Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Utility‐based Bayesian personalized treatment selection for advanced breast cancer

A Bayesian method is proposed for personalized treatment selection in settings where data are available from a randomized clinical trial with two or more outcomes. The motivating application is a randomized trial that compared letrozole plus bevacizumab to letrozole alone as first‐line therapy for hormone receptor‐positive advanced breast cancer. The combination treatment arm had larger median progression‐free survival time, but also a higher rate of severe toxicities. This suggests that the risk‐benefit trade‐off between these two outcomes should play a central role in selecting each patient's treatment, particularly since older patients are less likely to tolerate severe toxicities. To quantify the desirability of each possible outcome combination for an individual patient, we elicited from breast cancer oncologists a utility function that varied with age. The utility was used as an explicit criterion for quantifying risk‐benefit trade‐offs when making personalized treatment selections. A Bayesian nonparametric multivariate regression model with a dependent Dirichlet process prior was fit to the trial data. Under the fitted model, a new patient's treatment can be selected based on the posterior predictive utility distribution. For the breast cancer trial dataset, the optimal treatment depends on the patient's age, with the combination preferable for patients 70 years or younger and the single agent preferable for patients older than 70.
Expectations and Challenges of First-Year Biotechnology Students

This paper explores the experiences of first-year biotechnology students during the first eight months of their studies. We study what the students expected to be challenging when entering the programme, and what they eventually experienced as challenging as they progressed further into the programme. Building on qualitative data (video-diaries, interviews and open-ended survey responses), we analyse the dimensions of challenges, the congruence and the students’ sense of belonging. We find that students were mainly challenged by the organisational dimension (lack of clarity in goals and course organisation). The social relations to peers were pivotal for the students as learning support when managing the challenges and decoding expectations, but also for keeping up the motivation. We argue that in order to support the students’ sense of belonging and their academic achievements, the study programmes should facilitate the formation of social networks and consider the course organisation and management.
Direct numerical simulation of curved turbulent channel flow

Low Reynolds number, mildly curved, turbulent channel flow has been simulated numerically without subgrid scale models. A new spectral numerical method developed for this problem was used, and the computations were performed with 2 million degrees of freedom. A variety of statistical and structural information has been extracted from the computed flow fields. These include mean velocity, turbulence stresses, velocity skewness, and flatness factors, space time correlations and spectra, all the terms in the Reynolds stress balance equations, and contour and vector plots of instantaneous velocity fields. The effects of curvature on this flow were determined by comparing the concave and convex sides of the channel. The observed effects are consistent with experimental observations for mild curvature. The most significant difference in the turbulence statistics between the concave and convex sides was in the Reynolds shear stress. This was accompanied by significant differences in the terms of the Reynolds shear stress balance equations. In addition, it was found that stationary Taylor-Gortler vortices were present and that they had a significant effect on the flow by contributing to the mean Reynolds shear stress, and by affecting the underlying turbulence.
Circular Economy in tourism: Overview of recent developments in research

The article provides a review of the recent developments and trends in the research on Circular Economy (CE) in tourism and identifies possible research gaps. CE is becoming one of the hot topics in tourism research due to its increased importance in policymaking, especially in Europe. However, the review shows that research on CE in tourism is in its early stages. The studies have mainly focused on CE in tourism at the micro level from environmental and business management perspectives especially in hotels and restaurants. In addition, emerging research themes include circular consumption behaviour, CE and smart tourism, cooperation and networking with the local supply chain as well as circular tourism destination development. Thus, tourism scholars are encouraged to shift their perspective more from micro to macro level to get a holistic picture of CE in tourism. The article outlines some ideas for a research agenda on CE in tourism.
Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns of Bacteria Isolated from Wounds of Diabetic Patients at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching & Referral Hospital (JOOTRH), Kenya

The purpose of this study was to determine antimicrobial resistance patterns of bacteria isolated from wounds of diabetes mellitus patients at JOOTRH. A hospital based cross sectional study design was employed with a target population of 168 and sample size of 117 patients involving stratified random sampling. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and a laboratory form for a period of 6 months. Pus swabs were collected for isolation of bacteria using conventional techniques and serology. Resistance was done using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion on Mueller Hinton Agar at 37˚C for 24 hrs. High susceptibility was established for; S.aureus on amikacin and gentamicin, E.coli on imipenem and gentamicin, K. pneumoniae and Proteus species on imipenem and P.aeroginosa on ciprofloxacin. Findings provide coherent and effective chemotherapeutic alternatives for managing diabetes patients with wounds and recommends that JOOTRH to adopt susceptibility testing policy for the sake of identifying the most effective treatment regimen for better patient’s care.
Attractive response of sterile Mediterranean fruit fly males to olive fruits in laboratory conditions

Sterile insect technique (SIT) control method is integrated in many ongoing area-wide programs for Ceratitis capitata W. control management who largely depends on the sterile male competitiveness. The use of semiochemical supplements originated from host and non-host plant materials to better manage the physical conditions and handling of sterile C. capitata males in fly emergence and release facilities improve the cost-effectiveness of the SIT worldwide. Since C. capitata adults are regularly captured in groves of nonhost olive, Olea europaea L. in the Mediterranean region, the aims of this research were to asses: (1) attraction of sterile males by olive fruit of different maturity stages; (2) attraction to olive fruits surface (egzocarp) and mesocarp and (3) attraction to three different olive cultivars. The results provide clear evidence that sterile males show strong attraction to volatile compounds from the surface and mesocarp of immature and semi matured olive fruits with no significant difference between fruits treated and nontreated with artificial cuts in mesocarp. The response of sterile C. capitata males to fully matured fruits were significantly the weakest. Sexually mature sterile males were attracted to green immature olive fruits stronger than sexually immature sterile males, while both categories showed strong attraction to semi matured olive fruits without significant difference between both categories.
Ionospheric Feedback and ULF Quarter‐Waves

This paper presents results from the numerical investigation of nonlinear feedback interactions between ULF field‐aligned currents (FACs) and the ionospheric plasma in the global magnetospheric resonator with a non‐symmetrical distribution of the plasma density in the conjugate hemispheres. The density asymmetry is enhanced by the introduction of the ionospheric valley in the hemisphere where the plasma density is already lower. The main result from this study is that in the non‐symmetrical resonator, the ionospheric feedback mechanism, driven by the electric field with the maximum amplitude of 50 mV/m, develops nonlinear, intense, small‐scale upward currents with a characteristic quarter‐wavelength structure along the ambient magnetic field. The frequency of these waves is two times less than the fundamental frequency of the symmetrical resonator. The ionospheric valleys, which are depletions of the plasma density between the ionospheric E and F regions, enhance this effect, by reducing the effective ionospheric conductivity. This effect is important for the interpretation of ground, satellite, and sounding rocket observations of ULF waves and FACs in the auroral and subauroral geospace.
An Assessment of the Marketing Challenges Faced by Cashew Farmers in Kombo South District of The Gambia

Aims: This study examined the marketing challenges faced by cashew farmers in Kombo South District of The Gambia. The objectives of the study were to ascertain the challenges faced by cashew farmers and to identify ways of mitigating them in the study area. Study Design: Descriptive research design. Place and Duration of Study: The was conducted in Kombo South District of the Gambia between June and August, 2020. Methodology: The study included all male and female farmers within the ages of 18-75 years in the villages that constitute the Kombo South District in the Gambia. A sample of 384 cashew famers was selected from a population of 9318 farmers using Taro Yamane formula. Results: The findings of the study revealed that majority of farmers are affected by unstable domestic market prices of raw cashew nuts, lack of market information, poor road networks, large number of middlemen, lack of modern packaging materials, inadequate storage facilities, weak or no cashew farmer organizations, and the presence of pest and diseases. Conclusion: The study, therefore recommended that the government and other relevant stakeholders should help in providing timely market information especially with regards to current prices of raw cashew nuts, rehabilitation of road networks and telecommunication systems to allow farmers to verify prices or sell in better markets, provision of modern packaging materials, adequate storage facilities and trainings on formation and management of farmer organizations will be vital for cashew farmers.
Optimization of Partial Transmit Sequences for PAPR Reduction of OFDM Signals Without Side Information

This paper develops a novel optimization of partial transmit sequences (PTS) with phase quantization to reduce the peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR) of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) signals and enable data detection without side information. Since the formulated optimization problem is non-convex and has exponential time complexity, we employ a convex relaxation method to convert the original optimization problem into a series of convex programming whose solutions converge to a sub-optimal point satisfying the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions in polynomial time. Moreover, the obtained phase factors are quantized to enable the maximum likelihood (ML) phase estimation at the receiver, hence removing the need of sending side information. Analytical and numerical results are provided to show that our proposed PTS design achieves better PAPR reduction over existing PTS methods, while no performance degradation is incurred in data detection when the number of phase factors is properly chosen.
Patients' and psychiatrists' stance on the current state of pharmacological depression treatment in Serbia and prospects of introduction of personalized pharmacotherapy and its potential effects

The use of antidepressants has been steadily increasing. Even though the amount of evidence on the usefulness of personalized drug dosing in depression treatment is growing, there is still resistance and skepticism among physicians and regulators regarding the implementation of CYP450 genotyping and therapeutic drug monitoring in psychiatric clinical practice. The aim of this study was to quantify the opinions of psychiatrists and patients from three large psychiatric clinics in Belgrade, Serbia, and to examine what requirements need to be met to make changes in clinical guidelines or recommendations. All participants completed an anonymous questionnaire that was developed at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade. Fourteen practicing psychiatrists and 30 patients currently treated for depression completed the questionnaire. Distributions of opinion scores were compared between the psychiatrists and patients upon the visual inspection of the violin plots. Our results show that psychiatrists predominantly have a positive opinion on personalized dosing in psychiatry and that patients are most likely to comply with new approaches in depression pharmacotherapy. However, due to the long time needed for regulatory change, it is very unlikely that personalized dosing would be rapidly implemented in clinical practice, even if adequate evidence was to emerge.
Influence of Digital Transformation on Relational Capital and Digital Entrepreneurial Resilience

Research on digital transformation, conducted so far, has revealed its explanatory power on the performance of companies. However, its effectiveness for relational capital and the resilience of digital entrepreneurship remains little explored. Even studies on the model, involving digital transformation and digital entrepreneurial performance, are few. To shed light on this grey area, interviews, and surveys of players in the digital economy were conducted. The mixed methodology was applied. Data generation was conducted through 15 semi-structured interviews and 160 surveys per survey. The digital transformation project decomposition approach was used. The results showed that the appropriation of new digital technologies, the creation of web media and the use of digital platforms improve the dynamics of relational capital, which increases the resilience of digital entrepreneurship. But, above all, it is the relational capital, made up of business networks, customer relations, database management mechanisms that promote the growth of new companies. The results of this article are useful for researchers who will find a renewed definition of digital transformation with proven new elements that prove relevant. While entrepreneurs and consultants will find new ways to effectively improve and enhance relationship capital and digital entrepreneurship. The study is part of the theory of dynamic capabilities and suggests that there is a differentiated relational contingency at each of the phases of the construction of digital transformation projects. It proposes a relevant action plan for researchers and entrepreneurs.
Findings on Teaching Machine Learning in High School: A Ten - Year Systematic Literature Review

Machine Learning (ML) is becoming increasingly present in our lives. Thus, it is important to introduce ML already in High School, enabling young people to become conscious users and creators of intelligent solutions. Yet, as typically ML is taught only in higher education, there is still a lack of knowledge on how to properly teach younger students. Therefore, in this systematic literature review, we analyze findings on teaching ML in High School with regard to content, pedagogical strategy, and technology. Results show that High School students were able to understand and apply basic ML concepts, algorithms and tasks. Pedagogical strategies focusing on active problem/project-based hands-on approaches were successful in engaging students and demonstrated positive learning effects. Visual as well as text-based programming environments supported students to build ML models in an effective way. Yet, the review also identified the need for more rigorous evaluations on how to teach ML.
Deep Reinforcement Learning Control of Fully-Constrained Cable-Driven Parallel Robots

Cable-driven parallel robots (CDPRs) have complex cable dynamics and working environment uncertainties, which bring challenges to the precise control of CDPRs. This article introduces the reinforcement learning to offset the negative effect on the control performance of CDPRs resulting from the uncertainties. The problem of controller design for CDPRs in the framework of deep reinforcement learning is investigated. A learning-based control algorithm is proposed to compensate for uncertainties due to cable elasticity, mechanical friction, etc. A basic control law is given for the nominal model, and a Lyapunov-based deep reinforcement learning control law is designed. Moreover, the stability of the closed-loop tracking system under the reinforcement learning algorithm is proved. Both simulations and experiments validate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed control algorithm.
Impaired Circulating Antibody-Secreting Cells Generation Predicts the Dismal Outcome in the Elderly Septic Shock Patients

Purpose Sepsis is a condition that derives from a dysregulated host response to infection. Although B lymphocytes play a pivotal role in immune response, little is known about status of their terminally differentiated cells, antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) during immunosuppressive phase of sepsis, especially in elderly patients. Our aim was to extensively characterize the immune functions of ASCs in elderly septic patients. Patients and Methods Clinical and laboratory data were collected on days 1, 3, and 7 of hospitalization. Circulating ASCs were evaluated by flow cytometry from fresh whole blood in elderly septic patients at the onset of disease. RNA sequencing analyzed ASCs gene expression profile. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and logistic regression predicted the survival rate of 28-day mortality. Results A total of 103 septic patients were enrolled. The number and proportion of ASCs among total lymphocytes dramatically increased in septic patients, and RNA sequencing analysis showed that ASCs from septic patients exhibited a different gene expression profile. Furthermore, we found these ASCs could promote the function of T cells. Logistic regression analysis showed ASCs population was an independent outcome predictor in septic shock patients. Conclusion Our study revealed the complex nature of immune disorders in sepsis and identified circulating ASCs population as a useful biomarker for predicting mortality in elderly septic patients, which provided a novel clue to combat this severe disease.
New records of Palisada tenerrima and Hincksia mitchelliae from the Maltese Islands revealed by molecular analysis

We report two new algal records from the Maltese islands: Hincksia mitchelliae (= Feldmannia mitchelliae) (Phaeophyceae) and Palisada tenerrima (Rhodophyceae). The former species was grown in culture from an Ulva sp. blade, while the latter was collected in the field. Our study employed an innovative integrative approach including morphological criteria as well as molecular analysis. DNA data and subsequent phylogenetic analysis of the COI gene and the rbcL plus RuBisCO spacer supported the separation of these two species from the closest-related congeners that had previously been reported from the Maltese islands.
Leveraging the scientific findings to develop therapeutic strategies for dormant breast cancer cells

Breast cancer (BC) metastasis can occur decades before clinical diagnosis. During this time, the cancer cells (BCCs) can remain dormant for decades. This type of dormancy also occurs during remission where the dormant BCCs adapt cycling quiescence within the tissue microenvironment. BC shows preference for the bone marrow (BM), resulting in poor prognosis. The BM provides a challenge due to the complex niche between the peripheral interface and endosteum. The process of dormancy begins upon entry into the marrow with the changes facilitated through crosstalk between the cancer cells and tissue niche. More importantly, dormancy can occur at any time during the disease process, including the time during treatment. This perspective discusses the challenges posed by the marrow microenvironment to develop treatment. The article discusses the complex mechanisms at each compartment within the marrow niche and the added negative issue of toxicity to the endogenous stem cells.
Home Office, Health Behavior and Workplace Health Promotion of Employees in the Telecommunications Sector during the Pandemic

Our study aims to present the perception and experiences of employees at a large multinational telecommunications company in Hungary working in home offices, as well as their health behavior and the workplace health promotion during the SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 outbreak. The sample consisted of the full sample of highly skilled employees at a large telecommunication multinational company (N = 46). Throughout the analysis, tests for homogeneity of variance were followed by a MANOVA test to compare the groups’ means by gender, age, and job classification. The results clearly show that in the short term, workers’ mental health did not deteriorate, they do not argue or fight more with their partners and are no more depressed or irritable than before. Workers are less likely to think of ways to be more effective at work than in a home office. Similarly, they do not think that employers have more expectations than before the pandemic. Our research shows the assumption about home workers being less efficient or less diligent in their daily work to be false. A supportive and flexible employer approach to health-conscious employees will be an essential aspect in the future.
The Proteoglycan Glypican-1 as a Possible Candidate for Innovative Targeted Therapeutic Strategies for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) accounts for 90% of all pancreatic cancers, with a 5-year survival rate of 7% and 80% of patients diagnosed with advanced or metastatic malignancies. Despite recent advances in diagnostic testing, surgical techniques, and systemic therapies, there remain limited options for the effective treatment of PDAC. There is an urgent need to develop targeted therapies that are able to differentiate between cancerous and non-cancerous cells to reduce side effects and better inhibit tumor growth. Antibody-targeted strategies are a potentially effective option for introducing innovative therapies. Antibody-based immunotherapies and antibody-conjugated nanoparticle-based targeted therapies with antibodies targeting specific tumor-associated antigens (TAA) can be proposed. In this context, glypican-1 (GPC1), which is highly expressed in PDAC and not expressed or expressed at very low levels in non-malignant lesions and healthy pancreatic tissues, is a useful TAA that can be achieved by a specific antibody-based immunotherapy and antibody-conjugated nanoparticle-based targeted therapy. In this review, we describe the main clinical features of PDAC. We propose the proteoglycan GPC1 as a useful TAA for PDAC-targeted therapies. We also provide a digression on the main developed approaches of antibody-based immunotherapy and antibody-conjugated nanoparticle-based targeted therapy, which can be used to target GPC1.