Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Depression in Parkinson's Disease

Abstract This study investigated the severity of depression in patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) and explored relationships between depression and duration, stage, cognitive status and impairment in daily functioning. Also, depression in PD patients was studied with respect to age at onset of disease, stage and gender. Forty patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) who did not have dementia (MMSE cut-off > 23) were evaluated with the Geriatric Depression Scale. Subjects showed a high frequency of depression with 52.5 % severely depressed and 37.5% mild to moderately depressed. Severely depressed patients were significantly more impaired in their functioning of daily activities as compared to the mildly depressed group. Depression in these patients did not correlate significantly with duration of illness. However, stage of disease, global cognitive functioning and functional capacity were significantly related with depression. Patients with severe stage of PD had significantly higher means on depression than those having moderate disease. No gender differences were found for any of the study variables. These results have implications for development of interventions for persons with PD and their families.
C-Reactive Protein and Parental History Improve Global Cardiovascular Risk Prediction: The Reynolds Risk Score for Men

Background— High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and family history are independently associated with future cardiovascular events and have been incorporated into risk prediction models for women (the Reynolds Risk Score for women); however, no cardiovascular risk prediction algorithm incorporating these variables currently exists for men. Methods and Results— Among 10 724 initially healthy American nondiabetic men who were followed up prospectively over a median period of 10.8 years, we compared the test characteristics of global model fit, discrimination, calibration, and reclassification in 2 prediction models for incident cardiovascular events, one based on age, blood pressure, smoking status, total cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (traditional model) and the other based on these risk factors plus high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and parental history of myocardial infarction before age 60 years (Reynolds Risk Score for men). A total of 1294 cardiovascular events accrued during study follow-up. Compared with the traditional model, the Reynolds Risk Score had better global fit (likelihood ratio test P<0.001), a superior (lower) Bayes information criterion, and a larger C-index (P<0.001). For the end point of all cardiovascular events, the Reynolds Risk Score for men reclassified 17.8% (1904/10 724) of the study population (and 20.2% [1392/6884] of those at 5% to 20% 10-year risk) into higher- or lower-risk categories, with markedly improved accuracy among those reclassified. For this model comparison, the net reclassification index was 5.3%, and the clinical net reclassification index was 14.2% (both P<0.001). In models based on the Adult Treatment Panel III preferred end point of coronary heart disease and limited to men not taking lipid-lowering therapy, 16.7% of the study population (and 20.1% of those at 5% to 20% 10-year risk) were reclassified to higher- or lower-risk groups, again with significantly improved global fit, larger C-index (P<0.001), and markedly improved accuracy among those reclassified. For this model, the net reclassification index was 8.4% and the clinical net reclassification index was 15.8% (both P<0.001). Conclusions— As previously shown in women, a prediction model in men that incorporates high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and parental history significantly improves global cardiovascular risk prediction.
Three Questions Regarding the Ecological Validity of Experimental Research on the Impact of Viewing Thin-Ideal Media Images

Research in laboratory settings has repeatedly demonstrated that exposure to idealized media images of women can result in detrimental effects on female viewers’ satisfaction with their appearance. In this article, it is argued that there remain open questions regarding the extent to which these findings generalize outside the laboratory. These questions concern the context in which media images are presented, the measurement of appearance satisfaction, and the presence of demand characteristics in laboratory-based studies. Such questions warrant answers if psychological research is to inform public debate in this area.
Velocity and Acceleration Estimation for Optical Incremental Encoders

Abstract Optical incremental encoders are extensively used for position measurements in motion systems. The position measurements suffer from quantization errors. Velocity and acceleration estimations obtained by numerical differentiation largely amplify the quantization errors. In this paper, the time stamping concept is used to obtain more accurate position, velocity and acceleration estimations. Time stamping makes use of stored events, consisting of the encoder counts and their time instants, captured at a high resolution clock. Encoder imperfections and the limited resolution of the capturing rate of the encoder events result in errors in the estimations. In this paper, we propose a method to extend the observation interval of the stored encoder events using a skip operation. Experiments on a motion system show that the velocity estimation is improved by 54% and the acceleration estimation by 92%.
The Impact of Environmental Clues in Problem Solving and Incubation: The Moderating Effect of Ability

ABSTRACT: When a problem is abandoned, a solution may subsequently and unexpectedly emerge. The intervening period, known as incubation, has sometimes been ascribed to opportunity assimilation. According to this theory, impasses to a problem create failure indexes, which ensure that random clues in the environment are detected and utilized. To assess the notion that failure indexes enhance clue utilization, 50 participants undertook a series of word problems. After this initial attempt, the participants were deceived and told that half the unsolved problems were insoluble. A series of general knowledge questions was then presented; the answers to the original problems were surreptitiously incorporated within this questionnaire. The instruction that certain problems were insoluble was retracted, and the items that had yet to be solved were reinstated. High-ability problem solvers were less likely to correctly answer the items that were designated as insoluble. Low-ability problem solvers, however, generated the reverse pattern. A model that links failure indexes to the forgetting of suboptimal strategies was formulated to accommodate these findings.
Gaze based robot control: The communicative approach

We propose a novel way of robotic device control with communicative eye movements that could possibly help to solve the problem of false activations during the gaze control, known as the Midas touch problem. The proposed approach can be considered as explicitly based on communication between a human operator and a robot. Specifically, we employed gaze patterns that are characteristic for “joint attention” type of communication between two persons. “Joint attention” gaze patterns are automatized and able to convey information about object location even under a high cognitive load. Therefore, we assumed that they may make robot control with gaze more stable. In a study with 28 healthy participants who were naive to this approach most of them easily acquired robot control with “joint attention” gaze patterns. The study did not reveal higher preference for communicative type of control, possibly because the participants did not practice before the tests. We discuss potential benefits of the new approach that can be tested in future studies.
Synchronization of Hierarchical Time-Varying Neural Networks Based on Asynchronous and Intermittent Sampled-Data Control

In this brief, our purpose is to apply asynchronous and intermittent sampled-data control methods to achieve the synchronization of hierarchical time-varying neural networks. The asynchronous and intermittent sampled-data controllers are proposed for two reasons: 1) the controllers may not transmit the control information simultaneously and 2) the controllers cannot always exist at any time $t$ . The synchronization is then discussed for a kind of hierarchical time-varying neural networks based on the asynchronous and intermittent sampled-data controllers. Finally, the simulation results are given to illustrate the usefulness of the developed criteria.
Automated visual recognition of rigid earthmoving equipment in construction videos

Earthmoving plants are essential but costly resources in the construction of heavy civil engineering projects. In addition to proper allocation, ongoing control of this equipment is necessary to ensure and increase the productivity of earthmoving operations. Captured videos from construction sites are potential tools to control earthmoving operations; however, the current practice of manual data extraction from surveillance videos is tedious, costly and error prone. Cutting edge computer vision techniques have the potential to automate equipment monitoring tasks. This paper presents research in the evaluation of combinations of existing object recognition and background subtraction algorithms to recognize earthmoving machines in video streams. Two detection algorithms, namely Haar-HOG and Blob-HOG, are presented and evaluated for their ability to recognize offhighway dump trucks in videos as measured by both effectiveness and timeliness. The results of this study can help practitioners select a suitable approach to recognize construction equipment in videos for real-time applications such as productivity measurement, performance control, and proactive work-zone safety. CE Database subject headings: Construction management; automatic identification systems; data collection; imaging techniques; earthmoving; construction equipment.
Gender, muscle, and velocity comparisons of mechanomyographic and electromyographic responses during isokinetic muscle actions

The purpose of this study was to examine the responses of peak torque (PT), mean power output (MP), mechanomyographic (MMG) and electromyographic (EMG) amplitude and mean power frequency (MPF) of the vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF), and vastus medialis (VM) in males and females during maximal, concentric isokinetic muscle actions. Subjects performed maximal leg extensions at 60° s−1, 120° s−1, 180° s−1, 240° s−1, 300° s−1, 360° s−1, 420° s−1, and 480° s−1. No gender differences were obser‐ved, but there were muscle‐specific differences for the patterns of MMG MPF, EMG amplitude, and EMG MPF. The MP and MMG amplitude increased to 180–240° s−1, plateaued, and then decreased to 480° s−1. MMG MPF for the VL and VM remained unchanged to 300° s−1, but then increased to 480° s−1. The EMG amplitude for the RF and EMG MPF for the VL decreased across velocity. Overall, these findings indicated that there were muscle‐specific, velocity‐related differences in the associations among motor control strategies (EMG amplitude and MPF) and the mechanical aspects of isokinetic muscular activity (MMG amplitude and MPF).
A Framework for Assessing the Systemic Risk of Major Financial Institutions

In this paper we propose a framework for measuring and stress testing the systemic risk of a group of major financial institutions. The systemic risk is measured by the price of insurance against financial distress, which is based on ex ante measures of default probabilities of individual banks and forecasted asset return correlations. Importantly, using realized correlations estimated from high-frequency equity return data can significantly improve the accuracy of forecasted correlations. Our stress testing methodology, using an integrated micro-macro model, takes into account dynamic linkages between the health of major U.S. banks and macrofinancial conditions. Our results suggest that the theoretical insurance premium that would be charged to protect against losses that equal or exceed 15 percent of total liabilities of 12 major U.S. financial firms stood at $110 billion in March 2008 and had a projected upper bound of $250 billion in July 2008.
THE PATTERN OF DNA SYNTHESIS IN THE CHROMOSOMES OF HUMAN BLOOD CELLS

The sequence in which various regions of the chromosomes of human blood cells complete DNA synthesis in vitro has been studied through the use of H3-thymidine labeling and autoradiography. Certain of its aspects have been defined, and these may serve as a basis for comparing the pattern of synthesis in cells of other tissues. In general, the long chromosomes continue replication later than the short ones. Variability of the sequence has been prominent. One pair from Group 13–15 and pair No. 17 complete replication early. In certain other chromosomes, replication is very active late in the S period, e.g. one X of the female cell, the Y of the male cell, two of Group 4–5, two of Group 13–15, the Nos. 16, and the Nos. 18. In the normal human female a striking correlation exists between the late replication of one of the X chromosomes, condensation during the intermitotic period, and presumed genetical inactivation. The pattern of replication characterizes certain chromosomes whose structural features alone are non-distinctive, and it may be useful in studies of cells in which a chromosomal aberration occurs.
Multichannel Image Decomposition by using Pseudo-Linear Haar Wavelets

Recently it has been shown that in image processing, the usual sum and product of the reals are not the only operations that can be used. Several other operations provided by fuzzy logic perform well in this application. We continue this line of research and we study the possibility to use some pairs of pseudo-operations. We define in the present paper pseudo-linear Haar wavelets, and we perform multi-channel decomposition of images. We study some pairs of pseudo-operations determined by a continuous, strictly increasing generator instead of the classical sum and multiplication and Haar-type wavelets based on these operations. The results show us that pseudo-linear Haar wavelets can be used as an alternative of classical Haar wavelets since the perfect reconstruction property is conserved.
Control of single-stage grid-connected three-phase solar photovoltaic system using sliding mode control

In this paper, two approaches based on sliding mode control for controlling a single-stage grid-connected three-phase solar photovoltaic system have been presented. The sliding mode control is robust and has good disturbance rejection as compared to the conventional proportional-integral control. Another advantage is that feedback linearization is not required for controlling nonlinear systems. There are two controlled variables namely the dc-link voltage and the q-axis component of the line current of the Voltage Source Converter. In the first approach, twisting controller and first order sliding mode controller have been used. Super twisting controller has been used to control both the variables in the second approach. The propsed control scheme has been simulated to verify the results.
DNA Microarray Analysis of Genome Dynamics in Yersinia pestis: Insights into Bacterial Genome Microevolution and Niche Adaptation

ABSTRACT Genomics research provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to probe into the pathogenicity and evolution of the world's most deadly pathogenic bacterium, Yersinia pestis, in minute detail. In our present work, extensive microarray analysis in conjunction with PCR validation revealed that there are considerable genome dynamics, due to gene acquisition and loss, in natural populations of Y. pestis. We established a genomotyping system to group homologous isolates of Y. pestis, based on profiling or gene acquisition and loss in their genomes, and then drew an outline of parallel microevolution of the Y. pestis genome. The acquisition of a number of genomic islands and plasmids most likely induced Y. pestis to evolve rapidly from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis to a new, deadly pathogen. Horizontal gene acquisition also plays a key role in the dramatic evolutionary segregation of Y. pestis lineages (biovars and genomovars). In contrast to selective genome expansion by gene acquisition, genome reduction occurs in Y. pestis through the loss of DNA regions. We also theorized about the links between niche adaptation and genome microevolution. The transmission, colonization, and expansion of Y. pestis in the natural foci of endemic plague are parallel and directional and involve gradual adaptation to the complex of interactions between the environment, the hosts, and the pathogen itself. These adaptations are based on the natural selections against the accumulation of genetic changes within genome. Our data strongly support that the modern plague originated from Yunnan Province in China, due to the arising of biovar orientalis from biovar antiqua rather than mediaevalis.
Intra- and interspecies virus transfer in Aspergilli via protoplast fusion.

Intra- and interspecies transfer of dsRNA viruses between black Aspergilli and Aspergillus nidulans strains has been investigated using protoplast fusion. We found interspecies transfer of virus in all combinations of black Aspergillus and A. nidulans strains and vice versa. Using the same conditions, intraspecies virus transfer among heterokaryon incompatible strains was also tested. Whereas such transfer was always found among A. nidulans strains, transfer among black Aspergilli was frequently unsuccessful. The lack of virus transfer between black Aspergillus isolates was further investigated by using a mitochondrial oligomycin resistance marker as a positive control for cytoplasmic exchange. These experiments showed independent transfer of the oligomycin resistance and dsRNA viruses during protoplast fusion of heterokaryon incompatible black Aspergilli. The inefficient transfer of dsRNA viruses between black Aspergilli is not caused by absolute resistance to viruses but may be related to heterokaryon incompatibility reactions that operate intraspecifically. Consequences for the dynamics of mycoviruses in populations of black Aspergilli are discussed.
Research of polarization and I-FEC on wireless communication in mine tunnel

Wireless communication is very important for the safety production in coal mine. In this paper, the novel analysis method for polarization modes on wireless communication in coal mine tunnel using reflection coefficient and transmission coefficient is presented, and we suggest packet-level adaptive interleaved forward error correction(I-FEC) at the application layer for improving the communication quality. In order to verify the calculation method for polarization and I-FEC tactic, a test was correspondingly carried out in a mine tunnel of 3 meters high and 2.2 meters wide with the communication frequency being 433MHz, the transmitting power being from 20dBm to 27dBm, the receiving sensitivity being -105dBm. Theoretical analysis and measurements show that I-FEC provided an impressive amount of protection against heavy channel burst errors, and if the height of the rectangular tunnel is greater than the width, the communication distance using vertical polarization is longer than that using horizontal polarization; otherwise, the communication distance using horizontal polarization is longer than that using vertical polarization.
The development and initial validation of the Terminally Ill Grief or Depression Scale (TIGDS)

Patients often experience ‘preparatory‐grief’ as they cope with the dying process. Some may be depressed. The Terminally Ill Grief or Depression Scale (TIGDS), comprising grief and depression sub‐scales, is a new self‐report measure designed to differentiate between preparatory‐grief and depression in adult inpatients.
A Common Genetic Variant in FCGR3A-V158F and Risk of Kaposi Sarcoma Herpesvirus Infection and Classic Kaposi Sarcoma

Associations of FCGR3A among men with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome suggest that host responses affect the pathogenesis of Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) infection and risk of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome–associated Kaposi sarcoma. Using DNA from two HIV seronegative case-control populations in Italy, we examined whether the functional FCGR3A-V158F variant was associated with risk of KSHV infection or classic Kaposi sarcoma (CKS). In population I, we examined FCGR3A variants and risk of KSHV infection in 34 KSHV latent nuclear antigen (LANA)-seropositive and 120 LANA-seronegative adults from Sardinia (52% male; median age, 45 years; range, 31-60), whereas in population II, we examined risk of CKS from 133 CKS cases and 172 KSHV LANA-seropositive controls from Sicily, Rome, and Naples (70% males; median age, 74 years; range, 29-91). FCGR3A variants were determined by direct sequence analysis of a nested PCR of genomic DNA assay using allele-specific primers. KSHV LANA was determined by immunofluorescence assay. Overall, compared with the 158F allele, 158V was overrepresented among controls from both Mediterranean populations (frequency = 0.52 and 0.51, respectively). After controlling for age, 158V homozygous women were at increased risk of KSHV infection and CKS compared with 158F homozygous women [odds ratio (OR), 8.7; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.8-98 and OR, 3.8; 95% CI, 1.0-14, respectively], whereas homozygous men were at decreased risk (OR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.1-2.3 and OR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2-0.8, respectively). Significant gene-dose effects were observed among men and women at risk for CKS (Ptrend ≤ 0.05). Our findings suggest that gender differences could possibly modify the effect of FCGR3A on risk of KSHV infection and CKS. Additional studies are required to confirm these relationships and determine their etiologic significance.
Expectancy beliefs and perceived values of Chinese college students in physical education and physical activity.

BACKGROUND The expectancy-value theory postulates that motivation relies on individuals' beliefs of success, perceived Attainment, Intrinsic Interest, and Utility values and Cost. This study examined Chinese college students' expectancy-value motivation in relation to physical education and self-initiated physical activity. METHODS A random sample of 368 Chinese university students responded to questionnaires on perceived expectancy beliefs, perceived values, and cost in terms of their experiences in mandatory physical education programs and in self-initiated after-school physical activity. They reported their choice decisions for continuing physical education. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, X2, logistic and linear regressions. RESULTS The physical education curriculum was perceived as a major cost to motivation. Motivated by the Intrinsic Interest and Utility value, most students chose to continue to take physical education. Self-initiated after-school physical activity was motivated by the Attainment value only. No association was found between self-initiated physical activity and Liking or Disliking of physical education. CONCLUSION Motivation for physical education and for self-initiated physical activity derived from different perceived values. The Attainment value motivates the students for self-initiated physical activity, whereas Intrinsic Interest and Utility values motivate them to choose to continue physical education.