Accurate measurement of magnetic resonance parkinsonism index by a fully automatic and deep learning quantification pipeline.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims at a fully automatic pipeline for measuring the magnetic resonance parkinsonism index (MRPI) using deep learning methods. METHODS: MRPI is defined as the product of the pons area to the midbrain area ratio and the middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP) width to the superior cerebellar peduncle (SCP) width ratio. In our proposed pipeline, we first used nnUNet to segment the brainstem and then employed HRNet to identify two key boundary points so as to sub-divide the whole brainstem into midbrain and pons. HRNet was also employed to predict the MCP endpoints for measuring the MCP width. Finally, we segmented the SCP on an oblique coronal plane and calculated its width. A total of 400 T1-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRIs) were used to train the nnUNet and HRNet models. Five-fold cross-validation was conducted to evaluate our proposed pipeline's performance on the training dataset. We also evaluated the performance of our proposed pipeline on three external datasets. Two of them had two raters manually measuring the MRPI values, providing insights into automatic accuracy versus inter-rater variability. RESULTS: We obtained average absolute percentage errors (APEs) of 17.21%, 18.17%, 20.83%, and 22.83% on the training dataset and the three external validation datasets, while the inter-rater average APE measured on the first two external validation datasets was 11.31%. Our proposed pipeline significantly improved the MRPI quantification accuracy over a representative state-of-the-art traditional approach (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The proposed automatic pipeline can accurately predict MRPI that is comparable with manual measurement. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: This study presents an automated magnetic resonance parkinsonism index measurement tool that can analyze large amounts of magnetic resonance images, enhance the efficiency of Parkinsonism-Plus syndrome diagnosis, reduce the workload of clinicians, and minimize the impact of human factors on diagnosis. KEY POINTS: • We propose an automatic pipeline for measuring the magnetic resonance parkinsonism index from magnetic resonance images. • The effectiveness of the proposed pipeline is successfully established on multiple datasets and comparisons with inter-rater measurements. • The proposed pipeline significantly outperforms a state-of-the-art quantification approach, being much closer to ground truth.

Renal Injury Repair: How About the Role of Stem Cells.

Renal failure is one of the most important causes of mortality and morbidity all over the world. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a major clinical problem that affects up to 5% of all hospitalized patients. Although the kidney has a remarkable capacity for regeneration after acute injury, the mortality among patients with severe AKI remains dismally high, and in clinical practice, most patients cannot be cured completely and suffer from chronic kidney disease (CKD). Recently, the incidence and prevalence of CKD have increased, largely as a result of the enhanced prevalence of diabetes and obesity. The progressive nature of CKD and the ensuing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) place a substantial burden on global healthcare resources. Currently, dialysis and transplantation remain the only treatment options. Finding new therapeutic methods to fight AKI and CKD remains an ongoing quest. Although the human renal histological structure is complex, stem cell therapies have been applied to repair injured kidneys. The curative effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and nephron progenitor cells (NPCs) on renal repair have also been reported by researchers. This review focuses on stem cell therapy and mechanisms for renal injury repair.

E2F-1 promotes DAPK2-induced anti-tumor immunity of gastric cancer cells by targeting miR-34a.

Activation of the transcription factor E2F-1 gene is a negative event in dendritic cell (DC) maturation process. Down-regulation of E2F1 causes immaturity of DC thereby stopping antigen production which in turn leads to inhibition of immune responses. E2F-1-free stimulates the NF-kB signaling pathway, leading to activation of monocytes and several other transcription factor genes. In the study, we report that down-regulation of E2F-1 in DCs promote anti-tumor immune response in gastric cancer (GC) cells through a novel mechanism. DCs were isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. E2F-1 small interfering RNA (E2F-1-shRNA) induced down-regulation of E2F-1 mRNA and protein expression in DCs. Furthermore, we identified the E2F-1-shRNA targeted the CD80, CD83, CD86, and MHC II molecules, promoted their expression, and induced T lymphocytes proliferation activity and up-regulation of IFN-I³ production and GC cell killing effect, which significantly correlated with the cytotoxic T lymphocytes activated by E2F-1-shRNA DCs. The higher expression of miR-34a was found which was significantly correlated with the DC enhancing anti-tumor immunity against gastric cancer cell, and miR-34a potently targeted DAPK2 and Sp1, both of which were involved in the deactivation of E2F-1. Moreover, in E2F-1-DC-down-regulation in mice, GC transplantation tumors displayed down-regulation of Sp1, DAPK2, Caspase3, and Caspase7 and progressed to anti-tumor immunity. Collectively, our data uncover an E2F-1-mediated mechanism for the control of DC anti-tumor immunity via miR-34a-dependent down-regulation of E2F-1 expression and suggest its contribution to GC immunotherapy.

Serum Anti-PLA2R Antibody Predicts Treatment Outcome in Idiopathic Membranous Nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: M-type phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) has been identified as the major target antigen in idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN). However, the role of glomerular PLA2R (gPLA2R) and the associations of serum anti-PLA2R antibody (sPLA2R-Ab) titre with diagnosis, treatment and prognosis in IMN need to be further investigated. METHODS: We screened 148 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven membranous nephropathy (MN; 113 with IMN and 35 with secondary MN (SMN)) who were followed up for ≤20 months. Serum and urine samples were simultaneously collected at different time points. The levels of sPLA2R-Ab were detected using immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. gPLA2R was assessed by immunofluorescence. RESULTS: Most patients with IMN displayed both gPLA2R and sPLA2R-Ab positive (85.8 and 82.3%, respectively). In contrast, very few patients with SMN showed either gPLA2R or sPLA2R-Ab positive. The sPLA2R-Ab titre, not gPLA2R, was significantly correlated with proteinuria. Surprisingly, changes in sPLA2R-Ab titre occurred earlier and faster than proteinuria in patients who were followed up for ≤20 months during the whole period of observation. Survival analysis of IMN patients indicated a significant association between sPLA2R-Ab titre and outcome, whereas, no significant difference was observed between the gPLA2R intensity and outcome. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that sPLA2R-Ab might be a better biomarker for IMN diagnosis and treatment outcome. In addition, monitoring sPLA2R-Ab titre may assist in determining when to initiate the administration of immunosuppressive agents and in evaluating treatment efficacy.

The administration of erythropoietin attenuates kidney injury induced by ischemia/reperfusion with increased activation of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Understanding the mechanisms of protecting the kidneys from injury is of great importance because there are no effective therapies that promote repair and the kidneys frequently do not repair adequately. Evidence has shown that erythropoietin (EPO) has a vital renoprotective role, independent of its erythropoietic effect. However, whether EPO can contribute to kidney repair after injury and the potential mechanisms are not fully understood. METHODS: To investigate the renoprotective mechanism of EPO, a kidney ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) model was induced in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were subsequently randomly treated with EPO or a vehicle 6 hours after the kidney IRI. The rats were sacrificed on Day 3, Day 5, and Day 7 post kidney IRI. Renal function and histological alterations were examined. Renal interstitial macrophage infiltration, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis were evaluated by immunostaining. Furthermore, the effects of EPO on the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway and IRI-related micro-RNAs were investigated. RESULTS: The administration of EPO significantly improved renal function and reduced tubular injury. Furthermore, EPO treatment significantly prevented tubular cell apoptosis and promoted cell proliferation after IRI. Erythropoietin significantly suppressed macrophage infiltration, compared to the vehicle. In addition, treatment with EPO markedly prevented the loss of microvasculature. We have also demonstrated that, compared to the vehicle, EPO administration enhanced the expression of Wnt7b and ß-catenin, and downregulated miR-21, -214, -210, and -199a. CONCLUSION: Erythropoietin protects the kidneys against IRI by attenuating injury of the renal microvasculature and tubule epithelial cells, by promoting Wnt/ß-catenin pathway activation, and by regulating miRNA expression.

Clinical characteristics and MRI features of autoimmune glial fibrillary acidic protein astrocytopathy: a case series of 34 patients.

Objectives: To analyze the clinical and imaging characteristics of autoimmune glial fibrillary acidic protein astrocytopathy (GFAP-A). Methods: Forty-three patients diagnosed with GFAP-A between March 2017 and July 2023 were retrospectively recruited. The clinical characteristics and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features were collected. Results: Twenty-one patients (61.8%) had a fever and 16 (47.1%) had a headache. Five patients (14.7%) had coexisting neural autoantibodies and one patient (2.9%) had a coexisting neoplasm. The most common presentation was meningoencephalomyelitis (13/34, 38.3%), followed by meningoencephalitis (12/34, 35.3%). The other clinical manifestations included blurred visions (5/34, 14.7%) and peripheral nervous system involvement (4/34, 11.8%). Twenty-six patients (76.5%) had elevated nucleated cell count, predominantly lymphocytes (15/15, 100%), and 27 (79.4%) had elevated protein levels of cerebrospinal fluid. One-half (50%) of the patients presented with hyponatremia. A majority of the patients (30/33, 90.9%) exhibited abnormal hyperintense lesions on T2WI, which were often located in juxtacortical white matter (18/33, 54.5%), followed by periventricular white matter (16/33, 48.5%), basal ganglia (15/ 33, 45.5%), brainstem (11/33, 33.3%), and thalamic lesions (9/33, 27.3%). Twenty-four patients (72.7%) had abnormal brain enhancement, with supratentorial leptomeningeal enhancement being the most frequent enhancement pattern (15/33, 45.5%), followed by linear perivascular radial enhancement (14/33, 42.4%). Nineteen patients (70.4%) had hyperintense intramedullary spinal cord lesions, with long segments (15/27, 55.6%) and transverse lesions (14/27, 51.9%) being the most frequent lesions. Most cases were sensitive to immunotherapy, such as glucocorticoids, intravenous immunoglobulin, and tacrolimus, with three patients (8.8%) experiencing relapses. Patients with brainstem lesions had higher onset modified Rankin scale scores and were more prone to intensive care unit admissions. Linear perivascular radial enhancement was positively associated with poor prognosis (p < 0.05). Conclusion: GFAP-A presented with meningoencephalomyelitis and meningoencephalitis. The brain lesions were often located in juxtacortical white matter, periventricular white matter, basal ganglia, brainstem, and thalamus. Long segments and transverse were the most frequent spine lesions. Leptomeningeal enhancement was the most frequent enhancement pattern, followed by linear perivascular radial enhancement, which may provide new insight into the differential diagnosis of GFAP-A.

Cerebral blood flow changes induced by high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with cognitive training in Alzheimer's disease.

Background and purpose: Hypoperfusion of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and precuneus has consistently been reported in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with cognitive training (COG) is effective in alleviating the symptoms of patients with mild AD. This study investigated the effects of rTMS-COG therapy on cerebral blood flow (CBF), with a special interest in the PCC/precuneus, and whether observed CBF changes are associated with changes in neuropsychological assessments in AD. Materials and methods: Twenty-one patients with mild or moderate AD were randomly divided into real rTMS (n = 11) and sham treatment (n = 10) groups, both combined with COG. Neuro-navigated 10 Hz rTMS was used to stimulate the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and then the left lateral temporal lobe (LTL) for 20 min each day for 4 weeks in the real rTMS group. All patients with AD underwent neuropsychological assessment, pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling, and structural 3D T1-weighted MRI before treatment (T0), immediately after treatment (T1), and 4 weeks after treatment (T2). CBF in the precuneus, PCC, and stimulation targets at the region-of-interest (ROI) level, as well as whole-brain CBF changes at the voxel level, were compared between the two groups at three timepoints. Results: rTMS-COG therapy revealed significant group × time interactions for the Mini-Mental State Examination (F = 5.339, p = 0.023, η2 = 0.433) and activities of daily living (F = 5.409, p = 0.039, η2 = 0.436) scores. The regional CBF in the precuneus showed a significant group × time interaction (F = 5.833, p = 0.027, η2 = 0.593). For voxel-level analysis, a significant group main effect was found in the left limbic lobe cluster, with the maximal peak in the left parahippocampus (p < 0.001, uncorrected, peak at [-16 -8 -24]). Simple effects analysis indicated that rTMS-COG therapy induced a decrease in CBF in the precuneus at T1 (p = 0.007) and an increase in the left parahippocampus at T2 (p=0.008). CBF decrease in the precuneus was correlated with better cognitive function immediately after treatment (T1) (r =-0.732, p=0.025). Conclusion: Neuropsychological assessments showed immediate and long-term effects on cognitive function and activities of daily living after rTMS-COG therapy. CBF changes induced by high-frequency rTMS-COG therapy are region-dependent, showing immediate effects in the precuneus and long-term effects in the left parahippocampus. These results provide imaging evidence to understand the underlying neurobiological mechanism for the application of rTMS-COG in AD.

Multisite rTMS combined with cognitive training modulates effective connectivity in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Purpose: To investigate the effective connectivity (EC) changes after multisite repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with cognitive training (COG). Method: We selected 51 patients with mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) and delivered 10 Hz rTMS over the left dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the lateral temporal lobe (LTL) combined with COG or sham stimulation for 4 weeks. The selected AD patients were divided into real (real rTMS+COG, n = 11) or sham (sham rTMS+COG, n = 8) groups to undergo neuropsychological assessment, resting-state fMRI, and 3D brain structural imaging before (T0), immediately at the end of treatment (T4), and 4 weeks after treatment (T8). A 2 × 3 factorial design with "time" as the within-subjects factor (three levels: T0, T4, and T8) and "group" as the between-subjects factor (two levels: real and sham) was used to investigate the EC changes related to the stimulation targets in the rest of the brain, as well as the causal interactions among seven resting-state networks based on Granger causality analysis (GCA). Results: At the voxel level, the EC changes from the left DLPFC out to the left inferior parietal lobe and the left superior frontal gyrus, as well as from the left LTL out to the left orbital frontal cortex, had a significant group × time interaction effect. At the network level, a significant interaction effect was identified in the increase in EC from the limbic network out to the default mode network. The decrease in EC at the voxel level and the increase in EC at the network level were both associated with the improved ability to perform activities of daily living and cognitive function. Conclusion: Multisite rTMS combined with cognitive training can modulate effective connectivity in patients with AD, resulting in improved ability to perform activities of daily living and cognitive function.

TFRC-RNA interactions show the regulation of gene expression and alternative splicing associated with IgAN in human renal tubule mesangial cells.

Introduction: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common primary glomerular disease (PGD) which could progress to renal failure and is characterized by aberrant IgA immune complex deposition. Transferrin receptor1 (TFRC), an IgA receptor, is a potential RNA binding protein (RBP) which regulates expression of genes positively associated with the cell cycle and proliferation and is involved in IgAN. Molecular mechanisms by which TFRC affects IgAN development remain unclear. Methods: In this study, TFRC was overexpressed in human renal tubular mesangial cells (HRMCs) and RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and improved RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (iRIP-seq) were performed. The aim was to identify potential RNA targets of TFRC at transcriptional and alternative splicing (AS) levels. Results: TFRC-regulated AS genes were enriched in mRNA splicing and DNA repair, consistent with global changes due to TFRC overexpression (TFRC-OE). Expression of TFRC-regulated genes potentially associated with IgAN, including CENPH, FOXM1, KIFC1, TOP2A, FABP4, ID1, KIF20A, ATF3, H19, IRF7, and H1-2, and with AS, CYGB, MCM7 and HNRNPH1, were investigated by RT-qPCR and iRIP-seq data analyzed to identify TFRC-bound RNA targets. RCC1 and RPPH1 were found to be TFRC-bound RNA targets involved in cell proliferation. Discussion: In conclusion, molecular TFRC targets were identified in HRMCs and TFRC found to regulate gene transcription and AS. TFRC is considered to have potential as a clinical therapeutic target.

Rosai-Dorfman disease mimicking subdural hematoma: a case report.

Rosia-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare benign disease with exceedingly rare neural involvement. In this report, we describe a very rare case of intracranial RDD mimicking a subdural hematoma. The patient presented with headache and a suspected history of head injury. Head computed tomography showed a well-demarcated extra-axial crescentic hyperdense lesion along the right hemisphere convexity, and this lesion was initially mistaken for a subacute subdural hematoma with brain contusion. However, the follow-up examinations during the subsequent month did not show the natural changes characteristic of a subdural hematoma. Thus, a magnetic resonance imaging scan was performed, which showed a crescentic lesion with T1 isointensity, T2 hypointensity, and obvious homogeneous enhancement. Differential diagnoses such as lymphoma and metastases were considered, and surgery was performed. The final histopathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of RDD. This report describes a rare presentation of RDD. RDD can mimic the appearance of a subdural hematoma and should be considered as a differential diagnosis even in patients with a history of head injury and a "classic" imaging appearance of a subdural hematoma.

Elevation Matters More than Season in Shaping the Heterogeneity of Soil and Root Associated Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Community.

Ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi play important roles in forest ecosystems, and their richness and composition can change along with elevation and season changes. However, no study has estimated the relative importance of altitudinal and seasonal heterogeneity in predicting the distribution of EcM fungal communities by simultaneously considering different sample types (root versus soil). In this study, we collected root and soil samples along a > 1,500-m elevation gradient during wet and dry seasons from Baima Snow Mountain, located in "the Mountains of Southwest China," one of the 34 biodiversity hot spots, and we analyzed them using next-generation sequencing. Regardless of the sample type, similar EcM fungal richness pattern with increasing elevation (decline in the forest zone, and an increase at the alpine meadow zone) and strong community turnovers among different elevational zones and between two seasons were detected, and changes of EcM fungal community similarity on 400-m altitude gradient were equivalent to the community turnover between dry and wet seasons. Elevation and edaphic factors were shown to have the largest effects on EcM fungal community. The heterogeneity of richness and community composition was stronger among different elevational zones than across different seasons, mainly because the elevation variations in the EcM fungal community were shaped by the combined effects of different environmental factors, while seasonal changes were mainly controlled by temperature and fast-changing soil nutrients. IMPORTANCE Altitude and season represent two important environmental gradients that shape the structure of biome, including the heterogeneity of EcM fungi. Previous studies have separately considered the influences of altitude and season on EcM fungal communities, but the relative importance of altitude and season is still unknown. The present study revealed that elevation influences the heterogeneity of EcM fungal community more than season; this may be because the variability of environmental factors is higher across different elevations than that across seasons.

Gomphocantharellus, a new genus of Gomphales.

The genus Gomphocantharellus and species Gomphocantharellus cylindrosporus are proposed as new based on morphological assessments and molecular phylogenetic evidence inferred from nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial (mt) adenosine triphosphate (ATPase) subunit 6 (atp6) and mt small subunit rDNA (mtSSU). Basidiomes of G. cylindrosporus are characterized by the peach to pinkish orange color, cantharelloid habit with a gill-like hymenophore with obtuse edges, smooth and cylindrical to allantoid basidiospores, and cylindrical to narrowly clavate flexuous pleurocystidia. The species resembles a species of Cantharellus but differs from the latter by the cylindrical basidiospores. Phylogenetic analyses confirm the placement of Gomphocantharellus as an independent lineage within the order Gomphales.

Investigation of the risk of valproic acid-induced tremor: clinical, neuroimaging, and genetic factors.

RATIONALE: Investigation of associated risk factors of valproic acid (VPA)-induced tremor helped in increasing tolerance and optimizing treatment scheme individually. OBJECTIVES: To determine the risk factors of VPA-induced tremor, with particular attention on identifying tremor-susceptible gene mutations. METHODS: Epileptic patients taking VPA were divided into a tremor and a non-tremor groups. A mutation of rs9652490 in the leucine-rich repeat and immunoglobulin domain-containing Nogo-receptor-interacting protein 1 (LINGO-1) gene was determined by Sanger sequencing. Cerebellar atrophy was assessed, and various cerebellar dimensions were measured on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-one of 200 subjects were included. Multivariate regression analysis indicated several VPA-induced tremor-related factors: females (OR = 2.718, p = 0.014), family history of tremor (OR = 7.595, p = 0.003), treatment duration (> 24 months; OR = 3.294, p = 0.002), and daily dosage (> 1,000 mg/d; OR = 19.801, p = 0.008) of VPA. Chi-square tests revealed that treatment with VPA magnesium-ER (p = 0.030) and carbamazepine combination (p = 0.040) reduced the incidence of tremor. One hundred and seventy-six gene sequencing and 86 MRI results excluded any significant difference between the two groups in the mutation of rs9652490 within LINGO-1, the ratio of cerebellar atrophy or the cerebellar-dimension values (p > 0.05). However, mutation of rs9652490 within LINGO-1 was correlated with increased cerebellar atrophy (p = 0.001), reduced cerebellar hemisphere thickness (p = 0.025), and right cerebellar hemisphere longitudinal diameter (p = 0.047). CONCLUSIONS: Our cohort indicated risk (female, positive family history of tremor, daily dosage > 1000 mg and treatment duration > 24 months of VPA) and protective factors (VPA magnesium-ER and combination with CBZ) of VPA-induced tremor. Mutation of rs9652490 within LINGO-1 correlated with cerebellar atrophy, neither was correlated with VPA-induced tremor.

[Intraoperative arthrography monitoring assisted closed reduction and internal fixation for intercondylar fracture of humerus in children].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate clinical effects of intraoperative arthrography monitoring assisted closed reduction and internal fixation for intercondylar fracture of humerus in children. METHODS: From January 2013 to July 2018, 18 children with intercondylar fracture of humerus were treated by operation, including 13 males and 5 females aged from 3 to 12 years old with an average age of (8.50±2.57) years old. According to Toniolo & Wilkinson classification, 8 children were typeⅠand 10 children were typeⅡ. During the operation, closed reduction and internal fixation were performed under the monitoring of intraoperative radiography, open reduction and internal fixation were performed in necessity. Mayo score of elbow joint was used to evaluate clinical effect at 6 months after operation. RESULTS: All children were underwent arthrography monitoring during operation, 5 children were treated with closed reduction and internal fixation for intraoperative arthrography found no fracture of articular cartilage, 11 children by closed reduction and internal fixation because of fracture of articular cartilage involving the joint space with displacement less than 2 mm, and 2 children by closed or open reduction and internal fixation for fracture of articular cartilage surface with displacement above 2 mm, which 1 child with smooth of joint surface was performed closed reduction and internal fixation, 1 child without smooth of joint surface and displacement above 2 mm was performed open reduction and internal fixation. All children were followed up from 8 to 26 months with an average of (20.28±4.40) months. All factures were healed from 6 to 9 weeks with an average of (7.33±0.77) weeks. Postoperative Mayo score of elbowjoint at 6 months was (89.44±11.36), and 12 patients got excellent results, 5 good and 1 poor. One patient occurred partial limitation of flexion or extension of elbow joint. No elbow deformity and other complications occurred. CONCLUSION: The treatment of intercondylar fracture of humerus in children under monitoring of intraoperative radiography could reduce opertaion injuries and complications, confirm the reduction effect of articular surface of cartilage in time and clearly, and promote recovery of elbow joint function.

Clitopilus, Clitocella, and Clitopilopsis in China.

Within the family Entolomataceae, many reports of Entoloma and Rhodocybe have been published, but few reports on Clitopilus and allied genera are available. In this study, Clitopilus, Clitocella, and Clitopilopsis from China were studied by morphological and phylogenetic methods. Portions of nuc 28S rDNA (28S), RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (rpb2), translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1), and ATPase subunit 6 (atp6), were employed to elucidate the relationships of Clitopilus and allies. Results indicate that Clitopilus should be divided into three sections, namely, sect. Clitopilus, sect. Scyphoides, and sect. Crispi, the last of which is newly described. In total, 17 species of Clitopilus, Clitocella, and Clitopilopsis are found in China; 14 species belong to Clitopilus, of which 5 are new: C. yunnanensis, C. brunniceps, C. rugosiceps, C. sinoapalus, and C. umbilicatus. Two species of Clitocella, including one new species, Clitocella orientalis, are described. One new species of Clitopilopsis, namely, Clitopilopsis albida, is proposed.

Retrospective study of preoperative chemoradiotherapy with capecitabine versus capecitabine plus oxaliplatin for locally advanced rectal cancer.

This study aimed to evaluate whether the addition of oxaliplatin to a neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) regimen could improve survival benefit in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients. We retrospectively analysed 73 LARC patients (cT2-4 and/or cN1-2) who received preoperative CRT with capecitabine followed by surgery (arm A, 43 patients) or capecitabine plus oxaliplatin followed by surgery (arm B, 30 patients). The main endpoints of the study were pathologic complete response (pCR) rate, overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). The secondary endpoints included the sphincter preservation rate and safety. The pCR for arms A and B were 28% and 17% (P = 0.267). In arms A and B, the mean OS was 84.287 months (95% CI 68.413-100.160) and 106.333 months (95% CI 99.281-113.386) (P = 0.185); the mean DFS was 72.812 months (95% CI 56.271-89.353) and 95.073 months (95% CI 83.392-106.754) (P = 0.310); and the sphincter preservation rates were 72% and 67%, respectively (P = 0.619). The incidence of grade 3 toxicity was much higher in arm B than in arm A (57% vs. 21%, P = 0.002). Adding oxaliplatin to a preoperative CRT regimen for LARC did not improve the survival benefits of patients or increase toxicity.

Targeting snoRNAs as an emerging method of therapeutic development for cancer.

The relevance of the dysregulation of snoRNAs in human cancer has been widely investigated and has challenged the view that snoRNAs merely function as house-keeping genes for the posttranscriptional modification of rRNAs. Accumulating evidence has shown the intimate connection between snoRNAs and proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration of tumor cells via manual intervention patterns of snoRNA expression. In this review, we focused on how snoRNAs are dysregulated and its regulation of the formation and development of cancer. We summarized the non-classical functions of snoRNAs in the context of their regulations of the signaling pathways involving PI3K-AKT and K-Ras and p53-dependant manner. Under these novel functions and characteristics, snoRNAs can act as potential and feasible biomarkers for diagnosis. Simultaneously, these promising therapeutic strategies should be considered to counteract the perturbations of snoRNAs.

RGB-Stack Light Emitting Diode Modules with Transparent Glass Circuit Board and Oil Encapsulation.

The light emitting diode (LED) is widely used in modern solid-state lighting applications, and its output efficiency is closely related to the submounts' material properties. Most submounts used today, such as low-power printed circuit boards (PCBs) or high-power metal core printed circuit boards (MCPCBs), are not transparent and seriously decrease the output light extraction. To meet the requirements of high light output and better color mixing, a three-dimensional (3-D) stacked flip-chip (FC) LED module is proposed and demonstrated. To realize light penetration and mixing, the mentioned 3-D vertically stacking RGB LEDs use transparent glass as FC package submounts called glass circuit boards (GCB). Light emitted from each GCB stacked LEDs passes through each other and thus exhibits good output efficiency and homogeneous light-mixing characteristics. In this work, the parasitic problem of heat accumulation, which caused by the poor thermal conductivity of GCB and leads to a serious decrease in output efficiency, is solved by a proposed transparent cooling oil encapsulation (OCP) method.

Prolonging Gastrointestinal-Stromal-Tumor-free life, an optimal suggestion of imatinib intervention ahead of operation.

Background: Imatinib has been regarded as the first successful synthetic small molecule targeting at blocking tyrosine kinase. Its high efficacy stabilized disease in above 80% of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients over 10 years survival. Due to the similar canceration of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) as to CML, imatinib has been approved to be used as first-line treatment. Study design: Our retrospective study was proposed to enroll 191 GIST patients with larger tumor size (≥8 cm) who preoperative accepted imatinib from those with direct operation. Analysis included demographics, cancer specific survival and relationship of their risk factors. Results: Male patients and gastrointestinal (GI) tract location took higher proportion in total cases, detection of KIT mutant took 89.7% among all traceable genetic testing. Patients with preoperative imatinib can achieve higher cancer specific survival (CSS) after both in 1 year and 3 years duration than their counterpart. Tumor size above its threshold of 8 cm would be a hazardous factor for poor prognosis. Conclusion: In conclusion, as for regressing tumor progression and creating operative chance, preoperative imatinib should be considered for the patients with high risk, although the precise duration of this intervention needs further validation.