frequency of frequency-dependent relaxation in clasp fibers and contraction in sling fibers induced by electrical field stimulation is 64 Hz and 128 Hz respectively. The selective lysophosphatidic acid 1 and 3 receptor antagonist produced no significant difference in the frequency-dependent relaxation in clasp fibers and contraction in sling fibers induced by the electrical field stimulation (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The electrical field stimulation induced a frequency-dependent relaxation in clasp fibers and contraction in sling fibers. The lysophosphatidic acid 1 and 3 receptors are not involved in the response of clasp and sling fibers of the human lower esophageal sphincter induced by the electrical field stimulation.

Clinical and Genomic Analysis of Patients with Short Survival after Surgery for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the prognosis of Chinese patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after surgery and its correlation with genomic alterations (GAs) to identify potential prognostic markers. METHODS: The clinical information, pathological specimens, and follow-up information of 50 patients with stage II and III primary ESCC who were surgically resected in the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 2011 to December 2015 were collected in the present study. Based on overall survival (OS), these patients were divided into the short OS group (<3 years) and the long OS group (>4 years). GA detection was performed in patients with ESCC using next-generation sequencing. All categories of GAs were evaluated; the landscape of GAs in patients with ESCC was mapped; and the correlations between clinical characteristics, prognosis, and GAs were analyzed. RESULTS: There was no skew in the distribution of gender, smoking, and adjuvant therapy between the long OS group and the short OS group. A total of 372 GAs were detected in the 50 patients with ESCC, with 7 types of GAs, including insertions, deletions, and copy number variations, and missense mutations occurred most frequently, with a frequency of >50.0%. Tumor protein 53 (TP53; 50/50, 100%) was the most commonly mutated gene in the entire cohort followed by cyclin D1, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A), and fibroblast growth factor 19. More CDKN2A loss (p = 0.098) was detected in the short OS group than in the long OS group. The results of the multivariate analysis after adjustment for clinical factors showed a statistically significant difference in the CDKN2A loss between the two groups. Data obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas for surgical ESCC revealed that the CDKN2A loss may be responsible for the poorer prognosis in postoperative patients with ESCC. CONCLUSION: In patients with progressive primary ESCC, the poor postoperative prognosis may be epiphenomenally associated with the CDKN2A loss.

The first case of Escherichia fergusonii with biofilm in China and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Escherichia fergusonii is a rare opportunistic pathogen in humans and animals, especially with biofilm. METHODS: In one case, E. fergusonii with biofilm was detected in the bile, and silver staining was used to prove it had biofilm. The clinical characteristics and drug susceptibility of eight cases of E. fergusonii retrieved from the literature were also summarized. RESULTS: This is a case of E. fergusonii with biofilm, which has not been reported in China. The 8 cases retrieved from the literature did not specify whether they had biofilm, but we analyzed their clinical characteristics and drug susceptibility. All patients were treated with antimicrobial drugs. 8 cases showed sensitivity to piperacillin/tazobactam and imipenem in 6 cases (75%), but poor sensitivity to levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. CONCLUSION: The silver staining method proved biofilm in this case, which is the first case of E. fergusonii with biofilm in China.

Piezoelectric manipulation of spin-orbit coupling in a Wurtzite heterostructure.

The combination of piezoelectricity and spin-orbit coupling (SOC) effect makes wurtzite semiconductors attractive for the development of exotic spin-related physics as well as spintronic applications. Triggering piezoelectricity, particularly by an external stimulus, provides a new perspective for manipulating SOC, but until now, a comprehensive understanding of this mechanism is lacking. Herein, by means of self-consistent calculations and Löwdin perturbation approach, we have explored the manipulation of SOC in the wurtzite (Al, Ga)N/GaN heterostructure by external stress-induced piezoelectric polarization. The results suggest that the Rashba SOC depends weakly on stress due to the wide-gap feature of the wurtzite crystal that makes Rashba SOC predominant by a bulk term instead of the structural inversion term. The piezoelectric polarization diminishes and even turns off Dresselhaus coupling by reducing the interfacial electric field. Moreover, piezoelectricity is shown to improve the poorly gate-tunable SOC. In the heterostructure with two occupied subbands, the Dresselhaus coupling of the second subband is more sensitive than the first one in response to stress. As an extension, we further demonstrate that the correlation effect in the wurtzite heterostructure can be significantly enhanced by piezoelectric polarization. This study offers an in-depth insight into piezoelectric modulation of spin-orbit physics, which has the potential for stimulating new quantum correlation states or designing functional spintronic devices.

High Dielectric Poly(vinylidene fluoride)-Based Polymer Enables Uniform Lithium-Ion Transport in Solid-State Ionogel Electrolytes.

Ionic liquids (ILs)-incorporated solid-state polymer electrolytes (iono-SPEs) have high ionic conductivities but show non-uniform Li+ transport in different phases. This work greatly promotes Li+ transport in polymer phases by employing a poly (vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE), PTC] as the framework of ILs to prepare iono-SPEs. Unlike PVDF, PTC with suitable polarity shows weaker adsorption energy on IL cations, reducing their possibility of occupying Li+ -hopping sites. The significantly higher dielectric constant of PTC than PVDF facilitates the dissociation of Li-anions clusters. These two factors motivate Li+ transport along PTC chains, narrowing the difference in Li+ transport among varied phases. The LiFePO4 /PTC iono-SPE/Li cells cycle steadily with capacity retention of 91.5 % after 1000 cycles at 1 C and 25 °C. This work paves a new way to induce uniform Li+ flux in iono-SPEs through polarity and dielectric design of polymer matrix.

The involvement of a floral scent in plant-honeybee interaction.

Volatile odors from flowers play an important role in plant-pollinator interaction. The honeybee is an important generalist pollinator of many plants. Here, we explored whether any components of the odors of a range of honeybee-pollinated plants are commonly involved in the interaction between plants and honeybees. We used a needle trap system to collect floral odors, and GC-MS analysis revealed nonanal was the only component scent detected in 12 different honeybee-pollinated flowers and not present in anemophilous plant species. For Ligustrum compactum, blooming flowers released significantly more nonanal than buds and faded flowers. For Sapium sebiferum, nonanal release through the day correlated with nectar secretion. Experimentally increasing nectar load in flowers of Sapium sebiferum, Ligustrum compactum, and Castanea henryi increased nonanal levels also. Nonanal was also detected in flower nectar and honeys from experimental colonies. Electroantennogram recordings and behavioral observations showed that untrained honeybees could detect and were strongly attracted to nonanal. We argue that nonanal persists in both honey and nectar odors facilitating a learned association between nonanal and food reward in honeybees.

Preoperative Survival Prediction in Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma Using an Ultrasound-Based Radiographic-Radiomics Signature.

OBJECTIVES: To construct a preoperative model for survival prediction in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) patients using ultrasound (US) based radiographic-radiomics signatures. METHODS: Between April 2010 and September 2015, 170 patients with ICC who underwent curative resection were retrospectively recruited. Overall survival (OS)-related radiographic signatures and radiomics signatures based on preoperative US were built and assessed through a time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. A nomogram was developed based on the selected predictors from the radiographic-radiomics signatures and clinical and laboratory results of the training cohort (n = 127), validated in an independent testing cohort (n = 43) by the concordance index (C-index), and compared with the Tumor Node Metastasis (TNM) cancer staging system as well as the radiographic and radiomics nomograms. RESULTS: The median areas under the curve of the radiomics signature and radiographic signature were higher than that of the TNM staging system in the testing cohort, although the values were not significantly different (0.76-0.82 versus 0.62, P = .485 and .264). The preoperative nomogram with CA 19-9, sex, ascites, radiomics signature, and radiographic signature had C-indexes of 0.72 and 0.75 in the training and testing cohorts, respectively, and it had significantly higher predictive performance than the 8th TNM staging system in the testing cohort (C-index: 0.75 versus 0.67, P = .004) and a higher C-index than the radiomics nomograms (0.75 versus 0.68, P = .044). CONCLUSIONS: The preoperative nomogram integrated with the radiographic-radiomics signature demonstrated good predictive performance for OS in ICC and was superior to the 8th TNM staging system.

Donut-like MOFs of copper/nicotinic acid and composite hydrogels with superior bioactivity for rh-bFGF delivering and skin wound healing.

BACKGROUND: Skin injury and the resultant defects are common clinical problems, and usually lead to chronic skin ulcers and even life-threatening diseases. Copper, an essential trace element of human body, has been reported to promote the regeneration of skin by stimulating proliferation of endothelial cell and enhance angiogenesis. RESULTS: Herein, we have prepared a new donut-like metal-organic frameworks (MOF) of copper-nicotinic acid (CuNA) by a simple solvothermal reaction. The rough surface of CuNA is beneficial for loading/release basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The CuNAs with/without bFGF are easily processed into a light-responsive composite hydrogel with GelMA, which not only show excellent mechanical properties, but also display superior biocompatibility, antibacterial ability and bioactivity. Moreover, in the in vivo full-thickness defect model of skin wound, the resultant CuNA-bFGF@GelMA hydrogels significantly accelerate the wound healing, by simultaneously inhibiting the inflammatory response, promoting the new blood vessels formation and the deposition of collagen and elastic fibers. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the superior biocompatibility, antibacterial ability and bioactivity, the CuNA and its composite light-responsive hydrogel system will be promising in the applications of skin and even other tissue regeneration.

Quantized Field-Effect Tunneling between Topological Edge or Interface States.

We study the tunneling through a two-dimensional topological insulator with topologically protected edge states. It is shown that the tunneling probability can be quantized in a broad parameter range, 0 or 1, tuned by an applied transverse electric field. Based on this field-effect tunneling, we propose two types of topological transistors based on helical edge or interface states of quantum spin Hall insulators separately. The quantized tunneling conductance is obtained and shown to be robust against nonmagnetic disorders. Usually, the topological transition is necessary in the operation of topological transistors. These findings provide a new strategy for the design of topological transistors without topological transitions.

Outline of the biosynthesis and regulation of ergosterol in yeast.

Sterols are crucial functional components for eukaryotic cell membrane. Due to versatile activities, sterols show wide applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. Ergosterol not only reflects cell growth but also serves as the precursor for manufacturing steroid drugs. To date, the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway in yeast has been reported, and the industrial production of ergosterol is achieved by yeast fermentation or extraction from fungal mycelia. Here, we summarize its biosynthesis, regulation, transportation, and subcellular location of enzymes in yeast. In particular, we review the regulation of ergosterol biosynthesis at transcriptional, translational and post-translational levels. Furthermore, we advocate metabolic engineering and fermentation strategies for high-level production of ergosterol. This study may provide evaluable insights into metabolic engineering of yeast for scaled-up fermentation production of ergosterol or beyond.

Inhibitory effect of 11-carbonyl-beta-boswellic acid on non-small cell lung cancer H446 cells.

BACKGROUND: The anti-lung tumor potential of 11-carbonyl-ß-boswellic acid was investigated. MATERIALS & METHODS: The inhibitory effects of 11-carbonyl-ß-boswellic acid on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was assessed by proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle and molecular mechanisms in NSCLC H446 cells in vitro. The results showed that the growth of H446 cells was significantly inhibited by 11-carbonyl-ß-boswellic acid in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Meanwhile, 11-carbonyl-ß-boswellic acid induced cell apoptosis and cell cycle G2-M phase arrest in H446 cells. RESULTS: Mechanistically, 11-carbonyl-ß-boswellic acid could activate JNK signaling pathway, down-regulate the expression of surviving protein, and activate the cleavage of PARP, leading to marked inhibitory effect on H446 cells. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that 11-carbonyl-ß-boswellic acid may be a potential usefulness for preventing and treatment of NSCLC.

On-line high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with biochemical detection method for screening of α-glucosidase inhibitors in green tea.

An on-line high-performance liquid chromatography-biochemical detection (HPLC-BCD) method, in which compounds separated by HPLC were on-line reacted with enzyme and substrate solutions delivered by flow injection and the enzyme inhibition signal was collected by UV detection, was developed to rapidly screen α-glucosidase inhibitors from green tea extracts in this study. The chromatographic fingerprints and enzyme inhibition profiles of the different brands of green tea could be simultaneously detected by the on-line HPLC-BCD method. Enzyme inhibition profiles were detected by the UV detector at 415 nm based on the reaction of α-glucosidase and p-nitrophenyl α-d-glucopyranoside (PNPG). PNPG (1.25 mm), α-glucosidase (0.4 U/mL) and the flow rate 0.07 mL/min were applied as optimized parameters to detect α-glucosidase inhibitors in green tea. Four components in green tea showed α-glucosidase inhibition action and three of them were identified as HHDP-galloyl glucose, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate and (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate by HPLC-fourier-transform mass spectrometry (HPLC-FTMS). Two brands of green tea derived from Mengding and Enshi mountainous areas might be superior to the other samples in the prevention and treatment of diabetes owing to their stronger activities of enzyme inhibitors. The proposed on-line HPLC-BCD method could be used to rapidly identify the potential enzyme inhibitors in complex matrixes.

Association between Fibrinogen and Leukoaraiosis in Patients with Ischemic Stroke and Atrial Fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Leukoaraiosis (LA), a surrogate of cerebral small-vessel diseases (CSVD), has been increasingly recognized because of its high prevalence and strong prognostic value in stroke. But the mechanism of LA is incompletely clarified. Fibrinogen is a crucial role in coagulation cascade and inflammation. There are inconsistent reports on the association of fibrinogen with LA in the general population. We aimed to investigate the association between fibrinogen and LA in patients with stroke and atrial fibrillation (AF), which was not ever reported before. METHODS: Patients with ischemic stroke and AF were prospectively and consecutively recruited. Clinico-demographic data and fibrinogen levels were collected within 48 hours from stroke onsets and analyzed according to the presence and distribution of LA (periventricular hyperintensity [PVH] and deep white matter hyperintensity). RESULTS: Of 186 patients (34.4% male; mean age, 68.76 ± 12.76 years) enrolled, 134 patients (72.0%) presented with LA. Elevated fibrinogen levels were associated with higher presence of LA (P = .005) and PVH (P = .002). After adjustment for the confounders, the fibrinogen levels were independently correlated with LA and PVH (all P <.05). Patients with elevated fibrinogen levels (≥3.5 g/L) were more likely to present with LA and PVH, with the odds ratios of 14.037 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.588-76.131) and 12.567 (95% CI 2.572-61.395), respectively. CONCLUSION: This study found that fibrinogen was independently and positively associated with LA and PVH in patients with stroke and AF. These results provide further evidence for the key role of fibrinogen in LA, even the total CSVD burden.

The effect of celecoxib on DNA methylation of CDH13, TFPI2, and FSTL1 in squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus in vivo.

This study examined the in-vivo effect of the NSAID celecoxib on DNA methylation in the promoter region of the tumor-suppressor genes cadherin 13, tissue factor pathway inhibitor 12, and follistatin-like protein 1, and on apoptosis, in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Forty-five patients who underwent an esophagectomy for ESCC were allocated to either a treatment group (n=22) or a control group (n=23). Patients in the treatment group were administered 800 mg/day of celecoxib for 14 days before surgery. Patients in the control group did not take any type of NSAID. Biopsies of the tumor were collected before surgery and tissue from the resection specimens after surgery. Methylation-specific PCR was used to measure DNA methylation and apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry. There was no difference in the proportion of patients with methylation for each of the genes between the patient groups before treatment. In those patients with pretreatment methylation, there was a significant reduction in the proportion with methylation and a significant increase in the corresponding messenger RNA expression after treatment with celecoxib. In those tissues in which there was a reduction in methylation following celecoxib treatment, there was a significant increase in the percentage of apoptotic cells, but not in the tissues with no change in methylation. In ESCC, in-vivo treatment with celecoxib is associated with a reduction in DNA methylation and increase in messenger RNA expression of tumor-suppressor genes, and increases in apoptosis.

The tumor-suppressive function of miR-1 by targeting LASP1 and TAGLN2 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: This study determined the expression of microRNA-1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissue and cell lines to evaluate its effects on clinicopathological parameters and its target genes LASP1 and TAGLN2. METHODS: The expression of miR-1, lasp1, and tagln2 was detected in 55 ESCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The association between miR-1, lasp1, and tagln2 expression and clinicopathological characteristics was observed. MicroRNA-1 (mimics-miR-1) and its inhibitor (Inhibitor-miR-1) were transfected into esophageal cancer cells KYSE 510 and Eca 109; cell proliferation, migration, and invasion assays were carried out. Plasmid construction and dual-luciferase reporter assay were also carried out to indicate whether LASP1 and TAGLN2 were miR-1 target genes. The expression of LASP1 and TAGLN2 was detected with Western blot methods in cell lines, by immunohistochemistry in ESCC tissue. RESULTS: The gene expression level of microRNA-1 in cancer tissues was significantly lower than that in adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.01). The expression of miR-1 in ESCC was correlated with involvement of lymph nodes (P = 0.002), histologic classification (P = 0.000), and vessel invasion (P = 0.022). The expression of lasp1 and tagln2 increased in cancer tissues compared with in adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.05). MiR-1 suppresses the cell growth, migration, and invasion in vitro. The expression of LASP1 and TAGLN2 decreased in mimics-miR-1 transfected cells, and increased in inhibitor-miR-1 transfected cells. Luciferase reporter assay confirmed that LASP1 and TAGLN2 mRNA actually had the target sites of miR-1. CONCLUSIONS: miR-1 suppresses cell proliferation, invasiveness, metastasis, and progression of ESCC by binding its targeted genes LASP1 and TAGLN2.

Serum-free media and the immunoregulatory properties of mesenchymal stem cells in vivo and in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem cells are capable of self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation. They are used extensively to treat several diseases. Traditionally, mesenchymal stem cells are cultured in serum-containing media, typically supplemented with fetal bovine serum (FBS). However, the variability of FBS is likely to skew experimental results. Although serum-free media used to expand mesenchymal stem cells has facilitated remarkable achievements, immunomodulation of these cells in under serum-free conditions is poorly understood. We hypothesized that mesenchymal stem cells expanded in serum-free media will retain powerful immunoregulatory functions in vitro and in vivo. DESIGN AND METHODS: Immunosuppressive activity and the immunomodulatory cytokines produced by mesenchymal stem cells in serum-free media were characterized in vitro. Immunomodulation by serum-free mesenchymal stem cell expansion in monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension was explored in vivo. RESULTS: Similar to cells in serum-containing media, mesenchymal stem cells expanded in serum-free media inhibited proliferation and apoptosis of CD4(+)T cells. They also exhibited strong immunosuppressive activities and secreted high levels of immunomodulatory cytokines such as PGE2, IDO1, COX2, IL-6, and IL-1ß, but not HGF. On the other hand, growth of mesenchymal stem cells in serum-free media attenuated pulmonary vascular remodeling and inhibited mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-1ß, and IL-18. CONCLUSIONS: Mesenchymal stem cells in serum-free media maintained powerful immunomodulatory function in vitro and in vivo; serum-free media may replace serum-containing media for basic research and clinical applications.

Ligand-controlled syntheses of copper(I) complexes with metal-metal interactions: crystal structure and relativistic density functional theory investigation.

A family of di-, tri-, and tetranuclear copper(I) complexes supported by length-controlled silaamidinate ligands have been synthesized to show short Cu(I)-Cu(I) distances (2.43-2.62 Å) and feature a linear or bent metal-metal arrangement, which is elucidated by a relativistic density functional theory calculation.

[Transurethral bipolar plasmakinetic enucleation and resection versus transurethral bipolar plasmakinetic resection of the prostate for BPH: a randomized controlled trial on the incidence of postoperative urinary incontinence].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the incidence rates of postoperative urinary incontinence between transurethral bipolar plasmakinetic enucleation and resection of the prostate (PKERP) and transurethral bipolar plasmakinetic resection of the prostate (PKRP), and provide evidence for the clinical application of PKERP. METHODS: Totally, 180 BPH patients were equally and randomly assigned to undergo PKERP and PKRP, respectively. We measured the urinary incontinence of the patients by pad test at 24 hours after extubation and every week after surgery for 4 weeks. Meanwhile, we recorded and compared the PSA level, prostate volume, Qmax, residual urine, IPSS, QOL, and the results of pad test between the two groups before and after surgery. RESULTS: The incidence rates of urinary incontinence in the PKERP and PKRP groups were 35.56% and 18.89% (P < 0.01) at 24 hours after extubation, 20.00% and 7.78% at 1 week after surgery (P < 0.05), and 3.33% and 2.22% at 2 weeks. There was no significant difference in the severity of urinary incontinence between the two groups at any time point (P > 0.05). No permanent urinary incontinence was observed in either group. CONCLUSION: Compared with PKRP, PKERP has a higher incidence rate of short-term urinary incontinence in the treatment of BPH, but not that of genuine incontinence, with similar severity and recovery time.

Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis unveils THEMIS2 as a carcinogenic indicator related to immune infiltration and prognosis of thyroid cancer.

The aim of this study was to identify biomarkers associated with the initiation and prognosis of thyroid cancer and elucidate the underlying pathogenic mechanisms. We obtained expression profiles and clinical information from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-THCA and three datasets (GSE53157, GSE82208, and GSE76039). The three microarray datasets were combined using Perl and the sva package in R and termed 'merged dataset'. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified 15 gene co-expression modules in the merged dataset and 235 hub genes. Venn diagram analysis revealed 232 overlapping genes between the merged and THCA datasets. Overlapping genes were subjected to gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression identified THEMIS2 as a candidate hub gene. Cox, Kaplan-Meier (K-M) survival and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) confirmed the correlation of THEMIS2 with overall survival, its enrichment in immunologic processes, and its association with the p53 and JAK-STAT signaling pathways. Its expression was positively correlated with those of immune checkpoints and the infiltration level of immune cells. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis confirmed that THEMIS2, a diagnostic biomarker, could distinguish between tumor and normal specimens. The nomogram (ROC or DCA) model containing THEMIS2, age, and stage predicted favourable prognoses. Thus, THEMIS2 was a biomarker of immune infiltration and prognosis in thyroid cancer.