Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design and implementation of a Movement Progressive Induced Training method for robot-assisted upper limb rehabilitation

This paper proposed a Movement Progressive Induced Training (MPIT) method, which is used for robot-assisted upper limb rehabilitation. This method produced a whole working plane regular progressive inducement. Under this progressive inducement, training movement is compatible with the patient by changing its task automatically, which maintains a high level of patient involvement and enhances motivation of movement throughout the whole process of training. Particularly, MPIT method provided theoretical and practical bases for upper limb hemiplegia treatment from a novel aspect of progressive inducement. Simulations and preliminary experiment evaluations indicated that the MPIT method is capable of treating hemiplegia patients and of good effectiveness.
Determination of new biomarkers to monitor the dietary consumption of isothiocyanates

Isothiocyanates (ITCs) found in cruciferous vegetables have been associated with a reduced cancer risk in humans. We determined serum albumin adducts of allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), benzylisothiocyanate (BITC), phenylethylisothiocyanate (PEITC) and sulforaphane (SFN) in 85 healthy men from a dietary, randomized, controlled trial. After enzymatic digestion of albumin we determined the adducts of the ITCs with lysine (Lys) using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. At the beginning of the study (and after 4 weeks) 4.7% (2.4%), 48.2% (35.3%), 5.9% (10.6%), and 24.7% (23.5%) of the samples were found positive for AITC-Lys, BITC-Lys, PEITC-Lys and SFN-Lys, respectively. This method enables the quantification of ITC adducts in albumin from large, prospective studies on diet and cancer.
Migraine, Tension Headache and Left-Handedness

The Geschwind-Behan hypothesis, that migraine is more common among left-handed patients, was tested in 320 migraine sufferers. The frequency of left-handedness was also assessed in 68 tension headache patients and compared to that in 140 healthy controls. No significant differences were observed. This study failed to support the association between migraine, tension headache and left-handedness using the IHS classification of headache.
The IASLC Lung Cancer Staging Project: Validation of the Proposals for Revision of the T, N, and M Descriptors and Consequent Stage Groupings in the Forthcoming (Seventh) Edition of the TNM Classification of Malignant Tumours

Introduction: In 1996, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) launched a worldwide TNM staging project to inform the next edition (seventh) of the TNM lung cancer staging system. In this article, we describe the methods and validation approaches used and discuss the internal and external validity of the recommended changes. Methods: The International Staging Committee agreed on a number of general principles that guided the decision-making process. Internal validity was addressed by visually assessing the consistency of Kaplan-Meier curves across database types, geographic regions and addressing external validity, by assessing the similarity of curves generated using the population-based Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results cancer registry data to those generated using the project database. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate hazard ratios between the proposed stage groupings with adjustment for cell type, sex, age, and region. Results: Calls for data by the International Staging Committee resulted in the creation of an international database containing information on more than 100,000 cases. The present work is based on analyses of the 67,725 cases of non-small cell lung cancer. Validation checks were robust, demonstrating that the suggested staging changes are stable within the data sources used and externally. For example, suggested changes based on tumor size were well supported, with statistically significant hazard ratios ranging from 1.14 to 1.51 between adjacent pairs in the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results data. Conclusions: Lung cancer stage definitions have never been subjected to such an intense validation process. We do accept, however, that this work is limited in ways that can only be addressed by a prospective database, which we intend to develop. In the meantime, we think that this new system will greatly improve the usefulness of TNM lung staging across all of its purposes.
Sleep, Depression, and Fatigue in Late Postpartum

Purpose:To study the relation of infant characteristics and home environment on maternal sleep, depression, and fatigue in late postpartum. Study Design and Methods:Forty-two healthy mother–infant dyads completed a home-based study at infant age 32 weeks. Maternal measures included Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) sleep and wake disturbance, depression, and fatigue scales. Home regularity was assessed using the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS). Infant sleep and regulation were measured respectively by the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BISQ) and Infant-Toddler Symptom Checklist (ITSC). Results:Significant correlations among maternal sleep and wake disturbance, fatigue, and depression were detected (r = .519 to .746, p < .01), but not with infant variables. Home regularity was significantly related with maternal variables (r = .597 to .653, p < .01). Clinical Implications:Regularity of the home environment appears to contribute to maternal sleep, depression, and fatigue. Implications for intervention include establishment of daily routines and household management to improve regularity and consequently improve maternal outcomes.
Looking Beyond Students’ Language Learning and Attitudes Towards Three Languages In Contact

This study aims to examine attitudes towards Romanian, Spanish and English in a group of 124 Romanian native speakers from Romania, aged 15-18 years old, that were exposed to Spanish and English as a foreign language in Secondary Education. It is commonly believe that learning a third language is easier than learning a second and thus, the bilingual learners cognitively benefit from their prior language learning. Drawing upon empirical data gathered from a questionnaire with 52 items, this study advances the idea that are no significant differences between the attitudes towards the three languages: Romanian, Spanish and English. On the other hand, our results suggest that students’ positive attitudes towards English revealed a stronger trilingual identity of the participants of our study. Furthermore, results have also indicated that there are several significant differences in Romanian and Spanish attitudes between the learners (n = 22) who have studied for several years in Western countries or with parents working there, than their peers who have never been in interaction with other cultures. © 2017 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy. org.uk
Proline 21, a residue within the α‐helical domain of ΦX174 lysis protein E, is required for its function in Escherichia coli

ΦX174 lysis protein E‐mediated lysis of Escherichia coli is characterized by a protein E‐specific fusion of the inner and outer membrane and formation of a transmembrane tunnel structure. In order to understand the fusion process, the topology of protein E within the envelope complex of E. coli was investigated. Proteinase K protection studies showed that, during the time course of protein E‐mediated lysis process, more of the fusion protein E‐FXa‐streptavidin gradually became accessible to the protease at the cell surface. These observations postulate a conformational change in protein E during induction of the lysis process by movement of the C‐terminal end of the protein throughout the envelope complex from the inner side to the outer side spanning the entire pore and fusing the inner and outer membranes at distinct areas. The initiation mechanism for such a conformational change could be the cis–trans isomerization of proline residues within α‐helical membrane‐spanning segments. Conversion of proline 21, presumed to be in the membrane‐embedded α‐helix of protein E, to alanine, glycine, serine and valine, respectively, resulted in lysis‐negative E mutant proteins. Proteinase K accessibility studies using streptavidin as a reporter fused to the P21G mutant protein showed that the C‐terminal part of the fusion protein is not translocated to the outer side of the membrane, suggesting that this proline residue is essential for the correct folding of protein E within the cell wall complex of E. coli. Oligomerization of protein P21G‐StrpA was not disturbed.
The importance of complete screening for amyloid fibril type and systemic disease in patients with amyloidosis in the respiratory tract.

BACKGROUND Patients with symptomatic thoracic involvement by amyloidosis are virtually all of AL-type, and have historically been divided into systemic and localised disease, a subdivision that helps predict outcome and aids management. Assessment and classification of amyloid has evolved in recent years to include a variety of tests, including radiolabelling of the serum amyloid P component (SAP scan) to assess anatomical distribution and immunohistochemical studies to assess fibril subtypes. Furthermore, CT scanning is now a frequent investigation for the diagnosis of thoracic disease. We wished to determine the value of these investigations on the management of such patients with amyloidosis. METHODS Clinicopathological data, including immunohistochemical analysis, CT scans and SAP scan results, were retrospectively reviewed from patients presenting with amyloidosis in the respiratory tract. These were then analysed to determine their impact on classification and prognosis. RESULTS Seventeen patients over ten years were identified, one case being related to metastatic medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. Of the remaining 16 cases, one was shown to have hereditary amyloid of transthyretin-type (TTR) on immunohistochemistry, altering management. The remaining 15 cases were AL-type, with 6 cases being classified as localised and 9 cases as systemic, after evaluation for serum and/or urine monoclonal products, cardiac involvement via echocardiography, plasma cell abnormalities on bone marrow examination, CT scan and SAP scan. 3/3 patients with localised AL-type disease had a negative SAP scan, whilst 3/5 patients with systemic AL-type disease had a positive scan. SAP scan of the patient with TTR-type disease provided information on extent of disease and supported the diagnosis by the pattern of distribution. Using CT scans to discriminate between localised and systemic disease showed a significant association with mortality at 2 years (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION Although the majority of symptomatic patients with pulmonary amyloidosis have AL-type disease, immunohistochemical confirmation is necessary in order not to miss rarer subtypes with completely different treatment regimes. Furthermore, a comprehensive evaluation, including SAP scan and CT scan of the thorax, in conjunction with echocardiography, bone marrow, serum and urine studies, needs to be undertaken in order to achieve maximum accuracy with regard to localised and systemic disease.
Micro Influence and Macro Dynamics of Opinion Formation

Social media platforms, comment boards, and online market places have created unprecedented potential for social influence and resulting opinion dynamics such as polarization. We propose an encompassing model that captures competing micro-level theories of social influence. Conducting an online lab-in-the-field experiment, we observe that individual opinions shift linearly towards the mean of others' opinions. From this finding, we predict the macro-level opinion dynamics resulting from social influence. We test our predictions using data from another lab-in-the-field experiment and find that opinion polarization decreases in the presence of social influence. We corroborate these findings with large-scale field data.
Efficacy of an in-home test kit in reducing dust mite allergen levels: results of a randomized controlled pilot study

Abstract Background: Dust mite allergens can induce allergic sensitization and exacerbate asthma symptoms. Although dust mite reduction and control strategies exist, few asthmatics employ them. Objectives: We examined whether an in-home test kit, which quantifies dust mite allergen levels, resulted in behavioral changes in implementation and maintenance of mite reduction strategies and helped reduce allergen levels in homes of dust mite-sensitive children. Methods: We enrolled 60 households of children aged 5–15 with parent-reported dust mite allergy into a randomized controlled trial. Intervention homes (N = 30) received educational material about reducing dust mites and test kits at 1, 2, 5 and 8 months. Control homes (N = 30) received only educational material. At baseline, 6 and 12 months, study staff visited all homes, collected dust samples from three locations and obtained information about parents’ mite reduction behaviors by questionnaire. Allergen concentrations (Der f 2/Der p2) in dust were assessed by immunoassays. After adjusting for visit and location, allergen concentrations in intervention and control homes were compared using mixed effects model analysis. Results: In the intervention homes, allergen concentrations in the child’s bedroom and living room floors were significantly reduced over time compared to control homes. Although not all location-specific differences in allergen concentrations were statistically significant, combining data across locations, there was a differential reduction in allergen concentrations in the intervention group versus the control group (p = 0.02). Conclusion: The use of in-home test kits along with education may beneficially influence behaviors and attitudes toward dust mite reduction strategies and help reduce residential dust mite allergen levels.
Natural gas market integration in the V4 countries

Natural gas market integration in the Visegrad 4 (V4) region ranks among the most discussed energy issues in the region. The idea of bringing the individual markets closer together, creating a common market and enjoying the security and price benefits that could come from it emerged after the 2009 gas crisis. The integration project seemed to take off during the Polish V4 presidency of 2012-2013, but since then it has proceeded only slowly. The lack of progress in the overall integration process is the starting point for this research. Its main purpose is threefold: to provide the audience with a brief outlook on the market integration at the EU level and its relevance vis-a-vis regional projects such as the one of the V4; to provide reflection of the V4 energy cooperation and the importance that gas market integration has within this cooperation; and to map positions of the individual stakeholders towards the process.
Analysis of Privacy Disclosure in DNS Query

When a DNS (domain name system) client needs to look up a name, it queries DNS servers to resolve the name on the Internet. The query information from the client was passed through one or more DNS servers. While useful, in the whole query transmission, we say it can leak potentially sensitive information: what a client wants to connect to, or what the client is always paying attention to. From the definition, the privacy problem is to prove that none of the private data can be inferred from the information which is made public. We first analyzed the complete DNS query process now in use; then, from each step of the DNS query process, we discussed the privacy disclosure problem in each step of the query: client side, query transmission process and DNS server side. Finally, we proposed a simple and flexible privacy-preserving query scheme "range query", which could maximally decrease privacy disclosure in the whole DNS query process. And we also discuss efficiency and implementation on the range query.
Poisson Process Driven Stochastic Differential Equations for bivariate heavy tailed distributions

Stochastic differential equations have been used intensively in stochastic control. In this paper, we present 2-dimensional Poisson Counter Driven Stochastic Differential Equation (PCSDE) models that lead to correlated bivariated power law behaviors. We propose two types of 2D PCSDE models and study their tail dependence behavior. The first model generates tail dependence coefficient with values either 0 or 1; while the second model could have the values between 0 and 1. We discuss plausible application of our models in complex network generative models.
Expression of l-Histidine Decarboxylase in Mouse Male Germ Cells*

Histamine synthesis in male reproductive tissues remains largely unknown. The interaction between stem cell factor and its receptor, c-Kit, has been found to be essential for the maturation of male germ cells and peripheral mast cells. Based on this analogy, we investigated the expression of histidine decarboxylase (HDC), the rate-limiting enzyme of histamine synthesis, in mouse male germ cells. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed that HDC is localized in the acrosomes of spermatids and spermatozoa. In the testis, epididymis, and spermatozoa, a significant amount of histamine and HDC activity were detected. W/WV mice, known to lack most of their germ cells in the seminiferous tubules, were found to lack HDC protein expression as well as HDC activity in the testis. An in vitro acrosome reaction induced by a calcium ionophore, A23187, caused the release of histamine from epididymal spermatozoa. Our observations indicate that histamine is produced in and released from the acrosomes.
Retroperitoneal and laparoscopic heminephrectomy in duplex kidney in infants and children.

BACKGROUND Two main techniques are adopted to perform partial nephrectomy in children: laparoscopy and retroperitoneoscopy. The aim of this paper is to review the larger multicentric experience recently published by our group to review indications, techniques and results of both approaches. METHODS Data of 102 patients underwent partial nephrectomy in a 5-year period using minimally invasive surgery (MIS) procedures were analyzed. Fifty-two children underwent laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN), and 50 children underwent retroperitoneoscopic partial nephrectomy (RPN). Median age at surgery was 4.2 years. Statistical analysis was performed using χ2 test and Student's t-test. RESULTS The overall complications rate was significantly higher after RPN (15/50, 30%) than after LPN (10/52, 19%) (χ2 =0.05). In LPN group, complications [4 urinomas, 2 symptomatic refluxing distal ureteral stump (RDUS) and 4 urinary leakages] were conservatively managed. In RPN group, complications (6 urinomas, 8 RDUS, 1 opening of remaining calyxes) required a re-operation in 2 patients. In both groups no conversion to open surgery was reported. Operative time (LPN: 166.2 min vs. RPN: 255 min; P<0.001) and hospitalization (LPN: 3.5 days vs. RPN: 4.1 days; P<0.001) were significantly shorter in LPN group. No postoperative loss of renal function was reported in both groups. CONCLUSIONS MIS now represents the gold standard technique to perform partial nephrectomy in children with duplex kidney. Our results demonstrate that RPN remains a technically demanding procedure with a significantly higher complications and re-operation rate compared to LPN. In addition, length of surgery and hospitalization were significantly shorter after LPN compared to RPN. LPN seems to be a faster, safer and technically easier procedure to perform in children compared to RPN due to a larger operative space and the possibility to perform a complete ureterectomy in refluxing systems.
Mind the gap between demand and supply : A behavioral perspective on demand forecasting

Prior academic research has recognized human judgment as an indispensable decisionaid in demand forecasting although it is subject to a number of biases. Therefore, it is important to understand human judgment in forecasting to explain poor forecast decisions and attenuate their negative consequences for many related operational decisions. This dissertation bundles four empirical studies on demand forecasting and is part of a growing research field in which human behavior and cognition are incorporated into analytical models of operations management. The functional specialization and differentiation inherent to most organizations usually shapes forecasting behavior in such a way that it benefits departmental goals and agendas. Lack of clear forecast ownership, diffused responsibilities and varying interests and incentives are often at odds with the organizational goal of producing accurate forecasts. We identify and describe the potential benefits of forecast ownership and mechanically combined departmental forecasts on the tendency to overand underforecast demand. The findings in this dissertation also show that departmental roles offer a particular frame with which forecasters interpret information and make decisions. However, the effect of departmental affiliation on forecast accuracy depends on a forecaster’s individual disposition towards cooperation and conflict. Our studies suggest that it is paramount for organizations to manage the motivations of employees so as to bridge the gap that organizational differentiation creates. One way to achieve that is by directly creating incentives conducive to collaboration or by indirectly fostering goals and motives which in turn affect forecasting and negotiation behavior.
Effect of Age on The Hepatocellularity Number for Wistar rats

Recently there has been a substantial increase in the number of juvenile animal toxicity studies that are conducted to support pediatric drug safety evaluation. Adequate design of juvenile toxicity studies in rats, for instance with respect to dose levels per age group, requires an understanding of age-dependent pharmacokinetics. In vitro–in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE) and physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling can help to anticipate age-dependent drug exposure in juvenile toxicity studies provided age-dependent profiles for animal physiology and scaling factors are available. For instance, when hepatocytes are used to predict hepatic drug clearance, the hepatocellularity (number of hepatocytes per gram liver, HPGL) is required as one of the scaling factors. Although HPGL is known for adult rats, information on the influence of age on HPGL is missing. The present work profiles the hepatocellularity number in male Wistar rats as a function of age. Using the NADPH–cytochrome P450 reductase (NCR) activity method, the mean HPGL for the adult rat (8 weeks) was 104 × 106 cells/gram liver (relative standard deviation 17%). This value was calculated as a ratio between NRC activities in liver homogenates and suspended hepatocytes. The HPGL values were significantly higher (p <0.001) for rat pups until 3 weeks of age compared with adults. Our results revealed that the HPGL value showed a rapid decrease after 3 weeks (end of weaning), essentially reaching adult values by 4 weeks. This age-dependent HPGL profile will be instrumental for hepatic drug clearance prediction when designing juvenile toxicity studies in Wistar rats.