Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differentiating Uterine Sarcoma From Atypical Leiomyoma on Preoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using Logistic Regression Classifier: Added Value of Diffusion-Weighted Imaging-Based Quantitative Parameters

Objective To evaluate the added value of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)-based quantitative parameters to distinguish uterine sarcomas from atypical leiomyomas on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Materials and Methods A total of 138 patients (age, 43.7 ± 10.3 years) with uterine sarcoma (n = 44) and atypical leiomyoma (n = 94) were retrospectively collected from four institutions. The cohort was randomly divided into training (84/138, 60.0%) and validation (54/138, 40.0%) sets. Two independent readers evaluated six qualitative MRI features and two DWI-based quantitative parameters for each index tumor. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the relevant qualitative MRI features. Diagnostic classifiers based on qualitative MRI features alone and in combination with DWI-based quantitative parameters were developed using a logistic regression algorithm. The diagnostic performance of the classifiers was evaluated using a cross-table analysis and calculation of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results Mean apparent diffusion coefficient value of uterine sarcoma was lower than that of atypical leiomyoma (mean ± standard deviation, 0.94 ± 0.30 10-3 mm2/s vs. 1.23 ± 0.25 10-3 mm2/s; P < 0.001), and the relative contrast ratio was higher in the uterine sarcoma (8.16 ± 2.94 vs. 4.19 ± 2.66; P < 0.001). Selected qualitative MRI features included ill-defined margin (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 17.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.41–503, P = 0.040), intratumoral hemorrhage (aOR, 27.3; 95% CI, 3.74–596, P = 0.006), and absence of T2 dark area (aOR, 83.5; 95% CI, 12.4–1916, P < 0.001). The classifier that combined qualitative MRI features and DWI-based quantitative parameters showed significantly better performance than without DWI-based parameters in the validation set (AUC, 0.92 vs. 0.78; P < 0.001). Conclusion The addition of DWI-based quantitative parameters to qualitative MRI features improved the diagnostic performance of the logistic regression classifier in differentiating uterine sarcomas from atypical leiomyomas on preoperative MRI.
Tennis development at the ground level: Coaches’ perceptions of how incentive structures impact the development systems national tennis associations implement

National Tennis Associations operate within the confines of a market-driven environment. An environment creating incentive structures forcing NTAs to be cognizant of revenue generation, which may impact how tennis development systems are designed and implemented, affecting how tennis products and services are delivered at the micro-level. Therefore, the study sought to examine coaches’ perspectives of how tennis delivery at the ground level is shaped by the incentive structures created by NTAs’ implementation of tennis development systems. Findings from eight interviews with experienced coaches demonstrate how coaches feel compelled to compromise some of their ideals in their delivery of tennis services, feel the pressure of competitive youth tennis can be overwhelming for players, and believe a team-oriented tournament structure can alleviate some of the concerns arising from extant incentive structures. Findings show the need to consider how tennis’s existence in a market-driven economy shapes how tennis is managed and delivered, and provide an initial foundation for future research.
The Relationship Between HBA1C Levels and Diabetic Complications in Patients with Type II Diabetes Mellitus at RSU Royal Prima Medan

North Sumatra is home to a considerable population of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patients, specifically individuals aged 15 years and above, totaling 49,572. Among the cities in the province, Medan stands out with the highest prevalence of Type II DM patients. The data indicates that in 2018 alone, the number of DM patients in Medan reached 7,826, solidifying its status as the primary contributor to the overall prevalence of DM in North Sumatra. The focal point of this research is to assess the understanding of the connection between HbA1c levels and complications in Type II Diabetes Mellitus patients, particularly those receiving care at Royal Prima Hospital in Medan. Employing a cross-sectional research design, the study involved 85 participants selected through purposive sampling, and data analysis was conducted using SPSS software. The study's outcomes highlight a significant relationship between HbA1c levels and complications in Type II Diabetes Mellitus patients at Royal Prima Hospital in Medan. This association is substantiated by the chi-square test results, yielding a p-value of 0.000, which is less than the significance threshold of 0.05. This statistical significance implies a robust and noteworthy correlation between HbA1c levels and the occurrence of complications in patients with Type II Diabetes Mellitus at the mentioned hospital.
Studies on Solid Waste Disposal and Management Methods in Makurdi and its Environs North Central Nigeria

Studies were carried out on the waste disposal and management methods in Makurdi metropolis and its environs in North Central Nigeria. Face to face structured interviews, visitations, observations and review of secondary data were applied in the study. The entire capital city and its environs were divided into seven units for ease of accessibility and data gathering. The result revealed that people living within Makurdi Metropolis (North Bank, Wurukum, Highlevel, Wadata, and Modern Market) possessed waste containers for collection of waste generated in their homes/shops but the methods of disposal were questionable. The waste was either littered on streets, gutters, undeveloped plots, or dumped into rivers and streams by people living close to streams and River Benue who use them as dumpsites. There is also the practice of dumping the waste at the government agency collection points without any form of sorting. Whereas people living around Makurdi Environs (Apir and Airforce Base Area) mostly adopted pit burning technique where waste is swept into and burned. The knowledge of people living within Makurdi and its environs of integrated solid waste management (sorting of waste, reducing, reusing and recycling) is very low. The services rendered by waste managers; BENSESA and some accredited Private Waste Managers were unsatisfactory as a result of poor service coverage and improper management methods adopted. The waste handlers only engage in relocation of wastes. This, they attributed to inadequate machinery and staff. Practically there is no engineered landfill available for solid waste management in Makurdi and its environs. The implications of these findings to environmental health are enormous and is strongly advocated that necessary organs/public institutions responsible should make deliberate and consistent efforts to address these anomalies.
An Examination of Empirical Evidence Produced by a Decade of K-12 Computer Science Education Research

Problem. This full research paper describes the results of a literature review of data collected about K-12 computer science education research and initiatives. Over the last ten years, K-12 computer science (CS) education research has evolved to meet the needs and progress of the computer science education community. As a field, however, we have no empirical evidence of what this evolution is and how it has managed to produce the empirical evidence needed to support the long-term goals of computing education research as computing education grows into every primary and secondary classroom. Research Question. Our question for this study was How has K-12 CS education research evolved over the last decade, including when examining the research based on standards and inclusion of student participants? Methodology. Using a publicly available database of curated articles documenting K-12 computing education research efforts, queries were run to extract pre-specified subsets of data. Descriptive statistics were calculated to identify trends to support answers to the research question. Findings. We consider how this data reflects on changes in the last decade in light of the CS for All initiatives, including the fact that less than 5% of studies include students with disabilities and less than 20% of studies report participants' socioeconomic status. With the growth of computing in schools in the last decade, it is important to consider previous computing experience of students when analyzing results, but our data shows that only 40% of studies do. Implications. The good news is that this increase means that more topics, contexts, and student subgroups can be explored each year, and new insights on best practices are likely to arise from these findings. The bad news is that the attention to the needs of historically marginalized groups is not increasing at the same pace. While our data shows modest to gradual increases in the percent of research articles that report on factors such as the student race and instructor gender, these factors are still rarely reported, which may make it more difficult to ensure that CS education research involves a wide diversity of participants.
Highly Significant Detection of X-Ray Polarization from the Brightest Accreting Neutron Star Sco X-1

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer measured with high significance the X-ray polarization of the brightest Z-source, Sco X-1, resulting in the nominal 2–8 keV energy band in a polarization degree of 1.0% ± 0.2% and a polarization angle of 8° ± 6° at a 90% confidence level. This observation was strictly simultaneous with observations performed by NICER, NuSTAR, and Insight-HXMT, which allowed for a precise characterization of its broadband spectrum from soft to hard X-rays. The source has been observed mainly in its soft state, with short periods of flaring. We also observed low-frequency quasiperiodic oscillations. From a spectropolarimetric analysis, we associate a polarization to the accretion disk at <3.2% at 90% confidence level, compatible with expectations for an electron scattering dominated optically thick atmosphere at the Sco X-1 inclination of ∼44°; for the higher-energy Comptonized component, we obtain a polarization of 1.3% ± 0.4%, in agreement with expectations for a slab of Thomson optical depth of ∼7 and an electron temperature of ∼3 keV. A polarization rotation with respect to previous observations by OSO-8 and PolarLight, and also with respect to the radio-jet position angle, is observed. This result may indicate a variation of the polarization with the source state that can be related to relativistic precession or a change in the corona geometry with the accretion flow.
Quantitative Analysis and Molecular Docking Simulation of Flavonols from Eruca sativa Mill. and Their Effect on Skin Barrier Function

Eruca sativa is a commonly used edible plant in Italian cuisine. E. sativa 70% ethanol extract (ES) was fractionated with five organic solvents, including n-hexane (EHex), chloroform (ECHCl3), ethyl acetate (EEA), n-butyl alcohol (EBuOH), and water (EDW). Ethyl acetate fraction (EEA) had the highest antioxidant activity, which was correlated with the total polyphenol and flavonoid content. ES and EEA acted as PPAR-α ligands by PPAR-α competitive binding assay. EEA significantly increased cornified envelope formation as a keratinocyte terminal differentiation marker in HaCaT cells. Further, it significantly reduced nitric oxide and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α) in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. The main flavonol forms detected in high amounts from EEA are mono-and di-glycoside of each aglycone. The main flavonol form of EEA is the mono-glycoside of each aglycone detected, and the most abundant flavonol mono-glycoside is kaempferol 3-glucoside 7.4%, followed by quercetin-3-glucoside 2.3% and isorhamnetin 3-glucoside 1.4%. Flavonol mono-glycosides were shown to be a potent PPAR-α ligand using molecular docking simulation and showed the inhibition of nitric oxide. These results suggest that the flavonol composition of E. sativa is suitable for use in improving skin barrier function and inflammation in skin disorders, such as atopic dermatitis.
Lung function at three months after hospitalization due to COVID‑19 pneumonia: Comparison of alpha, delta and omicron variant predominance periods

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has already affected millions of individuals, with increasing numbers of survivors. These data suggest that the pulmonary sequelae of the infection may have an effect on a wide range of individuals. The aim of the present study was to evaluate pulmonary function in patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 three months after hospital discharge. A total of 116 patients, 34 females and 82 males, with a mean age of 57.77±11.45 years, who were hospitalized due to COVID-19, underwent pulmonary function testing three months after their hospital discharge. Of these, 83 (71.6%) patients were hospitalized in the period of alpha variant predominance, 16 (13.8%) in the period of delta variant predominance and 17 (14.6%) in the omicron variant predominance period. The mean value of diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO)% predicted (pred) was statistically higher in patients affected by the omicron variant (P=0.028). Abnormal values (<80% pred) of DLCO and total lung capacity (TLC) were observed in 28.4 and 20.7% of the patients, respectively. Active smoking was an independent predictor of abnormal values of forced expiratory volume in 1 sec % pred and TLC% pred [P=0.038; odds ratio (OR): 8.574, confidence interval (CI) 1.124-65.424 and P=0.004, OR: 14.733, CI 2.323-93.429, respectively], age was an independent predictor of abnormal values of forced vital capacity % pred and DLCO% pred (P=0.027, OR: 1.124, CI 1.014-1.246 and P=0.011, OR:1.054, CI 1.012-1.098, respectively); and female sex was an independent predictor of abnormal values of DLCO% pred (P=0.009, OR: 1.124, CI 1.014-1.246). Α significant percentage of hospitalized patients due to COVID-19 pneumonia will develop abnormal pulmonary function, regardless of the SARS-CoV-2 variant.
Enhanced Multiobjective Optimization Algorithm for Intelligent Grid Management of Renewable Energy Sources

Optimal scheduling of microgrids (MGs) is a crucial component of smart grid optimization, playing a vital role in minimizing energy consumption and environmental degradation. However, existing methods tend to consider only a single optimization and do not consider the multiobjective optimization problem of MGs in a comprehensive and integrated way. This study proposes a comprehensive multiobjective optimal scheduling methodology for renewable energy MGs, incorporating demand-side management (DSM) considerations. Initially, a DSM multiobjective optimization model is formulated, focusing on the load shifting of controllable devices within the MG to refine the electricity consumption structure. This model contemplates the renewable energy consumption of the MG, customer electricity purchase costs, and load smoothness. Subsequently, a multiobjective optimization model for grid-connected MGs, encompassing wind and photovoltaic power generation, is constructed with the dual objectives of economic and environmental optimization for the MG. Ultimately, a multimodal multiobjective optimization algorithm, amalgamating a local convergence index and an environment selection strategy, is proposed to solve the model. The experimental results show that compared with other methods, the proposed method in this paper can reduce the integrated cost by 32.6% and 38.9% in summer and 19.4% and 40.2% in winter. This stands out as a unique contribution in the field of MG optimization, as it integrates DSM considerations into a multiobjective optimization model. This methodology achieves a balance between minimizing energy consumption and environmental degradation while also enhancing economic efficiency.
Deadline and Energy-Aware Application Module Placement in Fog-Cloud Systems

Fog computing has emerged as a promising augmentation of cloud computing, positioned at the network’s edge, and it is poised to enhance a wide range of Internet of Things (IoT) driven applications. Although fog computing promises to reduce the response time of applications, its omnipresence is subject to the availability and capabilities of the resources in the fog infrastructure. Hence, there is a need of efficiently harness fog infrastructure to execute different IoT applications while meeting their quality of service (QoS) requirements. However, this objective becomes challenging when the applications are decomposed into multiple modules with diverse latency sensitivities. The scatter placement of application modules over distributed fog nodes further intensifies the problem by increasing the overall energy consumption of the fog environment. Therefore, this study proposes a deadline and energy-aware modular application placement policy for fog computing environments. The proposed policy simultaneously prioritizes the placement of critical applications in the fog infrastructure and consolidates the number of active fog nodes for energy management. The performance of the proposed policy was evaluated using iFogSim and compared with several contemporary solutions. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed policy outperforms others in increasing the percentage of QoS-satisfied applications and reducing energy usage in fog computing.
Array of 296-GHz CMOS Concurrent Transceiver Pixels With Phase and Amplitude Extraction Circuits for Improving Reflection-Mode Imaging Resolution

A 1 × 3 array of 296-GHz complementary metal oxide semiconductor concurrent transceiver pixels incorporating a low noise amplifier, a differential gain stage, and a double-balanced I/Q mixer and a quadrature local oscillator generator for extraction of baseband signal amplitude and phase in addition to the RF section in an area of ∼ (λ/2)2 is demonstrated. The effective isotropic radiated power of the array is ∼−6 dBm and the minimum double sideband receiver pixel noise figure is ∼48 dB. An E-shaped patch antenna is used to broaden the antenna bandwidth (14-GHz -10-dB |S11| bandwidth). Using a pair of these arrays, lens-less short-range reflection mode imaging of a target ∼1 cm away through a cardboard covering is demonstrated. The phase and amplitude outputs enable a synthetic increase of the effective aperture to the scan area from the pixel area for improved image quality and resolution. The use of phase combining for the 1 × 3 transmitter array also improves the isolation between the pair for reflection-mode imaging which limits the stand-off range by ∼10 dB (to ∼70 dB) compared to that when a pair of single pixels with a conductive wall is used.
Atmospheric rivers are responsible for cyclicity in Sierra Nevada precipitation

Cool-season (November–March) precipitation contributes critically to California’s water resources and flood risk. In the Sierra Nevada, approximately half of cool-season precipitation is derived from a small proportion of storms classified as atmospheric rivers (ARs). The frequency and intensity of ARs are highly variable from year to year and unreliable climate teleconnections limit forecasting. However, previous research provides intriguing evidence of cycles with biennial (2.2-year) and decadal (10–20-year) periodicities in Sierra Nevada cool-season precipitation, suggesting it is not purely stochastic. To identify the source of this cyclicity, we decompose daily precipitation records (1949–2022) into contributions from ARs vs non-ARs, as well as into variations in frequency and intensity. We find that the biennial and decadal spectral peaks in Sierra Nevada precipitation totals are entirely due to precipitation delivered by ARs, and primarily due to variations in the frequency of days with AR precipitation. While total non-AR precipitation correlates with sea-surface temperature (SST) and atmospheric pressure patterns associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, AR precipitation shows no consistent remote teleconnections at any periodicity. Supporting this finding, atmospheric simulations forced by observed SSTs do not reproduce the biennial or decadal precipitation variations identified in observations. These results, combined with the lack of long-term stable cycles in previously published tree-ring reconstructions, suggest that the observed biennial and decadal quasi-cyclicity in Sierra Nevada precipitation is unreliable as a forecasting tool.
Cocaine reward and reinstatement in adolescent versus adult rodents

Adolescence is a critical juncture when initiation of drug use intersects with profound developmental changes in the brain. Adolescent drug use increases the risk to develop substance use disorders (SUDs) later in life, but the mechanisms that confer this vulnerability are not understood. SUDs are defined by cycles of use, abstinence, and relapse. Intense craving during drug-free periods is often triggered by cues and environmental contexts associated with previous use. In contrast to our understanding of stimuli that elicit craving and relapse in adults, the behavioral processes that occur during periods of abstinence and relapse in adolescents are poorly understood. The current mini-review will summarize findings from preclinical rodent studies that used cocaine conditioned place preference and operant cocaine self-administration to examine subsequent effects on reward, relapse and incubation of craving.
A study of stasis and change in two species lineages from the Middle Devonian of New York state

More than 5000 measurements were taken on over 1000 specimens of two species of brachiopods, Mediospirifer audaculus and Athyris spiriferoides, from the Middle Devonian Hamilton Group of New York state. Statistical analyses were performed on these data, with specimens partitioned by their occurrence in one of many paleoenvironments and stratigraphic horizons. Neither species showed substantial morphological departures between first appearance and extinction (the range of the Hamilton Group, roughly 5 m.y.). However, oscillations in morphology were discovered in both taxa. For the two species we studied, groups of organisms occurring in a single paleoenvironment undergo moderate morphological change through time; however, the net sum of changes through time in all paleoenvironments in which these species occur is essentially zero. Therefore, stasis may be partly a property of the organization of species into different environmental populations. Different “environmental populations” may evolve, but they will typically do so in several different “directions,” generally producing no net change. The difference between the morphology of species in different environments over the whole interval of the Hamilton Group is also nil, thereby ruling out any major role that ecophenotypic effects could play in the patterns recognized herein.
A Validity Argument for a Brief Assessment of Mature Number Sense

This Brief Report presents an example of assessment validation using an argument-based approach. The instrument we developed is a Brief Assessment of Students’ Mature Number Sense, which measures a central goal in mathematics education. We chose to develop this assessment to provide an efficient way to measure the effect of instructional practices designed to improve students’ number sense. Using an argument-based framework, we first identify our proposed interpretations and uses of student scores. We then outline our argument with three claims that provide evidence connecting students’ responses on the assessment with its intended uses. Finally, we highlight why using argument-based validation benefits measure developers as well as the broader mathematics education community.