Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accurate prediction of energy expenditure using a shoe-based activity monitor.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to develop and validate a method for predicting energy expenditure (EE) using a footwear-based system with integrated accelerometer and pressure sensors. METHODS We developed a footwear-based device with an embedded accelerometer and insole pressure sensors for the prediction of EE. The data from the device can be used to perform accurate recognition of major postures and activities and to estimate EE using the acceleration, pressure, and posture/activity classification information in a branched algorithm without the need for individual calibration. We measured EE via indirect calorimetry as 16 adults (body mass index=19-39 kg·m) performed various low- to moderate-intensity activities and compared measured versus predicted EE using several models based on the acceleration and pressure signals. RESULTS Inclusion of pressure data resulted in better accuracy of EE prediction during static postures such as sitting and standing. The activity-based branched model that included predictors from accelerometer and pressure sensors (BACC-PS) achieved the lowest error (e.g., root mean squared error (RMSE)=0.69 METs) compared with the accelerometer-only-based branched model BACC (RMSE=0.77 METs) and nonbranched model (RMSE=0.94-0.99 METs). Comparison of EE prediction models using data from both legs versus models using data from a single leg indicates that only one shoe needs to be equipped with sensors. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that foot acceleration combined with insole pressure measurement, when used in an activity-specific branched model, can accurately estimate the EE associated with common daily postures and activities. The accuracy and unobtrusiveness of a footwear-based device may make it an effective physical activity monitoring tool.
Building Intelligent Pilots for Simulated Rotary Wing Aircraft

a typical scenario involving Soar-based RWA IPs. 1. Abstract There are two RWA in the scenario, just behind the The Soar/IFOR project has been developing ridge, indicated by the contour lines. The other intelligent pilot agents (henceforth IPs) for vehicles in the figure are a convoy of "enemy" participation in simulated battlefield environments. ground vehicles  tanks and anti-aircraft vehicles  While previously the project was mainly focused on controlled by ModSAF. The RWA are IPs for fixed-wing aircraft (FWA), more recently, the approximately 2.5 miles from the convoy. The IPs project has also started developing IPs for rotaryhave hidden their helicopters behind the ridge (their wing aircraft (RWA). This paper presents a approximate hiding area is specified to them in preliminary report on the development of IPs for advance). They unmask these helicopters by popping RWA. It focuses on two important issues that arise in out from behind the ridge to launch missiles at the this development. The first is a requirement for enemy vehicles, and quickly remask (hide) by reasoning about the terrain  when compared to an dipping behind the ridge to survive retaliatory FWA IP, an RWA IP needs to fly much closer to the attacks. They subsequently change their hiding terrain and in general take advantage of the terrain for position to avoid predictability when they pop out cover and concealment. The second issue relates to later. code and concept sharing between the FWA and RWA IPs. While sharing promises to cut down the development time for RWA IPs by taking advantage of our previous work for the FWA, it is not straightforward. The paper discusses the two issues in some detail and presents our initial resolutions of these issues. 2. Introduction The Soar/IFOR project has been developing intelligent pilot agents (IPs) for simulated battlefield environments (Laird et al., 1995, Rosenbloom, et al., 1994, Tambe et al., 1995). Until Summer 1994, the project was focused on building IPs for simulated fixed-wing aircraft (FWA), including air-to-air fighters and ground-attack aircraft. Since July 1994, we have begun developing IPs for simulated rotarywing aircraft (RWA), specifically, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters.
SALT: Sensing enAbled Localization and Tracking for geolocation database in TV white space

Localization is the enabling technology of geolocation database assisted Cognitive Radio Networks (CRN) in TV White Space (TVWS), as the location is required in the implementation of geolocation database approach by regulators such as FCC and Ofcom. This paper proposes a novel Sensing enAbled Localization and Tracking (SALT) system, which locates Secondary Users (SUs) and tracks their movements. In particular, the system localize SUs based on their measurement of Primary User (PU) signals in the TV spectrum. SALT also uses the SU movement information to dynamically manage the available spectrum with an optimal spectrum allocation algorithm based on the location estimation, so as to maximize the uplink throughput of the entire network. The performance of the proposed localization and tracking algorithm is verified with field measurement data from complex environment through extensive experimentation.
The effect of downtime frequency at fixed machine availability in queuing systems

As efficient and accurate schemes, queuing models have usually been applied to approximate the behavior and characteristics of a system. However, most queuing models do not consider service interruptions. Although the previous studies have attempted to modify queuing models using availability, the frequency of server failure under fixed availability is still not considered. As previous study showed, the different frequency of server breakdown will result in various variations of service time as well as cycle time, even in a constant utilization level. This work presents a novel modified queuing model by applying availability and Mean Time to Repaired (MTTR). Consequently, the frequency of failure under fixed machine availability can be defined clearly in this model. In this work, Machine failure is regarded as an irregular customer to determine its impact on the system. The required service time and arrival rate of these irregular customers represent the behavior of machine breakdown. Therefore, the influence of machine failure on system performance is defined. The cycle time of each product with machine failure is also estimated accurately. Furthermore, the effect of various frequency of machine breakdown in a constant availability level is discovered in the result of simulation experiments. The experiments results also support that the proposed model could estimate the cycle time more accurately.
Effects of voluntary fluid intake deprivation on mental and psychomotor performance.

AIM To assess if there is deterioration in mental and psychomotor performance during 24-hour voluntary fluid intake deprivation. METHODS A battery of computer generated psychological tests (Complex Reactionmeter Drenovac-series) was applied to 10 subjects to test light signal position discrimination, short-term memory, simple visual orientation, simple arithmetics, and complex motor coordination. We measured total test solving time, minimum (best) single task solving time, total ballast time, and total number of errors. Mood self-estimate scales of depression, working energy, anxiety, and self-confidence were used to determine the emotional status of subjects. During the first day of the experiment, subjects had free access to drinks. After a 48-hour interval, subjects voluntarily abstained from fluid intake for 24 hours. During that period, the testing was performed 7 times a day, at 3-hour intervals, except during the night. Z-transformation of the results enabled the comparison of 50 dependent measurements on the same subjects. RESULTS During dehydration, there was significant deterioration in total test solving time, minimum single task solving time, and total ballast time. No significant deterioration was found by mood self-estimate scales, except on the scale of energy at 23:00 hours. CONCLUSION Voluntary 24-hour fluid intake deprivation led to deterioration in objective parameters of psychological processing, but not in subjective parameters. The results suggest that the duration of fluid intake deprivation can be a useful indicator of mental and psychomotor deterioration level but not of mood self-estimates.
Materials : Knowledge-based Methods for Identification of Functional Modules in Protein Interaction Networks

The majority of the current methods for identifying modules in protein interaction networks are based solely on analysing topological features of the networks. In contrast, the main idea that underpins the planned thesis is that combining topological information with knowledge about protein function will result in more biologically plausible modules than using approaches based solely on topology. We here propose approaches that use a combination of domain-specific knowledge, derived from Gene Ontology, and topological properties, to generate functional modules from protein interaction networks. By using yeast two hybrid (Y2H) interactions from S. Cerevisiae and knowledge in terms of Gene Ontology (GO) annotations, we have elucidated functional modules of interacting proteins. In this report, a summary of the proposed approaches is presented. The methods with the same rationale but slightly different designs have been implemented, tested and evaluated. The first approach, where we combine clusters of proteins based on their mutual neighbours profiles with the corresponding clusters based on GO semantic similarity profiles, treats each of the aspects (functional knowledge and topology) separately to obtain functional clusters, and thereafter merges the clusters into one single structure. In contrast, the other approaches integrate both aspects from the beginning. The two other approaches are two versions of a method named SWEMODE (Semantic WEights for MODule Elucidation), which uses knowledge-based clustering coefficient to identify network modules. The first one is uses the original protein interaction graph, and the second one is a recently designed extension of SWEMODE where the k-cores of the graph are emphasised. We demonstrate that all three methods are able to identify the key functional modules in protein interaction networks. The first method was applied to smaller well-studied networks, that are known to contain modules of signalling pathways, while SWEMODE was applied on a large network containing 2 231 proteins and 6 379 interactions. The methods were also used to study intermodule connections, which is a step towards revealing a higher order hierarchy between modules. In this report, we describe and discuss the proposed approaches, along with their strengths and weaknesses. We also propose further extensions and improvements of the proposed methods, some of which may be attempted as the final steps in the implementation phase of the dissertation
Circulating miR-221 Expression Level and Prognosis of Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma

Background The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using serum miR-221 as a noninvasive prognostic biomarker for cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM). Material/Methods We measured the expression levels of miR-221 in serum samples from 72 CMM patients and 54 healthy controls by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The differences between the survival curves were tested by using the log-rank test. The COX proportional hazards regression model was used to determine the joint effects of several variables on survival. Results The serum miR-221 levels were significantly higher in patients with CMM than in healthy controls (p<0.0001). Patients with high serum miR-221 levels had a significantly lower 5-year OS rate (22.1% vs. 54.6%; P=0.018) and RFS rate (12.5% vs. 45.2%; P=0.008) than those with low serum miR-221 level. In a multivariate Cox model, we found that miR-221 expression was an independent predictor of poor 5-year OS (hazards ratio [HR]=3.189, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.782–6.777, P=0.007) and 5-year DFS (HR=2.119, CI=1.962–8.552, P=0.01) in CMM patients. Conclusions Our data indicate that serum miR-221expression level has prognostic value in patients with CMM.
Audiovisual Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Adaptation Reveals Multisensory Integration Effects in Object-Related Sensory Cortices

Information integration across different sensory modalities contributes to object recognition, the generation of associations and long-term memory representations. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging adaptation to investigate the presence of sensory integrative effects at cortical levels as early as nonprimary auditory and extrastriate visual cortices, which are implicated in intermediate stages of object processing. Stimulation consisted of an adapting audiovisual stimulus S1 and a subsequent stimulus S2 from the same basic-level category (e.g., cat). The stimuli were carefully balanced with respect to stimulus complexity and semantic congruency and presented in four experimental conditions: (1) the same image and vocalization for S1 and S2, (2) the same image and a different vocalization, (3) different images and the same vocalization, or (4) different images and vocalizations. This two-by-two factorial design allowed us to assess the contributions of auditory and visual stimulus repetitions and changes in a statistically orthogonal manner. Responses in visual regions of right fusiform gyrus and right lateral occipital cortex were reduced for repeated visual stimuli (repetition suppression). Surprisingly, left lateral occipital cortex showed stronger responses to repeated auditory stimuli (repetition enhancement). Similarly, auditory regions of interest of the right middle superior temporal gyrus and sulcus exhibited repetition suppression to auditory repetitions and repetition enhancement to visual repetitions. Our findings of crossmodal repetition-related effects in cortices of the respective other sensory modality add to the emerging view that in human subjects sensory integrative mechanisms operate on earlier cortical processing levels than previously assumed.
Resistance to Fas-mediated apoptosis in human lung fibroblast

The current authors have demonstrated previously that epithelial cell apoptosis, induced by the Fas-Fas ligand pathway, might be involved in fibrosing lung diseases. Whereas lung epithelial cells are sensitive to the Fas-mediated apoptosis, lung fibroblasts may be resistant to Fas-mediated apoptosis and replace damaged epithelial cells. The WI-38 lung fibroblast cell line and primary lung fibroblasts were used to examine the resistant to Fas-mediated apoptosis and the association of anti-apoptotic proteins with this resistance. The administration of agonistic anti-Fas antibody (CH-11) or cycloheximide alone did not induce apoptosis, whereas the co-administration of CH-11 with cycloheximide induced apoptosis in WI-38 cells, in which caspase‐8 and ‐3, but not ‐9, were activated, and X chromosome-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (ILP) and FLICE-like inhibitor protein (FLIPL), but not bcl‐xL and bcl‐2, were remarkably down regulated. Primary lung fibroblasts were also resistant to Fas-mediated apoptosis, and ILP and FLIP appeared to be involved in this resistance. Furthermore, the results of immunohistochemistry demonstrated that fibroblasts expressed ILP and FLIPL proteins in lung tissues from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. These results suggest that anti-apoptotic proteins such as X chromosome-linked inhibitor of apoptosis and FLICE-like inhibitor protein may play an important role in preventing Fas-mediated apoptosis in lung fibroblasts, and participate in the development of pulmonary fibrosis.
Validation and comparison of reference equations for the 6-min walk distance test

Exercise impairment as measured by the 6-min walk distance (6MWD) test afflicts many patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is known to predict mortality. Reference equations for the 6MWD in adults have been published but not yet validated. The present authors prospectively followed 1,379 COPD patients for 55±30 months and tested the predictive value of the baseline 6MWD in metres, the 6MWD work (kg·m−1) and as a percentage of predicted values the 6MWD in meters according to two reference equations. All-cause mortality was the validating outcome. The best threshold values were identified for each of the tests using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The threshold values obtained were: 350 m for the 6MWD, 25,000 kg·m−1 for the 6MWD work, and 67 and 54% predicted for the two reference equations. All modalities of the testing were similar at predicting COPD mortality and correlated well with the 6MWD test. In conclusion, all modalities of testing predict mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease equally well. In the 6-min walk distance test, a value <350 m is associated with increased mortality and should be regarded as abnormal.
Using online worst-case execution time analysis and alternative tasks in real time systems

As embedded hardware becomes more powerful, it allows for more complex real time systems running tasks with highly dynamic execution times. This dynamicity makes the already formidable task of producing accurate WCET analysis even more di? cult. Since the variation in execution time depends on task input and the state of the system, it is postulated that a more accurate estimate for the WCET can be found online with knowledge about the task parameters. This thesis will explore the concept of online execution time analysis and its potential utilization. Line detection in images through Hough line transform is found to be a relevant application whose execution time can be estimated by the contrast of the input image. A system for scheduling tasks utilizing their online WCET estimate is then discussed. It dynamically checks for potential deadline misses and degrades tasks, either by running a more e? cient alternative task instead or by aborting the task, until timely execution is guaranteed. An experiment is presented, demonstrating a higher throughput of tasks with online WCET estimation. Finally, the work on a framework for more precise simulations and experiments is presented.
Conceptions of Tourism Lifestyle Entrepreneurship: Transition Economy Context

Lifestyle non-economic motives have been recognised as a significant motivational factor for tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs. However, knowledge on the subject is mainly drawn from the perspective of western developed economies, with a paucity of studies focusing on transition and developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to investigate tourism entrepreneurship within the former socialist countries, particularly focusing on Croatia. The study is based on in-depth interviews with tourism entrepreneurs in the Splitsko-dalmatinska county (Split-Dalmatia). The paper argues that understanding of entrepreneurship can be enhanced if theories are contextualised within a specific setting and industry sector, and thus applies the “drilling down” model in investigating tourism entrepreneurship. The results reveal a non-existence of lifestyle entrepreneurs and a conceptual model is developed to encapsulate the complex range of factors which underpin the different behaviour of the analysed entrepreneurs. Implications for entrepreneurship theory and further research are discussed.
A Novel Subspace Discriminant Locality Preserving Projections for Face Recognition

This paper addresses Small Sample Size (3S) problem of Locality Preserving Projection (LPP) approach in face recognition. It is well-known that the dimension of pattern vector obtained by vectorizing a facial image is very high and usually greater than the number of training samples. Under this situation, 3S problem always occurs and direct utilizing LPP algorithm is infeasible. To deal with this limitation, a novel subspace discriminant LPP approach (SDLPP) is proposed in this paper based on modified LPP criterion and supervised graph. Furthermore, our SDLPP approach has low computational complexity. Two face databases, namely ORL and FERET databases, are selected for evaluations. Compared with some existing sate-of-the-art LPP based methods, the proposed SDLPP method gives the best performance.
Oral Outbreak of Chagas Disease in Santa Catarina, Brazil: Experimental Evaluation of a Patient’s Strain

Chagas disease is a worldwide public health problem. Although the vectorial transmission of Chagas disease has been controlled in Brazil there are other ways of transmission, such as the ingestion of T. cruzi contaminated food, which ensures the continuation of this zoonosis. Here, we demonstrate the influence of the inoculation route on the establishment and development of the SC2005 T. cruzi strain infection in mice. Groups of Swiss mice were infected intragastrically (IG) or intraperitoneally (IP) with the T. cruzi SC2005 strain derived from an outbreak of oral Chagas disease. The results revealed that 100% of IP infected mice showed parasitemia, while just 36% of IG infected showed the presence of the parasite in blood. The parasitemia peaks were later and less intense in the IG infected mice. Mortality of the IP infected animals was more intense and earlier when compared to the IG infected mice. In the IP infected mice leucopenia occurred in the early infection followed by leucocytosis, correlating positively with the increase of the parasites. However, in the IG infected mice only an increase in monocytes was observed, which was positively correlated with the increase of the parasites. Histopathological analyses revealed a myotropic pattern of the SC2005 strain with the presence of inflammatory infiltrates and parasites in different organs of the animals infected by both routes as well as fibrosis foci and collagen redistribution. The flow cytometric analysis demonstrated a fluctuation of the T lymphocyte population in the blood, spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes of the infected animals. T. cruzi DNA associated with the presence of inflammatory infiltrates was detected by PCR in the esophagus, stomach and intestine of all infected mice. These findings are important for the understanding of the pathogenesis of T. cruzi infection by both inoculation routes.
Hox gene duplications correlate with posterior heteronomy in scorpions

The evolutionary success of the largest animal phylum, Arthropoda, has been attributed to tagmatization, the coordinated evolution of adjacent metameres to form morphologically and functionally distinct segmental regions called tagmata. Specification of regional identity is regulated by the Hox genes, of which 10 are inferred to be present in the ancestor of arthropods. With six different posterior segmental identities divided into two tagmata, the bauplan of scorpions is the most heteronomous within Chelicerata. Expression domains of the anterior eight Hox genes are conserved in previously surveyed chelicerates, but it is unknown how Hox genes regionalize the three tagmata of scorpions. Here, we show that the scorpion Centruroides sculpturatus has two paralogues of all Hox genes except Hox3, suggesting cluster and/or whole genome duplication in this arachnid order. Embryonic anterior expression domain boundaries of each of the last four pairs of Hox genes (two paralogues each of Antp, Ubx, abd-A and Abd-B) are unique and distinguish segmental groups, such as pectines, book lungs and the characteristic tail, while maintaining spatial collinearity. These distinct expression domains suggest neofunctionalization of Hox gene paralogues subsequent to duplication. Our data reconcile previous understanding of Hox gene function across arthropods with the extreme heteronomy of scorpions.