Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preserved hippocampus activation in normal aging as revealed by fMRI

The hippocampus is deteriorated in various pathologies such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and such deterioration has been linked to memory impairment. By contrast, the structural and functional effects of normal aging on the hippocampus is a matter of debate, with some findings suggesting deterioration and others providing evidence of preservation. This constitutes a crucial question since many investigations on AD are based on the assumption that the deterioration of the hippocampus is the breaking point between normal and pathological aging. A growing number of fMRI studies specifically aimed at investigating hippocampal engagement in various cognitive tasks, notably memory tasks, but the results have been inconclusive. Here, we optimized the episodic face‐name paired‐associates task in order to test the functioning of the hippocampus in normal aging. Critically, we found no difference in the activation of the hippocampus between the young and a group of older participants. Analysis of individual patterns of activation substantiated this impression. Collectively, these findings provide evidence of preserved hippocampal functioning in normal aging. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
User satisfaction as a measure of system performance

It is evident from previous research that user satisfaction is a multidimensional, subjective variable which can be affected by many factors other than performance of the system or searcher. This article draws on information retrieval and information systems literature in an attempt to understand what user satisfaction is, how it is measured, what factors affect it, and why findings on user satisfaction have been so varied and contradictory. It concludes with recommendations for future investigation of the use of user satisfaction as a measure of system performance.
The forgotten follower: a contingency model of leadership and follower self‐leadership

Purpose – Seeks to examine the interaction effect of leadership and follower characteristics on follower self‐leadership, using hierarchical linear modeling.Design/methodology/approach – Longitudinal data were collected using a questionnaire at two points in time, with ten weeks between each collection. These data facilitate the causal inference between leadership and follower need for autonomy (wave 1) and follower self‐leadership behaviors (wave 2). Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to analyze the hierarchical structure data.Findings – Both empowering and directive leadership (group level) interacted with follower's need for autonomy (individual level) to enhance subsequent follower self‐leadership (individual level). That is, empowering leadership had a stronger positive effect on followers who were high on the need for autonomy, and directive leadership had a stronger negative effect on followers who were high on the need for autonomy. In summary, the influence of leadership on follower self.
A Peer Reviewed International Journal of Asian Academic Research Associates AARJMD

The intricacies of family life have been extolled in this particular novel. Jamun’s return to the family after hearing the illness of his mother shows the familial knots and yet the disruptions in it. Jamun knows it very well that it is to be a great strife to his life that he comes at a time when everything is not going conveniently. Jamun exposes his angst for the successive burden which befalls on him. The dichotomy lies in the fact that Jamun never says ‘no’ to the familial duties yet his inner-self tries to wander like a bird in the open sky.
Applications of Bispectral Index Monitoring in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

The bispectral index (BIS) monitor is an electroencephalographic recording device that generates a single numeric value. It has traditionally been used to measure anesthetic depth and avoid awareness in the operating room setting. In this report, the authors present different scenarios in the pediatric intensive care unit that demonstrate the potential applications of the BIS monitor outside of the operating room setting. The scenarios presented include use of the BIS monitor during titration of barbiturate coma, procedural sedation, sedation assessment during mechanical ventilation, and sedation while administering potentially confounding medications. Previous reports regarding the use of the BIS monitor in such scenarios and potential future applications are reviewed.
To leave or not to leave: When receiving interpersonal citizenship behavior influences an employee’s turnover intention

Given that few studies have examined relational bases for voluntary employee turnover, the purpose of the article is to examine whether work relationships explain employee turnover intention. Adopting a social relational perspective on employee turnover, we investigated the effect of receiving interpersonal citizenship behavior (ICB) from coworkers on the recipient’s turnover intention. We hypothesized that the association between receiving ICB from coworkers and turnover intention would be mediated by job satisfaction and moderated by employees’ communion-striving motivation and task interdependence. We tested our hypotheses regarding moderated mediation in a sample of 149 hospital nurses. The results show that there is an indirect (through job satisfaction) and negative effect of receiving ICB on turnover intention provided communion-striving motivation and task interdependence were high, but not when these were low. This study has implications for research and offers managers insights into task situations and employee characteristics that influence the importance of receiving ICB from coworkers.
Tuning an underwater communication link

We present machine learning algorithms to tune an underwater communication link. The link tuner is characterized by 3 features: a) It is data driven, rather than physics driven. Hence, it only needs bit error rate information as input and is independent of the modem implementation, b) The tuner balances exploration of the search space against exploitation of existing knowledge, and c) It optimizes for the average data rate, instead of searching for maximum possible data rate. We implement the link tuner on the UNET-II modem and present results from simulations, water tank tests and field trials. The results demonstrate a significant improvement in average data rate as compared to the average data rate attained without tuning.
The Prevalence of Byssinosis among Cotton Workers in the North of Benin

Background: Cotton is the main agricultural export product in Benin. Cotton dust is thus present in the air during the handling and processing of cotton. This dust contains a mixture of substances including ground up plant matter, fibres, bacteria, fungi, soil, pesticides, noncotton matter, and other contaminants. While cotton processing is decreasing in industrialized countries, it is increasing in developing countries. Cotton processing, particularly in the early processes of spinning, can cause byssinosis. Objective: To determine the respiratory effects of cotton dust exposure among cotton mill workers in Benin. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 109 workers exposed to cotton dust and 107 unexposed workers were studied. The International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) questionnaire was used for data collection on respiratory symptoms. For each worker, crossshift pulmonary function was performed with a dry spirometer. Based on the severity of respiratory symptoms and spirometry byssinosis was defined and classified according to the criteria of Schilling, et al. Results: The mean±SD age of the exposed and unexposed workers was 46.3±7.8 and 37.0±8.3 years, respectively (p<0.001). The mean FEV1 predicted value for the exposed and unexposed workers was 76.3% and 77.3%, respectively. The prevalence of grade 3 byssinosis was 21.1% (95% CI: 13.4–28.9) in exposed workers and 8.4% (95% CI: 3.1–13.7) in unexposed workers (p=0.006). On Mondays, the exposed workers had more respiratory symptoms than unexposed workers; for grade 3 byssinosis, the prevalence was 13.8% in exposed and 4.7% in unexposed workers (p=0.011). Conclusion: The prevalence of respiratory symptoms and byssinosis among cotton mill workers in Benin is high and needs prompt attention of health care workers and policymakers.
Measurement of autonomic dysregulation in multiple sclerosis

Objective – Patients with definite multiple sclerosis (MS) were tested for autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction using clinical symptomatology criteria and non‐invasive laboratory testing. Exactly 45.45% of patients exhibited subjective symptoms of autonomic dysfunction and 42.42% of patients had abnormal laboratory tests results.
Pagination versus Scrolling in Mobile Web Search

Vertical scrolling is the standard method of exploring search results pages. For touch-enabled mobile devices that are not equipped with a mouse or keyboard, we adopt other methods of controlling the viewport with the aim of investigating user interaction. From the intuition that people are used to reading books by turning pages horizontally, we conducted a user experiment to investigate the effects of horizontal and vertical control types (pagination versus scrolling) on a touch-enabled mobile phone. Our findings suggest that participants using pagination were more likely to find relevant documents, especially those over the fold; spent more time attending to relevant results; and were faster to click while spending less time on the search result pages overall. We also found that the main reason for the difference in search speed is the time taken for the scroll itself. We conclude that search engines need to provide different viewport controls to allow better search experiences on touch-enabled mobile devices.
Targeted Mutations in a Trametes villosa Laccase

Trametes villosa laccase was mutated on a tetrapeptide segment near the type 1 site. The mutations F463M and F463L were at the position corresponding to the type 1 copper axial methionine (M517) ligand in Zucchini ascorbate oxidase. The mutations E460S and A461E were near the T1 copper site. The mutatedTrametes laccases were expressed in an Aspergillus oryzae host and characterized. The E460S mutation failed to produce a transformant with meaningful expression. The F463L and A461E mutations did not significantly alter the molecular and enzymological properties of the laccase. In contrast, the F463M mutation resulted in a type 1 copper site with an EPR signal intermediate between that of the wild type laccase and plastocyanin, an altered UV-visible spectrum, and a decreased redox potential (by 0.1 V). In oxidizing phenolic substrate, the mutation led to a more basic optimal pH as well as an increase in k cat and K m . These effects are attributed to a significant perturbation of the T1 copper center caused by the coordination of the axial methionine (M463) ligand.
The Foundations of Public Opinion on Voter ID Laws Political Predispositions, Racial Resentment, and Information Effects

Voter ID laws require individuals to show government-endorsed identification when casting their ballots on Election Day. Whereas some see these laws as necessary to prevent voting fraud, others argue that fraud is extremely rare and that voter ID laws can suppress voting. The relative newness of the laws, along with variance in their substance, suggests that the public may possess low information about voter ID laws; thus, opinions on the issue may be influenced by political information, group predispositions, and the media. Using data from a national poll (n = 906), this study investigates what underlies opinion on voter ID laws. The results indicate that political predispositions, including ideology, party identification, and racial attitudes, influence support for such laws. The results also yield evidence of several types of information effects. A question-wording experiment shows that exposure to an anti�voter ID law argument framing voter ID laws as preventing eligible people from voting reduced support, whereas other framing treatments (pro and con) had no discernible impact on opinion. A �polarization effect� emerges, with issue familiarity magnifying the gap in opinion between liberals and conservatives. Fox News viewers are particularly likely to support voter ID laws, though no other forms of media use are significantly related to support. Finally, perceptions of voting fraud as �common� are associated with support for voter ID laws.
The Evolution of 10-K Textual Disclosure: Evidence from Latent Dirichlet Allocation

We document marked trends in 10-K disclosure over the period 1996–2013, with increases in length, boilerplate, stickiness, and redundancy and decreases in specificity, readability, and the relative amount of hard information. We use Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to examine specific topics and find that new FASB and SEC requirements explain most of the increase in length and that 3 of the 150 topics—fair value, internal controls, and risk factor disclosures—account for virtually all of the increase. These three disclosures also play a major role in explaining the trends in the remaining textual characteristics.
Safety and Diagnostic Yield of Transbronchial Lung Cryobiopsy in Diffuse Parenchymal Lung Diseases: A Comparative Study versus Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Lung Biopsy and a Systematic Review of the Literature

Background: A diagnosis of interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) may include surgical lung biopsy (SLB), which is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and also appreciable costs. Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) is adopting an important role. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic yield (DY) and safety of TBLC and SLB in a large cohort of patients and to perform a systematic review of the literature as well as a meta-analysis. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 447 cases with ILD undergoing TBLC and/or SLB and a systematic review of the literature (MEDLINE and Embase for all original articles on the DY and safety of TBLC in ILDs up to July 2015). Results: A total of 150 patients underwent SLB and 297 underwent TBLC. The median time of hospitalization was 6.1 days (SLB) and 2.6 days (TBLC; p < 0.0001). Mortality due to adverse events was observed for 2.7% (SLB) and 0.3% (TBLC) of the patients. Pneumothorax was the most common complication after TBLC (20.2%). No severe bleeding was observed. TBLC was diagnostic for 246 patients (82.8%), SLB for 148 patients (98.7%, p = 0.013). A meta-analysis of 15 investigations including 781 patients revealed an overall DY of 0.81 (0.75-0.87); the overall pooled probability of developing a pneumothorax, as retrieved from 15 studies including 994 patients, was 0.06 (95% CI 0.02-0.11). Conclusion: Cryobiopsy is safe and has lower complication and mortality rates compared to SLB. TBLC might, therefore, be considered the first diagnostic approach for obtaining tissue in ILDs, reserving the surgical approach for cases in which TBLC is not diagnostic.
A NOVEL FUZZY MODELING STRATEGY USING EVOLUTIONARY PROGRAMMING AND LEAST SQUARES ESTIMATE

In designing a fuzzy model to a complex system, we encounter a major difficulty in the identification of an optimised fuzzy rule base, which is traditionally achieved by a tedious trial and error process. This paper has proposed a novel hybrid algorithm EPLSE to design fuzzy rule bases automatically, which is based on the combination of EP (Evolutionary Programming) and LSE (Least Squares Estimate). By utilizing the consequent parameters of the super 1-order Sugeno model, the training error is decreased greatly. Compared with the original work, the proposed algorithm has remarkably improved the fuzzy model’s precision. In the simulation, EPLSE is employed to predict a chaotic time series. Comparisons with some typical fuzzy modeling methods and artificial neural networks are presented and discussed. Other promising applications of the proposed EPLSE are also suggested.
Statistical Consistency of Kernel Canonical Correlation Analysis

While kernel canonical correlation analysis (CCA) has been applied in many contexts, the convergence of ﬁnite sample estimates of the associated functions to their population counterparts has not yet been established. This paper gives a mathematical proof of the statistical convergence of kernel CCA, providing a theoretical justiﬁcation for the method. The proof uses covariance operators deﬁned on reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces, and analyzes the convergence of their empirical estimates of ﬁnite rank to their population counterparts, which can have inﬁnite rank. The result also gives a sufﬁcient condition for convergence on the regularization coefﬁcient involved in kernel CCA: this should decrease as n (cid:0) 1 = 3 , where n is the number of data.
Development of Guideline for Rating the Physical Impairment of Otolaryngologic Field

We develop a guideline for rating the physical impairment of otolaryngologic fields. Assessment of hearing disturbance and tinnitus required physical examination, pure tone audiometry, speech audiometry, impedance audiometry, brainstem evoked response audiometry, Bekesy audiometry, otoacoustic emission test, and imaging examination. History taking, physical examination, and radiological examination for the vestibular organ and brain, righting reflex test, electronystagmography, and caloric test are taken for evaluation of balance disorder. Olfactory function tests include University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification test, Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center test, T and T olfactometry and Korean Version of Sniffin's Sticks test. Medical history and physical examination is mandatory to evaluatezseverity of respiration difficulty. Examinations include flexible fiberoptic nasopharyngoscope, bronchoscopy, simple soft-tissue radiography films of upper airway and high resolution computed tomography. Evaluation of mastication and swallowing are history taking, physical examination, examination for upper jaw, lower jaw, and temporomandibular joint, dental examination and radiological studies. Endoscopy and esophagography are also needed. Voice disorder is evaluated based on physical examination, oral pharynx and larynx endoscopy, larynx stroboscopy, hearing assessment, laryngeal electromyography, sound analysis test, aerodynamic test, electroglottography, and radiologic examination. Articulation disorder is assessed by picture consonant articulation test. These are position articulation test, Lee-Kim Korean articulation picture and speech intelligibility assessment.
Structure or Behavior? Revisiting Gang Typologies

Typically, the development of gang typologies have used either behaviorally based or structurally based characteristics to develop a classification system of gangs. The current study aims to assess the results of typologies approached from both angles, drawing from the same data source. It also examines whether using a combination of both approaches would prove to be useful. A separate but related aim of this study is to examine the boundaries between self-identified group members and gang members, especially on structural and behavioral characteristics. A hierarchical cluster analysis approach is used to group participants on both behavioral and structural measures using a sample of self-identified gang members (n = 44) and delinquent group members (n = 171). A number of important findings emerged from this analysis. First, the “types” of gangs and groups found were not differentiated based on membership status. Second, patterns found strongly depended on the chosen approach (behavioral or structural), but neither proved to be clearly superior. Instead, the choice between the two depend on the interest of the researcher. Finally, using a mixed approach appears to produce the most accurate picture and it does help differentiate between gang and group members more clearly. Yet, a much more complex picture of gangs and groups emerge, which suggests that a purely behavioral or structural classification may sometimes lead to oversimplification and misdirected policy interventions.
Electromyography of the Tympanic Muscles in Man

L'activite des muscles des osselets a ete etudiee electromyographiquement, au cours du traitement chirurgical pour l'otosclerose chez 48 malades des deux sexes, ages de 20 a 65 ans. L'augmentation de l'activite a ete observee en association avec d'autres activites musculaires telles que: fermeture volontaire des yeux, fermeture des yeux provoquee par un jet d'air, vocalisation, deglutition et serrements des dents. Ces observations semblent indiquer que les contractions des muscles des osselets sont reglees par les měmes centres que ceux qui contrO'lent aussi une variete d'autres activites musculaires. La stimulation tactile de la peau de l'oreille contre-laterale ainsi que la stimulation acoustique de la měme oreille (bruit blanc, 134 dB re 0.0002 dyne/cm2) etait suivie constamment d'une augmentation de l'activite du muscle de l'etrier tandis qu'une pareille augmentation de l'activite du muscle du marteau n'etait observee que dans les cas ou les stimuli appliques avaient declenche une reaction d'alarme.
Role of cell-free fetal DNA in the maternal plasma in the prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the role of cell-free fetal DNA (cff-DNA) in the maternal plasma in the prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities. Methods: The results of cell-free DNA detection of maternal plasma were retrospectively reviewed in 1440 pregnant women, and the pregnancy outcomes were followed up. Results: (1) Of 1440 pregnant women, 20 had a high risk for trisomy 21, and invasive prenatal examination showed the karyotype of 47, XN, +21; 22 had a high risk for trisomy 18, invasive prenatal examination in 19 women showed the karyotype of 47, XN, +18, but 3 women did not receive karyotyping. (2) When the cut-off value was 1/750, both the sensitivity and detection rates were 100% in the screening of trisomy. (3) Fetal chromosomal aneuploidy was significantly associated with NT thickening, AFP MOM, β-HCG MOM (≥3.5) and apparent ultrasound structural abnormalities (P<0.05). Conclusion: The cff-DNA detection is a fast, safe and high-throughput method for the prenatal examination of fetal chromosomal abnormalities. It is expected to replace the invasive prenatal diagnostic techniques and bring good prospects for the non-invasive prenatal diagnosis.
Subcortical regional morphology correlates with fluid and spatial intelligence

Neuroimaging studies have revealed associations between intelligence and brain morphology. However, researchers have focused primarily on the anatomical features of the cerebral cortex, whereas subcortical structures, such as the basal ganglia (BG), have often been neglected despite extensive functional evidence on their relation with higher‐order cognition. Here we performed shape analyses to understand how individual differences in BG local morphology account for variability in cognitive performance. Structural MRI was acquired in 104 young adults (45 men, 59 women, mean age = 19.83, SD = 1.64), and the outer surface of striatal structures (caudate, nucleus accumbens, and putamen), globus pallidus, and thalamus was estimated for each subject and hemisphere. Further, nine cognitive tests were used to measure fluid (Gf), crystallized (Gc), and spatial intelligence (Gv). Latent scores for these factors were computed by means of confirmatory factor analysis and regressed vertex‐wise against subcortical shape (local displacements of vertex position), controlling for age, sex, and adjusted for brain size. Significant results (FDR < 5%) were found for Gf and Gv, but not Gc, for the right striatal structures and thalamus. The main results show a relative enlargement of the rostral putamen, which is functionally connected to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and other intelligence‐related prefrontal areas. Hum Brain Mapp 35:1957–1968, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.