Objective To describe the significance of the pretreatment inflammatory indicators in predicting the prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after undergoing radical radiotherapy. Methods The data of 246 ESCC patients who underwent radical radiotherapy were retrospectively collected. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn to determine the optimal cutoff values for platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII). The Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis. We conducted univariate and multivariate analyses by using the Cox proportional risk regression model. Software R (version 4.2.0) was used to create the nomogram of prognostic factors. Results The results of the ROC curve analysis showed that the optimal cutoff values of PLR, NLR, and SII were 146.06, 2.67, and 493.97, respectively. The overall response rates were 77.6% and 64.5% in the low and high NLR groups, respectively (P<0.05). The results of the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that the prognosis of patients in the low PLR, NLR, and SII group was better than that of patients in the high PLR, NLR, and SII group (all P<0.05). The results of the multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that gender, treatment modalities, T stage, and NLR were independent factors affecting the overall survival (OS). In addition, T stage and NLR were independent factors affecting the progression-free survival (PFS) (all P<0.05). The nomogram models of OS and PFS prediction were established based on multivariate analysis. The C-index values were 0.703 and 0.668. The calibration curves showed excellent consistency between the predicted and observed OS and PFS. Conclusion The pretreatment values of PLR, NLR, and SII are correlated with the prognosis of patients with ESCC who underwent radical radiotherapy. Moreover, NLR is an independent factor affecting the OS and PFS of ESCC patients. The NLR-based nomogram model has a good predictive ability.

“Inflammation-cancer” transformation of chronic atrophic gastritis （CAG） refers to the process in which the gastric mucosa， in the context of CAG， progresses through stages of precancerous lesions of gastric cancer （PLGC）， such as intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia， and eventually develops into gastric cancer （GC）. In China， the incidence and mortality rates of GC rank among the highest in the world， and the proportion of GC cases caused by gastric mucosal infection and inflammation has been increasing. Modern medical treatments for CAG and PLGC mainly rely on drug therapy， endoscopic resection， and regular surveillance. Although these disease management strategies are relatively mature， they present limitations in early lesion prevention and recurrence risk control. Therefore， it is imperative to identify therapeutic approaches for CAG and PLGC that offer preventive， reversible， and recurrence-reducing benefits. With advances in research on the mechanisms underlying inflammation-cancer transformation and the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine， the advantages of TCM in preventing and even reversing early-stage CAG and PLGC have gradually become apparent. This review explored the mechanisms of inflammation-cancer transformation in CAG from five aspects： inflammatory microenvironment， autophagy， glycolysis， bile acids， and ferroptosis. In conjunction with TCM theory and a deeper understanding of the distinct mechanisms involved in the inflammation-cancer transformation of CAG， this review further discussed the specific mechanisms through which TCM intervened in treating CAG and PLGC， with the aim of providing theoretical support and therapeutic insights for future clinical applications.

“Inflammation-cancer” transformation of chronic atrophic gastritis （CAG） refers to the process in which the gastric mucosa， in the context of CAG， progresses through stages of precancerous lesions of gastric cancer （PLGC）， such as intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia， and eventually develops into gastric cancer （GC）. In China， the incidence and mortality rates of GC rank among the highest in the world， and the proportion of GC cases caused by gastric mucosal infection and inflammation has been increasing. Modern medical treatments for CAG and PLGC mainly rely on drug therapy， endoscopic resection， and regular surveillance. Although these disease management strategies are relatively mature， they present limitations in early lesion prevention and recurrence risk control. Therefore， it is imperative to identify therapeutic approaches for CAG and PLGC that offer preventive， reversible， and recurrence-reducing benefits. With advances in research on the mechanisms underlying inflammation-cancer transformation and the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine， the advantages of TCM in preventing and even reversing early-stage CAG and PLGC have gradually become apparent. This review explored the mechanisms of inflammation-cancer transformation in CAG from five aspects： inflammatory microenvironment， autophagy， glycolysis， bile acids， and ferroptosis. In conjunction with TCM theory and a deeper understanding of the distinct mechanisms involved in the inflammation-cancer transformation of CAG， this review further discussed the specific mechanisms through which TCM intervened in treating CAG and PLGC， with the aim of providing theoretical support and therapeutic insights for future clinical applications.

ObjectiveThe biosynthetic pathways of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids（BIAs） in Nelumbo nucifera are of great theoretical and economic value. In this paper， N. nucifera O-methyltransferase（NnOMT） and N. nucifera N-methyltransferase（NnNMT） gene families were identified and analyzed by bioinformatics in order to facilitate the biosynthetic pathway of BIAs in N. nucifera. MethodBased on the whole genome of N. nucifera， UniPort and National Center for Biotechnology Information（NCBI） databases were used to identify the NnOMT and NnNMT gene families of N. nucifera， and analyze their physicochemical properties and subcellular localization， then TBtools， MEME， MEGA 11.0， FigTree 1.4.4 and other tools were used to analyze the phylogeny， sequence characteristics， gene structure， functional annotation and cis-acting elements of NnOMT and NnNMT genes identified in the previous stage. ResultA total of 61 NnOMT and NnNMT genes were identified in this paper， the number of amino acids encoded by these genes ranged from 168 aa to 580 aa， the isoelectric point ranged from 4.76 to 9.16， and the relative molecular weight ranged from 18 699.52 Da to 64 934.53 Da， most of which showed acidic and mostly hydrophilic proteins. There were 10 conserved motifs， Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） analysis enriched a total of 12 pathways， including metabolism， biosynthesis of phenylpropane and isoquinoline alkaloids， etc. And Visualization of Gene Ontology（GO） enrichment results showed that 61 NnOMT and NnNMT genes were annotated to 32 items， which included 16 molecular functions［such as reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide（NADH） activity and exopeptidase activity］ and 16 biological processes（such as metabolic process of carbon tetrachloride， anaerobic carbon tetrachloride metabolic process and responses to exogenous biological stimuli）. There were a variety of cis-acting elements in the promoter regions of NnOMT and NnNMT genes， mainly promoter and enhancer regions element， light responsive element and methyl jasmonate responsive element. ConclusionIn this study， a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of 61 NnOMT and NnNMT genes is carried out based on the genome data of N. nucifera， which lays a foundation for research on the gene structure and function of NnOMT and NnNMT gene families， and provides a reference for biosynthetic pathway elucidation of BIAs in N. nucifera.

Objective:To determine the total and age-specific cut-off values of total prostate specific antigen (tPSA) and the ratio of free PSA divided total PSA (fPSA/tPSA) for screening prostate cancer in China.Methods:Based on the Chinese Colorectal, Breast, Lung, Liver, and Stomach cancer Screening Trial (C-BLAST) and the Tianjin Common Cancer Case Cohort (TJ4C), males who were not diagnosed with any cancers at baseline since 2017 and received both tPSA and fPSA testes were selected. Based on Cox regression, the overall and age-specific (＜60, 60-＜70, and ≥70 years) accuracy and optimal cut-off values of tPSA and fPSA/tPSA ratio for screening prostate cancer were evaluated with time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve (tdROC) and area under curve (AUC). Bootstrap resampling was used to internally validate the stability of the optimal cut-off value, and the PLCO study was used to externally validate the accuracy under different cut-off values.Results:A total of 5 180 participants were included in the study, and after a median follow-up of 1.48 years, a total of 332 prostate cancer patients were included. In the total population, the tdAUC of tPSA and fPSA/tPSA screening for prostate cancer were 0.852 and 0.748, respectively, with the optimal cut-off values of 5.08 ng/ml and 0.173, respectively. After age stratification, the age specific cut-off values of tPSA in the <60, 60-<70, and ≥70 age groups were 3.13, 4.82, and 11.54 ng/ml, respectively, while the age-specific cut-off values of fPSA/tPSA were 0.153, 0.135, and 0.130, respectively. Under the age-specific cut-off values, the sensitivities of tPSA screening for prostate cancer in males <60, 60-70, and ≥70 years old were 92.3%, 82.0%, and 77.6%, respectively, while the specificities were 84.7%, 81.3%, and 75.4%, respectively. The age-specific sensitivities of fPSA/tPSA for screening prostate cancer were 74.4%, 53.3%, and 55.9%, respectively, while the specificities were 83.8%, 83.7%, and 83.7%, respectively. Both bootstrap's internal validation and PLCO external validation provided similar results. The combination of tPSA and fPSA/tPSA could further improve the accuracy of screening.Conclusion:To improve the screening effects, it is recommended that age-specific cut-off values of tPSA and fPSA/tPSA should be used to screen for prostate cancer in the general risk population.

Centric relation(CR)was used in the complete dentures for edentulous jaws firstly.Then,CR was gradual-ly applied in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of dentate jaws.Regarding the application of CR in dentate jaws,there are many doubts about its rationality.For instance,should CR be the core of diagnosis and treatment of temporomandibu-lar disorders?Should CR be used as the jaw position of establishing occlusion in occlusal reconstruction?Should CR serve as the target jaw position in orthodontic treatment?Meanwhile,varieties of CR clinical applications are objective.According to the existing evidence,this paper summarizes the applicable conditions of several main clinical situations with little controversy.We preliminarily put forward the decision tree for the clinical application of CR,which can be used as a reference in clinical practice.

Objective:To determine the total and age-specific cut-off values of total prostate specific antigen (tPSA) and the ratio of free PSA divided total PSA (fPSA/tPSA) for screening prostate cancer in China.Methods:Based on the Chinese Colorectal, Breast, Lung, Liver, and Stomach cancer Screening Trial (C-BLAST) and the Tianjin Common Cancer Case Cohort (TJ4C), males who were not diagnosed with any cancers at baseline since 2017 and received both tPSA and fPSA testes were selected. Based on Cox regression, the overall and age-specific (＜60, 60-＜70, and ≥70 years) accuracy and optimal cut-off values of tPSA and fPSA/tPSA ratio for screening prostate cancer were evaluated with time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve (tdROC) and area under curve (AUC). Bootstrap resampling was used to internally validate the stability of the optimal cut-off value, and the PLCO study was used to externally validate the accuracy under different cut-off values.Results:A total of 5 180 participants were included in the study, and after a median follow-up of 1.48 years, a total of 332 prostate cancer patients were included. In the total population, the tdAUC of tPSA and fPSA/tPSA screening for prostate cancer were 0.852 and 0.748, respectively, with the optimal cut-off values of 5.08 ng/ml and 0.173, respectively. After age stratification, the age specific cut-off values of tPSA in the <60, 60-<70, and ≥70 age groups were 3.13, 4.82, and 11.54 ng/ml, respectively, while the age-specific cut-off values of fPSA/tPSA were 0.153, 0.135, and 0.130, respectively. Under the age-specific cut-off values, the sensitivities of tPSA screening for prostate cancer in males <60, 60-70, and ≥70 years old were 92.3%, 82.0%, and 77.6%, respectively, while the specificities were 84.7%, 81.3%, and 75.4%, respectively. The age-specific sensitivities of fPSA/tPSA for screening prostate cancer were 74.4%, 53.3%, and 55.9%, respectively, while the specificities were 83.8%, 83.7%, and 83.7%, respectively. Both bootstrap's internal validation and PLCO external validation provided similar results. The combination of tPSA and fPSA/tPSA could further improve the accuracy of screening.Conclusion:To improve the screening effects, it is recommended that age-specific cut-off values of tPSA and fPSA/tPSA should be used to screen for prostate cancer in the general risk population.

Using digital technologies in concurrently performing missing tooth implantation and preparation of remaining teeth is a solution to reduce the number of visits and improve efficiency. This paper proposes a digital process for simultaneously implanting and preparing teeth. It integrates implant surgical guide and 3D-printed tooth preparation guide into a single guide and completes guided implant placement and precise tooth preparation. Based on "repair-oriented" virtual implant planning, the implant surgical guide can improve the efficiency and predictability of implant placement, and its linear accuracy is about 1 mm. The tooth preparation guide precisely guides tooth preparation and restoration space visualization, ensuring the quality of the tooth preparation. The two guides have different design accuracy requirements, and thus their combination improves the overall guiding accuracy requirements. The concurrent application of the two guides minimizes the clinical operation time, number of visits, and economic burden of patients.
Humans ; Surgery, Computer-Assisted ; Dental Implantation, Endosseous ; Printing, Three-Dimensional ; Technology ; Tooth Preparation ; Computer-Aided Design ; Dental Implants ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the role and mechanism of circRNA-SR-related CTD associated factor 8 (SCAF8) in regulating endothelial cell pyroptosis in high glucose environment. METHODS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured and divided into six groups. The normal control group and high glucose control group were cultured in cell culture medium with 5 and 33 mmol/L glucose, respectively. The RNA control group, circRNA-SCAF8 inhibition group, miR-93-5p overexpression group and miR-93-5p inhibition group were added with non-functional siRNA, circRNA-SCAF8 inhibitor, miR-93-5p overexpression molecule and miR-93-5p inhibitor in high glucose environment, respectively. Cell viability and pyroptosis were detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, flow cytometry and Hoechst 33342/propidium iodide fluorescence double staining. Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to detect the expression of pyroptosis-related factors including apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), cysteine aspartic acid specific protease-1 (caspase-1) and Gasdermin D (GSDMD), NOD like receptor protein 3 (NLRP-3), thioredoxin interacting proteins (TXNIP), IL-18 and IL-1β. The expression of circRNA-SCAF8, miR-93-5p and TXNIP was detected by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to locate circRNA-SCAF8 and miR-93-5p. Dual luciferase assay was used to verify the targeted regulatory relationship between miR-93-5p and upstream and downstream molecules. RESULTS: Compared with the RNA control group, the cell survival rate of circRNA-SCAF8 inhibition group and miR-93-5p overexpression group increased (both P<0.01), the pyroptosis decreased (both P<0.01), and the expressions of pyroptosis-related factors such as TXNIP, NLRP-3, caspase-1, GSDMD, ASC, IL-18 and IL-1β were significantly decreased (all P<0.05). The expression of miR-93-5p was significantly increased after inhibition of circRNA-SCAF8 (P<0.01), and the expression of circRNA-SCAF8 tended to decrease after overexpression of miR-93-5p, but with no statistical significance (P>0.05). Dual luciferase assay showed that miR-93-5p downre-gulated circRNA-SCAF8 expression by binding to the 3 ´ UTR region of circRNA-SCAF8, and miR-93-5p downregulated TXNIP expression by binding to the 3 ´ UTR region of TXNIP. FISH showed that circRNA-SCAF8 and miR-93-5p were both located in the cytoplasm and were highly associated in the cells. qRT-PCR showed that the relative expression of TXNIP increased or decreased after overexpression or inhibition of miR-93-5p compared with the RNA control group, respectively (both P<0.05), suggesting that miR-93-5p could regulate TXNIP gene expression. CONCLUSIONS CircRNA-SCAF8/miR-93-5p/TXNIP axis is involved in the regulation of pyroptosis in HUVECs under high glucose.
Humans ; Factor VIII ; RNA, Circular ; Endothelial Cells ; Interleukin-18 ; Pyroptosis ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; Caspase 1 ; MicroRNAs/genetics* ; Carrier Proteins/genetics* ; RNA-Binding Proteins

BackgroundThe schizophrenia is majorly treated with drug and through physical therapy. However， both treatments would lead to adverse reactions， which could affect therapy adherence and treatment efficacy. Previous studies have shown that aerobic exercise can help alleviate cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease and depressive disorder. At present， little research has been done on such alleviation in schizophrenia patients. ObjectiveTo explore the effect of aerobic exercise on cognitive function in male patients with chronic schizophrenia， so as to provide references for relevant treatments. MethodsA total of 76 male patients with chronic schizophrenia hospitalized in the Fourth People's Hospital of Wuhu between December 2022 and April 2023 were selected as the study subjects and， in accordance with random number table， divided into study group （n=36） and control group （n=40）. Both groups received conventional drug treatment. On this basis， the study group received a 60-minute aerobic exercise 5 times a week for 8 weeks as intervention. Before and after intervention， assessment of cognitive function was performed by using MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery （MCCB） and Stroop Color Word Test （SCWT）. ResultAfter intervention， compared with the control group， the study group spent less time on finishing the Trail Making Test and scored higher in both the spatial span test and maze test （Z=-2.070， -2.306， -2.375， P<0.05）. Repeated measure ANOVA results showed that the time main effect of Hopkins Verbal Learning Test score was statistically significant in the two groups after intervention （F=39.067， P<0.05）. So was the interaction effect between the time and group of the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test and Verbal Fluency Test scores （F=10.092， 9.252， P<0.05）. After intervention， the scores of the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test and Verbal Fluency Test in the study group were higher than those in the control group （t=6.689， 4.249， P<0.05）. As for the study group itself， the scores were higher than those before intervention （t=23.746， 23.842， P<0.05）. After intervention， the numbers of correct reading in color test and word test in the study group were more than those in the control group （Z=-2.358， -2.771， P<0.05）. The interaction effect between the time and group of the reaction time in color test， word test and color word interference test were statistically significant in both groups （F=23.383， 19.888， 19.662， P<0.05）. After intervention， the reaction time in color test and color word interference test of the study group was shorter than those of the control group （t=4.895， 6.163， P<0.05）. As for the study group itself， the reaction time were shorter than before intervention （t=54.318， 42.425， 42.141， P<0.01）. ConclusionAerobic exercise may help alleviate the cognitive problems in male patients with chronic schizophrenia in terms of information processing speed， working memory， reasoning/problem solving ability， word learning and memorizing， visual learning and memorizing， and executive function. ［Funded by Wuhu Science and Technology Plan Project （number， 2021jc2-3）］