Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cortisol and treatment effect in children with disruptive behavior disorders: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE Basal cortisol and cortisol stress responsivity are valuable biological characteristics of children with disruptive behavior disorder (DBD). In this study, the predictive value of cortisol to outcome of intervention was investigated. METHOD Basal cortisol levels and cortisol levels under stress were studied in 22 children with DBD before the start of a psychotherapeutic treatment. The disruptive behavior of the child was assessed before treatment and after cessation (9 months later). RESULTS Children with DBD with relatively high and low basal cortisol levels differed in the severity of problem behavior at pretreatment, with the low basal cortisol group having more severe problems. During stress, children with DBD showed either increasing or decreasing cortisol values. Although these cortisol responsivity groups were similar in the severity of behavioral problems at pretreatment, the behavioral problems of the group with high cortisol stress responsivity were significantly lower after the intervention than the behavioral problems of the group with low cortisol stress responsivity. CONCLUSIONS In children with DBD, the basal cortisol level was related to the severity of behavioral problems at pretreatment but not to the severity of behavioral problems after treatment. The cortisol response pattern during stress was related to treatment outcome.
Was James Madison Wrong? Rethinking the American Preference for Short, Framework-Oriented Constitutions

American constitutional thought has long held that short, framework-oriented constitutions last longer than lengthy, statute-oriented constitutions. The longevity of the U.S. Constitution contributes heavily to this assumption. Not surprisingly, political scientists criticize state constitutions for their greater length and tendency to address issues better dealt with through ordinary statute law. These “defects” are frequently cited as responsible for the shorter lifespan of state constitutions. An examination of the 145 constitutions used by the American states since 1776, however, reveals a relationship among content, length, and durability that refutes the assumption that the design of the national constitution is necessarily superior. To the contrary, the analysis here reveals that longer and more detailed design of state constitutions actually enhances rather than reduces their longevity.
The Sociohistorical Context of Imposition in Substrate Effects

A growing literature directly connects historical demographic patterns to the emergence of new dialects or languages. This article moves beyond the usual macro view of such data, relying on simple numbers of speakers and similar information, to focus on the input to new generations of speakers in a so-called substrate setting. The English now spoken in eastern Wisconsin shows a range of influences from German, and we work to reconstruct the kinds of input that the first large generation of English L1, mostly monolingual English-speaking children in the community,likely received at the level of the household and the individual. Evidence strongly suggests that most children in the community would have been widely exposed to heavily German-influenced English, in part due to a critical moment of shift from German to English as the home language in many households.
Fecal calprotectin is an effective diagnostic tool that differentiates inflammatory from functional intestinal disorders

Abstract Background. The clinical pictures of functional gastrointestinal disorders and inflammatory diseases can be quite similar leading to inappropriate and expensive investigations. Objective. To investigate fecal calprotectin (FC) diagnostic performance in different gastrointestinal conditions. Material and methods. Stool specimens of 66 outpatients referred for colonoscopy were collected for further FC determination. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed by the area under the curve (AUC). Sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), positive (PPV), and negative predictive values (NPV) were calculated according to the presence of inflammation and the main final diagnosis. Results. Histological inflammation was found in 45 (68%) patients: 24 had a diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) while 21 reported miscellaneous conditions (5 microscopic colitis, 2 eosinophilic colitis, and 14 nonspecific chronic colitis). The diagnosis in the 21 (32%) patients without inflammation was irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Median FC values were 268 µg/g (95% CI, 151–343) and 49 µg/g (95% CI, 23–101) in patients with and without inflammation, respectively (p = 0.0001). AUC value of FC was 0.811 (Se = 68.9%, Sp = 71.4%, PPV = 83.8%, and NPV = 56.3% with a cutoff value of 100 µg/g) for discriminating between patients with and without inflammation and 0.931 (Se = 87.5%, Sp = 90.5%, PPV = 91.3%, and NPV = 86.4% with a cutoff value of 150 µg/g) for discriminating between patients with IBS and IBD. Using the cutoff value recommended by the manufacturer (50 µg/g), we found Se =100%, Sp =52.4%, PPV =70.6%, and NPV =100% for the diagnosis of IBD. Conclusions. FC appears to be a reliable noninvasive biomarker of intestinal inflammation useful to improve the appropriateness of colonoscopy requests.
An integrated framework for safety, quality and risk management: an information and incident management system based on a universal patient safety classification

More needs to be done to improve safety and quality and to manage risks in health care. Existing processes are fragmented and there is no single comprehensive source of information about what goes wrong. An integrated framework for the management of safety, quality and risk is needed, with an information and incident management system based on a universal patient safety classification. The World Alliance for Patient Safety provides a platform for the development of a coherent approach; 43 desirable attributes for such an approach are discussed. An example of an incident management and information system serving a patient safety classification is presented, with a brief account of how and where it is currently used. Any such system is valueless unless it improves safety and quality. Quadruple-loop learning (personal, local, national and international) is proposed with examples of how an exemplar system has been successfully used at the various levels. There is currently an opportunity to “get it right” by international cooperation via the World Health Organization to develop an integrated framework incorporating systems that can accommodate information from all sources, manage and monitor things that go wrong, and allow the worldwide sharing of information and the dissemination of tools for the implementation of strategies which have been shown to work.
A low-voltage low-power sigma-delta modulator for bio-potential signals

This paper presents the design and implementation of a low-power, low-voltage sigma delta modulator (SDM) with a standard 0. 18µm CMOS technology. A novel cascode current mirror operational trans-conductance amplifier (OTA) is utilized to enlarge the input common-mode range. The one-stage OTA structure is simple and low-power comparing with the traditional multi-stage folded cascode structure. The designed modulator achieved 68.6-dB signal-to-noise-and-distortion-ratio (SNDR) in 10-kHz bandwidth with an oversampling ratio of 64. The power consumption was 60µW with an 0.9-V power supply.
Intravenous iron sucrose and oral iron for the treatment of iron deficiency anaemia in pregnancy.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of intravenous iron sucrose and oral iron administration for the treatment of iron deficiency anaemia in pregnancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Hundred women with gestational age between 30 and 34 weeks with established iron deficiency anaemia with Haemoglobin-6-8g/dL were randomised to receive either oral ferrous sulphate 200 mg thrice daily or required dose of intravenous iron sucrose 200 mg in 200 ml NS on alternate days. Haemoglobin, haematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, reticulocyte count were measured at recruitment and on 2(nd) week, 4(th) week and at 37 weeks. Adverse drug reactions were also noted in both the groups. RESULTS were analyzed by student's t-test and Chi-square test. RESULTS Haemoglobin values varied significantly with time between the two groups at second week, 4(th) week and at term (p<0.005). The mean difference in mean corpuscular volume from the recruitment value was not significant at 2(nd) week. When compared to iron sucrose group, oral iron group had significant gastro-intestinal adverse effects. CONCLUSION Intravenous iron sucrose treated iron deficiency anaemia of pregnancy faster, and more effectively than oral iron therapy, with no serious adverse drug reactions.
Hypotheses of Natural Phonology

Hypotheses of Natural Phonology Natural Phonology characterizes production and perception of speech in terms of a set of universal phonetically motivated phonological processes. Before their first words, infants identify some processes as inapplicable in their language, which narrows their perceptual universe to its phonemic system and enables them to hear the intention rather than the actuation of speech. They then gradually inhibit the inapplicable processes to achieve mature pronunciation. If some inhibitions are not fully mastered, the child's speech seems to have a sound change, or perhaps a variable pronunciation, or a speech deficit. Processes that remain active govern allophony, variation, automatic alternations, one's native "accent", and one's "foreign" accent in second-language learning. Inactive processes may (re-)emerge to cope with stresses like injury or fatigue. This paper surveys some of the principal hypotheses of Natural Phonology, and we briefly compare them with Optimality Theory and recent neo-empiricist phonology. We argue that abstraction from actions to intentions is fundamental to learning and understanding language at every level from phonetics to pragmatics.
A Unified Statistical Approach to Deformation-Based Morphometry

We present a unified statistical framework for analyzing temporally varying brain morphology using the 3D displacement vector field from a nonlinear deformation required to register a subject's brain to an atlas brain. The unification comes from a single model for structural change, rather than two separate models, one for displacement and one for volume changes. The displacement velocity field rather than the displacement itself is used to set up a linear model to account for temporal variations. By introducing the rate of the Jacobian change of the deformation, the local volume change at each voxel can be computed and used to measure possible brain tissue growth or loss. We have applied this method to detecting regions of a morphological change in a group of children and adolescents. Using structural magnetic resonance images for 28 children and adolescents taken at different time intervals, we demonstrate how this method works.
Stroke Prevention Worldwide - What Could Make It Work

The global burden of stroke is of continual major importance for global health. The present report addresses some of the core principles that could make stroke prevention work. The prevention of stroke shares many common features with other non-communicable diseases (NCDs); stroke prevention should therefore be part of the joint actions on NCD led by the WHO and member states. Stroke prevention is an integral part of both the 2011 UN declaration on actions on NCDs and the UN Post-2015 Sustainable Developmental Goals. Stroke prevention requires an intersectoral approach, with important responsibilities on the part of governmental bodies, non-government organizations and the health sector as well as communities, industries and individuals. Although official development assistance will need to be provided for the lowest income countries, financing will need to be raised for most countries by reallocation of resources within the country. Stroke is a prototype NCD in that there is overwhelming scientific evidence that with actions taken to reduce risk factors, the risk of stroke can be substantially reduced. Prevention of stroke will also have beneficial effects on cognitive decline and dementia. As most strokes do not lead to death, stroke statistics should not only focus on mortality, but also on disability and quality of life. All preventive actions should start early in life and continue during the life cycle. Prevention of stroke is a complex medical and a political issue with many challenges. Upscaling of efforts to prevent stroke are urgently needed in all regions, and the opportunity to act is now.
In Their Own Words: What Students Learn Outside the Classroom

In most college impact models, student and institutional characteristics have substantial effects on student learning (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). The purpose of this study was to discover the impact of out-of-class experiences on outcomes of college attendance considered important by students. From interviews with 149 seniors at 12 colleges and universities, 14 categories of learning and personal development were distilled. These categories subsequently were reduced to five outcome domains: Personal Competence, Cognitive Complexity, Knowledge and Academic Skills, Practical Competence, and Altruism and Estheticism. Contrary to the literature on college impact, student background characteristics were not related to differences in outcomes; however, students attending small, private colleges with liberal arts missions more frequently reported changes in Cognitive Complexity, Knowledge and Academic Skills, and Altruism and Estheticism.
Teaching Undergraduate Positive Psychology: An Active Learning Approach Using Student Blogs

In just over ten years positive psychology has become a major subfield in psychology. This is reflected in the development of positive psychology courses at many universities and in over a thousand empirical articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Thus far, there is little published research suggesting ways to incorporate active learning techniques into these courses. This article describes the use of student blogs, employing a university blog platform, to teach several interventions in an undergraduate positive psychology course. The authors asked students enrolled in an introductory positive psychology course at a large university to complete three exercises, referred to as Three Good Things (recalling three good things that happened in the last 24 hours), Signature Strengths (using signature strengths in novel ways), and the Gratitude Letter (writing a letter of gratitude to someone who has been a positive influence in one's life), and record their experience in a blog. These exercises have been found to increase happiness and positive emotions. Students made a significantly higher evaluation of the course with blogs than of the same course without blogs. The authors describe how the techniques were assigned and scored, and examine the benefits and challenges of this method.
Adjustment of Anaesthesia Depth Using Bispectral Index Prolongs Seizure Duration in Electroconvulsive Therapy

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) under propofol anaesthesia induces relatively shorter seizures compared to barbiturate anaesthesia. Since significant correlation between seizure duration and bispectral index (BIS) value immediately before electrical stimulus has been reported among patients, adjustment of anaesthesia depth as determined by BIS may be effective in obtaining a longer seizure length. In the present study, we examined this hypothesis in those patients whose muscular seizure duration was less than 40s. ECT was prescribed to 20 patients suffering from endogenous depression. General anaesthesia was induced with propofol 1 mg/kg. Succinylcholine chloride 1 mg/kg was then given. The efficacy of electrical stimulation was determined using a tourniquet technique, electromyogram, and electroencephalography. When a patient had a seizure less than 40s in their second ECT treatment, the subsequent treatment was modified such that the electrical stimulus was given after waiting for a higher BIS value (+10-20). Intensity of electrical stimulus and anaesthesia conditions were identical in the two treatments. All 20 patients had longer seizures as determined by the electromyogram and/or electroencephalography when the stimulus was delivered at the higher BIS value. Seizure duration measured by muscle movement was 31±5s when the stimulus was delivered without waiting and 46±10s when delivered after waiting. There was a significant difference in seizure duration between the two treatments (P<0.01). Waiting for a recovery in BIS value before electrical stimulation can prolong seizure duration.
Developing Argument Assistant Systems from a Usability Viewpoint

This paper discusses the role of usability as a quality key attribute for the deployment of Argument Assistant Systems, which are software tools intended to provide effective knowledge management facilities when solving problems in different contexts, helping to identify, create, represent and analyze the arguments involved as well as their interrelationships. Based on a reverse engineering process, a set of usability-oriented Design Guidelines were identified and instantiated for the Argument Assistant System domain. Besides, some usability principles are proposed and linked to every suggested guideline to evaluate its quality in use.
Panel: using simulation to teach probability. Session 1: words Session 2: deeds

This panel has been put together to promote the use of simulation as a teaching tool to expedite the learning and, more importantly, the understanding of probability theory. "In a nutshell," the thesis upon which this panel is based is that the simulation approach is more effective than a mathematical approach on a stand-alone basis. It also dominates any statistical approach as a pedagogical tool.
Tracing Causal Mechanisms

“This argument is too structural. It's under-determined and based on unrealistic assumptions. Moreover, it tells us little about how the world really works. ” Among many scholars (the present author included), these are an oft-heard set of complaints. Consider two examples. The central thesis of the democratic peace literature—that democracies do not fight other democracies—is hailed as one of the few law-like propositions in international relations. Yet, as critics rightly stress, we know amazingly little about the mechanisms generating such peaceful relations (Rosato 2003:585–586, passim ; Forum 2005; Hamberg 2005). And in Europe, scholars have for years debated the identity-shaping effects of European institutions. One claim is that bureaucrats “go native” in Brussels, adopting European values at the expense of national ones. But here, too, critics correctly note that we know virtually nothing about the processes and mechanisms underlying these potentially transformative dynamics (Checkel 2005a, 2005b). So, to paraphrase a former US president, “it's the process stupid. ” To invoke process is synonymous, I argue, with an understanding of theories based on causal mechanisms. To study such mechanisms, we must use a method of process tracing. But this is not easy. Proponents of process tracing should be wary of losing sight of the big picture, be aware of the method's significant data requirements, and recognize epistemological assumptions inherent in its application. Consistent with a central theme of the present Forum, I argue that process tracers are well placed to move us beyond unproductive “either/or” meta-theoretical debates to empirical applications in which both agents and structures matter as well as are explained and understood through both positivist and post-positivist epistemological–methodological lenses. Mechanisms operate at an analytic level below that of a more encompassing theory; they increase the theory's credibility by rendering more fine-grained explanations (Johnson 2002:230–231). According to …
A Packet Loss Protection Scheme Joint Deterministic Network Coding and Random Linear Network Coding for H.264/AVC

Video streaming applications over lossy packet networks is a challenging task due to a number of factors such as delay, fix bandwidth allocation, and packet loss. The conventional Forward Error Correcting (FEC) code and automatic repeat requestret (ARQ) methods will become ineffective to transmit video streaming for the reason that video frame errors appear in bursts which will lead to reconstruct the video frame very difficult over the lossy packet network. In this paper, we focus on an effective packet loss protection scheme joint deterministic network coding (DNC) and random linear network coding (RLNC) for H.264/AVC video transmission. Considering the complexity of RLNC algorithm, the transmission scheme should make some improvements. Firstly, the source node encodes data packets based on the deterministic network coding, which will improve the efficiency of coding. Secondly, RLNC process at the intermediate nodes needs to do some limited operations for the random encoding coefficient vectors to reduce the redundancy packets in the network. Thirdly, the decoding process at the destination nodes should be simplified. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach by system implementation and performance evaluation. Experimental results are given to demonstrate the significant improvement of H.264/AVC streaming reconstructive video quality over the lossy packet network, and the improvement is comparably more remarkable when the packets loss dramatically.
Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Older Adults

In the near future, the majority of patients with diabetes will be adults aged 65 or older. Unlike young adults with diabetes, elderly diabetic people may be affected by a variety of comorbid conditions such as depression, cognitive impairment, muscle weakness (sarcopenia), falls and fractures, and physical frailty. These geriatric syndromes should be considered in the establishment of treatment goals in older adults with diabetes. Although there are several guidelines for the management of diabetes, only a few are specifically designed for the elderly with diabetes. In this review, we present specific conditions of elderly diabetes which should be taken into account in the management of diabetes in older adults. We also present advantages and disadvantages of various glucose-lowering agents that should be considered when choosing a proper regimen for older adults with diabetes.
About the gain choice of flux observer in induction servo-motors

A reduced-order observer is considered for the estimation of the rotor flux in field oriented controlled servomotors. The influence of the observer gain choice on the system performance is analyzed in detail. Sensitivity to thermal variations is taken into account, as well as the influence of the error dynamics. Experimental results are given for a real drive, showing the effects of the different proposed gain choices on the drive behavior. <<ETX>>