Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale: an interview-based assessment and its relationship to cognition, real-world functioning, and functional capacity.

OBJECTIVE Interview-based measures of cognition may serve as potential coprimary measures in clinical trials of cognitive-enhancing drugs for schizophrenia. However, there is no such valid scale available. Interviews of patients and their clinicians are not valid in that they are unrelated to patients' levels of cognitive impairment as assessed by cognitive performance tests. This study describes the reliability and validity of a new interview-based assessment of cognition, the Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale (SCoRS), that involves interviews with patients and informants. METHOD Sixty patients with schizophrenia were assessed with the SCoRS and three potential validators of an interview-based measure of cognition: cognitive performance, as measured by the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS); real-world functioning, as measured by the Independent Living Skills Inventory; and functional capacity, as measured by the University of California, San Diego, Performance-Based Skills Assessment (UPSA). RESULTS The SCoRS global ratings were significantly correlated with composite scores of cognitive performance and functional capacity and with ratings of real-world functioning. Multiple regression analyses suggested that SCoRS global ratings predicted unique variance in real-world functioning beyond that predicted by the performance measures. CONCLUSIONS An interview-based measure of cognition that included informant reports was related to cognitive performance as well as real-world functioning. Interview-based measures of cognition, such as the SCoRS, may be valid coprimary measures for clinical trials assessing cognitive change and may also aid clinicians desiring to assess patients' level of cognitive impairment.
Barium dierbium(III) tetrasulfide

Barium dierbium(III) tetrasulfide, BaEr2S4, crystallizes with four formula units in the orthorhombic space group Pnma in the CaFe2O4 structure type. The asymmetric unit contains two Er, one Ba, and four S atoms, each with . m. site symmetry. The structure consists of channels formed by corner- and edge-sharing ErS6 octahedra in which Ba atoms reside. The resultant coordination of Ba is that of a bicapped trigonal prism.
Evolution of Geriatric Medicine: Midcareer Faculty Continuing the Dialogue

We read the article by Tinetti 1 and accompanying editorial by Kane and colleagues with great interest. During our careers as Geriatricians, these and other remarkable dedicated physicians drew us into this challenging field and continue to motivate us as clinicians, educators, mentors, and scientists. Close colleagues and friends for almost 2 decades since we met through the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Junior Faculty Research Career Development Special Interest Group, the four of us meet at the annual meeting of the AGS, doggedly united in our hope that, when we retire, we will be able to say that the lives of older people have improved because of the work we did. So when Dr. Tinetti wrote ‘to stop whining’, it caught our attention and inspired us. James Macgregor Burns, a historian and a political scientist famously said: “Transformational leadership occurs when one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality. ” Motivated by Dr. Tinetti’s article and after many heartfelt e-mail and telephone conversations, we feel compelled to contribute our thoughts from “midcareer. ” We agree with Dr. Tinetti that Geriatrics is a ‘metadiscipline’, we do not market ourselves well and Geriatricians are elite. However, we disagree with the notion that our field should be narrowed to be considered experts in multimorbidity and complex medicine.
Disparities in Birth Outcomes by Neighborhood Income: Temporal Trends in Rural and Urban Areas, British Columbia

Background: Knowledge of socioeconomic disparities in health is of interest to both the general public and public health policymakers. It is unclear how disparities in birth outcomes by socioeconomic status have changed over time, particularly in settings with universal health insurance and favorable socioeconomic conditions. Methods: We identified a cohort of all births (n = 713,950) registered in British Columbia, 1985–2000. We compared rates and relative risks (RRs) of preterm birth, small-for-gestational-age (SGA), stillbirth, and neonatal and postneonatal death across neighborhood-income quintiles from Q1 (richest, the reference) to Q5 (poorest) by 4-year intervals in rural and urban areas. Logistic regression was used to control for maternal and pregnancy characteristics. Results: Maternal characteristics varied widely across neighborhood-income quintiles in both rural and urban areas. There were moderate and persistent disparities in birth outcomes across neighborhood-income quintiles in urban but not rural areas. The relative disparities in urban areas did not diminish over time for all birth outcomes and actually rose for postneonatal mortality. For example, crude RRs (95% confidence intervals) for Q5 versus Q1 in urban areas for SGA were 1.44 (1.37–1.52) in 1985–1988 and 1.41 (1.33–1.49) in 1997–2000; for postneonatal death, the corresponding results were 1.61 (1.17–2.20) and 2.20 (1.24–3.92), respectively. Most of the observed disparities could not be explained by observed maternal and pregnancy characteristics. Conclusion: Moderate disparities in birth outcomes by neighborhood income persist in urban areas (although not rural areas) of British Columbia, despite a universal health insurance system and generally favorable socioeconomic conditions.
Differences in serological responses and excretion patterns of volunteers challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli with and without the colonization factor antigen

Double-blind studies were performed to compare the virulence of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli with and without the fimbriate colonization factor antigen (CFA), using young healthy adults (mean age, 23 years) as volunteers. In the first study one group of volunteers ingested 1 X 10(6) E. coli H-10407, the CFA-positive strain, and another group ingested 1 X 10(6) E. coli H-10407-P, the CFA-negative spontaneous derivative of strain H-10407. The second study was similar except that the test strains were administered at a dose of 1 X 10(8) viable cells. Three parameters of infection were monitored: (i) diarrhea and associated symptoms; (ii) excretion pattern of test strains; and (iii) humoral antibody response to CFA, somatic antigen, and heat-labile enterotoxin. Significant signs of illness occurred only in six of seven volunteers who ingested E. coli H-10407 at a dose of 1 X 10(8). At both doses, E. coli H-10407-P appeared in the stool on day 1 postchallenge and disappeared by day 4. In contrast, strain H-10407 was persistently excreted from the first to the last day of the study. Also, only those volunteers in the H-10407 challenge groups (12 of 13 analyzed) responded with a fourfold antibody titer rise to CFA, somatic antigen, and/or heat-labile enterotoxin. No reversion of H-10407-P to H-10407 was detected.
Exploración de aguas subterráneas en ambientes desérticos

El paisaje desertico nos ofrece estampas de gran belleza que tradicionalmente han despertado la fascinacion y el interes por sus misterios. Pero, mas alla de estas motivaciones, los ambientes deserticos presentan una problematica muy preocupante: la escasez de agua. Una situacion en la que juegan un papel fundamental los acuiferos subterraneos y la gestion que se haga de ellos. Nos situamos en el borde suroriental de Marruecos, en el limite con la frontera de Argelia. Alli se ubica el imponente sistema lunar del Erg Chebbi, una franja arenosa de 156 km2 de superficie. Representa una reserva de agua subterranea que durante decadas ha abastecido a las poblaciones que se asientan en sus alrededores. En los ultimos anos, el desarrollo turistico, atraido por la belleza y la singularidad de este paisaje de dunas, ha motivado la creacion de complejos hoteleros, con el consiguiente incremento de la demanda de recursos hidricos subterraneos. En este programa vamos a adentrarnos en la exploracion de aguas subterraneas en ambientes deserticos. Conoceremos algunas nociones generales sobre el comportamiento de estas aguas. Y nos centraremos en el ejemplo del Erg Chebbi, en las conclusiones que se extraen de los distintos estudios que se han llevado a cabo en la zona, y en las reflexiones acerca de una gestion adecuada de los recursos hidrologicos.
Sources of variation in piezoresistive stress sensor measurements

Piezoresistive stress sensors are widely used to characterize semiconductor die stresses. Packaging stresses induce a small change in resistance in the sensors and they are highly sensitive to factors such as temperature and processing conditions. Thus, accurate stress prediction requires calibration and knowledge of all sources of variation in the resistance response of the sensors. This paper quantifies the effect of process variations and demonstrates that die level tracability is critical to ensure accurate stress prediction.
Aceptación y flexibilidad psicológica ante el contexto docente: un estudio piloto

Resumen. Se presenta un estudio piloto en el que participaron profesores universitarios dirigido a conocer la utilidad de una intervencion orientada a desarrollar competencias para la gestion de emociones y a la clarificacion de valores desde la perspectiva de la aceptacion psicologica tal como se entiende en la Terapia de Aceptacion y Compromiso (Hayes, Strohsal y Wilson, 1999). El estudio permitio identificar emociones y pensamientos que pueden funcionar como barreras psicologicas en los docentes. Los resultados mostraron la utilidad de la intervencion en la adquisicion de competencias relacionadas con el aumento de la conciencia de las emociones, la aceptacion, y la persistencia a la hora de continuar actuando en direcciones consistentes con los propios valores a pesar de la presencia de las barreras. La mayoria de los participantes en los que las barreras estuvieron presentes mostraron descensos en la intensidad e interferencia de emociones y pensamientos. Se constato la necesidad en los profesores participantes de disponer de recursos que permitan hacer frente a emociones que forman parte del contexto docente.
Normal brain ageing: models and mechanisms

Normal ageing is associated with a degree of decline in a number of cognitive functions. Apart from the issues raised by the current attempts to expand the lifespan, understanding the mechanisms and the detailed metabolic interactions involved in the process of normal neuronal ageing continues to be a challenge. One model, supported by a significant amount of experimental evidence, views the cellular ageing as a metabolic state characterized by an altered function of the metabolic triad: mitochondria–reactive oxygen species (ROS)–intracellular Ca2+. The perturbation in the relationship between the members of this metabolic triad generate a state of decreased homeostatic reserve, in which the aged neurons could maintain adequate function during normal activity, as demonstrated by the fact that normal ageing is not associated with widespread neuronal loss, but become increasingly vulnerable to the effects of excessive metabolic loads, usually associated with trauma, ischaemia or neurodegenerative processes. This review will concentrate on some of the evidence showing altered mitochondrial function with ageing and also discuss some of the functional consequences that would result from such events, such as alterations in mitochondrial Ca2+ homeostasis, ATP production and generation of ROS.
Macrophages in vascular inflammation – From atherosclerosis to vasculitis

Abstract The spectrum of vascular inflammatory disease ranges from atherosclerosis and hypertension, widespread conditions affecting large proportions of the population, to the vasculitides, rare syndromes leading to fast and irreversible organ failure. Atherosclerosis progresses over decades, inevitably proceeding through multiple phases of disease and causes its major complications when the vessel wall lesion ruptures, giving rise to lumen-occlusive atherothrombosis. Vasculitides of medium and large arteries progress rapidly, causing tissue ischemia through lumen-occlusive intimal hyperplasia. In both disease entities, macrophages play a decisive role in pathogenesis, but function in the context of other immune cells that direct their differentiation and their functional commitments. In atherosclerosis, macrophages are involved in the removal of lipids and tissue debris and make a critical contribution to tissue damage and wall remodeling. In several of the vasculitides, macrophages contribute to granuloma formation, a microstructural platform optimizing macrophage–T-cell interactions, antigen containment and inflammatory amplification. By virtue of their versatility and plasticity, macrophages are able to promote a series of pathogenic functions, ranging from the release of cytokines and enzymes, the production of reactive oxygen species, presentation of antigen and secretion of tissue remodeling factors. However, as short-lived cells that lack memory, macrophages are also amendable to reprogramming, making them promising targets for anti-inflammatory interventions.
Interdisciplinary Training in Mathematical Biology through Team-based Undergraduate Research and Courses

Inspired by BIO2010 and leveraging institutional and external funding, Truman State University built an undergraduate program in mathematical biology with high-quality, faculty-mentored interdisciplinary research experiences at its core. These experiences taught faculty and students to bridge the epistemological gap between the mathematical and life sciences. Together they created the infrastructure that currently supports several interdisciplinary courses, an innovative minor degree, and long-term interdepartmental research collaborations. This article describes how the program was built with support from the National Science Foundation's Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in Biology and Mathematics program, and it shares lessons learned that will help other undergraduate institutions build their own program.
Guideline for opioid therapy and chronic noncancer pain

Chronic noncancer pain includes any painful condition that persists for at least three months and is not associated with malignant disease. [1][1] According to seven national surveys conducted between 1994 and 2008, 15%–19% of Canadian adults live with chronic noncancer pain. [2][2] Chronic
Actions, Length Functions, and Non-Archimedean Words

In this paper we survey recent developments in the theory of groups acting on Λ-trees. We are trying to unify all significant methods and techniques, both classical and recently developed, in an attempt to present various faces of the theory and to show how these methods can be used to solve major problems about finitely presented Λ-free groups. Besides surveying results known up to date we draw many new corollaries concerning structural and algorithmic properties of such groups.
Role of HCO3- ions in depolarizing GABAA receptor-mediated responses in pyramidal cells of rat hippocampus.

1. Activation of GABAA receptors can produce both hyperpolarizing and depolarizing responses in CA1 pyramidal cells. The hyperpolarizing response is mediated by a Cl- conductance, but the ionic basis of the depolarizing response is not clear. We compared the GABAA receptor-mediated depolarizations induced by synaptically released gamma-aminobutyric acid [GABA; depolarizing inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (dIPSPs)] with those produced by exogenous GABA (depolarizing GABA responses). Short trains of high-frequency (200 Hz) stimuli were used to generate dIPSPs. We found that dIPSPs generated by trains of stimuli and depolarizing responses to exogenous GABA were accompanied by a conductance increase and had a similar reversal potential, indicating a similar ionic basis for both responses. 2. We wished to determine whether an HCO3- current contributed to the GABAA-mediated depolarizations. We found that dIPSPs and depolarizing GABA responses were sensitive to perfusion with HCO3(-)-free medium. Interpretation of these data was complicated by the mixed nature of the responses: dIPSPs were invariably accompanied by conventional, Cl(-)-mediated fast hyperpolarizing IPSPs (fIPSPs), and response to exogenous GABA usually consisted of biphasic hyperpolarizing and depolarizing responses. However, it was sometimes possible to elicit responses to GABA that appeared purely depolarizing (monophasic depolarizing GABA responses). 3. We analyzed monophasic depolarizing GABA responses and found no change in reversal potential when slices were perfused with HCO(3-)-free medium. We also made whole-cell recordings from CA1 pyramidal cells, attempting to reduce [HCO3-]i, and compared the reversal potential for monophasic depolarizing GABA responses with similar responses recorded with fine intracellular microelectrodes. We found no difference in reversal potential. We also examined effects of the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor acetazolamide (ACTZ) on depolarizing GABA responses. ACTZ reduced these responses but did not change their reversal potential. 4. Effects of HCO(3-)-free medium were not specific to GABAA receptor-mediated responses. GABAB receptor-mediated slow IPSPs (sIPSPs) were also reduced, as were excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs). Analyses of field potentials and spontaneous fIPSPs suggested a decrease in presynaptic excitability during perfusion with HCO(3-)-free medium. In addition, pyramidal cells showed decreased input resistance when perfused with HCO(3-)-free medium. 5. The sensitivity of GABAA receptor-mediated depolarizations to HCO(3-)-free medium can be explained by a decrease in presynaptic excitability and an increased resting conductance in postsynaptic neurons. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Chloroflexus aurantiacus has 30S ribosomal subunits of the eubacterial type

Ribosomal subunits from Chloroflexus aurantiacus were isolated and examined by sucrose gradient sedimentation, gel electrophoresis, and electron microscopy. The 30S subunits had all the characteristic structural features of other eubacterial 30S subunits. The data support the proposal that the absence of the archaebacterial bill is a valid phylogenetic marker of the eubacterial lineage.
in the blizzard

This issue, guest-edited by poet and memoirist Nick Flynn, contains a diverse collection of poems, essays, and stories, from Eric Fair's essay Consequence, on being an interrogator at Abu Ghraib, to Major Jackson's list poem, "Why I Write Poetry. " This stylistically varied issue features emerging poets like Samuel Amadon and Sophie Klahr, as well as established writers such as Steve Almond, Mark Slouka, D. A. Powell, Claudia Rankine, Lauren Groff, and others.
Utility of a faceted catalog for scholarly research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine whether a faceted OPAC interface offers improvements to information discovery in scholarly research.Design/methodology/approach – The 5.2 million records of an entire library catalog were loaded into a faceted navigation interface and an attractive search term suggestion tool. Humanities PhD students at the dissertation level and familiar with this collection were observed while using this interface to continue their research into the literature on their dissertation topic.Findings – From a group of 12 subjects, nine reported finding materials that they had not found in their previous use of the traditional catalog interface.Research limitations/implications – No attempt is made to isolate the effects of relevance ranking on discovery from those of faceted navigation or the search term suggestions. The differences between the circumstances of scholars who did and did not find previously undiscovered materials are not examined.Practical implications – Fac.
Why doesn ’ t everyone develop type 2 diabetes ?

In 1962, the American geneticist James Neel (1915 – 2000) asked a fundamental question: Why are genes predisposing for obesity and type 2 diabetes so prevalent in the population? (1). These conditions increase morbidity and mortality, and reduce fecundity, and can hardly be reconciled with positive genetic selection. Neel’s solution was an elegant and intuitive hypothesis: «Thrifty genes» which have been selected through repeated cycles of famine throughout human history, and predispose for increased storage of fat. Today’s increased prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes is simply the result of a mismatch between what was once a beneficial adaptation for our ancestors, and current westernised societies where famines do not occur.
Lichaamscultus en rivaliteit

In de jaren ’60 werd het woord “lichaamscultus” gebruikt om een snel om zich heengrijpend fenomeen te beschrijven van een grote, volgens sommigen te grote, belangstelling voor het het naakte lichaam. Op dit moment zien we nieuwe vormen van lichaamscultus, waarbij het niet alleen gaat om het erotische (hoe prominent aanwezig ook in reclame, media en kunst), maar veeleer om gezondheid, slankheid, het tegengaan van de gevolgen van ouderdom, en allerlei vormen van lichaamskunst, zoals piercings. Wanneer we nadenken over deze verschijnselen en proberen een beoordeling te geven, kunnen we ons beperken tot het zoeken van de juiste maat. Ja, zorg voor het lichaam is goed, en we mogen dankbaar gebruik maken van middelen die de medische wetenschap nu heeft om leed te verminderen, zolang we maar niet overdrijven. Zolang maar niet de zorg om het lichaamsgewicht een obsessie wordt. Zolang we maar niet denken de ouderdom te kunnen tegenhouden. Zolang de kosten die we eraan spenderen maar redelijk blijven.
Design of the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study

The overall goal of the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study (SwiSCI) is to gain a better understanding of how to support functioning, health maintenance, and quality-of-life of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) along the continuum of care, in the community, and along their life span. The purpose of this study was to present the SwiSCI study design. SwiSCI is composed of three complementary pathways and will include Swiss persons 16 yrs or older who have diagnoses of traumatic or nontraumatic SCI. Pathway 1 is a retrospective study of medical files of patients admitted to one of the collaborating SCI centers between 2005 and 2009. Pathway 2 is a nationwide survey of persons with chronic SCI. Pathway 3 is an inception cohort study including persons with newly acquired SCI. SwiSCI is conducted in collaboration with the Swiss Paraplegic Association and the major specialized rehabilitation centers in Switzerland. Measurement instruments that are to be used in Pathway 2 and 3 cover body structures and functions, activities, participation, life satisfaction, and personal and environmental factors. SwiSCI is a prospective cohort study that will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the lived experience of persons with SCI.