Application of covered stent implantation combined with radical tumor resection in advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma involving the carotid artery: a comparative study with historical literature.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that carotid artery reconstruction results in the best overall survival (OS) in Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma involving the Carotid Artery (AHNSCC-CA). AIMS: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of covered stent implantation combined with radical tumor resection and to compare and analyze the historical literature on conventional carotid artery resection and reconstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 68 patients with AHNSCC-CA were included in this study. This study compared the survival, local recurrence, surgical complications, and neurologic complications between the two groups. RESULTS: The OS rate at 12 months in the experimental group was 58.5% (median survival time: 15 months, 95% CI: 7.61-22.40). The OS rate at 12 months in the control group was 34.3% (median survival time: 8 months, 95% CI: 3.94-12.06, p = .371). In addition, the differences in the rates of local recurrence, surgical complications and neurological complications between the two groups were statistically insignificant (p = .677, p = .197 and p = .617). CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Compared with conventional carotid artery resection and reconstruction, covered stent implantation combined with radical tumor resection yields similar survival outcomes, but with significantly lower surgical risk and difficulty, and faster postoperative recovery.

Exposure to Gynura japonica (Thunb.) Juel plants induces hepatoxicity in rats and Buffalo rat liver cells.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Gynura japonica (Thunb.) Juel is often confused with the non-pyrrolizidine alkaloid-producing herbs, Tu-San-Qi (Sedum aizoon L.) and San-Qi (Panax notoginseng L.), due to similarities in name, appearance, and medicinal use. It contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which cause over 50% of cases of hepatic sinus obstruction syndrome. However, the mechanisms underlying G. japonica-induced hepatotoxicity remain poorly understood. AIM OF THE STUDY: In this study, we aimed to investigate the toxic effects of a G. japonica decoction on liver and Buffalo rat liver (BRL) cells and elucidate the associated mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study employed G. japonica decoction and examined its effects on liver function and tissue damage in Sprague-Dawley rats. Bioinformatics analysis was employed to identify gene expression and enriched pathways related to hepatotoxicity. Laser scanning confocal microscopy and flow cytometric annexin V/PI labeling assays were utilized to observe apoptosis in BRL cells induced by G. japonica. Transmission electron microscopy and JC-1 staining were used to determine the effects of G. japonica on mitochondrial ultrastructure and membrane potential in BRL cells. The bicinchoninic acid method and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to detect the expression of apoptosis-related proteins and caspase-3 activity, respectively. RESULTS: Comparisons of body weight, liver histopathology, and serum liver function-related indices in rats, t showed that exposure to G. japonica may cause liver damage. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that hepatotoxicity might be related to apoptotic signaling pathways, the positive regulation of programmed cell death, and responses to toxic substances. BRL cells exposed to the G. japonica decoction exhibited mid-to late-stage apoptosis and necrosis, along with alterations in mitochondrial morphology and membrane potential. Furthermore, expression of cytochrome C (Cyt C) and pro-apoptotic proteins was increased, anti-apoptotic proteins decreased, and caspase-3 activity elevated. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that G. japonica-induced hepatotoxicity involves the activation of mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. Our research enhances the scientific and theoretical foundation for clinical therapy and improves public awareness of the potential toxicity of herbal remedies.

Research Progress on the Treatment of Geriatric Intertrochanteric Femur Fractures with Proximal Femur Bionic Nails (PFBNs).

Intertrochanteric femur fracture is the most common hip fracture in elderly people, and the academic community has reached a consensus that early surgery is imperative. Proximal femoral nail anti-rotation (PFNA) and InterTan are the preferred internal fixation devices for intertrochanteric femur fractures in elderly individuals due to their advantages, such as a short lever arm, minimal stress shielding, and resistance to rotation. However, PFNA is associated with complications such as nail back-out and helical blade cut-out due to stress concentration. As a new internal fixation device for intertrochanteric femur fractures, the proximal femoral biodegradable nail (PFBN) addresses the issue of nail back-out and offers more stable fracture fixation, a shorter lever arm, and stress distribution compared to PFNA and InterTan. Clinical studies have shown that compared to PFNA, PFBNs lead to faster recovery of hip joint function, shorter non-weight-bearing time, and faster fracture healing. This article provides a literature review of the structural characteristics, biomechanical analysis, and clinical studies of PFBNs, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the selection of internal fixation devices for the treatment of intertrochanteric femur fractures in elderly patients and to improve the quality of life of patients during the postoperative period.

Bushen Zhuyun Decoction Improves Endometrial Receptivity by Inhibiting NF-κB/NLRP3 Signaling Pathway.

OBJECTIVE: Bushen Zhuyun Decoction (BSZY), a traditional Chinese herbal prescription has shown promising effects on gynecological infertility, but the mechanism for endometrial receptivity is still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the regulatory effects of BSZY on endometrial receptivity, which plays a key role in colonization of embryo, and its regulatory mechanisms associated with NF- κB/NLRP3 pathway. METHODS: SD rats at reproductive age with affected endometrial receptivity was established using mifepristone (RU486), and the regulatory effects of BSZY on endometrial receptivity were evaluated by H&E staining, and changes in sex hormones by ELISA and Western blot. Moreover, human endometrial RL95-2 cells were treated with H2O2, and inflammatory cytokines in rats and RL95-2 cells were analyzed by ELISA. The activation of NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway in RL95-2 cells were characterized using immunofluorescence and Western blot. Mitochondrial morphology and function in RL95-2 cells were observed by transmission electron microscope and cell mitochondrial stress test. RESULTS: BSZY increased uterine endometrial thickness and attenuate histopathological changes induced by RU486. BSZY can regulate endometrial estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor, and the levels of sex hormones and inflammatory cytokines in pregnant rats. BSZY-containing serum also showed strong anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective effects in vitro. In addition, BSZY-containing serum inhibited the activation of NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway, and improve mitochondrial morphology and function in RL95-2 cells. CONCLUSION: BSZY can improve endometrial receptivity, potentially by improving mitochondrial morphology and function to inhibit the activation of NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway in endometrial cells, thus regulate inflammation to improve endometrial receptivity.

WonderFlow: Narration-Centric Design of Animated Data Videos.

Creating an animated data video with audio narration is a time-consuming and complex task that requires expertise. It involves designing complex animations, turning written scripts into audio narrations, and synchronizing visual changes with the narrations. This paper presents WonderFlow, an interactive authoring tool, that facilitates narration-centric design of animated data videos. WonderFlow allows authors to easily specify semantic links between text and the corresponding chart elements. Then it automatically generates audio narration by leveraging text-to-speech techniques and aligns the narration with an animation. WonderFlow provides a structure-aware animation library designed to ease chart animation creation, enabling authors to apply pre-designed animation effects to common visualization components. Additionally, authors can preview and refine their data videos within the same system, without having to switch between different creation tools. A series of evaluation results confirmed that WonderFlow is easy to use and simplifies the creation of data videos with narration-animation interplay.

Successful treatment of nasopalatine duct cyst after maxillary anterior implant surgery: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Sporadic studies have reported the occurrence of nasopalatine duct cysts after maxillary anterior implant surgery, and the treatment methods still have clinical uncertainty. PURPOSE: We report a potential therapy method that successfully treated a nasopalatine duct cyst that developed and expanded one year after maxillary anterior implant placement following periodontally hopeless teeth extraction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The nasopalatine cyst was treated surgically without removing implants. During flap surgery, the cyst was removed intact, and the exposed implant's surface was debrided thoroughly by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) rinsing, glycine air polishing, and saline rinsing. To deal with the significant bone defect caused by the cyst, a bovine porous bone mineral injected platelet-rich fibrin (BPBM-i-PRF) complex was applied to fill the defect, following a resorbable collagen membrane to cover. RESULTS: 7 years after surgery, no cyst recurrence was observed, and bone regeneration in the bone graft area was stable. The implants functioned well without mobility. CONCLUSIONS: For nasopalatine duct cysts associated with dental implant placement, complete surgical debridement and longitudinal stable bone regeneration are possibly accessible by regenerative surgery without implant removal.

A novel risk scoring system predicts overall survival of hepatocellular carcinoma using cox proportional hazards machine learning method.

BACKGROUND: Robust and practical prognosis prediction models for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients play crucial roles in personalized precision medicine. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We recruited two independent HCC cohorts (discovery cohort and validation cohort), totally consisting of 222 HCC patients undergone surgical resection. We quantified the expressions of immune-related proteins (CD8, CD68, CD163, PD-1 and PD-L1) in paired HCC tissues and non-tumor liver tissues from these HCC patients using immunohistochemistry (mIHC) assays. We constructed the HCC prognosis prediction model using five different machine learning methods based on the patients in the discovery cohort, such as Cox proportional hazards (CoxPH). RESULTS: We identified 19 features that were associated with overall survival of HCC patients in the discovery cohort (p < 0.1), such as immune-related features CD68+ and CD8+ cell infiltration. We constructed five HCC prognosis prediction models using five different machine learning methods. Among the five different machine learning models, the CoxPH model achieved the best performance (area under the curve [AUC], 0.839; C-index, 0.779). According to the risk score from CoxPH model, we divided HCC patients into high-risk group/low-risk group. In both discovery cohort and validation cohort, the patients in low-risk group showed longer overall survival compared with those in high-risk group (p = 1.8 × 10-7 and 3.4 × 10-5, respectively). Moreover, our novel scoring system efficiently predicted the 6, 12, and 18 months survival rate of HCC patients with AUC >0.75 in both discovery cohort and validation cohort. In addition, we found that the scoring system could also distinguish the patients with high/low risks of relapse in both discovery cohort and validation cohort (p = 0.00015 and 0.00012). CONCLUSION: The novel CoxPH-based risk scoring model on clinical, laboratory-testing and immune-related features showed high prediction efficiencies for overall survival and recurrence of HCCs undergone surgical resection. Our results may be helpful to optimize clinical follow-up or therapeutic interventions.

Synthesis of Ni decorated MoOx nanorod catalysts for efficient overall urea-water splitting.

Substituting slow oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with thermodynamically favorable urea oxidation reaction (UOR) is considered as one of the feasible strategies for achieving energy-saving hydrogen production. Herein, a uniform layer of NiMoO4 nanorods was grown on nickel foam by a hydrothermal method. Then, a series of Ni-MoOx/NF-X nanorod catalysts comprising Ni/NiO and MoOx (MoO2/MoO3) were prepared through regulating annealing atmosphere and reduction temperature. The optimized Ni-MoOx/NF-3 with a large accessible specific area can act as a bifunctional catalyst for electrocatalytic anodic UOR and cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). At a current density of 100 mA cm-2, the introduction of urea can significantly reduce the overpotential of Ni-MoOx/NF-3 by 210 mV compared to OER. In addition, Ni-MoOx/NF-3 has a higher intrinsic activity than other catalysts. It only requires -0.21 and 1.38 V to reach 100 mA cm-2 in HER and UOR, respectively. Such an excellent performance can be attributed to the synergistic function between Ni and MoOx. The presence of metallic Ni and reduced MoOx in pairs is beneficial for improving the electrical conductivity and modulating the electronic structure, resulting in enhancing the electrocatalytic performance. When assembling Ni-MoOx/NF-3 into an overall urea-water splitting system, it can achieve energy-saving hydrogen production and effective removal of urea-rich wastewater.

Reviving Static Charts into Live Charts.

Data charts are prevalent across various fields due to their efficacy in conveying complex data relationships. However, static charts may sometimes struggle to engage readers and efficiently present intricate information, potentially resulting in limited understanding. We introduce "Live Charts," a new format of presentation that decomposes complex information within a chart and explains the information pieces sequentially through rich animations and accompanying audio narration. We propose an automated approach to revive static charts into Live Charts. Our method integrates GNN-based techniques to analyze the chart components and extract data from charts. Then we adopt large natural language models to generate appropriate animated visuals along with a voice-over to produce Live Charts from static ones. We conducted a thorough evaluation of our approach, which involved the model performance, use cases, a crowd-sourced user study, and expert interviews. The results demonstrate Live Charts offer a multi-sensory experience where readers can follow the information and understand the data insights better. We analyze the benefits and drawbacks of Live Charts over static charts as a new information consumption experience.

Surgical Management Strategies for Carotid Artery Invasion by Head and Neck Cancer: Ligation Versus Reconstruction.

OBJECTIVE: Whether ligation or reconstruction should be performed after radical resection of the tumor and carotid artery in patients with head and neck cancers invading the carotid artery (HNC-CA) has been controversial. This paper provides a review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of these 2 modalities. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, Scopus, and Ovid databases were searched through August 2023. REVIEW METHODS: Descriptive, graphical, tabular, and quantitative data were extracted. The statistical outcomes (risk difference, RD) were synthesized under a random-effects model. This study was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses reporting guidelines. RESULTS: A total of 22 papers and 337 patients met the inclusion criteria for the literature review. Statistical analysis showed that the RD of overall survival (OS) rate at 1-year was 32% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 21%-42%) for ligation and 70% (95% CI: 65%-76%) for reconstruction (P < .05). The RD for OS rate at 2-year was 16% (95% CI: 7%-26%) for ligation and 39% (95% CI: 30%-47%) for reconstruction (P < .05). The RD for disease-free survival rate at 1-year was 27% (95% CI: 17%-38%) for ligation and 60% (95% CI: 51%-70%) for reconstruction (P < .05). There were no statistically significant differences (P > .05) between the 2 surgical modalities in terms of locoregional recurrence rate, carotid blowout rate, surgery-related complications rate, neurological complications rate, and perioperative mortality rate. CONCLUSION: This review demonstrates the significant advantage of carotid artery reconstruction surgery in short-term patient survival, thus making it a recommended option for HNC-CA patients undergoing radical surgery.

Relation-driven Query of Multiple Time Series.

Querying time series based on their relations is a crucial part of multiple time series analysis. By retrieving and understanding time series relations, analysts can easily detect anomalies and validate hypotheses in complex time series datasets. However, current relation extraction approaches, including knowledge- and data-driven ones, tend to be laborious and do not support heterogeneous relations. By conducting a formative study with 11 experts, we concluded six time series relations, including correlation, causality, similarity, lag, arithmetic, and meta, and summarized three pain points in querying time series involving these relations. We proposed RelaQ, an interactive system that supports the time series query via relation specifications. RelaQ allows users to intuitively specify heterogeneous relations when querying multiple time series, understand the query results based on a scalable, multi-level visualization, and explore possible relations beyond the existing queries. RelaQ is evaluated with two cases and a user study with 12 participants, showing promising effectiveness and usability.

Recurrence and malignant transformation of laryngeal leukoplakia treated with CO2 laser: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Laryngeal leukoplakia (LL) is a white lesion with high potential of recurrence and malignant transformation. Currently, CO2 laser has become the primary surgical treatment for LL, and the recurrence and malignant transformation rates after treatment vary widely. OBJECTIVE: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis dedicated to evaluating the rates of recurrence and malignant transformation of LL lesions treated with CO2 laser and exploring relevant risk factors for recurrence or malignant transformation. METHODS: Literature searches were conducted on ProQuest, PubMed, Web of Science, Ovid Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases. Some articles identified through hand searching were included. RESULTS: A total of 14 articles and 1462 patients were included in this review. Pooled results showed that the overall recurrence rate was 15%, and the malignant transformation rate was 3%. Subgroup analysis showed that the dysplasia grade was not a significant risk factor for the recurrence and malignant transformation of LL (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that the CO2 laser is a safe and effective surgical instrument for the excision of LL, which yields low rates of recurrence and malignant transformation. The risk factors relevant to recurrence or malignant transformation remain unclear and require further investigation.

Prediction of High-Risk Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor Recurrence Based on Delta-CT Radiomics Modeling: A 3-Year Follow-up Study After Surgery.

Background: Medium- to high-risk classification-gastrointestinal stromal tumors (MH-GIST) have a high recurrence rate and are difficult to treat. This study aims to predict the recurrence of MH-GIST within 3 years after surgery based on clinical data and preoperative Delta-CT Radiomics modeling. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical imaging data of 242 cases confirmed to have MH-GIST after surgery, including 92 cases of recurrence and 150 cases of normal. The training set and test set were established using a 7:3 ratio and time cutoff point. In the training set, multiple prediction models were established based on clinical data of MH-GIST and the changes in radiomics texture of enhanced computed tomography (CT) at different time periods (Delta-CT radiomics). The area under curve (AUC) values of each model were compared using the Delong test, and the clinical net benefit of the model was tested using decision curve analysis (DCA). Then, the model was externally validated in the test set, and a novel nomogram predicting the recurrence of MH-GIST was finally created. Results: Univariate analysis confirmed that tumor volume, tumor location, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR), diabetes, spicy hot pot, CT enhancement mode, and Radscore 1/2 were predictive factors for MH-GIST recurrence (P < .05). The combined model based on these above factors had significantly higher predictive performance (AUC = 0.895, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.839-0.937]) than the clinical data model (AUC = 0.735, 95% CI = [0.6 62-0.800]) and radiomics model (AUC = 0.842, 95% CI = [0.779-0.894]). Decision curve analysis also confirmed the higher clinical net benefit of the combined model, and the same results were validated in the test set. The novel nomogram developed based on the combined model helps predict the recurrence of MH-GIST. Conclusions: The nomogram of clinical and Delta-CT radiomics has important clinical value in predicting the recurrence of MH-GIST, providing reliable data reference for its diagnosis, treatment, and clinical decision-making.

Platinum Nanoparticles-Enhanced Ferritin-Mn2+ Interaction for Magnetic Resonance Contrast Enhancement and Efficient Tumor Photothermal Therapy.

Nanoplatforms with high Mn2+ coordination can display efficient T1 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast enhancement. Herein, an earth gravity-like method for enhanced interaction between Ferritin (Fn) and Mn2+ by the growth of platinum nanoparticles (PNs) in Fn's cage structure via a biomineralization method is first proposed. Fn has good biocompatibility and can provide a suitable growth site for PNs. PNs with negative charge have certain attraction to Mn2+ with positive charge, improving Fn's loading capacity of Mn2+ by attraction force; and thus, achieving efficient MRI contrast enhancement. In addition, PNs can be applied for efficient photothermal therapy (PTT) under near infrared ray (NIR) irradiation. Systemic delivery of this nanoplatform shows obvious MRI contrast enhancement and tumor progression inhibition after NIR irradiation, as well as no obvious side effects. Therefore, this nanoplatform has the potential to contribute to nanotheranostic for clinical transformation.

Radical-driven selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol on MnCoOx catalysts with no oxidant other than air in reactor.

Mn reinforced Co3O4 catalysts (MnCoOx) were prepared by a facile solid phase mixed foaming method with an in-situ heating enhancement for the formation of spinel phase mixed oxide species, and studied in the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol just the air in reactor as oxygen donor. It was found that the MnCoOx catalysts are composed of relatively minimal spinel MnCo2O4 mixed oxide and massive Co3O4 to form MnCo2O4-Co3O4 oxide pair. The micro-domains of MnCo2O4-Co3O4 oxide pair present two redox couples of Mn3+/Mn2+ and Co3+/Co2+ instead of the single one of Co3+/Co2+ in Co3O4, and then dramatically enhance the formation of superoxide radicals (•O2-) species from the O2 in air, which can efficiently initiate the conversion of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde in a Fenton-like processes. With no oxidant other than air in reactor, the interaction between MnCo2O4 and Co3O4 in MnCoOx catalysts leads to a benzyl alcohol conversion up to 98 % with a 100 % benzaldehyde selectivity at atmospheric pressure while single component Co3O4 can only present a benzyl alcohol conversion at 37 %. This embodiment of highly efficient heterogeneous selective oxidation just with air as oxidant provides a probability for developing a low-cost and super-facile radical-induced selective oxidation process for alcohols.

Accuracy of edentulous full-arch implant impression: An in vitro comparison between conventional impression, intraoral scan with and without splinting, and photogrammetry.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this in vitro study was to compare the trueness and precision of complete arch implant impressions using conventional impression, intraoral scanning with and without splinting, and stereophotogrammetry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An edentulous model with six implants was used in this study. Four implant impression techniques were compared: the conventional impression (CI), intraoral scanning (IOS) without splinting, intraoral scanning with splinting (MIOS), and stereophotogrammetry (SPG). An industrial blue light scanner was used to generate the baseline scan from the model. The CI was captured with a laboratory scanner. The reference best-fit method was then applied in the computer-aided design (CAD) software to compute the three-dimensional, angular, and linear discrepancies among the four impression techniques. The root mean square (RMS) 3D discrepancies in trueness and precision between the four impression groups were analyzed with a Kruskal-Wallis test. Trueness and precision between single analogs were assessed using generalized estimating equations. RESULTS: Significant differences in the overall trueness (p = .017) and precision (p < .001) were observed across four impression groups. The SPG group exhibited significantly smaller RMS 3D deviations than the CI, IOS, and MIOS groups (p < .05), with no significant difference detected among the latter three groups (p > .05). CONCLUSIONS: Stereophotogrammetry showed superior trueness and precision, meeting misfit thresholds for implant-supported complete arch prostheses. Intraoral scanning, while accurate like conventional impressions, exhibited cross-arch angular and linear deviations. Adding a splint to the scan body did not improve intraoral scanning accuracy.

ChartGPT: Leveraging LLMs to Generate Charts from Abstract Natural Language.

The use of natural language interfaces (NLIs) to create charts is becoming increasingly popular due to the intuitiveness of natural language interactions. One key challenge in this approach is to accurately capture user intents and transform them to proper chart specifications. This obstructs the wide use of NLI in chart generation, as users' natural language inputs are generally abstract (i.e., ambiguous or under-specified), without a clear specification of visual encodings. Recently, pre-trained large language models (LLMs) have exhibited superior performance in understanding and generating natural language, demonstrating great potential for downstream tasks. Inspired by this major trend, we propose ChartGPT, generating charts from abstract natural language inputs. However, LLMs are struggling to address complex logic problems. To enable the model to accurately specify the complex parameters and perform operations in chart generation, we decompose the generation process into a step-by-step reasoning pipeline, so that the model only needs to reason a single and specific sub-task during each run. Moreover, LLMs are pre-trained on general datasets, which might be biased for the task of chart generation. To provide adequate visualization knowledge, we create a dataset consisting of abstract utterances and charts and improve model performance through fine-tuning. We further design an interactive interface for ChartGPT that allows users to check and modify the intermediate outputs of each step. The effectiveness of the proposed system is evaluated through quantitative evaluations and a user study.