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FHL2 facilitates LUSC growth and therapy resistance through PI3K/AKT/mTOR activation
Social media perceptions of college football performance and season length 2019–2023
College Football carries a strong social, cultural, and economic importance in the United States with teams, universities, the public and others leveraging social media and the online sphere to promote and discuss events and happenings. In our study, we quantify the mentions and underlying public sentiment of online posts related to American College Football originating in the 2019–2023 seasons on social and news media in the United States. We complement this with an analysis of how team performance clustered into conference levels relates to social media data using ordinary least squares. We find the impact of the 2020 season, which had pandemic-induced schedule adjustments, was felt across the sports landscape, but impacted different conferences in diverse ways. We further observe that public sentiment during the season tends to be higher in Power Five conferences that have a lower winning percentage. Additionally, our results suggest that the COVID season corresponds to decreased mentions. The effect on sentiment is less clear, but we more generally find that the winning percentage (positively) predicts sentiment.
Enhancing the YOLOv8 model for realtime object detection to ensure online platform safety
Study on properties of straw fiber steel slag foam concrete
Unsupervised anomaly detection for gearboxes based on the deep convolutional support generative adversarial network
Trunk kinematics during seated functional activities in individuals with spinal cord injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract This systematic review with meta-analysis compared the differences in trunk kinematics between persons living with spinal cord injury (PwSCI) and non-SCI individuals during sitting-based daily activities. A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL-PLUS and Web of Science databases to identify relevant studies from inception up until 22nd March 2024. A total of 36 studies with 444 participants (mean age 38.9 ± 8.4 years; 361 males) were included, of whom 272 had AIS A/B classification, with injury levels ranging from C4 to L2. Three main tasks were identified: reaching, transfers, and wheeling. Four studies reported data on trunk displacement and a meta-analysis indicated that healthy controls showed significantly greater trunk displacement than SCI participants in forward-reaching tests (SMD = 2.07; 95% CI = 0.42–3.72; P = 0.01). Forward flexion and trunk rotation might be useful strategies to compensate for muscle weakness during transfers and wheelchair propulsion. SCI participants showed reduced trunk displacement during reaching compared to controls, indicating impaired trunk control and sitting balance. Transfer and wheeling trunk strategies vary based on muscle function. Further research on trunk kinematics is needed to guide rehabilitation tailored to individual abilities.
A deep convolutional neural network-based novel class balancing for imbalance data segmentation
Abstract Retinal fundus images provide valuable insights into the human eye’s interior structure and crucial features, such as blood vessels, optic disk, macula, and fovea. However, accurate segmentation of retinal blood vessels can be challenging due to imbalanced data distribution and varying vessel thickness. In this paper, we propose BLCB-CNN, a novel pipeline based on deep learning and bi-level class balancing scheme to achieve vessel segmentation in retinal fundus images. The BLCB-CNN scheme uses a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architecture and an empirical approach to balance the distribution of pixels across vessel and non-vessel classes and within thin and thick vessels. Level-I is used for vessel/non-vessel balancing and Level-II is used for thick/thin vessel balancing. Additionally, pre-processing of the input retinal fundus image is performed by Global Contrast Normalization (GCN), Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE), and gamma corrections to increase intensity uniformity as well as to enhance the contrast between vessels and background pixels. The resulting balanced dataset is used for classification-based segmentation of the retinal vascular tree. We evaluate the proposed scheme on standard retinal fundus images and achieve superior performance measures, including an area under the ROC curve of 98.23%, Accuracy of 96.22%, Sensitivity of 81.57%, and Specificity of 97.65%. We also demonstrate the method’s efficacy through external cross-validation on STARE images, confirming its generalization ability.
Predictors of long-term knowledge retention in the driver theory test
Life cycle assessment of sustainable air-cured alkali-activated concrete for permeable pavements using agro-industrial wastes
Abstract This study evaluates the environmental performance of air-cured alkali-activated permeable concrete (PAC) developed using agro-industrial by-products, including sugarcane bagasse ash (SBA), recycled concrete aggregates (RCA), waste foundry waste sand (WFS), and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS). A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to quantify reductions in equivalent carbon dioxide emissions (ECO2e) and embodied energy (EE) relative to conventional OPC-based permeable concretes (OPCC). The results reveal that optimized PAC mixes achieve up to 57% lower EE and 77% lower ECO2e, confirming their environmental superiority. These improvements are attributed to the complete substitution of OPC with low-impact binders and the replacement of virgin aggregates with recycled counterparts. In addition to its environmental advantages, PAC demonstrated notable cost reductions of up to 60%, enhancing its viability for real-world infrastructure applications. The study further highlights the functional advantages of PAC including enhanced permeability, structural resilience, and suitability for stormwater management which make it an effective solution for sustainable pavement infrastructure. By integrating agro-industrial waste streams into concrete-composite production, the research advances the principles of resource-efficient engineering and circular economy. The findings establish a strong foundation for future studies on life cycle cost analysis, activator optimization, and implementation strategies, thereby promoting the adoption of PAC as a low-carbon alternative in urban infrastructural practices.
Future global distribution and climatic suitability of Anopheles stephensi
Abstract Anopheles stephensi, an urban malaria vector, is expanding into new regions and poses a growing global health threat. Using a robust multi-model framework with eight algorithms and high-resolution climate data, this study assessed and mapped current and future global climate suitability for the species, incorporating demographic data to estimate populations at risk in different scenarios. Currently, An. stephensi can thrive in 13% of the Earth’s surface, affecting nearly 40% of the global population. Projections indicate that suitable areas could exceed 30% by 2100, exposing up to 56% of the world’s population, including in previously malaria-free regions such as North America, Europe, and Oceania. Spread may occur via maritime traffic, wind dispersal, and natural range expansion. These findings highlight the urgent need for global monitoring and control strategies, emphasizing the importance of integrating climate change projections into urban malaria prevention efforts to protect vulnerable populations and support global malaria elimination goals.
A repertoire of visible light–sensitive opsins in the deep-sea hydrothermal vent shrimp Rimicaris hybisae
Transient and resident Salmonella: A genomic approach to analyzing over a decade of sampling events from fish meal production and storage facilities
This study evaluates Salmonella contamination in feed mill production facilities over a 12-year period, analyzing collection events from 12 facilities predominantly located in the southeastern United States. The genomic data reveals a historical contamination rate, with 20% of collection events testing positive for Salmonella. Utilizing next generation sequencing this study evaluated the genetic diversity in the different facilities to determine whether the Salmonella serovars that were found are transient or resident. Salmonella serovars Montevideo, Ruiru, and Senftenberg were frequently detected, with Ruiru showing a particularly high predominance across multiple facilities, suggesting possible common sources of contamination including regional fishing waters and shared additives. The study also highlights the role of transportation and storage methods as a possible cause of cross-contamination. Future research should focus on identifying specific contamination sources and optimizing control measures to reduce Salmonella risks in fish meal production.