A machine learning approach for stride speed estimation based on a head-mounted IMU

Walking speed in real-life conditions is typically estimated through wearable inertial sensors mounted on waist, lower limbs, or wrists. Very recently, head-mounted inertial sensors are emerging for gait assessment. The present study explores the feasibility of measuring the stride speed with a head-mounted inertial sensor in both laboratory and real-world settings. The developed algorithm exploits a Temporal Convolutional Network for the detection of the gait events and a Gaussian Process Regression for the stride speed estimation. The experimental evaluation was carried out on healthy young participants during both standardised indoor and real-world walking trials. For indoor trials, errors were smaller than previous studies (0.05 m/s). As expected, errors increased at lower speed regimes due to a reduced signals amplitude. During 2.5-hours real-world evaluation, errors were slightly larger but acceptable (0.1 m/s). Reported results are encouraging and show the feasibility of estimating gait speed with a single head-worn inertial sensor

An Immunological Analysis of Dystroglycan Subunits: Lessons Learned from a Small Cohort of Non-Congenital Dystrophic Patients

The dystroglycan (DG) expression pattern can be altered in severe muscular dystrophies. In fact, some congenital muscular dystrophies (CMDs) and limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMDs) are caused by point mutations identified in six glycosyltransferase genes which are likely to target different steps along the posttranslational “O-glycosylation route” leading to a fully decorated and functional α-DG subunit. Indeed, hypoglycosylation of α-DG is thought to represent a major pathological event, in that it could reduce the DG’s ability to bind the basement membrane components, thus leading to sarcolemmal instability and necrosis. In order to set up an efficient standard immunological protocol, taking advantage of a wide panel of antibodies, we have analyzed the two DG subunits in a small cohort of adult dystrophic patients, whom an extensive medical examination had already clinically classified as affected by LGMD (5), Miyoshi (1) or distal (1) myopathy. Immunofluorescence analysis of skeletal muscle tissue sections revealed a proper sarcolemmal localization of the DG subunits in all the patients analyzed. However, Western blot analysis of lectin enriched skeletal muscle samples revealed an abnormal glycosylation of α-DG in two patients. Our work reinforces the notion that a careful immunological and biochemical analysis of the two DG subunits should be always considered as a prerequisite for the identification of new putative cases of dystroglycanopathy

Somatic mosaicism represents an underestimated event underlying collagen 6-related disorders

Background: Collagen VI-related disorders (COL6-RD) are a group of heterogenous muscular diseases due to mutations in the COL6A1, COL6A2 and COL6A3 genes, encoding for collagen VI, a critical component of the extracellular matrix. Ullrich congenital muscle disorder and Bethlem myopathy represent the ends of a clinical spectrum that includes intermediate phenotypes of variable severity. UCMD are caused by recessive loss of function mutations or de-novo dominant-negative mutations. The intermediate phenotype and BM are more commonly caused by dominantly acting mutations, and less commonly by recessive mutations. Recently parental mosaicism for dominant mutations in COL6 have been reported in four COL6-RD families and germinal mosaicism has been also identified in a family with recurrence of UCMD in two half-sibs. Methods and results: Here we report three unrelated patients affected by a COL6-RD who carried de novo mosaic mutations in COL6A genes. These mutations, missed by Sanger sequencing, were identified by next generation sequencing. Conclusions: This report highlights the importance of a complete diagnostic workup when clinical and histological finding are consistent with a COL6-RD and strengthen the impression that mosaicisms are underestimated events underlying COL6-RD. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of European Paediatric Neurology Society.Peer reviewe

Discovery of Massive, Mostly Star-formation Quenched Galaxies with Extremely Large Lyman-alpha Equivalent Widths at z ~ 3

We report a discovery of 6 massive galaxies with both extremely large Lya equivalent width and evolved stellar population at z ~ 3. These MAssive Extremely STrong Lya emitting Objects (MAESTLOs) have been discovered in our large-volume systematic survey for strong Lya emitters (LAEs) with twelve optical intermediate-band data taken with Subaru/Suprime-Cam in the COSMOS field. Based on the SED fitting analysis for these LAEs, it is found that these MAESTLOs have (1) large rest-frame equivalent width of EW_0(Lya) ~ 100--300 A, (2) M_star ~ 10^10.5--10^11.1 M_sun, and (3) relatively low specific star formation rates of SFR/M_star ~ 0.03--1 Gyr^-1. Three of the 6 MAESTLOs have extended Ly$\alpha$ emission with a radius of several kpc although they show very compact morphology in the HST/ACS images, which correspond to the rest-frame UV continuum. Since the MAESTLOs do not show any evidence for AGNs, the observed extended Lya emission is likely to be caused by star formation process including the superwind activity. We suggest that this new class of LAEs, MAESTLOs, provides a missing link from star-forming to passively evolving galaxies at the peak era of the cosmic star-formation history.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters on 15th July, 2015. 6 pages including 3 figures and 2 table

An ALMA survey of submillimetre galaxies in the COSMOS field: The extent of the radio-emitting region revealed by 3 GHz imaging with the Very Large Array

We determine the radio size distribution of a large sample of 152 SMGs in COSMOS that were detected with ALMA at 1.3 mm. For this purpose, we used the observations taken by the VLA-COSMOS 3 GHz Large Project. One hundred and fifteen of the 152 target SMGs were found to have a 3 GHz counterpart. The median value of the major axis FWHM at 3 GHz is derived to be $4.6\pm0.4$ kpc. The radio sizes show no evolutionary trend with redshift, or difference between different galaxy morphologies. We also derived the spectral indices between 1.4 and 3 GHz, and 3 GHz brightness temperatures for the sources, and the median values were found to be $\alpha=-0.67$ and $T_{\rm B}=12.6\pm2$ K. Three of the target SMGs, which are also detected with the VLBA, show clearly higher brightness temperatures than the typical values. Although the observed radio emission appears to be predominantly powered by star formation and supernova activity, our results provide a strong indication of the presence of an AGN in the VLBA and X-ray-detected SMG AzTEC/C61. The median radio-emitting size we have derived is 1.5-3 times larger than the typical FIR dust-emitting sizes of SMGs, but similar to that of the SMGs' molecular gas component traced through mid-$J$ line emission of CO. The physical conditions of SMGs probably render the diffusion of cosmic-ray electrons inefficient, and hence an unlikely process to lead to the observed extended radio sizes. Instead, our results point towards a scenario where SMGs are driven by galaxy interactions and mergers. Besides triggering vigorous starbursts, galaxy collisions can also pull out the magnetised fluids from the interacting disks, and give rise to a taffy-like synchrotron-emitting bridge. This provides an explanation for the spatially extended radio emission of SMGs, and can also cause a deviation from the well-known IR-radio correlation.Comment: 32 pages (incl. 5 appendices), 17 figures, 7 tables; accepted for publication in A&A; abstract abridged for arXi

genus & generatio. Rollenerwartungen und Rollenerfüllungen im Spannungsfeld der Geschlechter und Generationen in Antike und Mittelalter

Die Beiträge in diesem Band gehen zurück auf die dritte Nachwuchstagung des Bamberger DFG-Graduiertenkollegs „Generationenbewusstsein und Generationenkonflikte in Antike und Mittelalter“. Neben Aspekten der Generationenthematik stehen dabei vor allem Überlegungen zu den genderstudies und die Frage nach den Valenzen des Rollenbegriffs im Vordergrund, wodurch sich vielfältige interdisziplinäre Berührungs- und Schnittpunkte ergeben. Der Band umfasst Beiträge der Fächer Klassische Philologie, Geschichtswissenschaft, Romanistik und Germanistik in einem Untersuchungszeitraum von der Antike bis ins ausgehende Mittelalter

L’archevêque et la femme de l’hérétique

Dans le Lyon des années soixante-dix du XIIe siècle, suite à sa conversion évangélico-paupériste radicale, le riche civis Vaudès avait distribué aux pauvres tous ses biens, se mettant ensuite à vivre d’aumônes et de libre prédication. Ce choix poussa toutefois la femme légitime de Vaudès à demander l’intervention régulatrice de l’archevêque de Lyon. On se propose ici de montrer le rôle attribué à l’archevêque de Lyon pour trancher le litige survenu entre Vaudès et sa femme, sur la base du tém..