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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disorder. Its etiology may be associated with genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. With the advancement of technology, the integration of genomics, transcriptomics, and imaging data related to AD allows simultaneous exploration of molecular information at different levels and their interaction within the organism. This paper proposes a hypergraph-regularized joint deep semi-non-negative matrix factorization (HR-JDSNMF) algorithm to integrate positron emission tomography (PET), single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), and gene expression data for AD. The method employs matrix factorization techniques to nonlinearly decompose the original data at multiple layers, extracting deep features from different omics data, and utilizes hypergraph mining to uncover high-order correlations among the three types of data. Experimental results demonstrate that this approach outperforms several matrix factorization-based algorithms and effectively identifies multi-omics biomarkers for AD. Additionally, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data for AD were collected, and genes within significant modules were used to categorize different types of cell clusters into high and low-risk cell groups. Finally, the study extensively explores the differences in differentiation and communication between these two cell types. The multi-omics biomarkers unearthed in this study can serve as valuable references for the clinical diagnosis and drug target discovery for AD. The realization of the algorithm in this paper code is available at . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In several disorders, the monocyte to high-density lipoprotein ratio (MHR) has been considered a biomarker of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress. However, its role in Bell's palsy (BP) remains unclear. This study investigates the relationship between elevated MHR and poor recovery in BP patients. Methods: The clinical data of 729 BP patients were analyzed retrospectively. The House-Brackmann Facial Nerve Grading System (H-B) was utilized to assess the severity of facial motor dysfunction during admission and the follow-up period after discharge. According to the 6 months follow-up data, H-B grades 1–2 were classified as recovered (n = 557), and H-B grades 3–6 as unrecovered (n = 172). The patients were split into MHR ≤ 0.26 (n = 361) and MHR > 0.26 (n = 368) groups based on the median MHR to further analyze the connection between different MHRs and prognosis. Results: The level of MHR was substantially greater in the unrecovered group of BP patients than in the restored group (medians[interquartile range], 0.32[0.20, 0.49] vs 0.24[0.11, 0.39], P < 0.001). MHR was an independent risk factor for BP prognosis as indicated by the multivariate logistic regression analysis (OR = 4.467, 95% CI = 1.875–10.646, P = 0.001). The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.615 (95% CI = 0.566–0.664, P < 0.001). The initial H-B score did not differ significantly between MHR ≤ 0.26 (n = 361) and MHR > 0.26 (n = 368) groups. However, after 6 months of follow-up, the high-MHR group's H-B score was considerably greater than the low-MHR group's. Conclusions: MHR is expected to be an accessible and effective biomarker of BP. In BP patients, elevated MHR is related to an increased chance of poor recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crowded object detection under the heavy traffic environment is always a challenging task in the field of autonomous driving and robotics, because the dense gathering of vehicles or pedestrians inevitably bring heavy occlusion. It is difficult to distinguish highly overlapped objects and predict their bounding boxes accurately, especially for small objects far down the road. To address this challenge, this paper proposes an improved YOLOv5s network integrating a multi-scale feature fusion module with attention mechanism for crowded road object detection task. Specifically, to enhance the multi-scale representation of semantic features and to model the object scale variation flexibly, we introduce an attention-guided pyramid feature fusion strategy into the YOLOv5s backbone network. Then a C3CA module is designed by embedding the coordinate attention (CA) into the concentrated-comprehensive convolution (C3) module of the original YOLOv5s, which can boost the ability of extracting distinguishing features from the overlapped objects. In addition, we add implicit detection heads (IDHs) into the original YOLOv5s’s detection head part, which helps the network to learn implicit knowledge and improves the detection accuracy. Finally, a simplified optimal transport assignment (SimOTA) and a bounding box regression loss with dynamic focusing mechanism are used to improve the detector’s overall performance. Extensive experiments on the public dataset BDD100K and our self-built crowded road object dataset (XMRD) demonstrate the superiority of our model in crowded road scenarios. The mean average precision (mAP) of our model can achieve 71.2% and 88.2% on the BDD100K and XMRD datasets, respectively, which provides an improvement of +3% over the existing state of the art models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic knee pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a common complication that is difficult to treat. This report aims to highlight the benefit of combining embolotherapy and neurolysis intervention for symptomatic relief of post-TKA pain in a patient with long-standing pain refractory to conservative management. Case presentation: A 77-year-old man who had previously undergone left knee arthroplasty has been grappling with worsening knee effusion and debilitating pain, resulting in limited mobility and progressive musculature deconditioning over a 20-year period. Diagnostic arteriography showed marked diffuse periarticular hyperemia around the medial and lateral joint spaces of the left knee, along with capsular distention. The patient initially underwent microsphere embolization to selectively target multiple branches of the genicular arteries, achieving a 50% reduction in pain at the one-month follow-up. Subsequently, the patient underwent image-guided genicular nerve neurolysis, targeting multiple branches of the genicular nerves, which led to further pain reduction (80% compared to the initial presentation or 60% compared to post-embolization) at the one-month follow-up. This improvement facilitated weight-bearing and enabled participation in physical therapy, with sustained pain relief over the 10-month follow-up period. Conclusion: The combination of genicular artery embolization and genicular nerve block may be a technically safe and effective option for alleviating chronic pain after total knee arthroplasty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underwater pottery relics salvaged from shipwrecks are vulnerable to physical, chemical and biological corrosion. In this study, the microscopic morphology and structural composition of glazed pottery fragments excavated from the South China Sea as well as purple clay teapot samples from the Yangtze River Estuary II shipwreck were analyzed by means of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive spectrometer, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier infrared transform spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. According to the research results, the corrosion products deposited on the surface of the glazed pottery fragment from the South China Sea mainly included FeOOH and MnO2, whereas those on the surface of the purple clay teapot fragment from the Yangtze River Estuary II shipwreck primarily incorporated FeS2 and FeS. According to the corrosion phenomenon, it was speculated that the underwater pottery relics were mainly corroded by different microorganisms in the underwater environment, including manganese-oxidizing bacteria, dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria and sulfate-reducing bacteria. As the corrosion process of these cultural artifacts was described and related models were established, this study provides valuable reference for the disease removal and protection of pottery relics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The etiology of Bell's palsy (BP) is currently unknown, and the findings from previous studies examining the association between seasonal or meteorological factors and BP have been inconsistent. This research aims to clarify this relationship by analyzing a larger dataset and employing appropriate statistical methods. Data from 5387 patients with BP treated at Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, from May 1, 2018, to June 30, 2023, was gathered. We assessed the temporal distribution of meteorological factors and the incidence of BP across seasons and months. A distributed lag non-linear model was used to further investigate the lagged and overall effects of temperature and air pressure on the onset of BP. The temporal distribution of BP incidence revealed the highest average number of cases occurring in December and the lowest in June. A correlation existed between BP episodes and temperature or air pressure. The model revealed a higher relative risk during periods of low temperature and high air pressure, characterized by a time lag effect. This correlation was notably more pronounced in female patients and individuals in the young and middle-aged groups. Our findings suggest that exposure to low temperatures and high air pressure constitute risk factors for BP development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are both types of lupus, yet the characteristics, and differences between them are not fully understood. Here we show single-cell RNA sequencing data of cutaneous lesions from DLE and SLE patients and skin tissues from healthy controls (HCs). We find significantly higher proportions of T cells, B cells and NK cells in DLE than in SLE. Expanded CCL20+ keratinocyte, CXCL1+ fibroblast, ISGhiCD4/CD8 T cell, ISGhi plasma cell, pDC, and NK subclusters are identified in DLE and SLE compared to HC. In addition, we observe higher cell communication scores between cell types such as fibroblasts and macrophage/dendritic cells in cutaneous lesions of DLE and SLE compared to HC. In summary, we clarify the heterogeneous characteristics in cutaneous lesions between DLE and SLE, and discover some specific cell subtypes and ligand-receptor pairs that indicate possible therapeutic targets of lupus erythematosus. Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) and systemic LE (SLE) can present as cutaneous lesions. Here the authors characterise an scRNA dataset of cutaneous lesions from these patients and compare these to healthy controls showing differential immune cell recruitment, cell type and gene expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education has become a global focus to foster learners’ Twenty first-century skills and achieve the sustainable development of society. Design challenges present children with a real-world design problem to solve, as design challenges inspire children to think creatively and apply STEM-related principles or skills to develop a solution. However, there is a lack of research on implementing STEM design challenges in the context of early childhood education. To address this knowledge gap, the in-depth case study aimed to investigate the implementation of Story-based STEM Design Challenges in a Chinese kindergarten, involving 12 teachers and 164 children. A total of six classrooms participated in the Story-based STEM Design Challenge training workshop and implementation, lasting for 3 months. Data was collected from multiple sources, including videotaped classroom observations, teacher interviews, and related pedagogical documents. The findings of the study showed that children’s emotional engagement, attentive engagement, and behavioral engagement varied during their participation. Teachers used various strategies to scaffold children’s learning throughout the preparation, implementation, and evaluation stages. This study hoped to provide valuable insights into effective STEM pedagogy and offer evidence for the implementation of design challenges in early childhood STEM education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Maker Movement has emerged as a significant cultural phenomenon in the twenty-first century. Stemming from the Maker Movement, the STEM design challenge aims to foster children’s utilization of interdisciplinary knowledge and creative skills to address real-world problems. This study devised the Story-based STEM Design Challenge (SSDC) by integrating storytelling with the STEM Design Challenge. A total of six classrooms, including 12 teachers and 164 children, voluntarily participated in this study. Through the teacher training workshop and the implementation of the SSDC, data related to teachers and children were obtained from the sources of teacher interviews, group discussion, pedagogical documents, and videotaped classroom observations. Results revealed that there were both facilitators (i.e., support from existing kindergarten curricula, stakeholders’ recognition, and assistance of pedagogical tools) and barriers (i.e., constraints within the participating kindergarten, insufficient experience of teachers in STEM fields, limitations of young children’s current abilities and knowledge) when introducing the SSDC in early education settings in China. This research offers valuable insights for implementing STEM design challenges and provides practical guidance and suggestions for educators interested in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to the popular opinion that forgetting is only the opposite of learning and memory, active forgetting explains the intrinsic instability of a labile memory that lasts for hours and has its own signal transduction pathways. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying forgetting are still lacking, though the investigations available in this field offer the first insights into their regulation. To identify the alternative signaling pathways that control the process of forgetting, we used the short-term forgetting model of Caenorhabditis elegans and discovered the involvement of lev-10, a scaffolded transmembrane protein of L-AChR, by screening the candidate genes that potentially functioned in synaptic plasticity. The LEV-9/LEV-10/L-AChR functional complex was confirmed to participate in forgetting occurrence. Furthermore, EGL-9 functioned upstream of LEV-10 and negatively regulated the latter during forgetting. Meanwhile, EGL-9 was also the target of miR-51, and hence the mutation of miR-51 similarly affected the function of L-AChR and delayed the short-term forgetting. Our findings have identified an integrated signaling pathway responsible for active forgetting, which provides the new experimental evidence on the cholinergic forgetting signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The web-accessible online database (WAD) of the Mössbauer Effect Data Center (MEDC) is one of the worldwide available information services provided by MEDC to the scientific community. It is based on the uniquely wide scope Mössbauer spectroscopy database that has been compiled and maintained by MEDC since the 1960's. Following enhancements applied to the capabilities of the MEDC core database in connection with the development of a new database management software named "MEDC DBM", the development of a new web-accessible online database (MEDC WAD) was started in 2019. Here we introduce the current state and the main features of the newly developed MEDC WAD system with emphasis put on its novel and rather unique attributes that can effectively aid the scientific research process in the field of Mössbauer spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is motivated by a concern in China's current medical practice in which patients can bypass the primary care and seek secondary care directly. We employ a queueing approach to examine two settings, i.e. the gatekeeping and non-gatekeeping settings, in a service system consisting of two types of service provider — one with basic skills (C-H), e.g. community hospital, and the other with advanced skills (AAA-H), e.g. specialist hospital. Customers are heterogeneous with respect to service requirement. The C-H can only serve customers with a complexity level of service requirement lower than the cure threshold, while the AAA-H can serve all customers. We aim to analyze the social planner's capacity decision for the C-H in both settings and assess the relative merit of each setting with respect to total social welfare, i.e. the sum of customer benefits net of customer delay costs and service providers' operating costs. Our findings show that when the C-H's capacity is exogenous, the gatekeeper setting is preferable if the capacity of the C-H is in the intermediate range because customers' self-selection behavior gives rise to negative externality. When the C-H's capacity is optimized by the social planner, the non-gatekeeping setting is preferable if the capacity of the AAA-H is large or the cure threshold is high, because customers' self-selection behavior as well as the investment in the C-H's capacity can result in a better distribution of demand among the two service providers. The gatekeeping setting is preferable if the cure threshold is low because it is economical for the social planner to invest in a large capacity in the C-H to serve all customers. We also show numerically the conditions under which the two settings can achieve the first-best solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the impact of logistics cooperation in two competing companies, one of which is equipped with a self-run logistics system while the other is not. The latter outsources logistics services to a third-party logistics company before logistics cooperation, or to its competitor after logistics cooperation with the client's service quality being in proportion to and no greater than the service provider's service quality. We find that when the service provider is a price taker, logistics cooperation is beneficial to both firms only when the service quality after logistics cooperation is moderate. Interestingly, under some circumstances, the client's profit increases even when its service quality decreases after logistics cooperation because logistics cooperation eases the price competition. We also find that all-win situations in which logistics cooperation increases the firms' profit, consumer surplus and social welfare can be achieved. Finally, when the service price can be chosen by the service provider, we propose a negotiation process in which agreement on logistics cooperation can be reached; when the firm can invest in service quality, logistics cooperation may lower the equilibrium investment level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mössbauer spectroscopy database compiled and maintained by the Mössbauer Effect Data Center (MEDC) is a unique, wide-scope Mössbauer-spectroscopy related information resource, which forms the basis of information services provided by the Mössbauer Effect Data Center to the worldwide scientific community. The Mössbauer Effect Reference and Data Journal (MERDJ) and the Mössbauer Web Access Database (MWAD), both published by MEDC, are widely known examples of the services that rely on the MEDC database. In recent years a further improvement of these services, especially that of MWAD, has been envisaged, and as a first step of the corresponding process the further development of the MEDC database was started. In the present work we introduce the main features of the MEDC database and the steps that have been already taken in the frame of its further development. Implications of the work regarding the associated services are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy trading mechanism for microgrids has an inherent two-layer architecture, in which the energy trading at the first layer is between a microgrid aggregator and consumers (e.g., households) within a microgrid, and the second layer is referred to as the wide area energy trading among multiple microgrids. This paper employs a two-layer game approach to achieve optimal and elastic energy trading for microgrids and improve utilization of green energy. First, a non-cooperative game is developed inside a microgrid, in which the relationship among household users is non-cooperative, and they adjust load schedules to optimize their utilities while trading energy with the microgrid aggregator. Second, a multileader-multifollower Stackelberg game is employed for the energy trading among microgrids. The role of a microgrid (as an energy buyer or seller) in the energy market is based on the result of the first game, and it can elastically adjust its energy trading strategy by charging or discharging the energy storage device. The existence and uniqueness of the equilibriums for the two games are proven. We also present algorithms that can reach the equilibriums where players achieve optimal utilities. Simulation results show that the proposed two-layer energy trading is able to significantly improve the utilization of microgrids' green energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apoptosis is an important and necessary cell death program which promotes homeostasis and organismal survival. When dysregulated, however, it can lead to a myriad of pathologies from neurodegenerative diseases to cancer. Apoptosis is therefore the subject of intense study aimed at dissecting its pathways and molecular mechanisms. Although many assay methods exist for confirming whether an apoptotic response has occurred in vitro, most methods are destructive and involve laborious operator effort or specialized instrumentation. Here we describe a real-time, no-wash, microplate method which utilizes recombinant annexin V fusion proteins containing evolved binary subunits of NanoBiT™ luciferase. The fusion proteins, a time-released enzymatic substrate, a necrosis detection dye and exogenous calcium ions are delivered via an optimized and physiologically inert reagent directly to cells in culture at the time of treatment or dosing. Luminescent signals proportional to phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure and fluorescent signals generated as a result of loss of membrane integrity are then collected using a standard multimode plate reader at scheduled intervals over the exposure. The resulting luminescent and fluorescent data are then used to define the kinetics and magnitude of an apoptotic response. This study details our efforts to develop, characterize, and demonstrate the features of the assay by providing relevant examples from diverse cell models for programmed cell death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the feasibility, safety and clinical outcomes of image-guided percutaneous thermal ablation as salvage therapy for local recurrence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in patients initially treated surgically with curative intent.Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of 11 consecutive patients (M/F = 8:3, mean age = 76 years) who underwent computed tomography (CT)-guided thermal ablation for locally recurrent RCC after partial (72%, 8/11) or radical nephrectomy (28%, 3/11) with a mean time to recurrence of 48 months (range 2-156). Assessment of technical success, complication (peri- and post-procedural), oncological outcome and survival analysis were performed. Patient baseline and follow-up renal function surrogates including creatinine level (Cr) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were statistically compared.Results: Eleven biopsy-proven recurrent RCC measuring 1.4-3.9 cm (mean = 2.8 cm) were treated with CT-guided thermal ablation. Technical success was achieved in 100% (11/11) of the cases. There were no major complications except for one (9%) asymptomatic hemorrhage (Clavien-Dindo grade I complication). Complete response, local progression-free and overall survival rate were 91, 91 and 82% during the mean follow-up time of 2.5 years (range 0.1-7.1). Renal function was overall stable without significant change at 1 month and last follow-up (p = 0.21; GFR, p = 0.10; creatinine).Conclusions: Image-guided percutaneous thermal ablation is a feasible, safe and effective for local recurrence after nephrectomy, representing a non-surgical alternative for unresectable disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore whether a low concentration of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) supplementation in culture medium is beneficial to infertile women aged over 35 years. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed to analyze the embryo quality and pregnancy outcome of 212 controlled ovarian stimulation (COH) cycles with or without GM-CSF addition ( n = 117 [GM-CSF, 0.2 ng/mL] vs n = 95 [control]). Results: No significant difference was observed in cleavage rate (96.2 vs 96.5 %), blastocyst formation rate (53.2 vs 54.0 %), good blastocyst rate (26.8 vs 26.8 %), or available embryo rate (54.2 vs 49.7 %) between the GM-CSF group and the control group. However, the average age of the GM-CSF group (38.41 ± 3.13 years) was significantly 1 year older than that of the corresponding control group (37.45 ± 2.74 years) ( P < 0.05). GM-CSF addition greatly decreased the occurrence of biochemical pregnancy (55.6 % [control] vs 20.8 % [GM-CSF], P < 0.05). No case of neonatal malformation was observed in the present study. Conclusion: Although no benefit of GM-CSF on embryo quality was observed, the addition of this factor significantly decreased the occurrence of chemical pregnancy of women aged over 35 years, indicating the role of GM-CSF in improving implantation competence of embryos derived from elderly infertile women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solution-processed approach for the deposition of CuZnSn (S,Se) (CZTSSe) absorbing layer offers a route for fabricating thin film solar cell that is appealing because of simplified and low-cost manufacturing, large-area coverage, and better compatibility with flexible substrates. In this work, we present a simple solution-based approach for simultaneously dissolving the low-cost elemental Cu, Zn, Sn, S, and Se powder, forming a homogeneous CZTSSe precursor solution in a short time. Dense and compact kesterite CZTSSe thin film with high crystallinity and uniform composition was obtained by selenizing the low-temperature annealed spin-coated precursor film. Standard CZTSSe thin film solar cell based on the selenized CZTSSe thin film was fabricated and an efficiency of 6.4 % was achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Os2H16, a rice gene of unknown function, has been previously reported to be upregulated in response to infection by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. In this study, expression patterns of Os2H16 were analyzed, demonstrating that expression of Os2H16 was dramatically induced by both bacterial and fungal infection as well as by drought stress, but repressed by salt treatment. To further investigate the role of Os2H16 in plant defense responses to abiotic and biotic stresses, transgenic lines of rice were developed. In comparison with wild-type rice, transgenic lines overexpressing Os2H16 show enhanced tolerance to bacterial blight and sheath blight disease, respectively caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and Rhizoctonia solani. On the contrary, Os2H16 knockdown lines were more susceptible to both pathogens. Consistent with their individual phenotypes, upon inoculation, the expression of defense-related marker genes were elevated in Os2H16 overexpression individuals than in wild-type, while they were significantly reduced in Os2H16 knockdown lines. We also show that Os2H16 overexpression lines display enhanced tolerance to drought stress and elevated induction of drought-related genes, compared to wild-type rice. Os2H16 knockdown lines were more sensitive to drought stress and exhibited reduced induction of drought-related genes. Our study provides the first functional characterization of the rice Os2H16 gene, and suggests that Os2H16 positively modulate plant defense to abiotic and biotic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polygalacturonic acid, a linear high molecular weight homopolysaccharide was investigated as a chiral selector in capillary zone electrophoresis for the separation of enantiomers of basic drugs. The choices of running buffer pH and concentration of chiral selector were found to be important for the improvement of enantioselectivity. The effects of background electrolyte concentration and the capillary temperature on the separation were also examined. Enantioseparations were carried out in the acidic conditions using 1.5% polygalacturonic acid (w/v) in a 40 mM phosphate buffer under an applied voltage of 15 kV. The optimization of these separations was dependent on the nature of the analytes and could be achieved by the proper choice of experimental conditions. A brief mechanism of enantiorecognition by polygalacturonic acid was also given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In centralized multisensor tracking systems, there are out-of-sequence measurements (OOSMs) frequently arising due to different time delays in communication links and varying pre-processing times at the sensor. Such OOSM arrival can induce the “negative-time measurement update” problem, which is quite common in real multisensor tracking systems. The A1 optimal update algorithm with OOSM is presented by Bar-Shalom for one-step case. However, this paper proves that the optimality of A1 algorithm is lost in direct discrete-time model (DDM) of the process noise, it holds true only in discretized continuous-time model (DCM). One better OOSM filtering algorithm for DDM case is presented. Also, another new optimal OOSM filtering algorithm, which is independent of the discrete time model of the process noise, is presented here. The performance of the two new algorithms is compared with that of A1 algorithm by Monte Carlo simulations. The effectiveness and correctness of the two proposed algorithms are validated by analysis and simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the efficacy of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with percutaneous acetic acid injection (PAI) on massive hepatocellular carcinoma (MHCC). TACE was performed in 57 patients with MHCC, which were randomly divided into group A ( n = 28) and group B ( n = 29). Patients in the group A received conventional TACE for the first time and then received low dose TACE (10 mg mitomycin C) for the repeated treatment, Re-examined CT scans after TACE for a week. Based on filled status of Lipiodol in the Lesions, PAI was underwent in the area of rarefaction or defect filled by Lipiodol. Patients in the group B received conventional TACE. Then The survival rate and masses variation and hepatic function and α-FP and side effects were observed. The 1-, 2-and 3-year survival rate after TACE were 96.4%, 78.6% and 32.1% for group A, and 65.5%, 48.3% and 20.7% for group B. Masses diminution were found in all patients in group A, while 20 cases were found in group B, unchanged in 5 cases and enlarged in 4 cases. The efficacy of TACE combined with PAI are significantly better than that of TACE only, low dose TACE produces less hepatic damage and less side effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the clinical application of superselective transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) in nasopharyngeal angiofibroma before operation. Methods: Superselective angiography was done via femoral. TAE with polyvinyl alcohol particles and/or gelfoam (GF) was performed in 12 patients with nasopharyngeal angiofibroma. All patients underwent surgical removal of devascularized tumors in 3 to 7 days after TAE. Results: During digital subtraction angiography, tumor staining was seen in 12 patients. Embolization of maxillary artery was performed in 12 cases and additional embolization of ascending pharyngeal artery in 8 cases. Conclusion: Superselective angiographic diagnosis, embolization and appropriate embolic particle size are important for successful treatment of nasopharyngeal angiofi- broma. TAE is safe and effective in decreasing haemorrhage during surgical operation for nasopharyngeal angiofibroma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early diagnosis of cancers and continued monitoring of tumor growth would be greatly facilitated by the development of a blood-based, non-invasive, screening technique for early cancer detection. Current technologies for cancer screening and detection typically rely on imaging techniques or blood tests that are not accurate or sensitive enough to definitively diagnose cancer at its earliest stages or predict biologic outcomes. By utilizing Single Molecule Arrays (SiMoA), an ultra-sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique, we were able to measure increasing levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) within murine serum over time, which we attribute to tumor development. The measured concentrations of PSA were well below the detectable limits of both a leading clinical diagnostic PSA ELISA assay as well as a commercial ultra-sensitive PSA assay. Our work benchmarks the role of SiMoA as a vital tool in monitoring previously non-detectable protein biomarkers in serum for early cancer detection and offers significant potential as a non-invasive platform for the monitoring of early stage cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This retrospective cohort study aims to investigate whether high-normal fasting blood glucose (FBG) affects assisted reproductive technology (ART) outcomes undergoing single blastocyst frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles in women with normal body mass index (BMI).944 women with normal BMI and FBG levels undergoing single blastocyst FET cycles were enrolled. Based on the median of FBG (4.97 mmol/L, 1 mmol/L = 18 mg/dL), the subjects were categorized into the low-normal group (3.90 ≤ FBG ≤ 4.97 mmol/L, n = 472) and the high-normal group (4.97 < FBG < 6.10 mmol/L, n = 472). Multivariable logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) were used to analyze the relationship between high-normal FBG and ART outcomes. Primary outcome: live birth rate (LBR).LBR was significantly lower in the high-normal group than in the low-normal group (36.8% vs. 45.1%, p = 0.010), and the miscarriage rate was considerably higher than that in the low-normal group (23.9% vs. 16.5%, p = 0.041). High-normal FBG of female was an independent predictor of live birth (adjusted OR:0.747, 95% CI: 0.541–0.963, p = 0.027) and miscarriage (adjusted OR:1.610, 95% CI: 1.018–2.547, p = 0.042). ROC analyses showed that the cut-off values of FBG (endpoints: live birth and miscarriage) were 5.07 mmol/L, and 5.01 mmol/L, respectively.In women with normal BMI, high-normal FBG is an independent risk factor for lower LBR and higher miscarriage rate in single blastocyst FET cycles. Attention to preconception FBG monitoring in this particular population may allow early intervention to improve ART outcomes.Methods: This retrospective cohort study aims to investigate whether high-normal fasting blood glucose (FBG) affects assisted reproductive technology (ART) outcomes undergoing single blastocyst frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles in women with normal body mass index (BMI).944 women with normal BMI and FBG levels undergoing single blastocyst FET cycles were enrolled. Based on the median of FBG (4.97 mmol/L, 1 mmol/L = 18 mg/dL), the subjects were categorized into the low-normal group (3.90 ≤ FBG ≤ 4.97 mmol/L, n = 472) and the high-normal group (4.97 < FBG < 6.10 mmol/L, n = 472). Multivariable logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) were used to analyze the relationship between high-normal FBG and ART outcomes. Primary outcome: live birth rate (LBR).LBR was significantly lower in the high-normal group than in the low-normal group (36.8% vs. 45.1%, p = 0.010), and the miscarriage rate was considerably higher than that in the low-normal group (23.9% vs. 16.5%, p = 0.041). High-normal FBG of female was an independent predictor of live birth (adjusted OR:0.747, 95% CI: 0.541–0.963, p = 0.027) and miscarriage (adjusted OR:1.610, 95% CI: 1.018–2.547, p = 0.042). ROC analyses showed that the cut-off values of FBG (endpoints: live birth and miscarriage) were 5.07 mmol/L, and 5.01 mmol/L, respectively.In women with normal BMI, high-normal FBG is an independent risk factor for lower LBR and higher miscarriage rate in single blastocyst FET cycles. Attention to preconception FBG monitoring in this particular population may allow early intervention to improve ART outcomes.Results: This retrospective cohort study aims to investigate whether high-normal fasting blood glucose (FBG) affects assisted reproductive technology (ART) outcomes undergoing single blastocyst frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles in women with normal body mass index (BMI).944 women with normal BMI and FBG levels undergoing single blastocyst FET cycles were enrolled. Based on the median of FBG (4.97 mmol/L, 1 mmol/L = 18 mg/dL), the subjects were categorized into the low-normal group (3.90 ≤ FBG ≤ 4.97 mmol/L, n = 472) and the high-normal group (4.97 < FBG < 6.10 mmol/L, n = 472). Multivariable logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) were used to analyze the relationship between high-normal FBG and ART outcomes. Primary outcome: live birth rate (LBR).LBR was significantly lower in the high-normal group than in the low-normal group (36.8% vs. 45.1%, p = 0.010), and the miscarriage rate was considerably higher than that in the low-normal group (23.9% vs. 16.5%, p = 0.041). High-normal FBG of female was an independent predictor of live birth (adjusted OR:0.747, 95% CI: 0.541–0.963, p = 0.027) and miscarriage (adjusted OR:1.610, 95% CI: 1.018–2.547, p = 0.042). ROC analyses showed that the cut-off values of FBG (endpoints: live birth and miscarriage) were 5.07 mmol/L, and 5.01 mmol/L, respectively.In women with normal BMI, high-normal FBG is an independent risk factor for lower LBR and higher miscarriage rate in single blastocyst FET cycles. Attention to preconception FBG monitoring in this particular population may allow early intervention to improve ART outcomes.Conclusions: This retrospective cohort study aims to investigate whether high-normal fasting blood glucose (FBG) affects assisted reproductive technology (ART) outcomes undergoing single blastocyst frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles in women with normal body mass index (BMI).944 women with normal BMI and FBG levels undergoing single blastocyst FET cycles were enrolled. Based on the median of FBG (4.97 mmol/L, 1 mmol/L = 18 mg/dL), the subjects were categorized into the low-normal group (3.90 ≤ FBG ≤ 4.97 mmol/L, n = 472) and the high-normal group (4.97 < FBG < 6.10 mmol/L, n = 472). Multivariable logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) were used to analyze the relationship between high-normal FBG and ART outcomes. Primary outcome: live birth rate (LBR).LBR was significantly lower in the high-normal group than in the low-normal group (36.8% vs. 45.1%, p = 0.010), and the miscarriage rate was considerably higher than that in the low-normal group (23.9% vs. 16.5%, p = 0.041). High-normal FBG of female was an independent predictor of live birth (adjusted OR:0.747, 95% CI: 0.541–0.963, p = 0.027) and miscarriage (adjusted OR:1.610, 95% CI: 1.018–2.547, p = 0.042). ROC analyses showed that the cut-off values of FBG (endpoints: live birth and miscarriage) were 5.07 mmol/L, and 5.01 mmol/L, respectively.In women with normal BMI, high-normal FBG is an independent risk factor for lower LBR and higher miscarriage rate in single blastocyst FET cycles. Attention to preconception FBG monitoring in this particular population may allow early intervention to improve ART outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]