Ursolic acid induces apoptosis and autophagy in oral cancer cells

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the fifth common cause of cancer mortality in Taiwan with high incidence and recurrence and needs new therapeutic strategies. In this study, ursolic acid (UA), a triterpenoid, was examined the antitumor potency in OSCC cells. Our results showed that UA inhibited the proliferation of OSCC cells in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner in both Ca922 and SCC2095 oral cancer cells. UA induced caspase‐dependent apoptosis accompanied with the modulation of various biological biomarkers including downregulating Akt/mTOR/NF‐κB signaling, ERK, and p38. In addition, UA inhibited angiogenesis as evidenced by abrogation of migration/invasion and blocking MMP‐2 secretion in Ca922 cells. Interestingly, UA induced autophagy in OSCC cells, as manifested by LC3B‐II conversion and increased p62 expression and accumulation of autophagosomes. Inhibition by autophagy inhibitor enhanced UA‐mediated apoptosis in Ca922 cells. The experiment provides a rationale for using triterpenoid in the treatment of OSCC.     

Panostotic Expansile Bone Disease With Massive Jaw Tumor Formation and a Novel Mutation in the Signal Peptide of RANK

Precise regulation of bone resorption is critical for skeletal homeostasis. We report a 32‐year‐old man with a panostotic expansile bone disease and a massive hemorrhagic mandibular tumor. Originally from Mexico, he was deaf at birth and became bow‐legged during childhood. There was no family history of skeletal disease. Puberty occurred normally, but during adolescence he experienced difficulty straightening his limbs, sustained multiple fractures, and developed a bony tumor on his chin. By age 18 years, all limbs were misshapen. The mandibular mass grew and protruded from the oral cavity, extending to the level of the lower ribs. Other bony defects included a similar maxillary mass and serpentine limbs. Upon referral at age 27 years, biochemical studies showed serum alkaline phosphatase of 1760 U/L (Nl: 29‐111) and other elevated bone turnover markers. Radiography of the limbs showed medullary expansion and cortical thinning with severe bowing. Although the jaw tumors were initially deemed inoperable, mandibular mass excision and staged partial maxillectomy were eventually performed. Tumor histopathology showed curvilinear trabeculae of woven bone on a background of hypocellular fibrous tissue. Fibrous dysplasia of bone was suspected, but there was no mutation in codon 201 of GNAS in samples from blood or tumor. His clinical and radiographic findings, elevated serum markers, and disorganized bone morphology suggested amplified receptor activator of NF‐κB (RANK) signaling, even though his disorder differed from conditions with known constitutive activation of RANK signaling (eg, familial expansile osteolysis). We found a unique 12‐base pair duplication in the signal peptide of TNFRSF11A, the gene that encodes RANK. No exon or splice site mutations were found in the genes encoding RANK ligand or osteoprotegerin. Alendronate followed by pamidronate therapies substantially decreased his serum alkaline phosphatase activity. This unique patient expands the phenotypes and genetic basis of the mendelian disorders of RANK signaling activation. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.     

Effects of stent design on new clinical issue of longitudinal stent compression in interventional cardiology

In recent years, interventional cardiologists have discussed over a new clinical issue called longitudinal stent compression (LSC), a failure mode not previously observed in coronary stents. This phenomenon occurs when the physician attempts to cross a deployed stent with a second device, causing the stent to dramatically shorten when two devices are accidentally entangled. While this phenomenon has been observed with a number of stent platforms, it seems more common with the Element stent. In this paper, a computational LSC model using finite element analysis was developed. A systematic investigation was conducted in attempts to quantify individual contribution of the stent design pattern, connector number, design parameter, and connector location on LSC. Computational simulations were performed on two representative coronary stents resembling Element and Endeavor for comparison. Simulation results show that the connector number plays the most significant role in LSC. The LSC could be easily tripled or quadrupled for the same stent design simply by increasing the connector number from two to three. The design pattern and design parameter play a secondary role in LSC, with the LSC improved by up to 30 and 65 %, respectively. It was also found that the LSC could be doubled for the Element stent simply by rearranging its connector location. This small design tweak could help improve the current Element LSC significantly, while still maintaining the majority of its excellent deliverability. These findings could provide great insights into this new clinical issue and help optimize future stent design to reduce the associated risk involved in LSC.     

Gland-preserving robotic surgery for benign submandibular gland tumours: a comparison between robotic and open techniques

Benign tumours of the submandibular gland are usually treated surgically. Gland-preserving techniques, which can be used to completely remove the tumour, preserve the function of the gland and reduce complications, but conventional open operations result in obvious scars on the neck. We aimed to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of gland-preserving robotic surgery using a hairline approach. We compared robotic with open techniques for gland-preserving operations to remove benign tumours of the submandibular gland. Patients were matched for age and sex (4 in each group). All patients in the robotic surgery group had their tumours removed successfully through hairline approaches. No patient had operative complications or postoperative functional nerve deficit, and an aesthetically pleasing outcome was achieved by concealing the scars within the hairline. Robotic operations took longer than open operations. No recurrence was noted during follow-up. Gland-preserving robotic surgery is a feasible alternative to conventional techniques and has potential advantages for safety and aesthetic outcome.     

Online detection of concerned HIV-related messages in web forums

Web forums become the means of online communication and information sharing sources for the learning about health care and related treatment knowledge. By adopting web crawlers and natural language processing techniques, the automatic identification approach of the concerned HIV-related messages is proposed to facilitate the health authorities and social support groups in instant counseling. The proposed supervised GA/k-means for classification approach can help construct an effective identification and classification model with acceptable classification performance accompanied with its full flexibility to develop different fitness functions in accordance with the need of different requirements. Furthermore, with the aid of correspondence analysis, the most frequently used terms in concerned HIV-related messages are identified and focus on risky sexual behavior whereas unconcerned messages are those who of worried well.