Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A congested football calendar and the wellbeing of players: correlation between match exposure of European footballers before the World Cup 2002 and their injuries and performances during that World Cup

Objectives: To investigate the correlation between exposure of footballers in European clubs to match play in the months before the World Cup 2002 and their injuries and performances during that World Cup. Methods: The team doctors at 11 of the best football clubs in Europe prospectively recorded players’ exposure and injuries during the 2001–2002 season (July 2001–May 2002). Sixty five players participated in the World Cup in Korea/Japan (June 2002). During the World Cup, the clubs reported injuries sustained by these players, and their performance was evaluated by three international experts. Results: The number of team matches during the season varied between 40 and 76 for the different countries involved. The individual player had a mean of 36 matches during the season. Top players played more matches, especially during the final period of the season. Players who participated in the World Cup played more matches during the season than those who did not (46 v 33 matches). World Cup players did not show any increased risk of injury during the season. About 29% incurred injuries during the World Cup, and 32% performed below their normal standard. The players who underperformed had played more matches during the 10 weeks before the World Cup than those who performed better than expected (12.5 v 9, p<0.05). Twenty three (60%) of the 38 players who had played more than one match a week before the World Cup incurred injuries or underperformed during the World Cup. Conclusions: There is considerable variation in the number of matches played per season in European professional football leagues. Top level players are obliged to play many matches especially during the final period of the season.
Patient-reported respiratory symptoms and pre-bronchodilator airflow limitation among smokers in Switzerland.

AIMS To evaluate the prevalence and predictors of airflow limitation among smokers aged > or =40 years visiting primary care practices in Switzerland, and the correlation between airflow limitation and patient-reported symptoms. METHODS General practitioners (GPs) were invited to participate in the study via letter. Airflow limitation was measured using an EasyOne spirometer without administration of a bronchodilator, and patient-reported symptoms were evaluated using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. RESULTS 15,084 subjects recruited by 440 GPs had acceptable quality spirometry traces; 8,031 of these (53%) had symptom data available and were included in this analysis. Only 18.5% of the GP consultations were for respiratory reasons. In total, 29% of individuals had pre-bronchodilator airflow limitation suggesting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD)/Hardie interpretation. The interviewer-administered questionnaire indicated that 58% of individuals had at least one current symptom - cough, sputum production, or dyspnoea. There were no differences in lung function for patients answering yes or no to symptom questions. CONCLUSIONS Pre-bronchodilator airflow limitation and patient-reported respiratory symptoms are frequent among smokers, but short dichotomous questions about symptoms are not useful for identifying patients with airflow limitation. Spirometry can identify patients with early airflow limitation in general practice. However, poor quality of spirometry, even with an automated feedback and quality control spirometer, remains an issue.
In Vitro Evaluation of the Angiostatic Potential of Drugs Using an Endothelialized Tissue-Engineered Connective Tissue

The development of a new pharmacological strategy, the angiostatic therapy, to inhibit solid tumor progression has increased the need of powerful in vitro models to screen the angiostatic potential of new drug candidates. We produced an endothelialized reconstructed connective tissue (ERCT) that promotes the spontaneous formation of a human capillary-like network by coculture of human endothelial cells isolated from umbilical cord or from newborn foreskin, with dermal fibroblasts in a collagen sponge. Three inhibitors of angiogenesis, tamoxifen, ilomastat, and echistatin, were used to assess the efficiency of our ERCT to discriminate, in vitro, an angiostatic potential. The capillary-like structures were characterized by their immunoreactivity to human platelet-endothelial cellular adhesion molecule-1 antibodies and were quantified on histological cross-sections of biopsies taken after 10, 17, 24, and 31 days of culture. A dose-response significant inhibition of the capillary-like formation was detected when increasing concentrations of tamoxifen, ilomastat, or echistatin were added for 1 week to the culture medium of the ERCT. Tamoxifen was found to be angiogenic at 10 μM and to have a cytotoxic effect at 40 μM 1 week after drug removal. Echistatin induced a rapid, slight, and reversible inhibition of capillary-like formation, whereas ilomastat caused a very precocious, strong, and reversible inhibition of angiogenesis. In addition, a 16-h hypoxia promoted the formation of 10 times larger vessels (>300 μm2), compared with normoxic condition. These results suggest that our model could be efficiently used to study the long-term angiostatic potential of drugs in vitro in a very physiological environment.
Lessons Learned from Data Mining of WHO Mortality Database

Summary Objectives: The objectives of this research were to test the ability of classification algorithms to predict the cause of death in the mortality data with unknown causes, to find association between common causes of death, to identify groups of countries based on their common causes of death, and to extract knowledge gained from data mining of the World Health Organization mortality database. Methods: The WEKA software version 3.5. 3 was used for classification, clustering and association analysis of the World Health Organization mortality database which contained 1,109,537 records. Three major steps were performed: Step 1 – preprocessing of data to convert all records into suitable formats for each type of analysis algorithm; Step 2 – analyzing data using the C4.5 decision tree and Naïve Bayes classification algorithm, K-means clustering algorithm and Apriori association analysis algorithm; Step 3 – interpretation of results and hypothesis testing after clustering analysis. Results: Using a C4.5 decision tree classifier to predict cause of death, we obtained 440 leaf nodes that correctly classify death instances with an accuracy of 40.06%. Naïve Bayes classification algorithm calculated probability of death from each disease that correctly classify death instances with an accuracy of 28.13%. K means clustering divided the data into four clusters with 189, 59, 65, 144 country-years in each cluster. A Chi-square was used to test discriminate disease differences found in each cluster which had different diseases as predominant causes of death. Apriori association analysis produced association rules of linkage among cancer of the lung, hypertension and cerebrovascular diseases. These were found in the top five leading causes of death with 99–100% confidence level. Conclusion: Classification tools produced the poorest results in predicting cause of death. Given the inadequacy of variables in the WHO database, creation of a classification model to predict specific cause of death was impossible. Clustering and association tools yielded interesting results that could be used to identify new areas of interest in mortality data analysis. This can be used in data mining analysis to help solve some quality problems in mortality data.
Variable admittance control of a four-degree-of-freedom intelligent assist device

Robots are currently used in some applications to enhance human performance and it is expected that human/robot interactions will become more frequent in the future. In order to achieve effective human augmentation, the cooperation must be very intuitive to the human operator. This paper presents a variable admittance control approach to improve system intuitivity. The proposed variable admittance law is based on the inference of human intentions using desired velocity and acceleration. Stability issues are discussed and a controller design example is given. Finally, experimental results obtained with a full-scale prototype of an intelligent assist device are presented in order to demonstrate the performance of the algorithm.
Examining the mediating effect of work-to-family conflict on the associations between job stressors and employee psychological distress: a prospective cohort study

Objectives The mediating effect of work-to-family conflict (WFC) on the associations between eight types of job stressors (measured based on the job demands-control, effort–reward imbalance and organisational justice models) and psychological distress in employees was examined. Design This study employed a prospective design. Setting An occupational cohort study in Japan (Japanese Study of Health, Occupation, and Psychosocial Factors Related Equity; J-HOPE). Participants 5859 men and 1560 women who were working for 11 firms and participated at three consecutive waves of J-HOPE, at 1-year intervals, from 2010 to 2013. Main outcome measures Psychological distress, as measured by Kessler 6 scores. Results Mediation analysis using data on job stressors at baseline, WFC at 1-year follow-up and psychological distress at 2-year follow-up showed that WFC mediated 39.1% (95% CI 29.1% to 49.1%) and 44.5% (95% CI 31.4% to 51.7%) of the associations of psychological distress with job demands and effort, respectively, for men. The mediating effect of WFC was smaller for job stressors indicating reduced job resources, compared with job demands and effort. The mediating effect of WFC was somewhat larger for women than it was for men, with WFC mediating 47.5% (95% CI 22.5% to 72.6%) and 64.0% (95% CI 24.3% to 100.0%) of the associations of psychological distress with job demands and effort, respectively. Conclusions WFC was a key mediator in the associations between most job stressors and employee psychological distress. Results suggest that policy measures and support from supervisors, to prevent job stressors from adding to WFC, are needed to reduce employee psychological distress.
Modeling and Analysis of Charged-Particle CMOS Image Sensor Arrays

Direct-detection CMOS image sensors optimized for charged-particle imaging applications, such as electron microscopy and particle physics, have been designed, fabricated and characterized. Based on standard silicon CMOS active pixel sensor (APS) technology, the sensor arrays uses an 8 to 20 mum epitaxial layer that acts as a thicker sensitive region in the generation and collection of ionization electrons resulting from impinging high-energy particles. A range of optimizations to this technology have been developed via simulation and experimental device design. These include the simulation and measurement of charge collection efficiency versus recombination, effect of diode size and stray capacitance versus signal gain and noise, and the effect of different epitaxial silicon depths and the energy of incident electrons. Results from several experimental devices are presented and compared with simulations, including measurements from two prototypes that systematically and independently vary pixel pitch and diode area.
Sleepy Sloth: Threads as Interrupts as Threads

Event latency is considered to be one of the most important properties when selecting an event-driven real-time operating system. This is why in previous work on the Sloth kernel, we suggested treating threads as ISRs -- executing all application code in an interrupt context -- and thereby reducing event latencies by scheduling and dispatching solely in hardware. However, to achieve these benefits, Sloth does not support blocking threads or ISRs, but requires all control flows to have run-to-completion semantics. In this paper, we present Sleepy Sloth, an extension of Sloth that provides a new generalized thread abstraction that overcomes this limitation, while still letting the hardware do all scheduling and dispatching. Sleepy Sloth abolishes the (artificial) distinction between threads and ISRs: Threads can be dispatched as efficiently as interrupt handlers and interrupt handlers can be scheduled as flexibly as threads. Our Sleepy Sloth implementation of the automotive OSEK OS standard provides much more flexibility to application developers while maintaining efficient execution of application control flows. Sleepy Sloth runs on commodity off-the-shelf hardware and outperforms a leading commercial OSEK implementation by a factor of 1.3 to 19.
Insomnia and depression during protective isolation in patients with hematological disorders.

OBJECTIVE Patients treated in a protective isolation unit (PIU) often experience loneliness and increased feelings of seclusion, leading to elevated levels of distress, but the relationship between psychiatric distress and environmental factors is unclear. Therefore, we retrospectively compared the impact of environmental factors on insomnia and depression between patients in the PIU and those in a standard ward (SW). METHODS Subjects were 246 patients with hematological disorders hospitalized in Meitetsu Hospital between April 1, 2007 and July 31, 2008 (62 PIU patients and 184 SW patients). We assessed insomnia and depression, as well as concomitant corticosteroid (CS) administration, stem cell transplantation (SCT) therapy, and complications resulting from these therapies. Details of medical history and patient information were retrospectively extracted from patients' charts, medical records and the electronic laboratory database at the hospital. RESULTS Patients in the PIU tended to be complicated by insomnia or depression more than those in the SW, but the stay in the PIU was not significantly related to the incidence of insomnia or depression. Our findings indicated that use of CS was a risk factor for insomnia. The prevalence of depression was higher in patients with therapeutic complications. All PIU patients with depression also received SCT. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest an increased potential for insomnia after administration of CS and depression in cases with complications after SCT, which is important to keep in mind for patients with hematological disorders.
Knuth’s balancing of codewords revisited

In 1986, Don Knuth published a very simple algorithm for constructing sets of bipolar codewords with equal numbers of dasia1psilas and dasia-1psilas, called balanced codes. Knuthpsilas algorithm is, since look-up tables are absent, well suited for use with large codewords. The redundancy of Knuthpsilas balanced codes is a factor of two larger than that of a code comprising the full set of balanced codewords. In our paper we will present results of our attempts to improve the performance of Knuthpsilas balanced codes.
Gateway Placement Optimization in Wireless Mesh Networks With QoS Constraints

In a wireless mesh network (WMN), the traffic is aggregated and forwarded towards the gateways. Strategically placing and connecting the gateways to the wired backbone is critical to the management and efficient operation of a WMN. In this paper, we address the problem of gateways placement, consisting in placing a minimum number of gateways such that quality-of-service (QoS) requirements are satisfied. We propose a polynomial time near-optimal algorithm which recursively computes minimum weighted Dominating Sets (DS), while consistently preserving QoS requirements across iterations. We evaluate the performance of our algorithm using both analysis and simulation, and show that it outperforms other alternative schemes by comparing the number of gateways placed in different scenarios
The Anti-Apoptotic Role of Berberine in Preimplantation Embryo In Vitro Development through Regulation of miRNA-21

Traditional Chinese medicinal herbs containing berberine have been historically used to prevent miscarriage. Here, we investigated whether the anti-apoptotic effects of berberine on pre-implantation embryonic development are regulated by miRNA-21. Mouse pronuclear embryos were cultured in medium with or without berberine, and some were then microinjected with a miRNA-21 inhibitor. The in vitro developmental rates of 2- and 4-cell embryos and blastocysts, blastocyst cell numbers, apoptotic rates, and apoptotic cell numbers were measured in each group. Furthermore, we examined the transcription levels of miRNA-21 and its target genes (caspase-3, PTEN, and Bcl-2) and their translation levels. Comparisons were made with in vivo-developed and untreated embryos. We found that berberine significantly increased the developmental rates and cell numbers of mouse blastocysts and decreased apoptotic cell rates in vitro. Berberine also significantly increased miRNA-21 and Bcl-2 transcription levels and significantly decreased caspase-3 and PTEN transcription levels. In embryos treated with a miRNA-21 inhibitor, the results followed the opposite trend; PTEN and caspase-3 transcription levels increased significantly, while the transcription level of Bcl-2 decreased significantly. Additionally, berberine treatment significantly increased the Bcl-2 protein level and significantly decreased the caspase-3 and PTEN protein levels in blastocysts, but there were no significant differences observed in the levels of these proteins in 2- and 4-cell embryos. This study revealed that miRNA-21 is important for pre-implantation embryonic development, especially blastocyst development in vitro. Berberine elevates miRNA-21 expression, decreases PTEN and caspase-3 levels, increases Bcl-2 levels, and exerts anti-apoptotic and pro-growth effects.
Consuming Alone: Broadening Putnam's “Bowling Alone” Thesis

Despite the popularity of Wi-Fi technologies and social networks, many residents in developed nations are more socially isolated now than a few decades ago. Applying fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, using a nationally representative sample in one developed nation this study investigates the relationship between social isolation and advice-giving and advice-seeking behaviors with regard to brands or products. This study raises the proposition that people who are socially isolated lack the opportunity to give and seek advice, and, thus, abstain from doing so. Additionally, the study proposes that lacking ability or motivation also represent causal conditions for isolation. The study also investigates consumer behavior outcomes of low advice-giving and advice-seeking behaviors; that is, pampering and status buying. The findings from an analysis of an omnibus annual survey of residents in one nation support the propositions that the study proposes from theory and are likely relevant for residents of most developed nations.
Isolation of Mutations That Bypass the Requirement of the Septation Initiation Network for Septum Formation and Conidiation in Aspergillus nidulans

The kinase cascade of the septation initiation network (SIN), first revealed in fission yeast, activates the contraction of the actomyosin ring, and plays an essential role in fungal septation. Mob1p, an evolutionarily conserved SIN protein, is associated with the most downstream kinase of this cascade in fission yeast. In this study, the mobA gene encoding a homologous protein was isolated from the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans, whose mycelium is made of multinucleate cells. The MOBA protein was required for septation and conidiation, but was not essential for hyphal extension and colony formation. To identify genes that act antagonistically against the SIN, UV mutagenesis was carried out to isolate suppressor (smo) mutations that restored conidiation when MOBA was not expressed. Microscopic examination indicated that the restored conidiation was concomitant with restored septation in the absence of the MOBA protein. Eight recessive smo mutations in five complementation groups also bypassed the requirement of the SIN kinases SEPH and SIDB for septum formation and conidiation. However, none of these smo mutations affected the localization of MOBA. Among smo mutations, smoA and smoB mutations caused reduced hyphal growth and colony formation. They also rendered hypersensitivity to low doses of the microtubule-depolymerizing agent benomyl for conidiation. Therefore, in A. nidulans, proteins encoded by the smo genes likely have an antagonistic interaction against the SIN pathway to regulate septation and conidiation.
Variant Conflict Management: Conceptualizing and Investigating Team Conflict Management as a Configural Construct

Variant Conflict Management: Conceptualizing and Investigating Team Conflict Management as a Configural Construct Yunzi Tan The key purpose of this dissertation was to empirically test a new conceptual model of team conflict management (Tan, 2011). Central to this model is a configural team-level construct called variant conflict management (VCM), which refers to the relative levels of cooperative and competitive conflict management among members in a team. This model also identifies three key antecedent categories likely to predict VCM in teams: salient conflict-relevant member characteristics, team contextual determinants, and divergent team dynamics. Three archetypal profiles of VCM, i.e., distinct distributional patterns in members’ conflict management approaches, are also proposed: minimum, moderate and maximum VCM profiles. These three profiles are further organized into five sub-types: minimum cooperative, minimum competitive, moderate cooperative, moderate competitive, and maximum VCM profiles. Specifically, this study sought to assess whether the proposed VCM profiles are present in 79 student project teams. It also compared the effects of VCM (based on teams’ standard deviation scores) and of mean team conflict management (based on teams’ means scores) on three team outcomes: team conflict efficacy, members’ satisfaction with their teams’ conflict management process, and team effectiveness. This study also investigated the relative effects of the proposed VCM profiles on each of the three team outcomes. Three indicators representing each of the antecedent categories, i.e., gender role diversity, team goal interdependence, and subgroup formation, were also examined as potential predictors of VCM. Using qualitative content coding analyses, it was revealed that all five VCM profiles proposed in the model, i.e., minimum cooperative, minimum competitive, moderate cooperative,
Convergence Analysis of a Mixed Controlled Adaptive Algorithm

A newly developed adaptive scheme for system identification is proposed. The proposed algorithm is a mixture of two norms, namely, the -norm and the -norm (), where a controlling parameter in the range is used to control the mixture of the two norms. Existing algorithms based on mixed norm can be considered as a special case of the proposed algorithm. Therefore, our algorithm can be seen as a generalization to these algorithms. The derivation of the algorithm and its convexity property are reported and detailed. Also, the first moment behaviour as well as the second moment behaviour of the weights is studied. Bounds for the step size on the convergence of the proposed algorithm are derived, and the steady-state analysis is carried out. Finally, simulation results are performed and are found to corroborate with the theory developed.
A new approach to spatially controllable CVD

This work describes the continuing design evolution of a new approach to spatially controllable chemical vapor deposition for electronic materials manufacturing. Based on the success of a previous prototype reactor, we describe construction of a newer version of the prototype reactor system to assess its performance and identify its key operational characteristics. This new design includes a fully automated feed gas control system, allowing the reprogramming of reactor operation without hardware modifications and a time-shared gas sampling mass spectrometer for spatially resolved across-wafer gas composition analysis.