Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
State of the Art and Future Opportunities in MRI-Guided Robot-Assisted Surgery and Interventions

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide high-quality 3-D visualization of target anatomy, surrounding tissue, and instrumentation, but there are significant challenges in harnessing it for effectively guiding interventional procedures. Challenges include the strong static magnetic field, rapidly switching magnetic field gradients, high-power radio frequency pulses, sensitivity to electrical noise, and constrained space to operate within the bore of the scanner. MRI has a number of advantages over other medical imaging modalities, including no ionizing radiation, excellent soft-tissue contrast that allows for visualization of tumors and other features that are not readily visible by other modalities, true 3-D imaging capabilities, including the ability to image arbitrary scan plane geometry or perform volumetric imaging, and capability for multimodality sensing, including diffusion, dynamic contrast, blood flow, blood oxygenation, temperature, and tracking of biomarkers. The use of robotic assistants within the MRI bore, alongside the patient during imaging, enables intraoperative MR imaging (iMRI) to guide a surgical intervention in a closed-loop fashion that can include tracking of tissue deformation and target motion, localization of instrumentation, and monitoring of therapy delivery. With the ever-expanding clinical use of MRI, MRI-compatible robotic systems have been heralded as a new approach to assist interventional procedures to allow physicians to treat patients more accurately and effectively. Deploying robotic systems inside the bore synergizes the visual capability of MRI and the manipulation capability of robotic assistance, resulting in a closed-loop surgery architecture. This article details the challenges and history of robotic systems intended to operate in an MRI environment and outlines promising clinical applications and associated state-of-the-art MRI-compatible robotic systems and technology for making this possible.
Time, frequency and angular dispersion modelling in the underwater communications channel

This paper considers the propagation of a communications signal through the ocean environment, and in particular, the time and frequency dispersion imposed on the signal during its passage through the environment, for dynamic transmitter-receiver geometries. Dispersion of the propagating signal is governed by the inhomogeneous sound speed within the ocean, together with multipath reflections from the surface and from the sea bed. Additional fluctuations are imposed by the motion of the ocean itself; for example from tidal currents and internal waves. In order to represent all of these effects, a new model of acoustic propagation through the complex ocean environment has been developed. This is based on a 3D ray trace through a moving ocean, where the sound speed can display strong variation both with depth and in the horizontal plane. The ray tracer is extended to incorporate diffraction effects. The ray trace is particularly unusual in allowing dynamic transmitter and/or receiver geometry, with both platforms allowed to follow arbitrary trajectories. The modeling is deterministic, so that the results are reproducible and dominant factors contributing to the dispersion may be assessed. The model is used to examine the time varying channel transfer function and scattering function in a number of scenarios. Of particular interest is the case of a shallow water zone, where severe multipath conditions are encountered-around 20 distinct eigen-rays are found, many of which travel through the underlying sediment. The influence of this environment on the signal dispersion is examined.
The Role of E-Marketing in Achieving a Competitive Advantage for Sports Services Offered at Egyptian Sports Clubs

The research aims at The Role of E-Marketing in Achieving a Competitive Advantage for Sports Services Offered at Egyptian Sports Clubs through the sports club website, club competitive advantage, e. marketing administrative requirements, human and technological e. marketing requirements and e. marketing legal requirements. The researchers used the survey method from main methods in descriptive researches; Research Sample according to the research objective nature, the researchers targeted a sample of (180). As suitable for the study nature a questionnaire form designed by the researchers, they used Arithmetic Mean, Standard Deviation and T value was calculated for difference between arithmetic means and significant deviations between employees (board's members of clubs, sports activities department's staff and websites officials) and Customers (members using e-marketing services at sports clubs). The research recommended was; Sports clubs shall avail and update data bases and marketing information about sports services as assisting in meeting desires and needs of services receivers, Availing a developed infrastructure supporting new communication network, to be used in marketing its services, Sports clubs shall carry out a marketing study to follow up every new regarding developing sport activities through e/marketing, Sports club shall observe credibility and morals in relationship with their members receiving service when offering sports service through the club's e/marketing.
Lead-free Ceramics for High Temperature ActuatorApplications

In the quest of lead-free ceramics with stable electromechanical strains at higher temperatures, the ternary system 1-x-yBiFeO3-xREFeO3-yRE2/3TiO3 (RE = La, Nd) B(RE)FT and pseudo-binary solid solutions (1-x)K1/2Bi1/2TiO3-x(0.80BiFeO3- 0.15LaFeO3-0.05La2/3TiO3), KBT-BLFT, (1-x)K1/2Bi1/2TiO3-x(0.82BiFeO3-0.15NdFeO3-0.03Nd2/3TiO3, KBT-BNFT and (1-x)K0.4Na0. 6NbO3- x(BiFeO3) KNN-BF, were studied. Unlike undoped BiFeO3, B(RE)FT, ceramics in the ternary series can sustain large electricfields up to 8 kV/mm but no ferroelectric/antiferroelectric switching is observed indicating that the coercive fields are very high and therefore these ceramics are not likely to be used for actuator applications. The pseudo-binary solid solutions KBT-BLFT and KBT-BNFT offer opportunities of fabricating ceramics ranging from conventional ferroelectrics to pure electrostrictors. With increase in BLFT/BNFT concentrations, ferroelectric order is disrupted and relaxorlike behaviour is promoted. Promotion of relaxor-like behaviour is accompanied by an increase in positive strain and decrease in hysteresis of these ceramics. Electromechanical strain up to 0.16 % at 6 kV/mm can be achieved. The optimum strains are predominantly electrostrictive and exhibit fatigue resistant behaviour. More importantly the optimised electromechanical strains are stable up to a temperature of 300 °C making them superior to PZT-based ceramics in terms of temperature stability. The ceramics can be fabricated into a multilayer structure by tape casting technique as demonstrated by a prototype multilayer actuator. The binary solid solution KNN-BF is very limited and dense ceramics could not be fabricated with x > 0.01. Within the limited range studied, ceramics yield a strain of 0.05 % (2kV/mm) but the operating window is strongly hampered by the ferroelectric to ferroelectric phase transition which is close to ~100 °C. With Li doping the strain values could be enhanced to 0.12 % (3 kV/mm), however the room temperature phase is strongly polymorphic in nature and a monotonic decay in properties is observed with increase in temperature making these ceramics unsuitable for high temperature applications.
Design and Development of an Open-Source Adl-Compliant Prosthetic Arm for Trans-Radial Amputees

Presently, open source prosthesis are not optimized to assist the dominant hand in performing bimanual ADL. This research study was thus geared towards the design and experimental validation of an open-source below-elbow prosthetic arm, called the ADL arm, that is functionally optimized for the performance of ADL in the unilateral TR amputee population. The ADL arm is 3D printed; the design validation involved functional assessment - using the AHAP and simulated use assessment with healthy volunteer participants after obtaining Ethics approval. In accordance with AHAP; the ADL arm presented with an overall GAS of 68% and a partial GAS of >75 % for 4/5 ADL grasps. Usability Assessment involved the performance of ADL tasks coupled with the completion of the SUS. The perceived usability of the device was found to increase with increased device familiarity, yielding an overall score of 84.29. Through the tests conducted, the ADL arm was found to be functionally competent, relatively acceptable with proven ability to assist in the performance of ADLs in a simulated-use environment. A number of design modifications and clinical tests are however recommended to overcome the limitations of the current design and corroborate the results obtained in this study.
Risk assessment in public-private partnership infrastructure projects

The purpose of this paper is to empirically compare the risk factors in public-private partnership (PPP) projects in developing and developed countries, represented by Ghana and Hong Kong, respectively. ,A structured questionnaire survey was conducted with PPP practitioners in Ghana and Hong Kong. In total, 103 valid responses were received for analysis. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance and mean ranking were used for data analysis. ,The results show that respondents from Ghana ranked country risk factors higher, whereas their Hong Kong counterparts ranked project-specific risks higher. The top five significant risks in Ghana are corruption, inflation rate fluctuation, exchange rate fluctuation, delay in project completion and interest rate fluctuation. In Hong Kong, the top five significant risk factors are delay in land acquisition, operational cost overruns, construction cost overruns, delay in project completion and political interference. ,The results of the study inform international investors of the appropriate risk mitigation measures and preventive actions to use when engaging in PPP arrangements in any part of the world. Further, governments who are yet to use the PPP concept would be informed of the prevailing risk factors in other neighbouring countries (i.e. developing or developed countries).
Hip Preservation Surgery in Osteoarthritis Prevention: Potential Benefits of the Radiographic Angular Correction

Objective: The aim of the study is to describe the morphology associated with the development of osteoarthritis (OA) in three different age groups. These data will contribute to defining the morphology associated with early and late hip OA. Methods: We studied 400 hips in 377 patients who had undergone primary THA due to idiopathic OA. Three groups were compared: group 1 (n = 147), younger patients, aged up to 60 years; group 2 (n = 155), patients aged between 61 and 74 years; and group 3 (n = 98), aged 75 or over. Five independent researchers measured the hip angles and the mean values were used to build a database. Results: No differences between groups in sex distribution and BMI were detected. Less coverage of the head (extrusion index), higher Tönnis angle, lower Wiberg and alpha angles characterized early OA hips. These differences increased with age, being greater between group 2 and group 3 (p < 0.01). However, significant differences were still present in the comparison between group 1 and group 2 (p < 0.01)). No differences were detected between group 2 and group 3. Conclusion: Elevated acetabular angle, head extrusion and decreased Wiberg angle characterize hip osteoarthritis at younger ages and should be the focus of hip preservation surgery in terms of osteoarthritis prevention. Pincer-type FAI (higher Wiberg and lower Tönnis angle) and higher alpha angle (CAM) are correlated with the development of later OA. These results shed doubt on applying the hip preservation surgery concept in terms of osteoarthritis prevention in FAI, especially in Pincer-type FAI patients.
Laser direct writing of carbon/Au composite electrodes for high-performance micro-supercapacitors

Micro-supercapacitors with small size, light weight, flexibility while maintaining high energy and power output are required for portable miniaturized electronics. The fabrication methods and materials should be cost-effective, scalable, and easily integrated to current electronic industry. Carbon materials have required properties for high-performance flexible supercapacitors, including high specific surface areas, electrochemical stability, and high electrical conductivity, as well as the high mechanical tolerance. Laser direct writing method is a non-contact, efficient, single-step fabrication technique without requirements of masks, post-processing, and complex clean room, which is a useful patterning technique, and can be easily integrated with current electronic product lines for commercial use. Previously we have reported micro-supercapacitors fabricated by laser direct writing on polyimide films in air or Ar, which showed highcapacitive performance. However, the conductivity of the carbon materials is still low for fast charge-discharge use. Here, we demonstrated the fabrication of flexible carbon/Au composite high-performance MSCs by first laser direct writing on commercial polyimide films followed by spin-coating Au nanoparticles ink and second in-situ laser direct writing using the low-cost semiconductor laser. As-prepared micro-supercapacitors show an improved conductivity and capacitance of 1.17 mF/cm2 at a high scanning rate of 10,000 mV/s, which is comparable to the reported capacitance of carbon-based micro-supercapacitors. In addition, the micro-supercapacitors have high bend tolerance and long-cycle stability.
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING IN THE CONTEXT OF ONLINE LEARNING: A LITERATURE REVIEW

With the occurrence of the COVID-19 crisis, there has been dramatically growth and adoption of online education. As a consequence of the epidemic, institutes have been compulsory to close, and teaching and learning have changed fully to home studying. As a result, numerous educational institutions have adopted online teaching and learning on a massive scale. To combine the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach with a framework of computer-assisted language learning seems to be the best strategy during a coronavirus outbreak. This study offers a survey of the literature on Communicative Language Teaching in the situation of online teaching and studying. This paper begins with an overview, definition, and characteristics of CLT. It then examines how CLT can be beneficial in a virtual classroom: advantages and disadvantages. Besides, it discusses the approaches to using CLT in online teaching and learning. This paper's goal is to provide an effective overview that can be used for online language instruction. The study will add to our understanding of Communicative Language Teaching and its use in an online setting. Article visualizations:
Modelling Maintenance Cost of Roads: Anambra State Situation

This study dealt with the Anambra State situation of modelling maintenance cost of roads. The objective of this study was to design generalized nonlinear models for estimating maintenance cost of roads using economic factors and asphalt quantity parameters. The source of data for this study was secondary source of data collection obtained from the records department of Consolidated Construction Company Uli Asphalt Plant Anambra State, Nigeria. Also, economic data were extracted from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin 2013. The result of generalized nonlinear model for estimating maintenance cost of roads using economic factors found a Pearson Chi-squared value of 3.776235e-11 and an Akakike Information Criterion value of 212.64. Also, the result of generalized nonlinear model for estimating maintenance cost of roads using economic factors and asphalt quantity parameters found a Pearson Chi-squared value of 1.332268e-14 and an Akakike Information Criterion (AIC) value of -292.44. The result of the correlation analysis used for determining the efficiency of the models in estimating maintenance cost of roads in Anambra State revealed a positive perfect correlation with even correlation coefficient measure of 1.00. In addition, it was found that model (2) which comprise of the economic and quantity parameters best describe the process of maintenance cost of roads in Anambra State than model (1) since it has a lower AIC measure of 292.44.
Community Health Worker-Led mHealth-Enabled Diabetes Self-management Education and Support Intervention in Rural Latino Adults: Single-Arm Feasibility Trial

Background Latinos living in rural South Texas have a higher prevalence of diabetes, but their access to diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) is limited. Objective We aimed to test the feasibility of a community health worker-led, mobile health (mHealth)-based DSMES intervention to reduce disparities in accessing DSMES in underserved rural Latino residents in South Texas. Methods This 12-week, single-arm, pre-post trial was delivered by trained community health workers to 15 adults with type 2 diabetes. The intervention consisted of digital diabetes education, self-monitoring, a cloud-based connected platform, and community health worker support. Feasibility was evaluated as retention, actual intervention use, program satisfaction, and barriers to implementation. We also explored the intervention’s effect on weight loss and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Results All 15 participants were Latino (mean age 61.87 years, SD 10.67; 9/15 female, 60%). The retention rate at posttest was 14 of 15 (93%). On average, the participants completed 37 of 42 (88%) digital diabetes education lessons with 8 participants completing all lessons. Participants spent 81/91 days (89%) step tracking, 71/91 days (78%) food logging, 43/91 days (47%) blood glucose self-monitoring, and 74/91 days (81%) weight self-monitoring. The level of program satisfaction was high. On average, participants lost 3.5 (SD 3.2) kg of body weight (P=.001), while HbA1c level remained unchanged from baseline (6.91%, SD 1.28%) to posttest (7.04%, SD 1.66%; P=.668). Conclusions A community health worker-led mHealth-based intervention was feasible and acceptable to improve access to DSMES services for Latino adults living in rural communities. Future randomized controlled trials are needed to test intervention efficacy on weight loss and glycemic control.
Spatial Consistency Calibration Based on Phase Difference Minimization for Parallel Slightly Off-Axis Digital Holographic Microscopy

In this study, we propose a spatial consistency calibration method for slightly off-axis digital holographic microscopy (SO-DHM). The acquisition of relative position errors is summarized into a solution of a nonlinear optimization problem in which the root mean squared error of phase aberration of holograms is minimized. The particle swarm optimization algorithm is chosen to solve this optimization problem due to its simple structure, high convergence efficiency, and robust global search ability. Phase-only wavefronts based on phase aberration, which remove the influence of noise, are used for calibration. The simulation result indicates that the proposed method has subpixel-level precision, and the experiment demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method in the SO-DHM system.
Voltage regulation in distribution networks with distributed generation — A review

Unlike traditional electric systems based on centralized power generation with large and very large capacities, the use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES), largely based on smaller capacity power sources, led to defining a new concept, known as Distributed Generation (DG). Beyond the obvious advantages related to environmental protection, greenhouse gas emissions reduction and technical and commercial impact, Distributed Energy Resources (DER) integration in power systems raises several key issues and challenges, among which voltage management is one of the most important control component for a secure and efficient operation of distribution networks. This paper presents a review of the most important aspects regarding the impact of DER integration in existing distribution networks over the voltage regulation process. Recent developments suggest that to fully use the potential of DER, it is necessary to envisage a fundamental rethinking of all aspects concerning the design and operation of distribution networks.
Data mining method for energy consuming behavior of integrated energy system considering typical factors

Traditional mining methods are easily influenced by typical factors such as nature, so the precision of data mining is not ideal. This paper presents a data mining method for energy consumption behavior of integrated energy system considering typical factors. The K-means algorithm is used to correct the damaged data and to mine and marginalize the partially disturbed data in the data. Therefore, the standardized processing method is used to quantify the data. After filtering, the characteristics of user's electricity consumption behavior can be accurately extracted. Experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively extract the accurate electricity consumption data, and the accuracy is higher than the traditional method.
WaterNet: A Network for Monitoring and Assessing Water Quality for Drinking and Irrigation Purposes

Water is a fundamental requirement for human, animal, and plant survival. Despite its importance, quality water is not always fit for drinking, domestic and/or industrial use. Numerous factors such as industrialization, mining, pollution, and natural occurrences impact the quality of water, as they introduce or alter various parameters present therein, thus, affecting its suitability for human consumption or general use. The World Health Organization has guidelines which stipulate the threshold levels of various parameters present in water samples intended for consumption or irrigation. The Water Quality Index (WQI) and Irrigation WQI (IWQI) are metrics used to express the level of these parameters to determine the overall water quality. Collecting water samples from different sources, measuring the various parameters present, and bench-marking these measurements against pre-set standards, while adhering to various guidelines during transportation and measurement can be extremely daunting. To this end this study proposes a network architecture to collect data on water parameters in real-time and use machine learning (ML) tools to automatically determine suitability of water samples for drinking and irrigation purposes. The developed monitoring network is based on LoRa and takes the land topology into consideration. Results of simulations done in Radio Mobile revealed a partial mesh network topology as the most adequate. Due to the absence of large and open datasets on drinking and irrigation water, datasets usable for training ML models were developed. Three ML models -Random Forest (RF), Logistic Regression (LR) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) were considered for the water classification and results obtained showed that LR performed best for drinking water, while SVM was better suited for irrigation water. Recursive feature elimination was then combined with the three ML models to reveal which of the water parameters had the greatest influence on the classification accuracies of the respective model.