Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advances in Immunotherapeutics in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Simple Summary Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common type of pancreatic cancer, responsible for the majority of cases and ranking seventh as a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. It is difficult to treat because is it often detected at advanced stages, there are no effective screening tests available, and patients can develop resistance to standard treatments like chemotherapy and radiation. Recent interest has involved immunotherapy, which stimulate the immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells. Therefore, our paper aims to summarise the findings of studies investigating immunotherapies in PDAC and we discuss the limitations of such therapies and avenues of future research. In a bid to address the outcomes associated with the disease. Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) accounts for up to 95% of all pancreatic cancer cases and is the seventh-leading cause of cancer death. Poor prognosis is a result of late presentation, a lack of screening tests and the fact some patients develop resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Novel therapies like immunotherapeutics have been of recent interest in pancreatic cancer. However, this field remains in its infancy with much to unravel. Immunotherapy and other targeted therapies have yet to yield significant progress in treating PDAC, primarily due to our limited understanding of the disease immune mechanisms and its intricate interactions with the tumour microenvironment (TME). In this review we provide an overview of current novel immunotherapies which have been studied in the field of pancreatic cancer. We discuss their mechanisms, evidence available in pancreatic cancer as well as the limitations of such therapies. We showcase the potential role of combining novel therapies in PDAC, postulate their potential clinical implications and the hurdles associated with their use in PDAC. Therapies discussed with include programmed death checkpoint inhibitors, Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4, Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T cell therapy, oncolytic viral therapy and vaccine therapies including KRAS vaccines, Telomerase vaccines, Gastrin Vaccines, Survivin-targeting vaccines, Heat-shock protein (HSP) peptide complex-based vaccines, MUC-1 targeting vaccines, Listeria based vaccines and Dendritic cell-based vaccines.
Sequential High-Resolution Wind Profile Measurements

Tropospheric flow and lower stratospheric flow as measured by 94 sequences of high-resolution Jimsphere balloon data are presented and discussed. The 70 and 24 sequential series are presented for the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and Point Mugu, California, areas, respectively. Supplemental data, consisting of the associative temperature profiles and surface and 200 mb synoptic maps, are also presented. The measurements are discussed relative to both the engineering and disciplinary areas. An initial subjective analysis of mesoscale features observed on some sequences is presented.
ANATOMICAL CHANGES IN RENAL IMPAIRMENT AND ITS IMPLICATION: A SONOGRAPHIC STUDY

Address for Correspondence: Dr. Rajarshi Roy, Demonstrator, Department of Anatomy Affiliated institutions: Medical College, Kolkata700073, West Bengal, India. Mobile number: 09433110980 E-Mail: rajarshi.bubai@gmail.com Background: Renal failure (Azotemia) reflects inability of kidneys to maintain normal homeostatic function, simultaneously accompanied with rise in Blood Urea and Serum Creatinine levels. The manifestations may develop over daysAcute; or span over weeks to months – Chronic. Gray Scale Ultrasonography is employed, in our Study, to assess kidneys in Acute and Chronic Renal Failure. This study aims to determine the size and location of the kidneys; cortical echogenicity; severity of cortical loss; detection and aetiology of renal obstruction; and finally in the follow-up during and after the management. 200 persons were taken as Control, whereas 100 patients – 50 each suffering from Acute and Chronic Renal Failure, were interrogated. Results: Renal dimension, cortical echogenicity with cortico-medullary differentiation of Control (Normal) individuals were observed. The above mentioned renal parameters were assessed both in Acute and Chronic renal failure. No significant correlation was found between renal length and Serum Creatinine or Blood Urea levels in Acute Renal Failure. Whereas, a statistically significant correlation between kidney length and Serum Creatinine/ Blood Urea levels in Chronic Renal Failure is established. A statistically significant relationship was also observed between renal cortical echogenicity and Serum Creatinine level; but not with Blood Urea level. Conclusion: Non-involvement of ionising radiation, wide spread availability with low-cost imaging modality, makes Gray Scale Ultrasonography, the cornerstone of imaging in Renal Parenchymal Disease.
Tortoise beetles of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae)

A preliminary list of Cassidinae s. str. is given for the State of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil, presenting 188 species in 44 genera and nine tribes, out of which 35 species are new to the state and three to the country. Data were obtained from literature records and the examination of five national collections. This compilation also presents the records of locality (counties) of each species and is the most comprehensive list published for the State until now. It becomes clear that the group is still poorly known in the north and northeast of the State, which include the most threatened areas of the Atlantic rain forest in the region.
Analysis of Dental Antibiotic Prescriptions for Children and Adolescents in South Korea

Antibiotics are used for the prevention and treatment of infections. This study aimed to investigate the patterns of dental antibiotic prescription in children and adolescents. The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service provided data on patients who visited medical institutions. It was categorized according to year, sex, age, insurance type, dental institution, and region. Chi-square tests, Fisher’s exact tests, and one-way analyses of variance were performed. Statistical analyses were performed using SAS software (ver. 9.2; SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). Amoxicillin and cephalosporins, the most commonly used antibiotics, accounted for approximately 96% of the prescriptions. The younger the child, the more antibiotics were prescribed for trauma, pulpitis, and dental abscesses. However, closer to adolescence, the antibiotics were primarily prescribed to manage impacted teeth and periodontal problems. Antibiotics were prescribed for 3.13 days on average. There were significant differences in the prescription rates according to age, sex, type of insurance, type of medical institution, and region (p < 0.05). This study suggested that antibiotic prescriptions should be closely monitored to ensure appropriate usage of antibiotics.
Media Coverage of Immigration and the Polarization of Attitudes

This paper investigates the extent to which media impact immigration attitudes by modifying the salience of this topic. We measure the salience of immigration using original data including all the news covered on the main French national television evening news programs between 2013 and 2017. We combine this information with individual panel data that enable us to link each respondent to his/her preferred TV channel for political information. This allows us to address ideological self-selection into channels with individual-channel fixed effects. In contrast to prior evidence in the literature, we do not find that an increase in the salience of immigration necessarily drives natives' attitudes in a specific direction. Instead, our results suggest that it increases the polarization of natives by pushing individuals with moderate beliefs toward the two extremes of the distribution of attitudes. We show that these results are robust to controlling for differences in the framing of immigration-related subjects across TV channels. Conversely to priming, framing is found to drive natives' attitudes in very specific directions.
Two-Parameter Identification Method of Deadtime Effect Voltage Error Model During Self-Commission

An identification method is presented for the arctan two-parameter model, which describes the deadtime effect voltage error of permanent magnet synchronous motor drives' three-phase voltage source inverter (VSI) during self-commission. In this method, the motor maintains a standstill during the whole identification process. First, a disturbance observer is used to improve the tracking performance of the total voltage error. Then, a technique is used to extract the deadtime effect voltage error from the total voltage error without a voltage sensor during the standstill condition. Finally, the core algorithm (utilizing the bisection method) is developed to solve the coupling problem in the two-parameter identification process, such that the parameters in the model converge simultaneously. Furthermore, a sufficient condition for the convergence of the algorithm is given, and a mathematical proof is presented. Experimental results show that the deadtime effect voltage error estimated by our method is closer to the measured voltage error than other state-of-the-art methods proposed in the literature.
A STUDY ON VARIATIONS IN POPULATION DENSITY OF GASTROPODS IN A VILLAGE POND NEAR BIKANER, RAJASTHAN

Most of Thar Desert of India spread over Rajasthan and because of this it is known as state of desert. Because of harsh and inhospitable environmental conditions Rajasthan is well known in all over the world. Bikaner, district which is located in northern western part of Rajasthan are also well known for its violent climatic conditions and scarcity of water resources. Present study was focused on monthly as well as seasonal variations in gastropods population density in a village pond namely Nal village. Th e study was carried out from September, 2010 to November, 2011. This finding of study suggested the presence of three gastropods species viz. Digoniostoma pulchella, Gabbia orcula and Indoplanorbis exustus belongs to two subclasses namely pulmonata and prosobranch during whole study period. Highest population density of gastropods was recorded in the month of March, while minimum in July. Among all studied season highest population of gastropods density of all three reported species were recorded in summer season. Minimum population density of Digoniostoma pulchella, Gabbia orcula was recorded in monsoon season, while minimum population density of Indoplanorbis exustus was recorded in winter season. Many gastropods act as intermediate host of platyhelimenthic parasites and play significant role in public and veterinary health and also used in many biomonitoring programs to assess the water quality level.
The Impact of Preoperative Education on Knee and Hip Replacement: A Systematic Review

This review aims to evaluate the usefulness of preoperative education in the orthopedic patient undergoing knee and total hip replacement. The systematic review was conducted by searching the PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, and Embase databases from inception to April 2021. Keywords and combinations of keywords were organized according to the PICOs approach to identify relevant studies. Thirty-seven studies involving 5185 patients were included. Preoperative education was associated with decreased postoperative pain compared to the control group. Preoperative anxiety and length of stay were reduced in most studies through preoperative education compared to the control group. Furthermore, other topics such as sleep, mental status, compliance, knowledge, and patient expectations generally showed improvement in the experimental group. For future investigations, it would be imperative to augment the patient sample size to enhance the research’s reliability and incorporate the most up-to-date literature.
Corporate governance, financial constraints, and dividend policy: Evidence from Pakistan

Abstract Information asymmetry between insiders and outsiders creates various issues for a firm, such as the agency problem where managers pursue their own interests even at the cost of the well-being of the firm’s shareholders, and probable external financial constraints where external investors discount risk by causing a surge in the cost of financing. Normally, a firm manages the issues of the agency problem and external financing constraints by omitting or initiating dividend payments. Therefore, this study investigated the impact of corporate governance on dividend policies in the presence of financial constraints using a sample of 139 non-financial firms listed on PSE, where a weak regulatory framework generates agency problems and the underdevelopment of the financial sector causes financing constraints for businesses. The results reveal that, in Pakistan, dividends are an Outcome of governance practices. As the quality of firm-level governance improves, shareholders are provided with the legal strength to ultimately force firm managers to pay dividends. Along with the agency problem, the availability of external financing is an important factor related to dividend payment decisions in Pakistan. When a company is confronted with agency problems and financial constraints simultaneously, managers try to avoid costly external financing rather than reducing the agency’s problem. The results of the study can be further refined by enhancing the study period and sample size. Furthermore, the work can be extended by classifying sample subjects to the nature of industry and group ownership.
Social participation during the COVID-19 pandemic in persons with a high risk for a severe course of COVID-19 – results of a longitudinal, multi-center observational study in Germany

ABSTRACT Objective The COVID-19 pandemic has affected how people go about their daily lives, often in various and substantial ways. This study aims to prospectively evaluate the changes in social participation during the COVID-19 pandemic in persons with a high risk for a severe COVID-19 course in Germany. Methods A paper-pencil-based survey was conducted starting at March 2021. Participants filled out questionnaires at four time points based on their COVID-19 vaccination status: before COVID-19 vaccination, one month, six months and twelve months after COVID-19 vaccination. Social participation measures included the Pandemic Social Participation Questionnaire (PSP-Q) and the Index for measuring participation restrictions (IMET). Repeated measures ANOVA and paired t-test were used to test for changes between time-points. Repeated measures correlation was used to assess the relationship between social participation and local COVID-19 incidences. Results Data from 245 participants was analyzed before and one month after COVID-19 vaccination. In addition, data from 156 participants was analyzed at time points one, six and twelve months after COVID-19. PSP-Q and IMET scores changed significantly after participants received a COVID-19 vaccination. Between one month and twelve months after vaccination, social participation improved significantly measured by PSP-Q. Social participation was negatively correlated with regional COVID-19 incidences before and after COVID-19 vaccination. Social participation was positively correlated with COVID-19 incidences between one month and twelve months after COVID-19 vaccination. Conclusions Social participation improved in persons with a high risk for a severe COVID-19 course during the pandemic. The local COVID-19 incidence showed a negative association with social participation only until the fall of 2021 when it was used as the sole metric to regulate COVID-19 protective measures. Although our data describes the trends in social participation, further studies are needed to identify the influencing factors for the observed increase in social participation.
Exploring the Diagnostic Role of Spectral Doppler as a Predictor of Malignancy Within Thyroid Nodules

Objective: In recent years, spectral Doppler has become a valuable diagnostic tool for assessing suspected thyroid nodules. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical use of spectral Doppler in managing thyroid nodules. Materials and Methods: This prospective cohort study included 153 patients who underwent thyroid nodule evaluation, using sonography. Peak systolic velocity, end-diastolic velocity (EDV), resistive index (RI), and pulsatility index (PI) were measured, within the suspected lesions. Results: Among the 209 identified thyroid nodules, 193 (92%) were benign and 16 (7.6%) were malignant. The RI and PI values of malignant nodules were significantly higher than measured within benign nodules. There was also a significant difference in the EDV between benign and malignant nodules (P = .012). The RI had the highest diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic, area under the curve, of 0.839 (95% confidence interval, 0.748–0.930). The optimal cutoff value for RI was 0.73. The results indicate that the RI with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.64, in the univariate analysis, and an OR of 2.31, in the multivariate analysis, might be successful in predicting a malignant thyroid nodule. Conclusion: This cohort study demonstrated a high sensitivity and specificity for RI and PI as predictors of malignancy in thyroid nodules, with diagnostic cutoff points of 0.73 and 1.37, respectively.
Instrumented Posterior Arthrodesis of the Lumbar Spine: Prospective Study Evaluating Fusion Outcomes in Patients Receiving an Interspinous Fixation Device for the Treatment of Degenerative Spine Diseases

Purpose Prospective evaluation of radiographic fusion outcomes in patients receiving instrumented posterior arthrodesis of the lumbar spine using a minimally invasive interspinous fixation device. Patients and Methods All patients (n = 110) from a single US physician’s practice who received instrumented posterior arthrodesis of the lumbar spine with a minimally invasive interspinous fixation device in the calendar year 2020 were invited to return for a follow-up CT scan to radiographically assess fusion. Forty-three patients, representing 69 total treated levels, consented to participate and received a lumbar CT scan at a mean of 459 days post-surgery (177 to 652). The interspinous/interlaminar fusion was assessed by 3 independent radiologists using a novel grading scale. Spinous process fractures were also assessed. Results 92.8% of the assessed levels were considered fused. There were no intraoperative spinous process fractures. There were 4 spinous process fractures (5.8%) identified on CT imaging, all of which were asymptomatic and healed without subsequent intervention. There were no instances of device mechanical failure or device-related reoperation. Conclusion Instrumented posterior arthrodesis of the lumbar spine using a minimally invasive interspinous fixation device provides clinically meaningful fusion rates with no reoperations and a low risk of spinous process fracture or other device-related complications.
Natural Course of IQSEC2-Related Encephalopathy: An Italian National Structured Survey

Pathogenic loss-of-function variants in the IQ motif and SEC7 domain containing protein 2 (IQSEC2) gene cause intellectual disability with Rett syndrome (RTT)-like features. The aim of this study was to obtain systematic information on the natural history and extra-central nervous system (CNS) manifestations for the Italian IQSEC2 population (>90%) by using structured family interviews and semi-quantitative questionnaires. IQSEC2 encephalopathy prevalence estimate was 7.0 to 7.9 × 10−7. Criteria for typical RTT were met in 42.1% of the cases, although psychomotor regression was occasionally evidenced. Genetic diagnosis was occasionally achieved in infancy despite a clinical onset before the first 24 months of life. High severity in both the CNS and extra-CNS manifestations for the IQSEC2 patients was documented and related to a consistently adverse quality of life. Neurodevelopmental delay was diagnosed before the onset of epilepsy by 1.8 to 2.4 years. An earlier age at menarche in IQSEC2 female patients was reported. Sleep disturbance was highly prevalent (60 to 77.8%), with mandatory co-sleeping behavior (50% of the female patients) being related to de novo variant origin, younger age, taller height with underweight, better social interaction, and lower life quality impact for the family and friends area. In conclusion, the IQSEC2 encephalopathy is a rare and likely underdiagnosed developmental encephalopathy leading to an adverse life quality impact.
Data Compression in LoRa Networks: A Compromise between Performance and Energy Consumption

The Internet of Things (IoT) end devices have major limitations related to hardware and energy autonomy. Generally, the highest energy consumption is related to communication, which accounts for up to 60% of consumption depending on the application. Among the strategies to optimize the energy consumed by communication, data compression methods are one of the most promising. However, most data compression algorithms are designed for personal computers and need to be adapted to the IoT context. This study aims to adapt classical algorithms, such as LZ77, LZ78, LZW, Huffman, and Arithmetic coding, and to analyse their performance and energy metrics in IoT end devices. The evaluation is performed in a device with an ESP32 processor and LoRa modulation. The study makes use of real datasets derived from two IoT applications. The results show compression rates close to 70%, a three-fold increase in the number of messages sent, and a reduction in energy consumption of 22%. An analytical model was also developed to estimate the gain in the battery life of the device using the adapted algorithms.
A Coarse-to-Fine Scheme for Unsupervised Nonlinear Hyperspectral Unmixing Based on an Extended Multilinear Mixing Model

Recently, the research on nonlinear unmixing for hyperspectral images (HSIs) has received more and more attention. However, unsupervised nonlinear unmixing methods that jointly estimate endmembers and abundances from HSIs are insufficiently studied. Besides, the reasonable description of the wavelength-dependent nonlinear intensity and the effective utilization of the spectral and spatial information of HSIs remain to be improved. Based on an extended multilinear mixing (EMLM) model, a coarse-to-fine scheme is proposed for unsupervised nonlinear hyperspectral unmixing to address the above issues. Coarse HSIs generated based on the superpixel segmentation are unmixed first, and then, fine unmixing on the original HSIs is achieved with the guidance of the coarse unmixing results. The endmembers extracted by the coarse unmixing are used to update the endmembers in the fine unmixing, and the coarse abundances and nonlinear parameters are integrated into regularizers. To be specific, a weighted sparse regularizer of abundances and a weighted graph regularizer of nonlinear parameters are constructed and incorporated into the objective function. In this way, some priors can be well modeled and exploited, including that the neighboring pixels share similar sparsity patterns in the abundances and show the consistency in correlations between different bands of the nonlinear parameters. Finally, the alternative optimization strategy (AOS) and the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) are applied to derive the algorithm. Experimental results on the synthetic, laboratory-created, and real hyperspectral data demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art nonlinear unmixing methods.