LEAN: Real-Time Analysis of Resistance Training Using Wearable Computing.

The use of fitness apps to track physical exercise has been proven to promote weight loss and increase physical activity. The most popular forms of exercise are cardiovascular training and resistance training. The overwhelming majority of cardio tracking apps automatically track and analyse outdoor activity with relative ease. In contrast, nearly all commercially available resistance tracking apps only record trivial data, such as the exercise weight and repetition number via manual user input, a level of functionality not far from that of a pen and paper. This paper presents LEAN, a resistance training app and exercise analysis (EA) system for both the iPhone and Apple Watch. The app provides form analysis using machine learning, automatic repetition counting in real time, and other important but seldom studied exercise metrics, such as range of motion on a per-repetition level and average repetition time. All features are implemented using lightweight inference methods that enable real-time feedback on resource-constrained devices. The performance evaluation includes a user survey and benchmarking of all data science features using both ground-truth data from complementary modalities and comparisons with commercial apps.

Containing epidemics in a local cluster via antidote distribution and partial quarantine.

The study of spreading phenomena in networks, in particular the spread of disease, has attracted considerable interest in the network science research community. In this paper, we show that the outbreak of an epidemic can be effectively contained and suppressed in a small subnetwork by a combination of antidote distribution and partial quarantine. We improve over existing antidote distribution schemes based on personalized PageRank in two ways. First, we replace the constraint on the topology of this subnetwork described by Chung et al. [Internet Math. 6, 237 (2009)1542-795110.1080/15427951.2009.10129184] that a large fraction of the value of the personalized PageRank vector must be contained in the local cluster, with a partial quarantine scheme. Second, we derive a different lower bound on the amount of antidote. We show that, under our antidote distribution scheme, the probability of the infection spreading to the whole network is bounded, and the infection inside the subnetwork will disappear after a period that is proportional to the logarithm of the number of initially infected nodes. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our strategy with numerical simulations of epidemics on benchmark networks. We also test our strategy on two examples of epidemics in real-world networks. Our strategy is dependent only on the rate of infection, the rate of recovery, and the topology around the initially infected nodes, and is independent of the rest of the network.

Local clustering via approximate heat kernel PageRank with subgraph sampling.

Graph clustering, a fundamental technique in network science for understanding structures in complex systems, presents inherent problems. Though studied extensively in the literature, graph clustering in large systems remains particularly challenging because massive graphs incur a prohibitively large computational load. The heat kernel PageRank provides a quantitative ranking of nodes, and a local cluster can be efficiently found by performing a sweep over the heat kernel PageRank vector. But computing an exact heat kernel PageRank vector may be expensive, and approximate algorithms are often used instead. Most approximate algorithms compute the heat kernel PageRank vector on the whole graph, and thus are dependent on global structures. In this paper, we present an algorithm for approximating the heat kernel PageRank on a local subgraph. Moreover, we show that the number of computations required by the proposed algorithm is sublinear in terms of the expected size of the local cluster of interest, and that it provides a good approximation of the heat kernel PageRank, with approximation errors bounded by a probabilistic guarantee. Numerical experiments verify that the local clustering algorithm using our approximate heat kernel PageRank achieves state-of-the-art performance.

Could Dissimilar Phenotypic Effects of ACTB Missense Mutations Reflect the Actin Conformational Change? Two Novel Mutations and Literature Review.

The beta-actin gene encodes 1 of 6 different actin proteins. De novo heterozygous missense mutations in ACTB have been identified in patients with Baraitser-Winter syndrome (BRWS) and also in patients with developmental disorders other than BRWS, such as deafness, dystonia, and neutrophil dysfunction. We describe 2 different novel de novo missense ACTB mutations, c.208C>G (p.Pro70Ala) and c.511C>T (p.Leu171Phe), found by trio exome sequencing analysis of 2 unrelated patients: an 8-year-old boy with a suspected BRWS and a 4-year-old girl with unclear developmental disorder. The mutated residue in the first case is situated in the actin H-loop, which is involved in actin polymerization. The mutated residue in the second case (p.Leu171Phe) is found at the actin barbed end in the W-loop, important for binding to profilin and other actin-binding molecules. While the boy presented with a typical BRWS facial appearance, the girl showed facial features not recognizable as a BRWS gestalt as well as ventricular arrhythmia, cleft palate, thrombocytopenia, and gray matter heterotopia. We reviewed previously published ACTB missense mutations and ascertained that a number of them do not cause typical BRWS. By comparing clinical and molecular data, we speculate that the phenotypic differences found in ACTB missense mutation carriers might supposedly be dependent on the conformational change of ACTB.

Publisher Correction: Community Detection in Complex Networks via Clique Conductance.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.

Community Detection in Complex Networks via Clique Conductance.

Network science plays a central role in understanding and modeling complex systems in many areas including physics, sociology, biology, computer science, economics, politics, and neuroscience. One of the most important features of networks is community structure, i.e., clustering of nodes that are locally densely interconnected. Communities reveal the hierarchical organization of nodes, and detecting communities is of great importance in the study of complex systems. Most existing community-detection methods consider low-order connection patterns at the level of individual links. But high-order connection patterns, at the level of small subnetworks, are generally not considered. In this paper, we develop a novel community-detection method based on cliques, i.e., local complete subnetworks. The proposed method overcomes the deficiencies of previous similar community-detection methods by considering the mathematical properties of cliques. We apply the proposed method to computer-generated graphs and real-world network datasets. When applied to networks with known community structure, the proposed method detects the structure with high fidelity and sensitivity. When applied to networks with no a priori information regarding community structure, the proposed method yields insightful results revealing the organization of these complex networks. We also show that the proposed method is guaranteed to detect near-optimal clusters in the bipartition case.

A Hidden Markov Model for Seismocardiography.

We propose a hidden Markov model approach for processing seismocardiograms. The seismocardiogram morphology is learned using the expectation-maximization algorithm, and the state of the heart at a given time instant is estimated by the Viterbi algorithm. From the obtained Viterbi sequence, it is then straightforward to estimate instantaneous heart rate, heart rate variability measures, and cardiac time intervals (the latter requiring a small number of manual annotations). As is shown in the conducted experimental study, the presented algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art in seismocardiogram-based heart rate and heart rate variability estimation. Moreover, the isovolumic contraction time and the left ventricular ejection time are estimated with mean absolute errors of about 5 [ms] and [Formula: see text], respectively. The proposed algorithm can be applied to any set of inertial sensors; does not require access to any additional sensor modalities; does not make any assumptions on the seismocardiogram morphology; and explicitly models sensor noise and beat-to-beat variations (both in amplitude and temporal scaling) in the seismocardiogram morphology. As such, it is well suited for low-cost implementations using off-the-shelf inertial sensors and targeting, e.g., at-home medical services.

Pelvic floor dysfunction after Burch colposuspension--a comprehensive study. Part I.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the occurrence of voiding dysfunction and symptoms of genital prolapse at long-term follow-up after Burch colposuspension (Bc) in relation to the occurrence of the symptoms in an age-matched normal population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A follow-up study of the 190 patients who underwent Bc in 1980-88 and 305 age-matched control women randomly selected from the general population. The participants answered a questionnaire in 1998 with detailed questions about the pelvic floor function. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS: The prevalence and frequency of urinary incontinence were significantly higher in the patient group compared with those in the control group as were urge incontinence, difficulty to start voiding, time needed at the toilet for voiding, the need to return to the toilet for emptying the bladder, feeling of incomplete emptying of the bladder, and limitation of social life because of the leakage. The symptoms of genital prolapse were significantly more common in the patient group in spite of a significantly larger proportion of genital prolapse surgery in this group. Parity, high body mass index, heavy lifting work, chronic pulmonary diseases, hiatus hernias, and hysterectomy were significantly more common in the patient group than among the controls. CONCLUSIONS: At long-term follow-up, patients exhibit substantial symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) concerning voiding dysfunction and symptoms of genital prolapse compared with a normal population. This highlights the importance and need of treating pelvic floor disorders in a comprehensive way. Scientific works with comprehensive studies of PFD are needed.

Pelvic floor dysfunction after Burch colposuspension--a comprehensive study. Part II.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) concerning bowel function at long-term follow-up after Burch colposuspension (Bc) in relation to the bowel function in an age-matched sample of women in the general population. METHODS AND MATERIAL: This is a follow-up study of a cohort of 190 patients who underwent Bc in 1980-1988 and 305 age-matched control women without urinary anti-incontinence surgery, randomly selected from the general population. The participants answered a postal questionnaire with detailed questions about the pelvic floor function in 1998. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS: The patients showed considerable signs of bowel dysfunction compared with the general population in the following aspects: they used the fingers to help emptying the bowel [odds ratio (OR) 3.25 (1.35-7.86)]; had feeling of incomplete emptying of the bowel [OR 2.29 (1.11-4.73)]; felt no warning before passing a motion [OR 3.04 (1.20-7.71)]; had gas incontinence [OR 1.98 (1.17-3.37); had loose stool incontinence [OR 3.67 (1.43-9.42)]; used protection against fecal leakage during daytime [OR 3.22 (1.30-7.95)]; and experienced that the bowel function affected the general well-being adversely [OR 2.15 (1.30-3.56)]. CONCLUSION: The patients who have undergone colposuspension for stress urinary incontinence have more symptoms of PFD concerning the bowel function than women without urinary anti-incontinence surgery in the general population. This affects the general well-being. A comprehensive concept of multidisciplinary assessment and treatment of PFD should be encouraged.