Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Moving forward on gait measurement: Toward a more refined approach

Gait is emerging as a powerful measurement tool in neurodegenerative disorders to identify markers of incipient pathology, inform diagnostic algorithms and disease progression, and measure the efficacy of interventions. However, it is unclear which of the many gait outcomes is most appropriate for each of these purposes. In this review, we summarise key topics relating to gait measurement. We draw on literature from Parkinson's disease, ageing, and neurodegenerative disease to address the issue of variable selection with the goal of moving toward a structured approach to measurement. Findings from this review identify a wide range of spatiotemporal and dynamic characteristics; however, their suitability differs according to the aim of measurement. Gait speed is useful as a global characteristic of performance but may not capture the nature of underlying pathology. Inconsistent application, reporting, and interpretation of gait outcomes currently preclude a prescriptive approach. Conceptual models of gait may facilitate a reasoned approach to outcome selection. We also recommend harmonisation of protocols, longitudinal cohort studies, and use of novel technologies and methods of analysis to provide a complete picture of gait. Gait characteristics are “fit for purpose” when selected according to a clear rationale and in accordance with their clinimetric properties. Evidence supports the use of gait as a biomarker of disease and to complement diagnosis and inform disease management. A structured approach to measurement is urgently required to fully realise the contribution gait can make to our understanding of neurodegenerative disease. © 2013 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Gender Differences in Learning Constructs, Shifts in Learning Constructs, and Their Relationship to Course Achievement in a Structured Inquiry, Yearlong College Physics Course for Life Science Majors

This study investigated differences and shifts in learning and motivation constructs among male and female students in a nonmajors, yearlong structured inquiry college physics course and examined how these variables were related to physics understanding and course achievement. Tests and questionnaires measured students' learning approaches, motivational goals, self-efficacy, epistemological beliefs, scientific reasoning abilities, and understanding of central physics concepts at the beginning and end of the course. Course achievement scores were also obtained. The findings showed that male students had significantly higher self-efficacy, performance goals, and physics understanding compared to females, which persisted throughout the course. Differential shifts were found in students' meaningful learning approaches, with females tending to use less meaningful learning from beginning to end of the course; and males using more meaningful learning over this time period. For both males and females, self-efficacy significantly predicted physics understanding and course achievement. For females, higher reasoning ability was also a significant predictor of understanding and achievement; whereas for males, learning goals and rote learning were significant predictors, but in a negative direction. The findings reveal that different variables of learning and motivation may be important for females' success in inquiry physics compared to males. Instructors should be cognizant of those needs in order to best help all students learn and achieve in college physics.
Incentivizing high-quality user-generated content

We model the economics of incentivizing high-quality user generated content (UGC), motivated by settings such as online review forums, question-answer sites, and comments on news articles and blogs. We provide a game-theoretic model within which to study the problem of incentivizing high quality UGC, in which contributors are strategic and motivated by exposure. Our model has the feature that both the quality of contributions as well as the extent of participation is determined endogenously in a free-entry Nash equilibrium. The model predicts, as observed in practice, that if exposure is independent of quality, there will be a flood of low quality contributions in equilibrium. An ideal mechanism in this context would elicit both high quality and high participation in equilibrium, with near-optimal quality as the available attention diverges, and should be easily implementable in practice. We consider a very simple elimination mechanism, which subjects each contribution to rating by some number A of viewers, and eliminates any contributions that are not uniformly rated positively. We construct and analyze free-entry Nash equilibria for this mechanism, and show that A can be chosen to achieve quality that tends to optimal, along with diverging participation, as the number of viewers diverges.
General Mental Ability as a Source of Differential Functioning in Personality Scales

Despite pervasive evidence that general mental ability and personality are unrelated, we investigated whether general mental ability may affect the response process associated with personality measurement. Study 1 examined a large sample of job applicant responses to four personality scales for differential functioning across groups of differing general mental ability. While results indicated that personality items differentially function across highly disparate general mental ability groups, there was little evidence of differential functioning across groups with similar levels of general mental ability. Study 2 replicated these findings in a different sample, using a different measure of general mental ability. We posit that observed differences in the psychometric properties of these personality scales are likely due to the information processing capabilities of the respondents. Additionally, we describe how differential functioning analyses can be used during scale development as a method of identifying items that are not appropriate for all intended respondents. In so doing, we demonstrate procedures for examining other construct-measurement interactions in which respondents’ standings on a specific construct could influence their interpretation of and response to items assessing other constructs.
Theoretical explanations of children's understanding of the mind

This is a state-of-the-art review of children's understanding of the mind. It examines both empirical evidence and explanatory theories. Considering evidence, the key issue of children's understanding of false belief is first discussed. Then other evidence for children's folk psychological understanding is summarized, from late infancy to the end of the preschool period. Considering explanations, the dominant idea in the field, the ‘heory theory’, is discussed first. Then five other perspectives are considered: enculturation, nativism, folk psychology based on procedural knowledge, on experience, or on scripts. The positions, and the empirical predictions each would make, are compared. The paper concludes with a synthesis of the different views and a brief consideration of where the field is headed.
One Hundred Years of Social Psychology Quantitatively Described

This article compiles results from a century of social psychological research, more than 25,000 studies of 8 million people. A large number of social psychological conclusions are listed alongside meta-analytic information about the magnitude and variability of the corresponding effects. References to 322 meta-analyses of social psychological phenomena are presented, as well as statistical effect-size summaries. Analyses reveal that social psychological effects typically yield a value of r equal to.21 and that, in the typical research literature, effects vary from study to study in ways that produce a standard deviation in r of.15. Uses, limitations, and implications of this large-scale compilation are noted.
Measuring An Almost Ideal Demand System With Generalized Flexible Least Squares

Structural change in meat consumption has been the focus of many researchers during the last two decades. In this paper we develop a dynamic linear Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) model from a cost function that allows for time varying parameters. This model is consistent with inertia in the parameters of the cost and indirect utility functions. It allows for persistent preferences which may arise from cultural biases, lifestyles, peer pressure, etc. An empirical application is conducted with US meat consumption and price data using a generalized system of flexible least squares, Generalized Flexible Least Squares (GFLS). GFLS allows parameters to evolve slowly over time through incorporating of penalties in fluctuations. Estimated quarterly elasticities were subjected to additional analysis to determine how highly they were related to the Brown and Schrader Cholesterol Index and relative prices. The combined results support that the movements of elasticities over time are related to both.
Helping Couples Heal From Infidelity: A Self Psychological, Intersubjective Approach

This article applies a contemporary self psychological approach to couple therapy, previously described (Leone, 2008), to the treatment of couples dealing with the aftermath of infidelity. From this perspective, infidelity is seen as a massive selfobject failure or relational trauma (at least in most cases in our culture) which typically stems from multiple intrapsychic and interpersonal factors. This article highlights the causes, functions, meanings, and impact of infidelity and emphasizes the importance of understanding the specific meanings of an affair for each individual partner and couple. It then describes a treatment approach designed to help couples process and integrate the experience of trauma and loss, address the issues that led to the unfaithful behavior, and gradually reestablish their relationship as a reliable source of selfobject experience for both partners. The use of directive, structuring, or educating interventions to achieve these goals is also discussed. Detailed clinical material is used to illustrate key concepts.
Differences in care received by patients with and without dementia who died during acute hospital admission: a retrospective case note study.

187 1. The FOOD Trial Collaboration. Routine oral nutritional supplementation for stroke patients in hospital (FOOD): a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2005; 365: 755–63. 2. The FOOD Trial Collaboration. Effect of timing and method of enteral tube feeding for dysphagic stroke patients (FOOD): a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2005; 365: 764–72. 3. Spiegelhalter DJ, Abrams KR, Myles JP. Prior Distributions in Bayesian Approaches to Clinical Trials and Health-Care Interventions. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2004, 139–80.
Fluctuating temperatures and ectotherm growth: distinguishing non-linear and time-dependent effects

ABSTRACT Most terrestrial ectotherms experience diurnal and seasonal variation in temperature. Because thermal performance curves are non-linear, mean performance can differ in fluctuating and constant thermal environments. However, time-dependent effects – effects of the order and duration of exposure to temperature – can also influence mean performance. We quantified the non-linear and time-dependent effects of diurnally fluctuating temperatures for larval growth rates in the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta L. , with four main results. First, the shape of the thermal performance curve for growth rate depended on the duration of exposure: for example, optimal temperature and thermal breadth were greater for growth rates measured over short (24 h during the last instar) compared with long (the entire period of larval growth) time periods. Second, larvae reared in diurnally fluctuating temperatures had significantly higher optimal temperatures and maximal growth rates than larvae reared in constant temperatures. Third, for larvae maintained at three mean temperatures (20, 25 and 30°C) and three diurnal temperature ranges (±0, ±5 and ±10°C), diurnal fluctuations had opposite effects on mean growth rates at low versus high mean temperature. Fourth, both short- and long-term thermal performance curves yielded poor predictions of the non-linear effects of fluctuating temperature on mean growth rates (compared with our experimental results) at higher mean temperatures. Our results suggest caution in using constant temperature studies to model the consequences of variable thermal environments. Summary: Growth rates measured at constant temperatures do not correctly predict mean growth under fluctuating conditions because of both non-linear and time-dependent effects. This has important implications for modeling ecological responses to climate change.
An Assessment of Climate Feedbacks in Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Models

Abstract The climate feedbacks in coupled ocean–atmosphere models are compared using a coordinated set of twenty-first-century climate change experiments. Water vapor is found to provide the largest positive feedback in all models and its strength is consistent with that expected from constant relative humidity changes in the water vapor mixing ratio. The feedbacks from clouds and surface albedo are also found to be positive in all models, while the only stabilizing (negative) feedback comes from the temperature response. Large intermodel differences in the lapse rate feedback are observed and shown to be associated with differing regional patterns of surface warming. Consistent with previous studies, it is found that the vertical changes in temperature and water vapor are tightly coupled in all models and, importantly, demonstrate that intermodel differences in the sum of lapse rate and water vapor feedbacks are small. In contrast, intermodel differences in cloud feedback are found to provide the largest.
Cognitive Style and the Theory and Practice of Individual and Collective Learning in Organizations

This paper reviews aspects of two largelydisparate literatures from the adjacent fields ofindividual and organizational learning and identifiessome implications for theory and practice. The focus of attention is the extent to which the individuallevel construct cognitive style can be meaningfullyapplied to aid the understanding of learning at thelevel of the organization as well as at the level of the individual. Attention is given to theways in which consideration of cognitive style canimprove the effectiveness of interventions designed toimprove individual and organizational performance. Nine categories of intervention areidentified.
Academic Intrinsic Motivation: Developmental Differences and Relations to Perceived Scholastic Competence, Locus of Control and Achievement.

The construct of academic motivation has substantial validity and significance for children's effective school functioning. The scope of the present study was to address issues concerning academic motivational orientation in Greek elementary and junior high school children (grades six through nine). More specifically the study (a) examined the grade and sex effects on children's academic motivation, (b) sought to identify correlates of a child's motivational orientation, and (c) investigated the impact of academic motivation and locus of control on self-perception of scholastic competence. Support was found that: (a) preference for challenge and intrinsic interest in the subject material - the two dimensions of academic intrinsic motivation considered in our study - decline with grade level; (b) boys show higher preference for challenge than do girls, while sex differences in intrinsic interest in the subject material shift in the favour of boys with grade level (i.e. smaller differences in favour of girl.
Pluripotential Marrow Cells Produce Adipocytes when Transplanted into Steroid-Treated Mice

The effect of steroids on adipogenesis by Dl-BAG, a pluripotent cell cloned from mouse bone marrow and transfected with traceable genes encoding β-galactosidase and neomycin resistance, was investigated in vitro in culture and in vivo after injection into mice. Treatment of Dl-BAG cells in culture with dexamethasone produced an accumulation of lipid vesicles and stimulated expression of the fat cell-specific 422(aP2) mRNA. Fifty-six mice each received 1 × 106 Dl-BAG cells, either by tail-vein injection or by direct injection into the marrow of the right femur. Another 38 mice received either saline injection or no treatment as controls. Half of the animals in each group were treated with 3 mg/kg of methylprednisolone per week. Analysis of marrow blow-outs by flow cytometry, DNA analysis by PCR, and X-gal stain of histological sections indicated that cells transplanted by either intravenous or intramedullary injection had appeared and persisted in the marrow of host mice. Cell sorting by flow cytometry and staining with Sudan IV demonstrated that steroid treatment produced adipogenesis in 5-9% of transplanted cells. The results indicate that steroid-induced differentiation of potentially osteogenic marrow cells into adipocytes in vivo may contribute to the development of osteoporosis and osteonecrosis.
Review of the Quality of Information on Bipolar Disorder on the Internet

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to assess the quality of commonly found websites on bipolar disorder. A specifically designed quality tool, the Bipolar Website Quality Checklist (BWQC), was developed for this purpose. Methods: The BWQC was developed from quality criteria identified by a literature review of Medline (1966 +), Medline in-process and non-indexed citations, PsychINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, Pub Med, Science citation index, and Psych Articles, using keywords: ‘quality, reliability, accuracy, readability, evaluation, assessment, information, internet, web, www’. To identify relevant websites, seven common search engines were accessed and searched using a string of key words: ‘bipolar disorder + mania+ manic depression+ hypomania’. The top active 15 sites identified were rated by three independent raters, using the BWQC and DISCERN instruments. Results: There was a wide variability in the quality of the websites reviewed. The Black Dog Institute website was ranked first by the BWQC and DISCERN instruments. The National Institute of Mental Health website was ranked second by DISCERN and seventh by BWQC. The BWQC demonstrated high interrater reliability (r = 0.89) and correlated strongly (r = 0.78, p = 0.001) with the more generic DISCERN instrument. Websites with an editorial board or affiliation to a professional organization or which contained information on a variety of mental health issues had higher quality information on bipolar disorder and its treatment than websites that did not share these characteristics. Conclusions: High-quality information on bipolar disorder does exist on the Internet. It is important that clinicians are familiar with such websites so that they can recommend the most appropriate site that meets the specific need of the individual. Use of such websites can assist clinicians in adhering to clinical practice guidelines by providing material to augment psychoeducational interventions.
An Update of a Classic

This study explores whether a classic motivation theory traditionally applied by public administration scholars in bureaucratic settings can also be used to understand relationships in intersectoral service delivery networks. It focuses on how well expectancy theory explains contracted provider motivation to properly use service-monitoring tools because of contract rewards and penalties. To examine this question, qualitative data were collected from early childhood programs in three communities. Expectancy theory in its current form does not do a good job consistently explaining contracted provider motivation. An expanded version of the theory may be more useful in situations where there is uncertainty.
Detection of Abnormal Behavior Via Nonparametric Estimation of the Support

In this paper two problems are considered, both involving the nonparametric estimation of the support of a random vector from a sequence of independent identically distributed observations. In the first problem, after observing n independent random vectors with a common unknown distribution $\mu $, we are given one new measurement and we wish to know whether or not it belongs to the support of $\mu $. In the second problem, after observing the n independent random vectors with a common unknown distribution $\mu $, we then observe n additional independent random vectors with a common unknown distribution $\nu $. In this case we wish to know whether or not the support of $\nu $ is completely contained within the support of $\mu $. Decision schemes are presented and then convergence properties are established.
Association of tumor angiogenesis with bone marrow micrometastases in breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The microscopic detection of tumor cells (micrometastases) in bone marrow and the extent of blood vessel formation (angiogenesis) in primary tumor specimens are recognized as independent prognostic markers in patients with breast cancer. Since micrometastases occur as a consequence of interaction between the neoplastic cells and the tumor neovasculature, we have examined the relationship between these markers to determine whether the degree of angiogenesis is related to the presence of micrometastases. METHODS Micrometastases were identified in bone marrow aspirates collected from multiple sites in 214 breast cancer patients prior to surgery (mastectomy or lumpectomy). Tumor cells were detected through an examination of epithelial membrane antigen expression and an analysis of cell morphology. Tumor vascularity was graded semiquantitatively or quantitatively (Chalkley point count) after immunohistochemical staining of the CD31 antigen expressed by the endothelial cells. The reproducibility and accuracy of the vascular grading were validated by use of kappa statistics. Associations between micrometastases and clinicopathologic characteristics, including angiogenesis, were examined using chi-squared and logistic regression techniques. All tests of statistical significance were two-sided. RESULTS Of the 214 patients, 42 (20%) were positive for bone marrow micrometastases and 75 (35%) had tumors of high vascular grade. There was 86% agreement between vascular grades assessed twice for 35 tumors (kappa statistic = 0.66); for 22 evaluated tumors, there was absolute concordance between vascular grade and Chalkley point count. There were significant positive associations between tumor angiogenesis and micrometastasis (P = .01), tumor grade (P = .003), and estrogen receptor expression (P = .007); however, no significant associations were observed with tumor size (P = .9), lymph node status (P = .33), vascular invasion (peritumoral blood or lymph vessels) (P = .9), menopausal status (P = .17), or age (P = .12). Adjusting for confounding factors, multivariate analysis showed that only tumor angiogenesis (odds ratio = 2.7; P = .016) and vascular invasion (odds ratio = 2.7; P = .012) were significant determinants for the presence of micrometastases. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that an assessment of tumor angiogenesis and vascular invasion gives a reliable indication of the likelihood of the presence of bone marrow micrometastases in patients with breast cancer and that both processes contribute to metastases.