Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance tests and disability: developing an objective index of mobility-related limitation in older populations.

BACKGROUND Disability reflects physiological limitations, social and environmental barriers, and "sickness" behavior. Being able to measure these influences separately would greatly assist interpretation of disability comparisons over time or between populations. This study aimed to identify an index of mobility-related limitations composed of physiological measures that are most closely associated with reported mobility disability in elders. METHODS Data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) were used. Participants aged 60 and older were included in this analysis. Participants included 6596 respondents who were interviewed in their homes, and 5724 (87%) of these attended a further examination. Domains of measurements included body measurements, bone densitometry, physical examination, spirometry, fundus photography, and physical performance measures. Multivariate models were developed on a random half subsample of the data and were validated on the other half. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) areas and logit rank slopes were used to evaluate sets of measures. RESULTS In weighted logistic regression models, six and five measures were significantly associated with difficulty and inability in walking a quarter of a mile, respectively. These mainly included measures of lower extremity and lung function. A relatively minimal loss of sensitivity and specificity occurred from using more economical models, employing a subset of the identified measures. CONCLUSIONS Subsets of measures associated with reported mobility disability could provide objective indices of mobility-related limitation for comparing populations or long-term population health monitoring.
Exchange Traded Funds and the Volatility of the Underlying Assets in Nigeria

This study examines the effect of ETF on the volatility of its underlying asset in Nigeria. Newgold ETF that tracks daily prices of gold/g in rand was used in the study. We collected data on daily prices from January, 2014 to May, 2015 on the ETF and the gold and tested for volatility using ARCH and GARCH model. The result shows that ETF is not significant in influencing the underlying asset and that previous day’s return information of the gold price and its shock influences the volatility of the underlying stock. It was recommended that investors and fund managers should not only rely on current domestic news about the ETF but should take into considerations international news about the underlying asset as there are spillovers.
Notification strategies in smart environments

In the field of mobile devices, notifications represent a simple way to inform the users about new emails, messages or incoming phone calls. Besides the display, different output channels can be used to reinforce the hint that a new information has arrived. Simple melodies can be played by speakers or small electric motors can vibrate in different patterns to transport an information. Over time, the users learn how to distinguish these channels and which melody or vibration pattern represents a new email or an incoming phone call. But since 2007, when the company Apple introduced the first smart phone (known as the iPhone), the whole system, how notifications are presented to the user, didn’t change much. The main restriction is, that new notifications are bound to the device to which they arrive. Every time a new notification is posted by an app, the device rings or vibrates and the user has to take it out of his pocket or look for it in his near environment. In some cases, this can be very impractical and annoying when it happens in the middle of a conversation or the user is interrupted while he was working on something. After the user inspected the notification about a new arrived email or message, the new information turns out to be unimportant. If the user had the possibility to be informed about the new notification by another display or device that is near him, he could take a quick look and see if it is something important or not and then return to his previous activity. This thesis presents a notification system that displays user notifications from Android smart phones on different devices that are connected to a central platform. The output devices are simple tablet computers and controllable bulbs, so that they can easily and ambient be integrated in a home environment. We developed different methods to present users their notifications and evaluated them together with the notification system in a user study. In general, we wanted to find out in which situations do users prefer which output devices or methods for which notification types. The gained insights can be used to improve existing notification systems or develop new strategies how notifications could be presented to users.
Thermal stability of L-ascorbic acid and ascorbic acid oxidase in broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica).

UNLABELLED The thermal stability of vitamin C (including l-ascorbic acid [l-AA] and dehydroascorbic acid [DHAA]) in crushed broccoli was evaluated in the temperature range of 30 to 90 degrees C whereas that of ascorbic acid oxidase (AAO) was evaluated in the temperature range of 20 to 95 degrees C. Thermal treatments (for 15 min) of crushed broccoli at 30 to 60 degrees C resulted in conversion of l-AA to DHAA whereas treatments at 70 to 90 degrees C retained vitamin C as l-AA. These observations indicated that enzymes (for example, AAO) could play a major role in the initial phase (that is, oxidation of l-AA to DHAA) of vitamin C degradation in broccoli. Consequently, a study to evaluate the temperature-time conditions that could result in AAO inactivation in broccoli was carried out. In this study, higher AAO activity was observed in broccoli florets than stalks. During thermal treatments for 10 min, AAO in broccoli florets and stalks was stable until around 50 degrees C. A 10-min thermal treatment at 80 degrees C almost completely inactivated AAO in broccoli. AAO inactivation followed 1st order kinetics in the temperature range of 55 to 65 degrees C. Based on this study, a thermal treatment above 70 degrees C is recommended for crushed vegetable products to prevent oxidation of l-AA to DHAA, the onset of vitamin C degradation. PRACTICAL APPLICATION The results reported in this study are applicable for both domestic and industrial processing of vegetables into products such as juices, soups, and purees. In this report, we have demonstrated that processing crushed broccoli in a temperature range of 30 to 60 degrees C could result in the conversion of l-ascorbic acid to dehydroascorbic (DHAA), a very important reaction in regard to vitamin C degradation because DHAA could be easily converted to other compounds that do not have the biological activity of vitamin C.
Enhancing Robustness to Cyber-Attacks in Power Systems Through Multiple Least Trimmed Squares State Estimations

This paper considers multiple robust estimators with different robustness properties to improve the overall cyber-security of power state estimation. The approach could reduce the investment in expensive secure sensors. Specifically, we propose to run several robust least trimmed squares estimators with different breakdown points in parallel to improve the detection of cyber-attacks targeting the state estimation of the grid. Attacks on both the measurement vector and the measurement function are considered. The proposed method is compared with the usual detection methods such as the largest normalized residual analysis and the parameter error detection based on the Lagrangian analysis. Benefits of considering multiple scans in the state estimation are studied as well. Simulations on IEEE test beds illustrate the practical effectiveness of the proposed method.
Symmetry, shape, and order

Packing problems have been of great interest in many diverse contexts for many centuries. The optimal packing of identical objects has been often invoked to understand the nature of low-temperature phases of matter. In celebrated work, Kepler conjectured that the densest packing of spheres is realized by stacking variants of the face-centered-cubic lattice and has a packing fraction of π/(32)∼0.7405. Much more recently, an unusually high-density packing of ≈0.770732 was achieved for congruent ellipsoids. Such studies are relevant for understanding the structure of crystals, glasses, the storage and jamming of granular materials, ceramics, and the assembly of viral capsid structures. Here, we carry out analytical studies of the stacking of close-packed planar layers of systems made up of truncated cones possessing uniaxial symmetry. We present examples of high-density packing whose order is characterized by a broken symmetry arising from the shape of the constituent objects. We find a biaxial arrangement of solid cones with a packing fraction of π/4. For truncated cones, there are two distinct regimes, characterized by different packing arrangements, depending on the ratio c of the base radii of the truncated cones with a transition at c*=2−1.
The complex life of DICKKOPF-1 in cancer cells

The role of DICKKOPF (DKK)-1 in human cancer is controversial. DKK-1 behaves as an inhibitor of the canonical Wnt/b-catenin signaling pathway acting at the plasma membrane, although several studies have proposed effects that are independent of the inhibition of b-catenin transcriptional activity, in some cases mediated by the activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Recently, a proportion of DKK-1 protein has been found within the nucleus of human intestinal epithelial cells following an apical-to-basal crypt decreasing gradient, and in that of colon carcinoma cells. Moreover, we show here that in the human mammary gland DKK-1 is also present within the nucleus of many differentiated luminal epithelial cells and in that of a small proportion of myoepithelial cells. Nuclear DKK-1 binds to actively transcribed chromatin and regulates the expression of specific genes, some of which are involved in cell proliferation, survival and stemness, and in the defense against xenobiotics. This may explain the finding that while DKK-1 is downregulated more rapidly in the nucleus than in the cytosol during colon carcinoma progression, its expression remains high in a percentage of patients who do not respond to chemotherapy. Available data suggest that the accumulation of DKK-1 in the nucleus of colon carcinoma cells depends on signals from the surrounding tumor microenvironment.
Review-based recommendation of attractive sentences in a novel for effective browsing

Recently, the electronic book (e-book) market is growing rapidly and people have been able to choose e-books that they would like to read from a large amount of e-books. Therefore, techniques for finding efficiently one or more sufficient books that have something worth reading from vast numbers of e-books are demanded. In order to support a user to select books, many techniques for searching and recommending books have been proposed. However, the user would have to decide whether each book in candidates is worth reading. In this paper, we introduce a method for supporting a user to decide whether he/she read an e-book novel or not effectively. Our method recommends a user sentences that would attract and/or interest the user in an e-book novel. In our method, firstly, the attractiveness of each term in a novel is calculated based on reviews about the novel on the web. Then, the attractiveness of each sentence in the novel is calculated based on the attractiveness of the terms. This paper shows the experimental results of our method and discusses its effectiveness.
TRANSGENIC MICE EXPRESSING WILD-TYPE TAU TRANSGENES

The discovery of mutations in the tau gene in frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17) (1–4) has demonstrated that tau dysfunction can result in neurodegeneration and has allowed researchers to generate transgenic models of the human tauopathies (5) (see Table 1 for summary). Transgenic models permit studies on the mechanisms of formation of filamentous tau lesions in neurons and glia as well as their role in neurodegeneration. They also serve as models to develop treatments for tauopathies. The tau gene is subject to alternative splicing of three exons, which generates six tau isoforms (6,7) (Fig. 1). Additional heterogeneity is derived from posttranslational modifications of tau. Two exons in the amino half of the molecule (exon 2 and exon 3) and one exon in the microtubule-binding domain (exon 10) are alternatively spliced (8). Exon 2 is included (1N) or excluded (0N), whereas exon 3 is always coexpressed with exon 2 (2N). Exon 10 contains a conserved repeat domain that is also present in exons 9, 11, and 12. Inclusion of exon 10 generates tau with 4 repeats (4R), whereas exclusion generates tau with 3 repeats (3R). The various splice combinations of tau are thus abbreviated as follows: 0N3R, 0N4R, 1N3R, 1N4R, 2N3R, and 2N4R. Adult brain has all six isoforms, whereas fetal tau is composed of 3R tau (9).
Some Urea and Thiourea Derivatives Bearing 1 , 2 , 4-Triazole Ring and Their Anti-Acetylcholinesterase Activities

Amaç: Yirmi adet farklı tiyoüre ve üre türevleri sentezlenmiş ve asetilkolinesteraz enzimini (AChE) inhibe etme yetenekleri Ellman’ın modifiye spektrofotometrik yöntemi ile değerlendirilmiştir. Yöntem: Anti-asetilkolinesteraz aktivite tayini Ellman’ın modifiye edilmiş spektrofotometrik yöntemi kullanılarak yapılmıştır. Bu spektrofotometrik yöntem bir kromojenik reaktif olan 5,5dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoik asit) ile salınan tiyokolinin renkli bir ürün vermesi esasına dayanır. Bulgular: Sentezlenen bileşiklerin (1a-e, 2a-e, 3a-e ve 4a-4e) anti-asetilkolinesteraz aktivite tayini Ellman’ın modifiye edilmiş spektrofotometrik yöntemi kullanılarak yapılmıştır. Test edilen bileşikler arasında, (4-{[(4-triflorometilfenil)karbamoil]amino} fenil)asetik asit (1d), en yüksek aktivite gösteren bileşik olmuştur. Bileşik 1d’nin 0.1mM konsantrasyonda inhibisyon oranı %48.55 olarak hesaplanmıştır. Sonuç: Anti-asetilkolinesteraz aktivite tarama sonuçları incelediğinde, fenil halkasının 4. konumunda triflorometil grubu taşıyan bileşik 1d’nin kaydadeğer anti-asetilkolinesteraz aktivite gösterdiği tespit edilmiştir. Aktivite sonuçları incelendiğinde, fenil halkası üzerinde halojen taşıyan yapıların anti-asetilkolinesteraz aktiviteyi arttırıcı yönde katkı sağladığı gözlenmektedir. Anahtar sözcükler: Üre, tiyoüre, 1,2,4-triazol, anti-asetilkolinesteraz aktivite ABS TRACT Some urea and thiourea derivatives bearing 1,2,4-triazole ring and their antiacetylcholinesterase activities
A follower load increases the load-carrying capacity of the lumbar spine in compression.

STUDY DESIGN An experimental approach was used to test human cadaveric spine specimens. OBJECTIVE To assess the response of the whole lumbar spine to a compressive follower load whose path approximates the tangent to the curve of the lumbar spine. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Compression on the lumbar spine is 1000 N for standing and walking and is higher during lifting. Ex vivo experiments show it buckles at 80-100 N. Differences between maximum ex vivo and in vivo loads have not been satisfactorily explained. METHODS A new experimental technique was developed for applying a compressive follower load of physiologic magnitudes up to 1200 N. The experimental technique applied loads that minimized the internal shear forces and bending moments, made the resultant internal force compressive, and caused the load path to approximate the tangent to the curve of the lumbar spine. RESULTS A compressive vertical load applied in the neutral lordotic and forward-flexed postures caused large changes in lumbar lordosis at small load magnitudes. The specimen approached its extension or flexion limits at a vertical load of 100 N. In sharp contrast, the lumbar spine supported a load of up to 1200 N without damage or instability when the load path was tangent to the spinal curve. CONCLUSIONS Until this study, an experimental technique for applying compressive loads of in vivo magnitudes to the whole lumbar spine was unavailable. The load-carrying capacity of the lumbar spine sharply increased under a compressive follower load, as long as the load path remained within a small range around the centers of rotation of the lumbar segments. The follower load path provides an explanation of how the whole lumbar spine can be lordotic and yet resist large compressive loads. This study may have implications for determining the role of trunk muscles in stabilizing the lumbar spine.
Immunosuppressive agents for myasthenia gravis.

BACKGROUND The benefits of different immunosuppressants for myasthenia gravis (MG) are unclear. OBJECTIVES Assessment of immunosuppressant drug efficacy in MG. SEARCH STRATEGY We searched the Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Group Trials Register, MEDLINE (from January 1966 to July 2007), EMBASE (from January 1980 to July 2007), review and trial bibliographies and contacted trial authors. SELECTION CRITERIA Types of studies: Randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials. TYPES OF PARTICIPANTS Any age, any type or severity of MG regardless of concomitant treatment. Types of interventions: Any immunosuppressive agent. Types of outcome measures: Primary: (1) Improvement or not at six months. Secondary: (1) Improvement or not at one year (2) Need for other treatment, for example corticosteroid dose, at six months (3) Number of exacerbations during the first year (4) Acetylcholine receptor antibody titre after at least six months (5) Occurrence of one or more adverse events at any time after the introduction of treatment. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS One author extracted and two checked the data. MAIN RESULTS Seven trials are included but few reported the outcomes selected for this review. A meta-analysis of ciclosporin versus placebo from two trials (59 participants) - one as monotherapy (20 participants) and the other with corticosteroids (39 participants) - showed that it resulted in improvement of participants in the ciclosporin group compared with those in the placebo group, with a relative rate of improvement of 2.44 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.13 to 5.27). In addition the weighted mean difference in QMG score between the ciclosporin and placebo groups was -0.34 (95% CI -0.52 to -0.17). Azathioprine (plus prednisolone for first month) had no significant benefit over prednisolone alone (41 participants). The effects of azathioprine plus prednisolone versus prednisolone plus placebo were similar (34 participants). Cyclophosphamide was reported to be statistically more efficacious than placebo at 12 months in corticosteroid-dependent participants (23 participants), but no raw data were available. Trials of mycophenolate mofetil and tacrolimus did not provide relevant endpoint data for this review. All trials had low numbers of participants. Adverse event reporting was variable. Trial protocol heterogeneity prevented comparison of the different immunosuppressants. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS In generalised MG, limited evidence from small RCTs suggests that ciclosporin, as monotherapy or with corticosteroids, or cyclophosphamide with corticosteroids, significantly improve MG.Limited evidence from RCTs shows no significant benefit from azathioprine (as monotherapy or with steroids), mycophenolate mofetil (as monotherapy or with either corticosteroids or ciclosporin) or tacrolimus (with corticosteroids or plasma exchange). Bigger, better-designed, longer trials are needed.
Taping the patella medially: a new treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee joint?

Abstract Objective : To test the hypothesis that medial taping of the patella reduces the symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee when the patellofemoral joint is affected. Design : Randomised, single blind, crossover trial of three different forms of taping of the knee joint. Each tape (medial, lateral, or neutral) was applied for four days, with three days of no treatment between tape positions. Subjects : 14 patients with established, symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee and both clinical and radiographic evidence of patellofemoral compartment disease. Main outcome measures : Daily visual analogue scale ratings for pain; patients' rating of change with each treatment; and tape preference. Results - Medical taping of the patella was significantly better than the neutral or lateral taping for pain scores, symptom change, and patient preference. The medical tape resulted in a 25% reduction in knee pain. Conclusion : Patella taping is a simple, safe, cheap way of providing short term pain relief in patients with osteoarthritis of the patellofemoral joint.
Unconventional medicine in the United States. Prevalence, costs, and patterns of use.

BACKGROUND Many people use unconventional therapies for health problems, but the extent of this use and the costs are not known. We conducted a national survey to determine the prevalence, costs, and patterns of use of unconventional therapies, such as acupuncture and chiropractic. METHODS We limited the therapies studied to 16 commonly used interventions neither taught widely in U.S. medical schools nor generally available in U.S. hospitals. We completed telephone interviews with 1539 adults (response rate, 67 percent) in a national sample of adults 18 years of age or older in 1990. We asked respondents to report any serious or bothersome medical conditions and details of their use of conventional medical services; we then inquired about their use of unconventional therapy. RESULTS One in three respondents (34 percent) reported using at least one unconventional therapy in the past year, and a third of these saw providers for unconventional therapy. The latter group had made an average of 19 visits to such providers during the preceding year, with an average charge per visit of $27.60. The frequency of use of unconventional therapy varied somewhat among socio-demographic groups, with the highest use reported by nonblack persons from 25 to 49 years of age who had relatively more education and higher incomes. The majority used unconventional therapy for chronic, as opposed to life-threatening, medical conditions. Among those who used unconventional therapy for serious medical conditions, the vast majority (83 percent) also sought treatment for the same condition from a medical doctor; however, 72 percent of the respondents who used unconventional therapy did not inform their medical doctor that they had done so. Extrapolation to the U.S. population suggests that in 1990 Americans made an estimated 425 million visits to providers of unconventional therapy. This number exceeds the number of visits to all U.S. primary care physicians (388 million). Expenditures associated with use of unconventional therapy in 1990 amounted to approximately $13.7 billion, three quarters of which ($10.3 billion) was paid out of pocket. This figure is comparable to the $12.8 billion spent out of pocket annually for all hospitalizations in the United States. CONCLUSIONS The frequency of use of unconventional therapy in the United States is far higher than previously reported. Medical doctors should ask about their patients' use of unconventional therapy whenever they obtain a medical history.
Piperine inhibits gastric emptying and gastrointestinal transit in rats and mice.

Piperine (1), an alkaloid of black and long peppers, inhibited gastric emptying (GE) of solids/liquids in rats and gastrointestinal transit (GT) in mice in a dose and time dependent manner. Compound 1 significantly inhibited GE of solids and GT at the doses extrapolated from humans (1 mg/kg and 1.3 mg/kg p.o. in rats and mice, respectively). However, at the same dose the effect was insignificant for GE of liquids. One week oral treatment of 1 mg/kg and 1.3 mg/kg in rats and mice, respectively, did not produce a significant change in activity as compared to single dose administration. GE inhibitory activity of 1 is independent of gastric acid and pepsin secretion.