Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Submillimeter-resolution MR of the endolymphatic sac in healthy subjects and patients with Menière disease.

PURPOSE To evaluate the utility of submillimeter resolution MR imaging for direct depiction of functional soft-tissue components of the intraosseous endolymphatic duct and sac in healthy subjects and in patients with Menière disease. METHODS Axial MR images were acquired of 14 patients with Menière disease and 14 healthy volunteers at 1.5 T with a short-echo-time steady-state 3-D gradient-echo sequence. Seven volunteers and eight patients were also studied with a T1-weighted 3-D spoiled gradient-echo sequence. T1/T2 relaxation times were estimated from studies with multiple flip angles. RESULTS Independent of the acquisition method, intraosseous endolymphatic ducts and sacs were seen unambiguously in the ears of 20 of 21 healthy subjects but in only four of 12 asymptomatic and two of 10 symptomatic ears of patients with Menière disease. Other labyrinthine structures were well depicted in all subjects. Furthermore, shorter relaxation times were measured for the contents of the vestibular aqueduct than for other labyrinthine structures. CONCLUSION In our high-resolution study, the intraosseous portions of the endolymphatic ducts and sacs were depicted in most of the healthy subjects. They were frequently not seen in either ear of patients with unilateral Menière disease, presumably because of their small size.
Power, difference and mobility: feminist advances in migration studies

The feminist migration literature in geography has contributed to bringing several critical social theoretical themes to the forefront of migration studies. Specifically, feminists have foregrounded the politics of scale, mobility as political process, questions of subjectivity/identity and critical theorizations of space and place. This article provides an overview of the feminist migration literature organized around these themes. In addition, it argues that feminist migration studies can play a pivotal role in the ongoing project of marrying the materialist concerns of political economy to those of critical social theorists.
Positive Spillovers and Free Riding in Advertising of Prescription Pharmaceuticals: The Case of Antidepressants

Exploiting the discontinuity in advertising along the borders of television markets, I estimate that television advertising of prescription antidepressants exhibits significant positive spillovers on rivals’ demand. I apply this identification in a demand model, where estimated parameters indicate significant and persistent spillovers driven by market expansion. Using the demand estimates to calibrate a stylized supply model, I explore the consequences of the positive spillovers on firm advertising choice. Compared with a competitive benchmark in which firms optimally free ride, simulations suggest that a category-wide advertising cooperative would produce a significant increase in total advertising.
The influence of hyper- and hypothyroidism on the incidence of lymphatic leukemia of AKR mice.

While much is known about the influence of the estrogens, androgens, and adrenocortical hor mones on experimental leukemia, very little has been published on the effect of the thyroid gland on this disease. However, it has been assumed that the thyroid might play a role in leukemia, inas much as lymphocytosis is frequently observed in hyperthyroid subjects; moreover, growth of lym phatic tissue occurs in thyroxine-treated animals, while thyroidectomy has the reverse effect (12, 13, 17). Several authors have also described elevated metabolic rates in leukemia (9, 11, 15, 21), some even claiming that the basal metabolic rate was a truer indicator of the severity of the process than the leukocyte count (9, 11, 15, 19). Furthermore, the blood iodine was described as being elevated in a considerable number of patients with lymphoid leukemia (21). Finally, thyroidectomy has been claimed to produce a striking remission in a case of chronic lymphatic leukemia (5). While the reports thus far described have tended to suggest that the thyroid is hyperactive in lym phatic leukemia, the following findings contradict this: the serum cholesterol level of patients with lymphatic leukemia was normal on the average (21), as was also the thyroidal I131 uptake in fourteen of fifteen leukemic patients, ten of whom had increases in the basal metabolic rate (1). This suggests the nonparticipation of the thyroid gland in the elevation of the basal metabolic rate of leukemic patients, and some authors have sug gested protein catabolism as the major factor in the increased gaseous metabolism (2). Further more, chronic thyroid administration did not significantly alter the incidence of radiationinduced tumors in C57BL mice (14), and thiouracil similarly failed to influence lymphoma growth in R3 mice (22) or in humans (3). Methylthiouracil was also ineffective in two cases of myelogenous leukemia (10). However, a preliminary experiment in our laboratory revealed that thyroxine de creased, while thiouracil increased the incidence
Calibrated Probabilistic Forecasting at the Stateline Wind Energy Center

With the global proliferation of wind power, the need for accurate short-term forecasts of wind resources at wind energy sites is becoming paramount. Regime-switching space–time (RST) models merge meteorological and statistical expertise to obtain accurate and calibrated, fully probabilistic forecasts of wind speed and wind power. The model formulation is parsimonious, yet takes into account all of the salient features of wind speed: alternating atmospheric regimes, temporal and spatial correlation, diurnal and seasonal nonstationarity, conditional heteroscedasticity, and non-Gaussianity. The RST method identifies forecast regimes at a wind energy site and fits a conditional predictive model for each regime. Geographically dispersed meteorological observations in the vicinity of the wind farm are used as off-site predictors. The RST technique was applied to 2-hour-ahead forecasts of hourly average wind speed near the Stateline wind energy center in the U. S. Pacific Northwest. The RST point forecasts and distributional forecasts were accurate, calibrated, and sharp, and they compared favorably with predictions based on state-of-the-art time series techniques. This suggests that quality meteorological data from sites upwind of wind farms can be efficiently used to improve short-term forecasts of wind resources.
Predictors of Health-Related Quality of Life Among Low-Income Midlife Women

The purpose of this study was to determine whether any of the sociodemographic, biomedical, psychosocial, and medical-care factors independently predict health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among low-income women. Cross-sectional data were used to predict factors that determine HRQoL. A survey was conducted targeting a convenience sample of 200 midlife women. Blood samples were drawn from all participants, who also received a physical examination. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to test the independent effects of each factor. The study found that sociodemographic and psychosocial factors were independently associated with HRQoL. Compared to married women, widowed or divorced women had significantly lower HRQoL, whereas those with higher levels of stress perception and those not performing regular exercise had significantly lower HRQoL (p < .01). The full model accounted for 44.7% of the variance in HRQoL. The HRQoL of low-income midlife women was associated with multiple factors, with stress perception exerting the major influence.
Adaptive features of gut structure and digestive physiology in the terrestrial isopod Philoscia muscorum (scopoli) 1763.

The alimentary canal of isopod crustaceans is comparable to that of most other Arthropoda in that three basic regions can be recognized. These are the foregut, derived from the ectodermal stomodaeum and consisting of an oesophagus and pro ventriculus, the endodermal midgut, and an ectodermal hindgut derived from the proctodaeum (Goodrich, 1939) . The midgut, though, is unusual in that it is vir tually restricted to four or six simple caeca which arise at the junction of the fore- and hindgut. Controversy over whether any other part of the alimentary canal is of endodermal origin, and therefore to be regarded as midgut, has been resolved by Holdich ( 1973) who concludes from a comprehensive review of the literature that the discontinuity between the chitinous intimas of the fore- and hind gut described by Goodrich ( 1939), underlain in some species by a band of endo derm two to three cells wide, is the only remnant of a true midgut in isopods, other than the caeca. The terrestrial isopods show further modifications of the alimentary canal in that the hindgut is subdivided into an anterior somewhat expanded region, which bears along its length a dorsal typhiosole, a median papillate region, a muscular sphincter, and a short posterior rectum (Sutton, 1972). The histology and ultrastructure of the isopod gut is known from a consider able number of studies, summarized in Jones, Babbage and King (1969), Schmitz and Schultz (1969), Holdich and Ratcliffe (1970), Clifford and Witkus (1971) and Alikhan (1972). The caeca have received particular attention and most authors agree that they are the source of endogenous digestive enzymes which act on the food within the caecal lumen, the proventriculus, or the hindgut. The caeca are also concerned with absorption of digested food and in some instances are believed to carry on digestion intracellularly. Little is known, though, of the functional significance of the reduction of the midgut to four or six caeca and, in terrestrial species, of the subdivision of the hindgut and the development of a typhiosole. It would seem likely, however, that the latter modifications are related in some way to the terrestrial habit, probably as adaptations to the type of food available. The terrestrial isopods have a large proportion of cellulose in their diet, feeding on moist vegetable litter and often supplementing this by consuming their own, faeces (Wieser, 1966; Sutton, 1972). They show strong preferences for partly decomposed litter rich in the micro organisms which effect its decomposition (Edwards, 1974: Hassall, 1975a) and their gut modifications may well be adaptive features facilitating efficient utilization of this food, possibly by allowing the isopods to make extensive use of the cellulose degrading properties of the litter microflora. Endogenous cellulases are not corn
Mass Flow Rate and Isolation Characteristics of Injectors for Use with Self-Pressurizing Oxidizers in Hybrid Rockets

Self-pressurizing rocket propellants are currently gaining popularity in the propulsion community, particularly in hybrid rocket applications. Due to their high vapor pressure, these propellants can be driven out of a storage tank without the need for complicated pressurization systems or turbopumps, greatly minimizing the overall system complexity and mass. Nitrous oxide ( N 2 O ) is the most commonly used self pressurizing oxidizer in hybrid rockets because it has a vapor pressure of approximately 730 psi (5.03 MPa) at room temperature and is highly storable. However, it can be di ﬃ cult to model the feed system with these propellants due to the presence of two-phase ﬂow, especially in the injector. An experimental test apparatus was developed in order to study the performance of nitrous oxide injectors over a wide range of operating conditions. Mass ﬂow rate characterization has been performed to determine the e ﬀ ects of injector geometry and propellant sub-cooling (pressurization). It has been shown that rounded and chamfered inlets provide nearly identical mass ﬂow rate improvement in comparison to square edged oriﬁces. A particular emphasis has been placed on identifying the critical ﬂow regime, where the ﬂow rate is independent of backpressure (similar to choking). For a simple oriﬁce style injector, it has been demonstrated that critical ﬂow occurs when the downstream pressure falls su ﬃ ciently below the vapor pressure, ensuring bulk vapor formation within the injector element. It has been proposed to leverage the insensitivity of critical mass ﬂow rate to downstream pressure as a means of prevent-ing the occurrence of feed system coupled combustion instabilities in hybrid rockets utilizing nitrous oxide. Additionally, observations indicate that the existence of two-phase ﬂow can attenuate pressure ﬂuctuations traveling upstream through the injector, providing a degree of isolation between the
How food preferences are learned: laboratory animal models

Food selection represents a major challenge for omnivorous species. Faced with a variety of potential foodstuffs, many beneficial and some deleterious, the omnivore must decide which to eat and which to reject. The select-reject decision process involves an evaluation of the sensory characteristics of the foodstuff, particularly its flavour (i.e. taste, odour and texture). Innate predispositions such as a sweet-taste preference and bitter-taste aversion influence this process. With experience, animals refine their preferences as they associate the flavours of specific foods with the foods’ post-ingestive consequences. Social interactions also contribute to the food choices of many animal species. Until recently, research conditioned food aversions when gastrointestinal malaise after a new food It is now well that strong food preferences also animals experience the positive nutritive effects of foods. As reviewed below, a variety of models have been developed using laboratory rats to reveal the intricacies of food-preference learning.
Multi-View Perceptron: a Deep Model for Learning Face Identity and View Representations

Various factors, such as identity, view, and illumination, are coupled in face images. Disentangling the identity and view representations is a major challenge in face recognition. Existing face recognition systems either use handcrafted features or learn features discriminatively to improve recognition accuracy. This is different from the behavior of primate brain. Recent studies [5, 19] discovered that primate brain has a face-processing network, where view and identity are processed by different neurons. Taking into account this instinct, this paper proposes a novel deep neural net, named multi-view perceptron (MVP), which can untangle the identity and view features, and in the meanwhile infer a full spectrum of multi-view images, given a single 2D face image. The identity features of MVP achieve superior performance on the MultiPIE dataset. MVP is also capable to interpolate and predict images under viewpoints that are unobserved in the training data.
Competencies in physical education teaching: Slovenian teachers' views and future perspectives

This paper examines Slovenian physical education (PE) teachers' (n = 85) estimations of their own actual and desired professional competencies with the aim of diagnosing the main needs of practising PE teachers and resolving them within a revised Slovenian Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) curricula and through continued professional development programmes. Results show that PE teachers realistically acknowledge their own deficiencies within certain areas of practice, that during their training they are required to develop knowledge that is not directly applicable in PE classes, thus further detracting from the development of more relevant practically orientated knowledge, and that the reorganization of the Slovenian educational system during the last 15 years presented widespread demands that were not accompanied by appropriate professional institutional support. Their relative disinterest in the competencies developed through the subdisciplinary studies indicates that the mode and contents of the subdisciplinary subjects in the present PETE curriculum should be reviewed and refocused on the contents of the revised primary and secondary school curricula.
Brief reminiscence intervention improves affect and pessimism in non-clinical individuals: A pilot study

Whereas reminiscence-based interventions that focus on reducing depression and pessimism have been shown to be effective, most studies have employed longer term treatments. There has also been a tendency for reminiscence-based studies to focus on the benefits of reminiscence for older adults, with few studies involving younger adults. This study examined the efficacy of a one-session reminiscence-based intervention for reducing depressed affect and pessimism in younger adults. A total of 26 non-clinical participants were administered a one-to-one guided interview in which they were encouraged to recall past problem-solving successes, and the lessons learnt from these successes. Measures of affect, pessimism, and mastery were administered pre- and post-interview. Levels of depressed affect, mastery, and pessimism significantly improved following the interview, compared with baseline levels. Changes in mastery were associated with changes in pessimism, but not with changes in depressed affect. This study suggests that a one-session reminiscence-based intervention may significantly contribute to the improvements in depressed affect, pessimism, and mastery in a younger cohort. It also suggests that the improvement in pessimism may be accounted for by improvement in self-mastery.
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF PARACOCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS

SUMMARY The epidemiological characteristics of paracoccidioidomycosis were reviewed and updated. The new endemic areas in Brazil were discussed in the section regarding the geographic distribution of the mycosis. Subclinical infection with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis was discussed on the basis of skin test surveys with antigens of the fungus, seroepidemiological studies, and disease cases outside Latin America. Large case series permitted a comparison of the prevalence of the mycosis in different regions, its estimated incidence and risk factors for the development of the disease. Aspects modulating the expression of the clinical forms of paracoccidioidomycosis are also presented. This review also deals with diseases associated with the mycosis, opportunistic paracoccidioidomycosis, lethality, mortality and infection and disease in animals.
An investigation of the effect of spacing of practice on the performance -efficacy relationship

An Investigation of the Effect of Spacing of Practice on the Performance–efficacy Relationship. (December 2007) Alok Bhupatkar, B.A., University of Poona; M.S., Emporia State University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Winfred Arthur, Jr. The objective of the current study was to investigate the relationship between training performance and self–efficacy using a longitudinal design (approximately 11 weeks) in the context of massed and distributed practice. Limited attention in the training performance and efficacy literature has been paid to the spacing of practice (massed and distributed). However, it is conceivable that both the spacing of practice as well as the time frames over which it operates could influence the performance and efficacy relationship. Based on the practice schedule (massed versus distributed) and longitudinal study design, it was posited that the nature of the performance and efficacy relationship is likely to be quite different during two phases of learning (acquisition and reacquisition). Data were obtained from 198 undergraduate students over an 11–week training protocol using a 2 (distributed versus massed acquisition) × 2 (distributed versus massed reacquisition) × 16 (session) mixed design. Contrary to the first set of hypotheses, results indicated that the performance and efficacy relationship did not vary as a function of practice protocols (massed versus distributed) during acquisition and
The Structure of American Legal Institutions and the Diffusion of Wrongful‐Discharge Laws, 1978–1999

This article evaluates how the social structure of American legal institutions influenced the diffusion of wrongful-discharge laws over the period from 1978-1999 and assesses whether economic or political variables influenced the diffusion process. The results are surprising and quite striking. Precedents by other courts within the same federal circuit region were generally more influential in the diffusion process than precedents by courts in neighboring states or by courts within the same census or West legal reporting region, even though the precedents were on matters of state law rather than federal law and the decisions were usually made by state courts rather than federal courts. There is some evidence that political variables may also have been a factor, but economic variables did not appear to be particularly important, even though the new employment laws may have had important economic consequences.
Isolated giant cerebral varix – A diagnostic and therapeutic challenge: A case report

Background: Isolated giant cerebral varix (IGV) is an uncommon vascular lesion that represents a diagnostic challenge and requires dynamic vascular studies for its characterization. The IGV is considered a benign, low-flow venous lesion with very low risk of bleeding that might cause secondary symptoms mainly due to compression of the adjacent parenchyma. Case Description: A 12-year-old female patient with non-contributory medical history presented with headache for the last 2 months. Upon admission, her neurological examination was unremarkable. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography angiography (CTA) images demonstrated a large varicose dilation of the superficial Sylvian vein, located anterior to the left temporal pole, with no evidence of abnormal arteriovenous connections or tumoral lesions. This finding was considered incidental and unrelated to her symptoms. In this case, we considered that the combination of CTA and MRIs was enough to establish an accurate diagnosis, excluding the need to perform invasive imaging studies. Taking into account these considerations, the patient was managed with conservative treatment and has been followed up for 1 year, remaining asymptomatic. Conclusion: Cerebral IGVs are rare vascular lesions that are treated conservatively when asymptomatic and surgically in the case of rupture or compression of adjacent structures. Given our observation of a high unlikelihood of vascular connections to arteries, and the information obtained with non-invasive imaging techniques such as CTA and MRI was enough to make a clinical decision and avoid the evaluation with invasive procedures.
Macroeconomic Modeling for Monetary Policy Evaluation

We describe some of the main features of the recent vintage macroeconomic models used for monetary policy evaluation. We point to some of the key differences with respect to the earlier generation of macro models, and highlight the insights for policy that these new frameworks have to offer. Our discussion emphasizes two key aspects of the new models: the significant role of expectations of future policy actions in the monetary transmission mechanism, and the importance for the central bank of tracking of the flexible price equilibrium values of the natural levels of output and the real interest rate. We argue that both features have important implications for the conduct of monetary policy.