Definition Of Shape Research Articles

Topography and Radiological Variables as Ancillary Parameters for Evaluating Tissue Adherence, Hypothalamic-Pituitary Dysfunction, and Recurrence in Craniopharyngioma: An Integrated Multidisciplinary Overview.

Craniopharyngiomas continue to present a challenge in clinical practice due to their heterogeneity and unpredictable adherence to vital neurovascular structures, particularly the hypothalamus. This results in different degrees of hypothalamus-pituitary axis dysfunction and a lack of uniform consensus and treatment guidelines regarding optimal management. MRI and CT are complementary techniques in the preoperative diagnostic phase, enabling the precise definition of craniopharyngioma size, shape, and consistency, as well as guiding classification into histopathological subtypes and topographical categories. Meanwhile, MRI plays a crucial role in the immediate postoperative period and follow-up stages by identifying treatment-related changes and residual tumors. This pictorial essay aims to provide an overview of the role of imaging in identifying variables indicative of the adherence degree to the hypothalamus, hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction, the extent of surgical excision, and prognosis. For a more comprehensive assessment, we choose to distinguish the following two scenarios: (1) the initial diagnosis phase, where we primarily discuss the role of radiological variables predictive of adhesions to the surrounding neurovascular structures and axis dysfunction which may influence the choice of surgical resection; (2) the early post-treatment follow-up phase, where we discuss the interpretation of treatment-related changes that impact outcomes.

The discrete and continuum behaviour of railway ballast

The mechanics of coarse-grained geomaterials have traditionally been examined from a continuum mechanics standpoint, but this has led to ever more complex constitutive models as an increasing number of novel aspects of behaviour are investigated. For this reason, there is a tendency to move towards discrete approaches. Such approaches require accurate definition and modelling of the particle shapes, for which considerable progress has been made, and also the contact mechanics between particles, about which little is known. For very coarse materials such as railway ballast, our understanding at the continuum scale has been hampered further by the technical difficulties in the laboratory testing so that the very small strain behaviour has been difficult to define with accuracy. New apparatus and techniques will be described to test ballast at both the continuum and particulate scales. These allow the small strain stiffness to be defined with accuracy in triaxial tests and to carry out precise particle-to-particle contact tests. At the particle contact scale, the behaviour is dominated by the roughness of the particles and their relatively sharp contacts, so that plasticity and particle wear predominate, which both change the contact properties significantly. It is the contact plasticity that then controls the decay in continuum stiffness with strain. The work emphasises the inadequacy of using simple linear and/or elastic DEM models calibrated from macro-scale tests rather than deriving the correct contact behaviour directly.

A ML strategy for the identification of optimal LPT design region and related blade shape

This work presents a machine-learning (ML) strategy for the identification of the design region that guarantees minimum losses for Low Pressure Turbine (LPT) blades, allowing the definition of the optimal blade shape. The data-driven procedure is twofold. Firstly, an advanced loss-correlation model (M1) that describes the LPT efficiency as a function of the main flow and geometrical parameters, also accounting for unsteady effects, has been trained from a numerical database. Then, a second model (M2) has been tuned to interpret the corresponding blade geometries. Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) has been applied to formally decompose the blade shape into modes and coefficients. The modes provide basis functions, while the coefficients give the weights that, depending on the combination of the design parameters, define the blade shape. Gaussian Process (GP) and Cross-Validation techniques have been used for tuning both M1 and M2. Once properly tuned, the overall procedure provides the loss-correlation model (M1) for the identification of the design region that is expected to minimize losses, and the geometrical model (M2) for a quick definition of the corresponding optimal blade shape. The procedure can be extended to other engineering applications where own efficiency and geometrical data are available.

Policing and the Safety Logic in the School Context: Perceptions of Danger and Definitions of Law Enforcement

How police construct definitions of law enforcement has been a longstanding inquiry in criminology. This research has demonstrated that police subculture values, such as how police are socialized to hyperfocus on danger and safety, can have a strong influence on officer decisions. These cultural logics can intersect with conditions of the environment to shape definitions of law enforcement. Particularly, school police offer an opportunity to elucidate how these cultural logics are used to construct definitions across contexts. We draw from 26 interviews with school police to investigate what cultural logic is used to construct law enforcement definitions. We illustrate how definitions were driven by a safety logic, which structured wide-ranging student behaviors as underspecified signals of danger mandating legal intervention.

Inclusion near and far: A qualitative investigation of inclusive organizational behavior across work modalities and social identities

SummaryThough there are clear benefits of being included at work, important questions about employees' views and experiences of workplace inclusion remain unanswered. First, scholars have tended to adopt a one‐size‐fits‐all approach that assumes that inclusion is viewed and experienced similarly by all employees, regardless of their social identities. Moreover, there have been rapid shifts in work modalities over the last few years, and it is currently unclear how modality impacts inclusion and if that impact is similar across all employees. To address these questions, we leveraged qualitative data from a demographically diverse sample to examine how employees define workplace inclusion, what practices and behaviors employees associate with feeling included, how social identities shape definitions and experiences of inclusion, and the modalities in which employees feel the most included. Results indicated that employees primarily define workplace inclusion as being accepted and treated equally regardless of their identities, being integrated into decision‐making, and expressing themselves authentically. Though employees defined inclusion similarly regardless of their social identities, the importance of specific inclusion practices differed across subgroups. Finally, employees felt more included when working in person, though minoritized employees were more likely to prefer remote work. Theoretical and practical implications regarding inclusion are discussed.

Does the Use of Concept Maps Affect the Defining and the Understanding of Inclusion Relationships?

ABSTRACT The current study aimed to investigate whether teaching ninth-grade students geometrical concepts using concept maps might affect their ability to identify inclusion relationships between geometrical concepts and/or their ability to define those concepts. Participants completed a pretest on the topic of quadrilaterals (inclusion relationships and definition of shapes). Then, the participants began to study that unit in a way that included the construction of the conceptual map of the quadrilaterals. Students worked in pairs and audio recordings were made of some pairs of students. After these lessons, the researchers administered a posttest and then analyzed the students’ answers. Using the concept maps as teaching approach reveals potential improvement in two related aspects: students’ ability to identify inclusion relationships between several quadrilaterals, and the accuracy of the students’ definitions of geometrical concepts and the type of definitions that they offered.

Synthesis of Superabsorbent Hydrogels with Predefined Geometries and Controlled Swelling Properties for Versatile 3D Cell Culture Scaffolds.

This research presents a simple but general method to prepare water-soluble-polymer-based superabsorbent hydrogels with predefined microscale geometries and controlled swelling properties. Unlike conventional hydrogel preparation methods based on bulk solution-phase cross-linking, poly(vinyl alcohol) is homogeneously mixed with polymer-based cross-linkers in the solution phase and thermally cross-linked in the solid phase after drying; the degree of cross-linking is modulated by controlling the cross-linker concentration, pH, and/or thermal annealing conditions. After the shape definition process, cross-linked films or electrospun nanofibers are treated with sulfuric acid to weaken hydrogen bonds and introduce sulfate functionality in polymer crystallites. The resultant superabsorbent hydrogels exhibit an isotropic expansion of the predefined geometry and tunable swelling properties. Particularly, hydrogel microfibers exhibit excellent optical transparency, good biocompatibility, large porosity, and controlled cell adhesion, leading to versatile 3D cell culture scaffolds that not only support immortalized cell lines and primary neurons but also enable stiffness-modulated cell adhesion studies.

THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE OF INCLUSIVE HARMONIZATION OF THE INTERIOR SPACE OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS

This study examines the theoretical and practical experience of inclusive harmonization of the internal space of public buildings. In the process of identifying the features of internal space harmonization, a number of key aspects of the importance of color contrast were determined (definition of contours and shapes, orientation and navigation, identification of objects, security). It has been analyzed and determined that color contrast improves accessibility and perception of the environment for visually impaired people, making information more accessible and enabling more effective interaction with the surrounding world. The authors analyzed the practical experience of designing the interior space of public buildings and identified their features. 
 The research method revealed that taking into account the psychophysiological characteristics of users is a key element in the process of choosing a color palette. Designing inclusive spaces requires careful study and understanding of the needs of people with different physical and mental characteristics. Shades of color can affect our emotional state and physical well-being, so it is important to create spaces that support diversity and take into account the needs of all users.
 The work highlights issues of ergonomics and safety in the context of color harmonization. It is important not only to create an aesthetically pleasing space, but also to ensure its safety and convenience for everyone. Color solutions can be used to mark traffic paths, highlight dangerous zones, and also to improve readability and recognition of objects in space.
 On the basis of the work carried out, it was determined that the research and further identification of inclusive methods of color harmonization of the interior space of public buildings with the definition of clear parameters of contrast becomes an actual direction of the development of this work. Understanding the importance of inclusive color harmony is the key to building a modern society that respects and supports all its members.

Review and synthesis of expert perspectives on user attribute and profile definitions for fashion recommendation

ABSTRACT A key obstacle in personalised fashion recommendations is the challenge of capturing user physical attributes at a large scale, which limits exclusively computational methods (like machine learning) to readily available attributes whose influence on recommendation accuracy is variable. Expert advice is a potential means of identifying influential user attributes. However, individual experts often disagree or offer conflicting advice. Thus, identifying areas where expert advice is or isn't consistent, in the context of user attributes and profiling is critical. Here, we characterise the breadth of expert definitions of user attributes and profiles through an exhaustive assessment of 156 years of advice literature. Expert definitions of body colouring, shape, and personality attributes are extracted and compared. The range of attribute-value relationships and profile definitions in each domain is described, and coherence among authors for each domain is discussed.

The role of intraoperative ultrasound in management of spinal intradural mass lesions and outcome

BackgroundThe spinal intradural mass lesions represent a challenge in microsurgical practices. The intraoperative precise localization and characterization of these lesions must be achieved to avoid excessive exposure and neural tissue damage. This study aims to evaluate the role of intraoperative ultrasound during surgical dealing with spinal intradural mass lesions starting before bony work exposure.ResultsThis prospective study had been done during the period from January 2022 to January 2023 with follow-up at least 6 months on 36 patients, suffered intradural spinal mass lesions and underwent microsurgical interventions aided with intraoperative ultrasound. MRI spine and Klekamp score were used as preoperative and postoperative parameters for assessment of the patients. Intraoperative ultrasound features were analyzed to evaluate its values. All lesions were visualized and characterized by intraoperative ultrasound beside spinal anatomical identification. Laminoplasty, laminectomy, durotomy and myelotomy were determined by IOUS. Gross total eradication was achieved in 28/36 (78%). Intraoperative ultrasonography definition of cystic component, well-defined borders and smooth shape of the masses were associated with significant Klekamp outcome improvement.ConclusionIntraoperative ultrasound can be used safely to detect the spinal intradural mass lesions even before bony work for exposure with anatomical and pathological definition and has the ability to predict the outcome.

A Design Scenario Approach for Choosing Protection Works against Rockfall Phenomena

Proximity remote sensing techniques, both land- and drone-based, allow for a significant improvement of the quality and quantity of raw data employed in the analysis of rockfall phenomena. In particular, the large amount of data these techniques can provide allows for the use of probabilistic approaches to rock mass characterization, with particular reference to block volume and shape definition. These, in return, are key parameters required for a proper rockfall hazard assessment and the optimization of countermeasures design. This study aims at providing a sort of guide, starting from the data gathering phase to the processing, up to the implementation of the outputs in a probabilistic-based scenario, which is able to associate a probability of not being exceeded with total kinetic energy values. By doing so, we were able to introduce a new approach for the choice of design parameters and the evaluation of the effectiveness of mitigation techniques. For this purpose, a suitable case study located in Varaita Valley (Cuneo, Italy) has been selected. The area has been surveyed, and a model of the slope and a digital model of the rock faces have been defined. The results show that a 6.5 m3 block has a probability of not being exceeded of 75%; subsequent simulations show that the level of kinetic energy involved in such a rockfall is extremely high. Some mitigation techniques are discussed.

Thousands of domestic and public supply wells face failure despite groundwater sustainability reform in California’s Central Valley

Across the world, declining groundwater levels cause wells to run dry, increase water and food insecurity, and often acutely impact groundwater-dependent communities. Despite the ubiquity and severity of these impacts, groundwater research has primarily focused on economic policy instruments for sustainable management or the quantification of groundwater depletion, rather than assessing the impacts of management decisions. In particular, how definitions of groundwater sustainability shape the fate of resource users remains unexplored. Here, we examine one of the world’s largest-scale environmental sustainability reforms, the California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), and estimate the impact of sustainability definitions proposed in groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) on well failure. We show that locally-proposed sustainability criteria are consistent with business as usual groundwater level decline, and if reached, could impact over 9000 domestic wells and around 1000 public supply wells. These findings highlight the necessity of careful and critical evaluation of locally-developed sustainability definitions and their implementation to prevent detrimental impacts, such as threats to household and municipal water supply.

NiMoS nanocubes for the selective removal of sulfur from 3-methyl-thiophene

In this study, NiMoS nanocubes were prepared by simple hydrothermal synthesis using low-cost precursors. The HRTEM micrographs exhibited variation in the size and definition of the particle shape with the Mo/Ni molar ratio. The crystallographic composition of the nanocubes also varies with the molar ratio passing from Ni3S4 polydymite, NiSO4·6 H2O, and NiS phases in the Mo/Ni low values to NiS2 in the Mo/Ni= 1.0 as revealed by the X-ray diffraction study. Meanwhile, the surface of the nanocubes resulted enriched with Mo as the Mo/Ni ratio increases, as XPS analysis demonstrated. These materials exhibited outstanding catalytic activity in the hydrodesulfurization reaction of a naphtha model compound under atmospheric pressure conditions. The selectivity displayed indicated low saturation of the C5 olefins obtained as products in all ranges of temperature tested. The high activity observed was explained in terms of the Ni inverse promotion effect on MoS2 slabs present at the nanocubes outer surface.

Bayesian approach to a generalized inherent optical property model.

Relationships between the absorption and backscattering coefficients of marine optical constituents and ocean color, or remote sensing reflectances Rrs(λ), can be used to predict the concentrations of these constituents in the upper water column. Standard inverse modeling techniques that minimize error between the modeled and observed Rrs(λ) break down when the number of products retrieved becomes similar to, or greater than, the number of different ocean color wavelengths measured. Furthermore, most conventional ocean reflectance inversion approaches, such as the default configuration of NASA's Generalized Inherent Optical Properties algorithm framework (GIOP-DC), require a priori definitions of absorption and backscattering spectral shapes. A Bayesian approach to GIOP is implemented here to address these limitations, where the retrieval algorithm minimizes both the error in retrieved ocean color and the deviation from prior knowledge, calculated using output from a mixture of empirically-derived and best-fit values. The Bayesian approach offers potential to produce an expanded range of parameters related to the spectral shape of absorption and backscattering spectra.

Theories and Principles Matter: Towards Visually Appealing and Effective Abstraction of Property Graph Queries

Existing visual abstraction of a property graph query by representing it as a labeled atomic graph (LAG) has great potential to democratize the usage of property graph databases as it enables user-friendly visual query formulation without demanding the need to learn a property graph query language e.g., Cypher. Unfortunately, existing LAG-based query interfaces do not embrace HCI principles and psychology theories to inform their design and as a result may have adverse impact on their usability and aesthetics. In this paper, we depart from the classical theory- and principles-oblivious LAG abstraction to present a novel theory-informed visual abstraction called labeled composite graph (LCG) to address this limitation. It realizes a novel and extensible visual shape definition language called VEDA to create and maintain an LCG systematically, guided by a variety of theories and principles from HCI, visualization and psychology. We build a novel LCG-based visual property graph query interface for Cypher called SIERRA and demonstrate through a user study its superiority to an industrial-strength LAG-based query interface for property graphs w.r.t. usability, aesthetics and efficient query formulation.

Shape-defining alginate shells as semi-permeable culture chambers for soft cell-laden hydrogels

Soft hydrogels have a porous structure that promotes viability and growth of resident cells. However, due to their low structural stability, these materials are fragile and difficult to culture in vitro. Here we present a novel approach for the 3D culture of such materials, where a shape-defining, semi-permeable hydrogel shell is used to provide mechanical stability. These thin hydrogel shells enclose and stabilize the soft materials while still permitting gas and nutrient exchange. Custom alginate-shaped shells were prepared using a thermosetting, ion-eluting hydrogel mold. In a second step, the hydrogel shells were filled with cell-laden infill materials. As an example of the versatility of this technique, materials previously not available for tissue engineering, such as non-annealed microgels or low crosslinked and mechanically unstable hydrogels, were used for tissue culture. Primary human chondrocytes were cultured using this platform, to evaluate its potential for cartilage tissue engineering. To prove the scalability of this technique, anatomically-shaped ears were cultured for 3 weeks. This novel approach has the potential to radically change the material property requirements in the field of tissue engineering: thanks to the shape definition and stability provided by the hydrogel shells, a wide range of materials previously inaccessible for the manufacture of 3D tissue grafts can be re-evaluated.

Numerical Study of Gas Breakthrough in Preferential Rocks for Underground Nuclear Waste Repositories

During the long-term storage of radioactive waste, the continuous generation of gas in the disposal area may influence the integrity of host rock. Thus, the investigation of gas migration and breakthrough in low-permeability rock is indispensable for the stability assessment. In this work, the pore space models of four potential host rocks (Boom clay, COx argillite, Opalinus clay, and Beishan granite) were generated via the binarization of the Gaussian random field. This method provides a randomly formed pore network that does rely on an initial definition of pore shape. The constructed models were analyzed and validated by using the mathematical morphology. A numerical calculation scenario of gas breakthrough on the basis of the Young–Laplace equation was proposed and applied. Results show that the gas breakthrough pressures are 2.62–4.11 MPa in Boom clay and 3.72–4.27 MPa in COx argillite. It enhances the idea that the capillary-induced gas breakthrough is possible at pressures lower than the fracture threshold. For Opalinus clay and Beishan granite, no connected pathway exists, and the breakthrough is more likely to occur through pathway dilation or fractures. The presented method has the advantage of experimental reproducibility and brings a new idea for the investigation of fluid migration in low-permeability rocks.

Nuclear membrane irregularity in high-grade urothelial carcinoma cells can be measured by using circularity and solidity as morphometric shape definitions in digital image analysis of urinary tract cytology specimens.

The Paris System for Reporting Urine Cytology defines objective (elevated nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio ≥0.7) and subjective (nuclear membrane irregularity, hyperchromicity, and coarse chromatin) cytomorphologic criteria to identify conventional high-grade urothelial carcinoma (HGUC) cells. Digital image analysis allows quantitative and objective measurement of these subjective criteria. In this study, digital image analysis was used to quantitate nuclear membrane irregularity in HGUC cells. Whole-slide images of HGUC urine specimens were acquired, and HGUC nuclei were manually annotated using the open-source bioimage analysis software QuPath. Custom scripts were used to calculate nuclear morphometrics and perform downstream analysis. In total, 1395 HGUC cell nuclei were annotated across 24 HGUC specimens (48.1±6.0 nuclei per case) using both pixel-level and smooth annotation approaches. Nuclear membrane irregularity was estimated by calculating nuclear circularity and solidity. Annotating at pixel-level resolution artifactually increases nuclear membrane perimeter, thus smoothing is necessary to better approximate a pathologist's assessment of nuclear membrane irregularity. After smoothing, nuclear circularity and solidity discriminate between HGUC cell nuclei with visually apparent differences in nuclear membrane irregularity. Nuclear membrane irregularity defined by The Paris System for Reporting Urine Cytology is inherently subjective. This study identifies nuclear morphometrics that visually correlate with nuclear membrane irregularity. HGUC specimens show intercase variation in nuclear morphometrics, with some nuclei appearing remarkably regular while others show marked irregularity. A small population of irregular nuclei generates most of the intracase variation in nuclear morphometrics. These results highlight nuclear membrane irregularity as an important, but not definitive, cytomorphologic criterion in HGUC diagnosis.

Psychology's Contributions to Anti-Blackness in the United States Within Psychological Research, Criminal Justice, and Mental Health.

The mass incarceration of Black people in the United States is gaining attention as a public-health crisis with extreme mental-health implications. Although it is well documented that historical efforts to oppress and control Black people in the United States helped shape definitions of mental illness and crime, many psychologists are unaware of the ways the field has contributed to the conception and perpetuation of anti-Blackness and, consequently, the mass incarceration of Black people. In this article, we draw from existing theory and empirical evidence to demonstrate historical and contemporary examples of psychology's oppression of Black people through research and clinical practices and consider how this history directly contradicts the American Psychological Association's ethics code. First, we outline how anti-Blackness informed the history of psychological diagnoses and research. Next, we discuss how contemporary systems of forensic practice and police involvement in mental-health-crisis response maintain historical harm. Specific recommendations highlight strategies for interrupting the criminalization of Blackness and offer example steps psychologists can take to redefine psychology's relationship with justice. We conclude by calling on psychologists to recognize their unique power and responsibility to interrupt the criminalization and pathologizing of Blackness as researchers and mental-health providers.

Comparison of Six Different Methods for Measuring the Equine Hoof and Recording of its Three-Dimensional Conformation.

Different measuring techniques have been used to objectify the classification of hoof shape. The MicroScribe is a novel tool that might prove useful for measuring hooves without prior reconstruction or compensation of projection artefacts. The aim of this study was to compare biometric data of the equine hoof collected by the MicroScribe tool and measurements collected directly from hooves, scaled photographs and radiographs, from photogrammetry models and computed tomography datasets. The suitability of MicroScribe generated data to differentiate individual hoof conformations was tested. A total of 62 measures were recorded from 16 forehooves. 21 linear and nine angular measures were collected by at least four methods each, and evaluated further by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Ratios and differences of these measures were calculated as suitable for the definition of hoof shapes and analysed as well. Absolute equivalency of methods was detected for five linear and none of the angular measurements. The precision of the tested measurement methods was comparable. In some cases, different methods measure different structures. Radiographs tended to overestimate, while computed tomography slides to underestimate distances. Photogrammetry and scaled photographs were less suitable for measuring hoof angles. The MicroScribe tool can readily be used for hoof measurements. Its values for linear measures showed good equivalency with other methods based on real hooves. For angular measurements, the uneven hoof surface might introduce imprecision. Not all hoof conformations could be detected based on measuring results alone. Diagnosis by a skilled veterinarian is still essential.