Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Movement Activity Determination with Health-related Variables of University Students in Kosice

Abstract Introduction There is currently a strong scientific evidence about the negative health consequences of physical inactivity. One of the potential tools for promoting physical activity at the institutional level of the Ecological model is to create conditions and settings that would enable pupils, students and employees engage in some form of physical activity. However, physical activities as a subject are being eliminated from the study programs at Slovak universities. The purpose of the study was to find current evidence about the level of structured physical activity and health-related variables in university students in Košice. Material and methods The sample consisted of 1,993 or, more precisely, 1,398 students who attended two universities in Košice. To collect data, students completed a questionnaire and were tested for body height, body weight, circumferential measures and percentage body fat. Results The university students did not sufficiently engage in a structured physical activity. A large number of students had either low or high values of percentage body fat and BMI and high WHR values. Conclusions Our findings have shown that the research into physical activity of university students should receive more attention.
Pyrazinamide Resistance Assays and Two-Month Sputum Culture Status in Patients with Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis

ABSTRACT Phenotypic drug susceptibility testing is the current “gold standard” for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis susceptibility to antituberculous drugs. Pyrazinamide is one antituberculous drug for which the correlation between in vitro resistance and clinical outcomes remains unclear. Here we performed latent class analysis (LCA) to develop a consensus gold standard definition of pyrazinamide resistance using three paired standard pyrazinamide resistance assays. We then compared this consensus measure to the 2-month culture results for patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) who were treated for 2 months with first-line antituberculous drugs before their resistance results were known. Among 121 patients with MDR-TB, 60 (49.6%) were resistant to pyrazinamide by the Wayne method (L. G. Wayne, Am Rev Respir Dis 109:147–151, 1974), 71 (58.7%) were resistant by the Bactec MGIT 960 method, and 68 (56.2%) were resistant by pncA sequencing. LCA grouped isolates with positive results by at least two assays into a category which we considered the “consensus gold standard” for pyrazinamide resistance. The sensitivity and specificity for this consensus gold standard were 82.4% and 92.5%, respectively, for the Wayne method; 95.6% and 88.7%, respectively, for the Bactec MGIT 960 method; and 92.6% and 90.6%, respectively, for pncA sequencing. After we adjusted for other factors associated with poor outcomes, including age, sex, alcohol use, and baseline ethambutol resistance, patients whose isolates were resistant by the LCA-derived consensus gold standard were more likely to be culture positive at 2 months with an odds ratio of 1.95 (95% confidence interval, 0.74 to 5.11), but this result was not statistically significant. These findings underscore the need for improved diagnostics for routine use in programmatic settings.
Editorial corner – A personal view Water glass – An alternative precursor for sol-gel derived silica nanofiller in polymer composites?

ites are preferentially produced by the sol-gel route. This implies the conversion of suitable precursors, notably alkoxysilane derivatives, to silica nanoparticles through subsequent hydrolysis and polycondensation reactions. This organosilane based sol-gel chemistry is widely practiced to produce nanoscale dispersed silica particles in thermoplastics, thermoset resins and rubbers. Unlike using preformed silica nanoparticles as fillers, their in situ generation via this bottom-up sol-gel synthesis is not associated with health risk. On the other hand, this is quite costly procedure as the alkoxysilane precursors are highly priced fine chemicals. Is there any chance to use a cheaper precursor? Possibly, yes, one potential candidate is namely water glass. Water glass is the common name for water soluble silicate compounds which have been known and used for centuries. The alkaline and neutral solutions of water glass products are stable. In acidic solution, however, the different alkali silicates form (poly)silicic acids which may undergo polycondensation resulting in silica nanoparticles. Accordingly, the ‘roasting’, ‘silicification’ of water glass follow a sol-gel scheme and may result in the desired nanoscale silica. This has been explored already for some polymer nano composites, such as polyethylene (DOI: 10.1002/polb. 10391), polymethyl methacrylate (DOI: 10.1002/pat. 1226) and phenolic resin (DOI: 10.1002/app.29770). Organosilane may be dosed additionally to improve the interfacial adhesion between the matrix (poly amide) and the silica (DOI: 10.1002/pi.1520). Water glass can be turned into silica particles whereby avoiding the (poly) silicic acid formation. This may happen upon reaction of water glass with carbon dioxide which can be formed also in situ, for example through the reaction between isocyanate and water. This reaction is exploited in various poly urea-based thermosets produced from polyisocyanate/water glass combinations in presence of suitable emulsifiers which may be coreactive compounds, as well (DOI:10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2007.01. 010; DOI 10.1007/s10853-009-4145-9). Note that the inevitable byproducts of this chemical pathway are inorganic carbonates. Polymer nanocomposites are often referred to as inorganic/organic systems. Though water glass is a rather complex, not well defined system, it may meet the role of silica precursor in several applications. One just has to acquire the necessary knowledge from inorganic chemists and learn how to make use of water glass for this purpose. Trials with water glass may open a new horizon for the production of polymer nanocomposites, and especially for thermoset resin-based ones. So, why not to start with exploratory experiments?
Accuracy and Reliability of Total Body Mass Estimation Techniques from Stature and Bi‐iliac Breadth in Non‐Hispanic U.S. Whites from the Bass Donated Skeletal Collection

This paper tests the fidelity of a recent method that used the NHANES III dataset as a proxy to estimate total body mass from stature and bi‐iliac breadth in U.S. White males and females. The bi‐iliac breadths of 230 males and 152 females identified as non‐Hispanic U.S. White from the Bass Donated Skeletal Collection were measured, and along with stature from predonor paperwork, total body mass estimates were calculated and then compared to body masses recorded on predonor paperwork. Male and female samples were subdivided by body mass index (BMI [kg/m2]) categories established by the World Health Organization. Our results suggest that total body mass estimates can be accurately assessed provided that the individual is within 18.50 ≤ BMI ≤ 29.99 for White males and 18.50 ≤ BMI ≤ 24.99 for White females. Recommendations on how to report total body mass estimates are also presented.
AmoA-Targeted Polymerase Chain Reaction Primers for the Specific Detection and Quantification of Comammox Nitrospira in the Environment

Nitrification, the oxidation of ammonia via nitrite to nitrate, has always been considered to be catalyzed by the concerted activity of ammonia and nitrite-oxidizing microorganisms. Only recently, complete ammonia oxidizers (‘comammox’), which oxidize ammonia to nitrate on their own, were identified in the bacterial genus Nitrospira, previously assumed to contain only canonical nitrite oxidizers. Nitrospira are widespread in nature, but for assessments of the distribution and functional importance of comammox Nitrospira in ecosystems, cultivation-independent tools to distinguish comammox from strictly nitrite-oxidizing Nitrospira are required. Here we developed new PCR primer sets that specifically target the amoA genes coding for subunit A of the distinct ammonia monooxygenase of comammox Nitrospira. While existing primers capture only a fraction of the known comammox amoA diversity, the new primer sets cover as much as 95% of the comammox amoA clade A and 92% of the clade B sequences in a reference database containing 326 comammox amoA genes with sequence information at the primer binding sites. Application of the primers to 13 samples from engineered systems (a groundwater well, drinking water treatment and wastewater treatment plants) and other habitats (rice paddy and forest soils, rice rhizosphere, brackish lake sediment and freshwater biofilm) detected comammox Nitrospira in all samples and revealed a considerable diversity of comammox in most habitats. Excellent primer specificity for comammox amoA was achieved by avoiding the use of highly degenerate primer preparations and by using equimolar mixtures of oligonucleotides that match existing comammox amoA genes. Quantitative PCR with these equimolar primer mixtures was highly sensitive and specific, and enabled the efficient quantification of clade A and clade B comammox amoA gene copy numbers in environmental samples. The measured relative abundances of comammox Nitrospira, compared to canonical ammonia oxidizers, were highly variable across environments. The new comammox amoA-targeted primers will enable more encompassing studies of nitrifying microorganisms in diverse ecosystems.
Persuasive Reminders for Health Self-Management

Health reminders are integral to self-managing chronic illness. However, to act on these health reminders, patients face many challenges, such as lack of motivation and ability to perform health tasks. As a result, patients experience negative consequences for their health. To investigate the design of health reminders that persuade patients to take action, we conducted six participatory design sessions with two cohorts: mothers of children with asthma, and older adults with type 2 diabetes. Participants used collages, storyboards, and photos to express design ideas for future health reminder systems. From their design artifacts, we identified four types of persuasive reminders for health self-management: introspective, socially supportive, adaptive, and symbolic. We contribute insights into desired features for persuasive reminder systems from the perspectives of patients and informal caregivers, including features that support users to understand why and how to complete health tasks ahead of time, and affordances for intra-familial and patient-provider collaboration.
Emerging Interaction Patterns in the Emiliania huxleyi-EhV System

Viruses are thought to be fundamental in driving microbial diversity in the oceanic planktonic realm. That role and associated emerging infection patterns remain particularly elusive for eukaryotic phytoplankton and their viruses. Here we used a vast number of strains from the model system Emiliania huxleyi/Emiliania huxleyi Virus to quantify parameters such as growth rate (µ), resistance (R), and viral production (Vp) capacities. Algal and viral abundances were monitored by flow cytometry during 72-h incubation experiments. The results pointed out higher viral production capacity in generalist EhV strains, and the virus-host infection network showed a strong co-evolution pattern between E. huxleyi and EhV populations. The existence of a trade-off between resistance and growth capacities was not confirmed.
The Future of Genome-Based Medicine

There has been unprecedented public investment in sequencing human and cancer genomes in the hopes of understanding disease [1, 2]. At the same time, large genome-wide association studies have helped elucidating the genetic underpinning of common diseases, identifying thousands of putative disease relevant loci [7, 8]. Complementary molecular profiling studies have revealed that several of these loci are co-associated with individual mRNA levels, suggesting candidate pathways that are putative mediators of genetic signals [7]. Coupled with the public investment, there is considerable personal investment in genetic profiling, being offered by companies such as 23andMe, deCODEme and others. Although this work has led to amazing discoveries, such as the surprising genetic, subclonal diversity within tumor populations (e.g., [3-5]), it’s not clear how much how these insights will improve personalization of medicine.
Juglanin suppresses fibrosis and inflammation response caused by LPS in acute lung injury

Acute lung injury in children is a complication showing devastating disorders linked to fibrosis progression and inflammation response. Fibrosis and inflammation response are two markers for acute lung injury. Juglanin is a natural product mainly isolated from green walnut husks of Juglans mandshurica, which isconsidered as the functional composition among a series of compounds. It exhibited effective role in various diseases by inhibiting inflammation response. In our study, the protective effects and anti-inflammatory activity of juglanin were investigated in mice and lung cells treated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to reveal the possible mechanism by which juglanin attenuates acute lung injury. The mice were separated into four groups. The mouse model was established with 15 mg/kg LPS injection. Juglanin dramatically reduced the inflammation of cell infiltration. Compared to mice only treated with LPS, LPS-treated mice in the presence of juglanin developed less lung fibrosis with lower levels of α-smooth muscle-actin (α-SMA), collagen type I, collagen type III, and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). Additionally, juglanin markedly downregulated inflammatory cytokine secretion and phosphorylated nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) expression via inhibiting IKKα/IκBα signaling pathway. Our results indicate that juglanin has a protective role in LPS-triggered acute lung injury via suppression of fibrosis and inflammation response by NF-κB signaling pathways inactivation. Thus, juglanin may be a potential candidate as dietary supplement for acute lung injury for children in future.
Voice morphing: An illusion or reality

Voice morphing is an emerging technology that gained popularity in industry, particularly in entertainment industry to enhance the quality of voice, from the last few decades. However, the voice morphing tools are also being used by predators to deceive people. Therefore, it poses a great challenge to public to determine whether a voice is morphed or not. Voice morphing is a technique to algorithmically change one person's voice into another person's voice. In this paper, we conduct a case study that evaluates the hypothesis that do voice morphing tools/techniques create a successful illusion in a listener mind. To evaluate, our hypothesis we propose an elementary voice morphing technique, based on a set of mask vectors; then we implement the said technique as a voice morphing tool in a visual language Pure Data; and finally we evaluate this technique by designing a test bed. Our results indicate that voice morphing technology may create an illusion in a listener mind, effectively.
Cerebrovascular β‐amyloid deposition and associated microhemorrhages in a Tg2576 Alzheimer mouse model are reduced with a DHA‐enriched diet

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is a major contributor to Alzheimeťs disease (AD) pathogenesis. Like AD, CAA is often accompanied by marked inflammation, aggravating associated vasculopathies. No evidence‐based prevention or treatment strategies are available. Here, we evaluate the possible beneficial effect of a diet enriched with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is known to attenuate inflammation in CAA. Tg2576 mice, a transgenic model of AD/CAA, were fed a DHA‐enriched diet starting at 2 mo of age and ending at 10, 14, or 18 mo of age. β‐Amyloid (Aβ)‐peptide deposition and bleeding were visualized by immunohistochemistry or histochemistry on coronal sections of the brain. DHA, arachidonic acid, and eicosanoid levels were measured by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry or GC‐MS. DHA‐enriched diet throughout aging limits the accumulation of vascular Aβ peptide deposits as well as the likelihood of microhemorrhages. There is a strong correlation between systemic 12‐ hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (HETE) levels and the size of the area affected by both vascular amyloid deposits and hemorrhages. The lowest levels of 12‐HETE, a lipid‐derived proinflammatory product of 12‐lipoxygenase (LOX), were found in DHA‐fed mice. In vitro experiments performed on amyloid vascular smooth muscle cells showed that a 12‐LOX inhibitor almost completely blocked the Aβ1, 40 peptide‐induced apoptosis of these cells. This study yet again highlights the important role of inflammation in CAA pathogenesis and identifies potential new targets for preventive care. —Hur, J., Mateo, V. , Amalric, N. , Babiak, M. , Béréziat, G. , Kanony‐Truc, C. , Clerc, T. , Blaise, R. , Limon, I. Cerebrovascular β‐amyloid deposition and associated microhemorrhages in a Tg2576 Alzheimer mouse model are reduced with a DHA‐enriched diet. FASEB J. 32, 4972–4983 (2018). www.fasebj. org
Considering passive mechanical properties and patient user motor performance in lower limb prosthesis design optimization to enhance rehabilitation outcomes

Background: Selection of prosthesis mechanical characteristics to restore function of persons with lower limb loss can be framed as an optimization problem to satisfy a given performance objective. However, the choice of a particular objective is critical, and considering only device and generalizable outcomes across users without accounting for inherent motor performance likely restricts a given patient from fully realizing the benefits of a prosthetic intervention. Objectives: This review presents methods for optimizing passive below-knee prosthesis designs to maximize rehabilitation outcomes and how considerations on patient motor performance may enhance these outcomes. Major Findings: Available literature supports that considering patient-specific variables pertaining to motor performance permits a multidimensional landscape relating device characteristics and user function, which may yield more accurate predictions of rehabilitation outcomes for individual patients. Moreover, the addition of targeted physical therapeutic interventions that encourage user self-organization may further improve these outcomes. We note the potential of existing paradigms to address these additional dimensions, and we encourage investigators to consider the many different performance objectives available for prosthesis optimization. Conclusions: By considering user motor performance in combination with prosthesis mechanical characteristics, a staged optimization approach can be formulated which acknowledges that device modifications may only improve outcomes to a certain extent and user self-organization is a critical component to complete rehabilitation. An iterative process that can be integrated within existing rehabilitative practices accounts for changes in patient status through combined targeted prosthetic solutions and physical therapeutic techniques, and embodies the concept of personalized intervention for patients with lower limb loss.
Waveguides and Resonators

Any structure that transports electromagnetic waves can be considered as a waveguide. Most often, however, this term refers to either metal or dielectric structures that transport electromagnetic energy without the presence of a complete circuit path. Waveguides that consist of conductors and dielectrics (including air or vacuum) are called metal waveguides. Waveguides that consist of only dielectric materials are called dielectric waveguides. Metal waveguides use the reflective properties of conductors to contain and direct electromagnetic waves. In most cases, they consist of a long metal cylinder filled with a homogeneous dielectric. More complicated waveguides can also contain multiple dielectrics and conductors. The conducting cylinders usually have rectangular or circular cross sections, but other shapes can also be used for specialized applications. Metal waveguides provide relatively low loss transport over a wide range of frequencies— from RF through millimeter wave frequencies. Dielectric waveguides guide electromagnetic waves by using the reflections that occur at interfaces between dissimilar dielectric materials. They can be constructed for use at microwave frequencies, but are most commonly used at optical frequencies, where they can offer extremely low loss propagation. The most common dielectric waveguides are optical fibers, which are discussed elsewhere in this handbook (Chapter 14: Optical Communications). Resonators are either metal or dielectric enclosures that exhibit sharp resonances at frequencies that can be controlled by choosing the size and material construction of the resonator. They are electromagnetic analogs of lumped resonant circuits and are typically used at microwave frequencies and above. Resonators can be constructed using a large variety of shaped enclosures, but simple shapes are usually chosen so that their resonant frequencies can be easily predicted and controlled. Typical shapes are rectangular and circular cylinders.
Fisher Pruning of Deep Nets for Facial Trait Classification

Although deep nets have resulted in high accuracies for various visual tasks, their computational and space requirements are prohibitively high for inclusion on devices without high-end GPUs. In this paper, we introduce a neuron/filter level pruning framework based on Fisher's LDA which leads to high accuracies for a wide array of facial trait classification tasks, while significantly reducing space/computational complexities. The approach is general and can be applied to convolutional, fully-connected, and module-based deep structures, in all cases leveraging the high decorrelation of neuron activations found in the pre-decision layer and cross-layer deconv dependency. Experimental results on binary and multi-category facial traits from the LFWA and Adience datasets illustrate the framework's comparable/better performance to state-of-the-art pruning approaches and compact structures (e.g. SqueezeNet, MobileNet). Ours successfully maintains comparable accuracies even after discarding most parameters (98%-99% for VGG-16, 82% for GoogLeNet) and with significant FLOP reductions (83% for VGG-16, 64% for GoogLeNet).