Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automated detection of obstructive sleep apnoea at different time scales using the electrocardiogram

An automated classification algorithm is presented which processes short-duration epochs of surface electrocardiogram data derived from polysomnography studies, and determines whether an epoch is from a period of sleep disordered respiration (SDR) or normal respiration (NR). The epoch lengths considered were 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 s. Epochs were labeled as ‘NR’ or ‘SDR’ by a human expert, based on standard polysomnography interpretation rules. The automated classification algorithm was trained and tested on a database of 70 overnight ECG recordings from subjects with and without obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (35 used for training, 35 for independent validation). Depending on the epoch length, the classifier correctly labeled between 87% (15 s epochs) and 91% (60 s epochs) of the epochs in the test set. Accuracy was lowest for the shortest (15 s) and longest (90 s) epoch lengths, but the analysis was relatively insensitive to choice of epoch length. The classifications from these epochs were combined to form an overall summary measure of minutes-of-SDR, allowing per-subject classification.
Characterizing mobility patterns of people in developing countries using their mobile phone data

Human mobility patterns give insights into how people travel in their day-to-day lives. With availability of cellular data, either at large-scale but with low location accuracy or at small-scale but with high location accuracy, studying mobility patterns is now possible. An example of former dataset is CDRs (Call Detail Records) and that of latter is GSM/WiFi/GPS traces collected from mobile phones. So far the studies have been focussed on data collected in developed countries. In this paper, we make an attempt in finding and analyzing mobility patterns of people in developing countries using both the categories of data. We use publicly available CDRs data and we collect our own data for capturing fine-grained location. Ours is the first dataset of its kind that is publicly available. We analyze this data to find movement as well as place visiting patterns, compare our findings with existing studies, and discuss their implications. For example, urban people in developing countries travel farther distances in their day to day life as compared to people living in non-urban areas. Also, distance travelled by urban people in developing countries is as much as six times lower compared to developed countries.
LLN-based Model-Driven Validation of Data Points for Random Sample Consensus Methods

This paper presents an on-the-fly model-driven validation of data points for random sample consensus methods (RANSAC). The novelty resides in the idea that an analysis of the outcomes of previous random model samplings can benefit subsequent samplings. Given a sequence of successful model samplings, information from the inlier sets and the model errors is used to provide a validness of a data point. This validness is used to guide subsequent model samplings, so that the data point with a higher validness has more chance to be selected. To evaluate the performance, the proposed method is applied to the problem of the line model fitting and the estimation of the fundamental matrix. Experimental results confirm that the proposed algorithm improves the performance of RANSAC in terms of the estimate accuracy and the number of samplings.
Defect-aware SOC test scheduling

In this paper we address the test scheduling problem for system-on-chip designs. Different from previous approaches where it is assumed that all tests are performed until completion, we consider the cases where the test process are terminated as soon as a defect is detected. This is common practice in production test of chips. The proposed technique takes into account the probability of defect-detection by a test in order to schedule the tests so that the expected total test time is minimized. We investigate different test bus structures, test scheduling strategies (sequential scheduling vs. concurrent scheduling), and test set assumptions (fixed test time vs. flexible test time). We have also made experiments to illustrate the efficiency of taking defect probability into account during test scheduling.
Age preferences in mates reflect sex differences in human reproductive strategies. Commentary. Author's response

The finding that women are attracted to men older than themselves whereas men are attracted to relatively younger women has been explained by social psychologists in terms of economic exchange rooted in traditional sex-role norms. An alternative evolutionary model suggests that males and females follow different reproductive strategies, and predicts a more complex relationship between gender and age preferences. In particular, males' preferences for relatively younger females should be minimal during early mating years, but should become more pronounced as the male gets older. Young females are expected to prefer somewhat older males during their early years and to change less as they age. We briefly review relevant theory and present results of six studies testing this prediction. Study 1 finds support for this gender-differentiated prediction in age preferences expressed in personal advertisements. Study 2 supports the prediction with marriage statistics from two U.S. cities. Study 3 examines the cross-generational robustness of the phenomenon, and finds the same pattern in marriage statistics from 1923. Study 4 replicates Study 1 using matrimonial advertisements from two European countries, and from India. Study 5 finds a consistent pattern in marriages recorded from 1913 through 1939 on a small island in the Philippines. Study 6 reveals the same pattern in singles advertisements placed by financially successful American women and melt. We consider the limitations of previous normative and evolutionary explanations of age preferences and discuss the advantages of expanding previous models to include the life history perspective.
THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF AVIAN WINTER PLUMAGE VARIABILITY

Animal species vary enormously in the degree to which individuals are similar or different from one another in appearance. In some birds, such as juncos and Harris sparrows, most individuals look different from each other, while in others, such as chickadees and song sparrows, there is little individual variation. These differences in appearance among species require several levels of interpretation. First, an understanding of their social significance is required for us to know what is being communicated by these differences. Second, we should understand the proximate mechanisms by which a correspondence between signal and message is achieved. Finally, we must understand the ecological factors which are ultimately responsible for the social systems and their associated plumage patterns. This paper is addressed only at the social significance of winter plumage variability versus monomorphism. Ordering principles pertaining to animal coloration-theories relating appearance to camouflage, advertisement, physiology, or the formation of search images-are of little help in explaining why some winter birds are highly variable and others monomorphic. The first three of these theories invoke selective principles which are expected to produce monomorphic patterns within populations and, thus, do not relate to plumage variability. Camouflage coloration is expected to select for monomorphism achieved through mimicry of environmental background, substrate color or specific objects. Likewise, advertisement or poster coloration (Lorenz, 1967), evolved by selection for warning coloration, mimicry, species or sex recognition, or advertisement of territorial possession, is not expected to lead to intra-population variability. In some cases of mimicry this is not true, but these cases always select for discontinuous variation, with morphs mimicking various discrete models. Finally, selection upon color pattern for physiological efficiency depends upon assuming one of the radiation colors, generally either black or white (Hamilton, 1973). Small temperate land birds are rarely uniformly white or black, suggesting that physiological needs have probably not been primal in determining their color patterns. Formation of search images does anticipate variability in populations and is sometimes raised to explain the highly variable plumages of certain birds. Clarke (see 1969, and references cited therein) originated the idea to explain the Cepaea snail polymorphisms through apostatic predation, and Croze (1970) has done much
Design, characterization and in vitro evaluation of stavudine-loaded microspheres

The aim of the present study was to prepare and evaluate microspheres of Eudragit containing an antiviral drug stavudine. Microspheres were prepared by O/O solvent evaporation method using acetone/liquid paraffin system. The prepared microspheres were characterized for their micromeretic properties and entrapment efficiency; as well by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray powder diffractometry (XRPD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which revealed the crystalline nature of drug in a final state. The in vitro studies revealed the controlled release of drug from microspheres up to 12 h and the best fit release kinetics was achieved with a Higuchi plot and found to be diffusion controlled. The yields of preparation and entrapment efficiencies were very high with a larger particle size for all the formulations. Mean particle size, entrapment efficiency and production yield were highly influenced by the type of polymer and polymer concentration.
Robotic assembly: a synthesizing overview

SUMMARY Robotic assembly systems offer tremendous promise for the flexible assembly automation but present a variety of complex research issues due to the positioning inaccuracy of the manipulator, dimensional variation of mating parts and their physical interactions. This paper provides an up-to-date survey of researches in robotic assembly with emphasis on parts mating technology. Depending upon the mating strategy, presently available methods of performing precision assembly operations are classified and their advantages and limitations are discussed from the view points of the system complexity, adaptability and reliability. The performance variables such as the mating speed, positioning error absorbing capability and applicability are compared in some details for various assembly methods.
South by South-East or Sitting at the Desk: Can Orientation be a Place?

Location is a key information for context-aware systems. While coarse-grained indoor location estimates may be obtained quite easily (e.g. based on WiFi or GSM), finer-grained estimates typically require additional infrastructure (e.g. ultrasound). This work explores an approach to estimate significant places, e.g., at the fridge, with no additional setup or infrastructure. We use a pocket-based inertial measurement sensor, which can be found in many recent phones. We analyze how the spatial layout such as geographic orientation of buildings, arrangement and type of furniture can serve as the basis to estimate typical places in a daily scenario. Initial experiments reveal that our approach can detect fine-grained locations without relying on any infrastructure or additional devices.
Hybrid acceleration/velocity-based disturbance observer for a quadrotor manipulation system

Aerial manipulation systems become very attractive for a wide range of applications due to their unique features. However, control of such system is quite challenging due to its high nonlinearities, couplings, and external disturbances. In this paper, a Disturbance Observer (DOb)-based linearization of a quadrotor manipulation system is utilized. The DOb estimates the disturbances and nonlinearities, then compensates them such that one can treat the control problem based on a simple linear control algorithm. However, the current developed DOb schemes in the literature are based on the precise measurement of the acceleration or the estimation of the velocity. Unlike, these methods, we propose a modified DOb, which is based on both the measured linear accelerations and angular velocities that can be obtained directly from the onboard Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and encoders. With this technique, the estimation of nonlinearities and disturbances are carried out without the need of estimation acceleration or velocity, and it is model free. The Effectiveness of the proposed technique is verified via numerical simulations.
Eformoterol n-of-1 trials in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease poorly reversible to salbutamol

Aims: Benefits of long acting beta 2 agonists are unclear for severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with poor response to short acting bronchodilators. We aimed to evaluate 1) effects of eformoterol in such patients using a ‘n-of-1’ double crossover study design, and 2) aggregate data as a double-blind, double crossover randomized control trial. Methods: Subjects with forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) < 60% predicted, and poor response to short acting bronchodilators were studied six times over 18 weeks. During that time they were prescribed four weeks of either eformoterol or placebo, followed by the alternate, and then a second crossover. Four-weekly measures included six minute walk distance (6MWD), FEV1, previous two weeks of symptoms, and chronic respiratory questionnaire (CRQ) including treatment goal items. Results: Of 27 original subjects (21 male, mean age of 70 years, five smokers, mean prebronchodilator FEV1, 36% predicted), one subject had clinically significant concordant improvement in the CRQ dyspnoea domain and 6MWD (by 51 metres), but not for other outcomes. There were no concordant improvements in any other subjects. Aggregate double crossover data analysis demonstrated no improvement in any outcome measures. Conclusions: The ‘n-of-1’ study design and aggregate data analysis demonstrated lack of benefit from eformoterol in COPD patients with poor response to short acting bronchodilators.
Bifurcations of the Global Stable Set of a Planar Endomorphism Near a Cusp Singularity

The dynamics of a system defined by an endomorphism is essentially different from that of a system defined by a diffeomorphism due to interaction of invariant objects with the so-called critical locus. A planar endomorphism typically folds the phase space along curves J0 where the Jacobian of the map is singular. The critical locus, denoted J1, is the image of J0. It is often only piecewise smooth due to the presence of isolated cusp points that are persistent under perturbation. We investigate what happens when the stable set Ws of a fixed point or periodic orbit interacts with J1 near such a cusp point C1. Our approach is in the spirit of bifurcation theory, and we classify the different unfoldings of the codimension-two singularity where the curve Ws is tangent to J1 exactly at C1. The analysis uses a local normal-form setup that identifies the possible local phase portraits. These local phase portraits give rise to different global manifestations of the behavior as organized by five different global bifurcation diagrams.
Signatures of the anomalous Zγ and ZZ production at the lepton and hadron Colliders.

The possible form of New Physics (NP) interactions affecting the ZZZ, ZZγ and Zγγ vertices, is critically examined. Their signatures and the possibilities to study them, through ZZ and Zγ production, at the e e + Colliders LEP and LC and at the hadronic Colliders Tevatron and LHC, are investigated. Experimental limits obtained or expected on each coupling are collected. A simple theoretical model based on virtual effects due to some heavy fermions is used for acquiring some guidance on the plausible forms of these NP vertices. In such a case specific relations among the various neutral couplings are predicted, which can be experimentally tested and possibly used to constrain the form of the responsible NP structure.
Accountable-Subgroup Multisignatures

Formal models and security proofs are especially important for multisignatures: in contrast to threshold signatures, no precise denitions were ever provided for such schemes, and some proposals were subsequently broken. In this paper, we formalize and implement a variant of multi-signature schemes, Accountable-Subgroup Multisignatures (ASM). In essence, ASM schemes enable any subgroup,S, of a given group,G, of potential signers, to sign eciently a message M so that the signature provably reveals the identities of the signers in S to any verier. Specically, we provide: 1. The rst formal model of security for multisignature schemes that explicitly includes key generation (without relying on trusted third parties); 2. A protocol, based on Schnorr’s signature scheme [Sch91], that is both provable and ecient: Only three rounds of communication are required per signature. The signing time per signer is the same as for the single-signer Schnorr scheme, regardless of the number of signers. The verication time is only slightly greater than that for the single-signer Schnorr scheme. The signature length is the same as for the single-signer Schnorr scheme, regardless of the number of signers. Our proof of security relies on random oracles and the hardness of the Discrete Log Problem.
Poplar Metal Tolerance Protein 1 Confers Zinc Tolerance and Is an Oligomeric Vacuolar Zinc Transporter with an Essential Leucine Zipper Motif Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1105/tpc.017541.

Cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) proteins are a recently discovered family of cation efflux transporters that might play an essential role in metal homeostasis and tolerance. Here, we describe the identification, characterization, and localization of PtdMTP1, a member of the CDF family from the hybrid poplar Populus trichocarpa × Populus deltoides. PtdMTP1 is expressed constitutively and ubiquitously, although at low levels. Heterologous expression in yeast showed that PtdMTP1 was able to complement the hypersensitivity of mutant strains to Zn but not to other metals, including Cd, Co, Mn, and Ni. PtdMTP1 fused to green fluorescent protein localized to the vacuolar membrane both in yeast and in plant cells, consistent with a function of PtdMTP1 in zinc sequestration. Overexpression of PtdMTP1 in Arabidopsis confers Zn tolerance. We show that PtdMTP1, when expressed in yeast and Arabidopsis, forms homooligomers, a novel feature of CDF members. Oligomer formation is disrupted by reducing agents, indicating possible disulfide bridge formation. PtdMTP1 also contains a conserved Leu zipper motif. Although not necessary for oligomer formation, Leu residues within this motif are required for PtdMTP1 functional activity.
Effects of combined administration of ACE inhibitor and angiotensin II receptor antagonist are prevented by a high NaCl intake

Background To prevent the action of angiotensin II by blockade with either an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE I) or an angiotensin receptor antagonist (ARA) is difficult due to the physiological compensations. Combined therapy with both drugs may enable complete blockade, and in rats in high doses this has produced a syndrome that results in death. Objective To determine the effect of combined blockade using losartan (10 mg/kg per day) and perindopril (6 mg/kg per day) on blood pressure, cardiac growth, renal function and behaviour, and to determine how this is influenced by different salt intakes in normotensive Sprague Dawley rats. Methods Rats were fed an 0.2 or 4% NaCl diet and received the above drugs intraperitoneally. Blood pressure was measured by telemetry. Cardiac weight was measured after 10 days of therapy. Renal function was assessed by plasma creatinine and electrolytes, plasma renin and angiotensinogen concentrations were measured. Results On 0.2% NaCl intake, combined blockade lowered blood pressure progressively; at day 7, rats on 0.2% NaCl developed a syndrome of listlessness and failure to eat which led to loss of weight and death. Cardiac size was dramatically reduced. Plasma creatinine was elevated to 50% above normal. There was a polyuria. The syndrome was reversed by adding NaCl to the drinking water or prevented in rats on a 4% NaCl intake. In rats on 0.2% NaCl plasma renin rose dramatically with medication and angiotensinogen became depleted. Haematocrit in all groups of rats did not differ. Conclusion Combined blockade of the renin–angiotensin system can cause death in rats on a reduced NaCl intake. This was prevented by a high salt intake. The syndrome may result from depletion of angiotensinogen and the failure to synthesize sufficient angiotensin II that may be critical for normal cardiac growth and function and critical for survival.
Cloning and expression of methicillin resistance from Staphylococcus epidermidis in Staphylococcus carnosus

A 6.2-kilobase chromosomal DNA fragment from a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis strain was cloned into Staphylococcus carnosus by using staphylococcal plasmid pCA44 as the vector. The recombinant plasmid obtained, pBBB21, conferred methicillin resistance on its host and was responsible for the synthesis of a low-affinity penicillin-binding protein (PBP), PBP 2'. PBP 2' determined by the S. epidermidis DNA and expressed as a membrane-bound PBP in S. carnosus reacted with monoclonal antibodies directed against PBP 2' of Staphylococcus aureus origin, and the cloned S. epidermidis DNA hybridized to the methicillin (mec)-specific DNA from S. aureus. These findings point to a common origin of the methicillin resistance determinant in staphylococci.
Delivering pediatric HIV care in resource-limited settings: cost considerations in an expanded response

If children are to be protected from HIV, the expansion of PMTCT programs must be complemented by increased provision of paediatric treatment. This is expensive, yet there are humanitarian, equity and children's rights arguments to justify the prioritization of treating HIV-infected children. In the context of limited budgets, inefficiencies cost lives, either through lower coverage or less effective services. With the goal of informing the design and expansion of efficient paediatric treatment programs able to utilize to greatest effect the available resources allocated to the treatment of HIV-infected children, this article reviews what is known about cost drivers in paediatric HIV interventions, and makes suggestions for improving efficiency in paediatric HIV programming. High-impact interventions known to deliver disproportional returns on investment are highlighted and targeted for immediate scale-up. Progress will carry a cost - increased funding, as well as additional data on intervention costs and outcomes, will be required if universal access of HIV-infected children to treatment is to be achieved and sustained.