Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of various assumptions for the individual TNM components on the TNM stage using Nordic cancer registry data

Abstract Background The stage at diagnosis is one of the most important predictors for cancer survival. TNM stage is constructed from T (tumor size), N (nodal spread), and M (distant metastasis) components. In many notifications to cancer registries, TNM information is incomplete with unknown N and/or M. We aimed to evaluate the influence of various assumptions for recoding missing N (NX) and M (MX) as N0 and M0 on the proportion with available TNM stage, stage-distribution, and stage-specific relative survival. Material and Methods We identified 140,201 patients diagnosed with incident cancer of the colon, rectum, lung, breast, or kidney during 2014–2016 in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, or Iceland. Information on TNM were obtained from cancer registry records used for an update of the Nordic cancer statistics database NORDCAN. Patients were followed for death or emigration through 2017. We calculated proportions of available TNM stage, stage distribution, and stage-specific relative survival under different approaches for each cancer site and country. Results Application of the assumptions yielded higher numbers of cases with available TNM stage for stages 0–I, II, and III. We observed only minor differences in stage-specific one-year relative survival when applying N0M0 for missing N and M, especially for high completeness of TNM registrations, whereas relative survival for remaining cases with missing TNM stage declined substantially. Conclusion We found no major changes in stage-specific one-year relative survival applying N0M0 for NXMX. We conclude that complete TNM information is preferable to making assumptions, but it seems reasonable to consider assuming N0M0 for missing N and M in future studies based on the Nordic cancer registries. An automatic algorithm, though, is not recommended without considering potential area-specific reasons for frequent use of NX and MX. Clinicians should be urged to report complete TNM information to improve surveillance of the TNM stage.
YouTube as a source of information for retinopathy of prematurity in the Arabic language

Abstract Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of blindness in infants thus it is important to raise awareness about this disease. As online platforms are a popular source of medical information; the purpose of this study is to evaluate the credibility of the content of YouTube videos on ROP in the Arabic language. The first 40 relevant videos were included and were independently reviewed by two ophthalmologists employing six assessment tools: reliability, accuracy, quality, comprehensiveness, overall viewer experience, and usefulness. Out of the 40 videos that were analysed, only 29 were considered useful. The mean DISCERN score of the videos was 32 indicating poor quality. Furthermore, 70% of the videos were completely accurate, but only 5% were fully comprehensive. Regarding the global quality score, only four videos were of excellent quality/flow (10%), while 15 were generally poor with the poor flow (37.5%). Viewer experience was assessed as fair to very poor in 22 videos (55%). The overall quality of the content in YouTube videos was poor, rendering this platform an unreliable source of information about ROP. However, given its high level of engagement, the medical community could hone its potential for raising awareness about ROP by creating entertaining useful content.
Wearables Measuring Electrodermal Activity to Assess Perceived Stress in Care: A Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND Chronic stress responses can lead to physical and behavioural health problems, often experienced and observed in the care of people with intellectual disabilities or people with dementia. Electrodermal activity (EDA) is a bio-signal for stress, which can be measured by wearables and thereby support stress management. However, the how, when and to what extent patients and healthcare providers can benefit, is unclear. This study aims to create an overview of available wearables enabling the detection of perceived stress by using EDA. METHODS Following the PRISMA-SCR protocol for scoping reviews, four databases were included in the search of peer-reviewed studies published between 2012-2022, reporting detection of EDA in relation to self-reported stress or stress-related behaviours. Type of wearable, bodily location, research population, context, stressor type and the reported relationship between EDA and perceived stress were extracted. RESULTS Of the 74 included studies, the majority included healthy subjects in laboratory situations. Field studies and studies using machine learning to predict stress have increased in the last years. EDA is most often measured on the wrist, with offline data processing. Studies predicting perceived stress or stress-related behaviour using EDA features, reported accuracies between 42%-100% with an average of 82.6%. Of these studies, the majority used machine learning. CONCLUSION Wearable EDA sensors are promising in detecting perceived stress. Field studies with relevant populations in a health or care context are lacking. Future studies should focus on the application of EDA-measuring wearables in real-life situations to support stress management.
Multicenter, multidisciplinary user‐centered design of a clinical decision‐support and simulation system for massive transfusion

Managing critical bleeding with massive transfusion (MT) requires a multidisciplinary team, often physically separated, to perform several simultaneous tasks at short notice. This places a significant cognitive load on team members, who must maintain situational awareness in rapidly changing scenarios. Similar resuscitation scenarios have benefited from the use of clinical decision support (CDS) tools.
Higher-gradient continua: The legacy of Piola, Mindlin, Sedov and Toupin and some future research perspectives

Since the first studies dedicated to the mechanics of deformable bodies (by Euler, D’Alembert, Lagrange) the principle of virtual work (or virtual velocities) has been used to provide firm guidance to the formulation of novel theories. Gabrio Piola dedicated his scientific life to formulating a continuum theory in order to encompass a large class of deformation phenomena and was the first author to consider continua with non-local internal interactions and, as a particular case, higher-gradient continua. More recent followers of Piola (Mindlin, Sedov and then Richard Toupin) recognized the principle of virtual work (and its particular case, the principle of least action) as the (only! ) firm foundation of continuum mechanics. Mindlin and Toupin managed to formulate a conceptual frame for continuum mechanics which is able to effectively model the complex behaviour of so-called architectured, advanced, multiscale or microstructured (meta)materials. Other postulation schemes, in contrast, do not seem able to be equally efficient. The present work aims to provide a historical and theoretical overview of the subject. Some research perspectives concerning this theoretical approach are outlined in the final section.
Direct Elicitation of Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials by Electrical Stimulation and Their Use to Verify the Most Comfortable Level of Stimulation in Cochlear Implant Users

Introduction: This study was designed to investigate the use of electrically evoked cortical auditory evoked potentials (eCAEPs) as a tool for cochlear implant (CI) verification, the relationships between the site and intensity of stimulation and the detection rates and morphologies of eCAEPs as well as investigate whether correlations exist between the morphologies of eCAEPs and speech perception in quiet and in noise, duration of hearing loss, age at implantation, whether the hearing loss bilateral or single-sided and the electrode current level required to elicit MCL stimulation. Methods: 32 adult unilateral CI users with postlingual hearing loss were enrolled. The stimuli were 1 kHz biphasic alternating pulses and were presented at either the behaviorally measured MCL or 50% of this value (MCL0.5) via the CI fitting software. Pulses were directed to apical, medial, or basal electrodes. CAEPs were recorded from a scalp electrode placed at the vertex, low forehead, and contralateral mastoid and were evaluated by two electrophysiologists. Results: Overall, eCAEPs could be detected in 31/32 users when stimulating at MCL, and in 29/32 users when stimulating at MCL0.5. The detection rates were 31, 31, and 28/32 for apical, medial, and basal stimulation at MCL, and 29, 29, and 26/32 at MCL0.5. Significant differences in eCAEP amplitudes and latencies were observed across electrodes and stimulation levels. No significant correlations were found between eCAEP latencies and amplitudes and user age, duration of deafness prior to CI surgery, or with bilateral versus single-sided hearing loss, nor with the charge level required to elicit MCL, or with speech perception scores in quiet. Peak latencies correlated with speech perception scores in some configurations of speech-in-noise. Conclusion: eCAEPs can readily be elicited in the majority of adult CI users and show normal waveform characteristics at stimulation levels corresponding to MCL, as well as at basal, medial, and apical electrode stimulation sites. Neither the latencies nor amplitudes of eCAEPs are confounded by variables of age, duration of deafness prior to CI surgery, or the laterality of hearing loss. eCAEPs are a useful, objective method evaluate sound perception in CI users.
Sources, Components, Structure, Catalytic Mechanism and Applications: a Critical Review on Nicotinate Dehydrogenase

Plant-derived insecticide-neonicotinoid insecticides (NIs) played a crucial role in the development of agriculture and food industry in recent years. Nevertheless, synthesis of these nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds with an effective and greener routing remains challenging especially to the notion raise of “green chemistry” and “atom economy”. While bio-catalyzed methods mediated by nicotinate dehydrogenase (NDHase) then provide an alternative. The current review mainly focuses on the introduction of sources, components, structure, catalytic mechanism and applications of NDHase. Specifically, NDHase is known as nicotinic acid hydroxylase and the sources principally derived from phylum Proteobacteria. In addition, NDHase requires the participation of the electron respiratory chain system on the cell membrane. And the most important components of the electron respiratory chain are hydrogen carrier, which is mainly composed of iron-sulfur proteins (Fe-S), flavin dehydrogenase (FAD), molybdenum binding protein and cytochromes. Heterologous expression studies were hampered by the plasmid and host with high efficiency and currently only Pseudomonas entomophila L48 as well as Comamonas testosterone was successfully utilized for the expression of NDHase. Furthermore, it is speculated that the conjugate and inductive effects of the substituent group at position 3 of the substrate pyridine ring exerts a critical role in the hydroxylation reactions at position 6 concerning about the substrate molecular recognition mechanism. Finally, applications of NDHase are addressed in terms of pesticide industry and wastewater treatment. On conclusion, this critical review would not only deepen our understanding of the theory about NDHase, but also provides the guideline for future investigation of NDHase.
A Study on the Synoptic-Dynamical Characteristics of Compact Tropical Cyclones in the Western North Pacific

AbstractThis study focuses on the synoptic and dynamical characteristic of compact and incompact tropical cyclones (TCs) in the western North Pacific. To identify the distinct mechanisms related to the development and maintenance of these two categories of TCs, the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) is used to simulate the compact Typhoon Yutu (2007) and the incompact Typhoon Manyi (2007). Simulation results of Yutu show that the wind speed increases primarily in the inner-core region, where strong relative vorticity and high inertial stability is also located. Comparatively, the inertial stability for Typhoon Manyi is much weaker, which makes it more susceptible to influences from external low-level forcing. Diagnoses of the numerical simulations as well as examination of the synoptic environments that embed the two TCs suggest that compact TCs mainly develop through internal dynamics, whereas incompact TCs are usually driven by external forcing. Several sets of sensitivity experiments are desi.
Group Behaviour Control Based on Aggregation and Dilation

Abstract The phenomenon of aggregation and dilation(A&D) widely exists in nature. The mechanism behind it is regarded as the effect of some kind of attraction and repulsion(A&R). A&R control becomes a popular and promising way of controlling the structure and distribution of a group composed of several and even numerous individuals. This paper presents the concepts of aggregation, dilation and group evolution criticality based on group variance. We investigate the relationship between different levels of A&D as a foundation for the introduction of A&D analysis. The applications of A&D analysis and A&R control in several researches, including population-based optimization and group behavior control about multi-agent, are given in the form of simulation experiments.
Maximum range trajectory optimization for a boost-glide vehicle using adaptive mesh refinement pseudospectral methods

The maximum down range trajectory optimization problem with multiple phases and multiple constraints corresponding to the flight of a boost-glide vehicle is considered. The longitudinal motion model was built as a multiphase optimization problem under constraints. Legendre–Gauss–Radau collocation points were used to transcribe the optimization problem into a finite-dimensional nonlinear programming problem, and the maximization down range trajectory was obtained based on adaptive mesh refinement pseudospectral methods. However, sometimes it is difficult to find interior points without position constraints. A novel optimization strategy based on dynamic programming theory was proposed to search the free interior points more accurately and quickly, which resulted in almost the same optimized trajectory while producing a small mesh. The results of numerical examples showed that the boost-glide vehicle trajectory optimization problem is solved using the adaptive mesh refinement pseudospectral methods.
Optimal Guaranteed Cost Control of NCS with Time-Varying Sampling

For the networked control system(NCS) with time-varying bounded sampling period and time delay,it is modeled as a class of discrete dynamic interval system.Based on this,the guaranteed cost control of the system with a given quadratic cost function is studied.A design method for the optimal guaranteed cost controller is proposed in terms of linear matrix inequalities(LMIs). With the LMI toolbox,it is very convenient to solve the problems.Simulation result shows the validity of the method.
The challenge of dementia prevention trials and the role of quasi‐experimental studies

Observational studies have shown consistently that modifiable risk factors during life are associated with increased dementia risk in old age but randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on dementia prevention evaluating the treatment of these risk factors did not find consistent effects on cognitive outcomes. The discrepancy in findings is potentially attributable to inherent differences between the two study designs. Although RCTs are the gold standard for establishing causality, designing and conducting an RCT for dementia prevention is complex. Quasi‐experimental studies (QESs) may contribute to investigating causality without randomization. QESs use variation in exposure to a risk factor or intervention in an observational setting to deduct causal effects. Design‐specific approaches are used to control for confounding, the main caveat of QESs. In this article we address the challenges, opportunities, and limitations of QESs for research into dementia prevention.
Visualization and measurement of internal waves by ‘synthetic schlieren’. Part 1. Vertically oscillating cylinder

We present measurements of the density and velocity fields produced when an oscillating circular cylinder excites internal gravity waves in a stratified fluid. These measurements are obtained using a novel, non-intrusive optical technique suitable for determining the density fluctuation field in temporally evolving flows which are nominally two-dimensional. Although using the same basic principles as conventional methods, the technique uses digital image processing in lieu of large and expensive parabolic mirrors, thus allowing more flexibility and providing high sensitivity: perturbations of the order of 1% of the ambient density gradient may be detected. From the density gradient field and its time derivative it is possible to construct the perturbation fields of density and horizontal and vertical velocity. Thus, in principle, momentum and energy fluxes can be determined. In this paper we examine the structure and amplitude of internal gravity waves generated by a cylinder oscillating vertically at different frequencies and amplitudes, paying particular attention to the role of viscosity in determining the evolution of the waves. In qualitative agreement with theory, it is found that wave motions characterized by a bimodal displacement distribution close to the source are attenuated by viscosity and eventually undergo a transition to a unimodal displacement distribution further from the source. Close quantitative agreement is found when comparing our results with the theoretical ones of Hurley & Keady (1997). This demonstrates that the new experimental technique is capable of making accurate measurements and also lends support to analytic theories. However, theory predicts that the wave beams are narrower than observed, and the amplitude is significantly under-predicted for low-frequency waves. The discrepancy occurs in part because the theory neglects the presence of the viscous boundary layers surrounding the cylinder, and because it does not take into account the effects of wave attenuation resulting from nonlinear wave–wave interactions between the upward and downward propagating waves near the source.
Derivation of Sendai-Virus-Reprogrammed Human iPSCs-Neuronal Precursors: In Vitro and In Vivo Post-grafting Safety Characterization

The critical requirements in developing clinical-grade human-induced pluripotent stem cells–derived neural precursors (hiPSCs-NPCs) are defined by expandability, genetic stability, predictable in vivo post-grafting differentiation, and acceptable safety profile. Here, we report on the use of manual-selection protocol for generating expandable and stable human NPCs from induced pluripotent stem cells. The hiPSCs were generated by the reprogramming of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with Sendai-virus (SeV) vector encoding Yamanaka factors. After induction of neural rosettes, morphologically defined NPC colonies were manually harvested, re-plated, and expanded for up to 20 passages. Established NPCs showed normal karyotype, expression of typical NPCs markers at the proliferative stage, and ability to generate functional, calcium oscillating GABAergic or glutamatergic neurons after in vitro differentiation. Grafted NPCs into the striatum or spinal cord of immunodeficient rats showed progressive maturation and expression of early and late human-specific neuronal and glial markers at 2 or 6 months post-grafting. No tumor formation was seen in NPCs-grafted brain or spinal cord samples. These data demonstrate the effective use of in vitro manual-selection protocol to generate safe and expandable NPCs from hiPSCs cells. This protocol has the potential to be used to generate GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice)-grade NPCs from hiPSCs for future clinical use.
Impact of wind energy systems on power system dynamics and stability

і ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . іν DECLERATION . ν LIST OF PUBLICATIONS . νі TABLE OF CONTENTS . νііі LIST OF FIGURES . xііі LIST OF TABLES . xνіі CHAPTER
A Heuristic for Minimizing the Number of Tool Switches on a Flexible Machine

Abstract This paper addresses the problem of scheduling N jobs on a single machine equipped with an automatic tool interchange mechanism. We consider the case where the total number of tools required to process all N jobs is greater than the capacity of the tool magazine, and where processing times and switching times are independent. The underlying problem is to find the job sequence and tool replacement policy that minimizes the total number of switches. This is equivalent to minimizing the makespan. Two industrial applications of the model are cited. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear integer program and solved with a dual-based relaxation heuristic designed to quickly find good local solutions. An example is given to highlight the computations and a series of test cases is examined to gauge the performance of the proposed methodology. The results demonstrate that in almost all cases global optimality is obtained, but in notably less time than current techniques admit. This points up the practica.
Synthesis and Evaluation of Piperazine‐Tethered Derivatives of Alepterolic Acid as Anticancer Agents

Alepterolic acid is a natural diterpenoid isolated from Aleuritopteris argentea with potential anti‐cancer activity. In this study, alepterolic acid was modified to construct a series of arylformyl piperazinyl derivatives (3a–3p). The synthesized derivatives were fully characterized with HRMS, NMR, and IR. Four compounds with inhibition rate higher than 30 % at 10 μM (3f, 3n, 3g and 3k) were further measured to obtain the IC50 values against four cancer cell lines, including hepatoma cell lines HepG2, lung cancer cell lines A549, estrogen receptor‐positive cell lines MCF7, and triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines MDA‐MB‐231 by MTT assay. It was found that these compounds were more effective to HepG2 and MDA‐MB‐231 cells, while less toxic to A549 and MCF7 cells, and compound 3n as the most toxic derivatve against MDA‐MB‐231 cell lines, with IC50 value of 5.55±0.56 μM. Trypan blue staining and colony formation assay showed that compound 3n inhibited the growth of MDA‐MB‐231 cells and prevented colony formation. Hoechst staining, flow cytometry and western blot analysis revealed that compound 3n induced caspase‐dependent apoptosis in MDA‐MB‐231 cells. Conclusively, compound 3n was demonstrated to be a potential anti‐cancer lead compound for further investigation.
Mapping Global Bushmeat Activities to Improve Zoonotic Spillover Surveillance by Using Geospatial Modeling

Human populations that hunt, butcher, and sell bushmeat (bushmeat activities) are at increased risk for zoonotic pathogen spillover. Despite associations with global epidemics of severe illnesses, such as Ebola and mpox, quantitative assessments of bushmeat activities are lacking. However, such assessments could help prioritize pandemic prevention and preparedness efforts. We used geospatial models that combined published data on bushmeat activities and ecologic and demographic drivers to map the distribution of bushmeat activities in rural regions globally. The resulting map had high predictive capacity for bushmeat activities (true skill statistic = 0.94). The model showed that mammal species richness and deforestation were principal drivers of the geographic distribution of bushmeat activities and that countries in West and Central Africa had the highest proportion of land area associated with bushmeat activities. These findings could help prioritize future surveillance of bushmeat activities and forecast emerging zoonoses at a global scale.