Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Validation and Measurement of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Active Travel in Second Level Students using Self-Report and Accelerometry

Levels of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour are increasing among adolescents. Measurement of these behaviours is essential in order to monitor prevalence among this cohort. The aim of this research was (i) to measure and examine the physical activity, sedentary behaviour and active travel profile of second level students, (ii) examine the relationship between objective and subjective physical activity measurement methods and (iii) to identify if students who travel actively have more accurate perceptions of distance travelled to school than those who travel by motorised means. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents IPAQ-A was used to collect self-reported physical activity and active travel behaviour in 13-16 year old adolescents (n=362). Objective physical activity and sedentary behaviour data was gathered in a sub-sample (n=78) using the ActivPAL accelerometer. According to objectively recorded data, 10.2% of adolescents met the recommended daily guidelines for PA with girls more likely to meet the recommendations than boys (15% and 7% respectively, p=0.357). Adolescent's accelerometer-measured sedentary behaviour averaged 9.6 hours per day. Overall, there were weak to moderate correlations between objective and subjective measurement instruments for both total PA and MVPA. Almost one fifth of respondents walked or cycled to school with a higher proportion of boys than girls commuting actively (27.5 v 15.4%, p=.006). Students who travelled to school by car or bus were more accurate in their estimates of the distance travelled to school than those who travelled on foot or bicycle. Low levels of physical activity and high levels of sedentary behaviour found in the study highlight the need for interventions to change these behaviours among adolescents. There is an opportunity to increase daily physical activity through the promotion of active travel; levels of which were low in the current study. Objective and subjective measurement methods have their own advantages and the use of both methods, where possible may be the ideal way to assess physical activity and sedentary behaviours.
A nonparametric smoothing method for assessing GEE models with longitudinal binary data

Studies involving longitudinal binary responses are widely applied in the health and biomedical sciences research and frequently analyzed by generalized estimating equations (GEE) method. This article proposes an alternative goodness‐of‐fit test based on the nonparametric smoothing approach for assessing the adequacy of GEE fitted models, which can be regarded as an extension of the goodness‐of‐fit test of le Cessie and van Houwelingen (Biometrics 1991; 47:1267–1282). The expectation and approximate variance of the proposed test statistic are derived. The asymptotic distribution of the proposed test statistic in terms of a scaled chi‐squared distribution and the power performance of the proposed test are discussed by simulation studies. The testing procedure is demonstrated by two real data. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effects of orally administered diacerein on cartilage and subchondral bone in an ovine model of osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE An ovine model of osteoarthritis (OA) induced by bilateral lateral meniscectomy (BLM) was used to evaluate in vivo effects of the slow acting antiarthritic drug diacerein (DIA) on degenerative changes in cartilage and subchondral bone of the operated joints. METHODS Twenty of 30 adult age matched Merino wethers were subjected to BLM in the knee joints and the remainder served as non-operated controls (NOC). Half of the BLM group (n = 10) were given DIA (25 mg/kg orally) daily for 3 mo, then 50 mg/kg daily for a further 6 mo. The remainder of the meniscectomized (MEN) group served as OA controls. Five DIA, 5 MEN, and 5 NOC animals were sacrificed at 3 mo and the remainder at 9 mo postsurgery. One knee joint of each animal was used for bone mineral density (BMD) studies. Osteochondral slabs from the lateral femoral condyle and lateral tibial plateau were cut from the contralateral joint and were processed for histological and histomorphometric examination to assess the cartilage and subchondral bone changes. RESULTS No significant difference was observed in the modified Mankin scores for cartilage from the DIA and MEN groups at 3 or 9 mo. However, in animals treated with DIA, the thickness of cartilage (p = 0.05) and subchondral bone (p = 0.05) in the lesion (middle) zone of the lateral tibial plateau were decreased relative to the corresponding zone of the MEN group at 3 mo (p = 0.05). At 9 mo subchondral bone thickness in this zone remained the same as NOC but BMD, which included both subchondral and trabecular bone, was significantly increased relative to the NOC group (p = 0.01). In contrast, the subchondral bone thickness of the outer zone of lateral tibial plateau and lateral femoral condyle of both MEN and DIA groups increased after 9 mo, while BMD remained the same as in the NOC. CONCLUSION DIA treatment of meniscectomized animals mediated selective responses of cartilage and subchondral bone to the altered mechanical stresses induced across the joints by this procedure. While subchondral bone thickness in tibial lesion sites was reduced, cartilage and bone proliferation at the outer joint margins, a region where osteophyte formation occurred, were enhanced, suggesting that DIA supported the processes of repair and endochondral ossification.
Load reduction of wind turbines using receding horizon control

Large scale wind turbines are lightly damped mechanical structures driven by wind that is constantly fluctuating. In this paper, we address the design of a model-based receding horizon control scheme to reduce the structural loads in the transmission system and the tower, as well as provide constant (or at least smooth) power generation. Our controller incorporates two optimization problems: one to predict or estimate mean wind speed, given LIDAR data, and the other to carry out receding horizon control to choose the control inputs. The method is verified against an existing wind turbine control system, and shows reductions in both extreme loads and power fluctuations by 80% and 90% respectively when compared to a conventional controller.
Failure of Intravenous Morphine to Serve as an Effective Instrumental Reinforcer in Dopamine D2 Receptor Knock-Out Mice

The rewarding effects of opiates are thought to be mediated through dopaminergic mechanisms in the ventral tegmental area, dopamine-independent mechanisms in the nucleus accumbens, or both. The purpose of the present study was to explore the contribution of dopamine to opiate-reinforced behavior using D2 receptor knock-out mice. Wild-type, heterozygous, and D2 knock-out mice were first trained to lever press for water reinforcement and then implanted with intravenous catheters. The ability of intravenously delivered morphine to maintain lever pressing in these mice was studied under two schedules of reinforcement: a fixed ratio 4 (FR4) schedule (saline, 0.1, 0.3, or 1.0 mg/kg, per injection) and a progressive ratio (PR) schedule (1.0 mg/kg, per injection). In the wild-type and heterozygous mice, FR4 behavior maintained by morphine injections was significantly greater than behavior maintained by vehicle injections. Response rate was inversely related to injection dose and increased significantly in the wild-type and heterozygous mice when the animals were placed on the PR schedule. In contrast, the knock-out mice did not respond more for morphine than for saline and did not respond more when increased ratios were required by the PR schedule. Thus, morphine served as a positive reinforcer in the wild-type and heterozygous mice but failed to do so in the knock-out mice. Under this range of doses and response requirements, the rewarding effects of morphine appear to depend critically on an intact D2 receptor system.
Design aspects of a bio-inspired flying sensor node

This paper presents several aspects of the design of a miniature flapping wing flying platform to be used as a sensor platform. The extreme demands on weight and energy efficiency force novel solutions inspired by insects. The platform uses a fully compliant structure in resonant mode to create the required wing motion similar to insects. The primary senses of insects used for flight stabilization are discussed and a sensor system based on the optical flow is proposed for flight stabilization and control which is inspired by insects. The system uses six optical mouse sensors and a simple analogue circuit to directly drive control actuators in the wings and control the main flapping actuator.
Specialized areas for value updating and goal selection in the primate orbitofrontal cortex

The macaque orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is essential for selecting goals based on current, updated values of expected reward outcomes. As monkeys consume a given type of reward to satiety, its value diminishes, and OFC damage impairs the ability to shift goal choices away from devalued outcomes. To examine the contributions of OFC’s components to goal selection, we reversibly inactivated either its anterior (area 11) or posterior (area 13) parts. We found that neurons in area 13 must be active during the selective satiation procedure to enable the updating of outcome valuations. After this updating has occurred, however, area 13 is not needed to select goals based on this knowledge. In contrast, neurons in area 11 do not need to be active during the value-updating process. Instead, inactivation of this area during choices causes an impairment. These findings demonstrate selective and complementary specializations within the OFC. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.11695. 001
Cytomegalovirus Infection Impairs Immune Responses and Accentuates T-cell Pool Changes Observed in Mice with Aging

Prominent immune alterations associated with aging include the loss of naïve T-cell numbers, diversity and function. While genetic contributors and mechanistic details in the aging process have been addressed in multiple studies, the role of environmental agents in immune aging remains incompletely understood. From the standpoint of environmental infectious agents, latent cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection has been associated with an immune risk profile in the elderly humans, yet the cause-effect relationship of this association remains unclear. Here we present direct experimental evidence that mouse CMV (MCMV) infection results in select T-cell subset changes associated with immune aging, namely the increase of relative and absolute counts of CD8 T-cells in the blood, with a decreased representation of the naïve and the increased representation of the effector memory blood CD8 T-cells. Moreover, MCMV infection resulted in significantly weaker CD8 responses to superinfection with Influenza, Human Herpes Virus I or West-Nile-Virus, even 16 months following MCMV infection. These irreversible losses in T-cell function could not be observed in uninfected or in vaccinia virus-infected controls and were not due to the immune-evasive action of MCMV genes. Rather, the CD8 activation in draining lymph nodes upon viral challenge was decreased in MCMV infected mice and the immune response correlated directly to the frequency of the naïve and inversely to that of the effector cells in the blood CD8 pool. Therefore, latent MCMV infection resulted in pronounced changes of the T-cell compartment consistent with impaired naïve T-cell function.
iCheat: A Representation for Artistic Control of Indirect Cinematic Lighting

Thanks to an increase in rendering efficiency, indirect illumination has recently begun to be integrated in cinematic lighting design, an application where physical accuracy is less important than careful control of scene appearance. This paper presents a comprehensive, efficient, and intuitive representation for artistic control of indirect illumination. We encode user's adjustments to indirect lighting as scale and offset coefficients of the transfer operator. We take advantage of the nature of indirect illumination and of the edits themselves to efficiently sample and compress them. A major benefit of this sampled representation, compared to encoding adjustments as procedural shaders, is the renderer‐independence. This allowed us to easily implement several tools to produce our final images: an interactive relighting engine to view adjustments, a painting interface to define them, and a final renderer to render high quality results. We demonstrate edits to scenes with diffuse and glossy surfaces and animation.
Defining and mapping the person with osteoarthritis for population studies and public health

Objective. To determine population-based estimates for the prevalence of the person with OA, predicted to be the single greatest cause of disability in the general population by 2030, in order to inform the planning and commissioning of health, social care and prevention services. Methods. A postal survey to all adults ≥50 years of age registered with eight general practices in the UK. Self-reported data on chronic joint pain in four body regions (hand, hip, knee, foot) and the disabling nature of the pain was collected to determine gender and age-group specific prevalence estimates of clinical OA in the joint region and in the person. Multiple imputation and weighted logistic regression was used to allow for missing data. Results. A total of 26 705 mailed surveys resulted in 18 474 responses (adjusted response = 71.8%). Approximately half of the mailed population had OA in at least one of the four regions (53.23%, 95% CI 52.3, 54.1) and less than half of these had disabling OA (21.87%, 95% CI 21.2, 22.5). The more joint regions involved, the more likely that the OA was disabling. OA prevalence was higher in females and increased with age. Applied to the population of England, this yielded an estimated 3.5 million persons with disabling OA, including 1.45 million people between 50 and 65 years of age and 370 000 ≥85 years of age. Conclusions. A simple approach to defining the person with OA can contribute to population comparisons, public health projections and health care needs assessments.
Vocalization Source Level Distributions and Pulse Compression Gains of Diverse Baleen Whale Species in the Gulf of Maine

The vocalization source level distributions and pulse compression gains are estimated for four distinct baleen whale species in the Gulf of Maine: blue, fin, minke, and sei. The vocalizations were received on a large-aperture densely sampled coherent hydrophone array system deployed to monitor marine mammals over instantaneous wide areas using the passive ocean acoustic waveguide remote sensing technique. For each baleen whale species, between 400 to over 1400 measured vocalizations with significantly high signal-to-noise ratios (SNR>10 dB) after coherent beamforming and localized with high accuracies (<10% localization errors) over ranges spanning roughly 1 km to 38 km are included in the analysis. The whale vocalization received pressure levels are corrected for broadband transmission losses modelled using a calibrated parabolic equation based acoustic propagation model for a random range-dependent ocean waveguide. The broadband vocalization equivalent pulse-compression gains are found to be 2.5±1.1 for.
Intermittent Moderate Energy Restriction Improves Weight Loss Efficiency in Diet-Induced Obese Mice

Background Intermittent severe energy restriction is popular for weight management. To investigate whether intermittent moderate energy restriction may improve this approach by enhancing weight loss efficiency, we conducted a study in mice, where energy intake can be controlled. Methods Male C57/Bl6 mice that had been rendered obese by an ad libitum diet high in fat and sugar for 22 weeks were then fed one of two energy-restricted normal chow diets for a 12-week weight loss phase. The continuous diet (CD) provided 82% of the energy intake of age-matched ad libitum chow-fed controls. The intermittent diet (ID) provided cycles of 82% of control intake for 5–6 consecutive days, and ad libitum intake for 1–3 days. Weight loss efficiency during this phase was calculated as (total weight change) ÷ [(total energy intake of mice on CD or ID)–(total average energy intake of controls)]. Subsets of mice then underwent a 3-week weight regain phase involving ad libitum re-feeding. Results Mice on the ID showed transient hyperphagia relative to controls during each 1–3-day ad libitum feeding period, and overall ate significantly more than CD mice (91.1±1.0 versus 82.2±0.5% of control intake respectively, n = 10, P<0.05). There were no significant differences between CD and ID groups at the end of the weight loss or weight regain phases with respect to body weight, fat mass, circulating glucose or insulin concentrations, or the insulin resistance index. Weight loss efficiency was significantly greater with ID than with CD (0.042±0.007 versus 0.018±0.001 g/kJ, n = 10, P<0.01). Mice on the CD exhibited significantly greater hypothalamic mRNA expression of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) relative to ID and control mice, with no differences in neuropeptide Y or agouti-related peptide mRNA expression between energy-restricted groups. Conclusion Intermittent moderate energy restriction may offer an advantage over continuous moderate energy restriction, because it induces significantly greater weight loss relative to energy deficit in mice.
Information integration over time in unreliable and uncertain environments

Often an interesting true value such as a stock price, sports score, or current temperature is only available via the observations of noisy and potentially conflicting sources. Several techniques have been proposed to reconcile these conflicts by computing a weighted consensus based on source reliabilities, but these techniques focus on static values. When the real-world entity evolves over time, the noisy sources can delay, or even miss, reporting some of the real-world updates. This temporal aspect introduces two key challenges for consensus-based approaches: (i) due to delays, the mapping between a source's noisy observation and the real-world update it observes is unknown, and (ii) missed updates may translate to missing values for the consensus problem, even if the mapping is known. To overcome these challenges, we propose a formal approach that models the history of updates of the real-world entity as a hidden semi-Markovian process (HSMM). The noisy sources are modeled as observations of the hidden state, but the mapping between a hidden state (i.e. real-world update) and the observation (i.e. source value) is unknown. We propose algorithms based on Gibbs Sampling and EM to jointly infer both the history of real-world updates as well as the unknown mapping between them and the source values. We demonstrate using experiments on real-world datasets how our history-based techniques improve upon history-agnostic consensus-based approaches.
Reflections on Rivers, Research, and Rouse

The ways in which rivers adjust their hydraulic roughness to accommodate only loosely correlated changes in their water and sediment discharges are discussed. An assessment of the current status of river engineering leads to the conclusion that the major deficiencies of mathematical models of river flow have been their failure to represent the dependence of friction factor on sediment discharge or concentration, and to include temperature and channel‐curvature effects. It is argued that the data and computational resources now are at hand to permit development of more inclusive analyses of alluvial‐channel flow. A recently developed computer‐based predictor for river‐flow sediment discharge and friction factor, and an analytical model of flow in river bends are outlined. Reflections on Rouse's research and writing conclude the paper.
Effective Privacy Preserved Clustering Based on Voronoi Diagram

Consider a scenario like this: a data holder, such as a hospital (data publisher) wants to share patients' data with researcher (data user). However, due to privacy issue, the hospital could not publish the exact original data while the published data need to retain as much as possible the correlation of the original data for utility consideration. The entire existing models for publishing private data could not perfectly resolve the tradeoff between privacy and utility of the private data. This paper presents a novel private information publishing model Semi-Delaunay Diagram (SDD) based on Voronoi diagram and gives a clustering algorithm VDC based on SDD. This model not only protects privacy but also achieves a perfect clustering correlation. Extensive experiments show the different clustering results with the different input area parameter, and confirm that our VDC algorithm discovers clusters with arbitrary shape as DBSCAN algorithm does.
Empirical Constraints on Computational Theories of Metaphor: Comments on Indurkhya

Empirical analyses have provided some important constraints for computational theories of metaphor. Three such constraints relate to (1) the similar processing time for literal and metaphorical language, (2) the time-limited processing of many metaphors, and (3) the dissociation of metaphor comprehension and appreciation. Indurkhya's (1986, 1987) model is discussed with respect to these issues.
A method for the determination of the vertical ozone distribution from a satellite

Because of its long lifetime below 45 km, ozone can deviate markedly from the concentration given by photochemical equilibrium considerations. Hence the ozone concentration can be used as an indicator of the motion of air masses, particularly in the stratosphere. The meteorological implications can be fully realized only by synoptic measurements, for which an artificial earth satellite is ideally suited. The method described employs the optical absorption properties of ozone in the ultraviolet region around 2900A. A detector looking down towards the earth will receive solar ultraviolet scattered by the atmosphere which has been attenuated both by scattering out and by ozone absorption. Calculations are presented to illustrate the effective depth in the atmosphere to which the detector “sees,” the effective depth being defined as the point above which 90 per cent of the contribution to the detector response is made. The sensitivity of the method to changes in the ozone concentration at various altitudes is also demonstrated.