Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In Vivo Kinematics of Two Types of Ball-and-Socket Cervical Disc Replacements in the Sagittal Plane: Cranial Versus Caudal Geometric Center

Study Design. A computer-assisted analysis of dynamic lateral radiographs of the cervical spine in flexion/extension after total disc replacement. Objective. To analyze the in vivo kinematics of 2 types of ball-and-socket cervical disc arthroplasties. Summary of Background Data. Clinical outcomes and range of motion (ROM) after cervical disc replacement have been documented in few studies. To our knowledge, no article reports the biomechanical behavior of any type of ball-and-socket arthroplasty at the cervical level in vivo in terms of center of rotation between full flexion/extension (COR-FE). Methods. The spineview software (Surgiview, Paris, France) was used to investigate the intervertebral sagittal ROM and MCR in 26 Prestige LP (Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Memphis, TN) and 25 Prodisc-C (Synthes, West Chester, PA), in reference to the measurements of 200 healthy cervical discs in vivo. The COR-FE was calculated above 3 degrees in ROM. Results. The ROM was significantly reduced with both types of arthroplasty when compared with the control group. Although the ROM was similar with both types of prosthesis, the location of the COR-FE was significantly influenced by the type of intervertebral disc despite the interindividual variability. Although the COR-FE remained within the normal range in most cases, it trended to be located more anterior and superior than normal with the 2 types of prosthesis. Conclusion. Neither the cranial or caudal types of ball-and-socket designs did fully restore the normal mobility in terms of ROM and COR in this patient's series.
Epenthetic vowels in Japanese: A perceptual illusion?

In four cross-linguistic experiments comparing French and Japanese hearers, we found that the phonotactic properties of Japanese (very reduced set of syllable types) induce Japanese listeners to perceive ``illusory'' vowels inside consonant clusters in VCCV stimuli. In Experiments 1 and 2, we used a continuum of stimuli ranging from no vowel (e.g. ebzo) to a full vowel between the consonants (e.g. ebuzo). Japanese, but not French participants, reported the presence of a vowel [u] between consonants, even in stimuli with no vowel. A speeded ABX discrimination paradigm was used in Experiments 3 and 4, and revealed that Japanese participants had trouble discriminating between VCCV and VCuCV stimuli. French participants, in contrast had problems discriminating items that differ in vowel length (ebuzo vs. ebuuzo), a distinctive contrast in Japanese but not in French. We conclude that models of speech perception have to be revised to account for phonotactically-based assimilations.
Power Spectral Analysis of Heart Rate Variability in Healthy Young Women During the Normal Menstrual Cycle

This study investigated the fluctuations of autonomic nervous activities during the menstrual cycle.Twenty college females were tested for cardiovascular reactivity to mental challenge during both follicular and luteal phases across two menstrual cycles. Power spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) was used to examine the autonomic nervous activities. At baseline, although heart rate and blood pressure did not differ across the menstrual cycle, the low-frequency (LF) component in the HRV was higher and the high-frequency (HF) component in the HRV was lower during the luteal phase than during the follicular phase. The LF/HF ratio was also significantly greater in the luteal phase. These data suggest that sympathetic nervous activities are predominant in the luteal phase as compared with follicular phase. In addition, the power spectral analysis of HRV has more sensitivity than heart rate or blood pressure in assessing the slight fluctuations of autonomic nervous activities during the menstrual cycle.
A REDSHIFT SURVEY OF HERSCHEL FAR-INFRARED SELECTED STARBURSTS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR OBSCURED STAR FORMATION

We present Keck spectroscopic observations and redshifts for a sample of 767 Herschel-SPIRE selected galaxies (HSGs) at 250, 350, and 500 μm, taken with the Keck I Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer and the Keck II DEep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph. The redshift distribution of these SPIRE sources from the Herschel Multitiered Extragalactic Survey peaks at z = 0.85, with 731 sources at z < 2 and a tail of sources out to z ∼ 5. We measure more significant disagreement between photometric and spectroscopic redshifts (〈Δz/(1 + zspec)〉 = 0.29) than is seen in non-infrared selected samples, likely due to enhanced star formation rates and dust obscuration in infrared-selected galaxies. The infrared data are used to directly measure integrated infrared luminosities and dust temperatures independent of radio or 24 μm flux densities. By probing the dust spectral energy distribution (SED) at its peak, we estimate that the vast majority (72%–83%) of z < 2 Herschel-selected galaxies would drop out of traditional submillimeter surveys at 0.85–1 mm. We find that dust temperature traces infrared luminosity, due in part to the SPIRE wavelength selection biases, and partially from physical effects. As a result, we measure no significant trend in SPIRE color with redshift; if dust temperature were independent of luminosity or redshift, a trend in SPIRE color would be expected. Composite infrared SEDs are constructed as a function of infrared luminosity, showing the increase in dust temperature with luminosity, and subtle change in near-infrared and mid-infrared spectral properties. Moderate evolution in the far-infrared (FIR)/radio correlation is measured for this partially radio-selected sample, with qIR∝(1 + z)−0.30 ± 0.02 at z < 2. We estimate the luminosity function and implied star formation rate density contribution of HSGs at z < 1.6 and find overall agreement with work based on 24 μm extrapolations of the LIRG, ULIRG, and total infrared contributions. This work significantly increased the number of spectroscopically confirmed infrared-luminous galaxies at z ≫ 0 and demonstrates the growing importance of dusty starbursts for galaxy evolution studies and the build-up of stellar mass throughout cosmic time.
Gemcitabine-loaded liposomes: rationale, potentialities and future perspectives

This review describes the strategies used in recent years to improve the biopharmaceutical properties of gemcitabine, a nucleoside analog deoxycytidine antimetabolite characterized by activity against many kinds of tumors, by means of liposomal devices. The main limitation of using this active compound is the rapid inactivation of deoxycytidine deaminase following administration in vivo. Consequently, different strategies based on its encapsulation/complexation in innovative vesicular colloidal carriers have been investigated, with interesting results in terms of increased pharmacological activity, plasma half-life, and tumor localization, in addition to decreased side effects. This review focuses on the specific approaches used, based on the encapsulation of gemcitabine in liposomes, with particular attention to the results obtained during the last 5 years. These approaches represent a valid starting point in the attempt to obtain a novel, commercializable drug formulation as already achieved for liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil®, Caelyx®).
Exploring e-Mental Health Preferences of Generation Y

E-Mental Health services could substantially increase the capacity of the mental health care system. This article explores youth consumer preferences for online interventions targeting depression and anxiety. Twenty-three participants who had experienced suicidal ideation and either depression or anxiety and completed one qualitative interview were included. Interviews were topically guided to cover themes of e-Mental Health service preferences around online help-seeking behavior, appearance, content, privacy, and support. We found that youth positively received the idea of, and appreciated the need for, e-Mental Health services. Noted preferences for services were those that are simple to use, interactive, and include support through an online community.
Self-reported adherence to antiretroviral treatment and degree of sense of coherence in a group of HIV-infected patients.

The goal of this study was to explore the relation between self-reported adherence to antiretroviral treatment and degree of sense of coherence in a group of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. Ninety-nine patients from an outpatient clinic, all undergoing antiretroviral therapy, participated. Questionnaires were answered twice at a 12-month interval. The 29-item Sense of Coherence (SOC) Scale was used for measuring the ability to cope with stressful life situations. Medication adherence was assessed with self-reported measurements. Clinical characteristics and background variables were collected from the medical records. Results from variables measured with the 12-month interval show a significant concordance with disease stage (p < or = 0.0001), and in HIV-RNA copies per milliliter (p < or = 0.0001) and an increase in CD4 cell count/mm3 (p = < 0.0001). Univariate analysis showed significant differences between nonadherent patients (n = 19) and adherent patients (n = 80) at the last measurement (i.e., the nonadherent group had lower CD4 cell count/mm3 [p = 0.004], higher HIV-1 RNA levels [p 50.029], and lower SOC [p = 0.04] than the adherent group). Finally, multiple regression analyses showed that at measurement 2 the SOC predicted nonadherence, the lower SOC the more missed doses (p < or = 0.01). Because SOC seems to play an important role in this group of patients managing their disease, a caring patient-provider relationship should be developed to minimize nonadherent behaviour. For this reason SOC scale might be of great clinical value to identify patients needing the most support for successful treatment.
Características de ansiedad y depresión en estudiantes universitarios

La ansiedad y la depresion se consideran dos de los desordenes psicologicos de mayor registro en los centros de salud, en poblacion general. Asimismo, dentro de la poblacion universitaria, constituyen dos de los principales motivos de consulta atendidos a traves de los servicios de Bienestar Universitario. Por esta razon, muchos estudios se han centrado en la evaluacion de la depresion y la ansiedad en estudiantes universitarios. El presente estudio pretende identificar las caracteristicas ansiosas y depresivas de un grupo de estudiantes universitarios, mediante las puntuaciones obtenidas en los cuestionarios del BDI, ST/DEP y STAI. Se trata de un estudio no experimental, transversal, de tipo descriptivo. Aunque los resultados no evidencian la gravedad de los sintomas ansiosos y depresivos en los participantes, si indican la presencia de estos dos cuadros, siendo las mujeres mas vulnerables que los hombres frente a su presentacion.
A ferromagnetic insulating substrate for the epitaxial growth of topological insulators

Cr2Ge2Te6 is proposed as an insulating ferromagnetic substrate for the growth of tetradymite-type topological insulators, based on a refined characterization of its transport, magnetic, optical, and calculated electronic properties. It is found to be a soft ferromagnet with no visible magnetic domains over relatively large length scales and to be highly insulating with an indirect band gap and low carrier concentration. Further we present the fabrication of Bi2Te3-Cr2Ge2Te6 heterostructure samples by chemical vapor deposition and show that crystals of the two phases are oriented such that the hexagonal Te planes are aligned at their interfaces. V C 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.
Convex Tensor Decomposition via Structured Schatten Norm Regularization

We discuss structured Schatten norms for tensor decomposition that includes two recently proposed norms ("overlapped" and "latent") for convex-optimization-based tensor decomposition, and connect tensor decomposition with wider literature on structured sparsity. Based on the properties of the structured Schatten norms, we mathematically analyze the performance of "latent" approach for tensor decomposition, which was empirically found to perform better than the "overlapped" approach in some settings. We show theoretically that this is indeed the case. In particular, when the unknown true tensor is low-rank in a specific mode, this approach performs as good as knowing the mode with the smallest rank. Along the way, we show a novel duality result for structures Schatten norms, establish the consistency, and discuss the identifiability of this approach. We confirm through numerical simulations that our theoretical prediction can precisely predict the scaling behavior of the mean squared error.
Adolescents and young adults with asthma and allergies: Physical activity, self-efficacy, social support, and subsequent psychosocial outcomes

ABSTRACT Objective: To examine the relationships between self-efficacy (SE) and social support (SS) for physical activity (PA), weekly moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA), and depression and anxiety in young adults (YAs) with asthma and allergies. Methods: Participants were 611 YAs (age M = 19.56 ± 3.28). YAs completed measures of SE for PA, SS for PA, depression, anxiety, and weekly MVPA. Results: The hypothesized model demonstrated close fit to the data and was not adversely affected by pruning non-significant paths, χ2 (457, n = 611) = 1085.31, p < 0.01, RMSEA = 0.05, CFI = 0.95, NNFI = 0.95. The final model supported the hypothesized relationships between MVPA and exercise-related SE, as well as SS for exercise from friends. Interestingly, MVPA was negatively associated with SS from parents. SE for exercise significantly predicted SS from family and friends. SS from friends was a significant mediator of the relationship between SE and MVPA. The relationship between MVPA and anxiety and depression was unsubstantiated. Conclusions: In this population, exercise-related SE and SS from friends were associated with higher rates of MVPA. Techniques aimed at boosting exercise confidence and involving friends in exercise routines may increase MVPA in YAs with asthma and allergies.
Women and the work of caring.

In the U.S., care for chronically dependent people is done mostly by family and friends, with only sporadic community support. Though such unpaid caregiving work--the bulk of it performed by women--constitutes an enormous subsidy to the national welfare, the contribution is undervalued, and the negative practical consequences for caregivers seldom recognized.
Well weird, right dodgy, very strange, really cool: Layering and recycling in English intensifiers

This article examines variable usage of intensifiers in a corpus from a socially and generationally stratified community. Using multivariate analyses, the authors assess the direction of effect, significance, and relative importance of conditioning factors in apparent time. Of 4,019 adjectival heads, 24% were intensified, and there is an increase in intensification across generations. Earlier forms (e.g. right and well) do not fade away but coexist with newer items. The most frequent intensifiers, however, are shifting rapidly. Very is most common, but only among the older speakers. In contrast, really increases dramatically among the youngest generation; however, the effects of education and sex must be disentangled. The results confirm that variation in intensifier use is a strong indicator of shifting norms and practices in a speech community. Studying such actively changing features can make an important contribution to understanding linguistic change as well as to discovering current trends in contemporary English.
Risk behaviors for road traffic accidents and severe crash injuries among commercial motorcyclists in Sagamu, South West, Nigeria

The occurrence of road traffic accidents and severe crash injuries involving commercial motorcyclist has risen significantly in recent times in Nigeria. Human factors, vehicular conditions and the state of Nigerian roads are some of the reasons that have been adduced for this increase. Three hundred commercial motorcyclists in Sagamu, South West, Nigeria were recruited into the study. With the aid of structured interviewer administered questionnaires, the risk related behaviours of motorcyclists were studied as it relates to the occurrence of road traffic crashes. All respondents were males, mostly young people, who had no formal training prior to riding. Three percent (3%) of the respondents used crash helmet whereas, 62.7% take alcohol during work hours and 34.7% smoke cigarette. There was a high prevalence of high risk behaviour for road traffic accidents and severe crash injuries among the respondents due to a lack of safety consciousness and non-enforcement of regulations prohibiting high risk behaviours. A concerted effort should be made to create a safety consciousness among commercial motorcyclists while ensuring strict enforcement of regulation concerning training before licensing and use of protective devices. Prohibition of psychoactive substance use during work hours is hereby recommended.
Synergistic Interactions between Alzheimer’s Aβ40 and Aβ42 on the Surface of Primary Neurons Revealed by Single Molecule Microscopy

Two amyloid-β peptides (Aβ40 and Aβ42) feature prominently in the extracellular brain deposits associated with Alzheimer’s disease. While Aβ40 is the prevalent form in the cerebrospinal fluid, the fraction of Aβ42 increases in the amyloid deposits over the course of disease development. The low in vivo concentration (pM-nM) and metastable nature of Aβ oligomers have made identification of their size, composition, cellular binding sites and mechanism of action challenging and elusive. Furthermore, recent studies have suggested that synergistic effects between Aβ40 and Aβ42 alter both the formation and stability of various peptide oligomers as well as their cytotoxicity. These studies often utilized Aβ oligomers that were prepared in solution and at μM peptide concentrations. The current work was performed using physiological Aβ concentrations and single-molecule microscopy to follow peptide binding and association on primary cultured neurons. When the cells were exposed to a 1:1 mixture of nM Aβ40:Aβ42, significantly larger membrane-bound oligomers developed compared to those formed from either peptide alone. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments at the single molecule level reveal that these larger oligomers contained both Aβ40 and Aβ42, but that the growth of these oligomers was predominantly by addition of Aβ42. Both pure peptides form very few oligomers larger than dimers, but either membrane bound Aβ40/42 complex, or Aβ40, bind Aβ42 to form increasingly larger oligomers. These findings may explain how Aβ42-dominant oligomers, suspected of being more cytotoxic, develop on the neuronal membrane under physiological conditions.
The ALPHA health-related physical fitness test battery for children and adolescents.

1present the new health-related fitness test battery for youth based upon the work developed by the ALPHA (Assessing Levels of Physical Activity) study. The ALPHA was a study funded by the European Union (http://sites.google.com/site/alphaprojectphysicalactivity/Home) aimed “to provide a set of instruments for assessing levels of physical activity, its underlying factors (e.g. build environment, transport, and workplace), as well as, fitness in a comparable way within the European Union”. The work presented in this issue by Ruiz and colleagues relates to the working package 6 of the ALPHA project —Assessing Healthrelated Physical Fitness— aimed to “provide a set of valid, reliable, feasible and safe field-based fitness tests for assessment of health-related physical fitness in children and adolescents to be use in public health monitoring in a comparable way within the European Union”. At a population level, the regular screening of physical activity and physical fitness (including body composition) levels should be considered a public health priority, as the lack of physical activity and/or physical fitness are implicated in the aetiology and prevalence of several non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer and their risk factors (high blood pressure, raised blood sugar and overweight), affecting the general health population worldwide. 2
Authenticity and Relationship Satisfaction: Two Distinct Ways of Directing Power to Self-Esteem

Possessing power contributes to high self-esteem, but how power enhances self-esteem is still unknown. As power is associated with both self-oriented goals and social-responsibility goals, we proposed that power predicts self-esteem through two positive personal and interpersonal results: authenticity and relationship satisfaction. Three studies were carried out with a total of 505 Chinese participants, including college students and adults, who completed surveys that assessed personal power, self-esteem, authenticity, relationship satisfaction, communal orientation, and social desirability. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that power, authenticity, and relationship satisfaction each uniquely contributed to self-esteem. More importantly, multiple mediation analysis showed that authenticity and relationship satisfaction both mediated the effects of power on self-esteem, even when controlling for participants’ communal orientation and social desirability. Our findings demonstrate that authenticity and relationship satisfaction represent two key mechanisms by which power is associated with self-esteem.
Optimal Payoff Functions for Members of Collectives

We consider the problem of designing (perhaps massively distributed) collectives of computational processes to maximize a provided "world utility" function. We consider this problem when the behavior of each process in the collective can be cast as striving to maximize its own payoff utility function. For such cases the central design issue is how to initialize/update those payoff utility functions of the individual processes so as to induce behavior of the entire collective having good values of the world utility. Traditional "team game" approaches to this problem simply assign to each process the world utility as its payoff utility function. In previous work we used the "Collective Intelligence" (COIN) framework to derive a better choice of payoff utility functions, one that results in world utility performance up to orders of magnitude superior to that ensuing from the use of the team game utility. In this paper, we extend these results using a novel mathematical framework. Under that new framework we review the derivation of the general class of payoff utility functions that both (i) are easy for the individual processes to try to maximize, and (ii) have the property that if good values of them are achieved, then we are assured a high value of world utility. These are the "Aristocrat Utility" and a new variant of the "Wonderful Life Utility" that was introduced in the previous COIN work. We demonstrate experimentally that using these new utility functions can result in significantly improved performance over that of previously investigated COIN payoff utilities, over and above those previous utilities' superiority to the conventional team game utility. These results also illustrate the substantial superiority of these payoff functions to perhaps the most natural version of the economics technique of "endogenizing externalities. "