This project aims to develop an AI system with advanced capabilities to detect offensive language across diverse platforms—covering text, audio (both live and recorded speech), and images (such as memes)—in multiple languages. By leveraging technologies like Natural Language Processing (NLP), Speech Recognition (SR), and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for identifying text within images, the system can already flag potentially harmful or inappropriate content. Integration with Google Translator ensures automatic detection and translation of input languages, enabling global applicability and enhanced reliability. For text analysis, the system utilizes BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers), a large, pre-trained model known for its strong contextual and semantic comprehension of human language. As the digital landscape rapidly evolves, precise identification of offensive content is becoming ever more essential. Through this project, we are building robust, fair, and impactful technology to foster safer online environments for all users, addressing this significant challenge head-on.

Early Sports Specialization (SS) is an increasing subject to achieve elite performance status. This phenomenon has attracted many athletes. This research aims to analyze the positive role of SS in developing young athletes’ psychology. The data was collected from 269 young athletes who engaged in SS. The collected data were analyzed by using SPSS software. Based on questions about sports specialization’s role in their well-being of life, a sports speciality score was tabulated for each athlete. The findings reveal that SS decreased stress, anxiety and injuries then promoted enjoyment and satisfaction towards the sports, additionally, it contributed to the development of social interaction, social skills and scholastic achievement apart from the sports activity. The study makes a novel contribution to the developing sports environment which positively contributed to the long-term involvement and success in the sports. Some level of sports expertise is necessary to promote elite-level skill development. Youth sports participation has shifted from child-driven, recreational free play to adult-driven, more structured, intentional practice dedicated to game-based skill development. The study result indicates the early sport specialization role in strengthening the physical and psychology of young athletes. The study contributes to the implementation of the sports patterns which included the psychological development of young athletes. The study demonstrates SS positively reduced the psychological illness of the youth athletes.

The ripple-based constant on-time (RBCOT) buck converter with small equivalent series resistance (ESR) of the output capacitor has the potential issue of instability. The conventional fixed-ramp and adaptive-ramp ripple compensation cannot keep the system stable under different operational parameters (inductor, output capacitor, input voltage, output voltage and on time). In this paper, a fully adaptive-ramp ripple compensation technique is proposed which is based on the finding that there is an inherent proportional relationship between the slope of the critical stability compensation and the slope of the output voltage at the beginning of on-time. This technique makes the converter has robust adaptability and portability. A simple analog circuitry, which can be easily integrated into an integrated circuit, is provided to implement this technique. Experimental results are provided to verify the proposed concept.

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) poses a significant threat to conservation, particularly in the region, where increasing wildlife populations intersect with dense human communities. This study examines the HWC scenario in one of the protected areas (Parsa National Park) of Terai Arc Landscape, where growing population of large mammals shares the resources in highly populated buffer zone. Analyzing official relief claims from the past five years (2018/19 – 2022/23) as indicators of damage intensity, the study found that elephants were involved in 45% of conflicts, followed by leopards at 29% and tigers at 13.5%. Trend analysis revealed the increasing trend in herbivore-related damage while decreasing trend of carnivore-related conflict, despite the increase in tiger population within the study area. Margina Marginalized communities were frequently affected by these conflicts, and human settlements displayed species-specific hotspots with no overlap, suggesting that species tend to avoid areas occupied by competitors and predators. Financial claims totaled NPR 9.47 million (~USD 80,275; with an average of ~ NPR 2 million per year), predominantly for elephant-related incidents (55%). However, there was significant difference in relief claim amount among trophic groups (F2, 448 = 4.308, p= 0.014). Statistical analysis showed that conflict intensity increased with greater distance from buffer zone forests (β = 0.0962, t = 2.616, p = 0.009) and decreased near water resources (β = -0.094, t = -2.482, p = 0.013). These findings underscore the need for habitat management interventions, such as enhancing water availability within protected areas and maintaining corridors to connect the park’s source populations with sink populations in degraded buffer zone and national forests. Implementing a field-based assessment process for wildlife-related damage could support human-wildlife coexistence in the region.

Background: Percutaneous nephrostomy can be an effective means of preventing irreparable renal damage from obstructive renal disease thereby providing patients with more time to access treatment to remove the source of the blockage. In sub-Saharan Africa, where there is limited access to treatments such as dialysis and transplantation, a nephrostomy can be life-saving. Training this procedure in simulation can allow trainees to develop their technical skills without risking patient safety, but still requires an ex-pert observer to provide performative feedback. In this study, we evaluate the feasibility of using video as an accessible method to assess skill in simulated percutaneous nephrostomy. Methods: Six novice urology residents and six expert urologists from Ouakam Military Hospital in Dakar, Senegal performed 4 nephrostomies each using our setup. We computed motion-based metrics for each trial from the predicted bounding boxes of a trained object detection network and compared these metrics between novices and experts. Results: We were able to measure significant differences in both ultrasound and needle handling between novice and expert participants. Additionally, we could measure performance changes within each group over multiple trials. Conclusions: Video-based skill assessment is a feasible and accessible option for providing trainees with quantitative feedback in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Segment Anything Model (SAM) is a powerful vision foundation model that is revolutionizing the traditional paradigm of segmentation. Despite this, reliance on prompting each frame and large computational cost limit its usage in robotically assisted surgery. Applications, such as augmented reality guidance, require little user intervention along with efficient inference to be usable clinically. In this study, we address these limitations by adopting lightweight SAM variants to meet the efficiency requirement and employing fine-tuning techniques to enhance their generalization in surgical scenes. Recent advancements in Tracking Any Point (TAP) have shown promising results in both accuracy and efficiency, particularly when points are occluded or leave the field of view. Inspired by this progress, we present a novel framework that combines an online point tracker with a lightweight SAM model that is fine-tuned for surgical instrument segmentation. Sparse points within the region of interest are tracked and used to prompt SAM throughout the video sequence, providing temporal consistency. The quantitative results surpass the state-of-the-art semi-supervised video segmentation method XMem on EndoVis2015 with 84.8 IoU and 91.0 Dice. In terms of efficiency, we tested our method on a single 4060/4090 GPU, achieving an over 25/90 FPS. Code is available at: https://github.com/wuzijian1997/SIS-PT-SAM

In percutaneous pelvic trauma surgery, accurate placement of Kirschner wires(K-wires) is crucial to ensure effective fracture fixation and avoid complications due to breaching the cortical bone along an unsuitable trajectory. Surgical navigation via mixed reality(MR) can help achieve precise wire placement in a low-profile form factor. Current approaches in this domain are as yet unsuitable for real-world deployment because they fall short of guaranteeing accurate visual feedback due to uncontrolled bending of the wire. To ensure accurate feedback, we introduce StraightTrack, an MR navigation system designed for percutaneous wire placement in complex anatomy. StraightTrack features a marker body equipped with a rigid access cannula that mitigates wire bending due to interactions with soft tissue and a covered bony surface. Integrated with an Optical See-Through Head-Mounted Display (OST HMD capable of tracking the cannula body, StraightTrack offers real-time 3D visualization and guidance without external trackers. In phantom experiments with two experienced orthopedic surgeons, StraightTrack improves wire placement accuracy, achieving the ideal trajectory within 5.26 ± 2.29 mm and 2.88 ±1.49°, compared to over 12.08 mm and 4.07° for comparable methods. As MR navigation systems continue to mature, StraightTrack realizes their potential for internal fracture fixation and other percutaneous orthopedic procedures.

EOSINOPHILIC GRANULOMATOSIS WITH POLYANGIITIS WITH AN ABNORMALLY SIZED NASAL POLYPOSIS IN A 24-YEAR OLD MALE FROM NEPAL: A CASE REPORT

Background: Although various biomarkers exist for chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), their use is limited, particularly in children. Periostin is produced by dermal cells during skin barrier damage and allergic inflammation. Methods: This cross-sectional study aimed to compare serum periostin levels (SPL) between children with CSU and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC). The secondary objective was to investigate the association between SPL and disease severity using the Urticaria Activity Score-7 (UAS-7) questionnaire. Results: Overall, 84 participants (CSU, 45; HC, 39) were included in the study. There was no significant correlation between SPL and UAS-7 scores of the patients. Patients receiving leukotriene receptor antagonist plus antihistaminic had significantly lower SPL than those receiving antihistaminic only (44.32 ± 20.18 vs. 61.33 ± 18.50; p=0.009). The mean SPL was significantly lower in the patient group than in the control group (56.41 ± 20.32 ng/mL vs. 71.68 ± 20.36 ng/mL; p=0.001; Cohen’s d=0.750) (aOR: 0.964, 95% C.I.: 0.942-0.987, p=0.002). The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve of the SPL was determined to be significant ( p = 0.001), and the area under curve (AUC) of the ROC curve was 0.705 (95% C.I.: 0.593–0.817). Conclusion: Our study is the first to measure SPL in children with CSU. The results indicated that children with CSU had significantly lower SPL than the healthy controls. Although no correlation was found between UAS-7 and SPL, those on more advanced treatments showed significantly lower SPL. Hence, SPL may serve as a promising biomarker for diagnosing and monitoring CSU in children.

Title Page:Article Type: Letter to the EditorTitle: Anaphylaxis to a blood feeding leechAuthors: Carmen H. Li MSc1,2*, Maggie Jiang MD3*, Gabriele Gadermaier PhD4, Sebastian Kvist PhD5,6,7 Julia E. M. Upton MD8,9, Xiaojun Yin PhD1, Jennifer A. Hoang MSc MDS1,10, Mikhail Monteiro BSc1, Lisa Hung PhD1,10, Akash Kothari MSc1,2, Theo J. Moraes MD PhD1,9, Peter Vadas MD PhD3,10**, Thomas Eiwegger MD1,10,11,12***Co-first author**Co-senior author(1) Translational Medicine Program, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada(2) Institute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada(3) Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, St. Michael’s Hospital(4) Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology, Paris Lodron University Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria(5) Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, ON, Canada(6) Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON, Canada(7) Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden(8) Division of Immunology and Allergy, Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Program, The Hospital for Sick Children(9) Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada(10) Department of Immunology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Toronto, Canada(11) Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Krems, Austria(12) Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, University Hospital St. Pölten, St. Pölten, AustriaCorrespondence:  Thomas Eiwegger, MDChair, Department of Pediatric and Adolescent MedicineUniversity Hospital St. PöltenDunant-Platz 1, 3100 St. Pölten, AustriaEmail: thomas.eiwegger@stpoelten.lknoe.atTel.: +43 2742-9004-11740

The Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) is a key eco-environmental protection barrier and economic engine in China. Understanding the characteristics of its eco-environmental spatiotemporal evolution and mechanisms driving these changes is important for revealing shifts in ecosystem structure and function. However, the governing elements of the ecological environment and how these components interact remain unclear due to the strong coupling impact of urbanization and climate change. This paper constructed a long-term series remote sensing based ecological index (RSEI) to evaluate the characteristics of eco-environmental variation of YREB since 2000. Subsequently, the fundamental reasons of the eco-environmental evolution were quantitatively analyzed using optimal parameters-based geographical detector (OPGD). Results indicated: 1) The average RSEI of YREB was 0.68, indicating a rather high overall eco-environmental quality (EEQ), with 73% of the region having RSEI values more than 0.60. The regions with excellent conditions were concentrated in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Guizhou, and Hunan, while the poorer areas were in northwestern Yunnan, southwestern Sichuan, and western Hubei. 2) The EEQ of YREB mainly showed a degradation trend, with degraded areas exceeding 80% over the past 25 years. In the future, most areas might face higher risks of ecological degradation. 3) DEM, temperature (Tem), and population (POP) were key driving factors of the ecological environment. There were significant interactions between certain factors, with the interaction between DEM and potential evapotranspiration (Pet) explaining 62.2% of the ecological quality distribution. The findings assisted the creation of an ecological civilization by offering policy proposals for managing and conserving ecological environments.

Ecosystem services (ES) are closely linked to human well-being, land use and land cover changes have significant impact on ecosystem functions. However, there are fewer studies on the evolution of ecosystems and their driving mechanisms in reservoir basins. the Miyun Reservoir basin, a water source in Beijing, was used as an example to analyzed the characteristics of land use changes from 1980 to 2020, and used the Patch-generated land use simulation (PLUS) model to predict the land use changes in 2050 under three scenarios. Then, the InVEST model and geographically weighted regression (GWR) were employed to investigate the spatio-temporal characteristics of ecosystem services and to quantify the effects of synergies and trade-offs between ES pairs. Furthermore, the mechanisms of drivers for the changes in the relationships of ES pairs were identified using the GeoDetector. The results showed that land use significantly changed in the MRB during the period 1980-2020, dominated by forest land and construction land; land expansion is the most drastic under the natural development (ND) scenario, while the most conservative under the ecological protection (EP) scenario. The spatial distribution of ES showed significant spatial heterogeneity, with the most notable changes in water yield and habitat quality concentrated in the western and northeastern regions of the MRB; the water yield decreased under the cultivated land protection (CP) scenario and EP scenario, while the habitat quality improved under the EP scenario. Significant differences existed in the relationships of synergies and trade-offs between ES pairs in the MRB, mainly influenced by natural factors, such as elevation, evapotranspiration and temperature. The results of this study provide valuable references for ecological management and optimization measures in the basin.

Land management has a decisive effect on the physical and chemical properties of soil. However, there is limited data available on how the alteration of land use impacts organic matter and soil quality in Sulaymaniyah, the Kurdistan region of Iraq. This study was conducted to investigate the soil aggregation condition and soil organic carbon (OC) under four different land uses including forest, deciduous trees, cropland, and native grassland in Sulaymaniyah. The findings indicated that the mass of heavy fraction was greater in the land uses of forest and deciduous trees compared to cropland and native grassland. In addition, the concentration of free light fraction was lower in native grassland than in other land uses. The forest and deciduous trees land uses exhibited elevated concentrations of OC, which helped to protect the soil through both chemical and physical processes. The forest had the highest values of aggregate mass and OC content associated with macro-aggregates, while the native grassland had the lowest values. The forest soil was mainly composed of macro-aggregates. In the forest soil, macro-aggregates associated OC accounted for 59% of the organic carbon content, whereas in the grassland soil, most of the OC content was found in the micro-aggregates. Overall, the results suggested that ecosystems characterized by a consistent vegetation cover, such as forests, exhibited improved development of macro-aggregates and a rise in the associated OC content as a result of returning plant residues into the soil.

Hardware-in-loop can be used to verify the effectiveness of simulations conducted in computer. This work proposes a Control scheme for the wind turbine model employing a permanent magnet synchronous generator. A Linear Feedback Controller(LFC) is applied to the non-linear plant with full-state feedback. Then, a reduced order Luenberger Observer(LO) was designed to estimate the states of the plant. The system and the controller model were simulated in MATLAB Simulink and tested in real-time environment using Hardware-in-the-Loop Opal-RT. The results obtained prove the performance of the proposed control scheme.

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented restrictions on movement potentially affecting daily physical activity levels, raising concerns about possible negative health outcomes associated with physical inactivity. This study aimed to assess physical activity levels among adults in Kuwait during the COVID-19 pandemic. 679 adults residing in Kuwait completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form (IPAQ) online between June and July of 2020. Participants were recruited via social media. Results show that of the total sample, 28.9% were in the high category, 35.8% were moderate, and 35.3% were in the low physical activity category. Moreover, no significant differences between genders were detected (P=0.460), but physical activity was significantly associated with age (P=0.022), among adults in Kuwait. Physical activity was significantly reduced with increasing age. Therefore, targeted public health initiatives in Kuwait are required to encourage physical activity during viral pandemics and specifically adults of over 45 years old.

Background: Non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcomas (NRSTS) represent a rare and diverse group of over 50 histological subtypes with poor outcomes, particularly in advanced stages or delayed diagnosis. Despite advancements in pediatric oncology, there is a significant gap in localized data regarding survival outcomes and associated risk factors for NRSTS. Objective: This study aims to evaluate survival outcomes and identify key risk factors among patients diagnosed with NRSTS. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on 44 patients diagnosed with NRSTS at King Fahad Specialist Hospital-Dammam (KFSHD) from 2008 to 2020. Clinical data were extracted from cancer registries and patient records, including tumor characteristics, treatment modalities, and survival outcomes. Kaplan-Meier analysis was employed to assess survival rates. Results: The overall survival rate for the entire group at five years was about 70%. Patients who had surgery-maintained survival rates above 75% over five years, while individuals deemed surgically unresectable, exhibited a survival rate of around 25%. Similarly, patients who received radiotherapy had nearly 90% survival at five years, compared to those who did not. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that surgery and radiotherapy are associated with improved survival outcomes, with substantial benefits observed in patients undergoing either treatment highlighting the importance of local control in NRST .

Background: A variety of life event scales have been developed by the academic community in an attempt to detect and assess the direct and indirect impacts of negative life events on individual mental health. Despite their significant role in clinical medicine and psychological counseling, deficiencies remain in both theoretical and empirical aspects. Objective:The aim of this study is to develop and validate a self-rating scale for the severity of negative life events, based on the theoretical perspective of phenomenological psychopathology, with a focus on the subjective negative experiences of patients with depression. Methods: A sample of 123 patients with depression completed the Self-Rating Scale for the Severity of Negative Life Events(NLESS), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Psychological Distress Thermometer (PDT), and the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS). Conclusion: Developed on the theory of phenomenological psychopathology and centered on subjective negative experiences as its core content, the self-rating scale for the severity of negative life events exhibits good psychometric properties and holds promising application prospects in clinical practice.

The exponential growth in the complexity and scale of language data necessitates more sophisticated models capable of nuanced understanding and generation. Hierarchical Semantic Encoding introduces a structured approach that organizes semantic information into multiple layers, enhancing the depth and accuracy of language processing. By integrating this framework into Large Language Models, the study demonstrates significant improvements in predictive accuracy, contextual relevance, and computational efficiency. The experimental results reveal that hierarchical structuring facilitates a more refined semantic understanding, enabling models to generate text that is both fluent and contextually pertinent. Furthermore, the approach exhibits robust adaptability across diverse linguistic scenarios, underscoring its versatility and potential for real-world applications. The findings suggest that Hierarchical Semantic Encoding offers a promising pathway for advancing the capabilities of language models, aligning closely with cognitive models of human language processing and facilitating more accurate, coherent, and adaptable outputs in varied and complex linguistic contexts.

A document by Ola Alakhras. Click on the document to view its contents.

Introduction:Reconstructing nasal defects poses a challenge to even the most experienced plastic or skin surgeons, since the smallest change in the contouring or the symmetry of the nose is easily recognizable in daily life. Nasal defects are usually effective on the patient’s confidence due to their considerable effect on the mid-face region’s aesthetics (1, 2).These Nasal defects commonly arise from the removal of skin lesions such as cancers. Another cause of these defects may be facial traumas. Putting the etiology aside, the reconstruction of nasal defects poses a cosmetic challenge for surgeons. The reconstruction of distal nasal defects is particularly challenging due to limited skin mobility and the possibility of nasal Alar retraction (2).While there is usually not enough tissue for the reconstruction of the nasal skin and cartilage, the use of nearby skin and cartilage, such as forehead flaps or earlobe helix cartilage grafts, is common. A range of techniques can be employed, including full-thickness skin grafts, composite grafts, rhomboid flaps, bilobed flaps, dorsal nasal flaps, island flaps, and inferiorly based melolabial flaps, which are used according to the characteristics of the case such as defect size, cause of the defect and other factors (3-10).The ongoing and uninterrupted advancement and improvement in the field of surgical techniques, which involves the various procedures and methods used in the operating room, has resulted in the establishment and availability of a diverse and extensive range of different midfacial regional flaps. These flaps, characterized by their specific anatomical locations and the purpose they serve in reconstructive surgery, are closely associated and interconnected with the highly efficient and complex network of blood vessels that supply and nourish the facial region (6).In this paper, we report two cases of full-thickness Alar defects of the nose following the extraction of Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) lesions. A modified version of the paramedial composite graft was used for this patient and the result has been clinically and aesthetically impressive.

This paper introduces a novel approach for designing optimal control using data-driven Stochastic Game Theoretic Differential Dynamic Programming (SGT-DDP). The proposed method addresses unknown stochastic systems by approximating both drift and diffusion dynamics. The drift dynamics is estimated via Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) using input-output data. The diffusion dynamics is approximated from the noise data, which is extracted through subtracting the noisy output from the smoothed output. Subsequently, the binning method is combined with GPR to obtain the approximate model of the diffusion dynamics. These approximations are integrated into the SGT-DDP framework to compute optimal control policies. Simulations on benchmark nonlinear systems under unknown dynamics demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.

A typical gastrointestinal and behavioral symptoms are hallmarks of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neuropsychiatric condition that affects children and adolescents. An important factor in the pathophysiology of ASD is the gut microbiome. The intensity of symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorder is thought to be influenced by neurodevelopmental impairment and gastrointestinal symptoms in people with ASD, which are thought to be caused by dysbiosis, or imbalance. In addition to discussing potential therapeutic approaches for treating autism spectrum disorders by modulating the gut-brain axis - which influences brain function through various mechanisms like neuroendocrine signaling, neuro-immune signaling, and bacterial metabolites—this review summarizes the current knowledge regarding the role of the gut microbial community in autism spectrum disorders.

The NOAA POES satellites orbit through the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) allowing access to the trapped inner belt high energy proton population. A previous study found a long-term increase in proton flux averaged over the 11-year solar cycle oscillation corresponding to solar activity consistent with the Centennial Gleissberg Cycle (CGC). F10.7 flux maxima have been decreasing over the ~ 40-year period of 1980-2021, correlating with an average increase in the varying proton population. Bregou et al.’s (2022) long-term study of the peak flux over the SAA in NOAA-15 shows an increase in proton flux from 1998 until 2021. The observed flux increase is correlated with both the ~11-year solar cycle and the overall decreasing F10.7 flux over the period studied. This long-term decrease in F10.7 flux and increase in proton flux is concluded to be the manifestation of the CGC minimum and accompanying decrease in solar Extreme Ultraviolet irradiance (EUV). We extend Bregou et al.’s study to 2024 and observe a rapid increase in F10.7 flux at the beginning of Solar Cycle 25, a proxy for EUV, leading to increased proton loss to the expanding atmosphere and a steep decrease in the inner zone proton flux from 2022 to 2024 in NOAA-15 and NOAA-19 measurements. A model calculation of the inner zone proton flux generally agrees with the long-term trend in flux magnitude.

Recently, underwater wireless communication (UWC) networks have garnered significant attention. In specific application scenarios, underwater electrocommunication technology exhibits distinct advantages over traditional acoustic and optical communication methods, emerging as a viable alternative for communication among autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Most AUVs depend heavily on battery power, where the energy is highly precious. Given that the reliability of AUVs communications is tethered to limited energy storage, the imperative for energy-efficient communication strategies is paramount. The issue of power consumption control in underwater electrocommunication systems is addressed in this research by proposing an adaptive power control strategy based on transfer learning for transferring power. The method can predict the minimum voltage across the transmitting electrodes required to satisfy the communication task according to the changes in the operating environment and adjust the transmitting power level accordingly. To verify the effectiveness of this method, this paper establishes a transfer network based on simulation data obtained by finite element simulation combined with the theory and technique of transfer learning. It uses experimental samples to verify the effectiveness of this network in shallow waters. According to the findings, the transfer network outperforms the ordinary backpropagation neural network trained solely on experimental samples in terms of performance.