Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Immunotherapy in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Beyond “Copy/Paste”

Immunotherapy has dramatically changed the cancer treatment landscape during the past decade, but very limited efficacy has been reported against pancreatic cancer. Several factors unique to pancreatic cancer may explain the resistance: the well-recognized suppressive elements in the tumor microenvironment, the functional and structural barrier imposed by the stroma components, T-cell exhaustion, the choice of perhaps the wrong immune targets, and microbial factors including gut dysbiosis and the unexpected presence of tumor microbes. Furthermore, we discuss various strategies to overcome these barriers.
Relationship between diagnostic accuracy of microRNAs for NSCLC and number of combined microRNAs: an overview with meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Objective: Several systematic reviews (SRs) have assessed the diagnostic accuracy of microRNAs (miRNAs) for NSCLC, and this overview aimed to assess the relationship between diagnostic accuracy of miRNAs for NSCLC and number of microRNAs combinations. Methods: Embase.com, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched. The PRISMA-DTA was used for reporting quality evaluation. Meta-analysis was conducted to assess the pooled diagnostic accuracy of different miRNAs combinations, and subgroup analyses were performed based on the source of miRNA. Results: Fourteen SRs with 91 original studies were included. Three SRs had minimal reporting flaws, and 11 SRs had medium flaws. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.76 and 0.80 for single miRNA, 0.80 and 0.81 for two miRNAs combined, 0.82 and 0.88 for three miRNAs combined, 0.88 and 0.92 for four miRNAs combined, 0.87 and 0.87 for five miRNAs combined, and 0.87 and 0.89 for six or more miRNAs combined. And miR-21 was mostly appeared. Subgroup analyses suggested that the serum-derived miRNA had the relatively best diagnostic value compared to other sources. Conclusions: Future studies should explore specific and serum-derived miRNAs in NSCLC and combine them to improve the diagnosis accuracy of NSCLC, which had great significance in economic efficiency.
Administration of Ocular Gene Therapy

Over the past decades, ocular gene therapy has evolved from in vitro genetic transfer experiments to clinically approved therapies in humans. In 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of voretigene neparvovec-rzyl (Luxturna; Spark Therapeutics, Philadelphia, PA) for biallelic RPE65 mutation-associated Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) saw the fruition of decades of genetic research and marked the dawn of the gene therapy age. Numerous gene-based and cell-based clinical trials are presently underway aimed at a diverse array of inherited retinal disorders (IRDs),1,2 nonhereditary retinal degenerations,3 and acquired, multifactorial retinal diseases requiring frequent, repeated intravitreal injections (IVIs). The eye is an attractive organ for the study of genetic therapies. First, the eye requires a relatively low quantity of therapeutic material. Second, the blood-ocular barrier comprised of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and retinal vascular endothelial cells creates an immune-privileged environment which may limit host immune response and systemic exposure of an intraocular therapy. Finally, the retina and choroid can be readily studied using a cadre of high-resolution, noninvasive imaging modalities to quantitate anatomic and therapeutic response. In contrast, the contiguous, multilayered arrangement of the retina presents a unique challenge for gene therapy. Delivery methods need to transfer a sufficiently high concentration of the agent for therapeutic efficacy, and typically needs to be in close spatial approximation to the target cell in the case of viral vector-based gene therapy. Consequently,
Diabetes Technology Meeting 2020

Diabetes Technology Society hosted its annual Diabetes Technology Meeting on November 12 to November 14, 2020. This meeting brought together speakers to cover various perspectives about the field of diabetes technology. The meeting topics included artificial intelligence, digital health, telemedicine, glucose monitoring, regulatory trends, metrics for expressing glycemia, pharmaceuticals, automated insulin delivery systems, novel insulins, metrics for diabetes monitoring, and discriminatory aspects of diabetes technology. A live demonstration was presented.
A CRISPR-based assay for the study of eukaryotic DNA repair onboard the International Space Station

As we explore beyond Earth, astronauts may be at risk for harmful DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation. Double-strand breaks are a type of DNA damage that can be repaired by two major cellular pathways: non-homologous end joining, during which insertions or deletions may be added at the break site, and homologous recombination, in which the DNA sequence often remains unchanged. Previous work suggests that space conditions may impact the choice of DNA repair pathway, potentially compounding the risks of increased radiation exposure during space travel. However, our understanding of this problem has been limited by technical and safety concerns, which have prevented integral study of the DNA repair process in space. The CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system offers a model for the safe and targeted generation of double-strand breaks in eukaryotes. Here we describe a CRISPR-based assay for DNA break induction and assessment of double-strand break repair pathway choice entirely in space. As necessary steps in this process, we describe the first successful genetic transformation and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing in space. These milestones represent a significant expansion of the molecular biology toolkit onboard the International Space Station.
Determination of the retinal toxicity of intravitreal colistin in rabbit eyes

Abstract Purpose To determine the possible adverse effects and safe dose range of intravitreal colistin, an antibiotic, after its intravitreal application. Methods Twenty eyes of 20 adult male and female New Zealand white rabbits were selected. Various concentrations of colistin were prepared. In each rabbit, 0.1 mL of colistin solution or saline solution was injected intravitreally into the right eye. Electroretinographic recordings were taken before and 2 weeks after injection. Histopathological examination was made using a light microscope following enucleation and fixation procedures. In histopathologic cross-sections, the differences between drug-injected eyes and control eyes were evaluated. Results Electroretinographic examination showed a decrease of 30% as a significant value in the a and b wave amplitudes of the rabbits that injected 400 µg/0.1 ml and higher concentrations. Histological examination revealed histiocytic infiltration, histiocytic vacuoles, inflammation, and retinal degeneration in rabbit eyes given 400 µg/0.1 ml, 800 µg/0.1 ml, and 1.6 mg/0.1 ml concentrations of colistin. Conclusion Based on our findings, the safe concentration of colistin is 0.2 mg/0.1 ml. Administration of 0.4 mg/0.1 ml was associated with cataract development, electrophysiological depression, and pathological changes in retinal layers.
Multidrug-Resistant Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli Pathotypes in North Eastern Region of India: Backyard Small Ruminants-Human-Water Interface.

A total of 648 diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) were isolated from calves (n = 219), lambs (n = 87), kids (n = 103), human (n = 193), and water (n = 46) samples. The presence of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), and shigatoxigenic E. coli (STEC) was confirmed by PCR-based detection of the Shiga toxin, intimin, hemolysin, and enterotoxin genes. All the isolates were tested for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by disc diffusion assay. Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL), carbapenemase, and metallo-beta-lactamase production were determined by double-disk synergy test, modified Hodge test, and combined disk test assays. AMR genes (blaTEM, blaSHV, blaCTX-M, blaCMY-2, blaNDM, blaKPC, blaVIM, and blaIMP) were detected by PCR using specific primers. Majority of the isolates from human and water exhibited resistance (>80%) against amoxicillin, ampicillin, aztreonam, cefotaxime, cefixime, gentamicin, ceftazidime, and cefalexin, and against imipenem (70.98%), doripenem (70.47%), and ertapenem (60.62%). Bovine isolates were sensitive to carbapenems. Many isolates (5.75-24.35%) from human, water, calves, kids, and lambs were multidrug resistant (MDR), with resistance against three or more classes of antimicrobials. A total of 170/648 (26.23%) isolates were classified as STEC (9.88%), EPEC (4.32%), and ETEC (12.04%). The AMR genes, including blaTEM, blaCMY2, blaCTX-M, and blaSHV were detected in the E. coli from all sources. but blaNDM and blaKPC were detected only in the isolates from human and water. Three STEC isolates from human origin possessed multiple ESBLs, carbapenemase and metallo-beta-lactamase genes reported for the first time. ESBLs producing EPEC and ETEC in lambs and kids are also reported under this study. Presence of MDR-DEC in domestic animals and common potable water poses public health concern in this region.
Genetic control of kernel compositional variation in a maize diversity panel

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a multi‐purpose row crop grown worldwide, which, over time, has often been bred for increased yield at the detriment of lower composition grain quality. Some knowledge of the genetic factors that affect quality traits has been discovered through the study of classical maize mutants; however, much of the underlying genetic control of these traits and the interaction between these traits remains unknown. To better understand variation that exists for grain compositional traits in maize, we evaluated 501 diverse temperate maize inbred lines in five unique environments and predicted 16 compositional traits (e.g., carbohydrates, protein, and starch) based on the output of near‐infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Phenotypic analysis found substantial variation for compositional traits and the majority of variation was explained by genetic and environmental factors. Correlations and trade‐offs among traits in different maize types (e.g., dent, sweetcorn, and popcorn) were explored, and significant differences and meaningful correlations were detected. In total, 22.9–71.0% of the phenotypic variation across these traits could be explained using 2,386,666 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers generated from whole‐genome resequencing data. A genome‐wide association study (GWAS) was conducted using these same markers and found 72 statistically significant SNPs for 11 compositional traits. This study provides valuable insights in the phenotypic variation and genetic control underlying compositional traits that can be used in breeding programs for improving maize grain quality.
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy vibrational bands study of Spinacia oleracea and Trigonella corniculata under biochar amendment in naturally contaminated soil

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectroscopy detects functional groups such as vibrational bands like N-H, O-H, C-H, C = O (ester, amine, ketone, aldehyde), C = C, C = N (vibrational modes of a tetrapyrrole ring) and simply C = N. The FTIR of these bands is fundamental to the investigation of the effect of biochar (BC) treatment on structural changes in the chlorophyll molecules of both plants that were tested. For this, dried leaf of Spinacia oleracia (spinach) and Trigonella corniculata (fenugreek) were selected for FTIR spectral study of chlorophyll associated functional groups. The study’s primary goal was to investigate the silent features of infrared (IR) spectra of dried leave samples. The data obtained from the current study also shows that leaf chlorophyll can mask or suppress other molecules’ FITR bands, including proteins. In addition, the C = O bands with Mg and the C9 ketonic group of chlorophyll are observed as peaks at1600 (0%BC), 1650 (3%BC) and 1640, or near to1700 (5%BC) in spinach samples. In fenugreek, additional effects are observed in the FTIR spectra of chlorophyll at the major groups of C = C, C = O and C9 of the ketonic groups, and the vibrational bands are more evident at C-H and N-H of the tetrapyrrole ring. It is concluded that C-N bands are more visible in 5% BC treated spinach and fenugreek than in all other treatments. These types of spectra are useful in detecting changes or visibility of functional groups, which are very helpful in supporting biochemical data such as an increase in protein can be detected by more visibility of C-N bands in FTIR spectra.
Role of Yeast and Yeast-Derived Products as Feed Additives in Broiler Nutrition

Abstract Antibiotic resistance is looming problem in broiler production globally and there has been an increasing interest to look for sustainable alternatives to antibiotics. Yeast and its derived products are recognized as potential feed additives because of their beneficial impacts on poultry. Particularly, yeast exhibited positive effects on the humoral immunity by increasing serum immunoglobulin (Ig) A levels. Moreover, yeast and its products showed immune adjuvant-like properties that helped the broilers chicken to develop faster and stronger innate immune response under pathogenic challenges. Use of yeast and its products as prebiotic/probiotic improves the gut architecture mainly by improving the gut development and gut microbiome, reduction in colonization of pathogens through competitive exclusion, binding of toxins and enhancing digestion and absorption of nutrients. These unique properties of yeast and yeast products enhance animal welfare and productivity; warrant them to be used as a promising feed additive. This article, therefore, provides insights into the functional role of yeast and its products in the broiler diets and highlights its importance as a commercially viable alternative of synthetic antibiotic growth promoters in the broiler feed industry.
Dual channels of transmission using rectangular hole dimers

The optical properties of a plasmonic surface have been engineered using the rectangular nanohole dimers. One or two transmission peak(s), associated with two symmetrical or asymmetrical transmission channels, has (have) been revealed. We found that, similar to the plasmon coupling of a nanorod dimer, a strong coupling effect is also present in a rectangular nanohole dimer. The effect is closely correlated with the surrounding currents of waveguide modes, which mediate, via the magnetic field, an attractive or repulsive interaction between the dimer holes. The resulted low-energy or high-energy mode will couple with the film surface waves, thus producing the transmission peak with a red- or blue-shift. Moreover, the dependence of coupling modes on the sizes and separation of dimer holes has been systematically investigated, and an anticrossing-like coupling behavior has been suggested. We also suggest that, using the rectangular hole dimers with the perpendicular arrangement, the polarization of light can.
Study of the Influence of Eu3+ Ions in the Bandgap of K2NdNb5O15 Nanopowders

Ferroelectric semiconductors oxides with tetragonal tungsten bronze TTB-type structure doped with rare earth ions have been investigated in recent years due their promising optical properties. K2Nd(1-x)EuxNb5O15 nanopowders, where x = 0, 0.0025, 0.025, 0.05 and 0.1 were synthesized by the modified polyol method and characterized by X-ray diffraction and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy UV-Vis. Single phase and crystalline powders of tetragonal symmetry with non-centrosymmetric space group P4bm were obtained. The diffuse reflectance spectra were similar to the profile of a semiconductor material with the presence of thin transitions of Eu3+ in europium-doped K2NdNb5O15, as well as the transitions of Nd3+. The method of Kubelka-Munk was used for the estimation of bandgap energy. The values around 3.7 eV showed small variation with the concentration of Eu3+ ions in the K2NdNb5O15 host structure. The transitions were identified as direct ones type.
Color Variants Identification in Fashion e-commerce via Contrastive Self-Supervised Representation Learning

In this paper, we utilize deep visual Representation Learning to address an important problem in fashion e-commerce: color variants identification, i.e., identifying fashion products that match exactly in their design (or style), but only to differ in their color. At first we attempt to tackle the problem by obtaining manual annotations (depicting whether two products are color variants), and train a supervised triplet loss based neural network model to learn representations of fashion products. However, for large scale real-world industrial datasets such as addressed in our paper, it is infeasible to obtain annotations for the entire dataset, while capturing all the difficult corner cases. Interestingly, we observed that color variants are essentially manifestations of color jitter based augmentations. Thus, we instead explore Self-Supervised Learning (SSL) to solve this problem. We observed that existing state-of-the-art SSL methods perform poor, for our problem. To address this, we propose a novel SSL based color variants model that simultaneously focuses on different parts of an apparel. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation shows that our method outperforms existing SSL methods, and at times, the supervised model.
Adaptive generalized combination complex synchronization of uncertain real and complex nonlinear systems

With comprehensive consideration of generalized synchronization, combination synchronization and adaptive control, this paper investigates a novel adaptive generalized combination complex synchronization (AGCCS) scheme for different real and complex nonlinear systems with unknown parameters. On the basis of Lyapunov stability theory and adaptive control, an AGCCS controller and parameter update laws are derived to achieve synchronization and parameter identification of two real drive systems and a complex response system, as well as two complex drive systems and a real response system. Two simulation examples, namely, ACGCS for chaotic real Lorenz and Chen systems driving a hyperchaotic complex Lu system, and hyperchaotic complex Lorenz and Chen systems driving a real chaotic Lu system, are presented to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Decoupled Exploration and Exploitation Policies for Sample-Efficient Reinforcement Learning

Despite the close connection between exploration and sample efficiency, most state of the art reinforcement learning algorithms include no considerations for exploration beyond maximizing the entropy of the policy. In this work we address this seeming missed opportunity. We observe that the most common formulation of directed exploration in deep RL, known as bonus-based exploration (BBE), suffers from bias and slow coverage in the few-sample regime. This causes BBE to be actively detrimental to policy learning in many control tasks. We show that by decoupling the task policy from the exploration policy, directed exploration can be highly effective for sample-efficient continuous control. Our method, Decoupled Exploration and Exploitation Policies (DEEP), can be combined with any off-policy RL algorithm without modification. When used in conjunction with soft actor-critic, DEEP incurs no performance penalty in densely-rewarding environments. On sparse environments, DEEP gives a several-fold improvement in data efficiency due to better exploration.
Gas-rich dwarf galaxies as a new probe of dark matter interactions with ordinary matter

We use observations of gas-rich dwarf galaxies to derive constraints on dark matter scattering with ordinary matter. We require that heating/cooling due to DM interacting with gas in the Leo T dwarf galaxy not exceed the ultra-low radiative cooling rate of the gas. This enables us to set $(i)$ stronger bounds than all the previous literature on ultra-light hidden photon DM for nearly all of the mass range $10^{-23}\lesssim m_\mathrm{DM} \lesssim 10^{-10}$ eV, $(ii)$ limits on sub-GeV millicharged DM which add to the constraints on the recent EDGES 21cm absorption anomaly, and $(iii)$ constraints on DM-baryon interactions directly at low relative velocities $v_\mathrm{rel}\sim 17$ km/s. Our study opens a new direction at using observations of gas-rich dwarf galaxies from previous, current and upcoming optical and 21cm surveys to probe physics beyond the standard model.
Reinforcement Learning for Physical Layer Communications

In this chapter, we will give comprehensive examples of applying RL in optimizing the physical layer of wireless communications by defining different class of problems and the possible solutions to handle them. In Section 9.2, we present all the basic theory needed to address a RL problem, i.e. Markov decision process (MDP), Partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP), but also two very important and widely used algorithms for RL, i.e. the Q-learning and SARSA algorithms. We also introduce the deep reinforcement learning (DRL) paradigm and the section ends with an introduction to the multi-armed bandits (MAB) framework. Section 9.3 focuses on some toy examples to illustrate how the basic concepts of RL are employed in communication systems. We present applications extracted from literature with simplified system models using similar notation as in Section 9.2 of this Chapter. In Section 9.3, we also focus on modeling RL problems, i.e. how action and state spaces and rewards are chosen. The Chapter is concluded in Section 9.4 with a prospective thought on RL trends and it ends with a review of a broader state of the art in Section 9.5.
The Physicochemical Properties of Sediment and Ground Cover for a Secondary Mangrove System in Thailand

ABSTRACT Jumprom, N. ; Rodcharoen, E. , and Wichachucherd, B. , 2021. The physicochemical properties of sediment and ground cover for a secondary mangrove system in Thailand. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(4), 784–792. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Mangrove forests serve various positive aspects for human use and accumulate sediment and filter impurities from the land and sea. In this study, the investigation was performed on the year-round changes in the physicochemical characteristics of sediment and the percentage of cover of the bottom in a secondary mangrove where public-access mangrove areas and the mouth of the Mae Klong River to the sea at Samut Songkhram province, Thailand. Organic carbon (OC), organic matter (OM), bulk density, and grain size were measured in the sediment samples. The percentage of cover and litter dry weight were estimated using 50-cm2 quadrats. Conductivity, total dissolved solids, pH, and salinity were measured from the sediment. Air and water temperatures were recorded. The study site was divided into upper-, middle-, and low-tide levels. The results showed that tidal levels and months had significantly different (p < 0.05) influences on all of the factors examined. The percentage of OC and percentage of OM increased continuously at the upper levels but were low at the middle and lower levels. The bulk density, however, was low in value in the low-tide zone. In addition to the percentage of cover, the percentage of soil and percentage of aerial root were found mostly in the middle to low zones. The percentage of garbage waste and percentage of litter were not different at different levels, and nor was the dry weight, throughout the period of study. The grain size in each month was classified as clay type, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solid, and salinity obtained from sediment varied significantly (p < 0.05) among levels and months. In summary, the upper level is influenced by the terrestrial runoff. Environmental factors such as climate and geography affect the sediment quality at the middle and lower levels.