Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detection of Sleep Apnea Episodes from Multi-lead ECGs Considering Different Physiological Influences

Summary Objectives : This article deals with recognition of sleep apnea, using solely information available from multilead ECGs. Methods : Characteristic variations in heart rhythm and amplitude of the ECG are compared with respect to their diagnostic accuracy by means of an ROC analysis that is performed on a local similarity index. In 38 8-lead ECGs, each minute is classified with respect to occurrence of apnea events and the result is validated against expert annotations derived from synchronized polysomnographic recordings. Moreover, the results are compared to those obtained from the well known Physionet apnea-ECG database. Results : Whereas the effect of amplitude modulation yields consistent results on both data sets (ROC-area 89.0% vs. 88.3%), a remarkable loss in performance is observed for the frequently applied heart rhythm (89.8% vs. 77.9%). Examples illustrating the reasons for this difference are given and discussed. With respect to aggregation of multi-lead information, two methods (PCA vs. averaging) are compared. The results indicate that averaging performs better (89.3%) than the adaptively estimated PCA (87.2) even when applied to a reduced set of leads. Conclusions : It is concluded that sleep apnea recognition from heart rhythm should always be complemented by analysis of the amplitude variations of the ECG.
Spirometric variability in a longitudinal study of school-age children.

OBJECTIVES To describe spirometric reproducibility in a longitudinal study of students from Mexico City, and also the frequency of subjects fulfilling quality criteria proposed for children. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Three thousand three hundred forty-seven participants from the third through sixth grades of elementary school were recruited to perform biannual spirometry, yielding a maximum of seven evaluations and a total of 15,563 tests. Standard recommendations of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) were followed, using dry rolling-seal volume spirometers. RESULTS During their first spirometric test, > 95% of the subjects fulfilled each of the quality criteria proposed by ATS for adults, though not all of them did so simultaneously. For example, only 72.4% obtained three acceptable maneuvers, reproducibility for FEV(1) and FVC to < 200 mL, and a small back-extrapolated volume that increased to 92.3% by the second test. Between phase 1 and phase 7 of the study, spirometry quality increased significantly, as a result of subject and technician training. Intratest and intertest (with a 6-month difference) spirometric variability was less in boys than in girls. Intratest variability was also lower in younger and taller subjects. Technicians contributed significantly to intratest and intertest variability, the latter decreasing if the same technician performed both evaluations. CONCLUSION Children > 7 years old can fulfill ATS criteria of quality after the first spirometric evaluation. To maintain quality of spirometric tests in longitudinal studies of children, a strict control is required, especially of technician performance.
The effect of corporate governance practices on corporate social responsibility disclosure

Purpose The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the deeply rooted relationships between corporate governance (CG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure as two complementary mechanisms used by companies to reinforce the link with stakeholders and whether the extent of CSR disclosures made by Palestinian non-financial-listed companies during the period from 2013 to 2016 is associated with CG practices. Design/methodology/approach Content analysis technique was used to extract and measure CSR information from annual reports of 33 companies listed on the Palestine Stock Exchange (PEX). Therefore, CSR disclosure index was constructed using 32 items divided into four categories as a measure of the extent of CSR disclosure in the firm’s annual reports. OLS regression was performed to test the association between CG and the extent of CSR disclosure in this longitudinal study. Findings Panel data reveal that the level of CSR reporting has slightly increased over the study period. Further, the results also show that the level of CSR disclosure is positively and significantly affected by board size and independence, while gender diversity has a positive but statistically insignificant influence. Additionally, CEO duality is negatively and significantly correlated with CSR disclosures. Research limitations/implications The study designs are limited to the Palestinian non-financial-listed firms. Furthermore, the generalisation of the findings might be restricted solely to the listed companies working in similar socioeconomic status. Practical implications The findings of this study can draw policy-makers’ attention in developing countries, particularly in the Arab world, to meet the increasing need for updating the regulatory and institutional framework in the vein of CG reform and the related regulatory policies to promote the efficiency of CSR practices. Social implications More efforts should be made to strengthen the awareness of the Palestinian listed companies of the advantages of CSR reporting on social reality. Thus, from a management perspective, companies have to take equally into account the financial and social outcomes of CSR activities. Originality/value Empirical evidence on the nexus between CG and CSR disclosure from countries affected by socio-political instability is extremely limited. This study bridges this research gap and contributes theoretically and practically to the CSR literature by providing empirical evidence from a developing country with a unique business environment.
Family–health professional relations in pediatric weight management: an integrative review

In this integrative review, we examined contemporary literature in pediatric weight management to identify characteristics that contribute to the relationship between families and health professionals and describe how these qualities can inform healthcare practices for obese children and families receiving weight management care. We searched literature published from 1980 to 2010 in three electronic databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO and CINAHL). Twenty‐four articles identified family–health professional relationships were influenced by the following: health professionals' weight‐related discussions and approaches to care; and parents' preferences regarding weight‐related terminology and expectations of healthcare delivery. There was considerable methodological heterogeneity in the types of reports (i.e. qualitative studies, review articles, commentaries) included in this review. Overall, the findings have implications for establishing a positive clinical relationship between families and health professionals, which include being sensitive when discussing weight‐related issues, using euphemisms when talking about obesity, demonstrating a non‐judgmental and supportive attitude and including the family (children and parents) in healthcare interactions. Experimental research, clinical interventions and longitudinal studies are needed to build on the current evidence to determine how best to establish a collaborative partnership between families and health professionals and whether such a partnership improves treatment adherence, reduces intervention attrition and enhances pediatric weight management success.
Sexuality and rheumatic disease: the significance of gender.

PURPOSE This study examined the relationship between functional disability and sexual satisfaction for both rheumatic disease patients and their spouses and compared their levels of sexual satisfaction to those of healthy comparison couples. METHODS One hundred thirteen rheumatic disease couples and 37 comparison couples completed mailed questionnaires. Rheumatologists rated American College of Rheumatology functional classification. RESULTS Greater functional disability was related to greater sexual dissatisfaction for patients and spouses. Rheumatic disease and comparison couples did not differ in sexual dissatisfaction. Women reported greater sexual dissatisfaction than men among patients, spouses, and comparison couples. CONCLUSIONS Couples coping with rheumatic disease are able to maintain satisfying sexual relationships. However, when patients are more disabled, sexual dissatisfaction is greater among both patients and spouses. Health providers must be sensitive to issues of sexuality and be prepared to address these concerns among both patients and their partners. Men and women may have different concerns regarding sexuality.
Novel method for studying the public health significance of macroinvertebrates occurring in potable water

An experimental procedure was developed to study the association of selected bacteria and macroinvertebrates and their response to free available chlorine disinfection. The organisms selected for study were Escherichia coli ( LacZ545 ), Enterobacter cloacae (ATCC 23355), and the amphipod Hyalella azteca . E. coli was shown to bind tightly (1.6 X 10(4) CFU per amphipod ) to this macroinvertebrate and to resist repeated attempts to wash it off. E. cloacae was shown to bind much less tightly (1.4 X 10(3) CFU per amphipod ) to H. azteca and was less resistant to removal by washing. The extent of association is a function of macroinvertebrate size (surface area), but the procedure produces repeatable results usable for controlled experimentation. This method, together with the dual bacterial identification criteria (morphology and antibiotic resistance), was used to study the response of unassociated and associated E. coli and E. cloacae to disinfection with free available chlorine at 1.0 mg/liter. Unassociated E. coli populations decreased to less than 1% of their zero time controls within 1 min of contact time, whereas more than 2% of the associated E. coli populations remained viable after 60 min of contact at 1.0 mg of free available chlorine per liter. Unassociated E. cloacae populations decreased to less than 1% of their zero time controls within 1 min of contact time, whereas ca. 15% of the associated E. cloacae populations remained viable after 60 min of contact at 1.0 mg of free available chlorine per liter. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Can Short Selling Improve Internal Control? An Empirical Study Based on the Difference‐In‐Differences Model

Based on pilot margin trading in China, this study examines how short selling affects internal control quality in listed firms. Using the difference‐in‐differences approach, we find that compared with control firms, firms that are eligible for short selling significantly improve their internal control after they are designated as underlying securities. We consider the effects of state ownership and external auditors. The improvement in internal control is only significant for non‐state‐owned firms and firms audited by non‐Big 4 auditors. These findings indicate that short selling can improve firms’ internal control and play a role in their corporate governance.
Modeling of Wind Farm Participation in AGC

Wind power has become one of the most prominent renewable energy applications in the power industry. Its annual installation is continuously setting a record high. Due to the large portion of generation mix within the system, it is desirable to operate wind power under the automatic generation control (AGC). This issue also raises another concern on the modeling of wind farms under AGC. The traditional way of portraying wind farm production in simulation is to use an aggregated wind turbine model that is generally operated in maximum power point tracking (MPPT). This approach is not suitable for wind's participation in AGC. Therefore, more studies should be done to investigate how the individual wind turbines affect the wind farm performance under the set-point operation. This paper first illustrates the controllability of wind turbines under the set-point control. Following that, a comprehensive guidance of wind generator modeling is demonstrated to yield different approaches for developing the wind farm model. Two types of wind farm models are derived and demonstrated to portray the capability of set-point tracking under the intermittent wind condition. Associated simulations are presented and compared to show the different characteristics of these two wind farm models in depicting the set-point operation under AGC.
Widespread expression of Fos protein induced by acute haloperidol administration in the rat brain

The effect of acute haloperidol administration on Fos protein expression was examined immunohistochemically in discrete regions of the rat brain. Male Wistar rats were injected subcutaneously (s.c.) with 0.1, 0.25, or 1.0 mg/kg of haloperidol. Two h after the injection, the rats were perfused, and the numbers of Fos immunoreactive neurons were counted in 24 brain regions. In contrast to the limited changes in Fos immunoreactivity at the low dose of haloperidol (0.1 mg/kg), the moderate dose (0.25 mg/kg) induced widespread increases in Fos‐positive neurons in the rat brain. Large increases were produced in the caudate‐putamen, nucleus accumbens, central amygdaloid nucleus, dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus, hippocampus CA1 and substantia nigra pars compacta. Moderate increases were observed in the entorhinal cortex, lateral septum, lateral habenula, lateral amygdaloid nucleus, dentate gyrus, and mesencephalic central grey. Mild increases were induced in the anterior cingulate, temporal, occipital and perirhinal cortex, and central medial thalamic nucleus. The distribution of changes in Fos immunoreactivity at the high dose of haloperidol (1.0 mg/kg) were comparable to their distribution at the moderate dose. These findings indicate that the effect of acute haloperidol on Fos expression is widely distributed in the rat brain beyond the previously known dopamine‐rich areas at the dose which produces plasma levels equivalent to those within the therapeutic range used clinically in humans. Further studies on the effects of chronic antipsychotic treatment are needed in order to identify the sites of the therapeutic action of antipsychotic drugs.
Health-related quality of life of Finnish patients with diabetes

Aims: This study evaluated the influence of diabetes on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores of adult patients with diabetes in northern Finland. Methods: A total of 3771 patients of the population of 10,264 patients aged ⩾15 years with the right for reimbursement of the cost of diabetes medication attended fundus photography screening for retinopathy in 2012. The 15D HRQoL scores and data on age, sex, type and duration of diabetes were gathered concurrently. The results were compared with the 15D scores reported in Finnish population studies. Results: The 15D score was obtained from 2461 patients aged 60±14 years; 20% had type 1 diabetes (T1D). The mean±SD 15D index was 0.930±0.079 in patients with T1D and their mean±SD age was 46±15 years. The mean±SD 15D index of the patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) was 0.890±0.100 and their mean±SD age was 63±11 years. The 15D index was no lower than in the Finnish general population in either patient group or in any age group. However, the 15D score was negatively influenced by an increasing duration of diabetes in both patients with T1D and patients with T2D. No sex difference was found. Conclusions: The mean HRQoL score of patients with diabetes in this study is comparable with that of the general population of equal age. Neither the type of diabetes nor sex independently affected the HRQoL score, but a longer duration of diabetes seemed to impair the HRQoL score. Current diabetes care appears to maintain a normal HRQoL score in this diabetic population in Finland.
Greater arterial stiffness in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an obesity--but not a PCOS-associated phenomenon.

CONTEXT Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and obesity are associated with cardiovascular disease, but it is unclear to what extent they contribute independently. Arterial stiffness might link obesity and PCOS to cardiovascular diseases. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to investigate whether PCOS in the presence or absence of obesity is linked with arterial stiffness. DESIGN AND SETTING We conducted a cross-sectional study, including 31 obese (18 with PCOS) and 39 lean (22 with PCOS) women. INTERVENTIONS AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Estimates of arterial stiffness were obtained by ultrasonography (distensibility and compliance of carotid, femoral, and brachial arteries; carotid elastic modulus; and intima-media thickness) and pulse wave transit time analyses (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity and aortic augmentation index). RESULTS Obese women, with or without PCOS, had stiffer arteries than lean women. After adjustment for 24-h mean arterial pressure and age, obesity was inversely associated with the femoral, brachial, and carotid distensibility coefficients [β (95% confidence interval), -0.354 (-0.614 to -0.094), -0.354 (-0.547 to -0.161), and -0.248 (-0.370 to -0.126) 10(-3)/kPA, respectively] and with the femoral and carotid compliance coefficients [-0.296 (-0.563 to -0.029) and -0.190 (-0.377 to -0.003) mm(2)/kPA, respectively] but not with the brachial compliance coefficient [-0.018 (-0.052-0.015) mm(2)/kPA], Young's elastic modulus [0.049 (-0.005-0.103) kPA], aortic pulse wave velocity and aortic augmentation index [0.050 msec (-0.959-1.058 msec) and -1.831% (-8.196-4.534%), respectively]. Analyses with waist circumference as key independent variable gave broadly similar results. In contrast, PCOS was not associated with arterial stiffness estimates after adjustment for the presence of obesity. CONCLUSIONS In young obese women with PCOS, (central) obesity, rather than PCOS itself, is associated with increased arterial stiffness. These data emphasize that, from the perspective of cardiovascular risk reduction, the focus should be on central fat mass reduction in obese women with PCOS.
The Unity of the Church in Acts in its Literary Setting

1. Introduction 2. Unity and the "Rule of Law" 3. Unity and the "Rule of the Lord" 4. Unity and the Disunity: The Difference Between Survival and Destruction 5. Concord and the Conquest of the Word 6. Unity in Acts: Idealization or Reality?
Comparison of fluorine-18-FDG PET and thallium-201 SPECT in evaluation of lung cancer.

UNLABELLED We compared the diagnostic value of [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) PET imaging and 201Tl SPECT imaging in the detection of primary lung cancer and mediastinal lymph node metastases. METHODS Thirty-three patients with histologically-proven primary lung cancer were examined with both FDG PET and TI SPECT (early and delayed scans) within a week of each study. For semiquantitative analysis, the tumor-to-nontumor activity ratio (T-to-N ratio) was calculated. RESULTS Although both techniques delineated focal lesions with an increase in tracer accumulation in 28 patients, PET identified three additional patients in whom Tl SPECT images did not visualize any lesions on both early and delayed scans. In the detection of lung cancer of less than 2 cm in size, FDG PET provided higher sensitivity (six of seven, 85.7%) than did Tl SPECT early scan (one of seven, 14.3%) and delayed scan (four of seven, 57.1%). Neither technique visualized any lesions in two patients who had bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. The T-to-N ratio was significantly higher with FDG PET (10.39 +/- 6.63) than it was with Tl SPECT (early scan, 2.37 +/- 0.86; delayed scan, 3.01 +/- 1.01) (p < 0.0001), whereas there was significant positive correlation between the FDG T-to-N ratio and the thallium T-to-N ratio (p < 0.01). Twenty-two patients had thoracotomies. Regarding the staging of mediastinal nodes, FDG PET detected mediastinal lymph node metastasis that was negative on Tl SPECT, whereas both techniques excluded tumor involvement in enlarged node at CT. CONCLUSION Both techniques have clinical value for the noninvasive detection of primary lung cancer that is 2 cm or greater in diameter. However, if a PET camera is available, FDG PET is considered the method of choice for the evaluation of patients with suspected primary lung cancer that is less than 2 cm in diameter.
Two deep approaches for ADL recognition: A multi-scale LSTM and a CNN-LSTM with a 3D matrix skeleton representation

In this work, we propose a deep learning approach for the detection of the activities of daily living (ADL) in a home environment starting from the skeleton data of an RGB-D camera. In this context, the combination of ad hoc features extraction/selection algorithms with supervised classification approaches has reached an excellent classification performance in the literature. Since the recurrent neural networks (RNNs) can learn temporal dependencies from instances with a periodic pattern, we propose two deep learning architectures based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks. The first (MT-LSTM) combines three LSTMs deployed to learn different time-scale dependencies from pre-processed skeleton data. The second (CNN-LSTM) exploits the use of a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to automatically extract features by the correlation of the limbs in a skeleton 3D-grid representation. These models are tested on the CAD-60 dataset. Results show that the CNN-LSTM model outperforms the state-of-the-art performance with 95.4% of precision and 94.4% of recall.
Precision Nanomedicine Using Dual PET and MR Temperature Imaging–Guided Photothermal Therapy

Imaging-based techniques have enabled the direct integration of noninvasive imaging with minimally invasive interventions such as photothermal therapy (PTT) to improve the precision of treatment. Methods: We investigated the feasibility of PTT for ovarian cancer under the guidance of PET and MR temperature imaging using copper sulfide nanoparticles (CuS NPs). The tumor distribution of the CuS NPs after systemic administration was assessed using highly sensitive, quantifiable PET imaging. Two wavelengths of near-infrared (NIR) lasers—808 and 980 nm—were tested for PTT using noninvasive MR temperature imaging real-time monitoring. Results: The in vivo studies revealed that the 980-nm NIR laser had better photothermal effects than the 808-nm NIR laser. These results were in accord with the histologic findings. In vivo PTT using CuS NPs combined with 980-nm laser irradiation achieved significant tumor ablation compared with no treatment control in both subcutaneous (P = 0.007) and orthotopic (P < 0.001) models of ovarian cancer with regard to the percentage of necrotic damage. Conclusion: Our results indicate that real-time monitoring of the accuracy of PTT is a promising approach for future clinical translation of this emerging thermal ablation technique.