Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Survival benefit of thermal ablation therapy for patients with stage II-III non-small cell lung cancer: A propensity-matched analysis

Background Thermal ablation (TA) is considered a safe alternative to surgical resection for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). While previous studies have shown that TA is beneficial for stage I NSCLC patients, however, few have reported on TA efficacy in patients with stage II-III NSCLC. The current study investigated the impact of TA on the overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of patients with stage II-III NSCLC. Methods Data on patients with stage II-III NSCLC who did not undergo surgical resection between 2004 and 2015 were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Propensity score matching (PSM), Kaplan-Meier survival curves, and Cox regression were used for statistical analyses. Results A total of 57,959 stage II-III NSCLC patients who did not undergo surgical resection were included in this study, 261 of whom received TA. Overall, TA was associated with a longer OS (p = 0.035) and CSS (p = 0.005) than non-ablation. After 1:3 PSM, 252 patients receiving TA and 732 patients not receiving ablation were enrolled in the matched cohort. The OS (p = 0.047) and CSS (p = 0.029) remained higher in the TA group than in the non-ablation group after PSM. Cox regression analysis showed that age, sex, primary tumor site, pathological type, tumor size, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and thermal ablation were independently associated with OS and CSS (p <0.05). Subgroup analysis found that the advantages of TA were more pronounced among individuals ≥70 years of age, with tumor size ≤3.0 cm, or who did not receive radiotherapy. Conclusion TA could be an effective alternative treatment for stage II-III NSCLC patients unsuitable for surgical resection, particularly those ≥70 years of age, with tumor size ≤3.0 cm, or who have not received radiotherapy.
A bla SIM-1 and mcr-9.2 harboring Klebsiella michiganensis strain reported and genomic characteristics of Klebsiella michiganensis

As a newly emerging Klebsiella pathogen, more and more Klebsiella michiganensis drug resistant strains have been reported in recent years, which posed serious threats to public health. Here we first reported a multidrug-resistant K. michiganensis strain 12084 with two bla SIM-1 and one mcr-9.2 genes isolated from the sputum specimen of a patient in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine and analyzed its genetic basis and drug-resistance phenotypes. Genetic analysis showed that this strain harbored three different incompatibility groups (IncHI2, IncHI5, and IncFIIpKPHS2:IncFIB-4.1) of plasmids (p12084-HI2, p12084-HI5, and p12084-FII). A total of 26 drug-resistance genes belonging to 12 classes of antibiotics were identified, most of which (24) were located on two plasmids (p12084-HI2 and p12084-HI5). Interestingly, two bla SIM-1 genes were identified to locate on p12084-HI2 and p12084-HI5, respectively, both of which were embedded in In630, indicating their genetic homogeny. It was noting that one bla SIM-1 gene was situated in a novel unit transposon (referred to as Tn6733) on the p12084-HI5 plasmid. We also discovered an mcr-9.2 gene on the p12084-HI2 plasmid. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a bla SIM-1 and mcr-9.2 harboring K. michiganensis strain. We then investigated the population structure/classification, and antibiotic resistance for all 275 availably global K. michiganensis genomes. Population structure revealed that K. michiganensis could be divided into two main clades (Clade 1 and Clade 2); the most popular ST29 was located in Clade 1, while other common STs (such as ST50, ST27, and ST43) were located in Clade 2. Drug-resistance analysis showed 25.5% of the K. michiganensis strains (70/275) harboring at least one carbapenemase gene, indicating severe drug resistance of K. michiganensis beyond our imagination; this is a dangerous trend and should be closely monitored, especially for ST27 K. michiganensis with the most drug-resistant genes among all the STs. Overall, we reported a bla SIM-1 and mcr-9.2 harboring K. michiganensis strain, and further revealed the population structure/classification, and drug-resistance of K. michiganensis, which provided an important framework, reference, and improved understanding of K. michiganensis.
Soil-biodegradable mulch is an alternative to non-biodegradable plastic mulches in a strawberry-lettuce double-cropping system

Double-cropping strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) could be a sustainable alternative practice for diversified specialty crop growers. Plastic mulch is beneficial for strawberry and lettuce production with soil-biodegradable mulch (BDM) providing opportunities to reduce plastic waste generation and costs of mulch disposal. The objective of this study was to compare non-biodegradable plastic mulches and BDM to bare ground cultivation in a strawberry–lettuce double-cropping system in a Mediterranean climate. A split-plot randomized complete block design experiment with mulch treatment [non-biodegradable polyethylene (PE) film, “weedmat” (woven, PE-based), BDM, and bare ground control] as the main factor and double-cropping rotation scheme (rotation 1 or 2) as the split-plot factor was conducted between 2020 and 2021. Strawberry yield was overall greatest when mulched with BDM, PE, and weedmat compared to the bare ground control. Total soluble solids (TSS), pH, and total titratable acidity (TA) of strawberry differed due to harvest date, but only pH differed due to mulch treatment. For lettuce canopy cover, rotation 2 had greater canopy cover (86%) compared with rotation 1 (66%) 30 days after transplanting. Average head weight (0.4 kg) and head length and diameter (both 20 cm) did not differ due to mulch or rotation. Average soil temperatures under PE and BDM were ~1.5°C higher than under weedmat and 2.5°C higher than the bare ground control. Soil under weedmat had the highest moisture content, whereas the PE, BDM, and bare ground treatments had similar levels. PE, BDM, and weedmat provided equivalent weed suppression, whereas the bare ground control had the most weeds. BDM deterioration estimated as percent soil exposure (PSE) was greatest (59% PSE) by the end of the experiment, whereas PE had 18% PSE and weedmat had no deterioration. Results show that despite high levels of deterioration, BDM performs similarly to PE in terms of soil temperature and moisture modification, weed suppression, and promotion of crop growth and yield in a double-cropped system. Double-cropping strawberry and lettuce is a promising alternative for growers to diversify their crop type and with potential economic benefits by increasing mulch lifespan.
Preventive and therapeutic effect of Lactobacillus paracasei ZFM54 on Helicobacter pylori-induced gastritis by ameliorating inflammation and restoring gastric microbiota in mice model

Helicobacter pylori is the most prevalent pathogen causing chronic gastritis, gastroduodenal ulcers, and gastric tumors and is asymptomatically present in 50% of the world's population. This research is focused on investigating the effect of Lactobacillus paracasei ZFM 54 (CCTCC NO:2016667) on attenuating H. pylori-induced gastritis. H. pylori ZJC03 isolated from a patient with gastritis harbored the virulence genes of vacA and cagA and was highly resistant to metronidazole (MIC > 256 μg/mL). In vitro analysis revealed that the potential anti-H. pylori characteristics of L. paracasei ZFM54 in terms of 65.57 ± 1.87% survival rate in simulated gastric juices at a pH of 2.0, 69.00 ± 2.73% auto-aggregation, 30.28 ± 2.24% co-aggregation, 70.27 ± 2.23% urease inhibition, and 57.89 ± 1.27% radical scavenging. In H. pylori infectious mice, L. paracasei ZFM54 pre- and post-treatment reduced the levels of malondialdehyde in liver tissues to 0.71 ± 0.04 nmol/mgprot (p < 0.05) and 0.70 ± 0.06 nmol/mgprot (p < 0.05), respectively. Glutathione levels were increased to 1.78 ± 0.02 μmol/gprot (p < 0.05) and 1.76 ± 0.52 μmol/gprot (p < 0.05), respectively. L. paracasei ZFM54 significantly inhibited H. pylori-mediated inflammation observed in gastric mucosal repair and downregulated the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IFN-γ, IL-1β, and IL-6 (p < 0.01). Importantly, L. paracasei ZFM54 increased Firmicutes and Actinobacteriota and decreased the relative abundance of bacterial taxa belonging to Campilobacterota and Proteobacteria. With the preventive and therapeutic administration of L. paracasei ZFM54, significant reductions in the average relative abundance of genera Helicobacter, Muribaculum, Staphylococcus, Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, Prevotellaceae_UCG-001, Alloprevotella, and Oscillibacter were observed compared to infected mice. These findings suggest that L. paracasei ZFM 54 has the potential to protect against H. pylori infection by ameliorating inflammation and restoring the gastric microbiota.
Effect of transcatheter edge-to-edge repair device position on diastolic hemodynamic parameters: An echocardiography-based simulation study

Background Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) has developed from innovative technology to an established treatment strategy of mitral regurgitation (MR). The risk of iatrogenic mitral stenosis after TEER is, however, a critical factor in the conflict of interest between maximal reduction of MR and minimal impairment of left ventricular filling. We aim to investigate systematically the impact of device position on the post treatment hemodynamic outcome by involving the patient-specific segmentation of the diseased mitral valve. Materials and methods Transesophageal echocardiographic image data of ten patients with severe MR (age: 57 ± 8 years, 20% female) were segmented and virtually treated with TEER at three positions by using a position based dynamics approach. Pre- and post-interventional patient geometries were preprocessed for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and simulated at peak-diastole with patient-specific blood flow boundary conditions. Simulations were performed with boundary conditions mimicking rest and stress. The simulation results were compared with clinical data acquired for a cohort of 21 symptomatic MR patients (age: 79 ± 6 years, 43% female) treated with TEER. Results Virtual TEER reduces the mitral valve area (MVA) from 7.5 ± 1.6 to 2.6 ± 0.6 cm2. Central device positioning resulted in a 14% smaller MVA than eccentric device positions. Furthermore, residual MVA is better predictable for central than for eccentric device positions (R2 = 0.81 vs. R2 = 0.49). The MVA reduction led to significantly higher maximal diastolic velocities (pre: 0.9 ± 0.2 m/s, post: 2.0 ± 0.5 m/s) and pressure gradients (pre: 1.5 ± 0.6 mmHg, post: 16.3 ± 9 mmHg) in spite of a mean flow rate reduction by 23% due to reduced MR after the treatment. On average, velocities were 12% and pressure gradients were 25% higher with devices in central compared to lateral or medial positions. Conclusion Virtual TEER treatment combined with CFD is a promising tool for predicting individual morphometric and hemodynamic outcomes. Such a tool can potentially be used to support clinical decision making, procedure planning, and risk estimation to prevent post-procedural iatrogenic mitral stenosis.
Immunologic phenotype of patients with long-COVID syndrome of 1-year duration

Background The pathophysiology of long-COVID remains unknown, and information is particularly limited for symptoms of very long duration. We aimed to assess the serological, T-cell immune responses and ANA titers of patients with long-COVID-19 syndrome of 1-year duration. Methods Prospective, longitudinal study of hospitalized COVID-19 patients followed-up for 12 months. Sequential blood samples and COVID-19 symptom questionnaires (CSQ) were obtained, and humoral and cellular immune responses, antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and inflammation biomarkers were analyzed. Results Of 154 patients discharged from hospital, 72 non-vaccinated with available CSQ in all visits were included. Of them, 14 (19.4%) reported persistent symptoms both at 6-months and 12-months, mainly asthenia (15.3%), myalgia (13.9%), and difficulty concentrating/memory loss (13.9%). Symptomatic patients were more frequently women, smokers, showed higher WHO severity score, and a trend to higher ICU admission. In the adjusted analysis, long-COVID syndrome was associated with lower frequency of detectable neutralizing antibodies (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.97-0.99) and lower SARS-CoV-2-S1/S2 titers (aHR [95%CI] 0.14 [0.03–0.65]). T-cell immune response measured with a SARS-CoV-2-interferon-γ release assay was not different between groups. There was a higher frequency of positive ANA titers (≥160) in symptomatic patients (57.1% vs 29.3%, p=0.04), that was attenuated after adjustment aHR [95% CI] 3.37 [0.84-13.57], p=0.087. Levels of C-reactive protein and D-dimer were higher during follow-up in symptomatic patients, but with no differences at 12 months. Conclusion Patients with 1-year duration long-COVID-19 syndrome exhibit a distinct immunologic phenotype that includes a poorer SARS-CoV-2 antibody response, low-degree chronic inflammation that tends to mitigate, and autoimmunity.
Understanding the Airbnb user continuation intention: The moderating role of perceived risk

This study evaluates the relationship between diversified relationships established under the umbrella of the Stimuli-Organism-Response (SOR) framework to study the consumer continuation intention of the Airbnb platform from a Malaysian perspective. A web-based survey was conducted among Malaysian Airbnb consumers, and a sample of 303 respondents was obtained. SmartPLS has been used for data analysis. The statistical output of the respondent’s data indicates that social overload and information overload influence consumer continuation intention. Moreover, the satisfaction and trust in the platform partially mediate the relationship between the stimuli and behavioral response. Further, perceived health risk strengthens the negative relationship between continuation and trust in the platform. The theoretical implications include enacting a SOR framework to understand the consumer’s internal state of mind and ability to influence the consumer platform continuation intention. The practical implications suggest that the managers and business owners focus on limiting the social exposure at the host destination and the flow of information from the application.
Characteristics and particularities of bacterial community variation in the offshore shellfish farming waters of the North Yellow Sea

Bacteria in coastal waters drive global biogeochemical cycling and are strongly related to coastal environmental safety. The bacterial community in offshore shellfish farming waters of North China has its own characteristics and particularities, while the knowledge is limited. In this study, the bacterial community characteristics, the particularities of bacterial community in the waters with surface cold patches (SCPs) and the variation of pathogenic bacteria were investigated in the offshore shellfish farming waters in the North Yellow Sea (NYS) from 2017 to 2019. For all studied samples, Desulfobacterales acted as the keystone species taxon in microbial co-occurrence networks, and the proportional abundance of Actinobacteriota was found to be as low as 1.3%. The abundance of Marinobacter and Synechococcus was remarkably prominent in 13 genera with nitrogen-transforming function. The top two different bacterial functions in the spatial analysis (between the waters with SCPs and the ambient waters) were xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism and metabolism of cofactors and vitamins, which were same with that in the seasonal analysis (between spring and summer). The abundance differences of most pathogenic bacteria analyzed in this study (11 out of 12 genera) also had the same variation dynamics between the spatial analysis and the seasonal analysis. An ANN predictive model for Vibrio abundance was constructed for Vibrio forecasting, with acceptable predictive accuracy. According to the above results, the bacterial community in the shellfish aquaculture waters in this study was characterized by the enhancing ability of nitrogen removal. Temperature was concluded as the predominant environmental factor to drive the variation of bacterial community function and pathogenic bacteria patterns in the offshore shellfish farming waters with SCPs. The results of this study will further our understanding of the bacterial community characteristics in offshore shellfish farming waters, and help for Vibrio forecasting and coastal environmental safety in aquaculture seawater.
Anger can make fake news viral online

Fake news that manipulates political elections, strikes financial systems, and even incites riots is more viral than real news online, resulting in unstable societies and buffeted democracy. While factor that drives the viral spread of fake news is rarely explored. In this study, it is unexpectedly found that the easier contagion of fake news online is positively associated with the greater anger it carries. The same results in Twitter and Weibo indicate that this correlation is independent of the platform. Moreover, mutations in emotions like increasing anger will progressively speed up the information spread. Increasing the occupation of anger by 0.1 and reducing that of joy by 0.1 are associated with the generation of nearly six more retweets in the Weibo dataset. Offline questionnaires reveal that anger leads to more incentivized audiences in terms of anxiety management and information sharing and accordingly makes fake news more contagious than real news online. Cures such as tagging anger in social media could be implemented to slow or prevent the contagion of fake news at the source.
Mercury biomagnification in a coastal Louisiana food web following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill

The estuarine environments surrounding coastal Louisiana create favorable conditions for microbially mediated mercury (Hg) methylation and subsequent bioaccumulation by biota. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill released large amounts of oil which, despite having low Hg concentrations, had the potential to influence methylmercury (MeHg) bioavailability in the coastal zone. To explore this possibility, we assessed Hg concentrations and trophodynamics in the coastal Louisiana food web prior to and immediately following the DWH oil spill and compared these metrics with an adjacent coastal ecosystem in the northern Gulf of Mexico. We found no differences in MeHg concentrations between oysters collected in years prior to the spill (1986–2007) and those collected during or in the months immediately after the spill (May to December 2010). When comparing tissue MeHg concentrations and carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values across 13 species of bivalves, shrimp, crabs, fishes, and birds we found evidence of significant biomagnification within the coastal Louisiana food web driven by species’ trophic position and their use of differing basal carbon sources. In addition, Hg trophodynamics also differed between two adjacent coastal ecosystems, post-spill coastal Louisiana (2010) and pre-spill coastal Alabama (2008–2009). While there was a higher trophic magnification factor in coastal Louisiana relative to coastal Alabama, food web baseline MeHg concentrations were higher in coastal Alabama. The high degree of biomagnification in coastal Louisiana, and significant regional variation, underscores the need to monitor Hg trophodynamics over space and time to better evaluate the short and long-term ecological consequences of events like the DWH oil spill.
Advances in the study of subclinical AKI biomarkers

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a prevalent and serious illness in all clinical departments, with a high morbidity and death rate, particularly in intensive care units, where prevention and treatment are crucial. As a result, active prevention, early detection, and timely intervention for acute kidney injury are critical. The current diagnostic criteria for acute kidney injury are an increase in serum creatinine concentration and/or a decrease in urine output, although creatinine and urine output merely reflect changes in kidney function, and AKI suggests injury or damage, but not necessarily dysfunction. The human kidney plays a crucial functional reserve role, and dysfunction is only visible when more than half of the renal mass is impaired. Tubular damage markers can be used to detect AKI before filtration function is lost, and new biomarkers have shown a new subset of AKI patients known as “subclinical AKI. ” Furthermore, creatinine and urine volume are only marginally effective for detecting subclinical AKI. As a result, the search for new biomarkers not only identifies deterioration of renal function but also allows for the early detection of structural kidney damage. Several biomarkers have been identified and validated. This study discusses some of the most promising novel biomarkers of AKI, including CysC, NGAL, KIM-1, lL-18, L-FABP, IGFBP7, TIMP-2, Clusterin, and Penkid. We examine their performance in the diagnosis of subclinical AKI, limitations, and future clinical practice directions.
Birth defects data from hospital-based birth defect surveillance in Guilin, China, 2018–2020

Objectives Birth defects (BDs) are a major contributor to perinatal and infant mortality, morbidity and lifelong disability worldwide. A hospital-based study on birth defects was designed in Guilin city in the Guangxi province of Southwestern China aiming to determine the prevalence of BDs in the studied region, and the classify the BDs based on clinical presentation and causation. Methods The study involved BDs among all pregnancy outcomes (live births, stillbirths, death within 7 days, and pregnancy terminations) born in the 42 registered hospitals of Guilin between 2018 and 2020. The epidemiological characteristics of BDs and the etiologic profile of BDs were evaluated in this study. Results Of the total 147,817 births recorded during the study period, 2,003 infants with BDs were detected, giving a total prevalence rate of 13.55 per 1,000 births. The top five BD types were congenital heart defects, polydactyly, syndactyly, malformations of the external ear, and talipes equinovarus, whereas, neural tube defects, congential esophageal atresia, gastroschisis, extrophy of urinary bladder, were the least common BD types in these 3 years. Only 8.84% of cases were assigned a known etiology, while most cases (91.16%) could not be conclusively assigned a specific cause. Conclusion This study provides an epidemiological description of BDs in Guilin, which may be helpful for understanding the overall situation in Southwest China of BDs and aid in more comprehensive studies of BDs in future healthcare systems, including funding investment, policy-making, monitor, prevention. Strong prevention strategies should be the priority to reduce BDs and improve the birth quality.