Search

This study provides an analysis of atmospheric neutrino oscillations at the ESSnuSB far detector facility. The prospects of the two cylindrical Water Cherenkov detectors with a total fiducial mass of 540 kt are investigated over 10 years of data taking in the standard three-flavor oscillation scenario. We present the confidence intervals for the determination of mass ordering, $\theta_{23}$ octant as well as for the precisions on $\sin^2\theta_{23}$ and $|\Delta m_{31}^2|$. It is shown that mass ordering can be resolved by $3\sigma$ CL ($5\sigma$ CL) after 4 years (10 years) regardless of the true neutrino mass ordering. Correspondingly, the wrong $\theta_{23}$ octant could be excluded by $3\sigma$ CL after 4 years (8 years) in the case where the true neutrino mass ordering is normal ordering (inverted ordering). The results presented in this work are complementary to the accelerator neutrino program in the ESSnuSB project., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures and 2 tables, accepted for publication in the Journal of High Energy Physics

Neutrino oscillation experiments provide a unique window in exploring several new physics scenarios beyond the standard three flavour. One such scenario is quantum decoherence in neutrino oscillation which tends to destroy the interference pattern of neutrinos reaching the far detector from the source. In this work, we study the decoherence in neutrino oscillation in the context of the ESSnuSB experiment. We consider the energy-independent decoherence parameter and derive the analytical expressions for P$_{\mu e}$ and P$_{\mu \mu}$ probabilities in vacuum. We have computed the capability of ESSnuSB to put bounds on the decoherence parameters namely, $\Gamma_{21}$ and $\Gamma_{32}$ and found that the constraints on $\Gamma_{21}$ are competitive compared to the DUNE bounds and better than the most stringent LBL ones from MINOS/MINOS+. We have also investigated the impact of decoherence on the ESSnuSB measurement of the Dirac CP phase $\delta_{\rm CP}$ and concluded that it remains robust in the presence of new physics., Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables, Version accepted for publication in JHEP

This study aimed to investigate the interaction effect of NSP-rich ingredient and rearing temperature on nutrient digestibility of the ingredients in Nile tilapia. Seven NSP-rich ingredients were tested: insect meal, wheat bran, palm kernel meal, rapeseed meal, sunflower meal, dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) from corn, and rice bran. A balanced control diet was formulated followed by the formulation of seven test diets by mixing 30 % of each test ingredient with 70 % of the control diet and fed to fish reared at 24 or 32 °C. At each temperature, 35 all male Nile tilapia with an initial mean weight of 45.0 g at 24 °C and 43.8 g at 32 °C were housed in each of 24 glass-tanks, each containing 60 L of water. The diets were administered to the fish groups in triplicate over 42 d in a recirculating aquaculture system. Fecal samples were collected and analyzed alongside the diets to determine nutrient digestibility. Digestibility of all nutrients differed between ingredients (P < 0.001) at both temperatures. Wheat bran had the lowest NSP digestibility at both 24 (1.9 %) and 32 °C (9.7 %). At 24 °C, DDGS showed the highest NSP and protein digestibility (41.4 and 90.3 %), while at 32 °C insect meal showed the highest NSP and fat digestibility (59.8 and 97.5 %). Insect meal showed the highest fat digestibility (97.4 %) also at 24 °C. An interaction effect between ingredient and temperature was observed for the digestibility of NSP, carbohydrate, protein, amino acids, magnesium, and dry matter (P ≤ 0.035). Some nutrients showed reduced digestibility for some ingredients at the higher temperature, but in most of the cases temperature increased nutrient digestibility, with insect meal exhibiting a 20 % increase in NSP digestibility. In conclusion, water temperature affect nutrient digestibility, but the extend of the temperature effect differs between ingredients.

Neutrino oscillation experiments provide a unique window in exploring several new physics scenarios beyond the standard three flavour. One such scenario is quantum decoherence in neutrino oscillation which tends to destroy the interference pattern of neutrinos reaching the far detector from the source. In this work, we study the decoherence in neutrino oscillation in the context of the ESSnuSB experiment. We consider the energy-independent decoherence parameter and derive the analytical expressions for P$_{\mu e}$ and P$_{\mu \mu}$ probabilities in vacuum. We have computed the capability of ESSnuSB to put bounds on the decoherence parameters namely, $\Gamma_{21}$ and $\Gamma_{32}$ and found that the constraints on $\Gamma_{21}$ are competitive compared to the DUNE bounds and better than the current T2K and MINOS ones. We have also investigated the impact of decoherence on the ESSnuSB measurement of the Dirac CP phase $\delta_{\rm CP}$ and concluded that it remains robust in the presence of new physics., Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables

Recently, several approaches successfully demonstrated that weight-sharing Neural Architecture Search (NAS) can effectively explore a search space of elastic low-rank adapters (LoRA), allowing the parameter-efficient fine-tuning (PEFT) and compression of large language models. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach called Shears, demonstrating how the integration of cost-effective sparsity and a proposed Neural Low-rank adapter Search (NLS) algorithm can further improve the efficiency of PEFT approaches. Results demonstrate the benefits of Shears compared to other methods, reaching high sparsity levels while improving or with little drop in accuracy, utilizing a single GPU for a pair of hours., Comment: 2024 Annual Conference of the North American Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics (Industry Track)

Models derived from satellite image data are needed to monitor the status of terrestrial ecosystems across large spatial scales. However, a remote sensing-based approach to quantify soil multifunctionality at the global scale is missing despite significant research efforts on this topic. A major constraint for doing so is the availability of suitable global-scale field data to calibrate remote sensing indicators (RSI) and, to a lesser extent, the sensitivity of spectral data of available satellite sensors to soil background and atmospheric conditions. Here, we aimed to develop a soil multifunctionality model to monitor global drylands coupling ground data on 14 soil functions of 222 dryland areas from six continents to 18 RSI derived from a time series (2006–2013) Landsat dataset. Among the RSI evaluated, the chlorophyll absorption ratio index was the best predictor of soil multifunctionality in single-variable-based models (r = 0.66, P < 0.01, NMRSE = 0.17). However, a multi-variable RSI model combining the chlorophyll absorption ratio index, the global environment monitoring index and the canopy-air temperature difference improved the accuracy of quantifying soil multifunctionality (r = 0.73, P < 0.01, NMRSE = 0.15). Furthermore, the correlation between RSI and soil variables shows a wide range of accuracy with upper and lower values obtained for AMI (r = 0.889, NMRSE = 0.05) and BGL (r = 0.685, NMRSE = 0.18) respectively. Our results provide new insights on assessing soil multifunctionality using RSI that may help to monitor temporal changes in the functioning of global drylands effectively.

In this paper we study non-standard interactions mediated by a scalar field (SNSI) in the context of ESSnuSB experiment. In particular we study the capability of ESSnuSB to put bounds on the SNSI parameters and also study the impact of SNSI in the measurement of the leptonic CP phase $\delta_{\rm CP}$. Existence of SNSI modifies the neutrino mass matrix and this modification can be expressed in terms of three diagonal real parameters ($\eta_{ee}$, $\eta_{\mu\mu}$ and $\eta_{\tau\tau}$) and three off-diagonal complex parameters ($\eta_{e \mu}$, $\eta_{e\tau}$ and $\eta_{\mu\tau}$). Our study shows that the upper bounds on the parameters $\eta_{\mu\mu}$, $\eta_{\tau\tau}$ and $\eta_{\mu\tau}$ depend upon how $\Delta m^2_{31}$ is minimized in the theory. However, this is not the case when one tries to measure the impact of SNSI on $\delta_{\rm CP}$. Further, we show that the CP sensitivity of ESSnuSB can be completely lost for certain values of $\eta_{ee}$ and $\eta_{\mu\tau}$ for which the appearance channel probability becomes independent of $\delta_{\rm CP}$., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, Version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

01 juni 2023, Item does not contain fulltext, BACKGROUND: Patients with serrated polyposis syndrome (SPS) have multiple and/or large serrated colonic polyps and higher risk for colorectal cancer. SPS inherited genetic basis is mostly unknown. We aimed to identify new germline predisposition factors for SPS by functionally evaluating a candidate gene and replicating it in additional SPS cohorts. METHODS: After a previous whole-exome sequencing in 39 SPS patients from 16 families (discovery cohort), we sequenced specific genes in an independent validation cohort of 211 unrelated SPS cases. Additional external replication was also available in 297 SPS cases. The WNK2 gene was disrupted in HT-29 cells by gene editing, and WNK2 variants were transfected using a lentiviral delivery system. Cells were analysed by immunoblots, real-time PCR and functional assays monitoring the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, cell cycle progression, survival and adhesion. RESULTS: We identified 2 rare germline variants in the WNK2 gene in the discovery cohort, 3 additional variants in the validation cohort and 10 other variants in the external cohorts. Variants c.2105C>T (p.Pro702Leu), c.4820C>T (p.Ala1607Val) and c.6157G>A (p.Val2053Ile) were functionally characterised, displaying higher levels of phospho-PAK1/2, phospho-ERK1/2, CCND1, clonogenic capacity and MMP2. CONCLUSION: After whole-exome sequencing in SPS cases with familial aggregation and replication of results in additional cohorts, we identified rare germline variants in the WNK2 gene. Functional studies suggested germline WNK2 variants affect protein function in the context of the MAPK pathway, a molecular hallmark in this disease.

BACKGROUND: Many children with pulmonary tuberculosis remain undiagnosed and untreated with related high morbidity and mortality. Recent advances in childhood tuberculosis algorithm development have incorporated prediction modelling, but studies so far have been small and localised, with limited generalisability. We aimed to evaluate the performance of currently used diagnostic algorithms and to use prediction modelling to develop evidence-based algorithms to assist in tuberculosis treatment decision making for children presenting to primary health-care centres. METHODS: For this meta-analysis, we identified individual participant data from a WHO public call for data on the management of tuberculosis in children and adolescents and referral from childhood tuberculosis experts. We included studies that prospectively recruited consecutive participants younger than 10 years attending health-care centres in countries with a high tuberculosis incidence for clinical evaluation of pulmonary tuberculosis. We collated individual participant data including clinical, bacteriological, and radiological information and a standardised reference classification of pulmonary tuberculosis. Using this dataset, we first retrospectively evaluated the performance of several existing treatment-decision algorithms. We then used the data to develop two multivariable prediction models that included features used in clinical evaluation of pulmonary tuberculosis-one with chest x-ray features and one without-and we investigated each model's generalisability using internal-external cross-validation. The parameter coefficient estimates of the two models were scaled into two scoring systems to classify tuberculosis with a prespecified sensitivity target. The two scoring systems were used to develop two pragmatic, treatment-decision algorithms for use in primary health-care settings. FINDINGS: Of 4718 children from 13 studies from 12 countries, 1811 (38·4%) were classified as having pulmonary tuberc

(c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This work has been supported by the DGI-SGPI- CGL2004- 03564, BFM2002-00048 and MATERNAS -S-0505 /MAT /000094 projects. Many thanks to Rafael Gonzalez-Martin for the semi-quantitative X-ray diffraction analyses using the Martin-Ramos software. The archaeological field works in Egypt was supported by the CajaMadrid Foundation (Madrid, Spain). International Conference on Solid State Dosimetry (15. 2007. Delft,Holanda), The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) analyses of' plasters collected from the courtyard walls of Diehuty'S tomb show anhydrite, calcite, dolomite, quartz, alkali feldspars and accessorial amounts of' halite and illite. The external outer bed is mainly composed by anhydrite, since tile original hydrous phases of gypsum plaster were desiccated during thirty centuries in the dry land environment of the Luxor area, under low relative humidity and high temperatures. The luminescence analyses by thermoluminescence (TL) and cathodoluminescence (CL) demonstrate as one plaster sample (m8), i.e., 95% anhydrite, displays a gigantic TL emission of 33 555 a.u. and a SEM/CL emission of 2319 a.U. maxima peak. The spectra CL also exhibits a 484 nm peak attributable to the classic ^4F_(9/2)→ ^4H_(15/2) transition circa 490 run of Dy^3+ and a 573 nin emission of Dy^3+ masked in a broad emission band centered at 620 nm. The common presence ol' socliUln minerals such as halite or albite together with the probable presence of sodium in waters points to Na^+ ions acting as compensators of Dy^3+ to maintain the electrical neutrality of the CaS0_4: Dy phosphor lattice. Further analyses of more plaster CaSO_4 micro-samples could demonstrate if this observation is just an isolated mineralogical chance or an intentional archaeological handling., DGI-SGPI, Depto. de Física de Materiales, Fac. de Ciencias Físicas, TRUE, pub

In this paper we study non-standard interactions mediated by a scalar field (SNSI) in the context of ESSnuSB experiment. In particular we study the capability of ESSnuSB to put bounds on the SNSI parameters and also study the impact of SNSI in the measurement of the leptonic CP phase $\delta_{\rm CP}$. Existence of SNSI modifies the neutrino mass matrix and this modification can be expressed in terms of three diagonal real parameters ($\eta_{ee}$, $\eta_{\mu\mu}$ and $\eta_{\tau\tau}$) and three off-diagonal complex parameters ($\eta_{e \mu}$, $\eta_{e\tau}$ and $\eta_{\mu\tau}$). Our study shows that the upper bounds on the parameters $\eta_{\mu\mu}$, $\eta_{\tau\tau}$ and $\eta_{\mu\tau}$ depend upon how $\Delta m^2_{31}$ is minimized in the theory. However, this is not the case when one tries to measure the impact of SNSI on $\delta_{\rm CP}$. Further, we show that the CP sensitivity of ESSnuSB can be completely lost for certain values of $\eta_{ee}$ and $\eta_{\mu\tau}$ for which the appearance channel probability becomes independent of $\delta_{\rm CP}$., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, Version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is an essential technique for the management of several diseases. Over the years, new technologies have been developed because to improve and overcome certain limitations related to EUS guided tissue acquisition. Among these new methods, EUS guided elastography and contrast enhanced EUS has arisen as the most widely recognized and available. We will review in this manuscript the different techniques of elastography and contrast enhancement. Nowadays, there are well establish indications for advance imaging, mainly for supporting the management of pancreatic diseases (diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis and differential diagnosis of solid and cystic pancreatic tumors) and characterization of lymph nodes. However, there are more data on new potential indications for the near future

We aim to reveal the sizes of the continuum and broad emission line (BEL) emitting regions in the gravitationally lensed quasar SDSS J1004+4112 by analyzing the unique signatures of microlensing in this system. Through a comprehensive analysis of 20 spectroscopic observations acquired between 2003 and 2018, we studied the striking deformations of various BEL profiles and determined the sizes of their respective emitting regions. Our approach involves a detailed analysis of the magnitude differences in the BEL wings and their adjacent continua, and the implementation of a statistical model to quantify the distribution and impact of microlensing magnifications. To ensure a reliable baseline for no microlensing, we used the emission line cores as a reference. We then applied a Bayesian estimate to derive the size lower limits of the Ly$\alpha$, Si IV, C IV, C III], and Mg II emitting regions, as well as the sizes of the underlying continuum-emitting sources. We analyzed the outstanding microlensing-induced distortions in the line profiles of various BELs in the quasar image A, characterized by a prominent magnification of the blue part and a strong demagnification of the red part. From the statistics of microlensing magnifications and using Bayesian methods, we estimate the lower limit to the overall size of the regions emitting the BELs to be a few lt-days across, which is significantly smaller than in typically lensed quasars. The asymmetric deformations in the BELs indicate that the broad-line region is generally not spherically symmetric, and is likely confined to a plane and following the motions of the accretion disk. Additionally, the inferred continuum-emitting region sizes are larger than predictions based on standard thin-disk theory by a factor of $\sim$3.6 on average. The size-wavelength relation is consistent with that of a geometrically thin and optically thick accretion disk.

Most effective feed formulations for fish have historically relied mainly on digestible energy (DE) but recently also on net energy (NE) approaches, which indicate how energy or macronutrients are utilized for growth or energy retention (RE). This study aimed to determine the effect of temperature on 1) DE-based feed formulations that explored the relationship between DE intake and RE, and 2) NE-based feed formulations that examined the energy utilization efficiency of macronutrients, specifically digested protein (dCP), fat (dFat), and carbohydrate (dCarb) for growth in Nile tilapia. The study involved two separate experiments, one at 24 °C and one at 32 °C for Nile tilapia (initial weight ∼ 38 g). Four diets having contrasting levels of protein, fat, and carbohydrates were used; and two feeding levels (FL; 10 vs. 18 g.kg−0.8.d−1) were applied. Digestibility of protein differed more between FLs at 32 °C. In contrast, fat and carbohydrate digestibility differed more between FLs at 24 °C. The slope of the relationship of RE to DE intake differed between 24 and 32 °C at one of the four diets (P < 0.05), which implies that the DE value of diets/ingredient is dependent on temperature. RE was related to dCP, dFat, and dCarb intake at 24 °C as RE = −27.6 (SE 2.86) + 13.3 (SE 0.53) dCP + 32.0 (SE 0.81) dFat +10.9 (SE 0.43) dCarb, R2 = 0.99 and at 32 °C as RE = −54.4 (SE 5.43) + 14.7 (SE 0.96) dCP + 32.7 (SE 1.46) dFat +10.6 (SE 0.77) dCarb, R2 = 0.98. Fasting heat production increased with temperature (27.6 vs. 54.4 kJ.kg−0.8.d−1; P < 0.05). The energy utilization efficiencies of dCP, dFat, and dCarb were similar at 24 and 32 °C (P > 0.05); being 56, 81, and 63% at 24 °C and 62, 83, and 62% at 32 °C. The practical implication of this is that the NE approach of feed evaluation for Nile tilapia is independent of water temperature.

We use X-ray observations of quasar microlensing (sensitive to smaller compact objects than in the optical) to study the possible presence of a population of low mass black holes (from $\sim$ $10^{-3}M_{\odot}$ to $10^{-1}M_{\odot}$) in lens galaxies. We compare these observations with microlensing magnification simulations of a mixed population of stars and black holes (BHs) plus a smooth matter component. We estimate the individual mass fractions of both, stars and BHs, for three different BH masses in the range of substellar to planetary masses. Our Bayesian analysis indicates that the contribution of BHs is negligible in the substellar mass range but that a population of BHs of planetary mass (M $\lesssim$ $10^{-3}M_{\odot}$) could pass unnoticed to X-ray microlensing. We provide new upper limits to the contribution of BHs to the fraction of dark matter based on both, the quasar microlensing data in the X-ray band, and our previous estimates in the optical of intermediate-mass BHs with an additional upper limit at $M=3M_{\odot}$., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures

Our aim is to examine the size, kinematics, and geometry of the broad-line region (BLR) in the double-lensed quasar Q 0957+561 by analyzing the impact of microlensing on various rest-frame ultraviolet broad-emission lines (BELs). We explore the influence of intrinsic variability and microlensing on the C IV, C III], and Mg II emission lines through multiple spectroscopic observations taken between April 1999 and January 2017. By utilizing the line cores as a reference for no microlensing and correcting for the long time delay between the images, we estimate the sizes of the regions emitting the broad-line wings using a Bayesian approach. Our study of the microlensing amplitudes between the lensed images of the quasar Q 0957+561 reveals differing sizes of the regions emitting the three prominent BELs C IV, C III], and Mg II. The strength of the differential microlensing indicates that the high-ionization line C IV arises from a compact inner region of the BLR with a half-light radius of $R_{1/2} \gtrsim 16.0$ lt-days, which represents a lower limit on the overall size of the BLR and is comparable to the size of the region emitting the r-band continuum in this system. A somewhat larger size of $R_{1/2}\gtrsim 44$ lt-days is obtained for the semi-forbidden line C III]. Microlensing has a weak impact on the lower-ionization line Mg II, which is emitted from a region with a half-light radius of $R_{1/2} \gtrsim 50$ lt-days. These findings suggest that the BEL regions may have distinct geometries and kinematics, with the more extended ones being spherically symmetric, and the most compact ones being nonspherical, with motions likely confined to a plane.

Foundation Models (FMs), such as LLaMA, BERT, GPT, ViT, and CLIP, have demonstrated remarkable success in a wide range of applications, driven by their ability to leverage vast amounts of data for pre-training. However, optimizing FMs often requires access to sensitive data, raising privacy concerns and limiting their applicability in many domains. In this paper, we propose the Federated Foundation Models (FFMs) paradigm, which combines the benefits of FMs and Federated Learning (FL) to enable privacy-preserving and collaborative learning across multiple end-users. We discuss the potential benefits and challenges of integrating FL into the lifespan of FMs, covering pre-training, fine-tuning, and application. We further outline potential future research avenues in FFM, including FFM pre-training, FFM fine-tuning, and federated prompt tuning, which allow the development of more personalized and context-aware models while ensuring data privacy. Moreover, we explore the possibility of continual/lifelong learning in FFMs, as increased computational power at the edge may unlock the potential for optimizing FMs using newly generated private data close to the data source. The proposed FFM concepts offer a flexible and scalable framework for training large language models in a privacy-preserving manner, setting the stage for subsequent advancements in both FM training and federated learning., Comment: Accepted at the 2024 Joint International Conference on Computational Linguistics, Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC-COLING 2024)

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The ISOLDE Scientific Infrastructure at CERN offers a unique range of post-accelerated radioactive beams. The scientific program can be improved with the “Isolde Superconducting Recoil Separator” (ISRS), an innovative spectrometer able to deliver unprecedented (A, Z) resolution. In this paper we present an overview of the physics and ongoing technical developments.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation (STAR) has been recently introduced for the management of therapy-refractory ventricular tachycardia (VT). VT recurrences have been reported after STAR but the mechanisms remain largely unknown. We analyzed recurrences in our patients after STAR. METHODS From 09.2017 to 01.2020, 20 patients (68±8y, LVEF 37±15%) suffering from refractory VT were enrolled, 16/20 with a history of at least 1 electrical storm. Before STAR, an invasive electro-anatomical mapping (Carto3) of the VT substrate was performed. A mean dose of 23±2Gy was delivered to the planning target volume (PTV). RESULTS The median ablation volume was 26 ml (range 14-115) and involved the interventricular septum in 75% of patients. During the first 6 months after STAR, VT burden decreased by 92% (median value, from 108 to 10 VT/semester). After a median follow-up of 25 months, 12/20 (60%) developed a recurrence and underwent a redo ablation. VT recurrence was located in proximity of the treated substrate in 9 cases, remote from the PTV in 3 cases and involved a larger substrate over ≥3 LV segments in 2 cases. No recurrences occurred inside the PTV. Voltage measurements showed a significant decrease in both bipolar and unipolar signal amplitude after STAR. CONCLUSION STAR is a new tool available for the treatment of VT, allowing for a significant reduction of VT burden. VT recurrences are common during follow-up, but no recurrences were observed inside the PTV. Local efficacy was supported by a significant decrease in both bipolar and unipolar signal amplitude.

We present the characterisation of an inner mini-Neptune in a 9.2292005$\pm$0.0000063 day orbit and an outer mono-transiting sub-Saturn planet in a 95.50$^{+0.36}_{-0.25}$ day orbit around the moderately active, bright (mv=8.9 mag) K5V star TOI-2134. Based on our analysis of five sectors of TESS data, we determine the radii of TOI-2134b and c to be 2.69$\pm$0.16 R$_{e}$ for the inner planet and 7.27$\pm$0.42 R$_{e}$ for the outer one. We acquired 111 radial-velocity spectra with HARPS-N and 108 radial-velocity spectra with SOPHIE. After careful periodogram analysis, we derive masses for both planets via Gaussian Process regression: 9.13$^{+0.78}_{-0.76}$ M$_{e}$ for TOI-2134b and 41.86$^{+7.69}_{-7.83}$ M$_{e}$ for TOI-2134c. We analysed the photometric and radial-velocity data first separately, then jointly. The inner planet is a mini-Neptune with density consistent with either a water-world or a rocky core planet with a low-mass H/He envelope. The outer planet has a bulk density similar to Saturn's. The outer planet is derived to have a significant eccentricity of 0.67$^{+0.05}_{-0.06}$ from a combination of photometry and RVs. We compute the irradiation of TOI-2134c as 1.45$\pm$0.10 times the bolometric flux received by Earth, positioning it for part of its orbit in the habitable sone of its system. We recommend further RV observations to fully constrain the orbit of TOI-2134c. With an expected Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect amplitude of 7.2$\pm$1.3 m/s, we recommend TOI-2134c for follow-up RM analysis to study the spin-orbit architecture of the system. We calculate the Transmission Spectroscopy Metric, and both planets are suitable for bright-mode NIRCam atmospheric characterisation., Comment: 24 pages, 7 tables, 14 figures

Federated learning (FL) offers privacy-preserving decentralized machine learning, optimizing models at edge clients without sharing private data. Simultaneously, foundation models (FMs) have gained traction in the artificial intelligence (AI) community due to their exceptional performance across various tasks. However, integrating FMs into FL presents challenges, primarily due to their substantial size and intensive resource requirements. This is especially true when considering the resource heterogeneity in edge FL systems. We present an adaptive framework for Resource-aware Federated Foundation Models (RaFFM) to address these challenges. RaFFM introduces specialized model compression algorithms tailored for FL scenarios, such as salient parameter prioritization and high-performance subnetwork extraction. These algorithms enable dynamic scaling of given transformer-based FMs to fit heterogeneous resource constraints at the network edge during both FL's optimization and deployment stages. Experimental results demonstrate that RaFFM shows significant superiority in resource utilization efficiency and uses fewer resources to deploy FMs to FL. Despite the lower resource consumption, target models optimized by RaFFM achieve performance on par with traditional FL methods applied to full-sized FMs. This is evident across tasks in both natural language processing and computer vision domains.

The dynamics of forest recovery after windthrows (i.e., broken or uprooted trees by wind) are poorly understood in tropical forests. The Northwestern Amazon (NWA) is characterized by a higher occurrence of windthrows, greater rainfall, and higher annual tree mortality rates (~2%) than the Central Amazon (CA). We combined forest inventory data from three sites in the Iquitos region of Peru, with recovery periods spanning 2, 12, and 22 years following windthrow events. Study sites and sampling areas were selected by assessing the windthrow severity using remote sensing. At each site, we recorded all trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 10 cm along transects, capturing the range of windthrow severity from old-growth to highly disturbed (mortality > 60%) forest. Across all damage classes, tree density and basal area recovered to >90% of the old-growth values after 20 years. Aboveground biomass (AGB) in old-growth forest was 380 (±156) Mg ha−1 . In extremely disturbed areas, AGB was still reduced to 163 (±68) Mg ha−1 after 2 years and 323 (± 139) Mg ha−1 after 12 years. This recovery rate is ~50% faster than that reported for Central Amazon forests. The faster recovery of forest structure in our study region may be a function of its higher productivity and adaptability to more frequent and severe windthrows. These varying rates of recovery highlight the importance of extreme wind and rainfall on shaping gradients of forest structure in the Amazon, and the different vulnerabilities of these forests to natural disturbances whose severity and frequency are being altered by climate change.

The dynamics of forest recovery after windthrows (i.e., broken or uprooted trees by wind) are poorly understood in tropical forests. The Northwestern Amazon (NWA) is characterized by a higher occurrence of windthrows, greater rainfall, and higher annual tree mortality rates (~2%) than the Central Amazon (CA). We combined forest inventory data from three sites in the Iquitos region of Peru, with recovery periods spanning 2, 12, and 22 years following windthrow events. Study sites and sampling areas were selected by assessing the windthrow severity using remote sensing. At each site, we recorded all trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 10 cm along transects, capturing the range of windthrow severity from old-growth to highly disturbed (mortality > 60%) forest. Across all damage classes, tree density and basal area recovered to >90% of the old-growth values after 20 years. Aboveground biomass (AGB) in old-growth forest was 380 (±156) Mg ha−1 . In extremely disturbed areas, AGB was still reduced to 163 (±68) Mg ha−1 after 2 years and 323 (± 139) Mg ha−1 after 12 years. This recovery rate is ~50% faster than that reported for Central Amazon forests. The faster recovery of forest structure in our study region may be a function of its higher productivity and adaptability to more frequent and severe windthrows. These varying rates of recovery highlight the importance of extreme wind and rainfall on shaping gradients of forest structure in the Amazon, and the different vulnerabilities of these forests to natural disturbances whose severity and frequency are being altered by climate change.

The triplet vector boson (TVB) is a simplified new physics model involving massive vector bosons transforming as a weak triplet vector. Such a model has been proposed as a combined explanation of the anomalous $b \to s\mu^+\mu^-$ and $b \to c \tau\bar{\nu}_\tau$ data (the so-called $B$ meson anomalies). In this work, we carry out an updated view of the TVB model by incorporating the most recent 2022 and 2023 LHCb measurements on the lepton flavor universality ratios $R(D^{(\ast)}) = {\rm BR}(B \to D^{(\ast)}\tau \bar{\nu}_\tau)/{\rm BR}(B \to D^{(\ast)}\ell^\prime \bar{\nu}_{\ell^\prime})$, $R(\Lambda_c) = {\rm BR}(\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c\tau\bar{\nu}_\tau)/{\rm BR}(\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c\mu\bar{\nu}_\mu)$, and $R_{K^{(\ast)}} = {\rm BR}(B \to K^{(\ast)}\mu^+\mu^-)/{\rm BR}(B \to K^{(\ast)}e^+e^-)$. We perform a global fit to explore the allowed parameter space by the new data and all relevant low-energy flavor observables. Our results are confronted with the recent high-mass dilepton searches at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We find that for a heavy TVB mass of 1 TeV a common explanation of the $B$ meson anomalies is possible for all data with the recent LHCb measurements on $R(D^{(\ast)})$, in consistency with LHC constraints. However, this framework is in strong tension with LHC bounds when one considers all data along with the world average values (BABAR, Belle, and LHCb) on $R(D^{(\ast)})$. Future measurements will be required in order to clarify such a situation. In the end, the implications of our phenomenological analysis of the TVB model to some known flavor parametrizations are also discussed., Comment: 20 pages, 1 Figure (12 plots). V3: The title has been modified. Updated version with new 2022 and 2023 LHCb measurements on R(D), R(D*), R(Lambda_c), and R_K (R_K*). Analysis and discussion improved. New References added

Assuming a population of Black Holes (BHs) with masses in the range inferred by LIGO/Virgo from BH mergers, we use quasar microlensing observations to estimate their abundances. We consider a mixed population of stars and BHs and the presence of a smooth dark matter component. We adopt reverberation mapping estimates of the quasar size. According to a Bayesian analysis of the measured microlensing magnifications, a population of BHs with masses $\sim$ 30$M_{\odot}$ constitutes less than 0.4 % of the total matter at 68 % confidence level (less than 0.9 % at 90 % confidence). We have explored the whole mass range of LIGO/Virgo BHs finding that this upper limit ranges from 0.5 % to 0.4 % at 68 % C.L. (from 1.1 % to 0.9 % at 90 % C.L.) when the BHs mass change from 10 to 60$M_{\odot}$. We estimate a 16 % contribution from the stars, in agreement with previous studies based on a single mass population that do not consider explicitly the presence of BHs. These results are consistent with the estimates of BH abundances from the statistics of LIGO/Virgo mergers and rule out that PBHs (or any type of compact objects), in this mass range constitute a significant fraction of the dark matter., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 1 table

We present a simple but general argument that strongly limits the abundance of Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) (or other unknown population of compact objects) with masses similar to those determined by LIGO/Virgo from BH binary mergers. We show that quasar microlensing can be very sensitive to the mass of the lenses, and that it is able to distinguish between stars and BHs of high mass, when the finite size of the source is taken into account. A significant presence of massive BHs would produce frequent high flux magnifications (except for unrealistically large sources) which have been very rarely observed. On the contrary, a typical stellar population would induce flux magnifications consistent with the observations. This result excludes PBHs (or any type of compact object) in the mass range determined by LIGO/Virgo as the main dark matter constituents in the lens galaxies., Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure

La evaluación de la productividad laboral en edificios de oficinas es un fenómeno particularmente complejo. Son lugares con su propia identidad institucional, clima organizacional, diseño arquitectónico y criterios de gestión de los sistemas de acondicionamiento ambiental, entre otros. Dentro de los distintos factores que intervienen, los estudios indican que las condiciones térmicas interiores son un elemento importante a considerar, ya que la percepción de los ocupantes en el espacio de trabajo refleja este efecto. Las oficinas suelen ser ambientes térmicamente moderados. Sin embargo, pequeñas variaciones no deseadas pueden traducirse en insatisfacción, distracción o adaptación con un impacto en la dedicación laboral. Esta investigación examina la productividad autopercibida de los ocupantes de oficinas en relación con el ambiente térmico, en las ciudades de Santiago y Concepción, Chile. Específicamente, analiza los parámetros ambientales y la configuración de los espacios interiores de las oficinas, y contrasta con las percepciones de los ocupantes en cuestionarios transeccionales y retrospectivos. Se recogió un total de 3551 respuestas de los trabajadores durante un día en invierno y otro día en verano, en dieciocho distintos edificios gubernamentales y del sector privado. Los resultados muestran que las temperaturas operativas medias son 22,2 °C en invierno y 23,5 ° C en verano. El 80,5% de los ocupantes declararon que su productividad era normal en la encuesta transeccional. No obstante, al comparar con la encuesta retrospectiva, el 82,7% afirmó que su productividad se ve afectada por el ambiente térmico. Se analiza valor de la temporalidad de cada instrumento y lo oportuno de complementar dichas respuestas. A continuación, se elaboró un modelo inicial con 32 variables observadas, para la aplicación de un modelado de ecuaciones estructurales. El modelo de la información obtenida fue validado y reducido por medio de un diagrama de sendero, dando como resultado

We report on the fabrication of single-electron devices based on horse-spleen ferritin parti-cles. At low temperatures the current vs. voltage characteristics are stable, enabling the acquisition of reproducible data that establishes the Coulomb blockade as the main transport mechanism through them. Excellent agreement between the experimental data and the Coulomb blockade theory is demonstrated. Single-electron charge transport in ferritin, thus, establishes a route for further characterization of their, e.g., magnetic, properties down to the single-particle level, with prospects for electronic and medical applications., QN/van der Zant Lab

Different surveillance strategies for patients with low-risk branch-duct (BD) intraductal papillary neoplasm (IPMN) have been described. The aim of this study was to describe the natural history of low-risk BD-IPMN, and to identify risk factors for the development of worrisome features (WF)/high-risk stigmata (HRS) and of pancreatic malignancies. This was a multicentre retrospective study of patients with BD-IPMN who were under active surveillance between January 2006 and December 2015. Patients were eligible if they had a low-risk lesion and had a minimum follow-up of 24 months. Outcomes were development of WF/HRS or cytologically/histologically confirmed malignant IPMN. Of 837 patients included, 168 (20 per cent) developed WF/HRS. At the end of the observation time, 132 patients (79 per cent) with WF/HRS were still under surveillance without progression to pancreatic cancer. Factors associated with the development of WF or HRS in multivariable analysis included localized nodules (versus diffuse: hazard ratio (HR) 0.43, 95 per cent c.i. 0.26 to 0.68), cyst size 15-19 mm (versus less than 15 mm: HR 1.88, 1.23 to 2.87) or at least 20 mm (versus less than 15 mm: HR 3.25, 2.30 to 4.60), main pancreatic duct size over 3 mm (versus 3 mm or less: HR 2.17, 1.41 to 3.34), and symptoms at diagnosis (versus no symptoms: HR 2.29, 1.52 to 3.45). Surveillance in an endoscopy-oriented centre was also associated with increased detection of WF or HRS (versus radiology-oriented: HR 2.46, 1.74 to 3.47). Conservative management of patients with low-risk BD-IPMN is safe and feasible.

The triplet vector boson (TVB) is a simplified new physics model involving massive vector bosons transforming as a weak triplet vector. Such a model has been proposed as a combined explanation of the anomalous $b \to s\mu^+\mu^-$ and $b \to c \tau\bar{\nu}_\tau$ data (the so-called $B$ meson anomalies). In this work, we carry out an updated view of the TVB model by incorporating the most recent 2022 and 2023 LHCb measurements on the lepton flavor universality ratios $R(D^{(\ast)}) = {\rm BR}(B \to D^{(\ast)}\tau \bar{\nu}_\tau)/{\rm BR}(B \to D^{(\ast)}\ell^\prime \bar{\nu}_{\ell^\prime})$, $R(\Lambda_c) = {\rm BR}(\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c\tau\bar{\nu}_\tau)/{\rm BR}(\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c\mu\bar{\nu}_\mu)$, and $R_{K^{(\ast)}} = {\rm BR}(B \to K^{(\ast)}\mu^+\mu^-)/{\rm BR}(B \to K^{(\ast)}e^+e^-)$. We perform a global fit to explore the allowed parameter space by the new data and all relevant low-energy flavor observables. Our results are confronted with the recent high-mass dilepton searches at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We find that for a heavy TVB mass of 1 TeV a common explanation of the $B$ meson anomalies is possible for all data with the recent LHCb measurements on $R(D^{(\ast)})$, in consistency with LHC constraints. However, this framework is in strong tension with LHC bounds when one considers all data along with the world average values (BABAR, Belle, and LHCb) on $R(D^{(\ast)})$. Future measurements will be required in order to clarify such a situation. In the end, the implications of our phenomenological analysis of the TVB model to some known flavor parametrizations are also discussed., Comment: 20 pages, 1 Figure (12 plots). V3: The title has been modified. Updated version with new 2022 and 2023 LHCb measurements on R(D), R(D*), R(Lambda_c), and R_K (R_K*). Analysis and discussion improved. New References added

Very recently the LHCb experiment released the first measurement of the ratio $R(\Lambda_c) = {\rm BR}(\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c\tau\bar{\nu}_\tau)/{\rm BR}(\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c\mu\bar{\nu}_\mu)$. Moreover, the BABAR experiment reported a new result of the leptonic decay ratio of Upsilon meson $\Upsilon(3S)$, namely, $R_{\Upsilon(3S)} = {\rm BR}(\Upsilon(3S) \to \tau^+\tau^-)/{\rm BR}(\Upsilon(3S) \to \mu^+\mu^-)$. Both measurements are below their corresponding Standard Model predictions (deficit), deviating by $\sim 1.1\sigma$ and $\sim 1.8\sigma$, respectively. Moreover, the LHCb recently presented the first search of the lepton flavor violating decay $B^0 \to K^{\ast 0}\mu^\pm\tau^\mp$. Motivated by these new data, in this work we study their impact on the phenomenology of the singlet vector leptoquark ($U_1$) model addressing the hints of lepton flavor universality violation in the semileptonic decays of $B$ mesons ($B$ meson anomalies), by carrying out a global fit analysis. In general, we found that a minimal version of the $U_1$ model with a mass of 1.8 TeV can successfully explain the $B$ meson anomalies, while being compatible with all other flavor observables and LHC bounds. Interestingly, our study shows that the new observables $R(\Lambda_c)$ and $R_{\Upsilon(3S)}$ generate strong tension, leading to non-trivial effects on the global fit. Future improvements at the LHCb and Belle II experiments would help to understand their complementarity. Moreover, we also analyze the impact of the expected sensitivity on flavor observables at Belle II to provide a further test of the $U_1$ model. Finally, we study the minimal assumptions under which the $U_1$ model could, in addition, provide a combined explanation of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures. V2: Typos fixed. New References added. Recent LHCb result on the LFV decay B^0 to K^{*0} mu^{+} tau^- (mu^{-} tau^+) included. Phenomenology analysis improved. Overall conclusions unchanged

In this work we present an analysis of production and signature of charged Higgs bosons $H_2^{\pm}$ in the version of the 3-3-1 model containing heavy leptons at the CLIC (Cern Linear Collider). The production rate is found to be significant for the direct production of $e^{-} e^{+} \rightarrow H_{2}^{+} H_{2}^{-}$. We also studied the possibility to identify it using their respective branching ratios., Comment: 16 pages, 9 Figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1408.5944; text overlap with arXiv:1311.0845, arXiv:1205.4042

La evaluación de la productividad laboral en edificios de oficinas es un fenómeno particularmente complejo. Son lugares con su propia identidad institucional, clima organizacional, diseño arquitectónico y criterios de gestión de los sistemas de acondicionamiento ambiental, entre otros. Dentro de los distintos factores que intervienen, los estudios indican que las condiciones térmicas interiores son un elemento importante a considerar, ya que la percepción de los ocupantes en el espacio de trabajo refleja este efecto. Las oficinas suelen ser ambientes térmicamente moderados. Sin embargo, pequeñas variaciones no deseadas pueden traducirse en insatisfacción, distracción o adaptación con un impacto en la dedicación laboral. Esta investigación examina la productividad autopercibida de los ocupantes de oficinas en relación con el ambiente térmico, en las ciudades de Santiago y Concepción, Chile. Específicamente, analiza los parámetros ambientales y la configuración de los espacios interiores de las oficinas, y contrasta con las percepciones de los ocupantes en cuestionarios transeccionales y retrospectivos. Se recogió un total de 3551 respuestas de los trabajadores durante un día en invierno y otro día en verano, en dieciocho distintos edificios gubernamentales y del sector privado. Los resultados muestran que las temperaturas operativas medias son 22,2 °C en invierno y 23,5 ° C en verano. El 80,5% de los ocupantes declararon que su productividad era normal en la encuesta transeccional. No obstante, al comparar con la encuesta retrospectiva, el 82,7% afirmó que su productividad se ve afectada por el ambiente térmico. Se analiza valor de la temporalidad de cada instrumento y lo oportuno de complementar dichas respuestas. A continuación, se elaboró un modelo inicial con 32 variables observadas, para la aplicación de un modelado de ecuaciones estructurales. El modelo de la información obtenida fue validado y reducido por medio de un diagrama de sendero, dando como resultado

La evolución en los diseños de los sistemas de implantes y en la configuración de los pilares protési- cos ha desarrollado el concepto de plataforma reducida que comprende la colocación de un pilar más estrecho que la plataforma del implante para aumentar su distancia de la interfase hueso-implante. La plataforma reducida es considerada un factor importante para preservar la estabilidad del hueso crestal y de los tejidos blandos y asegurar el éxito de los implantes dentales a largo plazo. La plataforma redu- cida reduce las fuerzas oclusales y la contaminación bacteriana en la interfase entre el hueso crestal y el implante. Los estudios experimentales en animales y clínicos en pacientes muestran su eficacia para prevenir la pérdida ósea y de los tejidos blandos periimplantarios Conclusiones. La introducción de la plataforma reducida constituye un importante campo en la investi- gación experimental en implantología oral y en el tratamiento clínico con implantes para mantener los tejidos periimplantarios., The evolution of designs of implant systems and abutments configurations has developed the concept of platform-switching that involves the connection of a narrower abutment to the platform implant to allow horizontal distance of the interface bone-implant. Platform-switching is considered an important factor to preserve the stability of crestal bone and soft tissue ensuring the success of dental implants in the long-term follow-up. Platform-switching reduces the forces of occlusal loading and bacterial conta- mination in the interface between the crestal bone and the implant. Experimental studies in animals and clinical studies in patients showed that implants with platform-switching have demonstrated the effecti- veness to prevent peri-implant bone loss and subsequent soft tissue loss. Conclusions. The platform-switching constitute an important field for research of experimental implant dentistry and clinical implant treatment in the maintenance of peri-implant tissues

Background Overall, more than 50% of international travelers develop symptoms while traveling and 55% of them seek medical assistance during the trip. We conducted a study to evaluate the usefulness of a Smartphone app called TRIP Doctor® to provide telemedicine to international travelers. Methods Participants over 18 years old attending our travel clinic at Hospital Clinic in Barcelona were invited to participate during 2017–2019. After downloading the app, the health status of the traveler was monitored on a daily basis, providing specific medical advice and offering remote contact with specialized physicians through an integrated chat, if needed. Results From 449 users, 59 (13%) contacted for medical assistance through the app during the trip. Main reasons for telemedicine were diarrhea (25.7%), skin conditions (19.7%) and fever (12.1%). Among patients who contacted, 90% of the travelers did not require to be referred to a local doctor. Symptomatic treatment was the main treatment prescribed (38%). In a 14.7% of the cases a follow-up was not required, a 63.2% recovered and 22.1% were loss of follow-up. After a multivariate analysis, duration of trip >14 days was found to be the only factor associated with the use of telemedicine (OR 2.2, CI 95% 1.1–4.5, p = 0.03). Conclusion In conclusion, travelers using telemedicine travelled for longer periods of time and mostly contacted for mild symptoms which could be solved successfully by remote assistance with our specialized doctors.

The triplet vector boson (TVB) is a simplified new physics model involving massive vector bosons transforming as a weak triplet vector. Such a model has been proposed as a combined explanation of the anomalous $b \to s\mu^+\mu^-$ and $b \to c \tau\bar{\nu}_\tau$ data (the so-called $B$ meson anomalies). In this work, we carry out an updated view of the TVB model by incorporating the most recent 2022 and 2023 LHCb measurements on the lepton flavor universality ratios $R(D^{(\ast)}) = {\rm BR}(B \to D^{(\ast)}\tau \bar{\nu}_\tau)/{\rm BR}(B \to D^{(\ast)}\ell^\prime \bar{\nu}_{\ell^\prime})$, $R(\Lambda_c) = {\rm BR}(\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c\tau\bar{\nu}_\tau)/{\rm BR}(\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c\mu\bar{\nu}_\mu)$, and $R_{K^{(\ast)}} = {\rm BR}(B \to K^{(\ast)}\mu^+\mu^-)/{\rm BR}(B \to K^{(\ast)}e^+e^-)$. We perform a global fit to explore the allowed parameter space by the new data and all relevant low-energy flavor observables. Our results are confronted with the recent high-mass dilepton searches at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We find that for a heavy TVB mass of 1 TeV a common explanation of the $B$ meson anomalies is possible for all data with the recent LHCb measurements on $R(D^{(\ast)})$, in consistency with LHC constraints. However, this framework is in strong tension with LHC bounds when one considers all data along with the world average values (BABAR, Belle, and LHCb) on $R(D^{(\ast)})$. Future measurements will be required in order to clarify such a situation. In the end, the implications of our phenomenological analysis of the TVB model to some known flavor parametrizations are also discussed., Comment: 20 pages, 1 Figure (12 plots). V3: The title has been modified. Updated version with new 2022 and 2023 LHCb measurements on R(D), R(D*), R(Lambda_c), and R_K (R_K*). Analysis and discussion improved. New References added

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is an essential technique for the management of several diseases. Over the years, new technologies have been developed because to improve and overcome certain limitations related to EUS guided tissue acquisition. Among these new methods, EUS guided elastography and contrast enhanced EUS has arisen as the most widely recognized and available. We will review in this manuscript the different techniques of elastography and contrast enhancement. Nowadays, there are well establish indications for advance imaging, mainly for supporting the management of pancreatic diseases (diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis and differential diagnosis of solid and cystic pancreatic tumors) and characterization of lymph nodes. However, there are more data on new potential indications for the near future

Federated Learning (FL) is extensively used to train AI/ML models in distributed and privacy-preserving settings. Participant edge devices in FL systems typically contain non-independent and identically distributed (Non-IID) private data and unevenly distributed computational resources. Preserving user data privacy while optimizing AI/ML models in a heterogeneous federated network requires us to address data and system/resource heterogeneity. To address these challenges, we propose Resource-aware Federated Learning (RaFL). RaFL allocates resource-aware specialized models to edge devices using Neural Architecture Search (NAS) and allows heterogeneous model architecture deployment by knowledge extraction and fusion. Combining NAS and FL enables on-demand customized model deployment for resource-diverse edge devices. Furthermore, we propose a multi-model architecture fusion scheme allowing the aggregation of the distributed learning results. Results demonstrate RaFL's superior resource efficiency compared to SoTA., Comment: Accepted at the 30th International European Conference on Parallel and Distributed Computing (Euro-Par 2024)

In this paper we present an implementation of selective harmonic elimination modulation technique in a 27 Level asymmetric multilevel converter The main issue in this kind of converters is the generation of the gating patterns to obtain an optimized AC voltage waveform State of the art solutions use deep mathematical analysis in the frequency domain by means of the Fourier series but they are mainly applied for two level or symmetric multilevel converters On the other hand the modulation for asymmetric multilevel converters is mainly focused on nearest level control or nearest vector control In this work we propose a novel modulating technique that takes advantage of the switching angles optimization for a 27 level waveform In fact different set of solutions are obtained and presented in order to define the modulation index as well as the value of the switching angles for the multilevel waveform A modulation index sweep was performed for the entire operating region of the converter where it can be observed that the number of levels decreases when the modulation index is low which are calculated in order to minimize the total harmonic distortion THD of the resulting voltage waveform In order to validate the proposal these results for different modulation indexes values are simulated obtaining a THD 5 for a modulation index 0 75 M 1 0 Finally a small scale proof of concept prototype is implemented in order to validate the proposal 2022 by the authors Licensee MDPI Basel Switzerland

Concerned with user data privacy, this paper presents a new federated learning (FL) method that trains machine learning models on edge devices without accessing sensitive data. Traditional FL methods, although privacy-protective, fail to manage model heterogeneity and incur high communication costs due to their reliance on aggregation methods. To address this limitation, we propose a resource-aware FL method that aggregates local knowledge from edge models and distills it into robust global knowledge through knowledge distillation. This method allows efficient multi-model knowledge fusion and the deployment of resource-aware models while preserving model heterogeneity. Our method improves communication cost and performance in heterogeneous data and models compared to existing FL algorithms. Notably, it reduces the communication cost of ResNet-32 by up to 50\% and VGG-11 by up to 10$\times$ while delivering superior performance., Comment: Accept at the 4th workshop on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Scientific Applications (AI4S), SC 23

Background: Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) are targeted for control through mass drug-administration campaigns to prevent morbidity affecting at-risk groups in endemic regions. Although broadly successful, the use of albendazole and mebendazole achieved variable progress, with deficiencies against Trichuris trichiura and a predictable low efficacy against Strongyloides stercoralis. Novel drug combinations offer a potential solution, providing they can be delivered safely and maintain efficacy against all STH species. Here we present the protocol of a clinical trial to evaluate a fixed-dose combination (FDC) tablet containing albendazole and ivermectin that will be compared against albendazole against STH. Methods: An adaptive phase II/III randomized controlled trial will be undertaken in STH endemic sites in Ethiopia, Kenya and Mozambique to evaluate an oral FDC of 400 mg albendazole and either 9- or 18 mg ivermectin. FDC will be administered as a single dose or single doses over three-consecutive days and assessed against a single dose of 400 mg albendazole. In the phase II trial, 126 T. trichiura-infected children weighting 15 to 45 kg will be treated in a dose-escalation manner to determine safety objectives. In the phase III trial, 1097 participants aged 5 to 18 years old infected with T. trichiura, hookworm and S. stercoralis will be recruited to determine safety and efficacy. The trial will be open-label with blinded outcome assessors. Cure rate measured 21-days after-treatment in duplicate Kato-Katz is the primary efficacy outcome. Secondary objectives include efficacy evaluation by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as an outcome measurement, description of pharmacokinetic parameters, palatability and acceptability evaluations, and monitoring of anthelmintic resistance. Conclusions: This trial with registrational goals seeks to evaluate an innovative fixed-dose combination of albendazole and ivermectin co-formulated tablets, with the goal of prov

La evaluación de la productividad laboral en edificios de oficinas es un fenómeno particularmente complejo. Son lugares con su propia identidad institucional, clima organizacional, diseño arquitectónico y criterios de gestión de los sistemas de acondicionamiento ambiental, entre otros. Dentro de los distintos factores que intervienen, los estudios indican que las condiciones térmicas interiores son un elemento importante a considerar, ya que la percepción de los ocupantes en el espacio de trabajo refleja este efecto. Las oficinas suelen ser ambientes térmicamente moderados. Sin embargo, pequeñas variaciones no deseadas pueden traducirse en insatisfacción, distracción o adaptación con un impacto en la dedicación laboral. Esta investigación examina la productividad autopercibida de los ocupantes de oficinas en relación con el ambiente térmico, en las ciudades de Santiago y Concepción, Chile. Específicamente, analiza los parámetros ambientales y la configuración de los espacios interiores de las oficinas, y contrasta con las percepciones de los ocupantes en cuestionarios transeccionales y retrospectivos. Se recogió un total de 3551 respuestas de los trabajadores durante un día en invierno y otro día en verano, en dieciocho distintos edificios gubernamentales y del sector privado. Los resultados muestran que las temperaturas operativas medias son 22,2 °C en invierno y 23,5 ° C en verano. El 80,5% de los ocupantes declararon que su productividad era normal en la encuesta transeccional. No obstante, al comparar con la encuesta retrospectiva, el 82,7% afirmó que su productividad se ve afectada por el ambiente térmico. Se analiza valor de la temporalidad de cada instrumento y lo oportuno de complementar dichas respuestas. A continuación, se elaboró un modelo inicial con 32 variables observadas, para la aplicación de un modelado de ecuaciones estructurales. El modelo de la información obtenida fue validado y reducido por medio de un diagrama de sendero, dando como resultado

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) cornerstone control strategy is mass drug administration (MDA) with benzimidazoles. However, MDA might contribute to selection pressure for anthelmintic resistance, as occurred in livestock. The aim of this study is to evaluate the treatment response to albendazole and the relationship with the presence of putative benzimidazole resistance single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the b-tubulin gene of STH in Southern Mozambique. After screening 819 participants, we conducted a cohort study with 184 participants infected with STH in Manhic¸ a district, Southern Mozambique. A pretreatment and a posttreatment stool samples were collected and the STH infection was identified by duplicate Kato-Katz and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Cure rate and egg reduction rates were calculated. Putative benzimidazole resistance SNPs (F167Y, F200T, and E198A) in Trichuris trichiura and Necator americanus were assessed by pyrosequencing. Cure rates by duplicate Kato-Katz and by qPCR were 95.8% and 93.6% for Ascaris lumbricoides, 28% and 7.8% for T. trichiura, and 88.9% and 56.7% for N. americanus. Egg reduction rate by duplicate Kato-Katz was 85.4% for A. lumbricoides, 34.9% for T. trichiura, and 40.5% for N. americanus. Putative benzimidazole resistance SNPs in the b-tubulin gene were detected in T. trichiura (23%) and N. americanus (21%) infected participants at pretreatment. No statistical difference was observed between pretreatment and posttreatment frequencies for none of the SNPs. Although treatment response to albendazole was low, particularly in T. trichiura, the putative benzimidazole resistance SNPs were not higher after treatment in the population studied. New insights are needed for a better understanding and monitoring of human anthelmintic resistance.

This study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of the Polar V800 to measure vertical jump height. Twenty-two physically active healthy men (age: 22.89 +- 4.23 years; body mass: 70.74 +- 8.04 kg; height: 1.74 +- 0.76 m) were recruited for the study. The reliability was evaluated by comparing measurements acquired by the Polar V800 in two identical testing sessions one week apart. Validity was assessed by comparing measurements simultaneously obtained using a force platform (gold standard), high-speed camera and the Polar V800 during squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) tests. In the test-retest reliability, high intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were observed (mean: 0.90, SJ and CMJ) in the Polar V800. There was no significant systematic bias +- random errors (p > 0.05) between test-retest. Low coefficients of variation (<5%) were detected in both jumps in the Polar V800. In the validity assessment, similar jump height was detected among devices (p > 0.05). There was almost perfect agreement between the Polar V800 compared to a force platform for the SJ and CMJ tests (Mean ICCs = 0.95; no systematic bias +- random errors in SJ mean: -0.38 +- 2.10 cm, p > 0.05). Mean ICC between the Polar V800 versus high-speed camera was 0.91 for the SJ and CMJ tests, however, a significant systematic bias +- random error (0.97 +- 2.60 cm; p = 0.01) was detected in CMJ test. The Polar V800 offers valid, compared to force platform, and reliable information about vertical jump height performance in physically active healthy young men., Comment: 9 pages, published in Journal of sports science and medicine, 20, 149 157

We catalog the 443 bright supernovae discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) in $2018-2020$ along with the 519 supernovae recovered by ASAS-SN and 516 additional $m_{peak}\leq18$ mag supernovae missed by ASAS-SN. Our statistical analysis focuses primarily on the 984 supernovae discovered or recovered in ASAS-SN $g$-band observations. The complete sample of 2427 ASAS-SN supernovae includes earlier $V$-band samples and unrecovered supernovae. For each supernova, we identify the host galaxy, its UV to mid-IR photometry, and the offset of the supernova from the center of the host. Updated light curves, redshifts, classifications, and host galaxy identifications supersede earlier results. With the increase of the limiting magnitude to $g\leq18$ mag, the ASAS-SN sample is roughly complete up to $m_{peak}=16.7$ mag and is $90\%$ complete for $m_{peak}\leq17.0$ mag. This is an increase from the $V$-band sample where it was roughly complete up to $m_{peak}=16.2$ mag and $70\%$ complete for $m_{peak}\leq17.0$ mag., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables. Updated to reflect changes made in the published version. Tables containing the catalog data presented in this submission are included in machine-readable format as ancillary files

We have built a new model for the lens system SDSS J1004+4112 including the recently measured time delay of the fourth quasar image. This time delay has a strong influence on the inner mass distribution of the lensing cluster ($\rho \propto r^{-\alpha}$) allowing us to determine $\alpha=1.18^{+0.02(+0.11)}_{-0.03(-0.18)}$ at the 68% (95%) confidence level in agreement with hydrodynamical simulations of massive galaxy clusters. We find an offset between the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) and the dark matter halo of $3.8^{+0.6(+1.4)}_{-0.7(-1.3)}$ kpc at 68% (95%) confidence which is compatible with other galaxy cluster measurements. As an observational challenge, the estimated time delay between the leading image C and the faint (I=24.7) fifth image E is roughly 8 yr., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables. ApJ in press