Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Local production of lactate, ribose phosphate, and amino acids within human triple-negative breast cancer

Background: Upregulated glucose metabolism is a common feature of tumors. Glucose can be broken down by either glycolysis or the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (oxPPP). The relative usage within tumors of these catabolic pathways remains unclear. Similarly, the extent to which tumors make biomass precursors from glucose, versus take them up from the circulation, is incompletely defined. Methods: We explore human triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) metabolism by isotope tracing with [1,2- 13 C]glucose, a tracer that differentiates glycolytic versus oxPPP catabolism and reveals glucose-driven anabolism. Patients enrolled in clinical trial NCT03457779 and received IV infusion of [1,2- 13 C]glucose during core biopsy of their primary TNBC. Tumor samples were analyzed for metabolite labeling by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Genomic and proteomic analyses were performed and related to observed metabolic fluxes. Findings: TNBC ferments glucose to lactate, with glycolysis dominant over the oxPPP. Most ribose phosphate is nevertheless produced by oxPPP. Glucose also feeds amino acid synthesis, including of serine, glycine, aspartate, glutamate, proline and glutamine (but not asparagine). Downstream in glycolysis, tumor pyruvate and lactate labeling exceeds that found in serum, indicating that lactate exchange via monocarboxylic transporters is less prevalent in human TNBC compared with most normal tissues or non-small cell lung cancer. Conclusions: Glucose directly feeds ribose phosphate, amino acid synthesis, lactate, and the TCA cycle locally within human breast tumors.
Employment among female immigrants to Europe

This article investigates how cultural factors might affect the employment of female immigrants to Europe. Cultural factors include the characteristics of individual women, their countries of origin in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the European regions where they reside. Data are from the European Social Survey (2002 to 2019) and various international organisations. Employment is predicted by educational level and religiosity, religious composition of the country of origin, and rates of unemployment in the region of residence. Less educated immigrants from Muslim countries have particularly low employment rates. Contrary to expectations, the employment of female immigrants seems unaffected by overall female employment rates in the region of residence, and correlation with female employment in the country of origin disappears when controlling for its religious composition. The findings for cultural factors are consistent with theories about transculturation and also with theories about religion and moral orders. They are less consistent with a standard acculturation model hitherto popular in the research literature.
Towards development of improved metrics for quantifying turbulence imposed degradation of long-range video

The successful application of machine learning algorithms to ground-to-ground, long-range image applications is dependent upon the availability of a training set of imagery that adequately spans the range of relevant degraded environments. As such, NVESD has developed a turbulence simulation algorithm with the intent of generating realistic, long-range, turbulence–degraded imagery. To properly assess the realism of simulated turbulence– degraded imagery, image comparison metrics must be useful in identifying salient aspects of image degradation. The structural SIMilarity (SSIM) index metric has been developed with the idea that the human visual system is responsive to structural information content. Subsequently, the Multi-Scale SSIM (MS-SSIM) index metric was developed to better handle scale-dependence in image degradation, and the Complex Wavelet SSIM (CW-SSIM) index metric was developed in part to mitigate phase shifts which do not contribute to changes in structural information content. In this study, we assess the extent to which SSIM, MS-SSIM and CW-SSIM are able to quantify salient aspects of degradation in simulated long-range imagery and field data with respect to a pristine reference. Additionally, via the MS-SSIM and CW-SSIM metric approaches, we plan to assess the sensitivities of contrast, structure and luminance in NVESD simulated imagery to perturbations in optical turbulence. We then compare these simulated sensitivities to corresponding field data sensitivities with the intent to inform turbulence simulation development efforts.
Liquefaction of Lignin Using Chemical Decomposition and Its Application to Polyurethane Foam

To utilize the chemical application of lignin (LN), a decomposition reaction was carried out to cleave chemical bonds. Indeed, a liquefaction process is essential for the chemical use of lignin to achieve a uniform reaction and maximize the chemical utility of lignin. To this end, hydroxyl radicals were adopted as a powerful oxidation agent, and FT-IR results confirmed the cleavage of the ether linkages. Additionally, the water solubility of LN significantly increased after decomposition, and dissolution levels up to 0.5 g·mL–1 were obtained. Using these high solubility properties in water, NMR and DLS analyses were performed. In particular, an average particle diameter of 300 ± 240 nm was found, corresponding to the size of polydisperse l-LN. By controlling size uniformity and using high water-solubility levels, polyurethane foams were manufactured using l-LN.
Tiametoxam sorption and leaching in sewage sludge and swine wastewater treated water.

The use of organic waste in agricultural soils as organic fertilizer is a common practice in modern agriculture around the world. It recycles the waste, provides nutrients for plants and improves the soil physical, chemical and biological. However, little research has been conducted to evaluate how these organic wastes affect the retention and leaching of pesticides molecules. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the effect of sewage sludge (SS) and swine wastewater (SW), as well as deionized water (DW) and ionic solution (IS) on sorption and leaching of thiamethoxam in dystrophic Red-Yellow Latosol (RYL), dystroferric Red Latosol (RL) and dystrophic Red-Yellow Argisol (RYA). The sorption experiment was performed with samples of the 0-20 cm layer of soils. The leaching experiment was performed in PVC columns with samples of the 0-100 cm layer of these soils. The RYL showed lower thiamethoxam sorption compared to the studied soils. The SS decreased the pesticide sorption in the RYL soil. The SW reduced the thiamethoxam sorption in the soils. The RL showed less leaching of this pesticide compared to other soils. The SS and SW increased leaching of thiamethoxam in the RYL and RYA soils. Sorcao e lixiviacao de tiametoxam em solos tratados com lodo de esgoto e agua residuaria
The impact of family intervention programs on the caregiver burden of hemodialysis patients

Aim: Family caregivers of hemodialysis patients play a vital role in the health sector. However, the care they provide (especially over a long period of time) can cause fatigue, stress, and create a burden for them. Therefore, the aim of this review is to evaluate the effect of family intervention programs in reducing the burdens of family caregivers. Methods: This is a systematic review, and the database used in the article search included EBSCO, ProQuest, and PubMed (using relevant keywords based on the topic and research title). The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) flow diagram was used in selecting a total of 2,052 articles. 8 were obtained according to the inclusion criteria and were analyzed in a descriptive narrative approach. Results: The 8 articles with family-based intervention programs consisting of family-centered interventions, educational interventions, and psychological interventions showed significant results in reducing the burdens of caregivers who take care of hemodialysis patients. Conclusions: The results of this systematic review show that intervention programs could help reduce the burdens of family caregivers when caring for hemodialysis patients.
Allometric Individual Leaf Area Estimation in Chrysanthemum

A model for estimating the area of individual leaves (LA) by employing their dimensions was developed for chrysanthemum. Further hypotheses were tested: (a) LA estimation is improved by considering blade length (Lb) rather than leaf length (L), and (b) a reasonable LA estimation can be attainable by considering L in conjunction to a shape trait, which is cultivar dependent. For the model development, six cultivars were employed (1500 leaves in total), while for model validation, an independent set of nine cultivars was utilized (1125 leaves in total). Several characteristics were digitally assessed in fully expanded leaves which included petiole length, leaf L, width (W), perimeter, shape traits (aspect ratio, circularity, roundness, solidity), together with LA. LA estimation was more accurate by considering both L and W, as compared to a single dimension. A linear model, employing the product of L by W as independent variable, provided the most accurate LA estimation (R2 = 0.84). The model validation indicated a highly significant correlation between computed and measured LA (R2 = 0.88). Replacing L by Lb reasonably predicted LA (R2 = 0.832) but at some expense of accuracy. Contrary to expectation, considering L (or W) and a cultivar-specific shape trait generally led to poor LA estimations.
Enterprise mix diversification: an option for ecologically sustainable food and nutritional security of small holders in Indo-Gangetic plains

ABSTRACT Agriculture in Indo-Gangetic plains (IGP) of India is facing challenges of food security, low factor productivity, lowest per capita landholding and natural resource sustainability in the changing climate. Prevalent rice-wheat system (RWS) in this region requires more labour, water and chemical inputs leading to excessive groundwater exploitation and soil degradation. Present enterprise mix diversification study was carried out to improve productivity, profitability and resource use efficiency of the smallholders in reclaimed sodic lands of IGP during 2007–2015 at ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, India. Total 2.0 ha area was diversified under grain, vegetable, horticulture, fodder, fisheries, livestock and poultry production systems. This system produced ∼20% higher (13.3 tha−1) rice equivalent yield (REY) than RWS(11.1 tha−1). This system also generated 15.3% higher eight years average net income ($ 5363), than RWS ($ 4650/-), and 875 man-days/annum employment. By recycling this system used ∼50% lesser water than RWS and also improved soil health. On farm production and availability of cereals, vegetables, fruits, milk, eggs, fish, etc. in the system also to ensure food and nutritional security of the farm family. Overall the enterprise mix diversification system enhanced agricultural sustainability with higher productivity, income, employment generation and minimized climatic hazards.
HybridFlow: Achieving Load Balancing in Software-Defined WANs With Scalable Routing

The scalability issue hinders the deployment of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) in the Wide Area Networks (WANs). Existing solutions have two issues: (1) network performance relies on complicated controller synchronization, which increases the complexity of network control; (2) fine-grained flow processing enables flexible flow control at the cost of high processing load on the controllers and high flow table occupancy on switches. In this paper, we propose a scalable routing solution named HybridFlow, which achieves a good load balancing performance using a single controller with low control overhead (i.e., flow routing and rerouting overhead). HybridFlow mainly employs two techniques: hybrid routing and crucial flow rerouting. Hybrid routing enabled by commercial SDN switches gives us opportunities to reduce the processing load of the controller by routing flows with the hybrid OpenFlow/OSPF mode. Thus, the majority of flows can be routed by OSPF without involving the controller. Crucial flow rerouting realizes load balancing by dynamically identifying crucial flows based on a new metric called Variation Slope and rerouting these flows with the hybrid OpenFlow/OSPF mode. The simulation based on the real traffic traces and network typologies shows that compared with the optimal solution, HybridFlow can achieve 87% of the optimal load balancing performance by rerouting 36% less flows on average.
Block-based contrast enhancement method for medical application

We present a new image enhancement algorithm based on multi-scale block-rooting processing. The basic idea is to apply the frequency domain image enhancement approach for different image blocks. The parameter of transform coefficient enhancement for every block is driven through optimization of measure of enhancement. Some experimental results are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed algorithm on the medical image dataset. It is shown that the proposed method can realize the image color constancy, local dynamic range compression, color enhancement, and the overall dynamic range compression under certain circumstances.
Magneto-Erythrocyte Membrane Vesicles’ Superior T2 MRI Contrast Agents to Magneto-Liposomes

Despite their high potential, most of the clinically approved iron oxide (IO)-based contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been withdrawn from the market either due to safety issues or lack of sales. To address this challenge, erythrocyte membranes have been used to prepare IO-based T2 contrast agents with superior MRI properties and higher safety margin. A simple formulation procedure has been proposed, and the nanostructures’ morphology and physicochemical properties have been evaluated. We compared their performance in terms of contrast ability in MRI to the more clinically established magneto-liposomes and non-encapsulated nanoparticles (NPs). The encapsulation of 5-nm iron oxide nanoparticles (IO NPs) in the liposomes and erythrocyte membrane vesicles (EMVs) led to a significant improvement in their r2 relaxivity. r2 values increased to r2 = 188 ± 2 mM−1s−1 for magneto-liposomes and r2 = 269 ± 3 mM−1s−1 for magneto-erythrocyte membranes, compared to “free” IO NPs with (r2 = 12 ± 1 mM−1 s−1), measured at a 9.4 T MRI scanner. The superiority of magneto-erythrocyte membranes in terms of MRI contrast efficacy is clearly shown on T2-weighted MR images. Our study revealed the hemocompatibility of the developed contrast agents in the MRI-relevant concentration range.
The association between cognitive biases and the quality of strategic decision making: Evidence from Jordanian banks

Excellence in strategic decision making is the driving force behind successful strategy adoption and implementation. However, it is becoming more and more complex as businesses emerge in unpredictable environments and conditions. The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of cognitive bias and its dimensions (the illusion of control, prior hypothesis bias, escalating commitment bias and representativeness, and availability bias) on strategic decision making. In terms of methodology, the study used a random sampling technique. The study applied a survey as a research tool distributed among 138 bankers (employees at the managerial level) in managerial and administrative positions. Further, descriptive analysis and regression analysis were used to analyze the data and test hypotheses. The results show a positive and significant effect of the illusion of control and representativeness. The results show that the illusion of control, prior hypothesis bias, escalating commitment bias and representativeness, and availability bias significantly impact the strategic decision-making in Jordanian banks. It is concluded that the null hypothesis will be accepted and, therefore, the alternative hypothesis will be rejected based on the significant levels for the primary and secondary hypotheses. The factors of the escalating commitment bias, the availability bias, and the reasoning by analogy were not significant. Finally, the study recommends developing more literature on integrating psychology and discrimination and applying the research to different industries and managerial levels.
Evolutionary mismatch along salinity gradients in a Neotropical water strider

Abstract The evolution of local adaptation is crucial for the in situ persistence of populations in changing environments. However, selection along broad environmental gradients could render local adaptation difficult, and might even result in maladaptation. We address this issue by quantifying fitness trade‐offs (via common garden experiments) along a salinity gradient in two populations of the Neotropical water strider Telmatometra withei—a species found in both fresh (FW) and brackish (BW) water environments across Panama. We found evidence for local adaptation in the FW population in its home FW environment. However, the BW population showed only partial adaptation to the BW environment, with a high magnitude of maladaptation along naturally occurring salinity gradients. Indeed, its overall fitness was ~60% lower than that of the ancestral FW population in its home environment, highlighting the role of phenotypic plasticity, rather than local adaptation, in high salinity environments. This suggests that populations seemingly persisting in high salinity environments might in fact be maladapted, following drastic changes in salinity. Thus, variable selection imposed by salinization could result in evolutionary mismatch, where the fitness of a population is displaced from its optimal environment. Understanding the fitness consequences of persisting in fluctuating salinity environments is crucial to predict the persistence of populations facing increasing salinization. It will also help develop evolutionarily informed management strategies in the context of global change.
News Framing of the Rohingya Crisis: Content Analysis of Newspaper Coverage from Four Countries

Abstract The study examines prominent news frames, sources, and refugee characteristics present in coverage of the under-reported Rohingya refugee crisis across newspapers from four nations. Findings show victim, thematic, and administrative frames were most commonly used. Politicians, international organizations, and NGOs were dominant sources, while nationality, age, and gender were frequently used refugee characteristics. Findings suggest positive practices that journalists can incorporate while reporting refugee crises. These include more frequent use of thematic and personalized frames that will help provide holistic background to crises and lead to nuanced portrayals of refugee subjects.
Wave-Energy Dissipation: Seaweeds and Marine Plants Are Ecosystem Engineers

Ocean waves deliver an immense amount of energy to coasts around the planet, powering high-velocity flows that interact with nearshore marine plants and animals. Although some of these interactions are beneficial, it is often advantageous for subtidal and intertidal ecological communities if wave-induced water velocities can be reduced by safely dissipating wave energy. This function is often fulfilled by seaweeds and marine plants, which thereby act as ecosystem engineers, modifying the environment to the benefit of the community. Recent advances in hydro-mechanical theory help to explain the mechanisms by which vegetation dissipates wave energy, highlighting the role that organisms’ tendency to bend in flow—their structural flexibility—plays in their ability to engineer wave-induced flows. Here, I review these theories and their application to salt marsh plants, seagrasses, mangroves, and seaweeds, focusing on the ways that marine vegetation serves a foundational role in community function.
The Digital Addictive Goods Markets: Feedback, Experience, Regulation

Digital goods markets operate with significant deviations from standard economic models and patterns. Many digital products, like alcohol and drugs, fulfill the need to escape from reality and cause addiction, so they are addictive: applications for smartphones, tablets, video and digital games, social networks. The world is actively discussing the ban of gadgets in schools. The purpose of the research is to identify digital addictive goods in economic theory to substantiate the conceptual model and directions for improving their regulation. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the works in the field of General economic theory, institutional and evolutionary economics, consumer behavior, state administration. The research results are positioning markets for digital addictive goods in economic theory, systematization of international experience in regulating the use of gadgets in schools, and developing recommendations for public and state regulation of them. Demand, supply, and government regulation mechanisms are novel in the markets of digital addictive goods. Supply strategies in the digital network goods and drug markets are similar: prices can be zero or negative; the cost of producing them is relatively low; there are significant efforts to monopolize the market. The characteristics of demand are: current consumption leads to an increase in future demand; the limited influence of the law of demand; there is a shift to criminal sources when there is a deficit of addict's income; market entry and "linking" are stimulated by "psychological manipulators"; children and youth are more exposed to marketing.
Multiparametric MRI texture analysis in prediction of glioma biomarker status: added value of MR diffusion

Abstract Background Early identification of glioma molecular phenotypes can lead to understanding of patient prognosis and treatment guidance. We aimed to develop a multiparametric MRI texture analysis model using a combination of conventional and diffusion MRI to predict a wide range of biomarkers in patients with glioma. Methods In this retrospective study, patients were included if they (1) had diagnosis of gliomas with known IDH1, EGFR, MGMT, ATRX, TP53, and PTEN status from surgical pathology and (2) had preoperative MRI including FLAIR, T1c+ and diffusion for radiomic texture analysis. Statistical analysis included logistic regression and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine the optimal model for predicting glioma biomarkers. A comparative analysis between ROCs (conventional only vs conventional + diffusion) was performed. Results From a total of 111 patients included, 91 (82%) were categorized to training and 20 (18%) to test datasets. Constructed cross-validated model using a combination of texture features from conventional and diffusion MRI resulted in overall AUC/accuracy of 1/79% for IDH1, 0.99/80% for ATRX, 0.79/67% for MGMT, and 0.77/66% for EGFR. The addition of diffusion data to conventional MRI features significantly (P < .05) increased predictive performance for IDH1, MGMT, and ATRX. The overall accuracy of the final model in predicting biomarkers in the test group was 80% (IDH1), 70% (ATRX), 70% (MGMT), and 75% (EGFR). Conclusion Addition of MR diffusion to conventional MRI features provides added diagnostic value in preoperative determination of IDH1, MGMT, and ATRX in patients with glioma.
Zinc-air Batteries: Prospects and Challenges for Future Improvement

Abstract With the rising production of regenerative energy stronger focus on energy storage is necessary. One possibility to store electric energy is the use of battery technology. Especially high energy densities can be realized with metal-air batteries. Zinc-air batteries are known since more than 100 years, but have until now found use only in special markets. A well-known example is the battery for hearing aids. Many attempts have been undertaken to develop rechargeable zinc-based batteries, but only with limited success. Reasons for this fact and directions for future needs, applications and developments are discussed in the paper. Furthermore, first experiments for the use of ionic liquids as electrolytes in zinc-air-batteries are presented.