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The subjective and objective symptoms of nasal obstruction had improved 1 year after septoplasty. A significant correlation between VAS scores and nasal resistance in the narrow side of the nose was found before surgery. The subjective and objective measurements of nasal obstruction lacked significant correlation postoperatively.

High R.E.N.A.L nephrometry score and male gender are associated with an increased risk of malignancy and high grade malignancy in tumors treated with partial nephrectomy.

BackgroundAccurate T-staging is pivotal for predicting prognosis and selecting appropriate therapies for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The diagnostic performance of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for its T-staging is uncertain. We investigated use of FDG PET/CT for preoperative T-staging of patients with ESCC.MethodsPatients with ESCC given preoperative FDG PET/CT scans, either with (CRT[+] group) or without (CRT[−] group) neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, were retrospectively reviewed. Maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of the primary tumors on FDG PET/CT scans were measured, and histopathological results were used as the reference standard. The associations between pathological T-stage and potential factors of age, tumor location, tumor grade, tumor size, and tumor SUVmax were analyzed. The cut-off levels of SUVmax for predicting different T-stages and for residual viable tumors after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy were determined using receiver operating characteristic analyses.ResultsWe enrolled 103 patients (45 in the CRT[−] group; 58 in the CRT[+] group). SUVmax, an independent predictive factor, positively correlated with the pathological T-stage in both groups (CRT[−] group: ρ = 0.736, p < 0.001; and CRT[+] group: ρ = 0.792, p < 0.001). The overall accuracy of the PET/CT with thresholded SUVmax for predicting the pathological T-stage was 73.3% in the CRT[−] group (SUVmax of T0: 0–1.9, T1: 2.0–4.4, T2: 4.5–6.5, T3: 6.6–13.0, T4: >13.0) and 67.2% in the CRT[+] group (SUVmax of T0: 0–3.4, T1: 3.5–3.9, T2: 4.0–5.5, T3: 5.6–6.2, T4: > 6.2). For CRT[−] group, the accuracy using an SUVmax cut-off of 4.4 to differentiate early (T0-1) from locally advanced disease (T2-4) was 82.2% (95% CI, 71.1–93.4%). For CRT[+] group, the accuracy using an SUVmax cut-off of 3.4 to predict residual viable tumors (non-T0) after completion of chemoradiotherapy was 82.8% (95% CI, 73.0–92.5%).ConclusionsThe FDG avidity of a primary esophageal tumor significantly positively correlated with the pathological T-stage. PET/CT with thresholded SUVmax was useful for predicting T-stage and differentiating residual viable tumors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12880-016-0171-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Cu@CuO@PSMA polymer nanoparticles (Cu@CuO@polymer NPs) with near-infrared (NIR) absorption were successfully synthesized in a single-step oxidation reaction of Cu@PSMA polymer NPs at 100 °C for 20 min. The shape, structure, and optical properties of the Cu@CuO@polymer NPs were tailorable by controlling the reaction parameters, for example, using the initial Cu@PSMA polymer NP as a template and varying the halide ion content, heating temperature, and reaction time. The Cu@CuO@polymer NPs exhibited robust NIR absorption between 650 and 710 nm and possessed superior oxidation resistance in water and culture media. In vitro assays demonstrated the low cytotoxicity of the Cu@CuO@PSMA polymer NPs to HeLa cells through an improved cell viability, high IC, low injury incidence from the supernatant of the partly dissociated Cu@CuO@PSMA polymer NPs, and minor generation of reactive oxygen species. More importantly, we demonstrated that the inorganic Cu-based nanocomposite [+0.34 V vs normal hydrogen electrode (NHE)] was degradable in an endogenous HO (+1.78 V vs NHE) environment. Cu ions were detected in the urine of mice, which illustrates the possibility of extraction after the degradation of the Cu-based particles. 'After an treatment of the HeLa cells with the Cu@CuO@polymer NPs and a 660 nm light-emitting diode, the photoablation of 50 and 90% cells was observed at NP doses of 20 and 50 ppm, respectively. These results demonstrate that NIR-functional and moderate redox-active Cu@CuO@polymer NPs are potential next-generation photothermal therapy (PTT) nanoagents because of combined features of degradation resistance in the physiological environment, enabling the delivery of efficient PTT, a possibly improved ability to selectively harm cancer cells by releasing Cu ions under high-HO and/or low-pH conditions, and ability to be extracted from the body after biodegradation.

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