Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Current Understanding of the Pathophysiology and Novel Treatments of Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome

The pathophysiology of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is multifactorial. Identifying the clinical characteristics and cystoscopic findings of bladder-centered IC/BPS facilitates optimal treatment strategies targeting the diseased urinary bladder. Patients with Hunner’s lesion (HIC) and without Hunner’s lesion (NHIC) should be treated differently. Based on the histopathological findings, NHIC can be treated with intravesical instillation of urothelial protective agents, such as hyaluronic acid, to cover the urothelial defects. In non-responders, chronic inflammation and higher urothelial dysfunction can be treated with intravesical botulinum toxin A injection, platelet-rich plasma injection, or low-energy shock wave treatment to reduce inflammation, increase tissue regeneration, and improve the urothelial barrier. Patients with HIC should be treated with electrocauterization first; augmentation enterocystoplasty should only be used in end-stage HIC when the contracted bladder is refractory to other treatments. The antiviral agent, valacyclovir, can be used in patients with HIC, small bladder capacity, and high-grade glomerulations. In addition, behavioral modification is always recommended from the beginning of treatment. Treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy interventions in combination with bladder therapy can reduce anxiety and improve treatment outcomes. Herein, recent advances in the pathophysiology and novel treatments for IC/BPS are reviewed.
IGR J16328−4726: A NEW CANDIDATE SUPERGIANT FAST X-RAY TRANSIENT

The unidentified source IGR J16328−4726 was covered with INTEGRAL observations for a long period (∼9.8 Ms) and was undetectable for most of the time while showing a very recurrent micro-activity with a duration from tens of minutes to several hours. We report the discovery of two strong outbursts started at 53420.65 MJD and 54859.99 MJD, respectively, the first with a duration of ∼1 hr and the second with a lower limit on the duration of ∼3.5 hr. Furthermore, the sources have been detected in nine other short pointings with significance between 4σ and 5σ as well as in one of the revolutions (during the exposure ∼130 ks) at a significance level of ∼7σ. The stronger outburst spectrum is well described by a power-law model with a photon index of ∼2.0 and a flux of ∼3.3 ×10−10 erg cm−2 s−1 in the 20–50 keV energy band. The weaker outburst and revolution spectra show the same spectral shape and different fluxes. The combined timing and spectral properties observed during the outburst, the recurrent nature of this transient source, the Galactic plane location, a dynamic range >170 in the 0.3–10 keV band and >165 in the 20–50 keV, and the presence of an IR star in the error circle of a Swift X-ray Telescope pointing are suggesting this source as a member of the class of the supergiant fast X-ray transients.
DUSTY TORUS FORMATION BY ANISOTROPIC RADIATIVE PRESSURE FEEDBACK OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

The feedback by active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is significant for the formation and evolution of galaxies. It has been realized that the radiative pressure feedback could be an efficient mechanism due to the existence of dust. In this Letter, we discuss the effect of anisotropic radiative pressure, which is inevitable if the UV/optical emission arises from an accretion disk. The distribution of dusty gas should also be anisotropic due to the influence of the anisotropic disk radiation, i.e., the dust in the face-on direction of an accretion disk can be blown out relatively more easily, whereas the dust can survive in the edge-on direction. This result can explain the presence of some obscured AGNs with high Eddington ratios and can also quantitatively reproduce the observed decreasing fraction of type 2 AGNs with increasing luminosity. A sequence of AGN formation and evolution is also proposed, within the context of the formation, evolution, and exhaustion of the dusty torus. Our model predicts the existence of bright AGNs with dusty tori, but without broad-line regions. Finally, we discuss the implications of the anisotropic radiation for the calculations of luminosity functions and radiation efficiencies of AGNs.
The QCD running charge and its RGI three-gluon vertex parent in the Pinch Technique

of the usual running charge should lead to more exible and physically-sensible phenomenology than is possible just with the running charge. We give an explicit illustration based on an asymptoticallyfree theory having no spin complications, 3, yielding results quite similar to those proposed long ago on phenomenological grounds for QCD. Finally, we discuss nding the beta-function from the running charge, showing how non-perturbative terms arise, as well as possible implications of skeleton graphs with more than one loop, for the beta-function and non-leading UV behavior.
End of inflation, oscillons, and matter-antimatter asymmetry

The dynamics at the end of inflation can generate an asymmetry between particles and antiparticles of the inflaton field. This asymmetry can be transferred to baryons via decays, generating a baryon asymmetry in our Universe. We explore this idea in detail for a complex inflaton governed by an observationally consistent\char22{}``flatter than quadratic''\char22{}potential with a weakly broken global $U(1)$ symmetry. We find that most of the inflaton asymmetry is locked in nontopological soliton-like configurations (oscillons) produced copiously at the end of inflation. These solitons eventually decay into baryons and generate the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry for a range of model parameters. Through a combination of three dimensional lattice simulations and a detailed linearized analysis, we show how the inflaton asymmetry depends on the fragmentation, the magnitude of the symmetry breaking term and initial conditions at the end of inflation. We discuss the final decay into baryons, but leave a detailed analysis of the inhomogeneous annihilation, reheating and thermalization to future work. As part of our work, we pay particular attention to generating multifield initial conditions for the field fluctuations (including metric perturbations) at the end of inflation for lattice simulations.
Noninvasive Liver Fibrosis Staging: Comparison of MR Elastography with Extracellular Volume Fraction Analysis Using Contrast-Enhanced CT

Purpose: To compare the accuracy of liver fibrosis staging with MR elastography and of staging with extracellular volume fraction (fECV) analysis using contrast-enhanced CT. Methods: This retrospective study included 60 patients who underwent both MR elastography and contrast-enhanced CT before liver surgery between October 2013 and July 2020. Two radiologists independently measured liver stiffness of MR elastography and fECV of CT images. Accuracy for liver fibrosis staging was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Correlations between liver stiffness or fECV and liver fibrosis were also evaluated by means of the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. Results: The areas under the ROC curves for MR elastography for each stage differentiation of ≥F1 (0.85, 0.82 for the two radiologists), ≥F2 (0.88, 0.89), ≥F3 (0.87, 0.86), and F4 (0.84, 0.83) were greater than those for fECV analysis with CT (0.64, p = 0.06, 0.69, p = 0.2; 0.62, p < 0.005, 0.63, p < 0.005; 0.62, p < 0.005, 0.62, p < 0.01; and 0.70, p = 0.08, 0.71, p = 0.2, respectively). The correlation coefficients between liver stiffness and liver fibrosis in A0 (0.67, 0.69 for the two radiologists), A1 (0.64, 0.66) and A2 group (0.58, 0.51) were significantly higher than those between fECV and liver fibrosis (0.28, 0.30; 0.27, 0.31; and 0.23, 0.07; p < 0.05 for all comparisons). Conclusion: MR elastography allows for more accurate liver fibrosis staging compared with fECV analysis with CT. In addition, MR elastography may be less affected than fECV analysis by the inflammatory condition.
Effects of Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic (Florfenicol) on Resistance Genes and Bacterial Community Structure of Water and Sediments in an Aquatic Microcosm Model

This study evaluates the effects of a broad-spectrum antibiotic (florfenicol) on antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and bacterial community structure in aquatic environments. We constructed an indoor aquatic microcosm model, adding different concentrations of florfenicol (0.1, 1, 10, 100 mg L−1), and water and sediment samples were collected after 0, 7, 30, and 60 days. qPCR and 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing were used to study the changes in the ARGs and bacterial community structure of the collected samples. The results show that the inclusion of florfenicol resulted in an increased abundance of the floR and optrA genes. Adding 100 mg L−1 florfenicol to the water increased the abundance of optrA gene copies with the maximum on the Day 7, and increased the abundance of floR gene copies with the maximum on Day 30. Adding 100 mg L−1 florfenicol to the sediment increased the abundance of floR and optrA genes by one order of magnitude on Day 60. Meanwhile, the average number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the water samples was 257, and the average number of OTUs in sediment samples was 823. The bacterial community diversity and richness in sediments were higher than those in water. The difference between the maximal and minimal values of the Shannon diversity index in the water and sediment samples was 4.36 and 1.95, respectively. The effect of florfenicol on the bacterial community structure in water was much higher than that in sediment. At 30 days, the diversity index and richness index of the florfenicol treatment groups with 1 and 10 mg L−1 concentrations began to increase; at 60 days, the diversity and richness indices of the 100 mg L−1 florfenicol treatment group began to increase. The samples at the same sampling time in the sediments clustered closer together. The results of this study provide a scientific basis for guiding the rational use of florfenicol in aquaculture, maintaining a healthy and stable microecological environment in aquaculture, and provide theoretical data for environmental ecological risk assessment and safety management caused by microbial resistance under the abuse of florfenicol.
“What if a Person Gets the Vaccine and Turns into an Alligator?”: A Study of the Effect of Ideological Polarization on Purchase Intention

In this study, the main objective is to identify the effect of ideological polarization on the generation of both hate and purchase intent (PI), in relation to a brand. A survey encouraged 206 participants to think that a significant brand would support a political candidate antagonistic to their personal beliefs. We identified the political ideology declared and then measured the hatred generated in this situation, in addition to the regulatory focus (preventive versus promotional), and PI in relation to the brand. The results showed the relationship between the participant’s ideological polarization (right-wing or left-wing) and the PI. We also identified that involvement and brand hate – as generated by a non-congruent positioning between the brand and the ideological respondent – mediated the relationship between self-congruence and PI. Additionally, regulatory focus moderated the effects of the relationships among involvement and brand hate and the PI.
Pressure Effects on the Structural, Elastic Properties and Mechanical Parameters of Al-Doped GaAs

The elastic and structural properties of Aluminum-doped Gallium Arsenide at different pressure have been investigated by using the first-principles density functional theory. In order to calculate the exchange correlation potentials, the exchange and correlation potential is determined by the generalized gradient approximation parameterized by Perdew Burke Ernzerhof and local density approximation. The results showed the decrease of the lattice constants with increasing pressure and the bulk modulus increase from increasing pressure of binary Gallium Arsenide and their ternary alloy by both the approximations mentioned above. This results show a good agreement is found between the theoretical and the experimental available data. The elastic constants, Young modulus, Bulk modulus, Shear modulus, Poisson’s ratio and Debye temperatures of Gallium Arsenide binary and their ternary alloy as function of pressure have been calculated for the first time. The results provide a theoretical reference for doping of Gallium Arsenide with Aluminum atom at different pressures.
An Experimental Study of Turbulent Boundary Layers Subjected to High Free-stream Turbulence Effects

The work presented in this thesis was on nominally two-dimensional turbulent boundary layers at zero pressure gradient subjected to high free-stream turbulent intensities of up to 7.9% in preparations for high free-stream turbulence studies on three-dimensional boundary layers, which will be done in the future in the Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel at Virginia Tech. The two-dimensional turbulent flow that will impinge three-dimensional bodies needed to be characterized, before the three-dimensional studies can be made. An active turbulence generator designed to create high free-stream turbulence intensities in the wind tunnel was tested and modified in order to obtain the lowest possible mean flow non-uniformities. A sevenhole pressure probe was used to obtain planes of mean velocity measurements. A threecomponent state of the art laser-Doppler velocimeter (LDV) was used to obtain mean and fluctuating velocities. Previous high free-stream turbulence studies have been reviewed and are discussed, and some of the previously published data of other authors have been corrected. Based on the measurements obtained with the LDV, it was also determined that the semi-log law of the wall is valid for high free-stream turbulence cases, but with different constants than the ones proposed by Coles, where the constants for the high free-stream cases may be dependent on the turbulence intensity. For the first time, the skin friction coefficient (Cf) was deduced from the viscous sublayer. The difference between the Uτ obtained in the viscous sublayer mean velocity profile and the Uτ obtained in the semi-log layer from 2 τ U uv = − was 1.5%. The skin friction coefficient was determined to increase by 10.5% when the two-dimensional turbulent boundary layer was subjected to high free-stream turbulence effects. Spectral data obtained with the LDV, were compared to the von Kármán model spectrum and to the Pope’s model spectrum, where the von Kármán spectrum was proven to fit the spectral data slightly better than the Pope’s spectrum. Finally, the Hancock-Bradshaw-Blair parameter obtained for this experiment agreed very well with previously published data.
Radiation Effects on Rare Earth Permanent Magnets

Abstract : With continuing improvements in rare earth permanent magnet (REPM) technology, applications for their use are being discovered that were previously not possible. Two such applications for permanent magnets are in focusing elements for linear accelerators and ion sources, and in insertion devices (wigglers and undulators) used to produce synchrotron radiation. However, these magnetic transport elements are subjected to high radiation levels. Consequently, there is considerable interest in the United States and abroad to discover and quantify the effects of radiation on REPMs. Using the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) 100 MeV Linac, four different samples of REPM were irradiated to one to two gigarads of exposed dose from a bremsstrahlung production target in an attempt to simulate the consequences of beam spills of a high energy primary electron beam. Of the samples irradiated, Sm2Co17 proved to be the most resistant to gamma radiation. The electron transport code CYLTRAN of the Integrated Tiger Series (ITS), which is an electron and photon Monte Carlo simulation code, was used to determine the angular and energy spectra for both electrons and photons produced by the target used at the LLNL Linac. Keywords: Samarium compounds, Cobalt, Theses.
RADIO POLARIZATION OBSERVATIONS OF G319.9−0.7: A BOW-SHOCK NEBULA WITH AN AZIMUTHAL MAGNETIC FIELD POWERED BY PULSAR J1509−5850

We report radio polarization observations of G319.9−0.7 (MSC 319.9–0.7) at 3 and 6 cm obtained with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The source shows a highly elongated morphology with the energetic pulsar J1509−5850 located at the tip. We found a flat radio spectrum of index α = −0.26 ± 0.04 and a high degree of linear polarization. These results confirm G319.9−0.7 as a bow-shock pulsar wind nebula. The polarization maps suggest a helical magnetic field trailing the pulsar, with the symmetry axis parallel to the system's inferred direction of motion. This is the first time such a field geometry has been seen in a bow-shock nebula, and it may be the result of an alignment between the pulsar spin axis and its space velocity. Compared to other bow-shock examples, G319.9−0.7 exhibits very different properties in the field structure and surface brightness distribution, illustrating the large diversity of the population.
An OpenCL-Based FPGA Accelerator for Faster R-CNN

In recent years, convolutional neural network (CNN)-based object detection algorithms have made breakthroughs, and much of the research corresponds to hardware accelerator designs. Although many previous works have proposed efficient FPGA designs for one-stage detectors such as Yolo, there are still few accelerator designs for faster regions with CNN features (Faster R-CNN) algorithms. Moreover, CNN’s inherently high computational complexity and high memory complexity bring challenges to the design of efficient accelerators. This paper proposes a software-hardware co-design scheme based on OpenCL to implement a Faster R-CNN object detection algorithm on FPGA. First, we design an efficient, deep pipelined FPGA hardware accelerator that can implement Faster R-CNN algorithms for different backbone networks. Then, an optimized hardware-aware software algorithm was proposed, including fixed-point quantization, layer fusion, and a multi-batch Regions of interest (RoIs) detector. Finally, we present an end-to-end design space exploration scheme to comprehensively evaluate the performance and resource utilization of the proposed accelerator. Experimental results show that the proposed design achieves a peak throughput of 846.9 GOP/s at the working frequency of 172 MHz. Compared with the state-of-the-art Faster R-CNN accelerator and the one-stage YOLO accelerator, our method achieves 10× and 2.1× inference throughput improvements, respectively.
Combined effects of salinity and trematode infections on the filtration capacity, growth and condition of mussels

: The blue mussel (Mytilus species complex) is an important ecosystem engineer, and salinity can be a major abiotic driver of mussel functioning in coastal ecosystems. However, little is known about the interactive effects of abiotic drivers and trematode infection. This study investigated the combined effects of salinity and Himasthla elongata and Renicola roscovita metacer-carial infections on the filtration capacity, growth, and condition of M. edulis from the Baltic Sea. In a laboratory experiment, groups of infected and uninfected mussels were exposed to a wide range of salinities (6−30, in steps of 3) for 1 mo. Shell growth was found to be positively correlated with salinity and optimal at 18−24 at the end of the experiment, imposed by constraints in shell calcification under lower salinities. Mussel shell growth was not affected by H. elongata infection. While salinity had only a minor effect on tissue dry weight, infected mussels had a significantly lower tissue dry weight than uninfected mussels. Most interestingly, the combination of salinity and trematode infections negatively affected the mussels’ condition indices at lower salinity levels (6 and 9), suggesting that trematode infections are more detrimental to mussels when combined with freshening. A significant positive effect of salinity on mussel filtration was found, with an initial optimum at salinity 18 shifting to 18−24 by the end of the experiment. These findings indicate that salinity and parasite infections act as synergistic stressors for mussels, and enhance the understanding of potential future ecosystem shifts under climate change-induced freshening in coastal waters.
Chemical abundance study of two strongly s-process enriched post-AGB stars in the LMC: J051213.81-693537.1 and J051848.86-700246.9

Context: This paper is part of a larger project in which we study the chemical abundances of extra-galactic post-AGB stars with the ultimate goal of improving our knowledge of the poorly understood AGB third dredge-up mixing processes and s-process nucleosynthesis. Aims: In this paper, we study two carefully selected post-AGB stars in the LMC. The combination of favourable atmospheric parameters for detailed abundance studies and their known distances make these objects ideal probes of the internal AGB third dredge-up and s-process nucleosynthesis in that they provide observational constraints for theoretical AGB models. Methods: We use high-resolution optical UVES spectra to determine accurate stellar parameters and perform detailed elemental abundance studies. Additionally, we use available photometric data to construct SEDs for reddening and luminosity determinations. We then estimate initial masses from theoretical post-AGB tracks. Results: Both stars show extreme s-process enrichment associated with relatively low C/O ratios of about 1.3. We could only derive upper limits of the lead (Pb) abundance which indicate no strong Pb overabundances with respect to other s-elements. Comparison with theoretical post-AGB evolutionary tracks in the HR-diagram reveals that both stars have low initial masses between 1.0 and 1.5 Msun. Conclusion: This study adds to the results obtained so far on a very limited number of s-process enriched post-AGB stars in the Magellanic Clouds. We find an increasing discrepancy between observed and predicted Pb abundances towards lower metallicities for all studied Magellanic Cloud post-AGB stars found so far, as well as moderate C/O ratios. We find that all s-process rich post-AGB stars in the LMC and SMC studied so far, cluster in the same region of the HR-diagram and are associated with low-mass stars with a low metallicity on average.