Brain age prediction, as a significant approach for assessing brain health and early diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases, has garnered widespread attention in recent years. Electroencephalogram (EEG), an non-invasive, convenient, and cost-effective neurophysiological signal, offers unique advantages for brain age prediction due to its high temporal resolution and strong correlation with brain functional states. Despite substantial progress in enhancing prediction accuracy and generalizability, challenges remain in data quality and model interpretability. This review comprehensively examined the advancements in EEG-based brain age prediction, detailing key aspects of data preprocessing, feature extraction, model construction, and result evaluation. It also summarized the current applications of machine learning and deep learning methods in this field, analyzed existing issues, and explored future directions to promote the widespread application of EEG-based brain age prediction in both clinical and research settings.
Objective Metal wear products cause the aseptic loosening of joint prosthesis. To investigate the effect of metal ions Co2+ and Cr3+ on the osteoblast apoptosis, cell cycle distribution, and secretion of alkal ine phosphatase (ALP), and to search a method to prevent and treat aseptic loosening. Methods The mouse calvarial osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1) were cultured in vitro to 3-5 generations (5 × 105 cells/ mL) and divided into 2 groups: the experimental group and the controlgroup. The osteoblasts were cultured in α-MEM medium containing 10%FBS (the control group), and the mixed solution ofCoCl2 and CrCl3 was added after the osteoblasts cultured in α-MEM medium containing 10%FBS attached completely (the experimental group). At 12, 24, and 48 hours after culture, the osteoblast apoptosis and the cell cycle distribution were assessed by flow cytometry; and ELISA method was appl ied to detect ALP content in serum supernatant. Results At 12, 24, and 48 hours after culture, the apoptosis rates in the experimental group (13.90% ± 0.52%, 14.80% ± 0.41%, and 13.40% ± 0.26%) were significantly higher than those in the control group (8.56% ± 0.31%, 8.19% ± 0.24%, and 2.15% ± 0.11%), (P lt; 0.05); G2M (dividing phase) distribution ratio significantly decreased and G0G1 (dormancy stage) distribution ratio significantly increased when compared with those in the control group (P lt; 0.05); and the absorbency (A) values of ALP were 0.955 ± 0.052, 0.624 ± 0.041, and 0.498 ± 0.026 in the exprimental group, and were 1.664 ± 0.041, 1.986 ± 0.024, and 2.192 ± 0.041 in the control group, showing significant differences between 2 groups (P lt; 0.05). Conclusion Metal ions Co2+ and Cr3+ have a marked effect on osteoblasts cell cycle distribution, which can make most of the cells to be in dormancy stage (G0G1), up-regulate the apoptosis rate and inhibit the releasion of ALP from osteoblasts.
ObjectiveTo summarize the clinical and pathological features as well as treatment experiences of lymphoepithelioma-like hepatocellular carcinoma (LEL-HCC). MethodsThe clinical data of a patient with LEL-HCC treated at Dongguan Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine were retrospectively analyzed. Additionally, a literature review of published LEL-HCC case reports was conducted. ResultsForty-eight eligible cases were identified from the published literature. ① The clinical features shared by the index case and literature-reported cases are summarized as follows. The patient was a 73-year-old male. The age at onset in previously reported cases ranged from 27 to 89 years (median, 59 years). The gender distribution was consistent with the slight male predominance observed in published data, with males accounting for 60.4% of all cases. The patient presented with abdominal pain, whereas only 22.9% (8/35) of patients in the reviewed studies were symptomatic. The tumor was located in hepatic segments Ⅶ and Ⅷ of the right hepatic lobe, consistent with the literature, in which 57.7% (15/26) of such tumors arose in the right lobe. Immunohistochemistry revealed diffuse positive staining for hepatic parenchymal antigen 1 (HepPar1) and focal positive staining for glypican-3 (GPC3). Among the literature cases, 4/4 exhibited positive HepPar-1 expression, and 6/6 showed positive (including focal) GPC3 staining. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) testing was negative in this patient, consistent with the epidemiological profile of LEL-HCC, which rarely correlates with EBV infection; the EBV-positive rate in previous studies was 2/2. Imaging revealed progressive and persistent contrast enhancement, rather than the typical “rapid wash-in and washout” pattern seen in conventional HCC. Such atypical enhancement patterns were observed in 50.0% (16/32) of the reviewed cases. The patient remained disease-free at the 6-month postoperative follow-up, consistent with the overall 54.2% (26/48) disease-free survival rate reported in previous literature. ② The discrepancies between the index case and literature-reported cases are summarized as follows. The patient had no history of viral hepatitis or liver cirrhosis, whereas 61.7% (29/47) and 54.5% (24/44) of literature cases had underlying viral hepatitis and liver cirrhosis, respectively. The tumor diameter was 6.5 cm, larger than the mean diameter of 3.5 cm reported in the literature; only 13.0% (6/46) of documented patients had tumors greater than 5 cm in diameter. The index case underwent combined treatment of hepatectomy plus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, targeted agents and immune checkpoint inhibitors; Simple hepatectomy (segmental / lobar / tumor resection) was the mainstream therapy in 54.2% (26/48) of published cases. To date, only 6 months of postoperative follow-up have been completed, which is shorter than the median follow-up period of 24 months reported in the literature. Long-term survival outcomes warrant further continuous observation. ConclusionsLEL-HCC is a rare subtype of HCC. Given the absence of specific clinical and imaging manifestations, it poses a substantial challenge for preoperative diagnosis. Definitive diagnosis is entirely dependent on pathological examination of surgically resected specimens. Despite the generally favorable prognosis of LEL-HCC, the risk of tumor recurrence persists. Therefore, treatment strategies should be highly individualized based on patients’ overall health status and tumor stage, coupled with rigorous long-term postoperative surveillance.