Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic estimation of the price-response of deadline-constrained electric loads under threshold policies

The paper presents a consistent and unbiased estimator for dynamic, one-step-ahead prediction of the aggregate response of a large number of individual loads to a common price signal, using only aggregate past response data. The price per unit of consumption is an exogenous signal which is updated at discrete time intervals. It is assumed that individual loads arrive in the system at random times with random demands and random consumption deadlines, and may defer their consumption up to the deadline in order to minimize their total cost. It is further assumed that the individual loads adopt a threshold policy in the sense that they only consume when the price is below a certain threshold. A dynamic aggregate model is constructed from models of independent individual loads. A consistent and unbiased estimator which only uses aggregate data, i.e., the price and aggregate consumption time-series is presented for estimating the aggregate consumption as a function of price.
On the estimation of disease prevalence by latent class models for screening studies using two screening tests with categorical disease status verified in test positives only

To evaluate the probabilities of a disease state, ideally all subjects in a study should be diagnosed by a definitive diagnostic or gold standard test. However, since definitive diagnostic tests are often invasive and expensive, it is generally unethical to apply them to subjects whose screening tests are negative. In this article, we consider latent class models for screening studies with two imperfect binary diagnostic tests and a definitive categorical disease status measured only for those with at least one positive screening test. Specifically, we discuss a conditional‐independent and three homogeneous conditional‐dependent latent class models and assess the impact of misspecification of the dependence structure on the estimation of disease category probabilities using frequentist and Bayesian approaches. Interestingly, the three homogeneous‐dependent models can provide identical goodness‐of‐fit but substantively different estimates for a given study. However, the parametric form of the assumed dependence structure itself is not ‘testable’ from the data, and thus the dependence structure modeling considered here can only be viewed as a sensitivity analysis concerning a more complicated non‐identifiable model potentially involving a heterogeneous dependence structure. Furthermore, we discuss Bayesian model averaging together with its limitations as an alternative way to partially address this particularly challenging problem. The methods are applied to two cancer screening studies, and simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of these methods. In summary, further research is needed to reduce the impact of model misspecification on the estimation of disease prevalence in such settings. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Training mode's influences on the relationships between training-load models during basketball conditioning.

PURPOSE To compare perceptual and physiological training-load responses during various basketball training modes. METHODS Eight semiprofessional male basketball players (age 26.3 ± 6.7 y, height 188.1 ± 6.2 cm, body mass 92.0 ± 13.8 kg) were monitored across a 10-wk period in the preparatory phase of their training plan. Player session ratings of perceived exertion (sRPE) and heart-rate (HR) responses were gathered across base, specific, and tactical/game-play training modes. Pearson correlations were used to determine the relationships between the sRPE model and 2 HR-based models: the training impulse (TRIMP) and summated HR zones (SHRZ). One-way ANOVAs were used to compare training loads between training modes for each model. RESULTS Stronger relationships between perceptual and physiological models were evident during base (sRPE-TRIMP r = .53, P < .05; sRPE-SHRZ r = .75, P < .05) and tactical/game-play conditioning (sRPE-TRIMP r = .60, P < .05; sRPE-SHRZ r = .63; P < .05) than during specific conditioning (sRPE-TRIMP r = .38, P < .05; sRPE-SHRZ r = .52; P < .05). Furthermore, the sRPE model detected greater increases (126-429 AU) in training load than the TRIMP (15-65 AU) and SHRZ models (27-170 AU) transitioning between training modes. CONCLUSIONS While the training-load models were significantly correlated during each training mode, weaker relationships were observed during specific conditioning. Comparisons suggest that the HR-based models were less effective in detecting periodized increases in training load, particularly during court-based, intermittent, multidirectional drills. The practical benefits and sensitivity of the sRPE model support its use across different basketball training modes.
Effect of three-size too large strong stocking on venous hemodynamics in normal subjects

Objectives To study the differences in impact on venous hemodynamics between larger size strong graduated elastic compression stockings (GECS) and appropriate size strong/moderate GECS. Method In healthy legs fitted for a small (Group S; n = 8) and large (Group L; n = 8) GECS, air plethysmography was performed without GECS, with an appropriate size strong GECS (GECS1), with a three-size too large strong GECS (GECS2), and with an appropriate size moderate GECS (GECS3) in this order. Results In Group S, interface pressure with GECS2 was equal to or higher than that with GECS3. Decreased venous volume, unchanged ejection volume, and decreased residual volume were achieved by GECS, but differences in these parameters among GECS were not observed. Although insignificant, a similar tendency was found in Group L. Conclusions A larger size strong GECS seemed to have equivalent interface pressure and impact on venous hemodynamics compared to an appropriate size moderate or strong GECS.
Assessment of Beta-Cell Function During Pregnancy and after Delivery

Summary The aim of the present study was to assess β-cell function using homeostasis model (HOMA-B) and disposition index (DI) in pregnant women with/without gestational diabetes, and after delivery. A total of 102 pregnant women between 24-28 gestational weeks (53 with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and 49 with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and 22 GDM postpartum women (8-12 weeks after delivery) were included in the study. All postpartum women had a history of GDM. HOMA indexes (insulin resistance - HOMA-IR and HOMA-B for assessing β-cell function) were calculated from fasting glucose and insulin concentrations. To estimate insulin secretion independent of insulin sensitivity, DI was calculated using glucose and insulin levels at 0 and 60 min during the course of a 2 h 75g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). In GDM pregnant women HOMA-B was significantly lower compared to NGT women (p = 0.017), but there was no significant difference compared to women after birth (NS). There was difference between NGT and postpartum women (p < 0.05). DI was significantly lower for GDM pregnant women in comparison to NGT and postpartum women (p < 0.0001; p = 0.011), between NGT and women after birth (p < 0.04). In our study, comparison of НОМА-В in NGT and GDM pregnant women demonstrated that the OR of developing GDM was 0.989 (95% CI, 0.980-0.998, P = 0.013), and comparison of DI in healthy pregnant and GDM showed that the OR of developing GDM was 0.967 (95% CI, 0.947-0.988, P = 0.002). Therefore, HOMA-B and DI appear to be protective factors in the risk of developing GDM. According to our results, assessment of β-cell function, using HOMA-B and DI, showed that they are lower in GDM than NGT group and postpartum women. It is important to note that HOMA-B did not show significant difference between GDM pregnant and women after delivery with a history for GDM. We assume that pregnant women with GDM have a pancreatic β-cell defect that remains after birth. These women are at increased risk for developing diabetes mellitus, the most frequent type 2 diabetes, in the future after birth.
Time-motion analysis of a 2-hour surfing training session.

PURPOSE To provide a descriptive and quantitative time-motion analysis of surfing training with the use of global positioning system (GPS) and heart-rate (HR) technology. METHODS Fifteen male surfing athletes (22.1 ± 3.9 y, 175.4 ± 6.4 cm, 72.5 ± 7.7 kg) performed a 2-h surfing training session, wearing both a GPS unit and an HR monitor. An individual digital video recording was taken of the entire surfing duration. Repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to determine any effects of time on the physical and physiological measures. RESULTS Participants covered 6293.2 ± 1826.1 m during the 2-h surfing training session and recorded measures of average speed, HRaverage, and HRpeak as 52.4 ± 15.2 m/min, 128 ± 13 beats/min, and 171 ± 12 beats/ min, respectively. Furthermore, the relative mean times spent performing paddling, sprint paddling to catch waves, stationary, wave riding, and recovery of the surfboard were 42.6% ± 9.9%, 4.1% ± 1.2%, 52.8% ± 12.4%, 2.5% ± 1.9%, and 2.1% ± 1.7%, respectively. CONCLUSION The results demonstrate that a 2-h surfing training session is performed at a lower intensity than competitive heats. This is likely due to the onset of fatigue and a pacing strategy used by participants. Furthermore, surfing training sessions do not appear to appropriately condition surfers for competitive events. As a result, coaches working with surfing athletes should consider altering training sessions to incorporate repeated-effort sprint paddling to more effectively physically prepare surfers for competitive events.
Repeated High-Intensity-Effort Activity in Elite and Semielite Rugby League Match Play.

PURPOSE No study has investigated the frequency and nature of repeated high-intensity-effort (RHIE) bouts across elite and semielite rugby league competitions. This study examined RHIE activity in rugby league match play across playing standards. PARTICIPANTS 36 elite and 64 semielite rugby league players. METHODS Global positioning system analysis was completed during 17 elite and 14 semielite matches. RESULTS The most commonly occurring RHIE bouts involved 2 efforts (2-RHIE) for both elite and semielite players. Only small differences were found in 2-RHIE activity between elite and semielite match play (effect size [ES] ≥ 0.31 ± 0.15, ≥ 88%, likely). RHIE bouts were more likely to involve contact as the number of efforts in a bout increased (ES ≥0.40 ± 0.15, 100%, almost certainly). Semielite players performed a greater proportion of 2-contact-effort RHIE bouts than their elite counterparts (68.2% vs 60.6%, ES 0.33 ± 0.15, 92%, likely), while elite players performed a greater proportion of 3-effort bouts (26.9% vs 21.1%, ES 0.31 ± 0.15, 88%, likely). Elite players also had a shorter recovery (1.00-3.99 vs ≥4.00 min) between RHIE bouts (ES ≥ 1.60 ± 0.71, ≥ 94%, likely). CONCLUSION These findings highlight the RHIE demands of elite and semielite rugby league match play. Elite players are more likely to perform RHIE bouts consisting of 3 efforts and to have a shorter recovery time between bouts. Exposing players to these RHIE demands in training is likely to improve their ability to tolerate the most demanding passages of match play.
Blunting of exercise-induced salivary testosterone in elite-level triathletes with a 10-day training camp.

PURPOSE This study examined the influence of 10 days of intensified training on salivary cortisol and testosterone responses to 30-min, high-intensity cycling (55/80) in a group of male elite triathletes. METHODS Seven elite male triathletes (age 19 ± 1 y, VO2max 67.6 ± 4.5 mL · kg-1 · min-1) completed the study. Swim distances increased by 45%. Running and cycling training hours increased by 25% and 229%, respectively. REST-Q questionnaires assessed mood status before, during, and after the training period. Unstimulated saliva samples were collected before, after, and 30 min after a continuous, high-intensity exercise test. Salivary cortisol and testosterone concentrations were assessed. RESULTS Compared with pretraining, blunted exercise-induced salivary testosterone responses to the posttraining 55/80 were found (P = .004). The absolute response of salivary testosterone concentrations to the 55/80 decreased pretraining to posttraining from 114% to 85%. No changes were found in exercise-induced salivary cortisol concentration responses to the 55/80. REST-Q scores indicated no changes in the participants' psychological stress-recovery levels over the training camp. CONCLUSIONS The blunted exercise-induced salivary testosterone is likely due to decreased testicular testosterone production and/or secretion, possibly attributable to hypothalamic dysfunction or reduced testicular blood flow. REST-Q scores suggest that the triathletes coped well with training-load elevations, which could account for the finding of no change in the exercise-induced salivary cortisol concentration. Overall, these findings suggest that the 55/80 can detect altered exercise-induced salivary testosterone concentrations in an elite athletic population due to increased training stress. However, this alteration occurs independently of a perceived elevation of training stress.
Probiotics and Prebiotics as Functional Ingredients in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Probiotics and prebiotics are promising nutraceuticals that may exert a beneficial effect in many medical conditions including inflammatory bowel disease. With the increasing occurrence of antibiotic resistance, the search for medication with little side effects, and the need for options for patients with inflammatory bowel disease who are unresponsive to current therapies, research into alternative therapeutic options is justified. Preclinical studies have provided insights into the effects of probiotics and prebiotics on the immune system and gut microbiota. This new information, along with the older evidence, shows that probiotics and prebiotics may ameliorate chronic intestinal inflammation. This article gives a short overview on current knowledge of probiotics and prebiotics.
Hospital incidence and annual rates of hospitalization for venous thromboembolic disease in France and the USA

Objective The study was designed to describe the hospital incidences and annual hospitalization rates for venous thromboembolic disease by age and sex in France and the United States on the closest possible methodological bases. Methods French statistics are from the PMSI MCO (Programme de médicalisation des système d'information de médecine, chirurgie et obstétrique (French national hospital discharge register)) national database. These are compiled for each calendar year by collating résumé de sortie anonymisé (RSA, anonymous discharge summary) files forwarded and validated by health establishments with admissions in medicine, surgery, obstetrics, and odontology. They are compared to the data issued from the US National Hospital Discharge Survey which is equivalent to the PMSI in France and uses the International Classification of Diseases-9 for encoding the data. These data were published in the Morbidity, Mortality Weekly Report of the Centre for Disease Control. Results In the US, 547,996 hospital stays involve venous thromboembolic diseases, 348,558 deep venous thrombosis (DVT), and 277,549 pulmonary embolism (PE). Of these 78,511, or 14%, include a diagnosis of both DVT and PE. The hospital incidence of venous thromboembolic disease is 1.4%, DVT 0.9%, and PE 0.7%. In France, of the 26,658,228 annual hospital stays, 273,931 include venous thromboembolic disease, 179,286 DVT, and 139,345 PE while 44,700, i.e. 16.3%, include both DVT and PE. The hospital incidence of venous thromboembolic disease is thus 1.0%, DVT 0.6%, and PE 0.5%. The overall annual hospitalization rates for venous thromboembolic disease, DVT, and PE are respectively 274, 179, and 139 per 100,000 inhabitants in France and 239, 146, and 121 per 100,000 inhabitants in the US. Conclusion Venous thromboembolic diseases occur in France and the US in 1% of all hospital stays and are responsible for an annual hospitalization rate that exceeds 200 per 100,000. The scale of these annual incidences should prompt us to question the quality of prevention put in place and/or its efficacy.
Variability of PlayerLoad, Bowling Velocity, and Performance Execution in Fast Bowlers Across Repeated Bowling Spells.

PURPOSE The use of wearable microtechnology to monitor the external load of fast bowling is challenged by the inherent variability of bowling techniques between bowlers. This study assessed the between-bowlers variability in PlayerLoad, bowling velocity, and performance execution across repeated bowling spells. METHODS Seven national-level fast bowlers completed two 6-over bowling spells at a batter during a competitive training session. Key dependent variables were PlayerLoad calculated with a MinimaxX microtechnology unit, ball velocity, and bowling execution based on a predetermined bowling strategy for each ball bowled. The between-bowlers coefficient of variation (CV), repeated-measures ANOVA, and smallest worthwhile change were calculated over the 2 repeated 6-over bowling spells and explored across 12-over, 6-over, and 3-over bowling segments. RESULTS From the sum of 6 consecutive balls, the between-bowlers CV for relative peak PlayerLoad was 1.2% over the 12-over bowling spell (P = .15). During this 12-over period, bowling-execution (P = .43) scores and ball-velocity (P = .31) CVs were calculated as 46.0% and 0.4%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS PlayerLoad was found to be stable across the repeated bowling spells in the fast-bowling cohort. Measures of variability and change across the repeated bowling spells were consistent with the performance measure of ball velocity. The stability of PlayerLoad improved when assessed relative to the individual's peak PlayerLoad. Only bowling-execution measures were found to have high variability across the repeated bowling spells. Player- Load provides a stable measure of external workload between fast bowlers.
Environment and genetics in the etiology of gastrointestinal tract cancers

All biological diseases have a pathophysiological basis, but many are sporadic, i.e., patients lack close relatives with the same disease. Familial aggregation of a disease may indicate sharing of environmental risk factors between the family members or true heritable causation (or interaction of the two). However, for most common diseases the extent of heritable causation is not well known, excluding the rare Mendelian syndromes (which are 1% of all cancers [1]). Familial aggregation may account for a small proportion of the disease (some 10% of cancers [1]), which may be due to the lack of heritable effects or to their low penetrance. The ‘‘traditional’’ tool for assessing heritability of a disease is the twin study. Twinning is however rare and the statistical power is low. For example, only breast, prostate and colorectal cancers were found to have significant heritable components in a study covering Swedish, Danish and Finish twin registers extending to very old birth cohorts of the 1800s [2]. Using the same methodology on familial cancers from the Swedish Family-Cancer Database, even relatively rare cancers were found to have a heritable component, because of the superior sample size and statistical power [3]. The definition of the heritable proportion of a disease and the identification of the affected individuals is an important task for genetic epidemiology, because the search for heritable genes will only be successful for heritable diseases [4]. Gene-environment and gene-gene interactions and disease heterogeneity, i.e., many causative genes, are further complications, which may be overcome by a rigorous definition of study populations and disease phenotypes, some tasks for genetic epidemiology.
Establishing Duration-Specific Running Intensities From Match-Play Analysis in Rugby League.

UNLABELLED Rugby league coaches often prescribe training to replicate the demands of competition. The intensities of running drills are often monitored in comparison with absolute match-play measures. Such measures may not be sensitive enough to detect fluctuations in intensity across a match or to differentiate between positions. PURPOSE To determine the position- and duration-specific running intensities of rugby league competition, using a moving-average method, for the prescription and monitoring of training. METHODS Data from a 15-Hz global positioning system (GPS) were collected from 32 professional rugby league players across a season. The velocity-time curve was analyzed using a rolling-average method, where maximum values were calculated for 10 different durations, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 min, for each player across each match. RESULTS There were large differences between the 1- and 2-min rolling averages and all other rolling-average durations. Smaller differences were observed for rolling averages of greater duration. Fullbacks maintained a greater velocity than outside backs and middle and edge forwards over the 1- and 2-min rolling averages (ES 0.8-1.2, P < .05). For rolling averages 3 min and greater, the running demands of the fullbacks were greater than those of the middle forwards and outside backs (ES 1.1-1.4, P < .05). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the running demands of rugby league fluctuate vastly across a match. Fullbacks were the only position to exhibit a greater running intensity than any other position, and therefore training prescription should reflect this.
Identifying optimal risk windows for self‐controlled case series studies of vaccine safety

In vaccine safety studies, subjects are considered at increased risk for adverse events for a period of time after vaccination known as risk window. To our knowledge, risk windows for vaccine safety studies have tended to be pre‐defined and not to use information from the current study. Inaccurate specification of the risk window can result in either including the true control period in the risk window or including some of the risk window in the control period, which can introduce bias. We propose a data‐based approach for identifying the optimal risk windows for self‐controlled case series studies of vaccine safety. The approach involves fitting conditional Poisson regression models to obtain incidence rate ratio estimates for different risk window lengths. For a specified risk window length (L), the average time at risk, T(L), is calculated. When the specified risk window is shorter than the true, the incidence rate ratio decreases with 1/T(L) increasing but there is no explicit relationship. When the specified risk window is longer than the true, the incidence rate ratio increases linearly with 1/T(L) increasing. Theoretically, the risk window with the maximum incidence ratio is the optimal risk window. Because of sparse data problem, we recommend using both the maximum incidence rate ratio and the linear relationship when the specified risk window is longer than the true to identify the optimal risk windows. Both simulation studies and vaccine safety data applications show that our proposed approach is effective in identifying medium and long‐risk windows. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.