Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bacterial infections and fever after hepatocellular carcinoma ablation therapy: Predictive role of procalcitonin

Aim of the study Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of mortality among patients with liver cirrhosis. According to the current practice guidelines, different ablations are used either as curative or palliative therapies. The current study aimed at determining bacterial infections as causes of fever and the predictive role of procalcitonin (PCT) among patients with HCC who had ablation therapy. Material and methods This cross sectional study was carried out on 100 patients with HCC during the period from November 2019 to December 2021. All patients were evaluated by full history taking, clinical examination, complete blood picture (CBC), liver biochemistry, coagulation profile, kidney function, C-reactive protein (CRP), serum PCT and blood cultures. All were done for all participants at the 4th day follow-up after the procedures of ablation. HCC was treated according to the guidelines. Results The frequency of fever after HCC ablation was 64% with variable intensities. Bacterial cultures were positive in 20 patients (20%). Twenty-four out of 100 patients had abnormally high PCT level. There was a highly statistically significant increase of PCT level in patients with a high CRP count and positive blood culture, p < 0.05. There was a statistically significant correlation between increased levels of PCT and levels of CRP, WBCs, albumin, AST, ALT, degree of fever, creatinine and BUN. Conclusions Bacterial infection accounts for 20% of fever among HCC patients after ablation therapy. PCT is 100% sensitive and specific for detection of the bacterial causes of fever among those patients.
Hybrid RANS/LES of low Reynolds number round impinging jets

Fluid flow and convective heat transfer predictions are presented for simulations of round impinging jets at nozzle-plate distances H/D=2, 6 and 13.5 and low and moderate Reynolds numbers Re=5000, 23000 with the newest k-ω model and two hybrid RANS/LES models. In RANS mode, both hybrid models reduce to the k-ω model. In LES mode, the first hybrid formulation (M1) uses the grid size in place of the turbulent length scale in the destruction term of the k-equation and in the definition of the eddy-viscosity. The second model (M2) uses the same k-equation as in model M1, but employs a Smagorinsky model for the subgrid viscosity in LES mode. The numerical results are compared with experimental data and fine grid dynamic Smagorinsky LES. At low nozzle-plate distance (the impingement plate is in the core of the jet), the turbulent kinetic energy is slightly overpredicted by the pure RANS k-ω model in the stagnation flow region. This leads to overprediction of the heat transfer rate along the impingement plate in the impact zone. At high nozzle-plate distance and low Reynolds number (impingement plate is in the mixed-out region of the jet), the turbulence mixing is underpredicted by RANS in the shear layer of the jet which gives a too high length of the jet core. This also results in overprediction of the heat transfer rate in the impingement zone due to too high shear stress at the wall. The hybrid RANS/LES models are able to overcome the deficiencies of the RANS model. At low and high nozzle-plate distances and moderate Reynolds number (Re=23000), both hybrid models are largely equivalent. However, at high nozzle-plate distance and low Reynolds number (Re=5000), the results of the first hybrid model (M1) are erroneous, similarly as the results of the pure RANS model, while the second hybrid model (M2) obtains very good agreement with the results of the dynamic Smagorinsky model.
Aqueous Extract of Sparganii Rhizoma and Curcumae Rhizoma Induces Apoptosis and Inhibits Migration in Human Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Sparganii Rhizoma and Curcumae Rhizoma (SRCR) are natural herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat tumors and activate blood circulation. Previous studies have shown that SRCR possesses notable antitumor activity; however, the mechanism underlying anticancer activity in human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has yet to be fully elucidated. The risk factors of OSCC include smoking, alcohol consumption, poor oral hygiene, and human papillomavirus infection. OSCC is highly metastatic and responds poorly to chemotherapy; thus, alternative treatment options are imperative. In this study, we found that SRCR induced death in OSCC cells but not in normal cells (HGF-1 cells). SRCR has also shown to induce the production of reactive oxygen species in OSCC cells, sequentially promoting calcium release and stress in the endoplasmic reticulum, which resulted in mitochondrial dysfunction and subsequent apoptosis. Furthermore, SRCR has shown to inhibit the migration of OSCC cells by reducing matrix metalloproteinase-12 and -13. Our findings demonstrate that SRCR exerts anticancer activities in OSCC by inducing cell apoptosis and suppressing cell migration.
When is a control system mechanical

In this work we present a geometric setting for studying mechanical control systems. We distinguish a special class: the class of geodesically accessible mechanical systems, for which the uniqueness of the mechanical structure is guaranteed (up to an extended point transformation). We characterise nonlinear control systems that are state equivalent to a system from this class and we describe the canonical mechanical structure attached to them. Several illustrative examples are given.
A Broadband Gain-Enhanced Conical-Beam Antenna Loaded With the Multicircle Sectored Metasurface

A broadband gain-enhanced monopole antenna loaded with metasurface is designed in this article, which is suitable for sub-6-GHz fifth-generation (5G) applications. The multicircle sectored metasurface antenna is analyzed through the evolution process and field distribution. With the addition of the metasurface, the antenna’s relative bandwidth is increased from 23.25% to 48.5%, and the in-band gain is improved by 2 dBi. To validate the proposed working principles and design guidelines, the proposed antenna is fabricated and measured. Measured results agree well with the simulated ones and show that the −10-dB impedance bandwidth is 56% (3.25–5.78 GHz), covering the 5G frequency band (3.3–3.6 and 4.8–5 GHz). The average gain in the desired band is 7 dBi with a variation of ±1 dBi, which is suitable for 5G indoor microceiling base station applications.
Emotion Recognition Through Combining EEG and EOG Over Relevant Channels With Optimal Windowing

For dimensional emotion recognition, electroencephalography (EEG) signals and electrooculogram (EOG) signals are often combined to improve the performance of classifiers, as each of them provides complementary features to the other. In this article, we combine the EEG signal on the relevant channels with the EOG signal to boost the recognition accuracy. We first explore the mutual information (MI) of all EEG channels and only select emotion-related channels, i.e., channels with more MI are retained, since the emotion recognition performance can be degraded by the interference between uncorrelated channels, while the computational complexity is significant if all EEG channels are used for recognition. While the optimal lengths of EEG and EOG signals for emotion recognition are still uncertain, we systematically investigate the effects of time-window size on emotion recognition. This strategy not only increases the number of training samples, but also reduces the feature redundancy. At this stage, we not only extract multiple statistical features but also employ the increment entropy to find abrupt changes in EEG signals. The experimental results show that 13 out of 32 EEG channels were selected by the proposed channel selection algorithm, and these selected channels can already produce accurate emotion predictions. We found that using optimal time-windows to split EEG and EOG signals into several thin slices and then combine them can further enhance the emotion recognition performance, where the time-windows of 4, 5, 6, and 10 s allow the combined signals to achieve very high accuracy.
Penrose and Steindl: Foundations for a general theory of firms and competition

Edith Penrose and Josef Steindl each developed a distinctive analysis of the growth of firms. They undertook to understand the process that was leading to increasing dominance of industry, particularly manufacturing industry, by a small number of large firms. In the present paper, we examine the work of these two authors to detect similarities and differences in the way they deal with the determinants of firm growth and the implications of such growth for the competitive struggle amongst firms. Our particular focus is on the divergent conceptualisations of the notion of capacity between Penrose and Steindl, referring to the quantity and quality of productive services from management with experience within the firm in the case of Penrose and to the quantity and quality of physical assets (particularly machinery) in the case of Steindl. We examine the internal logic of each conceptualisation, as well comparing motivations and implications. Our appraisal is that they both provide coherent, but partial, explanations of the forces driving firm growth. We trace the difference in their explanations to different empirical bases motivating each author’s analytical schema. This leads us to suggest an encompassing explanation that focuses on overcoming any of a variety of bottlenecks, including managerial capability, productive capacity and market development, which can impede a firm’s ability to grow.
A 3.07 mW 30 MHz-BW 73.2 dB-SNDR Time- Interleaved Noise-Shaping SAR ADC With Self-Coupling Second-Order Error-Feedforward

A noise-shaping successive approximation register (NS-SAR) ADC combines the merits of the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta $ </tex-math></inline-formula>-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Sigma $ </tex-math></inline-formula> and SAR ADC, transforming it into an emerging ADC architecture to reach high resolution with good power efficiency. The single-channel NS-SAR with high resolution, however, suffers from bandwidth (BW) limitations. The time-interleaved (TI) NS-SAR mitigates the speed bottleneck but faces challenges in obtaining high resolution and BW simultaneously due to the lack of a sharp noise transfer function (NTF). This article presents a calibration-free two-channel TI-NS-SAR with an aggressive second-order NTF for high resolution. Based on a one-time error feedback (FB) at midway, we propose a second-order error-feedforward (FF) to enhance the noise-shaping (NS) effect further meanwhile avoiding the excessive NTF peaking and dynamic range (DR) loss. A dynamic residue amplifier shared between two channels lowers the offset, which reduces the redundant bit to only one bit, thus improving the efficiency of SAR conversion. Fabricated in a 28 nm CMOS with 1 V supply, the prototype achieves 73.2 dB-signal-to-noise-and-distortion-ratio (SNDR) over 30 MHz-BW when operating at 330 MHz. It consumes 3.07 mW and exhibits a Schreier FoM (FoMs) of 173.1 dB.
The L(d■,1 ■)-labeling of graphs

The L(d m,1 n)-labeling of a graph is extended from the L(d,1)-labeling. It can be converted to the L(d,1 n)-labeling of its m-th power graph . Two algorithms are given for solving the L(d,1 n)-labeling of simple graphs.
Effectiveness of zinc supplementation on the incidence of oral mucositis during chemotherapy and radiation: A meta‑analysis

Oral mucositis (OM) is a commonly observed and debilitating side effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy in patients with cancer, especially head and neck cancer. Although there is no proven therapy for the prevention and treatment of OM, zinc supplementation effectively decreases the incidence of OM. This paper provides a current and comprehensive meta-analysis of the efficacy of zinc compared with placebo/control in OM. A systematic literature review was conducted using MEDLINE and Central databases for randomized control trials (RCTs) comparing zinc supplementation (oral or rinse) with placebo/control in patients with various types of cancer undergoing chemotherapy, radiation therapy or combined chemo-radiation. The outcome was OM incidence, independent of the severity. A random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled risk ratio and subgroup analyses were performed. A total of 12 RCTs were included, containing information from 783 patients. A decrease in OM incidence was observed overall when all cancer therapies were considered. However, subgroup analyses showed that zinc did not significantly decrease the incidence of OM when studies were stratified by cancer therapy or scale/criteria used to assess OM. The results of the meta-analysis support the use of zinc supplementation in decreasing OM incidence in patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy. However, the high heterogeneity between studies and the small number of studies are limitations of the meta-analysis.
Simulation of Hemorrhage Pathogenesis in Mice through Dual Stimulation with Dengue Envelope Protein Domain III-Coated Nanoparticles and Antiplatelet Antibody

Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is a severe form of dengue virus (DENV) infection that can lead to abnormal immune responses, endothelial vascular dysfunction, and hemorrhage pathogenesis. The virion-associated envelope protein domain III (EIII) is thought to play a role in the virulence of DENV by damaging endothelial cells. However, it is unclear whether EIII-coated nanoparticles simulating DENV virus particles could cause a more severe pathogenesis than soluble EIII alone. This study aimed to investigate whether EIII-coated silica nanoparticles (EIII-SNPs) could elicit greater cytotoxicity in endothelial cells and hemorrhage pathogenesis in mice compared to EIII or silica nanoparticles alone. The main methods included in vitro assays to assess cytotoxicity and in vivo experiments to examine hemorrhage pathogenesis in mice. EIII-SNPs induced greater endothelial cytotoxicity in vitro than EIII or silica nanoparticles alone. Two-hit combined treatment with EIII-SNPs and antiplatelet antibodies to simulate DHF hemorrhage pathogenesis during secondary DENV infections resulted in higher endothelial cytotoxicity than either treatment alone. In mouse experiments, two-hit combined treatment with EIII-SNPs and antiplatelet antibodies resulted in more severe hemorrhage pathogenesis compared to single treatments of EIII, EIII-SNPs, or antiplatelet antibodies alone. These findings suggest that EIII-coated nanoparticles are more cytotoxic than soluble EIII and could be used to develop a tentative dengue two-hit hemorrhage pathogenesis model in mice. Additionally, our results indicated that EIII-containing DENV particles could potentially exacerbate hemorrhage pathogenesis in DHF patients who have antiplatelet antibodies, highlighting the need for further research on the potential role of EIII in DHF pathogenesis.
Roll-Out Deployment Process Analysis of a Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composite Tape-Spring Boom

Deployable extendable booms are widely used in aerospace technology due to many advantages they have, such as high folded-ratio, lightweight and self-deployable properties. A bistable FRP composite boom can not only extend its tip outwards with a corresponding rotation speed on the hub, but can also drive the hub rolling outwards with a fixed boom tip, which is commonly called roll-out deployment. In a bistable boom’s roll-out deployment process, the second stability can keep the coiled section from chaos without introducing a controlling mechanism. Because of this, the boom’s roll-out deployment velocity is not under control, and a high moving speed at the end will give the structure a big impact. Therefore, predicting the velocity in this whole deployment process is necessary to be researched. This paper aims to analyze the roll-out deployment process of a bistable FRP composite tape-spring boom. First, based on the Classical Laminate Theory, a dynamic analytical model of a bistable boom is established through the energy method. Afterwards, an experiment is introduced to produce some practical verification for comparison with the analytical results. According to the comparison with the experiment, the analytical model is verified for predicting the deployment velocity when the boom is relatively short, which can cover most booms using CubeSats. Finally, a parametric study reveals the relationship between the boom properties and the deployment behaviors. The research of this paper will give some guidance to the design of a composite roll-out deployable boom.
A simple soil organic carbon level metric beyond the organic carbon‐to‐clay ratio

Soil is a precious and non‐renewable resource that is under increasing pressure and the development of indicators to monitor its state is pivotal. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is important for key physical, chemical and biological soil properties and thus a central indicator of soil quality and soil health. The content of SOC is driven by many abiotic factors, such as texture and climate, and is therefore strongly site‐specific, which complicates, for example, the search for appropriate threshold values to differentiate healthy from less healthy soils. The SOC:clay ratio has been introduced as a normalized SOC level metric to indicate soils' structural condition, with classes ranging from degraded (<1:13) to very good (>1:8). This study applied the ratio to 2958 topsoils (0–30 cm) in the German Agricultural Soil Inventory and showed that it is not a suitable SOC level metric since strongly biased, misleading and partly insensitive to SOC changes. The proportion of soils with SOC levels classified as degraded increased exponentially with clay content, indicating the indicator's overly strong clay dependence. Thus, 94% of all Chernozems, which are known to have elevated SOC contents and a favourable soil structure, were found to have either degraded (61%) or moderate (33%) normalized SOC levels. The ratio between actual and expected SOC (SOC:SOCexp) is proposed as an easy‐to‐use alternative where expected SOC is derived from a regression between SOC and clay content. This ratio allows a simple but unbiased estimate of the clay‐normalized SOC level. The quartiles of this ratio were used to derive threshold values to divide the dataset into the classes degraded, moderate, good and very good. These classes were clearly linked to bulk volume (inverse of bulk density) as an important structural parameter, which was not the case for classes based on the SOC:clay ratio. Therefore, SOC:SOCexp and its temporal dynamic are proposed for limited areas such as regions, states or pedoclimatic zones, for example, in a soil health monitoring context; further testing is, however, recommended.
The development of travelling waves in quadratic and cubic autocatalysis with unequal diffusion rates. III. Large time development in quadratic autocatalysis

We study the isothermal, quadratic autocatalytic reaction scheme A + B→ 2B where A is a reactant and B is an autocaztalyst. We consider the situation when a quantity of B is introduced locally into a uniform expanse of A in one dimensional slab geometry. By analysis the large time asymptotic solution of the resulting initial value problem we show that either a permanent form travelling wave or aphase wave develops. In the case when a travelling wave evolves we determine the first two terms in the large time asymptotic form of the initial input distribution of B far ahead of the wavefront.
16 miljoen buren: de rol van buren in persoonlijke netwerken in Nederland

Popular ideas on modernization and rationalization lead to the expectation that neighbours have only a marginal position in personal circles, in particular if one lives in a city and has a high income or status. This paper inquires into the importance of neighbours in personal networks in the Netherlands. It is studied whether geographical propinquity has consequences for the organization of personal networks and what the differences are between different regions and degrees of urbanization. Sharing group and social capital theory are used to develop hypotheses on the relations between neighbours and on the kind of support they lend to each other. Data result from the study on 'Primary Relationships and Social Support' (PRESOS, 1987, N=906), until now the only national representative data on (neighbour) networks of Dutch citizens. Results show the following: first, and in contradiction to ideas on consequences of modernization, neighbours are a vivid part of personal networks and they are important for many kinds of help. Yet, neighbours usually do not form close relationships with each other, they are rather weakly connected. Second, differences between rural and urban regions are very small and not robust. Third, higher educated do not have less but more contact with their neighbours. Lastly, most important for relations with neighbours is the need for support and the absence of other network members who can provide help.
Shifts of Leaf Litter-Induced Plant-Soil Feedback from Negative to Positive Driven by Ectomycorrhizal Symbiosis between Quercus ilex and Pisolithus arrhizus

Ectomycorrhizas (ECM) are a common symbiotic association between fungi and various plant species in forest ecosystems, affecting community assemblages at the landscape level. ECMs benefit host plants by increasing the surface area for nutrient uptake, defending against pathogens, and decomposing organic matter in the soil. ECM-symbiotic seedlings are also known to perform better in conspecific soils than other species unable to carry the symbiosis, in a process referred to as plant-soil feedback (PSF). In this study, we tested the effects of different leaf litter amendments on ECM and non-ECM seedlings of Quercus ilex inoculated with Pisolithus arrhizus and how they altered the litter-induced PSF. Our experiment showed that the ECM symbiont induced a shift from negative PSF to positive PSF in Q. ilex seedlings by analysing plant and root growth parameters. However, non-ECM seedlings performed better than ECM seedlings in a no-litter condition, indicating an autotoxic effect when litter is present without ECM symbionts. Conversely, ECM seedlings with litter performed better at different decomposition stages, suggesting a possible role of the symbiosis of P. arrhizus and Q. ilex in recycling autotoxic compounds released from conspecific litter, transforming them into nutrients that are transferred to the plant host.
Molecular Detection of Tick-Borne Bacterial and Protozoan Pathogens in Haemaphysalis longicornis (Acari: Ixodidae) Ticks from Free-Ranging Domestic Sheep in Hebei Province, China

Ticks and tick-borne pathogens significantly threaten human and animal health worldwide. Haemaphysalis longicornis is one of the dominant tick species in East Asia, including China. In the present study, 646 Ha. longicornis ticks were collected from free-ranging domestic sheep in the southern region of Hebei Province, China. Tick-borne pathogens of zoonotic and veterinary importance (i.e., Rickettsia, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Borrelia, Theileria, and Hepatozoon spp.) were detected in the ticks using PCR assays and sequence analysis. The prevalence rates of these pathogens were 5.1% (33/646), 15.9% (103/646), 1.2% (8/646), 17.0% (110/646), 0.15% (1/646), and 0.15% (1/646), respectively. For Rickettsia spp. , R. japonica (n = 13), R. raoultii (n = 6), and Candidatus R. jingxinensis (n = 14) were detected for the first time in the province, while several Anaplasma spp. were also detected in the ticks, including A. bovis (n = 52), A. ovis (n = 31), A. phagocytophilum (n = 10), and A. capra (n = 10). A putative novel Ehrlichia spp. was also found with a prevalence of 1.2% in the area. The present study provides important data for effectively controlling ticks and tick-borne diseases in the Hebei Province region of China.