Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multisequence MRI in clinically isolated syndromes and the early development of MS

Objective: To apply multisequence MRI techniques to patients with clinically isolated syndromes, to document the pattern and frequency of abnormalities at baseline and early follow-up, and to determine their predictive values for the early development of clinical MS. Background: Disseminated lesions on T2-weighted brain MRI confer an increased risk of progression to clinically definite MS. Newer MRI techniques increase detection of lesions in both brain and spinal cord, and clarify further their pathology. The predictive value of such techniques for the development of clinical MS needs to be defined. Methods: Brain and spinal MRI were performed on 60 patients after their first demyelinating event. A total of 50 patients were followed for 1 year, and 49 underwent repeat brain MRI 3 months after the initial scan. Results: At baseline, 73% of patients had lesions on T2-weighted fast spin-echo (FSE) brain images and 42% had asymptomatic spinal cord lesions. Fast fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery brain did not improve detection of brain lesions. Repeat brain MRI demonstrated new FSE lesions in 43% of patients. After 1 year, 26% of patients developed MS. The MRI features that provided the best combination of sensitivity and specificity for the development of MS were the presence of new FSE lesions at follow-up and enhancing lesions at baseline. The frequency of developing clinical MS was higher for those with both brain and spinal cord lesions at baseline (48%) than brain lesions alone (18%). Conclusions: The combination of baseline MRI abnormalities and new lesions at follow-up, indicating dissemination in space and time, was associated with a high sensitivity and specificity for the early development of clinical MS. These data suggest a potential role for new diagnostic criteria for MS based on early MRI activity. Such criteria may be useful in selecting patients for therapeutic trials at this early clinical stage.
Intuition and entrepreneurial behaviour

Entrepreneurs can be differentiated from non-entrepreneurs on the basis of intention, but intention is not always translated into performance that produces entrepreneurial outcomes. It is proposed that an alternative basis for differentiation is cognitive style (preferred approach to information processing). The present study hypothesizes that those owner managers who are, in practice, successful at identifying and exploiting opportunities for growth and capital accumulation (i.e., successful entrepreneurs) are (1) more intuitive in their cognitive style than the general population of managers; (2) no different in cognitive style from senior managers and executives; and (3) more intuitive than middle and junior managers. A questionnaire containing the Cognitive Style Index (CSI), a measure of the intuitive-analytic dimension, was distributed to the 437 founders of high growth companies listed in the latest edition of the publication Local Heroes (Scottish Enterprise, 1997). The 156 replies (representing a response rate of 35% were compared with those of 546 managers from various organizations who had completed the questionnaire previously. Results showed that all three hypotheses were upheld. Although the study was essentially exploratory, the findings are encouraging. They suggest fertile ground for further research by highlighting the importance of cognitive aspects of entrepreneurial behaviour.
Learnable Structured Clustering Framework for Deep Metric Learning

Learning the representation and the similarity metric in an end-to-end fashion with deep networks have demonstrated outstanding results for clustering and retrieval. However, these recent approaches still suffer from the performance degradation stemming from the local metric training procedure which is unaware of the global structure of the embedding space. We propose a global metric learning scheme for optimizing the deep metric embedding with the learnable clustering function and the clustering metric (NMI) in a novel structured prediction framework. Our experiments on CUB200-2011, Cars196, and Stanford online products datasets show state of the art performance both on the clustering and retrieval tasks measured in the NMI and Recall@K evaluation metrics.
Identification of Selection Signatures in Cattle Breeds Selected for Dairy Production

The genomics revolution has spurred the undertaking of HapMap studies of numerous species, allowing for population genomics to increase the understanding of how selection has created genetic differences between subspecies populations. The objectives of this study were to (1) develop an approach to detect signatures of selection in subsets of phenotypically similar breeds of livestock by comparing single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) diversity between the subset and a larger population, (2) verify this method in breeds selected for simply inherited traits, and (3) apply this method to the dairy breeds in the International Bovine HapMap (IBHM) study. The data consisted of genotypes for 32,689 SNPs of 497 animals from 19 breeds. For a given subset of breeds, the test statistic was the parametric composite log likelihood (CLL) of the differences in allelic frequencies between the subset and the IBHM for a sliding window of SNPs. The null distribution was obtained by calculating CLL for 50,000 random subsets (per chromosome) of individuals. The validity of this approach was confirmed by obtaining extremely large CLLs at the sites of causative variation for polled (BTA1) and black-coat-color (BTA18) phenotypes. Across the 30 bovine chromosomes, 699 putative selection signatures were detected. The largest CLL was on BTA6 and corresponded to KIT, which is responsible for the piebald phenotype present in four of the five dairy breeds. Potassium channel-related genes were at the site of the largest CLL on three chromosomes (BTA14, -16, and -25) whereas integrins (BTA18 and -19) and serine/arginine rich splicing factors (BTA20 and -23) each had the largest CLL on two chromosomes. On the basis of the results of this study, the application of population genomics to farm animals seems quite promising. Comparisons between breed groups have the potential to identify genomic regions influencing complex traits with no need for complex equipment and the collection of extensive phenotypic records and can contribute to the identification of candidate genes and to the understanding of the biological mechanisms controlling complex traits.
Vicarious trauma and decreased sexual desire: A hidden hazard of helping others.

Vicarious trauma is a significant occupational hazard for behavioral health clinicians (BHCs), with potentially negative effects on the quality of personal life and interpersonal relationships. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between vicarious trauma (Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale) and sexual desire (Hurlbert Index of Sexual Desire). The constructivist self-development theory (CSDT) was the foundational study theory. The sample consisted of 163 volunteers selected from the Missouri Substance Abuse Professional Credentialing Board (MSAPCB). Years of professional experience, sexual trauma history, gender, and age were computed as covariates. Bivariate correlations and multiple linear regression were utilized. A modest, yet significant inverse relationship was found between vicarious trauma and sexual desire, r 0.24, p . 002. Implications are negative dynamics to BHCs’ service provision and personal lives. The results indicate that BHCs struggling with vicarious trauma may also notice a decrease in their level of sexual desire.
Spectral-domain Optical Coherence Tomography Measurement of Macular Volume for Diagnosing Glaucoma

PurposeTo determine the glaucoma diagnostic power of measuring the volume of the ganglion cell complex (GCC; 3 innermost retinal layers) using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Patients and MethodsFifty eyes with open-angle glaucoma and 35 normal partipants were included for this study. SD-OCT (RTVue-100), and time-domain (TD)-OCT were used to measure total retinal, GCC (SD-OCT only), and circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (cpRNFL) thicknesses in 50 eyes with open-angle glaucoma and in 35 without glaucoma. ResultsTotal retinal and GCC volumes in a macular area correlated with visual field mean deviation (GCC: r=0.580, P<0.001; total: r=0.458, P<0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AROC) was greater for macular GCC volume (0.922) than for macular total retinal volume, as measured by SD-OCT (0.857; P=0.020) or TD-OCT (0.841; P=0.025). GCC AROCs were smaller than cpRNFL AROCs determined using SD-OCT (0.971; P=0.110) or TD-OCT (0.970; P=0.122), but not in a statistically significant manner. AROC for the GCC was greatest in the inferior macula. Interclass correlation coefficient values were comparable for GCC and total retinal volumes. ConclusionSelective measurement of the GCC layer by SD-OCT improves diagnostic performance of the macular structural analysis for glaucoma diagnosis.
Territory and Territoriality in the Global Economy

This is part of a larger research project on governance and accountability in the global economy. What is the impact of economic globalization on the territorial jurisdiction, or more theoretically, the exclusive territoriality of the nation-state? This is the organizing question in the article; it is an effort to respond critically to two notions that underlie much of the current discussion about globalization. One is the zero-sum game: whatever the global economy gains, the national state loses and vice versa. The other is that if an event takes place in a national territory it is a national event, whether a business transaction or a judiciary decision. I argue that, on the contrary, national states have been deeply involved in the implementation of the global economic system producing the necessary legal encasements for this system; and, second, that a global transaction may well take place inside a national territory. My working hypothesis is that while globalization leaves national territory basically unaltered, it is having pronounced effects on the exclusive territoriality of the national state - that is, its effects are not on the boundaries of national territory as such but on the institutional encasements of that national territory.
Training match and mismatch as a driver of key employee behaviours

Training is widely believed to have the potential to improve key workplace outcomes such as the in-role behaviours and organisational citizenship of employees. However, this article argues that match of actual training provision to requirements leads to the greatest possible improvement in key behaviours, an assertion that lacks prior validation. Undertraining relative to requirements would typically be associated with lower behavioural gain, or even negative behaviours. Overtraining may have both positive and negative implications; however, this article argues that on aggregate excess training will be associated with worse outcomes compared with match. An analysis of 699 matched employee–manager dyads supports the assertion that match is associated with the best relative levels of key workplace behaviours, and associates either undertraining or overtraining with degradation in outcomes. This research highlights the importance of training needs analysis and encourages active management of trained workers to match work to skills.
Triangulation of Qualitative Methods: Heideggerian Hermeneutics and Grounded Theory

This article proposes the use of two qualitative research methodologies-Heideggerian hermeneutics and grounded theory-as a way to understand complex human phenomena. The hermeneutic method uses "thick description," "paradigm cases," "exemplars," and "the-matic analysis" to discover meanings and ways of being (practices) in lived experiences. The aim of grounded theory methodology is to generate an analytic schema called "a substantive grounded theory' that conceptually explains basic social processes at a higher level of abstraction. While each has its own integrity and yields different outcomes, triangulation of these two qualitative methods in one study can illuminate clinical realities that elude alternative approaches. Hermeneutics reveals the uniqueness of shared meanings and common practices that can inform the way we think about our practice; grounded theory provides a conceptual framework useful for planning interventions and further quantitative research.
Absent figures: A personal reflection on the value of art therapists own image-making

Abstract This article seeks to explore the relationship between the authors artwork and her experience as an art therapist. It shows and discusses images that resonate with client themes and issues. A dynamic relationship between the authors artwork made outside the sessions and her experience in her work as an art therapist is shown and the value of the art therapists artistic parallel process is discussed. Joy Schaveriens scapegoat theory is a key concept in this article, which also draws upon wider philosophical and theoretical references which confirm the authors feelings about what art brings to art therapy.
Serotonin-1A receptor gene HTR1A variation predicts interferon-induced depression in chronic hepatitis C.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Interferon-induced depression is a major complication in antiviral therapy of chronic hepatitis C. Little is known about underlying mechanisms and reliable predictive factors associated with cytokine-induced depressive symptoms. METHODS In a cohort of 139 hepatitis C-infected outpatients treated with interferon alfa-2b, we investigated the impact of functional gene variants of the cerebral serotonin (5-HT) signalling pathway previously implicated in depression risk. Depression was monitored using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). All patients were genotyped for functional variations in the 5-HT(1A) receptor (HTR1A), 5-HT transporter (SLC6A4, 5-HTT), and tryptophan hydoxylase-2 (TPH2). RESULTS Homozygosity for the HTR1A-1019G variant significantly increased both incidence and severity of interferon-induced depression. Maximum increases in HADS depression scores during antiviral therapy correlated with HTR1A variation (P = .011). Clinically relevant depression was significantly associated with the HTR1A-1019G genotype (P = .017; OR, 2.95). 5-HTT and TPH2 variations did not contribute significantly to the prediction of interferon-induced depression by HTR1A (sensitivity, 35.9%; specificity, 84.0%). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest an impact of allelic variation in 5-HT(1A) receptor expression on the development of interferon alfa-induced depression during antiviral treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Prediction models of interferon-induced depressive symptoms based on HTR1A variation offer a perspective for an antidepressant selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor prophylaxis in patients genetically at risk for interferon-induced depression.
Lay concepts of health and illness from a developmental perspective

Abstract The concepts of children, adolescents and their mothers with regard to different aspects of health and illness in general and five specific diseases were explored in this study. An exploration with fully standardised questions and open answers was subjected to a content analysis. A reliable rating system was developed to score the sophistication of the answers. The study included 99 Ss of the age groups 5, 8, 12 and 16 years, as well as 48 mothers of the children. Many children and adolescents were able to define health positively (well-being) and not merely as the absence of illness. The definition of illness in general was frequently composed of somatic symptoms and disorders, feeling poorly and things one would like to accomplish but can't. The causality explanations of illness in general were dominated by contagion. The concepts of the older children and the mothers were richer, more elaborated, less concrete and less action-oriented than those of the younger children. However, abstract formulations and complex aspects of illness were very rarely expressed. In addition, concepts regarding the characteristics (definition, symptoms, causality, treatment and prevention) of five diseases (cold, measles, heart infarction, cancer and AIDS) were measured. The pattern of results was strongly influenced by age. By and large, the development of most disease concepts was linear with significant differences between age groups. Conversely, within a given age group, significant differences were found in the cognitive level of disease characteristics, either with respect to the same disease or between different diseases (“horizontal shifts”).
Projective Test Use Among School Psychologists

The use of projective techniques by school psychologists has been a point of interest and debate, with a number of survey studies documenting usage. The purpose of this study is to update the status of projective use among school psychologists, with a specific focus on their use in the social emotional assessment of children in schools. In addition to gathering information about the frequency of use, this study provides information about the types of assessment activities in which the assessments are used and practitioner’s perception of the utility of specific instruments. Results indicate that school psychologists view projective assessments as moderately useful and that they continue to use projectives across grades and for a variety of educational purposes, including eligibility determination and intervention development. Results are discussed critically in the context of previous research.
'My Bad!' How Internal Attribution and Ambiguity of Responsibility Affect Learning from Failure

Learning in organizations is a key determinant of individual and organizational success, and one valuable source of this learning is prior failure. Previous research finds that although individuals can learn from failed experiences, they do not always do so. To explain why this is true, we explore how individuals process failed experiences as a potential source of learning. Drawing on attribution theory, we conceptualize the differential impact that internal (self-focused) and external (factors outside of one’s control) attributions after failure may have on individuals’ learning and identify a key factor that shapes whether individuals attribute failure internally or externally, namely perceived ambiguity of responsibility. We hypothesize that when perceived ambiguity of responsibility is low rather than high, individuals will be more likely to attribute their failure internally and in turn devote more effort to learning and improving. We test our hypotheses using data collected in field and laboratory settings. This multi-method approach supports our theoretical model and permits us to gain further insight into how learning from failure occurs for individuals in work organizations.
Evaluating the communication performance of an ad hoc wireless network

Adaptive and self-organizing wireless networks are gaining in popularity. Several media access and routing protocols were proposed for such networks and the performance of such protocols were evaluated based on simulations. In this paper, we evaluate the practicality of realizing an ad hoc wireless network and investigate on performance issues. Several mobile computers were enhanced with ad hoc routing capability and were deployed in an outdoor environment and communication performance associated with ad hoc communications were evaluated. These computers periodically send beacons to their neighbors to declare their presence. We examined the impact of varying packet size, beaconing interval, and route hop count on route discovery time, communication throughput, end-to-end delay, and packet loss. We had also performed mobility experiments and evaluated the route reconstruction time incurred. File transfer times associated with sending information reliably (via TCP) over multihop wireless links are also presented. The experimental results obtained revealed that it is feasible to augment existing wireless computers with ad hoc networking capability. End-to-end performance in ad hoc routes are less affected by beaconing intervals than packet size or route length. Similarly, communication throughput is more dependent on packet size and route length with the exception at very high beaconing frequencies. Packet loss, on the other hand, is not significantly affected by packet size, route length or beaconing frequency. Finally, route discovery time in ad hoc wireless networks are more dependent on channel conditions and route length than variations in beaconing intervals.
Divergent effects of exercise on metabolic and mitogenic signaling pathways in human skeletal muscle

The molecular signaling mechanisms by which muscle contractions lead to changes in glucose metabolism and gene expression remain largely undefined. We assessed whether exercise activates MAP kinase proteins (ERK1/2, SEK1, and p38 MAP kinase) as well as Akt and PYK2 in skeletal muscle from healthy volunteers obtained during and after one‐leg cycle ergometry at ∼70% VO2max. Exercise led to a marked increase in ERK1/2 phosphorylation, which rapidly decreased to resting levels upon recovery. Exercise increased phosphorylation of SEK1 and p38 MAP kinase to a lesser extent than ERK1/2. In contrast to ERK1/2, p38 MAP kinase phosphorylation was increased in nonexercised muscle upon cessation of exercise. Phosphorylation of the transcription factor CREB was increased in nonexercised muscle upon cessation of exercise. Exercise did not activate Akt or increase tyrosine phosphorylation of PYK2. Thus, exercise has divergent effects on parallel MAP kinase pathways, of which only p38 demonstrated a systemic response. However, our data do not support a role of Akt or PYK2 in exercise/contraction‐induced signaling in human skeletal. Activation of the different MAP kinase pathways byphysical exercise appears to be important in the regulation of transcriptional events in skeletal muscle. —Widegren, U. , Jiang, X. ‐J., Krook, A. , Chibalin, A. V. , Bjo¨rnholm, M. , Tally, M. , Roth, R. A. , Henriksson, J., Wallberg‐ Henriksson, H. , Zierath, J. R. Divergent effects of exercise on metabolic and mitogenic signaling pathways in human skeletal muscle. FASEB J. 12, 1379– 1389 (1998)
Subjective Experience and Sociability in a Collaborative Serious Game

The meaning of social dimension of gaming for enjoyable and engaging game experiences is supported by an increasing amount of research. Nonetheless, this issue has rarely been studied in the context of serious games. This study attempts to narrow the knowledge gap in the understanding of collaborative serious game experiences and the relationship between the social dimension of gaming and core game experiences. The aim of this study is to empirically investigate what kinds of game experiences are generated when playing collaborative serious game and how the sense of social presence and the sociability of the environment are connected to the core game experience. Findings reinforce the idea that social presence is an essential part of game experience in multiplayer games. Results also showed that the sociability of the game and a sense of social presence are strongly connected to the various dimensions of the core game experience, including engagement, in the forms of flow and immersion. Thus, results indicate that the sociability of the game and sense of social presence seem to be potential factors in the emergence of positive and engaging game experiences, at least in the context of collaborative games.