Here, recognizing that the immune response to cancer results in biomarkers that can be used to assess the immune status of cancer patients, the authors investigated the concentrations of key cytokines (TH1 and TH2 cytokines) in healthy controls and cancer patients. They identified significant changes in resting and activated cytokine profiles, suggesting that data of biomarkers such as these could serve as a starting point for further treatment with regard to a patient's specific immune profile.
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Survey of medication disposal: Patient views and awareness
The authors investigate how improper disposal of medication can be mitigated through community education efforts.
Read More...A comparative analysis of machine learning approaches for prediction of breast cancer
Machine learning and deep learning techniques can be used to predict the early onset of breast cancer. The main objective of this analysis was to determine whether machine learning algorithms can be used to predict the onset of breast cancer with more than 90% accuracy. Based on research with supervised machine learning algorithms, Gaussian Naïve Bayes, K Nearest Algorithm, Random Forest, and Logistic Regression were considered because they offer a wide variety of classification methods and also provide high accuracy and performance. We hypothesized that all these algorithms would provide accurate results, and Random Forest and Logistic Regression would provide better accuracy and performance than Naïve Bayes and K Nearest Neighbor.
Read More...Behavioral Longevity: The Impact of Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, and Obesity on Life Expectancy
In this article, the authors look into what is already known about the factor affecting longevity and determine the importance of behavioral factors including alcohol consumption, smoking, and obesity on longevity. The authors quantify data from over 150 countries and, interestingly, find that the impact each factor has on longevity is at least in part dependent on the country's economic development status. Overall, they conclude that an average person’s life expectancy can increase by more than 3 years if smoking and alcohol consumption is reduced by a half and weight is decreased by 10%.
Read More...Diagnosis and treatment delay in patients with OCD in the United States over the past three decades
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can cause significant impairment, and studies indicate that delays in diagnosis and treatment lead to worse outcomes. This study aimed to assess whether these delays have improved over the past three decades and to identify their causes.
Read More...Comparing the Dietary Preference of Caenorhabditis elegans for Bacterial Probiotics vs. Escherichia coli.
In this experiment, the authors used C. elegans as a simple model organism to observe the impact of probiotics on the human digestive system. The results of the experiments showed that the C. elegans were, on average, most present in Chobani cultures over other tested yogurts. While not statistically significant, these results still demonstrated that C. elegans might prefer Chobani cultures over other probiotic yogurts, which may also indicate greater gut benefits from Chobani over the other yogurt brands tested.
Read More...Accessibility to urgent care services for disadvantaged populations: An analysis of healthcare disparities
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the depth and significance of healthcare inequality in the United States. Xiao, Xiao, and Gong examine healthcare disparities in the Richmond (Virginia) metropolitan area by analyzing whether people from disadvantaged populations must travel for longer to reach healthcare facilities.
Read More...Artificial Intelligence-Based Smart Solution to Reduce Respiratory Problems Caused by Air Pollution
In this report, Bhardwaj and Sharma tested whether placing specific plants indoors can reduce levels of indoor air pollution that can lead to lung-related illnesses. Using machine learning, they show that plants improved overall indoor air quality and reduced levels of particulate matter. They suggest that plant-based interventions coupled with sensors may be a useful long-term solution to reducing and maintaining indoor air pollution.
Read More...Characterizing the evolution of antibiotic resistance in commercial Lactobacillus strains
In this study, the authors studied the ability for bacteria to develop antibiotic resistance over successive generations and modeled the trajectory to predict how antibiotic resistance is developed.
Read More...Generation of a magnetic field on Mars
The authors propose and test a method that would allow for the generation of a magnetic field on Mars sufficient to support future colonization.
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