Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An advanced, low cost prosthetic arm

An advanced, low cost prosthetic arm was developed for trans-radial amputees based on the need for access to more advanced limbs for those of limited monetary means. The design of the arm was greatly assisted by the current boom in open source technology and hobby level rapid prototyping. The mechanical structure of the arm is entirely 3D printed while the electronics are loosely based on the Arduino Mega. The EMG sensors are replicas of the open source Advancer Technologies EMG kit. The overall manufacturing process was completed through the use of readily available hand tools and a RepRap 3D printer. The total cost of materials for one complete arm is approximately €460 ($640). Currently the arm is controlled via the contraction of either the wrist extensor or flexor. Various grip patterns can be chosen to deal with various situations, giving the hand the greatest flexibility. Current feedback from each finger allows for force limiting and also provides an input for basic mechano-tactile haptic feedback.
Sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum calcium pumps: recent advances in our understanding of structure/function and biology (Review)

This review examines the structure and function of the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum calcium pump (SERCA1a) in the light of the recent publication of the 2.6 Å resolution structure of this protein, and looks at the increasing awareness of the key role played by SERCAs in calcium signalling. The roles played by the calcium pump isoforms, SERCA1a/b, SERCA2a/b and SERCA3a/b/c in cellular function are discussed, and the modulation of SERCA activity by phospholamban, sarcolipin and other modulatory influences is examined. The recent discoveries of human SERCA mutations leading to disease states is reviewed, and the insights into SERCA function using transgenic approaches are outlined.
HoORaYs: High-order Optimization of Rating Distance for Recommender Systems

Latent factor models have become a prevalent method in recommender systems, to predict users' preference on items based on the historical user feedback. Most of the existing methods, explicitly or implicitly, are built upon the first-order rating distance principle, which aims to minimize the difference between the estimated and real ratings. In this paper, we generalize such first-order rating distance principle and propose a new latent factor model (HoORaYs) for recommender systems. The core idea of the proposed method is to explore high-order rating distance, which aims to minimize not only (i) the difference between the estimated and real ratings of the same (user, item) pair (i.e., the first-order rating distance), but also (ii) the difference between the estimated and real rating difference of the same user across different items (i.e., the second-order rating distance). We formulate it as a regularized optimization problem, and propose an effective and scalable algorithm to solve it. Our analysis from the geometry and Bayesian perspectives indicate that by exploring the high-order rating distance, it helps to reduce the variance of the estimator, which in turns leads to better generalization performance (e.g., smaller prediction error). We evaluate the proposed method on four real-world data sets, two with explicit user feedback and the other two with implicit user feedback. Experimental results show that the proposed method consistently outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in terms of the prediction accuracy.
Molecularly severe roX1 mutations contribute to dosage compensation in Drosophila

Drosophila melanogaster males maintain a constant ratio of X‐linked to autosomal gene products by increasing expression from their single X chromosome. This is achieved through the action of a complex composed of protein and roX RNA. This complex binds in the body of genes and increases expression through chromatin modification. The X‐linked roX genes produce RNAs that are essential but redundant for recognition and modification of the male X chromosome. We report that some molecularly severe roX1 mutations with no detectable transcript accumulation contribute dramatically to male rescue by autosomal roX1 transgenes. We propose that this represents genetic complementation between a source of roX RNA (the autosomal transgene) and the severely mutated X‐linked allele. genesis 47:49–54, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evidence of adaptive evolution of alpine pheasants to high-altitude environment from mitogenomic perspective

Abstract Adaptive evolutions to high-altitude adaptation have been intensively studied in mammals. However, considering the additional vertebrate groups, new perception regarding selection challenged by high-altitude stress on mitochondrial genome can be gained. To test this hypothesis, we compiled and analyzed the mitochondrial genomes of 5 alpine pheasants and 12 low-altitude species in Phasianidae. The results that evolutionary rates of ATP6 and ND6 showing significant fluctuation among branches when involved with five alpine pheasants revealed both genes might have implications with adapting to highland environment. The radical physico-chemical property changes identified by the modified MM01 model, including composition (C) and equilibrium constant (ionization of COOH) (Pk′) in ATP6 and beta-structure tendencies (Pβ), Pk′, and long-range non-bonded energy (El) in ND6, suggested that minor overall adjustments in size, protein conformation and relative orientation of reaction interfaces have been optimized to provide the ideal environments for electron transfer, proton translocation and generation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Additionally, three unique substitution sites were identified under selection in ND6, which could be potentially important adaptive changes contributing to cellular energy production. Our findings suggested that adaptive evolution may occur in alpine pheasants, which are an important complement to the knowledge of genetic mechanisms against the high-altitude environment in non-mammal animals.
Assessment of serum apolipoprotein B and apolipoprotein A-1 and their ratio in healthy full term small for gestational age newborns.

BACKGROUND Programmed changes in growth restricted fetuses can increase the risk of adulthood diseases due to elevated serum cholesterol and apolipoprotein-B (Apo-B) concentrations. Increasing evidence demonstrated the role of apoB/apoA-I ratio as a strong risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. OBJECTIVE To determine the concentration of cord blood lipoproteins and apolipoproteins as well as their correlation with birth weight. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted in a teaching institution in central India. Healthy full-term newborns, born out of normal vaginal deliveries, were recruited. Cases include term small for gestational age (SGA) babies while term appropriate for gestational age (AGA) babies were taken as controls. Their umbilical venous blood was collected and sent for biochemical analysis. RESULTS Out of 126 healthy newborns, 66 were cases and 60 were controls. Mean values of serum triglyceride (141.56±69.67 mg/dl vs. 113.67±33.38 mg/dl; p < 0.006; 95% CI = 8.31 to 47.46) and serum apo-B/apo-A-1 ratio (0.67±0.28 vs. 0.55±0.20; p < 0.007; 95% CI = 0.033 to 0.206) were significantly high and that of serum high density cholesterol (35.84±10.42 mg/dl vs. 40.73±11.70 mg/dl; p < 0.014; 95% CI = -8.79 to -0.98) and Apo-A1 [87.59±12.44 mg/dl vs. 101.87±35.07 mg/dl; p = 0.002; 95% CI = -23.39 to -5.16) were significantly low in SGA newborns. Serum cholesterol, very low-density cholesterol rlow-density cholesterol rand Apo-B did not show any significant difference. Among SGA newborns significant negative correlation was seen between birth weight and apo-B/apo-A1 and serum triglyceride, while birth weight and serum apo-A1 level showed significant positive correlation. There was no statistically significant correlation between birth weight and other parameters. CONCLUSION These findings further support the association of prenatal factors with lipid profile rand can serve as starting point for studying lipid transport system changes during early life in Indian population.
Postcanine tooth size and diet in anthropoid primates.

The molar tooth size gradient has been investigated in 69 species of anthropoid primates. The major variation was found to be in the relative contributions in the crown areas of the first and third molars (Ml and M3) and the ratio M1/M3 was employed to describe the shape and relative size of the molar row. The contribution of the most distal premolar (P4) to the postcanine area was great er when M3 was relatively smaller. The ratio M1/M3 was inversely related to the percentage of time that a species ingests leaves in arboreal species. This is interpreted as an adaptation to ingesting a diet of small, non-sticky food particles in small volumes. Terrestrial anthropoids have a much smaller M1/M3 ratio; the increased tooth surface may be an adaptation to counteract an abrasive diet. Zusammenfassung: An 69 platyrrhinen und catarrhinen Primaten-Spezies wurde der Molarengro flen-Gradient untersucht. Die Hauptvariation fand sich im relativen Anteil der Zahnkronenflachen der ersten und dritten Molaren (Ml und M3), weshalb das Groflenverhaltnis M1/M3 zur Kenn zeichnung der Form und der relativen Grofle der Molarenreihe herangezogen wurde. Der Beitrag des letzten Pramolaren (P4) zum gesamten postcaninen Kronenareal erwies sich als grofier, wenn M3 relativ kleiner war. Das Verhaltnis M1/M3 war bei arborealen Arten umgekehrt proportional zur Zeit, die jene Arten mit dem Fressen von Blattern verbringen. Das wird als eine Anpassung an eine Nahrung von kleinen, nicht-klebrigen Nahrungspartikeln in kleinen Mengen interpretiert. Terre strische Arten haben erheblich kleinere Ml/M3-Relationen. Die vergrofierte Zahnkronen-Oberfla che diirfte eine Anpassung gegen abrasive Nahrungskomponenten sein.
Changes in gait performance over several years are associated with recurrent falls status in community-dwelling older women at high risk of fracture.

BACKGROUND Gait analysis is a recommended geriatric assessment for falls risk and sarcopenia; however, previous research utilises measurements at a single time point only. It is presently unclear how changes in gait over several years influence risk of recurrent falls in older adults. METHODS We investigated 135 female volunteers (mean age±SD: 76.7±5.0 years; range: 70-92 years) at high risk of fracture. Gait parameters (speed, cadence, step length, step width, swing time and double support phase) were assessed using the GAITRite Electronic Walkway System at four annual clinics over ∼3.7±0.5 years. Participants reported incident falls monthly for 3.7±1.2 years. RESULTS Increasing gait speed (odds ratio: 0.96; 95% confidence interval 0.93, 0.99) and step length (0.87; 0.77, 0.98) from baseline to final follow-up was associated with reduced likelihood of being a recurrent faller over the study period. No significant associations were observed for baseline gait parameters (all P≥0.05). At the second follow-up (2.8±0.6 years), an increase in swing time (0.65; 0.43, 0.98) was associated with reduced likelihood, while an increase in double support phase (1.31; 1.04, 1.66) was associated with increased likelihood, for being a recurrent faller in the subsequent 1.3 years following this time point. CONCLUSION Changes in gait parameters over several years are significantly associated with the likelihood of being a recurrent faller among community-dwelling older women at high risk of fracture. Further research is required to develop gait monitoring guidelines and gait parameter decline cut points that may be utilised by clinicians to identify older adults at risk of incident falls and sarcopenia.
Multilateral Loans and Interest Rates: Further Evidence on the Seniority Conundrum

During Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis, interest rate spreads have been highly correlated with the share of multilateral loans that were considered senior to private markets. As both variables are potentially endogenous, we follow two different approaches to analyze the direction of causality. First, we use a set of IV regressions where the differences between sovereign ratings serve as instruments. Second, we analyze a new panel-survey dataset on seniority and interest rate expectations. In both approaches, we find evidence for the seniority conundrum – i.e., a positive impact of multilateral loans on interest rate spreads.
The Clf1p Splicing Factor Promotes Spliceosome Assembly through N-terminal Tetratricopeptide Repeat Contacts*

Spliceosome assembly follows a well conserved pathway of subunit addition that includes both small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) particles and non-snRNP splicing factors. Clf1p is an unusual splicing factor composed almost entirely of direct repeats of the tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) protein-binding motif. Here we show that the Clf1p protein resides in at least two multisubunit protein complexes, a small nuclear RNA-free structure similar to what was reported as the Prp19p complex (nineteen complex; NTC) and an RNP structure that contains the U2, U5, and U6 small nuclear RNAs. Thirty Ccf (Clf1p complexfactor) proteins have been identified by mass spectroscopy or immune detection as known or suspected components of the yeast spliceosome. Deletion of TPR1 or TPR2 from an epitope-tagged Clf1p protein (i.e. Clf1Δ2-TAP) destabilizes Clf1p complexes assembled in vivo, causing the release of the Cef1p and Prp19p NTC factors and decreased association of the Rse1p, Snu114p, and Hsh155p snRNP proteins. In vitro, temperature inactivation of Clf1Δ2p impairs the prespliceosome to spliceosome transition and prevents Prp19p recruitment to the splicing complex. These and related data support the view that the poly-TPR Clf1p splicing factor promotes the functional integration of the U4/U6.U5 tri-snRNP particle into the U1-, U2-dependent prespliceosome.
Mental Health Research in Correctional Settings: Perceptions of Risk and Vulnerabilities

With more than half of individuals incarcerated having serious mental health concerns, correctional settings offer excellent opportunities for epidemiological, prevention, and intervention research. However, due to unique ethical and structural challenges, these settings create risks and vulnerabilities for participants not typically encountered in research populations. We surveyed 1,224 researchers, Institutional Review Board (IRB) members, and IRB prisoner representatives to assess their perceptions of risks and vulnerabilities associated with mental health research conducted in correctional settings. Highest ranked risks were related to privacy, stigma, and confidentiality; lowest ranked risks were related to prisoners’ loss of privileges or becoming targets of violence due to having participated in research. Cognitive impairment, mental illness, lack of autonomy, and limited access to services emerged as the greatest sources of vulnerability; being male, being female, being older than age 60, being a minority, and being pregnant were the lowest ranked sources of vulnerability. Researchers with corrections experience perceived lower risks and vulnerabilities than all other groups, raising the question whether these researchers accurately appraise risk and vulnerability based on experience, or if their lower risk and vulnerability perceptions reflect potential bias due to their vested interests. By identifying areas of particular risk and vulnerability, this study provides important information for researchers and research reviewers alike.
Opportunities to Conceptualize Linear Relationships in United States Mathematics Textbooks: Beyond Y=MX+B.

This study examined opportunities provided for students to conceptualize linear relationships, as reflected in five United States mathematics textbooks. Texts represented a broad spectrum of types: commercial, so-called “back to basics”, and NSF funded. Analysis of allocation, topic choice, presentation, context, and cognitive level was completed. Analysis results revealed that students are being asked to grapple with linear relationships at increasingly younger ages, limits in the models they are asked to use, limits on discussion of concepts and connections, lack a real world context for most problems, and lower levels of cognitive expectation. The results indicate a significant gap between learning goals from intended curricula, and the potentially implemented curricula contained in many current U.S. textbooks. Conclusions suggest ways in which the present curriculum may be transformed. which originated the 1990s in keeping mathematics reform standards Texts”, typically reissued every years. a us to examine
Discriminative Spatial Tree for Image Classification

Spatial pyramid is a very popular method for preserving the spatial information of local features, which partitions an image into multiple blocks at different resolution levels. Nevertheless, the strategy for partitioning an image is designed by hand and same for all the codewords in a codebook. To address this problem, we propose a novel partition method named discriminative spatial tree (ST), and implement it from two different viewpoints: class and image. Discriminative ST builds one spatial tree for each codeword, and each node in each tree corresponds to one image region. For better performance evaluation, we also introduce a simplified coding scheme. Experimental results on two challenging datasets show that our simplified coding scheme leads to comparable results to some sophisticated ones, and discriminative ST can achieve better classification performance than spatial pyramid.
Impact of cough across different chronic respiratory diseases: comparison of two cough-specific health-related quality of life questionnaires.

BACKGROUND Cough is a prominent symptom across a range of common chronic respiratory diseases and impacts considerably on patient health status. METHODS We undertook a cross-sectional comparison of scores from two cough-specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) questionnaires, the Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ), and the Cough Quality of Life Questionnaire (CQLQ), together with a generic HRQoL measure, the EuroQol. Questionnaires were administered to and spirometry performed on 147 outpatients with chronic cough (n = 83), COPD (n = 18), asthma (n = 20), and bronchiectasis (n = 26). RESULTS There was no significant difference in the LCQ and CQLQ total scores between groups (p = 0.24 and p = 0.26, respectively). Exploratory analyses of questionnaire subdomains revealed differences in psychosocial issues and functional impairment between the four groups (p = 0.01 and p = 0.05, respectively). CQLQ scores indicated that chronic coughers have more psychosocial issues than patients with bronchiectasis (p = 0.03) but less functional impairment than COPD patients (p = 0.04). There was a significant difference in generic health status across the four disease groups (p = 0.04), with poorest health status in COPD patients. A significant inverse correlation was observed between CQLQ and LCQ in each disease group (chronic cough r = - 0.56, p < 0.001; COPD r = - 0.49, p = 0.04; asthma r = - 0.94, p < 0.001; and bronchiectasis r = - 0.88, p < 0.001). There was no correlation between cough questionnaire scores and FEV(1) in any group, although a significant correlation between EuroQol visual analog scale component and FEV(1) (r = 0.639, p = 0.004) was observed in COPD patients. CONCLUSION Cough adversely affects health status across a range of common respiratory diseases. The LCQ and CQLQ can each provide important additional information concerning the impact of cough.
Adherence to antiretroviral therapy and virologic suppression among HIV-infected persons receiving care in private clinics in Mumbai, India.

BACKGROUND Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and correlates of adherence and virologic suppression among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons receiving ART in private, outpatient clinics in India is unknown. METHODS Between December 2004 and April 2005, persons receiving ART at 3 private clinics in Mumbai, India, were interviewed regarding HIV care and adherence to ART. Physicians also completed a survey for each participant. Quantitative HIV-1 RNA level was determined for 200 participants. RESULTS Of 279 participants, 73% reported > or = 95% adherence to ART. Adherence was positively associated with age > or = 50 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.90), presence of comorbid conditions (aOR, 1.92), medication self-efficacy (aOR, 4.01), absence of pain in the past month (aOR, 2.14), and support from family and friends (aOR, 2.57). Lack of reminders from family members to take medication (aOR, 0.27) was negatively associated with adherence. Of 200 participants, 127 (63.5%) had virologic suppression (RNA level, < 400 copies/mL). Independent correlates of suppression were a regimen containing > or = 3 ART drugs (aOR, 5.52), first ART regimen (aOR, 3.28), adherence to therapy > or = 95% (aOR, 5.70), female sex (aOR, 3.19), and a physical component score > or = 50 (aOR, 1.07). CONCLUSION Self-reported adherence to ART in a sample of patients attending Mumbai's private clinics was relatively high. However, the fact that a detectable viral level was found in nearly 40% of patients suggests that second-line ART regimens, as well as an emphasis on adherence and appropriate ART regimens in India, is needed.
Proprioceptive pathways to posterior parietal areas MIP and LIPv from the dorsal column nuclei and the postcentral somatosensory cortex

The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) serves as an interface between sensory and motor cortices by integrating multisensory signals with motor‐related information. Sensorimotor transformation of somatosensory signals is crucial for the generation and updating of body representations and movement plans. Using retrograde transneuronal transfer of rabies virus in combination with a conventional tracer, we identified direct and polysynaptic somatosensory pathways to two posterior parietal areas, the ventral lateral intraparietal area (LIPv) and the rostral part of the medial intraparietal area (MIP) in macaque monkeys. In addition to direct projections from somatosensory areas 2v and 3a, respectively, we found that LIPv and MIP receive disynaptic inputs from the dorsal column nuclei as directly as these somatosensory areas, via a parallel channel. LIPv is the target of minor neck muscle‐related projections from the cuneate (Cu) and the external cuneate nuclei (ECu), and direct projections from area 2v, that likely carry kinesthetic/vestibular/optokinetic‐related signals. In contrast, MIP receives major arm and shoulder proprioceptive inputs disynaptically from the rostral Cu and ECu, and trisynaptically (via area 3a) from caudal portions of these nuclei. These findings have important implications for the understanding of the influence of proprioceptive information on movement control operations of the PPC and the formation of body representations. They also contribute to explain the specific deficits of proprioceptive guidance of movement associated to optic ataxia.