Comparison of the short-term and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic hysterectomies and of abdominal hysterectomies： a case study of 4,895 patients in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China

Background： To evaluate the short-term and long-term outcomes after laparoscopic hysterectomy （LH） compared with abdominal hysterectomy （AH） in case of benign gynecological disease. Methods： A multi-center cohort retrospective comparative study of population among 4,895 hysterectomies （3,539 LH vs.1,356 AH） between 2007 and 2013 was involved. Operative time （OT）, estimated blood loss （EBL）, intra-operative and post-operative complications, passing flatus; days with indwelling catheter, questionnaires covering pelvic floor functions and sexual functions were assessed. Results： The EBL （174.1±157.4 vs. 263.1±183.2 cc, LH and AH groups, respectively）, passing flatus （38.7±14.1 vs. 48.1±13.2 hours）, days with indwelling catheter （1.5±0.6 vs. 2.2±0.8 days）, use of analgesics （6.5% vs. 73.1%）, intra-operative complication rate （2.4% vs. 4.1%）, post-operative complication rate （2.3 % vs. 5.7%）, post-operative constipation （12.1% vs. 24.6%）, mild and serious stress urinary incontinence （SUI） post-operative （P〈0.001; P=0.014）, and proportion of Female Sexual Functioning Index （FSFI） total score 〈26.55 post-operative （P〈0.001） of the LH group were significantly less than those of AH group. There were no significant differences in OT （106.5±34.5 vs. 106.2±40.3 min） between the two groups. Conclusions： LH is a safe and efficient operation for improving patients＇ long-term quality of life （QoL）, and LH is a cost-effectiveness procedure for treating benign gynecological disease. LH is superior to AH due to reduced EBL, reduced post-operative pain and earlier passing flatus.

Modeling xeroderma pigmentosum associated neurological pathologies with patients-derived iPSCs

Xeroderma pigmentosum （XP） is a group of genetic disorders caused by mutations of XP-associated genes, resulting in impairment of DNA repair. XP patients frequently exhibit neurological degeneration, but the underlying mechanism is unknown, in part due to lack of proper disease models. Here, we generated patientspecific induced pluripotent stem cells （iPSCs） harboring mutations in five different XP genes including XPA, XPB, XPC, XPG, and XPV. These iPSCs were further differentiated to neural cells, and their susceptibility to DNA damage stress was investigated. Mutation of XPA in either neural stem cells （NSCs） or neurons resulted in severe DNA damage repair defects, and these neural cells with mutant XPA were hyper-sensitive to DNA damage-induced apoptosis. Thus, XP-mutant neural cells represent valuable tools to clari the molecular mechanisms of neurological abnormalities in the XP patients.

Iron oxide nanoparticle-based theranostics for cancer imaging and therapy

Theranostic platform, which is equipped with both diagnostic and therapeutic functions, is a promising approach in cancer treatment. From various nanotheranostics studied, iron oxide nanoparticles have advantages since IONPs have good biocompatibility and spatial imaging capability. This review is focused on the IONP- based nanotheranostics for cancer imaging and treatment. The most recent progress for applications of IONP nanotheranostics is summarized, which includes IONP- based diagnosis, magnetic resonance imaging （MRI）, multimodal imaging, chemotherapy, hyperthermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, and gene delivery. Future perspectives and challenges are also outlined for the potential development of IONP based theranostics in clinical use.