Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Incidence, Mortality, and Sex Differences of Non‐Valvular Atrial Fibrillation: A Population‐Based Study

Background It is unclear whether the incidence of non‐valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) has been increasing over time. We aimed to provide contemporary estimates of the incidence and case‐fatality of NVAF in a well‐defined population. Methods and Results We used the computerized databases of the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), responsible for administering the universal health care services for all its residents, to identify a population‐based cohort of 243 800 patients with an incident diagnosis of NVAF during 2000–2009. The incidence rate of NVAF, age‐ and sex‐standardized to the 2004 population of Québec, was 32.4 (95% confidence interval, 32.3 to 32.5) per 10 000 per year. There was no evidence of an increasing incidence of NVAF during the 10‐year study period. The incidence rate was higher in men compared with women (age‐adjusted incidence rate ratio 1.51; 95% CI 1.50 to 1.52). The 30‐day case‐fatality was 9.2% (95% CI 9.0 to 9.3), higher for men (10.0%; 95% CI 9.8 to 10.1) than women (8.5; 95% CI 8.3 to 8.6), and increasing with age, ranging from around 1% for cases aged <40 years to around 16% for cases aged ≥80. Conclusion Current incidence estimates illustrate the significant burden of NVAF. Mortality remains particularly high around the time of diagnosis, and case‐fatality increases with age, being systematically higher in men than women.
Interaction with virtual crowd in Immersive and semi‐Immersive Virtual Reality systems

This study examines attributes of virtual human behavior that may increase the plausibility of a simulated crowd and affect the user's experience in Virtual Reality. Purpose‐developed experiments in both Immersive and semi‐Immersive Virtual Reality systems queried the impact of collision and basic interaction between real‐users and the virtual crowd and their effect on the apparent realism and ease of navigation within Virtual Reality (VR). Participants' behavior and subjective measurements indicated that facilitating collision avoidance between the user and the virtual crowd makes the virtual characters, the environment, and the whole Virtual Reality system appear more realistic and lifelike. Adding basic social interaction, such as verbal salutations, gaze, and other gestures by the virtual characters towards the user, further contributes to this effect, with the participants reporting a stronger sense of presence. On the other hand, enabling collision avoidance on its own produces a reduced feeling of comfort and ease of navigation in VR. Objective measurements showed another interesting finding that collision avoidance may reduce the user's performance regarding their primary goal (navigating in VR following someone) and that this performance is further reduced when both collision avoidance and social interaction are facilitated.
Individual Versus Community-Level Risk Compensation Following Preexposure Prophylaxis of HIV

We analyzed the concept of risk compensation and how it has been applied in HIV prevention, paying particular attention to the strategy of HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP). In risk compensation, reduced perceptions of risk after the introduction of a preventative intervention lead to more frequent risk-taking behavior. Such a change may undermine the intervention's protective benefits. We found that many studies purporting to investigate risk compensation do not assess or report changes in perceptions of risk, instead relying on behavioral measures. Our analysis suggests a complex and sometimes counterintuitive relationship between the introduction of a new prevention intervention, perceptions of HIV risk, and subsequent changes in behavior. As PrEP is introduced, we believe comprehensive assessment of community-level risk compensation-that is, changes in risk perceptions and behavior as a result of increased optimism about avoiding HIV among people not directly protected by PrEP-should not be omitted. We therefore suggest ways to assess prevention optimism and community-level risk compensation.
Trace Norm Regularised Deep Multi-Task Learning

We propose a framework for training multiple neural networks simultaneously. The parameters from all models are regularised by the tensor trace norm, so that each neural network is encouraged to reuse others' parameters if possible -- this is the main motivation behind multi-task learning. In contrast to many deep multi-task learning models, we do not predefine a parameter sharing strategy by specifying which layers have tied parameters. Instead, our framework considers sharing for all shareable layers, and the sharing strategy is learned in a data-driven way.
A Post-Treatment of the Homogenization Method for Shape Optimization

We propose an alternative to the classical post-treatment of the homogenization method for shape optimization. Rather than penalize the material density once the optimal composite shape is obtained (by the homogenization method) in order to produce a workable shape close to the optimal one, we macroscopically project the microstructure of the former through an appropriate procedure that roughly consists in laying the material along the directions of lamination of the composite. We have tested our approach in the framework of compliance minimization in two-dimensional elasticity. Numerical results are provided.
Layer Positioning of Late-Born Cortical Interneurons Is Dependent on Reelin But Not p35 Signaling

We tested the response of interneurons to the absence of Reelin signaling or p35 in the mouse neocortex. We provide three independent strands of evidence to demonstrate that layering of late-born (but not early-born) interneurons is regulated by Reelin signaling. First, early-born and late-born interneurons behaved differently in mice lacking Reelin or disabled 1 (Dab1). Early-born interneurons showed layer inversion, whereas late-born interneurons did not demonstrate layer inversion but were randomly distributed across the cortex. Second, in p35 mutant brains (in which Reelin signaling is intact), late-born interneurons are appropriately positioned in the upper layers despite the malpositioning of all other cortical neurons in these mice. Third, transplanted late-born interneuron precursors (wild type) into Dab1−/− cortices showed appropriate upper layer segregation. Together, these results indicate that, in the absence of Reelin signaling, late-born interneurons fail to laminate properly, and this is restored in an environment in which Reelin signaling is intact. These studies suggest different mechanisms for the stratification of cortical interneurons. Whereas the early-born interneurons appear to be associated with projection neuron layering, late-born interneurons rely on Reelin signaling for their correct lamination.
Title The effects of hypercapnia on DTI quantification in anesthetizedrat brain

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) offers a valuable in vivo tool to characterize water diffusion behavior in biological tissues, particularly brain tissues. The accuracy of DTI derived parameters can directly affect the interpretation of underlying microstructures, physiology or pathologies. It is anticipated that measurement of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) using DTI could be influenced and complicated by the presence of water molecules in brain vasculature. However, little is known about to what degree does blood signal from vasculature affect the diffusion quantitation. In this study, we examined the effects of hypercapnia on DTI quantification in rat brains using inhalation of 5% carbon dioxide (CO2). It was found that statistically significant changes occurred in parametric DTI maps in response to cerebrovascular challenges, indicating that vascular factors could interfere with in vivo DTI characterization of neural tissues. Consequently, hemodynamic alterations can potentially affect the DTI quantitation and detection of tissue microstructures and pathological alterations. Therefore, cautions must be taken when interpreting DTI parameters in vivo.
Beyond the Metropolis—Regional Globalisation and Town Development in India: An Introduction

Despite the rapid transformation of India over the past 25 years and a swathe of publications dealing with the impact of globalisation on the culture and economy of the subcontinent, and on its large metropolitan cities, we contend that relatively far less is known about the regional impacts of globalisation and the localised impacts of neo-liberal development policies. Significantly, we seek to understand and analyse how globalisation is transforming smaller, regional towns in India. Based on social scientific research exploring the development and changes taking place in two distinctive, middle towns—Anand, Gujarat and Darjeeling, West Bengal—we highlight the social and political forces at work that are re-making these towns, the local issues residents contend with, and the external drivers of change that influence the unique growth and development of these towns.
Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind

Three leading figures in the field of cognitive neuroscience provide an engaging, narrative-driven overview of this path-breaking field. Taking a highly interdisciplinary approach, the authors balance cognitive theory, with neuroscientific and neuropsychological evidence to reveal what we currently know about how the human mind works and to encourage students to think like cognitive neuroscientists. The text has been reorganised to move more seamlessly from micro to macro level topics, and its underlying pedagogy strengthened in order to make it an even more effective teaching tool. (Presentation editeur)
On the functional role of oscillatory neuronal activity in the somatosensory system

Successful working memory (WM) requires the engagement of relevant brain areas but possibly also the disengagement of irrelevant areas. We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) in order to elucidate the temporal dynamics of areas involved in a somatosensory WM task. We found an increase in gamma band activity in the primary and secondary somatosensory areas during encoding and retention, respectively. This was accompanied by an increase of alpha band activity over task-irrelevant regions including posterior and ipsilateral somatosensory cortex. Importantly, the alpha band increase was strongest during successful WM performance. Furthermore, we found frontal gamma band activity that correlated both with behavioral performance and the alpha band increase. We suggest that somatosensory gamma band activity reflects maintenance and attention-related components of WM operations, whereas alpha band activity reflects frontally controlled disengagement of task-irrelevant regions. Our results demonstrate that resource allocation involving the engagement of taskrelevant and disengagement of task-irrelevant regions is needed for optimal task execution. Published as: Haegens, S. , Osipova, D. , Oostenveld, R. , & Jensen, O. (2010) Human Brain Mapping, 31(1), 26-35.
Effect of perioperative intravenous flurbiprofen axetil on chronic postmastectomy pain.

OBJECTIVE To explore whether perioperative intravenous flurbiprofen axetil can reduce the incidence and intensity of chronic pain for breast cancer after surgical treatment. METHODS This randomized, double-blind, controlled trial enrolled 60 patients undergoing mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection under general anesthesia. All patients accepted Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) tests the day before the surgery to evaluate depression and anxiety. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either 50 mg flurbiprofen axetil intravenously 15 minutes before the surgical incision and 6 hours later (group F) or intravenous 5 mL intralipid as a control (group C). All patients received patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) with fentanyl postoperatively. Peripheral venous blood samples were drawn before the surgery, at 4 and 24 h after the surgery to detect the plasma level of PGE2 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Postoperative fentanyl consumption, Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) scores and adverse effects were recorded at 2, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h after the surgery. The duration and intensity of pain were followed up by telephone at the 2nd-12th month after the surgery. RESULTS The incidence of pain at 2, 4, 6, and 12 months after the breast surgery was 33%, 20%, 15%, and 10%, respectively, and the average pain score was 0.77, 0.57, 0.28, and 0.18, respectively. Compared with group C, the scores of pain in group F were significantly lower at 2, 4, 6 and 12 months postoperatively (F=7.758, P=0.007). The incidence of pain in group F was significantly lower at 2, 4 and 6 months postoperatively (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of pain between the groups at 12 months postoperatively (P>0.05). Preoperatively and at 4 and 24 h after the surgery, there was no significant difference in the level of TNF-α between the two groups (F=0.530, P=0.470); but plasma concentration of PGE2 in group F was significantly lower than that in group C (F=5.646, P=0.021). No patients developed abnormal bleeding, peptic ulcer, impaired liver or renal function and respiratory depression. CONCLUSION Perioperative intravenous infusion of 100 mg flurbiprofen axetil can decrease the intensity and incidence of chronic pain for breast cancer after surgical treatment.
Valued Ties Tell Fewer Lies: Why Not To Dichotomize Network Edges With Thresholds

In order to conduct analyses of networked systems where connections between individuals take on a range of values - counts, continuous strengths or ordinal rankings - a common technique is to dichotomize the data according to their positions with respect to a threshold value. However, there are two issues to consider: how the results of the analysis depend on the choice of threshold, and what role the presence of noise has on a system with respect to a fixed threshold value. We show that while there are principled criteria of keeping information from the valued graph in the dichotomized version, they produce such a wide range of binary graphs that only a fraction of the relevant information will be kept. Additionally, while dichotomization of predictors in linear models has a known asymptotic efficiency loss, the same process applied to network edges in a time series model will lead to an efficiency loss that grows larger as the network increases in size.
Reading, Writing, Relationships: The Impact of Social Network Sites on Relationships and Well-Being

The social web has emerged concurrent with a decline in Americans' community involvement and number of close friendships. Hundreds of millions of people connect online, but they appear to have fewer confidants and trust each other less. However, contrasting research finds that web users have better social integration and stronger relationships than their offline counterparts. This thesis resolves these contradictory views through a detailed examination of social network site (SNS) use and changes in relationships and individual well-being. The research is conducted at multiple levels looking at how different types of SNS use—direct interaction with others and more “passive consumption” of social news—influence the number and quality of individuals’ social ties and their aggregate social capital and well-being, including perceived social support, happiness, and physical health. The studies combine objective measures of SNS use (communication activity from the server logs of a popular social networking site) with self-reports of tie strength and well-being to accurately differentiate types of use with different partners. Longitudinal methods reveal how well-being changes over time with SNS use and are moderated by personal characteristics such as social communication skill and recent job loss.
A user's guide to the brain : perception, attention, and the four theaters of the brain

Bringing order and relevance to the cascade of recent brain findings, Dr John Ratey explains the brain's most important systems, the role they play in determining how we interact with the world and ways in which we can influence their operations for the better. Throughout, he illustrates his points with vivid and often surprising examples drawn from his own practice, research and everyday life. Ratey answers such compelling questions as: What does it mean to be linguistically ambidextrous? How does a mother's cradling of her child on her left shoulder relate to the development of language skills? Why does listening to music while doing homework improve accuracy? Why do people like spicy foods? He also analyses the ways in which things can go wrong, detailing causes and treatments for diseases such as autism, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, as well as numerous neurological disorders. As Dr. Ratey demonstrates throughout the book, the brain is astonishingly flexible, able to be retrained and reprogrammed. Like a muscle, it responds to use, adapting to new demands and conditions, allowing, as the title of the book suggests, the guidance of the user.
Cell Surface-Dependent Generation of Angiostatin4.5

Angiostatin4.5 (AS4.5) is a naturally occurring human angiostatin isoform, consisting of plasminogen kringles 1–4 plus 85% of kringle 5 (amino acids Lys78 to Arg529). Prior studies indicate that plasminogen is converted to AS4.5 in a two-step reaction. First, plasminogen is activated to plasmin. Then plasmin undergoes autoproteolysis within the inner loop of kringle 5, which can be induced by a free sulfhydryl donor or an alkaline pH. We now demonstrate that plasminogen can be converted to AS4.5 in a cell membrane-dependent reaction. Actin was shown previously to be a surface receptor for plasmin(ogen). We now show that β-actin is present on the extracellular membranes of cancer cells (PC-3, HT1080, and MDA-MB231), and β-actin can mediate plasmin binding to the cell surface and autoproteolysis to AS4.5. In the presence of β-actin, no small molecule-free sulfhydryl donor is needed for generation of AS4.5. Antibodies to actin reduced membrane-dependent generation of AS4.5 by 70%. In a cell-free system, addition of actin to in vitro-generated plasmin resulted in stoichiometric conversion to AS4.5. Annexin II and α-enolase have been reported to be plasminogen receptors, but we did not demonstrate a role for these proteins in conversion of plasminogen to AS4.5. Our data indicate that membrane-associated β-actin, documented previously as a plasminogen receptor, is a key cell membrane receptor capable of mediating conversion of plasmin to AS4.5. This conversion may serve an important role in regulating tumor angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis, and surface β-actin may also serve as a prognostic marker to predict tumor behavior.
Developing and Assessing Self-Regulated Learning

The report focuses on aspects in the development and assessment of self-regulated learning in the school context. The nature of self-regulated learning was discussed by identifying its critical characteristics. Different models showing the components and process of self-regulation was presented in order to focus different ways of assessing it as a construct. Different studies are then presented to show the effects of developing self-regulation in the classroom context. The need to assess self-regulation as part of the teaching and learning process is discussed under certain needs in the school setting. Different protocols with examples are shown in assessing self-regulated learning as applied in the classroom.
Expression of the Arabidopsis Mutant abi1 Gene Alters Abscisic Acid Sensitivity, Stomatal Development, and Growth Morphology in Gray Poplars1[C]

The consequences of altered abscisic acid (ABA) sensitivity in gray poplar (Populus × canescens [Ait.] Sm.) development were examined by ectopic expression of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) mutant abi1 (for abscisic acid insensitive1) gene. The expression resulted in an ABA-insensitive phenotype revealed by a strong tendency of abi1 poplars to wilt, impaired responsiveness of their stomata to ABA, and an ABA-resistant bud outgrowth. These plants therefore required cultivation under very humid conditions to prevent drought stress symptoms. Morphological alterations became evident when comparing abi1 poplars with poplars expressing Arabidopsis nonmutant ABI1 or wild-type plants. abi1 poplars showed increased stomatal size, enhanced shoot growth, and retarded leaf and root development. The increased stomatal size and its reversion to the size of wild-type plants by exogenous ABA indicate a role for ABA in regulating stomatal development. Enhanced shoot growth and retarded leaf and root development support the hypothesis that ABA acts independently from drought stress as a negative regulator of growth in shoots and as a positive regulator of growth in leaves and roots. In shoots, we observed an interaction of ABA with ethylene: abi1 poplars exhibited elevated ethylene production, and the ethylene perception inhibitor Ag+ antagonized the enhanced shoot growth. Thus, we provide evidence that ABA acts as negative regulator of shoot growth in nonstressed poplars by restricting ethylene production. Furthermore, we show that ABA has a role in regulating shoot branching by inhibiting lateral bud outgrowth.
A Bayesian dose finding design for oncology clinical trials of combinational biological agents

Treating patients with novel biological agents is becoming a leading trend in oncology. Unlike cytotoxic agents, for which efficacy and toxicity monotonically increase with dose, biological agents may exhibit non‐monotonic patterns in their dose–response relationships. Using a trial with two biological agents as an example, we propose a dose finding design to identify the biologically optimal dose combination, which is defined as the dose combination of the two agents with the highest efficacy and tolerable toxicity. A change point model is used to reflect the fact that the dose–toxicity surface of the combinational agents may plateau at higher dose levels, and a flexible logistic model is proposed to accommodate the possible non‐monotonic pattern for the dose–efficacy relationship. During the trial, we continuously update the posterior estimates of toxicity and efficacy and assign patients to the most appropriate dose combination. We propose a novel dose finding algorithm to encourage sufficient exploration of untried dose combinations in the two‐dimensional space. Extensive simulation studies show that the design proposed has desirable operating characteristics in identifying the biologically optimal dose combination under various patterns of dose–toxicity and dose–efficacy relationships.
A brief symptom validity testing procedure for logical memory of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised which can demonstrate verbal memory in the face of claimed disability.

Abstract The Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) has no validity index even though commonly used in forensic settings. Recent strategies have been developed to assess validity of a subject's performance. Although helpful in identifying invalid results, these strategies do not actually demonstrate memory ability. The statistical properties of Symptom Validity Testing (SVT) allow for the conclusion that a functional ability in fact exists when a subject suppresses their score below random range. To address this issue, the author developed a forced-choice, two alternative, recognition test for the Logical Memory subtests of the WMS-R incorporating the SVT paradigm. In order to ascertain random properties of the procedure, it was administered to a sample of 155 undergraduates who never heard the Logical Memory stories. Results suggest the procedure is a useful SVT to detect below chance levels of performance in association with the WMS-R. Two case examples of suppressed ability are given. Although not parti.