Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of spatial temporal plantar pressure pattern during gait in Parkinson's disease

Spatial temporal plantar pressure patterns measured with sheet-shaped pressure sensor were investigated to extract features of gait in Parkinson's disease. Both six subjects of Parkinson's disease (PD) and elderly fourteen normal control subjects were asked to execute usual walking on the pressure sensor sheets. Candidate features were step length, step time, gait velocity and transition of center of pressure to foot axis direction. The step length and gait velocity were smaller in PD subjects than those in normal subjects. Time of step cycle in three PD subjects were longer than that in normal subjects while the times of other PD subjects were similar to those of control subjects. The length from heel contact to toe off within one footprint was small in the subjects with short step length. Such possibility was indicated that Parkinson's disease in gait could be separated from normal subjects by these features.
Image reconstruction and subsurface detection by the application of Tikhonov regularization to inverse problems in hyperspectral images

Hyperspectral Remote Sensing has the potential to be used as an effective coral monitoring system from space. The problems to be addressed in hyperspectral imagery of coastal waters are related to the medium, clutter, and the object to be detected. In coastal waters the variability due to the interaction between the coast and the sea can bring significant disparity in the optical properties of the water column and the sea bottom. In terms of the medium, there is high scattering and absorption. Related to clutter we have the ocean floor, dissolved salt and gases, and dissolved organic matter. The object to be detected, in this case the coral reefs, has a weak signal, with temporal and spatial variation. In real scenarios the absorption and backscattering coefficients have spatial variation due to different sources of variability (river discharge, different depths of shallow waters, water currents) and temporal fluctuations. The retrieval of information about an object beneath some medium with high scattering and absorption properties requires the development of mathematical models and processing tools in the area of inversion, image reconstruction and detection. This paper presents the development of algorithms for retrieving information and its application to the recognition and classification of coral reefs under water with particles that provide high absorption and scattering. The data was gathered using a high resolution imaging spectrometer (hyperspectral) sensor. A mathematical model that simplifies the radiative transfer equation was used to quantify the interaction between the object of interest, the medium and the sensor. Tikhonov method of regularization was used in the inversion process to estimate the bottom albedo, ρ, of the ocean floor using a priori information. The a priori information is in the form of measured spectral signatures of objects of interest, such as sand, corals, and sea grass.
Circadian Rhythm Disturbances in Mood Disorders: Insights into the Role of the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

Circadian rhythm disturbances are a common symptom among individuals with mood disorders. The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), in the ventral part of the anterior hypothalamus, orchestrates physiological and behavioral circadian rhythms. The SCN consists of self-sustaining oscillators and receives photic and nonphotic cues, which entrain the SCN to the external environment. In turn, through synaptic and hormonal mechanisms, the SCN can drive and synchronize circadian rhythms in extra-SCN brain regions and peripheral tissues. Thus, genetic or environmental perturbations of SCN rhythms could disrupt brain regions more closely related to mood regulation and cause mood disturbances. Here, we review clinical and preclinical studies that provide evidence both for and against a causal role for the SCN in mood disorders.
Increase in Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Isolated in Shanghai, China: Results from a Population-Based Study

Background In China, the prevalence of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in isolates from mycobacterial culture-positive patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is largely unknown. Methods We used conventional biochemical and 16S rRNA gene sequencing to identify species of mycobacteria in specimens from patients suspected of having TB. Drug-susceptibility testing was performed on NTM isolates using the proportion method. We also determined the independent risk factors associated with infection with NTM compared with infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Results The overall rate of NTM isolated from mycobacterial culture-positive patients was 5.9% in this population, with a significantly increasing trend from 3.0% in 2008 to 8.5% in 2012 (P for trend <0.001). The organism most frequently identified was M. kansasii (45.0%), followed by M. intracellulare (20.8%) and M. chelonae/abscessus (14.9%). The overall proportion of isolates resistant to the four first-line anti-TB agents were 64.6% for isoniazid, 77.6% for streptomycin, 63.3% for rifampicin and 75.1% for ethambutol. The risk factors most often associated with NTM infection were older age (P for trend <0.001), being a resident of Shanghai (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.48; 95% CI, 1.10–2.00), having been treated for tuberculosis (aOR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.18–2.29), having a cavity on chest X-ray (aOR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.16–1.96), and being sputum smear–negative (aOR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.16–2.18). Conclusions The prevalence of NTM isolated in Shanghai increased between 2008 and 2012, thus clinicians should consider NTM as a possible cause of TB-like disease. Accurate species identification is imperative so that proper treatment can be administered for diseases caused by the diversity of NTM species.
Mouse Model of IL-17-Dominant Rhinitis Using Polyinosinic-Polycytidylic Acid

Interleukin (IL)-17 plays an important role in rhinitis and the level thereof correlates with the severity of disease. However, no mouse model for IL-17-dominant rhinitis has yet been developed. Our objective was to establish a mouse model of IL-17-dominant rhinitis via intranasal application of polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (abbreviated as Poly(I:C)). Mice were divided into 6 groups (n=8 for each group); 1) 1 negative control group, 2) 1 positive control group (OVA/alum model), 3) 2 Poly(I:C) groups (10 or 100 µg), and 4) 2 OVA/Poly(I:C) groups (10 or 100 µg). The positive control group was treated with the conventional OVA/alum protocol. In the Poly(I:C) and OVA/Poly(I:C) groups, phosphate-buffered saline or an OVA solution plus Poly(I:C) were administered. The OVA/Poly(I:C) groups exhibited significantly greater neutrophil infiltration and increased IL-17/interferon γ expression compared with the other groups. However, the levels of total immunoglobulin E (IgE), OVA-specific IgE, eosinophil infiltration, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-10 were significantly lower in the OVA/Poly(I:C) groups than in mice subjected to conventional Th2-dominant OVA/alum treatment (the positive control group). IL-17 and neutrophil measurement, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 immunohistochemistry, and confocal microscopy revealed increased numbers of IL-17-secreting cells in the nasal mucosa of the OVA/Poly(I:C) groups, which included natural killer cells, CD4 T cells, and neutrophils. In conclusion, we developed a mouse model of IL-17-dominant rhinitis using OVA together with Poly(I:C). This model will be useful in research on neutrophil- or IL-17-dominant rhinitis.
Treatment of Guillain‐Barré syndrome and CIDP

Abstract Guillain‐Barré syndrome (GBS) and chronic inflammatory demyelinating poly‐(radiculo)neuropathy (CIDP) are immune‐mediated disorders with a variable duration of progression and a range in severity of weakness. Infections can trigger GBS and exacerbate CIDP. Anti‐ganglioside antibodies are important, but there is debate on the role of genetic factors in the pathogenesis of these disorders. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) have shown that intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) and plasma exchange (PE) are effective in both GBS and CIDP. Most CIDP patients also improve after steroid therapy. Despite current treatment options, many patients have residual deficits or need to be treated for a long period of time. Therefore, new treatment trials are highly indicated. This review focuses on the current and possible new treatment options that could be guided by recent results from laboratory experiments.
Dead-End Elimination with Backbone Flexibility

MOTIVATION Dead-End Elimination (DEE) is a powerful algorithm capable of reducing the search space for structure-based protein design by a combinatorial factor. By using a fixed backbone template, a rotamer library, and a potential energy function, DEE identifies and prunes rotamer choices that are provably not part of the Global Minimum Energy Conformation (GMEC), effectively eliminating the majority of the conformations that must be subsequently enumerated to obtain the GMEC. Since a fixed-backbone model biases the algorithm predictions against protein sequences for which even small backbone movements may result in a significantly enhanced stability, the incorporation of backbone flexibility can improve the accuracy of the design predictions. If explicit backbone flexibility is incorporated into the model, however, the traditional DEE criteria can no longer guarantee that the flexible-backbone GMEC, the lowest-energy conformation when the backbone is allowed to flex, will not be pruned. RESULTS We derive a novel DEE pruning criterion, flexible-backbone DEE (BD), that is provably accurate with backbone flexibility, guaranteeing that no rotamers belonging to the flexible-backbone GMEC are pruned; we also present further enhancements to BD for improved pruning efficiency. The results from applying our novel algorithms to redesign the beta1 domain of protein G and to switch the substrate specificity of the NRPS enzyme GrsA-PheA are then compared against the results from previous fixed-backbone DEE algorithms. We confirm experimentally that traditional-DEE is indeed not provably-accurate with backbone flexibility and that BD is capable of generating conformations with significantly lower energies, thus confirming the feasibility of our novel algorithms. AVAILABILITY Contact authors for source code.
Cognitive differences in dementia patients with autopsy-verified AD, Lewy body pathology, or both

Objective: To examine the neuropsychological profile of dementia patients from a community-based autopsy sample of dementia, comparing Alzheimer disease (AD), Lewy body pathology (LBP) alone, and LBP with coexistent AD (AD/LBP). Methods: The authors reviewed 135 subjects from a community-based study of dementia for whom autopsy and brain tissue was available. Diagnostic groups were determined according to standard neuropathologic methods and criteria, and the presence of LBs was determined using α-synuclein immunostaining. Neuropathologically defined diagnostic groups of AD, AD/LBP, and LBP were examined for differences on neuropsychological test performance at the time of initial study enrollment. Results: There were 48 patients with AD alone, 65 with LB and AD pathology (AD/LBP), and 22 with LBP alone (LBP alone). There were no significant differences between groups demographically or on performance of enrollment Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) or Dementia Rating Scale (DRS). AD patients performed worse than the LBP patients on memory measures (Fuld Object Memory Evaluation Delayed Recall, Wechsler Memory Scale Logical Memory Immediate and Delayed Recall; p < 0.05) and a naming task (Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease Naming; p < 0.05). LBP patients were more impaired than AD patients on executive function (Trail Making Test Part B; p < 0.05) and attention tasks (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Revised Digit Span; p < 0.05). Decline in MMSE and DRS scores over time were greatest in the patients with AD/LBP. Conclusions: In a community-based sample of older, medically complicated patients with dementia, there are neuropsychological differences between dementia subtypes at the time of diagnosis. In particular, patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) alone and AD/Lewy body pathology (LBP) had more severe memory impairment than patients with LBP. LBP alone was associated with more severe executive dysfunction. Patients with AD/LBP had the most rapid rate of cognitive decline.
Calibration of broad- and narrow-band spectral variables for rangeland cover component quantification

Eight broad-band (BB) and 52 narrow-band (NB) spectral variables collected on single sampling dates in June, July and August of 1996 were used, either individually or over multi-temporal periods (June to July, June to August, and July to August), to evaluate their potential use in estimating key cover components (e.g. bare soil, rock, litter, lichen, moss, total live vegetation, shrubs, herbs, forbs and grasses) within a sagebrush steppe rangeland. Regression correlation coefficients ranged from a low of 0.36 and 0.42 for moss to 0.80 and 0.87 for total live vegetation, for the leading BB and NB spectral variables respectively. In general, more specific plant growth forms (e.g. grass and forb) had a poorer explicability (i.e. lower regression correlation coefficient, r) than the more general components (e.g. herbs and total live vegetation). Several cover components, however, had improved explicability with NB spectral parameters using simple regression, relative to the leading BB variable. The greatest i.
Bayesian Methods for Pharmacokinetic Models in Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging

This paper proposes a new method for estimating kinetic parameters of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) based on adaptive Gaussian Markov random fields. Kinetic parameter estimates using neighboring voxels reduce the observed variability in local tumor regions while preserving sharp transitions between heterogeneous tissue boundaries. Asymptotic results for standard errors from likelihood-based nonlinear regression are compared with those derived from the posterior distribution using Bayesian estimation with and without neighborhood information. Application of the method to the analysis of breast tumors based on kinetic parameters has shown that the use of Bayesian analysis combined with adaptive Gaussian Markov random fields provides improved convergence behavior and more consistent morphological and functional statistics
Aortic dissection: new frontiers in diagnosis and management: Part I: from etiology to diagnostic strategies.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in most Western societies and is increasing steadily in many developing countries. Aortic diseases constitute an emerging share of the burden. New diagnostic imaging modalities, longer life expectancy in general, longer exposure to elevated blood pressure, and the proliferation of modern noninvasive imaging modalities have all contributed to the growing awareness of acute and chronic aortic syndromes. Despite recent progress in recognition of both the epidemiological problem and diagnostic and therapeutic advances, the cardiology community and the medical community in general are far from comfortable in understanding the spectrum of aortic syndromes and defining an optimal pathway to manage aortic diseases.1–13 This comprehensive review is organized in two parts, with a focus on the etiology, natural history, and classification (with vascular staging) of aortic wall disease in Part I and emphasis on therapeutic management and follow-up in Part II. Both parts may help to better integrate the complexities of acute aortic syndromes.
Gramophone Noise Detection and Reconstruction Using Time Delay Artificial Neural Networks

Gramophone records were the main recording medium for more than seven decades and regained widespread popularity over the past several years. Being an analog storage medium, gramophone records are subject to distortions caused by scratches, dust particles, degradation, and other means of improper handling. The observed noise often leads to an unpleasant listening experience and requires a filtering process to remove the unwanted disruptions and improve the audio quality. This paper proposes a novel approach that employs various feed forward time delay artificial neural networks to detect and reconstruct noise in musical sound waves. A set of 800 songs from eight different genres were used to validate the performance of the neural networks. The performance was analyzed according to the outlier detection and interpolation accuracy, the computational time and the tradeoff between the accuracy and the time. The empirical results of both detection and reconstruction neural networks were compared to a number of other algorithms, including various statistical measurements, duplication approaches, trigonometric processes, polynomials, and time series models. It was found that the neural networks’ outlier detection accuracy was slightly lower than some of the other noise identification algorithms, but achieved a more efficient tradeoff by detecting most of the noise in real time. The reconstruction process favored neural networks with an increase in the interpolation accuracy compared to other widely used time series models. It was also found that certain genres such as classical, country, and jazz music were interpolated more accurately. Volatile signals, such as electronic, metal, and pop music were more challenging to reconstruct and were substantially better interpolated using neural networks than the other examined algorithms.
Statistical Power to Detect the Correct Number of Classes in Latent Profile Analysis

Little research has examined factors influencing statistical power to detect the correct number of latent classes using latent profile analysis (LPA). This simulation study examined power related to interclass distance between latent classes given true number of classes, sample size, and number of indicators. Seven model selection methods were evaluated. None had adequate power to select the correct number of classes with a small (Cohen's d = .2) or medium (d = .5) degree of separation. With a very large degree of separation (d = 1.5), the Lo–Mendell–Rubin test (LMR), adjusted LMR, bootstrap likelihood ratio test, Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), and sample-size-adjusted BIC were good at selecting the correct number of classes. However, with a large degree of separation (d = .8), power depended on number of indicators and sample size. Akaike's Information Criterion and entropy poorly selected the correct number of classes, regardless of degree of separation, number of indicators, or sample size.
Adherence of Staphylococcus aureus Is Enhanced by an Endogenous Secreted Protein with Broad Binding Activity

ABSTRACT A novel mechanism for enhancement of adherence ofStaphylococcus aureus to host components is described. A secreted protein, Eap (extracellular adherence protein), was purified from the supernatant of S. aureus Newman and found to be able to bind to at least seven plasma proteins, e.g., fibronectin, the α-chain of fibrinogen, and prothrombin, and to the surface ofS. aureus. Eap bound much less to cells ofStaphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus mutans, or Escherichia coli. The protein can form oligomeric forms and is able to cause agglutination of S. aureus. Binding of S. aureus to fibroblasts and epithelial cells was significantly enhanced by addition of Eap, presumably due to its affinity both for plasma proteins on the cells and for the bacteria.
Treatment of 171 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis resistant to isoniazid and rifampin.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS The frequency of infection with multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis is increasing. We reviewed the clinical courses of 171 patients with pulmonary disease due to M. tuberculosis resistant to rifampin and isoniazid who were referred to our hospital between 1973 and 1983. The patients' records were analyzed retrospectively. Their regimens were selected individually and preferably included three medications that they had not been given previously and to which the strain was fully susceptible. RESULTS The 171 patients (median age, 46 years) had previously received a median of six drugs and shed bacilli that were resistant to a median of six drugs. Thus, their regimens were frequently not optimal. Of 134 patients with sufficient follow-up data, 87 (65 percent) responded to chemotherapy (as indicated by negative sputum cultures for at least three consecutive months); 47 patients (35 percent) had no response, as shown by continually positive cultures. The median stay in the hospital was more than seven months. In a multivariate analysis, an unfavorable response was significantly associated with a greater number of drugs received before the current course of therapy (odds ratio, 4.0; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.6 to 9.9; P < 0.001) and with male sex (odds ratio, 2.5; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.1 to 6.2; P < 0.03). Twelve of the patients with responses subsequently had relapses. The overall response rate was 56 percent over a mean period of 51 months. Of the 171 patients, 63 (37 percent) died, and 37 of these deaths were attributed to tuberculosis. CONCLUSIONS For patients with pulmonary tuberculosis that is resistant to rifampin and isoniazid, even the best available treatment is often unsuccessful. Only about half of such patients eventually have negative sputum cultures despite carefully selected regimens administered for extended periods. Failure to control this resistant infection is associated with high mortality and ominous implications for the public health.
A 160-MHz, 32-b, 0.5-W CMOS RISC Microprocessor

This paper describes a 160 MHz 500 mW 32 b StrongARM(R) microprocessor designed for low-power, low-cost applications. The chip implements the ARM(R) V4 instruction set and is bus compatible with earlier implementations. The pin interface runs at 3.3 V but the internal power supplies can vary from 1.5 to 2.2 V, providing various options to balance performance and power dissipation. At 160 MHz internal clock speed with a nominal Vdd of 1.65 V, it delivers 185 Dhrystone 2.1 MIPS while dissipating less than 450 mW. The range of operating points runs from 100 MHz at 1.65 V dissipating less than 300 mW to 200 MHz at 2.0 V for less than 900 mW. An on-chip PLL provides the internal clock based on a 3.68 MHz clock input. The chip contains 2.5 million transistors, 90% of which are in the two 16 kB caches. It is fabricated in a 0.35-/spl mu/m three-metal CMOS process with 0.35 V thresholds and 0.25 /spl mu/m effective channel lengths. The chip measures 7.8 mm/spl times/6.4 mm and is packaged in a 144-pin plastic thin quad flat pack (TQFP) package.
A Vision Based Algorithm for the Guidance of a Glider

In this paper we propose a visual estimation algorithm to aid the guidance system of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Specifically, we are considering a glider UAV trying to reach a target zone. Given that the UAV is falling fast, the scale of the images captured by the on-board camera grows. The vehicle dynamics and the control algorithm cause fast changes in the region seen by the camera and in the way it projects to the image plane. We propose an algorithm based on projective transformations to estimate the target coordinate during the flight trajectory. The proposed vision algorithm provides accurate position information allowing the control system to guide the UAV to the target zone. Simulations have shown the accuracy of the vision algorithm and its usefulness in the considered application.