Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Age-Related Deficit in Resolving Interference: Evidence From Speech Perception

The presence of noise and interfering information can pose major difficulties during speech perception, particularly for older adults. Analogously, interference from similar representations during retrieval is a major cause of age-related memory failures. To demonstrate a suppression mechanism that underlies such speech and memory difficulties, we tested the hypothesis that interference between targets and competitors is resolved by suppressing competitors, thereby rendering them less intelligible in noise. In a series of experiments using a paradigm adapted from Healey, Hasher, and Campbell (2013), we presented a list of words that included target/competitor pairs of orthographically similar words (e.g., ALLERGY and ANALOGY). After a delay, participants solved fragments (e.g., A_L__GY), some of which resembled both members of the target/competitor pair, but could only be completed by the target. We then assessed the consequence of having successfully resolved this interference by asking participants to identify words in noise, some of which included the rejected competitor words from the previous phase. Consistent with a suppression account of interference resolution, younger adults reliably demonstrated reduced identification accuracy for competitors, indicating that they had effectively rejected, and therefore suppressed, competitors. In contrast, older adults showed a relative increase in accuracy for competitors relative to young adults. Such results suggest that older adults’ reduced ability to suppress these representations resulted in sustained access to lexical traces, subsequently increasing perceptual identification of such items. We discuss these findings within the framework of inhibitory control theory in cognitive aging and its implications for age-related changes in speech perception.
of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Three-Dimensional Model of Modern Channel Bend Deposits Three-Dimensional Model of Modern Channel Bend Deposits

[ 1 ] We present a three-dimensional model of heterogeneous modern channel bend deposits developed through purely structure-imitating interpolation (kriging) of hydraulic properties. This model, augmented with ground-penetrating radar data and directional variograms, agrees with detailed observations in similar modern environments and leads to a process-based interpretation of the presented hydraulic conductivity structure. Integration of all available information permitted delineation and characterization of the modern streambed as a distinct hydrostratigraphic unit without coring or outcrop studies. Our results imply that the modern streambed is commonly oversimplified in available analytical and numerical models of groundwater-surface water interactions where it is assumed to be homogeneous and isotropic and characterized by a constant width and thickness. This three-dimensional approach that integrates concepts and principles developed in sedimentology, hydrogeology, geophysics, and geostatistics has potential implications on model development of stream-aquifer systems. Hydrology: hydrology; Hydrology: 5114
Flight assessment in patients with respiratory disease: hypoxic challenge testing vs. predictive equations.

BACKGROUND Predictive equations have been proposed as a simpler alternative to hypoxic challenge testing (HCT) for determining the risk of in-flight hypoxia. AIM To assess agreement between hypoxic challenge testing (HCT) and predictive equations for assessment of in-flight hypoxia. DESIGN Retrospective study. METHODS Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (n = 15), interstitial lung disease (ILD) (n = 15) and cystic fibrosis (CF) (n = 15) were studied. Spirometry was recorded prior to hypoxic inhalation and oxygen saturations (SpO2) were recorded before, after and during hypoxic inhalation. Blood gases were analysed before and after hypoxic inhalation and when SpO2 = 85%. An HCT was performed using the Ventimask method. The PaO2 at altitude was estimated for each group using four published predictive equations, which use values of PaO2 (ground) and lung function measurements to predict altitude PaO2. Results were interpreted using the BTS recommendations for prescription of in-flight oxygen post HCT. The Stuart Maxwell test of overall homogeneity was used to assess agreement between HCT results and each of the predictive equations. RESULTS Ground PaO2 was significantly greater in patients with CF than either ILD or COPD (p < 0.05). PaO2 in all three groups significantly decreased following HCT. With the exception of equation 3, significantly fewer patients in each group would require in-flight O2 if prescription was based on HCT, compared to predictive equations (p < 0.05). DISCUSSION Predictive equations considerably overestimate the need for in-flight O2, compared to HCT.
Strategizing in the micro firm: A ‘strategy as practice’ framework

It is argued that strategizing provides firms with deep and sustainable sources of competitive advantage. Despite an emerging literature base on the strategic management of the micro firm, there is limited research into strategizing in context. This article investigates the nature of strategizing in the micro firm. A critical review of the literature is conducted, focused on strategy as practice theory. Emerging from this review, the study presents a framework of strategizing in context. Three pillars of strategy as practice theory – practitioners, practices and praxis – are posited as influences on strategizing, with the micro firm environment providing a powerful external influence. Premised on the contextual nature of strategizing, entrepreneurship educators are advised to develop more ‘personalized’ pedagogy. The article contributes to management practice by providing the owner/manager with a framework for the development of strategizing unique to the micro firm. Future research is recommended to empirically evaluate the framework. Theoretically, this article relies on the strategy as practice perspective, and alternative perspectives such as the resource-based view may provide new insights.
A state space world for detecting and estimating events and learning sparse signal decompositions

Many signals can be labeled with a small set of events such that each event is categorized according to its surrounding signal shapes. In this thesis, we provide a general approach based on linear state space models to learn sparse signal decompositions from single-channel and multichannel discrete-time measurements. The proposed approach provides a sparse multi-channel representation of a given signal, which can be interpreted as a signal labeling. This thesis is organized in three parts. In the first part, several important properties of linear state space models (LSSMs) are revisited. Especially, signals generated with an autonomous LSSM are thoroughly investigated and fully characterized. In particular, we show that the set of such signals forms a ring and that the correlation function between any autonomous LSSM signal and any discrete-time signal can be recursively and efficiently computed. These two properties along with the vast modeling capabilities of LSSM signals are at the heart of this thesis. In the second part, we develop a general approach to detect events in (single-channel or multi-channel) discrete-time signals and estimate the parameters of such events. Since the number of events is assumed to be substantially smaller than the number of samples, the set of detected events is interpreted as a sparse representation of the given signal. An event locally creates characteristic signals which are modeled with a two-sided autonomous LSSM; the right-sided model accounts for the signals observed after that event while the left-sided model accounts for the signals before that event. Thus, the problem of event detection and estimation is substituted by fitting at any given time a LSSM signal to observations. For this purpose, new cost functions are defined: a LSSM-weighted squared error cost and a LSSM-weighted polynomial cost. These cost functions have the attractive property of being recursively computed. In addition, closed-form solutions for several mini-
Butterfly wings shaped by a molecular cookie cutter: evolutionary radiation of lepidopteran wing shapes associated with a derived Cut/wingless wing margin boundary system

SUMMARY Butterflies and moths show a remarkable diversity of specialized wing shapes, yet little is known about the molecular basis of wing shape determination. To learn more about this process we examined the expression of dorsoventral (DV) boundary candidate genes in developing wings of several species of Lepidoptera. We found that the transcription factor Cut and mRNA for the signaling molecule wingless (wg) are strongly co‐expressed in a discrete zone around the larval wing disc margin. Surprisingly, the expression boundary of Cut and wg clearly presages complex future adult wing shapes, including the hindwing tails of swallowtail butterflies, very early in final‐instar wing disc development. During pupal wing development the cells in this zone undergo apoptosis, thereby defining the actual margin of the adult wing. Comparison with gene expression in beetle and fly wings suggests that this delineation of a topologically independent boundary running parallel to the DV boundary is a derived feature of Lepidoptera. We propose that the developmental decoupling of wing margin determination and DV boundary formation was a major developmental innovation that facilitated the radiation of specialized wing shapes in moths and butterflies.
NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES DOES MENTORING REDUCE TURNOVER AND IMPROVE SKILLS OF NEW EMPLOYEES? EVIDENCE FROM TEACHERS IN NEW YORK CITY

Mentoring has become an extremely popular policy for improving the retention and performance of new teachers, but we know little about its effects on teacher and student outcomes. I study the impact of mentoring in New York City, which adopted a nationally recognized mentoring program in 2004. I use detailed program data to examine the relationship between teacher and student outcomes and measures of mentoring quality, such as hours of mentoring received and the characteristics of mentors. Although assignment of teachers to mentors was non-random, I use instrumental variables and school fixed effects to address potential sources of bias. I find strong relationships between measures of mentoring quality and teachers' claims regarding the impact of mentors on their success in the classroom, but weaker evidence of effects on teacher absences, retention, and student achievement. The most consistent finding is that retention within a particular school is higher when a mentor has previous experience working in that school, suggesting that an important part of mentoring may be the provision of school specific knowledge. I also find evidence that student achievement in both reading and math were higher among teachers that received more hours of mentoring, supporting the notion that time spent working with a mentor does improve teaching skills. Jonah E. Rockoff Columbia University Graduate School of Business 3022 Broadway #603 New York, NY 10027-6903 and NBER jonah.rockoff@columbia.edu
Octreotide treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

We read with interest the report by Yuen et al. on treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with octreotide published in HEPATOLOGY.1 Their conclusions are different from our study,2 recently confirmed with long-acting somatostatin analogues.3 We found a clear survival benefit for treated patients. In the study of Yuen et al., the control group had a poor survival of 1.9 months. This is surprising, since 82% of their patients were Okuda stage I and II, which, according to the original Okuda study should have a better survival. In our study of untreated patients, Okuda I patients survived for a median of 16 months and Okuda II for 7 months.4 Similar findings are reported for inoperable patients in a Spanish study.5 However a report from Thailand6 also shows a poor median survival of 8.7 weeks. Therefore, either the natural course is different in the East, or only terminal patients are included. In any case, such patients are moribund and no treatment can be effective. This is exemplified by the fact that 21 out of 35 treated patients in the study of Yuen et al. received either none or only one injection of long-acting octreotide. Any effect of octreotide should require some time before becoming evident. If our Kaplan Meier survival curves are compared with these of Yuen et al., they are identical for the first 6 months. Any treatment benefit becomes significant for those surviving for at least 6 months. We emphasized that these patients are most likely to benefit from such a treatment. Moreover, trials on HCC have the unique characteristic of usually dealing with two potentially fatal diseases (one being the underlying cirrhosis), which influence each other. Many patients die of complicated cirrhosis rather than from HCC itself. This is true in the case of alcoholic cirrhosis, but according to our experience (manuscript in preparation) the natural course of HBV-related cirrhosis is worse than that of HCV cirrhosis. Therefore, we agree with Yuen et al. that their group consists mainly of HBV-related HCC, whereas in ours, HCV is the predominant etiologic factor, and this might affect the outcome. The antiproliferative effect of octreotide is probably regulated by the expression of somatostatin receptors. Not all HCC express somatostatin receptors. In a recent study only 40% of HCC expressed receptors by autoradiography,7 while an immunohistochemical study showed expression of somatostatin receptors in cirrhotic nodules and HCC, but not in chronic hepatitis.8 Since approximately 40% of our patients respond favorably to octreotide,2,3 we believe that somatostatin receptors will be important for the response to octreotide. In conclusion, the selection of patients is critical in any study of HCC treatment. Patients with such a short expected survival like those reported by Yuen et al. should not be suitable for the detection of any benefit by octreotide treatment. Probably, patients at stage D of Barcelona classification9 or patients with CLIPP score more than 4 or 510 should be excluded.
Repaglinide in Type 2 Diabetes: A 24‐Week, Fixed‐Dose Efficacy and Safety Study

In this 24‐week multicenter, double‐blind, randomized, fixed‐dose trial, 361 patients having type 2 diabetes recieved daily preprandial treatment with placebo (n = 75), repaglinide 1 mg (n = 140), or repaglinide 4 mg (n = 146). By a last‐observation carried‐forward calculation, repaglinide 1 mg or 4 mg treatment decreased mean fasting plasma glucose (FPG) values (by −47 mg/dL or −49 mg/dL) while the placebo group had increased FPG values (by 19 mg/dL). For the repaglinide treatment groups at the end of the study, changes in HbA1c from baseline values ranged from 1.8 to 1.9 percentage points lower than the placebo group. There were no events of severe hypoglycemia. Nearly all hypoglycemic symptom episodes had blood glucose levels above 45 mg/dL. Repaglinide was well tolerated in a preprandial fixed‐dose regimen of 1 mg or 4 mg, assigned without adjustment for clinical parameters.
Neutron irradiation effects on the structural properties of KU1, KS-4V and I301 silica glasses

In this work we have studied the effects of high neutron fluencies and gamma doses on the structural properties of three different types of silica glasses: two high purity silica with different OH content, KU1 (800 ppm) and KS-4V (<;0.2 ppm); and a commercial silica Infrasil 301 (<;8 ppm). The experimental results (Raman and FTIR spectra) have been compared with ab-initio simulations and show that, while the changes on the structure of the gamma irradiated silica are not significant, the structural changes due to neutron irradiation result in an increase of the number of strained bonds responsible of the formation of new defects which alter the optical properties of the glasses.
Revisión Effectiveness of inulin intake on indicators of chronic constipation ; a meta-analysis of controlled randomized clinical trials

Introducción: El estreñimiento es una disfunción intestinal. Los prebióticos, como la inulina, pueden mejorar la función intestinal influyendo positivamente en la biota intestinal. Objetivo: Analizar la evidencia científica del papel de la inulina en la mejora de la función intestinal en sujetos con estreñimiento crónico. Material y método: se realizó un meta-análisis de ensayos clínicos aleatorizados controlados que fueron seleccionados en una búsqueda bibliográfica en el período 1995-2013 (descriptores: inulina & estreñimiento) en PubMed, ScieLo y el Registro Central de Ensayos Clínicos de Cochrane. Se encontraron 24 artículos, de los que 5 fueron seleccionados para este meta-análisis, que involucran a 252 sujetos (grupo experimental: n = 144; grupo control: n = 108). La calidad de los estudios fue evaluada con la escala Jadad. Resultados: Se ha encontrado un efecto global significativo de la inulina sobre la frecuencia de las deposiciones (DEM = 0,69, IC 95%: 0,04; 1,34), la consistencia de las heces (Escala de Bristol) (DEM = 1,07, IC 95%: 0,70; 1,45), el tiempo de tránsito (DEM = -0,57, IC 95%: -0,99; -0,15) y la dureza de las heces (RR = 0,42, IC 95%: 0,26; 0,70). El dolor y la distensión abdominal no mejoran con la ingesta de inulina. Conclusiones: La ingesta de inulina tiene un efecto positivo sobre la función intestinal.
Extracellular pH Affects the Proliferation of Cultured Human T Cells and Their Expression of the Interleukin-2 Receptor

Ex vivo expansion of T cells is an important aspect of many cellular immunotherapy protocols, and the effects of the culture environment on the cells must be understood to produce large numbers of functional cells. Extracellular pH is a fundamental parameter that has many different effects on cultured cells. In this study, peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated with phytohemagglutinin and cultured at pH values of 7.0, 7.2, or 7.4. The effects of pH on the cells were studied during the 2 to 3 weeks of proliferation resulting from phytohemagglutinin stimulation, in order to examine the culture kinetics over realistic time scales for ex vivo expansion. The proliferation capacity of the T cells increased more than three-fold for the pH 7.0 and 7.2 cultures compared with the pH 7.4 cultures. The culture pH also affected the kinetics of the interleukin-2 receptor down-regulation process. The faster receptor down-regulation in both the pH 7.2 and 7.4 cultures resulted in a more than twofold greater fraction of interleukin-2 receptor+ cells in the pH 7.0 cultures. Although the fraction of apoptotic cells (using the Annexin V flow-cytometric method) remained less than 10%, we observed 27% more apoptosis in the pH 7.4 cultures than in the 7.2 cultures and 49% more apoptosis in the pH 7.4 cultures than in the 7.0 cultures. These effects on interleukin-2 receptor expression and cellular apoptosis may partially explain the observed effects of pH on T-cell proliferation.
‘There's something in their eyes’ – Child Health Services nurses’ experiences of identifying signs of postpartum depression in non‐Swedish‐speaking immigrant mothers

BACKGROUND Due to the current world situation, Sweden has one of the highest asylum applications within the European Union. Immigrant mothers, specifically those who have immigrated during the last ten years and do not speak the language of the new country, are found to be at particular risk of being effected by postpartum depression. AIM In this study, we elucidate Swedish Child Health Services nurses' experiences of identifying signs of postpartum depression in non-Swedish-speaking immigrant mothers. METHODS Latent content analysis was used when analysing data material from 13 research interviews. RESULTS Being able to interpret a non-Swedish-speaking immigrant mother's mood required establishing and constant deepening of a transcultural caring relationship, the use of cultural knowledge to perceive signs of postpartum depression from observations and interactions and to rely on intuition. CONCLUSION There are both challenges and key factors for success in interpreting the mood of non-Swedish-speaking immigrant mothers. IMPLICATIONS This study provides information to healthcare professionals about challenges with adapting the screening with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale to immigrant mothers not speaking the language of residence. Tacit knowledge and cultural competence among healthcare personnel are invaluable assets when interpreting mental health in this vulnerable group of mothers.
Animal sourced foods and child stunting: Evidence from 112,887 children in 46 countries

Stunting, or chronic undernutrition, affects 160 million pre-school children around the world, and imposes significant costs on a child’s health, cognitive development, schooling and economic performance. Most stunting materializes in a very specific age range of 6-23 months when, among other things, children are first introduced to solid foods. But while stunting in this period has been closely linked to generic indicators of dietary diversity, biological studies increasingly link child growth and development to intake of high quality animal-sourced foods (ASFs) rich in protein and other growth-stimulating nutrients. Surprisingly, however, very little experimental research has assessed the impact of ASF consumption on child growth, or explored why ASF consumption is low but also high variable in developing countries. In this paper we redress these knowledge gaps through an analysis of 112,887 children aged 6-23 months from 46 countries. We first document distinctive patterns of ASF consumption among children in different regions, notably the varying importance of dairy and fish in different parts of Africa and Asia, and generally low levels of meat and egg consumption in these regions. We then test how ASF consumption affects child stunting in multivariate models saturated with control variables. We find strong associations with a generic ASF consumption indicator as well as with fish and dairy consumption. Finally, we explore why ASF consumption is low but also so variable across countries and regions. We show that non-tradable ASFs (fresh milk, eggs) are a very expensive source of calories in low income countries, and that caloric prices of these foods are strongly associated with consumption patterns. A host of other demand-side factors are also important, but the strong influence of prices implies an important role for agricultural policies – in production, marketing and trade – to improve the accessibility and affordability of ASFs in poorer countries.
Are Transformational leaders creative and Creative leaders transformational? An attempted synthesis through the Big Five Factor Model of Personality Lens

Using the Big Five Factor Model of personality, I propose to explore the association between transformational leadership and their creativity disposition. I go beyond the unilateral understanding of this association and try to explore if creative leaders may be transformational. These two associations shall be underscored in separate sections. Research questions veering around these associations are being offered underscoring the need for significant contextual factors for an appropriate understanding of the relationships.