Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical Activity Interventions in Children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Introduction Children with juvenile arthritis (JA) experience pain, stiffness, fatigue, and decreased motion leading to difficulties with daily activities and low physical activity (PA). PA is critical to improve health and function and mitigate JA-associated symptoms. This study evaluated the evidence for PA interventions in children with JA. Materials and Methods A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of PA interventions in children with JA was conducted. Ovid (Medline), Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases were searched for papers published in English between 1/1/1946 and 9/1/2021. Studies which concurrently assessed medical interventions were excluded. Participant and intervention characteristics and outcomes were extracted. Study internal validity and intervention attributes were assessed. Results A total of 555 studies were identified, with 13 studies from 10 countries included. Data from 672 children diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) (range of mean ages, 8.7 to 16.1 years) were analyzed. Fifty-two percent of intervention arms incorporated strengthening exercise alone or combined with other exercise, with 61.9% performed 3x/week. About 43.5% of sessions lasted >45 to ≤60 minutes and 65.2% of programs were ≥12 to <28 weeks. PA interventions improved function and symptoms without adverse events. Intervention details were missing especially regarding PA intensity, reasons for dropouts, and adherence. Only two studies incorporated strategies to promote adherence. Discussion RCTs of PA interventions in JA only include JIA. Available RCTs used mixed modes of interventions. Reporting of PA interventions lacks sufficient detail to discern the dose-response relationship. Strategies to motivate engagement in PA and to support families to promote PA are lacking, as are studies of long-term outcomes. Conclusion There are limited RCTs of PA interventions in JIA. Adherence was better with low intensity programs. PA interventions for JIA yield positive health benefits but better reporting of PA intervention details is needed to generate more high-quality evidence and inform clinical practice. Prospero Registration Maura Iversen, Johan von Heideken, Marie Andre. Physical Activity in Children with Rheumatic Diseases: a systematic review. PROSPERO 2021 CRD42021274634 Available from: https://www.crd. york.ac. uk/prospero/display_record. php? ID=CRD42021274634.
Three decades of interactive learning environments: a retrospective bibliometric network analysis

ABSTRACT Interactive Learning Environments (ILE) is a leading international journal in the design and use of interactive learning environments. In this study we conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis spanning three decades to objectively examine the journal's impactful authors, citation patterns, collaboration networks and emerging trends. Additionally, keyword co-occurrence techniques are employed to scrutinize the journal's knowledge/intellectual structure. We use the Scopus database to analyze 995 articles published in the journal by 2298 authors representing 65 nations from 1990 to 2020. Results show that the most productive authors are Gwo Jen Hwang (57 articles), Timothy Teo (18 articles) and Yeuh Min Huang (11 articles). Results also show that the author collaboration network is sparse. Furthermore, results related to collaborative networks between institutions and countries reveal a global “North-South” schism between developed and developing nations. Finally, the multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) applied to obtain the ILE conceptual map reflects the depth and breadth of the journal's foci. Our analysis has far-reaching implications for aspiring researchers interested in the design and use of interactive learning environments research.
Resistance Allele Frequency to Cry1Ab and Vip3Aa20 in Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Louisiana and Three Other Southeastern U.S. States

The corn earworm/bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), is a pest species that is targeted by both Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) maize and cotton in the United States. Cry1Ab and Vip3Aa20 are two common Bt toxins that are expressed in transgenic maize. The objective of this study was to determine the resistance allele frequency (RAF) to Cry1Ab and Vip3Aa20 in H. zea populations that were collected during 2018 and 2019 from four southeastern U.S. states: Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina. By using a group-mating approach, 104 F2 iso-lines of H. zea were established from field collections with most iso-lines (85) from Louisiana. These F2 iso-lines were screened for resistance alleles to Cry1Ab and Vip3Aa20, respectively. There was no correlation in larval survivorship between Cry1Ab and Vip3Aa20 when the iso-lines were exposed to these two toxins. RAF to Cry1Ab maize was high (0.256) and the RAFs were similar between Louisiana and the other three states and between the two sampling years. In contrast, no functional major resistance allele (RA) that allowed resistant insects to survive on Vip3Aa20 maize was detected and the expected RAF of major RAs with 95% probability was estimated to 0 to 0.0073. However, functional minor RAs to Vip3Aa20 maize were not uncommon; the estimated RAF for minor alleles was 0.028. The results provide further evidence that field resistance to Cry1Ab maize in H. zea has widely occurred, while major RAs to Vip3Aa20 maize are uncommon in the southeastern U.S. region. Information that was generated from this study should be useful in resistance monitoring and refinement of resistance management strategies to preserve Vip3A susceptibility in H. zea.
Link Quality Based Transmission Power Control in IEEE 802.15.4 for Energy Conservation

One of the major challenges in the design of wireless sensor network (WSN) is to reduce the energy consumption of sensor nodes for prolonging the network lifetime. In the sensor network, communication is the most energy consuming event. Therefore, most of the energy saving techniques conserve energy by adjusting different parameters of the trans-receiver. Among them, one of the promising methods is the transmission power control (TPC). In this paper, we investigated the effects of the link quality based TPC scheme employed to the IEEE 802.15. 4 standard for energy saving. The simulation results demonstrated that the link quality based TPC scheme works effectively in conserving energy as compared to the conventional IEEE 802.15. 4.
Beliefs in free will and determinism: associations with social cognition and gambling behavior

Abstract Beliefs about free will and determinism have been shown to associate with and influence behavior. The present study examined the relationship between these beliefs, key social cognitive constructs, and gambling behavior. A cross-sectional design was used with assessments taken of participants’ (N = 316) past gambling behavior; beliefs in free will and determinism; and attitude, perceived behavioral control, and intention toward gambling. Four weeks after survey completion, participants (N = 218) reported their gambling behavior. A MANOVA examined differences between gambling frequency and constructs. Bivariate correlations and regressions were undertaken to understand the relationships between constructs and gambling behavior. Results showed frequent gamblers had significantly greater positive attitudes and intentions toward gambling compared to infrequent gamblers. Infrequent gamblers also had significantly stronger perceived behavioral control and beliefs in free will than frequent gamblers. Free will significantly predicted attitude and perceived behavioral control, and explained additional variance in intention above attitude and perceived behavioral control. There was no effect for determinism. Finally, gambling behavior was explained by intention and perceived behavioral control, but not beliefs in free will and determinism. The study provides evidence for the association between free will beliefs, key social cognitive constructs, and gambling behavior. Future research should confirm the causal role of these relations.
Evaluating the implementation of Smart Specialisation policy

ABSTRACT The Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) is at the core of the 2014–20 European Cohesion Policy, supporting regions to identify the technologies and economic sectors that might comprise sustainable growth paths. This paper provides an early attempt to assess empirically, for the whole European Union, whether the choices made by regions in selecting S3 target sectors are consistent with their current or potential specialization patterns. Results show only a few regions selected S3 paths rooted in both their current specializations and related activities, most of them prioritized different combinations of unspecialized or unrelated sectors, thus limiting the growth potential of their S3 policy choices.
Design axial withdrawal strength from wood : II. Plain-shank common wire nails

The design strength of plain-shank common wire nails loaded in withdrawal is based on an empirical equation relating ultimate shank withdrawal strength to wood specific gravity and nominal fastener diameter. This equation, published in the Wood Handbook, was reviewed in the development of a new load and resistance factor engineering design standard for wood. An extensive collection of test information on shank withdrawal strength, specific gravity, and other factors was assembled to test the efficacy of the historic prediction equation. Nonlinear regression analyses of over 1900 data suggest a revised equation that provides improved predictive ability. Use of this equation to set design values will result in some potential change in design strength, especially for small-diameter nails in low density wood species. The variation in the data about the regression line suggests that the historic safety levels should not be reduced unless the effects of fiber relaxation with time are explicitly considered in setting design strength. The research support for end-use modification factors is also reviewed. The axial withdrawal strength of nails, lag screws, and wood screws may be predicted from empirical equations that relate ultimate shank withdrawal strength to wood specific gravity and nominal fastener diameter. These equations, with minor changes, have been found in USDA Forest Service publications for over 60 years and are used to derive design values found in the 1991 National Design Specification for Wood Construction, NDS-91 (1).
Estimates of ozone concentrations and attributable mortality in urban, peri-urban and rural areas worldwide in 2019

City-level estimates of ambient ozone concentrations and associated disease burdens are sparsely available, especially for low and middle-income countries. Recently available high-resolution gridded global ozone concentration estimates allow for estimating ozone concentrations and mortality at urban scales and for urban-rural catchment areas worldwide. We applied existing fine resolution global surface ozone estimates, developed by integrating observations (8834 sites globally) with nine atmospheric chemistry models, in an epidemiologically-derived health impact function to estimate chronic respiratory disease mortality worldwide in 2019. We compared ozone season daily maximum 8 h mixing ratio concentrations and ozone-attributable mortality for urban areas worldwide (including cities and densely-populated towns), and their surrounding peri-urban, peri-rural, and rural areas. In 2019, population-weighted mean ozone among all urban-rural catchment areas was greatest in peri-urban areas (52 ppb), followed by urban areas (cities and towns; 49 ppb). Of 423 100 estimated global ozone-attributable deaths, 37% (147 100) occurred in urban areas, where 40% of the world’s population resides, and 56% (254 000) occurred in peri-urban areas (<1 h from an urban area), where 47% of the world’s population resides. Across 12 946 cities (excluding towns), average population-weighted mean ozone was 51 ppb (sd = 13 ppb, range = 10–78 ppb). Three quarters of the ozone-attributable deaths worldwide (77%; 112 700) occurred in cities of South and East Asia. City-level ozone-attributable mortality rates varied by a factor of 10 across world regions. Ozone levels and attributable mortality were greatest in Asian and African cities; however, cities of higher-income regions, like high-income Asia Pacific and North America, continue to experience high ozone concentrations and attributable mortality rates, despite successful national air quality measures for reducing ozone precursor emissions. The disproportionate magnitude of ozone mortality compared with population size in peri-urban areas indicates that reducing ozone precursor emissions in places that influence peri-urban concentrations can yield substantial health benefits in these areas.
Analysis of High-Density Surface Electromyogram (HD-sEMG) signal for thumb posture classification from extrinsic forearm muscles

Abstract For amputees, the development of cybernetic hands that closely resembles the functions of real hands is essential for comfortability and functionality purposes. Controlled by intrinsic and extrinsic muscles, human thumb plays a major role in differentiating hand gestures. For those who have lost their intrinsic hand muscles, any information about muscle activities that can be obtained from the extrinsic muscles will be essential to control the thumb. Focusing on transradial amputees, this research investigates the relationship between extrinsic muscles to characterize the actual thumb posture. A High-Density Surface Electromyogram (known as HD-sEMG) recording device and a portable thumb force measurement system were used to collect forearm Electromyogram (EMG) signals from a total of 17 subjects. For the flexion motion, the subjects were asked to repetitively place their thumbs at rest before exerting 30% of their individual Maximum Voluntary Contraction (MVC) on a load cell by following a designated trajectory presented on a designated Graphical User Interface (GUI). The trajectory was set to four different postures, namely, zero-degree, thirty-degree, sixty-degree, and ninety-degrees. Feature extraction was then performed by extracting the Absolute Rectified Value (ARV) and Root Mean Square (RMS) values of the forearm HD-sEMG signals before being classified using Lazy.IBK. The results revealed that the ARV features, which were extracted from HD-sEMG from both posterior and anterior hand sides successfully achieved the highest correctly classified percentage of 99.48%. The findings of this study are significant for the development of a dedicated model-based control framework for prosthetic hand’s development to be used by transradial amputees in the future.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Reproductive Health: From Fertility to Pregnancy—A Narrative Review

Despite the fact that knowledge on obstetrical management of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBDs) has greatly improved over the years, many patients still actively avoid pregnancy for fear of adverse maternal or neonatal outcomes, of adverse effects of pregnancy on the disease activity, of eventual IBD inheritance, or of an increased risk of congenital malformations. Indeed, though data prove that fertility is hardly affected by the disease, a reduced birth rate is nevertheless observed in patients with IBD. Misconceptions on the safety of drugs during gestation and breastfeeding may influence patient choice and negatively affect their serenity during pregnancy or lactation. Moreover, physicians often showed concerns about starting IBD medications before and during pregnancy and did not feel adequately trained on the safety of IBD therapies. IBD-expert gastroenterologists and gynecologists should discuss pregnancy and breastfeeding issues with patients when starting or changing medications in order to provide appropriate information; therefore, pre-conception counselling on an individualized basis should be mandatory for all patients of reproductive age to reassure them that maintaining disease remission and balancing the eventual obstetrical risks is possible.
Model Predictive Control: Demand-Orientated, Load-Flexible, Full-Scale Biogas Production

Biogas plants have the great advantage that they produce electricity according to demand and can thus compensate for fluctuating production from weather-dependent sources such as wind power and photovoltaics. A prerequisite for flexible biogas plant operation is a suitable feeding strategy for an adjusted conversion of biomass into biogas. This research work is the first to demonstrate a practical, integrated model predictive control (MPC) for load-flexible, demand-orientated biogas production and the results show promising options for practical application on almost all full-scale biogas plants with no or only minor adjustments to the standardly existing measurement technology. Over an experimental period of 36 days, the biogas production of a full-scale plant was adjusted to the predicted electricity demand of a “real-world laboratory”. Results with a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of less than 20% when comparing biogas demand and production were consistently obtained.
Factors Affecting the Intention to Use Virtual Stores: Perspectives of Consumers in Saudi Arabia

Companies have explored various forms of virtual reality (VR) shopping, yet what is known about the user adoption behavior of VR apps is minimal and research into VR shopping from a user acceptance perspective is limited. This study investigates the factors that affect the intention to use VR for online shopping through undergoing a virtual shopping experience in the VR app. This is an exploratory study using a quantitative methodology. The findings indicate that telepresence, attitude, perceived control (PC), satisfaction, hedonic motivation (HM), and perceived usefulness (PU) are direct determinants of intention to use, whereas perceived security risk has no effect. Moreover, PEOU, PU, PC, and telepresence are indirect determinants of intention to use. This research is valuable for its identification of the determinants that can affect the adoption of VR in online shopping. This study helps store owners to understand what features will enable a successful implementation of virtual stores (VSs). This study has several limitations. First, the study was conducted using a convenience sample, making it difficult to generalize the results to the whole population. In terms of method, the study was entirely quantitative, using a questionnaire entirely consisting of close-ended questions, so participants were limited in their response options. The final limitation is in the scope of the research, which covered the perceptions of consumers only, while employees’ and ICT experts’ perspectives were not considered. In light of these limitations, this study allows some suggestions for future research directions to be made. (a) The perspectives of employees and ICT experts could be included so that more factors will be generated. (b) Future research could use different methodologies such as mixed methods to gain a deeper understanding of the responses. (c) A longitudinal study could be designed to address any developments occurring in VS features, as e-commerce is continually being developed.
A Hybrid Model Predictive Control With Integrated Phase-Disposition and Phase-Shifted PWM for an Inner-Interleaved Hybrid Multilevel Converter

This article puts forward a hybrid model predictive control (H-MPC) for an inner-interleaved hybrid multilevel converter (IHMC). The sign patterns of the original and shifted reference vectors in the original and virtual space vector diagrams (VSVDs) are used, respectively, to realize the phase-disposition pulsewidth modulation (PWM) and determine the low-frequency switching states. Then, the three adjacent vectors are selected in the second-layer VSVD and the optimal current tracking is safeguarded by the duty cycle optimization of the three adjacent vectors. Finally, through applying the phase-shifted PWM to the two interleaved legs, a constant and doubled equivalent switching frequency can be achieved, which further paves the way for dc-link and floating capacitor voltages balancing and circulating current mitigation with the use of the straightforward duty cycle adjustments. The proposed H-MPC enables the decoupling of the low- and high-frequency stages in the IHMC and also reduces both output current ripples and computational burden while achieving a constant switching frequency simultaneously. Comprehensive simulation and experimental studies on an all silicon carbide prototype verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.
One-Year Clinical Outcome in Middle Eastern Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: The Jordan Atrial Fibrillation (JoFib) Study

Background Prevention of stroke and systemic embolism (SE) prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) has radically changed in recent years. Data on contemporary utilization of oral anticoagulants (OACs) and cardiovascular outcome in Middle Eastern patients with AF are needed. Methods The Jordan atrial fibrillation (JoFib) study enrolled consecutive patients with AF in Jordan from May 2019 through October 2020 and were followed up for one year after enrollment. Results Overall, 2020 patients were enrolled. The mean age was 67.9 + 13.0 years. Nonvalvular (NVAF) was diagnosed in 1849 (91.5%) patients. OACs were used in 85.7% of high-risk patients with NVAF (CHA2DS2-VASc score>3 in women, and>2 in men), including direct OACs (DOACs) in 64.1% and vitamin K antagonists (VKA) in 35.9%. Adherence rate to the use of the same OAC agent was 90.6% of patients. One-year cardiovascular (CV) mortality was 7.8%, stroke/SE was 4.5%, and major bleeding events were 2.6%. Independent predictors for all-cause mortality in patients with NVAF were age>75 years, heart failure, major bleeding event, type 2 diabetes mellitus, study enrollment as an in-patient, and coronary heart disease. The use of OACs was associated with lower all-cause mortality. The strongest independent predictors for stroke/SE were high-risk CHA2DS2-VASc score and prior history of stroke. Conclusions This study of Middle Eastern AF patients has reported high adherence to OACs. The use of OACs was associated with a lower risk for all-cause mortality. One-year rates of stroke and major bleeding events were comparable to those reported from other regions in the world.
State Estimation and Motion Prediction of Vehicles and Vulnerable Road Users for Cooperative Autonomous Driving: A Survey

The recent progress in autonomous vehicle research and development has led to increasingly widespread testing of fully autonomous vehicles on public roads, where complex traffic scenarios arise. Along with these vehicles, partially autonomous vehicles, manually-driven vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and some animals can be present on the road, to which autonomous vehicles must react. This study focuses on a comprehensive survey of the literature on motion prediction and state estimation of vehicles and VRUs, which are essential for path planning and navigation functionalities of an autonomous vehicle. Motion prediction and state estimation methods utilize the vehicle’s own sensory perception capabilities and information obtained through cooperative perception from V2V and V2X connections. This survey summarizes the significant progress that has been made in both categories, discusses the most promising results to date and outlines critical research challenges that need to be overcome to achieve full autonomy, from an ego vehicle’s perspective in mixed traffic environments.