Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of mobile phone use on motor variability patterns during gait

Mobile phone use affects the dynamics of gait by impairing visual control of the surrounding environment and introducing additional cognitive demands. Although it has been shown that using a mobile phone alters whole-body dynamic stability, no clear information exists on its impacts on motor variability during gait. This study aimed at assessing the impacts of various types of mobile phone use on motor variability during gait; quantified using the short- and long-term Lyapunov Exponent (λS and λL) of lower limb joint angles and muscle activation patterns, as well as the centre of mass position. Fourteen females and Fifteen males (27.72 ± 4.61 years, body mass: 70.24 ± 14.13 Kg, height: 173.31 ± 10.97 cm) walked on a treadmill under six conditions: normal walking, normal walking in low-light, walking while looking at the phone, walking while looking at the phone in low-light, walking and talking on the phone, and walking and listening to music. Variability of the hip (p λS = .015, λL = .043) and pelvis (p λS = .039, λL = .017) joint sagittal angles significantly increased when the participants walked and looked at the phone, either in normal or in low-light conditions. No significant difference was observed in the variability of the centre of mass position and muscle activation patterns. When individuals walk and look at the phone screen, the hip and knee joints are constantly trying to adopt a new angle to regulate and maintain gait stability, which might put an additional strain on the neuromuscular system. To this end, it is recommended not to look at the mobile phone screen while walking, particularly in public places with higher risks of falls.
Device runtime and costs of cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers – a health claims data analysis

Introduction: This study investigates the runtime and costs of biventricular defibrillators (CRT-D) and biventricular pacemakers (CRT-P). Accurate estimates of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device runtime across all manufactures are rare, especially for CRT-P. Methods: Health claims data of a large nationwide German health insurance was used to analyze CRT device runtime. We defined device runtime as the time between the date of implantation and the date of generator change or removal. The median costs for implantation, change, and removal of a CRT device were calculated accordingly. Results: In total, the data set comprises 17,826 patients. A total of 4,296 complete runtimes for CRT-D devices and 429 complete runtimes for CRT-P devices were observed. Median device runtime was 6.04 years for CRT-D devices and 8.16 years for CRT-P devices (log-rank test p<0.0001). The median cost of implantation for a CRT-D device was 14,270 EUR, and for a CRT-P device 9,349 EUR. Conclusions: Compared to CRT-P devices, CRT-D devices had a significantly shorter device runtime of about two years. Moreover, CRT-D devices were associated with higher cost. The study provides important findings that can be utilized by cost-effectiveness analyses.
Attitudes towards cosmetic surgery among women in China and the Netherlands

Around the world, an increasing number of people, predominantly women, are choosing to undergo cosmetic surgery—despite the associated health risks. This study aimed to promote a better cross-cultural understanding of the correlates and predictors of favorable attitudes toward cosmetic surgery among women in China (an Eastern country where cosmetic surgery is increasing most rapidly) and the Netherlands (a Western country). Questionnaire data were obtained from 763 adult women; 245 were Chinese women in China (Mage = 29.71), 265 were Chinese women in the Netherlands (Mage = 25.81), and 253 were Dutch women (Mage = 29.22). Facial appearance concerns and materialistic belief were significant predictors of favorable attitudes towards cosmetic surgery for all three cultural groups. Body appreciation was a significant positive predictor among Chinese women in both China and the Netherlands, whereas age and beauty-ideal internalization were significant positive predictors only among Chinese women in China. The findings and their implications are discussed with respect to the characteristics of Chinese culture that could explain the identified differences between Chinese and Dutch women.
Uniaxial Dielectric Waveguide Filter Design Accounting for Losses Using Mode Matching Technique

─ Dielectric filters can provide compact solutions for filter design problems. However, most dielectrics exhibit uniaxial properties, as well as, losses that will undoubtedly affect performance if not accounted for. This paper derives dispersion relations for lossy uniaxial media in dielectric waveguides and also accounts for lossy conducting walls. The waveguide discontinuity problem in the presence of lossy uniaxial media and finite conductivity waveguide walls, is calculated by mode matching technique and the results are applied to a Ka band filter. The design specifications for the proposed filter are a 32.5 GHz center frequency with 6%. Good agreement between simulated and measured results are shown. Index Terms ─ Band-Pass Filter (BPF), Computer-Aided Design (CAD), dielectric waveguide filters, microwave filters, ModeMatching Technique (MMT) and uniaxial media.
Practical and technical aspects for the 3D scanning of lithic artefacts using micro-computed tomography techniques and laser light scanners for subsequent geometric morphometric analysis. Introducing the StyroStone protocol

Here, we present a new method to scan a large number of lithic artefacts using three-dimensional scanning technology. Despite the rising use of high-resolution 3D surface scanners in archaeological sciences, no virtual studies have focused on the 3D digitization and analysis of small lithic implements such as bladelets, microblades, and microflakes. This is mostly due to difficulties in creating reliable 3D meshes of these artefacts resulting from several inherent features (i.e., size, translucency, and acute edge angles), which compromise the efficiency of structured light or laser scanners and photogrammetry. Our new protocol StyroStone addresses this problem by proposing a step-by-step procedure relying on the use of micro-computed tomographic technology, which is able to capture the 3D shape of small lithic implements in high detail. We tested a system that enables us to scan hundreds of artefacts together at once within a single scanning session lasting a few hours. As also bigger lithic artefacts (i.e., blades) are present in our sample, this protocol is complemented by a short guide on how to effectively scan such artefacts using a structured light scanner (Artec Space Spider). Furthermore, we estimate the accuracy of our scanning protocol using principal component analysis of 3D Procrustes shape coordinates on a sample of meshes of bladelets obtained with both micro-computed tomography and another scanning device (i.e., Artec Micro). A comprehensive review on the use of 3D geometric morphometrics in lithic analysis and other computer-based approaches is provided in the introductory chapter to show the advantages of improving 3D scanning protocols and increasing the digitization of our prehistoric human heritage.
WirelessHART™: Real-Time Mesh Network for Industrial Automation

WirelessHART: Real-Time Mesh Network for Industrial Automation presents the WirelessHART Standard in detail and wireless industrial automation in general. This book strives to facilitate the adoption of wireless technology in industrial automation, and introduces the research potential of the wireless industrial automation to the academics. This book is designed for practitioners and researchers working in the wireless process industry. Advanced-level students and researchers focusing on engineering and computer science will find this book valuable as a secondary text or reference book. "This is the first book in the area. I can anticipate a large international market for it that would include any company with process controls operations: Petrochemical, Chemical companies, Food and Beverage, Pulp and Paper, Pharmaceuticals, etc," - Dr. Jose A. Gutierrez of Emerson About WirelessHART: WirelessHART is a cutting-edge standard for the wireless process industry (such as oil, gas, pharmaceutical, chemical, pulp & paper, power plant, and companies such as ABB, Emerson Process Management, Endress+Hauser, MACTek, Pepperl+Fuchs, Siemens and more). This new standard provides a robust wireless mesh network protocol, and assists users with a quicker and smoother experience when operating their wireless technologies.
Disruption of long-term psychological distress trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from three British birth cohorts

Importance. Mental health disorders were among the leading global contributors to years lived with disability prior to the COVID-19 pandemic onset, and growing evidence suggests that population mental health outcomes have worsened since the pandemic started. The extent that these changes have altered common age-related trends in psychological distress, where distress typically rises until mid-life and then falls in both sexes, is unknown. Objective. To analyse whether long-term pre-pandemic psychological distress trajectories have altered during the pandemic, and whether these changes have been different across generations and by sex. Design. Cross-cohort study with prospective data collection over a 40-year period (earliest time point: 1981; latest time point: February/March 2021). Setting. Population-based (adult general population), Great Britain. Participants. Members of three nationally representative birth cohorts which comprised all people born in Great Britain in a single week of 1946, 1958, or 1970, and who participated in at least one of the data collection waves conducted after the start of the pandemic (40.6%, 42.8%, 39.4%, respectively). Exposure(s). Time, COVID-19 pandemic. Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s). Psychological distress factor scores, as measured by validated self-reported questionnaires. Results. 16,389 participants (2,175 from the 1946 birth cohort, 52.8% women; 7,446 from the 1958 birth cohort, 52.4% women; and 6,768 from the 1970 birth cohort, 56.2% women) participated in the study. By September/October 2020, psychological distress levels had reached or exceeded the levels of the peak in the pre-pandemic life-course trajectories, with larger increases in younger cohorts: Standardised Mean Differences (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of -0.02 [-0.07, 0.04], 0.05 [0.02, 0.07], and 0.09 [0.07, 0.12] for the 1946, 1958, and 1970 birth cohorts, respectively. Increases in distress were larger among women than men, widening the pre-existing inequalities observed in the pre-pandemic peak and in the most recent pre-pandemic assessment. Conclusions and Relevance. Pre-existing long-term psychological distress trajectories of adults born between 1946 and 1970 were disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among women, who reached the highest levels ever recorded in up to 40 years of follow-up data. This may impact future trends of morbidity, disability, and mortality due to common mental health problems.
A Cross‐Correlation‐Based Approach to Direct Seismogram Stacking for Receiver‐Side Structural Inversion

Abstract Direct stacks of teleseismic waveforms recorded at a station have been used as an alternative to receiver functions for the retrieval of crustal 1D S ‐wave velocity models through inversion. Although they generally feature lower signal‐to‐noise ratios, their use has recently gained some attention because they do not rely on deconvolution. Avoiding deconvolution in waveform processing is a significant advantage for probabilistic (Bayesian) inversion methods that rely on a realistic assumption about the statistical distribution of waveform noise. However, the preservation of the effective source time function (STF) in the waveform data poses new challenges in the data processing. In this short note, we show that the simple technique that has been applied to directly stack waveforms to date lacks precision, because waveforms with emergent onsets or more complicated STFs are often stacked out of phase, which leads to artifacts in the stacked trace. We introduce a new cross‐correlation‐based stacking technique that avoids phase errors by stacking groups of mutually coherent traces and creating stacks for each of these families of traces. This separates the dataset into groups of events with similar STFs, which can be inverted jointly or separately. Electronic Supplement: Figure of stacks for four additional global stations.
Identification of a novel drug-resistant community-acquired Nocardia spp. in a patient with bronchiectasis

ABSTRACT A previously unknown Nocardia species was isolated from the lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of a 58-year-old woman with bronchiectasis and recurrent pneumonia. This Nocardia (GZ2020T), which grew readily in Columbia blood agar and could induce pneumonia in a mouse model, represents a novel Nocardia species, and its closest known relatives are Nocardia anaemiae NBRC 100462T, Nocardia pseudovaccinii NBRC 100343T and Nocardia vinacea NBRC 16497T. However, unlike all previously known species, GZ2020T is the first genus of Nocardia spp. that is not susceptible to multiple drugs but does show susceptibility to linezolid and moxifloxacin, and thus, GZ2020T potentially represents a substantial health threat to patients with bronchiectasis and immunocompromised individuals. Although the original pathogen source and method of spreading remain uncertain, a mode of transmission from the environment to humans could exist. Vigilance with respect to its spread in the population and the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes in the environment should be maintained.
Prenatal Oxygen and Glucose Therapy Normalizes Insulin Secretion and Action in Growth Restricted Fetal Sheep.

Placental insufficiency (PI) lowers fetal oxygen and glucose concentrations, which disrupts glucose-insulin homeostasis and promotes fetal growth restriction (FGR). To date, prenatal treatments for FGR have not attempted to correct the oxygen and glucose supply simultaneously. Therefore, we investigated whether a five-day correction of oxygen and glucose concentrations in PI-FGR fetuses would normalize insulin secretion and glucose metabolism. Experiments were performed in near-term FGR fetal sheep with maternal hyperthermia-induced PI. Fetal arterial oxygen tension was increased to normal levels by increasing the maternal inspired oxygen fraction and glucose was infused into FGR fetuses (FGR-OG). FGR-OG fetuses were compared to maternal air insufflated, saline-infused fetuses (FGR-AS) and control fetuses. Prior to treatment, FGR fetuses were hypoxemic and hypoglycemic and had reduced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). During treatment, oxygen, glucose, and insulin concentrations increased, and norepinephrine concentrations decreased in FGR-OG fetuses, whereas FGR-AS fetuses were unaffected. On treatment day 4, glucose fluxes were measured with euglycemic and hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps. During both clamps, rates of glucose utilization and production were greater in FGR-AS than FGR-OG fetuses, while glucose fluxes in FGR-OG fetuses were not different than control rates. After five-days of treatment, GSIS increased in FGR-OG fetuses to control levels and their ex vivo islet GSIS was greater than FGR-AS islets. Despite normalization in fetal characteristics, GSIS, and glucose fluxes, FGR-OG and FGR-AS fetuses weighed less than controls. These findings show that sustained, simultaneous correction of oxygen and glucose normalized GSIS and whole-body glucose fluxes in PI-FGR fetuses after the onset of FGR.
Effect of Race on Prediction of Brain Amyloidosis by Plasma Aβ42/Aβ40, Phosphorylated Tau, and Neurofilament Light

Background and Objectives To evaluate whether plasma biomarkers of amyloid (Aβ42/Aβ40), tau (p-tau181 and p-tau231), and neuroaxonal injury (neurofilament light chain [NfL]) detect brain amyloidosis consistently across racial groups. Methods Individuals enrolled in studies of memory and aging who self-identified as African American (AA) were matched 1:1 to self-identified non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals by age, APOE ε4 carrier status, and cognitive status. Each participant underwent blood and CSF collection, and amyloid PET was performed in 103 participants (68%). Plasma Aβ42/Aβ40 was measured by a high-performance immunoprecipitation–mass spectrometry assay. Plasma p-tau181, p-tau231, and NfL were measured by Simoa immunoassays. CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 and amyloid PET status were used as primary and secondary reference standards of brain amyloidosis, respectively. Results There were 76 matched pairs of AA and NHW participants (n = 152 total). For both AA and NHW groups, the median age was 68.4 years, 42% were APOE ε4 carriers, and 91% were cognitively normal. AA were less likely than NHW participants to have brain amyloidosis by CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 (22% vs 43% positive; p = 0.003). The receiver operating characteristic area under the curve of CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 status with the plasma biomarkers was as follows: Aβ42/Aβ40, 0.86 (95% CI 0.79–0.92); p-tau181, 0.76 (0.68–0.84); p-tau231, 0.69 (0.60–0.78); and NfL, 0.64 (0.55–0.73). In models predicting CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 status with plasma Aβ42/Aβ40 that included covariates (age, sex, APOE ε4 carrier status, race, and cognitive status), race did not affect the probability of CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 positivity. In similar models based on plasma p-tau181, p-tau231, or NfL, AA participants had a lower probability of CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 positivity (odds ratio 0.31 [95% CI 0.13–0.73], 0.30 [0.13–0.71], and 0.27 [0.12–0.64], respectively). Models of amyloid PET status yielded similar findings. Discussion Models predicting brain amyloidosis using a high-performance plasma Aβ42/Aβ40 assay may provide an accurate and consistent measure of brain amyloidosis across AA and NHW groups, but models based on plasma p-tau181, p-tau231, and NfL may perform inconsistently and could result in disproportionate misdiagnosis of AA individuals.
Spin-state transition of Co ion (S = 2 → S = 5/2) in hole substituted 1D chain of Ca3Co2O6

We have discovered spin-state transition (S = 2 to S = 5/2) of Co ions due to Mg substitution in the Ca3Co2O6 apparent in the magnetic susceptibility, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and first-principles study. We also examine the effect of Mg substitution on the magnetic and electronic structure of Ca3Co2O6 by first-principles calculations. It involves generalized gradient approximation with Coulomb interaction (U) in exchange–correlation energy functional. Our study shows a reasonable agreement between effective magnetic moment (μ eff) determined from the Curie–Weiss fit with that from the XPS analysis and first-principles calculations study. We have attributed the decrease in positive intra-chain exchange interaction constant (J 1/k B) to the antiferromagnetically coupled induced Co4+ ions (S = 5/2) arising from the Mg2+ ions substitution. The in-field metamagnetic transitions in the isothermal M(H) curves below the critical field (H c) have been accurately mapped and successfully explained by the change in magnetic entropy (ΔS) calculations and Arrott plots. Electronic structure study reveals hole-type doping of Mg atom, and the Fermi level (E F) shifts below. Density of state and band structure calculation indicates strong hybridization between partial states of Co-3d and O-2p orbitals for the Mg-doped compound due to which the band crossing at Fermi level is observed, and a hole-type Fermi surface is formed.
A clinical follow-up study of dialectical behavior therapy skills groups among female adolescents diagnosed with depressive disorder

Our aim was to evaluate longitudinal data for adolescents who were treated with Dialectical Behavior therapy (DBT) skills groups having been previously diagnosed with depressive disorder. Intervention with an observational cross-sectional design was implemented to evaluate the treatment outcome of a 10-week DBT skills groups with female adolescents with depression. After the patients were identified for enrollment, parents and adolescents were evaluated with psychometric measurements pre-, post-intervention, and at one-year follow-up. Repeated measures analysis was undertaken with the Child Depression Inventory (CDI), Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for participants. Statistical significance was detected for self-report CDI scores and both self-report and parent SDQ and PedsQL scores. This study is the first DBT intervention in Turkish children, shows that a group DBT skills groups training can be adapted and put into practice successfully with depressed Turkish adolescents.
A guide to monitoring and evaluating adolescent reproductive health programs.

This guide to monitor and evaluate adolescent reproductive health (ARH) programs draws on the expertise and experience of professionals in the fields of family planning HIV/AIDS prevention and youth development. It is designed for program managers who monitor and evaluate ARH programs. Divided into two parts Part I presents several chapters describing the process of conducting the monitoring and evaluation work plan. Chapter 1 reviews concerns about monitoring and evaluating ARH programs; chapter 2 introduces a framework for ARH program monitoring and evaluation; and chapter 3 offers guidance in developing an ARH monitoring and evaluation plan. Meanwhile chapter 4 defines and explains indicators; chapter 5 outlines evaluation designs to assess program impact; chapter 6 describes types of sampling methods and ways to determine which one is appropriate for the program; and chapter 7 discusses tasks involved in developing a monitoring and evaluating work plan. Moreover chapter 8 discusses how to analyze and interpret data to draw conclusions about program design functioning outcomes and impact; chapter 9 describes how to use and disseminate the results; and chapter 10 presents four tables of ARH indicators. Part II of this guide offers guidance on adapting instruments for the program provides sample data instruments and gives tips for collecting data through a variety of methods.