Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real-World Data Validation of NAPOLI-1 Nomogram for the Prediction of Overall Survival in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

Simple Summary The nomogram derived from the pivotal phase III NAPOLI-1 study could predict the overall survival in gemcitabine-refractory metastatic pancreatic cancer treated with liposomal irinotecan plus fluorouracil and leucovorin. However, the NAPOLI-1 nomogram has not been validated in a real-world setting and therefore the applicability of the NAPOLI-1 nomogram in daily practice remains unknown. In the current study, we validated the NAPOLI-1 nomogram in a multicenter real-world cohort and confirmed that the NAPOLI-1 nomogram could predict the prognosis of gemcitabine-refractory metastatic pancreatic cancer in daily practice and may help clinical decision making. We further found that the relative dose intensity at 6 weeks was an independent prognostic factor beyond the NAPOLI-1 nomogram, which highlighted the importance of optimal dose delivery regardless of the baseline condition. Abstract Background: The nomogram derived from the pivotal phase III NAPOLI-1 study demonstrated a significant ability to predict median overall survival (OS) in gemcitabine-refractory metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) treated with liposomal irinotecan plus fluorouracil and leucovorin (nal-IRI+5-FU/LV). However, the NAPOLI-1 nomogram has not been validated in a real-world setting and therefore the applicability of the NAPOLI-1 nomogram in daily practice remains unknown. This study aims to evaluate the NAPOLI-1 nomogram in a multicenter real-world cohort. Methods: The NAPOLI-1 nomogram was applied to a previously established cohort of metastatic PDAC patients treated with nal-IRI+5-FU/LV in nine participating centers in Taiwan. Patients were divided into three risk groups according to the NAPOLI-1 nomogram. The survival impact of relative dose intensity at 6 weeks (RDI at 6 weeks) in different risk groups was also investigated. Results: Of the 473 included patients, the median OSs of patients classified as low (n = 156), medium (n = 186), and high (n = 131) risk were 10.9, 6.3, and 4.3 months, respectively (p < 0.0001). The survival impact of RDI at 6 weeks remained significant after stratification by risk groups, adjustment with Cox regression, inverse probability weighting, or propensity score matching. Conclusions: Our results support the usefulness of the NAPOLI-1 nomogram for risk stratification in gemcitabine-refractory metastatic PDAC treated with nal-IRI+5-FU/LV in daily practice. We further showed that the RDI at 6 weeks is an independent prognostic factor beyond the NAPOLI-1 nomogram.
Extraction of dielectric and magnetic properties of carbonyl iron powder composites at high frequencies

In this paper, we examine carbonyl iron composites in silicone rubber and epoxy matrices. Transmission measurements were performed at W (70 to 110 GHz) and Ka (26 to 40 GHz) bands and effective permittivity and permeability of composites with 10% volume fraction of carbonyl iron powder (CIP) were extracted at these frequencies. To extract permittivity and permeability of carbonyl iron powder in W and Ka bands, we use Looyenga formula. We extract permittivity and permeability of CIP from both silicone rubber and epoxy based composites and good agreement is achieved.
Effects of Metformin on Risk and Prognosis of Biliary Tract Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background and Objectives: Metformin has been found to potentially reduce the risk and improve the prognosis of a variety of tumors, but these findings remain controversial in biliary tract cancer (BTC). Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the association between metformin and BTC. Materials and Methods: Two independent researchers comprehensively searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for eligible studies published from their inception to 31 March 2022. Comparisons of risk, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) for patients with BTC were selected as the endpoints of interest and pooled by random or fixed-effects models. Results: Eleven studies with a total of 24,788,738 participants were eligible for this analysis. The overall pooled effects showed no significant differences in biliary tract cancer risk (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.50–1.35, p = 0.436), OS (HR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.74–1.04, p = 0.135), or DFS (HR = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.79–1.34, p = 0.829) between metformin users and non-users. When restricting participants to those with diabetes, a similar negative result was found, demonstrating that metformin use was not significantly associated with a lower risk of developing BTC compared with a lack of metformin use (HR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.39–1.07, p = 0.089); notably, the included studies exhibited significant heterogeneity in the selection of participants and the definition of metformin users. Conclusions: Metformin may not be able to reduce the risk of BTC and improve prognosis in certain populations. Based on the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, the present results should be interpreted within their limitations, and further studies are warranted to determine the optimal timing, dose, duration, and scenario of metformin administration.
Neutral and Pectic Heteropolysaccharides Isolated from Opuntia joconostle Mucilage: Composition, Molecular Dimensions and Prebiotic Potential

Opuntia joconostle is a semi-wild cactus cultivated for its fruit. However, the cladodes are often discarded, wasting the potentially useful mucilage in them. The mucilage is composed primarily of heteropolysaccharides, characterized by their molar mass distribution, monosaccharide composition, structural features (by vibrational spectroscopy, FT IR, and atomic force microscopy, AFM), and fermentability by known saccharolytic commensal members of the gut microbiota. After fractionation with ion exchange chromatography, four polysaccharides were found: one neutral (composed mainly of galactose, arabinose, and xylose) and three acidic, with a galacturonic acid content from 10 to 35%mol. Their average molar masses ranged from 1.8 × 105 to 2.8 × 105 g·mol−1. Distinct structural features such as galactan, arabinan, xylan, and galacturonan motifs were present in the FT IR spectra. The intra- and intermolecular interactions of the polysaccharides, and their effect on the aggregation behavior, were shown by AFM. The composition and structural features of these polysaccharides were reflected in their prebiotic potential. Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria were not able to utilize them, whereas members of Bacteroidetes showed utilization capacity. The obtained data suggest a high economic potential for this Opuntia species, with potential uses such as animal feed in arid areas, precise prebiotic, and symbiotic formulations, or as the carbon skeleton source in a green refinery. Our methodology can be used to evaluate the saccharides as the phenotype of interest, helping to guide the breeding strategy.
Analysis of the TGT Cooperative Learning Model in Physics Learning: In Terms of The Implementation of Procedures and Principles

This study aims to analyze the implementation of procedures and principles in the TGT type cooperative learning model used by MAN 1 Jambi City teachers in learning Physics. This type of research is descriptive qualitative research. The subject of this research is the Physics teacher of MAN 1 Jambi City. The method used in collecting data is interview. The results showed that the implementation of the procedure was according to the syntax of the TGT type cooperative model in the Good category with an average value of 3 . The principles that the teacher most often uses in the TGT type cooperative learning model are group discussions in the Fairly Good category with a percentage score of 38.4%.
Decreased cardiac output: an integrative review

ABSTRACT Objective: to identify, in the scientific literature, the defining characteristics and contributing factors (related factors, associated conditions and populations at risk) for nursing diagnosis decreased cardiac output. Method: an integrative literature review, conducted between September and October 2020, with an update in March 2022, in the MEDLINE via PubMed, LILACS, SciELO, CINAHL and EMBASE databases. Using acronym PEO, studies published in the last 10 years in Portuguese, English and Spanish were included. A descriptive analysis was carried out to present the elements mapped in the literature. Results: analysis of 31 articles identified different elements, highlighting 4 new related factors: hyperglycemic stress, prone position, left lateral position, sleep deprivation. Individuals with a history of cardiovascular disease and males were identified as possible populations at risk. Final considerations: the elements for decreased cardiac output, identified in the literature, add evidence that justifies the permanence of this diagnosis in the NANDA-I classification.
Bi-directional Frame Interpolation for Unsupervised Video Anomaly Detection

Anomaly detection in video surveillance aims to detect anomalous frames whose properties significantly differ from normal patterns. Anomalies in videos can occur in both spatial appearance and temporal motion, making unsupervised video anomaly detection challenging. To tackle this problem, we investigate forward and backward motion continuity between adjacent frames and propose a new video anomaly detection paradigm based on bi-directional frame interpolation. The proposed framework consists of an optical flow estimation network and an interpolation network jointly optimized end-to-end to synthesize a middle frame from its nearest two frames. We further introduce a novel dynamic memory mechanism to balance memory sparsity and normality representation diversity, which attenuates abnormal features in frame interpolation without affecting normal prototypes. In inference, interpolation error and dynamic memory error are fused as anomaly scores. The proposed bi-directional interpolation design improves normal frame synthesis, lowering the false alarm rate of anomaly appearance; meanwhile, the implicit "regular" motion constraint in our optical flow estimation and the novel dynamic memory mechanism play blocking roles in interpolating abnormal frames, increasing the system’s sensitivity to anomalies. Extensive experiments on public benchmarks demonstrates the superiority of the proposed framework over prior arts.
Simulation of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the magnetospheric boundary

A two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the terrestrial magnetospheric boundary is performed by including gradients of plasma and magnetic field normal to the dayside low-latitude magnetospheric boundary. A magnetopause current layer is corrugated highly nonlinearly by the instability, and a plasma blob is formed by an interchange motion associated with the instability. The magnetosheath plasma flow momentum is diffused into the magnetosphere by the anomalous tangential (Reynolds plus Maxwell) stresses associated with the instability, and a wide velocity boundary layer is formed just inside the magnetopause current layer, while the thickness of the magnetopause current layer remains almost constant during the evolution of the instability. The convection voltage drop (integral of the convection electric field) across the velocity shear layer is amplified several times by the anomalous momentum transport associated with the instability. The anomalous momentum flux into the magnetosphere (tangential stress) reaches 0.6 to a few percent of the magnetosheath flow momentum flux, and this anomalous momentum flux into the magnetosphere is sufficient for accounting for the observed tailward momentum flux in the low-latitude boundary layer. The value of the anomalous viscosity νano depends importantly on the magnetosheath Alfven Mach number MA, which is defined by a magnetosheath magnetic field component parallel to the magnetosheath flow velocity; for MA = 2.5,νano is equal to ∼ 0.014 × 2aV0, where 2a is the thickness of the initial velocity shear layer and V0 is the total jump of the flow velocity across the magnetospheric boundary, and it increases with MA, and for MA > 5.0 it is equal to ∼0.2 × 2aV0. For a reasonable set of parameters at the dayside magnetospheric boundary the anomalous viscosity obtained is just the right magnitude for driving a magnetospheric convection in the terrestrial magnetosphere.
A Content Analysis of the Counseling Psychology Literature on Religiousness and Spirituality

This study reviewed the literature on religiousness and spirituality (RS) published in three major journals in counseling psychology. We aimed to evaluate (a) the content and methods of RS research and (b) operational definitions of RS constructs and suggestions for research and practice. At Level 1, we reviewed 901 articles that included an RS related word(s) anywhere in the article. At Level 2, we further analyzed 108 empirical studies and 31 conceptual articles that included RS as a study variable or a primary topic. Both quantitative and qualitative (i.e., thematic analysis) methods were used for data analysis. To summarize the key findings, major topics related to RS included mental health, wellbeing, LGBTQ experiences, help-seeking, counseling process, eudaimonic wellbeing, identity, discrimination, and minority stress. Religiousness and spirituality tended to be defined in a dichotomous way. We suggest future directions for research, practice, advocacy, education, and training, building on the holistic, multicultural, and positive premises of counseling psychology.
Changes in the Association between GDP and Night-Time Lights during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Subnational-Level Analysis for the US

Night-time light (NTL) data have been widely used as a remote proxy for the economic performance of regions. The use of these data is more advantageous than the traditional census approach is due to its timeliness, low cost, and comparability between regions and countries. Several recent studies have explored monthly NTL composites produced by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) and revealed a dimming of the light in some countries during the national lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we explicitly tested the extent to which the observed decrease in the amount of NTL is associated with the economic recession at the subnational level. Specifically, we explore how the association between Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the amount of NTL is modulated by the pandemic and whether NTL data can still serve as a sufficiently reliable proxy for the economic performance of regions even during stressful pandemic periods. For this reason, we use the states of the US and quarterly periods within 2014–2021 as a case study. We start with building a linear mixed effects model linking the state-level quarterly GDPs with the corresponding pre-processed NTL data, additionally controlling only for a long-term trends and seasonal fluctuations. We intentionally do not include other socio-economic predictors, such as population density and structure, in the model, aiming to observe the ‘pure’ explanatory potential of NTL. As it is built only for the pre-COVID-19 period, this model demonstrates a rather good performance, with R2 = 0.60, while its extension across the whole period (2014–2021) leads to a considerable worsening of this (R2 = 0.42), suggesting that not accounting for the COVID-19 phenomenon substantially weakens the ‘natural’ GDP–NTL association. At the same time, the model’s enrichment with COVID-19 dummies restores the model fit to R2 = 0.62. As a plausible application, we estimated the state-level economic losses by comparing actual GDPs in the pandemic period with the corresponding predictions generated by the pre-COVID-19 model. The states’ vulnerability to the crisis varied from ~8 to ~18% (measured as a fraction of the pre-pandemic GDP level in the 4th quarter of 2019), with the largest losses being observed in states with a relatively low pre-pandemic GDP per capita, a low number of remote jobs, and a higher minority ratio.
Corneal transplantation in children - when and how?

ABSTRACT Introduction Advanced surgical techniques, better post-operative protocols, imaging, and better understanding of genetic basis have enhanced outcomes of pediatric keratoplasty. However, results in infants and younger children remain a challenge. Transplants in the pediatric age group are challenging because of the complexity of the indications, the procedure itself, and the problems with respect to follow-up and post-operative care in younger recipients. Areas covered This review presents an overview of challenges faced in the management of pediatric corneal grafts, and problems encountered in long-term survival. We discuss the changing trends in these outcomes of PKP with a current review of the recent literature from PubMed. We also share the results of pediatric keratoplasty done at our center in the last three years and have an in-depth discussion about the management of comorbidities like cataracts and glaucoma Expert opinion Despite several advances in microsurgical techniques for corneal transplantation, pediatric keratoplasty remains challenging due to a variety of factors such as young age, repeated need for anesthesia, immature ocular tissues, and accelerated healing. The advent of component surgeries like DALK, DSEK, and DMEK has improved outcomes and simplified management options. Even after specialized surgeries, long-term follow-ups and management of comorbidities become essential.
The measurement of optical radiation pressure in dispersive media

The paper describes the details of a repetition of the Jones-Richards experiment (1954) to compare the recoil of a mirror due to the radiation pressure of light striking it in an optically dense medium with the recoil of the same mirror from the same light in air. A more than tenfold improvement in precision has been possible through the development of the laser and of multilayer reflectors of high reflectivity and low absorption. The new experiment confirms, to a precision of about 0.05 %, that the momentum associated with electromagnetic radiation increases directly with the refractive index of the medium into which it passes, discriminating substantially in favour of the phase velocity ratio and against the group velocity ratio. The experiment also shows that the magnitude of recoil of a mirror in oblique incidence does not vary, within the foregoing precision, when the plane of polarization is changed from perpendicular to parallel to the plane of incidence.
PPARs and the Kynurenine Pathway in Melanoma—Potential Biological Interactions

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors involved in various physiological and pathological processes within the skin. PPARs regulate several processes in one of the most aggressive skin cancers, melanoma, including proliferation, cell cycle, metabolic homeostasis, cell death, and metastasis. In this review, we focused not only on the biological activity of PPAR isoforms in melanoma initiation, progression, and metastasis but also on potential biological interactions between the PPAR signaling and the kynurenine pathways. The kynurenine pathway is a major pathway of tryptophan metabolism leading to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) production. Importantly, various tryptophan metabolites exert biological activity toward cancer cells, including melanoma. Previous studies confirmed the functional relationship between PPAR and the kynurenine pathway in skeletal muscles. Despite the fact this interaction has not been reported in melanoma to date, some bioinformatics data and biological activity of PPAR ligands and tryptophan metabolites may suggest a potential involvement of these metabolic and signaling pathways in melanoma initiation, progression, and metastasis. Importantly, the possible relationship between the PPAR signaling pathway and the kynurenine pathway may relate not only to the direct biological effect on melanoma cells but also to the tumor microenvironment and the immune system.
Polarons in perovskite solar cells: effects on photovoltaic performance and stability

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites manifest unique photophysical properties in terms of their long carrier lifetime, low recombination rate, and high defect tolerance, enabling them to be promising candidates in optoelectronic devices. However, such advanced properties are unexpected in perovskite materials with moderate charge mobility. Recent investigations have revealed that these appealing properties were endowed due to the formation of large polarons in the perovskite crystals, resulting from the coupling of photogenerated carriers and a polarized crystal lattice, which largely affected the carrier-transport dynamics and structural stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In this review, first the crystal structure of the perovskite lattice and the formation mechanism of polarons are elucidated. Then, the modulation of polaron states in PSCs, including large polaron stabilization, polaron-facilitated charge transport, hot-carrier solar cells, and polaron-related stability issues such as polaron-induced metastable defects, polaronic strain, and photostriction are systematically investigated. Finally, the prospect of further understanding and manipulating polaron-related phenomena, working toward highly efficient and stable PSCs, is suggested.
Extreme work environment and career commitment of nurses: empirical evidence from Egypt and Peru

Purpose This paper aim to analyse the motives behind the commitment of nurses to their profession despite their intense job duties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The empirical sample comprises of 35 semi-structured interviews with public sector hospital nurses in under-researched contexts of Egypt and Peru. Findings Three types of motives were found to play a critical role in nurses’ commitment to their profession despite the difficulties associated with extreme work conditions. These factors include cultural (religious values, governmental coercion), contextual (limited education, organisational support) and personal (good nurse identity, submissive nature) dimensions. Originality/value This paper is one of the pioneering works to link existing literature streams on career commitment, extreme jobs, extreme context and management under disruptions (particularly COVID-19) by analysing these aspects in the under-researched Peruvian and Egyptian contexts.
When to Invoke a Prediction Service for Business Process Monitoring?

Predictive monitoring of business processes aims at forecasting the future information of a business process and has gained increasing attention in recent years. With the development of cloud computing, prediction models, including remaining time prediction models, can be provided as cloud services. Reducing the number of invocation times of a remaining time prediction service is necessary since a large quantity of business process instances may be initiated and monitored every day. However, most of the current research focuses on designing new algorithms to improve prediction accuracy but there is no approach available to decide when to invoke a prediction service for each business process instance. In this article, we propose a deep reinforcement learning based strategy that can learn the policies of selecting prediction points for the remaining time prediction. Specifically, the learned policies can dynamically decide the next prediction point at which the remaining time prediction service will be invoked for a business process instance. We performed extensive experiments on five real-world datasets. The experiment results show this strategy can reduce the number of prediction points significantly and still maintain the high prediction accuracy.