Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prediction of ventilatory threshold from a submaximal one mile walk test

Fry, S.L. Cross validation ofRockpo1i JI. MS in Clinical Exercise Physiology, December 2015, 43pp. (C. Foster) Introduction: The purpose of this study is to cross validate two new equations for the Rockpo1t 1-mile walking test to n1ore accurately predicted V02max and V02 at the Ventilatory Threshold (VT). Methods: Eighty-nine subjects perfor1ned a tread1nill-based V02max test and a brisk l-1nile walk test. Equations were formulated from 71 of the subjects. The data from the remaining 18 subjects was used to cross-validate the new equations. Results: The two equations were: Predicted V02n1ax = 31.142 ((1.13 (Walk time))-(.305(final RPE); R'= 0.4859; SEE= 6.76 ml kg·' min" and Predicted VO, at VT= [28.169-(1.117 X Walk Time)-(0.295 X Final RPE)] X 3.5; R' = 0.51; SEE= 6.3 ml kg·1 min·• Cross-validation showed that the R values are not significantly different from the validation group. Discussion: A reasonably accurate predictor ofV02max and V02 at VT can be fo11nulated using only the variables of l-1nile walking ti1ne and RPE from the Rockport l-n1i\e walk test.
Failed IT projects: is poor IT governance to blame?

Today organisations both in the private and public sectors rely on Information Technology (IT) solutions and continue to make significant investments enabling business via IT. The increase in investment in IT is due to the demand for more efficient and cost-effective delivery of products and services. The dependency on IT and the increased level of investment in IT have motivated a wider accountability focus on strategic technology initiatives. Therefore, organisations have experienced a complex mix of political, organisational, technical and cultural shifts requiring far-sighted management and governance of IT. Throughout the last decade, systems, processes, standards and best practice frameworks have been developed to facilitate effective IT governance. However, a large number of IT initiatives fail to deliver. Gaining value from technology deployment via effective IT governance remains a key concern of management. This paper presents the outcome of the analysis of four IT deployment cases studies. The analysis of the four case studies demonstrated a strong connection between project failures and inadequate governance practices.
Conceptualising causal pathways in systematic reviews of international development interventions through adopting a causal chain analysis approach

ABSTRACT Understanding the extent to which an intervention ‘works’ can provide compelling evidence to decision makers, although without an accompanying explanation of how an intervention works, this evidence can be difficult to apply in other settings, ultimately impeding its usefulness in making judicious and evidence-informed decisions. In this paper, we describe logic models as a tool for outlining graphically a hypothesis of how an intervention leads to a change in an outcome through depicting a causal chain of events. However, it is the nature of these connecting relationships and their basis in causality which is of interest here, and we focus on complex causal relationships and the way in which contextual factors reflecting the intervention setting or population may moderate these. Evidence synthesis techniques are considered, and their usefulness in analysing different parts of the causal chain or different types of relationship. The approaches outlined in this paper aim to assist systematic reviewers in producing findings that are useful to decision makers and practitioners, and in turn help to confirm existing theories or develop entirely new ways of understanding how interventions effect change
On-line systems: History, technology, and economics

The development of on-line systems in science and technology, beginning with the first demonstrations of batch searching through the development of multinational on-line services, is outlined. The key technological components are described: computers that operate in a time-shared mode and an efficient, low-cost telecommunications system. Insight is provided on how on-line systems are put together and made accessible to users. Finally, on the economics of on-line systems, the great effort and expenditures underlying the production of services are examined.
DOA estimation of coherent waves for 77GHZ automotive radar with three receiving antennas

This paper proposes a novel scheme suitable for mm-wave automotive radars to estimate the direction-of-arrivals (DOAs) of coherent waves with only three receiving antennas. Reflected waves completely correlated from two targets can be resolved with calibrated 3-channel array antenna by using only one snapshot data. The resolution capability can be further improved with the use of multiple snapshot data. A 77GHz prototype radar mounted on a vehicle successfully measured the directions of two stationary targets in real time computation.
Support Vector-trained Recurrent Fuzzy System

This paper proposes a Support Vector-trained Recurrent Fuzzy System (SV-RFS) which comprises recurrent Takagi-Sugeno (TS) fuzzy if-then rules. The SV-RFS memories past input information by feeding the past firing strength of a fuzzy rule back to itself. The rules are generated based on a clustering-like algorithm. The feedback loop gains and consequent part parameters are learned through support vector regression (SVR) in order to improve system generalization ability. The SV-RFS is applied to noisy chaotic sequence prediction to verify its effectiveness.
Video head impulse in comparison to caloric testing in unilateral vestibular schwannoma

Abstract Conclusions: Although there was a statistically significant relationship between the results of the vHIT and the caloric test, the limited strength of this relationship suggests that, for unilateral vestibular schwannoma (UVS), caloric testing and vHIT may provide complementary information on vestibular function. Objective: There is limited information that can be used to determine which of the video head impulse test (vHIT) and caloric test might be better used in the diagnosis and management of UVS. In this study, a group of participants with un-operated UVS was studied using both methods. Methods: The subjects’ vestibular function was assessed using the vHIT and caloric testing. Tumour size was quantified using MRI and their balance disturbance assessed using the Jacobsen Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI). Results: Twenty of 30 subjects had an abnormal canal paresis according to the Jongkees’ criterion (> 0.25); however, only 10/30 had an ipsilesional vHIT gain of <0.79. Canal paresis could be predicted from the ipsilesional and contralesional vHIT gains. Tumour size could also be predicted from the ipsilesional vHIT gain and canal paresis. However, DHI scores could not be predicted from the degree of canal paresis, vHIT gain, or the MRI measures.
Injury Rates, Risk Factors, and Mechanisms of Injury in Minor Hockey

Background Hockey is one of the top sports for participation in youth in Canada. There are limited data on the epidemiology of injury in youth hockey. Purpose Through implementation and validation of an injury surveillance system, youth ice hockey injury rates, risk factors, and mechanisms of injury will be examined. Study Design Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods During the 2004-2005 season in minor hockey in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 71 hockey teams (N = 986) were studied, including teams from each age group (Atom, 9/10 years; Pee Wee, 11/12 years; Bantam, 13/14 years; Midget, 15/16 years) and division of play (7-10 divisions per age group). A certified athletic therapist or candidate did weekly assessments of any identified hockey injury. Injury definition included any injury occurring during the regular hockey season that required medical attention, removal from a session, or missing a subsequent session. Results Of the 986 participating players, 216 players sustained a total of 296 injuries in the 2004-2005 season. The overall injury rate was 30.02 injuries per 100 players per season (95% confidence interval, 27.17-32.99) or 4.13 injuries per 1000 player hours (95% confidence interval, 3.67-4.62). Forty-five percent of all injuries occurred during body checking. Compared with the youngest age group, Atom, the risk of injury was greater in Pee Wee (relative risk, 2.97; 95% confidence interval, 1.63-5.8), Bantam (relative risk, 3.72; 95% confidence interval, 2.08-7.14), and Midget (relative risk, 5.43; 95% confidence interval, 3.14-10.17) leagues. The risk of injury in Pee Wee was greatest in the most elite divisions (relative risk, 2.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-5.81). Concussion, shoulder sprain/dislocation, and knee sprain were the most common injuries. Conclusion Significant differences in injury rates were found by age and division of play. The public health significance of body checking injury in minor hockey is great. Future research will include expansion of surveillance to further examine body checking injuries and prevention strategies in minor hockey.
Subjective health and memory self-efficacy as mediators in the relation between subjective age and life satisfaction among older adults

Objective: Perceiving oneself as younger than one's actual age functions as a self-enhancing positive illusion that promotes life satisfaction. However, no research has yet focused on the mechanisms through which a youthful subjective age could be related to higher life satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to identify the mediating role of resources, such as subjective health and memory self-efficacy, in the relation between subjective age and life satisfaction among older adults. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 250 older individuals aged from 60 to 77 years who completed measures of subjective age, subjective health, memory self-efficacy, and life satisfaction. Results: Path analysis revealed that subjective age was positively related to both subjective health and memory self-efficacy, and that subjective health and memory self-efficacy were both positively related to life satisfaction. Bootstrap procedures further indicated that subjective age has significant total and specific indirect contribution to life satisfaction through subjective health and memory self-efficacy. Discussion: This study fills a gap in existing literature and suggests that a youthful subjective age is associated with higher life satisfaction because it is related to higher evaluation of health and memory self-efficacy. It provides an initial support for a resource-based explanation of the relation between subjective age and life satisfaction.
Developing a Model of Quality of Life in Epilepsy: The Contribution of Neuropsychology

Summary: Three specific issues must be considered in the development of a quality‐of‐life in epilepsy model and psychometric instrument. These issues are: (a) whether to adopt a narrow versus broad model of quality of life, (b) whether to rely on patient self‐reports of quality of life or reports garnered from proxies, and (c) whether to develop a generic versus disease‐specific measure of quality of life. In reviewing these issues the contributions of the health services research field, research pertaining to the psychological and social effects of epilepsy, and especially neuropsychology, are pertinent.
Facebook and political participation: Going beyond over-optimistic predictions

In the last decade there has been a proliferation of academic studies examining the links between social networking websites (SNSs) and citizens’ political participation. Focusing on Facebook and on the specific contexts of Italy and the United Kingdom, this article adds to this strand of research and explores the limitations of this SNS as a political platform. The findings indicate three possible factors limiting the contributions of Facebook to political participation, namely, the non-universality of Facebook, its questionable credibility as a political information source and the enduring relevance of the offline dimension of political participation. In the light of these results, the article goes on to argue that the mobilizing force of Facebook rests, at least in part, on its connection with the offline world. Moreover, the research evidence underpinning this article suggests that the most effective way in which Facebook can aid political participation is, perhaps, by bridging the online–offline divide, integrating and supporting other media and offline activities.
On the Design of mm-Wave Self-Mixing-VCO Architecture for High Tuning-Range and Low Phase Noise

Frequency synthesis at mm-wave range suffers from a severe tradeoff between phase noise (PN) and frequency tuning range (FTR). This work presents the analysis and compares the performance of fundamental-mode voltage-controlled oscillators (F-VCOs) to harmonic-mode VCOs (H-VCOs). It is shown that unlike a mm-wave F-VCO, an H-VCO can simultaneously achieve higher FTR and lower PN. An H-VCO architecture, denoted as self-mixing VCO (SMV), is presented where the VCO core generates both the first (fο) and second harmonic (2fο) and then mixes them together to obtain the desired mm-wave third-harmonic (3fο). Use of a Class-C push-push topology as the VCO core enhances the second-harmonic content to improve mixing efficiency, decreases parasitic capacitance, and improves PN. Compared to an F-VCO operating in a mm-wave band at a fundamental frequency that equals 3fο, the proposed SMV architecture achieves about 2× higher FTR and a better PN performance. A 52.8-62.5 GHz SMV prototype is designed and implemented in a 0.13 μm CMOS process. Measurement results show that the VCO achieves an FTR of 16.8% with a PN of -100.6 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset-resulting in an FTR-inclusive figure-of-merit (FoMT) of -190.85 dBc/Hz while consuming 7.6 mW from a 1.2 V supply.
Fear of falling among stroke survivors after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation

The objectives of this study were to assess the incidence of falls and fall consequences among patients who were discharged from inpatient stroke rehabilitation and to investigate the proportion of those who experienced a fear of falling following a fall. This was a follow-up postal questionnaire study of patients who were admitted to the rehabilitation ward in a local hospital (Japan) for stroke rehabilitation. Seventy-three patients who met inclusion criteria were sent questionnaires and 49 (67%) responded to the questionnaire. Thirty-three patients had at least one fall after discharge from the hospital and of these, four patients experienced fractures resulting from their falls. Twenty-nine patients developed a fear of falling. As falls are common in stroke survivors, more attention should be paid to falls after stroke during inpatient rehabilitation to prevent physical and emotional consequences of falls.
Non-coding glucometers among pediatric patients with diabetes: looking for the target population and an accuracy evaluation of no-coding personal glucometer.

INTRODUCTION Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is one of the cornerstones of diabetes management. AIM OF THE STUDY To evaluate the potential for miscoding of a personal glucometer, to define a target population among pediatric patients with diabetes for a non-coding glucometer and the accuracy of the Contour TS non-coding system. MATERIAL AND METHODS Potential for miscoding during self-monitoring of blood glucose was evaluated by means of an anonymous questionnaire, with worst and best case scenarios evaluated depending on the responses pattern. Testing of the Contour TS system was performed according to guidelines set by the national committee for clinical laboratory standards. RESULTS Estimated frequency of individuals prone to non-coding ranged from 68.21% (95% 60.70- 75.72%) to 7.95% (95%CI 3.86-12.31%) for the worse and best case scenarios respectively. Factors associated with increased likelihood of non-coding were: a smaller number of tests per day, a greater number of individuals involved in testing and self-testing by the patient with diabetes. The Contour TS device showed intra- and inter-assay accuracy -95%, linear association with laboratory measurements (R2=0.99, p <0.0001) and consistent, but small bias of -1.12% (95% Confidence Interval -3.27 to 1.02%). Clarke error grid analysis showed 4% of values within the benign error zone (B) with the other measurements yielding an acceptably accurate result (zone A). CONCLUSIONS The Contour TS system showed sufficient accuracy to be safely used in monitoring of pediatric diabetic patients. Patients from families with a high throughput of test-strips or multiple individuals involved in SMBG using the same meter are candidates for clinical use of such devices due to an increased risk of calibration errors.
Saliency-guided wireless transmission of still images using SoftCast

A novel transmission scheme called SoftCast has recently shown a great potential for wireless transmission of visual signals such as images and videos. In this scheme, the visual input signal is processed by a set of linear transformations to produce a sequence of decorrelated transform coefficients. After that, the produced numbers are scaled by separate scaling factors within a power-distortion optimization (PDO) procedure, and the scaled coefficients are then directly transmitted over the channel. The scaling factors are determined by the expected energy of the coefficients such that coefficients with higher expected energy get more transmission power to get through the noisy channel with lower distortion as compared to coefficients with lower expected energy. Given that, due to the visual attention mechanism of the human brain, some parts of an image are more visually important (salient) than others, it is reasonable to allocate higher transmission power to more salient regions than others to achieve a high subjective quality. Hence, in this paper we propose to use the visual saliency information of an image for transmission power allocation in the PDO process of SoftCast. Using an eye-tracking-weighted peak-signal-to-noise ratio (EWPSNR) measure of subjective quality, our experimental results indicate that at the same channel signal-to-noise ratio (CSNR), the proposed method outperforms the original SoftCast scheme with an average EWPSNR of about 2 dB.
Unifying ecological stoichiometry and metabolic theory to predict production and trophic transfer in a marine planktonic food web

Two ecological frameworks have been used to explain multitrophic interactions, but rarely in combination: (i) ecological stoichiometry (ES), explaining consumption rates in response to consumers' demand and prey's nutrient content; and (ii) metabolic theory of ecology (MTE), proposing that temperature and body mass affect metabolic rates, growth and consumption rates. Here we combined both, ES and MTE to investigate interactive effects of phytoplankton prey stoichiometry, temperature and zooplankton consumer body mass on consumer grazing rates and production in a microcosm experiment. A simple model integrating parameters from both frameworks was used to predict interactive effects of temperature and nutrient conditions on consumer performance. Overall, model predictions reflected experimental patterns well: consumer grazing rates and production increased with temperature, as could be expected based on MTE. With decreasing algal food quality, grazing rates increased due to compensatory feeding, while consumer growth rates and final biovolume decreased. Nutrient effects on consumer biovolume increased with increasing temperature, while nutrient effects on grazing rates decreased. Highly interactive effects of temperature and nutrient supply indicate that combining the frameworks of ES and MTE is highly important to enhance our ability to predict ecosystem functioning in the context of global change.
BSACI guidelines for the investigation of suspected anaphylaxis during general anaesthesia

Investigation of anaphylaxis during general anaesthesia requires an accurate record of events including information on timing of drug administration provided by the anaesthetist, as well as timed acute tryptase measurements. Referrals should be made to a centre with the experience and ability to investigate reactions to a range of drug classes/substances including neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) intravenous (i.v.) anaesthetics, antibiotics, opioid analgesics, non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), local anaesthetics, colloids, latex and other agents. About a third of cases are due to allergy to NMBAs. Therefore, investigation should be carried out in a dedicated drug allergy clinic to allow seamless investigation of all suspected drug classes as a single day‐case. This will often require skin prick tests, intra‐dermal testing and/or drug challenge. Investigation must cover the agents administered, but should also include most other commonly used NMBAs and i.v. anaesthetics. The outcome should be to identify the cause and a range of drugs/agents likely to be safe for future use. The allergist is responsible for a detailed report to the referring anaesthetist and to the patient's GP as well as the surgeon/obstetrician. A shorter report should be provided to the patient, adding an allergy alert to the case notes and providing an application form for an alert‐bracelet indicating the wording to be inscribed. The MHRA should be notified. Investigation of anaphylaxis during general anaesthesia should be focussed in major allergy centres with a high throughput of cases and with experience and ability as described above. We suggest this focus since there is a distinct lack of validated data for testing, thus requiring experience in interpreting tests and because of the serious consequences of diagnostic error.
Is an Efficacious Operation a Safe Operation: The Role of Operational Practices in Worker Safety Outcomes

One of the most fundamental indicators of a facility's social sustainability is the health and safety of its workers. Yet the literature provides little guidance for engineering managers, workers or researchers trying to understand how practices designed to enhance productivity will impact the safety of operational workers. The present research addresses that gap by simultaneously examining operational “best” practices such as quality management and just-in-time and performance outcomes such as productivity and worker safety. To control for the myriad of potential problems with self-reports of worker safety performance, we match secondary data provided by the state of Oregon with managers' self-reported responses to operational practices. The results show that the relationship between operational practices and safety outcomes is nuanced with just-in-time harming worker safety, an impact that can be mitigated by the adoption of team-based work up to a point, as the relationship between JIT and team-based work is U-shaped.