SmartCiteCon: Implicit Citation Context Extraction from Academic Literature Using Unsupervised Learning

We introduce SmartCiteCon (SCC), a Java API for extracting both explicit and implicit citation context from academic literature in English. The tool is built on a Support Vector Machine (SVM) model trained on a set of 7,058 manually annotated citation context sentences, curated from 34,000 papers in the ACL Anthology. The model with 19 features achieves F1=85.6%. SCC supports PDF, XML, and JSON files out-of-box, provided that they are conformed to certain schemas. The API supports single document processing and batch processing in parallel. It takes about 12–45 seconds on average depending on the format to process a document on a dedicated server with 6 multithreaded cores. Using SCC, we extracted 11.8 million citation context sentences from ∼33.3k PMC papers in the CORD19 dataset, released on June 13, 2020. The source code is released at https://gitee.com/irlab/SmartCiteCon

The plasticity of mesenchymal stem cells in regulating surface HLA-I

Summary A low surface expression level of human leukocyte antigen class I(HLA-I) ensures the mesenchymal stem cells’(MSCs) escape from the allogeneic recipients’ immunological surveillance. Here, we discovered that both transcriptional and synthesis levels of HLA-I in MSCs increased continuously after IFN-γ treatment, while interestingly, their surface HLA-I expression was downregulated after reaching an HLA-I surface expression peak. Microarray data indicated the post-transcriptional process plays an important role in downregulation of surface HLA-I. Further studies identified that IFN-γ-treated MSCs accelerated HLA-I endocytosis through a Clathrin–independent Dynamin-dependent endocytosis pathway. Furthermore, the cells which have self-downregulated surface HLA-I expression elicit a weaker immune response than they previously could. Thus, uncovering the plasticity of MSCs in the regulation of HLA-I surface expression would reveal insights into the membrane-transportation events leading to the maintenance of low surface HLA-I expression, providing more evidence for selecting and optimizing low immunogenic MSCs to improve the therapeutic efficiency.Peer reviewe

Proteomics analysis of serum protein profiling in pancreatic cancer patients by DIGE: up-regulation of mannose-binding lectin 2 and myosin light chain kinase 2

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pancreatic cancer has significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Good prognosis relies on an early diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to develop techniques for identifying cancer biomarkers in the serum of patients with pancreatic cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Serum samples from five individuals with pancreatic cancer and five individuals without cancer were compared. Highly abundant serum proteins were depleted by immuno-affinity column. Differential protein analysis was performed using 2-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among these protein spots, we found that 16 protein spots were differently expressed between the two mixtures; 8 of these were up-regulated and 8 were down-regulated in cancer. Mass spectrometry and database searching allowed the identification of the proteins corresponding to the gel spots. Up-regulation of mannose-binding lectin 2 and myosin light chain kinase 2, which have not previously been implicated in pancreatic cancer, were observed. In an independent series of serum samples from 16 patients with pancreatic cancer and 16 non-cancer-bearing controls, increased levels of mannose-binding lectin 2 and myosin light chain kinase 2 were confirmed by western blot.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest that affinity column enrichment and DIGE can be used to identify proteins differentially expressed in serum from pancreatic cancer patients. These two proteins 'mannose-binding lectin 2 and myosin light chain kinase 2' might be potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of the pancreatic cancer.</p

Research on Waste Recycling Network Planning Based on the “Pipeline–Vehicle” Recycling Mode

To achieve the principles of reduction, resource, and harmless disposal of domestic waste, the circular economy prolongs the life cycle of resources by converting waste into renewable resources through sorting, recycling, and other ways. There are still noticeable problems in domestic waste recycling in China, such as poor waste classification and low recovery rate of resource-based waste with no or low economic value. In this paper, Van Waden’s seven-dimensional classification model of policy networks is adopted to analyze and compare domestic waste recycling (DWR) management modes at home and abroad. The domestic waste recycling mode of “pipeline collection and vehicle transfer” based on China’s national conditions is proposed. Then, the planning model of the domestic waste recycling network is further built. Taking Xiaolan Town, Zhongshan City as an example, the pipeline laying design and route planning of the pneumatic transportation and collection system for material in the new recycling mode are optimized. The examples verify the superiority of the greedy dropping heuristic algorithm in solving large-scale recycling network planning problems. This paper is of great significance to improve the recycling of renewable resources in domestic waste and realize the circular economy

Characteristics and Applications of Spatiotemporally Focused Femtosecond Laser Pulses

Simultaneous spatial and temporal focusing (SSTF) of femtosecond laser pulses gives rise to strong suppression of nonlinear self-focusing during the propagation of the femtosecond laser beam. In this paper, we begin with an introduction of the principle of SSTF, followed by a review of our recent experimental results on the characterization and application of the spatiotemporally focused pulses for femtosecond laser micromachining. Finally, we summarize all of the results and give a future perspective of this technique

Research on Waste Recycling Network Planning Based on the &ldquo;Pipeline&ndash;Vehicle&rdquo; Recycling Mode

To achieve the principles of reduction, resource, and harmless disposal of domestic waste, the circular economy prolongs the life cycle of resources by converting waste into renewable resources through sorting, recycling, and other ways. There are still noticeable problems in domestic waste recycling in China, such as poor waste classification and low recovery rate of resource-based waste with no or low economic value. In this paper, Van Waden&rsquo;s seven-dimensional classification model of policy networks is adopted to analyze and compare domestic waste recycling (DWR) management modes at home and abroad. The domestic waste recycling mode of &ldquo;pipeline collection and vehicle transfer&rdquo; based on China&rsquo;s national conditions is proposed. Then, the planning model of the domestic waste recycling network is further built. Taking Xiaolan Town, Zhongshan City as an example, the pipeline laying design and route planning of the pneumatic transportation and collection system for material in the new recycling mode are optimized. The examples verify the superiority of the greedy dropping heuristic algorithm in solving large-scale recycling network planning problems. This paper is of great significance to improve the recycling of renewable resources in domestic waste and realize the circular economy

Advances in Functional Hydrogel Wound Dressings: A Review

One of the most advanced, promising, and commercially viable research issues in the world of hydrogel dressing is gaining functionality to achieve improved therapeutic impact or even intelligent wound repair. In addition to the merits of ordinary hydrogel dressings, functional hydrogel dressings can adjust their chemical/physical properties to satisfy different wound types, carry out the corresponding reactions to actively create a healing environment conducive to wound repair, and can also control drug release to provide a long-lasting benefit. Although a lot of in-depth research has been conducted over the last few decades, very few studies have been properly summarized. In order to give researchers a basic blueprint for designing functional hydrogel dressings and to motivate them to develop ever-more intelligent wound dressings, we summarized the development of functional hydrogel dressings in recent years, as well as the current situation and future trends, in light of their preparation mechanisms and functional effects