bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Epiregulin expression and secretion is increased in castration-resistant prostate cancer
Authors: Wiesehöfer Marc , Raczinski Benedikt Bernhard Gereon , Wiesehöfer Caroline , Dankert Jaroslaw Thomas , Czyrnik Elena Dilara , Spahn Martin , Kruithof-de Julio Marianna , Wennemuth Gunther 
Published: March 2023

IntroductionIn prostate cancer, long-term treatment directed against androgens often leads to the development of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, which is more aggressive and not curatively treatable. Androgen deprivation results in elevated epiregulin expression in LNCaP cells which is a ligand of EGFR. This study aims to reveal the expression and regulation of epiregulin in different prostate cancer stages enabling a more specific molecular characterization of different prostate carcinoma types.MethodsFive different prostate carcinoma cell lines were used to characterize the epiregulin expression on the RNA and protein levels. Epiregulin expression and its correlation with different patient conditions were further analyzed using clinical prostate cancer tissue samples. Additionally, the regulation of epiregulin biosynthesis was examined at transcriptional, post-transcriptional and release level.ResultsAn increased epiregulin secretion is detected in castration-resistant prostate cancer cell lines and prostate cancer tissue samples indicating a correlation of epiregulin expression with tumor recurrence, metastasis and increased grading. Analysis regarding the activity of different transcription factors suggests the involvement of SMAD2/3 in the regulation of epiregulin expression. In addition, miR-19a, -19b, and -20b are involved in post-transcriptional epiregulin regulation. The release of mature epiregulin occurs via proteolytic cleavage by ADAM17, MMP2, and MMP9 which are increased in castration-resistant prostate cancer cells.DiscussionThe results demonstrate epiregulin regulation by different mechanism and suggest a potential role as a diagnostic tool to detect molecular alterations in prostate cancer progression. Additionally, although EGFR inhibitors false in prostate cancer, epiregulin could be a therapeutic target for patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer.
A novel tool to evaluate and quantify radiation pneumonitis: A retrospective analysis of correlation of dosimetric parameters with volume of pneumonia patch
Authors: Huang Jing-Wen , Lin Yi-Hui , Chang Gee-Chen , Chen Jeremy J. W. 
Published: March 2023

IntroductionIn lung cancer, radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) or radiation pneumonitis (RP) are major concerns after radiotherapy. We investigated the correlation between volumes of RP lesions and their RP grades after radiotherapy.Methods and materialsWe retrospectively collected data from patients with non-small lung cancer that received curative doses to the thorax without undergoing chest radiotherapy before this treatment course. The post-treatment computed tomography (CT) image was used to register to the planning CT to evaluate the correlation between dosimetric parameters and volume of pneumonia patch by using deformable image registration.ResultsFrom January 1, 2019, to December 30, 2020, 71 patients with non-small cell lung cancer with 169 sets of CT images met our criteria for evaluation. In all patient groups, we found the RPv max and RP grade max to be significant (p&lt;0.001). Some parameters that were related to the dose-volume histogram (DVH) and RP were lung Vx (x=1-66 Gy, percentage of lung volume received ≥x Gy), and mean lung dose. Comparing these parameters of the DVH with RP grade max showed that the mean lung dose and lung V1–V31 were significantly correlated. The cut-off point for the occurrence of symptoms in all patient groups, the RPv max value, was 4.79%, while the area under the curve was 0.779. In the groups with grades 1 and 2 RP, the dose curve of 26 Gy covered ≥80% of RP lesions in &gt;80% of patients. Patients who had radiotherapy in combination with chemotherapy had significantly shorter locoregional progression-free survival (p=0.049) than patients who received radiation therapy in combination with target therapy. Patients with RPv max &gt;4.79% demonstrated better OS (p=0.082).ConclusionThe percentage of RP lesion volume to total lung volume is a good indicator for quantifying RP. RP lesions can be projected onto the original radiation therapy plan using coverage of the 26 Gy isodose line to determine whether the lesion is RILI.
Prognostic value of pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters in esophageal high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma: A bicenter retrospective study
Authors: Hou Guozhu , Zhao Ningning , Li Fang , Jing Hongli , Zheng Rong 
Published: March 2023

ObjectiveThe aim of this bicentric retrospective study was to assess the prognostic value of 18F-FDG PET/CT in patients with esophageal high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma (NECs).MethodsFrom the database of two centers, 28 patients affected by esophageal high-grade NECs who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT before treatment were retrospectively reviewed. Metabolic parameters (SUVmax, SUVmean, tumor-to-blood-pool SUV ratio (TBR), tumor-to-liver SUV ratio (TLR), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis (TLG)) of the primary tumor were measured. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).ResultsAfter a median follow-up period of 22 months, disease progression occurred in 11 (39.3%) patients, and death occurred in 8 (28.6%) patients. The median PFS was 34 months, and the median OS was not reached. Univariate analyses revealed that among metabolic parameters, only MTV and TLG were significant prognostic factors, while among clinical variables, only distant metastasis was a significant factor for both PFS and OS (P&lt; 0.05). On multivariate analyses, MTV and TLG were independent prognostic factors for both PFS and OS (P&lt; 0.05).ConclusionsIn patients with esophageal high-grade NEC, MTV and TLG measured on pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT are independently prognostic factors for predicting PFS and OS, and might be used as quantitative prognostic imaging biomarkers.
Presepsin as a promising biomarker for early detection of post-operative infection in children
Authors: Puspaningtyas Niken Wahyu , Karyanti Mulya Rahma , Paramita Tiara Nien , Sjakti Hikari Ambara , Putri Nina Dwi , Tridjaja Bambang , Yanuarso Piprim Basarah , Rinaldhy Kshetra , Yani Ahmad , Gayatri Pramita 
Published: March 2023

BackgroundPost-operative systemic inflammation response syndrome (SIRS) is an event that results from surgical trauma, white blood cells contact activation, and intra-surgical bacterial translocation, which is difficult to distinguish from sepsis. Presepsin is a novel biomarker that is increased since the early stages of bacterial infection and can be used to confirm the diagnosis of post-operative infectious complications. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of presepsin for post-operative infectious complications compared to other well-known biomarkers.MethodThis cross-sectional study included 100 post-operative patients admitted to Cipto Mangunkusumo National Hospital and Bunda Hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia. The objective was to identify the optimal cutoff and trend of plasma presepsin concentration on the first and third day after surgery and to compare them with other biomarkers.ResultPlasma presepsin level was higher in the infection group compared to the non-infection group (median 806.5 pg/ml vs. 717 pg/ml and 980 pg/ml vs. 516 pg/ml on the first and third day, respectively). Presepsin levels tended to increase on the third post-operative day (median + 252 pg/ml) in children with infection. The opposite trend was observed in the non-infection group from the first to the third day (median -222.5 pg/ml). Presepsin delta, a three-day difference between the first and third post-operative day, had the best diagnostic performance compared to other biomarkers (Area Under the Curve 0.825). The optimal cutoff for presepsin delta to diagnose post-operative infection was +90.5 pg/ml.ConclusionSerial assessments of presepsin levels on the first and third days post-surgery and their trends are helpful diagnostic markers for clinicians to detect post-operative infectious complications in children.
Construction of a prognostic model for HCC based on ferroptosis-related lncRNAs expression and its potential to predict the response and irAEs of immunotherapy
Authors: Dong Liangbo , Zhou Shengnan , Bai Xuesong , He Xiaodong 
Published: March 2023

Background: Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent programmed cell death process, and studies have confirmed that it plays an important regulatory role in the occurrence and development of various malignancies including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In addition, the role of abnormally expressed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in regulating and driving the occurrence and development of HCC has attracted more and more attention. However, there is still a lack of research on the role of ferroptosis-related lncRNAs in the prognosis prediction of HCC patients.Method: In this study, we used the Pearson test method to analyze the association between differentially expressed lncRNAs and ferroptosis-related genes in HCC and normal tissues obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and found 68 aberrantly expressed and prognosis-related ferroptosis-related lncRNAs. Based on this, we established an HCC prognostic model composed of 12 ferroptosis-related lncRNAs. In addition, HCC patients were divided into a high-risk group and a low-risk group according to the risk score of this 12 ferroptosis-related lncRNAs prognostic model. Gene enrichment analysis indicated that ferroptosis-related lncRNA-based expression signatures may regulate HCC immune microenvironment signaling pathways through ferroptosis, chemical carcinogenesis-reactive oxygen species, and NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity pathways. In addition, immune cell correlation analysis showed that there were significant differences in immune infiltrating cell subtypes, such as Th cells, macrophages, monocytes, and Treg cells between the two groups. In addition, the expression of multiple immune checkpoint molecules was found to be significantly increased in the high-risk group (eg, PD1, CTLA-4, CD86, etc.).Results: Our research provides a new method for predicting prognosis using a ferroptosis-related lncRNA expression signature prognostic model in hepatocellular carcinoma. And it provides new tools for predicting patient response and adverse effects of immunotherapy.Conclusion: In conclusion, ferroptosis-related lncRNA expression signatures can be used to construct a prognostic prediction model to predict the overall survival of HCC patients, and can be used as an independent influencing factor for prognosis. Further analysis showed that ferroptosis-related lncRNAs may affect the efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with HCC by altering the tumor microenvironment, so this model may serve as a new indicator of the response and irAEs of HCC to immunotherapy.
Comparative efficacy of 5 sodium-glucose cotransporter protein-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor and 4 glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist drugs in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A GRADE-assessed systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Gu Yunpeng , Sun Lei , Zhang Wei , Kong Tingting , Zhou Run , He Yining , Deng Chaohua , Yang Luping , Kong Jianing , Chen Yutong , Shi Junping , Hu Yanli 
Published: March 2023

Background: The relative efficacy of 5 sodium-glucose cotransporter protein-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors and 4 glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) therapy has not been sufficiently investigated.Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which patients with NAFLD were treated with SGLT-2 inhibitors or GLP-1 receptor agonists were included. Primary outcomes were improvements in liver enzymes and liver fat parameters, while secondary outcomes included anthropometric measures, blood lipids and glycemic parameters. The frequentist method was used to perform a network meta-analysis. Evidence certainty was assessed using the grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE).Results: The criteria were satisfied by 37 RCTs with 9 interventions (5 SGLT-2 inhibitors and 4 GLP-1 receptor agonists). Based on high certainty evidence, in patients with NAFLD (or comorbid with type 2 diabetes), semaglutide could lower alanine aminotransferase as well as aspartate aminotransferase, γ-glutamyl transferase, controlled attenuation parameter, liver stiffness measurement, body weight, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, glycosylated hemoglobin. Liraglutide could lower alanine aminotransferase as well as subcutaneous adipose tissue, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, glucose and homeostasis model assessment, while dapagliflozin could lower alanine aminotransferase as well as body weight, fasting blood glucose, postprandial blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, glucose and homeostasis model assessment.Conclusion: Semaglutide, liraglutide, and dapagliflozin all have a certain effect on NAFLD (or comorbid with type 2 diabetes) based on high confidence evidence from indirect comparisons, and semaglutide appears to have a therapeutic advantage over the other included medicines. Head-to-head studies are needed to provide more confidence in clinical decision-making.
Incidence, clinical features and risk factors of tacrolimus induced idiosyncratic liver injury in renal transplant recipients: A nested case-control study
Authors: Lv Binbin , Liu Longshan , Liu Xiaoman , Huang Min , Chen Xiao , Tang Kejing , Wang Changxi , Chen Pan 
Published: March 2023

Rare data reported tacrolimus-induced liver injury (tac-DILI) in real world. We performed a nested case-control analysis of 1,010 renal transplant recipients. Recipients with tac-DILI were randomly matched at a ratio of 1:4 by the year of admission to the remaining recipients without tac-DILI to explore risk factors. The incidence of tac-DILI was 8.9% (95% CI = 7.2–10.7%). The most common type was cholestatic pattern (6.7%, 95% CI = 5.2–8.3%), followed by hepatocellular (1.6%, 95% CI = 0.8–2.4%) and mixed patterns (0.6%, 95% CI = 0.1–1.1%). 98.9% of recipients with tac-DILI have mild severity. The latency period were 42.0 (range, 21.5–99.8 days), 14.0 (range, 9.0–80.3 days), 16.0 (range, 11.5–24.5 days), and 49.0 days (range, 28.0–105.6 days) for total, hepatocellular, mixed, and cholestatic patterns, respectively. Baseline ALP level (OR = 1.015, 95% CI = 1.006–1.025, p = 0.002), age (OR = 0.971, 95% CI = 0.949–0.994, p = 0.006), and body weight (OR = 0.960, 95% CI = 0.940–0.982, p &lt; 0.001) were independent risk factors. In conclusion, cholestatic pattern represents the most frequent type of tac-DILI. Young age, low body weight and abnormal baseline ALP level were risk factors.
Pune GSH supplementation study: Analyzing longitudinal changes in type 2 diabetic patients using linear mixed-effects models
Authors: Madathil Arjun Kolappurath , Ghaskadbi Saroj , Kalamkar Saurabh , Goel Pranay 
Published: March 2023

Oral GSH supplementation along with antidiabetic treatment was shown to restore the body stores of GSH significantly and reduce oxidative DNA damage (8-OHdG) in Indian Type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients over 6 months in our recent clinical study. Post hoc analysis of the data also suggested that elder patients benefit from improved HbA1c and fasting insulin. We modeled longitudinal changes in diabetic individuals using a linear mixed-effects (LME) framework and obtained i) the distribution of individual trajectories with and without GSH supplementation and ii) the overall rates of changes in the different study arms. Serial changes in elder and younger diabetic individuals were also modeled independently to examine differences in their progression. The average linear trajectories obtained from the model explain how biochemical parameters in T2D patients progress over 6 months on GSH supplementation. Model estimates show improvements in erythrocytic GSH of 108 µM per month and a reduction in 8-OHdG at a rate of 18.5 ng/μg DNA per month in T2D patients. GSH replenishes faster in younger people than in the elder. 8-OHdG reduced more rapidly in the elder (24 ng/μg DNA per month) than in younger (12 ng/μg DNA per month) individuals. Interestingly, elder individuals show a substantial reduction in HbA1c (0.1% per month) and increased fasting insulin (0.6 µU/mL per month). Changes in GSH correlate strongly with changes in HbA1c, 8-OHdG, and fasting insulin in the elder cohort. The model estimates strongly suggest it improves the rate of replenishment in erythrocytic GSH stores and reduces oxidative DNA damage. Elder and younger T2D patients respond differently to GSH supplementation: It improves the rate of reduction in HbA1c and increases fasting insulin in elder patients. These model forecasts have clinical implications that aid in personalizing treatment targets for using oral GSH as adjuvant therapy in diabetes.
Genome size variation and polyploidy prevalence in the genus Eragrostis are associated with the global dispersal in arid area
Authors: Hutang Ge-Ran , Tong Yan , Zhu Xun-Ge , Gao Li-Zhi 
Published: March 2023

BackgroundBiologists have long debated the drivers of the genome size evolution and variation ever since Darwin. Assumptions for the adaptive or maladaptive consequences of the associations between genome sizes and environmental factors have been proposed, but the significance of these hypotheses remains controversial. Eragrostis is a large genus in the grass family and is often used as crop or forage during the dry seasons. The wide range and complex ploidy levels make Eragrostis an excellent model for investigating how the genome size variation and evolution is associated with environmental factors and how these changes can ben interpreted.MethodsWe reconstructed the Eragrostis phylogeny and estimated genome sizes through flow cytometric analyses. Phylogenetic comparative analyses were performed to explore how genome size variation and evolution is related to their climatic niches and geographical ranges. The genome size evolution and environmental factors were examined using different models to study the phylogenetic signal, mode and tempo throughout evolutionary history.ResultsOur results support the monophyly of Eragrostis. The genome sizes in Eragrostis ranged from ~0.66 pg to ~3.80 pg. We found that a moderate phylogenetic conservatism existed in terms of the genome sizes but was absent from environmental factors. In addition, phylogeny-based associations revealed close correlations between genome sizes and precipitation-related variables, indicating that the genome size variation mainly caused by polyploidization may have evolved as an adaptation to various environments in the genus Eragrostis.ConclusionThis is the first study to take a global perspective on the genome size variation and evolution in the genus Eragrostis. Our results suggest that the adaptation and conservatism are manifested in the genome size variation, allowing the arid species of Eragrostis to spread the xeric area throughout the world.
Mental and physical conditions associated with physical inactivity among Farhangian University students during virtual classes: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Homayounnia Firouzjah Morteza , Pourazar Morteza , Kakvandi Saeed Nazari 
Published: March 2023

BackgroundThe level of mobility and general health has decreased among students in virtual classes during COVID-19 pandemic. The present cross-sectional study aims to investigate the mental and physical conditions related to inactivity among the students of Farhangian University during the virtual classes.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study. 475 students (214 females and 261 males) were selected as the statistical sample of the study based on Morgan’s Table from Farhangian University, Iran. The statistical population includes students studying at Farhangian University of Mazandaran province that using Convenience Sampling the sample size based on Morgan’s Table, 475 students consisting of 214 females and 261 males were randomly selected as the statistical sample of the study. The research instruments of this study include International Physical Activity Questionnaire, Saehan Caliper (SH5020), Coopersmith Self-Esteem Scale, Beck Depression Questionnaire, and Nordic Skeletal and Muscular Disorders Questionnaire. For data analysis, independent samplet-test was employed to compare two groups. All analyses were conducted using spss24 software.ResultsWith respect to students’ skeletal-muscular disorders, findings proved that both genders suffered physical conditions during virtual classes. The research findings showed that the average weekly activity level among women is 634 Met/min with a standard deviation of ±281, and the average weekly activity level among men is 472 Met/min with a standard deviation of ±231. Fat percentage by gender, men’s average fat percentage is 47.21% (S. D ± 4.74) and women’s average fat percentage is 31.55% (S. D ± 4.37). Also, the self-esteem scores of male and female students were obtained 29.72 and 29.43, respectively, and the difference between the two was considered significant (p&lt; 0.05). On the other hand, 67% (No. 25) of female students and 32% (No. 12) of male students suffered from high depression. Also, based on students’ skeletal-muscular disorders, findings of our study showed that both genders suffered physical conditions during virtual classes.ConclusionThis study suggests increasing the level of physical activity to reduce body fat mass, increase mental health and reduce skeletal disorders, which can be properly accomplished through university planning and prioritizing the health of male and female students.
The impact of entrepreneurial team psychological capital on innovation performance: The mediating role of knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding
Authors: Chen Minling , Mi XueMei , Xue Jing , Li Yi , Shi Junran 
Published: March 2023

IntroductionThe important role of psychological capital on corporate innovation has attracted the attention of academics, more and more scholars have conducted related studies. Although most scholars have explored the mechanisms and paths of psychological capital on innovation performance, few scholars have explored the inner relationship between them from the perspective of knowledge management. Based on the knowledge management perspective, We explore the influence effect of the psychological capital of entrepreneurial teams on the innovation performance of startups in the entrepreneurial situation.MethodsWe conducted hypothesis testing using data from 113 Chinese entrepreneurial teams, and conducted reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis on the questionnaire data with the help of SPSS software and AMOS software.ResultsThe results showed that (1) entrepreneurial team psychological capital has a significant positive effect on innovation performance of startups; (2) entrepreneurial team psychological capital positively promotes their knowledge sharing behavior and reduces knowledge hiding behavior; (3) entrepreneurial team knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding play a partially mediating role between entrepreneurial team psychological capital and innovation performance of startups; (4)organizational innovation climate plays a moderating role in the influence of entrepreneurial team knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding on the innovation performance of startups.DiscussionThe findings are consistent with the hypothesis model proposed in this paper, indicating that as the psychological capital of entrepreneurial teams increases, the innovation performance of startups can benefit from higher levels of knowledge sharing and lower levels of knowledge hiding.