mdpi-ai/citelens huggingface dataset:
Uncovering Tumour Heterogeneity through PKR and nc886 Analysis in Metastatic Colon Cancer Patients Treated with 5-FU-Based Chemotherapy
Field: ONCOLOGY

Colorectal cancer treatment has advanced over the past decade. The drug 5-fluorouracil is still used with a wide percentage of patients who do not respond. Therefore, a challenge is the identification of predictive biomarkers. The protein kinase R (PKR also called EIF2AK2) and its regulator, the non-coding pre-mir-nc886, have multiple effects on cells in response to numerous types of stress, including chemotherapy. In this work, we performed an ambispective study with 197 metastatic colon cancer patients with unresectable metastases to determine the relative expression levels of both nc886 and PKR by qPCR, as well as the location of PKR by immunohistochemistry in tumour samples and healthy tissues (plasma and colon epithelium). As primary end point, the expression levels were related to the objective response to first-line chemotherapy following the response evaluation criteria in solid tumours (RECIST) and, as the second end point, with survival at 18 and 36 months. Hierarchical agglomerative clustering was performed to accommodate the heterogeneity and complexity of oncological patients’ data. High expression levels of nc886 were related to the response to treatment and allowed to identify clusters of patients. Although the PKR mRNA expression was not associated with chemotherapy response, the absence of PKR location in the nucleolus was correlated with first-line chemotherapy response. Moreover, a relationship between survival and the expression of both PKR and nc886 in healthy tissues was found. Therefore, this work evaluated the best way to analyse the potential biomarkers PKR and nc886 in order to establish clusters of patients depending on the cancer outcomes using algorithms for complex and heterogeneous data.
Detection of Anomalies in Large-Scale Cyberattacks Using Fuzzy Neural Networks
Field: AI

The fuzzy neural networks are hybrid structures that can act in several contexts of the pattern classification, including the detection of failures and anomalous behaviors. This paper discusses the use of an artificial intelligence model based on the association between fuzzy logic and training of artificial neural networks to recognize anomalies in transactions involved in the context of computer networks and cyberattacks. In addition to verifying the accuracy of the model, fuzzy rules were obtained through knowledge from the massive datasets to form expert systems. The acquired rules allow the creation of intelligent systems in high-level languages with a robust level of identification of anomalies in Internet transactions, and the accuracy of the results of the test confirms that the fuzzy neural networks can act in anomaly detection in high-security attacks in computer networks.
Virtual Reality for the Assessment of Everyday Cognitive Functions in Older Adults: An Evaluation of the Virtual Reality Action Test and Two Interaction Devices in a 91-Year-Old Woman
Field: PSYCHOLOGY

Performance-based functional tests for the evaluation of daily living activities demonstrate strong psychometric properties and solve many of the limitations associated with self- and informant-report questionnaires. Virtual reality (VR) technology, which has gained interest as an effective medium for administering interventions in the context of healthcare, has the potential to minimize the time-demands associated with the administration and scoring of performance-based assessments. To date, efforts to develop VR systems for assessment of everyday function in older adults generally have relied on non-immersive systems. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility of an immersive VR environment for the assessment of everyday function in older adults. We present a detailed case report of an elderly woman who performed an everyday activity in an immersive VR context (Virtual Reality Action Test) with two different types of interaction devices (controller vs. sensor). VR performance was compared to performance of the same task with real objects outside of the VR system (Real Action Test). Comparisons were made on several dimensions, including (1) quality of task performance (e.g., order of task steps, errors, use and speed of hand movements); (2) subjective impression (e.g., attitudes), and (3) physiological markers of stress. Subjective impressions of performance with the different controllers also were compared for presence, cybersickness, and usability. Results showed that the participant was capable of using controllers and sensors to manipulate objects in a purposeful and goal-directed manner in the immersive VR paradigm. She performed the everyday task similarly across all conditions. She reported no cybersickness and even indicated that interactions in the VR environment were pleasant and relaxing. Thus, immersive VR is a feasible approach for function assessment even with older adults who might have very limited computer experience, no prior VR exposure, average educational experiences, and mild cognitive difficulties. Because of inherent limitations of single case reports (e.g., unknown generalizability, potential practice effects, etc.), group studies are needed to establish the full psychometric properties of the Virtual Reality Action Test.
Trajectories of Development and Socialization of Trans Brazilian Youth Through Self-Portraits
Field: PSYCHOLOGY

The aim of this research was to explore the meanings of childhood memory established by young people who identify themselves as trans. In a chauvinistic country such as Brazil, sexual socialization of non-cisgender youth is beset by unique challenges, such as discrimination and violence. This study was based on the proposal of a self-portrait method as a content trigger in interviews with three trans young women who reported their life stories. We analyzed data using the oral story technique, through which the described themes came up. The results presented developmental narratives related to gender issue from childhood, which reflected on the experience on youth. Reports of discrimination based on the image of others (family, school, and community) about the gender development of the participants and their relationship with their bodies stand out. We see the importance of reflecting on life history memories in trans identity in order to give meaning to this experience. The influence of heteronormative and sexist Brazilian culture is noticed in the participants’ reports.
The relationship between personality traits and marital satisfaction: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Field: PSYCHOLOGY

Background: Personality traits can be used to predict an individual’s behaviors in different life situations, including marital life situations. Marital satisfaction that is influenced by different factors is a criterion used to assess couples’ relationship quality. The goal of the present study was to review Iranian studies on the correlation between personality traits and marital satisfaction.Methods: In this systematic review, all the related Iranian studies in international databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science (ISI) and Scopus, and national databases, including Scientific Information Database (SID) and MagIran were reviewed. The following keywords and also combinations of them were used to search the databases: “Marital satisfaction,” “Personality traits,” “Personality factors,” “Big five model of personality,” and “Iran.”Results: A total of 18 correlational studies, without any time limitation, with a total sample of 4049, were reviewed. The following correlation coefficients were found between marital satisfaction and personality traits: r = − 0.439 with neuroticism (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.27–0.60), r = 0.833 with extraversion (95% CI: 0.77–0.88), r = 0.777 with openness (95% CI: 0.70–0.84), r = 0.855 with agreeableness (95% CI: 0.80–0.90), and r = 0.90 with conscientiousness (95% CI: 0.84–0.95).Conclusions: Couples high in Neuroticism experience lower levels of marital satisfaction, and couples high in Conscientiousness are more satisfied with their marital life.
The use and effectiveness of colorful, contextualized, student-made material for elementary mathematics instruction
Field: EDUCATION

Background: There is anecdotal evidence that many elementary teachers integrate mathematics lessons and art activities by having students first make colorful, rich material that is subsequently used in an instructional activity. However, it is unclear whether such activities effectively promote learning and transfer of mathematical concepts. The goal of the present research was to examine the use and effectiveness of such “math-and-art” activities on children’s ability to acquire basic fraction knowledge. We report the results of a survey of practicing elementary school teachers in the United States, their use of activities involving physical material, and the resources they use for ideas to supplement the standard curriculum. Two experiments examined first-grade students’ learning, transfer, and recognition of fraction knowledge from rich, contextualized material versus simple, generic material. Results: The survey results confirm that many U.S. teachers use math-and-art activities and are often inspired by informal sources, such as Pinterest and YouTube. Experiment 1 examined the effectiveness of colorful, contextualized student-constructed material (paper pizzas) versus simple, pre-made material (monochromatic paper circles) in an instructional activity on fractions. Students who used the pre-made circles scored higher than those who used the student-made pizzas on pre-instruction tests of basic fraction knowledge, immediate tests of learning, and delayed tests of transfer. Experiment 2 tested students’ ability to spontaneously write fractions to describe proportions of pizzas and circles. Students who answered generic circle questions first were markedly more accurate than those who answered pizza questions first. Conclusions: These findings suggest that rich, contextualized representations, including those made by the student, can hinder students’ learning and transfer of mathematical concepts. We are not suggesting that teachers never integrate mathematics and colorful, contextualized material, and activities. We do suggest that elementary students’ mathematics learning can benefit when initial instruction involves simple, generic, pre-made material and opportunities for students to make and use colorful, contextualized representations come later.
Difficulty of Summarization Items for Japanese Learners: Effects of Passages, Distractors, and Response Formats
Field: EDUCATION

This study aims to examine factors affecting the difficulty of summarization items for Japanese learners. In the process of item development, creating a connection between cognitive features related to target construct and the difficulty of test items is necessary to define the abilities to be measured. Previous studies have mainly focused on local reading comprehension, while this study addressed summarization skills at the paragraph level. The study originally developed items for an experiment that elicited three macrorules of the paragraph and text: deletion, generalization, and integration. This study evaluated the influence of passages, distractor characteristics central to summarization processes, and response formats on item difficulty, using item difficulty modeling. When editing distractors, characteristics of L2 learners' summarization were carefully reviewed and reflected. The participants included 150 freshmen from Japan, who were asked to answer experimental summarization items. The results of the linear logistic test model (LLTM) indicated that the main source of difficulty in summarization items was distractor characteristics. In particular, summaries with unnecessary information or lacking necessary information increased the level of difficulty. In addition, summaries with detailed information, such as episodes and examples, and with a viewpoint different from the author's, also increased difficulty. The effect of passage differences was found to be minimal. A difference in response formats moderately affected item difficulty, and the extended-matching format was slightly more difficult than the conventional multiple-choice format. This study suggested that test developers and item writers should pay attention to distractor development, to limit students' errors when measuring summarization skills of L2 learners.
Contrast and Assimilation Effects on Self-Evaluation of Performance and Task Interest in a Sample of Elementary School Children
Field: EDUCATION

Social comparison processes and the social position within a school class already play a major role in performance evaluation as early as in elementary school. The influence of contrast and assimilation effects on self-evaluation of performance as well as task interest has been widely researched in observational studies under the labels big-fish-little-pond and basking-in-reflected-glory effect. This study examined the influence of similar contrast and assimilation effects in an experimental paradigm. Fifth and sixth grade students (n = 230) completed a computer-based learning task during which they received social comparative feedback based on 2 × 2 experimentally manipulated feedback conditions: social position (high vs. low) and peer performance (high vs. low). Results show a more positive development of task interest and self-evaluation of performance in both the high social position and the high peer performance condition. When applied to the school setting, results of this study suggest that students who already perform well in comparison to their peer group are also the ones who profit most from social comparative feedback, given that they are the ones who usually receive the corresponding positive performance feedback.
Metacognitive Therapy for Adjustment Disorder in a Patient With Newly Diagnosed Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: A Case Report
Field: PSYCHOLOGY

Adjustment disorders (ADs) belong to the worldwide most diagnosed mental disorders and are particularly frequent in patients with an underlying physical illness. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a severe and disabling disease, which significantly impacts on quality of life and has high mortality rates. The authors here present the case of a young female who developed a severe adjustment disorder with both anxious and depressive symptoms after a diagnosis of PAH requiring intensive care treatment due to right heart failure. Psychosocial functioning was severely impaired, and physical health reduced. Following hemodynamic stabilization and the establishment of PAH treatment, the patient was admitted to the Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and received metacognitive therapy (MCT). AD with mixed anxiety and depressed mood was diagnosed according to DSM-V criteria. At the start of treatment, she reported significant mental distress, indicated by a total sum score of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) of 20 points. The 6-min walking distance was only 358 m before the patient was exhausted. She then was treated with MCT without further psychopharmacological drugs. After only four MCT sessions, she fully remitted from AD which was accompanied by an 11-point reduction in the HADS (to 9 points). MCT specific scores also improved (MCQ-30 sum score decreased from 77 to 35). Notably, physical capacity improved as well, documented by an improved walking distance (439 m; +22%). This is the first case of a patient with AD in the context of PAH treated with MCT. The case report suggests that MCT is a possible psychotherapeutic treatment option for AD in the context of a potentially life-threatening disease. The study design does not permit an attribution of outcome to MCT but it suggests MCT is a potentially viable and acceptable treatment option.
Southerners Are Wiser Than Northerners Regarding Interpersonal Conflicts in China
Field: PSYCHOLOGY

Initial evidence suggests that cultural differences have consequences for wise reasoning (perspective taking, consideration of change and alternatives, intellectual humility, search for compromise, and adopting an outsider’s vantage point), with more reports of wise reasoning about interpersonal conflicts among Japanese (as compared to American) young and middle-aged adults. Similarly, we found that people from the rice-farming area of southern China also exhibited greater wise reasoning when they encountered conflicts with a friend or in the workplace than those from the wheat-farming area of northern China (N = 487, 25 provinces). The relationship between rice farming and wise reasoning was mediated by loyalty/nepotism. This research advances study of the relationship between wisdom and culture. It also provides evidence for the influence of social-ecological factors on wisdom and culture.
How Does Work Motivation Impact Employees’ Investment at Work and Their Job Engagement? A Moderated-Moderation Perspective Through an International Lens
Field: PSYCHOLOGY

This paper aims at shedding light on the effects that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, as predictors, have on heavy work investment of time and effort and on job engagement. Using a questionnaire survey, this study conducted a moderated-moderation analysis, considering two conditional effects—worker’s status (working students vs. non-student employees) and country (Israel vs. Japan)—as potential moderators, since there are clear cultural differences between these countries. Data were gathered from 242 Israeli and 171 Japanese participants. The analyses revealed that worker’s status moderates the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on heavy work investment of time and effort and on job engagement and that the moderating effects were conditioned by country differences. Theoretical and practical implications and future research suggestions are discussed.
A Novel pH-Tunable Secondary Conformation Containing Mixed Micellar System in Anticancer Treatment
Field: ONCOLOGY

In this study, for the first time, we precisely assembled the poly-γ-benzyl-l-glutamate and an amphiphilic copolymer d-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol succinate into a mixed micellar system for the embedment of the anticancer drug doxorubicin. Importantly, the intracellular drug-releasing behaviors could be controlled by changing the secondary structures of poly-γ-benzyl-l-glutamate via the precise regulation of the buffer’s pH value. Under neutral conditions, the micellar architectures were stabilized by both α-helix secondary structures and the microcrystalline structures. Under acidic conditions (pH 4.0), the interior structures transformed into a coil state with a disordered alignment, inducing the release of the loaded drug. A remarkable cytotoxicity of the Dox-loaded mixed micelles was exhibited toward human lung cancer cells in vitro. The internalizing capability into the cancer cells, as well as the intracellular drug-releasing behaviors, were also identified and observed. The secondary structures containing Dox-loaded mixed micelles had an outstanding antitumor efficacy in human lung cancer A549 cells-bearing nude mice, while little toxicities occurred or interfered with the hepatic or renal functions after the treatments. Thus, these pH-tunable α-helix-containing mixed micelles are innovative and promising for controlled intracellular anticancer drug delivery.
Three Flute Players’ Lived Experiences of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in Preparing Contemporary Music for Performance
Field: EDUCATION

This qualitative study presents an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the lived experiences of three flute players who practice Dalcroze Eurhythmics, an approach to teaching, learning, and understanding music through exploring various music-movement relationships in social, creative, and rigorous ways. Our research seeks to understand how these individuals make sense of their lived experiences of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in learning, rehearsing, and performing contemporary music. Data collected through semi-structured interviews were analyzed and interpreted to create codes and categories in each data set. A cross-case analysis brought to light eight main themes: Body and breath; The body as a ‘way in’; Learning through the body overcomes specific technical difficulties; An embodied relationship with the score; Deeper knowledge and connection to music; Clarifying own interpretations; Communication with the audience; A bigger picture beyond the instrument. This study provides new insights into how learning through Dalcroze Eurhythmics can help individuals prepare repertoire for performance. As such, it may be of use to Dalcroze students and teachers, to flute performers and teachers, and to teachers and performers of other instruments who wish to explore the potential of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in learning, rehearsing, and performing contemporary music. The analysis also reveals insights that may be relevant to other repertoires.
Clinico-Immunological Profile of a 67-Year-Old Woman Affected by HER2-Positive Breast Cancer and Autoimmune Dermatomyositis
Field: ONCOLOGY

A patient with HER2-positive early breast cancer (BC) developed dermatomyositis (DM), which disappeared after the first administration of adjuvant trastuzumab. No HER2 overexpression/amplification was observed in DM skin biopsies. Both BC and skin immune infiltrates were composed mostly of CD3+ T-lymphocytes. Interestingly, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes expressed PD-1, which was negligible in skin-infiltrating lymphocytes, while both BC cells and keratinocytes were PD-L1-positive. High serum levels of endogenous anti-HER2 antibodies were detected, confirming the induction of a HER2-specific adaptive immune response. It may be argued that HER2-specific T-lymphocytes cross-reacted with one or more unknown skin antigens, causing DM. Trastuzumab may have silenced skin cross-reaction by eliminating any residual HER2-positive micrometastatic disease and, thus, inducing DM remission.
Mouse Tumor-Bearing Models as Preclinical Study Platforms for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Field: ONCOLOGY

Preclinical animal models of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have been extensively studied in recent years. Investigating the pathogenesis and potential therapeutic strategies of OSCC is required to further progress in this field, and a suitable research animal model that reflects the intricacies of cancer biology is crucial. Of the animal models established for the study of cancers, mouse tumor-bearing models are among the most popular and widely deployed for their high fertility, low cost, and molecular and physiological similarity to humans, as well as the ease of rearing experimental mice. Currently, the different methods of establishing OSCC mouse models can be divided into three categories: chemical carcinogen-induced, transplanted and genetically engineered mouse models. Each of these methods has unique advantages and limitations, and the appropriate application of these techniques in OSCC research deserves our attention. Therefore, this review comprehensively investigates and summarizes the tumorigenesis mechanisms, characteristics, establishment methods, and current applications of OSCC mouse models in published papers. The objective of this review is to provide foundations and considerations for choosing suitable model establishment methods to study the relevant pathogenesis, early diagnosis, and clinical treatment of OSCC.