Long Noncoding RNAs MALAT1 and HOTTIP Act as Serum Biomarkers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Circulating tumor markers with satisfactory sensitivity and specificity play crucial roles in cancer diagnosis and therapy. This prospective study aimed to evaluate the potential of circulating lncRNAs as biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: A total of 74 patients with HCC and 94 healthy controls were enrolled. The expression levels of candidate genes in serum were detected by qRT-PCR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and logistic regression were employed to investigate the diagnostic capacity of lncRNAs. The analysis of 3-year overall survival (OS) was conducted using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. RESULTS: Of the 9 candidate genes, 6 lncRNAs could be stably detected in serum. The expression levels of circulating MALAT1 and HOTTIP in HCC patients were significantly higher than those in controls (P < 0.001). ROC analysis showed that MALAT1 and HOTTIP were more effective than alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (P < 0.010) in the diagnosis of HCC, with AUCs of 0.896 and 0.899, respectively. Additionally, a panel consisting of MALAT1, HOTTIP, and AFP was constructed to obtain an AUC of 0.968 with a sensitivity of 87.8% and specificity of 94.7% in HCC diagnosis. Moreover, the upregulation of MALAT1 was not only related to multiple tumor lesions, HCV infection, AST level, and AFP level, but also suggested shorter OS. A high expression level of HOTTIP was associated with metastasis. CONCLUSION: Serum MALAT1 and HOTTIP play indicative roles as non-invasive biomarkers for HCC.

Sarcopenia as a prognostic factor in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization plus sorafenib.

INTRODUCTION: Loss of skeletal muscle volume is an important aspect of sarcopenia in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients treated by surgical resection, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE), or sorafenib. PURPOSE: This study determined the influence of sarcopenia and other laboratory results on survival in patients with HCC treated with TACE plus sorafenib. METHODS: The patients were divided into two groups based on the presence of sarcopenia. The skeletal muscle index was calculated by normalizing the cross-sectional muscle area at the L3 level on an abdominal computed tomography scan before embolization according to the patient's height. The clinical characteristics of the two groups were then compared. The progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates after treatment were determined. RESULTS: Sarcopenia was present in 75 of the 102 (74%) patients with HCC included in this study. The albumin, prealbumin, and cholinesterase levels were lower in those with sarcopenia. The OS (P = 0.001) and PFS (P = 0.008) were significantly prolonged in the nonsarcopenia group compared to the sarcopenia group. Sarcopenia, ECOG (≥2), and prealbumin (<180 mg/L) were significantly associated with PFS. Sarcopenia, ECOG (≥2), Child-Pugh B, BCLC stage C, prealbumin (<180 mg/L), and cholinesterase (<5,320 U/L) were significantly associated with OS. The prognostic factors for OS included sarcopenia, ECOG (≥2), and cholinesterase (<5,320 U/L), whereas only ECOG (≥2) was identified as a prognostic factor for PFS. CONCLUSION: Sarcopenia may be an indicator of poor clinical outcome in patients with HCC receiving TACE plus sorafenib.

Impact of microwave ablation on survival rates and recurrence in hepatic malignant tumors.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) for treating hepatic malignant tumors and to identify factors influencing tumor recurrence post-treatment. METHODS: A total of 249 patients with hepatic malignant tumors treated at the Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute were included, and 101 patients were analyzed. Disease-free and overall survival rates were assessed at 1, 2, and 3 years post-MWA. Correlations between tumor recurrence and factors such as Child-Pugh B classification and lesion count were examined, and a meta-analysis was conducted to identify independent risk factors for recurrence. RESULTS: The study found disease-free survival rates of 80.2%, 72.3%, and 70.3% at 1, 2, and 3 years post-MWA, with overall survival rates at 99%, 97%, and 96%. Significant correlations were observed between tumor recurrence, Child-Pugh B classification, and the number of lesions. Meta-analysis confirmed lesion count and Child-Pugh B classification as independent risk factors for recurrence following MWA treatment. CONCLUSION: The study underscores the importance of considering Child-Pugh B classification and lesion count in predicting tumor recurrence after MWA for hepatic malignant tumors. These findings offer valuable insights for clinicians in decision-making and post-treatment monitoring.

RDD-YOLOv5: Road Defect Detection Algorithm with Self-Attention Based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Inspection.

Road defect detection is a crucial aspect of road maintenance projects, but traditional manual methods are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and lack accuracy. Leveraging deep learning frameworks for object detection offers a promising solution to these challenges. However, the complexity of backgrounds, low resolution, and similarity of cracks make detecting road cracks with high accuracy challenging. To address these issues, a novel road crack detection algorithm, termed Road Defect Detection YOLOv5 (RDD-YOLOv5), was proposed. Firstly, a model was proposed to integrate the transformer structure and explicit vision center to capture the long-distance dependency and aggregate key characteristics. Additionally, the Sigmoid-weighted linear activations in YOLOv5 were replaced with the Gaussian Error Linear Units to enhance the model's nonlinear fitting capability. To evaluate the algorithm's performance, a UAV flight platform was constructed, and experimental freebies were provided to boost inspection efficiency. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of RDD-YOLOv5, achieving a mean average precision of 91.48%, surpassing the original YOLOv5 by 2.5%. The proposed model proves its ability to accurately identify road cracks, even under challenging and complex traffic backgrounds. This advancement in road crack detection technology has significant implications for improving road maintenance and safety.

Does commerce promote theft? A quantitative study from Beijing, China.

Commerce, as both an environmental and a social factor, is essential to the study of the causes of urban crimes. This paper aims to comprehensively propose research hypotheses based on these two types of commercial factors and optimise statistical tools with which to analyse commerce's impact on the level of theft in Beijing. Combining criminal verdicts, census data, points of interest, and information on nighttime lighting, this paper first applies a hierarchical regression model to verify the effectiveness of using commercial environmental and social factors to explain theft statistics and then constructs a structural equation model to analyse the joint influence of multiple commercial factors on those statistics. This paper finds that Beijing's commerce does not significantly promote theft, verifies the effectiveness of two types of commercial variables and the corresponding Western theories in explaining commerce's impact on theft in Beijing, and provides empirical data for the study of the causes of theft in a non-Western context.

Drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization could improve the hepatic hemodynamics of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is widely used for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, previous studies have demonstrated that conventional TACE (cTACE) might affect hepatic hemodynamics, which both associate with liver cirrhosis and survival. Drug-eluting bead TACE (DEB-TACE) improves treatment efficacy and safety, but its effects on the hepatic hemodynamics of HCC patients with cirrhosis remain unknown. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included unresectable HCC patients treated with DEB-TACE from April 2018 to September 2020, who had limited tumor burden and liver function. The hepatic hemodynamics was measured by hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) using occlusion balloon catheter before and after treatment. Baseline characteristics of demography, laboratory (tumoral and liver-function) and hepatic hemodynamics were compared between patients with and without clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH). Laboratory examination and imaging assessments were performed 4-6 weeks; overall survival (OS) was defined as the time from DEB-TACE initiation until death or last follow-up. Results: Twenty-four eligible consecutive HCC patients were included, with a median age of 58.0 years and 54.2% in Child-Pugh A class. During a median follow-up of 9.8 months, median OS for the whole cohort of patients reached 10.0 months. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression analyses demonstrated that age >60 years, ascites, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score of 1, Child-Pugh B class, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score >10, and albumin (ALB) <35 g/L were prognostic factors for decreased OS (P<0.05). Importantly, hepatic hemodynamics were significantly improved in patients after treatment with DEB-TACE (7.5 vs. 5.3 mmHg of HVPG, P<0.001), especially for those with CSPH (13.6 vs. 10.2 mmHg of HVPG, P=0.014). Conclusions: DEB-TACE can improve hepatic hemodynamics in HCC patients, especially those with CSPH. Combing these findings with its effects on tumor, DEB-TACE might be more suitable for HCC patients with cirrhosis.

A quantitative evaluation of judicial justice in civil cases with Chinese free trade zone enterprises as the plaintiff.

Justice is the primary criterion for evaluating the law. Chinese free trade zones aim to attract foreign investment and promote economic development efficiency, but their judicial reform goal still needs to be justice. Given the importance of balancing justice and efficiency, this study assesses whether the judiciary sacrifices justice for the sake of economic efficiency in civil cases with Chinese free trade zone enterprises acting as the plaintiff. By introducing commercial factors such as enterprise subject and legal resource characteristics into a theoretical model, this study develops a hierarchical regression model to investigate the judicial process in free trade zones. This study statistically analyzes data from judgments and enterprises' public information, quantitatively evaluating the realization of judicial justice. This study finds: First, plaintiffs' violated rights and interests have been protected and compensated, that is, the judicial result has been just; Second, judicial practice in this field has the characteristics of neutrality, equality, participation, and openness and adheres to the principle of "the same case has the same judgment", that is, the judicial procedure has been just. Accordingly, this study argues that judicial justice has not given way to economic efficiencies, such as attracting foreign investment, in cases with Chinese free trade zone enterprises as the plaintiff.

LINC00536 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression via the miR-203b-5p/VEGFA axis.

LncRNAs exert comprehensive effects in regulating the initiation and deterioration of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the specific expression profiles and functional mechanisms of LINC00536 in HCC need to be disclosed. The study is intended to clarify the leverage of LINC00536 in HCC and investigate the potential mechanisms for the regulatory role of LINC00536 in the progression of HCC. In our study, LINC00536 was overexpressed in tumor samples of HCC patients and was related to poor prognosis. LINC00536 knockdown impaired cell viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion. LINC00536 can directly bind with miR-203b-5p, trimming the miR-203b-5p expression levels. VEGFA designates as a target of miR-203b-5p. Rescue research indicated that the miR-203b-5p inhibition or VEGFA overexpression could reverse the impaired cell phenotypes induced by LINC00536 knockdown. The in vivo experiments upheld the LINC00536/miR-203b-5p/VEGFA axis in HCC. Conclusively, LINC00536 could promote HCC deterioration via tuning the miR-203b-5p/VEGFA axis. This research may provide theoretical evidence for LINC00536 to get a gratifying therapeutic target for HCC.

Therapeutic efficacy of novel microwave-sensitized mPEG-PLGA@ZrO2@(DOX + ILS) drug-loaded microspheres in rabbit VX2 liver tumours.

The use of nanomaterials as drug delivery systems shows good effects in treating tumors. However, the effective dose of drugs targeted to tumor tissues is very low because of the effect of the reticuloendothelial system (RES) in removing such foreign substances. In order to eliminate the RES effect, we developed mPEG-PLGA@ZrO2@(DOX + ILS) (mPEG-PLGA@ZrO2@[DOX + ILS]) drug-loaded microspheres. These microwave (MW)-sensitized microspheres directly embolized the blood-supply vessels of tumors to induce tumor ischemia and hypoxia, as well as to aggregate drugs within tumor tissues in a long-lasting manner. Additionally, combination with MW ablation can triple the effects for the inhibition of tumor growth. The MW sensitive ionic liquid (ILS) in microspheres can rapidly produce a high temperature in a MW field on the basis of MW sensitization, thus accelerating the degradation of microspheres to release DOX-loaded ZrO2 into the lesions to kill tumors. Microspheres can also prolong the pharmacological time and effect of drugs through the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect of nanocarriers, as well as the sustained release of nanomaterials. Studies performed in vivo revealed that mPEG-PLGA@ZrO2@(DOX + ILS) showed good biosafety. We undertook sensitized microsphere embolism therapy using novel mPEG-PLGA@ZrO2@(DOX + ILS) microspheres in a rabbit VX2 liver tumor model. Three, 6 and 9 d after treatment, computed tomography indicated no significant change in tumor size, and diffusion weighted imaging showed a marked decrease of residual tumor tissues. With the multiple functions of inducing embolisms, sensitization, and the sustained release of chemotherapeutics, novel mPEG-PLGA@ZrO2@(DOX + ILS) microspheres can achieve good therapeutic efficacy, in combination with MW ablation and chemotherapy, while embolizing the blood vessels of arterial tumors.