Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving Team Coordination: A Case for Behavior-Based Training

In this article, we integrate the findings of three studies that focused on improv- ing team performance in a military aviation setting. In the first two studies, we investigated the effect of exposing subject aviators to standardized, behavior- based training for improving team coordination and performance. In the third study, we investigated the effect of increased intrateam familiarity (battle rostering) on team coordination and performance. In these studies, we measured effect in terms of attitudinal change, coordination behavior change, and team task performance change. The general findings suggest that standardized, behavior-based training produces team coordination and performance superior to that achieved through battle fostering. Findings also demonstrate that behavioral change is a more reliable marker of training impact than attitudinal change.
Ablation of driver domains during persistent atrial fibrillation: a call for more understanding.

In this issue of Circulation , readers will find a fascinating study presented by Dr Haissaguerre and several members of a promising and newly created institute for cardiovascular research located in Bordeaux, France, the LIRYC (L’institut de Rythmologie et de Modelisation Cardiaque [The Institute for Arrhythmia and Computer Modeling Research]). 1 This is yet another pioneering contribution from the Bordeaux group that, if confirmed, may improve the management of patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Article see p 530 AF is commonly classified as paroxysmal (PAF) or persistent (PsAF), depending on the duration of the arrhythmic episodes, 7 days.2 PsAF may also be subclassified as long-standing persistent (LPsAF) when fibrillation has been continuous for >1 year.2 In the late 1990s, Dr Haissaguerre and team’s seminal work indicated that, in patients with PAF, a catheter ablation procedure may be targeted at discrete pulmonary vein (PV) electric foci and that PV electric isolation from the remainder of the atrial muscle may prevent AF reinitiation.3,4 Although the exact nature of PV foci has never been fully elucidated, this procedure proved successful in terminating AF and in preventing its recurrence.5,6 Later, a consensus emerged to propose PV isolation to patients with PAF, alone or in combination with an antiarrhythmic drug therapy.2 Thereafter, many suggested that this procedure may also improve the outcome of patients with PsAF,7–9 with, however, the need for adjustments in the ablation strategy.8–11 Despite these efforts, the success rate of catheter ablation for patients with PsAF, let alone LPsAF, has remained substantially lower than that of PAF ablation.5,6 A nearly unanimous view is that ablation works well for PAF but that the procedure is more tedious and the outcome less predictable …
Adjunctive Treatment with Asenapine Augments the Escitalopram-Induced Effects on Monoaminergic Outflow and Glutamatergic Neurotransmission in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex of the Rat

Background: Substantial clinical data support the addition of low doses of atypical antipsychotic drugs to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to rapidly enhance the antidepressant effect in treatment-resistant depression. Preclinical studies suggest that this effect is at least partly explained by an increased catecholamine outflow in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Methods: In the present study we used in vivo microdialysis in freely moving rats and in vitro intracellular recordings of pyramidal cells of the rat mPFC to investigate the effects of adding the novel atypical antipsychotic drug asenapine to the SSRI escitalopram with regards to monoamine outflow in the mPFC and dopamine outflow in nucleus accumbens as well as glutamatergic transmission in the mPFC. Results: The present study shows that addition of low doses (0.05 and 0.1 mg/kg) of asenapine to escitalopram (5 mg/kg) markedly enhances dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin release in the rat mPFC as well as dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Moreover, this drug combination facilitated both N-methyl-d-Aspartate (NMDA)– and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)–induced currents as well as electrically evoked excitatory postsynaptic potentials in pyramidal cells of the rat mPFC. Conclusions: Our results support the notion that the augmentation of SSRIs by atypical antipsychotic drugs in treatment-resistant depression may, at least in part, be related to enhanced catecholamine output in the prefrontal cortex and that asenapine may be clinically used to achieve this end. In particular, the subsequent activation of the D1 receptor may be of importance for the augmented antidepressant effect, as this mechanism facilitated both NMDA and AMPA receptor-mediated transmission in the mPFC. Our novel observation that the drug combination, like ketamine, facilitates glutamatergic transmission in the mPFC may contribute to explain the rapid and potent antidepressant effect obtained when atypical antipsychotic drugs are added to SSRIs.
What Do We Really Know about Cognitive Inhibition? Task Demands and Inhibitory Effects across a Range of Memory and Behavioural Tasks

Our study explores inhibitory control across a range of widely recognised memory and behavioural tasks. Eighty-seven never-depressed participants completed a series of tasks designed to measure inhibitory control in memory and behaviour. Specifically, a variant of the selective retrieval-practice and the Think/No-Think tasks were employed as measures of memory inhibition. The Stroop-Colour Naming and the Go/No-Go tasks were used as measures of behavioural inhibition. Participants completed all 4 tasks. Task presentation order was counterbalanced across 3 separate testing sessions for each participant. Standard inhibitory forgetting effects emerged on both memory tasks but the extent of forgetting across these tasks was not correlated. Furthermore, there was no relationship between memory inhibition tasks and either of the main behavioural inhibition measures. At a time when cognitive inhibition continues to gain acceptance as an explanatory mechanism, our study raises fundamental questions about what we actually know about inhibition and how it is affected by the processing demands of particular inhibitory tasks.
Nonperforming Loans in Western Europe – A Selective Comparison of Countries and National Definitions

As a follow-up study to the author’s previous paper on “Nonperforming Loans in CESEE – What Do They Comprise? ”, the present contribution focuses on the definitions of nonperforming loans (NPLs) in a number of Western European nations – Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. Supervisors or at least general practice in the majority of Western European countries seem to endorse the rule that for a loan to be nonperforming, at least one of two (primary) elements has to be present: (1) principal or interest 90 days or more overdue, and (2) existence of underlying well-defined weaknesses of loan or borrower. However, there are also other (secondary) elements that have an impact on NPL measurement and the comparability of definitions: the question whether a restructured loan is classified as NPL or not, whether the presence of a collateral or guarantee influences loan classification or not, whether the full outstanding value or only part of a loan is reported as nonperforming, and whether a bank is required to downgrade all loans to a given debtor if any of these loans are classified as impaired or not. While these elements may introduce upward or downward biases into some nations’ NPL definitions and ratios, and these would need to be further investigated, the above-outlined NPL rule appears to constitute a feasible yardstick for most of the countries mentioned above. Moreover, this definition is also in line with a draft EU ruling for a Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR).
Dielectrophoretic integration of nanodevices with CMOS VLSI circuitry

We present a novel platform for the development and deployment of nanosensors in integrated systems. The nanosensor technology is based on cylindrical structures grown using porous membranes as templates. These nanostructures are manipulated using dielectrophoretic forces, thus allowing their individual assembly and characterization. This assembly also enables the development of "mixed-mode" integrated circuits that include readout, signal processing, and communications circuitry, as well as the requisite layout for the post-integrated-circuit assembly of the nanostructures. We report the results of assembly experiments performed on complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuitry designed using Freescale semiconductor's HiP6W low-voltage 0.18-mum Si/SiGe BiCMOS process
The leisure society I: myths and misconceptions, 1960–1979

Recent discussion in the World Leisure Journal has raised the issue of the place of the “leisure society thesis” in the development of leisure studies. Some have argued that the thesis was a key, but misconceived, “project” of the early phase of leisure studies which has done lasting damage to the leisure studies brand. Others argue that the thesis was a passing preoccupation which has long since been superseded and is no longer of relevance. In this paper, it is noted that recollections of the leisure studies thesis in its heyday of the 1960s and 1970s are often unspecific and at times ill-informed. The paper is not a defence or critique of the leisure society thesis but an attempt to establish a more accurate history through discussion of five myths: 1. that portrayals of the leisure society in the 1960s and 1970s invariably involved visions of the future; 2. that there was a consensus within the leisure studies community concerning a future leisure society; 3. that the thesis was a significant feature of the early leisure studies literature; 4. that definitions of the leisure society were based on predictions of falling working hours; and 5. that leisure society proponents themselves predicted reductions in working hours.
EMLA Cream Prior to Insertion of Elective Epidurals

A randomized double-blind study was conducted in 83 women scheduled for elective caesarean section to determine the efficacy of EMLA and lignocaine infiltration for epidural insertion. The patients were randomly allocated to one of three groups: Group A (EM/LIG) received EMLA and intradermal and subdermal 1% lignocaine infiltration, Group B (EM/SAL) EMLA and saline while Group C (PL/LIG) received placebo cream and 1% lignocaine. Assessments using a 100 mm pain score were performed on skin infiltration and after subsequent insertion of a 16 gauge Tuohy needle into the supraspinous ligament. Skin changes under the applied cream and nursing rating of patients’ response were also noted. Statistical analyses were performed using Kruskal-Wallis and Fisher's Exact Tests. Groups were comparable for age, weight, parity and EMLA application time (interquartile range 105-150 minutes) There were significantly higher pain scores for skin infiltration in Group C (PL/LIG) (P<0.01) and for epidural needle insertion in Group B (EM/SAL) (P<0.05). We concluded that in this patient population, the application of EMLA cream for at least 90 minutes plus 1% lignocaine infiltration optimized patient comfort for epidural insertion.
Functional Assignment of the 20 S Proteasome from Trypanosoma brucei Using Mass Spectrometry and New Bioinformatics Approaches*

As experimental technologies for characterization of proteomes emerge, bioinformatic analysis of the data becomes essential. Separation and identification technologies currently based on two-dimensional gels/mass spectrometry provide the inherent analytical power required. This strategy involves protein spot digestion and accurate mass mapping together with computational interrogation of available data bases for protein functional identification. When either no exact match is found or when the possible matches only partially account for molecular weights actually observed, peptide sequencing by tandem mass spectrometry has emerged as the methodology of choice to provide the basic additional information required. To evaluate the capabilities of bioinformatics methods employed for identifying homologs of a protein of interest, we attempted to identify the major proteins from the 20 S proteasome ofTrypanosoma brucei using sequence information determined using mass spectrometry. The results suggest that neither the traditional query engines, BLAST and FASTA, nor specialized software developed for analysis of sequence information obtained by mass spectrometry are able to identify even closely related sequences at statistically significant scores. To address this deficit, new bioinformatics approaches were developed for concomitant use of the multiple fragments of short sequence typically available from methods of tandem mass spectrometry. These approaches rely on the occurrence of congruence across searches of multiple fragments from a single protein. This method resulted in sharply better statistical significance values for correct hits in the data base output relative to that achieved for independent searches using single sequence fragments.
Improving refill adherence and hypertension control in black patients: Wisconsin TEAM trial.

OBJECTIVE To assess the effectiveness and sustainability of a 6-month Team Education and Adherence Monitoring (TEAM) intervention for black patients with hypertension in community chain pharmacies. DESIGN Cluster randomized trial. SETTING 28 chain pharmacies (14 TEAM and 14 control) in five Wisconsin cities from December 2006 to February 2009. PARTICIPANTS 576 black patients with hypertension. INTERVENTION Trained pharmacist-technician teams implemented a 6-month intervention using scheduled visits, Brief Medication Questionnaires (BMQs), and novel toolkits for facilitating medication adherence and pharmacist feedback to patients and physicians. Control participants received patient information only. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Refill adherence (≥80% days covered) and changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure, and blood pressure control using blinded assessments at 6 and 12 months. RESULTS At baseline, all patients had blood pressure of 140/90 mm Hg or more. Of those eligible, 79% activated the intervention (mean 4.25 visits). Compared with control participants at 6 months, TEAM participants achieved greater improvements in refill adherence (60% vs. 34%, P < 0.001), SBP (-12.62 vs. -5.31 mm Hg, P < 0.001), and blood pressure control (50% vs. 36%, P = 0.01). Six months after intervention discontinuation, TEAM participants showed sustained improvements in refill adherence ( P < 0.001) and SBP ( P = 0.004), though the difference in blood pressure control was not significant ( P < 0.05) compared with control participants. Analysis of intervention fidelity showed that patients who received the full intervention during months 1 through 6 achieved significantly greater 6- and 12-month improvements in refill adherence and blood pressure control compared with control participants. CONCLUSION A team-based intervention involving community chain pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and novel toolkits led to significant and sustained improvements in refill adherence and SBP in black patients with hypertension.
Composting of Fish Waste with Wood By-products and Testing Compost Quality as a Soil Amendment : Experiences in the Patagonia Region of Argentina

Composting experiments of fish processing wastes and wood by-products were conducted in the Andean-Patagonian Region. Fish wastes were mixed with sawdust + wood shavings (3:l ratio by weight) with two replicates. Materials were mixed and placed in 220-liter PVC reactors. After 20 days, materials were remixed and reloaded in the reactors. Samples were taken at 20, 30, 40, 60, 80 and 100 day intervals and chemical analyses were made to assess predictors of compost stability. Thermophilic temperatures over 55°C were sustained long enough to satisfy the EPA requirements for pathogen reduction (72 hours). The decrease of NH4+-N, water soluble carbon and the ratio of water soluble carbon to total nitrogen appeared to be the best parameters for predicting compost stability. Mature compost (CMP) and an organic commercial product, Lombriquen (LQN) were incubated with an Andisol and a Xeric Mollisol at a rate o f 10g/kg for 16 weeks (20 to 30 percent soil moisture, 25°C) in order to estimate nitrogen and phosphorus release. Soils amended with LQN retained more P than CMP-amended soils (80 percent vs 60 percent of added Olsen-P in the Andisol and 50 vs 35 percent in the Xeric Mollisol). While N mineralization rates of LQN were variable (three to 11 percent of added total N), CMP showed constant rates for both types of soils (12 percent) and released more available N than LQN.
Effect of vitamin D supplementation on bone and vitamin D status among Pakistani immigrants in Denmark: a randomised double-blinded placebo-controlled intervention study

Severe vitamin D deficiency is common among Muslim immigrants. The dose necessary to correct the deficiency and its consequence for bone health are not known for immigrants. The aim was to assess the effect of relatively low dosages of supplemental vitamin D on vitamin D and bone status in Pakistani immigrants. This 1-year-long randomised double-blinded placebo-controlled intervention with vitamin D3 (10 and 20 μg/d) included girls (10·1–14·7 years), women (18·1–52·7 years) and men (17·9–63·5 years) of Pakistani origin living in Denmark. The main endpoints were serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (S-25OHD), parathyroid hormone, bone turnover markers and bone mass. The study showed that supplementation with 10 and 20 μg vitamin D3 per d increased S-25OHD concentrations similarly in vitamin D-deficient Pakistani women (4-fold), and that 10 μg increased S-25OHD concentrations 2-fold and 20 μg 3-fold in Pakistani men. S-25OHD concentrations increased at 6 months and were stable thereafter. Baseline S-25OHD concentrations tended to be lower in girls and women than in men; females achieved about 46 nmol/l and men 55 nmol/l after supplementation. Serum intact parathyroid hormone concentrations decreased at 6 months, but there was no significant effect of the intervention on bone turnover markers and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry measurements of the whole body and lumbar spine.
Children’s Ocular Components and Age, Gender, and Ethnicity

Purpose. This cross-sectional report includes ocular component data as a function of age, gender, and ethnicity from the Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Ethnicity and Refractive Error (CLEERE) Study. Methods. The ocular components of 4881 school-aged children were examined using cycloplegic autorefraction (refractive error), keratometry (corneal curvature), ultrasonography (axial dimensions), and videophakometry (lens curvature). Results. The average age (±SD) was 8.8 ± 2.3 years, and 2457 were girls (50.3%). Sixteen percent were African-American, 14.8% were Asian, 22.9% were Hispanic, 11.6% were Native American, and 34.9% were White. More myopic/less hyperopic refractive error was associated with greater age, especially in Asians, less in Whites and African Americans. Corneal power varied slightly with age, with girls showing a greater mean corneal power. Native-American children had greater corneal toricity with a markedly flatter horizontal corneal power. Anterior chambers were longer with age, and boys had deeper anterior chambers. Native-American children had the shallowest anterior chambers and Whites the deepest. Girls had higher Gullstrand and calculated lens powers than boys. Boys had longer vitreous chambers and axial lengths, and both were longer with age. Native Americans had the longest vitreous chambers and Whites the shortest. Conclusions. Most ocular components showed little clinically meaningful variation by ethnicity. The shallower anterior chambers and deeper vitreous chambers of Native-American children appeared to be offset by flatter corneas. The relatively deeper anterior chambers and shallower vitreous chambers of White children appeared to be offset by steeper corneas. Asian children had more myopic spherical equivalent refractive errors, but for a given refractive error the ocular parameters of Asian children were moderate in value compared with those of other ethnic groups. Asian children may develop longer, myopic eyes more often than other ethnic groups, but the eyes of Asian emmetropes do not appear to be innately longer.
Measurement of Gray and White Matter Atrophy in Dementia with Lewy Bodies Using Diffeomorphic Anatomic Registration through Exponentiated Lie Algebra: A Comparison with Conventional Voxel-Based Morphometry

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: DLB is recognized as the second major form of dementia in the elderly. The regional pattern of GM atrophy in DLB highly overlaps that in AD. The aim of this study was to identify the critical pattern of atrophy in DLB by using DARTEL, which provides improved registration accuracy compared with that of conventional VBM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated 51 patients with probable AD, 43 patients with probable DLB, and 40 age-matched healthy controls. The pattern of GM atrophy in each group was compared by using conventional VBM and VBM-DARTEL. RESULTS: Regional patterns of atrophy identified by using conventional VBM differed significantly from those identified by using VBM-DARTEL. A decrease in GM volume in the MTLs in both AD and DLB was identified with VBM-DARTEL; the decrease was greater in patients with AD than in those with DLB. Comparisons with healthy controls revealed that the WM volume of the whole brain was preserved in patients with DLB. In contrast, a severe bilateral decrease in WM in the MTLs was detected in patients with AD. CONCLUSIONS: VBM-DARTEL provided more accurate results, and it enabled the identification of more localized morphologic alterations than did conventional VBM. Analysis of WM preservation in DLB could help to differentiate this condition from AD.
Prosodic Marking of Continuation versus Completion in Children's Narratives

Discourse prosody in school-aged children’s narratives was investigated to test for developmental changes in transitional prosody and to characterize the acquisition of key contrastive features for marking continuation versus completion. Spontaneous narratives were obtained from 42 children (5 to 7 years old) and 14 adult caregivers. The narratives were prosodically transcribed using a formal annotation system that relies on perceptual and acoustic analyses. Metalinguistic judgments of prosodic function and appropriateness were also obtained. Analyses examined effects of age on the use of transitional prosody as well as on prosodic cues to continuation and completion. Results were that children marked phrases for completion less often and less appropriately than adults. Children and adults both used phrase-final tones and postboundary pauses to mark continuation versus completion; however, children’s overall higher rate of pausing lessened the extent to which continuation and completion were differentiated through pausing.
The Buffering Effect of Self‐Detachment against Emotional Exhaustion among Social Work Students

Informed by Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) theory of stress and coping, the current study examined the buffering effect of self‐detachment against emotional exhaustion among second‐year MSW students, controlling for social support. Utilizing triangulation, 28 students completed a quantitative survey, and a subset of 22 students also participated in a qualitative interview. Both quantitative and qualitative results supported the hypothesized buffering effect of self‐detachment and social support against emotional exhaustion. Implications for social work education are discussed.