Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of predictive equations for energy expenditure in pregnant women at rest and during exercise

The regular changes that occur during pregnancy increase energy expenditure at rest and during exercise. Prediction models are practical tools that facilitate the estimation of energy expenditure. The objective of this study was to analyze the reliability of prediction models of energy expenditure for pregnant women in two situations, at rest and during light-intensity exercise, compared to indirect calorimetry. Energy expenditure was measured in 10 pregnant women during the second trimester of gestation (23.5 ± 3.7 weeks) at rest and during light-intensity treadmill walking (4 km/h) using indirect calorimetry and the prediction models proposed by Hronek (rest) and Pivarnik (exercise). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman plots were used for comparison of the methods. A low correlation was observed at rest and during exercise [ICC=0.531 (-0.185; 0.814) and ICC=0.124 (-1.213; 0.653), respectively]. At rest, daily energy expenditure tended to be overestimated with increasing indirect calorimetry values. During exercise, the equation tended to underestimate the energy expenditure of pregnant women as it increased. In conclusion, the prediction models analyzed showed a low correlation with indirect calorimetry, overestimating daily energy expenditure at rest and underestimating energy expenditure during light-intensity exercise. Thus, practical and low-cost tools such as predictive equations cannot always be used safely in professional practice and care should be taken to apply them to groups with altered physiological conditions, such as pregnant women.
Metered-dose Inhaler Technique and Asthma Control in Patients Attending an Urgent Care Clinic in Barbados

Objective: To estimate the proportion of some Barbadian asthmatics with correct pressurised metered-dose inhaler (MDI) technique. Methods: All the asthmatics, 12 to 65 years of age, attended an urgent care clinic on selected clinic days over a five-month period, were administered a questionnaire and had their MDI technique evaluated. Results: Of the 148 respondents (response rate 99%), their median age was 27 years, 28% were males, 99% black of African ancestry; 87% had asthma for six or more years, 83% were using steroid inhalers, 24% were attending for treatment of an asthma attack and only 36% received routine non-urgent asthma care. Sixty-one per cent reported controlled asthma over the previous month, 97% felt that their MDI technique was good and 25% did not identify a healthcare worker as the source of their MDI technique education. Pharmacists almost never provide instructions. In the previous week, 47% had no asthma symptoms or need to use rescue inhalers and 63% had controlled asthma as determined by the asthma control questionnaire. Only 5% (95% confidence interval ± 3.4) had correct MDI technique. All the patients had removed the cap, but only 41% shook the device, 56% actuated the inhaler only once, 11% coordinated actuation and inhalation correctly and 18% held their breath after inhalation. Conclusions: Few asthmatics had the correct MDI technique. Healthcare workers should use every opportunity to check and teach asthmatics the use of inhaler technique.
PII: S0022-247X(02)00345-1

In this paper we present some results concerning the existence and uniqueness of mild solutions to certain abstract semilinear differential equations and the asymptotic behavior of these solutions. The basic techniques used are the iterative method and the fixed point theory for differential equations in Banach space. However, the most pleasant here is that it can be applied to nonlinear equations without assuming the eigenvalues of the differential operator in the linear parts of the differential equation has non-zero real part.  2002 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.
Improved algorithm and data structures for modularity analysis of large networks

Graph clustering is an important problem in the analysis of computer networks, social networks, biological networks and many other natural and artificial networks. These networks are in general very large and, thus, finding hidden structures and functional modules is a very hard task. In this paper we propose new data structures and make available a new implementation of a well known agglomerative greedy algorithm to find community structure in large networks. The experimental results show that the improved data structures speedup the method by a large factor, for very large networks.
Interior dynamics of Mercury, Mars, and the Moon through time

In this project, we employ our mantle convection code Gaia [1] to investigate the thermal history of Mercury, the Moon and Mars. Our models are constrained by data from space missions and telescopic observations that help us make robust inferences on the evolutionary paths of these terrestrial bodies. In addition, we focus on coupling large impact simulations with models of interior dynamics to understand how such energetic events, which were common in the first billion of years of the solar system, will affect the subsequent evolution of Mercury, the Moon and Mars [2].
Creating Discourse Using Figures of Speech in the Speeches of King

Language is the main medium to create discourse for politicians and public speakers. Deviations from the norm create multiple levels of meanings, in both spoken and written language. This paper tackles the effect of using some figures of speech by political speakers. To narrow the discussion, some speeches of King Abdulla II are analysed in terms of using simile, metaphor and personification. Such figures of speech make the discourse more effective in reaching its intended aims, by forging listeners, not only to enjoy the ornamentation of the speech, but to think and act of the events and situations discussed. The paper shows that using figures of speech by political speakers is one method of creating understanding of concepts and abstract ideas. In addition, it is a method to send messages more effectively and purposefully.
A Methodological Procedure for Sizing Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems in Off-grid Areas

This paper presents a methodological procedure for sizing Hybrid Renewable Energy (HRE) systems in off-grid areas. The HRE system to be analyzed in this paper is composed of photovoltaic plants, diesel plants and batteries, since they are the most common elements used in off-grid areas. The procedure is based on a bibliographic review and the experience of the authors. Firstly, the reviewed sizing methodologies are classified according to the objective function and the technique to be used to solve the optimization problem, also the most relevant aspects are highlighted. Then, the procedure sizing HRE is exhaustively described being presented as an organized methodology. Designers could easily follow the procedure reducing its design time; all main concepts to take into account in the design are described in this procedure.
TACG_A_202942 71..78

Carlo Pirazzi Lina Håkansson Carola Gustafsson Elmir Omerovic Olov Wiklund Rosellina Margherita Mancina 1Department of Cardiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden; 2Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, Wallenberg Laboratory, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden Background: Premature coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity. Increased low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) level is a major risk factor for CAD and thus the main target for its prevention. Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a genetic inherited disorder characterized by high LDL-C, and subsequent premature CAD development. Early drug treatment with lipid-lowering medications in FH prevents cardiovascular disease onset. The FH prevalence in the Northern European general population is 0.3%, and it is estimated that it explains 20% of premature CAD cases in individuals with familial clustering. Despite the wide number of papers showing the prevalence of clinical FH in cardiovascular disease, the prevalence of genetic FH in individuals with premature CAD is not yet well known. Here, we examined the prevalence of genetically determined FH in individuals with premature CAD. Patients and methods: 66 patients who underwent coronary angiography with suspected premature acute coronary syndrome (age <50 years for men and <55 years for women) underwent genetic screening to identify FH-causing mutations. All patients underwent physical and clinical examinations. Information about family and personal history, drug therapy and habits were also collected. Results: We found FH-causative mutations in 3/66 (4.5%) screened individuals with premature CAD. When considering individuals with confirmed CAD after coronary angiography, the FH mutation prevalence was 6.1% (3/49). After excluding individuals with classical risk factors for CAD other than hypercholesterolemia, the FH mutation prevalence raised to 15.8% (3/19). Conclusion: In conclusion, we found that individuals with premature CAD have a more than 15-fold increased prevalence of FH mutations compared to the general population.
The Role of Self-Esteem in Predicting Pedagogical Formation Students’ Career Adaptabilities

The rapid changes in life standards and technology affect the social lives of individuals as well as world of work, job finding, work environments and career development. This rapid change also affects individuals' career adaptabilities, professional success and competences. Teaching profession is also affected by these changes. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between pedagogical formation students’ career adaptability and self-esteem. A total of 235 volunteering pedagogical formation students who graduated from different faculties and received pedagogical formation education, including 190 females and 45 males, participated in this study. In order to collect data in the study, Personal Information Form (PIF), Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) and Self-Liking/Self-Competence Scale (SLSC) were applied to the participants. The findings of the analyses show that there is a significant and positive relationship between career adaptabilities, self-liking and self-competence. Additionally, in the analysis conducted in order to test the predictability of the career adaptabilities by self-liking and self-competence, they were found to be significant predictors of the pedagogical formation students’ career adaptabilities ( R 2 = .37, p < .01). The findings of the research revealed the need for career counseling once again.
Toxic activity of Prunus spinosa L. flower extract in hepatocarcinoma cells

Abstract Prunus spinosa L. (blackthorn) is used in traditional medicine as a remedy for various diseases. To establish its anticancer properties, we exposed human liver cancer cells (Hep G2) to a range of blackthorn flower extract concentrations (10-200 µg/mL) and determined cytotoxic activity with the neutral red and kenacid blue methods after 24, 48, and 72 h of incubation. Statistically significant inhibitory effects on Hep G2 cellular proliferation were observed at concentrations above 50 µg/mL (p<0.001–0.05). Cell viability was lower when determined with neutral red than kenacid blue method. In addition, we evaluated antioxidant/prooxidant effects of the blackthorn flower extract by measuring reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the results confirmed its prooxidant behaviour within the applied concentration range. Flow cytometry determined primarily necrotic and apoptotic cell death, which provides additional evidence of its cytotoxic effect on liver carcinoma.
Permanent Magnet Traction Module with an Enchanced Fault- Tolerant Capability for Subway plication

A fault-tolerant permanent-magnet traction module is proposed for subway application, which has three different operation modes: normal, isolation, and fault-tolerant mode. In normal mode, 2 three-phase permanent-magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs) are controlled by 2 three-leg voltage-source inverters (VSIs), respectively. The proposed module can output maximum torque and reach the maximum velocity. When one leg fails, the corresponding PMSM is isolated from the fault VSI and the fault subway train operates in isolation mode, in which the traction effort is reduced but the maximum velocity can be maintained under light load. However, the fault subway train will stop if the load is heavy. To avoid the stop, the fault subway train is switched into fault-tolerant mode, in which the healthy VSI and fault VSI are reconfigured to 1 five-leg VSI by a fault-tolerant bridge. Due to lower phase–phase voltage apportionment ratio, the fault-tolerant mode is not used until the velocity is decreased to half of the maximum velocity. In fault-tolerant mode, the non-adjacent selection principle is proposed to prevent the common leg from over current damage. The subway train equipped with the proposed module can maintain basic operation performances if any leg fails. The performances are analyzed and the effectiveness is verified by experimental results.
Robust Specularity Removal from Hand-held Videos

Robust Specularity Removal from Hand-held Videos PriyaankaDevi Guggilapu Specular reflection exists when one tries to record a photo or video through a transparent glass medium or opaque surfaces such as plastics, ceramics, polyester and human skin, which can be well described as the superposition of a transmitted layer and a reflection layer. These specular reflections often confound the algorithms developed for image analysis, computer vision and pattern recognition. To obtain a pure diffuse reflection component, specularity (highlights) needs to be removed. To handle this problem, a novel and robust algorithm is formulated. The contributions of this work are three-fold. First, the smoothness of the video along with the temporal coherence and illumination changes are preserved by reducing the flickering and jagged edges caused by hand-held video acquisition and homography transformation respectively. Second, this algorithm is designed to improve upon the state-of-art algorithms by automatically selecting the region of interest (ROI) for all the frames, reducing the computational time and complexity by utilizing the luminance (Y) channel and exploiting the Augmented Lagrange Multiplier (ALM) with Alternating Direction Minimizing (ADM) to facilitate the derivation of solution algorithms. Third, a quantity metrics is devised, which objectively quantifies the amount of specularity in each frame of a hand-held video. The proposed specularity removal algorithm is compared against existing state-of-art algorithms using the newly-developed quantity metrics. Experimental results validate that the developed algorithm has superior performance in terms of computation time, quality and accuracy.
ACL Injury Risk in the Physically Active: Why are Females More Susceptible?

Despite extensive research, we still do not fully understand the biological mechanisms that underlie a female's increased susceptibility for suffering a noncontact ACL injury. While sex differences in neuromuscular control are often implicated, prevention efforts addressing these differences have not resulted in a profound or sustainable reduction in injury rates. This paper will explore two likely scenarios that explain this greater susceptibility in females: (1) females have a structurally weaker ligament that is more prone or susceptible to failure at a given load (scenario #1), or (2) females develop less knee protection and experiences higher relative loads on the ACL (scenario #2). While we have learned much over the last two decades about ACL injury risk in females, much remains unknown. Continued research is of paramount importance if we are to effectively identify those females who are at greatest risk for injury and effectively reduce their susceptibility through appropriate interventions.
“As If the Cancer Wasn’t Enough …”: A Case Study of Depression in Terminal Illness

Depression is an underrecognized condition experienced by a significant number of palliative care patients. It contributes to considerable distress in patients and families and can become yet another terminal illness for the patient to endure. This article outlines evidence-based approaches to the diagnostic assessment and treatment of depression using an actual case (with fictional names) to illustrate the challenges pertinent to palliative care patients. Special attention is given to the nurse’s role in screening and providing support for the depressed patient who is also facing life-threatening illness.
Why inner-city high-school students attend after-school physical activity clubs

Objective: The population of young people most vulnerable to low levels of physical activity (e.g. urban/minority/low socio-economic status/female/non-athletes) often has the least access to physical activity opportunities and resources. It has been suggested that a comprehensive, school-based approach, including prudent use of time before, during and after the school day may be an effective way to increase overall physical activity, but little is known about why urban students voluntarily participate in these extracurricular programmes. Using social cognitive theory as a framework, this study examines urban high-school students’ rationale for attending after-school physical activity clubs designed to provide fun, safe, supportive places to do physical activities with friends. Design and setting: Qualitative study in an urban school district. Method: Over a 2-year period, adult leaders within 14 inner-city schools in a large urban district in the Midwest USA held 938 physical activity club sessions targeting traditionally inactive youth to promote non-competitive physical activity. Interviews with student participants (n = 278) and researcher field observations (n = 115) were used as primary data sources. Results: Three primary themes emerged to explain the voluntary participation of high-school students in after-school physical activity clubs: (a) social affiliation, especially group identification and establishing relationships with adult leaders and likeminded peers; (b) health and performance, including improving physical health and performance in other athletic endeavours; and (c) the ‘right’ types of activities and focus, including those that were student-centred, non-competitive and culturally relevant. Conclusion: Creation and sustainability of successful inner-city physical activity clubs will largely hinge upon the capitalisation on an understanding of the motivations of an urban student population.
SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS OF TROPOSPHERIC NO2 COLUMNS OVER SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

Satellite observations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) tropospheric columns over SE Europe are analyzed to study the characteristics of the spatial and temporal variability of pollution in this region which is considered a crossroad of different pollution sources. Analysis of the interannual variability of the tropospheric NO2 columns is presented, on the basis of measurements from four satellite instruments GOME/ERS-2, SCIAMACHY/Envisat, OMI/Aura and GOME-2/MetOp. Two different operational algorithms for the retrieval of tropospheric NO2 are considered, the one developed jointly by KNMI and BIRA and the other developed by the University of Bremen. The aim of this work is to assess the ability of the satellite tropospheric NO2 observations, based on different sensor and/or algorithms, to differentiate between known locally polluted and unpolluted sites, between local and regional sources of NO2 and to detect potential transboundary transport of the pollutant in the area under study. In addition the consistency of the different satellite instruments/algorithms is investigated when compiling long-term data sets for the purposes of pollution monitoring. Tropospheric NO2 amounts are simulated for the domain under study with a regional photochemical air quality model (CAMx) and are compared with the satellite data. It is found that in most of the cases the model reveals similar spatial patterns with the satellite observations, while over certain areas (for e.g. Isatnbul) large discrepancies are found, which again appear different from sensor to sensor.
A robotic needle guide for prostate brachytherapy with pre-operative to intra-operative prostate volumes registration

The conventional prostate brachytherapy approach is limited by needle positioning accuracy, needle trajectory option, and prostate motion and deformation between the pre-operative volume study and the seed implant procedure. These limitations increase the risks of post implant complications. In this thesis we develop a robotic needle guide to improve prostate brachytherapy needle placement accuracy and trajectory option as well as a pre-operative to intra-operative prostate volume registration algorithm to address the issue of prostate motion and deformation. Our four degrees of freedom robot provides X-Y axes translational accuracy of 0.12 and 0.1 mm compared to the 5 mm accuracy of the standard needle guide. The robot also provides yaw and pitch angulations with 0.050 accuracy which can be used to reach prostate regions blocked by pubic arch interference. The robot is adaptable to conventional brachytherapy apparatus without adding the clinical procedure time and can be used manually in the case of electronic control failure. The registration approach is based on fitting prostate surfaces into ellipsoids. Pre-operative and intra-operative sagittal view-based volume data are contoured using a novel semi automatic sagittal view-based segmentation algorithm. The resulting contours are fit into ellipsoids whose parameters centers, orientations, and radii are used to calculate the registration matrix. The accuracy of the registration algorithm was compared with Optotrak measurement as the gold standard and with the Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm. The result shows that the orientation of the ellipsoid fit is sensitive to user initialization points causing up to 5 mm translational errors and 5.50 angular error. The comparison with ICP shows that the ellipsoid fitting based algorithm is faster but less accurate.