Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biomechanical comparison of baseball pitching and long-toss: implications for training and rehabilitation.

STUDY DESIGN Controlled laboratory study. OBJECTIVES To test for kinematic and kinetic differences between baseball pitching from a mound and long-toss on flat ground. BACKGROUND Long-toss throws from flat ground are commonly used by baseball pitchers for rehabilitation, conditioning, and training. However, there is controversy over the biomechanics and functionality of such throws. METHODS Seventeen healthy, college baseball pitchers pitched fastballs 18.4 m from a mound to a strike zone, and threw 37 m, 55 m, and maximum distance from flat ground. For the 37-m and 55-m throws, participants were instructed to throw "hard, on a horizontal line. " For the maximum-distance throw, no constraint on trajectory was given. Kinematics and kinetics were measured with a 3-dimensional, automated motion analysis system. Repeated-measures analyses of variance, with post hoc paired t tests, were used to compare the 4 throw types within pitchers. RESULTS At foot contact, the participant's shoulder line was nearly horizontal when pitching from a mound and became progressively more inclined as throwing distance increased. At arm cocking, the greatest amount of shoulder external rotation (mean ± SD, 180° ± 11°), elbow flexion (109° ± 10°), shoulder internal rotation torque (101 ± 17 Nm), and elbow varus torque (100 ± 18 Nm) were measured during the maximum-distance throws. Elbow extension velocity was also greatest for the maximum-distance throws (2573°/s ± 203°/s). Forward trunk tilt at the instant of ball release decreased as throwing distance increased. CONCLUSION Hard, horizontal, flat-ground throws have biomechanical patterns similar to those of pitching and are, therefore, reasonable exercises for pitchers. However, maximum-distance throws produce increased torques and changes in kinematics. Caution is, therefore, advised in the use of these throws for rehabilitation and training.
Binary Power Control for Sum Rate Maximization over Multiple Interfering Links

We consider allocating the transmit powers for a wireless multi-link (N-link) system, in order to maximize the total system throughput under interference and noise impairments, and short term power constraints. Employing dynamic spectral reuse, we allow for centralized control. In the two-link case, the optimal power allocation then has a remarkably simple nature termed binary power control: depending on the noise and channel gains, assign full power to one link and minimum to the other, or full power on both. Binary power control (BPC) has the advantage of leading towards simpler or even distributed power control algorithms. For N>2 we propose a strategy based on checking the corners of the domain resulting from the power constraints to perform BPC. We identify scenarios in which binary power allocation can be proven optimal also for arbitrary N. Furthermore, in the general setting for N>2, simulations demonstrate that a throughput performance with negligible loss, compared to the best non-binary scheme found by geometric programming, can be obtained by BPC. Finally, to reduce the complexity of optimal binary power allocation for large networks, we provide simple algorithms achieving 99% of the capacity promised by exhaustive binary search.
A Phylogenetic Reconstruction of Constitutive and Induced Resistance in Gossypium

Plant defenses are assumed to play a critical role in directing the evolution of interactions between plants and their herbivores (Dethier 1954; Fraenkel 1959; Ehrlich and Raven 1964; Futuyma 1983; Feeny 1992; Futuyma and Keese 1992). Unfortunately, evaluating this assumption has proven to be exceedingly difficult. We know that plant traits can have strong effects on herbivores and that herbivores can exert strong selection on plants, but we have little evidence that plants have actually responded to that selection. The most obvious place to look for information about the evolutionary history of plant-herbivore interactions is the fossil record, but the fossil record is poor for plants and insects and provides few clues about the traits that plants have employed to defend themselves. A phylogenetic analysis can potentially provide some insight into how often and under what conditions resistance to herbivores may have evolved. For example, if a phylogenetic analysis revealed that plants in environments with more herbivory had evolved more defense, this would be valuable evidence indeed. Surprisingly few phylogenetic analyses of secondary compounds or other plant defenses have been attempted. We have performed an analysis of the distribution of induced and constitutive resistance of members of the genus Gossypium against a generalist and ubiquitous herbivore. Induced resistance differs from constitutive resistance in that induced resistance is activated or expressed only after the plant is attacked or otherwise injured; constitutive resistance is expressed independently of injury. Induced plant resistance against herbivores is a widespread phenomenon, having been reported for over a hundred plant species (Karban and Baldwin 1997). However, relatively little is known about the evolution of this phenomenon. Most evolutionary models of induced resistance treat it as a special, derived form of constitutive resistance, the presumed ancestral state (reviewed in Karban and Adler 1996; Karban and Baldwin 1997). However, the relationship between constitutive re-
A randomised trial comparing the CEL‐100 videolaryngoscopeTM with the Macintosh laryngoscope blade for insertion of double‐lumen tubes

We performed a randomised trial comparing the CEL‐100 videolaryngoscopeTM with the Macintosh laryngoscope blade in 170 patients undergoing double‐lumen tube placement for thoracic surgery. Compared with the Macintosh laryngoscope blade, use of the CEL‐100 resulted in significantly more patients with a Cormack and Lehane Grade‐1 laryngeal view (90.4% vs 61.0%, p < 0.001), a higher rate of successful intubation on the first attempt (92.8% vs 79.3%, p = 0.012), a lower median (IQR [range]) intubation difficulty score (0 (0–0 [0–60]) vs 15 (0–30 [0–80]), p < 0.001), a higher incidence of correct positioning of the tube (90.3% vs 79.2%, p = 0.041) and significantly fewer patients requiring external laryngeal pressure (19.3% vs 32.9%, p = 0.046). Median (IQR [range]) time to successful intubation was 45 (38–55 [22–132]) s with the CEL‐100 compared with 51 (40–61 [30–160] s using the Macintosh laryngoscope blade. We conclude that the CEL‐100 videolaryngoscope is superior to the Macintosh laryngoscope blade for double‐lumen tube insertion.
Morphological snakes

We introduce a morphological approach to curve evolution. The differential operators used in the standard PDE snake models can be approached using morphological operations on a binary level set. By combining the morphological operators associated to the PDE components we achieve a new snakes evolution algorithm. This new solution is based on numerical methods which are very simple, fast and stable. Moreover, since the level set is just a binary piecewise constant function, this approach does not require to estimate a contour distance function. To illustrate the results obtained we present some numerical experiments on real images.
Correlation of the Hydrolysis of Benzoyl-Arginine Naphthylamide (BANA) by Plaque with Clinical Parameters and Subgingival Levels of Spirochetes in Periodontal Patients

Recent studies have shown that the extent of hydrolysis by plaque of the trypsin substrate, N-benzoyl-DL-arginine-2-naphthylamide (BANA), correlates with the numbers and proportions of spirochetes in subgingival plaque samples, and appears to be an indicator of clinical disease. In this study, BANA hydrolysis by subgingival plaque was evaluated in a blind manner for its ability to reflect both clinical parameters and subgingival levels of bacteria and spirochetes. Subgingival plaque samples were collected from periodontally healthy and diseased sites in 23 untreated periodontal patients and in 13 treated and maintained periodontal patients. In untreated patients, BANA hydrolysis was statistically associated with the total number of spirochetes and bacteria in the plaque sample, but in the treated patients BANA hydrolysis was statistically associated only with the spirochetes. Most BANA-positive reactions in both patient groups were from the sites which were clinically diseased and high in spirochetes. The majority of the negative reactions for BANA hydrolysis in both patient groups was among the sites which were periodontally healthy and low in spirochetes. Specificity and sensitivity of the test were above 80% for disease status in untreated patients. The predictive value of a positive and negative test was above 83%. Slightly lower sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were found in the treated group. The BANA reaction appears to be an accurate and simple indicator of both clinical disease status and plaque levels of spirochetes in individual tooth sites in untreated and treated periodontal patients.
Low-Threshold Ca2+ Currents in Dendritic Recordings from Purkinje Cells in Rat Cerebellar Slice Cultures

Voltage-dependent Ca2+ conductances were investigated in Purkinje cells in rat cerebellar slice cultures using the whole-cell and cell-attached configurations of the patch-clamp technique. In the presence of 0.5 mm Ca2+ in the extracellular solution, the inward current activated with a threshold of −55 ± 1.5 mV and reached a maximal amplitude of 2.3 ± 0.4 nA at −31 ± 2 mV. Decay kinetics revealed three distinct components: a fast (24.6 ± 2 msec time constant), a slow (304 ± 46 msec time constant), and a nondecaying component. Rundown of the slow and sustained components of the current, or application of antagonists for the P/Q-type Ca2+ channels, allowed isolation of the fast-inactivating Ca2+ current, which had a threshold for activation of −60 mV and reached a maximal amplitude of 0.7 nA at a membrane potential of −33 mV. Both activation and steady-state inactivation of this fast-inactivating Ca2+ current were described with Boltzmann equations, with half-activation and inactivation at −51 mV and −86 mV, respectively. This Ca2+ current was nifedipine-insensitive, but its amplitude was reduced reversibly by bath-application of NiCl2 and amiloride, thus allowing its identification as a T-type Ca2+ current. Channels with a conductance of 7 pS giving rise to a fast T-type ensemble current (insensitive to ω-Aga-IVA) were localized with a high density on the dendritic membrane. Channel activity responsible for the ensemble current sensitive to ω-Aga-IVA was detected with 10 mm Ba2+ as the charge carrier. These channels were distributed with a high density on dendritic membranes and in rare cases were also seen in somatic membrane patches.
PULMONARY SURFACE ACTIVITY IN INDUCED PULMONARY EDEMA.

Induction of acute pulmonary edema in anesthetized dogs causes a large fall in compliance. out of proportion to lung volume (1), and a sharp increase in venous admixture that can be reversed by forcible inflation of the lungs (2). This pattern of abnormal function suggested alveolar closure (1, 2). Since alveolar stability depends in large measure on the presence of normal pulmonary surface properties (3), altered surface forces were consiclered as an underlying mechanism. Cook and co-workers (1) reasoned that the decrease in alv'eolar diameter, resulting from the accumulation of intra-alveolar fluid, would account for an increase in total surface forces. We examined the possibility that pulmonary edema alters alveolar surface tension properties, in this way contributing to alveolar instability and to the failure of respiratory function. It can 1)e shown that for alveoli, as for spherical surfaces, total surface forces equal twice the surface tension divided by the radius of curvature (4). We induced pulmonary edema in anesthetized dogs by rapid intravenous infusion of dextran. Surface activity of lung extracts was measured and correlated with morphologic changes. There was a regional loss or impairment of surface activity in the edematous lung, associated with areas
Common values of the arithmetic functions ϕ and σ

We show that the equation ϕ(a) = σ(b) has infinitely many solutions, where ϕ is Euler's totient function and σ is the sum‐of‐divisors function. This proves a fifty‐year‐old conjecture of Erdős. Moreover, we show that, for some c > 0, there are infinitely many integers n such that ϕ(a) = n and σ(b) = n, each having more than nc solutions. The proofs rely on the recent work of the first two authors and Konyagin on the distribution of primes p for which a given prime divides some iterate of ϕ at p, and on a result of Heath‐Brown connecting the possible existence of Siegel zeros with the distribution of twin primes.
PREVENTING THE DIRAC DISASTER : Wavelet

This paper addresses the problem of choosing the optimal number of basis functions in constructing wavelet series density estimators. It is well known that projection estimators tend to overrt the density if the number of basis functions in the orthogonal expansion is too large. In extreme cases the estimator is close to the Dirac function concentrated at the observations. We propose a roughness measure of wavelet estimators and establish a data driven method for determining the number of levels to be included in the estimate. Our method exploits the idea of Good and Gaskins (1971) who used the Fisher information functional as a roughness penalty measure. The method is demonstrated on simulated data.
Burst erasure correction codes with low decoding delay

We present a new class of systematic, time-invariant, convolutional encoders suitable for low delay burst erasure correction. Specifically, we show that the new encoders have the shortest possible decoding delay required to correct all bursts of a given length with a fixed redundancy. By comparing the new encoders to maximum distance separable (MDS) codes, we show that the latter generally require either more redundancy or more delay to correct bursts of a given length. In addition, we show that the new encoders can achieve better performance than MDS codes on a simple two-state Markov erasure channel. Thus, we demonstrate the advantages of using cross packet coding for delay-sensitive applications such as Voice over Internet Protocol, video-conferencing, etc., on bursty packet networks. Finally, we discuss suitable performance measures for encoders designed to correct both burst and random erasures and report the results of a computer search for such hybrid encoders.
Network-based diffusion analysis: a new method for detecting social learning

Social learning has been documented in a wide diversity of animals. In free-living animals, however, it has been difficult to discern whether animals learn socially by observing other group members or asocially by acquiring a new behaviour independently. We addressed this challenge by developing network-based diffusion analysis (NBDA), which analyses the spread of traits through animal groups and takes into account that social network structure directs social learning opportunities. NBDA fits agent-based models of social and asocial learning to the observed data using maximum-likelihood estimation. The underlying learning mechanism can then be identified using model selection based on the Akaike information criterion. We tested our method with artificially created learning data that are based on a real-world co-feeding network of macaques. NBDA is better able to discriminate between social and asocial learning in comparison with diffusion curve analysis, the main method that was previously applied in this context. NBDA thus offers a new, more reliable statistical test of learning mechanisms. In addition, it can be used to address a wide range of questions related to social learning, such as identifying behavioural strategies used by animals when deciding whom to copy.
On the Mechanics of Thin-Walled Laminated Composite Beams

A formal engineering approach of the mechanics of thin-walled laminated beams based on kinematic assumptions consistent with Timoshenko beam theory is pre sented. Thin-walled composite beams with open or closed cross section subjected to bend ing and axial load are considered. A variational formulation is employed to obtain a com prehensive description of the structural response. Beam stiffness coefficients, which account for the cross section geometry and for the material anisotropy, are obtained. An explicit expression for the static shear correction factor of thin-walled composite beams is derived from energy equivalence. A numerical example involving a laminated I-beam is used to demonstrate the capability of the model for predicting displacements and ply stresses.
Tamping Ramping: Algorithmic, Implementational, and Computational Explanations of Phasic Dopamine Signals in the Accumbens

Substantial evidence suggests that the phasic activity of dopamine neurons represents reinforcement learning’s temporal difference prediction error. However, recent reports of ramp-like increases in dopamine concentration in the striatum when animals are about to act, or are about to reach rewards, appear to pose a challenge to established thinking. This is because the implied activity is persistently predictable by preceding stimuli, and so cannot arise as this sort of prediction error. Here, we explore three possible accounts of such ramping signals: (a) the resolution of uncertainty about the timing of action; (b) the direct influence of dopamine over mechanisms associated with making choices; and (c) a new model of discounted vigour. Collectively, these suggest that dopamine ramps may be explained, with only minor disturbance, by standard theoretical ideas, though urgent questions remain regarding their proximal cause. We suggest experimental approaches to disentangling which of the proposed mechanisms are responsible for dopamine ramps.
Making and monitoring errors based on altered auditory feedback

Previous research has demonstrated that altered auditory feedback (AAF) disrupts music performance and causes disruptions in both action planning and the perception of feedback events. It has been proposed that this disruption occurs because of interference within a shared representation for perception and action (Pfordresher, 2006). Studies reported here address this claim from the standpoint of error monitoring. In Experiment 1 participants performed short melodies on a keyboard while hearing no auditory feedback, normal auditory feedback, or alterations to feedback pitch on some subset of events. Participants overestimated error frequency when AAF was present but not for normal feedback. Experiment 2 introduced a concurrent load task to determine whether error monitoring requires executive resources. Although the concurrent task enhanced the effect of AAF, it did not alter participants’ tendency to overestimate errors when AAF was present. A third correlational study addressed whether effects of AAF are reduced for a subset of the population who may lack the kind of perception/action associations that lead to AAF disruption: poor-pitch singers. Effects of manipulations similar to those presented in Experiments 1 and 2 were reduced for these individuals. We propose that these results are consistent with the notion that AAF interference is based on associations between perception and action within a forward internal model of auditory-motor relationships.
The First European Interdisciplinary Ewing Sarcoma Research Summit

The European Network for Cancer Research in Children and Adolescents (ENCCA) provides an interaction platform for stakeholders in research and care of children with cancer. Among ENCCA objectives is the establishment of biology-based prioritization mechanisms for the selection of innovative targets, drugs, and prognostic markers for validation in clinical trials. Specifically for sarcomas, there is a burning need for novel treatment options, since current chemotherapeutic treatment protocols have met their limits. This is most obvious for metastatic Ewing sarcoma (ES), where long term survival rates are still below 20%. Despite significant progress in our understanding of ES biology, clinical translation of promising laboratory results has not yet taken place due to fragmentation of research and lack of an institutionalized discussion forum. To fill this gap, ENCCA assembled 30 European expert scientists and five North American opinion leaders in December 2011 to exchange thoughts and discuss the state of the art in ES research and latest results from the bench, and to propose biological studies and novel promising therapeutics for the upcoming European EWING2008 and EWING2012 clinical trials.
Assessment of the sensitivity of the gamma-interferon test and the single intradermal comparative cervical test for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis under field conditions

SUMMARY In some French départements, the eradication of bovine tuberculosis is incomplete and usual skin tests [single intradermal tuberculin test (SIT) and single intradermal comparative cervical test (SICCT)] have poor specificity due to cross-reactions with non-pathogenic mycobacteria, causing economic losses. In Côte d'Or (Burgundy, France), an experimental serial testing scheme based on the combination of SICCT and gamma-interferon (IFN-γ) tests has been initiated in order to shorten the interval between suspicion and its invalidation in herds with false-positive results to skin tests. Our aim was to assess the scheme's sensitivity and to compare it to the sensitivity of the screening scheme recommended by the European Commission. Our study included 1768 animals from Côte d'Or. The sensitivities of both schemes were estimated using a Bayesian approach. The individual sensitivity of the IFN-γ test [88·1%, 95% credibility interval (CrI) 72·8–97·5] was not significantly different from individual SICCT sensitivity (80·3%, 95% CrI 61·6–98·0) and individual SIT sensitivity (84·2%, 95% CrI 59·0–98·2). The individual specificity of the IFN-γ test was 62·3% (95% CrI 60·2–64·5). No significant difference could be demonstrated between the sensitivities of the serial testing scheme used in Côte d'Or (73·1%, 95% CrI 41·1–100) and the European Union serial testing scheme (70·1%, 95% CrI 31·5–100·0).
Health Technology Assessment of the Psychotherapy Effect on Prevention of Suicide and Self-Harm: A Rapid Review of Secondary Studies

Introduction: According to the World Health Organization (WHO) report, acute depression disorders are the second largest health problem in the world which can cause disability and imposes huge costs on individuals and societies. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of using psychotherapy in patients with depression for prevention of suicide and self harm commitment. Methods: Cochrane library (Issue 10, 2012) and CRD (Centre for Review and Dissemination) were searched using Mesh. Studies that compared psychotherapy with different alternative methods such as antidepressant drugs and used outcomes such as self-harm or suicide rates were included. Results: Eighteen articles were included in this review. Most of them showed that using psychotherapy as only suicide preventive method cannot be sufficiently effective, so that in the one of the included meta-analysis was shown that the effect of psychotherapy on suicide imagination and the risk of suicide were small. In terms of cost-effectiveness, it seems that MACT (Manual-assisted cognitive behavior therapy) is a cost-effective method in prevention of self-harm. Conclusion: Generally, it seems that using combination of therapeutic methods will increase the effectiveness of suicide and self-harm prevention methods.