Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does the Hippocampal Atrophy Correlate With the Cortical Theta Power in Elderly Subjects With a Range of Cognitive Impairment?

A previous study with a small sample (N = 39) showed a significant correlation between the cortical theta activity and the hippocampal volume in different stages of cognitive impairment in aged subjects. The recent study was aimed to replicate these results in a much bigger sample. The authors examined a sample of 121 right-handed subjects. The sample consisted of 37 healthy controls, 40 patients with questionable dementia, and 44 patients with mild dementia assessed by Clinical Dementia Rating. All subjects underwent EEG and brain MRI. Mean spectral power was calculated, and volume of hippocampal segments was measured. EEG theta power of the left and right hemisphere correlated significantly with the hippocampal volume on the left and right side in different stages of cognitive impairment. An increase of theta power was associated with decreased hippocampal volume. No other significant correlations were found for alpha or beta band power. No correlation was found between cortical theta and global brain volume. There seems to be a direct relationship between neuronal loss of the hippocampus and changed cortical theta activity for different stages of cognitive impairment in aged subjects.
The development of a measure of motivational changes following acquired brain injury

Motivational deficits following acquired brain injury have been found to be both prevalent and particularly disabling. Despite this, relatively little attention has been given to such deficits. The development of self and informant versions of a new questionnaire measure of the changes in motivation that may occur following acquired brain injury is described. The measure demonstrates excellent psychometric properties including high test–retest (r = .90) and split-half reliability (.94), high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .94), and good concurrent validity. The study also demonstrates that the questionnaire is measuring a different domain to cognitive tests and tests of affect, but one that is predictive of brain injury outcome. There was moderate overlap between self-report and relative versions of the questionnaire (r = .41) but results suggest that the relative version has the stronger predictive value. The potential uses of the measure in relation to theory and practice are discussed.
Performance of antegrade suture passers according to tendon thickness

Purpose: To determine the effect of tendon thickness on the needle penetration ability of four different designs of antegrade suture passers. Materials and Methods: Four antegrade suture passers were tested: (a) ExpresSew II (Depuy Mitek Inc., Raynham, MA), (b) Arthrex Scorpion (Arthrex, Naples, FL), (c) Concept (Linvatec Corp, Largo, FL), and (d) ElitePass (Smith and Nephew Endoscopy, Andover, MA). Bovine tendons were divided into five thickness groups: 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 mm. At each tendon thickness, we performed 15 trials with the suture loaded and 15 unloaded per device. Successful needle penetration was recorded, and in case of success, the exit point of the needle was noted in relation to the superior arm of the grasping component. Results: All tested suture passing devices successfully penetrated tendon thicknesses of 3 and 5 mm. With the suture loaded, one device (Concept) only successfully penetrated 7 mm group tendons in 3/15 (20%) trials. Success rates at 9 mm with the suture loaded were 40% in ExpresSew II, 53% in Arthrex Scorpion, 0% in Concept and 53% in ElitePass. Among successful passages with a loaded suture in the 7 and 9 mm-groups, about 20-50% of passages were oblique, and the needle came out distal to the superior arm of grasping the component. No trial with any device succeeded with 11 mm tendons in the suture loading condition. Conclusion: Using an antegrade suture passer during arthroscopic rotator cuff repair should be carefully considered when the torn end of the tendon is thicker than about 7-9 mm due to potential failure of needle penetration and/or too oblique a suture passage. Level of Evidence: Controlled laboratory study.
The involvement of clinicians in medical education research.

BACKGROUND Medical education, like other forms of professional preparation, is a complex and demanding process, which can benefit enormously from careful research. Although such research can be conducted by researchers from outside medical education, there is also a clear need for clinicians to participate in such research and conduct studies that can draw upon their experience and insights. However, despite recent endeavours to involve clinical educators in such research, there are very few published articles reporting research conducted by such individuals. OBJECTIVE To explore the factors that impact upon clinicians' engagement in medical education research. METHOD Interview data, concerning potential involvement in medical education research, were gathered directly from 20 clinicians. A detailed systematic analysis was conducted on the interview transcripts. RESULTS Three general themes emerged from the interviews, all of which relate to clinicians' engagement in medical education research. They are: (a) effective leadership, (b) promoting professional growth, and (c) all-encompassing support. CONCLUSION The study shows that there is a need for clinical leaders with inspirational qualities to drive research in medical education. Also, clinicians need better training in educational research methods and more funding is needed to support this type of research.
On the Smallest Eigenvalue of Grounded Laplacian Matrices

We provide bounds on the smallest eigenvalue of grounded Laplacian matrices (which are obtained by removing certain rows and columns of the Laplacian matrix of a given graph). The gap between our upper and lower bounds depends on the ratio of the smallest and largest components of the eigenvector corresponding to the smallest eigenvalue of the grounded Laplacian. We provide a graph-theoretic bound on this ratio, and subsequently obtain a tight characterization of the smallest eigenvalue for certain classes of graphs. Specifically, for weighted Erdos-Renyi random graphs, we show that when a (sufficiently small) set S of rows and columns is removed from the Laplacian, and the probability p of adding an edge is sufficiently large, the smallest eigenvalue of the grounded Laplacian asymptotically almost surely approaches μw|S|p, where μw is the mean edge weight. We also show that for weighted random d-regular graphs with a single row and column removed, the smallest eigenvalue is Θ(1/n), where n is the number of nodes in the network. Our bounds have applications to the study of the convergence rate in consensus dynamics with stubborn or leader nodes.
DEPLOYMENT OF FEMTO / PICO / MICROCELL IN URBAN INDOOR AND OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENTS WITH HIGH LAYOUT OF SUBSCRIBERS

In this work, we analyze the ways of optimization of each user's channel capacity and spectral efficiency in a modern hierarchy of incorporated microcell, picocell and femtocell networks. We consider the co-existence of microcell Base Stations (MBSs), Picocell (PAPs) and Femtocell Access Points (FAPs) with shared and dedicated carrier frequency allocations. The simulation framework, based on the multi-parametric stochastic model of radio propagation for various scenarios, occurring in the urban environment, is introduced for analysis of channel capacity and spectral efficiency improvements in complex urban environment taking, as a real example, the description of one of the urban tested area, consisting integrated micro/picocell and femtocell configurations. The analysis of the network consisting of dedicated and shared femtocells for home coverage in a presence of traditional microcell pattern is presented. The advantages and drawbacks for different deployment strategies are investigated using the proposed simulation framework.
Intramuscular pressure and tissue oxygenation during low-force static contraction do not underlie muscle fatigue.

AIM To test the hypothesis that time-wise increase in intramuscular pressure (IMP) and subsequent decrease in muscle tissue oxygenation (TO(2)) results in muscle fatigue development during a non-exhaustive, low-force contraction evidenced by changes in electromyogram (EMG) and particular mechanomyogram (MMG). METHODS Seven subjects performed static elbow flexion at 10% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) for 10 min (10% MVC(10 min)). Surface EMG, MMG, IMP and TO(2) measured by near-infrared spectroscopy was recorded from m. biceps brachii during 10% MVC(10 min) and during 5% MVC test contractions of 1 min duration performed before 10% MVC(10 min), 10 and 30 min post-exercise. EMG and MMG were analysed for root mean square (rms) and mean power frequency (mpf). RESULTS During 10% MVC(10 min) MMGrms increased from initial level of 0.04 +/- 0.01 to 0.11 +/- 0.07 m s(-2) in the last minute and MMGmpf and EMGmpf decreased from 34.9 +/- 8.2 to 21.3 +/- 3.8 Hz and from 71.7 +/- 10.9 to 61.7 +/- 10.0 Hz respectively. Similar changes were present in 5% MVC test contractions 30 min post-exercise. Initially, TO(2) decreased by 6.9 +/- 6.5% of resting level but returned to rest within 1 min. IMP remained constant during the contraction after an initial fourfold increase from resting level of 12.2 +/- 10.4 mmHg. CONCLUSIONS IMP was anticipated to increase with time of contraction due to e.g. increased muscle water content; but this was not confirmed. Consequently, muscle blood flow was unlikely to be impeded with contraction time, which may account for the maintenance of TO(2). Thus, decreased TO(2) did not underlie either acute or long-term muscle fatigue development evidenced by changes in EMG and particular MMG variables.
Factors Affecting Use of the Social Software: TAM perspectives

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the acceptance and use of social software tools; in particular, the paper focuses on how the features of social software determine its use.Design/methodology/approach – This study identifies and uses three independent variables: intrinsic motivation, communication, and information/knowledge sharing. The dependent variables are based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and include the perceived usefulness of social software and the perceived easiness of using social software. Using an online survey, data were collected from employees in government agencies (n=116) in Korea.Findings – The results of a regression analysis show that both communication and knowledge sharing have a positive effect on the perceived usefulness of social software. However, the results did not statistically support intrinsic motivation as a crucial factor influencing the usefulness of social software. The findings also indicated that intrinsic motivation and communication are c.
Fiscal Calculus and the Labor Market

The endorsement of expansionary fiscal packages has often been based on the idea that large multipliers can counteract rising and persistent unemployment. We explore the effectiveness of fiscal stimuli in a model with matching frictions and endogenous participation. Results show that hiring subsidies, contrary to increase in government spending, deliver large multipliers, even with distortionary taxation. Those policies increase the incentives to post vacancies, hence employment. Furthermore, by reducing marginal costs they also reduce inflation and increase private consumption.
A lexico-semantic analysis of Philippine indie song lyrics written in English

Music’s ability to entertain and to affect people psychologically makes it a significant part of human society. Combined with lyrics, music can form songs – a form of media which many are exposed to. Music still serves as a ripe field for study: researches on its psychological and physiological effects on people, as well as the use of songs in teaching language have shown favorable results. However, there remains a lack of research concerning the meanings of songs. This study covered a gap between music and linguistics by conducting a lexico-semantic analysis of 30 indie songs written in English by three Filipino indie musicians. Using the Lexical Semantic Analysis framework by Schneider (2014), the present research examined the themes of these indie songs as well as their meanings. It is hypothesized that indie songs are difficult to understand and open to several interpretations in different contexts, particularly compared to pop songs. Although several cases of lexemes with multiple meanings, figures of speech, as well as idioms that made segments of the songs ambiguous in meaning were found in the corpus, the analysis revealed that indie music remains generally easy to understand and shared most of the same themes with pop songs.
1 Intervening in Time

Much of what we know about the world comes from acting on it, and observing the consequences of our actions. In the literature, causal learning from interventions and from observing temporal dynamics have largely received separate attention due to the different datasets they are usually applied to. However, we argue that in human cognition, interventions and temporal dynamics are inseparable. In this chapter, we trace how causal inference tools developed in data science have been applied to understanding human causal learning and reasoning, highlight the current shortcomings of both intervention-based and time-based approaches taken separately, and describe recent work that starts to bring the two together. We end by sketching an account of interventional and temporal evidence as constituents of a unified online causal learning process.
Fractured-Land and the Puzzle of Political Unification and Fragmentation

A prominent explanation for Europe’s long history of political fragmentation and China’s tendency towards political unification is the fractured land hypothesis made famous by Diamond (1997a). We build a model to explore the effects of geography on political fragmentation. We find that topography, or fractured land, is necessary but not sufficient to account for China’s early political centralization and Europe’s persistent political fragmentation. The existence, or lack thereof, of a dominant core region of high land productivity also plays a critical role in explaining the political divergence at the two ends of Eurasia.
Diagnostic and therapeutic laparoscopy for penetrating abdominal trauma: a multicenter experience.

BACKGROUND Considerable skepticism still exists about the role of diagnostic laparoscopy in the evaluation of penetrating abdominal trauma. The reported experience with therapeutic laparoscopy has been limited. METHODS Retrospective analysis of a collective experience from three large urban trauma centers with 510 patients (316 stab wounds, 194 gunshot wounds) who were hemodynamically stable and had no urgent indications for celiotomy. RESULTS Laparotomy was avoided in 277 of the 510 patients (54.3%) either because of nonpenetration or insignificant findings on laparoscopy. All were discharged uneventfully after a mean hospital stay of 1.7 days. Twenty-six had successful therapeutic procedures on laparoscopy (diaphragmatic repair in 16 patients, cholecystectomy in 1 patient, hepatic repair in 6 patients, and closure of gastrotomy in 3 patients) with uneventful recovery. In the remaining 203 patients, laparotomy was therapeutic in 155. Fifty-two patients had nontherapeutic celiotomy for exclusion of bowel injuries or as mandatory laparotomy for penetrating gunshot wounds (19.7%). The overall incidence of nontherapeutic laparotomy was 10.2%. Complications from laparoscopy were minimal (10 of 510) and minor. CONCLUSIONS Laparoscopy has an important diagnostic role in stable patients with penetrating abdominal trauma. In carefully selected patients, therapeutic laparoscopy is practical, feasible, and offers all the advantages of minimally invasive surgery.
Blunted pressure natriuresis in ovariectomized Dahl-Iwai salt-sensitive rats.

Our objective was to determine whether increased salt sensitivity after menopause precedes the development of overt hypertension. We investigated the effect of ovariectomy on pressure natriuresis in Dahl-Iwai salt-sensitive (DS) and salt-resistant (DR) rats by in vivo perfusion studies. Differences in the neural and hormonal backgrounds of the kidney were minimized by renal denervation and by holding plasma vasopressin, aldosterone, corticosterone, and norepinephrine levels constant by intravenous infusion. The pressure-natriuresis relationship was blunted in DS rats compared with DR rats (slope, 0.30 versus 0.63 mumol.min-1.g kidney wt-1.mm Hg-1, P < .01). The impaired pressure-natriuresis response of DS rats was further blunted by ovariectomy (from 0.30 to 0.14 mumol.min-1.g kidney wt-1.mm Hg-1, P < .05), and that of DR rats was not. The ovariectomized DS rats developed hypertension earlier than sham-operated DS rats by salt loading. These results show that ovariectomy enhances genetic salt sensitivity by blunting the pressure-natriuresis relationship, which precedes the development of overt hypertension in female DS rats.
Mapping of heparin/heparan sulfate binding sites on αvβ3 integrin by molecular docking

Heparin/heparan sulfate interact with growth factors, chemokines, extracellular proteins, and receptors. Integrins are αβ heterodimers that serve as receptors for extracellular proteins, regulate cell behavior, and participate in extracellular matrix assembly. Heparin binds to RGD‐dependent integrins (αIIbβ3, α5β1, αvβ3, and αvβ5) and to RGD‐independent integrins (α4β1, αXβ2, and αMβ2), but their binding sites have not been located on integrins. We report the mapping of heparin binding sites on the ectodomain of αvβ3 integrin by molecular modeling. The surface of the ectodomain was scanned with small rigid probes mimicking the sulfated domains of heparan sulfate. Docking results were clustered into binding spots. The best results were selected for further docking simulations with heparin hexasaccharide. Six potential binding spots containing lysine and/or arginine residues were identified on the ectodomain of αvβ3 integrin. Heparin would mostly bind to the top of the genu domain, the Calf‐I domain of the α subunit, and the top of the β subunit of RGD‐dependent integrins. Three spots were close enough from each other on the integrin surface to form an extended binding site that could interact with heparin/heparan sulfate chains. Because heparin does not bind to the same integrin site as protein ligands, no steric hindrance prevents the formation of ternary complexes comprising the integrin, its protein ligand, and heparin/heparan sulfate. The basic amino acid residues predicted to interact with heparin are conserved in the sequences of RGD‐dependent but not of RGD‐independent integrins suggesting that heparin/heparan sulfate could bind to different sites on these two integrin subfamilies. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Foraging and diving patterns of the Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus in a fishpond

Diving and foraging patterns of the Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus were studied on Vrbje fishpond in Central Slovenia. Three pairs and their 10 young were studied. The duration of 348 dives of the six adults before hatching, 295 dives of the three pairs of adults with young, and 185 dives of the immature birds were recorded during the breeding season in 1998 (from June through October). Mean dive duration was 31 sec for adults before hatching, 41 sec for adults with young, and 25 sec for immatures. Diving success varied significantly between groups, the most successful were grebes with young. Adult grebes without young caught a higher proportion of large fish than the other groups did. Fish size was negatively correlated with duration of dives in adult grebes without young and in adults with young but not in immatures.
Two functionally distinct domains generated by in vivo cleavage of Nup145p: a novel biogenesis pathway for nucleoporins

Nup145p is an essential yeast nucleoporin involved in nuclear export of polyadenylated RNAs. We demonstrate here that Nup145p is cleaved in vivo to yield two functionally distinct domains: a carboxy‐terminal domain (C‐Nup145p) which is located at the nuclear pore complex (NPC) and assembles into the Nup84p complex, and a GLFG‐containing amino‐terminal domain (N‐Nup145p) which is not part of this complex. Whereas the essential C‐Nup145p accomplishes the functions required for efficient mRNA export and normal NPC distribution, N‐Nup145p, which is homologous to the GLFG‐containing nucleoporins Nup100p and Nup116p, is not necessary for cell growth. However, the N‐Nup145p becomes essential in a nup188 mutant background. Strikingly, generation of a free N‐domain is a prerequisite for complementation of this peculiar synthetic lethal mutant. These data suggest that N‐ and C‐domains of Nup145p perform independent functions, and that the in vivo cleavage observed is of functional importance.
Sport facility proximity and physical activity: Results from the Study of Community Sports in China

Abstract Increased sport facility proximity is associated with higher likelihood of meeting physical activity (PA) recommendations in western studies, but it is uncertain whether the findings can be generalized to the Chinese population. From September 2012 to December 2012, 3926 participants drawn from China using a multi-stage sampling strategy were invited to participate in the Study of Community Sports in China. Participants' demographics, commuting time to the nearest sport facility and PA levels were assessed. Among 3926 participants included (51.2% female) in the final analysis, 878 (22.4%) of them met the PA recommendation. Participants who spent ≥30 minutes in commuting time had 80% odds [odds ratio (OR): 0.80 (95% CI: 0.65–0.98)] of meeting the PA recommendation compared to those who spent less than 10 minutes. For every 10-minute increment in commuting time, the odds reduced by 6% [OR = 0.94 (0.88–0.99)]. The observed associations were not appreciably modified by age, gender or education level. In this cross-sectional community-based study, we found that residents in China were less likely to meet the PA recommendation if they needed more commuting time to the nearest sport facility. Increasing sport facility proximity may be effective in improving the PA levels in the Chinese population.