Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Glucofit: A pilot study evaluating a brief action planning intervention in individuals with type 2 diabetes following a community-based physical activity program

There is a need to support physical activity (PA) participation among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) provides a framework for interventions; post-intentional factors which can translate intentions into behaviour are considered. Consistent with HAPA, action planning is one strategy that improves self-efficacy (SE) and hence which may support PA among people with DM. This pilot study evaluates the effects of a brief action planning (BAP) intervention among people with DM diabetes attending a community PA program. Adults with DM (n=22) recruited through a community PA program completed baseline measures of the HAPA constructs and self-reported PA. Participants engaged in supervised PA twice per week for 3 months. They received four weeks of BAP via telephone delivered by a BAP counselor once per week. Questionnaires were re-administered following the BAP. Ten (45.5%) participants completed the BAP calls. Paired t-tests revealed significant improvements in maintenance SE (p=.05) and task SE (p=.04) following BAP; there were trends toward improvements in planning SE (p=.15) and action control (p=.19). Overall PA was maintained post-BAP (p=.92), with a trend towards increases in low-intensity PA (p=.61). Findings from this pilot study suggest that BAP may be useful to improve maintenance SE for PA and maintain PA among people with DM following a community PA program. Further research with a larger sample is warranted to further understand the impact of BAP in supporting PA among people with DM. Acknowledgments: Centre for Collaboration, Motivation and Innovation (CCMI), Tait McKenzie Centre and the Tri-Lab
The quality of data on child immunization in DHS-I Surveys.

One of best indicators of degree of use of health services and of effective measures to reduce child morbidity and increase child survival is data on immunization of children. Demographic and Health Survey reports on vaccinations received were based on respondents health card records of vaccinations and verbal reports (maternal recall). There was some variation in the way information was recorded in the DHS on vaccinations. Reports of "no cards" varied from 3% in Botswana to >66% in Mali. There were many women who reported having but did not show a health card. In 7 countries more than 70% of health cards reported were seen by the interviewer which means high quality data for Sri Lanka Zimbabwe Trinidad and Tobago Guatemala Tunisia Botswana and Burundi. There was 60-70% presentation of cards in Morocco Thailand Uganda and Togo. Poorer quality data with a range of 50-60% of cards presented is available in Liberia Colombia Egypt Ghana Kenya and Sudan. Particularly low numbers of presented cards that mothers claimed to have were in Bolivia (27%) Dominican Republic (31%) Ondo State Nigeria (35%) Mali (39%) Peru (41%) and Senegal (49%). Unavailability of any health cards was more prevalent among children aged <1 year (average of 34%). Around 23% of children aged 12-23 months and 24-35 months did not have health cards. Presentation of health cards was weaker at older ages. Birth order appeared not to determine the quality of the data based on missing values presence of a health card and proportion of cards not seen and birth order. In the multivariate analysis of health cards and missing values for 13 surveys with at least 10 missing values relative birth order did have a strong effect on the odds of missing values for the 4th or later child except in Botswana. When birth order and period of fieldwork were included residence mothers education and childs age did not have significant effects. When no card was present "dont know" and missing values represented 2-3% of reports and were the least problem at ages 12-23 months. There were few differences between those ever immunized with or without cards presented. The accuracy of copying of data from the card showed some variation in missing and inconsistent values; editing procedures interfered with the evaluation. Recall and card data comparisons revealed recall coverage was lower than card coverage in 8 surveys. DHS data was found to be comparable to other cluster sample coverage surveys.
Denervation of Pulmonary Arteries in Patients with Mitral Valve Defects Complicated by Atrial Fibrillation and Pulmonary Hypertension

N.A. Trofimov, MD, PhD, Cardiovascular Surgeon1, 2; Associate Professor, Surgery Course3; A.P. Medvedev, MD, DSс, Professor, Department of Hospital Surgery named after B.A. Korolev4; A.V. Nikolsky, MD, PhD, Cardiovascular Surgeon5; V.A. Kichigin, MD, PhD, Therapist1; S.S. Zhamlikhanova, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology3; V.E. Babokin, MD, DSс, Associate Professor, Department of Hospital Surgery6
Co-existence of syndrome X and hypertension among Ghanaians

Cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, diabetes and dyslipidaemia have been commonly associated with hypertension. The clustering of such risk factors is termed the metabolic syndrome (i.e. Syndrome X). The syndrome has been associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease especially in the hypertensive. This study therefore sought to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its individual components in adult hypertensives. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Hypertension Clinic of the Department of Medicine, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi between April 2009 and November 2010. A total of 300 participants compris-ing 200 hypertensives and 100 normotensives were enrolled. The prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) among the hypertensive patients was significantly higher than the normotensive control (56.5% vrs 9.0%, 54.5% vrs 5.0% and 65.5%vrs15.0%, p<0.001) using NCEP ATP III, WHO and IDF criteria respectively. Irrespective of the criteria applied, all the components of MetS were significantly higher among the hypertensive patients as compared to the normotensive control. Females had a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome compared to their male counterparts. Among the hypertensive patients, the highest combination of individual risk components were reduced HDL, raised fasting blood glucose and central obesity. In conclusion, the study has demonstrated a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome among the hypertensive population and recom-mends active screening and multi-targeted approach in the management of hypertension in the country. Biomedical Sciences (2016) 5(1), 8-16
Quantum mechanics as a calculus for estimation under epistemic restriction

Consider a statistical model with an epistemic restriction such that, unlike in classical mechanics, the allowed distribution of positions is fundamentally restricted by the form of an underlying momentum field. Assume an agent (observer) who wishes to estimate the momentum field given information on the conjugate positions. We discuss a classically consistent, weakly unbiased, best estimation of the momentum field minimizing the mean squared error, based on which the abstract mathematical rules of quantum mechanics can be derived. The results suggest that quantum wave function is not an objective agent-independent attribute of reality, but represents the agent's best estimation of the momentum, given the positions, under epistemic restriction. Quantum uncertainty and complementarity between momentum and position find their epistemic origin from the trade-off between the mean squared errors of simultaneous estimations of momentum field and mean position, with the Gaussian wave function represents the simultaneous efficient estimations, achieving the Cramer-Rao bounds of the associated mean squared errors. We then argue that unitary time evolution and wave function collapse in measurement are normative rules for an agent to update her/his estimation given information on the experimental settings.
Pathways to Maternal and Child Well-Being: Stability and Transaction across Toddlerhood

SYNOPSIS Objective . This study examines the development of minor parenting stress, parenting satisfaction, and dyadic dysregulation across early childhood and evaluates their roles in predicting maternal and child well-being one year later. Design . Data was collected from 322 low-income, Mexican American mother-child dyads at child ages 12, 18, 24, and 36 months. Mothers responded to questionnaires during structured interviews, and mother-child dyadic interactions were observed during structured teaching tasks and later coded for global displays of emotional, attentional, and behavioral dysregulation. Results . Cross-lag path analyses revealed negative concurrent relations between minor parenting stress and parenting satisfaction at every time point and stability in constructs across time. Parenting stress predicted greater subsequent dyadic dysregulation. Greater dyadic dysregulation and stress related to parenting predicted more maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior problems, whereas greater parenting satisfaction predicted less maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior problems. Conclusion . In this minority at-risk population, there was substantial stability in and a lack of transactional relations between minor parenting stresses, parenting satisfaction, and dyadic dysregulation across toddlerhood. These factors are important determinants of maternal and child well-being, with minor parenting stress emerging as particularly powerful.
Hybrid Nonovershooting Set-Point Pressure Regulation for a Wet Clutch

In this article, we propose a control-oriented Wiener model for wet-clutches in filled conditions and we discuss the associated identification technique. We design a novel hybrid controller, which ensures zero steady-state error and a fast nonovershooting response. We show that the controller parameters can be conveniently obtained by solving a set of linear matrix inequalities. Finally, we test the proposed control strategy on the hydromechanical variable transmission developed by Dana–Rexroth transmission systems. The experiments show good performance and robustness with respect to modeling errors and noise.
Influence of Materialism on Compulsive Buying Behavior: General Similarities and Differences Related to Studies on Young Adult Consumers in Poland and US

Abstract Although materialism has a robust relationship with compulsive buying in the US and Western Europe, consumer theories suggest that materialism might also significantly predict compulsive buying in developing economies of Eastern Europe. The present study diagnoses this relationship from perspective of the Polish socio-economic-cultural settings and compares it with the US research findings from perspective of general similarities and differences. Data was collected on representative sample of 504 Polish young adult consumers, while the sources of US studies were previous findings. Detailed analyses and comparisons revealed that Polish consumerism trends exceed those in western cultures (US), consequently young consumers in Poland expose much stronger relationship between materialism and compulsive buying than their peers in US. Moreover, the examined relationship, from the perspective of two theoretically contrasting consumer groups, indicated a higher level of strength among the compulsive buyers and a lower level of strength, but still present, in the group of Polish noncompulsive consumers.
RUTIN RESTORE BIOCHEMICAL CHANGES, OXIDATIVE STRESS AND BETATROPHIN LEVEL IN STZ-INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

Objective: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with long-term damage, dysfunction, of various organs. Study aims to assessrole of rutin on experimentally induced diabetes. Methods: 50 adult male albino rats divided into 5 groups. Group I (control group, rats were orally administered with 1 ml saline daily). Group II (DMSO group, rats were orally administered with 0.2 % DMSO for 60 d orally). Group III (positive control, animals were injected intraperitoneally with 60 mg/kg b. wtstreptozotocin followed by intraperitoneal injection with 120 mg/kg b. wt of Nicotinamide after 15 min). Group IV (therapeutic group, diabetic rats treated with 100 mg/kg b. wt of rutin for 60 d orally). Group V (standard group, diabetic animals treated with 100 mg/kg b. wt of metformin for 60 d orally). At the end of the experimental period blood serum and plasma, liver, kidney and pancreatic tissues were collected. Results: Diabetic rats showed a significant increase in plasma glucose, serum urea, creatinine, cholesterol and triglyceride. Also, induced oxidative stress as pointed out an increase in MDA level, decrease in GSH level, GST and CAT activities in compared to control group. Also, showed an increase in plasma and tissues levels of betatrophin. Oral administration of rutin cause decrease in elevated biochemical and oxidative stress parameters. Also, decrease betatrophin level when compared with diabetic rats. Our results were confirmed by histopathological examination of different tissues. Conclusion: This study suggests that rutin exihibit santihyperglycemic and antioxidant activity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
Study of different turbulence models to obtain the curves characteristics of a naca profile 2415 through the three-dimensional simulation of fluid flows

Se realizo un analisis computacional, mediante la tecnica del CFD, del perfil NACA 2415, con los modelos de turbulencia Realizable K-e y el modelo de turbulencia K-ω SST para obtener sus curvas aerodinamicas. El software utilizado fue el ANSYS FLUENT V14. La simulacion se realizo con mallas no estructuradas y bidimensionales, en un dominio computacional cuyas dimensiones corresponden al tunel de viento AF6109 de la Universidad Nacional Experimental del Tachira, Venezuela. Las curvas aerodinamicas se realizaron para diferentes angulos de ataque, los cuales consistieron en 0°, 4°, 8°, 12° y 16° respectivamente. Las condiciones de borde usadas estan basadas en el tunel de viento AF6109. La simulacion computacional se valido con las curvas aerodinamicas obtenidas mediante el diseno experimental realizado en el tunel de viento. Se concluye que el modelo de turbulencia K-ω SST predice mejor los gradientes adversos de presion. Palabras clave Dinamica de fluidos computacional (CFD), perfiles aerodinamicos
The economic cost of losing native pollinator species for orchard production

The alarming loss of pollinator diversity world-wide can reduce the productivity of pollinator-dependent crops, which could have economic impacts. However, it is unclear to what extent the loss of a key native pollinator species affects crop production and farmer's profits. By experimentally manipulating the presence of colonies of a native bumblebee species Bombus pauloensis in eight apple orchards in South Argentina, we evaluated the impact of losing natural populations of a key native pollinator group on (a) crop yield, (b) pollination quality, and (c) farmer's profit. To do so, we performed a factorial experiment of pollinator exclusion (yes/no) and hand pollination (yes/no). Our results showed that biotic pollination increased ripe fruit set by 13% when compared to non-biotic pollination. Additionally, fruit set and the number of fruits per apple tree was reduced by less than a half in those orchards where bumblebees were absent, even when honeybees were present at high densities. Consequently, farmer's profit was 2.4-fold lower in farms lacking bumblebees than in farms hosting both pollinator species. The pollination experiment further suggested that the benefits of bumblebees could be mediated by improved pollen quality rather than quantity. Synthesis and applications. This study highlights the pervasive consequences of losing key pollinator functional groups, such as bumblebees, for apple production and local economies. Adopting pollinator-friendly practices such as minimizing the use of synthetic inputs or restoring/maintaining semi-natural habitats at farm and landscape scales, will have the double advantage of promoting biodiversity conservation, and increasing crop productivity and profitability for local farmers. Yet because the implementation of these practices can take time to deliver results, the management of native pollinator species can be a provisional complementary strategy to increase economic profitability of apple growers in the short term. (Less)
y4 selective receptor agonists for therapeutic intervention

Y1 receptor and Y2 Y4 receptor agonist selectivity for the Y4 receptor than the receptor are useful in the treatment of conditions responsive to activation of Y4 receptors. Y4 selective agonists, (a) whether the PP-fold peptide or PP-fold peptide mimic having the features of the C-terminal sequence and N-terminal sequences identified in the specification, or (b) linked in covalent molecule having or (c) contain each type (a) C-terminal comprising the last four residues of the receptor recognition sequence covalently linked two C-terminal Y4 receptor-recognition amino acid sequence of the agonist Become. BACKGROUND
Low complexity DCO-FBMC visible light communication system

Filter Bank Multicarrier (FBMC) is a new waveform candidate in the visible light communication system (VLC). FBMC is a distinctive kind of multi-carrier modulation that can be regarded as an alternative to orthogonal frequency Division Multicarrier (OFDM) with CP (cyclic prefix). DCO-FBMC (DC-bias optical FBMC) has recently been used in VLC, because it overcomes all defects in the optical-OFDM system and has high spectral efficiency. but at the same time the traditional DCO-FBMC suffers from high complexity due to the use of Hermitian Symmetry for real signal, by using 2N-point subcarrier IFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transformer) in the modulator, and the output is N-point subcarrier FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) in the demodulator. In this paper, for the first time, the possibility of minimizing complexity and generating a real signal without the use of Hermitian Symmetry or any other technique has been verified. The proposed technology provides 50% of the size of the IFFT / FFT and this results in a significant reduction in power consumption and occupied chip area.
Mechanical competition triggered by innate immune signaling drives the collective extrusion of bacterially-infected epithelial cells

Multiple distinct types of intracellular bacterial pathogens have been shown to alter the mechanics of their mammalian host cells to promote cell-to-cell spread. Conversely, host cells may respond by altering their own mechanical behavior to limit infection. We monitored epithelial cell monolayers sparsely infected with the intracellular bacterial pathogens Listeria monocytogenes or Rickettsia parkeri over the course of several days. Under conditions where these pathogens were able to trigger innate immune signaling through the NF-κB pathway and to use actin-based motility to spread non-lytically from cell to cell, domains of infected cells formed enormous three-dimensional mounds, where uninfected cells surrounding the infected cells became stiffer and actively moved toward the site of infection, collectively squeezing the softer and weaker infected cells up and ejecting them from the epithelial monolayer. Bacteria in mounds were less able to spread laterally in the monolayer, limiting the growth of the focus, while mounded cells eventually underwent cell death. Cells in infected monolayers exhibited behavioral and molecular signatures of the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), such that coordinated forceful action by uninfected bystander cells actively eliminated large domains of infected cells, consistent with the hypothesis that this collective cell response represents an innate immune response.
Performance of the Belgian health system – Report 2019

Description The public healthcare system is financed through a mixture of direct and indirect taxes and social insurance contributions. Different financing sources have different implications with respect to redistribution and solidarity. We assess the progressivity and regressivity of the financing sources of the healthcare system. Progressive [regressive] financing implies an increasing [decreasing] relative contribution as function of income.
A Probabilistic Tremor Location Method

A method to locate tremor with an unclear onset is introduced. The method maps envelopes of cross‐correlated records from pairs of seismographs to signal likelihoods using Bayes' theorem. The likelihood time series are then back projected to obtain likelihoods of source location in space. Assuming that information derived from different station pairs is independent, the joint likelihood for all station pairs is the product of all individual station pair likelihoods. Its peak and spread give the most probable source location and its uncertainty. Robustness of the method has been evaluated with synthetic tests. The method recovers true location within 0.5 km with realistic noise characteristics in synthetic data. Uncertainty estimates are consistent with location deviations for sources inside the seismic network. When applied to real data from Katla and Eyjafjallajökull volcanoes in southern Iceland, their likely tremor source is also recovered within 1 km.
Epidemiological patterns of acne vulgaris among adolescents in North India: A cross-sectional study and brief review of literature

Background: Acne is a common skin disorder that affects both adolescents and adults. Epidemiological data on acne are limited from developing countries. Objective: The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence and pattern of acne vulgaris among adolescent students of Chandigarh (India), and to study the impact of acne on quality of life. Materials and Methods: Children from three schools were enrolled to investigate the demographic profile, severity and causative factors of acne and its impact on quality of life using a predesigned questionnaire and followed by examination for presence, site and severity of acne. Results: Acne was present in 72.3% of 1032 children included in this study. Mild acne was present in 81.9% students, moderate in 17.1%, and severe in 0.9%. There was a significant association of acne with stress (P = 0.001) and premenstrual flare (P = 0.000). No association was found between acne and diet, hygiene, weather, family history, and smoking. The quality of life was affected in 29% of children and was directly related to the severity of acne (P = 0.000). No difference of impact on quality of life was seen between boys and girls. Conclusions: This study presents the demographic features and clinical characteristics of acne in school children. This large-scale analysis reveals that acne is a very common dermatosis among Indian school children having a significant impact on their quality of life.
Development of a Decision Support System for Ankle-Foot Orthosis (AFO) Design Based on Lumped Parameter Models for Human Locomotion Prediction

This work aims to develop a decision support system (DSS) to help orthotic clinicians design AFOs to correct pathological gait patterns that result from various nerve impairments. The DSS utilizes lumped parameter models to predict key joint angles, step length, and swing and stance durations based on anthropometric data, impairment and AFO design. The predicted gait patterns by DSS were in general agreement with data from available literature. In the presented drop foot example, the DSS shows that increasing AFO stiffness would result in increased stride duration on both sides; proper AFO stiffness may result in increased stride length on both sides comparing with stride length for pathological gait without AFO. The DSS can be used by clinicians to suggest proper AFO’s mechanical properties, such as stiffness and range of motion, to help improve abnormal gait patterns resulting from underlying nerve impairments.