Gamal A. Elfar^*†, Mohamed A. Ebrahim^‡, Nehal M. Elsherbiny^*, Laila A. Eissa^*

Oncology Research, Vol.25, No.4, pp. 641-650, 2017, DOI:10.3727/096504016X14768398678750

Abstract Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a robust antiresorptive molecule that acts as a decoy receptor for the receptor activator of nuclear factor kB ligand (RANKL), the mediator of osteoclastogenesis. This study was designed to explore the possible role of serum OPG and RANKL in detecting bone metastasis in breast cancer and its interaction with clinicopathologic parameters. Serum levels of RANKL and OPG were estimated in 44 metastatic and 36 nonmetastatic breast cancer patients using ELISA kits. Serum OPG levels were significantly reduced in patients with bone metastasis and correlated negatively with the number of bone lesions and… More >

Yang Zhao, Wenxia Chen, Weiliang Zhu, Hui Meng, Jie Chen, Jian Zhang

Oncology Research, Vol.25, No.4, pp. 511-522, 2017, DOI:10.3727/096504016X14756226781802

Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify the role of interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF7) in the bone metastasis of prostate cancer. Herein we demonstrated the lower expression of IRF7 in bone metastases of prostate cancer. Overexpression of IRF7 in prostate cancer cells had a marked effect on inhibiting bone metastases but not on tumor growth in xenograft nude mice. While in vitro, upregulation of IRF7 had little effect on the malignant phenotype of prostate cancer cells including proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion. However, prostate cancer cells overexpressing IRF7 significantly enhanced the activity of More >

Hailin Pang¹, Ningqiang Ma¹, Mi Jiao, Weiwei Shen, Bo Xin, Tongfei Wang, Feng Zhang, Lili Liu, Helong Zhang

Oncology Research, Vol.25, No.1, pp. 35-42, 2017, DOI:10.3727/096504016X14719078133249

Abstract The bone is among the most common sites of metastasis in patients with lung cancer. Over 30%–40% of lung cancers can develop bone metastasis, and no effective therapeutic methods exist in clinic cases. Wnt/β-catenin signaling and Dickkopf1 (DKK1) play important roles in the progression of lung cancer, which preferentially metastasizes to the skeleton. However, the role of DKK1 in osteotropism of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) remains to be elucidated. This study aimed to define the role of DKK1 in SCLC bone metastasis and investigate the underlying mechanisms. Our results demonstrated that the expression level… More >

Ali S. Alghamdi^1,*, Mohamed A. Zohdy², Saad Aldoihi^3,4

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.140, No.2, pp. 1339-1370, 2024, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2024.048839

Abstract In the contemporary era, the global expansion of electrical grids is propelled by various renewable energy sources (RESs). Efficient integration of stochastic RESs and optimal power flow (OPF) management are critical for network optimization. This study introduces an innovative solution, the Gaussian Bare-Bones Levy Cheetah Optimizer (GBBLCO), addressing OPF challenges in power generation systems with stochastic RESs. The primary objective is to minimize the total operating costs of RESs, considering four functions: overall operating costs, voltage deviation management, emissions reduction, voltage stability index (VSI) and power loss mitigation. Additionally, a carbon tax is included in… More >

YARA ALZGHOUL, HALA J. BANI ISSA, AHMAD K. SANAJLEH, TAQWA ALABDUH, FATIMAH RABABAH, MAHA AL-SHDAIFAT, EJLAL ABU-EL-RUB^*, FATIMAH ALMAHASNEH, RAMADA R. KHASAWNEH, AYMAN ALZU’BI, HUTHAIFA MAGABLEH

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.4, pp. 559-569, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2024.048056

Abstract Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are ideal candidates for treating many cardiovascular diseases. MSCs can modify the internal cardiac microenvironment to facilitate their immunomodulatory and differentiation abilities, which are essential to restore heart function. MSCs can be easily isolated from different sources, including bone marrow, adipose tissues, umbilical cord, and dental pulp. MSCs from various sources differ in their regenerative and therapeutic abilities for cardiovascular disorders. In this review, we will summarize the therapeutic potential of each MSC source for heart diseases and highlight the possible molecular mechanisms of each source to restore cardiac function. More >

HUAN GAO^1,2, JIE ZHANG¹, TONY G. KLEIJN^1,3,4, ZHAOYONG WU⁵, BING LIU^1,6, YUJIN MA⁶, BAOYUE DING^1,*, DONGFENG YIN^2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.4, pp. 769-784, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.044276

Abstract Bone metastasis secondary to breast cancer negatively impacts patient quality of life and survival. The treatment of bone metastases is challenging since many anticancer drugs are not effectively delivered to the bone to exert a therapeutic effect. To improve the treatment efficacy, we developed Pluronic P123 (P123)-based polymeric micelles dually decorated with alendronate (ALN) and cancer-specific phage protein DMPGTVLP (DP-8) for targeted drug delivery to breast cancer bone metastases. Doxorubicin (DOX) was selected as the anticancer drug and was encapsulated into the hydrophobic core of the micelles with a high drug loading capacity (3.44%). The… More > Graphic Abstract

HUAN HU^1,2,*, YUE HUANG¹, FANGZHOU LIU¹, QIAN WANG^1,2, YANZI YAO^3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.3, pp. 353-362, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2024.048311

Abstract Increasing life expectancy and an aging population lead to age-related bone diseases like osteoporosis and low bone mass more prevalent. These conditions represent a common, costly and chronic burden, not only for elderly but also to society at large. Consequently, elucidating the pathophysiology and developing effective therapies for these diseases is of paramount importance. Recent advances in research have identified the gut as a novel and promising target for addressing bone disorders, giving rise to the concept of the “gut-bone axis”. An in-depth review of the latest insights into the effects of age-related physiological changes More >

Jinlong Yang, Kwang-Hee Lee, Chul-Hee Lee^*

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.139, No.3, pp. 2917-2946, 2024, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2024.046740

Abstract Cavitation is a common issue in pumps, causing a decrease in pump head, a fall in volumetric efficiency, and an intensification of outlet flow pulsation. It is one of the main hazards that affect the regular operation of the pump. Research on pump cavitation mainly focuses on mixed flow pumps, jet pumps, external spur gear pumps, etc. However, there are few cavitation studies on external herringbone gear pumps. In addition, pumps with different working principles significantly differ in the flow and complexity of the internal flow field. Therefore, it is urgent to study the cavitation… More >

Yanjun Yu¹, Lei Yu^1,*, Huiqi Wang², Haodong Zheng¹, Yi Deng¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.78, No.2, pp. 2225-2243, 2024, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2024.047641

Abstract Bone age assessment (BAA) helps doctors determine how a child’s bones grow and develop in clinical medicine. Traditional BAA methods rely on clinician expertise, leading to time-consuming predictions and inaccurate results. Most deep learning-based BAA methods feed the extracted critical points of images into the network by providing additional annotations. This operation is costly and subjective. To address these problems, we propose a multi-scale attentional densely connected network (MSADCN) in this paper. MSADCN constructs a multi-scale dense connectivity mechanism, which can avoid overfitting, obtain the local features effectively and prevent gradient vanishing even in limited… More >

QINGJIAN HE¹, HUIXIN ZHU^2,3, SHANHONG FANG^4,5,*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.2, pp. 205-216, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.045109

Abstract Introduction: Dexamethasone (Dex) caused impaired osteoblast differentiation and oxidative stress (OS) in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). This work sought to elucidate the precise molecular pathway through which Dex influences osteogenic differentiation (OD) and OS in BMSCs. Methods: The expression of Runt-related transcription factor 1 (RUNX1) and alpha-2 macroglobulin (A2M) was assessed in Dex-treated BMSCs using qRT-PCR and Western Blot. Following the functional rescue experiments, cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay, reactive oxygen species (ROS) expression by DCFH-DA fluorescent probe, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (Gpx) expression… More >