Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Agitation in dementia: concept clarification.

AIM The aim of this paper is to clarify the concept of agitation in dementia through analysing definitions, critical attributes, components, boundaries, antecedents and consequences of agitation. BACKGROUND The concept of agitation is not well defined. In addition, there exists much confusion about the characteristics and boundaries of agitation, as well as the distinction between agitation and related concepts. Recently developed theoretical models for agitation in dementia require new interpretation and conceptualization of agitation. METHODS Morse's method of critical appraisal of the literature was used. In addition, some parts of Rodgers' evolutionary method were employed. Data were selected using six electronic databases and the key words 'agitation', 'agitated', 'dementia', 'demented' and 'Alzheimer'. The analysis included 86 empirical or theoretical papers and one book. RESULTS A transition from the observer's perspective to the patient's perspective in the interpretation of agitation was found. Five critical attributes of agitation in dementia were identified: excessive, inappropriate, repetitive, non-specific and observable. Patient factors, interpersonal factors, environmental factors and restraint were identified as precipitating antecedents. Mediating antecedents included discomfort, unmet need and misinterpretation. Consequences of agitation were identified at the levels of patient, caregiver and others. CONCLUSIONS This transition in perspectives has important implications as it can change health providers' attitudes and responses to agitation and lead to patient-focused and individualized care. Researchers and clinicians are encouraged to avoid labelling agitated behaviour as 'disturbing behaviour'.
Fast parallel α-stable distribution function evaluation and parameter estimation using OpenCL in GPGPUs

α -stable distributions are a family of probability distributions found to be suitable to model many complex processes and phenomena in several research ﬁelds, such as medicine, physics, ﬁnance and networking, among others. However, the lack of closed expressions makes their evaluation analytically intractable, and alternative approaches are computationally expensive. Existing numerical programs are not fast enough for certain applications and do not make use of the parallel power of general purpose graphic processing units (GPGPUs). In this paper, we develop novel parallel algorithms for the Probability Density Function (PDF) and Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) – including a parallel Gauss-Kronrod quadrature–, quantile function, random number generator and maximum likelihood estimation of α -stable distributions using
The Microstructural Status of the Corpus Callosum Is Associated with the Degree of Motor Function and Neurological Deficit in Stroke Patients

Human neuroimaging studies and animal models have suggested that white matter damage from ischemic stroke leads to the functional and structural reorganization of perilesional and remote brain regions. However, the quantitative relationship between the transcallosal tract integrity and clinical motor performance score after stroke remains unexplored. The current study employed a tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate the relationship between white matter diffusivity changes and the clinical scores in stroke patients. Probabilistic fiber tracking was also used to identify structural connectivity patterns in the patients. Thirteen ischemic stroke patients and fifteen healthy control subjects participated in this study. TBSS analyses showed that the corpus callosum (CC) and bilateral corticospinal tracts (CST) in the stroke patients exhibited significantly decreased fractional anisotropy and increased axial and radial diffusivity compared with those of the controls. Correlation analyses revealed that the motor and neurological deficit scores in the stroke patients were associated with the value of diffusivity indices in the CC. Compared with the healthy control group, probabilistic fiber tracking analyses revealed that significant changes in the inter-hemispheric fiber connections between the left and right motor cortex in the stroke patients were primarily located in the genu and body of the CC, left anterior thalamic radiation and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, bilateral CST, anterior/superior corona radiate, cingulum and superior longitudinal fasciculus, strongly suggesting that ischemic induces inter-hemispheric network disturbances and disrupts the white matter fibers connecting motor regions. In conclusion, the results of the present study show that DTI-derived measures in the CC can be used to predict the severity of motor skill and neurological deficit in stroke patients. Changes in structural connectivity pattern tracking between the left and right motor areas, particularly in the body of the CC, might reflect functional reorganization and behavioral deficit.
‘Old but not that old’: Finnish community-dwelling people aged 90+ negotiating their autonomy

ABSTRACT Autonomy is a pervasive concept in Western lifestyles today. However, people in the fourth age are assumed not to be autonomous but dependent on other people. The data of this study consisted of interviews with Finnish community-dwelling 90–91-year-old people. The study aim was to examine how these people see their own autonomy in their everyday lives. The analysis was based on membership categorisation analysis. Our respondents considered their autonomy through three distinct themes. Functional ability was considered in terms of being physically capable of managing daily tasks. Independence in decision making was based on material and financial self-sufficiency and on the respondents' supposition that they were capable of making decisions due to an absence of memory disorders. Additionally, autonomy was considered as contesting norms of age-appropriateness. Among respondents, chronological age seemed to have been replaced by functional and cognitive ability as a definer of categorisations; age-others became ability-others. Our study revealed that the perceptions of autonomy also included gendered features as they were linked with differing gendered ideals, roles and life domains of women and men. The results highlight the internal diversity among the oldest old and challenge the third/fourth age division. Instead, they suggest the existence of a certain ‘grey area’ within old age, and urge an analysis on the subtle meaning making involved in older people's constructions of age-categorisations.
Clinical features and axis I comorbidity of Australian adolescent pathological Internet and video game users

Objectives: Although there is growing international recognition of pathological technology use (PTU) in adolescence, there has been a paucity of empirical research conducted in Australia. This study was designed to assess the clinical features of pathological video gaming (PVG) and pathological Internet use (PIU) in a normative Australian adolescent population. A secondary objective was to investigate the axis I comorbidities associated with PIU and video gaming. Method: A total of 1287 South Australian secondary school students aged 12–18 years were recruited. Participants were assessed using the PTU checklist, Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale, Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents, revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Teenage Inventory of Social Skills. Adolescents who met the criteria for PVG or PIU or both were compared to normal adolescents in terms of axis I comorbidity. Results: The prevalence rates of PIU and PVG were 6.4% and 1.8%, respectively. A subgroup with co-occurring PIU and PVG was identified (3.3%). The most distinguishing clinical features of PTU were withdrawal, tolerance, lies and secrecy, and conflict. Symptoms of preoccupation, inability to self-limit, and using technology as an escape were commonly reported by adolescents without PTU, and therefore may be less useful as clinical indicators. Depression, panic disorder, and separation anxiety were most prevalent among adolescents with PIU. Conclusions: PTU among Australian adolescents remains an issue warranting clinical concern. These results suggest an emerging trend towards the greater uptake and use of the Internet among female adolescents, with associated PIU. Although there exists an overlap of PTU disorders, adolescents with PIU appear to be at greater risk of axis I comorbidity than adolescents with PVG alone. Further research with an emphasis on validation techniques, such as verified identification of harm, may enable an informed consensus on the definition and diagnosis of PTU.
The Prognosis of Bronchiectasis in Childhood*

In England Ogilvie (1941), Field (1949) and Conway (1952) have collected cases of childhood bronchiectasis over the long term and on the large scale needed for worthwhile information. The gloomy prognostication, based on old clinical and necropsy studies, that the bronchiectatic child will not grow up or will be a burden to himself and his neighbours, is not generally true. Since 1926-that is, during 20 to 30 years of active bronchographythe diagnosis has depended on an x-ray appearance of dilatation in more or less of the bronchial tree. On this basis it seems now established that: (1) dilatation once present always persists, except where tubular widening is confined to lobes or segments temporarily collapsed (atelectatic reversible bronchiectasis); (2) under natural conditions the distribution of the affected areas does not alter; and (3) the clinical picture changes little and the tendency is for any change to be for the better even without surgery and without chemotherapy. In 1944, I (Franklin, 1944) reviewed 24 personal cases of bronchiectasis, observed for periods of four and a half to 13 years, and found 15 of them completely well and free from symptoms, while four were assessed as invalids, and five were classed as delicate according to criteria described below. The x-ray evidence of bronchiectasis had remained constant in distribution throughout the period of observation in all but one of the cases. This boy had the severest form of bronchiectasis clinically, with the added complications of steatorrhoea, an anaemia of pernicious type, and for a short period signs of subacute combined degeneration of the cord. Despite all this and the fact that the bronchiectatic areas spread he is, at the age of 23, well grown, normal and healthy and has been free from respiratory symptoms for six years. With a further follow-up it is possible to take from this whole group 19 cases with an interval from the onset of symptoms of between 13 and 26 years, and one with
Handling errors as they arise in whole-class interactions

There has been a long history of research into errors and their role in the teaching and learning of mathematics. This research has led to a change to pedagogical recommendations from avoiding errors to explicitly using them in lessons. In this study, 22 mathematics lessons were video-recorded and transcribed. A conversation analytic (CA) approach was then taken to examine how mathematical errors are treated by teachers and students when they arise in interaction. Despite pedagogical recommendations, in these interactions, errors continue to be predominantly treated as something to avoid. There is a tension between the affective aspects of managing errors in interactions and the cognitive aspects. Close examination of classroom interactions enable us to see how these tensions are managed both by teachers and students.
Inventory strategies for monitoring and evaluation of forest damage

Under global change, increasing stresses on forests require strategies for monitoring and mitigation of damages caused by pests and diseases. While the threats to forests increase, so do the possibilities to set up efficient monitoring programmes and detect forest damage by utilising new technologies. This thesis focuses on strategies for forest damage inventories where different auxiliary data are combined to improve information for pest mitigation programmes. First, the efficiency of National Forest Inventories (NFIs; or similar inventories) for detecting and estimating state and change of forest damage across large regions was evaluated. NFIs were found efficient for assessing widely distributed damage, but unable to detect clustered and local outbreaks with adequate precision. Second, targeted forest damage inventories directed to areas with potential or suspected damage were investigated. It was found that two-phase sampling for stratification taking the first phase information from existing NFIs was an efficient strategy. Remotely-sensed auxiliary information and post-stratification was shown to further improve the precision. Third, the use of a new sampling design was evaluated: the local pivotal method (LPM), which spreads the sample in the multi-dimensional space of available auxiliary data. The LPM was found to be more efficient than simple random sampling in all scenarios and, depending on the allocation of the sample and the properties of the auxiliary data, it sometimes outperformed two-phase sampling for stratification. Thus, the LPM may be a valuable tool for practical forest damage inventories. Fourth, the cost-plus-loss method was applied to evaluate inventory strategies in a pest mitigation context. If inventory costs are large, it is especially important to quantify the inventory efforts necessary to evaluate the need for mitigation. The optimal sampling effort necessary for deciding whether or not a defoliator outbreak should be treated was quantified. Double sampling was found to be a cost-effective sampling strategy, i.e. the size of the second phase sample was determined based on the estimates from a small first phase sample. As an overall conclusion, the thesis points out the importance of making use of existing information in setting up effective inventories of forest damage and of using appropriate sampling strategies for making use of the information in the best possible way.
Breast imaging using 3D electrical impedence tomography.

AIM To determine the diagnostic efficiency of 3D Eletrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) compared to Mammography (MG) and Ultrasonography (USG) in imaging the breast. MATERIALS AND METHODS A group of 88 patients presenting with various breast complaints was examined using combined Mammography and Ultrasonography (MG & USG) or either of these modalities alone. The same patients were then examined using the 3D EIT imaging system "MEIK". The findings were then compared. The sensitivity of these modalities for this group of patients were later determined and statistically analysed. RESULTS Of the total of 88 patients, 59 findings were "suspicious" by any of the 3 modalities alone or by their combination. EIT had a sensitivity of 77.8 % compared to MG with a sensitivity of 83.3 % and USG with a sensitivity of 94.4 % regarding cases of fibrocystic mastitis. For cases involving cysts, EIT had 100 % sensitivity which was the same as that for USG compared to MG with a sensitivity of only 81 %. Among cases of fibroadenoma, EIT had a sensitivity of just 68.8 % compared to MG with a sensitivity of 87.5 % and USG with a sensitivity of 75 %. Finally among cases of carcinoma, EIT had a sensitivity of 75 % compared to the sensitivity of 100 % of MG and USG in our group of patients. The study revealed that there was no overall significant difference in sensitivity between MG-USG (p = 0.219) and MG-EIT (p = 0.779) and USG-EIT (p = 0.169). However, in regard to identifying cysts there was significant difference in the sensitivity of MG compared to USG & EIT suggesting that EIT has a role in these cases. CONCLUSION Electrical impedance could be used as an adjunct to Mammography and Ultrasonography for breast cancer detection. However, the differentiation of malignant from benign lesions based on impedance measurements needs further investigation. Multifrequency electrical impedance imaging appears the most promising for detecting breast malignancies but methodological improvements need to be made to realise its potential.
Expression of CD44 variant isoforms CD44v3 and CD44v6 is increased on T cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and is correlated with disease activity.

OBJECTIVE To quantify the expression of CD44 and variant isoforms CD44v3 and CD44v6 on T cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to assess correlations of the level of expression of these molecules with disease manifestations. METHODS Information on clinical and demographic characteristics was collected, and blood samples were obtained from 72 patients with SLE and 32 healthy control subjects matched to the patients by sex, race, and age. Expression of CD44 and variants CD44v3 and v6 on T cell subsets was determined by flow cytometry, and Pearson's correlations of their expression levels with clinical variables, SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) scores, and presence of lupus nephritis were determined. Wilcoxon's rank sum tests and conditional multivariable regression analyses were applied to identify differences in the expression of CD44 between patients with SLE and healthy controls. RESULTS Expression of CD44 was higher on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from SLE patients compared with controls (P <or= 0.03). Expression of CD44v3 and CD44v6 was also higher on total T cells and CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from SLE patients compared with controls (P <or= 0.03). Cell surface levels of CD44v3 on total T cells, CD4+ T cells, and CD8+ T cells as well as cell surface expression of CD44v6 on total T cells and CD4+ T cells were correlated with the SLEDAI score (P < 0.05). The presence of lupus nephritis was associated with the expression of CD44v6 on total T cells, CD4+ T cells, and CD4-CD8- T cells (P < 0.05). Positivity for anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies was associated with the expression levels of CD44v6 on T cells (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION These results indicate that expression levels of CD44v3 and CD44v6 on T cells may represent useful biomarkers of SLE activity.
Conduction Aphasia and the Arcuate Fasciculus: A Reexamination of the Wernicke–Geschwind Model

Wernicke, and later Geschwind, posited that the critical lesion in conduction aphasia is in the dominant hemisphere's arcuate fasciculus. This white matter pathway was thought to connect the anterior language production areas with the posterior language areas that contain auditory memories of words (a phonological lexicon). Alternatively, conduction aphasia might be induced by cortical dysfunction, which impairs the phonological output lexicon. We observed an epileptic patient who, during cortical stimulation of her posterior superior temporal gyrus, demonstrated frequent phonemic paraphasias, decreased repetition of words, and yet had intact semantic knowledge, a pattern consistent with conduction aphasia. These findings suggest that cortical dysfunction alone may induce conduction aphasia.
STUDIES OF THE JET IN BL LACERTAE. II. SUPERLUMINAL ALFVÉN WAVES

We study the kinematics of ridge lines on the parsec-scale jet of the active galactic nucleus BL Lacertae. We show that the ridge lines display transverse patterns that move superluminally downstream, and that the moving patterns are analogous to waves on a whip. Their apparent speeds βapp (units of c) range from 3.9 to 13.5, corresponding to in the galaxy frame. We show that the magnetic field in the jet is well ordered with a strong transverse component, and assume that it is helical and that the transverse patterns are Alfvén waves propagating downstream on the longitudinal component of the magnetic field. The wave-induced transverse speed of the jet is non-relativistic ( ). In 2010 the wave activity subsided and the jet then displayed a mild wiggle that had a complex oscillatory behavior. The Alfvén waves appear to be excited by changes in the position angle of the recollimation shock, in analogy to exciting a wave on a whip by shaking the handle. A simple model of the system with plasma sound speed βs = 0.3 and apparent speed of a slow MHD wave βapp, S = 4 yields Lorentz factor of the beam Γbeam ∼ 4.5, pitch angle of the helix (in the beam frame) α ∼ 67°, Alfvén speed βA ∼ 0.64, and magnetosonic Mach number Mms ∼ 4.7. This describes a plasma in which the magnetic field is dominant and in a rather tight helix, and Alfvén waves are responsible for the moving transverse patterns.
The association of music experience, pattern of practice and performance anxiety with playing-related musculoskeletal problems (PRMP) in children learning instrumental music

There is evidence supporting the social and cognitive benefits of music education. However aspects of music practice, such as an increase in frequency and intensity of practice, are associated with playing-related musculoskeletal problems in adult musicians, though with limited evidence in children. The aim of this study was to describe the music practice of child instrumentalists and determine their associations with playing-related musculoskeletal problems (PRMP), accounting for gender and age. A total of 731 children learning musical instruments (460 females) ranging in age from 7 – 17 years were surveyed; music experience, music practice and intrinsic factors (e.g. the experience of butterflies in stomach before a concert/exam) were investigated. Logistic regression evaluated the independent association of these potential correlates with PRMP. Music experience (number of years playing main instrument) was significantly negatively associated with PRMP (OR 0.88, p = .003). Pattern of playing was significantly associated with PRMP, specifically playing less than usual (OR 2.1, p = .002) and playing more than usual for longer and more often (OR 2.7, p < .001), compared to playing about usual. The experience of butterflies in the stomach during exams/competitions most times (OR 2.1, p = .029) and always (OR 2.4, p = .027) compared to never, was significantly associated with PRMP. Music inexperience, changed pattern of practice and performance anxiety are associated with playing-related problems in child instrumentalists and are therefore important issues for music education. Evidence-based guidelines may be recommended to help prevent problems and optimize music performance and music education development.
Ameloblastic carcinoma of maxilla

Ameloblastic carcinoma (AC) is a rare malignant lesion with characteristic histologic features and clinical behavior that dictates a more aggressive surgical approach than that of a simple ameloblastoma. The tumor cells resemble the cells seen in ameloblastoma, but they show cytologic atypia. Direct extension of the tumor, lymph node involvement, and metastasis to various sites (frequently the lung) have been reported. Wide local excision is the treatment of choice. Regional lymph node dissection should be considered and performed selectively. Literature shows that radiotherapy and chemotherapy is of limited value for the treatment of AC. A case of AC of maxillary region is presented here. Clinical/histological characteristics of this tumor and current knowledge on the classification of odontogenic malignancies are also discussed.
A new species of Thismia (Thismiaceae) from Brunei Darussalam, Borneo

A new species of Thismia (Thismiaceae) from Borneo is described. Thismia hexagona was discovered in 2013 in lowland mixed dipterocarp forest in Ulu Temburong, Brunei Darussalam. The species is circumscribed, illustrated and its position within the Malesian species of the genus is characterised by insertion into the existing determination key. Its most conspicuous feature is bright yellow, sharply hexagonal flower annulus.