Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone

Short Description of Instrument: The Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT) is a battery of measures developed by Margie Lachman, PhD of Brandeis University. The battery, which takes about 20 minutes to administer, includes measures of episodic memory, working memory, reasoning, executive functions, and speed of information processing. The BTACT was collected as a part of the MIDUS-II (Mid-Life in the United States) study, yielding a normative sample of 7,000 community dwellers aged 32-84.
Facial Visualizations of Women's Voices Suggest a Cross-Modality Preference for Femininity

Women with higher-pitched voices and more feminine facial features are commonly judged as being more attractive than are women with lower-pitched voices and less feminine faces, possibly because both features are affected by (age-related) variations in endocrine status. These results are primarily derived from investigations of perceptions of variations in single-modality stimuli (i.e., faces or voices) in samples of young adult women. In the present study we sought to test whether male and female perceptions of women's voices affect visual representations of facial femininity. Eighty men and women judged voice recordings of 10 young girls (11–15 years), 10 adult women (19–28 years) and 10 peri-/post-menopausal women (50–64 years) on age, attractiveness, and femininity. Another 80 men and women were asked to indicate the face they think each voice corresponded to using a video that gradually changed from a masculine looking male face into a feminine looking female face. Both male and female participants perceived voices of young girls and adult women to be significantly younger, more attractive and feminine than those of peri-/post-menopausal women. Hearing young girls' and adult women's voices resulted in both men and women selecting faces that differed markedly in apparent femininity from those associated with peri-/post-menopausal women's voices. Voices of young girls had the strongest effect on visualizations of facial femininity. Our results suggest a cross-modal preference for women's vocal and facial femininity, which depends on female age and is independent of the perceiver's sex.
X-ray Photoelectron-spectroscopy and Biochemical-analysis of the Surface of Lactobacillus-helveticus Atcc-12046

SUMMARY: The cell wall of Lactobacillus helveticus ATCC 12046 was investigated: intact cells were compared to cells stripped of their surface layer (S-layer) by treatment with LiCI. The protein profile and the amino acid composition of isolated cell walls were compared with those of LiCI-treated walls. The S-layer-forming-protein was tested for the presence of glycosidic residues. Finally, the overall elemental composition of the surface of intact cells, LiCI-treated cells and isolated S-layer-forming-protein was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The data collected by the ensemble of methods employed indicate that the surface of intact cells consists mainly of proteins, with some polysaccharides and teichoic or lipoteichoic acids. The exposed surface of LiCI-treated bacteria is rich in peptidoglycan, teichoic acids (or lipoteichoic acids) and polysaccharide. The extracted material is practically pure protein with traces of some glycosidic residues.
BRIEF = Behavior rating inventory of executive function : inventaire d'évaluation comportementale des fonctions exécutives

La BRIEF (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function) est un questionnaire, pour les parents et les enseignants d'enfants d'âge scolaire, qui permet aux professionnels d'evaluer les comportements en lien avec les fonctions executives dans le milieu familial et le milieu scolaire. Utile lors d'evaluations cliniques ou neuropsychologiques, ce test s'adresse aux enfants de 5 a 18 ans, dont ceux presentant des troubles de l'apprentissage, des deficits attentionnels, un traumatisme crânio-encephalique (TCE), des troubles envahissants du developpement (TED), une depression ainsi que d'autres pathologies developpementales, neurologiques ou psychiatriques. Deux versions distinctes peuvent etre utilisees, l'une a destination des parents, l'autre a destination des enseignants. Chaque echelle contient 86 items repartis en huit echelles cliniques, fondees theoriquement et empiriquement, et qui mesurent differents aspects du fonctionnement executif (inhibition, flexibilite, controle emotionnel, initiation, memoire de travail, planification/organisation, organisation du materiel et controle). Le professionnel, par l'analyse du profil, peut ainsi reperer des dysfonctionnements executifs ayant un impact dans la vie quotidienne. Les trois premieres echelles permettent par ailleurs de calculer un indice de regulation comportementale (IRC), les cinq autres constituant l'indice de metacognition (IM). Un score composite executif global (CEG) vient completer les indices comportementaux pouvant etre utiles au psychologue. Professionnels concernes : psychologues, neuropsychologues, psychiatres, medecins, . Public cible : enfants de 5 a 18 ans. Temps de passation : 10 a 15 minutes
An Empirical Comparison of Alternative Models of the Short-Term Interest Rate

The authors estimate and compare a variety of continuous-time models of the short-term riskless rate using the Generalized Method of Moments. The authors find that the most successful models in capturing the dynamics of the short-term interest rate are those that allow the volatility of interest rate changes to be highly sensitive to the level of the riskless rate. A number of well-known models perform poorly in the comparisons because of their implicit restrictions on term structure volatility. They show that these results have important implications for the use of different term structure models in valuing interest rate contingent claims and in hedging interest rate risk. Coauthors are Andrew Karolyi, Francis A. Longstaff, and Anthony B. Sanders. Copyright 1992 by American Finance Association.
Developing a measure for student perspectives on institutional effectiveness in higher education

Orientation: This study outlines institutional effectiveness (IE) in higher education (HE) and interrogates its underlying elements from a student perspective. Following a review of contemporary perspectives on student educational outcomes, the study identifies and explores the importance of four pertinent indicators of IE in the context of a South African (SA) higher education institution (HEI). Research purpose: This study aimed to explore the structural validity and reliability of the Student Educational Outcomes Effectiveness Questionnaire (SEEQ), administered to students at an SA HEI, collecting data on their perceptions of IE. Motivation for the study: Institutional effectiveness is a contested concept in HE and several approaches to define it, using various sets of underpinning elements, can be found. The conceptualisation and measuring of IE within the SA HE sector is a hugely neglected area of research. This study therefore attempted to delineate and to gauge IE, utilising the perceptions and preferences of students at an SA HEI. Research design, approach and method: Data for this study were collected using a self-selection sample ( N = 807) of students from four schools at the selected HEI. Reliability and exploratory factor analyses were performed to explore the internal consistency and structural validity of the above-mentioned SEEQ. Main findings: The reliability of SEEQ is deemed to be acceptable and the validity of the four theoretical constructs (or dimensions) hypothesised in respect of IE from a student perspective were supported. Practical/managerial implications: Preliminary empirical evidence suggests that SEEQ could be employed in a cautious manner by HEIs (especially in SA), with a view to gauge IE, as well as to promoting the scholarship and management of institutional performance and student success. Contribution or value-add: This article presents a multidimensional approach to the depiction and measurement of IE from a student perspective. It makes a handy initial contribution to a grossly under-researched phenomenon in the SA HE sector.
Adipose-Derived Stem Cells: Characterization and Current Application in Orthopaedic Tissue Repair

Orthopaedic tissues, such as bone, cartilage, intervertebral disc and tendon, contain cells that are difficult to culture and stimulate in vitro for repair of damaged tissue. Stem cells have the ability to self-renew and differentiate into many tissue types. Recent progress in stem cell research has led to an enthusiastic effort to utilize stem cells for orthopaedic tissue regeneration. Due to ease of harvest and abundance, adipose-derived mesenchymal cells (ASC) are an attractive, readily available adult stem cell that has become increasingly popular for use in many stem cell applications. Recent progress has been made in characterizing ASC and looking mechanistically at gene expression and cellular pathways involved in differentiation. This review focuses on (i) the characterization of ASC through expression of appropriate surface markers; (ii) modulation of in vitro differentiation of ASC through different scaffolds, growth factors, and media; and (iii) the use of ASC in orthopaedic tissue repair. Strategies for repair involve the use of differentiated or undifferentiated, fresh or passaged ASC, in conjunction with appropriate choice of media, growth factors and scaffolds. Recent in vivo studies utilizing ASC are discussed giving results on defect repair and potential for clinical orthopaedic tissue regeneration.
Atractaspis aterrima Toxins: The First Insight into the Molecular Evolution of Venom in Side-Stabbers

Although snake venoms have been the subject of intense research, primarily because of their tremendous potential as a bioresource for design and development of therapeutic compounds, some specific groups of snakes, such as the genus Atractaspis, have been completely neglected. To date only limited number of toxins, such as sarafotoxins have been well characterized from this lineage. In order to investigate the molecular diversity of venom from Atractaspis aterrima—the slender burrowing asp, we utilized a high-throughput transcriptomic approach completed with an original bioinformatics analysis pipeline. Surprisingly, we found that Sarafotoxins do not constitute the major ingredient of the transcriptomic cocktail; rather a large number of previously well-characterized snake venom-components were identified. Notably, we recovered a large diversity of three-finger toxins (3FTxs), which were found to have evolved under the significant influence of positive selection. From the normalized and non-normalized transcriptome libraries, we were able to evaluate the relative abundance of the different toxin groups, uncover rare transcripts, and gain new insight into the transcriptomic machinery. In addition to previously characterized toxin families, we were able to detect numerous highly-transcribed compounds that possess all the key features of venom-components and may constitute new classes of toxins.
MR dacryocystography: comparison with dacryocystography and CT dacryocystography.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Several techniques have been used to image the nasolacrimal system, providing functional (dacryoscintigraphy) or morphologic (dacryocystography, CT dacryocystography [CTD]) information. Using gadopentetate dimeglumine-diluted solution injected into the lacrimal canaliculus or instilled into the conjunctival sac, we compared the sensitivity of MR dacryocystography (MRD) with that of CTD. METHODS Eleven healthy volunteers and 25 patients affected by primary epiphora (21 patients) or postsurgical recurrent epiphora (four patients) underwent MRD after the topical administration of contrast media or cannulation of the lacrimal canaliculus. The MR imaging findings were compared with irrigation and CTD data. All patients underwent surgical treatment (dacryocystorhinostomy), which served as a standard of reference for confirming the MRD findings. RESULTS The topical administration of contrast-enhanced saline solution and the injection of contrast-enhanced saline solution after cannulation were always well tolerated. In healthy volunteers, outflow of contrast media was always revealed by MRD. Eight (32%) of 25 patients with epiphora had stenosis proximal to the lacrimal sac revealed by MRD, whereas 17 (68%) of 25 showed a dilated lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal duct stenosis, as confirmed by surgical findings. The findings of MRD after the topical administration of contrast medium and MRD after cannulation of the lacrimal canaliculus were comparable with irrigation or CTD data for all patients except one. CONCLUSION In patients with epiphora, MR imaging performed after the topical administration of diluted contrast material can reveal stenosis of the lacrimal apparatus and can be added to the standard orbital imaging protocol when lacrimal system involvement is suspected.
Parkinsonian and Cerebellar Phenotypes of Probable MSA: An Insight in to Prognostic Factors Based on Autonomic Functions

Background: Multiple system atrophy is an adult-onset, sporadic, neurodegenerative disorder with parkinsonian (MSA-P) and cerebellar (MSA-C) subtypes. Objective: We aimed to elucidate differences in prognostic factors between MSA subtypes. Methods: The study population comprised 45 probable MSA patients (MSA-P = 22; MSA-C = 23) and 45 healthy controls. Clinical parameters, heart rate variability (HRV), and conventional cardiac autonomic function testing (AFT) were the study tools. Results: Mean age of onset of MSA was 54.7 ± 9 years for MSA-P and 51.9 ± 7 years for MSA-C subgroups. Median disease duration was 2 years in both subgroups. A greater percentage of MSA-P patients (45.5%) had beneficial response to levodopa (P < 0.01). Patients in both subgroups reported significant autonomic disturbances, such as postural symptoms, bladder disturbances, and erectile dysfunction. MSA-P patients had a trend for a greater number of falls and bladder disturbances than MSA-C patients (P = 0.05). Cardiac AFT showed that in MSA-P, 22.2% had definitive and 77.7% had severe autonomic dysfunction, whereas in MSA-C, 9.5% had early, 28.5% had definitive, and 57.1% had severe autonomic dysfunction. HRV analysis showed significant reduction in overall HRV, sympathetic activity, and parasympathetic activity in MSA patients as compared with controls (P < 0.0001). The sympathetic limb was more severely affected in MSA-P patients as compared with MSA-C patients (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Autonomic dysfunction and postural instability, negative prognostic markers, were relatively more common in the MSA-P than in the MSA-C patients. This implies that MSA-P patients have poorer prognosis as compared with MSA-C. Dopaminergic medications can be beneficial in MSA-P patients.
The impact of human resource practices on job satisfaction and intention to stay in emerging economies: Model development and empirical investigation among high caliber governmental employees in Qatar

Article history: Received: October 7, 2018 Received in revised format: November 29, 2018 Accepted: December 14, 2018 Available online: December 14, 2018 High rates in turnover of skilled employees can turn to be a very significant concern in organizations world-wide. Turnover affects productivity, product or service quality and of course profitability. As Human Resources (HR) activities can be considered as a primary source of sustainable competitive advantage in organisations, it would also play a major role in employees’ intention to stay or to leave. This paper examines the influence of different human resource practices on employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment and eventually on job turnover with a focus on the governmental sector in the State of Qatar. In order to develop such investigation, a model was suggested and an online questionnaire was developed and distributed. Hypotheses were tested on a sample of more than 250 highly ranked employees in Qatar. Statistical correlations were conducted to examine the relationships among variables under investigation. The results show that positive relationships were observed between the HR practices under investigation and job satisfaction and organizational commitment which indicate intention to stay. © 2019 by the authors; licensee Growing Science, Canada
An Application of a Particle Filter to Bayesian Multiple Sound Source Tracking with Audio and Video Information Fusion

Abstract – A particle filter is applied to the problem of detecting and tracking multiple sound sources by Bayesian inference using combined audio and video information. The problem is formulated within a general framework of Bayesian hidden variable sequence estimation by fusing observed information. The particle filter is then introduced as an approximation of Bayesian inference. Experiments using real-world data demonstrate that the proposed method works well in ordinary environments such as a meeting room. The computational cost of estimation is reduced significantly compared to exact Bayesian inference, while maintaining the quality of estimation.
The Neural Correlates of the Interaction between Semantic and Phonological Processing for Chinese Character Reading

Visual word recognition involves mappings among orthographic, phonological, and semantic codes. In alphabetic languages, it is hard to disentangle the effects of these codes, because orthographically well-formed words are typically pronounceable, confounding orthographic and phonological processes, and orthographic cues to meaning are rare, and where they occur are morphological, confounding orthographic and semantic processes. In Chinese character recognition, it is possible to explore orthography to phonology (O-P) and orthography to semantics (O-S) processes independently by taking advantage of the distinct phonetic and semantic components in Chinese phonograms. We analyzed data from an fMRI experiment using lexical decision for Chinese characters to explore the sensitivity of areas associated with character recognition to orthographic, phonological, and semantic processing. First, a correlation approach was used to identify regions associated with reaction time, frequency, consistency and visual complexity. Then, these ROIs were examined for their responses to stimuli with different types of information available. These results revealed two neural pathways, one for O-S processing relying on left middle temporal gyrus and angular gyrus, and the other for O-P processing relying on inferior frontal gyrus and insula. The two neural routes form a shared neural network both for real and pseudo-characters, and their cooperative division of labor reflects the neural basis for processing different types of characters. Results are broadly consistent with findings from alphabetic languages, as predicted by reading models that assume the same general architecture for logographic and alphabetic scripts.
The Neural Correlates of Repeated Memory Encoding and Content Reinstatement

The present thesis reports findings from experiments investigating the neural correlates of subsequent source memory performance, repetition and reinstatement of item and source information. Electrophysiological and haemodynamic response data were obtained in two experimental paradigms further investigating effects of encoding modality and encoding context. The primary aim was to identify how neural pattern similarity was influenced by changes to perceptual stimulus features or changes to encoding task instructions, with a particular focus on the role of pattern reactivation. The first set of experiments (Chapters 3 & 4) examined the effects of encoding modality on source memory processes and repetition during study and test phases. Representational similarity analysis of the fMRI data revealed modality independent and modality-dependent source memory effects, suggesting that reactivation of different stimulus features predicted source memory performance when stimuli are repeatedly presented. Overall, the results provide evidence for pattern reactivation to benefit source memory formation and retrieval. The second set of experiments (Chapters 5 & 6) investigated the effects of encoding items repeatedly in the same context or across multiple contexts. Pattern reactivation in the same task condition was shown to enhance source memory for the encoding context. However, lower levels of reactivation were associated with successful source memory performance when stimuli were associated with multiple contexts. Together with the EEG data, the results provide evidence for distinct mechanisms to underlie successful context encoding when items were either repeatedly encoded in the same context or in different contexts. Moreover, results from the EEG analyses suggested that repetition effects predict subsequent source memory performance when they occur in a similar time window as the late parietal component, which is commonly related to recollection. Taken together, the present research advances our understanding of repeated encoding of item and source memory information and leads to novel directions for future research.
Silymarin Prevents Restraint Stress-Induced Acute Liver Injury by Ameliorating Oxidative Stress and Reducing Inflammatory Response

Silymarin is a flavonoid extracted from the milk thistle Silybum marianum. It has been reported to prevent liver injuries induced by various chemicals or toxins. Our recent study suggested that silymarin induces hepatic synthesis of glutathione by increasing cysteine availability, which may consequently contribute to increased antioxidant capacity of the liver. In the present study, we investigated the effects of silymarin on acute liver injury induced by restraint stress. Silymarin (100 mg/kg) was orally administered to BALB/c mice every 12 h (3 times in total). After the last dose, mice were subjected to restraint stress for 6 h, and serum levels of aspartate and alanine aminotransferases, and hepatic levels of lipid peroxidation were determined. Hepatic levels of sulfur-containing metabolites such as methionine, S-adenosylmethionine, cysteine, and glutathione were also measured. The level of pro-inflammatory mediators in both liver and serum was determined. To study the mechanism of the effects of silymarin, we assessed Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation and apoptotic signaling. Restraint stress induced severe oxidative stress and increased mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory mediators; both effects of restraint stress were significantly inhibited by silymarin. Moreover, administration of silymarin significantly prevented acute liver injury induced by restraint stress by blocking JNK activation and subsequently apoptotic signaling. In conclusion, these results suggest that the inhibition of restraint stress–induced liver injury by silymarin is due at least in part to its anti-oxidant activity and its ability to suppress the inflammatory response.
Strategic citizenship: negotiating membership in the age of dual nationality

ABSTRACT This introductory article defines the concept of strategic citizenship which stands at the focus of the special issue. This concept refers to the rise of a strategic-instrumental approach towards access to national citizenship, which is reflected in new acquisition strategies, practical uses and understandings. The article provides a historical account of the growing acceptance of dual citizenship, which has been crucial to this shift in the meaning of citizenship. We highlight the need to explore the consequences of strategic citizenship as they manifest in the everyday lives of individuals. We present three arguments that are derived from the articles in this special issue: a) a growing number of persons in non-Western countries are strategically acquiring a second citizenship for strategic reasons; b) this trend is associated with the rise of instrumental attitudes towards nationality; c) much of the value of citizenship has to do with rights to global mobility. Finally, this introduction summarizes the contributions of the nine articles in the special issue.