Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Age‐associated alterations in corpus callosum white matter integrity in bipolar disorder assessed using probabilistic tractography

Atypical age‐associated changes in white matter integrity may play a role in the neurobiology of bipolar disorder, but no studies have examined the major white matter tracts using nonlinear statistical modeling across a wide age range in this disorder. The goal of this study was to identify possible deviations in the typical pattern of age‐associated changes in white matter integrity in patients with bipolar disorder across the age range of 9–62 years.
Moose calf mortality in central Ontario, Canada

Although some populations remain stable, moose (Alces alces) density and distribution have been declining in many areas along the southern edge of their North American distribution. During 2006–2009, we deployed 99 vaginal implant transmitters (VITs) in 86 adult female moose in central Ontario, Canada to assist in locating and radiocollaring neonatal moose calves. We monitored radiocollared calves to estimate calf survival and assess the relative importance of specific causes of death. Calves in the western portion of our study area (WMU49) were exposed to a 6-day general hunting season, whereas calves in the eastern portion of our study area (Algonquin Provincial Park [APP]) were not exposed to hunting. Annual survival for 87 collared calves was greater in the protected area than the harvested area (72.4 ± 6.8% and 55.8 ± 8.3%, respectively) and averaged 63.7 ± 7.1% overall. Predation by wolves (Canis sp.) and American black bears (Ursus americanus) was the dominant cause of death but occurred predominately in APP, whereas other natural mortality agents were 4× more common in WMU49. Only 16% of the collared calves in WMU49 were harvested each year despite a high proportion (approx. 50%) of accessible, public land. Most natural mortality occurred prior to the autumn hunting season such that reductions in natural mortality had little potential to compensate for calf harvest. Overall, calf survival in our study area was moderate to high and our findings suggest predator control or further restrictions of calf hunting in this area is not justified. © The Wildlife Society, 2013
Source Coding and Parallel Routing: Exploring the Asymmetries

We consider a simple communication network model and focus on a single source- destination pair to exploit the interconnection between Source Coding and Parallel Routing. We consider a Distortion Measure that combines signal reconstruction fldelity with network delay and we pose the problem of minimizing this measure by jointly choosing the encoder parameters and the routing parameters and extend previous work on this problem.
Removal of Protein-Bound Uraemic Toxins by Haemodialysis

Accumulating evidence suggests that protein-bound uraemic toxins play an important role in uraemic complications, especially in cardiovascular disease. Notably, protein-bound uraemic toxins such as indoxyl sulphate, p-cresyl sulphate, and 3-carboxy-4-methyl-5-propyl-2-furanpropionic acid (CMPF) have emerged as important targets of therapeutic removal. Indoxyl sulphate stimulates reactive oxygen species production in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) most intensely, followed by CMPF. Indoxyl sulphate and CMPF inhibit cell growth of HUVEC. Haemodialysis (HD) even with a high-flux membrane cannot efficiently remove the protein-bound uraemic toxins because of their high albumin-binding property. Especially, indoxyl sulphate, p-cresyl sulphate, and CMPF showed high protein-binding ratios (more than 95%) and low reduction rates by HD (less than 35%). Removal of indoxyl sulphate and p-cresyl sulphate can be improved to some extent by increasing the diffusion of the free forms with super-flux membrane HD, increasing the dialyzer mass transfer area coefficient and dialysate flow, haemodiafiltration, daily HD, and addition of a sorbent to dialysate. However, CMPF is more strongly bound to albumin (with a binding ratio of 99-100%) than indoxyl sulphate and p-cresyl sulphate, and cannot be removed at all by conventional HD. Uraemic toxins strongly or covalently bound to albumin such that CMPF can be removed by protein-leaking HD. Protein-leaking HD with a polymethylmethacrylate membrane BK-F dialyzer can reduce serum levels of CMPF with improvement of anaemia as well as reduce plasma levels of homocysteine, pentosidine, and inflammatory cytokines.
The Contribution of the Project Management Office: A Balanced Scorecard Perspective

Many organizations turn to project management offices (PMOs) in order to increase project efficiency, cut costs, and improve success rates in project delivery. However, many PMOs face the challenge of a lack of recognition of their contribution, leading to the need to repeatedly justify their existence. This article provides new insights into the success and failure of PMOs and also provides the rationale and structure for a holistic approach to establishing and sustaining a PMO.
Primary Somatosensory Cortices Contain Altered Patterns of Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in the Interictal Phase of Migraine

The regulation of cerebral blood flow (CBF) is a complex integrated process that is critical for supporting healthy brain function. Studies have demonstrated a high incidence of alterations in CBF in patients suffering from migraine with and without aura during different phases of attacks. However, the CBF data collected interictally has failed to show any distinguishing features or clues as to the underlying pathophysiology of the disease. In this study we used the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique—arterial spin labeling (ASL)—to non-invasively and quantitatively measure regional CBF (rCBF) in a case-controlled study of interictal migraine. We examined both the regional and global CBF differences between the groups, and found a significant increase in rCBF in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) of migraine patients. The CBF values in S1 were positively correlated with the headache attack frequency, but were unrelated to the duration of illness or age of the patients. Additionally, 82% of patients reported skin hypersensitivity (cutaneous allodynia) during migraine, suggesting atypical processing of somatosensory stimuli. Our results demonstrate the presence of a disease-specific functional deficit in a known region of the trigemino-cortical pathway, which may be driven by adaptive or maladaptive functional plasticity. These findings may in part explain the altered sensory experiences reported between migraine attacks.
Butane-1,2,3,4-tetracarboxylic acid dihydrate

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C8H10O8·2H2O, contains one half-molecule of butane-1,2,3,4-tetracarboxylic acid and a water molecule, with the complete tetra-acid generated by crystallographic inversion symmetry. Intermolecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds form an extensive three-dimensional network, which consolidates the crystal packing.
Blood Pressure and Circulatory Relationships with Physical Activity Level in Young Normotensive Individuals: IPAQ Validity and Reliability Considerations

Physical activity (PA) reduces risk of cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension. However, the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ) relationships with blood pressure (BP) and flow (BF) and vascular resistance (VR) in healthy young individuals have not been studied. Therefore, BP, BF, and VR relationships with the IPAQ were evaluated in college normotensive students (18–23 yrs). Additionally, the IPAQ relationships with body fat (%BF), muscle mass (MM), body mass index (BMI), waist/hip (W/H) ratio, maximum walking distance in 6 min (6MWD), and handgrip strength (MHG) were examined to evaluate the questionnaire validity against fitness. Subsequently, the IPAQ was administered three times to examine its reliability. Walking, moderate, and total PAs correlated negatively with sysbolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) (range: r = −3 to −0.5, p < 0.05). Additionally, all BP measures were greater in least physically active individuals. In a subgroup of 42 students, IPAQ sitting time correlated with BF (r = −0.3) and VR (r = 0.4). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for walking, moderate, vigorous, and total PAs and sitting time/week were, 0.97, 0.96, 0.97, 0.97, and 0.96, respectively. The males scored greater vigorous PA (p = 0.001) than the females, while moderate, walking, and total PAs were the same (p > 0.05). Additionally, vigorous PA correlated with %BF (r = −0.2), MM (r = 0.3), MHG (r = 0.3), and 6MWD (r = 0.3) and total PA correlated with MM (r = 0.2), MHG (r =0.2), and 6MWD (r = 0.3). The IPAQ association with the circulatory measures demonstrates PA importance for controlling BP and adds clinical value to the IPAQ. Additionally, the IPAQ is reliable, can discriminate between populations, and reasonably valid against health-related fitness.
Spatial pyramids and two-layer stacking SVM classifiers for image categorization: A comparative study

Recent research in image recognition has shown that combining multiple descriptors is a very useful way to improve classification performance. Furthermore, the use of spatial pyramids that compute descriptors at multiple spatial resolution levels generally increases the discriminative power of the descriptors. In this paper we focus on combination methods that combine multiple descriptors at multiple spatial resolution levels. A possible problem of the naive solution to create one large input vector for a machine learning classifier such as a support vector machine, is that the input vector becomes of very large dimensionality, which can increase problems of overfitting and hinder generalization performance. Therefore we propose the use of stacking support vector machines where at the first layer each support vector machine receives the input constructed by each single descriptor and is trained to compute the right output class. A second layer support vector machine is then used to combine the class probabilities of all trained first layer support vector models to learn the right output class given these reduced input vectors. We have performed experiments on 20 classes from the Caltech object database with 10 different single descriptors at 3 different resolutions. The results show that our 2-layer stacking approach outperforms the naive approach that combines all descriptors directly in a very large single input vector.
Individual spirit at work and its relationship with employee work attitudes and organisational outcomes:An empirical examination in corporate Thailand

The purpose of this thesis is to conduct empirical research in corporate Thailand in order to (1) validate the Spirit at Work Scale (2) investigate the relationships between individual spirit at work and three employee work attitudinal variables (job satisfaction, organisational identification and psychological well-being) and three organisational outcomes (in-role performance, organisational citizenship behaviours (OCB), and turnover intentions) (3) further examine causal relations among these organisational behaviour variables with a longitudinal design (4) examine three employee work attitudes as mediator variables between individual spirit at work and three organisational outcomes and (5) explore the potential antecedents of organisational conditions that foster employee experienced individual spirit at work. The two pilot studies with 155 UK and 175, 715 Thai samples were conducted for validation testing of the main measure used in this study: Spirit at Work Scale (Kinjerski & Skrypnek, 2006a). The results of the two studies including discriminant validity analyses strongly provided supportive evidence that Spirit at Work Scale (SAWS) is a sound psychometric measure and also a distinct construct from the three work attitude constructs. The final model of SAWS contains a total of twelve items; a three factor structure (meaning in work, sense of community, and spiritual connection) in which the sub-factors loaded on higher order factors and also had very acceptable reliability. In line with these results it was decided to use the second-order of SAWS model for Thai samples in the main study and subsequent analysis. The 715 completed questionnaires were received from the first wave of data collection during July - August 2008 and the second wave was conducted again within the same organisations and 501 completed questionnaires were received during March - April 2009. Data were obtained through 49 organisations which were from three types of organisations within Thailand: public organisations, for-profit organisations, and notfor-profit organisations. Confirmatory factor analysis of all measures used in the study and hypothesised model were tested with structural equation modelling techniques. The results were greatly supportive for the direct structural model and partially supportive for the fully mediated model. Moreover, there were different findings across self report and supervisor rating on performance and OCB models. Additionally, the antecedent conditions that fostered employees experienced individual spirit at work and the implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.
Metabolically healthy obesity and cardiovascular events: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Aims Previous studies have provided inconsistent results about the cardiovascular risks for participants with metabolically healthy obesity (MHO). These uncertainties might partly reflect the lack of a uniform definition of MHO. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine whether there is a suitable approach that identifies obese participants who are not at an increased risk of cardiovascular events compared with healthy normal-weight participants. Methods and results Twenty-two prospective studies were eligible for the meta-analysis. Using random-effect models, pooled relative risks (RRs) were calculated for the combined effects of obesity with the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and any of these metabolic factors. Participants with MHO defined by the absence of metabolic syndrome were at increased risk for cardiovascular events compared with healthy normal-weight participants (pooled RR 1.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20–1.70), but had lower risks than unhealthy normal-weight (RR 2.07, 95% CI 1.62–2.65) and obese (RR 2.31, 95% CI 1.99–2.69) participants. The risk associated with participants who had MHO was particularly high over the long term. Similar risk estimates were observed when MHO was defined by other approaches. Conclusions None of the approaches clearly identified an obese subgroup not at increased risk of cardiovascular events compared with normal-weight healthy participants. A benign obese phenotype might be defined by strict definitions, but insufficient studies exist to support this. More research is needed to better define MHO.
Blast-induced traumatic brain injury of goats in confined space

Abstract Objective: To study blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI) characteristics in confined space. Methods: The goats were placed at the column-like buildings with trinitrotoluene (TNT) as the source of the blast wave. The pressure was recorded at 2–8 m from the explosion center. The systemic physiology, electroencephalogram (EEG), serum level of S-100beta, and neuron specific enolase (NSE) were determined pre and post the exposure. Neuroanatomy and neuropathology were observed 4 hours after the exposure. Results: The blast waveform was composed of two peaks from the incident and reflection wave with a range of pressure–duration from 555/913 kPa–0·663 milliseconds at 2 m to 45/71 kPa–2·7/2·367 milliseconds at 8 m. At 2 m, the goats experienced brain depression while the heart rate and respiratory rate concomitantly increased with bloody foam fluid emission from the nose and the mouth. Of the goats, 88·89% were burned. The distinctive gross neuroanatomical changes were congestive expansion of surface vessels on the hemisphere cerebellum and brainstem along with subarachnoid hemorrhage on the frontal lobe, mesencephalon, and brainstem. Subarachnoid hemorrhage, enlarged perivascular space, vascular dilatation and congestion, and parenchymal hemorrhagic could be easily observed microscopically. High amplitude and low frequency of waveforms appeared in the EEG. The serum concentration of S-100beta and NSE were elevated. Although these pathophysiological changes diminished with increasing distance from the explosive center, these changes existed for the 8 m subjects. Conclusions: Blast-induced traumatic brain injury can be induced by a complex blast wave with a pressure and duration of 45/71 kPa and 2·7/2·367 milliseconds. Its severity is related to the features and waveforms of the blast.
Impact of nitrogen (N/sub 14/) implantation into polysilicon gate on high-performance dual-gate CMOS transistors

The effect of nitrogen (N/sub 14/)implant into dual-doped polysilicon gates was investigated. The electrical characteristics of sub-0.25-/spl mu/m dual-gate transistors (both p- and n-channel), MOS capacitor quasi-static C-V curve, SIMS profile, poly-Si gate R/sub s/, and oxide Q/sub bd/ were compared at different nitrogen dose levels. A nitrogen dose of 5/spl times/10/sup 15/ cm/sup -2/ is the optimum choice at an implant energy of 40 KeV in terms of the overall performance of both p- and n-MOSFETs and the oxide Q/sub bd/. The suppression of boron penetration is confirmed by the SIMS profiles to be attributed to the retardation effect in bulk polysilicon with the presence of nitrogen. High nitrogen dose (1/spl times/10/sup 16/ cm/sup -2/) results in poly depletion and increase of sheet resistance in both unsilicided and silicided p/sup +/ poly, degrading the transistor performance. Under optimum design, nitrogen implantation into poly-Si gate is effective in suppressing boron penetration without degrading performance of either p- or n-channel transistors.
The quality of life of patients suffering from schizophrenia--a comparison with healthy controls.

BACKGROUND In the past, the first goal of schizophrenia treatment was to reduce psychotic symptoms, mainly positive symptoms. Recently, as a result of an emphasis on patient needs, the concept of quality of life (QoL) has been brought into the treatment. The goal has therefore changed from the alleviation of symptoms to improvement of the patient's satisfaction with social activities. Self-evaluations by people with schizophrenia were previously thought to lack reliability because of the presence of psychopathological symptoms and poor awareness of the disease. Recently the importance of evaluating the satisfaction of patients themselves, however, has been recognized in schizophrenia. Studies on this field showed us, that QoL data from patients with chronic mental illness were reliable and concluded that subjective QoL evaluation was applicable to such patients. AIMS The purpose of the present study was to compare the QoL in patients suffering from schizophrenia in clinical remission with healthy controls and examine the extent of the effects of subjective cognitive functioning on QoL in these patients. METHODS Data were obtained using the quality of life questionnaire (Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction--Q-LES-Q), and subjective questionnaire for cognitive dysfunction (Cognitive Failures Questionnaire--CFQ) for 40 schizophrenia patients in clinical remission and 40 healthy controls. RESULTS Cognitive function correlates negatively with subjective QoL in patients with schizophrenia.
Long-range BOTDA sensing using optical pulse coding and single source bi-directional distributed Raman amplification

In this paper we present a Brillouin optical-time domain analysis (BOTDA) sensor combining optimized optical pulse coding with return-to-zero (RZ) modulation format and first-order bi-directional Raman amplification, using a single, shared, high relative-intensity-noise (RIN) pump source. We show that coding provides great benefits in sensing performance, even when employing noisy high-RIN Raman fiber-lasers degrading single-pulse BOTDA-schemes. Combining pulse coding with the use of a single high-power source for Raman amplification allows us to achieve distributed sensing over 120 km SMF, achieving 2.3 m spatial resolution with 52µε/2.6°C strain/temperature resolutions.
Holocene climate instability during the termination of the African Humid Period

The termination of the Holocene African Humid Period (∼9 to ∼6 kyr BP) is simulated with a three‐dimensional global coupled climate model that resolves synoptic variability associated with weather patterns. In the simulation, the potential for “green” and “desert” Sahara states becomes equal between 7.5 and 5.5 thousand years ago, causing the climate system to fluctuate between these states at decadal‐to‐centennial time‐scales. This model result is supported by paleoevidence from the Western Sahara region, showing similar paleohydrological fluctuations around that time. For the present‐day, only the desert Sahara state is stable in the model.
Evasion from NK Cell Immunity by MHC Class I Chain-Related Molecules Expressing Colon Adenocarcinoma 1

Evasion of host immune responses is well documented for viruses and may also occur during tumor immunosurveillance. The mechanisms involve alterations in MHC class I expression, Ag processing and presentation, chemokine and cytokine production, and lymphocyte receptor expression. Epithelial tumors overexpress MHC class I chain-related (MIC) molecules, which are ligands for the activating receptor NKG2D on NK and T cells. We report that NK cells from patients with colorectal cancer lack expression of activating NKG2D and chemokine CXCR1 receptors, both of which are internalized. Serum levels of soluble MIC (sMIC) are elevated and are responsible for down-modulation of NKG2D and CXCR1. In contrast, high serum levels of CXC ligands, IL-8, and epithelial-neutrophil-activating peptide (ENA-78) do not down-modulate CXCR1. In vitro, internalization of NKG2D and CXCR1 occurs within 4 and 24 h, respectively, of incubating normal NK cells with sMIC-containing serum. Furthermore, natural cytotoxicity receptor NKp44 and chemokine receptor CCR7 are also down-modulated in IL-2-activated NK cells cocultured in MIC-containing serum—an effect secondary to the down-modulation of NKG2D and not directly caused by physical association with sMIC. The patients’ NK cells up-regulate expression of NKG2D, NKp44, CXCR1, and CCR7 when cultured in normal serum or anti-MIC Ab-treated autologous serum. NKG2D+ but not NKG2D− NK cells are tumoricidal in vitro, and in vivo they selectively traffic to the xenografted carcinoma, form immunological synapse with tumor cells, and significantly retard tumor growth in the SCID mice. These results suggest that circulating sMIC in the cancer patients deactivates NK immunity by down-modulating important activating and chemokine receptors.