Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gap Junctions between Interneurons Are Required for Normal Spatial Coding in the Hippocampus and Short-Term Spatial Memory

Gap junctions containing connexin 36 electrically couple interneurons in many brain regions and synchronize their activity. We used connexin-36 knock-out mice (Cx36−/−) to study the importance of electrical coupling between interneurons for spatial coding in the hippocampus and for different forms of hippocampus-dependent spatial memory. Recordings in behaving mice revealed that the spatial selectivity of hippocampal pyramidal neurons was reduced and less stable in Cx36−/− mice. Altered network activity was reflected in slower theta oscillations in the mutants. Temporal coding, assessed by determining the presence and characteristics of theta phase precession, had different dynamics in Cx36−/− mice compared with controls. At the behavioral level, Cx36−/− mice displayed impaired short-term spatial memory but normal spatial reference memory. These results highlight the functional role of electrically coupled interneurons for spatial coding and cognition. Moreover, they suggest that the precise spatial selectivity of place cells is not essential for normal performance on spatial tasks assessing associative long-term memory.
Programmed Physical Exertion in Recovery From Sports-Related Concussion: A Randomized Pilot Study

Although no data exist, general practice recommends only rest following concussion. This randomized clinical trial found that programmed physical exertion during recovery produced no significant differences in recovery time between groups of participants. However, high levels of exertion were deleterious. This study provides initial evidence that moderate physical activity is a safe replacement behavior during recovery.
Closed Quarter Aerial Robot Prototype to Fly In and Around Buildings

Urban environments are time consuming, labor intensive and possibly dangerous to safe guard. Accomplishing tasks like bomb detection, search-andrescue and reconnaissance with aerial robots could save resources. This paper describes a prototype called CQAR: Closed Quarter Aerial Robot, which is capable of flying in and around buildings. The prototype was analytically designed to fly safely and slowly. An optic flow microsensor for depth perception, which will allow autonomous takeoff and landing and collision avoidance, is also described.
Methodological approaches to the evaluation of game music systems

Despite an emerging interest in the application of dynamic computer music systems to computer games, currently there are no commonly accepted approaches to empirically evaluating game music systems. In this paper we pose four questions that researchers could assess in order to evaluate different aspects of a game music system. They focus on the music's effect on the game playing experience (whether the music leads to a more enjoyable experience, and whether it affects the player in the intended way during the game), and how the music itself is perceived (whether it reaches a certain aesthetic standard, and whether it accurately conveys the intended narrative). We examine each of these questions in turn, for each one establishing a theoretical background as well as reviewing and comparing relevant research methodologies in order to show how it could be addressed in practice.
Fronto-parietal network oscillations reveal relationship between working memory capacity and cognitive control

Executive-attention theory proposes a close relationship between working memory capacity (WMC) and cognitive control abilities. However, conflicting results are documented in the literature, with some studies reporting that individual variations in WMC predict differences in cognitive control and trial-to-trial control adjustments (operationalized as the size of the congruency effect and congruency sequence effects, respectively), while others report no WMC-related differences. We hypothesized that brain network dynamics might be a more sensitive measure of WMC-related differences in cognitive control abilities. Thus, in the present study, we measured human EEG during the Simon task to characterize WMC-related differences in the neural dynamics of conflict processing and adaptation to conflict. Although high- and low-WMC individuals did not differ behaviorally, there were substantial WMC-related differences in theta (4–8 Hz) and delta (1–3 Hz) connectivity in fronto-parietal networks. Group differences in local theta and delta power were relatively less pronounced. These results suggest that the relationship between WMC and cognitive control abilities is more strongly reflected in large-scale oscillatory network dynamics than in spatially localized activity or in behavioral task performance.
Impact of pharmacy validation in a computerized physician order entry context.

BACKGROUND Computerised physician order entry offers a potential means of reducing prescribing errors, and can also increase the feasibility of pharmacy validation as a secondary filter for eliminating errors. The impacts of these two benefits have never been evaluated in combination. OBJECTIVE To describe (i) the pharmacists' interventions during validation of drug prescriptions on a computerized physician order entry system, (ii) the impact of these interventions on the prescribing process and (iii) the extent to which computerized physician order entry was responsible for the identified errors. METHOD Prospective collection of all medication order lines during five days in a tertiary care university hospital using computerized physician order entry for drug prescription. All orders were reviewed by a pharmacist. We described the frequency of pharmacy alerts and their short-term impact on the correction of potential prescribing errors (modification of the prescription). An independent committee reviewed their type and link with the computerized physician order entry system. RESULTS About 399 (11%) prescription order lines, corresponding to 222 (52%) patients, required a pharmacy alert during the study period. Among the 81 pharmacy alerts targeted to the prescriber, 21 [26% (IC95% = 17-37%)] resulted in a modification of the prescription. Among the 95 potential prescribing error, the independent review committee judged 16 (17%) as potentially life-threatening and attributed 47 (49%) to the use of computerized physician order entry system (unit error, no use of typical order prespecified, prescription inconsistency or other). CONCLUSION Pharmacy validation produced only a moderate short-term impact on the reduction of potential prescribing errors. However, pharmacy validation may also provide ongoing benefits by identifying necessary improvements in the computerized physician order entry system. Those improvements would allow pharmacists to concentrate on the most relevant interventions.
The impact of image based factors and training on threat detection performance in X-ray screening.

In this study, two experiments are reported which investigated the relative importance of five different image based factors and one human factor (training) in mediating threat detection performance of human operators in airport security x-ray screening. Experiment 1 was based on a random sample of roughly 16’000 records of threat image projection (TIP) data. TIP is a software function available on state-of-the-art x-ray screening equipment that allows the projection of fictional threat images (FTIs) into x-ray images of passenger bags during the routine baggage screening operation. Analysis of main effects showed that image based factors can substantially affect screener detection performance in terms of the hit rate (identification of FTIs). There were strong effects of FTI view difficulty (rotation of FTIs) and superposition of FTIs by other objects in the x-ray image of a passenger bag. The amount of opacity in the x-ray image of a passenger bag had a small although significant effect on detection performance. The two image based factors clutter and bag size did not have a significant effect. Experiment 2 was conducted using an offline-test in order to provide controlled and more detailed data for analyzing the image based factors from Experiment 1, as well as the human factor of training. In particular the individual factors’ main effects on detection performance, main effects of all factors taken together and factor interactions were analyzed. In the test design the following image-based factors were varied systematically: Threat (FTI) category (guns, knives, improvised explosive devices, other threats), view difficulty, superposition, bag complexity (a combination of opacity and clutter) and bag size. Data were collected from 200 screening officers at five sites across Europe. For screener training all five sites use the same computerbased training system. Consistent with the results obtained in Experiment 1, there were large main effects of threat (FTI) category, view difficulty, and superposition. Again consistent with Experiment 1, effects of bag complexity (opacity and clutter) and bag size were much smaller. In addition to Experiment 1, the number of computer based training (CBT) hours was available for each security officer participating in the study. Training turned out to be a key driver to improving threat detection performance in x-ray screening and seemed to mediate the effects of some image based factors. Possible implications regarding the enhancement of humanmachine interaction in x-ray screening are discussed.
Growth of Caenorhabditis elegans in Defined Media Is Dependent on Presence of Particulate Matter

Caenorhabditis elegans are typically cultured in a monoxenic medium consisting of live bacteria. However, this introduces a secondary organism to experiments, and restricts the manipulation of the nutritional environment. Due to the intricate link between genes and environment, greater control and understanding of nutritional factors are required to push the C. elegans field into new areas. For decades, attempts to develop a chemically defined, axenic medium as an alternative for culturing C. elegans have been made. However, the mechanism by which the filter feeder C. elegans obtains nutrients from these liquid media is not known. Using a fluorescence-activated cell sorting based approach, we demonstrate growth in all past axenic C. elegans media to be dependent on the presence of previously unknown particles. This particle requirement of C. elegans led to development of liposome-based, nanoparticle culturing that allows full control of nutrients delivered to C. elegans.
Opioid Prescriptions for Chronic Pain and Overdose

BACKGROUND Long-term opioid therapy for chronic noncancer pain is becoming increasingly common in community practice. Concomitant with this change in practice, rates of fatal opioid overdose have increased. The extent to which overdose risks are elevated among patients receiving medically prescribed long-term opioid therapy is unknown. OBJECTIVE To estimate rates of opioid overdose and their association with an average prescribed daily opioid dose among patients receiving medically prescribed, long-term opioid therapy. DESIGN Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate overdose risk as a function of average daily opioid dose (morphine equivalents) received at the time of overdose. SETTING HMO. PATIENTS 9940 persons who received 3 or more opioid prescriptions within 90 days for chronic noncancer pain between 1997 and 2005. MEASUREMENTS Average daily opioid dose over the previous 90 days from automated pharmacy data. Primary outcomes--nonfatal and fatal overdoses--were identified through diagnostic codes from inpatient and outpatient care and death certificates and were confirmed by medical record review. RESULTS 51 opioid-related overdoses were identified, including 6 deaths. Compared with patients receiving 1 to 20 mg/d of opioids (0.2% annual overdose rate), patients receiving 50 to 99 mg/d had a 3.7-fold increase in overdose risk (95% CI, 1.5 to 9.5) and a 0.7% annual overdose rate. Patients receiving 100 mg/d or more had an 8.9-fold increase in overdose risk (CI, 4.0 to 19.7) and a 1.8% annual overdose rate. LIMITATIONS Increased overdose risk among patients receiving higher dose regimens may be due to confounding by patient differences and by use of opioids in ways not intended by prescribing physicians. The small number of overdoses in the study cohort is also a limitation. CONCLUSION Patients receiving higher doses of prescribed opioids are at increased risk for overdose, which underscores the need for close supervision of these patients. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE National Institute of Drug Abuse.
The ethical nature of critical research in information systems

Abstract. Critical research in information systems is based on and inspired by ethics and morality. In order to support this proposition, this paper will suggest a way of classifying critical research that differs from definitions common IS research. According to the current definition, research is critical when it is motivated by the intention to change social realities and promote emancipation. Based on this critical intention, critical research is furthermore characterized by critical topics, critical theories, and critical methodologies. Using these criteria of critical research, the paper argues that critical research is ethical in nature. To support this view, the paper introduces the concepts of ethics and morality by analysing two traditions of moral philosophy, here called the ‘German tradition’ and the ‘French tradition’. Using three examples of current critical research in information systems, the paper will show that ethics and morality strongly influence critical intention, topics and theories. Having thus established the ethical nature of critical research, the paper concludes by discussing the weaknesses of critical research from the point of view of ethics and morality.
Revisiting Environmental Citizenship

This study proposes, from a cross-national perspective, a model of environmental citizenship that includes predictors at the individual and contextual levels. The model is based on multiple theoretical considerations from environmental sociology, media studies, and economics. The study, based on secondary data, reports that at the individual level, media use, environmental concern, and postmaterialism positively predict environmental citizenship. However, the data also allow to test whether the effects of these variables vary depending on social and environmental contexts. Beyond the individual level, results show that, overall, the effect of environmental concern is stronger in countries with better environment quality. The results also show that economic development at the country level positively explains a stronger effect of postmaterialism on environmental citizenship than in less developed countries. The study shows that environmental citizenship is stronger in countries with lower levels of environment quality, and in countries with less developed media systems.
Diversity of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated from Residents of 26 Nursing Homes in Orange County, California

ABSTRACT Nursing homes represent a unique and important methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) reservoir. Not only are strains imported from hospitals and the community, strains can be transported back into these settings from nursing homes. Since MRSA bacteria are prevalent in nursing homes and yet relatively poorly studied in this setting, a multicenter, regional assessment of the frequency and diversity of MRSA in the nursing home reservoir was carried out and compared to that of the MRSA from hospitals in the same region. The prospective study collected MRSA from nasal swabbing of residents of 26 nursing homes in Orange County, California, and characterized each isolate by spa typing. A total of 837 MRSA isolates were collected from the nursing homes. Estimates of admission prevalence and point prevalence of MRSA were 16% and 26%, respectively. The spa type genetic diversity was heterogeneous between nursing homes and significantly higher overall (77%) than the diversity in Orange County hospitals (72%). MRSA burden in nursing homes appears largely due to importation from hospitals. As seen in Orange County hospitals, USA300 (sequence type 8 [ST8]/t008), USA100 (ST5/t002), and a USA100 variant (ST5/t242) were the dominant MRSA clones in Orange County nursing homes, representing 83% of all isolates, although the USA100 variant was predominant in nursing homes, whereas USA300 was predominant in hospitals. Control strategies tailored to the complex problem of MRSA transmission and infection in nursing homes are needed in order to minimize the impact of this unique reservoir on the overall regional MRSA burden.
Contribution of Virtual Reality for Lines Production’s Simulation in a Lean Manufacturing Environment

—In an increasingly competitive world, the responsiveness has become essential to improve the performance of companies. Accordingly a large number of companies have implemented the Lean approach. This approach is a production management method based on waste elimination and just-in-time production. This leads manufacturers to update and adapt their ways of production management and so reorganize the production lines to reduce costs, minimize delays as well as optimize their flexibility. To do this, the use of the Virtual Reality (VR) in the lines production's simulation would offer many advantages. Thus, this technology would allow users to interact with simulation model in real-time and in a 3D format. However, few works have integrated virtual reality in the field of simulation in Lean manufacturing environment. The objective of this paper is to propose a method of simulation of production flows in a virtual environment in real time. To this end, we will review the traditional industrial tools in the field of production simulation. Then we will present the main advantages of using the VR to the manufacturing processes in a lean environment. Finally a global software solution which integrates VR will be proposed and an example of its application to simulate lines production in VR will be presented.
PMHT for tracking with timing uncertainty

This paper considers the problem of tracking a target using measurements where the temporal information is noisy or unreliable. The measurements are modelled as being received with a stochastic time delay. By treating the true measurement time as missing data and using Expectation-Maximisation, a modified version of the Probabilistic Multi Hypothesis Tracker (PMHT) is derived for the uncertain timing problem. This modified PMHT thus associates each measurement to the targets and to time instants. The method is demonstrated using simulations and the improvement quantified over using the standard PMHT in ignorance of the noisy time data.
Doubly-fed induction machine as generator in wind power plant: nonlinear control algorithms with direct decoupling

Currently the doubly fed induction machine (DFIM) is often used in wind power plants. The digital rotor current controller is always based on DFIM models linearized within a sampling period which does not correspond to the nonlinear nature of the DFIM. The paper deals with a nonlinear control scheme with direct decoupling and presents some first investigation results. This new controller helps to improve ride-through of the wind turbine during grid faults
Vivax malaria: a major cause of morbidity in early infancy.

BACKGROUND In areas where malaria is endemic, infants aged <3 months appear to be relatively protected from symptomatic and severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria, but less is known about the effect of Plasmodium vivax infection in this age group. METHODS To define malaria morbidity in the first year of life in an area where both multidrug-resistant P. falciparum and P. vivax are highly prevalent, data were gathered on all infants attending a referral hospital in Papua, Indonesia, using systematic data forms and hospital computerized records. Additional clinical and laboratory data were prospectively collected from inpatients aged <3 months. RESULTS From April 2004 through April 2008, 4976 infants were admitted to the hospital, of whom 1560 (31%) had malaria, with infection equally attributable to P. falciparum and P. vivax. The case-fatality rate was similar for inpatients with P. falciparum malaria (13 [2.2%] of 599 inpatients died) and P. vivax malaria (6 [1.0%] of 603 died; P= .161), whereas severe malarial anemia was more prevalent among those with P. vivax malaria (193 [32%] of 605 vs. 144 [24%] of 601; P= .025). Of the 187 infants aged <3 months, 102 (56%) had P. vivax malaria, and 55 (30%) had P. falciparum malaria. In these young infants, infection with P. vivax was associated with a greater risk of severe anemia (odds ratio, 2.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-5.91; P= .041) and severe thrombocytopenia (odds ratio, 3.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-10.6; P= .036) compared with those who have P. falciparum infection. CONCLUSIONS P. vivax malaria is a major cause of morbidity in early infancy. Preventive strategies, early diagnosis, and prompt treatment should be initiated in the perinatal period.
Perirhinal and Parahippocampal Cortices Differentially Contribute to Later Recollection of Object- and Scene-Related Event Details

How the different elements of our experiences are encoded into episodic memories has remained one of the major questions in memory research. Although the pivotal role of the medial temporal lobe as a whole for memory formation is well established, much controversy surrounds the precise contributions of the subregions in the medial temporal lobe cortex (MTLC), most notably the perirhinal cortex (PrC) and the parahippocampal cortex (PhC). Although one prominent view links PrC processes with familiarity-based memory and PhC with recollection, an alternative organizing principle is the representational domain critical for successful memory performance (e.g., object- versus scene-related information). In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we directly compared successful source encoding during object versus scene imagery, holding perceptual input constant across the two representational domains. Although the hippocampus contributed to associative encoding of both object and scene information, our results revealed a clear double dissociation between PrC and PhC for object- versus scene-related source encoding. In particular, PrC, but not PhC, encoding activation predicted later source memory for the object imagery task, whereas PhC, but not PrC, encoding activation predicted later source memory for the scene imagery task. Interestingly, the transitional zone between PrC and posterior PhC contributed to both object and scene source encoding, possibly reflecting a gradient in domain preference along MTLC. In sum, these results strongly point to representational domain as a key factor determining the involvement of different MTLC subregions during successful episodic memory formation.