Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Research of Gesture Recognition Technology Based on GMM and SVM Hybrid Model Using EPIC Sensor

SVM (Support Vector machine) is powerful machine-learning method, and obtains better performance than traditional methods in the applications of muti-dimension nonlinear pattern classification. For the case of SVM model training and low efficiency in large samples, this paper proposes a combination of statistical parameters of the GMM-UBM (Universal Background Model) model. It is very effective to solve the problem of the large sample for the SVM training. The experiment is carried on four special dynamic hand gestures using the EPIC sensors. And the results show that the improved dynamic hand gesture recognition system has a high recognition rate up to 96.75%.
Open-Source Platforms: Multiple studies in the mobile devices industry

This doctoral student research addresses the emergence of open-source based platforms currently attaining notorious relevance within the mobile devices industry. It aims at providing a better understanding on “how and why corporations follow open-source based platform strategies? ” within high-networked markets under constant technological evolution. Drawn over the constructs of multi-sided platforms (Rochet & Tirole, 2003; Hagiu & Wright, 2011) and plenty of studies on open-source software adoption such as Lerner and Tirole (2002), Feller and Fitzgerald (2002) and Weber(2004), this research also bridges business strategy in network economics (Gawer & Henderson, 2007; Gawer & Cusumano, 2008) with the psychological and anthropological concepts of sense of community (SoC) and communities of practice (CoP). The researcher follows a theory testing approach, where established theories developed on previous decades over the Personal Computer and Operating Systems are replicated in a completely new and emergent context. By taking a pure qualitative casestudy approach on the moulds of Eisenhardt (1989) and Myers (1999) , the researcher developed a set of descriptive and in-depth case-studies within he mobile devices industry, answering the lack of empirical research on strategies used by open-source platform providers. Natural occurring data was collected from Internet s and semistructured interviews were conducted within an industrial key-player with the goal of providing a framework and a theory that would extend what is known on open-source products to open-source platforms. Practitioners are then provided with better guidance for designing and implementing their networked technological strategies, to let their computer-based platforms succeed in high competitive under network effects. Ke ywords: OSS, FLOSS, Open-source, Platforms, Eco-systems, Technologicalstrategy
Reliability of Questionnaire-Based Dose Reconstruction: Human Factor Uncertainties in the Radiation Dosimetry of Chernobyl Cleanup Workers

This original study aims to quantify the human factor uncertainties in radiation doses for Chernobyl cleanup workers that are associated with errors in direct or proxy personal interviews due to poor memory recall a long time after exposure. Two types of doses due to external irradiation during cleanup mission were calculated independently. First, a “reference” dose, that was calculated using the historical description of cleanup activities reported by 47 cleanup workers shortly after the completion of the cleanup mission. Second, a “current” dose that was calculated using information reported by 47 cleanup workers and respective 24 proxies (colleagues) nominated by cleanup workers during a personal interview conducted more recently, as part of this study, i.e., 25–30 years after their cleanup missions. The Jaccard similarity coefficient for reference and current doses was moderate: the arithmetic mean ± standard deviation was 0.29 ± 0.18 (median = 0.31) and 0.23 ± 0.18 (median = 0.22) for the cleanup worker's and proxy's interviews, respectively. The agreement between two doses was better if the cleanup worker was interviewed rather than his proxy: the median ratio of current to reference dose was 1.0 and 0.56 for cleanup workers and proxies, respectively. The present study has shown that human factor uncertainties lead to underestimation or overestimation of the “true” reference dose for most cleanup workers up to 3 times. In turn, the potential impact of these errors on radiation-related risk estimates should be assessed.
Performance Evaluation of a Dengue IgG Rapid Diagnostic Test Designed to Determine Dengue Serostatus as Part of Prevaccination Screening

Dengue remains a significant public health issue, with over 5.2 million cases reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019. The tetravalent dengue vaccine (CYD-TDV) is currently licensed for use in those aged ≥9 years; however, vaccinees with no previous exposure to dengue experience an increased risk of hospitalized and severe dengue upon subsequent heterotypic infection. ABSTRACT The World Health Organization has recommended prevaccination screening for prior dengue infection as the preferred approach prior to vaccination with the dengue vaccine CYD-TDV. These screening tests need to be highly specific and sensitive, and deliverable at the point-of-care. We evaluate here the sensitivity and specificity of the newly developed OnSite Dengue IgG rapid diagnostic test (RDT). A retrospective double-blind study of the sensitivity and specificity of the OnSite Dengue IgG RDT was performed using a sample panel consisting of archived serum specimens collected during CYD-TDV clinical trials in Latin American and Asia, with the reference serostatus for each sample determined by an algorithm using measured dengue PRNT90, PRNT50, and NS1 IgG ELISA. An additional panel of dengue seronegative samples positive for other flaviviruses and infections was used to assess cross-reactivity. Samples were included from 579 participants; 346 in the specificity panel and 233 in the sensitivity panel. The OnSite dengue IgG RDT exhibited a specificity of 98.0% (95% CI = 95.9 to 99.2) and sensitivity of 95.3% (95% CI = 91.7 to 97.6). The sensitivity for samples exhibiting a multitypic immune profile (PRNT90-positive to >1 dengue serotype) was 98.8% while for monotypic immune samples (PRNT90-positive to a single dengue serotype) it was 88.1%. The OnSite dengue IgG RDT showed minimal to no cross-reactivity to related flaviviruses. These findings support the use of the OnSite dengue IgG RDT to determine dengue serostatus in CYD-TDV prevaccination screening. IMPORTANCE Dengue remains a significant public health issue, with over 5.2 million cases reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019. The tetravalent dengue vaccine (CYD-TDV) is currently licensed for use in those aged ≥9 years; however, vaccinees with no previous exposure to dengue experience an increased risk of hospitalized and severe dengue upon subsequent heterotypic infection. Consequently, WHO recommends screening for prior dengue infection before vaccination. Screening tests for previous infection need to be highly specific and sensitive, and deliverable at the point-of-care. High sensitivity ensures that the largest number of individuals with previous infection can be identified and vaccinated, while high specificity prevents the inadvertent vaccination of those without previous infection. This study of the OnSite Dengue IgG Rapid Test, which was explicitly developed to meet this need, found that it had both high specificity (98.0% [95% CI = 95.9 to 99.2]) and sensitivity (95.3% [95% CI = 91.7 to 97.6]).
An Altered Microbiota in the Lower and Upper Female Reproductive Tract of Women with Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion

As an obstacle to pregnancy, recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) can be caused by a variety of factors, and a current understanding of the etiology of RSA is still lacking; half of cases have an unknown cause. A substantial fraction of patients show no improvement after treatment. ABSTRACT Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is a complex multifactorial disease. Recently, the microbiota of the female reproductive tract, as an emerging factor in RSA, has gradually attracted the attention of many clinical researchers. Here, we reported that the microbiota of the lower and upper female reproductive tracts from patients with RSA showed no significant differences in alpha diversity compared to that of controls. Beta diversity was significantly higher in the RSA group than in the control group in the vaginal microbiota (P = 0.036), cervical microbiota (P = 0.010) and microbiota from uterine lavage fluid (P = 0.001). In addition, dramatic decreases in gamma interferon and interleukin-6 cytokine levels were observed in the RSA group. In conclusion, our data suggested altered microbial biodiversity in the vagina, cervix and uterine lavage fluid in the RSA group. Alterations in the microbiota in the uterine cavity could be associated with altered cytokine levels, which might be a risk factor for RSA pathogenesis. Moreover, the microbiota composition differed markedly from the lower genital tract to the uterine cavity, and the microbiota in the uterine cavity also distinctly varied between endometrial tissue and uterine lavage fluid in the RSA group. Hence, sampling with these two methods simultaneously allowed a more comprehensive perspective of microbial colonization in the uterine cavity. IMPORTANCE As an obstacle to pregnancy, recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) can be caused by a variety of factors, and a current understanding of the etiology of RSA is still lacking; half of cases have an unknown cause. A substantial fraction of patients show no improvement after treatment. Since the microbiota of the female reproductive tract has been proposed as an emerging factor in RSA patients, further investigation is needed to provide guidance for clinical therapy. In general, this is the first report describing the distinct alterations of the vaginal, cervical, and uterine microbiota in RSA, not just that in the vagina. Furthermore, another major strength of this study derived from the further in-depth investigation and analysis of the characteristics of the microbiota colonizing the upper female genital tract in RSA, which provided a more comprehensive view for investigating the uterine microbiota.
Keystroke Dynamics on a Device with Touch Screen

Keystroke Dynamics has been heavily researched over many years. Despite the large activity there are few real world implementations using Keystroke Dynamics as an authentication mechanism. The change in how internet banks are accessed, from using personal computers to using smart phones, in combination with the increasing burden for people to remember many passwords, has increased the need for stronger or enhanced authentication mechanisms. We look at the suitability of using keystroke dynamics as an additional feature to enhance security of authentication, when using a smart phone having a touch screen as input method. Both performance issues and security issues are investigated. We are going in depth on keystroke data analysis, where we look at why some methods perform better than others. The change in security, as a result of change in the physical/environmental factors are also addressed. The results show that keystroke dynamics on a smart phone are more resilient against certain attacks than keystroke dynamics on a personal computer. We proved this by building a device capable of imitate someone’s typing characteristics, and explained why the same task is difficult against keystroke dynamics on a smart phone. Further, we got good results from using new features available from a touch screen, and we also improved the performance of some detectors using a technique that adapts the standard deviation to skewed distributions.
Rifampicin restores extracellular organic matrix formation and mineralization of osteoblasts after intracellular Staphylococcus aureus infection

Aims Bone regeneration during treatment of staphylococcal bone infection is challenging due to the ability of Staphylococcus aureus to invade and persist within osteoblasts. Here, we sought to determine whether the metabolic and extracellular organic matrix formation and mineralization ability of S. aureus-infected human osteoblasts can be restored after rifampicin (RMP) therapy. Methods The human osteoblast-like Saos-2 cells infected with S. aureus EDCC 5055 strain and treated with 8 µg/ml RMP underwent osteogenic stimulation for up to 21 days. Test groups were Saos-2 cells + S. aureus and Saos-2 cells + S. aureus + 8 µg/ml RMP, and control groups were uninfected untreated Saos-2 cells and uninfected Saos-2 cells + 8 µg/ml RMP. Results The S. aureus-infected osteoblasts showed a significant number of intracellular bacteria colonies and an unusual higher metabolic activity (p < 0.005) compared to uninfected osteoblasts. Treatment with 8 µg/ml RMP significantly eradicated intracellular bacteria and the metabolic activity was comparable to uninfected groups. The RMP-treated infected osteoblasts revealed a significantly reduced amount of mineralized extracellular matrix (ECM) at seven days osteogenesis relative to uninfected untreated osteoblasts (p = 0.007). Prolonged osteogenesis and RMP treatment at 21 days significantly improved the ECM mineralization level. Ultrastructural images of the mineralized RMP-treated infected osteoblasts revealed viable osteoblasts and densely distributed calcium crystal deposits within the extracellular organic matrix. The expression levels of prominent bone formation genes were comparable to the RMP-treated uninfected osteoblasts. Conclusion Intracellular S. aureus infection impaired osteoblast metabolism and function. However, treatment with low dosage of RMP eradicated the intracellular S. aureus, enabling extracellular organic matrix formation and mineralization of osteoblasts at later stage. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2022;11(5):327–341.
Long‐term effectiveness of epidural steroid injections after new episodes of low back pain in older adults

There is limited research on the long‐term effectiveness of epidural steroid injections (ESI) in older adults despite the high prevalence of back and leg pain in this age group. We tested the hypotheses that older adults undergoing ESI, compared to patients not receiving ESI: (1) have worse pain, disability and quality of life (‘outcomes’) pre‐ESI, (2) have improved outcomes after ESI and (3) have improved outcomes due to a specific ESI effect.
Understanding, facilitating and predicting aphasia recovery after rehabilitation

Abstract Purpose: This paper reviews several studies whose aim was to understand the nature of language recovery in chronic aphasia and identify predictors of how people may recover their language functions after a brain injury. Method: Several studies that mostly draw from data collected within the Centre for Neurobiology of Language Recovery were reviewed and categorised in four aspects of language impairment and recovery in aphasia: (a) neural markers for language impairment and recovery, (b) language and cognitive markers for language impairment and recovery, (c) effective treatments and (d) predictive modelling of treatment-induced rehabilitation. Result: Language impairment and recovery in stroke-induced aphasia is multi-factorial, including patient-specific and treatment-specific factors. A combination of these factors may help us predict treatment responsiveness even before treatment begins. Conclusion: Continued work on this topic will lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms that underly language impairment and treatment-induced recovery in aphasia, and, consequently, use this information to predict each person's recovery profile trajectory and provide optimal prescriptions regarding the type and dosage of treatment.
Early midcell localization of Escherichia coli PBP4 supports the function of peptidoglycan amidases

Insertion of new material into the Escherichia coli peptidoglycan (PG) sacculus between the cytoplasmic membrane and the outer membrane requires a well-organized balance between synthetic and hydrolytic activities to maintain cell shape and avoid lysis. Since most bacteria carry multiple enzymes carrying the same type of PG hydrolytic activity, we know little about the specific function of given enzymes. Here we show that the DD-carboxy/endopeptidase PBP4 localizes in a PBP1A/LpoA and FtsEX dependent fashion at midcell during septal PG synthesis. Midcell localization of PBP4 requires its non-catalytic domain 3 of unknown function, but not the activity of PBP4 or FtsE. Microscale thermophoresis with isolated proteins shows that PBP4 interacts with NlpI and the FtsEX-interacting protein EnvC, an activator of amidases AmiA and AmiB, which are needed to generate denuded glycan strands to recruit the initiator of septal PG synthesis, FtsN. The domain 3 of PBP4 is needed for the interaction with NlpI and EnvC, but not PBP1A or LpoA. In vivo crosslinking experiments confirm the interaction of PBP4 with PBP1A and LpoA. We propose that the interaction of PBP4 with EnvC, whilst not absolutely necessary for mid-cell recruitment of either protein, coordinates the activities of PBP4 and the amidases, which affects the formation of denuded glycan strands that attract FtsN. Consistent with this model, we found that the divisome assembly at midcell was premature in cells lacking PBP4, illustrating how the complexity of interactions affect the timing of cell division initiation.
The influence of item order of the Household Food Security Survey Module on the assessment of food insecurity in households with children

Abstract Objective: Changes in the item order of the US Household Food Security Survey Module (USHFSSM) were performed throughout time. This study aimed to compare the psychometric properties of the general and specific factors of the 2000 and 2012 versions of the USHFSSM to measure the construct of food insecurity in two Portuguese samples of households with children. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Portugal. Participants: An adaptation of the 2000 version was applied to 839 adults (from households with children aged 7–17 years) from the National Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2015–2016, while the 2012 version was used among 2855 families from the Generation XXI birth cohort. Results: The 2000 version showed to have a stronger ωh than the 2012 version (0·89 v. 0·78 for the general factor), as well as eigenvalues higher than 1 for the general factor (eigenvalues equal to 9·54, 0·97 and 0·80, for the general factor, specific factor 1 and specific factor 2, respectively), while the 2012 version had also the contribution of specific factors to explain food insecurity (eigenvalues equal to 9·40, 2·40 and 1·20, for general factor and specific factors 1 and 2, respectively). Good internal consistency (ωt = 0·99, for both versions) was obtained. Conclusions: In conclusion, the 2000 and 2012 versions of the USHFSSM showed good psychometric properties; however, the 2000 version has stronger general factor, while the 2012 version also has the contribution of specific factors.
Machine learning algorithms to estimate everolimus exposure trained on simulated and patient pharmacokinetic profiles

Everolimus is an immunosuppressant with a small therapeutic index and large between‐patient variability. The area under the concentration versus time curve (AUC) is the best marker of exposure but measuring it requires collecting many blood samples. The objective of this study was to train machine learning (ML) algorithms using pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles from kidney transplant recipients, simulated profiles, or both types, and compare their performance for everolimus AUC0‐12h estimation using a limited number of predictors, as compared to an independent set of full PK profiles from patients, as well as to the corresponding maximum a posteriori Bayesian estimates (MAP‐BE). XGBoost was first trained on 508 patient interdose AUCs estimated using MAP‐BE, and then on 500–10,000 rich interdose PK profiles simulated using previously published population PK parameters. The predictors used were: predose, ~1 h, and ~2 h whole blood concentrations, differences between these concentrations, relative deviations from theoretical sampling times, morning dose, patient age, and time elapsed since transplantation. The best results were obtained with XGBoost trained on 5016 simulated profiles. AUC estimation achieved in an external dataset of 114 full‐PK profiles was excellent (root mean squared error [RMSE] = 10.8 μg*h/L) and slightly better than MAP‐BE (RMSE = 11.9 μg*h/L). Using more profiles (n = 10,035) did not improve the ML algorithm performance. The contribution of mixing patient and simulated profiles was significant only when they were in balanced numbers, with ~500 for each (RMSE = 12.5 μg*h/L), compared with patient data alone (RMSE = 18.0 μg*h/L).
Enterovirus Replication and Dissemination Are Differentially Controlled by Type I and III Interferons in the Gastrointestinal Tract

Echovirus infections are associated with a broad spectrum of illness, particularly in neonates, and are primarily transmitted through the fecal-oral route. Little is known regarding how echoviruses infect the gastrointestinal tract and how the intestinal epithelium controls echoviral replication. ABSTRACT Enteroviruses are among the most common viral infectious agents of humans and cause a broad spectrum of mild-to-severe illness. Enteroviruses are transmitted primarily by the fecal-oral route, but the events associated with their intestinal replication in vivo are poorly defined. Here, we developed a neonatal mouse model of enterovirus infection by the enteral route using echovirus 5 and used this model to define the differential roles of type I and III interferons (IFNs) in enterovirus replication in the intestinal epithelium and subsequent dissemination to secondary tissues. We show that human neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn), the primary receptor for echoviruses, is essential for intestinal infection by the enteral route and that type I IFNs control dissemination to secondary sites, including the liver. In contrast, type III IFNs limit echovirus infection in the intestinal epithelium, and mice lacking this pathway exhibit extended epithelial replication. Finally, we show that echovirus infection in the small intestine is cell type specific and occurs exclusively in enterocytes. These studies define the type-specific roles of IFNs in enterovirus infection of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the cellular tropism of echovirus replication in the intestinal epithelium. IMPORTANCE Echovirus infections are associated with a broad spectrum of illness, particularly in neonates, and are primarily transmitted through the fecal-oral route. Little is known regarding how echoviruses infect the gastrointestinal tract and how the intestinal epithelium controls echoviral replication. Here, we establish an in vivo mouse model of echovirus infection by the enteral route and define the differential roles of type I and III interferons (IFNs) in controlling viral replication in the intestine. These findings provide important insights into the mechanisms by which echoviruses infect the GI tract and the epithelium-specific antiviral pathways that control this infection.