Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Capecitabine/Mitomycin versus 5-Fluorouracil/Mitomycin in Combination with Simultaneous Integrated Boost Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy for Anal Cancer

Since EXTRA, a non-randomized phase II trial with 31 patients, explored the use of capecitabine, mitomycin and radiation therapy (RT) in the treatment of localized squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCAC), this treatment has been considered as an acceptable alternative to infusional 5-FU. However, the differences in efficacy between capecitabine and 5-FU in chemoradiation therapy (CRT) with simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) radiation therapy (SIB-IMRT) for local SCCAC are not well documented. Patients included in this prospective monocentric cohort study were treated with SIB-RapidArc (a unique RT method treatment for all patients: identical technique, volume and constraints for at-risk organs), mitomycin C and 5-FU each day of RT for 7 weeks (group 1) or capecitabine each day of RT (group 2). Patients treated between July 2009 and August 2017 (group 1) and between November 2012 and April 2018 (group 2) for local SCCAC T2-4 classified as N, M0 or T, N1-3, M0 were included. Primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and acute toxicities. Results: One hundred forty-seven patients were included, 91 in group 1 and 56 in group 2. The two groups were statistically comparable in terms of sex, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) and TNM. With a median duration of follow-up of 53.5 months, the PFS rate at 3 years was 80% for group 1 and 75% for group 2 (p = 0.32). The 3-year colostomy-free survival rate was 92% for group 1 and 85% for group 2 (p = 0.11). The rate of patients with at least one grade 3 or higher acute toxicity was 35.5% in group 1 and 21.4% in group 2 (p = 0.10), with a trend of fewer acute toxicities with capecitabine. Conclusion: Capecitabine/mitomycin in combination with SIB RapidArc radiation therapy for anal cancer seems as effective as 5-FU-based chemotherapy and is well tolerated with minimal toxicity.
Recyclable Superhydrophobic Surface Prepared via Electrospinning and Electrospraying Using Waste Polyethylene Terephthalate for Self-Cleaning Applications

Superhydrophobic surfaces, i.e., surfaces with a water contact angle (WCA) ≥ 150°, have gained much attention as they are multifunctional surfaces with features such as self-cleaning, which can be useful in various applications such as those requiring waterproof and/or protective films. In this study, we prepared a solution from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and fabricated a superhydrophobic surface using electrospinning and electrospraying processes. We observed that the fabricated geometry varies depending on the solution conditions, and based on this, we fabricated a hierarchical structure. From the results, the optimized structure exhibited a very high WCA (>156.6°). Additionally, our investigation into the self-cleaning functionality and solar panel efficiency of the fabricated surface revealed promising prospects for the production of superhydrophobic surfaces utilizing recycled PET, with potential applications as protective films for solar panels. Consequently, this research contributes significantly to the advancement of environmentally friendly processes and the progress of recycling technology.
Genetic Evidence for a Potentially New Pathogenic Leptospira sp. Circulating in Bats from Brazilian Amazon

Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonosis frequently reported worldwide, caused by a spirochete of the genus Leptospira. It is capable of infecting domestic animals, free-living animals, and humans. Among wild animals, the role of bats in the epidemiology of leptospirosis has been investigated but is far from being elucidated. The Amazonian biome has the ideal conditions for maintaining and disseminating leptospires and, despite efforts that have been made to better understand leptospires’ occurrence in wild animals in the region, few studies aimed to explore and genetically characterize leptospires in bats. Based on this, the aim of the present study is to deeper investigate and genetically characterize leptospires detected in bats from the southwest Amazon. Animals were trapped by mist netting at five sites in the state of Acre, Brazil. Kidney samples were obtained and stored for molecular analysis. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted first based on the LipL32 gene, and positive samples were submitted to rrs and secY-PCR and sequencing. Sequences were then submitted to phylogenetic analyses through multiple bioinformatic tools. The rrs sequences from the present study formed one single haplotype, different from any other previously deposited, grouped in a highly supported cluster with sequences from bats from Madagascar and China. The initial secY screening revealed no identity with previously deposited sequences. The phylogenetic trees revealed the sequences from the present study in an isolated branch, clearly separated from all previously known pathogenic Leptospira spp. , suggesting the existence of a potentially undescribed species. The haplotype network including only leptospires from the Amazon region confirmed two new haplotypes from the same taxon unity, isolated from the others, with a probable origin of the species from L. noguchii. The characterization of this potentially new species in bats reinforces the complexity of the transmission dynamics of leptospires, including wild, periurban, and urban environments, emphasizing the need for an integrative look at leptospirosis vigilance within the context of One Health.
Understanding the sensitivity of the North Atlantic subpolar overturning in different resolution versions of HadGEM3‐GC3.1

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a key component of the global climate but is not simulated consistently across models or model resolutions. Here, we use a hierarchy of the global coupled model HadGEM3‐GC3.1, with ocean resolutions of 1°, ¼° and 1/12°, to evaluate the subpolar AMOC and its sensitivity to horizontal resolution. In line with observations, the models show that the mean overturning and surface forced water mass transformation (SFWMT) are concentrated in the eastern subpolar gyre rather than in the Labrador Sea. However, the magnitude of the overturning along the OSNAP line at medium and high resolutions is 25% and 40% larger than in the observations, respectively. This disagreement in overturning strength is noted for both OSNAP East and OSNAP West, and is mainly due to anomalously large SFWMT rather than anomalously large interior mixing or overflow transport from the Nordic Seas. Over the Labrador Sea, the intensification of SFWMT with resolution is explained by a combination of two main biases. Anomalously warm surface water enhances heat loss and reduces the extension of marginal sea ice, which increases the surface density flux over the boundary of the basin. A bias in salinity leads to anomalously dense surface water that shifts the outcropping area of the AMOC isopycnal and results in intense dense water formation along the boundary of the basin at medium and high resolutions. Thus, our analysis sheds light on a range of model biases responsible for large overturning over the Labrador Sea in climate models.
Cell-in-cell structure in cancer: evading strategies from anti-cancer therapies

One of the regulated forms of cell death is the cell-in-cell (CIC) structure, in which a surviving cell is engulfed by another cell, a mechanism that causes the death of the engulfed cell by an adjacent cell. Several investigators have previously shown that the presence of CICs is an independent risk factor significantly associated with decreased survival in patients with various types of cancer. In this review, we summarize the role of CIC in the tumor microenvironment (TME), including changes and crosstalk of molecules and proteins in the surrounding CIC, and the role of these factors in contributing to therapeutic resistance acquisition. Moreover, CIC structure formation is influenced by the modulation of TME, which may lead to changes in cellular properties. Future use of CIC as a clinical diagnostic tool will require a better understanding of the effects of chemotherapy on CIC, biomarkers for each CIC formation process, and the development of automated CIC detection methods in tissue sections of tumor specimens.
Comprehensive investigations of cerebral hemodynamic responses in CSVD patients with mental disorders: a pilot study

Although a portion of patients with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) present mental disorders, there is currently a lack of appropriate technologies to evaluate brain functions that are relevant to neurovascular coupling. Furthermore, there are no established objective criteria for diagnosing and distinguishing CSVD-induced mental disorders and psychiatric diseases. In this study, we report the first comprehensive investigation of the cerebral hemodynamics of CSVD patients who also presented with mental disorders. Two CSVD patients with similar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes but with non-identical mental symptoms participated in this study. The patients were instructed to perform the verbal fluency task (VFT), high-level cognition task (HCT), as well as voluntary breath holding (VBH). A functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to measure the cerebral oxygenation responses. Additionally, a diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) was used to measure the cerebral blood flow (CBF) responses. Both technologies were also applied to a healthy subject for comparison. The fNIRS results showed that both CSVD patients presented abnormal cerebral oxygenation responses during the VFT, HCT, and VBH tasks. Moreover, the patient with cognition impairment showed fluctuations in CBF during these tasks. In contrast, the patient without cognition impairment mostly presented typical CBF responses during the tasks, which was consistent with the healthy subject. The cognitive impairment in CSVD patients may be due to the decoupling of the neurons from the cerebrovascular, subsequently affecting the autoregulation capacity. The results of the fNIRS and DCS combined provide a comprehensive evaluation of the neurovascular coupling and, hence, offer great potential in diagnosing cerebrovascular or psychiatric diseases.
An Examination of Trade-Weighted Real Exchange Rates Based on Fractional Integration

Abstract Since recent literature has quantified the persistence of changes in the real exchange rate (RER) using trade-weighted data, in this paper we ask whether the trade-weighted RER is mean reverting. We focus on post-Bretton Woods data for the G7 countries and, after revising the strong correlation between the RER and the nominal exchange rate over that period, we follow a fractional integration approach. We consider different assumptions for the residuals and allow for breaks at unknown dates. We conclude that the nonstationary behaviour of the RER is mean reverting (i.e., it is integrated of order d ∈ 0.5 , 1 ) for about half of the G7 countries and that allowing for structural breaks affects the test results obtained in absence of breaks but do not invalidate them.
The food shortlist : recommendations for Swedish consumers to reduce the environmental impact of their food choices

The issue of an increasing number of people globally that are adopting unsustainable lifestyles is important because we are destroying the earth’s resources at an accelerating rate. In particular, the pattern of major increasing environmental impact caused by modern food production has the potential to become an important sector for climate change mitigation, but despite the myriad of guides available for reaching a sustainable lifestyle, not enough emphasis is put on the importance of individual consumption choices and increasing consumer’s awareness of the significance their dietary decisions have. In this thesis, I studied Swedish dietary choices and the environmental impacts these incur in order to define a “short list” of dietary choices that Swedish consumers could make that would make the biggest contribution on reducing their environmental impact. I defined environmental impact in terms of three indicators: energy use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water footprints. I gathered data on environmental damage caused by the 15 most consumed foodstuffs in these three categories, using the data sources of the Swedish board of Agriculture and peer-reviewed literature. I then ranked these indicators to compare the impact between different food choices. The shortlist for beverages was beer for energy, orange juice, milk and beer for greenhouse gas emissions, and milk for water; and for food it was chocolate and processed meat for energy, exotic & citric fruit and pork for greenhouse gas emissions, and for water it was chocolate. This was important because it demonstrated the complexity and potential contribution dietary choices have to climate change mitigation. As a result of this work, actors such as local authorities and the national food agency should be able to focus research and development of a guide concentrating on strengthening the awareness of the importance of individual consumption choices and clear information on how much environmental impact is affected by dietary changes.
Relation between ground water and surface water in the Hillsborough River basin, west-central Florida

The relation between ground water and surface water in the Hillsborough River basin was defined. The methods used include seismic-reflection profiling along selected reaches of the Hillsborough River and evaluation of streamflow, rainfall, ground-water levels, water quality, and geologic data. Major municipal well fields in the basin are Morris Bridge and Cypress Creek where an average of 15.3 and 30.0 million gallons per day, respectively, was pumped in 1980. Mean annual rainfall for the study area is 53.7 inches. Average rainfall for 1980, determined from eight rainfall stations, was 49.7 inches. Evapotranspiration, corrected for the 5 percent of the basin that is standing water, was 35.7 inches per year. The principal hydrogeologic units in the basin are the surficial aquifer, the intermediate aquifer and confining beds, the Upper Floridan aquifer, the middle confining unit, and the Lower Floridan aquifer. Tota'l pumpage of ground water in 1980 was 98.18 million gallons per day. The surficial aquifer and the intermediate aquifer are not used for major ground-water supply in the basin. Continuous marine seismic-reflection data collected along selected reaches of the Hillsborough River were interpreted to define the riverbed profile, the thickness of surficial deposits, and the top of persistent limestone. The top of the limestone exhibited an irregular surface that is typical of buried karst. A large sinkhole under the river was identified about 1 mile south of the river's confluence with Trout Creek. Major areas of ground-water discharge near the Hillsborough River and its tributaries are the wetlands adjacent to the river between the Zephyrhills gaging station and Fletcher Avenue and the wetlands adjacent to Cypress Creek. An estimated 20 million gallons per day seeps upward from the Upper Floridan aquifer within those wetland areas. The runoff per square mile is greater at the Zephyrhills station than at Morris Bridge. However, results of groundwater flow models and potentiometric-surface maps indicate that ground water is flowing upward along the Hillsborough River between the Zephyrhills gage and the Morris Bridge gage. This upward leakage is lost to evapotranspiration. An aquifer test conducted in 1978 at tfie Morris Bridge well field was evaluated by using an anisotropic method. Analytical results matched observed water levels within 0.1 foot. Analysis of aquifer-test results indicates that withdrawals of up to 28 million gallons per day would have a negligible effect on the river stage or flow. A comparison of discharge measurements for the Hillsborough River at Fowler Avenue and daily discharge of the river near Tampa between 1945 and 1978 shows that discharge at Fowler Avenue, the upstream station, was greater than near Tampa. This streamflow loss to the Floridan aquifer system probably is due to a direct hydraulic connection t etween the river and the aquifer system. H
Report on the IRRDB 1981 Hevea germplasm by Cirad (France), year 2002

This report sums up the different rubber germplasm. operations carried out with Cirad participation, mainly in close cooperation with Cnra-Cote d'Ivoire, relating to collections, introduction and dispatching of germplasm, field evaluation, genetic diversity analysis, assessment of recombination. Results issued from research of the last three years are presented. The current position of Cirad and its specific interests related with IRRDB 1981 germplasm. are explained. A discussion about possible strategies for the use of IRRDB rubber germplasm is proposed. Specific interest is expressed for genetic variability management, with possible complementary roles of a core collection and of 'working populations' (to be developped), for natural pollination applied to germplasm. recombination and for the development of a IRRDB germplasm database. (Resume d'auteur)
Using the Google Earth Engine cloud-computing platform to assess the long-term spatial temporal dynamics of land use and land cover within the Letaba watershed, South Africa

Abstract Population growth and environmental shifts have elevated the pressure on land use and cover (LULC), necessitating vital management and adaptive strategies to preserve the balance between ecosystem services and human well-being in watersheds. It's pivotal to understand the implications of human-induced shifts from natural to human-dominated surroundings This study utilized Google Earth Engine (GEE) to analyze 31 years of LULC changes in Letaba watershed. Using GEE's random forest, LULC classes were mapped with 93% to 99% accuracy across four timeframes (1990, 2000, 2010, and 2021). Trends revealed declining water bodies (-4%), bare surfaces (-2%), natural forest (-3%), and grassland (-3%), while shrublands, plantations, and built-up areas increased at annual rates of 41%, 24%, and 47% respectively. This transformation reflects population-driven shifts, necessitating adaptive strategies. Given the importance of plantations for income, embracing climate-smart agriculture could ensure long-term food and environmental security, thus addressing the evolving dynamics in Letaba watershed.
Geochemistry of bitter brines in the Salar de Coipasa - Bolivia

The Salar de Coipasa is a 2 500 km salt lake to the North of the Uyuni salt lake in the Bolivian Altiplano. Unlike Uyuni, Coipasa had not been explored systematically for the geochemistry of its brines. This paper presents results of a joint geological cooperation program between the Universities of Liege (Belgium) and Oruro (Bolivia) aiming to estimate the resources and genesis of Coipasa bitter brines. Results indicate a noticeably higher Mg/Li ratio and a threefold sulfate enrichment in Coipasa with respect to Uyuni. The largest lithium concentrations (up to 800 mg/l) were found at the South-East border of the Salar. This region corresponds to the maximal extension of the permanent lake in the rainy season.
Frequency of Dimethyl Fumarate-Induced Lymphopenia among Omani Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Objectives Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is known to cause lymphopenia when used to treat patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, research on DMF therapy in the Arab world, especially in Oman, is scarce. This study aimed to analyse the prevalence of lymphopenia among Omani patients with MS and their reasons for discontinuing DMF therapy. Methods In this retrospective study, the medical records of Omani patients with MS who were treated using DMF at two tertiary hospitals in Muscat, Oman, from February 2017 to February 2023 were reviewed. Their demographic, clinical and laboratory data were retrieved and analysed. Absolute lymphocyte count values at baseline and at the last follow-up, as well as the reasons for discontinuing DMF therapy, were collected. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used for data analysis. Binary-logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors for DMF-induced lymphopenia. Results A total of 64 Omani patients with MS were included in this study. The majority of the study participants (n = 40; 63%) were female. All included patients started DMF therapy at the mean age of 33 ± 7.7 years. After administration of DMF, 14 (21.9%) patients developed grades 1–3 of lymphopenia. The DMF therapy was discontinued for 23 (36.0%) patients, mainly in response to adverse events or confirmed pregnancy. Female gender was the only significant predictor of DMF-induced lymphopenia (P = 0.037). Conclusions Most Omani patients with MS had mild lymphopenia (grades 1–2). Early adverse events and pregnancy were the main reasons provided for discontinuing DMF therapy.
Generation, Evolution, and Characterization of Turbulence Coherent Structures

Turbulence stands as one of the most complicated and attractive physical phenomena. The accumulated knowledge has shown turbulent flow to be composed of islands of vortices and uniform-momentum regions, which are coherent in both time and space. Research has been concentrated on these structures, their generation, evolution, and interaction with the mean flow. Different theories and conceptual models were proposed with the aim of controlling the boundary layer flow and improving numerical simulations. Here, we review the different classes of turbulence coherent structures and the presumable genera - tion mechanisms for each. The conceptual models describing the generation of turbulence coherent structures are generally classified under two categories, namely, the bottom-up mechanisms and the top-down mechanisms. The first assumes turbulence to be generated near the surface by some sort of instabilities, whereas the second assigns an active role to the large outer layer structures, perhaps the turbulent bulges. Both categories of models coexist in the flow with the first dominating turbulence generation at low Reynolds number and the second at high Reynolds number, such as the case in the atmospheric boundary layer.