Prostate cancer (PCa) has become one of the most common malignancies in men, and its incidence is increasing year by year in China. When PCa develops into castration-resistant PCa (CRPC), it deteriorates rapidly. So, it is important to find more sensitive molecular markers and effective therapeutic targets for the diagnosis and treatment of the malignancy. Circular RNA (circRNA) is a covalently closed loop non-coding RNA formed by reverse splicing, playing an important regulatory role in a variety of tumors. In recent years, many studies show that circRNA is involved in the regulation of PCa as miRNA sponge, binding with the RNA binding protein and other molecular sponges, and may be a potential molecular marker and therapeutic target for PCa. This review summarizes the advances in recent studies of circRNA in the development and progression of PCa, CRPC, and radiation-resistant PCa.
We read with interest the article by Dr. Song R and colleagues in the Journal of Infection titled "Clinical and epidemiological features of COVID-19 family clusters in Beijing, China."1Song R. Han B. Song M. et al.Clinical and epidemiological features of COVID-19 family clusters in Beijing, China.J Infect. 2020; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2020.04.018Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (56) Google Scholar, published online in April 2020. The authors presented the epidemiological and clinical features of the clusters of four families and found that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted quickly in the form of family clusters. Children in the families generally showed milder symptoms. As of April 28, 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been responsible for more than 3.05 million confirmed cases around the world. Early evidence showed that children seemed to be escaping the worst effects of the SARS-Cov-2.2Zunyou W. McGoogan J.M. Characteristics of and important lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: summary of a report of 72 314 cases from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.JAMA. 2020; https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.2648Crossref Scopus (12457) Google Scholar However, a recent study indicated children with SARS-CoV-2 infection could be detected in early January 2020 in Wuhan.3Liu W. Zhang Q. Chen J. et al.Detection of Covid-19 in Children in Early January 2020 in Wuhan, China.N Engl J Med. 2020; (published on March 12)https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2003717Crossref Scopus (475) Google Scholar Another study reported that children are as susceptible to COVID-19 as adults.4Bi Q. Wu Y. Mei S. et al.Epidemiology and transmission of COVID-19 in Shenzhen China: analysis of 391 cases and 1,286 of their close contacts.medRxiv. 2020; (posted March 4. doi:)https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.03.20028423Crossref Scopus (0) Google Scholar As the number of children infected with COVID-19 gradually increases, the disease has been documented in infants, children and adolescents, however, limited reports analyzed pediatric patients with COVID-19. Although a recent review has summarized the clinical features and management of infected children,5Castagnoli R. Votto M. Licari A. et al.Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in children and adolescents: a systematic review.JAMA Pediatr. 2020; https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.1467Crossref PubMed Scopus (787) Google Scholar the spectrum of disease of children outside Wuhan are still limited. Therefore, we included 46 children (≤18 years of age) hospitalized with positive real-time fluorescence polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results of throat swabs were included from four tertiary-care hospitals in Guangdong, Hunan, and Hubei Provinces, China between January 20, 2020 and March 9, 2020. Demographic data and clinical features are summarized in Table 1. Details of the laboratory, chest radiological findings and treatment are provided in Supplementary Tables 1–2 and Figure 1. All 46 children cases were non-severe by clinical examination. 29 children (63%) were male, with a median age of 8 years (interquartile range, 4–14 years; range, 7 months to 18 years). 32 children (70%) had at least one infected family member, indicating pediatric patients acquired infections mainly through close contact with their parents or other family members who lived in Wuhan, or had visited there. Unlike adults, no children in this study had comorbidities. 22 children (48%) were asymptomatic at the onset. The most common clinical symptoms were dry cough [12 children (26%)] and fever [eight children (17%)] accompanied by other upper respiratory symptoms, such as nasal congestion and runny nose. Our children cases had no gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. No children had leukopenia and lymphopenia. 20 children (43%) had chest imaging abnormalities, such as unilateral nodular or patchy ground-glass opacities. Recent studies questioned the role of chest CT in the diagnosis of COVID-19 because of biologic effects of ionizing-radiations, therefore, doctors should choose the optimal radiological imaging tool (CT, X-ray, or US) based on clinical conditions and possible adverse events. According to the findings of previous literature and our study, chest CT may be not a preferred screening tool of COVID-19 in children. After confirmation of COVID-19, most of children were treated with one to three antiviral drugs. No children needed intensive care unit care or invasive mechanical ventilation. As of March 9, 2020, all children had been discharged and no children had died. No children had severe complications. The median length of hospital stay was 15 days. Four children had a positive rectal swabs but negative throat swabs after recovery; the time from hospital discharge to positive RT-PCR test after recovery was 2–12 days.Table 1Demographic and clinical characteristics of the study children.CharacteristicsValueMean (standard deviation) age, months105 (64)Median (interquartile) age, months96 (48–168)Age groups (years) 0–13 (7) 1–513 (28)) 6–1010 (22) 11–1820 (43)Sex Male29 (63) Female17 (37)Symptoms at onset Fever10 (22) Dry cough15 (33) Dry throat4 (9) Nasal congestion/runny nose6 (13) Weak3 (7)Epidemiologic historyNo. of infected family members 18 (17) 210 (22) ≥313 (28) Wuhan linkage22 (48)Body temperature on admission (°) ≤361 (2) 36–37.539 (85) >37.55 (11)Chest imaging abnormalities Ground-glass opacity13 (28) Consolidation1 (2) Mixed ground-glass opacity and Consolidation4 (9) Local patchy shadowing1 (2) Unilateral15 (33) Bilateral4 (9)Time from illness to first hospital admission, days2 (1–3)Note: Values are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise. Wuhan linkage was defined as residing in or visiting Wuhan or contact with visitors from Wuhan ≤2 weeks before the onset of infection. Open table in a new tab Note: Values are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise. Wuhan linkage was defined as residing in or visiting Wuhan or contact with visitors from Wuhan ≤2 weeks before the onset of infection. This report describes a spectrum of COVID-19 pneumonia in children outside Wuhan, China, which might provide an insight into the prevention and control of COVID-19 in children across other areas of China and other countries. In contrast with infected children from Wuhan, the SARS-CoV-2 infected children was more milder and insidious regarding the symptoms, laboratory, and radiological findings. The burden of COVID-19 in children may be low compared with adult patients, but the high proportion of asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infections in children should be paid close attention. After discharge, a small proportion of the recovered children may still be virus carriers because persistent rectal swab positives occurred even after throat swab testing turned negative in children. The fecal viral shedding could be as long as 57 days.6Xu Y. Li X. Zhu B. et al.Characteristics of pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection and potential evidence for persistent fecal viral shedding.Nat Med. 2020; (Published online March 13)https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591020-0817-4Crossref Google Scholar Viral shedding through gastrointestinal tract suggested the possibility of fecal-oral viral transmission. However, this finding should be confirmed in larger studies. Available evidence showed recovered pediatric patients with positive RT-PCR might not be caused by virus recurrence or second virus infection. The authors declare no competing interests. Download .docx (.44 MB) Help with docx files
The booming electric vehicle industry continues to place higher requirements on power batteries related to economic-cost, power density and safety. The positive electrode materials play an important role in the energy storage performance of the battery. The nickel-rich NCM (LiNixCoyMnzO2 with x + y + z = 1) materials have received increasing attention due to their high energy density, which can satisfy the demand of commercial-grade power batteries. Prominently, single-crystal nickel-rich electrodes with s unique micron-scale single-crystal structure possess excellent electrochemical and mechanical performance, even when tested at high rates, high cut-off voltages and high temperatures. In this review, we outline in brief the characteristics, problems faced and countermeasures of nickel-rich NCM materials. Then the distinguishing features and main synthesis methods of single-crystal nickel-rich NCM materials are summarized. Some existing issues and modification methods are also discussed in detail, especially the optimization strategies under harsh conditions. Finally, an outlook on the future development of single-crystal nickel-rich materials is provided. This work is expected to provide some reference for research on single-crystal nickel-rich ternary materials with high energy density, high safety levels, long-life, and their contribution to sustainable development.
Abstract Aims With the increase prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the low-risk population (LRP), establishing a non-invasive diagnostic strategy becomes more and more urgent to spare unnecessary biopsies in this population. The purposes of this study were to find the imaging features of HCC and establish a proper non-invasive method to diagnosis HCC in LRP. Methods A total of 681 patients in LRP (defined by the population without cirrhosis, chronic HBV infection or HCC history) were collected from 2 institutions. The images of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were analyzed. We divided the patients into training cohort (n = 324) and internal validating cohort (n = 139) by admission time in the first institution. The second institution were viewed as the external validation (n = 218). A multivariate logistic regression model incorporating imaging features and previously confirmed independent risk predictors was further developed. C-statistics was used to evaluate the diagnostic performance. Results Except for the typical hallmark features of HCC (non-rim enhancement, washout and capsule enhancement), tumor necrosis or severe ischemia (TNSI) and two clinical characteristics (gender and alpha fetoprotein) were also independently associated with HCC diagnosis (all P < 0.01). A clinical-imaging model (using 3 typical hallmark features, TNSI, gender and AFP) were built to diagnose HCC and achieved good diagnostic performance (area under curve values were 0.954 in training cohort, 0.931 in internal validation cohort and 0.902 in external cohort). Conclusions The clinical-imaging model that this study developed achieved a satisfied non-invasive diagnostic performance for HCC in LRP.
If hilar and mediastinal lymph node metastases occur in solid nodule lung cancer is critical for tumor staging, which determines the treatment strategy and prognosis of patients. We aimed to develop an effective model to predict hilar and mediastinal lymph node metastases by using texture features of solid nodule lung cancer.Two hundred eighteen patients with solid nodules on CT images were analyzed retrospectively. The 3D tumors were delineated using ITK-SNAP software. Radiomics features were extracted from unenhanced and enhanced CT images based on AK software. Correlations between radiomics features of unenhanced and enhanced CT images were analyzed with Spearman rank correlation analysis. According to pathological findings, the patients were divided into no lymph node metastasis group and lymph node metastasis group. All patients were randomly divided into training group and test group at a ratio of 7:3. Valuable features were selected. Multivariate logistic regression was used to build predictive models. Two predictive models were established with unenhanced and enhanced CT images. ROC analysis was used to estimate the predictive efficiency of the models.A total of 7 categories of features, including 107 features, were extracted. There was a high correlation between the 7 categories of features from unenhanced CT images and enhanced CT images (all r > 0.7, p < 0.05). Among them, the shape features had the strongest correlation (mean r = 0.98). There were 5 features in the enhanced model and the unenhanced model, which had important predicting significance. The AUCs were 0.811 and 0.803, respectively. There was no significant difference in the predictive performance of the two models (DeLong's test, p = 0.05).Our study models achieved higher accuracy for predicting hilar and mediastinal lymph node metastasis of solid nodule lung cancer and have some value in promoting the staging accuracy of lung cancer. Our results show that CT radiomics features have potential to predict hilar and mediastinal lymph node metastases in solid nodular lung cancer. In addition, enhanced and unenhanced CT radiomics models had comparable predictive power in predicting hilar and mediastinal lymph node metastases.
Conventional radiomics analysis requires the manual segmentation of lesions, which is time-consuming and subjective. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of predicting muscle invasion in bladder cancer (BCa) with radiomics using a semi-automatic lesion segmentation method on T2-weighted images. Cases of non-muscle-invasive BCa (NMIBC) and muscle-invasive BCa (MIBC) were pathologically identified in a training cohort and in internal and external validation cohorts. For bladder tumor segmentation, a deep learning-based semi-automatic model was constructed, while manual segmentation was performed by a radiologist. Semi-automatic and manual segmentation results were respectively used in radiomics analyses to distinguish NMIBC from MIBC. An equivalence test was used to compare the models' performance. The mean Dice similarity coefficients of the semi-automatic segmentation method were 0.836 and 0.801 in the internal and external validation cohorts, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were 1.00 (0.991) and 0.892 (0.894) for the semi-automated model (manual) on the internal and external validation cohort, respectively (both p < 0.05). The average total processing time for semi-automatic segmentation was significantly shorter than that for manual segmentation (35 s vs. 92 s, p < 0.001). The BCa radiomics model based on semi-automatic segmentation method had a similar diagnostic performance as that of manual segmentation, while being less time-consuming and requiring fewer manual interventions.
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