Kaiping Central Hospital

The zig-zag eel (Mastacembelus armatus) is an economically important aquaculture species in south China. Currently, the genome-wide association study (GWAS) for growth traits of zig-zag eel was first performed. A total of 175 zig-zag eels were measured for body height (BH), body length (BL), body weight (BW), body thickness (BT), head length (HL), and total length (TL) and genotyped using whole genome resequencing. After quality control, a total of 13,844,114 high-confidence SNPs were detected uniformly across 24 chromosomes. After GWAS, a total of 2, 1, 2, 2, 1, and 2 SNPs were significantly associated with BH, BL, BW, BT, HL, and TL traits, respectively. In addition, many candidate genes surrounding these SNPs have been shown to be closely associated with growth, including ppt1, cap1, lnr, and fgfr2. In all, these results lay a good foundation for exploring the molecular basis of growth regulation and molecular marker-assisted selection.

Bladder cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies within the urinary system, with incidence and mortality rates showing a global upward trend. This study aims to examine the clinical characteristics of bladder cancer patients with a history of prior malignancies and to develop a prognostic model using extensive data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to inform clinical treatment strategies. Data from bladder cancer patients diagnosed between 2011 and 2015 were extracted using SEER*Stat software. Statistical analyses, including Kaplan-Meier survival curves, and Cox regression, were conducted using R software version 3.6.1 to develop a nomogram model. The predictive performance of the nomogram was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) and the concordance index (C-index). A total of 12,260 bladder cancer patients were analyzed, including 8,959 individuals with no prior tumor history and 3,301 individuals with a history of previous tumors. The mean survival duration for patients with a prior tumor history was 56.04±39.96 months, significantly lower than the 70.28±39.36 months for patients without a prior tumor history (P<0.001). Significant differences were observed between the two groups across various clinical characteristics, such as age, race, gender, marital status, tumor location, tumor stage, and tumor grade. Multifactorial analysis identified age, race, gender, marital status, tumor grade, tumor stage, tumor histological type, surgical intervention, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and prior tumor history as independent prognostic factors influencing survival. A nomogram was subsequently developed to predict overall mortality risk and 3- and 5-year survival rates, demonstrating robust predictive performance with a C-index and AUC exceeding 0.70. Patients with a history of tumors exhibited lower survival rates and distinct clinical characteristics. The developed nomogram accurately predicts overall mortality and 3- and 5-year survival rates, offering potential for personalized prognostic assessments in clinical practice. Future research should validate the model's generalizability and include additional biological factors to enhance its predictive power.

To analyze the accuracy of prosthesis size selection in Naton robot-assisted medial unicondyle knee arthroplasty by comparing the actual prosthesis size used during operation and the preoperative planning. The clinical data of 100 patients (110 knees) who underwent Naton robot-assisted medial unicondylar knee arthroplasty between June 2023 and July 2024 was retrospectively analyzed, including 47 knees on left side and 63 knees on right side. There were 37 males (40 knees) and 63 females (70 knees) with a mean age of 65.4 years (range, 59-71 years). Body mass index was 22.2-28.6 kg/m 2 (mean, 25.4 kg/m 2). The disease duration ranged from 1 to 8 years (mean, 3.4 years). Preoperative planning was performed by Naton robotic surgical system based on lower limb CT data. The final prosthesis size after osteotomy was recorded and compared with the preoperative plan to analyse whether it was consistent with the preoperative plan, as well as the situation of knee flexion and extension gaps (<0.5 mm, >2.0 mm) corresponding to the different models of prostheses. During operation, 5 patients (5 knees) were treated with traditional UKA due to mechanical arm failure, software obstacles, significant bone amputation bias, or loose reference frame, and were excluded from the final analysis. The remaining 95 patients (105 knees) successfully received Naton robot-assisted surgery, and no related complications occurred. The prosthesis size was consistent with the preoperative plan in 101 knees (96.2%) on the femur side, 100 knees (95.2%) on the tibia side, and 97 knees (92.4%) on both femur and tibia sides. The prosthesis size was inconsistent in 3 cases (2.86%) on the femur side alone, 4 cases (3.81%) on the tibial side alone, and 1 case (0.95%) on both femur and tibial sides. Among the prostheses with different models, the flexion and extension gaps were less than 0.5 mm in 3 knees, the flexion gap was less than 0.5 mm and the extension gap was more than 2.0 mm in 3 knees, and the flexion gap was more than 2.0 mm and the extension gap was less than 0.5 mm in 2 knees. The accuracy of prosthesis size selection for Naton robot-assisted medial unicondylar knee arthroplasty is relatively high.

Following the publication of the above paper, it was drawn to the Editor's attention by a concerned reader that the immunohistochemical images shown in Fig. 7E were strikingly similar to data that had already been published in different form in a previous article in the journal PLoS One written by different authors at different research institutes. Owing to the fact that the abovementioned data had already apparently been published previously, the Editor of Oncology Reports has decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal. The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these concerns, but the Editorial Office did not receive a reply. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [Oncology Reports 44: 1064‑1074, 2020; DOI: 10.3892/or.2020.7684].

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies affecting women globally and poses a significant public health challenge. Early clinical detection plays a pivotal role in providing optimal treatment opportunities and favorable prognoses, crucial for reducing breast cancer mortality and enhancing patients' quality of life. Therefore, the timely identification and diagnosis of breast cancer are imperative. Conventional tumor markers, such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA15-3), serve as reliable methods for actively monitoring disease progression and have become a routine auxiliary diagnostic approach in clinical settings. However, these biomarkers exhibit limitations in sensitivity and specificity, particularly in the early screening and diagnosis of tumors, often yielding results inconsistent with clinical manifestations. In recent years, research has increasingly focused on exosomes released by tumor cells as potential new biomarkers for early stage breast cancer screening. Exosomes carry various components, including tumor-derived proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids. This paper delves into the specific utilization of serum exosomal microRNA-21 (miR-21) as a biomarker for early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer, evaluating its efficacy within this framework.

Globally, pancreatic cancer is recognized as one of the deadliest malignancies that lacks effective targeted therapies. This study aims to explore the role of cyclin I-like protein (CCNI2), a homolog of cyclin I (CCNI), in the progression of pancreatic cancer, thereby providing a theoretical basis for its treatment. Firstly, the expression of CCNI2 in pancreatic cancer tissues was determined through immunohistochemical staining. The biological role of CCNI2 in pancreatic cancer cells was further assessed using both in vitro and in vivo loss/gain-of-function assays. Our data revealed that CCNI2 expression was abnormally elevated in pancreatic cancer, and clinically, increased CCNI2 expression generally correlated with reduced overall survival. Functionally, CCNI2 contributed to the malignant progression of pancreatic cancer by promoting the proliferation and migration of tumor cells. Consistently, in vivo experiments verified that CCNI2 knockdown impaired the tumorigenic ability of pancreatic cancer cells. Moreover, the addition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors could partially reverse the promoting effect of CCNI2 on the malignant phenotypes of pancreatic cancer cells. CCNI2 promoted pancreatic cancer through PI3K/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway, indicating its potential as a prognostic marker and therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer.

Danio rerio zebrafish constitute a popular model for studying lens development and congenital cataracts. However, the specific deletion of a gene with a Cre/LoxP system in the zebrafish lens is unavailable because of the lack of a lens-Cre-transgenic zebrafish. This study aimed to generate a transgenic zebrafish line in which Cre recombinase was specifically expressed in the lens. The pTol2 cryaa:Cre-polyA-cryaa:EGFP (enhanced green fluorescent protein) plasmid was constructed and co-injected with Tol2-transposase into one-to-two-cell-stage wild-type (WT) zebrafish embryos. Whole-mount in situ hybridization (ISH), tissue section, hematoxylin and eosin staining, a Western blot, a split-lamp observation, and a grid transmission assay were used to analyze the Cre expression, lens structure, and lens transparency of the transgenic zebrafish. In this study, we generated a transgenic zebrafish line, zTg(cryaa:Cre-cryaa:EGFP), in which Cre recombinase and EGFP were driven by the lens-specific cryaa promoter. zTg(cryaa:Cre-cryaa:EGFP) began to express Cre and EGFP specifically in the lens at the 22 hpf stage, and this ectopic Cre could efficiently and specifically delete the red fluorescent protein (RFP) signal from the lens when zTg(cryaa:Cre-cryaa:EGFP) embryos were injected with the loxP-flanked RFP plasmid. The overexpression of Cre and EGFP did not impair zebrafish development or lens transparency. Accordingly, this zTg(cryaa:Cre-cryaa:EGFP) zebrafish line is a useful tool for gene editing, specifically with zebrafish lenses. We established a zTg(cryaa:Cre-cryaa:EGFP) zebrafish line that can specifically express an active Cre recombinase in lens tissues. This transgenic zebrafish line can be used as a tool to specifically manipulate a gene in zebrafish lenses.