Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sensitivity and specificity of body mass index and skinfold thicknesses in detecting excess adiposity in children aged 8-12 years

Primary objective : The study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity (SN) and specificity (SP) of body mass index (BMI) and skinfold thicknesses in detecting excess adiposity in children. Research design : Cross-sectional. Materials and methods : 986 children (500 females and 486 males) aged 10 - 1 years (mean - SD; range: 8-12 years) were studied. All underwent anthropometric measurements and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was performed in 52 children to develop a population-specific algorithm for the assessment of fat-free mass (FFM) from BIA. The algorithm was applied to the remaining 934 children to estimate their FFM. Fat mass (FM) was obtained by subtracting FFM from weight (Wt). Values of FM:Wt were transformed in Z -scores and converted into 19 percentile categories (from 5 to 95 in steps of 5). The same procedure was performed with BMI and the log-transformed sum of four skinfold thicknesses (triceps, biceps, subscapular and suprailiac; lt-4SF). Excess adiposity was defined as a level of FM:Wt greater than the internally derived 85th percentile. SN and SP of each internally derived percentile of BMI and lt-4SF in detecting excess adiposity were calculated. Results : In the pooled sample ( n = 934), SN and SP were 0.39 and 0.99 for the 95th percentile of BMI, 0.65 and 0.95 for the 85th percentile of BMI, and 0.75 and 0.94 for the 85th percentile of lt-4SF. Conclusions : BMI percentiles employed in the present study have a high SP but a low SN in detecting excess adiposity in 8-12-year-old children. The use of the sum of four skinfolds has the potential to increase the SN of a screening programme for excess adiposity in children of this age.
Influence of Absorbing Boundaries in Time Domain Iterative Methods

This paper shows that the influence of absorbing boundaries, as typically used in time domain iterative methods like FD-TD (Finite Difference- Time Domain) or TLM, (Transmission Line Matrix) seems to be different with respect to the electrical field compared to the influence on the magnetic field. This phenomenon is characterized and a solution for its reduction is given. The behavior is demonstrated on the examples of the apparent dielectric constant of a microstrip and a coplanar waveguide.
Assessment of post‐stroke extrapersonal neglect using a three‐dimensional immersive virtual street crossing program

Kim DY, Ku J, Chang WH, Park TH, Lim JY, Han K, Kim IY, Kim SI. Assessment of post‐stroke extrapersonal neglect using a three‐dimensional immersive virtual street crossing program Acta Neurol Scand: 2010: 121: 171–177. © 2009 The Authors Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Munksgaard.
A preliminary study on fingerprint classification using fuzzy rule-based classification systems

In this work we analyze the competitiveness of fuzzy rule-based systems in comparison with black box models like support vector machines to deal with fingerprint classification problems. With this aim, we carry out an experimental study applying different feature extraction models (covering almost every kind of features that are usually considered in this problem) and three fingerprint databases of different qualities. The obtained results show the good behavior of fuzzy rule-based classification systems. Observing these results, new future lines are outlined, which could improve the classification performance achieved with the current models.
Programmable voltage-to-current converter with linear voltage control resistor

A programmable voltage-to-current converter with linear voltage control resistor (VCR) is presented in this paper. It uses a cascoded flipped voltage follower (CASFVF) to be the input stage in order to enhance the response time and accuracy. Programmability is achieved by using the control signal Vctrl to adjust the equivalent resistance of VCR. Simulation results in 0.25-mum CMOS technology demonstrate the high linearity of the proposed voltage-to-current converter and VCR circuit.
A new joint spectral radius analysis of random PSO algorithm

AbstractThe existing stability analysis of particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is chiefly concluded by the assumption of constant transfer matrix or time-varying random transfer matrix. Firstly, one counterexample is provided to show that the existing convergence analysis is not possibly valid for PSO system involving random variables. Secondly, the joint spectral radius, mainly calculated by the maximum eigenvalue of the product of all asymmetric random transfer matrices, is introduced to analyze and discuss convergence condition and convergence rate from numerical viewpoint with the aid of Monte Carlo method. Numerical results show that there is one major discrepancy between some preview convergence results and our corresponding results, helping us to deeply understand the tradeoff between exploration ability and exploitation ability as well as providing certain guideline for parameter selection.
Associations of processed meat and unprocessed red meat intake with incident diabetes: the Strong Heart Family Study.

BACKGROUND Fifty percent of American Indians (AIs) develop diabetes by age 55 y. Whether processed meat is associated with the risk of diabetes in AIs, a rural population with a high intake of processed meat (eg, canned meats in general, referred to as "spam") and a high rate of diabetes, is unknown. OBJECTIVE We examined the associations of usual intake of processed meat with incident diabetes in AIs. DESIGN This prospective cohort study included AI participants from the Strong Heart Family Study who were free of diabetes and cardiovascular disease at baseline and who participated in a 5-y follow-up examination (n = 2001). Dietary intake was ascertained by using a Block food-frequency questionnaire at baseline. Incident diabetes was defined on the basis of 2003 American Diabetes Association criteria. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the associations of dietary intake with incident diabetes. RESULTS We identified 243 incident cases of diabetes. In a comparison of upper and lower quartiles, intake of processed meat was associated with a higher risk of incident diabetes (OR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.21, 2.63), after adjustment for potential confounders. The relation was particularly strong for spam (OR for the comparison of upper and lower quartiles: 2.06; 95% CI: 1.30, 3.27). Intake of unprocessed red meat was not associated with incident diabetes (OR for the comparison of upper and lower quartiles: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.59, 1.37). CONCLUSION The consumption of processed meat, such as spam, but not unprocessed red meat, was associated with higher risk of diabetes in AIs, a rural population at high risk of diabetes and with limited access to healthy foods.
Processing LSTM in memory using hybrid network expansion model

With the rapidly increasing applications of deep learning, LSTM-RNNs are widely used. Meanwhile, the complex data dependence and intensive computation limit the performance of the accelerators. In this paper, we first proposed a hybrid network expansion model to exploit the finegrained data parallelism. Based on the model, we implemented a Reconfigurable Processing Unit(RPU) using Processing In Memory(PIM) units. Our work shows that the gates and cells in LSTM can be partitioned to fundamental operations and then recombined and mapped into heterogeneous computing components. The experimental results show that, implemented on 45nm CMOS process, the proposed RPU with size of 1.51 mm2 and power of 413 mw achieves 309 GOPS/W in power efficiency, and is 1.7 χ better than state-of-the-art reconfigurable architecture.
Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte clones specific for an immunodominant epitope display discerning antagonistic response to naturally occurring Epstein-Barr virus variants

In the present study we have identified Epstein-Barr virus isolates which encode variant sequences within an HLA B35-restricted immunodominant cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitope that act as natural antagonists and can inhibit CTL activity on the wild-type epitope. This effect can be demonstrated if the wild-type epitope is presented as a synthetic peptide or when processed from a full-length Epstein-Barr virus protein expressed by recombinant vaccinia constructs. However, this antagonistic effect was only selectively seen with some CTL clones, while a strong agonistic effect was evident for other clones in the presence of the same variant peptide. The data presented in this study strongly suggest that it is unlikely that the variant viruses can completely antagonize a virus-specific CTL response by this mechanism since the host immune response is capable of generating CTLs expressing a diverse array of T-cell receptors. Moreover, many of these CTLs can recognize the variant sequences as efficiently as wild-type epitope.
Attosecond Synchronization of High-Harmonic Soft X-rays

Subfemtosecond light pulses can be obtained by superposing several high harmonics of an intense laser pulse. Provided that the harmonics are emitted simultaneously, increasing their number should result in shorter pulses. However, we found that the high harmonics were not synchronized on an attosecond time scale, thus setting a lower limit to the achievable x-ray pulse duration. We showed that the synchronization could be improved considerably by controlling the underlying ultrafast electron dynamics, to provide pulses of 130 attoseconds in duration. We discuss the possibility of achieving even shorter pulses, which would allow us to track fast electron processes in matter.
An improved 40 Gb/s CDR with jitter-suppression filters and phase-compensating interpolators

An improved clock data recovery (CDR) operating at 40 Gb/s is implemented in 65 nm CMOS technology. Passive low-pass filters (LPFs) with adaptively adjusted bandwidth are introduced into the data-sampling path to automatically balance jitter tracking and jitter suppression for data decisions. Additionally, a time-averaging based compensating phase interpolator (PI) is proposed to not only improve the phase-step uniformity but also reduce phase-spacing drifting between edge and data sampling clocks. Measurement results show that different bandwidths for jitter transfer (4 MHz) and jitter tolerance (20 MHz) can be obtained. The total jitter of recovered clocks for edge-sampling and data-sampling are 11.48 ps and 7.66 ps, respectively. Meanwhile, the introduced jitter-suppression filters improve the maximum tolerable amplitude of sinusoidal jitter from 0.31 UI to 0.41 UI at 100 MHz.
Theoretical models of species' borders: single species approaches

The range of potential mechanisms limiting species' distributions in space is nearly as varied and complex as the diversity of life itself. Yet viewed abstractly, a species' border is a geographic manifestation of a species' demographic responses to a spatially and temporally varying world. Population dynamic models provide insight into the different routes by which range limits can arise owing to gradients in demographic rates. In a metapopulation context, for example, range limits may be caused by gradients in extinction rates, colonization rates or habitat availability. We have consider invasion models in uniform and heterogeneous environments as a framework for understanding non-equilibrium range limits, and explore conditions under which invasions may cease to spread leaving behind a stationary range limit. We conclude that non-equilibrial range dynamics need further theoretical and empirical attention.
Speaking Effect Removal on Emotion Recognition From Facial Expressions Based on Eigenface Conversion

Speaking effect is a crucial issue that may dramatically degrade performance in emotion recognition from facial expressions. To manage this problem, an eigenface conversion-based approach is proposed to remove speaking effect on facial expressions for improving accuracy of emotion recognition. In the proposed approach, a context-dependent linear conversion function modeled by a statistical Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) is constructed with parallel data from speaking and non-speaking facial expressions with emotions. To model the speaking effect in more detail, the conversion functions are categorized using a decision tree considering the visual temporal context of the Articulatory Attribute (AA) classes of the corresponding input speech segments. For verification of the identified quadrant of emotional expression on the Arousal-Valence (A-V) emotion plane, which is commonly used to dimensionally define the emotion classes, from the reconstructed facial feature points, an expression template is constructed to represent the feature points of the non-speaking facial expressions for each quadrant. With the verified quadrant, a regression scheme is further employed to estimate the A-V values of the facial expression as a precise point in the A-V emotion plane. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms current approaches and demonstrates that removing the speaking effect on facial expression is useful for improving the performance of emotion recognition.
SCREENING OF ASPARAGUS OFFICINALIS L. SEEDS FOR OCCURRENCE AND PLOIDY OF TWIN EMBRYOS

We used germination tests to assess the frequency of polyembryony in 9 asparagus cultivars with a high propensity to produce double embryos with different ploidy levels: Alpha, Andreas, Boonlim, Cipres, Eposs, Helios, Limbras, Ravel and Sartaguda. Twin embryos inside a single seed were found in 3 cultivars: Eposs 2n, Ravel 2n and Sartaguda 2n, at 0.60% frequency (15 seeds with twin embryos out of 2500 seeds). Of 30 obtained seedlings, 14 were separated diploid-diploid twins, 6 were conjoined diploid pairs, 8 were separated diploid-haploid and 2 were diploid-haploid pairs conjoined in the hypocotyl region. Some embryos showed unilateral dominance of one embryo (size and shape). The haploid status of the smallest embryo was confirmed by chromosome number (n=x=10) and flow cytometry (nuclear C DNA amount 1.95 pg). The haploid obtained in this manner possessed enough vegetative vigor to undergo chromosome doubling.
Gene expression profile can predict pathological response to preoperative chemoradiotherapy in rectal cancer.

BACKGROUND Preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) has been widely used to improve local control of disease and to preserve the anal sphincter in the treatment of rectal cancer. However, the response to CRT differs among individual tumors. Our purpose of this study was to identify a set of discriminating genes that can be used for characterization and prediction of response to CRT in rectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Seventeen rectal cancer patients who underwent preoperative CRT (40 Gy radiotherapy combined with S-1) were studied. Biopsy specimens were obtained from rectal cancer patients before preoperative CRT and were analyzed by focused DNA microarray (132 genes) and immunohistochemistry. Response to CRT was determined by histopathologic examination of surgically resected specimens and patients were classified as responders (grade 2 or 3) or non-responders (grade 0 or 1). RESULTS Of the 17 samples, 10 were classified as responders and 7 as non-responders. Seventeen genes were differentially expressed at significant levels (p<0.05) between responders and non-responders. All genes showed higher expression in responders as compared with non-responders. The list of discriminating genes included matrix metalloproteinase- (MMP), apoptosis- (nuclear factor kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells 2 (NFKB2), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1)), DNA repair- (topoisomerase 1 (TOP1)), and cell proliferation (integrin, beta 1 (ITGB1))-related genes. In the immunohistochemistry of MMP7, 4 responders were judged as showing overexpression of MMP7. On the other hand, none of the non-responders were judged as showing overexpression of MMP7. CONCLUSION Gene expression patterns of diagnostic biopsies can predict pathological response to preoperative CRT with S-1 in rectal cancer.
Quality of Life in Persons Living With HIV

This study investigated the effects of selected variables on quality of life (QOL) in persons living with HIV. Eighty-one HIV-positive adults completed a demographic questionnaire, the Sickness Impact Profile, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and a fatigue visual analog scale. Blood samples were collected for CD4+, CD8+, and CD16+ lymphocyte numbers. Based on an expanded psychoneuroimmunology model, hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to determine the extent to which four blocks of variables predicted variance in quality of life. These included sociodemographics, depression, immune status, and fatigue. Findings revealed that work status, depression, and fatigue predicted 58% of the variance in QOL in persons with HIV. Findings support the need for routine assessment and management of depression and fatigue in persons living with HIV.
Modeling material behavior: molecular dynamics simulation and visualization

We have developed atomic-scale material models capable of melting, crystallization and amorphization. These deformable models feature molecular dynamics governed by Langevin equations of motion in which particles interact through attractive covalent forces and short-range repulsion forces. Also, we present an interactive virtual visualization tool for the simulation of atomic scale material behavior. An application of this research is to understand the processes that can control the quality of a single-crystal Si grown from the melt.
Routes of Ca2+ Shuttling during Ca2+ Oscillations

Background: Ca2+ oscillations in mesothelial cells depend on Ca2+ influx. Results: However, the “lanthanum insulation method” renders the oscillations independent of extracellular Ca2+. Conclusion: Multiple pathways of Ca2+ shuttling are operating simultaneously during Ca2+ oscillations. Significance: Experimental and mathematical approaches shed light on the mechanism of Ca2+ oscillations. In some cell types, Ca2+ oscillations are strictly dependent on Ca2+ influx across the plasma membrane, whereas in others, oscillations also persist in the absence of Ca2+ influx. We observed that, in primary mesothelial cells, the plasmalemmal Ca2+ influx played a pivotal role. However, when the Ca2+ transport across the plasma membrane by the “lanthanum insulation method” was blocked prior to the induction of the serum-induced Ca2+ oscillations, mitochondrial Ca2+ transport was found to be able to substitute for the plasmalemmal Ca2+ exchange function, thus rendering the oscillations independent of extracellular Ca2+. However, in a physiological situation, the Ca2+-buffering capacity of mitochondria was found not to be essential for Ca2+ oscillations. Moreover, brief spontaneous Ca2+ changes were observed in the mitochondrial Ca2+ concentration without apparent changes in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration, indicating the presence of a mitochondrial autonomous Ca2+ signaling mechanism. In the presence of calretinin, a Ca2+-buffering protein, the amplitude of cytosolic spikes during oscillations was decreased, and the amount of Ca2+ ions taken up by mitochondria was reduced. Thus, the increased calretinin expression observed in mesothelioma cells and in certain colon cancer might be correlated to the increased resistance of these tumor cells to proapoptotic/pronecrotic signals. We identified and characterized (experimentally and by modeling) three Ca2+ shuttling pathways in primary mesothelial cells during Ca2+ oscillations: Ca2+ shuttled between (i) the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria, (ii) the ER and the extracellular space, and (iii) the ER and cytoplasmic Ca2+ buffers.
Author ' s personal copy Visual and tactile action effects determine bimanual coordination performance q

Effect-based models of motor control assign a crucial role to anticipated perceptual feedback in action planning. Two experiments were conducted to test the validity of this proposal for discrete bimanual key press responses. The results revealed that the normally observed performance advantage for the preparation of two responses with homologous rather than non-homologous fingers becomes inverted when homologous fingers produce nonidentical visual effects, and non-homologous fingers produce identical visual effects. In the second experiment the finger homology effect was strongly reduced when homologous fingers produced non-identical tactile feedback. The results show that representations of to-be-produced visual and tactile action effects both contribute to action planning, though possibly to a varying degree. Implications of these results for effect-based models of motor control are considered. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Simultaneous dynamic and functional MRI scanning (SimulScan) of natural swallows

In studies of swallowing, dynamic and functional MRI are increasingly used to observe motor oropharyngeal behaviors and identify associated brain regions. However, monitoring of motor performance during a functional examination requires disruptive monitoring sensors, visual or auditory cued tasks, and strict subject compliance to stimuli. In this work, a simultaneous acquisition (SimulScan) was developed to provide dynamic images to monitor oropharyngeal motions during swallowing (1 mid‐sagittal slice at 14.5 frames per second) simultaneous with functional MRI (24 oblique‐axial slices with a TR of 1.6512 s). Data were acquired while three healthy adult subjects passively viewed a movie during three 15‐min scans with the purpose of covertly studying uncued natural swallows. Dynamic MR images were used to determine timing of swallow onsets for subsequent functional analysis. Resulting functional maps show significant areas of activation that agree with previous functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of cued water swallows, except for regions associated with processing the task stimulus. SimulScan may prove a useful tool in developing new techniques for studying swallowing and associated neuromuscular disorders. Magn Reson Med, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The assessment of fractional drug removal by extracorporeal dialysis.

It is generally concurred that the effectiveness of extracorporeal dialysis is best evaluated by fractional drug removal, i.e. the proportion of body burden of drug removed during the period of dialysis treatment. Two equations reported in the literature and five equations proposed in this article are examined for their validity in the assessment of fractional drug removal. Potential limitations and applicable conditions of these equations are discussed and compared. Calculations of fractional drug removal are demonstrated using both simulated and experimental data of ethambutol. Depending on the available kinetic measurements during dialysis and post dialysis, one may apply each equation separately or in conjunction with others to the calculation of fractional drug removal.
Design and performance of the Dawning Cluster File System

Cluster file system is a key component of system software of clusters. It attracts more and more attention in recent years. In this paper, we introduce the design and implementation of DCFS (the Dawning Cluster File System) - a cluster file system developed for Dawning4000-L. DCFS is a global file system sharing among all cluster nodes. Applications see a single uniform name space, and can use system calls to access DCFS files. The features of DCFS include its scalable architecture, metadata policy, server-side optimization, flexible communication mechanism and easy management. Performance tests of DCFS on Dawning4000-L show that DCFS can provide high aggregate bandwidth and throughput.
Comment on "Demonstration of the casimir force in the 0.6 to 6 mm range"

We comment on a recently published measurement of the Casimir force for distances in the 0.6 to 6 micrometer range between two Au surfaces (Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 5(1997)) and the net discrepancy reported for the comparison with theoretical predictions (Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 5475 (1998)).