bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prognostic impact of tumor size reduction assessed by magnetic resonance imaging after radiochemotherapy in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer
Authors: Cordoba Abel , Durand Benedicte , Escande Alexandre , Taieb Sophie , Amor Mariem Ben Haj , Le Deley Marie Cecile , Michel Andree , Le Tinier Florence , Hudry Delphine , Martinez Carlos , Leblanc Eric , Becourt Stephanie , Abdedaim Cyril , Bresson Lucie , Lartigau Eric , Mirabel Xavier , Narducci Fabrice 
Published: December 2022

ObjectivePelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a key exam used for the initial assessment of loco-regional involvement of cervical cancer. In patients with locally advanced cervical cancer, MRI is used to evaluate the early response to radiochemotherapy before image-guided brachytherapy, the prognostic impact of which we aimed to study.MethodsPatients with locally advanced cervical cancer treated using concomitant radiochemotherapy followed by closure treatment between January 2010 and December 2015 were included in this study. Clinical, anatomopathological, radiological, therapeutic, and follow-up data were evaluated.ResultsAfter applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria to the initially chosen 310 patients, 232 were included for evaluation (median follow-up period, 5.3 years). The median age was 50 years (range, 25–83 years), and the median tumor size was 47.5 mm (range, 0–105 mm). Based on the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics classification system, 9 patients were in stage IB2; 20, IB3; 2, IIA; 63, IIB; 4, IIIA; 7, IIIB; and 127, IIIC1 or higher. The re-evaluation MRI was performed at the median dose of 55.5 Gy, and median reduction in tumor size was 55.2% (range, −20–100%). There was a difference between the disease-free and overall survival rates of the patients with a tumor response greater or lesser than 50%. The risk of recurrence or death reduced by 39% in patients with a tumor size reduction &gt;50%. The overall 5-year survival rate of patients with a response greater and lesser than 50% were 77.7% and 61.5%, respectively. The 5-year disease-free survival rate for these two groups of patients were 68.8% and 51.5%, respectively.ConclusionOur study confirms the prognostic impact of tumor size reduction using MRI data obtained after radiochemotherapy in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer.
Diagnostic value of dual-layer spectral detector CT in differentiating lung adenocarcinoma from squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Mu Ronghua , Meng Zhuoni , Guo Zixuan , Qin Xiaoyan , Huang Guangyi , Yang Xuri , Jin Hui , Yang Peng , Deng Meimei , Zhang Xiaodi , Zhu Xiqi 
Published: December 2022

Background and objectiveThe pathological type of non–small cell lung cancer is considered to be an important factor affecting the treatment and prognosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of spectral parameters of dual-layer spectral detector computed tomography (DLCT) in determining efficacy to distinguish adenocarcinoma (AC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SC), and their combined diagnostic efficacy was also analyzed.MethodsThis is a single-center prospective study, and we collected 70 patients with lung SC and 127 patients with lung AC confirmed by histopathological examination. Morphological parameters, plain scan CT value, biphasic enhanced CT value, and spectral parameters were calculated. The diagnostic efficiency of morphological parameters, spectral parameters, and spectral parameters combined with morphological parameters was obtained by statistical analysis.ResultsIn univariate analysis, seven morphological CT features differed significantly between SC and AC: tumor location (distribution), lobulation, spicule, air bronchogram, vacuole sign, lung atelectasis and/or obstructive pneumonia, and vascular involvement (all p &lt; 0.05). In the arterial phase and the venous phase, the spectral parameters of AC were higher than those of SC (AP-Zeff: 8.07 ± 0.23 vs. 7.85 ± 0.16; AP-ID: 1.41 ± 0.47 vs. 0.94 ± 0.28; AP-NID: 0.13 ± 0.04 vs. 0.09 ± 0.03; AP-λ: 3.42 ± 1.10 vs. 2.33 ± 0.96; VP-Zeff: 8.26 ± 0.23 vs. 7.96 ± 0.16; VP-ID: 1.18 ± 0.51 vs. 1.16 ± 0.30; VP-NID: 0.39 ± 0.13 vs. 0.29 ± 0.08; VP-λ: 4.42 ± 1.28 vs. 2.85 ± 0.72; p &lt; 0.001). When conducting multivariate analysis combining CT features and DLCT parameters with the best diagnostic efficacy, the independent predictors of AC were distribution on peripheral (OR, 4.370; 95% CI, 1.485–12.859; p = 0.007), presence of air bronchogram (OR, 5.339; 95% CI, 1.729–16.484; p = 0.004), and presence of vacuole sign ( OR, 7.330; 95% CI, 1.030–52.184; p = 0.047). Receiver operating characteristic curves of the SC and AC showed that VP-λ had the best diagnostic performance, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.864 and sensitivity and specificity rates of 85.8% and 74.3%, respectively; the AUC was increased to 0.946 when morphological parameters were combined, and sensitivity and specificity rates were 89.8% and 87.1%, respectively.ConclusionThe quantitative parameters of the DLCT spectrum are of great value in the diagnosis of SC and AC, and the combination of morphological parameters and spectral parameters is helpful to distinguish SC from AC.
Molecular diagnosis of autosomal dominant congenital cataract in two families from North India reveals a novel and a known variant in GJA8 and GJA3
Authors: Vanita Vanita , Goyal Shiwali , Tibrewal Shailja , Ganesh Suma 
Published: December 2022

AimsThe study aims to detect the underlying genetic defect in two autosomal dominant congenital cataract (ADCC) families.MethodsA detailed family history was collected, pedigrees were drawn, and slit-lamp examination and lens photography were performed. Mutation screening was carried out in the genes for crystallins and connexins by PCR and Sanger sequencing. Ethnically matched controls were tested for the identified variants. Different bioinformatics tools were used to assess the pathogenicity of the observed variants.ResultsIn an ADCC family with total cataract, a novel change (c.166A &gt; G) (p.Thr56Ala) in GJA8 was identified. In another ADCC family with nuclear cataract, c.134G &gt; C (p.Trp45Ser) in GJA3 has been detected. These variants co-segregated completely in patients in their respective families and were neither observed in unaffected family members nor in ethnically matched 100 controls, excluding them as polymorphisms.ConclusionsThe present study identifies a novel variant c.166A &gt; G (p.Thr56Ala) in GJA8 in an ADCC family having total cataract and a previously known mutation c.134G &gt; C (p.Trp45Ser) in GJA3 in another ADCC family. Thr56 in GJA8 seems to be a mutation hotspot, as previously an ADCC Mauritanian family harbored a different substitution (p.Thr56Pro) at the same codon, although for a different phenotype (nuclear cataract). Similarly, Trp45 in GJA3 appears as a mutation hotspot, as p.Trp45Ser has previously been reported for nuclear cataract in a Chinese ADCC family. p.Thr56 (GJA8) and p.Trp45 (GJA3) are in the extracellular loop 1 (EL1) in their respective connexin proteins, which, along with EL2, are essential for gap junction formation, hemichannel docking, and regulating the voltage gating of the channels. Hence, residues in these regions seem crucial for maintaining eye lens transparency.
Measurement of the morphological data of primary teeth in northwest China
Authors: Lu Xiao-Xi , Yang Kuan , Zhang Bai-Ze , Wang Jun-Hui , Du Yang , Chen Yu-Jiang , Wang Xiao-Jing 
Published: December 2022

ObjectiveThis study aims to digitally obtain the morphological data of children's primary teeth in northwest China and evaluate the reliability of digitally obtaining the anatomical morphological data of primary teeth.MethodsA total of 308 extracted primary teeth and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of 407 primary teeth were collected in northwest China. Electronic digital Vernier callipers (accuracy: 0.01 mm) were used to measure the mesiodistal and buccolingual diameters and crown length of the extracted primary teeth and calculate the crown area and crown index. Each sample was scanned with an intraoral scanner (Trios2 3shape, Denmark), and the resulting stl format files were imported into Geomagic Wrap 2015 to measure the axial and buccolingual diameters and crown length. The crown area and crown index were then calculated. After verifying the accuracy of the CBCT image measurement, the CBCT image data of 407 samples were measured in SmartV software using the “measure length” function by referring to the coronal, sagittal, and horizontal planes to adjust the position of the reference line.ResultsNorthern Chinese have larger primary teeth than other populations (Japanese, white American, African, Icelander, Spanish, and Dominican Mestizo) but smaller primary teeth than native Australians. Compared to Indian primary teeth, northwest Chinese's primary teeth have larger diameters on the central axis and smaller diameters on the buccolingual surface. Male teeth are usually larger than female teeth. Compared with the results of Wang Huiyun's study, the axial and buccolingual diameters and crown length of all native tooth types in this total sample were significantly smaller at the 0.1% level, and only the axial diameters of the upper first molar and lower second molar and the crown length of the lower lateral incisor were significantly smaller at the 1% level. The results of the intraclass correlation coefficient of 308 extracted primary teeth expressed an excellent degree of agreement between the callipers and intraoral scanner for the following: mesiodistal diameter (0.956–0.991), buccolingual diameter (0.963–0.989), crown length [0.864–0.992, except for the upper canine (0.690)], crown index (0.850–0.975), and crown area (0.946–0.993).ConclusionThe digital measurements of the intraoral scanner and CBCT image are in good agreement with the manual measurement of the Vernier calliper. The difference between the anatomical morphology size of the primary teeth measured in this study and the results of different populations could be due to different genetic backgrounds and environmental factors.
Xenon attenuated neonatal lipopolysaccharide exposure induced neuronal necroptosis and subsequently improved cognition in juvenile rats
Authors: Liao Zhimin , Ou Xiaofeng , Zhou Cheng , Ma Daqing , Zhao Hailin , Huang Han 
Published: December 2022

Background: Neonatal sepsis is known to cause neurodevelopment impairment and has been reported to increase risks for neurological/psychiatric disorders. In this study, we investigated the effect of xenon, a well-known potent neuroprotective gas, on neonatal sepsis-induced neurodevelopment impairment in rats together with underlying mechanism by focusing on receptor-interacting protein kinase (RIP) mediated neuronal necroptosis.Methods: 3-day-old Sprague–Dawley rat pups were exposed to either 70% xenon or N2 balanced with O2 for 6 h, during which lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was injected intraperitoneally for 3 times (500 μg/kg for the 1st and 250 μg/kg for the second and third dose; n = 6–10/group). In another cohort of 3-day-old rat pups, intracerebroventricular injection of necrostatin-1 (4 µg in 4 µl saline, a RIP-1-targeted inhibitor of necroptosis) was performed 20 min after the third dose of LPS. The learning ability and memory were assessed 25 days after LPS injection. Then, their hippocampus was collected for neuronal necroptosis with RIP and MIKL assessments using western blot and in situ immunostaining. Systemic and neuro-inflammation was also assessed.Results: LPS insult resulted in elevation of pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-𝝰 and IL-6, caused neuronal necroptosis and damaged synaptic integrity at the brain developing stage, which finally led to the long-term cognitive impairment. Xenon inhibited necroptosis associated mediator RIP-1, RIP-3, and MLKL activation, protected neurons and attenuated cognitive dysfunction induced by LPS. Like xenon, the similar pattern changes induced by a RIP-1 inhibitor Necrostatin-1 were also found.Conclusion: This study indicates that necroptosis is involved in neonatal sepsis-induced neurofunctional impairments and xenon may be a novel therapeutic strategy to prevent/treat cognitive impairment in neonatal septic patients.
Banxia baizhu tianma decoction, a Chinese herbal formula, for hypertension: Integrating meta-analysis and network pharmacology
Authors: Lin Jianguo , Wang Qingqing , Xu Siyu , Zhou Simin , Zhong Dongsheng , Tan Meng , Zhang Xiaoxiao , Yao Kuiwu 
Published: December 2022

Hypertension is a major cardiovascular risk factor, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. Banxia Baizhu Tianma Decoction (BXD) is a Chinese herbal formula that is widely used to treat hypertension in China. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and potential mechanism of BXD for hypertension by meta-analysis and network pharmacology. Meta-analysis was performed to explore the efficacy and safety of BXD combined with conventional treatment for hypertension. Network pharmacology was used to explore the molecular mechanism of BXD in antihypertension. A total of 23 studies involving 2,041 patients were included. Meta-analysis indicated that compared with conventional treatment, combined BXD treatment was beneficial to improve clinical efficacy rate, blood pressure, blood lipids, homocysteine, endothelial function, inflammation, and traditional Chinese medicine symptom score. In addition, meta-analysis indicated that BXD is safe and has no obvious adverse reactions. Network pharmacology showed that the antihypertensive targets of BXD may be AKT1, NOS3, ACE, and PPARG. The antihypertensive active ingredients of BXD may be naringenin, poricoic acid C, eburicoic acid, and licochalcone B. Due to the poor methodological quality of the Chinese studies and the small sample size of most, the analysis of this study may have been affected by bias. Therefore, the efficacy and safety of BXD for hypertension still need to be further verified by high-quality clinical studies.Systematic Review Registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42022353666
Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of astragalus polysaccharide in ulcerative colitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies
Authors: Hu Heng-Chang , Zhang Wei , Xiong Pei-Yu , Song Li , Jia Bo , Liu Xing-Long 
Published: December 2022

Background: Accumulated evidence indicates that astragalus polysaccharide (APS) may have a beneficial impact on ulcerative colitis (UC) by suppressing inflammation and decreasing oxidative stress. Nevertheless, the credibility of the evidence for this practice is unclear. Therefore, we intended to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies to assess the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of APS when used in the treatment of UC.Methods: Electronic bibliographic databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM), Wanfang Database, CQVIP Database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were retrieved for relevant animal studies. The methodological quality of animal studies was evaluated based on the SYstematic Review Center for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE’s RoB tool). A meta-analysis was performed according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions by using STATA 12.0 software. This study was registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42021272595.Results: Twenty qualified publications involving 591 animals were included in this study. There was a significant association of APS with levels of disease activity index (DAI), colon macroscopic damage index (CMDI), colon histopathologic score (CHS), myeloperoxidase (MPO), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) compared with that in the control group. Sensitivity analysis that eliminated one study at each stage did not change these results. Egger’s test and funnel plot showed that publication bias was existed.Conclusion: In this meta-analysis, APS treatment significantly mitigated colonic damage by reducing the levels of MPO, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and MDA and recovering the SOD activity. These results demonstrated a protective role of APS in the treatment of UC and showed that the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity were implicated in the underlying mechanisms. Hence, APS may represent a promising candidate for treating UC. However, due to potential publication bias, a cautious interpretation is needed.Systematic Review Registration: (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/).
Heart rate reduction as a marker to optimize carvedilol treatment and enhance myocardial recovery in pediatric dilated cardiomyopathy
Authors: Adorisio Rachele , Pontrelli Giuseppe , Cantarutti Nicoletta , Bellettini Elisa , Caiazza Martina , Mencarelli Erica , Limongelli Giuseppe , Poli Daniela , Drago Fabrizio , Kirk Richard , Amodeo Antonio 
Published: December 2022

Introduction: An elevated heart rate is associated with an increased risk of death or cardiac transplant in children with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Whether heart rate is a clinical marker to address therapy, is poorly investigated in children.Aim: To investigate the relationship between heart rate reduction (HRR) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in DCM, treated with carvedilol.Methods: This is a multi center retrospective analysis conducted on all children with DCM (aged &lt;18 years) between 2013 and 2020, with LVEF &lt;40% and treated with carvedilol. Carvedilol was up titrated to the maximal tolerated dose or to 1 mg/kg/day. Echocardiographic data on left ventricular function and dimension were collected. The relationship between HRR and LVEF, left ventricular end-diastolic (LVEDd) and end-systolic diameter (LVESd) was assessed before and after HRR with carvedilol, using regression analysis.Results: 100 patients were enrolled (M: 51%; age 7 ± 8 years). The mean LVEF was 30.2 ± 10% before treatment and 43.7 ± 9.6% after treatment, at the maximum therapeutic dose (p &lt; 0.0001). There was a positive relationship between HRR and increase in LVEF (R2 = 0.06, p = 0.014). A HRR of &gt;20% correlated with an improvement in LVEF &gt;13%. At 3 years follow up, HRR demonstrated a significant reduction of LVESd (R2 = 0.1, p = 0.003) LVEDd (R2 = 0.07, p = 0.008) and LVEF recovery up to 15% (p &lt; 0.0001). No deaths or heart transplant occurred during follow-up.Conclusion: This study demonstrates that HRR is safe and improvement in LVEF is related to the degree of HRR. The magnitude of LVEF improvement was enhanced by a major reduction in HR. It provides evidence that HRR could be used as a clinical marker to treat HF in children.
A framework for computing angle of progression from transperineal ultrasound images for evaluating fetal head descent using a novel double branch network
Authors: Bai Jieyun , Sun Zhanhang , Yu Sheng , Lu Yaosheng , Long Shun , Wang Huijin , Qiu Ruiyu , Ou Zhanhong , Zhou Minghong , Zhi Dengjiang , Zhou Mengqiang , Jiang Xiaosong , Chen Gaowen 
Published: December 2022

Background: Accurate assessment of fetal descent by monitoring the fetal head (FH) station remains a clinical challenge in guiding obstetric management. Angle of progression (AoP) has been suggested to be a reliable and reproducible parameter for the assessment of FH descent.Methods: A novel framework, including image segmentation, target fitting and AoP calculation, is proposed for evaluating fetal descent. For image segmentation, this study presents a novel double branch segmentation network (DBSN), which consists of two parts: an encoding part receives image input, and a decoding part composed of deformable convolutional blocks and ordinary convolutional blocks. The decoding part includes the lower and upper branches, and the feature map of the lower branch is used as the input of the upper branch to assist the upper branch in decoding after being constrained by the attention gate (AG). Given an original transperineal ultrasound (TPU) image, areas of the pubic symphysis (PS) and FH are firstly segmented using the proposed DBSN, the ellipse contours of segmented regions are secondly fitted with the least square method, and three endpoints are finally determined for calculating AoP.Results: Our private dataset with 313 transperineal ultrasound (TPU) images was used for model evaluation with 5-fold cross-validation. The proposed method achieves the highest Dice coefficient (93.4%), the smallest Average Surface Distance (6.268 pixels) and the lowest AoP difference (5.993°) by comparing four state-of-the-art methods. Similar results (Dice coefficient: 91.7%, Average Surface Distance: 7.729 pixels: AoP difference: 5.110°) were obtained on a public dataset with &gt;3,700 TPU images for evaluating its generalization performance.Conclusion: The proposed framework may be used for the automatic measurement of AoP with high accuracy and generalization performance. However, its clinical availability needs to be further evaluated.
Associations between anxiety, depression, and risk of suicidal behaviors in Chinese medical college students
Authors: Li Jia , Zhang Yaru , Siu Man Chan Bella , Tan Sun Nee , Lu Jianping , Luo Xuerong , Shen Yanmei , Zhang Xiang Yang 
Published: December 2022

BackgroundPrevious studies have established a strong association between depression and suicidal behaviors, yet the relationship between anxiety and suicidal behaviors remains unclear. This study examines whether anxiety and depression are independent risk factors for suicidal behaviors in medical college students, and further, whether anxiety may increase the greater risk of suicidal behaviors (SB) in participants with depression.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted among 4,882 medical students. Demographic information, anxiety, and depression data were collected using online questionnaires or through a widely used social media app named WeChat.ResultsAnxiety and depression were independent risk factors for suicidal behaviors, and levels of risk correlated positively with the severity of both anxiety and depressive symptoms. A dose–response relationship was identified between the severity of anxiety and the risk of SB, as well as the severity of depression and SB. Furthermore, anxiety increased the risk of suicidal behaviors in participants with depression, with a dose–response relationship between the severity of anxiety symptoms and the risk of SB.ConclusionThe findings highlight the importance of screening for anxiety and depressive symptoms in medical college students, as well as reducing anxiety in addition to depressive symptoms in treatment. This study provides valuable data as a reference for clinicians for suicide risk assessments.