Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rock Steady Boxing: Fighting Parkinson’s disease one counter punch at a time!

*Reprinted with permission of MA Success Founded in 2005, Rock Steady Boxing is a unique program that gives Parkinson’s patients a chance to fight back against their invisible adversary. By emphasizing gross motor movement, balance and core strength, the combination of “sweet science” and sweat gives hope to those combating the disease. Subscribe to Palaestra
An Empirical Measurement of Security Association in 802.11 Mesh Networks

Security association established by authentication schemes enables wireless networks resilient from external attacks. However, an enhanced security guarantee will influence network performance more or less. In this paper, we observe the detailed actions of a security association in the procedure of establishment and shift, in a wireless mesh network (WMN), i.e. a typical multi-hop network. To investigate the behaviors of security association in different environment, several experiments are implemented in our testbed with discriminatory parameters sets, such as routing efficiency, topology diversity and subsequent traffic load. The quantified interactions between security association and network performance are exposed by the comparison of representative parameters. Meanwhile, a guideline is suggested for the design of access schemes which take both security and QoS into account.
Effects of citalopram and interpersonal psychotherapy on depression in patients with coronary artery disease: the Canadian Cardiac Randomized Evaluation of Antidepressant and Psychotherapy Efficacy (CREATE) trial.

CONTEXT Few randomized controlled trials have evaluated the efficacy of treatments for major depression in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). None have simultaneously evaluated an antidepressant and short-term psychotherapy. OBJECTIVE To document the short-term efficacy of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (citalopram) and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) in reducing depressive symptoms in patients with CAD and major depression. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The Canadian Cardiac Randomized Evaluation of Antidepressant and Psychotherapy Efficacy, a randomized, controlled, 12-week, parallel-group, 2 x 2 factorial trial conducted May 1, 2002, to March 20, 2006, among 284 patients with CAD from 9 Canadian academic centers. All patients met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria for diagnosis of major depression of 4 weeks' duration or longer and had baseline 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) scores of 20 or higher. INTERVENTIONS Participants underwent 2 separate randomizations: (1) to receive 12 weekly sessions of IPT plus clinical management (n = 142) or clinical management only (n = 142) and (2) to receive 12 weeks of citalopram, 20 to 40 mg/d (n = 142), or matching placebo (n = 142). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome measure was change between baseline and 12 weeks on the 24-item HAM-D, administered blindly during centralized telephone interviews (tested at alpha = .033); the secondary outcome measure was self-reported Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) score (tested at alpha = .017). RESULTS Citalopram was superior to placebo in reducing 12-week HAM-D scores (mean difference, 3.3 points; 96.7% confidence interval [CI], 0.80-5.85; P = .005), with a small to medium effect size of 0.33. Mean HAM-D response (52.8% vs 40.1%; P = .03) and remission rates (35.9% vs 22.5%; P = .01) and the reduction in BDI-II scores (difference, 3.6 points; 98.3% CI, 0.58-6.64; P = .005; effect size = 0.33) also favored citalopram. There was no evidence of a benefit of IPT over clinical management, with the mean HAM-D difference favoring clinical management (-2.26 points; 96.7% CI, -4.78 to 0.27; P = .06; effect size, 0.23). The difference on the BDI-II did not favor clinical management (1.13 points; 98.3% CI, -1.90 to 4.16; P = .37; effect size = 0.11). CONCLUSIONS This trial documents the efficacy of citalopram administered in conjunction with weekly clinical management for major depression among patients with CAD and found no evidence of added value of IPT over clinical management. Based on these results and those of previous trials, citalopram or sertraline plus clinical management should be considered as a first-step treatment for patients with CAD and major depression. TRIAL REGISTRATION isrctn.org Identifier: ISRCTN15858091.
A Taxonomy of Information Security for Service-Centric Systems

Pervasive communications and the rapid expansion of Internet trigger a myriad of concerns about trust and information security. Moreover, composing software from components and services, originating from diverse sources, without a thorough quality assurance practices may expose serious weaknesses that open up the systems for malicious attacks and misuse. In order to guarantee the security of the systems we need a uniform understanding about what security is and how to measure it. This paper introduces a taxonomy of information security, intended for the use of software architects of service centric systems. The security taxonomy extends our quality oriented architecting environment (QoAE) - an integrated tool environment for defining quality ontologies, describing the quality properties of service architectures, and analyzing quality requirement satisfaction at the level of proposed architecture.
Long-wave longitudinal optical phonons as quanta of electromagnetic field in cubic ionic crystals

We consider long-wave high-frequency upper phonon-polaritons and longitudinal optical phonons in diatomic ionic crystal. The model of free ions which are polarized in self-consistent electromagnetic field in the dielectric environment is used. A wave equation for the electric field in a medium is obtained that gives standard dispersion law for upper branch phonon-polaritons and longitudinal optical phonons. It is shown by comparison with tabular data that the frequency of longitudinal optical phonons coincides with an ion plasma frequency with the reduced mass of the crystal cell and the factor with high-frequency dielectric constant, arising through the use of the Lorentz relation.
Using the RITE method to improve products; a definition and a case study

This paper defines and evaluates a method that some practitioners are using but has not been formally discussed or defined. The method leads to a high ratio of problems found to fixes made and then empirically verifies the efficacy of the fixes. We call it the Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation method – or RITE method. Application to the tutorial of a popular game, Age of Empires II, shows this method to be highly effective in terms of finding and fixing problems and generating positive industry reviews for the tutorial.
Korean Science and Engineering Students’ Perceptions of English-Medium Instruction and Korean-Medium Instruction

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine how Korean science and engineering students view English-medium instruction (EMI) and Korean-medium instruction (KMI). The participants were 174 undergraduate students enrolled in EMI and KMI classes offered by the same instructor at a Korean science and engineering school. Interviews and questionnaire surveys were conducted, and students’ course evaluations, English scores and course grades were compared. The results of a campus-wide undergraduate student survey on EMI were also analyzed. The findings of the study show that the KMI-class students demonstrated higher levels of satisfaction and better performance in their classes than the EMI-class students did. Only 22% of the students in both classes found EMI classes helpful for improving their English ability. Nevertheless, the majority of the students supported the school’s maintenance of an EMI policy. In the conclusion, the paradoxical attitude of the students and the implications of the study are discussed.
Evaluation of Polyphenolic Profile and Nutritional Value of Non-Traditional Fruit Species in the Czech Republic — A Comparative Study

Dry matter, organic acids, ascorbic acid, minerals (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium) and polyphenolic profile of a number of non-traditional fruit species and their genotypes, namely blue honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), Saskatoon berry (Amelanchier alnifolia), black mulberry (Morus nigra), Tomentosa cherry (Prunus tomentosa Thunb.) and jostaberry (Ribes nigrum x Grossularia uva-crispa) were investigated. The results showed that Lonicera genotypes displayed high levels of ascorbic acid and they were rich in minerals, with the cultivar ‘Amfora’ achieving the leading position in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content among all lesser known fruit species. Amelanchier cultivars represented a valuable source of ascorbic acid and calcium, ‘Tišňovský’ and ‘Smoky’ together with Morus nigra ‘Jugoslavska’ accumulated the highest level of examined polyphenolic compounds. Regular consumption of studied less common fruit species can bring health benefits so they can represent a high potential value for fruit growers and in addition they can be utilised as functional foods.
A2-MAC: an application adaptive medium access control protocol for data collections in wireless sensor networks

In recent years, wireless sensor networks have been accepted/deployed for applications ranging from environmental monitoring, wild life management, to water resource management. Networking protocols for wireless sensor networks have attracted a lot of attention both from research communities and industries. At the same time, much of the existing research work of MAC (Medium Access Control) protocols for wireless sensor networks is focused on the energy efficiency and self-organizing features. How to design a MAC protocol that is capable of adapting to applications still remains as one of the main challenges of wireless sensor network technologies. In this paper, we present a MAC protocol, called A -MAC, for data collection in wireless sensor networks. The main strength of A2-MAC is that it uses the application sensing interval as the control hint for medium access. Performance analytical results showed that A2-MAC is able to achieve high throughput up to around 90% of the channel capacity as well as high energy savings up to 90%.
Statistical methods for automatic segmentation of elastographic images

Elastography is a new ultrasonic method for measuring tissuespsila elasticity. Besides many and widely acknowledged benefits, the method suffers severe limitations due to the high motion sensitivity and inter-operator dependency to the point where it provides only qualitative information, not having, until now, any real quantification means. In this paper we present an automatic segmentation method for elastographic images based on statistical techniques. First a probabilistic model is built for every pixel in the image, derived by processing a video sequence instead of a single image. The built image contains the values with highest probability for each pixel. Next a DAEM (Deterministic Annealing Expectation Maximization) method is used for automatic image segmentation. Finally a numerical quantification of tissue elasticity is provided based on the segmentation.
Effects of spaceflight on rhesus quadrupedal locomotion after return to 1G.

Effects of spaceflight on Rhesus quadrupedal locomotion after return to 1G. Locomotor performance, activation patterns of the soleus (Sol), medial gastrocnemius (MG), vastus lateralis (VL), and tibialis anterior (TA) and MG tendon force during quadrupedal stepping were studied in adult Rhesus before and after 14 days of either spaceflight (n = 2) or flight simulation at 1G (n = 3). Flight simulation involved duplication of the spaceflight conditions and experimental protocol in a 1G environment. Postflight, but not postsimulation, electromyographic (EMG) recordings revealed clonus-like activity in all muscles. Compared with preflight, the cycle period and burst durations of the primary extensors (Sol, MG, and VL) tended to decrease postflight. These decreases were associated with shorter steps. The flexor (TA) EMG burst duration postflight was similar to preflight, whereas the burst amplitude was elevated. Consequently, the Sol:TA and MG:TA EMG amplitude ratios were lower following flight, reflecting a "flexor bias. " Together, these alterations in mean EMG amplitudes reflect differential adaptations in motor-unit recruitment patterns of flexors and extensors as well as fast and slow motor pools. Shorter cycle period and burst durations persisted throughout the 20-day postflight testing period, whereas mean EMG returned to preflight levels by 17 days postflight. Compared with presimulation, the simulation group showed slight increases in the cycle period and burst durations of all muscles. Mean EMG amplitude decreased in the Sol, increased in the MG and VL, and was unchanged in the TA. Thus adaptations observed postsimulation were different from those observed postflight, indicating that there was a response unique to the microgravity environment, i.e., the modulations in the nervous system controlling locomotion cannot merely be attributed to restriction of movement but appear to be the result of changes in the interpretation of load-related proprioceptive feedback to the nervous system. Peak MG tendon force amplitudes were approximately two times greater post- compared with preflight or presimulation. Adaptations in tendon force and EMG amplitude ratios indicate that the nervous system undergoes a reorganization of the recruitment patterns biased toward an increased recruitment of fast versus slow motor units and flexor versus extensor muscles. Combined, these data indicate that some details of the control of motor pools during locomotion are dependent on the persistence of Earth's gravitational environment.
On the possibility of curvature radiation from radio pulsars

Weconsiderthewidespreadhypothesisthatcoherent curvature radiation is responsible for the radio emission of pul- sars. The comparison of energy conservation and the published data and luminosities explicitly proves that coherent curvature radiation cannot be the source for the radio emission of pulsars for frequencies below a few GHz. At higher frequencies coher- ent curvature radiation can be ruled out because neither the ob- servationally deduced emission heights nor the observed radius to frequency mapping can be reproduced by this mechanism. Our argumentation is in accordance with the more general crit- ics (e.g. Melrose 1992) that no adequate bunching mechanism has been identied for coherent curvature radiation. We present 5 examples (0329+29, 0355+54, 0540+23, 1133+16, 1916+10) of pulsars whose high frequency (larger than 1.4. GHz, up to 32 GHz) luminosities are well known, and as a low frequency example the faintest radio pulsar 0655+64 of the Taylor et al (1993) sample.
Time-optimal trajectory planning along predefined path for mobile robots with velocity and acceleration constraints

This paper is concerned with the problem of finding an optimal velocity profile along the predefined path in order to traverse the path in shortest time. A dynamic model of the mobile robot that accounts for robot actuator constraints is derived. It is shown how to use this dynamic model to express acceleration limits and velocity limit curve required by the optimal time-scaling algorithm. The developed trajectory planning algorithm is demonstrated on the Pioneer 3DX mobile robot. A method is very flexible and can be extended to account for other constraints, such as limited grip between the robot wheels and the ground.
The Antidepressant Agomelatine Improves Memory Deterioration and Upregulates CREB and BDNF Gene Expression Levels in Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress (UCMS)-Exposed Mice

Agomelatine, a novel antidepressant with established clinical efficacy, acts as an agonist of melatonergic MT1 and MT2 receptors and as an antagonist of 5-HT2C receptors. The present study was undertaken to investigate whether chronic treatment with agomelatine would block unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS)-induced cognitive deterioration in mice in passive avoidance (PA), modified elevated plus maze (mEPM), novel object recognition (NOR), and Morris water maze (MWM) tests. Moreover, the effects of stress and agomelatine on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response element binding protein (CREB) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels in the hippocampus was also determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Male inbred BALB/c mice were treated with agomelatine (10 mg/kg, i.p.), melatonin (10 mg/kg), or vehicle daily for five weeks. The results of this study revealed that UCMS-exposed animals exhibited memory deterioration in the PA, mEPM, NOR, and MWM tests. The chronic administration of melatonin had a positive effect in the PA and +mEPM tests, whereas agomelatine had a partial effect. Both agomelatine and melatonin blocked stress-induced impairment in visual memory in the NOR test and reversed spatial learning and memory impairment in the stressed group in the MWM test. Quantitative RT-PCR revealed that CREB and BDNF gene expression levels were downregulated in UCMS-exposed mice, and these alterations were reversed by chronic agomelatine or melatonin treatment. Thus, agomelatine plays an important role in blocking stress-induced hippocampal memory deterioration and activates molecular mechanisms of memory storage in response to a learning experience.
Measured performance of the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN

The practical network performances of two commercial IEEE 802.11 compliant wireless local area networks (WLANs) are measured at the medium access control sublayer. A number of tests conducted on the WLANs yielded important characteristics such as throughput and response time under various network loads. The results reveal that the buffering and fragmentation of data frames can seriously influence the performance of an IEEE 802.11 WLAN. Although the length of a data frame and the bit rate of the wireless transceiver also affect the WLANs transmission capabilities, its performance is generally unaffected by the type of frame addressing and the use of reservation frames such as request-to-send (RTS) and clear-to-send (CTS). These observations have not been reported in the analytical, simulation or measurement studies carried out so far. Thus, the detailed empirical results presented in this paper will be useful for administrators of IEEE 802.11 WLAN systems.
Transform biological data into Hbase with MDA

In order to solve the problem of the storage of DNA or Protein sequence, the efficiency of research in biological data should be improved. Based on model driven architecture (MDA), the paper gives the genomic model and GenBank file data model. The paper utilizes Hbase to store biological data along with Hbase scheme. The paper also gives overlapping and non-overlapping models of DNA sequence with Hbase. The method is conducive to improve the efficiency of storage and research.
Directional Variance Adjustment: improving covariance estimates for high-dimensional portfolio optimization

Robust and reliable covariance estimates play a decisive role in financial and many other applications. An important class of estimators is based on Factor models. Here, we show by extensive Monte Carlo simulations that covariance matrices derived from the statistical Factor Analysis model exhibit a systematic error, which is similar to the well-known systematic error of the spectrum of the sample covariance matrix. Moreover, we introduce the Directional Variance Adjustment (DVA) algorithm, which diminishes the systematic error. In a thorough empirical study for the US, European, and Hong Kong market we show that our proposed method leads to improved portfolio allocation.
Automatic Stream Surface Seeding: A Feature Centered Approach

The ability to capture and visualize information within the flow poses challenges for visualizing 3D flow fields. Stream surfaces are one of many useful integration based techniques for visualizing 3D flow. However seeding integral surfaces can be challenging. Previous research generally focuses on manual placement of stream surfaces. Little attention has been given to the problem of automatic stream surface seeding. This paper introduces a novel automatic stream surface seeding strategy based on vector field clustering. It is important that the user can define and target particular characteristics of the flow. Our framework provides this ability. The user is able to specify different vector clustering parameters enabling a range of abstraction for the density and placement of seeding curves and their associated stream surfaces. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this automatic stream surface approach on a range of flow simulations and incorporate illustrative visualization techniques. Domain expert evaluation of the results provides valuable insight into the users requirements and effectiveness of our approach.
Aerobic Fitness Linked to Cortical Brain Development in Adolescent Males: Preliminary Findings Suggest a Possible Role of BDNF Genotype

Aerobic exercise has been shown to impact brain structure and cognition in children and adults. Exercise-induced activation of a growth protein known as brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is thought to contribute to such relationships. To date, however, no study has examined how aerobic fitness relates to cortical brain structure during development and if BDNF genotype moderates these relationships. Using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and FreeSurfer, the current study examined how aerobic fitness relates to volume, thickness, and surface area in 34 male adolescents, 15 to 18 years old. Moreover, we examined if the val66met BDNF genotype moderated these relationships. We hypothesized that aerobic fitness would relate to greater thickness and volumes in frontal, parietal, and motor regions, and that these relationships would be less robust in individuals carrying a Met allele, since this genotype leads to lower BDNF expression. We found that aerobic fitness positively related to right rostral middle frontal cortical volume in all adolescents. However, results also showed BDNF genotype moderated the relationship between aerobic fitness and bilateral medial precuneus surface area, with a positive relationship seen in individuals with the Val/Val allele, but no relationship detected in those adolescents carrying a Met allele. Lastly, using self-reported levels of aerobic activity, we found that higher-fit adolescents showed larger right medial pericalcarine, right cuneus and left precuneus surface areas as compared to their low-fit peers. Our findings suggest that aerobic fitness is linked to cortical brain development in male adolescents, and that more research is warranted to determine how an individual’s genes may influence these relationships.