Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison between Kinesio Taping and a Traditional Physical Therapy Program in Treatment of Nonspecific Low Back Pain

[Purpose] Nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) is a very common but largely self-limiting condition. Several types of tape and their associated application methods are available for different conditions. The aim of the present study was to observe the effect of Kinesio taping (KT) compared with traditional management of NSLBP. [Subjects and Methods] Forty male and female patients with a mean age of 34.8±7.54 years were randomly divided into two groups; group 1 (n=20) which underwent conventional physical therapy with KT, and group 2 (n=20), which underwent only conventional physical therapy. The intervention sessions for both groups were three times per week for four weeks. Outcomes were assessed for activities of daily living (ADL) using the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, pain severity using a visual analogue scale, and ranges of motion (ROMs) of trunk flexion and extension using the modified Schober’s test. [Results] Significant differences in measures of pain, ADL, and trunk flexion and extension ROMs were observed post intervention within each group. In comparison, there were no significant differences in measures of pain, ADL, and trunk flexion and extension ROMs post intervention between groups. [Conclusion] A physical therapy program involving strengthening exercises for abdominal muscles and stretching exercises for back, hamstring, and iliopsoas muscles with or without Kinesio taping was beneficial in the treatment of chronic low back pain.
Freezing of ridges and water networks preserves the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains for millions of years

Once an ice sheet grows beyond a critical thickness, the basal thermal regime favors melting and development of subglacial water networks. Subglacial water is necessary for bedrock erosion, but the exact mechanisms that lead to preservation of subglacial topography are unclear. Here we resolve the freezing mechanisms that lead to long‐term, high‐altitude preservation across the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains in East Antarctica. Analyses of a comprehensive geophysical data set reveal a large‐scale water network along valley floors. The ice sheet often drives subglacial water up steep topography where it freezes along high ridges beneath thinner ice. Statistical tests of hypsometry show the Gamburtsevs resemble younger midlatitude mountains, indicating exceptional preservation. We conclude that the Gamburtsevs have been shielded from erosion since the latest Eocene (∼34 Ma). These freezing mechanisms likely account for the spatial and temporal patterns of erosion and preservation seen in other glaciated mountain ranges.
Error Propagation in Gossip-Based Distributed Particle Filters

This paper examines the impact of the gossip procedure on distributed particle filters that employ averaging to estimate the global likelihood function. We consider a model where a gossip-driven algorithm leads to the use of a slightly distorted version of the likelihood function, in lieu of its true value. Under standard regularity conditions, and a mild assumption on the true likelihood function, we derive a time-uniform bound on the weaksense Lp error of the filter. Furthermore, we present an associated exponential inequality for the large deviations of the filter. These bounds capture the combined effects of sampling and consensusbased approximation. The results allow us to evaluate the impact of such approximations on the overall performance of the distributed particle filter, and analyze its stability. Finally, through numerical experiments, we demonstrate the practical implications of these results and explore the relationship of the performance of the filter with these theoretical error bounds.
Incremental Evolving Domain Adaptation

Almost all of the existing domain adaptation methods assume that all test data belong to a single stationary target distribution. However, in many real world applications, data arrive sequentially and the data distribution is continuously evolving. In this paper, we tackle the problem of adaptation to a continuously evolving target domain that has been recently introduced. We assume that the available data for the source domain are labeled but the examples of the target domain can be unlabeled and arrive sequentially. Moreover, the distribution of the target domain can evolve continuously over time. We propose the Evolving Domain Adaptation (EDA) method that first finds a new feature space in which the source domain and the current target domain are approximately indistinguishable. Therefore, source and target domain data are similarly distributed in the new feature space and we use a semi-supervised classification method to utilize both the unlabeled data of the target domain and the labeled data of the source domain. Since test data arrives sequentially, we propose an incremental approach both for finding the new feature space and for semi-supervised classification. Experiments on several real datasets demonstrate the superiority of our proposed method in comparison to the other recent methods.
A CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATION FOR THE THEORY OF RISK AVERSION ( WORKING PAPER )

Classically, risk aversion is equated with concavity of the utility function. In this paper we explore the conceptual foundations of this definition. In accordance with neo-classical economics, we seek a scale-free definition of risk aversion, based on the decisions maker’s preference order alone, independent of numerical values. We explore two such definitions. We then show that when cast in quantitative form these ordinal definitions coincide with the classical Arrow-Pratt definition once the latter is defined with respect to the appropriate scale (which, in general is not money), thus providing a conceptual foundation for the classical definition. The implications of the theory are discussed, including, in particular, to defining risk aversion for non-monetary goods, to disentangling risk aversion from diminishing marginal utility, to multi-commodity/multi-period risk aversion, and to inter-temporal discounting. The entire study is within the expected utility framework.
Therapy for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of abnormal liver chemistries in the United States and other developed countries, with an estimated prevalence of approximately 30% in the general population. NAFLD is commonly associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and other features of the metabolic syndrome. As a result, the prevalence of this disorder is expected to increase with the global epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. NAFLD represents a spectrum of diseases, ranging from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), characterized by steatosis and hepatocyte injury with or without fibrosis. NASH can progress to the development of cirrhosis and over a 10-year period 30% to 50% of these patients will suffer a liver-related death. As a result, there is a clear and urgent need for effective treatment options for patients with NAFLD. Although weight loss and lifestyle modifications have been shown to be effective, only a minority of patients are able to adhere to sustained and intensive dietary interventions. Likewise, bariatric surgery may provide benefit, but only to the severely obese patients. Therefore, the primary focus of studies on the treatment of NAFLD has been on pharmacologic agents that can be further categorized as insulin sensitizers, antioxidants, cytoprotective agents, antihyperlipidemic agents, antiobesity drugs, and novel agents. In this issue, the report by Tanaka and colleagues on the use of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), naturally obtained in the human diet by eating oily fish, such as salmon and sardines, and in fish oils, such as cod liver oil, is an opportunity to consider the present and future status of the medical management of patients with NAFLD. The thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-g (PPAR-g) agonists that improve insulin sensitivity in patients with type 2 diabetes. Because insulin resistance is considered to play a key role in the pathogenesis of NAFLD, the use of TZDs as a treatment option has been widely evaluated. A pilot study of troglitazone, before the TZD being withdrawn from clinical use, in patients with NASH demonstrated improvement in serum aminotransferases and necroinflammatory grade. Subsequent studies with rosiglitazone and pioglitazone alone or in combination with vitamin E demonstrated similar biochemical and histologic improvement. However, long-term therapy is necessary to maintain these improvements and weight gain, potential hepatotoxicity, and the reported increased probability of cardiac events in diabetic patients treated with rosiglitazone may limit the use of TZDs in the treatment of NAFLD. Additional studies, larger and longer in duration, or using combination therapy, in which the possibly deleterious effects of TZDs on organ systems that are affected by the metabolic
Discriminative probabilistic models for passage based retrieval

The approach of using passage-level evidence for document retrieval has shown mixed results when it is applied to a variety of test beds with different characteristics. One main reason of the inconsistent performance is that there exists no unified framework to model the evidence of individual passages within a document. This paper proposes two probabilistic models to formally model the evidence of a set of top ranked passages in a document. The first probabilistic model follows the retrieval criterion that a document is relevant if any passage in the document is relevant, and models each passage independently. The second probabilistic model goes a step further and incorporates the similarity correlations among the passages. Both models are trained in a discriminative manner. Furthermore, we present a combination approach to combine the ranked lists of document retrieval and passage-based retrieval. An extensive set of experiments have been conducted on four different TREC test beds to show the effectiveness of the proposed discriminative probabilistic models for passage-based retrieval. The proposed algorithms are compared with a state-of-the-art document retrieval algorithm and a language model approach for passage-based retrieval. Furthermore, our combined approach has been shown to provide better results than both document retrieval and passage-based retrieval approaches.
On the Limiting Shape of Random Young Tableaux Associated to Inhomogeneous Words

The limiting shape of the random Young tableaux associated to the inhomogeneous word problem is identified as a multidimensional Brownian functional. This functional is thus identical in law to the spectrum of a certain matrix ensemble. The Poissonized word problem is also studied, and the asymptotic behavior of the shape analyzed. AMS 2000 Subject Classification: 15A52, 60C05, 60F05, 60F17, 60G15, 05A19
Syntheses, Structures and Antimicrobial Activities of bis(Imino)acenaphthene (BIAN) Imidazolium Salts

The syntheses of four new bis(imino)acenaphthene (BIAN) imidazolium chlorides are reported, three of which have been structurally characterized. The synthesis of a new, structurally authenticated BIAN ligand is also described. We report the results of the use of these BIAN imidazolium salts as antimicrobials against the pathogens S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli and P. aeruginosa. The antimicrobial efficacies were particularly high for the N-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)- and N-(mesityl)- substituted BIAN imidazolium salts (MIC values < 0.6 μg/mL).
Student perspectives on videoconferencing in teacher education at a distance

This article reports the findings of a small‐scale study exploring student views of the videoconference as a teaching and learning tool in teacher education. The context of this study is a distance education course, run primarily through videoconferencing, for prospective primary school teachers. The use of videoconferencing in this area has not yet been the subject of significant research and so the study aims to make a contribution to the field. The study is part of an ongoing action research project, aimed at improving the quality of the course in question. Taking account of literature on the videoconference format in distance education, the project used a questionnaire to gather student views of the perceived effectiveness and value of videoconferencing, with a particular emphasis on issues relating to teaching approaches and the active engagement of the learner. The article highlights some key findings regarding the efficacy of the format from a student perspective and raises some issues for future pedagogical practice.
Saliency ratio and power factor of IPM motors optimally designed for high efficiency and low cost objectives

This study uses formal mathematical optimization techniques based on parametric computationally-efficient models and differential evolution algorithms. For constant-power applications, in the novel approach described, three concurrent objective functions are minimized: material cost, losses, in order to ensure high efficiency, and the difference between the rated and the characteristic current, aiming to achieve wide constant-power flux-weakening range. Only the first two objectives are considered for constant-torque applications. Two types of Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) rotors in a single and double-layer V-shaped configuration are considered, respectively. The stator has the typical two slots per pole and phase distributed-winding configuration. The results for the constant-torque design show that, in line with expectations, high efficiency and high power factor machines are more costly, and that the low cost machines have poorer efficiency and power factor and most importantly, and despite a common miss-conception, the saliency ratio can also be lower in this case. For constant-power designs, the saliency ratio can be beneficial. Nevertheless, despite a common misconception, when cost is considered alongside performance as an objective, a higher saliency ratio does not necessarily improve the power factors of motors suitable for ideal infinite flux-weakening.
A pr 2 00 2 A comment on the dual field in the scalar AdS-CFT correspondence

In the AdS-CFT correspondence, a functional integral Z(f) over a Euclidean scalar field φ(z, x) on anti-deSitter space with an insertion δ(φ 0 − f) fixing the boundary values φ 0 (x) at z = 0, serves as the generating functional for the correlation functions of a Euclidean con-formal field O(x) " dual " to the AdS field φ. It is shown that Z(f) can also be interpreted as a functional integral with the same action but with the insertion exp(iφ 0 · f) instead, by re-specifying the boundary conditions on the propagators. This implies that the dual field O in fact equals the restriction to the boundary, φ 0 , of the AdS field φ of the latter functional integral.
Re‐evaluation of prognostic markers including staging, serum free light chains or their ratio and serum lactate dehydrogenase in multiple myeloma patients receiving novel agents

International Staging System (ISS), serum free light chain ratio (sFLCR) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) are well known, easily assessed independent prognostic indicators of outcome in multiple myeloma (MM). The purpose of the study was to re‐examine the prognostic contribution of these variables in a multicenter setting with special attention to MM patients treated with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) or novel agents (NA). Three hundred and five symptomatic newly diagnosed MM patients were retrospectively studied. Twenty‐seven per cent, 32% and 41% were in ISS stages 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Fifty‐six per cent of them presented kappa light chain monoclonality; median sFLCR was 27.04 (0.37–1.9 × 105) and 47.97 (0.26–2.3 × 107) for kappa patients and lambda patients, respectively; patients with sFLCR above median constituted the high sFLCR group. Thirty‐one per cent of patients had increased LDH. As first line treatment, 55.7% received conventional treatment and 44.3% NA. After induction, 24% underwent ASCT, whereas 76% received NA at any line, either bortezomib (82.5%), thalidomide (48%) or lenalidomide (27%). When the 305 patients were analyzed together, staging, high sFLCR and abnormal LDH were predictive of survival. The same was true for patients that never received NA, whereas neither high sFLCR nor abnormal LDH constituted adverse factors in patients that received NA frontline. In the last group of patients, no difference was observed between ISS stages 2 and 3. The median 5‐year survival of patients that never received NA versus those who did frontline was 29% vs 47%, 7% vs 52% and 24% vs 40% in patients with abnormal LDH, high sFLCR and ISS stage 3, respectively (p = 0.03, p < 0.00001 and p = 0.035). In conclusion, patients gaining the most from NA are those with an aggressive disease as reflected by advanced stage, abnormal LDH and high sFLCR. In addition, the adverse impact of these three variables is obscured by NA. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A lower limb exoskeleton control system based on steady state visual evoked potentials

Objective. We have developed an asynchronous brain–machine interface (BMI)-based lower limb exoskeleton control system based on steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs). Approach. By decoding electroencephalography signals in real-time, users are able to walk forward, turn right, turn left, sit, and stand while wearing the exoskeleton. SSVEP stimulation is implemented with a visual stimulation unit, consisting of five light emitting diodes fixed to the exoskeleton. A canonical correlation analysis (CCA) method for the extraction of frequency information associated with the SSVEP was used in combination with k-nearest neighbors. Main results. Overall, 11 healthy subjects participated in the experiment to evaluate performance. To achieve the best classification, CCA was first calibrated in an offline experiment. In the subsequent online experiment, our results exhibit accuracies of 91.3 ± 5.73%, a response time of 3.28 ± 1.82 s, an information transfer rate of 32.9 ± 9.13 bits/min, and a completion time of 1100 ± 154.92 s for the experimental parcour studied. Significance. The ability to achieve such high quality BMI control indicates that an SSVEP-based lower limb exoskeleton for gait assistance is becoming feasible.
Insurance and representation: Why do some democracies redistribute more than others?

A device for enabling testing of a person's physical condition, by enabling measurement of the energy expended by the person to be tested thereby, in manually maintaining rotation of a flywheel in a stationary bicycle, against resistance applied to the flywheel, for use in determining the efficiency of the person's body in using energy, as an indication of such person's physical condition. The device is adapted to overcome inertia of the flywheel, from rest to a selected speed of rotation thereof, in an efficient and effective manner, prior to the onset of the test. Upon the onset of the test, with inertia in the flywheel having been non-manually overcome, the person to be tested is to manually maintain rotation of the flywheel, against resistance applied thereto, by manually rotating pedals operably connected to the flywheel. The device includes a non-manual inertia overcoming mechanism. In one embodiment, the mechanism includes a motor, the drive shaft of which is rotatably mounted in the bicycle frame and operably connected, through sprockets and a chain, to a sprocket, driven by the motor drive shaft through such operable connections. The driven sprocket is engaged with a belt, which is operably connected to the flywheel, for selectively driving the belt and flywheel thereby. In another embodiment, the mechanism includes a motor, the drive shaft of which is rotatably mounted in the bicycle frame, with the flywheel mounted thereon, for selectively and non-manually overcoming inertia in the flywheel.
One of a kind: inferring personality impressions in meetings

We present an analysis on personality prediction in small groups based on trait attributes from external observers. We use a rich set of automatically extracted audio-visual nonverbal features, including speaking turn, prosodic, visual activity, and visual focus of attention features. We also investigate whether the thin sliced impressions of external observers generalize to the whole meeting in the personality prediction task. Using ridge regression, we have analyzed both the regression and classification performance of personality prediction. Our experiments show that the extraversion trait can be predicted with high accuracy in a binary classification task and visual activity features give higher accuracies than audio ones. The highest accuracy for the extraversion trait, is 75\%, obtained with a combination of audio-visual features. Openness to experience trait also has a significant accuracy, only when the whole meeting is used as the unit of processing.
Regulation of Heterochromatin Assembly on Unpaired Chromosomes during Caenorhabditis elegans Meiosis by Components of a Small RNA-Mediated Pathway

Many organisms have a mechanism for down regulating the expression of non-synapsed chromosomes and chromosomal regions during meiosis. This phenomenon is thought to function in genome defense. During early meiosis in Caenorhabditis elegans, unpaired chromosomes (e.g., the male X chromosome) become enriched for a modification associated with heterochromatin and transcriptional repression, dimethylation of histone H3 on lysine 9 (H3K9me2). This enrichment requires activity of the cellular RNA-directed RNA polymerase, EGO-1. Here we use genetic mutation, RNA interference, immunofluorescence microscopy, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and molecular cloning methods to identify and analyze three additional regulators of meiotic H3K9me2 distribution: CSR-1 (a Piwi/PAZ/Argonaute protein), EKL-1 (a Tudor domain protein), and DRH-3 (a DEAH/D-box helicase). In csr-1, ekl-1, and drh-3 mutant males, we observed a reduction in H3K9me2 accumulation on the unpaired X chromosome and an increase in H3K9me2 accumulation on paired autosomes relative to controls. We observed a similar shift in H3K9me2 pattern in hermaphrodites that carry unpaired chromosomes. Based on several assays, we conclude that ectopic H3K9me2 accumulates on paired and synapsed chromosomes in these mutants. We propose alternative models for how a small RNA-mediated pathway may regulate H3K9me2 accumulation during meiosis. We also describe the germline phenotypes of csr-1, ekl-1, and drh-3 mutants. Our genetic data suggest that these factors, together with EGO-1, participate in a regulatory network to promote diverse aspects of development.