Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of portable digital spirometer using NI sbRIO

One of the effective ways to diagnose various respiratory diseases is using spirometry test. Good spirometer comes with excellent graphical user interface. Spirometer is used to measure lung parameters such as FVC (Forced Vital Capacity) and FEV1 (Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second). The aim of this project is to develop a portable spirometer using NI sbRIO FPGA board and LabVIEW Software. The LabVIEW program consists of two parts: 1) the data acquisition and 2) the disease diagnosis. The data acquisition part will obtain data from user in terms of breathed air. Meanwhile, the disease diagnosis part will use the obtained data to analyze the disease. The system uses National Instrument Single Board Rio 9636 (NI sbRIO) for digital data conversion and data acquisition and breathing hardware from which users will used to flow air into the spirometer. The breathing hardware uses Venturi's principle where the difference of the two pressures with different tube diameters used to measure flow rate and volume of air exhaled over a period of time; to determine the respiratory conditions. Results obtained from three different volunteers with different health performances are also presented in this paper. The FEV1 ratio of a healthy volunteer is 81.1%, an asthma volunteer is 72.04%, while a volunteer with suspected bronchitis is 33.4%. Based on these results, unhealthy users tend to have smaller value of FEV1 with lower area under the curve when compared to a healthy user. The test results are represented in parameters of pulmonary functions which include Volume-time and Flow-volume graphs.
Design of an energy efficient transfemoral prosthesis using lockable parallel springs and electrical energy transfer

Over the last decade, active lower-limb prostheses demonstrated their ability to restore a normal gait for transfemoral amputees by supplying the required positive energy balance [1]. However, the added-value of such devices is significantly impacted by their limited energetic autonomy preventing their full appropriation by the patients. There is thus a strong incentive to reduce the overall power consumption of active prostheses. Addressing this need requires to revisit the electromechanical design. For both the ankle and the knee, the present paper demonstrates that both the use of a lockable parallel spring and the transfer of electrical energy between joints can significantly improve the energetic performance for overground walking. A simulation model of such a prosthesis was implemented in order to quantify the energy gain being achievable when augmenting a classical series elastic actuator (SEA) with different parallel spring topologies. Simulations predict that adding a lockable parallel spring (LPS) to the SEA reduces the ankle motor consumption by 24% and allows the knee (naturally dissipative) to produce 38% more electrical energy. Moreover, the total energy consumption of the device is reduced to 22J/stride when the harvested electrical energy from the knee is stored and transfered to the ankle.
Using the simplified case mix tool (sCMT) to identify cost in special care dental services to support commissioning.

To commission dental services for vulnerable (special care) patient groups effectively, consistently and fairly an evidence base is needed of the costs involved. The simplified Case Mixed Tool (sCMT) can assess treatment mode complexity for these patient groups. OBJECTIVE To determine if the sCMT can be used to identify costs of service provision. CLINICAL SETTING Patients (n=495) attending the Sussex Community NHS Trust Special Care Dental Service for care were assessed using the sCMT. MAIN MEASURES sCMT score and costs (staffing, laboratory fees, etc.) besides patient age, whether a new patient and use of general anaesthetic/intravenous sedation. METHOD Statistical analysis (adjusted linear regression modelling) compared sCMT score and costs then sensitivity analyses of the costings to age, being a new patient and sedation use were undertaken. Regression tables were produced to present estimates of service costs. RESULTS Costs increased with sCMT total scale and single item values in a predictable manner in all analyses except for 'cooperation'. Costs increased with the use of IV sedation; with each rising level of the sCMT, and with complexity in every sCMT category, except cooperation. CONCLUSION Costs increased with increase in complexity of treatment mode as measured by sCMT scores. Measures such as the sCMT can provide predictions of the resource allocations required when commissioning special care dental services.
Directional Analysis of Indoor Massive MIMO Channels at 6 GHz Using SAGE

In this paper, we present a measurement campaign of indoor massive MIMO channels by using a wideband channel sounder and a 64-element virtual linear array. The measurements are conducted at 6 GHz, with a bandwidth of 200 MHz. Both the light-of-sight (LOS) and obstructed-line-of-sight (OLOS) scenarios are considered in measurements. The Frequency Domain Space-Alternating Generalized Expectation maximization algorithm (FD-SAGE) is used to determine the channel characteristics in angular domain. In order to validate the obtained FD-SAGE estimates, the power azimuth spectrum (PAS) has been calculated using the Bartlett Beamformer (BBF). The non-stationarity of radio channels, which is reflected by power of the estimated MPCs, azimuth of departure (AOD), and azimuth of arrival (AOA), is discussed. The direction spread is estimated, which reflects spatial dispersion of wireless channel. It is also found that the diffuse scattering components at 6 GHz in OLOS scenario is richer than that in LOS scenario, and the magnitude of the diffuse scattering components are comparable with the specular components. It is suggested that the non-stationarity of the diffuse scattering components should not be neglected in the indoor massive MIMO channel modeling at the frequency bands below 6 GHz.
A Vicious Cycle: A Cross-Sectional Study of Canine Tail-Chasing and Human Responses to It, Using a Free Video-Sharing Website

Tail-chasing is widely celebrated as normal canine behaviour in cultural references. However, all previous scientific studies of tail-chasing or ‘spinning’ have comprised small clinical populations of dogs with neurological, compulsive or other pathological conditions; most were ultimately euthanased. Thus, there is great disparity between scientific and public information on tail-chasing. I gathered data on the first large (n = 400), non-clinical tail-chasing population, made possible through a vast, free, online video repository, YouTube™. The demographics of this online population are described and discussed. Approximately one third of tail-chasing dogs showed clinical signs, including habitual (daily or ‘all the time’) or perseverative (difficult to distract) performance of the behaviour. These signs were observed across diverse breeds. Clinical signs appeared virtually unrecognised by the video owners and commenting viewers; laughter was recorded in 55% of videos, encouragement in 43%, and the commonest viewer descriptors were that the behaviour was ‘funny’ (46%) or ‘cute’ (42%). Habitual tail-chasers had 6.5+/−2.3 times the odds of being described as ‘Stupid’ than other dogs, and perseverative dogs were 6.8+/−2.1 times more frequently described as ‘Funny’ than distractible ones were. Compared with breed- and age-matched control videos, tail-chasing videos were significantly more often indoors and with a computer/television screen switched on. These findings highlight that tail-chasing is sometimes pathological, but can remain untreated, or even be encouraged, because of an assumption that it is ‘normal’ dog behaviour. The enormous viewing figures that YouTube™ attracts (mean+/−s.e. = 863+/−197 viewings per tail-chasing video) suggest that this perception will be further reinforced, without effective intervention.
Regularization by Kinetic Undercooling of Blow-up in the Ill-posed Stefan Problem

It is well known that the one-dimensional supercooled Stefan problem possesses solutions that blow up in finite time. The asymptotics of such solutions have been analyzed by Herrero and Velazquez [European J. Appl. Math., 7 (1996), pp. 119--150]. Here we consider the effect of kinetic undercooling as a regularizing mechanism to prevent the formation of such singularities and study the continuation of the solution through the "near blow-up" regime. The asymptotics of solutions and interfaces are described for small values of the kinetic undercooling parameter. It is shown that, in this limit, the interface jumps over an interval determined by the latent heat and by the initial data. Specifically, in dimensionless variables, if the temperature profile at blow-up is denoted by u(x,t_c^-)$, where $t_c$ is the finite blow-up time, then the interface jumps over the interval in which $u(x,t_c^-) < -\lambda$, where $\lambda$ is the latent heat.
Impact of Medicare’s Nonpayment Program on Hospital-acquired Conditions

Background: Medicare’s Nonpayment Program of 2008 (hereafter called Program) withholds hospital reimbursement for costs related to hospital-acquired conditions (HACs). Little is known whether a hospital’s Medicare patient load [quantified by the hospital’s Medicare utilization ratio (MUR), which is the proportion of inpatient days financed by Medicare] influences its response to the Program. Objective: To determine whether the Program was associated with changes in HAC incidence, and whether this association varies across hospitals with differential Medicare patient load. Research Design: Quasi-experimental study using difference-in-differences estimation. Incidence of HACs before and after Program implementation was compared across hospital MUR quartiles. Subjects: A total of 867,584 elderly Medicare stays for acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, pneumonia, and stroke that were discharged from 159 New York State hospitals from 2005 to 2012. Measures: For descriptive analysis, hospital-level mean HAC rates by month, MUR quartile, and Program phase are reported. For multivariate analysis, primary outcome is incidence of the any-or-none indicator for occurrence of at least 1 of 6 HACs. Secondary outcomes are the incidence of each HAC. Results: The Program was associated with decline in incidence of (i) any-or-none indicator among MUR quartile 2 hospitals (conditional odds ratio=0.57; 95% confidence interval, 0.38–0.87), and (ii) catheter-associated urinary tract infections among MUR quartile 3 hospitals (conditional odds ratio=0.30; 95% confidence interval, 0.12–0.75) as compared with MUR quartile 1 hospitals. Significant declines in certain HACs were noted in the stratified analysis. Conclusions: The Program was associated with decline in incidence of selected HACs, and this decline was variably greater among hospitals with higher MUR.
The Biasing Health Halos of Fast Food Restaurant Health Claims: Lower Calorie Estimates and Higher Side-Dish Consumption Intentions

Why is America a land of low-calorie food claims yet high-calorie food intake? Four studies show that people are more likely to underestimate the caloric content of main dishes and to choose higher-calorie side dishes, drinks, or desserts when fast-food restaurants claim to be healthy (e.g., Subway) compared to when they do not (e.g., McDonald’s). We also find that the effect of these health halos can be eliminated by simply asking people to consider whether the opposite of such health claims may be true. These studies help explain why the success of fastfood restaurants serving lower-calorie foods has not led to the expected reduction in total calorie intake and in obesity rates. They also suggest innovative strategies for consumers, marketers, and policy makers searching for ways to fight obesity.
Clinical management of pediatric achalasia

ABSTRACT Introduction: Achalasia is a rare esophageal motility disorder. Much of the literature is based on the adult population. In adults, guidance of therapeutic approach by manometric findings has led to improvement in patient outcome. Promising results have been achieved with novel therapies such as PerOral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM). Areas covered: In this review, we provide an overview of the novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools for achalasia management and in what way they will relate to the future management of pediatric achalasia. We performed a PubMed and EMBASE search of English literature on achalasia using the keywords ‘children’, ‘achalasia’, ‘pneumatic dilation’, ‘myotomy’ and ‘POEM’. Cohort studies < 10 cases and studies describing patients ≥ 20 years were excluded. Data regarding patient characteristics, treatment outcome and adverse events were extracted and presented descriptively, or pooled when possible. Expert commentary: Available data report that pneumatic dilation and laparoscopic Heller’s myotomy are effective in children, with certain studies suggesting lower success rates in pneumatic dilation. POEM is increasingly used in the pediatric setting with promising short-term results. Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) may occur post-achalasia intervention due to disruption of the LES and therefore requires diligent follow-up, especially in children treated with POEM.
Spectra of Laplacian Matrices of Weighted Graphs: Structural Genericity Properties

This article deals with the spectra of Laplacians of weighted graphs. In this context, two objects are of fundamental importance for the dynamics of complex networks: the second eigenvalue of such a spectrum (called the algebraic connectivity) and its associated eigenvector (the so-called Fiedler vector). Here we prove that, given a Laplacian matrix, it is possible to perturb the weights of the existing edges in the underlying graph in order to obtain simple eigenvalues and a Fiedler vector composed of only nonzero entries. These structural genericity properties with the constraint of not adding edges in the underlying graph are stronger than the classical ones, for which arbitrary structural perturbations are allowed. These results open the opportunity to understand the impact of structural changes on the dynamics of complex systems.
Stochastic Homogenization of Linear Elliptic Equations: Higher-Order Error Estimates in Weak Norms Via Second-Order Correctors

We are concerned with the homogenization of second-order linear elliptic equations with random coefficient fields. For symmetric coefficient fields with only short-range correlations, quantified through a logarithmic Sobolev inequality for the ensemble, we prove that when measured in weak spatial norms, the solution to the homogenized equation provides a higher-order approximation of the solution to the equation with oscillating coefficients. In the case of nonsymmetric coefficient fields, we provide a higher-order approximation (in weak spatial norms) of the solution to the equation with oscillating coefficients in terms of solutions to constant-coefficient equations. These approximation results are based on novel estimates on the second-order homogenization corrector, which we establish via sensitivity estimates for the second-order corrector and a large-scale $L^p$ theory for elliptic equations with random coefficients. Our results also cover the case of elliptic systems.
Identification of Novel Androgen-Regulated Pathways and mRNA Isoforms through Genome-Wide Exon-Specific Profiling of the LNCaP Transcriptome

Androgens drive the onset and progression of prostate cancer (PCa) by modulating androgen receptor (AR) transcriptional activity. Although several microarray-based studies have identified androgen-regulated genes, here we identify in-parallel global androgen-dependent changes in both gene and alternative mRNA isoform expression by exon-level analyses of the LNCaP transcriptome. While genome-wide gene expression changes correlated well with previously-published studies, we additionally uncovered a subset of 226 novel androgen-regulated genes. Gene expression pathway analysis of this subset revealed gene clusters associated with, and including the tyrosine kinase LYN, as well as components of the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) pathway, which is commonly dysregulated in cancer. We also identified 1279 putative androgen-regulated alternative events, of which 325 (∼25%) mapped to known alternative splicing events or alternative first/last exons. We selected 30 androgen-dependent alternative events for RT-PCR validation, including mRNAs derived from genes encoding tumour suppressors and cell cycle regulators. Of seven positively-validating events (∼23%), five events involved transcripts derived from alternative promoters of known AR gene targets. In particular, we found a novel androgen-dependent mRNA isoform derived from an alternative internal promoter within the TSC2 tumour suppressor gene, which is predicted to encode a protein lacking an interaction domain required for mTOR inhibition. We confirmed that expression of this alternative TSC2 mRNA isoform was directly regulated by androgens, and chromatin immunoprecipitation indicated recruitment of AR to the alternative promoter region at early timepoints following androgen stimulation, which correlated with expression of alternative transcripts. Together, our data suggest that alternative mRNA isoform expression might mediate the cellular response to androgens, and may have roles in clinical PCa.
Identification of the key genes associated with neuropathic pain

Neuropathic pain is a chronic pain state associated with multiple etiologies that results in considerable social and economic burden. The identification of key genes associated with neuropathic pain is important for the development of novel therapies. Therefore, the present study downloaded the gene expression profile GSE15041 from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The unverified gene chip was removed and the microarray data was normalized following quality control. The limma package in R was used to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), followed by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. Furthermore, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network based on the identified DEGs was constructed to select hub proteins, and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect the expression of these proteins in a mouse model of neuropathic pain. In total, 86 common DEGs were identified. DEGs were significantly enriched in ‘extracellular space’ and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated that the DEGs were significantly enriched in inflammatory diseases and the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. The PPI network consisted of 27 nodes (proteins) and 47 PPI edges (interactions). Interleukin (IL)-6, transcription factor AP-1 (c-Jun) and urikinase-type plasminogen activator (Plau) were identified as hub proteins and key genes in neuropathic pain. The mRNA expression of these hub proteins was significantly increased in the neuropathic pain model, compared with the sham group. IL-6, c-Jun, and Plau may be involved in development of neuropathic pain and further research investigating the exact role of these key genes is required.
The Effect of Licorice Protein Fractions on Proliferation and Apoptosis of Gastrointestinal Cancer Cell Lines

ABSTRACT Background: Several methods for the treatment of colon cancer have been introduced, but none of them are safe and effective. We planned to evaluate the inhibitory effect of protein extract of licorice root on HT-29 and CT26 cell lines proliferation and apoptosis. Methods: Protein extract of licorice root was prepared in phosphate-buffered solution, and SDS-PAGE was used to isolate its fractions. HT-29, CT-26, and HEK293 cell lines were treated with various concentrations of the fractions and full extract of licorice. Cytotoxicity of licorice at various concentrations was assessed using MTT assay. Flow cytometry analysis was applied to evaluate the apoptosis. Results: Our results demonstrated that the concentrations of 5 μg/mL from 25 to 33 kDa fraction and concentration of 8 μg/mL from 62 kDa fraction had a significant inhibitory effect on both cancerous cell lines (P < 0.05), with no significant effect on the noncancerous cell line. The concentrations of 50 and 100 μg/mL from full extracts significantly increased apoptosis in CT26 cells [35.52 ± 7.5 (P = 0.048*) and 47.72 ± 8 (P 0.026*), respectively], but not in HT29 and noncancerous cell lines. Conclusions: Protein compounds of licorice showed anticancer properties and were able to induce apoptosis in both human colon cancer and mouse colon carcinoma cell lines.
Nonlocal Similarity Based Nonnegative Tucker Decomposition for Hyperspectral Image Denoising

Compared with color or grayscale images, hyperspectral images deliver more informative representation of ground objects and enhance the performance of many recognition and classification applications. However, hyperspectral images are normally corrupted by various types of noises, which have a serious impact on the subsequent image processing tasks. In this paper, we propose a novel hyperspectral image denoising method based on tucker decomposition to model the nonlocal similarity across the spatial domain and global similarity along the spectral domain. In this method, 3-D full band patches extracted from a hyperspectral image are grouped to form a third-order tensor by utilizing the nonlocal similarity in a proper window size. In this way, the task of image denoising is transformed into a high-order tensor approximation problem, which can be solved by nonnegative tucker decomposition. Instead of a traditional alternative least square based tucker decomposition, we propose a hierarchical least square based nonnegative tucker decomposition method to reduce the computational cost and improve the denoising effect. In addition, an iterative denoising strategy is adopted to achieve better denoising outcome in practice. Experimental results on three datasets show that the proposed method outperforms several state-of-the-art methods and significantly enhances the quality of the corrupted hyperspectral image.
Correlation of Inter-Locus Polyglutamine Toxicity with CAG•CTG Triplet Repeat Expandability and Flanking Genomic DNA GC Content

Dynamic expansions of toxic polyglutamine (polyQ)-encoding CAG repeats in ubiquitously expressed, but otherwise unrelated, genes cause a number of late-onset progressive neurodegenerative disorders, including Huntington disease and the spinocerebellar ataxias. As polyQ toxicity in these disorders increases with repeat length, the intergenerational expansion of unstable CAG repeats leads to anticipation, an earlier age-at-onset in successive generations. Crucially, disease associated alleles are also somatically unstable and continue to expand throughout the lifetime of the individual. Interestingly, the inherited polyQ length mediating a specific age-at-onset of symptoms varies markedly between disorders. It is widely assumed that these inter-locus differences in polyQ toxicity are mediated by protein context effects. Previously, we demonstrated that the tendency of expanded CAG•CTG repeats to undergo further intergenerational expansion (their ‘expandability’) also differs between disorders and these effects are strongly correlated with the GC content of the genomic flanking DNA. Here we show that the inter-locus toxicity of the expanded polyQ tracts of these disorders also correlates with both the expandability of the underlying CAG repeat and the GC content of the genomic DNA flanking sequences. Inter-locus polyQ toxicity does not correlate with properties of the mRNA or protein sequences, with polyQ location within the gene or protein, or steady state transcript levels in the brain. These data suggest that the observed inter-locus differences in polyQ toxicity are not mediated solely by protein context effects, but that genomic context is also important, an effect that may be mediated by modifying the rate at which somatic expansion of the DNA delivers proteins to their cytotoxic state.