Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clostridium butyricum therapy restores the decreased efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade in lung cancer patients receiving proton pump inhibitors

ABSTRACT Oral microbiota is associated with human diseases including cancer. Emerging evidence suggests that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which allow the oral microbiome to translocate into the gut, negatively influence the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) in cancer patients. However, currently there is no effective treatment that restores the decreased efficacy. To address this issue, we retrospectively evaluated 118 advanced or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with ICB and analyzed 80 fecal samples of patients with lung cancer by 16S metagenomic sequencing. Clostridium butyricum therapy using C. butyricum MIYAIRI 588 (CBM588), a live biotherapeutic bacterial strain, was shown to improve the ICB efficacy in lung cancer. Thus, we investigated how CBM588 affects the efficacy of ICB and the gut microbiota of lung cancer patients undergoing PPI treatment. We found that PPI treatment significantly decreased the efficacy of ICB in NSCLC patients, however, CBM588 significantly restored the diminished efficacy of ICB and improved survival. In addition, CBM588 prolonged overall survival in patients receiving PPIs and antibiotics together. The fecal analysis revealed that PPI users had higher abundance of harmful oral-related pathobionts and lower abundance of beneficial gut bacteria for immunotherapy. In contrast, patients who received CBM588 had lesser relative abundance of potentially harmful oral-related bacteria in the gut. Our research suggests that manipulating commensal microbiota by CBM588 may improve the therapeutic efficacy of ICB in cancer patients receiving PPIs, highlighting the potential of oral-related microbiota in the gut as a new therapeutic target for cancer immunotherapy.
The acceptance of financial robo-advisors among investors: The emerging market study

Robo-advisory services are a relatively new concept in the financial world. However, Epperson, Hedges, Singh, and Gabel (2015) report that many investors are extremely interested in employing robo-advisors to manage their finances. Nowadays, robo-advisers develop profiles of investors using very basic surveys to determine their investing preferences. The advantage of robo-advisory is that it charges far less than traditional private bankers (PB) since robo advisors do not require additional labour (Cho, 2019). Having considered the utility of such services, this research aims to examine the acceptance of financial robo-advisors. The findings indicate that average monthly income, value invested in financial instruments, and investment knowledge affect an acceptance of financial robo-advisors as regards their effects on profits, careers in finance, and the overall economic system, and vice versa. The drawback of the study is that the results demonstrate the relationship between independent and dependent variables without delving into each variable in detail. Thus, qualitative research may be necessary for addition to quantitative one to go further into the details. The paper suggests that providing information about robo-advisors for investors can enhance the understanding of robo-advisors leading to the increasing use of robo-advisors in Thailand.
The Moderating Effect of Technology Readiness Towards Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Technology Acceptance During COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted higher education in Malaysia that requires the academics to transform their teaching style to online teaching. Hence, it is essential for them to be skillful in using new technology in teaching and learning. In Open and Distance Learning (ODL), the academic staff must learn a new environment of learning technology in terms of giving lectures and managing all related ODL documents. In this perspective, technology readiness of the ODL technology plays an important role to enhance the acceptance of using the latest technology in ODL among them. This study was conducted to test the moderating effect of the Technology Readiness of the academic staff towards their acceptance of ODL technology to manage teaching and learning process such as UFUTURE and Google Classrooms. The research model was developed based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Technology Readiness concept. The online survey was created and then emailed to the academic staff in UiTM Selangor, resulting in 321 responses were received subsequently. The results show that the Technology Readiness factors (Optimism and Innovativeness) strengthen the relationship between Technology Acceptance factors (Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness) and intention behaviour to use the ODL technology. Additionally, the direct effect testing has also shown that the related factors influence the intention of the academic staff to use the ODL technology except Insecurity and Discomfort. Technology readiness does play an important role, therefore, it is essential for the university to train academic staff on new ODL technology and it should be planned accordingly.
Nighttime unmanned aerial system counter-surveillance using domain adaptive objection detection and thermal imaging

Recent advances and ubiquity of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) capabilities have expedited the need for counter UAS capabilities. While visible imaging and acoustic sensors have been widely used to detect/track UAS signatures, several challenges remain: (1) images that are acquired using EO sensors that are sensitive to visible light (0.4-0.7μm) contain a significant amount of clutter leading to false detections and have limited feasibility under low variable lighting condition (e.g., nighttime), (2) visible imagery is more susceptible to nonlinear, time varying atmospheric distortions, and (3) the discriminative power spectrum of UAS acoustic signatures are sensitive to amplifier gains, microphone array directional response characteristics, and obfuscation by non-white acoustic clutter/noise. Instead, we consider using thermal infrared—specifically longwave infrared (7-14μm)— cameras to detect UAS platforms. Additionally, we consider detecting UAS platforms using a UAS-based counter surveillance platform equipped with the thermal infrared imaging payload, opposed to conventional ground-based counter UAS imaging systems. Here, challenges arise from limited discriminative details and quality in thermal imagery (compared with visible imagery) due variations in sensors, standoff distance, and motion. Therefore, we present a new dataset containing both thermal and visible imagery designed to evaluate UAS detection performance using existing object detectors, such as YOLOv5,1 RetinaNet,2, 3 and SSD.4 More importantly, we present a novel deep domain adaptive framework to optimize the object detectors for more discriminative detection performance and to enhance both daytime and nighttime operations. Lastly, we provide extensive analysis that compares our framework to state-of-the-art domain adaptation methods using our dataset.
Multiparametric Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Detects Altered Myocardial Tissue and Function in Heart Transplantation Recipients Monitored for Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy

BACKGROUND Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a complication beyond the first-year post-heart transplantation (HTx). We aimed to test the utility of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) to detect functional/structural changes in HTx recipients with CAV. METHODS Seventy-seven prospectively recruited HTx recipients beyond the first-year post-HTx and 18 healthy controls underwent CMR, including cine imaging of ventricular function and T1- and T2-mapping to assess myocardial tissue changes. Data analysis included quantification of global cardiac function and regional T2, T1 and extracellular volume based on the 16-segment model. International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation criteria was used to adjudicate CAV grade (0–3) based on coronary angiography. RESULTS The majority of HTx recipients (73%) presented with CAV (1: n = 42, 2/3: n = 14, 0: n = 21). Global and segmental T2 (49.5 ± 3.4 ms vs 50.6 ± 3.4 ms, p < 0.001;16/16 segments) were significantly elevated in CAV-0 compared to controls. When comparing CAV-2/3 to CAV-1, global and segmental T2 were significantly increased (53.6 ± 3.2 ms vs. 50.6 ± 2.9 ms, p < 0.001; 16/16 segments) and left ventricular ejection fraction was significantly decreased (54 ± 9% vs. 59 ± 9%, p < 0.05). No global, structural, or functional differences were seen between CAV-0 and CAV-1. CONCLUSIONS Transplanted hearts display functional and structural alteration compared to native hearts, even in those without evidence of macrovasculopathy (CAV-0). In addition, CMR tissue parameters were sensitive to changes in CAV-1 vs. 2/3 (mild vs. moderate/severe). Further studies are warranted to evaluate the diagnostic value of CMR for the detection and classification of CAV.
Predictive Models for Equine Emergency Exploratory Laparotomy in Spain: Pre-, Intra-, and Post-Operative-Mortality-Associated Factors

Simple Summary Colic syndrome poses a potentially devastating situation in equine patients. Therefore, the prediction of survival has been an important research area over the years, especially in surgical cases. However, prognoses and survival rates are highly diverse in different populations. Many clinically relevant and numerical variables have been used in several large-scale studies. We aimed to determine the survival percentage and other predictive variables in a specific population with concrete characteristics in Spain, in an attempt to predict prognosis and survival using only easily accessible variables. Abstract The extrinsic and intrinsic characteristics of an equine population may influence the onset of gastrointestinal lesions and affect the survival rate of patients. The equine population in Spain has been the focus of a small number of studies, none of which have involved more than one surgical center. In this retrospective cohort study, we aimed to analyze the survival rate, identify the variables that influenced death, and generate multivariate models using clinical variables. Data were collected from the clinical records of two surgical referral centers in the same region, and a total of 566 horses met the inclusion criteria. The statistical analysis was divided into three parts: The first and second included logistic analysis, in order to identify the variables most closely associated with survival. The third part assessed all previous variables in terms of survival and hospitalization time, using a COX survival analysis. The main risk factors associated with intra-operative mortality were related to seasonality (winter and summer), patient age (older than 9 years), distance from the hospital, the presence of a strangulating lesion, and the bowel segment affected (small intestine). Furthermore, the main factors associated with mortality during hospitalization were the characteristics of the lesions (strangulating) and the differences between surgical centers. The models generated in this study have good predictive value and use only reliable and easily obtainable variables. The most reliable characteristics are those related to the type of colic and the location of the lesion.
Peer-regarding fairness in supply chain

Abstract People exhibit peer-regarding fairness concern when others who are in similar circumstances are treated unfairly. The fairness concern derives from a sense of sympathy or schadenfreude. We study it in a distribution channel where a supplier deals with two retailers located at independent markets. Sympathy means the decrease of the retailer’s utility because he believes that his peer’s unfair treatment is undeserved, while schadenfreude indicates the utility increase as the unfair treatment is perceived deserved. The two retailers are offered wholesale prices sequentially and set their retail prices if they accept the offers. In our paper, the second retailer has the peer-regarding fairness concern. We show the following in regards to this idea: (i) the retailers’ profits and the distribution channel performance can be improved by the peer-regarding fairness concern for sympathy; (ii) the retailers’ profits and the channel performance can be reduced by the peer-regarding fairness concern for schadenfreude; and (iii) the peer-regarding fairness concern for sympathy is unfavourable to the supplier, and the second retailer may be punished separately if the concern is not strong enough, while the supplier benefits from the peer-regarding fairness concern for schadenfreude and may exploit the second retailer solely if the schadenfreude parameter is large.
Effects of Hydrothermal Aging on the Breakdown Voltage of Polyesterimide

Polymers have always played a big role in the insulation of electrical machines and have been the focus of several studies when they are subjected to different stresses. The humidity and temperature are the main constraints that degrade the insulating performance of the materials when they act together causing hydrothermal aging of the polymers. This study deals with the influence of hydrothermal aging on the breakdown voltage of polyesterimide which is known as one of the most important factors which define the electrical insulation performance of the polymer. The breakdown test was executed under AC and DC voltage. A statistical analysis of breakdown data was carried out using the two-parameter Weibull distribution. According to the findings, the breakdown voltage changes with aging time. Its rise is due to a polymer crosslinking by thermal action, causing a reduction of the mean-free path of charge carriers decreasing their mobility. The decline is attributed to the material plasticization after water penetration into the polymer matrix at the beginning of aging, which is a physical effect. Eventually, the chemical effect reflects the hydrolysis reaction, which destroys the hydrogenous links of the polymer. The breakdown voltage under the DC ramp is higher than that obtained under the AC ramp. The DC breakdown voltage depends on the polarity of the applied electrical field. The polymer degradation is characterized by a change in color and the crumbling of samples.
Economic benefits of ISO / IEC 29110 Standard: a Case Study

What is the cost benefits ratio of implementing standards? A division of an Engineering firm have used the ISO Methodology to assess and communicate the economic benefits of standards following the implementation of the ISO / IEC 29110 Standard for its project management processes. This article is following the preceding article: ISO / IEC 29110 to Reduce Overruns and Delays in Project Management which describes the implementation process.
Design of an Optimal Multilayer Electromagnetic Absorber through Spiral Algorithm 1 Diseño de un absorbedor electromagnético óptimo multicapas mediante el algoritmo de la espiral 2

Abstract This article presents a strategy for designing optimal planar electromagnetic absorbers of several layers. The electromagnetic absorbers designed can operate in dif-ferent frequency ranges. They were optimized by using a well-known spiral optimization algorithm. Results for the case of three, five, seven, and nine layers, showed the advantage of using this algorithm, mainly in terms of fewer adjustable parameters and its great capacity for intensification and diversification. Using Spiral Optimiza-tion, electromagnetic absorbers with seven and nine layers were designed for the frequency range between 0.8-5.4 GHz. They achieved a minimum attenuation of –26.13 dB and -25.66 dB, with respective thicknesses of 6.26 mm and 8.64 mm. The seven-layered design performed better than the nine-layered one. The results obtained were compared to those reported with other global optimization methods. Keywords electromagnetic absorbers; optimization; spiral optimiza-tion; metaheuristic algorithms; Pareto analysis
Detection of virulence genes and antimicrobial susceptibility of salmonella spp isolated from diarrheal human in wasit province, Iraq

This study aimed to isolate Salmonella species from diarrheal human and to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility and virulence-associated genes. A total of 145 human stool samples were from Wasit province, during the period from November 2018 to August 2019. The isolates were identified according to colony morphology, Gram stain, biochemical, Analytical profile index strip (Api-20E) and serotyping. The antimicrobial susceptibility test was done by utilizing the VITEK-2 Compact system and a disc diffusion method. Salmonella isolates were tested to detect six virulence genes, namely sefA, mgtC, sopB, spvR, Stn and invA by PCR technique. Results showed that Salmonella spp was isolated from 9 out of 145(6.2%), S. Typhimurium 55.55%, S. Typhi 33.33%, and S. Enteritidis 11%. The highest isolation rate of species was in the group aged between 3 to 15 years (10.34%). The gender distribution was 7.14% in males and 4.91% in females. August and March recorded the highest level of isolated Salmonella which was 11.76% and 10%, respectively. Multidrug Antibiotic Resistance Index (MARI) of S. Typhimurium, S. Enteritidis, and S. Typhi were 0.4-0.86, 0.57, and 0.62-0.71, respectively.
Attack Resilience of Cache Replacement Policies: A Study Based on TTL Approximation

Caches are pervasively used in communication networks to speed up content access by reusing previous communications, where various replacement policies are used to manage the cached contents. The replacement policy of a cache plays a key role in its performance, and is thus extensively engineered to achieve a high hit ratio in benign environments. However, some studies showed that a policy with a higher hit ratio in benign environments may be more vulnerable to cache pollution attacks that intentionally send requests for unpopular contents. To understand the cache performance under such attacks, we analyze a suite of representative replacement policies under the framework of TTL approximation in how well they preserve the hit ratios for legitimate users, while incorporating the delay for the cache to obtain a missing content. We further develop a scheme to adapt the cache replacement policy based on the perceived level of attack. Our analysis and validation on real traces show that although no single policy is resilient to all the attack strategies, suitably adapting the replacement policy can notably improve the attack resilience of the cache. Motivated by these results, we implement selected policies as well as policy adaptation in an open-source SDN switch to manage flow rule replacement, which is shown to notably improve its resilience to pollution attacks.
Strategies for the cooperation of educational institutions and companies in mechanical

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to analyse the strategic planning of the Centre for Mechanical Engineering, which is a joint venture of educational institutions and companies in Southwest Finland. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents the strategies of focus and cost efficiency and how the selected strategies can be adjusted according to the Centre’s place in its life cycle. The initial phase of the Centre emphasises the importance of a growth strategy. Findings – The strategies are described using the balanced scorecard approach, which allows organisations to articulate and communicate their strategies to their employees and stakeholders. Originality/value – This study contributes to the knowledge and practice of implementing strategies in higher education. An example is presented of how strategy can be described using a strategy map.
The Effects of Remote Instructions, Rehearsal, and Feedback on Preference Assessment Implementation

ABSTRACT The use of telehealth has seen recent growth due to the coronavirus disease, resulting in large-scale service delivery changes, which may also necessitate a shift in staff training and performance management procedures. One effective in-vivo procedure is the delivery of performance feedback. There are many characteristics that affect the efficacy of performance feedback (e.g., immediacy). Thus, it may be important to understand how remote technology also affects performance feedback. We evaluated the effects of remote feedback on the accuracy of preference assessment implementation using telehealth-based coaching with three individuals following a history of written instructions and remote rehearsal. Remote feedback was effective for all three participants. Additionally, skills maintained at high levels 1-week post-training and occurred in the presence of a novel confederate and novel stimuli for two of the three participants.
System Dynamics Approach for Investigating the Risk Effects on Schedule Delay in Infrastructure Projects

AbstractEffective risk management is critical to the success of infrastructure projects. Although several studies in the literature have focused on various aspects of infrastructure project risk management, limited efforts have investigated the overall dynamics of infrastructure project risks and how dynamic risk interactions can affect a project schedule. This study, therefore, takes a holistic view to investigate the effects of dynamic risk interactions on a schedule delay in infrastructure projects. First, major risks that can cause a schedule delay in infrastructure projects are identified through a review of related literature and questionnaire survey. Second, the interactions among main variables related to infrastructure schedule risks are analyzed using causal loop diagrams. Afterward, a system dynamics (SD) model for the investigation of risk effects on a project schedule is developed based on the causal loop diagrams and the underlying relations among the variables. Finally, the model is applied.
Multi-disciplinary analysis and optimisation methodology for conceptual design of a box-wing aircraft

ABSTRACT This paper presents a multi-disciplinary analysis methodology for a box-wing aircraft configuration optimised for a given mission scenario. This conceptual design methodology and associated toolchain combines well-established vortex lattice analysis and a newly developed structural analysis tool called WingMASS, allowing the design space to be explored from a combined aerodynamics and structural design perspective. For a given mission scenario, the method optimises a box-wing configuration and compares it with an equivalent conventional configuration. This study shows that, for a given mission, a box-wing configuration can lead to a fuel burn reduction of up to 5% by optimising aspect ratio, horizontal and vertical wing separation.
The effect of pay disparities within top management on conservative reporting

We study the effect of the pay gap between the chief executive officer (CEO) and the next layer of executives in the top management team (TMT)—a proxy for promotion-based tournament incentives—on conditional conservatism in financial reporting. We find that higher levels of tournament incentives are associated with less conservative financial reports. Our results hold in an instrumental variable (IV) analysis and regressions using alternative measures of both pay gap and accounting conservatism. Furthermore, we find that senior executives’ engagement in tournaments for promotion is affected by their perceived probability of success. Specifically, the negative relationship between the pay gap and conservatism is stronger (weaker) when the CEO is more (less) likely to be replaced. Overall, our results indicate that pay disparities within the TMT play an important role in financial reporting.