Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Talking to Children Matters

Infants differ substantially in their rates of language growth, and slow growth predicts later academic difficulties. In this study, we explored how the amount of speech directed to infants in Spanish-speaking families low in socioeconomic status influenced the development of children’s skill in real-time language processing and vocabulary learning. All-day recordings of parent-infant interactions at home revealed striking variability among families in how much speech caregivers addressed to their child. Infants who experienced more child-directed speech became more efficient in processing familiar words in real time and had larger expressive vocabularies by the age of 24 months, although speech simply overheard by the child was unrelated to vocabulary outcomes. Mediation analyses showed that the effect of child-directed speech on expressive vocabulary was explained by infants’ language-processing efficiency, which suggests that richer language experience strengthens processing skills that facilitate language growth.
Supporting Everyday Function in Chronic Pain Using Wearable Technology

While most rehabilitation technologies target situated exercise sessions and associated performance metrics, physiotherapists recommend physical activities that are integrated with everyday functioning. We conducted a 1-2 week home study to explore how people with chronic pain use wearable technology that senses and sonifies movement (i.e., movement mapped to sound in real-time) to do functional activity (e.g., loading the dishwasher). Our results show that real-time movement sonification led to an increased sense of control during challenging everyday tasks. Sonification calibrated to functional activity facilitated application of pain management techniques such as pacing. When calibrated to individual needs, sonification enabled serendipitous discovery of physical capabilities otherwise obscured by a focus on pain or a dysfunctional proprioceptive system. A physiotherapist was invited to comment on the implications of our findings. We conclude by discussing opportunities provided by wearable sensing technology to enable better functioning, the ultimate goal of physical rehabilitation.
Introduction to the programming of deep brain stimulators

The clinical success of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for treating Parkinson's disease, tremor, or dystonia critically depends on the quality of postoperative neurologic management. Movement disorder specialists becoming involved with this therapy need to acquire new skills to optimally adapt stimulation parameters and medication after implantation of a DBS system. In clinical practice, the infinite number of possible parameter settings in DBS can be reduced to few relevant combinations. In this article, the authors describe a general scheme of selecting stimulation parameters in DBS and provide clinical and neurophysiological arguments for such a standardized algorithm. They also describe noninvasive technical trouble shooting by using programming features of the commercially available neurostimulation devices. © 2002 Movement Disorder Society
The fast Hartley transform

A fast algorithm has been worked out for performing the Discrete Hartley Transform (DHT) of a data sequence of N elements in a time proportional to Nlog2N. The Fast Hartley Transform (FHT) is as fast as or faster than the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and serves for all the uses such as spectral analysis, digital processing, and convolution to which the FFT is at present applied. A new timing diagram (stripe diagram) is presented to illustrate the overall dependence of running time on the subroutines composing one implementation; this mode of presentation supplements the simple counting of multiplies and adds. One may view the Fast Hartley procedure as a sequence of matrix operations on the data and thus as constituting a new factorization of the DFT matrix operator; this factorization is presented. The FHT computes convolutions and power spectra distinctly faster than the FFT.
T-cell recognition of human melanoma antigens.

The adoptive transfer of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) with interleukin-2 (IL-2) has antitumor activity in some patients with metastatic melanoma. We have analyzed molecular mechanisms of TIL recognition of human melanoma. Some cultured TILs specifically lysed autologous and some allogeneic melanomas sharing a variety of class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. HLA-A2-restricted melanoma-specific TILs lysed many HLA-A2+ melanoma cell lines from different patients but failed to lyse HLA-A2- melanoma and HLA-A2+ nonmelanoma cell lines. However, these TILs were capable of lysing many naturally HLA-A2- melanomas after introduction of the HLA-A2.1 gene by vaccinia virus. These results indicate that shared melanoma antigens (Ag) are expressed in melanomas regardless of their human leukocyte antigen types. In order to identify these shared melanoma Ags, we have tested some known proteins expressed in melanoma. Expression of tyrosinase or HMB45 Ag correlated with lysis of TILs. We are also attempting to isolate antigenic peptides by high performance liquid chromatography separation and genes encoding melanoma Ag by cDNA expression cloning. The T-cell component of the antimelanoma response was also analyzed by determining the genetic structure of the T-cell receptor (TCR) used by melanoma TILs. However, we did not observe common TCR variable region usage by different melanoma TILs. We could establish melanoma cell clones and lines resistant to TIL lysis due to the absence of or defects in the expression of Ag, MHC, or beta 2-microglobulin molecules. These data indicate multiple mechanisms for melanoma escape from T-cell immunosurveillance. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A fragmentation algorithm for storage management in cloud database environment

The past decade has witnessed using cloud DBMSs for enterprises' applications and managing their data. However, only a few number of cloud DBMSs have provided relational database as a service and get benefits from being in cloud data centers. Cloud DBMSs are grouped into two categories. The first category is scalable datastores that cannot preserve ACID for transactions over the entire database. The second one is scalable traditional DBMSs that scale difficulty as they migrate data or instances. This paper proposes a shared storage architecture for cloud DBMS that reduces migration of data that happens for preserving load balance between database instances after increasing scalability by adding new database instances or new storage devices. Moreover, it provides storage management module that locates database objects well on storage devices for parallel access in ‘write and read’ operations with reducing storage skewness and bottleneck, based on a new horizontally fragmentation algorithm. Also, it provides storage monitoring module for detecting skewness and reconfiguring the storage. The proposed Cloud DBMS overcomes limitations in scalable data stores and traditional DBMSs. We finally confirm the effectiveness of the proposed architecture on real data sets.
Mitochondrial dysfunction in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and insulin resistance: Cause or consequence?

Abstract Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome and refers to a spectrum of disorders ranging from steatosis to steatohepatitis, a disease stage characterized by inflammation, fibrosis, cell death and insulin resistance (IR). Due to its association with obesity and IR the impact of NAFLD is growing worldwide. Consistent with the role of mitochondria in fatty acid (FA) metabolism, impaired mitochondrial function is thought to contribute to NAFLD and IR. Indeed, mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired mitochondrial respiratory chain have been described in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and skeletal muscle of obese patients. However, recent data have provided evidence that pharmacological and genetic models of mitochondrial impairment with reduced electron transport stimulate insulin sensitivity and protect against diet-induced obesity, hepatosteatosis and IR. These beneficial metabolic effects of impaired mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation may be related not only to the reduction of reactive oxygen species production that regulate insulin signaling but also to decreased mitochondrial FA overload that generate specific metabolites derived from incomplete FA oxidation (FAO) in the TCA cycle. In line with the Randle cycle, reduced mitochondrial FAO rates may alleviate the repression on glucose metabolism in obesity. In addition, the redox paradox in insulin signaling and the delicate mitochondrial antioxidant balance in steatohepatitis add another level of complexity to the role of mitochondria in NAFLD and IR. Thus, better understanding the role of mitochondria in FA metabolism and glucose homeostasis may provide novel strategies for the treatment of NAFLD and IR.
Muscle sympathetic nerve responses to dynamic one-legged exercise: effect of body posture.

Previous studies examining muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) during dynamic exercise have focused on upper extremity exercise. The present study was undertaken to investigate 1) MSNA responses to dynamic one-legged knee extensions (DLE) and 2) the role of the cardiopulmonary baroreflexes in the modulation of MSNA responses to DLE. MSNA was measured during 4 min of DLE at 20 (n = 10) and 30 W (n = 9) and during 3 min of DLE at 40 W (n = 9). DLE was performed in the upright (sitting) position and MSNA was recorded in the contralateral leg (peroneal nerve). DLE elicited significant increases in mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR; P < 0.05). In contrast to previous studies using dynamic arm exercise, MSNA (bursts/min) decreased by 25% (P < 0.05) during the first minute of DLE from resting control and remained suppressed during the remaining 3 min of DLE at 20 and 30 W. During the first minute of DLE at 40 W, MSNA (bursts/min) decreased by 18% (P < 0.05), but returned to control levels during the last minute of exercise. Because dynamic leg exercise in the upright position increases venous return, we postulated that upright DLE might increase cardiac filling pressures and stimulate the cardiopulmonary baroreceptors resulting in suppression of MSNA. To investigate this possibility, we measured MSNA and central venous pressure (CVP) during 4 min of both supine and upright DLE at 30 W. MAP, HR, and CVP increased and MSNA decreased from 30 +/- 3 to 22 +/- 3 bursts/min (mean exercise value; P < 0.05) during upright DLE. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Early invasive versus selectively invasive management for acute coronary syndromes.

BACKGROUND Current guidelines recommend an early invasive strategy for patients who have acute coronary syndromes without ST-segment elevation and with an elevated cardiac troponin T level. However, randomized trials have not shown an overall reduction in mortality, and the reduction in the rate of myocardial infarction in previous trials has varied depending on the definition of myocardial infarction. METHODS We randomly assigned 1200 patients with acute coronary syndrome without ST-segment elevation who had chest pain, an elevated cardiac troponin T level (> or =0.03 mug per liter), and either electrocardiographic evidence of ischemia at admission or a documented history of coronary disease to an early invasive strategy or to a more conservative (selectively invasive) strategy. Patients received aspirin daily, enoxaparin for 48 hours, and abciximab at the time of percutaneous coronary intervention. The use of clopidogrel and intensive lipid-lowering therapy was recommended. The primary end point was a composite of death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or rehospitalization for anginal symptoms within one year after randomization. RESULTS The estimated cumulative rate of the primary end point was 22.7 percent in the group assigned to early invasive management and 21.2 percent in the group assigned to selectively invasive management (relative risk, 1.07; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.87 to 1.33; P=0.33). The mortality rate was the same in the two groups (2.5 percent). Myocardial infarction was significantly more frequent in the group assigned to early invasive management (15.0 percent vs. 10.0 percent, P=0.005), but rehospitalization was less frequent in that group (7.4 percent vs. 10.9 percent, P=0.04). CONCLUSIONS We could not demonstrate that, given optimized medical therapy, an early invasive strategy was superior to a selectively invasive strategy in patients with acute coronary syndromes without ST-segment elevation and with an elevated cardiac troponin T level.
Mining marine shellfish wastes for bioactive molecules: Chitin and chitosan ndash; Part A: extraction methods

Legal restrictions, high costs and environmental problems regarding the disposal of marine processing wastes have led to amplified interest in biotechnology research concerning the identification and extraction of additional high grade, low‐volume by‐products produced from shellfish waste treatments. Shellfish waste consisting of crustacean exoskeletons is currently the main source of biomass for chitin production. Chitin is a polysaccharide composed of N‐acetyl‐D‐glucosamine units and the multidimensional utilization of chitin derivatives including chitosan, a deacetylated derivative of chitin, is due to a number of characteristics including: their polyelectrolyte and cationic nature, the presence of reactive groups, high adsorption capacities, bacteriostatic and fungistatic influences, making them very versatile biomolecules. Part A of this review aims to consolidate useful information concerning the methods used to extract and characterize chitin, chitosan and glucosamine obtained through industrial, microbial and enzymatic hydrolysis of shellfish waste.
Anticipating organizational technological exploration and exploitation dynamics under varying knowledge usage rates

The central decision any organization must make is its balancing act of determining which markets to serve with what products and balancing between exploration-exploitation i.e. whether to seek new technological knowledge to develop new offering or whether to allocate scarce resources to established technological knowledge and serve current markets. This core strategic dimension can subsequently be dichotomized to a decision-making regarding exploitation versus exploration balance under the management of absorptive capacity in acquiring versus discarding new technological knowledge. We explore the dynamics of balance of innovation output regarding resulting from dichotomized strategic decisions in exploration and exploitation under the variable rate of external technological knowledge usage. We build a system dynamic model considering the process of absorptive capacity at the company level and additionally facilitate feedback loops in the process. We shed light on the dynamics of innovation creation from external technological knowledge acquisition when small initial changes in strategic decision making lead to substantial differences in company output. Our simulations illustrate in their basic form how various managerial decisions regarding exploration-exploitation dichotomies in line with the usage of acquired knowledge may influence the output of R&D.
Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts and the Market Quality of S&P 500 Index Futures

This study examines the market quality of S&P 500 index futures in 150-day periods before and after the introduction of Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts, SPDRs, on January 29, 1993. In a preliminary test of structure change, results fail to reject the null hypothesis that the empirical distributions of daily futures price changes in the two periods are the same. Market quality is measured by the deviation of observed prices from the unobserved implicit efficient price. A lower pricing error variance from a vector autoregression (VAR) model implies better market quality. Using tick-by-tick intra-day S&P 500 index futures price data, we find a lower pricing error standard deviation of 0.26 percent in the post-SPDR period than in the pre-SPDR period (0.32 percent). This finding indicates an improvement in the quality of the S&P 500 index futures market following the introduction of SPDRs attributable to improvement in the microstructure of the market. As SPDRs facilitate index arbitrage, adjustment of prices in the index futures market takes less time, leading to lower pricing error variance, or improved market quality. In the post-SPDR period, we apply a vector error correction model (VECM) to two pairs of intra-day (futures, index) prices and (futures, SPDR) prices. The VECM approach shows better quality in the S&P 500 index futures market from its arbitrage relationship with SPDRs. We conclude that it is this arbitrage relationship between index futures and SPDRs that improves S&P 500 index futures market quality after the introduction of SPDRs.
The Capital Market of Montenegro and the Prospects for its Integration into the EU

The purpose of the report is to analyze the current state of development and the main barriers in front of the effective functioning of the capital market of Montenegro (candidate country for EU membership) on the basis of economic analysis of quantitative and qualitative indicators. The research includes results of empirical testing of main economic factors, influencing the development of this capital market. In the course of the research are outlined the main problematic aspects in front of the Montenegro capital market in view of its future integration into EU.
Fetal Heart Rate Patterns and Fetal Distress in Patients With Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes

Two hundred sixty-seven consecutive patients with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PROM) and 130 consecutive patients with idiopathic premature labor and intact membranes between 28 and 35 weeks' gestation were compared. A significantly higher incidence of cesarean section for fetal distress was found in patients with PROM (7.9%) compared with patients with premature labor (1.5%) (P < .05). Fetal distress occurred with similar frequency in patients with and without chorioamnionitis. Analysis of electronic fetal heart rate patterns in patients with fetal distress revealed that 16 of 21 patients (76%) with PROM had patterns consistent with umbilical cord compression. A significant difference was found in neonatal mortality rates between the PROM group (4.5%) and the premature labor group (0) (P < .05). The neonatal death rate in patients with fetal distress (three of 12) was significantly higher than in patients without distress (nine of 385) (P < .01). It is suggested that the increased incidence of fetal distress in patients with preterm PROM may represent the loss of the protection of the umbilical cord that amniotic fluid normally provides.
Bilateral fetal mesencephalic grafting in two patients with parkinsonism induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)

BACKGROUND Intracerebral transplantation of fetal dopaminergic neurons is a promising new approach for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Patients with parkinsonism induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) have a relatively stable lesion limited to the nigrostriatal system, rendering them ideal candidates for transplantation. Improvement of motor function after neural grafting has previously been observed in nonhuman primates with MPTP-induced parkinsonism. METHODS We grafted human fetal tissue from the ventral mesencephalon (obtained six to eight weeks after conception) bilaterally to the caudate and putamen in two immunosuppressed patients with severe MPTP-induced parkinsonism, using a stereotaxic technique. The patients were assessed regularly with clinical rating scales, timed tests of motor performance, and [18F]fluorodopa positron-emission tomography during the 18 months before the operation and the 22 to 24 months after the operation. RESULTS Both patients had substantial, sustained improvement in motor function and became much more independent. Postoperatively, the second patient's maintenance dose of levodopa was decreased to 150 mg daily, which was 30 percent of the original dose. Striatal uptake of fluorodopa was unchanged 5 to 6 months postoperatively but was markedly and bilaterally increased at 12 to 13 and 22 to 24 months in both patients, closely paralleling the patients' clinical improvement. There were no serious complications. CONCLUSIONS Bilateral implantation of fetal mesencephalic tissue can induce substantial long-term functional improvement in patients with parkinsonism and severe dopamine depletion and is accompanied by increased uptake of fluorodopa by the striatum. The results in these patients resemble those obtained in MPTP-treated primates and suggest that this will be a useful model for the assessment of transplantation therapies in Parkinson's disease.
Effects of PP-56 and Vitamin E on Platelet Hyperaggregability, Fatty Acid Abnormalities, and Clinical Manifestations in Streptozocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

The effects of vitamin E and D-myo-inositol 1,2,6-trisphosphate (PP-56) were investigated in long-term studies in streptozocin-induced diabetic rats fed a purified diet with 33% lipids and a polyunsaturated- to -saturated fatty acid ratio of 1. A supplement of vitamin E decreased plasma triglycerides, platelet lipid biosynthesis, some of the ∆6- and ∆5-desaturase abnormalities, and urine ketone bodies but did not affect the response of platelets to aggregation. PP-56 completely normalized the platelet reactivity to ADP and thrombin. This was accompanied by normalization of platelet lipid biosynthesis and diabetes-induced abnormalities in ∆6- and ∆5-desaturases. PP-56 treatment also reduced the mortality rate and to a certain extent urinary ketone bodies. The protective effect of PP-56 on platelet aggregation and mortality rate were dose related. PP-56, a molecule derived from phytic acid, seems to exert potent protective effects on some of the manifestations associated with diabetes in rats.