Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RUNNING HEAD: Quality of life predictors in dementia Change and predictors of quality of life in institutionalized older adults with dementia

Purpose: This study aims to assess the change in and predictive factors of the quality of life (QoL) of institutionalized older adults with dementia over a 20-month period. Methods: Information was used from a follow-up study conducted over an average period of 19.61±1.93 months on a sample of 274 institutionalized older adults aged 60 or over, diagnosed with dementia. Two linear regression models were built to predict change in the EQ-5D index and the Quality of life in Alzheimer Disease (QOL-AD) scale, taking as independent variables: sociodemographic characteristics and measures of functional ability (Barthel Index), depression in dementia (Cornell Scale), number of chronic health problems, cognitive level (MEC, the Spanish Mini Mental State Examination) and severity of dementia (Clinical Dementia Rating) at baseline. Results: The majority of the participants were women (81.75%) with an average age of 84.70±6.51 years, single (78.15%), with severe dementia and moderate functional dependence. There was a significant decrease on the EQ-5D, EQ-VAS and QOL-AD between baseline and follow-up scores. The main predictors of QoL of the institutionalized older adults with dementia were the number of chronic problems and baseline scores of the QoL measures. Conclusions: A significant decrease in the QoL of institutionalized older adults was observed over a 20-month period. Results suggest that interventions aimed at reducing the number of chronic medical conditions may have a beneficial effect on older adults’ QoL.
Production of Estonian vowels by Finnish speakers

In the study, we examined the production of Estonian vowel categories by second language (L2) speakers of Estonian (native language Finnish) and compared them to those of native Estonian (L1) speakers. The vowel systems of the two languages are very similar: all eight Finnish vowels have close counterparts in Estonian, though Estonian has one more vowel category. The vowels for acoustic analysis were extracted from the target words embedded in sentences read by both L1 and L2 informants. The results showed that using the native Finnish vowel patterns for the Estonian counterparts has been a successful strategy – due to phonetic similarity of the shared vowels in the two languages, the L2 vowels assimilate well to Finnish L1 vowel categories. The L2 learners have acquired proper tongue position for the new vowel category /õ/ in tongue height and in front-back dimension, but deviate from the L1 speakers in use of the lip rounding gesture.
A Self-policing Smart Parking Solution

With the exponential growth of vehicles on our streets, the need for nding an unoccupied parking spot today could most of the time be problematic, but even more in the coming future. Smart parking solutions have proved to be a helpful approach to facilitate the localization of unoccupied parking spots. In many smart parking solutions, sensors are used to determine the vacancy of a parking spot. e use of sensors can provide a highly accurate solution in terms of determining the status of parking lots. However, this is not ideal from a scalability point of view, since the need for installing and maintaining each of the sensors is not considered cost-eective. In the latest years vision based solutions have been considered more when building a smart parking solution, since cameras can easily be installed and used on a large parking area. Furthermore, the use of cameras can be developed to provide a more advanced solution for checking in at a parking spot and also for providing the information about whether a vehicle is placed unlawfully. In our thesis, we developed a dynamic vision-based smart parking prototype with the aim to detect vacant parking spots and illegally parked vehicles.
Human Action Recognition Using Modified Bag of Visual Word based on Spectral Perception

Human action recognition has a very vast application such as security, patient care, etc. Background cluttering, appearance change due to variation in viewpoint and occlusion are the prominent hurdles that can reduce the recognition rate significantly. Methodologies based on Bag-of-visual-words are very popular because they do not require accurate background subtraction. But the main disadvantage with these methods is that they do not retain the geometrical structural information of the clusters that they form. As a result, they show intra-class mismatching. Furthermore, these methods are very sensitive to noise. Addition of noise in the cluster also results in the misclassification of the action. To overcome these problems we proposed a new approach based on modified Bag-of-visual-word. Proposed methodology retains the geometrical structural information of the cluster based on the calculation of contextual distance among the points of the cluster. Normally contextual distance based on Euclidean measure cannot deal with the noise but in the proposed methodology contextual distance is calculated on the basis of a difference between the contributions of cluster points to maintain its geometrical structure. Later directed graphs of all clusters are formed and these directed graphs are described by the Laplacian. Then the feature vectors representing Laplacian are fed to the Radial Basis Function based Support Vector Machine (RBF-SVM) classifier.
Recommendations for the management of lower extremity artery disease ( LEAD ) based on ESVS / / ESC 2017 guidelines . Position document of PTChN , PTNT , PTLR and SFSN PTK experts

*The authors wish to thank Mr. Szymon Jędrzejczyk of the Medical University of Warsaw for his help in the final edition of this positions **Polish-language versions of ESC Guidelines figures are reprinted by permission of Via Medica (Gdańsk), the publishers of the “Kardiologia Polska” Journal at the time of their publication. Aboyans V Ricco J-B, Bartelink M-LEL, et al. Wytyczne ESC dotyczące rozpoznawania i leczenia chorób tętnic obwodowych w 2017 roku, przygotowane we współpracy z ESVS. Kardiol Pol. 2017; 75(11): 1065–1160, doi: I0.5603/KP20I7.02I6
LUMEN Turbopump - Preliminary Design of Supersonic Turbine

This paper presents an improved design methodology for a supersonic partial admission impulse turbine for LRE, which is commonly used in open cycle applications, while focusing on the main losses from small dimension as well as the high rotational speed required for low thrust class engines as the LUMEN demonstrator engine. Also, the standard design models are evaluated and compared with the results using the design constrains adopted for low thrust class level turbomachinery.
Kinetic modeling for palm oil epoxidation using genetics algorithm

In recent years, there are abundant of studies in epoxidation of vegetable oil, this is due to the rising demand for eco-friendly epoxide. As the epoxide is the important chemical precursor in the industry. So, kinetic model was being conducted in order to determine the optimum value of epoxidation process. Initial concentration of formic acid (FA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and oleic acid (OA) were 1.4714 mol/L, 1.4714 mol/L and 2.9483 mol/L respectively. Hence, the kinetic rate obtained are k11 = 0.1334 mol.L/min, k21 = 0.0781 mol.L/min, k31 = 0.0163 mol.L/min, k51 = 0.0169 mol.L/min. The minimum error is 0.2724.
Energetic metabolism in fasting sheep: regularization of metabolic profile by treatment with oral glucose, with prior handling of gastric groove

ABSTRACT The objective of this research was to evaluate a possible corrective measure against negative metabolic states, as occurs in the advanced stage of gestation in ewes, and that sometimes produces a disease called pregnancy toxaemia. In the present research, we found that the joint administration of i.v. lysine-vasopressin (0.08 IU/kg body weight, BW) and an oral glucose solution (50 g) produces an increase in blood glucose, which persists for some time (up to 6 h); therefore, it could be [. ]
Trade Reforms and Integration of Cocoa Farmers into World Markets: Evidence from African and non-African Countries

Globally, there are about 5–6 million cocoa farmers and between 40 and 50 million people depend on cocoa for their livelihoods (WCF, 2012). The sector generates export revenues for governments; and employment and income for households in exporting countries. In Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, for example, cocoa accounted for more than 30% of export earnings over the period 1995–2014.1 Thus, the cocoa sector is important for reducing poverty and achieving sustainable development in producing countries. In consuming countries, cocoa plays an important role in confectionery, food and beverage industries. In addition, cocoa or cocoa wastes could be processed to obtain several by-products including animal feed, potash and soft drinks (ICCO, 2006).
Converting sporting capacity to entrepreneurial capacity: a process perspective

Managing a personal sporting career and conducting an entrepreneurial initiative are two vitally connected processes. Most athletes require a second career and many engage in entrepreneurship. Research on the similarities and differences of the sports career management process and entrepreneurial process with a special emphasis on the necessary capacities will have a ready audience among practitioners. This study begins the task of closing a surprising gap. In entrepreneurship literature, there is (1) growing research on entrepreneurial process and entrepreneurial capacity as the key driver; (2) strong work in generic, descriptive and explanatory modelling of process as a whole and capacity as a sub-process; and (3) the presence of a generic model of entrepreneurial process based of what distinguishes entrepreneurial capacity from other human capacities. In sports management literature, these research strands are virtually absent. The study indicates how the deficiency might be remedied.
Design of a gestual servoing interface in telerobotics

This paper describes the realisation of a real time gestual servoing of the manipulator arm « Mentor », which is a 5 dof robot, in telerobotics. Our goal is to introduce a natural communication between man and robot, through the machine, while using the richness of the expressions provided by hand gestures. The command of this system is based on the interpretation of 9 hand gesture configurations recognized by using the principal components analysis method; each gesture is represented by two eigenvectors. The realization of a such system of gestual servoing generates a particular study of two important parts, as well as the establishment of the relation between them. The two parts are the gesture recognition and the control of the robot.
POWER LINE NOISE REDUCTION IN ECG BY BUTTERWORTH NOTCH FILTERS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Background: The electrocardiogram has the considerable diagnostic significance, and applications of ECG monitoring are diverse and in wide use. Noises that commonly disturb the basic electrocardiogram are power line interference, instrumentation noise, external electromagnetic field interference, noise due to random body movements and respiration movements. These noises can be classified according to their frequency content. It is essential to reduce these disturbances in ECG signal to improve accuracy and reliability. The bandwidth of the noise overlaps that of wanted signals, so that simple filtering cannot sufficiently enhance the signal to noise ratio. The present paper deals with the digital filtering method to reduce 50 Hz power line noise artifacts in the ECG signal. 4 th order Butterworth notch filters with different 3 dB stop band bandwidth is used to reduce 50 Hz power line noise interference from ECG signals. Method: ECG signal is taken from physionet database. A ECG signal (without noise) was mixed with constant 0.1 mVp-p 50 Hz interference and processed by notch filters of 3 dB stop band bandwidths: 48-52,49–51, 49.5–50.5, and 49.9–50.1 Hz. The order of filter is taken as 4. In this paper Butterworth notch filters are applied on the ECG signal(mixed with 50 Hz power line noise interference) with four different 3 dB stop band bandwidths: 48-52,49–51, 49.5–50.5, and 49.9–50.1 Simulation results are also shown. Comparison of these filters are done. All the designs are implemented using MATLAB FDA tool. Results: Performance of filters are analyzed by comparing signal power at 50 Hz before and after filtration and distortion to ECG waveform. It is found that digital filters works satisfactory. Conclusions: 4 th order Butterworth notch filter with 3 dB stop band bandwidths of . 2( 49.9–50.1) gives best performance as compared to others as it introduces minimum distortion to ECG waveform.
Extending the theory of resilience and relational load into polyamorous relationships

This article, framed through the theory of resilience and relational load (TRRL) investigated the effects of relational maintenance behaviors in polyamorous relationships. Specifically, it hypothesized that repeated use of prosocial maintenance behaviors would demonstrate relational investment and act as moderators for the effect of identity gaps, or feelings of discrepancy between aspects of one’s identity, on relational satisfaction and resilience. With a few exceptions, findings largely support the predictions of TRRL. Social networks, advice, positivity, openness, and shared tasks moderate the effects of personal-enacted identity gaps on relational satisfaction. Advice, social networks, and openness moderate the effects of personal-relational identity gaps on resilience. Allowing control, destructive conflict, and jealousy induction moderate the effects of personal-enacted identity gaps on relational satisfaction. Only spying of the negative maintenance behaviors moderates the effects of personal-relational identity gaps on relational satisfaction. For the most part, as predicted, positive relational maintenance behaviors appear to weaken, and antisocial maintenance behaviors strengthen, the negative association between identity gaps and relational satisfaction and resilience. Implications and limitations are discussed.
Estimation of Piecewise‐deterministic Trajectories in a Quantum Optics Scenario

The manipulation of individual copies of quantum systems is one of the most groundbreaking experimental discoveries in the field of quantum physics. On both an experimental and a theoretical level, it has been shown that the dynamics of a single copy of an open quantum system is a trajectory of a piecewise-deterministic process. To the best of our knowledge, this application field has not been explored by the literature in applied mathematics, from both probabilistic and statistical perspectives. The objective of this chapter is to provide a self-contained presentation of this kind of model, as well as its specificities in terms of observations scheme of the system, and a first attempt to deal with a statistical issue that arises in the quantum world.
Soluble CD83 alleviates experimental allergic rhinitis through modulating antigen-specific Th2 cell property

Background and aims: Dysfunction of the immune regulatory system plays a role in the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis (AR). The underlying mechanism needs to be further investigated. Published data indicate that soluble CD83 (sCD83) has immune regulatory activities. This study aims to investigate the role of sCD83 in the alleviation of experimental AR. Methods: Peripheral blood samples were obtained from AR patients. Serum levels of sCD83 were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A murine AR model was developed to test the effects of sCD83 on suppressing experimental AR. Results: We found that serum levels of sCD83 in the AR group were lower than that in the healthy control group. A negative correlation was identified between the serum sCD83 levels and the frequency of T helper-2 (Th2) cells. The low serum sCD83 levels were also associated with the Bcl2L12 expression in antigen-specific Th2 cells. Exposure to sCD83 enhanced the responsiveness of antigen-specific Th2 cells to apoptosis inducers via suppressing the Bcl2L12 expression. Administration of sCD83 efficiently suppressed experimental AR. Conclusions: sCD83 contributes to immune homeostasis by regulating CD4+ T cell activities. Administration of sCD83 may have translational potential for the treatment of AR or other allergic diseases.
Nicotinamide Riboside Enhances Mitochondrial Proteostasis and Adult Neurogenesis through Activation of Mitochondrial Unfolded Protein Response Signaling in the Brain of ALS SOD1G93A Mice

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is caused by the progressive degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord, the brain stem, and the motor cortex. So far, there is still a lack of effective drugs. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) takes part in redox reactions and the NAD-dependent signaling pathway. The NAD+ decline is related with many neurological diseases, leading to the accumulation of neurotoxic protein in the central nervous system. Moreover, the NAD+ supplementation is shown to promote neural stem cells/neuronal precursor cells (NSCs/NPCs) pool maintenance. Regulatory mechanisms and functions of NAD+ metabolism in ALS are still unknown. Thus, we hypothesized the aggregation of human SOD1 toxic protein and the fate of NSCs/NPCs in the ALS disease could be improved by the administration of nicotinamide riboside (NR), an NAD+ precursor. In this study, we treated SOD1G93A transgenic and wild-type mice by the oral administration of 20 mg/ml NR starting at 50 days of age. Effects of NR on the body weight, the motor function, the onset and the survival were assessed during the experiment. The expression of mutant hSOD1 protein, mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) related protein, mitophagy markers and NAD+ metabolism related protein were detected by immunoblotting. Effects of NR on the NSCs/NPCs in neurogenic niches of brain were identified by the immunofluorescence staining. Our investigation elucidated that the NR treatment exhibited better hanging wire endurance but did not postpone the onset or extend the life span of SOD1G93A mice. Besides, we observed that the NR repletion promoted the clearance of mitochondrial hSOD1 neurotoxic protein. Meanwhile, the mitochondrial function pathway was disrupted in the brain of SOD1G93A mice. What's more, we demonstrated that the inadequate function of NAD+ salvage synthesis pathway was the primary explanation behind the decline of NAD+, and the NR treatment enhanced the proliferation and migration of NSCs/NPCs in the brain of SOD1G93A mice. At last, we found that levels of UPRmt related protein were significantly increased in the brain of SOD1G93A mice after the NR treatment. In summary, these findings reveal that the administration of NR activates UPRmt signaling, modulates mitochondrial proteostasis and improves the adult neurogenesis in the brain of SOD1G93A mice.
Protocol on transcranial alternating current stimulation for the treatment of major depressive disorder: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background: Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) offers a new approach for adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). The study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tACS treating MDD. Methods: This is an 8-week, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Ninety-two drug-naive patients with MDD aged 18 to 65 years will receive 20 daily 40-min, 77.5-Hz, 15-mA sessions of active or sham tACS targeting the forehead and both mastoid areas on weekdays for 4 consecutive weeks (week 4), following a 4-week observation period (week 8). The primary outcome is the remission rate defined as the 17-item Hamilton depression rating scale (HDRS-17) score ≤7 at week 8. Secondary outcomes are the rates of response at weeks 4 and 8 and rate of remission at week 4 based on HDRS-17, the proportion of participants having improvement in the clinical global impression-improvement, the change in HDRS-17 score (range, 0–52, with higher scores indicating more depression) over the study, and variations of brain imaging and neurocognition from baseline to week 4. Safety will be assessed by vital signs at weeks 4 and 8, and adverse events will be collected during the entire study. Discussion: The tACS applied in this trial may have treatment effects on MDD with minimal side effects. Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR1800016479; http://www.chictr. org.cn/showproj.aspx? proj=22048.
VHH antibody targeting the chemokine receptor CX3CR1 inhibits progression of atherosclerosis

ABSTRACT CX3CR1 has been identified as a highly attractive target for several therapeutic interventions. Despite this potential, no potent antagonists, either small molecule or monoclonal antibody, have been identified. Here we describe the lead finding and engineering approach that lead to the identification of BI 655088, a potent biotherapeutic antagonist to CX3CR1. BI 655088 is a potent CX3CR1 antagonist that, upon therapeutic dosing, significantly inhibits plaque progression in the standard mouse model of atherosclerosis. BI 655088 represents a novel and highly selective biotherapeutic that could reduce inflammation in the atherosclerotic plaque when added to standard of care treatment including statins, which could result in a significant decrease in atherothrombotic events in patients with existing cardiovascular disease.
Triple-negative mammary carcinoma in two male dogs

Triple-negative tumors are characterized immunohistochemically by the absence of positivity to sex hormone receptors and to human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. Additionally, they are differentiated into basal-like and non-basal (or null) subtypes, based on the presence of basal cytokeratin expression (CK5/6, 14, and17). Triple-negative subtypes are yet to be characterized in male dogs, to our knowledge. We report herein the clinical and pathologic findings and molecular characterization of carcinoma in the mammary glands of 2 male dogs. Case 1 was diagnosed as a grade II tubulopapillary carcinoma; case 2 was diagnosed as a grade II carcinoma in a mixed tumor. The tumors were characterized phenotypically as triple-negative basal and triple-negative non-basal, respectively.
Number of days required to estimate physical activity constructs objectively measured in different age groups: Findings from three Brazilian (Pelotas) population-based birth cohorts

Purpose The present study aims to estimate the minimum number of accelerometer measurement days needed to estimate habitual physical activity (PA) among 6- (2010), 18- (2011) and 30- (2012) year-old participants, belonging to three population-based Brazilian birth cohorts. Method PA was assessed by triaxial wrist-worn GENEActiv accelerometers and the present analysis is restricted to participants with at least 6 consecutive days of measurement. Accelerometer raw data were analyzed with R-package GGIR. Description of PA measures (overall PA, moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), light PA (LPA)) on weekdays and weekend days were conducted, and statistical differences were tested with chi-squared and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Spearman Brown Formulae was applied to test reliability of different number of days of accelerometer use. Results Differences between week and weekend days regarding LPA, MVPA and overall PA, were only observed among 30-year-olds. Higher levels of MVPA (p = 0.006) and overall PA (p<0.001) were identified on weekdays. For overall PA, to achieve a reliability coefficient >0.70, two and three days of measurement were needed in adults and children, respectively. For LPA, a reliability coefficient >0.70 was achieved with five days in 6-year-old children, three days in 18-year-old young adults, and four days in 30-year-old adults. Considering MVPA, four days would be necessary to represent a week of measurement among all cohort groups. Conclusion Our results show that four and five measurement days are needed to estimate all habitual PA constructs, for children and adults, respectively. Also, among 30-year-old adults, it is important to make efforts towards weekend days measurement.