Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Apparent diffusion coefficient histogram analysis can evaluate radiation-induced parotid damage and predict late xerostomia degree in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

We investigated apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis to evaluate radiation-induced parotid damage and predict xerostomia degrees in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients receiving radiotherapy. The imaging of bilateral parotid glands in NPC patients was conducted 2 weeks before radiotherapy (time point 1), one month after radiotherapy (time point 2), and four months after radiotherapy (time point 3). From time point 1 to 2, parotid volume, skewness, and kurtosis decreased (P < 0.001, = 0.001, and < 0.001, respectively), but all other ADC histogram parameters increased (all P < 0.001, except P = 0.006 for standard deviation [SD]). From time point 2 to 3, parotid volume continued to decrease (P = 0.022), and SD, 75th and 90th percentiles continued to increase (P = 0.024, 0.010, and 0.006, respectively). Early change rates of parotid ADCmean, ADCmin, kurtosis, and 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th percentiles (from time point 1 to 2) correlated with late parotid atrophy rate (from time point 1 to 3) (all P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed correlations among parotid volume, time point, and ADC histogram parameters. Early mean change rates for bilateral parotid SD and ADCmax could predict late xerostomia degrees at seven months after radiotherapy (three months after time point 3) with AUC of 0.781 and 0.818 (P = 0.014, 0.005, respectively). ADC histogram parameters were reproducible (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.830 - 0.999). ADC histogram analysis could be used to evaluate radiation-induced parotid damage noninvasively, and predict late xerostomia degrees of NPC patients treated with radiotherapy.
Lipidomic analysis of fatty acids in erythrocytes of coeliac patients before and after a gluten-free diet intervention: a comparison with healthy subjects

Coeliac disease (CD) patients may exhibit a pro-inflammatory profile and fatty acids (FA) can influence inflammation through a variety of cellular pathways in them. The aims of the present study were to (1) evaluate the FA composition of erythrocytes obtained from newly diagnosed CD patients by lipidomic analysis and compare it with that in healthy subjects and (2) determine the effects of 1-year gluten-free diet (GFD) intervention. A total of twenty CD patients (five men and fifteen women; mean age 34·0 (sem 1·7) years) were evaluated at diagnosis and after 1 year of GFD intervention. A total of twenty healthy subjects (seven men and thirteen women; mean age 40·2 (sem 2·5) years) served as controls. CD patients on an unrestricted diet exhibited a significant 2·08-fold higher concentration of arachidic acid when compared with healthy subjects, suggesting that it can be considered as a putative marker of CD. Besides, the arachidonic acid (AA):dihomo-γ-linolenic acid ratio was 2·01-fold significantly lower in CD patients than in healthy subjects (P< 0·01), underlying an inefficient synthesis of PUFA from their precursors in terms of desaturase activity. In addition, mainly due to lower concentrations of docosahexaenoic acid, the inflammation marker AA:docosahexaenoic acid ratio was 1·40-fold significantly higher in CD patients than in healthy subjects. After 1 year of GFD intervention, FA concentrations in CD patients were still different from those observed in healthy subjects. The lipidomic analysis of erythrocyte membranes confirmed the presence of an altered FA composition in CD patients and the GFD's ability to modify FA profile, even if 1-year GFD intervention seems to be not sufficient to restore FA concentrations to normality. This procedure, being easier and non-invasive compared with the evaluation of the FA pattern of the intestinal mucosa, could offer more potentiality for also evaluating therapeutic interventions in CD patients by using FA supplementation.
Auditory connections and functions of prefrontal cortex

The functional auditory system extends from the ears to the frontal lobes with successively more complex functions occurring as one ascends the hierarchy of the nervous system. Several areas of the frontal lobe receive afferents from both early and late auditory processing regions within the temporal lobe. Afferents from the early part of the cortical auditory system, the auditory belt cortex, which are presumed to carry information regarding auditory features of sounds, project to only a few prefrontal regions and are most dense in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC). In contrast, projections from the parabelt and the rostral superior temporal gyrus (STG) most likely convey more complex information and target a larger, widespread region of the prefrontal cortex. Neuronal responses reflect these anatomical projections as some prefrontal neurons exhibit responses to features in acoustic stimuli, while other neurons display task-related responses. For example, recording studies in non-human primates indicate that VLPFC is responsive to complex sounds including vocalizations and that VLPFC neurons in area 12/47 respond to sounds with similar acoustic morphology. In contrast, neuronal responses during auditory working memory involve a wider region of the prefrontal cortex. In humans, the frontal lobe is involved in auditory detection, discrimination, and working memory. Past research suggests that dorsal and ventral subregions of the prefrontal cortex process different types of information with dorsal cortex processing spatial/visual information and ventral cortex processing non-spatial/auditory information. While this is apparent in the non-human primate and in some neuroimaging studies, most research in humans indicates that specific task conditions, stimuli or previous experience may bias the recruitment of specific prefrontal regions, suggesting a more flexible role for the frontal lobe during auditory cognition.
Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells in Regenerative Medicine: Can Preconditioning Strategies Improve Therapeutic Efficacy

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are becoming increasingly important for the development of cell therapeutics in regenerative medicine. Featuring immunomodulatory potential as well as secreting a variety of trophic factors, MSCs showed remarkable therapeutic effects in numerous preclinical disease models. However, sustainable translation of MSC therapies to the clinic is hampered by heterogeneity of MSCs and non-standardized in vitro culture technologies. Moreover, potent MSC therapeutics require MSCs with maximum regenerative capacity. There is growing evidence that in vitro preconditioning strategies of MSCs can optimize their therapeutic potential. In the following we will discuss achievements and challenges of the development of MSC therapies in regenerative medicine highlighting specific in vitro preconditioning strategies prior to cell transplantation to increase their therapeutic efficacy.
Basis of Joint Invariants for (1+1) Linear Hyperbolic Equations

Abstract We obtain a basis of joint or proper differential invariants for the scalar linear hyperbolic partial differential equation in two independent variables by the infinitesimal method. The joint invariants of the hyperbolic equation consist of combinations of the coefficients of the equation and their derivatives which remain invariant under equivalence transformations of the equation and are useful for classification purposes. We also derive the operators of invariant differentiation for this type of equation. Furthermore, we show that the other differential invariants are functions of the elements of this basis via their invariant derivatives. Applications to hyperbolic equations that are reducible to their Lie canonical forms are provided.
Identification of a Common Gene Expression Response in Different Lung Inflammatory Diseases in Rodents and Macaques

To identify gene expression responses common to multiple pulmonary diseases we collected microarray data for acute lung inflammation models from 12 studies and used these in a meta-analysis. The data used include exposures to air pollutants; bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections; and allergic asthma models. Hierarchical clustering revealed a cluster of 383 up-regulated genes with a common response. This cluster contained five subsets, each characterized by more specific functions such as inflammatory response, interferon-induced genes, immune signaling, or cell proliferation. Of these subsets, the inflammatory response was common to all models, interferon-induced responses were more pronounced in bacterial and viral models, and a cell division response was more prominent in parasitic and allergic models. A common cluster containing 157 moderately down-regulated genes was associated with the effects of tissue damage. Responses to influenza in macaques were weaker than in mice, reflecting differences in the degree of lung inflammation and/or virus replication. The existence of a common cluster shows that in vivo lung inflammation in response to various pathogens or exposures proceeds through shared molecular mechanisms.
Influence of Foliar Application of Microelements on Yield and Yield Components of Spring Malting Barley

Barley is an economically important plant cultivated primarily for animal feed and in the brewing industry for the production of barley malt. Climate changes and an increase in grain demand result in a constant need to improve the volume and stability of cereal species yields and better use the potential of cultivars. In cereal production, an important aspect is the use of microelements, especially by foliar spraying. Microelements, as components or enzyme activators, play a significant role in plant growth and metabolic processes occurring in the cell. As a consequence, their availability is a factor determining plant development. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of foliar fertilization with selected microelements on the yield of two-row malting barley cultivars. In 2019–2021, a two-factor field experiment with barley was conducted in south-eastern Poland. The experimental factors were three spring barley cultivars (Baryłka, KWS Irina, and RGT Planet) of the brewing type and four single-component micronutrient fertilizers containing copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), and zinc (Zn). The foliar application of microelements resulted in improvements in selected elements of the yield structure and an increase in grain yield, and the effect depended on the fertilization applied. The highest grain yield was obtained from plots where fertilizer with Mo or Zn was used. Barley plants sprayed with Mo fertilizer developed the longest spikes and were characterized by the highest number of productive tillers per plant. The foliar application of Zn resulted in the formation of the highest number of spikes per unit area and grain uniformity. The RGT Planet cultivar was characterized by higher values of the measured parameters compared to Baryłka and KWS Irina.
Ordinary search engine users carrying out complex search tasks

Web search engines have become the dominant tools for finding information on the Internet. Owing to their popularity, users of all educational backgrounds and professions use them for a wide range of tasks, from simple look-up to rather complex information-seeking needs. This paper presents the results of a study that investigates the behavioural search characteristics of ordinary Web search engines users. The aim of the study was to investigate (1) what makes complex search tasks distinct from simple search tasks and whether it is possible to find simple measures for describing their complexity, and (2) whether successful searchers show different search behaviours than unsuccessful searchers and whether good searchers can be identified via simple measures. The study included 56 ordinary Web users who carried out a set of 12 search tasks using current commercial search engines. Their behaviour was logged with the Search-Logger tool. The results confirm that the behaviour in the case of complex search tasks has significantly different inherent characteristics than in the case of simple search tasks. This can be proven by using simple measures such as task time, number of queries, or number of browser tabs used. We also observed that it is difficult to distinguish successful from unsuccessful search behaviour simply by using these measures. The implications of our findings for search engine vendors are discussed. The results of this study with a sample of ordinary users are insofar unique as they are valid for a wider population while most studies in the field are usually done using convenience samples such as university students.
Targeting Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase in Lung Cancer

Several decades of cancer research have revealed a pivotal role for tyrosine kinases as key regulators of signaling pathways, controlling cell growth and differentiation. Deregulation of tyrosine kinase–mediated signaling occurs frequently in cancer and is believed to drive the initiation and progression of disease. Chromosomal rearrangements involving the tyrosine kinase anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) occur in a variety of human malignancies including non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), anaplastic large cell lymphomas, and inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors. The aberrant activation of ALK signaling leads to “oncogene addiction” and marked sensitivity to ALK inhibitors such as crizotinib (PF-02341066). This review focuses on ALK rearrangements in NSCLC, starting with the discovery of the EML4-ALK fusion oncogene, and culminating in the recent validation of ALK as a therapeutic target in patients with ALK-rearranged NSCLC. Current efforts seek to expand the role of ALK kinase inhibition in lung and other cancers and to address the molecular basis for the development of resistance. Clin Cancer Res; 17(8); 2081–6. ©2011 AACR.
Digital transformation model: The study of the governmental agency in a developing country

Embracing digital transformation is imperative for governments seeking to enhance service delivery and improve their operational efficiency in the digital age (Chen et al., 2021; Velmurugan et al., 2022). This study investigates factors influencing the use of digital technology in operations and customer service within Thailand’s Office of the Welfare Promotion Commission for Teachers and Educational Personnel (OTEP). Five key factors — attitude, tech literacy, organizational culture, leadership, and technology facilities — affect hardware, software, and data warehouse usage among OTEP staff. Data was collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM), revealing age-related differences. The findings indicate moderate digital technology readiness within OTEP, with a prevalent negative attitude toward data warehouse use among employees. Technology facilities, tech literacy, leadership, and organizational culture significantly impact digital technology utilization. However, for young OTEP employees, attitude, tech literacy, and leadership have no significant effect on data warehouse consumption. This underscores challenges in fostering human resource development, particularly in the digital technology realm, as the majority of government agency personnel in Thailand are of a certain age. Embracing digital technology is crucial for improving organizational performance, especially in large government agencies.
Biogenesis of thylakoid membranes is controlled by light intensity in the conditional chlorophyll b-deficient CD3 mutant of wheat

Biogenesis of thylakoid membranes in the conditional chlorophyll b- deficient CD3 mutant of wheat is dramatically altered by relatively small differences in the light intensity under which seedlings are grown. When the CD3 mutant is grown at 400 microE/m2 S (high light, about one-fifth full sunlight) plants are deficient in chlorophyll b (chlorophyll a/b ratio greater than 6.0) and lack or contain greatly reduced amounts of the chlorophyll a/b-binding complexes CPII/CPII (mobile or peripheral LHCII), CP29, CP24 and LHCI, as shown by mildly denaturing 'green gel' electrophoresis, by fully denaturing SDS-PAGE, and by Western blot analysis. High light CD3 chloroplasts display an unusual morphology characterized by large, sheet-like stromal thylakoids formed into parallel unstacked arrays and a limited number of small grana stacks displaced toward the edges of the arrays. Changes in the supramolecular organization of CD3 thylakoids, seen with freeze- fracture electron microscopy, include a reduction in the size of EFs particles, which correspond to photosystem II centers with variable amounts of attached LHCII, and a redistribution of EF particles from the stacked to the unstacked regions. When CD3 seedlings are grown at 150 microE/m2 S (low light) there is a substantial reversal of all of these effects. Thus, chlorophyll b and the chlorophyll a/b-binding proteins accumulate to near wild-type levels (chlorophyll a/b ratio = 3.5-4.5) and thylakoid morphology is more nearly wild type in appearance. Growth of the CD3 mutant in the presence of chloramphenicol stimulates the accumulation of chlorophyll b and its binding proteins (Duysen, M. E., T. P. Freeman, N. D. Williams, and L. L. Huckle. 1985. Plant Physiol. 78:531-536). We show that this partial rescue of the CD3 high light phenotype is accompanied by large changes in thylakoid structure. The CD3 mutant, which defines a new class of chlorophyll b- deficient phenotype, is discussed in the more general context of chlorophyll b deficiency.
Transcriptional Repression Distinguishes Somatic from Germ Cell Lineages in a Plant

In flowering plants, the male germline begins with an asymmetric division, after which one of the resulting cells, the generative cell, divides symmetrically to produce two sperm cells. We show here that the male germline is initiated by transcriptional control. We identify GRSF, germline-restrictive silencing factor, from the lily. GRSF is ubiquitous in nongerm cells and is absent from male germ cells. GRSF recognizes silencer sequences in promoters of genes specific to the germline, stably repressing these genes in cells that are not destined to become germ cells.
Regulation of Calpain Activity in Rat Brain with Altered Ca2+ Homeostasis*

Activation of calpain occurs as an early event in correlation with an increase in [Ca2+]i induced in rat brain upon treatment with a high salt diet for a prolonged period of time. The resulting sequential events have been monitored in the brain of normal and hypertensive rats of the Milan strain, diverging for a constitutive alteration in the level of [Ca2+]i found to be present in nerve cells of hypertensive animals. After 2 weeks of treatment, the levels of the plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase and of native calpastatin are profoundly decreased. These degradative processes, more pronounced in the brain of hypertensive rats, are progressively and efficiently compensated in the brain of both rat strains by different incoming mechanisms. Along with calpastatin degradation, 15-kDa still-active inhibitory fragments are accumulated, capable of efficiently replacing the loss of native inhibitor molecules. A partial return to a more efficient control of Ca2+ homeostasis occurs in parallel, assured by an early increase in the expression of Ca2+-ATPase and of calpastatin, both producing, after 12 weeks of a high salt (sodium) diet, the restoration of almost original levels of the Ca2+ pump and of significant amounts of native inhibitor molecules. Thus, conservative calpastatin fragmentation, associated with an increased expression of Ca2+-ATPase and of the calpain natural inhibitor, has been demonstrated to occur in vivo in rat brain. This represents a sequential adaptive response capable of overcoming the effects of calpain activation induced by a moderate long term elevation of [Ca2+]i.
Improvement of marketing performance: Role of market sensing, digital marketing, and value creation ambidexterity

This study aims to examine the effect of marker sensing capability (MSC), and digital marketing capability (DMC) on marketing performance (MP) with value creation ambidexterity (VCA) as a mediating variable. This research involved 285 leaders or owners of fashion SMEs in Central Java, Indonesia, as respondents. Data analysis used the Structural Equation Model (SEM) approach. This study found that market sensing capability and digital marketing capability have a significant effect on value creation ambidexterity and marketing performance. Furthermore, value creation ambidexterity also has a significant effect on marketing performance. Value creation ambidexterity can mediate the relationship between market sensing capability and digital marketing capability on marketing performance
Distribution and Ecophysiology of Calanoid Copepods in Relation to the Oxygen Minimum Zone in the Eastern Tropical Atlantic

Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) affect distribution patterns, community structure and metabolic processes of marine organisms. Due to the prominent role of zooplankton, especially copepods, in the marine carbon cycle and the predicted intensification and expansion of OMZs, it is essential to understand the effects of hypoxia on zooplankton distribution and ecophysiology. For this study, calanoid copepods were sampled from different depths (0–1800 m) at eight stations in the eastern tropical Atlantic (3°47′N to 18°S) during three expeditions in 2010 and 2011. Their horizontal and vertical distribution was determined and related to the extent and intensity of the OMZ, which increased from north to south with minimum O2 concentrations (12.7 µmol kg−1) in the southern Angola Gyre. Calanoid copepod abundance was highest in the northeastern Angola Basin and decreased towards equatorial regions as well as with increasing depth. Maximum copepod biodiversity was observed in the deep waters of the central Angola Basin. Respiration rates and enzyme activities were measured to reveal species-specific physiological adaptations. Enzyme activities of the electron transport system (ETS) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) served as proxies for aerobic and anaerobic metabolic activity, respectively. Mass-specific respiration rates and ETS activities decreased with depth of occurrence, consistent with vertical changes in copepod body mass and ambient temperature. Copepods of the families Eucalanidae and Metridinidae dominated within the OMZ. Several of these species showed adaptive characteristics such as lower metabolic rates, additional anaerobic activity and diel vertical migration that enable them to successfully inhabit hypoxic zones.