Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Safety of methylphenidate following traumatic brain injury: impact on vital signs and side-effects during inpatient rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to evaluate the safety of methylphenidate administered during inpatient rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury. METHODS Forty inpatients with moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (mean 68.4 days post-injury) participated in a randomized, cross-over, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of methylphenidate administered at a dose of 0.3 mg/kg body weight twice daily. RESULTS Methylphenidate administration resulted in a statistically significant increase in pulse of 12.3 beats/min (95% confidence interval (CI) 9.25-15.36), diastolic blood pressure of 4.1 mmHg (95% CI 2.11-6.10), and mean arterial pressure of 3.75 mmHg (95% CI 1.79-5.72). These changes did not, however, appear to be symptomatic, as no participants were withdrawn due to adverse events, and there was no significant self-report of increased heart rate with methylphenidate. Blinding was successful. Significantly greater reporting of irritability of 0.14 points (95% CI 0.02-0.26), difficulty sleeping of 0.17 points (95% CI 0.02-0.31) and total side-effects of 0.68 points (95% CI 0.06-1.30) was associated with methylphenidate compared with placebo. CONCLUSION Methylphenidate given at 0.3 mg/kg body weight appears to be safe in the inpatient rehabilitation phase. This trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (12607000503426).
Adaptive Neural Network Tracking Control of MIMO Nonlinear Systems With Unknown Dead Zones and Control Directions

In this paper, adaptive neural network (NN) tracking control is investigated for a class of uncertain multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) nonlinear systems in triangular control structure with unknown nonsymmetric dead zones and control directions. The design is based on the principle of sliding mode control and the use of Nussbaum-type functions in solving the problem of the completely unknown control directions. It is shown that the dead-zone output can be represented as a simple linear system with a static time-varying gain and bounded disturbance by introducing characteristic function. By utilizing the integral-type Lyapunov function and introducing an adaptive compensation term for the upper bound of the optimal approximation error and the dead-zone disturbance, the closed-loop control system is proved to be semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded, with tracking errors converging to zero under the condition that the slopes of unknown dead zones are equal. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.
DCM-Related Tropomyosin Mutants E40K/E54K Over-Inhibit the Actomyosin Interaction and Lead to a Decrease in the Number of Cycling Cross-Bridges

Two DCM mutants (E40K and E54K) of tropomyosin (Tm) were examined using the thin-filament extraction/reconstitution technique. The effects of the Ca2+, ATP, phosphate (Pi), and ADP concentrations on isometric tension and its transients were studied at 25°C, and the results were compared to those for the WT protein. Our results indicate that both E40K and E54K have a significantly lower T HC (high Ca2+ tension at pCa 4.66) (E40K: 1.21±0.06 T a, ±SEM, N = 34; E54K: 1.24±0.07 T a, N = 28), a significantly lower T LC (low- Ca2+ tension at pCa 7.0) (E40K: 0.07±0.02 T a, N = 34; E54K: 0.06±0.02 T a, N = 28), and a significantly lower T act (Ca2+ activatable tension) (T act = T HC–TLC, E40K: 1.15±0.08 T a, N = 34; E54K: 1.18±0.06 T a, N = 28) than WT (T HC = 1.53±0.07 T a, T LC = 0.12±0.01 T a, T act = 1.40±0.07 T a, N = 25). All tensions were normalized to T a ( = 13.9±0.8 kPa, N = 57), the tension of actin-filament reconstituted cardiac fibers (myocardium) under the standard activating conditions. The Ca2+ sensitivity (pCa50) of E40K (5.23±0.02, N = 34) and E54K (5.24±0.03, N = 28) was similar to that of the WT protein (5.26±0.03, N = 25). The cooperativity increased significantly in E54K (3.73±0.25, N = 28) compared to WT (2.80±0.17, N = 25). Seven kinetic constants were deduced using sinusoidal analysis at pCa 4.66. These results enabled us to calculate the cross-bridge distribution in the strongly attached states, and thereby deduce the force/cross-bridge. The results indicate that the force/cross-bridge is ∼15% less in E54K than WT, but remains similar to that of the WT protein in the case of E40K. We conclude that over-inhibition of the actomyosin interaction by E40K and E54K Tm mutants leads to a decreased force-generating ability at systole, which is the main mechanism underlying the early pathogenesis of DCM.
Effects of small frontal lesions on delayed alternation in monkeys.

THIS EXPERIME~ attempti to detie the ~ cortical lesion which wiU 4 disrupt a monkey’s performance on a dekyed-mpo= type of problem. If such a cortid focus can be preckly located, data from neuroanatomy and electrophysiology relating this cortid area to other cerebral structures might then be used to suggest the larger cerebral network, and, hence, the neural mechanism, which mediates this c~ of problem-solving behavior. Of more immediate concern, neural mechanism aheady proposed codd be more accurately evaluatid against the touchstone provided by a description of the cortical focus. A series of studies by ~bram and his associates (13, 15, 16, 18) has demonstrated that the cortical area foca~y concerned in delayed-response types of functions must be bited at least to the lateral surface of the frontal lobes anterior to the arcuate sticus. The purpose of the present experiment is to determine whether restits obtained by Blum (1) implying an even more timited focus-namely, the mid-lateral cortex—cotid be substantiated. Subjects. Ten immature Mac@a mulati (Rksus) monkeys, without previo~ training, were used as subjecti. Apwaratus. AU animak were trained in a Wisconsin General-Testing Apparatus. The essential features of the apparatus are: an enclosure divided into two sections-an animal chamber and a section for the testing tray; a sfiding panel which can be lowered between the two sections to conceal the ($ testing tray from the animal during the baiting and delay periods; a oneway-vision screen which conceak the experimenter when the shding panel ! is raised.
Testable Critical Path Selection Considering Process Variation

Critical path selection is very important in delay testing. Critical paths found by conventional static timing analysis (STA) tools are inadequate to represent the real timing of the circuit, since neither the testability of paths nor the statistical variation of cell delays caused by process variation is considered. This paper proposed a novel path selection method considering process variation. The circuit is firstly simplified by eliminating non-critical edges under statistical timing model, and then divided into sub-circuits, while each sub-circuit has only one prime input (PI) and one prime output (PO). Critical paths are selected only in critical sub-circuits. The concept of partially critical edges (PCEs) and completely critical edges (CCEs) are introduced to speed up the path selection procedure. Two path selection strategies are also presented to search for a testable critical path set to cover all the critical edges. The experimental results showed that the proposed circuit division approach is efficient in path number reduction, and PCEs and CCEs play an important role as a guideline during path selection.
Modeling Spatial-Temporal Clues in a Hybrid Deep Learning Framework for Video Classification

Classifying videos according to content semantics is an important problem with a wide range of applications. In this paper, we propose a hybrid deep learning framework for video classification, which is able to model static spatial information, short-term motion, as well as long-term temporal clues in the videos. Specifically, the spatial and the short-term motion features are extracted separately by two Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). These two types of CNN-based features are then combined in a regularized feature fusion network for classification, which is able to learn and utilize feature relationships for improved performance. In addition, Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) networks are applied on top of the two features to further model longer-term temporal clues. The main contribution of this work is the hybrid learning framework that can model several important aspects of the video data. We also show that (1) combining the spatial and the short-term motion features in the regularized fusion network is better than direct classification and fusion using the CNN with a softmax layer, and (2) the sequence-based LSTM is highly complementary to the traditional classification strategy without considering the temporal frame orders. Extensive experiments are conducted on two popular and challenging benchmarks, the UCF-101 Human Actions and the Columbia Consumer Videos (CCV). On both benchmarks, our framework achieves very competitive performance: 91.3% on the UCF-101 and 83.5% on the CCV.
Detection of Extensive Cross-Neutralization between Pandemic and Seasonal A/H1N1 Influenza Viruses Using a Pseudotype Neutralization Assay

Background Cross-immunity between seasonal and pandemic A/H1N1 influenza viruses remains uncertain. In particular, the extent that previous infection or vaccination by seasonal A/H1N1 viruses can elicit protective immunity against pandemic A/H1N1 is unclear. Methodology/Principal Findings Neutralizing titers against seasonal A/H1N1 (A/Brisbane/59/2007) and against pandemic A/H1N1 (A/California/04/2009) were measured using an HIV-1-based pseudovirus neutralization assay. Using this highly sensitive assay, we found that a large fraction of subjects who had never been exposed to pandemic A/H1N1 express high levels of pandemic A/H1N1 neutralizing titers. A significant correlation was seen between neutralization of pandemic A/H1N1 and neutralization of a standard seasonal A/H1N1 strain. Significantly higher pandemic A/H1N1 neutralizing titers were measured in subjects who had received vaccination against seasonal influenza in 2008–2009. Higher pandemic neutralizing titers were also measured in subjects over 60 years of age. Conclusions/Significance Our findings reveal that the extent of protective cross-immunity between seasonal and pandemic A/H1N1 influenza viruses may be more important than previously estimated. This cross-immunity could provide a possible explanation of the relatively mild profile of the recent influenza pandemic.
Couple Relationship Education: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Professional Contact and Self-Directed Tools

The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to examine the efficacy of an evidence-based relationship distress prevention program, the Couples Coping Enhancement Training (CCET), in dual well-earning couples and to investigate whether effects vary by (a) hours of professional contact and (b) mode of delivery (face to face vs. self-learning DVD). N = 159 couples were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 intervention conditions: (1) standard CCET (15 hours face to face), (2) compact CCET (12 hr face to face), (3) short CCET (self-learning DVD + 8 hr face to face), or (4) wait-list control group. Relationship satisfaction and dyadic coping skills were assessed by means of questionnaires completed prior to and 2 weeks after completion of the treatment, at 3-month follow-up, and at 6-month follow-up. Baseline latent change models for 2 factors showed that the CCET enhanced relationship satisfaction and dyadic coping skills in couples relative to the wait-list control group, albeit effects were small. The standard format of the CCET was not more effective than the compact or the short format indicating that reduced amount of professional contact did not decrease the treatment’s efficacy and that the self-learning DVD successfully replaced the psycho-educational part of the program. Since dual earner couples usually face multiple stressors, it is a promising finding that they can strengthen their relationship with a relatively short time investment.
The transformational‐transactional leadership model in practice

Explores the nature of transformational and transactional leadership among business executives. Comments reveal that most executives believe there are weaknesses as well as strengths with both leadership constructs in practice. Overall, major leadership strengths are in the role modelling, coaching, and consideration behaviors of executives. Major weaknesses are in failure to motivate and challenge workers beyond the expected outcomes. Other facets of each of the four transformational and two transactional leadership behaviors are examined in this article. Lists leadership strategies and approaches for achieving positive results and implications for future research are also provided.
Relationship between Perceived Self-Efficacy and Information Literacy among Library and Information Science Undergraduates in a Nigerian University of Education.

Information Literacy is a critical input in today’s learning environment and indeed for lifelong learning. Information literacy could be contingent upon an intrinsic element such as self-efficacy belief. Thus, this study investigates the relationship between perceived self-efficacy and information literacy among library and information science (LIS) undergraduates in Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu – Ode Nigeria (TASUED). Ex-post facto research design was adopted. Using total enumeration technique, data were gathered from all the 108 LIS undergraduates in TASUED using an instrument tagged Self-efficacy and Information literacy questionnaire (SILQ) with reliability values: (a = 0.78) information literacy and (a = 0.75) self-efficacy. All questionnaires were returned, however 100 (93%) were found usable. The study found out that respondents had high self-efficacy beliefs on more items on the scale; the level of information literacy was high in eight of the fifteen indicators on the scale. Perceived self-efficacy had a significant relationship with information literacy (r=0.329; p 0.05). The study recommends standardized information literacy competency training and periodic morale boosting orientation and re-orientation programs for the undergraduates. Keywords: Perceived self-efficacy, Information literacy, Library and information science, Undergraduates, Nigeria.
Mean square error approximation for wavelet-based semiregular mesh compression

The objective of this paper is to propose an efficient model-based bit allocation process optimizing the performances of a wavelet coder for semiregular meshes. More precisely, this process should compute the best quantizers for the wavelet coefficient subbands that minimize the reconstructed mean square error for one specific target bitrate. In order to design a fast and low complex allocation process, we propose an approximation of the reconstructed mean square error relative to the coding of semiregular mesh geometry. This error is expressed directly from the quantization errors of each coefficient subband. For that purpose, we have to take into account the influence of the wavelet filters on the quantized coefficients. Furthermore, we propose a specific approximation for wavelet transforms based on lifting schemes. Experimentally, we show that, in comparison with a "naive" approximation (depending on the subband levels), using the proposed approximation as distortion criterion during the model-based allocation process improves the performances of a wavelet-based coder for any model, any bitrate, and any lifting scheme.
The Community Loss Index: A New Social Indicator

The Community Loss Index (CLI), a new social indicator, focuses on the understudied role of place as a source of stress and an aggregator of individual experiences. Building on the relationship between loss and stress, the index attempts to capture collective loss, defined as the chronic exposure by neighborhood residents to multiple resource losses at the same time. Using maps, the article analyzes the spatial distribution of six types of loss in New York City and the characteristics of people who live in high- and low-loss neighborhoods. Regionalization reveals a neighborhood-based concentration of loss, patterns of loss that are both widespread and variable by location, and that a group’s vulnerability to the adverse effects of community loss depends on where the group lives. The CLI provides a place-based context for investigating neighborhood-based collective loss and allows community members and public officials to fine-tune interventions based on actual community needs.
Replication Restart after Replication-Transcription Conflicts Requires RecA in Bacillus subtilis

ABSTRACT Efficient duplication of genomes depends on reactivation of replication forks outside the origin. Replication restart can be facilitated by recombination proteins, especially if single- or double-strand breaks form in the DNA. Each type of DNA break is processed by a distinct pathway, though both depend on the RecA protein. One common obstacle that can stall forks, potentially leading to breaks in the DNA, is transcription. Though replication stalling by transcription is prevalent, the nature of DNA breaks and the prerequisites for replication restart in response to these encounters remain unknown. Here, we used an engineered site-specific replication-transcription conflict to identify and dissect the pathways required for the resolution and restart of replication forks stalled by transcription in Bacillus subtilis. We found that RecA, its loader proteins RecO and AddAB, and the Holliday junction resolvase RecU are required for efficient survival and replication restart after conflicts with transcription. Genetic analyses showed that RecO and AddAB act in parallel to facilitate RecA loading at the site of the conflict but that they can each partially compensate for the other's absence. Finally, we found that RecA and either RecO or AddAB are required for the replication restart and helicase loader protein, DnaD, to associate with the engineered conflict region. These results suggest that conflicts can lead to both single-strand gaps and double-strand breaks in the DNA and that RecA loading and Holliday junction resolution are required for replication restart at regions of replication-transcription conflicts. IMPORTANCE Head-on conflicts between replication and transcription occur when a gene is expressed from the lagging strand. These encounters stall the replisome and potentially break the DNA. We investigated the necessary mechanisms for Bacillus subtilis cells to overcome a site-specific engineered conflict with transcription of a protein-coding gene. We found that the recombination proteins RecO and AddAB both load RecA onto the DNA in response to the head-on conflict. Additionally, RecA loading by one of the two pathways was required for both replication restart and efficient survival of the collision. Our findings suggest that both single-strand gaps and double-strand DNA breaks occur at head-on conflict regions and demonstrate a requirement for recombination to restart replication after collisions with transcription.
The self as a soliloquy

The major shortcomings in the Meadian and Neo-Meadian views of the self are identified. An alternative view of the self as a soliloquy that avoids these particular shortcomings is presented. In this alternative view, an “us” or “phantom community” is seen as playing the premier part in our soliloquies. Thirteen principles that govern soliloquizing are explicated, including ones governing the nature and form of our soliloquies, the creation of our emotions, the hidden sources of our emotional sensitivities, the painting of our self portraitures, the origin and nature of our phantom communities, as well as governing our display of individuality and conformity.
VFMA: Topographic Analysis of Sensitivity Data From Full-Field Static Perimetry.

PURPOSE To analyze static visual field sensitivity with topographic models of the hill of vision (HOV), and to characterize several visual function indices derived from the HOV volume. METHODS A software application, Visual Field Modeling and Analysis (VFMA), was developed for static perimetry data visualization and analysis. Three-dimensional HOV models were generated for 16 healthy subjects and 82 retinitis pigmentosa patients. Volumetric visual function indices, which are measures of quantity and comparable regardless of perimeter test pattern, were investigated. Cross-validation, reliability, and cross-sectional analyses were performed to assess this methodology and compare the volumetric indices to conventional mean sensitivity and mean deviation. Floor effects were evaluated by computer simulation. RESULTS Cross-validation yielded an overall R2 of 0.68 and index of agreement of 0.89, which were consistent among subject groups, indicating good accuracy. Volumetric and conventional indices were comparable in terms of test-retest variability and discriminability among subject groups. Simulated floor effects did not negatively impact the repeatability of any index, but large floor changes altered the discriminability for regional volumetric indices. CONCLUSIONS VFMA is an effective tool for clinical and research analyses of static perimetry data. Topographic models of the HOV aid the visualization of field defects, and topographically derived indices quantify the magnitude and extent of visual field sensitivity. TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE VFMA assists with the interpretation of visual field data from any perimetric device and any test location pattern. Topographic models and volumetric indices are suitable for diagnosis, monitoring of field loss, patient counseling, and endpoints in therapeutic trials.
Physical activity habits in a European sports event: A case study

The aim of this study is to learn more about the physical activity habits of participants in a popular sporting event such as European Sports Day, which is held simultaneously in five European countries (Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Ireland, and Hungary), and to measure the influence of socio-demographic variables on these habits. This is a cross-sectional study conducted with a sample of 856 participants, stratified by gender, age, and nationality. We statistically analyzed five variables related to physical activity habits: frequency of physical activity practice, places of practice, motives of practice, perceived fitness level, and popular event attendance. Of the participants, 76.8% said they perform physical activity weekly. Fitness/health improvement (34.63%) and entertainment/leisure (26.52%) are the main reasons for the practice of physical activity. Age and nationality are differentiating factors on physical activity habits.