Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Head-Mounted Display-Based Augmented Reality for Image-Guided Media Delivery to the Heart: A Preliminary Investigation of Perceptual Accuracy

By aligning virtual augmentations with real objects, optical see-through head-mounted display (OST-HMD)-based augmented reality (AR) can enhance user-task performance. Our goal was to compare the perceptual accuracy of several visualization paradigms involving an adjacent monitor, or the Microsoft HoloLens 2 OST-HMD, in a targeted task, as well as to assess the feasibility of displaying imaging-derived virtual models aligned with the injured porcine heart. With 10 participants, we performed a user study to quantify and compare the accuracy, speed, and subjective workload of each paradigm in the completion of a point-and-trace task that simulated surgical targeting. To demonstrate the clinical potential of our system, we assessed its use for the visualization of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based anatomical models, aligned with the surgically exposed heart in a motion-arrested open-chest porcine model. Using the HoloLens 2 with alignment of the ground truth target and our display calibration method, users were able to achieve submillimeter accuracy (0.98 mm) and required 1.42 min for calibration in the point-and-trace task. In the porcine study, we observed good spatial agreement between the MRI-models and target surgical site. The use of an OST-HMD led to improved perceptual accuracy and task-completion times in a simulated targeting task.
Evaluation of Probabilistic Early Response TCP (PERT) for Video Delivery and Extension with ACK Coalescing

Evaluation of Probabilistic Early Response TCP (PERT) for Video Delivery and Extension with ACK Coalescing. (August 2011) Bin Qian, B.E. , Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. A. L. Narasimha Reddy This thesis demonstrates the performance of Probabilistic Early Response TCP (PERT), a new TCP congestion control, for video streaming. As a delay based protocol, it measures the delay at the end host and adjusts the congestion window accordingly. Our experiments show that PERT improves video delivery performance by decreasing the fraction of packets delivered late. Furthermore, our Linux live streaming test indicates that PERT is able to reduce the playback glitches, when high resolution video is delivered over a link with non-zero packet loss. In order to operate PERT at higher thoughputs, we design PERT to work with Acknowledgement (ACK) coalescing at the receiver. ACK coalescing makes data transfers burstier and makes it hard to estimate delays accurately. We apply TCP pacing to fix this issue, and validate its effectiveness in the aspects of throughput, packet loss and fairness. Our experiment results also show that PERT with Delayed ACK and Pacing is more friendly, and therefore more suitable when multiple traffic flows are competing for limited bottleneck bandwidth or sharing the same router buffer.
Recent Advances in Drug Therapy for Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease manifesting with motor and non-motor symptoms. Current treatment mainly relies on medication as a symptomatic therapy modulating neurotransmitters. Dopamine replacement therapy has been established, and levodopa is the gold standard for treatment of PD. However, the emergence of motor complications, such as a wearing-off phenomenon, is a clinical problem. Both primary symptoms and motor complications have been targets for the development of treatments for PD. Recent progression in the management of motor complications is supported by newly developed agents and advances in device and formulation technology to deliver drugs continuously. Elucidation of the pathophysiology of PD and the development of disease-modifying therapy that affects the underlying fundamental pathophysiology of the disease are also progressing. In this review, we introduce current knowledge on developments concerning medications for patients with PD.
Computation of intermodulation distortion in RF MEMS variable capacitor circuits using moments

This paper introduces a new technique for the efficient computation of intermodulation distortion in radio frequency circuits that contain microelectromechanical system (MEMS) variable capacitors using moments analysis. This method is applied to an extended harmonic balance formulation, which contains the nonlinear equations that describe the dynamic mechanical behavior of MEMS variable capacitors, in addition to the nonlinear electric circuit equations. As a result, the moments method becomes a general multi-domain simulation method for quantifying nonlinear intermodulation distortion, while presenting significant computational cost reduction over harmonic balance-based methods.
Strategies for Metallizing and Electroplating Biodegradable PLA

With environmental awareness in societies, bioplastics continue to receive increasing attention and utilization rate. Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the most important biopolymers in the market today, owing to its high strength and relative ease of forming. Unlike the common structural, fossil fuel-based plastics, such as Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS), the surface of PLA cannot be readily metallized in preparation for electroplating using the conventional plating-on-plastic (POP) process. This partially limits the wider use of the material for functional and decorative applications. In this research study, we systematically explored three strategies for metallizing the surface of PLA, namely, (A) chemical etching and palladium activation technique, (B) polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) and Ag nanoparticle deposition technique, and (C) Ag conductive painting technique. PLA samples, prepared by Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) 3D-printing technique, were metallized by various techniques followed by electroless deposition and electroplating of copper layers. The study was performed comparatively with respect to the ABS surface. The samples microstructures, chemical distributions, and plating characteristics were assessed with optical and scanning electron microscopy. The adhesion of the metallic coatings was analyzed using scratch test and tape test. Although uniform deposition of copper layers on PLA surfaces could be achieved using all three metallizing methods under investigation, the three methods were found to provide different degrees of benefits with respect to deposition rate, surface uniformity, and process simplicity.
Social-Ecological Correlates of Children’s Independent Mobility: A Systematic Review

Children’s independent mobility (IM) is associated with a range of benefits and understanding the factors that influence IM can support creation of effective interventions. The review (Prospero CRD42016042174) systematically summarized the available literature for social-ecological correlates of children’s IM in school-aged children and youth (aged 5–17 years). In this case, 53 studies were included and evaluated six individual, 15 interpersonal, 12 social environment, and 19 built environment- level variables. Most studies originated from Australia (n = 15) and Canada (n = 8) with most published in 2011 or later (n = 48). Variables that were consistently (positively and/or negatively) associated with children’s IM were age, ethnicity/race, child’s perceived competence, ownership of a house/access to house keys, having siblings, parents’ attitude toward IM and perception of child’s confidence, children’s interest in environment and activities, parents’ concern around traffic, housing/residential density, length of residency in one’s home, distance to destinations, and proximity to green space. Given the inter-related social-ecological correlates identified, intervention to promote children’s IM will likely need a multi-level and multi-sectoral approach. However, focus areas of building children’s skills and confidence, helping parents gain confidence in their children’s abilities, assuaging parental traffic concerns, and building environments with shorter distances to destinations of interest for children should be prioritized.
Investigation on Impact of Changes in Land Cover Patterns on Surface Runoff in Ayung Watershed, Bali, Indonesia Using Geographic Information System

Population growth, urbanization, and infrastructure development activities have resulted in the land conversion of forests and farmlands to residential and commercial zones. Such land conversion causes changes in the land cover, as experienced in the Ayung Watershed, in the island of Bali, Indonesia. Here, the land cover undergoes rapid changes due to the growing tourism sector, affecting the runoff coefficient. This study evaluated the changing land cover patterns and surface runoff in the Ayung Watershed between 2012 and 2019. An increase in the surface runoff during the high rainfall events may lead to flooding in the area. The identification of land change patterns in the Ayung Watershed was carried out by a manual digitizing process on Google Earth maps. The runoff coefficient was calculated by Cook’s method using the four physical characteristics of the watershed: land cover, infiltration rate, land slope and drainage density; showing significant changes in the land cover in the study area. Farmlands and forests were reduced by 647.8 ha and 553.1 ha respectively, converted into fast growing grasslands or unproductive land. Such land cover changes have a negative impact by increasing the runoff coefficient in the area. During the study period, the runoff coefficient was consistently found to be more than 0.6 (high-risk category). Several sections in the city of Denpasar experienced an increase in the runoff coefficient by more than 5%. Consequently, there was a high-risk of flooding in the area because of the increasing surface runoff.
Noxious Stimulation Induces Acute Hemorrhage and Impairs Long-Term Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) in Female Rats: Evidence Estrous Cycle May Have a Modulatory Effect

Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are often the result of traumatic accidents, which also produce multiple other injuries (polytrauma). Nociceptive input from associated injuries has been shown to significantly impair recovery post-SCI. Historically, work in our laboratory has focused exclusively on male animals; however, increasing incidence of SCI in females requires research to determine whether pain (nociceptive) input poses the same risk to their recovery. Some animal studies have shown that females demonstrate greater tissue preservation and better locomotor recovery post-SCI. Given this, we examined the effect of sex on SCI recovery in two pain models—intermittent electrical stimulation (shock) to the tail or capsaicin injection to the hindpaw. Female rats received a lower thoracic contusion injury and were exposed to noxious stimulation the next day. The acute effect of noxious input on cardiovascular function, locomotor performance, and hemorrhage were assessed. Treatment with capsaicin or noxious electrical stimulation disrupted locomotor performance, increased blood pressure, and disrupted stepping. Additional experiments examined the long-term consequences of noxious input, demonstrating that both noxious electrical stimulation and capsaicin impair long-term recovery in female rats. Interestingly, injury had a greater effect on behavioral performance when progesterone and estrogen were low (metestrus). Conversely, nociceptive input led to a greater disruption in locomotor performance and produced a greater rise in blood pressure in animals injured during estrus.
CyberVTI: Cyber Visualization Tool for Intrusion Detection

This paper presents the Cyber Visualization Tool for Intrusion detection (CYBERVTI), a tool that provides intrusion detection algorithms with an effective graphical interface. The goals of the tool are twofold. First, it aims to aid the human analyst on observing ongoing threats as a step towards responding to these attacks. Second, it aims to help the analyst study the performance of the algorithms with different parameters, in order to decide which combination best suits his goals. The tool integrates a set of recently-proposed intrusion detection algorithms based on unsupervised machine learning, which it aims to help configuring. Cybervti follows a client-server system architecture and implements a REST API that mediates the communication between the server and the GUI on the client-side. A significant challenge is to define data structures that allow storing and accessing data efficiently in an interactive manner. A clear and minimalist visual aspect was chosen for the GUI, containing functionalities that enable the user to analyze the network data in a simple and clear way. For system evaluation, we used the ISOIIEC 25010:2011 requirements. For validation, we compared the results obtained by our tool with the results described in the original papers that present the algorithms.
Fecal Microbiota Transplants for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treatment: Synthetic- and Engineered Communities-Based Microbiota Transplants Are the Future

The human intestine harbors a huge number of diverse microorganisms where a variety of complex interactions take place between the microbes as well as the host and gut microbiota. Significant long-term variations in the gut microbiota (dysbiosis) have been associated with a variety of health conditions including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Conventional fecal microbiota transplantations (FMTs) have been utilized to treat IBD and have been proved promising. However, various limitations such as transient results, pathogen transfer, storage, and reproducibility render conventional FMT less safe and less sustainable. Defined synthetic microbial communities (SynCom) have been used to dissect the host-microbiota-associated functions using gnotobiotic animals or in vitro cell models. This review focuses on the potential use of SynCom in IBD and its advantages and relative safety over conventional FMT. Additionally, this review reinforces how various technological advances could be combined with SynCom to have a better understanding of the complex microbial interactions in various gut inflammatory diseases including IBD. Some technological advances including the availability of a gut-on-a-chip system, intestinal organoids, ex vivo intestinal cultures, AI-based refining of the microbiome structural and functional data, and multiomic approaches may help in making more practical in vitro models of the human host. Additionally, an increase in the cultured diversity from gut microbiota and the availability of their genomic information would further make the design and utilization of SynCom more feasible. Taken together, the combined use of the available knowledge of the gut microbiota in health and disease and recent technological advances and the development of defined SynCom seem to be a promising, safe, and sustainable alternative to conventional FMT in treating IBD.
Complication rates in operatively managed ankle fracture/dislocations: The effect of pre-reduction imaging and compliance with British Orthopaedic Association Standards for Trauma 12 guidance

Introduction The British Orthopaedic Association Standards for Trauma (BOAST 12) guidelines for the management of ankle fractures aims to optimize recovery and reduce complications. Within the emergency department (ED), they advised urgent reduction of clinically deformed ankles, with radiographs prior only if this would not cause an unacceptable delay. The primary aim of this study was to assess the effect of time to acceptable reduction on the risk of complications and time to definitive reduction. Methods This was a retrospective observational study of patients presenting with ankle fracture dislocations between 2013 and 2017. Patients were divided into two groups with and without radiographs prior to reduction of their injury. Results A total of 242 patients were identified. The time taken from arrival to achieving an acceptable reduction was significantly longer in patients who received pre-reduction radiographs versus patients who did not (184.5 min vs 82, p < .00). The key finding of this follow-up study was that the overall risk of complications and soft tissue complications was not associated with an increased time to reduction (p = .62). Time to definitive operative management was similar between the two sub-groups (immediate reduction 1 day vs 2, p = .72). Conclusion This study has shown that the use of pre-reduction radiographs in the management of ankle fracture dislocations significantly increases the time to reduction. However, this is not associated with an increased risk of complications or a longer time to definitive management. Further research is needed into the prognostic effect of prolonged ankle dislocation on soft tissues and long-term functional outcome.
Problem gambling and income as predictors of loot box spending

ABSTRACT Loot boxes are randomized virtual rewards often purchasable for real money. They have often been compared to gambling activities, and a consistent link between loot box spending and problem gambling symptomatology has been found. We reanalyzed data from 1049 participants across three countries to examine the interaction between yearly income and problem gambling symptomatology on loot box spending. Results evidenced the best model of loot box spending included the combined main effects of income and PGSI, but there was no evidence for an interaction between these factors. Follow-up analysis of the main effect of income indicated greater spending on loot boxes in higher income brackets compared to lower income brackets. Overall, problem gambling symptomatology appears more important than income, but both contribute to loot box spending.
Case Report on Ectopic Pregnancy with Septicmia

Introduction: Ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo implants outside the uterus. Abdominal discomfort and vaginal bleeding are common signs and symptoms, but only around half of the women who are affected experience both. The discomfort can be severe, dull, or crampy. If there is bleeding into the abdomen, pain may radiate to the shoulder. A rapid heart rate, fainting, or shock may occur as a result of severe bleeding. The foetus, with a few exceptions, is unable to live. Obstetricians and gynaecologists face a number of obstacles when dealing with emergencies in Jehovah's Witnesses. Main symptoms and/or important clinical findings: She is a 20-year-old woman who had an emergency diagnostic laparotomy for a ruptured ectopic pregnancy with pyosalpinx and septicemia on February 14, 2021. Her diagnostic Ultrasonography has been completed. A complete blood investigation has been completed. She was moderately symptomatic before 8 days, when she was primigravida with 2 months of pregnancy, and then she got abdomen cramps that worsened with time. The main diagnoses, therapeutic interventions and outcomes: She is a 20-year-old woman who had a post-surgical case of Explore Laparotomy For Ruptured Ectopic Pregnancy with pyosalpinx and septicemia, as well as acute abdominal pain. Her treatment began on the day of admission with IV fluids, antibiotics and injectables. Started, advised for Zonac suppository PR, and finished all necessary research. Nursing Perspectives: Laboratory techniques are urgently required. In order to limit the development of treatments to enhance the outcome. Conclusion: Although it is rare for an ectopic pregnancy to go past the first trimester, it does happen. Thus, it is necessary to rule out ruptured ectopic pregnancy in all cases of surgical abdominal urgency during pregnancy, as it is life-threatening to the mother if proper diagnosis and care are delayed. Despite the fact that early intervention saves lives and minimizes morbidity, ectopic pregnancy still accounts for 4 to 10% of all pregnancy-related deaths and is associated with a high rate of ectopic site gestations in subsequent pregnancies.
A remote sensing-based approach to estimating the fire spread rate parameter for individual burn patch extraction

ABSTRACT For the past two decades, satellite-derived activef fire data have been used in a multitude of operational applications and in a large and growing body of research on the role of fire within the Earth system. More recent work with satellite-based active fire data has been directed toward estimating what are in effect broad-scale fire spread rates that are in turn used as an important temporal parameter for the extraction of individual-fire boundaries from burned area maps. Here we use data mining to identify active fire clusters that serve as an input to a fire spread reconstruction algorithm to derive optimal global fire spread rates suitable for fire-perimeter extraction. The spread rates calculated for the active fire clusters, which are useful for applications beyond perimeter extraction, correlate with the spread rates based on reference fire boundaries (R 2 = .82, NRMSE = 2.6%) and are generally compatible with other studies, despite key differences in data acquisition methods and quantities measured.
A Review on Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease caused by flagellated protozoans belonging to the genus Leishmania. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a parasitic disease transmitted by sandflies called phlebotomine that causes a variety of skin lesions. It has a wide range of clinical manifestations that are influenced by a number of unknown parasite and host factors. The disease can take many forms, ranging from self-limited and even self-healing cutaneous manifestations to fatal systemic disease. The standard treatment is pentavalent antimony. Pentavalent antimonials are the cornerstones of cutaneous leishmaniasis treatment, with novel oral and topical options on the horizon. Many lesions heal on their own and does not need to be treated. Antimonials are likely to cause a high number of reversible side effects. Other medications used in treatment include amphotericin B, pentamidine isethionate, paromomycin and antifungals. Although the cutaneous version of the disease is frequently self-limiting, it can leave considerable scarring and lead to more invasive mucocutaneous disease. As a result, treatment to prevent these problems may be considered. In endemic regions, leishmania parasites are frequently diagnosed clinically and, if possible, by microscopic inspection of lesion biopsy samples to visually confirm the aetiology. In non-endemic nations, the use of more advanced medical procedures that allow for species identification is mainly limited to research or therapeutic contexts. The application, use and adverse effects of drugs for systemic and topical treatment are also described.