Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Immune-Mediated Effects of Microplanar Radiotherapy with a Small Animal Irradiator

Simple Summary Half of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy during their course of treatment. The destructive effects of radiation on normal tissue causes side effects that significantly affect the patient’s quality of life. Microplanar radiation therapy (MRT) is a novel, promising method that, in animal models, has shown fewer effects on normal tissue and better therapeutic efficacy. MRT does not expose the entire tissue to intense radiation, but has micron-scale “valleys” between the peaks of radiation. We have previously developed an accessible method to apply MRT. Using our approach, here, we show that MRT greatly enhanced the response of the immune system to the tumor by stimulating specific signaling molecules. Moreover, we show that combining MRT with immune checkpoint therapy was even more effective in reducing the treated tumors, possibly pointing towards using similar approaches in the clinic. Abstract Spatially fractionated radiotherapy has been shown to have effects on the immune system that differ from conventional radiotherapy (CRT). We compared several aspects of the immune response to CRT relative to a model of spatially fractionated radiotherapy (RT), termed microplanar radiotherapy (MRT). MRT delivers hundreds of grays of radiation in submillimeter beams (peak), separated by non-radiated volumes (valley). We have developed a preclinical method to apply MRT by a commercial small animal irradiator. Using a B16-F10 murine melanoma model, we first evaluated the in vitro and in vivo effect of MRT, which demonstrated significant treatment superiority relative to CRT. Interestingly, we observed insignificant treatment responses when MRT was applied to Rag−/− and CD8-depleted mice. An immuno-histological analysis showed that MRT recruited cytotoxic lymphocytes (CD8), while suppressing the number of regulatory T cells (Tregs). Using RT-qPCR, we observed that, compared to CRT, MRT, up to the dose that we applied, significantly increased and did not saturate CXCL9 expression, a cytokine that plays a crucial role in the attraction of activated T cells. Finally, MRT combined with anti-CTLA-4 ablated the tumor in half of the cases, and induced prolonged systemic antitumor immunity.
Comparative Study of the GIC Amplitudes and Characteristics in Different Power Grids in China

Geomagnetic disturbances, which arise from phenomena driven by solar activity commonly called space weather, induce electric currents in power systems. These geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) flow through transformers where they produce half-cycle saturation, the root cause of all related power system problems such as harmonics, reactive power fluctuations and abnormal temperature rises, which are threats to power system security. The GIC amplitudes in high voltage power grid are determined by the global magnetic storm intensity, the latitude of the power grid, the earth conductivity and the power grid topology and resistances. Generally, problems caused by GIC have been more serious in high latitude regions such as North America and North Europe. However, in recent years there have been some GIC events (such as transformers vibration and noise in Guangdong and Jiangsu power grids) in China. Therefore, it is necessary to study the amplitudes and characteristics of GIC in different power grids in China. The geoelectric field model and GIC model for calculating the GIC amplitudes in power grid are established using the plane wave approximation. These models are then used to calculate the GIC amplitudes in the Jiangsu 500kV power grid, the Northwest 750kV power grid and the Northeast 1000kV UHV (ultra-high-voltage) power grid planned for 2020. The geomagnetic data to calculate these GIC amplitudes are collected from several geomagnetic stations in China for the magnetic storm in Nov. 2004. Also Measurements of GIC were also made in the transformers of Ling’ao nuclear power plant in Guangdong 500kV power grid during Nov. 2004 to Aug. 2005. So, by comparing all of this GIC data, the GIC amplitudes and characteristics in different power grids (different latitudes and different voltage levels) are studied. Finally, some suggestions are given for GIC prevention for the future large UHV power grid in China. This paper focuses on the comparative analysis of the GIC data from different power grids, and the major factors that cause those differences. The results of the study show that, compared with the high latitude regions, the earth conductivity, the power grid topology and DC parameters are the more important factors to determine the GIC amplitudes in mid-low latitude power grid (China). Moreover, considering the features of the UHV power grid, some research suggestions for responding to the extreme magnetic storm are proposed. The conclusions of this paper will provide important reference information for planning, equipment selection and disaster prevention of future UHV power grid.
Genetic variability, character association and diversity studies in brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)

An experiment was conducted to assess the existing variability in brinjal germplasm based on Mahalanobis’s D2 statistic based on nine quantitative traits. The germplasm accessions were classified into six clusters, in which the highest inter-cluster distance was recorded between clusters III and IV. Cluster I exhibited a low mean estimate for days to 50% flowering; cluster VI showed high estimates of the mean for plant height, the number of primary branches per plant, average fruit weight, and 1000 seed weight. Cluster V recorded the highest number of fruits and fruit yields per plant. Principal component analysis revealed total variability of 53.09 per cent, contributed by PC 1 (30.83 %) and PC 2 (23.07 %). Traits viz., days to 50% flowering, plant height, an average number of branches per plant, fruit length, and 1000 seed weight contributed positive significant component loadings for the first two PCs. High heritability and high GAM were also recorded for a number of fruits per plant, fruit yield per plant, fruit length, fruit girth, fruit weight, and 1000 seed weight. Fruit yield and the number of fruits per plant were positively and significantly associated with each other. Hence, simultaneous selection of these traits is advised for the genetic improvement in the brinjal breeding program.
Preparation and Characterization of Regenerated Cellulose Membrane Blended with ZrO2 Nanoparticles

It is of great significance to search for efficient, renewable, biodegradable and economical membrane materials. Herein, we developed an organic-inorganic hybrid regenerated cellulose membrane (ZrO2/BCM) with excellent hydrophilic and anti-fouling properties. The membrane was prepared by introducing ZrO2 particles into an N-Methylmorpholine-N-oxide(NMMO)/bamboo cellulose(BC) solution system by the phase inversion method. The physi-chemical structure of the membranes were characterized based on thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The modified regenerated cellulose membrane has the excellent rejection of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and anti-fouling performance. The membrane flux of ZrO2/BCM is 321.49 (L/m2·h), and the rejection rate of BSA is 91.2%. Moreover, the membrane flux recovery rate after cleaning with deionized water was 90.6%. This new type of separation membrane prepared with green materials holds broad application potential in water purification and wastewater treatment.
Conservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Dyeing Skills: Challenges and Strategy in Kofar Mata Dyeing Pits Industry, Kano, Nigeria

Dyeing an intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) embodied in traditional crafts is an integral part of the Nigerian people since the pre-colonial period. This practice continued into the post-colonial era, which had since evolved beyond the socio-cultural aspects to include the economic aspects. In recent years, however, there is increasing decline in the practice of this art in most parts of the country. Though practices in the dyeing industry have been widely recognized, literature regarding conservation of this important traditional skill remains scarce. This paper intends to explore and identify challenges faced by craft workers in the dyeing industry with focus on of the renowned Kofar Mata Dye Pits in Kano, Nigeria. Empirical data was collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussion from diverse participants that included ICH dyers, government authorities, community leaders, marketers and consumers. Our study identified a number of issues threatening the preservation of this important cultural heritage. Strategies to promote and preserve this intangible cultural heritage to ensure its sustainability were also shared.
Issues for computer modelling of room acoustics in non-concert hall settings

The basic principle of common room acoustics computer models is the energy-based geometrical room acoustics theory. The energy-based calculation relies on the averaging effect provided when there are many reflections from many different directions, which is well suited for large concert halls at medium and high frequencies. In recent years computer modelling has become an established tool in architectural acoustics design thanks to the advance in computing power and improved understanding of the modelling accuracy. However concert hall is only one of many types of built environments that require good acoustic design. Increasingly computer models are being sought for non-concert hall applications, such as in small rooms at low frequencies, flat rooms in workplace surroundings, and long enclosures such as underground stations. In these built environments the design issues are substantially difference from that of concert halls and in most cases the common room acoustics models will needed to be modified or totally re-formulated in order to deal with these new issues. This paper looks at some examples of these issues. In workplace environments we look at the issues of directional propagation and volume scattering by furniture and equipment instead of the surface scattering that is common assumed in concert hall models. In small rooms we look at the requirement of using wave models, such as boundary element models, or introducing phase information into geometrical room acoustics models to determine wave behaviours. Of particular interest is the ability of the wave models to provide phase information that is important not only for room modes but for the construction of impulse response for auralisation. Some simulated results using different modelling techniques will be presented to illustrate the problems and potential solutions.
Male vs. Female Differences in Responding to Oxygen–Ozone Autohemotherapy (O2-O3-AHT) in Patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)

(1) Background: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a syndrome that has fatigue as its major symptom. Evidence suggests that ozone is able to relieve ME/CFS-related fatigue in affected patients. (2) Objective: To evaluate whether differences exist between males and females in ozone therapy outputs in ME/CFS. (3) Methods: In total, 200 patients previously diagnosed with ME/CFS (mean age 33 ± 13 SD years) underwent treatment with oxygen–ozone autohemotherapy (O2-O3-AHT). Fatigue was investigated via an FSS 7-scoring questionnaire before and following 1 month after treatment. (4) Results: The Mann-Whitney test (MW test) assessed the significance of this difference (H = 13.8041, p = 0.0002), and female patients showed better outcomes than males. This difference was particularly striking in the youngest age cohort (14–29 years), and a KW test resulted in H = 7.1609, p = 0.007 for the Δ = 28.3% (males = 3.8, females = 5.3). (5) Conclusions: When treated with O2-O3-AHT, females respond better than males.
Short-Time Changes of Intraocular Pressure and Biomechanics of the Anterior Segment of the Eye during Water Drinking Test in Patients with XEN GelStent

Purpose: Little is known about short-term changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) following minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries, such as post-XEN GelStent implantation. Although the importance of corneal biomechanics in glaucoma diagnostics has been reported, little work has been conducted on postoperative description of changes when the structure of the anterior segment is altered. The aim of presented study was to evaluate the changes in the biomechanical parameters of the anterior segment of the post-XEN GelStent implantation eyes. Patients and Methods: This investigator-initiated, open-label, prospective, single-center study recruited patients. Patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) after XEN GelStent implantation versus matched POAG controls (considered as control group/CG) treated pharmacologically were screened. Water loading was conducted using 10 mL of water per kilogram of body weight for ≤5 min. Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT), corneal hysteresis (CH), and corneal resistance factor (CRF) were performed before water loading and after every 15 min up to 1 h. Results: The water drinking test (WDT) was positive in 3.7% (1 out of 27) of patients in the post-XEN group compared with 22.7% (5 out of 22) of patients in the control group (CG; p < 0.05). Mean fluctuations in GAT during the WDT were higher in the CG group (3.6 ± 2.5 mmHg vs. 2.9 ± 1.3 mmHg, p < 0.001). CRF and CH changed significantly only in the post-XEN group. The mean peak of CH and CRF occurred at 15 and 30 min of the test in the post-XEN group (p = 0.001). Conclusion: WDT is important to assess the ability of compensation mechanisms to reduce fluctuations in IOP after water upload. The relationship between biomechanics of the anterior segment and glaucoma may have substantial impact on surgical outcome evaluation.
The Effects of Exercise Therapy Moderated by Sex in Rehabilitation of COVID-19

Standardized exercise therapy programs in pulmonary rehabilitation have been shown to improve physical performance and lung function parameters in post-acute COVID-19 patients. However, it has not been investigated if these positive effects are equally beneficial for both sexes. The purpose of this study was to analyze outcomes of a pulmonary rehabilitation program with respect to sex differences, in order to identify sex-specific pulmonary rehabilitation requirements. Data of 233 post-acute COVID-19 patients (40.4% females) were analyzed before and after a three-week standardized pulmonary rehabilitation program. Lung function parameters were assessed using body-plethysmography and functional exercise capacity was measured by the Six-Minute Walk Test. At post-rehabilitation, females showed a significantly smaller improvement in maximal inspiration capacity and forced expiratory volume (F=5.86, ω 2= .02; p<0.05) than males. Exercise capacity improvements between men and women did not differ statistically. Females made greater progress towards reference values of exercise capacity (T(231)=−3.04; p<0.01) and forced expiratory volume in the first second (T(231)=2.83; p<0.01) than males. Sex differences in the improvement of lung function parameters seem to exist and should be considered when personalizing standardized exercise therapies in pulmonary rehabilitation.
Post-Ischemic Neurodegeneration of the Hippocampus Resembling Alzheimer’s Disease Proteinopathy

In this review, we summarize, inter alia, the protein and gene changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease and their role in post-ischemic hippocampal neurodegeneration. In the hippocampus, studies have revealed dysregulation of the genes for the amyloid protein precursor metabolism and tau protein that is identical in nature to Alzheimer’s disease. Data indicate that amyloid and tau protein, derived from brain tissue and blood due to increased permeability of the blood–brain barrier after ischemia, play a key role in post-ischemic neurodegeneration of the hippocampus, with concomitant development of full-blown dementia. Thus, the knowledge of new neurodegenerative mechanisms that cause neurodegeneration of the hippocampus after ischemia, resembling Alzheimer’s disease proteinopathy, will provide the most important therapeutic development goals to date.
Mediating Role of Social Interaction Anxiety between Fear of COVID-19 and Psychological Distress

Youth is the backbone of any society. Their mental health is worsening in these terrible times of pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate a relationship between fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress, and whether this relationship was mediated by social interaction anxiety. A cross-sectional research design was used to recruit online 200 university students of Lahore, Pakistan through Google docs via purposive sampling technique by introducing them to a demographic questionnaire consisting of fear of COVID-19, social interaction anxiety and psychological distress scales respectively. The sample included both male and female students (men =53%, women =46%) whose age ranged from 17-24 years (M = 21.04, SD = 2.52). Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 25. Pearson Product moment correlation and mediation analysis were used to analyze data. It was found that there was a significant positive association between fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress. The findings also revealed that social interaction anxiety fully mediated the association between psychological distress and fear of COVID-19. It is recommended that counselors and psychologists develop social support programs that can assist students to manage themselves well in the present pandemic environment.
Inaccuracy within Online Journalism in Indonesia

Many scholars have conducted studies on the accuracy of the news media, such as newspaper, television, and magazine, but not online media. In fact, online media is a significant news media in the moment, especially in Indonesia. Online press companies are even the largest press companies in Indonesia compared to newspapers, radio, and television. Therefore, this study is conducted to measure the inaccuracies that occur in news in online news media. Researchers examined 63 online journalistic media that have been administratively and factually verified by the ‘Dewan Pers’ (Press Council). It uses a content analysis method by coding the headlines in Indonesian online journalistic media. This study finds online mass media categories based on the theme segmentation, namely: 1) general, 2) economics, technology, and business, 3) sports, 4) politics, law, and crime, 5) lifestyle and entertainment, and 6) regional. The results of this study indicate that the inaccuracy of news in Indonesian online media is high. Media with economics, technology, and business most often make grammatical errors. This study also finds that speed does not only has an impact on grammatical inaccuracies, but also on unbalanced news reporting, where the imbalance in Indonesian online media news itself is very high.
Effect of Multistage High Temperature Thermomechanical Treatment on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Austenitic Reactor Steel

The deformation microstructures formed by novel multistage high-temperature thermomechanical treatment (HTMT) and their effect on the mechanical properties of austenitic reactor steel are investigated. It is shown that HTMT with plastic deformation at the temperature decreasing in each stage (1100, 900, and 600 °C with a total strain degree of e = 2) is an effective method for refining the grain structure and increasing the strength of the reactor steel. The structural features of grains, grain boundaries and defective substructure of the steel are studied in two sections (in planes perpendicular to the transverse direction and perpendicular to the normal direction) by Scanning Electron Microscopy with Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction (SEM EBSD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). After the multistage HTMT, a fragmented structure is formed with grains elongated along the rolling direction and flattened in the rolling plane. The average grain size decreases from 19.3 µm (for the state after solution treatment) to 1.8 µm. A high density of low-angle boundaries (up to ≈ 80%) is found inside deformed grains. An additional cold deformation (e = 0.3) after the multistage HTMT promotes mechanical twinning within fragmented grains and subgrains. The resulting structural states provide high strength properties of steel: the yield strength increases up to 910 MPa (at 20 °C) and up to 580 MPa (at 650 °C), which is 4.6 and 6.1 times higher than that in the state after solution treatment (ST), respectively. The formation of deformed substructure and the influence of dynamic strain aging at an elevated tensile temperature on the mechanical properties of the steel are discussed. Based on the results obtained, the multistage HTMT used in this study can be applied for increasing the strength of austenitic steels.
Viewing Sports Online during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Antecedent Effects of Social Presence on the Technology Acceptance Model

The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 has posed several challenges to the sporting industry, caused by the change in behavior of sporting fans from purchasing event tickets to watching live broadcasts of events on the Internet. This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of fan behavior in this “new normal”. It adopts a technology acceptance model (TAM) to explore the effects of social presence (SP) in the context of online viewing of professional sports. For this purpose, the authors conducted an online survey of viewers who watched NBA sports events on the Amazon Mechanical Turk website using the Together Mode feature of Microsoft Teams. We collected 209 valid questionnaires and performed a partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis. The results showed that the SP-TAM structural model has adequate predictive relevance, and SP has a statistically significant positive relationship with both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. The model was thus validated, contributing to the existing body of knowledge on emerging technologies such as the creation of a virtual audience in sports. The study’s findings suggest that technology developers should focus on the effects of SP and emphasize practical functions to increase the use intention of sporting fans. Furthermore, professional sporting leagues should prioritize the use of virtual fan technology to optimize the viewing experience of their fans.