Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does MR Perfusion Imaging Impact Management Decisions for Patients with Brain Tumors? A Prospective Study

We spend a lot of time using and analyzing perfusion studies in patients with brain tumors, but do these help? After neuroradiologists evaluated conventional and perfusion imaging, a multidisciplinary team of treating physicians created hypothetic treatment plans based on clinical presentation, routine MRI, and perfusion studies. The addition of perfusion increased confidence in status assessment by 40% for neuroradiologists and 56% for the treatment team. Neuroradiologists and the management team found perfusion helpful and wanted it included in future MRI studies in over 80% of these patients. Thus, perfusion has a significant impact in the management of brain tumors. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: MR perfusion imaging can be used to help predict glial tumor grade and disease progression. Our purpose was to evaluate whether perfusion imaging has a diagnostic or therapeutic impact on clinical management planning in patients with glioma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Standard MR imaging protocols were interpreted by a group of 3 NRs in consensus, with each case being interpreted twice: first, including routine sequences; and second, with the addition of perfusion imaging. A multidisciplinary team of treating physicians assessed tumor status and created hypothetical management plans, on the basis of clinical presentation and routine MR imaging and then routine MR imaging plus perfusion MR imaging. Physicians' confidence in the tumor status assessment and management plan was measured by using Likert-type items. RESULTS: Fifty-nine consecutive subjects with glial tumors were evaluated; 50 had known pathologic diagnoses. NRs and the treatment team agreed on tumor status in 45/50 cases (κ = 0.81). With the addition of perfusion, confidence in status assessment increased in 20 (40%) for NRs and in 28 (56%) for the treatment team. Of the 59 patient-care episodes, the addition of perfusion was associated with a change in management plan in 5 (8.5%) and an increase in the treatment team's confidence in their management plan in 34 (57.6%). NRs and the treatment team found perfusion useful in most episodes of care and wanted perfusion included in future MR images for >80% of these subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Perfusion imaging appears to have a significant impact on clinical decision-making and subspecialist physicians' confidence in management plans for patients with brain tumor.
Ovariohysterectomy versus ovariectomy for elective sterilization of female dogs and cats: is removal of the uterus necessary?

both pro-mote elective sterilization of female dogs and cats as in-tegral to reducing euthanasia of unwanted dogs and cats.Sterilization of female dogs and cats can be ac-complished by removing both the ovaries and uterus (ovariohysterectomy) or by removing the ovaries alone (ovariectomy). Ovariohysterectomy has historically been recommended in the United States and Canada and is currently emphasized at schools and colleges of vet-erinary medicine in these countries. To our knowledge, only one of the most frequently used surgical textbooks in the United States and Canada describes ovariectomy,
Representation and Analysis of 3D Shape

A generic approach to describing shape and topography of arbitrary objects is presented, using linguistic variables to combine different features in one fuzzy descriptor. Although the origin of the method lies in molecular visualization and drug design, it can be applied in principle to any surface represented by a polygon mesh. Two approaches to shape description are presented that both lead to linguistic variables that can be used for surface segmentation by means of shape: One approach is based on the calculation of canonical curvatures, the other describes the “embeddedness” of a surface area related to the overall geometry of a 3D object.
DJ-1/park7 modulates vasorelaxation and blood pressure via epigenetic modification of endothelial nitric oxide synthase.

AIMS DJ-1/park7, a multifunctional protein, may play essential roles in the vascular system. However, the function of DJ-1/park7 in vascular contractility has remained unclear. The present study was designed to investigate whether the DJ-1/park7 is involved in the regulation of vascular contractility and systolic blood pressure (SBP). METHODS AND RESULTS Norepinephrine (NE) elevated contraction in endothelium-intact vessels in a dose-dependent manner, to a greater extent in DJ-1/park7 knockout (DJ-1/park7(-/-)) mice than in wild-type (DJ-1/park7(+/+)) mice. Acetylcholine inhibited NE-evoked contraction in endothelium-intact vessels, and this was markedly impaired in DJ-1/park7(-/-) mice compared with DJ-1/park7(+/+). Nitric oxide (NO) production (82.1 ± 2.8% of control) and endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) expression (61.7 ± 8.9%) were lower, but H2O2 production (126.4 ± 8.6%) was higher, in endothelial cells from DJ-1/park7(-/-) mice than in those from DJ-1/park7(+/+) controls; these effects were reversed by DJ-1/park7-overexpressing endothelial cells from DJ-1/park7(-/-) mice. Histone deacetylase (HDAC)-1 recruitment and H3 histone acetylation at the eNOS promoter were elevated and diminished, respectively, in DJ-1/park7(-/-) mice compared with DJ-1/park7(+/+) controls. Moreover, SBP was significantly elevated in DJ-1/park7(-/-) mice compared with DJ-1/park7(+/+) controls, but this elevation was inhibited in mice treated with valproic acid, an inhibitor of Class I HDACs including HDAC-1. CONCLUSION These results demonstrate that DJ-1/park7 protein may be implicated in the regulation of vascular contractility and blood pressure, probably by the impairment of NO production through H2O2-mediated epigenetic inhibition of eNOS expression.
Enhanced pitch tracking and the processing of F0 contours for computer aided intonation teaching

A comparative evaluation of several pitch determination algorithms (PDAs) is presented. Fundamental frequency estimates, F0, are compared with laryngeal frequency estimates , Lx. An algorithm is presented which enables Lx contours to be generated from laryngograph data. We seek the most accurate method of F0 extraction in order to minimise errors propagating into subsequent prosodic analysis. The super resolution pitch determinator 3] performs well relative to the other PDAs studied. Modiica-tions made to this algorithm are described, which radically reduce the number of gross F0 errors and improve the clas-siication of voiced and unvoiced sections of speech. The raw F0 contours produced by this enhanced algorithm are processed to form schematised contours used in computer aided intonation teaching. The series of processes used in the schematisation is described.
Evaluation of Automatic Measurement of the Intracranial Volume Based on Quantitative MR Imaging

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Brain size is commonly described in relation to ICV, whereby accurate assessment of this quantity is fundamental. Recently, an optimized MR sequence (QRAPMASTER) was developed for simultaneous quantification of T1, T2, and proton density. ICV can be measured automatically within minutes from QRAPMASTER outputs and a dedicated software, SyMRI. Automatic estimations of ICV were evaluated against the manual segmentation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 19 healthy subjects, manual segmentation of ICV was performed by 2 neuroradiologists (Obs1, Obs2) by using QBrain software and conventional T2-weighted images. The automatic segmentation from the QRAPMASTER output was performed by using SyMRI. Manual corrections of the automatic segmentation were performed (corrected-automatic) by Obs1 and Obs2, who were blinded from each other. Finally, the repeatability of the automatic method was evaluated in 6 additional healthy subjects, each having 6 repeated QRAPMASTER scans. The time required to measure ICV was recorded. RESULTS: No significant difference was found between reference and automatic (and corrected-automatic) ICV (P > .25). The mean difference between the reference and automatic measurement was −4.84 ± 19.57 mL (or 0.31 ± 1.35%). Mean differences between the reference and the corrected-automatic measurements were −0.47 ± 17.95 mL (−0.01 ± 1.24%) and −1.26 ± 17.68 mL (−0.06 ± 1.22%) for Obs1 and Obs2, respectively. The repeatability errors of the automatic and the corrected-automatic method were <1%. The automatic method required 1 minute 11 seconds (SD = 12 seconds) of processing. Adding manual corrections required another 1 minute 32 seconds (SD = 38 seconds). CONCLUSIONS: Automatic and corrected-automatic quantification of ICV showed good agreement with the reference method. SyMRI software provided a fast and reproducible measure of ICV.
CDS-Based Virtual Backbone Construction with Guaranteed Routing Cost in Wireless Sensor Networks

Inspired by the backbone concept in wired networks, virtual backbone is expected to bring substantial benefits to routing in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Virtual backbone construction based on Connected Dominating Set (CDS) is a competitive approach among the existing methods used to establish virtual backbone in WSNs. Traditionally, CDS size was the only factor considered in the CDS-based approach. The motivation was that smaller CDS leads to simplified network maintenance. However, routing cost in terms of routing path length is also an important factor for virtual backbone construction. In our research, both of these two factors are taken into account. Specifically, we attempt to devise a polynomial-time constant-approximation algorithm that leads to a CDS with bounded CDS size and guaranteed routing cost. We prove that, under general graph model, there is no polynomial-time constant-approximation algorithm unless P = NP. Under Unit Disk Graph (UDG) model, we propose an innovative polynomial-time constant-approximation algorithm, GOC-MCDS-C, that produces a CDS D whose size I D is within a constant factor from that of the minimum CDS. In addition, for each node pair u and v, there exists a routing path with all intermediate nodes in D and path length at most 7 · d(u, v), where d(u, v) is the length of the shortest path between u and v. Our theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the distributed version of the proposed algorithm, GOC-MCDS-D, outperforms the existing approaches.
An Exploratory Study on Estimating the Ability of High Skilled Crowd Workers

For both clients and workers, crowdsourcing has been recognized as an attractive way of utilizing human resources online. However, because of the variety and overwhelming size and scale of the workforce available, it is often difficult for clients to identify the most appropriate candidates. To ease this difficulty, Crowdsourcing Service Providers (CSPs) provide information, such as worker's skills, the number of tasks completed, and other indicators to help clarify their ability. However, it is hard to tell how useful this information really is in determining whether or not a candidate is the right one for a task. In this paper, in addition to looking at information provided by CSPs, Individual Work Performance (IWP) as an indicator of overall job performance and the Big Five traits as indicator of personality are obtained from crowd workers. Whether these indicators help in predicting the quality of their performance is investigated. A task of translating a Japanese article into English was posted at a Japanese CSP. This resulted in submissions from 36 crowd workers who also filled out a survey related to IWP and the Big Five traits. Based on the data collected, the correlation between these indicators and the quality of output was examined. The results showed that CSP-provided indicators actually have limited correlation with the quality of output. On the other hand, there was a moderate correlation between the quality and one of the subsets of IWP (CWB: Counterproductive Work Behavior), as well as one of the subsets of the Big Five traits (conscientiousness). In particular, there was a strong correlation between low performers and CWB and conscientiousness.
MUSIC STUDENT TEACHERS’ VIEWS ON THE PRACTICE OF PEER ASSESSMENT

Forming an effective learning atmosphere in the classrooms can only be possible with active participation of students. Assessment and evaluation procedures are part of students’ learning and students need to be active assessor and evaluator for their own learning. Peer assessment is one of the frequently used alternative evaluation technique. The purpose of this research is to understand final year music students’ views about peer assessment practices during music teaching methods course. In the scope of this study two dimensions are discussed: i) music students’ evaluation of peer assessment, ii) music students’ opinions about the difficulties experienced through this process. This is a case study in qualitative research paradigm and was conducted during 2014-2015 autumn semester with twenty music students in Fine Arts Department of Music Education (Necmettin Erbakan University, Education Faculty). In order to get in-depth understanding about the perceptions of the music students, a semi structured interview technique was used in the data collecting process and data were analysed by descriptive analysis method.
Model of Conflict Resolution Education Based on Cultural Value of qPelaq in Social Studies Learning

“Lack of students’ knowledge about conflict resolution cause them to choose wrong conflict resolution (violence and students fighting) which also cause the occurrence of conflict phenomena among Maluku people, as the result of community fragmentation based on religion which is the effect of social conflict in 1999 in Maluku. This study uses Research and Development type, which aims to develop a model of conflict resolution education based on cultural value, to enhance the knowledge aspect of conflict resolution competence among students of the junior high school in Ambon City. The result of the study shows that model of conflict resolution education based on the cultural value of pela, give a good contribution to enhancing conflict resolution competence among students in Ambon City. Keywords—Model of Conflict Resolution Education, Cultural Value of Pela, Social Studies Learning.
Mastery over nature as a paradox: societally implemented but individually rejected

In contrast to the reality of global industrialisation, research on individual understandings of the human–nature relationship shows low acceptance of the concept of human Mastery over nature. In qualitative interviews (n = 25) we investigated how actors from river landscape management in Austria perceive this paradox. Results indicate that actors who in their professional life act in the sense of Mastery over nature often interpret their role as Stewardship. Other reasons were seen in discrepancies between (1) private and the professional life, (2) people's vision and reality, and (3) self-reflection and reflection through others. Also social desirability bias and insufficient wording of narratives can affect results significantly. We suggest further exploration of influencing drivers in such surveys and development of tools for group-based reflection of human–nature relationships within planning and governance processes.
Gamma Knife thalamotomy for tremor in the magnetic resonance imaging era.

OBJECT The surgical management of disabling tremor has gained renewed vigor with the availability of deep brain stimulation. However, in the face of an aging population of patients with increasing surgical comorbidities, noninvasive approaches for tremor management are needed. The authors' purpose was to study the technique and results of stereotactic radiosurgery performed in the era of MRI targeting. METHODS The authors evaluated outcomes in 86 patients (mean age 71 years; number of procedures 88) who underwent a unilateral Gamma Knife thalamotomy (GKT) for tremor during a 15-year period that spanned the era of MRI-based target selection (1996-2011). Symptoms were related to essential tremor in 48 patients (19 age ≥ 80 years and 3 age ≥ 90 years), Parkinson disease in 27 patients (11 age ≥ 80 years [1 patient underwent bilateral procedures]), and multiple sclerosis in 11 patients (1 patient underwent bilateral procedures). A single 4-mm isocenter was used to deliver a maximum dose of 140 Gy to the posterior-inferior region of the nucleus ventralis intermedius. The Fahn-Tolosa-Marin clinical tremor rating scale was used to grade tremor, handwriting, and ability to drink. The median follow-up was 23 months. RESULTS The mean tremor score was 3.28 ± 0.79 before and 1.81 ± 1.15 after (p < 0.0001) GKT; the mean handwriting score was 2.78 ± 0.82 and 1.62 ± 1.04, respectively (p < 0.0001); and the mean drinking score was 3.14 ± 0.78 and 1.80 ± 1.15, respectively (p < 0.0001). After GKT, 57 patients (66%) showed improvement in all 3 scores, 11 patients (13%) in 2 scores, and 2 patients (2%) in just 1 score. In 16 patients (19%) there was a failure to improve in any score. Two patients developed a temporary contralateral hemiparesis, 1 patient noted dysphagia, and 1 sustained facial sensory loss. CONCLUSIONS Gamma Knife thalamotomy in the MRI era was a safe and effective noninvasive surgical strategy for medically refractory tremor in the elderly or those with contraindications to deep brain stimulation or stereotactic radiofrequency (thermal) thalamotomy.
Neurobehavioral symptoms in childhood closed-head injuries: changes in prevalence and correlates during the first year postinjury.

OBJECTIVE To examine changes in the prevalence and correlates of neurobehavioral symptoms during the first year following childhood closed-head injuries (CHIs). METHODS Participants included 31 children with severe CHIs, 38 with moderate CHIs, and 53 with orthopedic injuries (OIs). Children and their families were assessed shortly after injury and at 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Parents rated 15 symptoms classified as either cognitive/somatic (C/S) or emotional/behavioral (E/B). RESULTS Both kinds of symptoms were more common in the CHI groups than in the OI group. C/S symptoms declined in the CHI groups over time, whereas E/B symptoms became relatively more common. Measures of injury severity, children's premorbid behavioral adjustment, and concurrent cognitive functioning predicted C/S symptoms. E/B symptoms were predicted by injury severity, concurrent cognitive functioning soon after the injury, and concurrent parent and family functioning later in time. Both types of symptoms contributed to the prediction of perceived family burden, with the relationships strengthening over time. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate that the prevalence and correlates of neurobehavioral symptoms in childhood CHIs vary as a function of symptom type and time since injury.
Centaurs - A Component-based Framework to Mine Large Graphs

The increase of the amount of data represented as a graph, like complex networks, motivated the creation of a new research area called graph mining. This work proposes a new framework based on components, called Centaurs, to mine data represented as a graph. The main idea of Centaurs is to couple community detection and link prediction algorithms to mine missing edges that were missed during the graph building process. Graph preprocessing and storage algorithms are also explored in this proposal, given that large graphs cannot always be storage in main memory only. The main Centaurs's case study is the Read the Web project that aims to build a graph to represent knowledge extract from the Web based on a never ending learning algorithm.
The Use of Photo-interviewing: Three Examples from Health Evaluation and Research

This article reviews the use of photographs as data within the social sciences as well as defining related terminology used over the past century. It then examines the use of photos as stimuli for talking about health settings before presenting three recent case studies where photo-interviewing has been used successfully in health evaluation and research. Advantages and limitations of the method are considered.
Do or die: student support interventions for the survival of distance education institutions in a competitive higher education system

ABSTRACT Despite numerous supports for undergraduates, low success rate has been a growing concern in the South African university system. Guided by Moore’s [1993. “Theory of Transactional Distance. ” In Theoretical Principles of Distance Education, edited by Keegan, 22–38. London: Routledge. ] transactional distance theory, this mixed-methods study measured suppositions that providing support to undergraduates result in continued survival of open and distance learning (ODL) institutions and promote student success. The study wanted to develop a support framework that will reduce attrition and maximise retention and success and to enable ODL to gain ‘fit’ within the competitive higher education terrain. The study is significant for ODL institutions to enhance an understanding of support for undergraduates, address attrition and ensure retention. While thirty-five undergraduates completed questionnaires, module coordinators’ perceptions were determined using in-depth interviews. Analysis amalgamated thematic categorisation and descriptive statistical examination. Results indicated that supports offer ODL a competitive advantage, reduced attrition, escalated retention and success rate. These results highlight the importance of support in ODL in South Africa.
Effect of Voluntary Ethanol Consumption Combined with Testosterone Treatment on Cardiovascular Function in Rats: Influence of Exercise Training

This study evaluated the effects of voluntary ethanol consumption combined with testosterone treatment on cardiovascular function in rats. Moreover, we investigated the influence of exercise training on these effects. To this end, male rats were submitted to low-intensity training on a treadmill or kept sedentary while concurrently being treated with ethanol for 6 weeks. For voluntary ethanol intake, rats were given access to two bottles, one containing ethanol and other containing water, three 24-hour sessions per week. In the last two weeks (weeks 5 and 6), animals underwent testosterone treatment concurrently with exercise training and exposure to ethanol. Ethanol consumption was not affected by either testosterone treatment or exercise training. Also, drug treatments did not influence the treadmill performance improvement evoked by training. However, testosterone alone, but not in combination with ethanol, reduced resting heart rate. Moreover, combined treatment with testosterone and ethanol reduced the pressor response to the selective α1-adrenoceptor agonist phenylephrine. Treatment with either testosterone or ethanol alone also affected baroreflex activity and enhanced depressor response to acetylcholine, but these effects were inhibited when drugs were coadministrated. Exercise training restored most cardiovascular effects evoked by drug treatments. Furthermore, both drugs administrated alone increased pressor response to phenylephrine in trained animals. Also, drug treatments inhibited the beneficial effects of training on baroreflex function. In conclusion, the present results suggest a potential interaction between toxic effects of testosterone and ethanol on cardiovascular function. Data also indicate that exercise training is an important factor influencing the effects of these substances.