bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Endoscopic resection with additional surgery versus primary surgery in T1 colorectal cancer analysis: outcomes and lymph node metastasis risk factors
Authors: Chen Pin-Chun , Kao Yi-Kai , Yang Po-Wen , Chen Chia-Hung , Chen Chih-I 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Optimal management of T1 colorectal cancer (CRC) remains controversial. This study compared the long-term outcomes of endoscopic resection with additional surgical resection (ER + ASR) versus primary surgical resection (PS) in patients with T1 CRC and identified risk factors for lymph node metastasis (LNM). We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving 373 patients with T1 CRC who underwent ER + ASR or PS between January 2010 and December 2020 at a tertiary center in Taiwan. Surgical and oncological outcomes, including recurrence rates, LNM, 5-year overall survival (OS), and 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS), were compared. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified risk factors for LNM. No significant differences were observed between the ER + ASR and PS groups in surgical outcomes, recurrence rates, LNM, 5-year OS (93% vs. 89%, P = 0.18), or 5-year RFS (89% vs. 88%, P = 0.47). Patients with ≥ 2 high-risk factors had significantly lower 5-year OS and RFS compared to those with ≤ 1 risk factor (p < 0.01). Poor histology grade and lymphovascular invasion were independent risk factors for LNM. ER + ASR and PS had comparable long-term outcomes in patients with T1 CRC. A multidisciplinary approach and standardized protocols are needed for optimal management of early-stage CRC.
ERα status of invasive ductal breast carcinoma as a result of regulatory interactions between lysine deacetylases KAT6A and KAT6B
Authors: OLBROMSKI MATEUSZ , MROZOWSKA MONIKA , SMOLARZ BEATA , ROMANOWICZ HANNA , RUSAK AGNIESZKA , PIOTROWSKA ALEKSANDRA 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Background
Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of death among cancer patients worldwide. In 2020, almost 12% of all cancers were diagnosed with BC. Therefore, it is important to search for new potential markers of cancer progression that could be helpful in cancer diagnostics and successful anti-cancer therapies. In this study, we investigated the potential role of the lysine acetyltransferases KAT6A and KAT6B in the outcome of patients with invasive breast carcinoma.
Methods
The expression profiles of KAT6A/B in 495 cases of IDC and 38 cases of mastopathy (FBD) were examined by immunohistochemistry. KAT6A/B expression was also determined in the breast cancer cell lines MCF-7, BT-474, SK-BR-3, T47D, MDA-MB-231, and MDA-MB-231/BO2, as well as in the human epithelial mammary gland cell line hTERT-HME1 – ME16C, both at the mRNA and protein level.
Results
Statistical analysis of the results showed that the nuclear expression of KAT6A/B correlates with the estrogen receptor status: KAT6ANUC vs. ER r = 0.2373 and KAT6BNUC vs. ER r = 0.1496. Statistical analysis clearly showed that KAT6A cytoplasmic and nuclear expression levels were significantly higher in IDC samples than in FBD samples (IRS 5.297 ± 2.884 vs. 2.004 ± 1.072, p < 0.0001; IRS 5.133 ± 4.221 vs. 0.1665 ± 0.4024, p < 0.0001, respectively). Moreover, we noticed strong correlations between ER and PR status and the nuclear expression of KAT6A and KAT6B (nucKAT6A vs. ER, p = 0.0048; nucKAT6A vs. PR p = 0.0416; nucKAT6B vs. ER p = 0.0306; nucKAT6B vs. PR p = 0.0213). Significantly higher KAT6A and KAT6B expression was found in the ER-positive cell lines T-47D and BT-474, whereas significantly lower expression was observed in the triple-negative cell lines MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-231/BO2.
Conclusions
The outcomes of small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated suppression of KAT6A/B genes revealed that within estrogen receptor (ER) positive and negative cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, attenuation of KAT6A led to concurrent attenuation of KAT6A, whereas suppression of KAT6B resulted in simultaneous attenuation of KAT6A. Furthermore, inhibition of KAT6A/B genes resulted in a reduction in estrogen receptor (ER) mRNA and protein expression levels in MCF-7 and MDA-MMB-231 cell lines.
Impact
Based on our findings, the lysine acetyltransferases KAT6A and KAT6B may be involved in the progression of invasive ductal breast cancer. Further research on other types of cancer may show that KAT6A and KAT6B could serve as diagnostic and prognostic markers for these types of malignancies.
Plasmonic semi shells derived from simultaneous in situ gold growth and anisotropic acid etching of ZIF-8 for photothermal ablation of metastatic breast tumor
Authors: Shanavas Asifkhan , Sood Kritika , Mathur Purvi , Rath Sulagna , Yadav Pranjali , Kaur Navneet , Sharma Priyanka , . Mimansa , Chauhan Deepak Singh , Vaidya Sonalika , Srivast Rohit , De Abhijit 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

A rapid colloidal synthetic protocol for PEGylated semi shell (SS) fabrication using nano metal-organic framework, ZIF-8 as a sacrificial template is reported. The mechanism of semi shell formation was found to be simultaneous facet specific anisotropic chemical etching of rhombic dodecahedral ZIF-8 and heterogenous nucleation & growth of gold. The SS possesses a strong localized surface plasmon resonance in the near-infrared region, which is retained after surface passivation with polyethylene glycol and subsequent cryopreservation for extended shelf-life. Freshly reconstituted PEGylated SS was found to be hemocompatible & biocompatible under in vitro conditions as well as safe & non-toxic in healthy C57BL/6 mice post intravenous administration for up to 28 days. The PEGylated SS displayed significant photothermal efficiency of ~ 37% with 808 nm laser irradiation. Preclinical assessment of intra-tumoral photothermal efficacy indicated complete remission of primary breast tumor mass with insignificant metastasis to vital organs in 4T1 FL2 tumor bearing CD1 nude mice. Further, PEGylated SS mediated photothermal therapy also yielded morbidity free survival of 75% in a syngeneic 4T1 breast tumor model for up to 90 days, indicating their potential to significantly improve outcomes in advanced breast tumors.
Human Perception of Bonobo Emotional Expressions: The Role of Expertise and Expression Channel
Authors: Kim Yena , Vogelezang Nick , Karch Julian D. , Kret Mariska 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Reading emotional states of the interacting partner is fundamental for social communication. This ability of inferring others’ emotions is specialised for within-species communication, but is known to extend to cross-species interactions. Previous studies have suggested both morphological similarity and familiarity with the expressing species play a role in the success in cross-species emotion communication. To investigate the relative contribution of these factors in cross-species emotion perception of closely related species, humans and bonobos, we asked human participants with varying degrees of experience with bonobos to assign emotion labels to images of bonobo emotional expressions, and rate them on valence and intensity. Moreover, we investigated how the channel (face vs. body) and emotional valence (negative vs. positive) of bonobo expressions modulate the perception. The results show that experts agreed more on the labels assigned to positive and neutral faces and bodies than novices or intermediates, while negative bodies were perceived similarly by all three groups. Interestingly, novices showed a higher agreement score than experts and intermediates to label negative facial expressions. The effect of expert superiority for positive and neutral images was attenuated in valence ratings, and the ratings on negative faces remained difficult even for experts. Similar to the results of the emotional labels, novices agreed specifically well on the interpretation of the negative faces. For intensity ratings, expert superiority remained the same for facial expressions with negative facial expressions yielding the highest agreement scores in general. Our results indicate a mixed effect of similarity and familiarity: while novices predominantly use anthropomorphic strategies, experts drew upon their extensive knowledge to evaluate the emotional states from bonobo images. Bodily expressions showed similar effects of expert superiority, though not as strongly as facial expressions. Overall, experience plays a predominant role in cross-species emotion recognition.
Impact of Dietary Macromolecular Quantity and Quality on Host Assimilation of Microbially Derived Essential Amino Acids
Authors: Mertz Conner M. , Mancuso Christy J. , Robinson David M. , James Leigh D. , Fogel Marilyn L. , Takacs-Vesbach Cristina , Newsome Seth D. 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Background
Protein is the main structural and functional component of cells making it crucial for the survival of all living organisms. Wild mammalian herbivores and omnivores often consume diets deficient in the amount of protein required to grow and maintain homeostasis. To compensate, mammals likely rely on their gut microbiota to synthesize essential amino acids (AAESS) needed for survival. In this study, we investigated whether deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) utilized AAESS synthesized by their gut-associated microbiota with a series of controlled feeding experiments with either a synthetic or semi-natural diet that varied in the type (quality) and quantity of protein and carbohydrates mice may encounter in the wild. Our study combines genetic sequencing (16S rRNA gene and shotgun metagenomic) with compound-specific carbon isotope (d13C) analysis to trace the origin of AAESS used by mammals to build their skeletal muscle.
Results
Results show that dietary macromolecular quality, in addition to quantity, plays a substantial role in host assimilation of microbially derived AAESS and drives microbial genomic potential for AAESS biosynthesis. Mice fed diets limited in dietary protein received greater contributions of AAESS of microbial origin, especially branched-chain amino acids (valine, leucine, isoleucine), lysine, and threonine. Gut microbial populations with the genetic potential for AAESS biosynthesis were differentially abundant in mice with substantial contributions of microbially derived AAESS in their skeletal muscle. Significant microbial contributions of AAESS in host muscle were observed in the low (2.5%) protein synthetic diet, while a larger suite of microbial AAESS contributed to tissue synthesis in mice fed the semi-natural diet across all protein treatments (2.5–10%).
Conclusions
Our study highlights the crucial and likely pervasive role the gut microbiome plays in host protein metabolism, especially in wild herbivorous and omnivorous mammals facing dietary protein limitation. Critical interactions between mammals and their associated gut microbiome are often difficult to disentangle. Our work provides a framework for doing so by uniquely combining genetic and isotopic data to advance our understanding of animal physiology and ecology.
Socio-Demographic Determinants of Myelofibrosis Outcomes in an Underserved Center and the SEER National Database
Authors: Yan John , Hammami M Bakri , Wei John , Shah Nishi , Goldfinger Mendel , Mantzaris Ioannis , Kornblum Noah , Gritsman Kira , Sica Alejandro , Cooper Dennis , Feldman Eric , Konopleva Marina , Pradhan Kith , Thakur Rahul , Vegivinti Charan , Qasim Asma , Verma Amit , Goel Swati 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

The influence of demographic characteristics and social determinants on cancer outcomes is widely recognized in various malignancies but remains understudied in myelofibrosis (MF). This study aims to investigate social and demographic variables associated with MF survival. We retrospectively reviewed data of biopsy-proven MF patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database (2000–2021) and Montefiore Medical Center (2000–2023), an underserved inner-city hospital. The SEER cohort included 5,403 MF patients and was predominantly Non-Hispanic (NH) White (82%) with a median age of 69 years. The age-adjusted incidence rate of MF was 0.32 cases per 100,000 person-years, increasing annually by 1.3% from 2000 to 2021. Two- and five- year overall survival rates were 69% and 42%, respectively. Worse cause-specific survival was associated with older age, male sex, and diagnosis before 2011 (year of Ruxolitinib approval). NH-Black ethnicity, unmarried status and lower median income were independent predictors of worse overall survival. The single-center analysis included 84 cases, with a median age of 66 years. NH-White patients comprised 37% of the sample, followed by NH-Black (28.5%). Two- and five- year overall survival rates were 90% and 61%, respectively, with NH-Black patients exhibiting the lowest median survival. Age was a significant predictor of worse survival in this cohort. NH-Black and Hispanic patients lived in areas with higher socioeconomic and demographic stress compared to NH-White patients. Overall, this study highlights the association of social and demographic factors with MF survival and emphasizes the need for equitable healthcare and further exploration of social-demographic factors affecting MF survival.
DI George Syndrome in Newborns Conceived From Assisted Reproductive Techniques: Is Preimplantation Screening Necessary? A Discussion of Two Cases
Authors: Rubio-Duarte Andres Felipe , Aristizabal-Perez Laura Cristina , Riaño-Medina Carlos Eduardo 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Background: Assisted reproductive techniques are increasingly used, and thus the use of tests for the identification of possible genetic errors in the embryo should be optimized, which translate to the occurrence of congenital diseases in newborns. DiGeorge syndrome (DGS) is a severe genetic syndrome that implies a higher risk of complex congenital heart diseases and metabolic and immunological abnormalities. Reports of DGS in newborns conceived via intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are limited to only two cases, one of which involved a diagnosis in the implanted embryo, resulting in pregnancy termination. We present two cases of DGS in two pregnancies conceived via ICSI, without prenatal diagnosis and with complex congenital heart disease.
Case presentation: Case 1 involves a full-term female newborn, conceived via ICSI, without prenatal diagnosis of structural anomalies. At birth, the patient presented with hypotonia, hypocalcemia, seizures, and phenotypic characteristics of DGS; she also had congenital heart disease characterized by interruption of the aortic arch. A successful surgical repair of the congenital heart disease was performed, and the patient required oral calcium supplementation and anticonvulsants upon hospital discharge. Case 2 involves a preterm male newborn, conceived via ICSI in a surrogate uterus, born with cyanosis, hypotonia, retrognathia, a short neck, and other minor abnormalities. He was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot and hypocalcemia; surgical correction of the heart disease was performed at 6 months of age, and he required oral calcium supplementation. Both cases had follow-ups at one year of age, without complications, and with a confirmed genetic diagnosis of DGS.
Conclusions: DGS is a genetic syndrome associated with anatomical and immunological abnormalities that can potentially compromise the life of the newborn, including complex congenital heart disease. Its association with assisted reproductive techniques is limited. It is necessary to consider preimplantation screening when there is a suspected increased risk of DGS, especially with a family history of this syndrome. Preimplantation diagnosis should be considered based on the individual characteristics of the gestational carrier, the father, and the findings of congenital anomalies associated with this disease.
The Impact of Systemic Inflammation Index and Systemic Inflammatory Response Index on Predicting Acute Appendicitis Complications in Children Under Five Years Old
Authors: Özçelik Zerrin , Cesur İlknur Banlı , Parlakgümüş Cemal 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Objective
The aim of our study is to determine the value of SII (Systemic Inflammation Index) and SIRI (Systemic Inflammatory Response Index), biomarkers whose usage has increased in recent years, in predicting acute appendicitis complications in children under five years old. Specifically, due to the difficulty in diagnosing and managing acute appendicitis in children under five, we aimed to investigate the usability of these indices in determining the risk of complications of acute appendicitis and in developing clinical management strategies.
Materials and Methods
The study was conducted with 178 patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The laboratory values, surgical notes, and pathology results of the cases were recorded from patient files and the automation system, and statistical analyses were performed.
Results
The laboratory values of Platelet, Monocyte, SIRI, CRP, and Procalcitonin in the complicated appendicitis group were higher compared to those in the simple appendicitis group (p = 0.046; p = 0.035; p = 0.042; p = 0.001; p = 0.001, respectively). According to the results of the ROC Curve test, the SIRI score had an AUC of 59%, sensitivity of 67.37%, and specificity of 54.43%, while the CRP value had the best diagnostic test performance in predicting complicated appendicitis with an AUC value of 64.3%, sensitivity of 63.54%, and specificity of 61.25%.
Conclusion
In our study evaluating SII and SIRI, we found that especially SIRI, along with CRP and procalcitonin, was higher in the complicated group. However, the predictive power of CRP for complications was greater than these indices. We believe that randomized controlled and larger studies should be conducted to evaluate the use of these new-generation markers in acute appendicitis.
The Relationship between Endolymphatic Hydrops Features and Hearing Loss in Bilateral Meniere's Disease
Authors: Liu XU , Wang Dan , Hsieh Yue-Lin , Shi Suming , Wang Wuqing 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Background
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the features of endolymphatic hydrops and hearing loss in patients with Bilateral Meniere's Disease.
Methods
A retrospective analysis was conducted on 77 patients diagnosed with Bilateral Meniere's Disease. The features of endolymphatic hydrops in the affected ear were evaluated through gadolinium-enhanced inner ear Magnetic resonance imaging. The Spearman correlation coefficient, paired t-tests, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were employed for data analysis.
Results
The analysis revealed a significant correlation between the degree of endolymphatic hydrops and hearing loss across all frequencies(0.125-8 kHz), including the cochlear, vestibular, and overall degree of endolymphatic hydrops. The strongest correlation between the overall degree of endolymphatic hydrops and hearing loss was observed at low frequencies (r = 0.571, p < 0.05), followed by mid-frequencies (r = 0.508, p < 0.05), and high-frequencies (r = 0.351, p < 0.05), with a correlation of r = 0.463, p < 0.05 for the staging of Meniere's disease. Affected Ears with endolymphatic hydrops both in the cochlea and vestibule exhibited more severe hearing loss and Meniere's disease staging compared to those with isolated endolymphatic hydrops within the same patient.
Conclusions
The features of endolymphatic hydrops in patients with Bilateral Meniere's Disease were found to correlate with the severity of hearing loss and the staging of Meniere's disease.
Adversarial Generation Method for Smart Contract Fuzz Testing Seeds Guided by Chain-Based LLM
Authors: Sun Jiaze , Yin Zhiqiang , Zhang Hengshan , Chen Xiang , Zheng Wei 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

With the rapid development of smart contract technology and the continuous expansion of blockchain application scenarios, the security issues of smart contracts have garnered significant attention. However, traditional fuzz testing typically relies on randomly generated initial seed sets. This random generation method fails to understand the semantics of smart contracts, resulting in insufficient seed coverage. Additionally, traditional fuzz testing often ignores the syntax and semantic constraints within smart contracts, leading to the generation of seeds that may not conform to the syntactic rules of the contracts and may even include logic that violates contract semantics, thereby reducing the efficiency of fuzz testing. To address these challenges, we propose a method for adversarial generation for smart contract fuzz testing seeds guided by Chain-Based LLM, leveraging the deep semantic understanding capabilities of LLM to assist in seed set generation. Firstly, we propose a method that utilizes Chain-Based prompts to request LLM to generate fuzz testing seeds, breaking down the LLM tasks into multiple steps to gradually guide the LLM in generating high-coverage seed sets. Secondly, by establishing adversarial roles for the LLM, we guide the LLM to autonomously generate and optimize seed sets, producing high-coverage initial seed sets for the program under test. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, 160 smart contracts were crawled from Etherscan for experimental purposes. Results indicate that using Chain-Based prompts to request LLM to generate fuzz testing seed sets improved instruction coverage by 2.63\% compared to single-step requests. The method of generating seed sets by establishing adversarial roles for the LLM reduced the time to reach maximum instruction coverage from 60 seconds to approximately 30 seconds compared to single-role methods. Additionally, the seed sets generated by the proposed method can directly trigger simple types of vulnerabilities (e.g., timestamp dependency and block number dependency vulnerabilities), with instruction coverage improvements of 3.3\% and 3.8\%, respectively.
Electromagnetic Inductive Coupling Analysis (EMICA): A new tool for imaging internal defects in carbon fiber composites
Authors: Finch Kevin , Long David C. , Ott Taylor , Spatafore Bradley , Biller Joshua R. 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Carbon fiber laminates enjoy a wide range of applications from innovative architectural design to aerospace and the safety overwrap for pressure vessels. In the case of carbon fiber overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs), the overwrap thickness can vary from 6 mm (0.25 inch) for thin-walled COPV up to 25 mm (~ 1”) or more for thick walled COPV, depending on the vessel type. The failure mechanisms for carbon fiber are more complex than for metals and monitoring COPVs for defects or fatigue over their lifetime is further complicated by the thickness of the carbon fiber used. In this paper, we introduce a new technique, Electro-Magnetic-Inductive-Coupling-Analysis, or EMICA, which can detect damage inside thick carbon fiber laminate pieces. EMICA is based on the interaction of the repeating three-dimensional conducting structure of carbon fiber and low-frequency electromagnetic waves to highlight defects such as delamination and fiber disruptions, well below the laminate surface. In this paper, we demonstrate EMICA in flat carbon fiber laminates up to 12 mm (~ 0.5”) thick, made in-house, with known defects hidden through the thickness of the piece that cannot be detected via visual inspection.