Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantification of Myocardial Contraction Fraction with Three-Dimensional Automated, Machine-Learning-Based Left-Heart-Chamber Metrics: Diagnostic Utility in Hypertrophic Phenotypes and Normal Ejection Fraction

Aims: The differentiation of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophic phenotypes is challenging in patients with normal ejection fraction (EF). The myocardial contraction fraction (MCF) is a simple dimensionless index useful for specifically identifying cardiac amyloidosis (CA) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) when calculated by cardiac magnetic resonance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of MCF measured by three-dimensional automated, machine-learning-based LV chamber metrics (dynamic heart model [DHM]) for the discrimination of different forms of hypertrophic phenotypes. Methods and Results: We analyzed the DHM LV metrics of patients with CA (n = 10), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, n = 36), isolated hypertension (IH, n = 87), and 54 healthy controls. MCF was calculated by dividing LV stroke volume by LV myocardial volume. Compared with controls (median 61.95%, interquartile range 55.43–67.79%), mean values for MCF were significantly reduced in HCM—48.55% (43.46–54.86% p < 0.001)—and CA—40.92% (36.68–46.84% p < 0.002)—but not in IH—59.35% (53.22–64.93% p < 0.7). MCF showed a weak correlation with EF in the overall cohort (R2 = 0.136) and the four study subgroups (healthy adults, R2 = 0.039 IH, R2 = 0.089; HCM, R2 = 0.225; CA, R2 = 0.102). ROC analyses showed that MCF could differentiate between healthy adults and HCM (sensitivity 75.9%, specificity 77.8%, AUC 0.814) and between healthy adults and CA (sensitivity 87.0%, specificity 100%, AUC 0.959). The best cut-off values were 55.3% and 52.8%. Conclusions: The easily derived quantification of MCF by DHM can refine our echocardiographic discrimination capacity in patients with hypertrophic phenotype and normal EF. It should be added to the diagnostic workup of these patients.
Characteristics of 20th Century Drought in the United States at Multiple Time Scales.

Abstract : The purpose of this study is to define the occurrence and variability of drought in the United States in order to furnish climatologists and drought mitigation planners with information on how to put current drought into historical perspective. The opposite of drought is a period of anomalously wet conditions. Analyses of both drought and wet periods on national and regional scales are provided. Analysis of drought and wet periods in terms of areal coverage, intensity, duration, and variability at these different space and time scales provides valuable insight not only into the historical perspective of anomalously dry and wet conditions, but also into the long-term variation of climate in the United States.
Journey Time Analysis from GPS Based Tracking Systems

This paper reports on the use of GPS-based tracking systems to collect data on road travel times (also called journey times). The author looks at data collected to help with the verification of the transport model being built for the Hawke's Bay (New Zealand) Traffic Study. Data was collected with a relatively simple journey time survey using a GPS device to record positions every three seconds along a number of predetermined journeys. The study also examined data that is routinely collected as part of the Christchurch (New Zealand) Bus Real Time Tracking System; from this data, the bus time spent moving, time stopped at intersections, and the deceleration time spent at the bus stop, and acceleration time back into the traffic stream can be separately identified. The author describes how, coupled with geographic information system (GIS)-based network models, a GPS reader in a car (replacing the observer) provides a powerful tool for accurate, easy and cost-effective data collection.
Wildfire, wildlands, and people: understanding and preparing for wildfire in the wildland-urban interface - a Forests on the Edge report

Stein, S.M. ; Menakis, J.; Carr, M.A.; Comas, S.J.; Stewart, S.I. ; Cleveland, H. ; Bramwell, L. ; Radeloff, V.C. 2013. Wildfire, wildlands, and people: understanding and preparing for wildfire in the wildland-urban interface—a Forests on the Edge report. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-299. Fort Collins, CO. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 36 p. Fire has historically played a fundamental ecological role in many of America’s wildland areas. However, the rising number of homes in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), associated impacts on lives and property from wildfire, and escalating costs of wildfire management have led to an urgent need for communities to become “fire-adapted. ” We present maps of the conterminous United States that illustrate historical natural fire regimes, the wildland-urban interface, and the number and location of structures burned since 1999. We outline a sampler of actions, programs, and community planning and development options to help decrease the risks of and damages from wildfire.
Long-term corrosion of abandoned offshore steel infrastructure

ABSTRACT A common practice in the offshore oil and gas (O&G) industry is to leave abandoned decommissioned pipelines and other steel infrastructure on the seafloor. Decisions about long-term environmental and other impacts and about the possibility of recovery require estimates of the likely long-term rate of deterioration, including corrosion loss and pit depth. These are considered as functions of time and environmental conditions including seawater temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, salinity, seawater velocity, water pollution, microbiological activity, water depth, calcareous deposition and the effect of burial, all interpreted using established physico-chemical behaviour relevant for long-term exposures. Data for exposures up to some 600 years in seawaters are reviewed. Remaining research gaps and future perspectives of marine corrosion control are briefly discussed. Specific attention is given, by way of an example, to the influence on long-term durability of protective coatings and remnant cathodic protection, both areas in which further research is required.
Resident Engagement With a Web- and App-based Journal Club Curriculum Utilizing Email and Text Notifications.

Background High learner engagement is important for the success of asynchronous and online learning for graduate medical education. Medical trainees have recently reported using medical mobile apps. App-based interactions may provide more participation than email-based interactions. We sought to investigate (1) if there were higher levels of engagement with an online curriculum using notifications sent via email as compared with via text, and (2) if there were higher levels of engagement with the mobile app or website format. Methods We implemented an online Journal Club curriculum with weekly topics for anesthesiology residents (postgraduate years 2-4) from July 2020 to June 2021. Weekly notifications were sent to residents via email for weeks 1-10, text for weeks 11-20, then email for weeks 21-49. Based on activity logs, we compared (1) the weekly numbers of interactions when email notifications were sent with the weekly numbers of interactions when text notifications were sent, and (2) the weekly numbers of interactions via the app with the weekly numbers of interactions via the website. Results Thirty-eight of the 54 anesthesiology residents in our department at the time of the study (70.4%) interacted with the online Journal Club at least once throughout the study. The weekly numbers of interactions with email notifications (median [interquartile range (IQR)]: 13 [7-28]) were significantly higher than with text notifications (median [IQR]: 6 [4-8]) (P = .023). The weekly numbers of interactions via the website (median [IQR]: 9 [4-24]) were significantly higher than via the app (median [IQR]: 0 [0-1]) (P < .001). Conclusions Although mobile technology may increase engagement and participation for some educational resources, learners may prefer accessing others through more conventional methods.
Buoyancy induced secondary vortices in the entrance section of a horizontal straight tube

Developing mixed connective flow in the entrance section of a horizontal straight lube is analyzed with special emphasis on the buoyancy-induced secondary vortices. The flow is subject to a constant wall temperature. Elliptic calculations on a half cross-section grid an performed for various Grashof numbers and two Prandtl numbers. It appears that for air (Pr = 0.7) the flow exhibits a two-vortex solution for all Grashof numbers and axial positions investigated, whereas for water (Pr = 5.0), secondary flow evolves from a two-vortex solution, via a four-vortex solution toward a six-vortex solution for increasing Grashof numbers and axial distances. Calculations on a full cross-section grid reveal that these solutions are insensitive to white noise perturbations in the “initial” flow field.
An 85.1% Peak Efficiency, Low Power Class H Audio Amplifier With Full Class H Operation

This paper presents a novel class H audio amplifier design that allows full class H operating region, optimizing the efficiency of the class H audio amplifier architecture. Class H audio amplifier is a class AB amplifier, with supply continuously tracks the output voltage, gaining the linearity and power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) performance of the class AB amplifier with much higher efficiency. In prior works on class H audio amplifier architecture, the supply tracking capability has always been limited by the minimum supply requirement for the class AB amplifier to operate. A novel class AB amplifier circuit with bootstrapping architecture to overcome this limitation will be introduced in this paper. The proposed class H audio amplifier is designed and fabricated in GF 55nm BCDLite process, occupying 2.01mm2 total chip area. The proposed class H audio amplifier is able to deliver 186.8mW peak output power to $16\Omega $ audio load, while consuming 4.9mW quiescent power. It achieves the lowest A-weighted THD+N of −82dB and −81.5dB at 1kHz and 20kHz, respectively. The proposed class H audio amplifier also achieves 85.1% peak power efficiency, the highest as compared to prior works on class G and class H audio amplifiers. Furthermore, it is also shown in this paper that the efficiency at lower output power is significantly improved with the proposed class H audio amplifier architecture, making it highly suitable for audio applications with high crest factor (peak-to-average power ratio).
Hormonal-Receptors-Positive and HER2-Negative Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer Treated with First-Line Palbociclib and Hormonal Therapy: Impact of First-Cycle Neutropenia and Dose Reduction on Therapeutic Outcome

Background CDK 4/6 inhibitors with hormonal therapy are the standard first-line therapy in metastatic hormonal receptors (HR)-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer. This study aims to assess the impact of neutropenia with 1st cycle, dose reduction, HER2-low status, and other clinicopathological factors on survival outcomes with the first-line palbociclib and hormonal therapy. Patients and Methods. In this retrospective study, we recruited patients with metastatic HR-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer. Neutropenia with 1st cycle, palbociclib dose reduction in addition to different clinicopathological and survival data were checked in patients' medical records. Survival outcomes were compared according to the abovementioned factors. Results We recruited 150 patients who received first-line palbociclib with hormonal therapy. 86% of patients developed 1st cycle neutropenia which was more common in patients with high Ki67. Dose reduction was recorded in 46.7% of patients and it was more common in patients with higher Allred scores (scores 7–8). The median progression-free survival (PFS) of the study group was 22 months. No significant difference was observed in PFS according to the 1st cycle of neutropenia or grade of neutropenia. Similarly, no difference in PFS according to palbociclib dose reduction and HER2 low status was observed. Only the Allred score and having a single site of metastasis had an independent significant relation with PFS. The median overall survival (OS) of the study group was 39 months. No significant difference was observed in OS according to the 1st cycle neutropenia, grade of neutropenia, palbociclib dose reduction, and HER2-low status. Only the Allred score and having a single site of metastasis had an independent significant relation with OS. In addition, no difference was observed in PFS and OS according to ECOG PS (2 vs. 0-1) or menopausal status. Conclusion No significant impact of the 1st cycle neutropenia, dose reduction, having ECOG PS2, menopausal status, or HER2 low status on survival outcome was observed. Survival outcome was significantly better in patients with single metastatic sites and higher ER-Allred scores.
Destination Branding through the Perception of the Tourist: Case from Croatia

Creating a distinctive destination brand in order to maintain a uniform positioning of a place, region or country among the world travelers is a complex and challenging task. As the competition is becoming more intense, an increasing number of destinations or places struggle to make them visible in the global tourism market. Lack of understanding of the power of brand could be one the reasons for failure. In tourism, consumers often don’t buy individual products but images associated with products. Therefore, understanding how a tourist destination can identify its unique selling propositions and positioning for marketing itself to global customers (tourists), is the key question. The ultimate aim of this paper is to demonstrate an innovative approach to destination branding by exploiting the consumer power and their curiosity. The study is based on a marketing project conducted in Riviera Gradac, an attractive region situated on the southern coastline of Dalmatia in Croatia. It is a typical Mediterranean seaside destination that has traditionally attracted sun-sand-sea holidaymakers during the summer period. Faced with seasonality problems and increased economic stagnation, the local government decided to take measures to overcome these challenges and further leverage its destination brand. To reposition this appealing Riviera as a year-round tourist destination it requires much more to offer than warm climate and clean beaches. This time the projected brand has been constructed around a perception built on the key destination strengths including nature, culture, history and food. The theme of the new approach was to invite people to visit Riviera Gradac and enjoy the diverse range of experiences available there. The campaign appears to be a new, original, way of the destination branding.
Prevalence of Non-Toxigenic Clostridioides difficile in Diarrhoea Patients and Their Clinical Characteristics

Non-toxigenic Clostridioides difficile (NTCD) has been shown to decrease the risk of recurrent C. difficile infection (CDI) in patients following metronidazole or vancomycin treatment for CDI. Limited data on the prevalence of NTCD strains in symptomatic patients and their clinical characteristics are available. We conducted this study to investigate the prevalence of NTCD in diarrhoea patients and their clinical characteristics. Between July 2017 and June 2018, unduplicated stool specimens were collected from patients with diarrhoea. The characteristics and episodes of C. difficile infection in patients with NTCD and toxigenic strains were compared. Among the 1182 stool specimens collected, 236 (18.5%) were identified as growing C. difficile, and 19.5% of the identified isolates were found to be NTCD. Multivariate analysis showed that community-onset diarrhoea (OR = 4.13, 95% CI 1.07–15.97; p = 0.040), underlying diabetes (OR = 3.64, 95% CI 1.46–9.25; p = 0.006), previous use of glycopeptides (OR = 4.75, 95% CI 1.37–16.42; p = 0.014), and the lack of use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) (OR = 3.57, 95% CI 1.39–9.09; p = 0.009) were independently associated with the NTCD group. Although there was no statistical significance, the number of CDI episodes occurring after 90 days tended to be lower in the NTCD group (2.2%) than in the toxigenic group (11.2%). A considerable portion of the C. difficile strains isolated from patients with diarrhoea showed NTCD. Further, more extensive studies are needed to clearly define the protective effects of NTCD strains in patients with diarrhoea.
Effect of Tyrosol Acyl Esters on the Antioxidant Status of Mussel (Mytilus edulis) Oil During Accelerated Oxidative Storage

ABSTRACT The effect of tyrosol (Tyr) and tyrosol acyl ester (TYr-Es) on thiobarbituric acid reactive substance, peroxide value, acid value, aldehyde content, fatty acid composition, and tyrosol content of mussel (Mytilus edulis) oil (MO) during accelerated storage at 60°C was evaluated. The results indicated that TYr-Es and TYr showed effective protection of MO against lipid oxidation. However, the poor solubility of TYr may lead to the formation of a suspension in oils. Therefore, TYr-Es with good lipid solubility and oxidation resistance may serve as potential antioxidant in marine oils highly enriched in long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in phospholipid form.
Deep Sequencing to Reveal Phylo-Geographic Relationships of Juquitiba Virus in Paraguay

Several hantaviruses result in zoonotic infections of significant public health concern, causing hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) or hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) in the Old and New World, respectively. Given a 35% case fatality rate, disease-causing New World hantaviruses require a greater understanding of their biology, genetic diversity, and geographical distribution. Juquitiba hantaviruses have been identified in Oligoryzomys nigripes in Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Brazil has reported the most HCPS cases associated with this virus. We used a multiplexed, amplicon-based PCR strategy to screen and deep-sequence the virus harbored within lung tissues collected from Oligoryzomys species during rodent field collections in southern (Itapúa) and western (Boquerón) Paraguay. No Juquitiba-like hantaviruses were identified in Boquerón. Herein, we report the full-length S and M segments of the Juquitiba hantaviruses identified in Paraguay from O. nigripes. We also report the phylogenetic relationships of the Juquitiba hantaviruses in rodents collected from Itapúa with those previously collected in Canindeyú. We showed, using the TN93 nucleotide substitution model, the coalescent (constant-size) population tree model, and Bayesian inference implemented in the Bayesian evolutionary analysis by sampling trees (BEAST) framework, that the Juquitiba virus lineage in Itapúa is distinct from that in Canindeyú. Our spatiotemporal analysis showed significantly different time to the most recent ancestor (TMRA) estimates between the M and S segments, but a common geographic origin. Our estimates suggest the additional geographic diversity of the Juquitiba virus within the Interior Atlantic Forest and highlight the need for more extensive sampling across this biome.
Error Propagation in Directly Georeferenced Terrestrial Laser Scanner Point Clouds for Cultural Heritage Recording

SUMMARY Cultural heritage recording is a prime application for terrestrial laser scanners due to the high spatial resolution, high accuracy and fast data capture rates offered by this technology. To date, insufficient attention has been given to the many error sources contributing to the uncertainty of scanner datasets. A full error budget is derived for directly georeferenced terrestrial laser scanner networks that considers both relevant error sources fundamental to surveying and those unique to sampled laser scanner systems. In the case of the latter, new probabilistic models are proposed for angular positional uncertainty due to laser beamwidth and target centroid pointing. Analysis of a cultural heritage recording project in Ayutthaya, Thailand, highlights the disparity between ‘expected’ precision and the more realistic precision indicated by the error budget, to which the laser beamwidth is demonstrated to be a significant contributor.
Capillary wave method: An alternative approach to wave excitation and to wave profile reconstruction

The capillary wave method is a well-known classical technique to measure surface tension and surface rheological properties. Despite the large number of theoretical works devoted to capillary waves, this technique has serious difficulties associated with its implementation, and therefore, it is not widely used by researchers. In this paper, we introduce our modifications of the existing method to overcome its drawbacks. First, a capillary wave is excited by pressure fluctuations generated locally at the interface. Being contactless, the proposed method is suitable for any liquid irrespective of its electrical properties. Second, the application of optical interferometry together with the spatial phase shifting method allows to quantify the surface profile with high accuracy. A new data processing algorithm makes it possible to subtract the parasitic deformation of the surface caused by external perturbations avoiding, thereby the thorough vibroisolation procedure. The relative error for surface measurements and surface tension calculations is 0.3%. The results of surface tension measurements of several liquids obtained by the modified method are in good agreement with the data determined by the Wilhelmy plate technique. The main advantage of our method is that is well suited for measurements of low liquid volumes, which makes it of particular interest in biological and chemistry applications. Additionally, our version of the examined method allows one to extend the frequency range to 103–104 Hz, where only the quasi-elastic light scattering technique is currently applicable.The capillary wave method is a well-known classical technique to measure surface tension and surface rheological properties. Despite the large number of theoretical works devoted to capillary waves, this technique has serious difficulties associated with its implementation, and therefore, it is not widely used by researchers. In this paper, we introduce our modifications of the existing method to overcome its drawbacks. First, a capillary wave is excited by pressure fluctuations generated locally at the interface. Being contactless, the proposed method is suitable for any liquid irrespective of its electrical properties. Second, the application of optical interferometry together with the spatial phase shifting method allows to quantify the surface profile with high accuracy. A new data processing algorithm makes it possible to subtract the parasitic deformation of the surface caused by external perturbations avoiding, thereby the thorough vibroisolation procedure. The relative error for surface measuremen.