Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Multisensory Approach for Remote Health Monitoring of Older People

Growing life expectancy and increasing incidence of multiple chronic health conditions are significant societal challenges. Different technologies have been proposed to address these issues, detect critical events, such as stroke or falls, and monitor automatically human activities for health condition inference and anomaly detection. This paper aims to investigate two types of sensing technologies proposed for assisted living: wearable and radar sensors. First, different feature selection methods are validated and compared in terms of accuracy and computational loads. Then, information fusion is applied to enhance activity classification accuracy combining the two sensors. Improvements in classification accuracy of approximately 12% using feature level fusion are achieved with both support vector machine s (SVMs) and k-nearest neighbor (KNN) classifiers. Decision-level fusion schemes are also investigated, yielding classification accuracy in the order of 97%–98%.
Evaluating ResNeXt Model Architecture for Image Classification

In recent years, deep learning methods have been successfully applied to image classification tasks. Many such deep neural networks exist today that can easily differentiate cats from dogs. One such model is the ResNeXt model that uses a homogeneous, multi-branch architecture for image classification. This paper aims at implementing and evaluating the ResNeXt model architecture on subsets of the CIFAR-10 dataset. It also tweaks the original ResNeXt hyper-parameters such as cardinality, depth and base-width and compares the performance of the modified model with the original. Analysis of the experiments performed in this paper show that a slight decrease in depth or base-width does not affect the performance of the model much leading to comparable results.
Automated detection of mammographic masses: preliminary assessment of an information-theoretic CAD scheme for reduction of false positives

The purpose of this work was to evaluate an information-theoretic computer-aided detection (CAD) scheme for improving the specificity of mass detection in screening mammograms. The study was based on images from the Lumisys set of the Digital Database for Screening Mammography (DDSM). Initially, the craniocaudal views of 49 DDSM mammograms were analyzed using an automated detection algorithm developed to prescreen mammograms. The prescreening algorithm followed a morphological concentric layer analysis and resulted in 319 false positive detections at 92% sensitivity. These 319 suspicious yet normal regions were extracted for further analysis with our information-theoretic CAD scheme. Our scheme follows a knowledge-based decision strategy. The strategy relies on information theoretic principles for similarity assessment between a query case and a knowledge databank of cases with known ground truth. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to determine how well the CAD scheme can discriminate the false positive regions from 681 true masses. The overall ROC area index of the information-theoretic CAD system was 0.75±0.02. At 97%, 95%, and 90% sensitivity, the system eliminated safely 20%, 30%, and 42% of the previously identified false positives respectively. Thus, information-theoretic CAD analysis can yield a significant reduction in false-positive detections while maintaining reasonable sensitivity.
Deconvoluting the Biological Roles of Vitamin D-Binding Protein During Pregnancy: A Both Clinical and Theoretical Challenge

The teleological purpose of an ongoing pregnancy is to fulfill its fundamental role of a successful, uncomplicated delivery, in conjunction with an optimal intrauterine environment for the developing fetus. Vitamin D metabolism is adapted to meet both these demands during pregnancy; first by stimulation of calcium absorption for adequate intrauterine bone mineral accrual of the fetus, and second, by enhancing systemic and local maternal tolerance to paternal and fetal alloantigens. Vitamin D-binding protein (VDBP) is one of the key biomolecules that optimize vitamin D homeostasis and also contributes as an immune regulator for a healthy, ongoing pregnancy. In this regard, recent results indicate that dysregulation of VDBP equilibrium could be a risk factor for adverse fetal, maternal, and neonatal outcomes, including preeclampsia, preterm birth, and gestational diabetes. Moreover, it has been hypothesized to be also implicated in the interpretation of vitamin D status in the pregnant state. The aim of this review is to assess available literature regarding the association of VDBP with clinical outcomes during pregnancy, as a potential biomarker for future clinical practice, with a discourse on current knowledge gaps and future research agenda.
Stray Load and Iron Losses in Small Induction Machines Under Variable Operating Frequency and Flux: A Simple Estimation Method

In this paper, an engineering approach to estimation of the fundamental stray load and iron losses in small induction machines (IMs) is proposed. This approach consists of experimental testing carried on several IMs of different efficiency class and rotor cage material, all rated 1.5 kW, followed by the derivation of simple empirical formulas for estimation of these two types of losses. The iron losses are evaluated as variable with respect to the operating frequency and flux, whereas the stray load losses are evaluated as variable with respect to the operating frequency, flux, and torque. Application of the proposed formulas does not require any additional tests other than those imposed by international standards, and, equally important, they do not include any constructional details of the IM. The validity of the formulas is verified by comparison of the estimated and measured losses in wide ranges of the operating frequency, flux, and torque. The proposed methods of estimation offer possibilities for application in the analysis of small IMs under various operating conditions with sinusoidal supply, as well as in developing advanced IM models and vector control algorithms.
Molecular Mechanisms Preventing Senescence in Response to Prolonged Darkness in a Desiccation-Tolerant Plant1[OPEN]

During long-term darkness, specific transcriptional reprogramming and metabolome reconfigurations enable Haberlea rhodopensis to preserve most of their chlorophyll and counteract starvation by using proteins and polar lipids as alternative nitrogen and energy sources. The desiccation-tolerant plant Haberlea rhodopensis can withstand months of darkness without any visible senescence. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanisms of this adaptation to prolonged (30 d) darkness and subsequent return to light. H. rhodopensis plants remained green and viable throughout the dark treatment. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that darkness regulated several transcription factor (TF) genes. Stress- and autophagy-related TFs such as ERF8, HSFA2b, RD26, TGA1, and WRKY33 were up-regulated, while chloroplast- and flowering-related TFs such as ATH1, COL2, COL4, RL1, and PTAC7 were repressed. PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR4, a negative regulator of photomorphogenesis and promoter of senescence, also was down-regulated. In response to darkness, most of the photosynthesis- and photorespiratory-related genes were strongly down-regulated, while genes related to autophagy were up-regulated. This occurred concomitant with the induction of SUCROSE NON-FERMENTING1-RELATED PROTEIN KINASES (SnRK1) signaling pathway genes, which regulate responses to stress-induced starvation and autophagy. Most of the genes associated with chlorophyll catabolism, which are induced by darkness in dark-senescing species, were either unregulated (PHEOPHORBIDE A OXYGENASE, PAO; RED CHLOROPHYLL CATABOLITE REDUCTASE, RCCR) or repressed (STAY GREEN-LIKE, PHEOPHYTINASE, and NON-YELLOW COLORING1). Metabolite profiling revealed increases in the levels of many amino acids in darkness, suggesting increased protein degradation. In darkness, levels of the chloroplastic lipids digalactosyldiacylglycerol, monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol decreased, while those of storage triacylglycerols increased, suggesting degradation of chloroplast membrane lipids and their conversion to triacylglycerols for use as energy and carbon sources. Collectively, these data show a coordinated response to darkness, including repression of photosynthetic, photorespiratory, flowering, and chlorophyll catabolic genes, induction of autophagy and SnRK1 pathways, and metabolic reconfigurations that enable survival under prolonged darkness.
Passive water collection with the integument: mechanisms and their biomimetic potential

ABSTRACT Several mechanisms of water acquisition have evolved in animals living in arid habitats to cope with limited water supply. They enable access to water sources such as rain, dew, thermally facilitated condensation on the skin, fog, or moisture from a damp substrate. This Review describes how a significant number of animals – in excess of 39 species from 24 genera – have acquired the ability to passively collect water with their integument. This ability results from chemical and structural properties of the integument, which, in each species, facilitate one or more of six basic mechanisms: increased surface wettability, increased spreading area, transport of water over relatively large distances, accumulation and storage of collected water, condensation, and utilization of gravity. Details are described for each basic mechanism. The potential for bio-inspired improvement of technical applications has been demonstrated in many cases, in particular for several wetting phenomena, fog collection and passive, directional transport of liquids. Also considered here are potential applications in the fields of water supply, lubrication, heat exchangers, microfluidics and hygiene products. These present opportunities for innovations, not only in product functionality, but also for fabrication processes, where resources and environmental impact can be reduced. Summary: Skin water collection has evolved in several animal genera, enabling access to differing water sources. Six mechanisms are presented and their innovation potential for technical applications is discussed.
Late Cretaceous (late Campanian–Maastrichtian) sea-surface temperature record of the Boreal Chalk Sea

Abstract. The last 8 Myr of the Cretaceous greenhouse interval were characterized by a progressive global cooling with superimposed cool/warm fluctuations. The mechanisms responsible for these climatic fluctuations remain a source of debate that can only be resolved through multi-disciplinary studies and better time constraints. For the first time, we present a record of very high-resolution (ca. 4.5 kyr) sea-surface temperature (SST) changes from the Boreal epicontinental Chalk Sea (Stevns-1 core, Denmark), tied to an astronomical timescale of the late Campanian–Maastrichtian (74 to 66 Ma). Well-preserved bulk stable isotope trends and calcareous nannofossil palaeoecological patterns from the fully cored Stevns-1 borehole show marked changes in SSTs. These variations correlate with deep-water records of climate change from the tropical South Atlantic and Pacific oceans but differ greatly from the climate variations of the North Atlantic. We demonstrate that the onset and end of the early Maastrichtian cooling and of the large negative Campanian–Maastrichtian boundary carbon isotope excursion are coincident in the Chalk Sea. The direct link between SSTs and δ13C variations in the Chalk Sea reassesses long-term glacio-eustasy as the potential driver of carbon isotope and climatic variations in the Maastrichtian.
Differentiation Between Pediatric Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Based on Fecal Scent: Proof of Principle Study.

Background The diagnostic work-up of pediatric irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional abdominal pain-not otherwise specified (FAP-NOS) commonly includes invasive tests for discrimination from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). As this carries a high burden on patients, an ongoing need exists for development of noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers for IBS and FAP-NOS. Several studies have shown microbiota alterations in IBS/FAP, which are considered to be reflected by fecal volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The object of the study was to evaluate whether pediatric IBS/FAP-NOS could be discriminated from IBD and healthy controls by fecal VOC analysis. Methods IBS/FAP-NOS was diagnosed according to the ROME IV criteria, and de novo IBD patients and healthy controls (HCs) aged 4 to 17 years were matched on age and sex. Fecal VOCs were analyzed by means of field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry. Results Fecal VOCs of 15 IBS/FAP-NOS, 30 IBD (15 ulcerative colitis, 15 Crohn's disease) patients and 30 HCs were analyzed and compared. Differentiation between IBS/FAP-NOS and IBD was feasible with high accuracy (area under the curve [AUC], 0.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.88-1; P < 0.00001). IBS/FAP-NOS profiles could not be differentiated from HCs (AUC, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.41-0.77; P = 0.167), whereas IBD profiles could with high accuracy (AUC, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.93-1; P < 0.00001). Conclusion Pediatric IBS/FAP-NOS could be differentiated from IBD by fecal VOC analysis with high accuracy, but not from healthy controls. The latter finding limits the potential of fecal VOCs to serve as a diagnostic biomarker for IBS/FAP-NOS. However, VOC could possibly serve as additional noninvasive biomarker to differentiate IBS/FAP-NOS from IBD. 10.1093/ibd/izy151_video1izy151. video15786446046001.
Pathology of coccidioidomycosis in llamas and alpacas

Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal disease caused by either Coccidioides immitis or Coccidioides posadasii. Anecdotal evidence suggests that camelids are particularly susceptible to this disease and that a relatively large percentage of pneumonias in these animals are caused by Coccidioides spp. In a search of 21 y (1992–2013) of records from the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, we found 79 cases of coccidioidomycosis diagnosed in camelids; 66 (84%) had pneumonia and 13 (16%) had lesions only in organs other than the lungs. The organs most frequently affected were lung (84%) and liver (78%). Coccidioides spp. were the cause of pneumonia in 66 of 362 (18%) camelid cases during the study period. The lesions in affected organs were multifocal-to-coalescing pyogranulomas, which in most cases were visible grossly. Ten of the 12 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded lung samples tested by a universal Coccidioides spp. PCR assay were positive (4 C. immitis, 2 C. posadasii); the species could not be determined in 4 of the 10 cases positive by PCR. Coccidioidomycosis is an important cause of pneumonia in camelids in California, and can be caused by either C. immitis or C. posadasii.
Circulating Dephospho-Uncarboxylated Matrix Gla-Protein Is Associated With Kidney Dysfunction and Arterial Stiffness

BACKGROUND Large artery stiffening is increased in advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) but likely develops progressively in earlier stages of CKD. Active matrix Gla-protein (MGP) is a potent vitamin K-dependent inhibitor of vascular calcification. A recent animal model demonstrated intrinsic abnormalities in vitamin K metabolism even in early CKD, but whether early human CKD is associated with vascular vitamin K deficiency is unknown. METHODS We enrolled 137 adults without HF with varying degrees of renal function: normal estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR; >90 ml/min; n = 59), mildly reduced eGFR (stage 2 CKD: eGFR = 60-89 ml/min; n = 53) or at least moderately reduced eGFR (stage 3-5 CKD; eGFR < 60 ml/min; n = 25). Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (CF-PWV) was measured with carotid and femoral tonometry. Dephospho-uncarboxylated matrix gla-protein (dp-ucMGP) was measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (VitaK; Maastricht University; The Netherlands). RESULT Dp-ucMGP levels were progressively increased with decreasing renal function (eGFR ≥ 90: 247 pmol/l; eGFR 60-89: 488 pmol/l; eGFR < 60: 953 pmol/l; P < 0.0001). These differences persisted after adjustment for multiple potential confounders (eGFR ≥ 90: 314 pmol/l; eGFR 60-89: 414 pmol/l; eGFR < 60: 770 pmol/l; P < 0.0001). In a multivariable model adjusted for various confounders, dp-ucMGP was a significant independent predictor of CF-PWV (β = 0.21; P = 0.019). In formal mediation analyses, dp-ucMGP mediated a significant relationship between eGFR and higher CF-PWV (β = -0.16; P = 0.005), whereas no significant dp-ucMGP-independent relationship was present (β = -0.02; P = 0.80). CONCLUSIONS CKD is associated with increased (inactive) dp-ucMGP, a vitamin K-dependent inhibitor of vascular calcification, which correlates with large artery stiffness. Further studies are needed to assess whether vitamin K2 supplementation represents a suitable therapeutic strategy to prevent or reduce arterial stiffening in CKD.
Intake and Factors Associated with Consumption of Pureed Food in Long Term Care: An Analysis of Making the Most of Mealtimes (M3) Project

Abstract Residents living in long term care (LTC) who consume a pureed diet tend to have inadequate intake; understanding factors associated with poor intake in this group of residents is not well established. This study examined the adequacy of nutrient intake among LTC residents consuming a pureed diet and the factors associated with this intake (n = 67). Data was collected as part of a cross-sectional study conducted in 32 LTC homes. Weighed food intake was measured on three non-consecutive days and analyzed using Food Processor software. Intake of nutrients were adjusted for intra-individual variability and compared to the Estimated Average Requirement or Adequate Intake for women only. Consumers of a pureed diet had low micronutrient intakes. Multivariate analysis found that the average number of staff assisting with a meal was associated with energy and protein intake. Overcoming eating challenges, careful menu planning and nutrient-dense options for pureed diets in LTC are recommended.
Signature microRNA expression profile is associated with spontaneous hypertension in African green monkey

ABSTRACT Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus, the African Green monkey (AGM), has been proved to exhibit renal vascular remodeling and spontaneous hypertension. However, little is known about the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in this process.Using small RNA deep sequencing, we compared the plasma miRNA expression patterns between hypertensive (HT) AGMs and normotensive (NT) AGMs. Expression of miRNAs (miR-122, miR-339, miR-296-5p) was validated independently in plasma samples from 10 HT AGMs and 10 NT AGMs (fold changes are 2.0, 1.6, 2.7 respectively; all P< 0.001). Potential BP (blood pressure)-regulating mRNA targets were predicted by TargetScan and confirmed in the Vero cells. We report for the first time a circulating miRNA profile for AGM. miRNAs, such as miR-122, miR-339, miR-296-5p, may be involved in renal pathologies and spontaneous hypertension of AGM.
Peculiar Kinetics of Coercivity of Sintered Sm(Co0.78Fe0.10Cu0.10Zr0.02)7 Magnet Upon Slow Cooling

The origin of coercivity of the sintered Sm(Co0.78Fe0.10Cu0.10Zr0.02)7 magnets has been studied in the course of step annealing by X-ray diffraction and magnetic measurements. The Cu redistribution in the Sm(Co,Cu)5 boundary phase of the cellular structure modifies the domain-wall energy and increases the coercivity upon step cooling. Interphase stresses are considered to be the main reason for copper redistribution upon slow cooling. It is shown that the coercivity abruptly increases in the course of annealing at a temperature of 500 °C, which is close to the Curie temperature of the Sm(Co,Cu)5 phase. The effect may be caused by an increase in the interphase stresses at the boundary of the coherent 1:5 and 2:17 phases in the course of the annealing at the temperature close to the Curie temperature of the 1:5 phase. The accelerated Cu diffusion into the boundary compensates these stresses. The new scheme of the Cu redistribution over the cell-boundary phase is suggested. Contrary to the known schemes, it assumes that Cu is localized in the 1:5 phase near the interface between the phases, rather than in the center of the 1:5 phase.
A High-Isolation MIMO Antenna with Dual-Port Structure for 5G Mobile Phones

In this letter, a new dual-port Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna is introduced which has two independent signal feeding ports in a single antenna element to achieve smaller antenna volumes for the 5G mobile applications. The dual-port structure is implemented by adding a cross coupled semi-loop (CCSL) antenna as the secondary radiator to the ground short of inverted-F antenna (IFA). It is found that the port to port isolation is not deteriorated when an IFA and CCSL is combined to form a dual-port structure. The isolation property of the proposed antenna is compared with a polarization diversity based dual-port antenna proposed in the literature [9]. The operating frequency range is 3.3–4.0 GHz which is suitable for places where 4x4 MIMO systems are supposed to be deployed such as in China, EU, Korea and Japan at the band x (3.3 – 3.8GHz. The measured 6-dB impedance bandwidths of the proposed antennas are larger than 700 MHz with isolation between the feeding ports higher than 18 dB [1-2]. The simulation and measurement results show that the proposed antenna concept is a very promising alternative for 5G mobile applications.
Origins of Congenital Defects: Epidemiologic Approach

The Child Health Survey in Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1958 until 1960 was concerned with a comprehensive examination of about 3500 children born of parents who were cousins and an equal number whose parents were not cousins (Schull and Neel , 1965). An evaluation of the effects of inbreeding was the primary objective, but there was also a chance to study the influence on health of a wide variety of environmental variables. All children had been examined earlier as controls in an evaluation of the genetic effects of radiation (Neel and Schull, 1956). The later consanguinity study concerned children whose parents had received very little or no radiation exposure. Thus, the effects of inbreeding were not confounded by those of radiation. The children were 5 to 11 years of age at the time of this follow-up examination. The loss of distant visual acuity that is, vision of 20/ 70 or worse in at least one eye-was classified as due to congenital organic defect when some abnormality could be found by external examination of the eye or by use of the ophthalmoscope. When no such defect was found, the visual acuity loss was attributed to refractive error, principally myopia . The prevalence of congenital organic lesions of the eye increased very significantly with inbreeding, from 1.69 per 1000 for children of unrelated parents to 10.01 per 1000 for children whose parents were first cousins. Since the rates of these lesions are normally very low, the risk to the child of a consanguineous mating, even though six times normal, is not very great. Virtually no refractive errors were found among children under 6 years of age. Those occurring thereafter were considered to be due to myopia. The role of inheritance was implicated in the genesis of this defect by the increase in frequency as the degree of inbreeding increased, by the tendency for cases to aggregate in families, and by the greater rates in Japan as compared with the United States (racial difference ? ) . The influence of the environment early in life was suggested by finding that the risk of myopia was increased among children whose birth weight was less than 2500 grams, as previously found in several studies from Great Britain and the United States, and by the independent tendency in Hiroshima for rates of myopia to be higher among children born during the first half of the year, particularly those born in the spring months (Miller, 1963) . There was no relationship of childhood myopia to maternal age or to birth order, to socioeconomic status as indicated by average food