Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fortified complementary foods with or without alpha-amylase treatment increase hemoglobin but do not reduce breast milk intake of 9-mo-old Zambian infants.

BACKGROUND Malnutrition in late infancy in developing countries may result from poor-quality complementary foods that displace breast milk. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to assess the effects of fortified complementary blends of different energy densities on growth, hemoglobin concentrations, and breast milk intake of 9-mo-old Zambian infants. DESIGN Infants were randomly assigned at 6 mo of age to receive for 3 mo a fortified blend of maize, beans, bambaranuts, and groundnuts [Chilenje Baby Mix (CBM); energy density: 68 kcal/100 g; n = 37] or a similar blend with alpha-amylase (CBMA; energy density: 106 kcal/100 g; n = 44). Cross-sectional data were obtained at 9 mo for a control group of infants (n = 69) not given the diets. Breast milk intake was measured by using the dose-to-the-mother deuterium dilution technique. RESULTS No differences in weight or length z scores, all of which were within normal ranges, were seen between groups at 9 mo. Percentage fat mass was significantly (P = 0.01) greater in the infants in both the CBM (23.2 +/- 2.7%) and CBMA (23.4 +/- 2.5%) groups than in the control group (21.6 +/- 2.6%). Hemoglobin concentrations were significantly (P = 0.03) greater in both intervention groups (CBM group: 104 +/- 12 g/L: CBMA group: 103 +/- 12 g/L) than in the control group (98 +/- 14 g/L). Breast milk intake was not significantly (P = 0.87) different between groups (CBM group: 614 +/- 271 g/d; CBMA group: 635 +/- 193 g/d; control group: 653 +/- 221 g/d). CONCLUSIONS The study foods improved hemoglobin concentrations without reducing breast milk intake and may be used to improve the nutritional status of infants in developing countries.
Risk of injury to child passengers in compact extended-cab pickup trucks.

CONTEXT An increasing number of compact pickup trucks can accommodate restrained rear occupants. Rear seats in these pickup trucks are exempt from regulatory safety testing though their relative safety has not been determined. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the risk of injury to children in compact extended-cab pickup trucks compared with children in other vehicles and to determine if any unique hazards exist. DESIGN Cross-sectional study of children aged 15 years or younger in crashes of insured vehicles, with data collected via insurance claim records and a telephone survey. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Probability sample of 7192 multirow vehicles involved in crashes, with 11 335 child occupants, in 3 large US regions from December 1, 1998, to November 30, 2000. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Relative risk of injury, defined as concussions and more serious brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, internal organ injuries, extremity fractures, and facial lacerations, estimated by odds ratios (ORs) adjusting for age, restraint use, point of impact, vehicle weight, and crash severity. RESULTS Injuries were reported for 1356 children, representing 1.6% of the population. Children in compact extended-cab pickup trucks were at greater risk of injury than children in other vehicles (adjusted OR, 2.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.68-5.21). Children in the rear seats of compact pickup trucks were at substantially greater risk of injury than rear-seated children in other vehicles (adjusted OR, 4.75; 95% CI, 2.39-9.43). Children seated in the front seat of compact extended-cab pickup trucks were at greater risk of injury than children in the front seats of other vehicles, but this risk was not statistically significant (adjusted OR, 1.70; 95% CI, 0.78-3.69). CONCLUSIONS Children in compact extended-cab pickup trucks are not as safe as children in other vehicles, primarily due to the increased relative risk of injury in the back seat. For families with another choice of vehicle, clinicians should advise parents against transporting children in compact pickup trucks. The current exemption for regulatory testing for occupant protection in the rear seats of compact pickup trucks should be reconsidered.
Association Between Age and Complications in Adult Scoliosis Surgery: An Analysis of the Scoliosis Research Society Morbidity and Mortality Database

Study Design. Retrospective review. Objective. To assess the relationship between age and complications, and report age-stratified complication rates for the surgical treatment of adult scoliosis. Summary of Background Data. Literature examining age and complication rates for adult scoliosis surgery is conflicting. The Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) morbidity and mortality (M&M) database contains a large series of adult scoliosis patients that can be utilized to investigate this relationship. Methods. The SRS M&M database was queried from 2004 to 2007 to identify all cases of adult scoliosis. Data pertaining to patient age, complications, scoliosis, and surgery type were extracted from the database. Age-based analyses of clinical parameters were conducted using age as both a stratified categorical variable and as a continuous variable. Results. In our cohort of 5470 adult scoliosis patients, the overall complication rate was 13.5% and there was a 0.3% mortality rate. Patients who experienced complications were significantly older than those without complications (55.9 ± 16.5 yrs vs. 51.2 ± 18.7 yrs, P < 0.001). When complications were stratified according to decade of age, there was also a statistically significant trend of increasing complication rates with each decade of life (P < 0.001). Dural tears were the most common complication in patients over 50 years, whereas implant-related complications were the most common in patients less than 50 years. Conclusion. There was a clear association between increasing age and higher rates of major short-term complications, a factor that ought to be taken into account during treatment decision making and patient counseling. Level of Evidence: 4
MEASUREMENT OF THE EFFECT ON VIOLINS OF AGEING AND PLAYING

This is a report on the first three years of a long-term experiment designed to measure how two very similar violins change with time. After being constructed ‘in parallel,’ one is stored under controlled conditions in a museum and is played infrequently, while the other is played regularly by a professional musician. Vibro-acoustic measurements were performed on the instruments and parts thereof during and after construction. Playing and listening tests by a panel of experienced violinists were conducted at completion, after three years with no adjustment, and then after minor adjustments were made to the played violin only. Panels of players and listeners rated the two violins at all stages, and all results are consistent with the null hypothesis: at present there is no significant preference for either instrument over a range of categories.
The effects of a whole grain-enriched hypocaloric diet on cardiovascular disease risk factors in men and women with metabolic syndrome.

BACKGROUND Whole-grain foods are associated in observational studies with a lower body mass index and lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, few clinical trials have tested whether incorporating whole grains into a hypocaloric diet increases weight loss and improves CVD risk factors. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine whether including whole-grain foods in a hypocaloric (reduced by 500 kcal/d) diet enhances weight loss and improves CVD risk factors. DESIGN Obese adults (25 M, 25 F) with metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned to receive dietary advice either to avoid whole-grain foods or to obtain all of their grain servings from whole grains for 12 wk. All participants were given the same dietary advice in other respects for weight loss. RESULTS Body weight, waist circumference, and percentage body fat decreased significantly (P<0.001) in both groups over the study period, but there was a significantly (P=0.03) greater decrease in percentage body fat in the abdominal region in the whole-grain group than in the refined-grain group. C-reactive protein (CRP) decreased 38% in the whole-grain group independent of weight loss but was unchanged in the refined-grain group (P=0.01 for group x time interaction). Total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol decreased in both diet groups (P<0.05). Dietary fiber and magnesium intakes increased in the whole-grain but not the refined-grain group (P=0.007 and P<0.001, respectively, for group x time interaction). CONCLUSIONS Both hypocaloric diets were effective means of improving CVD risk factors with moderate weight loss. There were significantly (P<0.05) greater decreases in CRP and percentage body fat in the abdominal region in participants consuming whole grains than in those consuming refined grains.
The effects of stacking sequence on the penetration-resistant behaviors of T800 carbon fiber composite plates under low-velocity impact loading

Impact damages induced by a low-velocity impact load on carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite plates fabricated with various stacking sequences were studied experimentally. The impact responses of the CFRP composite plates were significantly affected by the laminate stacking sequences. Three types of specimens, specifically quasi-isotropic, unidirectional, and cross-ply, were tested by a constant impact carrying the same impact energy level. An impact load of 3.44 kg, corresponding to 23.62 J, was applied to the center of each plate supported at the boundaries. The unidirectional composite plate showed the worst impact resistance and broke completely into two parts; this was followed by the quasi-isotropic lay-up plate that was perforated by the impact. The cross-ply composite plate exhibited the best resistance to the low-velocity impact load; in this case, the impactor bounced back. Impact parameters such as the peak impact force and absorbed energy were evaluated and compared for the impact resistant characterization of the composites made by different stacking sequences.
Tissue models for RF exposure evaluation at frequencies above 6 GHz

Exposures to radiofrequency (RF) energy above 6 GHz are characterized by shallow energy penetration, typically limited to the skin, but the subsequent increase in skin temperature is largely determined by heat transport in subcutaneous layers. A detailed analysis of the energy reflection, absorption, and power density distribution requires a knowledge of the properties of the skin layers and their variations. We consider an anatomically detailed model consisting of 3 or 4 layers (stratum corneum, viable epidermis plus dermis, subcutaneous fat, and muscle). The distribution of absorbed power in the different tissue layers is estimated based on electrical properties of the tissue layers inferred from measurements of reflected millimeter wavelength energy from skin, and literature data for the electrical properties of fat and muscle. In addition, the thermal response of the model is obtained using Pennes bioheat equation as well as a modified version incorporating blood flow rate‐dependent thermal conductivity that provides a good fit to experimentally‐found temperature elevations. A greatly simplified 3‐layer model (Dermis, Fat, and Muscle) that assumes surface heating in only the skin layer clarifies the contribution of different tissue layers to the increase in surface skin temperature. The model shows that the increase in surface temperature is, under many circumstances, determined by the thermal resistance of subcutaneous tissues even though the RF energy may be deposited almost entirely in the skin layer. The limits of validity of the models and their relevance to setting safety standards are briefly discussed. Bioelectromagnetics. 39:173–189, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Long-Term Mobile Traffic Forecasting Using Deep Spatio-Temporal Neural Networks

Forecasting with high accuracy the volume of data traffic that mobile users will consume is becoming increasingly important for precision traffic engineering, demand-aware network resource allocation, as well as public transportation. Measurements collection in dense urban deployments is however complex and expensive, and the post-processing required to make predictions is highly non-trivial, given the intricate spatio-temporal variability of mobile traffic due to user mobility. To overcome these challenges, in this paper we harness the exceptional feature extraction abilities of deep learning and propose a Spatio-Temporal neural Network (STN) architecture purposely designed for precise network-wide mobile traffic forecasting. We present a mechanism that fine tunes the STN and enables its operation with only limited ground truth observations. We then introduce a Double STN technique (D-STN), which uniquely combines the STN predictions with historical statistics, thereby making faithful long-term mobile traffic projections. Experiments we conduct with real-world mobile traffic data sets, collected over 60 days in both urban and rural areas, demonstrate that the proposed (D-)STN schemes perform up to 10-hour long predictions with remarkable accuracy, irrespective of the time of day when they are triggered. Specifically, our solutions achieve up to 61% smaller prediction errors as compared to widely used forecasting approaches, while operating with up to 600 times shorter measurement intervals.
Defining the face processing network: Optimization of the functional localizer in fMRI

Functional localizers that contrast brain signal when viewing faces versus objects are commonly used in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of face processing. However, current protocols do not reliably show all regions of the core system for face processing in all subjects when conservative statistical thresholds are used, which is problematic in the study of single subjects. Furthermore, arbitrary variations in the applied thresholds are associated with inconsistent estimates of the size of face‐selective regions‐of‐interest (ROIs). We hypothesized that the use of more natural dynamic facial images in localizers might increase the likelihood of identifying face‐selective ROIs in individual subjects, and we also investigated the use of a method to derive the statistically optimal ROI cluster size independent of thresholds. We found that dynamic facial stimuli were more effective than static stimuli, identifying 98% (versus 72% for static) of ROIs in the core face processing system and 69% (versus 39% for static) of ROIs in the extended face processing system. We then determined for each core face processing ROI, the cluster size associated with maximum statistical face‐selectivity, which on average was approximately 50 mm3 for the fusiform face area, the occipital face area, and the posterior superior temporal sulcus. We suggest that the combination of (a) more robust face‐related activity induced by a dynamic face localizer and (b) a cluster‐size determination based on maximum face‐selectivity increases both the sensitivity and the specificity of the characterization of face‐related ROIs in individual subjects. Hum Brain Mapp 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Does the Perception of Psychosocial Factors Increase the Risk of Pesticide Exposure among Seasonal Hispanic Farmworkers?

Background: Migrant farmworkers are prone to several psychosocial stressors. Objective: To investigate the effect of perceived psychosocial factors on pesticide exposure among seasonal migrant Hispanic farmworkers in North Carolina, USA. Methods: A cross-sectional interview survey of 187 seasonal migrant farmworkers of Mexican descent, identified from labor camps located in rural counties in North Carolina, was conducted using nonprobability purposive sampling approach. Multivariable ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between perceived control over the harmful effects of pesticide exposure, lack of social support, and the impact of anxiety on perception of pesticide exposure. Results: More than 20% (n=39) of farmworkers reported frequent or constant contact with pesticides while working in the fields. More than 68% of farmworkers reported they believe they have control over avoiding harmful effects of pesticide exposure; the odds of pesticide exposure were 55% lower in this group (adjusted OR: 0.45; 95% CI: 0.22–0.91). No significant relationship was observed between farmworkers perception of lack of social support and presence of anxiety with odds of on-field pesticide exposure. Conclusion: The study results suggest that perception of control is an important predictor of reduced pesticide exposure among seasonal migrant farmworkers.
Universal Sentence Encoder

We present models for encoding sentences into embedding vectors that specifically target transfer learning to other NLP tasks. The models are efficient and result in accurate performance on diverse transfer tasks. Two variants of the encoding models allow for trade-offs between accuracy and compute resources. For both variants, we investigate and report the relationship between model complexity, resource consumption, the availability of transfer task training data, and task performance. Comparisons are made with baselines that use word level transfer learning via pretrained word embeddings as well as baselines do not use any transfer learning. We find that transfer learning using sentence embeddings tends to outperform word level transfer. With transfer learning via sentence embeddings, we observe surprisingly good performance with minimal amounts of supervised training data for a transfer task. We obtain encouraging results on Word Embedding Association Tests (WEAT) targeted at detecting model bias. Our pre-trained sentence encoding models are made freely available for download and on TF Hub.
The cognitive deficits responsible for developmental dyslexia : Review of evidence for a visual attentional deficit hypothesis

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. The cognitive deficits responsible for developmental dyslexia: Review of evidence for a visual attentional deficit hypothesis. Sylviane Valdois, Marie-Line Bosse, Marie-Josèphe Tainturier
Calpain‐2 triggers prostate cancer metastasis via enhancing CRMP4 promoter methylation through NF‐κB/DNMT1 signaling pathway

Metastasis is the major cause of cancer‐specific death in patients with prostate cancer (PCa). We previously reported that collapsing response mediator protein‐4 (CRMP4) is a PCa metastasis‐suppressor gene and the hypermethylation in CRMP4 promoter is responsible for the transcription repression in metastatic PCa. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of calpain‐2 in CRMP4 promoter hypermethylation and its functional modulation in PCa metastasis.
Parents as the exclusive agents of change in the treatment of childhood obesity.

BACKGROUND Excessive weight in childhood is a serious public health concern because of its costly health consequences and its increasing prevalence. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to compare the efficacy of a family-based approach for the treatment of childhood obesity, in which the parents served as the exclusive agents of change, with that of the conventional approach, in which the children served as the agents of change. DESIGN This study had a randomized, longitudinal prospective design and lasted 1 y. Sixty obese children aged 6-11 y were randomly allocated to the experimental (parents as agents of change) or control (children as agents of change) group. Anthropometric and biochemical measurements were determined at the start and end of the study. A sociodemographic questionnaire and a family eating and activity habits questionnaire were completed by both parents. Hour-long support and educational sessions were conducted by a clinical dietitian: 14 sessions for the parents in the experimental group and 30 sessions for the children in the control group. RESULTS The dropout rate was nine times greater in the control group (n = 9) than in the experimental group (n = 1). Mean percentile weight reduction was significantly (P < 0.03) higher in children in the experimental group (14.6%) than in the control group (8.1%). CONCLUSIONS Treatment of childhood obesity with parents as the exclusive agents of change was superior to the conventional approach, as indicated by the dropout rate and the percentage weight loss of the children during the 1-y intervention.
Becoming Oneself

Pursuing personal goals is an important way that people organize their behavior and mature as individuals. However, because people are typically unaware of their own implicit motivations and potentials, they may pick goals that do not serve them well. This article suggests that “self-concordant” goal selection is a difficult self-perceptual skill, with important ramifications for thriving. Various means of conceptualizing and measuring goal self-concordance are considered. Then, relevant literature is reviewed to show that goal self-concordance, as assessed by a self-determination theory methodology, is predicted by goal/motive fit; that goal self-concordance in turn predicts more persistent goal effort and, thus, better goal attainment over time; and that self-concordant goal selection is enhanced by personality variables and interpersonal contexts that promote accurate self-insight and personal autonomy. Implications for the nature of the self, the causes of personality thriving and growth, and the free will question are considered.
STRENGTH ASSESSMENT OF HEAT CURED GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE SLENDER COLUMN

Geopolymer and geopolymer concretes, being versatile in nature, have been acknowledged by research fraternity around the world. Many researches been undertaken, to date, dealt with the study on basic engineering properties of geopolymer mortars and unreinforced geopolymer concrete. Papers on application of geopolymer concretes as structural elements are found to be countable. This paper describes about the heat-cured geopolymer concrete slender circular columns using ASTM Class F Fly ash. This research focuses on the adaptability of Indian fly ash into geopolymer concrete structural members used primarily to support compressive loads. In this paper, geopolymer concrete slender circular columns of size 100mm diameter and length 1800mm with 2.16 % reinforcement are cast, tested and results are compared with its OPC concrete counterparts . Totally, 12 specimens of M30 and M50 grade slender columns were fabricated. Six specimens each for low calcium fly ash based reinforced Geopolymer concrete as well as for ordinary Portland cement reinforced concrete. The results have shown that the geopolymer concrete columns have exhibited increase in load carrying capacity, stiffness and ductility until failure.