Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factor structure of the BPRS in deaf people with schizophrenia: Correlates to language and thought

Introduction. There has been a relative lack of research on deaf people with schizophrenia, and no data exist regarding symptom structure in this population. Thus, we determined the factor structure of the 24-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) in deaf (n=34) and hearing (n=31) people with schizophrenia and compared it to a standard four-factor solution. Method. An obliquely rotated factor analysis produced a solution for the BPRS that resembled others in the literature. Symptom clusters were additionally compared to cognitive and social-cognitive abilities. Results. Activity and disorganised symptoms were the most consistent correlates of visual- and thought and language-related skills for deaf and hearing subjects respectively. Affective symptoms and facial affect processing were positively correlated among deaf but not hearing subjects. Conclusions. The data suggest that current symptom models of schizophrenia are valid in both hearing and deaf patients. However, relations between symptoms, cognition, and outcome from the general (hearing) literature cannot be generalised to deaf patients. Findings are broadly consistent with pathophysiologic models of schizophrenia suggesting a fundamental cortical processing algorithm operating across several domains of neural activity including vision, and thought and language. Support is provided for recent advances in social-cognitive interventions for people with schizophrenia.
The impact of lesion location on dysphagia incidence, pattern and complications in acute stroke. Part 2: Oropharyngeal residue, swallow and cough response, and pneumonia

Dysphagia is a well‐known complication of acute stroke. Given the complexity of cerebral swallowing control it is still difficult to predict which patients are likely to develop swallowing dysfunction based on their neuroimaging. In Part 2 of a comprehensive voxel‐based imaging study, whether the location of a stroke lesion can be correlated with further dysfunctional swallowing patterns, pulmonary protective reflexes and pneumonia was evaluated.
Diversification rates are more strongly related to microhabitat than climate in squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes)

Patterns of species richness among clades can be directly explained by the ages of clades or their rates of diversification. The factors that most strongly influence diversification rates remain highly uncertain, since most studies typically consider only a single predictor variable. Here, we explore the relative impacts of macroclimate (i.e., occurring in tropical vs. temperate regions) and microhabitat use (i.e., terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal, aquatic) on diversification rates of squamate reptile clades (lizards and snakes). We obtained data on microhabitat, macroclimatic distribution, and phylogeny for >4000 species. We estimated diversification rates of squamate clades (mostly families) from a time‐calibrated tree, and used phylogenetic methods to test relationships between diversification rates and microhabitat and macroclimate. Across 72 squamate clades, the best‐fitting model included microhabitat but not climatic distribution. Microhabitat explained ∼37% of the variation in diversification rates among clades, with a generally positive impact of arboreal microhabitat use on diversification, and negative impacts of fossorial and aquatic microhabitat use. Overall, our results show that the impacts of microhabitat on diversification rates can be more important than those of climate, despite much greater emphasis on climate in previous studies.
Anthropometric and body composition differences among rural and urban ao naga tribes: correlation between hypertension, haemoglobin and obesity.

Background: Urbanization, shifts in diet, activity patterns because of rural-urban step migration can increase obesity and its associated diseases. Aim: To study anthropometric and body composition differences among rural and urban Ao Naga tribe and understand the correlation matrix between hypertension, haemoglobin of both sexes. Subjects and Methods:A cross-sectional method of anthropometric study was adopted for assessing the body composition and nutritional status of 1803 AoNagas, out of which 802 from urban and 1001 from rural area were selected. The mean age ± SD were 36.84 ± 14.1 for the urban settlers and 38.73 ± 14.9 for rural settlers. Result: Among males, both systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were higher in urban than rural males (p<0.05). The reverse is true for females. Hypertension, haemoglobin was more prevalent among rural population. Multivariate regression analysis for rural males showed age and body fat mass index (BFMI) as significant predictor of SBP (β= 0.258, R2= 0.157, p =0.016). For urban female, BFMI and age were significant predictors for SBP (β=3.646, R2= 0.353, p =0.000), and for the rural female, WSR, age and WHR were significant predictors for SBP (β=188.17, R2= 0.264, p < 0.000). Conclusion: Increasing rural-urban step migration among AoNagas result in changes in body composition variables which leads to higher WSR, overweight and obesity among them and anthropometric variables like age, %BF, BFMI, WSR and WHR were shown to impact systolic blood pressure.
Emotion Regulation and Empathy: Which Relation with Social Conduct?

ABSTRACT A shared consensus among researchers deals with the positive association between the ability to effectively regulate and manage one's emotion and the engagement in empathic behavior and morally desirable actions. This study was designed to investigate how dispositional reliance on suppression and reappraisal differently impacted on the cognitive and affective components of empathy and on social conduct, distinguishing among prosocial, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors. Two hundred nineteen middle adolescents were enrolled and fulfilled self-reports assessing emotion regulation strategies, empathy, and social behaviors. The results suggest that there are important distinctions among the emotion regulation strategies and the components of empathy as they relate to one another and to prosocial behavior and problem conduct. Specifically, cognitive reappraisal was related to prosocial behavior through empathic concern. While internalizing behavior was associated with emotion regulation strategies, externalizing behavior was only related to perspective-taking ability. Delimitations and practical implications were discussed.
Do Participants Report Any Undesired Effects in Ultrasound Speech Therapy?

Purpose Ultrasound visual feedback of the tongue is increasingly used as a component of speech therapy in clinical research and practice. The purpose is to offer a preliminary summary of the nature of participant-reported undesired effects related to ultrasound visual feedback. Method Sixty-two participants across 3 sites (mean age = 11.9 years) and 38 parents responded to a 2-item verbal questionnaire following 14-16 hr of treatment regarding any aspects of the treatment they did not like. Responses were thematically categorized. Results The 62 participants provided 65 distinct responses, which were categorized as follows: 31% no concerns, 40% gel-related (e.g., cold, sticky), 21% positioning of the probe (e.g., uncomfortable, annoying), 3% chin hurting (qualified as being minor in nature), and 5% other (i.e., unrelated to the use of the ultrasound). Responses from all parents suggested no concerns about the use of ultrasound; however, 8% expressed concerns unrelated to ultrasound use (e.g., fatigue). Conclusion These data inform clinicians and researchers about participant's experience and highlight the type of comments most likely to be encountered with ultrasound in speech therapy. Although the reported adverse effects can be considered minor, they should be weighed against the potential benefits of visual feedback in treatment.
Algorithms for In-Season Nutrient Management in Cereals

The demand for improved decision-making products for cereal production systems has placed added emphasis on using plant sensors in-season, and that incorporate real-time, site specific, growing environments. The objectives of this work were to describe validated in-season sensor-based algorithms presently being used in cereal grain production systems for improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and cereal grain yields. A review of research programs in the central Great Plains that have developed sensor-based N recommendations for cereal crops was performed. Algorithms included multiple land-grant university, government, and industry programs. A common thread in this review is the use of active sensors, particularly those using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for quantifying differences in fertilized and non-fertilized areas, within a specific cropping season. In-season prediction of yield potential over different sites and years is possible using NDVI, planting date, sensing date, cumulative growing degree days (GDD), and rainfall. Other in-season environment-specific inputs have also been used. Early passive sensors have advanced to by-plant N fertilization using active NDVI and by-plant statistical properties. Most recently, sensor-based algorithm research has focused on the development of generalized mathematical models for determining optimal crop N application. The development and promotion of fee-based modeling approaches for nutrient management continues. Nonetheless, several algorithms using active sensors for in-season N management are available from state and government sources at no cost and that have been extensively field tested and can be modified by producers.
Age and Sex Differences in Morningness/Eveningness Along the Life Span: A Cross-Sectional Study in Spain

ABSTRACT Work psychology has noted the importance of considering the temporal dimension of behavior in organizations. Given that society widely operates on a 24-hr schedule, it is important to know how circadian typologies are distributed in the general population. In this study, diurnal preference was analyzed among 4,175 Spanish participants (61.3% women), 12–59 years old, who completed the Composite Scale of Morningness (Smith, Reilly, & Midkiff, 1989). Several measurement models of the CSM were analyzed using exploratory structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis. The bifactor model showed the best fit, with a general factor (morningness/eveningness) and three subfactors (morningness, morning affect, and time of retiring). The age and sex factorial invariance of the bifactor model were tenable at the latent variance-covariance level. Next, age and sex differences analysis indicated a progressive increase in morningness with age, but over 40 years old, men were more morningness oriented than women were. These results indicate that morningness/eveningness can be considered a multidimensional construct and that psychosocial factors must be considered when estimating the prevalence of morningness/eveningness in different populations or countries.
Enhanced Coarse-Graining of Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomer for Multiscale Modeling

The objective of this work is to develop a multiscale modeling tool of copolymers with long chains. We propose an enhanced coarse-graining method of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) with three beads. The proposed coarse-graining provides an accurate molecular modeling tool to keep the molecular interaction together with computational efficiency. The coarse-grained model with three beads is further improved with pressurecorrection of the force-field. The improved coarse-grained model holds similar properties of a bulk model of TPU—varying density with temperature, a close density value of TPU at 1 atm, and the phase separation. Equating potential energy densities of the coarsegrained model to the strain energy functions of the continuum model at volumetric and isochoric deformation modes, bulk and shear moduli of TPU are directly obtained and used to estimate Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio. The molecular simulation with the coarse-grained model of TPU demonstrates its much greater bulk modulus than the shear modulus, which is typically observed in elastomers. Modifying the coarse-grained model of TPU with hard and soft segments, we successfully demonstrated the material design of bulk modulus and Poisson’s ratio by varying hard and soft segments at the molecular level. The proposed coarse-graining tool will pave a new way to explore the multiscale modeling of copolymers with long chains and can be directly applied to the multiscale modeling of other thermoplastic elastomers (TPE). [DOI: 10.1115/1.4034328]
Enterolactone Reduces Telomerase Activity and The Level of Its Catalytic Subunit in Breast Cancer Cells

Objective There is a positive correlation between higher serum phytoestrogen concentrations and lower risk of breast cancer. The activation of telomerase is crucial for the growth of cancer cells; therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effects of enterolactone (ENL) and enterodiol (END) on this enzyme. Materials and Methods In this experimental study, we performed the viability assay to determine the effects of different concentrations of ENL and END on cell viability, and the effective concentrations of these two compounds on cell growth. We used western blot analysis to evaluate human telomerase reverse transcriptase catalytic subunit (hTERT) expression and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-ELISA based on the telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay for telomerase activity. Results Both ENL and END, at 100 μM concentrations, significantly (P<0.05) reduced cell viability. However, only the 100 μM concentration of ENL significantly (P<0.05) decreased hTERT protein levels and telomerase activity. Lower concentrations of ENL did not have any significant effects on telomerase activity and hTERT protein levels. Conclusion High concentration of ENL decreased the viability of MCF-7 breast cancer cells and inhibited the expression and activity of telomerase in these cells. Although END could reduce breast cancer cell viability, it did not have any effect on telomerase expression and activity.
Detecting Fake Websites: The Contribution of Statistical Learning Theory

Fake websites have become increasingly pervasive, generating billions of dollars in fraudulent revenue at the expense of unsuspecting Internet users. The design and appearance of these websites makes it difficult for users to manually identify them as fake. Automated detection systems have emerged as a mechanism for combating fake websites, however most are fairly simplistic in terms of their fraud cues and detection methods employed. Consequently, existing systems are susceptible to the myriad of obfuscation tactics used by fraudsters, resulting in highly ineffective fake website detection performance. In light of these deficiencies, we propose the development of a new class of fake website detection systems that are based on statistical learning theory (SLT). Using a design science approach, a prototype system was developed to demonstrate the potential utility of this class of systems. We conducted a series of experiments, comparing the proposed system against several existing fake website detection systems on a test bed encompassing 900 websites. The results indicate that systems grounded in SLT can more accurately detect various categories of fake websites by utilizing richer sets of fraud cues in combination with problem-specific knowledge. Given the hefty cost exacted by fake websites, the results have important implications for e-commerce and online security.
Calibrating the Human Mutation Rate via Ancestral Recombination Density in Diploid Genomes

The human mutation rate is an essential parameter for studying the evolution of our species, interpreting present-day genetic variation, and understanding the incidence of genetic disease. Nevertheless, our current estimates of the rate are uncertain. Most notably, recent approaches based on counting de novo mutations in family pedigrees have yielded significantly smaller values than classical methods based on sequence divergence. Here, we propose a new method that uses the fine-scale human recombination map to calibrate the rate of accumulation of mutations. By comparing local heterozygosity levels in diploid genomes to the genetic distance scale over which these levels change, we are able to estimate a long-term mutation rate averaged over hundreds or thousands of generations. We infer a rate of 1.61 ± 0.13 × 10−8 mutations per base per generation, which falls in between phylogenetic and pedigree-based estimates, and we suggest possible mechanisms to reconcile our estimate with previous studies. Our results support intermediate-age divergences among human populations and between humans and other great apes.
A New Change-of-Contents False Belief Test: Children and Chimpanzees Compared

In the handful of existing comparative false belief studies, chimpanzees have consistently failed tests that 5- to 6-year-old children have passed. However, those tests were either explicitly cooperative communicativeor competitive, both of which are problematic for different reasons. We therefore devised a new change-of-contents false belief test for children and chimpanzees that did not include these problematic elements. Nevertheless, chimpanzees showed no evidence of understanding false beliefs (consistent with past research, however, children showed a clear improvement in test performance from 3.5 to 4.5 years of age). Our results suggest that the cooperative-communicative or competitive nature of previous false belief tests was not solely responsible for chimpanzees’ failure. That chimpanzees have now also failed a more socially neutral test supports the conclusion that chimpanzees may simply not recognize false belief states in others. Additionally, our test departs from a near exclusive reliance on the change-of-location paradigm in false belief research. It therefore expands the repertoire of methods available for testing false belief understanding with minimally verbal and nonverbal procedures.
Equine-facilitated psychotherapy for at-risk adolescents: The influence on self-image, self-control and trust

This article describes the theoretical-conceptual frame of equine-facilitated psychotherapy (EFP) for adolescents at-risk, the unique components of this intervention, and its implementation in an evaluation study. The study was conducted at a residential treatment facility for adolescents at-risk. We examined the outcomes of EFP on self-image, self-control, trust and general life satisfaction. Fourteen resident adolescents comprised the treatment group, and were compared with a matched group of 15 residents who did not receive EFP (control). The treatment comprised a weekly individual EFP session over a period of seven months. The study found a trend of positive change in all four research parameters within the treatment group. Additional indications of the intervention’s positive influence were also found and are discussed.
Functional neurological disorders in Parkinson disease

Objective To ascertain demographic and clinical features of Parkinson disease (PD) associated with functional neurological features. Methods A standardised form was used to extract data from electronic records of 53 PD patients with associated functional neurological disorders (PD-FND) across eight movement disorders centres in the USA, Canada and Europe. These subjects were matched for age, gender and disease duration to PD patients without functional features (PD-only). Logistic regression analysis was used to compare both groups after adjusting for clustering effect. Results Functional symptoms preceded or co-occurred with PD onset in 34% of cases, nearly always in the most affected body side. Compared with PD-only subjects, PD-FND were predominantly female (68%), had longer delay to PD diagnosis, greater prevalence of dyskinesia (42% vs 18%; P=0.023), worse depression and anxiety (P=0.033 and 0.025, respectively), higher levodopa-equivalent daily dose (972±701 vs 741±559 mg; P=0.029) and lower motor severity (P=0.019). These patients also exhibited greater healthcare resource utilisation, higher use of [(123)I]FP-CIT SPECT and were more likely to have had a pre-existing psychiatric disorder (P=0.008) and family history of PD (P=0.036). Conclusions A subtype of PD with functional neurological features is familial in one-fourth of cases and associated with more psychiatric than motor disability and greater use of diagnostic and healthcare resources than those without functional features. Functional manifestations may be prodromal to PD in one-third of patients.
Chapter 6 A Quantitative Comparison of Disclosure Control Methods for Microdata

As described in Chapter 5, there is a plethora of statistical disclosure control (SDC) methods to protect microdata. This chapter provides guidance in choosing a particular SDC method by comparing some of the methods discussed in Chapter 5 on the basis of both information loss and disclosure risk. Information loss can be readily quantified using analytical measures (either generic or data-use-specific). It is far more difficult to assess disclosure risk in a way that is both analytical and applicable to all methods. For this reason, our approach to disclosure risk evaluation is empirical, based on reidentification experiments carried out using record-linkage algorithms.
Why Do Ethnic Groups Rebel?: New Data and Analysis

Much of the quantitative literature on civil wars and ethnic conflict ignores the role of the state or treats it as a mere arena for political competition among ethnic groups. other studies analyze how the state grants or withholds minority rights and faces ethnic protest and rebellion accordingly, while largely overlooking the ethnic power configurations at the state's center. drawing on a new data set on ethnic power relations (EPR ) that identifies all politically relevant ethnic groups and their access to central state power around the world from 1946 through 2005, the authors analyze outbreaks of armed conflict as the result of competing ethnonationalist claims to state power. the findings indicate that representatives of ethnic groups are more likely to initiate conflict with the government (1) the more excluded from state power they are, especially if they have recently lost power, (2) the higher their mobilizational capacity, and (3) the more they have experienced conflict in the past.
X mode Doppler reflectometry k-spectral measurements in ASDEX Upgrade: experiments and simulations

The perpendicular density fluctuation spectrum in the tokamak ASDEX Upgrade was measured with Doppler reflectometry. In this paper, extensive plasma turbulence and microwave propagation simulations with the gene gyro-kinetic code and the ipf-fd3d full-wave code were undertaken to explain the observed spectral shape. It was shown that in this case the X-mode polarisation suffers both from a large nonlinear saturation effect at low-to-intermediate probed wavenumbers, and a super-linear enhancement effect at large wavenumbers. With these effects, we were able to explain the observed discrepancies between the gene perpendicular wavenumber spectra and the Doppler reflectometry derived wavenumber spectra. While the agreement is not perfect, the simulations give guidance on how to interpret X-mode Doppler reflectometry spectra.