Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Kinematic Measures during a Clinical Diagnostic Technique for Human Neck Disorder: Inter- and Intraexaminer Comparisons

Diagnoses of human musculoskeletal dysfunction of the cervical spine are indicated by palpable clues of a patient's structural compliance/noncompliance as this body segment responds to diagnostic motion demands applied by a clinician. This process includes assessments of motion range, motion performance, and changes in tissue responses. However, biomechanical quantification of these diagnostic actions and their reproducible components is lacking. As a result, this study sought to use objective kinematic measures to capture aspects of the diagnostic process to compare inter- and intraexaminer motion behaviors when performing a specific clinical diagnostic protocol. Pain-free volunteers and a group determined to be symptomatic based on a psychometric pain score were examined by two clinicians while three-dimensional kinematic data were collected. Intraexaminer diagnostic motion ranges of cervical lateral flexion and secondary rotations were consistent for each examiner and for each subject group. However, interexaminer comparisons for motion range, secondary rotations, and average velocities yielded consistently larger measures for one examiner for both subject groups (P < 0.05). This research demonstrates that fundamental aspects of the clinical diagnostic process for human neck disorders can be identified and measured using kinematic parameters. Further, these objective data have the potential to be linked to clinical decision making.
PROMIS Physical Function Computer Adaptive Test Compared With Other Upper Extremity Outcome Measures in the Evaluation of Proximal Humerus Fractures in Patients Older Than 60 Years

Objectives: To compare the PROMIS Physical Function Computer Adaptive Test (PROMIS PF CAT) to commonly used traditional PF measures for the evaluation of patients with proximal humerus fractures. Design: Prospective. Setting: Two Level I trauma centers. Patients/Participants: Forty-seven patients older than 60 years with displaced proximal humerus fractures treated between 2006 and 2009. Intervention: Evaluation included completion of the PROMIS PF CAT, the Constant Shoulder Score, the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) and the Short Musculoskeletal Functional Assessment (SMFA). Main Outcome Measurement: Observed correlations among the administered PF outcome measures. Results: On average, patients responded to 86 outcome-related items for this study: 4 for the PROMIS PF CAT (range: 4–8 items), 6 for the Constant Shoulder Score, 30 for the DASH, and 46 for the SMFA. Time to complete the PROMIS PF CAT (median completion time = 98 seconds) was significantly less than that for the DASH (median completion time = 336 seconds, P < 0.001) and for the SMFA (median completion time = 482 seconds, P < 0.001). PROMIS PF CAT scores correlated statistically significantly and were of moderate-to-high magnitude with all other PF outcome measure scores administered. Conclusions: This study suggests using the PROMIS PF CAT as a sole PF outcome measure can yield an assessment of upper extremity function similar to those provided by traditional PF measures, while substantially reducing patient assessment time.
Modulators of the urokinase-type plasminogen activation system for cancer

Importance of the field: The serine protease urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and its receptor uPAR as well as two specific inhibitors, the plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) and type-2 (PAI-2), are involved in the control of extracellular matrix turnover and tumor growth. Data accumulating over the past 20 years have made increasingly clear that the uPA system has a multifunctional role in neoplastic evolution, affecting cancer cell proliferation, tumor angiogenesis, adhesion and migration. Areas covered in this review: Several therapeutic strategies inhibiting the uPA system have been or are currently being developed for suppression of tumor growth. This review examines the role of the uPA system in tumor progression and assesses the various therapeutic strategies developed to selectively exploit this system. What will the reader gain: We focus on the therapeutic developments of the last 15 years. In addition to antibodies and recombinant uPA- or uPAR-derived proteins, various antagonistic peptides as well as small molecules have been designed and synthesized that inhibit the uPA system, leading to reduced tumor progression. Take home message: The multifunctional potential of the uPA system in cancer has rendered this system an attractive novel target for anticancer therapy. A few novel tumor biology-based therapeutic strategies reported here, opening new ways for patient-optimized and individualized cancer therapy. It may be the right time to evaluate the hypothesis that the uPA system plays a pivotal role in cancer progression and that targeting this system will lead to clinical benefit in cancer patients.
Health Technology Development and Use: From Practice-Bound Imagination to Evolving Impacts

Part 1: Design-Use Relations and Biographies of Technology 1. From Markets to Social Learning: Mapping the Dynamics of Design, Use, and Early Evolution of New Technology 2. Biography of Technologies and Practices: Studying Technology across Time and Space Part 2: Grounding and Theorizing 3. The Birth of the User: Community and Imagination 4. The Anticipation of Need: Investigations and Intermediaries 5. Visions in Matter: Invention and Erosion 6. Nurturing Technology: Enactment and Impact 7. The Post-launch Change: Learning and Reconfiguring Part 3: Comparisons and Implications 8. Diabetes Databases: Co-design, Its Evolution, and Power Relations 9. TeleChemistry: Radical Innovation, Deviance, and Path Formation 10. Conclusions: Findings and Theorizing 11. Implications: Policy, Evaluation, and Development Practice
Does counter-cyclical provisioning mitigate bank lending contractions ? Evidence from supply shocks

Bank regulators and academics have long conjectured the beneficial effects of counter-cyclical loan loss provisioning (i.e., making higher provisions during good times so as to avoid doing so during bad times) for bank lending and stability. In contrast, accounting regulators express concerns about its potential adverse impact on reporting transparency due to the ensuing income smoothing. Testing these opposing predictions of the dark versus bright side of counter-cyclical provisioning requires a shock to capital supply that is not confounded by borrower demand for credit. Using the emerging market crisis of the late 1990s to identify an adverse supply-shock to bank capital, we show that the ensuing contractions in bank lending are weaker for banks that were provisioning counter-cyclically. These lending differences translate into positive real effects for the counter-cyclical banks’ small borrowers that have limited access to alternative funding sources. Overall, our results highlight the tradeoff between bank stability and transparency inherent in counter-cyclical loan loss provisioning – while proactive recognition of unrealized loan losses reduces bank transparency, it increases bank stability during periods (if and) when these losses materialize. JEL Classification: G01, G21, M41
THE INFLUENCE OF PERSONALITY AND FACEBOOK USE ON STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

This paper investigates the influence of personality variables as measured by the Five-Factor Model (FFM) on Facebook use and the influence of Facebook use on student academic performance. Extraversion was positively related to student self-reported measures of the time spent on Facebook giving support to the proposition that extraverted individuals use social networking as a means of social extension. This finding contradicts the suggestion that introverts will engage in greater social media use because of the ability to compensate for their lack of social skills. The amount of time that students spend on Facebook was found to be negatively related to academic performance. The significance of these findings is discussed with recommendations for future research.
Prorenin-Induced Myocyte Proliferation: No Role for Intracellular Angiotensin II

Cardiomyocytes bind, internalize, and activate prorenin, the inactive precursor of renin, via a mannose 6-phosphate receptor (M6PR)–dependent mechanism. M6PRs couple directly to G-proteins. To investigate whether prorenin binding to cardiomyocytes elicits a response, and if so, whether this response depends on angiotensin (Ang) II, we incubated neonatal rat cardiomyocytes with 2 nmol/L prorenin and/or 150 nmol/L angiotensinogen, with or without 10 mmol/L M6P, 1 &mgr;mol/L eprosartan, or 1 &mgr;mol/L PD123319 to block M6P and AT1 and AT2 receptors, respectively. Protein and DNA synthesis were studied by quantifying [3H]-leucine and [3H]-thymidine incorporation. For comparison, studies with 100 nmol/L Ang II were also performed. Neither prorenin alone, nor angiotensinogen alone, affected protein or DNA synthesis. Prorenin plus angiotensinogen increased [3H]-leucine incorporation (+21±5%, mean±SEM, P <0.01), [3H]-thymidine incorporation (+29±6%, P <0.01), and total cellular protein (+14±3%, P <0.01), whereas Ang II increased DNA synthesis only (+34±7%, P <0.01). Eprosartan, but not PD123319 or M6P, blocked the effects of prorenin plus angiotensinogen as well as the effects of Ang II. Medium Ang II levels during prorenin and angiotensinogen incubation were <1 nmol/L. In conclusion, prorenin binding to M6PRs on cardiomyocytes per se does not result in enhanced protein or DNA synthesis. However, through Ang II generation, prorenin is capable of inducing myocyte hypertrophy and proliferation. Because this generation occurs independently of M6PRs, it most likely depends on the catalytic activity of intact prorenin in the medium (because of temporal prosegment unfolding) rather than its intracellular activation. Taken together, our results do not support the concept of Ang II generation in cardiomyocytes following intracellular prorenin activation.
Up to the limits: Autonomous Audi TTS

This paper presents a novel approach to autonomous driving at the vehicle's handling limits. Such a system requires a high speed, consistent control signal as well as numerous safety features capable of monitoring and stopping the vehicle. When operating, the system's high level controller utilizes a highly accurate differential GPS and known friction values to drive a precomputed path at the friction limits of the vehicle. The system was tested in a variety of road conditions, including the challenging Pikes Peak Hill climb. Results from this work can be extended to improve driving safety and accident avoidance in vehicles.
On the subthreshold drain current sweep hysteresis of 4H-SiC nMOSFETs

We study the subthreshold drain current hysteresis of 4H silicon carbide Si-face (0001) and a-face (1120) n-channel power MOSFETs between gate voltage sweeps from accumulation to inversion and vice versa. Depending on the direction of the gate voltage sweep, the MOSFETs show a different subthreshold drain current at the same gate voltage. The observed hysteresis between up-sweep and down-sweep can be expressed as a subthreshold voltage shift and may reach several volts. We show that the voltage shift is caused by hole capture in border traps during accumulation and is directly propotional to the charge pumping signal. The voltage shift is fully recoverable by applying a gate bias above the threshold voltage and does not impact device reliability.
Cost savings of anti-TNF therapy using a test-based strategy versus an empirical dose escalation in Crohn's disease patients who lose response to infliximab

Background The use of pharmacokinetics is associated with cost savings in anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy, but the long-term cost savings in a large cohort of Crohn's disease (CD) patients are unknown. Aim The goal of this study was to compare the cost of anti-TNF therapy in two cohorts of CD patients losing response to infliximab, one using a test-based strategy and one an empirical dose escalation. Methods We used a selected mathematical model to describe the trajectories of CD patients based on a discrete event system. This design allowed us to track over a given period a double cohort of patients who moved randomly and asynchronously from one state to another, while keeping all the information on their entire trajectory. Both cohorts were modeled using state diagram parameters where transition probabilities from one state to another are derived from literature data. Costs were estimated based on the French health care system. Results Cost savings among the 10,000 CD patients using a test-based strategy were €131,300,293 at 5 years. At 5 years the mean cost saving was €13,130 per patient. The direct cost of the test had no impact on the results until the cost per test reached €2,000. Conclusions A test-based strategy leads to major cost savings related to anti-TNF therapy in CD.
Benchmarking the novel CMA-ES restart strategy using the search history on the BBOB noiseless testbed

In this paper we propose a termination mechanism and the initial step-size control mechanism for restart strategies in the CMA-ES. The proposed mechanism utilizes a history of the distribution parameters from past restarts to early terminate an overlapping exploitation of the search domain. The initial step-size is controlled so that the next restart will not overlap with past restarts. The proposed mechanism is combined with a simple restart, IPOP restart and BIPOP restart strategies. The effectiveness and the drawback of the proposed mechanism is demonstrated on the BBOB noiseless testbed.
A Robust Color Image Watermarking Scheme Based on Image Normalization

The robustness of watermarks to geometric attacks is considered to be the most challenging design requirements for watermarks. Geometric attacks can desynchronize the location of the watermark and hence cause incorrect watermark detection. In this paper, a new color image watermarking scheme for copyright protection is proposed. It is based on embedding multiple watermark bits into the luminance component or the blue component of a color image in discrete wavelet domain. The proposed scheme uses image normalization technique to reduce the effect of synchronization errors caused by geometric attacks such as rotation. The extraction process does not require the original image. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme successfully makes the watermark perceptually invisible as well as robust to common signal processing and some geometric attacks.
Menaquinone and Iron Are Essential for Complex Colony Development in Bacillus subtilis

Cells of undomesticated species of Bacillus subtilis frequently form complex colonies during spreading on agar surfaces. Given that menaquinone is involved in another form of coordinated behavior, namely, sporulation, we looked for a possible role for menaquinone in complex colony development (CCD) in the B. subtilis strain NCIB 3610. Here we show that inhibition of menaquinone biosynthesis in B. subtilis indeed abolished its ability to develop complex colonies. Additionally some mutations of B. subtilis which confer defective CCD could be suppressed by menaquinone derivatives. Several such mutants mapped to the dhb operon encoding the genes responsible for the biosynthesis of the iron siderophore, bacillibactin. Our results demonstrate that both menaquinone and iron are essential for CCD in B. subtilis.
The hydrogen bond between N-H or O-H and organic fluorine: favourable yes, competitive no.

A study was made of X-H.F-C interactions (X = N or O) in small-molecule crystal structures. It was primarily based on 6728 structures containing X-H and C-F and no atom heavier than chlorine. Of the 28 451 C-F moieties in these structures, 1051 interact with X-H groups. However, over three-quarters of these interactions are either the weaker components of bifurcated hydrogen bonds (so likely to be incidental contacts) or occur in structures where there is a clear insufficiency of good hydrogen-bond acceptors such as oxygen, nitrogen or halide. In structures where good acceptors are entirely absent, there is about a 2 in 3 chance that a given X-H group will donate to fluorine. Viable alternatives are X-H. π hydrogen bonds (especially to electron-rich aromatics) and dihydrogen bonds. The average H.F distances of X-H.F-C interactions are significantly shorter for CR3F (R = C or H) and Csp2-F acceptors than for CRF3. The X-H.F angle distribution is consistent with a weak energetic preference for linearity, but that of H.F-C suggests a flat energy profile in the range 100-180°. X-H.F-C interactions are more likely when the acceptor is Csp2-F or CR3F, and when the donor is C-NH2. They also occur significantly more often in structures containing tertiary alcohols or solvent molecules, or with Z' > 1, i.e. when there may be unusual packing problems. It is extremely rare to find X-H.F-C interactions in structures where there are several unused good acceptors. When it does happen, there is often a clear reason, e.g. awkwardly shaped molecules whose packing isolates a donor group from the good acceptors.
Reported data on granisetron and postoperative nausea and vomiting by Fujii et al. Are incredibly nice!

Thank you for the opportunity to answer the questions by a reader of Anesthesia & Analgesia. As previously described in the first report by us (1), we evaluated the efficacy and safety of granisetron, a selective 5-hydroxytryptamine Type 3 (5-HT3) receptor antagonist, for preventing postoperativ
Adipose Tissue Distribution Predicts Survival in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Background amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that leads to death within a few years after diagnosis. Malnutrition and weight loss are frequent and are indexes of poor prognosis. Total body fat and fat distribution have not been studied in ALS patients. Objectives Our aim was to describe adipose tissue content and distribution in ALS patients. Design We performed a cross-sectional study in a group of ALS patients (n = 62, mean disease duration 22 months) along with age and gender matched healthy controls (n = 62) using a MRI-based method to study quantitatively the fat distribution. Results Total body fat of ALS patients was not changed as compared with controls. However, ALS patients displayed increased visceral fat and an increased ratio of visceral to subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat was not correlated with clinical severity as judged using the ALS functional rating scale (ALS-FRS-R), while subcutaneous fat in ALS patients correlated positively with ALS-FRS-R and disease progression. Multiple regression analysis showed that gender and ALS-FRS-R, but not site of onset, were significant predictors of total and subcutaneous fat. Increased subcutaneous fat predicted survival in male patients but not in female patients (p<0.05). Conclusions Fat distribution is altered in ALS patients, with increased visceral fat as compared with healthy controls. Subcutaneous fat content is a predictor of survival of ALS patients.
Self-adaptive fitness formulation for constrained optimization

A self-adaptive fitness formulation is presented for solving constrained optimization problems. In this method, the dimensionality of the problem is reduced by representing the constraint violations by a single infeasibility measure. The infeasibility measure is used to form a two-stage penalty that is applied to the infeasible solutions. The performance of the method has been examined by its application to a set of eleven test cases from the specialized literature. The results have been compared with previously published results from the literature. It is shown that the method is able to find the optimum solutions. The proposed method requires no parameter tuning and can be used as a fitness evaluator with any evolutionary algorithm. The approach is also robust in its handling of both linear and nonlinear equality and inequality constraint functions. Furthermore, the method does not require an initial feasible solution.
Detection of Cilia-Associated Respiratory Bacillus by PCR

The cilia-associated respiratory (CAR) bacillus is an unclassified, gram-negative, motile bacterium that has been implicated as an etiologic agent of respiratory disease in laboratory rodents. In the present study, approximately 1,200 bases of the 16S rRNA gene from three CAR bacillus isolates were sequenced. CAR bacillus-specific primers were designed on the basis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence and used in a PCR assay. The PCR assay detected as little as 500 fg of purified CAR bacillus DNA. The expected 267-bp DNA fragment was amplified from respiratory tissue of frozen, formalin-fixed, and paraffin-embedded samples from experimentally and naturally infected rats and mice. In contrast, no product was amplified from respiratory tissues of sham-infected experimental animals or animals that were serologically or histopathologically negative for the CAR bacillus. Our findings indicate that this PCR assay is a rapid, specific, and sensitive detection method for the diagnosis of CAR bacillus infection in rats and mice.
Distance Covariance in Metric Spaces

We are grateful to Martin Emil Jakobsen for asking us about several gaps in our proofs. Most of the mistakes below were noted first by Jakobsen, whom we thank also for his help in checking these errata. His 2017 master’s thesis at the University of Copenhagen, “Distance Covariance in Metric Spaces: Non-Parametric Independence Testing in Metric Spaces”, contains more details of some of our proofs, as well as some extensions. It is available at https://arxiv.org/abs/1706.03490.
A longitudinal study of quality of life of elderly with mandibular implant-supported fixed prostheses.

OBJECTIVES To verify the consequences of implant-supported fixed oral rehabilitation on the quality of life (QL) of elderly individuals. MATERIAL AND METHODS Fifteen patients were studied, being 10 females and five males; all were aged >60 years, were completely edentulous, wore removable dentures on both arches, and were treated with implant-supported fixed dentures. Three QL questionnaires were applied, two related to the oral conditions (Oral Impact on Daily Performance - OIDP - and Oral Health Impact Profile, short version - OHIP-14) and one dealing with global aspects (World Health Organization Quality of Life - WHOQOL-BREF), before 3, 6, and 18 months after surgical placement of implants. RESULTS Scores in the OIDP and OHIP-14 questionnaires were better after dental treatment. The WHOQOL-BREF was less sensitive, confirming the higher reliability of specific questionnaires (focal) compared with general questions in such situations. CONCLUSION Treatment with implant-supported fixed prostheses improved QL in the elderly; these effects are better detected by specific instruments focused on the subject.
Apes, Monkeys, Children, and the Growth of Mind

What can the study of young monkeys and apes tell us about the minds of young humans? In this fascinating introduction to the study of primate minds, Juan Carlos Gomez identifies evolutionary resemblances - and differences - between human children and other primates. He argues that primate minds are best understood not as fixed collections of specialized cognitive capacities, but more dynamically, as a range of abilities that can surpass their original adaptations. In a lively overview of a distinguished body of cognitive developmental research among nonhuman primates, Gomez looks at knowledge of the physical world, causal reasoning (including the chimpanzee-like errors that human children make), and the contentious subjects of ape language, theory of mind, and imitation.