Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gait analysis using shoe-worn inertial sensors: how is foot clearance related to walking speed?

Spatiotemporal gait analysis with body worn inertial sensors improves diagnosis in clinical practice. Most of the gait performance measures are affected by walking speed. However, it has not been investigated that how much information foot clearance parameters share with the key parameters of gait performance domains. Using shoe-worn inertial sensors and previously validated algorithm we measured spatiotemporal as well as clearance gait parameters in a cohort of able-bodied adults over the age of 65 (N=879). Principal components analysis showed that variability of foot clearance parameters contribute to the main variability in gait data. Moreover, only weak to moderate correlation of gait speed and stride length with some clearance parameters has been observed. We recommend the assessment of clearance parameters during gait analysis in addition to parameters such as gait speed, bearing in mind the importance of foot clearance measures in obstacle negotiation, slipping and tripping related falls.
Racial/ethnic disparities in service utilization for individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders in the general population: results from the national epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions.

OBJECTIVE This study sought to determine whether black/white disparities in service utilization for mental health and substance use disorders persist or are diminished among individuals with psychiatric comorbidity in the general population. METHOD The 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions was used to identify individuals with lifetime co-occurring substance use disorders and mood/anxiety disorders (N = 4250; whites, N = 3597; blacks, N = 653). Lifetime service utilization for problems with mood, anxiety, alcohol, and drugs was assessed. RESULTS Compared to whites, blacks with co-occurring mood or anxiety and substance use disorders were significantly less likely to receive services for mood or anxiety disorders, equally likely to receive services for alcohol use disorders, and more likely to receive some types of services for drug use disorders. Regardless of race/ethnicity, individuals with these co-occurring disorders were almost twice as likely to use services for mood/anxiety disorders than for substance use disorders. CONCLUSION Despite the fact that comorbidity generally increases the likelihood of service use, black/white disparities in service utilization among an all-comorbid sample were found, although these disparities differed by type of disorder. Further research is warranted to understand the factors underlying these differences. Prevention and intervention strategies are needed to address the specific mental health needs of blacks with co-occurring disorders, as well as the overall lack of service use for substance use disorders among individuals with co-occurring psychiatric conditions.
Retention and Persistence in University Continuing Education Programs at the University of Manitoba—A Case Study

This case study of university continuing education (UCE) students at the University of Manitoba (UM) explored the retention and persistence of adult learners in non-credit certificate programs. Data from telephone interviews of those who had not taken a course in the past two years were used. The purposes of the study were to understand why adult learners participate in and drop out from UCE non-credit certificates; understand their goals, intentions, barriers to participation, and retention; and identify effective recruitment and retention strategies. The findings suggest that understanding the nature of these adult learners is critical for retention and persistence; that they have dependent children and are highly motivated and goal-oriented; and that they work full time and “stop out” from their programs because of work–life balance issues, including situational, dispositional, institutional, and systemic barriers. Further, understanding the nature of their classroom experience is critical for retention and persistence, institutional sustainability, and program improvements.
Validating electric vehicle to grid communication systems based on model checking assisted test case generation

In last decades software development processes changed in order to address increasing complexity within decreasing implementation time. Hence, new practices like Kanban, Extreme Programming or Agile Software Development emerged. Model-based development is one potential option, which is more and more used to cope these new demands. However, adapting testing processes to the needs is still an open topic. This paper describes how model checking assisted test case generation can be used to integrate testing in new software development processes, focusing on a protocol implementation for electric vehicle charging communication as a case study. Therefore, it describes certain extensions made in the COMmunication Protocol vaLidation Toolchain COMFLgTg in order to enable test case generation in TTCN-3 core language using counterexamples of SPIN model checker.
Data Mining Using Hybrid Evolutionary Models for Creating Data Classification Rules

Classification rules reflect information that can be extracted from a database using data mining. We began by considering a hybrid (i.e., particle swarm, genetic algorithm, hill climber) model to evolve the rules. This paper studies hybrid heuristic models in the context of classification rule discovery. Nature inspired search algorithms such as Genetic Algorithms, Ant Colonies and Particle Swarm Optimization have been previously applied to data mining tasks, in particular Classification rules reflect information that can be extracted from a database using data mining. We began by considering a hybrid (i.e., particle swarm, genetic algorithm, hill climber) model to evolve the rules. This paper studies hybrid heuristic models in the context of classification rule discovery. Nature inspired search algorithms such as Genetic Algorithms, Ant Colonies and Particle Swarm Optimization have been previously applied to data mining tasks, in particular, classification rule discovery. We extend this work by applying hybrid models that combine GA, PSO and/or hill climbers to the same type of classification tasks. Such models have already been tested and proved to be better than individual standalone search algorithms in various combinatorial optimization problems. Our research focused on investigating the same kind of potential performance enhancements in classification rule discovery tasks. We developed a model for a hybrid heuristic based classifier and implemented different variations of it in Java. These algorithms have been benchmarked against the well-known decision tree induction algorithm C4.5 using previously studied data sets in the literature. Results have been compared in terms of prediction accuracy, speed and comprehensibility. Our results showed that, heuristic based classifiers compete with C4.5 in terms of prediction accuracy on certain data sets and outperform C4.5 in general in terms of comprehensibility. C4.5 always outperformed heuristic based classifiers in terms of speed due to the relative inefficiency inherent in heuristic based classification models. We also showed that hybridization of heuristics could bring improvements in terms of execution speed in comparison to plain standalone heuristic based classifiers.
The Credibility of Government Performance Reporting

Local governments in the United States have been moving toward more open and complete reporting of their performance, yet many citizens remain broadly distrustful of government. Do citizens believe government-issued performance reports? To answer this question, an online survey experiment was conducted in which respondents were shown a basic performance report (on street cleanliness) stated to be from either the mayor, the sanitation department, an independent nonprofit institute, or no named source. A test of the extent to which participants believed the report found no significant differences regardless of its putative source. This suggests that citizens find basic performance information credible even when a local government is reporting on itself.
iceA Genotypes of Helicobacter pylori Strains Isolated from Brazilian Children and Adults

ABSTRACT Data concerning the geographic distribution of iceAalleles are scarce, and information on the association of the gene with the disease is rare and still controversial. Furthermore, no such study has been developed in Brazil, where duodenal ulcer and gastric adenocarcinoma are very common. We investigated, by PCR, the frequency of iceA alleles and cagA status inHelicobacter pylori strains isolated from 142 patients (62 children and 80 adults; 66 female; mean age, 30.0 years; age range, 3 to 78 years) with gastritis, duodenal ulcer, or gastric adenocarcinoma.iceA was identified in bacterium samples obtained from all patients. Eleven (7.7%) of them were infected with multiple strains. Among the patients with nonmixed infection, iceA2 allele was detected in 118 (90.1%). iceA2 allele was associated with ulcer (P = 0.02) and with carcinoma (P = 0.001). iceA2 amplicons of 229, 334, or 549 bp were detected, but none of them was associated with the patient's disorder. iceA2 strains were more frequent in patients older than 7 years (P = 0.001). The gene was also more frequent in strains obtained from males (P = 0.02). cagA was more common in strains obtained from carcinoma (P = 0.0008) and ulcer patients (P < 0.006). cagA-positive strains were more frequent in children older than 7 years (P < 0.003). No association between cagA status and sex was found (P = 0.28). In conclusion, we thinkiceA should not be used as a reliable marker for predicting the clinical outcome of H. pylori infection.
Sleep in Humans Stabilizes Pattern Separation Performance

Replay of hippocampal neural representations during sleep is thought to promote systems consolidation of declarative memory. How this reprocessing of memory during sleep affects the hippocampal representation itself, is unclear. Here we tested hippocampal stimulus processing (i.e., pattern separation) before and after periods of sleep and wakefulness in humans (female and male participants). Pattern separation deteriorated across the wake period but remained stable across sleep (p = 0.013) with this sleep–wake difference being most pronounced for stimuli with low similarity to targets (p = 0.006). Stimuli with the highest similarity showed a reversed pattern with reduced pattern separation performance after sleep (p = 0.038). Pattern separation performance was positively correlated with sleep spindle density, slow oscillation density, and theta power phase-locked to slow oscillations. Sleep, presumably by neural memory replay, shapes hippocampal representations and enhances computations of pattern separation to subsequent presentation of similar stimuli. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The consolidation of hippocampus-dependent memories is causally related to reactivation during sleep of previously encoded representations. Here, we show that reactivation-based consolidation processes during sleep shape the hippocampal representation itself. We studied the effect of sleep and wakefulness on pattern separation (i.e., orthogonalization of similar representations) and completion performance (i.e., recall of a memory in light of noisy input) that are essential cognitive elements of encoding and retrieval of information by the hippocampus. Our results demonstrate that pattern separation was stabilized after sleep but diminished after wakefulness. We further showed that pattern separation was related to EEG oscillatory parameters of non-REM sleep serving as markers of sleep-dependent memory consolidation and hippocampal reactivation.
The combined effects of thinning and prescribed fire on carbon and nutrient budgets in a Jeffrey pine forest

Abstract• Both burning and harvesting cause carbon and nutrient removals from forest ecosystems, but few studies have addressed the combination of these effects. For a Pinus jeffreyii forest in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, we posed the question: what are the relative impacts of thinning and subsequent burning on carbon and nutrient removals? • The thinning methods included whole-tree thinning (WT, where all aboveground biomass was removed) cut to length (CTL, where branches and foliage were left on site in a slash mat on top of skid trails) and no harvest (CONT). Total C and nutrient exports with thinning and burning were greater in the WT and CTL than in the CONT treatments. Total C and N removals were approximately equal for the WT and CTL treatments, although harvesting dominated exports in the WT treatment and burning dominated exports in the CTL treatment. Total removals of P, K, Ca, Mg and S were greatest in the WT treatments, where harvesting dominated removals. • Comparisons of nutrient removals with ecosystem capital and calculations of potential replenishment by atmospheric deposition suggested that N is the nutrient likely to be most depleted by harvesting and burning treatments. Résumé• L’un et l’autre, le brûlage et les récoltes, causent un enlèvement important de carbone et de nutriments dans les écosystèmes forestiers, mais peu de travaux se sont attelés à l’étude de la combinaison de ces effets. Pour une forêt de Pinus jeffreyii nous posons la question suivante : quels sont les impacts relatifs d’une éclaircie et d’un brûlage ultérieur sur l’enlèvement du carbone et des nutriments, dans les Montagnes de la Sierra Nevada en Californie? • Les méthodes d’éclaircie comprennent : éclaircie totale des arbres (WT, toute la biomasse au-dessus du sol est enlevée), coupe à la dimension désirée (CTL, branches et feuillage ont été laissés sur site en andains) et pas de récolte (CONT). L’exportation totale de carbone et de nutriments avec éclaircie et brûlage dans les traitements WT et CTL a été plus importante que dans le traitement CONT. Les sommes totales de carbone et d’azote enlevées ont été approximativement les mêmes pour les traitements WT et CTL, bien que la récolte est été prédominante dans les exportations pour le traitement WT et que le brûlage soit prédominant dans les exportations pour le traitement CTL. Le total des enlèvements de P, K, Ca, Mg et S dans le traitement WT a été le plus grand dans les traitements WT où la récolte était plus importante que l’enlèvement. • La comparaison des nutriments enlevés par rapport au capital de l’écosystème et le calculs de réapprovisionnement par des apports atmosphériques suggère que l’azote (N) est le nutriment probablement le plus épuisé par les traitements de récolte et de brûlage.
Least squares acceleration filtering for the estimation of signal derivatives and sharpness at extrema [and application to biological signals]

A family of finite impulse-response (FIR) filters is derived which estimate the second derivative or "acceleration" of a digitized signal. The acceleration is obtained from parabolas that are continuously fit to the signal using a least squares optimization criterion. A closed-form solution for the filter coefficients is obtained. The general approach is computationally simple, can be performed in real-time, and is robust in the presence of noise. An important application of the method, that of measuring sharpness in biologic signals, is presented using the electroencephalogram and electrocardiogram signals as examples. Furthermore, the design method is extended to derive FIR filters for estimating derivatives of arbitrary order in digital signals of biologic or other origins.
Estimating the Standardized Mean Difference With Minimum Risk: Maximizing Accuracy and Minimizing Cost With Sequential Estimation

The standardized mean difference is a widely used effect size measure. In this article, we develop a general theory for estimating the population standardized mean difference by minimizing both the mean square error of the estimator and the total sampling cost. Fixed sample size methods, when sample size is planned before the start of a study, cannot simultaneously minimize both the mean square error of the estimator and the total sampling cost. To overcome this limitation of the current state of affairs, this article develops a purely sequential sampling procedure, which provides an estimate of the sample size required to achieve a sufficiently accurate estimate with minimum expected sampling cost. Performance of the purely sequential procedure is examined via a simulation study to show that our analytic developments are highly accurate. Additionally, we provide freely available functions in R to implement the algorithm of the purely sequential procedure.
Quality improvement strategies of highway bus service based on a fuzzy quality function deployment approach

In this study, fuzzy quality function deployment (FQFD) is used as a tool to improve service quality in the passenger transportation industry. QFD enables firms to hear the voice of the customer appropriately and integrate it with the technical language in design processes. However, the nature of uncertainty and subjectivity in service delivery processes makes it difficult to employ QFD consistently. This study provides an empirical example of how FQFD could be appropriately used. ‘Employee’ and ‘tangibility of buses’ are the items from the hybrid views of both customers and service provider managers who require the most attention when differentiating a passenger transportation service from a rival's. The vital technical requirements relate to ‘employees’, ‘the features of buses’, and ‘error-free services’.
Beer Global Market and Consumer Surplus Loss in Mexico

This article discuss the market conditions prevailing when the merger between Anheuser-Busch InBev and Grupo Modelo (ABI/Modelo) was authorized in 2013. I analyze the cointegration of beer prices in the U.S. and Mexican markets from 2002 to 2012. The cointegration model shows an asymmetric relationship of beer prices between Mexico and the U.S. just like the analysis made by the antitrust authorities of the U.S. and Mexico. However, the Mexican competition authority did not consider the market foreclosure caused by exclusive dealing in Mexico. To quantify a possible harm to the market, I use the condition of strong exogeneity in U.S. beer prices that makes them a suitable counterfactual to estimate the effect on the consumer surplus in Mexico of a price differential that could be caused by the exclusive dealing. I estimate a loss of consumer benefit roughly equivalent to 18% of the acquisition value of Grupo Modelo by ABI.
Structural and functional characterization of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium YcbL: An unusual Type II glyoxalase

YcbL has been annotated as either a metallo‐β‐lactamase or glyoxalase II (GLX2), both members of the zinc metallohydrolase superfamily, that contains many enzymes with a diverse range of activities. Here, we report crystallographic and biochemical data for Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium YcbL that establishes it as GLX2, which differs in certain structural and functional properties compared with previously known examples. These features include the insertion of an α‐helix after residue 87 in YcbL and truncation of the C‐terminal domain, which leads to the loss of some recognition determinants for the glutathione substrate. Despite these changes, YcbL has robust GLX2 activity. A further difference is that the YcbL structure contains only a single bound metal ion rather than the dual site normally observed for GLX2s. Activity assays in the presence of various metal ions indicate an increase in activity above basal levels in the presence of manganous and ferrous ions. Thus, YcbL represents a novel member of the GLX2 family.
Purification, Characterization, and Substrate Specificities of Multiple Xylanases from Streptomyces sp. Strain B-12-2

The endoxylanase complex from Streptomyces sp. strain B-12-2 was purified and characterized. The organism forms five distinct xylanases in the absence of significant cellulase activity when grown on oat spelt xylan. This is the largest number of endoxylanases yet reported for a streptomycete. On the basis of their physiochemical characteristics, they can be divided into two groups: the first group (xyl 1a and xyl 1b) consists of low-molecular-mass (26.4 and 23.8 kDa, respectively) neutral- to high-pI (6.5 and 8.3, respectively) endoxylanases. Group 1 endoxylanases are unable to hydrolyze aryl-β-d-cellobioside, have low levels of activity against xylotetraose (X4) and limited activity against xylopentaose, produce little or no xylose, and form products having a higher degree of polymerization with complex substrates. These enzymes apparently carry out transglycosylation. The second group (xyl 2, xyl 3, and xyl 4) consists of high-molecular-mass (36.2, 36.2, and 40.5 kDa, respectively), low-pI (5.4, 5.0, and 4.8, respectively) xylanases. Group 2 endoxylanases are able to hydrolyze aryl-β-d-cellobioside, show higher levels of activity against X4, and hydrolyze xylopentaose completely with the formation of xylobiose and xylotriose plus limited amounts of X4 and xylose. The enzymes display intergroup synergism when acting on kraft pulp. Despite intragroup similarities, each enzyme exhibited a unique action pattern and physiochemical characteristic. xyl 2 was highly glycosylated, and xyl 1b (but no other enzyme) was completely inhibited by p-hydroxymercuribenzoate.
Leptin-a mediates transcription of genes that participate in central endocrine and phosphatidylinositol signaling pathways in 72-hour embryonic zebrafish (Danio rerio)

We analyzed microarray expression data to highlight biological pathways that respond to embryonic zebrafish Leptin-a (lepa) signaling. Microarray expression measures for 26,046 genes were evaluated from lepa morpholino oligonucleotide “knockdown”, recombinant Leptin-a “rescue”, and uninjected control zebrafish at 72-hours post fertilization. In addition to KEGG pathway enrichment for phosphatidylinositol signaling and neuroactive ligand-receptor interactions, Gene Ontology (GO) data from lepa rescue zebrafish include JAK/STAT cascade, sensory perception, nervous system processes, and synaptic signaling. In the zebrafish lepa rescue treatment, we found changes in the expression of homologous genes that align with mammalian leptin signaling cascades including AMPK (prkaa2), ACC (acacb), Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase (camkk2), PI3K (pik3r1), Ser/Thr protein kinase B (akt3), neuropeptides (agrp2, cart1), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and insulin receptor substrate (LOC794738, LOC100537326). Notch signaling pathway and ribosome biogenesis genes respond to knockdown of Leptin-a. Differentially expressed transcription factors in lepa knockdown zebrafish regulate neurogenesis, neural differentiation, and cell fate commitment. This study presents a role for zebrafish Leptin-a in influencing expression of genes that mediate phosphatidylinositol and central endocrine signaling.