Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Personality Factors Predicting Smartphone Addiction Predisposition: Behavioral Inhibition and Activation Systems, Impulsivity, and Self-Control

The purpose of this study was to identify personality factor-associated predictors of smartphone addiction predisposition (SAP). Participants were 2,573 men and 2,281 women (n = 4,854) aged 20–49 years (Mean ± SD: 33.47 ± 7.52); participants completed the following questionnaires: the Korean Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale (K-SAPS) for adults, the Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System questionnaire (BIS/BAS), the Dickman Dysfunctional Impulsivity Instrument (DDII), and the Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS). In addition, participants reported their demographic information and smartphone usage pattern (weekday or weekend average usage hours and main use). We analyzed the data in three steps: (1) identifying predictors with logistic regression, (2) deriving causal relationships between SAP and its predictors using a Bayesian belief network (BN), and (3) computing optimal cut-off points for the identified predictors using the Youden index. Identified predictors of SAP were as follows: gender (female), weekend average usage hours, and scores on BAS-Drive, BAS-Reward Responsiveness, DDII, and BSCS. Female gender and scores on BAS-Drive and BSCS directly increased SAP. BAS-Reward Responsiveness and DDII indirectly increased SAP. We found that SAP was defined with maximal sensitivity as follows: weekend average usage hours > 4.45, BAS-Drive > 10.0, BAS-Reward Responsiveness > 13.8, DDII > 4.5, and BSCS > 37.4. This study raises the possibility that personality factors contribute to SAP. And, we calculated cut-off points for key predictors. These findings may assist clinicians screening for SAP using cut-off points, and further the understanding of SA risk factors.
Pancreatitis: A Potential Complication of Liraglutide?

OBJECTIVE: To review the evidence surrounding a potential association between liraglutide and pancreatitis. DATA SOURCES: A literature search was conducted in MEDLINE (1948-July 12, 2012) and EMBASE (1974-week 27, 2012) using the search terms pancreatitis, liraglutide, and glucagon-like peptide 1/adverse effects. Reference citations from identified publications were reviewed. The manufacturer was contacted and regulatory documents from the Food and Drug Administration website were reviewed for unpublished data related to cases of pancreatitis associated with liraglutide use. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: All identified sources that were published in English were considered for inclusion. DATA SYNTHESIS: Eleven cases of pancreatitis have been reported in patients taking liraglutide. Seven were from the LEAD (Liraglutide Effect and Action in Diabetes) studies, 1 was reported in the extension of a clinical trial, and 1 was in an unpublished obesity trial. Two were published postmarketing case reports. Nine of the cases reported were diagnosed as acute pancreatitis, while 2 were classified as chronic pancreatitis. The mean age of the patients was 57.5 years and mean body mass index was 33.92 kg/m2. Six of the 11 cases occurred in male patients. Nine of the patients were white and 1 was African American. In 7 of the cases, onset occurred at liraglutide doses at or above 1.8 mg daily. Common comorbidities included history of pancreatitis, cholelithiasis, and diabetes. One case was fatal. CONCLUSIONS: Pancreatitis is a potential complication with liraglutide therapy. Liraglutide should be used cautiously in patients at risk of pancreatitis (eg, alcohol abuse, history of pancreatitis, cholelithiasis).
Estimating Causality among Cortical Areas of the Human Brain : A Study on the Application of Directed Transfer Function and Structural Equation Modeling to High Resolution EEG

The concept of brain connectivity plays a central role in the neuroscience and different methodologies for the estimation of such connectivity have been adopted in literature. This paper presents advanced methods for the estimation of cortical connectivity by applying Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Directed Transfer Function (DTF) on the cortical signals estimated from high resolution EEG recordings. Before the application of SEM and DTF methodology to the cortical waveforms estimated from high resolution EEG data in human, we performed a simulation study, in which different main factors (signal to noise ratio, SNR, and simulated cortical activity duration, LENGTH) were systematically manipulated in the generation of test signals, and the errors in the estimated connectivity were evaluated by the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The statistical analysis returned that during simulations, both SEM and DTF estimators were able to correctly estimate the imposed connectivity patterns under reasonable operative conditions, i.e. when data exhibit a SNR of at least 3 and a LENGTH of at least 75 seconds of non-consecutive EEG recordings at 64 Hz of sampling rate. Determination of the priors in the resolution of the linear inverse problem was performed with the use of information from the hemodynamic responses of the cortical areas as revealed by block-designed fMRI. These methods were evaluated in human experimental EEG and fMRI data recorded in separate sessions. K eywords: Structural Equation Modeling, Directed Transfer Function, High resolution EEG, fMRI, connectivity.
Forecasting at Scale

ABSTRACT Forecasting is a common data science task that helps organizations with capacity planning, goal setting, and anomaly detection. Despite its importance, there are serious challenges associated with producing reliable and high-quality forecasts—especially when there are a variety of time series and analysts with expertise in time series modeling are relatively rare. To address these challenges, we describe a practical approach to forecasting “at scale” that combines configurable models with analyst-in-the-loop performance analysis. We propose a modular regression model with interpretable parameters that can be intuitively adjusted by analysts with domain knowledge about the time series. We describe performance analyses to compare and evaluate forecasting procedures, and automatically flag forecasts for manual review and adjustment. Tools that help analysts to use their expertise most effectively enable reliable, practical forecasting of business time series.
Heat resistance and alpha-toxigenicity of Clostridium perfringens strains in normal intestines of Japanese.

Heat-resistant strains of Clostridium perfringens were isolated from normal feces samples of Japanese people more frequently than from European people. However, the predominant number of the C. perfringens cells in the human intestines were sensitive to the heat at 100 C for 10 min. This proved to be true of the feces samples which were demonstrated to carry the organism resistant to 100 C for 60 min. Further studies indicated that the more the number of the organism in the intestines, the higher was the recovery ratio of the heat-resistant strains. Concomitant estimation for α-toxigenicity of those strains isolated from unheated feces samples revealed that the α-toxigenicity ranged mainly between 0.05 and 0.9 α-antitoxin equivalents.
Mycoplasma arthritidis-induced ocular inflammatory disease

Mycoplasma arthritidis was demonstrated to incite experimental conjunctivitis and uveitis in Swiss Webster mice which have a known susceptibility to the arthritis customarily associated with infection by this mycoplasma. The initial symptom of ocular involvement was conjunctivitis, which appeared as early as 1 day after intravenous injection with viable culture concentrates of M. arthritidis. By day 2, histological analysis showed intraocular localized inflammatory reactions that were confined primarily to the anterior portion of the uvea and produced results which were compatible with those seen in iridocyclitis. Serological assays of the titer and the class of antibodies involved in the early humoral immune response to infection confirmed the predominance of immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations over IgM concentrations that was described by others (Cole et al., Infect. Immun. 4:431-440, 1971) and revealed significant titers of the IgG2a and IgG2b subclasses of complement-fixing antibodies. The rapid onset of acute conjunctivitis, together with the early appearance of immunoglobulins of the IgG class, suggests that the M. arthritidis-infected Swiss Webster mice may have experienced an anamnestic response to the mycoplasma antigens. These observations introduce a new animal model for the study of mycoplasma-induced experimental uveitis and conjunctivitis, which are demonstrated here to accompany a disseminated systemic disease process.
Signaling Via Stock Splits: Evidence from Short Interest

We test the split signaling hypothesis by studying sophisticated investors’ reaction to stock split announcements. Return-based tests of signaling used in earlier studies produce conflicting results and have been recently criticized as unreliable. We bypass this criticism by focusing on longterm post-split behavior of short sellers who are generally recognized as sophisticated investors. Upon controlling for alternative hypotheses and conventional short selling determinants, we show that short interest permanently declines in reaction to split announcements. Furthermore, consistent with signaling, the degree of the decline is positively related to signal strength and to the splitter’s level of information asymmetry. Overall, our results are consistent with the view that firms use stock splits to relay positive value-relevant signals.
On permutation polynomials over finite fields

A polynomial f over a finite field F is called a permutat,on poIFnomial if the mapping F F defined by f is one-to-one. In this paper we consider the problem of characterizing permutation polynomials; that is, we seek conditions on the coefficients of a polynomial which are necessary and sufficient for it to represent a permutation. We also give some results bearing on a conjecture of Carlitz which says essentially that for any even integer m, the cardinality of finite fields admitting permutation polynomials of degree m is bounded.
Focal Cryotherapy for Localized Prostate Cancer.

OBJECTIVE To systematically review the oncological and functional outcomes of contemporary primary prostate focal cryotherapy for localized prostate cancer in the context of current developments in prostate focal therapy. METHODS We performed a systematic search of the Pubmed, Cochrane and Embase databases to identify studies where primary prostate focal cryotherapy was performed to treat prostate cancer. These included reports on focal/ lesion/ sector ablation, hemi-ablation and partial prostate ablation. We excluded salvage focal therapy studies. Where multiple reports were published over time from a single cohort, the latest one was used. RESULTS Our search yielded 290 publications, including 17 primary reports on eight single-center cohort studies and one multi-center registry report. Of 1,595 men identified, mean age was 60.5-69.5 years and mean PSA 5.1-7.8 ng/ml. When stratified by D'Amico risk criteria, 52% of the aggregate total number of men were low-risk, 38% intermediate-risk and 10% high-risk. Besides 12-core TRUS biopsy, 3 cohorts reported using TTMB and one included mpMRI to select men for focal treatment. Median follow-up ranged from 13-63 months. BPFS ranged from 71-98%. The overall post-treatment positive biopsy rate was 8-25%. Among 5 cohorts with a mandatory 6-12 month posttreatment biopsy, 216 of 272 men (79%) did undergo biopsy, with 47 positive (21.8%). Of these, 15 were infield, 26 outfield, 2 bilateral and 4 undeclared. Ten upgraded to Gleason≥7. Overall, two men had metastatic disease and none died of prostate cancer. Post-treatment continence rates were 96-100% and rates of erectile dysfunction ranged from 0-42%. The rate of post-treatment urinary retention ranged from 0-15%. The rate of recto-urethral fistula was 0-0.1%. CONCLUSION Focal cryotherapy for localized prostate cancer is a safe and provides good preservation of sexual and urinary function. Accurate cancer localization and risk stratification is key to patient selection. In highly selected patients, focal therapy has good short to medium term oncological efficacy.
Haemodialysis is associated with a pronounced fall in myocardial perfusion.

BACKGROUND Whereas haemodialysis (HD) is lifesaving by replacement of renal function, there are data to suggest that the HD procedure itself may contribute to the high cardiac risk in dialysis patients. The HD procedure is associated with an increased risk of sudden death, and there is accumulating evidence that HD can elicit myocardial ischaemia. In this study, we evaluated the effect of HD on global and regional myocardial blood flow (MBF) and left ventricular (LV) function in non-diabetic, non-cardiac compromised patients. METHODS (13)N-NH(3) positron emission tomography (PET) was used to quantify changes in MBF, LV wall motion, cardiac output (CO), LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) and end-systolic volume (LVESV) in seven non-diabetic patients with uneventful cardiac histories. PET scans were performed before and at 30 and 220 min of HD. RESULTS In all patients global MBF fell during HD. At 30 min of HD without ultrafiltration (UF), global MBF had fallen 13.5 +/- 11.5% (P < 0.05) while CO, LVEDV and LVESV were 4.6 +/- 5.3% (NS), 5.6 +/- 4.2% (P < 0.05) and 6.9 +/- 7.2% (P < 0.05) lower, respectively. At 220 min of HD, after UF of 2.5 +/- 0.9 l, global MBF had fallen 26.6 +/- 13.9% (P < 0.05) from baseline while CO, LVEDV and LVESV were 21.0 +/- 19.7%, 31.1 +/- 12.7% and 36.4 +/- 17.5% (all P < 0.05) lower, respectively. In two patients, new LV regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMA) developed at 220 min of HD. MBF was reduced to a greater extent in regions that developed LV RWMA compared to those that did not. CONCLUSIONS Haemodialysis induced a pronounced fall in MBF. Since MBF fell already early during HD not only hypovolaemia but also acute dialysis-associated factors seem to play a role. Haemodialysis-associated reductions in MBF may contribute to the high cardiac event rate of dialysis patients.
Social interaction and psychological pathways to political engagement and extremism

Although psychology has recently witnessed a burgeoning interest in the predictors of social and political action generally, little research has considered the psychological mechanisms by which people come to choose extreme or radical forms of action. How and why do groups come to favor radical or extreme solutions (radicalization) over conventional political pathways (politicization)? Theory in both political science and psychology suggests that social interaction plays an important role, but this has never been demonstrated experimentally. Results (N=114) show that social interaction can lead to both politicized and radicalized solutions but that radicalization rests on the perception that extreme action is legitimate. The findings provide the first experimental analog of the group-based dynamics that underpin political engagement and political extremism.
Percepcyjny i kognitywny komponent teorii umysłu u dzieci z ADHD – przegląd badań

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is not only associated with executive dysfunction but also – according to the research results – with an impairment of social cognition. This paper is a review of research on social cognition in children with ADHD that focuses on two groups of abilities: the cognitive and the perceptual component of theory of mind, according to the view developed by Tager-Flusberg and Sullivan (2000). The results have shown no deficit or only a minor impairment in the cognitive component of theory of mind, at least in the studies using traditional measures of theory of mind. In contrast, the studies on the recognition of emotions in children with ADHD have shown a clear impairment in the perceptual component. In the conclusion, possible explanations for the deficits of social cognition in children with ADHD have been pointed out, including those associating them with executive dysfunction. Attention has also been drawn to the fact that the occurrence of ADHD types could be a possible factor responsible for the diversity of the research results.
Gender and Personality Differences in Response to Social Stressors in Great Tits (Parus major)

In response to stressors, animals can increase the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, resulting in elevated glucocorticoid concentrations. An increase in glucocorticoids results in an increase in heterophils and a decrease in lymphocytes, which ratio (H/L-ratio) is an indicator of stress in birds. The physiological response to a stressor can depend on individual characteristics, like dominance rank, sex and personality. Although the isolated effects of these characteristics on the response to a stressor have been well studied, little is known about the response in relation to a combination of these characteristics. In this study we investigate the relationship between social stress, dominance rank, sex and exploratory behaviour as a validated operational measure of personality in great tits (Parus major). Great tits show consistent individual differences in behaviour and physiology in response to stressors, and exploratory behaviour can be classified as fast or slow exploring. We group-housed four birds, two fast and two slow explorers, of the same sex that were previously singly housed, in an aviary and compared the H/L-ratio, lymphocyte and heterophil count before and after group housing. After experiencing the social context all birds increased their H/L-ratio and heterophil count. Females showed a stronger increase in H/L-ratio and heterophil count than males, which seemed to be related to a higher number of agonistic interactions compared to males. Dominance rank and exploration type did not affect the H/L-ratio or heterophil count. Contrary to our expectations, all birds increased their lymphocyte count. However, this increase was slower for fast than for slow explorers. Our study suggests that personality and sex related differences, but not dominance rank, are associated with changes in an individual's physiological response due to a social context.
A longitudinal study on internship effectiveness in vocational higher education

A cooperative education experience (or internship placement) is an essential component of the curricula of vocational higher education. The efficacy of internship placements has become one of the major concerns facing those who develop education curricula. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to explore the relationships among the multi-faceted predictors of intern commitment as a reflection of internship efficacy. Participants were drawn from third-year undergraduate students. A structural equation model applied to the final sample of 357 usable questionnaires demonstrated that individual goal orientation and mentoring positively affected both person-job and person-organization fit, leading to intern job satisfaction and commitment to the profession. A non-significant predictor, student learning goal orientation, is also comprehensively discussed. The findings imply that incorporating an internship (i.e., workplace learning experience) and professional mentoring into vocational higher education curricula would advance students' personal growth and future careers.
Decision Neuroscience

Investigations of decision making have historically been undertaken by different disciplines, each using different techniques and assumptions, and few unifying efforts have been made. Economists have focused on precise mathematical models of normative decision making, psychologists have examined how decisions are actually made based on cognitive constraints, and neuroscientists have concentrated on the detailed operation of neural systems in simple choices. In recent years, however, researchers in these separate fields have joined forces in an attempt to better specify the foundations of decision making. This interdisciplinary effort has begun to use decision theory to guide the search for the neural bases of reward value and predictability. Concurrently, these formal models are beginning to incorporate processes such as social reward and emotion. The combination of these diverse theoretical approaches and methodologies is already yielding significant progress in the construction of more comprehensive decision-making models.
Parkinson's disease and working capacity

The purpose of the present study was to establish how Parkinson's disease (PD) affects working capacity. Altogether, 937 (70%) of 1,343 working‐aged members of the Finnish Parkinson Association participated in a questionnaire study. The ages of the subjects were between 29 and 65 years, median 59.0 years; 508 (54%) were men. The median (quartile range) duration of PD symptoms was 7.3 (4.3–11.3) years, and the median self‐estimated severity of the disease on the Hoehn & Yahr scale was 2. Only 150 of 937 subjects (16%) were still working: 112 (12%) full‐time and 38 (4%) part‐time. Among those 343 (37%) who had retired purely because of PD at a median age of 53.4 years, the median working time was 1.7 years after established diagnosis. In part‐time work, PD patients had been able to continue for a median of 4.3 years. PD often leads to early retirement; compared with the general Finnish population of similar age, PD patients had retired on the average 6 years earlier. Young age, mild symptoms, and short duration of the disease as well as adjustments enabling easier employment were associated with the possibility to continue longer in the work force. © 2006 Movement Disorder Society
Recall of electronic gaming machine signs: A static versus a dynamic mode of presentation

Abstract This study compared differences in rates of free and cued recall for messages displayed on electronic gaming machines (EGMs) delivered in one of two display modes: static or dynamic. Rates of recall were investigated in a laboratory setting using 92 university students (75.0% female) with a mean age of 19.3 years (SD = 2.4 years). The static mode consisted of a fixed government-mandated message placed on the frame of an EGM directly next to the gaming buttons. In the dynamic mode, an identical message was presented in the form of a translucent display scrolling across the screen during play. Results showed that significantly more of the information presented in dynamic mode was recalled, and with greater accuracy, in both free recall and cued recall conditions compared with static government-mandated messages. It was concluded that the method of displaying signs influences awareness and recall of harm minimization messages.
Visually directed high‐intensity focused ultrasound for organ‐confined prostate cancer: a proposed standard for the conduct of therapy

To propose a standard for the conduct of visually directed transrectal high‐intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and to offer a formal description of the changes observed on B‐mode ultrasonography (US) during this procedure. We describe our early experience of using two different treatment methods; algorithm‐based HIFU and visually directed HIFU for the treatment of organ‐confined prostate cancer.