Clinical outcomes and neuroendocrine features of transformed versus primary small-cell lung cancer.

Introduction: The clinical outcomes of transformed small-cell lung cancer (T-SCLC) was previously considered comparable with primary SCLC (P-SCLC). However, whether T-SCLCs and P-SCLCs differ in the era of immunotherapy remains unclear.

Methods: Clinical outcomes were retrospectively analyzed.

Cortical microstructural changes in minimal hepatic encephalopathy: a gray matter-based spatial statistics study.

Background: Brain structural alterations have been implicated in the pathophysiology of minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE). This study aimed to investigate cortical microstructural abnormalities and their correlation with cognitive impairment in MHE using neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) and voxel-wise gray matter-based spatial statistics (GBSS).

Methods: The NODDI model was fit to multi-shell diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) acquisitions obtained from 35 healthy controls (HC), 41 cirrhotic patients without MHE (NHE), and 21 cirrhotic patients with MHE.

Multiple ctDNA- based biomarkers predict benefit from selective RET Inhibition in non-small cell lung cancer patients: exploratory analysis of a prospective study.

Selective RET inhibitors such as pralsetinib have become the standard of care for patients with RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Serial analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has proven effective in monitoring disease control/progression and therapeutic response in NSCLC. In this prospective study, we analyzed longitudinal ctDNA profiles (at baseline, week 8, and at progression) in Chinese patients with advanced RET fusion-positive NSCLC treated with pralsetinib (NCT03037385), utilizing allele frequency-based, cfDNA quantity-normalized, and methylation-based metrics.

Flexible carbon-fiber/g-CN nanosheet array as recyclable photocatalysts and photoelectrocatalysts.

In the field of photocatalytic degradation, the separation and recycle technology of powdery g-CN after usage has not been mature so far as well as the secondary pollution problems for large-scale industrial applications. In this thesis, through depositing g-CN nanosheets onto the surface of flexible carbon fiber textiles using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, separable and recyclable carbon-fiber/g-CN nanosheet array was fabricated by method. The photocatalytic, electrocatalytic, and photoelectrocatalytic performance of carbon-fiber/g-CN nanosheet array are studied.

Restorative Effect of Nighttime Naps on Brain Functional Organisation and Memory in Night Shift Nurses.

Shift work-related sleep deprivation (SD) among nurses is associated with cognitive decline, which may be partially mitigated by nighttime nap (NNAP). This study aimed to investigate the restorative effects of NNAP on brain functional organisation and memory in nurses with night shift-related SD. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 24 nurses at three time points: during rested wakefulness (RW), after 24 h of SD and following a period of SD when a NNAP was taken.

Transcriptomic analysis of transformed small-cell lung cancer from EGFR-mutated lung adenocarcinoma reveals distinct subgroups and precision therapy opportunities.

Background: Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) transformation is one of the major mechanisms of resistance to Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs). Chemotherapy is typically the recommended treatment for transformed SCLC (T-SCLC), similar to primary SCLC. However, the benefits of chemotherapy alone are minimal.

Association of glymphatic system disturbance with neural dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Background: Formation and aggregation of pathological proteins in the brain constitutes a critical hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, the role of the glymphatic system in the clearance of pathological proteins in ALS remains unclear. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate glymphatic system disturbance in ALS and its relation to neural function.

The beneficial influence of night-shift napping on brain core cognition networks in nurses experiencing sleep deprivation: A preliminary resting-state fMRI study.

Purpose: This study investigated the restorative effects of napping on cognitive brain networks in night-shift nurses experiencing sleep deprivation (SD).

Methods: Functional magnetic resonance imaging data and neurocognitive assessments were collected from 20 nurses during three sessions (rested wakefulness (RW), SD, and night-shift napping (NS-NAP)). Functional connectivity (FC) was performed in three core cognitive networks, including the default-mode network (DMN), central executive network (CEN), and salience network (SN).

The combination of immune checkpoint inhibitor and chemotherapy may be efficacious for advanced non-small cell lung cancer with near-loop insertions of exon 20: A retrospective analysis.

ObjectiveThe sensitivity of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) as monotherapy is low in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with epidermal growth factor receptor () exon 20 insertion mutations (ex20ins). This study aims at investigating the effectiveness of the combination of ICI and chemotherapy (ICI-combined regimen) in a real-world population of NSCLC patients harboring near-loop insertions of exon 20.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective study of advanced NSCLC with ex20ins from April 2016 to March 2021 at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Southern Medical University, China.

Cerebrospinal fluid circulating tumor DNA profiling for risk stratification and matched treatment of central nervous system metastases.

Genomic profiling of central nervous system (CNS) metastases has the potential to guide treatments. In the present study, we included 584 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer and CNS metastases and performed a comprehensive analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) with clinicopathological annotation. CSF ctDNA-positive detection was independently associated with shorter survival than negative detection (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.

Soma and neurite density imaging detects brain microstructural impairments in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Objective: To investigate whole-brain microstructural changes in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using soma and neurite density imaging (SANDI), a novel multicompartment model of diffusion-weighted imaging that estimates apparent soma and neurite density.

Methods: This study consists of 41 healthy controls and 43 patients with ALS, whose diffusion-weighted data were acquired. The SANDI-derived (including signal fractions of soma (f), neurite (f), and extra-cellular space (f)) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-derived metrics were obtained.

A phase II trial of anlotinib plus EGFR-TKIs in advanced non-small cell lung cancer with gradual, oligo, or potential progression after EGFR-TKIs treatment (CTONG-1803/ALTER-L001).

Background: The study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combined anlotinib and EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had gradual, oligo, or potential progression after previous EGFR-TKIs treatment.

Methods: We conducted an open-label, single-arm, multicenter, phase II trial in China. Eligible patients were 18-75 years old with histologically or cytologically confirmed NSCLC who were EGFR mutation positive and showed gradual, oligo, or potential progression after EGFR-TKIs.

Exceptional points in the microcavity with phonon pump enhance the transparency and slow light.

We theoretically investigated optomechanically induced transparency (OMIT) and slow light in a microcavity optomechanical system containing three nanoparticles, where the pump-probe field drives the cavity and a weak phonon pump drives the mechanical resonator. When the phonon pump frequency matches the pump-probe field frequency difference, adjusting the phonon pump's amplitude and phase can result in the transparency window exceeding unity. Tuning the relative positions of nanoparticles can periodically steer the system to exceptional points (EPs), further enhancing and modulating the transparency window.

Quantitative susceptibility mapping reveals brain iron accumulation in minimal hepatic encephalopathy: associations with neurocognitive changes.

Brain iron deposition is correlated with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE). This study aimed to investigate the pattern of altered iron distribution, using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), and to clarify the relationship between iron deposition and neurocognitive changes in MHE. We enrolled 32 cirrhotic patients without MHE (NHE), 21 cirrhotic patients with MHE, and 24 healthy controls, and used the Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES) to assess neurocognitive function.

Tumor immune microenvironment of NSCLC with EGFR exon 20 insertions may predict efficacy of first-line ICI-combined regimen.

Objectives: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with exon 20 insertion mutations (ex20ins) of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were resistant to monotherapy of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI). However, recent reports have shown that the combination of ICI and chemotherapy (ICI-combined regimen) exhibited certain efficacy for NSCLC with EGFR ex20ins. The mechanisms behind this phenomenon have not been thoroughly clarified.

Cortical microstructural abnormalities in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a gray matter-based spatial statistics study.

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-related white-matter microstructural abnormalities have received considerable attention; however, gray-matter structural abnormalities have not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate cortical microstructural abnormalities in ALS and determine their association with disease severity.

Methods: This study included 34 patients with ALS and 30 healthy controls.

Wedelolactone inhibits ferroptosis and alleviates hyperoxia-induced acute lung injury via the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Hyperoxia-induced acute lung injury (HALI) is a complication of oxygen therapy. Ferroptosis is a vital factor in HALI. This paper was anticipated to investigate the underlying mechanism of wedelolactone (WED) on ferroptosis in HALI.

Mixed response to the first-line treatment of KRAS G12C inhibitor, sotorasib, in non-small cell lung cancer: A brief report.

Key Clinical Message: One Kirsten Ras () G12C mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient had improved poor performance status and obtained mixed response with the first-line KRAS-targeted treatment of sotorasib. After disease progression, partial response was achieved with chemotherapy plus immunotherapy. G12C mutated immunoenvironment in NSCLC may favor the immunotherapy.

Two-color electromagnetically induced transparency generated slow light in double-mechanical-mode coupling carbon nanotube resonators.

We theoretically propose a multiple-mode-coupling hybrid quantum system comprising two-mode-coupling nanomechanical carbon nanotube (CNT) resonators realized by a phase-dependent phonon-exchange interaction interacting with the same nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond. We investigate the coherent optical responses of the NV center under the condition of resonance and detuning. In particular, two-color electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) can be achieved by controlling the system parameters and coupling regimes.

Molecular features and clinical outcomes of EGFR-mutated, MET-amplified non-small-cell lung cancer after resistance to dual-targeted therapy.

Background: Some studies of dual-targeted therapy (DTT) targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) have shown promising efficacy in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Consequently, patient management following DTT resistance has gained significance. However, the underlying resistance mechanisms and clinical outcomes in these patients remain unclear.

Functional connectivity disruption of insular subregions in the cirrhotic patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy.

We investigated abnormal functional connectivity (FC) patterns of insular subregions in patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) and examined their relationships with cognitive dysfunction using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We collected resting-state fMRI data in 54 patients with cirrhosis [20 with MHE and 34 without MHE (NHE)] and 25 healthy controls. After defining six subregions of insula, we mapped whole-brain FC of the insular subregions and identified FC differences through three groups.