Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gamma Irradiation Triggers Immune Escape in Glioma-Propagating Cells

Simple Summary Stem cell-like glioma-propagating cells (GPCs) are crucial for initiation, growth, and treatment resistance of glioblastoma multiforme. Due to their strong immunosuppressive activities, they essentially limit immunotherapeutic approaches. This study offers a new model of radio-selected patient-derived GPCs mimicking a clinical treatment regime of tumor irradiation which is especially useful for immunotherapeutic studies. We provide evidence that clinically relevant, sub-lethal fractions of γ radiation select for a more radio-resistant GPC phenotype with lower immunogenic potential, potentially hampering the success of adjuvant T-cell-based immunotherapies. The immune evasion in GPCs was characterized by quantitative proteomics. It revealed a marked downregulation of the antigen processing machinery in lipid rafts of these cells, leading to reduced MHC surface expression and weaker cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) recognition. Abstract Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common and devastating form of brain tumor for which only palliative radio- and chemotherapy exists. Although some clinical studies on vaccination approaches have shown promising efficacy due to their potential to generate long-term immune surveillance against cancer cells, the evasion mechanisms preventing therapy response are largely uncharacterized. Here, we studied the response of glioblastoma-propagating cells (GPCs) to clinically relevant doses of γ radiation. GPCs were treated with 2.5 Gy of γ radiation in seven consecutive cellular passages to select for GPCs with increased colony-forming properties and intrinsic or radiation-induced resistance (rsGPCs). Quantitative proteomic analysis of the cellular signaling platforms of the detergent-resistant membranes (lipid rafts) in GPCs vs. rsGPCs revealed a downregulation of the MHC class I antigen-processing and -presentation machinery. Importantly, the radio-selected GPCs showed reduced susceptibility towards cytotoxic CD8+ T-cell-mediated killing. While previous studies suggested that high-dose irradiation results in enhanced antigen presentation, we demonstrated that clinically relevant sub-lethal fractionated irradiation results in reduced expression of components of the MHC class I antigen-processing and -presentation pathway leading to immune escape.
The Effect of Cognitive and Affective Involvement on Intention to Use and Word of Mouth: The Case of Zoom Users In Indonesia

Introduction/Main Objectives: This study investigates affective and cognitive involvement that reflects psychological ownership and consumer-brand identification in the use of zoom application. Background Problems: The Zoom application was proposed because of its increasing popularity amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The selection of the zoom meeting application is the right way to find out how much the users want to continue this application both for themselves and to promote it to others by word of mouth (WOM). Novelty: This study examines the effect of cognitive and affective involvement on continuance intention to use and WOM by examining the mediating role of consumers’ psychological ownership and consumer-brand identification. Research Methods: 200 responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to test this study’s hypotheses. Finding/Results: The findings support the mediating role of the extent of consumer’s psychological ownership in describing the effect of affective involvement and continuance intention to use of a brand. In addition, the results support the mediating role of the extent of consumer-brand identification in describing the relationship between affective involve­ment and continuance intention to use a brand and engage in WOM promotion. Conclusion: These findings expand and unite existing theory on involvement and a continuing intention to use and engage in WOM.
Studying manual work activity: a framework for analysis and training

This paper presents the methodological framework that we developed for collecting, studying and passing on tacit and explicit know-how embodied in professional gestures of expert workers. This framework is based upon the combination of an adaptation of a range of psychological theories and techniques: Activity Theory, the ‘perceived quality’ approach, subjective evidence-based ethnography, and verbal protocols. The application of the method, primarily based on the perspective of the expert, enables the building of a cognitive model of the professional gesture to be transmitted, by highlighting its key points. It leads to designing multimedia training products called MAP (Multimedia Platform for Apprenticeship) intended to “represent” and convey knowledge involved in the real-time performance of the expert’s gesture. The methodology was developed and applied to manual operators, in actual work and training settings of the biggest power French company. The practical aim of the study was to address an organizational issue of knowledge management, for professional training purposes, in order to bridge the gap of learning by mentoring between retiring experts and novices. The method has been recently industrialised by the company in which
A Hypothetical Tavern Menu for the Evaluation of Calorie Selection through Menu Labelling

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate calories selection according to the type of menu labelling applied on a hypothetical Greek tavern menu. Three questionnaires were designed and each one included a hypothetical menu of Greek tavern food. Menu A did not include any nutritional information, Menu B included calorie posting and Menu C had the “NB” mark next to dishes that were Nutritionally Balanced choices. A total of 437 participants were recruited in the study. The mean calories selection was significantly lower on Menu B (1874 Kcal) and C (1787.7 Kcal) compared to Menu A (2157.3 Kcal). The overweight and obese participants ordered significantly fewer calories on Menu B (−504 Kcal and −404 Kcal) and C (−451.3 Kcal and −393 Kcal) than on the Menu A. Menu labelling should be assessed in real-life settings in Greece. It could be a policy for the prevention and control of obesity in European countries.
Multifaceted DNA metabarcoding of guano to uncover multiple classes of ecological data in two different bat communities

DNA contained in animal scat provides a wealth of information about the animal, and DNA metabarcoding of scat collections can provide key information about animal populations and communities. Next‐generation DNA sequencing technologies and DNA metabarcoding provide an efficient means for obtaining information available in scat samples. We used multifaceted DNA metabarcoding (MDM) of noninvasively collected bat guano pellets from a Myotis lucifugus colony on Fort Drum Military Installation, New York, USA, and from two mixed‐species bat roosts on Fort Huachuca Military Installation, Arizona, USA, to identify attributes such as bat species composition, sex ratios, diet, and the presence of pathogens and parasites. We successfully identified bat species for nearly 98% of samples from Fort Drum and 90% of samples from Fort Huachuca, and identified the sex for 84% and 67% of samples from these same locations, respectively. Species and sex identification matched expectations based on prior censuses of bat populations utilizing those roosts, though samples from some species were more or less common than anticipated within Fort Huachuca roosts. Nearly 62% of guano samples from Fort Drum contained DNA from Pseudogymnoascus destructans, where bats with wing damage from White‐nose Syndrome were commonly observed. Putative dietary items were detected in a majority of samples from insectivorous bats on Fort Drum (81%) and Fort Huachuca (63%). A minority of guano samples identified as the nectarivorous Leptonycteris yerbabuenae (28%) provided DNA sequences from putative forage plant species. Finally, DNA sequences from both putative ecto‐ and endoparasite taxa were detected in 35% and 56% of samples from Fort Drum and Fort Huachuca, respectively. This study demonstrates that the combination of noninvasive sampling, DNA metabarcoding, and sample and locus multiplexing provide a wide array of data that are otherwise difficult to obtain.
Does Innovation by Firms Still Create Jobs even after the Business Stealing Effect at the Sector Level?

ABSTRACT The literature on innovation and employment has not provided theory-consistent results about the question of whether innovation by firms would still create jobs after the canceling out by a negative or business stealing effect and a positive spillover effect at the sector level. This study addresses this issue using Korean firm and sector data over a long-term period. Beyond the consensus results by firm-level analyses, this study also produces the sector-level results confirming the significant and positive long-term effects of product innovation, as well as no significant effects of process innovation, on the net employment growth of a sector.
How house size impacts type, combination and size of rooms: a floor plan study of New Zealand houses

ABSTRACT Several sources indicate a recent increase in the average floor area of New Zealand houses, making these often much larger than their older counterparts, and a similar pattern can be seen in other developed countries. While building and living in large houses seem to have become accepted, the features of these large houses have been less investigated. In addition, there is limited knowledge of how the increase in houses size has affected the size and configuration of the internal spaces. Building larger houses also equates to using more natural resources, but to investigate this further, more detail on the layout of these houses is needed. To this end, floor plans of 287 New Zealand houses of varying ages were analysed using Auto Cad 2015–2016. Internal spaces were categorised and average floor areas of all types were calculated for each house size. The results were further analysed in SPSS using analysis of variance one-way and independent sample t-tests. These results were checked against those of a survey of 286 households. Both sets of results showed that as houses increased in size, so did the floor areas of similar room types. The investigation also revealed that larger houses have more multiple rooms of the same function, sanitary spaces, specialised rooms and living rooms. Additionally, the average floor area allocated to bedrooms in an 8-room house is 133% more than that of a 4-room house, whereas the comparable figures for sanitary and circulation spaces are 185% and 364%, respectively, meaning more of the additional floor area of large houses is going into spaces that may be seldom used and into circulation areas. These results should be considered against a background of falling household size, which is important when it comes to considering how efficiently resources are used in different sized houses.
The Efficacy of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Patients with Dual Diagnosis: Schizophrenia and Addiction

The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of an animal-assisted-therapy (AAT) program in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and substance-use disorders in residential treatment in order to intervene in the remission of negative and positive symptoms and improve quality of life and adherence to treatment, favouring the clinical stabilization of patients who participate in the AAT program, within the context of a mental-illness-treatment device. This was a quasi-experimental prospective study with intersubject and intrasubject factors. The sample comprised 36 patients (21 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group) who were evaluated at three time points (in the 3rd, 6th, and 10th sessions). The program lasted 3 months and consisted of 10 sessions that were implemented once a week, with a maximum participation of 10 patients per group. The participants were evaluated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia and the Life Skills Profile-20 (LSP-20) questionnaire. We observed a decrease in the positive symptoms of psychosis (F: 27.80, p = 0.001) and an improvement in functionality (F: 26.70, p < 0.001) as the sessions progressed. On the basis of these results, we concluded that AAT seems to be valid as a coadjuvant therapy as part of the rehabilitation processes of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and addiction-spectrum disorders (dual diagnosis).
Sentinel-1 to NDVI for Agricultural Fields Using Hyperlocal Dynamic Machine Learning Approach

The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is a key parameter in precision agriculture. It has been used globally since the 1970s as a proxy to monitor crop growth and correlates to the crop coefficient (Kc), leaf area index (LAI), crop cover, and more. Yet, it is susceptible to clouds and other atmospheric conditions that might alter the crop’s real NDVI value. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), on the other hand, can penetrate clouds and is hardly affected by atmospheric conditions, but it is sensitive to the physical structure of the crop and therefore does not give a direct indication of the NDVI. Several SAR indices and methods have been suggested to estimate NDVIs via SAR; however, they tend to work for local spatial and temporal conditions and do not work well globally. This is because they are not flexible enough to capture the changing NDVI–SAR relationship throughout the crop-growing season. This study suggests a new method for converting Sentinel-1 to NDVIs for Agricultural Fields (SNAF) by utilizing a hyperlocal machine learning approach. This method generates multiple on-the-fly disposal field- and time-specific models for every available Sentinel-1 image across 2021. Each model learns the field-specific NDVI (from Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8) –SAR (Sentinel-1) relationship based on recent NDVI and SAR time series and consequently estimates the optimal NDVI value from the current SAR image. The SNAF was tested on 548 commercial fields from 18 countries with 28 crop types and, based on 6880 paired NDVI–SAR images, achieved an RMSE, bias, and R2 of 0.06, 0.00, and 0.92, respectively. The outcome of this study aspires to a persistent seamless stream of NDVI values, regardless of the atmospheric conditions, illumination, or local conditions, which can assist in agricultural decision making.
Four New Species of Dictyostelids from Soil Systems in Northern Thailand

Dictyostelid cellular slime molds (dictyostelids) are ubiquitous microorganisms found in the uppermost layers of most soils. Reports on the species diversity of dictyostelids in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, are few in number. A survey for dictyostelids performed in northern Thailand in 2008 recovered 15 distinctive forms, including several common species and a number of forms morphologically different from anything already described. Five of the latter were formally described as new to science in a previous paper. An additional five isolates appeared to be morphologically distinct, and this was supported by DNA sequence data and phylogenetic analysis. These isolates representing four species are described herein as species new to science. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of these new species are provided.
Multipartner alliances among small firms promoted by external managers: Risk and governance mechanisms

External managers may be key to setting up and managing multi-partner alliances (MPAs) among small firms, but their role has not yet been integrated in previous literature on risk and governance structures. This longitudinal matched-pair case study investigates the dynamics between relational and performance risks and control-based and trust-based governance mechanisms, in MPAs promoted and managed by external managers. The integration of external managers allows the identification of different levels of trust and control among partners. This is also the case between such partners and the external manager who controls/trusts, who is controlled/trusted, and how this changes over time. Our results show that trust and control are influenced by both the external actor and partner’s risk perceptions; they also complement each other to manage high performance and relational risks in a dynamic process. We extend prior knowledge by showing that the analysis of control/trust complementarity must take into consideration both partner-partner and partner-manager relationships.
Mycological quality of some chicken meat cuts in Gharbiya governorate with special reference to Aspergillus flavus virulent factors

Mycological quality of some chicken meat cuts in Gharbiya governorate with special reference to Aspergillus flavus virulent factors Shaltout, F. A. , Heikal, G. I. , Ghanem, A. M. Department of Food Hygiene and Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Egypt Department of Food Hygiene, Animal Health Research Institute, Tanta branch, Egypt Food Security Sector, Egyptian Armed Forces, Egypt
Estimation Errors and Time Varying Betas in Event Studies - A New Approach

The event study is one of the most powerful techniques for studying market efficiency. Over a period of time, researchers have made several modifications to the original methodology of Fama, Fisher, Jensen and Roll (1969). Nevertheless, the current methodology continues to suffer from several grave deficiencies. These deficiencies arise due to (a) a failure to take into account the variance covariance structure of the estimated abnormal returns (across time and across securities) and (b) fundamental shortcomings of the moving window technique used to deal with possible changes in the betas in the neighbourhood of the event. Our proposed methodology overcomes these deficiencies and provides statistically efficient estimates. We then extend the analysis to handle nonstationary parameters evolving according to a Kalman Filer model.
Metabolic Consequences of Glucocorticoid Exposure before Birth

Glucocorticoids have an important role in development of the metabolic phenotype in utero. They act as environmental and maturational signals in adapting feto-placental metabolism to maximize the chances of survival both before and at birth. They influence placental nutrient handling and fetal metabolic processes to support fetal growth, fuel storage and energy production with respect to nutrient availability. More specifically, they regulate the transport, utilization and production of a range of nutrients by the feto-placental tissues that enables greater metabolic flexibility in utero while minimizing any further drain on maternal resources during periods of stress. Near term, the natural rise in fetal glucocorticoid concentrations also stimulates key metabolic adaptations that prepare tissues for the new energy demanding functions after birth. Glucocorticoids, therefore, have a central role in the metabolic communication between the mother, placenta and fetus that optimizes offspring metabolic phenotype for survival to reproductive age. This review discusses the effects of maternal and fetal glucocorticoids on the supply and utilization of nutrients by the feto-placental tissues with particular emphasis on studies using quantitative methods to assess metabolism in rodents and sheep in vivo during late pregnancy. It considers the routes of glucocorticoid overexposure in utero, including experimental administration of synthetic glucocorticoids, and the mechanisms by which these hormones control feto-placental metabolism at the molecular, cellular and systems levels. It also briefly examines the consequences of intrauterine glucocorticoid overexposure for postnatal metabolic health and the generational inheritance of metabolic phenotype.
The Effect of Foreign Bank Presence on Firm Entry and Exit in Transition Economies

This study investigates the impact of foreign bank penetration on firm entry in Central and Eastern Europe. Acquisition of domestic banks by foreign investors has lowered rates of firm creation, decreased the average size of entrants, and increased firm exit in industries with greater informational opacity, while entry of greenfield foreign banks appears to have spurred firm creation and exit. We modify the view in earlier studies that informational opacity equates with firm size, defining opacity in terms of technological characteristics for a given industry. We find the economic significance of foreign bank entry is larger for opaque industries than industries with large shares of small firms. The study provides evidence of increased credit constraints for start-ups in Central and Eastern Europe, which is consistent with the theoretical proposition that the presence of foreign banks exacerbates informational asymmetries.
MAPPING EUCALYPTUS SPECIES USING WORLDVIEW 3 AND RANDOM FOREST

Abstract. Recent advances in remote sensing technologies have allowed the development of new innovative methodologies to obtain geospatial information about Eucalyptus genus distribution. This is an important task for forest stakeholders due to the high presence of this genus in forest plantations worldwide. Therefore, the next step in research should focus on exploring remote sensing possibilities to discern between Eucalytpus species. It would be an important step forward in forest management since different Eucalyptus species present different characteristics and properties that imply different management plans and industrial usages. This study accomplish the classification of E. nitens and E. globulus, the most common Eucalyptus species in the Iberian Peninsula. Worldview-3 images and random forest are used in a forest area placed in Galicia (Northwest of Spain). The differentiation of Eucalyptus species resulted in a producer’s accuracy of 84% and a users’ accuracy of 70% for E. nitens, while for E. globulus accuracy metrics did not reach 70%. The most important bands in the classification were the coastal blue and the blue, followed by the red related ones. The resulting unequal accuracy metrics might be caused by an imbalanced presence of both species in the selected study area. Therefore, further studies might be developed in different locations.
Satisfaction with Physical Activity among Students in the Last Cycle of Primary Education in Extremadura

Satisfaction with physical activity during Physical Education classes leads to improved health and adherence to future healthy lifestyle habits, in addition, higher levels of physical activity have also been widely associated with higher academic achievement in primary school. To find out how satisfied Extremadura students are with the physical activity they perform, a questionnaire was distributed with different items related to positive and negative feelings they may feel during the practice. The differences between the items of the questionnaire and the total median scores according to sex and center location were analyzed and found to be present in all the items that refer to positive feelings. Additionally, the relationship between age and the mean score obtained through the questionnaire was evaluated, without discovering any significant correlations. The results showed that students are generally satisfied with the physical activity they practice in their classes and that this has benefited their academic performance.