Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cervical and shoulder postural assessment of adolescents between 15 and 17 years old and association with upper quadrant pain

Background: There is sparse literature that provides evidence of cervical and shoulder postural alignment of 15 to 17-year-old adolescents and that analyzes sex differences. Objectives: To characterize the postural alignment of the head and shoulder in the sagittal plane of 15 to 17-year-old Portuguese adolescents in natural erect standing and explore the relationships between three postural angles and presence of neck and shoulder pain. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in two secondary schools in Portugal. 275 adolescent students (153 females and 122 males) aged 15 to 17 were evaluated. Sagittal head, cervical, and shoulder angles were measured with photogrammetry and PAS software. The American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Shoulder Assessment (ASES) was used to assess shoulder pain, whereas neck pain was self-reported with a single question. Results: Mean values of sagittal head, cervical, and shoulder angles were 17.2±5.7, 47.4±5.2, and 51.4±8. 5º, respectively. 68% of the participants revealed protraction of the head, whereas 58% of them had protraction of the shoulder. The boys showed a significantly higher mean cervical angle, and adolescents with neck pain revealed lower mean cervical angle than adolescents without neck pain. 53% of the girls self-reported regular neck pain, contrasting with 19% of the boys. Conclusions: This data shows that forward head and protracted shoulder are common postural disorders in adolescents, especially in girls. Neck pain is prevalent in adolescents, especially girls, and it is associated with forward head posture.
Insulin–InsR signaling drives multipotent progenitor differentiation toward lymphoid lineages

Xia et al. report that insulin receptor signaling is required for lymphoid lineage specification in early lymphopoiesis via modulation of Ikaros expression. Disrupted insulin signaling generates more myeloid cells and fewer lymphoid cells, resulting in a skewed myeloid/lymphoid ratio in diabetic mice.
Bayesian estimation of discrete-time cellular neural network coefficients

A new method for finding the network coefficients of a discrete-time cellular neural network (DTCNN) is proposed. This new method uses a probabilistic approach that itself uses Bayesian learning to estimate the network coefficients. A posterior probability density function (PDF) is composed using the likelihood and prior PDFs derived from the system model and prior information, respectively. This posterior PDF is used to draw samples with the help of the Metropolis algorithm, a special case of the Metropolis--Hastings algorithm where the proposal distribution function is symmetric, and resulting samples are then averaged to find the minimum mean square error (MMSE) estimate of the network coefficients. A couple of image processing applications are performed using these estimated parameters and the results are compared with those of some well-known methods.
When Do We Confuse Self and Other in Action Memory? Reduced False Memories of Self-Performance after Observing Actions by an Out-Group vs. In-Group Actor

Observing another person performing an action can lead to a false memory of having performed the action oneself – the observation-inflation effect. In the experimental paradigm, participants first perform or do not perform simple actions, and then observe another person perform some of these actions. The observation-inflation effect is found when participants later remember performing actions that they have merely observed. In this case, self and other are confused in action memory. We examined social conditions of this self-other confusion when remembering actions, specifically whether the effect depends on the observed actor’s group membership. In our experiment, we manipulated group membership based on physical appearance, specifically complexion of the hands. Fair-skinned participants observed either an in-group (i.e., fair-skinned) or an out-group (i.e., dark-skinned) actor. Our results revealed that the observed actor’s group membership moderated the observation-inflation effect: False memories were significantly reduced when the actor was from the out-group (vs. in-group). We found no difference to a control condition in which the actor wore black gloves, suggesting that distinctiveness of perceptual or sensory features alone (due to the out-group member’s dark skin) is not critical. We discuss these findings in light of social-neuroscience studies demonstrating the impact of an observed person’s group membership on motor simulation. Overall, our findings suggest that action memory can be affected by a ubiquitous feature of people’s social perception, that is, group-based social categorization of others.
Fundamental variability limits of filament-based RRAM

While Resistive RAM (RRAM) are seen as an alternative to NAND Flash, their variability and cycling understanding remain a major roadblock. Extensive characterizations of multi-kbits RRAM arrays during Forming, Set, Reset and cycling operations are presented allowing the quantification of the intrinsic variability factors. As a result, the fundamental variability limits of filament-based RRAM in the full resistance range are identified.
On the Use of Paradoxical Interventions in Counseling and Coaching in Sport

This article discusses the use of paradoxical interventions in counseling and coaching in sport. The concepts of first- and second-order change processes are clarified. The logic of the paradox is described in detail. Several examples of paradoxical intervention in sport are presented, together with guidelines for its use. Finally, the possibilities of integrating paradoxical thought processes into educational sport psychology are discussed.
W-Band High-Gain TE$_{220}$-Mode Slot Antenna Array With Gap Waveguide Feeding Network

In this letter, a high-order-mode substrate integrated cavity (SIC) excited 2 ×2-slot antenna subarray for wideband and high-gain W-band array application is presented. This antenna subarray is designed by using two low-cost double-side printed circuit broads (PCBs). The transmission loss caused by divider can be reduced by using the high-order-mode substrate integrated cavity to excite the slot antenna subarray. Furthermore, such use reduces processing difficulty and fabrication cost. The bandwidth and gain of the proposed antenna are also improved. To validate our design, an 8 ×8 antenna array with 4 ×4 SIC subarrays has been fabricated and measured. To reduce the loss further, the microstrip-based ridge gap waveguide (GWG) technology is applied to feed the SIC subarrays. Furthermore, for measurement purposes, a wideband transition structure between rectangular waveguide (RWG) and GWG is designed. Measured results show that an 8 ×8 slot array with the transition achieves a maximum boresight gain of 25.3 dBi and an impedance matching bandwidth of 82-102 GHz with a boresight gain above 24.5 dBi. In addition, the measured aperture efficiency is 64%.
Fast assessment of freshness of white shrimp via a modified unsupervised discriminant projection technique

Currently, fish industry lacks the ability to quantitate the degree of freshness of white shrimp. In order to find a simple method for determining shrimp quality, the use of electronic nose was investigated, but the traditional classification algorithms are intrinsically not suitable for electronic nose data which has non-linear manifold structures. Hence a modified unsupervised discriminant projection (MUDP) coupled with sample label information was proposed. MUDP can keep the local and global structure and can take advantage of the important of label information, then get geometric structure optimal linear projection. Experimental results indicate that the proposed classification algorithm is much better than some traditional algorithms such as PCA, LDA, etc.
A critical role for muscle ring finger-1 in acute lung injury-associated skeletal muscle wasting.

RATIONALE Acute lung injury (ALI) is a debilitating condition associated with severe skeletal muscle weakness that persists in humans long after lung injury has resolved. The molecular mechanisms underlying this condition are unknown. OBJECTIVES To identify the muscle-specific molecular mechanisms responsible for muscle wasting in a mouse model of ALI. METHODS Changes in skeletal muscle weight, fiber size, in vivo contractile performance, and expression of mRNAs and proteins encoding muscle atrophy-associated genes for muscle ring finger-1 (MuRF1) and atrogin1 were measured. Genetic inactivation of MuRF1 or electroporation-mediated transduction of miRNA-based short hairpin RNAs targeting either MuRF1 or atrogin1 were used to identify their role in ALI-associated skeletal muscle wasting. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Mice with ALI developed profound muscle atrophy and preferential loss of muscle contractile proteins associated with reduced muscle function in vivo. Although mRNA expression of the muscle-specific ubiquitin ligases, MuRF1 and atrogin1, was increased in ALI mice, only MuRF1 protein levels were up-regulated. Consistent with these changes, suppression of MuRF1 by genetic or biochemical approaches prevented muscle fiber atrophy, whereas suppression of atrogin1 expression was without effect. Despite resolution of lung injury and down-regulation of MuRF1 and atrogin1, force generation in ALI mice remained suppressed. CONCLUSIONS These data show that MuRF1 is responsible for mediating muscle atrophy that occurs during the period of active lung injury in ALI mice and that, as in humans, skeletal muscle dysfunction persists despite resolution of lung injury.
METFORMIN, ARTERIAL FUNCTION, INTIMA–MEDIA THICKNESS AND NITROXIDATION IN METABOLIC SYNDROME: THE MEFISTO STUDY

1 Metabolic syndrome (MS) is one of the greatest public health problems in Mexico, where more than 75% of adults in urban populations are overweight or obese. Metabolic syndrome has several comorbidities, which result in a high cardiometabolic risk. 2 Some of the vasopathogenic phenomena in MS are caused by nitroxidant stress, secondary to cardiometabolic dysfunction. 3 The action of metformin to diminish or control MS remains a matter of debate. 4 In the present study, 60 patients with at least three diagnostic criteria for MS were divided into two groups. Both groups received similar dietary counselling, but one group was given 850 mg metformin daily. 5 The variables assessed were body mass index, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP and DBP, respectively), total cholesterol (TC), high‐ and low‐density lipoprotein–cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), fasting glucose, nitroxidant metabolites (free carbonyls, malondialdehyde, dityrosines and advanced oxidative protein products (AOPP)), nitric oxide (NO), carotid vascular stiffness, carotid intima–media thickness (IMT) and C‐reactive protein (CRP). 6 After 1 year follow up, both groups reported weight loss, as well as decreases in waist circumference, SBP and DBP. 7 Patients on metformin exhibited reductions in TC and IMT and there were marked changes in nitroxidation: levels of carbonyls, dityrosines and AOPP were reduced, whereas those of NO were increased, indicating better endothelial function. In addition, in patients given metformin, CRP levels decreased. 8 In conclusion, metformin has a considerable beneficial effect on nitroxidation, endothelial function and IMT in patients with MS.
A Weighted U‐Statistic for Genetic Association Analyses of Sequencing Data

With advancements in next‐generation sequencing technology, a massive amount of sequencing data is generated, which offers a great opportunity to comprehensively investigate the role of rare variants in the genetic etiology of complex diseases. Nevertheless, the high‐dimensional sequencing data poses a great challenge for statistical analysis. The association analyses based on traditional statistical methods suffer substantial power loss because of the low frequency of genetic variants and the extremely high dimensionality of the data. We developed a Weighted U Sequencing test, referred to as WU‐SEQ, for the high‐dimensional association analysis of sequencing data. Based on a nonparametric U‐statistic, WU‐SEQ makes no assumption of the underlying disease model and phenotype distribution, and can be applied to a variety of phenotypes. Through simulation studies and an empirical study, we showed that WU‐SEQ outperformed a commonly used sequence kernel association test (SKAT) method when the underlying assumptions were violated (e.g., the phenotype followed a heavy‐tailed distribution). Even when the assumptions were satisfied, WU‐SEQ still attained comparable performance to SKAT. Finally, we applied WU‐SEQ to sequencing data from the Dallas Heart Study (DHS), and detected an association between ANGPTL 4 and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol.
A Control Strategy for Islanded Microgrids With DC-Link Voltage Control

New opportunities for optimally integrating the increasing number of distributed-generation (DG) units in the power system rise with the introduction of the microgrid. Most DG units are connected to the microgrid via a power-electronic inverter with dc link. Therefore, new control methods for these inverters need to be developed in order to exploit the DG units as effectively as possible in case of an islanded microgrid. In the literature, most control strategies are based on the conventional transmission grid control or depend on a communication infrastructure. In this paper, on the other hand, an alternative control strategy is proposed based on the specific characteristics of islanded low-voltage microgrids. The microgrid power is balanced by using a control strategy that modifies the set value of the rms microgrid voltage at the inverter ac side as a function of the dc-link voltage. In case a certain voltage, which is determined by a constant-power band, is surpassed, this control strategy is combined with P/V -droop control. This droop controller changes the output power of the DG unit and its possible storage devices as a function of the grid voltage. In this way, voltage-limit violation is avoided. The constant-power band depends on the characteristics of the generator to avoid frequent changes of the power of certain DG units. In this paper, it is concluded that the new control method shows good results in power sharing, transient issues, and stability. This is achieved without interunit communication, which is beneficial concerning reliability issues, and an optimized integration of the renewable energy sources in the microgrid is obtained.
P3E-4 Transducer Design for Liquid Custody Transfer Ultrasonic Flowmetering

Liquid custody transfer (LCT) monitoring demands accurate measurement of flow at a relatively wide temperature range. Transit-time ultrasonic flowmeters, built as a one-piece "drop-in" flowcell with wetted transducers (i.e., transducers that are in contact with fluids), have provided a solution. In the applications of ultrasonic flowmetering to LCT, the desired accuracy and potential exposure to harsh environments impose challenges to ultrasonic transducer design in terms of sensitivity, bandwidth, safety and temperature tolerance. This paper concerns the above design aspects of ultrasonic transducers, including both transducer elements and passive buffers, for transit-time ultrasonic flowmetering in the context of LCT applications. Two types of transducer elements have been investigated in combination with potential backings and buffers. In order to achieve the desired high accuracy across a wide temperature range, the real time-of-flight in the buffers is measured via the so-called pulse-echo technique and is used for compensation to realize an exact time-of-flight in the liquid path. Both solid buffer design and bundled waveguide buffer design have been proposed and compared. MHz-range ultrasonic transducers have been designed for transit-time ultrasonic flowmetering with a high accuracy of 0.15% in flow measurement and an exposure to fluid temperature applications of -40degC to 140degC The performance of the transducers is theoretically modeled and optimized. Prototypes have been built and tested in water. Pulse-echo with a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of more than 20dB has been achieved in ultrasonic buffers by properly designing the dimensions and mechanical features.
A simple and efficient connected components labeling algorithm

We describe a two-scan algorithm for labeling connected components in binary images in raster format. Unlike the classical two-scan approach, our algorithm processes equivalences during the first scan by merging equivalence classes as soon as a new equivalence is found. We show that this significantly improves the efficiency of the labeling process with respect to the classical approach. The data structure used to support the handling of equivalences is a 1D-array. This renders the more frequent operation of finding class identifiers very fast, while the less-frequent class-merging operation has a relatively high computational cost. Nonetheless, it is possible to reduce significantly the merging cost by two slight modifications to the algorithm's basic structure. The idea of merging equivalence classes is present also in Samet's general labeling algorithm. However when considering the case of binary images in raster format this algorithm is much more complex than the one we describe in this paper.
Thalamic metabolic abnormalities in patients with Huntington's disease measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurologic disorder that is not completely understood; its fundamental physiological mechanisms and chemical effects remain somewhat unclear. Among these uncertainties, we can highlight information about the concentrations of brain metabolites, which have been widely discussed. Concentration differences in affected, compared to healthy, individuals could lead to the development of useful tools for evaluating the progression of disease, or to the advance of investigations of different/alternative treatments. The aim of this study was to compare the thalamic concentration of metabolites in HD patients and healthy individuals using magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We used a 2.0-Tesla magnetic field, repetition time of 1500 ms, and echo time of 135 ms. Spectra from 40 adult HD patients and 26 control subjects were compared. Quantitative analysis was performed using the LCModel method. There were statistically significant differences between HD patients and controls in the concentrations of N-acetylaspartate+N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAA+NAAG; t-test, P<0.001), and glycerophosphocholine+phosphocholine (GPC+PCh; t-test, P=0.001) relative to creatine+phosphocreatine (Cr+PCr). The NAA+NAAG/Cr+PCr ratio was decreased by 9% and GPC+PCh/Cr+PCr increased by 17% in patients compared with controls. There were no correlations between the concentration ratios and clinical features. Although these results could be caused by T1 and T2 changes, rather than variations in metabolite concentrations given the short repetition time and long echo time values used, our findings point to thalamic dysfunction, corroborating prior evidence.
Active site conformational changes upon reaction intermediate biotinyl‐5'‐AMP binding in biotin protein ligase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Protein biotinylation, a rare form of post‐translational modification, is found in enzymes required for lipid biosynthesis. In mycobacteria, this process is essential for the formation of their complex and distinct cell wall and has become a focal point of drug discovery approaches. The enzyme responsible for this process, biotin protein ligase, substantially varies in different species in terms of overall structural organization, regulation of function and substrate specificity. To advance the understanding of the molecular mechanism of biotinylation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis we have biochemically and structurally characterized the corresponding enzyme. We report the high‐resolution crystal structures of the apo‐form and reaction intermediate biotinyl‐5'‐AMP‐bound form of M. tuberculosis biotin protein ligase. Binding of the reaction intermediate leads to clear disorder‐to‐order transitions. We show that a conserved lysine, Lys138, in the active site is essential for biotinylation.
DepDigger: A Tool for Detecting Complex Low-Level Dependencies

We present a tool that identifies complex data-flow dependencies on code-level, based on the measure dep-degree. Low-level dependencies between program operations are modeled by the use-def graph, which is generated from reaching definitions of variables. The tool annotates program operations with their dep-degree values, such that `difficult' program operations are easy to locate. We hope that this tool helps detecting and preventing code degeneration, which is often a challenge in today's software projects, due to the high refactoring and restructuring frequency.
Transient radicular irritation after spinal anesthesia induced with hyperbaric solutions of cerebrospinal fluid‐diluted lidocaine 50 mg/ml or mepivacaine 40 mg/ml or bupivacaine 5 mg/ml

Background: Transient radicular irritation (TRI) is common after spinal anesthesia induced with hyperbaric lidocaine 50 mg/ml. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of TRI after spinal anesthesia with hyperbaric lidocaine 50 mg/ ml diluted with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 1:1 and hyperbaric mepivacaine 40 mg/ml and hyperbaric bupivacaine 5 mg/ml.
An assessment of the value of the preoperative computed tomography scans prior to otoendoscopic 'second look' in intact canal wall mastoid surgery.

'Second look' surgery following primary intact canal wall mastoid surgery for cholesteatoma is considered mandatory for most cases in modern otological practice. The morbidity of the second look can be reduced by the use of the rigid otoendoscope. Forty-three patients undergoing 'second look' surgery were studied with an average age of 24.7 years. Prior to surgery a computed tomography (CT) scan was performed to assess the anatomy and pneumatisation of the cavity. The mean interval between primary and secondary surgery was 16 months and in all cases CT scans were performed within 6 months of 'second look' surgery. The presence of an opaque mastoid did not correlate with residual or recurrent cholesteatoma. The sensitivity of CT in diagnosing residual or recurrent cholesteatoma was 42.9% with a specificity of 48.3% and a predictive value of 28.6%. These results are explained by the fact that it is radiologically impossible to differentiate between recurrence, scar tissue or fluid with a CT scan. Nevertheless it was possible to inspect the cavity with the otoendoscope even in the presence of an opaque mastoid whether due to scar tissue or residual/recurrent cholesteatoma.