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Background The aim of this retrospective study was to construct and clinically apply a nomogram for cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients diagnosed with base-of-tongue squamous cell carcinoma (BOTSCC) to predict their survival prognosis. Methods We collected 8448 patients diagnosed with BOTSCC during 2004–2015 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and divided 30% and 70% of them into validation and training cohorts, respectively. We utilized backward stepwise regression in the Cox model to select variables. Predictive variables were subsequently identified from the variables selected above by using multivariate Cox regression. The new survival model was compared with the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) prognosis model using the following variables: calibration curve, time-dependent area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), concordance index (C-index), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), decision-curve analysis (DCA), and net reclassification improvement (NRI). Results A nomogram was established for predicting the CSS probability in patients with BOTSCC. Factors including sex, race, age at diagnosis, marital status, radiotherapy status, chemotherapy status, TNM AJCC stage, surgery status, tumor size, and months from diagnosis to treatment were selected through multivariate Cox regression as independent predictors of CSS. Calibration plots indicated that the model we established had satisfactory calibration ability. The AUC, C-index, IDI, DCA, and NRI results illustrated that the nomogram performed explicit prognoses more accurately than did the AJCC system alone. Conclusion We identified the relevant factors affecting the survival of BOTSCC patients and analyzed the data on patients suffering from BOTSCC in the SEER database. These factors were used to construct a new nomogram to give clinical staff a more-visual prediction model for the 3-, 5-, and 8-year probabilities of CSS for patients newly diagnosed with BOTSCC, thereby aiding clinical decision making.

α-Viniferin, a natural stilbene compound found in plants and a polymer of resveratrol, had demonstrated potential anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the specific mechanisms underlying its anti-cancer activity were not yet fully understood and required further investigation. This study evaluated the effectiveness of α-viniferin and ε-viniferin using MTT assay. Results showed that α-viniferin was more effective than ε-viniferin in reducing the viability of NCI-H460 cells, a type of non-small cell lung cancer. Annexin V/7AAD assay results provided further evidence that the decrease in cell viability observed in response to α-viniferin treatment was due to the induction of apoptosis in NCI-H460 cells. The present findings indicated that treatment with α-viniferin could stimulate apoptosis in cells by cleaving caspase 3 and PARP. Moreover, the treatment reduced the expression of SIRT1, vimentin, and phosphorylated AKT, and also induced AIF nuclear translocation. Furthermore, this research provided additional evidence for the effectiveness of α-viniferin as an anti-tumor agent in nude mice with NCI-H460 cell xenografts. As demonstrated by the TUNEL assay results, α-viniferin promoted apoptosis in NCI-H460 cells in nude mice.

Although prevention is better than treatment, after a knee injury occurs, the adjustment of the movement technique back to the posture before the injury and the restoration of accuracy is very important for professional and amateur players. This study aimed to compare the differences in lower limb mechanics during the golf downswing between those with and without a history of knee joint injury. A total of 20 professional golfers with single-digit handicaps were recruited for this study, 10 of whom had a knee injury history (KIH+), while another 10 players were without a knee injury history (KIH−). From the 3D analysis, selected kinematic and kinetic parameters during the downswing were analyzed using an independent samples t-test with a significance level of α = 0.05. During the downswing, individuals with KIH+ exhibited a smaller hip flexion angle, smaller ankle abduction angle, and larger ankle adduction/abduction range of motion (ROM). Moreover, there was no significant difference found in the knee joint moment. Athletes with a history of knee injury can adjust the motion angles of their hip and ankle joints (e.g., by avoiding excessive forward leaning of the trunk and maintaining stable foot posture without inward or outward rotation) to minimize the impact of changes in their movement patterns resulting from the injury.

Resveratrol has well-known anticancer properties; however, its oligomers, including α-viniferin, ε-viniferin, and kobophenol A, have not yet been well investigated. This is the first study examining the anti-epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) effects of α-viniferin and ε-viniferin on A549, NCI-H460, NCI-H520, MCF-7, HOS, and U2OS cells. The results showed that α-viniferin and ε-viniferin significantly inhibited EMT, invasion and migration in TGF-β1- or IL-1β-induced non-small cell lung cancer. α-Viniferin and ε-viniferin also reversed TGF-β1-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS), MMP2, vimentin, Zeb1, Snail, p-SMAD2, p-SMAD3, and ABCG2 expression in A549 cells. Furthermore, ε-viniferin was found to significantly inhibit lung metastasis in A549 cell xenograft metastatic mouse models. In view of these findings, α-viniferin and ε-viniferin may play an important role in the prevention of EMT and cancer metastasis in lung cancer.

Choosing an unsuitable bicycle saddle increases the saddle pressure and discomfort during cycling. Women contract sports injuries more easily than men during cycling owing to their anatomy. To investigate the effect of saddle widths on the saddle pressure in female cyclists. Ten healthy women with an average age of 20.7 ± 1.3 years, height of 162 ± and 5.9 cm, weight of 56.1 ± 7.5 kg, and a sciatic bone width of 15.5 ± 1.4 cm were recruited for this study. The distributions of saddle pressure for four different saddle widths (i.e., narrow, moderate, wide, and self-chosen) were recorded using a saddle pressure mat. Participants were instructed to pedal steadily with a frequency of 90 RPM and a load of 150 watts. Thirty seconds of riding data was randomly retrieved for analysis. The trials were conducted with a counter-balanced design to minimize random errors. One-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the saddle pressure of different saddle widths, and the significance level was set at α = 0.05. When wide saddles were used, the maximum and average pressure on the right surface of the posterior ischium were lower than those with narrow (p = 0.001, p = 0.012) and moderate (p = 0.016, p = 0.019) saddles. The area of pressure on the pubic bone was smaller when using a wide saddle than when using narrow (p = 0.005) and moderate (p = 0.018) saddles, and the area of pressure on the right posterior sciatic bone was larger under the wide saddle than under the narrow (p = 0.017) and moderate (p = 0.036) saddles. The average force was greater with the moderate saddle than with the wide (p = 0.008) and self-chosen (p = 0.025) saddles. Using a saddle with a width that is longer than the width of the cyclist's ischium by 1 cm can effectively improve the distribution of saddle pressure during riding, while providing better comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]