Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Embroidered Electromyography: A Systematic Design Guide

Muscle activity monitoring or electromyography (EMG) is a useful tool. However, EMG is typically invasive, expensive and difficult to use for untrained users. A possible solution is textile-based surface EMG (sEMG) integrated into clothing as a wearable device. This is, however, challenging due to 1) uncertainties in the electrical properties of conductive threads used for electrodes, 2) imprecise fabrication technologies (e.g., embroidery, sewing), and 3) lack of standardization in design variable selection. This paper, for the first time, provides a design guide for such sensors by performing a thorough examination of the effect of design variables on sEMG signal quality. Results show that imprecisions in digital embroidery lead to a trade-off between low electrode impedance and high manufacturing consistency. An optimum set of variables for this trade-off is identified and tested with sEMG during a variable force isometric grip exercise with n = 12 participants, compared with conventional gel-based electrodes. Results show that thread-based electrodes provide a similar level of sensitivity to force variation as gel-based electrodes with about 90% correlation to expected linear behavior. As proof of concept, jogging leggings with integrated embroidered sEMG are made and successfully tested for detection of muscle fatigue while running on different surfaces.
Analysis of the Birt–Hogg–Dubé (BHD) tumour suppressor gene in sporadic renal cell carcinoma and colorectal cancer

Germline mutations in the BHD gene cause the dominantly inherited cancer susceptibility disorder, Birt–Hogg–Dubé (BHD) syndrome. Individuals with BHD are reported to have an increased risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and of colorectal polyps and cancer. The BHD gene maps to 17p11.2, and to investigate whether somatic inactivation of the BHD gene region is implicated in the pathogenesis of sporadic RCC and colorectal cancer (CRC), we performed mutation analysis in 30 RCC primary tumours and cell lines, and 35 CRCs and cell lines. A somatic missense mutation (Ala444Ser) with loss of the wild type allele (consistent with a two hit mechanism of tumorigenesis) was detected in a primary clear cell RCC, and a further missense mutation (Ala238Val) was identified in a clear cell RCC cell line for which matched normal DNA was not available. A somatic missense substitution (Arg392Gly) was identified in a primary CRC, and the same change was detected in three RCCs (all oncocytomas) for which matched normal DNA was not available. A germline Arg320Gln missense variant detected in a primary CRC was not detected in 40 control individuals or in a further 159 familial and sporadic CRC cases. However, AA homozygotes for an intronic single nucleotide polymorphism (c.1517+6 G→A) were under-represented in familial cases compared with controls (p = 0.03). For some tumour suppressor genes, epigenetic silencing is a more common mechanism of inactivation than somatic mutations. However, we did not detect evidence of epigenetic silencing of BHD in 19 CRC and RCC cell lines, and BHD promoter region hypermethylation was not detected in 20 primary RCCs. These findings suggest that BHD inactivation occurs in a subset of clear cell RCC and CRC.
Robust Regression via Heuristic Hard Thresholding

The presence of data noise and corruptions recently invokes increasing attention on Robust Least Squares Regression (RLSR), which addresses the fundamental problem that learns reliable regression coefficients when response variables can be arbitrarily corrupted. Until now, several important challenges still cannot be handled concurrently: 1) exact recovery guarantee of regression coefficients 2) difficulty in estimating the corruption ratio parameter; and 3) scalability to massive dataset. This paper proposes a novel Robust Least squares regression algorithm via Heuristic Hard thresholding (RLHH), that concurrently addresses all the above challenges. Specifically, the algorithm alternately optimizes the regression coefficients and estimates the optimal uncorrupted set via heuristic hard thresholding without corruption ratio parameter until it converges. We also prove that our algorithm benefits from strong guarantees analogous to those of state-of-the-art methods in terms of convergence rates and recovery guarantees. Extensive experiment demonstrates that the effectiveness of our new method is superior to that of existing methods in the recovery of both regression coefficients and uncorrupted sets, with very competitive efficiency.
Boundary aware image segmentation with unsupervised mixture models

Recent image segmentation methods focus mostly on the topic of semantic segmentation and are trained in a supervised fashion. This work proposes a novel and unsupervised bayesian segmentation method, which includes the edges of an image as part of the model. This reduces typical noise patterns in unsupervised segmentation and increases the overall capability of the segmentation. Two ways are proposed to include edges. One way is a passive edge model which grades the segmentation according to a precomputed edge map, and a second variant where this method is used in conjunction with an active edge movement scheme. Both methods are tested on a publicly available dataset, compared to methods from the literature, and the benefit of including edges is emphasized.
Establishing compliant workflow from documents

All organizations work along business processes possessing general and specific characteristics originated from their locations, policies, environmental conditions etc. Environmental factors — like regulatory elements or best practices from the levels of business process maturity — restrict business processes meanwhile they generate different limitations for them. The main goal of business process modelling is to improve and optimize business processes. The comparison of the existing process with a desired state is one way to lead to the compliance. This paper presents a solution to check the compliance of business processes, offer ways to improve them and transform improved ones into workflows. By creating a supporting framework for the automation of workflow generation, organizations can adapt to changing business environments in more flexible way.
The contributions of family care-givers at end of life: A national post-bereavement census survey of cancer carers’ hours of care and expenditures

Background: Family members provide vital care at end of life, enabling patients to remain at home. Such informal care contributes significantly to the economy while supporting patients’ preferences and government policy. However, the value of care-givers’ contributions is often underestimated or overlooked in evaluations. Without information on the activities and expenditures involved in informal care-giving, it is impossible to provide an accurate assessment of carers’ contribution to end-of-life care. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the contributions and expenditure of informal, family care-giving in end-of-life cancer care. Design: A national census survey of English cancer carers was conducted. Survey packs were mailed to 5271 people who registered the death of a relative to cancer during 1–16 May 2015. Data were collected on decedents’ health and situation, care support given, financial expenditure resulting from care, carer well-being and general background information. Results: In all, 1504 completed surveys were returned (28.5%). Over 90% of respondents reported spending time on care-giving in the last 3 months of the decedent’s life, contributing a median 69 h 30 min of care-giving each week. Those who reported details of expenditure (72.5%) spent a median £370 in the last 3 months of the decedent’s life. Conclusion: Carers contribute a great deal of time and money for day-to-day support and care of patients. This study has yielded a unique, population-level data set of end-of-life care-giving and future analyses will provide estimates of the economic value of family care-givers’ contributions.
One-step anodization fabrication and morphology characterization of porous AAO with ideal nanopore arrays

A fabrication method for one-step anodization of an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template with nanopore arrays using pretreated high purity aluminum foil is reported in this article. Morphology of the AAO was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results showed that porous AAO with ideal nanopore arrays can be fabricated by one-step anodization fabrication technology on high purity aluminum foil which had been anodized at 45 V direct current (DC), in 0°C, 0.5 M H2C2O4 solution for 48 hours. The average pore diameter and the interpore distance were 80 nm and 120 nm, respectively. Nanopores in porous AAO had very narrow size distribution and were arranged into hexagonal array. The formation mechanism of nanopore arrays in porous AAO is discussed. Porous AAO with ideal nanopore arrays provide an ideal template for preparation of many one-dimensional nanomaterials. One-step anodization of AAO is a simpler procedure and more applicable in industrial application than the previous two-step anodization technology.
Violence During Pregnancy in Jordan

This study estimates the lifetime prevalence of physical violence during pregnancy and examines risk and protective factors among women (N = 390) attending reproductive health clinics in Jordan. Approximately 15% reported physical violence during pregnancy. The husband was the sole perpetrator in 83% of the cases. A high frequency of quarreling, the husband's use of alcohol, attitudes supportive of a woman's duty to obey her husband, infrequent communication between the respondent and her family, and exposure to violence as a child increased the risk of violence. Consanguinity (marriage to a blood relative) and higher education levels were protective against violence during pregnancy.
Evidence supporting laparoscopic hernia repair in children

Purpose of review Pediatric inguinal hernias are a commonly performed surgical procedure. Currently, they can be approached via open or laparoscopic surgery. We summarize the current evidence for laparoscopic inguinal hernia repairs in children. Recent findings Laparoscopic and open inguinal hernia repair in children are associated with similar operative times for unilateral hernia, as well as similar cosmesis, complication rates and recurrence rates. Bilateral hernia repair has been shown to be faster through a laparoscopic approach. The laparoscopic approach is associated with decreased pain scores and earlier recovery, although only in the initial postoperative period. Laparoscopy allows for easy evaluation of the patency of contralateral processus vaginalis, although the clinical significance of and need for repair of an identified defect is unclear. Summary Laparoscopic surgery for pediatric inguinal hernias offers some advantages over open repair with most outcomes being equal. It should be considered a safe alternative to open repair to children and their caregivers.
Efficient and Accurate Hausdorff Distance Computation Based on Diffusion Search

The Hausdorff distance (HD) between two point sets is widely used in similarity measures, but the high computational cost of HD algorithms restrict their practical use. In this paper, we analyze the time complexity to compute an accurate Hausdorff distance and find that reducing the iterations of the inner loop significantly contributes in reducing the average time cost. Based on the observation that the nearest neighbor (NN) of the breakpoint in the current inner loop suggests a higher probability to break the next inner loop, we present a novel and efficient approach for computing the accurate Hausdorff distance based on a diffusion search. The current breakpoint is recorded as the diffusion center of the next inner loop so that the efficiency of the HD computation can be significantly improved without scanning every point. According to the type of 3-D model (sparse and dense point sets), a novel HD computation framework consisting of two specific diffusion search methods is proposed. First, a Z-order-based HD algorithm (ZHD) for a sparse point sets is proposed. Second, to avoid the low efficiency of a diffusion search when computing the Hausdorff distance between dense point sets with the ZHD algorithm, an octree-based HD algorithm (OHD) is proposed. Evaluation results demonstrate that the ZHD algorithm and the OHD algorithm can greatly reduce the time complexity of HD computations for sparse and dense point sets, respectively. In addition, we conduct several comparative experiments against the most famous HD computation methods. Experimental results show that the proposed approach achieves performance as good as the most efficient available algorithm and exhibits better performance in dealing with spatial data that is highly overlapping.
Hibernation: the immune system at rest?

Mammalian hibernation consists of torpor phases when metabolism is severely depressed, and Tb can reach as low as approximately –2°C, interrupted by euthermic arousal phases. Hibernation affects the function of the innate and the adaptive immune systems. Torpor drastically reduces numbers of all types of circulating leukocytes. In addition, other changes have been noted, such as lower complement levels, diminished response to LPS, phagocytotic capacity, cytokine production, lymphocyte proliferation, and antibody production. Hibernation may therefore increase infection risk, as illustrated by the currently emerging WNS in hibernating bats. Unraveling the pathways that result in reduced immune function during hibernation will enhance our understanding of immunologic responses during extreme physiological changes in mammals.
Role of tricalcium silicate in sulfate resistance

This paper addresses the effects of increasing alite content on the durability of cementitious systems in sulfate environment. The alite content of two cements was increased and the deterioration in a sodium sulfate environment was monitored through expansion and strength measurements. Morphological and phase analyses were conducted on the specimens at the end of exposure time to explain the deterioration process. The findings indicate that high alite content is damaging to cementitious systems exposed to sodium sulfate environment as determined by ASTM specifications C109, C305 and C1012.
Elements of mastitis control.

Mastitis is the most costly disease in dairy herds when adequate control procedures are not used. A single quarter infected for one lactation may reduce milk production of that cow 10 to 12% in that lactation (25). Additional costs of discarded milk, antibiotics, and culling increase the cost in an average herd to the dollar equivalent of approximately 700 kg of milk per cow per year (23). A nationwide survey of researchers in 1976 suggested annual losses in the United States of approximately 1.3 billion dollars (1). An exact estimate is difficult because data are unavailable to indicate the actual degree of infection in our dairy herds. However, any of the estimates on cost of the disease illustrate the need for continued work in controlling mastitis. In the previous jubilee issue, mastitis was covered as a section under "other diseases" and the author, Pounden, devoted approximately one page to the subject to summarize the state of the art at that time (36). Major advances had been in identification of organisms through bacteriological procedures. The etiology of Streptococcus agalactiae was fairly well understood, and the new wonder drug, penicillin, was effective in eliminating the organism from herds. While improved sanitation and milking practices were being encouraged, control was being left to the use of antibiotics. Most recommendations on proper control procedures were based on observations, leading to a wide discrepancy in suggested approaches. A more complete summary of the disease, published in the same volume of the Journal of Dairy Science, was entit led "Mastitis The Struggle for Understanding" by James Murphy (21). He suggested that mastitis was the most costly dairy cattle disease, and although research had been conducted, sharp differences remained in interpretat ion of results. Therefore, Murphy outlined a series of what he considered fundamental points necessary for understanding the disease:
Erythrocytes and Vascular Function: Oxygen and Nitric Oxide

Erythrocytes regulate vascular function through the modulation of oxygen delivery and the scavenging and generation of nitric oxide (NO). First, hemoglobin inside the red blood cell binds oxygen in the lungs and delivers it to tissues throughout the body in an allosterically regulated process, modulated by oxygen, carbon dioxide and proton concentrations. The vasculature responds to low oxygen tensions through vasodilation, further recruiting blood flow and oxygen carrying erythrocytes. Research has shown multiple mechanisms are at play in this classical hypoxic vasodilatory response, with a potential role of red cell derived vasodilatory molecules, such as nitrite derived nitric oxide and red blood cell ATP, considered in the last 20 years. According to these hypotheses, red blood cells release vasodilatory molecules under low oxygen pressures. Candidate molecules released by erythrocytes and responsible for hypoxic vasodilation are nitric oxide, adenosine triphosphate and S-nitrosothiols. Our research group has characterized the biochemistry and physiological effects of the electron and proton transfer reactions from hemoglobin and other ferrous heme globins with nitrite to form NO. In addition to NO generation from nitrite during deoxygenation, hemoglobin has a high affinity for NO. Scavenging of NO by hemoglobin can cause vasoconstriction, which is greatly enhanced by cell free hemoglobin outside of the red cell. Therefore, compartmentalization of hemoglobin inside red blood cells and localization of red blood cells in the blood stream are important for healthy vascular function. Conditions where erythrocyte lysis leads to cell free hemoglobin or where erythrocytes adhere to the endothelium can result in hypertension and vaso constriction. These studies support a model where hemoglobin serves as an oxido-reductase, inhibiting NO and promoting higher vessel tone when oxygenated and reducing nitrite to form NO and vasodilate when deoxygenated.
Context-Aware Recommendations Using Mobile P2P

In recent years, there has been an increasing research attention towards Context-Aware Recommender Systems (CARS) for mobile users. The main motivation is that, by considering the current context of the mobile user, more relevant suggestions can be provided. However, further research is required to enable the effective deployment of mobile CARS. In this paper, we study the possibility to implement mobile CARS by using a pure mobile P2P (Peer-to-Peer) approach, where no centralized database or server exists. Instead, the mobile devices of the users propagate rating information in an opportunistic way, when they become neighbors from a communication point of view. We study the problem by considering a specific use case scenario: the recommendation of items to observe in a museum. Besides, we exploit a synthetic generator of datasets for the evaluation of CARS, called DataGenCARS, to build the recommendation scenarios based on real and synthetic data.
Binary mass ratios: system mass not primary mass

Binary properties are usually expressed (for good observational reasons) as a function of primary mass. It has been found that the distribution of companion masses – the mass ratio distribution – is different for different primary masses. We argue that system mass is the more fundamental physical parameter to use. We show that if system masses are drawn from a log-normal mass function, then the different observed mass ratio distributions as a function of primary mass, from M-dwarfs to A-stars, are all consistent with a universal, flat, system mass ratio distribution. We also show that the brown dwarf mass ratio distribution is not drawn from the same flat distribution, suggesting that the process which decides upon mass ratios is very different in brown dwarfs and stars.
LTEInspector: A Systematic Approach for Adversarial Testing of 4G LTE

In this paper, we investigate the security and privacy of the three critical procedures of the 4G LTE protocol (i.e., attach, detach, and paging), and in the process, uncover potential design aws of the protocol and unsafe practices employed by the stakeholders. For exposing vulnerabilities, we propose a modelbased testing approachLTEInspector which lazily combines a symbolic model checker and a cryptographic protocol veri er in the symbolic attacker model. Using LTEInspector, we have uncovered 10 new attacks along with 9 prior attacks, categorized into three abstract classes (i.e., security, user privacy, and disruption of service), in the three procedures of 4G LTE. Notable among our ndings is the authentication relay attackthat enables an adversary to spoof the location of a legitimate user to the core network without possessing appropriate credentials. To ensure that the exposed attacks pose real threats and are indeed realizable in practice, we have validated8 of the 10 new attacks and their accompanying adversarial assumptions through experimentation in a real testbed.
Single-molecule fluorescence microscopy review: shedding new light on old problems

Fluorescence microscopy is an invaluable tool in the biosciences, a genuine workhorse technique offering exceptional contrast in conjunction with high specificity of labelling with relatively minimal perturbation to biological samples compared with many competing biophysical techniques. Improvements in detector and dye technologies coupled to advances in image analysis methods have fuelled recent development towards single-molecule fluorescence microscopy, which can utilize light microscopy tools to enable the faithful detection and analysis of single fluorescent molecules used as reporter tags in biological samples. For example, the discovery of GFP, initiating the so-called ‘green revolution’, has pushed experimental tools in the biosciences to a completely new level of functional imaging of living samples, culminating in single fluorescent protein molecule detection. Today, fluorescence microscopy is an indispensable tool in single-molecule investigations, providing a high signal-to-noise ratio for visualization while still retaining the key features in the physiological context of native biological systems. In this review, we discuss some of the recent discoveries in the life sciences which have been enabled using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy, paying particular attention to the so-called ‘super-resolution’ fluorescence microscopy techniques in live cells, which are at the cutting-edge of these methods. In particular, how these tools can reveal new insights into long-standing puzzles in biology: old problems, which have been impossible to tackle using other more traditional tools until the emergence of new single-molecule fluorescence microscopy techniques.