Ray transfer matrix for a spiral phase plate

We present a ray transfer matrix for a spiral phase plate. Using this matrix, we determine the stability of an optical resonator made of two spiral phase plates, and trace stable ray orbits in the resonator. Our results should be relevant to laser physics, optical micromanipulation, quantum information and optomechanics.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

How You Split Matters: Data Leakage and Subject Characteristics Studies in Longitudinal Brain MRI Analysis

Deep learning models have revolutionized the field of medical image analysis, offering significant promise for improved diagnostics and patient care. However, their performance can be misleadingly optimistic due to a hidden pitfall called 'data leakage'. In this study, we investigate data leakage in 3D medical imaging, specifically using 3D Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for brain MRI analysis. While 3D CNNs appear less prone to leakage than 2D counterparts, improper data splitting during cross-validation (CV) can still pose issues, especially with longitudinal imaging data containing repeated scans from the same subject. We explore the impact of different data splitting strategies on model performance for longitudinal brain MRI analysis and identify potential data leakage concerns. GradCAM visualization helps reveal shortcuts in CNN models caused by identity confounding, where the model learns to identify subjects along with diagnostic features. Our findings, consistent with prior research, underscore the importance of subject-wise splitting and evaluating our model further on hold-out data from different subjects to ensure the integrity and reliability of deep learning models in medical image analysis.Comment: submitted to MICCAI FAIMI 202

Increasing Diversity: Modeling of Social Capital for Navigating the Science and Health Professions Pipeline

Social capital theory states that resources, both actual and prospective, are inherently linked to networks and relationships that can be used as opportunities. Therefore, a basic tenet of social capital theory is that "relationships matter." In the science and health profession pipeline, strong mentoring relationships and collaborative research networks are critical elements in developing an individual's capacity for navigating the pipeline and for success and advancement in these fields. However, underrepresented minorities are often bereft of social capital because they lack proper mentorships and are often not part of "inner" circles for networking. Additionally, social capital can be leveraged to develop organizational capacity that supports diversity. In this dissertation, social capital theory is examined through the lens of three pipeline initiatives targeting pre-high school, high school, undergraduate, and graduate-level populations. The three initiatives (E-matching, achieving Successful Productive Academic Research Careers, and Mentoring in Medicine) were evaluated and the results are presented here as three related but unique manuscripts. The particular forms of social capital examined are knowledge, mentorship, and networks needed to navigate the pipeline for science and health professions careers. All three initiatives had significant impact on increasing social capital via the social capital indicators of increased knowledge, mentorship, networks, information and resources. Study results suggest that it would be useful to replicate these initiatives on a larger scale to build social capital at earlier levels of the pipeline to enhance diversity in the science and health professions. Additionally, study results suggest that the social capital obtained from brief interactions in short duration initiatives is valuable as a factor in assisting students to navigate the pipeline; therefore this should not be underestimated. Lastly, a logic model framework is provided for measuring social capital for navigating the STEM and health professions pipeline

Thrombospondin1 Deficiency Reduces Obesity-Associated Inflammation and Improves Insulin Sensitivity in a Diet-Induced Obese Mouse Model

BACKGROUND: Obesity is prevalent worldwide and is associated with insulin resistance. Advanced studies suggest that obesity-associated low-grade chronic inflammation contributes to the development of insulin resistance and other metabolic complications. Thrombospondin 1 (TSP1) is a multifunctional extracellular matrix protein that is up-regulated in inflamed adipose tissue. A recent study suggests a positive correlation of TSP1 with obesity, adipose inflammation, and insulin resistance. However, the direct effect of TSP1 on obesity and insulin resistance is not known. Therefore, we investigated the role of TSP1 in mediating obesity-associated inflammation and insulin resistance by using TSP1 knockout mice. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Male TSP1-/- mice and wild type littermate controls were fed a low-fat (LF) or a high-fat (HF) diet for 16 weeks. Throughout the study, body weight and fat mass increased similarly between the TSP1-/- mice and WT mice under HF feeding conditions, suggesting that TSP1 deficiency does not affect the development of obesity. However, obese TSP1-/- mice had improved glucose tolerance and increased insulin sensitivity compared to the obese wild type mice. Macrophage accumulation and inflammatory cytokine expression in adipose tissue were reduced in obese TSP1-/- mice. Consistent with the local decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, systemic inflammation was also decreased in the obese TSP1-/- mice. Furthermore, in vitro data demonstrated that TSP1 deficient macrophages had decreased mobility and a reduced inflammatory phenotype. CONCLUSION: TSP1 deficiency did not affect the development of high-fat diet induced obesity. However, TSP1 deficiency reduced macrophage accumulation in adipose tissue and protected against obesity related inflammation and insulin resistance. Our data demonstrate that TSP1 may play an important role in regulating macrophage function and mediating obesity-induced inflammation and insulin resistance. These data suggest that TSP1 may serve as a potential therapeutic target to improve the inflammatory and metabolic complications of obesity

The Existence Of The International Anarcho-Syndicalism Movement Based On Indonesian Law Perspective

Anarcho-syndicalism is an ideology in which workers want to work freely, not bound by rules. Anarcho-syndicalism is an ideology that wants the dissolution of all political power institutions that are narrated to oppress and exploit workers to be replaced by free communities bound by socio-economic interests. This research aims to find out the existence of the anarcho-syndicalist movement based on international law and the readiness of national law in facing the threat of anarcho-syndicalist ideology in Indonesia. The research method used in this research is normative legal research (library research) which has relevance to the research issues studied. Sources and legal materials used are primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials. Based on the results of the research that has been carried out, it is known that the existence of the anarcho-syndicalism movement in terms of International Law has an impact on the application of the Right to freedom of association for workers/laborers as regulated in ILO (International Labour Organization) Convention No. 87 of 1948 concerning freedom of association and protection of the right to organize. Furthermore, the State has regulated people who join organizations to commit criminal offenses or prohibited organizations will be subject to imprisonment or fines, namely by what is written in the Criminal Code/KUHP (Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana) Article 261 concerning Participation in Organisations to commit Criminal Offences

POTENTIAL TYPES OF CRICKET BAIT (Acheta domesticus) ON FISH CATCH RESULTS USING FISHING RODS IN THE SWAMP WATERS OF KAMPUNG WASUR

The dynamics of swamp waters are developing very rapidly in terms of fulfilling the economic needs of the community to support prosperity. Fishing activities are one aspect of realizing these needs. Therefore, this research aims to find alternative fish bait in the swamp of Wasur Village, Merauke Regency, South Papua. Crickets (Acheta domesticus) were chosen as an alternative bait because they are still related to traditional bait, namely kroto. This research was conducted for three months (July-September 2023) using quantitative descriptive methods. The fishing technique used is using a fishing rod as is often used by the local community so that it is easy to adopt later. The research results showed that the two most dominant fish species caught were Climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) and Snakehead fish (Channa striata). There were 60 Climbing perch caught, while 42 snakehead fish were caught. Analysis of the relationship between length and weight shows that both fish species have negative allometric growth patterns. This means that the increase in body length of the fish is faster than the increase in weight. Crickets have been proven to be an effective alternative fish bait in the Kampung Wasur swamp.Dinamika perairan rawa sangat pesat perkembangannya dalam hal pemenuhan kebutuhan ekonomi masyarakat untuk menunjang kesejahteraan. Aktivitas penangkapan ikan merupakan salah satu aspek untuk mewujudkan kebutuhan yang dimaksud. Maka dari itu, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mencari alternatif umpan ikan di rawa Kampung Wasur, Kabupaten Merauke, Papua Selatan. Jangkrik (Acheta domesticus) dipilih sebagai alternatif umpan karena masih memiliki hubungan dengan umpan tradisional yaitu kroto. Penelitian ini dilakukan selama tiga bulan (Juli-September 2023) dengan menggunakan metode deskriptif kuantitatif. Teknik penangkapan yang digunakan yaitu memakai pancing joran sebagaimana  yang sering digunakan oleh masyarakat sekitar agar mudah diadopsi nantinya. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa dua spesies ikan yang paling dominan tertangkap adalah ikan Betok (Anabas testudineus) dan ikan Gabus (Channa striata). Ikan Betok tertangkap sebanyak 60 ekor, sedangkan ikan Gabus sebanyak 42 ekor. Analisis hubungan panjang berat menunjukkan bahwa kedua spesies ikan tersebut memiliki pola pertumbuhan allometrik negatif. Hal ini berarti bahwa pertambahan panjang tubuh ikan lebih cepat dibandingkan dengan pertambahan beratnya. Jangkrik terbukti dapat menjadi alternatif umpan ikan yang efektif di rawa Kampung Wasur

Thrombospondin1 Deficiency Reduces Obesity-Associated Inflammation and Improves Insulin Sensitivity in a Diet-Induced Obese Mouse Model

Obesity is prevalent worldwide and is associated with insulin resistance. Advanced studies suggest that obesity-associated low-grade chronic inflammation contributes to the development of insulin resistance and other metabolic complications. Thrombospondin 1 (TSP1) is a multifunctional extracellular matrix protein that is up-regulated in inflamed adipose tissue. A recent study suggests a positive correlation of TSP1 with obesity, adipose inflammation, and insulin resistance. However, the direct effect of TSP1 on obesity and insulin resistance is not known. Therefore, we investigated the role of TSP1 in mediating obesity-associated inflammation and insulin resistance by using TSP1 knockout mice.Male TSP1-/- mice and wild type littermate controls were fed a low-fat (LF) or a high-fat (HF) diet for 16 weeks. Throughout the study, body weight and fat mass increased similarly between the TSP1-/- mice and WT mice under HF feeding conditions, suggesting that TSP1 deficiency does not affect the development of obesity. However, obese TSP1-/- mice had improved glucose tolerance and increased insulin sensitivity compared to the obese wild type mice. Macrophage accumulation and inflammatory cytokine expression in adipose tissue were reduced in obese TSP1-/- mice. Consistent with the local decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, systemic inflammation was also decreased in the obese TSP1-/- mice. Furthermore, in vitro data demonstrated that TSP1 deficient macrophages had decreased mobility and a reduced inflammatory phenotype.TSP1 deficiency did not affect the development of high-fat diet induced obesity. However, TSP1 deficiency reduced macrophage accumulation in adipose tissue and protected against obesity related inflammation and insulin resistance. Our data demonstrate that TSP1 may play an important role in regulating macrophage function and mediating obesity-induced inflammation and insulin resistance. These data suggest that TSP1 may serve as a potential therapeutic target to improve the inflammatory and metabolic complications of obesity

Lite-FBCN: Lightweight Fast Bilinear Convolutional Network for Brain Disease Classification from MRI Image

Achieving high accuracy with computational efficiency in brain disease classification from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans is challenging, particularly when both coarse and fine-grained distinctions are crucial. Current deep learning methods often struggle to balance accuracy with computational demands. We propose Lite-FBCN, a novel Lightweight Fast Bilinear Convolutional Network designed to address this issue. Unlike traditional dual-network bilinear models, Lite-FBCN utilizes a single-network architecture, significantly reducing computational load. Lite-FBCN leverages lightweight, pre-trained CNNs fine-tuned to extract relevant features and incorporates a channel reducer layer before bilinear pooling, minimizing feature map dimensionality and resulting in a compact bilinear vector. Extensive evaluations on cross-validation and hold-out data demonstrate that Lite-FBCN not only surpasses baseline CNNs but also outperforms existing bilinear models. Lite-FBCN with MobileNetV1 attains 98.10% accuracy in cross-validation and 69.37% on hold-out data (a 3% improvement over the baseline). UMAP visualizations further confirm its effectiveness in distinguishing closely related brain disease classes. Moreover, its optimal trade-off between performance and computational efficiency positions Lite-FBCN as a promising solution for enhancing diagnostic capabilities in resource-constrained and or real-time clinical environments

PELAKSANAAN REHABILITASI TERUMBU KARANG SECARA PARTISIPATIF DI KAMPUNG SAUWANDAREK DISTRIK MEOS MANSAR KABUPATEN RAJA AMPAT

Coral reefs that have been damaged need to be restored using rehabilitation methods, considering their crucial functions and benefits for both nature and humans. One effective method of coral rehabilitation is coral transplantation. The objective of this community service activity is to restore and preserve the coral reef ecosystem in Sauwandarek Village through coral transplantation using spider web media, while also raising community awareness by actively involving them in coral reef restoration efforts. The activity began with a survey of the transplantation site in Sauwandarek Village, followed by the construction of spider-shaped iron frames to serve as transplant media. Subsequently, the village community and local officials were introduced to the transplantation process, including its functions and benefits. Acropora sp. coral fragments were then collected, tied, and placed at the designated site. A total of 90 spider frames were constructed, each holding 17 coral fragments. These spider frames were placed in waters with damaged coral reefs at a depth of 4–7 meters, where the substrate primarily consisted of sand and coral rubble. As a result of this initiative, local communities, tourists, and security forces actively participated in attaching coral fragments to the transplant media. Additionally, the community and tourists collaborated in maintaining the transplants, benefiting both the local population and the ecosystem. Stakeholders were also engaged in policy-making to support ecosystem conservation for the collective well-being, particularly in Sauwandarek Village, Meos Mansar District, Raja Ampat Regency, Southwest Papua Province.   ---   Terumbu karang yang mengalami kerusakan perlu untuk dipulihkan kembali dengan metode rehabilitasi mengingat fungsi dan manfaatnya yang sangat penting untuk alam dan manusia, salah satu metode rehabilitasi karang yang dapat diterapkan yaitu dengan melakukan transplantasi karang. Tujuan dari kegiatan pengabdian ini yaitu untuk pemulihan dan pelestarian ekosistem terumbu karang di Kampung Sauwandarek melalui kegiatan transplantasi karang menggunakan menggunakan media jaring laba-laba (web spyder) serta meningkatkan kepedulian masyarakat dengan pelibatan secara aktif dalam kegiatan pemulihan terumbu karang. Kegiatan ini diawali dengan survei lokasi transplantasi di Kampung Sauwandarek kemudian dilakukan proses pembuatan rangka besi berbentuk spyder sebagai media transplantasi.  Setelah itu, disosialisasikan kepada masyarakat kampung dan aparat kampung tentang kegiatan transplantasi, fungsi dan manfaat kegiatan, kemudian dilakukan pengambilan bibit dari jenis Acropora sp, pengikatan dan peletakkan di lokasi yang telah ditentukan. Rangka spyder dibuat sebanyak 90 buah yang diikat sebanyak 17 fragmen dalam 1 media. Media web spyder tersebut diletakkan pada perairan yang terumbu karangnya mengalami kerusakan di kedalaman 4-7 meter dengan substrat yang didominasi oleh pasir dan patahan karang (rubble).  Hasil dari kegiatan ini yaitu masyaraka lokal, wisatawan dan aparat keamanan melakukan kegiatan pengikatan fragmen ke media transplantasi.  Selain itu, masyarakat dan wisatawan bersama-sama menjaga transplantasi yang bermanfaat bagi masyarakat maupun ekosistem serta pelibatan pemangku kepentingan dalam pembuatan kebijakan dalam menjaga ekosistem untuk kepentingan bersama terutama di Kampung Sauwandarek Distrik Meos Mansar Kabupaten Raja Ampat Provinsi Papua Barat Daya