Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Link to Leeds Beckett Repository

Purpose: Improving writing in people with aphasia could improve ability to communicate, reduce isolation and increase access to information. One area that has not been sufficiently explored is the effect of impairment based spelling therapies on functional writing. A multiple case study was conducted with eight participants with aphasia subsequent to stroke. This aimed to measure the effects of spelling therapy on functional writing and perception of disability. Method: Participants engaged in ten sessions of copy and recall spelling therapy. Outcome measures included spelling to dictation of trained and untrained words, written picture description, spelling accuracy within emails, a disability questionnaire and a writing frequency diary. Results: All participants made significant gains on treated words and six demonstrated improvements to untreated words. Group analyses showed significant improvements to written picture description, but not email writing, writing frequency or perceptions of disability. Conclusions: These results show that small doses of writing therapy can lead to large gains in specific types of writing. These gains did not extend to improvements in frequency of writing in daily living, nor ecological measures of email writing. There is a need to develop bridging interventions between experimental tasks towards more multi-faceted and ecological everyday writing tasks.
VELOCITY AND ATTENUATION OF SEISMIC WAVES IN TWO‐PHASE MEDIA: PART II. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

The velocity and attenuation of ultrasonic waves are measured in suspensions of solid spherical particles in fluid matrices as a function of the concentration of inclusions. Polystyrene and glass beads were used as inclusions and they were suspended in pure water, oil, or acetylene tetrabromide. Velocities were measured by a pulse propagation technique. Attenuation in mixtures was measured relative to attenuation in pure matrix fluid. The observed velocities were compared to theoretical values calculated using six different models. The closest agreement is obtained for the dynamic interaction model given in Part I by Kuster and Toksoz (1974) and for the Reuss model. The theoretical formulas for the attenuation in composite media are given. The observed attenuation agrees reasonably well with the theoretical values computed by including geometrical scattering, viscous absorption in the fluid matrix, and the anelasticity of the solid inclusions.
The position and nature of the Gander–Avalon boundary, southern New Brunswick, based on geochemical and isotopic data from granitoid rocks

In southern New Brunswick, the Gander–Avalon boundary is obscured by boundary-parallel faults and various cover sequences. Siluro-Devonian granites, which intrude unequivocal Gander or Avalon rocks, display exclusively negative (−1.9 ± 1.0) and positive (+1.9 ± 0.7) eNd(T) signatures, respectively. Such contrasting Nd isotopic signatures, combined with other geochemical differences between plutons, are potentially valuable tools for terrane analysis. Nine small Devonian plutons intruding the boundary zone fall into contrasting geochemical groups with (La/Lu)N 4. The former are topaz-bearing granites, while the latter are volcanic-arc-type granites. Except for one pluton, with an eNd(T) signature of –2.0, eNd(T) values range from –0.4 to +0.7, spanning the gap between "type" Avalon and "type" Gander plutons. These results suggest the plutons sampled either (i) stratigraphically overlapping or tectonically interleaved Gander and Avalon basement rocks, or (ii) a distinct basement source beneath the b.
Validez y confiabilidad del cuestionario del ENASEM para la depresión en adultos mayores

OBJETIVO: Estimar la validez y confiabilidad de un instrumento para detectar depresion en adultos mayores. MATERIAL Y METODOS: El estudio se realizo en la consulta externa del Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Medicas y Nutricion Salvador Zubiran (INCMNSZ), entre mayo de 2005 y marzo de 2006. Se utilizaron el diagnostico clinico de depresion a traves de el Manual Diagnostico y Estadistico de Trastornos Mentales, en su cuarta version revisada (DSM-IV-TR), y la Escala de depresion geriatrica (EDG) de Yesavage, para establecer las propiedades clinimetricas de un cuestionario dicotomico de nueve reactivos, desprendido del Estudio Nacional sobre Salud y Envejecimiento en Mexico (ENASEM). RESULTADOS: En el proceso de validacion participaron 199 individuos de edad media de 79.5 anos. El resultado del cuestionario de la ENASEM estuvo significativamente correlacionado con el diagnostico clinico de depresion (p<0.001) y el puntaje de la EDG (p<0.001). La consistencia interna fue la adecuada (coeficiente alfa de 0.74). El punto de corte e"5/9 puntos tiene una sensibilidad y especificidad de 80.7% y 68.7%, respectivamente, para el diagnostico de depresion. La confiabilidad prueba contra prueba fue excelente (Coeficiente de Correlacion Intraclase de 0.933). Finalmente, los limites de acuerdo entre la prueba y contra prueba muestran una diferencia de 0.22 puntos porcentuales. CONCLUSIONES: El cuestionario ENASEM constituye un instrumento valido y confiable para cribar la presencia de depresion en adultos mayores.
Cardiovascular Risk and Risk Factor Management in Type 2 Diabetes: A Population-Based Cohort Study Assessing Sex Disparities

Background: With recent changes in UK clinical practice for diabetes care, contemporary estimates of sex disparities in cardiovascular risk and risk factor management are needed. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked to hospital and death records for people in England, we identified 79,985 patients with incident T2DM between 2006-2013 matched to 386,547 patients without diabetes. Sex-stratified Cox models were used to assess cardiovascular risk. Results: Compared to women without T2DM, women with T2DM had a higher cardiovascular event risk (adjusted HR 1.20 [95% CI 1.12-1.28]) with similar corresponding data in men (HR 1.12 [1.06-1.19]) leading to a non-significant higher relative risk in women (risk ratio 1.07 [0.98-1.17]). However, some important sex differences in the management of risk factors were observed. Compared to men with T2DM, women with T2DM were more likely to be obese, hypertensive and have hypercholesterolaemia but were less likely to be prescribed lipid-lowering medication and ACE inhibitors, especially if they had CVD. Conclusions : Compared to men developing T2DM, women with T2DM do not have a significantly higher relative increase in cardiovascular risk, but ongoing sex disparities in prescribing should prompt heightened efforts to improve the standard and equity of diabetes care in women and men.
Downscaling precipitation or bias‐correcting streamflow? Some implications for coupled general circulation model (CGCM)‐based ensemble seasonal hydrologic forecast

The progress in forecasting seasonal climate by using coupled atmosphere‐ocean‐land general circulation models (CGCMs) has increased the use of CGCM‐based hydrologic forecasting in recent years. A common procedure is to downscale the meteorological forcings and use them as inputs to hydrologic models to provide ensemble forecasts. Less attention has been paid to bias correcting the hydrologic forecasts directly generated by CGCM. In this study, we show that either downscaling precipitation for hydrologic model or directly bias‐correcting CGCM streamflow increases the efficiency skill score greatly as compared to the original CGCM streamflow forecast, and bias correcting the streamflow from hydrologic model with downscaled precipitation leads to a further skill increase. Bias‐correcting CGCM streamflow is more skillful and reliable than downscaling precipitation for hydrologic modeling in terms of ensemble forecasts, as verified by the ranked probability skill score and the rank histogram. While bias‐correcting streamflow from CGCM can provide useful forecasts, combining the downscaled CGCM forcings and bias‐corrected hydrologic output through the CGCM‐hydrology forecasting approach does gain additional skill of accuracy and discrimination.
Revisiting Recent Productivity Developments Across OECD Countries

This paper compares productivity developments across industrial countries based on official OECD data in the business sector. It discusses the uncertainties surrounding the measurement of both productivity levels and productivity growth, and then focuses on changes in productivity growth. The paper analyses labour productivity patterns and trends of total factor productivity (TFP) across countries. The recent performance of the United States clearly stands out. In particular, the level of US labour productivity appears to be the highest among the major industrial countries and has been rising the fastest in the recent past. Despite substantial uncertainties surrounding these international comparisons, there is little doubt that the US performance has improved sharply in relative terms. Productivity has accelerated in the United States but decelerated in most other industrial economies. Indeed, only a few countries have experienced a structural improvement in their productivity performance over recent years. Moreover, rather than just reflecting stronger capital accumulation, the US performance has been associated with a higher rate of technological progress that was maintained during the latest recession. In contrast, the accumulation of capital has been quite strong in most other major industrial economies. This might be a source of concern in some places, given the observed trend decline in the rate of technical progress.
Bayesian and parsimony approaches reconstruct informative trees from simulated morphological datasets

Phylogenetic analysis aims to establish the true relationships between taxa. Different analytical methods, however, can reach different conclusions. In order to establish which approach best reconstructs true relationships, previous studies have simulated datasets from known tree topologies, and identified the method that reconstructs the generative tree most accurately. On this basis, researchers have argued that morphological datasets should be analysed by Bayesian approaches, which employ an explicit probabilistic model of evolution, rather than parsimony methods—with implied weights parsimony sometimes identified as particularly inaccurate. Accuracy alone, however, is an inadequate measure of a tree's utility: a fully unresolved tree is perfectly accurate, yet contains no phylogenetic information. The highly resolved trees recovered by implied weights parsimony in fact contain as much useful information as the more accurate, but less resolved, trees recovered by Bayesian methods. By collapsing poorly supported groups, this superior resolution can be traded for accuracy, resulting in trees as accurate as those obtained by a Bayesian approach. By contrast, equally weighted parsimony analysis produces trees that are less resolved and less accurate, leading to less reliable evolutionary conclusions.
Multidecadal variations in the early Holocene outflow of Red Sea Water into the Arabian Sea

We present Holocene stable oxygen isotope data from the deep Arabian Sea off Somalia at a decadal time resolution as a proxy for the history of intermediate/upper deep water. These data show an overall δ18O reduction by 0.5‰ between 10 and ∼6.5 kyr B.P. superimposed upon short-term δ18O variations at a decadal-centennial timescale. The amplitude of the decadal variations is 0.3‰ prior, and up to 0.6‰ subsequent, to ∼8.1 kyr B.P. We conclude from modeling experiments that the short-term δ18O variations between 10 and ∼6.5 kyr B.P. most likely document changes in the evaporation-precipitation balance in the central Red Sea. Changes in water temperature and salinity cause the outflowing Red Sea Water to settle roughly 800 m deeper than today.
University of Birmingham Intention to treat outcomes among patients with pancreatic cancer treated using International Study Group on Pancreatic Surgery recommended pathways for resectable and borderline resectable disease

Background: The International Study Group on Pancreatic Surgery recommends upfront surgery for resectable pancreatic cancer or borderline resectable-venous (BR-V) disease and neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) among those with arterial involvement (BR-A or locally advanced, LA). Though neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) is a promising strategy, outcomes are rarely reported on intention-to-treat (ITT) basis. This study presents ITT outcomes where pathways to surgery were in line with International Study Group on Pancreatic Surgery guidelines. Methods: Patients recommended for potentially curative treatment with PDAC between 2012 and 2017 ( n = 345) were classi ﬁ ed as resectable, BR-A/BR-V or LA, according to NCCN criteria. The primary outcome was overall survival. Secondary outcomes were resection rates, positive margins and toxicity among patients receiving NAT. Results: At surgery, the resection rates were 78% (172/221), 65% (35/54) and 54% (21/39) for those with resectable, BR-V and BR-A/LA disease, respectively ( P < 0.0001). The median survival of those resected in the BR-A/LA cohort was 31 months. However, on an ITT basis, there was no signi ﬁ cant difference in survival between resectable, BR-V and BR-A/LA disease (median: 19 versus 15 versus 19 months; P = 0.585). On review, some 31 (44%) patients of the BR-A/LA cohort either did not receive or did not complete NAT. Conclusion: To realize bene ﬁ ts of NAT, more patients need to complete NAT and to undergo resection. Upfront resection for BR-V disease is associated with equivalent outcomes to upfront surgery for resectable disease or NAT for BR-A/LA disease. Strategies to increase the proportion of patients who complete NAT and undergo resection are needed.
Alongshore coherence at low frequencies in currents observed over the continental shelf off Oregon and Washington

Current observations over the continental shelf at locations off central Oregon and southern Washington had the period from July 18 to September 18, 1972, in common. Low-frequency fluctuations (less than one cycle per day) in the currents are compared by means of visual display, linear regression, and spectral analysis. The currents are found to be highly coherent over an alongshore separation of 200 km. Coherent signals occur at 0.16, 0.3, and 0.44 cpd. The signal at 0.16 cpd occurs with high mutual coherence in wind, current, and sea level and may be a forced shelf wave driven by the wind. The signal at 0.3 cpd has high coherence between current and sea level and may be a free shelf wave generated by the wind. Correlation between observations is higher for separations in the alongshore direction than in the offshore direction in spite of greater separations.
Micronekton and Macrozooplankton of the Western Antarctic Peninsula and the Eastern Ross Sea: Contrast Between Two Different Thermal Regimes

xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE SOUTHERN OCEAN AND THE STUDY SITES IN THE WESTERN ANTARCTIC PENINSULA AND THE EASTERN ROSS SEA . 1 The Southern Ocean . 1 Study Sites . 4 Summary of the Dissertation . 6 References . 6 CHAPTER 2: INVERTEBRATE MICRONEKTON AND MACROZOOPLANKTON IN THE MARGUERITE BAY REGION OF THE WESTERN ANTARCTIC PENINSULA . 11 Note to Reader . 11 Abstract . 1
Pathways, Practices and Architectures: Containing Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) in the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the adaptation of microbial life to antibiotics is recognised as a major healthcare challenge. Whereas most social science engagement with AMR has focussed on aspects of ‘behaviour’ (prescribing, antibiotic usage, patient ‘compliance’, etc), this article instead explores AMR in the context of building design and healthcare architecture, focussing on the layout, design and ritual practices of three cystic fibrosis (CF) outpatient clinics. CF is a life-threatening multi-system genetic condition, often characterised by frequent respiratory infections and antibiotic treatment. Preventing AMR and cross-infection in CF increasingly depends on the spatiotemporal isolation of both people and pathogens. Our research aims to bring to the fore the role of the built environment exploring how containment and segregation are varyingly performed in interaction with material design, focussing on three core themes. These include, first, aspects of flow, movement and the spatiotemporal choreography of CF care. Second, the management of waiting and the materiality of the waiting room is a recurrent concern in our fieldwork. Finally, we take up the question of air, the intangibility of air-borne risks and their material mitigation in the CF clinic.
CLASSIFICATION OF FLOW REGIMES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW ASSESSMENT IN REGULATED RIVERS: THE HUAI RIVER BASIN, CHINA

Flow regime characteristics (magnitude, frequency, duration, seasonal timing and rates of change) play a primary role in regulating the biodiversity and ecological processes in rivers. River classification provides the foundation for comparing the hydrologic regimes of rivers and development of hydro‐ecological relationships to inform environmental flow management and river restoration. This paper presents a classification of natural flow regimes and hydrologic changes due to dams and floodgates in the Huai River Basin, China, in preparation for an environmental flow assessment. The monthly natural flow regime of 45 stations in the upper and middle Huai River Basin were simulated for the period 1963–2000, based on the hydrological model SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool). Six classes of flow patterns (low or high discharge, stable or variable, perennial or intermittent, predictable or unpredictable) were identified based on 80 hydrologic metrics, analysed by hierarchical clustering algorithms. The ecologically relevant climatic and geographic characteristics of these flow classes were tested for concordance with, and to strengthen, the hydro‐ecological classification. The regulation of natural flow patterns by dams and floodgates changed flows at some locations within each flow class and caused some gauges to shift into another class. The research reported here is expected to provide a foundation for development of hydro‐ecological relationships and environmental flow methods for wider use in China, as well as setting a new scientific direction for integrated river basin management in the Huai River Basin. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Lack of differential impact of del17p on survival in African Americans compared to White patients with multiple myeloma: a VA study

: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a heterogeneous disease featured by an increased incidence in African Americans (AA). We have previously observed that with equal access to healthcare, younger AA (age <65 years) patients have superior overall survival (OS) than white patients. As MM prognosis is influenced by presence of del17p, we investigated racial differences in its occurrence and impact in a large cohort of MM patients from the Veterans Affairs (VA) system. Among 2243 VA patients with MM for whom del17p data was available, del17p was present in 8.83% of all patients, with significantly lower prevalence in AA (5.56%) compared to white (10.52%, p<0.001). The difference was even more pronounced among younger (<65 years) AA (4.34%) versus white (9.8%, p=0.004). However, we observed no significant difference in survival between AA and white patients with del17p regardless of age category, suggesting that del17p carries a poor prognosis across race and age. Interestingly, among Abstract Multiple myeloma (MM) is a heterogeneous disease featured by an increased incidence in African Americans (AA). We have previously observed that with equal access to healthcare, younger AA (age <65 years) patients have superior overall survival (OS) than white patients. As MM prognosis is influenced by presence of del17p, we investigated racial differences in its occurrence and impact in a large cohort of MM patients from the Veterans Affairs (VA) system. Among 2243 VA patients with MM for whom del17p data was available, del17p was present in 8.83% of all patients, with significantly lower prevalence in AA (5.56%) compared to white (10.52%, p<0.001). The difference was even more pronounced among younger (<65 years) AA (4.34%) versus white (9.8%, p=0.004). However, we observed no significant difference in survival between AA and white patients with del17p regardless of age category, suggesting that del17p carries a poor prognosis across race and age. Interestingly, among patients without del17p, we still noted a significantly superior OS in younger AA as compared to white (7.75 vs. 5.10 years, p=0.042). Our study shows a lower incidence of del17p in AA but suggests that the survival advantage for younger AA is primarily due to factors other than del17p.
Climate change projections for precipitation in Portugal

The strong irregularity of precipitation in Portugal, which may e.g. trigger severe/extreme droughts and floods, results in a high vulnerability of the country to precipitation inter-annual variability and to its extremes. Furthermore, dryer future climates are projected for Portugal, though there has also been some growing evidence for a strengthening of precipitation extremes. Due to the central role played byprecipitation on many socio-economic sectors and environmental systems, regional climate change assessments for precipitation in Portugal are necessary. This study is focused on analyzing climate change projections for seasonal (3-month) precipitation totals and their corresponding extremes over mainland Portugal. Taking into account the strong seasonality of the precipitation regimes in Portugal, winter (DJF) and summer (JJA) are considered separately. Precipitation datasets generated by a 16-member ensemble of regional climate model experiments from the ENSEMBLES project are used. Percentile-base.
Genistein protects ovarian granulosa cells from oxidative stress via cAMP‐PKA signaling

Genistein is an isoflavone that has estrogen (E2)‐like activity and is beneficial for follicular development, but little is known regarding its function in oxidative stress (OS)‐mediated granulosa cell (GC) injury. Here, we found that after exposure to H2O2, Genistein weakened the elevated levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA), which were regarded as the biomarkers for OS, and rescued glutathione (GSH) content and GSH/GSSG ratio accompanying with a simultaneous increase in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) level, whereas addition of protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor H89 impeded the effects of Genistein on the levels of ROS and MDA. Further analysis evidenced that Genistein enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), GSH‐peroxidase (GSH‐Px), and catalase (CAT) in H2O2‐treated GCs, but this enhancement was attenuated by H89. Under OS, Genistein improved cell viability and lessened the apoptotic rate of GCs along with a reduction in the activity of Casp3 and levels of Bax and Bad messenger RNA (mRNA), while H89 reversed the above effects. Moreover, Genistein treatment caused an obvious elevation in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) followed by a decline in the levels of intracellular mitochondrial superoxide, but H89 inhibited the regulation of Genistein on MMP and mitochondrial superoxide. Supplementation of Genistein promoted the secretion of E2 and increased the expression of Star and Cyp19a1 mRNA, whereas suppressed the level of progesterone (P4) accompanied with a decline in the level of Hsd3b1 mRNA expression. H89 blocked the regulation of Genistein on the secretion of E2 and P4, and alleviated the ascending of Star and Cyp19a1 elicited by Genistein. Collectively, Genistein protects GCs from OS via cAMP‐PKA signaling.