Background: Although survival rate and quality of life are improved if patientswith oral carcinoma can be detected early, however, such lesions are usually asymptomatic; therefore, it is hard to raise awareness. Screening has proved to be cost-effective for early detection. Methods: Sixty-two patients with oral carcinomas and 555 patients with oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) who were detected through screening were examined the relationship between clinicopathological features and follow-up outcomes.Results: The 5-year cumulative cancer-free interval rate was 94.1%, and the annual malignant transformation rate was 1.16%. The rate of interval carcinoma development from Candida hyperplasia, oral submucous fibrosis, homogeneous leukoplakia, non-homogenous leukoplakia, and verrucous hyperplasia, was 13.6%, 5.7%, 4.6%, 12.1%, and 21.3%, respectively. Significant independent risk factors for interval carcinoma development were heavy betel quid chewing, verrucous hyperplasia, and surgery refusal. Conclusions: Well-designed risk assessment, treatment, and surveillance program could lead to earlier cancer detection and thereby reduce mortality and morbidity. K E Y W O R D Shigh-risk, interval carcinoma, oral carcinoma, oral potentially malignant disorders, screening, surgery refusal

Cisplatin (CDDP) is a potent chemotherapeutic agent but resistance to the drug remains a major challenge in cancer treatment. To evaluate the efficacy of CDDP in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), we found that p22phox was highly expressed in CDDP-resistant OSCC specimens. Knockdown of p22phox sensitized OSCC cell lines to CDDP (P < 0.05). Stable overexpression of p22phox augmented CDDP resistance, as evidenced by the significantly higher IC50 values. This cytoprotective effect was attributed to the abrogation of CDDP-induced apoptosis. Akt phosphorylation was increased in p22phox stable lines. However, blocking PI3K/Akt pathway only partially restored CDDP-induced apoptosis. In addition, the overexpressed p22phox in OSCC cells exhibited cytoplasmic localization with enhanced perinuclear expression, consistent with the localization pattern in OSCC specimens. Remarkably, CDDP entry into the nucleus was severely impaired in p22phox-overexpressing cells (P < 0.001), and cytoplasmically accumulated CDDP was co-localized with overexpressed p22phox. This was supported by decreased CDDP-DNA adduct formation and delayed chk1-p53 signaling activation. Together, overexpression of p22phox sequestered CDDP and caused defective CDDP entry into the nucleus, significantly attenuating CDDP-induced apoptosis. Such diminished apoptosis was further abolished by p22phox-activating PI3K/Akt pathway. Our work has suggested a novel biomarker and insight into the mechanism of CDDP resistance.

Aim: Plant functional traits are broadly used to quantify and predict impacts of climate change on vegetation. However, high intraspecific trait variation can bias mean values when few measurements are available. Here, we determine the extent of individual leaf trait variation and covariation across a highly heterogeneous environmental gradient for a widely distributed subtropical pine. We demonstrate the implications of trait variation for characterising species by assessing data availability and variability across the Pinus genus.Location: Central Mountain Range, Taiwan.Taxon: Pinus taiwanensis Hayata (Pinaceae). Methods:We measured eight functional traits suggested to reflect plant strategies: needle length, area, thickness, dry and fresh mass, stomatal row density (SD), leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and specific leaf area (SLA). We examined trait variation in response to climatic and physiographic factors across an elevational gradient of 495-3106 m a.s.l. using linear mixed effects models (LMMs). Intraspecific trait covariation was explored using principal component analyses (PCAs) and LMMs. Descriptive statistics were calculated for Pinus records in the global TRY plant trait database.Results: Intraspecific variability among traits was high (CV 20%-44%) and predictable with elevation (generally p < 0.05, with declining needle size and LDMC with elevation and increasing SD). However, 41%-92% of variance was un-explained by topography. Sixty-five percent of variation was explained by two trait covariation axes, with predictable changes with elevation (p < 0.001). Pinus data availability in TRY was low.Across traits, only 12.5%-53% of species had sufficient sample sizes for intraspecific analyses. Main conclusions:We show substantial trait variation for a single species, here likely driven by temperature differences and additional biotic and abiotic drivers across the elevational range. Improved understanding of the extent and implications of intraspecific variability is necessary for reliable quantifications and predictions of the impacts of environmental change, especially in understudied, hyper-diverse ecosystems such as tropical forests.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of tooth agenesis, tooth malformation, and eruption patterns of upper canines/first premolars in Taiwanese children. A total of 132 cleft lip and cleft palate (CLCP) patients (82 boys and 50 girls) underwent alveolar bone grafting (ABG) between 2012 and 2022. The patients’ dental records and X-ray images were inspected. We examined dental anomalies, including congenital missing teeth, microdontia, and transposition from the upper canines to the upper first premolars in these CLCP patients. Additionally, we investigated the mean ABG operation age (9.27 ± 0.76 years) of our patient; 40.9% of them received pre-ABG orthodontic treatment at 8.72 ± 0.70 years. Among the 132 cleft subjects, the prevalence of tooth agenesis is 73.5% (97/132). The most frequently missing teeth are the maxillary lateral incisors (right side: 46.2%; left side: 47.0%). In this study, microdontia are found in all the upper incisors, of which the highest percentage (18.9%) is observed in the upper left lateral incisors. The prevalence of upper canine and first premolar transposition is 10.6%. The pattern of tooth agenesis and microdontia of the upper lateral incisors shows a strong correlation with the cleft sites of these CLCP patients in our study. These results may support the idea that the patterns of dental anomalies in CLCP patients are region-specific.