Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
About Bouts: A Heterogeneous Tandem Schedule of Reinforcement Reveals Dissociable Components of Operant Behavior in Fischer Rats

According to the biexponential refractory model (BERM) of variable-interval (VI) performance, operant behavior is organized in bouts, described by 3 dissociable components: between-bout interresponse times (IRTs), within-bout IRTs, and bout lengths. Research has shown that between-bout IRTs are sensitive to changes in rate of reinforcement and reinforcer efficacy, the length of some bouts is selectively sensitive to changes in response-reinforcer contingencies, and within-bout IRTs are relatively insensitive to both manipulations. BERM assumes that within- and between-bout IRTs are exponentially distributed, and bout lengths are described by a mixture of negative binomial and geometric distributions. To assess BERM assumptions and the interpretation of associated findings, Fischer 344/DuCrl rats were trained on a heterogeneous tandem VI fixed-ratio (FR) schedule of reinforcement intended to dissociate the components of operant behavior. Initial (VI) and terminal (FR) links were programmed on separate levers; no stimulus signaled the completion of the initial link. FR requirement, VI requirement, and deprivation level were varied. Typical performance consisted of single responses on the VI lever separated by response runs on the FR lever. It was hypothesized that (a) the interval between the end of each FR run and the first subsequent VI response (FR–VI IRTs) would constitute between-bout IRTs, and would be sensitive to changes in VI requirement and deprivation level, (b) FR runs would constitute response bouts, so the length of a fraction of them would be selectively sensitive to changes in FR requirement, and (c) intervals between consecutive FR responses (FR–FR IRTs) would constitute within-bout IRTs, and would be relatively robust to all manipulations. Findings were consistent with these expectations. The underlying distributions of FR–FR IRTs, FR–VI IRTs, and FR run lengths, however, were inconsistent with BERM assumptions. These data support the distinct components of operant performance, but challenge the simple processes assumed to underlie their generation.
Factors That Influence Outcome of Percutaneous Balloon Compression in the Treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia

BACKGROUND:Percutaneous balloon compression is an effective, low-cost, simple therapeutic modality with the special advantage of being the only percutaneous technique that can be simply performed with the patient under general anesthesia for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. OBJECTIVE:To identify surgical and individual parameters that could influence outcome in patients with trigeminal neuralgia treated with percutaneous balloon compression. METHODS:Within a 5-year period, 66 consecutive percutaneous balloon compressions were performed in 47 patients. The medical and surgical records of all patients were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed for a possible correlation between the following parameters and outcome: balloon shape, balloon volume, compression time, age, sex, type of pain, duration of disease, previous procedures, and trigeminal division affected. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to test for statistical significance. RESULTS:The initial success rate was 85%, and 36% of the responders are still pain free with a mean follow-up of approximately 20 months, whereas in 33 patients, trigeminal pain recurred after a mean of approximately 17 months. Of the investigated parameters, significant correlations were obtained between balloon shape and all aspects of outcome, previous operations and complication rate, pain type and complication rate, and compression time and postoperative numbness. CONCLUSION:The balloon shape is a parameter with a very strong impact on outcome, and balloon volume should be adjusted to this parameter. Persistent elliptical balloon shapes should raise consideration of aborting the procedure. There were no differences in outcomes between 60 seconds and longer compression times. The number of previous operations did not correlate with pain relief, but seemed to increase the risk of complications. Patients with multiple sclerosis seemed to obtain similar benefit from the procedure as do patients with classic trigeminal neuralgia.
Dublin English: Evolution and change

The present book describes the English language in all its facets as spoken in present-day Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland. It covers the entire range of its history since the first arrival of English there several hundred years ago. Apart from the evolution of English in the capital, the book also concentrates on the significant changes which have been taking place in the speech of Dublin in the past 15 years or so. The rapid change of Dublin English is seen as a correlate to the many social and economic developments which have occurred in recent years. The type of linguistic change in Dublin is driven by dissociation (the mirror-image of accommodation) and will be of particular interest to scholars working within the ‘language variation and change’ framework as it will to those more generally concerned with varieties of English and their specific profiles vis a vis more standard forms of English.
Predictive validity of BODE index for anxious and depressive symptoms in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND Anxiety and depression are two of the commonest and most modifiable comorbidities of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and have an independent effect on health and prognosis. FEV1% has been shown to be a poor predictor of anxiety and depression. The body mass index, degree of airflow obstruction, dyspnea, and exercise capacity (BODE) index is a multidimensional assessment system which may predict health outcome in COPD patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive validity of the BODE index for anxious and depressive symptoms in COPD patients. METHODS This was a multicenter prospective cross-sectional study in 256 patients with stable COPD. Anxious and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The relationships between anxiety, depression and potential predictors (including the BODE index) were analyzed by a binary Logistic regression model. RESULTS Subjects who were anxious and depressive walked a shorter six-minute walking distance (6MWD), had more dyspnea, a higher BODE index, and lower health-related quality of life (P < 0.01). Anxiety and depression score was significantly correlated with BODE index, respectively (r = 0.335, P < 0.001; r = 0.306, P < 0.001). The prevalence of anxiety and depression increased with BODE stage increasing (P < 0.05). On the basis of binary Logistic regression, the BODE index was a good and independent predictor of anxiety and depression because it comprised dyspnea and 6MWD, which were shown to be the main determinants. CONCLUSIONS The predictive validity of the BODE index for anxiety and depression was demonstrated. We propose that the BODE index should be included in assessment of COPD severity.
Optimal Length of Antiviral Therapy in Patients with Hepatitis C virus Genotypes 2 and 3: A Meta-Analysis

Background Current guidelines recommend a duration of 24 weeks of treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin for patients infected with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 2 and 3. Several trials investigated whether shorter treatment duration is equally effective in achieving sustained virological response (SVR). Our aim was to determine the optimal length of treatment in patients with HCV genotypes 2 and 3. Methods Systematic literature identified eight randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Meta-analyses were carried out on SVR data from three studies randomized at baseline and five studies randomized at rapid virological response (RVR) to either 12–16 weeks or a 24-week course. Results Pooled SVR data were higher in standard treatment in RCTs that randomized at baseline, with a relative risk (RR) of 0.88 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.76–1.01). The pooled proportion of SVR rates of RCTs that randomized at RVR were similar in the short treatment group (82%) as in the standard treatment (83%), with the pooled effect given by a RR of 1.00 (95% CI 0.92–1.09). Conclusions A shorter course (12–16 weeks) of combination therapy does not impair efficacy compared with a 24-week course in HCV genotypes 2 and 3 patients who achieve an RVR. HCV patients without RVR should consider 24 weeks of treatment.
Antimicrobial Resistance among Enterococci from Pigs in Three European Countries

ABSTRACT Enterococci from pigs in Denmark, Spain, and Sweden were examined for susceptibility to antimicrobial agents and copper and the presence of selected resistance genes. The greatest levels of resistance were found among isolates from Spain and Denmark compared to those from Sweden, which corresponds to the amounts of antimicrobial agents used in food animal production in those countries. Similar genes were found to encode resistance in the different countries, but the tet(L) and tet(S) genes were more frequently found among isolates from Spain. A recently identified transferable copper resistance gene was found in all copper-resistant isolates from the different countries.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder associated with brain lesions

We studied the behavioral, cognitive, and neuroimaging characteristics of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in 13 patients with focal brain lesions (acquired OCD) and compared their clinical features and the severity of obsessive and compulsive (OC) symptoms with patients with idiopathic OCD. Both OCD groups were further compared with matched normal controls on a series of neuropsychological tests. Patients with acquired OCD had a negative familial history and later age at onset of OCD symptoms than patients with idiopathic OCD. The two OCD groups showed relatively similar clinical phenomenology, severity of OC symptoms, and profile of neuropsychological deficits. Compared with normal control subjects, both OCD groups showed cognitive deficits affecting attention, intellectual function, memory, word retrieval, and motor and executive functions. Eight of the 13 patients with acquired OCD had abnormal neurologic examinations, whereas only 3 of the 13 patients with idiopathic OCD had abnormal neurologic examinations. Neuroimaging in the acquired OCD group disclosed a variety of lesions involving exclusively the cerebral cortex (frontal, temporal, or cingulate regions), the basal ganglia, or both. These results suggest that acquired and idiopathic OCDs may share a common pathophysiologic mechanism, and that structural damage to specific frontal-limbic-subcortical circuits plays an important role in the pathogenesis of acquired OCD. NEUROLOGY 1996;47: 353-361
Ta2O5 Interfacial Layer between GST and W Plug enabling Low Power Operation of Phase Change Memories

A novel memory cell for phase-change memories (PCMs) that enables low-power operation has been developed. Power (i.e., current and voltage) for the cell is significantly reduced by inserting a very thin Ta2O5 film between GeSbTe (GST) and a W plug. The Ta2O5 interfacial layer works not only as a heat insulator enabling effective heat generation in GST but also as an adhesion layer between GST and SiO2 underneath. Nonetheless, sufficient current flows through the interfacial layer due to direct tunneling. A low programming power of 1.5 V/100 muA can therefore be obtained even on a W plug with a diameter of 180 nm fabricated using standard 0.13-mum CMOS technology. In addition, the uniformity and repeatability of cell resistance are excellent because of the inherently stable Ta2O5 film properties
Reflections and Multiple Rayleigh Backscattering in WDM Single-Fiber Loopback Access Networks

The optical gain of reflective optical network units (ONUs) may produce a critical amplifying feedback on the single-fiber transmission impairments. In this paper, its influence on the passive optical networks transmission with reflective-ONU is theoretically analyzed and experimentally confirmed. Analytical expressions for the optical crosstalk-to-signal ratio and the Q-parameter in presence of Rayleigh backscattering, reflection interferences and ASE noise are given. As a resulting design guideline, the ONU gain should be adjusted to about 3 dB below the total link loss; in addition, component return loss at the drop section must be higher than 30 dB. Experimental results with two basic types of reflective-ONUs, namely a loop structure formed by a Mach-Zehnder modulator and an optical amplifier, and another one employing a reflective-SOA, are in agreement with the theoretical approach.
Production of Cellulases by Aspergillus Heteromorphus from Wheat Straw under Submerged Fermentation

enzyme production and meeting the increase in awareness on energy conservation and recycling. The conversion of cellulosic mass to fermentable sugars through biocatalyst cellulase derived from cellulolytic organisms has been suggested as a feasible process and offers potential to reduce use of fossil fuels and reduce environmental pollution (5), (6). Cellulase production by different organisms in submerged state fermentation has received more attention and is found to be cost-prohibitive because of high cost of process engineering. India is an agricultural country and wheat is one of the most important agricultural crop in India. Every year nearly 78.4 Million Tones wheat is produced. With the processesing of wheat grains a large amount of straw is produced which can be used as a substrate for ethanol production. Currently a most important application of cellulases and hemicellulases in the pulp and paper industry is the biobleaching of pulp, the production of dissolving pulp, the treatment of wastewater and the deinking of recycled waste paper. The potential of enzymatic treatments has been assessed and the processes have proved successful (7), (8). In the present study the production of cellulolytic enzymes by a local isolate of A. heteromorphus on lignocelluloses in submerged fermentation is reported.
Match analysis and heart rate of futsal players during competition

Abstract Heart rates were monitored and time – motion analysis performed for 10 players (mean age 25.6 years, s = 2.5; body mass 73.8 kg, s = 5.7 kg; height 1.75 m, s = 0.06) during four competitive futsal matches. Mean heart rate during the match was 90% (s = 2) of maximum heart rate. Heart rate records were classified based on the percentage of time spent in three zones (>85%, 85 – 65%, and <65% maximum heart rate); players spent 83%, 16%, and 0.3% in these three zones, respectively. During the second period, there was a significant reduction (P < 0.01) in the percentage of time spent at an intensity above 85% of maximum heart rate (first vs. second period: 86% vs. 79%). Players' movements were classified as standing, walking, jogging, medium-intensity running, high-intensity running, and sprinting (maximal speed running). Time – motion analysis indicated that the mean distance covered per minute of play was 117.3 m (s = 11.6), of which 28.5% (s = 2.2) was covered while performing medium-intensity running, 13.7% (s = 2) during high-intensity running, and 8.9% (s = 3.4) while sprinting. From the results, we conclude that futsal is a multiple-sprints sport in which there are more high-intensity phases than in soccer and other intermittent sports.
Effects of cumulative stress on fish health near freshwater outlet sluices into the sea: A case study (1988–2005) with evidence for a contributing role of chemical contaminants

Epizootic skin diseases in euryhaline flounder (Platichthys flesus) in the Dutch Wadden Sea were first reported in 1988. Particularly high prevalences of skin ulcers (up to one‐third of individual fish being affected) were encountered in the vicinity of sluices draining freshwater from IJsselmeer Lake, in contrast with much lower levels in the freshwater bodies behind the sluices and open sea areas (<2%). It was proposed that salinity stress, high bacterial loads, nutritional deficiencies, and obstruction to fish migration by the sluices could all be involved in disease causation. Results of follow‐up surveys at these outlet sluices from 1994 to 2005 further substantiate our preliminary findings. The follow‐up data also show a general reduction in disease and improved condition factor during this period, which can be explained by improved habitat conditions for the flounder, partly due to effective sluice gate management. Furthermore, statistical correlations (p < 0.05) were demonstrated between flounder ulcer occurrence and chemical contaminant concentrations in liver (Hg, Cd, Cu, Zn) and bile (the metabolite 1‐OH pyrene as an indicator of chronic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure), and histological liver lesions generally indicative of contaminant exposure (hydropic vacuolization of biliary duct epithelial cells). The findings suggest that a combination of osmotic and contaminant‐induced stress also contributed to the observed disease patterns. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2011;7:445–458. © 2011 SETAC
Emotional intelligence in the workplace.

Adding emotional intelligence to your toolkit of success skills might be the most important thing you can do for your career. Emotional intelligence, or EQ, matters more than intellect alone, and it has practical value in the workplace. “Emotional intelligence is the skill of understanding and managing your emotions and also understanding the emotions of those around you,” says executive coach, consultant and speaker Irene Becker, who works with clients worldwide. “High emotional intelligence is reflected in self awareness, self management, motivation, empathy and social/communication skills. ” In “Working with Emotional Intelligence,” author Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., CEO of Emotional Intelligence Services, calls EQ “a different way of being smart. ”
Social Identity and Self-Categorization Theories : Attacking Individuals or Collectives ?

In 2 studies, we investigated victim attributions (Study 1) and outcomes (Study 2) for workplace aggression and sexual harassment. Drawing on social categorization theory, we argue that victims of workplace aggression and sexual harassment may make different attributions about their mistreatment. In Study 1, we investigated victim attributions in an experimental study. We hypothesized that victims of sexual harassment are more likely than victims of workplace aggression to depersonalize their mistreatment and attribute blame to the perpetrator or the perpetrator’s attitudes toward their gender. In contrast, victims of workplace aggression are more likely than victims of sexual harassment to personalize the mistreatment and make internal attributions. Results supported our hypotheses. On the basis of differential attributions for these 2 types of mistreatment, we argue that victims of workplace aggression may experience stronger adverse outcomes than victims of sexual harassment. In Study 2, we compared meta-analytically the attitudinal, behavioral, and health outcomes of workplace aggression and sexual harassment. Negative outcomes of workplace aggression were stronger in magnitude than those of sexual harassment for 6 of the 8 outcome variables. Implications and future directions are discussed.
Off-loading the diabetic foot wound: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE To compare the effectiveness of total-contact casts (TCCs), removable cast walkers (RCWs), and half-shoes to heal neuropathic foot ulcerations in individuals with diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In this prospective clinical trial, 63 patients with superficial noninfected, nonischemic diabetic plantar foot ulcers were randomized to one of three off-loading modalities: TCC, half-shoe, or RCW. Outcomes were assessed at wound healing or at 12 weeks, whichever came first. Primary outcome measures included proportion of complete wound healing at 12 weeks and activity (defined as steps per day). RESULTS The proportions of healing for patients treated with TCC, RCW, and half-shoe were 89.5, 65.0, and 58.3%, respectively. A significantly higher proportion of patients were healed by 12 weeks in the TCC group when compared with the two other modalities (89.5 vs. 61.4%, P = 0.026, odds ratio 5.4, 95% CI 1.1-26.1). There was also a significant difference in survival distribution (time to healing) between patients treated with a TCC and both an RCW (P = 0.033) and half-shoe (P = 0.012). Patients were significantly less active in the TCC (600.1 +/- 320.0 daily steps) compared with the half-shoe (1,461.8 +/- 1,452.3 daily steps, P = 0.04). There was no significant difference in the average number of steps between the TCC and the RCW (767.6 +/- 563.3 daily steps, P = 0.67) or the RCW and the half-shoe (P = 0.15). CONCLUSIONS The TCC seems to heal a higher proportion of wounds in a shorter amount of time than two other widely used off-loading modalities, the RCW and the half-shoe.
Hypercapnic Acidosis Reduces Contractile Function in the Ventricle of the Armored Catfish, Pterygoplichthys pardalis

The armored catfish, Pterygoplichthys pardalis (formerly Liposarcus pardalis), is a freshwater, facultative air‐breathing teleost that experiences seasonal hypercapnia in the water systems of South America. We studied the tolerance of the P. pardalis heart to hypercapnic acidosis using an isolated ventricular muscle strip preparation. Force generation and kinetic variables were examined across a range of contraction frequencies under normocapnic and hypercapnic conditions in the absence and presence of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) inhibitors. Pterygoplichthys pardalis ventricle exhibited robust contractile force, on par with athletic fish species such as trout and tuna and a relatively flat force‐frequency relationship between 0.2 and 1.5 Hz under normocapnic conditions (1% CO2, pH 7.78 ± 0.02). Hypercapnic acidosis (7.5% CO2, pH 7.1 ± 0.03) did not alter the shape of the force‐frequency response but reduced force by ∼50% across all frequencies tested, with only partial recovery upon return to normocapnic conditions. A subsequent and more severe acidotic challenge (15% CO2, pH 6.77 ± 0.05) caused an additional 20% decrease in force. Force recovered to the level at which it had stablized after the first hypercapnic insult. SR inhibition had no steady state effect on force production at 0.2 Hz but resulted in a negative force‐frequency relationship, suggesting that SR Ca2+ is recruited to a greater extent at high contraction frequencies. Surprisingly, SR‐inhibited muscle was more resistant to hypercapnic acidosis (force decreased by ∼40% across all frequencies) and displayed improved recovery upon return to normocapnic conditions. The significance of this latter finding is not clear. In aggregate, our results demonstrate robust contractile force, which extends across a range of frequencies and appears to be supported by SR Ca2+ cycling. Hypercapnic acidosis reduced contractile force but may provide preconditioning‐like protection from subsequent insults.