The Use of Task-based Cognitive Tests for Defining Vocational Aptness of Individuals with Disabilities

AbstractObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to demonstrate the use of task-based cognitive tests to detect potential problems in the assessment of work training for vocational rehabilitation.MethodsEleven participants with a normal range of cognitive functioning scores were recruited for this study. Participants were all trainees who participated in a vocational training program. The Rey Complex Figure Test and the Allen Cognitive Level Screen were randomly administered to all participants. Responses to the tests were qualitatively analyzed with matrix and scatter charts.ResultsObservational outcomes derived from the tests indicated that response errors, distortions, and behavioral problems occurred in most participants. These factors may impede occupational performance despite normal cognitive function. These findings suggest that the use of task-based tests may be beneficial for detecting potential problems associated with the work performance of people with disabilities.ConclusionSpecific analysis using the task-based tests may be necessary to complete the decision-making process for vocational aptness. Furthermore, testing should be led by professionals with a higher specialization in this field

Interictal fatigue and its predictors in epilepsy patients: A case-control study

AbstractPurposeFatigue impairs the quality of life (QOL) of epilepsy patients, but few studies have investigated this issue and no systematic analysis of the predictors of fatigue in epilepsy patients has been performed. Thus, we investigated the degree and predictors of fatigue in epilepsy patients.MethodsWe enrolled 270 consecutive adult patients with epilepsy and categorized them into three subgroups: uncontrolled epilepsy (UCE), well-controlled epilepsy (WCE), and poorly controlled epilepsy (PCE). All subjects were asked to complete the Korean versions of the Fatigue Severity Scale (K-FSS), the Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (K-NDDI-E), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (K-GAD-7) scale, and the short forms of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Sleep-Related Impairment (PROMIS-SRI) and Sleep Disturbance (PROMIS-SD) scales. Additionally, 200 normal control subjects who completed the K-FSS, K-NDDI-E, and K-GAD-7 measures were included. The K-FSS scores of the epilepsy subgroups and the control group were compared, and stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of high scores on the K-FSS among epilepsy patients.ResultsThe K-FSS, K-NDDI-E, and K-GAD-7 scores were higher in the epilepsy patients than in the controls. The K-FSS scores of the UCE subgroup, but not of the PCE and WCE subgroups, were higher than those of the control group. K-FSS scores of epilepsy patients were predicted by PROMIS-SRI and K-NDDI-E scores.ConclusionsFatigue was more severe in epilepsy patients than in healthy controls without epilepsy, especially when seizures were not controlled. Sleep-related impairments and depression aggravated fatigue in epilepsy patients

Effect of Acute Exercise or Fasting on Mitochondrial Function and High Fat Diet-Induced Insulin Resistance

A high-fat diet leads to an accumulation of lipid in skeletal muscle, and the development of both mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance. Recently, our lab reported that lipid overload leads to elevated H[subscript]2O[subscript]2 emission from muscle mitochondria, and that mitochondrial-targeted scavenging of H[subscript]2O[subscript]2 completely prevents the development of high fat diet-induced insulin resistance. These findings raise the possibility that interventions which acutely restore cellular metabolic balance in muscle may also acutely restore insulin sensitivity. We hypothesized that mitochondrial function and insulin sensitivity can be restored in skeletal muscle of high-fat fed rats by creating an acute deficit in metabolic balance via 2 h low-intensity treadmill exercise or 16 h fasting. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (125-150g) were either maintained on a standard high carbohydrate- diet or fed a high-fat (60%) diet for 6 weeks and divided into three groups the day before the study: one group was maintained on the normal high-fat diet, another group was fasted overnight (16 h), and a third group completed a single 2 h bout of low-intensity treadmill exercise (10 m/min) and then were given normal overnight ad libitum access to the high-fat diet. Oral glucose tolerance tests were administrated to assess insulin action. Red gastrocnemius muscles were harvested and permeabilized fibers prepared for determination of mitochondrial respiratory function and H[subscript]2O[subscript]2 emission. A single 16 h fast significantly (P<0.05) improved insulin sensitivity in rats maintained on a high-fat diet (P<0.05). Oxygen consumption rate in permeabilized fibers in response to submaximal and maximal ADP concentration when supported exclusively with complex I substrates were not different among groups. However, when respiration was supported by fatty acids (palmitoylcarnitine plus malate, complex I + II substrates), high-fat diet plus exercise group showed higher (P<0.05) rates compared with high-fat diet group. There were no significant differences in H[subscript]2O[subscript]2 emission among the 4 groups. In conclusion, a single 16 h overnight fast is sufficient to restore insulin sensitivity in high fat diet-induced insulin resistant rats, providing evidence that insulin action in muscle is acutely sensitive to the metabolic state of cells. A single bout of low-intensity treadmill exercise in high-fat fed rats failed to restore insulin action but increased ADP-stimulated respiratory capacity, providing evidence of an as yet unidentified regulatory mechanism of the respiratory system. Somewhat surprisingly however, neither fasting nor exercise altered the H[subscript]2O[subscript]2 emitting potential in permeabilized fibers, suggesting that further work is required to better understand the factors influencing mitochondrial function and their potential link to insulin sensitivity.  M.S

Blow-up dynamics for smooth finite energy radial data solutions to the self-dual Chern-Simons-Schr\"odinger equation

We consider the finite-time blow-up dynamics of solutions to the self-dual Chern-Simons-Schr\"odinger (CSS) equation (also referred to as the Jackiw-Pi model) near the radial soliton $Q$ with the least $L^{2}$-norm (ground state). While a formal application of pseudoconformal symmetry to $Q$ gives rise to an $L^{2}$-continuous curve of initial data sets whose solutions blow up in finite time, they all have infinite energy due to the slow spatial decay of $Q$. In this paper, we exhibit initial data sets that are smooth finite energy radial perturbations of $Q$, whose solutions blow up in finite time. Interestingly, their blow-up rate differs from the pseudoconformal rate by a power of logarithm. Applying pseudoconformal symmetry in reverse, this also yields a first example of an infinite-time blow-up solution, whose blow-up profile contracts at a logarithmic rate. Our analysis builds upon the ideas of previous works of the first two authors on (CSS) [21,22], as well as the celebrated works on energy-critical geometric equations by Merle, Rapha\"el, and Rodnianski [33,38]. A notable feature of this paper is a systematic use of nonlinear covariant conjugations by the covariant Cauchy-Riemann operators in all parts of the argument. This not only overcomes the nonlocality of the problem, which is the principal challenge for (CSS), but also simplifies the structure of nonlinearity arising in the proof.Comment: 80 page

TED Talk Recommender Using Speech Transcripts

Nowadays, online video platforms mostly recommend related videos by analyzing user-driven data such as viewing patterns, rather than the content of the videos. However, content is more important than any other element when videos aim to deliver knowledge. Therefore, we have developed a web application which recommends related TED lecture videos to the users, considering the content of the videos from the transcripts. TED Talk Recommender constructs a network for recommending videos that are similar content-wise and providing a user interface.Comment: 3 page

Calibration of Load and Resistance Factors in LRFD Foundation Design Specifications

This report summarizes the findings and recommendations on the impact of foundation settlements on the reliability of bridge superstructures. As a collaborative effort of an overall initiative for the development of LRFD foundation design specifications, this study is focused on the investigatio of pros and cons for including foundation settlements in bridge designs under gravity loads. Settlement was modeled both probabilistically and deterministically. In the case of a random settlement variable, a lognormal distribution was used in reliability analysis with a fixed coefficient of variation of 0.25. Dead and live loads were modeled as random variables with normal and Gumbel Type I distributions, respectively. Considering the regional traffic condition on Missouri roadways, the effect of a live load reduction factor on bridge reliability was also investigated. Therefore, a total of eight cases were discussed with a complete combination of settlement modeling (mean and extreme values), design consideration (settlements included and excluded), and live load reduction (unreduced and reduced live loads). Based on extensive simulations on multi-span bridges, bridges designed without due consideration on settlements can tolerate an extreme settlement of L/3500 - L/450 under unreduced live loads and up to L/3500 under reduced live loads without resulting in a reliability index below 3.5 (L=span length). Depending upon span lengths and their ratio, the reliability of existing steel-girder bridges is consistently higher than prestressed concrete and solid slab bridges. The shorter and stiffer the spans, the more significant the settlement\u27s effect on the reliability of bridge superstructures. As the span length ratio becomes less than 0.75, the girder and solid slab bridges\u27 reliability drops significantly at small settlements. A concrete diaphragm is very susceptible to the differential settlement of bridges, particularly for moment effects. Two recommended were made to address settlement effects in bridge design: (1) settlement is considered in structural design and no special requirement is needed for foundation designs unless settlement exceeds the AASHTO recommended settlement limit of L/250, and (2) settlement is not considered in structural design as in the current MoDOT practice but ensured below the tolerable settlement (e.g. L/450 for steel girders, L/2500 for slabs, and L/3500 for prestressed concrete girders). The first method provides a direct approach to deal with settlements and has potential to reduce overall costs in bridge design. The second method may result in oversized foundations

Lack of Association between Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism with Age at Onset of Subcortical Vascular Dementia

Background and Purpose: The relationship between apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and onset of vascular dementia remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between ApoE polymorphism and the onset of subcortical vascular dementia (SVaD) compared to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and normal controls. Methods: The study was comprised of 61 patients with SVaD (42 Binswanger type, 19 lacunar type) and 112 patients with AD (16 early-onset AD, 96 late-onset AD) as well as 284 age-, gender- and education-matched normal controls. The diagnosis of SVaD was based on modified NINDS-AIREN criteria, and the diagnosis of AD was based on NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. ApoE polymorphism was genotyped in all participants. Results: None of the three ApoE alleles was more prevalent in SVaD patients compared to normal controls, which was the case when both Binswanger and lacunar types were analyzed separately. ApoE &#917;4 did not accelerate the onset of SVaD (OR 1.66, 95% CI: 0.8–3.4), in contrast to a significant relation with late-onset AD (OR 3.78, 95% CI: 2.2–6.5). Conclusion: Our results suggest that ApoE polymorphism is not associated with the onset of SVaD and that the two subtypes of SVaD may share similar pathophysiologies

The Devil in the Details: Simple and Effective Optical Flow Synthetic Data Generation

Recent work on dense optical flow has shown significant progress, primarily in a supervised learning manner requiring a large amount of labeled data. Due to the expensiveness of obtaining large scale real-world data, computer graphics are typically leveraged for constructing datasets. However, there is a common belief that synthetic-to-real domain gaps limit generalization to real scenes. In this paper, we show that the required characteristics in an optical flow dataset are rather simple and present a simpler synthetic data generation method that achieves a certain level of realism with compositions of elementary operations. With 2D motion-based datasets, we systematically analyze the simplest yet critical factors for generating synthetic datasets. Furthermore, we propose a novel method of utilizing occlusion masks in a supervised method and observe that suppressing gradients on occluded regions serves as a powerful initial state in the curriculum learning sense. The RAFT network initially trained on our dataset outperforms the original RAFT on the two most challenging online benchmarks, MPI Sintel and KITTI 2015

Effects of whole body vibration training on body composition, skeletal muscle strength, and cardiovascular health

Whole body vibration training (WBVT) has been used as a supplement to conventional exercise training such as resistance exercise training to improve skeletal muscle strength, specifically, in rehabilitation field. Recently, this exercise modality has been utilized by cardiovascular studies to examine whether WBVT can be a useful exercise modality to improve cardiovascular health. These studies reported that WBVT has not only beneficial effects on muscular strength but also cardiovascular health in elderly and disease population. However, its mechanism underlying the beneficial effects of WBVT in cardiovascular health has not been well documented. Therefore, this review highlighted the impacts of WBVT on cardiovascular health, and its mechanisms in conjunction with the improved muscular strength and body composition in various populations