Cell competition in multicellular organisms has been shown to play a critical role during the development of organisms, cancer progression, and in the establishment and maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Various mechanisms of cell competition have been identified, including active elimination via mechanical forces or induced apoptosis, as well as competition for nutrients and other beneficial factors. A recent experiment demonstrated hallmarks of cell competition, associated with cell cycle dynamics, between liver progenitor cells and colorectal cancer cells [Krotenberg Garcia et al., iScience 27, 109718 (2024)]. However, a mechanistic explanation for this form of competition remains lacking. Here, we present a mean-field model of competition for signaling ligands, coupled with cell cycle dynamics, to provide such an understanding. Our model captures the salient features of the experiment, including population dynamics and cell cycle variations. We demonstrate that secretion of a beneficial factor by cells, coupled with the enhanced uptake efficiency of cancer cells, suffices to reproduce the experimental outcome. Our model, reminiscent of competition for secreted growth factors, p
Medical imaging is the most important tool for detecting complications in the inner body of medicine. Nowadays, with the development of image processing technology as well as changing the size of photos to higher resolution images in the field of digital medical imaging, there is an efficient and accurate system for segmenting this. Real-world images that for a variety of reasons have poor heterogeneity, noise and contrast are essential. Digital image segmentation in medicine is used for diagnostic and therapeutic analysis, which is very helpful for physicians. In this study, we aim at liver cancer photographs, which aim to more accurately detect the lesion or tumor of the liver because accurate and timely detection of the tumor is very important in the survival and life of the patient.The aim of this paper is to simplify the obnoxious study problems related to the study of MR images. The liver is the second organ most generic involved by metastatic disease being liver cancer one of the prominent causes of death worldwide. Without healthy liver a person cannot survive. It is life threatening disease which is very challenging perceptible for both medical and engineering technologist
Liver cancer has a high incidence rate, but primary healthcare settings often lack experienced doctors. Advances in large models and AI technologies offer potential assistance. This work aims to address limitations in liver cancer diagnosis models, such as poor understanding of medical images, insufficient consideration of liver blood vessels, and ensuring accurate medical information. We propose a specialized diagnostic assistant to improve the diagnostic capabilities of less experienced doctors. Our framework combines large and small models, using optimized small models for precise patient image perception. Specifically, a segmentation network iteratively removes ambiguous pixels for liver tumor segmentation, and a multi-scale, multi-level differential network segments liver vessels. Features from these segmentations and medical records form a patient's personalized knowledge base. For diagnosis, Chain of Thought (COT) technology designs prompts mimicking experienced doctors' thought patterns, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology provides answers based on reliable domain knowledge and trusted cases. Our small model methods improve liver tumor and vessel segmentatio
We compare the network of aggregated journal-journal citation relations provided by the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) 2012 of the Science and Social Science Citation Indexes (SCI and SSCI) with similar data based on Scopus 2012. First, global maps were developed for the two sets separately; sets of documents can then be compared using overlays to both maps. Using fuzzy-string matching and ISSN numbers, we were able to match 10,524 journal names between the two sets; that is, 96.4% of the 10,936 journals contained in JCR or 51.2% of the 20,554 journals covered by Scopus. Network analysis was then pursued on the set of journals shared between the two databases and the two sets of unique journals. Citations among the shared journals are more comprehensively covered in JCR than Scopus, so the network in JCR is denser and more connected than in Scopus. The ranking of shared journals in terms of indegree (that is, numbers of citing journals) or total citations is similar in both databases overall (Spearman's \r{ho} > 0.97), but some individual journals rank very differently. Journals that are unique to Scopus seem to be less important--they are citing shared journals rather than bein
Primary liver malignancies are widely recognized as the most heterogeneous and prognostically diverse cancers of the digestive system. Among these, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) emerge as the two principal histological subtypes, demonstrating significantly greater complexity in tissue morphology and cellular architecture than other common tumors. The intricate representation of features in Whole Slide Images (WSIs) encompasses abundant crucial information for liver cancer histological subtyping, regarding hierarchical pyramid structure, tumor microenvironment (TME), and geometric representation. However, recent approaches have not adequately exploited these indispensable effective descriptors, resulting in a limited understanding of histological representation and suboptimal subtyping performance. To mitigate these limitations, ARGUS is proposed to advance histological subtyping in liver cancer by capturing the macro-meso-micro hierarchical information within the TME. Specifically, we first construct a micro-geometry feature to represent fine-grained cell-level pattern via a geometric structure across nuclei, thereby providing a more refin
Rankings of scholarly journals based on citation data are often met with skepticism by the scientific community. Part of the skepticism is due to disparity between the common perception of journals' prestige and their ranking based on citation counts. A more serious concern is the inappropriate use of journal rankings to evaluate the scientific influence of authors. This paper focuses on analysis of the table of cross-citations among a selection of Statistics journals. Data are collected from the Web of Science database published by Thomson Reuters. Our results suggest that modelling the exchange of citations between journals is useful to highlight the most prestigious journals, but also that journal citation data are characterized by considerable heterogeneity, which needs to be properly summarized. Inferential conclusions require care in order to avoid potential over-interpretation of insignificant differences between journal ratings. Comparison with published ratings of institutions from the UK's Research Assessment Exercise shows strong correlation at aggregate level between assessed research quality and journal citation `export scores' within the discipline of Statistics.
Manual segmentation of hepatic metastases in ultrasound images acquired from patients suffering from pancreatic cancer is common practice. Semiautomatic measurements promising assistance in this process are often assessed using a small number of lesions performed by examiners who already know the algorithm. In this work, we present the application of an algorithm for the segmentation of liver metastases due to pancreatic cancer using a set of 105 different images of metastases. The algorithm and the two examiners had never assessed the images before. The examiners first performed a manual segmentation and, after five weeks, a semiautomatic segmentation using the algorithm. They were satisfied in up to 90% of the cases with the semiautomatic segmentation results. Using the algorithm was significantly faster and resulted in a median Dice similarity score of over 80%. Estimation of the inter-operator variability by using the intra class correlation coefficient was good with 0.8. In conclusion, the algorithm facilitates fast and accurate segmentation of liver metastases, comparable to the current gold standard of manual segmentation.
Ultrasound (US) is the most commonly used liver imaging modality worldwide. Due to its low cost, it is increasingly used in the follow-up of cancer patients with metastases localized in the liver. In this contribution, we present the results of an interactive segmentation approach for liver metastases in US acquisitions. A (semi-) automatic segmentation is still very challenging because of the low image quality and the low contrast between the metastasis and the surrounding liver tissue. Thus, the state of the art in clinical practice is still manual measurement and outlining of the metastases in the US images. We tackle the problem by providing an interactive segmentation approach providing real-time feedback of the segmentation results. The approach has been evaluated with typical US acquisitions from the clinical routine, and the datasets consisted of pancreatic cancer metastases. Even for difficult cases, satisfying segmentations results could be achieved because of the interactive real-time behavior of the approach. In total, 40 clinical images have been evaluated with our method by comparing the results against manual ground truth segmentations. This evaluation yielded to an
Liver cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with its high genetic heterogeneity complicating diagnosis and treatment. This study introduces DLSOM, a deep learning framework utilizing stacked autoencoders to analyze the complete somatic mutation landscape of 1,139 liver cancer samples, covering 20,356 protein-coding genes. By transforming high-dimensional mutation data into three low-dimensional features, DLSOM enables robust clustering and identifies five distinct liver cancer subtypes with unique mutational, functional, and biological profiles. Subtypes SC1 and SC2 exhibit higher mutational loads, while SC3 has the lowest, reflecting mutational heterogeneity. Novel and COSMIC-associated mutational signatures reveal subtype-specific molecular mechanisms, including links to hypermutation and chemotherapy resistance. Functional analyses further highlight the biological relevance of each subtype. This comprehensive framework advances precision medicine in liver cancer by enabling the development of subtype-specific diagnostics, biomarkers, and therapies, showcasing the potential of deep learning in addressing cancer complexity.
This paper presents a new approach for classifying 2D histopathology patches using few-shot learning. The method is designed to tackle a significant challenge in histopathology, which is the limited availability of labeled data. By applying a sliding window technique to histopathology slides, we illustrate the practical benefits of transductive learning (i.e., making joint predictions on patches) to achieve consistent and accurate classification. Our approach involves an optimization-based strategy that actively penalizes the prediction of a large number of distinct classes within each window. We conducted experiments on histopathological data to classify tissue classes in digital slides of liver cancer, specifically hepatocellular carcinoma. The initial results show the effectiveness of our method and its potential to enhance the process of automated cancer diagnosis and treatment, all while reducing the time and effort required for expert annotation.
Cancer is increasingly perceived as a systems-level, network phenomenon. The major trend of malignant transformation can be described as a two-phase process, where an initial increase of network plasticity is followed by a decrease of plasticity at late stages of tumor development. The fluctuating intensity of stress factors, like hypoxia, inflammation and the either cooperative or hostile interactions of tumor inter-cellular networks, all increase the adaptation potential of cancer cells. This may lead to the bypass of cellular senescence, and to the development of cancer stem cells. We propose that the central tenet of cancer stem cell definition lies exactly in the indefinability of cancer stem cells. Actual properties of cancer stem cells depend on the individual "stress-history" of the given tumor. Cancer stem cells are characterized by an extremely large evolvability (i.e. a capacity to generate heritable phenotypic variation), which corresponds well with the defining hallmarks of cancer stem cells: the possession of the capacity to self-renew and to repeatedly re-build the heterogeneous lineages of cancer cells that comprise a tumor in new environments. Cancer stem cells rep
Liver cancer, especially hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), imposes a substantial global disease burden. Accurate diagnosis and prognostic assessment directly influence treatment selection and patient survival, and pathological examination remains the gold standard for liver cancer diagnosis. Identifying diverse tissue components and pathological subtypes on histopathology slides is crucial for estimating postoperative recurrence risk and overall prognosis. However, most publicly available resources are still provided at the whole-slide image (WSI) level, and well-annotated datasets for fine-grained tissue component identification in liver cancer are scarce, which hinders reproducible model development and the deployment of quantitative analysis tools. To address this gap, we release HepatoBench, a patch-level image database for liver cancer with annotations for seven key tissue categories. Based on HepatoBench, we train and open-source a deep learning classification model as a tissue recognition tool. Furthermore, we train a WSI-level tumor/non-tumor segmentation model to automatically localize lesion regions across entire slides. By integrating the patch-level tissue classifier with
Using the Scopus dataset (1996-2007) a grand matrix of aggregated journal-journal citations was constructed. This matrix can be compared in terms of the network structures with the matrix contained in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) of the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI). Since the Scopus database contains a larger number of journals and covers also the humanities, one would expect richer maps. However, the matrix is in this case sparser than in the case of the ISI data. This is due to (i) the larger number of journals covered by Scopus and (ii) the historical record of citations older than ten years contained in the ISI database. When the data is highly structured, as in the case of large journals, the maps are comparable, although one may have to vary a threshold (because of the differences in densities). In the case of interdisciplinary journals and journals in the social sciences and humanities, the new database does not add a lot to what is possible with the ISI databases.
Automated segmentation tools often encounter accuracy and adaptability issues when applied to images of different pathology. The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility of building a workflow to efficiently route images to specifically trained segmentation models. By implementing a deep learning classifier to automatically classify the images and route them to appropriate segmentation models, we hope that our workflow can segment the images with different pathology accurately. The data we used in this study are 350 CT images from patients affected by polycystic liver disease and 350 CT images from patients presenting with liver metastases from colorectal cancer. All images had the liver manually segmented by trained imaging analysts. Our proposed adaptive segmentation workflow achieved a statistically significant improvement for the task of total liver segmentation compared to the generic single segmentation model (non-parametric Wilcoxon signed rank test, n=100, p-value << 0.001). This approach is applicable in a wide range of scenarios and should prove useful in clinical implementations of segmentation pipelines.
Background: Liver cancer ranks as the fifth most common malignant tumor and the second most fatal in our country. Early diagnosis is crucial, necessitating that physicians identify liver cancer in patients at the earliest possible stage. However, the diagnostic process is complex and demanding. Physicians must analyze a broad spectrum of patient data, encompassing physical condition, symptoms, medical history, and results from various examinations and tests, recorded in both structured and unstructured medical formats. This results in a significant workload for healthcare professionals. In response, integrating knowledge graph technology to develop a liver cancer knowledge graph-assisted diagnosis and treatment system aligns with national efforts toward smart healthcare. Such a system promises to mitigate the challenges faced by physicians in diagnosing and treating liver cancer. Methods: This paper addresses the major challenges in building a knowledge graph for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis, such as the discrepancy between public data sources and real electronic medical records, the effective integration of which remains a key issue. The knowledge graph construction process
Using three years of the Journal Citation Reports (2011, 2012, and 2013), indicators of transitions in 2012 (between 2011 and 2013) are studied using methodologies based on entropy statistics. Changes can be indicated at the level of journals using the margin totals of entropy production along the row or column vectors, but also at the level of links among journals by importing the transition matrices into network analysis and visualization programs (and using community-finding algorithms). Seventy-four journals are flagged in terms of discontinuous changes in their citations; but 3,114 journals are involved in "hot" links. Most of these links are embedded in a main component; 78 clusters (containing 172 journals) are flagged as potential "hot spots" emerging at the network level. An additional finding is that PLoS ONE introduced a new communication dynamics into the database. The limitations of the methodology are elaborated using an example. The results of the study indicate where developments in the citation dynamics can be considered as significantly unexpected. This can be used as heuristic information; but what a "hot spot" in terms of the entropy statistics of aggregated cit
Embryology has long played a foundational role in shaping our scientific understanding of animal evolution. In recent decades, growing evidence has also highlighted its role in cancer. Despite the indisputable similarities between embryonic development and cancer, there has been limited discussion on the profound embryological implications for the disease. This article explores the understanding of cancer as an embryological and evolutionary phenomenon, offering a fresh perspective on the disease and discussing immediate consequences in the search for therapeutic approaches
A number of journal classification systems have been developed in bibliometrics since the launch of the Citation Indices by the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) in the 1960s. These systems are used to normalize citation counts with respect to field-specific citation patterns. The best known system is the so-called "Web-of-Science Subject Categories" (WCs). In other systems papers are classified by algorithmic solutions. Using the Journal Citation Reports 2014 of the Science Citation Index and the Social Science Citation Index (n of journals = 11,149), we examine options for developing a new system based on journal classifications into subject categories using aggregated journal-journal citation data. Combining routines in VOSviewer and Pajek, a tree-like classification is developed. At each level one can generate a map of science for all the journals subsumed under a category. Nine major fields are distinguished at the top level. Further decomposition of the social sciences is pursued for the sake of example with a focus on journals in information science (LIS) and science studies (STS). The new classification system improves on alternative options by avoiding the problem
Nanorobots are a promising development in targeted drug delivery and the treatment of neurological disorders, with potential for crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB). These small devices leverage advancements in nanotechnology and bioengineering for precise navigation and targeted payload delivery, particularly for conditions like brain tumors, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Recent progress in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) has improved the navigation and effectiveness of nanorobots, allowing them to detect and interact with cancer cells through biomarker analysis. This study presents a new reinforcement learning (RL) framework for optimizing nanorobot navigation in complex biological environments, focusing on cancer cell detection by analyzing the concentration gradients of surrounding biomarkers. We utilize a computer simulation model to explore the behavior of nanorobots in a three-dimensional space with cancer cells and biological barriers. The proposed method uses Q-learning to refine movement strategies based on real-time biomarker concentration data, enabling nanorobots to autonomously navigate to cancerous tissues for targeted drug d
This paper proposes a novel multimodal deep learning framework integrating bidirectional LSTM, multi-head attention mechanism, and variational mode decomposition (BiLSTM-AM-VMD) for early liver cancer diagnosis. Using heterogeneous data that include clinical characteristics, biochemical markers, and imaging-derived variables, our approach improves both prediction accuracy and interpretability. Experimental results on real-world datasets demonstrate superior performance over traditional machine learning and baseline deep learning models.