Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Studying variability in human brain aging in a population-based German cohort—rationale and design of 1000BRAINS

The ongoing 1000 brains study (1000BRAINS) is an epidemiological and neuroscientific investigation of structural and functional variability in the human brain during aging. The two recruitment sources are the 10-year follow-up cohort of the German Heinz Nixdorf Recall (HNR) Study, and the HNR MultiGeneration Study cohort, which comprises spouses and offspring of HNR subjects. The HNR is a longitudinal epidemiological investigation of cardiovascular risk factors, with a comprehensive collection of clinical, laboratory, socioeconomic, and environmental data from population-based subjects aged 45–75 years on inclusion. HNR subjects underwent detailed assessments in 2000, 2006, and 2011, and completed annual postal questionnaires on health status. 1000BRAINS accesses these HNR data and applies a separate protocol comprising: neuropsychological tests of attention, memory, executive functions and language; examination of motor skills; ratings of personality, life quality, mood and daily activities; analysis of laboratory and genetic data; and state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, 3 Tesla) of the brain. The latter includes (i) 3D-T1- and 3D-T2-weighted scans for structural analyses and myelin mapping; (ii) three diffusion imaging sequences optimized for diffusion tensor imaging, high-angular resolution diffusion imaging for detailed fiber tracking and for diffusion kurtosis imaging; (iii) resting-state and task-based functional MRI; and (iv) fluid-attenuated inversion recovery and MR angiography for the detection of vascular lesions and the mapping of white matter lesions. The unique design of 1000BRAINS allows: (i) comprehensive investigation of various influences including genetics, environment and health status on variability in brain structure and function during aging; and (ii) identification of the impact of selected influencing factors on specific cognitive subsystems and their anatomical correlates.
LWPR: A Scalable Method for Incremental Online Learning in High Dimensions

Locally weighted projection regression (LWPR) is a new algorithm for incremental nonlinear function approximation in high dimensional spaces with redundant and irrelevant input dimensions. At its core, it employs nonparametric regression with locally linear models. In order to stay computationally efficient and numerically robust, each local model performs the regression analysis with a small number of univariate regressions in selected directions in input space in the spirit of partial least squares regression. We discuss when and how local learning techniques can successfully work in high dimensional spaces and compare various techniques for local dimensionality reduction before finally deriving the LWPR algorithm. The properties of LWPR are that it i) learns rapidly with second order learning methods based on incremental training, ii) uses statistically sound stochastic leave-one-out cross validation for learning without the need to memorize training data, iii) adjusts its weighting kernels based only on local information in order to minimize the danger of negative interference of incremental learning, iv) has a computational complexity that is linear in the number of inputs, and v) can deal with a large number of possibly redundant inputs, as shown in various empirical evaluations with up to 50 dimensional data sets. For a probabilistic interpretation, predictive variance and confidence intervals are derived. To our knowledge, LWPR is the first truly incremental spatially localized learning method that can successfully and efficiently operate in very high dimensional spaces.
The Effect of Social Media Usage on Course Achievement and Behavior.

This study investigated the effects of social media usage as a classroom management tool on students’ achievement and their behavior in class. Groups were determined by choosing random samples of different classes. The treatment group included the social media application “whatsapp” which all students and the instructor were asked to join that enabled constant communication and announcements related to class. The control group consisted of the same number of classes taught by the same instructors without using the social media application of “whatsapp. ” The control group received communication from the instructor through traditional use of blackboard and email communication. Results of the study showed no statistically significant differences between the treatment and the control groups with regards to course achievement, however, the results did indicate that students in the treatment groups had notably less class absences and missed assignments, which indicated better class behavior. Further, findings related to gender differences and class type are discussed as well as implications of the findings on future research and current classroom management processes. Keywords: Classroom management, Social media in education, classroom behavior, whatsapp.
Maturation of Ribbon Synapses in Hair Cells Is Driven by Thyroid Hormone

Ribbon synapses of inner hair cells (IHCs) undergo developmental maturation until after the onset of hearing. Here, we studied whether IHC synaptogenesis is regulated by thyroid hormone (TH). We performed perforated patch-clamp recordings of Ca2+ currents and exocytic membrane capacitance changes in IHCs of athyroid and TH-substituted Pax8−/− mice during postnatal development. Ca2+ currents remained elevated in athyroid IHCs at the end of the second postnatal week, when it had developmentally declined in wild-type and TH-rescued mutant IHCs. The efficiency of Ca2+ influx in triggering exocytosis of the readily releasable vesicle pool was reduced in athyroid IHCs. Ribbon synapses were formed despite the TH deficiency. However, different from wild type, in which synapse elimination takes place at approximately the onset of hearing, the number of ribbon synapses remained elevated in 2-week-old athyroid IHCs. Moreover, the ultrastructure of these synapses appeared immature. Using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, we found a TH-dependent developmental upregulation of the mRNAs for the neuronal SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) proteins, SNAP25 (synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa) and synaptobrevin 1, in the organ of Corti. These molecular changes probably contribute to the improvement of exocytosis efficiency in mature IHCs. IHCs of 2-week-old athyroid Pax8−/− mice maintained the normally temporary efferent innervation. Moreover, they lacked large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels and KCNQ4 channels. This together with the persistently increased Ca2+ influx permitted continued action potential generation. We conclude that TH regulates IHC differentiation and is essential for morphological and functional maturation of their ribbon synapses. We suggest that presynaptic dysfunction of IHCs is a mechanism in congenital hypothyroid deafness.
Evolution of universal review and disclosure of MRI reports to research participants

Although incidental findings (IF) are commonly encountered in neuroimaging research, there is no consensus regarding what to do with them. Whether researchers are obligated to review scans for IF, or if such findings should be disclosed to research participants at all, is controversial. Objective data are required to inform reasonable research policy; unfortunately, such data are lacking in the published literature. This manuscript summarizes the development of a radiology review and disclosure system in place at a neuroimaging research institute and its impact on key stakeholders.
A Two-State Packet Error Model for Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communications

In this paper we propose and analyze a novel, computationally inexpensive packet-error model for infrastructure- to-vehicle (I2V) communications. Based on real-world measurements using IEEE 802.11p devices, the proposed model incorporates the physical layer characteristics and propagation effects in an authentic highway environment with real vehicular traffic. With only a small set of parameters, the model allows to simulate time series of packet error events with a Hidden Markov Model (HMM). We propose this packet error model for the simulation of vehicular connectivity in the context of intelligent transport systems.
The Impact of Industrial Relations Practices on Employment and Unemployment

This working paper deals with the effects of collective bargaining and other forms of collective employee representation (such as works councils) on employment and unemployment. Collective bargaining is concerned with both substantive issues, such as rates of pay or weeks of notice to be given before lay-off, and procedural matters in which management and employee representatives jointly manage important areas of employee relations thereby contributing to workplace co-operation. Whereas many substantive rules can be said to cause lower levels of employment and enterprise efficiency, procedural rules by reducing transaction costs, improve co-operation and thus, indirectly, help jobs.The paper starts by examining some substantive rules and the evidence for their effects on employment in OECD countries. It then looks at some of the compensating flexibilities which are introduced by procedural rules. These may be dependent on substantive rules: for example, employment security may be a . Les effets des pratiques en matiere de relations professionnelles sur l'emploi et le chomage Ce document de travail traite des effets des negociations collectives et d'autres formes de representation collective des salaries (comme les comites d'entreprise) sur l'emploi et le chomage. Les negociations collectives portent a la fois sur des questions de fond, telles les remunerations ou le nombre de semaines de preavis de licenciement et sur des questions de procedure, domaine dans lequel les representants du patronat et des salaries gerent conjointement des aspects importants des relations avec le personnel ce qui renforce la cooperation au sein de l'entreprise. Si de nombreuses regles de fond entrainent sans doute une baisse des niveaux d'emploi et nuisent a l'efficacite des entreprises, en revanche les regles de procedure ameliorent la cooperation en reduisant les couts de transaction et favorisent ainsi indirectement l'emploi.L'auteur examine d'abord certaines regles de fond et leurs effets sur l'emploi observes dans les pays de l'OCDE. Il analyse ensuite certaines des .
Coronary artery disease in patients with chronic kidney disease: a brief literature review

Article type Review article Cardiovascular is the major cause of death in chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease. The cardiovascular mortality rate of patients with renal impairment is evaluated to be higher than general population. Coronary artery disease seems to be an important type of cardiovascular complication among patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease before the renal replacement therapy. Due to the strong association between chronic kidney disease and the incidence of coronary artery disease, accurate screening, diagnosis, and management of cardiovascular complications would be essential in patients at different stages of renal dysfunction. Despite the need for the comprehensive knowledge about different aspects of coronary artery disease in patients with renal failure, there is not sufficient evidence regarding the pathophysiology, ideal diagnosis, and treatment strategies for coronary heart disease in population with chronic kidney disease. In this study, we briefly reviewed the existing literatures about the possible screening, diagnosis, and the treatment approaches of risk of coronary heart disease in patients with kidney dysfunction.
Growth and scaling in anisotropic spinodal decomposition

We studied phase separation in a particle interacting system under a large drive along x. We here identify the basic growth mechanisms, and demonstrate time self-similarity, finite-size scaling, as well as other interesting features of both the structure factor and the scaling function. We also show that, at late t in two dimensions, there is a unique t-dependent length increasing ly(t) ~ t1/3 for macroscopic systems. Our results, which follow as a direct consequence of the underlying anisotropy, may characterize a class of nonequilibrium situations.
Laugh Away the Fat? Therapeutic Humor in the Control of Stress-induced Emotional Eating

This review explores the potential overlap between the fields of nutrition and therapeutic humor, together with the role of humor as a possible tool for aiding those in whom emotions, particularly negative ones, trigger eating as a means to improve mood. We review emotional eating, obesity, and the hypothesized mechanisms of emotional eating. We then review the field of therapeutic humor and its ability to de-stress individuals, possibly through endorphin and opioid systems, both of which are also involved in eating behavior. Finally, we present a novel hypothesis that people may be trained to use humor as a “food substitute” at best, or to blunt hunger stimuli, to achieve similar advantages, without the side effect of weight gain.
Prevalence and determinants of tobacco use among adults in Greece: 4 year trends.

BACKGROUND Greece has one of the highest rates of adult smoking globally. The objective of the present survey was to explore the epidemiology of tobacco use in Greece after the implementation of recent legislative tobacco control measures and to compare it with previous cross-sectional data from 2006. METHODS The nationwide household survey 'Hellas Health III' was conducted in 2010. A sample of 1000 adults (mean age 47.1 ± 17.1 years) were interviewed. Individuals who had smoked at least once during the past 30 days were classified as smokers. Results were compared with those from the similar 'Hellas Health I' study, which was conducted in 2006. RESULTS The prevalence of smoking was calculated at 41% (45% among men and 38% in women, P = 0.04). Greek men smoke more cigarettes (23.2 vs. 19.3 per day, P = 0.002), and they become regular smokers earlier in life. In age groups <55 years, most gender inequalities are attenuated. Socio-economic status does not affect tobacco use in Greece. In comparison with 2006, smoking prevalence, especially among young adults, has fallen from 48 to 35% in 2010. Moreover, a substantial reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked among all age groups was noticed. CONCLUSIONS Trends in smoking prevalence and consumption among adults seem favourable in Greece during the past 4 years; a substantial reduction of younger smokers and in the number of cigarettes smoked among all age groups is documented. This constitutes a significant public health achievement and an indicator that young adults are a susceptible population to legislative action.
Transverse instabilities of deep-water solitary waves

The dynamics of a one-dimensional slowly modulated, nearly monochromatic localized wave train in deep water is described by a one-dimensional soliton solution of a two-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation. In this paper, the instability of such a wave train with respect to transverse perturbations is examined numerically in the context of the NLS equation, using Hill's method. A variety of instabilities are obtained and discussed. Among these, we show that the solitary wave is susceptible to an oscillatory instability (complex growth rate) due to perturbations with arbitrarily short wavelength. Further, there is a cut-off on the instability with real growth rates. We show analytically that the nature of this cut-off is different from what is claimed in previous works.
Comparison of Cognitive Emotional Regulation and Problem-Solving Strategies in Substance Abusers and Normal Subjects

Introduction: Many studies evaluated Addiction and Substance abuse treatment programs. But few studies have investigated problem solving strategies and cognitive emotion regulation in addicted patients. Purpose: The aims of this study were to compare the cognitive emotion regulation and Problem-Solving Strategies in patients with substance abuse and normal individuals. Method: This was a causal-comparative (ex post facto) research that evaluated using cognitive emotion regulation and Problem-Solving Strategies questionnaires. Patients (n=30) and normal subjects (n=30) selected with available sampling method. Data analysis was performed using independent t-test and descriptive indicators. Results: These results showed that drug-dependent individuals had poorer cognitive emotion regulation and Problem solving strategies than normal subjects. Conclusions: Substance abuse individuals have shown deficits in cognitive emotion regulation and efficient Problem-Solving Strategies while this deficits have not seen in group normal individuals that may provide valuable additional tools for preventative and clinical treatment of substance abuse patients.
Behavioral heterogeneity in U . S . inflation dynamics Cornea

In this paper we develop and estimate a behavioral model of inflation dynamics with monopolistic competition, staggered price setting and heterogeneous firms. In our stylized framework there are two groups of price setters, fundamentalists and naive. Fundamentalists are forward-looking in the sense that they believe in a present-value relationship between inflation and real marginal costs, while naive are backward-looking, using the simplest rule of thumb, naive expectations, to forecast future inflation. Agents are allowed to switch between these different forecasting strategies conditional on their recent relative forecasting performance. The estimation results support behavioral heterogeneity and the evolutionary switching mechanism. We show that there is substantial time variation in the weights of forward-looking and backward-looking behavior. Although on average the majority of firms use the simple backward-looking rule, the market has phases in which it is dominated by either the fundamentalists or the naive agents. JEL codes: E31, E52, C22.
Effects of Applying Role Playing Approach on Nursing Students’ Education

Employing new education approach is necessary for enhancing nursing students` skills; Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to comparing effects of role playing and traditional methods on nursing students’ education. The paper presents the results of an experimental study where one group of students was taught using role-playing and the control group was taught using traditional approach. Statistical population of the study included all nursing students at Shiraz University and 228 nursing students were randomly allocated in role playing and traditional training groups to participate in a 4 hour workshop. Before and after the workshop students' skills were assessed and data gathering tools included a self evaluation form and evaluation checklists for assessing students’ performance. Results of Paired t-test showed that the scores of role playing was more than writing test and were statistically significant. Average of female’s scores were more than men’s in both exams; and paired t-test showed a significant relation between gender and average of scores but average of female’s scores in role playing method had a more significant increase.
Endogenous rhythm and pattern-generating circuit interactions in cockroach motor centres

ABSTRACT Cockroaches are rapid and stable runners whose gaits emerge from the intricate, and not fully resolved, interplay between endogenous oscillatory pattern-generating networks and sensory feedback that shapes their rhythmic output. Here we studied the endogenous motor output of a brainless, deafferented preparation. We monitored the pilocarpine-induced rhythmic activity of levator and depressor motor neurons in the mesothoracic and metathoracic segments in order to reveal the oscillatory networks’ architecture and interactions. Data analyses included phase relations, latencies between and overlaps of rhythmic bursts, spike frequencies, and the dependence of these parameters on cycle frequency. We found that, overall, ipsilateral connections are stronger than contralateral ones. Our findings revealed asymmetries in connectivity among the different ganglia, in which meta-to-mesothoracic ascending coupling is stronger than meso-to-metathoracic descending coupling. Within-ganglion coupling between the metathoracic hemiganglia is stronger than that in the mesothoracic ganglion. We also report differences in the role and mode of operation of homologue network units (manifested by levator and depressor nerve activity). Many observed characteristics are similar to those exhibited by intact animals, suggesting a dominant role for feedforward control in cockroach locomotion. Based on these data we posit a connectivity scheme among components of the locomotion pattern generating system. Summary: Detailed analysis of fictive motor patterns unveils endogenous characteristics of the cockroach thoracic locomotion control networks and their interrelations and enables an explanatory connectivity model.
Auto-FACE: An NMR Based Binding Site Mapping Program for Fast Chemical Exchange Protein-Ligand Systems

Background Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy offers a variety of experiments to study protein-ligand interactions at atomic resolution. Among these experiments, N Heteronuclear Single Quantum Correlation (HSQC) experiment is simple, less time consuming and highly informative in mapping the binding site of the ligand. The interpretation of N HSQC becomes ambiguous when the chemical shift perturbations are caused by non-specific interactions like allosteric changes and local structural rearrangement. Under such cases, detailed chemical exchange analysis based on chemical shift perturbation will assist in locating the binding site accurately. Methodology/Principal Findings We have automated the mapping of binding sites for fast chemical exchange systems using information obtained from N HSQC spectra of protein serially titrated with ligand of increasing concentrations. The automated program Auto-FACE (Auto-FAst Chemical Exchange analyzer) determines the parameters, e.g. rate of change of perturbation, binding equilibrium constant and magnitude of chemical shift perturbation to map the binding site residues. Interestingly, the rate of change of perturbation at lower ligand concentration is highly sensitive in differentiating the binding site residues from the non-binding site residues. To validate this program, the interaction between the protein and the ligand BH3I-1 was studied. Residues in the hydrophobic BH3 binding groove of were easily identified to be crucial for interaction with BH3I-1 from other residues that also exhibited perturbation. The geometrically averaged equilibrium constant () calculated for the residues present at the identified binding site is consistent with the values obtained by other techniques like isothermal calorimetry and fluorescence polarization assays (). Adjacent to the primary site, an additional binding site was identified which had an affinity of 3.8 times weaker than the former one. Further NMR based model fitting for individual residues suggest single site model for residues present at these binding sites and two site model for residues present between these sites. This implies that chemical shift perturbation can represent the local binding event much more accurately than the global binding event. Conclusion/Significance Detail NMR chemical shift perturbation analysis enabled binding site residues to be distinguished from non-binding site residues for accurate mapping of interaction site in complex fast exchange system between small molecule and protein. The methodology is automated and implemented in a program called “Auto-FACE”, which also allowed quantitative information of each interaction site and elucidation of binding mechanism.