ABSTRACT
The present single-center retrospective clinical real-world study aimed to assess the feasibility and outcomes of patients who underwent simultaneous prostate biopsy and general urological surgeries. The medical records of 49 patients who underwent prostate biopsy and general urological surgeries simultaneously from October 2016 to June 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients' outcomes were evaluated 3 days, 1 month and 6 months after biopsy. Of the 49 biopsy cases, 41 were treated by transurethral prostatectomy, two by ureteroscopic lithotripsy, two by laparoscopic renal cyst decortication, two by cystostomy and two by ureteral stent extraction. The overall detection rate of clinically significant prostate cancer was 22.4%. The rate in patients with a prostate imaging reporting and data system (PI-RADS) score of 4-5 was 100%, while in cases with a PI-RADS score of <3 it was 7.1%. Postoperative complications within 3 days included hematuria in 39 (79.6%) cases, fever in three (6.1%) cases and hematochezia in two (4.1%) cases. There was no significant difference in the incidence of hematuria between the transrectal and transperineal approaches; however, the overall incidence of complications was significantly reduced after switching from a transrectal approach to a transperineal approach. No complications were observed after 1 or 6 months. In summary, combining simultaneous prostate biopsy to general urological surgeries is a safe and feasible approach. The transperineal approach has a lower incidence of complications. This method may benefit certain patients who are concurrently undergoing general urological surgeries and are under suspicion of prostate cancer in real-world clinical practice.
ABSTRACT
Influenza is an infectious acute respiratory disease with complications and a high mortality rate; the effective medicines for influenza therapy are limited. "Huanglian" or Coptidis Rhizoma, Coptis chinensis Franch., Ranunculaceae, and "ganjiang" or Zingiberis Rhizoma, Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Zingiberaceae, combination is clinically used for treating respiratory diseases. HPLC was applied for the quantification of berberine hydrochloride (1.101 mg/ml) and 6-gingerol (38.41 µg/ml) in the H2O-soluble extract of the herbal formulation. In this study, the effect of "huanglian"- "ganjiang" extract on influenza virus H1N1-induced acute pulmonary inflammation was evaluated, in addition to the investigation of its anti-influenza mechanism in a mouse model. The analyzed herbal combination inhibited the expression of cytokine IL-6 and stimulated the expression of IL-2 in the serum of influenza virus-infected mice. Meanwhile, the herbal combination downregulated the gene and protein expression levels of TLR3, TLR7, MyD88, RIG-I, MAVS, TRAF3, and NF-κB p65, which are key targets of toll-like and RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathways in mice. In addition, the herbal combination could also promote the combination of intracellular autophagosomes and lysosomes in autophagosome-lysosome formation and improve impaired fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes by influenza virus. This study suggested that the "huanglian"- "ganjiang" extract may be a candidate therapeutic strategy for the treatment of H1N1 influenza. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43450-023-00372-z.
ABSTRACT
Interactions between alien plants and local enemies in introduced ranges may determine plant invasion success. However, little is known about whether herbivory-induced responses are transmitted across vegetative generations of plants and whether epigenetic changes are involved during this process. In a greenhouse experiment, we examined the effects of herbivory by the generalist herbivore Spodoptera litura on the growth, physiology, biomass allocation and DNA methylation level of the invasive plant Alternanthera philoxeroides in the first- (G1), second- (G2) and third-generation (G3). We also tested the effects of root fragments with different branching orders (i.e., the primary- or secondary-root fragments of taproots) of G1 on offspring performance. Our results showed that G1 herbivory promoted the growth of the plants in G2 that sprouted from the secondary-root fragments of G1 but had a neutral or negative effect on the growth of the plants in G2 from the primary-root fragments. The growth of plants in G3 was significantly reduced by G3 herbivory but not affected by G1 herbivory. Plants in G1 exhibited a higher level of DNA methylation when they were damaged by herbivores than when they were not, while neither plants in G2 nor G3 showed herbivory-induced changes in DNA methylation. Overall, the herbivory-induced growth response within one vegetative generation may represent the rapid acclimatization of A. philoxeroides to the unpredictable generalist herbivores in the introduced ranges. Herbivory-induced trans-generational effects may be transient for clonal offspring of A. philoxeroides, which can be influenced by the branching order of taproots, but be less characterized by DNA methylation.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to explore the value of combining bpMRI and clinical indicators in the diagnosis of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa), and developing a prediction model and Nomogram to guide clinical decision-making. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 530 patients who underwent prostate biopsy due to elevated serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels and/or suspicious digital rectal examination (DRE). Enrolled patients were randomly assigned to the training group (n = 371, 70%) and validation group (n = 159, 30%). All patients underwent prostate bpMRI examination, and T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) sequences were collected before biopsy and were scored, which were respectively named T2WI score and DWI score according to Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System version 2 (PI-RADS v.2) scoring protocol, and then PI-RADS scoring was performed. We defined a new bpMRI-based parameter named Total score (Total score = T2WI score + DWI score). PI-RADS score and Total score were separately included in the multivariate analysis of the training group to determine independent predictors for csPCa and establish prediction models. Then, prediction models and clinical indicators were compared by analyzing the area under the curve (AUC) and decision curves. A Nomogram for predicting csPCa was established using data from the training group. RESULTS: In the training group, 160 (43.1%) patients had prostate cancer (PCa), including 128 (34.5%) with csPCa. Multivariate regression analysis showed that the PI-RADS score, Total score, f/tPSA, and PSA density (PSAD) were independent predictors of csPCa. The prediction model that was defined by Total score, f/tPSA, and PSAD had the highest discriminatory power of csPCa (AUC = 0.931), and the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 85.1% and 87.5%, respectively. Decision curve analysis (DCA) showed that the prediction model achieved an optimal overall net benefit in both the training group and the validation group. In addition, the Nomogram predicted csPCa revealed good estimation when compared with clinical indicators. CONCLUSION: The prediction model and Nomogram based on bpMRI and clinical indicators exhibit a satisfactory predictive value and improved risk stratification for csPCa, which could be used for clinical biopsy decision-making.