Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimized efficient liver T1ρ mapping using limited spin lock times

T1ρ relaxation has recently been found to be sensitive to liver fibrosis and has potential to be used for early detection of liver fibrosis and grading. Liver T1ρ imaging and accurate mapping are challenging because of the long scan time, respiration motion and high specific absorption rate. Reduction and optimization of spin lock times (TSLs) are an efficient way to reduce scan time and radiofrequency energy deposition of T1ρ imaging, but maintain the near-optimal precision of T1ρ mapping. This work analyzes the precision in T1ρ estimation with limited, in particular two, spin lock times, and explores the feasibility of using two specific operator-selected TSLs for efficient and accurate liver T1ρ mapping. Two optimized TSLs were derived by theoretical analysis and numerical simulations first, and tested experimentally by in vivo rat liver T1ρ imaging at 3 T. The simulation showed that the TSLs of 1 and 50 ms gave optimal T1ρ estimation in a range of 10–100 ms. In the experiment, no significant statistical difference was found between the T1ρ maps generated using the optimized two-TSL combination and the maps generated using the six TSLs of [1, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50] ms according to one-way ANOVA analysis (p = 0.1364 for liver and p = 0.8708 for muscle).
Quantitative analyses of cell behaviors underlying notochord formation and extension in mouse embryos

Background: Formation and extension of the notochord (i.e., notogenesis) is one of the earliest and most obvious events of axis development in vertebrate embryos. In birds and mammals, prospective notochord cells arise from Hensen's node and come to lie beneath the midline of the neural plate. Throughout the period of neurulation, the notochord retains its close spatial relationship with the developing neural tube and undergoes rapid extension in concert with the overlying neuroepithelium.
The Role of Trustworthiness in Reducing Transaction Costs and Improving Performance: Empirical Evidence from the United States, Japan, and Korea

In this paper we investigate the relationship between supplier trust in the buyer and transaction costs and information sharing in a sample of 344 supplier-automaker exchange relationships in the United States, Japan, and Korea. Our findings indicate that perceived trustworthiness reduces transaction costs and is correlated with greater information sharing in supplier-buyer relationships. Moreover, the findings suggest that the value created for transactors, in terms of lower transaction costs, may be substantial. In particular, we found that the least-trusted automaker spent significantly more of its face-to-face interaction time with suppliers on contracting and haggling when compared to the most trusted automaker. This translated into procurement (transaction) costs that were five times higher for the least trusted automaker. Finally, we argue that trust is unique as a governance mechanism because it not only minimizes transaction costs, but also has a mutually causal relationship with information sharing, which also creates value in the exchange relationship. Other governance mechanisms (e.g., contracts, financial hostages) are necessary costs incurred to prevent opportunistic behavior, but do not create value beyond transaction cost minimization. Our findings provide empirical evidence that trustworthiness lowers transaction costs and may be an important source of competitive advantage.
Simulation of a hybrid optical/radio/acoustic extension to icecube for eev neutrino detection

Astrophysical neutrinos at ~EeV energies promise to be an interesting source of information for astrophysics and particle physics. Detecting the predicted cosmogenic ("GZK") neutrinos at 1016 - 1020eV would test models of cosmic ray production at these energies and probe particle physics at ~100 TeV center-of-mass energy. While IceCube could detect ~1 GZK event per year, it is necessary to detect 10 or more events per year in order to study temporal, angular, and spectral distributions. The IceCube observatory may be able to achieve such event rates with an extension including optical, radio, and acoustic receivers. We present results from simulating such a hybrid detector.
Hot Dust and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emission at Low Metallicity: A Spitzer Survey of Local Group and Other Nearby Dwarf Galaxies

We present Spitzer 4.5 and 8.0 μm imaging of 15 Local Group and nearby dwarf galaxies. We find that the diffuse 8 μm emission is spatially correlated with regions of active star formation. Our sample spans a range of >1 dex in nebular metallicity and 3 orders of magnitude in current star formation rate, allowing us to examine the dependence of emission from hot dust and PAHs on these parameters. We detect prominent diffuse 8 μm emission from the four most luminous galaxies in the sample (IC 1613, IC 5152, NGC 55, and NGC 3109) and only very low surface brightness emission from four others (DDO 216, Sextans A, Sextans B, and WLM). These are the first spatially resolved images of diffuse 8 μm emission from such low-metallicity objects [12 + log(O/H) ~ 7.5]. We observe correlations of this emission with the current star formation rate and the nebular metallicity of these galaxies. However, we also see evidence suggesting that other processes may also have a significant effect on the generation of this emission. These systems all have evidence for old and intermediate-age star formation; thus, the lack of diffuse 8 μm emission cannot be attributed to low galaxy ages. Also, winds cannot explain the paucity of this emission, since high-resolution imaging of the neutral gas in these objects shows no evidence of blowout. We propose that the lack of diffuse 8 μm emission in low-metallicity systems may be due to the destruction of dust grains by supernova shocks, assuming a long timescale to regrow dust. It is likely that the observed weak emission is at least partly due to a general absence of dust (including PAHs), in agreement with their low metallicities.
[Sigmoidoscopy as primary examination in patients with bowel symptoms].

INTRODUCTION Flexible sigmoidoscopy is recommended in the literature and is now officially recommended as the primary diagnostic method in patients with symptoms consistent with colorectal cancer. Sigmoidoscopy can detect two-thirds of all colorectal cancers. MATERIAL AND METHODS We carried out a retrospective analysis of prospective data on symptoms and findings at FS in 682 patients, above the age of 40 years, referred to a private specialist for rectal bleeding, change in bowel habits, or unspecific abdominal symptoms. The chi 2-test and logistic multivariate regression analysis were used to estimate the predictive value of symptoms for neoplasia. RESULTS Carcinoma was found in 31 (5%) and adenoma in 76 (11%), i.e., neoplasia in 16%. Logistic multivariate regression showed that bleeding in or on the faeces (p < 0.0001, OR 10.6 and 11.6), mucous discharge (p = 0.02, OR 3.0), and change in bowel habits (p = 0.02, OR 3.0) were independent risk factors of cancer, and bleeding on the faeces (p = 0.0002, OR 3.2) or in the faeces (p = 0.02, OR 2.7) were independent risk factors of adenoma. DISCUSSION On the basis of the literature and the present results, we conclude that sigmoidoscopy is a suitable primary diagnostic method for the detection of neoplasia in the rectum and left colon in patients with bowel symptoms. Bleeding, mucous discharge, and change in bowel habits are independent risk factors for carcinoma and bleeding for adenoma.
Trusting What you Know: Negotiating the Relational Context of Classroom Life

How do children understand the ways that classroom relationships shape their capacity to trust what they know? This article argues that students have remarkable abilities to read the relational tenor of their classrooms and shape their spoken knowledge accordingly. Based on an in-depth study with sixth-grade students, this research demonstrates that students’ construction of trustworthy knowledge in school depends heavily on the quality of their relationships with teachers and peers. In order to study the relational context of learning, the study employs student self-assessment work as its vantage point. Using the Listening Guide methodology of narrative analysis, the study examines children's understanding of this highly relational school practice as a window for viewing how teacher-student and peer relationships can both augment and constrain children's trust in their emerging knowledge. This research reveals children who vividly portray a process of sharing and suppressing knowledge that relies on their understandings of salient school relationships—relationships with themselves, peers, and teachers. The study locates the integral link between students’ understandings of these school relationships and their capacity to trust their knowledge and learn in school. The article challenges researchers and teachers to examine the complex relational life in our schools and the ways in which classroom environments can both support and constrain students’ ability to trust what they know.
Diminution of Voltage Threshold Plays a Key Role in Determining Recruitment of Oculomotor Nucleus Motoneurons during Postnatal Development

The size principle dictates the orderly recruitment of motoneurons (Mns). This principle assumes that Mns of different sizes have a similar voltage threshold, cell size being the crucial property in determining neuronal recruitment. Thus, smaller neurons have higher membrane resistance and require a lower depolarizing current to reach spike threshold. However, the cell size contribution to recruitment in Mns during postnatal development remains unknown. To investigate this subject, rat oculomotor nucleus Mns were intracellularly labeled and their electrophysiological properties recorded in a brain slice preparation. Mns were divided into 2 age groups: neonatal (1–7 postnatal days, n = 14) and adult (20–30 postnatal days, n = 10). The increase in size of Mns led to a decrease in input resistance with a strong linear relationship in both age groups. A well-fitted inverse correlation was also found between input resistance and rheobase in both age groups. However, input resistance versus rheobase did not correlate when data from neonatal and adult Mns were combined in a single group. This lack of correlation is due to the fact that decrease in input resistance of developing Mns did not lead to an increase in rheobase. Indeed, a diminution in rheobase was found, and it was accompanied by an unexpected decrease in voltage threshold. Additionally, the decrease in rheobase co-varied with decrease in voltage threshold in developing Mns. These data support that the size principle governs the recruitment order in neonatal Mns and is maintained in adult Mns of the oculomotor nucleus; but during postnatal development the crucial property in determining recruitment order in these Mns was not the modifications of cell size-input resistance but of voltage threshold.
APPLICATION OF BLIND SOURCE SEPARATION IN SPEECH PROCESSING FOR COMBINED INTERFERENCE REMOVAL AND ROBUST SPEAKER DETECTION USING A TWO-MICROPHONE SETUP

A speech enhancement scheme is presented integrating spatial and temporal signal processing methods for blind denoising in non stationary noise environments. In a first stage, spatially localized interferring point sources are separated from noisy speech signals recorded by two microphones using a Blind Source Separation (BSS) algorithm assuming no a priori knowledge about the sources involved. Spatially distributed background noise is removed in a second processing step. Here, the BSS output channel containing the desired speaker is filtered with a time-varying Wiener filter. Noise power estimates for the filter coefficients are computed from desired speaker absent time-intervals identified by comparing signal energy of separated source files from the BSS stage. The scheme’s performance is illustrated by speech recognition experiments on real recordings corrupted by babble noise and compared to conventional beamforming and single channel denoising techniques.
Clinical evaluation of aureomycin and chloramphenicol in herpes zoster.

FROM a previous study of 24 consecutive cases of herpes zoster treated with aureomycin1 the impression was gained that this antibiotic favorably influenced the course of the cutaneous lesions. Although postherpetic pain was not prevented in patients whose treatment was begun more than two weeks after the first appearance of the lesions, such pain was infrequent in those whose treatment was begun early and maintained in adequate dosage. Similar favorable results from the use of either aureomycin2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 or chloramphenicol15 16 17 18 19 20 21 in isolated cases or in small numbers of cases of herpes zoster have now been reported by many observers. One report, .
Prognosis Prediction of Measurable Enhancing Lesion after Completion of Standard Concomitant Chemoradiotherapy and Adjuvant Temozolomide in Glioblastoma Patients: Application of Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast Perfusion and Diffusion-Weighted Imaging

Purpose To assess the prognosis predictability of a measurable enhancing lesion using histogram parameters produced by the normalized cerebral blood volume (nCBV) and normalized apparent diffusion coefficient (nADC) after completion of standard concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) and adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ) medication in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients. Materials and Methods This study was approved by the institutional review board (IRB), and the requirement for informed consent was waived. A total of 59 patients with newly diagnosed GBM who received standard CCRT with TMZ and adjuvant TMZ for six cycles underwent perfusion-weighted and diffusion-weighted imaging. Twenty-seven patients had a measurable enhancing lesion and 32 patients lacked a measurable enhancing lesion based on the Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) criteria in the follow-up MRI, which was performed within 3 months after adjuvant TMZ therapy was completed. We measured the nCBV and nADC histogram parameters based on the measurable enhancing lesion. The progression free survival (PFS) was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method with the use of the log-rank test. Results The median PFS of patients lacking measurable enhancing lesion was longer than for those with measurable enhancing lesions (17.6 vs 3.3 months, P<.0001). There was a significant, positive correlation between the 99th percentile nCBV value of a measurable enhancing lesion and the PFS (P = .044, R2 = .152). In addition, the median PFS was longer in patients with a 99th percentile nCBV value ≧4.5 than it was in those with a value <4.5 (4.4 vs 3.1 months, P = .036). Conclusion We found that the nCBV value can be used for the prognosis prediction of a measurable enhancing lesion after the completion of standard treatment for GBM, wherein a high 99th percentile nCBV value (≧4.5) suggests a better PFS for GBM patients.
Science and Students with Learning and Behavioral Problems

Science governs how impressively effective disciplines, such as medicine and engineering, work, how they make decisions, how they collaborate, and how they are regulated by professional and other public and private organizations. Science, and the production of trustworthy empirical evidence, plays a central role in advancing the production of new knowledge in these disciplines. In contrast, education is not impressively effective. It is not approached scientifically, and empirical evidence does not drive its work, decision making, or regulation. Yet, a science of learning and behavior does exist, based on the pursuit of empirical evidence and dedicated to solving some of society's most daunting social problems, including the concerns of special education. This science is viewed through the lens of a 35-year collaboration of university scientists with residents of an inner-city economically impoverished community—The Juniper Gardens Children's Project (JGCP). From its founding in 1964 as a community-university partnership, the JGCP mission has been to conduct research designed to improve the developmental/educational experiences of children and families and to improve the academic, social, and health achievements of area children. Instead of adopting one of the popular approaches designed to study the community (e.g., sociological survey), the approach selected sought to accumulate evidence from efforts to intervene in order to improve measurable outcomes. This scientific approach and its outcomes are described, and implications are discussed.
Predicting criminal justice outcomes with the Psychopathy Checklist and Lifestyle Criminality Screening Form: a meta-analytic comparison.

Studies that have used either the Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R) or the Lifestyle Criminality Screening Form (LCSF) to predict criminal justice outcomes (disciplinary adjustment and recidivism) were subjected to meta-analysis and compared. Analogous results were obtained with the PCL-R and LCSF even though the PCL-R takes 2-3 hours and the LCSF 10 minutes to complete. It is concluded that pending further evaluation in which these assessment measures are directly compared, the cost-effectiveness of the LCSF makes it an attractive alternative to the PCL-R in situations where risk of future offender disciplinary maladjustment or recidivism is of principal concern.
The Maslow Business Reader

SELF-ACTUALIZING WORK. The Hierarchy of Needs. The Attitude of Self-Actualizing People to Duty, Work, Mission. Additional Notes on Self-Actualization, Work, Duty, and Mission. Self-Actualized Duty. Creativity in Self-Actualizing People. Some Basic Propositions of Growth and Self-Actualization Psychology. Notes on Self-Esteem in the Workplace. The Human Side of Enterprise. The American Dynamic. Dangers of Self-Actualization. MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP ISSUES. The Necessity for Enlightened Management Policies. The Good Enlightened Salesman and Customer. Further Notes on Salesmen and Customers. Managerial Stuff. Memorandum on Salesmen and Salesmanship. Notes on the Entrepreneur. By-Products of Enlightened Management. Leaders, Pawns, and Power. Communication: Key to Effective Management. The Dynamics of American Management. Theory Z. CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION. The Creative Attitude. A Holistic Approach to Creativity. Emotional Blocks to Creativity. The Need for Creative People. Notes on Creativeness. Addition to the Notes on the Creative Person. Our Aesthetic Needs: Exploratory Notes. MOTIVATION AND BEHAVIOR. A Theory of Human Motivation. Is All Behavior Motivated? Deficiency Motivation and Growth Motivation. Management as a Psychological Experiment. The Jonah Complex: Understanding Our Fear of Growth. Epilogue. Index.
Persuasive Evidence in India: An Investigation of the Impact of Evidence Types and Evidence Quality

Research on persuasive evidence types has been limited to Western cultures. Because Western systems of thought are claimed to be fundamentally different from Eastern systems of thought, the persuasiveness of evidence types was explored in one Eastern culture. Indians (N = 183) judged claims supported by different evidence types. Statistical, expert, and causal evidence were found to be equally persuasive as support for claims. Indians also appeared sensitive to evidence quality that was manipulated according to Western norms for reasonable argumentation: normatively strong evidence was more persuasive than normatively weak evidence. Findings are compared to results from studies conducted in Western cultures.
Age-Dependent and Cell Class-Specific Modulation of Retinal Ganglion Cell Bursting Activity by GABA

Competition for postsynaptic targets during development is thought to be driven by differences in temporal patterns of neuronal activity. In the ferret visual system, retinal ganglion cells that are responsive either to the onset (On) or to the offset (Off) of light exhibit similar patterns of spontaneous bursting activity early in development but later develop different bursting rhythms during the period when their axonal arbors segregate to occupy spatially distinct regions in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. Here, we demonstrate that GABAergic transmission plays an important, although not exclusive, role in regulating the bursting patterns of morphologically identified On and Off ganglion cells. During the first and second postnatal weeks, blocking GABAA receptors leads to a decrease in the bursting activity of all ganglion cells, suggesting that GABA potentiates activity at the early ages. Subsequently, during the period of On–Off segregation in the geniculate nucleus, GABA suppresses ganglion cell bursting activity. In particular, On ganglion cells show significantly higher bursting rates when GABAergic transmission is blocked, but the bursting rates of Off ganglion cells are not affected systematically. Thus, developmental differences in the bursting rates of On and Off ganglion cells emerge as GABA becomes inhibitory and as it consistently and more strongly inhibits On compared with Off ganglion cells. Because in many parts of the CNS GABAergic circuits appear early in development, our results also implicate a potentially important and possibly general role for local inhibitory interneurons in creating distinct temporal patterns of presynaptic activity that are specific to each developmental period.
Cd2+ Block and Permeation of CaV3.1 (α1G) T-Type Calcium Channels: Candidate Mechanism for Cd2+ Influx

Cd2+ is an industrial pollutant that can cause cytotoxicity in multiple organs. We examined the effects of extracellular Cd2+ on permeation and gating of Cav3.1 (α1G) channels stably transfected in HEK293 cells, by using whole-cell recording. With the use of instantaneous I-V currents (measured after strong depolarization) to isolate the effects on permeation, Cd2+ rapidly blocked currents with 2 mM Ca2+ in a voltage-dependent manner. The block caused by Cd2+ was relieved at more-hyperpolarized potentials, which suggests that Cd2+ can permeate through the selectivity filter of the channel into the cytosol. In the absence of other permeant ions (Ca2+ and Na+ replaced by N-methyl-d-glucamine), Cd2+ carried sizable inward currents through Cav3.1 channels (210 ± 20 pA at −60 mV with 2 mM Cd2+). Cav3.1 channels have a significant “window current” at that voltage (open probability, ∼1%), which makes them a candidate pathway for Cd2+ entry into cells during Cd2+ exposure. Incubation with radiolabeled 109Cd2+ confirmed uptake of Cd2+ into cells with Cav3.1 channels.