Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preliminary Experience With Quadratus Lumborum Catheters for Postoperative Pain Management in Pediatric-Aged Patients With Contraindications to Epidural Anesthesia

Background Although neuraxial techniques such as caudal and epidural anesthesia were initially the predominant regional anesthetic technique used to provide postoperative analgesia in children, there has been a transition to the use of peripheral nerve blockade such as the quadratus lumborum block (QLB). We present preliminary experience with QL catheters for continuous postoperative analgesia in a cohort of pediatric patients following colorectal surgery. Methods After institutional review board (IRB) approval, we retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who underwent major colorectal surgery and received QL catheters for postoperative analgesia. The postoperative pain control data consisted of QL catheter characteristics, anesthetic agents, adjuncts, pain scores, and opioid consumption during the postoperative period. Results The study cohort included eight pediatric patients, ranging in age from 1 to 19 years (median age 11.8 years). The QL catheters were placed in the operating room after the induction of anesthesia. Comorbid conditions in the cohort that were contraindications to neuraxial anesthesia included spinal/vertebral malformations, presence of a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt, anal atresia, tracheo-esophageal fistula (VACTERL) association, and coagulation disturbances. All patients underwent complex colorectal or genito-urologic procedures. Bilateral QL catheters were placed in six patients, and unilateral catheters were placed in two patients. Four patients received 0.5% ropivacaine and four patients received 0.2% ropivacaine of an initial bolus. The local anesthetic used for continuous infusion was 0.2% ropivacaine in five patients, 0.1% ropivacaine in two patients, and 1.5% chloroprocaine in one patient, with a median infusion rate of 0.11 mL/kg/h. QL catheter infusions were supplemented with intravenous opioids delivered by patient-controlled or nurse-controlled analgesia. The median opioid requirements in oral morphine milligram equivalents (MME) were 1.2, 1.0, 1.1, 0.5, and 0.6 MME/kg on postoperative days 1 - 5. Daily median pain scores were ≤ 2 during the 5-day postoperative course. All catheters functioned successfully and were in place for a median of 79.3 h. Other than early inadvertent removal of two catheters, no adverse effects were noted. Conclusions Although our preliminary data suggest the efficacy of QL catheters in providing prolonged postoperative analgesia for up to 3 - 5 days following colorectal procedures, attention needs to be directed at measures to ensure that the catheter is secured to avoid inadvertent removal.
Complex Spacetimes and the Newman-Janis Trick

In this thesis, we explore the subject of complex spacetimes, in which the mathematical theory of complex manifolds gets modified for application to General Relativity. We will also explore the mysterious Newman-Janis trick, which is an elementary and quite short method to obtain the Kerr black hole from the Schwarzschild black hole through the use of complex variables. This exposition will cover variations of the Newman-Janis trick, partial explanations, as well as original contributions.
Severe Air Pollution Exposure and Long-Term Health Outcomes

Background: There is a large literature that documents the negative health implications of exposure to air pollution, particularly PM2.5. Much of this literature, however, relies on short-term cross-sectional data, which cannot establish a true causal link between pollution and health. There are also very few studies that document long- and very long-term effects. Purpose: This study intends to estimate a causal relationship between exposure to severe air pollution and negative health outcomes that persist over long periods of time. Methods: We use a large longitudinal dataset that spans almost 2 decades and that allows us to not only document the persistence of negative health effects, but also a pattern of recovery from a severe pollution episode. We use multivariate regression methods to estimate a causal link between air pollution and health over time. A large pollution shock that occurred in 1997 in Indonesia is used as a natural experiment to pinpoint the true causal effects of pollution exposure and not mere correlations. Results: Exposure to an additional unit of pollution in 1997 leads to a loss of roughly six units of lung capacity and to an increase of 4.3% in the probability of being in poor general health, as measured ten years after the pollution exposure. These effects somewhat diminish over time, to a loss of roughly three units of lung capacity and to an increase of only about 3% in the probability of being in poor general health, as measured 17 years after exposure. Conclusions: Our study finds significant health consequences of exposure to air pollution, which persist over long periods of time, with some patterns of recovery. Policymakers should pay special attention to such massive sources of pollution and try to mitigate these negative health consequences.
Fuzzballs and the information paradox: A Summary and conjectures

The black hole information paradox is one of the most important issues in theoretical physics. We review some recent progress using string theory in understanding the nature of black hole microstates. For all cases where these microstates have been constructed, one finds that they are horizon sized `fuzzballs'. Most computations are for extremal states, but recently one has been able to study a special family of non-extremal microstates, and see `information carrying radiation' emerge from these gravity solutions. We discuss how the fuzzball picture can resolve the information paradox. We use the nature of fuzzball states to make some conjectures on the dynamical aspects of black holes, observing that the large phase space of fuzzball solutions can make the black hole more `quantum' than assumed in traditional treatments.
More than a Confessional Mo(ve)ment? #MeToo's Pedagogical Tensions

In this article, I explore the pedagogical function of #MeToo, highlighting what it might teach about gender-based mistreatment and mainstreamed feminism. I begin by reviewing linkages between adult education and social movements, then trace the development of #MeToo, drawing on both media and scholarly texts. Next, I apply the concepts of feminist snap and neoliberal feminism, layered on top of Foucault's thoughts on confession, to examine how #MeToo has been shaped by the newer phenomena of neoliberalism and social media, and the older phenomena of feminism and social inequities. The role of confession in social ideals of the feminine, feminist activism, and neoliberalism becomes a steady consideration. My analysis illuminates tensions in globalized feminist activism, and possibly other types of equity-seeking movements, and the adult learning and education that it fosters.
Supramolecular assembly in designing co-crystals of fumaric acid and pyrimidine/picolinate derivatives

ABSTRACT Two co-crystals possessing fumaric acid and 2-amino-4,6-dimethoxypyrimidine (1) and fumaric acid and ethyl 2-picolinate (2) were prepared. The structure of both compounds was determined using single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The asymmetric unit of cocrystal 1 formed in a triclinic system with space group P-1 consists of one 2-amino-4,6-dimethoxypyrimidine and one half of fumarate, whereas cocrystal of 2 formed in a monoclinic system with space group P21/c consists of an ethyl-2-picolinate and a half of fumarate. Co-crystal 1 exhibits intramolecular O–H···N and N–H···O hydrogen bonds as well as intermolecular N–H···O hydrogen bonds, whereas co-crystal 2 exhibits intermolecular C–H···O and O–H···N hydrogen bonds as well as weak π‒π stacking interactions. Intermolecular interactions were investigated using Hirshfeld surface analyses. H···H (40.9%), O···H (32.9%), and C···H (8.2%) are the major interactions in 1 and H···H (41.6%), O···H (34.8%), and C···H (8.5%) are the most common in 2. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) was used to investigate the structural features of the molecules using the B3LYP-D3/6-311G(d,p) basis set. Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) surface and global reactivity descriptors for molecules were determined to explain the reactivity of molecular behavior, structural activity, and hydrogen bonds. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Band structure, elementary excitations, and stability of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a periodic potential

Copenhagen O, Denmark (Received 19 December 2002; published 28 May 2003) We investigate the band structure of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a one-dimensional periodic potential by calculating stationary solutions of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, which have the form of Bloch waves. We demonstrate that loops ("swallow tails") in the band structure occur both at the Brillouin zone boundary and at the center of the zone, and they are therefore a generic feature. A physical interpretation of the swallow tails in terms of periodic solitons is given. The linear stability of the solutions is investigated as a function of the strength of the mean-field interaction, the magnitude of the periodic potential, and the wave vector of the condensate. The regions of energetic and dynamical stability are identified by considering the behavior of the Gross-Pitaevskii energy functional for small deviations of the condensate wave function from a stationary state. It is also shown how for long-wavelength disturbances the stability criteria may be obtained within a hydrodynamic approach.
Bayesian inference for a mixture double autoregressive model

This paper considers a mixture double autoregressive model with two components, which can flexibly capture the features usually exhibited by many financial returns such as heteroscedasticity, large kurtosis and multimodal marginals. Bayesian method based on modern Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technology is used to estimate the model parameters. The heteroscedasticity test problem for the underlying process is also addressed by means of Bayes factor. The performances of the proposed methods are evaluated via some simulations. It is shown that the MCMC algorithm is an effective tool to deal with the mixture model. Finally, the proposed model is applied to the S&P500 index data.set.
Comparison Between Circular Hough Transform And Modified Canny Edge Detection Algorithm For Circle Detection

: The circle is one of the most common shapes in our daily life, and indeed the universe. Planets, the movement of the planets, natural cycles, natural shapes - there are circles absolutely everywhere. The circle is one of the most complex shapes, and indeed the most difficult for man to create, yet nature manages to do it perfectly. The centers of flowers, eyes, and many more things are circular and we see them in our every-day life. Detection of circles is very important for us. In this paper, first detect a circle with Circular Hough Transform and then with Modified Canny Edge Detection Algorithm. Coding is done in MATLAB R2010a. It proves that Modified Canny Edge Detection Algorithm is best algorithm for circle detection as compared to Circular Hough Transform. The Modified Canny Edge Detection Algorithm is very fast algorithm to detect circles from the images as compared to Circular Hough Transform.
Development of tropoelastin-functionalized anisotropic PCL scaffolds for musculoskeletal tissue engineering

Abstract The highly organized extracellular matrix (ECM) of musculoskeletal tissues, encompassing tendons, ligaments and muscles, is structurally anisotropic, hierarchical and multi-compartmental. These features collectively contribute to their unique function. Previous studies have investigated the effect of tissue-engineered scaffold anisotropy on cell morphology and organization for musculoskeletal tissue repair and regeneration, but the hierarchical arrangement of ECM and compartmentalization are not typically replicated. Here, we present a method for multi-compartmental scaffold design that allows for physical mimicry of the spatial architecture of musculoskeletal tissue in regenerative medicine. This design is based on an ECM-inspired macromolecule scaffold. Polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds were fabricated with aligned fibers by electrospinning and mechanical stretching, and then surface-functionalized with the cell-supporting ECM protein molecule, tropoelastin (TE). TE was attached using two alternative methods that allowed for either physisorption or covalent attachment, where the latter was achieved by plasma ion immersion implantation (PIII). Aligned fibers stimulated cell elongation and improved cell alignment, in contrast to randomly oriented fibers. TE coatings bound by physisorption or covalently following 200 s PIII treatment promoted fibroblast proliferation. This represents the first cytocompatibility assessment of novel PIII-treated TE-coated PCL scaffolds. To demonstrate their versatility, these 2D anisotropic PCL scaffolds were assembled into 3D hierarchical constructs with an internally compartmentalized structure to mimic the structure of musculoskeletal tissue.
"Stop Bombarding Us With Work We Don't Even Need": Reconceptualising a First-Year Course for Increased Relevance Through Action Learning

South African lecturers and students often struggle to reconcile the demands of an increasingly globalised world with pedagogies that can be adapted to harness students' local contexts, and which can be used to draw on students' lived experiences in the African context. This paper explores how a first-year academic literacies course could be reconceptualised to become more relevant to education students' lived realities, while also preparing them for a competitive degree and a career with global relevance. The current iteration of this course can be described as mainly theoretical with a typical Western course structure. Student feedback indicates that students fail to see the relevance of the course to their degrees and future careers. This conceptual paper considers how the course could be reimagined within a paradigm of action learning that is centred around project-based, socially embedded community-based learning to firstly, encourage students to draw on deep approaches to learning (Biggs, 1999) and secondly, to counter the effects of alienation (Mann, 2001) experienced by students. Ultimately, the paper hopes to offer an example of innovate course design that could successfully be implemented in resource-poor contexts.
Factors Influencing Students' Continuous Willingness to Use E-Learning Platforms in Higher Education

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed significant challenges on education worldwide, particularly in areas with limited online teaching experience. The research design is based on constructivism learning theory and the technology acceptance model. A questionnaire was also distributed to a university of finance and economics in China. Structural equation model was used to test the influence mechanism of social media interaction on college students' willingness to use e-learning platform continuously. The positive moderating effect of online teaching context on this mechanism is further analyzed. Therefore, the use of social media in the online teaching process in higher education institutions should be encouraged, and a good online teaching context should be fostered.
Computer algebra and theorem proving

Is the use of computer algebra technology beneecial for mechanised reasoning in and about mathematical domains? Usually it is assumed that it is. Many works in this area, however, either have little reasoning content, or use symbolic computation only to simplify expressions. In work that has achieved more, the used methods do not scale up. They trust the computer algebra system either too much or too little. Computer algebra systems are not as rigorous as many provers. They are not logically sound reasoning systems, but collections of algorithms. We classify soundness problems that occur in computer algebra systems. While many algorithms and their implementations are perfectly trustworthy, the semantics of symbols is often unclear and leads to errors. On the other hand, more robust approaches to interface external reasoners to provers are not always practical because the mathematical depth of proofs algorithms in computer algebra are based on can be enormous. Our own approach takes both trustworthiness of the overall system and eeciency into account. It relies on using only reliable parts of a computer algebra system, which can be achieved by choosing a suitable library, and deriving speciications for these algorithms from their literature. We design and implement an interface between the prover Isabelle and the computer algebra library Sumit and use it to prove non-trivial theorems from coding theory. This is based on the mechanisation of the algebraic theories of rings and polynomials. Coding theory is an area where proofs do have a substantial amount of computational content. Also, it is realistic to assume that the veriication of an encoding or decoding device could be undertaken in, and indeed, be simpliied by, such a system. The reason why semantics of symbols is often unclear in current computer algebra systems is not mathematical diiculty, but the design of those systems. For Gaussian elimination we show how the soundness problem can be xed by a small extension, and without losing eeciency. This is a prerequisite for the eecient use of the algorithm in a prover. 3 4 Preface This technical report is intended to make my Ph.D. dissertation more easily accessible. The dissertation was submitted in June and the viva voce examination took place in September 1999. This revision includes some improvements that were suggested by my examiners. My mechanisation of the theory of rings and polynomials may be useful to those who work on the mechanisation of mathematics from …
The Comparison of the Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Spirituality Therapy in Reducing Anxiety in Women with Breast Cancer

Background: The experience of anxiety as a bad experience creates a different behavioral, cognitive, and emotional response that preserves annoying thoughts and inefficient beliefs. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and spirituality therapy in reducing anxiety in women with breast cancer in Tehran. Methods: This was a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design research with a control group and a three-month follow-up. The statistical population comprised women with breast cancer visiting the Gynecological Ultra-Specialized Cancer Center of Khatam-al-Anbya Hospital in Tehran in 2021. In total, 45 women with breast cancer were selected and randomly divided into two experimental groups and one control group (n=15). The first and second experimental groups underwent eight 60-minute sessions of ACT and eight 60-minute sessions of spiritual therapy, respectively. The research instruments included the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ). The collected data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The results showed that ACT and spiritual therapy significantly reduced generalized anxiety scores in the experimental groups compared to the control group (P<0.01). Moreover, the absence of anxiety significantly increased in the two experimental groups that underwent ACT and spirituality therapy compared to the control group (P<0.01). However, ACT and spirituality therapy did not differ significantly in their effects on the dependent variables. Conclusion: This study achieved promising results concerning the applicability of ACT and spirituality therapy in reducing anxiety in women with breast cancer. Based on the results, holding ACT and spirituality therapy workshops may exert beneficial effects on reducing anxiety in women with breast cancer.
The long range influence of a superconductor on the electron transport in ferromagnetic wires

The resistivity of a ferromagnetic wire with an extension in contact with a superconductor has been measured at various temperatures and magnetic fields. The distance from the ferromagnet to the superconducting contact was fabricated to be 250–400 nm, much larger than the coherence length in the ferromagnet, which was a few nanometres; nevertheless, we found that the resistivity increases at the superconducting transition. The result was obtained for different ferromagnets and superconductors. We establish that the resistivity increase is not due to a redistribution of magnetic domains as a result of the screening of magnetic flux by the superconductor, as suggested recently.
Evaluation of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum KAU007 against Low-Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus (H9N2)

Avian influenza A viruses (AIVs) pose a persistent threat to humans owing to their reassortment and antigenic drift properties. Among them is H9N2, a low-pathogenic avian influenza virus first discovered in the non-human host and later found infective to humans with huge pandemic potential. In recent years, antiviral resistance has become an increasing threat to public health. Additionally, vaccination against AIVs is becoming increasingly challenging with little success due to antigenic drift. This has resulted in a growing demand for products that can replace the presently in-use medications and the development of innovative antiviral therapies. In this study, we systematically investigate the antiviral potential of lactic acid bacteria against H9N2. Bacteria that produce lactic acid are commonly used in food processing. In addition, these bacteria are considered more affordable, effective, and safe “nutraceuticals” than other alternative medicines. We tested Lactiplantibacillus plantarum KAU007 against the low-pathogenic avian influenza virus (H9N2). As confirmed by the hemagglutination assay, KAU007 showed potent antiviral activity against H9N2 and vigorous antioxidant activity. The CFCS showed a dose-dependent reduction in the levels of IL-6 and IFN-γ. Thus, KAU007 might be considered a potential H9N2 target-based probiotic.
Positive Effects of Digital Technology Use by Adolescents: A Scoping Review of the Literature

This study examines the research literature published from 2012 to 2022 on the relationship between increases in adolescent consumption of digital technologies and its impact on multiple areas of development, with a focus on how adolescent immersion in an increasingly ubiquitous digital world engenders positive outcomes in terms of brain, cognitive, and social-emotional development. The literature search yielded 131 articles, 53 of which were empirical studies of the relationship between increases in consumption of digital technology and brain development, cognitive development, or social-emotional development among adolescents. Overall, these studies identify positive outcomes for adolescents who use different types of digital tech, including the internet, social media, and video games.