Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Age-specific reliability of two grip-strength dynamometers when used by children.

BACKGROUND The Jamar dynamometer and the Martin vigorimeter, two instruments often used to assess grip strength, have good validity and reliability when employed to evaluate adults. Grip strength measurements are often performed to assess children with hand disorders. However, the reliability of these measurements when used to assess children under the age of twelve years is unknown. In addition, it is not clear whether reliability differs between younger and older children. The purpose of this study was to establish test-retest reliability for different age groups and to determine which instrument is the most reliable. METHODS One hundred and four children from a primary school were included. Subjects were divided into three groups: four to six, seven to nine, and ten to twelve years of age. The grip strength of both hands was measured with the Lode dynamometer (equivalent to the Jamar dynamometer) and with the Martin vigorimeter. The mean of three maximum voluntary contractions was recorded for all measurements. A retest was performed after a mean interval of twenty-nine days. RESULTS In the total group, the intraclass correlation coefficient for the Lode dynamometer was 0.97 (95% confidence interval, 0.95 to 0.98) for the dominant hand and 0.95 (95% confidence interval, 0.92 to 0.96) for the nondominant hand and the intraclass correlation coefficient for the Martin vigorimeter was 0.84 (95% confidence interval, 0.77 to 0.89) for the dominant hand and 0.86 (95% confidence interval, 0.80 to 0.90) for the nondominant hand. The intraclass correlation coefficients in the different age groups were lower than those in the total group because of a lower between-subject variation. The normalized smallest detectable difference between the test and retest values was approximately 25% for the Lode dynamometer and approximately 31% for the Martin vigorimeter. CONCLUSIONS Both the Lode dynamometer and the Martin vigorimeter are reliable instruments with which to measure the grip strength of children under twelve years of age; however, the Lode dynamometer has better test-retest reliability. Furthermore, comparison of the smallest detectable differences showed the Lode dynamometer to be a more accurate instrument.
Determination of waste decay rate for a large Finnish landfill by calibrating methane generation models on the basis of methane recovery and emissions

The aim of this study was to determine the methane (CH4) generation factor (k) and CH4 generation potential (L) for bulk waste in order to calibrate a CH4 generation model (USEPA Landgem 3.02) and provide information on the remaining CH4 generation potential in a large (54 ha) municipal solid waste landfill located in a boreal climate. The CH4 generation model was calibrated by actual CH4 recovery and emission measurement data. Moreover, waste characterisation information from a previous study was considered. The appropriate k for bulk waste was 0.18 in the studied landfill, which indicated a higher rate of degradation than proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a default k value of 0.09 for wet conditions in boreal and temperate climes, whereas the calibrated L of 100 m3/t was lower than estimated on the basis of a previous waste characterisation study. The results demonstrate the importance of model calibration, as inappropriate model parameters may result in a large discrepancy (approximately 100 % or 119 million m3 having an energy equivalent of nearly 1.2 TWh) in cumulative CH4 generation estimates within a 18-year timescale (2012–30) at the studied landfill.
Re: Occupational Diesel Exposure, Duration of Employment, and Lung Cancer: An Application of the Parametric G-Formula.

© 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. www.epidem. com | e63 Re: Occupational Diesel Exposure, Duration of Employment, and Lung Cancer: An Application of the Parametric G-Formula value of the parameter of interest θ from the validity of the data. To extend our revised example, say we were not able to flip the coin but instead gathered reports from 12 others who did flip the coin. Say the data are unchanged: seven heads in 12 throws reported. If we were to assume sensitivity and specificity of 1, then the results in our Table again hold. However, imagine we had prior knowledge or validation data suggesting that the sensitivity and specificity of a heads report were exactly 0.7 and 0.8, respectively. Then the modified likelihood at θ = 2 3 / is 0.21515, and the posterior probability of θ = 2 3 / is reduced from 0.8 under perfect sensitivity and specificity to 0.75, as might be expected. This modified likelihood is n
Composing Traveling Paths from Location-Based Services

With the emergence of location-based services, such as Foursquare and Gowalla, users are allowed to easily perform check-in actions anywhere and anytime. The location-based check-in not only enables personal geospatial journeys but also serves as a kind of fine-grained source for trip planning. In this work, we aim to collectively compose traveling paths by leveraging the check-in data through mining the moving behaviors of users. A novel system, TP-Comp, is developed. To compose travel paths, TP-Comp not only allows users to specify starting/end and/or must-go locations, but also provides the flexibility of the time constraint requirement (i.e., the expected duration of the trip). By considering a sequence of check-in points as a traveling path, we mine the frequent sequences with some ranking mechanism to achieve the goal. Our TP-Comp targets at travelers who are unfamiliar to the objective area/city and have time limitation in the trip.
Resistance training reduces susceptibility to eccentric exercise-induced muscle dysfunction in older women.

This study evaluated the effect of age on susceptibility to muscular weakness and damage caused by eccentric (ECC) exercise and determined whether this susceptibility was altered by resistance training. Young and older women performed concentric (CON) and ECC one repetition maximum (1 RM) strength tests of the quadriceps femoris. Older women also performed knee extension training for 12 weeks. An unaccustomed bout of ECC knee extension exercise was performed before and after training, and CON and ECC 1 RM were reassessed for 11 days after the ECC bout. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to evaluate changes in muscle water content associated with muscle damage. Before training, older subjects showed a larger decline in CON (p =.008) and ECC (p =.03) strength induced by the unaccustomed ECC bout, compared with the young subjects. One day following the ECC bout, the older women showed a 24% reduction in CON and a 27% reduction in ECC 1 RM, compared with only 6% (CON) and 10% (ECC) in the younger women. A magnetic resonance imaging evaluation indicated that edema or damage was significantly greater in the older untrained women than it was in young women (p <.05), but the resistance-trained older women showed no greater muscle injury than the young women (p >.05). Resistance-trained older women showed no greater decline than sedentary young women in either CON (p >.05) or ECC (p >.05) strength. In conclusion, sedentary older women are more susceptible to ECC-induced muscle dysfunction, but resistance training reduces this susceptibility.
Dynamic Slew Enhancement Technique for Improving Transient Response in an Adaptively Biased Low-Dropout Regulator

This brief presents a dynamic slew enhancement technique for improving the transient response in an adaptively biased low-dropout regulator. This is done by introducing FAST and SLOW paths in an adaptive bias loop. The FAST path injects a quick momentary current during a low-to-high load transient, whereas the SLOW path keeps the current large during a high-to-low load step. The dynamic current shoots up to quite a high level as it is combined with adaptive biasing. When the proposed technique is implemented in the 0.18-μm CMOS technology, the experimental results show the effective reduction in the undershoot (67%) and the overshoot (66.7%) while maintaining a low quiescent current of 1.1 μA. The settling times during 0-50-mA and 50-0-mA load transients are improved by 74% and 99.9%, respectively.
Factors regulating the Great Calcite Belt in the Southern Ocean and its biogeochemical significance

The Great Calcite Belt (GCB) is a region of elevated surface reflectance in the Southern Ocean (SO) covering ~16% of the global ocean and is thought to result from elevated, seasonal concentrations of coccolithophores. Here we describe field observations and experiments from two cruises that crossed the GCB in the Atlantic and Indian sectors of the SO. We confirm the presence of coccolithophores, their coccoliths, and associated optical scattering, located primarily in the region of the subtropical, Agulhas, and Subantarctic frontal regions. Coccolithophore‐rich regions were typically associated with high‐velocity frontal regions with higher seawater partial pressures of CO2 (pCO2) than the atmosphere, sufficient to reverse the direction of gas exchange to a CO2 source. There was no calcium carbonate (CaCO3) enhancement of particulate organic carbon (POC) export, but there were increased POC transfer efficiencies in high‐flux particulate inorganic carbon regions. Contemporaneous observations are synthesized with results of trace‐metal incubation experiments, 234Th‐based flux estimates, and remotely sensed observations to generate a mandala that summarizes our understanding about the factors that regulate the location of the GCB.
Education and Coronary Heart Disease Risk

Objective. Education is inversely associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) risk; however the mechanisms are poorly understood. The study objectives were to evaluate the extent to which rarely measured factors (literacy, time preference, sense of control) and more commonly measured factors (income, depressive symptomatology, body mass index) in the education-CHD literature explain the associations between education and CHD risk. Method. The study sample included 346 participants, aged 38 to 47 years (59.5% women), of the New England Family Study birth cohort. Ten-year CHD risk was calculated using the validated Framingham risk algorithm that utilizes diabetes, smoking, blood pressure, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, age, and gender. Multivariable regression and mediation analyses were performed. Results. Regression analyses adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, and childhood confounders (e.g., parental socioeconomic status, intelligence) demonstrated that relative to those with greater than or equal to college education, men and women with less than high school had 73.7% (95% confidence interval [CI; 29.5, 133.0]) and 48.2% (95% CI [17.5, 86.8]) higher 10-year CHD risk, respectively. Mediation analyses demonstrated significant indirect effects for reading comprehension in women (7.2%; 95% CI [0.7, 19.4]) and men (7.2%; 95% CI [0.8, 19.1]), and depressive symptoms (11.8%; 95% CI [2.5, 26.6]) and perceived constraint (6.7%, 95% CI [0.7, 19.1]) in women. Conclusions. Evidence suggested that reading comprehension in women and men, and depressive symptoms and perceived constraint in women, may mediate some of the association between education and CHD risk. If these mediated effects are interpreted causally, interventions targeting reading, depressive symptoms, and perceived constraint could reduce educational inequalities in CHD.
Upper limb joint position sense during shoulder flexion in healthy individuals: a pilot study to develop a new assessment method

Background Altered shoulder joint position sense (JPS) following shoulder injury has been demonstrated in the literature and may increase the risk of injury. A JPS assessment targeting the shoulder will provide the clinician with an objective marker. The present study aimed to develop an assessment method of JPS using an active relocation test (ART). Methods In total, 40 healthy participants were recruited. A laser-pointer attached to the index finger during an ART allowed measurement (mm) of JPS by measuring the distance between the target and relocated position. Participants were blindfolded and stood an arm’s length (approximately 1 m) away from the wall. Whilst keeping the wrist in neutral and elbow extended, the participant actively moved to the target position (90° glenohumeral flexion), held for 5 seconds, returned their arm to their side and actively returned to the target position. A mean was calculated from three trials to provide an ART score. Results The mean (SD) dominant and nondominant ART score was 89.2 (SD 35.5) mm (95% confidence interval = 77.87 mm to 100.5 mm) and 94.1 (34.5) mm (95% confidence interval = 83.1 mm to 105.2 mm), respectively. Arm dominance did not significantly affect ART scores. Conclusions No significant difference was demonstrated between the dominant and nondominant arm using an ART assessing JPS acuity. Further studies are needed to establish inter-rater and intra-rater reliability.
Habitual dietary fibre intake influences gut microbiota response to an inulin-type fructan prebiotic: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over, human intervention study

Abstract Dysbiotic gut microbiota have been implicated in human disease. Diet-based therapeutic strategies have been used to manipulate the gut microbiota towards a more favourable profile. However, it has been demonstrated that large inter-individual variability exists in gut microbiota response to a dietary intervention. The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether habitually low dietary fibre (LDF) v. high dietary fibre (HDF) intakes influence gut microbiota response to an inulin-type fructan prebiotic. In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study, thirty-four healthy participants were classified as LDF or HDF consumers. Gut microbiota composition (16S rRNA bacterial gene sequencing) and SCFA concentrations were assessed following 3 weeks of daily prebiotic supplementation (Orafti® Synergy 1; 16 g/d) or placebo (Glucidex® 29 Premium; 16 g/d), as well as after 3 weeks of the alternative intervention, following a 3-week washout period. In the LDF group, the prebiotic intervention led to an increase in Bifidobacterium (P=0·001). In the HDF group, the prebiotic intervention led to an increase in Bifidobacterium (P<0·001) and Faecalibacterium (P=0·010) and decreases in Coprococcus (P=0·010), Dorea (P=0·043) and Ruminococcus (Lachnospiraceae family) (P=0·032). This study demonstrates that those with HDF intakes have a greater gut microbiota response and are therefore more likely to benefit from an inulin-type fructan prebiotic than those with LDF intakes. Future studies aiming to modulate the gut microbiota and improve host health, using an inulin-type fructan prebiotic, should take habitual dietary fibre intake into account.
Voltage‐gated and resting membrane currents recorded from B‐cells in intact mouse pancreatic islets

1 The perforated patch whole‐cell configuration of the patch‐clamp technique was applied to superficial cells in intact pancreatic islets. Immunostaining in combination with confocal microscopy revealed that the superficial cells consisted of 35 % insulin‐secreting B‐cells and 65 % non‐B‐cells (A‐ and D‐cells). 2 Two types of cell, with distinct electrophysiological properties, could be functionally identified. One of these generated oscillatory electrical activity when the islet was exposed to 10 mm glucose and had the electrophysiological characteristics of isolated B‐cells maintained in tissue culture. 3 The Ca2+ current recorded from B‐cells in situ was 80 % larger than that of isolated B‐cells. It exhibited significant (70 %) inactivation during 100 ms depolarisations. The inactivation was voltage dependent and particularly prominent during depolarisations evoking the largest Ca2+ currents. 4 Voltage‐dependent K+ currents were observed during depolarisations to membrane potentials above −20 mV. These currents inactivated little during a 200 ms depolarisation and were unaffected by varying the holding potential between −90 and −30 mV. 5 The maximum resting conductance in the absence of glucose, which reflects the conductance of ATP‐regulated K+ (KATP) channels, amounted to ≈4 nS. Glucose produced a concentration‐dependent reduction of KATP channel conductance with half‐maximal inhibition observed with 5 mm glucose. 6 Combining voltage‐ and current‐clamp recording allowed the estimation of the gap junction conductance between different B‐cells. These experiments indicated that the input conductance of the B‐cell at stimulatory glucose concentrations (≈1 nS) is almost entirely accounted for by coupling to neighbouring B‐cells.
Recalibration of risk prediction models in a large multicenter cohort of admissions to adult, general critical care units in the United Kingdom*

Objective:To assess the performance of published risk prediction models in common use in adult critical care in the United Kingdom and to recalibrate these models in a large representative database of critical care admissions. Design:Prospective cohort study. Setting:A total of 163 adult general critical care units in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, during the period of December 1995 to August 2003. Patients:A total of 231,930 admissions, of which 141,106 met inclusion criteria and had sufficient data recorded for all risk prediction models. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:The published versions of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II, APACHE II UK, APACHE III, Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II, and Mortality Probability Models (MPM) II were evaluated for discrimination and calibration by means of a combination of appropriate statistical measures recommended by an expert steering committee. All models showed good discrimination (the c index varied from 0.803 to 0.832) but imperfect calibration. Recalibration of the models, which was performed by both the Cox method and re-estimating coefficients, led to improved discrimination and calibration, although all models still showed significant departures from perfect calibration. Conclusions:Risk prediction models developed in another country require validation and recalibration before being used to provide risk-adjusted outcomes within a new country setting. Periodic reassessment is beneficial to ensure calibration is maintained.
Randomized Alternating Least Squares for Canonical Tensor Decompositions: Application to A PDE With Random Data

This paper introduces a randomized variation of the alternating least squares (ALS) algorithm for rank reduction of canonical tensor formats. The aim is to address the potential numerical ill-conditioning of least squares matrices at each ALS iteration. The proposed algorithm, dubbed randomized ALS, mitigates large condition numbers via projections onto random tensors, a technique inspired by well-established randomized projection methods for solving overdetermined least squares problems in a matrix setting. A probabilistic bound on the condition numbers of the randomized ALS matrices is provided, demonstrating reductions relative to their standard counterparts. Additionally, results are provided that guarantee comparable accuracy of the randomized ALS solution at each iteration. The performance of the randomized algorithm is studied with three examples, including manufactured tensors and an elliptic PDE with random inputs. In particular, for the latter, tests illustrate not only improvements in condition numbers, but also improved accuracy of the iterative solver for the PDE solution represented in a canonical tensor format.
Butyrate Specifically Down-Regulates Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 1 Gene Expression

ABSTRACT Invasion of intestinal epithelial cells by Salmonella enterica is decreased after exposure to butyric acid. To understand the molecular mechanisms of this phenomenon, a comparative transcriptomic analysis of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium grown in medium supplemented with butyrate was performed. We found that butyrate down-regulated the expression of 19 genes common to both serovars by a factor of twofold or more, and 17 of these genes localized to the Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1). These included the SPI1 regulatory genes hilD and invF. Of the remaining two genes, ampH has 91% homology to an Escherichia coli penicillin-binding protein and sopE2 encodes a type III-secreted effector protein associated with invasion but located at a separate site on the chromosome from SPI1.
Novel Intercell Interference Mitigation Algorithms for Multicell OFDMA Systems With Limited Base Station Cooperation

Resource allocation in multicell downlink orthogonal frequency division multiple-access (OFDMA) systems is investigated, where base stations (BSs) first independently carry out subcarrier allocation and then mitigate intercell interference (InterCI) with the aid of very limited BS cooperation. Two novel InterCI mitigation algorithms are proposed. The first one is the distributed decision making assisted cooperation (DDMC) algorithm, and the second one is the centralized decision making assisted cooperation (CDMC) algorithm. When employing the DDMC algorithm, each BS independently makes the InterCI mitigation decisions (IMDs). By contrast, when employing the CDMC algorithm, the centralized IMDs are made with the aid of the cell-edge users' discrete InterCI information sharing among BSs. While both algorithms motivate maximization of the spectral efficiency (sum rate), the CDMC algorithm also aims to maximize the frequency reuse factor. In this paper, we study and compare the performance, including spectral efficiency of cell-edge users, frequency reuse factor, and overhead, of the multicell downlink OFDMA systems employing the proposed and other InterCI mitigation algorithms. Our studies show that both the DDMC and CDMC algorithms can achieve better spectral efficiency performance than the existing on–off power (OOP) algorithm. Moreover, the CDMC algorithm is capable of achieving performance close to the upper bound attained by the so-called full InterCI information assisted decision making (FIIDM) algorithm, which uses exhaustive search to determine the IMDs. Additionally, the CDMC algorithm is demonstrated to have the highest frequency reuse factor, in addition to its spectral efficiency advantage.