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Abstract Extracting knowledge from hybrid data, comprising both categorical and numerical data, poses significant challenges due to the inherent difficulty in preserving information and practical meanings during the conversion process. To address this challenge, hybrid data processing methods, combining complementary rough sets, have emerged as a promising approach for handling uncertainty. However, selecting an appropriate model and effectively utilizing it in data mining requires a thorough qualitative and quantitative comparison of existing hybrid data processing models. This research aims to contribute to the analysis of hybrid data processing models based on neighborhood rough sets by investigating the inherent relationships among these models. We propose a generic neighborhood rough set-based hybrid model specifically designed for processing hybrid data, thereby enhancing the efficacy of the data mining process without resorting to discretization and avoiding information loss or practical meaning degradation in datasets. The proposed scheme dynamically adapts the threshold value for the neighborhood approximation space according to the characteristics of the given datasets, ensuring optimal performance without sacrificing accuracy. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme, we develop a testbed tailored for Parkinson’s patients, a domain where hybrid data processing is particularly relevant. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme consistently outperforms existing schemes in adaptively handling both numerical and categorical data, achieving an impressive accuracy of 95% on the Parkinson’s dataset. Overall, this research contributes to advancing hybrid data processing techniques by providing a robust and adaptive solution that addresses the challenges associated with handling hybrid data, particularly in the context of Parkinson’s disease analysis.

Acculturation is an emerging field of inquiry in the multicultural context of Hong Kong. Behavioural acculturation focuses mainly on cultural practices such as language use, dietary preferences, customs and traditions, socialization and media consumption. Despite a phenomenal growth of research on the educational predicament of immigrant youth based on a deficit-based "stress and coping" approach, there is a dearth of literature on how non-Chinese young people experience the phenomenon of intercultural learning in Hong Kong. This article reports a qualitative study on the behavioural acculturation of a group of Pakistani secondary school students in Hong Kong from a culture leaning perspective. The study findings challenge the deficit-based perspective and advocate a culture-learning approach to the study of acculturation.

Purpose: This paper aims to outline the experience of choosing an appropriate methodology from the potential qualitative methods for studying acculturative experiences amongst a group of non-Chinese young people in Hong Kong. It delineates the reasons for choosing phenomenography for researching their lived acculturative experiences. The paper also briefly explains the advantages of phenomenographic research and advocates it as a potential qualitative method for investigating diverse trajectories of acculturative experiences amongst ethnic minority/immigrant populations in multicultural contexts. Design/methodology/approach: Researchers have investigated the acculturation of immigrant youth across settlement societies using different theoretical frameworks, approaches, scales, surveys and questionnaires. However, little attention has been given to the research methodologies that focus on lived human experiences across acculturating groups. By adopting an integrative literature review approach, this paper examines phenomenography as one of the potential qualitative research methods to explore ethnic minority lives in multicultural contexts. Findings: Given that acculturation is a heterogeneous social phenomenon, phenomenography can help address the issues and limitations inherent to the traditional methodological approaches to studying acculturation amongst youth with ethnic minority and immigrant backgrounds. Practical implications: Researchers in comparative, intercultural and multicultural education may benefit from phenomenography by exploring the different ways immigrants and ethnic minority populations experience acculturation in multicultural contexts. Originality/value: This paper outlines the authors' first-hand experiences who sought to identify an appropriate qualitative research method for studying acculturative experiences amongst a group of non-Chinese secondary school students in Hong Kong. Based on their extensive research experiences in the interpretative research tradition, the authors propose phenomenography as a promising method for exploring the diverse trajectories of acculturation amongst ethnic minority and immigrant youth in multicultural contexts.

Cancer frequently develops resistance to the majority of chemotherapy treatments. This study aimed to examine the synergistic cytotoxic and antitumor effects of SGLT2 inhibitors, specifically Canagliflozin (CAN), Dapagliflozin (DAP), Empagliflozin (EMP), and Doxorubicin (DOX), using in vitro experimentation. The precise combination of CAN+DOX has been found to greatly enhance the cytotoxic effects of doxorubicin (DOX) in MCF-7 cells. Interestingly, it was shown that cancer cells exhibit an increased demand for glucose and ATP in order to support their growth. Notably, when these medications were combined with DOX, there was a considerable inhibition of glucose consumption, as well as reductions in intracellular ATP and lactate levels. Moreover, this effect was found to be dependent on the dosages of the drugs. In addition to effectively inhibiting the cell cycle, the combination of CAN+DOX induces substantial modifications in both cell cycle and apoptotic gene expression. This work represents the initial report on the beneficial impact of SGLT2 inhibitor medications, namely CAN, DAP, and EMP, on the responsiveness to the anticancer properties of DOX. The underlying molecular mechanisms potentially involve the suppression of the function of SGLT2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) represent a subset of small noncoding RNAs and carry tremendous potential for regulating gene expression at the posttranscriptional level. They play pivotal roles in distinct cellular mechanisms including inhibition of bacterial, parasitic, and viral infections via immune response pathways. Intriguingly, pathogens have developed strategies to manipulate the host's miRNA profile, fostering environments conducive to successful infection. Therefore, changes in an arthropod host's miRNA profile in response to pathogen invasion could be critical in understanding hostpathogen dynamics. Additionally, this area of study could provide insights into discovering new targets for disease control and prevention. The main objective of the present study is to investigate the functional role of differentially expressed miRNAs upon Ehrlichia chaffeensis, a tick-borne pathogen, infection in tick vector, Amblyomma americanum. Methods: Small RNA libraries from uninfected and E. chaffeensis-infected Am. americanum midgut and salivary gland tissues were prepared using the Illumina Truseq kit. Small RNA sequencing data was analyzed using miRDeep2 and sRNAtoolbox to identify novel and known miRNAs. The differentially expressed miRNAs were validated using a quantitative PCR assay. Furthermore, a miRNA inhibitor approach was used to determine the functional role of selected miRNA candidates. Results: The sequencing of small RNA libraries generated >147 million raw reads in all four libraries and identified a total of >250 miRNAs across the four libraries. We identified 23 and 14 differentially expressed miRNAs in salivary glands, and midgut tissues infected with E. chaffeensis, respectively. Three differentially expressed miRNAs (miR-87, miR-750, and miR-275) were further characterized to determine their roles in pathogen infection. Inhibition of target miRNAs significantly decreased the E. chaffeensis load in tick tissues, which warrants more in-depth mechanistic studies. Conclusions: The current study identified known and novel miRNAs and suggests that interfering with these miRNAs may impact the vectorial capacity of ticks to harbor Ehrlichia. This study identified several new miRNAs for future analysis of their functions in tick biology and tick-pathogen interaction studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]