Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automated Motion Analysis of Bony Joint Structures from Dynamic Computer Tomography Images: A Multi-Atlas Approach

Dynamic computer tomography (CT) is an emerging modality to analyze in-vivo joint kinematics at the bone level, but it requires manual bone segmentation and, in some instances, landmark identification. The objective of this study is to present an automated workflow for the assessment of three-dimensional in vivo joint kinematics from dynamic musculoskeletal CT images. The proposed method relies on a multi-atlas, multi-label segmentation and landmark propagation framework to extract bony structures and detect anatomical landmarks on the CT dataset. The segmented structures serve as regions of interest for the subsequent motion estimation across the dynamic sequence. The landmarks are propagated across the dynamic sequence for the construction of bone embedded reference frames from which kinematic parameters are estimated. We applied our workflow on dynamic CT images obtained from 15 healthy subjects on two different joints: thumb base (n = 5) and knee (n = 10). The proposed method resulted in segmentation accuracies of 0.90 ± 0.01 for the thumb dataset and 0.94 ± 0.02 for the knee as measured by the Dice score coefficient. In terms of motion estimation, mean differences in cardan angles between the automated algorithm and manual segmentation, and landmark identification performed by an expert were below 1°. Intraclass correlation (ICC) between cardan angles from the algorithm and results from expert manual landmarks ranged from 0.72 to 0.99 for all joints across all axes. The proposed automated method resulted in reproducible and reliable measurements, enabling the assessment of joint kinematics using 4DCT in clinical routine.
Boundary-Layer Stabilization with Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasmas for Free-Flight Application

The present work combines experimental and numerical efforts to enhance the maturity of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators as flow-control devices. In an attempt to increase the effectiveness of controlling laminar-turbulent transition, the understanding of a stabilizing effect of the actuator force field on laminar boundary-layer flow is fostered. Parametrical studies extend the Reynolds number range for effective transition control beyond the limits of earlier investigations. A numerical tool kit, consisting of a boundary-layer solver with implemented DBD force model and coupled stability analysis, is developed to predict the flow-control effectiveness. Validation experiments show considerable transition delay in a wind-tunnel setting. The excellent agreement of the experimental data with the numerical predictions renders the latter valuable for the design of flow-control applications. In order to realize an application of plasma actuators under non-laboratory conditions, a transition control experiment is designed for in-flight application on a full-sized motorized glider. The performed proof-of-concept experiment at a Reynolds number of 3000000 is the first to show a successful use of DBD transition control under atmospheric flight conditions. The discussion of the significantly delayed transition and resulting drag reduction concludes with an estimate for the flow-control efficiency.
Impact of a Vibrotactile Belt on Emotionally Challenging Everyday Situations of the Blind

Spatial orientation and navigation depend primarily on vision. Blind people lack this critical source of information. To facilitate wayfinding and to increase the feeling of safety for these people, the “feelSpace belt” was developed. The belt signals magnetic north as a fixed reference frame via vibrotactile stimulation. This study investigates the effect of the belt on typical orientation and navigation tasks and evaluates the emotional impact. Eleven blind subjects wore the belt daily for seven weeks. Before, during and after the study period, they filled in questionnaires to document their experiences. A small sub-group of the subjects took part in behavioural experiments before and after four weeks of training, i.e., a straight-line walking task to evaluate the belt’s effect on keeping a straight heading, an angular rotation task to examine effects on egocentric orientation, and a triangle completion navigation task to test the ability to take shortcuts. The belt reduced subjective discomfort and increased confidence during navigation. Additionally, the participants felt safer wearing the belt in various outdoor situations. Furthermore, the behavioural tasks point towards an intuitive comprehension of the belt. Altogether, the blind participants benefited from the vibrotactile belt as an assistive technology in challenging everyday situations.
Impact of Covid-19 on asthmatic patients in Western region in Saudi Arabia

Background: Respiratory symptoms are a characteristic feature present in covid-19 patients, and they usually range from mild to severe. Asthma is a chronic disease involving the airways that carry air in and out of the lungs. However, there is limited resources that discuss the relation between asthma and prevalence of COVID-19. Aims: Identify the impact of covid19 on asthmatic patients. Methodology: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study that was conducted to study the impact of COVID-19 on asthmatic patients, which was conducted using a prepared questionnaire which was distributed online among 300 patients with asthma. After collecting the data, MS Excel was used for data entry while SPSS version 24 was used for data analysis. Results: In this study, we were able to collect data from 311 asthmatic patients in response to our questionnaire. Most of the asthmatic patients were females (67.2%) with a ratio of females: males of 2:1. Moreover, most patients thought that they control their asthma well and only 13.5 % indicated that they had frequent emergency visits because of asthma. The prevalence of COVID-19 in asthmatic patients was 64.3 % where a third of patients needed to go to hospital because of their bad condition, 12.6 % needed to be hospitalized in ICU and 56.4 % needed oxygen. Moreover, severity of COVID-19 symptoms and outcomes are related to the control of asthma where better control of asthma was associated with better outcomes including lower need for ICU admission and oxygen need. Conclusion: Prevalence of COVID-19 in asthmatic patients was much higher than the general population especially in female patients aged between 31-40 years old. Moreover, COVID-19 had more severe outcomes in asthmatic patients including higher prevalence of ICU admission and oxygen need. Poorer outcomes of COVID-19 were associated with poor control of asthma. Key words: Asthma, Covid-19, Western Region, Saudi Arabia
Türkiye’deki Öğretmen Adaylarının BİT Kullanımına Yönelik Davranışsal Niyetlerinin Belirlenmesinde Branşlarının Rolü

The purpose of this study is to determine the technology acceptance of a sample of final-year pre-service teachers of different disciplines in Turkey. Research sample is composed of 973 (583 females, 390 males) pre-service teachers. They complete a survey questionnaire measuring their responses to four constructs of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used as the main technique for data analysis. One of the main findings showed that the most important determinant of behavioural intention is perceived usefulness, this is followed by attitude towards computer use, and perceived ease of use. Another preliminary finding is that the participants somewhat agree with usefulness and easiness of ICTs and have positive attitude toward use of it in education In conclusion, the study has shown that the idea that perceived usefulness is a key variable in determining intention to use technology in education.
Changing Farm Size Distributions and Agricultural Transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa

We review the literature on the distribution of farm sizes in sub-Saharan Africa, trends over time, drivers of change in farm structure, and effects on agricultural transformation and present new evidence for seven countries. While it is widely viewed that African agriculture is dominated by small-scale farms, we show that medium-scale farms of 5 to 100 hectares are a nontrivial—and rapidly expanding—force that is influencing the nature and pace of food systems transformation in Africa. The increased prevalence of medium-scale holdings is associated with farm labor productivity growth and underappreciated benefits to smallholder farmers. However, the rise of African investor farmers is also contributing to the commodification of land, escalating land prices, and restricted land access for most local people. A better understanding of these trends and linkages, which requires new data collection activities, could help resolve long-standing policy debates and support strategies that accelerate agricultural transformation. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Resource Economics, Volume 14 is October 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews. org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
Obtaining high-resolution synthetic soil imagery for topsoil mapping

ABSTRACT Detailed soil maps contribute to the understanding of agricultural and food value chains. PlanetScope satellite constellations have high spatial and temporal resolution and could be used to develop Synthetic Soil Image (SYSI) at specific dates of field crops calendar. This work aimed to derive a SYSI from PlanetScope time series and estimate soil clay content, an important attribute related to several soil functions. The normalization process was applied to make the radiometries of the different Doves’ images compatible and, subsequently, land cover classification was performed to select the bare soil class, obtaining the SYSI-Planet. The clay content was predicted for 2337 topsoil samples using the SYSI-Planet and Random Forest algorithm. The normalization of PlanetScope images were based on reference images, which mitigated the radiometric differences from acquisition dates and different radiometric calibrations. SYSI-Planet resulted in an excellent clay content prediction, resulting in a coefficient of determination (R 2) equal to 0.93 and Root-Mean-Square Error (RMSE) equal to 70.90. The predicted clay mapped revealed spatial patterns with a high spatial resolution (~3 m), which can enhance precise agricultural management.
Integrated Voltage Regulators with Thin-Film Magnetic Power Inductors

Integrated Voltage Regulators with Thin-Film Magnetic Power Inductors Noah Andrew Sturcken Integration of alternative materials and devices with CMOS will expand functionality and improve performance of established applications in the era of diminishing returns from Moore’s Law scaling. In particular, integration of thin-film magnetic materials will enable improvements in energy efficiency of digital computing applications by enabling integrated power conversion and management with on-chip power inductors. Integrated voltage regulators will also enable fine-grained power management, by providing dynamic scaling of the supply voltage in concert with the clock frequency of synchronous logic to throttle power consumption at periods of low computational demand. Implementation of integrated power conversion requires high capacity energy storage devices. This is best achieved with integration of thin-film magnetic materials for high quality on-chip power inductors. This thesis describes a body of work conducted to develop integrated switch-mode voltage regulators with thin-film magnetic power inductors. Soft-magnetic materials and inductor topologies are selected and optimized, with intent to maximize efficiency and current density of the integrated regulators. Custom integrated circuits are designed and fabricated in 45nm-SOI to provide the control system and power-train necessary to drive the power inductors. A silicon interposer is designed and fabricated in collaboration with IBM Research to integrate custom power inductors by 2.5D chip stacking, enabling power conversion with current density greater than 10A/mm2. The concepts and designs developed from this work will enable significant improvements in performance-per-watt of future microprocessors.
PENGARUH TINGKAT SUKU BUNGA SBI, NILAI TUKAR DAN JUMLAH UANG BEREDAR TERHADAP INDEKS HARGA SAHAM SEKTOR PROPERTY DAN REAL ESTATE DENGAN PENDEKATAN ERROR CORRECTION MODEL

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat pengaruh tingkat suku bunga SBI, nilai tukar dan jumlah uang beredar terhadap indeks harga saham sektor property dan real estate dengan menggunakan Error Correction Model untuk periode 1998:1 – 2010:12. Hasil dari uji kointegrasi memperlihatkan bahwa terdapat hubungan jangka panjang atau ekulibrium diantara tingkat suku bunga SBI, nilai tukar, jumlah uang beredar dan indeks harga saham sektor property dan real estate. Dalam jangka pendek, tingkat suku bunga SBI dan nilai tukar berpengaruh negatif dan signifikan terhadap indeks harga saham sektor property dan rela estate dan jumlah uang beredar berpengaruh positif dan tidak signifikan terhadap indeks harga saham sektor property dan real estate. Dalam jangka panjang, tingkat suku bunga SBI dan jumlah uang beredar berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap indeks harga saham sektor propety dan real estate, sedangkan nilai tukar berpengaruh negatif dan signifikan terhadap indeks harga saham sektor property dan real estate. Kata Kunci: Indeks harga saham sektor property dan real estate , tingkat suku bunga SBI, nilai tukar, jumlah uang beredar (M2) dan error correction model .
SEDIMENT-PHOSPHORUS RELATIONSHIPS IN THREE NORTHCENTRAL OKLAHOMA STREAMS

Sediment characteristics related to their potential for P uptake and buffering capacity were examined in three adjacent Oklahoma streams in order to determine if stream sediments were the dominant controllers of water column P and if benthic sediments were capable of buffering growing P loads to these systems. Sediment and water samples were collected from Council Creek, Feather Creek and Little Stillwater Creek in northcentral Oklahoma. Particle size distribution, equilibrium phosphate concentration (EPC0), phosphorus sorption index (PSI), and exchangeable-P were measured for a single date for benthic sediments from each site. There were no detectable differences in particle size composition; however, sediment attributes related to P varied significantly among sites. Sediments from Little Stillwater Creek had higher exchangeable P content and EPC0 relative to the other two sites. There were no consistent relationships between exchangeable P and sediment or water characteristics, while EPC0 was significantly correlated with percent silt. Sediment and water phosphate pools were in equilibrium at only one site. At the other two sites, either the sediment/water balance was temporarily in disequilibrium, or sediments were not the major determinant of water column P. In contrast to the other sediment metrics, PSI did not vary among sites. Total sorption potential was attributed to both abiotic and biotic uptake, with biotic removal becoming increasingly important for sediments with high PSI values. Disequilibrium between sediment and water column P and the relative importance of biotic sorption to PSI measurements suggest that factors other than, or in addition to, physical and geochemical processes associated with benthic sediments, are important in controlling streamwater P concentration and retention.
The Hip: Preservation, Replacement, and Revision

Offers current, comprehensive guidance related to all disorders of the hip with chapters on diagnosis, classification, and management of periprosthetic infection, including data from the recent Consensus Meeting on PJI. Contributions by more than 200 international experts make up the four sections devoted to: Foundations of THA; Joint Preservation; Primary THA; and Revision THA. This authoritative reference covers topics from non-arthroplasty management of hip conditions, such as arthroscopic and open management of femoracetabular impingement, management of Perthes disease in the adult, and surgical management of residual DDH, to revision topics including custom implants for pelvic discontinuity, allograft prosthetic composites for massive femoral defects, and so much more. KEY FEATURES Valuable pearls and pitfalls, suggested Readings, and case studies. Evidence-based, focused, consistent organization chapters. Richly illustrated with full-color figures, diagrams, and tables. Addresses non-replacement management of hip dysplasia. Includes joint preservation procedures such as hip arthroscopy, no-replacement management of hip dysplasia, and vascular necrosis.
Peer-Delivered Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Postpartum Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To determine if a 9-week group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention delivered by women who have recovered from postpartum depression (peers) can effectively reduce symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) and anxiety and improve social support and the mother-infant relationship. Methods: A sample of 73 mothers living in Ontario, Canada, were randomized into experimental and waitlist control groups between March 2018 and February 2020. Participants were ≥ 18 years of age, had an infant < 12 months old, were fluent in English, and scored ≥ 10 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The experimental group completed the 9-week group CBT intervention immediately after study enrollment, while the control group did so after a 9-week waiting period. All outcomes were assessed at enrollment (n = 54) and 9 weeks later (n = 38). Outcomes were assessed in the experimental group at 6 months to assess treatment stability. Results: Peer-delivered group CBT for PPD led to clinically and statistically significant improvements in symptoms of depression (F1,47 = 22.52, P < .01) and anxiety (F1,45 = 20.56, P < .05) in the experimental group, and these improvements were stable at the 6-month follow-up. Perceptions of impaired mother-infant bonding (t15 = 3.72, P < .01) and rejection and pathological anger (t15 = 3.01, P < .01) also decreased at the 6-month follow-up in the experimental group. Conclusions: Peer-delivered group CBT for PPD effectively treats symptoms of PPD and anxiety and may lead to improvements in the mother-infant relationship. This intervention is an effective and potentially scalable means by which access to a treatment that meets the needs and wants of mothers with PPD can be increased. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03285139.
Gravity effects on the earthquake response of yielding structures

The effect of gravity on the earthquake response of one degree of freedom yielding structures is studied by subjecting them to earthquake-like excitation. Interest is centered on the time required for yielding to progress to the point of collapse. The results show that the effect of gravity is to increase significantly the development of permanent set over that occurring when gravity is ignored. Because the gravity effect increases as the deflection grows, the permanent set increases rapidly just prior to failure. A statistical study of the time to failure for elasto-plastic structures indicates that the average time to failure is inversely proportional to the square of the ratio of the earthquake strength to the lateral yield level of the structure, implying that an earthquake of short duration would have to possess significantly higher accelerations than a longer earthquake in order to cause failure of a given structure. It was found that for the range of periods considered the average time to collapse for the yielding structures was independent of period. For the bilinear hysteretic structure the results show a large increase in the time of failure when the second. slope increases from zero. Calculations made with simultaneous vertical and horizontal excitation, and with recorded strong earthquake accelerograms, indicate that the thesis results , obtained from artificial earthquakes, should be applicable for strong earthquake excitation. Comparison of the results with those of a one-dimensional random walk indicates that on the average a yielding structure will collapse after the input of a certain amount of energy.
Genetic diversity in the Diplosoma listerianum complex (Ascidiacea: Didemnidae) from the Western Atlantic

(Received 19 January 2021; revised 27 September 2021; accepted 27 September 2021) Diplosoma listerianum has been re-described with more than 40 currently invalid names, but recent data suggests that some of those names may be valid. At least four distinct clades were recently revealed by molecular analysis using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Yet, very few samples were analyzed from the western Atlantic, of which none were from the extensive Brazilian coast. Here, we analyze genetic diversity in D. listerianum in light of morphological data. We sequenced 55 samples from Brazil, Panama, Mexico, and the United States and analyzed them together with published data, to test whether local populations are part of widespread, known, clades or are native species hidden within this complex. Phylogenetic analysis found eight clades, three of which were different from the ones recovered before. Former clade A was split into two larger clades: clade A1 occurs in the western Atlantic, on the Pacific side of Panama and in South Africa; clade A2 occurs worldwide, with representatives found on every continent. Species delimitation analyses (ABGD, bPTP and GMYC) found 16 MOTUs, which suggests that those large clades are very diverse and may comprise more than one species. Diversity was greatest in Panama (6 clades) and Mexico (3 clades). Larval morphological characters were examined and described here. However, for only a few of the sequenced samples could fully grown larvae be obtained and phenotypic variation was large. Thus, larval morphology could not be used to diagnose molecular clades. Diplosoma listerianum remains a species complex, with evidence of ongoing speciation, and high genetic diversity, especially in the tropical western Atlantic. Fast-growing colonies, rapid life cycles, and amenability to cultivation in the laboratory indicate that this species can be a model for studies in speciation.