Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dosimetric effects of intrafractional isocenter variation during deep inspiration breath‐hold for breast cancer patients using surface‐guided radiotherapy

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate potential dose reductions to the heart, left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), and ipsilateral lung for left‐sided breast cancer using visually guided deep inspiration breath‐hold (DIBH) with the optical surface scanning system Catalyst™, and how these potential dosimetric benefits are affected by intrafractional motion in between breath holds. For both DIBH and free breathing (FB), treatment plans were created for 20 tangential and 20 locoregional left‐sided breast cancer patients. During DIBH treatment, beam‐on was triggered by a region of interest on the xiphoid process using a 3 mm gating window. Using a novel nonrigid algorithm, the Catalyst™ system allows for simultaneous real‐time tracking of the isocenter position, which was used to calculate the intrafractional DIBH isocenter reproducibility. The 50% and 90% cumulative probabilities and maximum values of the intrafractional DIBH isocenter reproducibility were calculated and to obtain the dosimetric effect isocenter shifts corresponding to these values were performed in the treatment planning system. For both tangential and locoregional treatment, the dose to the heart, LAD and ipsilateral lung was significantly reduced for DIBH compared to FB. The intrafractional DIBH isocenter reproducibility was very good for the majority of the treatment sessions, with median values of approximately 1 mm in all three translational directions. However, for a few treatment sessions, intrafractional DIBH isocenter reproducibility of up to 5 mm was observed, which resulted in large dosimetric effects on the target volume and organs at risk. Hence, it is of importance to set tolerance levels on the intrafractional isocenter motion and not only perform DIBH based on the xiphoid process.
A Structural Model for Students' Adoption of Learning Management Systems: An Empirical Investigation in the Higher Education Context

With the recent advances in information technologies, Learning Management Systems have taken on a significant role in providing educational resources. The successful use of these systems in higher education is important for the implementation, management and continuous improvement of e-learning services to increase the quality of learning. This study aimed to identify the factors affecting higher education students’ behavioral intention towards Learning Management Systems. A research model was proposed based on the belief factors of the technology acceptance model; namely perceived usefulness, perceived ease-of-use and external factors including self-efficacy, enjoyment, subjective norm, satisfaction
Styrene/Acrylonitrile Graft Natural Rubber as Compatibilizer in Rubber Blends

A graft copolymer of acrylonitrile (ACN) and styrene (ST) on natural rubber (NR) was prepared by solution polymerization initiated by benzoyl peroxide. The effect of graft NR (GNR) applied as a compatibilizer for NR/nitrile rubber (NBR) blends on their mechanical and physical properties was investigated. The results revealed that the tensile properties and oil-swelling resistance of the blends increased with increasing %graft copolymer of GNR. The tensile fracture surfaces of the compatibilized NR/NBR vulcanizates attested by scanning electron microscopy indicated the improvement of interfacial adhesion between two rubber phases. Moreover, the dynamic mechanical properties of compatibilized vulcanizates were also reported.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia B-Cell Normal Cellular Counterpart: Clues From a Functional Perspective

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by the clonal expansion of small mature-looking CD19+ CD23+ CD5+ B-cells that accumulate in the blood, bone marrow, and lymphoid organs. To date, no consensus has been reached concerning the normal cellular counterpart of CLL B-cells and several B-cell types have been proposed. CLL B-cells have remarkable phenotypic and gene expression profile homogeneity. In recent years, the molecular and cellular biology of CLL has been enriched by seminal insights that are leading to a better understanding of the natural history of the disease. Immunophenotypic and molecular approaches (including immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable gene mutational status, transcriptional and epigenetic profiling) comparing the normal B-cell subset and CLL B-cells provide some new insights into the normal cellular counterpart. Functional characteristics (including activation requirements and propensity for plasma cell differentiation) of CLL B-cells have now been investigated for 50 years. B-cell subsets differ substantially in terms of their functional features. Analysis of shared functional characteristics may reveal similarities between normal B-cell subsets and CLL B-cells, allowing speculative assignment of a normal cellular counterpart for CLL B-cells. In this review, we summarize current data regarding peripheral B-cell differentiation and human B-cell subsets and suggest possibilities for a normal cellular counterpart based on the functional characteristics of CLL B-cells. However, a definitive normal cellular counterpart cannot be attributed on the basis of the available data. We discuss the functional characteristics required for a cell to be logically considered to be the normal counterpart of CLL B-cells.
Study of DQE dependence with beam quality on GE Essential mammography flat panel

This paper deals with the analysis of the behavior of objective image quality parameters for the new GE Senographe Essential FFDM system, in particular its dependence with beam quality. The detector consists of an indirect conversion a‐Si flat panel coupled to a CsI:Tl scintillator. The system under study has gone through a series of relevant modifications in flat panel with respect to the previous model (GE Senographe DS 2000). These changes in the detector modify its performance and are intended to favor advanced applications like tomosynthesis, which uses harder beam spectra and lower doses per exposure than conventional FFDM. Although our system does not have tomosynthesis implemented, we noticed that most clinical explorations were performed by automatically selecting a harder spectrum than that of typical use in FFDM (Rh/Rh 28–30 kV instead of Mo/Mo 28 kV). Since flat‐panel optimization for tomosynthesis influences the usual FFDM clinical performance, the new detector behavior needed to be investigated. Therefore, the aim of our study is evaluating the dependence of the detector performance for different beam spectra and exposure levels. In this way, we covered the clinical beam quality range (Rh/Rh 28–30 kV) and we extended the study to even harder spectra (Rh/Rh 34 kV). Detector performance is quantified by means of modulation transfer function (MTF), normalized noise power spectrum (NNPS) and detective quantum efficiency (DQE). We found that flat‐panel optimization results in slightly – but statistically significant – higher DQE values as beam quality increases, which is contrary to the expected behavior. This positive correlation between beam quality and DQE is also diametrically opposite to that of the previous model by the same manufacturer. As a direct consequence, usual FFDM takes advantage of the changes in the detector, as less exposure is needed to achieve the same DQE if harder beams are used. PACS number: 87.59. ej
Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex Updates Chosen Value According to Choice Set Size

Having chosen an item typically increases the subjective value of the chosen item, and people generally enjoy making choices from larger choice sets. However, having too many items to choose from can reduce the value of chosen items—for example, because of conflict or choice difficulty. In this study, we investigated the effects of choice set size on behavioral and neural value updating (revaluation) of the chosen item. In the scanner, participants selected items from choice sets of various sizes (one, two, four, or eight items). After they chose an item, participants rerated the chosen item, and we quantified revaluation by taking the difference of postchoice minus prechoice ratings. Revaluation of chosen items increased up to choice sets of four alternatives but then decreased again for items chosen from choice sets of eight alternatives, revealing both a linear and a quadratic effect of choice set size. At the time of postchoice rating, activation of the ventrolateral pFC (VLPFC) reflected the influence of choice set size on parametric revaluation, without significant relation to either prechoice or postchoice ratings tested separately. Additional analyses revealed relations of choice set size to anterior cingulate and insula activity during actual choice and increased coupling of both regions to revaluation-related VLPFC during postchoice rating. These data suggest that the VLPFC plays a central role in a network that relates choice set size to updating the value of chosen items and integrates choice overload with value-enhancing effects of larger choice sets.
Stress‐Dependent Elastic Properties of Porous Microcracked Ceramics

Although ceramics are considered linear elastic materials, we have observed a non‐linear pseudo‐elastic behavior in porous cellular microcracked ceramics such as β‐eucryptite. This is attributed to the evolution of microstructure in these materials. This behavior is particularly different from that of non‐microcracked ceramics such as silicon carbide. It is shown that in microcracked materials two processes, namely stiffening and softening, always compete when a compressive external load is applied. The first regime is attributed to microcrack closure, and the second to microcracks opening, i.e. to a damage introduced by the applied stress. On the other hand rather a continuous damage is observed in the non‐microcracked case. A comparison has been done between the microscopic (as measured by neutron diffraction) and the macroscopic stress‐strain response. Also, it has been found that at constant load a significant strain relaxation occurs, which has two timescales, possibly driven by the two phenomena quoted above. Indeed, no such relaxation is observed for non‐microcracked SiC. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Common and not so Common Melanocytic Lesions in Children and Adolescents

The acquired melanocytic nevus is the most common lesion encountered by pediatric pathologists and dermatopathologists in their daily practice. In most cases, there are few difficulties in histopathologic diagnosis. However, it is the acquired melanocytic lesion known as the Spitz nevus, with its intrinsic atypical features which becomes the challenge since it exists along a histopathologic and biologic continuum from the atypical Spitz tumor to spitzoid melanoma. The frustration with some of these spitzoid lesions is that even the “experts” cannot agree as to the differentiation of one from the other even at the level of molecular genetics. Other melanocytic lesions are discussed including the congenital melanocytic nevus with its proliferative nodule(s) and melanoma as the ultimate complication. Although uncommon, cutaneous melanoma in the first 2 decades is emerging as a clinical problem especially in young women in the second decade of life. These are ultraviolet-associated neoplasms whose histopathologic and prognostic features are identical to the adult experience. Considerable progress has been made over the past 15 to 20 years in our understanding of cutaneous melanocytic lesions, but gaps still exist in the important group of spitzoid lesions. It can also be anticipated that more cutaneous melanomas in children will be seen in the future based upon epidemiologic studies.
Diagnostic utility of telomere length testing in a hospital-based setting

Significance This study defines clinical indications for using telomere length (TL) measurement as a diagnostic tool in a hospital setting. It shows that, in contrast to other methods, TL measurement by flow cytometry and FISH (flowFISH) can be standardized, and has reproducible and definable upper and lower normal boundaries. In telomerase mutation carriers and carriers of other mutant telomere maintenance genes, TL had prognostic value, correlating with the age of onset of short telomere syndrome phenotypes, as well as the predominant complication. In a prospective study, TL results were actionable in one-fourth of cases with idiopathic bone marrow failure affecting the stem cell donor choice and/or treatment regimen. The data show that, for targeted clinical indications, and in a hospital setting, TL measurement by flowFISH informs patient care decisions. Telomere length (TL) predicts the onset of cellular senescence in vitro but the diagnostic utility of TL measurement in clinical settings is not fully known. We tested the value of TL measurement by flow cytometry and FISH (flowFISH) in patients with mutations in telomerase and telomere maintenance genes. TL had a discrete and reproducible normal range with definable upper and lower boundaries. While TL above the 50th age-adjusted percentile had a 100% negative predictive value for clinically relevant mutations, the lower threshold in mutation carriers was age-dependent, and adult mutation carriers often overlapped with the lowest decile of controls. The extent of telomere shortening correlated with the age at diagnosis as well as the short telomere syndrome phenotype. Extremely short TL caused bone marrow failure and immunodeficiency in children and young adults, while milder defects manifested as pulmonary fibrosis-emphysema in adults. We prospectively examined whether TL altered treatment decisions for newly diagnosed idiopathic bone marrow failure patients and found abnormally short TL enriched for patients with mutations in some inherited bone marrow failure genes, such as RUNX1, in addition to telomerase and telomere maintenance genes. The result was actionable, altering the choice of treatment regimen and/or hematopoietic stem cell donor in one-fourth of the cases (9 of 38, 24%). We conclude that TL measurement by flowFISH, when used for targeted clinical indications and in limited settings, can influence treatment decisions in ways that improve outcome.
A Review on Image Texture Analysis Methods

Texture classification is an active topic in image processing which plays an important role in many applications such as image retrieval, inspection systems, face recognition, medical image processing, etc. There are many approaches extracting texture features in gray-level images such as local binary patterns, gray level co-occurrence matrices, statistical features, skeleton, scale invariant feature transform, etc. The texture analysis methods can be categorized in 4 groups titles: statistical methods, structural methods, filter-based and model based approaches. In many related researches, authors have tried to extract color and texture features jointly. In this respect, combined methods are considered as efficient image analysis descriptors. Mostly important challenges in image texture analysis are rotation sensitivity, gray scale variations, noise sensitivity, illumination and brightness conditions, etc. In this paper, we review most efficient and state-of-the-art image texture analysis methods. Also, some texture classification approaches are survived.
STAT6, PBX2, and PBRM1 Emerge as Predicted Regulators of 452 Differentially Expressed Genes Associated With Puberty in Brahman Heifers

The liver plays a central role in metabolism and produces important hormones. Hepatic estrogen receptors and the release of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) are critical links between liver function and the reproductive system. However, the role of liver in pubertal development is not fully understood. To explore this question, we applied transcriptomic analyses to liver samples of pre- and post-pubertal Brahman heifers and identified differentially expressed (DE) genes and genes encoding transcription factors (TFs). Differential expression of genes suggests potential biological mechanisms and pathways linking liver function to puberty. The analyses identified 452 DE genes and 82 TF with significant contribution to differential gene expression by using a regulatory impact factor metric. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor was observed as the most down-regulated gene (P = 0.003) in post-pubertal heifers and we propose this gene influences pubertal development in Brahman heifers. Additionally, co-expression network analysis provided evidence for three TF as key regulators of liver function during pubertal development: the signal transducer and activator of transcription 6, PBX homeobox 2, and polybromo 1. Pathway enrichment analysis identified transforming growth factor-beta and Wnt signaling pathways as significant annotation terms for the list of DE genes and TF in the co-expression network. Molecular information regarding genes and pathways described in this work are important to further our understanding of puberty onset in Brahman heifers.
Higher ploidy is associated with reduced range breadth in the Potentilleae tribe.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Polyploids are predicted to have greater niche breadth and larger ranges than diploids because of higher ecological tolerances, self-compatibility, and increased genetic variation. However, empirical support for this prediction is mixed, and most studies compare diploids and polyploids, rather than accounting for quantitative variation in ploidy. We test the prediction that species of higher ploidy have greater range breadth and abiotic breadth than those of lower ploidy. METHODS We estimate range breadth (latitudinal range, altitudinal range, and range size) and abiotic breadth (range in temperature, precipitation, and ultraviolet-B irradiance) for 109 species in the Potentilleae tribe of Rosaceae. We assess the contribution of ploidy to variation in range breadth, while accounting for shared evolutionary history and time of species divergence using phylogenetic comparative methods. KEY RESULTS Ploidy varied widely among species from 2× to 12×. Phylogenetic relatedness explained little of the variation in ploidy, range breadth, and abiotic breadth. Transitions to higher ploidy were associated with reduced latitudinal and altitudinal ranges, smaller overall range size, and reduced abiotic breadth for temperature and UV-B. CONCLUSIONS In contrast to predictions, this study shows that transitions to higher ploidy are associated with reduced range size and abiotic breadth. It also highlights the importance of considering continuous variation in ploidy when evaluating ecological correlates with ploidy. We discuss how genome duplication may contribute to the observed negative relationship between ploidy and range breadth.
How image quality affects determination of target displacement when using kilovoltage cone‐beam computed tomography

The advent of kilovoltage cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT) integrated with a linear accelerator allows for more accurate image‐guided radiotherapy (IGRT). The IGRT technique corrects target displacement based on internal body information obtained by acquiring the CBCT image set and registering it with the simulation CT image set just before the beam is delivered. In the present paper, we compare registration results by CBCT reconstruction quality (either high or medium). We analyzed data from a total of 56 CBCT projections from 6 patients. The translational vector differences were within 1 mm in all but 3 cases. The rotational displacement differences considered components of all three axes, and in 3 of 168 cases (56 projections by 3 axes), showed more than 1 degree of difference. PACS number: 87.57. Nk
Pro and Anti-Angiogenic Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors Expression in Benign and Malignant Thyroid Lesions

Vascular endothelial growth factors are the most powerful molecules related to angiogenesis and lymph angiogenesis stimulation and are frequently associated to a worse prognosis in many malignancies. Currently, anti-angiogenic VEGF-A165b has been described and it have been demonstrated to efficiently block the angiogenic sprout. We sought to investigate the VEGF family members expression involved with angiogenesis (including the anti-angiogenic VEGF-A165b) and lymph angiogenesis. The casuistic was composed by 196 cases. The frequencies of thyroid lesions were: 53 (27%) goitres, 16 (8%) thyroiditis, 9 (5%) follicular adenomas, 84 (43%) papillary carcinomas, and 34 (17%) follicular carcinomas. The immunohistochemical reactions for VEGF-A, VEGF-A165b, VEGF-B, VEGF-C and VEGF-D were performed and semi-quantitatively assessed. We observed a widespread positive immunoexpression of VEGF-A and VEGF-A165b in benign and malignant lesions. None of the benign samples of this casuistic had positive immunoexpression of VEGF-B and only a few positive cases were detected in both papillary and follicular carcinomas. The highest levels of VEGF-C and VEGF-D expression were found in papillary carcinomas. There was a relevant association of VEGF-D and a worst tumoral staging (p=0.004) in papillary carcinomas. We also identified a significant association between VEGF-A and vascular invasion (p=0.049) and patient’s age and an increased expression of VEGF-B (p=0.047) in papillary thyroid carcinomas. No association was found for follicular carcinomas.
Mineral analysis, anthocyanins and phenolic compounds in wine residues flour

This study analyzed the mineral content (N, P, K, S, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Fe and Zn), anthocyanins and phenolic compounds in flours produced from residues of different grape cultivars from the wineries in the Southern region of Brazil. Mineral analysis showed a significant difference for all grape cultivar, with the exception for phosphorus content. Residues from cv. Seibel showed higher levels of N, Cu and Mg. The cultivars Ancelotta, Tanat and Bordo present higher contents of K, Zn, Mn, Fe and Ca. For the concentration of anthocyanins, cultivars Cabernet Sauvignon (114.7 mg / 100g), Tannat (88.5 mg / 100 g) and Ancelotta (33.8 mg/100 g) had the highest concentrations. The cultivars Pinot Noir (7.0 g AGE / 100 g), Tannat (4.3 g AGE / 100 g), and Ancelotta (3.9 g AGE / 100 g) had the highest content of phenolic compounds. Considering these results, it became evident the potential of using the residue of winemaking to produce flour for human consumption, highlighting the grapes ‘Tannat' and ‘Ancellotta'.
LMI-Based Fixed Order Output Feedback Synthesis for Two-Dimensional Mixed Continuous-Discrete-Time Systems

This paper addresses the problem of designing stabilizing fixed order output feedback controllers for two-dimensional mixed continuous-discrete-time systems. The paper starts by addressing this problem in a basic formulation, where the plant is supposed strictly proper, and the output feedback controller is supposed static. It is shown that a necessary and sufficient condition for establishing the existence of a stabilizing feedback controller can be obtained by solving two convex optimization problems with linear matrix inequality (LMI) constraints. The condition is mainly obtained by exploiting a reformulation of the problem based on the stability of a matrix over the complex unit disc, and by introducing suitable tables for establishing stability of polynomials with complex coefficients. The condition is sufficient for any size of the LMIs, and is also necessary for a size sufficiently large. Then, the paper proceeds by addressing a more general formulation, showing that the proposed approach can be used also when the plant is allowed to be nonstrictly proper, and when the output feedback controller is allowed to be dynamic.