Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The interpretation of semantic category-specific deficits: What do they reveal about the organizatio

Abstract What does the existence of semantic category-specific deficits tell us about the organization of conceptual knowledge in the brain? Do these deficits reflect the existence of specialized mechanisms for the recognition and storage of specific semantic categories? Or do they merely reflect differences In the correlational structure of the properties that define concepts in different semantic domains? The received explanations of category-specific deficits have adopted a reductionist perspective, appealing to some or other non-categorical principle to explain the disorder. Some have appealed to the relative importance of the visual properties of objects in distinguishing among members of a semantic category; others have appealed to the relative strengths of correlations between visual and functional properties in different categories. However, there is also a proposal that semantic category-specific deficits reflect the fact that conceptual knowledge is organized into broad semantic domains. These p.
Effort Not Speed Characterizes Comprehension of Spoken Sentences by Older Adults with Mild Hearing Impairment

In spite of the rapidity of everyday speech, older adults tend to keep up relatively well in day-to-day listening. In laboratory settings older adults do not respond as quickly as younger adults in off-line tests of sentence comprehension, but the question is whether comprehension itself is actually slower. Two unique features of the human eye were used to address this question. First, we tracked eye-movements as 20 young adults and 20 healthy older adults listened to sentences that referred to one of four objects pictured on a computer screen. Although the older adults took longer to indicate the referenced object with a cursor-pointing response, their gaze moved to the correct object as rapidly as that of the younger adults. Second, we concurrently measured dilation of the pupil of the eye as a physiological index of effort. This measure revealed that although poorer hearing acuity did not slow processing, success came at the cost of greater processing effort.
Cells lying on a bed of microneedles: An approach to isolate mechanical force

We describe an approach to manipulate and measure mechanical interactions between cells and their underlying substrates by using microfabricated arrays of elastomeric, microneedle-like posts. By controlling the geometry of the posts, we varied the compliance of the substrate while holding other surface properties constant. Cells attached to, spread across, and deflected multiple posts. The deflections of the posts occurred independently of neighboring posts and, therefore, directly reported the subcellular distribution of traction forces. We report two classes of force-supporting adhesions that exhibit distinct force–size relationships. Force increased with size of adhesions for adhesions larger than 1 μm2, whereas no such correlation existed for smaller adhesions. By controlling cell adhesion on these micromechanical sensors, we showed that cell morphology regulates the magnitude of traction force generated by cells. Cells that were prevented from spreading and flattening against the substrate did not contract in response to stimulation by serum or lysophosphatidic acid, whereas spread cells did. Contractility in the unspread cells was rescued by expression of constitutively active RhoA. Together, these findings demonstrate a coordination of biochemical and mechanical signals to regulate cell adhesion and mechanics, and they introduce the use of arrays of mechanically isolated sensors to manipulate and measure the mechanical interactions of cells.
HBV DNA loss within 24 weeks predicts late viral breakthrough in chronic hepatitis B.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Sustained HBV DNA reduction is necessary for biochemical remission, histological improvement, and prevention of complications. We analyzed the time taken from HBV DNA loss to viral breakthrough after antiviral treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). The early fall of the HBV DNA level to undetectable levels assessed really whether it is related to late breakthrough. METHODS A total of 91 patients whose HBV DNA levels dropped below undetectable levels were chosen from lamivudine-treated 306 patients and were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into 4 groups (A≤12, 1248 wk) according to the time taken for the HBV DNA to decrease below undetectable levels. HBV DNA level was determined every 3 months. RESULTS The mean time taken for loss of HBV DNA was 34±28 wk. The baseline ALT differed significantly among groups (A: 382±274, B: 340±30, C: 166±92, D: 54±100 IU/L) (p=0.007). Fifty nine of the 91 patients (64.8%) experienced viral breakthrough. The mean interval between HBV DNA loss and viral breakthrough was 65±40 wk and differed significantly between group A, B (82±43 wk) and group C, D (56±28 wk) (p=0.015). In multivariate analysis, only HBV DNA loss within 24 wk, was found to be independently associated with late viral breakthrough (p=0.035). Undetectable HBV DNA after 24 wk was associated with high odd ratio of 3.24 (95% CI, 1.09-9.67). CONCLUSIONS HBV DNA loss within 24 wk after antiviral treatment could predict the late breakthrough.
Presence and treatment of vascular risk factors in patients with vascular cognitive impairment.

OBJECTIVE To document the presence and treatment of selected vascular risk factors in patients with vascular cognitive impairment and elements affecting undertreatment of vascular risk factors. DESIGN Secondary analysis of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging database, which is a national, representative, cross-sectional study of the epidemiologic distribution of dementia in elderly people in Canada. SETTING Survey. PATIENTS Institutionalized and community-dwelling elderly people. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Vascular risk factors, dementia diagnosed by standard methods, and medication use. RESULTS Treatable vascular risk factors occurred significantly more often in patients with vascular cognitive impairment (with and without dementia) than in patients with probable Alzheimer disease or normal cognitive function. For example, 76% of patients with vascular dementia and 57% of those with vascular cognitive impairment without dementia had a history of stroke, compared with only 5% of those with probable Alzheimer disease and 7% of those with no cognitive loss. (For hypertension, the comparable figures are 55%, 48%, 24%, and 38%, respectively.) Potential undertreatment of vascular risk factors had little effect on mean control of vascular risk factors. For example, the mean (+/- SD) systolic blood pressure in those being treated was 144 +/- 26 mm Hg, compared with 142 +/- 25 mm Hg in those not receiving pharmacological treatment. In each group (treated vs untreated), the proportion of patients with a systolic blood pressure higher than 160 mm Hg was 20% and 16%, respectively. Potential undertreatment occurred most often in those with severe dementia and those living in nursing homes. CONCLUSIONS Vascular risk factors occurred more commonly in patients with vascular cognitive impairment compared with other patients, including those with other forms of dementia. When present, such risk factors were often treated pharmacologically, except in patients with severe dementia and those in long-term care institutions. Undertreatment does not, in general, result in worsened risk factor control.
The Relationship between Therapeutic Alliance and Service User Satisfaction in Mental Health Inpatient Wards and Crisis House Alternatives: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Poor service user experiences are often reported on mental health inpatient wards. Crisis houses are an alternative, but evidence is limited. This paper investigates therapeutic alliances in acute wards and crisis houses, exploring how far stronger therapeutic alliance may underlie greater client satisfaction in crisis houses. Methods and Findings Mixed methods were used. In the quantitative component, 108 crisis house and 247 acute ward service users responded to measures of satisfaction, therapeutic relationships, informal peer support, recovery and negative events experienced during the admission. Linear regressions were conducted to estimate the association between service setting and measures, and to model the factors associated with satisfaction. Qualitative interviews exploring therapeutic alliances were conducted with service users and staff in each setting and analysed thematically. Results We found that therapeutic alliances, service user satisfaction and informal peer support were greater in crisis houses than on acute wards, whilst self-rated recovery and numbers of negative events were lower. Adjusted multivariable analyses suggest that therapeutic relationships, informal peer support and negative experiences related to staff may be important factors in accounting for greater satisfaction in crisis houses. Qualitative results suggest factors that influence therapeutic alliances include service user perceptions of basic human qualities such as kindness and empathy in staff and, at service level, the extent of loss of liberty and autonomy. Conclusions and Implications We found that service users experience better therapeutic relationships and higher satisfaction in crisis houses compared to acute wards, although we cannot exclude the possibility that differences in service user characteristics contribute to this. This finding provides some support for the expansion of crisis house provision. Further research is needed to investigate why acute ward service users experience a lack of compassion and humanity from ward staff and how this could be changed.
An Econometric Model of Birth Inputs and Outputs for Native Americans

This study offers a simultaneous equations model of the birth process with seven endogenous variables: four birht inputs, and three birth outputs. Our analysis conditions on twenty-four exogenous variables. The data are taken the NLSY. Separate analyses are performed on five different groups: Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans.
Vesicle-mediated protein transport: regulatory interactions between the Vps15 protein kinase and the Vps34 PtdIns 3-kinase essential for protein sorting to the vacuole in yeast

A membrane-associated complex composed of the Vps15 protein kinase and the Vps34 phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PtdIns 3-kinase) is essential for the delivery of proteins to the yeast vacuole. An active Vps15p is required for the recruitment of Vps34p to the membrane and subsequent stimulation of Vps34p PtdIns 3-kinase activity. Consistent with this, mutations altering highly conserved residues in the lipid kinase domain of Vps34p lead to a dominant-negative phenotype resulting from titration of activating Vps15 proteins. In contrast, catalytically inactive Vps15p mutants do not produce a dominant mutant phenotype because they are unable to associate with Vps34p in a wild-type manner. These data indicate that an intact Vps15p protein kinase domain is necessary for the association with and activation of Vps34p, and they demonstrate that a functional Vps15p-Vps34p complex is absolutely required for the efficient delivery of proteins to the vacuole. Analysis of a temperature-conditional allele of VPS15, in which a shift to the nonpermissive temperature leads to a decrease in cellular PtdIns(3)P levels, indicates that the loss of Vps15p function leads to a defect in activation of Vps34p. In addition, characterization of a temperature-sensitive allele of VPS34 demonstrates that inactivation of Vps34p leads to the immediate missorting of soluble vacuolar proteins (e.g., carboxypeptidase Y) without an apparent defect in the sorting of the vacuolar membrane protein alkaline phosphatase. This rapid block in vacuolar protein sorting appears to be the result of loss of PtdIns 3- kinase activity since cellular PtdIns(3)P levels decrease dramatically in vps34 temperature-sensitive mutant cells that have been incubated at the nonpermissive temperature. Finally, analysis of the defects in cellular PtdIns(3)P levels in various vps15 and vsp34 mutant strains has led to additional insights into the importance of PtdIns(3)P intracellular localization, as well as the roles of Vps15p and Vps34p in vacuolar protein sorting.
Interpreting EEG and MEG signal modulation in response to facial features : the influence of top-down task demands on visual processing strategies

The visual processing of faces is a fast and efficient feat that our visual system usually accomplishes many times a day. The N170 (an Event-Related Potential) and the M170 (an Event-Related Magnetic Field) are thought to be prominent markers of the face perception process in the ventral stream of visual processing that occur ~ 170 ms after stimulus onset. The question of whether face processing at the time window of the N170 and M170 is automatically driven by bottom-up visual processing only, or whether it is also modulated by top-down control, is still debated in the literature. However, it is known from research on general visual processing, that top-down control can be exerted much earlier along the visual processing stream than the N170 and M170 take place. I conducted two studies, each consisting of two face categorization tasks. In order to examine the influence of top-down control on the processing of faces, I changed the task demands from one task to the next, while presenting the same set of face stimuli. In the first study, I recorded participants’ EEG signal in response to faces while they performed both a Gender task and an Expression task on a set of expressive face stimuli. Analyses using Bubbles (Gosselin & Schyns, 2001) and Classification Image techniques revealed significant task modulations of the N170 ERPs (peaks and amplitudes) and the peak latency of maximum information sensitivity to key facial features. However, task demands did not change the information processing during the N170 with respect to behaviourally diagnostic information. Rather, the N170 seemed to integrate gender and expression diagnostic information equally in both tasks. In the second study, participants completed the same behavioural tasks as in the first study (Gender and Expression), but this time their MEG signal was recorded in order to allow for precise source localisation. After determining the active sources during the M170 time window, a Mutual Information analysis in connection with Bubbles was used to examine voxel sensitivity to both the task-relevant and the task-irrelevant face category. When a face category was relevant for the task, sensitivity to it was usually higher and peaked in different voxels than sensitivity to the task-irrelevant face category. In addition, voxels predictive of categorization accuracy were shown to be sensitive to task-relevant, behaviourally diagnostic facial features only. I conclude that facial feature integration during both N170 and M170 is subject to top-down control. The results are discussed against the background of known face processing models and current research findings on visual processing.
Memory Bandwidth and Power Reduction Using Lossy Reference Frame Compression in Video Encoding

Large external memory bandwidth requirement leads to increased system power dissipation and cost in video coding application. Majority of the external memory traffic in video encoder is due to reference data accesses. We describe a lossy reference frame compression technique that can be used in video coding with minimal impact on quality while significantly reducing power and bandwidth requirement. The low cost transformless compression technique uses lossy reference for motion estimation to reduce memory traffic, and lossless reference for motion compensation (MC) to avoid drift. Thus, it is compatible with all existing video standards. We calculate the quantization error bound and show that by storing quantization error separately, bandwidth overhead due to MC can be reduced significantly. The technique meets key requirements specific to the video encode application. 24-39% reduction in peak bandwidth and 23-31% reduction in total average power consumption are observed for IBBP sequences.
Creating a school without walls and building a learning organization: a case study.

Abstract: This article describes the genesis of a "school without walls" philosophy and the implementation of learning organization principles at Boston University School of Dental Medicine (BUSDM). In Peter Senge's five-discipline approach to organizational learning, a learning organization is defined as "an organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future. " It is an organization that changes and innovates based on continuous learning, which in BUSDM's case constituted learning from industry trends, patients, students, staff, faculty, and other key stakeholders. Most important, such organizations successfully translate that learning into effective action. It is this capacity to innovate and create change that is critical to competitive advantage and success in a changing environment. This case study of organizational change provides a discussion of the conceptual framework guiding the design and implementation of the learning organization and the chronology of transformation that occurred in three phases over a period of twenty years. We also describe the lessons we learned and the lessons that are still emerging.
Fast and Enhanced Algorithm for Exemplar Based Image Inpainting

Image Inpainting is the art of filling in missing data in an image. The purpose of in painting is to reconstruct missing regions in a visually plausible manner so that it seems reasonable to the human eye. There have been several approaches proposed for the same. In this paper, we present an algorithm that improves and extends a previously proposed algorithm and provides faster in painting. Using our approach, one can in paint large regions (e.g. remove an object etc.) as well as recover small portions (e.g. restore a photograph by removing cracks etc.). The in painting is based on the exemplar based approach. The basic idea behind this approach is to find examples (i.e. patches) from the image and replace the lost data with it. This technique can be used in restoring old photographs or damaged film. It can also remove superimposed text like dates, subtitles etc., or even entire objects from the image like microphones or wires to produce special effects. We obtained good quality results quickly using our approach.
FORMAÇÃO DE PROFESSORES: OBJECTIVOS, CONTEÚDOS E ESTRATÉGIAS

earing in mind that teaching profession learning is a process that takes the teacher’s lifetime, teacher education in analysed as long continuum that compromises four basic critical periods, because of the influence potentiality they have on the development of conceps and professional competence in teachers: pre-education phase, initial education phase, induction phase, and inservice training. When one asks "what kind of teachers are to be prepared? " ou, in other words, "what aims, contents and strategies are to integrate teacher education? ", the reason of questioning arises from our paradigmatic supposition, i.e. from of teaching, school, and of what think the education process should be. So, first, the present study analyses the orientations or conceptual alternatives which, according to Feiman-Nemser (1990), have given structure to teacher education in the general education context: academic, practical, personal, technological, and social/critical orientations. Second, it comments the current theoretical standpoints in Physical Education teacher education, namely, the behaviourist paradigm, the occupational socialization theory, and the critical theory; it analyses the controversy between "performance pedagogy" and "critical pedagogy". Advocating the idea that the different conceptual orietations on teacher education ar e not mutually exclusive, this study argues, lastly, that the real problem in Physical Education teacher education consists in the necessity of regarding the teacher as an expert with a deep scientific and pedagogic knowledge, a professional who performs a principles, and two is capable and willing to develop continuously and ameliorate the efficiency of his work, pursuing professional dignity.
Celebrity Political Endorsement Effects: A Perspective on the Social Distance of Political Parties

This article examines the advertising effects of celebrity political endorsement (CPE) on young Taiwanese voters’ attitudes and voting behaviors. Based on construal-level theory, the moderating effect of consistency between an ad-recommended party and voters’ party preferences on different celebrity endorser types is also explored. Experimental results indicate the following: (1) Political messages delivered by political figures, regular citizens, and idols belong to different construal levels; (2) the preference-consistency party (versus the preference-inconsistency party) reduces voters’ perceived social distance from the party and causes voters to construe party-related information in lower-level construals; (3) CPE effects are greater than non-CPE effects; and (4) voters respond better to political ads that recommend a preference-inconsistency party using political figure endorsements, and voters respond better to political ads that recommend a preference-consistency party using idol endorsements.
Approximate Value Iteration for Risk-Aware Markov Decision Processes

We consider large-scale Markov decision processes (MDPs) with a time-consistent risk measure of variability in cost under the risk-aware MDP paradigm. Previous studies showed that risk-aware MDPs, based on a minimax approach to handling risk, can be solved using dynamic programming for small- to medium-sized problems. However, due to the “curse of dimensionality,” MDPs that model real-life problems are typically prohibitively large for such approaches. In this technical note, we employ an approximate dynamic programming approach and develop a family of simulation-based algorithms to approximately solve large-scale risk-aware MDPs with time-consistent risk measures. In parallel, we develop a unified convergence analysis technique to derive sample complexity bounds for this new family of algorithms.
TOWARD AN OBJECTIVE MEASURE OF LISTENER ENGAGEMENT WITH NATURAL MUSIC USING INTER-SUBJECT EEG CORRELATION

This study extends existing research on inter-subject correlations (ISCs) of brain responses as a measure of engagement, with a focus on the relationship between the structural coherence of a musical stream and the listener’s degree of engagement with it. EEG was recorded while subjects listened to naturalistic music (popular Hindi songs) presented in original versions and in temporally disrupted, phase-scrambled conditions. ISCs were computed from the EEG data using Reliable Components Analysis. Overall, original versions of songs yielded significantly higher ISCs than phase-scrambled versions, and were also rated as more pleasant, well ordered, and interesting by subjects. The most reliable spatial component extracted from responses to the original songs concurs with past EEG findings involving naturalistic music. The time course of the ISCs is resolved at a musically relevant time scale. The sum of our findings suggests that ISCs show promise toward finding time-critical measures of engagement and attention in typically noisy EEG signals, and, specifically, as a means to find correlations between structural features of music and brain responses in listeners. We discuss possible links between heightened ISCs and regions of musical interest, and implications for future research.