Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Percutaneous needle biopsy of the mediastinum: review of 94 procedures.

BACKGROUND--A number of reports of radiologically guided percutaneous biopsy of mediastinal masses have been described but techniques have varied, particularly the type of needle used. In this study mediastinal biopsies with fine aspiration needles and cutting needles have been compared, sometimes in the same patient. The results are reviewed with particular emphasis on the choice of biopsy needle and its influence on pathological diagnosis. METHODS--A retrospective review was undertaken of radiologically guided mediastinal biopsies performed between 1981 and 1991. RESULTS--Sixty fine needle aspiration biopsies (FNA) and 34 Tru-Cut biopsies of mediastinal masses were performed in 75 patients with fluoroscopic or computed tomographic guidance. Overall sensitivity and specificity in terms of diagnosis of malignant disease were 90% and 100% respectively for FNA biopsies, and 96% and 100% for Tru-Cut biopsies. Diagnostic accuracy in terms of precise diagnosis of the malignant or benign nature of a mass and its origin was 77% for FNA biopsies and 94% for Tru-Cut biopsies. For FNA biopsies sensitivity and accuracy were higher for carcinomatous lesions (96% and 88%) than for noncarcinomatous lesions (81% and 69%). The only significant complication encountered was a pneumothorax following a biopsy which required intercostal drainage. CONCLUSIONS--Radiologically guided percutaneous needle biopsy is a safe procedure which provides useful diagnostic information in the majority of cases. Fine needle aspiration techniques usually suffice for carcinomatous lesions but a cutting needle biopsy should be performed whenever possible when lymphoma, thymoma, or neural masses are suspected to obtain larger specimens for more accurate histological diagnosis.
On the impact of soft vertical handoff on optimal voice admission control in PCF-based WLANs loosely coupled to 3G networks

Soft vertical handoff (VHO) and admission control are usually considered as two independent mechanisms ensuring respectively packet-level QoS and call-level QoS for voice calls in loosely coupled 3G/WLAN networks. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of the soft VHO on the blocking performance of the optimal voice admission control in different mobility environments where the WLAN operates the Point Coordination Function (PCF). For this purpose, we propose an accurate analytical mobility model for the soft VHO region. Then, based on the proposed model, we derive and analyze the blocking and dropping probability expressions of the optimal voice admission control algorithm in the 3G network loosely coupled to the PCF-based WLAN. Results show us that a resource-efficient soft handoff (RESHO) performs significantly better than a static-threshold soft handoff (STSHO) particularly in WLAN mobility environments. In fact, the 3G new call blocking probability reduction gained by using RESHO compared to STSHO is largely increased when mobile station (MS) velocities have low mean and high variability which typically characterizes theWLAN mobility environment. Besides, results show us that RESHO reduces all blocking and dropping probabilities.We believe that the provided model and the presented results could help design efficient MS controlled soft VHO algorithms for emergent loosely coupled 3G/WLAN networks.
Acknowledging the female archetype: women managers’ narratives of gender

Women in management are marginalised by the continuing pervasiveness of heroic masculinism, the traditional and hierarchical form of management, which depicts executives as solitary (male) heroes engaged in unending trials of endurance. This theme of leadership as archetype is strengthened through official organisational myths and stories which function as vehicles of communication management to support organisational goals and to provide role models for aspiring executives. Calls have been made for new forms of writing and more women’s voices in women and management scholarship. Paradoxically, storytelling, which currently supports executive male norms, also provides a potential approach for women in management to break through the dominant masculinist appropriation of leadership. This paper examines women managers’ stories of gender within the context of organisational storytelling and heroic masculinism. These transformational narratives provide parallel but distinctive archetypes to heroic masculinity. At the same time, they present parodic inversions of the “slaying of monster” myths of traditional executive culture. These stories which women tell other women, create resilient images of women’s identities in management.
Sexual Orientation Differences in Spirituality in a Sample of Alcoholics Anonymous Members: Implications for Practitioners

Although research interest on the relationship between spirituality and substance misuse has grown in breadth and depth since the latter part of the twentieth century, very little research examines sexual orientation differences in this relationship. The purpose of this study is to begin to address this omission by examining sexual orientation differences (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual) in spirituality among a sample of 100 members of Alcoholics Anonymous. Spirituality was measured using the five-dimension Expressions of Spirituality Inventory–Revised. Persons who identified as homosexuals had significantly lower cognitive orientation toward spirituality compared to heterosexuals. Bisexuals had significantly higher paranormal beliefs scores compared to heterosexuals. The role of internalized homophobia due to the confounding of judgmental, disaffirming religious dogma with spirituality in interpreting study findings is explored. Practice implications for addressing spirituality in sexual minorities who undergo substance misuse treatment are examined.
The Role of Psychopathology and Personality in Rage-Type Homicide: A Review

This article reviews the role of psychopathology and personality in offenders who have committed acts of rage-type murder. The possible role of depression, PTSD, psychotic disorders, intellectual functioning and alcohol/drug abuse are critically considered. It is argued that although some forms of psychopathology may be indicated in some cases, these still remain in the minority. This seems to be consistent with findings that describe such offenders as ‘apparently normal’. In an attempt to explain this further, the character profile and psychodynamics of personality are reviewed. A pattern of overcontrol is isolated as a key theme that best explains the ‘apparent normality’ of the rage-type offender. The relevance of the DSM-IV classification system of personality disorders for understanding this kind of criminal is considered. It is argued that a particular type of borderline personality organisation, not isolated by the DSM-IV system, best explains this character pattern.
Does Anxiety Sensitivity Predict Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms Following Childbirth? A Preliminary Report

The aim of the current study was to investigate whether prenatal levels of anxiety sensitivity would predict post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms following childbirth. A total of 40 women completed a series of self-report measures, including the Anxiety Sensitivity Index and the General Health Questionnaire at 36 weeks gestation. The women were followed-up 2 weeks postpartum with self-report measures of post-traumatic stress disorder, mood and birth experiences. Correlational analysis revealed that a combination of pre- and postnatal psychological factors as well as obstetric events was related to post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Regression analysis revealed that prenatal anxiety sensitivity predicted post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, suggesting that anxiety sensitivity may act as an important vulnerability factor in psychopathological responses to childbirth. Further investigation into this construct seems warranted.
The impending demise of the icon: A critique of the concept of iconic storage in visual information processing

Abstract Without disputing the experimental evidence that subjects have available most of the content of brief displays for a fraction of a second, or that visual stimuli Persist after their physical termination for a similar time, I argue that this evidence is irrelevant to perception. Specifically, the notion of an icon as a brief storage of information persisting after stimulus termination cannot possibly be useful in any typical visual information-processing task except reading in a lightning storm. Since the visual world that provides the stimuli for perception is continuous and not chopped up by tachistoscopes, and since our eyes and heads are rarely motionless, no realistic circumstances exist in which having a frozen iconic storage of information could be helpful. Rather, the presence of such an icon interferes with perception. This paper examines instances of normal perception, and then reviews experimental evidence on temporal integration, saccadic suppression, masking, and the photoreceptor basis of visual persistence, to further demonstrate that a storage of excitation cannot be a useful device for storing information. Finally, I note that little would have to be changed in our theories of visual perception or information processing if we simply forgot all about the icon and iconic memory as an early stage of processing.
Clinical implications of neuroscience research in PTSD.

The research showing how exposure to extreme stress affects brain function is making important contributions to understanding the nature of traumatic stress. This includes the notion that traumatized individuals are vulnerable to react to sensory information with subcor- tically initiated responses that are irrelevant, and often harmful, in the present. Reminders of traumatic experiences activate brain regions that support intense emotions, and decrease activation in the central nervous system (CNS) regions involved in (a) the integration of sensory input with motor output, (b) the modulation of physiological arousal, and (c) the ca- pacity to communicate experience in words. Failures of attention and memory in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) interfere with the ca- pacity to engage in the present: traumatized individuals "lose their way in the world. " This article discusses the implications of this research by suggesting that effective treatment needs to involve (a) learning to toler- ate feelings and sensations by increasing the capacity for interoception, (b) learning to modulate arousal, and (c) learning that after confronta- tion with physical helplessness it is essential to engage in taking effective action.
Another appraisal of Ortega, the Coles, and science policy: the Ecclesiastes hypothesis

progress. &dquo;Most research&dquo;, they point out, &dquo;is rarely cited by the bulk of the physics community, and even more sparingly cited by the eminent scientists who produce the most important discoveries&dquo; (1972, p. 372). From this they conclude that a greater concentration of scientific resources in favor of this &dquo;elite&dquo; would not be detrimental to scientific progress. One could question the validity of the Coles’ results. For purposes of this note, however,
Continuous Multimodal Human Affect Estimation using Echo State Networks

A continuous multimodal human affect recognition for both arousal and valence dimensions in a non-acted spontaneous scenario is investigated in this paper. Different regression models based on Random Forests and Echo State Networks are evaluated and compared in terms of robustness and accuracy. Moreover, an extension of Echo State Networks to a bi-directional model is introduced to improve the regression accuracy. A hybrid method using Random Forests, Echo State Networks and linear regression fusion is developed and applied on the test subset of the AVEC16 challenge. Finally, the label shift and prediction delay is discussed and an annotator specific regression model, as well as fusion architecture, is proposed for future work.
Adiponectin Enhances Calcium Dependency of Mouse Bladder Contraction Mediated by Protein Kinase Cα Expression

Adiponectin is an adipose tissue–secreted protein and is a multifunctional adipocytokine. However, the association of adiponectin with bladder contraction has not been investigated. In this study, the adiponectin-sense transgenic mouse (Adip-Sen mouse; age, 16–24 weeks; male) and age-matched controls (C57Bl mouse) were studied. The Adip-Sen mouse showed a significant increase in plasma adiponectin levels (56.2%; P < 0.01), compared with those in the C57Bl mouse, without affecting other lipid parameters. Isometric force development in bladder smooth muscle tissues were detected using an organ-bath system. Although carbachol (CCh)–induced (0.1–100 µM) time- and dose-dependent contractions in Adip-Sen mouse bladder were slightly enhanced, compared with those in the C57Bl mouse during a low range (0.3–1.0 µM) of CCh, differences could not be detected with other CCh concentrations. However, the reduction in contraction under Ca2+-replaced conditions was significantly different between Adip-Sen and C57Bl mice (94.1 and 66.3% of normal contraction, respectively; n = 5). A parameter of Ca2+ sensitivity, the relation between intracellular Ca2+ concentration and contraction, was increased in the Adip-Sen mouse, compared with that in the C57B1 mouse. This Ca2+ dependency in the Adip-Sen mouse was reduced by a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, but not by a Rho kinase inhibitor. Expression of the calcium-dependent isoform of PKC, PKCα, was increased in the Adip-Sen mouse bladder, and CCh-induced phosphorylation of PKCα was also enhanced, compared with those in the C57Bl mouse. In conclusion, adiponectin is associated with bladder smooth muscle contraction, which involves an increase in Ca2+ dependency of contraction mediated by PKCα expression.
Perceived Functional Health Patterns and Recovery in People with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived functional health patterns and recovery in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, to explore the magnitude of relationship between of these variables and influencing factors such as self-esteem, insight, therapeutic relationship, and social support. Methods: Participants were 160 individuals from 16 Community Mental Health Centers in Gyeonggi Province. Data were collected from April 10 to June, 12, 2010. Analysis was done using descriptive data, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and canonical correlation coefficients with the SAS 9.1 program. Results: The mean score for perceived functional health of participants was below the normal range and the mean for recovery was above the middle range. Functional health and recovery were positively correlated with all components. The magnitude of relationship between functional health pattern, recovery and influencing factors were high in order of self-esteem, social support, insight, and therapeutic relationship. Conclusion: Functional health is strongly associated with recovery and useful in promoting recovery. Development of recovery oriented training programs for professionals and interventions considering factors influencing recovery and functional health as identified in this study is recommended.
Squibs and Discussions: Measuring Word Alignment Quality for Statistical Machine Translation

Automatic word alignment plays a critical role in statistical machine translation. Unfortunately, the relationship between alignment quality and statistical machine translation performance has not been well understood. In the recent literature, the alignment task has frequently been decoupled from the translation task and assumptions have been made about measuring alignment quality for machine translation which, it turns out, are not justified. In particular, none of the tens of papers published over the last five years has shown that significant decreases in alignment error rate (AER) result in significant increases in translation performance. This paper explains this state of affairs and presents steps towards measuring alignment quality in a way which is predictive of statistical machine translation performance.
Fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) made with a phase mask and 800 nm femtosecond radiation

FBG's were written in SMF-28 fiber, without fiber sensitization, using 800 nm 120 fs pulses and a phase mask (peak intensities: 1.2/spl times/10/sup 13/ W/cm/sup 2/). Gratings with /spl Delta/n=1.85/spl times/10/sup -3/ and low polarization dependence were stable at 500/spl deg/C.
Prospective Design Delineation and Subsequent In Vitro Evaluation of a New Posterior Dynamic Stabilization System

Study Design. Finite element and in vitro study. Objective. Finite element calculations to delineate a dynamic fixator and confirmation with an in vitro experiment. Summary and Background Data. In the last few years, there was a paradigm shift from rigid to dynamic fixation of spinal segments. However, some so-called dynamic implants like the Dynesys performed still stiffer than anticipated. The aim of this study was to optimize a dynamic stabilization system. Methods. The development steps of this implant design can be summarized in a development loop. First, a finite element model of an intact human L4–L5 segment was used to delineate implant stiffness parameters for the implant, in consideration of clinical concerns and safety aspects. These data were used in a second step, leading to the final implant design. This development process was completed with an appropriate in vitro experiment. The optimal axial and bending stiffness were computed to reduce the spinal motion by 30%. For the validation process, in vitro tests were performed on 6 human lumbar spinal segments L2–L3 with a median age of 52. The model and the specimens were loaded with pure unconstrained moments of 7.5 Nm in flexion, extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation. Results. This study demonstrated the advantages of employing a finite element model for the implant parameter delineation. It was possible to prospectively outline the needed stiffness parameters for a desired spinal range of motion achievement. Conclusion. In summary, FEM may accelerate the development and the realization of a new implant design.
Glycoprotein gIII of pseudorabies virus is multifunctional

One of the major glycoproteins of pseudorabies virus, gIII, is nonessential for growth in cell culture. Mutants defective in gIII, however, consistently yield lower titers of infectious virus (3- to 20-fold) than does wild-type virus. The interactions of gIII- mutants with their host cells were compared with those of wild-type virus in an attempt to uncover the functions of gIII. We show that gIII plays a major role in the stable adsorption of the virus to its host cell; in the absence of gIII, the rate of adsorption is reduced and adsorption is easily reversed by washing. Thus, adsorption of pseudorabies virus can be said to occur in at least the following two ways: (i) a gIII-mediated rapid adsorption or (ii) a slower and more labile adsorption that is independent of gIII. After virions have been complexed with monoclonal antibodies against gIII (but not some monoclonal antibodies against other glycoproteins), both modes of adsorption were inhibited. Glycoprotein gIII affects virus stability and virus release, as well as adsorption. The effect on virus release is marked when the virus is defective in additional functions. Thus, although we found no obvious difference in the release of virus from gIII- or wild-type virus-infected rabbit kidney cells, release of a gIII-/gI- double mutant from the cells occurred less readily than did release of a gI- mutant. The gIII-/gI- and gIII- mutants, however, adsorbed to cells at a similar rate, indicating that the effects of gIII on adsorption and virus release constitute separate functions. The Bartha vaccine strain of pseudorabies virus has a defective gIII gene and is released poorly from rabbit kidney cells. After the resident Bartha gIII gene was replaced by the gIII gene of wild-type virus, virus release was enhanced considerably. Since inactivation of gIII in wild-type pseudorabies virus did not significantly affect virus release, the Bartha strain must be defective in another function which, in conjunction with gIII, significantly affects virus release. These results indicate again that gIII affects virus release in conjunction with other functions. Also, although the Bartha strain was functionally defective in virus release, it adsorbed to cells as well as wild-type virus did, showing that the effects of gIII on virus adsorption and release constitute separate functions. We conclude that gIII is a multifunctional glycoprotein.
Comparing Learning Performance of Students Using Algorithm Visualizations Collaboratively on Different Engagement Levels

In this paper, two emerging learning and teaching methods have been studied: collaboration in concert with algorithm visualization. When visualizations have been employed in collaborative learning, collaboration introduces new challenges for the visualization tools. In addition, new theories are needed to guide the development and research of the visualization tools for collaborative learning. We present an empirical study, in which learning materials containing visualizations on different Extended Engagement Taxonomy levels were compared, when students were collaboratively learning concepts related to binary heap. In addition, the students’ activities during the controlled experimental study were also recorded utilizing a screen capturing software. Pre- and post-tests were used as the test instruments in the experiment. No statistically significant differences were found in the post-test between the randomized groups. However, screen capturing and voice recording revealed that despite the randomization and instructions given to the students, not all of the students performed on the engagement level, to which they were assigned. By regrouping the students based on the monitored behavior, statistically significant differences were found in the total and pair average of the post-test scores. This confirms some of the hypothesis presented in the (Extended) Engagement Taxonomy.