Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Aspirin Exerts Its Antitumor Effect in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Downregulating the Expression of ATAD2 and KIF4A

Objective To investigate the expression of ATPase family AAA domain-containing protein 2 (ATAD2) and kinesin family member 4A (KIF4A) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissues and their association with clinicopathological features and to explore the role of ATAD2 in regulating KIF4A expression and biological functions in ESCC cells and the effect of aspirin on their expression. Methods The mRNA and protein expression of ATAD2 and KIF4A in the tissues of patients with ESCC were measured by RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry, and the correlation between the expression of mRNA and clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. Western blot and RT-qPCR were used to detect the interference efficiency and KIF4A expression after si-ATAD2 transfection in EC109 and KYSE30 cells. CCK-8 and Transwell assay were performed to investigate the effects of ATAD2 and aspirin on proliferation, migration, and invasion of ESCC cells. The effect of aspirin on the expression of ATAD2 and KIF4A in ESCC cells was measured by RT-qPCR and Western blot. Results The expression of ATAD2 and KIF4A was upregulated in ESCC tissues, and both were correlated with the differentiation grades and lymph node metastasis. Knockdown of ATAD2 in ESCC cells significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Compared to the negative control group, the proliferation, migration, and invasion ability of ESCC cells in the aspirin-treated groups were decreased, and the expression of ATAD2 and KIF4A in ESCC cells was decreased after treating with aspirin for 48 h. Conclusion The expression levels of ATAD2 and KIF4A are elevated in ESCC. ATAD2 promotes proliferation, migration, and invasion of ESCC cells by regulating KIF4A. Aspirin can inhibit the malignant behavior of ESCC cells by downregulating ATAD2 and KIF4A.
The factors associated with mental health and the impact of COVID-19

The mental health impact caused by COVID-19 on adolescents was reviewed, and due to limited data, adult results were included, to support our assertion that additional mental health resources are needed for both adult and young people. Positive gains would include improved socio-emotional skills, a decrease in maladaptive behaviors contributing to the disruption in interpersonal relationships and lifetime achievements, suicide attempts and psychopathology, persistent mental health concerns found in the juvenile justice and foster care systems and substance use addiction later in adulthood (The American Psychological Association, 2019; Garber & Weersing, 2010; Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, n.d.; Tomasello, 2018;). Geiger & Davis, 2019, found that 13% or 3.2 million United States (U.S.) teenagers aged 12 - 17 years old experienced at least one major depressive episode with the depression rate increasing 59% from 2007 to 2017. Therefore, we assert that developing programs to overcome barriers to mental health aid can reduce instances experienced in adolescence and adulthood.
A Toolkit for Motion Artifact Signal Generation

In the research and development stages of biomedical signal quality analysis tools, testing and validation help to ensure they work as intended and are robust enough to be used in all sorts of environments. Large datasets of biomedical signals (e.g., electrocardiogram, electromyogram) and signal contaminants (e.g., motion artifact, power line interference) are required for rigorous testing; however, obtaining a large, diverse database of real-life signals and contaminants is a challenging process. By accurately simulating signals and contaminants, researchers are able to more easily create large amounts of data, with known levels of contamination, which can be used for testing and validation of signal quality analysis tools. The Motion Artifact Signal Generation Toolkit allows for the synthesis of motion artifacts using one of three models: 1) autoregressive, 2) Markov chain, and 3) recurrent neural network. Each of these has been prepared for three use-cases: 1) pre-simulated motion artifacts, 2) pre-trained models that can be used to simulate motion artifacts, and 3) training a model using a motion artifact sample and using that model to simulate motion artifacts. The three model types were tested on nonstationary data, exposing some current limitations; specifically, the models' ability to model real-world, non-cyclical data. The recurrent neural network does appears to produce reasonable simulated motion artifact that exhibit similarities, in both the time and frequency domains, to short time segments of real-world motion artifact.
The Actions of Lithium on Glaucoma and Other Senile Neurodegenerative Diseases Through GSK-3 Inhibition: A Narrative Review

Glaucoma can be described as a set of progressive optic neuropathies. They cause a gradual, irreversible loss of the field of view, which concludes in complete blindness. Evidence suggests that patients who have glaucoma face a greater risk of suffering from senile dementia. Dementia is a group of conditions that occur in old age individuals. Neurodegeneration is a characteristic pathological feature of dementia, the progression of which causes a decline in cognition, which may be accompanied by memory loss. Severe dementia in old individuals usually presents as Alzheimer’s disease, which significantly contributes to a load of dementia in India. Parkinsonism is another common neurodegenerative disease that is known to occur in the elderly. The WNT (Wingless-related integration site)/β-catenin pathway is a multistep process that is responsible for the regulation of various cellular functions. Lithium can up-regulate this pathway by disrupting Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β). This action of Lithium can effectively counteract neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. The current use of Lithium remains majorly confined to its use for episodes of mania in bipolar disorder (BD). However, recent literature gives insight into how Lithium can improve the visual field in glaucomatous eyes. Symptomatic improvement after lithium administration is seen as it has neuroprotective actions on the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Prolonged lithium use improves axonal regeneration and neuronal survival. Lithium also improves the worsening of symptoms in other dementia-related neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinsonism. The physiological actions of Lithium can be utilized in providing effective, holistic therapy options in pathologically related senile degenerative disorders. Significantly better results can be obtained if Lithium therapy is given in conjunction with the drugs used to manage these disorders.
Quality, community and access: an examination of student decision-making to study undergraduate degrees in two further education colleges

ABSTRACT Over the course of the previous two decades, successive governments have attempted to attract students from diverse backgrounds as part of an overarching ambition to widen participation in Higher Education (HE). As part of those efforts, there has been a proliferation of Further Education Colleges (FECs) utilised to meet those ends. In 2021, approximately 10% of – or c.137,000 – Higher Education (HE) students were enrolled at FECs which represents an important research area under the broad umbrella of UK HE. Based on semi-structured interviews with prospective first year student-participants, this paper sought to examine the reasons behind students’ decisions to study College Based Higher Education (CBHE) so as to better-understand and inform student recruitment, retention and success in this area. Twelve participants were selected from two FECs where those students were intent on studying for their HE. The findings revealed that students place substantial value in teaching standards and in the lecturers with whom they build relationships. These features are inextricably linked with broader feelings of community, belongingness and accessibility on the part of students which attracts them to study CBHE.
Embedded Actives Using Additive Manufacturing for High-Density RF Circuits and Systems

This paper presents an additive manufacturing (AM) also known as 3-D printing technique as a new approach to embed active and passive devices for high-density radio frequency (RF) packaging. Three different approaches to embed actives are discussed as: 1) face-up; 2) face-down; and 3) side-mount. The electrical connection to the embedded chip is achieved by fabricating vias using a multilayer AM process and metalized using the sputtering and electroplating techniques. Several tunable RF circuits based on varactor diodes are designed and demonstrated. This includes a T-line resonator, a metamaterial-inspired phase shifter, and a patch antenna. Both dc and microwave characterizations are carried out to test the fabrication reliability and the performance of the circuits. The material used for printing is a high-temperature acrylic photopolymer, and it is characterized in the ${F}$ - and ${X}$ -bands. The thermal cycling tests (up to 20 cycles between 22 °C and 90 °C) were performed to demonstrate the integrity of the embedded structures and interconnections. Diode did not show any degradation in the electrical performance after thermal cycling. The key advantages of this process are custom printed substrate, heterogeneous integration compatibility, low parasitics associated with interconnections, and minimal or no misalignment errors. The successful implementation of the embedding process using the multilayer AM technique is essential for the advancement of high-density RF packages for the next generation of compact systems.
The Role of Carbon Nanoparticles in Lymph Node Dissection and Parathyroid Gland Preservation during Surgery for Thyroid Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Simple Summary The incidence of thyroid cancer has been increasing over the past few years. Surgery remains still the primary therapeutic option and lymph node dissection is often required. The aim of this study was to perform a meta-analysis of the available data on carbon nanoparticles, a novel agent that can be used to identify lymph nodes intraoperatively more efficiently, while also promoting the protection of the parathyroid glands by reducing the rate of accidental removal. Based on our study, carbon nanoparticles significantly increase the number of lymph nodes harvested during thyroid surgery, while they decrease the accidental removal of parathyroid glands removal rate by 34%. Thus, we suggest their use on a wider basis so that more data can be available for future research on the subject. Abstract Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy with an increasing incidence over the past few years. Surgery is considered the primary therapeutic option, which often involves lymph node dissection. The aim of this study was to assess the role of carbon nanoparticles, a novel agent, in thyroid cancer surgery. For that purpose, we conducted a systematic review of the literature on MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane and Google Scholar databases from 1 January 2002 to 31 January 2022. Ultimately, 20 articles with a total number of 2920 patients were included in the analysis. The outcome of the analysis showed that the use of carbon nanoparticles is associated with a higher number of harvested lymph nodes (WMD, 1.47, 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.82, p < 0.001) and a lower rate of accidental parathyroid gland removal (OR 0.34, CI 95% 0.24 to 0.50, p < 0.001). Based on these results, we suggest that carbon nanoparticles are applied in thyroid cancer surgery on a wider scale, so that these findings can be confirmed by future research on the subject.
Landmark Enforcement and Principal Component Analysis for Improving GAN-Based Morphing

Landmark Enforcement and Principal Component Analysis for Improving GAN-Based Morphing Samuel Price Facial Recognition Systems (FRSs) are a key target for adversaries determined to circumvent security checkpoints. Morph images threaten FRS by presenting as multiple individuals, allowing an adversary to swap identities with another subject. Although morph generation using generative adversarial networks (GANs) results in high-quality morphs without possessing the spatial artifacts caused by landmarkbased methods, there is an apparent loss in identity with standard GAN-based morphing methods. In this thesis, we examine landmark-based and GAN-based morphing methods to fuse the advantages of both methodologies. We propose a novel StyleGAN2 morph generation technique by introducing a landmark enforcement method. Considering this method, we aim to enforce the landmarks of the morph image to represent the spatial average of the landmarks of the bona fide faces. Loss in visual quality of images projected into the latent space of the StyleGAN2 model reduces the potential quality of the morphs. We compare previous image inversion methods to derive a novel method to improve the latent space representation of an image. To further improve the perceptual quality of the morphs, we examine the noise inputs of our model. Trainability of the noise input is evaluated to learn reconstruction information the latent codes cannot represent. Further exploration of the latent space of our model is conducted using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to pronounce the effect of the bona fide faces on the morphed latent representation. This work’s contributions include a novel GAN-based morphing method to attack FRS at higher success rates than alternative GAN-based methods. We improve image inversion into the latent space by exploring the model’s noise input while enforcing the balance of latent identities through PCA.
$p$-th Clustering coefficients $C_{p}$ and Adjacent Matrix for Networks: Formulation based on String

The phenomenon of six degrees of separation is an old but interesting problem. The considerations of the clustering coefficient reflecting triangular structures and its extension to square one to six degrees of separation have been made\cite{Newm21}. Recently, Aoyama\cite{Aoyama} has given some considerations to this problem in networks without loops, using a sort of general formalism, "string formalism". In this article, we describe relations between the string formulation proposed by Aoyama and an adjacent matrix. Thus we provided a reformulation of the string formulation proposed by \cite{Aoyama} to analyze networks. According to it, we introduced a series of generalized $q$-$th$ clustering coefficients. The available rules between diagrams of graphs and formulae are also given based on the formulation. Next we apply the formulation to some subjects in order to mainly check consistency with former studies. By evaluating the clustering coefficient for typical networks studied well earlier, we confirm a validity of our formulation. Lastly we applied it to the subject of two degrees of separation.
When a Synonymous Variant Is Nonsynonymous

Term synonymous variation is widely used, but frequently in a wrong or misleading meaning and context. Twenty three point eight % of possible nucleotide substitution types in the universal genetic code are for synonymous amino acid changes, but when these variants have a phenotype and functional effect, they are very seldom synonymous. Such variants may manifest changes at DNA, RNA and/or protein levels. Large numbers of variations are erroneously annotated as synonymous, which causes problems e.g., in clinical genetics and diagnosis of diseases. To facilitate precise communication, novel systematics and nomenclature are introduced for variants that when looking only at the genetic code seem like synonymous, but which have phenotypes. A new term, unsense variant is defined as a substitution in the mRNA coding region that affects gene expression and protein production without introducing a stop codon in the variation site. Such variants are common and need to be correctly annotated. Proper naming and annotation are important also to increase awareness of these variants and their consequences.
Collagen-Sealed Polyester Vascular Prostheses Functionalized by Polycatecholamine Coatings

Collagen-sealed polyester (PET) prostheses are commonly used in reconstructive vascular surgery due to their self-sealing properties. To prevent post-surgical infection, different modification methods have been tested but so far none have showed long-term satisfactory efficiency. For this reason, in the present study, a commercial collagen-sealed PET prosthesis was coated by a highly adhesive poly (L-DOPA) layer maintaining the sealing protein without losing the original properties and functionality. This modified (as proven by SEM, FTIR, XPS and contact angle) graft exhibited comparable wettability and elasticity as pristine commercial graft, as well as reduced hemolysis-inducing effect, lowered toxicity against human endothelial cells and reduced toxicity in Danio rerio model. Poly (L-DOPA)-coated grafts were shown to bind six times more aminoglycoside antibiotic (gentamicin) than pristine graft. Poly (L-DOPA)-coated antibiotic-bound prostheses exhibited an improved antibacterial activity (bacterial growth inhibition and anti-adhesive capacity) in comparison with pristine antibiotic-bound graft. Overall, poly (L-DOPA)-coatings deposited on PET vascular grafts can effectively functionalize collagen-sealed prostheses without the loss of protein sealing layer and allow for antibiotics incorporation to provide higher safety in biomedical applications.
Management Accounting Relevance: Practice, Variance and Current Research Agenda

This paper aims to discuss the relevance of management accounting by considering the practice variance and current research agenda. It also aims to review the relevant literature on management accounting and its alternative perspectives. It provides a comprehensive basis for the research of management accounting change conducted in terms of theories used, influential factors, systems applied, dynamics and aspects of change. This paper helps to understand the concerns of current mainstream in management accounting literature and the importance of this subject. It introduces a comprehensive view about the relevance of institutional theory in the management accounting literature. By reviewing a subset of the accounting literature published during the period 1980 - 2015, this paper updates accounting literature with a focus on management accounting research. The study contributes to the existing accounting literature by presenting the discussions of management accounting change and alternative perspectives. It also explains the possible application of different theoretical perspectives in the management accounting.
Building-level Demand-side Energy Management Based on Game Theory

In this paper, an improved building-level demand-side management method is proposed based on load classification and real-time electricity pricing. Firstly, the loads are classified into uncontrollable loads, interruptible loads and transferable loads. The uncontrollable loads are forecasted as a part of the system state. The interruptible loads are controlled all the time. The transferable loads can be managed to work in proper periods in a day. Then, the user’s electricity consumption is managed by the energy consumption controller, which solves a game problem between the user and the others. At last, we generate users’ electricity consumption conditions using the Monte Carlo method and simulate the proposed managed system. Proved by experiments, the proposed method effectively reduces both the system cost and the users’ payment, and improves the temporal distribution of the system load.
A Unique Glassy Cell Carcinoma (GCC) of the Cervix Diagnosed during Pregnancy—A Case Report

Glassy Cell carcinoma (GCC) of the cervix is classified as a unique, aggressive neoplasm, with different sensitivity to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It is such an extremely rare tumor that it is practically not observed during pregnancy. Information on the coexistence of cervical GCC with pregnancy is also unique, so it seems extremely important to disseminate it in order to develop the most effective treatment regimen. Additionally, making any decisions regarding therapeutic methods during pregnancy encounters great ethical problems. We present the case of a 26-year-old pregnant woman, 18 weeks gestation, diagnosed with GCC of the cervix, IB3 grade in the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) scale. Despite the unfavorable prognosis, the use of chemotherapy in a pregnant patient brought on a favorable therapeutic effect, without any negative effects on the fetus. The article also presents a literature review on the epidemiology, pathology, immunohistochemistry, treatment and prognosis of this rare disease.
Targeted Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Old and New Opportunities

Simple Summary Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent primitive cancer of the liver, accounting for 90% of all recorded cases. HCC is the third most common cause of cancer-related death, with a 5-year survival rate of just 3%. In terms of the advanced stages, systemic treatments have allowed patients to achieve clinical benefits, although the prognosis remains very poor. In the past few decades, new molecular targeted therapies have been developed and clinically evaluated with interesting results. However, on the basis of the poor prognoses and the meager benefits deriving from the available systemic therapies, research into new treatments is extremely necessary. In this review, we focus on the available systemic therapies for advanced HCC, with a look toward the future. Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent primitive cancer of the liver, accounting for 90% of all recorded cases. HCC is the third most common cause of cancer-related death, with a 5-year survival rate of just 3%. In the advanced stages, systemic treatments allow doctors to obtain clinical benefits, although the prognosis remains very poor. In the past few decades, new molecular targeted therapies against receptor tyrosine kinases have been developed and clinically evaluated. Sorafenib was the first oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) approved for the treatment of advanced HCC in 2007. Subsequently, other TKIs, including Cabozantinib, Regorafenib, Lenvatinib, and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitors such as Ramucirumab and VEGF inhibitors such as Bevacizumab have been approved as first- or second-line treatments. More recently, the combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors and VEGF inhibitors (Atezolizumab plus Bevacizumab) have been analyzed and approved for the treatment of advanced HCC. On the basis of the poor prognoses and the meager benefits deriving from the available systemic therapies, research into new treatments is extremely necessary. In this review, we focus on the available systemic therapies for advanced HCC, with a look toward the future.