Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Health Promotion for Older Americans in the 21st Century

Objectives. To provide a broad overview of the role of the individual, the physical environment, and the social environment on health and functioning in older adults (65 and older), and to highlight interventions and recommendations for action on each of these levels. Data Sources. Published studies and government reports on health and functioning in older Americans and on the individual, social, and physical environmental contributors to health were identified through journal and government documents review and computer library searches of medical and social science data bases for 1980–1999. Study Selection. Preference was given to published studies and government reports that focused specifically on behavioral and environmental contributors and barriers to health promotion in Americans 65 and older and/or that highlighted creative interventions with relevance to this population. Both review articles and presentations of original research were included, with the latter selected based on soundness of design and execution and/or creativity of intervention described. Data Extraction. Studies were examined and their findings organized under three major headings: (1) behavioral risk factors and risk reduction, including current government standards for prevention and screening; (2) the role of the physical environment; and (3) the role of the social environment in relation to health promotion of older adults. Data Synthesis. Although most attention has been paid to the role of behavioral factors in health promotion for older adults, a substantial body of evidence suggests that physical and social environmental factors also play a key role. Similarly, interventions that promote individual behavioral risk reduction and interventions targeting the broader social or physical environment all may contribute to health in the later years. Conclusions. With the rapid aging of America's population, increased attention must be focused on health promotion for those who are or will soon be older adults. Promising intervention strategies addressing the individual, the physical environment, and the social environment should be identified and tested, and their potential for replication explored, as we work toward a more comprehensive approach to improving the health of older Americans in the 21st century.
Breakthrough Cancer Pain: A systematic review of pharmacologic management

BACKGROUND: Breakthrough cancer pain (BtCP), defined as a transient exacerbation of pain that occurs in conjunction with well‐controlled background pain, is a common and burdensome problem in patients with cancer. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this systematic review is to identify evidence‐based pharmacologic modalities for adequate management of BtCP. METHODS: PubMed and CINAHL® databases were searched to identify literature regarding pharmacologic strategies for BtCP published from January 2006 to June 2016. These studies were then synthesized by the Oncology Nursing Society Putting Evidence Into Practice pain team. FINDINGS: Forty‐four studies provide evidence for the use of opioids for the management of BtCP. Transmucosal immediate‐release fentanyl (TIRF) was found to have the most evidence for BtCP. Five studies and guidelines also suggest that oral opioids (not including TIRF products) be dosed proportionally to baseline opioids at 10%‐20% of the 24‐hour, around‐the‐clock dose.
Occurrence of cancer in immune deficiencies

The immune system plays an important role in the host's defenses against cancer. Immunodeficiency states are associated with an increased incidence of neoplasia. In primary immunodeficiency states, the frequency of malignancy is roughly 10,000 times that in the general age‐matched population. Immunosuppressed organ homograft recipients have a 5–6% risk of the development of de novo cancers. In addition, malignant cells may be inadvertently transplanted from donors with cancer and may grow in the transplanted organ, invade surrounding structures, and produce widespread metastases. Cancers may also develop in nontransplant patients treated with immunosuppressive therapy. There is also much circumstantial evidence suggesting that cancer chemotherapy, while allowing control of one cancer, may permit or induce the growth of a second neoplasm. These findings have important implications for the management of patients with malignancies, as other forms of cancer treatment such as radical surgical procedures and radiotherapy may also impair the host's resistance to cancer. It therefore behooves us to reappraise our methods of cancer therapy and examine their effects upon the host's resistance to his neoplasm.
Moving to 3D: relationships between coral planar area, surface area and volume

Coral reefs are a valuable and vulnerable marine ecosystem. The structure of coral reefs influences their health and ability to fulfill ecosystem functions and services. However, monitoring reef corals largely relies on 1D or 2D estimates of coral cover and abundance that overlook change in ecologically significant aspects of the reefs because they do not incorporate vertical or volumetric information. This study explores the relationship between 2D and 3D metrics of coral size. We show that surface area and volume scale consistently with planar area, albeit with morphotype specific conversion parameters. We use a photogrammetric approach using open-source software to estimate the ability of photogrammetry to provide measurement estimates of corals in 3D. Technological developments have made photogrammetry a valid and practical technique for studying coral reefs. We anticipate that these techniques for moving coral research from 2D into 3D will facilitate answering ecological questions by incorporating the 3rd dimension into monitoring.
The GPS craze: six questions to address before deciding to deploy GPS technology on wildlife

GPS and satellite technology for studies on wildlife have improved substantially over the past decade. It is now possible to collect fine-scale location data from migratory animals, animals that have previously been too small to deploy GPS devices on, and other difficult-to-study species. Often researchers and managers have formatted well-defined ecological or conservation questions prior to deploying GPS on animals, whereas other times it is arguably done simply because the technology is now available to do so. We review and discuss six important interrelated questions that should be addressed when planning a study requiring location data. Answers will clarify whether GPS technology is required and whether its use would increase efficiency of data collection and learning from location data. Specifically, what are the required: (1) ecological question(s); (2) frequency and duration of data collection; (3) sample size; (4) hardware (VHF or GPS or satellite) and accessories; (5) environmental data; and (6) data-management and analysis procedures? This approach increases the chance that the appropriate technology will be deployed, budgets will be realistic, and data will be sufficient (but not excessive) to answer the ecological questions of interest. The expected results are important advances in ecological science and evidence-based management decisions.
Modeling and Experimental Evaluation of Bending Behavior of Soft Pneumatic Actuators Made of Discrete Actuation Chambers.

In this article, we have established an analytical model to estimate the quasi-static bending displacement (i.e., angle) of the pneumatic actuators made of two different elastomeric silicones (Elastosil M4601 with a bulk modulus of elasticity of 262 kPa and Translucent Soft silicone with a bulk modulus of elasticity of 48 kPa-both experimentally determined) and of discrete chambers, partially separated from each other with a gap in between the chambers to increase the magnitude of their bending angle. The numerical bending angle results from the proposed gray-box model, and the corresponding experimental results match well that the model is accurate enough to predict the bending behavior of this class of pneumatic soft actuators. Further, by using the experimental bending angle results and blocking force results, the effective modulus of elasticity of the actuators is estimated from a blocking force model. The numerical and experimental results presented show that the bending angle and blocking force models are valid for this class of pneumatic actuators. Another contribution of this study is to incorporate a bistable flexible thin metal typified by a tape measure into the topology of the actuators to prevent the deflection of the actuators under their own weight when operating in the vertical plane.
Clinical performance of self‐assembling peptide P11‐4 in the treatment of initial proximal carious lesions: A practice‐based case series

AIM The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical performance of self-assembling peptide P11 -4 on non-cavitated initial proximal carious lesions 12 months after treatment. METHODS Twenty-six patients, aged between 18 and 65 years, with 35 carious lesions were included in this practice-based, uncontrolled, prospective case series. The opacity and size of the proximal lesions were evaluated visually at baseline and at day 360 using standardized single-tooth or bite-wing and digital-subtraction radiography. Pairwise evaluation of images was carried out in a randomized and blinded manner with respect to the time point. RESULTS Twelve months after treatment of the proximal carious lesions, the visual evaluation showed a predominant shift toward regression of the initial lesions. Radiographic assessment yielded regression of the caries in 17 of 28 cases; four of 28 were regarded as unchanged, and seven of 28 lesions showed progression of the carious lesion. Combined assessment of clinical radiographs and digital subtraction radiographs confirmed the radiographic assessment, with 20 of 28 lesions showing total or partial regression, four unchanged, and four progressing. CONCLUSION Radiographic and digital subtraction analyses suggest that initial proximal carious lesions can regress after treatment with P11 -4, but additional factors might influence the overall treatment outcome.
A LIDAR-Based Tree Canopy Characterization under Simulated Uneven Road Condition: Advance in Tree Orchard Canopy Profile Measurement

In real outdoor canopy profile detection, the accuracy of a LIDAR scanner to measure canopy structure is affected by a potentially uneven road condition. The level of error associated with attitude angles from undulations in the ground surface can be reduced by developing appropriate correction algorithm. This paper proposes an offline attitude angle offset correction algorithm based on a 3D affine coordinate transformation. The validity of the correction algorithm is verified by conducting an indoor experiment. The experiment was conducted on an especially designed canopy profile measurement platform. During the experiment, an artificial tree and a tree-shaped carved board were continuously scanned at constant laser scanner travel speed and detection distances under simulated bumpy road conditions. Acquired LIDAR laser scanner raw data was processed offline by exceptionally developed MATLAB program. The obtained results before and after correction method show that the single attitude angle offset correction method is able to correct the distorted data points in tree-shaped carved board profile measurement, with a relative error of 5%, while the compound attitude angle offset correction method is effective to reduce the error associated with compound attitude angle deviation from the ideal scanner pose, with relative error of 7%.
A Fully Integrated SPAD-Based CMOS Data-Receiver With a Sensitivity of −64 dBm at 20 Mb/s

A fully integrated 0.35-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\boldsymbol {\mu }\text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> CMOS optical data receiver with a 50-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\boldsymbol {\mu }\text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> diameter single-photon avalanche-diode and a cascoded gating circuit enabling a maximum excess bias voltage of 6.6 V (to obtain a high photon detection efficiency) is presented. To optimize the sensitivity in presence of dark counts and after-pulsing a decision threshold of 2–5 photon counts can be selected. For red light (635 nm) and nonreturn-to-zero modulation the sensitivity is −64 dBm for 20 Mb/s with 100 MHz clock frequency and −57 dBm for 50 Mb/s with 250 MHz.
Tobacco Withdrawal Among Opioid-Dependent Smokers

Prevalence of cigarette smoking among opioid-dependent individuals is 6-fold that of the general U.S. adult population and their quit rates are notoriously poor. One possible reason for the modest cessation outcomes in opioid-dependent smokers may be that they experience more severe tobacco withdrawal upon quitting. In this secondary analysis, we evaluated tobacco withdrawal in opioid-dependent (OD) smokers versus smokers without co-occurring substance use disorders (SUDs). Participants were 47 methadone- or buprenorphine-maintained smokers and 25 non-SUD smokers who completed 1 of several 2-week studies involving daily visits for biochemical monitoring, delivery of financial incentives contingent on smoking abstinence, and assessment of withdrawal via the Minnesota Nicotine Withdrawal Scale (MNWS). Prior to quitting smoking, OD smokers presented with higher baseline withdrawal scores than non-SUD smokers (1.7 ± 0.2 vs. 0.7 ± 0.2, respectively; F[1, 63] = 7.31, p < .001). Withdrawal scores in both groups decreased over the subsequent 2-week period with no group differences, F(1, 910) = 0.50, p = . 48. A similar pattern was observed on craving (i.e., Desire to Smoke item of MNWS), although the trajectory of decrease over time on this item was also moderated by gender. Overall, there was no difference in withdrawal during biochemically verified smoking abstinence between OD and non-SUD smokers, suggesting that elevated withdrawal severity following quitting may not be a major factor contributing to the poor cessation outcomes consistently observed among OD smokers. Further scientific efforts are needed to improve our understanding of the high smoking rates and modest cessation outcomes in this challenging population.
Stable posture control for planar hyper-redundant arms using selective control points

Abstract The high degree of freedom in hyper-redundant arms makes resolving their redundancy using Jacobian techniques impractical. Furthermore, Jacobian techniques are adapted for the specification of tasks focused around the end-effector, they are not well equipped to capture tasks where arm posture control is preponderant like locomotion or manipulation. For these type of arms, parameterized modal curve based approaches are often deemed superior. However, these curves restrict the arms to a predefined type of postures and adding extra mode functions to account for more complex postures makes solving the inverse kinematics more challenging. This paper explores a method to reliably achieve posture tracking for hyper-redundant planar arms using the more simple Jacobian formulation. The introduced method attempts to track arbitrary target postures. This method is characterized by the ability for the arm to depart from, traverse or land on singular postures.
Arteriovenous Fistula Maturation in Prevalent Hemodialysis Patients in the United States: A National Study.

BACKGROUND Arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) are the preferred form of hemodialysis vascular access, but maturation failures occur frequently, often resulting in prolonged catheter use. We sought to characterize AVF maturation in a national sample of prevalent hemodialysis patients in the United States. STUDY DESIGN Nonconcurrent observational cohort study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS Prevalent hemodialysis patients having had at least 1 new AVF placed during 2013, as identified using Medicare claims data in the US Renal Data System. PREDICTORS Demographics, geographic location, dialysis vintage, comorbid conditions. OUTCOMES Successful maturation following placement defined by subsequent use identified using monthly CROWNWeb data. MEASUREMENTS AVF maturation rates were compared across strata of predictors. Patients were followed up until the earliest evidence of death, AVF maturation, or the end of 2014. RESULTS In the study period, 45,087 new AVFs were placed in 39,820 prevalent hemodialysis patients. No evidence of use was identified for 36.2% of AVFs. Only 54.7% of AVFs were used within 4 months of placement, with maturation rates varying considerably across end-stage renal disease (ESRD) networks. Older age was associated with lower AVF maturation rates. Female sex, black race, some comorbid conditions (cardiovascular disease, peripheral artery disease, diabetes, needing assistance, or institutionalized status), dialysis vintage longer than 1 year, and catheter or arteriovenous graft use at ESRD incidence were also associated with lower rates of successful AVF maturation. In contrast, hypertension and prior AVF placement at ESRD incidence were associated with higher rates of successful AVF maturation. LIMITATIONS This study relies on administrative data, with monthly recording of access use. CONCLUSIONS We identified numerous associations between AVF maturation and patient-level factors in a recent national sample of US hemodialysis patients. After accounting for these patient factors, we observed substantial differences in AVF maturation across some ESRD networks, indicating a need for additional study of the provider, practice, and regional factors that explain AVF maturation.
Effect of increasing monensin sodium levels in diets with virginiamycin on the finishing of Nellore cattle.

This study evaluated the effect of increasing levels of monensin sodium (MON) in diets with virginiamycin (VM) on the finishing of feedlot cattle. Two hundred and eighty intact male Nellore cattle (348 ± 32 kg body weight, 22 months) received one of the following five diets: control diet (without additives); diet containing VM (25 mg per kg dry matter) combined with 0 (MON0), 10 (MON10), 20 (MON20) or 30 (MON30) mg MON per kg dry matter. During adaptation (28 days), the MON0 diet increased dietary net energy for maintenance and gain compared to the control diet (P = 0.04). The combination of additives linearly reduced dry matter intake, body weight and average daily gain (P < 0.01). Considering the total study period (110 days), there was a trend of greater net energy intake for maintenance (P = 0.09) and hot carcass weight (P = 0.06) for animals fed MON0 compared to the control diet. The combination of additives linearly reduced dry matter intake (P = 0.04) and linearly increased gain : feed and dietary net energy for maintenance and gain (P < 0.01). The combination of VM with MON at a dose of 30 mg/kg dry matter is recommended for Nellore feedlot cattle because it improves the efficiency of energy utilization.
Rhein and aloe-emodin kinetics from senna laxatives in man.

Therapeutic doses of two laxatives (Agiolax and Sennatin) were repeatedly administered to 10 healthy volunteers in a two-way change-over design. Blood samples were collected up to 96 h after the first dose, and plasma levels of total aloe-emodin and rhein were determined simultaneously with a sensitive (lower limit of quantification: 0.5 ng aloe-emodin and 2.5 ng rhein per millilitre plasma) and specific fluorometric HPLC method. Aloe-emodin was not detectable in any plasma sample of any subject. Rhein concentration time courses showed highest levels of 150-160 ng/ml and peak maxima at 3-5 h and 10-11 h after dosing probably according to absorption of free rhein and rhein released from prodrugs (e.g. sennosides) by bacterial metabolism, respectively.
Efficient robust doubly adaptive regularized regression with applications

We consider the problem of estimation and variable selection for general linear regression models. Regularized regression procedures have been widely used for variable selection, but most existing methods perform poorly in the presence of outliers. We construct a new penalized procedure that simultaneously attains full efficiency and maximum robustness. Furthermore, the proposed procedure satisfies the oracle properties. The new procedure is designed to achieve sparse and robust solutions by imposing adaptive weights on both the decision loss and the penalty function. The proposed method of estimation and variable selection attains full efficiency when the model is correct and, at the same time, achieves maximum robustness when outliers are present. We examine the robustness properties using the finite-sample breakdown point and an influence function. We show that the proposed estimator attains the maximum breakdown point. Furthermore, there is no loss in efficiency when there are no outliers or the error distribution is normal. For practical implementation of the proposed method, we present a computational algorithm. We examine the finite-sample and robustness properties using Monte Carlo studies. Two datasets are also analyzed.
Predicting bedside falls using current context

Each year about a third of the elderly aged 65 or older experience a fall. Many of these falls could be avoided if fall risk assessment and prevention tools where available in the daily living situation. Such tools would need to use the current context as input to predict an imminent fall. This paper presents an approach predicting imminent falls using data from a roof-mounted infrared array combined with an ultrasonic sensor. The data are processed and features extracted to determine location and posture along with indicators representing movement, direction, and velocity. These features are used by a classification algorithm to create a probability matrix representing the conditional probability of an individual in the current frame being recognized in a specific location and posture. A sequence of these probability matrices are fed into four artificial intelligence constructs trained to predict the probability of a future location/posture. The resulting conditional probability is used as a fall risk indicator to predict falls. Finally, the results from the experiment are presented. The study concludes that Elman Recurrent Neural Network with adapted Teacher Forcing has very promising properties and an explanation of the findings is offered.
Joint Modulation of Intraseasonal Rainfall in Tropical Australia by the Madden‐Julian Oscillation and El Niño‐Southern Oscillation

Rainfall in tropical Australia is a critical resource for the agricultural sector. However, its high variability implores improvements in our understanding of its variability. Australian tropical rainfall is influenced by both the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO) on intraseasonal time scales and El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on interannual time scales. This study examines the joint relationship between the MJO, ENSO, and tropical Australian rainfall variability. We analyze daily precipitation data from stations across tropical Australia during the wet season (November to April). The wet season rainfall response to the MJO is found to be greater during El Niño than La Niña. We demonstrate that this relationship is not due to the statistical relationship between the MJO and ENSO indices but instead due to differences in how the MJO modulates the large‐scale circulation during El Niño versus during La Niña.
Smart Device for the Determination of Heart Rate Variability in Real Time

This work presents a first approach to the design, development, and implementation of a smart device for the real-time measurement and detection of alterations in heart rate variability (HRV). The smart device follows a modular design scheme, which consists of an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal acquisition module, a processing module and a wireless communications module. From five-minute ECG signals, the processing module algorithms perform a spectral estimation of the HRV. The experimental results demonstrate the viability of the smart device and the proposed processing algorithms.