Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cognitive Performance in Euthymic Patients with Bipolar Disorder vs Healthy Controls: A Neuropsychological Investigation

Objectives: Cognitive impairment may affect patients with Bipolar Disorder (BD) beyond the acute episodes, qualifying as a potential endophenotype. However, which cognitive domains are specifically affected in euthymic patients with BD and the potential influence of confounding factors (e.g., age and concomitant pharmacological treatment) are still a matter of debate. The present study was, therefore, conducted to assess cognitive performance across specific domains in euthymic bipolar patients, not older than 50 years (to avoid potential age-related bias) versus healthy controls (HCs). Methods: A cognitive task battery, including the Wisconsin Card Test, Span Attention Test, Tower of London, Trail Making Test, Verbal Fluency Test, Matrices Scores and N-Back, was administered to 62 subjects (30 bipolar patients and 32 matched HCs) and differences between the groups analyzed. Results: Bipolar patients performed significantly worse than HCs in the Span Forward task, in the expression of Verbal Fluency Test (Category) and in the N-Back task (all p<.05), with marginal differences between BD I and BD II patients. Conclusion: The present study pointed out significant differences in terms of cognitive performance between euthymic bipolar patients and HCs, supporting the notion that specific cognitive functions may remain impaired even after the resolution of the acute episodes in subjects suffering from BD. Future studies on larger samples are warranted to confirm the present results and further explore potential differences in cognitive impairment across specific bipolar subtypes.
LOcating Non-Unique matched Tags (LONUT) to Improve the Detection of the Enriched Regions for ChIP-seq Data

One big limitation of computational tools for analyzing ChIP-seq data is that most of them ignore non-unique tags (NUTs) that match the human genome even though NUTs comprise up to 60% of all raw tags in ChIP-seq data. Effectively utilizing these NUTs would increase the sequencing depth and allow a more accurate detection of enriched binding sites, which in turn could lead to more precise and significant biological interpretations. In this study, we have developed a computational tool, LOcating Non-Unique matched Tags (LONUT), to improve the detection of enriched regions from ChIP-seq data. Our LONUT algorithm applies a linear and polynomial regression model to establish an empirical score (ES) formula by considering two influential factors, the distance of NUTs to peaks identified using uniquely matched tags (UMTs) and the enrichment score for those peaks resulting in each NUT being assigned to a unique location on the reference genome. The newly located tags from the set of NUTs are combined with the original UMTs to produce a final set of combined matched tags (CMTs). LONUT was tested on many different datasets representing three different characteristics of biological data types. The detected sites were validated using de novo motif discovery and ChIP-PCR. We demonstrate the specificity and accuracy of LONUT and show that our program not only improves the detection of binding sites for ChIP-seq, but also identifies additional binding sites.
Investigating the underlying causes of SLI: A non-sign repetition test in British Sign Language

There is controversy over the specificity of Specific Language Impairment (SLI), and whether it is caused by a deficit general to cognition or in mechanisms specific to language itself. We argue that evidence to resolve these conflicting positions could come from the study of children who are acquiring sign language and have SLI. Whereas speech is characterized by rapid temporal changes, the phonology of sign languages relies on the integration of visual information that is often produced simultaneously. These differences in the way linguistic information is processed can allow us to investigate whether SLI is caused by a sensory processing deficit, by a deficit specific to language, or by a deficit in phonological short term memory. One marker for SLI in spoken languages is difficulty repeating non-words, particularly those with complex phonological structures. We report on the development of a non-sign repetition task for BSL users, piloted on deaf children, which is sensitive to age. Non-sign items were graded in terms of phonological complexity, and reveal systematic error patterns as a function of that complexity. We conclude by discussing how this test can be used to probe the underlying nature of language impairments.
EB-ESPRIT: 2D localization of multiple wideband acoustic sources using eigen-beams

This paper is concerned with the problem of localizing multiple wideband acoustic sources. In contrast to existing techniques, this method takes the physics of wave propagation into account. 2D wave fields are decomposed using cylindrical harmonics as basis functions by a circular array mounted into a rigid cylindrical baffle. The obtained wave field representation is then used to serve as a basis for high-resolution subspace beamforming methods, most notably ESPRIT. It is shown that acoustic source localization based on wave field decomposition has the potential to unambiguously localize multiple simultaneously active wideband sources in the array's full 360 degrees field-of-view.
Conflict in organizations: Beyond effectiveness and performance

Conflict theory and research has traditionally focused on conflict management strategies, in relation to individual and work-team effectiveness and productivity. Far less attention has been devoted to “soft” outcomes including job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intentions, and individual health and well-being. This state of affairs is unfortunate because it isolates conflict theory and research from broader issues in organizational psychology and organizational behaviour research. It also impedes applied work in that it remains uncertain how interventions influence not only conflict and effectiveness, but also satisfaction and well-being. This introductory article deals with these problems in detail. The articles in this Special Issue each in their own way deal with one of these issues in more depth, shedding light on how conflict theory and research can be connected to organizational psychology in general.
External validation of the ImmunoRatio image analysis application for ERα determination in breast cancer

The aim of this study was to validate ImmunoRatio, a web-based automated image analysis application, by comparing the manual and automated analysis scores for oestrogen receptor α (ERα) in breast carcinomas. Tissue microarrays comprising 200 breast cancer cases prestained for ERα were scanned and scored manually using ImageScope viewing software. Corresponding images were then uploaded and assessed according to the web-based ImmunoRatio programme. There was excellent correlation between manual and ImmunoRatio ERα scores (Spearman correlation=0.872; p≥0.001). The manual and ImmunoRatio ERα scores showed only a moderate agreement (κ=0.421; Weighted kappa=0.874 (CI 0.839 to 0.902)), most probably due to lack of specificity of the algorithm to differentiate between cancer and non-cancer nuclei. Further development to enable differentiation of cancer and non-cancer elements should improve the specificity of the application. Our results support the use of ImmunoRatio software for analysing ERα immunohistochemistry in breast cancer tissues for the purposes of research.
Lipid Accumulation Product is Related to Metabolic Syndrome in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Abstract Purpose: Metabolic disturbances are common features of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which possibly enhance the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Lipid accumulation product (LAP) is an emerging cardiovascular risk factor. The aim of this study was to explore the ability of LAP to identify metabolic syndrome (MS) in PCOS women. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, anthropometric, biochemical and clinical parameters were measured in 105 PCOS women. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to find out the cut-off points of LAP to predict MS. MS was categorized according to International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. Results: The prevalence of MS was 43.8% in this study. PCOS women with MS had significantly higher LAP levels compared to those without MS. LAP was highly correlated with components of MS. ROC analysis showed that LAP was a significant discriminator for MS in PCOS women, and the optimal cutoff point of LAP to predict MS was 54.2 (93.3% sensitivity, 96.7% specificity). Conclusions: LAP seems to be associated with MS and has a strong and reliable diagnostic accuracy for MS in PCOS women.
Invariant SPHARM Shape Descriptors for Complex Geometry in MR Region of Interest Analysis

In earlier work, we have shown the importance of including 3D shape characteristics when analyzing regions of interest (ROIs) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. Spherical harmonics (SPHARM) based ROI shape descriptors were proposed and shown to provide important complementary information to traditionally used simple volumetric ROI measures. In this paper we extend our SPHARM shape parameterization technique by using functions defined on concentric spherical shells. We then propose the use of a novel radial transform to obtain unique features even under independent rotations of the constituting shells. These enhanced features enable the analysis of 3D ROIs with complex topologies including those with possible disconnections (e.g. ventricles). We validate the proposed 3D shape descriptors on synthetic data and demonstrate their sensitivity to subtle shape changes in the presence of inter-subject variability. We also apply our approach to real MRI data and detect significant shape changes in the left and right thalamus in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients when compared against normal volunteers, complementing the observed volumetric changes.
Role of affect, expectancies and dual processes of cognition in predicting adult cigarette smoking

This study examined the role of affect, smoking expectancies and mode of cognition in predicting cigarette use in a sample of 185 Australian adults. Mediation analysis indicated that the relationship between respondents' affective associations about smoking and their cigarette use was partially mediated by smoking expectancies. The present results also indicated that preferred mode of cognition (rational vs. experiential) moderated the relationship between affective associations and cigarette use. Affect was a significant predictor of cigarette use for all respondents except those with a strong, exclusive preference for rational cognition. No evidence was found to support the hypothesis that preferred mode of cognition moderated the relationship between smoking expectancies and cigarette use. The results of the study are discussed in the context of Epstein's (1994) cognitive experiential self theory and Slovic, Finucane, Peters, and MacGregor's (2002) affect heuristic model.
Seven-Year Trends in Employee Health Habits From a Comprehensive Workplace Health Promotion Program at Vanderbilt University

Objective: To assess long-term changes in health risks for employees participating in Vanderbilt University's incentive-based worksite wellness program. Methods: Descriptive longitudinal trends were examined for employees' health risk profiles for the period of 2003 to 2009. Results: The majority of risk factors improved over time with the most consistent change occurring in physical activity. The proportion of employees exercising one or more days per week increased from 72.7% in 2003 to 83.4% in 2009. Positive annual, monotonic changes were also observed in percentage for nonsmokers and seat belt usage. Although the largest improvements occurred between the first two years, improvements continued without significant regression toward baseline. Conclusions: This 7-year evaluation, with high participation and large sample size, provides robust estimates of health improvements that can be achieved through a voluntary incentive-based wellness program.
The assessment of terrorist offenders: a commentary on the Dernevik et al. article and suggestions for future directions

Following the terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001, people suspected of terrorist activities are increasingly being arrested, interrogated, and detained in custody (Gelles, McFadden, Borum, & Vossekuil, 2006). In the UK and the USA a number of successful convictions have taken place in recent years and, prior to subsequent release from prison, a risk assessment needs to be conducted by the prison service and considered by the parole board. Most of these risk assessments are conducted by prison social workers and psychologists, although on occasion the Home Office may request its own assessment from an independent ‘expert’. The defence may have its own experts ‘waiting in the wings’ to attack the results of assessments conducted at the request of the authorities. Differences between the views of experts can then be tested in terms of written or oral evidence presented at parole board hearings. An informed and valid risk assessment of convicted terrorists provides important information for authorities seeking to protect their citizens from future harm. Conceptually, risk assessment in this context falls within three of the four counterterrorism metaphors described by Kruglanski, Crenshaw, Post, and Victoroff (2008): law enforcement (i.e., prevention through monitoring, surveillance, and intelligence), epidemiology (i.e., identifying relevant ideological belief and social support systems that justify and motivate terrorism), and prejudice-reduction (i.e., reduction in hostile attitudes towards other groups and intergroup tension). These metaphors are applicable irrespective of the cultural, social, and political context in which terrorism occurs. The focus is on actual terrorist offenders where there is a fine balance to be drawn between security/safety for the public and the human rights of the terrorist due to be released back into the community.
A grid service for interactive dataset analysis

Summary form only given. Grid tools currently available are most often geared towards running batch-oriented dataset analysis jobs on a set of distributed heterogeneous computers in a production setting where the data is assumed to be in files, and do not automatically collect the results from multiple analysis jobs. This is insufficient for interactive dataset analysis, where complicated communications between the analysis jobs and the scheduler are required for interactivity and where datasets are abstracted from files, collections of files, database objects, and even virtual datasets for which only a generation algorithm exists. We describe a prototype for a system based on a set of grid services to provide interactive dataset analysis that extends the Globus Toolkit grid tools. An existing Java-based dataset analysis and visualization client tool are used to access the grid service and provide the interactive user interface for the client.
Monitoring of peri-cellular oxygen levels in tumor cell cultures by amperometric oxygen sensor array

A cell culture monitoring platform, called Sensing Cell Culture Flask (SCCF), together with results from measurements in tumor cell cultures is presented. The SCCF can be equipped with oxygen, NO, pH and temperature sensors. In this work measurements from an amperometric oxygen sensor array are shown. Two different cell lines from breast cancer and a brain tumor were tested. Incubation was done under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. The results demonstrate the necessity of peri-cellular oxygen monitoring. Depending on cell density and metabolism, cells cultured under normoxic incubtion conditions can experience oxygen tension, as one would expect in hypoxic situations only.
StorNet: Co-scheduling of end-to-end bandwidth reservation on storage and network systems for high-performance data transfers

Modern scientific data-intensive applications brought about the need for novel data transfer technologies and automated tools capable of effectively utilizing available raw network bandwidth and intelligently assisting scientists in replicating large volumes of data to desired locations in a timely manner. In this paper we describe the design of StorNet, an integrated end-to-end resource provisioning and management system for high performance data transfers that can operate with heterogeneous network protocols and storage systems in a federated computing environment. StorNet allocates and co-schedules storage and network resources involved in data transfers. It is based on existing Storage Resource Manager, TeraPaths, and OSCARS capabilities. StorNet provides data intensive applications with the capability of predictable, yet efficient delivery of data at rates of multiple gigabits/second, bridging end-to-end advanced storage and network technologies in a transparent way.
A model for pre-service teachers' climate change awareness and willingness to act for pro-climate change friendly behavior: adaptation of awareness to climate change questionnaire

Public awareness of the negative effects of climate change is vital since it leads to collective action for prevention and adaptation. However, investigations on to what extent people are aware of the climate change issue are rare in the literature. The present study reported the adaptation process of awareness to climate change questionnaire into Turkish, and tested the conceptual model of willingness to act for pro-climate change friendly behavior in Turkish context. For these purposes, the questionnaire was administered to 603 pre-service teachers. The study also provided an insight through the analysis of the questionnaire for pre-service teachers' ideas about climate change and the terms related to climate change with an aim to provide information that can be useful for the international and national audiences. Therefore, the findings of the project shed light on to pre-service teachers' awareness regarding impacts of climate change, individual and industry initiative friendly behavior through a conceptual model.
Psychosocial care for persons affected by emergencies and major incidents: a Delphi study to determine the needs of professional first responders for education, training and support

Background The role of ambulance clinicians in providing psychosocial care in major incidents and emergencies is recognised in recent Department of Health guidance. The study described in this paper identified NHS professional first responders’ needs for education about survivors’ psychosocial responses, training in psychosocial skills, and continuing support. Method Ambulance staff participated in an online Delphi questionnaire, comprising 74 items (Round 1) on 7-point Likert scales. Second-round and third-round participants each received feedback based on the previous round, and responded to modified versions of the original items and to new items for clarification. Results One hundred and two participants took part in Round 1; 47 statements (64%) achieved consensus. In Round 2, 72 people from Round 1 participated; 15 out of 39 statements (38%) achieved consensus. In Round 3, 49 people from Round 2 participated; 15 out of 27 statements (59%) achieved consensus. Overall, there was consensus in the following areas: ‘psychosocial needs of patients’ (consensus in 34/37 items); ‘possible sources of stress in your work’ (8/9); ‘impacts of distress in your work’ (7/10); ‘meeting your own emotional needs’ (4/5); ‘support within your organisation’ (2/5); ‘needs for training in psychosocial skills for patients’ (15/15); ‘my needs for psychosocial training and support’ (5/6). Conclusions Ambulance clinicians recognise their own education needs and the importance of their being offered psychosocial training and support. The authors recommend that, in order to meet patients’ psychosocial needs effectively, ambulance clinicians are provided with education and training in a number of skills and their own psychosocial support should be enhanced.
Transforming the Heun equation to the hypergeometric equation I: Polynomial transformations

The reductions of the Heun equation to the hypergeometric equation by rational changes of its independent variable are classified. Heun-to-hypergeometric transformations are analogous to the classical hypergeometric identities (i.e., hypergeometric-to-hypergeometric transformations) of Goursat. However, a transformation is possible only if the singular point location parameter and normalized accessory parameter of the Heun equation are each restricted to take values in a discrete set. The possible changes of variable are all polynomial. They include quadratic and cubic transformations, which may be performed only if the singular points of the Heun equation form a harmonic or an equianharmonic quadruple, respectively; and several higher-degree transformations.
Cooperative Learning in the Secondary Mathematics Classroom

Abstract The effects of cooperative learning on student achievement and attitudes in a secondary mathematics classroom were investigated. In this quasi-experimental design, 2 precalculus courses were compared. Students in 1 class studied the material in cooperative learning groups; students in the 2nd class studied the material independently. Three chapter tests were used to measure student achievement, and a questionnaire was administered to the treatment group members after the study was completed to assess their attitudes toward the cooperative learning procedure. The results obtained from a repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance (with pretest scores as the covariate) showed a significant Group × Time interaction. Students in the cooperative learning group had increasingly higher test scores than students in the comparison group and significantly outscored the comparison group on the 3rd chapter test. Survey results revealed primarily favorable responses toward the cooperative learning pro.
Ornament evolution in dragon lizards: multiple gains and widespread losses reveal a complex history of evolutionary change

The expression in females of ornaments thought to be the target of sexual selection in males is a long‐standing puzzle. Two main hypotheses are proposed to account for the existence of conspicuous ornaments in both sexes (mutual ornamentation): genetic correlation between the sexes and sexual selection on females as well as males. We examined the pattern of ornament gains and losses in 240 species of dragon lizards (Agamidae) in order to elucidate the relative contribution of these two factors in the evolution of mutual ornamentation. In addition, we tested whether the type of shelter used by lizards to avoid predators predicts the evolutionary loss or constraint of ornament expression. We found evidence that the origin of female ornaments is broadly consistent with the predictions of the genetic correlation hypothesis. Ornaments appear congruently in both sexes with some lineages subsequently evolving male biased sexual dimorphism, apparently through the process of natural selection for reduced ornamentation in females. Nevertheless, ornaments have also frequently evolved in both sexes independently. This suggests that genetic correlations are potentially weak for several lineages and sexual selection on females is responsible for at least some evolutionary change in this group. Unexpectedly, we found that the evolutionary loss of some ornaments is concentrated more in males than females and this trend cannot be fully explained by our measures of natural selection.