Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Developmental Effects of Decision-making on Sensitivity to Reward: an Fmri Study

Studies comparing neural correlates of reward processing across development yield inconsistent findings. This challenges theories characterizing adolescents as globally hypo-or hypersensitive to rewards. Developmental differences in reward sensitivity may fluctuate based on reward magnitude, and on whether rewards require decision-making. We examined whether these factors modulate developmental differences in neural response during reward anticipation and/or receipt in 26 adolescents (14.05 ± 2.37 yrs) and 26 adults (31.25 ± 8.23 yrs). Brain activity was assessed with fMRI during reward anticipation, when subjects made responses with–vs.–without decision-making, to obtain large–vs.–small rewards, and during reward receipt. When reward-receipt required decision-making, neural activity did not differ by age. However, when reward receipt did not require decision-making, neural activity varied by development, reward magnitude, and stage of the reward task. During anticipation, adolescents, but not adults, exhibited greater activity in the insula, extending into putamen, and cingulate gyrus for large–vs.–small incentives. During feedback, adults, but not adolescents, exhibited greater activity in the precuneus for large–vs.–small incentives. These data indicate that age-related differences in reward sensitivity cannot be characterized by global hypo-or hyper-responsivity. Instead, neural responding in striatum, prefrontal cortex and precuneus is influenced by both situational demands and developmental factors. This suggests nuanced maturational effects in adolescent reward sensitivity.
Development of the Couples Resource Map Scales

Abstract This article describes the initial phases of development of the Couples Resource Map Scales (CRMS). These scales are designed to assess the degree of support couples receive from various personal, relationship, and contextual resources. The first phase involved the initial item development and an expert review of an extended list of potential items. The second phase involved a survey of university seniors (n = 397) involved in monogamous, intimate relationships to test the psychometric properties of the instrument. The third phase involved an analysis of variance in CRMS scores based on participants' self-reported level of satisfaction with their relationship. The results provide preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the CRMS.
Cardiac morphology and function reference values derived from a large subset of healthy young Caucasian adults by magnetic resonance imaging.

AIMS Assessment of cardiac anatomy and function by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is accurate and reproducible and is commonly performed to clarify borderline results obtained by other techniques. Normal reference values are lacking in a large sample of young healthy adults. As CMR is increasingly solicited to discriminate normality from equivocal disease in this population, we sought to determine reliable reference values. METHODS AND RESULTS A sample of 434 Caucasian adults aged 26 ± 4 years (45% male) without cardiovascular disease or risk factors (including obesity and smoking) underwent CMR. Blood pressure, electrocardiogram, and plasma markers (lipid profile, fasting glucose, troponin, and Nt-pro-BNP) were within normal limits and typical of a low-cardiometabolic-risk profile. End-diastolic (ED), end-systolic (ES), and stroke volumes were greater in men for left and right atria and ventricles. Left ventricular (LV) mass was higher in men. ED wall thickness of all segments was greater in men, whereas ES wall thickening (segmental function) was similar in both genders. After normalization to body surface area, all gender differences remained. Left and right ventricular volumes were lower, and left atrial volumes were higher in older individuals. In contrast, LV mass was not associated with age. CONCLUSION This is the first large database of reference ranges for ventricular and atrial functions, volumes, and mass in young Caucasian men and women devoid of cardiovascular disease and risk factors. These data will contribute to improving the accuracy of CMR interpretation for clinical and research applications.
An electrophysiological study of some reticulo‐ruminal and abomasal reflexes in sheep

1. In halothane‐anaesthetized sheep in which reticulo‐ruminal (gastric) contractions were present, nervous discharges have been recorded electrophysiologically in sixty‐four single efferent gastric units (grouped in seven types) dissected from the mid‐cervical region of the left vagus. An examination was made of the reflex effects on the efferent discharges of the procedures given in paragraphs 2‐5.
Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation therapy with combined angiography and computed tomography assistance for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been reported previously. This technique is superior to percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy (PMCT) for the enlargement of the necrotic area. Therefore, a few treatment sessions of RFA for patients with small HCC lesions measuring < 3 cm in greatest dimension can achieve complete necrosis. To achieve this with a one‐treatment RFA session, the authors designed the technique of RFA with angiography combined with computed tomography (angio‐CT) assistance. The advantages of this technique are that it is possible to detect small satellite nodules and to evaluate the real‐time therapeutic effect immediately after RFA.
Knife-assisted snare resection (KAR) of large and refractory colonic polyps at a Western centre: Feasibility, safety and efficacy study to guide future practice

Objective Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is widely practiced in western countries. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is very effective for treating complex polyps but colonic ESD in the western setting remains challenging. We have developed a novel technique of knife-assisted snare resection (KAR) for the resection of these complex lesions. Here we aim to describe the technique, evaluate its outcomes, identify outcome predictors and define its learning curve. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study of patients who had large and refractory polyps resected by KAR at our institution from 2007 to 2013. Polyp characteristics and procedure details were recorded. Endoscopic follow-up was performed to identify recurrence. Results A total of 170 patients with polyps 20–170 mm in size were treated by KAR and followed up for a mean of 31.5 months (range 12–84 months). 29% of the polyps were >50 mm, 22% had fibrosis from previous unsuccessful interventions and 25% were in the right colon. The perforation rate (1.2%) and bleeding rate (4.7%) were acceptable and managed conservatively in most patients. Recurrence rate after the first attempt was 13.1%. Recurrence was significantly increased by polyp size >50 mm (p = 0.008; OR 5.03, 95% CI 1.54–16.48), presence of fibrosis (p = 0.002; OR 6.59, 95% CI 1.97–22.07) and piecemeal resection (p < 0.001; OR 0.31, CI 0.078–1.12). Cure rates were 87% after the first attempt, improving to 95.6% with further attempts. En bloc resection rate showed a linear increase and reached almost 80% as the endoscopist’s cumulative experience approached 100 cases. Conclusion This is the largest reported Western series on KAR in the colon. We have demonstrated the feasibility, efficacy and safety of this technique in the treatment of complex polyps, with or without fibrosis and at all sites. KAR has shown better outcomes than either EMR or ESD. We have also managed to identify significant outcome predictors and define the learning curve.
NETWORK INTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEM USING FUZZY LOGIC

IDS which are increasingly a key part of system defense are used to identify abnormal activities in a computer system. In general, the traditional intrusion detection relies on the extensive knowledge of security experts, in particular, on their familiarity with the computer system to be protected. To reduce this dependence, various data-mining and machine learning techniques have been used in the literature. In the proposed system, we have designed fuzzy logic-based system for effectively identifying the intrusion activities within a network. The proposed fuzzy logic-based system can be able to detect an intrusion behavior of the networks since the rule base contains a better set of rules. Here, we have used automated strategy for generation of fuzzy rules, which are obtained from the definite rules using frequent items. The experiments and evaluations of the proposed intrusion detection system are performed with the KDD Cup 99 intrusion detection dataset. The experimental results clearly show that the proposed system achieved higher precision in identifying whether the records are normal or attack one.
Novelty Detection using One-class Parzen Density Estimator. An Application to Surveillance of Nosocomial Infections

Nosocomial infections (NIs) - those acquired in health care settings - represent one of the major causes of increased mortality in hospitalized patients. As they are a real problem for both patients and health authorities, the development of an effective surveillance system to monitor and detect them is of paramount importance. This paper presents a retrospective analysis of a prevalence survey of NIs done in the Geneva University Hospital. The objective is to identify patients with one or more NIs based on clinical and other data collected during the survey. In this classification task, the main difficulty lies in the significant imbalance between positive and negative cases. To overcome this problem, we investigate one-class Parzen density estimator which can be trained to differentiate two classes taking examples from a single class. The results obtained are encouraging: whereas standard 2-class SVMs scored a baseline sensitivity of 50.6% on this problem, the one-class approach increased sensitivity to as much as 88.6%. These results suggest that one-class Parzen density estimator can provide an effective and efficient way of overcoming data imbalance in classification problems.
Symptoms of Depression as a Prospective Risk Factor for Stroke

Objective The objective of this study was to assess baseline levels of depression as a risk factor for stroke among white and black men and women. Methods A population-based cohort of 6095 stroke-free white and black men and women aged 25 to 74 years in the NHANES I Epidemiologic Followup Study were followed for an average of 16 years to a maximum of 22 years. The association between stroke and baseline self-reported depressive symptomatology was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for baseline age, race, sex, education, smoking status, body mass index, alcohol use, nonrecreational physical activity, serum cholesterol level, history of diabetes, history of heart disease, and systolic blood pressure. Hospital records and death certificates were used to identify stroke cases; a total of 483 cases were identified. Results In age-adjusted models for all persons, white men, white women, and black persons of both sexes, depression was predictive of stroke. In risk-adjusted models for all persons (relative risk (RR) = 1.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.30–2.31) and for white men (RR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.02–2.75), depression remained predictive of stroke. For white women, depression (RR = 1.52, 95% CI = 0.97–2.38) reached borderline significance (p = .07). For black persons, depression (RR = 2.60, 95% CI = 1.40–4.80) demonstrated a higher risk of stroke. A series of supplemental analyses also supported the association between depression and stroke. Conclusions Depression is predictive of stroke across all strata. This nationally representative study gives evidence of a prospective association between depression and stroke.
Changes in Cytoplasmic Volume Are Sufficient to Drive Spindle Scaling

Scaling Spindle Size The difficulty of modulating cell size in vivo has made it hard to test hypotheses for organelle size scaling during development. To this end, Hazel et al. (p. 853) and Good et al. (p. 856) developed microfluidic systems in which cytoplasmic extracts are encapsulated in compartments with definable size. The size of mitotic spindles assembled within cell-free extracts scaled with the volume of the compartment within which the spindle assembled. The findings suggest that the diminished availability of cytoplasmic components, notably tubulin, concomitant with cell size reduction, prescribes a smaller spindle size. Microfluidic techniques reveal how mitotic spindle size is regulated by titratable cytosolic factors. The mitotic spindle must function in cell types that vary greatly in size, and its dimensions scale with the rapid, reductive cell divisions that accompany early stages of development. The mechanism responsible for this scaling is unclear, because uncoupling cell size from a developmental or cellular context has proven experimentally challenging. We combined microfluidic technology with Xenopus egg extracts to characterize spindle assembly within discrete, geometrically defined volumes of cytoplasm. Reductions in cytoplasmic volume, rather than developmental cues or changes in cell shape, were sufficient to recapitulate spindle scaling observed in Xenopus embryos. Thus, mechanisms extrinsic to the spindle, specifically a limiting pool of cytoplasmic component(s), play a major role in determining spindle size.
On methods for improving performance of PI-type fuzzy logic controllers

To improve limitations of fuzzy PI controller especially when applied to high order systems, we propose two types of fuzzy logic controllers that take out appropriate amounts of accumulated control input according to fuzzily described situations in addition to the incremental control input calculated by conventional fuzzy PI controllers. The structures of the proposed controller were motivated by the problems of fuzzy PI controllers that they generally give inevitable overshoot when one tries to reduce rise time of response especially when a system of order higher than one is under consideration. Since the undesirable characteristics of the fuzzy PI controller are caused by integrating operation of the controller, even though the integrator itself is introduced to to overcome steady state error in response, we propose two fuzzy controllers that fuzzily clear out integrated quantities according to situation. The first controller determines the fuzzy resetting rate by situations described fuzzily by error and error rate, and the second one by error and control input. The two structures both give reduced rise time as well as small overshoot. >
Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Mood States of Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Background: Mood and negative emotional states and their regulation in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder have family, social and employment problems. Practices that could be helpful in this area are highly important. Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the influence of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in improving mood state of combat veterans. Patients and Methods: In this randomized clinical trial study, participants were selected from the patients referring to the counseling center of the veterans. The participants had post-traumatic stress disorder according to diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition, text review (DSM-IV-TR). Sixty- two patients were randomly assigned into 2 groups: (31 for MBSR and 31 for the control group). Results: Analysis showed that there were no significant differences between the groups at baseline (P < 0.05). Comparison of the results between the two groups before the two-step test showed that anger and vitality scales between the two groups have no significant differences, but on the other scales (depression, dizziness, fatigue and tension), differences between pre and post-test groups were significant in the two groups. Conclusions: It was concluded that mindfulness-based stress reduction is a useful method to regulate the mood state in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who have difficulties in mood and emotions in Kashan.
Sex Differences in Carotid Endarterectomy Outcomes: Results From the Ontario Carotid Endarterectomy Registry

Background and Purpose— The existing literature provides conflicting evidence on surgical risks of carotid endarterectomy in women compared with men. We used data from a large population-based carotid surgery registry to determine whether sex differences exist in the risk of perioperative complications from carotid endarterectomy. Methods— We analyzed data from the Ontario Carotid Endarterectomy Registry, which contains data on all patients who underwent carotid endarterectomy in the province of Ontario between 1994 and 1997. We compared the risk of death or stroke at 30 days in women and men and used multivariate analyses to adjust for age, comorbid conditions, and surgical factors. Secondary analyses compared the risks of death and/or stroke in women and men at 2 years after surgery. Results— The study sample consisted of 6038 patients (35% women). The risks of perioperative stroke or death were not significantly different in women compared with men (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.90 to 1.35). The combined risk of stroke or death at 2 years after surgery was also similar in women and men (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.92 to 1.21). However, women were more likely to have a stroke (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.51) and less likely to die (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.68 to 0.99) within 2 years after surgery. Conclusions— Perioperative complication rates from carotid endarterectomy are similar in women and men. Women should not be discouraged from carotid endarterectomy solely on the basis of surgical risks.
A Case of Giant Hepatic Hydatid Cyst Infected with Morganella morganii and the Literature Review

Hydatid cyst disease is a common worldwide zoonosis. Most of the cysts are located in the liver. Abscess formation due to infection of the cyst is an important complication. M. morganii, a Gram-negative Bacillus, is a quite rare cause of liver abscess. A 77-year-old woman was admitted to hospital with complaints of fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain located in the right-upper quadrant. Her history was positive for hepatic hydatid cyst disease ten years ago. Physical examination revealed a painful mass filling the right-upper quadrant and extending down to umbilicus. Indirect hemagglutinin test for hydatid cyst was positive at a titer of 1/320. Giant liver abscess due to infected hydatid cyst was found in computed tomography scan. Surgeons performed cystectomy and cholecystectomy. Cefazoline, cefuroxime, and metronidazole were administered empirically, but all the three agents were replaced with intravenous ceftriaxone after M. morganii was isolated from the cultures of the abscess material. Clinical signs of the patient resolved at the second week of treatment, and she was discharged.
Disparity between Dental Needs and Dental Treatment Provided

We hypothesized that more teeth would be treated by fee-for-service dentists than predicted by salaried dentists. In a cohort of 3818 participants, the number of teeth treated was related to the number of teeth with treatment needs by means of a zero-inflated negative binomial model. Among those obtaining dental care within 6 months (study population, n = 1239), the adjusted predicted number of teeth treated was 2 (95%CI = 1.7;2.3) for patients with no treatment needs. The sum of teeth treated by fee-for-service dentists (4374 when considering the whole cohort and 3550 when considering the study population) was much higher than that predicted by salaried dentists (4220 when considering the whole cohort and 1770 when considering the study population). Our findings demonstrate a disparity between dental needs assessment and the dental treatment actually provided.
The association of sleep disturbances with endocrine and perceived stress reactivity measures in male employees

Evidence on the relationship between stress reactivity and sleep is conflicting. This study examined the association between disturbed sleep and perceived and endocrine stress reactivity independently of age, body mass index (BMI), and chronic stress. One hundred and twenty middle-aged men were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Perceived Stress Reactivity Scale were used to assess sleep and perceived stress reactivity, respectively. Endocrine stress reactivity was examined by assessing salivary cortisol levels. Regression analyses showed that men with disturbed sleep had blunted overall cortisol responses (b = -18.246, p = .044), but the association did not survive adjustment for age, BMI, and chronic stress. In contrast, poor sleep was associated with heightened perceived stress reactivity independently of age and BMI (b = 0.235, p = .005), but additional adjustment for chronic stress attenuated the relationship and only chronic stress remained a significant predictor of perceived stress reactivity (b = 0.470, p < .001). Cortisol and perceived stress reactivity were uncorrelated. In summary, our study indicates associations between sleep disturbances and stress reactivity were not independent of BMI and chronic stress levels, and endocrine and perceived stress reactivity were dissociated.
iDR: consumer and grid friendly demand response system

Peak demand is a major challenge for power utilities across the world. Demand Response (DR) is considered to be effective in addressing peak demand by altering consumption of end consumers, so as to match supply capability. However, an efficient DR system needs to respect end consumer convenience and understand their propensity of participating in a particular DR event, while altering the consumer demand. Understanding such preferences is non-trivial due to the large-scale and variability of consumers and the infrastructure changes required for collecting essential (smart meter and/or appliance specific) data. In this paper, we propose an inclusive DR system, iDR, that helps an electricity provider to design an effective demand response event by analyzing its consumers' house-level consumption (smart meter) data and external context (weather conditions, seasonality etc.) data. iDR combines analytics and optimization to determine optimal power consumption schedules that satisfy an electricity provider's DR objectives - such as reduction in peak load - while minimizing the inconvenience caused to consumers associated with alteration in their consumption patterns. iDR uses a novel context-specific approach for determining end consumer baseline consumptions and user convenience models. Using these consumer specific models and past DR experience, iDR optimization engine identifies -(i) when to execute a DR event, (ii) who are the consumers to be targeted for the DR, and (iii) what signals to be sent. Some of iDR's capabilities are demonstrated using real-world house-level as well as appliance-level data.