Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Social relationships and their role in the consideration to hasten death.

PURPOSE This study explored the quality and functioning of terminally ill elders' social relationships and their impact on elders' consideration to hasten death. DESIGN AND METHODS In-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 96 terminally ill elders. Logistic regression was used to determine whether aspects of social relationships significantly predicted the consideration to hasten death. The qualitative data was content analyzed to identify main themes and patterns. RESULTS Logistic regression revealed that conflictual social support was a significant predictor of the consideration to hasten death. Qualitative data provided insight into findings that responsibilities to loved ones or direct verbal attempts did not deter elders' consideration to hasten death. IMPLICATIONS This research highlights the importance of quality social support in elders' consideration to hasten death and exhibits the need for practitioners to assess thoroughly the quality of elder-caregiver relations.
Sexual Harassment, Racial Harassment, and Well-Being among Asian American Women: An Intersectional Approach

ABSTRACT Harassment of Asian American (AA) women has received little attention in popular culture and academic research despite their long legacy of sexualized racial stereotyping (e.g., Geisha, sexually submissive; Shimizu, 2007) and additional risk of mistreatment due to their membership in both marginalized gender and racial groups (Beale, 1970; Settles & Buchanan, 2014). This study addresses this dearth of research using an intersectional theoretical framework to comprehensively examine sexual and racial harassment with a sample of AA women. Results validated the underlying factor structure of the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (Fitzgerald, Gelfand, & Drasgow, 1995) and the Racial Acts, Crimes, and Experiences Scale (RACES; Bergman & Buchanan, 2008) for AA women. Additionally, our results replicated previous research indicating that participants often reported experiencing behaviors that constitute harassment, but did not label them as such. This supports the use of behavioral measures over items that require individuals to label their experiences as harassment. Finally, we examined the associations between these forms of harassment and two indicators of psychological well-being, depression, and posttraumatic stress (PTS). Our results found that gender harassment was associated with more depression, whereas unwanted sexual attention, sexual coercion, and racial harassment were associated with increased PTS. This supports the utility of including both sexual and racial harassment in providing a more nuanced understanding of AA women’s harassment experiences overall and the relationship of harassment to psychological well-being. We discuss theoretical and clinical implications of these findings.
An optimization technique for QMF based on modified particle swarm

In this paper, a new optimization technique for Quadrature Mirror Filter (QMF) based on Modified Particle Swarm (MPSO) is proposed for the design of a two channel linear phase bank in frequency domain. The proposed technique provides a low pass prototype filter characteristics which are close to an ideal QMF design. Using proposed technique, we have evaluated various performance parameters such as pass band error, stop band error, transition band error, PRE, and amplitude variation of QMF. Our simulation results show that 23% reduction in amplitude error, 60% improvement in pass band error, 74% decrease in stop band error, 78% reduction in transition band error, and 24% improvement in PRE can be achieved using proposed algorithm over the other reported techniques in the literature. The design results of the proposed MPSO technique presented in this paper clearly indicate substantial improvements over earlier reported results. This technique can be effectively applied in multi-rate DSP applications.
Toward Substantiating Analysis-by-Synthesis : Prospects , Comparisons and Questions

The primary problem in speech processing is the matching of acoustic input to some long-term memory representations. Models of speech processing differ on whether the processing stages are modular or not, whether connections between levels are strictly feedforward or also utilize feedback connections, whether word-onsets enjoy primacy in the generation and selection processes, along with other relevant differences. The goal of this paper is to investigate properties of a relatively old model of speech processing that has been recently revisited, namely Analysis-by-Synthesis (Halle and Stevens 1962; Poeppel and Idsardi 2006). We compare Analysis-by-Synthesis against more explicitly implemented models of word recognition. It is first useful to first sketch out Analysis-by-Synthesis as it was envisioned in Halle and Stevens 1962 and subsequently in Poeppel and Idsardi 2006:
Urinary Concentrations of Bisphenol A and 4-Nonylphenol in a Human Reference Population

Bisphenol A (BPA) is used to manufacture polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins, which are used in baby bottles, as protective coatings on food containers, and for composites and sealants in dentistry. 4-Nonylphenol (NP) is used to make nonylphenol ethoxylates, nonionic surfactants applied as emulsifying, wetting, dispersing, or stabilizing agents in industrial, agricultural, and domestic consumer products. The potential for human exposure to BPA and NP is high because of their widespread use. We measured BPA and NP in archived urine samples from a reference population of 394 adults in the United States using isotope-dilution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The concentration ranges of BPA and NP were similar to those observed in other human populations. BPA was detected in 95% of the samples examined at concentrations ≥0.1 μg/L urine; the geometric mean and median concentrations were 1.33 μg/L (1.36 μg/g creatinine) and 1.28 μg/L (1.32 μg/g creatinine), respectively; the 95th percentile concentration was 5.18 μg/L (7.95 μg/g creatinine). NP was detected in 51% of the samples examined ≥0.1 μg/L. The median and 95th percentile concentrations were < 0.1 μg/L and 1.57 μg/L (1.39 μg/g creatinine), respectively. The frequent detection of BPA suggests widespread exposure to this compound in residents of the United States. The lower frequency of detection of NP than of BPA could be explained by a lower exposure of humans to NP, by different pharmacokinetic factors (i.e., absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination), by the fact that 4-n-nonylphenol—the measured NP isomer—represents a small percentage of the NP used in commercial mixtures, or a combination of all of the above. Additional research is needed to determine the best urinary biomarker(s) to assess exposure to NP. Despite the sample population’s nonrepresentativeness of the U.S. population (although sample weights were used to improve the extent to which the results represent the U.S. population) and relatively small size, this study provides the first reference range of human internal dose levels of BPA and NP in a demographically diverse human population.
Online communication, peer relationships and school victimisation: a one-year longitudinal study during middle adolescence

ABSTRACT This study aimed to analyse how different styles of online and offline communication were associated in middle adolescence with certain indicators of the quality of peer relationships and school victimisation. A longitudinal study with two waves separated by one year was conducted, in which 882 adolescents aged 13–16 years old from Andalusia (Spain) completed self-report measures. Results showed that online communication was very frequently used to talk with friends, even more often that offline means. Cross-sectionally, online communication was positively associated with quality of peer relationships and negatively to school victimisation, reaching stronger associations than offline communication. Longitudinally, results indicated that more frequent text messaging was related to more easiness to make friends and no bullying in those adolescents with more initial difficulties. Thus, it suggests the need to develop safe spaces for online interactions in order to improve the quality of their relationships with their friends and partners.
Ca2+-Currents in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes Effects of Two Different Culture Conditions

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CM) provide a unique opportunity to study human heart physiology and pharmacology and repair injured hearts. The suitability of hiPSC-CM critically depends on how closely they share physiological properties of human adult cardiomyocytes (CM). Here we investigated whether a 3D engineered heart tissue (EHT) culture format favors maturation and addressed the L-type Ca2+-current (ICa,L) as a readout. The results were compared with hiPSC-CM cultured in conventional monolayer (ML) and to our previous data from human adult atrial and ventricular CM obtained when identical patch-clamp protocols were used. HiPSC-CM were two- to three-fold smaller than adult CM, independently of culture format [capacitance ML 45 ± 1 pF (n = 289), EHT 45 ± 1 pF (n = 460), atrial CM 87 ± 3 pF (n = 196), ventricular CM 126 ± 8 pF (n = 50)]. Only 88% of ML cells showed ICa, but all EHT. Basal ICa density was 10 ± 1 pA/pF (n = 207) for ML and 12 ± 1 pA/pF (n = 361) for EHT and was larger than in adult CM [7 ± 1 pA/pF (p < 0.05, n = 196) for atrial CM and 6 ± 1 pA/pF (p < 0.05, n = 47) for ventricular CM]. However, ML and EHT showed robust T-type Ca2+-currents (ICa,T). While (−)-Bay K 8644, that activates ICa,L directly, increased ICa,Lto the same extent in ML and EHT, β1- and β2-adrenoceptor effects were marginal in ML, but of same size as (−)-Bay K 8644 in EHT. The opposite was true for serotonin receptors. Sensitivity to β1 and β2-adrenoceptor stimulation was the same in EHT as in adult CM (−logEC50: 5.9 and 6.1 for norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (Epi), respectively), but very low concentrations of Rp-8-Br-cAMPS were sufficient to suppress effects (−logEC50: 5.3 and 5.3 respectively for NE and Epi). Taken together, hiPSC-CM express ICa,L at the same density as human adult CM, but, in contrast, possess robust ICa,T. Increased effects of catecholamines in EHT suggest more efficient maturation.
Integrative Body-Mind-Spirit (I-BMS) Interventions for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Review of the Outcome Literature

ABSTRACT Background: A growing interest in integrative body-mind-spirit (I-BMS) approaches to treatment of PTSD has resulted in a significant increase in related research. Method: This study conducted a synthesized review of randomized controlled trials of I-BMS treatments for PTSD, yielding thirteen studies that included: mindfulness/meditation (7), yoga (3), acupuncture (1), spiritually-based intervention (1), and relaxation (1) from 2004–2015. The study used a modified Delphi List (mDL) and the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse (CEBC) to evaluate study rigor and level of research support for each practice. Results: Overall, I-BMS interventions demonstrated positive outcomes. Based on an mDL range between 0 and 7, scores were: 6 for meditation/mindfulness, 5.67 for yoga, 7 for acupuncture, 3 for spiritually-based intervention, and 4.5 for relaxation training. All interventions were recommended as practices with Promising Research Evidence (Level 3). Effect sizes (d) ranged from . 51 to 1.88 for relaxation, . 38 to 1.02 for spiritual, . 31 to 1.4 for acupuncture, . 1 to 1.54 for yoga and . 2 to 1.53 for mindfulness meditation. Discussion: This study identified acupuncture, meditation, and yoga as high-quality alternative therapeutic practices for PTSD with promising evidence as effective and safe approaches. Future studies should assess long-term effects to further elevate the level of research support.
Properties of NLC Languages Squeezed with Hypercube Graphs

The hypercube is a generalization of 3-cube to n dimensions, also called an n-cube or measure polytope. In this paper we define boundary edNCE recursive graph grammar and generate the language for the hypercube. For a graph grammar G with a graph-theoretical property, let be the language L(G) squeezed with i.e., This paper presents result on language-theoretic properties (such as membership and other decision properties) of NLC, B-edNCE languages squeezed with hyper cube graphs. We show that is in NP complete.
Wideband digital Quadrature Transformation based on perfect reconstruction filter banks

Quadrature Transformation based on Hilbert transform method to wideband signal is not suited to engineering application because the group delay can make severe aliasing. Wideband digital quadrature transformation based on perfect reconstruction filter banks is put forward in this paper. The wideband signal is divided into sub-band signals by analysis filter bank, then let the negative parts of the output sub-band signals equal to zero, then compose the processed signal by synthesis filter banks, the synthesis signal is the complex signal after quadrature transformation. Filter polyphase structure is used in this method, which can be realized by FFT algorithm. Algorithm of FFT and IFFT are used only one time in this new method which can reduce more computational workload, and it has the advantages of better image-reject, being realized easily in FPGA. The simulation result of Matlab shows that the error between the complex signals after quadrature transformation based on the traditional method and this paper's method is up to −150dB, the error is small.
Antidepressant Therapy in Severe Depression May Have Different Effects on Ego-Dystonic and Ego-Syntonic Suicidal Ideation

The objective of the present study was to investigate whether ego-dystonic and ego-syntonic suicidal ideation occurred at different frequencies during antidepressant therapy. A blind evaluation has been performed on records of 100 suicides with a primary severe depression and 100 matched controls, admitted to the Department of Psychiatry, Lund, Sweden. Ego-dystonic suicidal ideation was more commonly reported during adequate treatment as compared to ego-syntonic ideation (P = .004). Men who committed suicide during adequate antidepressant therapy more often reported ego-dystonic suicidal ideation earlier in their lives compared with those who were not treated (P = .0377). This may indicate that treatment failure for ego-dystonic ideation was a precursor of their suicides. Consequently, ego-dystonic ideation seems to show a poorer response to antidepressant therapy as compared to ego-syntonic ideation, which may be more directly related to depression. Ego-dystonic ideation is proposed to be related to depressive psychosis.
Is Playerload related to fatigue following different types of repeated maximal sprint exercises in recreationally active young men

Introduction: GPS units are commonly used by sports clubs to estimate the “external load” [e.g. Catapult PlayerloadTM (PL)] experienced by the athlete during exercise to predict fatigue response, despite a lack of evidence for a relationship between PL and exercise fatigue. The aim of this study was to (i) compare PL and fatigue during and after two different maximal sprint protocols and (ii) examine relationships between PL and fatigue/recovery. Methods: Eighteen healthy, recreationally active, males (age: 20.7 ± 3.0 yr; height: 168 ± 41 cm; body mass: 73.7 ± 11.0 kg) performed either 15 x 30m maximal sprints (SP, n=11) or 15 x (3 x 10m) maximal shuttle sprints (3T, n=7) with 90 s rest between repetitions and 180 s rest after repetition five and 10. PL, heart rate (HR) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured for the duration of the exercise. Maximum isometric voluntary contraction knee extensor/flexor torque (MVC), range of motion (ROM), quadriceps/hamstring muscle soreness (algometer and visual analogue scale, VAS), (in)voluntary rate of torque development (RTD) and vastus lateralis/biceps femoris long head EMG were measured during knee extension/flexion pre, immediately post and 48 h post exercise. Voluntary muscle activation (VA) and the torque-frequency relationship (TFR) were measured in the hamstring muscle group using electrical stimulation at the same time points. Blood samples were drawn from the antecubital vein pre, post and post 48 hr completion of the protocols Results: PL (126.8 ± 13.8 vs. 107.6 ± 12.7 AU; P 0.05). Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that two different types of repeated maximal sprinting exercises lead to a similar impairment of quadriceps and hamstring muscle function. Post exercise measures of fatigue do not differ between repeated 30 m straight line sprinting and repeated 3 x 10 m shuttle sprinting, except for subjective measures of muscle soreness, which were higher after straight line sprinting compared to shuttle sprinting. PL was positively related with physiological load during the exercise but did not correlate with changes in indices of central or peripheral fatigue. Therefore, our data support the use of GPS units to predict physiological load during maximal sprinting but not to predict rate of recovery following these types of maximal exercise.
Behavioral Neurobiology of Alcohol Addiction: Recent Advances and Challenges

Addictive behavior associated with alcoholism is characterized by compulsive preoccupation with obtaining alcohol, loss of control over consumption, and development of tolerance and dependence, as well as impaired social and occupational functioning. Like other addictive disorders, alcoholism is characterized by chronic vulnerability to relapse after cessation of drinking. To understand the factors that compel some individuals to drink excessively, alcohol research has focused on the identification of brain mechanisms that support the reinforcing actions of alcohol and the progression of changes in neural function induced by chronic ethanol consumption that lead to the development of dependence. More recently, increasing attention has been directed toward the understanding of neurobiological and environmental factors in susceptibility to relapse.
The Indirect Effect of Justice Perceptions on Job Satisfaction Among Hispanic Employees

The notion that justice perceptions greatly influence behaviors and attitudes at work has been supported in the organizational behavior literature. Given the significant increase of Hispanic employees in the U.S. workforce in the last two decades, more research is needed to understand how justice relates to important outcomes in this population. The present study uses social exchange theory to examine conflict as a mediator of the relationship between justice and overall job satisfaction, and three individual facets of job satisfaction in a sample of 154 working Hispanic young adults in a variety of jobs. Findings indicate that conflict mediates the relationship between each dimension of justice and overall job satisfaction, and between two out of three examined facets of job satisfaction. The results provide evidence for the importance of justice perceptions in determining the attitudes and behaviors of Hispanic employees in the workplace.
On two high-rate algebraic space-time codes

We examine some algebraic properties of two high-rate linear space-time block codes over M=2,3 transmit antennas. Although these high-rate codes have positive coding gain, the gain decreases when increasing the constellation size. We give tight upper and lower bounds on the achieved coding gains as functions of the size of the constellations used. We show that when using the irrational numbers /spl radic/3 and /spl radic/2, the coding gains express the approximation of these numbers by continued fractions depending on the constellations used. The poor approximation of these numbers by rational numbers is then shown to make the coding gains decrease slowly when increasing the constellation size.
Relationship Between Activated Clotting Time and Ischemic or Hemorrhagic Complications: Analysis of 4 Recent Randomized Clinical Trials of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Background—Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is the most widely used antithrombin during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Despite significant pharmacological and mechanical advancements in PCI, uncertainty remains about the optimal activated clotting time (ACT) for prevention of ischemic or hemorrhagic complications. Methods and Results—We analyzed the outcome of all UFH-treated patients enrolled in 4 large, contemporary PCI trials with independent adjudication of ischemic and bleeding events. Of 9974 eligible patients, maximum ACT was available in 8369 (84%). The median ACT was 297 seconds (interquartile range 256 to 348 seconds). The incidence of death, myocardial infarction, or revascularization at 48 hours, by ACT quartile, was 6.2%, 6.8%, 6.0%, and 5.7%, respectively (P=0.40 for trend). Covariate-adjusted rate of ischemic complications was not correlated with maximal procedural ACT (continuous value, P=0.29). Higher doses of UFH (>5000 U, or up to 90 U/kg) were independently associated with higher rates of events. The incidence of major or minor bleeding at 48 hours, by ACT quartile, was 2.9%, 3.5%, 3.8%, and 4.0%, respectively (P=0.04 for trend). In a multivariable logistic model with a spline transformation for ACT, there was a linear increase in risk of bleeding as the ACT approached 365 seconds (P=0.01), which leveled off beyond that value. Increasing UFH weight-indexed dose was independently associated with higher bleeding rates (OR 1.04 [1.02 to 1.07] for each 10 U/kg, P=0.001). Conclusions—In patients undergoing PCI with frequent stent and potent platelet inhibition use, ACT does not correlate with ischemic complications and has a modest association with bleeding complications, driven mainly by minor bleeding. Lower values do not appear to compromise efficacy while increasing safety.
Effect of l-Tryptophan on Memory in Patients With Schizophrenia

It has been well established that patients with schizophrenia have impaired cognitive abilities on neuropsychological tasks related to memory. Previous studies also suggest a central role for serotonin in memory. This double-blind crossover study aimed to explore the effect of l-tryptophan, a serotonin precursor, on a variety of memory tasks in schizophrenic patients. Antipsychotic-treated schizophrenic patients in remission (N = 21) were randomly treated with l-tryptophan or placebo and then evaluated at three consecutive points on clinical measures (including Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for Schizophrenia, Clinical Global Impression, and Extrapyramidal Symptoms Rating Scale) and by neuropsychological tests (including Digit-Span, Paired Association, Rey-Osterich Complex Figure Test, Digit Symbol, Number Facility Test, and the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Tests. Compared with placebo, l-tryptophan had a beneficial effect on memory functions but not on the patients’ psychotic state or on the side effects of medications. These preliminary results suggest the possibility of using serotonin precursor to enhance memory function in schizophrenia.