Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heuristics and Recommendations for the Design of Mobile Serious Games for Older Adults

As people get older, their physical and cognitive functions decline. Meeting these needs is an important goal to be reached, to propose activities that may contribute to a better quality of life, including leisure and learning. As such, this paper aims to present a set of heuristics and recommendations for the design of mobile serious games for older adults. To elaborate these heuristics and recommendations, we conducted two studies with older people. In the first study, we invited people aged 60 or more to evaluate mobile games, intending to collect data that could help us to adapt the heuristics that were already published to the public of this research. In the period between the two studies, we developed a serious mobile game (Labuta​ Batuta​) that met the set of adapted heuristics. In the second study, we invited another group of older people, aged 45 or over, to qualitatively evaluate Labuta​ Batuta​, in order to develop a Grounded Theory about the desirable characteristics for the design of serious mobile games for older adults. Besides a Grounded Theory, the second study allowed the identification of nine requirements to be considered when designing the mechanics of mobile games for older adults.
Subjective social status and health: Multidisciplinary explanations and methodological challenges

Since the early 2000s, evidence has been accumulating that subjective social status – a person’s sense of their own position on the social ladder – affects health above and beyond objective socioeconomic status. To date, however, little is known about how these distinct health effects of subjective social status can be explained. This article narratively reviews different explanatory approaches and key methodological challenges, backed up by empirical findings and supplemented by the authors’ own reflections. Both social–psychological and psychoneurobiological explanations can make a theoretically plausible contribution to explaining the subjective social status–health relationship. Experimental and panel designs appear promising for addressing important methodological challenges in this strand of research.
Relationship Between Progression-Free Survival and Overall Survival Benefit: A Simulation Study

This study evaluated the circumstances under which the observed progression-free survival (PFS) benefit may translate into an overall survival (OS) benefit. Methods : A simulation study, based on PFS and OS joint model decomposition, was conducted to evaluate the impact of crossover rates, survival post progression (SPP) lengths, and magnitudes of difference in median PFS on OS. Under different simulation scenarios, the degree of impact was investigated based on the probability of observing a significant OS benefit given an observed PFS benefit. Results : Using simulation parameters defined based on historical NDA datasets, the probability of detecting an OS benefit given the observed PFS benefit depends largely on crossover rate and SPP length (ie, SPP median times). Compared to no crossover, a crossover rate of ≤ 50% decreases the probability of detecting an OS benefit by at most 15% regardless of the SPP length. A crossover rate of > 50% decreases the probability of detecting an OS benefit much further, and the extent of decrease is proportional to the length of SPP. Conclusion : Crossover rate and SPP length are important factors affecting the benefit translating from PFS to OS. This simulation study identified a threshold, of 50%, for crossover rate that is likely to confound OS effect. With a greater than 50% crossover rate, longer SPP further decreases the probability of translating a PFS benefit to OS.
High muscle co‐contraction does not result in high joint forces during gait in anterior cruciate ligament deficient knees

The mechanism of knee osteoarthritis development after anterior cruciate ligament injuries is poorly understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate knee gait variables, muscle co‐contraction indices and knee joint loading in young subjects with anterior cruciate ligament deficiency (ACLD, n = 36), versus control subjects (n = 12). A validated, electromyography‐informed model was used to estimate joint loading. For the involved limb of ACLD subjects versus control, muscle co‐contraction indices were higher for the medial (p = 0.018, effect size = 0.93) and lateral (p = 0.028, effect size = 0.83) agonist–antagonist muscle pairs. Despite higher muscle co‐contraction, medial compartment contact force was lower for the involved limb, compared to both the uninvolved limb (mean difference = 0.39 body weight, p = 0.009, effect size = 0.70) as well as the control limb (mean difference = 0.57 body weight, p = 0.007, effect size = 1.14). Similar observations were made for total contact force. For involved versus uninvolved limb, the ACLD group demonstrated lower vertical ground reaction force (mean difference = 0.08 body weight, p = 0.010, effect size = 0.70) and knee flexion moment (mean difference = 1.32% body weight * height, p = 0.003, effect size = 0.76), during weight acceptance. These results indicate that high muscle co‐contraction does not always result in high knee joint loading, which is thought to be associated with knee osteoarthritis. Long‐term follow‐up is required to evaluate how gait alterations progress in non‐osteoarthritic versus osteoarthritic subjects. © 2018 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res
Fine‐Tuning of Sirtuin 1 Expression Is Essential to Protect the Liver From Cholestatic Liver Disease

Cholestasis comprises aetiologically heterogeneous conditions characterized by accumulation of bile acids in the liver that actively contribute to liver damage. Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) regulates liver regeneration and bile acid metabolism by modulating farnesoid X receptor (FXR); we here investigate its role in cholestatic liver disease. We determined SIRT1 expression in livers from patients with cholestatic disease, in two experimental models of cholestasis, as well as in human and murine liver cells in response to bile acid loading. SIRT1‐overexpressing (SIRToe) and hepatocyte‐specific SIRT1‐KO (knockout) mice (SIRThep–/–) were subjected to bile duct ligation (BDL) and were fed with a 0.1% DDC (3,5‐diethoxycarbonyl‐1,4‐dihydrocollidine) diet to determine the biological relevance of SIRT1 during cholestasis. The effect of NorUDCA (24‐norursodeoxycholic acid) was tested in BDL/SIRToe mice. We found that SIRT1 was highly expressed in livers from cholestatic patients, mice after BDL, and Mdr2 knockout mice (Mdr2–/–) animals. The detrimental effects of SIRT1 during cholestasis were validated in vivo and in vitro. SIRToe mice showed exacerbated parenchymal injury whereas SIRThep–/– mice evidenced a moderate improvement after BDL and 0.1% DDC feeding. Likewise, hepatocytes isolated from SIRToe mice showed increased apoptosis in response to bile acids, whereas a significant reduction was observed in SIRThep–/– hepatocytes. Importantly, the decrease, but not complete inhibition, of SIRT1 exerted by norUDCA treatment correlated with pronounced improvement in liver parenchyma in BDL/SIRToe mice. Interestingly, both SIRT1 overexpression and hepatocyte‐specific SIRT1 depletion correlated with inhibition of FXR, whereas modulation of SIRT1 by NorUDCA associated with restored FXR signaling. Conclusion: SIRT1 expression is increased during human and murine cholestasis. Fine‐tuning expression of SIRT1 is essential to protect the liver from cholestatic liver damage.
Mixed Reality Game Using Bluetooth Beacons for Exhibitions

Rameshnath Krishnasamy Sara Khan Claudio Germak Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University Department of Architecture and Design, Politecnico di Torino Department of Architecture and Design, Politecnico di Torino Teglgårdsplads 1, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark Mirafiori Design Centre, Corso Settembrini 178, 10135 Torino, Italy Mirafiori Design Centre, Corso Settembrini 178, 10135 Torino, Italy krishnasamy@id.aau. dk sara.khan@polito.it claudio.germak@polito.it
From BOP to BOSS and Beyond: Time Series Classification with Dictionary Based Classifiers

A family of algorithms for time series classification (TSC) involve running a sliding window across each series, discretising the window to form a word, forming a histogram of word counts over the dictionary, then constructing a classifier on the histograms. A recent evaluation of two of this type of algorithm, Bag of Patterns (BOP) and Bag of Symbolic Fourier Approximation Symbols (BOSS) found a significant difference in accuracy between these seemingly similar algorithms. We investigate this phenomenon by deconstructing the classifiers and measuring the relative importance of the four key components between BOP and BOSS. We find that whilst ensembling is a key component for both algorithms, the effect of the other components is mixed and more complex. We conclude that BOSS represents the state of the art for dictionary based TSC. Both BOP and BOSS can be classed as bag of words approaches. These are particularly popular in Computer Vision for tasks such as image classification. Converting approaches from vision requires careful engineering. We adapt three techniques used in Computer Vision for TSC: Scale Invariant Feature Transform; Spatial Pyramids; and Histrogram Intersection. We find that using Spatial Pyramids in conjunction with BOSS (SP) produces a significantly more accurate classifier. SP is significantly more accurate than standard benchmarks and the original BOSS algorithm. It is not significantly worse than the best shapelet based approach, and is only outperformed by HIVE-COTE, an ensemble that includes BOSS as a constituent module.
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Patients With Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer and Its Impact on Surgical Morbidity and Oncological Outcomes: A Real-World Experience

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) on perioperative morbidity and on oncological outcomes according to the type of chemotherapy regimen administered to patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) who subsequently underwent radical cystectomy (RC). Methods: Data were collected retrospectively on 40 patients with bladder urothelial carcinoma who had at least two cycles of NAC, followed by RC, from 2011 to 2015 at our institution. The outcomes evaluated were NAC toxicity, perioperative complications, cancer-specific, and overall survival. Results: Among these cases, 23 patients (57.5%) received methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin and cisplatin (MVAC), 4 patients (10%) received gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC), and 13 patients (32.5%) received other regimes. The early and late postoperative complication rates were 35% and 12.5%. Regarding toxicity, 85% of patients had at least one side effect of NAC, but only 21.7% discontinued therapy in the MVAC group. The pathological complete response (pCR) rates for cisplatin-based regimens (MVAC and GC) and other regimens were 44.4 and 15.4%, respectively, (p = 0.09). The pathological partial response (pPR) rates for cisplatin-based regimens and other regimens were 66.7 and 15.4%, respectively, (p = 0.002). Patients treated with a cisplatin-based chemotherapy regimen had longer overall survival than those treated with other regimen (median 38.1 vs. 18.4 months, p = 0.01). Conclusions: NAC administration was not associated with high toxicity or surgical morbidity. The pathological response rates and survival outcomes in the cisplatin-based regimens were higher than with those with non-cisplatin-based regimens. These data support the use, in patients elective to a neoadjuvant setting prior to RC for MBIC, of a cisplatin-based regimen.
Smart Technology and Not So Smart Sleep Quality

Sleep quality has been identified as “poor” overall, in young adults. Traditionally, sleep hygiene rules composed of a set of positive health habits conducive to relaxation and falling asleep are provided to address poor sleep. To the young adult population of 18-30 years, poor sleep quality is also related to variable sleep patterns (Sexton-Radek, 2008). Jacobsen & Forste (2011) reported that the constant technology use (i.e., smartphone, tablet) by young adults interferes with their sleep. The modification of a sleep schedule is regularly exercised by young adults; -they give up sleep for social activities in person or online (Sexton-Radek, 2008). Current use of technology at pre-sleep is undocumented in the young adult population. This study was aimed at measuring sleep hygiene, along with technology use in young adults. Results from a questionnaire administered internationally to a young adult population indicated widespread, constant use of technology at pre-sleep in the young adult population.
BiLock: User Authentication via Dental Occlusion Biometrics

User authentication on smart devices is indispensable to keep data privacy and security. It is especially significant for emerging wearable devices such as smartwatches considering data sensitivity in them. However, conventional authentication methods are not applicable for wearables due to constraints of size and hardware, which makes present wearable devices lack convenient, secure and low-cost authentication schemes. To tackle this problem, we reveal a novel biometric authentication mechanism which makes use of sounds of human dental occlusion (i.e., tooth click). We demonstrate its feasibility by comprehensive measurement study, and design a prototype-BiLock with two Android platforms. Extensive real-world experiments have been conducted to evaluate the accuracy, robustness and security of BiLock in different environments. The results show that BiLock can achieve less than 5% average false reject rate and 0.95% average false accept rate even in a noisy environment. Comparative experiments also demonstrate that BiLock possesses advantages in robustness to noise and security against replay and observation attacks over existing voiceprinting schemes.
Sertad1 promotes prostate cancer progression through binding androgen receptor ligand binding domain

Androgen receptor (AR) signaling is involved in the initiation and progression of prostate cancer (PCa), which is the most frequently diagnosed nonskin cancer and remains a leading cause of cancer‐related death in men. Further investigation of the involvement of AR signaling in PCa progression is urgently needed. In the present study, we performed a yeast two‐hybrid screen and demonstrated that SERTA domain‐containing protein 1 (Sertad1) is a novel AR‐binding protein that binds to the AR ligand binding domain (LBD). The binding between AR‐LBD and Sertad1 was confirmed by glutathione S‐transferase (GST) pull‐down assays and immunoprecipitation (IP) and confocal immunofluorescence co‐localization experiments. Furthermore, we demonstrated that DHT inhibited Sertad1 protein degradation in prostate cancer cell lines and that Sertad1 knockdown inhibited the proliferation of prostate cancer cells in vitro. In human PCa tumor tissues, Sertad1 expression is positively correlated with AR expression and the Gleason score. Taken together, this report is the first to show that Sertad1 is a novel AR‐LBD‐binding protein, and DHT‐liganded AR‐LBD inhibits Sertad1 degradation. Thus, Sertad1 may represent a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of AR‐positive PCa.
The origin of imprinting defects in Temple syndrome and comparison with other imprinting disorders

ABSTRACT Temple syndrome (TS14) is a rare imprinting disorder caused by genetic and epigenetic alterations on chromosome 14q32. A subset of these patients shows an imprinting defect (ID) where the paternal allele harbors a maternal epigenotype thus silencing the paternally expressed genes and leading to an increased expression of the maternally expressed genes. We investigated the grandparental origin of the incorrectly imprinted chromosome 14 in a cohort of 13 TS14 ID patients and their families. In seven families grandmaternal and, in six families, grandpaternal inheritance was observed. These results indicate that the ID occurred after imprint erasure in the paternal germ line. While the complete lack of methylation as observed in the majority of TS14 ID patients may be due to an imprint establishment error in the paternal germ line, cases with methylation mosaicism suggest that in general many IDs (TS14, AS, BWS, and SRS) are in fact of somatic origin in the early or late embryo.
A Crowdsourcing Tool for Data Augmentation in Visual Question Answering Tasks

Visual Question Answering (VQA) is a task that connects the fields of Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing. Taking as input an image I and a natural language question Q about I, a VQA model must be able to produce a coherent answer R (also in natural language) to Q. A particular type of visual question is one in which the question is binary (i.e., a question whose answer belongs to the set {yes, no}). Currently, deep neural networks correspond to the state of the art technique for training of VQA models. Despite its success, the application of neural networks to the VQA task requires a very large amount of data in order to produce models with adequate precision. Datasets currently used for the training of VQA models are the result of laborious manual labeling processes (i.e., made by humans). This context makes relevant the study of approaches to augment these datasets in order to train more accurate prediction models. This paper describes a crowdsourcing tool which can be used in a collaborative manner to augment an existing VQA dataset for binary questions. Our tool actively integrates candidate items from an external data source in order to optimize the selection of queries to be presented to curators.
Score-level fusion using generalized extreme value distribution and DSmT, for multi-biometric systems

Human recognition in a multi-biometric system is performed by combining biometric clues from different sources (multiple sensors, units, algorithms, samples and modalities) at different levels (sensor, feature, score, rank and decision level). Low computational complexity and adequate data for fusion make the score-level fusion a preferable option over other levels of fusion. However, incompatibility issue prevails at this level as scores obtained from different uni-biometric systems are disparate in nature. This disparity can be resolved by using score normalisation before fusion. This study first analysed the effect of generalised extreme value distribution-based score normalisation technique on different fusion techniques and then proposes an efficient score fusion technique based on Dezert-Smarandache theory (DSmT). A unique blend of belief assignment and decision-making methods in the DSmT framework is proposed for score-level fusion. For evaluation of the proposed method, experiments are performed on multi-algorithm, multi-unit and multi-modal biometrics systems created from three publicly available datasets: (i) NIST BSSR1 multi-biometric score database, (ii) face recognition grand challenge (FRGC) V2.0 and (iii) LG4000 iris dataset. Comparative studies of performance analysis show the efficiency of the authors' proposed method over other recently published state-of-the-art fusion methods.
The Modeling Analysis on Porous Media Hepatic Cancer for Microwave Ablation of an Interstitial Helix-Antenna

Microwave ablation is processed, which uses the electro-magnetic transform into heat to destruction or kill cancer cells. This study presents analyses of 2.45GHz Helix-antenna configuration and design for porous hepatic cancer microwave ablation by using 3D-finite-element model. The configurations of Helix-antenna were considered: Tipped tip helix antenna (THA) and Extension tip helix antenna (EHA). 3D finite-element models were utilized to investigate the tissue temperature distribution during and after microwave ablation. The study aims to understand the influences of antenna type on the specific absorption rates (SAR) along the helix-antenna insertion depths and the ablation zone (heating profile and lesion volume) inside the hepatic cancer porous models with 5 cm-in-diameter tumor. All scenarios were the initial power was set at 50 W and simulated under temperature-controlled mode (90°C). Based on the preliminary results, the result illustrates that the THA occur the SAR and heating profile at the lateral around of the antenna, while the SAR and heating trend of EHA occur skew toward of the tip antenna. Both antennas destroy unwanted tissue, but the THA use longer duration than EHA for ablating unwanted tissue. The duration of ablation was 700s, respectively, the coagulation volume of THA and EHA were 95.45 and 104.27 cm3.
Supporting MPI-distributed stream parallel patterns in GrPPI

In the recent years, the large volumes of stream data and the near real-time requirements of data streaming applications have exacerbated the need for new scalable algorithms and programming interfaces for distributed and shared-memory platforms. To contribute in this direction, this paper presents a new distributed MPI back end for GrPPI, a C++ high-level generic interface of data-intensive and stream processing parallel patterns. This back end, as a new execution policy, supports the distributed and hybrid (distributed and shared-memory) parallel execution of the Pipeline and Farm patterns, where the hybrid mode combines the MPI policy with a GrPPI shared-memory one. A detailed analysis of the GrPPI MPI execution policy reports considerable benefits from the programmability, flexibility and readability points of view. The experimental evaluation on a streaming application with different distributed and shared-memory scenarios reports considerable performance gains with respect to the sequential versions at the expense of negligible GrPPI overheads.
Automatic Calibration of Odometry and Robot Extrinsic Parameters Using Multi-Composite-Targets for a Differential-Drive Robot with a Camera

This paper simultaneously calibrates odometry parameters and the relative pose between a monocular camera and a robot automatically. Most camera pose estimation methods use natural features or artificial landmark tools. However, there are mismatches and scale ambiguity for natural features; the large-scale precision landmark tool is also challenging to make. To solve these problems, we propose an automatic process to combine multiple composite targets, select keyframes, and estimate keyframe poses. The composite target consists of an aruco marker and a checkerboard pattern. First, an analytical method is applied to obtain initial values of all calibration parameters; prior knowledge of the calibration parameters is not required. Then, two optimization steps are used to refine the calibration parameters. Planar motion constraints of the camera are introduced in these optimizations. The proposed solution is automatic; manual selection of keyframes, initial values, and robot construction within a specific trajectory are not required. The competing accuracy and stability of the proposed method under different target placements and robot paths are tested experimentally. Positive effects on calibration accuracy and stability are obtained when (1) composite targets are adopted; (2) two optimization steps are used; (3) plane motion constraints are introduced; and (4) target numbers are increased.