Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Research on key techniques of path planning algorithm for liver tumor ablation

Hepatic tumor thermal ablation surgery is currently one of the most effective methods for the clinical treatment of liver cancer. There are many studies on auxiliary systems for thermal ablation of liver tumors, but few studies on the design of constraints for thermal ablation path planning for clinical needs. Therefore, this study has conducted detailed research and improvements on the key technology of precise liver tumor thermal ablation path planning for clinical needs, and experimentally verified related algorithms based on the investigation of various of domestic and foreign literature. In this paper, the OBBTree algorithm is applied to the liver tumor ablation path planning for clinical needs, which is often used in collision detection research, and three weak constraints for liver tumor ablation path optimization based on clinical needs are proposed, two implementation schemes for obtaining the start and end points of the puncture path, a multi-constraint optimization mathematical model for thermal ablation of liver tumors. At last, the evaluation score is calculated to obtain the optimal ablation planning path that meets the clinical needs. After evaluation, this method is considered by the professional physician of hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery (from the First Hospital of Jilin University) to be more in line with clinical needs. The operating efficiency of the algorithm exceeds the efficiency of manual planning by clinicians and its accuracy is no less than that planned by clinicians. It can minimize the penetrating damage to the body caused by the ablation process to the patient so that the patient has a better prognosis after surgery.
Deduction by Induction

Introduction I was amazed when I read the article “What Do You Get When You Cross a Power Sum with an Iraqi Bank Note” by Professor Boudreaux in the October 2009 Magazine[1]. Of course I also had to take a peek at a couple of the references[2,3], and I found them amazing as well. All these approaches to finding closed-form formulas for power sums are complex, wonderful, and truly impressive. However, I disagree with Professor Boudreaux about one thing. Not all approaches to power sums can be categorized as below (this is a direct quote from page 289 of [1]):
Development and Validation of RP-HPLC for Simultaneous Estimation of Cefpodoxime Proxetil and Dicloxacillin Sodium Tablets

The present work deals with the development of a precise, accurate, simple, specific, reliable and less time consuming RP-HPLC method for the estimation of Cefpodoxime Proxetil and Dicloxacillin Sodium tablets. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a Inertsil C18 ODS (4.6 x 250mm, 5m) with a mobile phase combination of methanol and water (50:50) v/v at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min, and the detection was carried out by using PDA detector at 290 nm. Ambient column temperature has maintained. The total run time was 10 mins. The retention time of Dicloxacillin Sodium and Cefpodoxime Proxetil were found to be 2.9 min. and 3.5 min. respectively. The performance of the method was validated according to the present ICH guidelines.
Comparative Physiological and Transcriptomic Mechanisms of Defoliation in Cotton in Response to Thidiazuron versus Ethephon

Thidiazuron (TDZ) is a widely used chemical defoliant in cotton and can stimulate the production of ethylene in leaves, which is believed to be the key factor in inducing leaf abscission. Ethephon (Eth) can also stimulate ethylene production in leaves, but it is less effective in promoting leaf shedding. In this study, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and RNA-seq were used to determine specific changes at hormonal levels as well as transcriptomic mechanisms induced by TDZ compared with Eth. The TDZ significantly reduced the levels of auxin and cytokinin in cotton leaves, but no considerable changes were observed for Eth. In addition, TDZ specifically increased the levels of brassinosteroids and jasmonic acid in the leaves. A total of 13 764 differentially expressed genes that specifically responded to TDZ were identified by RNA-seq. The analysis of KEGG functional categories suggested that the synthesis, metabolism, and signal transduction of auxin, cytokinin, and brassinosteroid were all involved in the TDZ-induced abscission of cotton leaves. Eight auxin transport genes (GhPIN1-c_D, GhPIN3_D, GhPIN8_A, GhABCB19-b_A, GhABCB19-b_D, GhABCB2-b_D, GhLAX6_A, and GhLAX7_D) specifically responded to TDZ. The pro35S::GhPIN3a::YFP transgenic plants showed lower defoliation than the wild type treated with TDZ, and YFP fluorescence in leaves was almost extinguished after treatment with TDZ rather than Eth. This provides direct evidence that GhPIN3a is involved in the leaf abscission induced by TDZ. We found that 959 transcription factors (TFs) specifically responded to TDZ, and a co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) showed five hub TFs (GhNAC72, GhWRKY51, GhWRKY70, GhWRKY50, and GhHSF24) during chemical defoliation with TDZ. Our work sheds light on the molecular basis of TDZ-induced leaf abscission in cotton.
mCrutch: A Novel m-Health Approach Supporting Continuity of Care

This paper reports the architecture of a low-cost smart crutches system for mobile health applications. The prototype is based on a set of sensorized crutches connected to a custom Android application. Crutches were instrumented with a 6-axis inertial measurement unit, a uniaxial load cell, WiFi connectivity, and a microcontroller for data collection and processing. Crutch orientation and applied force were calibrated with a motion capture system and a force platform. Data are processed and visualized in real-time on the Android smartphone and are stored on the local memory for further offline analysis. The prototype’s architecture is reported along with the post-calibration accuracy for estimating crutch orientation (5° RMSE in dynamic conditions) and applied force (10 N RMSE). The system is a mobile-health platform enabling the design and development of real-time biofeedback applications and continuity of care scenarios, such as telemonitoring and telerehabilitation.
The Effects of Biological Age on Speed-Explosive Properties in Young Tennis Players

Biological maturity can affect performance on motor tests, thus young players can have advantages or disadvantages during testing by being more or less mature than their peers of the same chronological age. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of biological age on speed, agility, and explosive power in young tennis players. Fifty tennis players (age 12.3 ± 1.2 years, height 156.7 ± 12.8 cm, body mass 45.9 ± 8.9 kg) who were ranked up to 50th place in the ranking of the National Tennis Association, as well as up to 300th place on the international “Tennis Europe” ranking, participated in the study. They were divided into three groups according to their maturation status, that is, the peak height velocity (PHV) maturity offset: pre-PHV [<0] (n = 10); circa-PHV [0 to 1] (n = 10); and post-PHV [>1.5] (n = 25). They performed tests of speed (5, 10, and 20 m sprints), agility (20 yards, 4 × 10 yards, T-test, TENCODS, and TENRAG), and explosive power (countermovement jump, one-leg countermovement jump, squat jump, long jump, and one-leg triple jump). Results showed significantly higher height of the vertical jump in the post-PHV group compared to the pre-PHV group, in the range of ~16% to ~27%. Moreover, linear and change of direction speed was significantly faster in the post-PHV group compared to the pre-PHV group, in the range of ~5% to ~8%. Height of the squat jump and speed in the T-test were significantly better in the post-PHV group compared to the circa-PHV group, in the range of ~7% to ~15%, while height of the single-leg triple jump was significantly higher in the circa-PHV group compared to the pre-PHV group by ~7%. This study showed that tennis players of older biological age achieve better results in almost all variables of speed, agility, and explosive power compared to players of younger biological age. Coaches should be aware of the differences found in physical performance and consider the practical implications that maturation can have in the long-term development of young tennis players.
The Wheel of p53 Helps to Drive the Immune System

The p53 tumor suppressor protein is best known as an inhibitor of the cell cycle and an inducer of apoptosis. Unexpectedly, these functions of p53 are not required for its tumor suppressive activity in animal models. High-throughput transcriptomic investigations as well as individual studies have demonstrated that p53 stimulates expression of many genes involved in immunity. Probably to interfere with its immunostimulatory role, many viruses code for proteins that inactivate p53. Judging by the activities of immunity-related p53-regulated genes it can be concluded that p53 is involved in detection of danger signals, inflammasome formation and activation, antigen presentation, activation of natural killer cells and other effectors of immunity, stimulation of interferon production, direct inhibition of virus replication, secretion of extracellular signaling molecules, production of antibacterial proteins, negative feedback loops in immunity-related signaling pathways, and immunologic tolerance. Many of these p53 functions have barely been studied and require further, more detailed investigations. Some of them appear to be cell-type specific. The results of transcriptomic studies have generated many new hypotheses on the mechanisms utilized by p53 to impact on the immune system. In the future, these mechanisms may be harnessed to fight cancer and infectious diseases.
Natural frequencies and modes of rhombic mindlin plates

The natural frequencies and mode shapes of thin and moderately thick rhombic plates are obtained using a 9-noded Lagrangian quadrilateral isoparametric plate element based on Mindlin's theory. The effects of rotatory inertia are included. Plates with a wide range of skew angles and boundary conditions are considered and wherever possible the present results are compared with earlier published work.
Banking sector development and economic growth nexus in BRICS

The paper examined the influence of the banking sector on economic growth in the BRICS countries using panel data analysis methods (1987–2020). The effect of the complementarity variable on economic growth in BRICS was also explored using the same data set. The lack of agreement in the empirical literature on the relationship between banking sector development and growth motivated this study. The study was also motivated by the desire to deal away with the omitted variable bias which is to a very large extent plagued the available literature on the influence of the banking sector on economic growth. Panel data analysis included fixed effects (FE), fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), and pooled ordinary least squares (OLS). It was observed that the banking sector had a significant positive effect on economic growth under the pooled OLS (all three models) and fixed effects (model 1). Model 2 under the fixed effects indicate a negative significant relationship moving from the banking sector towards economic growth. FMOLS (models 1 and 2), pooled OLS (models 1, 2 and 3), and fixed effects (model 1) show that the complementarity variable enhanced economic growth significantly. Policies aimed at enhancing banking sector development and domestic investment should be implemented without delay by the BRICS countries if they intend to bolster economic growth.
Free Vibration Analysis of Functionally Graded Beams Resting on Elastic Foundation in Thermal Environment

The free vibration of functionally graded (FG) beams with various boundary conditions resting on a two-parameter elastic foundation in the thermal environment is studied using the third-order shear deformation beam theory. The material properties are temperature-dependent and vary continuously through the thickness direction of the beam, based on a power-law distribution in terms of the volume fraction of the material constituents. In order to discretize the governing equations, the differential quadrature method (DQM) in conjunction with the Hamilton’s principle is adopted. The convergence of the method is demonstrated. In order to validate the results, comparisons are made with solutions available for the isotropic and FG beams. Through a comprehensive parametric study, the effect of various parameters involved on the FG beam was studied. It is concluded that the uniform temperature rise has more significant effect on the frequency parameters than the nonuniform case.
From a Dinuclear System to Close Binary Cosmic Objects

Applying the ideas from microscopic objects to macroscopic stellar and galactic systems, the evolution of compact di-stars and di-galaxies is studied in the mass asymmetry coordinate. The formation of stable binary systems is analyzed. The role of symmetrization of an initially asymmetric binary system is revealed in the transformation of gravitational energy into internal energy of stars or galaxies accompanied by the release of a huge amount of energy. For the contact binary stars, the change of the orbital period is explained by evolution to symmetry in mass asymmetry coordinates. The matter transfer in binary black holes is studied. The conditions for the merger of black holes in a binary system are analyzed regarding the radiation of gravitational waves. Using the model based on the Regge-like laws, the Darwin instability effect in binary systems is discussed. New analytical formulas are derived for the period of orbital rotation and the relative distance between the components of a binary system. The impossibility of the appearance of a binary cosmic object from a single cosmic object is revealed.
Do you Hear what I Hear? A Qualitative Study Examining Psychological Associations Underlying Evaluations of Everyday Sounds in Patients with Chronic Tinnitus

Tinnitus is a multifactorial phenomenon and psychological, audiological, or medical factors can facilitate its onset or maintenance. A growing body of research investigates individuals’ perceptions, associations, and experiences of living with tinnitus. This body of research examines tinnitus as a condition rather than a symptom. We examine a sample of chronic tinnitus patients in terms of associations that are induced by neutral sounds. In particular, we investigate how patients with chronic tinnitus ascribe meaning to those neutral sounds. The present study uses Mayring’s content analysis to explore the content of psychological associations underlying valence ratings of everyday neutral sounds. Nine tinnitus patients completed a hearing exercise, during which they listened to seven neutral sounds, following which we examined their sound-induced associations using semi-structured interviews. Three groups of factors influenced patients’ associations and valence ratings of neutral sounds: affect, episodic memory, and ‘other’. The former two factors further comprised two subcategories. In line with previous psychoaudiological research designs, our findings suggest that neutral, everyday auditory stimuli evoke strong affective reactions—possibly through serving as retrieval cues for episodic memories. Based on these findings, we discuss our results in the context of previous psychoaudiological findings and propose further research concerning psychological associations that may specifically underlie the tinnitus sound.
Time Spent on Medical Round Activities, Distance Walked, and Time-Motion in the General Medicine Department at Hamad General Hospital in Qatar

Background The daily morning round is a routine activity performed by medical teams. During the morning round, updates on the patient’s clinical condition, new laboratory results, and other test results are reviewed and discussed between team members, the patient, and at times the family. Completing these tasks takes time. The design of the patient location differs between hospitals, and significant distance between patients can considerably affect round times. This study assesses physicians’ time spent on clinical activities, the distance traveled, and the time they spend walking between patients during daily morning rounds to identify better reorganization methods to reduce wasted time. Methodology The survey was self-administered and had no intervention needing ethical approval. The research team’s leader engaged two observers (a general practitioner from another department and a general internal medicine department case manager) to collect the data. The general practitioner was a medical graduate doctor, while the bed manager was not a medical college graduate. They observed 10 rounds over 10 non-consecutive days from July 1 to July 30, 2022. They recorded daily activities during the daily morning round, including time spent with patients, family conversations, bedside education, medication, social issues, and the time and distance required to move from patient to patient and from one location to location. The informal conversations about age, work history, and other small talk were recorded and converted into quantitative data. In each round, records were given to a statistician for rechecking. Subsequently, the records were imported into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for further statistical analysis. For continuous variables, the data were summarized as mean, median, and standard deviation. For categorical variables, the data were summarized as counts or proportions. Results On average, the duration of the daily morning round was 161.7 ± 17.3 minutes. The average number of patients seen by the general internal medicine round team was 14. The median patient encounter time per patient was 14 minutes (11-19 minutes), with an average of 12 minutes. An average of 8.6 employees participated in the 10-day rounds. The physician spent 41.2% of the time in direct contact with the patient during the morning round, 11.4% in maintaining electronic medical records, and 18.20% in bedside teaching. Additionally, 7.1% of the round time was spent because of interruptions by clinical and non-clinical staff other than team members or family members who were not in the room. Furthermore, a team member walked an average of 763 ± 54.5 m (667-872 m) per round, costing 35.7 minutes (22.1%) of the total round time. Conclusions The daily morning round time was significantly longer compared with the reported round times. Relocating patient beds to a common location reduced the rounding time by 22.30%. Disruption, teaching, and medical instruction must also be considered and shortened to reduce the morning round time.
Order statistics of high-intensity speckles in stimulated Brillouin scattering and plasma-induced laser beam smoothing

We have studied plasma-induced smoothing due to stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) under the aspect of the extremal statistics of smoothed laser beams. As pointed out in the work by Rose and DuBois (1994 Phys. Rev. Lett. 72 2883), scattered light can be subject to uncontrolled (or even ‘explosive’) behaviour, associated with a critical gain value for SBS. In this work we show how this critical behaviour can be predicted on the basis of the order statistics of laser speckle fields, and we analyse the transition to uncontrolled behaviour of the laser beam due to the dominance of high intensity speckles.
Evidence for Prepulse Inhibition of Visually Evoked Motor Response in Drosophila melanogaster

Simple Summary In our study, we looked at a behavior called prepulse inhibition (PPI) in Drosophila melanogaster, commonly known as the fruit fly. For many animals, the sudden presentation of strong sensorial stimuli can induce a defensive response or motor reflex. PPI is a phenomenon where a small stimulus, named “prepulse,” is presented shortly before a larger stimulus, so the larger stimulus induces a weaker response than it normally would. This behavior is seen in many different types of animals and is used to study conditions such as anxiety and schizophrenia. For this study, the chosen stimulus is the sudden presentation of one-second darkness, or lights-off, shown to evoke an immediate locomotion response in Drosophila. Our research found that PPI can also be seen in adult flies, which has not been reported before. Additionally, we confirmed our results by showing that a drug that affects an important brain component, called the NMDA receptor, can change PPI in flies. We suggest that studying this behavior in fruit flies could help us understand how it works in other animals, including humans. Abstract Prepulse inhibition (PPI) is a widely investigated behavior to study the mechanisms of disorders such as anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar mania. PPI has been observed across various vertebrate and invertebrate species; however, it has not yet been reported in adult Drosophila melanogaster. In this study, we describe the first detection of PPI of visually evoked locomotor arousal in flies. To validate our findings, we demonstrate that PPI in Drosophila can be partially reverted by the N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist MK-801, known for inducing sensorimotor gating deficits in rodent models. Additionally, we show that the visually evoked response can be inhibited by multiple stimuli presentation, which can also be affected by MK-801. Given the versatility of Drosophila as a model organism for genetic screening and analysis, our results suggest that high-throughput behavioral screenings of adult flies can become a valuable tool for investigating the mechanisms behind PPI.
Factors Influencing Disabled Stroke Survivors’ Quality of Life in Rural China: Based on the Structural Characteristics and Psychometric Properties of the SF-36 Assessment

Many stroke survivors’ quality of life is impaired. Few studies of factors influencing their quality of life have been based on the factors tested by the short form 36 instrument. This study did so with 308 physically disabled stroke survivors in rural China. Principal components analysis was applied to refine the dimension structure of the short form 36 assessment, followed by backward multiple linear regression analysis to determine the independent factors influencing quality of life. The structure revealed differed from the generic structure in showing that the mental health and vitality dimensions are not unidimensional. Subjects who reported access to the outdoors as convenient demonstrated better quality of life in all dimensions. Those who exercised regularly achieved better social functioning and negative mental health scores. Other factors influencing a better quality of life in terms of physical functioning were younger age and not being married. Being older and better educated predicted better role-emotion scores. Being female correlated with better social functioning scores, while men scored better on bodily pain. Being less educated predicted higher negative mental health, while being less disabled predicted better physical and social functioning. The results suggest that the SF-36’s dimension structure should be re-evaluated before using it to assess stroke survivors.