Obstructive sleep apnea and nocturnal oxygen desaturations, which are prevalent in sickle cell disease (SCD) and chronic anemia disorders, have been linked to risks of stroke and silent cerebral infarcts (SCI). Cerebrovascular response to intermittent desaturations has not been well studied and may identify patients at greatest risk.

The circulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is closely associated with many aspects of brain physiology. When gadolinium(Gd)-based contrast is administered intravenously, pre- and post-contrast MR signal changes can often be observed in the CSF at certain locations within the intra-cranial space, mainly due to the lack of a blood-brain barrier in the dural blood vessels. This study aims to develop and systemically optimize MRI sequences that can detect dynamic signal changes in the CSF after Gd administration with a sub-millimeter spatial resolution, a temporal resolution of <10 s, and whole brain coverage.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive and deadly malignancies with a very poor prognosis. Pancreatic cancer-induced visceral pain is very common and is generally presented among the initial symptoms in patients; such pain is strongly associated with poor quality of life, impaired functional activity, and decreased survival. However, the principal neurobiological mechanisms of pain caused by pancreatic cancer have not been fully elucidated. Accumulating studies have shown that miRNAs play a major role in chronic pain by suppressing key molecules involved in nociception. In the present study, we report that microRNA (miR)-330 is highly expressed in the spinal dorsal horn (SDH) of nude mice with pancreatic cancer pain. Mimicking pancreatic carcinoma-induced SDH miR-330 upregulation by microinjection of miR-330 mimic into the SDH significantly induced abdominal mechanical allodynia in normal nude mice. Additionally, we found that the expression of GABAR2 was significantly decreased in the SDH of nude mice with pancreatic cancer pain and was regulated directly by miR-330 both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, inhibition of miR-330 rescued the expression of GABAR2 and alleviated pancreatic carcinoma-induced abdominal pain hypersensitivity in nude mice with pancreatic carcinoma. These results show that miR-330 participates in the genesis of pancreatic carcinoma-induced pain hypersensitivity by inhibiting GABAR2 expression in the SDH and might be a potential therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer pain.

Ge-Sb-Te (GST) based phase-change memory (PCM) excels in the switching performance but remains insufficient of the operating speed to replace cache memory (the fastest memory in a computer). In this work, a novel approach using SbTe templates is proposed to boost the crystallization speed of GST by five times faster. This is because such a GST/SbTe heterostructure changes the crystallizing mode of GST from the nucleation-dominated to the faster growth-dominated one, as confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy which captures the interface-induced epitaxial growth of GST on SbTe templates in devices. molecular dynamic simulations reveal SbTe templates can render GST sublayers faster crystallization speed because SbTe's "sticky" surface contains a lot of unpaired electrons which may attract Ge atoms with less antibonding interactions. Our work not only proposes a template-assisted PCM with fast speed, but also uncovers the hidden mechanism of SbTe's sticky surface, which can be used for future materials selection.

To elucidate the role of histone deacetylase inhibitor Trichostatin A (TSA) in affecting metastasis of breast carcinoma, and its molecular mechanism.

The aim of this study was to elucidate the potential influence of MIR497HG on regulating proliferative capacity of human retinal endothelial cells (HRECs).

As a folk medicine, Aconitum sinomontanum Nakai (Ranunculaceae, Gaowutou, in Chinese) is used by traditional healers to treat many disorders, including pain and inflammatory diseases, but it exhibits the toxic side effects. This study aimed to obtain toxic extract parts from A. sinomontanum roots and to further evaluate the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of toxic extract parts on mice. This work also aimed to identify various chemical compositions of the toxic and active extract parts and evaluate the safety profile of this plant.

Although technological advances have greatly reduced the cost of DNA sequencing, sample preparation time and reagent costs remain the limiting factors for many studies. Based on low-cost targeted amplification, we developed an economical method for custom target library construction based on DNA nanoball (DNB) technology and two-step polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Here, we refer to this method as the two-step PCR, which was compared to traditional multiplex PCR methods in three aspects, data quality, efficiency, and specificity to humans. The results confirmed that two-step PCR reduces to finishing 128 sequencing libraries in only 2 h 24 min 59 s of the total PCR time and at a data utilization rate of 0.44 at a cost of approximately $1.70 per sample for targeted sequencing via the two-step PCR. The replacement of traditional multiplex PCR methods with this strategy makes the sample preparation process before sequencing relatively more cost-effective and further reduces the cost of next-generation sequencing (NGS). This method may also be free from the interference of other species and the limitations of sample type and DNA content. These findings reveal possibilities for broad applications of this approach in forensic research.

Patients with anterior cruciate ligament-deficient (ACLD) knees with medial meniscal posterior horn tears (MMPHTs) have been reported to demonstrate a combined stiffening and pivot-shift gait pattern compared with healthy controls. Movement asymmetries are implicated in the development and progression of osteoarthritis.

To analyze the initial learning curve (LC) for robot-assisted pancreaticoduodenectomy (RAPD) and compare RAPD during the initial LC with open pancreaticoduodenectomy (OPD) in terms of outcome. This study is a retrospective review of patients who consecutively underwent RAPD and OPD between October 2015 and January 2020 in our hospital. 41 consecutive RAPD cases and 53 consecutive open cases were enrolled for review. Compared with OPD, RAPD required a significantly longer operative time (401.1 ± 127.5 vs. 230.8 ± 44.5 min, P < 0.001) and higher cost (194621 ± 78342 vs. 121874 ± 39973 CNY, P < 0.001). Moreover, compared with the OPD group, the RAPD group revealed a significantly smaller mean number of lymph nodes harvested in malignant cases (15.6 ± 5.9 vs 18.9 ± 7.3, P = 0.025). No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of incidence of Clavien-Dindo grade III-V morbidities and 90-day mortality and readmission (P>0.05). In the CUSUM graph, one peak point was observed at the 8th case, after which the operation time began to decrease. LC for RAPD may be less than 30 cases, and RAPD is safe and feasible during the initial LC.

Understanding the molecular mechanism of drug resistance helps to identify an effective target for breast cancer therapy. In this study we investigated the regulatory role of Obg-like ATPase 1 which is involved in multiple uses of drug resistance against breast cancer. Paclitaxel resistant cell line (MCF-7-PTR) was developed by a continuous increasing paclitaxel concentration. MTT assay was used to validate either acquired resistant or OLA1 modified cell lines. qRT-PCR, western blotting, apoptosis, and cell cycle assays were executed to evaluate gene and protein expression in cell lines. A series of assays was performed in the cells with RNAi-mediated knockdown to expound the regulatory function of OLA1 in breast cancer. We demonstrated that OLA1 was highly correlated with either acquired or intrinsic resistance of breast cancer. Further study showed that escalated expression of OLA1 promoted the EMT process in tumor cells through TGF-β/Smad signaling cascades, resulting in the enhanced expression of anti-apoptosis-related proteins (cleaved caspase3, Bax, Bcl-2) and the strengthening depolymerization of microtubules in tumor cells. Our findings revealed that OLA1 enhanced the anti-apoptotic ability and elucidated a regulatory role of OLA1 in promoting chemotherapy resistance of breast cancer. Chemo-sensitivity of the disease can be thus enhanced significantly by knocked down OLA1, which led to the inactivation of the TGF-β/Smad signaling cascades, polymerized microtubules, and promoted cell apoptosis. Our data suggest that OLA1 may be developed as a potential target to improve chemotherapy of patients with breast cancer.

Treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) still confronts great challenges due to high rate of therapeutic resistance. The emergence of systemic treatment with molecular targeted and immune checkpoint therapies has brought novel approaches towards patients with advanced HCC. However, sorafenib, as the first approved systemic treatment in 2007, only increased overall survival by three months in advanced HCC patients. Afterwards, little progress has been made for molecular targeted agents. Only four molecular drugs are empirically used in clinical practice. Lenvatinib acts as a first-line drug, whereas regorafenib, ramucirumab, and cabozantinib are defined as second-line drugs. Nevertheless, clinical findings reveal that overall survival remains unchanged. Albeit immunotherapy-based approaches are currently considered promising therapeutic strategies for advanced HCC, a minority of patients could benefit from them. These beneficiaries are to be accordingly identified. Combined immunotherapies with matched molecular targeted treatments would be a novel breakthrough. Herein, we summarize the current statuses of immunotherapies and molecular targeted drug therapies, and mainly identify clinically feasible chemoimmunotherapeutic strategies.

As problems with the overuse of radical prostate cancer (PCa) treatment are increasingly exposed, focal therapy represents the direction of low- or intermediate-risk PCa management in the future. However, inaccurate diagnosis and low controllability of focal therapy hinders its clinical translation. In this study, we develop simple structural cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic (cRGD) peptide-modified and indocyanine green (ICG)-loaded microbubbles (cRGD-ICG-MBs) for ultrasound-photoacoustic imaging and multi-synergistic photothermal therapy (PTT) to address the above problems. Precise PCa diagnosis is achieved by molecular ultrasound imaging. cRGD-targeting and lowfrequency ultrasound with an amplitude of 500kPa convert MBs into nanoparticles for enhanced ICG delivery. A low-frequency 2500-kPa amplitude ultrasound enables temporary vasculature destruction, which minimizes heat loss during PTT. Specifically, ICG in the tumor region is 14-fold higher than the control, resulting in satisfactory PTT. Our study highlights that this theranostic strategy possesses considerable clinical translational potential, especially in mini-invasive and individualized PCa therapy.

COVID-19 has spread globally. Epidemiological susceptibility to COVID-19 has been reported in patients with cancer. We aimed to systematically characterise clinical features and determine risk factors of COVID-19 disease severity for patients with cancer and COVID-19.

Hydrophilic materials are easily fouled by organic contaminants owing to their high surface energy, and this oil-fouling problem severely hinders their use in practical applications. To address this challenge, herein, a hydrophilic coating with oil repellency and photocatalytic activity is developed by a spray-casting process. In the air surrounding, a water droplet spreads over the coating surface completely, while oil droplets exhibit contact angles more than 150° and moving on the coating freely. The water-wetted coating still had oil repellency, as the water layer on the coating surface can act as a lubricant to repel oil. Although methylene blue aqueous solution contaminates the coating by wetting it completely, these water-soluble organic molecules can be removed by UV illumination, due to the photocatalytic activity of the coating. Exploiting its water-attracting and oil-repelling properties, the coating deposited on a copper mesh is applied as a multiplatform for oil-water separation with high separation efficiency. This study provides a novel and efficient way to solve the oil-fouling problem of hydrophilic materials.

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is one of the most common venous thromboembolic (VTE) disorders and the third leading cardiovascular complication. Accumulating evidence has shown that decreased interleukin-10 (IL-10) was involved in DVT. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are still largely unknown. Here, we proposed that the epigenetic modification of IL-10 at the post-transcriptional level may be a crucial trigger for IL-10 down-regulation in DVT.

Graft rejection continues to be a major barrier to long-term engraftment after transplantation. Autophagy plays an important role in cardiac injury pathogenesis. The bromodomain and extraterminal protein inhibitor JQ1 inhibits inflammatory responses. However, the beneficial effect of JQ1 on transplant and the potential role of autophagy in the protective effect of graft survival are yet to be investigated.

Gallbladder cancer is a relatively uncommon human malignant tumor with an extremely poor prognosis. Currently, no biomarkers can accurately diagnose gallbladder cancer and predict patients' prognosis. XRCC1 is involved in tumorigenesis, progression, and chemo-resistance of several human cancers, but the role of XRCC1 in gallbladder cancer is never reported. In this study, we investigated the expression of XRCC1 and its clinicopathological and prognostic significance in gallbladder cancer, and explored the biological role of XRCC1 in gallbladder cancer cells. We found that XRCC1 was significantly up-regulated in gallbladder cancer in protein and mRNA levels. Positive XRCC1 expression was correlated with aggressive clinicopathological features and was an independent poor prognostic factor in gallbladder cancer. The ROC curves suggested that XRCC1 expression had potential clinicopathological diagnostic value in gallbladder cancer. , XRCC1 was overexpression in CD133GBC-SD cells compared to GBC-SD cells. In functional experiment, XRCC1 knockdown had a non-significant impact on proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of CD133GBC-SD cells. But, XRCC1 knockdown could significantly improve the sensitivity of CD133GBC-SD cells to 5-Fluorouracil via promoting cell necrosis and apoptosis. Thus, this study indicates that XRCC1 may be a promising predictive biomarker of gallbladder cancer and a potential therapeutic target for gallbladder cancer.

During the recent ongoing coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, healthcare workers around the world are fighting at the front lines of this epidemic, as well as the dermatologists. Our previous research revealed that long-term wearing of N95 masks could lead to various facial skin lesions, which might affect their routine work and mental health. More importantly, severe skin lesions (e.g. ulcers) might put them in danger of being infected. Generally, hydrogels have been used to treat patients with pressure ulcers.