Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Altered structural and functional brain network overall organization predict human intertemporal decision‐making

Intertemporal decision‐making is naturally ubiquitous to us: individuals always make a decision with different consequences occurring at different moments. These choices are invariably involved in life‐changing outcomes regarding marriage, education, fertility, long‐term well‐being, and even public policy. Previous studies have clearly uncovered the neurobiological mechanism of the intertemporal decision in the schemes of regional location or sub‐network. However, it still remains unclear how to characterize intertemporal behavior with multimodal whole‐brain network metrics to date. Here, we combined diffusion tensor image and resting‐state functional connectivity MRI technology, in conjunction with graph‐theoretical analysis, to explore the link between topological properties of integrated structural and functional whole‐brain networks and intertemporal decision‐making. Graph‐theoretical analysis illustrated that the participants with steep discounting rates exhibited the decreased global topological organizations including small‐world and rich‐club regimes in both functional and structural connectivity networks, and reflected the dreadful local topological dynamics in the modularity of functional connectome. Furthermore, in the cross‐modalities configuration, the same relationship was predominantly observed for the coupling of structural–functional connectivity as well. Above topological metrics are commonly indicative of the communication pattern of simultaneous global and local parallel information processing, and it thus reshapes our accounts on intertemporal decision‐making from functional regional/sub‐network scheme to multimodal brain overall organization.
Effect of a pulmonary nodule fact sheet on patient anxiety and knowledge: a quality improvement initiative

Introduction The utilisation of chest CT for the evaluation of pulmonary disorders, including low-dose CT for lung cancer screening, is increasing in the USA. As a result, the discovery of both screening-detected and incidental pulmonary nodules has become more frequent. Despite an overall low risk of malignancy, pulmonary nodules are a common cause of emotional distress among adult patients. Methods We conducted a multi-institutional quality improvement (QI) initiative involving 101 participants to determine the effect of a pulmonary nodule fact sheet on patient knowledge and anxiety. Males and females aged 35 years or older, who had a history of either screening-detected or incidental solid pulmonary nodule(s) sized 3–8 mm, were included. Prior to an internal medicine or pulmonary medicine clinic visit, participants were given a packet containing a pre-fact sheet survey, a pulmonary nodule fact sheet and a post-fact sheet survey. Results Of 101 patients, 61 (60.4%) worried about their pulmonary nodule at least once per month with 18 (17.8%) worrying daily. The majority 67/101 (66.3%) selected chemotherapy, chemotherapy and radiation, or radiation as the best method to cure early-stage lung cancer. Despite ongoing radiographic surveillance, 16/101 (15.8%) stated they would not be interested in an intervention if lung cancer was diagnosed. Following review of the pulmonary nodule fact sheet, 84/101 (83.2%) reported improved anxiety and 96/101 (95.0%) reported an improved understanding of their health situation. Patient understanding significantly improved from 4.2/10.0 to 8.1/10.0 (p<0.01). Conclusion The incorporation of a standardised fact sheet for subcentimeter solid pulmonary nodules improves patient understanding and alleviates anxiety. We plan to implement pulmonary nodule fact sheets into the care of our patients with low-risk subcentimeter pulmonary nodules.
The Pattern of mRNA Expression Is Changed in Sinoatrial Node from Goto-Kakizaki Type 2 Diabetic Rat Heart

Background In vivo experiments in Goto-Kakizaki (GK) type 2 diabetic rats have demonstrated reductions in heart rate from a young age. The expression of genes encoding more than 70 proteins that are associated with the generation and conduction of electrical activity in the GK sinoatrial node (SAN) have been evaluated to further clarify the molecular basis of the low heart rate. Materials and Methods Heart rate and expression of genes were evaluated with an extracellular electrode and real-time RT-PCR, respectively. Rats aged 12-13 months were employed in these experiments. Results Isolated spontaneous heart rate was reduced in GK heart (161 ± 12 bpm) compared to controls (229 ± 11 bpm). There were many differences in expression of mRNA, and some of these differences were of particular interest. Compared to control SAN, expression of some genes were downregulated in GK-SAN: gap junction, Gja1 (Cx43), Gja5 (Cx40), Gjc1 (Cx45), and Gjd3 (Cx31.9); cell membrane transport, Trpc1 (TRPC1) and Trpc6 (TRPC6); hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channels, Hcn1 (HCN1) and Hcn4 (HCN4); calcium channels, Cacna1d (Cav1.3), Cacna1g (Cav3.1), Cacna1h (Cav3.2), Cacna2d1 (Cavα2δ1), Cacna2d3 (Cavα2δ3), and Cacng4 (Cavγ4); and potassium channels, Kcna2 (Kv1.2), Kcna4 (Kv1.4), Kcna5 (Kv1.5), Kcnb1 (Kv2.1), Kcnd3 (Kv4.3), Kcnj2 (Kir2.1), Kcnk1 (TWIK1), Kcnk5 (K2P5.1), Kcnk6 (TWIK2), and Kcnn2 (SK2) whilst others were upregulated in GK-SAN: Ryr2 (RYR2) and Nppb (BNP). Conclusions This study provides new insight into the changing expression of genes in the sinoatrial node of diabetic heart.
Estramustine Phosphate Inhibits TGF-β-Induced Mouse Macrophage Migration and Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator Production

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) has been demonstrated as a key regulator of immune responses including monocyte/macrophage functions. TGF-β regulates macrophage cell migration and polarization, as well as it is shown to modulate macrophage urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) production, which also contributes to macrophage chemotaxis and migration toward damaged or inflamed tissues. Microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton dynamic plays a key role during the cell motility, and any interference on the MT network profoundly affects cell migration. In this study, by using estramustine phosphate (EP), which modifies MT stability, we analysed whether tubulin cytoskeleton contributes to TGF-β-induced macrophage cell migration and uPA expression. We found out that, in the murine macrophage cell line RAW 264.7, EP at noncytotoxic concentrations inhibited cell migration and uPA expression induced by TGF-β. Moreover, EP greatly reduced the capacity of TGF-β to trigger the phosphorylation and activation of its downstream Smad3 effector. Furthermore, Smad3 activation seems to be critical for the increased cell motility. Thus, our data suggest that EP, by interfering with MT dynamics, inhibits TGF-β-induced RAW 264.7 cell migration paralleled with reduction of uPA induction, in part by disabling Smad3 activation by TGF-β.
High-Sensitivity Troponin T and Soluble Form of AXL as Long-Term Prognostic Biomarkers after Heart Transplantation

Antecedents Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a frequent complication limiting the long-term (>1 year) survival after heart transplantation (HTx). CAV is initiated by endothelial dysfunction and can lead to severe cardiovascular (CV) complications. Since CAV is often clinically silent, biomarkers could help identifying HTx patients at risk of CAV and their severe complications. Aim Evaluate the clinical yield of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT), marker of cardiomyocyte damage, and the soluble form of AXL (sAXL), biomarker of endothelial dysfunction, to assess the prognosis of long-term cardiovascular (CV) events occurring after HTx. Methods 96 patients were evaluated at least > 1 year after HTx. CAV was evaluated by coronary angiography or multisliced tomography, and hs-cTnT and sAXL measured 6 months before or after CAV evaluation. Patients were followed during 42 ± 15 months for a combined end point including cardiac death, angina or acute myocardial infarction, left ventricular ejection fraction < 50%, or heart failure not due to an acute rejection. Results 51 patients (53%) presented CAV at evaluation; 21 of them had CV events. Hs-cTnT (56 ± 45 versus 20 ± 18 ng/L; p = 0.04) and sAXL concentrations (98 ± 51 versus 26 ± 26 ng/L; p = 0.01) were significantly higher in patients with CV events. Hs-cTnT (HR 1.03; 95% CI 1.015–1.042, p = 0.0001) and sAXL (HR 1.01; 95% CI 1.001–1.019, p = 0.02) were independent predictors of CV events. A hs-cTnT concentration < 21 ng/L, detected by AUC ROC, predicted the absence of CV events with a predictive value of 91%; sAXL did not add more predictive value to hs-cTnT. Survival free of CV events was 92% in patients with hs-cTnT < 21 ng/L and 57% in those with hs-cTnT > 21 ng/L (p < 0.001). Conclusion Hs-cTnT, but not sAXL, measured during the long-term follow-up of HTx patients appears as a helpful biomarker to identify patients at low risk of adverse CV outcomes.
Sensory Overresponsivity, Loneliness, and Anxiety in Taiwanese Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Purpose Sensory overresponsiveness is highly prevalent in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically persist into adulthood. However, the role of sensory processing difficulties in influencing emotional well-being among adults with ASD remains unclear. Additionally, the associations between sensory overresponsiveness, anxiety, and loneliness are yet to be examined among adults with ASD. Therefore, to address these critical gaps in the literature, we aimed to investigate the relationships among sensory avoiding, anxiety, and loneliness in a sample of adults with ASD. Participants Seventy adults (age, 20–39 years) completed three self-reported measures. All participants had a documented diagnosis of ASD and had normal IQ. Methods Sensory processing, loneliness, and anxiety were assessed with the Adult Sensory Profile, short-form UCLA loneliness scale, and Beck Anxiety Inventory, respectively. Results Autism spectrum traits and sensory avoiding were associated with anxiety and loneliness. Participants who experienced sensory avoiding more frequently reported higher anxiety and feelings of loneliness, with loneliness mediating the relationship between sensory avoiding and anxiety. More anxiety symptoms in participants with greater sensory avoiding were associated with their higher level of loneliness. Conclusion This study demonstrates that the relationships existed between sensory processing difficulties, loneliness, and anxiety among adults with ASD. Interventions regarding sensory processing difficulties and emotional well-being are substantial need for adults with ASD, and our results highlight the importance of sensory overresponsiveness and anxiety in evaluating and improving the psychological well-being of adults with ASD.
Scoping Review of the Driving Behaviour of and Driver Training Programs for People on the Autism Spectrum

Gaining a driver's licence represents increased independence and can lead to improved quality of life for individuals and their families. Learning to drive a motor vehicle and maintaining safe on-road skills are often more difficult for people on the autism spectrum. Many countries currently have no autism-specific licencing requirements for learner drivers, and there is a general lack of ASD-specific support and training packages for individuals, their families, and driving instructors. This review synthesises the peer-reviewed literature about the driving characteristics of drivers on the spectrum and driver training available for the cohort. The evidence in this review showed that individuals on the autism spectrum drive differently from their neurotypical counterparts. There are shortcomings in tactical skills of drivers on the autism spectrum, but the extent to which this affects their own safety or the safety of other road users is unclear. Tactical skills can be improved through training programs. There are few autism spectrum-specific learner training programs available. Development of an effective training program will benefit individuals on the spectrum to learn to drive, be independent, and be safe on the road.
BECOMING CREATIVE

How are an individual’s ability and motivation to be creative shaped by the world around her? Why does creativity seem to flourish in some environments, while in others it is stifled? Many societies value creativity as an abstract concept and many, perhaps even most, individuals feel an internal drive to be creative; however, tremendous social pressures restrict development of creative skill sets, engagement in creative activities, and willingness to take creative risks. Becoming Creative explores how social and cultural factors enable or inhibit creativity in music. The book integrates perspectives from ethnomusicology, education, sociology, psychology, and performance studies, prioritizing the voices of practicing musicians and music educators. Insights are drawn from ethnographic research and in-depth interviews with classical, jazz, and traditional musicians in South Africa, Finland, and the United States. By comparing and analyzing these musicians’ personal experiences, Becoming Creative deepens our understanding of the development and practice of musical creativity, the external factors that influence it, and strategies for enhancing it. The book reveals the common components of how musical creativity is experienced across these cultures and explains why creativity might not always be considered socially desirable. It identifies ideal creativity-enabling criteria—specific skill sets, certain psychological traits and states, and access to opportunities and authority—and illustrates how these enablers of creativity are fostered or thwarted by a variety of beliefs, learning methods, social relationships, institutions, and social inequalities. Becoming Creative further demonstrates formal and informal strategies for overcoming inhibitors of creativity.
The Sources of Reactive Oxygen Species and Its Possible Role in the Pathogenesis of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. The precise mechanism underlying pathogenesis of PD is not fully understood, but it has been widely accepted that excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) are the key mediator of PD pathogenesis. The causative factors of PD such as gene mutation, neuroinflammation, and iron accumulation all could induce ROS generation, and the later would mediate the dopaminergic neuron death by causing oxidation protein, lipids, and other macromolecules in the cells. Obviously, it is of mechanistic and therapeutic significance to understand where ROS are derived and how ROS induce dopaminergic neuron damage. In the present review, we try to summarize and discuss the main source of ROS in PD and the key pathways through which ROS mediate DA neuron death.
HOICE ON C LUSTERING OF I MAGES D ATABASE

Clustering is used in content-based multimedia retrieval to reduce the size of the search space and make user navigation through the database easier. In retrieval by example systems, clusters are selected and presented to the user before starting a search in order to give him an overview of the database contents. The discrete wavelet transform with specific mother functions is widely adopted to extract features to perform clustering of images in a given database. The main purpose of this work is to investigate the incidence of mother wavelet and frequency channel features on the obtained clustering. The results show that clustering trees vary largely with mother wavelet function and subbands.
Deliverable D2.1

On of the main goals of the SIMPLE4ALL is to replace the traditional approach to text-to-speech front-end text processing with fully data-driven approaches based on machine learning and to develop unsupervised languageindependent methods for linguistic representation estimation. This report describes the initial version of the linguistic front-end of the SIMPLE4ALL system. The system for handling non-standard words, such as abbreviation, numbers and acronyms, the system for building linguistic representations in a unsupervised fashion, and an automatic prosody modelling system based on word prominences are described. Version 1 (02/11/2012) 2 page 2 of 41 FP7-287678 SIMPLE4ALL deliverable D2.1
Transtornos Mentais Comuns em trabalhadores de Unidades Básicas de Saúde: Prevalência e fatores associados

O estudo teve por objetivo identificar a prevalencia de Transtornos Mentais Comuns (TMC) em profissio-nais da saude e verificar a existencia de associacoes entre variaveis sociodemograficas e laborais. A amostra probabilistica constituiu-se de 234 trabalhadores, distribuidos em 24 Unidades Basicas de Saude (UBS) de uma cidade da regiao metropolitana de Porto Alegre/RS - Brasil. Os instrumentos utilizados foram o Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) e um questionario para o levantamento das variaveis sociodemograficos e laborais. Os resultados evidenciaram prevalencia de TMC de 29,7%. Na analise realizada pelo teste qui-quadrado, somente as variaveis genero feminino e ter vinculo de trabalho celetista associaram-se aos TMC. Os resultados apontam para a necessidade de intervencoes diferenciadas que considerem questoes de genero e relacoes contratuais de trabalho.
Evaluación de proyectos culturales

El objetivo de este trabajo es sobre, se trata, de una parte sugerir a Colcultura criterios para la distribucion de sus recursos a nivel regional. Se otra, de senalar mecanismos para evaluar los diversos proyectos culturales que se fomenten a consideraciones de la entidad, para que esta distribuya sus recursos entre proyectos.
Decentralized Optimal Dispatch of Photovoltaic Inverters in Residential Distribution Systems

Decentralized methods for computing optimal real and reactive power setpoints for residential photovoltaic (PV) inverters are developed in this paper. It is known that conventional PV inverter controllers, which are designed to extract maximum power at unity power factor, cannot address secondary performance objectives such as voltage regulation and network loss minimization. Optimal power flow techniques can be utilized to select which inverters will provide ancillary services and to compute their optimal real and reactive power setpoints according to well-defined performance criteria and economic objectives. Leveraging advances in sparsity-promoting regularization techniques and semidefinite relaxation, this paper shows how such problems can be solved with reduced computational burden and optimality guarantees. To enable large-scale implementation, a novel algorithmic framework is introduced-based on the so-called alternating direction method of multipliers-by which optimal power flow-type problems in this setting can be systematically decomposed into subproblems that can be solved in a decentralized fashion by the utility and customer-owned PV systems with limited exchanges of information. Since the computational burden is shared among multiple devices and the requirement of all-to-all communication can be circumvented, the proposed optimization approach scales favorably to large distribution networks.
CLASS DOJO AND STUDENT SELF-REGULATION: AN EXAMINATION OF BEHAVIOR PATTERNS AND ACADEMIC OUTCOMES

This paper focuses on the impacts of Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS/PBI/PBS) on the progression of positive student behavior traits. Specifically, there will be a focus on the ways that PBIS impact student behaviors in the classroom. The research will focus on: the benefits and detriments of enacting PBIS into the classroom, the role PBIS can have on the academic outcomes of students, and the role technology can have in promoting student self-regulation in the 21st century. In conducting this study, the goal is to connect my desired research with that of prior analysis to support my argument that PBIS is essential to positive classroom and school culture that fosters educational success in all learning environments.
Typological evidence against universal effects of referential scales on case alignment *

If a language develops differential subject or differential object marking by case or adpositions, this is widely hypothesized to result om a universal effect of referential scales. The effect can be understood as a universal correlation between the odds of overt case marking and scale ranks (a negative correlation for subjects, a positive one for objects), or as an implicational universal proposing that, if a language has a split in case marking, this split fits a universal scale. We test both claims with various versions of scale definitions by statistically estimating diachronic biases towards correlations or scale-fitting in an areally stratified sample of over 460 case systems worldwide. For most scales tested, results suggest evidence against universal preferences towards universal scale effects under either a correlational or an implicational model. For binary partof-speech and information-structure distinction and object marking, the evidence for universal effects is inconclusive. What we do find, by contrast, is highly significant area effects: casemarking splits tend to have developed and spread in Eurasia and the New-Guinea/Australia (‘Sahul’) macro-areas. This suggests that any replication of scale effects across language families is a side-effect of areal diffusion rather than of universal principles in grammar or cognition. * This research was supported by Grant No. BI 799/3-1 om the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Bickel designed the study and wrote the paper, Bickel and Zakharko performed the statistical analyses, and Witzlack-Makarevich did most of the data analysis. All computations were done in R (R Development Core Team 2012), with the added packages vcd (Meyer et al. 2006), MASS (Venables & Ripley 2002), and glmperm (Wer & Potter 2010). We thank an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments. Revised and accepted version – November 22, 2013 2 Referential scales and case alignment
The cycle of transformation in home school families over time

T he purpose of this study w as to examine from an Insider’s perspective the goals, motivations, and curricular Implementation of hom e school families. This 23 month naturalistic, multi-site study w as conducted with 17 families In central Ohio. D ata collected Included Interviews, c ase studies, participant observation, and docum ent analysis. All participants had b een hom e schooling for a minimum of three years. T hree major them es em erged from an Interpretative analysis of the da ta (Erickson, 1986) a s primary to the underlying structure of home school families: family relationships, curriculum Implementation, and the parental role. T he transformation over tim e of each of these th em es w as traced and docum ented. Initially there w as often an adjustm ent period with family relationships a s families got used to being families and schools. T he second year paren ts reported operating a s a cooperative unit and participating In many extracurricular activities together. By the third year families w ere active In their com m unities by participating In meaningful ways Including volunteering, apprenticeships, and work. After year th ree families had adap ted to this new living and learning life style and no longer had thoughts of sending their children back to school. Curricular implementation changed dramatically a s paren ts becam e accustom ed to teaching. Paren ts adap ted curriculum to m eet academ ic need s and w eaknesses the second year. Year three parents chose curriculum based on their childrens’ strengths and interests. The parental role also changed over time. Year one paren ts were learning to be parent a n d teacher; year two w as marked by explicit teaching; year three and beyond parents b ecam e facilitators and partners. Components of a sociocultural model of living and learning w ere evident in each of the three c a se study hom es. They included response and interaction, a relaxed structure, curriculum choice, blocks of time, and community involvement. The concluding chapter d isc u sse s implications for further research in education and school reform.