Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Safety and efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation to treat and prevent recurrent Clostridioides difficile in cancer patients

Background: Cancer patients are at increased risk of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI) due to malignancy itself, cancer therapy, and frequent antibiotic use and have a lower response rate to standard oral antibiotics. There are limited data on the safety and efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for treating rCDI in cancer patients. We aim to describe our experience of using FMT to treat rCDI at a tertiary cancer center. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of cancer patients who underwent FMT for rCDI at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center from June 2017 through January 2020. Baseline clinical data and risk factors related to rCDI and FMT were evaluated and compared between cancer types and between cases with remission and recurrence. Results: A total of 19 patients were studied: 12 with solid malignancies and 7 with hematologic malignancies. Most patients had stage IV cancer, and 21% of patients were in cancer remission. On average, patients had 2 episodes of CDI and received 3 courses of antibiotics within 1 year before FMT. 84% of patients with rCDI responded to FMT. Compared with patients who had CDI remission following FMT, non-remission cases were more likely to have received antibiotics following FMT. There were no serious adverse events or mortality within 30 days associated with FMT. Conclusions: FMT is safe, well-tolerated, and efficacious in treating rCDI in selected cancer patients. However, additional antibiotic use for complications from chemotherapy or immunosuppression negatively affected the efficacy of FMT in this population with advanced cancer.
Minibatch Recursive Least Squares Q-Learning

The deep Q-network (DQN) is one of the most successful reinforcement learning algorithms, but it has some drawbacks such as slow convergence and instability. In contrast, the traditional reinforcement learning algorithms with linear function approximation usually have faster convergence and better stability, although they easily suffer from the curse of dimensionality. In recent years, many improvements to DQN have been made, but they seldom make use of the advantage of traditional algorithms to improve DQN. In this paper, we propose a novel Q-learning algorithm with linear function approximation, called the minibatch recursive least squares Q-learning (MRLS-Q). Different from the traditional Q-learning algorithm with linear function approximation, the learning mechanism and model structure of MRLS-Q are more similar to those of DQNs with only one input layer and one linear output layer. It uses the experience replay and the minibatch training mode and uses the agent's states rather than the agent's state-action pairs as the inputs. As a result, it can be used alone for low-dimensional problems and can be seamlessly integrated into DQN as the last layer for high-dimensional problems as well. In addition, MRLS-Q uses our proposed average RLS optimization technique, so that it can achieve better convergence performance whether it is used alone or integrated with DQN. At the end of this paper, we demonstrate the effectiveness of MRLS-Q on the CartPole problem and four Atari games and investigate the influences of its hyperparameters experimentally.
二代测序检测多发性骨髓瘤IGH基因克隆性重排临床价值

Characteristics of immunoglobulin heavychain gene clonal rearrangements by nextgeneration sequencing of patients with multiple myeloma Yao Li, Chen Yan, Zhai Yingying, Shi Xiaolan, Cen Jiannong, Yan Lingzhi, Fu Chengcheng, Chen Suning National Clinical Research Center for Hematologic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Thrombosis and Hemostasis of Ministry of Health, Jiangsu Institute of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China Corresponding author: Fu Chengcheng, Email: fuzhengzheng@suda.edu. cn
The Efficacy of Antioxidative Stress Therapy on Oxidative Stress Levels in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Objective To explore the efficacy of antioxidative stress therapy on oxidative stress levels in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Methods Chinese and English databases such as PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and China Biomedical Literature were searched, mainly searching for clinical randomized controlled trials of antioxidant therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. The search time is from the establishment of the database to July 2021. Two researchers independently carried out literature search, screening, and data extraction. The bias risk tool provided by the Cochrane Collaboration was used to evaluate the bias risk of all the included literature, and the RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis. Results A total of 24 RCTs (28 records) and 1277 participants were included. The time span of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is from 1986 to 2020. These RCTs involve 14 types of antioxidants or antioxidant therapies, and these therapies have varying degrees of improvement on oxidative stress in RA patients. The summary results showed that the MDA in the experiment group is lower (SMD -0.82, 95% CI -1.35 to -0.28, P = 0.003). The difference of TAC, SOD, NO, GPx, CAT, and GSH between two groups was of no statistical significance (TAC (SMD 0.27, 95% CI -0.21 to 0.75, P = 0.27), SOD (SMD 0.12, 95% CI -0.16 to 0.40, P = 0.41), NO (SMD -2.03, 95% CI -4.22 to 0.16, P = 0.07), GPx (SMD 0.24, 95% CI -0.07 to 0.54, P = 0.13), CAT (SMD 2.95, 95% CI -2.6 to 8.51, P = 0.30), and GSH (SMD 2.46, 95% CI -0.06 to 4.98, P = 0.06)). For adverse events, the summary results showed that the difference was of no statistical significance (RR 1.16, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.71, P = 0.45). In addition, antioxidant therapy has also shown improvement in clinical efficacy indexes (number of tender joints, number of swollen joints, DAS28, VAS, and HAQ) and inflammation indexes (ESR, CRP, TNF-α, and IL6) for RA patients. Conclusion The existing evidence shows potential benefits, mainly in reducing MDA and increasing TAC and GSH in some subgroups. However, more large samples and higher quality RCTs are needed to provide high-quality evidence, so as to provide more clinical reference information for the antioxidant treatment of RA.
Hedgehog/GLI1 signaling pathway regulates the resistance to cisplatin in human osteosarcoma

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of Hedgehog/GLI1 signaling pathway in regulating the resistance to cisplatin in osteosarcoma (OS). Materials and methods: Immunohistochemistry, western blotting and qRT-PCR assay were performed to analyze and compare the expression of GLI1 in OS tumor tissue and normal bone tissue as well as in cisplatin sensitive and resistant cell lines (SOSP-9607 and SOSP-9607/CR). Meanwhile, the biological role of GLI1 in OS was investigated by using down-regulated expression of GLI1 and functional assays, including CCK-8, colony formation assay, flow cytometry, and wound healing assay. Moreover, the relationship between GLI1 and γ-H2AX (DNA damage protein) in cells treated with GLI1 siRNA and cisplatin was examined using western blot analysis. In addition, GANT61, a inhibitor of Hedgehog pathway was used in xenograft tumor model to further verify the effect and mechanism of GLI1 on cisplatin resistance in OS. Results: We showed that GLI1 expression was up-regulated in OS patients and cisplatin-resistant cells. Silencing GLI1 significantly restored the sensitivity of OS to cisplatin, reduced proliferation, migration and cloning capacity of cisplatin sensitive and resistant cells, and increased the apoptosis rate in vitro. Furthermore, combined administration of GANT61 and cisplatin markedly inhibitted tumor growth in the mouse model. Mechanitic studies found that γ-H2AX is involved in the cisplatin resistance, and blockade of Hedgehog/GLI1 pathway increased the expression of γ-H2AX. Conclusion: Abnormal activation of Hedgehog-GLI1 pathway can regulate the expression of γ-H2AX, thus affecting DNA damage and repair functions, and promoting acquired cisplatin resistance of OS.
Evaluation of Macular and Retinal Ganglion Cell Count Estimates for Detecting and Staging Glaucoma

Purpose: To investigate the clinical significance of macular estimated retinal ganglion cell (mRGC) and estimated retinal ganglion cell (eRGC) in the diagnosis and staging of glaucoma. Methods: This is a cross-section study. All enrolled subjects underwent standard automated perimetry (SAP) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) examination. Swedish Interactive Threshold Algorithm (SITA)-FAST detection strategy and 24-2, 10-2 detection programs were employed in SAP assessment. The visual-field parameters and OCT parameters were calculated according to three formulas to obtain the eRGC and mRGC1 or mRGC2. The efficiency of eRGC, mRGC1, and mRGC2 estimates for the staging of glaucoma was compared. The sensitivity and specificity of each parameter for diagnosis of glaucoma were analyzed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: A total of 119 eyes were included in the analysis. Compared with the healthy controls, eRGC, mRGC1, and mRGC2 estimates were significantly decreased in patients with glaucoma. As glaucoma progressed, eRGC, mRGC1, and mRGC2 estimates were gradually reduced. In preperimetric glaucoma, mRGC1, mRGC2, and eRGC were reduced by 13.2, 14.5, and 18%, respectively. In the mild stage of glaucoma, mRGC1, mRGC2, and eRGC were reduced by 28, 34, and 38%, respectively. In the advanced stage of glaucoma, mRGC1, mRGC2, and eRGC were reduced by 81, 85, and 92% respectively. The proportion of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss in the macula was close to that outside the macula. The specificity at 95% gave a sensitivity of 95.51, 86.52, and 87.64% for eRGC, mRGC1, and mRGC2, respectively. The sensitivity of structural parameters macular ganglion cell complex thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) were 98.88 and 95.51%, respectively. The sensitivity of functional parameters mean deviation (24-2) and visual field index (VFI) were 80.90 and 73.03%, respectively. The area under ROC curve of mRGC1, mRGC2, and eRGC were 0.982, 0.972, and 0.995 (P < 0.0001), respectively. Conclusion: Estimated retinal ganglion cell, mRGC1, and mRGC2 provide value to the staging of glaucoma and better diagnostic performance. Macular RGC estimatesthat integration of both structural and functional damages in macular may serve as a sensitive indicator for assessing macular damage in glaucoma and are of importance for the diagnosis and progression management of glaucoma.
Turmeric as a Possible Treatment for COVID-19-Induced Anosmia and Ageusia

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a calamitous perturbation of society worldwide. Anosmia and ageusia (or hyposmia and dysgeusia) have been recognized as two common expressions of COVID-19 infection that linger for days to weeks, and in rare cases are thought to be immutable. Time alone has hitherto proven most effective in their restoration, but turmeric, long believed by some to have medicinal properties, may be a swifter and surer alleviator of anosmia and ageusia. This case series reports the speedy and consequential restoration of taste and smell in two subjects infected with COVID-19 following ingestion of one 1000 mg dose of a turmeric supplement. In view of this, we propose that turmeric be considered in the treatment of anosmia and ageusia caused by COVID-19 infection.
伴Ph阳性附加染色体异常慢性髓性白血病的生物学特征及疗效分析

目的 探讨Ph阳性附加染色体异常（ACA/Ph+）对初诊慢性期（CP）和治疗中进展为加速期和急变期慢性髓性白血病（CML-AP/BP）患者生物学特征、疗效和预后的影响。 方法 回顾性分析2013年1月至2020年6月河南省人民医院收治的410例Ph+ CML[初诊CML-CP 348例，治疗中进展为AP/BP（进展期CML）62例]患者的临床资料，根据ELN2020标准将其分为高危、非高危和无ACA/Ph+三组，并比较分析高危/非高危ACA/Ph+对其生物学特征、疗效和预后的影响。 结果 ①348例初诊CML-CP患者，合并ACA/Ph+者20例（5.75%），其中高危ACA/Ph+组3例，非高危ACA/Ph+组17例；无ACA/Ph+组328例。 伴ACA/Ph+和无ACA/Ph+组患者的基本临床特征差异无统计学意义（P值均>0.05）；非高危ACA/Ph+组和无ACA/Ph+组间完全血液学缓解（CHR）率、完全细胞遗传学反应（CCyR）率、主要分子学反应（MMR）率和5年总生存（OS）率差异均无统计学意义（P值均>0.05）；非高危ACA/Ph+组5年无进展生存（PFS）率显著低于无ACA/Ph+组（42.0%对74. 5%，χ2＝4.766，P＝0.029）。 ②62例进展期CML患者，合并ACA/Ph+者41例（66.13%），其中高危ACA/Ph+组28例，非高危ACA/Ph+组13例；无ACA/Ph+组21例。 高危ACA/Ph+组患者中位PLT水平（42.5×109/L）低于非高危（141×109/L）和无ACA/Ph+组（109×109/L）（χ2＝4.968，P＝0.083）；三组间ABL激酶区点突变发生率差异无统计学意义（P＝0.652）。 高危ACA/Ph+组CCyR率显著低于无ACA/Ph+组（5.3%对46. 7%，χ2＝5.851，P＝0.016）。 高危ACA/Ph+组5年OS率为46. 2%，非高危ACA/Ph+组为64. 3%，无ACA/Ph+组为77. 8%，其中高危ACA/Ph+组患者5年OS率明显低于无ACA/Ph+组（χ2＝3.878，P＝0.049）。 亚组分析显示高危Ⅰ组（+8，+Ph或含+8/+Ph的复杂ACA）CML患者的5年OS率为54. 5%，与无ACA/Ph+组相比差异无统计学意义（χ2＝1.514，P＝0.219）；高危Ⅱ组[含−7/7q−或i（17q）或含2个及以上高危ACA的复杂核型]为28. 6%，显著低于无ACA/Ph+组（χ2＝8.035，P＝0.005）。 结论 因ACA类型和疾病分期不同，伴ACA/Ph+ CML患者的治疗反应和预后存在差异，治疗过程中高危ACA的出现意味着更差的治疗反应和预后，严格、规范的细胞遗传学监测对此类患者的早期发现和精准诊疗具有重要意义。
KIT及其他克隆性基因突变对核心结合因子相关急性髓系白血病的预后价值

目的 评价基于二代测序（NGS）检测技术下的克隆性基因突变对核心结合因子相关急性髓系白血病（CBF-AML）预后的影响。 方法 回顾性分析2011年7月至2017年8月在苏州大学附属第一医院血液科诊治的195例成人初治CBF-AML患者，其中诱导化疗达完全缓解的患者190例，包括134例RUNX1-RUNXIT1+ AML和56例CBFβ-MYH11+ AML，年龄15～64岁，中位随访时间43. 6个月。 采用Log-rank检验和Cox回归模型分析临床因素和基因突变对患者总生存（OS）和无病生存（DFS）的影响。 结果 在195例患者中，KIT基因突变发生率最高（47.6％），其次为NRAS（20.0％）、FLT3（18.4％）、ASXL2（14.3％）、KRAS（10.7％）、ASXL1（9.7％）。 按基因功能分类，酪氨酸激酶信号通路基因突变发生率最高（76.4％），其次为染色质修饰相关基因（29.7％）。 在接受强化巩固治疗的患者中，CBFβ-MYH11+ AML患者的OS有优于RUNX1-RUNXIT1+ AML患者的趋势（P＝0.062）。 染色质修饰相关基因突变仅在RUNX1-RUNXIT1+ AML中检出，但对患者的DFS无明显影响（P＝0.557）。 染色质修饰相关基因突变阳性且接受异基因造血干细胞移植（allo-HSCT）的患者预后最好。 多因素分析显示KIT exon17突变为影响RUNX1-RUNXIT1+ AML患者DFS的独立危险因素（P<0.001），allo-HSCT能明显改善RUNX1-RUNXIT1+ AML患者的DFS（P＝0.010）。 结论 合并KIT exon17突变的RUNX1-RUNXIT1+ AML患者预后差，allo-HSCT可改善这部分患者的预后，allo-HSCT也能使染色质修饰相关基因突变阳性患者的预后得到改善。
Graded motor imagery modifies movement pain, cortical excitability and sensorimotor function in complex regional pain syndrome

Abstract Patients with complex regional pain syndrome suffer from chronic neuropathic pain and also show a decrease in sensorimotor performance associated with characteristic central and peripheral neural system parameters. In the brain imaging domain, these comprise altered functional sensorimotor representation for the affected hand side. With regard to neurophysiology, a decrease in intracortical inhibition for the sensorimotor cortex contralateral to the affected hand has been repetitively verified, which might be related to increased primary somatosensory cortex functional activation for the affected limb. Rare longitudinal intervention studies in randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that a decrease in primary somatosensory cortex functional MRI activation coincided with pain relief and recovery in sensorimotor performance. By applying a randomized wait-list control crossover study design, we tested possible associations of clinical, imaging and neurophysiology parameters in 21 patients with complex regional pain syndrome in the chronic stage (>6 months). In more detail, we applied graded motor imagery over 6 weeks to relieve movement pain of the affected upper limb. First, baseline parameters were tested between the affected and the non-affected upper limb side and age-matched healthy controls. Second, longitudinal changes in clinical and testing parameters were associated with neurophysiological and imaging parameters. During baseline short intracortical inhibition, as assessed with transcranial magnetic stimulation, was decreased only for hand muscles of the affected hand side. During movement of the affected limb, primary somatosensory cortex functional MRI activation was increased. Hand representation area size for somatosensory stimulation in functional MRI was smaller on the affected side with longer disease duration. Graded motor imagery intervention but not waiting, resulted in a decrease of movement pain. An increase of somatosensory hand representation size over graded motor imagery intervention was related to movement pain relief. Over graded motor imagery intervention, pathological parameters like the increased primary somatosensory cortex activation during fist movement or decreased short intracortical inhibition were modified in the same way as movement pain and hand performance improved. No such changes were observed during the waiting period. Overall, we demonstrated characteristic changes in clinical, behaviour and neuropathology parameters applying graded motor imagery in patients with upper limb complex regional pain syndrome, which casts light on the effects of graded motor imagery intervention on biomarkers for chronic neuropathic pain.
Inorganic Lead-Free B-γ-CsSnI3 Perovskite Solar Cells Using Diverse Electron-Transporting Materials: A Simulation Study

B-γ-CsSnI3 perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are simulated employing diverse electron-transporting layers (ETLs, including TiO2, ZnO, SnO2, GaN, C60, and PCBM), and a comparative study has been made. Both regular and inverted planar structures are simulated. Effects of the thickness of absorbers and ETLs, doping of ETLs, and interface trap states on the photovoltaic performance are studied to optimize the device structures. The regular structures have larger short-circuit current density (Jsc) than the inverted structures, but the inverted structures have larger fill factor (FF). All of the simulated optimal PSCs have similar open-circuit voltages (Voc) of ∼0.96 V. The PSCs with TiO2 ETLs have the best photovoltaic performance, and the optimum structure exhibits the highest efficiency of 20.2% with a Voc of 0.97 V, Jsc of 29.67 mA/cm2, and FF of 0.70. The optimal PSCs with ZnO, GaN, C60, and PCBM ETLs exhibit efficiencies of 17.88, 18.09, 16.71, and 16.59%, respectively. The optimal PSC with SnO2 ETL exhibits the lowest efficiency of 15.5% in all of the simulated PSCs due to its cliff-like band offset at the SnO2/CsSnI3 interface. Furthermore, the increase of interface trap density and capture cross section is found to reduce the photovoltaic performance of PSCs. This work contributes to designing and fabricating CsSnI3 PSCs.
Fast collective evasion in self-localized swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles

A novel approach for achieving fast evasion in self-localized swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) threatened by an intruding moving object is presented in this paper. Motivated by natural self-organizing systems, the presented approach of fast and collective evasion enables the UAV swarm to avoid dynamic objects (interferers) that are actively approaching the group. The main objective of the proposed technique is the fast and safe escape of the swarm from an interferer discovered in proximity. This method is inspired by the collective behavior of groups of certain animals, such as schools of fish or flocks of birds. These animals use the limited information of their sensing organs and decentralized control to achieve reliable and effective group motion. The system presented in this paper is intended to execute the safe coordination of UAV swarms with a large number of agents. Similar to natural swarms, this system propagates a fast shock of information about detected interferers throughout the group to achieve dynamic and collective evasion. The proposed system is fully decentralized using only onboard sensors to mutually localize swarm agents and interferers, similar to how animals accomplish this behavior. As a result, the communication structure between swarm agents is not overwhelmed by information about the state (position and velocity) of each individual and it is reliable to communication dropouts. The proposed system and theory were numerically evaluated and verified in real-world experiments.
Multiscale Curvelet Scattering Network

Feature representation has received more and more attention in image classification. Existing methods always directly extract features via convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Recent studies have shown the potential of CNNs when dealing with images’ edges and textures, and some methods have been explored to further improve the representation process of CNNs. In this article, we propose a novel classification framework called the multiscale curvelet scattering network (MSCCN). Using the multiscale curvelet-scattering module (CCM), image features can be effectively represented. There are two parts in MSCCN, which are the multiresolution scattering process and the multiscale curvelet module. According to multiscale geometric analysis, curvelet features are utilized to improve the scattering process with more effective multiscale directional information. Specifically, the scattering process and curvelet features are effectively formulated into a unified optimization structure, with features from different scale levels being efficiently aggregated and learned. Furthermore, a one-level CCM, which can essentially improve the quality of feature representation, is constructed to be embedded into other existing networks. Extensive experimental results illustrate that MSCCN achieves better classification accuracy when compared with state-of-the-art techniques. Eventually, the convergence, insight, and adaptability are evaluated by calculating the trend of loss function’s values, visualizing some feature maps, and performing generalization analysis.
Disseminated nontuberculous mycobacteria infection in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection can occur in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients, but disseminated NTM infection is mostly occurred in immunocompromised patients such as people using long-term immunosuppressants or patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, particularly in those with CD4+ T lymphocyte count <50 cells/mm. Disseminated infection by NTM is considered a fatal acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-defining opportunistic infection with high mortality in this population.
Secular trends in blood pressure trajectories in Chinese children and adolescents: the impact of changing physical growth

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Background: Globally, 80% of cardiovascular disease (CVD) occur in low-income /middle-income countries. High blood pressure (BP), a major risk factor for CVD, has its origins in early-life. We investigated how age trajectories of BP (childhood to late-adolescence) have changed recently in China and the mediating roles of physical growth. Methods: Using the longitudinal data on 3785 children from the China Health and Nutrition Survey 1991–2015, we estimated mean BP trajectories (7–18 years) for cohorts born in 1981–1985, 1986–1990, 1991–1995 and 1996–2000 using random effect models. Models were adjusted for BMI and/or height growth to assess their impact on BP trends. Results: BP trajectories shifted upwards across cohorts. Compared with the earliest cohort, mean BP was higher in the latest cohort throughout childhood to late adolescence. For example, the increment in SBP was 4.4 mmHg (95% confidence interval: 2.9–5.8) in boys and 4.0 mmHg (2.6–5.5) in girls at 9 years, narrowed slightly during adolescence, and was 3.0 mmHg (0.7–5.4) and 2.6 mmHg (0.4–4.8) respectively at 17 years. BMI and height trajectories also shifted upwards. The overall increment was greater for height than BMI. When adjusting for physical growth, the increment in BP trajectories reduced (more for height than BMI), but remained in childhood (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The upward shift of BP trajectories among Chinese youths was largely explained by trends in physical growth, especially increasing height. Other early-life factors might have also contributed to the BP trends. Substantial increases in mean BP in children within a short time frame is a public health concern and will affect future CVD, especially in the developing world.