Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Novel Broadband Circularly Polarized Irregular Slot Antenna

A broadband circularly polarized (CP) irregular slot antenna with a parasitic slot is proposed. Irregular slot formed by triangles, rectangles and a circle is adopted to achieve both broadband and circularly polarized characteristics. Meanwhile, an accessional slot is cut at proper position to help broadening the bandwidth. A simple 50Ω microstrip line is used to excite this irregular slot. The proposed antenna has a small size of only 25×30×0.8 mm3 and covers a frequency band from 2.35 GHz to 5.95 GHz for S 11 less than −10 dB. The 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth is 1.25 GHz (2.65–3.9 GHz) and 0.25 GHz (5.15–5.4 GHz), which are 35.5% and 4.7% respectively. The peak gain of the antenna is 3.19 dB, which appears at 4 GHz.
Potential Role of Circulating miRNAs for Breast Cancer Management in the Neoadjuvant Setting: A Road to Pave

Simple Summary In breast cancer management, neoadjuvant chemotherapy is well established as therapeutic choice for selected high-risk early or locally advanced breast cancer. However, besides there being few clinical genomic classifiers, there is no technology that can predict for certain whether breast cancer patients will benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy in terms of pathological complete response and disease-free survival. The analysis of miRNAs from biological fluids at the beginning of therapy is simple and may aid in the identification of patients who will receive the greatest benefit. On the other hand, monitoring circulating miRNA levels during treatment could allow the early identification of patients who will not benefit from it (avoiding unnecessary treatments and related side effects). Therefore, there is an urgent clinical need for non-invasive biomarkers in the neoadjuvant setting, and circulating miRNAs could theoretically meet this need, but there is still a long way to go until their use in clinical practice can be established. Abstract Recently, circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as potential non-invasive biomarkers for breast cancer (BC) management. In the context of BC patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), the possibility of obtaining repeated, non-invasive biological samples from patients before, during, and after treatment is incredibly convenient and provides the opportunity to investigate circulating miRNAs as diagnostic, predictive, and prognostic tools. The present review aims to summarize major findings in this setting, thus highlighting their potential applicability in daily clinical practice and their possible limitations. In all the contexts (diagnostic, predictive, and prognostic), circulating miR-21-5p and miR-34a-5p have emerged as the most promising non-invasive biomarkers for BC patients undergoing NAC. Specifically, their high baseline level could discriminate between BC patients and healthy controls. On the other hand, in predictive and prognostic investigations, low circulating miR-21-5p and miR-34a-5p levels may identify patients with better outcomes, in terms of both treatment response and invasive disease-free survival. However, the findings in this field have been very heterogeneous. Indeed, pre-analytical and analytical variables, as well as factors related to patients, may explain the inconsistency among different study results. Thus, further clinical trials, with more precise patient inclusion criteria and more standardized methodological approaches, are definitely needed to better define the potential role of these promising non-invasive biomarkers.
Communicating about social justice in participatory budgeting in the United States: ‘Coming together’ to benefit communities

ABSTRACT Participatory budgeting (PB) is a public deliberation process designed to advance social justice by engaging geographical community members, especially those from oppressed populations, in collective decision making about spending public funds to improve their community. This 2.5-year, applied, ethnographic, community-based study of two PB processes implemented in Denver, Colorado, examined participants’ social justice discourse during their deliberations. The findings revealed three themes: participants’ listening to marginalized voices, people from oppressed populations engaging in the PB process, and community members ‘coming together’ to benefit oppressed populations. The findings illustrate discursive themes that advance social justice during PB deliberations, and, from an applied perspective, suggest that to recruit and retain participants from oppressed populations, as well as to engage in deliberation that promotes equitable outcomes, PB organizers and facilitators in the United States should promote participants’ communication about those themes during their deliberations.
Clinical Features and Outcomes of Japanese Patients with Giant Cell Arteritis: A Comparison with Takayasu Arteritis

Background: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) and Takayasu arteritis (TA) are distinct types of large-vessel vasculitis; however, the clinical features of the diseases have some similarities. Limited data are available regarding Japanese patients with GCA and TA. The present study aimed to compare the clinical features and outcomes of Japanese patients with GCA and TA and the effects of large vessel involvement (LVI). Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of the patients with GCA (n = 15) and TA (n = 30) who visited our department from April 2012 to June 2022. Signs and symptoms attributed to the disease, treatment, clinical outcomes, and mortality were recorded using a standardized database. Results: The median age of onset was significantly higher in the GCA group at 24 years (range, 16–72 years) in the TA group and 77 years (range, 57–89 years) in the GCA group (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in survival rates or the cumulative rates of cardiovascular events between the GCA and TA groups. However, relapse-free survival rates were significantly higher in patients with GCA than in patients with TA. Seven of the 15 patients with GCA had large vessel involvement, which did not affect the survival rates. Prednisolone (PSL) doses were significantly decreased after induction therapy in both groups, and the rates of achieving steroid tapering (PSL < 5.0 mg/day) were significantly higher in patients with GCA compared with those in patients with TA. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated no significant difference in the survival rates of Japanese patients with GCA and TA. The relapse-free survival rates were significantly higher in the GCA group than in the TA group. LVI may not be associated with disease relapse or survival rate in Japanese patients with GCA.
On the scattering phase‐function of non‐symmetric ice‐crystals

Theoretical phase‐functions representing randomly oriented fractal ice‐crystals, bullet‐rosettes, ice aggregates, and an ensemble of ice crystals are compared to measured phase‐functions using a Polar Nephelometer located in the Antarctic. The Polar Nephelometer operated at a wavelength of 0.80 µm and measured the scattering phase‐functions of individual ice‐crystals between the scattering angles of 5.86° and 167°. The Polar Nephelometer was operated in tandem with a Cloud Particle Imager (supplied by SPEC Inc.) both were situated at the South Pole Amundsen–Scott base station during January 2002. In this paper we report on a sample of Polar Nephelometer data obtained over a time interval of 2000 seconds consisting of 3256 phase‐functions measured from individual ice‐crystals. The 3256 measured phase‐functions were averaged to produce an ensemble‐averaged phase‐function. The theoretical phase‐functions have been compared to the measured ensemble‐averaged phase‐function. The paper demonstrates that phase functions representing single ice‐crystal geometries do not reproduce the measured data well. However, the theoretical phase‐function representing scattering from an ensemble of ice crystals is found to be the best description of the measured phase‐function over all scattering angles. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society.
Experimental studies of supersonic film cooling with shock wave interaction

The supersonic film cooling was tested in the Mach 2.35 wind tunnel to investigate the effect of the external shock wave on the film cooling. The coolant was injected with sonic speed. The weak shock wave with the pressure ratio of 1.21 did not reduce the film cooling effectiveness. The stronger shock wave with the pressure ratio of 1.44 decreased the effectiveness of the film cooling in the restricted region. The decrease of the effectiveness was mainly the result of the increase of the adiabatic wall temperature by the decrease of the local Mach number. The increase of the heat transfer coefficient must be considered as well as that of the adiabatic wall temperature. In the region of the interaction, energy and mass were not transferred, but the momentum was transferred from the primary flow to the coolant.
Case report: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis induced by nab-paclitaxel: A rare complication

Background: Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest gynecological cancers, with the most advanced disease and poor survival. Although BRCA genes play a key role in maintaining genomic stability and providing the possibility of clinically individualized treatments, with the emergence of new and more appropriate treatment options, new treatment–related adverse events are challenging and difficult for clinicians. Case presentation: An 80-year-old Chinese woman was diagnosed with stage IIIC ovarian high-grade serous adenocarcinoma (CT3cN1MX) with BRCA2 as the causative gene. She underwent three courses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with nab-paclitaxel 400 mg and carboplatin 450 mg before surgery. Chest HRCT prior to chemotherapy demonstrated bilateral interstitial pneumonia. During chemotherapy, there were four episodes of dry cough, shortness of breath, dyspnea, and three episodes of bone marrow suppression. The symptoms became intermittent and progressively worse, and after three sessions of empirical cough and phlegm relief, oxygen inhalation, corticosteroids, anti-infectives, and leukopenia therapy, the symptoms became intermittent and progressively worse. The diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis came a week after the third round of chemotherapy. After a strong dose of corticosteroids and nintedanib anti-fibrosis therapy, the pulmonary symptoms abated, and intermediate tumor starvation was performed. The combination therapy was subsequently discontinued, and the patient experienced significant relief from pulmonary symptoms. Treatment response was positive following single-agent nab-paclitaxel 400 mg chemotherapy in combination with nintedanib 150 mg anti-fibrosis therapy. Conclusion: In this report, we describe a rare case of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis associated with the use of nab-paclitaxel and carboplatin in ovarian cancer. During treatment, it is necessary to maintain a high level of vigilance for patients with interstitial pneumonia and engage the attention of clinicians to improve medication safety. Early diagnosis and anti-fibrosis therapy can reverse lung damage.
Obesity and myeloma: Clinical and mechanistic contributions to disease progression

Obesity and obesogenic behaviors are positively associated with both monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS) and multiple myeloma (MM). As the only known modifiable risk factor, this association has emerged as a new potential target for MM prevention, but little is known about the mechanistic relationship of body weight with MM progression. Here we summarize epidemiological correlations between weight, body composition, and the various stages of myeloma disease progression and treatments, as well as the current understanding of the molecular contributions of obesity-induced changes in myeloma cell phenotype and signaling. Finally, we outline groundwork for the future characterization of the relationship between body weight patterns, the bone marrow microenvironment, and MM pathogenesis in animal models, which have the potential to impact our understanding of disease pathogenesis and inform MM prevention messages.
Composition of Nuts and Their Potential Health Benefits—An Overview

The possibility that nut intake may defend human health is an interesting point of view and has been investigated worldwide. Consequently, nuts are commonly promoted as healthy. In recent decades, the number of investigations proposing a correlation between nut consumption and a decrease in the risk of key chronic diseases has continued to increase. Nuts are a source of intake of fiber, and dietary fiber is associated with a reduced occurrence of obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Nuts likewise provide minerals and vitamins to the diet and supply phytochemicals that function as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and phytoestrogens agents and other protective mechanisms. Therefore, the main goal of this overview is to summarize current information and to describe the utmost new investigation concerning the health benefits of certain nuts.
Gravitational Interaction between a Protoplanet and a Protoplanetary Disk. I. Local Three-Dimensional Simulations

The gravitational interaction between a protoplanet and an isothermal gaseous disk is investigated through three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations with the shearing sheet model. The torque exerted on the disk is evaluated and compared with previous estimates by the linear theory. It is found that a protoplanet mainly excites waves without vertical motion. Thus, the motion of the gas in a disk with thickness is similar to that in an infinitesimally thin disk. The angular momentum transfer is also dominated by waves without vertical motion, and the torque has a similar value to that in an infinitesimally thin disk, except for the correction factor 0.43 owing to the vertical averaging of the gravitational potential of the protoplanet. If the mass of the protoplanet is small enough, the torque increases proportionally with the square of the mass, as is predicted by the linear theory. However, for a large protoplanet whose Hill radius is larger than about the disk scale height, a nonlinear effect reduces the torque from the value proportional to the square of the mass. The torque reduction due to the nonlinearity is less significant for a disk with thickness than for an infinitesimally thin disk and is not effective for a small protoplanet with mass less than 10 times the Earth mass at 1 AU. This result suggests that during the formation of terrestrial planets and the cores of giant planets, the torque continues to increase as the protoplanets grow. The reduction in the torque due to the thickness of the disk and the nonlinearity is not large enough to solve the problem that the migration of protoplanets is too fast. Before protoplanets acquire the masses needed to suppress torque by the nonlinearity, they would experience large migration and some protoplanets would fall onto the central star in the lifetime of the gas in the protoplanetary disks.
Aberrant hippocampus and amygdala morphology associated with cognitive deficits in schizophrenia

Background Working memory deficits are thought to be a primary disturbance in schizophrenia. We aimed to identify differences in morphology of the hippocampus and amygdala in patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls (HCs), and in patients who were either neuropsychologically near normal (NPNN) or neuropsychologically impaired (NPI). Morphological disturbances in the same subfields of the hippocampus and amygdala, but of greater magnitude in those with NPI, would strengthen evidence for the centrality of these limbic regions and working memory deficits in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Methods We acquired anatomical MRIs in 69 patients with schizophrenia (18 NPNN, 46 NPI) and 63 age-matched HC participants. We compared groups in hippocampus and amygdala surface morphologies and correlated morphological measures with clinical symptoms and working memory scores. Results Schizophrenia was associated with inward deformations of the head and tail of the hippocampus, protrusion of the hippocampal body, and widespread inward deformations of the amygdala. In the same regions where we detected the effects of schizophrenia, morphological measures correlated positively with the severity of symptoms and inversely with working memory performance. Patients with NPI displayed a similar pattern of anatomical abnormality compared to patients with NPNN. Conclusion Our findings indicate that anatomical abnormalities of the hippocampus relate to working memory performance and clinical symptoms in persons with schizophrenia. Moreover, NPNN and NPI patients may lie on a continuum of severity, both in terms of working memory abilities and altered brain structure, with NPI patients being more severe than NPNN patients in both domains.
The Psychological Impact of Rhino-Orbital Mucormycosis During the Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic From South East Asian Country

Aim: The present study addressed overcoming the lacunae in the literature of psychiatric manifestations associated with rhino-orbital mucormycosis. The current study aimed to assess the symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, coping measures, suicidal intent, and visual disability in patients of rhino-orbital mucormycosis (ROM) during the epidemic of the disease at the nodal tertiary care center in North India. Methods: Fifty-four inpatients of laboratory-proven rhino-orbital mucor-mycosis (ROM) were included for an observational, cross-sectional study at nodal, designated COVID-19, and mucormycosis treating tertiary care hospital. Patients with Hindi Mini-Mental State Examination score <24, prior psychiatric illness, and severely ill requiring ventilator support were excluded. The psychological variables were assessed using Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale 21 (DASS 21), Beck’s Suicide intent Scale, Coping Scale Questionnaire, and Visual disability scale (IND-VFQ33). Their socioeconomic status was assessed using the Modified Kuppuswamy Scale. Results: Ninety percent of patients with ROM had diabetes mellitus. The majority (44%) of patients belonged to lower socioeconomic strata. Higher frequencies of severe depression (28%), extremely severe anxiety (26%), and mild stress (17%) were noted in the study participants. On the Tukey test, depression score was higher in patients of ROM compared to COVID (with ROM) (p-value= 0.016). On Tukey analysis, anxiety score was significantly higher in ROM patients compared to COVID (with ROM) patients (p-value = 0.018). Coping scores were significantly higher in COVID (with ROM) patients compared to ROM patients (p value = 0.035). Mild to moderate visual disability was noted in the study participants. Conclusion: The current study reflects the association of higher depression and anxiety scores in cases with ROM that indicated higher mental health needs. Early assessment, early detection, and early intervention for psychological help, along with the multidisciplinary team, helped to improve the overall psychological outcome of the affected patients.
Ultrabroad-band Raman amplifiers pumped and gain-equalized by wavelength-division-multiplexed high-power laser diodes

This paper reviews recent progress in broad-band Raman amplifiers for wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) applications. After the fundamentals of Raman amplifiers are discussed in contrast to erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, a new technique called "WDM pumping" is introduced to obtain ultrabroad and flat gain in Raman amplifiers only using WDM diode pumps. The design issues of this technique are then developed to realize outstanding performances such as 100 nm of flat gain bandwidth, 0.1 dB flatness over 80 nm, and so forth.
Social Insurance Physician Burnout—Stress Factors and Coping Strategies

Background and Objective Burnout syndrome is well-documented and highly prevalent among healthcare professionals. The literature search found studies mainly aimed at front-line medical specialties, cardiologists, or physicians working in intensive care units. Workload and work conditions favor the occurrence of burnout syndrome among social insurance physicians, with many consequences on health status and a decrease in the quality of their work. We aimed to assess the degree of vulnerability to developing burnout syndrome, factors associated with stress, and coping strategies at social insurance physicians. Materials and Methods: Social insurance physicians working in territorial services for medical assessment of work capacity from Romania participated in the study. An observational study was performed to describe the extent of the exhaustion syndrome among social insurance physicians (SIPhs). Three questionnaires were filled out by the participants: a short version of MBI-HSS to analyze the degree of burnout, an interview with specific questions for the source of stress and Brief-COPE for stress control. Brief demographic data were also collected. Data were statistically analyzed with appropriate tests using PSPP software. Results: Seventy-four physicians were included in the study. Fifty-six were females (75.7%) and twenty-eight (38%) had moderate or high burnout and cognitive distortions with depression resulting as a major side-effect (p < 0.001). Professional factors, mainly deadline pressure (p < 0.001) and high workload (p = 0.012), have emerged as contributing factors to burnout syndrome. Mental disengagement (p = 0.001), active coping (p = 0.006), and acceptance (p = 0.014) would improve stress control. Conclusion: More than two-thirds of social insurance physicians had moderate and high burnout syndrome. The development of strategies to standardize workload was identified as an important action area, along with the long-term preservation of health status and professional performance.
Treatment outcomes of adjuvant radiotherapy in adrenocortical carcinoma – A 13-years experience from a tertiary care centre

Purpose Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare and highly aggressive malignant neoplasm, usually diagnosed in advanced stage. Role and efficacy of adjuvant radiotherapy has not been well defined. The objective of this study is to describe the various clinical characteristics and prognostic factors affecting the survival of ACC along with the role radiotherapy on overall survival and relapse free survival. Methods A retrospective analysis of 30 patients registered between 2007 and 2019 was carried out. The medical records containing clinical and treatment details were analysed. Data was analysed using SPSS 25.0. Survival curves were computed using Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to analyze the prognostic factors affecting the outcome. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results The median age of patients was 37.5 years (range, 5–72 years). 20 patients were females. Twenty-six patients had advanced stage (III/IV) disease while only four patients presented in early stage. Twenty-six patients underwent total adrenalectomy. Eighty three percent patients received adjuvant radiation therapy. The median follow up was 35.5 months (range, 7 monthss-132months). The estimated three- and 5-years overall survival (OS) was 67.2% and 23.3%, respectively. Capsular invasion and positive margins were the independent prognostic factors influencing both OS and relapse free survival (RFS). Out of 25 patients who received adjuvant radiation, only three patients had local relapse. Conclusion ACC is a rare and aggressive neoplasm with majority of patients presenting in advanced stage. Surgical resection with negative margins remains the mainstay of treatment. Capsular invasion and positive margins are independent prognostic factors for survival. Adjuvant radiation reduces the risk of local relapse and is well tolerated. Radiation can be used effectively in adjuvant and palliative settings in ACC.