Objectives To evaluate hidden blood loss (HBL) and its possible risk factors among patients following expansive open-door laminoplasty (EOLP) for multilevel, cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of data from patients over 18 years of age who underwent posterior cervical EOLP (from C3-C6) in our department from January 2017 to July 2018. HBL was calculated by deducting the observed perioperative blood loss from the calculated total blood loss (TBL) based on the fall in haematocrit level. Results 45 patients (35 men and 10 women) were identified. Mean ± SD HBL was 337.2 ± 187.8 ml, which was 46.8% of the total perioperative blood loss (705.2 ± 269.6 ml). Twenty-three patients developed postoperative anaemia. Posterior cervical soft tissue was positively correlated with both TBL and hidden blood loss (HBL) and hypertension was positively correlated with TBL. Conclusions HBL following cervical EOLP was significant and should be recognised as a detrimental factor to patient safety during the perioperative period, especially in patients with thick posterior cervical soft tissue.

Prostate cancer stemness (PCS) cells have been reported to drive tumor progression, recurrence and drug resistance. However, there is lacking systematical assessment of stemlike indices and associations with immunological properties in prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD). We thus collected 7 PRAD cohorts with 1465 men and calculated the stemlike indices for each sample using one-class logistic regression machine learning algorithm. We selected the mRNAsi to quantify the stemlike indices that correlated significantly with prognosis and accordingly identified 21 PCS-related CpG loci and 13 pivotal signature. The 13-gene based PCS model possessed high predictive significance for progression-free survival (PFS) that was trained and validated in 7 independent cohorts. Meanwhile, we conducted consensus clustering and classified the total cohorts into 5 PCS clusters with distinct outcomes. Samples in PCScluster5 possessed the highest stemness fractions and suffered from the worst prognosis. Additionally, we implemented the CIBERSORT algorithm to infer the differential abundance across 5 PCS clusters. The activated immune cells (CD8+ T cell and dendritic cells) infiltrated significantly less in PCScluster5 than other clusters, supporting the negative regulations between stemlike indices and anticancer immunity. High mRNAsi was also found to be associated with up-regulation of immunosuppressive checkpoints, like PDL1. Lastly, we used the Connectivity Map (CMap) resource to screen potential compounds for targeting PRAD stemness, including the top hits of cell cycle inhibitor and FOXM1 inhibitor. Taken together, our study comprehensively evaluated the PRAD stemlike indices based on large cohorts and established a 13-gene based classifier for predicting prognosis or potential strategies for stemness treatment.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is an age-related degenerative disease and is the fourth major cause of disability, but there are no effective therapies because of its complex pathology and the side effects of the drugs. Previous research demonstrated that inflammation and ECM degradation play major roles in OA development. Monascin is an azaphilonoid pigment extracted from Monascus-fermented rice with a potential anti-inflammatory effect reported in various preclinical studies. In the present study, we investigated the protectiveness of monascin on interleukin (IL)-1β-induced mouse chondrocytes and surgical destabilization of the medial meniscus mouse (DMM) OA models. In vitro, monascin treatment inhibited the IL-1β-induced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E (PGE), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). In addition, the IL-1β-stimulated matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) and thrombospondin motifs 5 (ADAMTS-5) upregulation and type two collagen and aggrecan degradation were reversed by monascin. Mechanistically, we revealed that monascin suppressed nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signalling by activating the nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) in IL-1β-induced chondrocytes. And monascin-induced protectiveness in OA development was also shown by using a DMM model. Altogether, our results suggested that monascin could be a novel therapeutic approach for OA.

The operator should frequently check to ensure that cement injection has stopped upon reaching the SL. Surgeons may benefit from this quantitative anatomical study of PKP and PVP.

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Background: Mechanism of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is still unclear. Our objective is to investigate the association between genes expression and CRPC through the genome-wide approach and functional researches. Methods: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between PCa and CRPC tissues were identified using expression profile obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus database (GEO). Survival analysis was performed using online database Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA). Oncomine database was further used to explore the relationship between DEGs expression levels with clinical parameters. After in silico study, SEC14L2-knockdown CRPC cells and normal prostatic epithelial cells were used for in vitro study to verify its biological functions. Results: A total of 3 consistently changed DEGs (SEC14L2, DMD, SEL1L) were identified correlating with CRPC after cross validation in three independent datasets. Low expression of SEC14L2 was associated with poorer disease-free survival and higher Gleason score than normal/high expression of SEC14L2. SEC14L2 knockdown promoted cell proliferation, migration, invasion as well as cell cycle progression in CRPC cells (all P<0.05) while no significant effects were observed in normal prostatic epithelial cells. Conclusions: Low expression of SEC14L2 was significantly associated with CRPC, and correlated with PCa aggressiveness and poorer prognosis. SEC14L2 might be a potential biomarker or drug target for CRPC.

How to properly invest in the stock market is a hot issue of social concern, and some studies have shown that the herding effect will have a certain impact on the market stability and market efficiency of the stock market, and the herding effect between countries with different levels of development can be studied in more depth. The research topic of this paper is the study of herding effects in countries with different levels of development. The research methodology of this paper is as follows: developed and developing countries are divided into two categories, and four countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and Indonesia, are selected to explore the causes and effects of the herding effect in developed and developing countries, respectively. The study found that the herding effect was more pronounced in developing countries compared to developed countries. The herding effect is more pronounced in developing countries because of the relatively imperfect construction of financial markets, the lack of financial literacy of the people, and so on, so these internal factors lead to the herding effect. In contrast, developed countries need to pay more attention to the herding effect caused by external influences such as epidemics and financial crises.