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Kunjie Zheng,1– 3 Xiaolong Li,1– 3 Yihua Rong,2 Xuejing Wang,4 Liping Hou,2 Wei Gu,2 Xiaoyu Hou,3 Yunpeng Guan,5 Lifang Liu,6 Jianlin Geng,2 Guangyao Song1,3 1Department of Internal Medicine, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Endocrinology, Hengshui People’s Hospital, Hengshui, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Endocrinology, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 4Hengshui People’s Hospital Statistical Office, Hengshui, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Endocrinology, Shijiazhuang People’s Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, People’s Republic of China; 6Department of Endocrinology, Baoding First Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Guangyao Song, Department of Endocrinology, Hebei General Hospital, 348 Heping West Road, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050051, People’s Republic of China, Email sguangyao2@163.comPurpose: Elevated serum gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) is an independent marker of the activation of systemic inflammation, while conditions associated with elevated triglyceride (TG) levels, such as type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, obesity, and metabolic syndrome, are associated with an increased inflammatory burden. Moreover, serum liver enzymes (GGT, alanine aminotransferase [ALT], aspartate aminotransferase [AST], and alkaline phosphatase [ALP]) are associated with metabolic syndrome and its components, including hypertriglyceridemia. However, the relationship between liver enzymes and postprandial hypertriglyceridemia (PHTG) remains unclear. Therefore, in this study we conducted oral fat tolerance tests (OFTTs) to understand the differences in serum liver enzyme levels among individuals with different lipid tolerance levels and their correlation with PHTG.Patients and Methods: For the OFTT, we enrolled 202 non-diabetic volunteers whose fasting triglyceride (TG) levels were less than 1.7 mmol/L in this case-control study. The participants were categorized into two groups according to the TG levels at the 0- and 4-h OFTT: a postprandial normal TG (PNTG) group and a PHTG group. Routine fasting serum biochemical indices, liver enzyme (GGT, ALT, AST, and ALP) levels, and 0- and 4-h OFTT lipid levels were assessed.Results: The PHTG group had significantly higher serum GGT and ALT levels and a lower AST/ALT ratio than those in the PNTG group. However, no significant difference was observed in AST and ALP levels compared with the PNTG group. After adjusting for major confounders, logistic regression analysis indicated a significant correlation between serum GGT and PHTG (odds ratio = 1.168, P < 0.001), but not with ALT level, AST level, AST/ALT ratio, and ALP level. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that the serum GGT level was an effective predictor of PHTG.Conclusion: Serum GGT levels are significantly associated with PHTG risk and serve as an effective biomarker for early identification.Keywords: gamma-glutamyl transferase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, inflammation, triglyceride, oral fat tolerance test

Teng Fan,1– 3,&ast; Yuanyuan Huang,1– 3,&ast; Zeyu Liu,1,2,&ast; Jinsheng Huang,1,2 Bin Ke,1– 3 Yuming Rong,1,2 Huijuan Qiu,1,2 Bei Zhang1– 3 1TCM&VIP Department, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Research Center, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Bei Zhang, TCM&VIP Department, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, 510060, People’s Republic of China, Tel/Fax +86-20-87342708, Email zhangbei@sysucc.org.cnBackground: The ChaiShao Shugan Formula (CSSGF) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula with recently identified therapeutic value in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). This study aimed to elucidate the underlying mechanism of CSSGF in TNBC treatment.Methods: TNBC targets were analyzed using R and data were from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. The major ingredients and related protein targets of CSSGF were explored via the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database, and an ingredient–target network was constructed via Cytoscape to identify hub genes. The STRING database was used to construct the PPI network. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed via R to obtain the main targets. The online tool Kaplan‒Meier plotter was used to identify the prognostic genes. Molecular docking was applied to the core target genes and active ingredients. MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cell lines were used to verify the efficacy of the various drugs.Results: A total of 4562 genes were screened as TNBC target genes. The PPI network consisted of 89 nodes and 845 edges. Our study indicated that quercetin, beta-sitosterol, luteolin and catechin might be the core ingredients of CSSGF, and EGFR and c-Myc might be the latent therapeutic targets of CSSGF in the treatment of TNBC. GO and KEGG analyses indicated that the anticancer effect of CSSGF on TNBC was mainly associated with DNA binding, transcription factor binding, and other biological processes. The related signaling pathways mainly involved the TNF-a, IL-17, and apoptosis pathways. The molecular docking data indicated that quercetin, beta-sitosterol, luteolin, and catechin had high affinity for EGFR, JUN, Caspase-3 and ESR1, respectively. In vitro, we found that CSSGF could suppress the expression of c-Myc or promote the expression of EGFR. In addition, we found that quercetin downregulates c-Myc expression in two BC cell lines.Conclusion: This study revealed the effective ingredients and latent molecular mechanism of action of CSSGF against TNBC and confirmed that quercetin could target c-Myc to induce anti-BC effects.Keywords: triple-negative breast cancer, chaishao shugan formula, network pharmacology, molecular docking, c-Myc

Xin Liang, Yan Rong, Junming Wang, Hong Zhang Department of Ophthalmology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Junming Wang; Hong Zhang Email eyedrwjm@163.com; tjyksys@163.comObjective: We sought to investigate clinicopathological characteristics correlated with the prognosis of uveal melanoma (UM) patients and find the driving factors of prognosis for ciliary/iris melanoma relative to choroid melanoma.Materials and Methods: We collected patients with uveal melanoma between 1983 and 2012 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Primary outcomes were evaluated as cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS). The Kaplan-Meier analysis was applied for the univariate analysis of CSS and OS and corresponding survival curves. Cox proportional hazards regression was used for multivariate analysis to value hazard ratio (HR) of ciliary body/iris melanoma subgroup versus choroid melanoma subgroup.Results: A total of 4359 eligible patients were collected in our study. Novel potential prognostic factors for CSS and OS of UM were identified. Age at diagnosis, sex, primary tumor site, histologic subtype, tumor size, the extent of disease, and treatment were the independent prognostic factors for UM patients (P < 0.05). Interestingly, when concerned with the primary site of UM, we found that the ciliary body/iris melanoma subgroup showed significant differences in prognosis (both CSS and OS), sex, histologic type, the extent of disease, and treatment options relative to choroid melanoma subgroup (P < 0.05). Subsequently, stratification analyses suggested that the distinct survival outcomes between the ciliary body/iris melanoma and choroid melanoma subgroups mainly attributed to patient sex, age, tumor size, the extent of disease, and treatment options (P < 0.05).Conclusion: Age, sex, primary tumor site, histologic subtype, tumor size, the extent of disease, and treatment options are independent prognostic indicators for UM patients. Besides, the ciliary body/iris melanoma subgroup shows worse survival outcomes than choroid melanoma. Our findings offer inspiration to the individual treatment for UM patients with different primary sites.Keywords: uveal melanoma, overall survival, cancer-specific survival, ciliary body/iris melanoma, choroid melanoma

Zhicheng Hu,1 Yanchao Rong,1 Shuting Li,2 Shanqiang Qu,3 Shaobin Huang4 1Burns Department, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Plastic Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Section of Neurosurgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Shanqiang QuSection of Neurosurgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510515, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail qushq3@163.comShaobin HuangDepartment of Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510655, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail huangshb5@mail2.sysu.edu.cnBackground: Melanoma is the most malignant tumor among skin tumors, and its morbidity and mortality are increasing year by year. Although melanoma biology has been increasingly studied, no prognostic biomarkers have yet been incorporated into clinical protocols. Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) has been shown to act as a prognostic biomarker in several cancers. Here, we aimed to investigate the predictive value of HDAC6 for the prognosis of cutaneous melanoma patients.Methods: Eighty cutaneous melanoma patients were enrolled in this study. The protein and mRNA expression levels of HDAC6 were detected, and the clinical features and survival time of cutaneous melanoma patients with HDAC6 expression were analyzed.Results: The results suggested that high HDAC6 expression was significantly associated with unfavorable clinicopathological features. High HDAC6 expression was related to melanoma metastasis and was also associated with a reduced survival time in melanoma patients, and this association remained significant in multivariate analysis adjusted for all other factors.Conclusion: These findings validate the utility of HDAC6 expression as an independent biomarker for the prognostication of patients with cutaneous melanoma.Keywords: HDAC6, cutaneous melanoma, prognostic biomarker, survival, metastasis

Zelin Yang,1,* Jizao Du,2,* Jinjin Zhu,3 Yuxi Rong,1 Shaohuai Chen,1 Lisheng Yu,1 Xiangyang Deng,1 Xiaojia Zhang,1 Hansong Sheng,1 Liang Yang,1 Xiangqi Lu,1 Dandong Li,1 Bo Yin,1 Jian Lin1 1Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Digestive Cancer Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Neonatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jian LinThe Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, 109 Xueyuan Road, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 577 8800 2502Fax +86 577 8883 2693Email yangzl13@lzu.edu.cnPurpose: Allicin, an extract of garlic, has antitumor effects in multiple tumor types. However, the efficacy of allicin for treating glioblastoma has not yet been examined. This study examined the antitumor effect of allicin on human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-infected glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and its role in cytokine signaling.Materials and Methods: HCMV-infected glioblastoma was modeled by transfection of U87MG glioblastoma cells with HMCV proteins. MTT assay was used to assess the effect of allicin on the proliferation of glioma cells. Western blot analysis was used to detect the effect of allicin on the expression of intermediate-early gene 2 (IE2) and p53. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to assess and the levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and interferon (IFN)-β. Single cell gel electrophoresis was used to analyze changes in radiotherapy-induced DNA damage.Results: Transfection of the IE2 protein led to decreased p53 expression and increased glioblastoma cell proliferation. Allicin inhibited this proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner. An inhibitory effect on cytokine release was observed in GBM cells treated with allicin. After treatment with allicin, p53 levels increased significantly, whereas expression of the inflammatory factors such as IL-6 and IFN-β decreased. U87MG cells treated with allicin and 10 Gy irradiation had increased intracellular DNA damage compared to either treatment alone.Conclusion: Allicin inhibited proliferation of glioblastoma cells in vitro. Allicin also inhibited cytokine release, upregulated p53 activity, and increased the sensitivity of glioblastoma to radiotherapy. These results suggest that allicin is effective against HCMV-infected glioblastomas.Keywords: allicin, cytomegalovirus, glioblastoma, inflammatory mediators, proliferation, radiotherapy

We study two scenarios of full-duplex (FD) multiple-input-multiple-output cognitive radio networks: FD cognitive ad hoc networks and FD cognitive cellular networks. In FD cognitive ad hoc networks (also referred as interference channels), each pair of secondary users (SUs) operate in FD mode and communicate with each other within the service range of primary users (PUs). Each SU experiences not only self-interference but also interuser interference from all other SUs, and all SUs generate interference on PUs. We address two optimization problems: one is to minimize the sum of mean-squared errors (MSE) of all estimated symbols, and the other is to minimize the maximum per-SU MSE of estimated symbols, both of which are subject to power constraints at SUs and interference constraints projected to each PU. We show that these problems can be cast as a second-order cone programming, and joint design of transceiver matrices can be obtained through an iterative algorithm. Moreover, we show that the proposed algorithm is not only applicable to interference channels but also to FD cellular systems, in which a base station operating in FD mode simultaneously serves multiple uplink and downlink users, and it is shown to outperform HD scheme significantly.

Two-photon confocal microscopy and back extraction with UV/Vis-absorption spectrophotometry quantify equilibrium partition coefficients, k, for six prototypical drugs in five soft-contact-lens-material hydrogels over a range of water contents from 40 to 92%. Partition coefficients were obtained for acetazolamide, caffeine, hydrocortisone, Oregon Green 488, sodium fluorescein, and theophylline in 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate/methacrylic acid (HEMA/MAA, pKa≈5.2) copolymer hydrogels as functions of composition, aqueous pH (2 and 7.4), and salinity. At pH 2, the hydrogels are nonionic, whereas at pH 7.4, hydrogels are anionic due to MAA ionization. Solute adsorption on and nonspecific electrostatic interaction with the polymer matrix are pronounced. To express deviation from ideal partitioning, we define an enhancement or exclusion factor, E ≡ k/φ1, where φ1 is hydrogel water volume fraction. All solutes exhibit E > 1 in 100 wt % HEMA hydrogels owing to strong specific adsorption to HEMA strands. For all solutes, E significantly decreases upon incorporation of anionic MAA into the hydrogel due to lack of adsorption onto charged MAA moieties. For dianionic sodium fluorescein and Oregon Green 488, and partially ionized monoanionic acetazolamide at pH 7.4, however, the decrease in E is more severe than that for similar-sized nonionic solutes. Conversely, at pH 2, E generally increases with addition of the nonionic MAA copolymer due to strong preferential adsorption to the uncharged carboxylic-acid group of MAA. For all cases, we quantitatively predict enhancement factors for the six drugs using only independently obtained parameters. In dilute solution for solute i, Ei is conveniently expressed as a product of individual enhancement factors for size exclusion (Ei(ex)), electrostatic interaction (Ei(el)), and specific adsorption (Ei(ad)):Ei≡Ei(ex)Ei(el)Ei(ad). To obtain the individual enhancement factors, we employ an extended Ogston mesh-size distribution for Ei(ex); Donnan equilibrium for Ei(el); and Henry's law characterizing specific adsorption to the polymer chains for Ei(ad). Predicted enhancement factors are in excellent agreement with experiment.

Yuluo Rong,* Jiaxing Wang,* Tao Sui, Wei Liu, Yongjun Luo, Weihua CaiDepartment of Orthopaedics, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workObjective: To report a rare case of cervical intradural disc herniation (IDH) with Brown-Séquard syndrome and to review the related literature.Methods: Pathogenesis, preoperative diagnosis, and the surgical technique are discussed, and previous literature reports are reviewed.Results: A 44-year-old woman complained of weakness of the left upper and lower extremities and paresthesias in the right limbs after a bicycle ride 3 days earlier. She had a history of neck pain for 2 years prior. CT showed obvious ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL), and MRI revealed C3-7 disc herniations, with a positive “halo sign” around the herniated C4/5. We performed emergency decompression through anterior cervical corpectomy, and vertebrotomy decompression and fusion. At review 3 months after surgery, the patient’s neck pain was markedly relieved, and motor strength in the limbs had improved. At 1 year after surgery, she had recovered completely.Conclusion: Cervical IDH is a rare condition that may be related to the traumatic inflammatory response and OPLL. Relatively rare imaging features such as the hawk-beak sign, halo sign, Y sign, and epidural gas sign could help in preoperative diagnosis. Prompt anterior cervical decompression is the preferred treatment for this condition.Keywords: cervical intradural disc herniation, Brown-Séquard syndrome, ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament, cerebrospinal fluid leakage, surgical treatment

Yuluo Rong,* Yongjun Luo,* Wei Liu, Fangyi Gong, Pengyu Tang, Weihua Cai Department of Orthopaedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Objective: To investigate the early and mid-term efficacy and safety of the bridge-type ROI-C interbody fusion cage system in the treatment of cervical spondylosis with osteoporosis during anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Patients and methods: The clinical data from 24 cervical spondylosis patients with osteoporosis treated with ACDF were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were treated with ROI-C cage. Double-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) was used to measure the bone mineral density (BMD). The cervical sagittal radiographic parameters were measured and compared using X-ray including C2–C7 Cobb angle, segmental angle (SA), cervical vertebral bow depth, and height of operation segment (HOS). Postoperative dysphagia was recorded according to the Bazaz score. The Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores and Neck Disability Index (NDI) scores were used to evaluate the clinical outcomes at different time points. Odom and Vaccaro criteria were used to assess the surgical effects and to evaluate the fusion of the bone graft. Results: The mean duration of the postoperative follow-up was 27.4±5.7 months (ranging from 21 to 36 months). The JOA scores and NDI scores at 3 months post operation and at the time of final follow-up were significantly different from those before surgery (P0.05). Conclusion: The ROI-C cage system is safe and effective for use in patients undergoing anterior cervical spondylosis surgery for osteoporosis treatment. It results in a positive effect on bone graft fusion, is able to effectively improve cervical curvature, restores intervertebral height, and reduces the incidence of postoperative dysphagia. The clinical effects were positive at the early and middle postoperative stages. Keywords: cervical spondylosis, ROI-C, osteoporosis, imaging parameters, dysphagia

Wei Liu,* Yuluo Rong,* Jian Chen,* Yongjun Luo, Pengyu Tang, Zheng Zhou, Jin Fan, Weihua Cai Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: To explore the role of cervical sagittal alignment in the occurrence of adjacent-level ossification development (ALOD) in patients who underwent anterior cervical discectomy fusion with self-locking stand-alone polyetheretherketone cage, and the relationship between cervical sagittal alignment and clinical outcomes.Background: Because of its advantages, anterior cervical plating systems have been used as the classic surgical method in the treatment of patients with cervical disc herniation. However, the proximity (0.05) and C2–C7 sagittal vertical axis (P>0.05) showed no difference. Compared with preoperative scores, improvement was seen in postoperative visual analog scale, JOA and NDI scores at each time point (P