Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Making Sense of Mobile- and Web-Based Wellness Information Technology: Cross-Generational Study

Background A recent trend in personal health and wellness management is the development of computerized applications or information and communication technologies (ICTs) that support behavioral change, aid the management of chronic conditions, or help an individual manage their wellness and engage in a healthier lifestyle. Objective To understand how individuals across 3 generations (young, middle-aged, and older) think about the design and use of collaborative health and wellness management technologies and what roles these could take in their lives. Methods Face-to-face semistructured interviews, paper prototype systems, and video skits were used to assess how individuals from 3 age cohorts (young: 18-25 years; middle-aged: 35-50 years; and older: ≥65 years) conceptualize the role that health and wellness computing could take in their lives. Results A total of 21 participants in the 3 age cohorts took part (young: n=7; middle-aged: n=7; and older: n=7). Young adults expected to be able to actively manage the presentation of their health-related information. Middle-aged adults had more nuanced expectations that reflect their engagement with work and other life activities. Older adults questioned the sharing of health information with a larger audience, although they saw the value in 1-way sharing between family members or providing aggregated information. Conclusions Our findings inform our suggestions for improving the design of future collaborative health and wellness applications that target specific age groups. We recommend that collaborative ICT health applications targeting young adults should integrate with existing social networking sites, whereas those targeting middle-aged and older adults should support small social networks that rely on intimate personal relationships. Systems that target middle-aged adults should support episodic needs, such as time-sensitive, perhaps intermittent, goal setting. They should also have a low barrier to entry, allowing individuals who do not normally engage with the Internet to participate with the application for the specific purposes of health engagement. Collaborative ICT health applications targeting older adults should allow discreet 1-way sharing, and also support sharing of information in aggregate with others’ data. These systems should also provide mechanisms to preselect recipients of different kinds of data, or to easily direct specific information to individuals in real time.
Modelling the spread of phocine distemper virus among harbour seals

Data presented in earlier publications on the 1988 epizootic among seals in North West Europe show a pattern that is somewhat inconsistent with the predictions of the standard mathematical model of epidemics. We argue that for animals living in herds or colonies, such as seals, the mutual contact behaviour is such that models for the transmission of infectious diseases should be applied with special care for the distinction between numbers and densities. This is demonstrated by using a mechanistic description of the contacts among seals, which leads to a slightly different formulation of the model. Results of the analysis of this formulation are more in line with the data.The model introduced here can be applied to epidemics among all kinds of animals living in herds and in fact to any species with constant local density, independent of the total population size (i.e., occupying a variable area). Application of the traditional formulation, using different parameters for herds of different sizes, will give equally good results for non-lethal diseases. However, especially for diseases with a low R0and high death rates, such as the phocine distemper virus (PDV) disease, the two model formulations give quite different results.Further analysis of the model is performed to determine the most important factors influencing such an epidemic. The survival of infected animals turns out to have a disproportionately great influence on the intensity of the epidemic. Therefore in the case of the PDV epizootic we conclude that marine pollution may not only have contributed to the high death rates, but, if so, it has intensified the epizootic as well.
Detecting text based image with optical character recognition for English translation and speech using Android

Smartphones have been known as most commonly used electronic devices in daily life today. As hardware embedded in smartphones can perform much more task than traditional phones, the smartphones are no longer just a communication device but also considered as a powerful computing device which able to capture images, record videos, surf the internet and etc. With advancement of technology, it is possible to apply some techniques to perform text detection and translation. Therefore, an application that allows smartphones to capture an image and extract the text from it to translate into English and speech it out is no longer a dream. In this study, an Android application is developed by integrating Tesseract OCR engine, Bing translator and phones' built-in speech out technology. Final deliverable is tested by various type of target end user from a different language background and concluded that the application benefits many users. By using this app, travelers who visit a foreign country able to understand messages portrayed in different language. Visually impaired users are also able to access important message from a printed text through speech out feature.
The Complex Genetics of Kallmann Syndrome: KAL1, FGFR1, FGF8, PROKR2, PROK2, et al.

Kallmann syndrome (KS) combines hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and anosmia. Anosmia is related to the absence or hypoplasia of the olfactory bulbs and tracts. Hypogonadism is due to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) deficiency, which presumably results from a failure of the embryonic migration of neuroendocrine GnRH cells from the olfactory epithelium to the forebrain. This failure could be a consequence of the early degeneration of olfactory nerve and terminal nerve fibres, because the latter normally act as guiding cues for the migration of GnRH cells. Defects in GnRH cell fate specification, differentiation, axon elongation or axon targeting to the hypothalamus median eminence may, however, also contribute to GnRH deficiency, at least in some genetic forms of the disease. To date, five KS genes have been identified, namely, FGFR1, FGF8, PROKR2, PROK2, and KAL1. Mutations in these genes, however, account for barely 30% of all KS cases. Mutations in FGFR1, encoding fibroblast growth factor receptor 1, underlie an autosomal dominant form of the disease. Mutations in PROKR2 and PROK2, encoding prokineticin receptor-2 and prokineticin-2, have been found in heterozygous, homozygous or compound heterozygous states. These two genes are likely to be involved both in monogenic recessive and digenic or oligogenic KS transmission modes. Finally, KAL1, encoding the extracellular glycoprotein anosmin-1, is responsible for the X chromosome-linked form of the disease. It is believed that anosmin-1 acts as an enhancer of FGF signalling and perhaps of prokineticin signalling too.
Multi-rate MC-DS-CDMA with multiuser detections for wireless multimedia communications

In this paper, we study multi-rate transmission for MC-DS-CDMA systems based on the concepts of multi-code (MC) access and variable-spreading-length (VSL) code access. The general system model is derived for multi-rate MC-DS-CDMA systems of either multi-rate access and multiuser detection (MUD) are proposed thereof. We analyze the characteristics of multi-rate MC-DS-CDMA signals and investigate the behavior of the MUD. Compared studies and simulations among the proposed MUD and access methods suggest VSL-code access with the proposed LMMSE detection to multi-rate MC-DS-CDMA systems, especially for transceiving high-rate users.
Phase II and pharmacologic study of weekly oral paclitaxel plus cyclosporine in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE A phase II study was performed to assess the efficacy and toxicity of oral cyclosporine (CsA) plus paclitaxel in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS Chemotherapy-naive or previously treated patients (one regimen) with measurable disease and World Health Organization performance status <or= 2 were eligible. Oral paclitaxel was given weekly in a dose of 90 mg/m(2) bid. CsA (10 mg/kg) was given 30 minutes before each dose of oral paclitaxel. RESULTS Twenty-six patients with a median age of 54 years (range, 32 to 77 years) were entered onto this study. Eighteen patients (69%) had received one prior chemotherapy regimen. The most frequently recorded toxicities were as follows: National Cancer Institute common toxicity criteria grade 3 neutropenia, eight patients (31%); grade 4, six patients (23%); grade 4 febrile neutropenia, three patients (12%); grade 2/3 neurotoxicity, three patients (12%); and grade 2 nail changes, four patients (15%). The overall response rate (ORR) of the 23 assessable patients was 26% (95% confidence interval [CI], 10% to 48%). In the intention-to-treat population, the ORR was 23% (95% CI, 9% to 44%). The median time to progression was 3.5 months (95% CI, 1.2 to 3.9 months), and median overall survival was 6.0 months (95% CI, 2.3 months to not available). Pharmacokinetics revealed that the mean area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) of oral paclitaxel was 5.0 +/- 2.3 micro mol/L/h in week 1 and 4.6 +/- 2.0 micro mol/L/h in week 2, with interpatient variabilities (coefficient of variation [%CV]) of 45% and 42%, respectively. The intrapatient variability (%CV) of the AUC was 14.5%. CONCLUSION Oral paclitaxel plus CsA is active and safe in advanced NSCLC, including in patients previously treated with chemotherapy.
Child Temperament, Maternal Feeding Practices, and Parenting Styles and Their Influence on Obesogenic Behaviors in Hispanic Preschool Children

Although obesogenic behaviors (physical activity and/or sedentary behavior and dietary intake) are known predictors of childhood weight status, little is known about mother and child behaviors contributing to obesogenic behaviors and obesity in Hispanic preschool children, whose obesity rate is higher than in non-Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic Blacks. The purpose of this cross-sectional, descriptive study was to examine relationships among child temperament, maternal behaviors (feeding practices and parenting style), child obesogenic behaviors, and child weight status in 100 Hispanic preschool children. Results showed that higher scores on the negative affectivity dimension of child temperament were associated with higher scores on the dimension of permissive parenting, and permissive parenting was associated with less time spent in sedentary behaviors (B = −3.53, confidence interval [−7.52, −0.90]). Findings can guide school nurses in developing interventions that consider child temperament and parenting style to promote nonobesogenic behavior in Hispanic preschoolers.
The processing and presentation of mycobacterial antigens by human monocytes

The processing and presentation of whole irradiated Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtbγ) and its purified protein derivative (PPD) by the peripheral blood monocytes from healthy Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG)‐vaccinated individuals was investigated. To study processing and presentation as events distinct from T cell recognition and proliferation, monocytes were pulsed with antigens for varying time intervals and fixed. The kinetics of presentation indicate that up to 2 h was required for effective presentation of PPD and 2–4 h for Mtbγ, and that the ability to activate T cells declined as the time interval for which pulsing occurred was increased, so that responses were abolished by 8–10 h. Prefixed monocytes could not present Mtbγ and PPD to T cells indicating that processing was an essential requisite. Lysosomotropic agents chloroquine, monensin, and leupeptin inhibited the presentation of these antigens suggesting the role of lysosomes/endosomes in processing. Furthermore, monocytes incubated with optimal concentration of antigens for different lengths of time released determinants which were still antigenic but circumvented the need for any further processing.
Genetic and genomic studies of PADI4 in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVES Strong genetic association of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with PADI4 (peptidyl arginine deiminase) has previously been described in Japanese, although this was not confirmed in a subsequent study in the UK. We therefore undertook a further study of genetic association between PADI4 and RA in UK Caucasians and also studied expression of PADI4 in the peripheral blood of patients with RA. METHODS Seven single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism in 111 RA cases and controls. A marker significantly associated with RA (PADI4_100, rs#2240339) in this first data set (P = 0.03) was then tested for association in a larger group of 439 RA patients and 428 controls. PADI4 transcription was also assessed by real-time quantitative PCR using RNA extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 13 RA patients and 11 healthy controls. RESULTS A single SNP was weakly associated with RA (P = 0.03) in the initial case-control study, a single SNP (PADI4_100) and a two marker haplotype of that SNP and the neighbouring SNP (PADI4_104) were significantly associated with RA (P = 0.02 and P = 0.03 respectively). PADI4_100 was not associated with RA in a second sample set. PADI4 expression was four times greater in cases than controls (P = 0.004), but expression levels did not correlate with the levels of markers of inflammation. CONCLUSION PADI4 is significantly overexpressed in the blood of RA patients but genetic variation within PADI4 is not a major risk factor for RA in Caucasians.
A simple low-voltage cascode current mirror with enhanced dynamic performance

In this paper, we present a simple low-voltage MOS cascode current mirror featuring a step response and an output voltage swing comparable to those of a simple mirror and and output resistance comparable to that of a stacked mirror. The proposed mirror operates with an input voltage of Vdiode+VDSsat and can operate on a minimum supply of Vdiode + 2VDSsat. We validate the proposed mirror with a combination of simulated and measured results from a circuit prototyped from transistor arrays fabricated in a 0.5-μm CMOS process through MOSIS.
Microstimulation of a Neural-Network Model for Visually Guided Saccades

Microstimulation of many saccadic centers in the brain produces eye movements that are not consistent with either a strictly retinal or strictly head-centered coordinate coding of eye movements. Rather, stimulation produces some features of both types of coordinate coding. Recently we demonstrated a neural network model that was trained to localize the position of visual stimuli in head-centered coordinates at the output using inputs of eye and retinal position similar to those converging on area 7a of the posterior parietal cortex of monkeys (Zipser & Andersen 1988; Andersen & Zipser 1988). Here we show that microstimulation of this trained network, achieved by fully activating single units in the middle layer, produces saccades that are very much like the saccades produced by stimulating the brain. The activity of the middle-layer units can be considered to code the desired location of the eyes in head-centered coordinates; however, stimulation of these units does not produce the saccades predicted by a classical head-centered coordinate coding because the location in space appears to be coded in a distributed fashion among a population of units rather than explicitly at the level of single cells.
Antibody reactivity to different regions of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 gp61 in infected people

The primary protein product of the human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) env gene, gp61, is cleaved to produce both the exterior (gp46) and the transmembrane (gp21) portions of the HTLV-1 envelope protein. To compare the reactivity with human antibodies of different regions of this gp61 protein, five plasmids (A, B, B1, C, and D) were constructed to express recombinant proteins (RPs) in Escherichia coli. RP-A, RP-B, RP-B1, and RP-C contain amino acid residues 26 to 165, 166 to 229, 166 to 201, and 229 to 308, respectively, of the exterior envelope protein gp46. Serum samples from HTLV-1-seropositive subjects were assayed for reactivity with these RPs by Western immunoblotting. The percentages of positive reactivity with each of the RPs were as follows: 18.9% (23 of 122) for RP-A, 89.6% (112 of 125) for RP-B, 70.2% (85 of 121) for RP-B1, and 92.9% (117 of 126) for RP-C. These results indicate that the C-terminal half of gp46 (RP-B plus RP-C) can detect 97.6% (123 of 126) of positive samples, while the N-terminal half of gp46 (RP-A) can only detect 18.9% of the HTLV-1-positive sera (P less than 0.005). Furthermore, RP-A, -B, and -C, which together span the entire length of gp46 except the first five amino acids at the N terminus and the last four amino acids at the C- terminus, detected 99.2% (125 of 126) of the HTLV-1-positive subjects. In contrast, RP-D, which contains the HTLV-1 transmembrane envelope protein gp21 minus the first amino acid at the N terminus, had a lower rate of antibody reactivity at 73.7% (84 of 114) (P less than 0.005). The difference in seropositive rates for RP-D between HTLV-1 carriers (55.6%) and adult T-cell leukemia patients (85.5%) is statistically significant (P less than 0.01). This study therefore indicates that the C-terminal half of gp46, especially the amino acid sequence from 200 to 308, contains the most reactive epitopes of the HTLV-1 gp61 envelope glycoprotein.
Long‐Term Outcomes in Octogenarians Following Aortic Valve Replacement

Abstract Background: The aging of the population has resulted in an increasing number of elderly patients undergoing cardiac operations. We reviewed our experience in patients over the age of 80 undergoing primary aortic valve replacement (AVR) with or without CABG. Methods: Between 2000 and 2008, 345 patients (226 male) ≥80 years underwent primary AVR in our unit. The notes of these patients were retrospectively reviewed and follow‐up information was obtained from their general practitioners. They had a mean age of 82.9 ± 2.3 years and a median logistic EuroSCORE of 13.4 (IQR 9.4, 19.1). Isolated AVR was performed in 161 patients (45.5%), and 184 (51.6%) patients underwent combined AVR and CABG. A quality of life questionnaire was sent to all survivors. Results: Hospital mortality occurred in 17 patients (4.9%), which was significantly lower than the mortality predicted by logistic EuroSCORE (16.2%, p < 0.01). Hospital mortality was comparable between patients undergoing isolated AVR and those undergoing additional CABG (4.3% vs. 5.4%, respectively). Actuarial survival at one and five years was 90.1 ± 1.6% and 77.2 ± 2.9%, respectively. There was a 62% response on the questionnaire showing 70% of the patients were NYHA I and 83.7% were satisfied with the operation outcome. Conclusions: AVR can be undertaken with excellent results in octogenarians and the current risk is significantly lower than what is predicted with conventional risk‐scoring systems. Patients with advanced age should not necessarily be excluded from being candidates for AVR. (J Card Surg 2011;26:466‐471)
The SH2/SH3 domain‐containing protein GRB2 interacts with tyrosine‐phosphorylated IRS1 and Shc: implications for insulin control of ras signalling.

GRB2, a small protein comprising one SH2 domain and two SH3 domains, represents the human homologue of the Caenorhabditis elegans protein, sem‐5. Both GRB2 and sem‐5 have been implicated in a highly conserved mechanism that regulates p21ras signalling by receptor tyrosine kinases. In this report we show that in response to insulin, GRB2 forms a stable complex with two tyrosine‐phosphorylated proteins. One protein is the major insulin receptor substrate IRS‐1 and the second is the SH2 domain‐containing oncogenic protein, Shc. The interactions between GRB2 and these two proteins require ligand activation of the insulin receptor and are mediated by the binding of the SH2 domain of GRB2 to phosphotyrosines on both IRS‐1 and Shc. Although GRB2 associates with IRS‐1 and Shc, it is not tyrosine‐phosphorylated after insulin stimulation, implying that GRB2 is not a substrate for the insulin receptor. Furthermore, we have identified a short sequence motif (YV/IN) present in IRS‐1, EGFR and Shc, which specifically binds the SH2 domain of GRB2 with high affinity. Interestingly, both GRB2 and phosphatidylinositol‐3 (PI‐3) kinase can simultaneously bind distinct tyrosine phosphorylated regions on the same IRS‐1 molecule, suggesting a mechanism whereby IRS‐1 could provide the core for a large signalling complex. We propose a model whereby insulin stimulation leads to formation of multiple protein‐‐protein interactions between GRB2 and the two targets IRS‐1 and Shc. These interactions may play a crucial role in activation of p21ras and the control of downstream effector molecules.
Wireless Network Design for Control Systems: A Survey

Wireless networked control systems (WNCSs) are composed of spatially distributed sensors, actuators, and controllers communicating through wireless networks instead of conventional point-to-point wired connections. Due to their main benefits in the reduction of deployment and maintenance costs, large flexibility and possible enhancement of safety, WNCS are becoming a fundamental infrastructure technology for critical control systems in automotive electrical systems, avionics control systems, building management systems, and industrial automation systems. The main challenge in WNCS is to jointly design the communication and control systems considering their tight interaction to improve the control performance and the network lifetime. In this survey, we make an exhaustive review of the literature on wireless network design and optimization for WNCS. First, we discuss what we call the critical interactive variables including sampling period, message delay, message dropout, and network energy consumption. The mutual effects of these communication and control variables motivate their joint tuning. We discuss the analysis and design of control systems taking into account the effect of the interactive variables on the control system performance. Moreover, we discuss the effect of controllable wireless network parameters at all layers of the communication protocols on the probability distribution of these interactive variables. We also review the current wireless network standardization for WNCS and their corresponding methodology for adapting the network parameters. Finally, we present the state-of-the-art wireless network design and optimization for WNCS, while highlighting the tradeoff between the achievable performance and complexity of various approaches. We conclude the survey by highlighting major research issues and identifying future research directions.