Search Results (41,390)

Recurrent depressive disorder (RDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) are the most common affective disorders worldwide. However, the pathogenesis of these disorders remains far from understood. Macromolecular proton fraction (MPF) mapping is a sensitive and specific quantitative MRI method for the assessment of brain tissue myelination, but its clinical value for affective disorders remains unknown. This cross-sectional study employed fast MPF mapping on a 1.5 T MRI scanner using the single-point synthetic reference method to investigate myelin abnormalities in white matter of RDD and BD patients. ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of the group (RDD vs. BD vs. two age-matched control groups; F (3.76) = 7.42, p < 0.001, η² = 0.227). MPF values were significantly reduced in RDD versus BD patients (p < 0.001). BD showed elevated MPF compared to controls (p = 0.01). MPF levels showed significant weak-to-moderate correlations with clinical scales of affective disorders. These findings demonstrate divergent cerebral myelination patterns—hypomyelination in RDD versus an increased myelin content in BD. In conclusion, MPF mapping demonstrated a promise as a marker of myelin content changes in affective disorder. Full article

Background and Clinical Significance: Breast hemangioma is an extremely rare benign vascular tumor of the breast. Its imaging findings are nonspecific, and differentiation from malignant tumors such as encapsulated papillary carcinoma, mucinous carcinoma or angiosarcoma is often difficult. We report a case of breast hemangioma that showed slow growth over an 11-year period. Case Presentation: A woman in her 50s presented with a well-defined 11 mm mass in the upper outer quadrant of the left breast detected by ultrasonography. A core needle biopsy revealed a benign lesion, and follow-up was recommended. Eleven years later, the mass had increased to 27 mm. Magnetic resonance imaging showed high signal intensity on T2-weighted images and a fast-plateau enhancement pattern extending from the periphery to the center. Although malignancy was suspected, vacuum-assisted biopsy revealed a hemangioma. Conclusions: Breast hemangioma can show slow enlargement over a long period. Recognition of a characteristic peripheral-to-central enhancement pattern may aid in distinguishing this benign vascular lesion from malignant tumors. Full article

The pulsed power switch serves as a critical component in pulsed power systems. The electric radiation generated by switching operations threatens the miniaturization of pulsed power systems, causing significant electromagnetic interference (EMI) to nearby signal circuits. The pseudospark switch’s (PSS) exceptionally fast transient response, a key enabler for sophisticated pulsed power systems, is also a major source of severe EMI. This study investigated the electric field radiation from a high voltage PSS within a capacitor discharge unit (CDU), using a near-field scanning system based on an electro-optic probe. The time-frequency distribution of the radiation was characterized, identifying contributions from three sequential stages: the application of the trigger voltage, the main gap breakdown, and the subsequent oscillating high voltage. During the high-frequency oscillation stage, the distribution of the peak electric field radiation aligns with the predictions of the dipole model, with a maximum value of 43.99 kV/m measured near the PSS. The spectral composition extended to 60 MHz, featuring a primary component at 1.24 MHz and distinct harmonics at 20.14 MHz and 32.33 MHz. Additionally, the impacts of circuit parameters and trigger current on the radiated fields were discussed. These results provided essential guidance for the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) design of highly-integrated pulsed power systems, facilitating more reliable PSS applications. Full article

Objective: To develop and evaluate artificial intelligence (AI)-based models for detecting laryngeal cancer using laryngoscope images. Methods: Two deep learning models were designed. The first identified and selected vocal cord images from laryngoscope datasets; the second localized laryngeal cancer within the selected images. Both employed FCN–ResNet101. Datasets were annotated by otolaryngologists, preprocessed (cropping, normalization), and augmented (horizontal/vertical flip, grid distortion, color jitter). Performance was assessed using Intersection over Union (IoU), Dice score, accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score, and per-image inference time. Results: The vocal cord selection model achieved a mean IoU of 0.6534 and mean Dice score of 0.7692, with image-level accuracy of 0.9972. The laryngeal cancer model achieved a mean IoU of 0.6469 and mean Dice score of 0.7515, with accuracy of 0.9860. Real-time inference was observed (0.0244–0.0284 s/image). Conclusions: By integrating a vocal cord selection model with a lesion detection model, the proposed platform enables accurate and fast detection of laryngeal cancer from laryngoscope images under the current experimental setting. Full article

In real life, almost all systems are nonlinear in nature. The electromagnetic levitation system (EMLS) is one such system that has a wide range of applications due to its frictionless, fast, and affordable technique. Optimal control and sliding mode control (SMC) techniques are often used controllers for EMLS. However, these techniques can achieve the required levitation but lag in having perfect set-point tracking and robustness against uncertainties. To get over these drawbacks, this article proposes the design of unconstrained mismatched uncertainties, constrained mismatched uncertainties, and integral sliding mode control with mismatched uncertainties for the current-controlled-type electromagnetic levitation system (CC-EMLS). The modeled equations of CC-EMLS are transfomed in terms of the mismatched uncertainties, and the required control action is obtained with and without constraints on the control input. The quadratic performance function is suggested for the unconstrained control scheme and is solved using the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equation. The non-quadratic cost function is designed for the constrained control method, and the HJB equation is utilized to obtain the solution. Both control schemes provide robustness to the system, but deviations in the set point are observed in tracking the position of the ball when the changes in the payload occur in the system. Therefore, integral sliding mode control with robust–optimal (IOSMC) gain is proposed for the CC-EMLS to overcome the steady-state error in the other two schemes. The stability is proven using the direct method of Lyapunov stability. The essential studies based on the simulation are carried out to showcase the performance of the proposed control schemes. The integral performance indicators are compared for all three proposed control schemes to highlight the efficacy, robustness, and efficiency of the designed controllers. Full article

Type 2 diabetes is increasingly prevalent among children and adolescents with overweight or obesity, and although lifestyle interventions remain first-line preventive strategies, long-term adherence and effectiveness are often limited. Metformin has demonstrated efficacy in delaying type 2 diabetes onset in adults at high risk, but its preventive role in pediatric populations remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the effectiveness of metformin, alone or in combination with lifestyle interventions, in preventing or delaying type 2 diabetes among children and adolescents with overweight or obesity. The protocol is registered in PROSPERO (CRD42024615622), MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science and will be searched from inception to June 2025. Eligible studies include randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies, and prospective cohort studies involving individuals under 18 years of age. The primary outcome is incidence of type 2 diabetes, with secondary outcomes including fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, insulin resistance, BMI z-score, adherence, and adverse events. Where appropriate, random-effects meta-analyses will be conducted. This review will synthesize current evidence on metformin for pediatric type 2 diabetes prevention and inform future preventive strategies and clinical decision-making. Full article

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effects of changes over time during multicomponent training (MCT) combined with multiprofessional interventions at different time points [baseline (T0), 12 weeks (T1), 24 weeks (T2) and 36 weeks (T3)] on body composition; blood pressure (SBP and DBP); biomarkers [fasting glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL-c), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-c), and triglycerides]; and physical improvement [maximal isometric handgrip strength (MIHS), arm curl, 30 s chair stand, six-minute walk test (6MWT), and timed up-and-go (TUG)] in hypertensive and normotensive older women. Methods: This longitudinal and experimental study was conducted in hypertensive (n = 23, mean age 69.7 ± 7.21 years) and normotensive (n = 17, mean age 71.3 ± 5.92 years) older women, with three 90 min sessions per week for 36 weeks, including 60 min of MCT, 30 min of nutritional education (twice a week) and 30 min of psychoeducation (once a week). Results: Significant decreases in SBP at T1 and T3 and DBP at T3 were detected in both groups, and only SBP at T2 was detected in normotensive women (p < 0.05). Significant reductions in fasting glucose at T1-T2-T3 and LDL-c and total cholesterol at T3 and triglycerides at T2 were detected in hypertensive patients (p < 0.05). Significant improvements in arm curl at T1 and the 30 s chair stand at T1–T3 were observed for both groups, and improvements at T2–T3 were detected only in hypertensive patients (p < 0.05). Conclusions: MCT and multiprofessional interventions improve blood pressure, biomarkers and physical improvement in hypertensive and normotensive older women. Full article

This paper presents a study of the tonality of sound emitted by a wind farm into the surrounding environment. The wind turbines installed at the site have a rated power of 3.0 MW. The aim of the study was to analyse the tonality of sounds in the environment at the nearest residential area. The issue of tonal noise near the wind farm was identified during routine periodic noise monitoring. An experienced survey team identified the phenomenon and carried out preliminary field analyses. Detailed studies were then carried out to identify the environmental hazard and failure-free operation of the turbines. The recorded acoustic events are described in detail and an in-depth analysis is carried out. An action plan has been implemented in consultation with the wind farm operator to reduce tonal sound emissions to the surrounding environment. As a result of these interventions, tonal noise from the wind turbines was successfully reduced. It was determined that the detection of the potential tonality of the sounds emitted by wind turbines should take place during the analysis (active listening) of the .wav file, synchronised with Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis. Conducting tonality assessments solely during field measurements may lead to incorrect identification of tonal sources. Full article

This paper describes a composite control approach that improves the accuracy and dynamic performance of the control of a voice-coil-driven, two-dimensional fast steering mirror (FSM). Strong nonlinearity, perturbation of parameters, unmodeled dynamics and external disturbances typically compromise the performance of the FSM. The proposed controller combines a tracking differentiator (TD), linear extended state observer (LESO), and a double-integral global fast terminal-sliding mode control (DIGFTSMC). The TD corrects the reference command signal, and the LESO approximates and counteracts system disturbances. The sliding surface is then equipped with the double-integral operators and an improved adaptive reaching law (IARL) to enhance tracking accuracy, response speed and robustness. Prior to physical experiments, systematic numerical simulations were conducted for five control algorithms across four typical test scenarios, verifying the proposed controller’s feasibility and preliminary performance advantages. It is found through experimentation that the proposed controller lowers the time esterified by the step response adjustment by 81.0% and 48.4% more than the PID controller and the DIGFTSMC approach with no IARL, respectively, and the proposed controller enhances error control when tracking sinuoidal signals and multisinusoidal signals. Simulation results consistently align with experimental trends, confirming the proposed controller’s superior convergence speed, tracking precision, and disturbance rejection capability. Furthermore, it cuts the angular movement swing by an average of over 44% through dismissing needless vibration interruptions as compared to other sliding mode control techniques. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed composite control approach significantly enhances the disturbance rejection, control accuracy, and dynamic tracking performance of the voice-coil-driven FSM system. Full article

Cerebrovascular diseases are a leading cause of global mortality, underscoring the need for objective and quantitative 3D visualization of cerebral vasculature from dynamic imaging modalities. Conventional analysis is often labor-intensive, subjective, and prone to errors due to image noise and subtraction artifacts. This study tackles the challenge of achieving fast and accurate volumetric reconstruction from angiography sequences. We propose a multi-stage pipeline that begins with image restoration to enhance input quality, followed by neural segmentation to extract vascular structures. Camera poses and sparse geometry are estimated through Structure-from-Motion, and these reconstructions are refined by leveraging the segmentation maps to isolate vessel-specific features. The resulting data are then used to initialize and optimize a 3D Gaussian Splatting model, enabling anatomically precise representation of cerebral vasculature. The integration of deep neural segmentation priors with explicit geometric initialization yields highly detailed 3D reconstructions of cerebral angiography. The resulting models leverage the computational efficiency of 3D Gaussian Splatting, achieving near-real-time rendering performance competitive with state-of-the-art reconstruction methods. The segmentation of brain vessels using nnU-Net and our trained model achieved an accuracy of 84.21%, highlighting the improvement in the performance of the proposed approach. Overall, our pipeline significantly improves both the efficiency and accuracy of volumetric cerebral vasculature reconstruction, providing a robust foundation for quantitative clinical analysis and enhanced guidance during endovascular procedures. Full article

Background: Cardiometabolic risk (CMR), including obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and impaired glucose regulation, disproportionately affects Hispanic/Latinx adults in the United States (U.S.). Although plant-forward dietary patterns are established as cardioprotective, less is known about how dietary patterns within Hispanic/Latinx subgroups relate to CMR. Methods: A narrative review was conducted of observational studies among U.S. Hispanic/Latinx adults (≥18 years) examining defined dietary patterns (a priori, a posteriori, or hybrid) in relation to CMR outcomes (e.g., BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, glucose, lipids). Risk of bias was assessed using an adapted version of the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Results: Ten studies met the inclusion criteria, including Seventh-day Adventist Latinx, Puerto Rican adults, Mexican American adults, Hispanic women, and a national Hispanic cohort. Plant-forward dietary patterns were associated with lower BMI and waist circumference, lower triglycerides and fasting glucose, and higher HDL-C. In contrast, energy-dense patterns characterized by refined grains, added sugars, processed meats, fried foods, solid fats, and sugar-sweetened beverages were associated with greater adiposity, poorer lipid profiles, and higher blood pressure. Traditional rice-and-beans–based patterns observed in Puerto Rican and Mexican American groups were associated with central adiposity and higher metabolic syndrome prevalence, despite modestly higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, and fiber. Study quality ranged from good (n = 4) to very good (n = 6). Conclusions: Across Hispanic/Latinx subgroups, plant-forward dietary patterns were associated with favorable cardiometabolic profiles, whereas refined and animal-based patterns aligned with higher CMR. Given the predominance of cross-sectional evidence, these findings should be interpreted as associative rather than causal. Culturally grounded dietary counseling, along with additional longitudinal and intervention studies, is needed to support cardiometabolic health in these populations. Full article

In this study, three point mutations of EGFR relevant to lung cancer therapy are detected. Mutated EGFR is the target of a therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) as treatment drugs. Background/Objectives: Point mutations in exon 21 (L858R and L861Q) of the EGFR gene are TKI-sensitive; however, mutations in exon 20 (T790M) are TKI-resistant. Therefore, a fast detection method that classifies an NSCLC patient to be drug sensitive or drug resistant is highly clinically relevant. Methods: Probes were designed to detect three point mutations in genomic samples based on DNA hybridization on a solid surface. A method has been developed to detect single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) for these mutation detections in the 16-channel nanobioarray chip. The wash by gold-nanoparticles (AuNP) was used to assist the differentiation detection. Results: The gold nanoparticle-assisted wash method has enhanced differentiation between WT and mutated sequences relevant to the EGFR sensitivity to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Conclusions: The WT and mutated sequences (T790M, L858R and L861Q) in genomic samples were successfully differentiated from each other. Full article

This paper presents a compact and accurate readout circuit for remote two-wire resistive sensors, based on an inverting operational amplifier with a fixed bias voltage, diode steering, and unidirectional square-wave excitation generated by a microcontroller. The proposed method determines the sensor resistance by directly sampling two steady-state voltage plateaus at the op-amp output during alternating excitation phases. This approach enables fast, lead-wire-insensitive measurements without the need for analog filtering or precise PWM duty-cycle control. The architecture supports sensor array multiplexing via analog switches, allowing scalable, low-power implementation. Experimental results demonstrate a maximum relative error of 0.23% across a wide resistance range (0.5–3.5 kΩ), confirming the method’s suitability for low-cost, embedded, and remote sensing applications. Full article

Accurate Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) positioning is vital for swarm cooperation. However, this remains challenging in situations where Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and other external infrastructures are unavailable. To address this challenge, we propose to use only the onboard Microelectromechanical System Inertial Measurement Unit (MIMU), Magnetic sensor, Monocular camera and Ultra-Wideband (UWB) device to construct a distributed and anchor-free cooperative localization system by tightly fusing the measurements. As the onboard UWB measurements under dynamic motion conditions are noisy and discontinuous, we propose an adaptive adjustment method based on chi-squared detection to effectively filter out inconsistent and false ranging information. Moreover, we introduce the pose-only theory to model the visual measurement, which improves the efficiency and accuracy for visual-inertial processing. A sliding window Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is constructed to tightly fuse all the measurements, which is capable of working under UWB or visual deprived conditions. Additionally, a novel Multidimensional Scaling-MAP (MDS-MAP) initialization method fuses ranging, MIMU, and geomagnetic data to solve the non-convex optimization problem in ranging-aided Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), ensuring fast and accurate swarm absolute pose initialization. To overcome the state consistency challenge inherent in the distributed cooperative structure, we model not only the UWB noisy uncertainty but also the neighbor agent’s position uncertainty in the measurement model. Furthermore, we incorporate the Covariance Intersection (CI) method into our UWB measurement fusion process to address the challenge of unknown correlations between state estimates from different UAVs, ensuring consistent and robust state estimation. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed methods, we have established both simulation and hardware test platforms. The proposed method is compared with state-of-the-art (SOTA) UAV localization approaches designed for GNSS-challenged environments. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our algorithm achieves superior positioning accuracy, higher computing efficiency and better robustness. Moreover, even when vision loss causes other methods to fail, our proposed method continues to operate effectively. Full article

Studying nanoscale self-assembly in real time using external stimuli unlocks new opportunities for dynamic and adaptive materials. While electrostatic self-assembly is well-established, real-time monitoring of its structural evolution under light irradiation remains largely unexploited. In this study, we employ light-responsive azobenzene dyes (Acid Yellow 38, AY38) and pH-sensitive polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers to investigate the kinetics of electrostatic self-assembly under UV irradiation. Using a custom in situ small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) setup, we track the real-time morphological transformations of self-assembled structures with sub-minute resolution. We introduce two distinct pathways: method A (pre-irradiated cis-AY38 for controlled, slow kinetics) and method B (direct UV-induced self-assembly, fast kinetics). The results reveal that trans-cis isomerization kinetics dictate the rate of self-assembly, influencing aggregate stability, ζ-potential evolution, and final morphology. Structural analysis using dynamic and static light scattering (DLS and SLS) and SANS elucidates a transition from spherical to ellipsoidal morphologies governed by electrostatic and dipole-dipole interactions. These findings establish photoisomerization-driven self-assembly as a robust mechanism for tunable nanoscale architectures, paving the way for adaptive photonic materials, targeted drug delivery, and reconfigurable nanostructures. Full article