Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Figure is in the Brain of the Beholder : Neural Correlates of Individual Percepts in the Bistable Face-Vase Image

The purpose of the present study was to examine the neural correlates of individual percepts in the bistable face-vase figure. Stimuli were presented intermittently (interleaved with blank interstimulus intervals) to allow time-locking of ERPs. A larger N170 was observed when participants reported seeing the face as the figure than when they reported seeing the vase. No N170 difference was found between the percepts in a spatially equivalent control stimulus with identifiable facial features removed. A later negativity was observed between percepts in the control stimulus. These results demonstrate that distinct percepts arising from a single common retinal input are associated with differential, category-specific neural activity. Comparisons were also made between “reversal” and “stable” trials, and two components identified in prior research were replicated: a reversal negativity (RN), from ~200-350ms over posterior electrodes, and a late positive complex (LPC) from ~400600ms over central-parietal electrodes. Both reversal components were modulated during an active control task in which participants were asked to volitionally control their percepts on each individual trial. Theories about the responsibility of top-down and bottom-up processing for visual bistability and, in particular, evidence in the current findings for the manifestation of each in the neural components are discussed. Methods for furthering the exploration of these contrasting (but likely coexisting) mechanisms are outlined.
Exploring the Role of the Nurse Educator in Implementing a Comprehensive Infection Prevention and Control Program in Behavioral Healthcare

Introduction: This paper describes a teaching module, infection prevention and control program (IPCP), developed to explore a nurse educator’s role in driving an effective program in behavioral healthcare. Goal: The IPCP program is to address the prevention and control of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in behavioral healthcare, as most studies found in the literature focus on HAIs only in medical and surgical facilities. This model also illustrates how a nurse educator fits the role requirements of teacher, leader, and collaborator in successfully implementing such a program among the residents and staff of behavioral healthcare agencies. Methods: Using the Health Belief Model, this IPCP program used the structural and performance domains to define and develop the framework for the teaching module. Implementation: This article describes the optimal engagement of a nurse educator in implementing this comprehensive IPCP project. Diversification, Roll-out and Discussion: Behavioral healthcare facilities also confront HAIs, much like acute care agencies. Appointing a nurse as an Infection Preventionist in behavioral healthcare is not currently required by The Joint Commission. However, this article demonstrates and confronts the reality that nurse educators can actually take on this important responsibility. Most behavioral facilities have nurse educators on staff, who can effectively implement the IPCP program under their expanded role.
prevalence and Causes of Tendency to Cigarette and Water Pipe Smoking among Male and Female Physical Education Students in University of Kurdistan

Background & objectives: The cigarette and water pipe smoking is a public health problem. Many studies have been performed on prevalence of cigarette and water pipe smoking and its related factors. But in few studies the frequency and causes of tendency to cigarette and water pipe smoking among physical education students have been discussed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency and causes of tendency to cigarette and water pipe smoking in male and female physical education students in University of Kurdistan. Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was done on physical education students of the University of Kurdistan (128 male and 160 female) by standard questionnaire of PDUQ (Prevalence of Drug Use Questionnaire) using stratified random sampling method in 2013-2014 academic year. Data analysis was done by descriptive and inferential statistics including Kolmogorov – Smirnov and T tests at significance level of p <0.05 using SPSS version 17. Results: Results showed that the respective rates of cigarette and water pipe consumption were 25 and 17.2 % for male and 11.25 and 7.5% for female students. In addition cigarette and water pipe smoking rates were significantly higher in male than female students ( p <0.001) . The most important causes of proneness to cigarette and water pipe smoking in male and female students were sincerely relationships with friends who were smoker and recreation and fun, respectively. Conclusion: The most important causes of proneness to cigarette and water pipe smoking in male and female students were identified as sincerely relationships with friends who were smoker and recreation and fun, respectively. Therefore, implementing educational programs and scientific field visits at university level seems necessary in order to prevent cigarette and water pipe smoking.
Comparison of laser anemometer measurements and theory in an annular turbine cascade with experimental accuracy determined by parameter estimation

Experimental measurements of the velocity components in the blade to blade (axial tangential) plane were obtained with an axial flow turbine stator passage and were compared with calculations from three turbomachinery computer programs. The theoretical results were calculated from a quasi three dimensional inviscid code, a three dimensional inviscid code, and a three dimensional viscous code. Parameter estimation techniques and a particle dynamics calculation were used to assess the accuracy of the laser measurements, which allow a rational basis for comparison of the experimenal and theoretical results. The general agreement of the experimental data with the results from the two inviscid computer codes indicates the usefulness of these calculation procedures for turbomachinery blading. The comparison with the viscous code, while generally reasonable, was not as good as for the inviscid codes.
Comparative Evaluation Of Antimicrobial Properties Of Citrus Varieties Available In Malaysia Market

Citrus has been cultivated in many tropical and subtropical countries due to its culinary and medicinal properties. Its antimicrobial properties are well known. There are few varieties of citrus available in Malaysian market i.e. Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus reticulata, Citrus microcarpa, Citrus limon and Citrus sinensis. The present study compares the antibacterial properties of methanol extract of five varieties of citrus peels by disc diffusion method against Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. There is no inhibition were observed for all the citrus peel extracts at 5 and 10 mg/ml. The methanol extract of Citrus microcarpa, Citrus reticulata and Citrus sinensis at 20 mg/ml showed better inhibition than compare to Citrus aurantifolia and Citrus limon against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. However, the standards at lower concentrations showed higher inhibition than compare to all the extracts against entire organism. These findings can form the basis for further studies to isolate their active constituents to perform its biological activities.
Gender Differences and Digital Learning Games – One Size Does not fit all

The intrinsic motivation demonstrated towards digital games provides the opportunity for its use as a learning tool irrespective of gender differences. This has resulted in the combination of the motivation of games with curricular content referred to as Digital Game-Based Learning. While some related studies have argued that there are no gender differences in the motivational appeal of digital educational games, others present an opposing view. This paper reports the result of an investigation into the motivational appeal of digital educational games for 11-14 years old girls and boys. There is evidence that this age group is pivotal to the shrinking pipeline phenomenon in which fewer females progressively engage with computer science education and careers. The investigation involved a two stage study composed of a qualitative exploratory study, which identified the key criteria for the successful appeal of some digital entertainment games to young girls and boys and a main study. The main study generate both qualitative and quantitative data to further investigate the motivational appeal of digital educational games for learning basic computer science concepts for both girls and boys of age 11-14 years old. For the main study, two experimental games for learning basic computer science concepts were created based on the key criteria identified from the exploratory study. The first included the game characteristics that appeared to support the motivational appeal of the girls. The second game was antithetical to the first. Both genders from the participating population engaged with both games and online questionnaires were used to capture data on their perception of both games. The outcome of the investigation which involved 304 participants (girls = 152 and boys =152) from Southeast England, United Kingdom provided the empirical evidence in support of the argument that there are gender differences in the motivational appeal of digital educational game characteristics which can either support or thwart motivation i.e. one size does not fit all. The result of this investigation should support educationists, researchers and digital educational game designers in having an inclusive approach towards the creation of digital educational games for learning.
Family Caregiving to AIDS Patients: The Role of Gender in Caregiver Burden in Uganda

The objectives of the study were: 1) What is the burden of care for male and female family caregivers of AIDS patients? and 2) Which factors influence the family care burden for AIDS patients at home? A questionnaire was completed by 29 male and 91 female family caregivers of AIDS patients living in four rural areas in western Uganda. Participating caregivers were selected from a patient list of the home-based care program for AIDS patients and then interviewed. The responses from the questionnaire were used to calculate care burden scores for caregivers of both genders and the scores in each group were compared. In addition other factors relevant to the burden of family care were extracted and tested in bivariate and multivariate analysis to test whether they were predictors of the care burden. Results show that the care burden scores were high in all domains except those regarding relationship within the families and substance abuse. Both male and female caregivers reported a similar care burden. Caregivers for spouses had higher care burden scores compared to those who cared for other relatives. The intensity of care was also a significant predictor of the care burden while other factors such as age duration of care and cognitive function of the care recipient were not associated with the care burden score. The high burden of caregiving puts family caregivers at risk for a lower health status social isolation and depression. As both male and female caregivers report similar care burden scores for the same responsibilities men are not unduly overburdened with the family care of AIDS patients compared to women and should be more actively involved in the caregiving process at home. (authors)
Prevalência de interações medicamentosas em unidades de terapia intensiva no Brasil

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of drug interactions in intensive care units and to analyze the clinical significance of interactions identified. METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective and cross sectional study conducted with 1124 patients in the seven intensive care units of teaching hospitals in Brazil. Information on drugs administered at 24 hours and 120 hours of hospitalization was obtained from the prescriptions. RESULTS: Within 24 hours, 70.6% of patients had at least one drug interaction; the number at 24h was 2299, at 120 h it was 2619. Midazolam, fentanyl, phenytoin and omeprazole were the drugs with higher frequency of drug interactions. CONCLUSION: In this sample, moderate and severe drug interactions were more prevalent. In light of these findings, all actions of health professionals who provide care to these patients must be integrated in order to identify and prevent possible drug events.
STATISTICAL MECHANICS OF UTILITY AND EQUILIBRIUM: ANALOGIES BETWEEN ECONOMICS AND STATISTICAL PHYSICS

cross fertilize, and the relationship between physics and economics is no exception. Unfortunately, on some occasions the analogy doesn’t quite work out. Historically, neoclassical economics has borrowed many ideas from equilibrium thermodynamics, and by concentrating on the key concepts of value, equilibrium, irreversibility and dimensionality (the possibility of scarce resource substitution) I will argue that most of the resulting analogies are misleading. Better analogies can be found in modern non-equilibrium statistical mechanics.
Temporal Memory Dysfunction and Alterations in Tyrosine Hydroxylase Immunoreactivity in Adult Rats Following Neonatal Exposure to Domoic Acid

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether early alterations in glutamate signaling, via daily injections of the glutamate agonist, domoic acid (DOM; 20 μg/kg), during a critical period of CNS development (PND 8 - 14), would result in temporal memory deficits and/or alterations in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactivity. As adults, subjects were assessed for temporal memory ability using a recency discrimination paradigm. Both number and duration of exploratory contacts directed at familiar objects, differing by one hour in recall delay, were measured. Analyses revealed that DOM-treated females demonstrated temporal memory dysfunction, as evidenced in a significantly lower proportion of total exploratory behaviour directed toward the remote object. Integrity of the dopamine system was assessed using immunohistochemistry to examine TH immunoreactivity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAcc). Sections obtained from DOM-treated males had significantly less TH immunoreactivity in the right mPFC, while DOM-treated females had significantly greater TH immunoreactivity in the left core and right shell of the NAcc. These findings are discussed in context of early alterations to glutamate signaling in the development of human neuropsychiatric disorders.
LMI optimization approach to robust H∞ observer design and static output feedback stabilization for discrete‐time nonlinear uncertain systems

A new approach for the design of robust H∞ observers for a class of Lipschitz nonlinear systems with time‐varying uncertainties is proposed based on linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The admissible Lipschitz constant of the system and the disturbance attenuation level are maximized simultaneously through convex multiobjective optimization. The resulting H∞ observer guarantees asymptotic stability of the estimation error dynamics and is robust against nonlinear additive uncertainty and time‐varying parametric uncertainties. Explicit norm‐wise and element‐wise bounds on the tolerable nonlinear uncertainty are derived. Also, a new method for the robust output feedback stabilization with H∞ performance for a class of uncertain nonlinear systems is proposed. Our solution is based on a noniterative LMI optimization and is less restrictive than the existing solutions. The bounds on the nonlinear uncertainty and multiobjective optimization obtained for the observer are also applicable to the proposed static output feedback stabilizing controller. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
How information availability interacts with visual attention during judgment and decision tasks

Decisions in front of a supermarket shelf probably involve a mix of visually available information and associated memories – and interactions between those two. Several cognitive processes, such as decision-making, search and various judgments, are therefore likely to co-occur, and each process will influence visual attention. We conducted two eye-tracking experiments capturing parts of these features by having participants make either judgments or decisions concerning products that had been previously encoded. Half the time participants made their choices with full information about the available products and half the time with crucial task-relevant information removed. By comparing participants’ use of visual attention during decisions and search- and memory-based judgments, respectively, we can better understand how visual attention is differently employed between tasks and how it depends on the visual environment. We found that participants’ visual attention during decisions is sensitive to evaluations already made during encoding and strongly characterized by preferential looking to the options later to be chosen. When the task environment is rich enough, participants engage in advanced integrative visual behavior and improve their decision quality. In contrast, visual attention during judgments made on the same products reflects a search-like behavior when all information is available and a more focused type of visual behavior when information is removed. Our findings contribute not only to the literature on how visual attention is used during decision-making but also to methodological questions concerning how to measure and identify task-specific features of visual attention in ecologically valid ways. (Less)
The HCR‐20 in personality disordered female offenders: a comparison with a matched sample of males

This study examines the predictive validity of the HCR-20 in a sample of 42 female patients admitted to a Dutch forensic psychiatric hospital. The findings are compared with those for a matched sample of 42 male forensic psychiatric patients. The inter-rater reliability of the HCR-20 was good for both female and male patients. There were significant differences between female and male patients in mean HCR- 20 item scores, but the mean H, C and R-subscale scores and total score were comparable. The base rate for inpatient violence was similar for female (30%) and male patients (29%), but the base rate for violent recidivism after discharge was significantly higher for the male sample (43%) compared with the female sample (13%). For male patients, the HCR-20 demonstrated good to excellent predictive validity for violent outcome (violent recidivism and inpatient violence); however, predictive accuracy for female patients was much lower. In females, only the HCR-20 final risk judgment, and not the HCR-20 total score, demonstrated significant predictive validity for violent outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved) (from the journal abstract)
Cross-Validation With Confidence

Abstract Cross-validation is one of the most popular model and tuning parameter selection methods in statistics and machine learning. Despite its wide applicability, traditional cross-validation methods tend to overfit, due to the ignorance of the uncertainty in the testing sample. We develop a novel statistically principled inference tool based on cross-validation that takes into account the uncertainty in the testing sample. This method outputs a set of highly competitive candidate models containing the optimal one with guaranteed probability. As a consequence, our method can achieve consistent variable selection in a classical linear regression setting, for which existing cross-validation methods require unconventional split ratios. When used for tuning parameter selection, the method can provide an alternative trade-off between prediction accuracy and model interpretability than existing variants of cross-validation. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed method in several simulated and real data examples. Supplemental materials for this article can be found online.
The Mediation Myth

The mediation myth is the false belief that mediation is actually estimated in the typical mediation analysis. This myth is based on a trifecta of shortcomings: (1) the typical mediation study relies on an inadequate design; (2) the researcher uses a flawed analysis strategy; and (3) there is scant attention to assumptions that are required when estimating mediation. These problems stem from overgeneralizing the classical product method for estimating mediation and overreliance on statistical significance testing as a decision criterion in mediation analysis. The goals of this article are to (1) raise awareness of these difficulties among researchers and (2) provide a roadmap about design and analysis options for a more rigorous and scientifically valid approach to mediation analysis.
Non-stationarity and Non-linearity in Stock Prices: Evidence from the OECD Countries

Using 11 OECD countries data, this study employs a Markov Switching unit root regression to investigate the issue of the non-stationarity and non-linearity of stock prices. The results convincingly support the view that the stock prices in the OECD countries are characterized by a two-regime Markov Switching unit root process. For Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands and New Zealand, stock prices are characterized by a unit root process, consistent with the efficient market hypothesis that the stock price is either in the high-volatility regime or in the low-volatility regime. For Czech Republic, Denmark and Greece, the shocks to stock prices are highly persistent in one regime, but have finite lives in the other regime. The high-volatility regime arises in most of the countries considered and it tends to prevail over a relatively long period.
Biodiversity-Ecosystem Function Research: Is It Relevant to Conservation?

▪ Abstract It has often been argued that conserving biodiversity is necessary for maintaining ecosystem functioning. We critically evaluate the current evidence for this argument. Although there is substantial evidence that diversity is able to affect function, particularly for plant communities, it is unclear if these patterns will hold for realistic scenarios of extinctions, multitrophic communities, or larger spatial scales. Experiments are conducted at small spatial scales, the very scales at which diversity tends to increase owing to exotics. Stressors may affect function by many pathways, and diversity-mediated effects on function may be a minor pathway, except in the case of multiple-stressor insurance effects. In general, the conservation case is stronger for stability measures of function than stock and flux measures, in part because it is easier to attribute value unambiguously to stability and in part because stock and flux measures of functions are anticipated to be more affected by multitroph.