Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
GripSense: using built-in sensors to detect hand posture and pressure on commodity mobile phones

We introduce GripSense, a system that leverages mobile device touchscreens and their built-in inertial sensors and vibration motor to infer hand postures including one- or two-handed interaction, use of thumb or index finger, or use on a table. GripSense also senses the amount of pres-sure a user exerts on the touchscreen despite a lack of direct pressure sensors by inferring from gyroscope readings when the vibration motor is "pulsed. " In a controlled study with 10 participants, GripSense accurately differentiated device usage on a table vs. in hand with 99.67% accuracy and when in hand, it inferred hand postures with 84.26% accuracy. In addition, GripSense distinguished three levels of pressure with 95.1% accuracy. A usability analysis of GripSense was conducted in three custom applications and showed that pressure input and hand-posture sensing can be useful in a number of scenarios.
Serum homocysteine is weakly associated with von Willebrand factor and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, but not with C‐reactive protein in type 2 diabetic and non‐diabetic subjects — The Hoorn Study

Hyperhomocysteinaemia may constitute an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but it is still unclear by which pathophysiological mechanisms homocysteine (tHcy) may promote atherothrombosis. The aim of this study was firstly to examine whether tHcy is associated with endothelial dysfunction, increased adherence of leukocytes, and/or chronic low‐grade inflammation, as estimated from plasma levels of von Willebrand factor (vWf), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM‐1) and C‐reactive protein (CRP), respectively. Secondly we investigated whether the presence of type 2 diabetes modifies these associations.
A blind joint estimator for multipath diversity and PN timing error in direct-sequence spread-spectrum receivers

A blind joint estimator for multipath diversity and PN code timing error is proposed in this paper for direct-sequence spread-spectrum signaling on a frequency-selective fading channel. In the multipath diversity combiner, a modified known modulus adaptive (KMA) algorithm is used to cope with time-varying multipath effects and to perform multipath diversity combining in the blind mode. In the code timing recovery, the timing error signal is extracted from each propagation path independently and also combined in the same fashion as the multipath diversity combining process. By taking advantage of the inherent diversity based on a known modulus adaptive (KMA) algorithm, this modified code timing recovery can avoid the problem due to the drift or flutter effects of the error signals, and provide better performance on frequency selective fading channels. Extensive computer simulation results have verified the analysis and indicated very attractive behavior of the proposed joint estimator for multipath diversity and PN code timing error.
An empirical comparison of a dynamic software testability metric to static cyclomatic complexity

This paper compares the dynamic testability prediction technique termed 'sensitivity analysis' to the static testability technique termed cyclomatic complexity. The application that we chose in this empirical study is a CASE generated version of a B-737 autoland system. For the B-737 system we analyzed, we isolated those functions that we predict are more prone to hide errors during system/reliability testing. We also analyzed the code with several other well-known static metrics. This paper compares and contrasts the results of sensitivity analysis to the results of the static metrics.
Thermodynamic versus Dynamic Controls on Extreme Precipitation in a Warming Climate from the Community Earth System Model Large Ensemble

The moisture budget is evaluated as a function of the probability distribution of precipitation for the end of the twentieth century and projected end of the twenty-first century in the Community Earth System Model Large Ensemble. For a given precipitation percentile, a conditional moisture budget equation relates precipitation minus evaporation ( P − E) to vertical moisture transport, horizontal moisture advection, and moisture storage. At high percentiles, moisture advection and moisture storage cancel and evaporation is negligible, so that precipitation is approximately equal to vertical moisture transport, and likewise for projected changes. Therefore, projected changes to extreme precipitation are approximately equal to the sum of thermodynamic and dynamic tendencies, representing changes to the vertical profiles of moisture content and mass convergence, respectively. The thermodynamic tendency is uniform across percentiles and regions as an intensification of the hydrological cycle, but the dynamic tendency is more complex. For extreme events, per degree of warming, in the mid-to-high latitudes the dynamic tendency is small, so that precipitation approximately scales by the Clausius–Clapeyron 7% K−1 increase. In the subtropics, a drying tendency originating from dynamics offsets the thermodynamic wetting tendency, with the net effect on precipitation varying among regions. The effect of this dynamic drying decreases with increasing percentile. In the deep tropics, a positive dynamic tendency occurs with magnitude similar to or greater than the positive thermodynamic tendency, resulting in generally a 10%–15% K−1 precipitation increase, and with a >25% K−1 increase over the tropical east Pacific. This reinforcing dynamical tendency increases rapidly for high percentiles.
Electrophysiological Evidence That Neurokinin A Acts Via NK‐1 Receptors in the Cat Dorsal Horn

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of the non‐peptide NK‐2 receptor antagonist, SR 48968 on the responses of dorsal horn neurons to iontophoretic application of the endogenous NK‐2 receptor ligand, neurokinin A, and on synaptically elicited responses in chloralose‐anaesthetized cats. The effect of iontophoretic application of neurokinin A was tested on 51 dorsal horn neurons. Of these, 43 were wide dynamic range and the rest non‐nociceptive neurons. Neurokinin A induced a slow, prolonged excitation of 25 of the wide dynamic range neurons. All remaining neurons were unaffected. SR 48968 (50 pg to 1.0 mg/kg, i.v.) did not affect the on‐going basal activity (n= 8) or the slow excitation induced by neurokinin A in any of the nine wide dynamic range neurons tested. To eliminate the possibility that systemically administered SR 48968 may not be reaching central sites, SR 48968 was also applied iontophoretically (70–120 nA) to five neurons and tested against excitatory responses to iontophoretically applied neurokinin A. The on‐going activity of these cells were unaffected by SR 48968. The responses to neurokinin A were also unaffected suggesting that neurokinin A did not mediate its effects via NK‐2 receptors. SR 48968 also had no effect on the excitatory responses of seven neurons to iontophoretic application of the NK‐1 receptor agonist, substance P indicating that substance P actions are not mediated via NK‐2 receptors and that SR 48968 did not react with NK‐1 receptors. Responses of the neurons to non‐noxious (hair) stimulation (n = 10), noxious mechanical (n= 5) and noxious thermal (n= 8) stimulation of the receptive field were also unaffected by SR 48968, suggesting a lack of participation of NK‐2 receptors in these responses. However, responses of wide dynamic range neurons to neurokinin A were totally blocked by i.v. administration (0.5 mg/kg) of the NK‐1 receptor antagonists CP‐96,345 (n= 7) and CP‐99,994 (n= 5) but not by CP‐96,344 (n= 4), the inactive enantiomer of CP‐96,345. These data suggest that neurokinin A, like substance P may be acting via NK‐1, rather than NK‐2 receptors, to produce excitation of wide dynamic range neurons in the dorsal horn of the cat spinal cord.
Programming with Stigmergy: Using Swarms for Construction

Social insects build extremely complex structures despite their limited perception and the absence of a global control system. Many of the structures built by termites can be construed as emergent phenomena driven by each worker's reaction to local pheremone levels. Thin work extrapolates from termite building to a system for specifying swarm activity. In the system, swarms are homogeneous and composed of simple, memory-less that perceive only their immediate environment. The swarm's activity is coordinated by virtual pheremone concentrations. The rules governing the agents' reactions can be designed to produce swarms that build complex, composable structures.
Resident activity recognition in smart homes by using artificial neural networks

Recognition and detection of human activity is one of the challenges in smart home technologies. In this paper, three algorithms of artificial neural networks, namely Quick Propagation (QP), Levenberg Marquardt (LM) and Batch Back Propagation (BBP), have been used for human activity recognition and compared according to performance on Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) smart home dataset. The achieved results demonstrated that Levenberg Marquardt algorithm has better human activity recognition performance (by 92.81% accuracy) than Quick Propagation and Batch Back Propagation algorithms.
Development and validation of a model to predict the risk of exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Purpose Prediction models for exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are scarce. Our aim was to develop and validate a new model to predict exacerbations in patients with COPD. Patients and methods The derivation cohort consisted of patients aged 65 years or over, with a COPD diagnosis, who were followed up over 24 months. The external validation cohort consisted of another cohort of COPD patients, aged 50 years or over. Exacerbations of COPD were defined as symptomatic deterioration requiring pulsed oral steroid use or hospitalization. Logistic regression analysis including backward selection and shrinkage were used to develop the final model and to adjust for overfitting. The adjusted regression coefficients were applied in the validation cohort to assess calibration of the predictions and calculate changes in discrimination applying C-statistics. Results The derivation and validation cohort consisted of 240 and 793 patients with COPD, of whom 29% and 28%, respectively, experienced an exacerbation during follow-up. The final model included four easily assessable variables: exacerbations in the previous year, pack years of smoking, level of obstruction, and history of vascular disease, with a C-statistic of 0.75 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.69–0.82). Predictions were well calibrated in the validation cohort, with a small loss in discrimination potential (C-statistic 0.66 [95% CI 0.61–0.71]). Conclusion Our newly developed prediction model can help clinicians to predict the risk of future exacerbations in individual patients with COPD, including those with mild disease.
Novel Hydraulic Vulnerability Proxies for a Boreal Conifer Species Reveal That Opportunists May Have Lower Survival Prospects under Extreme Climatic Events

Top dieback in 40–60 years old forest stands of Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst. ] in southern Norway is supposed to be associated with climatic extremes. Our intention was to learn more about the processes related to top dieback and in particular about the plasticity of possible predisposing factors. We aimed at (i) developing proxies for P50 based on anatomical data assessed by SilviScan technology and (ii) testing these proxies for their plasticity regarding climate, in order to (iii) analyze annual variations of hydraulic proxies of healthy looking trees and trees with top dieback upon their impact on tree survival. At two sites we selected 10 tree pairs, i.e., one healthy looking tree and one tree with visual signs of dieback such as dry tops, needle shortening and needle yellowing (n = 40 trees). Vulnerability to cavitation (P50) of the main trunk was assessed in a selected sample set (n = 19) and we thereafter applied SilviScan technology to measure cell dimensions (lumen (b) and cell wall thickness (t)) in these specimen and in all 40 trees in tree rings formed between 1990 and 2010. In a first analysis step, we searched for anatomical proxies for P50. The set of potential proxies included hydraulic lumen diameters and wall reinforcement parameters based on mean, radial, and tangential tracheid diameters. The conduit wall reinforcement based on tangential hydraulic lumen diameters ((t/bht)2) was the best estimate for P50. It was thus possible to relate climatic extremes to the potential vulnerability of single annual rings. Trees with top dieback had significantly lower (t/bht)2 and wider tangential (hydraulic) lumen diameters some years before a period of water deficit (2005–2006). Radial (hydraulic) lumen diameters showed however no significant differences between both tree groups. (t/bht)2 was influenced by annual climate variability; strongest correlations were found with precipitation in September of the previous growing season: high precipitation in previous September resulted in more vulnerable annual rings in the next season. The results are discussed with respect to an “opportunistic behavior” and genetic predisposition to drought sensitivity.
A Risk Model for 28-Day in-Hospital Mortality in 173 COVID-19 Patients Admission to ICU: A Retrospective Study

Background The surge in the number of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 since China’s open-door policy has placed a huge burden on the public healthcare system, especially the intensive care system. This study’s objective was to discover possible clinical outcome predictors in COVID-19 patients treated in intensive care units (ICUs) and to provide useful information for future preventative efforts and therapies. Methods This retrospective study included 173 COVID-19 critically ill patients and reviewed the 28-day survival outcome in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Competing risk analysis was performed to predict the cumulative incidence function (CIF) of mortality in hospital. The independent prognostic factors were identified by applying the Fine–Gray proportional subdistribution hazard model. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate model efficacy, and calibration curves were used to validate the model. Finally, we compared the competing risk model with the traditional proportional hazards model (Cox regression model) using CIF. Results Of these 173 patients, 66 (38.2%) survived, 55 (31.8%) died, and 52 (30.0%) discharged. In univariate analysis, 12 variables were significantly correlated with mortality. In multivariate analysis, Age, Neutrophil ratio, Direct Bilirubin (DBIL) and Renal disease were independent predictors of 28-day outcome. The ROC curve of the multivariate prediction model showed an AUC (area under the curve) of 0.790. The results of the calibration curve and the concordance index (C-index) show that the model has good discriminatory power. The competing risk model we applied was more accurate than the Cox model. Conclusion We presented a more accurate multivariate prediction model for 28-day in-hospital mortality for ICU COVID-19 patients using a competing risk model.
An Automated Proteogenomic Method Uses Mass Spectrometry to Reveal Novel Genes in Zea mays*

New technologies in genomics and proteomics have influenced the emergence of proteogenomics, a field at the confluence of genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics. First generation proteogenomic toolkits employ peptide mass spectrometry to identify novel protein coding regions. We extend first generation proteogenomic tools to achieve greater accuracy and enable the analysis of large, complex genomes. We apply our pipeline to Zea mays, which has a genome comparable in size to human. Our pipeline begins with the comparison of mass spectra to a putative translation of the genome. We select novel peptides, those that match a region of the genome that was not previously known to be protein coding, for grouping into refinement events. We present a novel, probabilistic framework for evaluating the accuracy of each event. Our calculated event probability, or eventProb, considers the number of supporting peptides and spectra, and the quality of each supporting peptide-spectrum match. Our pipeline predicts 165 novel protein-coding genes and proposes updated models for 741 additional genes.
Acute Effects of Air Pollution on Pulmonary Function, Airway Inflammation, and Oxidative Stress in Asthmatic Children

Background Air pollution is associated with respiratory symptoms, lung function decrements, and hospitalizations. However, there is little information about the influence of air pollution on lung injury. Objective In this study we investigated acute effects of air pollution on pulmonary function and airway oxidative stress and inflammation in asthmatic children. Methods We studied 182 children with asthma, 9–14 years of age, for 4 weeks. Daily ambient concentrations of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) were monitored from two stations. Once a week we measured spirometry and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), and determined thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and 8-isoprostane—two oxidative stress markers—and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in breath condensate. We tested associations using mixed-effects regression models, adjusting for confounding variables. Results Interquartile-range increases in 3-day average SO2 (5.4 ppb), NO2 (6.8 ppb), and PM2.5 (5.4 μg/m3) were associated with decreases in forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of forced vital capacity, with changes being −3.1% [95% confidence interval (CI), −5.8 to −0.3], −2.8% (95% CI, −4.8 to −0.8), and −3.0% (95% CI, −4.7 to −1.2), respectively. SO2, NO2, and PM2.5 were associated with increases in TBARS, with changes being 36.2% (95% CI, 15.7 to 57.2), 21.8% (95% CI, 8.2 to 36.0), and 24.8% (95% CI, 10.8 to 39.4), respectively. Risk estimates appear to be larger in children not taking corticosteroids than in children taking corticosteroids. O3 (5.3 ppb) was not associated with health end points. FeNO, 8-isoprostane, and IL-6 were not associated with air pollutants. Conclusion Air pollution may increase airway oxidative stress and decrease small airway function of asthmatic children. Inhaled corticosteroids may reduce oxidative stress and improve airway function.
Effects of Renal Sympathetic Denervation on Exercise Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Capacity in Patients With Resistant Hypertension

Renal denervation reduces office blood pressure in patients with resistant hypertension. This study investigated the effects of renal denervation on blood pressure, heart rate, and chronotropic index at rest, during exercise, and at recovery in 60 patients (renal denervation group=50, control group=10) with resistant hypertension using a standardized bicycle exercise test protocol performed 6 and 12 months after renal denervation. After renal denervation, exercise blood pressure at rest was reduced from 158±3/90±2 to 141±3/84±4 mm Hg (P<0.001 for systolic blood pressure/P=0.007 for diastolic blood pressure) after 6 months and 139±3/83±4 mm Hg (P<0.001/P=0.022) after 12 months. Exercise blood pressure tended to be lower at all stages of exercise at 6- and 12-month follow-up in patients undergoing renal denervation, although reaching statistical significance only at mild-to-moderate exercise levels (75–100 W). At recovery after 1 minute, blood pressure decreased from 201±4/95±2 to 177±4/88±2 (P<0.001/P=0.066) and 188±6/86±2 mm Hg (P=0.059/P=0.01) after 6 and 12 months, respectively. Heart rate was reduced after renal denervation from 71±3 bpm at rest, 128±5 bpm at maximum workload, and 96±5 bpm at recovery after 1 minute to 66±2 (P<0.001), 115±5 (P=0.107), and 89±3 bpm (P=0.008) after 6 months and to 69±3 (P=0.092), 122±7 (P=0.01), and 93±4 bpm (P=0.032) after 12 months. Mean exercise time increased from 6.59±0.33 to 8.4±0.32 (P<0.001) and 9.0±0.41 minutes (P=0.008), and mean workload increased from 93±2 to 100±2 (P<0.001) and 101±3 W (P=0.007) at 6- and 12-month follow-up, respectively. No changes were observed in the control group. In conclusion, renal denervation reduced blood pressure and heart rate during exercise, improved mean workload, and increased exercise time without impairing chronotropic competence.
Increasing Nucleosome Occupancy Is Correlated with an Increasing Mutation Rate so Long as DNA Repair Machinery Is Intact

Deciphering the multitude of epigenomic and genomic factors that influence the mutation rate is an area of great interest in modern biology. Recently, chromatin has been shown to play a part in this process. To elucidate this relationship further, we integrated our own ultra-deep sequenced human nucleosomal DNA data set with a host of published human genomic and cancer genomic data sets. Our results revealed, that differences in nucleosome occupancy are associated with changes in base-specific mutation rates. Increasing nucleosome occupancy is associated with an increasing transition to transversion ratio and an increased germline mutation rate within the human genome. Additionally, cancer single nucleotide variants and microindels are enriched within nucleosomes and both the coding and non-coding cancer mutation rate increases with increasing nucleosome occupancy. There is an enrichment of cancer indels at the theoretical start (74 bp) and end (115 bp) of linker DNA between two nucleosomes. We then hypothesized that increasing nucleosome occupancy decreases access to DNA by DNA repair machinery and could account for the increasing mutation rate. Such a relationship should not exist in DNA repair knockouts, and we thus repeated our analysis in DNA repair machinery knockouts to test our hypothesis. Indeed, our results revealed no correlation between increasing nucleosome occupancy and increasing mutation rate in DNA repair knockouts. Our findings emphasize the linkage of the genome and epigenome through the nucleosome whose properties can affect genome evolution and genetic aberrations such as cancer.
Understanding the Mechanisms Controlling Leishmania amazonensis Infection In Vitro: The Role of LTB4 Derived From Human Neutrophils

Neutrophils are rapidly recruited to the site of Leishmania infection and play an active role in capturing and killing parasites. They are the main source of leukotriene B4 (LTB4), a potent proinflammatory lipid mediator. However, the role of LTB4 in neutrophil infection by Leishmania amazonensis is not clear. In this study, we show that L. amazonensis or its lipophosphoglycan can induce neutrophil activation, degranulation, and LTB4 production. Using pharmacological inhibitors of leukotriene synthesis, our findings reveal an LTB4-driven autocrine/paracrine regulatory effect. In particular, neutrophil-derived LTB4 controls L. amazonensis killing, degranulation, and reactive oxygen species production. In addition, L. amazonensis infection induces an early increase in Toll-like receptor 2 expression, which facilitates parasite internalization. Nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB) pathway activation represents a required upstream event for L. amazonensis–induced LTB4 synthesis. These leishmanicidal mechanisms mediated by neutrophil-derived LTB4 act through activation of its receptor, B leukotriene receptor 1 (BLT1).