Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Complex field verification using a large area CMOS MAPS upstream in radiotherapy

A multileaf collimator (MLC) is an integral component in modern radiotherapy machines as it dynamically shapes the photon field used for patient treatment. Currently, the MLC leaves which collimate the treatment field are mechanically calibrated to ±1 mm every 3 months and during pre-treatment calibration are calibrated to the mechanically set leaf positions. Leaf drift can occur between calibration dates and hence exceed the ±1 mm tolerance. Pre-treatment verification, increases LINAC usage time so is seldom performed for each individual patient treatment, but instead for an acceptable sample of patients and/or treatment fractions. Independent real-time treatment verification is therefore desirable. We are developing a large area CMOS MAPS upstream of the patient to monitor MLC leaf positions for real-time treatment verification. CMOS MAPS are radiation hard for photon and electron irradiation, have high readout speeds and low attenuation which makes them an ideal upstream radiation detector for radiotherapy. Previously, we reported on leaf position reconstruction for single leaves using the Lassena, a 12 × 14 cm2, three side buttable MAPS suitable for clinical deployment. Sobel operator based methods were used for edge reconstruction. It was shown that the correspondence between reconstructed and set leaf position was excellent and resolutions ranged between 60.6 ± 8 and 109 ± 12 μm for a single central leaf with leaf extensions ranging from 1 to 35 mm using 0.3 sec of treatment beam time at 400 MU/min. Here, we report on leaf edge reconstruction using updated methods for complex leaf configurations, as occur in clinical use. Results show that leaf positions can be reconstructed with resolutions of 62 ± 6 μm for single leaves and 86 ± 16 μm for adjacent leaves at the isocenter using 0.15 sec at 400 MU/min of treatment beam. These resolutions are significantly better than current calibration standards.
Discovery of γ-Ray Pulsations from PSR J1835–3259B in the Globular Cluster NGC 6652

Motivated by the recent discovery of the pulsar J1835−3259B with a spin period 1.83 ms in the globular cluster (GC) NGC 6652, we analyze the γ-ray data obtained with the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi) for the GC and detect the pulsations of this millisecond pulsar (MSP) at a 5. 4σ confidence level (the weighted H-test value is ∼41). From timing analysis of the data, a pulse profile that is similar to the radio one is established. We thus consider that we have detected the γ-ray emission of the MSP, and discuss the implications. Based on the results of our analysis and different studies of the sources in the GC, the observed γ-ray emission from the GC could mainly arise from this MSP, like the previous two cases in the GCs NGC 6624 and NGC 6626. Assuming this is the case, the pulsar, at the GC’s distance of 9.46 kpc and having a spin-down luminosity of ≤4.3 × 1035 erg s−1, would have a γ-ray luminosity of ≃(5.04 ± 0.44) × 1034 erg s−1 and a γ-ray efficiency of ≳0.12.
Research on Hardware System Design Method of the Intelligent Vehicle Based on Dual Sensors

With the rapid development of modern society, the application of intelligent unmanned vehicles is becoming more and more popular. Based on the scene of unmanned vehicle patrol operation in an intelligent warehouse and simplifying it, this paper designs an image processing and perception of driving road conditions with ATM89C51 single-chip microcomputer as the core, camera, and infrared sensors to realize the detection of car trajectory. Two groups of four DC motors are set to drive, and the turning is carried out through the differential speed of the wheel motors on both sides. The turning radius and turning time are shortened through the independent control of the motors on both sides. The L298N full-bridge motor drive core is used to control the speed of the motor, to realize the accurate control of the trolley movement, and lay the foundation for the intelligent operation of the trolley in more scenarios. The accuracy of car navigation and motion control is improved through dual sensors.
Locally homogeneous affine connections on compact surfaces

Global properties of locally homogeneous and curvature homogeneous affine connections are studied. It is proved that the only locally homogeneous connections on surfaces of genus different from 1 are metric connections of constant curvature. There exist nonmetrizable nonlocally symmetric locally homogeneous affine connections on the torus of genus 1. It is proved that there is no global affine immersion of the torus endowed with a nonflat locally homogeneous connection into R 3 .
Modeling nanomaterial physical properties: theory and simulation

ABSTRACT A brief theory and simulation overview for the purpose of design is presented with examples applies to modeling the physical properties, behavior, and phenomena of nanomaterial. This review paper constructs perspectives that consider coupling traditional domains of simulation by novel pathways to produce accurate representations of nanomaterial properties, behavior and phenomena. It is all about size scaling and how different approaches are able to simulate, integrate or simply pass the baton to the next level of complexity. In macroscopic world, the atomic or molecular information alone may not be directly useful. Nor is the bulk information useful in the microscopic world without intimate knowledge of molecular makeup. Therefore, when designing Nanomaterials, knowledge of properties spanning the complete range of size is the prerequisite of a recommended self-consistent approach. In fact, regarding applications in both industry and academia, the simulation first approach often can lead to great savings in time. This review paper focuses mostly on optical and electronic properties but a section is added that provides a segue into mechanical properties for future consideration.
Identifying Hepatocellular Carcinoma from imaging reports using natural language processing to facilitate data extraction from electronic patient records

Background: The National Institute for Health Research Health Informatics Collaborative (NIHR HIC) viral hepatitis theme is working to overcome governance and data challenges to collate routine clinical data from electronic patients records from multiple UK hospital sites for translational research. The development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a critical outcome for patients with viral hepatitis with the drivers of cancer transformation poorly understood. Objective: This study aims to develop a natural language processing (NLP) algorithm for automatic HCC identification from imaging reports to facilitate studies into HCC. Methods: 1140 imaging reports were retrieved from the NIHR HIC viral hepatitis research database v1.0. These reports were from two sites, one used for method development (site 1) and the other for validation (site 2). Reports were initially manually annotated as binary classes (HCC vs. non-HCC). We designed inference rules for recognising HCC presence, wherein medical terms for eligibility criteria of HCC were determined by domain experts. A rule-based NLP algorithm with five submodules (regular expressions of medical terms, terms recognition, negation detection, sentence tagging, and report label generation) was developed and iteratively tuned. Results: Our rule-based algorithm achieves an accuracy of 99.85% (sensitivity: 90%, specificity: 100%) for identifying HCC on the development set and 99.59% (sensitivity: 100%, specificity: 99.58%) on the validation set. This method outperforms several off-the-shelf models on HCC identification including 'machine learning based' and 'deep learning based' text classifiers in achieving significantly higher sensitivity. Conclusion: Our rule-based NLP method gives high sensitivity and high specificity for HCC identification, even from imbalanced datasets with a small number positive cases, and can be used to rapidly screen imaging reports, at large-scale to facilitate epidemiological and clinical studies into HCC.
Neuroimaging and Cognitive Testing in Healthy Aging Adults using a Portable Low-Field MRI Scanner and Web-Based Assessment

Consumer wearables and health monitors, internet-based health and cognitive assessments, and at-home biosample (e.g., saliva and capillary blood) collection kits are increasingly used by public health researchers to recruit and follow large study populations without requiring intensive in-person study visits. In addition to reducing participant time and travel burden, remote and virtual data collection allows individuals who live long distances from a hospital or university research center, have limited time or mobility, or who lack access to transportation to participate. Unfortunately, studies that include magnetic resonance neuroimaging can be particularly burdensome given the infrastructure requirements of 1.5, 3, and 7 Tesla scanners. As a result, they often omit socially, economically, and educationally disadvantaged individuals. Portable lower magnetic field strength systems offer the potential to perform neuroimaging at a participant home and convenience. In this work, we present the first report of associations between brain morphometry and cognitive performance assessed using a portable van-installed low-field MRI scanner and an established online assessment (MindCrowd) of paired-associate learning (PAL). In a sample of 67 individuals between 18-93 years of age who were imaged at their home or convenient nearby location, we show expected trends in brain volumes with age and detail associations between learning and memory-related brain region volumes and PAL performance. Results demonstrate the ability to collect reliable neuroimaging and cognitive data outside of traditional imaging research settings with important implications for engaging traditionally underrepresented communities in neuroimaging research.
Longitudinal relationship between long sleep duration and future kidney function decline

ABSTRACT Background Evidence linking chronic kidney disease (CKD) and sleep duration is inconsistent. This study examined whether sleep duration is associated with a long-term risk of kidney function decline. Methods This retrospective, longitudinal cohort study included 82 001 participants who visited a primary care centre in Japan. Participants were categorized into CKD risk groups and sleep duration categories according to their self-reported average nightly sleep duration. The relationship between average nightly sleep duration and the incidence of composite renal outcome comprised a ≥40% reduction in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) from baseline and a decline in eGFR to <15 mL/min/1.73 m² was evaluated. Results The mean age and eGFR (±standard deviation) of the patient cohort were 45.8 (±12.4) years and 81.8 (±15.4) mL/min/1.73 m², respectively. A total of 41 891 participants (51.1%) were women. During the median follow-up of 5.1 years [interquartile range 2.2–9.6], 4214 (5.1%) participants achieved the composite renal outcome. Only the long and very long sleep durations (≥8 h/night) were associated with an increased incidence of the composite renal outcome compared with the reference duration (7 h/night) [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.22 and 1.44; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09–1.36 and 1.13–1.84, for long and very long sleep durations, respectively]. Furthermore, this association was significant for both long and very long sleep durations in the low CKD risk group but only for long sleep duration in the intermediate CKD risk group. The results of the sex-specific analysis showed that men had a decreased risk of achieving the composite renal outcome (OR 0.91; 95% CI 0.79–1.06), while there was an increased risk for women (OR 1.14; 95% CI 1.02–1.28). Conclusions Average sleep durations ≥8 h/night were associated with an increased incidence of poor renal outcomes over time. However, a longitudinal cohort study is required to confirm whether sleep duration can prevent poor renal outcomes.
Towards standardization of measuring anxiety and depression: Differential item functioning for language and Dutch reference values of PROMIS item banks

Introduction The outcomes anxiety and depression are measured frequently by healthcare providers to assess the impact of a disease, but with numerous instruments. PROMIS item banks provide an opportunity for standardized measurement. Cross-cultural validity of measures and the availability of reference values are prerequisites for standardized measurement. Methods PROMIS Anxiety and Depression item banks were completed by 1002 representative Dutch persons. To evaluate cross-cultural validity, data from US participants in PROMIS wave 1 were used and differential item functioning (DIF) was investigated, using an iterative hybrid of logistic regression and item response theory. McFadden’s pseudo R2-change of 2% was the critical threshold. The impact of any DIF on full item banks and short forms was investigated. To obtain Dutch reference values, T-scores for anxiety and depression were calculated for the complete Dutch sample, and age-group and gender subpopulations. Thresholds corresponding to normal limits, mild, moderate and severe symptoms were computed. Results In both item banks, two items had DIF but with minimal impact on population level T-scores for full item banks and short forms. The Dutch general population had a T-score of 49.9 for anxiety and 49.6 for depression, similar to the T-scores of 50.0 of the US general population. T-scores for age-group and gender subpopulations were also similar to T-scores of the US general population. Thresholds for mild, moderate and severe anxiety and depression were set to 55, 60 and 70, identical to US thresholds. Conclusions The limited number of items with DIF and its minimal impact, enables the use of standard (US) item parameters and comparisons of scores between Dutch and US populations. The Dutch reference values provide an important tool for healthcare professionals and researchers to evaluate and interpret symptoms of anxiety and depression, stimulating the uptake of PROMIS measures, and contributing to standardized outcome measurement.
Genetic characterization of Salmonella Infantis from South Africa, 2004–2016

Salmonella Infantis is presenting an increasing risk to public health. Of particular concern are the reports of pESI, a multidrug resistance (MDR) encoding megaplasmid, in isolates from multiple countries, but little is known about its presence or diversity in South Africa. Whole genome sequences of 387 S. Infantis isolates from South Africa (2004–2020) were analysed for genetic phylogeny, recombination frequency, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) determinants, plasmid presence and overall gene content. The population structure of South African S. Infantis was substantially different to S. Infantis reported elsewhere; only two thirds of isolates belonged to eBG31, while the remainder were identified as eBG297, a much rarer group globally. Significantly higher levels of recombination were observed in the eBG297 isolates, which was associated with the presence of prophages. The majority of isolates were putatively susceptible to antimicrobials (335/387) and lacked any plasmids (311/387); the megaplasmid pESI was present in just one isolate. A larger proportion of eBG31 isolates, 19% (49/263), contained at least one AMR determinant, compared to eBG297 at 2% (3/124). Comparison of the pan-genomes of isolates from either eBG identified 943 genes significantly associated with eBG, with 43 found exclusively in eBG31 isolates and 34 in eBG297 isolates. This, along with the single nucleotide polymorphism distance and difference in resistance profiles, suggests that eBG31 and eBG297 isolates occupy different niches within South Africa. If antibiotic-resistant S. Infantis emerges in South Africa, probably through the spread of the pESI plasmid, treatment of this infection would be compromised.
Matteucinol combined with temozolomide inhibits glioblastoma proliferation, invasion, and progression: an in vitro, in silico, and in vivo study

Glioblastoma is the most prevalent and malignant brain tumor identified in adults. Surgical resection followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, mainly with temozolomide (TMZ), is the chosen treatment for this type of tumor. However, the average survival of patients is around 15 months. Novel approaches to glioblastoma treatment are greatly needed. Here, we aimed to investigate the anti-glioblastoma effect of the combination of matteucinol (Mat) (dihydroxyflavanone derived from Miconia chamissois Naudin) with the chemotherapeutic TMZ in vitro using tumor (U-251MG) and normal astrocyte (NHA) cell lines and in vivo using the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. The combination was cytotoxic and selective for tumor cells (28 μg/mL Mat and 9.71 μg/mL TMZ). Additionally, the combination did not alter cell adhesion but caused morphological changes characteristic of apoptosis in vitro. Notably, the combination was also able to reduce tumor growth in the chick embryo model (CAM assay). The docking results showed that Mat was the best ligand to the cell death membrane receptor TNFR1 and to TNFR1/TMZ complex, suggesting that these two molecules may be working together increasing their potential. In conclusion, Mat-TMZ can be a good candidate for pharmacokinetic studies in view of clinical use for the treatment of glioblastoma.
Serum bilirubin and kidney function: a Mendelian randomization study

ABSTRACT Background Further investigation is needed to determine the causal effects of serum bilirubin on the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods This study is a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Among the well-known single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to serum bilirubin levels, rs4149056 in the SLCO1B1 gene was selected as the genetic instrument for single-variant MR analysis, as it was found to be less related to possible confounders than other SNPs. The association between genetic predisposition for bilirubin levels and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) or CKD was assessed in 337 129 individuals of white British ancestry from the UK Biobank cohort. Two-sample MR based on summary-level data was also performed. SNPs related to total or direct bilirubin levels were collected from a previous genome-wide association study and confounder-associated SNPs were discarded. The independent CKDGen meta-analysis data for CKD were employed as the outcome summary statistics. Results The alleles of rs4149056 associated with higher bilirubin levels were associated with better kidney function in the UK Biobank data. In the summary-level MR, both of the genetically predicted total bilirubin {per 5 µmol/L increase; odds ratio [OR] 0.931 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.871–0.995]} and direct bilirubin [per 1 µmol/L increase; OR 0.910 (95% CI 0.834–0.993)] levels were significantly associated with a lower risk of CKD, supported by the causal estimates from various MR sensitivity analyses. Conclusion Genetic predisposition for higher serum bilirubin levels is associated with better kidney function. This result suggests that higher serum bilirubin levels may have causal protective effects against kidney function impairment.
Orbital angular momentum entanglement

Entanglement in higher dimensions is an attractive concept that is a chal- lenge to realise experimentally. To this end, the entanglement of the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of photons holds promise. The OAM state-space is discrete and theoretically unbounded. In the work that follows, we investi- gate various aspects of OAM entanglement. We show how the correlations in OAM and its conjugate variable, angular position, are determined by phase- matching and the shape of the pump beam in spontaneous parametric down- conversion. We implement tests of quantum mechanics which have been previously done for other variables. We show the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox for OAM and angle, supporting the incompatibility of quantum me- chanics with locality and realism. We demonstrate violations of Bell-type inequalities, thereby discounting local hidden variables for describing the correlations we observe. We show the Hardy paradox using OAM, again highlighting the nonlocal nature of quantum mechanics. We demonstrate violations of Leggett-type inequalities, thereby discounting nonlocal hidden variables for describing correlations. Lastly, we have looked into the entan- glement of topological vortex structures formed from a special superposition of OAM modes and show violations of Bell-type inequalities confined to a finite, isolated volume.
Vibration and Nonlinear Resonance in the Break-up of an Underwater Bubble

We use high-speed X-ray phase-contrast imaging, weakly nonlinear analysis and boundary integral simulations to characterize the final stage of underwater bubble break-up. The X-ray imaging study shows that an initial azimuthal perturbation to the shape of the bubble neck gives rise to oscillations that increasingly distort the cross-section shape. These oscillations terminate in a pinch-off where the bubble surface develops concave regions that contact similar to what occurs when two liquid drops coalesce. We also present a weakly nonlinear analysis that shows that this coalescence-like mode of pinch-off occurs when the initial shape oscillation interferes constructively with the higher harmonics it generates and thus reinforce each other's effects in bringing about bubble break-up. Finally we present numerical results that confirm the weakly nonlinear analysis scenario as well as provide insight into observed shape reversals. They demonstrate that when the oscillations interfere destructively, a qualitatively different mode of pinch-off results where the cross-section profile of the bubble neck develops sharply-curved regions.
Terrestrial Continuum Radiation in the Magnetotail: Geotail Observations

Geotail observations have revealed that the terrestrial continuum radiation observed in the magnetotail consists of several components that are generated at different locations through different processes. We have classified the continuum-like radiation into the following components: classical nonthermal continuum radiation generated in the dawnside and dayside plasmapause, short-lived enhancement of the nonthermal continuum radiation generated at the nightside plasmapause, auroral myriametric radiation generated at the auroral plasma cavity, lobe-trapped continuum radiation generated at the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL), and narrowband 2fp radiation generated through beam-plasma instability at the PSBL. We summarize their generation and propagation nature. We also discuss possibilities of using their characteristics for the remote sensing studies of the terrestrial magnetosphere.