bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The association between fecal enterotoxigenic B. fragilis with colorectal cancer
Authors: Haghi Fakhri , Goli Elshan , Mirzaei Bahman , Zeighami Habib 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
Background

Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) is an enterotoxin-producing bacterium that possibily has a role in the occurrence and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC) by modulating the mucosal immune response and inducing epithelial cell changes. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of ETBF in stool samples of CRC patients and healthy volunteers.

Methods

A total of 60 stool samples from confirmed CRC patients and 60 stool samples from healthy volunteers with no personal or familial history or diagnosis of colorectal disease were collected. Stool samples were screened for direct detection of B. fragilis using PCR targeting the marker genes of neu and bft. Enterotoxin isotypes bft-1, bft-2 and bft-3 were also detected in B. fragilis positive samples.

Results

The frequency of B. fragilis among CRC and control cases was 58.3% and 26.6%, respectively (P<0.05). The rate of bft gene in CRC cases was significantly higher than in controls (P<0.05). Also, the presence of bft gene in CRC patients stage III was significantly higher than stages I and II (P< 0.05). Enterotoxin isotype bft-2 was detected with higher frequency among CRC patients than healthy control (P<0.05).

Conclusion

Our results show the association between fecal ETBF and CRC, and we suggest that detection of ETBF may be a potential marker for colorectal cancer diagnosis. However, additional investigations on tumor and paired normal tissue samples are required to substantiate this possible correlation.
Radiomics of apparent diffusion coefficient maps to predict histologic grade in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue and mouth floor: A preliminary study
Authors: Ren Jiliang , Yuan Ying , Qi Meng , Shi Yiqian , Tao Xiaofeng 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
Background

The assessment of histologic grade plays an important part in prognosis evaluation of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the tongue and mouth floor (MF). This study was performed to ascertain if apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC)-based radiomics can predict histologic grade in SCC of the tongue and MF.

Methods

This study involved 95 patients (training cohort: n = 63; testing cohort: n = 32), who were categorized as low- and high-grade SCCs according to the pathologic findings. A total of 526 radiomics features were extracted from ADC maps. Radiomics signature was constructed with least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) logistic regression. Receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the performance of the radiomic signature in the training and testing cohorts.

Results

Six features were selected to construct the radiomics signature for predicting histologic grade. The ADC-based radiomics signature performed well in discriminating between low- and high-grade tumors, with AUCs of 0.82 and 0.78 in the training and testing cohorts, respectively. Based on the cutoff value of the training cohort, the radiomics signature achieved accuracies of 0.75 and 0.78, sensitivities of 0.71 and 0.86, and specificities of 0.83 and 0.64 in the training and testing cohorts, respectively.

Conclusions

The ADC-based radiomics signature could identify histologic grade in SCC of the tongue and MF.
CHALLENGES IN CHOICE OF THE TREATMENT STRATEGY FOR PATIENTS WITH RECURRENT PSEUDOMYXOMA PERITONEI
Authors: Abdullaev A. G. , Davydov М. M. , Коzlov N. A. 
Published: July 2019

Pseudomixoma peritonei is a rare type of peritoneal carcinomatosis accompanied by accumulation of mucus and high recurrence rate and in some cases complicated with intestinal obstruction. In the last 10–15 years, there has been observed a significant improvement in overall survival of patients with recurrent pseudomyxoma, who underwent cytoreductive surgery in combination with intraperitoneal chemotherapy. However, the frequency of recurrences of peritoneal pseudomyxoma after optimal cytoreduction can reach 80–90 % in the first 2 years.The purpose of the study was to analyze the results of combined therapy (cytoreductive surgery and hypothermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion) in patients with recurrent pseudomyxoma peritonei, who previously underwent cytoreductive surgery.Material and Methods. The study included 43 patients previously undergoing cytoreductive surgery for pseudomyxoma peritonei in the Thoracic Oncology Department of the N.N. Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology.Results. Re-operations were performed in 11 of the 43 patients with recurrent pseudomixoma peritonei after previously performed cytoreductive surgery. Repeated intraperitoneal chemoperfusion with hyperthermia was performed in 6 patients. Of the 11 reoperated patients, 7 had a complete cytoreduction (CC-0), recurrence was detected within 22 to 47 months; 2 patients had CC-1 and recurrence was observed within 12 and 15 months. Optimal cytoreduction (CC0-1) was achieved in 7 of the 11 patients. The maximum follow-up period was 44 months. Recurrence was noted in 9 patients, while the majority of patients had a satisfactory quality of life. Two patients showed signs of partial intestinal obstruction. None of the patients died during the follow-up period. In two patients with optimal (CC-0) cytoreduction, there were no signs of disease progression 9 and 15 months after re-surgery. One-year disease-free survival rate was 51 %.Conclusion. Repeated surgeries for recurrent pseudomyxoma present a great challenge for surgeons due to the difficulty in achieving optimal cytoreduction. Optimal cytoreduction in initial surgery should be considered as the main condition for repeated surgery. Moreover, additional criterion for a favorable prognosis is the time to progression of disease.
METHOD OF TREATMENT FOR ANAL CANCER AFFECTING THE SKIN
Authors: Kit O. I. , Rozenko L. Ya. , Frantsiyants E. M. , Gusareva M. A. , Kosheleva N. G. , Solntseva A. A. , Krokhmal Yu. N. 
Published: July 2019

The extent of surgery for anal rectal cancer (ARC) is determined by the clinical efficacy of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT). An approach using medium intensity ultrasound combined with chemotherapy was developed. Advantages of sonodynamic chemotherapy (SD CT) were evaluated to improve the CRT efficacy and the quality of life of patients with ARC affecting the skin.Material and methods.34 patients with morphologically verified сТ2–3N0–1M0 ARC received 2 cycles of polychemotherapy (PCT): intravenous bolus of mitomycin C 10 mg/m2 on days 1 and 29 + continuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil 1000 mg/m2 daily on days 1–4 and 29–32. Patients received CRT 3 weeks after the second PCT cycle. Prior to each session of standard external and intracavitary irradiation, 18 patients of the main group received a 2-hour extemporaneous mixture to the primary tumor site: 5 mg of the Coletex SP-1 hydrogel material with propolis based on sodium alginate plus 100 mg of gemcitabine-medac together with mid-frequency ultrasound (0.88 MHz, I =1.0 Вm/cm2, Patent No. 2638616). 16 controls received capecitabine 825 mg/m2 orally twice a day with 12-hour intervals during the radiation course.Results.Controlled general clinical effect after external irradiation + SD CT in the main group was 25.7 % (p<0.05) higher than in controls, and complete regression was 1.4 times more frequent (77.8 % vs. 56.2 %). Radical surgery after CRT was necessary only in 11.1 % cases in the main group vs. 43.8 % in controls (p<0.05). No local recurrences were observed during 612 months in 16 patients of the main group without surgery, while 22.2 % (p<0.05) of controls showed local recurrence. The rates of pelvic relapses and distant metastases were similar in both groups.Conclusion.The positive effect of the proposed method for ARC treatment is determined by the combination of therapeutic factors including the action of a radiosensitizing agent introduced into tumor tissues.
Study on the optimum penetration depth by two TBM cutters under different cutter spacings
Authors: Wang Zhu , Cao Ping , Chen Yu 
Published: July 2019

This paper investigates the optimum penetration depth and the synergistic effect of TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) rock breaking under the different cutter spacings. Indentation tests, using two TBM cutters, were conducted on sandstone specimens based on an improved uniaxial testing. Afterwards, morphological measurement was performed to analyze the change of the groove volume, using a surface profilometer. Based on the evaluations of typical chips and cracks propagation, the fragmentation modes of the rock between two cutters under different penetration depths were proposed. In addition, the TBM rock breaking efficiency was studied. As the increase of the penetration depth, when the cutter spacing was constant, the results show that: (1) The rock fragmentation modes gradually changed from shear failure and shear-tensile failure to tensile failure. (2) Though penetration energy gradually increased, the groove volumes also increased, thus, the TBM rock breaking efficiency rises. (3) Specific energy decreased first and then gradually increased. It indicates that the optimum penetration depth was existent for different preset penetration depths. With the increase in cutter spacing, the optimum penetration depth also rised. According to the derivation and verification of the analytical formula, the internal relationship between the penetration depth and the fracture toughness was obtained, which was in line with the linear relationship between penetration depth and penetration energy. From a microscopic point of view, the sharp increase of penetration energy with increase of penetration depth can be explained.
Strength characteristics and failure behavior of ubiquitous-joint rock-like specimens under compressive-shear stress: experimental study and digital speckle correlation method
Authors: Li Su , Cao Ping , Xiong Xinguang 
Published: July 2019

In nature, rock mass is subjected to compression-shear effect, so it is very important to study the failure mode and mechanical properties of fractured rock mass under compression-shear effect. In order to study the influence of joint inclination on strength characteristics and failure modes of rock mass under different compression-shear angles, a series of compression-shear tests were carried out. The specimens are made of a certain proportion of fine sand, cement and water. The joints are prefabricated by inserting mica sheets and the inclination angle of joints is 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, 90°. Digital speckle correlation method is used to analyze the strain field of the specimen during the whole loading process. The specimens are speckled on the opposite side before the experiment. In the experiment, the front and back sides of the specimen are monitored by the camera, and the images are analyzed after the experiment. The result shows that: 1) The peak shear strength of specimens mainly increases with the increase of joint inclination angle; 2) The weakening degree of shear strength caused by joint inclination angle of specimens tends to increase as the compression-stress ratio increases; and 3) The failure modes can be classified into four types: coplanar shear failure mode, inclined shear failure mode, quasi-complete shear failure mode and step shear failure mode. The digital speckle strain images better prove the failure modes obtained from the experiment.
Macroscopic and microscopic simulation of silo granular flow based on improved multi-element model
Authors: Feng Yong , Yuan Ziran 
Published: July 2019

In the PFC simulation of silo granular discharge, spherical particles were used in the traditional model, which could not accurately reflect macroscopic and mesoscopic mechanism during discharge of wheat, rice and other particles with non-spherical shapes. This research provides an improved multi-element model consisting of clump elements and ball elements. The model uses clump elements to simulate non-spherical grain particles and ball elements to simulate dust particles. The numerical simulation was carried out with the improved multi-element model, and the results are compared with the traditional simulation which uses the spherical ball elements and the experiment of grain discharge. It demonstrates that: (1) In terms of the normal wall pressure, the dynamic pressure fluctuation in flow with improved multi-element model is more gradual, and the discharge process lasts longer, the normal pressure simulation results are more accurate than the traditional model. (2) In terms of the meso-structure of the granular material, compared with traditional spherical ball model, the material packing porosity of the improved multi-element model decreases and the coordination number increases, which is denser and in consistent with the actual situation. (3) Particle shape would affect the meso-mechanical behavior of particles. The simulation results demonstrate that, compared with the traditional spherical ball model, the contact forces in the improved multi-element model increases, and the distribution of contact force chains is more uniform and denser; several arching force chains could be clearly seen in the improved multi-element model, which clearly reflects the dynamic change law of the instantaneous arch. The improved multi-element model established in this paper further improves the accuracy of simulation and reflects the dynamic changes of the normal pressure on the silo wall, granular material structure and meso-mechanical parameters during grain discharge.
Occurrence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in potable water sources in Chandigarh, Northern India
Authors: Utaaker Kjersti Selstad , Joshi Himanshu , Kumar Anil , Chaudhary Suman , Robertson Lucy J. 
Published: July 2019

AbstractContamination with Cryptosporidium and Giardia from drinking water sources in a city in Northern India was assessed. A protocol modified from a standard ISO protocol, which includes filtration, concentration, separation and detection steps, was tested and showed comparable recovery efficiencies (Giardia mean = 77.4%, Cryptosporidium mean = 61.8% from the modified protocol, compared with Giardia mean = 61.6%, Cryptosporidium mean = 69% from the ISO protocol) at a substantial cost reduction. This protocol was used for analysing 71 samples of potable water from different areas of Chandigarh, where sampling locations were divided into groups according to the population density, which also partially equates with the level of infrastructure. Samples were collected during (n = 29) and outside the monsoon season (n = 42). Of all samples analysed, 16 (22.5%) were Cryptosporidium- and/or Giardia-positive. Parasites per sample were low (1–10 (oo)cysts per 10 L), although one sample contained large numbers of Giardia cysts (>1,000). Polymerase chain reaction analyses on the small subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid (SSU rRNA), triose-phosphate isomerase (tpi), glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) and beta-giardin (bg) gene sequences on Giardia-positive samples and SSU rRNA on Cryptosporidium-positive samples tended to be unsuccessful, although Giardia cysts of Assemblages B and C were identified. No association with the season was detected, but an association with the location of water supply was identified. Samples from areas with the lowest infrastructure were not associated with higher levels of contamination, but samples from the middle level were significantly more likely to be contaminated than those from the highest level of infrastructure. Results indicate that even in a city with a well-developed infrastructure, the contamination of potable water with protozoan parasites remains a public health risk.
High serological response to Cryptosporidium-specific antigens in the Czech Republic and its association with water supply
Authors: Pumann Petr , Kožíšek František , Craun Gunther F. , Kunde Twila R. , Malý Marek , Frost Floyd J. , Čeřovská Lenka 
Published: July 2019

AbstractA survey was conducted in the Czech Republic to determine whether serological responses to the 15/17-kDa and 27-kDa Cryptosporidium antigens had changed since the end of the communist era and if these responses were associated with drinking water sources. Sera from 301 blood donors residing in six areas served by various sources of drinking water were analysed by Western Blot (mini-immunoblots) to measure the IgG response. The intensity of response and percentage of persons with a strong response to the 27-kDa, but not the 15/17-kDa, antigen were higher than found 20 years earlier. A strong response to both the 15/17- and 27-kDa-antigens was higher than reported in other countries, and the probability of persons having a strong response was greater in areas with surface water sources than river-bank infiltration. Few cases of cryptosporidiosis were reported in spite of these high responses to Cryptosporidium antigens. These responses suggest a chronic low-level exposure from several sources that may be affording protection against symptoms and illness. Although strong serological responses were associated with surface water sources, drinking water is not likely to be the most important exposure for Cryptosporidium in the Czech Republic.
Nanomedicine-Combined Immunotherapy for Cancer
Authors: Huang Shigao , Zhao Qi 
Published: July 2019

Background:
Immunotherapy for cancer includes Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T
cells, CAR-natural Killer (NK) cells, PD1, and the PD-L1 inhibitor. However, the proportion of
patients who respond to cancer immunotherapy is not satisfactory. Concurrently, nanotechnology
has experienced a revolution in cancer diagnosis and therapy. There are few clinically approved
nanoparticles that can selectively bind and target cancer cells and incorporate molecules, although
many therapeutic nanocarriers have been approved for clinical use. There are no systematic reviews
outlining how nanomedicine and immunotherapy are used in combination to treat cancer.

Objective:
This review aims to illustrate how nanomedicine and immunotherapy can be used for
cancer treatment to overcome the limitations of the low proportion of patients who respond to cancer
immunotherapy and the rarity of nanomaterials in clinical use.

Methods:
A literature review of MEDLINE, PubMed / PubMed Central, and Google Scholar was
performed. We performed a structured search of literature reviews on nanoparticle drug-delivery
systems, which included photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, photoacoustic therapy, and
immunotherapy for cancer. Moreover, we detailed the advantages and disadvantages of the various
nanoparticles incorporated with molecules to discuss the challenges and solutions associated with
cancer treatment.

Conclusion:
This review identified the advantages and disadvantages associated with improving
health care and outcomes. The findings of this review confirmed the importance of nanomedicinecombined
immunotherapy for improving the efficacy of cancer treatment. It may become a new way
to develop novel cancer therapeutics using nanomaterials to achieve synergistic anticancer immunity.
Protein Interaction Domains and Post-Translational Modifications: Structural Features and Drug Discovery Applications
Authors: Vincenzi Marian , Mercurio Flavia Anna , Leone Marilisa 
Published: July 2019

Background:Many pathways regarding healthy cells and/or linked to diseases onset and progression depend on large assemblies including multi-protein complexes. Protein-protein interactions may occur through a vast array of modules known as protein interaction domains (PIDs).Objective:This review concerns with PIDs recognizing post-translationally modified peptide sequences and intends to provide the scientific community with state of art knowledge on their 3D structures, binding topologies and potential applications in the drug discovery field.Method:Several databases, such as the Pfam (Protein family), the SMART (Simple Modular Architecture Research Tool) and the PDB (Protein Data Bank), were searched to look for different domain families and gain structural information on protein complexes in which particular PIDs are involved. Recent literature on PIDs and related drug discovery campaigns was retrieved through Pubmed and analyzed.Results and Conclusion:PIDs are rather versatile as concerning their binding preferences. Many of them recognize specifically only determined amino acid stretches with post-translational modifications, a few others are able to interact with several post-translationally modified sequences or with unmodified ones. Many PIDs can be linked to different diseases including cancer. The tremendous amount of available structural data led to the structure-based design of several molecules targeting protein-protein interactions mediated by PIDs, including peptides, peptidomimetics and small compounds. More studies are needed to fully role out, among different families, PIDs that can be considered reliable therapeutic targets, however, attacking PIDs rather than catalytic domains of a particular protein may represent a route to obtain selective inhibitors.
Computational and Kinetic Studies of Acetylcholine Esterase Inhibition by Phenserine
Authors: Tabrez Shams , Damanhouri Ghazi A. 
Published: July 2019

Background:
The inhibition of cholinesterase enzymes is one of the promising strategies to manage
several neurological disorders that include Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Material and Methods:
In the current article, we estimated the potential inhibition of acetyl cholinesterase
(AChE) by phenserine using slightly modified Ellman assay. To find out the binding interactions of phenserine
with the catalytic site of AChE, a molecular docking study was also performed.

Results:
Phenserine was found to inhibit Electrophorus electricus AChE in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50
value of 0.013 µM. The kinetic analyses indicate that phenserine inhibits AChE in a mixed type manner (competitive
and uncompetitive) with Ki values of 0.39 μmole/l and 0.21 µmole/l, respectively. On the other hand, Km
and Vmax values were found to be 0.17 µM and 0.39 µM, respectively. The molecular docking studies indicate
efficient binding of phenserine through 6 hydrogen bonds, 4 pi-alkyl interactions, and 1 pi-pi interaction within
the AChE catalytic pocket.

Conclusion:
Results of our computational and kinetics studies indicated a mixed type inhibition by phenserine at
AChE catalytic site.