Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New Regularization Model Based on Non-Local Means for Image Deblurring

Image deblurring with noise is a typical ill-posed problem needs regularization. Various regularization models were proposed during several decades study, such as Tikhonov and TV. A new regularization model based non-local similarity constrains is proposed in this paper, which used l2 non-local norms and could be easily solved by fast non-local image denoising algorithm. By combining with Bregmanrized operator splitting (BOS) algorithm, a fast and efficient iterative three step image deblurring scheme is given. Experimental results show that proposed regularization model obtained better results on ten common test images than other similar regularization model including newly proposed NLTV regularization, both in deblurring performance (PSNR and MSSIM) and processing speed.
Assessment of Salvage Surgery in Persistent Cervical Cancer after Definitive Radiochemotherapy: A Systematic Review

Background and Objectives: The standard treatment approach in locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) is exclusive concurrent chemoradiation therapy (RTCT). The risk of local residual disease after six months from RTCT is about 20–30%. It is directly related to relapse risk and poor survival, such as in patients with recurrent cervical cancer. This systematic review aims to describe studies investigating salvage surgery’s role in persistent/recurrent disease in LACC patients who underwent definitive RTCT. Materials and Methods: Studies were eligible for inclusion when patients had LACC with radiologically suspected or histologically confirmed residual disease after definitive RTCT, diagnosed with post-treatment radiological workup or biopsy. Information on complications after salvage surgery and survival outcomes had to be reported. The methodological quality of the articles was independently assessed by two researchers with the Newcastle–Ottawa scale. Following the recommendations in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, we systematically searched the PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, Medline, and Medscape databases in May 2022. We applied no language or geographical restrictions but considered only English studies. We included studies containing data about postoperative complications and survival outcomes. Results: Eleven studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and all were retrospective observational studies. A total of 601 patients were analyzed concerning the salvage surgery in LACC patients for persistent/recurrent disease after RTCT treatment. Overall, 369 (61.4%) and 232 (38.6%) patients underwent a salvage hysterectomy (extrafascial or radical) and pelvic exenteration (anterior, posterior, or total), respectively. Four hundred and thirty-nine (73%) patients had histologically confirmed the residual disease in the salvage surgical specimen, and 109 patients had positive margins (overall range 0–43% of the patients). The risk of severe (grade ≥ 3) postoperative complications after salvage surgery is 29.8% (range 5–57.5%). After a median follow-up of 38 months, the overall RR was about 32% with an overall death rate of 40% after hysterectomy or pelvic exenteration with or without lymphadenectomy. Conclusions: There is heterogeneity between the studies both in their design and results, therefore the effect of salvage surgery on survival and recurrence cannot be adequately estimated. Future homogeneous studies with an appropriately selected population are needed to analyze the safety and efficacy of salvage hysterectomy or pelvic exenteration in patients with residual tumors after definitive RTCT.
Social Support, Quality of Care, and Patient Adherence to Tuberculosis Treatment in Peru: The Mediating Role of Nurse Health Education

Background Peru is one of the countries with the highest burden of tuberculosis (TB) and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in the Latin American region and globally. Health education provided by nurses reinforces social support and the quality of patient care allows a greater impact on adherence to TB treatment. Purpose This study evaluated the mediating effect of treatment education between social support, quality of care, and treatment adherence in TB patients. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out considering 162 adult TB patients from four health centers of the public sector located in the center of the city of Lima, Peru. Data were collected on variables, such as social support, quality of care, health education, and adherence to TB treatment. SmartPLS was used for data analysis. Results The results showed that social support and quality of care significantly influence health education. Likewise, health education mediates social support and quality of care for better adherence to treatment. Conclusion It is recommended that hospitals take initiatives to provide better health education on TB treatment to ensure better adherence to treatment.
Early detection of exon 1 huntingtin aggregation in zQ175 brains by molecular and histological approaches

Abstract Huntingtin-lowering approaches that target huntingtin expression are a major focus for therapeutic intervention for Huntington’s disease. When the cytosine, adenine and guanine repeat is expanded, the huntingtin pre-mRNA is alternatively processed to generate the full-length huntingtin and HTT1a transcripts. HTT1a encodes the aggregation-prone and highly pathogenic exon 1 huntingtin protein. In evaluating huntingtin-lowering approaches, understanding how the targeting strategy modulates levels of both transcripts and the huntingtin protein isoforms that they encode will be essential. Given the aggregation-propensity of exon 1 huntingtin, the impact of a given strategy on the levels and subcellular location of aggregated huntingtin will need to be determined. We have developed and applied sensitive molecular approaches to monitor the levels of aggregated and soluble huntingtin isoforms in tissue lysates. We have used these, in combination with immunohistochemistry, to map the appearance and accumulation of aggregated huntingtin throughout the CNS of zQ175 mice, a model of Huntington’s disease frequently chosen for preclinical studies. Aggregation analyses were performed on tissues from zQ175 and wild-type mice at monthly intervals from 1 to 6 months of age. We developed three homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence assays to track the accumulation of aggregated huntingtin and showed that two of these were specific for the exon 1 huntingtin protein. Collectively, the homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence assays detected huntingtin aggregation in the 10 zQ175 CNS regions by 1–2 months of age. Immunohistochemistry with the polyclonal S830 anti-huntingtin antibody showed that nuclear huntingtin aggregation, in the form of a diffuse nuclear immunostain, could be visualized in the striatum, hippocampal CA1 region and layer IV of the somatosensory cortex by 2 months. That this diffuse nuclear immunostain represented aggregated huntingtin was confirmed by immunohistochemistry with a polyglutamine-specific antibody, which required formic acid antigen retrieval to expose its epitope. By 6 months of age, nuclear and cytoplasmic inclusions were widely distributed throughout the brain. Homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence analysis showed that the comparative levels of soluble exon 1 huntingtin between CNS regions correlated with those for huntingtin aggregation. We found that soluble exon 1 huntingtin levels decreased over the 6-month period, whilst those of soluble full-length mutant huntingtin remained unchanged, data that were confirmed for the cortex by immunoprecipitation and western blotting. These data support the hypothesis that exon 1 huntingtin initiates the aggregation process in knock-in mouse models and pave the way for a detailed analysis of huntingtin aggregation in response to huntingtin-lowering treatments.
The Pricing-Out Phenomenon in the U.S. Housing Market

The COVID-19 pandemic further extended the multi-year housing boom in advanced economies and emerging markets alike against massive monetary easing during the pandemic. In this paper, we analyze the pricing-out phenomenon in the U.S. residential housing market due to higher house prices associated with monetary easing. We first set up a stylized general equilibrium model and show that although monetary easing decreases the mortgage payment burden, it would raise house prices, lower housing affordability for first-time homebuyers, and increase housing wealth inequality between first-time and repeat homebuyers. We then use the U.S. household-level data to quantify the effect of the house price change on housing affordability relative to that of the interest rate change. We find evidence of the pricing-out effect for all homebuyers; moreover, we find that the pricing-out effect is stronger for firsttime homebuyers than for repeat homebuyers. The paper highlights the importance of accounting for general equilibrium effects and distributional implications of monetary policy while assessing housing affordability. It also calls for complementing monetary easing with well-targeted policy measures that can boost housing affordability, particularly for first-time and lower-income households. Such measures are also needed during aggressive monetary tightening, given that the fall in house prices may be insufficient or too slow to fully offset the immediate adverse impact of higher rates on housing affordability. RECOMMENDED CITATION: Beraldi, Francesco, and Yunhui Zhao. 2023. “The Pricing-Out Phenomenon in the U.S. Housing Market,” IMF Working Paper No. 23/1, International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C. JEL Classification Numbers: C10, C53, E31, E37, R30
Application of a Fringe Capacitive Sensor to Small-Distance Measurement

In this paper, we used a fringe capacitive sensor to measure a short-distance variation of a target. High-precision displacement measurement was carried out based on the small fringing capacitance of the sensor measured. Sensing sensitivity was 38 µV/µm when the measurement was carried out in the distance range from 75 to 150 µm, which is the distance range between the sensor and the target. The sensitivity of the fringing capacitor is affected by its dimension, linewidth, and pattern. A printed circuit board (PCB)-based fabrication process was used to fabricate fringing capacitive sensors of various patterns. A simple and low cost sensing circuit transformed fringing capacitances into voltage output signal, which is also called capacitance-to-voltage (C/V) conversion. We accomplished the short-distance measurement with precision up to a submicron level.
Effect of Clinical and Laboratory Parameters on HDL Particle Composition

The functional status of High-Density Lipoprotein (HDLs) is not dependent on the cholesterol content but is closely related to structural and compositional characteristics. We reported the analysis of HDL lipidome in the healthy population and the influence of serum lipids, age, gender and menopausal status on its composition. Our sample comprised 90 healthy subjects aged between 30 and 77 years. HDL lipidome was investigated by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Among serum lipids, triglycerides, apoAI, apoB and the ratio HDL-C/apoAI had a significant influence on HDL lipid composition. Aging was associated with significant aberrations, including an increase in triglyceride content, lysophosphatidylcholine, free cholesterol, and a decrease in esterified cholesterol, phospholipids, and sphingomyelin that may contribute to increased cardiovascular risk. Aging was also associated with an atherogenic fatty acid pattern. Changes occurring in the HDL lipidome between the two genders were more pronounced in the decade from 30 to 39 years of age and over 60 years. The postmenopausal group displayed significant pro-atherogenic changes in HDLs compared to the premenopausal group. The influence of serum lipids and intrinsic factors on HDL lipidome could improve our understanding of the remodeling capacity of HDLs directly related to its functionality and antiatherogenic properties, and also in appropriate clinical research study protocol design. These data demonstrate that NMR analysis can easily follow the subtle alterations of lipoprotein composition due to serum lipid parameters.
Smartphones in the university classroom: less problematic than we tend to think?

ABSTRACT Smartphones are a key part of life for university and college students, and indeed for many people [Pew Research Center. (2021, April 7). Mobile fact sheet. https://www.pewresearch. org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/]. A growing body of research suggests that these technological devices, when used in a classroom, lead to various issues and problems for students from distraction/loss of focus to procrastination, and ultimately impact performance and grades. Media coverage has pointed to smartphones as a scourge responsible for the decline of an entire generation of university and college students. Much of the research, while important and timely, tends to study what technological devices ‘do to’ people. There has been less focus on how students temper their use of smartphones in a classroom and while doing schoolwork – in other words, what they ‘do with’ their technological devices, such as smartphones. This research was completed in Winter 2021 via online survey with 632 undergraduate students at a large Canadian University. It found that students employ a variety of strategies that help mitigate the risks of smartphone use. These include installing apps that manage time on various platforms, turning off notifications, or placing their phone in a coat or bag. Some students turn off their phone or leave it in another room when taking online classes. This study positioned the students themselves as ‘experts’ in the use of their smartphones. The findings suggest that many students feel they limit their smartphone use in class or while studying far better than professors and the media suggest.
Investigation of ZnO thin films deposited on ferromagnetic metallic buffer layer by molecular beam epitaxy toward realization of ZnO-based magnetic tunneling junctions

Deposition of ZnO thin films on a ferromagnetic metallic buffer layer (Co3Pt) by molecular beam epitaxy technique was investigated for realization of ZnO-based magnetic tunneling junctions with good quality hexagonal ZnO films as tunnel barriers. For substrate temperature of 600 °C, ZnO films exhibited low oxygen defects and high electrical resistivity of 130 Ω cm. This value exceeded that of hexagonal ZnO films grown by sputtering technique, which are used as tunnel barriers in ZnO-MTJs. Also, the effect of oxygen flow during deposition on epitaxial growth conditions and Co3Pt surface oxidation was discussed.
ON TWO-FIELD NURBS-BASED ISOGEOMETRIC FORMULATION FOR INCOMPRESSIBLE MEDIA PROBLEMS

This paper presents u-p mixed formulation relied on the framework of NURBS-based Isogeometric approach (IgA) for incompressible problems. In mixed method, displacement (velocity) field is approximated using NURBS basis functions with one order higher than that of pressure one. Being different from the standard FEM, the IgA allows to increase (or decrease) easily the order and continuous derivative of interpolated functions. As a result, a family of NURBS elements, which satisfies the inf-sup condition, is obtained. Benchmark examples are given to validate the excellent performance of the method.
The appearance of cosmic fireballs

The influence of matter on a radiation fireball is examined. Even when a small amount of baryonic material is present, most of the radiation energy of the fireball will be converted to a kinetic energy of the matter, and almost no electromagnetic signal will be observed. The implications of this result for several processes in which such a fireball might occur are discussed. 10 refs.
Photovoltaic effect and charge storage in single ZnO nanowires

Asymmetric Schottky barriers between ZnO nanowire and metal electrode have been fabricated at the two ends of the nanowire. An obvious photocurrent generated from the device at zero voltage bias can be switched on/off with quick response by controlling the light irradiation. Moreover, the device can still afford a current at zero bias after switching off light illumination, which is ascribed to the charge storage effect in single ZnO nanowires. The underlying mechanisms related to the photovoltaic effect and charge storage were discussed.
Sequential Implementation of Stepwise Procedures for Identifying the Maximum Tolerated Dose

This article considers the problem of finding the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of a drug in human trials. The MTD is defined as the maximum test dose with toxicity probability less than or equal to a target toxicity rate. We adopt the multiple test framework, with step-down tests used in an escalation stage and step-up tests used in a deescalation stage, to allow sequential dose assignments for ethical purposes. By formulating the estimation problem as a testing problem, the proposed procedures formally control the error probability of selecting an unsafe dose. In addition, we can control the probability of correctly selecting the MTD under a parameter subspace where no toxicity probability lies in an interval bracketed by the target toxicity rate and an unacceptably high toxicity rate, the so-called “indifference zone. ” This frequentist property, which is currently lacking in the conduct of dose-finding trials in humans, is appealing from a regulatory standpoint. We give the general expressions of the selection probabilities and apply some common statistical tests to the stepwise procedure. The design parameters are calibrated so that the average number of patients receiving an overdose is kept low. From a practical viewpoint, stepwise tests are simple and easy to understand, and the sequential implementation operates in a manner similar to the traditional algorithm familiar to clinicians. Extensive simulations illustrate that our methods yield good, competitive operating characteristics under a wide range of scenarios with realistic sample size and performs well even in situations in which other existing methods may fail, namely when the dose–toxicity curve is flat up to the targeted MTD.
Treatment Strategies for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer with Common EGFR Mutations: A Review of the History of EGFR TKIs Approval and Emerging Data

Simple Summary The management of non-small cell lung cancer with a common EGFR mutation has evolved over the past decades. While frontline use of second- or third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is preferred over first-generation EGFR-TKIs, choosing the ideal agent depends on multiple factors (drug availability, physician comfort, specific EGFR mutation, presence of brain metastasis, etc.). Furthermore, defining subsequent therapies at the time of progression will rely on numerous variables (extent of disease, frontline EGFR TKI generation used, mechanism of resistance, etc.). Consequently, defining an optimal sequencing strategy is both, crucial and challenging. In this review, we present a detailed summary of evidence supporting the use of EGFR TKIs with or without other therapeutic approaches, outline available options at the time of disease progression, summarize investigational strategies, and suggest an approach to therapeutic sequencing in patients with common EGFR mutations. Abstract The development of targeted therapies over the past two decades has led to a dramatic change in the management of EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). While there are currently five approved EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for treating EGFR-mutant NSCLC in the first-line setting, therapy selection after progression on EGFR TKIs remains complex. Multiple groups are investigating novel therapies and drug combinations to determine the optimal therapy and treatment sequence for these patients. In this review, we summarize the landmark trials and history of the approval of EGFR TKIs, their efficacy and tolerability, and the role of these therapies in patients with central nervous system metastasis. We also briefly discuss the mechanisms of resistance to EGFR TKIs, ongoing attempts to overcome resistance and improve outcomes, and finalize by offering treatment sequencing recommendations.
Asteroseismic observations of OB stars

Abstract The region of the hot end of the main-sequence is hosting pulsating stars of different types and flavours. Pulsations are not only observed for Slowly pulsating B stars (mid to late B-type stars; high order g-modes) and β Cephei stars (early B-type stars; low order p/g-modes) but are also causing variability in Be stars and OB-supergiants. In this review we give an overview of the asteroseismic observations that are currently available for these types of stars. The first asteroseismic results were solely based on ground-based observations. Recently, the arrival of space-based data gathered by space missions like most, corot and kepler has led to important discoveries for massive stars, highlighting their excellent asteroseismic potential. We show that, despite the unprecedented precision of the space-based data, there is still a clear need for ground-based follow-up observations.
Aeroelastic Analysis of Transonic Flutter with CFD-Based Reduced-Order Model

The current work is concerned with studying processes for constructing reduced-order models capable of performing transonic aeroelastic stability analyses in the frequency domain based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques. The CFD calculations are based on the Euler equations, and the code uses a finite volume formulation for general unstructured grids. A centered spatial discretization with added artificial dissipation is used, and an explicit Runge-Kutta time marching method is employed. The dynamic system considered in the present work is a NACA 0012 airfoil-based typical section in the transonic regime. Unsteady calculations are performed for mode-by-mode and simultaneous excitation approaches, the latter defined by orthogonal Walsh functions. System identification techniques are employed to allow the splitting of the aerodynamic coefficient time histories into the contribution of each individual mode to the corresponding aerodynamic transfer functions. Generalized unsteady aerodynamic forces are approximated by a rational transfer function in the Laplace domain, in which nonlinear parameters are selected through a non-gradient optimization process. Different types of interpolating polynomials are tested and the results are compared. Results show that the proposed procedure can reproduce literature aeroelastic analysis data with a single unsteady CFD run.
Renewable resource dynamics: A Web-based classroom experiment

Abstract The authors adapted a lab-in-the-field experiment emulating the dynamic extraction of a fishery to create a Web-based classroom experiment. The game includes a multi-player version analogous to an open-access problem and a single-player version analogous to the social planner problem. This game is helpful in introductory microeconomics courses to teach about dominant strategies and the consequences of resource rivalry. In elective courses, the game helps teach bio-economics concepts, including logistic growth functions and optimal extraction paths. Instructions for game deployment and creating the sessions are provided. Conducting the game takes about 20 minutes, and because the game is Web-based, students can access it from their laptops, tablets, or smartphones.