bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Predictors of pathological complete response after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer
Authors: Yacoub Haythem , Zenzri Yosr , Cherif Dhouha , Mansour Hajer Ben , Attia Najla , Mokrani Cyrine , Zid Khadija Ben , Letaief Feryel , Mezlini Amel 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Background: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) has become a standard treatment approach for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Patients achieving pathological complete response (pCR) following NCRT have better outcomes (overall survival, relapse free survival). However, not all patients treated for LARC with neoadjuvant treatment achieve pCR.
Aim: The aim of our study was to assess the rate and predictors of pCR.
Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective study at medical oncology unit in a tertiary care teaching hospital. All consecutive LARC patients without any evidence of distant metastasis who underwent neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery between June 2020 and January 2023 were included in the research. Pathological response to NCRT was assessed using Mandard grading system and response was categorized as pCR or not‑pCR. Two different standardized protocols for the neoadjuvant treatment were used: the first group was treated with induction chemotherapy followed by short course radiotherapy and the second group was treated with the RAPIDO protocol.
Correlation between different studied parameters and pCR was determined using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis
Results:
The mean age of the 91 included patients (46 men and 45 women) was 58.53 ± 10.3 years. Twenty (22%) were found to have a pCR (Mandard TRG1) in the operative specimen. In univariate analysis, patients less than 60 years, continuation of chemotherapy and patients treated with the induction chemotherapy followed by short course radiotherapy showed a better pCR as compared to patients treated with Rapido protocol (p = 0.043, p=0.0001 and p=0.021 respectively). Patients with mucinous component had low pCR rates (p =0.021). On logistic regression analysis, chemotherapy continuation (OR = 10.27, 95% CI = 2,14–49.32), and absence of mucinous component (OR = 12.6, 95% CI = 3.1–40.32) were significant predictors of pCR. The median survival was 37.7 months.
Conclusion: Mucinous component and chemotherapy interruption are associated with lower pCR rates. Integrating these factors into personalized treatment algorithms may help optimize therapeutic strategies and improve outcomes for patients with LARC.
Unilateral Dual-Plane Puncture percutaneous vertebroplasty Reduces Re-collapse in Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures by Advancing Cement Delivery
Authors: Zheng Huo-Liang , Liu Chang-hai , Jiang Lei-Sheng , Zheng Xin-Feng , Jiang Sheng-Dan 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of a novel unilateral dual-plane puncture technique in improving bone cement distribution and reducing vertebral re-collapse following percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs). Methods: A randomized trial enrolled 145 patients diagnosed with OVCFs, who were then allocated into either traditional or unilateral dual-plane puncture groups. Bone cement distribution, vertebral height and segmental kyphotic angle was measured through postoperative X ray, while clinical outcomes were evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Results: The unilateral dual-plane puncture technique notably augmented bone cement contact with both superior and inferior endplates compared to conventional methods, achieving rates of 64.86% versus 40.85% (p < 0.001). This contributed to a significant reduction in the incidence of vertebral re-collapse within the first-year post-operation: 18.92% in the unilateral dual-plane group as opposed to 42.25% in the traditional group (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the unilateral dual-plane group exhibited markedly superior long-term efficacy, evidenced by mean VAS and ODI scores of 1.26 and 28.58, respectively, in comparison to 2.03 and 32.45 in the traditional group. Conclusions: The unilateral dual-plane puncture technique advances bone cement distribution within the vertebra, thereby reducing the risk of vertebral re-collapse following PVP surgery and improving long-term clinical outcomes for patients with OVCFs.
The efficacy and safety of pharmacotherapy for girls with central precocious puberty or early puberty: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Yang Chunsong , Huang Xi , Liu Zheng , Zeng Linan , Wu Jin , zhang lingli 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Purpose: The use of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) for central precocious puberty (CPP) and early puberty (EP) is off-label and lacks reliable evidence for clinical practice. This study aimed to compare the long-term efficacy and safety of gonadotrophin releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa) in combination with or without rhGH for the treatment of CPP and EP, and to explore the differences in the efficacy of different intervention timing.
Methods: The medical information of girls with CPP or EP at a women’s and children’s hospital from January 2013 to December 2018 was retrospectively collected. The primary outcome of efficacy was final height, and the secondary outcome included height gain, genetic height gain, standard deviation score of final height (FHSDS), and standard deviation score of height (HSDS) gain. The safety outcomes were the rate of composite adverse event and the rate of each adverse event. The generalized linear model (GLM) including confounders as covariates was applied to compare the difference between the groups, and subgroup analysis was further performed to explore the efficacy with different timing of intervention.
Results: A total of 182 girls with CPP or EP were finally included in this study. The adjusted results of GLM showed that the final height in the combination therapy group (162.58 ± 0.46 cm) was significantly higher than that in the monotherapy group (160.25 ± 0.35 cm) and the no treatment group (158.39 ± 0.47 cm) (P < 0.001), and the height gain, genetic height gain, FHSDS, and HSDS gain were all significantly different among the three groups (P < 0.001). Besides, the incidence of composite adverse events was greatly increasing in the combination therapy group (P < 0.001), among which the incidence of fasting insulin elevation and hypothyroidism was significantly higher than the other two groups (P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that the girls who entered puberty after the age of 8 years (P = 0.051), initiated pharmacotherapy at the age of 10-12 years (P = 0.204, P = 0.178), treated with GnRHa for less than one year (P = 0.718), and combined with rhGH for less than one year (P = 0.064) may not improve the final height.
Conclusions: The combination of GnRHa and rhGH can improve the final height of girls with CPP and EP to a certain extent, especially for those who began pharmacotherapy before 10 years of age and continued treatment for more than one year, but meanwhile increased the incidence of adverse events. The benefits, risks, and affordability of medication should still be comprehensively considered before the decisions on pharmacotherapy.
Characteristics of serum lipid metabolism in postmenopausal obese women and its effect on the proliferation, invasion and migration of endometrial cancer cells
Authors: Zhang Jingbo , Cao Ying , Kuang Lei , Zheng Yunuo , Wang Meng , Xu Hui , Zhou Xueyan , Liu Jianwei , Wang Qing , Zhou Jiayun , Zhang Weiran , Li Yanyu , Zhang Bei 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Background. Obesity is a high risk factor for many cancers, especially endometrial cancer. However, the effect of a single obesity factor on endometrial cancer has not been reported. Moreover, the characteristics of changes in serum lipid metabolites in obese patients are not clear. Methods. BMI, clinical data, lipids and pathological findings of 240 endometrial cancer patients were collected to analyse pathological differences between different BMI groups. Ishikawa and HEC-1A cells were treated with serum from obese and non-obese postmenopausal women, and the migration, invasion and proliferation of the two groups of cells were tested. LC-MS/MS technique was applied to detect the differences in lipid metabolism between obese and non-obese serum from postmenopausal women. Results. Endometrial cancer patients in the obese group had worse pathological staging. Also endometrial cancer patients with concomitant hyperlipidaemia had deeper myometrial infiltration. Endometrial cancer cells with obese serum effects had higher migration, invasion and proliferation. A total of 994 metabolites were identified in this study. 56 different metabolites were determined between the obese and non-obese groups. In the POS mode, DG35:3, DG 32:1lDG 14:0_18:1, DG 32:0, DG 34:1, TG 24:0lTG 8:0_8:0_8:0, TG O-32:1lTG O-16:1_8:0_8:0, TG 48:1lTG 14:0_16:0_18:1, TG 46:1lTG 14:0_16:0_16:1, TG 48:3lTG 14:0_16:1_18:2, CE 17:0, PI 32:1, DG 35:3lDG 17:1_18:2, TG 45:2lTG 11:0_16:0_18:2, TG 46:0lTG 14:0_16:0_16:0 were significantly downregulated in postmenopausal obese women, while the total level of PCs, DG 38:1, DG 48:6, PI-Cer 31:0;2O, SE 29:1/18:2, AHexCer 45:5;3OlAHexCer(O-15:1)30:4;3O, CAR 12:0, CAR 16:2, CAR 14:1, CAR 11:0, PE P-36:3|PE P-16:1_20:2, ASG 27:1;O, Hex, FA 10:0 were upregulated. In the NEG mode, LPE 16:0, LPE 22:5, LPE 20:3, PI 34:2|PI 16:0_18:2, PI 34:1|PI 16:0_18:1, PI 37:4|PI 17:0_20:4, PI 35:2|PI 17:0_18:2, PI 36:4|PI 16:0_20:4, PE-Cer 34:2;2O, PE 36:1;O|PE 18:1_18:0;2O, Cer 42:3;2O|Cer 18:2;2O/24:1, FA 24:6, FA 27:0, FA 20:4;O, FA 20:5 were downregulated in the obese group. SHexCer 40:1;2O, SHexCer, 42:3;2O, SHexCer 42:2;2O, SM 40:1;3O, PEO-44:8|PE O-22:2_22:6, PE O-46:8|PE, O-24:2_22:6, PE O-42:8|PE O-20:2_22:6 were upregulated in the obese group. Conclusions. The results of this study suggested that obesity might promote the progression of endometrial cancer. Changes in lipid metabolism suggested risk factors for endometrial cancer in postmenopausal obese women.
Diagnostic Potential of Rhinovirus C using Reverse-Transcription Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP)
Authors: Wong Yien-Ping , Tee Kok Keng , Chee Hui-Yee 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Rhinoviruses (RVs), particularly RV-C, frequently cause acute respiratory infections and asthma exacerbations. However, there is a lack of routine detection methods. Thus, this study aims to develop a rapid molecular and differential diagnostic detection method for RV-C using the reverse transcription (RT) loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) approach. The RT-LAMP assay targeting the 5′UTR region of RV-C genome was optimized by varying the reaction temperature, magnesium sulfate, betaine concentrations, and reaction time. Compared with conventional RT-PCR with a sensitivity of 106 copies of RNA, RT-LAMP demonstrated a significant increase in efficiency and sensitivity with a quantifiable viral load of at least 101 copies of RNA by gel electrophoresis and colour change, and 104 copies of RNA for end-point detection with a turbidimeter for 40 minutes. The assay is also specific without amplifying RV-A16 and RV-B72 genomic RNA. In the proof-of-concept assay using 30 clinical respiratory samples with known etiological agents, it detected all RV-C isolates, of which its accuracy was confirmed by sequencing. The newly developed RT-LAMP assay demonstrated good analytical sensitivity and specificity toward RV-C. The assay provides an alternative for improved RV-C diagnosis.
A Comparative study of single versus double venous coupler anastomosis in maxillofacial reconstructions with free flaps. How necessary is the second venous coupler anastomosis?
Authors: Haq Ansarul , Singh Veena , Bhalara Niraj 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Background: Recently, venous couplers have been routinely employed for free flap surgery. Its use is justified considering the large number of backlog cases as well as for surgeon and patient benefit. However, venous thrombosis remains a worrisome problem in the use of venous couplers. Although the efficacy of venous couplers has been found to be equal to that of hand-sewn anastomosis, comparison of single versus double venous coupler anastomosis has not been reported.Materials & Methods: A prospective randomized study carried between 2020 and 2024 included 154 patients who underwent maxillofacial free flap reconstruction; these patients were divided into two groups based on the number of venous coupler anastomoses performed. (Single MACD, n = 82 vs Double MACD, n = 72). Data were evaluated for demographics, perioperative details, vascular thrombosis, flap complications and flap loss.Results: There were no significant differences regarding comorbidities or ASA status between the two groups. Overall, there was no significant difference regarding the rate of venous thrombosis (1 MACD: 2.44% versus 2 MACD: 2.78%, p > 0.05) or flap loss (1 MACD: 1.22% versus 2 MACD: 1.39%, p > 0.05).Conclusions: As our overall survivability rate was more than 97% in each group, it can be concluded that flap survivability is not dependent on the number of venous coupler anastomoses and that it would be safe to proceed with single venous coupler anastomosis with close flap monitoring. Various other factors, such as improper technique, intimal injury, hematoma and pedicle compression, may play more prominent roles in flap survivability.
Enhanced Radiation Resistance of Er3+/Yb3+ Co-Doped High-Phosphorus Silica Glasses and Fibers via Phase-Interface Engineering
Authors: Dong He-He , Wang Fan , Zhu Yi-Ming , Yang Qiu-Bai , Shao Chong-Yun , Chen Ying-Gang , Wang Shi-Kai , Yu Chun-Lei , Hu Li-Li 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

This study proposes a strategy for enhancing the radiation resistance of glass/fibers by introducing phase interfaces. Through phase-separation techniques and high-temperature annealing treatments, we constructed nanoscale phase interfaces engineered in erbium-ytterbium co-doped high-phosphorus silica glass with a specific density, stability level, and homogeneous distribution. Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and spectroscopic analyses, we tracked the evolution of the internal microstructure of the glasses at the atomic level. The findings confirmed that annealing effectively controlled the density of the phase interfaces formed. Under 1 kGy X-ray irradiation, glasses with effective phase interfaces exhibited significant improvements in radiation-induced attenuation and photoluminescence intensity compared to pristine glasses. This indicated that effective interfacial engineering considerably enhances the radiation resistance of glasses. Furthermore, online irradiation tests on the Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped silica fibers supported this result. Compared to pristine fiber, fibers annealed for 3 hrs and annealed for 20 hrs with different phase interfacial densities showed 45% and 73% lower RIA at 1080 nm, respectively.
Resolving the single-cell and spatial transcriptomic architecture of inflammatory tertiary lymphoid structures to decode gastric cancer immunotherapy prognosis
Authors: Zhang Min , Wang Yanchun , Zhang Guangyu , Zhang Xin , Xizhao Chen , Zhang Lihua , Sang Shuli , Yao Sheng , Fei Yang , Tian Zhichao , Zang Yu , Wang Hongwei , Liu Chunjie , Liu Yan 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

The tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) served as prognostic and immunotherapeutic indicator in cancer, influenced by its spatial distribution and density. Herein, we implemented TCR, single-cell, and spatial sequencing to elucidate the tumor microenvironment (TME) complexity in 25 gastric cancer (GC) samples with varying TLS distributions. We observed significant accumulation of CXCL13 + CD103 + T lymphocyte cell (TLC), CXCR5 + germinal center B lymphocyte cell (BLC), LAMP3 + dendritic cell (DC), SELP + high endothelial venule (HEV), CXCL12 + matrix cancer associated fibroblast (mCAF) and CXCL16 + tumor cell in intratumor TLS (iTLS) GC compared to peritumor TLS (pTLS) and desert TLS (dTLS). Intercellular crosstalk unveiled CXCL16 + tumor cells, CXCL12 + mCAFs, and SELP + HEVs mediate the recruitment of CXCL13 + TLCs through the CXCL16-CXCR6 and CXCL12-CXCR4 pathways, generating CXCR5 + BLCs recruitment via the CXCL13-CXCR5 pathway, indicative of GC TLS formation mechanism. Lastly, we proposed inflammatory TLS (iTLS) signature with cellular features within iTLS-GC TME, predicting GC immunotherapy prognosis.
Cost of cholera for households and health facilities, Somalia
Authors: Figuereo Salvador , Yoon Ian , Kaddu Ssentamu Simon , Lugobo Mutaawe , Baruch Joaquin , Hossain Asm Amjad , Mohamed Sahra Isse , Abubakar Ali H A , Mohamud Khalid Mohamed , Ma Sk Md Mamunur Rahman 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Introduction:
Cholera remains a substantial public health challenge in Somalia. Ongoing droughts in the country have caused significant outbreaks which have negatively affected the lives of many individuals and overwhelmed health facilities. We aimed to estimate the costs associated with cholera cases for households and health facilities in Somalia.
Methods
This cost-of-illness study was conducted in five cholera treatment centres in Somalia and 400 patients treated in these facilities. Data collection took place from September to October 2023. We interviewed staff at the centres and the patients. The data obtained from the household questionnaire covered direct (medical and non-medical) and indirect (lost wages) costs, while direct costs were estimated for the health facility (personnel salaries, drugs and consumables used to treat a patient, and utility expenses).
Results
The average total cost of a cholera episode for a household was US$ 33.94, with 50.4% (US$ 17.12) being direct costs and 49.6% (US$ 16.82) indirect costs. The average total cost for a health facility to treat an episode of cholera was US$ 82.65. The overall average cost to households and health facilities was US$ 116.59. In the households, patients aged 41 years and older incurred the highest mean total cost (US$ 73.90) while patients younger than 5 years had the lowest cost (US$ 21.02). Additionally, 61.8% of households had to use family savings to cover the cost of the cholera episode, while 14.5% had to borrow money. Most patients (71.8%) were younger than 16 years – 45.3% were 5 years or younger – and 94.0% had never received a cholera vaccine.
Conclusion
Our study suggests that preventing one cholera episode in Somalia could avert substantial losses for both the households and cholera treatment centres. The findings shed light on the expenses associated with cholera that extend beyond healthcare, including substantial direct and indirect costs borne by households. Preventing cholera cases could lead to a decrease in this economic burden, consequently our study supports the need for preventive measures.
The cholesterol oxidation product 7-ketocholesterol impairs pancreatic beta cell insulin secretion
Authors: Zhang Wenjing , Wu Ying , Zhao Yuchen , Wu Nan , Wu Jiahua , Sun Shuiya , Wang Hong , He Sunyue , Xu Yingke , Lin Xihua , Zhou Jiaqiang 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Background: The impairment of pancreatic beta cell function caused by glucolipotoxicity plays an important role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Previous studies have shown that cholesterol can induce beta cell dysfunction. However, the effect of the cholesterol oxidation product 7-ketocholesterol in beta-cell function remains unclear.
Methods: Cell proliferation, Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), perifusion, calcium imaging, total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM), reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), ATP, qPCR, and Western blotting were used to evaluate the effect and mechanism of 7-ketocholesterol on INS1 cells and islets. N-Acetyl-L-cysteine was used to rescue insulin secretion of beta-cells. GSIS, perifusion, calcium levels and exocytosis events verified that early-phase insulin secretion was impaired after 7-ketocholesterol treatment.
Results: The results of CCK 8 and GSIS demonstrated that 25 μmol/L 7-ketocholesterol significantly decreased insulin secretion in the INS1 cells (P < 0.05), as did 50 μmol/L 7-ketocholesterol in the primary islets (P < 0.05). The islet perifusion analysis verified that the insulin secretion function was impaired with 7-ketocholesterol(P < 0.001). Calcium imaging showed that the intracellular calcium levels were decreased following 7-ketocholesterol treatment(P<0.001). TIRFM imaging inferred that 7-ketocholesterol could reduced insulin-secretory-granule exocytosis by decreased fusion events and increased kiss-and-run events to the membrane to attenuate insulin secretion (P < 0.01). Further data showed that the level of Snap25 gene and protein expression related to insulin exocytosis was substantially downregulated. Further study showed that the reactive oxygen species (ROS) in INS1 cells was upregulated, and both the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and level of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) was downregulated (P < 0.05). The regulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (NRF2) is an important transcription factor for oxidative stress, for which its nuclear translocation results in the subsequent activation of gene transcription of Gpx4, Sod1, Txnip, Nqo1, and Ho1 in INS1 cells. In addition, 7-ketocholesterol-induced pancreatic beta cell dysfunction and oxidative stress was ameliorated by pretreatment with the antioxidant, N-Acetyl-L-cysteine.
Conclusions: These findings suggested that 7-ketocholesterol impacted insulin exocytosis to decrease the insulin secretion of pancreatic beta cells involved in the oxidative stress.
Towards Neural Named Entity Recognition System in Tigrinya with Large-scale Dataset
Authors: Berhane Sham K. , Beyene Simon M. , Teklit Yoel G. , Ibrahim Ibrahim A. , Teklu Natnael A. , Bereketeab Sirak A. , Gaim Fitsum 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

The scarcity of annotated datasets remains a significant impediment to the advancement of Natural Language Processing (NLP) in low-resourced languages. In this work, we introduce a large-scale annotated Tigrinya Named Entity Recognition (NER) Corpus, along with models for the NER system in the Tigrinya language. Our manually constructed Tigrinya NER dataset comprises over 200K words tagged for NER, with over 118K of the tokens also having Parts-of-Speech (POS) tags, encompassing 8 distinct classes of entities and multiple tagging schemes. We performed extensive experiments covering several recurrent neural networks and state-of-the-art transformer models, achieving highest performance of 90.18% weighted F1-score. These results are particularly notable, given the unique challenges posed by Tigrinya's distinct grammatical structure and complex word morphologies. The system can be an essential building block for the development of NLP systems in Tigrinya and other related low-resourced languages, and can facilitate cross-referencing with higher-resourced languages.