Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Executive function as a predictor of inattentive behavior after traumatic brain injury

Emerging evidence from recent studies using laboratory and naturalistic attention tasks suggests that individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) may have a deficit mainly in strategic control of attention. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that inattentive behavior after TBI could be predicted by performance on psychometric measures of executive function. A group of 37 individuals with moderate to severe TBI were assessed with previously validated naturalistic measures of attention. A battery of neuropsychological tests was also administered to assess various aspects of executive function. Seven measures of executive function and 10 variables reflecting inattentive behavior were combined to form 1 executive and 3 inattentive behavior (IB) composite scores. Three predictors (executive composite, current disability scores, and age) were associated, at the univariate level, with one of the IB composites reflecting frequency and duration of off-task episodes. A stepwise multiple regression procedure indicated that the executive composite was the only significant predictor of the IB composite. Additional post-hoc regression analyses suggested that the relationship was not likely to be mediated by processing speed. The current study supports the hypothesis that executive function, measured by commonly used neuropsychological tests, significantly predicts certain aspects of inattentive behavior in real-world tasks after TBI. (JINS, 2005, 11, 434–445.)
Long-term cardiac follow-up in survivors of a malignant bone tumour.

BACKGROUND Longitudinal studies of cardiac function in long-term childhood cancer survivors are scarce and frequently concern a median follow-up shorter than 13 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS Cardiac assessment was performed in 22 doxorubicin-treated long-term survivors of a malignant bone tumour at median 22 years (range 15-27.5) post-treatment. Age at follow-up was 39 years (range 27-59) and cumulative dose of doxorubicin was 360 mg/m(2) (range 225-550). Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography and (24-h) ECG. The results were compared with those of earlier assessments at 9 years (1992) and 14 years (1997) post-treatment. RESULTS Systolic dysfunction was found in 27% (9% in 1997; P = 0.02) and diastolic dysfunction in 45% (18% in 1997; P = 0.02). Heart rate variability showed further deterioration compared with earlier results. CONCLUSIONS Twenty-two years after doxorubicin-treatment, bone tumour survivors showed progressive cardiac dysfunction.
Association of TMEM106B gene polymorphism with age at onset in granulin mutation carriers and plasma granulin protein levels.

OBJECTIVE To test whether rs1990622 (TMEM106B) is associated with age at onset (AAO) in granulin (GRN) mutation carriers and with plasma GRN levels in mutation carriers and healthy, elderly individuals. Rs1990622 (TMEM106B) was identified as a risk factor for frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TAR DNA-binding protein inclusions (FTLD-TDP) in a recent genome-wide association. DESIGN Rs1990622 was genotyped in GRN mutation carriers and tested for association with AAO using the Kaplan-Meier method and a Cox proportional hazards model. SETTING Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Subjects We analyzed 50 affected and unaffected GRN mutation carriers from 4 previously reported FTLD-TDP families (HDDD1, FD1, HDDD2, and the Karolinska family). The GRN plasma levels were also measured in 73 healthy, elderly individuals. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Age at onset and GRN plasma levels. RESULTS The risk allele of rs1990622 was associated with a mean decrease of the AAO of 13 years (P = 9.9 × 10(-7)) and with lower plasma GRN levels in both healthy older adults (P = 4 × 10(-4)) and GRN mutation carriers (P = .0027). Analysis of the HapMap database identified a nonsynonymous single-nucleotide polymorphism rs3173615 (T185S) in perfect linkage disequilibrium with rs1990622. CONCLUSIONS The association of rs1990622 with AAO explains, in part, the wide range in the AAO of disease among GRN mutation carriers. We hypothesize that rs1990622 or another variant in linkage disequilibrium could act in a manner similar to APOE in Alzheimer disease, increasing risk for disease in the general population and modifying AAO in mutation carriers. Our results also suggest that genetic variation in TMEM106B may influence risk for FTLD-TDP by modulating secreted levels of GRN.
The Stock-Bond Correlation

Investors rely on the stock-bond correlation for a variety of tasks, such as forming optimal portfolios, designing hedging strategies, and assessing risk. Most investors estimate the stock–bond correlation simply by extrapolating the historical correlation of monthly returns; they assume that this correlation best characterizes the correlation of future annual or multiyear returns, but this approach is decidedly unreliable. The authors introduce four innovations for generating a reliable prediction of the stock-bond correlation. First, they show how to represent the correlation of single-period cumulative stock and bond returns in a way that captures how the returns drift during the period. Second, they identify fundamental predictors of the stock-bond correlation. Third, they model the stock–bond correlation as a function of the path of some fundamental predictors rather than single observations. Finally, they censor their sample to include only relevant observations, in which relevance has a precise mathematical definition. TOPICS: Portfolio management/multi-asset allocation, risk management, statistical methods Key Findings ▪ The stock-bond correlation is a critical component of many investment activities, such as forming optimal portfolios, designing hedging strategies, and assessing risk. ▪ Most investors estimate the correlation of longer-interval returns by extrapolating the correlation of past shorter-interval returns, but this approach is decidedly unreliable. ▪ By applying recent advances in quantitative methods, it is possible to generate reliable predictions of the correlation of longer-horizon stock and bond returns.
Detecting single atoms of calcium and iron in biological structures by electron energy‐loss spectrum‐imaging

As techniques for electron energy‐loss spectroscopy (EELS) reach a higher degree of optimization, experimental detection limits for analysing biological structures are approaching values predicted by the physics of the electron scattering. Theory indicates that it should be possible to detect a single atom of certain elements like calcium and iron contained in a macromolecular assembly using a finely focused probe in the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). To test this prediction, EELS elemental maps have been recorded with the spectrum‐imaging technique in a VG Microscopes HB501 STEM coupled to a Gatan Enfina spectrometer, which is equipped with an efficient charge‐coupled device (CCD) array detector. By recording spectrum‐images of haemoglobin adsorbed onto a thin carbon film, it is shown that the four heme groups in a single molecule can be detected with a signal‐to‐noise ratio of ∼10 : 1. Other measurements demonstrate that calcium adsorbed onto a thin carbon film can be imaged at single atom sensitivity with a signal‐to‐noise ratio of ∼5 : 1. Despite radiation damage due to the necessarily high electron dose, it is anticipated that mapping single atoms of metals and other bound elements will find useful applications in characterizing large protein assemblies.
Honokiol, a Small Molecular Weight Natural Product, Inhibits Angiogenesis in Vitro and Tumor Growth in Vivo*

Natural products comprise a major source of small molecular weight angiogenesis inhibitors. We have used the transformed endothelial cell line SVR as an effective screen of natural product extracts to isolate anti-angiogenesis and anti-tumor compounds. Aqueous extracts of Magnolia grandiflora exhibit potent activity in our SVR proliferation assays. We found that the small molecular weight compound honokiol is the active principle of magnolia extract. Honokiol exhibited potent anti-proliferative activity against SVR cells in vitro. In addition, honokiol demonstrated preferential inhibition of primary human endothelial cells compared with fibroblasts and this inhibition was antagonized by antibodies against TNFα-related apoptosis-inducing ligand. In vivo, honokiol was highly effective against angiosarcoma in nude mice. Our preclinical data suggests that honokiol is a systemically available and non-toxic inhibitor of angiogenesis and should be further evaluated as a potential chemotherapeutic agent.
Rhamnolipids Elicit Defense Responses and Induce Disease Resistance against Biotrophic, Hemibiotrophic, and Necrotrophic Pathogens That Require Different Signaling Pathways in Arabidopsis and Highlight a Central Role for Salicylic Acid1[C][W][OA]

Plant resistance to phytopathogenic microorganisms mainly relies on the activation of an innate immune response usually launched after recognition by the plant cells of microbe-associated molecular patterns. The plant hormones, salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid, and ethylene have emerged as key players in the signaling networks involved in plant immunity. Rhamnolipids (RLs) are glycolipids produced by bacteria and are involved in surface motility and biofilm development. Here we report that RLs trigger an immune response in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) characterized by signaling molecules accumulation and defense gene activation. This immune response participates to resistance against the hemibiotrophic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato, the biotrophic oomycete Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis, and the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea. We show that RL-mediated resistance involves different signaling pathways that depend on the type of pathogen. Ethylene is involved in RL-induced resistance to H. arabidopsidis and to P. syringae pv tomato whereas jasmonic acid is essential for the resistance to B. cinerea. SA participates to the restriction of all pathogens. We also show evidence that SA-dependent plant defenses are potentiated by RLs following challenge by B. cinerea or P. syringae pv tomato. These results highlight a central role for SA in RL-mediated resistance. In addition to the activation of plant defense responses, antimicrobial properties of RLs are thought to participate in the protection against the fungus and the oomycete. Our data highlight the intricate mechanisms involved in plant protection triggered by a new type of molecule that can be perceived by plant cells and that can also act directly onto pathogens.
Cerebrospinal fluid profiles and prospective course and outcome in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

OBJECTIVES To examine the effect of specific cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) profiles on the rate of cognitive decline, disease progression, and risk of conversion to Alzheimer disease (AD) dementia in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). DESIGN Total tau (T-tau), tau phosphorylated at threonine 181, and β-amyloid 1-42 peptide (Aβ42) were immunoassayed in CSF samples obtained from patients with MCI enrolled in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Patients were then stratified by CSF profiles: (1) normal T-tau and normal Aβ42 (ie, normal-T-tauAβ42), (2) normal T-tau but abnormal Aβ42 (ie, abnormal-Aβ42), (3) abnormal T-tau but normal Aβ42 (ie, abnormal-T-tau), and (4) abnormal T-tau and abnormal Aβ42 (ie, abnormal-T-tauAβ42). SETTING Fifty-eight sites in the United States and Canada. PARTICIPANTS One hundred ninety-five patients with MCI. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES A composite cognitive measure, the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale-sum of boxes subscale, and conversion to AD dementia. RESULTS Patients with MCI with a CSF profile of abnormal-Aβ42 or abnormal-T-tauAβ42 experienced a faster rate of decline on the composite cognitive measure and the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale-sum of boxes subscale compared with those with normal-T-tauAβ42. They also had a greater risk of converting to AD dementia relative to the normal-T-tauAβ42 group. In contrast, those with a CSF profile of abnormal-T-tau did not differ from the normal-T-tauAβ42 group on any outcome. These findings were generally replicated when the sample was reclassified by patterns of tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 and Aβ42 abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS β-Amyloid abnormalities but not tau alterations are associated with cognitive deterioration, disease progression, and increased risk of conversion to AD dementia in patients with MCI. Patients with abnormal Aβ42 may be prime candidates for drug treatment and clinical trials in MCI.
A Fuzzy EOQ Inventory Model for Spare Parts in a Nuclear Power Station Based on Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm and Fuzzy Simulation

In the circumstances of both the stock cost and the order cost are characterized as independent fuzzy variables,an economic order quantity fuzzy dependent chance programming model are constructed.By using improved particle swarm optimization algorithm and fuzzy simulation,an intelligent algorithm to calculate the expectations of objective function and the credibility of the fuzzy event is designed,and it could get the optimal order quantity for maximizing the credibility of an event such that the total cost in the planning periods does not exceed a certain budget constraint.At last,a numerical example is given to verify the validity and superiority of the proposed model and algorithm through a sensitivity analysis.
Decision Based Development of Productline: A Quintessence Usability Approach

Problem statement: A well designed user interface is comprehensible and controllable, helping users to complete their work successfully and efficiently and to feel competent and satisfied. To improve the usability of a software system, usability patterns can be applied. However, there are short comes shows that the software architecture of a system restricts certain usability patterns from being modified after implementation. Several of these usability patterns are “architecture sensitive”, such modifications are costly to implement due through their structural impact on the system. So we practice the pattern oriented usability design with considering the dependencies between the design decisions relevant to the product line business objects which has its impact on the usability criterion. Dependencies between the rationale decisions for the architecture sensitive usability patterns can be maintained for future reference. Approach: While going for the usability patterns, the decisions behind the pattern selection should be specified. We address the issues by analyzing the quality based models that determines the design rationale and their dependencies. We use QDK methodology to preserve the specifications of decisions and all their inter dependencies along with the knowledge rule. Results: Preserving the specifications of decisions and all their inter dependencies with knowledge rules will support the evolution and maintenance of such productline systems. Explicit evaluation of usability during architectural design prevents part of the high costs incurred by adaptive maintenance activities once the system has been implemented. Conclusion: Capturing knowledge by this means provides the basis for justification, learning and re-uses of the knowledge rules for further design decisions.
Efficacy of orally disintegrating film of ondansetron versus intravenous ondansetron in prophylaxis of postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing elective gynaecological laparoscopic procedures: A prospective randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled study

Background and Aims: Ondansetron is one of the most widely used drugs for postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) prophylaxis. Orally disintegrating film (ODF) formulations are relatively recent innovations. We evaluated the efficacy of ODF of ondansetron for the prophylaxis of PONV. Methods: One hundred and eighty American Society of Anaesthesiologists-I or II women, in the age group 18-65 years, scheduled for elective gynaecological laparoscopic procedures were studied in a prospective randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The patients were randomised into four groups: Placebo, intravenous (IV) ondansetron 4 mg, ODF of ondansetron 4 mg (ODF4) and 8 mg (ODF8) groups. PONV was assessed in two epochs of 0-6 and 7-24 h. Primary outcome measure was the incidence of PONV and secondary outcome measures were severity of nausea, need for rescue anti-emetic, analgesic consumption, time to oral intake, overall patient satisfaction and side effects such as headache and dizziness. PONV was compared using analysis of variance or Mann-Whitney U-test as applicable. Results: Data of 173 patients were analysed. The incidence of postoperative nausea was significantly lower (P = 0.04) only during the 0-6 h in the ODF8 group when compared with the placebo group. During the 0-6 h interval postoperatively, the ODF8 group had a significantly lower incidence of vomiting when compared with the placebo (P = 0.002) and the IV group (P = 0.044). During the 0-24 h interval postoperatively, ODF4 (P = 0.01) and ODF8 (P = 0.002) groups had a significantly lower incidence of vomiting compared to the placebo group. Conclusions: Orally disintegrating film of ondansetron is an efficacious, novel, convenient and may be a cost-effective option for the prophylaxis of PONV.
Money Market Reform in Korea and Its Effects on the Overnight Call–Repurchase Agreement Rate

ABSTRACT The Korean government implemented money market reform after the global financial crisis, aiming to develop the repurchase agreement (RP, repo) market. In this article, I analyze the reform and its effects on money markets. Results show that the reform strengthened the functionality of the RP market and the monetary policy transmission channel to it. The error correction model indicates that although the adjustments to the equilibrium occurred through the call rate during the global financial crisis, they were processed through the RP rate in later periods. The ability of the RP rate to inform market liquidity conditions has improved.
Cascade Attribute Learning Network

We propose the cascade attribute learning network (CALNet), which can learn attributes in a control task separately and assemble them together. Our contribution is twofold: first we propose attribute learning in reinforcement learning (RL). Attributes used to be modeled using constraint functions or terms in the objective function, making it hard to transfer. Attribute learning, on the other hand, models these task properties as modules in the policy network. We also propose using novel cascading compensative networks in the CALNet to learn and assemble attributes. Using the CALNet, one can zero shoot an unseen task by separately learning all its attributes, and assembling the attribute modules. We have validated the capacity of our model on a wide variety of control problems with attributes in time, position, velocity and acceleration phases.
Impairment of CD8+ T Suppressor Cell Function in Patients with Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus1

Alteration of T cell suppression function has been recognized in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Recently, CD8+ T suppressor lymphocytes (CD8+ Ts) have been generated in vitro by incubating purified CD8+ T cells with IL-2 and GM-CSF. Using this method, we generated CD8+ Ts from patients affected by SLE. No major differences were found in the CD8+ Ts phenotype between SLE patients and healthy subjects. CD8+ Ts from SLE patients with active disease did not inhibit the anti-CD3 mAb-induced proliferation of autologous PBMC, whereas CD8+ Ts from SLE patients in remission exerted an inhibitory activity comparable to normal subjects. The inhibitory effect of CD8+ Ts cells was neither mediated by cytotoxic activity nor by apoptosis induction. Two cytokines, IFN-γ and IL-6, were found to be responsible for the function of CD8+ Ts. In fact, counteraction of CD8+ Ts suppression activity was obtained by blocking IFN-γ with a specific Ab or by inhibiting CD8+ Ts-mediated IL-6 secretion by an antisense oligonucleotide. Interestingly, CD8+ Ts from SLE patients showed a peculiar cytokine pattern characterized by an impaired secretion of IL-6 and an increased secretion of IL-12. Thus, it appears that an altered balance between inhibitory (IL-6) and stimulatory (IL-12) cytokines might be responsible for the functional impairment of CD8+ Ts in SLE patients.
Model predictive control for road disturbance rejection in on-curb parking scenarios

While there is still a long way to robustly operating fully automated vehicles on our roads, low speed autonomy might be a reasonable intermediate step. Especially highly automated parking systems are currently in the focus of interest. When we aim at leveraging those systems in everyday parking scenarios, we should also be able to park on sidewalks and as such be able to traverse curbs. However, those use cases might then be a major challenge for vehicle control systems. Therefore, this paper describes the design of a control scheme for longitudinal vehicle dynamics control which is capable of performing on-curb parking while lateral vehicle dynamics control is assumed to be performed by a separate controller. We rely on a model predictive control scheme which exploits information of an extended Kalman filter for the purpose of disturbance rejection when parking on curbs. The estimator aims at determining the related road resistance forces in those scenarios. The proposed control concept is compared to a proportional-integral controller in five typical parking scenarios. Simulation results demonstrate that with predictive control, we are able to finish parking faster, to avoid unintended stops and to better track the reference velocity.
Progression‐free survival: Does a correlation with survival justify its role as a surrogate clinical endpoint?

We thank Becker et al for their thoughtful editorial on our article describing progression-free survival (PFS) as a surrogate endpoint for overall survival (OS) in renal cancer clinical trials. We agree that our data do not necessarily support the use of PFS as a surrogate endpoint for OS across the entire renal cancer therapeutic spectrum. We further concur that additional work needs to be done to establish PFS as a pragmatic endpoint for regulatory purposes. However, we disagree with Becker et al that it is necessary to fulfill Prentice criteria to establish surrogacy. More specifically, fulfilling Prentice’s third criterion that the treatment effect on the surrogate (PFS) should capture the full effect of treatment on the clinical endpoint (OS) is an extremely high bar. Multiple authors have argued for and suggested different approaches to the validation of the surrogate. Although a full discussion is beyond the scope of this correspondence, we would like to point out that one alternative approach is the adjusted association h. The adjusted association first estimates the dependency parameter within each treatment arm and then aggregates the information by a weighted average. As we demonstrated in our article, the adjusted association was a highly statistically significant measure that strongly suggests that PFS is a surrogate endpoint for OS, at least within the context of the trials analyzed.