Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling and tuning of a subject-loaded mobile gait rehabilitation system

Patients with neurological disorders, such as stroke survivors, can be treated with physical rehabilitation to regain motor control and function. Conventional therapy techniques are labor intensive and non-standardized. This is especially true in gait rehabilitation. A natual and tunable rehabilitation gait system (NaTUre_gaits) has been developed to assist gait rehabilitation with body-weight support locomotion training (BWSLT), gait control (GC), balance control (BC) and pelvic control (PC). All of those components are attached to a mobile platform (MP) with a total weight of more than 200kg. In order to coordinate the system with the motion of GC/BC/PC and to provide BWS for the subject throughout the walking test, the mobile system needs to move adaptively and steadily against those dynamic disturbance and heavy load. Motivated by reducing the tuning time, an identification and control method are proposed. Based on the relay response during operation, the system model is obtained and then PD controller with feed forward feedback is designed. Trials with/without subject are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness and merit of the proposed modeling and tuning method.
Transmitter precoding for ICI reduction in OFDM systems

A non-linear Tomlinson-Harashima (TH) pre-coder is proposed for ICI reduction in OFDM. We show the ICI coefficient matrix is approximately unitary and use this property for the precoder design. Our proposed precoder significantly reduces the bit error rate (BER) degradation due to frequency offset. With this proposed design, only partial channel state information (CSI), not including the knowledge of the frequency offset, is needed at the transmitter. Furthermore, the effect of channel mismatch on the precoder scheme is analyzed and demonstrated by simulation results.
Therapeutic Potential of AZD1480 for the Treatment of Human Glioblastoma

Aberrant activation of the Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) pathway has been implicated in glioblastoma (GBM) progression. To develop a therapeutic strategy to inhibit STAT-3 signaling, we have evaluated the effects of AZD1480, a pharmacologic inhibitor of JAK1 and JAK2. In this study, the in vitro efficacy of AZD1480 was tested in human and murine glioma cell lines. AZD1480 treatment effectively blocks constitutive and stimulus-induced JAK1, JAK2, and STAT-3 phosphorylation in both human and murine glioma cells, and leads to a decrease in cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis. Furthermore, we used human xenograft GBM samples as models for the study of JAK/STAT-3 signaling in vivo, because human GBM samples propagated as xenografts in nude mice retain both the hallmark genetic alterations and the invasive phenotype seen in vivo. In these xenograft tumors, JAK2 and STAT-3 are constitutively active, but levels vary among tumors, which is consistent with the heterogeneity of GBMs. AZD1480 inhibits constitutive and stimulus-induced phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT-3 in these GBM xenograft tumors in vitro, downstream gene expression, and inhibits cell proliferation. Furthermore, AZD1480 suppresses STAT-3 activation in the glioma-initiating cell population in GBM tumors. In vivo, AZD1480 inhibits the growth of subcutaneous tumors and increases survival of mice bearing intracranial GBM tumors by inhibiting STAT-3 activity, indicating that pharmacologic inhibition of the JAK/STAT-3 pathway by AZD1480 should be considered for study in the treatment of patients with GBM tumors. Mol Cancer Ther; 10(12); 2384–93. ©2011 AACR.
Classification of Quickbird imagery over urban area using convolutional neural network

During the past decades significant efforts have been made in developing various methods for Very high spatial resolution (VHSR) remotely sensed image classification; most of them are based on handcrafted learning-based features. Recently deep learning-based techniques have demonstrated excellent performance in remote sensing applications. In this paper we address the problem of urban imagery classification by developing a convolutional neural network (CNN) approach, which are the most popular deep learning approach for image classification. We design a custom CNN that operates on local patches in order to produce pixel-level classification map. The performance of the proposed model is validated on an exhaustive experimental comparison on a set of 20 QuickBird pansharpened multi-spectral images in urban zones. The obtained results outperform those obtained by different classification approaches on the same dataset.
A multifaceted intervention to improve treatment of depression in primary care.

BACKGROUND This research study evaluates the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention program to improve the management of depression in primary care. METHODS One hundred fifty-three primary care patients with current depression were entered into a randomized controlled trial. Intervention patients received a structured depression treatment program in the primary care setting that included both behavioral treatment to increase use of adaptive coping strategies and counseling to improve medication adherence. Control patients received "usual" care by their primary care physicians. Outcome measures included adherence to antidepressant medication, satisfaction with care of depression and with antidepressant treatment, and reduction of depressive symptoms over time. RESULTS At 4-month follow-up, significantly more intervention patients with major and minor depression than usual care patients adhered to antidepressant medication and rated the quality of care they received for depression as good to excellent. Intervention patients with major depression demonstrated a significantly greater decrease in depression severity over time compared with usual care patients on all 4 outcome analyses. Intervention patients with minor depression were found to have a significant decrease over time in depression severity on only 1 of 4 study outcome analyses compared with usual care patients. CONCLUSION A multifaceted primary care intervention improved adherence to antidepressant regimens and satisfaction with care in patients with major and minor depression. The intervention consistently resulted in more favorable depression outcomes among patients with major depression, while outcome effects were ambiguous among patients with minor depression.
Importance of School Social Work in War and Conflicts Zone

Ongoing wars and conflicts in many countries in the world resulted in various problems effecting Men and societies, especially children. This situation requires serious professional interventions, especially in dealing with children affected by political violence. At the same time they are the most important group in social work interventions which aimed to protect, prevent and treat them. School is actually the best source to reach the children and their parents in such crises, as well it is a best source because it is where social work can help children and provide them with supporting services. Direct and indirect exposure to violence affects their behavior and growth requiring direct work with the child and his family. Undoubtedly that social work intervention with children in times of war and conflict requires sufficient skills and information about the difficulties they suffer. This article discusses the impact of living in an environment of war and conflict on children and the importance of school social work intervention.
Steady-State Analysis of a Canned Line-Start PM Motor

This paper describes the development of an analytical method for predicting the steady-state response of an integrated “pump-motor-containment. ” These pumps employ a canned line-start permanent-magnet motor providing synchronous operation and high load efficiencies. The steady-state performance of the pump motor is assessed under different operating conditions. A laboratory prototype machine is used to validate the model.
Prediction of microvascular invasion before curative resection of hepatocellular carcinoma

The accurate staging of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is important in establishing treatment strategies and prognosis. Among tumor factors, microvascular invasion, one of TNM staging components and prognostic factors, is underestimated preoperatively, due to inaccuracy of imaging modalities. We investigated preoperative predictors of microvascular invasion.
Fully 3-D PET reconstruction with system matrix derived from point source measurements

The quality of images reconstructed by statistical iterative methods depends on an accurate model of the relationship between image space and projection space through the system matrix. The elements of the system matrix for the clinical Hi-Rez scanner were derived by processing the data measured for a point source at different positions in a portion of the field of view. These measured data included axial compression and azimuthal interleaving of adjacent projections. Measured data were corrected for crystal and geometrical efficiency. Then, a whole system matrix was derived by processing the responses in projection space. Such responses included both geometrical and detection physics components of the system matrix. The response was parameterized to correct for point source location and to smooth for projection noise. The model also accounts for axial compression (span) used on the scanner. The forward projector for iterative reconstruction was constructed using the estimated response parameters. This paper extends our previous work to fully three-dimensional. Experimental data were used to compare images reconstructed by the standard iterative reconstruction software and the one modeling the response function. The results showed that the modeling of the response function improves both spatial resolution and noise properties
ras mutations are associated with aggressive tumor phenotypes and poor prognosis in thyroid cancer.

PURPOSE ras oncogenic activation has long been demonstrated in thyroid carcinomas of follicular cell derivation, but no consistent relationship has been shown between mutations and clinicopathologic features. MATERIALS AND METHODS We analyzed H-, K-, and N-ras mutations by polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformational polymorphism followed by DNA sequencing in 125 thyroid carcinoma specimens from 107 patients, to include tumors covering the entire spectrum of thyroid tumor differentiation. RESULTS Mutations were identified in four (8.2%) of 49 well-differentiated carcinomas (WDCs; two [6.7%] of 30 of the tumors were papillary carcinomas, two [10.5%] of 19 of them were follicular carcinomas), in 16 (55.2%) of 29 poorly differentiated carcinomas (PDCs), and in 15 (51.7%) of 29 undifferentiated carcinomas, with a significant association between ras mutation and poorly or undifferentiated tumors (P <.001). Twenty-six (74.3%) of 35 patients with ras-mutated tumors died as a result of disease as opposed to 23 (31.9%) of 72 patients with tumors lacking the mutations. Among patients with differentiated thyroid carcinomas (WDC and PDC), 11 (55.0%) of 20 patients with mutated tumors died as a result of disease as opposed to nine (15.5%) of 58 patients with wild-type ras tumors, and the correlation was independent of tumor differentiation and stage (P =.016). K-ras codon 13 mutations (all with G-A nucleotide transitions resulting in Gly>Asp substitution) and single activating mutations in any of the ras genes were also independent predictors of poor survival in differentiated thyroid carcinomas (P =.027 and P =.007, respectively). CONCLUSION These findings demonstrate that ras mutations are a marker for aggressive cancer behavior and indicate a possible role of ras genotyping to identify thyroid carcinoma subsets associated with poor prognosis.
Cancer predisposing mutations in BRCT domains

Members of the breast cancer 1 (BRCA1) carboxy‐terminal (BRCT) superfamily are involved in the cellular response to the DNA damage sensing and repair, as well as in the cell cycle control. All proteins are characterized by one or more BRCT domain(s), which provides a flexible framework representing scaffolding element(s) in multi‐protein complexes. In particular, BRCA1, nibrin (NBN), and microcephalin (MCPH1), generally considered as molecular models for cancer‐prone syndromes, contain BRCT domains able to bind phosphorylated proteins. Mutations within the BRCT domains of BRCA1, NBN, and MCPH1 are responsible for cancer susceptibility, both at the homozygous and heterozygous status. Here, we report a critical analysis of: (i) the BRCT domain structure, (ii) the role of BRCA1, NBN, and MCPH1 in DNA damage sensing and repair as well as in cell cycle control, and (iii) the pathological effects of mutations within the BRCT domains of BRCA1, NBN, and MCPH1. © 2011 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 63(7): 503–512, 2011
Osteoporotic Fractures Are Associated with an 86‐Base Pair Repeat Polymorphism in the Interleukin‐1‐Receptor Antagonist Gene But Not with Polymorphisms in the Interleukin‐1β Gene

Interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) is a potent stimulator of bone resorption, and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of high bone turnover and osteoporosis. IL‐1 receptor antagonist (IL‐1ra) is a competitive inhibitor of IL‐1β effects and the biological effects of IL‐1β are therefore proportional to the ratio IL‐1β/IL‐1ra. The coding regions of IL‐1β were examined for sequence variations by SSCP and sequencing after polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of genomic DNA. Three previously described polymorphisms (C−511‐T, G3877‐A and C3954‐T) in the IL‐1β gene were determined by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) using Ava I, Aci I, and Taq I after PCR. The 86‐base pair repeat polymorphism in IL‐1ra was examined by PCR and electrophoresis and the T11100‐C polymorphism in the IL‐1ra gene was examined by RFLP using MspA1I after PCR. All polymorphisms were related to bone mass, biochemical markers of bone turnover, and presence of fracture in a study including 389 osteoporotic patients with vertebral fractures and normal controls. Two normal women were heterozygous for a shift from cytosine to thymine (C3263‐T) in exon 4 of the IL‐1β gene. This substitution did not affect the amino acid sequence. We did not find other sequence variations in the IL‐1β gene apart from the already known polymorphisms. The distribution of C−511‐T, G3877‐A, and C3954‐T genotypes was similar in the osteoporotic and the normal controls. No significant differences could be shown in bone mass or bone turnover. In the IL‐1ra gene almost complete linkage was confirmed between the already known polymorphisms: G1731‐A, G1821‐A, A1868‐G, G1887‐C, T8006‐C, C8061‐T, 86 base pair variable number tandem repeat (VNTR), A9589‐T, and a new polymorphism: T1934‐C. The A1A1/A3 genotypes of the IL‐1ra VNTR polymorphism were significantly more frequent in osteoporotic patients (56.2%) compared with age‐matched normal controls (433%) (χ2 = 4.09; p = 0.043). The relative risk of osteoporotic fractures was increased to 1.68 (95% CI, 1.01–2.77) in individuals with A1A1/A3 genotypes. Bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine was reduced in individuals with A1A1/A3 genotypes (p = 0.014, analysis of variance [ANOVA]). The difference in bone mass between A1A1/A3 and A2A1/A2 tended to increase with increasing age. T11100‐C genotypes were distributed similarly in osteoporotic patients and normal controls and the polymorphism was without effect on bone mass and biochemical markers of bone turnover. In conclusion, an 86‐base pair repeat polymorphism in the IL‐1ra gene is associated with increased risk of osteoporotic fractures. Other polymorphisms in the IL‐1ra and the IL‐1β genes are not associated with osteoporotic fractures or alterations in bone mass or bone turnover.
Multipactor Analysis in Coaxial Waveguides for Satellite Applications using Frequency-Domain Methods

This work presents the analysis, manufacturing and testing of a coaxial sample in order to investigate the multipactor effect in this kind of waveguide structures. In-home and commercial software have been used to design a quarter-wave transformer coaxial circuit centered at 1.35 GHz. The multipactor analysis of this device has been carried out allowing the prediction of the RF breakdown multipactor threshold. Moreover, the multipactor onset of such a prototype has been measured showing a very good agreement with our simulations. In addition to this, comparison has been also done with results from the technical literature fully validating the new algorithm developed
Complementary Relationships Between Traditional Media and Health Apps Among American College Students

Abstract Objective: This study explored the potential relationships between existing media and health apps for health information among college students. Participants: This study collected and analyzed a total of 408 surveys from students of 7 universities across the United States. Methods: In order to explore the research questions and test the hypotheses, quantitative data from the online survey were analyzed through hierarchical regression analyses. Results: Results from the hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the perceived credibility of health information from traditional mass media was positively and significantly associated with college students' perception of health apps. However, there was no significant effect in regards to online media. Conclusions: This study's consideration of the relationships between existing media and health apps may guide health practitioners in their strategic approaches to improve the well-being of college students.
Modulation Strategy for Multiphase Neutral-Point-Clamped Converters

This paper presents a novel modulation strategy for n-phase neutral-point-clamped (NPC) converters. The proposed modulation strategy is able to control and completely remove the low-frequency neutral-point (NP) voltage oscillations for any operation point and load types. Even when unbalanced and/or nonlinear loads are considered, the NP voltage remains under total control. Consequently, the strategy is very attractive for n-phase active filters. In addition, it enables the use of low-capacity film capacitors in NPC converters. The proposed modulation takes the carrier-based modulation strategy as a basis. It is formulated following a generalized approach that makes it expandable to n-phase NPC converters. In addition, the NP voltage is controlled directly using a closed-loop algorithm that does not rely on the use of the linear control regulators or the additional compensators used in other modulation algorithms. Therefore, no tuning of parameters is required and it performs optimally for any operating conditions and kind of loads, including unbalanced and nonlinear loads. Although the high-frequency harmonic content of the output voltages may increase, the weighted total harmonic distortion generated by the proposed strategy is similar to that of a standard sinusoidal pulse width modulated strategy. The proposed modulation algorithm has been tested in a four-leg NPC converter prototype performing as a three- and four-phase system and operating with balanced and unbalanced loads.
Research on the Dilemma and Countermeasures of the National Social Work Education in Chinese Colleges and Universities

National social work is a process to provide professional services to minorities with professional social work concepts, theories and methods. However, in the education of social work, national social work education, namely social work academic education related to nations and culture and continuing education are not paid enough attention to, and the development is relatively slow. China is a unified multi-ethnic country, and the national social work education has great possibility and urgency. In consequence, we should learn from the experience of overseas and overseas social work education. The research and practice of national social work have begun since the 20th century. Up to now, there are some colleges and universities in the country having set up social work professional, and there are master and doctoral points of social work in ethnic areas. However, there are still many difficulties in the national social work education. Due to the relative lag of the practice and research of national social work in domestic, the development of national social work education is relatively backward. At present, there is no training base for national social workers, and the continuing education courses all lack ethnic and cultural sensitivity. In addition, the contents and materials of occupation qualification examination of social work do not involve the ethnic and cultural contents. The relevant government department’s top-level design, practice field, academic and education circles independently and consciously improve the social work field ethnic and cultural sensitivity is the path for our national social work education to better and faster develop
Characteristics and outcome of long‐stay patients in a paediatric intensive care unit: a case‐control study

Aim: To identify differences in baseline characteristics and outcome between long‐stay and other patients admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit with the same diagnosis. Methods: Over a period of 6 y, data of paediatric intensive care unit patients with a length of stay of 30 or more days (long‐stay patients) and aged 1 to 18 y were retrospectively collected. Long‐stay patients were matched with the next patient who was admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit with the same diagnosis. Evaluated characteristics on admission included: age, sex, presence of chronic morbidity, functional status, Pediatric Risk of Mortality score, presence of multiple organ system failure and complications during admission. Outcome (survival and functional status) was assessed 2.5 to 8.5 y after admission. Results: Of 19 long‐stay patients identified, 15 could be matched with a control patient admitted with the same diagnosis. No significant difference in baseline characteristics was found between long‐stay patients and the matched controls. The mean number of complications per long‐stay patient was 2.9, compared to 1.2 per control patient (p= 0.02). Infection accounted for half of the complications. Mortality rate in long‐stay patients was not higher than in the matched controls (36.8 vs 26.7%, p= 0.54). Paediatric intensive care unit stay did not change functional status in either long‐stay patients or controls.
Investigating consumer word-of-mouth behaviour in a Chinese context

Word of mouth (WOM) is important for online store survival and success. By focusing on Chinese online stores, this study investigates the effect of customer satisfaction and trust (CST) on customer WOM behaviour. Online shopping experience and social value are proposed as the main moderating factors in the context of Chinese e-commerce. Data are collected from 236 online customers and they ultimately support the proposed research model. The results reveal the following key findings: (1) CST is positively related with customer WOM behaviour; (2) online shopping experience positively moderates the relationship between CST and WOM and (3) social value positively moderates the relationship between CST and WOM. The findings provide insightful guidelines for online retailers to improve their commercial strategies.
Convergence rate of iterative method for problem with free phase in case of isometric operator

The variational problem on the pseudo-solutions of the equation with free phase in the case of an isometric operator in Hilbertian spaces is considered. The convergence of the simple iteration method, applied to the Euler equation of the problem, is proven. A posteriori estimation of the convergence rate is obtained. The synthesis of some class of antenna according to a prescribed amplitude radiation pattern is considered.