Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Muscle Weakness and Cocontraction in Upper Limb Hemiparesis: Relationship to Motor Impairment and Physical Disability

The purpose of this article is to describe the relationship between poststroke upper limb muscle weakness and cocontraction, and clinical measures of upper limb motor impairment and physical disability. Electromyographic (EMG) activity of the paretic and nonparetic wrist flexors and extensors of 26 chronic stroke survivors were recorded during isometric wrist flexion and extension. The root mean square (RMS) of the EMG signal was used as a measure of strength of contraction. A ratio of RMS of antagonist and agonist muscles was used as a measure of cocontraction. Upper limb motor impairment and physical disability were assessed with the Fugl-Meyer motor assessment (FMA) and the arm motor ability test (AMAT), respectively. The strength of muscle contraction was significantly stronger in the nonparetic limb (P < 0.001). The degree of cocontraction was significantly greater in the paretic limb (P < 0.001). The strength of muscle contraction in the paretic limb correlated significantly with FMA (r = 0.62 to 0.87,P ≤ 0.001) and AMAT (r = 0.66 to 0.80, P ≤ 0.001) scores. Similarly, the degree of cocontraction correlated significantly with FMA (r = -0.70 to -0.64, P ≤ 0.001) and AMAT (r = -0.72 to -0.62, P ≤ 0.001) scores. Muscle weakness and degree of cocontraction correlate significantly with motor impairment and physical disability in upper limb hemiplegia. This relationship may provide insights toward development of specific interventions. However, additional studies are needed to demonstrate a cause and effect relationship.
Glutathione Transferase P1 Polymorphism in Neuroblastoma Studied by Endonuclease Restriction Mapping

Abstract Several members of the different glutathione transferase (GST) gene classes are polymorphic. Particular interest has been focused on the GSTP class because this gene class is up-regulated during the early stage of oncogenesis and is significantly overexpressed in many human tumors. It has also been shown that high levels of GSTP1 expression are associated directly with tumor drug resistance and with poor patient survival. Our aim was to understand the possible association between GSTP1 polymorphism and cellular response to chemotherapeutic drugs in neuroblastoma. In fact, several antineoplastic drugs used in the neuroblastoma high-risk chemotherapeutic protocol are potential substrates of GSTP1-1 (etoposide, adriamycin and carboplatin). The GSTP1 genotype homozygote *A/*A was identified in 11 patients independent of their response to the chemotherapeutic treatment. Only four patients had a heterozygote genotype A*/B*. Therefore, based on our preliminary data, we were not able to conclude that GSTP1 polymorphism had an impact on patient response to treatment in neuroblastoma.
Epidemiologia e estatística: integrando ensino, pesquisa, serviço e comunidade

O novo modelo de saude brasileiro exige medicos dotados de visao social abrangente e capacitados para prestar a comunidade cuidados permanentes e resolutivos, bem como profissionais criticos diante da tomada de decisoes. Este relato descreve uma experiencia estrategica de ensino de epidemiologia e bioestatistica no curso de Medicina, cuja construcao do processo foi centrada no educando, que foi o agente dos conhecimentos adquiridos, por meio da producao de informacoes e da pesquisa na comunidade ou nos servicos de saude. Esta estrategia resultou na integracao e interdisciplinaridade academica, contribuindo para a compreensao de assuntos clinicos considerando a abordagem epidemiologica e estatistica. Os academicos despertaram para a importância da producao cientifica e da construcao do curriculo profissional ainda na fase academica, sendo capazes de identificar problemas locais e direcionar as intervencoes, e reconhecer que isto representa um dos objetivos mais importantes da pesquisa em saude. Os resultados indicam que a epidemiologia e a bioestatistica podem ser trabalhadas no curso de Medicina com o mesmo sucesso de outras disciplinas da clinica, desde que seja favorecida a aprendizagem significativa dos academicos.
An education software in teaching automatic speech recognition (ASR)

This paper presents a new interactive speech recognition education software designed for Microsoft Windows platforms. A set of education tools have been developed with the aim at presenting, visualizing and teaching the foundation knowledge of speech recognition. The new education software consists of 6 main modules: Speech Recorder/End Point Detector, LPC/LPC-Cep, MFCC, Vector Quantization, Dynamic Time Warping and Hidden Markov Models. Utilizing these modules can enhance the understanding of designing speech processing system.
The Influence of $\hbox{CeO}_{2}$ Nano-Dots Decoration on Substrates on Flux Pinning Strength in $\hbox{Tl}_{2} \hbox{Ba}_{2}\hbox{CaCu}_{2}\hbox{O}_{8}$ Thin Films

Nano-sized CeO<sub>2</sub> dots were deposited on (001) LaAlO<sub>3</sub> substrate by rf magnetron sputtering. After the processing of the artificial decoration defects on the substrate, 100-nm, 150-nm, 200-nm, and 400-nm-thick Tl<sub>2</sub>Ba<sub>2</sub>CaCu<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8</sub> (Tl-2212) thin films were grown on it, using dc magnetron sputtering and post annealing process. AFM images showed that the CeO<sub>2</sub> nano-dots were distributed well on the substrate surface with 70 nm in diameter and 5 nm in height, and the density of nano-dots was 25±3 dots/μm<sup>2</sup>. SEM images were used to observe the variations on film surface. Transport critical current density J<sub>c</sub> was measured both on Tl-2212 film with nano-dots decorated substrate and untreated single crystal LaAlO<sub>3</sub> substrate. From the results, J<sub>c</sub> values of Tl-2212 films with nano-dots decorated substrate were lifted significantly, and the pinning strength was improved on Tl-2212 films by nanostructure defects induced from nano-dots.
Genetic characterization of the M RNA segment of a Balkan Crimean‐Congo hemorrhagic fever virus strain

Crimean‐Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus causes one of the most severe diseases in humans, with a mortality rate of up to 30%. It is transmitted to humans by the bite of hard ticks or by contact with blood or tissues from human patients or infected livestock. Balkan Peninsula is an endemic region of the disease, and sporadic cases or even outbreaks are observed every year. The M RNA segment encodes for the glycoprotein precursor of two surface glycoproteins Gn and Gc. Up to now complete M RNA CCHF virus sequences have been published from strains isolated in Nigeria, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Russia. In the present study, the genetic characterization of the complete nucleotide sequence of the M RNA segment of a Balkan CCHF virus strain, Kosovo/9553/2001, isolated in summer of 2001 from a human fatal case in Kosovo is reported. This is the first published complete M nucleotide sequence of a CCHF virus strain isolated in Balkans. It was found that the Balkan strain is similar to the Russian strain, both strains differing from all other completely sequenced CCHF virus strains by approximately 22% at the nucleotide level forming an independent clade in the phylogenetic tree. J. Med. Virol. 75:466–469, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Energy Optimization in Wireless Sensor Network Using Sleep Mode Transceiver

Energy efficiency is a central challenge in sensor networks, and the radio is a major contributor to overall energy node consumption. These Wireless Sensor Networks have severe resource constrains and energy conservation is very essential. The aim of this project is to reduce the energy consumption in wireless sensor networks. This paper proposes adaptive radio low-power sleep modes based on current traffic conditions in the network. It provides an analytical model to conduct a comparative study of different MAC protocols (BMAC, TMAC, SMAC, DMAC) suitable for reduction of energy consumption in wireless environment. This technique exposes the energy trade-offs of different MAC protocols. It first introduces a comprehensive node energy model, which includes energy components for radio switching, transmission, reception, listening, and sleeping for determining the optimal sleep mode and MAC protocol to use for given traffic scenarios. The model is then used for evaluating the energy-related performance of our recently proposed RFID Impulse protocol enhanced with adaptive low-power modes, and comparing it against BMAC under varying data rates. The comparative analysis confirms that RFID Impulse with adaptive low power modes provides lower energy consumption than the BMAC and DMAC in low traffic scenario. The evaluation also yields the optimal settings of low-power modes on the basis of data rates for node platform, and provides guidelines and a simple algorithm for the selection of appropriate MAC protocol, low-power mode, traffic requirements of a sensor network application. Index Terms: RFID, wake-up radio, sleep mode, adaptive, energy efficiency, MAC protocols, routing protocols, energy model, sensor networks.
The Web Origin Concept

This document defines the concept of an "origin", which represents a web principal. Typically, user agents isolate content retrieved from different origins to prevent a malicious web site operator from interfering with the operation of benign web sites. In particular, this document defines how to compute an origin from a URI, how to serialize an origin to a string, and an HTTP header, named "Origin", for indicating which origin caused the user agent to issue a particular HTTP request.
The lignan manassantin is a potent and specific inhibitor of mitochondrial complex I and bioenergetic activity in mammals

Dineolignans manassantin A and B from the plant Saururus cernuus are used in traditional medicine to manage a wide range of ailments such as edema, jaundice, and gonorrhea. Cell-based studies have identified several molecular target candidates of manassantin including NF-κB, MAPK, STAT3, and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α). It is unclear whether or how these structurally diverse proteins or pathways mediate any of the medical benefits of manassantin in vivo. Moreover, it has recently been reported that manassantin causes developmental arrest in zebrafish by inhibiting the mitochondrial complex I, but it is unknown whether manassantin inhibits mitochondrial respiration in intact mammalian cells and live animals. Here, we present direct evidence that manassantin potently and specifically inhibits the mitochondrial complex I and bioenergetic activity in mammalian systems. Manassantin had no effect on complex II– or complex IV–mediated respiration. Of note, it decreased NADH–ubiquinone reductase activity but not the activity of NADH–ferricyanide reductase. Treatment with manassantin reduced cellular ATP levels and concomitantly stimulated AMP-activated protein kinase in vitro and in vivo. As an adaptive response to manassantin-induced bioenergetic deficiency, mammalian cells up-regulated aerobic glycolysis, a process mediated by AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) independently of HIF-1α. Together these results demonstrate a biologically important activity of manassantin in the control of complex I–mediated respiration and its profound effects on oxygen utilization, energy homeostasis, and glucose metabolism in mammalian cells.
A Probabilistic Spatial-Temporal Model and its Application to Wind Prediction

Several problems requiere the combination of temporal and spatial reasoning under uncertainty, such as wind prediction for electricity generation in wind farms. In this work we pro-pose a probabilistic spatial-temporal model (PSTM) focused on prediction problems, based on two common properties of these scenarios: sparsity and multivariable mutual information. The proposed spatial-temporal model is essentially a Bayesian network that represents the dependencies between a target variable of interest and a subset of predictor variables in different times and spaces. We developed an algorithm for learning the structure of the model based on a stochastic search of the optimal subset of predictor variables. The proposed model has been applied for wind prediction at different locations in Mexico, using information from several locations at different times. The PSTM is evaluated in terms of predictive accuracy for different time horizons – 1 to 24 hours; and compared to a dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) developed for wind prediction. The performance of the PSTM is in general competitive, and in most cases superior to the DBN.
Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP6 and BMP7) enhance the protective effect of neurotrophins on cultured septal cholinergic neurons during hypoglycemia

The effects of two bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP6, BMP7), alone and in combination with neurotrophins, were tested on cultures of embryonic day 15 rat septum. A week‐long exposure to BMP6 or BMP7 in the optimal concentration range of 2–5 n m increased the activity of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) by 1.6–2‐fold, in both septal and combined septal−hippocampal cultures. The increase in ChAT activity reached significance after 4 days and continued to increase over an 11‐day exposure. Under control culture conditions neither BMP significantly altered the number of cholinergic neurons, and BMP effects on ChAT activity were less than linearly additive with those of nerve growth factor. The effects of BMPs and BMP + neurotrophin combinations were also assayed under two stress conditions: low‐density culture and hypoglycemia. In low‐density cultures BMPs and BMP + neurotrophin combinations preserved ChAT activity more effectively than neurotrophins alone. During 24 h hypoglycemic stress, BMPs alone did not preserve ChAT activity, but BMP + neurotrophin combinations preserved ChAT activity much more effectively than neurotrophins alone. These results demonstrate that BMP6 and BMP7 enhance ChAT activity under control and low‐density stress conditions, and that during a hypoglycemic stress their trophic effect requires and complements that exerted by neurotrophins.
Effect of Constitutive miR164 Expression on Plant Morphology and Fruit Development in Arabidopsis and Tomato

Several miRNAs are conserved in different plant families, but their abundance and target genes vary between species, organs, and stages of development. Target genes of miRNAs are mostly transcription factors, involved in the control of many plant developmental processes, including fruit development. MiR164 is a conserved miRNA, highly expressed in fruits, and is validated to target a subset of genes of the NAC-domain transcription factor gene family. The objective of this work was to analyze the phenotypic effects of the constitutive expression of miR164 during the life cycle of Arabidopsis and tomato. MiR164 overexpression (164-OE) lines for Arabidopsis and tomato were generated and analyzed during plant development. The constitutive miR164 expression showed that miR164 affected the morphology of Arabidopsis and tomato, and it affected the transition from the vegetative to the reproductive phase in Arabidopsis. Moreover, the miR164 overexpression affected the time required for each developmental stage of tomato fruit. These results suggest that miR164 plays general and specific roles during development in Arabidopsis and tomato, including fruit development, which could be exploited for the improvement of traits of agronomic interest in important species.
Medical statistics - no time for complacency

Statistical science plays an important role in medical research. Whether this will continue to be so, depends to a large extent on the future of fields like clinical trials and epidemiology. Will these continue to play the important role they do today in the development of medicine? Traditional, frequentist, methodology still dominates in medical statistics. Statisticians should have an open and pragmatic attitude towards new approaches. Survival analysis is a field of biostatistics that has been through considerable recent development. The need for further methodological development in this field is stressed. There is also need for connecting statistical work more intimately to biological knowledge than is the case today.
Incorporating robustness in diagonally-relaxed orthogonal projections method for proton computed tomography

Iterative algorithms such as ART, DROP, and CARP are commonly used in reconstructing computed tomography images, but only account for errors in the measurements. Errors in the predicted path and intersection lengths, or even blocks of missing measurements can result in degraded image quality. Robust techniques allow for errors in other areas of the model and produce good images that show less sensitivity. In this paper we introduce a robust version of DROP and compare its performance advantages to the standard DROP algorithm on on real data.
Body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness in young adult twins.

OBJECTIVE We explored correlates of the Eating Disorder Inventory subscales Body Dissatisfaction (BD) and Drive for Thinness (DT) and genetic and environmental influences on these traits. METHOD In a population-based sample of 4,667 Finnish twins aged 22-27 years, we conducted twin modeling to explore genetic and environmental contributions to body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness. Logistic regression was used for the correlational analysis. RESULTS Various eating and body size-related factors and psychosomatic symptoms were significantly associated with high body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness in both genders. In women, early puberty onset, early initiation of sexual activity, and multiple sex partners were statistically significant risk factors of body dissatisfaction. In gender-specific univariate twin models, additive genes accounted for 59.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 53.2-64.7%) of the variance in body dissatisfaction and for 51.0% (95% CI = 43.7-57.5%) of the variance in drive for thinness among females, but for none of the variance among males. DISCUSSION There are very distinct gender differences in the heritability patterns of body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness in young adults.
Incidence and mortality of Alzheimer's disease or dementia using an illness‐death model

We present an illness‐death model for studying the incidence and the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease or dementia. We argue that the illness‐death model is better than a survival model for this purpose. In this model the best choice for the basic time‐scale is age. Then we present extensions of this model for incorporating covariates and taking account of a possible effect of calendar time. Calendar time is introduced via a proportional intensity model. We give the likelihood for a mixed discrete‐continuous observation pattern from this model: clinical status is observed at discrete visit‐times while the date of death is observed exactly or right‐censored. The penalized likelihood approach allows to non‐parametrically estimate the transition intensities. Application on the data of the Paquid study allows to produce estimates of the age‐specific incidence of dementia together with mortality rates of both demented and non‐demented subjects. Then the effect of calendar time and educational level are studied. Low educational level increases the risk of dementia. The risk of dementia increases with calendar time while the mortality of demented subjects decreases. The most likely explanation of this result seems to be in a shift in the diagnosis of dementia towards earlier stages of the disease prompted by a change in the perception of dementia and the arrival of new drugs. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fault current contribution from single-phase PV inverters

A significant increase in photovoltaic (PV) system installations is expected to come on line in the near future and as the penetration level of PV increases, the effect of PV may no longer be considered minimal. One of the most important attributions of additional PV is what effect this may have on protection systems. Protection engineers design protection systems to safely eliminate faults from the electric power system. One of the new technologies recently introduced into the electric power system are distributed energy resources (DER). Currently, inverter-based DER contributes very little to the power balance on all but a few utility distribution systems. As DER become prevalent in the distribution system, equipment rating capability and coordination of protection systems merit a closer investigation. A collaborative research effort between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Southern California Edison (SCE) involved laboratory short-circuit testing single-phase (240 VAC) residential type (between 1.5 and 7kW) inverters. This paper will reveal test results obtained from these short-circuit tests.
Secondary lymph node involvement from primary cutaneous large B‐cell lymphoma of the leg

Primary cutaneous large B‐cell lymphoma of the leg (LBCLL) is a recently defined type of non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma. It forms a separate category in the new classification of primary cutaneous lymphomas elaborated by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. It is associated with a less favorable prognosis than the most frequently occurring types of primary cutaneous B‐cell lymphoma.
Rate sensitivity of syllable in French: a perceptual illusion?

This study takes place within the theoretical frame work of Gestalt theory. The aim of this work is to determin e the way the prosodic scene reorganises itself according to the variation of speech rate. In other words: how do th e forms constituted by stressed syllables interact with the ground of unstressed syllables? We present a study of the temporal structure of a o ne thousand word speech corpus. The corpus was produced at three different rates (normal, fast and slow) by on e speaker with two repetitions. The goal is to constrain the rhythmical structure of speech in order to observe how rhythmi c patterns depend on the variation of speech rate. Results show that rhythm is not elastic: temporal st ructuring produced at a slow rate is not the consequence of a linear decrease. When speech rate changes, syllabic durati on does not vary in the same way for stressed and for unstr essed syllables. Unstressed syllables have very little el asticity compared with stressed syllables. This last result supports the hypothesis that the unstressed syllable is an ancho r point in the rhythmic structure of French.
Faster than the speed of print: Reconciling 'big data' social media analysis and academic scholarship

The promise of ‘big data’ has generated a significant deal of interest in the development of new approaches to research in the humanities and social sciences, as well as a range of important critical interventions which warn of an unquestioned rush to ‘big data’. Drawing on the experiences made in developing innovative ‘big data’ approaches to social media research, this paper examines some of the repercussions for the scholarly research and publication practices of those researchers who do pursue the path of ‘big data’–centric investigation in their work. As researchers import the tools and methods of highly quantitative, statistical analysis from the ‘hard’ sciences into computational, digital humanities research, must they also subscribe to the language and assumptions underlying such ‘scientificity’? If so, how does this affect the choices made in gathering, processing, analysing, and disseminating the outcomes of digital humanities research? In particular, is there a need to rethink the forms and formats of publishing scholarly work in order to enable the rigorous scrutiny and replicability of research outcomes?