Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance of electromyography recorded using textile electrodes in classifying arm movements

Electromyography (EMG) signals are commonly recorded using the Ag/AgCl gel electrodes in myoelectric prosthetic control. While a gelled electrode may provide high-quality EMG recordings, it is inconvenient in clinical application of a myoelectric prosthesis. A novel type of signal sensors-textile electrodes should be ideal in control of myoelectric prostheses. However, it is unknown whether the performance of textile electrodes is comparable to commonly used electrodes in classifying arm movements. In this study, the custom-made bipolar textile electrodes were fabricated using copper-based nickel-plated conductive fabric and were used to record EMG signals. The performance of EMG signals recorded with textile electrodes in identifying nine arm and hand movements were investigated. Our pilot results showed that the average classification accuracy across six able-bodied subjects was 94.05% when using textile electrodes and 94.26% when using conventional electrodes, with no significant difference between the two types of electrodes (p=0.81). The pilot results suggest that the textile electrodes could achieve similar performance in classifying arm movements in control of myoelectric prostheses as the gelled metal electrodes.
The Theory and Practice of Consultation-Liaison (CL) Psychiatry in Trinidad and Tobago with Reference to Suicidal Behavior

Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (CL Psychiatry) is not a well-established discipline in developing countries. It is a multifaceted area that incorporates clinical, teaching, and research activities both within the hospital and extramurally in community health services. Our purpose was first to define the role of CL Psychiatry, to review essential steps in the process, and to advise on how to set up services. Second, a 1-year retrospective analysis was conducted on all patients referred. A total of 708 persons were referred for psychiatric consultation, of which 41% (291) were referred because of suicidal behavior. Sixty-six percent were female and there was an over-representation of Indo-Trinidadians (67%). Twenty-six percent of all cases of suicidal behavior were diagnosed with clinical depression, 3% were suffering from a psychotic illness (schizophrenia), and 8% (24/291) were under the influence of alcohol. The most vulnerable group was the 25- to 35-year-old age group, accounting for 27% (78/291) of attempters, with the largest number of female attempters. The 36- to 55-year-old males were most likely to attempt suicide (35/99). Ingestion of a toxic substance was the most popular method among all races, genders, and age groups. Of all referrals, 95% originated from medical wards. The most common reason cited for attempts was depressed mood, secondary to a domestic dispute with a family member or significant other. Among Caribbean countries, Trinidad and Tobago has high rates of suicide and suicidal behavior, depression, and alcoholism. CL psychiatrists have a major role to play in the delivery of services to these groups, facilitating the transition of care from admission in the emergency room to discharge and follow-up in the community.
Effects of mixing eggs of different initial incubation time on the hatching pattern, chick embryonic development and post-hatch performance

Background The hatch window that varies from 24 to 48 h is known to influence post-hatch performance of chicks. A narrow hatch window is needed for commercial poultry industry to acquire a high level of uniformity of chick quality. Hatching synchronization observed in avian species presents possibilities in altering hatch window in artificial incubation. Methods Layer eggs which were laid on the same day by a single breeder flock and stored for no more than two days started incubation 12 h apart to obtain developmental distinction. The eggs of different initial incubation time were mixed as rows adjacent to rows on day 12 of incubation. During the hatching period (since day 18), hatching time of individual eggs and hatch window were obtained by video recordings. Embryonic development (day 18 and 20) and post-hatch performance up to day 7 were measured. Results The manipulation of mixing eggs of different initial incubation time shortened the hatch window of late incubated eggs in the manipulated group by delaying the onset of hatching process, and improved the hatchability. Compared to the control groups, chick embryos or chicks in the egg redistribution group showed no significant difference in embryonic development and post-hatch performance up to day 7. Discussion We have demonstrated that eggs that were incubated with advanced eggs performed a narrow spread of hatch with higher hatchability, normal embryonic development as well as unaffected chick quality. This specific manipulation is applicable in industrial poultry production to shorten hatch window and improve the uniformity of chick quality.
A Complex Recombination Pattern in the Genome of Allotetraploid Brassica napus as Revealed by a High-Density Genetic Map

Polyploidy plays a crucial role in plant evolution. Brassica napus (2n = 38, AACC), the most important oil crop in the Brassica genus, is an allotetraploid that originated through natural doubling of chromosomes after the hybridization of its progenitor species, B. rapa (2n = 20, AA) and B. oleracea (2n = 18, CC). A better understanding of the evolutionary relationship between B. napus and B. rapa, B. oleracea, as well as Arabidopsis, which has a common ancestor with these three species, will provide valuable information about the generation and evolution of allopolyploidy. Based on a high-density genetic map with single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, we performed a comparative genomic analysis of B. napus with Arabidopsis and its progenitor species B. rapa and B. oleracea. Based on the collinear relationship of B. rapa and B. oleracea in the B. napus genetic map, the B. napus genome was found to consist of 70.1% of the skeleton components of the chromosomes of B. rapa and B. oleracea, with 17.7% of sequences derived from reciprocal translocation between homoeologous chromosomes between the A- and C-genome and 3.6% of sequences derived from reciprocal translocation between non-homologous chromosomes at both intra- and inter-genomic levels. The current study thus provides insights into the formation and evolution of the allotetraploid B. napus genome, which will allow for more accurate transfer of genomic information from B. rapa, B. oleracea and Arabidopsis to B. napus.
Dynamic suppression of Rayleigh light scattering in dielectric resonators

The ultimate limits of performance for any classical optical system are set by sub-wavelength fluctuations within the host material, that may be frozen-in or even dynamically induced. The most common manifestation of such sub-wavelength disorder is Rayleigh light scattering, which is observed in nearly all wave-guiding technologies today and can lead to both irreversible radiative losses as well as undesirable intermodal coupling. While it has been shown that backscattering from disorder can be suppressed by breaking time-reversal symmetry in magneto-optic and topological insulator materials, common optical dielectrics possess neither of these properties. Here we demonstrate an optomechanical approach for dynamically suppressing Rayleigh backscattering within dielectric resonators. We achieve this by locally breaking time-reversal symmetry in a silica resonator through a Brillouin scattering interaction that is available in all materials. Near-complete suppression of Rayleigh backscattering is experimentally confirmed through three independent measurements -- the reduction of the back-reflections caused by scatterers, the elimination of a commonly seen normal-mode splitting effect, and by measurement of the reduction in intrinsic optical loss. More broadly, our results provide new evidence that it is possible to dynamically suppress Rayleigh backscattering within any optical dielectric medium, for achieving robust light propagation in nanophotonic devices in spite of the presence of scatterers or defects.
New World Bats Harbor Diverse Influenza A Viruses

Aquatic birds harbor diverse influenza A viruses and are a major viral reservoir in nature. The recent discovery of influenza viruses of a new H17N10 subtype in Central American fruit bats suggests that other New World species may similarly carry divergent influenza viruses. Using consensus degenerate RT-PCR, we identified a novel influenza A virus, designated as H18N11, in a flat-faced fruit bat (Artibeus planirostris) from Peru. Serologic studies with the recombinant H18 protein indicated that several Peruvian bat species were infected by this virus. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that, in some gene segments, New World bats harbor more influenza virus genetic diversity than all other mammalian and avian species combined, indicative of a long-standing host-virus association. Structural and functional analyses of the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase indicate that sialic acid is not a ligand for virus attachment nor a substrate for release, suggesting a unique mode of influenza A virus attachment and activation of membrane fusion for entry into host cells. Taken together, these findings indicate that bats constitute a potentially important and likely ancient reservoir for a diverse pool of influenza viruses.
Microstructure-reactivity Relationship for Gasless High-energy Density Materials

by Christopher E. Shuck Reactive nanocomposites (RNCs), comprised of stochastically layered metals, were fabricated using short-term high-energy ball milling (HEBM). By varying the milling conditions, the internal nanostructure of the RNCs can be controlled. Using a combination of two approaches (synchrotron-based X-ray nanotomography and focused-ionbeam sectioning), the 3D-structure of these materials were quantitatively analyzed. HEBM was initially applied to the Ta/C system to generate a variety of different composite structures. This system was chosen because it is a true solid flame system; the adiabatic combustion temperature is below any phase transition or eutectic temperatures. The ignition temperature was 1243 ± 15 K and the maximum temperature observed was 2487 ± 50 K. It was shown that this reaction proceeds solely due to solid state mechanisms. This approach was then applied to the Ni/Al system. The reactivity, including ignition and combustion parameters, for different RNCs was analyzed using high-speed infrared imaging. The direct relationships between the 3D structural characteristics and reactivity parameters were determined. It was shown that all of these features are primarily controlled by the Al layer thickness. This is most likely due to the reaction mechanism, where the controlling step is Ni diffusion into the Al matrix. Christopher E. Shuck To better understand the driving force behind the observed ignition and combustion parameters, the reaction kinetics were analyzed using the electrothermal explosion technique for each milling condition. It is shown that the effective activation energy (Eef ) ranges from 79 to 137 kJ mol and is directly related to the surface area contact between the reactants. Essentially, the reaction kinetics can be accurately controlled through mechanical processing techniques. Finally, the nature of the reaction is considered; the mechanistic effect of the reactive and three diffusive activation energies on the effective activation energy was examined. A comparison with existing theoretical models allows us to conclude that, for specially designed RNCs, the reaction can be initiated and self-propagates solely due to solid-state mechanisms, i.e., in the solid flame mode. It was directly demonstrated that, by understanding the fundamental quantitative relationship between the structure and properties of RNCs, unprecedented control over the reaction can be achieved.
Aladdin: Automating Release of Deep-Link APIs on Android

Compared to the Web where each web page has a global URL for external access, a specific 'page' inside a mobile app cannot be easily accessed unless the user performs several steps from the landing page of this app. Recently, the concept of 'deep link' is expected to be a promising solution and has been advocated by major service providers to enable targeting and opening a specific page of an app externally with an accessible uniform resource identifier. In this paper, we present a large-scale empirical study to investigate how deep links are really adopted, over 25,000 Android apps. To our surprise, we find that deep links have quite low coverage, e.g., more than 70% and 90% of the apps do not have deep links on app stores Wandoujia and Google Play, respectively. One underlying reason is the mandatory and non-trivial manual efforts of app developers to provide APIs for deep links. We then propose the Aladdin approach along with its supporting tool to help developers practically automate the release of deep-link APIs to access locations inside their apps. Aladdin includes a novel cooperative framework by synthesizing the static analysis and the dynamic analysis while minimally engaging developers» inputs and configurations, without requiring any coding efforts or additional deployment efforts. We evaluate Aladdin with 579 popular apps and demonstrate its effectiveness and performance.
The Evaluation of Anosognosia in Stroke Patients

Background: Anosognosia in stroke patients showed a relevant detrimental effect on the rehabilitation course and patients’ quality of life, especially in those with brain injury. Although a number of reliable scales for the assessment of anosognosia in stroke and traumatic brain injury have been developed, at present no single measure fully explores the multifaceted nature of the phenomenon. Method: A PubMed search with appropriate terms was carried out in order to critically review the issue. Results: The main dimensions to consider in the investigation of anosognosia in brain-injured patients are (a) awareness of deficit and related functional implications, (b) modality specificity, (c) causal attribution, (d) expectations of recovery, (e) implicit knowledge and (f) differential diagnosis with psychological denial. Time elapsed from stroke, aetiology, laterality, aphasia and clinical complications may influence all these characteristics and must be taken into consideration. Finally, an adequate association of the anosognosia evaluation with other neuropsychological and behavioural aspects is relevant for a modern holistic approach to the patient. Conclusions: This review is meant to stimulate the development of a new comprehensive assessment procedure for anosognosia in brain injury and particularly in stroke, in order to catch the multidimensionality of the phenomenon and to shape rehabilitation programmes suitable to the specific clinical features of every single patient.
Seeing More Than Human: Autism and Anthropomorphic Theory of Mind

Theory of mind (ToM) is defined as the process of taking another’s perspective. Anthropomorphism can be seen as the extension of ToM to non-human entities. This review examines the literature concerning ToM and anthropomorphism in relation to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), specifically addressing the questions of how and why those on the spectrum both show an increased interest for anthropomorphism and may even show improved ToM abilities when judging the mental states of anthropomorphic characters. This review highlights that while individuals with ASD traditionally show deficits on a wide range of ToM tests, such as recognizing facial emotions, such ToM deficits may be ameliorated if the stimuli presented is cartoon or animal-like rather than in human form. Individuals with ASD show a greater interest in anthropomorphic characters and process the features of these characters using methods typically reserved for human stimuli. Personal accounts of individuals with ASD also suggest they may identify more closely with animals than other humans. It is shown how the social motivations hypothesized to underlie the anthropomorphizing of non-human targets may lead those on the spectrum to seek social connections and therefore gain ToM experience and expertise amongst unlikely sources.
Model based optimal multipolar stimulation without a priori knowledge of nerve structure: application to vagus nerve stimulation

Objective. Multipolar cuff electrode can selectively stimulate areas of peripheral nerves and therefore enable to control independent functions. However, the branching and fascicularization are known for a limited set of nerves and the specific organization remains subject-dependent. This paper presents general modeling and optimization methods in the context of multipolar stimulation using a cuff electrode without a priori knowledge of the nerve structure. Vagus nerve stimulation experiments based on the optimization results were then investigated. Approach. The model consisted of two independent components: a lead field matrix representing the transfer function from the applied current to the extracellular voltage present on the nodes of Ranvier along each axon, and a linear activation model. The optimization process consisted in finding the best current repartition (ratios) to reach activation of a targeted area depending on three criteria: selectivity, efficiency and robustness. Main results. The results showed that state-of-the-art configurations (tripolar transverse, tripolar longitudinal) were part of the optimized solutions but new ones could emerge depending on the trade-off between the three criteria and the targeted area. Besides, the choice of appropriate current ratios was more important than the choice of the stimulation amplitude for a stimulation without a priori knowledge of the nerve structure. We successfully assessed the solutions in vivo to selectively induce a decrease in cardiac rhythm through vagus nerve stimulation while limiting side effects. Compared to the standard whole ring configuration, a selective solution found by simulation provided on average 2.6 less adverse effects. Significance. The preliminary results showed the rightness of the simulation, using a generic nerve geometry. It suggested that this approach will have broader applications that would benefit from multicontact cuff electrodes to elicit selective responses. In the context of the vagus nerve stimulation for heart failure therapy, we show that the simulation results were confirmed and improved the therapy while decreasing the side effects.
Risk of Serious and Opportunistic Infections Associated With Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

BACKGROUND & AIMS The risk of infection associated with tumor necrosis factor antagonists (anti-TNF) and thiopurines (combination therapy) is uncertain. We assessed the risk of serious and opportunistic infections in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treated with thiopurine monotherapy, anti-TNF monotherapy, or combination therapy in a large cohort of patients in France. METHODS We performed a nationwide population-based study of patients (18 years or older) with a diagnosis of IBD in the French national health insurance database; we collected data from January 1, 2009 until December 31, 2014. The risks of serious and opportunistic infections associated with exposure to combination therapy, anti-TNF, and thiopurine monotherapies were compared using marginal structural Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for baseline and time-varying sociodemographic characteristics, medications, and comorbidities. RESULTS Among the 190,694 patients with IBD included in our analysis, 8561 serious infections and 674 opportunistic infections occurred. Compared with anti-TNF monotherapy, combination therapy was associated with increased risks of serious infection (hazard ratio [HR], 1.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-1.45) and opportunistic infection (HR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.32-2.91). Compared with thiopurine monotherapy, anti-TNF monotherapy was associated with increased risks of serious infection (HR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.56-1.88), mycobacterial infection (HR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.15-3.40), and bacterial infection (HR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.23-4.58, respectively). Conversely, anti-TNF monotherapy was associated with decreased risk of opportunistic viral infection compared with thiopurine monotherapy (HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.38-0.87). CONCLUSIONS In a nationwide cohort study of patients with IBD in France, we found heterogeneity in risks of serious and opportunistic infections in patients treated with immune-suppressive regimens. These should be carefully considered and weighed against potential benefits for IBD treatment in patient management.
Multimodal Dynamic Journey Planning

We present multimodal DTM, a new model for multimodal journey planning in public (schedule-based) transport networks. Multimodal DTM constitutes an extension of the dynamic timetable model (DTM), developed originally for unimodal journey planning. Multimodal DTM exhibits a very fast query algorithm, meeting the request for real-time response to best journey queries and an extremely fast update algorithm for updating the timetable information in case of delays. In particular, an experimental study on real-world metropolitan networks demonstrates that our methods compare favorably with other state-of-the-art approaches.
Delaying initiation of electroconvulsive treatment after administration of the anaesthetic agent and muscle relaxant reduces the necessity of re-stimulation

Abstract Objectives: To investigate the effect of delaying initiation of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) after administration of anaesthetic agent and muscle relaxant. Methods: A retrospective cohort study utilizing a case-based analysis comparing number of re-stimulations, length of seizures, number of ECTs per series and stimulation dosage before and after introducing a new treatment regimen. In 2013, ECT was initiated approximately 60–90 seconds after administration of thiopental and succinylcholine. This interval was increased to 120 seconds in 2014. Ninety-three patients were included (40 in 2013 and 53 in 2014). Outcome measures were length of seizure, number of re-stimulations, number of ECTs per series and stimulation dosage. Regression model analyses were conducted with entering year of treatment (2013 vs. 2014), sex and age as covariates. Results: We showed that a lowered frequency of re-stimulation was independently associated with the 2014 treatment regimen. No effect of treatment regimen on duration of seizures as measured clinically or by EEG, on number of treatments per series or on stimulation dosage was observed. Conclusions: We found an association between an increased time interval from administration of thiopental and succinylcholine to ECT and a lowered risk of re-stimulations. The current study substantially strengthens the evidence on the benefits of delaying ECT after administration of anaesthetic agent and muscle relaxant.