MolLoG: A Molecular Level Interpretability Model Bridging Local to Global for Predicting Drug Target Interactions.

Developing new pharmaceuticals is a costly and time-consuming endeavor fraught with significant safety risks. A critical aspect of drug research and disease therapy is discerning the existence of interactions between drugs and proteins. The evolution of deep learning (DL) in computer science has been remarkably aided in this regard in recent years. Yet, two challenges remain: (i) balancing the extraction of profound, local cohesive characteristics while warding off gradient disappearance and (ii) globally representing and understanding the interactions between the drug and target local attributes, which is vital for delivering molecular level insights indispensable to drug development. In response to these challenges, we propose a DL network structure, MolLoG, primarily comprising two modules: local feature encoders (LFE) and global interactive learning (GIL). Within the LFE module, graph convolution networks and leap blocks capture the local features of drug and protein molecules, respectively. The GIL module enables the efficient amalgamation of feature information, facilitating the global learning of feature structural semantics and procuring multihead attention weights for abstract features stemming from two modalities, providing biologically pertinent explanations for black-box results. Finally, predictive outcomes are achieved by decoding the unified representation via a multilayer perceptron. Our experimental analysis reveals that MolLoG outperforms several cutting-edge baselines across four data sets, delivering superior overall performance and providing satisfactory results when elucidating various facets of drug-target interaction predictions.

The therapeutic effects of ADSCs on photoaging of skin induced by UVB irradiation.

Skin photoaging affects appearance and is associated with a variety of skin diseases, even skin cancer. Therefore, the prevention and treatment of skin photoaging is very important. However, there is a lack of effective evaluation methods, so it is an urgent problem to explore a comprehensive, non-invasive and in vivo evaluation method. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) are widely used to improve skin conditions as easier to obtain and positive effects. Recently, as the development of ultrasound technology, skin ultrasound has been widely used. Changes in skin layer and structure can be observed by high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS). In addition, Shear wave elastography (SWE) technology can be used to monitor the change of skin hardness. However, it is necessary to further explore the ultrasound parameters in interpreting histological changes. We simulate the progression and treatment process of human skin photoaging by using UVB-induced nude mice skin photoaging model and ADSCs injection. The analysis of the degree and therapeutic effect of skin photoaging was conducted by HFUS, SWE and to verify with histopathology. Our study aims to clarify the value of HFUS combined SWE techniques in evaluating the degree and therapeutic efficacy of skin photoaging, which provides theoretical basis for diagnosis and treatment evaluation systems.

Positive contributions of the stem to the formation of white tea quality-related metabolites during withering.

Most teas, including white tea, are produced from tender shoots containing both leaf and stem. However, the effect of the stem on white tea quality remains unclear, especially during withering, an essential process. Therefore, this study investigated the withering-induced changes in the leaves and stems of Camellia sinensis cv. 'Fudingdabai' by multi-group analysis. During withering, the levels of catechin and theobromine (i.e., major flavor-related compounds) decreased slightly, mainly in the leaves. The abundance of some proteinaceous amino acids related to fresh taste increased in stems due to increased protein hydrolysis. In addition, changes in biosynthetic pathways caused a decrease in theanine (a major non-proteinaceous amino acid) and an increase in gamma-aminobutyric acid in stems. Terpenes, mainly in the stems, were partially affected by withering. Phenylacetaldehyde, a major contributor to white tea aroma, increased mainly in the stems. These findings reflect the positive contribution of the stem to white tea quality.

Diversity of purposes of use, time spent online, and depression among older Chinese Internet users.

Objectives: Previous studies on the associations between Internet use and older people's depression have mostly focused on single types of online activities, especially online social engagement. The current study investigated the diversity of purposes of Internet use and its interaction with the time spent online in shaping older Chinese Internet users' depression.Method: A sample of 974 Internet users aged 60 and above was adopted from the 2020 China Family Panel Studies wave. We adopted a latent class analysis (LCA) to explore the diverse purposes of internet usage.Results: The participants were classified into three distinct types: socializers, basic users, and maximizers. Basic users and maximizers use the Internet for various purposes, despite different intensities; socializers use the Internet only to keep connected with families and friends. Compared with basic users and maximizers, a longer time spent online among socializers was significantly associated with a higher level of depression.Conclusion: This study calls for a closer examination of online profiles among older Internet users; more attention should be paid to the potential harms of excessive Internet use for social reasons only among older adults. Practitioners should enhance older Internet users' digital literacy to maximize the wide-range benefits of Internet use and reduce potential health inequality.

A lightweight bladder tumor segmentation method based on attention mechanism.

In the endoscopic images of bladder, accurate segmentation of different grade bladder tumor from blurred boundary regions and highly variable shapes is of great significance for doctors' diagnosis and patients' later treatment. We propose a nested attentional feature fusion segmentation network (NAFF-Net) based on the encoder-decoder structure formed by the combination of weighted pyramid pooling module (WPPM) and nested attentional feature fusion (NAFF). Among them, WPPM applies the cascade of atrous convolution to enhance the overall perceptual field while introducing adaptive weights to optimize multi-scale feature extraction, NAFF integrates deep semantic information into shallow feature maps, effectively focusing on edge and detail information in bladder tumor images. Additionally, a weighted mixed loss function is constructed to alleviate the impact of imbalance between positive and negative sample distribution on segmentation accuracy. Experiments illustrate the proposed NAFF-Net achieves better segmentation results compared to other mainstream models, with a MIoU of 84.05%, MPrecision of 91.52%, MRecall of 90.81%, and F1-score of 91.16%, and also achieves good results on the public datasets Kvasir-SEG and CVC-ClinicDB. Compared to other models, NAFF-Net has a smaller number of parameters, which is a significant advantage in model deployment.

Biochemical Pathways of Salicylic Acid Derived from l-Phenylalanine in Plants with Different Basal SA Levels.

As a plant hormone, salicylic acid (SA) has diverse regulatory roles in plant growth and stress resistance. Although SA is widely found in plants, there is substantial variation in basal SA among species. Tea plant is an economically important crop containing high contents of SA whose synthesis pathway remains unidentified. The phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) pathway is responsible for basal SA synthesis in plants. In this study, isotopic tracing and enzymatic assay experiments were used to verify the SA synthesis pathway in tea plants and evaluate the variation in phenylalanine-derived SA formation among 11 plant species with different levels of SA. The results indicated that SA could be synthesized via PAL in tea plants and conversion efficiency from benzoic acid to SA might account for variation in basal SA among plant species. This research lays the foundation for an improved understanding of the molecular regulatory mechanism for SA biosynthesis.

Comparison of novel flexible and traditional ureteral access sheath in retrograde intrarenal surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficiency and safety of a novel flexible ureteral access sheath (f-UAS) and traditional ureteral access sheath (UAS) during retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 2022 and September 2022, a total of 152 consecutive cases with renal stones underwent RIRS with the f-UAS. Their outcomes were compared with those of another 152 consecutive cases undergoing RIRS with traditional UAS using a 1:1 scenario matched-pair analysis, with matching parameters including age and stone size. The f-UAS is a novel UAS with a 10-cm-long tube at the tip that can follow the bends of flexible ureteroscope (f-URS). RESULTS: Baseline characteristics were found to be similar between the two groups. The f-UAS group demonstrated significantly higher SFR (76.3% vs. 7.2%; P < 0.001) at 1 day postoperatively and a higher clearance rate of stone volume (98.11% vs. 91.78%; P < 0.001). The f-UAS group also had lower total complications rate (9.9% vs. 22.4%; P = 0.003), lower incidence of fever (5.9% vs 11.9%; P = 0.001), shorter operative times (56.5 min vs. 59.9 min; P = 0.047), and lower usage rate of baskets (17.1% vs. 100%; P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in SFR at 1 month postoperatively (P = 0.627) and in the length of postoperative hospital stay between the two groups (P = 0.225). CONCLUSION: Compared to the traditional UAS during RIRS, the f-UAS showed several advantages, including higher SFR at 1 day postoperatively, shorter operative times, lower incidence of complications, and less use of basket.

Flexible ureteroscopy with novel flexible ureteral access sheath versus mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy for treatment of 2-3 cm renal stones.

OBJECTIVES: To assess and compare the effectiveness and safety of flexible ureteroscopy (f-URS) with a novel flexible ureteral access sheath (f-UAS) versus mini-percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (mini-PCNL) in treating 2-3 cm renal stones. METHODS: Retrospectively analyzed consecutive cases that underwent f-URS with f-UAS (12/14 Fr) from January 29, 2022, to November 30, 2022. Consecutive cases that underwent mini-PCNL (18 Fr) from June 5, 2021, to January 26, 2022, were selected as controls. The f-UAS is a novel device with a 10 cm anterior tip that passively bends along with the f-URS to enter the renal calyx. We analyzed demographic characteristics, stone parameters, operative time, stone-free rates (SFR), hospitalization time, and complication. RESULTS: A total of 96 consecutive cases that underwent f-URS with f-UAS and 96 consecutive cases that underwent mini-PCNL were included in the study. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of operative time (p = 0.06), stone volume clearance (p = 0.533) and complete SFR (p = 0.266) on the first postoperative day or residual Stone after 1 month (p = 0.407). We observed a significantly shorter postoperative hospital stay (1.4 days vs. 2.1 days; p < 0.001) and a lower decrease in hemoglobin levels (0.39 g/dL vs. 0.68 g/dL; p < 0.001) in the f-UAS group. The mini-PCNL group had a significantly higher overall complication rate (13.5%) compared with the f-UAS group (5.2%; p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: In the treatment of 2-3 cm renal stones, f-URS with a novel f-UAS may provide a superior alternative to mini-PCNL, potentially challenging its established status.

Health literacy, worry about unmet needs for medical care, and psychological well-being among older Chinese adults.

AIM: This study aims to examine the relationship between older adults' health literacy and their psychological well-being and the role of worry about future unmet needs for medical care in mediating this relationship. METHODS: We adopted a sample of 965 older Chinese people aged 60+ (49.74% female) from the 2021 Chinese General Social Survey. A series of structural equation models (SEMs) were performed. Health literacy was measured by three items regarding older people's ability to understand medical professionals, ask them questions, and read medical instructions. A single-item question was adopted to measure participants' worry about unmet needs for future medical care. Psychological well-being was measured by three items regarding emotional problems and depressed or anxious mood in the past 4 weeks. RESULTS: Worry about future unmet needs for medical care mediates the relationship between lack of health literacy and Chinese older people's psychological well-being. The indirect effect accounts for 22.3% of the total effect. The SEM model has a satisfactory model fit (goodness of fit index = 1.000, comparative fit index = 0.999, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.997, root mean square error of approximation = 0.009, standardized root mean square residual = 0.023, chi-square test = 50.96, P = 0.321). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study underscore the importance of improving communication quality between healthcare providers and older adults. Clinical interventions that promote health literacy and address worries about unmet needs for medical services may benefit older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 202-207.

Targeted therapies in bladder cancer: signaling pathways, applications, and challenges.

Bladder cancer (BC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies in men. Understanding molecular characteristics via studying signaling pathways has made tremendous breakthroughs in BC therapies. Thus, targeted therapies including immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) have markedly improved advanced BC outcomes over the last few years. However, the considerable patients still progress after a period of treatment with current therapeutic regimens. Therefore, it is crucial to guide future drug development to improve BC survival, based on the molecular characteristics of BC and clinical outcomes of existing drugs. In this perspective, we summarize the applications and benefits of these targeted drugs and highlight our understanding of mechanisms of low response rates and immune escape of ICIs, ADCs toxicity, and TKI resistance. We also discuss potential solutions to these problems. In addition, we underscore the future drug development of targeting metabolic reprogramming and cancer stem cells (CSCs) with a deep understanding of their signaling pathways features. We expect that finding biomarkers, developing novo drugs and designing clinical trials with precisely selected patients and rationalized drugs will dramatically improve the quality of life and survival of patients with advanced BC.

Influence of samarium modification on the phase-change performance and phase structure of tin antimonide.

This work presents the optimization of the crystallization behavior and reliability of Sn15Sb85thin films by doping Sm element. The phase transition behaviors induced by thermal were investigated byin situresistance measurement. With the addition of Sm element, Sn15Sb85film exhibits the superior crystallization temperature (232 °C) and data conservation (172.32 °C for 10 years), larger activation energy of crystallization (4.91 eV) and crystalline resistance (∼103Ω), which contributes to the increased thermal stability of the amorphous state and decrease in the programming energy. The Sm-doping can broaden the energy band gap from 0.55 to 1.07 eV. The amorphous Sm and Sn compositions could retard grain growth and refine grain size from 21.13 to 11.13 nm, combining with x-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The surface morphology of Sn15Sb85film becomes smoother after Sm doping as determined by atomic force microscopy images, resulting in the improved interfacial reliability. Phase change memory devices based on Sm0.095(Sn15Sb85)0.905films can successfully achieve the complete SET and RESET reversible operation process with high operating speed (200 ns) and low power consumption (1.6 × 10-10J). The results suggest that doping the proper concentration of Sm element will be an effectual solution to adapt and optimize the crystallization properties of Sn15Sb85phase change material.

Effect of the biosynthesis of the volatile compound phenylacetaldehyde on chloroplast modifications in tea (Camellia sinensis) plants.

Plant volatile compounds have important physiological and ecological functions. Phenylacetaldehyde (PAld), a volatile phenylpropanoid/benzenoid, accumulates in the leaves of tea (Camellia sinensis) plants grown under continuous shading. This study was conducted to determine whether PAld production is correlated with light and to elucidate the physiological functions of PAld in tea plants. Specifically, the upstream mechanism modulating PAld biosynthesis in tea plants under different light conditions as well as the effects of PAld on chloroplast/chlorophyll were investigated. The biosynthesis of PAld was inhibited under light, whereas it was induced in darkness. The structural gene encoding aromatic amino acid aminotransferase 1 (CsAAAT1) was expressed at a high level in darkness, consistent with its importance for PAld accumulation. Additionally, the results of a transcriptional activation assay and an electrophoretic mobility shift assay indicated CsAAAT1 expression was slightly activated by phytochrome-interacting factor 3-2 (CsPIF3-2), which is a light-responsive transcription factor. Furthermore, PAld might promote the excitation of chlorophyll in dark-treated chloroplasts and mediate electron energy transfer in cells. However, the accumulated PAld can degrade chloroplasts and chlorophyll, with potentially detrimental effects on photosynthesis. Moreover, PAld biosynthesis is inhibited in tea leaves by red and blue light, thereby decreasing the adverse effects of PAld on chloroplasts during daytime. In conclusion, the regulated biosynthesis of PAld in tea plants under light and in darkness leads to chloroplast modifications. The results of this study have expanded our understanding of the biosynthesis and functions of volatile phenylpropanoids/benzenoids in tea leaves.

A Memory-Efficient Federated Kernel Support Vector Machine for Edge Devices.

A federated learning (FL) scheme (denoted as Fed-KSVM) is designed to train kernel support vector machines (SVMs) over multiple edge devices with low memory consumption. To decompose the training process of kernel SVM, each edge device first constructs high-dimensional random feature vectors of its local data, and then trains a local SVM model over the random feature vectors. To reduce the memory consumption on each edge device, the optimization problem of the local model is divided into several subproblems. Each subproblem only optimizes a subset of the model parameters over a block of random feature vectors with a low dimension. To achieve the same optimal solution to the original optimization problem, an incremental learning algorithm called block boosting is designed to solve these subproblems sequentially. After training of the local models, the central server constructs a global SVM model by averaging the model parameters of these local models. Fed-KSVM only increases the iterations of training the local SVM models to save the memory consumption, while the communication rounds between the edge devices and the central server are not affected. Theoretical analysis shows that the kernel SVM model trained by Fed-KSVM converges to the optimal model with a linear convergence rate. Because of such a fast convergence rate, Fed-KSVM reduces the communication cost during training by up to 99% compared with the centralized training method. The experimental results also show that Fed-KSVM reduces the memory consumption on the edge devices by nearly 90% while achieving the highest test accuracy, compared with the state-of-the-art schemes.

The mechanism and effectiveness of mindfulness-based intervention for reducing the psychological distress of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder: A protocol of randomized control trial of ecological momentary intervention and assessment.

BACKGROUND: Existing studies have unequivocally demonstrated that parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience various stressful daily life events and suffer from psychological distress. Mindfulness level is found to be an effective buffer between parents' appraisal of stress life events and psychological distress. However, the mechanism behind the function of mindfulness is unclear, and traditional mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) in experimental settings is not tailored to personal real-life needs. This study proposes to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine the effectiveness of MBI delivered by ecological momentary intervention (EMI) and assessed by ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in changing participants' cognitive appraisal of stressful life events and thus reducing the psychological distress of parents of children with ASD. METHOD: The proposed study will recruit 670 parents of children with ASD and randomly assign them to the intervention and control groups (335 in each group). Participants in the intervention group will install the EMI/A app on their smartphones. In the app, participants can receive practice prompts daily, browse and practice different mindfulness exercises in the intervention library at any time, talk to a virtual counselor (chatbot) when feeling stressed, complete EMA on the cognitive appraisal of life events, and receive the log of change of psychological status daily. Participants in the control group will only receive audio-based standardized mindfulness practice instructions three times per week. The effects of MBI will be assessed based on the EMA data, right after the intervention and at the 2-month follow-up. The primary outcome will be participants' psychological distress measured by the depression anxiety stress scale. The secondary outcomes will include participants' subjective well-being, measured by the satisfaction with life scale, and level of resilience, measured by the psychological empowerment scale. Multilevel structural equational modelling will be applied to examine the pathways of the relationship between daily life events, cognitive appraisal, and psychological distress. DISCUSSION: The potential benefit of the proposed study is to increase the psychological well-being of parents of children with ASD, and the method may extend to participants suffering from other psychological issues in the future. Trial registration: This trial has been registered on clinicaltrials.gov with the ID of NCT05746468.

DeepTree: Modeling Trees with Situated Latents.

In this paper, we propose DeepTree, a novel method for modeling trees based on learning developmental rules for branching structures instead of manually defining them. We call our deep neural model "situated latent" because its behavior is determined by the intrinsic state -encoded as a latent space of a deep neural model- and by the extrinsic (environmental) data that is "situated" as the location in the 3D space and on the tree structure. We use a neural network pipeline to train a situated latent space that allows us to locally predict branch growth only based on a single node in the branch graph of a tree model. We use this representation to progressively develop new branch nodes, thereby mimicking the growth process of trees. Starting from a root node, a tree is generated by iteratively querying the neural network on the newly added nodes resulting in the branching structure of the whole tree. Our method enables generating a wide variety of tree shapes without the need to define intricate parameters that control their growth and behavior. Furthermore, we show that the situated latents can also be used to encode the environmental response of tree models, e.g., when trees grow next to obstacles. We validate the effectiveness of our method by measuring the similarity of our tree models and by procedurally generated ones based on a number of established metrics for tree form.

Optimal placement of flexible ureteral access sheath in retrograde intrarenal surgery.

This study aims to explore the optimal location of flexible ureteral access sheath (f-UAS) in retrograde intrarenal lithotripsy (RIRS). RIRS model was built by AutoCAD 2011 software, and imported COMSOL 5.6 software to computer simulation. An RIRS model was constructed in vitro to analyze the distribution pattern of stone fragments and compare the weight of stone fragments carried out by the irrigation fluid when the f-UAS is in different positions. Computer simulation showed that the highest flow of irrigation fluid was in the channel of flexible ureteroscopy (f-URS) and in the lumen of f-UAS. From the f-URS to the renal collection system and then to the f-UAS, the velocity of irrigation fluid changes gradually from high-flow to low-flow and then to high-flow. When the f-URS and the f-UAS are at the same level, the irrigation fluid is always at a state of high flow during the process from f-URS to f-UAS. When the f-URS and the f-UAS are at the same level, it can increase the local intrarenal pressure (IRP) at the front of f-URS. The stone fragments are mainly sediment in the low-flow region of irrigation fluid. More stone fragments could follow the irrigation fluid out of the body when the tip of f-URS and the tip of f-UAS are at the same level (P < 0.001). The f-UAS should be brought closer to the stone in RIRS. And more stone fragments can be taken out of the body by the effect of irrigation fluid.

Initial experience and short-term outcomes of single-port extraperitoneal transvesical robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: a two-center study.

Background: This study presents the procedure of single-port extraperitoneal transvesical approach to robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (SETvRARP) on the da Vinci Xi platform coupling with a 4-channel single port and evaluated the short-term outcomes in the first 72 prostate cancer (PCa) patients. Methods: Seventy-two patients with localized PCa were enrolled. Each operation was conducted by the same single robotic surgery group in two centers using the da Vinci Xi system. Results: The median operation time was 150 min, and the median estimated blood loss was 50 mL. All operations were successfully carried out without open conversion or transfusion. No ≥ Grade II complications were noted. Urethral catheters were routinely removed on postoperative day 7. Sixty-eight (94.4%) patients recovered to immediate urinary continence after surgery, with 72 (100%) patients achieving full continence on postoperative day 14. A positive surgical margin was observed in 15 (20.8%) patients. Postoperative urodynamic studies regarding peak urinary flow, bladder capacity, and residual urine were not statically different from the preoperative results. No biochemical recurrence was noted in all patients within the follow-up period. Postoperative erectile function was not statistically different from the preoperative results (P=0.1697). Conclusions: SETvRARP using the da Vinci Xi system coupling with a 4-channel single port is a valid radical prostatectomy technique in well-selected PCa patients, resulting in superior postoperative recovery of urinary continence. Meanwhile, the outcomes in functional protection and cancer control need to be further investigated with a long-term follow-up duration.

Associations between parents' and grandparents' depressive symptoms, intergenerational coparenting relationships, and (grand)parenting behaviors: An actor-partner interdependence mediation model.

Intergenerational coparenting has become an increasingly common family phenomenon across the globe. In this study, we examined the associations among depressive symptoms, perceptions of intergenerational coparenting relationships, and (grand)parenting behaviors. Participants were parents and grandparents most involved in child care from 464 Chinese coparenting families sampled in urban China. The results from a test of the actor-partner interdependence mediation model showed that the depressive symptoms of parents and grandparents were indirectly and positively related to their harsh discipline of children or negatively related to their supportiveness toward children, and the association was mediated via their own perceptions of the coparenting relationship. In addition, parents' depressive symptoms were indirectly and positively related to grandparental harsh parenting or negatively related to grandparental supportive parenting through grandparents' perceived coparenting relationship. Grandparents' depressive symptoms were indirectly and positively related to parental harsh parenting or negatively related to parental supportive parenting through parents' perceptions of the coparenting relationship. This study highlights the importance of uncovering the processes and dynamics of parent-grandparent coparenting practices through a lens of family systems and interdependence theories as well as a dyadic approach. It also has practical implications for family interventions in the context of intergenerational coparenting. Specifically, this study recommends parallel (grand)parenting intervention sessions for parents and grandparents simultaneously to benefit the well-being of all three generations.

Downregulation of RAB17 have a poor prognosis in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma and its expression correlates with DNA methylation and immune infiltration.

BACKGROUND: RAB17 is one of the RAB family members. It has been reported to be closely associated with a variety of tumors and has different roles in various tumors. However, the effect of RAB17 in KIRC remains unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the differential expression of RAB17 in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) tissues and normal tissues using the public databases. The prognostic role of RAB17 in KIRC was analyzed using the Cox regression methods, and a prognostic model was constructed based on the results of the Cox analysis. In addition, further analysis of RAB17 in KIRC was performed in relation to genetic alterations, DNA methylation m6A methylation and immune infiltration. Finally, RAB17 mRNA and protein expression levels were analyzed in tissue samples (KIRC tissues and normal tissues) and cell lines (normal renal tubular cell and KIRC cells), and in vitro functional assays were performed. RESULTS: RAB17 was low-expressed in KIRC. Downregulation of RAB17 expression is correlated with unfavorable clinicopathological characteristics and a worse prognosis in KIRC. The RAB17 gene alteration in KIRC was primarily characterized by copy number alteration. Six CpG sites of RAB17 DNA methylation levels are higher in KIRC tissues than in normal tissues, and are correlated with RAB17 mRNA expression levels, showing a significant negative correlation. cg01157280 site DNA methylation levels are associated with pathological stage and overall survival, and it may be the only CpG site with independent prognostic significance. Functional mechanism analysis revealed that RAB17 is closely associated with immune infiltration. RAB17 expression was found to be negatively correlated with most immune cell infiltration according to two different methods. Furthermore, most immunomodulators were significantly negatively correlated with RAB17 expression, and significantly positively correlated with RAB17 DNA methylation levels. RAB17 was significantly low expression in KIRC cells and KIRC tissues. In vitro, silencing of RAB17 promoted KIRC cell migration. CONCLUSION: RAB17 can be used as a potential prognostic biomarker for patients with KIRC and for assessing immunotherapy response.

[Corrigendum] Celecoxib inhibits the epithelial­to­mesenchymal transition in bladder cancer via the miRNA­145/TGFBR2/Smad3 axis.

Following the publication of the above article, an interested reader drew to the authors' attention that, for the Transwell migration assays shown in Figs. 1B and 3B on p. 685 and p. 688 respectively, the images selected for the '5637 / DMSO' experiment in Fig. 1B and the DMSO experiment in Fig. 3B were apparently the same, such that these data appeared to have been derived from the same original source. After having consulted their original data, the authors have realized that the 5637 DMSO data panel in Fig. 3B had been selected incorrectly. The revised version of Fig. 3, showing the correct data for the DMSO experiment in Fig. 3B, is shown on the next page. The authors regret that these errors went unnoticed prior to the publication of this article, and thank the Editor of International Journal of Molecular Medicine for allowing them the opportunity to publish this corrigendum. All the authors agree with the publication of this corrigendum; furthermore, they also apologize to the readership of the journal for any inconvenience caused. [International Journal of Molecular Medicine 44: 683­683, 2019; DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2019.4241].