Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Evaluation of the Lymph Node Metastases in the Head and Neck Malignancies Using Diffusion-Weighted Imaging and Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Mapping: A Bicentric Study

This study aimed to determine if diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) can differentiate between benign and malignant lymph nodes in patients with head and neck cancer. A total of 55 patients with confirmed head and neck cancer and enlarged neck nodes were enrolled and evaluated by two radiologists using a workstation. Lymph nodes were analyzed using 3D regions of interest (ROIs) placed on T2-weighted images and compared to the corresponding DWI images. This study found that DWI and ADC values can be used to assess metastatic lymph nodes in the neck and that the sensitivity, specificity, and AUC of a narrower ROI for recognizing metastases were greater compared to the ADC value of the whole node. The study also found that the size of the ROI affects ADC values. The results suggest that DWI can accurately predict the status of cervical lymph nodes in patients with head and neck cancer and that it may be useful in diagnosing, determining the stage, developing a treatment plan, and monitoring these patients.
DEVELOPMENT, CHARACTERIZATION AND ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES LOADED SODIUM ALGINATE/XANTHAN GUM MICROBEADS FOR DRUG DELIVERY APPLICATIONS

Objective: The aim of this study is to create pH-responsive drug carriers, which are useful because they have the potential to improve treatment efficacy by controlling the release rate of ofloxacin from the polymer matrix. Methods: In the first step, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were synthesized from silver nitrate using leaf extract of phyllanthus urinaria L as a reducing agent. In the second step, Ag-NPs-loaded polymeric microbeads were synthesized using sodium alginate (SA) and xanthan gum (XG) for controlled release of ofloxacin (OFLX). The developed microbeads were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (X-RD), transition electron microscopy (TEM), Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Swelling and in vitro release studies were performed at pH 2.0 and 7.4 at 37 °C. The in vitro antibacterial activity of microbeads were tested against S. mutans, K. pneumoniae, and B. subtilis. The release kinetics and mechanism were analyzed by fitting the release data into different kinetic models and the korsmeyer-peppas equation. Results: FTIR confirms the generation of silver nanoparticle and also the generation of polymeric microbeads. SEM studies reveal the developed microbeads are spherical in shape with rough surfaces. TEM studies reveal the size of 20-40 nm. XRD analysis reveals the molecular dispersion of DOX and the presence of silver nanoparticles in the polymeric matrix. Investigations of in vitro release and swelling studies show that the developed microbeads are relatively suitable for intestinal drug delivery because higher release rate was observed at pH 7.4. The developed microbead follows non-Fickian diffusion drug release mechanism. The created samples exhibited antimicrobial activity against S. mutans, K. pneumoniae, and B. subtilis. Conclusion: The results indicate that microbeads containing OFLX and silver nanoparticles are effective drug-delivery vehicles. A further warrant is required for the use of manufactured microbeads in drug delivery applications.
High variability and enhanced nocturnal oxygen uptake in coral reef sponges

Sponges are animals that feed by filtering water through their perforated body. We examined the in situ diel dynamics of sponge metabolism by continuously measuring the oxygen concentrations in the water inhaled and exhaled by undisturbed sponges. A clear daily pattern of oxygen removal was evident for six of the seven species we studied with their nocturnal oxygen removal being almost double the diurnal values (+ 86 ± 57%). Oxygenic photosynthesis by the sponge's symbiotic or endolithic phototrophic microbes may explain some of the diel difference, but significant day–night differences were also observed in three sponge species for which no evidence of photosynthetic activity (tested with imaging pulse‐amplitude‐modulation Fluorometry) was found. Mean oxygen removal (± 95% confidence interval for the mean) per species ranged from 1.7 ± 1 μmol O2 per liter (hereafter: μmol O2 L−1) for the low microbial abundance (LMA) sponge Callyspongia siphonella to 30.5 ± 10.5 μmol O2 L−1 for the high microbial abundance HMA) sponge Theonella swinhoei with considerable variation in oxygen removal across all scales (minutes to hours, within and among specimens). Events of high oxygen removal (> 50 μmol L−1) were regularly observed for five of the seven species and were predominantly nocturnal, occasionally lasting several hours. The high variability in oxygen removal stresses the need for long‐term in‐situ measurements of benthic suspension feeders metabolism.
Incidental Finding of Dirofilaria immitis (Spirurida: Onchocercidae) Microfilariae in the Bone Marrow of a Dog with Mixed Leishmania infantum-Dirofilaria immitis Infection

We report a rare and interesting case of mixed infection with Leishmania infantum and Dirofilaria immitis associated with the incidental finding of microfilariae in the bone marrow of a 9-year-old, intact, male Bullmastiff which was seropositive to L. infantum. Clinical signs showed progressive weakness, pale mucosae membranes, and a very low body condition score. Laboratory abnormalities included moderate, normocytic, normochromic, non-regenerative anemia; mild leukocytosis, neutrophilia, monocytosis, and eosinopenia; low platelet count; elevated C reactive protein; mild hyperkalemia, hypoalbuminemia, and hyperbeta-2-globulinemia; and a low A/G ratio. Hypoadrenocorticism, euthyroid sick syndrome, and alteration in the fibrinolytic phase of hemostasis were also detected. Microfilariae were incidentally found in bone marrow cytology aspirate in the absence of clinical features indicative of co-infection with D. immitis. PCR confirmed the identification of the Dirofilaria species. It is assumed that the microfilariae may have left the microcirculation and migrated to bone marrow tissues by crossing the vessel wall. To the best of our knowledge, only one such case has been previously reported in dogs.
Quantifying the Vertical Transport in Convective Storms Using Time Sequences of Radar Reflectivity Observations

A new satellite observation concept to estimate upward air mass flux in convective storms has been proposed using a convoy of small radars that measure reflectivity only. The approach is to analyze a pair of radar reflectivity profiles obtained within 30–120 s of one another, and infer the upward transport above the freezing level and at a nominal 3‐km horizontal resolution from the reflectivities and their temporal change. This paper summarizes the theoretical basis for this approach, with quantitative justification using sensitivity analyses of convection‐permitting model simulations and from ground‐based zenith profiler data. We then describe and quantify the performance of the approach to detect updrafts from the radar observations. Finally, we illustrate the expected performance of retrievals of the vertical transport and evaluate their ability to meet the objectives of the “Investigation into Convective Updrafts” mission, selected by NASA to place in orbit in 2027–2028 a convoy of three identical Ka‐band radars measuring radar reflectivity within their common swath.
Urinary and Double Incontinence in Cognitively Impaired Patients: Impacts on Those Affected and Their Professional Caregivers

Urinary or double incontinence in frail elderly people is common and leads to a reduction in quality of life and an increased burden on the patients’ caregivers. Up to now, no special instrument has been available to assess the impact of incontinence on cognitively impaired patients and their professional caregivers. Thus, the outcomes of incontinence-specific medical and nursing interventions for cognitively impaired individuals are not measurable. Our aim was to investigate the impacts of urinary and double incontinence on both the affected patients and their caregivers using the newly developed “International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Cognitively Impaired Elderly” (ICIQ-Cog) tool. The severity of incontinence was measured by incontinence episodes per night/per 24 h, the type of incontinence, the type of incontinence devices used, and the proportion of incontinence care out of total care; all these measures were correlated to the ICIQ-Cog. Incontinence episodes per night and the proportion of incontinence care out of total care showed significant correlations with the patient- and caregiver-related ICIQ-Cog scores. Both items have negative effects on patient quality of life and caregiver burden. Improving nocturnal incontinence and reducing the need for incontinence care overall can decrease the incontinence-specific bother of affected patients and their professional caregivers. The ICIQ-Cog can be used to verify the impacts of medical and nursing interventions.
Searches for signatures of an extended Higgs sector in final states with leptons and Higgs to bb decays at CMS

The Standard Model (SM) of elementary particles, a model experimentally verified to an un-precedented level of accuracy, foresees the existence a scalar particle, the so-called Higgs boson, that breaks the electroweak symmetry and explains the non-null value of fermion masses. The pursue of the Higgs boson has been carried out by several experiments at the LEP II and Tevatron colliders in the past, but unsuccessfully. However, during the year 2011, the ATLAS and CMS experiments at LHC began to observe some evidence of the elusive particle, finally confirming the discovering in 2012. Even if the Higgs boson and its observed properties represent a triumph for the Standard Model, there are many unresolved phenomena that the SM cannot explain. Several extensions have been proposed; some of the most relevant foresee several Higgs bosons instead of only one. After the commissioning of the LHC collider in 2011 and the first evidences of a light scalar boson, one of the fundamental questions to be answered was whether the new particle was the SM Higgs boson, or the lightest among the bosons foreseen by the theories extending the SM. The confirmation could come from the measurements of the Higgs couplings to the SM particles, or alternatively from the observation of new production processes and decays not predicted by the SM, or measured at a different rate. The associated production with b quarks of a Higgs boson, and its decay into pairs of b quarks, is a process with a small predicted cross section in the SM, and its observation would imply the presence of new physics. Previous searches at the Tevatron collider reported a slight excess in this channel. Afterwards the discovery of the Higgs boson in July 2012 by the CMS and ATLAS experiments, the knowledge of the properties of the Higgs boson and its mass become a valuable handle to increase the sensitivity of new physics searches. One of the most beneficial channels is the search of a heavy pseudoscalar A, and its decay into a Z boson and a light Higgs boson h, the latter assumed to be the recently-discovered 125 GeV boson. The Z boson is sought in its decay into a pair of electrons or muons, and the Higgs into a pair of b quarks. This channel, not predicted by the SM, probes a region in the parameter phase-space of beyond the SM theories which is, to some extent, complementary to the one of the multi-b search.
Taxonomy of Antarctic Buccinoidea (Gastropoda: Neogastropoda) revisited based on molecular data

Abstract. The superfamily Buccinoidea is the most speciose group of Neogastropoda within the Antarctic Convergence, with ~70 species classified in 21 genera, but is still poorly represented in molecular phylogenies. The first molecular data on the group presented in the recent phylogeny of the Buccinoidea (Kantor et al. 2022) lacked many important lineages, thereby limiting inference of the relationships of Antarctic Buccinoidea. We revisited relationships of the Antarctic Buccinoidea, involving recently collected molecular-grade samples from the bathyal and abyssal depths of the Scotia Sea, the Weddel Sea and adjacent regions. Our data set includes 25 species (including six genera studied on a molecular basis for the first time), sequenced for five phylogenetic markers: the barcode fragment of cox1 gene, fragments of ribosomal 12S, 16S rRNA and 28S and nuclear H3 genes. Based on phylogenetic reconstructions, we synonymise the genus Lussitromina with Falsitromina and reassign the latter from Cominellidae to Prosiphonidae. We confirm the placement of four further genera, Drepanodontus, Germonea, Parabuccinum and Spikebuccinum in Prosiphonidae. We detect a previously unrecognised deep lineage of the family Prosiphonidae and describe this as the new genus Scotiabuccinum. The genus Parabuccinum, previously recorded in the Magellanic province and off the eastern coast of Argentina was reported for the first time within the Antarctic Convergence. We discover four previously unrecognised species of Antarctic Prosiphonidae and these are the first Buccinoidea from Antarctic waters described based on molecular data. According to our data, all but two species of Antarctic Buccinoidea belong to the family Prosiphonidae. Seven of the nineteen Recent Antarctic Prosiphonidae genera (36%) cross the boundaries of the Convergence and eight Antarctic genera are monotypic (42%). Currently no Buccinoidea species are known to occur both within and outside the Antarctic Convergence. ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DEEA1599-C951-414E-9098-563EAD10BD57
Impact of Size and Market Competition on Risk-taking and Profitability of GCC Bank. - An Empirical Study through GMM Estimator

Investigation of size and competition on risk-taking and profitability in growing markets draws the attention of researchers like the GCC region, which is primarily a banks-based economic system. This study investigates the impact of size and market competition addressed through assets and deposit concentration on the risk and profitability of GCC banks over 2010-2017. The empirical findings of the Two-Step System Generalized Method of Moments (2GMM) estimators of dynamic panel data point out some important insights. A significant asset base actively manages risk and enhances the profitability and stability of GCC banks. Market competition is positively associated with the profitability and risk-taking of banks. The risk and profitability of GCC banks are negatively related in both directional relationships. The nonlinear relationship between risk and size in the competitive market is valid and follows an inverted U-shaped curve. However, there is little evidence of the nonlinear relationship between profitability and size in the competitive market situation of GCC banks. Finally, there is a homogeneous effect of size on risk-taking and a heterogeneous effect on profitability. The capital of banks acts positively in the risk-taking and profitability of GCC banks.
An automatic measuring method and system using laser triangulation scanning for the parameters of a screw thread

An automatic non-contact measuring system for extracting the parameters of a screw thread was developed. It was integrated with a laser-based measuring unit for the longitudinal section of the thread profile and the dual-axis moving stage position system for the movement of the undetected object. Firstly, data points from the thread profile were collected by the measuring system, the non-uniform rational B-spline curve (NURBS) method with the minimal error constraints was used to carry out the fitting of the measured data and data partitioning was performed. Secondly, according to the processed data, the parameters, such as thread pitch, pitch diameter and half of thread angle, can be calculated. Thirdly, the errors were analyzed for the proposed system. Finally, the proposed system and method were verified for their good performance with acceptable accuracy and reliability. Compared with existing measurement methods, the designed non-contact optical measuring system was capable of measuring the parameters of the internal thread which is no less than the M4 and external thread with required accuracy.
Sur la répartition des fonctions $q$-additives

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Populist Female MPs and the Discourse around Gender and Gender-based Violence in the Italian Twittersphere during the Pandemic

Abstract:Recent research exploring the relationships between gender and populism has shown that populist parties, mainly right-wing, usually do not advance a women-friendly agenda and do not provide women-favorable environments. Nevertheless, concerns about women's rights and combating violence against women are gaining space within populist discourse. In this contribution, we analyze the tweets of populist female MPs in the Italian Parliament to explore their discourse on gender issues, paying particular attention to gender-based violence and the internal differences in the discourse of populist female MPs. The results show how right-wing female MPs promote a "right-wing" version of women's rights, especially when dealing with gender-based violence. The results also point out the differences in populist discourse on gender and gender-based violence in different varieties of populism.
Evaluation of Model Validation Techniques in the Presence of Aleatory and Epistemic Input Uncertainties

Model validation is the assessment of the “correctness” of a given model relative to experimental data. The results of a model validation study can be used to quantify the model form uncertainty, to select between different models, or to improve the model (i.e., through calibration or model updating). The process of model validation is complicated by the fact that both the simulation and experimental outcomes include significant uncertainty, which can come in the form of aleatory (random) uncertainties, epistemic (lack-of-knowledge) uncertainties, and bias errors. The application of Probability Bounds Analysis for treating mixed (i.e., containing both aleatory and epistemic) input uncertainties results in a family of cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) of the simulation outcomes, which is referred to as a “probability box” or “p-box. ” The fact that a family of CDFs, as opposed to a single CDF, is required to characterize the outcomes complicates the implementation of model validation techniques. In this paper, we will examine the following approaches to model validation and assess their ability to handle problems with mixed uncertainties: 1) the area validation metric, 2) a modified area validation metric with a factor of safety, 3) a modified area validation metric with confidence intervals, 4) the standard validation uncertainty, and 5) the difference in simulation and experimental means. To provide a rigorous assessment of these model validation techniques, we employ the recently developed Method of Manufactured Universes (MMU), where “true values in nature” are constructed by the analyst to reflect the behavior of a physical reality of interest. Here, MMU is applied to the compressible turbulent flow over a NACA 0012 airfoil, where the “true” values are constructed using turbulent computational fluid dynamics simulations while the “model” employs simplified lift and drag estimates based on thin airfoil theory and empirical lift and drag correlations. Preliminary results suggest that the modified area validation metric implementations provide more conservative estimates of the model form uncertainty than the area validation metric for mean values, with the confidence-interval implementation also returning smaller uncertainty ratios.
Optimal control of energy extraction in wind-farm boundary layers

In very large wind farms, the vertical interaction with the atmospheric boundary layer plays an important role, i.e. the total energy extraction is governed by the vertical transport of kinetic energy from higher regions in the boundary layer towards the turbine level. In the current study, we investigate optimal control of wind-farm boundary layers, considering the individual wind turbines as flow actuators, whose energy extraction can be dynamically regulated in time so as to optimally influence the flow field and the vertical energy transport. To this end, we use large-eddy simulations of a fully developed pressure-driven wind-farm boundary layer in a receding-horizon optimal control framework. For the optimization of the wind-turbine controls, a conjugate-gradient optimization method is used in combination with adjoint large-eddy simulations for the determination of the gradients of the cost functional. In a first control study, wind-farm energy extraction is optimized in an aligned wind farm. Results are accumulated over one hour of operation. We find that the energy extraction is increased by 16 % compared to the uncontrolled reference. This is directly related to an increase of the vertical fluxes of energy towards the wind turbines, and vertical shear stresses increase considerably. A further analysis, decomposing the total stresses into dispersive and Reynolds stresses, shows that the dispersive stresses increase drastically, and that the Reynolds stresses decrease on average, but increase in the wake region, leading to better wake recovery. We further observe also that turbulent dissipation levels in the boundary layer increase, and overall the outer layer of the boundary layer enters into a transient decelerating regime, while the inner layer and the turbine region attain a new statistically steady equilibrium within approximately one wind-farm through-flow time. Two additional optimal control cases study penalization of turbulent dissipation. For the current wind-farm geometry, it is found that the ratio between wind-farm energy extraction and turbulent boundary-layer dissipation remains roughly around 70 %, but can be slightly increased by a few per cent by penalizing the dissipation in the optimization objective. For a pressure-driven boundary layer in equilibrium, we estimate that such a shift can lead to an increase in wind-farm energy extraction of 6 %.
A TLD-Based Few-Channel Spectrometer for X Ray Fields with High Fluence Rates

A few-channel photon spectrometer has been developed which consists of a stack of metallic filters with increasing cut-off energies interspersed with hermolominescence detectors. From the reading of the detectors the spectral fluence can be determined by an unfolding procedure. The spectrometer can be used in pulsed radiation fields with extremely high momentary values of the fluence rate and photon energies between 10 keV and 1 MeV. Design, calibration and a first application of the spectrometer are described.