The radio telescopes of the European VLBI Network (EVN) and the University of Tasmania (UTAS) conducted an extensive observation campaign of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express (MEX) spacecraft between 2013 and 2020. The campaign, carried out under the Planetary Radio Interferometry and Doppler Experiment (PRIDE) framework, aimed to study interplanetary phase scintillation and assess the noise budget in the closed-loop Doppler observations. The average closed-loop Doppler noise was determined to be approximately 10 mHz at a 10-s integration time, reaffirming the technique’s suitability for radio science experiments. We evaluated how different observational parameters such as the solar elongation, antenna size, and elevation angle impact the Doppler noise. A key part of the analysis involved comparing results from co-located telescopes to investigate system noise effects. Co-located telescopes at both Wettzell and Hobart provided highly consistent results, with any deviations serving as diagnostic tools to identify station-dependent issues. Additionally, the use of phase calibration tones during spacecraft tracking showed that the instrumental noise contribution is of the order of 5$\%$ of the total noise. This study provides a detailed noise budget for closed-loop Doppler observations with VLBI telescopes while emphasizing the effectiveness of the co-location method in isolating system-level noise. These findings are important for optimizing future radio science and VLBI tracking missions using stations outside the the Deep Space Network (DSN) and European Space Tracking (ESTRACK) network.

This interventional single-centre prospective open-label study aims to evaluate the effects of a vegan diet, compared with a vegetarian and omnivorous diet, on metabolic parameters, insulin sensitivity, and liver and kidney steatosis in healthy adults. The study included fifty-three omnivorous participants aged 18–40 years, BMI 18–30 kg/m2, without any chronic disease, chronic medication use, active smoking or significant alcohol consumption. All participants were omnivorous at baseline and selected to continue an omnivorous diet or transition to a vegetarian or vegan diet, with follow-up over 6 months. Anthropometric measurements, biochemical parameters and liver and kidney steatosis were assessed at baseline and after six months using MRI-proton density fat fraction. Primary outcomes included changes in liver and kidney steatosis, while secondary outcomes were alterations in anthropometric and biochemical markers. Among fifty-three participants, eighteen followed an omnivorous diet, twenty-one adopted a vegetarian diet and fourteen transitioned to a vegan diet. Dietary interventions did not result in statistically significant changes in BMI, fat mass, fat percentage or muscle mass over 6 months. However, statistically significant improvements in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, favouring the vegan diet, were observed. We aimed to control for potentially confounding variables to ensure the reliability of these findings. We have demonstrated a better decline in steatosis at the lower kidney pole, the total hilus and the Liver 6 index in vegans. We demonstrated that a plant-based diet is associated with improvements in several metabolic parameters and may reduce liver and kidney steatosis.

We carry out a linear stability analysis of the flow of a thin layer of Newtonian fluid with a deformable free surface bounded at the bottom by a horizontal wall subjected to quasi-periodic oscillation in its own plane. Or's model (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 335, 1997, pp. 213–232), using a periodic oscillation, is extended to the configuration where oscillation has two incommensurate frequencies, $\omega _1$ and $\omega _2$, with an irrational ratio $\omega ={\omega _2}/{\omega _1}$. Using the long-wave expansion, we derive the asymptotic function involved in the long-wave instability criterion while taking into account the frequency ratio. It turns out that the maximum of this asymptotic function, as well as the frequency parameter at which long-wave instabilities occur, depend strongly on the frequency ratio. For arbitrary wavenumbers, the equations governing the problem under consideration are solved in space using Chebyshev's spectral collocation method, while the temporal resolution is performed using Floquet theory, knowing that an irrational number can be approximated by a rational number. For a large frequency ratio and for a velocity amplitude ratio equal to unity, we obtain, as in Or's work (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 335, 1997, pp. 213–232) considering the same frequency parameter interval, an alternation between the U shape and oblique shape referring respectively to instabilities of long wavelength and finite wavelength appearing in the diagram representing Reynolds number as a function of frequency parameter. By decreasing the frequency ratio towards $1/\sqrt {37}$, the three initial U-shaped and three oblique instabilities merge into a single U-shaped and a single oblique instability. This merging phenomenon also occurs when the ratio of the amplitudes of the superimposed velocities, linked to the introduction of the second frequency, increases from small values to unity. For a fixed frequency parameter, the effect of frequency ratio and velocity amplitude ratio on the marginal stability curves in terms of Reynolds number versus wavenumber is also investigated, focusing on the appearance of long wavelength instability and finite wavelength instability.

The manner in which the conditional independence graph of a multiway contingency table effects the fitting and interpretation of the Goodman association model (RC) and of correspondence analysis (CA) is considered.

Estimation of the row and column scores is presented in this context by developing a unified framework that includes both models. Incorporation of the conditional independence constraints inherent in the graph may lead to equal or additive scores for the corresponding marginal tables, depending on the topology of the graph. An example of doubly additive scores in the analysis of a Burt subtable is given.

Developing countries, with limited monitoring and auditing capabilities, face significant tax evasion issues. This study examines the impact of various text message combinations on promoting tax compliance, particularly in encouraging service providers to submit monthly sales tax returns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A randomised controlled trial involved 18,087 service providers and tested three types of SMS reminders. These included a basic reminder for the due date, a reciprocity message emphasising social responsibility, and a loss aversion (LA) message highlighting financial penalties and deactivation. Subsequently, service providers who didn’t file on time received one of three warning messages. These warnings included a basic alert about potential legal action, financial penalties, and deactivation, as well as a message framing continued non-compliance as an active choice (AC). Overall, the interventions did not significantly influence tax filing behaviour beyond basic reminders and warnings. However, compliance improved for early registrants with the LA reminder and AC warning, and these results were robust to multiple hypothesis testing corrections. Compliance worsened for recent registrants in all combinations except the LA reminder and AC warning. These findings suggest that targeted low-cost messages that convey vague threats can improve tax compliance among certain taxpayer groups.

The soft nitinol KONAR-MF™ ventricular septal defect (VSD) Multifunctional Occluder (MFO) device is increasingly used for transcatheter perimembranous ventricular septal defect closure. We report for the first time a case of delayed complete atrioventricular block with pacemaker implantation 20 months post-procedure. Through a systematic review, the overall rate of persistent complete atrioventricular block was 0.6% with this device, but follow-up duration was limited.

A 5-month-old girl with transposition of the great arteries, ventricular septal defect, and pulmonary stenosis underwent the implantation of a 6-mm M Atrial Flow Regulator (Occlutech) over an 8-French delivery sheath for significant cyanosis and progressive restriction of the atrial septal defect, without adverse event for 6 months. The Atrial Flow Regulator device could improve blood mixing as a bridge to surgery.

A young child, who had a previously unsuspected aberrant right subclavian retro-oesophageal artery, swallowed a button battery complicated with recurrent life-threatening bleeding, and survived after repeated percutaneous treatment as a bridge to surgery.

Background: Clinically non-indicated asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) identification precipitates higher reported catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) rates and urinary tract infection (UTI)-directed antimicrobial overuse. Published diagnostic stewardship interventions to reduce ASB were mostly tested individually and heterogeneously; hence the optimal bundle approach is yet to be defined. Methods: We performed a single-center sequential quasi-experimental study involving hospitalized, emergency, and long-term care patients at a VA healthcare facility, retrospectively comparing standard of care (period 1: 1/1/2022-6/30/2022) to adding dedicated provider education on facility-approved urine-culturing indications (period 2: 7/1/2022-1/19/2023), then adding an electronic clinical decision support (CDS) tool (Figure 1) mandating urine-culturing indications selections (period 3: 1/20/2023-6/30/2023), then prospectively adding real-time case-based physician-generated audit/feedback emails on ordering appropriateness (period 4: 7/1/2023-12/31/2023). We randomly sampled approximately 500 orders from each period and measured the impact on the rate of urine reflex/culture orders, the percentage of non-indicated orders and ASB, UTI-directed antimicrobial usage, and facility-wide CAUTI rates. Results: We analyzed 2140 urine reflex/culture orders (Table 1 and Figure 2). The mean monthly orders per 1000 bed-days and percentage of non-indicated orders decreased with each intervention to one-fourth of the initial values by period 4 (p=0.0002). The ASB rate among positive cultures was unchanged from periods 1 to 2 but started to decrease in period 3 with the biggest impact in period 4 (p=0.01). Non-indicated and ASB-directed antimicrobial courses both followed the previous pattern, dropping from 28% and 26% baseline to 6% and 4% by the study conclusion (p=0.015 and 0.008), respectively. Estimated UTI-directed antimicrobials decreased by 34% (363/551) with antimicrobial-days saved from 4093 to 2846 per 6-month period. CAUTI rate relatively declined with each intervention, along with a reduction in ASB-attributed CAUTI’s from 45% (5/11) initially to 20% (1/5) in period 4. Conclusion: A stepwise urine-culturing diagnostic stewardship approach of clinical education, electronic CDS tool, plus real-time audit/feedback decreased overall urine reflex/cultures, non-indicated ordering, ASB identification, unnecessary antimicrobials, and CAUTI rates, with the greatest impact after bundling all interventions including order appropriateness audit/feedback.

In the burgeoning landscape of African smart cities, education stands as a cornerstone for sustainable development and unlocking future potential. Accurate student performance prediction holds immense social importance, enabling early intervention, improved learning outcomes, and equitable access to quality education, aligning with sustainable development goals. Traditional models often falter in Africa due to imbalanced datasets and irrelevant features. This research leverages machine learning in Nigerian classrooms to predict underperforming students. Techniques like synthetic minority oversampling, edited nearest neighbors, and the Boruta algorithm for feature selection, alongside genetic algorithms for efficiency, enhance model performance. The ensemble models achieve AUCs of 90–99.7%, effectively separating low-performing and high-performing students. Implemented via Streamlit and Heroku, these models support real-time, data-driven decisions, enhancing early intervention, personalized learning, and informing policy and public service design. This ensures equitable education and a brighter future across Africa. By leveraging ML, this research empowers universities to support struggling students, optimize educational costs, and promote inclusive development, fostering data-driven decision-making and resource allocation optimization. Ultimately, this research paves the way for a future where data empowers education within African smart cities, unlocking the full potential of data-driven solutions and ensuring equitable educational opportunities across the continent.