Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Systemic Injection of Oncolytic Vaccinia Virus Suppresses Primary Tumor Growth and Lung Metastasis in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma by Remodeling Tumor Microenvironment

Immune checkpoint inhibitors and tyrosine kinase inhibitors are the first-line treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), but their benefits are limited to specific patient subsets. Here, we aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of JX-594 (pexastimogene devacirepvec, Pexa-vec) monotherapy by systemic injection in comparison with sunitinib monotherapy in metastatic orthotopic RCC murine models. Two highly metastatic orthotopic RCC models were developed to compare the treatment efficacy in the International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium favorable-risk and intermediate- or poor-risk groups. JX-594 was systemically injected through the peritoneum, whereas sunitinib was orally administered. Post-treatment, tumor microenvironment (TME) remodeling was determined using immunofluorescence analysis. Systemic JX-594 monotherapy injection demonstrated therapeutic benefit in both early- and advanced-stage mRCC models. Sunitinib monotherapy significantly reduced the primary tumor burden and number of lung metastases in the early-stage, but not in the advanced-stage mRCC model. Systemic JX-594 delivery remodeled the primary TME and lung metastatic sites by increasing tumor-infiltrating CD4/8+ T cells and dendritic cells. Systemic JX-594 monotherapy demonstrated significantly better therapeutic outcomes compared with sunitinib monotherapy in both early- and advanced-stage mRCCs by converting cold tumors into hot tumors. Sunitinib monotherapy effectively suppressed primary tumor growth and lung metastasis in early-stage mRCC.
Lignin Nanoparticles Deliver Novel Thymine Biomimetic Photo-Adducts with Antimelanoma Activity

We report here the synthesis of novel thymine biomimetic photo-adducts bearing an alkane spacer between nucleobases and characterized by antimelanoma activity against two mutated cancer cell lines overexpressing human Topoisomerase 1 (TOP1), namely SKMEL28 and RPMI7951. Among them, Dewar Valence photo-adducts showed a selectivity index higher than the corresponding pyrimidine-(6-4)-pyrimidone and cyclobutane counterpart and were characterized by the highest affinity towards TOP1/DNA complex as evaluated by molecular docking analysis. The antimelanoma activity of novel photo-adducts was retained after loading into UV photo-protective lignin nanoparticles as stabilizing agent and efficient drug delivery system. Overall, these results support a combined antimelanoma and UV sunscreen strategy involving the use of photo-protective lignin nanoparticles for the controlled release of thymine dimers on the skin followed by their sacrificial transformation into photo-adducts and successive inhibition of melanoma and alert of cellular UV machinery repair pathways.
An Empirical Research on Study Success in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic - a Case Study

The COVID-19 pandemic and measures to contain it pushed many universities to switch to online learning in the spring of 2020. The changes took place very quickly and it became clear that the long-term consequences of such a transformation are uncertain and require more detailed study. This research attempts to analyze the impact of online learning on study success. This research makes use of a triangulation with quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitatively, it contains path diagram with various factors that have an impact on the study success at a German university, which is based on a quantitative online survey with 1.529 participants. Qualitatively, 49 interviews were analyzed in order to identify reasons for the risk of failing to achieve study success. The relevance of technology becomes evident in the quantitative analysis, as it manifests itself in almost all categories that affect study success. Moreover, a new influencing factor appeared, the “adaption to digital teaching”, which was often considered important qualitatively.
Knowledge Distillation via Weighted Ensemble of Teaching Assistants

Knowledge distillation in machine learning is the process of transferring knowledge from a large model called teacher to a smaller model called student. Knowledge distillation is one of the techniques to compress the large network (teacher) to a smaller network (student) that can be deployed in small devices such as mobile phones. When the network size gap between the teacher and student increases, the performance of the student network decreases. To solve this problem, an intermediate model is employed between the teacher model and the student model known as the teaching assistant model, which in turn bridges the gap between the teacher and the student. In this research, we have shown that using multiple teaching assistant models, the student model (the smaller model) can be further improved. We combined these multiple teaching assistant model using weighted ensemble learning where we have used a differential evaluation optimization algorithm to generate the weight values.
A Qualitative Study of Iranian Candidates’ Awareness, Expectations and Motivational Factors Related to Nose Job Surgery (Rhinoplasty)

of ’ Expectations Introduction: Interest to undergo nose job surgery, known as rhinoplasty, has grown among different strata of Iranian society. As an elective and non-emergency surgery, it is always accompanied by complications like other invasive surgeries. However, little is known about candidate ’ s awareness regarding these problems and also their expectations toward this famous plastic surgery. Objectives: To assess the awareness level of candidates as well as their expectations and motivational factors, and the reasons behind the high rates of nose job surgery in Iran. Methods: Sixteen men and women aged 20-42 who were decided to undergo nose job surgery for first time in near future were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. Twelve face-to-face with four telephone interviews (using WhatsApp application) were conducted. The research questions explored participant ’ s information level, persuasive reasons, and their achievements after having surgery. The interviews were audio recorded and then transcribed verbatim. Conventional content analysis was used to evaluate data. Results: The results of the analysis showed that the participants and even their family mostly had preliminary and superficial information regarding surgery complications. Negative feedback or misplaced judgements in the community, family and friends, media advertising, and scientific and technological advances are act as motivating factors. The tendency to undergo nose job surgery is not always for the sake of beauty. Sometimes it is done for therapeutic purpose. Improving the quality of life, giving better opportunity to find new friends or social interaction, increasing self confidence in public place, self-satisfied and freedom from obsession are counted as further achievements. Conclusion: The awareness level regarding nose job surgery was limit and superficial. People usually think optimistically about the results and count this surgery as a tool by which in addition to gaining beauty, they can gain higher social prestige and something new in life and get rid of daily life monotony. Mutual cooperation of psychologists and surgeons is necessary. This important can increase candidates ’ satisfaction by identifying motivational criteria and their expectations.
Conceptualizing linkages between community well-being and access to public space: an environmental justice perspective

This conceptual paper explores theoretical linkages between community well-being and key dimensions of public spaces (i.e., physical characteristics, technical experts, and communities). It draws on environmental justice literature and the Tripartite Framework to contextualize the concept of access to public spaces. The nexus between the key dimensions of public spaces and community well-being are explored by drawing on the Network Theory of Wellbeing. The main contribution of this paper is its merging of the aforementioned seminal work (i.e., Tripartite Framework and Network Theory of Wellbeing), two important bodies of scholarship that have yet to intersect but which offer a formidable platform to advance knowledge on how technical (e.g. planners), social (i.e. communities) and physical (e.g. built spaces like parks) dimensions of public space production can contribute to communal benefits derived from a public resource and community well-being. The applicability of the conceptual synthesis is illustrated through the discussion of specific examples in Maryvale.
Cross-cultural Adaptation of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire Short Form in Spanish and Italian Operating Rooms: Psychometric Properties

Objectives The aims of the study were to translate the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire Short Form (SAQ-SF) in Spanish and Italian surgical settings and to assess its psychometric properties. Method The cross-cultural adaptation process was performed following the internationally recognized guidelines. A panel of 30 experts evaluated the content validity. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency were evaluated using a cross-sectional design. Results The translation process was carried out without relevant difficulties. In Spain, 29 of the 36 SAQ-SF items showed excellent content validity index. In Italy, there were 33 items with an excellent rating. The SAQ-SF’s overall Cronbach α was 0.8 for both countries. Test-retest reliability showed good to very good stability in both in countries. Conclusions Italian and Spanish researchers rate differently the same scale, demonstrating the diversity of relevance of the same questions in different countries. A validated questionnaire is now accessible to the Spanish and Italian hospital managements of the National Health Service to measure the safety climate in day-to-day practice in the operating rooms.
Clostridioides difficile Infection Is Associated with Adverse Outcomes among Hospitalized Pediatric Patients with Acute Pancreatitis

Purpose Studies in adults have shown an increasing incidence of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in patients hospitalized with acute pancreatitis (AP). There is lack of epidemiological data on CDI and its impact on hospitalized pediatric patients with AP. Methods We analyzed the National Inpatient Sample and Kids' Inpatient Database between the years 2003 and 2016 and included all patients (age <21 years) with a primary diagnosis of AP using specific International Classification of Diseases codes. We compared clinical outcomes between children with CDI and those without CDI. Our primary outcome was severe AP and secondary outcomes included length of stay and hospital charges. Results A total of 123,240 hospitalizations related to AP were analyzed and CDI was noted in 0.6% of the hospital. The prevalence rate of CDI doubled from 0.4% (2003) to 0.8% (2016), p=0.03. AP patients with CDI had increased comorbidities, and also underwent more invasive surgical procedures, p<0.05. AP patients with CDI had a higher in-hospital mortality rate and increased prevalence of severe AP, p<0.001. Multivariate regression models showed that CDI was associated with 2.4 times (confidence interval [CI]: 1.91 to 3.01, p<0.001) increased odds of severe AP. CDI patients had 7.24 (CI: 6.81 to 7.67, p<0.001) additional hospital days while incurring $59,032 (CI: 54,050 to 64,014, p<0.001) additional hospitalization charges. Conclusion CDI in pediatric patients with AP is associated with adverse clinical outcomes and increased healthcare resource utilization. Further studies are needed to elucidate this association to prevent the development of CDI and to improve outcomes.
Physecology: A Conceptual Framework to Describe Data Physicalizations in their Real-World Context

The standard definition for “physicalizations” is “a physical artifact whose geometry or material properties encode data” [47]. While this working definition provides the fundamental groundwork for conceptualizing physicalization, in practice many physicalization systems go beyond the scope of this definition as they consist of distributed physical and digital elements that involve complex interaction mechanisms. In this article, we examine how “physicalization” is part of a broader ecology—the “physecology”—with properties that go beyond the scope of the working definition. Through analyzing 60 representative physicalization papers, we derived six design dimensions of a physecology: (i) represented data type, (ii) way of information communication, (iii) interaction mechanisms, (iv) spatial input–output coupling, (v) physical setup, and (vi) audiences involved. Our contribution is the extension of the definition of physicalization to the broader concept of “physecology,” to provide conceptual clarity on the design of physicalizations for future work.
Application of 3D printing and its various technologies in dentistry

Many applications for these technologies have been reported in multiple fields, including dentistry, within the last three decades. It can be used in periodontology, endodontics, orthodontics, oral implantology, maxillofacial and oral surgery, and prosthodontics. In the present literature review, we have discussed the different clinical applications of various 3D printing technologies in dentistry. Evidence indicates that 3D printing approaches are usually associated with favorable outcomes based on the continuous development and production of novel approaches, enabling clinicians to develop complex equipment in different clinical and surgical aspects. Developing work models to facilitate diagnostic and surgical settings is the commonest application of these modalities in dentistry. Besides, they can also be used to manufacture various implantable devices. Accordingly, they significantly help enhance the treatment process, reducing costs and less invasive procedures with favorable outcomes. Finally, 3D printing technologies can design complex devices in a facilitated and more accurate way than conventional methods. Therefore, 3D printing should be encouraged in clinical settings for its various advantages over conventional maneuvers.
Vaccination Schedule under Conditions of Limited Vaccine Production Rate

The paper is devoted to optimal vaccination scheduling during a pandemic to minimize the probability of infection. The recent COVID-19 pandemic showed that the international community is not properly prepared to manage a crisis of this scale. Just after the vaccines had been approved by medical agencies, the policymakers needed to decide on the distribution strategy. To successfully fight the pandemic, the key is to find the equilibrium between the vaccine distribution schedule and the available supplies caused by limited production capacity. This is why society needs to be divided into stratified groups whose access to vaccines is prioritized. Herein, we present the problem of distributing protective actions (i.e., vaccines) and formulate two mixed-integer programs to solve it. The problem of distributing protective actions (PDPA) aims at finding an optimal schedule for a given set of social groups with a constant probability of infection. The problem of distributing protective actions with a herd immunity threshold (PDPAHIT) also includes a variable probability of infection, i.e., the situation when herd immunity is obtained. The results of computational experiments are reported and the potential of the models is illustrated with examples.
Incidence and Reasons for a Surgical Cancellation at a Hospital in Rwanda

BackgroundSurgery cancellation is a challenging and costly event resulting in operating theatre inefficiency and psychological and financial problems for the patients and their families. This study aimed to find out the incidence and reasons for surgical cancellation at a Rwandan hospital.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted on 736 patients’ files obtained from theatre registry lists of surgical operations done from January to March 2017. The American Association of Perioperative Nurses (AORN) checklist for documenting cancelled surgical cases was used to establish the rate and reasons for cancellation. Data were analyzed using frequency and percentage descriptive statistics.ResultsOut of the 736 surgeries booked, 179 (24.3%) were cancelled as follows: Orthopedic and general surgeries (28.2%) respectively, gynecology and obstetrics (27.4%), urology surgeries (15.5%), maxillofacial surgeries (15.9%), ENT (15.6%) and plastic surgeries (13.3%). Time constrain/long list (19.6%), acute change in medical status (10.6%), non-turn-up of the patient (8.4%), and abnormal lab findings (7.8%) were the most prevalent reasons.ConclusionThe surgical cancellation rate at the study hospital was 24%, increasing with the number of patients booked and the type of surgical procedure. A prospective study is required to gain more insight into the reason for cancellations, mostly amenable to mitigation measures.Rwanda J Med Health Sci 2021;4(3):379-386
Treatment of Locally Advanced Merkel Cell Carcinoma—A Multi-Center Study

Simple Summary Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare skin cancer with unfavorable outcomes. Surgery remains the standard of care in the treatment of locally advanced disease. Perioperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy can be considered in selected patients. Analyzing 161 patients with locally advanced MCC treated with curative intent, we found that over one-third of patients developed disease recurrence. The use of perioperative radiotherapy decreased the risk of disease recurrence by over 50%. The 5-year overall survival rate was 55%. Moreover, we identified male gender, age above 70, metastases in lymph nodes at diagnosis, and no sentinel lymph node biopsy as factors associated with shorter overall survival. Abstract Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive skin cancer with a high risk of recurrence and poor prognosis. The treatment of locally advanced disease involves surgery and radiotherapy. To analyze real-life treatment patterns and clinical outcomes, we conducted a retrospective analysis of data from 161 MCC patients treated with curative intent in four oncological centers in Poland. The median age at diagnosis was 72 years (30–94); 49.7% were male. Lymph node (LN) involvement at diagnosis was found in 26.9% of patients. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) was performed in 36.5% of patients (positive in 10.5%), and 51.9% of patients received perioperative treatment. The relapse rate was 38.3%. With the median follow-up of 2.3 years, the median disease-free survival (DFS) was not reached, and the 1-year rate was 65%. The negative independent risk factors for DFS were male gender, metastases in LN at diagnosis, no SLNB in patients without clinical nodal metastases, and no perioperative radiotherapy. The estimated median overall survival (OS) was 6.9 years (95% CI 4.64–9.15). The negative independent risk factors for OS were male gender, age above 70, metastases in LN at diagnosis, and no SLNB in patients without clinical nodal metastases. Our results confirm that the MCC treatment should be conducted in an experienced multidisciplinary team; however, the outcomes are still unsatisfactory.
Tricky two-some: The interplay between radio personalities' personal online identities and online personal brands

53 ABSTRACT Radio stations encourage their presenters to utilise social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to create awareness of the station’s brand, promote their shows, interact with listeners, and build their professional brands. The question is: how does this affect their engagement with social media when they are not on air? This study explored the interplay of radio personalities’ personal online identity and online personal brand. A qualitative strategy was chosen to help navigate the investigatory efforts to explore the ways in which radio presenters exist online. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten radio presenters at a South African commercial radio station. A number of challenges were identified that radio presenters encounter when they attempt to manage their online personas. A lack of training in social media communication and a lack of knowledge about the basic principles of personal branding are some of the challenges. Recommendations are made to radio presenters as well as their employers to simplify this complex issue of managing the interplay between personal identity and personal branding in creating a branded identity (as opposed to a brand identity).
Comparison of the Novel Probabilistic Self-Optimizing Vectorized Earth Observation Retrieval Classifier with Common Machine Learning Algorithms

The Vectorized Earth Observation Retrieval (VEOR) algorithm is a novel algorithm suited to the efficient supervised classification of large Earth Observation (EO) datasets. VEOR addresses shortcomings in well-established machine learning methods with an emphasis on numerical performance. Its characteristics include (1) derivation of classification probability; (2) objective selection of classification features that maximize Cohen’s kappa coefficient (κ) derived from iterative “leave-one-out” cross-validation; (3) reduced sensitivity of the classification results to imbalanced classes; (4) smoothing of the classification probability field to reduce noise/mislabeling; (5) numerically efficient retrieval based on a pre-computed look-up vector (LUV); and (6) separate parametrization of the algorithm for each discrete feature class (e.g., land cover). Within this study, the performance of the VEOR classifier was compared to other commonly used machine learning algorithms: K-nearest neighbors, support vector machines, Gaussian process, decision trees, random forest, artificial neural networks, AdaBoost, Naive Bayes and Quadratic Discriminant Analysis. Firstly, the comparison was performed using synthetic 2D (two-dimensional) datasets featuring different sample sizes, levels of noise (i.e., mislabeling) and class imbalance. Secondly, the same experiments were repeated for 7D datasets consisting of informative, redundant and insignificant features. Ultimately, the benchmarking of the classifiers involved cloud discrimination using MODIS satellite spectral measurements and a reference cloud mask derived from combined CALIOP lidar and CPR radar data. The results revealed that the proposed VEOR algorithm accurately discriminated cloud cover using MODIS data and accurately classified large synthetic datasets with low or moderate levels of noise and class imbalance. On the contrary, VEOR did not feature good classification skills for significantly distorted or for small datasets. Nevertheless, the comparisons performed proved that VEOR was within the 3–4 most accurate classifiers and that it can be applied to large Earth Observation datasets.
‘But you’re white’: An autoethnography of whiteness and white privilege in East Asian universities

It is well established within the field of Critical Whiteness Studies that white privilege routinely materialises in Western universities. Yet, even though a third wave of Critical Whiteness Studies is increasingly focussing on whiteness in non-Western contexts, there has been insufficient attention toward whether white privilege also exists in East Asian universities. This article seeks to explore this issue by offering an autoethnography in which the author, a mixed-race academic who is racialised as white on some occasions and as a person of colour on others, critically interrogates whiteness in East Asian higher education. It is argued that those who are racialised as white are privileged in East Asian universities and may even seek to actively sustain this. In departing from the dominant understanding of whiteness as always-and-only privileging, this article also explores the extent to which white academics in East Asia may also be disadvantaged by their whiteness.