Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Primary cutaneous lymphoma of scalp in a child: a case report -

Cutaneous lymphomas are a heterogenous group of lymphoproliferative disorders with involvement of skin and form a separate group under Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Skin may be involved along with other organs but if the initial manifestation is in the skin, it is referred to as primary cutaneous lymphoma (PCL). One year eight months child brought with a scalp swelling of three months duration. Histopathology revealed a lymphoma and immuno- histochemistry studies were positive for T-cell lymphoma. The case is presented due to the rarity of primary cutaneous lymphoma at the age of one year eight months.
Failure Prediction, Lead Time Estimation and Health Degree Assessment for Hard Disk Drives Using Voting based Decision Trees

Hard Disk drives (HDDs) are an essential component of cloud computing and big data, responsible for storing humongous volumes of collected data. However, HDD failures pose a huge challenge to big data servers and cloud service providers. Every year, about 10% disk drives used in servers crash at least twice, lead to data loss, recovery cost and lower reliability. Recently, the researchers have used SMART parameters to develop various prediction techniques, however, these methods need to be improved for reliability and real-world usage due to the following factors: they lack the ability to consider the gradual change/deterioration of HDDs; they have failed to handle data unbalancing and biases problem; they don’t have adequate mechanisms for health status prediction of HDDs. This paper introduces a novel voting-based decision tree classifier to cater failure prediction, a balance splitting algorithm for the data unbalancing problem, an advanced procedure for lead time estimation and R-CNN based approach for health status estimation. Our system works robustly by considering a gradual change in SMART parameters. The system is rigorously tested on 3 datasets and it delivered benchmarks results as compared to the state of the art.
The rainbow beam experiment: direct visualization of dipole scattering and optical rotatory dispersion

We show an experiment for the direct visualization of two subtle optical phenomena: optical rotation in a chiral medium and the angular profile of point dipole scattering. By passing a narrowband linear-polarized light beam into a tank filled with a sucrose solution, we see dark and light bands that exhibit the change in polarization state with propagation. This change in polarization state is made visible by the presence of point scattering particles in the liquid which scatter light in the angular profile of elemental dipoles. Using a white light beam for input, this effect generates a wonderful rainbow-like pattern of colors resulting from the medium's optical rotatory dispersion.
Automatic Retinal Blood Vessel Segmentation Based on Fully Convolutional Neural Networks

Automated retinal vessel segmentation technology has become an important tool for disease screening and diagnosis in clinical medicine. However, most of the available methods of retinal vessel segmentation still have problems such as poor accuracy and low generalization ability. This is because the symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns between blood vessels are complicated, and the contrast between the vessel and the background is relatively low due to illumination and pathology. Robust vessel segmentation of the retinal image is essential for improving the diagnosis of diseases such as vein occlusions and diabetic retinopathy. Automated retinal vein segmentation remains a challenging task. In this paper, we proposed an automatic retinal vessel segmentation framework using deep fully convolutional neural networks (FCN), which integrate novel methods of data preprocessing, data augmentation, and full convolutional neural networks. It is an end-to-end framework that automatically and efficiently performs retinal vessel segmentation. The framework was evaluated on three publicly available standard datasets, achieving F1 score of 0.8321, 0.8531, and 0.8243, an average accuracy of 0.9706, 0.9777, and 0.9773, and average area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.9880, 0.9923 and 0.9917 on the DRIVE, STARE, and CHASE_DB1 datasets, respectively. The experimental results show that our proposed framework achieves state-of-the-art vessel segmentation performance in all three benchmark tests.
The use of shaping by relatives of autistic children to increase food intake

ABSTRACT This study made use of differential reinforcement and shaping to increase the variety of food items accepted by two boys with autism. In the first phase, three new food items were introduced to the participants and the acceptance response to the food was systematically increased. Food items were introduced in a multiple baseline design. In the second phase, the children started to eat more than one type of food item per meal by means of a changing criterion design. The procedure was implemented by the parents and carried out in the home environment of each child. At the end of the experiment, three other food items were defined for each child and parents were asked to follow the procedure learned without author’s supervision. The results showed that the two participants started accepting food, expanded the number of food items consumed and that parents learned to introduce new foods into their children’s diets.
Robust methods for generalized partial linear partial additive models with an application to detection of disease outbreaks

An essential function of the public health system is to detect and control disease outbreaks. The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BC CDC) monitors approximately 60 notifiable disease counts from 8 branch offices in 16 health service delivery areas. These disease counts exhibit a variety of characteristics, such as seasonality in meningococcal and a long-term trend in acute hepatitis A. As staff need to determine whether the reported counts are higher than expected, the detection process is both costly and fallible. To alleviate this problem, in the early 2000s the BC CDC commissioned an automated statistical method to detect disease outbreaks. The method is based on a generalized additive partially linear model and appears to capture the characteristics of disease counts. However, it relies on certain ad-hoc criteria to flag counts for an outbreak. The BC CDC is interested in considering other alternatives. In this thesis, we discuss an outbreak detection method based on robust estimators. It builds on recently proposed robust estimators for additive, generalized additive, and generalized linear models. Using real and simulated data, we compare our method with that of the BC CDC and other natural competitors and present promising results.
Prostate : basic and clinical aspects

Epidemiology of BPH and Prostate Cancer Current Trends in the Epidemiology of Prostate Diseases: Benign Hyperplasia and Adenocarcinoma, M.A. Ahmend, C.T. Lee, and J.E. Oesterling Onogeny and Etiology of Normal and Abnormal Prostate Growth Anatomical Perspectives for Prostate Development, B.G. Timms Biology of the Prostatic Ductal System, C. Lee Neoplastic Transformation of the Prostate, S. -M. Ho, K. -F. Lee, and K. Lane The Intermediary Energy Metabolism of Normal and Malignant Prostate Epithelial Cells, R.B. Franklin and L.C. Costello Peptide Growth Factors in Prostate Cancer, M.S. Steiner Role of Apoptosis in Development of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) and Prostate Cancer: Clinical Significance in Diagnosis and Treatment, N. Kyprianou Anti-Apoptosis Genes and the Development of Hormone-Resistant Prostate Cancer, R. Buttyan, X. Zhang, T. Dorai, and C.A. Olsson Androgen Receptor Gene Mutations in Prostate Cancer, J.M. Bentel, G. Buchanan, and W.D. Tilley Developmental Estrogenization of the Prostate Gland, G.S. Prins Diagnostic and Therapeutic Aspects Biologic Implications of Prostate Function Following Identification of Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen as a Novel Folate Hydrolase/Neurocarboxypeptidase, W.D. Heston Chemoprevention of Prostate Cancer, R. Dahiya Current and Future Therapies for Prostate Cancer, K.J. Pienta and R. Panvichian Index
Optimization of Magnesium Alloy Wheel Dynamic Impact Performance

Designing lightweight and comfortable automotive vehicles is a primary aim of the industry. Lightweight wheel designs can have a negative effect on the dynamic impact performance of the wheel; therefore, striking a balance between these two factors is a key objective in the design of automotive vehicles. Magnesium alloy wheels were investigated as magnesium alloy has damping performance advantages over some metal materials. Damping test methods were designed to establish the damping performance parameters of the magnesium alloy material. A finite element analysis model of magnesium alloy wheels was established with certain boundary conditions and constraints. The applicability of the model was verified by free modal evaluation of the wheel. Dynamic impact simulation analysis of the designed wheels was carried out, and the dynamic speed responses of magnesium alloy wheels under the impact of a dynamic load on the road surface were obtained. Comparison of the dynamic impact performance of magnesium and aluminum alloy wheels with the same structure showed that the magnesium alloy wheel achieved the target weight reduction of 32.3%; however, the dynamic impact performance was reduced. In order to realize the lightweight design, the dynamic impact performance of the magnesium alloy wheel should not be inferior to that of the aluminum alloy wheel; therefore, the design of the magnesium alloy wheel structure was optimized. The structural design optimization of the magnesium alloy wheel was carried out by defining the structural parameters of the wheel and using the acceleration and shock response of the wheel as the outputs. The optimization of weight reduction and dynamic impact performance of magnesium alloy wheels was achieved. Consequently, the designed magnesium alloy wheel was shown to have improved ride comfort while satisfying wheel structural performance standards and providing lightweight design.
Management of the Effects of Land Use Changes on Urban Infrastructure Capacity: A Case Study of Ruaka Town, Kiambu County, Kenya

Land use change is a major driver to the effects of climate change and other socio-economic and environmental challenges, a major challenge policy makers, planners and urban managers grapple with. Ruaka town is no exception as it faces high rapid land use change with myriad challenges on the management of the effects on urban infrastructure and aggravated by inadequate inter-agencies, coordination and collaboration. The study is an investigation of the effects of land use changes on urban infrastructure (roads, water supply, and wastewater infrastructure). It seeks to answer the drivers of land use changes and document the spatial-temporal land use changes between the years 1988 to 2019, establish their effects on infrastructure. The study establishes decline in vegetation and agriculture and rise in built -up areas which is partially contributed by urbanization and population growth in the area with major land fragmentations and land use conversions. The findings reveal encroachment of development to vegetation and riparian reserves which expose the human population to disasters and calamities in cases of climate change. Lack of approved planning policy has encouraged massive land use changes due to the ad hoc nature of planning using the development control tools which are not documented. The key drivers of land use changes deduced were good accessibility of the area, land speculation for investments, high returns from investments, demand for housing and accommodation and high population growth. The adverse effects on urban infrastructure includes pollution and contamination of water sources, traffic congestion, use of unconventional onsite waste management practices such as pit latrines and septic tanks for waste water management.The study concluded by evolving a management strategy to unravel the challenges through promotion of a sustainable and resilient urban infrastructure. The strategies emphasize on the technical, social, economic, environmental and jurisdictional dimensions. Key Terms : County Government, Development, Land Cover, Land Use, Land, Sustainable Development, Urban Infrastructure and Urban Sprawl. DOI : 10.7176/CER/11-7-03 Publication date : August 31 st 2019
Ionosonde Total Electron Content Evaluation Using IGS Data

Abstract. In this work, a period of two years (2016–2017) of vertical total electron content (VTEC) from ionosondes operating in Brazil is compared to the International GNSS Service (IGS) data. Sounding instruments from National Institute for Space Research (INPE) provided the ionograms used, which were filtered based on confidence score (CS) and C-level flags evaluation. Differences between TEC from IGS maps and ionograms were accumulated in terms of root mean square error (RMSE). It has been noticed the TEC values provided by ionograms are systematically underestimated, which is attributed to a limitation in the electron density modeled for the ionogram topside that considers maximum height only around 800–900 Km, while IGS takes in account electron density from GNSS stations up to the satellite network orbits. The ionogram topside profiles covering the plasmasphere were re-modeled using an adaptive alpha-Chapman exponential decay that includes a transition function between the F2 layer and plasmasphere, and electron density integration height was extended to compute TEC. Chapman parameters for the F2 layer were extracted from each ionogram, and plasmaspheric scale height was set to 10,000 Km. Our analysis has shown the plasmaspheric basis electron density, assumed to be proportional to the electron peak density, plays an important role to reduce the RMSE values. Depending on the proportionality coefficient choice, mean RMSE reached a minimum of 5.32 TECU, that is 23 % lower than initial ionograms TEC errors.
Thermal Evolution of Hydrated Asteroids Inferred from Oxygen Isotopes

Chondrites are fragments of unmelted asteroids that formed due to gravitational instabilities in turbulent regions of the Solar protoplanetary disk. Hydrated chondrites are common among meteorites, indicating that a substantial fraction of the rocky bodies that formed early in the solar system accreted water ice grains that subsequently melted due to heat released by the radioactive decay of 26Al. However, the thermal histories of asteroids are still largely unknown; increased knowledge would provide fundamental information on their timing of accretion and their physical characteristics. Here we show that hydrated meteorites (CM chondrites) contain previously uncharacterized calcium carbonates with peculiar oxygen isotopic compositions (Δ17O ≈ −2.5‰), which artificially produce the mass-independent trend previously reported for carbonates. Based on these isotopic data, we propose a new model to quantitatively estimate the precipitation temperatures of secondary phases (carbonates and serpentine). It reveals that chondritic secondary phases recorded a gradual increase in temperature during the extent of aqueous alteration, from −10°C to a maximum of 250°C. We also show that the thermal path of C-type asteroids is independent of the initial oxygen isotopic composition of the primordial water ice grains that they accreted. Our estimated temperatures for hydrated asteroids remain lower than those experienced by other carbonaceous chondrites, providing strong constraints for modeling the formation conditions and size distribution of water-rich asteroids, especially in anticipation of the return of samples of water-rich asteroids to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 missions.
Computational Study of Ohmic Contact at Bilayer InSe-Metal Interfaces: Implications for Field-Effect Transistors

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting InSe has received great attention due to its high mobility. Compared with its monolayer, bilayer (BL) InSe has a more appropriate band gap as the channel of field-effect transistors (FETs). As a prerequisite to constructing a high-performance FET based on BL InSe, it is necessary to find suitable metal electrodes to form Ohmic contact to InSe. Here, we systematically study the properties of the interfaces between BL InSe and a train of frequently used metallic electrodes (Ag, Sc, Cu Au, Pd, and Pt) for the first time based on density functional theory (DFT) and the ab initio quantum transport simulations (QTS). No vertical Schottky barrier exists at all the interfaces between the metals and the upper contact InSe layer due to the band hybridization (Sc, Pd, and Pt) or the occupation of the Fermi level in the conduction band (Ag, Au, and Cu). However, the band structures projected to the bottom noncontact InSe layer are preserved well for all the metals, and vertical Sch.
Cryptococcus Meningitis in a Cohort of HIV Positive Kenyan Patients: Outcome after Two Weeks of Therapy

Background : Cryptococcus meningitis is the most lethal meningitis in patients with HIV/AIDS. It is invariably fatal if not treated appropriately and promptly. In sub-Saharan Africa with the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS, response to treatment of cryptococcal meningitis has seldom been assessed. Objective : To describe the clinical features, laboratory findings, CD4+ cell counts and clinical outcome after a two-week treatment course of patients having cryptococcal meningitis. Design : Longitudinal, prospective, consecutive entry study. Setting : Kisumu District Hospital, Nairobi Rheumatology Clinic and Mater hospital between July 2001 and May 2007. Subjects : One hundred and forty one patients with cryptococcus meningitis. Main outcome measures :CD4+cellcount,cerebrospinalfluid(CSF) biochemistry/microbiology, morbidity and mortality. Results : One hundred and forty one patients (80 males and 61 females) with cryptococcus meningitis were included. Mean age and CD4+ cell counts was 36.12 ± 9.1 years (15-75) and 66.9 ± 102.8 cells/µl (1-1058) respectively. One hundred and forty one (83%) patients had CD4 + cell counts 350 cells/µl and 22 (15.6%) patients had CD4+ cell counts between 100-350 cells/µl. Ten (six males and four females) died within one week (four amphotericin B, three fluconazole, three no treatment). Eighty one patients were simultaneously initiated on HAART. Conclusion : Cryptococcal meningitis has a good clinical outcome when promptly and appropriately managed despite the low CD4+ cell count. Measures to avail amphotericin B and fluconazole at the mid level healthcare facilities must be enhanced.
Echocardiographic parameters of dyssynchrony in cardiac resynchronisation therapy

Background:Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) is a pacemaker-based therapy for patients with heart failure and dyssynchrony manifest as prolonged QRS duration. Approximately 30% fail to respond either symptomatically or echocardiographically. The role of several echocardiographic parameters to select patients and improve response rate has been studied. The utility of these parameters remains unclear. In particular recent advances in echocardiography with speckle tracking technology may provide more accurate assessment of dyssynchrony. This study aims to explore the role of echocardiography in prediction of CRT response and investigate mechanisms involved in response.Methods:Patients undergoing CRT according to national guidance were recruited. Baseline assessment included clinical examination, quality of life questionnaire, six minute walk test, electrocardiogram and detailed echocardiography. Follow-up assessment was performed six months after CRT. Response was defined as ? 15% reduction in left ventricular end-systolic volume. Baseline parameters of echocardiographic dyssynchrony were compared between responders and non-responders. Individual baseline and follow-up echocardiograms also were examined to assess mechanism of response.Results:51 patients were recruited and 40 patients completed six months follow-up. Echocardiographic response rate was 67.5%. Baseline parameters of dyssynchrony were not significantly different between responders and non-responders, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis suggested echocardiographic parameters have no role in prediction of response beyond QRS duration. Study of individual echocardiograms demonstrated several mechanisms of CRT response the relative importance of which vary between patients.Conclusion:Single echocardiographic dyssynchrony parameters appear to have no role in the prediction of CRT response. However, several mechanisms of response to CRT are identified, each of which may be identified echocardiographically, and echocardiography therefore continues to have an important role in pre-assessment of patients undergoing CRT.
Global warming and other climate change phenomena on the geological time scale

Global warming and other climate change phenomena became a worldwide exploited subject over recent decades. World science has made enormous progress in understanding past climate change and its causes, and continues to study current and potential impacts that will affect people in the future. All scientists agree that the Earth's climate is changing due to natural phenomena, and most of them argue that human activities are increasing the greenhouse effect, while some scientists attribute climate changes exclusively to the natural causes. Though there still is, and always will be, need for multiple lines of research on an extremely complex system like Earth's climate is, an immediate consensus is crucial for decision-makers to place climate change in the context of other large challenges facing the world today. This paper discusses the existing body of evidence on climate changes in the past, and uncertainties that prevent scientists to reach full consensus on how climate might change in the future. It extends the time scale of climate changes over the entire history of Earth to help better understanding of hypothetical changes and their consequences that could be expected both in the near and in a very distant future.
Comparative study of Ag, Sn or Zn doped TiO2 thin films for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and methyl orange

Nanocrystalline titania (TiO2) films with high optical transmittance and appropriate type and level of metal dopants offer promise for use in photocatalysis and environmental remediation purposes. In this study, a facile, cost-efficient sol-gel reflux synthesis route was devised to obtain smooth, nanocrystalline anatase TiO2 thin films doped with silver (Ag), tin (Sn) or zinc (Zn) with up to 5 mole percent. The microstructure, surface morphology and phase composition were determined using scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope and x-ray diffraction techniques. The films were found to be nanocrystalline with average crystallite size of the order of ∼11 nm. Upon Ag or Sn doping, the films became superhydrophilic due to generation of surface defects and enhanced absorption via incident light scattering. The low extinction coefficient confirmed low surface roughness and uniform dispersion of the metal dopants into the TiO2 lattice. There was a decrease in the refractive index values of the Zn-doped films. The band gap values, as computed using Tauc plots, indicated a maximum reduction from 3.66 eV for the updoped TiO2 to 3.25 eV for Ag-doped TiO2 film. When assessed for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO), all the films were found to follow pseudo first-order kinetics in accordance with the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. The apparent rate constant values were found to increase by 2 to 3 fold (4.30 × 10−3 s–1 for MB; 5.34 × 10−3 s–1 for MO) upon doping with 5 mole percent ZnO, presumably due to dual role of Zn as a reductant causing Ti3+ formation and a stabilizer of the oxygen vacancies.