Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Can PDT be potentiated by immunotherapy?

Two principal aspects of interlinkage of the immune system with photodynamic therapy (PDT) treatment are discussed in detail: (1) participation of tumor associated macrophages (TAM) in tumor localization of photosensitizers, and (2) induction of an inflammatory immune response by phototoxic effects in endothelial cells, TAM and other cells in the tumor, leading to necrosis of the tumor tissue. It is illustrated how Photofrin levels in TAM, and consequently in the tumor as a whole, can be altered (increased or decreased) by specific agents that stimulate or impair physiological processes in TAM. It is suggested that the selectivity of tumor localization of some photosensitizers can be augmented by TAM targeted immunotherapy with agents that enhance the rate of tumor infiltration of these cells and stimulate their phagocytic activity. Preliminary results of ongoing studies suggest that PDT induces a massive infiltration of immune cells into the treated tumor. It is hypothesized that by combining PDT with an appropriate type of immunotherapy the immune reaction can be potentiated and directed against the surviving tumor cells. As as an example, it is shown that much better control of SCCVII tumor is achieved by combining PDT with the treatment by the immunoactivator SPG compared to PDT alone.
Pilgrimage (HAJJ) Crowd Management Using Agent-Based Method

Each year, nearly two million Muslim pilgrims from all over the world come to Mecca to perform Hajj, which is the fifth pillar of Islam. The number of pilgrims increases every year, raising concerns regarding how to manage such huge crowds and how to prevent harmful incidents or crowd congestion disasters. The authorities have taken several steps to maintain free-flowing crowds; however, they continue to face difficulties. While numerous studies have been conducted to promote effective and efficient crowd management in Mecca, almost none of them have focused on crowd movements during the Rami AlJamarat ritual, which is when most of the causalities have occurred over the years. None of the studies proposed solutions to directly control the crowd movement without changing the path’s current structure. This study proposes a solution to prevent congestion at the Rami Al-Jamarat path without the need to change the structure, and it uses live crowd images to determine proper control signals that are then displayed directly to pilgrims as coloured lights. To demonstrate the results of this solution, a simulation is presented using an agent-based modelling platform.
THE ROLE OF INTERAURAL TIME AND LEVEL DIFFERENCES WHEN LOCALIZING NOISE IN NOISE PACS: 43.66.PN

The reliability of ITD and ILD cues of a broadband-noise target within a broadband-noise masker was investigated utilizing two localization algorithms: (i) an interaural cross-correlation algorithm (ICC), and, (ii) an algorithm which estimates the ILD using excitation-inhibition cells (EI). The EI-model performance turned out to be inferior to the performance of both humans and the ICC-model. One difficulty was to estimate the sound pressure level of the contralateral channel of the target, another was the high sensitivity of the EI-model to the statistical fluctuations of both the target and the masker in the single frequency bands.
A comparison of several measures of genetic distance and population structure with microsatellite data: bias and sampling variance

Because of their rapid mutation rate and resulting large number of alleles, microsatellite DNA are well suited to examine the genetic or demographic structure of fish populations. However, the large number of alleles imply that large sample sizes are required for accurate reflection of genotypic frequencies. Estimates of genetic distance are often biased at small sample sizes, and biases and sampling variances can be affected by the number of, and distances between, alleles. Using data from a large collection of larval cod (Gadus morhua) from a single area, I examined the effect of sample size on seven genetic distance and two structure metrics. Pairs of samples (equal or unequal) of various sizes were drawn at random from a pool of 856 individuals scored for six microsatellite loci. ( delta µ)2, DSW, RST, and FST were the best performers in terms of bias and variance. Sample sizes of 50 <= N <= 100 individuals were generally necessary for precise estimation of genetic distances and this value depended on.
New combinations and a key to the species of Pelekium (Thuidiaceae) in sub-Saharan Africa and the East African Islands

Two taxa currently recognised in Thuidium are transferred to Pelekium to complete the relocation of monoicous species from Thuidium subg. Microthuidium to Pelekium. The new combinations are: Pelekium thomeanum (Broth.) Phephu stat. et comb. nov. (basyonym Thuidium involvens (Hedw.) Mitt. var. thomeanum Broth. ), now recognised as a species distinct from P. involvens (Hedw.) A. Touw, and P. pseudoinvolvens (Mull. Hal.) Phephu comb. nov. A full taxonomic treatment, including descriptions and notes on the distribution and ecology of these two species is presented, followed by a key to the African species of Pelekium.
Understanding pre-service teacher education discourses in Communities of Practice: a reflection from an intervention in rural South Africa

Drawing on an evaluation experience of a teacher education preparation project in a rural area of South Africa, this paper attempts to explore the possibility of using Communities of Practice (CoP) in teacher preparation. The paper concludes that the concept of CoP is powerful in providing spaces for self-reflection to pre-service teachers and challenging the dominant urban-based teacher education discourses in relation to rural schools. However, the CoP is also problematic, especially with regard to the issues of social differences among the members of the CoP and the sustainability of the broader influence of a CoP on marginalised rural communities.
Drowsiness detection using heart rate variability analysis based on microcontroller unit

Drowsiness is one of the main cause of road accidents. Recently, drowsiness detection of driver based on biosignal like electrocardiogram is being studied. Alterations during drowsiness, fatigue, and stress of the driver can be obtained from heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is derived from interval of RR in electrocardiogram. In this article, we present drowsiness detection using HRV analysis based on microcontroller unit. Electrocardiogram signal is obtained by AD8232 module and processed in microcontroller unit. Electrocardiogram is recorded during the subject using driving simulator. We extract features from HRV and use radial basis function neural network to classify between drowsy and normal.
Structure of fructans in roots and leaf tissues of Lolium perenne

Summary • An analysis of fructan structures, to increase the understanding of biosynthetic pathways and enzymology of fructan synthesis in root and leaf tissues of Lolium perenne is reported. • Fructan extracted from stubble of L. perenne plants was analyzed by high performance anion exchange chromatography and pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) using a new desalting technique. Structures of fructan isomers, separated up to DP16 (DP, degree of polymerization), were established by chromatographic elution times or by GC-MS. • Fructans of DP8 belonged essentially to three series: inulin series, inulin neoseries and the levan neoseries, which is/are different in glucose (terminal or internal) and linked fructose residues. High DP fructans (DP > 8) comprised 75% molecules with an internal glucose residue. They had some branch points although 1 and 6 kestotetraose could not be detected and the β(2–6) linked fructose residues were 70 times more abundant than the β(2–1) linked fructose residues. Roots, sheaths, leaf blades and elongating leaves accumulated similar fructans although amounts of both low and high, and types of low, DP fructans, differed. • It is proposed that fructans in L. perenne are synthesized via four enzymes: 1-SST (1-sucrose-sucrosefructosyl transferase), 1-FFT (1-fructan-fructanfructosyl transferase), 6G-FT (6-glucose-fructosyl transferase) and 6-FFT (6-fructan-fructanfructosyl transferase) or 6-SFT (6-sucrose-fructanfructosyl transferase).
Cosmology and the Polis: The Social Construction of Space and Time in the Tragedies of Aeschylus

Introduction Part I. The Social Construction of Space, Time and Cosmology: 1. Homer: the reciprocal chronotope 2. Demeter Hymn: the aetiological chronotope 3. From reciprocity to money Part II. Dionysiac Festivals: 4. Royal household and public festival 5. Aetiological chronotope and dramatic mimesis 6. Monetisation and tragedy Part III. Limit and the Unlimited in Confrontational Space: 7. Telos and the unlimitedness of money 8. Suppliants 9. Septem 10. Confrontational space in Oresteia 11. The unlimited in Oresteia 12. Persians Part IV. The Unity of Opposites: 13. Form-parallelism and the unity of opposites 14. Aeschylus and Herakleitos 15. From the unity of opposites to their differentiation Part V. Cosmology of the Integrated Polis: 16. Metaphysics and the polis in Pythagoreanism 17. Pythagoreanism in Aeschylus 18. Household, cosmos and polis Appendix: was there a skene for all the extant plays of Aeschylus?
High resolution, process and temperature compensated phase shifter design using a self generated look up table

Phase resolution is one of the most important parameters in phased array RADAR determining the precision of antenna beam direction and side-lobe level. Especially, in tracking applications the antenna directivity should be high and side-lobe levels must be low in order to abstain from the signals of Jammers. Phase shifters (PS) set phase resolution and directivity; therefore, they are the key components for phased arrays. Among the PS topologies, vector sum type comes forward due to its significant advantage over the other design techniques, in terms of insertion loss, phase error, area and operation bandwidth. However, in design of vector sum type PS, phase and amplitude errors in vectors, and phase insertion of variable gain amplifiers degrades the phase resolution performance of the PS. In order to overcome these issues and improve bit resolution (reduced phase step size and lower phase error while covering 360° phase range), and improve the tolerance on process - temperature variations, the proposed solution in this thesis is the design of a calibration circuit consisting of Power detector (PD), Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) and a Digital Processing Unit (DPU). The main objective of the calibration loop is the generation of a Look up Table (LUT) for target frequency band and at operating temperature. With this technique, the first 7-bit Phase shifter is designed in SiGe- BiCMOS technology, which also has highest fractional bandwidth in literature.
Does local habitat fragmentation affect large‐scale distributions? The case of a specialist grassland bird

Although the negative effects of habitat fragmentation have been widely documented at the landscape scale, much less is known about its impacts on species distributions at the biogeographical scale. We hypothesize that fragmentation influences the large‐scale distribution of area‐ and edge‐sensitive species by limiting their occurrence in regions with fragmented habitats, despite otherwise favourable environmental conditions. We test this hypothesis by assessing the interplay of climate and landscape factors influencing the distribution of the calandra lark, a grassland specialist that is highly sensitive to habitat fragmentation.
Epidemiological Observations on the Helminth Parasites of Macropus Giganteus Shaw in Victoria.

An epidemiological study of the nematode parasites of the eastern grey kangaroo (M. giganteus) was made in an enclosed reserve north of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Adult and juvenile kangaroos were collected at approximately 6-weekly intervals and blood, faeces and the entire gastrointestinal tract was obtained. The nematodes present were Globocephaloides trifidospicularis, Rugopharynx australis, R. rosemariae, Pharyngostrongylus kappa, Cloacina spp. , Strongyloides sp. , Macropostrongylus baylisi, Paramacropostrongylus toraliformis, Alocostoma clelandi, Labiostrongylus spp. , Macroponema comani and Macropoxyuris. The majority of nematodes had a seasonal fluctuation. Acquisition commenced in late summer and reached a peak in midwinter before declining in spring. G. trifidospicularis caused considerable mortality in juvenile kangaroos and there was a strong relationship between rising numbers of this species and falling plasma protein, haemoglobin concentration and haematocrit values. This species can cause heavy mortality in juvenile kangaroos in enclosed populations when winter feed is depleted and when the small animals with no fat reserves experience maximum cold stress. Other parasites present included Progamotaenia ewersi, P. festiva, P. macropodis, Triplotaenia fimbriata, T. undosa, Eimeria wilcanniensis, E. macropodis, E. hestermani and E. marsupialum.
Diversity of abnormal embryo sacs in indica/japonica hybrids in rice demonstrated by confocal microscopy of ovaries

Embryo sac abortion occurs frequently in the spikelet of indica/ japonica hybrids in rice. To provide a comprehensive understanding of embryo sac sterility in typical indica/japonica hybrids, a simple eosin B staining procedure for use with confocal microscopy was developed to observe the mature embryo sacs of 35 indica/japonica F 1 s making up an incomplete diallel cross design (5 x 7). A diversity of abnormal embryo sacs existed in the hybrids. The main types were classified into five categories: (i) embryo sac degeneration (ESD), (ii) embryo sac without egg apparatus, (iii) embryo sac without female germ unit, (iv) embryo sac with abnormal polar nuclei and (v) abnormal small embryo sac (ASES). The frequencies of abnormal embryo sacs in the 35 hybrids ranged from 26.0% to 76.3%, with an average of 48.6%. The highest frequency of abnormality was 31.3% ESD. The frequencies of various abnormalities varied with parental genotype and environment.
The Claus Case: Exploring the Use of Propositional Idea Density for Alzheimer Detection

Low linguistic ability has been associated with low cognitive reserve, which might result in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. As a result, propositional idea density (PID), as a measure of linguistic ability in early life, might predict cognitive decline in late life. This paper explores the differences in propositional behavior between healthy individuals and Alzheimer’s patients, using a newly developed computerized propositional idea density measure for Dutch texts. This exploratory study describes an experiment on literary text. We measured the propositional idea density of the works of one author without Alzheimer’s disease (i.e. Elsschot) and one author with attested Alzheimer’s disease (i.e. Claus). Changes in propositional idea density for both authors were compared, as well as the differences in propositional idea density in early life. Analyses from this experiment showed that the propositional idea density in early life of Elsschot was not significantly higher than that of Claus. The propositional idea density of Elsschot significantly increased over time. This change in propositional idea density greatly differed from the slight decrease in propositional idea density of Claus. On the one hand, this study fails to support the hypothesis that a low propositional idea density in early life predicts cognitive decline in late life. On the other hand, the results provide support to the hypothesis that a slight decrease in propositional idea density over time might be a predictor of cognitive decline in late life. However, much more research is needed to corroborate these findings. The propositional idea density software for Dutch is available on request.
A clone-specific monoclonal antibody that inhibits cytolysis of a cytolytic T cell clone

Monoclonal antibody 384.5 specifically inhibited cytolysis of P-815 target cells by cloned L3 cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) effector cells. The lytic activity of other cloned CTL that have other distinct specificities was not affected. Antibody 384.5 did not inhibit the cytolytic activity of bulk populations of C57BL/6 mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) cells. Concanavalin A-facilitated cytolysis by T cell clone L3 but not T cell clone B18 was inhibited by antibody 384.5, whereas phytohemagglutinin-facilitated cytolysis by L3 cells was not strongly inhibited. Antibody 384.5 binds specifically to L3 cells but not to several other T lymphocytes clones, or to a detectable portion of populations of primary MLC cells, normal spleen, thymus, lymph node, or bone marrow cells. In contrast, C57BL/6 anti-B10.A(5R) secondary MLC cells (genetically enriched for reactivity against the H-2Dd region gene products) contained a small population which reacted with the antibody 384.5. The determinant detected by antibody 384.5 was susceptible to trypsin treatment, and was reexpressed after overnight incubation. These results suggest that the monoclonal antibody 384.5 detects an endogenously synthesized clone-specific determinant associated with the cytolytic activity of the L3 CTL clone. These properties make antibody 384.5 an attractive candidate for an antibody that reacts with the antigen-recognition site of a cytolytic T cell antigen receptor.
Central auditory processing findings in a group of cognitively impaired individuals

Abstract Introduction: Prevalence of central auditory processing disorders (CAPD) increases with age. Central auditory dysfunction is also more prevalent in older people with mild memory impairment compared with cognitively normal older people. These findings suggest that CAPD could be a marker of subtle cognitive dysfunction. A logical question is whether tests of CAPD have a potential role in evaluation of possible cognitive decline in elderly people with hearing complaints. This question has direct clinical relevance because tests for CAPD are widely available, easy to administer in a short time. Methods: Fifty-one patient having cognitive impairment (diagnosed according Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders, fifth edition 2013 (DSM-V) comprise the study group. The control group includes twenty age and gender matched individuals. A detailed neuropsychological assessment of both groups with tests from various cognitive domains (Visuospatial functions, executive function, short-term memory and verbal episodic memory). Behavioural central auditory tests included the Arabic versions of speech in noise test (SPIN) and/or synthetic sentence identification (SSI) test according to education of patient, the dichotic digits test (DDT), The auditory fusion test (AFT) and auditory memory tests. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between both groups in the behavioural central auditory tests. Conclusions: The relation of some measures of auditory processing to deficits in cognitive function might enable the early identification of cognitive decline with such measures in the older population. Aging can contribute to changes in central auditory processing (CAP) in the elderly especially in Speech understanding in background noise, Dichotic listening and Temporal Processing.
Complete Linkage in Drosophila melanogaster

When the entire amount of water has passed through the filterpaper, the latter is removed, spread out, and immersed in a bath of water, in a watch crystal. The water should just cover the filter-paper. The device shown in Fig. 2 is now brought into play. This consists of a glass pipette, flattened and spread at its tip, and serves admirably for gently scraping and sucking the surface of the filter-paper, as it lies in the watch crystal. This withdraws into the pipette the organisms which have been filtered out. These can now be transferred to a glass slip and examined under the microscope, or injected into culture media as inoculations. The writer has found that, with practice, the possibilities of the micro-filter may be extended to aid, in many ways, in the study of the protozoa. LEON A. HAUSMAN
Fabrication and Mach inability Analysis of Silicon Carbide and Nickel Particles reinforced Aluminium Matrix Composites

This study presents the investigation on machinability of stir cast silicon carbide (10% fixed) and nickel (0%, 5% and 10% by weight) reinforced aluminium matrix composites using coated carbide tool. The turning tests of novel composites are performed on conventional lathe at various cutting parameters (viz. cutting speeds, feed rates and depths of cut), the responses selected for the study are surface roughness and material removal rate with an objective to minimize the surface roughness and maximize material removal rate. Analysis of variance is used to analyze the effects of Ni particles inclusion and cutting parameters in cutting of novel composites. It is apparent from results that surface roughness of the base composite (Al-10SiC) is affected significantly with the inclusions of nickel particles and cutting speed, which is contributed 23.46% and 23.21% respectively. However, the material removal rate is considerably affected with the cutting parameters, while the weight percentage of Ni inclusion has a minor effect on it. The results are validated using Analysis of variance and the significant level of each input parameter, which affects the responses, is identified. Also, the surface roughness is unavoidable to achieve maximum material rate.
Accuracy of 6 Commercially Available Activity Monitors in Measuring Heart Rate, Caloric Expenditure, Steps Walked, and Distance Traveled

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of 5 different commercially available activity monitors (AMs) and 1 smartphone application in identifying mean number of steps, mean distance traveled, estimated caloric expenditure, and heart rate (HR). Methods: Subjects (N 5 120) performed two 6minute walks (MWs), one at a comfortable pace (C6MW) and the other at a fast pace (F6MW), around an indoor trackwearing all 6 AMs and a StepWatchActivityMonitor in the community. Accuracy and agreement betweenAM-estimatedmetrics and actualmetrics were examined using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1) and Bland–Altman technique (BAM). Results: The ICC2,1 and BAM varied for all 3 conditions with the Fitbit Zip being the most accurate. Conclusions: The AMs exhibited varying degrees of accuracy for identifying steps, calories expended, HR, and distance walked across all different walking conditions. No single AM was accurate across conditions or metrics. Clinicians should be cautious when using data from these AMs to estimate patient activity levels. (Cardiopulm Phys Ther J. 2019;30:153–161)
Realization of Hybrid-Electric Powertrain System for a Three Wheeler Auto Taxi

In this paper, the mechanical powertrain of a conventional three wheeler auto taxi was first analyzed and converted into a hybrid electric power train for similar vehicle requirements. Packaging design strategy of key power train components have been calculated and proposed. The preliminary design is simulated as a series hybrid fuel cell Ni-MH battery vehicle model in PSAT software for a typical city driving cycle. Further an environmental and economic study has been prepared for the proposed vehicle by calculating the emission levels and payback period. This design can be implemented in the longer run on wide range of vehicles; thus creating independence from fossil fuels.