Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence, outcome and risk for falling in 155 ambulatory patients with rheumatic disease

Aim: Older people are at greater risk of falls and fall-related adverse outcomes. Risk for falls is multifactorial, and relative importance of risk factors (RF) may vary according to the population studied. Although several population studies identify musculoskeletal factors as one of many RFs, there have been few studies of falls in populations with rheumatic disease. In this study we aim to assess the incidence of falls, prevalence of falls RFs and outcomes of falls in an ambulatory population with rheumatic disease. Methods: Using a retrospective cohort study design, consecutive patients attending rheumatology outpatient clinics completed a self-administered falls questionnaire that investigated falls within the previous 12 months, risk for falling and fear of falling. Results: One hundred and fifty-five patients, with a mean age of 59.7 years (SD 15.0) completed the survey. Seventy-six patients (49%) reported one or more falls in the previous 12 months. Fifty-eight (76.3%) reported an adverse outcome which included fracture in 12 (15.8%) and hospital attendance or admission in 20 (26.7%). Fear of falling was also common, being reported in 81 (52.3%) patients. Moderately or severe fear of falling was reported in 26 (16.8%) among the whole group and in 10% of the 78 patients who had not yet experienced a fall. Conclusions: The findings of this study highlight the high incidence of falls and fear of falling in patients with rheumatic disease and identify groups likely to be at higher risk. These patients should be considered for falls prevention programs that have been shown to reduce falls risk and improve self-efficacy.
Energy and Spectrum Efficient Transmission Techniques Under QoS Constraints Toward Green Heterogeneous Networks

This paper proposes a joint energy efficiency (EE) and spectrum efficiency (SE) tradeoff analysis as a multi-objective optimization problem (MOP) in the uplink of multi-user multi-carrier two-tier orthogonal frequency division multiplexing access heterogeneous networks subject to users' maximum transmission power and minimum rate constraints. The proposed MOP is modeled such that the network providers can dynamically tune the tradeoff parameters to switch between different communication scenarios with diverse design requirements. In order to find its Pareto optimal solution, the MOP is transformed, using a weighted sum method, into a single-objective optimization problem (SOP), which itself can further be transformed from a fractional form, by exploiting fractional programming, into a subtractive form. Since the formulated SOP is hard to solve due to the combinatorial channel allocation indicators, we reformulate the SOP into a better tractable problem by relaxing the combinatorial indicators using the idea of time-sharing. We then prove that this reformulated SOP is strictly quasi-concave with respect to the transmission power and the subcarrier allocation indicator. We then propose an iterative two-layer distributed framework to achieve an upper bound Pareto optimal solution of the original proposed MOP. The numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed two-layer framework achieving an upper bound Pareto optimal solution, which is very close to an optimal solution, with fast convergence, lower and acceptable polynomial complexity, and balanced EE-SE tradeoff.
Lithium-Salt-Rich PEO/Li0.3La0.557TiO3 Interpenetrating Composite Electrolyte with Three-Dimensional Ceramic Nano-Backbone for All-Solid-State Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Solid electrolytes with high ionic conductivity and good mechanical properties are required for solid-state lithium-ion batteries. In this work, we synthesized composite polymer electrolytes (CPEs) with a three-dimensional (3D) Li0.33La0. 557TiO3 (LLTO) network as a nano-backbone in poly(ethylene oxide) matrix by hot-pressing and quenching. Self-standing 3D-CPE membranes were obtained with the support of the LLTO nano-backbone. These membranes had much better thermal stability and enhanced mechanical strength in comparison with solid polymer electrolytes. The influence of lithium (Li) salt concentration on the conductivity of 3D-CPEs was systematically studied, and an ionic conductivity as high as 1.8 × 10-4 S·cm-1 was achieved at room temperature. The electrochemical window of the 3D-CPEs was 4.5 V vs Li/Li+. More importantly, the 3D-CPE membranes could suppress the growth of Li dendrite and reduce polarization; therefore, a symmetric Li|3D-CPE|Li cell with these membranes was cycled at a current density of 0.1 mA·cm-2 for over 800 h. All of the superior properties above made the 3D-CPEs with the LLTO nano-backbone a promising electrolyte candidate for flexible solid-state lithium-ion batteries.
Breast Cancer: An Interactive Paradigm

moved the field forward to a certain point until newly emerging clinical data has challenged the universal applicability of the original paradigm and stimulated the formulation of a new one (1). The first paradigm was Halsted’s: breast cancer started in the breast and spread sequentially through the draining lymph nodes before spreading to the rest of the body (2). This theory supported the radical mastectomy, and the importance of early detection through breast self-exam, clinical exam, and mammography. Breast cancers caught “in time” were curable. Unwittingly, the Halsted paradigm still influences much of our thinking today. This approach was contradicted by the clinical experience of many women who were treated “in time” with negative lymph nodes, yet still succumbed to their disease. This observation led to a paradigm shift attributed to Bernard Fisher ( 3 ) . Fisher’s paradigm postulated that breast cancer progressed very slowly and that most breast cancers have been present for 8 to 10 years before they are detected by either mammogram or physical exam. The cancer gained access to the circulation very early and therefore had often spread hematogenously prior to its detection. Although a portion of this spread might be controlled by the patient’s immune system or other host factors, some of this spread would successfully establish micrometastases which, if not treated, would grow and cause the patient’s death. Fisher’s paradigm laid the groundwork for the therapeutic approaches of adjuvant chemotherapy and breast conservation. As a result the mortality rates have improved to T“ a series of paradigms. Each of these paradigms has
Active controlled motion in early rehabilitation improves outcome after ankle fractures: a randomized controlled trial

Objective: To evaluate the use of active controlled motion (ACM) after unstable ankle fractures needing initial partial weight-bearing. Design: Prospective randomized controlled trial. Setting: Inpatient and outpatient clinic. Subjects: A total of 50 patients with unstable ankle fractures and the need for partial weight-bearing for six weeks. Interventions: Randomization in two groups: physiotherapy alone or physiotherapy with an additional ACM device. Main measures: Follow-up after 6 and 12 weeks. Range of motion, visual analogue scale for foot and ankle (VAS FA), Philip score, Mazur score, American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) score and dynamic pedobarography. Results: Range of motion was better in the ACM group at six weeks (mean 49° ± 11.1° vs. 41.3° ± 8.1°). Questionnaires revealed better outcome after six weeks in the VAS FA (56 ± 13.7 vs. 40.6 ± 10.5), Mazur score (64.4 ± 12.3 vs. 56.7 ± 11) and AOFAS score (71.2 ± 12 vs. 63.6 ± 8.7) (P > 0.02 for all). Better outcome after 12 weeks in all questionnaires (VAS FA, 77.7 ± 13.8 vs. 61.4 ± 16.3; Philip score, 79.1 ± 10.9 vs. 60.1 ± 21.7; Mazur score, 83.9 ± 10.7 vs. 73.1 ± 14.1; AOFAS score, 87.5 ± 7.9 vs. 75.2 ± 11.7) (P < 0.01 for all). Pressure balance was better under the midfoot region after 12 weeks in the ACM group (ΔP 4.4 N vs. 34.0 N; P = 0.01). The ACM group had an earlier return to work after 10.5 (range, 3–17) versus 14.7 (range, 9–26) weeks (P = 0.02). Conclusion: The use of ACM for patients needing initial partial weight-bearing after operatively treated unstable ankle fractures in the first six postoperative weeks leads to better clinical and functional results and an earlier return to work.
Human Upper Limb Motion Analysis for Post-Stroke Impairment Assessment Using Video Analytics

Stroke is a worldwide healthcare problem, which often causes long-term motor impairment, handicap, and disability. Optical motion analysis systems are commonly used for impairment assessment due to high accuracy. However, the requirement of equipment-heavy and large laboratory space together with operational expertise makes these systems impractical for local clinic and home use. We propose an alternative, cost-effective and portable, decision support system for optical motion analysis, using a single camera. The system relies on detecting and tracking markers attached to subject's joints, data analytics for calculating relevant rehabilitation parameters, visualization, and robust classification based on graph-based signal processing. Experimental results show that the proposed decision support system has the potential to offer stroke survivors and clinicians an alternative, affordable, accurate, and convenient impairment assessment option suitable for home healthcare and telerehabilitation.
How many steps are enough? Dose-response curves for pedometer steps and multiple health markers in a community-based sample of older Australians.

BACKGROUND Although an overall public health target of 10,000 steps per day has been advocated, the dose-response relationship for each health benefit of physical activity may differ. METHODS A representative community sample of 2458 Australian residents aged 55-85 wore a pedometer for a week in 2005-2007 and completed a health assessment. Age-standardized steps per day were compared with multiple markers of health using locally weighted regression to produce smoothed dose-response curves and then to select the steps per day matching 60% or 80% of the range in each health marker. RESULTS There is a linear relationship between activity level and markers of inflammation throughout the range of steps per day; this is also true for BMI in women and high density lipoprotein in men. For other markers, including waist:hip ratio, fasting glucose, depression, and SF-36 scores, the benefit of physical activity is mostly in the lower half of the distribution. CONCLUSIONS Older adults have no plateau in the curve for some health outcomes, even beyond 12,000 steps per day. For other markers, however, there is a threshold effect, indicating that most of the benefit is achieved by 8000 steps per day, supporting this as a suitable public health target for older adults.
Cognitive function during low-intensity walking: a test of the treadmill workstation.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of walking at self-selected speed on an active workstation on cognitive performance. METHODS Sixty-six participants (n = 27 males, 39 females; mean age = 21.06 ± 1.6 years) completed a treadmill-desk walking and a seated control condition, separated by 48 hours. During each condition, participants completed computerized versions of the Stroop test, a modified flanker task, and a test of reading comprehension. RESULTS No significant differences in response speed or accuracy were found between walking and sitting conditions for any the cognitive tests. CONCLUSIONS These findings reveal that performance on cognitive tasks, including executive control processes, are not impaired by walking on an active workstation. Implementing active workstations into offices and classrooms may help to decrease sedentariness without impairing task performance.
Protection of Big Data Privacy

In recent years, big data have become a hot research topic. The increasing amount of big data also increases the chance of breaching the privacy of individuals. Since big data require high computational power and large storage, distributed systems are used. As multiple parties are involved in these systems, the risk of privacy violation is increased. There have been a number of privacy-preserving mechanisms developed for privacy protection at different stages (e.g., data generation, data storage, and data processing) of a big data life cycle. The goal of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the privacy preservation mechanisms in big data and present the challenges for existing mechanisms. In particular, in this paper, we illustrate the infrastructure of big data and the state-of-the-art privacy-preserving mechanisms in each stage of the big data life cycle. Furthermore, we discuss the challenges and future research directions related to privacy preservation in big data.
Finite-Time Weighted Average Consensus and Generalized Consensus Over a Subset

In this paper, the finite-time consensus for arbitrary undirected graphs is discussed. We develop a parametric distributed algorithm as a function of a linear operator defined on the underlying graph and provide a necessary and sufficient condition guaranteeing weighted average consensus in K steps, where K is the number of distinct eigenvalues of the underlying operator. Based on the novel framework of generalized consensus meaning that consensus is reached only by a subset of nodes, we show that the finite-time weighted average consensus can always be reached by a subset corresponding to the non-zero variables of the eigenvector associated with a simple eigenvalue of the operator. It is interesting that the final consensus state is shown to be freely adjustable if a smaller subset of consensus is admitted. Numerical examples, including synthetic and real-world networks, are presented to illustrate the theoretical results. Our approach is inspired by the recent method of successive nulling of eigenvalues by Safavi and Khan.
Improving Home Automation Security; Integrating Device Fingerprinting Into Smart Home

This paper explains the importance of accessing modern smart homes over the Internet, and highlights various security issues associated with it. This paper explains the evolution of device fingerprinting concept over time, and discusses various pitfalls in existing device fingerprinting approaches. In this paper, we propose a two-stage verification process for smart homes, using device fingerprints and login credentials, which verifies the user device as well as the user accessing the home over the Internet. Unlike any other previous approaches, our Device Fingerprinting algorithm considers a device's geographical location while computing its fingerprint. In our device identification experiment, we were able to successfully identify 97.93% of the devices that visited our Webpage using JavaScript, Flash, and Geolocation.
Results from Colombia's 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.

BACKGROUND Physical activity (PA) is central to the global agenda for the prevention on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Although 80% of NCDs occur in low-to-middle-income countries, the evidence on PA comes mainly from high-income countries. In this context, the report card for Colombia is an advocacy tool to help in the translation of evidence into concrete actions. The aims of this paper were two-fold: to present the methodology used to develop the first Report Card on Physical Activity in Colombian Children and Youth and to summarize the results. METHODS Twelve indicators of PA were graded using numerical grades (5, highest, to 1, lowest) based on data from national surveys and policy documents. RESULTS National policy and obesity indicators were graded "4," while departmental policy and overweight indicators were graded "3. " Overall PA levels, sports participation, sedentary behaviors and nongovernment initiatives were graded "2," and school influence was graded "1. " Active transportation, active play, low cardiorespiratory fitness, and family and community influence received an incomplete. CONCLUSION PA levels are low and sedentary behaviors are high in Colombian children and youth. Although the prevalence of obesity in Colombia is lower compared with other Latin American countries, it is increasing. A rich legal framework and availability of institutional arrangements provide unique opportunities to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice that need to be evaluated.
Utilizing Behavioral Economics to Understand Adherence to Physical Activity Guidelines Among a Low-Income Urban Community.

BACKGROUND Behavioral economics studies have found that individuals with more patient time preferences (ie, greater willingness to forgo current costs for future benefits) are more likely to save money. Although research has observed significant relationships between time preferences and health-promoting behaviors, scant evidence exists with physical activity as an outcome. METHODS We examined the association between monetary saving behaviors and physical activity among adults of low-income who reside in an urban community. Specifically, we assessed the relationship between saving behaviors (checking/saving account, monthly savings, and planning family finances), and future orientation to physical activity as a dichotomous (meeting guidelines) and continuous (total and domain specific) endpoint. RESULTS In multivariable regression, being future-oriented and having a checking/saving account were related to a 1.3 and 2.1 times higher (respectively) likelihood of meeting physical activity guidelines (P < .05). When examining physical activity continuously, all measures were significantly related to leisure-time activity (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS Our study findings establish a relationship between future time preferences and increased levels of physical activity among low-income adults. Future research should prospectively explore the efficacy of various schemes that help individuals overcome impatient time preferences to determine a causal relationship.
Is oral methadone better than placebo or other oral/transdermal opioids in the management of pain?

Aim: To address the question: is oral methadone better than placebo, or other oral/transdermal opioids in the management of cancer pain? Method: A literature search was performed to identify relevant studies. Search strategies included: (1) methadone (title) AND placebo (title or abstract) AND pain (title or abstract); (2) methadone (title) AND randomized (title or abstract) AND pain (title or abstract) AND cancer (title or abstract). Papers were reviewed for relevance to first-line opioid therapy. Results: No studies were identified comparing methadone to placebo for cancer pain. A single study compared methadone to placebo for neuropathic pain and demonstrated evidence of analgesic effect at a dose of 20 mg/day but not at a dose of 10 mg/day. Four studies compared oral methadone to either oral morphine, or oral morphine and transdermal fentanyl in a first-line setting: Gourlay 1986 (N = 18), Ventafridda 1986 (N = 54), Bruera 2004 (N = 106) and Mercadante 2008 (N = 108). All studies demonstrated comparable, but not superior, analgesia with, overall, a comparable adverse effect profile. The duration of the study period for the three largest studies was 28 days. Two of these studies, Ventafridda 1986 and Mercadante 2008, indicated that, over time, the opioid escalation index was lower for methadone than for morphine. One study that used a 2:1 dose ratio between morphine and methadone was associated with a high attrition rate in the first week because of excessive sedation. This effect was not seen in the study that used a 4:1 morphine to methadone dose ratio with dose titration. Conclusion: This limited data suggests that (1) methadone may be an equally effective candidate for first-line opioid therapy, (2) that it is possibly less expensive, (3) that there may be a propensity to sedation and dose accumulation unless there is close monitoring and conservative dose selection and (4) that it should be initiated with a calculated dose based on a morphine to methadone dose ratio of not less than 4:1.
Epidemic Meningitis of the Newborn Caused by Flavobacteria: I. Epidemiology and Bacteriology

Neonatal meningitis does not occur commonly and when it does, is more often than not caused by coliform organisms, rather than by nonfermenting gram-negative bacilli. It is also a fact that in many laboratories, when a blood culture or spinal fluid yields biochemically inert organisms resembling Alcaligenes or nonpigmented Pseudomonas, these cultures are unceremoniously discarded. This is especially true if the culture has come from an infant where the difficulty in obtaining these specimens increases the opportunities for contamination. In 1958 Brody et al. 1 reported 2 outbreaks of meningitis in premature nurseries caused by a nonfermenting gram-negative bacillus for which the name "Flavobacterium meningosepticum" was suggested by King. 2 As a result of the well-publicized nursery outbreaks of Staphylococcus aureus 3-5 our hospital has for the last 2 years cultured the nose and throat of each baby on the day of discharge and of the nursery personnel twice monthly.
A brief guided self-help intervention for psychological distress in palliative care patients: A randomised controlled trial

Background: Previous findings implicated rumination (recurrent dwelling on abstract concerns) in elevated psychological distress in palliative patients. We hypothesised that reducing rumination may be important in addressing psychological distress in palliative care. Aim: This study tested the prediction that a brief guided self-help technique targeting abstract rumination would reduce psychological distress in palliative patients. Design: A randomised controlled trial evaluated 4 weeks of guided self-help that involved patients practising thinking more concretely by recalling specific and vivid memories of when they were completely absorbed in an activity or scene. Participants completed a combination of standardised questionnaires to assess anxiety, depression, and quality of life. Setting/participants: Palliative care patients who were reporting clinically significant psychological distress, whilst also physically well enough to take part in the trial were recruited from hospices in Devon and Somerset and randomised to either a treatment condition (n = 19) receiving 4 weeks of guided self-help, or a waiting-list control condition (n = 15) receiving treatment as usual. Results: As predicted, the palliative patients receiving the intervention reported significantly greater reductions in anxiety than the waiting-list controls (F(1,23) = 20.55, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.47). However, no significant effect was found on depression or quality of life. Conclusion: The findings suggest that a brief guided self-help intervention based on concreteness training can be effective in addressing anxiety in palliative care.