Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study of CT-derived Radiation Dose Calculation in Lung Q-SPECT/CT Imaging

Objectives: To investigate the amount of effective dose (ED) due to the computed tomography (CT) component of lung perfusion-single-photon emission computed tomography (Q-SPECT)/CT. Methods: In this single-center retrospective study, imaging data were collected from the clinic database for the period 2016-2022. The 327 patients identified were aged between 20 and 94 years. Tube voltage, tube current, pitch, gantry rotation time, volume CT dose index, and dose-length product (DLP) were recorded. The DLP was then converted to an ED using the conversion factors. The comparison of the ED between two groups was performed using the Mann-Whitney U non-parametric test. Results: ED (mean ± standard deviation, mSv) was 1.20±0.70 for the pulmonary embolism (PE) (-) and 1.54±1.04 for the PE (+) cases (p<0.05). It was observed that there was a 28% increase in the ED for the PE (+) cases. In addition, each of the PE (-) and PE (+) cases was divided into two groups according to the use of the computed tomography dose reduction (CTDR): without CTDR protocol group (non-CTDR) and with CTDR protocol group (CTDR). For those groups, ED were obtained as 0.87±0.72 and 1.55±0.47 for PE (-) cases (p<0.05); 1.56±1.17 and 1.49±0.54 for PE (+) cases (p>0.05) correspondingly. For a deeper understanding, ED was calculated for all three groups formed with different tube voltage values applied for the non-CTDR and CTDR groups.There was a 42% decrease in the ED for group 1 PE (+) compared to group 2 PE (+) (1.21±0.28, 2.07±0.91, p<0.05) and there was a 41% decrease in the ED for group 1 PE (-) compared to group 2 PE (-) cases (1.17±0.32, 1.97±0.65, p<0.05). Conclusion: It could be concluded that the effective DR protocol is the non-CTDR protocol for the PE (-) cases and the application of the tube voltage at the level of 100 kVp for the PE (+) cases.
Efficient removal of antimony from aqueous solution using Al-doped Fe3O4 nanoparticles: adsorption behavior and kinetics study

ABSTRACT Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles have been employed as a cost-effective adsorbent for removing Sb from aqueous solutions. However, the widespread application is limited by its finite adsorption capacity and aggregation nature. In this study, Al-doped Fe3O4 nanoparticles were prepared via a facile solvothermal method to break through the current obstacle. Al-doped Fe3O4 nanoparticles were fully characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron microscopy (SEM), and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results confirmed that Al atoms had been successfully doped into Fe3O4 crystal unit cells, resulting in smaller particle size, larger surface area, and higher isoelectric point. These changes led to the formation of more hydroxyl groups on the surface of Al-doped Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Compared to pristine Fe3O4, the maximum adsorption capacity toward Sb(III) and Sb(V) increased from 111.695 to 197.034 mg/g and from 34.479 to 187.459 mg/g at neutral pH, respectively. The doping of Al also had some negative impact on the original magnetic strength but still maintained a sufficient magnetic separation potential. These results indicated that Al-doped Fe3O4 nanoparticles could be employed as a promising adsorbent for removing Sb(III) and Sb(V) from wastewater.
ADAPTIVE CONTROL AND SYNCHRONIZATION OF LIU 'S FOUR -WING CHAOTIC SYSTEM WITH CUBIC NONLINEARITY

This paper investigates the adaptive chaos control and synchronization of Liu’s four-wing chaotic system with cubic nonlinearity (Liu, 2009) and unknown parameters. First, we design adaptive control laws to stabilize the Liu’s four-wing chaotic system with cubic nonlinearity to its unstable equilibrium at the origin based on the adaptive control theory and Lyapunov stability theory. Next, we derive adaptive control laws to achieve global chaos synchronization of identical Liu’s four-wing chaotic systems with cubic nonlinearity and unknown parameters. Numerical simulations are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive chaos control and synchronization schemes.
COMPARISON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SITAGLIPTIN VERSUS SULFONYLUREA FOR MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH TYPE II DIABETES MELLITUS

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by prolonged hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, and progressive hyperglycemia. Current guidelines for treating patients with T2DM are based on glycemic standards. Sitagliptin seems to maintain its positive effects on glycemia and fasting plasma insulin on the long term as compared to sulfonylurea. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of sitagliptin versus sulfonylurea for management of patients with type II diabetes mellitus Methods: it was randomized controlled trial. The data was collected in North medical ward, department of medicine Mayo hospital Lahore. The patients were randomly divided into two groups e.g Group A Sitagliptin and group B sulfonylurea. The blood sample were drawn at baseline and after 12 weeks for HbA1c level. Results: In Sitagliptin group, the mean age of patients was 57.93±13.10years. In sulfonylurea group, the mean age of patients was 63.51±11.23years. There were 35 (50.0%) male and 35 (50.0%) females in Sitagliptin group. There were 31 (44.3%) male and 39 (55.7%) females in sulfonylurea group. There was 1.19±1.00% decrease in HbA1c with sitagliptin and 0.53±0.31% with sulfonylurea. The difference was significant (p<0.05). In our trial, effectiveness was achieved in 50 (71.4%) with sitagliptin while in 33 (47.1%) with sulfonylurea. The difference was significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: Thus, Sitagliptin is more effective and control more HbA1c than sulfonylurea for management of T2DM
Nanoclay role in improving compression after impact strength of the carbon/epoxy composites

Polymer matrix composites are vulnerable to low-velocity impact, although they have found many applications in high-tech industries. The main objective of this study is to improve compression after impact strength of the carbon/epoxy composites using nanoclay particles. All test samples were fabricated using a vacuum infusion process. The solution blending methodology was applied for better dispersion of the nanoparticles in the resin. The low-velocity impact response of the composite and nanocomposite laminates was investigated at various energy levels of 10, 15, and 20 J. To quantify the impact effect, the residual strength of the impacted specimens was experimentally measured under the compression test. In addition, the effect of nanoclay incorporation through the solution blending methodology on damage mechanisms was determined by the radiographic analyses and optical microscope method. The findings of this research showed a rise, up to 25.15% in the residual compressive strength, and a 7-fold increase in local buckling threshold stress of the carbon/epoxy/nanoclay specimens.
Some skew linear groups with Engel's condition

Abstract. Let D be a non-commutative division ring, m and n two natural numbers, M a maximal and N a subnormal subgroup of . In this paper, among other results, we show that: (1) if N is an n-Engel group, then it is central; (2) if and M is locally nilpotent, then M is abelian; (3) if and M is n-Engel, then the Hirsch–Plotkin radical of M is abelian. Also, we define some generalized Engel conditions on groups, and then we prove similar results, as quoted, for these groups.
A Novel Modulation Scheme for Simultaneous Common-Mode Voltage Reduction and Neutral-Point Voltage Balance in the Reduced Switch Count Quasi-Z-Source Three-Level Inverter

The reduced switch count quasi-Z-source three-level inverter (RSC-QZS-TLI) not only maintains the advantages of continuous input current in the conventional quasi-Z-source three-level inverter but also reduces the number of power switches and system cost. However, it inevitably faces the challenges of high common-mode voltage (CMV) and neutral-point voltage (NPV) imbalance, which threaten system safety and reliability. Moreover, owing to the inherent features of this topology, the medium vectors cannot be generated, which means that the traditional modulation method is no more applicable. To address the above challenges, a novel modulation method is proposed. The preselected basic vectors are optimized primarily, which restrict the CMV magnitude within one-sixth of dc-link voltage. Then, for the particularity of RSC-QZS-TLI, the distribution factor of small vector and its limitation range are introduced for the first time, and an indirect calculating approach is developed to obtain the duty cycles of the preselected four vectors, which maintains the correct ac output voltage and dc voltage boosting ability. Meanwhile, according to sector number and output of the NPV controller, the distribution factor is modified to control the NPV balance. Compared with the traditional modulation method, the CMV magnitude of the proposed method is reduced by 50%, and the balanced NPV is controlled actively. Simulated and experimental results verify the feasibility of the proposed scheme.
STAPHYLOCOCCAL CASSETTE CHROMOSOME MEC TYPES IN NASALLY CARRIED METHICILLIN RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS ISOLATES OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Objective: To determine the frequency and SCCmec type of nasally carried MRSA in HCWs of a tertiary care hospital. Methods: Nasal swabs were collected from three hundred and eighty healthcare workers working in various clinical wards of Lahore General Hospital, Lahore. The phenotypic resistance to methicillin was determined using Cefoxitin disk 30 µg. All the isolates showing Cefoxitin resistance were confirmed for mecA gene and typed for SCCmec I, II, III, IV (a, b, c, d) and V by PCR. DNA sequencing was done for random isolates for all the SCCmec types recovered in the present study. Results: Out of 380 nasal samples, 89 (23.42%) cultures yielded the growth of S. aureus out of which 31 (34.83%) were MRSA. The overall frequency of MRSA among all the HCWs was 8.2%. Overall, 47 SCCmec elements were found in total 29 MRSA isolates. Out of 29 MRSA isolates, 13 (44.82%) were hospital acquired, 7 (24.13%) were community acquired and 9 (31.03%) isolates had SCCmec types of both hospital acquired and community acquired origins. Conclusion: The colonized healthcare workers are harboring Hospital-acquired MRSA more frequently and can act as being acting as mixing bowls of different SCCmec genes. Our study emphasizes the need for the formulation of regular nasal decolonization policies for effective infection control within our healthcare setups.
Investigating exhaust gas emissions of yachts: Example of Turgutreis D‐Marin

Yachts emit harmful gases to human health and the environment into the atmosphere and marinas and surrounding vicinity are the most affected regions by these pollutants. This study applied a bottom‐up approach involving emission factors to make an anthropogenic emissions inventory of yachts and to offer solutions for reducing emissions by investigating the NMVOC, NOx, NH3, CO, and PM emissions from 2002 yacht movements between June 1 and August 31, 2019 at Turgutreis D‐Marin in Bodrum Turkey. These emissions are categorized based on yacht operation modes and types. Quarterly yachting emissions are estimated as 3099 tons for NMVOC, 0.003 tons for NH3, 14,526 tons for NOx, 1896 tons for PM, and 15,576 tons for CO.
Toeplitz Covariance Matrix Estimation for Adaptive Beamforming and Ultrasound Imaging

In recent years, adaptive beamformers have been researched more extensively, to be able to use it in the application of medical ultrasound imaging. The adaptive beamformers can provide a higher resolution and better contrasts in the resulting images than non-adaptive, and most commonly used, delay-and-sum beamformer. The difficulties of applying adaptive beamformers to ultrasound imaging can e.g. be numerical complexity, stability of statistics, coherent sources, or the robustness of the beamformer. Methods to handle these types of difficulties have been researched and successfully applied to utilize the performance advantages provided by adaptive beamformers. Why is it important to prevent these types of errors? The beamformer is used in the image formation stage, and errors that occur at this stage are difficult to get rid of even for the most sophisticated imaging software. We have in this thesis investigated methods that attempt to force the estimate of the covariance matrix to become a Toeplitz matrix. A Toeplitz matrix has equal elements along its diagonals, and has several useful properties that are desirable in array processing. Assuming the Toeplitz structure can be achieved, this is because of the spatial stationarity in the received data, it can be applied in medical ultrasound imaging. Three different methods are proposed to reach the desired Toeplitz structure in this thesis; IAAAPES, Adaptive Spatial Averaging and Spatial Convolution. The three methods for making the covariance matrix Toeplitz will be compared and analyzed to other known adaptive beamformers to detect their strengths and weaknesses. Firstly, this thesis introduces the field of adaptive beamformers. Starting with the basic operations of array processing to build a general understanding of the topic, and continuing with more advanced methods for improving the performance of the array processing. The second part explains and motivates our Toeplitz constrained methods, and introduces the performance metrics that will be used for comparing and benchmarking the beamformers. Lastly, we explore the results and discuss the outcome, comparing the Toeplitz constrained methods with other beamformers to benchmark the performance. We apply the Toeplitz constrained methods to the application of medical ultrasound imaging.
Satellite Earth Observation for Essential Climate Variables Supporting Sustainable Development Goals: A Review on Applications

Essential climate variables (ECVs) have been recognized as crucial information for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There is an agreement on 54 ECVs to understand climate evolution, and multiple rely on satellite Earth observation (abbreviated as s-ECVs). Despite the efforts to encourage s-ECV use for SDGs, there is still a need to further integrate them into the indicator calculations. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review to identify s-ECVs used in SDG monitoring. Results showed the use of 14 s-ECVs, the most frequent being land cover, ozone, precursors for aerosols and ozone, precipitation, land surface temperature, soil moisture, soil carbon, lakes, and leaf area index. They were related to 16 SDGs (mainly SDGs 3, 6, 11, 14, and 15), 33 targets, and 23 indicators. However, only 10 indicators (belonging to SDGs 6, 11, and 15) were calculated using s-ECVs. This review raises research opportunities by identifying s-ECVs yet to be used in the indicator calculations. Therefore, indicators supporting SDGs must be updated to use this valuable source of information which, in turn, allows a worldwide indicator comparison. Additionally, this review is relevant for scientists and policymakers for future actions and policies to better integrate s-ECVs into the Agenda 2030.
Mutated Ant Colony Algorithm for Assignment Problem

Assignment problem, a kind of combinatorial optimization problem, has significant importance for real life. Ant system algorithm is a kind of evolutionary algorithms, which is efficient in solving combinatorial optimization problem. In this paper, we established the mathematical model of assignment problem as well as solved this problem by mutated ant colony algorithm. Experiments show that, by using this algorithm, the best solution can be found rapidly.
Tunnel passing maneuvers of prescribed formations

Tunnel passing is a pattern formation of multiple robots, an outcome of formation control which is the general problem of controlling a large number of robots required to move as a group. Tunnel passing deals with the task of driving a team of robots from arbitrary initial positions through a tunnel of given geometry. This paper proposes a decentralized planner that guarantees collision‐free tunnel passing maneuvers of a team of nonholonomic car‐like robots fixed in a prescribed formation, while considering all the practical limitations and constraints due to nonholonomy, tunnel geometry, and the formation specifications. Although solutions in literature are restricted to tunnels with linear segments, this paper introduces piecewise tunnel walls with straight and curved segments. The motion planner, derived from the Lyapunov‐based control scheme works within an overarching leader‐follower framework to generate either split/rejoin or expansion/contraction of the formation, as feasible solutions. Results from simulating virtual scenarios demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed nonlinear controllers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Research on Trinocular Stereo Vision by Edge Segmental Matching

In this paper a trinocular stereo vision method by pyramidal BLI graph propagation matching is proposed.The choice of the starting triplet in the algorithm is based on perspective projective geometry and matching by propagation greatly limits the searching scope.Therefore,it can accelerate the computing and avoid the possible false targets.Matching by propagation makes use of the structural similarities of stereo triple images in pyramidal graphs of BLI′s,whereas the overall examination and verification of matching results is done by a comparison of the propagation ratio.This algorithm can effectively overcome some essential limitations of binocular stereo vision methods and enssure the matching results precise and reliable.
Differentiated implementation and European integration: the development of EU food quality labelling

Abstract The article examines how differentiated national implementation of EU policies affects later European integration – whether it leads to renewed unified vertical integration, differentiated integration, the status quo or renationalisation. It examines the case of geographical indications (GIs), an EU labelling system for food and drink based on place of origin and processes of production. Despite features such as diverse national interests and gastronationalism, differentiated implementation has resulted in renewed unified vertical integration. The article identifies three processes: EU legislative requirements encouraging the establishment of producer groups; European Court of Justice decisions which gave priority to quality over cross-border trade; the use of free trade negotiations to alter EU rules. While the integration outcomes are those expected by neo-functionalist analyses, the processes are more institutionally-based. Differences in implementation may aid rather than hinder further integration due to institutional features of EU legislation and decision making.
Delineation of oil–water contact within Tipam reservoir: A study from Upper Assam Basin, North‐East India

Fluid contacts within a reservoir can vary either because of compartmentalization by faults, lithological variations, hydrocarbon fill history or changes in the hydrodynamic activity of fluids. Their detailed interpretation is significant for estimating potential reserves and developing an explored hydrocarbon field. This study uses high‐quality three‐dimensional (3D) seismic reflection data to decipher the fluid contact zones and their types from the well‐known Tipam reservoir in the petroliferous Upper Assam foreland basin. Different seismic attributes are used to understand the seismic response of fluids and associated structures that structurally control the reservoir geometry. Fluid contact analysis is performed by amalgamating these responses within the target interval. The analysis indicates that the south‐west part of the reservoir is a promising hydrocarbon‐bearing zone and consists of oil–water contacts. These contacts possess a dominant trend of NE–SW within the reservoir. Further, a decreasing trend in the density, velocity and an increasing trend in the resistivity and porosity logs of the wellbore SC‐2 calibrates these inferences and confirms the presence of oil‐bearing zones underlain by water in the SW part of the Tipam reservoir. Thus, the Upper Assam foreland basin is a promising area for hydrocarbon exploration, in which Mid‐Miocene sequences are the potential leads that can be unlocked. The analysis presented through this research could be efficiently and similarly carried out in onshore basins worldwide.
Transient Response to Localized Episodic Heating in the Tropics. Part I: Excitation and Short-Time Near-Field Behavior.

Abstract The dynamical response to localized, unsteady tropical heating is studied in a stochastic framework. Spectral statistics of the random wave response are derived from those of tropical convection using the primitive equations for a spherical baroclinic atmosphere. Short-time near-field behavior emerges in the form of a transient wavepacket which disperses away the source region. Two principal components characterize the response: 1) a projection response which matches the vertical scale of the heating and 2) a barotropic response involving Rossby normal modes. The projection response consists of a continuum of frequencies and vertical scales centered about vertical wavelengths twice the effective depth of the heating. This scale discrimination is shown to be insensitive to variations in the heating distribution. The associated disturbance is trapped laterally about the equator but radiates vertically away from the source region. It corresponds to the tropical waves traditionally studied on the equ.
Spectral triples and characterization of aperiodic order

We construct spectral triples for compact metric spaces (X, d). This provides us with a new metric d̄s on X. We study its relation with the original metric d. When X is a subshift space, or a discrete tiling space, and d satisfies certain bounds, we advocate that the property of d̄s and d to be Lipschitz equivalent is a characterization of high order. For episturmian subshifts, we prove that d̄s and d are Lipschitz equivalent if and only if the subshift is repulsive (or power‐free). For Sturmian subshifts this is equivalent to linear recurrence. For repetitive tilings we show that if their patches have equi‐distributed frequencies, then the two metrics are Lipschitz equivalent. Moreover, we study the zeta‐function of the spectral triple and relate its abscissa of convergence to the complexity exponent of the subshift or the tiling. Finally, we derive Laplace operators from the spectral triples and compare our construction with that of Pearson and Bellissard.
A new method for constructing discrete hyperchaotic systems with a controllable range of Lyapunov exponents and its application in information security

Since people use chaos extensively for a wide range of applications in data encryption and secure communications, a new method for designing practical high-dimensional discrete hyperchaotic systems is proposed for the first time in this paper. This method controls the range of the Lyapunov exponents in reverse by adding control variables so that the range of the values of the Lyapunov exponents is controlled within a specified interval, which is more suitable for engineering applications. Then, it is mathematically proved that the method ensures that the orbits of chaotic systems are globally finite and their Lyapunov exponents are bounded. In addition, as a practical demonstration of the selective image encryption scheme based on target template matching introduced in this paper, a 6D discrete hyperchaotic system was created, and the analysis of the simulation results verifies the applicability of the 6D hyperchaotic system designed by the method presented in this paper in the field of image encryption.