Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of physical activity and muscle quality on bone development in girls.

INTRODUCTION Poor muscle quality and sedentary behavior are risk factors for metabolic dysfunction in children and adolescents. However, because longitudinal data are scarce, relatively little is known about how changes in muscle quality and physical activity influence bone development. PURPOSE In a 2-yr longitudinal study, we examined the effects of physical activity and changes in muscle quality on bone parameters in young girls. METHODS The sample included 248 healthy girls age 9-12 yr at baseline. Peripheral quantitative computed tomography was used to measure calf and thigh muscle density, an indicator of skeletal muscle fat content or muscle quality, as well as bone parameters at diaphyseal and metaphyseal sites of the femur and tibia. Physical activity was assessed using a validated questionnaire specific for youth. RESULTS After controlling for covariates in multiple regression models, increased calf muscle density was independently associated with greater gains in cortical (β = 0.13, P < 0.01) and trabecular (β = 0.25, P < 0.001) volumetric bone mineral density and the bone strength index (β = 0.25, P < 0.001) of the tibia. Importantly, these relationships were generalized, as similar changes were present at the femur. Associations between physical activity and changes in bone parameters were weaker than those observed for muscle density. Nevertheless, physical activity was significantly (all P < 0.05) associated with greater gains in trabecular volumetric bone mineral density and the bone strength index of the distal femur. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that poor muscle quality may put girls at risk for suboptimal bone development. Physical activity is associated with more optimal gains in weight-bearing bone density and strength in girls, but to a lesser extent than changes in muscle quality.
An Optimization Based Framework for Human Pose Estimation

In computer vision community, human pose estimation and nonrigid shape recovery have evolved into different subfields. The state-of-the-art optimization techniques have been applied to the problem of deformable surface reconstruction successfully and recent methods in this area have focused on designing formulations that are easier to solve. In general, these techniques lay their success on the assumption that sufficient 2-D-3-D correspondences can be detected. By contrast, confronted with the similar ambiguity problem, many techniques for human pose estimation adopt stochastic searching or discriminative predictions, which allow for more generative image cues. However, the global optimization cannot be guaranteed via the stochastic methods; and discriminative techniques usually suffer from inaccuracy. In this letter, we absorb ideas from both domains and propose a unified approach for articulated human pose estimation. Specifically, we optimize the human pose to account for the discriminative pose prediction, bone length preservation in parallel with the point-topoint image observation. Moreover, the L2 norm minimization is solved iteratively as a linear system with high computational efficiency.
Occupations and Lung Cancer: A Population-Based Case-Control Study in British Columbia

An investigation based on a large population-based case-control study in British Columbia, Canada, was conducted to identify high-risk occupations for lung cancer by histological subtypes. Subjects were 14,755 male incident cancer cases for whom lifetime occupational histories and information on smoking and relevant covariates were collected. Occupational associations for 2998 lung cancer cases, including histological subtypes, were assessed by logistic regression using other cancer cases, excluding smoking-related cancers, as controls. An excess risk of lung cancer was found among workers in metal processing, bakers, and ship deck crew for all histological subtypes, and construction workers, chefs and cooks, and medical workers for specific histological subtypes. Occupational associations that are unique to histological subtypes of lung cancer were identified. Owing to a scarcity of literature in this area, future research needs to focus on confirming these histological associations, and identifying the risk from key exposures found within these occupations (e.g., medical radiation, electromagnetic fields, and cooking fumes).
A 2.4-GHz radio front end in RF system-on-package technology

Voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) are critical components for signal generation and frequency selection in RF/microwave transceivers. Recently, there has been considerable interest in monolithic integration of inductance-capacitance (LC) tank oscillators for highly integrated RF transceivers [1]. Technologies such as Si complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) and Si/SiGe BiCMOS are of interest in light of the potential for integration with digital functions. The operation of an oscillator can be described using the concept of “negative resistance. ” In an oscillator, an active network with negative transconductance, −GM, is connected to an LC-tank circuit with an equivalent parallel resistance, RP. The equivalent negative resistance (1/−GM) looking back into the transconductor is chosen to cancel the equivalent parallel resistance of the tank circuit. RP is obviously related to the quality factor Q of the L and C components. In Si technologies, the Q of the inductor is usually the limiting factor. Differential topologies are advantageous in integrated circuits (ICs) because they offer common-mode rejection. Therefore, differential circuits are less susceptible to supply noise present in on-chip power rails. Many RF integrated circuits (RFICs) utilize double-balanced Gilbert-cell mixers because they offer conversion gain while minimizing local oscillator (LO)/intermediate frequency (IF) feedthrough and even-order mixing products. Differential VCO topologies avoid the need for single-ended to differential conversion circuitry for the LO drive of a Gilbert-cell mixer. Figure 1 shows a differential CMOS complementary −GM oscillator [2], [3]. In this case, the negative resistance seen by the tank is given by
Motion planning for cooperative transportation of a large object by multiple mobile robots in a 3D environment

We propose a motion planning method for cooperative transportation of a large object by multiple mobile robots in a 3 dimensional environment. This task has various kinds of problems, such as path planning, manipulation and so on. All of these problems can't be solved at once, since computational time is exploded. Accordingly, we divide a motion planner into a local manipulation planner and a global path (motion) planner, and design these two planners respectively, and we integrate two planners. Namely, we aim at integrating a gross motion planner and a fine motion planner. As to the local manipulation planner, we build a manipulation technique, which is suitable for mobile robots by position control. We compute conditions, in which the object becomes unstable during manipulation, and generate each robot's motion considering the robots' motion errors and indefinite factors from the planning stage. As to the global path planner, we reduce the dimensions of the configuration space (C-space) using the feature of transportation by mobile robots. We can find a solution with searching in this smaller dimensional C-space using the potential field defined in the C-space, and constraints of the object manipulation are considered as the potential function. We verify the effectiveness of our proposed motion planning method through simulations and experiments.
Fast Color-Based Object Recognition Independent of Position and Orientation

Small mobile robots typically have little on-board processing power for time-consuming vision algorithms. Here we show how they can quickly extract very dense yet highly useful information from color images. A single pass through all pixels of an image serves to segment it into color-dependent regions and to compactly represent it by a short list of the average hues, saturations and color intensities of its regions; all other information is discarded. Experiments with two image databases show that in 90 % of all cases the remaining information is sufficient for a simple weighted voting algorithm to recognize objects shown in query images, independently of position and orientation and partial occlusions.
Initial Exploration of Newly Implemented Public Health Policy Using Geographic Information Systems: The Case of a U.S. Silver Alert Program

Context. Public health policies are designed for specific subsets of the population. Evidence that a policy is effectively designed should be based on whether it effectively addresses its mission. a critical factor is determining whether utilization patterns reflect the mission and the efficacy of public health policies, particularly during early stages of implementation. We assert that utilization patterns can be effectively assessed using geographic information systems (GIS). Objective. This paper uses the Silver Alert program, a recently implemented public health policy, as a case for how and why GIS can be used to examine utilization patterns. Design. GIS are employed to visualize and spatially analyze a new health policy – North Carolina's Silver Alert policy. We use visualized data and spatial statistics to assess utilization patterns and mission adherence. Results. Results show disproportionate utilization patterns of the Silver Alert policy. in particular, an outstanding number of Silver Alerts were used in Wake County and its surrounding counties, which are both the political and media center of North Carolina. Other counties, including populous counties, had few if any alerts. Conclusion. Findings suggest that the North Carolina's Silver Alert policy needs to be adjusted to more effectively address its mission. We identify several factors that need further examination prior to a statewide evaluation. From this case study, we propose ways future programs, particularly the introduction of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014, might use GIS to examine utilization patterns as a means to better understand whether and in what ways the health care needs of the public are being met with such a policy.
Trace-element nutrition in health and disease: contributions and problems of analysis.

Most imbalances of trace-element nutrition are characterized by the absence of acute, easily recognizable disease. To diagnose marginal deficiencies or excesses of trace elements, the analyst must use rather sophisticated procedures, and even where an imbalance of trace-element nutrition can be proven, the implications for health are not always evident. Previous attempts to connect deviations of trace-element nutrition with health and disease have suffered from conspicuous gaps in our knowledge; etiologic factors for many chronic disease processes are unknown, with the result that existing hypotheses can be onesided. In addition, the biological roles of many trace elements are hypothetical, at best. Whereas the short-term consequences of extreme underor overexposures are reasonably well-known, it is very difficult to investigate the marginal imbalances and their long-term consequences that are most likely related to existing health problems in man. The rapid development of analytical methodology in the past decade has created a powerful tool for trace-element research. However, these tools can be dangerous if their technical and general limitations are not clearly understood. It is necessary to appreciate these limitations, not only in technology but also with regard to the interpretation of the results, in view of the ever-increasing demands on the analytical chemist. These demands are created by the discovery
Discourse as a Strategic Resource

In this article, we outline a model of how discourse can be mobilized as a strategic resource. The model consists of three circuits. First, in circuits of activity, individuals attempt to introduce new discursive statements, through the use of symbols, narratives, metaphors, etc. aimed at evoking concepts to create particular objects. These activities must intersect with circuits of performativity. This occurs when, for example, concepts are contextually embedded and have meaning for other actors; when symbols, narratives and metaphors possess receptivity; and when the subject position of the enunciator warrants voice. Third, when these two circuits intersect, connectivity occurs as the new discursive statements `take'. Using an illustrative example of an international NGO operating in Palestine, we show how an individual brought about strategic change by engaging in discursive activity.
Providing Quadratic Convergence of Decentralized Power Control in Wireless Networks—The Method of Min-Max Functions

This paper addresses the problem of power control in wireless networks with elastic traffic and no central network controller, such as ad hoc networks or hybrid mesh networks. We propose a novel power allocation iteration, prove its local quadratic convergence, and design a feedback/handshake scheme for a distributed implementation of the iteration. The combined feature of quadratic convergence and amenability to decentralized realization makes the algorithm suitable for efficient online application and incorporation in multihop policies. To the best of our knowledge, a similarly fast convergence and decentralization are not offered by any known power control algorithm. The proposed power control concept is designed and analyzed using the powerful framework of convex-concave functions and min-max functions.
Agent-Based Approaches in Cloud Computing : A Survey In partial fulfillment of the requirements for course CMPT 835

Several large-scale computational problems can be effectively solved in distributed environments which are based on the agent paradigm. These computation tasks are decomposed into sub-tasks which are assigned to the computational agents. Combining the concepts of the cloud (as a way of providing the illusion of infinite computing resources available on demand) and the agent paradigm leads to a practically zero-cost and highly scalable solution, which may be called an Augmented Cloud. The scalability of the classical cloud is limited by the number of nodes in the data center on which the cloud is deployed. Agent-based approach can augment the classical cloud by a significant increase of its scalability. This paper presents a comprehensive survey on existing research done in using agent-based approaches in cloud computing. Finally, important directions for future work are highlighted.
Scaling up genome annotation using MAKER and work queue

Next generation sequencing technologies have enabled sequencing many genomes. Because of the overall increasing demand and the inherent parallelism available in many required analyses, these bioinformatics applications should ideally run on clusters, clouds and/or grids. We present a modified annotation framework that achieves a speed-up of 45x using 50 workers using a Caenorhabditis japonica test case. We also evaluate these modifications within the Amazon EC2 cloud framework. The underlying genome annotation (MAKER) is parallelised as an MPI application. Our framework enables it to now run without MPI while utilising a wide variety of distributed computing resources. This parallel framework also allows easy explicit data transfer, which helps overcome a major limitation of bioinformatics tools that often rely on shared file systems. Combined, our proposed framework can be used, even during early stages of development, to easily run sequence analysis tools on clusters, grids and clouds.
Risk Factors for Retinopathy of Prematurity in Extremely Preterm Chinese Infants

AbstractTo investigate the incidence and risk factors of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and Type 1 ROP in extremely preterm Chinese infants.A retrospective review of medical records was performed of all extremely preterm neonates (gestational age, GA ⩽ 28 weeks) screened for ROP from 2007 to 2012 at an ophthalmology centre in Hong Kong. Thirty-three maternal and neonatal covariates were analyzed using univariate and multivariate regression analyses for both ROP and Type 1 ROP.The mean gestational age (GA) was 26.4 ± 1.3 weeks and the birth weight (BW) was 855.0 ± 199.0 g. The incidence of ROP development was 60.7% and 16.2% for Type 1 ROP. On univariate analysis, 6 risk factors were identified for ROP development including: lighter BW; lower GA; postnatal hypotension; inotrope use; surfactant use; and invasive mechanical ventilation (all P ⩽ 0.01). On multivariate analysis, neonatal congenital heart disease and greater GA were protective factors for ROP development (P ⩽ 0.04). On the other hand, 4 risk factors were associated with Type 1 ROP development in univariate analysis, including: lower GA, lighter BW, multiple pregnancies, and invasive mechanical ventilation (all P ⩽ 0.02); while there was no significant risk factors on multivariate analysis.A lighter BW and lower GA were the only common independent risk factors for both ROP and Type 1 ROP while neonatal congenital heart disease and greater GA were the protective factors against ROP.
Patients' reports or clinicians' assessments: which are better for prognosticating?

Background The Prognosis in Palliative care Scale (PiPS) predicts survival in advanced cancer patients more accurately than a doctor's or a nurse's estimate. PiPS scores are derived using observer ratings of symptom severity and performance status. The purpose of this study was to determine whether patient-rated data would provide better prognostic estimates than clinician observer ratings. Patients and methods 1018 subjects with advanced cancer no longer undergoing tumour-directed therapy were recruited to a multi-centre study. Prognostic models were developed using observer ratings, patient ratings or a composite method that used patient ratings when available or else used observer ratings. The performance of the prognostic models was compared by determining the agreement between the models' predictions and the survival of study participants. Results All three approaches to model development resulted in prognostic scores that were able to differentiate between patients with a survival of ‘days’, ‘weeks’ or ‘months+’. However, the observer-rated models were significantly (p<0.05) more accurate than the patient-rated models. Conclusions A prognostic model derived using observer-rated data was more accurate at predicting survival than a similar model derived using patient self-report measures. This is clinically important because patient-rated data can be burdensome and difficult to obtain in patients with terminal illnesses.
People Counting in Transport Vehicles

Counting people from a video stream in a noisy environ- ment is a challenging task. This project aims at developing a counting system for transport vehicles, integrated in a video surveillance product. This article presents a method for the detection and tracking of multiple faces in a video by using a model of first and second order local moments. An iterative process is used to estimate the position and shape of multiple faces in images, and to track them. the trajectories are then processed to count people entering and leaving the vehicle.
Edge-Isoperimetric Inequalities and Influences

We give a combinatorial proof of the result of Kahn, Kalai and Linial [16], which states that every balanced boolean function on the n-dimensional boolean cube has a variable with influence of at least $\Omega\bigl(\frac{\log n}{n}\bigr)$. The methods of the proof are then used to recover additional isoperimetric results for the cube, with improved constants. We also state some conjectures about optimal constants.
Stimuli Responsive Ionogels for Sensing Applications—An Overview

This overview aims to summarize the existing potential of “Ionogels” as a platform to develop stimuli responsive materials. Ionogels are a class of materials that contain an Ionic Liquid (IL) confined within a polymer matrix. Recently defined as “a solid interconnected network spreading throughout a liquid phase”, the ionogel therefore combines the properties of both its solid and liquid components. ILs are low melting salts that exist as liquids composed entirely of cations and anions at or around 100 °C. Important physical properties of these liquids such as viscosity, density, melting point and conductivity can be altered to suit a purpose by choice of the cation/anion. Here we provide an overview to highlight the literature thus far, detailing the encapsulation of IL and responsive materials within these polymeric structures. Exciting applications in the areas of optical and electrochemical sensing, solid state electrolytes and actuating materials shall be discussed.
Increased plasma cholinesterase activity and succinylcholine resistance: a genetic variant.

Abstract : Plasma-cholinesterase activity was determined in medical-volunteer-program subjects. In 1,029 subjects, activity varied from 92 to 1,278 micromoles ACH hydrolyzed/hr, with a mean of 391 micromoles. Plasmacholinesterase activity in one subject was consistently elevated. Examination of his family revelaed that this activity was inherited in an autosomal, dominant manner. In vitro and in vivo studies suggested that the propositus was heterozygous for an enzyme molecule more than three times as active as the usual cholinesterase. The pharmacological effect of this genetic variation is discussed. (Author)
Digital beam forming on transmit and receive with an AESA FMCW radar

This paper describes an active electronically scanned array (AESA) FMCW radar with eight transceivers. Each transceiver has its own Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS) for signal generation which enables digital beam forming on transmit as well as on receive. The coherent operation of the eight transceivers and the capability to perform digital beam forming on transmit and receive is demonstrated.
Reperfusion Is a More Accurate Predictor of Follow-Up Infarct Volume Than Recanalization: A Proof of Concept Using CT in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients

Background and Purpose— The purpose of this study was to compare recanalization and reperfusion in terms of their predictive value for imaging outcomes (follow-up infarct volume, infarct growth, salvaged penumbra) and clinical outcome in acute ischemic stroke patients. Material and Methods— Twenty-two patients admitted within 6 hours of stroke onset were retrospectively included in this study. These patients underwent a first stroke CT protocol including CT-angiography (CTA) and perfusion-CT (PCT) on admission, and similar imaging after treatment, typically around 24 hours, to assess recanalization and reperfusion. Recanalization was assessed by comparing arterial patency on admission and posttreatment CTAs; reperfusion, by comparing the volumes of CBV, CBF, and MTT abnormality on admission and posttreatment PCTs. Collateral flow was graded on the admission CTA. Follow-up infarct volume was measured on the discharge noncontrast CT. The groups of patients with reperfusion, no reperfusion, recanalization, and no recanalization were compared in terms of imaging and clinical outcomes. Results— Reperfusion (using an MTT reperfusion index >75%) was a more accurate predictor of follow-up infarct volume than recanalization. Collateral flow and recanalization were not accurate predictors of follow-up infarct volume. An interaction term was found between reperfusion and the volume of the admission penumbra >50 mL. Conclusion— Our study provides evidence that reperfusion is a more accurate predictor of follow-up infarct volume in acute ischemic stroke patients than recanalization. We recommend an MTT reperfusion index >75% to assess therapy efficacy in future acute ischemic stroke trials that use perfusion-CT.