Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Classification of motor unit activity following targeted muscle reinnervation

For the past six decades, signal processing methods for myoelectric control of prostheses consisted mainly of calculating time- and frequency domain features of the EMG signal. This type of feature extraction considers the surface EMG as colored noise, neglecting its generation as a sum of motor unit activities. In this study we propose the use of motor unit behavior for classifying motor tasks with the aim of myoelectric control. We recorded high-density surface EMG of three patients who underwent targeted muscle reinnervation, and decomposed these signals into motor unit spike trains using an automatic offline EMG decomposition method. From the motor unit spike trains we used the number of discharges in each analysis interval as a feature for a support vector machine classifier. The same classifier was used for discriminating classic time-domain EMG features, for comparison. Classification accuracy was greater for motor unit information than for the classic features (97.06%±1.74 vs 85.01%±13.66), especially when the number of classes was high (95.11% ± 1.74 vs 69.25% ± 4.04 for 11 classes). These results suggest that the identification of motor unit activity from surface EMG can be a powerful way for pattern recognition in targeted muscle reinnervation patients.
Pixel-by-Pixel Comparison of Volume Transfer Constant and Estimates of Cerebral Blood Volume from Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced and Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast-Enhanced MR Imaging in High-Grade Gliomas

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Estimates of blood volume and volume transfer constant are parameters commonly used to characterize hemodynamic properties of brain lesions. The purposes of this study were to compare values of volume transfer constant and estimates of blood volume in high-grade gliomas on a pixel-by-pixel basis to comprehend whether they provide different information and to compare estimates of blood volume obtained by dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging and dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced MR imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two patients with biopsy-proved grade IV gliomas underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging and dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced MR imaging, and parametric maps of volume transfer constant, plasma volume, and CBV maps were calculated. The Spearman rank correlation coefficients among matching values of CBV, volume transfer constant, and plasma volume were calculated on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Comparison of median values of normalized CBV and plasma volume was performed. RESULTS: Weak-but-significant correlation (P < .001) was noted for all comparisons. Spearman rank correlation coefficients were as follows: volume transfer constant versus CBV, ρ = 0.113; volume transfer constant versus plasma volume, ρ = 0.256; CBV versus plasma volume, ρ = 0.382. We found a statistically significant difference (P < .001) for the estimates of blood volume obtained by using dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging (mean normalized plasma volume, 13.89 ± 11.25) and dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced MR imaging (mean normalized CBV, 4.37 ± 4.04). CONCLUSIONS: The finding of a very weak correlation between estimates of microvascular density and volume transfer constant suggests that they provide different information. Estimates of blood volume obtained by using dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging are significantly higher than those obtained by dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced MR imaging in human gliomas, most likely due to the effect of contrast leakage.
Accuracy and effectiveness in appraisal outcomes: the influence of self-efficacy, personal factors and organisational variables

Two studies tested relationships of personal factors and organisational context variables with rating accuracy and perceived effectiveness of appraisals, and the role of self-efficacy as a mediator of the relationships between the two sets of variables. Study 1 was a controlled experiment in which nurse supervisors appraised a video stimulus of a nurse’s performance. Study 2 was a field study in which nurses and their supervisors each independently completed an assessment of their annual appraisal review, following the meeting. A ten-item scale for performance appraiser self-efficacy (PASE) was developed and tested for measurement properties on a large sample of nurses that included those who participated in either Study 1 or Study 2. The PASE scale was found to have high reliability and reasonable predictive validity. PASE predicted rating accuracy, appraiser and appraisee perceptions of effectiveness, and appraiser-appraisee agreement on the effectiveness of an actual appraisal, after controlling for the effects of personal factors and organisational context. The main contextual influences were accountability, importance and management concern but the effects varied for self-efficacy and different appraisal outcomes. The main predictor of self-efficacy was the amount of training received by appraisers across the multiple sub-tasks of appraisal.
Research Approaches for Understanding, Enhancing, and Monitoring Community Resilience

The growing interest in the understanding of community resilience suggests a need for improving research approaches. This article reviews methods used to date, and suggests opportunities for expanding the range and efficacy of approaches used to understand, improve, and monitor the coupled social and ecological aspects of community resilience. We explore three potential foci: research approaches that enhance understanding of community resilience; those that help to improve community resilience through the research process; and the further development of methods to guide monitoring. Most studies have relied on mixed and multistaged methods, including in-depth interviews and case studies. We comment on the wide range of approaches used, and suggest others that could be valuable. There is particular scope for greater use of cumulative studies, historical or retrospective studies, participatory methods, and systems approaches, and a need for more methods that explore the coupling of social and ecological dimensions.
Measuring financial performance on dairy farms

Abstract The motivation for this paper was to improve the information provided by the extension service for dairy farming. Databases as the Norwegian Dairy Financial Recording (NDFR) are commonly used for comparative analysis of farms. In the present paper, the problems related to these comparisons are discussed. Four different measures of financial performance are presented. The measures are; the gross margin, extended gross margin, and two different efficiency indexes based on use of data envelopment analysis (DEA). All four measures have advantages and disadvantages. The two gross margins are suitable for ranking farms when evaluating the impact of operative management variables, e.g., disease and miscellaneous welfare enhancing inputs on performance. However, efficiency indexes, which are estimated as ratios of actual and maximum output, given inputs, are more suitable when evaluating the impact of strategic management variables, e.g., concentrate or roughage per litre milk produced on performance.
LEGITIMACY, ATTITUDES AND INTENDED PATRONAGE: UNDERSTANDING CHALLENGES FACING BLACK ENTREPRENEURS

Traditional research on the reasons for the depressed rate of black entrepreneurship has focused on differences between black [note: The term "blacks" is used to represent the broader groups of blacks in the United States, which include African-Americans and also black people from African countries, the Caribbean and other countries. ] and white entrepreneurs. In this paper, we move beyond the individual entrepreneur and study consumers' perceptual differences of black and white entrepreneurs. Using a multi-disciplinary theoretical framework to study 846 participants, we found empirical evidence that there are significant relationships between perceptions of legitimacy and consumer attitudes toward entrepreneurs and intended patronage. In addition, there appears to be differences in the way consumers perceive black and white entrepreneurs, which suggest significant challenges facing black entrepreneurs. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
Educación superior en Chile : instituciones, mercados y políticas gubernamentales, 1967-2007

This dissertation provides a detailed analysis of the Chilean higher education system and policies over the period 1967-2007. It focuses on the creation, development and working of higher education markets and policies. The approach employed is shared with other recent specialized market studies of terciary education, a field which has been formed academically during the last twenty years, based on the contributions of the organizational sociology of universities and the analysis of the political economy of markets. During this period, Chilean higher education unfolded in a changing political environment which is represented in this study by four episodes: first, the 1967 university reform, unleashed by the system’s own institutions, principally students; second, the intervention of universities in 1973 by the military government; third, the installation, by the same government, of a market policy for terciary education beginning in 1981; and last, the changes that have occurred since the recuperation of democracy in 1990. Each of these episodes illustrates a particular and specific form of organizing relations between the state and the higher education system; these are analyzed from the point of view of how the system’s coordination was structured with the shifting participation of government policies, institutional interests and market forces.
CHILDREN IN IMMIGRANT FAMILIES IN THE NETHERLANDS: A STATISTICAL PORTRAIT AND A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Special Series on Children in Immigrant Families in Affluent Societies This report provides a concise overview on the situation of children in immigrant families in the Netherlands. Most of the research has focused on the four largest immigrant groups:families from the Antilles and Aruba, Morocco, Suriname and Turkey. Depending on the availability of material, research covering other immigrant groups is also presented. New statistical material on immigrant children and their families that has been specifically generated for this report by Statistics Netherlands is also presented.
The Saturday effect in emerging stock markets: a stochastic dominance approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the Saturday effect in three emerging stock markets (Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia) by taking into consideration the thin trading that is normal in such capital markets.Design/methodology/approach – The paper applies the stochastic dominance (SD) approach, which is not distribution‐dependent and can shed light on the utility and wealth implications of portfolio preferences by exploiting information in higher order moments, to investigate empirically the existence of the Saturday effect in the three Gulf stock markets.Findings – The findings indicate that the Saturday effect does not manifest itself in the three Gulf stock markets and that the SD results show that the Saturday effect in these markets is not present when raw data are corrected for thin and infrequent trading.Originality/value – This paper is believed to be the first to use SD approach to examine the Saturday effect.
Identification of Residues in the N Terminus of α1B Critical for Inhibition of the Voltage-Dependent Calcium Channel by Gβγ

To examine the role of the intracellular N terminus in the G-protein modulation of the neuronal voltage-dependent calcium channel (VDCC) α1B, we have pursued two routes of investigation. First, we made chimeric channels between α1B and α1C, the latter not being modulated by Gβγ subunits. VDCC α1 subunit constructs were coexpressed with accessory α2δ and β2a subunits inXenopus oocytes and mammalian (COS-7) cells. G-protein modulation of expressed α1 subunits was induced by activation of coexpressed dopamine (D2) receptors with quinpirole in oocytes, or by cotransfection of Gβ1γ2 subunits in COS-7 cells. For the chimeric channels, only those with the N terminus of α1B showed any G-protein modulation; further addition of the first transmembrane domain and I-II intracellular linker of α1B increased the degree of modulation. To determine the amino acids within the α1B N terminus, essential for G-protein modulation, we made mutations of this sequence and identified three amino acids (S48, R52, and R54) within an 11 amino acid sequence as being critical for G-protein modulation, with I49 being involved to a lesser extent. This sequence may comprise an essential part of a complex Gβγ-binding site or be involved in its subsequent action.
A Biomechanical Study of Bankart Lesion Fixation—Biodegradable ArthroRivet™ Tack vs. Suture Repair

Bioabsorbable fixation is commonly used in soft tissue procedures performed in the shoulder. ArthroRivet™ tacks (referred to as rivets here), made from a copolymer of 82% poly-L-lactic acid and 18% polyglycolic acid, were developed for the Bankart procedure. Although a previous in vivo study demonstrated favorable comparison of the fixation strength and absorption characteristics of this device with that of polyglyconate bioabsorbable tacks, there have been no published biomechanical studies of this rivet in the shoulder. Fourteen shoulders were harvested from fresh-frozen cadavers of average age 74 years (46–89). Biomechanical testing was performed by measuring the energy, or work, required to anteriorly displace the humeral head 6 mm from the glenoid. Each shoulder was tested intact, vented, and before and after repair of a simulated Bankart lesion at 0, 45, and 90 degrees of abduction with and without maximal external rotation. Overall, the average work required ranged from 54.7 N-mm to 178.27 N-mm. Although the biomechanical performance of the rivet, based on resistance to anterior displacement of the humeral head, was indistinguishable from that of the suture repair, the statistical power of the test was low due to the large variance in the cadaver specimens. The results, in general, correlated well with those of previously published studies, suggesting the suitability of the bioabsorbable rivet for use in Bankart repair.
The Variability of Inflation Rates across Household Types

IT IS WELL KNOWN that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the changing cost of the fixed market basket of an average consumer. It is an aggregate economic indicator of changes in retail prices and, in the process of averaging across individuals, subsumes the variability in consumption patterns inherent in a modetn economy. It is thus evident that the use of a single index in adjusting the incomes of broad groups of individuals has an automatic distributional impact. Individuals whose "own" price index rises more slowly than the index used to adjust their incomes experience a windfall benefit, while those whose price index rises more rapidly experience a relative loss. Such variability in actual price experience relative to the average measured change in prices is soon to be of great importance to taxpayers throughout the income distribution. The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 calls for "Adjustments in tax tables so that inflation will not result in tax increases", beginning not later than December 15, 1984 [12]. Public Law 97-34 calls for using the official Consumer Price Index for all Urban Con-
Reputation, Symmetry, and Alliance Design

Abstract There is significant variation in the design of military alliances but scholars currently do not have a good understanding of when members choose one design over another. This article argues that alliance design is motivated, at least in part, by reliability considerations. If concerns about opportunism are high—when prospective members have a history of alliance violation—the signatories should be more willing to implement costly reliability-enhancing provisions such as greater precision in when alliance obligations apply, issue linkage, and increased institutionalization. However, this should be more likely in symmetric alliances where members of similar power levels rely on the support of their partners and thus sensitivity to opportunism is high. In asymmetric alliances, major powers may not find reliability-enhancing provisions necessary and minor powers, who do worry about the reliability of their partners, are unable to force more costly alliance designs given their limited bargaining power. The theoretical expectations are tested using data on bilateral alliances between 1919 and 2001 and the results are generally supportive of the hypotheses.
Low-Dose Radiation Response of Primary Keratinocytes and Fibroblasts from Patients with Cervix Cancer

Abstract Słonina, D. , Biesaga, B. , Urbański, K. and Kojs, Z. Low-Dose Radiation Response of Primary Keratinocytes and Fibroblasts from Patients with Cervix Cancer. Radiat. Res. 167, 251–259 (2007). The aim of the present study was to examine, using the micronucleus (MN) assay, the low-dose radiation response of normal skin cells from cancer patients and to determine whether the hyper-radiosensitivity (HRS)-like phenomenon occurs in cells of these patients. Primary skin fibroblasts and keratinocytes derived from 40 patients with cervix cancer were studied. After in vitro γ irradiation with single doses ranging from 0.05 to 4 Gy, MN induction was assessed. For each patient, the linear-quadratic (LQ) model and the induced repair (IR) model were fitted over the whole data set. In fits of the IR model, an HRS-like response after low doses (seen as the deviation over the LQ curve) was demonstrated for the fibroblasts of two patients and for the keratinocytes of four other patients. The αs/αr ratio for the six patients ranged from 2.7 to 15.4, whereas the values of the parameter dc ranged from 0.13 to 0.36 Gy. No relationship was observed between chromosomal radiosensitivity of fibroblasts and keratinocytes derived from the same donor in the low-dose (0.1–0.25 Gy) region. In conclusion, the fact that low-dose chromosomal hypersensitivity was observed for cells of only six of the patients studied suggests that it is not a common finding in human normal cells and can represent an individual characteristic.
Residential Segregation, Housing Submarkets, and Spatial Analysis: St. Louis and Cincinnati as a Case Study

This article considers how spatial analysis of housing submarkets can advance research into residential segregation. While an emphasis on housing submarkets has been proposed as a new construct for modeling housing prices, its use in analyzing residential segregation has been limited. Recent advances in spatial analysis and geographic information systems present new opportunities for researchers to exploit the potential of housing submarkets as constructs that offer a more precise way to examine residential segregation. The article synthesizes literature related to residential segregation and housing submarkets and demonstrates how to delineate housing submarkets using publicly available data. It examines the spatial distribution of housing submarkets and how the socially disadvantaged are represented across housing submarkets in St. Louis, Missouri, and Cincinnati, Ohio, to conclude that St. Louis's housing market is more polarized and racially segregated than Cincinnati's. Spatial analysis of housing submarkets, in conjunction with archival analysis, provides a promising avenue for identifying residential segregation as a multidimensional phenomenon, and a means to explore local processes of urban inequality.
‘We are Being Pilloried for Something, We Did Not Even Know We Had Done Wrong!’ Quality Control and Orders of Worth in the British Audit Profession

This paper contributes to the analysis of institutional work by looking at situations of perceived injustice that institutional change can create. To this end, the paper mobilizes the work of Boltanski and Thevenot on orders of worth to analyse the consequences for a professional body of a shift in institutional logics towards more accountability. The feeling of injustice experienced - and voiced - by some members of the largest British institute of auditors, the ICAEW, after it set up and operated a quality monitoring unit, serves to illustrate how change can turn awry when equity in a community of peers is threatened, and how institutional work can remedy such a situation by restoring a sense of worth in the community.
Distribution of a subclinical marker of cardiovascular risk, the ankle brachial index, in a rural African population: SASPI study

Background In sub-Saharan Africa, hypertension and stroke are emerging as an important cause of death and disability, whereas coronary heart disease appears still to be uncommon. The aim of our study was to measure for the first time in an African population the ankle brachial index (ABI), which is known to be a good marker of subclinical atheroma and of the risk of future cardiovascular events. Methods The study was part of the Southern African Stroke Prevention Initiative (SASPI). It comprised a cross-sectional survey conducted in rural north-east South Africa in the sub-district of Agincourt, in which the demography of the population has been closely monitored. A stratified sample of 10 villages were selected and within these a random sample was chosen of 526 men and women aged 35 years and older. Subjects were visited on up to three occasions to be interviewed and have a clinical examination by specially trained nurses. This included an assessment of cardiovascular risk factors and measurement of the ABI (ratio of ankle: brachial systolic pressure) using a Doppler ultrasound machine. Results The sample comprised 322 subjects in whom the mean ABI (lower of either leg) was 1.05 in both men and women. The distribution of ABI was negatively skewed and a low ABI of 0.9 or less, indicative of significant atheroma and higher cardiovascular risk, increased with age from 3.9% in 40–49 year olds to 39.7% in those aged 70 years and older. Lower ABI was related to current cigarette smoking (P = 0.02) and higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure (P < 0.01, P = 0.02, respectively) but not total cholesterol levels, which were relatively low in this population (mean 4.47 mmol/l). Conclusion The distribution of the ABI in this rural African population was very similar to that reported in western populations, and suggests that this population has subclinical peripheral atheroma and is at an increased risk of future cardiovascular events, thus providing further evidence of an epidemiological transition towards cardiovascular disease.
Naïve Sampling and Format Dependence in Subjective Probability Calibration

Previous data suggest that probability judgments can often be fairly realistic, but production of probability intervals promotes extreme overconfidence bias (Juslin & Persson 2002; Juslin, Wennerholm, & Olsson, 1999; Klayman, Soll, Gonzalez-Vallejo, & Barlas, 1999). We present a novel explanation of this format-dependence effect in terms of a naive sampling model. The model assumes that people process distributional information in an unbiased manner, but they are naive in the sense that they uncritically take sample properties as estimates of population properties. A Monte Carlo simulation demonstrates that the model predicts format dependence, with extreme overconfidence bias for interval production that practically disappears for probability assessments for the same intervals. In the last section this novel prediction is empirically verified by data from human participants.