Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of abbreviated CBT for insomnia in psychiatric outpatients: sleep and depression outcomes.

OBJECTIVE To test the efficacy of cogntive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) as a supplement treatment for psychiatric outpatients. Comorbid insomnia is prevalent among individuals with varied psychiatric disorders and evidence indicates that CBT-I may be effective for reducing insomnia and other psychiatric symptoms. METHOD The present study randomly assigned 30 psychiatric outpatients (mean duration of treatment = 3.6 years) with low sleep quality and residual depressive symptoms to two sessions of CBT-I or a treatment as usual control group. Assessment included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for insomnia and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depression at pretreatment and 4 and 8 weeks posttreatment. RESULTS Patients who received CBT-I demonstrated within group changes in PSQI and the PHQ-9 scores at both 4 and 8 weeks posttreatment, but did not show between-group differences. Additionally, 38% of the treatment participants achieved normal sleep at follow-up compared with none in the control condition. CONCLUSIONS This study provides preliminary evidence that abbreviated behavioral treatment has beneficial effects on residual insomnia and depression in long-term psychiatric outpatients.
Corporate Diversity Programs and Gender Inequality in the Oil and Gas Industry

Since the 1980s, major U.S. corporations have embraced diversity as a management strategy to increase the number of women in top jobs. Diversity management programs include targeted recruitment, hiring, and promotions policies; mentoring programs; affinity groups; and diversity training. Few of these programs have proven effective in achieving gender diversity in the corporate world, despite their widespread popularity. To explore the reasons for this, the authors investigate the experiences of women scientists in the oil and gas industry who are targeted by these programs. In-depth interviews reveal possible reasons why these programs fail to achieve their intended goals. The authors find that these programs can paradoxically reinforce gender inequality and male dominance in the industry. The authors discuss alternative approaches for addressing gender inequality in work organizations and conclude with implications of their findings for corporate approaches to promoting diversity and for future research.
On optimal shading for arrays of irregularly-spaced or noncoplanar elements

The majority of optimal shading methods for arrays of irregularly spaced or noncoplanar elements rely on numerical optimizations and iterative techniques to compute the desired weighting function because analytic solutions generally do not exist. Optimality is meant here in the Dolph-Chebyshev sense to provide the narrowest mainlobe width for a given sidelobe level. We present a simple and efficient technique to compute real shading coefficients for nonuniform-line, curved-line, and noncoplanar arrays by resampling the optimal Dolph-Chebyshev window computed for a uniform line or plane array of equivalent aperture at the element position of the irregular array. Computer simulation examples of narrowband plane-wave beamforming with irregular arrays, in which phase compensation is achieved by projecting the elements on a line or plane tangent to the array, show peak sidelobe levels close to those obtainable for optimally shaded uniform arrays of equal aperture sizes and numbers of elements, where the differences depend upon the spacing variations and numbers of elements. This resampling technique is applied to seafloor acoustic backscatter data collected at sea with the 68-kHz Toroidal Volume Search Sonar to highlight a tradeoff between peak and outer sidelobe levels and illustrate the requirement for element pattern when processing data from irregular arrays.
Synthesis of cyclopentadienyl capped polyethylene and subsequent block copolymer formation via hetero Diels-Alder (HDA) chemistry.

In the current contribution it is demonstrated - for the first time - that poly(ethylene) (M(n) = 1,400 as well as 2,800 g · mol(-1) , PDI = 1.2) can be readily equipped with highly reactive cyclopentadienyl (Cp) end groups. The Cp terminal poly(ethylene) can subsequently be reacted in an efficient hetero Diels-Alder (HDA) reaction with macromolecules (poly(isobornyl acrylate) (M(n) = 4,600 g · mol(-1) , PDI = 1.10) and poly(styrene) (M(n) = 6,300 g · mol(-1) , PDI = 1.13) featuring strongly electron withdrawing thiocarbonyl thio end groups, prepared via reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization employing benzylpyridin-2-yldithioformate (BPDF) as transfer agent. The resulting block copolymers have been analyzed via high-temperature size exclusion chromatography (SEC) as well as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The current system allows for the removal of the excess of the non-poly(ethylene) containing segment via filtration of the poly(ethylene)-containing block copolymer. However, the reaction temperatures need to be judiciously selected. Characterization of the generated block copolymers at elevated temperatures can lead - depending on the block copolymer type - to the occurrence of retro Diels-Alder processes. The present study thus demonstrates that RAFT-HDA ligation can be effectively employed for the generation of block copolymers containing poly(ethylene) segments.
The Expression of an Extensin-Like Protein Correlates with Cellular Tip Growth in Tomato1

Extensins are abundant proteins presumed to determine physical characteristics of the plant cell wall. We have cloned a cDNA encoding LeExt1 from a tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) root hair cDNA library. The deduced sequence of the LeExt1 polypeptide defined a novel type of extensin-like proteins in tomato. Patterns of mRNA distribution indicated that expression of the LeExt1 gene was initiated in the root hair differentiation zone of the tomato rhizodermis. Cloning of the corresponding promoter and fusion to the -glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene allowed detailed examination of LeExt1 expression in transgenic tomato plants. Evidence is presented for a direct correlation between LeExt1 expression and cellular tip growth. LeExt1/GUS expression was detectable in trichoblasts (=root hair-bearing cells), but not in atrichoblasts of the tomato rhizodermis. Both hair formation and LeExt1 expression was inducible by the plant hormone ethylene. Comparative analysis of the LeExt1/GUS expression was performed in transgenic tomato, potato (Solanum tuberosum), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), and Arabidopsis plants. In the apical/basal dimension, GUS staining was absent from the root cap and undifferentiated cells at the root tip in all species investigated. It was induced at the distal end of the differentiation zone and remained high proximally to the root/hypocotyl boundary. In the radial dimension, GUS expression was root hair specific in the solanaceous species. Whereas LeExt1 mRNA was exclusively detectable in the rhizodermis, root hair-specific expression correlated with GUS expression in germinating pollen tubes. This is correlative evidence for a role of LeExt1 in root hair tip growth [corrected].
14.2 A physically unclonable function with BER <10−8 for robust chip authentication using oscillator collapse in 40nm CMOS

Security is a key concern in today's mobile devices and a number of hardware implementations of security primitives have been proposed, including true random number generators, differential power attack avoidance, and chip-ID generators [1-4]. Recently, physically unclonable functions (PUFs) were proposed as a secure method for chip authentication in unsecure environments [5-7]. A PUF is a function that maps an input code ("challenge') to an output code (“response”) in a manner that is unique for every chip. PUFs are increasingly used for IC authentication to offer protection against identity theft, cloning, and counterfeit components [2-4].
A contour fill method for alpha-numeric character image generation

A new, high speed method filling in the contours of alpha-numeric characters which produces accurate and correct image patterns is proposed. The method is called the improved edge fill method because it improves on a previously developed edge fill method. It does so by selecting fill pixels from contour lines expressed by Freeman's chain code and using combinations for neighboring the codes and accordingly processing time is reduced by about 20% over conventional methods. For binary image contour filling, the method eliminates faults found in conventional edge fill methods, and in consequence the areas inside contour lines are filled in rapidly and correctly. The method's effectiveness is examined in experiments using both Arabic numerals and letters of the Roman alphabet. As a result it is found that this filling method is able to produce correct and accurate image patterns and that it can be applied to alpha-numeric character contour filling. <<ETX>>
Palliative effect of metaiodobenzylguanidine in metastatic carcinoid tumors.

PURPOSE To evaluate the therapeutic effect of iodine-131-labeled metaiodobenzylguanidine (131I-MIBG) and unlabeled MIBG in patients with carcinoid tumor. MATERIALS AND METHODS A therapeutic dose of 7.4 GBq (200 mCi) 131I-MIBG infused over 4 hours was administered to 30 patients with either carcinoid syndrome (n = 20) or tumor symptoms such as pain and fever due to carcinoid tumor (n = 10). In general, two courses were given, 6 weeks apart. Due to radioactivity, patients had to be isolated for 5 to 7 days. Subsequently, we studied the effect of unlabeled MIBG based on the possible pharmaceutic activity of MIBG and to avoid the isolation procedure. A doseescalation study of 8.5, 17, and 34 mg/m2 MIBG infused over 4 hours at 4-week intervals was performed in 20 patients with carcinoid syndrome who were not suitable for treatment with the radioactive compound. RESULTS Following 131I-MIBG treatment, symptomatic responses were observed in 60% of patients (median duration, 8 months; maximum, 2 years). Side effects were mild and rapidly reversible in 16 patients, and were related to the isolation procedure in seven of these patients. Unlabeled MIBG resulted in symptomatic improvement in 60% of patients (median duration, 4.5 months). Side effects, which included changes in blood pressure, were mild and transient. Symptomatic responses were not accompanied by biochemical responses. CONCLUSION Both MIBG treatment regimens were equally effective in the palliation of symptoms, but duration of response tended to be much longer with the radioactive compound. However, the unlabeled compound provided a simpler treatment, eg, in elderly patients and those in poor condition, without the need for isolation.
Putative common origin of two MLH1 mutations in Italian‐Quebec hereditary non‐polyposis colorectal cancer families

Hereditary non‐polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is one of the most common inherited cancer syndromes, accounting for 3–5% of all cases of colorectal cancer. In most HNPCC families, the disease is caused by a germline mutation in MLH1 or MSH2. In some populations, founder mutations appear to explain a substantial fraction of HNPCC. We report here the identification and preliminary characterization of two putative MLH1 founder mutations. The mutation MLH1c.1831delAT was shown to segregate in two Quebec families of Italian origin who fulfilled the Amsterdam criteria for HNPCC. Haplotype analysis using five intragenic microsatellite/single nucleotide polymorphism markers spanning MLH1 on chromosome 3 showed that these two unrelated families share an identical haplotype. In addition, two other Italian kindred whose affected members carry MLH1g.IVS6 + 3A>G also share a common haplotype, suggesting that, similarly, the latter mutation has a common origin. These mutations are the first putative founder MLH1 mutations to be identified in HNPCC kindred of Italian origin.
Impact of endoscopic ultrasound‐guided fine needle aspiration (EUS‐FNA) in lymph nodal and mediastinal lesions: A multicenter experience

Endoscopic ultrasound‐guided fine needle aspiration (EUS‐FNA) is an established procedure in lung cancer (LC) staging and in the diagnosis of mediastinal masses. Most of the experiences reported refer to single specialized centers where dedicated teams of endoscopists and pathologists perform the procedure. We report the EUS‐FNA experience of a cooperation group involving clinicians and cytopathologists from three hospitals. Fifty‐seven consecutive EUS‐FNA of mediastinal nodes in LC patients, eight mediastinal and two subdiaphragmatic masses were collected in 3 years. EUS‐FNA was performed by two endoscopists and three experienced pathologists. On‐site evaluation was performed in all cases by the three cytopathologists. Lymph node negative cases underwent surgery, which confirmed the cytological diagnoses but also detected two false negatives. Four of the 10 EUS cytological diagnoses of mediastinal and subdiaphragmatic masses were histologically confirmed. All EUS diagnoses were blindly reviewed by three pathologists to assess intra and interpersonal reproducibility. FNA‐EUS diagnoses were: 10 inadequate (17%), 10 negative (17%), 4 suspicious (7%) and 33 positive (59%). Diagnoses of mediastinal and subdiaphragmatic masses were: relapse of lung carcinoma (3), mesenchimal tumor not otherwise specifiable (3), gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) (1), esophageal carcinoma (2) and paraganglioma (1). The sensitivity attained was 85% and the specificity 100%; revision of the slides demonstrated a significant diagnostic reproducibility of the three cytopathologists (P < 0.5). The sensitivity and specificity attained were similar to those reported in the literature suggesting that experienced cytopathologists and endoscopists from different institutions can employ the same procedure reaching comparable results. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
* and Rüdiger Hell Thiol switches in redox regulation of chloroplasts : balancing redox state , metabolism and oxidative stress

In photosynthesizing chloroplasts, rapidly changing energy input, intermediate generation of strong reductants as well as oxidants and multiple participating physicochemical processes and pathways, call for efficient regulation. Coupling redox information to protein function via thiol modifications offers a powerful mechanism to activate, down-regulate and coordinate interdependent processes. Efficient thiol switching of target proteins involves the thiol-disulfide redox regulatory network, which is highly elaborated in chloroplasts. This review addresses the features of this network. Its conditional function depends on specificity of reduction and oxidation reactions and pathways, thiol redox buffering, but also formation of heterogeneous milieus by microdomains, metabolite gradients and macromolecular assemblies. One major player is glutathione. Its synthesis and function is under feedback redox control. The number of thiol-controlled processes and involved thiol switched proteins is steadily increasing, e.g., in tetrapyrrole biosynthesis, plastid transcription and plastid translation. Thus chloroplasts utilize an intricate and versatile redox regulatory network for intraorganellar and retrograde communication.
Spatio-temporal deconvolution of NDVI image sequences using independent component analysis

Independent component analysis (ICA) provides a powerful new method to spatially and temporally deconvolve image sequences into components that capture variability arising from independent physical sources. To do this, ICA uses information contained in higher order cross-moments of multivariate data. We use remotely sensed time series of the normalized difference vegetation index to illustrate the utility of this technique.
Knowledge of prescription medications among elderly emergency department patients.

STUDY OBJECTIVE We determine how knowledgeable elderly (>65 years old) patients seen in the emergency department are of their prescription medications. METHODS Patients older than 65 years who presented to the ED of an urban teaching hospital were interviewed concerning their prescription medications and the indications for their use. Medications and dosages were verified through the patients' pharmacies. Medication indications were assessed for accuracy by referencing the Physicians' Desk Reference. RESULTS Data on 88 patients were collected over a period of 2 months. Eleven patients were excluded from the study because of logistics (9) and rescinding of consent (2). Patients averaged 5.9 prescription medications on presentation to the ED. Patients correctly identified 78.4% (359/458) of these medications. Thirty-three (42.8%) patients were able to correctly identify all of their prescription medications. Furthermore, patients correctly identified 65.5% (236/359) of dosages (25 [32.5%] patients named all dosages correctly), 91.4% (328/359) of dosing intervals (44 [57.1%] patients named all intervals correctly), and 83.3% (299/359) of indications (49 [63.3%] patients named all indications correctly). CONCLUSION Elderly patients presenting to the ED have only a fair knowledge of their prescription medications.
Music, Cognition, Culture, and Evolution

Abstract: We seem able to define the biological foundations for our musicality within a clear and unitary framework, yet music itself does not appear so clearly definable. Music is different things and does different things in different cultures; the bundles of elements and functions that are music for any given culture may overlap minimally with those of another culture, even for those cultures where “music” constitutes a discrete and identifiable category of human activity in its own right. The dynamics of culture, of music as cultural praxis, are neither necessarily reducible, nor easily relatable, to the dynamics of our biologies. Yet music appears to be a universal human competence. Recent evolutionary theory, however, affords a means for exploring things biological and cultural within a framework in which they are at least commensurable. The adoption of this perspective shifts the focus of the search for the foundations of music away from the mature and particular expression of music within a specific culture or situation and on to the human capacity for musicality. This paper will survey recent research that examines that capacity and its evolutionary origins in the light of a definition of music that embraces music's multifariousness. It will be suggested that music, like speech, is a product of both our biologies and our social interactions; that music is a necessary and integral dimension of human development; and that music may have played a central role in the evolution of the modern human mind.
Changes in the presenting features of females with anorexia nervosa in northeast Scotland, 1965-1991.

OBJECTIVE Rates of anorexia nervosa among females presenting to specialist services in northeast Scotland had increased significantly between 1965 and 1991. We sought to elucidate possible causes of this change. METHOD Hospital and primary care records were searched. Age, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were determined for 196 patients and duration of symptoms from onset to presentation was established in 190 cases. Changes in these parameters were investigated over the 27-year period of the study. RESULTS There was no significant change in duration of illness or in age at presentation. BMIs increased significantly, but this arose because patients decreased in height, not because they increased in weight. There was no increase in seriously underweight patients with BMIs of < or =15. DISCUSSION Anorexic females were not referred at an earlier stage of their illness, but primary care teams may be identifying and referring milder cases. Alternatively, the findings may reflect an increasing incidence of eating disorders coupled with changes in their presenting symptomatology.
Serial Noninvasive Targeted Imaging of Peripheral Angiogenesis: Validation and Application of a Semiautomated Quantitative Approach

Previous studies by our group have demonstrated the feasibility of noninvasive imaging of αv integrin to assess temporal and spatial changes in peripheral and myocardial angiogenesis. In this study, we validate the reproducibility, accuracy, and applicability of a new semiautomated noninvasive approach for serial quantitative evaluation of targeted micro-SPECT/CT images of peripheral angiogenesis in wild-type and endothelial nitric oxide sythase (eNOS)–deficient (eNOS−/−) mice subjected to hindlimb ischemia. Methods: Mice (n = 15) underwent surgical ligation of the right femoral artery to induce unilateral hindlimb ischemia. One week after ligation, a 99mTc-labeled cyclic–Arg-Gly-Asp peptide targeted at αv integrin (NC100692, n = 10) or a 99mTc-labeled negative control (AH-111744, n = 5) was injected, and 60 min later in vivo micro-SPECT/CT images were acquired. Mice were euthanized, tissue from proximal and distal hindlimb was excised for γ-well counting (GWC) of radiotracer activity, and ischemic-to-nonischemic (I/NI) ratio was calculated. Micro-SPECT/CT images were analyzed using a new semiautomated approach that applies complex volumes of interest (VOIs) derived from segmentation of the micro-CT images onto micro-SPECT images to calculate I/NI activity ratios for the proximal and distal hindlimb. Studies were reprocessed for determination of intra- and interobserver variability. To compare 3-dimensional (3D) VOI analysis with traditional manual 2-dimensional region-of-interest (ROI) analysis of maximum-intensity-projection images, micro-SPECT images were summed onto a single anterior–posterior projection. Rectangular ROIs were manually drawn and I/NI ratio calculated. Our new 3D analysis approach was applied to additional groups of mice (eNOS−/−, n = 5; wild-type, n = 3) imaged before and 1 and 4 wk after femoral artery resection. Results: Our new semiautomated approach for the evaluation of images of αv integrin targeted with micro-SPECT/CT demonstrated both a high intra- and interobserver variability (R2 = 0.997) and an accuracy (R2 = 0.780) for estimation of relative radiotracer activity relative to GWC. Analysis of serial micro-SPECT/CT images demonstrated a significant increase in relative NC100692 retention in the ischemic hindlimb of both wild-type and eNOS−/− mice at 1 wk after surgery. There was a significant (∼25%) decrease in radiotracer uptake in eNOS−/− mice relative to wild-type animals, which was not observed at baseline or 4 wk after ligation. Conclusion: A new semiautomated analysis of images of αv integrin targeted with micro-SPECT/CT provides a noninvasive approach for serial quantitative evaluation of peripheral angiogenesis. The reproducibility and accuracy of this approach allows for quantitative analysis of serial targeted molecular images of lower extremities, has applicability to other targeted SPECT or PET radiotracers, and may have implications for clinical imaging in patients with peripheral arterial disease.
Gli3‐deficient mice exhibit cleft palate associated with abnormal tongue development

Palatogenesis depends on appropriate growth, elevation, and fusion of the palatal shelves and aberration in these processes can lead to palatal clefting. We observed a high incidence of palate clefting in mice deficient in Gli3, known for its role as a repressor in the absence of Shh signaling. In contrast with several current mouse models of cleft palate, Meckel's cartilage extension, cranial neural crest migration, palatal shelf proliferation, apoptosis, and key signaling components mediated by Shh, Bmp, Fgf, and Tgfβ, appeared unaffected in Gli3−/− mice. Palatal clefting in Gli3−/− mice was consistently associated with tongue abnormalities such as failure to flatten and improper positioning, implicating a critical role of Gli3 and normal tongue morphogenesis for timely palatal shelf elevation and joining. Furthermore, Gli3−/− palatal shelves grown in roller cultures without tongue can fuse suggesting that the abnormal tongue is likely an impediment for palatal shelf joining in Gli3−/− mutants. Developmental Dynamics 237:3079–3087, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.