Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Humor-Related Social Exchanges and Mental Health in Assisted Living Residents

Social contact is known to be vital for older adults’ mental and physical health, but few studies of social interactions have taken place in long-term care se ttings. The current study investigated whether the psychological well-being of assi sted l ving residents was influenced by factors associated with residents’ socia l inter ctions involving humor. Specific aims of the present study were to develop and test a measure rela ted to humor-related social exchanges, to examine how humor-related social exchanges affect residents’ mental health, and to explore whether humor-related social exc h nges mediated the effects of resident and facility characteristics on indices of mental health. One hundred and forty older adults residing in 14 assisted living facilities in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area were interviewed about the frequency and types of social interactions they experienced with members of their facility-base d social networks, as well as depression, mood, loneliness, self-esteem, and self-rated health. A 12-item, two-factor model of humor-related social exchanges was ident if ed through confirmatory factor analysis, including both positive and negative humor-rela ted social exchange factors. The newly developed scale displayed evidence of adequat e reliability and validly in the current sample. Results indicated that both positive and negative humor-related exchanges wer e associated with various aspects of mental health, although negative humor-relat ed exchanges appeared to be a stronger predictor of mental health than positive humor ii related exchanges. Both positive and negative humor-related exchanges also served as mediators between resident and facility characteristics and indicators of mental health. Cultivating a better understanding of the relationships between humor-related social exchanges and mental health may be beneficial for researchers intere sted in the way humor impacts older adults’ ability to cope with stress. This research may also be of value to long-term care providers who create interventions designed at improving residents’ mental health and overall quality of life.
Activation of toll-like receptor , RAGE and HMGB 1 signalling in malformations of cortical development

1 Department of (Neuro) Pathology and Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1105 AZ, The Netherlands 2 Department of Neuroscience, Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research, 20156 Milano, Italy 3 Department of Neurogenetics, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1105 AZ, The Netherlands 4 Department of Pathology and Neurosurgery, University Medical Centre Utrecht, 3508 AB Utrecht, The Netherlands 5 Rudolf Magnus Institute for Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Utrecht, 3508 AB, Utrecht, The Netherlands 6 Epilepsy Institute in The Netherlands Foundation (Stichting Epilepsie Instellingen Nederland, SEIN), 2103 SW, Heemstede, The Netherlands
The Patient State Index Correlates Well with the Ramsay Sedation Score in ICU

Methods After IRB approval and informed consent, 30 patient s about to undergo open heart surgery were enrolled in the study. On arrival in the ICU at the end of surgery, depth of sedation was monitored using a frontal array and the PSA 4000 mo nitor (Physiometrix, Billerica, MA.). The patients were monitored until they were wide awake nd ready for extubation. The monitor screen was covered so that the clinical nurse was b linded from the data. The PSI values were recorded and stored on a disc. The RSS was recorded every hour while the patient was deeply sedated and then at 15 minute intervals when the de cision was made to lighten the sedation and wean the patient from mechanical ventilation. The R SS scores recorded were compared to the PSI values obtained at the same time.
A-2015-2 Approximation Strategies for Structure Learning in Bayesian Networks

Bayesian networks are probabilistic graphical models, which can compactly represent complex probabilistic dependencies between a set of variables. Once learned from data or constructed by some other means, they can both give insight into the modeled domain and be used for probabilistic reasoning tasks, such as prediction of future data points. Learning a Bayesian network consists of two tasks: discovering a graphical dependency structure on variables, and finding the numerical parameters of a conditional distribution for each variable. Structure discovery has attracted considerable interest in the recent decades. Attention has mostly been paid to finding a structure that best fits the data under certain criterion. The optimization approach can lead to noisy and partly arbitrary results due to the uncertainty caused by a small amount of data. The socalled full Bayesian approach addresses this shortcoming by learning the posterior distribution of structures. In practice, the posterior distribution is summarized by constructing a representative sample of structures, or by computing marginal posterior probabilities of individual arcs or other substructures. This thesis presents algorithms for the full Bayesian approach to structure learning in Bayesian networks. Because the existing exact algorithms only scale to small networks of up to about 25 variables, we investigate sampling
Activity-Dependent NPAS 4 Expression and the Regulation of Gene Programs Underlying Plasticity in the Central Nervous System

The capability of the brain to change functionally in response to sensory experience ismost active during early stages of development but it decreases later in life when major alterations of neuronal network structures no longer take place in response to experience. This view has been recently challenged by experimental strategies based on the enhancement of environmental stimulation levels, genetic manipulations, and pharmacological treatments, which all have demonstrated that the adult brain retains a degree of plasticity that allows for a rewiring of neuronal circuitries over the entire life course. A hot spot in the field of neuronal plasticity centres on gene programs that underlie plastic phenomena in adulthood.Here, I discuss the role of the recently discovered neuronalspecific and activity-dependent transcription factor NPAS4 as a critical mediator of plasticity in the nervous system. A better understanding of howmodifications in the connectivity of neuronal networks occurmay shed light on the treatment of pathological conditions such as brain damage or disease in adult life, some of which were once considered untreatable.
Chapter 4 : Habitat use and vertical organization of a rain forest small mammal community across a disturbance gradient

Complex habitats like tropical rainforests have well developed vertical strata of which the upper strata, also called the forest canopies are occupied by wholly arboreal organisms not occurring on the ground (Lowman and Wittman 1996), whereas simpler habitats with fewer vertical strata do not support such organisms (August 1983). The relationship between habitat structure and composition of faunal communities has been an important question in ecology, with many studies, including ones on small mammals attempting to determine relationships between diversity and habitat complexity (August 1983). Complexity of habitat describes the development of vertical strata within the habitat. Forest canopies have been poorly studied in this regard and only recently have biologists become more aware of the importance of sampling the upper forest layers (Lowman and Moffett 1993).
Corporate Board : role , duties & composition / Volume 2 , Issue 3 , 2006 7 AN EFFECTIVE BOARD FROM A TEAM PERSPECTIVE

This paper looks at boards from a team perspective, where insights from research on teams are used to discuss some classical problems of corporate governance. The Enron-case is used as an underlying theme as it portrays some of the biggest challenges that boards face today. Theories developed within the team literature emphasise that for boards to become more effective they need more time and better access to information as a source of knowledge, more structure and purposeful roles for directors and for the board in general, and they need to become smaller and more focused. In effect, the culture of teams could have avoided some of the blunders of the Enron board.
Warming patterns in regional climate change projections over the Iberian Peninsula

A set of four regional climate change projections over the Iberian Peninsula has been performed. Simulations were driven by two General Circulation Models (consisting of two versions of the same atmospheric model coupled to two different ocean models) under two different SRES scenario. The XXI century has been simulated following a full-transient approach with a climate version of the mesoscale model MM5. An Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis (EOF) is applied to the monthly mean series of daily maximum and minimum 2-metre temperature to extract the warming signal. The first EOF is able to capture the spatial structure of the warming. The obtained warming patterns are fairly dependent on the month, but hardly change with the tested scenarios and GCM versions. Their shapes are related to geographical parameters, such as distance to the sea and orography. The main differences among simulations mostly concern the temporal evolution of the warming. The temperature trend is stronger for maximum temperatures and depends on the scenario and the driving GCM. This asymmetry, as well as the different warming rates in summer and winter, leads to a continentalization of the climate over the IP.
A Narrative Synthesis of Qualitative Studies Conducted to Assess Patient Safety Culture in Hospital Settings

This review aimed to identify methodological aspects of qualitative studies conducted to assess patient safety culture (PSC) in hospital settings. Searches of Google Scholar (Google LLC, Menlo Park, California, USA), MEDLINE® (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, USA), EMBASE (Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands), PsycINFO (American Psychological Association, Washington, District of Columbia, USA) and Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) databases were used to identify qualitative articles published between 2000 and 2017 that focused on PSC. A total of 22 studies were included in this review and analysis of methodological approaches showed that most researchers adopted purposive sampling, individual interviews, inductive content and thematic analysis. PSC was affected by factors related to staffing, communication, non-human resources, organisation and patient-related factors. Most studies lacked theoretical frameworks. However, many commonalities were found across studies. Therefore, it is recommended that future studies adopt a mixed methods approach to gain a better understanding of PSC.
Increased T Cell Differentiation and Cytolytic Function in Bangladeshi Compared to American Children

During the first 5 years of life, children are especially vulnerable to infection-related morbidity and mortality. Conversely, the Hygiene Hypothesis suggests that a lack of exposure to infectious agents early in life could explain the increasing incidence of allergies and autoimmunity in high-income countries. Understanding these phenomena, however, is hampered by a lack of comprehensive, direct immune monitoring in children with differing degrees of microbial exposure. Using mass cytometry, we provide an in-depth profile of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of children in regions at the extremes of exposure: the San Francisco Bay Area, USA and an economically poor district of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Despite variability in clinical health, functional characteristics of PBMCs were similar in Bangladeshi and American children at 1 year of age. However, by 2–3 years of age, Bangladeshi children's immune cells often demonstrated altered activation and cytokine production profiles upon stimulation with PMA-ionomycin, with an overall immune trajectory more in line with American adults. Conversely, immune responses in children from the US remained steady. Using principal component analysis, donor location, ethnic background, and cytomegalovirus infection status were found to account for some of the variation identified among samples. Within Bangladeshi 1-year-olds, stunting (as measured by height-for-age z-scores) was found to be associated with IL-8 and TGFβ expression in PMA-ionomycin stimulated samples. Combined, these findings provide important insights into the immune systems of children in high vs. low microbial exposure environments and suggest an important role for IL-8 and TGFβ in mitigating the microbial challenges faced by the Bangladeshi children.
Molecular strategies for the detection of measles virus in inflammatory bowel disease

Hypotheses. i) Atypical exposure to measles virus is a factor in the aetiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). ii) Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination is a factor in the aetiology of autistic enteropathy. Aims. i) To compare a range of molecular techniques for measles RNA amplification. ii) To develop a sensitive and robust method for the detection of measles RNA. iii) To analyse clinical samples from IBD patients for the presence of measles RNA. iv) To analyse clinical samples from autistic enteropathy patients for the presence of measles, mumps and rubella RNA. Methods development. Three RNA amplification methods were compared in terms of their sensitivity and fidelity for the detection of measles RNA and nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) was found to be the most sensitive. In a preliminary study, NASBA did not detect any measles RNA in a coded series of IBD and control intestinal tissues. In order to improve the detection sensitivity, the use of hybrid capture, using measles-specific oligonucleotides linked to paramagnetic solid phase supports, was investigated. Hybrid capture was found to increase the measles RNA detection sensitivity 100-fold when followed by RT-PCR. An internal modified transcript was developed which could be co-amplified with measles RNA as an internal positive control. IBD samples. Resection samples from 20 IBD and control patients were used for measles hybrid capture followed by RT-PCR, in addition to peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 13 IBD and control patients. Autistic enteropathy samples. Biopsies, PBMCs and Vero/PBMC cocultures were analysed from 22 patients with autistic enteropathy and 6 controls. Results. Hybrid capture and RT-PCR could detect 104 molecules of a measles RNA transcript added to control tissue homogenates. The fidelity of NASBA, in terms of its nucleic acid error rate, was found to be comparable with that of RTPCR. All samples were found to be positive for a housekeeping RNA species and internal modified positive control RNA. None of the samples tested positive for measles, mumps or rubella RNA, although viral RNA was successfully amplified in positive control samples.
Patients’ and Nurses’ Perceptions of Post-Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Learning Needs in Two Omani Hospitals

Objectives Little is known about nurses’ and patients’ perceptions of learning needs following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in Oman. This study aimed to identify patients’ and nurses’ perceptions of post-CABG learning needs. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in two cardiac units in Oman between February and April 2018. Participants were from step-down units and perceptions of post-CABG learning needs were collected using a modified version of the Cardiac Patients Learning Need Inventory (MCPLNI) questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results A total of 90 patients and 90 nurses were included in this study (response rate: 100%). Nurses perceived information about chest and leg wound care, medications and complications as patients’ most important learning needs (4.89 ± 0.31, 4.84 ± 0.33 and 4.78 ± 0.45, respectively). Similarly, patients perceived a need for post-CABG learning related to chest and leg wound care, complications and medication, while learning related to physical activity received a moderate priority (4.92 ± 0.20, 4.80 ± 0.45, 4.85 ± 0.26 and 3.50 ± 1.34, respectively). Conclusion Before discharging patients, they should be provided with specific information related to post-CABG care. It is essential to assess patients’ learning needs and incorporate those learning needs into discharge plans.
Decision Making in Patients With Metastatic Spine. The Role of Minimally Invasive Treatment Modalities

Spine metastases affect more than 70% of terminal cancer patients that eventually suffer from severe pain and neurological symptoms. Nevertheless, in the overwhelming majority of the cases, a spinal metastasis represents just one location of a diffuse systemic disease. Therefore, the best practice for treatment of spinal metastases depends on many different aspects of an oncological disease, including the assessment of neurological status, pain, location, and dissemination of the disease as well as the ability to predict the risk of disease progression with neurological worsening, benefits and risks associated to treatment and, eventually, expected survival. To address this need for a framework and algorithm that takes all aspects of care into consideration, we reviewed available evidence on the multidisciplinary management of spinal metastases. According to the latest evidence, the use of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) or stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for spinal metastatic disease is rapidly increasing. Indeed, aggressive surgical resection may provide the best results in terms of local control, but carries a significant rate of post-surgical morbidity whose incidence and severity appears to be correlated to the extent of resection. The multidisciplinary management represents, according to current evidence, the best option for the treatment of spinal metastases. Noteworthy, according to the recent literature evidence, cases that once required radical surgical resection followed by low-dose conventional radiotherapy, can now be more effectively treated by minimally invasive spinal surgery (MISS) followed by spine SRS with decreased morbidity, improved local control, and more durable pain control. This combination allows also extending this standard of care to patients that would be too sick for an aggressive surgical treatment.
Modeling Measurement as a Sequential Process: Autoregressive Confirmatory Factor Analysis (AR-CFA)

To model data from multi-item scales, many researchers default to a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) approach that restricts cross-loadings and residual correlations to zero. This often leads to problems of measurement-model misfit while also ignoring theoretically relevant alternatives. Existing research mostly offers solutions by relaxing assumptions about cross-loadings and allowing residual correlations. However, such approaches are critiqued as being weak on theory and/or indicative of problematic measurement scales. We offer a theoretically-grounded alternative to modeling survey data called an autoregressive confirmatory factor analysis (AR-CFA), which is motivated by recognizing that responding to survey items is a sequential process that may create temporal dependencies among scale items. We compare an AR-CFA to other common approaches using a sample of 8,569 people measured along five common personality factors, showing how the AR-CFA can improve model fit and offer evidence of increased construct validity. We then introduce methods for testing AR-CFA hypotheses, including cross-level moderation effects using latent interactions among stable factors and time-varying residuals. We recommend considering the AR-CFA as a useful complement to other existing approaches and treat AR-CFA limitations.
Abstract 15885: Impact of High Volume Energy Drink Consumption on Electrocardiographic and Blood Pressure Parameters

Introduction: Cases of QT prolongation and other life-threatening arrhythmias have been reported with acute high volume energy drink (ED) usage. While caffeine doses under 400mg are not considered arrhythmogenic, the safety of the other ingredients in EDs need evaluation. This study evaluated the ECG and blood pressure effects of acute high volume ED consumption when compared to caffeine. Methods: This was a double-blind, controlled, crossover study enrolling young healthy volunteers. Subjects randomly consumed a single 32oz dose of an ED (320 mg caffeine) and a matching caffeinated (320 mg) control drink separated by a 6-day washout period. A standard 12-lead ECG and blood pressure were obtained at baseline, 1, 2, 4, 6 and 24 hours post drink consumption. The intra-group change from baseline in the QTc, QT and PR intervals, QRS duration, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR) were evaluated using the paired student’s t-test. Results: Eighteen subjects (27±4 yrs) were included for analysis. A significant difference in the QTc interval was noted 2 hours post ED consumption when compared to the caffeine arm (0.44±18.4 vs -10.4±14.8 msec; p=0.036). SBP was significantly higher 6 hours post ED consumption when compared to the caffeine arm (4.72±4.67 vs 0.83±6.09 mmHg; p=0.016). A significant increase in HR was evident 2 hours post ED consumption when compared to the caffeine arm (3.39±11.0 vs -0.61±9.13 bpm; p=0.045). There were no time matched intra-group differences with the QT and PR intervals, QRS duration and DBP. The maximum and minimum intra-group change from baseline were no different for all endpoints (all p-values >0.195). Conclusions: EDs did not reduce 2 hour post dosing QTc interval as observed with caffeine. ED consumption increased SBP and HR by 4 mmHg and 3 bpm, respectively when compared to caffeine. Ingredients other than caffeine in EDs warrant further investigation. The work reported herein was performed under United States Air Force Surgeon General approved Clinical Investigation Number FDG20130042H. The views expressed in this material are those of the authors, and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force.
Deletion of CRH From GABAergic Forebrain Neurons Promotes Stress Resilience and Dampens Stress-Induced Changes in Neuronal Activity

Dysregulation of the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) system has been implicated in stress-related psychopathologies such as depression and anxiety. Although most studies have linked CRH/CRH receptor 1 signaling to aversive, stress-like behavior, recent work has revealed a crucial role for distinct CRH circuits in maintaining positive emotional valence and appetitive responses under baseline conditions. Here we addressed whether deletion of CRH, specifically from GABAergic forebrain neurons (CrhCKO–GABA mice) differentially affects general behavior under baseline and chronic stress conditions. Expression mapping in CrhCKO–GABA mice revealed absence of Crh in GABAergic neurons of the cortex and limbic regions including the hippocampus, central nucleus of the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminals, but not in the paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus. Consequently, conditional CRH knockout animals exhibited no alterations in circadian and stress-induced corticosterone release compared to controls. Under baseline conditions, absence of Crh from forebrain GABAergic neurons resulted in social interaction deficits but had no effect on other behavioral measures including locomotion, anxiety, immobility in the forced swim test, acoustic startle response and fear conditioning. Interestingly, following exposure to chronic social defeat stress, CrhCKO–GABA mice displayed a resilient phenotype, which was accompanied by a dampened, stress-induced expression of immediate early genes c-fos and zif268 in several brain regions. Collectively our data reveals the requirement of GABAergic CRH circuits in maintaining appropriate social behavior in naïve animals and further supports the ability of CRH to promote divergent behavioral states under baseline and severe stress conditions.