A Multi-Angle Appearance-Based Approach for Vehicle Type and Brand Recognition Utilizing Faster Regional Convolution Neural Networks.

Vehicle type and brand information constitute a crucial element in intelligent transportation systems (ITSs). While numerous appearance-based classification methods have studied frontal view images of vehicles, the challenge of multi-pose and multi-angle vehicle distribution has largely been overlooked. This paper proposes an appearance-based classification approach for multi-angle vehicle information recognition, addressing the aforementioned issues. By utilizing faster regional convolution neural networks, this method automatically captures crucial features for vehicle type and brand identification, departing from traditional handcrafted feature extraction techniques. To extract rich and discriminative vehicle information, ZFNet and VGG16 are employed. Vehicle feature maps are then imported into the region proposal network and classification location refinement network, with the former generating candidate regions potentially containing vehicle targets on the feature map. Subsequently, the latter network refines vehicle locations and classifies vehicle types. Additionally, a comprehensive vehicle dataset, Car5_48, is constructed to evaluate the performance of the proposed method, encompassing multi-angle images across five vehicle types and 48 vehicle brands. The experimental results on this public dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in accurately classifying vehicle types and brands.

Icotinib, an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, as adjuvant therapy for patients with stage IIA-IIIA EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung adenocarcinoma: a multicenter, open-label, single-arm, phase II study (ICAPE).

The survival benefit of icotinib (an oral epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR] tyrosine kinase inhibitor) in patients with advanced lung cancer has been confirmed in several studies. This study (ICAPE) evaluated the efficacy of icotinib as adjuvant therapy for patients with stage IIA-IIIA EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung adenocarcinoma. Patients with stage IIA-IIIA EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung adenocarcinoma were enrolled in the multicenter, open-label, single-arm, phase II study. Eligible patients received oral icotinib 125 mg thrice daily for 1.5 years after complete surgical resection. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS). Between March 2014 and January 2018, 79 patients were enrolled. The median follow-up time was 39.7 months with a median DFS and overall survival (OS) of 41.4 months (95% CI: 33.6-51.8) and 67.0 months (95% CI: 21.2-not reached [NR]), respectively. The 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year OS rates were 100%, 83.3%, and 61.7%, respectively. No significant difference was found in the median DFS between patients with Bcl-2 interacting mediator of cell death (BIM) mutant-type and wild-type (NR vs. 41.7 months; p = 0.75). No significant difference was found in the median DFS according to EGFR mutation types. Icotinib as adjuvant therapy demonstrated a favorable survival benefit in patients with stage IIA-IIIA EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung adenocarcinoma, indicating that icotinib might be a promising treatment option for this patient population. The optimal adjuvant duration of icotinib is still not clear and needs more incoming data to answer.

Ratio between negative and positive lymph nodes is a novel prognostic indicator for patients with esophageal cancer: A Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database analysis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore whether the ratio between negative and positive lymph nodes (RNP ) could predict the overall survival (OS) of esophageal cancer (EC) patients with lymph node metastasis following esophagectomy. METHODS: We utilized the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database to include the records of 2374 patients with lymph node metastases post-surgery. All patients were randomly assigned into the training cohort (n = 1424) and validation cohort (n = 950). Multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to identify independent prognostic factors. A novel RNP -based TRNP M staging system was proposed. The prognostic value of N, RNP , TNM and TRNP M staging system was evaluated using the linear trend χ2 test, likelihood ratio χ2 test, and Akaike information criterion (AIC) to determine the potential superiorities. We constructed nomograms to predict survival in both cohorts, and the calibration curves confirmed the predictive ability. RESULTS: Univariate analyses showed that N and RNP stage significantly influenced the OS of patients. Multivariate analyses revealed that RNP was an independent prognostic predictor in both the training and validation cohorts. For the stratification analysis in the two cohorts, we found significant differences in the prognosis of patients in different RNP groups on the basis of the different N stages and the number of dissected lymph nodes. In addition, the lower AIC value of RNP stage and TRNP M staging system represented superior predictive accuracy for OS than the N stage and TNM staging system, respectively. Furthermore, the calibration curves for the probability of three- and five-year survival showed good consistency between nomogram predictive abilities and actual observation. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that compared to the classical pathological lymph nodal staging system, the RNP stage showed superior predictive accuracy for OS and can serve as a more effective prognostic guidance for lymph node positive EC patients.

ΜicroRNA­421 promotes the progression of non­small cell lung cancer by targeting HOPX and regulating the Wnt/ß­catenin signaling pathway.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) function as key regulators of numerous types of cancers. miRNA (miR)­421 expression is dysregulated in a variety of tumors; however, its role in non­small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. In the present study, the role and molecular mechanism of miR­421 in NSCLC was investigated. In this study, miRNA (miR)­421 was upregulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines used the reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Ectopic expression of miR­421 significantly promoted cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo by promoting cell cycle progression via CCK-8, colony formation, EdU assay, xenograft model and cell cycle assay. In addition, miR­421 inhibited NSCLC cell apoptosis by flow cytometry apoptosis assay, as evidenced by anti­apoptosis gene Bcl­2 and apoptosis gene cleaved caspase­3 and cleaved PARP using western blot assay. Furthermore, miR­421 promoted cell migration and invasion through EMT process using Transwell and western blot assay. It was also demonstrated that miR­421 can directly target HOPX by the EGFP reporter assay and western blot assay. MiR­421 overexpression promoted the protein expression levels of ß­catenin, cyclin D1 and c­myc by western blot assay, which are the downstream genes of Wnt pathway. These data indicated that miR­421 may act as an oncogene through the effects of HOPX on the Wnt/ß­catenin signaling pathway and may provide insight into the mechanisms underlying carcinogenesis and the identification of potential biomarkers associated with NSCLC.

Prognostic significance of the combination of preoperative fibrinogen and the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in patients with non-small cell lung cancer following surgical resection.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic value of preoperative coagulation factor levels (including fibrinogen and D-dimer) and inflammatory indicators in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The medical records of 456 patients with NSCLC who had undergone curative resection were retrospectively analysed. The recommended cut-off values for preoperative fibrinogen, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio and lymphocyte-monocyte ratio were determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analyses. The associations between preoperative fibrinogen or D-dimer levels and clinicopathological variables were analysed using the χ2 test. Univariate Kaplan-Meier analysis and a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model were applied to identify which prognostic variables were significantly associated with overall survival (OS) rates. Multivariate analyses revealed that lymph node metastasis (P<0.001), preoperative fibrinogen (P=0.024) and NLR (P=0.028) were effective independent prognostic variables associated with OS. Based on this result, a novel, single inflammation-based combination of fibrinogen and NLR (COF-NLR) score was proposed for the determination of prognosis. Patients with elevated fibrinogen and NLR levels were allocated a score of 2 (n=136), and those that demonstrated elevated levels of one or neither were allocated a score of 1 (n=152) or 0 (n=168), respectively. The 5-year OS rates were significantly poorer for patients with COF-NLR=2 compared with those with COF-NLR=1 or 0 (23.5% vs. 34.2% vs. 50.0%, P<0.001). A subgroup analysis demonstrated that the prognostic significance of COF-NLR was independent of histological subtype, lymph node metastasis and pathological stage. Therefore, COF-NLR has potential as a novel and useful blood marker for predicting tumour progression and the postoperative survival of patients with NSCLC. It may assist clinicians in risk stratification, prognosis predictions and facilitating individualised treatment.

Screening of specific nucleic acid aptamers binding tumor markers in the serum of the lung cancer patients and identification of their activities.

Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death in the world. Despite the improvements in diagnostic methods, the status of early detection was not achieved. So, a new diagnostic method is needed. The aim of this study is to obtain the highly specific nucleic acid aptamers with strong affinity to tumor markers in the serum of the lung cancer patients for targeting the serum. Aptamers specifically binding to tumor markers in the serum of the lung cancer patients were screened from the random single-stranded DNA library with agarose beads as supports and the serum as a target by target-substituting subtractive SELEX technique and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction technique. Subsequently, the secondary single-stranded DNA library obtained by 10 rounds of screening was amplified to double-stranded DNA, followed by high-throughput genome sequence analysis to screen aptamers with specific affinity to tumor markers in the serum of the lung cancer patients. Finally, six aptamers obtained by 10 rounds of screening were identified with high specific affinity to tumor markers in the serum of the lung cancer patients. Compared with other five aptamers, the aptamer 43 was identified both with the highest specificity to bind target molecule and without any obvious affinity to non-specific proteins. The screened aptamers have relatively high specificity to combine tumor markers in the serum of the lung cancer patients, which provides breakthrough points for early diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.

Metastatic lymph node ratio demonstrates better prognostic stratification than pN staging in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after esophagectomy.

This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of lymph node ratio (LNR) by establishing a hypothetical tumor-ratio-metastasis (TRM) staging system in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The records of 387 ESCC patients receiving curative esophagectomy were retrospectively investigated. The optimal cut-point for LNR was assessed via the best cut-off approach. Potential prognostic parameters were identified through univariate and multivariate analyses. A novel LNR-based TRM stage was proposed. The prognostic discriminatory ability and prediction accuracy of each system were determined using hazard ratio (HR), Akaike information criterion (AIC), concordance index (C-index), and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The optimal cut-points of LNR were set at 0, 0~0.2, 0.2~0.4, and 0.4~1.0. Multivariate Cox analysis indicated that the LNR category was an independent risk factor of overall survival (P < 0.001). The calibration curves for the probability of 3- and 5-year survival showed good consistency between nomogram prediction and actual observation. The LNR category and TRM stage yielded a larger HR, a smaller AIC, a larger C-index, and a larger AUC than the N category and TNM stage did. In summary, the proposed LNR category was superior to the conventional N category in predicting the prognosis of ESCC patients.

Essential role of Na+/Ca2+ exchanger 1 in smoking-induced growth and migration of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Tobacco-derived carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) is a major environmental risk factor for the pathogenesis of human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, the molecular mechanisms by which tobacco induces ESCC are not well understood. Na+/Ca2+ exchanger 1 (NCX1) is a plasma membrane transporter protein that plays an essential role in maintaining cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]cyt) homeostasis under physiological conditions and is implicated in tumorigenesis as well. In this study, we found that NCX1 expression was significantly higher in ESCC primary tissues compared to the noncancerous tissues and was overexpressed in tumor samples from the smoking patients. The expression of NCX1 proteins was also significantly higher in human ESCC cell lines compared to normal esophageal epithelial cell line. Moreover, NNK potentiated the [Ca2+]cyt signaling induced by removal of extracellular Na+, which was abolished by KB-R7943 or SN-6. NNK dose-dependently promoted proliferation and migration of human ESCC cells induced by NCX1 activation. Therefore, NCX1 expression correlates with the smoking status of ESCC patients, and NNK activates the Ca2+ entry mode of NCX1 in ESCC cells, leading to cell proliferation and migration. Our findings suggest NCX1 protein is a novel potential target for ESCC therapy.

Myasthenia gravis in patients with thymoma affects survival rate following extended thymectomy.

Thymomas are the most common adult tumors in the anterior mediastinal compartment, and a significant amount of thymomas are complicated by myasthenia gravis (MG). Extended thymectomy (ET) is the primary treatment method for thymomas and is used to completely resect possible ectopic thymus to avoid recurrence. Studies on the effect of MG in thymoma patients following ET are limited. The aim of the present study was to determine whether the presence of MG affects the prognosis of patients with thymoma. The present study consisted of 104 patients with thymoma that underwent ET; 61 men (58.7%) and 43 women (41.3%) (mean age, 54.6 years). In total, 38 patients had MG (36.5%). MG was most frequently observed in World Health Organization (WHO) classification type B2 thymoma compared with other types of thymoma. During the 5-year follow-up period, 11 patients succumbed to a recurrence of thymoma or respiratory failure due to MG. The overall 5-year survival rate in patients without MG or with MG was 89.1 and 76.0%, respectively. The overall survival (OS) rate in patients with Masaoka stages I + II and III + IV was 90.0 and 68.0%, respectively. The OS rate in patients with WHO type A + AB + B1 and type B2 + B3 was 96.9 and 76.8%, respectively. The patients with MG (P=0.026), Masaoka stages III + IV (P=0.008) and WHO type B2 + B3 (P=0.032) had a poorer prognosis compared with patients without these characteristics. Furthermore, multivariate analysis by Cox regression revealed that age [P=0.032; relative risk (RR)=1.097; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.097-1.192] and MG (P=0.042; RR=0.167; 95% CI=0.037-0.940) significantly affected OS rate. In summary, ET is a reliable method for the treatment of thymoma. Long-term survival is expected for patients at early Masaoka stages, and for patients without MG. The prognosis of patients with thymomas with MG is poorer compared with patients without MG. The present findings provide useful information for the future management of patients with thymomas.

Surgery combined with radiotherapy for the treatment of solitary plasmacytoma of the rib: a case report and review of the literature.

Solitary plasmacytoma of the bone, especially of a single rib, is a rare disease. We present the case of a 44-year-old Han Chinese man who was diagnosed with a solitary plasmacytoma of the bone located in the right sixth rib. The patient presented with a 4-year history of continuous pain in the right chest area and moderate fever lasting 7 days. A chest roentgenogram showed a solitary expanding lesion in the right thorax, and chest computed tomography revealed an osteolytic tumor in the chest wall. The patient underwent complete en-bloc resection of the chest wall, including the ribs, muscle, and parietal pleura. Histologically, the resected mass was composed of abundant neoplastic plasma cells, and the diagnosis was confirmed to be a plasmacytoma of rib. The examination of marrow cells showed 9 % normal plasma cells among karyocytes without clonal disease. On postoperative day 14, the patient underwent thoracic radiotherapy with a total dose of 50 Gy. The patient remained asymptomatic during the 6-month follow-up period. Herein, we also review previous reports on solitary plasmacytomas of the rib. In summary, this report provides further insights for the diagnosis and effective treatment of this rare disease.