Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cascade and parallel combination (CPC) of adaptive filters for estimating heart rate during intensive physical exercise from photoplethysmographic signal

Photoplethysmographic (PPG) signal is getting popularity for monitoring heart rate in wearable devices because of simplicity of construction and low cost of the sensor. The task becomes very difficult due to the presence of various motion artefacts. In this study, an algorithm based on cascade and parallel combination (CPC) of adaptive filters is proposed in order to reduce the effect of motion artefacts. First, preliminary noise reduction is performed by averaging two channel PPG signals. Next in order to reduce the effect of motion artefacts, a cascaded filter structure consisting of three cascaded adaptive filter blocks is developed where three-channel accelerometer signals are used as references to motion artefacts. To further reduce the affect of noise, a scheme based on convex combination of two such cascaded adaptive noise cancelers is introduced, where two widely used adaptive filters namely recursive least squares and least mean squares filters are employed. Heart rates are estimated from the noise reduced PPG signal in spectral domain. Finally, an efficient heart rate tracking algorithm is designed based on the nature of the heart rate variability. The performance of the proposed CPC method is tested on a widely used public database. It is found that the proposed method offers very low estimation error and a smooth heart rate tracking with simple algorithmic approach.
Immediate and short‐term effects of real‐time knee adduction moment feedback on the peak and cumulative knee load during walking

The peak external knee adduction moment (pKAM), KAM impulse, and peak knee flexion moment (pKFM) during gait are important loading variables in medial tibiofemoral osteoarthritis. We evaluated the effects of gait modification, using real‐time pKAM visual feedback, on pKAM, KAM impulse, and pKFM; and whether participants could maintain the KAM‐reducing gait after feedback removal. Eleven healthy individuals performed a series of walking trials on a split‐belt instrumented treadmill under four conditions of Baseline, Feedback, No Feedback Early, and No Feedback Late. Guided by real‐time feedback of pKAM, they modified their gait patterns to lower pKAM by 20%. Three‐dimensional joint kinematics/kinetics during each walking condition were recorded by a 12‐camera motion capture system and the instrumented treadmill. Change in each knee loading parameter from baseline across conditions was assessed using one‐way repeated‐measures analysis‐of‐variances. In the feedback limb, successful 20% reductions from baseline in pKAM and KAM impulse were achieved across all three conditions. There was a trend for concomitant pKFM increases, partially attenuating the beneficial effects of pKAM reduction. A carry‐over effect of KAM reduction in the non‐feedback limb was noted. The altered gait patterns were participant‐specific and multi‐modal; each participant reported a combination of two to three gait modification strategies used for pKAM reduction. Toe‐in and medial foot contact were the most reported strategies. The findings support the real‐time pKAM visual feedback as a tool for individualized gait modification to reduce knee load. Future studies to evaluate its effectiveness in persons with or at risk for medial knee osteoarthritis is warranted. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 36:397–404, 2018.
High-quality and -quantity DNA extraction from frozen archival blood clots for genotyping of single-nucleotide polymorphisms.

BACKGROUND The recovery of biological samples for genetic epidemiological studies can be cumbersome. Blood clots are routinely collected for serological examinations. However, the extraction of DNA from blood clots can be difficult and often results in low yields. AIM The aim was to compare the efficiency of commercial purification kits for extracting DNA from long-term frozen clotted blood. METHODS Serum tubes with clotted blood were stored at -20°C for 1 to 2.5 years before DNA extraction. DNA was extracted from 10 blood clot samples using PureGene (Qiagen) with and without glycogen, the QIAamp DNA Micro kit (Qiagen), and the Nucleospin 96 Blood kit (Macherey-Nagel). Furthermore, blood clots from 1055 inflammatory bowel disease patients were purified using the Maxwell 16 Blood purification kit (Promega). The DNA was extracted according to the manufacturers` instructions and real-time PCR and the A(260)/A(280) ratio were used to evaluate the quality of the extracted DNA. RESULTS The highest DNA yield was obtained by the Maxwell 16 Blood purification kit (Promega) with a median of 4.90 μg (range 0.8-25 μg) pr 300 μL total blood. PureGene with glycogen (Qiagen) had the second highest yield with a median of 0.65 μg (range 0.5-2.6 μg) pr 300 μL total blood. CONCLUSION The yield obtained by the different commercial kits varied considerably. Our work demonstrates that high-quality and -quantity DNA can be extracted with the Maxwell 16 Blood purification kit (Promega) from cryopreserved blood clots, even after prolonged storage. The recovered DNA served as a reliable PCR template for single-nucleotide polymorphism assays.
Initial Attatchment of rMSC and MG‐63 Cells on Patterned Bioglass® Substrates

A soft lithography technique was used to introduce surface patterns on the surface of sintered bioactive glass substrates. Osteoblast‐like MG‐63 cells and rat mesenchymal stem cells (rMSC) seeded on micropatterned bioactive glass surfaces showed different behavior with rMSC exhibiting a better initial attachment than MG‐63 cells. Both cytoskeleton formation and cell spreading of rMSC were supported by the bioactive surfaces. In addition, the structured surfaces seemed to guide MG‐63 cells to a larger extent than rMSC. The in vitro results are important considering the continuous development of bone tissue scaffolds based on silicate bioactive glasses.
The supply of information in an emotional setting

Advances in the field of economics and psychology have contributed greatly to the understanding of the supply of information when it affects the emotions and consequently the decisions made by two parties. Yet, these studies assume that the parties have identical utilities. In this article, focusing on the doctor--patient interaction, we relax the perfect agency assumption, introduce the agent's effort in supplying information, and analyze the two parties' interdependent decisions under asymmetric information. We show that when the supplier of information fails to understand the receiver's preferences the latter will disregard completely the recommendation. We consider the policy recommendations and welfare implications of the model. (JEL codes: C72, D8, I1) Copyright The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Munich. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com, Oxford University Press.
Joint Time and Frequency Allocation for Two-Way Relaying in LTE Systems

The long term evolution (LTE) system employs orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) for the downlink and uplink transmission, respectively. However, in most existing literatures regarding the two-way OFDMA resource allocation, all terminals are assumed under an OFDMA operation, and the allocation scheme is always considered solely under the frequency domain for subcarrier assignment. In this letter, a joint time and frequency resource allocation algorithm for the LTE two-way relaying is proposed, in which the permutation of the subframe and the resource block is discussed for augmenting the system capacity.
Delta Scaling: How Resources Scalability/Termination Can Be Taken Place Economically?

Cloud Computing promises to completely revolutionize the capacity management of resources. The elasticity and the economy of scale are the intrinsic elements that dierentiate it from traditional computing paradigm. A good capacity planning method is a necessary factor but not sucient to fully exploit Cloud elasticity. This paper proposes innovative policies for resource management to achieve the optimal balance between capacity and quality of Cloud services while supporting Cloud technical and conceptual limitations. The main idea is to control finely the scalability and the termination of virtual machines in regards of several criteria such as the lifecycle of the instances (e.g. Initialization time) or their cost. The approach was evaluated with a real infrastructure (Amazon EC2) and an application test bed. Experimental results illustrate the soundness of the proposed approach and the impact of scalability/termination resource policies. Using Delta Scaling, the cost saving of as much as 30% can be achieved while causing the minimum number of violations, as small as 1%.
A Testability Measure for DC-Excited Periodically Switched Networks With Applications to DC-DC Converters

Testability analysis is a fundamental prerequisite to any fault location or parameter identification technique (FLPIT) for analog circuits. However, differently from the linear time-invariant field, this topic has been poorly investigated with regard to nonlinear circuits. In this paper, for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, the question is addressed with reference to periodically switched networks with dc stimuli (PSNDSs), a class of inherently nonlinear time-varying circuits that subsumes dc-dc converters as noteworthy members. A rigorous testability measure at both a circuit and a component level is thereby obtained, which provides information as to how many and which components can be unambiguously diagnosed or estimated from time-domain measurements. Consequently, it yields an upper bound, independent of the parameter values and the test instants, to the performance of whatever method actually employed as an FLPIT. This theoretical testability metric has been converted into an efficient computer program for the fully automated testability analysis of PSNDSs presented herein. Such a computer program represents the first practical testability gauge for PSNDSs: it can be employed by both test engineers and circuit designers as a guide to properly selecting injection and measurement points as well as estimating the number of necessary measurement instants, so as to shape their own FLPITs. Several examples are provided for which an in-depth pencil-and-paper testability analysis is contrasted with its automated counterpart provided by the aforementioned software: in particular, popular dc-dc converter topologies are thoroughly analyzed. Comparisons with a previously proposed frequency-domain testability measure are also considered.
The UbiI (VisC) Aerobic Ubiquinone Synthase Is Required for Expression of Type 1 Pili, Biofilm Formation, and Pathogenesis in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), which causes the majority of urinary tract infections (UTI), uses pilus-mediated adherence to initiate biofilm formation in the urinary tract. Oxygen gradients within E. coli biofilms regulate expression and localization of adhesive type 1 pili. A transposon mutant screen for strains defective in biofilm formation identified the ubiI (formerly visC) aerobic ubiquinone synthase gene as critical for UPEC biofilm formation. In this study, we characterized a nonpolar ubiI deletion mutant and compared its behavior to that of wild-type bacteria grown under aerobic and anoxic conditions. Consistent with its function as an aerobic ubiquinone-8 synthase, deletion of ubiI in UPEC resulted in reduced membrane potential, diminished motility, and reduced expression of chaperone-usher pathway pili. Loss of aerobic respiration was previously shown to negatively impact expression of type 1 pili. To determine whether this reduction in type 1 pili was due to an energy deficit, wild-type UPEC and the ubiI mutant were compared for energy-dependent phenotypes under anoxic conditions, in which quinone synthesis is undertaken by anaerobic quinone synthases. Under anoxic conditions, the two strains exhibited wild-type levels of motility but produced diminished numbers of type 1 pili, suggesting that the reduction of type 1 pilus expression in the absence of oxygen is not due to a cellular energy deficit. Acute- and chronic-infection studies in a mouse model of UTI revealed a significant virulence deficit in the ubiI mutant, indicating that UPEC encounters enough oxygen in the bladder to induce aerobic ubiquinone synthesis during infection. IMPORTANCE The majority of urinary tract infections are caused by uropathogenic E. coli, a bacterium that can respire in the presence and absence of oxygen. The bladder environment is hypoxic, with oxygen concentrations ranging from 4% to 7%, compared to 21% atmospheric oxygen. This work provides evidence that aerobic ubiquinone synthesis must be engaged during bladder infection, indicating that UPEC bacteria sense and use oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor in the bladder and that this ability drives infection potential despite the fact that UPEC is a facultative anaerobe.
Enactive self: A study of engineering perspectives to obtain the sensorimotor self through enaction

In this paper we discuss the enactive self from a computational point of view and study the suitability of current methods to instantiate it onto robots. As an assumption, we consider any cognitive agent as an autonomous system that constructs its identity by continuous interaction with the environment. We start examining algorithms to learn the body-schema and to enable tool-extension, and we finalise by studying their viability for generalizing the enactive self computational model. This paper points out promising techniques for bodily self-modelling and exploration, as well as formally link sensorimotor models with differential kinematics. Although the study is restricted to basic sensorimotor construction of the self, some of the analysed works also traverse into more complex self constructions with a social component. Furthermore, we discuss the main gaps of current engineering approaches for modelling enactive robots and describe the main characteristics that a synthetic sensorimotor self-model should present.
Study of Echocardiographic Changes After Kidney Transplantation in End-stage Renal Disease Patients

Background Cardiovascular complications are the leading cause of mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of kidney transplantation on the cardiovascular status in ESRD patients. Methods During 2012 to 2014 and in a cross-sectional study, 181 patients were randomly selected for this study. All patients were followed for periods of 6 and 12 months after kidney transplantation. The patients with ESRD and kidney transplant recipients; the patients with left ventricle ejection fraction<50%, left ventricular hypertrophy, mitral valve regurgitation and tricuspid valve regurgitation were included to study and the patients with kidney transplant rejection, myocardial infarction, high blood pressure with treatment-resistant, high blood pressure and addicted patients were censored. Results one hundred and eighty-one patients had the mean age of 38.52 (range, 16-69 years) that 54.7% were men and the mean duration of dialysis was 3.74 years. There were significant differences after 6 and 12 months compared with before and also 6 months compared with 12 months from kidney transplantation for all echocardiographic findings. The echocardiographic findings improved after 12 months compared with 6 months and also these times compared with before kidney transplantation. Conclusions The results of this study appeared that kidney transplantation had a positive effect on the cardiovascular status of patients with ESRD and improved the cardiac function of these patients.
Formation of PVA Nanofibres with Iodine by Electrospinning

The area of technical textile applications is very wide, with one of the most important be- ing medical textiles. Polymer-iodine complexes (i.e. iodophors) are widely used in antisep- tic products. Nanofibers with iodine may be used to disinfect skin in medicine, and iodine is also characterised by a fungicidal effect. The aim of this research was to form an electro- spun PVA mat from nanofibers with iodine and establish the influence of iodine dissolved in ethanol on the structure of electrospun mats. The results showed that it is possible to form a PVA nonwoven mat with an iodine element inserted by the electrospinning process, which has an influence on the structure of the electrospun nonwoven mat. electrical conductors, protective cloths, composites and for medical purposes - wound dressing, tissue engineering, vas- cular grafts, and drug delivery systems. A drug-containing electrospun fiber mat is a promising controlled release formu- lation for future biomedical applications. The resulting mat from nanofibres con- taining drugs can be applied topically for skin and wound healing, or post- processed for other kinds of drug release (8, 9). Kenaway with coauthors (10) described a method of preparing a drug delivery system of electrospun nanofibers from poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (PEVA), poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and their 50:50 blend. In this study, a tetracycline hy- drochloride drug for the treatment of periodontal disease was chosen. During the study, it was stated that electrospun PEVA shows a higher release rate than mats derived from 50:50 PLA/PEVA or pure PLA. Also the release of drugs from cast films and electrospun mats were compared. In general, the total percent- age released from the cast films was lower than that of the electrospun mats, due to the much lower surface area of the former (10). The influence of the solubility and com- patibility of drugs in the drug/polymer/ solvent system on the encapsulation of the drug inside the poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) electrospun fibers and the re- lease behaviour of this formulation were examined using paclitaxel, doxorubicin hydrochloride and doxorubicin base as a model drug in the study by Zeng and coauthors (8).
Recent Improvements in Cognitive Functioning Among Older U.S. Adults: How Much Does Increasing Educational Attainment Explain?

OBJECTIVES Recent interest has been generated about reports of declining incidence in cognitive impairment among more recently born cohorts. At the same time, attained education, which is related to cognition, has increased in recent cohorts of older adults. We examined cohort differences in cognitive function in a nationally representative sample of Americans aged 25 and older followed for 25 years (1986-2011) and considered the extent to which cohort differences in education account for differences. METHOD Data come from the Americans' Changing Lives Study (N = 3,617). Multiple cohort latent growth models model trajectories of cognition (errors on the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire) across four 15-year birth cohorts. Demographic factors, educational attainment, and time-varying health conditions were covariates. RESULTS Significant cohort differences were found in the mean number of cognitive errors (e.g., 0.26 more errors at age 65 in cohort born pre-1932 vs cohort born 1947-1961, p < .001). Although demographic and health conditions were associated with level and rate of change in cognitive dysfunction, education solely accounted for cohort differences. DISCUSSION Compression of cognitive morbidity is seen among the highly educated, and increasing educational opportunities may be an important strategy for decreasing the risk for cognitive impairment in later life.
The Role of Oxidative Stress and Hypoxia in Pancreatic Beta-Cell Dysfunction in Diabetes Mellitus.

SIGNIFICANCE Metabolic syndrome is a frequent precursor of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), a disease that currently affects ∼8% of the adult population worldwide. Pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction and loss are central to the disease process, although understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms is still fragmentary. Recent Advances: Oversupply of nutrients, including glucose and fatty acids, and the subsequent overstimulation of beta cells, are believed to be an important contributor to insulin secretory failure in T2D. Hypoxia has also recently been implicated in beta-cell damage. Accumulating evidence points to a role for oxidative stress in both processes. Although the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) results from enhanced mitochondrial respiration during stimulation with glucose and other fuels, the expression of antioxidant defense genes is unusually low (or disallowed) in beta cells. CRITICAL ISSUES Not all subjects with metabolic syndrome and hyperglycemia go on to develop full-blown diabetes, implying an important role in disease risk for gene-environment interactions. Possession of common risk alleles at the SLC30A8 locus, encoding the beta-cell granule zinc transporter ZnT8, may affect cytosolic Zn2+ concentrations and thus susceptibility to hypoxia and oxidative stress. FUTURE DIRECTIONS Loss of normal beta-cell function, rather than total mass, is increasingly considered to be the major driver for impaired insulin secretion in diabetes. Better understanding of the role of oxidative changes, its modulation by genes involved in disease risk, and effects on beta-cell identity may facilitate the development of new therapeutic strategies to this disease. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 26, 501-518.
Improved oxygenation dramatically alters metabolism and gene expression in cultured primary mouse hepatocytes

Primary hepatocyte culture is an important in vitro system for the study of liver functions. In vivo, hepatocytes have high oxidative metabolism. However, oxygen supply by means of diffusion in in vitro static cultures is much less than that by blood circulation in vivo. Therefore, we investigated whether hypoxia contributes to dedifferentiation and deregulated metabolism in cultured hepatocytes. To this end, murine hepatocytes were cultured under static or shaken (60 revolutions per minute) conditions in a collagen sandwich. The effect of hypoxia on hepatocyte cultures was examined by metabolites in media and cells, hypoxia‐inducible factors (HIF)‐1/2α western blotting, and real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction for HIF target genes and key genes of glucose and lipid metabolism. Hepatocytes in shaken cultures showed lower glycolytic activity and triglyceride accumulation than static cultures, compatible with improved oxygen delivery and mitochondrial energy metabolism. Consistently, static cultures displayed significant HIF‐2α expression, which was undetectable in freshly isolated hepatocytes and shaken cultures. Transcript levels of HIF target genes (glyceraldehyde 3‐phosphate dehydrogenase [Gapdh], glucose transporter 1 [Glut1], pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 [Pdk1], and lactate dehydrogenase A [Ldha]) and key genes of lipid metabolism, such as carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (Cpt1), apolipoprotein B (Apob), and acetyl‐coenzyme A carboxylase 1 (Acc1), were significantly lower in shaken compared to static cultures. Moreover, expression of hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (Hnf4α) and farnesoid X receptor (Fxr) were better preserved in shaken cultures as a result of improved oxygen delivery. We further revealed that HIF‐2 signaling was involved in hypoxia‐induced down‐regulation of Fxr. Conclusion: Primary murine hepatocytes in static culture suffer from hypoxia. Improving oxygenation by simple shaking prevents major changes in expression of metabolic enzymes and aberrant triglyceride accumulation; in addition, it better maintains the differentiation state of the cells. The shaken culture is, therefore, an advisable strategy for the use of primary hepatocytes as an in vitro model. (Hepatology Communications 2018;2:299‐312)