Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology (URNCST) Journal最新文献

{"title":"INNOVATX Global Health Case Competition 2024 – Presented by McMaster Friends of Médecins Sans Frontières","authors":"Alison Slade, Shanzey Ali, Saismetha Visnukumar, Angela Hong, Devlyn Sun","doi":"10.26685/urncst.667","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26685/urncst.667","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":245521,"journal":{"name":"Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology (URNCST) Journal","volume":"68 21","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141806720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Effects of Alistipes-Produced GABA on the Murine Gut-Brain Serotonergic System and Major Depressive Disorder: A Research Protocol","authors":"Jia N. Vedante, Julia C. Ingarao","doi":"10.26685/urncst.611","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26685/urncst.611","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":245521,"journal":{"name":"Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology (URNCST) Journal","volume":" 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141826199","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"MISA Case Competition 2024","authors":"Jackie Ve, Deepshikha Deepshikha, Hiba Attar, Srishti Khadilkar","doi":"10.26685/urncst.654","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26685/urncst.654","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":245521,"journal":{"name":"Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology (URNCST) Journal","volume":" 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141829925","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Electroencephalography and Magnetoencephalography Signatures of Ketamine Treatment in Depression: A Literature Review","authors":"Eva M. Geoghegan","doi":"10.26685/urncst.610","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26685/urncst.610","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":245521,"journal":{"name":"Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology (URNCST) Journal","volume":"125 30","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141657101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The The Role of ICAM-1 on Immune Cells in Glioblastoma: A Literature Review","authors":"Xiaoxue Cui","doi":"10.26685/urncst.626","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26685/urncst.626","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":245521,"journal":{"name":"Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology (URNCST) Journal","volume":" 27","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141675806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Implementation of Deep Learning Algorithm with Gaussian Blur Data Preprocessing in Circular RNA Classification and Detection","authors":"Evint Leovonzko, Callixta F. Cahyaningrum, Rachmania Ulwani","doi":"10.26685/urncst.601","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26685/urncst.601","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are increasingly recognized as key regulators of gene expression due to their unique closed-loop structure and involvement in various cellular processes. This study investigates the utilization of machine learning algorithms in predicting circRNA-disease associations. Methods: This study proposes a novel deep learning approach leveraging artificial neural networks (ANN) for circRNA classification. The methodology involves data collection from circRNA databases, k-mers counting for feature extraction, Gaussian blur implementation for data smoothing, and ANN-based model training. Results: Evaluation of the trained models based on precision, recall, and f1-score metrics shows an overall accuracy of 0.7511, with an average precision score of 0.7982, recall of 0.7511, and f1-score of 0.7637. Discussion: The results indicate that our ANN-based algorithm effectively detects and classifies circRNA datasets with considerable accuracy. Compared to the algorithm from past research, our algorithm is also shown to have less computational power. Conclusion: Comparative analysis demonstrates improved performance compared to previous algorithms, suggesting its potential for widespread implementation due to reduced computational requirements and simpler implementation.","PeriodicalId":245521,"journal":{"name":"Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology (URNCST) Journal","volume":" 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141677613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Examining Potential Biomarkers for Depression Diagnosis: A Literature Review","authors":"Gurveen K. Dhillon, Selena C. Gangaram","doi":"10.26685/urncst.621","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26685/urncst.621","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":245521,"journal":{"name":"Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology (URNCST) Journal","volume":"43 S206","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141683052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Deciphering the Role of AMPK in Regulating Integrin Profile of Tumor-Derived Exosomes as a Potential Antimetastatic Strategy","authors":"Ayshin Mehrabi","doi":"10.26685/urncst.560","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26685/urncst.560","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Cancer cell adapt their metabolic activity to survive in stressful environments with limited nutrients and oxygen. To sense and respond to nutrient cues, cells rely on a “fuel gauge” protein known as AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). While previous work has largely focused on AMPK’s role in cell metabolism, its role in metastasis is poorly defined. Interestingly, AMPK also regulates the membrane trafficking of integrins – key proteins in cell adhesion and migration. Recent studies have also shown that circulating integrins in exosomes are predictive of metastasis. Therefore, understanding the biology of AMPK signaling on the exosomal integrin profile not only allow for better cancer treatments but also help developing a potential predictive biomarker. I hypothesize that AMPK activation alters the integrin profile of exosomes in breast and endometrial cancer. Methods: Breast and endometrial cancer cells, MDA-MB-231 and HEC-1 respectively, will be cultured in full nutrient media conditions. 48 hours before exosome harvest, the media will be changed to minimal specialized media for extracellular vesicles (EV) collection. To induce AMPK activation, cells will be treated with limiting concentrations of glucose and glutamine, or with metabolic poisons 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) and oligomycin. Total Exosome IsolationTM (TEI) solution will be used to enrich released exosomes that will be subjected to mass spectrometry to analyze the exosomal integrin profiles. Anticipated Results: Exosomes secreted from MDA-MB-231 and HEC-1 cells are expected to contain different exosomal integrin profile in both basal and induced AMPK activation conditions. It is anticipated that integrin subunits that promote metastatic and survival signaling such as αvβ5, α6β4, α6β1, will be upregulated in exosomes following AMPK activation. This could suggest tumor cells adapting to nutrient insufficiency by AMPK activation may present a more aggressive exosomal integrin profile to support cancer progression. Discussion: Understanding how metabolic cues such as nutrient insufficiency impact integrin content of tumour-derived exosomes can help identify novel metabolic drug targets to limit pro-survival and pro-metastatic signaling in primary breast tumors. Conclusion: This study investigates how AMPK activation modulates the exosomal integrin profile in breast and endometrial cancer cells, potentially uncovering predictive biomarkers and therapeutic targets for metastatic cancers.","PeriodicalId":245521,"journal":{"name":"Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology (URNCST) Journal","volume":"26 5‐6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141686856","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Oropharyngeal Candidiasis, Candida Albicans Infections, and Oral Immune Mediators Associated with Oral Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Literature Review","authors":"Cameron B.R. King","doi":"10.26685/urncst.563","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26685/urncst.563","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: While Candida albicans are usually commensal and present in low density in the oral cavity of healthy individuals, an immunocompromised immune system can lead to the overgrowth of this fungal species, leading to oral microbiome “dysbiosis” and activation of immune responses. In severe cases, C. albicans overgrowth can lead to an oral infection called oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC), which is associated with inflammation, lesions, and sores of the oral cavity. While human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has been linked to an increased risk of OPC, few studies have associated OPC and C. albicans infection with subsequent risk for oral HIV acquisition. Evidence on the oral microbiome and how it can alter HIV risk is also lacking. Methods: A literature search was performed on PubMed, Google Scholar, and the University of Alberta Library Database from inception to November 2023. Results and Discussion: The risk of oral HIV transmission is low. OPC and C. albicans fungal infection can increase HIV susceptibility by activating immune responses associated with the clearance of microbial pathogens, inducing inflammation and elevations in cytokines related to HIV risk including IL-17, IL-6 and IL-1ß. Persistent C. albicans infections also promote the recruitment of T-helper 17 cells, which is a common HIV target cell, and neutrophils, which releases neutrophil proteases upon inflammation and mediates the cleavage of tight junction proteins, ultimately disrupting the oral microbiome. Conclusion: Increased immune cell recruitment to the mucosa and increased epithelial breakdown may facilitate the diffusion and access of HIV virions across the epithelium to immune target cells, suggesting that OPC and C.albicans infections has the potential to increase risk for oral HIV acquisition. Limited evidence of the relationship between C. albicans density, OPC, and oral HIV risk, warrants high-quality cross-sectional studies in the future.","PeriodicalId":245521,"journal":{"name":"Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology (URNCST) Journal","volume":" 33","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140993449","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating Therapeutic Potential of Targeting Platelets in Cancer Treatment: A Literature Review","authors":"Bahar Taghizadeh","doi":"10.26685/urncst.574","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26685/urncst.574","url":null,"abstract":"Cancer is one of the leading causes of global mortality and continues to persist as a significant healthcare burden. Patient non-responsiveness or relapse following first-line cancer treatments necessitates the development of novel treatments. Platelets are small blood cells that are essential to stop bleeding. Platelets are increasingly recognized for their roles in supporting tumorigenesis. They can aid cancer cells to evade immune cells, promote immune suppression, and release molecules that protect the stability of tumor microenvironments. Conversely, platelets can also secrete molecules that recruit leukocytes to the site of tissue injury and coordinate immune cell responses and crosstalk. Anti-platelet therapies, including aspirin, have been advocated as preventive measures in some cancers, but the long-term risks for bleeding, thrombotic events, ineffective immune responses, and overall efficacy towards cancer recovery remain uncertain. To address these gaps, this literature review reports pre-clinical studies and clinical trials from 2017-2023 that explore (1) novel molecules and pathways participating in platelet and cancer cell crosstalk, (2) overall efficacy of cancer treatment or effects on cancer cell survival, proliferation, and metastasis, and (3) safety of anti-platelet therapy. This study’s findings reveal that anti-platelet therapies have an improved benefit for the prevention and treatment of some cancers, such as colorectal, breast, prostate, or lung cancers. There has been some success using anti-platelet treatments, such as ticagrelor to inhibit P2Y12 pathway, or low molecular weight heparin. While aspirin usage was successful in some cancers, such as colorectal cancer, it was not effective in others, such as ovarian cancer. Finally, the safety of using anti-platelet medications was explored; these medications may increase the risk of bleeding and other side effects, even if they have demonstrated promise in lowering the risk of cancer and increasing patient survival. Overall, this review highlights the complex interactions between platelets and different cancers, with considerations for cancer treatment efficacy and safety.","PeriodicalId":245521,"journal":{"name":"Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology (URNCST) Journal","volume":"18 S4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141009198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}