bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Circ-FOXO3 inhibits triple-negative breast cancer progression via interaction with WHSC1
Authors: Chen Danyang , Zeng Shanshan , Qiu Huisi , Yang Minqiang , Lin Xin , Lv Xinwu , Li Pan , Weng Shaojuan , Kou Siyue , Luo Kai , Liu Zongcai , Yi Yanmei , Liu Hao 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Background. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a subclass of non-coding RNAs characterized by covalently closed continuous loops, play a key role in tumorigenesis and aggressiveness. However, the potential molecular mechanism of circRNAs in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains largely unknown. Exploring their roles and mechanisms in TNBC progression may help identify new diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets.
Methods. Differentially expressed circRNAs were identified by RNA sequencing. The expression of circ-FOXO3 was evaluated using Real-time quantitative RT-PCR and RNA in situ hybridization. The impacts of circ-FOXO3 on the TNBC progression were investigated by in vitro and in vivo functional assays. The underlying mechanism of circ-FOXO3 was revealed by Western blot, RNA pull down, mass spectrometry, RNA immunoprecipitation, luciferase assays and rescue experiments.
Results. Here, we identified circ-FOXO3 as a tumor suppressor in TNBC progression. Circ-FOXO3 was predominantly expressed in the cytoplasm and dramatically downregulated in TNBC tissues. Notably, circ-FOXO3 expression was significantly lower in blood samples from patients with TBNC. Low circ-FOXO3 expression in TNBC tissues and blood was associated with lymph node metastasis and unfavorable outcomes in patients with TNBC. In addition, circ-FOXO3 overexpression inhibited the growth, invasion, and metastasis of TNBC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we demonstrated that circ-FOXO3 interacts with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome candidate 1 (WHSC1) and inhibits WHSC1 activity, resulting in the inhibition of H3K36me2 modifications at the Zeb2 promoter, ultimately inhibiting Zeb2 expression and halting cancer progression.
Conclusion. Taken together, these results reveal the tumor-suppressive functions of circ-FOXO3 in inhibiting WHSC1-mediated H3K36me2 modification of Zeb2, suggesting that circ-FOXO3 could serve as a potential novel predictive prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for TNBC.
Metagenomic mining and molecular characterization of a psychrophilic GH5-CBM5 cellulase from Krossfjorden sediments, Arctic
Authors: Kachiprath Bhavya , S Neelima , Umar  , P. Athira P. , Thajudeen Jabir , R. Jayachandran P. , Sarasan Manomi , Puthumana Jayesh , R. Chaithanya E. , Philip Rosamma 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Glycoside hydrolases are cellulases which hydrolyze the glycosidic bond between two or more complex carbohydrates, or between a carbohydrate and a non-carbohydrate fraction, during the degradation of carbohydrate substrates. The current study reports a cellulase coding gene (Cell-KRD) from the Krossfjorden sediment metagenome by PCR based screening. The enzyme structure reveals that the Cell-KRD has a catalytic module (CM) belonging to GH5_2 subfamily, which is connected to a carbohydrate binding module (CBM5) by a much longer linker sequence (LS) than its mesophilic counterparts. Cell-KRD showed similar features with that of psychrophilic cellulases than their mesophilic and thermophilic homologues. The CM of Cell-KRD (GH5_2 subfamily) exhibits a (β/α)8 topology structure which consists a catalytic cleft and a substrate binding pocket. In silico analyses, including molecular docking studies revealed the significant features of Cell-KRD, which enable efficient cellulose hydrolysis in cold environment.
Postoperative Long-term Outcomes of Acute Normovolemic Hemodilution in Pancreatic Cancer: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis
Authors: Wakiya Taiichi , Ishido Keinosuke , Kimura Norihisa , Nagase Hayato , Kanda Taishu , Kubota Shunsuke , Fujita Hiroaki , Takahashi Yoshiya , Yamamoto Takeshi , Kohei Chida , Saito Junichi , Hirota Kazuyoshi , Hakamada Kenichi 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Purpose
Acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) is a useful intraoperative blood conservation technique. However, impact on long-term outcomes in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains unclear. We investigated the impact of ANH on long-term outcomes of PDAC patients undergoing radical surgery.
Methods
We collected a dataset from 155 resectable PDAC. Patients were categorized according to whether or not they had received intraoperative allogeneic blood transfusion (ABT) or ANH. Postoperative complications, recurrence-free survival (RFS), and disease-specific survival (DSS), before and after propensity score matching (PSM), were compared among patients who did and did not receive ANH, excluding the ABT cohort.
Results
Forty-four (28.4%) were included in the ANH group, and 30 patients (19.4%) in the ABT group; 81 (52.3%) patients, comprising the standard management (STD) group, received neither ANH nor ABT. The ABT group dmonstrated the worst prognosis among them. Before PSM, ANH was significantly associated with decreased RFS (P = 0.043) and DSS (P = 0.029) compared with the STD group. Cox regression analysis identified ANH as an independent prognostic factor for RFS (risk ratio (RR) = 1.696, P = 0.019) and DSS (RR = 1.876, P = 0.009). After PSM, in contrast with short-term outcomes, RFS (median survival time (MST), 12.1 vs. 18.1 months, P = 0.097) and DSS (MST, 32.1 vs. 50.5 months, P = 0.097) in the ANH group were less favorable than those in the STD group.
Conclusion
ANH has more potential negative effects on long-term postoperative outcomes in PDAC than STD, though not as negative as ABT.
Robots at work: new evidence with recent data§
Authors: Almeida Derick , Sequeira Tiago 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
We reassess the relationship between robotization and the growth in labor productivity with more recent data. We discover that the effect of robot density in the growth productivity substantially decreased in the post-2008 period. In this period, the lower positive effect of robot density in the growth of labor productivity is less dependent on the increase in value added. The data analysis dismisses any positive effect of robotization on hours worked. Results are confirmed by several robustness checks, cross-sectional (and panel-data) IV and quantile regression analysis. By means of the quantile regression analysis, we learn that the effect of robots on labor productivity is stronger for low productivity sectors and that in the most recent period, the effect of robotization felt significantly throughout the distribution. This highlights one of the possible sources of stagnation in the era of robotization and have implication both for labor market and R&D policies.
JEL codes: E23, J23, 030
Bidirectional alpha power EEG-neurofeedback during a focused attention meditation practice in novices.
Authors: Soriano Javier R. , de Oca Eduardo Bracho Montes , Karaiskou Angeliki-Ilektra , De Vuyst Hendrik-Jan , Varon Carolina , Alaerts Kaat 
Published: September 2023

Abstract

Neurofeedback and meditation practices are techniques aimed at enhancing awareness and self-regulation. Training of alpha power has been found to increase mindfulness outcomes, and increases in alpha power seem relatively consistent during focused attention meditation practices. Considering the commonalities between these self-regulation techniques, here we examined the trainability of alpha power in the context of a focused attention meditation, to provide novice practitioners with an integrated training to attain improved self-regulation. In a within-subject design, 31 participants (25 women, aged 23.16, range 18–30) engaged in two runs of six trials each, aimed at up-regulation of global alpha absolute power (average of electroencephalography electrodes). Instructions were to focus the attention on a point above the crown of the head, while perceiving continuous auditory feedback. As an active control, participants took part in two alpha power down-regulation runs. Linear mixed-effect analyses showed that alpha power was overall higher during up- compared to down-regulation training. However, subsequent analyses indicated that the differential training effect was predominantly driven by a successful reduction in alpha power during down-regulation training, while the up-regulation training condition did not significantly yield increases. Differential changes in alpha power induced by both trainings were not significantly sustained during a resting-state recording post training. While these results provide insights into the applicability of alpha neurofeedback combined with meditation, future work is needed to establish the most optimal conditions for facilitating training, with successful up-training of alpha likely requiring more training sessions, consistent with the need of regular practice in meditation trainings.
Radiation-induced cutaneous vasculopathy of the breast: a rare case report
Authors: Hilde Van Parijs , Yves Sinove , Marilyn Carprieaux , Mark De Ridder 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Background
Radiation therapy is often indicated as part of the treatment for breast cancer and is therefore used frequently worldwide. Vasculopathy is a general term used to describe any condition that affects the blood vessels. We present a case report of a patient presenting with vasculopathy as a rare late side effect of radiation therapy to the breast.
Case presentation:
This 66-year-old woman was initially treated with breast-conserving surgery for early-stage receptor-positive left breast carcinoma. She received postoperative radiation therapy and hormonal treatment with tamoxifen. She developed a sudden spontaneous painless ecchymosis spread over the whole irradiated area 1.5 years after finishing her radiation therapy. Tumor relapse was excluded. There was no associated vasculitis. The cause was presumed to be multifactorial. She had a history of smoking and was known to have hyperlipidemia. She had undergone several surgical treatments at the left breast one year after her initial breast-conserving treatment and was taking tamoxifen. Anti-inflammatory medicine and treatments increasing the local blood flow were prescribed. The ecchymosis resolved completely within one month.
Conclusions
Vasculopathy can occur as a rare late side effect of radiation therapy. It can be reversible. Prevention begins with carefully treating precipitating factors.
Stronger genetic differentiation among within-population genetic groups than among populations in Scots pine: new insights into within-population population genetic structuring in a long-lived woody plant
Authors: Danusevičius Darius , Rajora- Om P. , Kavaliauskas Darius , Baliuckas Virgilijus , Augustaitis Algirdas 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
We investigated the presence of spatial genetic groups within forest tree populations and determined if the genetic divergence among these groups is greater than that between populations using Pinus sylvestris as a model species. We genotyped 890 adult trees of Scots pine in six natural populations in Lithuania at 11 nuclear microsatellite loci. We used a Bayesian clustering to identify the within-population genetic groups within each of the six populations. We calculated the differentiation indexes among the genetic groups within each population and among the six populations by ignoring the genetic groups. The clustering revealed 2 to 6 distinct genetic groups of varying size as the most likely genetic structures within populations. The genetic differentiation indexes among the genetic groups within populations were nearly 10-fold greater (FST = 0.012–0.070) than those between the populations (FST =0.003). We conclude on a markedly stronger structuring of genetic variation within populations than between populations of Scots pine in large forest tracts of northerly Europe. Such genetic structures serve as a contributing factor to large within population genetic diversity in northerly conifers. We assume that within population mating in Scots pine is not completely random but rather is stratified into genetic clusters.
Conditioned medium of epidermal neural crest stem cells improved functional recovery and tissue repairing after spinal cord injury by suppressing neuronal apoptosis through the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway
Authors: Ma Ziqian , Liu Tao , Liu Liang , pei yilun , wang tianyi , wang zhijie , guan yun , Zhang Yan , Chen Xueming 
Published: September 2023

Abstract

Aims: This study evaluated the effects of conditioned medium from epidermal neural crest stem cells (EPI-NCSCs-CM) on functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) and investigated the role of PI3K-AKT signaling pathway in regulating the neuronal apoptosis.
Methods: EPI-NCSCs were isolated from 10-day-old rats and cultured for 48 hours and EPI-NCSCs-CM was extracted. H2O2 was used to establish apoptosis model in SHSY-5Y cells. Cell viability and survival rate were assessed using CCK-8 assay and Calcein-AM/PI staining. A SCI contusion model was established in adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Functional recovery was evaluated using the Basso-Bresnahan-Beattie (BBB) scoring system, inclined test, and footprint observation. Electrophysiological recording was used to analyze neurological restoration after SCI. Histological organization was assessed using Hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining and Nissl staining. TUNEL staining and ROS detection were applied to measure the apoptosis and oxidative stress levels. Western blot was conducted to detect the expression levels of apoptosis markers and PI3K/AKT signaling-related proteins.
Results: EPI-NCSCs-CM significantly promoted functional and histological rehabilitation in SCI rats by suppressing neuronal apoptosis through regulating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In vitro study indicated that EPI-NCSCs-CM administration alleviated neurotoxicity caused by H2O2 in SHSY-5Y cells. The administration of LY294002 (a PI3K inhibitor) implied that the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway plays a vital role in regulating neuronal apoptosis.
Conclusions: This study presents a new strategy for repairing SCI using EPI-NCSCs-CM, and provides evidence that EPI-NCSCs-CM can inhibit neuronal apoptosis by regulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in SCI rats.
Methane production and lignocellulosic degradation of waste from rice, corn and sugarcane by natural co- culture of anaerobic fungi and methanogens
Authors: Kyawt Yin Yin , Aung Min , Xu Yao , Zhou Yaqi , Li Yuqi , Sun Zhanying , Zhu Weiyun , Cheng Yanfen 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of natural co-culture of anaerobic fungi and methanogens on the methane production and lignocellulosic degradation of waste from rice, corn and sugarcane. Hu sheep rumen digesta was used to develop a natural co-culture of anaerobic fungus and methanogen. The substrates used in this study were rice straw (RS), rich husk (RH), corn stover (CS), corn cobs (CC), and sugarcane baggage (SB). Production of total gas and methane, utilization rates of reducing sugar, glucose, and xylose, lignocellulosic degradation and the activity of CMCase and xylanase were highest (P < 0.05) in CC, subsequently followed by RS, CS, SB, and RH. The pH was the lowest (P < 0.05) in RH, followed by SB, CS, RS, and CC. The highest formate concentration (P < 0.05) was found in RH, the subsequently followed by SB, CC, CS, and RS. Acetate concentrations were highest (P < 0.05) in CC, then in RS, CS, SB, and RH. Lactate was lowest in CC (P < 0.05), then in RS, CS, RH, and SB. Ethanol was also lowest (P < 0.05) in CC, following RS, CS, SB, and RH. Therefore, the CC and RS have the highest potential, the CS has a moderate potential, and the SB and RH have the lowest potential for methane production and lignocellulosic degradation by natural co-culture of anaerobic fungus and methanogen.
Bootstrap Confidence Intervals for MultipleChange Points Based on Two-Stage Procedures
Authors: Jin Baisuo , Wang Fangwei , Hou Li 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
We consider the problem of constructing the confidence intervals for multiple change points under linear regression models. Based on two-stage procedures(Jin et al, 2016), we utilize the idea of the orthogonal greedy algorithm (OGA)in the cutting stage and the sup-Wald-type test targeted at estimating changepoints is applied in the refining stage. Under some mild conditions, the rates of consistency and asymptotic distribution for the multiple change points estimators are established. We propose a bootstrap procedure for confidence intervals, which adapts to the unknown magnitude of changes and ensures asymptotic validity. These results are evidenced by simulation and real data examples.
Engineered Exosome Delivery of Apoptin as Tumor Therapeutic
Authors: Hao Ruifeng , Liang Yujie 
Published: September 2023

Abstract

Apopotin is a small protein that can specifically induce apoptosis in tumor cells, thereby selectively killing a variety of human cancer cells. However, penetrating the cell membrane is often challenging and exosome is sometimes leveraged to deliver functional molecules into cells. As the expression of fusion lysosomal-associated membrane protein 2b (LAMP-2B) can integrate exogenous proteins into the exosome membrane, we investigated the ability of apoptin-armed exosomes to penetrate tumor cells and induce apoptosis. In this study, the recombinant plasmid Apoptin-EGFP-Lamp2b was constructed and transfected into COS-7 cells. The Apoptin-EGFP-Lamp2b recombinant fusion protein was expressed and rendered apoptin was displayed on the surface of exosomes. Our study showed that the engineered apoptin-containing exosomes could deliver apopotin across the cell membrane into the nucleus. CCK8 cytotoxicity tests demonstrated that apoptin- containing exosomes could specifically target and kill cancer cells. In addition, Hoechst33342 staining and Annexin-V-FITC/PI method were used to observe the ability of exosome mediated apoptin to induce apoptosis. These results showed that the engineered exosome could successfully deliver apoptin into cancer cells and induce apoptosis, indicating that exosomes could be used as a new type of protein delivery platform.This study developed a powerful apoptin- anchored exosome as a potential for tumor-specific therapy.
Development of a serum-based miRNA signature for early detection of pancreatic cancer: a multicenter cohort study
Authors: Huang Jing , Gao Ge , Liu Jianzhou , Ge Yang , Cui Hongtu , Zheng Ren , Wang Jialin , Wang Si , Go Vay Liang (W) , Hu Shen , Liu Yefu , Yang Minwei , Sun Yongwei , Shang Dong , Tian Yantao , Zhang Zhigang , Xiang Zhongyuan , Guo Junchao , Wang Hongyang , Xiao Gary Guishan 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Background
A grim prognosis of pancreatic cancer (PCa) was attributed to the difficulty in early diagnosis of the disease. Identifying novel biomarkers for early detection of PCa is thus urgent to improve the overall survival rates of patients.
Methods
The study was performed firstly by identification of candidate microRNAs (miRNAs) in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues at either early (n = 100) or advanced (n = 100) stages, to that in benign tissues (n = 100) using microarray profiles, and followed by validation in a serum-based cohort study to assess clinical utility of the candidates as a noninvasive biomarker. In the cohorts, a total of 1273 participants including 571 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, 90 patients with chronic pancreatitis, 217 patients with other pancreatic diseases, and 395 healthy controls from four centers were retrospectively recruited as two cohorts including training and validation cohort. The collected serum specimens were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction.
Results
We identified 27 miRNAs that were expressed differentially in both early and advanced stages of PCa tissues as compared to the benign. Of which, the top-four was selected by the criteria of log2(fold change) > 4 and FDR < 0.05 as a panel whose diagnostic efficacy was fully assessed in the serum-based cohorts. Patients with PCa at early-stage were significantly discriminated from healthy controls by the panel with AUCs of 0.971 (95%CI: 0.956–0.987) and 0.933 (95%CI: 0.892–0.974) in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. Furthermore, the panel distinguished early-stage PCa from non-PCa including chronic pancreatitis as well as pancreatic cystic neoplasms with AUCs of 0.924 (95%CI: 0.899–0.949) and 0.861 (95%CI: 0.818–0.903) in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. Moreover, the panel eliminated interference from other digestive tumors with a specificity of 90.2%. Strikingly, this panel exhibited superior to four biomarkers routinely used in clinic, including CA19-9, CA125, CEA and CA242.
Conclusions
A serum-based panel of four miRNAs was developed showing remarkably discriminative ability of early-stage PCa from either healthy controls or other pancreatic diseases, suggesting it may be developed as a novel, noninvasive approach for early screening of PCa in clinic.
Are Authorities Denying or Supporting? Detecting Stance of Authorities Towards Rumors in Twitter
Authors: Haouari Fatima , Elsayed Tamer 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Several studies examined the leverage of the stance in conversational threads or news articles as a signal for rumor verification. However, none of these studies leveraged the stance of trusted authorities. In this work, we define the task of detecting the stance of authorities towards rumors in Twitter, i.e., whether a tweet from an authority supports the rumor, denies it, or neither. We believe the task is useful to augment the sources of evidence exploited by existing rumor verification models. We construct and release the first Authority STance towards Rumors (AuSTR) dataset, where evidence is retrieved from authority timelines in Arabic Twitter. The collection comprises 811 (rumor tweet, authority tweet) pairs relevant to 292 unique rumors. Due to the relatively limited size of our dataset, we explore the adequacy of existing Arabic datasets of stance towards claims in training BERT-based models for our task, and the effect of augmenting AuSTR with those datasets. Our experiments show that, despite its limited size, a model trained solely on AuSTR with a class-balanced focus loss exhibits a comparable performance to the best studied combination of existing datasets augmented with AuSTR, achieving a performance of 0.84 macro-F1 and 0.78 F1 on debunking tweets. The results indicate that AuSTR can be sufficient for our task without the need for augmenting it with existing stance datasets. Finally, we conduct a thorough failure analysis to gain insights for the future directions on the task.