Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pore Fractal Characteristics of Hydrate‐Bearing Sands and Implications to the Saturated Water Permeability

Permeability mainly governs fluid flow through hydrate‐bearing sediments, and its theoretical models play a primary role in the efficiency prediction of gas recovery from hydrate reservoirs by using numerical simulators. Most of these numerical simulators rely on empirical or semiempirical permeability models largely due to the lack of suitable parameters that well quantify the evolution of pore structures. In this study, X‐ray computed tomography scans are conducted on methane hydrate‐bearing sands, followed by extractions of the maximal diameter and fractal dimensions for the pore space occupied by fluids. These extracted parameters, including area and volume pore‐size fractal dimensions, tortuosity fractal dimension, and the area maximal pore diameter, are further extended to develop fractal theory‐based models for predictions of the hydraulic tortuosity and the saturated water permeability in hydrate‐bearing sands. Results show that the pore space occupied by fluids within hydrate‐bearing sands is inherently fractal. The area pore‐size fractal dimension decreases but the tortuosity fractal dimension changes little with increasing hydrate saturation, and the sum of these two fractal dimensions can be used to predict the volume pore‐size fractal dimension. In addition, the area maximal pore diameter decreases with increasing hydrate saturation, and a semiempirical model is proposed. The fractal theory‐based permeability reduction model agrees well with available experimental data, and it can capture the essential physics of saturated water permeability reduction in hydrate‐bearing sediments during hydrate formation.
Skull Vault Plasmacytoma Mimicking Parasagittal Meningioma: “Mini-Brain Appearance”

Plasmacytomas occur as lesions in soft tissue or bone. Skull vault plasmacytomas are rare lesions comprising 0.7% of all plasmacytomas. Workup for myeloma must be done in such cases to rule out multiple myeloma. Here, we report a case of a 63-year-old female who presented to us with a large skull vault swelling which appeared to mimic a parasagittal meningioma on imaging. Histopathological imaging revealed it to be a plasmacytoma. A retrospective review of the radiology revealed the characteristic “mini-brain appearance” in our case. Literature on the subject is also reviewed.
Epidemiology, treatment (tx) patterns and outcomes in Asian soft tissue sarcoma (STS) patients: Results from the Soft Tissue Sarcoma in the Asia Pacific Region (STAR) study.

10549 Background: There is a paucity of STS epidemiology and tx pattern information in the Asia Pacific region, with published data only from small or single country studies. STAR, a large multicountry observational study, was initiated to describe epidemiology, tx patterns and clinical outcomes in STS patients (pts) diagnosed in 2006–2010 at tertiary referral centers in Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Methods: Data were collected by retrospective chart review. Kaposi’s sarcoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, bone sarcoma and extraskeletal osteosarcoma were excluded. Demographics, tumor characteristics and tx patterns were analyzed descriptively. Overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) were estimated by the Kaplan Meier method. Results: STAR included 635 adult pts, 25% of whom presented with metastatic STS. Main histological subtypes: leiomyosarcoma (19%), liposarcoma (19%), undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS; 18%), .
Sustainable Aviation Fuels

Aviation fuel demand is expected to continue to grow over the next decades and continue to rely heavily on kerosene fuel for use in jet engines. While efficiency and operational improvements are possible ways to reduce GHG emissions, decarbonisation will need to heavily rely on low carbon kerosene drop-in alternatives. Currently, alternative fuels make up a very small share of fuel used in aviation, but their commercialisation is making good progress. Hydrogen offers a longer term alternative fuel option but requires aircraft design and fuelling infrastructure changes. Electrification is emerging as an option for providing propulsion in aircraft, either in pure form in small aircraft or in hybrid mode in larger aircraft. This paper reviews the status, challenges and prospects of alternative fuels and electrification in aviation.
A Game-Based Computation Offloading Method in Vehicular Multiaccess Edge Computing Networks

Multiaccess edge computing (MEC) is a new paradigm to meet the requirements for low latency and high reliability of applications in vehicular networking. More computation-intensive and delay-sensitive applications can be realized through computation offloading of vehicles in vehicular MEC networks. However, the resources of a MEC server are not unlimited. Vehicles need to determine their task offloading strategies in real time under a dynamic-network environment to achieve optimal performance. In this article, we propose a multiuser noncooperative computation offloading game to adjust the offloading probability of each vehicle in vehicular MEC networks and design the payoff function considering the distance between the vehicle and MEC access point, application and communication model, and multivehicle competition for MEC resources. Moreover, we construct a distributed best response algorithm based on the computation offloading game model to maximize the utility of each vehicle and demonstrate that the strategy in this algorithm can converge to a unique and stable equilibrium under certain conditions. Furthermore, we conduct a series of experiments and comparisons with other offloading methods to analyze the effectiveness and performance of the proposed algorithms. The fast convergence and the improved performance of this algorithm are verified by numerical results.
Reducing failure rate in rapid sequence intubation in emergency department

Establishment of a patent and secured airway is a fundamental and central component of any resuscitation of an unstable patient. Without oxygenation and adequate ventilation, all effort or life-saving manoeuvre will fail. Endotracheal intubation is a live saving intervention in emergency with little room for error and must be performed in a limited time frame. Longer or repeated intubation attempts are associated with adverse clinical outcomes
Enterprise discourses in Dutch urban policies; a comparison between two cities in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT Local governments make use of ‘enterprise language’ to encourage citizens to adopt entrepreneurial behaviour in managing their daily lives and solving problems that emerge in their neighbourhood. In this paper, we examine the use of enterprise language and the promotion of enterprise in Dutch urban policy focusing specifically on how Dutch cities use enterprise language to influence and encourage their inhabitants to undertake entrepreneurial action. Our analysis shows how the language of enterprise helps cities to reinforce a local identity, to legitimize institutional change in local government functioning and to formulate expectations of how citizens (and professionals) should behave.
Pharmacometrics Modelling in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus : Implications on Study Design and Diabetes Disease Progression

Pharmacometric modelling is widely used in many aspects related to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), for instance in the anti-diabetes drug development, and in quantifying the disease progression of T2DM.The aim of this thesis were to improve the design of early phase anti-diabetes drug development studies with the focus on the power to identify mechanism of drug action (MoA), and to characterize and quantify the progression from prediabetes to overt diabetes, both the natural progression and the progression with diet and exercise interventions, using pharmacometrics modelling.The appropriateness of a study design depends on the MoAs of the anti-hyperglycaemic drug. Depending on if the focus is power to identify drug effect or accuracy and precision of drug effect, the best design will be different. Using insulin measurements on top of glucose has increase the power to identify a correct drug effect, distinguish a correct MoA from the incorrect, and to identify a secondary MoA in most cases. The accuracy and precision of drug parameter estimates, however, was not affected by insulin. A natural diabetes disease progression model was successfully added in a previously developed model to describe parameter changes of glucose and insulin regulation among impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) subjects, with the quantification of the lifestyle intervention. In this model, the assessment of multiple short-term provocations was combined to predict the long-term disease progression, and offers apart from the assessment of the onset of T2DM also the framework for how to perform similar analysis. Another previously published model was further developed to characterize the weight change in driving the changes in glucose homeostasis in subjects with IGT. This model includes the complex relationship between dropout from study and weight and glucose changes.This thesis has provided a first written guidance in designing a study for pharmacometrics analysis when characterizing drug effects, for early phase anti-diabetes drug development. The characterisation of the progression from prediabetes to overt diabetes using pharmacometrics modelling was successfully performed. Both the natural progression and the progression with diet and exercise interventions were quantified in this thesis.
Intercultural research and social activism

ABSTRACT In this introductory paper, we argue for a stronger link between language and intercultural communication research, theory development, and social/political action. We aim to reignite the debate about our role as public transformative intellectuals and to let advocacy and empowerment be embedded in our work. This calls for a shift in focus from the elite groups who have dominated the intercultural narrative to disenfranchised groups like refugees and (forced) migrant workers. We also reflect on our multi-positionality as scholars, and we present a dialectics of language, intercultural communication and social activism. Finally, we introduce the 12 papers that comprise the Special Issue.
The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in perforated peptic ulcer disease

In 1983, the whole thinking regarding pathophysiology and management of this disease was revolutionized when Warren and Marshall reported Helicobacter pylori. They are recognized as a major causative factor of peptic ulcer disease and their eradication leads to cure of disease, i.e. better symptom control and fewer relapses. H. pylori infection is almost always present in the setting of active chronic gastritis and is present in most duodenal (>90%) and gastric 60 % to 90% in ulcer patients.
HIV and infant feeding : choices and decision-outcomes in the context of prevention of mother-to-child transmission among HIV-positive mothers in Zambia.

Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region most severely affected by the HIV and AIDS pandemic, and babies born to HIV-positive women in this setting continue to have added risks of acquiring infection and dying from it before their fifth birthdays if no interventions are employed. Hence, the World Health Organization has continued to advise countries to prepare adequately for the dynamic and rapidly changing field of prevention of mother-tochild transmission of HIV to enable mothers and their infants to benefit fully from the package of interventions. This review brings to the fore the gaps that have continued to plague PMTCT programmes despite the gains achieved in treatment and prevention strategies. If not adequately addressed, poor quality counselling without regard to the principle of informed decision, coupled with continued cultural distance between the originators of standards and HIV-positive mothers’ contextual environment in which breastfeeding takes place, has the potential to impede the global goal of virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Factors associated with patient waiting time at a medical outpatient clinic: a case study of University of Nairobi health services.

Background: Long waiting time in outpatient clinics is a constant challenge for patients and the health care providers. Prolonged waiting times are associated with poor adherence to treatment, missed appointment and failure or delay in initiation of treatment and is a major factor towards the perception of the patient towards the care received. Objective: To determine the waiting time and associated factors among out patients attending staff clinic at University of Nairobi health services. Method: A cross-sectional study design was used and data collected from 384 ambulatory patients over a period of four weeks using an interviewer administered pretested structured exit questionnaire with a time-tracking section. Simple random sampling was used to select respondents in a walk- in outpatient clinic set up. Data was cleaned and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 20. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), and cross tabulation was used to establish associations between the independent variable and dependent variables. Results: In total 384 patients were tracked and interviewed. The average patient waiting time was 55.3mins. Most respondents (52%) suggested that improving availability of staff at their stations would help to reduce patient waiting time. In this study, gender (P=0.005) and availability of doctors (p=0.000) were found to affect patient waiting time with women waiting longer than the male patients. Conclusion: Majority of the patients spent about an hour at the facility to be served. Inadequate number of health workers was the main cause of long waiting time.
Nurse’s Experiences of Caring for Patients with HIV/AIDS in Ardabil, Iran

Background: While nursing care of HIV patients is tremendously stressful, little is known about nurses’ experiences of caring for patients with HIV/AIDS in Ardabil. Objective: The main aim of this study was to describe nurses’ experiences of caring for patients with HIV/AIDS in Ardabil, Iran. Method: In this study which was conducted using qualitative methods, the data were collected through 5 focus group discussion and in-depth interviews in with participants who were selected using purposive sampling method. 13 nurses who had the experience of contact with AIDS patients during 2016 in Ardabil, Iran were interviewed. Content analysis was used to analyze the data obtained from the interviews. Results: Data analysis generated 2 major themes, namely occupational exposure, and protective behavior, together with 11 sub-themes which include fear, disrespect and disregard towards the patient, blaming the patient, avoidance from caring, curiosity, limited communication, using safety principles, neutralization of care, encouragement of family and people to support, and religious beliefs. Conclusion: Nurses who participated in this study stated that they experienced intractable challenges, fear, and stress when facing HIV patients and used protective behavior to normalize their care.
Clinical Presentations and CT Scan Findings in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Background: Cerebral palsy is nonprogressive disorder of posture or movement due to a lesion of the developing brain. It is the commonest physical disability in childhood. Objective: To study the clinical, neurological abnormalities, prevalence of convulsion (epilepsy) & to asses the value of CT scans of brain in patients with cerebral palsy. Patients& Methods: It is a cross-sectional hospital based study, carried at Al-Kindy Teaching hospital out-patient pediatrics unites for the period from first of January through June 2005. A total of 91 cases (52 boys, 39 girls) with over all mean age 25.6-month range (1 month-84 month) were collected. Data were collected from their parents about age, sex, main clinical presentation, and prenatal, perinatal, postnatal history, history of convulsion. They all had clinical examination. All patients were sent to radiology department at same hospital for CT scan of brain. Results: The study revealed that boys affected more than girls (52 boys, 39 girls) with male to female ratio 1.33:1,thecommonest age group affected between 7 month-12 month (30.8%), followed by the age group between 13-24 month (20.9%). delayed milestone with hypertonia & convulsion was the commonest clinical presentation, each represent (48.3%) followed by delayed milestone with hypotonia (34.0 %), microcephaly (29.6%) & speech delay (27.4%). The commonest type of cerebral palsy was spastic form (53. 9%), followed by hypotonic form (34.0%). Convulsion was predominant in quadriplegic cerebral palsy (50%). cortical brain atrophy was commonest CT scan finding (41.7%), followed by sub cortical brain atrophy (28.6%). Cortical brain atrophy was predominant in quadriplegic cerebral palsy (27.5%). CT scan was normal in (19.8%), predominantly in hypotonic cerebral palsy (13.2%). Conclusion: The pattern of clinical presentation & prevalence of convulsion in patients with cerebral palsy in the present study are comparable to the result from studies in other clinical settings with slight variation. CT scan of brain is highly valuable in patients with cerebral palsy.
Effects of Camel's Milk Supplementation on Adult Male Albino Rats Subjected to Tramadol-Induced Nephrotoxicity = آثار تناول حليب الإبل على ذكور الجرذان البيضاء البالغين المعرضة للتسمم الكلوي الناجم عن الترامادول

Background: Tramadol is a centrally acting analgesic that is commonly prescribed for moderate and severe pain. Camel's milk is different from other ruminant milk as it is low in cholesterol, sugar and protein but high in minerals and vitamins. It also contains a high concentration of insulin and immunoglobulins. Objective: This study aimed to demonstrate the biochemical, molecular and histological, changes induced by tramadol on the rat’s kidney, and evaluate the potential role of camel's milk in the attenuation of these changes. Materials and Methods: Forty adult male albino rats were equally divided into 4 groups: Control group, tramadol hydrochloride-treated group, tramadol hydrochloride/camel’s milk group, and recovery group received tramadol hydrochloride only for 4 weeks and not subjected to any others procedure for 2 weeks. By the end of the experimental period, blood samples were collected to measure serum creatinine, urea and uric acid. Both kidneys of each rat were dissected out carefully. The right kidney was used for measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and gene expression of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), and Bcl-2-associated X (Bax) proteins. The left kidney was preserved for histological examination. The histological study of different experimental groups was done using hematoxylin and eosin (H & E), Masson trichrome and periodic acid Schiff (PAS) stain followed by morphometric and statistical studies. Also, electron microscopic study was done. Results: Administration of tramadol induced significant increase in plasma concentrations of urea, creatinine and uric acid as well as significant increase in MDA, as well as a significant decrease in GPx concentration. Also, the gene expression of pro-apoptotic Bax protein was significantly increased after tramadol administration. On the other hand, the gene expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 decreased significantly compared to control group. Moreover, examination of the renal cortex of tramadol-treated group demonstrated atrophied glomerulus with collapsed tuft, wide Bowman’s space, degenerated tubules, cellular infiltration and hemorrhage. Furthermore, the collagen fibers increased as well as the basement membrane thickness of the renal corpuscles. In contrast, both renal structure and function were preserved in rats treated concomitantly with both tramadol and camel milk. However, the kidney function and structure was improved to some extent at the end of recovery period of group 4. Conclusion: Camel’s milk improves tramadol-induced changes in the renal function and structure of the rat’s kidney.
Anatomical Patterns of the Pancreatic Ductal System – A Cadaveric and Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography Study

Abstract Introduction Morphological variants of the pancreatobiliary system can predispose to chronic pancreatitis. The goal of the present study is to assess the prevalence of pancreatic duct patterns in the Indian population, both by cadaveric dissection and by magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). Materials and Methods A total of 15 adult pancreas specimens of unknown age and gender, and 5 fetal pancreas specimens of different gestational ages with the intact second part of duodenum, were dissected by the piecemeal method. For clinical relevance, MRCP images of 103 clinically-diagnosed chronic pancreatitis patients irrespective of their etiology were obtained retrospectively from the existing database and studied. The anatomical patterns were classified as five different types based on the course of the main pancreatic duct and the accessory pancreatic duct and their openings into the duodenal wall, including variants like pancreas divisum and ansa pancreatica. Results In the cadaveric study, the main pancreatic duct was single with a straight course in 46.67% of the adult specimens, and in the MRCP study, the main pancreatic duct showed a descending course in 77.66% of the cases. The most common pattern was type III in both the cadaveric (80%) and radiological (55.33%) studies, and the accessory duct was absent on the MRCP in all type-III cases, while it ended blindly in the cadaveric specimens. Ansa pancreatica (type V) was observed in 1 adult specimen (6.7%), but not in the radiological study. Pancreas divisum (type IV) was observed in the 8 cases (7.76%) cases in the radiological study. Conclusion Knowledge of the anatomical variants of the pancreatic ductal system may be helpful for the radiologists during diagnostic and therapeutic interventional procedures.
Who Are we Measuring and Modeling for? Supporting Multilevel Decision‐Making in Watershed Management

As watershed management programs have become more common globally, so have efforts to support these initiatives through hydrologic modeling and monitoring. However, these efforts are often guided by oversimplified assumptions of how management programs work and the quantity, quality, and type of information needed to support their planning, implementation, and evaluation. Semi‐structured interviews and focus groups with project managers, funders, and participants in three watershed management programs in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil revealed a range of hydrologic modeling and monitoring needs of watershed management programs. We identify five opportunities for hydrologic information to support overlapping management contexts: (1) inspire action and support, (2) inform investment decisions, (3) engage with potential participants, (4) prioritize location and types of activities at regional to national scales, and (5) evaluate program success. Within these opportunities, understanding who will use the information generated and how they will do so is critical to increasing the salience, credibility, and legitimacy of modeling efforts. Hydrologic modeling and monitoring play a small but critical role in the larger context of program conceptualization, design, implementation, and evaluation; grounding these efforts in local contexts supports watershed management projects in relevant and effective ways.