Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automatic measurements of fetal intracranial volume from 3D ultrasound scans

Three-dimensional fetal ultrasound is commonly used to study the volumetric development of brain structures. To date, only a limited number of automatic procedures for delineating the intracranial volume exist. Hence, intracranial volume measurements from three-dimensional ultrasound images are predominantly performed manually. Here, we present and validate an automated tool to extract the intracranial volume from three-dimensional fetal ultrasound scans. The procedure is based on the registration of a brain model to a subject brain. The intracranial volume of the subject is measured by applying the inverse of the final transformation to an intracranial mask of the brain model. The automatic measurements showed a high correlation with manual delineation of the same subjects at two gestational ages, namely, around 20 and 30 weeks (linear fitting R2(20 weeks) = 0.88, R2(30 weeks) = 0.77; Intraclass Correlation Coefficients: 20 weeks=0.94, 30 weeks = 0.84). Overall, the automatic intracranial volumes were larger than the manually delineated ones (84 ± 16 vs. 76 ± 15 cm3; and 274 ± 35 vs. 237 ± 28 cm3), probably due to differences in cerebellum delineation. Notably, the automated measurements reproduced both the non-linear pattern of fetal brain growth and the increased inter-subject variability for older fetuses. By contrast, there was some disagreement between the manual and automatic delineation concerning the size of sexual dimorphism differences. The method presented here provides a relatively efficient way to delineate volumes of fetal brain structures like the intracranial volume automatically. It can be used as a research tool to investigate these structures in large cohorts, which will ultimately aid in understanding fetal structural human brain development.
Beyond influence: Contextualization and optimization for new narrative techniques and story-formats. Perspective paper

In a society where advances and innovations occur on a daily basis, outreach and meaningful engagement with the general public become more challenging. The amount of information produced and repackaged surpasses existing systems in place to ensure truthful and factual engagement with the public, especially with complex matters regarding health science. This perspective paper discusses the value of contextualization and optimization for creating transparent and engaging content. We reflect on the innovative Transformative Storytelling Technique as a new category creating hybrid content to guide the experience of audiences, starting with the case of informal caregivers helping individuals living with neurological conditions. Moreover, we share our perspective on the important considerations for current and future development of highly targeted content using this technique. We include reflexions around the risks and ethical principles needed in the utilization and dissemination of “guided” content for the general public.
“Listen to the science!”—The role of scientific knowledge for the Fridays for Future movement

The Fridays for Future movement (FfF) has drawn a lot of public and academic attention in recent years. So far, studies investigated the organization, mobilization, and motives of the movement from different perspectives as well as the relevance of science for FfF. Mostly from an external point of view researchers looked at the types of science communication and its reception by the audience (i.e., framing theory). In this paper, we combine theories of science communication with the resource mobilization approach in social movement studies and thereby develop a theoretical framework for the analysis of the use of scientific knowledge by climate movements. We focus on the resource mobilization theory (RMT) and the notion of activists as alternative science communicators. RMT emphasizes the role of resources and organization to explain the success of social movements. Specifically, we regard legitimacy as a moral resource and analyze the importance of communication of climate scientific knowledge for FfF as a political movement. We argue that a climate movement like FfF relies on climate scientific knowledge which serves as a moral resource when climate activists refer to it to legitimate their claims. Empirically, we draw on a survey of more than 500 FfF activists in Germany, that was conducted as a mixed method study in 2020 and 2021. Our objective is to close a gap on the relevance of science for FfF activists from the inner perspective. Following the research question “How and why is scientific knowledge being used by FfF activists to mobilize people? ” the findings indicate a rather strategic use of scientific knowledge as an end in itself within the movement. Unsurprisingly, we see that individual strategic use of scientific knowledge within the movement corresponds with the belief that FfF should include scientific knowledge in the general communication strategy of FfF. Moreover, our data show that activists overwhelmingly derive their goals from scientific knowledge and reject the idea that science could be used imprecisely just as an instrument to attain their goals. These learnings shed light on the question of whether science is used as a moral resource within climate movements like FfF.
From the origins to the stream of consciousness and its neural correlates

There are now dozens of very different theories of consciousness, each somehow contributing to our understanding of its nature. The science of consciousness needs therefore not new theories but a general framework integrating insights from those, yet not making it a still-born “Frankenstein” theory. First, the framework must operate explicitly on the stream of consciousness, not on its static description. Second, this dynamical account must also be put on the evolutionary timeline to explain the origins of consciousness. The Cognitive Evolution Theory (CET), outlined here, proposes such a framework. This starts with the assumption that brains have primarily evolved as volitional subsystems of organisms, inherited from primitive (fast and random) reflexes of simplest neural networks, only then resembling error-minimizing prediction machines. CET adopts the tools of critical dynamics to account for metastability, scale-free avalanches, and self-organization which are all intrinsic to brain dynamics. This formalizes the stream of consciousness as a discrete (transitive, irreflexive) chain of momentary states derived from critical brain dynamics at points of phase transitions and mapped then onto a state space as neural correlates of a particular conscious state. The continuous/discrete dichotomy appears naturally between the brain dynamics at the causal level and conscious states at the phenomenal level, each volitionally triggered from arousal centers of the brainstem and cognitively modulated by thalamocortical systems. Their objective observables can be entropy-based complexity measures, reflecting the transient level or quantity of consciousness at that moment.
Impact of primary site on survival in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma from 2004 to 2015

Background Nasopharynx carcinoma (NPC) is the most common malignant tumor of the nasopharynx. Many studies have shown some factors related with the prognosis of NPC patients. Our study aims to evaluate the differences of prognosis between initial and second primary NPC. Material and methods The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program was used to perform the population-based analysis in NPC patients who were newly diagnosed between 2004 and 2015. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regressions were used to evaluate the effects of primary site on the overall survival (OS), as well as the cancer-specific survival (CSS). Results Our study included 5,012 NPC patients: 4,474 initial primary NPC patients and 5,38 s primary NPC patients. Significant differences were observed in sex, age at diagnosis, race, median household income, histological type, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, N-stage, radiation treatment and chemotherapy between patients with initial and second NPC (P < 0.05). Moreover, the patients with second NPC had longer survival months. In addition, radiation and chemotherapy were recommended both in first and second primary NPC patients. Conclusion Worse prognosis was observed in patients with second primary NPC compared with those with primary NPC in all subgroups of AJCC stage and age at diagnosis.
Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine and associated factors among health care workers at public hospitals in Eastern Ethiopia using the health belief model

Introduction Acceptance of vaccination among Health Care Workers is mandatory to lessen and curve the spread of transmission of COVID-19. Even though the Health Belief Model is one of the most widely used models for understanding vaccination behavior against COVID-19 disease, COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among Health Care Workers in Ethiopia was not adequately explored by using the Health Belief Model domains. Purpose This study aimed to assess COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and associated factors among Health care workers in eastern, Ethiopia. Methods Institutional-based cross-sectional study design was used among 416 health care workers selected by a systematic random sampling method from June 1- 30/2021. The data were collected by face-to-face interviews using semi-structured questionnaires and analyzed using STATA version 14 statistical software. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis with a 95% confidence interval was carried out to identify factors associated with willingness to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and a statistical significance was declared at a P-value < 0.05. Results The willingness of health care workers to accept the COVID-19 vaccine was 35.6% making a response rate of 99.7%. Age 30-39 (AOR = 4.16;95% CI: 2.51, 6.88), age ≥ 40 years (AOR = 3.29;95% CI: 1.47, 7.39), good attitude (AOR = 1.97; 95% CI: 1.00, 3.55), perceived susceptibility (AOR = 1.93; 95% CI: 1.12, 3.32), and perceived severity (AOR = 1.78; 95% CI: 1.03, 3.10) were factors significantly associated with Health Care Workers acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion The willingness to accept the COVID-19 vaccine was low. Factors significantly associated with the willingness to accept the COVID-19 vaccine were age, good attitude, perceived susceptibility, and perceived severity of the disease. The low willingness of Health Care Workers to accept the COVID-19 vaccine was alarming and it needs more emphasis from the government in collaboration with other stakeholders to provide reliable information to avert misconceptions and rumors about the vaccine to improve the vaccine status of Health Care Workers to protect the communities.
Orbital Radius during the Grazing Envelope Evolution

We use the binary module of the mesa code to study the evolution of an evolved binary system where we assume that a main-sequence companion removes the outskirts of the envelope of an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star by launching jets, and explore the characteristics of this grazing envelope evolution (GEE). We base our assumption that jets launched by the secondary star remove a substantial fraction of the outskirts of the envelope of an AGB star on earlier hydrodynamical simulations. We find that in many but not all cases we study, the binary system experiences the GEE rather than entering the common envelope phase, under our assumptions of jet-driven mass removal. To prevent the common envelope phase, we assume the secondary star may accrete a large amount of mass in a short time while avoiding rapid inflation, the feasibility of which requires further study. Because of our simplifying assumptions, we cannot yet present the parameter space for the GEE. Although the incorporation of the GEE into population synthesis numerical codes requires further studies of the GEE, we conclude that analyses of population synthesis studies of evolved binary stars should include the GEE.
The Hubble Space Telescope Extragalactic Distance Scale Key Project. X. The Cepheid Distance to NGC 7331

The distance to NGC 7331 has been derived from Cepheid variables observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFPC2, as part of the Extragalactic Distance Scale Key Project. Multiepoch exposures in F555W ( ~V) and F814W ( ~I), with photometry derived independently from DoPHOT and DAOPHOT/ALLFRAME programs, were used to detect a total of 13 reliable Cepheids, with periods between 11 and 42 days. The relative distance moduli between NGC 7331 and the LMC, derived from the V and I magnitudes, imply an extinction to NGC 7331 of AV = 0.47 ± 0.15 mag and an extinction-corrected distance modulus to NGC 7331 of 30.89 ± 0.14 (random), equivalent to a distance of 15.1+1.0−0.9 Mpc. There are additional systematic uncertainties in the distance modulus of ±0.12 mag resulting from the calibration of the Cepheid period-luminosity relation and a systematic offset of +0.05 ± 0.04 mag if the metallicity correction inferred from the M101 results of Kennicutt et al. are applied.
Millimeter wave analysis of the dielectric properties of oil shales

Natural sedimentation processes give rise to fine layers in shales. If these layers alternate between organic-rich and organic-poor sediments, then the contrast in dielectric properties gives rise to an effective birefringence as the presence of hydrocarbons suppresses the dielectric constant of the host rock. We have measured these effects with a quasioptical millimeter wave setup that is rapid and noncontacting. We find that the strength of this birefringence and the overall dielectric permittivity provide two useful diagnostics of the organic content of oil shales.
Dispersion of small magnetic elements inside active regions on the Sun

A process of diffusion of small-scale magnetic elements inside four active regions (ARs) was analyzed. Line-of-sight magnetograms acquired by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) during a two-day time interval around the AR culmination time were utilized. Small magnetic elements of size of 3-100 squared HMI pixels with the field strength above the detection threshold of 30 Mx cm$^{-2}$ were detected and tracked. The turbulent diffusion coefficient was retrieved using the pair-separation technique. Comparison with the previously reported quiet-sun (QS) diffusivity was performed. It was found that: i) dispersion of small-scale magnetic elements inside the AR area occurs in the regime close to normal diffusion, whereas well-pronounced super-diffusion is observed in QS; ii) the diffusivity regime operating in an AR (the magnitude of the spectral index and the range of the diffusion coefficient) does not seem to depend on the individual properties of an AR, such as total unsigned magnetic flux, state of evolution, and flaring activity. We conclude that small-scale magnetic elements inside an AR do not represent an undisturbed photosphere, but they rather are intrinsic part of the whole coherent magnetic structure forming an active region. Moreover, turbulence of small-scale elements in an AR is not closely related to processes above the photosphere, but it rather carries the footprint of the sub-photospheric dynamics.
Orbit properties of massive prolate galaxies in the Illustris simulation

We explore orbit properties of 35 prolate-triaxial galaxies selected from the Illustris cosmological hydrodynamic simulation. We present a detailed study of their orbit families, and also analyse relations between the relative abundance of the orbit families and the spin parameter, triaxiality, the ratio of the angular momentum and the baryon fraction. We find that box orbits dominate the orbit structure for most prolate-triaxial galaxies, especially in the central region. The fraction of irregular orbits in the prolate-triaxial galaxies is small, and it increases with galaxy radius. Both the x-tube and z-tube orbits are important in prolate-triaxial galaxies, especially in the outer regions. The fraction of box orbits for prolate-triaxial galaxies ($0.7<T<1$) decreases with the triaxiality of the stars, while the fraction of x-tube orbits increases with the triaxiality for a given axis ratio. The fraction of box orbits increases and the fractions of x-tube and z-tube orbits weakly decrease with increasing baryon fraction. These results help to understand the structure of prolate-triaxial galaxies and provide cross-checks for constructing dynamical models of prolate-triaxial galaxies by using the Schwarzschild or the Made-to-Measure methods.
Dark matter substructure cannot explain properties of the Fermi Galactic Centre excess

An excess of gamma rays has been identified at the centre of the Milky Way, and annihilation of dark matter has been posited as a potential source. This hypothesis faces significant challenges: difficulty characterizing astrophysical backgrounds, the need for a non-trivial adiabatic contraction of the inner part of the Milky Way's dark matter halo, and recent observations of photon clustering, which suggest that the majority of the excess is due to unresolved point sources. Here we point out that the apparent point-like nature of the emission rules out the dark matter interpretation of the excess entirely. Attempting to model the emission with dark matter point sources either worsens the problem with the inner slope, requires an unrealistically large minihalo fraction toward the Galactic Centre, or overproduces the observed emission at higher latitudes.
Ultrahigh-energy neutrino fluxes and their constraints

Applying our recently developed propagation code we review extragalactic neutrino fluxes above 10^{14} eV in various scenarios and how they are constrained by current data. We specifically identify scenarios in which the cosmogenic neutrino flux, produced by pion production of ultra high energy cosmic rays outside their sources, is considerably higher than the "Waxman-Bahcall bound". This is easy to achieve for sources with hard injection spectra and luminosities that were higher in the past. Such fluxes would significantly increase the chances to detect ultra-high energy neutrinos with experiments currently under construction or in the proposal stage.
Temperature dependent magnetic anisotropy in (Ga, Mn)As layers

It is demonstrated by SQUID measurements that (Ga,Mn)As films can exhibit perpendicular easy axis at low temperatures, even under compressive strain, provided that the hole concentration is sufficiently low. In such films, the easy axis assumes a standard in-plane orientation when the temperature is raised towards the Curie temperature or the hole concentration is increased by low temperature annealing. These findings are shown to corroborate quantitatively the predictions of the mean-field Zener model for ferromagnetic semiconductors. The in-plane anisotropy is also examined, and possible mechanisms accounting for its character and magnitude are discussed.
Bounding Surfaces and Second Order Quasilinear Equations with Compatible Nonlinear Functional Boundary Conditions

Abstract We establish existence results for solutions to functional boundary value problems for φ- Laplacian ordinary differential equations assuming there are lower and upper solutions and Lipschitz bounding surfaces for the derivative which we adapt to our problem. Our results apply to some problems which do not satisfy Nagumo growth bounds. Moreover they contain as special cases many results for the p- and ɸ-Laplacians as well as many results where the boundary conditions depend on n-points or even functionals. Our boundary conditions generalize those of Fabry and Habets, Cabada and Pouso, Cabada, O’Regan and Pouso, and many others.
Assessment of the predictive capabilities of stochastic theories in a three‐dimensional laboratory test aquifer: Effective hydraulic conductivity and temporal moments of breakthrough curves

Conservative and sorptive tracer experiments were conducted in a highly heterogeneous (σlnK2 = 1.79) and anisotropic (λH/λV = 3.52) three‐dimensional test aquifer under well‐controlled laboratory conditions to evaluate the effective conductivity and temporal moments predicted by stochastic theories. The spatial distribution of lnK in the test aquifer conformed to a statistically homogeneous system, thus allowing evaluation of results from stochastic theories for stationary random fields. Effective hydraulic conductivity Keff in the mean flow direction for the test aquifer was compared with different stochastic theoretical expressions. Breakthrough curves (BTCs) at individual deep‐penetrating observation wells and averaged breakthrough curves at control planes were examined. The mean arrival time and the travel time variance estimated using averaged BTCs from many observation wells at the same control plane for bromide and lithium were slightly overestimated by stochastic theories, yet most of the experimental data ranged within the confidence interval rendered by the uncertainty in the statistical properties of the test aquifer. A highlight of our experimental approach is that the continuous sampling procedure also permitted the evaluation of higher‐order temporal moments that were analyzed to study the asymmetry and peakedness of BTCs by means of the coefficients of skewness and kurtosis, respectively. Small‐perturbation analytical solutions for the coefficient of skewness and kurtosis were provided. It is seen that although stochastic theories based upon small perturbations provide reasonably good estimates of the coefficients of skewness and kurtosis associated with averaged BTCs at control planes, in general, they can largely underestimate the peakedness and tailing of BTCs observed at individual deep‐penetrating observation wells.
Protected realizations of quantum information

There are two complementary approaches to realizing quantum information so that it is protected from a given set of error operators. Both involve encoding information by means of subsystems. One is initialization-based error protection, which involves a quantum operation that is applied before error events occur. The other is operator quantum error correction, which uses a recovery operation applied after the errors have occurred. Together, the two approaches make it clear how quantum information can be stored at all stages of a process involving alternating error and quantum operations. In particular, there is always a subsystem that faithfully represents the desired quantum information. We give a definition of faithful realization of quantum information and show that it always involves subsystems. This supports the 'subsystems principle' for realizing quantum information. In the presence of errors, one can make use of noiseless (initialization) protectable, or error-correcting subsystems. We give an explicit algorithm for finding optimal noiseless subsystems. Finding optimal protectable or error-correcting subsystems is in general difficult. Verifying that a subsystem is error correcting is known to involve only linear algebra. We discuss the verification problem for protectable subsystems and reduce it to a simpler version of the problem of finding error-detectingmore » codes. « less
KGSAR: A Knowledge Graph-Based Tool for Managing Spanish Colonial Notary Records

Notary records contain abundant information relevant to historical inquiry but are in physical form and hence, searching for information in these documents could be painstaking. In this demo paper, we present a document retrieval system that allows users to search for a keyword in digitized copies of physical records. The system uses cleaned and denoised images to search a keyword using optical character recognition (OCR) models re-trained on labeled data provided by experts. The word predictions and bounding boxes are stored as a knowledge graph (KG). A keyword query is then mapped to a graph query on the KG. The results are ranked based on text matching. An intuitive user interface (UI) allows a user to search, correct, delete or draw more annotations that are used for retraining of the OCR models.