Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development and Feasibility of a Parental Support Intervention for Adolescent Smokers

The aim of this investigation was to develop and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a parental support intervention. A new measure of perceived parental support for stopping smoking was also developed. The sample included 59 adolescent-parent pairs recruited from a mid-sized Midwestern town during 2000–2003. The mean ± SD age of the participants (32 males, 27 females) was 16.3 ± 0.9 (range 14–18) years and 86% were Caucasian, 7% American Indian, 5% African American, and 2% Hispanic. Participants were randomized to parental support or minimum behavioral intervention. Severity of nicotine dependence was evaluated using the Fagerström Tolerance Questionnaire, and perceived social support was evaluated using the Family Environment Scale and the new measure of perceived parent support for stopping smoking that was developed as part of this investigation. Treatment attendance, adherence, and acceptability were also evaluated. The parental support intervention was feasible but not superior to the minimum behavioral intervention with respect to attendance, retention, or change in support. This study expands on the knowledge of treating adolescent smokers and presents a new assessment measure. The study's limitations are noted. This investigation was funded by NICHHD.
Myelin sheath survival following axonal degeneration in doubly myelinated nerve fibers

Axonal contact plays a critical role in initiating myelin formation by Schwann cells. However, recent studies of “double myelination” have indicated that myelin maintenance continues in Schwann cells completely displaced from physical contact with the axon. This raises the possibility either that diffusible trophic factors are produced by the axon, or that the axon is not required for myelin maintenance by these displaced Schwann cells. To test these hypotheses, the axons involved in double myelination in the mouse superior cervical ganglion (SCG) were transected surgically by a transganglionic lesion. The inferior pole of the SCG was resected to limit axonal regeneration. This method produced a typical Wallerian pattern of degeneration in the superior pole, without compromising the blood supply or introducing nonspecific trauma. EM analysis at 1 and 5 d postoperatively showed that initially the axon degenerated, followed by breakdown of the inner myelin sheath. In those configurations where the outer Schwann cell was only partly displaced from the axon, the outer myelin sheath degenerated simultaneously. However, in completely displaced internodes the outer sheath survived degeneration of the axon and inner sheath. Outer internodes remained intact for at least 5 weeks after transection (the longest time point in this study), at which time they enclosed reorganized processes of the inner Schwann cells, their basal lamina, and numerous collagen fibrils. Axonal regeneration within surviving outer internodes was rare and was characterized by the development of typical Remak ensheathment by the inner Schwann cells. We conclude that in the mouse SCG, myelin maintenance does not depend on the continued presence of the axon. These data suggest further that myelin breakdown in Wallerian degeneration may be initiated by mechanisms other than absence of a viable axon.
Visualization of Large‐Scale Urban Models through Multi‐Level Relief Impostors

In this paper, we present an efficient approach for the interactive rendering of large‐scale urban models, which can be integrated seamlessly with virtual globe applications. Our scheme fills the gap between standard approaches for distant views of digital terrains and the polygonal models required for close‐up views. Our work is oriented towards city models with real photographic textures of the building facades. At the heart of our approach is a multi‐resolution tree of the scene defining multi‐level relief impostors. Key ingredients of our approach include the pre‐computation of a small set of zenithal and oblique relief maps that capture the geometry and appearance of the buildings inside each node, a rendering algorithm combining relief mapping with projective texture mapping which uses only a small subset of the pre‐computed relief maps, and the use of wavelet compression to simulate two additional levels of the tree. Our scheme runs considerably faster than polygonal‐based approaches while producing images with higher quality than competing relief‐mapping techniques. We show both analytically and empirically that multi‐level relief impostors are suitable for interactive navigation through large urban models.
The Economics of Bank Supervision

We study bank supervision by combining a theoretical model distinguishing supervision from regulation and a novel dataset on work hours of Federal Reserve supervisors. We highlight the trade-offs between the benefits and costs of supervision and use the model to interpret the relation between supervisory efforts and bank characteristics observed in the data. More supervisory resources are spent on larger, more complex, and riskier banks. However, hours increase less than proportionally with bank size, suggesting the presence of technological scale economies in supervision. The data also show reallocation of supervisory hours at times of stress and in the post-2008 enhanced supervisory framework for large banks, providing evidence of constraints on supervisory resources. Finally, we show theoretically limits to assessing supervisory success based on ex-post outcomes, as well as benefits of ex-ante commitment policies.
Muscle sympathetic nervous activity in depressed patients before and after treatment with sertraline

Background Sympathetic hyperactivity is one of the mechanisms involved in the increased cardiovascular risk associated with depression, and there is evidence that antidepressants decrease sympathetic activity. Objectives We tested the following two hypotheses: patients with major depressive disorder with high scores of depressive symptoms (HMDD) have augmented muscle sympathetic nervous system activity (MSNA) at rest and during mental stress compared with patients with major depressive disorder with low scores of depressive symptoms (LMDD) and controls; sertraline decreases MSNA in depressed patients. Methods Ten HMDD, nine LMDD and 11 body weight-matched controls were studied. MSNA was directly measured from the peroneal nerve using microneurography for 3 min at rest and 4 min during the Stroop color word test. For the LMDD and HMDD groups, the tests were repeated after treatment with sertraline (103.3 ± 40 mg). Results Resting MSNA was significantly higher in the HMDD [29.1 bursts/min (SE 2.9)] compared with LMDD [19.9 (1.6)] and controls [22.2 (2.0)] groups (P = 0.026 and 0.046, respectively). There was a significant positive correlation between resting MSNA and severity of depression. MSNA increased significantly and similarly during stress in all the studied groups. Sertraline significantly decreased resting MSNA in the LMDD group and MSNA during mental stress in LMDD and HMDD groups. Sertraline significantly decreased resting heart rate and heart rate response to mental stress in the HMDD group. Conclusion Moderate-to-severe depression is associated with increased MSNA. Sertraline treatment reduces MSNA at rest and during mental challenge in depressed patients, which may have prognostic implications in this group.
Robust Strategic Planning Employing Scenario Planning and Fuzzy Inference System

Time and uncertainty play crucial roles in the strategic planning process. Organizations are faced with unpredictable changes in new technologies, products and marketplaces but it is noteworthy that they can prepare themselves to face such changes and this readiness results in competitive advantages. This article aims at introducing a method that enables organizations to draw up robust strategies in uncertain situations and leads to formulation of strategies to immunize them against environmental changes. The proposed method has combined ‘scenario planning method’ and ‘fuzzy inference system’ with traditional strategic planning by adopting a new and creative approach. Using the values of uncertain factors in the external environment, this method designs some probable forthcoming scenarios of the organization and then based on fuzzy information described by experts for fuzzy inference systems, defines a robust strategy to deal with the designed scenarios and assists managers in their evaluations of future environment. [Article copies are available for purchase from InfoSci-on-Demand.com]
Clinicopathologic studies in cognitively healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease: relation of histologic markers to dementia severity, age, sex, and apolipoprotein E genotype.

OBJECTIVE To study differences between subjects with Alzheimer disease (AD) and cognitively intact control subjects, with respect to brain histologic markers of AD, and the relationship of those markers in the AD group to severity of dementia, age at death, sex, and apolipoprotein E genotype. SETTING Washington University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, St Louis, Mo. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS Consecutive neuropathologic series of 224 prospectively studied volunteer research subjects, 186 with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) or "incipient" DAT and confirmed to have AD by postmortem examination and 13 cognitively intact subjects, confirmed to lack postmortem findings of AD. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Brain densities (number per square millimeter) of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, extent of cerebral amyloid angiopathy, cortical Lewy bodies, and apolipoprotein E genotype. RESULTS Neocortical neurofibrillary tangle densities were substantially correlated with dementia severity, and to a greater degree than was true for senile plaque densities. When infarcts, hemorrhages, and Parkinson disease changes coexisted with AD, neurofibrillary tangle and senile plaque densities were lower. Plaque-predominant AD was found in a greater proportion of subjects with milder than more severe dementia. Entorhinal cortical Lewy bodies were no more frequent in plaque-predominant AD than in the remaining AD cases. Increasing age at death was negatively correlated with dementia severity and densities of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele frequency was greater in AD than in control subjects but decreased with increasing age. After controlling for dementia severity, senile plaque densities were only weakly related to epsilon4 allele frequency, and only in hippocampus. However, the degree of cerebral amyloid angiopathy was clearly related to epsilon4 allele frequency. Among subjects diagnosed during life as having DAT or incipient DAT, only 7% were found to have a neuropathologic disorder other than AD causing their dementia. CONCLUSIONS (1) The order of the strength of relationships between densities of histologic markers and dementia severity in AD is neurofibrillary tangles greater than cored senile plaques greater than total senile plaques. (2) Advanced age at death is associated with somewhat less severe dementia and fewer senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. (3) Plaque-predominant AD may represent a developmental stage in AD. (4) Despite a substantial effect of apolipoprotein E epsilon4 as a risk factor for AD, on decreasing the age at AD onset, and increasing the amount of cerebral amyloid angiopathy, its effect on senile plaque densities is variable and complex, being confounded with age, dementia severity, and methodologic differences. (5) Stringent clinical diagnostic criteria for DAT, even in the very mild stage, and senile plaque-based neuropathologic criteria for AD are highly accurate.
A spatially and temporally optimal multi-user receiver using an array antenna for DS/CDMA

The tandeni structure of a iiiatclied filter (MF) aiid a iiiaxiiiiuiii likelihood sequence es& inator (MLSE) using the Vit,erbi algorit,liiii (VA) lim been considered t,o be an optimal receiver for digital pulse-amplitude seyiiciiccs iii the ~)rcsciicc of ititmsyiiibo1 interference (ISI) iLli(1 iLtlclitivc: whit-e GiLitssiiLir tioisc (AWGN). An adaptive i~ r ray >llit(:liliiL 1 ~ ~ s t,lic capability of filtering reccivt:tl sigiials in tJie spiitiitl tloiiiaiii as well as in tlie teiiiporiil 0 1 1 ~ . In this paper. w(: propose a receiver structiirt: using m i iLdaptiv(: array antenna, a digital filter slid the VA tliRt, is sI)iltiidly and teiiiporally optimal for iiiultinscr dctmtioii in a DS/CDMA eiivironiiient. This receiver iiscs it tapped delay line (TDL) array alit,ciiiia iilitl thc VA. wliicli 1)rovides a iiiaxiiiiuiii likelihood s(:qiieiic(: c:stbiiiiatSe froiii t h spatially ancl t e l ~ l ~ ) ~ r i ~ l l y wliitciicd iiiiLt.diCd fil t t r (STWMF) output,. Pcrforiiiaiic:c: of thc propos(:d rcccivt:r is evaluated by t,hcoret,ical iL1ialysis xiid cotiipitt.c:r sinulations.
Composition and function of peripheral blood stem and progenitor cell harvests from patients with severe active rheumatoid arthritis

High‐dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell rescue has been proposed as an intensive therapy for severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In view of previous observations of abnormal haemopoiesis in RA patients, the composition and function of peripheral blood stem cell harvests (PBSCH) was investigated. Compared with PBSCH from healthy allogeneic donors mobilized with the same dose of G‐CSF (filgrastim; 10 μg/kg/d, n = 14), RA PBSCH (n = 9) contained significantly fewer mononuclear cells (375 v 569 × 106/kg, P = 0.03) and CD34+ cells (2.7 v 5.8 × 106/kg, P = 0.003). However, there were increased proportions of CD14+ cells (P = 0.006) and CD14+CD15+ cells (the phenotype of previously described ‘abnormal’ myeloid cells, P = 0.002) in the RA PBSCH which translated into 3.5‐ and 7‐fold increases respectively on a per CD34+ cell basis. There were no differences in T‐cell activation status as judged by proportions of CD4+ and CD8+ expressing CD45RA, CD45RO, HLA‐DR and CD28 (RA PBSCH, n = 7, donor PBSCH, n = 5, P = 0.2–0.7). Phytohaemagglutinin responses determined fluorocytometrically with induction of CD69 expression were reduced in CD4+ and CD8+ cells following filgrastim administration in 3/3 RA patients tested. Compared with bone marrow as a potential source of CD34+ cells, PBSCH contained 11‐fold more T cells (P < 0.0005), 8‐fold more B cells (P < 0.0005) and 4‐fold more monocytes (P = 0.02). In short‐term methylcellulose culture there were no differences in colony counts (CFU‐GM, CFU‐GEMM, BFU‐E) per CD34+ cell from PBSCH from RA patients (n = 11) and healthy donors (n = 10). Long‐term culture initiator cells were cultured successfully from cryopreserved PBSCH from RA patients (n = 9). In conclusion, PBSCH from RA patients differed significantly in composition from normal individuals, but in vitro studies support normal stem and progenitor cell function. Changes in T‐cell function occur during mobilization in RA patients. This work provides reassurance for the use of PBSCH as haematological rescue and baseline data for clinical trials of graft manipulation strategies in patients with RA.
Applying service-learning through a community-academic partnership: depression screening at a federally funded community health center.

CONTEXT Increasingly, health care facilities worldwide, particularly those that comprise the safety-net, are finding themselves understaffed and challenged to meet patients' needs. Identifying additional sources of support and resources is critical for facilities to be able to sustain current and develop new initiatives to improve patients' health. APPROACH We present one community health center's reliance on a partnership with an academic medical/nursing institution to develop and initiate a depression screening and treatment project. Incorporating students to help implement or pilot a needed clinical service for a high prevalence condition presents significant rewards as well as challenges. Nevertheless, an academic-community partnership has the potential to initiate systems change at the clinical level. RESULTS Using a service-learning modality, medical and nursing students worked with health center providers to initiate a pilot depression screening and treatment program based on the chronic disease model. Implementation of this initiative succeeded in poising the health center for participation in a large, federally supported collaborative on depression in primary care. While students gained insight into some of the challenges faced by safety net providers and their patients, discontinuity in student availability led to uneven pacing in project implementation. CONCLUSION Curricula that employ a service-learning framework can enable health care facilities world-wide to gain additional resources for needed initiatives. Students' learning experiences can provide an excellent mutually beneficial opportunity as a "jumpstart" for new evidence-based clinical initiatives and demonstration projects. Such programs can help meet the needs of patients while enhancing students' education. However, students can neither make up for staffing shortages nor be expected to maintain programs. In order to be successful for the long term, service-learning projects must skirt the pitfalls of the inherent logistical incompatibilities e.g. schedules and length of commitment, between academic institutions and health care facilities.
Psychometric properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) for measuring the somatic symptoms of psychiatric outpatients.

BACKGROUND About 2% to 5% of all primary-care patients have a somatization disorder, and somatic symptoms are strongly associated with comorbid depression and anxiety disorders. OBJECTIVE The authors evaluated the validity of the 15-item Somatization module of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15) among psychiatric outpatients. METHOD The PHQ-15 was administered to patients with somatic complaints; it was compared with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Fifty-seven Korean subjects completed the survey. RESULTS The PHQ-15 exhibited significant internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. Convergent validity with the BDI and GHQ-12 were positive. CONCLUSION These results indicate that the Korean version of the PHQ-15 is appropriate for measuring the severity of somatic symptoms in a psychiatric outpatient setting.
Epidemiology of Factor V Leiden: Clinical Implications

Inherited resistance to activated protein C (APC) has been recently recognized as a novel cause underlying venous thrombophilia. In most cases APC resistance is due to a single point mutation in the factor V gene leading to a replacement of Arg506 with Gln (factor V Leiden). Factor V Leiden allele is present in about 5% of the Caucasian individuals (Europeans, Jews, Israeli Arabs, and Indians) and is virtually absent in Africans, Asians, and races with Asian ancestry such as Amerindians, Eskimos, and Polynesians; this suggests a single origin of the mutation, which has been proven by haplotype analysis. A low prevalence of the mutation (1%) was noticed in African-Americans for recent racial admixture. Factor V Leiden presents not a major role as risk factor for arterial thrombosis, while it is present in 18% of Caucasian patients with venous thrombosis. This high incidence prevalence mirrors the incidence in the corresponding general populations and can be even higher in some areas according to the ethnic background. Conversely, factor V Leiden is usually not found in non-Caucasian thrombotic patients; this could give reason of the lower incidence of venous thrombotic disease in Africa and Asia in comparison with Europe. Therefore, screening for factor V Leiden is suggested for all Caucasian individuals with previous venous thrombosis; inclusion criteria for the screening should not be stringent because clinical manifestations associated with the mutant genotype can be also mild or secondary to circumstantial risk factors or manifesting at advanced age. Factor V Leiden can act also as concurrent risk factor in individuals with deficiency of natural inhibitors or mild hyperhomocysteinemia. So far, screening for the mutation in individuals with no history of thrombosis is recommended only for relatives of proband patients identified as carriers; the available data do not justify indiscriminate screening before risk situations such as oral contraceptives intake, pregnancy, or high-risk surgery.
Water nebulization in a non-rebreathing system during anaesthesia.

DRY ANAESTHETIC GASES damage tracheobronchial ciliated epithelium after one hour of administration. ~ In contrast it was found that gases saturated with water vapour at body temperature or an inhaled mixture with a 60 per cent relative humidity at room temperature (22-26 ~ C) do not produce cellular damage during a three-hour study period. This investigation analyzes the effects of inhaling anaesthetic gases humidified by an efficient cold water nebulizer. ~ A comparison is made between the tracheobronchial cytology of patients inhaling dry gases, gases humidified with this cold water nebulizer and gases humidified with water vapour. A system incorporating a compressed gas nebulizer in a nonrebreathing system was developed in order to conduct this study. This system will be described and its characteristics discussed.
Raman microspectroscopic characterization of amorphous silica plastic behavior

Raman microspectroscopy was used to characterize amorphous silica plastic behavior. Using a correlation between Raman spectrum and density, a map of the local residual indentation-induced densification is obtained. The existence of a densification-induced hardening is also evidenced through a diamond anvil cell experiment. Such observations are not accounted for by the previously proposed hardening-free pressure-dependent yield criterion based on indentation curves. These results open the way to more accurate description of a constitutive law for amorphous silica.
Relation between polyporphyrin distribution and blood brain barrier changes in the rat glioma model

Photofrin™ (a polyporphyrin mixture) distribution in a rat glioma model was studied in relation to changes in the blood brain barrier (BBB). At selected intervals after intraperitoneal injection of Photofrin™, the concentration of polyporphyrins (PP) and Evans Blue Dye, an indicator of BBB permeability, were determined for tumor, brain adjacent to tumor (BAT), and normal brain tissue. Contrary to earlier reports of maximal accumulation at 4–24 hours, tumor levels of PP increased throughout the 96 hour measurement period. During the early stages of tumor development, PP uptake by tumor appeared to be less correlated to BBB disruption. We conclude that passive diffusion through an incompetent BBB does not completely explain PP accumulation in tumor tissue. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Bayesian framework for radar shape-from-shading

This paper introduces a Bayesian approach to shape-from-shading (SFS) which is applied to terrain recovery in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. The Bayesian model relates the recovery of 3-D shape information to the original 3-D radar intensity and to edges separating different topographic regions. First, we model the image amplitude distribution and the reflection function in SAR images. Using a maximum log-likelihood feature detector derived from the image statistics we identify the ridges and ravines in the terrain image. These topographic features are used to constrain the recovery of surface normals in the shape-from-shading process. Finally, the surface normals are smoothed using robust statistics operators.