Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Psychological characteristics of patients with newly developed psychogenic seizures

Objectives: To assess psychopathological symptoms and history of childhood trauma in patients with newly developed psychogenic seizures. Methods: Using validated scales, 178 patients from the general population diagnosed with newly developed seizures were assessed, at a point in time when the nature of their seizures was yet unknown to either doctors or patients. After standardised neurological examination, 138 patients were diagnosed with non-psychogenic seizures (NPS), while 40 patients were found to have psychogenic seizures (PS). To evaluate possible differences between the genders and the diagnostic groups, univariate analyses of variance were done. Results: PS patients reported significantly more comorbid psychopathological complaints, dissociative experiences, anxiety, and self-reported childhood trauma than NPS patients. In addition, PS patients had lower quality of life ratings than NPS patients. These effects were not modulated by gender. Conclusions: The results of the present study indicate that patients with newly developed PS constitute a group with complex psychopathological features that warrant early detection and treatment.
Sparsity-based confidence measure for pitch estimation in noisy speech

In this paper, we propose a confidence measure for the pitch estimation method presented in a parallel paper [1]. The confidence measure is derived based on a sparse representation of the speech harmonic structure. The measurement quantitatively reflects the harmonicity associated with an estimated pitch. It is used to indicate the reliability of the results. Histogram is employed to illustrate the distribution of the measurement obtained from speech signals at low signal-to-noise ratios. It is shown that with the confidence measure, correct results can be effectively identified. By using the confidence measure, an adaptive algorithm for pitch estimation is proposed. Reliable pitch values obtained from preceding estimations are identified and used to predict the local pitch range for subsequent estimations. Parameter of the estimation algorithm is dynamically adjusted according to the predicted pitch range. Experimental results show that with the adaptive algorithm, pitch estimation accuracy is noticeably improved.
Collective States, Multistability and Transitional Behavior in Schooling Fish

The spontaneous emergence of pattern formation is ubiquitous in nature, often arising as a collective phenomenon from interactions among a large number of individual constituents or sub-systems. Understanding, and controlling, collective behavior is dependent on determining the low-level dynamical principles from which spatial and temporal patterns emerge; a key question is whether different group-level patterns result from all components of a system responding to the same external factor, individual components changing behavior but in a distributed self-organized way, or whether multiple collective states co-exist for the same individual behaviors. Using schooling fish (golden shiners, in groups of 30 to 300 fish) as a model system, we demonstrate that collective motion can be effectively mapped onto a set of order parameters describing the macroscopic group structure, revealing the existence of at least three dynamically-stable collective states; swarm, milling and polarized groups. Swarms are characterized by slow individual motion and a relatively dense, disordered structure. Increasing swim speed is associated with a transition to one of two locally-ordered states, milling or highly-mobile polarized groups. The stability of the discrete collective behaviors exhibited by a group depends on the number of group members. Transitions between states are influenced by both external (boundary-driven) and internal (changing motion of group members) factors. Whereas transitions between locally-disordered and locally-ordered group states are speed dependent, analysis of local and global properties of groups suggests that, congruent with theory, milling and polarized states co-exist in a bistable regime with transitions largely driven by perturbations. Our study allows us to relate theoretical and empirical understanding of animal group behavior and emphasizes dynamic changes in the structure of such groups.
Creating Competitive Advantage with Interorganizational Information Systems

Many well-known examples of the use of information technology for competitive advantage involve systems that link an organization to suppliers, distribution channels, or customers. In general, these systems use information or processing capabilities in one organization to improve the performance of another or to improve relationships among organizations.Declining costs of capturing and using information have joined with increasing competitive pressures to spur numerous innovations in use of information to create value. This article draws on concepts of competitive advantage and on experience gained from successful innovations to generate classifications and a framework to guide the search for opportunities. The ideas do not constitute a procedure leading inexorably to competitive advantage. However, they have been of value when combined with an appreciation of the competitive dynamics of specific industries and a grasp of the power of information.
High-Speed Digital Coherent Receiver Based on Parallel Optical Sampling

We report a novel digital coherent receiver based on sampling the signal in the optical domain to overcome the speed limitations of electrical analog-to-digital converters. Digital coherent receivers with aggregate optical sampling rates of up to 112 GHz are realized experimentally. The performance of such receivers is investigated in transmission experiments. Transmission of 56 GBd quadrature phase-shift keying signals over 610-km standard single-mode fiber and coherent detection with electronic impairment mitigation is demonstrated. The employed electrical analog-to-digital converters have only 20 GHz bandwidth and a sampling rate of 50 GHz.
Bistability from double phosphorylation in signal transduction

Previous studies have suggested that positive feedback loops and ultrasensitivity are prerequisites for bistability in covalent modification cascades. However, it was recently shown that bistability and hysteresis can also arise solely from multisite phosphorylation. Here we analytically demonstrate that double phosphorylation of a protein (or other covalent modification) generates bistability only if: (a) the two phosphorylation (or the two dephosphorylation) reactions are catalyzed by the same enzyme; (b) the kinetics operate at least partly in the zero‐order region; and (c) the ratio of the catalytic constants of the phosphorylation and dephosphorylation steps in the first modification cycle is less than this ratio in the second cycle. We also show that multisite phosphorylation enlarges the region of kinetic parameter values in which bistability appears, but does not generate multistability. In addition, we conclude that a cascade of phosphorylation/dephosphorylation cycles generates multiple steady states in the absence of feedback or feedforward loops. Our results show that bistable behavior in covalent modification cascades relies not only on the structure and regulatory pattern of feedback/feedforward loops, but also on the kinetic characteristics of their component proteins.
Same Surgeon: Different Centre Equals Differing Lymph Node Harvest following Colorectal Cancer Resection

Introduction. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of surgeon relocation on lymph node (LN) retrieval in colorectal cancer (CRC) resection. Methods. The study population was 213 consecutive patients undergoing CRC resection by a single surgeon, at two units: unit one 110 operations (2002–2005) and unit two 103 (2005–2009). LN yields and case mix were compared. Results. Median LN harvests were significantly different between the two centres: unit 1: 13 nodes/patient and unit 2: 22 nodes/patient (P < .001). In unit one 42% of cases were LN positive and in unit two 48% (P = .398). There was no difference in case mix. Multivariate analysis identified unit (P < .001) and pathologist (P = .007) as independent predictors of harvest. Conclusions. A surgeon moving units can experience significantly different LN yield following CRC resection. Both units comply with national standards, but the “surgeon's results” at the two units appear to be pathologist dependent. This has implications for nodal harvest as a surrogate marker of surgical quality.
Associations of pacifier use, digit sucking, and child care attendance with cessation of breastfeeding.

OBJECTIVE Breast milk is the recommended method of nutrition for newborns and infants. Several studies have investigated factors associated with the cessation of breast-feeding. This study assessed the associations between pacifier use, digit sucking, childcare attendance, and breastfeeding cessation among 1387 infants in the Iowa Fluoride Study. STUDY DESIGN This was a longitudinal questionnaire survey. Mothers completed mailed questionnaires sent at infant ages 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. POPULATION Parents were recruited postpartum at 8 Iowa hospitals. OUTCOMES MEASURED Survival analysis (using Cox proportional hazards model) assessed the time covariate effects of pacifier use, digit sucking, and child care attendance on cessation of breastfeeding, while adjusting for other possible confounding variables (not planning to breastfeed, maternal smoking, infants' sex and antibiotic use, maternal and paternal age and education, and income group). RESULTS Percentages of women who did any breastfeeding were 46%, 36%, and 27%, at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months, respectively. Percentages using pacifiers were 81%, 71%, and 59%. Combinations of pacifier use and digit sucking for various levels of child care had statistically significant associations with cessation of breastfeeding, with the effect being strongest for pacifier users and digit suckers with no child care days (hazard ratio = 1.88; 95% CI, 1.36-2.62). CONCLUSIONS Pacifier use and digit sucking were associated with cessation of breastfeeding, with results dependent on the level of childcare attendance. The strongest associations were found for those not attending childcare and for combined use of pacifier with digit sucking.
Prospective Multicenter Study of a Synthetic Bioabsorbable Anal Fistula Plug to Treat Cryptoglandular Transsphincteric Anal Fistulas

BACKGROUND: Although interest in sphincter-sparing treatments for anal fistulas is increasing, few large prospective studies of these approaches have been conducted. OBJECTIVE: The study assessed outcomes after implantation of a synthetic bioabsorbable anal fistula plug. DESIGN: A prospective, multicenter investigation was performed. SETTING: The study was conducted at 11 colon and rectal centers. PATIENTS: Ninety-three patients (71 men; mean age, 47 years) with complex cryptoglandular transsphincteric anal fistulas were enrolled. Exclusion criteria included Crohn’s disease, an active infection, a multitract fistula, and an immunocompromised status. INTERVENTION: Draining setons were used at the surgeon’s discretion. Patients had follow-up evaluations at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary end point was healing of the fistula, defined as drainage cessation plus closure of the external opening, at 6 and 12 months. Secondary end points were fecal continence, duration of drainage from the fistula, pain, and adverse events during follow-up. RESULTS: Thirteen patients were lost to follow-up and 21 were withdrawn, primarily to undergo an alternative treatment. The fistula healing rates at 6 and 12 months were 41% (95% CI, 30%–52%; total n = 74) and 49% (95% CI, 38%–61%; total n = 73). Half the patients in whom a previous treatment failed had healing. By 6 months, the mean Wexner score had improved significantly (p = 0.0003). By 12 months, 93% of patients had no or minimal pain. Adverse events included 11 infections/abscesses, 2 new fistulas, and 8 total and 5 partial plug extrusions. The fistula healed in 3 patients with a partial extrusion. LIMITATIONS: The study was nonrandomized and had relatively high rates of loss to follow-up. CONCLUSION: Implantation of a synthetic bioabsorbable fistula plug is a reasonably efficacious treatment for complex transsphincteric anal fistulas, especially given the simplicity and low morbidity of the procedure.
Differential Behavioral and Neurobiological Effects of Chronic Corticosterone Treatment in Adolescent and Adult Rats

Adolescence is a critical period with ongoing maturational processes in stress-sensitive systems. While adolescent individuals show heightened stress-induced hormonal responses compared to adults, it is unclear whether and how the behavioral and neurobiological consequences of chronic stress would differ between the two age groups. Here we address this issue by examining the effects of chronic exposure to the stress hormone, corticosterone (CORT), in both adolescent and adult animals. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were injected intraperitoneally with CORT (40 mg/kg) or vehicle for 21 days during adolescence (post-natal day (PND) 29–49) or adulthood (PND 71–91) and then subjected to behavioral testing or sacrifice for western blot analyses. Despite of similar physical and neuroendocrine effects in both age groups, chronic CORT treatment produced a series of behavioral and neurobiological effects with striking age differences. While CORT-treated adult animals exhibited decreased sucrose preference, increased anxiety levels and cognitive impairment, CORT-treated adolescent animals demonstrated increased sucrose preference, decreased anxiety levels, and increased sensorimotor gating functions. These differential behavioral alterations were accompanied by opposite changes in the two age groups in the expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), the phosphorylation of the obligatory subunit of the NMDA receptor, GluN1, and PSD-95 in rat hippocampus. These results suggest that prolonged glucocorticoid exposure during adolescence produces different behavioral and neurobiological effects from those in adulthood, which may be due to the complex interaction between glucocorticoids and the ongoing neurodevelopmental processes during this period.
Diphase: Characterizing Packet Delay in Multi-Source Energy Harvesting Systems

We consider multi-source energy harvesting communication systems, where the energy harvested from two independent processes is used for the transmission of the data packets. The data packets arrive randomly and wait in a queue for accumulation of sufficient energy and for service completion of previously arrived packets. Thus, the data queue dynamics are influenced jointly by the energy arrival process, the data arrival process, and the data service process. This coupling between the data and energy queues makes an exact system analysis extremely hard, and has led researchers to resort to either computationally intensive numerical solutions or to make simplifying approximations. In this paper, we employ Diphase, a two phase queueing formulation, which decouples the wait stages for the energy arrival process and the service process, to derive closed-form expressions for the average packet delay and the probability of data packet loss due to buffer overflow. These expressions are shown to be exact when the service time is negligible, and robust for a relatively wide range of values of the average service time. We show that these expressions are useful in selecting system design parameters, which maximize the throughput while meeting the required quality of service constraints.
Inhibition of anandamide hydrolysis enhances noradrenergic and GABAergic transmission in the prefrontal cortex and basolateral amygdala of rats subjected to acute swim stress

Limbic forebrain endocannabinoid (eCB) signaling is critically involved in stress integration by modulating neurotransmitters release. The purpose of this study was to examine, by brain microdialysis, the effects of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibition on noradrenergic and γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)‐ergic neurotransmission in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) of rats subjected to a 20‐min swim stress. Microdialysis started on stress‐ and drug‐naïve rats that were treated with the FAAH inhibitor URB597 (0.1 or 0.3 mg/kg) 30 min before undergoing the stress procedure. Dialysate samples were collected every 20 min from the beginning of the experiment. Concentrations of noradrenaline (NA) and GABA were determined by HPLC coupled to electrochemical and fluorescence detection, respectively. We found that neither URB597 treatment nor 20 min of swim stress exposure per se altered NA and GABA extracellular levels in PFC or BLA. Interestingly, rats treated with 0.1 mg/kg of URB597 followed by 20 min of stress showed significantly higher NA and GABA levels in PFC and BLA. These effects were absent in rats treated with 0.3 mg/kg URB597, indicating a dose‐specific effect. Moreover, we found that the pretreatment with the CB1 receptor antagonist rimonabant blocked the URB597 effects on NA and GABA release in PFC and BLA of animals subjected to forced swimming. The present study might provide an important first step toward understanding the mechanisms through which URB597 modulates stress‐induced neuroendocrine secretion and behavioral coping strategies. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The protective and detrimental effects of self-construal on perceived rejection from heritage culture members

Individuals may perceive themselves as interdependent and similar with close others, or as independent and distinct. Do these differences in self-construal influence perceptions of rejection from those closest to us? Few studies have investigated the antecedents of intragroup marginalization – the perception of rejection from family and friends due to not conforming to the prescribed values and expectations of one’s heritage culture. Furthermore, the implications of perceived intragroup marginalization for psychological adjustment and an integrated bicultural identity are unclear. To gage the effects of self-construals on perceived intragroup marginalization and psychological adjustment (i.e., subjective well-being and flourishing) and an integrated bicultural identity, we increased the cognitive accessibility of independent and interdependent self-construals through a priming manipulation. Participants were recruited via Amazon MTurk and completed the measures online. Our results showed that priming an interdependent self-construal decreased perceived intragroup marginalization from family and, in turn, poor psychological adjustment and bicultural identity conflict. Conversely, participants primed with an independent self-construal reported increased perceptions of intragroup marginalization from their family and, in turn, decreased psychological adjustment and increased identity conflict. These findings support the benefits of an interdependent self and the disadvantages of an independent self for minimizing perceived exclusion from heritage culture members.
Argumentation-Based Multi-Agent Decision Making with Privacy Preserved

We consider multi-agent decision making problems in which agents need to communicate with other agents to make socially optimal decisions but, at the same time, have some private information that they do not want to share. Abstract argumentation has been widely used in both single-agent and multi-agent decision making problems, because of its ability for reasoning with incomplete and conflicting information. In this work, we propose an abstract argumentation-based knowledge representation and communication protocol, such that agents can find socially optimal strategies by only disclosing the `necessary' and `disclosable' information. We prove that our protocol is sound, efficient, of perfect information security and guaranteed to terminate.
Stop test or pressure‐flow study? Measuring detrusor contractility in older females

Impaired detrusor contractility is common in older adults. One aspect, detrusor contraction strength during voiding, can be measured by the isovolumetric detrusor pressure attained if flow is interrupted mechanically (a stop test). Because interruption is awkward in practice, however, simple indices or nomograms based on measurements made during uninterrupted voiding are an appealing alternative. We investigated whether such methods, originally developed for males, might be applicable in female subjects, and attempted to identify a single best method.
Predicting climate change extirpation risk for central and southern Appalachian forest tree species

Climate change will likely pose a severe threat to the viability of certain forest tree species, which will be forced either to adapt to new conditions or to shift to more favorable environments if they are to survive. Several forest tree species of the central and southern Appalachians may be at particular risk, since they occur in limited high-elevation ranges and/or are currently threatened by nonnative insects and diseases. We are beginning an assessment of potential climate change impacts on more than 100 North American forest tree species, using the innovative Multivariate Spatio-Temporal Clustering (MSTC) technique. Combining aspects of traditional geographical information systems and statistical clustering techniques, MSTC statistically predicts environmental niche envelopes to forecast species' geographic ranges under altered environmental conditions such as those expected under climate change. We outline the objectives of this project, present some preliminary results for central and southern Appalachian tree species, and discuss the need for assistance from fellow scientists in the development of this work.
Evaluation of a brain-targeting zidovudine chemical delivery system in dogs

AIDS encephalopathy is an insidious complication of human immunodeficiency virus infection which is difficult to treat because of the poor uptake of many potentially useful antiretroviral drugs through the blood-brain barrier. A chemical delivery system (CDS) for zidovudine (AZT) based on redox trapping within the brain has been prepared and tested in several animal models to circumvent this limitation. The behavior of the AZT-CDS in the dog was considered. Parenteral administration of AZT resulted in rapid systemic elimination and poor uptake by the central nervous system. Ratios of the area under the concentration-time curve of AZT for cerebrospinal fluid to that for blood were 0.32, and ratios of the area under the concentration-time curve of AZT for brain to that for blood were approximately 0.25. Administration of an aqueous formulation of the AZT-CDS resulted in rapid tissue uptake and conversion of the CDS to the corresponding quaternary salt with the subsequent production of AZT. Delivered in this way, the levels of AZT in brain were 1.75- to 3.3-fold higher than those associated with conventional AZT administration. In addition, the levels of AZT in blood were 46% lower than those associated with AZT administration. The higher concentrations in brain and lower concentration in blood combined to significantly increase the ratio of the concentration of AZT in the brain to that in blood after AZT-CDS administration compared to that after AZT dosing.
The effect of hole versus electron photocurrent on microwave&#8212;Optical interactions in IMPATT oscillators

The effect of hole versus electron photocurrent on the microwave properties of IMPATT oscillators is presented and correlated with staticI-Vcharacteristics. The composition of the photocurrent was altered by fabricating both flip-chip (FC) and top-mounted (TM) devices and using an optical source with an absorption depth comparable to both the depletion-layer thickness and substrate diffusion length. The importance of the order of magnitude difference in effect of hole versus electron photocurrent is discussed.