Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the development of a novel adaptive prosthetic hand with compliant joints: experimental platform and EMG control

In this paper, some recent results about the experimental trials we are performing on a functional prosthetic hand characterized by an EMG-control and by a simple and low cost fabrication technology are shown. The innovation described in this paper is the fabrication of a compliant under-actuated prosthetic hand. The structure of the hand (both palm and fingers) is moulded as a soft polymeric single part with compliant joints and embedded tendon driven under-actuated mechanism for providing adaptive grasp. The prosthetic hand has been designed following a biomechatronic approach based on biologically-inspired design solutions. We describe the second release of this prosthesis. The evaluating tests are related to the maximum force exerted during grasping and to the fatigue problems occurring with cables and joint.
Predicting the sensitivity of butterfly phenology to temperature over the past century

Studies to date have documented substantial variation among species in the degree to which phenology responds to temperature and shifts over time, but we have a limited understanding of the causes of such variation. Here, we use a spatially and temporally extensive data set (ca. 48 000 observations from across Canada) to evaluate the utility of museum collection records in detecting broad‐scale phenology‐temperature relationships and to test for systematic differences in the sensitivity of phenology to temperature (days °C−1) of Canadian butterfly species according to relevant ecological traits. We showed that the timing of flight season predictably responded to temperature both across space (variation in average temperature from site to site in Canada) and across time (variation from year to year within each individual site). This reveals that collection records, a vastly underexploited resource, can be applied to the quantification of broad‐scale relationships between species' phenology and temperature. The timing of the flight season of earlier fliers and less mobile species was more sensitive to temperature than later fliers and more mobile species, demonstrating that ecological traits can account for some of the interspecific variation in species' phenological sensitivity to temperature. Finally, we found that phenological sensitivity to temperature differed across time and space implying that both dimensions of temperature will be needed to translate species' phenological sensitivity to temperature into accurate predictions of species' future phenological shifts. Given the widespread temperature sensitivity of flight season timing, we can expect long‐term temporal shifts with increased warming [ca. 2.4 days °C−1 (0.18 SE)] for many if not most butterfly species.
The Role of Active Site Flexible Loops in Catalysis and of Zinc in Conformational Stability of Bacillus cereus 569/H/9 β-Lactamase*

Metallo-β-lactamases catalyze the hydrolysis of most β-lactam antibiotics and hence represent a major clinical concern. The development of inhibitors for these enzymes is complicated by the diversity and flexibility of their substrate-binding sites, motivating research into their structure and function. In this study, we examined the conformational properties of the Bacillus cereus β-lactamase II in the presence of chemical denaturants using a variety of biochemical and biophysical techniques. The apoenzyme was found to unfold cooperatively, with a Gibbs free energy of stabilization (ΔG0) of 32 ± 2 kJ·mol−1. For holoBcII, a first non-cooperative transition leads to multiple interconverting native-like states, in which both zinc atoms remain bound in an apparently unaltered active site, and the protein displays a well organized compact hydrophobic core with structural changes confined to the enzyme surface, but with no catalytic activity. Two-dimensional NMR data revealed that the loss of activity occurs concomitantly with perturbations in two loops that border the enzyme active site. A second cooperative transition, corresponding to global unfolding, is observed at higher denaturant concentrations, with ΔG0 value of 65 ± 1.4 kJ·mol−1. These combined data highlight the importance of the two zinc ions in maintaining structure as well as a relatively well defined conformation for both active site loops to maintain enzymatic activity.
Semantic content-based recommendation of software services using context

The current proliferation of software services means users should be supported when selecting one service out of the many which meet their needs. Recommender Systems provide such support for selecting products and conventional services, yet their direct application to software services is not straightforward, because of the current scarcity of available user feedback, and the need to fine-tune software services to the context of intended use. In this article, we address these issues by proposing a semantic content-based recommendation approach that analyzes the context of intended service use to provide effective recommendations in conditions of scarce user feedback. The article ends with two experiments based on a realistic set of semantic services. The first experiment demonstrates how the proposed semantic content-based approach can produce effective recommendations using semantic reasoning over service specifications by comparing it with three other approaches. The second experiment demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed context analysis mechanism by comparing the performance of both context-aware and plain versions of our semantic content-based approach, benchmarked against user-performed selection informed by context.
Title : Structural and Relational Properties of Social Contact Networks with Applications to Public Health Informatics

It is now well established that social contact networks play a critical role in the progression of epidemics in urban regions. This paper analyzes the graphical and relati onal properties of large, realistic urban social contact networ ks. For purposes of exposition, we focus on Miami and Seattle; simil ar analysis was done for other large cities in the US. We compare these properties with a carefully chosen set of 3 other netwo rks. Our results indicate that the structure of realistic social contact networks exhibit interesting differences amongst themsel ves as well as with other networks. As a byproduct, we develop a new algorithm for counting the number of different embeddings of a given (smaller) subgraph in a large sparse social network. T his algorithm is an improvement over the previous algorithm for counting subgraphs efficiently in a large sparse graph. Next, we focus on a central question in Network Science – relationship between network structure and spread of disea ses over these networks. We identify new structural measures th at provide qualitatively different insights about epidemics; these insights can then be used for developing novel intervention strategies.
Book Review: Internalized oppression: The psychology of marginalized groups

nological advances in the field. This text will be a useful resource for mental health professionals and physicians who aim to understand and improve the sexual lives of their clients, as well as academic researchers and graduate students who seek to further examine sexuality and contribute to the many unanswered questions in the field. The Handbook will undoubtedly become a key reference on human sexuality for years to come.
An iteration-free approach to the scattering from large objects by using incremental diffraction-type basis functions

The integral equation (IE) approach combined with the method of the moment (MoM) discretization scheme is widely used in the prediction of the electromagnetic scattering from a large complex objects. An alternative route is taken in a family of methods that employ an "iteration free" approach, where standard (e.g. RWG) basis functions are aggregated into larger functions. This notably includes the synthetic function expansion (SFX) and the characteristic basis function (CBF) methods. These aggregate basis functions are defined from the solution of smaller-size numerically-tractable problems, and then used in the MoM solution of the large problem. This allows one to incorporate the intermediate and macro-scale features of the structure, while maintaining a reduced number of unknowns. Thousand of wavelength structures can be treated with memory and CPU cost provided by a standard personal computer. Within this scheme, we proposed here a method to treat large portion of perfectly metallic planar objects containing edges. This appears a quite useful complement to the general framework of the iteration free methods.
Early prognostic factors for duration on temporary total benefits in the first year among workers with compensated occupational soft tissue injuries

Aims: To develop a model of prognosis for time receiving workers’ compensation wage replacement benefits in the first year. Methods: A prospective cohort of 907 injured workers off work because of soft tissue injuries was followed for one year through structured telephone interviews and administrative data sources. Workers were recruited at workers’ compensation claim registration. Only those still off work at four weeks post-registration were included in the analysis. Data from several domains (demographics, clinical factors, workplace factors, recovery expectations) were collected at approximately two weeks and a subset again at four weeks. Outcome was duration on total temporary wage replacement benefits. Variable selection was carried out in two steps using content experts and backward elimination with the Cox model. Results: Body region specific functional status, change in pain, workplace offers of arrangements for return to work, and recovery expectations were independently predictive of time on benefits. Change in pain and workplace offers interacted, so the largest mutual association occurred for those whose pain was getting worse—that is, reduction in median duration from 112.5 to 32.5 days. Across observed values, widely different recovery profiles of groups of workers resulted; for example, at four months, only one third of the highest risk group had gone off benefits while over 95% of the lowest risk group had done so. Conclusions: Focus on a relatively small set of prognostic factors should enable occupational health practitioners to triage injured workers within the first month and concentrate on those requiring additional assistance to return to work.
Identification of broadly conserved cross-species protective Leishmania antigen and its responding CD4+ T cells

A Leishmania protein vaccine elicited immune responses and mediated strong cross-species protection. Committing Leishmania vaccine to memory Leishmaniasis is a potentially fatal disease caused by a protozoal parasite transmitted through sand fly bites. There is currently no vaccine, but affected individuals are resistant to further infection, suggesting vaccination is possible. Now, Mou et al. have found that vaccination with an immunodominant antigen—phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK)—protects against leishmaniasis. The authors identified PEPCK by examining peptides that could elicit memory T cell responses from healed but not uninfected animals. PEPCK was conserved in all pathogenic Leishmania and induced immune responses in both infected mice and human cells. Protection in mice was effective across species and was durable, supporting testing of a PEPCK-based vaccine in humans. There is currently no clinically effective vaccine against leishmaniasis because of poor understanding of the antigens that elicit dominant T cell immunity. Using proteomics and cellular immunology, we identified a dominant naturally processed peptide (PEPCK335–351) derived from Leishmania glycosomal phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK). PEPCK was conserved in all pathogenic Leishmania, expressed in glycosomes of promastigotes and amastigotes, and elicited strong CD4+ T cell responses in infected mice and humans. I-Ab–PEPCK335–351 tetramer identified protective Leishmania-specific CD4+ T cells at a clonal level, which comprised ~20% of all Leishmania-reactive CD4+ T cells at the peak of infection. PEPCK335–351–specific CD4+ T cells were oligoclonal in their T cell receptor usage, produced polyfunctional cytokines (interleukin-2, interferon-γ, and tumor necrosis factor), and underwent expansion, effector activities, contraction, and stable maintenance after lesion resolution. Vaccination with PEPCK peptide, DNA expressing full-length PEPCK, or rPEPCK induced strong durable cross-species protection in both resistant and susceptible mice. The effectiveness and durability of protection in vaccinated mice support the development of a broadly cross-species protective vaccine against different forms of leishmaniasis by targeting PEPCK.
Early Diagnosis, Monitoring, and Treatment of Optic Neuritis

Background:About half of multiple sclerosis patients present with optic neuritis (ON) as a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). In the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial study, 28% of patients with ON and an abnormal brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) did not have a relapse at the end of 15 years. It is still difficult to predict which CIS patients will go on to develop clinically definite multiple sclerosis and which will have a benign course. Review Summary:This review focuses on more advanced methods of detecting and quantifying ON in multiple sclerosis that have been developed in the past 15 years, especially on recent developments in optical coherence tomography measurement of the retinal nerve fiber layer and its role in monitoring axonal loss in the course of the disease. New clinical trial methods of measuring visual acuity include high-contrast visual acuity testing with the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study charts, low-contrast letter acuity, and contrast sensitivity testing. More advanced neuroimaging techniques include magnetization transfer imaging and diffusion tensor imaging to quantify visual pathway lesions. Other tests of visual function, such as multifocal visual-evoked potentials and functional MRI, have been shown to be more sensitive than conventional visual-evoked potentials or MRI in detecting early, subtle visual impairment in ON and early recovery of visual function related to cortical plasticity. Newer agents are currently being investigated for CIS in ongoing clinical trials. Conclusions:Better methods are being developed for the earlier diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of ON. In the future, CIS patients may be stratified according to their risk of development of clinically definite multiple sclerosis and therefore, receive the appropriate treatment.
Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated with the metabolic syndrome.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of and the cardiovascular risk associated with the metabolic syndrome using the new definition proposed by the World Health Organization RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 4,483 subjects aged 35-70 years participating in a large family study of type 2 diabetes in Finland and Sweden (the Botnia study) were included in the analysis of cardiovascular risk associated with the metabolic syndrome. In subjects who had type 2 diabetes (n = 1,697), impaired fasting glucose (IFG)/impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (n = 798) or insulin-resistance with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) (n = 1,988), the metabolic syndrome was defined as presence of at least two of the following risk factors: obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or microalbuminuria. Cardiovascular mortality was assessed in 3,606 subjects with a median follow-up of 6.9 years. RESULTS In women and men, respectively, the metabolic syndrome was seen in 10 and 15% of subjects with NGT, 42 and 64% of those with IFG/IGT, and 78 and 84% of those with type 2 diabetes. The risk for coronary heart disease and stroke was increased threefold in subjects with the syndrome (P < 0.001). Cardiovascular mortality was markedly increased in subjects with the metabolic syndrome (12.0 vs. 2.2%, P < 0.001). Of the individual components of the metabolic syndrome, microalbuminuria conferred the strongest risk of cardiovascular death (RR 2.80; P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS The WHO definition of the metabolic syndrome identifies subjects with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and offers a tool for comparison of results from diferent studies.
Analysis of error induced by the two parallel dipole probes in the near field of the open ended waveguide

The Method of Moment (MoM) approach is applied to estimate the error induced by two parallel dipoles used as probe on the plane of open-ended waveguide aperture. Reflection coefficient of feed waveguide is calculated by using coefficients of the basis function obtained from Method of Moment (MoM) analysis. Using the existing field at the waveguide aperture, the radiated fields at the two dipoles are evaluated using plane wave spectrum approach. At the different locations of the radiator's near field, the error induced by received voltage on the probe is evaluated.
Universal Trapping Scaling on the Unstable Manifold for a Collisionless Electrostatic Mode.

An amplitude equation for an unstable mode in a collisionless plasma is derived from the dynamics on the two-dimensional unstable manifold of the equilibrium. The mode amplitude $\rho(t)$ decouples from the phase due to the spatial homogeneity of the equilibrium, and the resulting one-dimensional dynamics is analyzed using an expansion in $\rho$. As the linear growth rate $\gamma$ vanishes, the expansion coefficients diverge; a rescaling $\rho(t)\equiv\gamma^2\,r(\gamma t)$ of the mode amplitude absorbs these singularities and reveals that the mode electric field exhibits trapping scaling $|E_1|\sim\gamma^2$ as $\gamma\rightarrow0$. The dynamics for $r(\tau)$ depends only on the phase $e^{i\xi}$ where $d\epsilon_{{k}} /dz=|{\epsilon_{{k}}}|e^{-i\xi/2}$ is the derivative of the dielectric as $\gamma\rightarrow0$.
Reliable Service Composition via Automatic QoS Prediction

Service composition has received considerable attention nowadays as a key technology to deliver desired business logics by directly aggregating existing Web services. Considering the dynamic and autonomous nature of Web services, building high-quality software systems by composing third-party services faces novel challenges. As a solution, new techniques have been recently developed to automatically predict the QoS of services in a future time and the prediction result will facilitate in selecting individual services. Nonetheless, limited effort has been devoted to QoS prediction for service composition. To fill out this technical gap, we propose a novel model in this paper that integrates QoS prediction with service composition. The integrated model will lead to a composition result that is not only able to fulfill user requirement during the composition time but also expected to maintain the desired QoS in future. As user requirement is expected to be satisfied by the composition result for a long period of time, significant effort can be reduced for re-composing newly selected services, which usually incurs high cost. We conduct experiments on both real and synthetic QoS datasets to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Toward a Social Psychology of Science

Sous quelles conditions les scientifiques discutent-ils de la connaissance ? Qu'est-ce que la negociation sur la connaissance proprement dite implique ? L'A. presente deux types d'arguments pour repondre a cette question dans le champ de la psychologie sociale. Le premier evoque la profonde unite entre connaissance, cognition, influence sociale, recherche et persuasion. Le second argument a trait au point de vue de l'A. sur la communaute scientifique et sur la necessite d'inscrire l'epistemologie dans un cadre conceptuel commun.
BILIOMA DUE TO BLUNT ABDOMINAL TRAUMA: A CASE REPORT AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Background: Bilioma is a rare abnormal localized collection of bile outside biliary tree due to an injury or biliary leak postoperatively. Case: A 15 years old male presented to us with a complaint of greenish discharge from abdominal scar with generalized abdominal pain. There was supra-umbilical localized bulging and generalized guarding and rigidity since three days. The patient was giving a history of blunt abdominal trauma three months back for which he had undergone laparotomy, but he is not aware of which procedure done. At laparotomy we found a loculated collection of bile measuring 20 x 15 cm. which was drained and its wall sent for histopathological examination. The histopathological report is suggestive of the fibrous wall. Conclusion: Intra-abdominal collection points towards traumatic injury to the biliary system. The biliary injury is to be thoroughly investigated which had led to the formation of the bilioma. The management depends on whether there is an ongoing bile leak or just an old collection (infected/sterile).
Updated Postlicensure Surveillance of the Meningococcal C Conjugate Vaccine in England and Wales: Effectiveness, Validation of Serological Correlates of Protection, and Modeling Predictions of the Duration of Herd Immunity

ABSTRACT Meningococcal serogroup C conjugate (MCC) vaccines were licensed in the United Kingdom more than 10 years ago based on correlates of protection that had previously been established for serogroup C-containing polysaccharide vaccines by using the serum bactericidal antibody (SBA) assay. These correlates of protection were subsequently validated against postlicensure estimates of observed vaccine effectiveness up to 7 to 9 months after the administration of the MCC vaccine. Vaccine effectiveness was, however, shown to fall significantly more than 1 year after the administration of a 3-dose course in infancy. Despite this finding, the marked impact on serogroup C disease has been sustained, with the lowest recorded incidence (0.02 case per 100,000 population) in the 2008-2009 epidemiological year, mainly due to the indirect herd immunity effect of the vaccine in reducing carriage. Updated estimates of vaccine effectiveness through 30 June 2009 confirmed high short-term protection after vaccination in infancy, at 97% (95% confidence interval [CI], 91% to 99%), falling to 68% (95% CI, −63% to 90%) more than a year after vaccination. The observed vaccine effectiveness more than 12 months postvaccination was consistent with measured declining SBA levels, but confidence intervals were imprecise; vaccine effectiveness estimates were consistent with SBA titers of 1:4 or 1:8 as correlates of long-term protection after a primary course in infants. Modeling suggested that protection against carriage persists for at least 3 years and predicted the stabilization of serogroup C disease at low levels (fewer than 50 cases per year) up to 2015-2016.
Distinct, Specific IL-17- and IL-22-Producing CD4+ T Cell Subsets Contribute to the Human Anti-Mycobacterial Immune Response1

We investigated whether the proinflammatory T cell cytokines IL-17 and IL-22 are induced by human mycobacterial infection. Remarkably, >20% of specific cytokine-producing CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood of healthy, mycobacteria-exposed adults expressed IL-17 or IL-22. Specific IL-17- and IL-22-producing CD4+ T cells were distinct from each other and from Th1 cytokine-producing cells. These cells had phenotypic characteristics of long-lived central memory cells. In patients with tuberculosis disease, peripheral blood frequencies of these cells were reduced, whereas bronchoalveolar lavage fluid contained higher levels of IL-22 protein compared with healthy controls. IL-17 was not detected in this fluid, which may be due to suppression by Th1 cytokines, as PBMC IL-17 production was inhibited by IFN-γ in vitro. However, Th1 cytokines had no effect on IL-22 production in vitro. Our results imply that the magnitude and complexity of the anti-mycobacterial immune response have historically been underestimated. IL-17- and IL-22-producing CD4+ T cells may play important roles in the human immune response to mycobacteria.