Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Manipulating Spatial Location of Visual Cue Placement on Gait Among Individuals with Parkinson's Disease: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACT Aims: To investigate the effect of manipulating the spatial location of a visual cue used to manage gait impairment among individuals with Parkinson's disease. Methods: Six individuals with Parkinson's disease who experience severe freezing of gait were asked to complete the Timed Up and Go test three times in each of the following conditions: no cue, cue presented at the users feet, cue presented at a distance equivalent to step length, and cue presented at a distance equivalent to stride length. Step length, velocity, walker positioning, and time taken to complete a 180 degree turn and the Timed Up and Go test were recorded. Results: Visual cueing led to an improvement in 4/5 outcome measures with magnitude of improvement being dependent upon the spatial location of cue presentation. Conclusions: Findings suggest that visual cueing and the spatial location of cue presentation are highly individualized in terms of managing gait disturbance.
The individual response to training and competition at altitude

Performance in athletic activities that include a significant aerobic component at mild or moderate altitudes shows a large individual variation. Physiologically, a large portion of the negative effect of altitude on exercise performance can be traced to limitations of oxygen diffusion, either at the level of the alveoli or the muscle microvasculature. In the lung, the ability to maintain arterial oxyhaemoglobin saturation (SaO2) appears to be a primary factor, ultimately influencing oxygen delivery to the periphery. SaO2 in hypoxia can be defended by increasing ventilatory drive; however, during heavy exercise, many athletes demonstrate limitations to expiratory flow and are unable to increase ventilation in hypoxia. Additionally, increasing ventilatory work in hypoxia may actually be negative for performance, if dyspnoea increases or muscle blood flow is reduced secondary to an increased sympathetic outflow (eg, the muscle metaboreflex response). Taken together, some athletes are clearly more negatively affected during exercise in hypoxia than other athletes. With careful screening, it may be possible to develop a protocol for determining which athletes may be the most negatively affected during competition and/or training at altitude.
Glucose-Dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide-Mediated Up-Regulation of β-Cell Antiapoptotic Bcl-2 Gene Expression Is Coordinated by Cyclic AMP (cAMP) Response Element Binding Protein (CREB) and cAMP-Responsive CREB Coactivator 2

ABSTRACT The cyclic AMP (cAMP)/protein kinase A (PKA) cascade plays a central role in β-cell proliferation and apoptosis. Here, we show that the incretin hormone glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) stimulates expression of the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 gene in pancreatic β cells through a pathway involving AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), cAMP-responsive CREB coactivator 2 (TORC2), and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB). Stimulation of β-INS-1 (clone 832/13) cells with GIP resulted in increased Bcl-2 promoter activity. Analysis of the rat Bcl-2 promoter revealed two potential cAMP response elements, one of which (CRE-I [GTGACGTAC]) was shown, using mutagenesis and deletion analysis, to be functional. Subsequent studies established that GIP increased the nuclear localization of TORC2 and phosphorylation of CREB serine 133 through a pathway involving PKA activation and reduced AMPK phosphorylation. At the nuclear level, phospho-CREB and TORC2 were demonstrated to bind to CRE-I of the Bcl-2 promoter, and GIP treatment resulted in increases in their interaction. Furthermore, GIP-mediated cytoprotection was partially reversed by small interfering RNA-mediated reduction in BCL-2 or TORC2/CREB or by pharmacological activation of AMPK. The antiapoptotic effect of GIP in β cells is therefore partially mediated through a novel mode of transcriptional regulation of Bcl-2 involving cAMP/PKA/AMPK-dependent regulation of CREB/TORC2 activity.
IoT Middleware Architecture over Information-Centric Network

Many approaches have been proposed to build a unified IoT platform where physical and digital objects are accessible by applications crossing different organization and domains, and are based on IP-overlay architecture. These solutions inherit the constraints of the current internet, especially in terms of naming, heterogeneity, mobility and security. In this paper, we propose a new Information-Centric Network (ICN) based IoT middleware to address these challenges by leveraging various promising features of ICN, such as naming. We elaborate the functions of ICN-based IoT middleware by integrating with the two future internet architectures, namely Named-Data Networking and MobilityFirst. Moreover, we evaluate the efficiency of service discovery (one of the functions in the proposed ICN-based IoT middleware) and demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed ICNbased IoT middleware .
Modulating the glycaemic response of ready to eat extruded snack products utilising dietary fibre and fibre rich waste stream materials.

The aim of this Ph. D. was to utilise commercial dietary fibre (DF) sources as well as DF from food waste streams to create snacks capable of reducing glycaemic response (GR). Obesity is a rising global epidemic due to changes in lifestyle, eating and exercise habits. Consumer demand for convenience has led to greater consumption of highly processed and refined foods so that even though cereal consumption is still high, many of the associated phytochemicals are removed, creating snacks high in energy and low in DF. High energy, low DF, diets have been linked to diabetes, certain types of cancer and heart disease. Health conscious consumers are demanding ‘healthy’ snack foods. In phase one DF rich products (at 5, 10 and 15 % w/w wheat flour replacement levels; total of 23 different samples) were incorporated into extruded snacks to determine the role of DFs in altering their physicochemical and nutritional characteristics. Starch digestion was shown to be lowered with all of high DF snacks (P ≤ 0.05), however, this was not always dose responsive (oat bran and super gum showed no difference with increasing concentrations). Product texture and viscosity parameters were also affected by DF although no general pattern could be observed. In phase two oat bran and psyllium material were incorporated into snack foods at 15 % (w/w) to evaluate potential GR in vitro and also in vivo (intervention study of 12 healthy subjects aged 18-40 yrs, with BMI 22.5-28, a total of 184 finger prick samples). Psyllium extruded snacks achieved attenuated in vitro and in vivo GR, (P ≤ 0.05). Oat bran reduced the in vitro but not in vivo response (P ≤ 0.05). Water absorption was negatively correlated with in vitro digestion (20 min) and in vivo AUC (P ≤ 0.05). In conclusion, the findings from this Ph. D. indicate the mechanism of DF ability to attenuate GR is related to its ability to bind water, and not all DFs behave in a similar fashion. Further research is required to elucidate the role of water in starch digestion and the impact on GR.
OTrack: Towards Order Tracking for Tags in Mobile RFID Systems

In many logistics applications of RFID technology, luggage attached with tags are placed on moving conveyor belts for processing. It is important to figure out the order of goods on the belts so that further actions like sorting can be accurately taken on proper goods. Due to arbitrary goods placement or the irregularity of wireless signal propagation, neither of the order of tag identification nor the received signal strength provides sufficient evidence on their relative positions on the belts. In this study, we observe, from experiments, a critical region of reading rate when a tag gets close enough to a reader. This phenomenon, as well as other signal attributes, yields the stable indication of tag order. We establish a probabilistic model for recognizing the transient critical region and propose the OTrack protocol to continuously monitor the order of tags. To validate the protocol, we evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness through a one-month experiment conducted through a working conveyor at Beijing Capital International Airport.
Discontinuous piecewise parametric modeling and compensation control for manipulator systems with friction

A novel compensation control based on intelligent modeling for joint friction in manipulator systems is proposed in this paper. The modeling algorithm exploits the discontinuous piecewise parametric representation (DPPR) as the estimator of generalized friction while the controller is a non-model feedforward compensator. The DPPR modeling captures the main characteristics of friction including Stribeck effect, discontinuous at zero, Coulomb and viscous friction. Dynamics knowledge of the plant is not required. The stability of the proposed scheme is analyzed by the Lyapunov criterion. Simulation results show that the proposed controller performs well for a 3-link manipulator system.
Characterization and modeling of Er/Yb-codoped fibers

Methods for the characterization and a numerical model of Er3+/Yb3+ codoped fibers for power fiber amplifiers and lasers are presented. The main goal of the developed model is to predict gain characteristics of an actual Er3+/Yb3+ fiber in the large-signal regime of operation. The numerical model is based on an iterative solution of the fiber propagation and the laser rate equations. The parameters of doping are obtained from the measurements of the saturation of absorption at a specific wavelength in the Er3+/Yb3+ doped fiber by fitting the measured curves of the absorption saturation using the developed theoretical model. For the parameters obtained, the numerical simulations of the gain are compared with the measured gain.
The impact of pesticides on oxidative stress level in human organism and their activity as an endocrine disruptor

ABSTRACT Pesticides cause serious environmental and health problems both to humans and animals. The aim of this review is to discuss selected herbicides and fungicides regarding their mode of action and their influence on basic oxidative stress parameters and endocrine disruption properties tested in selected cell cultures in vitro. Because of numerous difficulties which animal studies are subject to, cell cultures are an excellent experimental model reflecting human exposure to different pesticides through all relevant routes. This experimental model can be used to monitor aggregate and cumulative pesticide exposures.
A Hybrid Evolutionary System for Parameter Optimization and Lag Selection in Time Series Forecasting

The accuracy of time series forecasting can be increased by the employment of evolutionary systems. The improvement in the precision of such systems impact positively on the decision making process of many organizations. In this work we explore the decomposition of time series into linear and nonlinear patterns by the use of an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) method and a support vector machine (SVM) method using a particle swarm optimization algorithm to simultaneously perform parameter selection and lag selection. Experiments were performed using datasets from the time series data library amd the results demonstrated that the proposed method achieved promising results for one-step ahead predictions.
Bioengineering for Organ Transplantation: Progress and Challenges

Abstract Organ transplantation can offer a curative option for patients with end stage organ failure. Unfortunately the treatment is severely limited by the availability of donor organs. Organ bioengineering could provide a solution to the worldwide critical organ shortage. The majority of protocols to date have employed the use of decellularization-recellularization technology of naturally occurring tissues and organs with promising results in heart, lung, liver, pancreas, intestine and kidney engineering. Successful decellularization has provided researchers with suitable scaffolds to attempt cell reseeding. Future work will need to focus on the optimization of organ specific recellularization techniques before organ bioengineering can become clinically translatable. This review will examine the current progress in organ bioengineering and highlight future challenges in the field.
The world summit awards: a critical analysis

Best practice case studies have become very popular within commercial information systems and information and communication technology (ICT) for development discourses. Best practices claim to offer a way to quickly become as good as the leaders in a particular domain, without making their mistakes. An initiative that promotes the sharing of best practices is the World Summit Awards (WSA), which, through a global contest, identifies and promotes best practices in local e-content and applications. The paper explores the process whereby organisations apply and are judged as winners, in addition to conducting a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of selected WSA-related texts, to determine the underlying assumptions and beliefs of WSA regarding the concept of “best practice”. It holds up the findings against two principles that are fundamental to effective best practice promulgation. Ultimately it finds the WSA falling short of its intended goals because of the way in which it chooses and presents best practice cases.
Diet and melanoma in a case-control study.

BACKGROUND Malignant melanoma has been one of the most rapidly increasing cancers within the United States with few modifiable risk factors. This study investigates risk related to dietary factors, which are potentially modifiable. METHODS Newly diagnosed patients with melanoma (n = 502) were recruited from pigment lesion clinics and controls (n = 565) were recruited from outpatient clinics. To investigate the relationship between melanoma and dietary factors in this case-control study, study subjects were requested to complete a food frequency questionnaire, which assessed diet over the previous year. Using logistic regression, odds ratios (ORs) for melanoma were computed for nutrient and alcohol intake. RESULTS Persons in high versus low quintiles of energy-adjusted vitamin D, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, cryptoxanthin, lutein, and lycopene had significantly reduced risk for melanoma (ORs < or = 0.67), which remained after adjustment for presence of dysplastic nevi, education, and skin response to repeated sun exposure. Addition of micronutrients from supplements did not add an additional reduction in risk. High alcohol consumption was associated with an increased risk for melanoma, which remained after adjustment for confounders [OR (95% confidence interval) in highest versus lowest quintiles, 1.65 (1.09-2.49)]. CONCLUSIONS Diets consisting of foods rich in vitamin D and carotenoids and low in alcohol may be associated with a reduction in risk for melanoma. These analyses should be repeated in large, prospective studies.
Aperiodicity of Rational Functions Is PSPACE-Complete

It is known that a language of finite words is definable in monadic second-order logic - MSO - (resp. first-order logic - FO -) iff it is recognized by some finite automaton (resp. some aperiodic finite automaton). Deciding whether an automaton A is equivalent to an aperiodic one is known to be PSPACE-complete. This problem has an important application in logic: it allows one to decide whether a given MSO formula is equivalent to some FO formula. In this paper, we address the aperiodicity problem for functions from finite words to finite words (transductions), defined by finite transducers, or equivalently by bimachines, a transducer model studied by Schutzenberger and Reutenauer. Precisely, we show that the problem of deciding whether a given bimachine is equivalent to some aperiodic one is PSPACE-complete.
Learning Sparse Representation for Objective Image Retargeting Quality Assessment

The goal of image retargeting is to adapt source images to target displays with different sizes and aspect ratios. Different retargeting operators create different retargeted images, and a key problem is to evaluate the performance of each retargeting operator. Subjective evaluation is most reliable, but it is cumbersome and labor-consuming, and more importantly, it is hard to be embedded into online optimization systems. This paper focuses on exploring the effectiveness of sparse representation for objective image retargeting quality assessment. The principle idea is to extract distortion sensitive features from one image (e.g., retargeted image) and further investigate how many of these features are preserved or changed in another one (e.g., source image) to measure the perceptual similarity between them. To create a compact and robust feature representation, we learn two overcomplete dictionaries to represent the distortion sensitive features of an image. Features including local geometric structure and global context information are both addressed in the proposed framework. The intrinsic discriminative power of sparse representation is then exploited to measure the similarity between the source and retargeted images. Finally, individual quality scores are fused into an overall quality by a typical regression method. Experimental results on several databases have demonstrated the superiority of the proposed method.
An exponential lower bound for depth 3 arithmetic circuits

We prove the rst exponential lower bound on the size of any depth 3 arithmetic circuit with unbounded fanin computing an explicit function (the determinant) over an arbitrary nite eld. This answers an open problem of N91] and NW95] for the case of nite elds. We intepret here arithmetic circuits in the algebra of polynomials over the given eld. The proof method involves a new argument on the rank of linear functions, and a group symmetry on polynomials vanishing at certain nonsingular matrices, and could be of independent interest.
Obstructive and restrictive spirometric patterns: fixed cut-offs for FEV1/FEV6 and FEV6

The purpose of this study was to determine fixed cut-off points for forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1)/FEV6 and FEV6 as an alternative for FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) and FVC in the detection of obstructive and restrictive spirometric patterns, respectively. For the study, a total of 11,676 spirometric examinations, which took place on Caucasian subjects aged between 20–80 yrs, were analysed. Receiver–operator characteristic curves were used to determine the FEV1/FEV6 ratio and FEV6 value that corresponded to the optimal combination of sensitivity and specificity, compared with the commonly used fixed cut-off term for FEV1/FVC and FVC. The data from the current study indicate that FEV1/ FEV6 <73% and FEV6 <82% predicted can be used as a valid alternative for the FEV1/FVC <70% and FVC <80% pred cut-off points for the detection of obstruction and restriction, respectively. The statistical analysis demonstrated very good, overall, agreement between the two categorisation schemes. For the spirometric diagnosis of airway obstruction (prevalence of 45.9%), FEV1/FEV6 sensitivity and specificity were 94.4 and 93.3%, respectively; the positive and negative predictive values were 92.2 and 95.2%, respectively. For the spirometric detection of a restrictive pattern (prevalence of 14.9%), FEV6 sensitivity and specificity were 95.9 and 98.6%, respectively; the positive and negative predictive values were 92.2 and 99.3%, respectively. This study demonstrates that forced expiratory volume in one second/forced expiratory volume in six seconds <73% and forced expiratory volume in six seconds <82% predicted, can be used as valid alternatives to forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity <70% and forced vital capacity <80% predicted, as fixed cut-off terms for the detection of an obstructive or restrictive spirometric pattern in adults.
Predictors of FIFA 11+ Implementation Intention in Female Adolescent Soccer: An Application of the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) Model

The Fédération Internationale de Football (FIFA) 11+ warm-up program is efficacious at preventing lower limb injury in youth soccer; however, there has been poor adoption of the program in the community. The purpose of this study was to determine the utility of the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) behavior change model in predicting intention to use the FIFA 11+ in a sample of 12 youth soccer teams (coaches n = 10; 12–16 year old female players n = 200). A bespoke cross-sectional questionnaire measured pre-season risk perceptions, outcome expectancies, task self-efficacy, facilitators, barriers, and FIFA 11+ implementation intention. Most coaches (90.0%) and players (80.0%) expected the program to reduce injury risk but reported limited intention to use it. Player data demonstrated an acceptable fit to the hypothesized model (standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.08; root mean square of error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.06 (0.047–0.080); comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.93; Tucker Lewis index (TLI) = 0.91) Task self-efficacy (β = 0.53, p ≤ 0.01) and outcome expectancies (β = 0.13 p ≤ 0.05) were positively associated with intention, but risk perceptions were not (β = −0.02). The findings suggest that the HAPA model is appropriate for use in this context, and highlight the need to target task self-efficacy and outcome expectancies in FIFA 11+ implementation strategies.
Rac-Induced Left Ventricular Dilation in Thyroxin-Treated ZmRacD Transgenic Mice: Role of Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis and Myocardial Fibrosis

The pathways inducing the critical transition from compensated hypertrophy to cardiac dilation and failure remain poorly understood. The goal of our study is to determine the role of Rac-induced signaling in this transition process. Our previous results showed that Thyroxin (T4) treatment resulted in increased myocardial Rac expression in wild-type mice and a higher level of expression in Zea maize RacD (ZmRacD) transgenic mice. Our current results showed that T4 treatment induced physiologic cardiac hypertrophy in wild-type mice, as demonstrated by echocardiography and histopathology analyses. This was associated with significant increases in myocardial Rac-GTP, superoxide and ERK1/2 activities. Conversely, echocardiography and histopathology analyses showed that T4 treatment induced dilated cardiomyopathy along with compensatory cardiac hypertrophy in ZmRacD mice. These were linked with further increases in myocardial Rac-GTP, superoxide and ERK1/2 activities. Additionally, there were significant increases in caspase-8 expression and caspase-3 activity. However, there was a significant decrease in p38-MAPK activity. Interestingly, inhibition of myocardial Rac-GTP activity and superoxide generation with pravastatin and carvedilol, respectively, attenuated all functional, structural, and molecular changes associated with the T4-induced cardiomyopathy in ZmRacD mice except the compensatory cardiac hypertrophy. Taken together, T4-induced ZmRacD is a novel mouse model of dilated cardiomyopathy that shares many characteristics with the human disease phenotype. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show graded Rac-mediated O2·− results in cardiac phenotype shift in-vivo. Moreover, Rac-mediated O2·− generation, cardiomyocyte apoptosis, and myocardial fibrosis seem to play a pivotal role in the transition from cardiac hypertrophy to cardiac dilation and failure. Targeting Rac signaling could represent valuable therapeutic strategy not only in saving the failing myocardium but also to prevent this transition process.