Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Decrement in surface-recorded motor unit potentials in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Background: A decrement to repetitive stimulation sometimes occurs in ALS. The ability to isolate individual surface-recorded motor unit potentials (SMUPs) indirectly allows the analysis of the decrement by comparing the effect of different rates of stimulation on the size of the isolated SMUP. Methods: The median or ulnar nerve or both were studied in 11 patients with reduced compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude. Isolated SMUPs were identified and studied using standard electrophysiologic techniques. One- and 3-Hz stimulation frequencies were compared in isolated SMUP by collecting ≥100 responses to a nonvarying stimulus. Changes in individual SMUP size and activation with change in stimulus frequency were compared with the size of the SMUP and with the CMAP decrement to a train-of-four stimulus. Results: Fifteen studies were obtained from the 11 subjects. Eight studies showed a decrement of the total CMAP to a train-of-four stimulus. Twenty-nine well-defined, isolated SMUPs were studied. SMUP size reductions of 1 to 16% occurred with an increase in the stimulus frequency. No conduction block of individual SMUP occurred with the SMUP size reduction. No consistent change in variance was found. The SMUP size reduction was related to the size of the CMAP and the CMAP train-of-four decrement and less so to the size of the SMUP. Conclusion: The decrement of the total compound muscle action potential to repetitive stimulation appears to arise from individual surface-recorded motor unit potentials and does not result from loss of activation of the main motor axon. The probable mechanism lies at the nerve terminal and neuromuscular junction. No consistent change in variance occurs with different rates of stimulation.
Lexicality effects in word and nonword recall of semantic dementia and progressive nonfluent aphasia

Background: Verbal working memory is an essential component of many language functions, including sentence comprehension and word learning. As such, working memory has emerged as a domain of intense research interest both in aphasiology and in the broader field of cognitive neuroscience. The integrity of verbal working memory encoding relies on a fluid interaction between semantic and phonological processes. That is, we encode verbal detail using many cues related to both the sound and meaning of words. Lesion models can provide an effective means of parsing the contributions of phonological or semantic impairment to recall performance. Methods & Procedures: We employed the lesion model approach here by contrasting the nature of lexicality errors incurred during recall of word and nonword sequences by three individuals with progressive nonfluent aphasia (a phonological dominant impairment) compared to that of two individuals with semantic dementia (a semantic dominant impairment). We focused on psycholinguistic attributes of correctly recalled stimuli relative to those that elicited a lexicality error (i.e., nonword → word OR word → nonword). Outcomes & Results: Patients with semantic dementia showed greater sensitivity to phonological attributes (e.g., phoneme length, wordlikeness) of the target items relative to semantic attributes (e.g., familiarity). Patients with PNFA showed the opposite pattern, marked by sensitivity to word frequency, age of acquisition, familiarity, and imageability. Conclusions: We interpret these results in favour of a processing strategy such that in the context of a focal phonological impairment patients revert to an over-reliance on preserved semantic processing abilities. In contrast, a focal semantic impairment forces both reliance on and hypersensitivity to phonological attributes of target words. We relate this interpretation to previous hypotheses about the nature of verbal short-term memory in progressive aphasia.
Chelation of intracellular zinc triggers apoptosis in mature thymocytes.

BACKGROUND Thymocyte apoptosis has been shown to be regulated by intracellular levels of cations. Elevation of [Ca2+]i can induce cell death by apoptosis, whereas, Zn2+ prevents it. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN A membrane permeable metal ion chelator, N,N,N'N',-tetrakis (2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine (TPEN), was used to examine the role of intracellular zinc in thymocyte (rat and human) apoptosis. Characteristics of apoptosis that were assessed included: chromatin degradation into oligosomal-sized fragments and nuclear condensation. The necessity for protein synthesis in TPEN-induced apoptosis was ruled out using the inhibitors, cycloheximide and emetine. Metal ion specificity for TPEN was established by competition with exogenous cations. FACS analysis was employed to determine the phenotype of the TPEN-sensitive thymocyte populations. RESULTS TPEN induced DNA fragmentation within 4 hours of exposure before the onset of cell death (6 hours). Addition of equimolar exogenous Zn2+ or Cu2+, but not Mn2+ or Fe2+, at the initiation of culture prevented TPEN-induced apoptosis. A membrane impermeable chelator, diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, did not induce thymocyte apoptosis indicating that chelation of intracellular Zn2+ was required to trigger DNA fragmentation. The identity of the critical intracellular Zn(2+)-binding site(s) is currently unknown, but it appears that increased thymocyte [Ca2+]i may displace Zn2+ from these intracellular sites. TPEN treatment resulted in the depletion of thymocytes having a mature phenotype with respect to CD3, CD4, and CD8. Moreover, lymph node cells were more sensitive to TPEN than thymocytes. CONCLUSIONS These experiments show that Zn2+ chelation has disparate effects on immature and mature T cells, and suggest that zinc availability controls the cell death or selection pathway during thymopoiesis.
Median raphe mediates estrogenic effects to the hippocampus in female rats

Subcortical regions such as the medial septum–diagonal band of Broca and supramammillary area have been shown to mediate indirect oestrogenic effects on hippocampal morphology and function. Here, the role of the median raphe (MR), a serotonergic subcortical structure, is studied. To this end, 17β‐estradiol‐filled 30‐gauge cannulae were implanted into the MR of female ovariectomized rats; cholesterol‐filled cannulae served as controls. After seven days, using unbiased electron microscopic stereological calculations and semiquantitative analysis, the spine synapse density and surface density of glial fibrillary acidic protein‐positive astrocyte processes, respectively, were determined in the stratum radiatum of the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Changes in the serotonergic innervation of the hippocampal CA1 region were determined by immunohistochemistry and subsequent morphometric analysis. In the stratum radiatum of the CA1 region, local estradiol application into the MR resulted in a 47% increase in spine synapse density. Simultaneously, the density of glial fibrillary acidic protein‐positive fibers decreased by 16%. The density of serotonin (5‐HT) innervation of the strata lacunosum moleculare and radiatum of the CA1 region of the hippocampus was reduced in response to estradiol, as shown by a decrease in the length of fibers (27.6 and 48.3% decrease, respectively) and the number of large varicosities (32.5 and 38.8% decrease, respectively). These observations suggest a major role of the MR in mediating oestrogenic effects on the hippocampus and an involvement of the serotonergic system.
Assessing endogeneity issues in international marketing research

Purpose – Endogeneity is a potential threat to the validity of international marketing (IM) research. The purpose of this paper is to draw the attention of IM researchers to issues of endogeneity, to provide a comprehensive overview of the sources of endogeneity, and to discuss the statistical solutions. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conduct the research in two steps. In the first step, the authors review the nature and sources of endogeneity specifically in IM research. In the second step, the authors review 60 IM papers on endogeneity published in the period 1995-2014 and assess the current practice of addressing endogeneity in the IM literature. Findings – Sample selection bias and simultaneity are prevalent sources of endogeneity in IM research. Internationalization-performance relationship and innovation-export nexus are the two most frequently adopted models subject to potential endogeneity. Simply lagging the main independent variable is statistically flawed in dealing with endogeneity .
In situ evaluation of sediment toxicity in Guadalete Estuary (SW Spain) after exposure of caged Arenicola marina

A 7 day in situ assay to assess sediment toxicity was carried out per replicate in two sites from Guadalete Estuary (Guad1 and Guad2) (South‐West, Spain) using the polychaete Arenicola marina (n = 20) in benthic cages. After the exposure period, a battery of biomarkers were determined to asses the sediment toxicity. Five of them were exposure biomarkers [ethoxyresorufin O‐deethylase (EROD), dibenzylfluorescein (DBF) dependant CytP450, gluthation reductase (GR), and gluthation‐S‐transferase (GST) activities] and one of them was an effect biomarker [lipid peroxidation (LPO)]. Toxicity due to metals bound to the sediment was found in Guad2. Metals provoke the inhibition of EROD, DBF, and GR and the induction of GST, which is showed to carry out antioxidative stress defense. Toxicity caused by metals and also PAH was detected in Guad1. The presence of these chemicals leads to GST induction in and presumably in consequence, to LPO inhibition. GST activity resulted to be the main protection mechanism against oxidative stress in Arenicola marina. We suggest further research in Guadalete Estuary focusing on the detection and toxicity assessment of pharmaceutical and personal care products. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2008.
A defined process for project post mortem review

Most of us pay lip service to the need for software project post mortems, but the literature offers little guidance on how to conduct them. The authors propose a tentative, standard process for conducting post mortem reviews and describe activities, roles, and artifacts of the process. The success of the post mortem-or of any learning process-demands a context that makes organizational learning possible. Management must make an honest and sincere commitment to establish this context. This commitment should take the form of a public resolution to implement risk management on subsequent projects and to make all post mortem findings input to that risk management effort. After all, lessons learned the hard way on past projects are, if nothing else, risks for future projects. Participants are empowered when they know that each issue raised during the post mortem process must be added to the risk database and evaluated methodically on each subsequent project.
Sensing the underwater acoustic environment with a single hydrophone onboard an undersea glider

Undersea gliders are autonomous vehicles that propel themselves through the ocean by changing their buoyancy. Acoustic platform noise (or self-noise) generation occurs only briefly (and predictably) when the buoyancy change and trim adjustment mechanisms are activated on these quiet platforms. Also, hydrodynamic flow noise is minimal due to the slow (≤0.5 m/s) travel speed of the glider. This paper demonstrates the utility of a single hydrophone onboard a glider that samples the underwater acoustic environment in space and time for the purpose of detecting human activity during a glider mission. In May 2009, acoustic sensor data from a single hydrophone onboard a Slocum glider were recorded during the glider's deployment in a shallow water environment. Time-frequency signal analysis of the underwater acoustic data results in the detection of a helicopter, a surface vessel and the presence of tone burst transmissions from an underwater sound beacon. In addition, echolocation sound pulses (or clicks) emitted by the biological sonars of dolphins permeate the data. Cepstrum analysis of the acoustic data containing the surface vessel's radiated noise (as the signal) provides an estimate of the time delay between the direct path and multipath arrivals of the vessel's broadband acoustic energy at the hydrophone. Given the multipath time delay estimate, along with the known (measured) water depth, hydrophone depth, and sound speed in water, a single hydrophone multipath passive ranging method is able to estimate the instantaneous range of the surface vessel from the glider. The variation with time of the range estimates provides the distance and occurrence time of the closest point of approach of the vessel to the glider. The onboard underwater sound sensor, coupled with the passive ranging method, provides the glider with a self-protection capability in that the separation distance between an encroaching maritime vessel and the glider would indicate the likelihood of the vessel encountering the underwater vehicle, which could adversely affect the operation of the glider.
A Novel Selection Algorithm of a Wavelet-Based Transformer Differential Current Features

In this paper, a novel selection algorithm of wavelet- based transformer differential current features is proposed. The minimum description length with entropy criteria are employed for an initial selection of the mother wavelet and the resolution level, respectively; whereas stepwise regression is applied for obtaining the most statistically significant features. Dimensionality reduction is accordingly achieved, with an acceptable accuracy maintained for classification. The validity of the proposed algorithm is tested through a neuro-wavelet- based classifier of transformer inrush and internal fault differential currents. The proposed algorithm highlights the potential of utilizing synergism of integrating multiple feature selection techniques as opposed to an individual technique, which ensures optimal selection of the features.
Associations of genetic variants in/near body mass index‐associated genes with type 2 diabetes: a systematic meta‐analysis

Genome‐wide association studies have identified many obesity/body mass index (BMI)‐associated loci in Europeans and East Asians. Since then, a large number of studies have investigated the role of BMI‐associated loci in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the results have been inconsistent. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations of eleven obesity/BMI loci with T2D risk and explore how BMI influences this risk.
Pooling of interdigital swab samples for PCR detection of virulent Dichelobacter nodosus

Virulent ovine foot rot is a contagious foot disease. Given the development and validation of a real-time PCR to detect Dichelobacter nodosus isolates that contain the virulence-associated protease genes aprV2 and aprB2, the diagnosis of foot rot has made considerable progress. We evaluated pooling methods to reduce the number of samples during a foot rot control program. Samples of individual feet were compared to a 4-feet sample of the same sheep. All further analyses based on 4-feet samples (pools-of-5 and pools-of-10 4-feet samples) were compared to samples of individual sheep, and a risk-based herd sampling was evaluated and compared to the whole flock. The sensitivity and specificity of the 4-feet samples for detection of aprV2-positive strains was 93.8% (CI: 87.6–97.5%) and 98.3% (CI: 96.5–99.3%), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the pools-of-10 was 86.7% (CI: 78.4–92.7%) and 100.0% (CI: 97.4–100%), respectively. Pools-of-5 were not significantly more sensitive than pools-of-10. The pooling of 4 individual foot samples into one 4-feet sample is an adequate method to reduce the number of samples of individual sheep. The sensitivity of pools-of-5 and pools-of-10 is too imprecise for a control program. Risk-based sampling allowed for a substantial reduction of samples to be tested, had a sensitivity of 95.8% (CI: 78.9–99.9%) and specificity of 100.0% (CI: 88.1–100.0%) when determining the foot rot flock status, and represents an adequate methodology to predict within-flock freedom from infection.
The Impact of Fiscal Limitation on Superintendents' Role and Responsibilities for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment.

i Acknowledgements . iii List of Tables . viii List of Figures . xi Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 Problem Statement . 1 Prior Studies . 5 Gap/Deficiencies in Studies . 7 Significance of this Study . 9 Purpose Statement . 10 Research Questions . 11 Definition of Terms . 12 Limitations and Delimitations . 12 Chapter 2: Literature Review . 14 Superintendent Accountability for Student Achievement . 15 Fiscal Limitations . 28 School District Educational Leader . 34 Summary . 45 Chapter 3: Methods . 49 Purpose Statement . 49 Research Questions . 49 Research Design . 50
Block-based noise estimation using adaptive Gaussian filtering

This paper proposes a fast noise estimation algorithm using a Gaussian filter. It is based on block-based noise estimation, in which an input image is assumed to be contaminated by the additive white Gaussian noise and a filtering process is performed by an adaptive Gaussian filter. Coefficients of a Gaussian filter are selected as functions of the standard deviation of the Gaussian noise that is estimated from an input noisy image. For estimation of the amount of noise (i.e., standard deviation of the Gaussian noise), we split an image into a number of blocks and select smooth blocks that are classified by the standard deviation of intensity of a block, where the standard deviation is computed from the difference of the selected block images between the noisy input image and its filtered image. In the experiments, the performance of the proposed algorithm is compared with that of the three conventional (block-based and filtering-based) noise estimation methods. Experiments with several still images show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The proposed noise estimation algorithm can be efficiently applied to noise reduction in commercial image - or video-based applications such as digital cameras and digital television (DTV) for its performance and simplicity.
Improvements in the Child-Rearing Attitudes of Latina Mothers Exposed to Interpersonal Trauma Predict Greater Maternal Sensitivity Toward Their 6-Month-Old Infants.

The current study investigated maternal sensitivity in a treatment-seeking sample of predominately Latina, low-income pregnant women with histories of interpersonal trauma exposure. Pregnant women (N = 52; M = 27.08 years, SD = 5.66) who enrolled in a study of a perinatal adaptation of child-parent psychotherapy reported on their posttraumatic stress symptoms and child-rearing attitudes at baseline and again at 6-months postpartum. Maternal sensitivity was measured via observational coding of a free-play episode at 6-months postpartum. Two thirds of mothers exhibited healthy levels of maternal sensitivity, M > 4.0 (range = 2.5-7.0). The results of multiple linear regression predicting maternal sensitivity, R(2) = . 26, indicated that greater improvements in child-rearing attitudes over the course of treatment predicted higher levels of maternal sensitivity, β = . 33, whereas improvements in posttraumatic stress symptoms over the course of treatment did not, β = -. 10. Mothers' attitudes regarding parenting during the perinatal period may be a mechanism by which intervention fosters healthy mother-infant relationship dynamics. Thus, parenting attitudes are a worthy target of intervention in vulnerable families.
Elevated levels of transcripts encoding a human retroviral envelope protein (syncytin) in muscles from patients with motor neuron disease

Retroviral components of both exogenous and endogenous origins have been associated with nervous system diseases in both animals and humans. In the present study, the levels of transcripts from elements in the human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) W family were determined in muscle biopsies from patients with motor neuron disease (MND) and control subjects. Transcripts from the HERV‐W element on chromosome 7q21.2 encoding syncytin and from the SOD1 gene were detected at elevated levels in biopsies from the most affected muscles from MND patients compared to biopsies from control individuals. According to a recent study, syncytin is expressed in microglia in normal brain and can be up‐regulated in macrophages/microglia during inflammation. Although syncytin may have cytotoxic effects, it is therefore more likely that the present findings reflect a macrophage response in the muscles undergoing neurogenic atrophy than a primary pathogenetic event in MND.
EFFECTS OF DESCRIPTOR SPECIFICITY AND OBSERVABILITY ON INCUMBENT WORK ANALYSIS RATINGS

Judgments regarding the requirements of jobs and the requirements of individuals performing those jobs comprise the critical groundwork on which human resource practices are built. Yet, such judgments are potentially limited in a variety of ways. Using a large sample of incumbents (N = 47,137) spanning over 300 different occupations, we present research empirically examining how the specificity and observability of focal descriptors affect subsequent ratings. We use variance component (VC) estimation and meta-analysis to investigate sources of variance and interrater reliability of importance ratings across 5 descriptors (tasks, responsibilities, knowledge, skills, and traits). Results indicate that when ratings are rendered on descriptors of low specificity and low observability (e.g., traits), variance due to rater idiosyncrasies increases and reliability decreases. Implications for work analysis practice and future research are discussed. Job or work analysis forms the foundation for virtually every human resource (HR) management system (Butler & Harvey, 1988). For example, work analysis serves as the foundation for recruiting and selecting workers, designing and redesigning work, developing training programs, determining the level of compensation to provide, and designing performance management systems. To develop these HR systems, information about a variety of different job and worker requirements must be collected. These requirements would include descriptive information about the tasks performed on the job, the general responsibilities of incumbents, and the different types of knowledge, skill, ability, and other characteristics that are needed to perform the job (Dierdorff & Morgeson, 2007). The determination of these requirements, however, is largely based on human Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Erich C. Dierdorff,
Determining the non‐inferiority margin for patient reported outcomes

One of the cornerstones of any non‐inferiority trial is the choice of the non‐inferiority margin delta. This threshold of clinical relevance is very difficult to determine, and in practice, delta is often “negotiated” between the sponsor of the trial and the regulatory agencies. However, for patient reported, or more precisely patient observed outcomes, the patients' minimal clinically important difference (MCID) can be determined empirically by relating the treatment effect, for example, a change on a 100‐mm visual analogue scale, to the patient's satisfaction with the change. This MCID can then be used to define delta.