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Based on morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies, Semiaquilegia danxiashanensis, a new species from Danxia Shan in northern Guangdong, southern China, is described and illustrated. This species is easily distinguishable from each of other three known species in the genus by characters of the flowers and fruits. In addition, molecular phylogenetic analyses of both the nuclear ITS and the plastid trnL-F region strongly supported S. danxiashanensis as a separate species from other species of Semiaquilegia. We provide a detailed morphological and habitat description, distribution, as well as colour photographs and illustrations of the new species.

Animal experiments have shown that injectable collagen scaffold with human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells can promote recovery from spinal cord injury. To investigate whether injectable collagen scaffold with human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells can be used to treat spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage, this non-randomized phase I clinical trial recruited patients who met the inclusion criteria and did not meet the exclusion criteria of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage treated in the Characteristic Medical Center of Chinese People's Armed Police Force from May 2016 to December 2020. Patients were divided into three groups according to the clinical situation and patient benefit: control (n = 18), human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (n = 4), and combination (n = 8). The control group did not receive any transplantation. The human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells group received human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell transplantation. The combination group received injectable collagen scaffold with human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Patients who received injectable collagen scaffold with human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells had more remarkable improvements in activities of daily living and cognitive function and smaller foci of intracerebral hemorrhage-related encephalomalacia. Severe adverse events associated with cell transplantation were not observed. Injectable collagen scaffold with human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells appears to have great potential treating spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage., Competing Interests: None

Cancer stem cells (CSCs), a rare subset of tumor cells, have been recognized as promotive role on tumor initiation and propagation. Among, aerobic glycolysis, widely clarified in multiple tumor cells, is the key for maintaining cancer stemness. Regrettably, it is largely unknown about the connection of cellular metabolic reprogramming and stemness in gastric carcinoma (GC). Two GC parental cells lines PAMC-82 and SNU-16 and their spheroids were obtained to determine the expression status of POU1F1 using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blotting analysis, respectively. Gain or loss-of-function assay was employed to assess its biological effects. Sphere formation and transwell assays were performed to evaluate the stem cell-like traits, including self-renewal capacity, migration and invasion. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and luciferase reporter assays were conducted for determining the binding relationship of POU1F1 on ENO1 promoter region. Herein, aberrantly upregulated POU1F1 was observed in spheroids, compared with the parental PAMC-82 and SNU-16 cells, which promoted stem cell-like traits, as representing increasing sphere formation, enhanced cell migration and invasion. Additionally, POU1F1 expression was positively with glycolytic signaling, as displaying increasing glucose consumption, lactic acid production, and extracellular acid ratio (ECAR). Furthermore, POU1F1 was identified to be a transcriptional activator of ENO1, of which overexpression remarkably abolished POU1F1 knockdown-mediated blocking effects. Taken together, we draw a conclusion that POU1F1 facilitated the stem cell-like properties of GC cells through transcriptionally augmenting ENO1 to enhance glycolysis., (© 2023 The Authors. The Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Kaohsiung Medical University.)

Objective: YuPingFeng Granules (YPFGs) is an herbal formula clinically used in China for more than 100 years to treat pneumonia. Nevertheless, the mechanism of YPFG in pneumonia treatment has not been established. This network pharmacology-based strategy has been performed to elucidate active compounds as well as mechanisms of YPFG in pneumonia treatment., Methods: First, active compounds of YPFG were identified in the traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology (TCMSP) database, and then the targets related to the active compounds were obtained from TCMSP and Swiss Target Prediction databases. Next, using DisGeNET, DrugBank, and GeneCards databases, we got therapeutic targets of pneumonia and common targets between pneumonia targets and YPFG. After that, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of pneumonia composed of common targets was built to analyze the interactions among these targets, which focused on screening for hub targets by topology. Then, online software and the ClusterProfiler package were utilized for the enrichment analysis of gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) data. Finally, the visualization software of Autodock was used for molecular docking among the hub target proteins., Results: 10 hub genes were selected by comparing the GO and KEGG functions of pneumonia targets with those of the common targets of YPFG and pneumonia. By using molecular docking technology, a total of 3 active ingredients have been verified as being able to combine closely with 6 hub targets and contribute to their therapeutic effects., Conclusion: This research explored the multigene pharmacological mechanism of action of YPFG against pneumonia through network pharmacology. The findings present new ideas for studying the mechanism of action of Chinese medicine against pneumonia caused by bacteria., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Bing Huang et al.)

Background: Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2C (CDKN2C) was identified to participate in the occurrence and development of multiple cancers; however, its roles in small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) remain unclear., Methods: Differential expression analysis of CDKN2C between SCLC and non-SCLC were performed based on 937 samples from multiple centers. The prognosis effects of CDKN2C in patients with SCLC were detected using both Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests. Using receiver-operating characteristic curves, whether CDKN2C expression made it feasible to distinguish SCLC was determined. The potential mechanisms of CDKN2C in SCLC were investigated by gene ontology terms and signaling pathways (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes). Based on 10,080 samples, a pan-cancer analysis was also performed to determine the roles of CDKN2C in multiple cancers., Results: For the first time, upregulated CDKN2C expression was detected in SCLC samples at both the mRNA and protein levels (p of Wilcoxon rank-sum test < 0.05; standardized mean difference = 2.86 [95% CI 2.20-3.52]). Transcription factor FOXA1 expression may positively regulate CDKN2C expression levels in SCLC. High CDKN2C expression levels were related to the poor prognosis of patients with SCLC (hazard ratio > 1, p < 0.05) and showed pronounced effects for distinguishing SCLC from non-SCLC (sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve ≥ 0.95). CDKN2C expression may play a role in the development of SCLC by affecting the cell cycle. Furthermore, the first pan-cancer analysis revealed the differential expression of CDKN2C in 16 cancers (breast invasive carcinoma, etc.) and its independent prognostic significance in nine cancers (e.g., adrenocortical carcinoma). CDKN2C expression was related to the immune microenvironment, suggesting its potential usefulness as a prognostic marker in immunotherapy., Conclusions: This study identified upregulated CDKN2C expression and its clinical significance in SCLC and other multiple cancers, suggesting its potential usefulness as a biomarker in treating and differentiating cancers., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The clinical progression of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) remains pessimistic. The aim of the present study was to promote the understanding of the clinical significance and mechanism of O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) transferase (OGT) in SCLC. Wilcoxon tests, standardized mean difference (SMD), and Kruskal-Wallis tests were utilized to compare OGT level differences among the experimental and control groups. The univariate Cox regression analysis, Kaplan-Meier curves, and receiver operating characteristic curves were applied to determine OGT's clinical relevance in cancers. The Spearman correlation analysis and enrichment analysis were utilized to explore the underlying mechanisms of OGT in cancers. For the first time in the field, we provide an overview of OGT in 32 cancers using a large number of samples ( n  = 21,196), determining distinct OGT expression in 25 cancers and its prognosis effects in 12 cancers. Furthermore, using 950 samples from multiple sources, upregulated OGT was found in both mRNA and protein levels in SCLC (SMD = 0.93, 95% CI [0.24, 1.63]). Higher OGT levels represented a more unfavorable disease-free interval for SCLC patients ( p < 0.001). The research also identified OGT expression as a potential marker for SCLC prediction (sensitivity = 0.79, specificity = 0.86, and AUC = 0.88). The high expression of OGT in SCLC may result from the positive regulation of two transcription factors-DEK and XRN2. We primarily investigated the underlying mechanisms of OGT in SCLC. Herein, based on the analyses from pan-cancer to SCLC, OGT demonstrated conspicuous clinical significance. OGT may be an underlying biomarker for the treatment and identification of some cancers, including SCLC., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Deng Tang et al.)

One reason for the poor therapeutic effects of stem cell transplantation in traumatic brain injury is that exogenous neural stem cells cannot effectively migrate to the local injury site, resulting in poor adhesion and proliferation of neural stem cells at the injured area. To enhance the targeted delivery of exogenous stem cells to the injury site, cell therapy combined with neural tissue engineering technology is expected to become a new strategy for treating traumatic brain injury. Collagen/heparan sulfate porous scaffolds, prepared using a freeze-drying method, have stable physical and chemical properties. These scaffolds also have good cell biocompatibility because of their high porosity, which is suitable for the proliferation and migration of neural stem cells. In the present study, collagen/heparan sulfate porous scaffolds loaded with neural stem cells were used to treat a rat model of traumatic brain injury, which was established using the controlled cortical impact method. At 2 months after the implantation of collagen/heparan sulfate porous scaffolds loaded with neural stem cells, there was significantly improved regeneration of neurons, nerve fibers, synapses, and myelin sheaths in the injured brain tissue. Furthermore, brain edema and cell apoptosis were significantly reduced, and rat motor and cognitive functions were markedly recovered. These findings suggest that the novel collagen/heparan sulfate porous scaffold loaded with neural stem cells can improve neurological function in a rat model of traumatic brain injury. This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Characteristic Medical Center of Chinese People's Armed Police Force, China (approval No. 2017-0007.2) on February 10, 2019., Competing Interests: None

Background: Due to endogenous neuronal deficiency and glial scar formation, spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to irreversible neurological loss. Accumulating evidence has shown that a suitable scaffold has important value for promoting nerve regeneration after SCI. Collagen/heparin sulfate scaffold (CHSS) has shown effect for guiding axonal regeneration and decreasing glial scar deposition after SCI. The current research aimed to evaluate the utility of the CHSSs adsorbed with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on nerve regeneration, and functional recovery after acute complete SCI., Methods: CHSSs were prepared, and evaluated for biocompatibility. The CHSSs adsorbed with MSCs were transplanted into these canines with complete SCI., Results: We observed that MSCs had good biocompatibility with CHSSs. In complete transverse SCI models, the implantation of CHSS co-cultured with MSCs exhibited significant improvement in locomotion, motor evoked potential, magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion tensor imaging, and urodynamic parameters. Meanwhile, nerve fibers were markedly improved in the CHSS adsorbed with MSCs group. Moreover, we observed that the implantation of CHSS combined with MSCs modulated inflammatory cytokine levels., Conclusions: The results preliminarily demonstrated that the transplantation of MSCs on a CHSS could improve the recovery of motor function after SCI. Thus, implanting the MSCs-laden CHSS is a promising combinatorial therapy for treatment in acute SCI.

Background: While the influence of meteorology on carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning has been reported, few data are available on the association between air pollutants and the prediction of CO poisoning. Our objective is to explore meteorological and pollutant patterns associated with CO poisoning and to establish a predictive model., Results: CO poisoning was found to be significantly associated with meteorological and pollutant patterns: low temperatures, low wind speeds, low air concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and ozone (O 3 8h), and high daily temperature changes and ambient CO (r absolute value range: 0.079 to 0.232, all P values < 0.01). Based on the above factors, a predictive model was established: "logitPj = aj - 0.193 * temperature - 0.228 * wind speed + 0.221 * 24 h temperature change + 1.25 * CO - 0.0176 * SO 2 + 0.0008 *O 3 8h; j = 1, 2, 3, 4; a1 = -4.12, a2 = -2.93, a3 = -1.98, a4 = -0.92." The proposed prediction model based on combined factors showed better predictive capacity than a model using only meteorological factors as a predictor., Conclusion: Low temperatures, wind speed, and SO 2 and high daily temperature changes, O 3 8h, and CO are related to CO poisoning. Using both meteorological and pollutant factors as predictors could help facilitate the prevention of CO poisoning.

Currently, there is no effective strategy to promote functional recovery after a spinal cord injury. Collagen scaffolds can not only provide support and guidance for axonal regeneration, but can also serve as a bridge for nerve regeneration at the injury site. They can additionally be used as carriers to retain mesenchymal stem cells at the injury site to enhance their effectiveness. Hence, we hypothesized that transplanting human umbilical cord-mesenchymal stem cells on collagen scaffolds would enhance healing following acute complete spinal cord injury. Here, we test this hypothesis through animal studies and a phase I clinical trial. (1) Animal experiments: Models of completely transected spinal cord injury were established in rats and canines by microsurgery. Mesenchymal stem cells derived from neonatal umbilical cord tissue were adsorbed onto collagen scaffolds and surgically implanted at the injury site in rats and canines; the animals were observed after 1 week-6 months. The transplantation resulted in increased motor scores, enhanced amplitude and shortened latency of the motor evoked potential, and reduced injury area as measured by magnetic resonance imaging. (2) Phase I clinical trial: Forty patients with acute complete cervical injuries were enrolled at the Characteristic Medical Center of Chinese People's Armed Police Force and divided into two groups. The treatment group (n = 20) received collagen scaffolds loaded with mesenchymal stem cells derived from neonatal umbilical cord tissues; the control group (n = 20) did not receive the stem-cell loaded collagen implant. All patients were followed for 12 months. In the treatment group, the American Spinal Injury Association scores and activities of daily life scores were increased, bowel and urinary functions were recovered, and residual urine volume was reduced compared with the pre-treatment baseline. Furthermore, magnetic resonance imaging showed that new nerve fiber connections were formed, and diffusion tensor imaging showed that electrophysiological activity was recovered after the treatment. No serious complication was observed during follow-up. In contrast, the neurological functions of the patients in the control group were not improved over the follow-up period. The above data preliminarily demonstrate that the transplantation of human umbilical cord-mesenchymal stem cells on a collagen scaffold can promote the recovery of neurological function after acute spinal cord injury. In the future, these results need to be confirmed in a multicenter, randomized controlled clinical trial with a larger sample size. The clinical trial was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Characteristic Medical Center of Chinese People's Armed Police Force on February 3, 2016 (approval No. PJHEC-2016-A8). All animal experiments were approved by the Ethics Committee of the Characteristic Medical Center of Chinese People's Armed Police Force on May 20, 2015 (approval No. PJHEC-2015-D5)., Competing Interests: None

Background: Portal hypertension is a severe complication caused by various chronic liver diseases. The standard methods for detecting portal hypertension (hepatic venous pressure gradient and free portal pressure) are available in only a few hospitals due to their technical difficulty and invasiveness; thus, non-invasive measuring methods are needed. This study aimed to establish and assess a novel model to calculate free portal pressure based on biofluid mechanics., Result: Comparison of each dog's virtual and actual free portal pressure showed that a biofluid mechanics-based model could accurately predict free portal pressure (mean difference: -0.220, 95% CI: - 0.738 to 0.298; upper limit of agreement: 2.24, 95% CI: 1.34 to 3.14; lower limit of agreement: -2.68, 95% CI: - 3.58 to - 1.78; intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.96 to 0.99; concordance correlation coefficient: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.93 to 0.99) and had a high AUC (0.984, 95% CI: 0.834 to 1.000), sensitivity (92.3, 95% CI: 64.0 to 99.8), specificity (91.7, 95% CI: 61.5 to 99.8), positive likelihood ratio (11.1, 95% CI: 1.7 to 72.8), and low negative likelihood ratio (0.08, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.6) for detecting portal hypertension., Conclusions: Our study suggests that the biofluid mechanics-based model was able to accurately predict free portal pressure and detect portal hypertension in canines. With further research and validation, this model might be applicable for calculating human portal pressure, detecting portal hypertensive patients, and evaluating disease progression and treatment efficacy.

We aimed to explore the imbalance between the T helper 17 γδT cells (γδT17) and the regulatory γδT cells (γδTreg) in asthmatic mice. Male Balb/c mice were randomly divided into the normal control group and the asthmatic model group. The asthmatic model group mice were intraperitoneally injected with the mixture of ovalbumin (OVA)/Al(OH)3 and then activated by exposure of the animals to OVA atomization. Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) was determined by a non-invasive lung function machine. Hematoxylin and eosin and Alcian blue-periodic acid Schiff staining were done for histopathological analysis. Interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-35 levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were detected by ELISA. The percentage of IL-17+ γδT cells and Foxp3+ γδT cells in spleen cells suspension were detected and the transcription levels of RORγt and Foxp3 in the lung tissue were determined. Compared with the normal control, the severity of airway inflammation and AHR were higher in the asthmatic mice. Furthermore, mice in the asthmatic group displayed significant increases of IL-17+ γδT cells, expression of IL-17A, and RORγt, whereas control mice displayed marked decreases of Foxp3+ γδT cells, expression of IL-35, and transcription factor Foxp3. In addition, the mRNA expression of RORγt was positively correlated with the percentage of IL-17+γδT cells, and the mRNA level of Foxp3 was positively correlated with the percentage of Foxp3+ γδT cells. The imbalance of γδT17/γδTreg in the asthmatic mice may contribute to the pathogenesis of OVA-induced asthma.

Aim: To investigate the role of diarylpropionitrile (DPN), a selective agonist of estrogen receptor β (ERβ), in liver cirrhosis with portal hypertension (PHT) and isolated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs)., Methods: Female Sprague-Dawley rats were ovariectomized (OVX), and liver cirrhosis with PHT was induced by CCl4 injection. DPN and PHTPP, the selective ERβ agonist and antagonist, were used as drug interventions. Liver fibrosis was assessed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and Masson's trichrome staining and by analyzing smooth muscle actin expression. Hemodynamic parameters were determined in vivo using colored microspheres technique. Protein expression and phosphorylation were determined by immunohistochemical staining and Western blot analysis. Messenger RNA levels were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Collagen gel contraction assay was performed using gel lattices containing HSCs treated with DPN, PHTPP, or Y-27632 prior to ET-1 addition., Results: Treatment with DPN in vivo greatly lowered portal pressure and improved hemodynamic parameters without affecting mean arterial pressure, which was associated with the attenuation of liver fibrosis and intrahepatic vascular resistance (IHVR). In CCl4-treated rat livers, DPN significantly decreased the expression of RhoA and ROCK II, and even suppressed ROCK II activity. Moreover, DPN remarkedly increased the levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and phosphorylated eNOS, and promoted the activities of protein kinase G (PKG), which is an NO effector in the liver. Furthermore, DPN reduced the contractility of activated HSCs in the 3-dimensional stress-relaxed collagen lattices, and decreased the ROCK II activity in activated HSCs. Finally, in vivo/in vitro experiments demonstrated that MLC activity was inhibited by DPN., Conclusion: For OVX rats with liver cirrhosis, DPN suppressed liver RhoA/ROCK signal, facilitated NO/PKG pathways, and decreased IHVR, giving rise to reduced portal pressure. Therefore, DPN represents a relevant treatment choice against PHT in cirrhotic patients, especially postmenopausal women.

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of melatonin (MT) on liver function and lipid peroxidation following hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). A total of 66 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into three groups: Normal control (N) group, ischemia-reperfusion (IR) group and the MT-treated group. A hepatic IRI model was developed by blocking the first porta hepatis, and subsequently restoring hepatic blood inflow after 35 min. Following reperfusion, changes in the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) were detected by a chemical method at various time points. In the MT group, the MDA levels were significantly reduced (P<0.05) at all time points, as compared with the IR group. Furthermore, SOD activity was significantly increased (P<0.05) in the MT group, as compared with the IR group at all time points; and the levels of GSH in the MT group were significantly higher (P<0.05) than those of the IR group at 2, 4, and 8 h post-reperfusion. The levels of ALT, AST and LDH were significantly reduced in the MT group at each time point, as compared with that of the IR group (P<0.05). In conclusion, MT exhibits potent antioxidant properties that may create favorable conditions for the recovery of liver function following IRI.

Aim: To assess the impact of Arpin protein and tight junction (TJ) proteins in the intestinal mucosa on bacterial translocation in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP)., Methods: Fifty SAP patients were identified as study objects and then classified into two groups according to the presence of bacterial translocation (BT) in the blood [i.e., BT(+) and BT(-)]. Twenty healthy individuals were included in the control group. BT was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction, colonic mucosal tissue was obtained by endoscopy and the expression of TJ proteins and Arpin protein was determined using immunofluorescence and western blotting., Results: Bacterial DNA was detected in the peripheral blood of 62.0% of patients (31/50) with SAP. The expression of TJ proteins in SAP patients was lower than that in healthy controls. In contrast, Arpin protein expression in SAP patients was higher than in healthy controls (0.38 ± 0.19 vs 0.28 ± 0.16, P < 0.05). Among SAP patients, those positive for BT showed a higher level of claudin-2 expression (0.64 ± 0.27 vs 0.32 ± 0.21, P < 0.05) and a lower level of occludin (OC) (0.61 ± 0.28 vs 0.73 ± 0.32, P < 0.05) and zonula occludens-1 (0.42 ± 0.26 vs 0.58 ± 0.17, P = 0.038) expression in comparison with BT (-) patients. Moreover, the level of Arpin expression in BT (+) patients was higher than in BT (-) patients (0.61 ± 0.28 vs 0.31 ± 0.24, P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Arpin protein affects the expression of tight junction proteins and may have an impact on BT. These results contribute to a better understanding of the factors involved in bacterial translocation during acute pancreatitis.

Aim: To investigate the effect of T helper (Th) 17/T regulatory (Treg) cells on hepatic fibrosis in mice and its possible mechanism., Methods: Hepatic fibrosis was induced by intraperitoneal injection of carbon tetrachloride. Hepatic pathological changes were observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining; the protein levels of interleukin (IL)-6, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β and α-smooth muscle actin (SMA) in liver tissue were determined by Western blotting; and the frequency of Th17 and Treg cells in the liver was estimated by flow cytometry. In addition, hepatic stellate cells were isolated from healthy mouse liver and co-cultured with Th17 or Treg cells. Immunofluorescence staining and Western blotting were performed to determine the change in HSC activation., Results: In the model group, there were different degrees of fibroplasia, degeneration and necrosis. The protein levels of IL-6, TGF-β and α-SMA in liver tissue were significantly higher than those in the control group at 12 wk (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the frequency of Th17 cells in the model group was increased but the frequency of Treg cells decreased gradually. Furthermore, at 4, 8 and 12 wk, there were significant differences in the number of Th17 cells (0.52% ± 0.16%, 1.46% ± 0.24%, and 2.60% ± 0.41%, respectively, P < 0.05) and Treg cells (2.99% ± 0.40%, 2.16% ± 0.50%, and 1.49% ± 0.34%, respectively, P < 0.05). In vitro, Th17 cells promoted, whereas Treg cells inhibited the expression of α-SMA, both in a dose-dependent manner, compared with the control group., Conclusion: Th17/Treg imbalance exists in mice with liver fibrosis, which potentially promotes liver fibrosis via HSC activation.

Background: Rathke's cleft cyst (RCC) is one of the most common incidentally discovered sellar lesions, while symptomatic cases are relatively rare. Surgical treatment is recommended for symptomatic patients to drain the cyst content and to remove the capsule safely. The aim of this study was to clarify the clinical features, surgery considerations and therapy outcomes of symptomatic RCCs., Methods: Totally 42 patients (19 males and 23 females) were retrospectively reviewed with the diagnosis of RCCs under surgery resection at the Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Qingdao University between January 2005 and December 2010., Results: Patients' age ranged from 6 to 67 years (mean of 41.6 years). The duration of symptoms ranged from 4 days to 10 years. Headache (69%), visual impairment (36%), and pituitary dysfunction (10%) were the most common presenting symptoms. The maximum diameter of cysts ranged from 6.0 to 46.7 mm (mean of 20.07 mm). Of the 42 patients, 36 underwent endonasal transsphenoidal approach and the others underwent transcranial approach. Thirty patients had a subtotal resection and decompression, while 12 patients had a total cyst resection. Cysts of 28 patients were lined by simple cubical or columnar epithelium, and cysts of 34 patients were filled by amorphous colloid material, that was the characteristic of RCCs. The majority of patients presented with a simple headache, and 93% of this group experienced a complete improvement after surgery. Twelve of 15 patients (80%) with preoperative visual deficits experienced an improvement in their vision after surgery. All of those patients with pituitary dysfunction experienced an improved endocrine status. The endocrinological complication usually was diabetes insipidus, and postoperative transient diabetes insipidus occurred in 13 (31%) patients without any permanent diabetes insipidus. The overall recurrence rate was 7% at a mean follow-up of 22 months (range 12 - 60 months)., Conclusions: Surgical treatment is to drain the contents of the cyst and to remove the capsule as much as possible under the precondition that does not increase the complications. Biopsy and decompression procedures are recommended for most cases.

The current review focuses on how exposure to linguistic input, and count nouns in particular, affect performance on various cognitive tasks, including individuation, categorization and category learning, and inductive inference. We review two theoretical accounts of effects of words. Proponents of one account argue that words have top-down effects on cognitive tasks, and, as such, function as supervisory signals. Proponents of the other account suggest that early in development, words, just like any other perceptual feature, are first and foremost part of the stimulus input and influence cognitive tasks in a bottom-up, non-supervisory fashion. We then review evidence supporting each account. We conclude that, although much research is needed, there is a large body of evidence indicating that words start out like other perceptual features and become supervisory signals in the course of development.