syedzayyan/paper_mill_benchmark huggingface dataset:
Novel intrinsic neurogenic and myogenic mechanisms underlying the formation of faecal pellets along the large intestine of guinea-pigs.

Soft faecal material is transformed into discrete, pellet-shaped faeces at the colonic flexure.Here, analysis of water content in natural faecal material revealed a decline from cecum to rectum without significant changes at the flexure.Thus, pellet formation is not explained by changes in viscosity alone.We then used video imaging of colonic wall movements with electromyography in isolated preparations containing guinea-pig proximal colon, colonic flexure and distal colon.To investigate the pellet formation process, the colonic segments were infused with artificial contents (krebs solution and 4-6% methylcellulose) to simulate physiological faecal content flow.Remarkably, pellet formation took place in vitro, without extrinsic neural inputs.Infusion evoked slowly propagating neurogenic contractions, the proximal colon migrating motor complexes (∼0.6 cpm), which initiated pellet formation at the flexure.Lesion of the flexure, but not the proximal colon, disrupted the formation of normal individual pellets.In addition, a distinct myogenic mechanism was identified, whereby slow phasic contractions (∼1.9 cpm) initiated at the flexure and propagated short distances retrogradely into the proximal colon and antegradely into the distal colon.There were no detectable changes in the density or distribution of pacemaker-type interstitial cells of cajal across the flexure.The findings provide new insights into how solid faecal content is generated, suggesting the major mechanisms underlying faecal pellet formation involve the unique interaction at the colonic flexure between antegrade proximal colon migrating motor complexes, organized by enteric neurons, and retrograde myogenic slow phasic contractions.Additional, as yet unidentified extrinsic and/or humoral influences appear to contribute to processing of faecal content in vivo.Key points: in herbivores, including guinea-pigs, clearly defined faecal pellets are formed at a distinct location along the large intestine (colonic flexure).The mechanism underlying the formation of these faecal pellets at this region has remained unknown.We reveal a progressive and gradual reduction in water content of faecal content along the bowel.Hence, the distinct transition from amorphous to pellet shaped faecal content could not be explained by a dramatic increase in water reabsorption from a specific site.We discovered patterns of anterograde neurogenic and retrograde myogenic motor activity that facilitate the formation of faecal pellets.The formation of 'pellet-like' boluses at the colonic flexure involves interaction of an antegrade migrating motor complex in the proximal colon and retrograde myogenic slow phasic contractions that emerge from the colonic flexure.The findings uncover intrinsic mechanisms responsible for the formation of discrete faecal scybala in the large intestine of a vertebrate.

Journal: The Journal of physiology (2021)
Publication types: Journal Article;Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Plant and animal stem cells: similar yet different.

The astonishingly long lives of plants and their regeneration capacity depend on the activity of plant stem cells.As in animals, stem cells reside in stem cell niches, which produce signals that regulate the balance between self-renewal and the generation of daughter cells that differentiate into new tissues.Plant stem cell niches are located within the meristems, which are organized structures that are responsible for most post-embryonic development.The continuous organ production that is characteristic of plant growth requires a robust regulatory network to keep the balance between pluripotent stem cells and differentiating progeny.Components of this network have now been elucidated and provide a unique opportunity for comparing strategies that were developed in the animal and plant kingdoms, which underlie the logic of stem cell behaviour.

Journal: Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology (2014)
Publication types: Journal Article;Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't;Review
Polymer Nanoparticles Enhance Irreversible Electroporation In Vitro.

Expanding the volume of an irreversible electroporation treatment typically necessitates an increase in pulse voltage, number, duration, or repetition.This study investigates the addition of polyethylenimine nanoparticles (pei-np) to pulsed electric field treatments, determining their combined effect on ablation size and voltages.U118 cells in an in vitro 3d cell culture model were treated with one of three pulse parameters (with and without pei-nps) which are representative of irreversible electroporation (ire), high frequency irreversible electroporation (h-fire), or nanosecond pulsed electric fields (ns pef).The size of the ablations were compared and mapped onto an electric field model to describe the electric field required to induce cell death.Analysis was conducted to determine the role of pei-nps in altering media conductivity, the potential for pei-np degradation following pulsed electric field treatment, and pei-np uptake.Results show there was a statistically significant increase in ablation diameter for ire and h-fire pulses with pei-nps.There was no increase in ablation size for ns pef with pei-nps.This all occurs with no change in cell media conductivity, no observable degradation of pei-nps, and moderate particle uptake.These results demonstrate the synergy of a combined cationic polymer nanoparticle and pulsed electric field treatment for the ablation of cancer cells.These results set the foundation for polymer nanoparticles engineered specifically for irreversible electroporation.

Journal: IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering (2022)
Publication types: Journal Article;Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Associations between ERAP1 polymorphisms and ankylosing spondylitis susceptibility in HLA-B27 positive population: a Meta-analysis and bioinformatics analysis.

Human leukocyte antigen (hla)-b27 confers a key role in ankylosing spondylitis (as) susceptibility.Endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (erap1) polymorphisms are associated with as susceptibility in common population.In this study we intended to evaluate the possible association between erap1 polymorphisms and as susceptibility in hla-27 positive population.Data were collected from pubmed, embase, and cochrane databases.The pooled odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of the minor allele of each locus were calculated to appraise the associations under erap1 polymorphisms and as in hla-b27 positive population.Bioinformatics analysis was performed to explore the underlying mechanism.Four studies were included in this meta-analysis.There was a significant association between the minor allele of rs2287987 and reducing the risk of developing as in hla-b27 positive population.But there was no significant association between the minor allele of rs30187, rs27044, rs10050860 and rs17482078 and as susceptibility.According to haplo reg, 5 motifs changed for rs2287987 were found.The e qtl analysis demonstrated that rs2287987 may influence erap1 expression.Rs2287987 in erap1 may have small influence on as susceptibility in hla-b27 positive population.Bioinformatics analysis indicated that the altered motifs and the change of earp1 expression may influence the as susceptibility.

Journal: Nucleosides, nucleotides & nucleic acids (2022)
Publication types: Journal Article;Meta-Analysis
Efficacy of Antioxidant Supplementation to Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy on Metabolic Control in Type 2 Diabetes Patients: A Network Meta-Analysis.

This network meta-analysis (nma) investigated the effectiveness of antioxidants as adjuncts to non-surgical periodontal therapy (nspt) in the glycated hemoglobin (hb a1c) control of type 2 diabetes (t2d) patients with periodontitis.Pub med, cochrane, lilacs, web of science, scopus, embase, livivo, and grey literature were searched.Risk of bias was assessed with the ro b v2.0 tool.A frequentist nma assessed hb a1c improvement, through standardized mean difference under a random-effects model.Certainty of evidence was addressed through the grade (grading of recommendations, assessment, development and evaluations) partially contextualized framework.Ten randomized controlled clinical trials were included, with 234 patients receiving alpha lipoic acid (ala), cranberry juice, cranberry juice enriched with omega-3, fenugreek, ginger, grape seed, lycopene, melatonin, omega-3, propolis or vitamin c supplementation to nspt, and 220 patients receiving nspt alone or with placebo.Nine studies were meta-analyzed.Hb a1c improved when nspt was combined with propolis, ala and melatonin supplementation (moderate-to-low certainty), compared to nspt alone or with placebo.Risk of bias issues were found in eight studies.In conclusion, the use of propolis supplementation to nspt probably results in hb a1c improvement in t2d patients with periodontitis (large effect with moderate certainty), while ala and melatonin supplementation may contribute to reduce the hb a1c in t2d patients with periodontitis (large effects with low certainty).

Journal: Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) (2022)
Publication types: Journal Article;Review
To relieve or to terminate? A Confucian ethical reflection on the use of morphine for late-stage cancer patients in China.

Morphine is usually preferred to treat moderate or severe pain for late-stage cancer patients.However, medically unindicated or excessive morphine use may result in respiratory depression and death.This essay contends that a clear distinction between relieving pain and performing active euthanasia in the use of morphine should be made in practice.By drawing on confucian virtue resources, we construct a confucian conception of human dignity, including both intrinsic and acquired dignity, to analyze the circumstances of morphine use in current china.We argue that not only the confucian view of intrinsic dignity but also that of acquired dignity would not support morphine euthanasia.

Journal: Developing world bioethics (2020)
Publication types: Journal Article
Non-invasive biomedical sensors for early detection and monitoring of bacterial biofilm growth at the point of care.

Bacterial infections have long been a serious global health issue.Biofilm formation complicates matters even more.The biofilm's extracellular polymeric substances (epss) matrix protects bacteria from the host's immune responses, yielding strong adhesion and drug resistance as the biofilm matures.Early bacterial biofilm detection and bacterial biofilm growth monitoring are crucial to treating biofilm-associated infections.Current detection methods are highly sensitive but not portable, are time-consuming, and require expensive equipment and complex operating procedures, limiting their use at the point of care.Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop affordable, on-body, and non-invasive biomedical sensors to continuously monitor and detect early biofilm growth at the point of care through personalized telemedicine.Herein, recent advances in developing non-invasive biomedical sensors for early detection and monitoring bacterial biofilm growth are comprehensively reviewed.First, biofilm's life cycle and its impact on the human body, such as biofilm-associated disease and infected medical devices, are introduced together with the challenges of biofilm treatment.Then, the current methods used in clinical and laboratory settings for biofilm detection and their challenges are discussed.Next, the current state of non-invasive sensors for direct and indirect detection of bacterial biofilms are summarized and highlighted with the detection parameters and their design details.Finally, commercially available products, challenges of current devices, and the further trend in biofilm detection sensors are discussed.

Journal: Lab on a chip (2022)
Publication types: Journal Article;Review;Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Circulating mucosal-associated invariant T cells identify patients responding to anti-PD-1 therapy.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are used for treating patients with metastatic melanoma.Since the response to treatment is variable, biomarkers are urgently needed to identify patients who may benefit from such therapy.Here, we combine single-cell rna-sequencing and multiparameter flow cytometry to assess changes in circulating cd8+t cells in 28 patients with metastatic melanoma starting anti-pd-1 therapy, followed for 6 months: 17 responded to therapy, whilst 11 did not.Proportions of activated and proliferating cd8+t cells and of mucosal-associated invariant t (mait) cells are significantly higher in responders, prior to and throughout therapy duration.Mait cells from responders express higher level of cxcr4 and produce more granzyme b.In silico analysis support mait presence in the tumor microenvironment.Finally, patients with >1.7% of mait among peripheral cd8+population show a better response to treatment.Our results thus suggest that mait cells may be considered a biomarker for patients responding to anti-pd-1 therapy.

Journal: Nature communications (2021)
Publication types: Journal Article;Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Influence of noise manipulation on retention in a simulated ICU ward round: an experimental pilot study.

Noise exposure leads to a reduction in cognitive abilities in diverse settings, however, only limited data exist examining the effects of environmental icu noise on the cognitive performance of icu professionals.A frequently occurring and demanding retention task in icus are ward rounds, which are considered key for the provision of medical care.Here, we investigate the influence of noise on information retention in a simulated ward round.Methods icu professionals were exposed to a recorded, icu ward round, simulated partly with and partly without environmental icu noise.Ward rounds were followed by specific questions about previously provided information.Results 56 icu professionals (aged 26-59 years) were included.A logistic mixed model showed a reduction of 27% (p < 0.001) in the ward round test performance when participants were exposed to environmental icu noise.Furthermore, advanced age was associated with reduced retention (- 28%, p < 0.001), questions containing important information performed better (+ 36%, p < 0.001), and higher stress led to better performance in retention (+ 24%, p = 0.01).Conclusions our data showed a considerable negative influence of environmental icu noise during a simulated ward round.Therefore, reduction of environmental icu noise is recommended.The influence of additional factors, including stress, priorities, and demographic factors should be pursued in subsequent investigations.

Journal: Intensive care medicine experimental (2022)
Publication types: Journal Article
Precision Oncology in Lower-Grade Gliomas: Promises and Pitfalls of Therapeutic Strategies Targeting IDH-Mutations.

Mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase (idh)1and its homolog idh2are considered an earliest "driver" genetic event during gliomagenesis, representing now the molecular hallmark of lower-grade gliomas (lggs).idh-mutated genes encode for a neomorphic enzyme that converts α-ketoglutarate to the oncometabolite d-2-hydroxyglutarate (2-hg), which accumulates to high concentrations and alters cellular epigenetics and metabolism.Targeting idh mutations is the first attempt to apply "precision oncology" in lggs.Two distinct strategies have been proposed so far and are under intense clinical investigation: (i) reducing the amount of intratumoral 2-hg by directly blocking the function of mutant idh enzyme; (ii) exploiting the selective epigenetic and metabolic cellular vulnerabilities as a consequence of 2-hg accumulation.The present review describes the physiopathological mechanisms by which idhmutations lead to tumorigenesis, discussing their prognostic significance and pivotal role in the gliomas diagnostic classification system.We critically review preclinical evidence and available clinical data of first-generation mutant-selective idh inhibitors and novel idh-targeted vaccines.Finally, as an alternative and attractive approach, we present the rationale to take advantage of selective 2-hg related epigenetic and metabolic weaknesses.The results of ongoing clinical trials will help us clarify the complex scenario of idh-targeted therapeutic approaches in gliomas.

Journal: Cancers (2022)
Publication types: Journal Article;Review
Macrophage cell membrane-based nanoparticles: a new promising biomimetic platform for targeted delivery and treatment.

Synthetic nanoparticles with surface bioconjugation are promising platforms for targeted therapy, but their simple biological functionalization is still a challenging task against the complex intercellular environment.Once synthetic nanoparticles enter the body, they are phagocytosed by immune cells by the immune system.Recently, the cell membrane camouflage strategy has emerged as a novel therapeutic tactic to overcome these issues by utilizing the fundamental properties of natural cells.Macrophage, a type of immune system cells, plays critical roles in various diseases, including cancer, atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, infection and inflammation, due to the recognition and engulfment function of removing substances and pathogens.Macrophage membranes inherit the surface protein profiles and biointerfacing properties of source cells.Therefore, the macrophage membrane cloaking can protect synthetic nanoparticles from phagocytosis by the immune cells.Meanwhile, the macrophage membrane can make use of the natural correspondence to accurately recognize antigens and target inflamed tissue or tumor sites.In this review, we have summarized the advances in the fabrication, characterization and homing capacity of macrophage membrane cloaking nanoparticles in various diseases, including cancers, immune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, central nervous system diseases, and microbial infections.Although macrophage membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles are currently in the fetal stage of development, there is huge potential and challenge to explore the conversion mode in the clinic.

Journal: Journal of nanobiotechnology (2022)
Publication types: Review;Journal Article
Antifungal Activity of Select Essential Oils againstCandida aurisand Their Interactions with Antifungal Drugs.

Candida aurisis an emerging fungal pathogen that commonly causes nosocomial blood infections in the immunocompromised.Several factors make this pathogen a global threat, including its misidentification as closely related species, its ability to survive for weeks on fomites, and its resistance to commonly prescribed antifungal drugs, sometimes to all three classes of systemic antifungal drugs.These factors demonstrate a need for the development of novel therapeutic approaches to combat this pathogen.In the present study, the antifungal activities of 21 essential oils were tested against c.Auris.Several essential oils were observed to inhibit the growth and kill c.Auris,candida lusitaniae, and saccharomyces cerevisiaewhen in direct contact and at concentrations considered safe for topical use.The most effective essential oils were those extracted from lemongrass, clove bud, and cinnamon bark.These essential oils also elicited antifungal activity in gaseous form.The efficacies of formulations comprised of these three essential oils in combination with fluconazole, amphotericin b, flucytosine, and micafungin were explored.While synergism was neither observed with cinnamon bark oil nor any of the antifungal drugs, lemongrass oil displayed synergistic, additive, and indifferent interactions with select drugs.Formulations of clove bud oil with amphotericin b resulted in antagonistic interactions but displayed synergistic interactions with fluconazole and flucytosine.These essential oils and their combinations with antifungal drugs may provide useful options for surface disinfection, skin sanitization, and possibly even the treatment of candidainfections.

Journal: Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) (2022)
Publication types: Journal Article
Similarity analysis of federal reserve statements using document embeddings: the Great Recession vs. COVID-19.

The coronavirus pandemic has already caused plenty of severe problems for humanity and the economy.The exact impact of the covid-19 pandemic is still unknown, and economists and financial advisers are exploring all possible scenarios to mitigate the risks arising from the pandemic.An intriguing question is whether this pandemic and its impacts are similar, and to what extent, to any other catastrophic events that occurred in the past, such as the 2009 great recession.This paper intends to address this problem by analyzing official public announcements and statements issued by federal authorities such as the federal reserve.More specifically, we measure similarities of consecutive statements issued by the federal reserve during the 2009 great recession and the covid-19 pandemic using natural language processing techniques.Furthermore, we explore the usage of document embedding representations of the statements in a more complex task: clustering.Our analysis shows that, using an advanced nlp technique in document embedding such as doc2vec, we can detect a difference of 10.8% in similarities of federal open market committee (fomc) statements issued during the great recession (2007-2009) and the covid-19 pandemic.Finally, the results of our clustering exercise show that the document embeddings representations of the statements are suitable for more complex tasks, which provides a basis for future applications of state-of-the-art natural language processing techniques using the fomc post-meeting statements as the dataset.

Journal: SN business & economics (2022)
Publication types: Journal Article
Epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of metastatic spinal cord compression in prostate cancer patients in two tertiary hospitals in Cameroon.

Introduction prostate cancer represents the 3rdprimary neoplasia responsible for metastatic spinal cord compression (mscc).Mscc is an extreme oncological emergency, because it involves both functional and vital prognosis.The present study aimed to establish a pattern of mscc in prostate cancer patients in douala and yaoundé general hospitals (cameroon).Methods this was a descriptive and retrospective study in the radiotherapy and medical oncology services at both douala and yaoundé general hospitals.The explored variables were general characteristics of the study population, clinical and paraclinical features, management and outcomes.Furthermore 5-year survival was analyzed by the kaplan-meier method.Logistic regression by determining the odd ratios and their 95% confidence was done using "statistical package for social sciences" (spss 23) software.The difference was considered significant at p < 0.05.Results our series consisted of 151 patients out of which the mean age was 66.88 (sd: 8.71) years (95% ci: 44-88).Pain was the most common clinical symptom (53.33%; n= 80) and fracture-settlement accounted for majority (60%; n= 90.61) of the pain.Thoracic spine damage was encountered by 47.02% (n= 71).Patients received a total doses of irradiation between 20 and 30 gray (gy).The main toxicity due to radiotherapy were asthenia (45.70%; n= 69.11).The overall survival at 5 years was 90.11%.Factors associated with fracture-settlement were smoking (a or 10.04, 95% ci: 2.09-48.12; p = 0.004) and the localization of mscc occurred (a or 0.21, 95% ci: 0.05-0.77; p = 0.02).Conclusion in summary the average age for developing the condition is 66.88 years and factors associated with fracture-settlement were smoking and the localization of mscc.Back pain was the most common clinical sign and fracture-settlement was the first type of injury on medical magnetic resonance imaging.Therefore, we recommend that emphasis should be placed on increasing awareness of the population on the importance of early diagnosis.

Journal: The Pan African medical journal (2022)
Publication types: Journal Article