Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Model of Bipolar Electrogram Fractionation and Conduction Block Associated With Activation Wavefront Direction at Infarct Border Zone Lateral Isthmus Boundaries

Background—Improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying infarct border zone electrogram fractionation may be helpful to identify arrhythmogenic regions in the postinfarction heart. We describe the generation of electrogram fractionation from changes in activation wavefront curvature in experimental canine infarction. Methods and Results—A model was developed to estimate the extracellular signal shape that would be generated by wavefront propagation parallel to versus perpendicular to the lateral boundary (LB) of the reentrant ventricular tachycardia (VT) isthmus or diastolic pathway. LBs are defined as locations where functional block forms during VT, and elsewhere they have been shown to coincide with sharp thin-to-thick transitions in infarct border zone thickness. To test the model, bipolar electrograms were acquired from infarct border zone sites in 10 canine heart experiments 3 to 5 days after experimental infarction. Activation maps were constructed during sinus rhythm and during VT. The characteristics of model-generated versus actual electrograms were compared. Quantitatively expressed VT fractionation (7.6±1.2 deflections; 16.3±8.9-ms intervals) was similar to model-generated values with wavefront propagation perpendicular to the LB (9.4±2.4 deflections; 14.4±5.2-ms intervals). Fractionation during sinus rhythm (5.9±1.8 deflections; 9.2±4.4-ms intervals) was similar to model-generated fractionation with wavefront propagation parallel to the LB (6.7±3.1 deflections; 7.1±3.8-ms intervals). VT and sinus rhythm fractionation sites were adjacent to LBs ≈80% of the time. Conclusions—The results suggest that in a subacute canine infarct model, the LBs are a source of activation wavefront discontinuity and electrogram fractionation, with the degree of fractionation being dependent on activation rate and wavefront orientation with respect to the LB.
Genomewide Association Study of African Children Identifies Association of SCHIP1 and PDE8A with Facial Size and Shape

The human face is a complex assemblage of highly variable yet clearly heritable anatomic structures that together make each of us unique, distinguishable, and recognizable. Relatively little is known about the genetic underpinnings of normal human facial variation. To address this, we carried out a large genomewide association study and two independent replication studies of Bantu African children and adolescents from Mwanza, Tanzania, a region that is both genetically and environmentally relatively homogeneous. We tested for genetic association of facial shape and size phenotypes derived from 3D imaging and automated landmarking of standard facial morphometric points. SNPs within genes SCHIP1 and PDE8A were associated with measures of facial size in both the GWAS and replication cohorts and passed a stringent genomewide significance threshold adjusted for multiple testing of 34 correlated traits. For both SCHIP1 and PDE8A, we demonstrated clear expression in the developing mouse face by both whole-mount in situ hybridization and RNA-seq, supporting their involvement in facial morphogenesis. Ten additional loci demonstrated suggestive association with various measures of facial shape. Our findings, which differ from those in previous studies of European-derived whites, augment understanding of the genetic basis of normal facial development, and provide insights relevant to both human disease and forensics.
Concept of Emotion Viewed From a Prototype Perspective

SUMMARY Many have sought but no one has found a commonly acceptable definition for the concept of emotion. Repeated failure raises the question whether a definition is possible, at least a definition in the classical sense of individually necessary and jointly sufficient attributes. A series of seven studies explored an alternative possibility that the concept of emotion is better understood from a prototype perspective than from a classical perspective. Specifically it is argued that membership in the concept of emotion is a matter of degree rather than all-or-none (that the concept has an internal structure) and that no sharp boundary separates members from nonmembers (that the concept has fuzzy boundaries). As hypothesized, the concept of emotion has an internal structure: happiness, love, anger, fear, awe, respect, envy, and other types of emotion can be reliably ordered from better to poorer examples of emotion. In turn, an emotion's goodness of example (prototypicality) ranking was found to predict how readily incomes to mind when one is asked to list emotions, how likely it is to be labeled as an emotion when one is asked what sort of thing it is, how readily it can be substituted for the word emotion in sentences without their sounding unnatural, and the degree to which it resembles other emotion categories in terms of shared features. In response to an argument made by Armstrong, Gleitman and Gleitman (1983), the evidence for internal structure is acknowledged not to imply fuzzy boundaries. Thus, it was further shown that the concept of emotion, and several other of Rosch's prototypically organized concepts, lacks sharp boundaries and thus can be empirically distinguished from classically defined concepts: Peripheral members of classical concepts but not of fuzzy concepts are nonetheless unequivocal members of the concept. Finally, implications of a prototype view for the psychology, of emotion are discussed. Issues raised include extension of the prototype analysis to anger, fear, and other types of emotion; scientific versus everyday folk concepts; and emotion concepts versus emotion events.
Graphic Warning Labels Elicit Affective and Thoughtful Responses from Smokers: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial

Objective Observational research suggests that placing graphic images on cigarette warning labels can reduce smoking rates, but field studies lack experimental control. Our primary objective was to determine the psychological processes set in motion by naturalistic exposure to graphic vs. text-only warnings in a randomized clinical trial involving exposure to modified cigarette packs over a 4-week period. Theories of graphic-warning impact were tested by examining affect toward smoking, credibility of warning information, risk perceptions, quit intentions, warning label memory, and smoking risk knowledge. Methods Adults who smoked between 5 and 40 cigarettes daily (N = 293; mean age = 33.7), did not have a contra-indicated medical condition, and did not intend to quit were recruited from Philadelphia, PA and Columbus, OH. Smokers were randomly assigned to receive their own brand of cigarettes for four weeks in one of three warning conditions: text only, graphic images plus text, or graphic images with elaborated text. Results Data from 244 participants who completed the trial were analyzed in structural-equation models. The presence of graphic images (compared to text-only) caused more negative affect toward smoking, a process that indirectly influenced risk perceptions and quit intentions (e.g., image->negative affect->risk perception->quit intention). Negative affect from graphic images also enhanced warning credibility including through increased scrutiny of the warnings, a process that also indirectly affected risk perceptions and quit intentions (e.g., image->negative affect->risk scrutiny->warning credibility->risk perception->quit intention). Unexpectedly, elaborated text reduced warning credibility. Finally, graphic warnings increased warning-information recall and indirectly increased smoking-risk knowledge at the end of the trial and one month later. Conclusions In the first naturalistic clinical trial conducted, graphic warning labels are more effective than text-only warnings in encouraging smokers to consider quitting and in educating them about smoking’s risks. Negative affective reactions to smoking, thinking about risks, and perceptions of credibility are mediators of their impact. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01782053
Effectiveness of kinesiotaping on diaphragm thickness, diaphragmatic thickening fraction, and intercostal muscle thickness in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation: a pilot study

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the effects of kinesiotaping applied on the chest wall on the diaphragmatic muscle and intercostal muscles in patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Methods: In this prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blind study, 24 patients who underwent mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit were included the study. Randomization was used to identify the side of patients that the kinesiotaping was applied to. Group 1: side that kinesiotaping was applied (n = 24) and Group 2 (control group): side that kinesiotaping was not applied (n = 24). Kinesiotaping was changed in every 3 day. Thicknesses of diaphragmatic muscle, seventh intercostal muscle and ninth intercostal muscle were evaluated by using ultrasound in pretreatment, third day, sixth day and ninth day . Results: In both groups; a statistically significant decrease was found in all the evaluation parameters at all the measurement times when compared to the pretreatment values ( p 0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, our study results showed that kinesiotaping decelerated the decrease in the diaphragmatic muscle and the intercostal muscles thickness until sixth day.
Factorial Validity of the Social Physique Anxiety Scale for Females

The purpose of this investigation was to address the need to clarify the factorial measurement properties of the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS). Data collected from 760 female participants (who, on average, were young adults) were randomly placed into one of two samples to facilitate double cross-validation analyses. Calibration confirmatory factor analyses of three plausible models identified in research reports were conducted using structural equation modeling procedures. Subsequent cross-validation revealed a model with two first-order factors subordinate to one second-order factor to be unambiguously the most adequate among competing models. This model also exhibited a good fit both in calibration and in cross-validation with all incremental fit indexes exceeding the desirable . 90 criterion. These results challenge initial validation study contentions that the SPAS is unidimensional.
Pharmacological Blockade of the Cold Receptor TRPM8 Attenuates Autonomic and Behavioral Cold Defenses and Decreases Deep Body Temperature

We studied N-(2-aminoethyl)-N-(4-(benzyloxy)-3-methoxybenzyl)thiophene-2-carboxamide hydrochloride (M8-B), a selective and potent antagonist of the transient receptor potential melastatin-8 (TRPM8) channel. In vitro, M8-B blocked cold-induced and TRPM8-agonist-induced activation of rat, human, and murine TRPM8 channels, including those on primary sensory neurons. In vivo, M8-B decreased deep body temperature (Tb) in Trpm8+/+ mice and rats, but not in Trpm8−/− mice, thus suggesting an on-target action. Intravenous administration of M8-B was more effective in decreasing Tb in rats than intrathecal or intracerebroventricular administration, indicating a peripheral action. M8-B attenuated cold-induced c-Fos expression in the lateral parabrachial nucleus, thus indicating a site of action within the cutaneous cooling neural pathway to thermoeffectors, presumably on sensory neurons. A low intravenous dose of M8-B did not affect Tb at either a constantly high or a constantly low ambient temperature (Ta), but the same dose readily decreased Tb if rats were kept at a high Ta during the M8-B infusion and transferred to a low Ta immediately thereafter. These data suggest that both a successful delivery of M8-B to the skin (high cutaneous perfusion) and the activation of cutaneous TRPM8 channels (by cold) are required for the hypothermic action of M8-B. At tail-skin temperatures <23°C, the magnitude of the M8-B-induced decrease in Tb was inversely related to skin temperature, thus suggesting that M8-B blocks thermal (cold) activation of TRPM8. M8-B affected all thermoeffectors studied (thermopreferendum, tail-skin vasoconstriction, and brown fat thermogenesis), thus suggesting that TRPM8 is a universal cold receptor in the thermoregulation system.
Using Local Norms when Identifying PLD: Utility of Sample Specific Parameters

This project demonstrates a local norming procedure for ruling out global intellectual delay when identifying primary language disorder (PLD) for children from traditionally underrepresented populations. The Epidemiological Study of Specific Language Impairment Diagnostic Database [9], a population based sample of students with PLD, was utilized for the analysis. Two measures of performance IQ were used to estimate cognitive ability. The database was spilt into Caucasian (n = 1623) and African American (n = 254). Local norms were created using within group z scores. The distributions for the African American group were slightly, but significantly left shifted relative to the normative distribution. After accounting for this left shift during identification, the proportion of African American children in the sample more closely matched the overall population distribution. Creating local norms is a feasible, low-cost solution when dealing with distributions that do not match the normative distribution of a standardized test.
The N170 : understanding the time-course of face perception in the human brain

This chapter reviews the contribution of electromagnetic measures, mostly event-related potentials (ERPs), to our understanding of the time course of face processing in the normal adult brain, with a focus on the 100–200 ms time window after stimulus onset, that is, during during the occipitotemporal component termed the N170. It fi rst describes the N170 component, how it can be defi ned, and its relationship to the vertex positive potential (VPP) response to faces that was reported prior to the N170 in the literature. It then addresses the question of the origin of the largest N170 to faces in terms of electroencephalographic (EEG) signal, neural sources, and functional processes that lead to this effect. It also discusses the controversial issue of whether the N170 refl ects underlying processes that can be at least partly recruited for processing nonface objects following extensive visual experience with these objects. The chapter summarizes the evidence showing that the N170 refl ects both the initial basic-level categorization of the stimulus as a face through the activation of neural face representations and the coding of individual face representations. It then briefl y discusses why the N170 may be a critical time window for other types of face categorizations before summarizing the chapter and addressing the question of how the N170 can be taken as a tool to clarify the dynamics and the nature of early face processes in future research.
Starch-Based Biopolymer Reinforced with High Yield Fibers from Sugarcane Bagasse as a Technical and Environmentally Friendly Alternative to High Density Polyethylene

Greener composites, as alternatives to more common materials, should also achieve technical and economic feasibility to be commercially competitive. This study presents the results obtained from using a biodegradable starch-based matrix, and a natural fiber reinforcement coming from sugarcane bagasse, currently an agro-waste. The sugarcane bagasse biomass was treated to obtain four kinds of fibers with different morphological and chemical properties. The fibers were used to obtain composite materials, which were then tested for tensile properties. The results showed that some of the composites were suitable to replace high density polyethylene, from a technical and environmental point of view. The comparatively higher cost of the biobased matrices hinders the substitution, but the higher the fiber content, the lower the economic disadvantage. A micromechanical test and a sensitivity analysis showed that the fiber orientation had the highest impact on the tensile strength, followed by the fibers mean length and the quality of the interphase between the fibers and the matrix
Spreading depolarizations cycle around and enlarge focal ischaemic brain lesions

How does infarction in victims of stroke and other types of acute brain injury expand to its definitive size in subsequent days? Spontaneous depolarizations that repeatedly spread across the cerebral cortex, sometimes at remarkably regular intervals, occur in patients with all types of injury. Here, we show experimentally with in vivo real-time imaging that similar, spontaneous depolarizations cycle repeatedly around ischaemic lesions in the cerebral cortex, and enlarge the lesion in step with each cycle. This behaviour results in regular periodicity of depolarization when monitored at a single point in the lesion periphery. We present evidence from clinical monitoring to suggest that depolarizations may cycle in the ischaemic human brain, perhaps explaining progressive growth of infarction. Despite their apparent detrimental role in infarct growth, we argue that cycling of depolarizations around lesions might also initiate upregulation of the neurobiological responses involved in repair and remodelling.
Mobile phone banking and low-income customers : evidence from South Africa

Banking through mobile phones has been common in developed countries for years. But the real potential of m-banking may be to make basic financial services more accessible to millions of poor people across the world. Earlier this year, the mobile phone became the first communications technology to have more users in developing countries than in developed ones. More than 800 million mobile phones were sold in developing countries in the past three years. Mobile phones are already reaching the un-banked poor: in South Africa and Botswana, one-third of people who do not have a bank account -- many who are poor -- do own a mobile phone or have access to one. Part one of this paper introduces WIZZIT. Part two details findings from the survey in South Africa. Part three puts this research into a broader context to assist banks, mobile network operators, and other parties interested in extending financial services to low-income people.
Convergence of discrete conformal geometry and computation of uniformization maps

The classical uniformization theorem of Poincaré and Koebe states that any simply connected surface with a Riemannian metric is conformally diffeomorphic to the Riemann sphere, or the complex plane or the unit disk. Using the work by Gu-Luo-Sun-Wu [9] on discrete conformal geometry for polyhedral surfaces, we show that the uniformization maps for simply connected Riemann surfaces are computable.
In Vivo Treatment of Humans with Quinic Acid Enhances DNA Repair and Reduces the Influence of lifestyle Factors on Risk to Disease

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that in vivo oxidation of serum protein thiols can be used to estimate other clinical compromising events going on in the body such as the effectiveness of DNA repair and lifestyle-induced clinical responses Design and Methods: (i) Serum protein thiols were quantified in 200 μl blood serum after treatment with saturated ammonium sulfate to give 80% of the saturated level and then further treatment with the colorimetric agent 5,5dithio-bis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid (DTNB). (ii) A self-report clinical index score was created and administered to participants to simultaneously evaluate appetite, pain, fatigue, self-perceived health status, and energy for this purpose. (iii) A crossover trial design (i.e. before and after treatment) was used to further evaluate the clinical effectiveness of quinic acid ammonium chelate to enhance DNA repair. Results: It was shown that enhanced repair of DNA using the surrogate estimate of serum thiols correlated by linear regression analyses to the degree and duration of the psychotropic-sensitive lifestyle clinical responses being evaluated(p < 0.02). Conclusions: A cheap and rapid biochemical method sensitive to estimating anti-aging effects of lifestyle criteria in clinical material and in blood serum is proposed.
Association of Prenatal Diagnosis of Critical Congenital Heart Disease With Postnatal Brain Development and the Risk of Brain Injury.

IMPORTANCE The relationship of prenatal diagnosis of critical congenital heart disease (CHD) with brain injury and brain development is unknown. Given limited improvement of CHD outcomes with prenatal diagnosis, the effect of prenatal diagnosis on brain health may reveal additional benefits. OBJECTIVE To compare the prevalence of preoperative and postoperative brain injury and the trajectory of brain development in neonates with prenatal vs postnatal diagnosis of CHD. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Cohort study of term newborns with critical CHD recruited consecutively from 2001 to 2013 at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of British Columbia. Term newborns with critical CHD were studied with brain magnetic resonance imaging preoperatively and postoperatively to determine brain injury severity and microstructural brain development with diffusion tensor imaging by measuring fractional anisotropy and the apparent diffusion coefficient. Comparisons of magnetic resonance imaging findings and clinical variables were made between prenatal and postnatal diagnosis of critical CHD. A total of 153 patients with transposition of the great arteries and single ventricle physiology were included in this analysis. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The presence of brain injury on the preoperative brain magnetic resonance imaging and the trajectory of postnatal brain microstructural development. RESULTS Among 153 patients (67% male), 96 had transposition of the great arteries and 57 had single ventricle physiology. The presence of brain injury was significantly higher in patients with postnatal diagnosis of critical CHD (41 of 86 [48%]) than in those with prenatal diagnosis (16 of 67 [24%]) (P = .003). Patients with prenatal diagnosis demonstrated faster brain development in white matter fractional anisotropy (rate of increase, 2.2%; 95% CI, 0.1%-4.2%; P = .04) and gray matter apparent diffusion coefficient (rate of decrease, 0.6%; 95% CI, 0.1%-1.2%; P = .02). Patients with prenatal diagnosis had lower birth weight (mean, 3184.5 g; 95% CI, 3050.3-3318.6) than those with postnatal diagnosis (mean, 3397.6 g; 95% CI, 3277.6-3517.6) (P = .02). Those with prenatal diagnosis had an earlier estimated gestational age at delivery (mean, 38.6 weeks; 95% CI, 38.2-38.9) than those with postnatal diagnosis (mean, 39.1 weeks; 95% CI, 38.8-39.5) (P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Newborns with prenatal diagnosis of single ventricle physiology and transposition of the great arteries demonstrate less preoperative brain injury and more robust microstructural brain development than those with postnatal diagnosis. These results are likely secondary to improved cardiovascular stability. The impact of these findings on neurodevelopmental outcomes warrants further study.