Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Two-Segment Continuum Robot With Piecewise Stiffness for Maxillary Sinus Surgery and Its Decoupling Method

With the use of tendon-driven continuum manipulators, it is possible to reach deep-seated small lesions in a constrained anatomical space. This circumvents the difficulties encountered by existing straight endoscopes and surgical instruments, which require direct line of sight access during inspection and operation. However, maintaining adequate stiffness while ensuring smoothness and flexibility during operation for a continuum robot with a small diameter is difficult. In this article, we present the design, modeling, and validation of a new two-segment continuum robot for maxillary sinus surgery. It addresses the coupling effects that can affect the safety and precise operation within the maxillary sinus. To overcome potential distal-to-proximal deviations, a piecewise stiffness structure for the continuum manipulator is proposed. Modified kinematics, based on variable curvature continuum kinematics, is used to resolve motion coupling, and a model of the continuum manipulator with varying stiffness is proposed, with due consideration of tension coupling. Experiments are carried out to validate the proposed design, modeling, and compensation schemes. Results show that the proposed manipulator can flexibly and accurately reach the target positions in the maxillary sinus model. Comparisons of continuum robots with and without the proposed compensation schemes demonstrate the practical value and potential clinical use of the proposed method.
Capital, Caste, and Patriarchy: Theory of Marriage Formation in India

This article presents a theory of marriage formation in India and grounds it with primary qualitative data. India presents a unique case for interrogating the institution of marriage because here, violent kinship-based patriarchy and the neoliberal promises of individual freedom and choice coexist. This article draws on literatures from Marxist, Feminist political economy, economic anthropology, and the political economy of caste to contend that a synthesis of Social Reproduction Theory and Ambedkarite theory of caste and Brahminical Patriarchy presents a better theoretical framework to critically examine the relationship between market and nonmarket social relations in India. We argue that in India, marriage is an institution that provides the essential legitimizing framework for the reproduction of social order, as well as the social relations of class, caste, and gender. Empirical analysis shows that Brahminical Patriarchy amalgamates with social relations of neoliberal capital within the institution of marriage to create new forms of regressive social norms and oppressions. This study also complicates the neat distinction between market and nonmarket relations and, in extension, between economic and social realms of life. JEL Classification: B54, B14, Z13, J12
An improved parasitism predation algorithm for frequency regulation of a virtual inertia control based AC microgrid

ABSTRACT Frequency stability is one of the major challenges in renewable energy source-based microgrids. This issue can be resolved by employing virtual inertia control that helps in improving damping properties and stability. In applying this control method, a phase-locked loop (PLL) is used to acquire the assessment of the frequency data of the microgrid. Nonetheless, the application of PLL in microgrids produces larger frequency oscillation due to its system dynamics. To solve such issues, we propose a robust Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic PID Controller (IT2FPID) for the virtual inertia control to limit the unwanted frequency measurement impacts while simultaneously improving the microgrid system stability. Further, a novel improved parasitism predation algorithm (IPPA) algorithm is proposed to tune the controller parameters. The performance of our proposed solutions is studied by comparing the simulation results with a few standard techniques considering the change in system parameters and different paces of renewable energy source penetration.
Robust Clutter Suppression and Radial Velocity Estimation for High-Resolution Wide-Swath SAR-GMTI

Moving targets are usually smeared and imaged at incorrect positions in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images due to the target motions during the illumination time. Moreover, a moving target will cause multiple artifacts in the reconstructed image since pulse repetition frequency (PRF) operated in high-resolution wide-swath (HRWS) SAR is very low. In order to reliably indicate moving targets, a robust cancellation algorithm is derived in this paper for clutter suppression in multichannel HRWS SAR, which is free by velocity searching and covariance matrix estimation of clutter plus noise. The proposed multilayer channel-cancellation combined with the deramp processing is designed to sequentially suppress the seriously aliased clutter in HRWS SAR. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is efficient and robust in tough situations, and have a superior detection ability in weak targets and low-velocity targets. In addition, the radial velocity estimation algorithm combined with the channel cancellation is exploited to relocate moving targets. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithms is validated by actual spaceborne SAR data acquired by a coordination experiment with two controllable vehicles.
Fruit Zone Shading to Control Grape Berry Temperature: A Modeling Study

Recent increases in average air temperatures and heat wave intensity can present challenges in maintaining grape productivity and quality. As a result, growers are exploring approaches to protect berries from excessive temperatures, however, they can be costly and time-consuming to experimentally evaluate, and results may not be generalizable. In this work, we developed and evaluated a new 3-D model that can predict metrics related to berry temperature and light interception in response to varying vineyard architecture, topography, and shade cloth density. The resulting modeling tool was applied to better understand and evaluate a range of potential vineyard design and management practices for mitigation of elevated berry temperatures in vertically trained grapevines. Model validation showed close agreement between predicted and measured temperature dynamics, which responded appropriately to the application of shade cloth. In a simulation experiment, row spacing, row orientation, slope grade and aspect, and shade cloth density were varied to evaluate their effect on berry and canopy light interception, berry temperature spikes, and integrated berry heat accumulation. On flat terrain, a northeast-southwest row orientation provided the best compromise of berry light and temperature balance between opposing vine faces while avoiding excessive berry temperatures, while north-south rows provided good daily symmetry but had risk of high afternoon berry temperatures. The efficacy of shade cloth in mitigating excessive temperatures depended strongly on all variables considered. Slopes with southern or western exposure increased the imbalance in and risk of high berry temperatures, which in some cases could not be well-managed by shade cloth. Overall, the modeling tool appears capable of providing quantitative guidance for vineyard design and management where excessive berry temperatures are of concern.
Raising Consent Awareness With Gamification and Knowledge Graphs: An Automotive Use Case

Consent is one of GDPR’s lawful bases for data processing and specific requirements for it apply. Consent should be specific, unambiguous and most of all informed. However, an informed consent request does not guarantee having individuals who are aware of what it means to consent and the implications that follow. Consent is often given blindly now, in particular because of information overload from long privacy policies written in legal language and complex interface designs that cause consent fatigue on the users' side. This paper presents a knowledge graph-based user interface for consent solicitation, which uses gamification to raise the legal awareness and ease individual’s comprehension of consent. The knowledge graph models informed consent in a machine-readable format and provides a unified consent model to all entities involved in the data sharing process. The evaluation shows that with the help of gamification, the interface can raise individuals' average legal awareness to 92.86%.
Robust Object Categorization and Scene Classification over Remote Sensing Images via Features Fusion and Fully Convolutional Network

The latest visionary technologies have made an evident impact on remote sensing scene classification. Scene classification is one of the most challenging yet important tasks in understanding high-resolution aerial and remote sensing scenes. In this discipline, deep learning models, particularly convolutional neural networks (CNNs), have made outstanding accomplishments. Deep feature extraction from a CNN model is a frequently utilized technique in these approaches. Although CNN-based techniques have achieved considerable success, there is indeed ample space for improvement in terms of their classification accuracies. Certainly, fusion with other features has the potential to extensively improve the performance of distant imaging scene classification. This paper, thus, offers an effective hybrid model that is based on the concept of feature-level fusion. We use the fuzzy C-means segmentation technique to appropriately classify various objects in the remote sensing images. The segmented regions of the image are then labeled using a Markov random field (MRF). After the segmentation and labeling of the objects, classical and CNN features are extracted and combined to classify the objects. After categorizing the objects, object-to-object relations are studied. Finally, these objects are transmitted to a fully convolutional network (FCN) for scene classification along with their relationship triplets. The experimental evaluation of three publicly available standard datasets reveals the phenomenal performance of the proposed system.
Background features in the cytology of pancreatic neoplasms

Abstract Cytology is a useful method for diagnosing pancreatic neoplasms. Although endoscopic ultrasound‐guided fine‐needle aspiration has recently become the mainstream method for the diagnosis of pancreatic neoplasms, pancreatic juice and pancreatic duct brushing cytology continue to be useful diagnostic methods for the investigation of pancreatic neoplasms. Diagnoses using pancreatic cytology are primarily based on the features related to tumor cells; however, evaluation of the background features provides important information that could further aid the diagnosis. Pancreatic neoplasms show various histological types, each of which is associated with its own characteristic background features. The necrotic background, desmoplastic stroma, and presence of cancer‐associated fibroblasts are background features of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, a mucinous background is associated with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms and mucinous cystic neoplasms, and hyaline globules are observed in solid pseudopapillary neoplasms. However, some background features are associated with more than one histological type of pancreatic neoplasm, highlighting the importance to base a diagnosis on the results of a comprehensive analysis of not only the background features but also the tumor cells. Here, we provide a review of the key background cytological features of pancreatic neoplasms, which can serve as a guide to improve diagnosis and research.
Dinoflagellate Phosphopantetheinyl Transferase (PPTase) and Thiolation Domain Interactions Characterized Using a Modified Indigoidine Synthesizing Reporter

Photosynthetic dinoflagellates synthesize many toxic but also potential therapeutic compounds therapeutics via polyketide/non-ribosomal peptide synthesis, a common means of producing natural products in bacteria and fungi. Although canonical genes are identifiable in dinoflagellate transcriptomes, the biosynthetic pathways are obfuscated by high copy numbers and fractured synteny. This study focuses on the carrier domains that scaffold natural product synthesis (thiolation domains) and the phosphopantetheinyl transferases (PPTases) that thiolate these carriers. We replaced the thiolation domain of the indigoidine producing BpsA gene from Streptomyces lavendulae with those of three multidomain dinoflagellate transcripts and coexpressed these constructs with each of three dinoflagellate PPTases looking for specific pairings that would identify distinct pathways. Surprisingly, all three PPTases were able to activate all the thiolation domains from one transcript, although with differing levels of indigoidine produced, demonstrating an unusual lack of specificity. Unfortunately, constructs with the remaining thiolation domains produced almost no indigoidine and the thiolation domain for lipid synthesis could not be expressed in E. coli. These results combined with inconsistent protein expression for different PPTase/thiolation domain pairings present technical hurdles for future work. Despite these challenges, expression of catalytically active dinoflagellate proteins in E. coli is a novel and useful tool going forward.
Lenalidomide treatment in relapsed/refractory B-cell lymphomas: A single center real-life experience

As an immunomodulatory drug, lenalidomide has been shown to have anti-lymphoma activity and is used in combination with several agents in the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory disease. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficiency of lenalidomide in the treatment of B-cell NHL. This retrospective study included pa tients with relapsed/refractory B-cell NHL who received lenalidomide treatment between March 2018 and January 2021. Patients’ demographic data, dose, and duration of the lenalidomide treatment, combined agents, response rates, side effects, and survival rates were evaluated. Twelve patients who diagnosed with relapsed/refractory NHL were included in the study. Lenalidomide treatment was initiated in combination with rituximab for nine of these patients and with temozolomide for the remaining three of them. At the initiation of the lenalidomide treatment, patients’ median age was 72.5 (24-83) years. Number of females/males was 9/3. Nine of the patients were diagnosed with diffuse large b-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), 3 of whom had isolated central nervous system lymphoma (CNS) and 1 had Richter transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Two patients were diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and 1 patient was diagnosed with marginal zone lymphoma. The median treat ment duration was 4 (1-20) months. In the response assessment, 4 patients had complete response while progressed disease was observed in 5 patients. Three patients died before response assessment. In the median 33-month follow-up, progression-free survival and total survival were found as 4 (1-20) and 7 (1-22) months respectively. Due to its low toxicity profile and activity, lenalidomide could be a good option especially for elderly and fragile B-cell lymphoma patients. It is an agent to be considered particularly in lymphomas with CNS involvement with its good CNS penetration. Its synergistic effect may give better results when used in combination with several anti-lymphoma drugs.
Glucose hydrothermal encapsulation of carbonized silicone polyester to prepare anode materials for lithium batteries with improved cycle stability

A silicon polyester (Si-PET) was synthesized with ethylene glycol and phthalic anhydride, and then it was carbonized and hydrothermally coated with glucose. The formed SiOx with layered graphene as the 3D network had an amorphous carbon layer. The graphene oxide (rGO) after carbothermal reduction was completely retained in SiOx, which improved the conductivity of the SiOx anode material. SiOx were encapsulated with a flexible amorphous carbon layer on the surface, which can not only improve the electrical performance, but also effectively relieve the huge volume changes of the compound. Further, the key point is that, the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film was mainly formed on the surface carbon layer. This would keep a stable SEI film during volume pulverization, and result in a good cycle stability. The SiOx/C-rGO material maintained a reversible capacity of 660 mA h g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1 for 100 cycles, a reversible capacity of 469.7 mA h g−1 at a current density of 200 mA g−1 for 300 cycles. The Coulomb efficiency was maintained at 98% except for the first cycle. After long cycling, the electrode expansion was 16%, which was much lower than those of silicon based materials. Therefore, this article provides a cheap, simple, and commercially valuable anode material for lithium batteries.
The pedagogical practices of Ethiopian Orthodox Church traditional schools: implications for contemporary education

ABSTRACT Using a holistic, interpretive qualitative ethnographic approach, this study explored the pedagogical practices of traditional educational systems in Ethiopia and their implications for contemporary education practices. Qualitative data (ethnographic observations, informal interactions and semi structured interviews) were gathered over a 3-month period. Interview data from 17 participants and observations of classrooms were collected in three traditional Qene (poetry) church schools. Observations provided insight into the teaching and learning methods, assessment and evaluation practices, classroom organisation and management, teacher student interaction, school environment and daily life of students in Qene church schools. The data were analysed using thematic descriptive narration based on themes created by the basic questions of the study. Central findings indicated that Qene church schools have their own indigenous pedagogical practices such as Qene ‘Qotera’, ‘Negera’ and ‘Zerefa’ that involve various collaborative and independent learning strategies. The findings also indicated that the practices of cooperative learning, reflective learning, critical interpretation, argumentative oral defence, differentiated instruction, authentic formative oral assessment, and scaffolding are central to the Qene education system. We conclude that Qene schools’ pedagogical practices provide valuable insights for the pedagogical practice.
pH-Responsive Hyaluronic Acid Nanoparticles for Enhanced Triple Negative Breast Cancer Therapy

Purpose This study emphasized that dasatinib (DAS) and olaparib (OLA) have synergistic effects on triple negative breast cancer, by inducing DNA damage and inhibiting DNA damage repair. However, poor water solubility, short half-life of drugs, and low drug concentration in tumor tissue limit the clinical application. Methods In this research, acid-sensitive ester bonds were used to connect hydrophobic DAS and hydrophilic hyaluronic acid (HA) to form the amphiphilic polymer prodrug HA-DAS, and then OLA was added as the core, the HA-DAS was used as the carrier to form nanomicelles (HDO-NPs) in aqueous. The characterization and drug release of HDO-NPs were studied, and the cytotoxicity, targeting effect, and intracellular transport behavior of HDO-NPs were evaluated in MDA-MB-231. In addition, the pharmacokinetic and therapeutic effect of HDO-NPs were further verified in vivo. Results In vitro characterizations showed that HDO-NPs were spherical with uniform particle size, good stability and anti-dilution ability, and displayed favorable pH-responsive drug release behavior. In addition, the cell experiments showed that HDO-NPs could be effectively taken up by binding to the overexpressed CD44 proteins of MDA-MB-231 cells, resulting in increased intracellular drug concentration. In vivo experiments showed that HDO-NPs can effectively target tumor tissues, have excellent therapeutic effects on tumor, significantly prolong the circulation time of drugs in vivo, and effectively improved the bioavailability of drugs. Conclusion DAS and OLA were designed into micelles, the efficacy of HDO-NPs was higher than that of free drugs. Therefore, HDO-NPs have good application prospects in the treatment of triple negative breast cancer.
Strategies to Encourage Students’ Active Participation through Online Teaching in Mathematics

Online teaching and learning in the history of Bhutanese education system was not popular until the COVID19 pandemic hit the world since towards the end of December 2019 onwards and the desperate call for alternate ways of providing continued education to the children was highly felt. However, it was not an easy job to do for the teachers, students and parents as they lacked good knowledge, skills and attitude. In other words, they lacked required competency. Therefore, this short Research was done in a Middle Secondary School in Paro, Bhutan involving class X students as samples to find out the hindrances and to identify effective strategies that would encourage and motivate students actively participate in online lessons. The method used in this research is a quantitative approach. The data were collected through framed questionnaires, class test and personal interviews simultaneously. Questionnaires were given to the participants to gather authentic responses pertaining to the online classes. Video recording were done while interviewing the participants to have authentic interpretation pf the data collected. The triangulation of the data collected from the participants revealed that it is possible to have students participate actively in online lessons as they do in face to face classroom teaching and learning when proper strategies are implemented.
Enhancing Safety and Security of Digital Instrumentation and Control System by Event Aggregation

Nuclear power plants (NPPs) are implementing or transitioning to digital instrumentation and control (I&C) systems to control underlying physical processes. Such systems present an attack surface of obvious interest to various subsets of potential attackers and hence lead to a relevance of cybersecurity in a nuclear context. This prompts the need for measures aimed at detecting anomalous behavior or unwanted events in the I&C systems. This paper performs a survey on existing approaches to detect such behavior. This survey covers different perspectives and a broad range of different anomalous or unwanted behavior in the physical process and all aspects of the digital I&C systems. The perspective beneﬁts from the inclusion of experts from the ﬁeld of NPP cybersecurity, automation engineering and IT security. This interdisciplinary perspective allows for the identiﬁcation of different sets of relevant data and events which might contribute to the understanding of an abnormal or unwanted situation (malfunction or a cyber-attack). This paper discusses how this data should be collected, how it can be aggregated and in which way it can enhance the safety and security of digital I&C systems.
Initial Access & Beam Alignment for mmWave and Terahertz Communications

The initial access in Millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G communications is very challenging and time consuming. In general, mmWave and terahertz communications require the use of directional antennas to seek narrow beams. However, due to this directionality, many issues can impact the beam alignment between transmitter and receiver. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey of beam alignment and initial access in mmWave and terahertz 5G/6G systems. First, we present a detailed overview of initial access methods, techniques, and beam management procedures. Then, we classify recent works related to beam alignment based on their objective functions (i.e., latency, power allocation, QoS, energy consumption, cost). We also highlight the beam alignment in terahertz 6G, where we find that deep learning and reconfigurable intelligent surface are the two protagonists that help to achieve fast beam alignment.