Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ADC measurements on the Unity MR-linac: a recommendation on behalf of the Elekta Unity MR-linac consortium

Background and purpose: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for treatment response monitoring is feasible on hybrid magnetic resonance linear accelerator (MR-linac) systems. The MRI scanner of the Elekta Unity system has an adjusted design compared to diagnostic scanners. We investigated its impact on measuring the DWI-derived apparent diffusion coefﬁcient (ADC) regarding three aspects: the choice of b -values, the spatial variation of the ADC, and scanning during radiation treatment. The aim of this study is to give recommendations for accurate ADC measurements on Unity systems. Materials and methods: Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurements with increasing b -values were done to determine the highest bvalue that can be measured reliably. The spatial variation of the ADC was assessed on six Unity systems with a cylindrical phantom of 40 cm diameter. The inﬂuence of gantry rotation and irradiation was investigated by acquiring DWI images before and during treatment of 11 prostate cancer patients. Results: On the Unity system, a maximum b -value of 500 s/mm 2 should be used for ADC quantiﬁcation, as a trade-off between SNR and diffusion weighting. Accurate ADC values were obtained within 7 cm from the iso-center, while outside this region ADC values deviated more than 5%. The ADC was not inﬂuenced by the rotating linac or irradiation during treatment. Conclusion: We provide Unity system speciﬁc recommendations for measuring the ADC. This will increase the consistency of ADC values acquired in different centers on the Unity system, enabling large cohort studies for biomarker discovery and treatment response monitoring.
“Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture Biochar use in agriculture as a nature-based solution: factors influencing N2O emissions in tropical soils

9 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION . 11 References . 15 2. CONVERSION OF SUGARCANE STRAW TO BIOCHAR: IMPLICATIONS ON N2O EMISSIONS AND MICROBIAL COMMUNITY . 21 Abstract . 21 2.
Prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and their hydroxylated metabolites is associated with neurological functioning in 3-month-old infants.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are environmental chemicals which are potentially toxic to the developing brain. Their hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PCBs) are suggested to be even more toxic. Knowledge about the health effects of prenatal OH-PCB exposure is limited. We aimed to determine whether prenatal background exposure to PCBs and OH-PCBs is associated with neurological functioning in 3-month-old boys and girls. In a Dutch observational cohort study, we measured 10 PCBs and 6 OH-PCBs in maternal blood samples of 98 pregnant women. We assessed their infants neurologically with Touwen examination at 3 months and calculated an Optimality Score (OS, range 0-53, low-high optimality). We calculated correlation coefficients between compound levels and OS. Subsequently, we tested whether levels were associated with specific clusters and whether levels differed between infants with "normal" (dysfunction on ≤1 cluster) and "non-optimal" development (dysfunction on ≥2 clusters). The mean OS was 48 (range 44-52). Higher exposure to PCB-146 correlated significantly with higher OS (r = 0.209; p = 0.039). In boys, higher exposure to 4-OH-PCB-107 correlated with lower OS (r = -0.305; p = 0.030). Higher exposure to 9 PCBs and the sum of all PCBs was associated with better visuomotor and/or better sensorimotor function. Infants classified as "non-optimal" (n = 36) had significantly lower prenatal exposure to 6 PCBs and the sum of all PCBs (p < 0.05) compared with infants classified as "normal" (n = 62). In conclusion, higher prenatal exposure to Dutch background PCB levels is associated with better neurological functioning in 3-month-old infants. Prenatal exposure to 4-OH-PCB-107 is associated with less optimal neurological functioning in boys.
Sources and management of water colour in the river Tees

Over recent decades, a wide range of rivers and lakes draining peat-dominated catchments across the UK have exhibited statistically-significant increases in water colour and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration. This has implications for the carbon budget of those peatlands, and for the long-term viability of water treatment works which must remove the colour in the treatment process. Suggested causes for such increases include lower water tables in the peat, and changes in the peat chemistry through decreasing atmospheric acid deposition. One factor potentially affecting the peat water tables, and therefore possibly related to the increases in DOC, is the practice of peatland drainage, which may affect both the production of DOC and the hydrological behaviour of the peat. Drainage is no longer believed to be beneficial in increasing the amenity value of peat and so there is a need to understand whether blocking the drains will be an effective strategy in decreasing DOC export and mitigating the observed increases at water treatment works. This thesis presents the results of monitoring individual blocked drain, unblocked drain, and stream catchments. The results are used to construct detailed DOC export budgets and to compare the behaviour of the catchments. This enables identification of the extent to which drainage increases DOC export; of differences in behaviour between blocked and unblocked drains, and of whether drain blocking is likely to reverse any such increase in DOC export. Results from these individual small catchments are considered in the context of the overall DOC export across the larger scale catchment of a large water treatment works. DOC sources across the larger catchment were also monitored and, using novel statistical techniques, catchment export is related to catchment properties including the presence of drainage. These results are used to assess the likely benefits of a large scale drain blocking programme with respect to the DOC concentration observed at the water treatment works. Results are presented showing that drainage does substantially increase the DOC export from peat, with DOC export being highest from flat, extensively drained peat areas. Blocking does decrease the export from individual drain catchments, but not to pre-drainage levels, even a decade after blocking. The decreases due to blocking are shown to be due primarily to changes in the hydrological behaviour of the drains rather than changes in the production of DOC. Therefore a catchment-wide drain blocking programme is recommended as a strategy for reduction, but not total amelioration, of the increasing DOC trend that is observed at water treatment works. However, before this is implemented further understanding of the large scale changes in peatland hydrology that may follow blocking will be required, as the results do not indicate a reduction in DOC production.
Linguistic Imperialism Continued

This volume brings together key writings since the 1992 publication of Linguistic Imperialism - Robert Phillipson's controversial benchmark volume, which triggered a major re-thinking of the English teaching profession by connecting the field to wider political and economic forces. Analyzing how the global dominance of English in all domains of power is maintained, legitimized and persists in the twenty-first century, Linguistic Imperialism Continued reflects and contributes in important ways to understanding these developments. This book is not for sale in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan.
Analysing Systemic Risk in the Chinese Banking System

We examine systemic risk in the Chinese banking system by estimating the conditional value at risk (CoVaR), the marginal expected shortfall (MES), the systemic impact index (SII) and the vulnerability index (VI) for 16 listed banks in China. Although these measures show different patterns, our results suggest that systemic risk in the Chinese banking system decreased after the financial crisis, but started rising in 2014. Compared to the banking systems of Korea and the US, we find that Chinese banks are at greater risk according to the CoVaR, the SII and the VI approaches, but have the lowest MES.
Fast-ion transport in low density L-mode plasmas at TCV using FIDA spectroscopy and the TRANSP code

Experiments with the new neutral beam injection source of TCV have been performed with high fast-ion fractions (>20%) that exhibit a clear reduction of the loop voltage and a clear increase of the plasma pressure in on- and off-axis heating configurations. However, good quantitative agreement between the experimental data and TRANSP predictions is only found when including strong additional fast-ion losses. These losses could in part be caused by turbulence or MHD activity as, e.g. high frequency modes near the frequency of toroidicity induced Alfvén eignmodes are observed. In addition, a newly installed fast-ion D-alpha (FIDA) spectroscopy system measures strong passive radiation and, hence, indicates the presence of high background neutral densities such that charge-exchange losses are substantial. Also the active radiation measured with the FIDA diagnostic, as well as data from a neutral particle analyzer, suggest strong fast-ion losses and large neutral densities. The large neutral densities can be justified since high electron temperatures (3–4 keV), combined with low electron densities (about 2 × 10 19 m−3) yield long mean free paths of the neutrals which are penetrating from the walls.
INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY : AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION 1 Introduction

This paper is an empirical study on the estimation of Grossman and Lai’s (2004) gametheoretic model of international patent protection. The model yields clear predictions of the variation in degrees of patent protection across countries based on the market sizes and levels of innovative capability of the countries, and interdependence of the degrees of patent protection between countries. To estimate the interactions between countries, we adopt the spatial econometrics approach. We find that the pattern of patent protection around the globe was broadly consistent with the predictions of the non-cooperative game model before the implementation of the TRIPS agreement in 1995.
The Space Review

Human space flight in the US and other space-faring countries is faced with a twin challenge that is likely to persist for many years: flat or declining budgets along with an expectation of continuing, significant achievements. A partial solution may involve increased participation by multiple commercial competitors with the promise - albeit yet to be fully demonstrated - of much-reduced costs. That said, most commercial goals are concentrated on low-Earth orbit (LEO) for the time being, leaving human trips beyond Earth orbit (BED) as governmental initiatives. The past decade, beginning with the 1999/2000 Decadal Planning Team (DPT)/NASA Exploration Team (NExT) human space flight studies for the White House Office of Management and Budget (http://history.nasa.gov/DPT/DPT.htm), can arguably be described as a Golden Age of engineering design, strategic planning, technology capability prioritization, and development programs on the International Space Station (ISS). However, cynics have criticized the same period as little more than PowerPoint presentations, and unfocused technology investments with only limited progress toward a goal of human space flight beyond the immediate vicinity of the Earth. We disagree with the cynics. Experience with the ISS on increasingly sophisticated capabilities have prepared international partners to deploy a major "stepping stone" for human space flight: a habitation system in free space beyond low-Earth orbit. Such an achievement would be a major milestone in human space flight and, very likely, an essential demonstration site for subsequent, very ambitious exploration missions such as to Mars. Developing critical capabilities for human voyages beyond LEO, such as Earth-Moon libration points, offers, as just one example, easy return to Earth within days (see, e.g., Farquhar 1971 (Aeronautics & Astronautics, July, p. 59ff), Thronson, Lester, and Talay 2011 (http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1756/1), and Lester 2012 (http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1650/1). Use of Earth-Moon libration points as sites for early demonstrations of capabilities necessary for human missions to Mars, for example, contrasts sharply with using missions to near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) for that purpose.
Association of Recognized and Unrecognized Myocardial Infarction With Depressive and Anxiety Disorders in 125,988 Individuals

Objective: No previous study has focused on recognition of myocardial infarction (MI) and the presence of both depressive and anxiety disorders in a large population-based sample. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of recognized MI (RMI) and unrecognized MI (UMI) with depressive and anxiety disorders. Methods: Analyses included 125,988 individuals enrolled in the Lifelines study. Current mental disorders according to the DSM-IV were assessed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. UMI was detected using electrocardiography (ECG) in participants who did not report a history of MI. The classification of RMI was based on self-reported MI history together with either the use of antithrombotic medications or ECG signs of MI. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, smoking, somatic comorbidities, and physical health-related quality of life as measured by the RAND 36-Item Health Survey in different models. Results: Participants with RMI had significantly higher odds of having any depressive and any anxiety disorder as compared with participants without MI (depressive disorder: OR=1.86; 95%CI:1.38-2.52; anxiety disorder: OR=1.60; 95%CI:1.32-1.94) after adjustment for age and sex. Participants with UMI did not differ from participants without MI (depressive disorder: OR=1.60; 95%CI:0.96-2.64; anxiety disorder: OR=0.73; 95%CI:0.48-1.11). After additional adjustment for somatic comorbidities and low physical health-related quality of life, the association between RMI with any depressive disorder was no longer statistically significant
Complete manuscript title: Can We Train Machine Learning Methods to Outperform the High-dimensional Propensity Score Algorithm?

Type of manuscript: Original Article Complete manuscript title: Can We Train Machine Learning Methods to Outperform the High-dimensional Propensity Score Algorithm? Mohammad Ehsanul Karim∗1,2, Menglan Pang3,4, and Robert W. Platt3,5,6 1School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 2Center for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences (CHÉOS), Providence Health Care, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 3Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 4Centre For Clinical Epidemiology, Lady Davis Research Institute, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 5Department of Pediatrics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 6The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Janus: Fast Privacy-Preserving Data Provenance For TLS 1.3

—Web users can gather data from secure endpoints and demonstrate the provenance of the data to any third party by using TLS oracles. Beyond that, TLS oracles can confirm the provenance and policy compliance of private online data by using zero-knowledge-proof systems. In practice, privacy-preserving TLS oracles can efficiently verify private data up to 1 kB in size selectively, preventing the verification of sensitive documents larger than 1 kB. In this work, we introduce a new oracle protocol for TLS 1.3, which reaches new scales in selectively verifying the provenance of confidential data. We tailor the deployment of secure computation techniques to the conditions found in TLS 1.3 and verify private TLS data in a dedicated proof system that leverages the asymmetric privacy setting between the client parties of TLS oracles. Our results show that 8 kB of sensitive data can be verified in 6.7 seconds, outperforming related approaches by 8x. With that, we enable new boundaries to verify the web provenance of confidential documents.
Dynamic nutrients quality characteristic on pasture in different altitude in south Bohemian region.

In 2004-2005, 7 different experimental locations were chosen in the Sumava Mountains area between 450 to 900 m. Three farms had dairy cows, 2 farms had beef cattle on pasture, and 2 farms had a combined beef and dairy herd. During summer, all cattle were grazing. Dairy cows were supplemented with concentrate and hay according to their milk production. During winter, the cattle on all farms were fed with silage. The pasture yield, botanic structure of grass, clover and other plants and the quality of animal product were monitored.
People Respond With Different Moral Emotions to Violations in Different Relational Models

Consonant with a functional view of moral emotions, we argue that morality is best analyzed within relationships rather than in individuals, and use Fiske’s (1992) theory of relational models (RMs: communal sharing [CS], authority ranking [AR], equality matching [EM], and market pricing [MP]) to predict that violations in different RMs will arouse different intensities of other-blaming emotions (anger, contempt and disgust) in both observers and victims, together with different intensities of self-blaming emotions (shame and guilt) in perpetrators, and to predict that these patterns of emotion will show similarity across both individuals and cultures. Three studies, using vignettes portraying moral violations in all RMs in different experimental designs, supported these expectations, while also producing some unexpected results. The intensity of shame and guilt varied markedly across RMs, but with little difference between the two emotions. The intensity of all 3 other-blaming emotions also varied across RMs. Anger was the most intense emotional response to violation in all RMs, whereas disgust and contempt were stronger in CS than in other RMs. Disgust and shame were linked more strongly in CS than in other RMs, and anger and guilt were more strongly linked than other emotion pairs in EM. Moral emotions in RMs involving hierarchy (AR and MP) differed widely depending on the perpetrator’s dominant or subordinate status. Both Turkish (TR) and English-speaking (EN) samples showed similar patterns of all moral emotions across RMs. Understanding the functions of moral emotions in relationships using relational models can help to clarify multiple aspects of moral psychology.
Research and Practice in K-12 Online Learning: A Review of Open Access Literature

The literature related to online learning programs for K-12 students dates to the mid-1990s and builds upon a century of research and practice from K-12 distance education. While K-12 online learning programs have evolved and grown over the past decade, the amount of published research on virtual schooling practice and policy is limited. The current literature includes practitioner reports and experimental and quasi-experimental studies, both published and unpublished. This paper reviews open access literature in K-12 online learning and reports on a structured content analysis of the documents. Themes in the literature include steady growth and a focus on the benefits, challenges, and broad effectiveness of K-12 online learning. In addition, newly developed standards for K-12 online learning are emerging in descriptions of effective practices.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteraemia: independent risk factors for mortality and impact of resistance on outcome.

The rates of multidrug-resistant, extensively drug-resistant and pandrug-resistant isolates amongst non-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli, particularly Pseudomonas aeruginosa, have risen worldwide. The clinical consequence of resistance and the impact of adverse treatment on the outcome of patients with P. aeruginosa bacteraemia remain unclear. To better understand the predictors of mortality, the clinical consequence of resistance and the impact of inappropriate therapy on patient outcomes, we analysed the first episode of P. aeruginosa bacteraemia in patients from a Brazilian tertiary-care hospital during the period from May 2009 to August 2011. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was conducted; phenotypic detection of metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) and PCR of MBL genes were performed on carbapenem-resistant strains. Amongst the 120 P. aeruginosa isolates, 45.8 % were resistant to carbapenem and 36 strains were tested for MBL detection. A total of 30 % were phenotypically positive and, of these, 77.8 % expressed an MBL gene, bla(SPM-1) (57 %) and bla(VIM-type) (43 %). The resistance rates to ceftazidime, cefepime, piperacillin/tazobactam, carbapenem, fluoroquinolone and aminoglycoside were 55, 42.5, 35, 45.8, 44 and 44 %, respectively. Previous antibiotic use, length of a hospital stay ≥30 days prior to P. aeruginosa, haemodialysis, tracheostomy, pulmonary source of bacteraemia and Intensive Care Unit admission were common independent risk factors for antimicrobial resistance. Cefepime resistance, multidrug resistance and extensive drug resistance were independently associated with inappropriate therapy, which was an important predictor of mortality, being synergistic with the severity of the underlying disease.
Real-time implementation of synthetic aperture vector flow imaging in a consumer-level tablet

In this work, a vector flow imaging (VFI) method based on synthetic aperture sequential beamforming and directional transverse oscillation (TO) is implemented in a commercial tablet. In comparison with previous tablet-based flow imaging implementations, the velocity estimation is extended to a 2-D angle-independent setup. The received data are pre-beamformed in the probe, which leads to a 64x data reduction that enables real-time wireless transfer. The second stage beamforming and velocity estimation are performed in the tablet. The objective of the work is to investigate the feasibility and performance of synthetic aperture VFI implemented in a commercial hand-held device.
Framework of Evolutionary Algorithm for Investigation of Influential Nodes in Complex Networks

There are many target methods that are efficient to tackle the robustness and immunization problem, in particular, to identify the most influential nodes in a certain complex network. Unfortunately, owing to the diversity of networks, none of them could be accounted as a universal approach that works well in a wide variety of networks. Hence, in this paper, from a percolation perspective, we connect the immunization and robustness problem with an evolutionary algorithm, i.e., a framework of an evolutionary algorithm for investigation of influential nodes in complex networks, in which we have developed procedures of selection, mutation, and initialization of population as well as maintaining the diversity of population. To validate the performance of the proposed framework, we conduct intensive experiments on a large number of networks and compare it to several state-of-the-art strategies. The results demonstrate that the proposed method has significant advantages over others, especially on empirical networks in most of which our method has over 10% advantages of both optimal immunization threshold and average giant fraction, even against the most excellent existing strategies. Additionally, our discussion reveals that there might be better solutions with various initial methods.