Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Brain Tumor Diagnosis Using Machine Learning, Convolutional Neural Networks, Capsule Neural Networks and Vision Transformers, Applied to MRI: A Survey

Management of brain tumors is based on clinical and radiological information with presumed grade dictating treatment. Hence, a non-invasive assessment of tumor grade is of paramount importance to choose the best treatment plan. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) represent one of the effective Deep Learning (DL)-based techniques that have been used for brain tumor diagnosis. However, they are unable to handle input modifications effectively. Capsule neural networks (CapsNets) are a novel type of machine learning (ML) architecture that was recently developed to address the drawbacks of CNNs. CapsNets are resistant to rotations and affine translations, which is beneficial when processing medical imaging datasets. Moreover, Vision Transformers (ViT)-based solutions have been very recently proposed to address the issue of long-range dependency in CNNs. This survey provides a comprehensive overview of brain tumor classification and segmentation techniques, with a focus on ML-based, CNN-based, CapsNet-based, and ViT-based techniques. The survey highlights the fundamental contributions of recent studies and the performance of state-of-the-art techniques. Moreover, we present an in-depth discussion of crucial issues and open challenges. We also identify some key limitations and promising future research directions. We envisage that this survey shall serve as a good springboard for further study.
Prevalence and correlates of self-stigma in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

ABSTRACT Background: Self-stigma refers to the internalisation of negative societal views and stereotypes. Self-stigma has been well-characterised in the context of mental disorders such as schizophrenia but has received little attention in relation to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Objective: This work aimed to determine the prevalence of self-stigma in a sample of adults with PTSD and to establish factors associated with the internalisation of stigma in this population. Method: Participants were 194 adults (mean age 46.07 (SD = 12.39); 64.4% female; 96.6% white Caucasian; residing in the UK), who self-reported a diagnosis of PTSD and currently screened positive for the disorder according to the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Structured interviews and validated self-report questionnaires were used to ascertain clinical and sociodemographic information for analysis. Results: The prevalence of self-stigma measured by the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMIS) was 41.2% (95% CI 34.24–48.22). There was no evidence of an association between self-stigma and gender (β = −2.975 (95% CI −7.046–1.097) p = . 151), age (β = 0.007 (95% CI −0.152–0.165) p = . 953), sexual trauma (β = 0.904 (95% CI −3.668–5.476) p = . 697), military trauma (β = −0.571 (95% CI −4.027–7.287) p = . 571). Self-stigma was associated with lower income and higher levels of anxiety (β = 5.722 (95% CI 2.922–8.522) p = <. 001), depression (β = 6.937 (95% CI 4.287–9.588) p = <. 000), and traumatic stress symptoms (β = 3.880 (95% CI 1.401–6.359) p = . 002). Conclusions: The results indicate that self-stigma may be a significant issue among people with a diagnosis of PTSD. Further work is needed to understand the long-term impact and to develop interventions to address the internalisation of stigma in this population. HIGHLIGHTS The prevalence of self-stigma among a sample of participants with PTSD was 41.2%. There was no evidence of an association between self-stigma and gender, age or sexual / military trauma. Self-stigma was associated with lower income and higher levels of anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress symptoms.
An Eight Years Perspective on the Internet Broadband Infrastructure in the USA

The broadband market in the US consists of a variety of access technologies and Internet Service Providers. However, the lack of broadband Internet access in remote regions and lack of ISP choice at high-speed tiers (above 100 Mbps) result in a digital divide that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been aiming to close. To this end, we analyze a dataset collected by the Measuring Broadband America (MBA) program to provide a comprehensive view of broadband performance (reliability, throughput, and latency) across the US from 2012–2019. We also build coverage maps on reliability, throughput, and latency to identify potential underserved areas that upcoming Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites can cover to improve market options and diversity in the near future. Throughput speeds and latencies have improved over the years, although the observed throughput is lower in some specific states. The data shows that geostationary satellites can already serve as an alternative with reliable download speeds in areas where coverage or market competition is lacking, despite the inherently higher latency.
Event-Triggered Adaptive Fault-Tolerant Control for a Class of Nonlinear Multiagent Systems With Sensor and Actuator Faults

This paper investigates the leader-following consensus control problem for a class of nonlinear multiagent systems subject to sensor and actuator faults under a fixed directed graph. First, a fault compensation mechanism is proposed because of multiple faults wherein the adaptive parameters substitute the fault coefficients. Then, the command filtering method is employed to avoid the burst of complexity rendered by the duplicative differentiation of the virtual control signal. Furthermore, the neural networks-based state observers are designed to reconstruct the unmeasurable states of the nonlinear multiagent systems. According to the given design approach, a switching threshold-based event-triggered adaptive fault-tolerant control strategy is developed and ensures all the signals in the closed-loop system are semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB). Finally, the simulation result is provided to demonstrate the validity of the presented method.
Staged vs. simultaneous bilateral nephrectomy and kidney transplantation in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: Outcomes and costs.

INTRODUCTION We sought to compare cost and safety outcomes of patients who received a kidney transplant and bilateral nephrectomy in either a simultaneous or staged approach. METHODS We reviewed all adult patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) who received a kidney transplant and underwent bilateral nephrectomy between 2008 and 2019. Patients were divided into two groups: staged (nephrectomy prior to transplant) and simultaneous (nephrectomy at the time of transplant). The primary outcome was cumulative cost of nephrectomy and transplantation ($CAD). We analyzed several secondary outcomes, including 90-day Clavien-Dindo complication rates. RESULTS A total of 114 patients with ADPKD received a kidney transplant over 11 years. Of these, 28 patients underwent both nephrectomy and transplantation (10 staged, 18 simultaneous). More patients in the simultaneous group had a living donor transplant (83% vs. 0%, p<0.001). Creatinine clearance at one year/last followup did not differ between groups (p=0.12). With similar overall complication rates between groups, the transfusion rate was also similar between groups (simultaneous 50% vs. staged 40%, p=0.91). Total cost was lower in the simultaneous group ($23 775.33 CAD vs. $35 048.83 CAD, p<0.001), largely owing to a longer total length of stay in the staged group as compared to the simultaneous group (8.1 vs. 14.5 days, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that a simultaneous approach to bilateral nephrectomy and kidney transplantation provides potential cost savings with no adverse outcomes. This provides a rationale to investigate simultaneous nephrectomy and transplantation in the deceased donor setting.
Robotic-Assisted Measurement of Fabrics for the Characterization of the Shear Tension Coupling

Industrial use of composite materials requires an increasingly advanced knowledge of technical textiles mechanical properties to control the manufacturing process and guarantee the performances of the finished products. Among the qualities that influence greatly the shaping process, theshear deformability is key for the forming of complex composite parts with double curves geometries. On the other hand, the stiffening of the behavior as the shearing rise is responsible for the occurrence of the wrinkling defect. This shearing behavior of the textile reinforcement is difficult to determinebecause it is non-linear and it coexists with a tensile stiffness of the fibers that is several orders of magnitude higher. Furthermore, shear and tension are coupled due to the weaving of the textiles. Now, few experimental methods have been proposed to measure the tension behavior of fabric as a function of its shear level because dedicated devices are needed for this investigation, capturing the shear-tension coupled behavior of fabric is then a difficult task. This paper deals with the robotization of the fabric shear-tension effect characterization. A KUKA robot associated with a force/torque sensor is utilized, taking advantage of its benefits in the ability to control the state of yarn tensions during shear tests while keeping track of the desired trajectory as enabled by the hybrid position-force control feature. This ensures precise positioning of a sample fabric and accurate contact forces. An anisotropic hyperelastic constitutive model for fabrics, based on the continuum theory of mechanics that takes into account the shear-tension coupling effect was formulated analytically and numerically simulated using Matlab software. An experimental test was then implemented to validate the proposed model. The results from a uni-axial tensile test and shear test under constant uni-axial tensile loading were obtained and analyzed to characterize the test sample. The model parameter identification was performed and presented in detail.
“I think I am a very strong woman”: Arabic-Origin Women Mobilizing Values and Claiming Worth in Denmark

Across Western European nations, politicians often problematize immigrants’ cultural values and question their fit with majority society. Within this discourse, immigrant women, especially those of Arabic origin, occupy a central place, since they are portrayed as un-agentic victims and reproducers of an oppressive culture that they pass on to their daughters. In this article, we study how, in a climate of suspicion and devaluation, these women make sense of themselves, their values, and their place in society. The research presented here departs from existing work on the role of values in immigrant integration that focuses on attitudinal differences or similarities between immigrant minorities and national majorities. Using the theoretical perspective of boundary-drawing, we seek, instead, to shed light on how women of Arabic origin actively mobilize cultural values to establish (in)compatibility between themselves and majority society and claim their worth. We situate our analysis in Denmark, where the problematization of immigrants’ values is salient, and analyze 12 interviews with pairs of Arabic-origin mothers and daughters. We show that mothers often activated values otherwise presented by Danish politicians and the media as “un-Danish” to demonstrate their fit with and contribution to Danish society. Contrary to political and academic concerns about the children of immigrants feeling constrained or experiencing value conflict, we find that daughters established dual bases of worth by mixing values from different cultural repertoires. We use these findings to discuss the potential of studying values as meaning-making tools used by immigrants and their children in the integration process.
Wildlife Forensics: A Case Study on Golden Jackal Canis aureus in India Using Canid Head and Tailor-Made Musk Pod

The escalating trend of illegal trade on wildlife and wildlife products is a serious threat to existence of wildlife globally. Effective enforcement of laws to contain this requires accurate identification of the seizures which is often difficult due to fake lookalike articles. The articles thus pose challenging complexity and necessitate the usage of different approaches in identifying the species. Species identification by the use of molecular technology is widely recognized to be a definitive method. In this report, we describe the identification of seized canid head, suspected to be of jackal and a pod suspected to be of musk deer using the DNA-based approach. The mitochondrial regions of the query samples were amplified using ribosomal markers, 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA. The sequence reads were compared with the homologous hits extracted from the NCBI database. The phylogenetic analysis was carried out with the aligned sequences to identify species with 500 bootstrap replications. Based on the genetic analysis of both the seizures, the tested samples were identified to be belonging to the species ‘Golden Jackal’.
What is more dangerous – the disease, the vaccine or the government? Using governmentality theory to understand vaccine hesitancy among Israeli citizens in times of corona

The Covid-19 pandemic and the introduction of the Covid-19 vaccine presented a rare opportunity to study risk perceptions that underline vaccine hesitancy and refusal (VHR). Drawing on Foucault’s governmentality theory, we aimed at studying the risk perceptions that underlie VHR in Israel by ascertaining why people decided not to be vaccinated against Covid-19. At the beginning of 2021, we conducted 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews with Israelis who decided not to be vaccinated against Covid-19. The interviews reveal a pervasive resistance to biopower. The interviewees believe that the Israeli government is driven by political interests and mistrust its collaboration with the big pharma companies that are suspected of furthering their own financial interests. Their mistrust manifests in allegations that the government conceals and manipulates data, and makes decisions in a non-transparent manner. The interviewees resist the Israeli government’s dangerous coercion and mistrust of its risk discourse. They express inverse risk considerations, perceiving the vaccine to be potentially dangerous, and the disease as less dangerous. Covid-19 VHR in Israel in particular, can be seen as resistance to perceived biopower, biopolitics, and bioeconomy, alongside a deconstruction of experts’ calculated risk that leads one back into uncertainty. In general, examining risk perceptions associated with vaccines through the lens of governmentality theory can help to better understand VHR, as well as other reactions to situations of risk, and to illustrate how people’s bodies become an arena for exercising power and negotiating risks.
Comprehensive analysis of global stock market reactions to the Russia-Ukraine war

ABSTRACT Since the explosion of the Russia-Ukraine war, the global stock markets have experienced considerable oscillation. Using data for 86 countries, this paper provides a comprehensive analysis to identify the roles of geopolitical, economic, institutional, humanitarian, industrial, and firm-related factors in explaining the heterogeneous abnormal returns for listed firms around the explosion of the war.
Dental Management Considerations for Patients with Cardiovascular Disease—A Narrative Review

Dental therapists encounter patients with various systemic diseases of which cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients form a significant segment. Relation between oral health and cardiac diseases has been well established. Common cardiac disorders encountered in a dental practice include arterial hypertension, heart failure, ischemic heart disease, cardiac arrhythmias, infective endocarditis, stroke, and cardiac pacemaker. Patients with CVDs pose a significant challenge to dental therapy. These patients need special considerations and an adequate understanding of the underlying cardiovascular condition to provide safe and effective dental treatment. Based on the cardiac condition, an appropriate modification in dental care is crucial. A multidisciplinary approach including the patient’s cardiologist can potentially reduce complications and improve dental treatment results. This review aims at unfolding the risks associated with the dental management of a cardiac patient and outlines the measures to be undertaken for optimum dental treatment.
Reduced-Sensor-Based PV Array-Fed Direct Torque Control Induction Motor Drive for Water Pumping

This paper aims at the design, control, and implementation of a solar photovoltaic (PV) array-fed speed sensorless direct torque control of an induction motor drive (IMD) for water pumping in a standalone as well as battery-connected hybrid mode. This stator flux estimated by the proposed flux observer is used for speed estimation. A dc-link current sensor is used to reconstruct the motor phase currents by modified active voltage vector. One voltage sensor for dc-link voltage sensing and only one current sensor for dc-link current sensing are used in this system for standalone operation of the system. All other required quantities are estimated through these two sensed signals. The IMD is energized by a PV array, which is operated at maximum power point (MPP). A perturb and observe control algorithm with additional flow rate controller is proposed for MPP, which tracks MPP throughout the operating range and provides the facility to control the flow rate. The suitability of the system is judged through simulated results in MATLAB/Simulink as well as test results obtained on a prototype developed in the laboratory.
Determination of a new model to study ultra-saturation phenomenon during the loaded power transformer energization and its effect on differential protection

One of transient phenomenon that causes the mal-operation of the power transformer differential protection during the energization of a loaded power transformer is the ultra-saturation phenomenon. In this paper, a new model for investigating the ultra-saturation phenomenon during the energization of a loaded power transformer is presented and its effect on the differential protection of the power transformer is considered. In this model, the nonlinear characteristic of the power transformer core, the effect of current transformers, and the core losses of the power transformer are taken into account. It is assumed that the load of the power transformer is a resistive and inductive load. Also, the effect of the residual flux and inception angle on the ultra-saturation phenomenon are investigated. In this paper, simulation is done by MATLAB software. The differential protection of the power transformer must be accurate and fast, so the description of the ultra-saturation phenomena is the first level for preventing of the mal-operation of the differential protection. The outcomes of this research can further be used as hints for substation operation personnel as well as for the development of new protection stabilization criteria, which is not discussed further in this paper.
On the Role of Social Media in The Presidential Campaign

In contemporary society, social media plays a very important role. More and more users suggest that social media has become part of their daily lives. This paper mainly analyzes the development process of media network, analyzes the political movement influenced by social media and the influence of social media on American presidential campaign, and draws a conclusion that most of the images of presidential campaign are packaged by media, and voters' intention will be influenced by the information spread by media to a large extent.
Assessing Relationships between Physically Demanding Work and Late-Life Disability in Italian Nonagenarian Women Living in a Rural Area

As more and more persons live into their 90s and beyond, investigating causes of disability in the oldest-old population is relevant for public health implications to plan preventive strategies and rehabilitation interventions. A negative association between physically demanding work and midlife physical function has been shown, but there is a paucity of longitudinal studies investigating possible work-related long-term effects in the oldest old. This study investigates the relationship between physically demanding work exposure and late-life physical performances, disability, general health status, and quality of life in a sample of women aged 90 years and over inside the Mugello Study. Sociodemographic data, cognitive and functional status, lifestyle, medical history, drug use, and work history were collected from 236 participants. Farmers had a lower percentage of individuals with preserved independence in basic activities of daily living compared to other occupations. However, in the multivariate analysis, only a higher cognitive function remained associated with functional independence. While confirming the well-known association between cognitive and functional decline in very old age, our results do not support the hypothesis that the negative effects of physical work exposure observed in midlife are relevant to predict disability in nonagenarian women.
Influence of Stone Shape Factor on the Pull-Out Resistance of Geogrid in the Soil-Rock Mixture

In this paper, the particle shape factor of the stone in the soil-rock mixture was used as the specific research object of the geogrid pull-out test, combining the random generation method and evaluation criteria of rock blocks in the soil-rock mixture, and a feasible method for classifying stones according to their shape factors is presented. By comparing the mechanical behavior of soil-rock mixture composed of rock blocks with different rock material shape factors in the geogrid pull-out tests under different working conditions, we studied its changing laws. The research shows that with the increase of the shape factor of the stone, the pull-out resistance of the geogrid gradually decreases. When the stone paved in the model box changes from a single layer to a double layer, the pull-out resistance of the geogrid increases, and there is a disturbance range in the contact interface between the geogrid and the stone; stone blocks 5 cm away from the geogrid surface can still have an indirect effect on the pull-out resistance of geogrids; the pull-out resistance of geogrid in clay is greater than that in the sand; and an empirical expression for predicting the pull-out resistance of geogrids is obtained. This empirical expression helps to explain the influence mechanism of stone shape on drawing resistance of geogrid.