Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estructura factorial de la Función ejecutiva desde el dominio conductual

The objective of this study was to determine the structure of the Executive Function (EF) from the derived behavioral domain of the subscales of parents and teachers of the BRIEF (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function) in offender adolescents with conduct disorder (CD) and a control group (no-CD) of the Valley of Aburra . The sample was 128 adolescents: 56 offenders with CD and 72 non offenders no-CD. It was carried out a factorial analysis with the punctuations of the subscales of the BRIEF. A factorial structure of the behaviors of the EF was observed with an only factor in both groups. This factor was denominated System of Behavioral Supervision (SBS). The BRIEF evaluates a SBS that differentiates significantly both groups. Key words: conduct disorders, BRIEF, executive functions, offender, inflators, adolescents.
New technologies of voltage source converter (VSC) for HVDC transmission system based on VSC

This paper presents some new technologies of voltage source converter (VSC), i.e., modular multilevel VSC, for high voltage direct current transmission system based on VSC (VSC-HVDC). The origin of modular multilevel VSC and its essential working mechanism are clarified in detail. Then, the effective protection measures of submodule and the technology of controlled submodule capacitor voltages balancing are discussed. And the capacitance installed in each submodule is calculated. Concerning HVDC transmission based on modular multilevel VSC, an improved modulation control technology is presented. And the precharge technology of individual submodule capacitors is described. The technologies and conclusions are validated by simulations in PSCAD/EMTDC linked to MATLAB/SIMULINK. The theory analysis and simulation results indicate that these new technologies have great potentiality in the application of VSC-HVDC projects in future.
Hydration and Cognition: A Critical Review and Recommendations for Future Research

The limited literature on the effects of dehydration on human cognitive function is contradictory and inconsistent. Although it has been suggested that decrements in cognitive performance are present in the range of a 2 to 3% reduction in body weight, several dose-response studies indicate dehydration levels of 1% may adversely affect cognitive performance. When a 2% or more reduction in body weight is induced by heat and exercise exposure, decrements in visual-motor tracking, short-term memory and attention are reported, but not all studies find behavioral effects in this range. Future research should be conducted using dose-response designs and state-of-the-art behavioral methods to determine the lowest levels of dehydration that produce substantive effects on cognitive performance and mood. Confounding factors, such as caffeine intake and the methods used to produce dehydration, need to be considered in the design and conduct of such studies. Inclusion of a positive control condition, such as alcohol intake, a hypnotic drug, or other treatments known to produce adverse changes in cognitive performance should be included in such studies. To the extent possible, efforts to blind both volunteers and investigators should be an important consideration in study design.
Emotion aware system based on acoustic and textual features from speech

In recent years, emotion-aware human-machine interactions have become an important issue. Most of the traditional researches focused on the use of different features and classification methods to improve emotion recognition rates. However, they still cannot recognize detailed and various emotions. Accordingly, in this paper, an emotion recognition system, which combines the acoustic and textual features from speech, is proposed to detect seven emotional states: Joy, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, worry and disgust, respectively. The AdaBoost approach is also used to learn and classify each emotional state. The experimental result shows that the emotion recognition accuracy of the proposed system is better than that of traditional approaches.
Complete Genome Sequence of Paenibacillus polymyxa YC0136, a Plant Growth–Promoting Rhizobacterium Isolated from Tobacco Rhizosphere

ABSTRACT Paenibacillus polymyxa strain YC0136 is a plant growth–promoting rhizobacterium with antimicrobial activity, which was isolated from tobacco rhizosphere. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of P. polymyxa YC0136. Several genes with antifungal and antibacterial activity were discovered.
Leadership Styles and Organizational Effectiveness in Chinese‐Japanese Joint Ventures

A change in leadership styles is a key characteristic of joint ventures. Overseas managers often use an adaptation of their home culture. Discusses the findings of the survey presented in the previous article in terms of leadership styles and their resulting organizational effectiveness in joint ventures with different structural features. Presents four functional dimensions of leadership style: expectancy; sentiment; informativeness; and trustworthiness. Indicates these are particularly crucial for international joint ventures where cultural and managerial compatibility is most important in achieving organizational success.
Distinct Cell Clusters Touching Islet Cells Induce Islet Cell Replication in Association with Over-Expression of Regenerating Gene (REG) Protein in Fulminant Type 1 Diabetes

Background Pancreatic islet endocrine cell-supporting architectures, including islet encapsulating basement membranes (BMs), extracellular matrix (ECM), and possible cell clusters, are unclear. Procedures The architectures around islet cell clusters, including BMs, ECM, and pancreatic acinar-like cell clusters, were studied in the non-diabetic state and in the inflamed milieu of fulminant type 1 diabetes in humans. Result Immunohistochemical and electron microscopy analyses demonstrated that human islet cell clusters and acinar-like cell clusters adhere directly to each other with desmosomal structures and coated-pit-like structures between the two cell clusters. The two cell-clusters are encapsulated by a continuous capsule composed of common BMs/ECM. The acinar-like cell clusters have vesicles containing regenerating (REG) Iα protein. The vesicles containing REG Iα protein are directly secreted to islet cells. In the inflamed milieu of fulminant type 1 diabetes, the acinar-like cell clusters over-expressed REG Iα protein. Islet endocrine cells, including beta-cells and non-beta cells, which were packed with the acinar-like cell clusters, show self-replication with a markedly increased number of Ki67-positive cells. Conclusion The acinar-like cell clusters touching islet endocrine cells are distinct, because the cell clusters are packed with pancreatic islet clusters and surrounded by common BMs/ECM. Furthermore, the acinar-like cell clusters express REG Iα protein and secrete directly to neighboring islet endocrine cells in the non-diabetic state, and the cell clusters over-express REG Iα in the inflamed milieu of fulminant type 1 diabetes with marked self-replication of islet cells.
Unsettling Standards: The Biological Age Controversy

One key debate within the sociology of aging and the life course over the past decade has been focused on understanding the extent to which there has been a shift from a reliance on chronological age to segment the life course and ascertain age-specific norms, values, and expectations toward a destandardized life course in advanced economies. In this, little attention has been devoted to the infrastructural processes that would support such a transition: the technologies, standards, and conventions that would, in practice, equip a personalized, individualized management of the life course. This article focuses on one of such standards, “biological age” (BA), and the 40-year controversy around the method and purpose of its measurement. Drawing on published research and archival and interview data collected in Europe and North America, the article suggests that the persistent uncertainty surrounding BA measurements is structured by differing interlocking relationships between normative ideals of the life course and methodological approaches to knowledge making to understand and manage the relationship among aging, health, and illness. Understanding this controversy and the configuration of normative and epistemic conventions that underpin its dynamic provides a unique lens on the complex interweaving relationship between expertise, scientific and technological standards, and social, normatively embedded age identities in contemporary societies.
Antihypertensive drugs inhibit hypertension-associated aortic DNA synthesis in the rat.

The effect of antihypertensive drug treatment on aortic DNA synthesis was examined in rats with two-kidney, one clip renal hypertension and in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In two-kidney, one clip hypertensive rats, hypertension developed over a 2-week period. Four days after clipping the renal artery, during the onset of hypertension, there was an increase in aortic DNA synthesis. Aortic DNA synthesis was also increased 3 weeks later, when hypertension had been established. Captopril, hydralazine, and verapamil were each able to prevent the increase in aortic DNA synthesis and the rise in blood pressure when given throughout the first 5 days of the developing phase of hypertension, or when given to rats with established hypertension. Drug treatment of sham-operated rats had no significant effect on DNA synthesis, although blood pressure was decreased. There were no differences in blood pressure or aortic DNA synthesis in 4-week-old SHR, as compared with age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) controls or normal Wistar rats. At 17 weeks of age, when hypertension was established, aortic DNA synthesis was significantly enhanced in the SHR. Captopril or hydralazine treatment was able to reduce blood pressure and DNA synthesis to levels seen in the WKY. At 21 weeks of age, DNA synthesis in the SHR had declined to the same levels as in the WKY. Captopril, hydralazine, and verapamil may have a common ability to reduce intracellular calcium and therefore inhibit DNA synthesis. In support of this, ouabain treatment, which increases intracellular calcium by inhibiting the Na+-K+ pump, produced a significant increase in the rate of DNA synthesis. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
ose-dependent efficacy of ALS-human mesenchymal stem cells transplantation nto cisterna magna in SOD 1G 93 A ALS mice

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor neuron loss. Although the underlying cause of the disease remains unclear, a variety of pathogenic mechanisms have been proposed. Despite promising preclinical studies showing the modification of the disease progression, most trials have failed to demonstrate any significant improvement in outcome. Stem cell therapy therefore has been proposed as an alternative therapy for ALS. In this study, we evaluated the dose-dependent effects of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) obtained from an ALS patient (ALS-hMSCs) on SOD1 mice via intrathecal injection and showed its practicality for hMSCs. We transplanted different doses (1 × 104, 2 × 105, and 1 × 106) of ALS-hMSCs into the cisterna magna and performed clinical observations including symptom onset, survival time, and locomotor performance using ntrathecal injection the rotarod test. Nissl staining was performed to evaluate motor neurons in lumbar spinal cord sections at 109 days, and transplanted cells were evaluated by immuno-fluorescence staining at the end stage. A cell dose of 1 × 106 cells significantly prolonged life span and delayed the decline of motor performance. At this dose, the average number of motor neurons was significantly higher than those of the untreated and 1 × 104 cell treated groups. Most injected hMSCs distributed in the ventricular system and subarachnoid
Disfunción orbitofrontal en la esclerosis múltiple: Iowa Gambling Task

Orbitofrontal dysfunction in multiple sclerosis: Iowa Gambling Task. Cognitive dysfunction has been widely studied in multiple sclerosis (MS), however decision-making has been less investigated. The current study examined the decision-making processes of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) using a computerized version of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). This task was applied to 18 patients with clinically diagnosed MS and 18 healthy control subjects matched for age, sex, and years of education. The results showed that IGT scores differ significantly between patients with MS and the healthy control subjects: the patients with MS made significantly less advantageous decisions than the controls in the IGT. Possible causes of impaired decision-making in multiple sclerosis are discussed.
Evaluating the efficiency of commercial banks: does our view of what banks do matter?

En the past 15 years, the banking industry has faced growing competition from other lii financial service firms and financial markers and, at the same time, has undergone subsnannial deregulation and change. Proponents of further deregulation, such as the removal of barriers no nhe commingling of commercial and investment banking, argue that such changes would enhance the eff’mciency and viability of American banks. The impact of competitive and regulatory changes on banks can be judged by gross measures of performance, such as profitability and failure rates. Economisns are also interested in how such changes affect the efficiency with which banks transform resources into various financial services. Inefficiency implies that resources are wasned, that is, that firms are producing less than the feasible level of output from the resources employed, or are using relatively costly combinations of resources no produce a particular mix of products or services, Thus, a goal of policymakers, as well as stockholders and managers, is to devise policies than improve the efficiency of commercial banks. linforrunately, economists do not agree upon the appropriate methodology for measuring the efficiency of banks, Several estimation techniques have been proposed, each with advantages and disadvantages. The problem is complicated by the myriad of different services that commercial banks perform. Researchers deal winh complex issues in measuring bank production: Is a deposit an input no the production process, or an output? Should outputs he measured in terms of the number of a bank’s accounts, the number of transactions it processes or the dollar amounts of Its loans or deposits? Perhaps non surprisingly estimates of commercial bank inefficiency vary considerably across studies that use different techniques, conceptions of bank production and data samples. This article investigates the sensitivity of efficiency measures no broadly different conceptions of how banks operate. We use a single-esnimanion technique and a common pooi of banks to compare efficiency measures based on alnernanive views of bank production. We find substantial differences in mean efficiency across models and low, though statistically significant, correspondence in the rankings of banks by efficiency scores across models. First, we discuss why measuring commercial bank efficiency is useful, some alternative measures of efficiency and techniques for estimating efficiency A description of the approach we take, our data and our results follow.
WORKING CARERS OF OLDER ADULTS

Juggling work and care presents particular challenges to carers and employers. Employers are increasingly under pressure, both from within organizations and from recent government legislation and policy, to develop family-friendly policies to support informal carers in the workplace. Yet existing ‘family-friendly’ schemes and services are still primarily designed for working parents of young children and rarely address the needs of employees who care for older or disabled adults. This paper reports on a study which investigated how working carers and managers in two public sector organizations — a Social Services Department (SSD) and a National Health Service (NHS) Trust — combined their work and caring responsibilities. A multi-method approach was adopted consisting of five phases. First, a profile of the two organizations was established, followed by a short screening questionnaire to all employees to identify who was caring for an older adult over the age of 60. Third, a lengthier postal survey was sent to the 365 carers who had indicated a willingness to participate further. In the fourth and fifth phases, carers and managers were interviewed in depth about their experiences. This paper reports briefly on the survey, but then concentrates in particular on what was said in the interviews about what helps and hinders working carers of older adults. Despite the existence of policies to support carers, our findings suggest that these were far less important than informal support from colleagues and a sympathetic manager in the workplace. Commuting distance between work, home and the older person also posed difficulties for carers, along with inflexible schedules and work overload. Employers are urged to explore these issues further if they are serious about recruiting and retaining employees, and developing the work – life balance agenda to meet the needs of those caring for older and disabled adults.
Combining ( : )-Hard deadlines and Dual Priority Scheduling

The problem of effectively scheduling soft tasks whilst guaranteeing the behaviour of hard tasks has been addressed in many papers and a large number of techniques have been proposed. The dual priority mechanism is an intuitively simple method with low overheads. A hard task is assigned two priorities. Upon invocation, the task starts executing with a low priority and it is promoted to a high priority at a time that will guarantee that its deadline is met. Soft tasks are assigned medium priorities; they can thus preempt any hard task that is executing before its promotion time. To increase the capacity for soft tasks, and therefore the effectiveness of the real-time system, hard tasks may be assigned a ( 2) -hard (read n in m) temporal constraint. This implies that the task must meet n deadlines in any m invocations. This paper addresses the combination of such constraints and dual priority scheduling, This approach reduces the gap between dynamic prioriiy and $xed priority scheduling with the goal of reducing the average response time of soft tasks.
Experimental study of dual-ring CMUT array optimization for forward-looking IVUS

Forward-looking (FL) catheters have guiding and volumetric imaging capacities which are highly desirable for IVUS applications. Large channel and firing counts have to be reduced to enable 3-D real-time imaging and simplify front-end electronics. Recently, we have proposed an optimization procedure for dual ring FL arrays which is based on finding an optimal coarray set using the simulated annealing algorithm. The presented algorithm is based on finding a predefined number of optimal firing set which results in elimination of redundant spatial frequencies in the coarray. In this study, we present the experimental demonstration of the proposed method with fabricated single chip CMUT on CMOS system based FL dual ring arrays. The dual ring CMUT arrays were monolithically fabricated on top of CMOS chips which have 25-V pulsers and low-noise transimpedance amplifiers for each transmit and receive array elements. The fabricated CMUT arrays have 56 transmit and 48 receive elements operating at 12 MHz with a 1.4 mm outer diameter. To test the imaging performance of the optimal reduced set, we obtained a 512-element coarray set from the full 2688-element set. In the experiment, we used a phantom of 100-μm aluminium wires immersed in oil tank. We have reconstructed both 2-D PSFs and B-scan images of wire targets. Experimental results demonstrate that the simulated annealing based optimal firing set achieves acceptable lateral and contrast resolution performances with 1/5 of the full set.
Flexible Workplace Practices: Employees’ Experiences in Small IT Firms

This paper examines how employees experience flexible workplace practices (FWPs), such as flex-time, in the context of small firms. Past research consistently documents that employees’ experiences vary according to whether or not the workplace culture is supportive of FWPs and work-life balance needs. Studies, however, typically use individual level data or focus on large companies. Little research has focused on the experiences of employees of small firms. Possibly, employees of small firms have somewhat unique experiences of FWPs because of the workplace context. Like past research, this paper considers how gender and age relations structure the workplace. Also taken into account are the control strategies that management employs over the workforce. Data are taken from a Canadian study on small information technology (IT) firms that employed between four and 21 individuals. A multiple case study of 17 firms is conducted using web-surveys, semi-structured interviews, case study reports, field notes, and HR policy documents. Three different workplace contexts emerged among study firms based on their flexibility and workplace culture with respect to time. Some of these workplaces reproduced hegemonic gender, age, and class expectations, whereas others somewhat challenged them. The three firm-types did not vary according to firm-specific characteristics, such as business specialization, but patterns with regard to age and gender characteristics of the owners and employees were evident. Employees’ experiences varied according to where they worked. The findings suggest that similar and different processes occur in small firms compared to the large companies often studied in the literature. Like large firms, small firms are not neutral or based on a consensus. Small firm employees, however, may be considerably more vulnerable.
Preschool speech error patterns predict articulation and phonological awareness outcomes in children with histories of speech sound disorders.

PURPOSE To determine if speech error patterns in preschoolers with speech sound disorders (SSDs) predict articulation and phonological awareness (PA) outcomes almost 4 years later. METHOD Twenty-five children with histories of preschool SSDs (and normal receptive language) were tested at an average age of 4;6 (years;months) and were followed up at age 8;3. The frequency of occurrence of preschool distortion errors, typical substitution and syllable structure errors, and atypical substitution and syllable structure errors was used to predict later speech sound production, PA, and literacy outcomes. RESULTS Group averages revealed below-average school-age articulation scores and low-average PA but age-appropriate reading and spelling. Preschool speech error patterns were related to school-age outcomes. Children for whom >10% of their speech sound errors were atypical had lower PA and literacy scores at school age than children who produced <10% atypical errors. Preschoolers who produced more distortion errors were likely to have lower school-age articulation scores than preschoolers who produced fewer distortion errors. CONCLUSION Different preschool speech error patterns predict different school-age clinical outcomes. Many atypical speech sound errors in preschoolers may be indicative of weak phonological representations, leading to long-term PA weaknesses. Preschoolers' distortions may be resistant to change over time, leading to persisting speech sound production problems.