Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does admission grip strength predict length of stay in hospitalised older patients?

Epidemiological studies have shown that grip strength measured in middle-aged and older people is a powerful predictor of functional decline, disability and mortality [1–3]. Findings from cross-sectional data also suggest that grip strength may be a useful single marker of frailty [4]. However, grip strength is rarely measured in a clinical setting either for objective assessment of muscle function in relation to physical function or to predict outcome. The few clinical studies involving measurement of grip strength have been confined to a surgical setting and showed that lower grip strength was associated with increased post-operative complications [5–10]. Two studies also showed a relationship between pre-operative grip strength and post-operative length of stay
ATM: a retrospective on systems legacy or "a technology with a fabulous future behind it?"

The following four papers were selected from submissions for a proposed workshop that was to have been held during the 2002 ACM SIGCOMM Conference. Due to time, we cancelled the event, but the papers capture some of the past, present and future lessons to be gleaned from the whole ATM experience, and we felt that these lessons should be provided with a forum.
Inhaler device handling: have we really started to address the problem?

How big a problem is inhaler technique and how important is it? In this issue of the European Respiratory Journal we are presented with a “real-life” study exploring the inhaler technique of almost 3000 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the relationship between inhaler device handling and disease control. This observational, cross-sectional study, conducted by Molimard et al. [1], assesses the handling of devices by patients visiting general practitioners and pulmonologists and in so doing determines two key findings. 1) Over 50% of patients with COPD are not able to use their devices correctly. 2) Patients making “critical errors” in their device handling are two-times more likely to experience severe COPD exacerbations than those not making critical errors (3.3% versus 6.9% in the previous 3 months, respectively, OR 1.86). Let's consider again: how big a problem is inhaler technique and how important is it? http://ow.ly/rwfu308ircJ
ACCURATE QUANTIFICATION OF VARIANCE ERROR

Abstract This paper accurately quantifies the way in which noise induced estimation errors are dependent on model structure, underlying system frequency response, measurement noise and input excitation. This exposes several new principles. In particular, it is shown here that when employing Output–Error model structures in a prediction-error framework, then the ensuing estimate variability in the frequency domain depends on the underlying system pole positions. As well, it is also established that the variability is affected by the choice of model structure, in that it is twice as much when system poles are estimated as when they are a-priori known and fixed, even though the model order is the same in both cases. These results are unexpected according to pre-existing theory.
Statistical properties of the normalized ice particle size distribution

[i] Testud et al. (2001) have recently developed a formalism, known as the normalized particle size distribution (PSD), which consists in scaling the diameter and concentration axes in such a way that the normalized PSDs are independent of water content and mean volume-weighted diameter. In this paper we investigate the statistical properties of the normalized PSD for the particular case of ice clouds, which are known to play a crucial role in the Earth's radiation balance. To do so, an extensive database of airborne in situ microphysical measurements has been constructed. A remarkable stability in shape of the normalized PSD is obtained. The impact of using a single analytical shape to represent all PSDs in the database is estimated through an error analysis on the instrumental (radar reflectivity and attenuation) and cloud (ice water content, effective radius, terminal fall velocity of ice crystals, visible extinction) properties. This resulted in a roughly unbiased estimate of the instrumental and cloud parameters, with small standard deviations ranging from 5 to 12%. This error is found to be roughly independent of the temperature range. This stability in shape and its single analytical approximation implies that two parameters are now sufficient to describe any normalized PSD in ice clouds: the intercept parameter N* 0 and the mean volume-weighted diameter D m . Statistical relationships (parameterizations) between N* 0 and D m have then been evaluated in order to reduce again the number of unknowns. It has been shown that a parameterization of N* 0 and D m by temperature could not be envisaged to retrieve the cloud parameters. Nevertheless, D m -T and mean maximum dimension diameter -T parameterizations have been derived and compared to the parameterization of Kristjansson et al. (2000) currently used to characterize particle size in climate models. The new parameterization generally produces larger particle sizes at any temperature than the Kristjansson et al. (2000) parameterization. These new parameterizations are believed to better represent particle size at global scale, owing to a better representativity of the in situ microphysical database used to derive it. We then evaluated the potential of a direct N* 0 -D m relationship. While the model parameterized by temperature produces strong errors on the cloud parameters, the N* 0 -D m model parameterized by radar reflectivity produces accurate cloud parameters (less than 3% bias and 16% standard deviation). This result implies that the cloud parameters can be estimated from the estimate of only one parameter of the normalized PSD (N* 0 or D m ) and a radar reflectivity measurement.
Arbovirus evolution in vivo is constrained by host alternation

The intrinsic plasticity of RNA viruses can facilitate host range changes that lead to epidemics. However, evolutionary processes promoting cross-species transfers are poorly defined, especially for arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses). In theory, cross species transfers by arboviruses may be constrained by their alternating infection of disparate hosts, where optimal replication in one host involves a fitness tradeoff for the other. Accordingly, freeing arboviruses from alternate replication via specialization in a single host should accelerate adaptation. This hypothesis has been tested by using cell culture model systems with inconclusive results. Therefore, we tested it using an in vivo system with Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), an emerging alphavirus of the Americas. VEEV serially passaged in mosquitoes exhibited increased mosquito infectivity and vertebrate-specialized strains produced higher viremias. Conversely, alternately passaged VEEV experienced no detectable fitness gains in either host. These results suggest that arbovirus adaptation and evolution is limited by obligate host alternation and predict that arboviral emergence via host range changes may be less frequent than that of single host animal RNA viruses.
Identification of Enterococcus Faecalis and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa on and in Implants in Individuals with Peri-implant Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study.

PURPOSE To verify whether the parts of dental implants can be contaminated by opportunistic pathogens. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this cross-sectional study, 38 individuals (52 implants) were investigated. Samples for microbiologic analysis (for a total of 180 sites) were obtained from each individual, from three types of sites in the following order: (1) the peri-implant sulcus of each implant, (2) the gingival sulcus of adjacent teeth, and (3) inside the implant-abutment connection and the abutment of each implant. Swabs from the oral mucosa (cheeks, tongue, and pharynx) were also collected. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was carried out for total bacterial counts of Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Two-way analysis of variance (sites, species) and Holm-Sidak tests were used for statistical analyses. RESULTS No opportunistic bacteria were found in the gingival sulcus specimens (38 sites). E faecalis was detected in the peri-implant sulcus (3 of 52 sites) and the inner connection/abutment portion (3 of 52 sites). P aeruginosa was identified only in the oral mucosa swabs (1 of 38 sites) and represented the highest bacterial number (3.5 × 10⁶). Statistically significant differences were only found between species and in the peri-implant sulcus. CONCLUSION Within the limitations of this study, significant differences in the presence and levels of nosocomial bacteria were detected in the peri-implant environment of diseased implants. From a clinical point of view, data from this study might suggest that, in patients affected by peri-implantitis, prostheses should be removed and the implant-abutment connection disinfected routinely, along with implant surface decontamination.
Sex and selection for a quantitative character in Drosophila. I. Single-sex selection.

Selection for abdominal bristle number was done in six lines, three with selection in females only and three in males only_ Selection was equally effective (for a given selection differential) when carried out in either sex, even though more than one-third of the additive genetic variation was sex linked_ Most response in a given sex was found in the treatment selected in that sex. Relaxed lines failed to show fluctuating scores in the two sexes as predicted by Griffing (1965). Epistatic decay may have masked these effects.
ACABARASE: An Anti-spam CAse-BAsed ACABARASE: An Anti-spam CAse-BAsed ReAsoning SystEm

In this paper we present the anti-spam case-based reasoning system ACABARASE. Our system works by using the classical strategy behind CBR systems: To solve problems based on the solutions to previously solved similar problems. ACABARASE works under both English and Spanish languages, what slightly complicated its development. In addition to present our system, we show experimental results regarding its performance and analyze them.
NÍVEL DE ATIVIDADE FÍSICA DOS DOCENTES DOS CURSOS DE EDUCAÇÃO FÍSICA E PSICOLOGIA DA ULBRA- PORTO VELHO

Os profissionais de educacao fisica sao os responsaveis pela orientacao, acompanhamento e supervisao de pessoas que praticam exercicio fisico e sao os conhecedores dos seus beneficios, e imprescindivel a pratica de atividade fisica pelos profissionais da area. Para Nieman (1999), saude e definida como um estado completo de bem estar fisico, mental e espiritual, e nao somente a ausencia de doencas. Com isso, a pratica de atividades fisicas pode influenciar de forma positiva o bem estar das pessoas. Menotti (1992) comenta que a acao exercida pela atividade fisica sobre a saude da populacao esta sendo mais estudada nos ultimos tempos. Entao o profissional de Educacao Fisica, como promotor da saude, atua na melhoria da aptidao fisica de seus alunos consequentemente prevenindo varios tipos de doencas e trabalhando no controle da mesma, aumentando entao a qualidade de vida do individuo atraves da atividade fisica. A seguinte pesquisa teve como objetivo descrever o nivel de atividade fisica dos docentes do curso de Educacao Fisica e Psicologia do Instituto Luterano de Ensino Superior da Universidade Luterana do Brasil de Porto Velho. Foram avaliados quatorze professores, sendo sete da Educacao Fisica e sete da Psicologia com uma faixa etaria entre vinte e nove a quarenta e sete anos.
Vacuum filtration based formation of liquid crystal films of semiconducting carbon nanotubes and high performance transistor devices

In this paper, we report ultra-thin liquid crystal films of semiconducting carbon nanotubes using a simple vacuum filtration process. Vacuum filtration of nanotubes in aqueous surfactant solution formed nematic domains on the filter membrane surface and exhibited local ordering. A 2D fast Fourier transform was used to calculate the order parameters from scanning electron microscopy images. The order parameter was observed to be sensitive to the filtration time demonstrating different regions of transformation namely nucleation of nematic domains, nanotube accumulation and large domain growth.Transmittance versus sheet resistance measurements of such films resulted in optical to dc conductivity of σ opt/σ dc = 9.01 indicative of purely semiconducting nanotube liquid crystal network.Thin films of nanotube liquid crystals with order parameters ranging from S = 0.1–0.5 were patterned into conducting channels of transistor devices which showed high I on/I off ratios from 10–19 800 and electron mobility values μ e = 0.3–78.8 cm2 (V-s)−1, hole mobility values μ h = 0.4–287 cm2 (V-s)−1. High I on/I off ratios were observed at low order parameters and film mass. A Schottky barrier transistor model is consistent with the observed transistor characteristics. Electron and hole mobilities were seen to increase with order parameters and carbon nanotube mass fractions. A fundamental tradeoff between decreasing on/off ratio and increasing mobility with increasing nanotube film mass and order parameter is therefore concluded. Increase in order parameters of nanotubes liquid crystals improved the electronic transport properties as witnessed by the increase in σ dc/σ opt values on macroscopic films and high mobilities in microscopic transistors. Liquid crystal networks of semiconducting nanotubes as demonstrated here are simple to fabricate, transparent, scalable and could find wide ranging device applications.
Power Management Strategies for Mobile Devices in Wireless Networks

As wireless networks become an integral component of the modern communication infrastructure, energy efficiency will be an important design consideration. Since batteries provide limited power, a general constraint of wireless communication is the short continuous operation time of mobile terminals. Therefore power management is one of the most challenging problems in wireless communication, and recent research has addressed this topic. Basically, IEEE 802.11 introduces a basic idea of power saving mode (PSM). In this paper, a couple of ideas are introduced to save energy in the infrastructure and ad hoc architecture of wireless communications. The first one is the modification of using two different power levels for RTS-CTS and DATA-ACK based on ad hoc network. This modification does not degrade throughput and yields energy saving. The second one is the Bounded Slowdown (BSD) protocol, which is the modification of PSM and based on infrastructure.
Position paper of the Belgian Working Group on Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation: cardiovascular rehabilitation

The Belgian Working Group on Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation has taken the initiative to write a position paper with the aim to optimize the quality of cardiovascular rehabilitation (CR) in Belgium. This position paper is based on existing guidelines from the European and American cardiological societies and published reviews, and reflects the optimal organisation of CR according to the scientific knowledge in this field, adapted to the Belgian situation. They are intended to be used as a basis for measures of quality control for rehabilitation centres and for the organisation of peer review. Cardiovascular rehabilitation has been defined by the former working group on Cardiac Rehabilitation of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) as “the sum of interventions required to ensure the best possible physical, psychological and social conditions, so that the patients with subacute or chronic heart disease may, by their own efforts, preserve or resume a place as normal as possible in the life of the community”. Cardiac rehabilitation is conventionally divided into three phases1,2: • phase 1: acute/subacute rehabilitation: in-hospital mobilisation, education and psychosocial counselling/referral (first days or weeks after admission), • phase 2: convalescence: reconditioning/early lifestyle modification, • phase 3: long-term maintenance programme. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of CR for a wide range of indications have been documented by several meta-analyses3-7, but also by publications from Belgium8,9: mortality and morbidity are reduced by 25-30%. A recent publication10 showed that more than half of the mortality reduction caused by CR is due to an increased improvement in coronary risk profile.
Neuropathogenesis of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection: Disease Mechanisms and Prospects for Intervention

SUMMARY Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the leading infectious cause of mental retardation and hearing loss in the developed world. In recent years, there has been an improved understanding of the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and long-term disabilities associated with CMV infection. In this review, current concepts regarding the pathogenesis of neurological injury caused by CMV infections acquired by the developing fetus are summarized. The pathogenesis of CMV-induced disabilities is considered in the context of the epidemiology of CMV infection in pregnant women and newborn infants, and the clinical manifestations of brain injury are reviewed. The prospects for intervention, including antiviral therapies and vaccines, are summarized. Priorities for future research are suggested to improve the understanding of this common and disabling illness of infancy.
Charge transfer and structure in C60 adsorption on metal surfaces.

The charge state and structure of C60 monolayers deposited on Au(110), polycrystalline Ag, and Ni(110) have been investigated by electron-energy-loss spectroscopy and low-energy electron diffraction. The vibrational excitation spectra have been used to obtain a quantitative determination of the molecular charge state of the adsorbed C60 molecules. On both the Au(110) and Ag surfaces the charge transfer from the surface to the C60 is found to be (1±1) electrons and that on Ni(110) is (2±1) electrons. These estimates are supported by the metallic nature of the low-energy (0–7.5 eV) electronic excitations of the monolayers. For submonolayer coverages of C60, rectangular overlayer phases are observed on Ni(110) in contrast to the close-packed islands seen on the other metals. This difference in the low-coverage structure can be related to differing substrate-adsorbate interactions, directly reflected by the C60 charge state.
Measurement and Analysis of Access Resistance and Polarization Impedance in Cochlear Implant Recipients

Background: Impedance measurements are commonly performed at the end of cochlear implant surgery, not only to confirm that all electrodes are working but also to monitor the impedances of the newly implanted electrodes. The current method of testing allows the determination of only the overall electrode impedance but not its components, access resistance and polarization impedance. To determine whether any longitudinal change in the electrode impedance is caused by a change in the endocochlear environment or rather caused by a change in the surface quality of the electrode, it is necessary to extract access resistance and polarization impedance. Methods: We applied an impedance model that enabled us to calculate access resistance and polarization impedance after measurement of electrode impedance at three points along the voltage waveform. Results: The results show that the value of the components of electrode impedance varied with time after surgery: access resistance increased slowly over time, whereas polarization impedance increased up to Week 2 but decreased after commencement of electrical stimulation at that stage. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that a layer of fibrous tissue forms around the electrode within the cochlear canal, resulting in a slow increase of access resistance, whereas a layer of proteins forms on the surface of the electrode in the early phase after implantation. Electrical stimulation appears to disperse this surface layer, thereby reducing both the polarization impedance and electrode impedance. Conclusion: The method presented enables the extraction of more detailed information about the longitudinal changes in the intracochlear environment after cochlear implantation.
Multi‐locus genetic evidence for rapid ecologically based speciation in Daphnia

The process of speciation involves the divergence of two or more subpopulations of a parent species into independent evolutionary trajectories. To study this process in natural populations requires a detailed knowledge of the genetic and ecological characteristics of the parent species and an understanding of how its populations can lose evolutionary cohesion. The cosmopolitan and speciose genus Daphnia provides many of these features by existing in multiple freshwater habitat types, particularly permanent lakes and temporary ponds, each of which presents distinct ecological challenges. We assayed the genetic composition of 20 temporary pond populations of members of the Daphnia pulex species complex in north‐western Oregon and compared them to published data on related lake and pond populations. We collected molecular genetic data from 13 allozyme loci, from six microsatellite loci, and from the control region of the mitochondrial DNA. By assaying over 400 individual Daphnia for these data, we were able to compile composite genotypes not only of individual Daphnia but of each pond population as a whole. In these ponds, we discovered two distinct genotypic constellations, one which bears resemblance to the lake‐dwelling taxon D. pulicaria, and one which bears resemblance to the pond‐dwelling taxon, D. pulex. Using published genetic data from these and other species as a frame of reference, we characterized 13 of these ponds as being ‘pond‐like’, three as being ‘lake‐like’, and four as being ‘mixed’. Unlike studies performed elsewhere, however, these ponds do not exhibit high probabilities of interspecific hybridization. Over 95% of all individuals have either a lake‐like or a pond‐like genotype at all three genetic systems, suggesting the two forms do not represent hybridized vs. nonhybridized genotypes. Because both types can be found in the same ponds at the same time in gametic disequilibrium, we also discount the possibility that they are two extremes of a single species that is highly genetically subdivided. With these genetic data, and with supporting life‐history and ecological data previously gathered on these pond populations, we conclude that the most likely description of this system is of a taxon caught in the act of speciating, with new pond‐adapted populations periodically stemming from lake‐adapted sources during river flooding events.
Mitochondrial respiratory control is lost during growth factor deprivation

The ability of cells to maintain a bioenergetically favorable ATP/ADP ratio confers a tight balance between cellular events that consume ATP and the rate of ATP production. However, after growth factor withdrawal, the cellular ATP/ADP ratio declines. To investigate these changes, mitochondria from growth factor-deprived cells isolated before the onset of apoptosis were characterized in vitro. Mitochondria from growth factor-deprived cells have lost their ability to undergo matrix condensation in response to ADP, which is accompanied by a failure to perform ADP-coupled respiration. At the time of analysis, mitochondria from growth factor-deprived cells were not depleted of cytochrome c and cytochrome c-dependent respiration was unaffected, demonstrating that the inhibition of the respiratory rate is not due to loss of cytochrome c. Agents that disrupt the mitochondrial outer membrane, such as digitonin, or maintain outer membrane exchange of adenine nucleotide, such as Bcl-xL, restored ADP-dependent control of mitochondrial respiration. Together, these data suggest that the regulation of mitochondrial outer membrane permeability contributes to respiratory control.