Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation preceding cognitive behavioural management for chronic low back pain: sham controlled double blinded randomised controlled trial

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation alone and in combination with cognitive behavioural management in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain. Design Double blind parallel group randomised controlled trial with six months’ follow-up conducted May 2011-March 2013. Participants, physiotherapists, assessors, and analyses were blinded to group allocation. Setting Interdisciplinary chronic pain centre. Participants 135 participants with non-specific chronic low back pain >12 weeks were recruited from 225 patients assessed for eligibility. Intervention Participants were randomised to receive anodal (20 minutes to motor cortex at 2 mA) or sham transcranial direct current stimulation (identical electrode position, stimulator switched off after 30 seconds) for five consecutive days immediately before cognitive behavioural management (four week multidisciplinary programme of 80 hours). Main outcomes measures Two primary outcome measures of pain intensity (0-100 visual analogue scale) and disability (Oswestry disability index) were evaluated at two primary endpoints after stimulation and after cognitive behavioural management. Results Analyses of covariance with baseline values (pain or disability) as covariates showed that transcranial direct current stimulation was ineffective for the reduction of pain (difference between groups on visual analogue scale 1 mm (99% confidence interval −8.69 mm to 6.3 mm; P=0.68)) and disability (difference between groups 1 point (−1.73 to 1.98; P=0.86)) and did not influence the outcome of cognitive behavioural management (difference between group 3 mm (−10.32 mm to 6.73 mm); P=0.58; difference between groups on Oswestry disability index 0 point (−2.45 to 2.62); P=0.92). The stimulation was well tolerated with minimal transitory side effects. Conclusions This results of this trial on the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation for the reduction of pain and disability do not support its clinical use for managing non-specific chronic low back pain. Trial registration Current controlled trials ISRCTN89874874.
The benefits and challenges of the Integrated Volt/Var Optimization in the smart grid environment

This paper discusses new opportunities and challenges of Integrated Voltage and Var Optimization (IVVO) associated with the emerging high penetration of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Distributed Energy Resources (DER), Demand Response (DR) and Plug-In Electric Vehicles (PEV) in power distribution systems. The paper addresses the impact of the IVVO application on the operation of other power system domains, the possible objectives and benefits of IVVO, and the specifics of the constraints, controllable variables, and information sources for the IVVO, all based on a holistic approach.
Energy-efficient traffic scheduling in IEEE 802.15.4 for home automation networks

The IEEE 802.15. 4 low rate wireless personal area network is a protocol suitable for wireless sensor networks. There has been growing interest in the IEEE 802.15. 4 protocol in the home automation networks. This paper proposes a scheduling scheme obtaining optimal parameters regarding the IEEE 802.15. 4 frame and subframes in the home automation networks. Guaranteed time slots (GTS) are exploited for the delivery of home automation traffic. Given a set of the requirements for bandwidths and periods assigned to nodes in the network, the beacon interval and the active/inactive subframe duration satisfying the requirements are selected considering the low duty cycle by the proposed scheme. Based on these parameters, analytic results provide the way to efficient use of network resources including energy.
Rational Catalan Combinatorics: The Associahedron

Each positive rational number $x>0$ can be written $\textbf{uniquely}$ as $x=a/(b-a)$ for coprime positive integers 0 0$ a simplicial complex $\mathsf{Ass} (x)=\mathsf{Ass} (a,b)$ called the $\textit{rational associahedron}$. It is a pure simplicial complex of dimension $a-2$, and its maximal faces are counted by the $\textit{rational Catalan number}$ $\mathsf{Cat} (x)=\mathsf{Cat}(a,b):=\frac{(a+b-1)! }{ a! b! }. $ The cases $(a,b)=(n,n+1)$ and $(a,b)=(n,kn+1)$ recover the classical associahedron and its Fuss-Catalan generalization studied by Athanasiadis-Tzanaki and Fomin-Reading. We prove that $\mathsf{Ass} (a,b)$ is shellable and give nice product formulas for its $h$-vector (the $\textit{rational Narayana numbers}$) and $f$-vector (the $\textit{rational Kirkman numbers}$). We define $\mathsf{Ass} (a,b)$ .
Enhanced Classification of Interstitial Lung Disease Patterns in HRCT Images Using Differential Lacunarity

The analysis and interpretation of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) images of the chest in the presence of interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a time-consuming task which requires experience. In this paper, a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) scheme is proposed to assist radiologists in the differentiation of lung patterns associated with ILD and healthy lung parenchyma. Regions of interest were described by a set of texture attributes extracted using differential lacunarity (DLac) and classical methods of statistical texture analysis. The proposed strategy to compute DLac allowed a multiscale texture analysis, while maintaining sensitivity to small details. Support Vector Machines were employed to distinguish between lung patterns. Training and model selection were performed over a stratified 10-fold cross-validation (CV). Dimensional reduction was made based on stepwise regression (F-test, p value < 0.01) during CV. An accuracy of 95.8 ± 2.2% in the differentiation of normal lung pattern from ILD patterns and an overall accuracy of 94.5 ± 2.1% in a multiclass scenario revealed the potential of the proposed CAD in clinical practice. Experimental results showed that the performance of the CAD was improved by combining multiscale DLac with classical statistical texture analysis.
Meet Dr. Clay and Dr. Glass: A Leadership Exercise

Projective testing has traditionally served to explore intelligence or personality. In this projective test, participants work individually or in groups to ascertain the leadership qualities of two CEO candidates: Dr. Glass (a shiny, clean, empty wine bottle) and Dr. Clay (a ball of multicolored modeling clay). The Dr. Glass and Dr. Clay exercise pushes students into divergent thinking. Issues of perceptions, projections, and paradoxes in the leadership attribution and selection process emerge from the debriefing.
Diet and Physical Activity Among Women in Urban and Rural Areas in South India: A Community Based Comparative Survey

Introduction: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart diseases are increasing in India. There is a clear need to study risk factors for NCDs in various population groups in the country. Materials and Methods: This community based cross-sectional survey was conducted to study the diet and physical activity of women in urban and rural areas in Vellore district. Dietary data was collected using 24-h dietary recall and physical activity was collected using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Sociodemographic variables were collected to assess the risk factors for unfavorable diet and physical activity. Results: The odds of the rural women engaging in high physical activity are 3.61 times greater than urban women (95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.36−5.54). The odds of the urban women consuming a high calorie diet are 1.923 times that of the rural women (95% CI = 1.282−2.857). The odds of the urban women being overweight/obese are 5.555 times than that of the urban women (95% CI = 3.333−10). Women who were housewives and not doing household work were significantly less physically active, took higher calorie diet, and were more overweight and obese compared to women who were involved in active household work. Conclusions: Urban women had unfavorable diet and physical activity levels compared to rural women. They also had higher levels of overweight and obesity. There is a need for targeted NCD prevention interventions among urban women.
Metrical Phonology: a coursebook

1. Segmental approaches to stress 2. Segments and syllables 3. Metrical phonology: the basic concepts 4. The phonology of rhythm (1): introduction to the metrical grid 5. The phonology of rhythm (2): 'grid-only' metrical phonology 6. The phonology of rhythm (3): 'tree-only' metrical phonology Bibliography Index.
Teacher development in primary schools: some other lessons from Taiwan

Abstract Following reviews of international surveys of educational achievement, policy-makers in England have looked to Taiwanese whole-class teaching methods as a useful way forward for English primary schools. Brief observations of classroom practice in five Taiwanese schools, together with discussions with Taiwanese educationists, are used here to raise critical questions about the usefulness of such comparisons. It is argued that the lessons for teacher development to be derived from the experience of schooling in other countries and cultures are much more complex than policy-makers often recognise. What works in one culture is unlikely to work in another, unless very careful attention is paid to contextual factors. Consequently, we are in danger of repeating mistakes made by developing countries in the past who uncritically looked to Western models of teacher development.
Primary and secondary hemostatic functionalities of rehydrated, lyophilized platelets

BACKGROUND: The rehydrated, lyophilized (RL) platelet (PLT) is being developed as a hemostatic infusion agent for the control of active bleeding. The key to the method for preparing RL PLTs is a mild aldehyde stabilization that allows for freezing and lyophilizing without cellular rupture. RL PLTs have been shown to be effective at rapidly controlling bleeding in animal models of cardiopulmonary bypass induced PLT dysfunction and washout thrombocytopenia, yet the rehydrated cells have proved to be safe with respect to induction of pathologic intravascular coagulation.
Closed therapy of thoracic and lumbar vertebral body fractures in trauma patients

Background: The failure rate for the closed/non-surgical treatment of thoracic and lumbar vertebral body fractures (TLVBF) in trauma patients has not been adequately evaluated utilizing computed tomography (CT) studies. Methods: From 2007 to 2008, consecutive trauma patients, who met inclusion criteria, with a CT diagnosis of acute TLVBF undergoing closed treatment were assessed. The failure rates for closed therapy, at 3 months post-trauma, were defined by progressive deformity, vertebral body collapse, or symptomatic/asymptomatic pseudarthrosis. The Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen (AO) classification was utilized to classify the fractures (groups A1 and non-A1 fractures) and were successively followed with CT studies. Results: There were 54 patients with 91 fractures included in the study; 66 were A1 fractures, and 25 were non-A1 fractures. All had rigid bracing applied with flat and upright X-ray films performed to rule out instability. None had sustained spinal cord injuries. Thirteen patients (24%) failed closed therapy [e.g. 13 failed fractures (14%) out of 91 total fractures]. Five failed radiographically only (asymptomatic), and eight failed radiographically and clinically (symptomatic). A1 fractures had a 4.5% failure rate, while non-A1 fractures failed at a rate of 40%. Conclusion: Failure of closed therapy for TLVBF in the trauma population is not insignificant. Non-A1 fractures had a much higher failure rate when compared to A1 fractures. We recommend close follow-up particularly of non-A1 fractures treated in closed fashion using successive CT studies.
Incorporation of 3H-amino acids into proteins in a partially purified fraction of axoplasm: evidence for transfer RNA-mediated, post- translational protein modification in squid giant axons

Transfer RNA (tRNA) has been demonstrated to be present in axons of both invertebrates and the higher vertebrates, but nothing is known of its role in the metabolism of the axon. The present experiments were performed to determine whether tRNA functions in axons as a participant in post-translational protein modification of endogenous proteins. RNA was extracted from the axoplasm of squid giant axons and incubated with a variety of 3H-amino acids, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (obtained from squid optic lobe), and an appropriate reaction mixture. All of the amino acids tested were bound to an RNA fraction, but this reaction did not occur when samples were incubated in the presence of ribonuclease or in the absence of axoplasmic RNA. When radioactive RNA was chromatographed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the radioactivity comigrated with known tRNA markers, suggesting the presence of 3H-aminoacylated tRNA. Aminoacylation of RNA could also be demonstrated by incubating fresh axoplasm with labeled amino acids and a reaction mixture, minus exogenous aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. These findings indicate the presence in axoplasm of a variety of species of aminoacyl-tRNAs as well as their corresponding synthetase enzymes. In the latter experiment no radioactivity was found associated with the protein fraction. This was also the finding when 3H-aminoacylated tRNA was either injected directly into the axon or incubated with extruded axoplasm. Thus, under the conditions described above, there is no evidence of transfer of amino acids from tRNA to proteins. In other experiments, axoplasm was pooled to a volume of 50 to 100 microliters, homogenized gently, and centrifuged at 150,000 X g for 1 hr. Some of the high speed supernatant was incubated with labeled amino acids and an appropriate reaction mixture, and the remainder was passed through an S-200 Sephacryl column before incubation with the same reaction mixture. There was no incorporation of amino acids into protein in the high speed supernatant fraction. However, in the S-200 purified fraction 3H-labeled Arg, Lys, Tyr, Leu, and Asp were all incorporated into proteins in amounts of 44, 30, 7, 5 and 3.5 times heat-inactivated controls. The reaction is not inhibited by Ca2+ or Ca2+-activated proteases, but appears to be dependent on the presence of tRNA. The addition of amino acids to protein is not protein synthesis since the reactions occurred in a partially purified fraction of the 150,000 X g supernatant, a fraction devoid of ribosomes and free amino acids. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Tools for PDQ1 scientific/biomedical/clinical literature searching

Searching the vast and ever growing array of articles in the international scientific, biomedical and medical literature cannot now be undertaken without the aid of tools – “search engines” – that look for and retrieve the required items quickly and, hopefully, without cost. While no single search engine is perfect there are now a number on the Internet that are useful, convenient to use and simple to operate, others are also available that allow much more sophisticated searches and downloading facilities over a very wide range of literature. This article describes such a selection.
Palinología arqueológica: su implicancia en el estudio del prehispánico tardío de las sierras de Córdoba (Argentina)

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PALYNOLOGY: ITS IMPACT ON THE STUDY OF THE LATE PREHISPANIC PERIOD OF THE SIERRAS DE CORDOBA, ARGENTINA. Four archaeological sites dating from the Late Prehispanic Period of the Sierras de Cordoba (ca. 1000-300 BP) are studied by means of palynological analysis. These sites are Los Algarrobos 1, Puesto La Esquina 1 (Pampa de Olaen), C.Pun. 39 and Las Chacras 2 (Punilla valley). Los Algarrobos 1 and Puesto La Esquina 1 sites present scarce pollinic grains as a consequence of taphonomic bias. However, from the pollinic spectrum from C.Pun. 39 and Las Chacras 2 sites it was possible to infer vegetational paleo-communities dominated by ChenopodiaceaeAmaranthaceae and Brassicaceae (at C.Pun.39 site) and by the former taxon (at Las Chacras 2 site). There is poor presence of both vegetable families in current pollinic samples. It is thought that the high proportions of ChenopodiaceaeAmaranthaseae might suggest the presence of pre-Hispanic Chenopodium quinoa and Amaranthus caudatus crops in the areas surrounding the sites. Further evidence, such as domestic plant remains and agricultural tools, supports this hypothesis. Nevertheless, the high proportions of Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae and Brassicaceae found in C.Pun. 39 would also indicate successive abandonment and reoccupation processes at the residential camps, probably seasonally. Environments affected by anthropic activity might have contributed to the growth of these plants.
Universality of Reversible Hexagonal Cellular Automata

We define a kind of cellular automaton called a hexagonal partitioned cellular automaton (HPCA), and study logical universality of a reversible HPCA. We give a specific 64-state reversible HPCA H 1 , and show that a Fredkin gate can be embedded in this cellular space. Since a Fredkin gate is known to be a universal logic element, logical universality of H 1 is concluded. Although the number of states of H 1 is greater than those of the previous models of reversible CAs having universality, the size of the configuration realizing a Fredkin gate is greatly reduced, and its local transition function is still simple. Comparison with the previous models, and open problems related to these model are also discussed.
Stability and performance of packet-based feedback control over a Markov channel

This paper examines a packet-based control strategy to improve the stability and performance of a networked control system with transmission losses that follow a stochastic 2-state Markov model. Typically, in a discrete time network control framework, a single control value is transmitted during each sample period. In a packet-based environment, however, there is no penalty for sending additional information in each transmission up to the fixed minimum packet size. When an accurate model of the plant dynamics is available, estimated control values can be included in each packet and applied when transmission delays are longer than the sample period or dropouts occur. The effects of data losses are analyzed using a discrete dynamics switched system framework. When the network transmits data successfully, standard closed loop dynamics exist using the latest feedback measurements. When packets are dropped, an alternate open loop set of dynamics are active. These dynamics incorporate the estimated control values that are applied when information is lost or delayed. Using analysis tools for stochastic stability of Markov jump linear systems, network operating conditions can be identified for given plant dynamics that ensure second moment stability (SMS) for zero, TV, or infinitely many estimated control values per packet. Additionally, a bounded real lemma for stochastic switched system Hinfin norms enables comparison of the expected disturbance to output performance for different numbers of control estimates. Analysis and experiments using an inverted pendulum show that this system obtains the greatest incremental stability and performance benefit from the first estimated control value
What Drives People to Travel: Integrating the Tourist Motivation Paradigms

People's motivation to travel has long been discussed on a multidisciplinary basis characterized by three distinct motivation paradigms, namely, Plog's (1974) “travel personality,” P. L. Pearce's (1988) “travel career ladder,” and Cohen's (1972) concept of “strangeness–familiarity. ” This study uncovers the underlying consistence of these paradigms by proposing an integrated motivation framework and justifies it by applying this framework to tourist behavior research. This study concludes by arguing that a comprehensive perspective should be taken for conceiving a more accurate pattern or image of tourists, in the sense that tourist behavior patterns can be interpreted on an individual level by applying the travel personality, in a diachronic dimension by the travel career ladder, and from a holistic perspective by the concept of strangeness–familiarity.
Planning Graph Heuristics for Selecting Objectives in Over-subscription Planning Problems

Partial Satisfaction or Over-subscription Planning problems arise in many real world applications. Applications in which the planning agent does not have enough resources to accomplish all of their given goals, requiring plans that satisfy only a subset of them. Solving such partial satisfaction planning (PSP) problems poses several challenges, from new models for handling plan quality to efficient heuristics for selecting the most beneficial goals. In this paper, we extend planning graph-based reachability heuristics with mutex analysis to overcome complex goal interactions in PSP problems. We start by describing one of the most general PSP problems, the PSP NET BENEFIT problem, where actions have execution costs and goals have utilities. Then, we present AltWlt, our heuristic approach augmented with a multiple goal set selection process and mutex analysis. Our empirical studies show that AltWlt is able to generate the most beneficial solutions, while incurring only a small fraction of the cost of other PSP approaches.
Inhibition of macrophage phagosome-lysosome fusion by Salmonella typhimurium

Salmonella typhimurium-infected macrophages were examined by electron microscopy to determine whether intracellular survival of S. typhimurium is associated with failure of bacteria containing phagosomes to fuse with secondary lysosomes. S. typhimurium 14028 actively inhibited phagosome-lysosome fusion and appeared to preferentially divide within unfused phagocytic vesicles. In comparison with Escherichia coli, S. typhimurium inhibited phagosome-lysosome fusion in peritoneal macrophages, J774 macrophages, and bone marrow-derived macrophages from both BALB/c (itys) and SWR/J (ityr) mice. The mechanism responsible for Salmonella inhibition of phagosome-lysosome fusion is unknown but requires viable salmonellae, is not blocked by opsonization with fresh normal mouse serum, and is not due to lipopolysaccharide. Inhibition of phagosome-lysosome fusion may play a critical role in survival of salmonellae within macrophages and in virulence.
Fine-grained power scaling algorithms for energy efficient routers

Energy efficient router is one of the most important and promising devices in the roadmap towards green communication and networking. In recent years, automatical power scaling adapting with real-time network traffic in a router has been proved to be practical on real hardware, which is an implementation under the traffic aware philosophy. In this paper, we further explore this direction, and present four real-time power scaling algorithms for the fine-grained energy management within a router. These algorithms are all based on the traffic aware philosophy. We first classify the traffic characteristics into three categories of the core router, access router and home router and analyze the differences among them. Then, we propose two design methodologies, periodical scaling and threshold scaling, and address four algorithms in details. Finally, we use real network traffic to evaluate these algorithms and draw the conclusions. The experiments on real traffic show that more than 40% of the energy in a router can be saved by using proposed system-level power scaling methods. Based on those evaluations, we also find that three status modes with two working frequencies and a sleep in a router are enough to achieve near-optimal energy efficiency by using our algorithms, which indicates an easy and practical hardware modification.