bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A case report of pulmonary hepatoid adenocarcinoma: promoting standardized diagnosis and treatment of the rare disease
Authors: Xu Kun , Gao Jin , Feng Lili , Fang Ying , Tang Xiuliang 
Published: May 2023

ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical features, pathological characteristics, immunophenotype, differential diagnosis and prognosis of pulmonary hepatoid adenocarcinoma using a clinical case and literature report.MethodsWe analyzed the clinical presentation, histological pattern and immunohistochemistry of a case of primary hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the lung in April 2022. We also reviewed literature on hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the lung from PubMed database.ResultsThe patient was a 65-year-old male with smoking history, who was admitted to hospital with an enlarged axillary lymph node. The mass was round, hard, and grayish-white and grayish-yellow in color. Microscopically, it presented hepatocellular carcinoma-like and adenocarcinoma differentiation features, with abundant blood sinuses visible in the interstitium. Immunohistochemistry showed that the tumor cells were positive for hepatocyte markers, including AFP, TTF-1, CK7 and villin, and negative for CK5/6, CD56, GATA3, CEA and vimentin.ConclusionPulmonary hepatoid adenocarcinoma is a rare epithelial malignancy of primary origin in the lung with poor prognosis. Establishing the diagnosis relies mainly on the detection of hepatocellular structural morphology resembling hepatocellular carcinoma, and on clinicopathological and immunohistochemical testing to exclude diseases such as hepatocellular carcinoma. Combination treatment, mainly surgery, can prolong the survival of early-stage cases of the disease, whereas radiotherapy is mostly used for intermediate and advanced cases. Individualized treatment with molecular-targeted drugs and immunotherapy has shown different therapeutic effects for different patients. Further research is needed to better understand this rare clinical condition for the development and optimization of treatment strategies.
SSR and 18S rDNA based molecular profiling of Neopyropia yezoensis (Rhodophyta) in China: insight into genetic impact of laver aquaculture on wild resource
Authors: Xu Hui , Jia Rujie , Liang Zhourui , Lu Xiaoping , Wang Wenjun 
Published: May 2023

Neopyropia yezoensis is a typical intertidal seaweed and an indispensable species for conservation of seaweed resources. As one of the most important marine vegetables, the cultivation area of N. yezoensis has been largely increasing in the past decade and ranked the second highest among all the farmed seaweeds in China. It remains unknown whether large-scale cultivation of N. yezoensis has a genetic impact on wild populations. In this study, SSR markers and 18S rDNA were applied for diversity and genetic structure analysis of 22 N. yezoensis populations from North China. Twenty-two haplotypes were generated from 352 18S rDNA sequences and only three haplotypes were shared by both cultivated and wild populations. Based on 11 polymorphic SSR markers developed, the average polymorphism of the cultivated N. yezoensis populations was higher than that of the wild populations, with the percentage of polymorphic loci being 90.91% in most cultivated populations. The cultivated populations were clustered separately from the wild ones based on the population phylogenetic tree. This indicates that cultivated N. yezoensis populations are diverse and divergent from wild populations in China. However, there were cultivated individuals mixed with the wild ones based on the individual phylogenetic tree and STRUCTURE analysis. The genetic differentiation between cultivated and wild populations decreased with increasing cultivation time, suggesting a possible long-term and slow process of genetic introgression between cultivated N. yezoensis and the wild resource. The wild populations were grouped into two distinct clades by SSRs, with one distributed around the intersection between the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea, where the populations were characterized by a specific 18S rDNA haplotype. These findings provide useful insights into germplasm conservation, genetic breeding and improvement of N. yezoensis farming practices.
Implications of viral infections and oncogenesis in uterine cervical carcinoma etiology and pathogenesis
Authors: Chu Daming , Liu Tengteng , Yao Yuan 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundUterine Cervical Carcinoma (UCC) is the most prevalent gynecological malignancy globally, with a rising incidence in recent years. Accumulating evidence indicates that specific viral infections, including human papillomavirus (HPV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV), and human herpesvirus (HHV), may contribute to UCC development and progression. Understanding the complex interplay between viral infections and UCC risk is crucial for developing novel preventative and therapeutic interventions.MethodsThis comprehensive review investigates the association between viral infections and UCC risk by examining the roles of various viral pathogens in UCC etiology and pathogenesis, and possible molecular mechanisms. Additionally, we evaluate current diagnostic methods and potential therapeutic strategies targeting viral infections for UCC prevention or treatment.ResultsThe prevention of UCC has been significantly advanced by the emergence of self-sampling for HPV testing as a crucial tool, allowing for early detection and intervention. However, an essential challenge in UCC prevention lies in understanding how HPV and other viral coinfections, including EBV, HBV, HCV, HHV, HIV, or their concurrent presence, may potentially contribute to UCC development. The molecular mechanisms implicated in the association between viral infections and cervical cancer development include: (1) interference of viral oncogenes with cellular regulatory proteins, resulting in uncontrolled cell proliferation and malignant transformation; (2) inactivation of tumor suppressor genes by viral proteins; (3) evasion of host immune responses by viruses; (4) induction of a persistent inflammatory response, contributing to a tumor-promoting microenvironment; (5) epigenetic modifications that lead to aberrant gene expression; (6) stimulation of angiogenesis by viruses; and (7) activation of telomerase by viral proteins, leading to cellular immortalization. Additionally, viral coinfections can also enhance oncogenic potential through synergistic interactions between viral oncoproteins, employ immune evasion strategies, contribute to chronic inflammation, modulate host cellular signaling pathways, and induce epigenetic alterations, ultimately leading to cervical carcinogenesis.ConclusionRecognizing the implications of viral oncogenes in UCC etiology and pathogenesis is vital for addressing the escalating burden of UCC. Developing innovative preventative and therapeutic interventions requires a thorough understanding of the intricate relationship between viral infections and UCC risk.
The fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio is associated with intracranial atherosclerosis plaque enhancement on contrast-enhanced high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Li Ye , Feng Yuxuan , Liu Rui , Dang Meijuan , Li Tao , Zhao Lili , Lu Jialiang , Lu Ziwei , Yang Yang , Wang Xiaoya , Jian Yating , Wang Heying , Huang Wei , Zhang Lei , Zhang Guilian 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundContrast-enhanced high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (CE-HR-MRI) is a useful imaging modality to assess vulnerable plaques in intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) patients. We studied the relationship between the fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) and plaque enhancement in patients with ICAS.MethodsWe retrospectively enrolled consecutive ICAS patients who had undergone CE-HR-MRI. The degree of plaque enhancement on CE-HR-MRI was evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively. Enrolled patients were classified into no enhancement, mild enhancement, and obvious enhancement groups. An independent association of the FAR with plaque enhancement was identified by multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses.ResultsOf the 69 enrolled patients, 40 (58%) were classified into the no/mild enhancement group, and 29 (42%) into the obvious enhancement group. The obvious enhancement group had a significantly higher FAR than the no/mild enhancement group (7.36 vs. 6.05, p = 0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, the FAR was still significantly independently associated with obvious plaque enhancement in multiple regression analysis (odds ratio: 1.399, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.080–1.813; p = 0.011). ROC curve analysis revealed that FAR &gt;6.37 predicted obvious plaque enhancement with 75.86% sensitivity and 67.50% specificity (area under the ROC curve = 0.726, 95% CI: 0.606–0.827, p &lt; 0.001).ConclusionThe FAR can serve as an independent predictor of the degree of plaque enhancement on CE-HR-MRI in patients with ICAS. Also, as an inflammatory marker, the FAR has potential as a serological biomarker of intracranial atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability.
Variants in genes related to inflammation and endothelial function can increase the risk for carotid atherosclerosis in southwestern China
Authors: Xie Yong , Yu Ming , Qing Ting , Luo Hua , Shao Minjie , Wei Wei , Yi Xingyang 
Published: May 2023

AimTo investigate the potential association between polymorphisms in genes involved in endothelial function, inflammation and carotid atherosclerosis.MethodsThis was a three-center, population-based sectional survey conducted in Sichuan province of southwestern China. We randomly selected 8 different communities in Sichuan, and the residents in each community volunteered to participate in the survey by face-to-face questionnaire. A total of 2,377 residents with high stroke risk population in the 8 communities were included. Carotid atherosclerosis was evaluated by carotid ultrasound, and the 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 10 endothelial function as well as inflammation relevant genes were measured in the high stroke risk population. Carotid atherosclerosis was defined by the presence of carotid plaque or any carotid stenosis ≥15% or mean intima-media thickness (IMT) &gt; 0.9 mm. Generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR) approach was used to analyze gene–gene interactions among the 19 SNPs.ResultsAmong the 2,377 subjects with high stroke risk, 1,028 subjects had carotid atherosclerosis (43.2%), of which 852 (35.8%) cases had carotid plaque, 295 (12.4%) cases had ≥15% carotid stenosis, whereas 445 (18.7%) had mean IMT &gt; 0.9 mm. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that IL1A rs1609682 TT and HABP2 rs7923349 TT served as independent risk factors for carotid atherosclerosis (OR, 1.45, 95% CI: 1.034–2.032, p = 0.031, and OR, 1.829, 95% CI: 1.228–2.723, p = 0.003). GMDR analysis indicated that there was a significant gene–gene interaction found among IL1A rs1609682, ITGA2 rs1991013, and HABP2 rs7923349. After adjusting the covariates, the high-risk interactive genotypes in the 3 variants were significantly associated with a significantly higher risk for carotid atherosclerosis (OR, 2.08, 95% CI: 1.257–5.98, p &lt; 0.001).ConclusionThe prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis was observed to be extremely high in the high-risk stroke population in southwestern China. There were associations observed between the specific variants in inflammation and endothelial function relevant genes and carotid atherosclerosis. The high-risk interactive genotypes among IL1A rs1609682, ITGA2 rs1991013, and HABP2 rs7923349 significantly increased the risk of carotid atherosclerosis. These results are expected to provide novel strategies for the prevention of carotid atherosclerosis. The gene–gene interactive analysis used in this study may be very helpful to elucidate complex genetic risk factors for carotid atherosclerosis.
Effectiveness on level of consciousness of non-invasive neuromodulation therapy in patients with disorders of consciousness: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Liu Zhenyu , Zhang Xintong , Yu Binbin , Wang Jiayue , Lu Xiao 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundDisorders of consciousness (DoC) commonly occurs secondary to severe neurological injury. A considerable volume of research has explored the effectiveness of different non-invasive neuromodulation therapy (NINT) on awaking therapy, however, equivocal findings were reported.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to systematically investigate the effectiveness on level of consciousness of different NINT in patients with DoC and explore optimal stimulation parameters and characteristics of patients.MethodsPubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane central register of controlled trials were searched from their inception through November 2022. Randomized controlled trials, that investigated effectiveness on level of consciousness of NINT, were included. Mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was evaluated as effect size. Risk of bias was assessed with revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool.ResultsA total of 15 randomized controlled trials with 345 patients were included. Meta-analysis was performed on 13 out of 15 reviewed trials indicating that transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), and median nerve stimulation (MNS) all had a small but significant effect (MD 0.71 [95% CI 0.28, 1.13]; MD 1.51 [95% CI 0.87, 2.15]; MD 3.20 [95%CI: 1.45, 4.96]) on level of consciousness. Subgroup analyses revealed that patients with traumatic brain injury, higher initial level of consciousness (minimally conscious state), and shorter duration of prolonged DoC (subacute phase of DoC) reserved better awaking ability after tDCS. TMS also showed encouraging awaking effect when stimulation was applied on dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in patients with prolonged DoC.ConclusiontDCS and TMS appear to be effective interventions for improving level of consciousness of patients with prolonged DoC. Subgroup analyses identified the key parameters required to enhance the effects of tDCS and TMS on level of consciousness. Etiology of DoC, initial level of consciousness, and phase of DoC could act as significant characteristics of patients related to the effectiveness of tDCS. Stimulation site could act as significant stimulation parameter related to the effectiveness of TMS. There is insufficient evidence to support the use of MNS in clinical practice to improve level of consciousness in patients with coma.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=337780, identifier: CRD42022337780.
A facial depression recognition method based on hybrid multi-head cross attention network
Authors: Li Yutong , Liu Zhenyu , Zhou Li , Yuan Xiaoyan , Shangguan Zixuan , Hu Xiping , Hu Bin 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionDeep-learn methods based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have demonstrated impressive performance in depression analysis. Nevertheless, some critical challenges need to be resolved in these methods: (1) It is still difficult for CNNs to learn long-range inductive biases in the low-level feature extraction of different facial regions because of the spatial locality. (2) It is difficult for a model with only a single attention head to concentrate on various parts of the face simultaneously, leading to less sensitivity to other important facial regions associated with depression. In the case of facial depression recognition, many of the clues come from a few areas of the face simultaneously, e.g., the mouth and eyes.MethodsTo address these issues, we present an end-to-end integrated framework called Hybrid Multi-head Cross Attention Network (HMHN), which includes two stages. The first stage consists of the Grid-Wise Attention block (GWA) and Deep Feature Fusion block (DFF) for the low-level visual depression feature learning. In the second stage, we obtain the global representation by encoding high-order interactions among local features with Multi-head Cross Attention block (MAB) and Attention Fusion block (AFB).ResultsWe experimented on AVEC2013 and AVEC2014 depression datasets. The results of AVEC 2013 (RMSE = 7.38, MAE = 6.05) and AVEC 2014 (RMSE = 7.60, MAE = 6.01) demonstrated the efficacy of our method and outperformed most of the state-of-the-art video-based depression recognition approaches.DiscussionWe proposed a deep learning hybrid model for depression recognition by capturing the higher-order interactions between the depression features of multiple facial regions, which can effectively reduce the error in depression recognition and gives great potential for clinical experiments.
Efficacy of radiomics model based on the concept of gross tumor volume and clinical target volume in predicting occult lymph node metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Zeng Chao , Zhang Wei , Liu Meiyue , Liu Jianping , Zheng Qiangxin , Li Jianing , Wang Zhiwu , Sun Guogui 
Published: May 2023

ObjectiveThis study aimed to establish a predictive model for occult lymph node metastasis (LNM) in patients with clinical stage I-A non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) based on contrast-enhanced CT.MethodsA total of 598 patients with stage I–IIA NSCLC from different hospitals were randomized into the training and validation group. The “Radiomics” tool kit of AccuContour software was employed to extract the radiomics features of GTV and CTV from chest-enhanced CT arterial phase pictures. Then, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis was applied to reduce the number of variables and develop GTV, CTV, and GTV+CTV models for predicting occult lymph node metastasis (LNM).ResultsEight optimal radiomics features related to occult LNM were finally identified. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the three models showed good predictive effects. The area under the curve (AUC) value of GTV, CTV, and GTV+CTV model in the training group was 0.845, 0.843, and 0.869, respectively. Similarly, the corresponding AUC values in the validation group were 0.821, 0.812, and 0.906. The combined GTV+CTV model exhibited a better predictive performance in the training and validation group by the Delong test (p&lt;0.05). Moreover, the decision curve showed that the combined GTV+CTV predictive model was superior to the GTV or CTV model.ConclusionThe radiomics prediction models based on GTV and CTV can predict occult LNM in patients with clinical stage I–IIA NSCLC preoperatively, and the combined GTV+CTV model is the optimal strategy for clinical application.
Descriptive epidemiology of the head and neck cancers in old patients
Authors: Gatta Gemma , Capocaccia Riccardo , Botta Laura 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundIn Europe, as in other high-income (HI) countries, quite half of the newly diagnosed patients with head and neck (H and N) cancers are older than 65 years of age and their proportion within the prevalent cases is even higher. Moreover, the incidence rate (IR) for all H and N cancers sites increased with age and the survival rate is lower in older patients (≥65), compared with younger patients (&lt;65). The number of older patients affected by H and N cancers will increase because of the increase in life expectancy. The aim of the article is to provide an epidemiological description of H and N cancers in the elderly population.Material and methodsIncidence and prevalence data by time periods and continents were extracted from the Global Cancer Observatory. The survival information for Europe is obtained from the EUROCARE and RARECAREnet projects. In 2020, according to the results from these data, slightly more than 900,000 cases have been diagnosed with H and N cancers in the world, and approximately 40% were older than 65 years of age. This percentage was higher, reaching approximately 50% in the HI countries. The highest number of cases was in the Asiatic populations, while the highest crude IR was in Europe and Oceania. Among H and N cancers occurring in the elderly, laryngeal and oral cavity cancers were the most common, while nasal cavities and nasopharyngeal cancers were the rarest. This was true for all the countries, excluding some Asiatic populations, in which tumour of the nasopharynx was more common. The five-year survival rate in the European population was low in the elderly, compared with the younger for all H and N cancers, and it ranged from approximately 60% for both salivary-gland type and laryngeal to 22% for hypopharyngeal tumors. For the elderly, the conditional 5-year survival after surviving one year became more than 60% for many H and N epithelial tumors.ConclusionThe high variability in the H and N cancer incidence around the world is due to the distribution of the major risk factors which for the elderly are mainly alcohol and smoking. The reasons for low survival in the elderly are most likely due to the complexity of treatment, the late arrival of patients at diagnosis, and the difficult access to specialized centers.
DNA methylation differences in noncoding regions in ER negative breast tumors between Black and White women
Authors: Chen Jianhong , Higgins Michael J. , Hu Qiang , Khoury Thaer , Liu Song , Ambrosone Christine B. , Gong Zhihong 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionIncidence of estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer, an aggressive tumor subtype associated with worse prognosis, is higher among African American/Black women than other US racial and ethnic groups. The reasons for this disparity remain poorly understood but may be partially explained by differences in the epigenetic landscape.MethodsWe previously conducted genome-wide DNA methylation profiling of ER- breast tumors from Black and White women and identified a large number of differentially methylated loci (DML) by race. Our initial analysis focused on DML mapping to protein-coding genes. In this study, motivated by increasing appreciation for the biological importance of the non-protein coding genome, we focused on 96 DMLs mapping to intergenic and noncoding RNA regions, using paired Illumina Infinium Human Methylation 450K array and RNA-seq data to assess the relationship between CpG methylation and RNA expression of genes located up to 1Mb away from the CpG site. ResultsTwenty-three (23) DMLs were significantly correlated with the expression of 36 genes (FDR&lt;0.05), with some DMLs associated with the expression of single gene and others associated with more than one gene. One DML (cg20401567), hypermethylated in ER- tumors from Black versus White women, mapped to a putative enhancer/super-enhancer element located 1.3 Kb downstream of HOXB2. Increased methylation at this CpG correlated with decreased expression of HOXB2 (Rho=-0.74, FDR&lt;0.001) and other HOXB/HOXB-AS genes. Analysis of an independent set of 207 ER- breast cancers from TCGA similarly confirmed hypermethylation at cg20401567 and reduced HOXB2 expression in tumors from Black versus White women (Rho=-0.75, FDR&lt;0.001).DiscussionOur findings indicate that epigenetic differences in ER- tumors between Black and White women are linked to altered gene expression and may hold functional significance in breast cancer pathogenesis.