Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detection of Circulating and Disseminated Tumor Cells and Their Prognostic Value under the Influence of Neoadjuvant Therapy in Esophageal Cancer Patients

Simple Summary Esophageal cancer (EC) has a poor prognosis and a high mortality rate. This study investigated the expression of CK20 and DEFA5, markers being associated with circulating (CTC) and disseminated tumor cells (DTC), in blood and bone marrow (BM) of EC patients, and correlated positivity rates with clinical data to assess the prognostic impact. Both markers were detected in blood and BM of EC patients and the control cohort so that a cut-off value was determined to define marker positivity for correlation with clinical parameters. CK20 and DEFA5 positivity in liquid biopsies of EC patients did not correlate with overall survival (OS). However, CK20 positivity in BM and DEFA5 negativity in blood were associated with reduced OS in patients without neoadjuvant therapy. In patients with neoadjuvant therapy, DEFA5 positivity in BM was associated with improved OS, pointing to the potential of DEFA5 as a prognostic biomarker in liquid biopsies of EC patients. Abstract Detection of circulating (CTC) or disseminated tumor cells (DTC) are correlated with negative prognosis in esophageal cancer (EC) patients. In this study, DTC- and CTC-associated markers CK20 and DEFA5 were determined by RT-PCR in EC patients and correlated with clinical parameters to determine their prognostic impact. The blood and bone marrow (BM) of 216 EC patients after tumor resection with or without neoadjuvant therapy and as control blood samples from 38 healthy donors and BM from 24 patients with non-malignant diseases were analyzed. Both markers were detected in blood and BM of EC patients and the control cohort. A cut-off value was determined to define marker positivity for correlation with clinical data. CK20 expression was detected in 47/206 blood samples and in 49/147 BM samples of EC patients. DEFA5 positivity was determined in 96/206 blood samples and 98/147 BM samples, not correlating with overall survival (OS). However, CK20 positivity in BM and DEFA5 negativity in blood were associated with reduced OS in EC patients without neoadjuvant therapy, while in patients with neoadjuvant therapy DEFA5 positivity in BM was associated with improved OS. Overall, our study suggests DEFA5 as a prognostic biomarker in liquid biopsies of EC patients which requires further validation.
The Validity of Carotid Doppler Peak Velocity and Inferior Vena Cava Collapsibility Index in Identifying the Fluid Responders in Mechanically Ventilated Septic Shock Patients

Introduction: Measures of carotid artery flow or inferior vena cava diameter were recently shown to predict fluid responsiveness. Both are relatively superficial large vessels which can provide straightforward ultrasound evaluation & high-qualityimages.Methods: Our study is a prospective observational study on 30 mechanically ventilated septic shock patients in ICUto assess the fluid responsivenessby measuring carotid Doppler peak velocity&respiratory variation in inferior vena cava diameter against the increase in the cardiac index by echocardiographic calculations as a reference. All patients were given a fluid bolus 7 ml/ Kg crystalloid solution within 30 minutes, static and dynamic indices which include CVP, MAP, pulse pressure, difference between diameter of IVC during inspiration and expiration (ΔIVC- d) & carotid Doppler peak velocity in a single respiratory cycle (ΔCDPV) were measured before (T0) & after (T1). Vasoactive drugs infusion rate and ventilation settings did not changed during follow up. Patients were categorized either fluid responders “R” or non-responders “NR” according to an increase in cardiac output “CO” (increase in CO > 15 %.Results: Comparing responders & Non responders group we found a significant difference in Cardiac output measures,MAP & Δ CDPV pre & post fluid boluses as (5.26±4.42 L/min Vs. 10.62±5.73 L/min, 69.48±9.70 mmHg Vs. 84.90±10.36 mmHg&24.43±11.87%Vs33.22±11.00%) respectively with P-value (0.007, 0.05&0.01) respectively, on the other side , ΔD-IVC & Δ CVP pre & post fluid boluses didn’t show any statistical difference as (11.91±9.41 % Vs. 13.51±9.56 %, 5.86±5.22 cmH2O Vs 7.22±4.82 cmH2O) with P-value (0.87&0.68)respectively. Δ CDPV increase in response to increased intravascular volume in R group showed sensitivity 81%, specificity 66.7%. APACHE II, SOFA day 0,5 didn’t showed any difference between the R & NR group (16.05±3.23 Vs 18.44±3.81, 11.48±2.82Vs12.11±2.80& 12.95±3.68Vs12.56±3.97) respectively with P-value (0.164, 0.625 & 0.79) respectively. Conclusion: ΔCDPV was a more precise & even easier assessment tool with better sensitivity and specificity for evaluation of fluid responsiveness than the ΔD-IVC in patients with septic shock upon mechanicalventilation. Also, ΔCDPV has a high correlation with SVI increasing parameters assessed by echocardiography after fluid boluses. On the other hand and in comparison, CVP showed low accuracy in predicting fluid responsiveness.
Impact of Electrolyte Incorporation in Anodized Niobium on Its Resistive Switching

The aim of this study was to develop memristors based on Nb2O5 grown by a simple and inexpensive electrochemical anodization process. It was confirmed that the electrolyte selection plays a crucial role in resistive switching due to electrolyte species incorporation in oxide, thus influencing the formation of conductive filaments. Anodic memristors grown in phosphate buffer showed improved electrical characteristics, while those formed in citrated buffer exhibited excellent memory capabilities. The chemical composition of oxides was successfully determined using HAXPES, while their phase composition and crystal structure with conductive filaments was assessed by TEM at the nanoscale. Overall, understanding the switching mechanism leads towards a wide range of possible applications for Nb memristors either as selector devices or nonvolatile memories.
Light Harvesting in Silicon Nanowires Solar Cells by Using Graphene Layer and Plasmonic Nanoparticles

In this work, a silicon nanowire solar cell for efficient light harvesting in the visible and near-infrared regions is introduced. In this structure, the silicon nanowires (SiNWs) are coated with a graphene layer and plasmonic nanoparticles are distributed on the top surface of the silicon substrate layer. The proposed structure is simulated using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method to determine the performance of the solar cell by calculating the open-circuit voltage, fill factor, short-circuit current density, and power conversion efficiency. The absorbed light energy is compared for different nanoparticle materials, namely Au, Ag, Al, and Cu, and Au NPs give the best performance. Different values of the radius of the Au NP are simulated, namely 30, 40, 50, and 60 nm, to determine the optimum radius, and the effect of excess carrier concentration on the solar cell performance is also tested. The obtained open-circuit voltage is 0.63 V, fill factor is 0.73, short-circuit current density is 41.7 mA/cm2, and power conversion efficiency is 19.0%. The proposed SiNW solar cell improves the overall efficiency by almost 60%. Furthermore, the effects of the NW length and distance between NWs are also studied in this work. Finally, the distribution of the optical power in different layers along the solar cell and for different solar cell structures is also illustrated in this paper.
Past evolution of western Europe large-scale circulation and link to precipitation trend in the northern French Alps

Abstract. Detecting trends in regional large-scale circulation (LSC) is an important challenge as LSC is a key driver of local weather conditions. In this work, we investigate the past evolution of western Europe LSC based on the 500 hPa geopotential height fields from 20CRv2c (1851–2010), ERA20C (1900–2010) and ERA5 (1950–2010) reanalyses. We focus on the evolution of large-scale circulation characteristics using three atmospheric descriptors that are based on analogy by comparing daily geopotential height fields to each other. They characterize the stationarity of geopotential shape and how well a geopotential shape is reproduced in the climatology. A non-analogy descriptor is also employed to account for the intensity of the centers of action. We then combine the four atmospheric descriptors with an existing weather pattern classification over the period 1950–2019 to study the recent changes in the two main atmospheric influences driving precipitation in the northern French Alps. They correspond to the Atlantic circulation pattern dominated by a zonal flow and the Mediterranean circulation pattern dominated by low-pressure anomalies over the near Atlantic, close to Portugal. Even though LSC characteristics and trends are consistent among the three reanalyses after 1950, we find major differences between 20CRv2c and ERA20C from 1900 to 1950 in accordance with previous studies. Notably, ERA20C produces flatter geopotential shapes in the beginning of the 20th century and shows a reinforcement of the meridional pressure gradient that is not observed in 20CRv2c. Over the period 1950–2019, we show that winter Atlantic circulations (zonal flows) tend to be shifted northward, and they become more similar to known Atlantic circulations. Mediterranean circulations tend to become more stationary, more similar to known Mediterranean circulations and associated with stronger centers of action in autumn, while an opposite behavior is observed in winter. Finally, we discuss the role of these LSC changes for seasonal and extreme precipitation in the northern French Alps. We show that these changes in LSC characteristics are linked to (a) the decreasing contribution of Mediterranean circulations to winter precipitation and (b) more circulations that are likely to generate extreme precipitation in autumn.
Tracking from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

We use multiple tracking agents in parallel for autonomously tracking an arbitrary target from an unmanned aerial vehicle. An object initially selected by a user from a possibly cluttered scene containing other static and moving objects and occlusions - both partial and complete - is tracked as long as it remains in view using a single light-weight camera readily installed in a UAV. We assumed, for the present, at least, that the UAV sends images to a ground station which controls it. We evaluated several individual tracking agents in terms of tracking success and their times for processing frames streamed from the UAV to the ground station at 25 fps, so that the system shoud compute results in 40ms. Histogram trackers were most successful at $\sim 10$ ms per frame which can be further optimized.
Genome-Wide Identification, Characterization and Expression Analysis of Lipoxygenase Gene Family in Artemisia annua L.

Lipoxygenase (LOX) is a ubiquitous oxygenase found in animals and plants and plays a pivotal role in diverse biological processes, including defense and development. Artemisinin, which can only be obtained from Artemisia annua L. , is the most effective therapeutic drug for malaria without serious side effects. This study identified and analyzed LOX gene family members in the A. annua genome at the chromosomal level. Twenty LOX genes with various molecular weights, isoelectric points, and amino acid numbers were identified and named AaLOX, which were located in the cytoplasm or chloroplast. The average protein length of all AaLOX was 850 aa. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that the AaLOX was divided into two major groups, 9-LOX and 13-LOX. The exon numbers ranged from 1 to 12, indicating that different AaLOX genes have different functions. The secondary structure was mainly composed of alpha helix and random coil, and the tertiary structure was similar for most AaLOX. Upstream promoter region analysis revealed that a large number of cis-acting elements were closely related to plant growth and development, light response, hormone, and other stress responses. Transcriptome data analysis of different tissues suggested that the gene family was differently expressed in the roots, stems, leaves, and flowers of two A. annua strains HAN1 and LQ9. qRT-PCR confirmed that AaLOX5 and AaLOX17 had the highest expression in flowers and leaves. This study provides a theoretical basis for the further functional analysis of the AaLOX gene family.
Endometriosis: A Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis

Endometriosis is a common disease with typically delayed diagnosis. Its prevalence is high among adolescents with pelvic pain symptom. Deposits of tissue outside uterine cavity depend on oestrogen. Progestins and oral contraceptives are not successful 1/3 of symptomatic women worldwide. Pathogenesis of endometriosis is not well understood but immune system plays a role in its pathophysiology. The aetiology of endometriosis remains largely unknown. Here in this review, reader may find a review of systematic reviews and meta-analysis published after 2015 on endometriosis.
Current Status and Future Directions of Immunotherapies in Soft Tissue Sarcomas

Immunotherapy in soft tissue sarcoma (STS) has experienced a surge of interest in the past decade, contributing to an expanding number of therapeutic options for this extremely heterogenous group of rare malignancies. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) targeting the PD-1 and CTLA-4 axes have demonstrated promising responses in a select number of STS subtypes, including rarer subtypes, such as alveolar soft part sarcoma, SWI/SNF-deficient sarcomas, clear cell sarcoma, and angiosarcoma. Multiple pan-subtype sarcoma trials have facilitated the study of possible predictive biomarkers of the CPI response. It has also become apparent that certain therapies, when combined with CPIs, can enhance response rates, although the specific mechanisms of this possible synergy remain unconfirmed in STS. In addition to CPIs, several other immune targeting agents, including anti-tumour-associated macrophage and antigen-directed therapies, are now under assessment in STS with promising efficacy in some subtypes. In this article, we review the state of the art in immunotherapy in STS, highlighting the pre-clinical and clinical data available for this promising therapeutic strategy.
Annual Variations of Isoprene and Other Non‐Methane Hydrocarbons in the Jiaozhou Bay on the East Coast of North China

Non‐methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) play an important role in atmospheric chemistry and the ocean is a source of NMHCs in the atmosphere. Here, we investigated the annual variations of NMHCs concentrations and fluxes (i.e., ethane, ethylene, propane, propylene, and isoprene) in the semi‐enclosed shallow waters of Jiaozhou Bay from September 2016 to August 2017. Ethylene is the most abundant NMHCs, with an annual average concentration of 487.7 ± 239.3 pmol L−1. The concentrations of other NMHCs were lower; the average concentrations for ethane, propane, propylene, and isoprene were 87.0 ± 49.0, 65.7 ± 22.9, 127.4 ± 77.8, and 60.5 ± 47.1 pmol L−1, respectively. NMHCs concentrations varied largely between seasons and higher abundance were observed in summer. The correlations between NMHCs and environmental variables such as chlorophyll a (Chl‐a), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were ambiguous, and principal component analysis (PCA) suggested nutrients contributed significantly to total variation. These results indicated that the control of NMHCs could be more complex in dynamic and anthropogenically impacted estuarine systems, which could be a result of multiple processes involving phytoplankton release, photochemical production, riverine input, and so forth. The average annual sea‐to‐air fluxes of ethane, ethylene, propane, propylene, and isoprene were 105.9–298.3, 583.5–1,337.0, 36.7–95.2, 85.2–389.6, and 25.2–182.4 nmol m−2 d−1, respectively. Although coastal and estuarine environments only account for a minor fraction of the global ocean (0.26%–0.39%), NMHC emissions from these areas could influence regional atmospheric chemistry and may be relatively important for global budgets (ethane, 1.70%; ethylene, 1.54%; propane, 1.29%; propylene, 0.87%; isoprene, 3.17%).
Change in fire frequency drives a shift in species composition in native Eucalyptus regnans forests: Implications for overstorey forest structure and transpiration

The world's most iconic forests are under threat from climate change. Climate‐fire‐vegetation feedback mechanisms are altering the usual successional trajectories of forests. Many obligate seeder forests across the globe are experiencing regeneration failures and subsequent alterations to their recovery trajectories. For example, the persistence of Eucalyptus regnans F. Muell. forests in southeast Australia is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate‐driven increases in wildfire frequency. Shortening of the wildfire return interval from >100 years to < 20 years would inhibit or entirely stop regeneration of E. regnans, leading to replacement with understorey species such as Acacia dealbata Link. In this study, it is hypothesised that following such replacement, forest overstorey structure and transpiration will diverge. An experiment was designed to test this hypothesis by measuring and comparing overstorey transpiration and structural properties, including sapwood area and leaf area, between E. regnans and A. dealbata over a chronosequence (10‐, 20‐, 35‐ and 75‐/80‐year‐old forests). We found that overstorey structure significantly diverged between the two forest types throughout the life cycle of A. dealbata after age 20. The study revealed strikingly different temporal patterns of water use, indicating a highly significant eco‐hydrologic change as a result of this species replacement. Overall, the results provide a strong indication that after age 20, overstorey transpiration in Acacia‐dominated forests is substantially lower than in the E. regnans forests they replace. This difference may lead to divergence in water yield from forested catchments where this species replacement is widespread.
On the Independent Neighborhood Polynomial of the Rooted Product of Two Trees

Let G be a connected graph. We say that a given graph is a tree if every pair ofvertices is connected by a unique path. The rooted product of two trees is relevant to tree, as the obtained product is another tree. In this paper, we establish the independent neighborhood sets of a tree and obtain its corresponding independent neighborhood polynomial. Furthermore, the independent neighborhood polynomial of the rooted product of two trees were determine using their independent neighborhood sets.
Characteristics and Causes of Extremely Persistent Heavy Rainfall of Tropical Cyclone In-Fa (2021)

The characteristics and causes of the persistent precipitation of an extreme-rainfall tropical cyclone (TC), In-Fa, in 2021 are studied. It is shown that the extremity of In-Fa’s precipitation was mainly due to two aspects: massively accumulated quantity and an extremely long impact time. The heavy precipitation in Zhejiang resulted from the accumulation of very long but moderate precipitation, while that in Jiangsu resulted from the coaction of both long duration and strong intensity. The weak steering flow brought about by the large scale environment and the long continuation of the TC’s circulation were the two most important background conditions for the extremely long duration of heavy rainfall in Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Continuous energy input through the transportation of warmer and wetter air resulted in the persistence of In-Fa’s circulation. The terrain effect under the continuous northeasterly/northerly airflow caused by the slow movement of the TC was the major influencing factor for the extreme precipitation in Zhejiang. The convergence brought about by the TC’s vortex during landfall played another role in Zhejiang’s heavy rainfall. On the one hand, the terrain led to the development of low-level vertical circulation, resulting in convergence and updraft in the windward side of Siming Mountain; on the other hand, the terrain also provided for the vertical transport of water vapor. The main factors for the extreme precipitation in Jiangsu were the long continuation of low-level jets that caused persistent low-level convergence and the development of a mesoscale rainband. The convergence zone was located in the western front and evolved with the changing of the jets. The high-energy/high-humidity conditions and their consistency with the location of the convergence provided favorable conditions for the triggering and development of convection.
The impact of working environment on employees’ performance, the case of Institute of Finance Management in Dar es Salaam

Organizations must step outside their traditional roles and comfort zones to look at new ways of working. They have to create a work environment where people enjoy what they do, feel like they have a purpose, have pride in what they do, and can reach their potential. The study aimed to assess the impact of working environment on employees’ performance at Institute of Finance Management in Dar es Salaam Region. For the purpose of this study, descriptive research design was used. Simple random sampling technique was respectively used to select the respondents for the study. Respondents for this study were fifty (50) made up of twenty-five (25) senior staff and twenty-five (25) junior staff. Structured questionnaires were used for data collection. The study findings indicate that, organization working environment had an impact on members as far as respondents are concerned. The study also revealed that employees’ will improve their performance if the problems identified during the research are tackled by the management. The problems are flexibility of working environment, work noise distraction, supervisor’s interpersonal relationship with subordinates, presence of job aid, the use of performance feedback and improve of work incentives in the organization so that to motivate employees to perform their job. In conclusion based on the findings the study recommended that, the organization needs to have periodic meetings with employees to air their grievances to management and serve as a motivating factor to the employees. Management should find ways and means of communicating their goals and strategies to their employees in order to achieve what the organization is in business for, its mission and vision.
Relationship Between Ambulatory Blood Pressure Variability and Atherogenic Index of Plasma

1University of Health Sciences Turkey, Gülhane Training and Research Hospital, Department of Cardiology, Ankara, Turkey 2Dr. Ersin Arslan Gaziantep Training and Research Hospital, Clinic of Cardiology, Gaziantep, Turkey Serkan Asil1, Veysel Özgür Barış2, Özkan Eravcı1, Hatice Taşkan1, Murat Çelik1, Uygar Çağdaş Yüksel1 EJCM 2022;10(1):32-39 DOI: 10.32596/ejcm.galenos. 2022.2022-02-016 Research Article Asil et al. Atherogenic Index of Plasma and Ambulatory Blood Pressure Variability