Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling Position Specificity in Sequence Kernels by Fuzzy Equivalence Relations

This paper demonstrates that several known sequence kernels can be expressed in a unified framework in which the position specificity is modeled by fuzzy equivalence relations. In addition to this interpretation, we address the practical issues of positive semi- definiteness, computational complexity, and the extraction of inter- pretable features from the final support vector machine classifier. Keywords— fuzzy equivalence relation, kernel, sequence classi- fication, support vector machines.
Prevalence of negative symptoms in outpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders treated with antipsychotics in routine clinical practice: findings from the CLAMORS study.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the prevalence of negative symptoms in antipsychotic-treated outpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. METHOD A cross-sectional, retrospective multicenter study was carried out between May 2004 and April 2005 in 1,704 adult psychiatric outpatients meeting DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia, schizophreniform, or schizoaffective disorder. We used 5 items of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) negative symptoms subscale to individually determine the presence of a negative symptom when the score on the item was > 3. Primary negative symptoms were considered present when patients fulfilled all of the following: > 3 score on the corresponding item; < 3 score on any positive item; no extrapyramidal symptoms; <or= 3 score on anxiety and depression items; dose of haloperidol, when applicable, <or= 15 mg/d; and no antiparkinsonian treatment. RESULTS A total of 1,452 evaluable patients (863 men, 60.9%), 40.7 +/- 12.2 (mean +/- SD) years of age, were included. One or more negative symptoms were present in 57.6% of patients, with primary negative symptoms in 12.9% of subjects. The most frequent negative symptom items were social withdrawal (45.8%), emotional withdrawal (39.1%), poor rapport (35.8%), and blunted affect (33.1%). Negative symptoms (1-blunted affect, 2-emotional withdrawal, 3-poor rapport, 4-social withdrawal, 5-verbal fluency) were most associated with maleness (symptom 4); age > 40/45 years (men/women; symptoms 1,2,4); single/unmarried status (symptoms 2-4); unemployment (symptoms 3,4); higher score on the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scale and PANSS total score (symptoms 1-5); lower score on the PANSS positive symptoms subscale (symptoms 1,3); more than 52 weeks of treatment (symptoms 1-3,5); and high antipsychotic dose (symptom 2). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders treated with antipsychotics in routine clinical practice not only is still considerably high but also seems to be related to poorer functioning, unemployment, greater severity, and less positive symptomatology and higher antipsychotic dose.
Effects of Using the Nintendo Wii Fit Plus Platform in the Sensorimotor Training of Gait Disorders in Parkinson’s Disease

The use of the Nintendo Wii has been considered a good alternative in the motor rehabilitation of individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD), requiring simultaneous interaction to develop strategies for physical, visual, auditory, cognitive, psychological and social activities in the performing of virtual activities, resulting in improvement in functional performance and gait. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of virtual sensorimotor activity on gait disorders in people with PD. Fifteen subjects with a clinical diagnosis of PD were submitted to the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS III), Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scale (SE), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), and biomechanical gait analysis using digital images taken with a video camera before and after the treatment program. The activities with the Nintendo Wii virtual platform were standardized into three categories: aerobics, balance and Wii plus exercises. Participants carried out separate virtual exercises for 40 min, twice a week, for a total of 14 sessions. The program improved sensorimotor performance in PD gait, with an increase in stride length and gait speed, in addition to a reduction in motor impairment, especially in items of rigidity and flexibility of the lower limbs evaluated by UPDRS III, and greater functional independence, as evidenced in the SE and FIM scales. Improvements in items related to locomotion and stair climbing were also observed. The training was effective in motor recovery in chronic neurodegenerative diseases, showing improvement in motor performance and functional independence in individuals with PD.
Vulnerability of Permafrost Carbon to Climate Change: Implications for the Global Carbon Cycle

ABSTRACT Thawing permafrost and the resulting microbial decomposition of previously frozen organic carbon (C) is one of the most significant potential feedbacks from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere in a changing climate. In this article we present an overview of the global permafrost C pool and of the processes that might transfer this C into the atmosphere, as well as the associated ecosystem changes that occur with thawing. We show that accounting for C stored deep in the permafrost more than doubles previous high-latitude inventory estimates, with this new estimate equivalent to twice the atmospheric C pool. The thawing of permafrost with warming occurs both gradually and catastrophically, exposing organic C to microbial decomposition. Other aspects of ecosystem dynamics can be altered by climate change along with thawing permafrost, such as growing season length, plant growth rates and species composition, and ecosystem energy exchange. However, these processes do not appear to be able to compensate for C release from thawing permafrost, making it likely that the net effect of widespread permafrost thawing will be a positive feedback to a warming climate.
Civic Literacy: How Informed Citizens Make Democracy Work

Scholars, pundits, and politicians, both in the US and abroad, have warned of a decline in citizen involvement in public life. Many (following the lead of Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone) have focused on the "social capital" allegedly created by the participation of citizens in a wide range of voluntary associations. But Henry Milner, a noted scholar of comparative politics, argues that a society's level of civic literacy -- the knowledge and capacity of citizens to make sense of their political world -- offers a better basis for understanding the civil societies of disparate cultures, and comparing the effectiveness of their democratic institutions. In a clear, accessible style, Milner marshals a wealth of data from the US, Canada, western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand to show how civic literacy underpins effective democracies. Masterfully weaving together philosophical debates over citizenship and community with the empirical findings of social scientists and his own first-hand experience of a variety of cultures, Milner shows that a population's degree of civic literacy is the single best predictor of its level of political participation. Drawing on the experience of the high civic literacy societies of Northern Europe, he sets out a series of policies -- policies linked to the role of the media, to adult and civic education, and to the informativeness of partisan political debate -- that lay the groundwork for the exercise of the responsibilities of citizenship in the 21st century.
Anatomy and Biomechanics of the Lateral Side of the Knee and Surgical Implications

A detailed understanding of the anatomy and biomechanics of the lateral knee is essential for the clinical diagnosis and surgical treatment of lateral-sided knee injuries. In the past, the structure and function of the lateral and posterolateral knee was poorly understood and was dubbed by some as “the dark side of the knee. ” However, recent advances in quantitative anatomy and biomechanics of this region have led to the development of anatomic-based reconstruction techniques and improved objective and subjective patient-based outcomes. Although the lateral knee consists of 28 unique structures, the primary lateral knee stabilizers include the fibular collateral ligament, popliteus tendon, and popliteofibular ligament. Together, these structures function to resist lateral compartment varus gapping and rotatory knee instability. This work will summarize the current state of knowledge regarding the anatomy and biomechanics of the lateral knee structures, while emphasizing implications for surgical treatment.
Orthodontic Treatment and the Oral Health-Related Quality of Life of Patients

Objective: Malocclusion is a common oral disorder, can cause negative impacts on oral conditions, social life and patients’ self confidence. The objective of this study was to determine whether orthodontic treatment influence oral health related quality of life (OHQoL). Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional design with self-reported data were collected from 302 participants attended at professional orthodontic office (62% female; mean age, 21.71 years) in two “treatment” and “no treatment” groups. The measure namely (oral health impact profile) OHIP-14 was used to assess the patient’s OHQol. Linear regression model was used in the data analysis. Results: A significant relationship was found in one question and one domain of OHIP-14 between the two groups (P<0.05) which showed difference in physical limitation. Linear regression model showed that in the treatment group, this domain of OHQoL was 1.86 times less likely complicated than in the “no treatment” group. Conclusion: Patients who had completed orthodontic treatment had a better OHQoL in physical aspects than those who never had treatment.
Stress: Appraisal and Coping

Here is a monumental work that continues in the tradition pioneered by co-author Richard Lazarus in his classic book Psychological Stress and the Coping Process. Dr. Lazarus and his collaborator, Dr. Susan Folkman, present here a detailed theory of psychological stress, building on the concepts of cognitive appraisal and coping which have become major themes of theory and investigation. As an integrative theoretical analysis, this volume pulls together two decades of research and thought on issues in behavioral medicine, emotion, stress management, treatment, and life span development. A selective review of the most pertinent literature is included in each chapter. The total reference listing for the book extends to 60 pages. This work is necessarily multidisciplinary, reflecting the many dimensions of stress-related problems and their situation within a complex social context. While the emphasis is on psychological aspects of stress, the book is oriented towards professionals in various disciplines, as well as advanced students and educated laypersons. The intended audience ranges from psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, nurses, and social workers to sociologists, anthropologists, medical researchers, and physiologists.
Which Factors Affect Learner Achievement? Analysing the Role of Psychological, Surface Level, Environmental and Learner Effort Variables

The meshing hypothesis of learning styles suggests that matching teaching and learning styles can promote learning experience. In this research, learning styles (psychological variable), gender diversity (surface level variable), learning modes (environmental variable), and learning time (learner effort variable) were integrated in a model in order to explore their pedagogical impacts on learner performance. The investigated learning environments adopted the traditional teaching approach of ‘one-size-fits-all’. Variables of 59 undergraduate students were measured using the Index of Learning Styles (ILS), an academic record, and a log file of Moodle system. Based on the proposed model, the identified hypotheses were quantitatively analysed. Surface level, environmental, and learner effort variables showed to have a significant effect on learner performance. However, the meshing hypothesis could not be proven. This suggests that other variables are more likely to influence achievement than learning styles.
Characterization of Trypanosoma cruzi Sirtuins as Possible Drug Targets for Chagas Disease

ABSTRACT Acetylation of lysine is a major posttranslational modification of proteins and is catalyzed by lysine acetyltransferases, while lysine deacetylases remove acetyl groups. Among the deacetylases, the sirtuins are NAD+-dependent enzymes, which modulate gene silencing, DNA damage repair, and several metabolic processes. As sirtuin-specific inhibitors have been proposed as drugs for inhibiting the proliferation of tumor cells, in this study, we investigated the role of these inhibitors in the growth and differentiation of Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas disease. We found that the use of salermide during parasite infection prevented growth and initial multiplication after mammalian cell invasion by T. cruzi at concentrations that did not affect host cell viability. In addition, in vivo infection was partially controlled upon administration of salermide. There are two sirtuins in T. cruzi, TcSir2rp1 and TcSir2rp3. By using specific antibodies and cell lines overexpressing the tagged versions of these enzymes, we found that TcSir2rp1 is localized in the cytosol and TcSir2rp3 in the mitochondrion. TcSir2rp1 overexpression acts to impair parasite growth and differentiation, whereas the wild-type version of TcSir2rp3 and not an enzyme mutated in the active site improves both. The effects observed with TcSir2rp3 were fully reverted by adding salermide, which inhibited TcSir2rp3 expressed in Escherichia coli with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) ± standard error of 1 ± 0.5 μM. We concluded that sirtuin inhibitors targeting TcSir2rp3 could be used in Chagas disease chemotherapy.
First-Spike-Based Visual Categorization Using Reward-Modulated STDP

Reinforcement learning (RL) has recently regained popularity with major achievements such as beating the European game of Go champion. Here, for the first time, we show that RL can be used efficiently to train a spiking neural network (SNN) to perform object recognition in natural images without using an external classifier. We used a feedforward convolutional SNN and a temporal coding scheme where the most strongly activated neurons fire first, while less activated ones fire later, or not at all. In the highest layers, each neuron was assigned to an object category, and it was assumed that the stimulus category was the category of the first neuron to fire. If this assumption was correct, the neuron was rewarded, i.e., spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) was applied, which reinforced the neuron’s selectivity. Otherwise, anti-STDP was applied, which encouraged the neuron to learn something else. As demonstrated on various image data sets (Caltech, ETH-80, and NORB), this reward-modulated STDP (R-STDP) approach has extracted particularly discriminative visual features, whereas classic unsupervised STDP extracts any feature that consistently repeats. As a result, R-STDP has outperformed STDP on these data sets. Furthermore, R-STDP is suitable for online learning and can adapt to drastic changes such as label permutations. Finally, it is worth mentioning that both feature extraction and classification were done with spikes, using at most one spike per neuron. Thus, the network is hardware friendly and energy efficient.
Collaborating on Referring Expressions

This paper presents a computational model of how conversational participants collaborate in order to make a referring action successful. The model is based on the view of language as goal-directed behavior. We propose that the content of a referring expression can be accounted for by the planning paradigm. Not only does this approach allow the processes of building referring expressions and identifying their referents to be captured by plan construction and plan inference, it also allows us to account for how participants clarify a referring expression by using meta-actions that reason about and manipulate the plan derivation that corresponds to the referring expression. To account for how clarification goals arise and how inferred clarification plans affect the agent, we propose that the agents are in a certain state of mind, and that this state includes an intention to achieve the goal of referring and a plan that the agents are currently considering. It is this mental state that sanctions the adoption of goals and the acceptance of inferred plans, and so acts as a link between understanding and generation.
Cognitive and neuropsychological predictors of juvenile adjudicative competency: The role of executive functioning

The relationship between juvenile adjudicative competence and executive functioning was investigated in a sample of 96 middle and high school students. Measures of adjudicative competence (selected questions from the Fitness Interview Test—Revised Understanding scale) and legal decision-making were administered together with cognitive and neuropsychological testing assessing various domains of executive functioning. Adolescents ages 13-14 performed less well than older adolescents (ages 17-18) with regard to competency abilities. Significant correlations were observed between competency scores and working memory, response inhibition/impulsivity, and metacognition/insight, but not cognitive flexibility. Hierarchical regression analyses testing the incremental predictive ability of executive functions indicated that metacognition/insight remained a significant predictor of competency beyond age and intelligence.
Incidental Learning of Two Languages by Bilingual Swedish- and English-Speaking Children, Monolingual English-Speaking Children and Monolingual English-Speaking Adults

Incidental Learning of Two Languages by Bilingual Swedish-and English-Speaking Children, Monolingual English-Speaking Children and Monolingual English-Speaking Adults Kimberly Franklin Mosca I conducted 3-experiments to examine incidental language learning of two languages by bilingual Swedishand English-speaking children, monolingual Englishspeaking children, and monolingual English-speaking adults. More specifically, I tested for the presence of Naming in English and in Swedish for all participants. In Experiment 1, I tested for the presence of Naming in Swedish and in English for 5 simultaneously bilingual Swedishand English-speaking preschoolers. Results showed that the Swedishand English-speaking children performed similarly in both languages. Naming repertoires were balanced across the languages. In Experiment 2, I replicated the first experiment with 5 monolingual English-speaking preschoolers. Results showed that all participants had the listener component of Naming in repertoire for both languages, but results differed for the speaker component of Naming. One participant emitted 0 speaker responses in either language, 3 participants emitted more correct speaker responses in English than in Swedish, and 1 participant emitted more correct speaker responses in Swedish than in English. In Experiment 3, I tested for the presence of Naming in Swedish and in English for 30 monolingual English-speaking adults. Results showed that adults listening capability was balanced in English in Swedish, but there was a significant difference in the number of correct speaker responses in English than in Swedish.
Proximal and Distal Femoral Centralizers in Modern Cemented Hip Arthroplasty

Third generation cementing techniques using intramedullary restrictors, low porosity cement with pressurization, lavage, and cement-stem bond enhancement do not prevent implant malalignment and inadequate cement mantle thickness. This has led to the development of modular proximal and distal centralizers to control the alignment of the femoral component and maintain an adequate thickness of the cement, thereby theoretically decreasing the rate of aseptic loosening. A retrospective analysis was performed of 100 primary cemented centralized femoral components. At an average followup of 5.7 years (range, 4-8 years), the average Harris Hip Score was 90. There were no cases of aseptic loosening, osteolysis, or impending failure. Ninety-one percent of femoral stems were implanted with satisfactory alignment with an optimal cement thickness. However, six distal centralizers and one proximal centralizer fractured at the time of insertion and voids frequently were seen in and around the distal centralizer. Although centralizers improve prosthesis alignment and cement mantle thickness, the long term effects of centralizer fracture and distal cement voids need to be observed to determine if centralizers improve previous implant survival.
The Variability of Practice Hypothesis in Motor Learning: Does It Apply to Alzheimer's Disease?

Based on Schmidt's (1975) variability of practice hypothesis, this study examined acquisition and transfer of a gross motor skill, namely tossing, in 58 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 58 healthy older adults under constant, blocked, and random practice conditions. While healthy older adults were able to learn the tossing task equally well under the three practice conditions, only AD patients receiving constant practice showed significant improvements. Tests of intermediate transfer yielded the expected random practice advantage in healthy controls but not AD patients. None of the practice conditions facilitated intermediate transfer in AD patients; however, constant practice did benefit these impaired individuals on tests of near transfer. These results indicate that the variability of practice hypothesis does not extend to AD patients. As motor learning and transfer were clearly a function of constant practice, future attempts to retrain basic activities of daily living in AD patients should emphasize consistency in training.
In vivo levels and in vitro production of interferon‐gamma in fibrosing interstitial lung diseases

The in vivo role of interferons in the development of fibrosis is not fully understood but it is known that interferons can suppress fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis in vitro. We have recently demonstrated that in a group of patients with sarcoidosis having predominant pulmonary involvement, patients with the highest levels of circulating interferon‐gamma (IFN‐y) more frequently resolved on corticosteroids, suggesting that they had a less‘fibrotic’ component to their disease. We now report that in two other diseases, where the tendency to develop pulmonary fibrosis is greater than in sarcoidosis, namely cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis (CFA) and fibrosing alveolitis associated with the systemic connective tissue disease progressive systemic sclerosis (FA + PSS), very few patients have elevations in IFN‐γ in their serum. However, as in sarcoidosis, those with the highest levels responded to corticosteroids (P < 0·05). Attempts to measure IFN‐γ levels in the lungs, using cell‐free bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid supernatants, were negative in all the study groups, suggesting that these samples may be inadequate for such studies. To investigate whether there might be an intrinsic defect in T lymphocyte function associated with predisposition to fibrosing lung diseases, we then investigated the in vitro production of IFN‐y by lymphocytes separated from the blood of 18 untreated patients (six with CFA, six with FA + PSS and six with sarcoidosis). IFN‐γ production was impaired in 10 (56%) (two with CFA, four with FA + PSS and four with sarcoidosis). A higher proportion of the fibrosing alveolitis patients (CFA or FA + PSS) with impaired IFN‐γ production have subsequently shown spontaneous lung functional deterioration. These findings suggest that impaired IFN‐γ release might be a potentiating factor in the pathogenesis of these fibrosing lung diseases.