Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intensive care unit acquired weakness: measuring recovery from critical illness

Introduction Intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICU-AW) is a common consequence of critical illness, affecting between 25% and 100% of critical care patients.1,2 ICU-AW is a syndrome encompassing myopathic, neuropathic and atrophic changes, which clinically presents as profound weakness. Its presence can hinder and dictate the course of recovery, leading to protracted weaning from mechanical ventilation, long hospital stays, permanent disability and a reduction in health-related quality of life. Mortality is also higher in those with a diagnosis of ICU-AW;3,4 however this may demonstrate a link between ICU-AW and severity of illness, rather than ICU-AW being a direct cause of mortality.5 Bed rest and immobility, neuromuscular blockade, corticosteroids, poor glycaemic control, hypoalbuminaemia, and sepsis have all been linked with the development of ICU-AW.1,2,6 However, the exact physiological mechanisms are poorly understood.7 In March 2009, the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) introduced clinical guideline 83 (CG83) entitled ‘Rehabilitation after Critical Illness. ’8 This guideline focuses on the optimisation of recovery from critical illness and makes sensible recommendations about the management of ICU-AW. These comprise a cycle of clinical assessments to determine the risk of morbidity, followed by the implementation of patient-specific rehabilitation programmes and goals, administered throughout the critical care stay and up to three months after hospital discharge. NICE CG83 represents important progress in the recognition and management of ICU-AW and allows a focus beyond just survival to optimal recovery. Regrettably, a crucial finding from the guideline development process is the dearth both of evidence supporting physical rehabilitation strategies and validated assessment tools to screen for, assess and monitor the presence of ICU-AW. This makes uptake and implementation of CG83 in a standardised manner difficult or erratic at best. Appleton et al completed a national survey of rehabilitation in Scottish Intensive Care Units in 20119 to which 96% of lead clinicians and 100% of lead physiotherapists responded. Of these, only 14% of lead clinicians and 30% of physiotherapists had read the guidelines and only 66% of those who read them found them useful. Although the authors do not explore the reasons behind this, they suggest that the lack of validated assessment tools and lack of evidencebased rehabilitation practice is influential in the uptake of NICE CG83. This narrative review aims to explore the psychometric properties and clinical applicability of the current measurement systems used in the literature to assess for ICU-AW; to see how the psychometric properties of these assessment tools, or lack thereof, impacts upon the validity of interventional studies; to explore what new measures are being developed; and finally, to discuss the obstacles associated with standardising assessment of ICU-AW in a heterogeneous population.
Changes of initiation mass and cell dimensions by the ‘eclipse’

The minimum time (E) required for a new pair of replication origins (oriCs) produced upon initiating a round of replication to be ready to initiate the next round after one cell mass doubling, the ‘eclipse’, is explained in terms of a minimal distance (lmin) that the replication forks must move away from oriC before oriCs can ‘fire’ again. In conditions demanding a scheduled initiation event before the relative distance lmin/L0.5 (L being the total chromosome length) is reached, initiation is presumably delayed. Under such circumstances, cell mass at the next initiation would be greater than the usual, constant Mi (cell mass per copy number of oriC) prevailing in steady state of exponential growth. This model can be tested experimentally by extending the replication time C using thymine limitation at short doubling times τ in rich media to reach a relative eclipse E/C < lmin/L0.5. It is consistent with results obtained in experiments in which the number of replication ‘positions’n (= C/τ) is increased beyond the natural maximum, causing the mean cell size to rise continuously, first by widening, then by lengthening, and finally by splitting its poles. The consequent branching is associated with casting off a small proportion of normal‐sized cells and lysing DNA‐less cells. Whether or how these phenomena are related to peptidoglycan composition and synthesis are moot questions.
Cartographic visualization of human trajectory data: overview and analysis

With the prevalence of mobile computing systems and location based services, large amounts of spatio-temporal data are nowadays being collected, representing the mobility of people performing various activities. However, despite the increasing interest in the exploration of these data, there are still open challenges in various application contexts, e.g. related to visualisation and human–computer interaction. In order to support the extraction of useful and relevant information from the spatio-temporal and the thematic properties associated with human trajectories, it is crucial to develop and study adequate interactive visualisation techniques. In addition to the properties of the visualisations themselves, it is important to take into consideration the types of information present within the data and, more importantly, the types of tasks that a user might need to consider in order to achieve a given goal. The understanding of these factors may, in turn, simplify the development and the assessment of a given interactive visualisation. In this paper, we present and analyse the most relevant concepts associated to these topics. In particular, our analysis addresses the main properties associated with (human) trajectory data, the main types of visualisation tasks/objectives that the users may require in order to analyse that data and the high-level classes of techniques for visualising trajectory data. In addition, this paper also presents an overview on a user study, conducted in function of this analysis, to compare two classes of visualisation techniques, namely static maps and space-time cubes, regarding their adequacy in helping users completing basic visualisation tasks.
Siderophore production in Azotobacter vinelandii in response to Fe‐, Mo‐ and V‐limitation

Azotobacter vinelandii is a terrestrial diazotroph well studied for its siderophore production capacity and its role as a model nitrogen fixer. In addition to Fe, A. vinelandii siderophores are used for the acquisition of the nitrogenase co-factors Mo and V. However, regulation of siderophore production by Mo- and V-limitation has been difficult to confirm and knowledge of the full suite of siderophores synthesized by this organism has only recently become available. Using this new information, we conducted an extensive study of siderophore production in N2 -fixing A. vinelandii under a variety of trace metal conditions. Our results show that under Fe-limitation the production of all siderophores increases, while under Mo-limitation only catechol siderophore production is increased, with the strongest response seen in protochelin. We also find that the newly discovered A. vinelandii siderophore vibrioferrin is almost completely repressed under Mo- and V-limitation. An examination of the potential nitrogen 'cost' of siderophore production reveals that investments in siderophore N can represent as much as 35% of fixed N, with substantial differences between cultures using the Mo- as opposed to the less efficient V-nitrogenase.
Opportunistic Energy Scheduling in Wireless Powered Sensor Networks

Wireless powered sensor networks are composed of multiple sensor nodes with limited energy supply and storage. In this paper, we consider the wireless powered sensor networks, where an energy gateway can supply energy wirelessly to the sensor nodes. The sensor nodes use the energy to transmit their data. We then propose an opportunistic energy scheduling scheme. In this scheme, the energy gateway with limited energy supply transfers energy to sensor nodes based on channel conditions. We formulate an optimization problem based on a Markov decision process to obtain the optimal energy transfer policy. The objective is to maximize the weighted energy received by the sensor nodes. We prove that the optimal policy is a structure policy, in which the numerical studies confirm the result.
Iba1 is an actin-cross-linking protein in macrophages/microglia.

Iba1 is a 17-kDa EF hand protein that is specifically expressed in macrophages/microglia and is upregulated during the activation of these cells. When exposed to macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), microglia cell line MG5 immediately produces intense membrane ruffles in which Iba1 accumulates together with filamentous actin. In this study, we investigated the physical interaction between Iba1 and actin by centrifugation assay and electron microscopic examination and showed that Iba1 possesses actin-binding and -cross-linking activities. Inhibitory mutant Iba1 that suppresses M-CSF-induced membrane ruffling had lost the actin-cross-linking activity, and it inhibited the cross-linking activity of intact Iba1. These results indicate that Iba1 is a macrophage/microglia-specific actin-cross-linking protein essential for M-CSF-induced membrane ruffling.
Plant Chemistry and the Evolution of Host Specificity: New Evidence from Heliconius and Passiflora

Larval growth rates of Heliconius butterflies do not closely parallel host plant choice, an indication that factors other than host plant chemistry are important in evolving host specificity. High growth rate in one species is correlated with reduction in number of palatable host species. This suggests a mechanism by which ecologically restricted species become progressively biochemically specialized.
Flatness-Based Extremum-Seeking Control Over Periodic Orbits

In this note, an extremum-seeking controller is developed to steer a periodic system to orbits that maximize a functional of interest for a class of differentially flat nonlinear systems. The problem is posed as a real-time optimal trajectory generation problem in which the optimal orbit is computed using an extremum-seeking approach. Using the flatness property of the dynamics, the original dynamic optimization problem is transformed to a parameterized optimization problem which can be solved in real-time to approximate the optimal orbit. The control algorithm provides tracking of the optimal orbit. A drug delivery control problem is considered to demonstrate the application of the technique.
First fully laparoscopic donor hepatectomy for pediatric liver transplantation using the indocyanine green near-infrared fluorescence imaging in the Middle East: a case report

Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is a well-established treatment modality for several pediatric end-stage liver diseases owning excellent long-term results. Left lateral sectionectomy (LLS) through an open approach is a well-standardized procedure. This technique has been modified for a fully laparoscopic approach and gaining more and more interest worldwide. We report herein the first fully laparoscopic LLS for pediatric LDLT in the Middle East with the use of indocyanine green dye and near-infrared fluorescence imaging to identify the biliary ducts intraoperatively. The recipient was a 2-year-old. girl affected by glycogen storage disease type IV. The mother, aged 21 years, was her donor. The surgical technique, key-points of this procedure, and outcome are hereby discussed.
Development of a Short Self-Report Disability Questionnaire for Health Conditions

For use in mental epidemiological survey research, a short self-report questionnaire measuring current disability is needed to assess the severity of health symptoms of respondents. A questionnaire, measuring current disability at the somatic, mental, and social domains in the environments of work, family (social) life, and leisure time was made along guidelines issued at the 54th World Health Assembly regarding the acceptance of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. This article presents the reliability and validity of the Self-Report Disability Questionnaire (SRDQ). A short self-report questionnaire was designed and completed by an adult population sample of a Dutch health region, participating in a mental health survey. The SRDQ measures current disability independent from disorder entity. The data show good reliability. Study outcomes confirm the validity of the SRDQ. Positive correlations were found between the score on the SRDQ and amount of medical and mental health consumption, as well as evidence for divergent validity. Positive correlations emerged with the number of symptoms on various mental health measures and psychiatric comorbidity. Nonretired respondents dependent on social services, elderly respondents, and low-educated respondents are populations commonly at risk, scoring higher on the SRDQ than other populations. The SRDQ is usable both as a disability screener and as an effect instrument for treatments and community interventions because its reliability and validity are found to be good. The combined use of the SRDQ with specific symptom screeners downsizes the proportion of persons who actually need help.
Association of trypsin expression with recurrence and poor prognosis in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Overexpression of the matrix serine proteinase (MSP) trypsin has been implicated in tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. The objective of this study was to clarify the clinicopathologic and prognostic significance of trypsin expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (SCC).
A Monoid for the Grassmannian Bruhat Order

Structure constants for the multiplication of Schubert polynomials by Schur symmetric polynomials are related to the enumeration of chains in a new partial order on S∞, the Grassmannian Bruhat order. Here we present a monoid M related to this order. We develop a notion of reduced sequences for M and show that M is analogous to the nil-Coxeter monoid for the weak order on S∞.
Evaluating the Robot Personality and Verbal Behavior of Domestic Robots Using Video-Based Studies

Robots are increasingly being used in domestic environments and should be able to interact with inexperienced users. Human–human interaction and human–computer interaction research findings are relevant, but often limited because robots are different from both humans and computers. Therefore, new human–robot interaction (HRI) research methods can inform the design of robots suitable for inexperienced users. A video-based HRI (VHRI) methodology was here used to carry out a multi-national HRI user study for the prototype domestic robot BIRON (BIelefeld RObot companioN). Previously, the VHRI methodology was used in constrained HRI situations, while in this study HRIs involved a series of events as part of a 'hometour' scenario. Thus, the present work is the first study of this methodology in extended HRI contexts with a multi-national approach. Participants watched videos of the robot interacting with a human actor and rated two robot behaviors (Extrovert and Introvert). Participants' perceptions and ratings of the robot's behaviors differed with regard to both verbal interactions and person following by the robot. The study also confirms that the VHRI methodology provides a valuable means to obtain early user feedback, even before fully working prototypes are available. This can usefully guide the future design work on robots, and associated verbal and non-verbal behaviors.
Functional Characterization of the Nuclear Localization Signal for a Suppressor of Posttranscriptional Gene Silencing

ABSTRACT The nucleus-localized C2 protein of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus-China (TYLCV-C) is an active suppressor of posttranscriptional gene silencing (PTGS). Consistently, infection with TYLCV-C resulted in PTGS arrest in plants. The C2 protein possesses a functional, arginine-rich nuclear localization signal within the basic amino acid-rich region 17KVQHRIAKKTTRRRR31. When expressed from potato virus X, C2-RRRR31DVGG (in which the four consecutive arginine residues 28RRRR31 were replaced with DVGG) that had been tagged with a green fluorescent protein (GFP) failed to transport GFP into nuclei and was dysfunctional in inducing necrosis and suppressing PTGS in plants. Amino acid substitution mutants C2-K17D-GFP, C2-HR21DV-GFP, and C2-KK25DI-GFP localized to nuclei and produced necrosis, but only C2-K17D-GFP suppressed PTGS. The N-terminal portions C21-31 and C217-31 fused in frame to GFP were capable of targeting GFP to nuclei, but neither caused necrosis nor affected PTGS. Our data establish that nuclear localization is likely required for C2 protein to function in C2-mediated induction of necrosis and suppression of PTGS, which may follow diverse pathways in plants. Possible mechanisms of how the C2 protein involves these biological functions are discussed.
A Novel Approach to Achieve Robustness Against Marker Occlusion

This paper introduces a novel estimation technique to compute camera translation and rotation (only in the axis that is perpendicular to the image plane) when a marker is partially occluded. The approach has two main advantages: 1) only one marker is necessary; and 2) it has a low computational cost. As a result of the second feature, this proposal is ideal for mobile devices. Our method is implemented in ARToolkitPlus library, but it could be implemented in another marker-tracking library with square markers. A little extra image processing is needed, taking advantage of temporal coherence. Results show that user feels enough realistic sensation to apply this technique in some applications.
Chemical Structure and Interlayer Distance Correlation of Graphite Oxide in the Heating Process as Revealed by in Situ Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Wide-Angle X-ray Diffraction Techniques

The thermal reduction behavior of graphite oxide (GO) film in an air atmosphere during a continuous heating process was monitored in situ using temperature-dependent infrared (IR) spectroscopy and synchrotron radiation wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) techniques. The results show that most of the water adsorbed by the GO sheets is removed by heating them to 130 °C. The dehydration process leads to a slight decrease of the interplane distance of the GO sheets. The IR data suggest that the thermal reduction occurs starting at 160 °C. The synchronous change of the of hydroxyl and carbonyl stretching mode (ν(–OH) and ν(C=C)) bands of GO between 160 and 210 °C suggest that the recovery of conjugated structure is mainly due to the reduction of –OH groups in this temperature region, in which the d spacing has not been affected. When the temperature reaches 210 °C, the rapid reduction of C=O groups together with the removal of the residual –OH and ether (C–O–C) groups leads to the sudden collapse of the GO sheets. Based on these findings, we present a schematic of the thermal stability of GO film in a continuous heating process, in which the thermal-induced chemical and crystallographic structural changes of the GO film have been correlated.
Ultrastructure of the human cornea

The transparent nature of the cornea and its importance in the visual pathway as the major refracting lens of the eye have intrigued workers in many different disciplines and their studies have added immeasurably to the understanding of the cornea in health and disease. Reviews of the structure of the cornea date back to the earliest days of electron microscopy (Hogan et al., 1971; Klyce and Beuerman, 1988; Kuwabara, 1978; Rouiller et al., 1954), yet, due to changing insights into corneal structure provided by cell biology, as well as new clinical developments, current ultrastructural reviews of the cornea have new relevance in both basic science and clinical ophthalmic research.
H/sub /spl infin// Fuzzy Control Design for Nonlinear Systems Subject to Actuator Saturation

This study introduces a fuzzy control design to deal with the nonlinear Hinfin control problem subject to actuator saturation. For the Hinfin robust control scheme, however, the high gain problem is inevitable. Often, very large control inputs in the transiency are required for the Hinfin control scheme. In practice, physical capacity of the actuator is limited and the actuator saturation may severely degrade the performance of the closed-loop systems, lead to a large overshoot, induce a limit cycle and even make the otherwise stable closed-loop system unstable. In the proposed Hinfin fuzzy control design, first, the Takagi and Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model is employed to approximate a nonlinear dynamic system. Next, based on the fuzzy model, an Hinfin fuzzy controller subject to actuator saturation can be obtained under some linear matrix inequality (LMI) constraints.
Enhanced modulation dynamic performance of optically-injected widely-tunable semiconductor lasers

This dissertation is devoted to a comprehensive theoretical and modelling study of dynamic modulation characteristics of semiconductor wide-wavelength tunable laser diodes (TLDs). The two major goals were to investigate how modulation properties of a TLD depend on the wavelength tuning, and how the modulation performance of a TLD can be enhanced in terms of the achievable speed and improved frequency chirping behaviour under the direct modulation regimes using external light for optical injection-locking (OIL). It is demonstrated that modulation performance of free running (FR) widely tunable lasers strongly depends on the tuned lasing wavelength. The relaxation oscillation frequency (ROF) of FR TLD increases from 2.2 GHz to 5.5 GHz with tuning. The main results of investigation of modulation dynamics of OIL TLDs include demonstration of substantial (up to an order of magnitude) increase of the ROF and the modulation bandwidth in comparison with the FR regime and investigation of dependence of ROF on the wavelength tuning. The ROF increases to 24 GHz. We prove that the ROF of the OIL TLD is defined by the difference between the injected master laser’s light frequency and the cavity shifted mode frequency. The latter non-lasing mode has been identified as corresponding to the amplified spontaneous emission and was clearly reproduced in CW spectra of a steady-state OIL TLD. This finding has important practical implications as it allows to directly relating the CW lasing spectra fine features with dynamic performance of the OIL TLDs. Important results were obtained for case of large-signal modulation of the OIL TLD and for a large frequency detuning for side-mode optical injection regime when the master laser’s light is injected near the side-mode of FR TLD with large SMSR. Direct large-signal modulation of the OIL TLD using pseudo-random bit sequence shows superior performance in terms of enhanced modulation speed.