Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mild head injury in children : incidence, etiology and neuropsychological sequelae : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

The present study examined the incidence, etiology and neuropsychological sequelae of head injury in an Intermediate School aged sample (11-13 years) . The study was conducted in two parts. The first part examine the incidence, etiology and awareness of the consequences of head injury, this information was obtained thorough the screening questionnaire. Of the 173 participants who completed the questionnaire, 41 % ( 4 2 males and 29 female) reported that they had sustained a head injury, of these, 33 . 8% reported sustaining more than one injury. In line with the current research, the majority of the head injuries sustained were mild . The gender difference observed in the literature were also reported in the present study, in that males not only sustained more head injuries than females, with a ratio of 1: 1.4, they also sustained more severe injuries. Sport was found to be the most common cause of head injury, with those reporting a head injury playing significantly more hours of sport per week than those who had not sustained an injury. And finally, the level of awareness of the symptoms of head injuries was investigated and it was found that those who had sustained a head injury were more aware of the consequences than the participants who had not sustained a head injury. For part two of the study, 43 participants (24 with head injury and 19 controls) were selected to complete a variety of neuropsychological measures and behavioural rating questionnaires. The measures selected were reported to be sensitive to the effects of mild head injury and assessed long and short term memory, attention, concentration, information processing and learning. The results showed that the only statistically significant differences between the head injury and control groups were on the Interference Trial and Trials 6 and 7 of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test. In conclusion, it was found that head injury and multiple head injuries are prevalent in this age group, with the majority of injuries being light or mild. With respect to gender differences and the etiology of head injuries the findings in the present study are in line with current trends. However, small sample sizes meant that comparisons of neuropsychological functioning could not accurately be made between the severity of injuries and the number of injuries.
Modeling human comprehension of Swedish medical records for intelligent access and summarization systems - Future vision, a physician's perspective

Physicians are daily demanded to read, understand and reach a summarized comprehension of earlier documentation for the patient at hand. This documentation includes medical procedures and clinical findings such as symptoms, observations, and diagnoses but also reasoning and speculation by previous physicians and nurses. The information is sometimes hidden in free-text in such a way that it requires an experienced medical background to decipher. Medical records are typically written with incomplete sentences, abbreviations, and medical jargon. A wanted tool when reading electronic health records is computer generated text summaries with the possibility to pose questions to an intelligent search tool. To realize this it is necessary to build models of how physicians read and understand unstructured free-text in medical records.
Reduced progression of atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E‐deficient mice treated with lacidipine is associated with a decreased susceptibility of low‐density lipoprotein to oxidation

A study has been carried out in the apolipoprotein (apo) E‐deficient mouse to investigate the activity of lacidipine (a calcium antagonist with antioxidant properties) in inhibiting the development of atherosclerotic lesions; of particular interest were changes in the susceptibility of low‐density lipoproteins (LDL) to oxidation. Mice receiving a Western‐type diet to accelerate the development of atherosclerosis were treated orally with vehicle or lacidipine at 3 or 10 mg/kg/day for 8 weeks. Lacidipine treatment (at 3 or 10 mg/kg) had no effect on the plasma lipid profile. However, a significant (P < 0.01) dose‐related reduction of 43 and 50% of the aortic lesion area in respect to vehicle‐treated mice was observed. Moreover, the resistance of mouse plasma LDL to undergo lipid peroxidation was significantly (P < 0.01) increased in apo E‐deficient mice treated with lacidipine. The native LDL‐like particle, derived from apo E‐deficient mice treated with lacidipine, contained significantly lower concentrations of malonyldialdehyde than the vehicle‐treated control group (P < 0.01). After exposure to human umbilical vein endothelial cells, LDL‐like particle vitamin E levels (expressed as area under the curve; AUC), were significantly higher (P < 0.01) in both the 3 and 10 mg/kg lacidipine‐treated groups, in comparison with the vehicle‐treated control animals. We conclude that lacidipine reduced the extent of the atherosclerotic area in hypercholesterolaemic apo E‐deficient mice, and that this reduction may be associated with the capacity of the drug to decrease the susceptibility of LDL to oxidation.
Talking with a Virtual Human: Controlling the Human Experience and Behavior in a Virtual Conversation

Virtual humans are often designed to replace real humans in virtual reality applications for e.g., psychotherapy, education and entertainment. In general, applications with virtual humans are created for modifying a person's knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, emotions or behaviors. Reaching these intended goals, however, strongly depends on being able to control the conversation in these applications. Obviously important aspects to control such a conversation are speech recognition and natural language understanding and generation, but besides these aspects also the behavior of virtual humans and objects in the virtual environment may potentially influence the simulated conversation, and therefore, its effectiveness. Understanding which factors in a virtual environment may affect the dialog between a human and a virtual human, and finding ways to control the human experience and behavior during the conversation are the main aims of this thesis. Three main elements that characterize a conversation between a human and a virtual human were identified, i.e., the surrounding environment, the virtual conversation partner, and the virtual bystanders. Four separated empirical studies were conducted to investigate the effect of these three main elements in the domain of virtual reality exposure therapy for treating social anxiety disorders. The results show that priming materials in the virtual environment such as videos and pictures have a guiding effect on humans having a conversation with a virtual human. Also, emotions expressed when the virtual human speaks are perceived as more intense than emotions expressed when the virtual human listens, and emotions expressed while speaking had a larger effect on people's valence and discussion satisfaction. Furthermore, a positive attitude of the virtual conversation partner, i.e., a happy facial expression while constantly looking at the human conversation partner, and speaking with a positive voice intonation, elicits a more positive emotional state in humans as compared to a negative attitude, i.e., an angry facial expression while looking at the human conversation partner, and speaking with a negative voice intonation. Similarly, a positive attitude of virtual bystanders towards a person, i.e., happy facial expressions and whispering positive comments about the person's behavior, evokes more self-efficacy and less anxiety showing less avoidance behavior in the person compared to a negative attitude of the bystanders, i.e., angry facial expressions and whispering negative comments. In conclusion, by manipulating virtual objects, the virtual conversation partner or virtual bystanders, a therapist may affect the behavior, emotions and beliefs of a person.
Programming with Threads : Synchronization and Communication ∗

∗This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. †dheck@gmx.de multiple code paths—the threads—in parallel. Compared to other models of concurrency, the defining property of threads is that all threads in a program have shared access to the program’s memory. Used correctly, threads are a powerful and efficient technique for solving a wide variety of concurrent programming tasks. But programmers new to multithreaded programming face a steep learning curve. First they have to deal with concurrency itself and develop suitable mental models for reasoning about things like parallel execution or the communication of concurrent entities. But in addition, they also have to unlearn proven techniques from sequential programming that are problematic in a concurrent setting. We will see, for example, that dynamic dispatch (one of the cornerstones of object-oriented programming) and the shared address space (one of the cornerstones of imperative programming) are a lot more difficult to handle once concurrency enters the picture. The main purpose of this article is to collect general techniques for thinking about concurrency and for designing and programming with threads. The first three sections briefly review the fundamentals of multithreaded programming. We begin with a short overview of threads in general: how to start and stop them and how to control their execution. In Section 3, we discuss mutexes, which are a fundamental technique for controlling concurrent access to shared resources by preventing two threads from accessing the same resource simultaneously. More powerful synchronization mechanisms, such as waiting for other threads or actively negotiating the order in which shared resources are accessed, can be constructed by combining mutexes with condition variables (Section 4). Although mutexes and condition variables are important building blocks and can be used to solve most synchronization and communication problems, they are fairly low-level techniques, and using them correctly requires a lot of attention to detail. Multithreaded programming becomes more manageable when we give up some of the flexibility of mutexes and condition variables and turn to higher-level synchronization and communication facilities. We will discuss two such facilities in the second half of the article.
Impaired quality of life in adults with X-linked hypophosphatemia and skeletal symptoms.

OBJECTIVE Adults with X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) may suffer from skeletal symptoms leading to functional disability. No data on their quality of life (QoL) have been reported so far. Our objectives were to evaluate the QoL and its determinants in XLH adults. PATIENTS AND METHODS We conducted a prospective study in XLH adults, who consulted for musculoskeletal symptoms between 2013 and 2014. We assessed their QoL using HAQ, RAPID3 and SF36, and analysed the variables associated with low QoL. We compared their QoL to that of patients affected with axial spondyloarthritis (ax-SpA) (paired on age and gender), a rheumatologic disorder with a known low QoL. RESULTS Fifty-two XLH adults (37 women (71.1%); mean age 41.8±13.3 years) were included; 44 (84.6%) patients had an altered QoL. Increased age and presence of structural lesions were significantly associated with worse QoL (HAQ, RAPID3) (P<0.05). Presence of enthesopathies was significantly associated with worse RAPID3 (OR=4.45 (1.09-18.29), P=0.038). Treatment with phosphate supplements and vitamin D in XLH adults were significantly associated with a better SF36-mental component score (OR=0.14 (0.03-0.57), P=0.007 and OR=0.26 (0.07-0.98), P=0.047 respectively). QoL was significantly worse in XLH than in ax-SpA adults (VAS pain, SF36-PCS, RAPID3) (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Our study showed i) QoL of XLH adults is altered and significantly worse than that of ax-SpA patients (VAS pain, SF36-PCS and RAPID3), ii) structural lesions and especially enthesopathies are associated with a worse QoL and iii) treatment using phosphate supplements and/or vitamin D is associated with a better mental health score.
Safety aspects of human exposure to ultra wideband radar fields

This paper addresses the safety aspects of people exposed to the field emitted by ultra wideband (UWB) radar operating both in the spatial environment and on ground. The basic restrictions and field exposure levels reported in the ICNIRP safety guideline are considered, and the compliance of fields transmitted by a UWB radar with these limits is verified. Furthermore, the interaction of the radiated field with the human body is studied considering a layered body model. The obtained results show that both basic restrictions and reference levels issued by ICNIRP are largely satisfied, and that less than half of the incident power is absorbed in the body.
Efficient Image Set Classification Using Linear Regression Based Image Reconstruction

We propose a novel image set classification technique using linear regression models. Downsampled gallery image sets are interpreted as subspaces of a high dimensional space to avoid the computationally expensive training step. We estimate regression models for each test image using the class specific gallery subspaces. Images of the test set are then reconstructed using the regression models. Based on the minimum reconstruction error between the reconstructed and the original images, a weighted voting strategy is used to classify the test set. We performed extensive evaluation on the benchmark UCSD/Honda, CMU Mobo and YouTube Celebrity datasets for face classification, and ETH-80 dataset for object classification. The results demonstrate that by using only a small amount of training data, our technique achieved competitive classification accuracy and superior computational speed compared with the state-of-the-art methods.
Spike Timing-Dependent Plasticity in the Long-Latency Stretch Reflex Following Paired Stimulation from a Wearable Electronic Device

The long-latency stretch reflex (LLSR) in human elbow muscles probably depends on multiple pathways; one possible contributor is the reticulospinal tract. Here we attempted to induce plastic changes in the LLSR by pairing noninvasive stimuli that are known to activate reticulospinal pathways, at timings predicted to cause spike timing-dependent plasticity in the brainstem. In healthy human subjects, reflex responses in flexor muscles were recorded following extension perturbations at the elbow. Subjects were then fitted with a portable device that delivered auditory click stimuli through an earpiece, and electrical stimuli around motor threshold to the biceps muscle via surface electrodes. We tested the following four paradigms: biceps stimulus 10 ms before click (Bi-10ms-C); click 25 ms before biceps (C-25ms-Bi); click alone (C only); and biceps alone (Bi only). The average stimulus rate was 0.67 Hz. Subjects left the laboratory wearing the device and performed normal daily activities. Approximately 7 h later, they returned, and stretch reflexes were remeasured. The LLSR was significantly enhanced in the biceps muscle (on average by 49%) after the Bi-10ms-C paradigm, but was suppressed for C-25ms-Bi (by 31%); it was unchanged for Bi only and C only. No paradigm induced LLSR changes in the unstimulated brachioradialis muscle. Although we cannot exclude contributions from spinal or cortical pathways, our results are consistent with spike timing-dependent plasticity in reticulospinal circuits, specific to the stimulated muscle. This is the first demonstration that the LLSR can be modified via paired-pulse methods, and may open up new possibilities in motor systems neuroscience and rehabilitation. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This report is the first demonstration that the long-latency stretch reflex can be modified by repeated, precisely timed pairing of stimuli known to activate brainstem pathways. Furthermore, pairing was achieved with a portable electronic device capable of delivering many more stimulus repetitions than conventional laboratory studies. Our findings open up new possibilities for basic research into these underinvestigated pathways, which are important for motor control in healthy individuals. They may also lead to paradigms capable of enhancing rehabilitation in patients recovering from damage, such as after stroke or spinal cord injury.
Designing for User and Brand Experience via Company-wide Experience Goals

Although user experience is a prominent topic in the field of human-computer interaction, designing for user experiences that are in line with the corporate brand identity is rare. In this paper, we discuss the relation of brand experience and user experience, and suggest combining the forces of experience designers and marketing people to deliver a consistent, strong experience in all touch points between the company and its external stakeholders. We report a work-in-progress case from one company as an example of how company-wide experience goals can be defined for enabling consistent experience in all touch points. We propose experience design researchers to pay more attention to brand experience and to all touch points.
Issues of Fish Consumption for Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction

Increasing fish consumption is recommended for intake of omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids and to confer benefits for the risk reduction of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Most Americans are not achieving intake levels that comply with current recommendations. It is the goal of this review to provide an overview of the issues affecting this shortfall of intake. Herein we describe the relationship between fish intake and CVD risk reduction as well as the other nutritional contributions of fish to the diet. Currently recommended intake levels are described and estimates of fish consumption at a food disappearance and individual level are reported. Risk and benefit factors influencing the choice to consume fish are outlined. The multiple factors influencing fish availability from global capture and aquaculture are described as are other pertinent issues of fish nutrition, production, sustainability, and consumption patterns. This review highlights some of the work that needs to be carried out to meet the demand for fish and to positively affect intake levels to meet fish intake recommendations for CVD risk reduction.
An Official -Journal of the American Heart Association Progressive Coronary Vasoconstriction during Relative Ischemia in Canine Myocardium

Under certain conditions, a progressive increase in vascular resistance occurs within ischemic myocardium during the first 3 hours after coronary artery stenosis. We tested the hypothesis that the increased resistance is due to local release of a vasoconstrictor substance in the ischemic region. Relative ischemia was produced in anesthetized dogs by a combination of acute coronary arterial stenosis and increased myocardial metabolism. A hydraulic occluder on the left anterior descending coronary artery was adjusted to maintain distal left anterior descending coronary artery pressure at 50 mm Hg during atrial pacing at 180 beats/min. Myocardial blood flows were measured with 15 fim microspheres after 30 and 180 minutes of relative ischemia. During this time, transmural left anterior descending coronary artery flow decreased by an average of 30%. Infusion of adenosine into the ischemic region after 180 minutes produced a 74 ± 17% increase in flow, indicating the presence of substantial vasodilator reserve. Stimulation of metabolism in the ischemic area by norepinephrine infusion increased flow by 54 ± 17%. Indomethacin treatment after 180 minutes of ischemia, however, caused left anterior descending coronary artery flow to decrease by 22 ± 8%. a-Receptor blockade (phenoxybenzamine) in the left anterior descending coronary artery bed prior to ischemia prevented the flow decrease between 30 and 180 minutes. Phentolamine administration after 180 minutes also resulted in increased left anterior descending coronary artery flow. However, the addition of propranolol to phenoxybenzamine-treated hearts reversed the vasodilatory influence of phenoxybenzamine, resulting in a flow decrease within the ischemic region similar to that seen without any pharmacological intervention. We conclude that during 3 hours of relative ischemia in this preparation, blood vessels in the ischemic area (1) are not maximally dilated, and (2) undergo a progressive vasoconstriction via an unknown mechanism. Phenoxybenzamine prevents the progressive vasoconstriction, apparently by increasing norepinephrine release. (Circ Res 51: 411-420, 1982)
Loss of heterozygosity on chromosomes 11 and 17 are markers of recurrence in TCC of the bladder

Approximately 2/3 of patients diagnosed with superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder (TCC) will recur within 2 years. Loss of chromosome 9 and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 9q34 in index TCCs identify a subset of patients at high risk of recurrence. This study explores genetic alterations on chromosomes 4, 8, 11 and 17 as predictors of recurrence. A total of 109 carcinomas were investigated at 26 loci. DNA was extracted from microdissected archival normal/tumour tissue and was analysed for loss of heterozygosity (LOH). Fluorescent PCR was performed and genotyping carried out on a Perkin Elmer ABI377 sequencer. LOH of D11S490 or D17S928 was significantly more frequent in index carcinomas of patients who experienced recurrence compared to those with no recurrence (P = 0.004 and 0.019 respectively). These results suggest that loss of these regions is associated with recurrence of TCC. Further investigation is required to identify genes in these regions, which might be responsible for driving recurrence in TCC of the urinary bladder. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign
Haptic Object Localization in the Vibrissal System: Behavior and Performance

Using their large mystacial vibrissas, rats perform a variety of tasks, including localization and identification of objects. We report on the discriminatory thresholds and behavior of rats trained in a horizontal object localization task. Using an adaptive training procedure, rats learned to discriminate offsets in horizontal (anteroposterior) location with all, one row, or one arc of whiskers intact, but not when only a single whisker (C2) was intact on each cheek. However, rats initially trained with multiple whiskers typically improved when retested later with a single whisker intact. Individual rats reached localization thresholds as low as 0.24 mm (∼1°). Among the tested groups, localization acuity was finest (<1.5 mm) with rats that were initially trained with all whiskers and then trimmed to one arc of whiskers intact. Horizontal acuity was finer than the typical inter-vibrissal spacing (∼4.8 mm at contact points). Performance correlated with the net whisking spectral power in the range of 5–25 Hz but not in nonwhisking range of 30–50 Hz. Lesioning the facial motor nerves reduced performance to chance level. We conclude that horizontal object localization in the rat vibrissal system can reach hyperacuity level and is an active sensing process: whisker movements are both required and beneficiary, in a graded manner, for making accurate positional judgments.