Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mathematical Models of Cheyne-Stokes Breathing in understanding Cardiovascular and Respiratory Disorders

The interaction between the cardiovascular system and the respiratory system is complicated and may be used for the rehabilitation of the carotid artery disease. Periodic breathing is an unusual form of breathing with oscillations in minute ventilations and with repetitive apneas or near apneas. Cheyne-Stokes like breathing during sleep may be associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in some individuals. Therefore, it was reasoned that stroke patients with periodic breathing in sleep would be susceptible to OSA and for this purpose a mathematical model is established. The basic material is the balance relationships for the lung-blood-tissue gas transport and exchange system have been expressed in a number of dependent time delays. Additional equations were written to define the chemical details of transport and acid-base buffering, concentration equilibria, and blood flow behavior. The result is simulated analytically and compared with the experimental observations. This work may suggest that a proper directed respiration exercise can be used in the treatment of carotid artery disease.
Grief, Bereavement, and Positive Psychology

What does positive psychology have to offer people who are grieving? We explore this question in depth and consider how viewing bereavement and grief through the lens of positive psychology can help to normalize the grieving process and encourage the use of effective coping approaches. We provide research evidence in support of narrative reconstruction, posttraumatic growth, positive emotions, and spirituality as means to help survivors of loss to adjust and even to gain a new sense of meaning. We provide practical suggestions for individuals who are grieving and for those who are in relationship with them.
GABAergic Synaptic Inhibition Is Reduced before Seizure Onset in a Genetic Model of Cortical Malformation

Malformations of the neocortex are a common cause of human epilepsy; however, the critical issue of how disturbances in cortical organization render neurons epileptogenic remains controversial. The present study addressed this issue by studying inhibitory structure and function before seizure onset in the telencephalic internal structural heterotopia (tish) rat, which is a genetic model of heightened seizure susceptibility associated with a prominent neocortical malformation. Both normally positioned (normotopic) and misplaced (heterotopic) pyramidal neurons in the tish neocortex exhibited lower resting membrane potentials and a tendency toward higher input resistance compared with pyramidal neurons from control brains. GABAergic synaptic transmission was attenuated in the tish cortex, characterized by significant reductions in the frequency of spontaneous IPSCs (sIPSCs) and miniature IPSCs recorded from pyramidal neurons. In addition, the amplitudes of sIPSCs were reduced in the tish neocortex, an effect that was more profound in the normotopic cells. Immunohistochemical assessment of presynaptic GABAergic terminals showed a reduction in terminals surrounding pyramidal cell somata in normotopic and heterotopic tish neocortex. The attenuation of inhibitory innervation was more prominent for normotopic neurons and was associated with a reduction in a subset of GABAergic interneurons expressing the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin. Together, these findings indicate that key facets of inhibitory GABAergic neurotransmission are disturbed before seizure onset in a brain predisposed to developing seizures. Such alterations represent a rational substrate for reduced seizure thresholds associated with certain cortical malformations.
Learning with Augmented Class by Exploiting Unlabeled Data

In many real-world applications of learning, the environment is open and changes gradually, which requires the learning system to have the ability of detecting and adapting to the changes. Class-incremental learning (C-IL) is an important and practical problem where data from unseen augmented classes are fed, but has not been studied well in the past. In C-IL, the system should beware of predicting instances from augmented classes as a seen class, and thus faces the challenge that no such instances were observed during training stage. In this paper, we tackle the challenge by using unlabeled data, which can be cheaply collected in many real-world applications. We propose the LACU framework as well as the LACU-SVM approach to learn the concept of seen classes while incorporating the structure presented in the unlabeled data, so that the misclassification risks among the seen classes as well as between the augmented and the seen classes are minimized simultaneously. Experiments on diverse datasets show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Underpowered and Overworked: Problems With Data Analysis in Motor Learning Studies

Appropriate statistical analysis is essential for accurate and reliable research. Statistical practices have an immediate impact on the perceived results of a single study but also remote effects on the dissemination of information among scientists and the cumulative nature of research. To accurately quantify potential problems facing the field of motor learning, we systematically reviewed publications from seven journals over the past 2 years to find experiments that tested the effects of different training conditions on delayed retention and transfer tests (i.e., classic motor learning paradigms). Eighteen studies were included. These studies had small sample sizes (Mdn n/group = 11.00, interquartile range [IQR]= 9.6–15.5), multiple dependent variables (Mdn = 2, IQR = 2–4), and many statistical tests per article (Mdn = 83.5, IQR = 55.8–112.5). The observed effect sizes were large (d = 0.71, IQR = 0.49, 1.11). However, the distribution of effect sizes was biased, t(16) = 3.48, p < . 01. These metadata ind.
Caspase Inhibitors of the P35 Family Are More Active When Purified from Yeast than Bacteria

Many insect viruses express caspase inhibitors of the P35 superfamily, which prevent defensive host apoptosis to enable viral propagation. The prototypical P35 family member, AcP35 from Autographa californica M nucleopolyhedrovirus, has been extensively studied. Bacterially purified AcP35 has been previously shown to inhibit caspases from insect, mammalian and nematode species. This inhibition occurs via a pseudosubstrate mechanism involving caspase-mediated cleavage of a “reactive site loop” within the P35 protein, which ultimately leaves cleaved P35 covalently bound to the caspase's active site. We observed that AcP35 purifed from Saccharomyces cerevisae inhibited caspase activity more efficiently than AcP35 purified from Escherichia coli. This differential potency was more dramatic for another P35 family member, MaviP35, which inhibited human caspase 3 almost 300-fold more potently when purified from yeast than bacteria. Biophysical assays revealed that MaviP35 proteins produced in bacteria and yeast had similar primary and secondary structures. However, bacterially produced MaviP35 possessed greater thermal stability and propensity to form higher order oligomers than its counterpart purified from yeast. Caspase 3 could process yeast-purified MaviP35, but failed to detectably cleave bacterially purified MaviP35. These data suggest that bacterially produced P35 proteins adopt subtly different conformations from their yeast-expressed counterparts, which hinder caspase access to the reactive site loop to reduce the potency of caspase inhibition, and promote aggregation. These data highlight the differential caspase inhibition by recombinant P35 proteins purified from different sources, and caution that analyses of bacterially produced P35 family members (and perhaps other types of proteins) may underestimate their activity.
A Top-Down Approach to Multiname Credit

A multiname credit derivative is a security that is tied to an underlying portfolio of corporate bonds and has payoffs that depend on the loss due to default in the portfolio. The value of a multiname derivative depends on the distribution of portfolio loss at multiple horizons. Intensity-based models of the loss point process that are specified without reference to the portfolio constituents determine this distribution in terms of few economically meaningful parameters and lead to computationally tractable derivatives valuation problems. However, these models are silent about the portfolio constituent risks. They cannot be used to address applications that are based on the relationship between portfolio and component risks, for example, constituent risk hedging. This paper develops a method that extends these models to the constituents. We use random thinning to decompose the portfolio intensity into a sum of constituent intensities. We show that a thinning process, which allocates the portfolio intensity to constituents, uniquely exists, and is a probabilistic model for the next-to-default. We derive a formula for the constituent default probability in terms of the thinning process and the portfolio intensity, and develop a semi-analytical transform approach to evaluate it. The formula leads to a calibration scheme for the thinning processes and an estimation scheme for constituent hedge sensitivities. An empirical analysis for September 2008 shows that the constituent hedges generated by our method outperform the hedges prescribed by the Gaussian copula model, which is widely used in practice.
An ultra-sparse code underlies the generation of neural sequences in a songbird

27. Barron, A. , Oldroyd, B. P. & Ratnieks, F. L. W. Worker reproduction in honey-bees (Apis) and the anarchic syndrome: a review. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 50, 199–208 (2001). 28. Foster, K. R. & Ratnieks, F. L. W. Social insects: Facultative worker policing in a wasp. Nature 407, 692–693 (2000). 29. Foster, K. R. & Ratnieks, F. L. W. Convergent evolution of worker policing by egg eating in the honeybee and common wasp. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 268, 169–174 (2001). 30. Peeters, C. , Monnin, T. & Malosse, C. Cuticular hydrocarbons correlated with reproductive status in a queenless ant. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 266, 1323–1327 (1999).
Population effects on the red giant clump absolute magnitude: The K-band

We present a detailed analysis of the behaviour of the red clump K-band absolute magnitude (MRCK) in simple and composite stellar populations, in light of its use as a standard candle for distance determinations. The advantage of using MRCK, following recent empirical calibrations of its value for the solar neighbourhood, arises from its very low sensitivity to extinction by interstellar dust. We show that, as in the case of the V- and I-band results, MRCK is a complicated function of the stellar metallicity Z and age t. In general, MRCK is more sensitive to t and Z than MRCI, for high t and low Z. Moreover, for ages above ∼1.5 Gyr, MRCK decreases with increasing Z, i.e. the opposite behaviour with respect to MRCV and MRCI. We provide data and equations that allow the determination of the K-band population correction ΔMRCK (the difference between the red clump brightness in the solar neighbourhood and in the population under scrutiny) for any generic stellar population. These data complement the results presented by Girardi & Salaris for the V- and I-band. We show how data from galactic open clusters consistently support our predicted ΔMRCV , ΔMRCI and ΔMRCK values. Multiband VIK population corrections for various galaxy systems are provided. They can be used in conjunction with the method devised by Alves et al., in order to derive simultaneously reddening and distance from the use of VIK observations of red clump stars. We have positively tested this technique on the Galactic globular cluster 47 Tuc, for which both an empirical parallax-based main-sequence-fitting distance and reddening estimates exist. We have also studied the case of using only V and I photometry, recovering consistent results for both reddening and distance. Application of this method to an OGLE-II field, and the results by Alves et al., confirm a Large Magellanic Cloud distance modulus of about 18.50, in agreement with the Hubble Space Telescope extragalactic distance scale zero-point.
Effect of 6 weeks' consumption of β-glucan-rich oat products on cholesterol levels in mildly hypercholesterolaemic overweight adults

Several regulatory bodies have approved a health claim on the cholesterol-lowering effects of oat β-glucan at levels of 3·0 g/d. The present study aimed to test whether 1·5 g/d β-glucan provided as ready-to-eat oat flakes was as effective in lowering cholesterol as 3·0 g/d from oats porridge. A 6-week randomised controlled trial was conducted in eighty-seven mildly hypercholesterolaemic ( ≥ 5 mmol/l and < 7·5 mmol/l) men and women assigned to one of three diet arms (25 % energy (E%) protein; 45 E% carbohydrate; 30 E% fat, at energy requirements for weight maintenance): (1) minimal β-glucan (control); (2) low-dose oat β-glucan (1·5 g β-glucan; oats low – OL) or (3) higher dose oat β-glucan (3·0 g β-glucan; oats high – OH). Changes in total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) from baseline were assessed using a linear mixed model and repeated-measures ANOVA, adjusted for weight change. Total cholesterol reduced significantly in all groups ( − 7·8 (sd 13·8) %, − 7·2 (sd 12·4) % and − 5·5 (sd 9·3) % in the OH, OL and control groups), as did LDL-C ( − 8·4 (sd 18·5) %, − 8·5 (sd 18·5) % and − 5·5 (sd 12·4) % in the OH, OL and control groups), but between-group differences were not significant. In responders only (n 60), β-glucan groups had higher reductions in LDL-C ( − 18·3 (sd 11·1) % and − 18·1 (sd 9·2) % in the OH and OL groups) compared with controls ( − 11·7 (sd 7·9) %; P = 0·044). Intakes of oat β-glucan were as effective at doses of 1·5 g/d compared with 3 g/d when provided in different food formats that delivered similar amounts of soluble β-glucan.
Update on the Management of Pediatric Acute Osteomyelitis and Septic Arthritis

Acute osteomyelitis and septic arthritis are two infections whose frequencies are increasing in pediatric patients. Acute osteomyelitis and septic arthritis need to be carefully assessed, diagnosed, and treated to avoid devastating sequelae. Traditionally, the treatment of acute osteoarticular infection in pediatrics was based on prolonged intravenous anti-infective therapy. However, results from clinical trials have suggested that in uncomplicated cases, a short course of a few days of parenteral antibiotics followed by oral therapy is safe and effective. The aim of this review is to provide clinicians an update on recent controversies and advances regarding the management of acute osteomyelitis and septic arthritis in children. In recent years, the emergence of bacterial species resistant to commonly used antibiotics that are particularly aggressive highlights the necessity for further research to optimize treatment approaches and to develop new molecules able to fight the war against acute osteoarticular infection in pediatric patients.
Measuring Infusion of Service-Learning on Student Program Development and Implementation Competencies

This study piloted a service-learning assessment suite to measure students’ perceived self-efficacy on program development and implementation competencies (Service-Learning Self-Efficacy on Program Development and Implementation [SL-SEPDI]), Service-Learning Belief Inventory (SLBI), and an Overall Service-Learning Self-Efficacy on Program Development and Implementation (OVSL-SEPDI) scales. MPH students in a required course participated in the study during 2011-2015 (N = 87). Baseline survey was used to assess the reliabilities of the 12-item SL-SEPDI and the nine-item SLBI scales, and posttest survey assessed the 10-item OVSL-SEPDI scale. Confirmatory factor analysis showed good model fit index and all items loaded significantly on both the SL-SEPDI (χ2/df = 1.34; root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = .067; Tucker–Lewis index [TLI] = .92; comparative fit index [CFI] = .94; incremental fit index [IFI] = .94; goodness-of-fit index [GFI] = .86) and SLBI (χ2/df = 1.28; RMSEA = .061; TLI = .97; CFI = .98; IFI = .98; GFI = .91) scales. Data also showed satisfactory reliability scores, with Cronbach’s alphas of . 87, . 88, and . 91 for the SL-SEPDI, SLBI, and OVSL-SEPDI scales. This study provides data supporting the validities and reliabilities of this service-learning measurement suite, and has implications to assess student self-efficacy outcomes.
Virtual grid flux oriented control method for front-end three phase boost type voltage source rectifier

This paper investigates a new approach to adapt the conventional voltage oriented control (VOC) for the front-end pulse width modulation (PWM) three-phase boost type voltage source rectifier that is applicable for low and medium power voltage source inverter (VSI) system applications. The usage of grid voltage sensors to determine the voltage angle for synchronization and voltage amplitude for the controller, are avoided by applying a grid virtual-flux (VF) concept. The virtual-flux method is used to extract the grid voltages from the converter switching states, dc output voltage, and line currents. Subsequently, virtual grid flux oriented control (VFOC) with the improvement of virtual-flux estimation method has been proposed in this work. The steady state as well as dynamic performances of the proposed system are presented and analyzed by means of the Matlab simulation. The PWM rectifier utilizing VFOC is able to produce adjustable output voltage, fix switching frequency, near unity power factor and low harmonic distortion of the line currents.
BAYESIAN REFERENCE ANALYSIS OF COINTEGRATION

A Bayesian reference analysis of the cointegrated vector autoregression is presented based on a new prior distribution. Among other properties, it is shown that this prior distribution distributes its probability mass uniformly over all cointegration spaces for a given cointegration rank and is invariant to the choice of normalizing variables for the cointegration vectors. Several methods for computing the posterior distribution of the number of cointegrating relations and distribution of the model parameters for a given number of relations are proposed, including an efficient Gibbs sampling approach where all inferences are determined from the same posterior sample. Simulated data are used to illustrate the procedures and for discussing the well-known issue of local nonidentification.The author thanks Luc Bauwens, Anant Kshirsagar, Peter Phillips, Herman van Dijk, four anonymous referees, and especially Daniel Thorburn for helpful comments. Financial support from the Swedish Council of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences (HSFR) grant F0582/1999 and Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) grant 412-2002-1007 is gratefully acknowledged. The views expressed in this paper are solely the responsibility of the author and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of the Executive Board of Sveriges Riksbank.
Improved Iterative Curvelet Thresholding for Compressed Sensing

A new theory named compressed sensing for simultaneous sampling and compression of signals has been becoming popular in the communities of signal processing, imaging and applied mathematics. In this paper, we present improved/accelerated iterative curvelet thresholding methods for compressed sensing reconstruction in the fields of remote sensing. Some recent strategies including Bioucas-Dias and Figueiredo’s two-step iteration, Beck and Teboulle’s fast method, and Osher et al’s linearized Bregman iteration are applied to iterative curvelet thresholding in order to accelerate convergence. Advantages and disadvantages of the proposed methods are studied using the so-called pseudo-Pareto curve in the numerical experiments on single-pixel remote sensing and Fourier-domain random imaging.
A Special Need for Others : Social classroom relationships and behavioral problems in children with psychiatric disorders in special education

markdownabstract__Abstract__ Children with psychiatric disorders are at risk for experiencing poor psychosocial, emotional, and behavioral adjustment after leaving school (Heijmens Visser, Van der Ende, Koot, & Verhulst, 2003; Wielemaker, 2009). These children thus need a good educational environment in order to optimally develop despite their impairments. Yet, some of these children have such complex special educational needs that they are placed in settings for special education. Especially these children could benefit from education that also targets their social, emotional, and behavioral skills in an educational environment that is adapted to their needs. Research has consistently shown that children’s social, emotional, and behavioral classroom adjustment is affected by the dynamic and reciprocal interplay between the child and his or her teacher and between the child and his or her peers (Pianta, Hamre, & Stuhlman, 2003; Gifford-Smith & Brownell, 2003). However, most of this research has been conducted in general education and not much is known about the social dynamics in special education. However, such information can contribute to improving the special educational environment. This thesis therefore focuses on the social classroom dynamics (i.e., the interplay between children, their teachers, and their peers) that are part of the environment shaping the classroom adjustment of children with psychiatric disorders in special education. In addition, to help improve the educational quality in special education settings, we implemented and examined the effects of an intervention, The Good Behavior Game, on children’s classroom adjustment, social classroom relationships, and teachers’ sense of competence and wellbeing. To give the reader a general introduction on the important topics of this thesis, this introduction starts with a discussion of special education from an international and national perspective. Next, the importance of positive teacher-child and peer relationships for children’s classroom adjustment is discussed. Subsequently, a short introduction to the Good Behavior Game is given, followed by an overview of the design of the study. Finally, the research questions of this thesis are introduced together with an outline of the different chapters.
Dynamics and perceptions of social support and their impact on well-being: a qualitative study of adolescents in Northern Ghana

Abstract Although perceived social support has been studied in various contexts, there is still scant research on qualitative accounts of how perceptions of support for adolescents living in impoverished contexts are formed and relate to psychological well-being. We explored the dynamics and perceptions of social support among 18 purposefully selected school-going adolescents in the northern region of Ghana. Emerging thematic areas comprised: the dynamics of familial networks that included quality familial relationships; valued support from friends; and the negative aspects of various social relations. With family – and peer social relations perceived as beneficial for practical advice and – support, the mere existence of social ties was not the adolescents’ most important consideration for well-being. Instead, the quality of interactions across different social networks emerged as more instrumental for relational and overall well-being. Understanding the sources of problematic social interactions, such as the consideration of ‘face-saving’ when seeking instrumental support, could provide useful suggestions for interventions aimed at creating social environments that enhance positive mental health.