Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Imaging evaluation of the liver using multi-detector row computed tomography in micropigs as potential living liver donors

The shortage of organ donors has stimulated interest in the possibility of using animal organs for transplantation into humans. In addition, pigs are now considered to be the most likely source animals for human xenotransplantation because of their advantages over non-human primates. However, the appropriate standard values for estimations of the liver of micropigs have not been established. The determination of standard values for the micropig liver using multi-detector row computed tomography (MDCT) would help to select a suitable donor for an individual patient, determine the condition of the liver of the micropigs and help predict patient prognosis. Therefore, we determined the standard values for the livers of micropigs using MDCT. The liver parenchyma showed homogenous enhancement and had no space-occupying lesions. The total and right lobe volumes of the liver were 698.57 ± 47.81 ml and 420.14 ± 26.70 ml, which are 51.74% and 49.35% of the human liver volume, respectively. In micropigs, the percentage of liver volume to body weight was approximately 2.05%. The diameters of the common hepatic artery and proper hepatic artery were 6.24 ± 0.20 mm and 4.68 ± 0.13 mm, respectively. The hepatic vascular system of the micropigs was similar to that of humans, except for the variation in the length of the proper hepatic artery. In addition, the diameter of the portal vein was 11.27 ± 0.38 mm. In conclusion, imaging evaluation using the MDCT was a reliable method for liver evaluation and its vascular anatomy for xenotransplantation using micropigs.
Time Efficient Service Discovery in Mobile P2P Architectures Using Bluetooth

Key challenges in mobile ad-hoc networks are computational resource constraints, power limitations and time delays in information exchange. Therefore it is necessary to develop intelligent, efficient indexing strategies for knowledge addressing and exchange in dynamic mobile P2P architectures. The short range radio technology Bluetooth suffers from long service discovery delays and high power consumption due to required connection establishment based on its service-discovery-protocol (SDP). To overcome this situation we propose a new approach. By leveraging the capability of the bluetooth inquiry procedure, we significantly reduce the service discovery time and hence lower the power consumption. Based on a performance evaluation and a comparison with the legacy SDP, we present the benefits of our new approach.
Scattering Theory for the Dirac Operator with a Long-range Electromagnetic Potential

We consider the Dirac operator with a long-range potential V (x). Scalar, pseudo-scalar and vector components of V (x) may have arbitrary power-like decay at innnity. We introduce wave operators with time-independent modiiers. These modiiers are pseudo-diierential operators whose symbols are, roughly speaking, constructed in terms of approximate eigenfunctions of the stationary problem. We derive and solve eikonal and transport equations for the corresponding phase and amplitude functions. From analytical point of view, our proof of the existence and completeness of the wave operators relies on the limiting absorption principle and radiation estimates established in the paper. This allows us to t the long-range scattering theory for the Dirac operator into the framework of smooth perturbations. Finally, we nd the asymptotics for large times t of solutions u(x; t) of the time-dependent Dirac equation.
Working Memory and Motor Speech Interactions In Young Adults

Cognition, language, and the speech motor system have robust interactions. The purpose of this study was to examine the specific interactions between working memory and speech motor performance in a dual-task activity. Nineteen healthy young adults read sentences of increasing length and complexity in two counterbalanced conditions: control (no concomitant task) and experimental (while performing a dual working memory task). Lip aperture values, production durations, and accuracy of speech were measured. Results indicated that the working memory has a significant effect on speech motor coordinative patterns and the percentage of syllable errors. Additionally, sentence length and complexity significantly affects speech motor coordinative patterns, percentage of syllable errors, and production duration. These findings suggest that the speech motor system is affected by increased cognitive demands, likely due to limitations of cognitive resource allocation. Clinical implications for the assessment and treatment of motor speech disorders in aging populations are discussed. WORKING MEMORY AND MOTOR SPEECH INTERACTIONS iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express gratitude to my thesis advisor, Neeraja Sadagopan, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, for her guidance and engagement throughout this study. Furthermore, I would like to thank my thesis committee members, Gail Ramsberger, Sc.D. , CCC-SLP and Kathryn Hardin, M.A., CCCSLP, for their insightful comments and questions. WORKING MEMORY AND MOTOR SPEECH INTERACTIONS
What Does Children's Spatial Language Reveal About Spatial Concepts? Evidence From the Use of Containment Expressions

Children's overextensions of spatial language are often taken to reveal spatial biases. However, it is unclear whether extension patterns should be attributed to children's overly general spatial concepts or to a narrower notion of conceptual similarity allowing metaphor-like extensions. We describe a previously unnoticed extension of spatial expressions and use a novel method to determine its origins. English- and Greek-speaking 4- and 5-year-olds used containment expressions (e.g., English into, Greek mesa) for events where an object moved into another object but extended such expressions to events where the object moved behind or under another object. The pattern emerged in adult speakers of both languages and also in speakers of 10 additional languages. We conclude that learners do not have an overly general concept of Containment. Nevertheless, children (and adults) perceive similarities across Containment and other types of spatial scenes, even when these similarities are obscured by the conventional forms of the language.
Eight Novice PHE Teachers' Perceptions of Engaging Adolescent Girls in Their Classrooms

ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . iii TABLE OF CONTENTS . iv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 Purpose of the Study . 2 Rationale . 2 Theoretical Framework . 4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW . 6 Personal Experience in PHE . 6 Cumulative Life Experiences . 7 Professional Socialization . 8 Organizational Socialization . 9 Teaching Practices . 12 Overall Curriculum Design . 13 Topics Selected by Teachers . 14 Teaching Styles . 16 Assessment Practices . 18 Teachers’ Interpersonal Style and Use of Feedback . 19 Assessment Methods . 21 Students’ Self-Perceptions of Sport Ability . 23 Motivation . 25 v Amotivation in PHE . 25 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation in PHE . 30 Summary . 31 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY . 34 Data Collection . 34 Participant Recruitment . 34 Participants . 35 Procedures . 37 Data Analysis . 39 Trustworthiness . 40 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS . 42 Darlene . 42 Experience Profile . 42 Teaching Practices . 43 Assessment Practices . 44 Motivation . 45 Christine . 47 Experience Profile . 47 Teaching Practices . 48 Assessment Practices . 49 Motivation . 50 vi Darcelle . 51 Experience in Sport . 51 Teaching Practices . 53 Assessment Practices . 54 Motivation . 55 Jess . 57 Experience in Sport . 57 Teaching Practices . 58 Assessment Practices . 58 Motivation . 60 Summary of Female Participants . 61 Steve . 63 Experience in Sport . 63 Teaching Practices . 64 Assessment Practices . 65 Motivation . 66 Dave . 67 Experience in Sport . 67 Teaching Practices . 68 Assessment Practices . 69 Motivation . 70 vii Finn . 71 Experience in Sport . 71 Teaching Practices . 72 Assessment Practices . 73 Motivation . 74 Pete . 77 Experience in Sport . 77 Teaching Practices . 79 Assessment Practices . 80 Motivation . 80 Summary of Male Participants . 82 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION . 84 Exploring the Four Themes . 84 Experience in Sport . 85 Teaching Practices . 86 Assessment Practices . 87 Motivation . 89 Cutting Across the Four Themes .
Studying policing comparatively: obstacles, preliminary results and promises

ABSTRACT Compared to the burgeoning literature on the determinants of penal policies in various Western countries, and compared to criminology in general, the comparative study of policing is an underdeveloped area of research. We acknowledge the practical and theoretical difficulties of such an approach, but we defend its main benefits. Studying policing comparatively allows for a better knowledge of national systems, an understanding of basic concepts such as centralisation, and a stronger recognition of the diverging and converging trends in policing policies at a global level. Traditional comparisons of national models considered policing systems in broad categories (Anglo-Saxon vs. continental European, for example). Here, we suggest rather that models need to be broken down into their elementary components and main organisational features (degree of centralisation, mechanisms of oversight and others).
When and How to Use Multilevel Modelling

Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) promotes models as the primary artefacts in the software development process, from which code for the final application is derived. Standard approaches to MDE (like those based on MOF or EMF) advocate a two-level metamodelling setting where Domain-Specific Modelling Languages (DSMLs) are defined through a metamodel that is instantiated to build models at the metalevel below. Multilevel modelling (also called deep metamodelling) extends the standard approach to metamodelling by enabling modelling at an arbitrary number of metalevels, not necessarily two. Proposers of multilevel modelling claim this leads to simpler model descriptions in some situations, although its applicability has been scarcely evaluated. Thus, practitioners may find it difficult to discern when to use it and how to implement multilevel solutions in practice. In this article, we discuss those situations where the use of multilevel modelling is beneficial, and identify recurring patterns and idioms. Moreover, in order to assess how often the identified patterns arise in practice, we have analysed a wide range of existing two-level DSMLs from different sources and domains, to detect when their elements could be rearranged in more than two metalevels. The results show this scenario is not uncommon, while in some application domains (like software architecture and enterprise/process modelling) pervasive, with a high average number of pattern occurrences per metamodel.
Two distinct mechanisms for redistribution of lymphocyte surface macromolecules. I. Relationship to cytoplasmic myosin

A detailed kinetic analysis of the distribution of cytoplasmic myosin during the capping of various lymphocytic surface molecules revealed two distinct capping mechanisms. (a) Some cell surface molecules, including immunoglobulin, Fc receptor, and thymus leukemia antigen, all cap spontaneously in a small fraction of lymphocytes during locomotion. Cytoplasmic myosin becomes concentrated in the cytoplasm underlying these spontaneous caps. Exposure to specific antibodies causes all three of these surface molecules to cap rapidly with a concomitant redistribution of cytoplasmic myosin to the area of the cap. These antibodies also stimulate cell locomotion. (b) Other lymphocyte surface molecules, including H2 and Thy.1, do not cap spontaneously. Moreover, exposure to antibodies to these molecules causes them to cap slowly without a redistribution of cytoplasmic myosin or stimulation of cell locomotion. Exposure to concanavalin A gives a response intermediate between these two extremes. We believe that the first type of capping is active and may involve a direct link between the surface molecules and the cytoplasmic contractile apparatus. The second type of capping appears to result simply from aggregation of cross-linked molecules in the plane of the membrane.
Dynamic High-Cadence Cycling Improves Motor Symptoms in Parkinson’s Disease

Rationale Individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) often have deficits in kinesthesia. There is a need for rehabilitation interventions that improve these kinesthetic deficits. Forced (tandem) cycling at a high cadence improves motor function. However, tandem cycling is difficult to implement in a rehabilitation setting. Objective To construct an instrumented, motored cycle and to examine if high cadence dynamic cycling promotes improvements in motor function. Method This motored cycle had two different modes: dynamic and static cycling. In dynamic mode, the motor maintained 75–85 rpm. In static mode, the rider determined the pedaling cadence. UPDRS Motor III and Timed Up and Go (TUG) were used to assess changes in motor function after three cycling sessions. Results Individuals in the static group showed a lower cadence but a higher power, torque and heart rate than the dynamic group. UPDRS score showed a significant 13.9% improvement in the dynamic group and only a 0.9% improvement in the static group. There was also a 16.5% improvement in TUG time in the dynamic group but only an 8% improvement in the static group. Conclusion These findings show that dynamic cycling can improve PD motor function and that activation of proprioceptors with a high cadence but variable pattern may be important for motor improvements in PD.
Tracking the aesthetic outcomes of prosthetic breast reconstructions that have complications

Background Aesthetic results following breast reconstruction have been shown to be a major contributor to patient satisfaction. While many presume that complications after reconstruction impact final aesthetic results, little data exist to substantiate this putative relationship. Objective To track and evaluate aesthetic outcomes following implant reconstructions with complications. Methods A chart review was conducted on a series of consecutive expander-implant breast reconstructions performed by the senior author between 2004 and 2012. Included patients completed their prosthetic reconstruction or converted to autologous methods and had a minimum follow-up period of 130 days. Four blinded members of the division of plastic surgery independently rated postoperative anterior photographs of patients' breasts using a validated scoring scale with respect to five distinct aesthetic domains: breast mound volume, contour, placement, scarring and inframammary fold. Results Of the 172 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 36 experienced a complication. The tissue expander in one-half of these patients was salvaged and the remaining patients converted to autologous reconstruction. The average aesthetic scores for each domain did not differ significantly between patients who experienced a complication and retained their expander and those who did not experience a complication. Patients who converted to autologous tissue reconstruction after experiencing a complication had the highest aesthetic scores. Discussion The ability to obtain aesthetic results following a complication that were not statistically different from results in those without complications may reflect the surgeon's refined attempt to salvage the initial implant reconstruction; in other circumstances, the improved cosmesis was achieved through conversion to an autologous tissue-based method. Conclusion The present study quantitatively assessed the impact of complications on aesthetic outcomes following implant breast reconstruction. Continuance of prosthetic reconstruction and conversion to autologous reconstruction serve as viable options to obtain adequate aesthetic scores following a complication. Information gained from the present analysis will help manage patient expectations.
Queue Anlysis of Soft Frequency Reuse Scheme in LTE-Advanced

In orthogonal frequency division multiplexing networks, inter-cell interference results in poor performance, especially universal frequency reuse scheme has already been used. Soft Frequency Reuse (SFR) scheme, one of the most promising inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC) schemes, has been introduced in LTE-Advanced networks. In this paper, We develop an analytical queueing model for the SFR scheme taking into account the features of SFR scheme and its impact on system performance firstly. Then, we improve the iterative algorithm called successive over-relaxation (SOR) to solve the set of linear equations and get the steady state probability distribution. Finally, simulation and performance analysis shows that maximum number of resource that cell-edge users can use and the number of cell-edge users correlate with the performance of SFR scheme.
An Acidic Microenvironment Increases NK Cell Killing of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii by Enhancing Perforin Degranulation

Cryptococcus gattii and Cryptococcus neoformans are encapsulated yeasts that can produce a solid tumor-like mass or cryptococcoma. Analogous to malignant tumors, the microenvironment deep within a cryptococcoma is acidic, which presents unique challenges to host defense. Analogous to malignant cells, NK cells kill Cryptococcus. Thus, as in tumor defense, NK cells must kill yeast cells across a gradient from physiologic pH to less than 6 in the center of the cryptococcoma. As acidic pH inhibits anti-tumor activities of NK cells, we sought to determine if there was a similar reduction in the anticryptococcal activity of NK cells. Surprisingly, we found that both primary human NK cells and the human NK cell line, YT, have preserved or even enhanced killing of Cryptococcus in acidic, compared to physiological, pH. Studies to explore the mechanism of enhanced killing revealed that acidic pH does not increase the effector to target ratio, binding of cytolytic cells to Cryptococcus, or the active perforin content in effector cells. By contrast, perforin degranulation was greater at acidic pH, and increased degranulation was preceded by enhanced ERK1/2 phosphorylation, which is essential for killing. Moreover, using a replication defective ras1 knockout strain of Cryptococcus increased degranulation occurred during more rapid replication of the organisms. Finally, NK cells were found intimately associated with C. gattii within the cryptococcoma of a fatal infection. These results suggest that NK cells have amplified signaling, degranulation, and greater killing at low pH and when the organisms are replicating quickly, which would help maintain microbicidal host defense despite an acidic microenvironment.
A Critique of the Stem Pipeline: Young People’s Identities in Sweden and Science Education Policy

ABSTRACT In this article, we develop critiques of the pipeline model which dominates Western science education policy, using discourse analysis of interviews with two Swedish young women focused on ‘identity work’. We argue that it is important to unpack the ways that the pipeline model fails to engage with intersections of gender, ethnicity, social class and nationality, and their impact on science and with debates about science as elitist and implicated in neoliberalism.
A preliminary behavior analytic approach to “Sundowning” among older adults with major neurocognitive disorder

ABSTRACT Research has estimated that “sundowning”, an increase in confusion, agitation or challenging behavior later in the day, occurs in 20–40% of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We conducted 8-h continuous measurement of the sundowning behavior of two women with AD who were identified as “sundowners” by staff in a care home. The distribution of behavior corresponded to the description of sundowning for one participant, but not the other. Functional analysis results suggested a possible social positive function for one participant but were unclear for the other. We suggest that sundowning is better defined as a description of the distribution of behavior across a day rather than topographically, because topography and function differ across individuals. We recommend that environmental variables such as staff attention should be measured to determine their effect on behavior and to develop interventions. This study demonstrates an example of a behavior analytic approach to clinical practice in dementia settings, including potential limitations.
Connectivity reveals relationship of brain areas for reward-guided learning and decision making in human and monkey frontal cortex

Significance Because of the interest in reward-guided learning and decision making, these neural mechanisms have been studied in both humans and monkeys. But whether and how key brain areas correspond between the two species has been uncertain. Areas in the two species can be compared as a function of the brain circuits in which they participate, which can be estimated from patterns of correlation in brain activity measured with functional MRI. Taking such measurements in 38 humans and 25 macaques, we identified fundamental similarities between the species and one human frontal area with no monkey counterpart. Altogether these findings suggest that everyday human decision-making capitalizes on a neural apparatus similar to the one that supports monkeys when foraging in the wild. Reward-guided decision-making depends on a network of brain regions. Among these are the orbitofrontal and the anterior cingulate cortex. However, it is difficult to ascertain if these areas constitute anatomical and functional unities, and how these areas correspond between monkeys and humans. To address these questions we looked at connectivity profiles of these areas using resting-state functional MRI in 38 humans and 25 macaque monkeys. We sought brain regions in the macaque that resembled 10 human areas identified with decision making and brain regions in the human that resembled six macaque areas identified with decision making. We also used diffusion-weighted MRI to delineate key human orbital and medial frontal brain regions. We identified 21 different regions, many of which could be linked to particular aspects of reward-guided learning, valuation, and decision making, and in many cases we identified areas in the macaque with similar coupling profiles.
Neural Associations of the Early Retinotopic Cortex with the Lateral Occipital Complex during Visual Perception

Previous studies have demonstrated that the early retinotopic cortex (ERC, i.e., V1/V2/V3) is highly associated with the lateral occipital complex (LOC) during visual perception. However, it remains largely unclear how to evaluate their associations in quantitative way. The present study tried to apply a multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to quantify the neural activity in ERC and its association with that of the LOC when participants saw visual images. To this end, we assessed whether low-level visual features (Gabor features) could predict the neural activity in the ERC and LOC according to a voxel-based encoding model (VBEM), and then quantified the association of the neural activity between these regions by using an analogical VBEM. We found that the Gabor features remarkably predicted the activity of the ERC (e.g., the predicted accuracy was 52.5% for a participant) instead of that of the LOC (4.2%). Moreover, the MVPA approach can also be used to establish corresponding relationships between the activity patterns in the LOC and those in the ERC (64.2%). In particular, we found that the integration of the Gabor features and LOC visual information could dramatically improve the ‘prediction’ of ERC activity (88.3%). Overall, the present study provides new evidences for the possibility of quantifying the association of the neural activity between the regions of ERC and LOC. This approach will help to provide further insights into the neural substrates of the visual processing.