Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Validity and reliability of Internet-based physiotherapy assessment for musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review

Purpose The purpose of this review is to systematically explore and summarise the validity and reliability of telerehabilitation (TR)-based physiotherapy assessment for musculoskeletal disorders. Method A comprehensive systematic literature review was conducted using a number of electronic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library and CINAHL, published between January 2000 and May 2015. The studies examined the validity, inter- and intra-rater reliabilities of TR-based physiotherapy assessment for musculoskeletal conditions were included. Two independent reviewers used the Quality Appraisal Tool for studies of diagnostic Reliability (QAREL) and the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS) tool to assess the methodological quality of reliability and validity studies respectively. Results A total of 898 hits were achieved, of which 11 articles based on inclusion criteria were reviewed. Nine studies explored the concurrent validity, inter- and intra-rater reliabilities, while two studies examined only the concurrent validity. Reviewed studies were moderate to good in methodological quality. The physiotherapy assessments such as pain, swelling, range of motion, muscle strength, balance, gait and functional assessment demonstrated good concurrent validity. However, the reported concurrent validity of lumbar spine posture, special orthopaedic tests, neurodynamic tests and scar assessments ranged from low to moderate. Conclusion TR-based physiotherapy assessment was technically feasible with overall good concurrent validity and excellent reliability, except for lumbar spine posture, orthopaedic special tests, neurodynamic testa and scar assessment.
Antibodies with differing molecular sizes in mice.

The antibody responses of C3H mice to haemocyanin, pneumococcal polysaccharide (SSS III) and sheep erythrocytes were studied after a single intravenous administration. Serum antibody against each antigen was present on the fifth, but not on the third day. Antibodies against haemocyanin and against SSS III migrated electrophoretically as γ globulins and had the ultracentrifugal sedimentation properties of 6.5S globulins. Sheep erythrocyte haemolysins were largely γ macroglobulins which sedimented in the ultracentrifuge in the manner of 18S globulins. A small proportion of haemolysin activity was found among the 6.5S γ globulins.
DETECTION AND SEROGROUP DETERMINATION OF NEISSERIA MENINGITIDIS IN CSF BY POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR)

Summary A PCR protocol for the detection and serogroup determination of Neisseria meningitidis in CSF from 85 cases of suspected meningitis was evaluated. Screening assays for both IS 1106 and the ctr A gene were used to detect meningococcal DNA, and a further two assays using the sia D gene were performed to determine the serogroup. PCR results were compared with results of bacteriological culture and discrepant results resolved by analysis of clinical data and further laboratory test results. The resolved sensitivity and specificity of the PCR screening assay were 89 and 100%, and those of bacteriological culture were 37 and 100%, respectively. The sia D B/C PCR assay was able to determine a serogroup in 85% of cases positive by the PCR screening assay compared with 50% of cases where a serogroup was determined by traditional methods. PCR is a useful tool for diagnosis of meningococcal meningitis when Gram stain and culture tests are negative, a situation that may arise when antibiotic treatment has commenced prior to lumbar puncture.
Reachability Analysis of Concurrent Systems & Applications to Automated Planning

The factored state representation and concurrency semantics of Petri nets are closely related to those of classical planning models, yet automated planning and Petri net analysis have developed independently, with minimal and mainly unconvincing attempts at crossfertilisation. This thesis exploits the relationship between the formal reachability problem, and the automated planning problem, via Petri net unfolding, which is an attractive reachability analysis method for highly concurrent systems as it facilitates reasoning about independent sub-problems. The first contribution of this thesis is the theory of directed unfolding: controlling the unfolding process with informative strategies, for the purpose of optimality and increased efficiency. The second contribution is the application of directed unfolding to automated planning. Inspired by well-known planning heuristics, this thesis shows how problem specific information can be employed to guide unfolding, in response to the formal problem of developing efficient, directed reachability analysis methods for concurrent systems. Complimenting this theoretical work, this thesis presents a new forward search method for partial order planning which can be exponentially more efficient than state space search. Our suite of planners based on directed unfolding can perform optimal and suboptimal classical planning subject to arbitrary action costs, optimal temporal planning with respect to arbitrary action durations, and address probabilistic planning via replanning for the most likely path. Empirical results reveal directed unfolding is competitive with current state of the art automated planning systems, and can solve Petri net reachability problems beyond the reach of the original “blind” unfolding technique.
Impact of stocking density on broiler growth performance, meat characteristics, behavioural components and indicators of physiological and oxidative stress

1. The study was designed to assess the impact of stocking density (6 and 13 birds/m2 equivalent to 12·6 or 27·2 kg/m2, respectively) on growth performance, meat quality, behaviour, and indicators of physiological and oxidative stress as measures of bird welfare. 2. The higher stocking density negatively affected final body weight and feed intake but not cumulative feed conversion rate. Muscle colour traits, pH24, cooking loss and shear values were not affected. Birds reared at the lower density showed higher intramuscular fat, liver weight, liver NADP-isocitrate and NADP-malate dehydrogenase activity. 3. Higher stocking density was associated with decreased locomotor activity and increased physiological (H:L ratio and bursa weight) and oxidative (glutathione concentrations and reduced:oxidised glutathione ratios) stress indicators. 4. The results show that stocking density did not significantly affect broiler meat quality characteristics but higher density decreased growth performance, increased physiological and oxidative stress levels and decreased locomotor activity.
Association between physical exercise and quality of erection in men with ischaemic heart disease and erectile dysfunction subjected to physical training.

BACKGROUND In addition to a beneficial effect on exercise tolerance and an associated reduction of global cardiovascular risk, modification of physical activity has a positive effect on the quality of life, reducing, among other things, the severity of erectile dysfunction (ED). AIM The specific nature of sexual activity, which combines the need to maintain appropriate exercise tolerance and good erection quality, prompted us to evaluate the association between exercise tolerance and severity of ED in an intervention group of subjects with ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and ED in the context of cardiac rehabilitation (CR). METHODS A total of 138 men treated invasively for IHD (including 99 treated with percutaneous coronary intervention and 39 treated with coronary artery bypass grafting) who scored 21 or less in the initial IIEF-5 test were investigated. Subjects were randomised into two groups. The study group included 103 subjects (mean age 62.07 ± 8.59 years) who were subjected to a CR cycle. The control group included 35 subjects (mean age 61.43 ± 8.81 years) who were not subjected to any CR. All subjects filled out an initial and final IIEF-5 questionnaire and were evaluated twice with a treadmill exercise test. The CR cycle was carried out for a period of 6 months and included interval endurance training on a cycle ergometer (three times a week) and general fitness exercises and resistance training (twice a week). RESULTS The CR cycle in the study group resulted in a statistically significant increase in exercise tolerance (7.15 ± 1.69 vs. 9.16 ± 1.84 METs,p < 0.05) and an increase in erection quality (12.51 ± 5.98 vs. 14.39 ± 6.82, p < 0.05) which was not observed in the control group. A significant effect of age on a progressive decrease in exercise tolerance and erection quality was found in the study group. Exercise tolerance and erection quality were also negatively affected by hypertension and smoking. A significant correlation between exercise tolerance and erection quality prior to the rehabilitation cycle indicates better erection quality in patients with better effort tolerance. The improvement in exercise tolerance did not correlate significantly with initial exercise tolerance or age of the subjects. In contrast, a significantly higher increase in erection quality was observed in younger subjects with the lowest baseline severity of ED.The relative increase in exercise tolerance in the group subjected to CR was significantly higher than the relative increase in erection quality but these two effects were not significantly correlated with each other. CONCLUSIONS 1. In subjects with IHD and ED, erection quality is significantly correlated with exercise tolerance. 2. Exercise training had a positive effect on both exercise tolerance and erection quality but the size of these two effects was different and they ran independently of each other.
Does intravenous Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol increase dopamine release? A SPET study

Intravenous (IV) Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) induces transient psychotic symptoms in healthy subjects and in schizophrenic patients, but the psychotomimetic mechanism is unknown. One possibility is that THC stimulates dopamine (DA) release in the striatum. In this study we tested whether IV THC led to an increase in striatal DA release compared to placebo. We also investigated whether DA release and positive psychotic symptoms were related. Eleven healthy male volunteers completed two 123I-iodobenzamide ([123I]IBZM) single photon emission tomography (SPET) sessions and received IV THC (2.5 mg) or placebo in a randomized counterbalanced order, under double-blind conditions. Analysable data were obtained from nine participants. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used to rate psychotomimetic effects. Striatal binding index values were calculated using the occipital cortex as a reference region. Both the PANSS positive and general symptoms increased significantly at 30 min following IV THC. There were no significant differences in binding index in the caudate or putamen under THC compared to placebo conditions. Positive psychotic symptoms and DA release were unrelated. THC did not lead to a significant increase in DA release even though the dose was sufficient for participants to have psychotic symptoms. These findings do not support a central role for striatal DA in THC-elicited psychosis.
Distribution of Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotypes Responsible for Penicillin Resistance and the Potential Role of New Conjugate Vaccines in New Caledonia

ABSTRACT Invasive pneumococcal disease is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The aim of this study was to establish the serotypes responsible for pneumococcal disease and the serotypes responsible for penicillin resistance in Noumea, New Caledonia. Isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae from all body sites referred to the Microbiology Department of the Pasteur Institute in New Caledonia between May 1999 and May 2001 had serotyping and susceptibility testing performed. Basic demographic data on patients were also collected. A total of 298 isolates were included in the study. The most common serotypes were types 1 (20%), 23F (10%), 12F (8%), 19F (8%), and 6B (5%). The serotype distribution differed significantly with age, site of collection, and ethnicity. Overall, 280 of 298 (94%) of the isolates had serogroups that are included in the 23-valent vaccine. However, only 14 of 20 (70%) of the isolates associated with invasive disease from children younger than 5 years of age and 26 of 113 (23%) of invasive isolates from patients more than 5 years of age were included in the new 7-valent conjugate vaccine. Overall, reduced susceptibility to penicillin was found in 43 of 298 (14.4%) of the isolates, with 13% falling into the intermediate resistance category and only 5 (2%) being high-level resistant. A higher prevalence of penicillin resistance occurred in younger age groups and in European patients and involved specifically certain serotypes. The 7-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine has potential benefit for the New Caledonian population under 5 years of age and should be considered for future vaccines schedules.
The effect of proband designation on segregation analysis.

In many family studies, it is often difficult to know exactly how the families were ascertained. Even if known, the circumstances under which the families came to the attention of the study may violate the assumptions of classical ascertainment bias correction. The purpose of this work was to investigate the effect on segregation analysis of violations of the assumptions of the classical ascertainment model. We simulated family data generated under a simple recessive model of inheritance. We then ascertained families under different "scenarios. " These scenarios were designed to simulate actual conditions under which families come to the attention of-and then interact with-a clinic or genetic study. We show that how one designates probands, which one must do under the classical ascertainment model, can influence parameter estimation and hypothesis testing. We demonstrate that, in some cases, there may be no "correct" way to designate probands. Further, we show that interactions within the family, the conditions under which the genetic study must function, and even social influences can have a profound effect on segregation analysis. We also propose a method for dealing with the ascertainment problem that is applicable to almost any study situation.
Mapping Genes for Polygenic Disorders: Considerations for Study Design in the Complex Trait of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

While the methodology for the mapping of Mendelian disorders is well established, the practical and theoretical steps required for successful gene identification in a complex trait are still difficult to predict. A number of analytical models and simulations based on repetitive drawings from predefined statistical distributions are available. To supplement these analytical models, we developed an integrated simulation approach by directly simulating entire populations under a disease model based on epidemiological data. Random mating, nonoverlapping populations and the absence of differential fitness were assumed. Samples were drawn from these homogeneous and heterogeneous populations and analyzed with established analysis tools. We investigated the properties of linkage and association studies in inflammatory bowel disease – modeled as a six-locus polygenic disorder – as an example of this approach. In nonparametric linkage studies, lod scores varied widely, with the median required sample size depending on the locus-specific relative sibling risk. A fine mapping resolution <4 cM was found to require nonparametric lod scores >10. Family-based association studies (TDT test) and case-control studies showed a similar sensitivity and can identify risk loci in populations with moderate levels of linkage disequilibrium in sample sizes of 500–800 triplets. Case-control association studies were prone to false-positive results if applied in heterogeneous populations, with the false-positive rate increasing with sample size because population heterogeneity is detected with increasing power.
Models for Gaze Tracking Systems

One of the most confusing aspects that one meets when introducing oneself into gaze tracking technology is the wide variety, in terms of hardware equipment, of available systems that provide solutions to the same matter, that is, determining the point the subject is looking at. The calibration process permits generally adjusting nonintrusive trackers based on quite different hardware and image features to the subject. The negative aspect of this simple procedure is that it permits the system to work properly but at the expense of a lack of control over the intrinsic behavior of the tracker. The objective of the presented article is to overcome this obstacle to explore more deeply the elements of a video-oculographic system, that is, eye, camera, lighting, and so forth, from a purely mathematical and geometrical point of view. The main contribution is to find out the minimum number of hardware elements and image features that are needed to determine the point the subject is looking at. A model has been constructed based on pupil contour and multiple lighting, and successfully tested with real subjects. On the other hand, theoretical aspects of video-oculographic systems have been thoroughly reviewed in order to build a theoretical basis for further studies.
Cophylogeny of the Ficus microcosm

The various mutualistic and antagonistic symbioses between fig trees (Ficus: Moraceae) and chalcid wasps comprise a community in microcosm. Phylogenetic estimates of figs and fig wasps show general topological correspondence, making the microcosm a model system for cophylogeny. Incongruence between phylogenies from associated organisms can be reconciled through a combination of evolutionary events. Cophylogeny mapping reconciles phylogenies by embedding an associate tree into a host tree, finding the optimal combinations of events capable of explaining incongruence and evaluating the level of codivergence. This review addresses the results of cophylogeny analysis concerning Ficus and discusses the plausibility of different evolutionary events. Five different associations encompassing fig‐pollinator, fig‐parasite and pollinator‐parasitoid interactions are reconciled. The method improves on previous comparisons by employing‘jungles’to provide an exhaustive and quantitative analysis of cophylogeny. A jungle is a mechanism for inferring host switches and obtaining all potentially optimal solutions to the reconciliation problem. The results support the consensus that figs codiverge significantly with pollinators but not non‐pollinators. However, pollinators still appear to have switched between hosts in contradiction to the traditional model of faithful codivergence. This emphasises the growing realisation that evolutionary transitions in the microcosm are more flexible than previously thought and host specificity is necessary but not sufficient for codivergence. The importance of sampling strategy is emphasised by the influence of taxon set on the fig‐pollinator and fig‐parasite jungles. Spurious significant results for fig‐parasite and fig‐parasitoid jungles indicate that the choice of congruence measure influences significance; the total number of events required to reconcile two trees ('total cost') is not a good measure of congruence when switches cannot be realistically weighted.
Gracilis donor site morbidity

Donor site morbidity in 104 cases of gracilis free tissue transfer was examined through a retrospective chart review and mail survey. Fifty‐one females and 53 males with an average age of 23 years comprised the study group. Forty‐three were under age 18. In‐hospital donor site complications occurred in 10 patients. There was excessive pain in 4, wound infections in 3, hemorrhage in 2, and temporary nerve palsy in 1. Early complications were more common in the pediatric group. Sixty‐two surveys were returned from patients detailing late complications where they graded parameters between 0 and 10 where 0 was “none” and 10 was “worst imaginable. ” The highest average score was 5.12 reported for noticeability of the scar. There was a significant difference between adults and children for sensitivity, tightness, noticeability, and ugliness of the scar. More than half the respondents had no complaints about their donor site scar. Fifteen percent of patients reported temporary reduction of leg strength with a mean duration of 6 months. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Single Events in a COTS Soft-Error Free SRAM at Low Bias Voltage Induced by 15-MeV Neutrons

This paper presents an experimental study of the sensitivity to 15-MeV neutrons of Advanced Low Power SRAMs (A-LPSRAM) at low bias voltage little above the threshold value that allows the retention of data. This family of memories is characterized by a 3D structure to minimize the area penalty and to cope with latchups, as well as by the presence of integrated capacitors to hinder the occurrence of single event upsets. In low voltage static tests, classical single event upsets were a minor source of errors, but other unexpected phenomena such as clusters of bitflips and hard errors turned out to be the origin of hundreds of bitflips. Besides, errors were not observed in dynamic tests at nominal voltage. This behavior is clearly different than that of standard bulk CMOS SRAMs, where thousands of errors have been reported.
Social learning of a brood parasite by its host

Arms races between brood parasites and their hosts provide model systems for studying the evolutionary repercussions of species interactions. However, how naive hosts identify brood parasites as enemies remains poorly understood, despite its ecological and evolutionary significance. Here, we investigate whether young, cuckoo-naive superb fairy-wrens, Malurus cyaneus, can learn to recognize cuckoos as a threat through social transmission of information. Naive individuals were initially unresponsive to a cuckoo specimen, but after observing conspecifics mob a cuckoo, they made more whining and mobbing alarm calls, and spent more time physically mobbing the cuckoo. This is the first direct evidence that naive hosts can learn to identify brood parasites as enemies via social learning.
Candidate Gene Analyses of Mandibular Prognathism

Causation of a disease and a symptom generally is classified as genetic inheritance and environmental factors. A disease caused by a single gene disorder is defined as a disease that is attributed to a monogenic factor. A single gene disorder has been reported in more than 3,000 hereditary diseases. On the other hand, a polygenic or multifactorial disease is attributed to some susceptibility genes and their interaction with some environmental factors. Mandibular prognathism (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) #176700), skeletal Class III malocclusion in orthodontics, occurs in populations throughout the world but with a higher incidence in Asian populations. The prevalence is less than 1% in Caucasians while approximately 10% in Japanese. Mandibular prognathism has been caused by various patterns of genetic inheritance and/or environmental factors in previous studies. In the 20th century, multiple models of inheritance of mandibular prognathism, including monogenic inheritance, autosomal-dominant inheritance, autosomal-recessive inheritance, and polygenic inheritance, have been suggested. A family line of Habsburg, the Spanish and Austrian Royal family, shows an autosomal-dominant inheritance based on multiple generations. However, now it is evident that the majority of mandibular prognathism is a multifactorial phenotype [1,2].