Purpose: The early detection and management of dyslexia are crucial for preventing irreversible educational gaps and various negative consequences for affected students. However, diagnosing dyslexia is challenging because it requires a comprehensive assessment. Dyslexia screening tests that utilize fast, automated, computer-based technology can be useful for early identification and management. In this paper, we introduce a tablet computer-based dyslexia screening application that uses an eye-tracking system and verify its reliability. Methods: The study included 200 participants between 8 and 13 years of age from an elementary school, all of whom underwent dyslexia screening tests twice. The screening was conducted using the VisualCamp SeeSo eye-tracking Android Software Development Kit v3.0.0, implemented on Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e tablets. The eye-tracking system measured reading speed by gaze, mean gaze fixation time, gaze fixation frequency, saccadic length, and regression ratio. To assess the reliability of the two sets of measurements, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was employed. Results: Excellent reliability was found for measurements of gaze fixation frequency (ICC=0.83), gaze fixation mean time (ICC=0.82), and reading speed by gaze (ICC=0.76), and good reliability for measurements of regression ratio (ICC=0.75) and saccadic length (ICC=0.72). Conclusion This study demonstrated that the tablet computer-based dyslexia screening application reliably measured eye movements in subjects with dyslexia. Furthermore, the application proved to be highly reliable and potentially suitable for use in clinical or school settings, eliminating the need for a laboratory environment and extensive equipment.

Background: /Aim: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play an immunosuppressive role in the tumor microenvironment (TME) of human cancers; however, their characteristics and role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain to be elucidated. Methods: Nine tumor and surrounding liver tissue samples from patients with HCC who underwent surgery were used to isolate patient-derived CAFs. Cell morphology was observed using an optical microscope after culture, and cell phenotypes were evaluated using flow cytometry and immunoblotting. Cytokines secreted by CAFs into culture medium were quantified using a multiplex cytokine assay. Results: CAFs were abundant in the TME of HCC and were adjacent to immune cells. After culture, the CAFs and non-tumor fibroblasts exhibited spindle shapes. We observed a robust expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin and fibroblast activation protein in CAFs, whereas alpha-fetoprotein, epithelial cell adhesion molecule, platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1, and E-cadherin were not expressed in CAFs. Furthermore, CAFs showed high secretion of various cytokines, namely C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and C-C motif chemokine ligand 2. Conclusions CAFs are abundant in the TME of HCC and play a crucial role in tumor progression. These fibroblasts secrete cytokines that promote tumor growth and metastasis.