Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A multifactorial falls risk prediction model for hospitalized older adults

Ageing population worldwide has grown fast with more cases of chronic illnesses and co-morbidity, involving higher healthcare costs. Falls are one of the leading causes of unintentional injury-related deaths in older adults. The aim of this study was to develop a robust multifactorial model toward the falls risk prediction. The proposed model employs real-time vital signs, motion data, falls history and muscle strength. Moreover, it identifies high-risk individuals for the development falls in their activity of daily living (ADL). The falls risk prediction model has been tested at a controlled-environment in hospital with 30 patients and compared with the results from the Morse fall scale. The simulated results show the proposed algorithm achieved an accuracy of 98%, sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 100% among a total of 80 intentional falls and 40 ADLs. The ultimate aim of this study is to extend the application to elderly home care and monitoring.
Variation-based sparse source imaging in localizing uterine activity

Electrohysterogram source imaging, i.e., moving from the electrode/sensor space to the source space using EHG signals, provide an estimate of spatial distributions of uterine activity at millisecond scale. This paper aims to study the ability of different distributed source localization methods to recover uterine electrical activity sources. Performance was quantified using a detection accuracy index. Our result suggests that the variation based method is able to reconstruct extended uterus sources with the overall high accuracy, where the increasing of the electrodes numbers and the decreasing of the fat thickness induce a better accuracy in localization.
A Structure Equation Modeling of Guidelines on Effective Meeting Management in Industrial Business Sector

The purposes of this research were to investigate guidelines on effective meeting management in different sizes of industrial business corporates, and to develop a structure equation model based on those found guidelines. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in this study. The quantitative data were obtained from interviewing 500 employees responsible for business meeting arrangement. Investigated guidelines on effective meeting management in industrial business sector were of 4 aspects; namely, meeting leader, pre-meeting operation, meeting operation, and post-meeting operation. Most important guidelines respectively found in each aspect were: punctuality had to be strictly observed, meeting chairperson had to check and recheck the agenda to get ready for the meeting, attendees should honor and respect each other when expressing opinions, and the meeting secretary had to send the minutes of the previous meeting to the participants allowing them to have enough time to consider the resolutions before the next meeting. For the hypothesis testing, it was found that all sizes of industrial business similarly recognized the importance of the guidelines on effective meeting management in the industry sector. The analysis of the developed structure equation model showed that it was in accordance and in harmony with the empirical data and passed the evaluation criteria. Its Chi-square probability level, relative Chi-square, goodness of fit index, and root mean square error of approximation were 0.149, 1.139, 0.970, and 0.017 respectively. The statistical significance of this study was set at 0.05.
Suicide, Motor Vehicle Fatalities, and the Mass Media: Evidence Toward a Theory of Suggestion

Tarde and other classical sociologists paid a great deal of attention to the concepts of imitation and suggestion, but these concepts have been virtually ignored in modern sociology. This paper presents new findings indication that imitation and suggestion have a powerful have impact on social behavior: Three days after a publicized suicide, automobile fatalities increase by 31%. The more the suicide is publicized, the more the automobile fatalies increase. The age of the drivers is significantly correlated with the age of the person described in the suicide story. Single-car accidents increase more than other types just after the publicized suicide. After persentation of these and related findings, the paper discusses some ways in which the concepts of suggestion and imitation can be incorporated into sociological theory.
Using GIS to Facilitate Community-Based Public Health Planning of Diabetes Intervention Efforts

Data from a community survey were analyzed geographically to help facilitate local diabetes prevention efforts. Data were available from the Speak to Your Health! Community Survey, designed and implemented by The Prevention Research Center of Michigan (PRC/MI), whose central mission is to strengthen community capacity to improve health. This survey was developed collaboratively by the university and community partners that comprise the PRC/MI and focuses on health and social issues at the heart of the community of Genesee County, Michigan. Survey data were used to calculate and geographically map diabetes-risk scores and mapped diabetes-screening rates. These maps indicated that those areas where the estimated risk of diabetes was the highest had only moderate rates of diabetes screening relative to other areas. It is hoped that these results will reach those involved in local diabetes-intervention programs with the intent that the data will be used in planning local prevention and intervention efforts.
Structural Equation Test of Service Quality Dimensions on the Relationship Quality Construct: Evidence from an Emerging Telecom Market

Abstract While the subjects of “relationship quality” and “service quality” are well-researched and understood, a clear explanation of the exact relationship that exists between these two important themes is lacking. In a departure from previous service quality studies, this article uses a conservative measure of SERVQUAL to explore the diagnostic structure of service quality. Next, it investigates the structural behavior of service quality dimensions on the relationship quality construct within an emerging telecom market through a dual-lens theoretical viewpoint. The findings show that, in an emerging telecom market, the dimensional structure of SERVQUAL does not completely match with the result previously generated by the originators. It also demonstrates that by improving some quality indicators, a service provider is better positioned to improve relationship quality. In addition, this article challenges the existing tenet of the S-O-R framework by demonstrating that stimulus factors can directly predict the response factor and that the response variable can play a dual role in the S-O-R arena. Finally, implications and contributions are outlined.
Tagging-filter based blind MIMO equalization without signal permutation

In this paper, we propose a signal processing technique for blindly separating constant modulus sources in wireless communication systems. With the proposed technique, each source is pre-filtered using a unique allpass filter that we refer to here as a transmit tagging filter (TT-filter). At the receiver, an inverse model of the TT-filter is used to blindly equalize a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) channel and to retrieve desired signals without any permutation of the originally transmitted signals. This represents an important improvement over the conventional blind method, in which permutation of transmitted signals is known to accompany blind MIMO equalization. Computer simulations with constant modulus sources verify the effectiveness of the proposed system
Perennial stream discharge in the hyperarid Atacama Desert of northern Chile during the latest Pleistocene

A large fraction of the vital groundwater in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile is likely composed of “fossil” or “ancient” reserves that receive little or no recharge in today's hyperarid climate. Here, we present evidence for latest Pleistocene perennial streamflow in canyons from the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Fluvial terraces in the Pampa del Tamarugal (PdT) basin (21°S) contain widespread fossil wood, in situ roots, and well preserved leaf litter deposits indicative of perennial surface flow currently absent in these channels. Nineteen radiocarbon dates on these deposits from four separate drainages within this endorheic basin indicate ages from 16,380 to 13,740 cal yr BP, synchronous with paleolake Tauca on the Bolivian Altiplano and other regional evidence for wetter conditions during the latest Pleistocene. Groundwater-fed riparian ecosystems and associated fluvial deposits abound today in the absence of direct rainfall in northern Atacama canyons with perennial discharge. Our relict riparian ecosystems from the PdT basin are indicative of conditions similar to these northern canyons. Given that discharge was higher than present during this time, we propose that these deposits represent the most important groundwater recharge events of the last 18,000 years. A lesser recharge event occurred during the Holocene, when phreatophytic trees also grew in these drainages between 1,070 and 700 cal yr BP, during the Medieval Climatic Anomaly. Taken together, our evidence lends further support for gradient changes in the equatorial Pacific as a major driver of hydrologic change in the Atacama on both centennial and millennial time scales.
Financial planning for retirement: the role of income

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the driving forces of both the decision to participate in individual pension plans and the amount of money allocated to such plans. Moreover, this paper evaluates the potential role that income plays, which has not previously been considered in depth in the financial literature.Design/methodology/approachBased on a sample of the Spanish population over the period 2008–2015, this paper estimates probit and tobit models, using 165,791 observations. The driving forces of private retirement savings comprise demographic, financial and socio-economic characteristics.FindingsThis paper confirms the impact of socio-demographic and economic variables on participation and monetary contributions to pension plans. It also confirms that income plays a non-negligible role. Moreover, empirical evidence reveals that the effect of gender is related to the income stratum to which the individual belongs.Originality/valueRetirement planning plays a key role in retirees’ future income and several countries have emphasised the importance of private individual savings to supplement the minimum provided by public pension schemes. The previous literature has concluded that those who plan their retirement end their working lives with three times the wealth of non-planners. Consequently, analysis of whether people are saving enough for their retirement can contribute to avoiding future wealth inequalities among retirees. Spain is one of the countries with the greatest inequality in income distribution, so this issue is of even greater interest.
ELECTROMYOGRAPHY OF MIDDLE EAR MUSCLES IN MAN DURING MOTOR ACTIVITIES

From the Departmvnt of Ear, Nose, and Throat, Kommunehospitalet, Copenhagen. (J. Falbe-Hansen, A1.D.) ELECTROMYOGKAPHY O F MIDDLE EAR MUSCLES IN M4N DURING MOTOR ACTIVITIES GERHARD SALOMON1 and ARNOLD srARR2 Thc rnidtlle ear musclcs contract in rcsponse to sounds and modify sound transmission between the ear drum and the cochlea W i g g e r s (1937). These muscles have therefore been traditionally considered to serve acoustic functions Liischer (1930), Hallpike (1935), Metz (1946), Jepsen (1955), Kirikae (1960), Perlman (1960). However, recent animal experiments reveal the middle ear muscles to contract during general- ized motor activities Carmel & Sfarr (1963). These findings suggest that the middle ear muscles may also have important non-acoustic functions. The present studies were undertaken to determine whether the middle ear muscles in man may similarly contract during motor activities. Our findings correspond closely to the recent animal experi- ments and define a number of motor patterns that may be accompanied by activation of the middle ear muscles. MATERIALS AND METHODS Middle ear muscle activity was studied by means of elcctromyography in two patients.3 The first patient (RJ), aged 42, had Iongstanding tinnitus and vertigo, secondary to traumatic inner ear damage. Threshold average air conduction (TAA) was 60 db in the affected car. Acoustic and caloric functions were normal in the other car. One week prior to a therapeutic labyrintheetomy, two stainless steel wire electrodes (each 125 B i n diameter) were implanted about 2 mm apart into the tensor tympani in the affected ear. The second patient (WO), aged 45, had a chronic, drx perforation of the tympanic membrane. TAA was 40 db. On the day of tympano- plasty, a single stainless steel electrode was placed into the tendon of the stapedius muscle. Middle ear muscle activity was recorded by an electromyograph, DISA Recipient of a research fellowship from University of Copenhagen. 2 This work was supported in part by Special Fellowship BT-962 from the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness, U. S. Public Health Service. 3 One of the authors ( G S ) gained experience with t h e experimental techniques as a rc\ult of work on cats carried out in the Institute f o r Experimental Research in Surgery. Director H . H . Wandall, M.D., D.M. Sc.
Blockade of B 7 / CD 28 in mixed lymphocyte reaction cultures results in the generation of alternatively activated macrophages , which suppress T-cell responses

Blockade of B7/CD28 costimulation allows human haploidentical bone marrow transplantation without graft-versus-host disease. This study shows that blockade of B7/CD28 in anergizing mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells results in the generation of alternatively activated macrophages (AAMF). In contrast, priming MLR cultures result in generation of classically activated macrophages (CAMF). AAMF had enhanced expression of CD14, major histocompatibility complex class II, and CD23; produced alternative macrophage activation-associated CC-chemokine 1 (AMAC-1) chemokine; and displayed increased phagocytotic activity but decreased ability for antigen presentation. Suppression subtractive hybridization revealed that although AAMF had undergone terminal maturation and differentiation, they entered a distinct gene expression program as compared with CAMF and selectively expressed b2microglobulin, lysozyme, ferritin heavy and light chain, and the scavenger receptors macrophage mannose receptor and sortilin. Anergic T cells isolated from cultures that led to the development of AAM F produced low amounts of interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, and interferong, but high amounts of IL-10. Addition of anti–IL-10 neutralizing monoclonal antibody in anergizing cultures reversed the functional characteristics of AAMF, indicating that at least one mechanism involved in the generation of AAMF was mediated by IL-10. Importantly, when added in MLR cultures, AAM F suppressed T-cell responses. Therefore, besides direct inhibition of T-cell costimulation, blockade of B7/CD28 may facilitate induction of T-cell unresponsiveness by generating AAMF. Because in healthy individuals, AAMF are found in the placenta and lung, where they protect from unwanted immune reactivity, the results suggest that AAMF may play a critical role in the induction of transplantation tolerance. (Blood. 2002; 99:1465-1473)
Importância dos efeitos fisiológicos do exercício na promoção da saúde

O exercicio fisico cronico realizado com intensidade e volume adequado, associado com suficiente tempo de recuperacao, promove adaptacoes em diversos sistemas fisiologicos. Enquanto o exercicio intenso e exaustivo e considerado um agente imunossupressor importante, este aumenta a incidencia de infeccoes do trato respiratorio superior. Em contrapartida, o exercicio fisico cronico moderado esta associado com a prevencao de doencas, e e preconizado no tratamento complementar de muitas doencas cronicas. Os efeitos do exercicio fisico cronico ocorrem em consequencia do treinamento fisico induzir varias adaptacoes bioquimicas, fisiologicas e psicologicas beneficas. Mais recentemente, o efeito do exercicio fisico agudo e o treinamento sobre o sistema imunologico tem sido discutidos, e muitos estudos sugerem a importância do sistema imunologico na prevencao e recuperacao parcial em situacoes fisiopatologicas. Atualmente, existem duas hipoteses importantes que podem explicar os efeitos do exercicio e do treinamento sobre o sistema imunologico, e seus possiveis efeitos sobre a promocao da saude. Estas hipoteses sao: (1) o efeito do exercicio sobre os hormonios e citocinas, (2) efeitos do exercicio em modular a concentracao de glutamina. Nesta revisao, discutiremos a hipotese que o exercicio pode modular a funcao imunologica e a importância do exercicio em relacao a varias doencas, bem como ele pode perturbar a homeostase.
Emotions as a metaphor for altering operational behavior in autonomic computing

The ability to change operational behavior in response to changes in both external and internal environment is an important aspect of autonomic computing. Managing such behavioral changes is challenging. We propose emotions as a useful mechanism for understanding the structure and use of behavioral changes, and present the design and implementation of the Emotion System, a stand-beside environment for ordinary programs. Both the metaphor and the implementation are designed to make it easy for software developers to integrate autonomic computing into their systems.
Aspects of TNF inhibitor therapy in rheumatoid arthritis

Treatment outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have improved considerably with the use of biological therapies. Since the discovery of the role of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha in the pathogenesis of the disease, three TNF inhibitors, infliximab, etanercept and adalimumab, have become widely used for the treatment of RA. More recently, two newer TNF inhibitors—certolizumab pegol and golimumab—have become available, increasing the armamentarium of therapy. With improved therapies, treatment strategies have also changed, with the aims now being to achieve and maintain remission. This article addresses some of these aspects of treating RA, reviewing the studies on these two newer TNF inhibitors, certolizumab pegol and golimumab, and those addressing the induction of remission or low disease activity with TNF inhibitors and maintenance with less intensive treatment.
Continuous Space Reordering Models for Phrase-based MT

Bilingual sequence models improve phrase-based translation and reordering by overcoming phrasal independence assumption and handling long range reordering. However, due to data sparsity, these models often fall back to very small context sizes. This problem has been previously addressed by learning sequences over generalized representations such as POS tags or word clusters. In this paper, we explore an alternative based on neural network models. More concretely we train neuralized versions of lexicalized reordering [1] and the operation sequence models [2] using feed-forward neural network. Our results show improvements of up to 0.6 and 0.5 BLEU points on top of the baseline German! English and English! German systems. We also observed improvements compared to the systems that used POS tags and word clusters to train these models. Because we modify the bilingual corpus to integrate reordering operations, this allows us to also train a sequence-to-sequence neural MT model having explicit reordering triggers. Our motivation was to directly enable reordering information in the encoder-decoder framework, which otherwise relies solely on the attention model to handle long range reordering. We tried both coarser and fine-grained reordering operations. However, these experiments did not yield any improvements over the baseline Neural MT systems.
Role of strain in polarization switching in semipolar InGaN/GaN quantum wells

The effect of strain on the valence-band structure of (112¯2) semipolar InGaN grown on GaN substrates is studied. A k⋅p analysis reveals that anisotropic strain in the c-plane and shear strain are crucial for deciding the ordering of the two topmost valence bands. The shear-strain deformation potential D6 is calculated for GaN and InN using density functional theory with the Heyd–Scuseria–Ernzerhof hybrid functional [J. Heyd, G. E. Scuseria, and M. Ernzerhof, J. Chem. Phys. 124, 219906 (2006)]. Using our deformation potentials and assuming a pseudomorphically strained structure, no polarization switching is observed. We investigate the role of partial strain relaxation in the observed polarization switching.
Arterial stiffness and wave reflections in relation to plasma advanced glycation end products in a Chinese population.

BACKGROUND Accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in the human body might engender arterial stiffening. We investigated the relationship of plasma AGE concentration with arterial stiffness and wave reflections in a Chinese population. METHODS The study subjects were recruited from a newly established residential area in the suburb of Shanghai in 2009. Using the SphygmoCor system, we measured carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and central augmentation indices (cAI) and peripheral augmentation indices (pAI). Plasma AGE concentration was measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method and logarithmically transformed for statistical analysis. RESULTS The 1,051 study participants (mean age = 55.1±13.1 years) included 663 (63.1%) women, 390 (37.1%) hypertensive patients, and 90 (8.6%) diabetic or prediabetic subjects. Plasma AGE concentration was higher in men than women (5.62 vs. 5.07 μg/ml; P = 0.02) and with older age (r = 0.13 in both sexes; P ≤ 0.01) and higher serum total/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (r = 0.20 in men and r = 0.15 in women; P < 0.0001). In multiple regression analyses, plasma AGE concentration was significantly associated with cAI and pAI (1.9% and 4.0% increase per 10-time increase in plasma AGE concentration, respectively; P ≤ 0.02) but not with cfPWV (P = 0.62). However, there was significant (P = 0.001) interaction between plasma AGE concentration and age in relation to cfPWV. Only in subjects aged ≥70 years, cfPWV increased with higher levels of plasma AGE concentration (bottom vs. top quintile distributions = 8.10 vs. 8.90 m/s; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS AGEs accumulate with aging and high cholesterol and are associated with arterial wave reflections and, in an age-dependent manner, with arterial stiffness.
Hepatic artery and biliary complications in liver transplant recipients with radioembolization bridging treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma

Locoregional bridging treatments are commonly applied in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prior to liver transplantation to prevent tumor progression during waiting time. It remains unknown whether pre‐transplant radioembolization treatment may increase the prevalence of hepatic artery and biliary complications post‐transplant.
The Impact of Government-Supported Participative Loans on Employment Growth in Entrepreneurial Ventures

We study the employment growth for entrepreneurial ventures that received a government-sponsored participative loan (PL), a hybrid form of financing between debt and equity. We use propensity-score matching (PSM) and instrumental variable analysis (2SLS) to study a sample of 512 entrepreneurial ventures that received a PL from a Spanish government agency between 2005 and 2011. We find evidence that PLs significantly boosted their beneficiaries’ employment. In the two years following loan issuance, a 1-million-Euro PL generated an increase in average employment by between 12.1 (PSM) and 14.7 (2SLS) units relative to the average for the two years prior to loan issuance. The effect on growth is significant and stable, and PLs increase their beneficiaries’ annual employment growth by 10.6%.