bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Direct attenuation correction for 99mTc-3PRGD2 chest SPECT lung cancer images using deep learning
Authors: Xing Haiqun , Wang Tong , Jin Xiaona , Tian Jian , Ba Jiantao , Jing Hongli , Li Fang 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionThe attenuation correction technique of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images is essential for early diagnosis, therapeutic evaluation, and pharmacokinetic studies of lung cancer. 99mTc-3PRGD2 is a novel radiotracer for the early diagnosis and evaluation of treatment effects of lung cancer. This study preliminary discusses the deep learning method to directly correct the attenuation of 99mTc-3PRGD2 chest SPECT images.MethodsRetrospective analysis was performed on 53 patients with pathological diagnosis of lung cancer who received 99mTc-3PRGD2 chest SPECT/CT. All patients’ SPECT/CT images were reconstructed with CT attenuation correction (CT-AC) and without attenuation correction (NAC). The CT-AC image was used as the reference standard (Ground Truth) to train the attenuation correction (DL-AC) SPECT image model using deep learning. A total of 48 of 53 cases were divided randomly into the training set, the remaining 5 were divided into the testing set. Using 3D Unet neural network, the mean square error loss function (MSELoss) of 0.0001 was selected. A testing set is used to evaluate the model quality, using the SPECT image quality evaluation and quantitative analysis of lung lesions tumor-to-background (T/B).ResultsSPECT imaging quality metrics between DL-AC and CT-AC including mean absolute error (MAE), mean-square error (MSE), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity (SSIM), normalized root mean square error (NRMSE), and normalized Mutual Information (NMI) of the testing set are 2.62 ± 0.45, 58.5 ± 14.85, 45.67 ± 2.80, 0.82 ± 0.02, 0.07 ± 0.04, and 1.58 ± 0.06, respectively. These results indicate PSNR &gt; 42, SSIM &gt; 0.8, and NRMSE &lt; 0.11. Lung lesions T/B (maximum) of CT-AC and DL-AC groups are 4.36 ± 3.52 and 4.33 ± 3.09, respectively (p = 0.81). There are no significant differences between two attenuation correction methods.ConclusionOur preliminary research results indicate that using the DL-AC method to directly correct 99mTc-3PRGD2 chest SPECT images is highly accurate and feasible for SPECT without configuration with CT or treatment effect evaluation using multiple SPECT/CT scans.
The genomic landscape of sensitivity to arsenic trioxide uncovered by genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screening
Authors: Chen Jun-Zhu , Wang Li-Na , Luo Xue-Qun , Tang Yan-Lai 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionArsenic trioxide (ATO) is a promising anticancer drug for hematological malignancy. Given the dramatic efficacy of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), ATO has been utilized in other types of cancers, including solid tumors. Unfortunately, the results were not comparable with the effects on APL, and the resistance mechanism has not been clarified yet. This study intends to identify relevant genes and pathways affecting ATO drug sensitivity through genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockdown screening to provide a panoramic view for further study of ATO targets and improved clinical outcomes.MethodsA genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockdown screening system was constructed for ATO screening. The screening results were processed with MAGeCK, and the results were subjected to pathway enrichment analysis using WebGestalt and KOBAS. We also performed protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis using String and Cytoscape, followed by expression profiling and survival curve analysis of critical genes. Virtual screening was used to recognize drugs that may interact with the hub gene.ResultsWe applied enrichment analysis and identified vital ATO-related pathways such as metabolism, chemokines and cytokines production and signaling, and immune system responses. In addition, we identified KEAP1 as the top gene relating to ATO resistance. We found that KEAP1 expression was higher in the pan-cancer, including ALL, than in normal tissue. Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with higher KEAP1 expression had worse overall survival (OS). A virtual screen showed that etoposide and eltrombopag could bind to KEAP1 and potentially interact with ATO.DiscussionATO is a multi-target anticancer drug, and the key pathways regulating its sensitivity include oxidative stress, metabolism, chemokines and cytokines, and the immune system. KEAP1 is the most critical gene regulating ATO drug sensitivity, which is related to AML prognosis and may bind to some clinical drugs leading to an interaction with ATO. These integrated results provided new insights into the pharmacological mechanism of ATO and potentiate for further applications in cancer treatments.
Effects of a false-positive result in newborn congenital hypothyroidism screening on parents in Guangxi, China
Authors: Tu Si-Jing , Wei Yu-Jia , Chen Bu-Tong , Zhang Xiao-Fei , Luo Chao , Dong Bai-Qing 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundAs more than 500,000 neonates participate in newborn congenital hypothyroidism (CH) screening in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region each year, the overall number of false-positive (FP) cases has increased. We aim to assess the parental stress in parents of neonates with FP CH results in Guangxi, find out the influence factors related to demographics, and provide the basis for personalized health education.MethodsThe parents of neonates with FP CH results were invited to participate in the FP group, and the parents of neonates with all negative results were invited to participate in the control group. The parents completed a questionnaire on demographics, knowledge of CH, and the parental stress index (PSI) in the hospital for the first time. The follow-up visits for PSI were conducted 3, 6, and 12 months afterward through telephone and online.ResultsA total of 258 and 1,040 parents participated in the FP and control groups, respectively. The parents in the FP group had better knowledge of CH and higher PSI scores than the parents in the control group. The result of logistic regression showed that the major influence factors related to the knowledge of CH were FP experience and source of knowledge. The parents in the FP group who were well-informed during the recall phone call had lower PSI scores than the other parents. The parents in the FP group showed decreasing PSI scores gradually in follow-up visits.ConclusionThe results suggested that FP screening results may affect parental stress and parent–child relationship. FP results increased the stress on the parents and increased their knowledge of CH passively.
Effects of adjuvant huaier granule therapy on survival rate of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Shi Ke , Bi Yufei , Zeng Xuanwei , Wang Xianbo 
Published: May 2023

Objective: Clinical trials have reported that Huaier granule inhibits the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after resection. However, its efficacy in patients at different clinical stages of HCC remains unknown. We investigated the effects of Huaier granule on the 3-year overall survival (OS) rate of patients at different clinical stages.Design: This cohort study included 826 patients with HCC, screened between January 2015 and December 2019. The patients were divided into Huaier (n = 174) and control groups (n = 652), and the 3-year OS rates were compared between the two groups. To eliminate bias caused by confounding factors, propensity score matching (PSM) was performed. We used the Kaplan-Meier method to estimate OS rate and tested the difference using the log-rank test.Results: Multivariable regression analysis revealed that Huaier therapy was an independent protective factor for 3-year survival rate. After PSM (1:2), the Huaier and control groups comprised 170 and 340 patients, respectively. The 3-year OS rate was remarkably higher in the Huaier group than in the control group (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 0.36; 95% confidence interval: 0.26–0.49; p &lt; 0.001). The aHR for Huaier use for 3–12, 12–24, and &gt;24 months was 0.48, 0.23, and 0.16, respectively, indicating a dose-response pattern. For the 3–12-, 12–24-, and &gt;24-month groups, the 3-year OS rate was 54.1%, 68.6%, and 90.4%, respectively. Multivariate stratified analysis confirmed that the mortality risk in Huaier users was lower than that in non-Huaier users in most subgroups.Conclusion: Adjuvant Huaier therapy improved the OS rate in patients with HCC. However, these findings require further verification through prospective clinical studies.
Identification of a lipid metabolism-related gene for cancer immunotherapy
Authors: Jiang Xin , Du Wenqi , Shi Ce , Kang Mengjie , Song Qiuya , Zhang Lansheng , Pei Dongsheng 
Published: May 2023

Background: Tumors frequently evade immune surveillance through multiple pathways to escape T cell recognition and destruction. Previous studies indicated that lipid metabolism alteration could affect the anti-tumor immunity of cancer cells. Nonetheless, the studies that investigated lipid metabolism-related gene for cancer immunotherapy are still few.Materials and methods: By mining the TCGA database, we screened out carnitine palmitoyltransferase-2 (CPT2), a key enzyme in the fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) process associated with anti-tumor immunity. We then analyzed the gene expression and clinicopathological features of CPT2 using open-source platforms and databases. Molecular proteins interacting with CPT2 were also identified using web interaction tools. Subsequently, the relationship between CPT2 and survival was analyzed in cancer patients.Results: Our study revealed that CPT2 played a vital role in tumor microenvironment and immune response signaling pathways. We have also demonstrated that increased CPT2 gene expression could enhance the level of tumor immune cell infiltration. Furthermore, high CPT2 expression positively related with overall survival associated with immunotherapy. CPT2 expression was also associated with the prognosis of human cancers, suggesting that CPT2 may be a potential biomarker for predicting the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, the relationship between CPT2 and tumor immune microenvironment was first proposed in this study. Therefore, further studies on CPT2 may provide new insights into the development of effective cancer immunotherapy.
Determination of birefringence of biological tissues using modified PS-OCT based on the quaternion approach
Authors: Ke Qiuqing , Li Ke , Wu Weijie , Li Wangbiao , Chen Haiyu , Cai Renhui , Li Zhifang 
Published: May 2023

Introduction: Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) is a functional extension of standard OCT. PS-OCT systems can be generally categorized into two categories based on the number of input polarization states on the sample: multi-input polarization state (multi-IPS) and single IPS. In addition, each category includes two configurations: fiber-based system and bulk optics-based system. However, there are complex and time-consuming steps to calibrate the polarization states of light among the reference, the sample, and detection arms for fiber-based system. And it is not compact and robust enough for bulk optics-based system.Methods: In the modified SD PS-OCT system with structural symmetry in both arms of the reference and sample, there are no bulk polarization optical elements in both arms of the reference and the sample. A circularly polarized light was used to incident on sample, and Stokes vector of backscattered light was employed to characterize the birefringence of biological tissues based on the quaternion approach, which directly establishes the relationship between Stokes vectors of backscattered light and Jones matrix of the sample.Results and discussion: The new algorithm provides the analytic solution of retardance and fast-axis orientation. To evaluate the performance of the developed system, an eighth-wave plate is used. Then, the polarization properties of the myocardial tissue in vivo are quantitatively reconstructed based on the quaternion approach. The results demonstrated that the proposed method has an advantage over Jones formalism based on a single input state and two polarization input states. In the future, the modified SD PS-OCT could be improved as a common path SD PS-OCT for clinical applications.
Wrist ballistocardiography and invasively recorded blood pressure in healthy volunteers during reclining bike exercise
Authors: Steffensen Torjus L. , Schjerven Filip E. , Flade Hans M. , Kirkeby-Garstad Idar , Ingeström Emma , Solberg Fredrik S. , Steinert Martin 
Published: May 2023

Objective: Ballistocardiogram (BCG) features are of interest in wearable cardiovascular monitoring of cardiac performance. We assess feasibility of wrist acceleration BCG during exercise for estimating pulse transit time (PTT), enabling broader cardiovascular response studies during acute exercise and improved monitoring in individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). We also examine the relationship between PTT, blood pressure (BP), and stroke volume (SV) during exercise and posture interventions.Methods: 25 participants underwent a bike exercise protocol with four incremental workloads (0 W, 50 W, 100 W, and 150 W) in supine and semirecumbent postures. BCG, invasive radial artery BP, tonometry, photoplethysmography (PPG) and echocardiography were recorded. Ensemble averages of BCG signals determined aortic valve opening (AVO) timings, combined with peripheral pulse wave arrival times to calculate PTT. We tested for significance using Wilcoxon signed-rank test.Results: BCG was successfully recorded at the wrist during exercise. PTT exhibited a moderate negative correlation with systolic BP (ρSup = −0.65, ρSR = −0.57, ρAll = −0.54). PTT differences between supine and semirecumbent conditions were significant at 0 W and 50 W (p &lt; 0.001), less at 100 W (p = 0.0135) and 150 W (p = 0.031). SBP and DBP were lower in semirecumbent posture (p &lt; 0.01), while HR was slightly higher. Echocardiography confirmed association of BCG features with AVO and indicated a positive relationship between BCG amplitude and SV (ρ = 0.74).Significance: Wrist BCG may allow convenient PTT and possibly SV tracking during exercise, enabling studies of cardiovascular response to acute exercise and convenient monitoring of cardiovascular performance.
Inspiring IDEA: Girls on the Run’s developmental approach to and assessment of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access programming
Authors: Weiss Maureen R. , Kipp Lindsay E. , Riley Allison 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionEvaluation studies of positive youth development (PYD) programs show promising impact on children’s psychosocial and behavioral outcomes, but less is known about how programming affects youth of varying racial, ethnic, and cultural identities. Girls on the Run, a physical activity-based PYD program, has developed curricula and coach training with a lens toward inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA). The purpose of this study was to assess the program’s effectiveness in achieving IDEA programming goals.MethodsSurveys were completed by youth (n = 342), caregivers (n = 2,375), and coaches (n = 1,406), and focus groups/interviews were conducted with 12 youth, 20 caregivers, and 9 coaches, diverse in race, ethnicity, ability, and other identities. Survey and focus group/interview questions addressed participants’ thoughts and experiences regarding inclusion, diversity, equity, andaccess in Girls on the Run.ResultsQuantitative analyses of survey responses revealed favorable responses by all groups that the program: (a) provides a safe, inclusive, and supportive climate for all youth; (b) consists of teams with racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds; and, (c) successfully engages in strategies to reduce barriers to participation. Qualitative analyses of focus group/interview data resulted in 5 higher-order themes: (a) positive sentiments by girls, caregivers, and coaches; (b) social justice in the curriculum; (c) access to programming; (d) considerations regarding racial diversity; and, (e) serving gender-diverse participants.DiscussionCollective findings characterized Girls on the Run as successful in meeting its pledge toward inclusion, diversity, equity, and access to participation. All groups recognized the program’s positive impact on girls’ social and emotional learning and fostering an atmosphere of community connectedness. Curricular lessons and coach training align with evidence based strategies for inclusive and equitable programming, which can serve as an exemplar for other out-of-school-time programs.
Regularities in vertical saccadic metrics: new insights, and future perspectives
Authors: Greene Harold H. , Diwadkar Vaibhav A. , Brown James M. 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionAsymmetries in processing by the healthy brain demonstrate regularities that facilitate the modeling of brain operations. The goal of the present study was to determine asymmetries in saccadic metrics during visual exploration, devoid of confounding clutter in the visual field.MethodsTwenty healthy adults searched for a small, low-contrast gaze-contingent target on a blank computer screen. The target was visible, only if eye fixation was within a 5 deg. by 5 deg. area of the target’s location.ResultsReplicating previously-reported asymmetries, repeated measures contrast analyses indicated that up-directed saccades were executed earlier, were smaller in amplitude, and had greater probability than down-directed saccades. Given that saccade velocities are confounded by saccade amplitudes, it was also useful to investigate saccade kinematics of visual exploration, as a function of vertical saccade direction. Saccade kinematics were modeled for each participant, as a square root relationship between average saccade velocity (i.e., average velocity between launching and landing of a saccade) and corresponding saccade amplitude (Velocity = S*[Saccade Amplitude]0.5). A comparison of the vertical scaling parameter (S) for up- and down-directed saccades showed that up-directed saccades tended to be slower than down-directed ones.DiscussionTo motivate future research, an ecological theory of asymmetric pre-saccadic inhibition was presented to explain the collection of vertical saccadic regularities. For example, given that the theory proposes strong inhibition for the releasing of reflexive down-directed prosaccades (cued by an attracting peripheral target below eye fixation), and weak inhibition for the releasing of up-directed prosaccades (cued by an attracting peripheral target above eye fixation), a prediction for future studies is longer reaction times for vertical anti-saccade cues above eye fixation. Finally, the present study with healthy individuals demonstrates a rationale for further study of vertical saccades in psychiatric disorders, as bio-markers for brain pathology.
The animacy advantage in memory occurs under self-paced study conditions, but participants’ metacognitive beliefs can deter it
Authors: Serra Michael J. , DeYoung Carlee M. 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionAnimacy distinguishes living (animate) things from non-living (inanimate) things. People tend to devote attention and processing to living over nonliving things, resulting in a privileged status for animate concepts in human cognition. For example, people tend to remember more animate than inanimate items, a phenomenon known as the “animacy effect” or “animacy advantage.” To date, however, the exact cause(s) of this effect is unknown.MethodsWe examined the animacy advantage in free-recall performance under computer-paced versus self-paced study conditions and using three different sets of animate and inanimate stimuli (Experiments 1 and 2). We also measured participants’ metacognitive beliefs (expectations) about the task before it began (Experiment 2).ResultsWe consistently obtained an animacy advantage in free-recall, regardless of whether participants studied the materials under computer-paced or self-paced conditions. Those in self-paced conditions spent less time studying items than did those in computer-paced conditions, but overall levels of recall and the occurrence of the animacy advantage were equivalent by study method. Importantly, participants devoted equivalent study time to animate and inanimate items in self-paced conditions, so the animacy advantage in those conditions cannot be attributed to study time differences. In Experiment 2, participants who believed that inanimate items were more memorable instead showed equivalent recall and study time for animate and inanimate items, suggesting that they engaged in equivalent processing of animate and inanimate items. All three sets of materials reliably produced an animacy advantage, but the effect was consistently larger for one set than the other two, indicating some contribution of item-level properties to the effect.DiscussionOverall, the results suggest that participants do not purposely allocate greater processing to animate over inanimate items, even when study is self-paced. Rather, animate items seem to naturally trigger greater richness of encoding than do inanimate items and are then better remembered, although under some conditions participants might engage in deeper processing of inanimate items which can reduce or eliminate the animacy advantage. We suggest that researchers might conceptualize mechanisms for the effect as either centering on intrinsic, item-level properties of the items or centering on extrinsic, processing-based differences between animate and inanimate items.
The effect of performance pressure and error-feedback on anxiety and performance in an interceptive task
Authors: Harris David John , Arthur Tom , Vine Samuel James , Rahman Harith Rusydin Abd , Liu Jiayi , Han Feng , Wilson Mark R. 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionWhilst the disruptive effects of anxiety on attention and performance have been well documented, the antecedents to anxiety in motivated performance scenarios are less well understood. We therefore sought to understand the cognitive appraisals that mediate the relationship between pressurised performance situations and the onset of anxiety. MethodsWe tested the effects of performance pressure and error feedback on appraisals of the probability and cost of failure, the experience of anxiety, and subsequent impacts on visual attention, movement kinematics, and task performance during a virtual reality interception task.ResultsA series of linear mixed effects models indicated that failure feedback and situational pressure influenced appraisals of the probability and cost of failure, which subsequently predicted the onset of anxious states. We did not, however, observe downstream effects on performance and attention.Discussion The findings support the predictions of Attentional Control Theory Sport, that (i) momentary errors lead to negative appraisals of the probability of future failure; and (ii) that appraisals of both the cost and probability of future failure are important predictors of anxiety. The results contribute to a better understanding of the precursors to anxiety and the feedback loops that may maintain anxious states.