Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Atmospheric blocking induced by the strengthened Siberian High led to drying in west Asia during the 4.2 ka BP event – a hypothesis

Abstract. Causal explanations for the 4.2 ka BP event are based on the amalgamation of seasonal and annual records of climate variability that was manifest across global regions dominated by different climatic regimes. However, instrumental and paleoclimate data indicate that seasonal climate variability is not always sequential in some regions. The present study investigates the spatial manifestation of the 4.2 ka BP event during the boreal winter season in Eurasia, where climate variability is a function of the spatiotemporal dynamics of the westerly winds. We present a multi-proxy reconstruction of winter climate conditions in Europe, west Asia, and northern Africa between 4.3 and 3.8 ka. Our results show that, while winter temperatures were cold throughout the region, precipitation amounts had a heterogeneous distribution, with regionally significant low values in W Asia, SE Europe, and N Europe and local high values in the N Balkan Peninsula, the Carpathian Mountains, and E and NE Europe. Further, strong northerly winds were dominating in the Middle East and E and NE Europe. Analyzing the relationships between these climatic conditions, we hypothesize that in the extratropical Northern Hemisphere, the 4.2 ka BP event was caused by the strengthening and expansion of the Siberian High, which effectively blocked the moisture-carrying westerlies from reaching W Asia and enhanced outbreaks of cold and dry winds in that region. The behavior of the winter and summer monsoons suggests that when parts of Asia and Europe were experiencing winter droughts, SE Asia was experiencing similar summer droughts, resulting from failed and/or reduced monsoons. Thus, while in the extratropical regions of Eurasia the 4.2 ka BP event was a century-scale winter phenomenon, in the monsoon-dominated regions it may have been a feature of summer climate conditions.
Thrombolytic Treatment in Acute Myocardial Infarction

Coronary care units (CCU) were established in the 1960s in order to treat severe ventricular arrhythmias in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Still, the mortality rate of AMI has remained high (from 10 to 15%). Hospital mortality is mainly due to cardiac failure, which is related to the size of the infarct. Limitation of the infarct size has become the major goal of numerous experimental and clinical studies.
From Risky Behavior to Health Risk: Continuity Across Two Generations

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of childhood aggression and social withdrawal on adolescent health risk behaviors and adult health outcomes, and to examine the transfer of health risk to preschool offspring. This was a prospective, longitudinal, and intergenerational study of 114 mothers from disadvantaged neighborhoods, who were identified in childhood as being highly aggressive and/or withdrawn or with low scores on these 2 behavioral risk dimensions, and their preschool offspring aged 1 to 6 years old. The health histories of mothers (adolescent health risk behavior, health during pregnancy, current symptoms) and target children were taken during structured interviews conducted at home. Regression analyses tested the relationship between maternal childhood risk status and subsequent health outcomes, and these were followed by structural equation modeling of a proposed intergenerational pathway. Maternal childhood aggression predicted current health risk behaviors (e.g., daily cigarette smoking), whereas maternal childhood social withdrawal was not associated with maternal health risk at the time of testing. Mothers who had high scores on both aggression and withdrawal were more likely to engage in adolescent health risk behavior, which was directly related to health problems in preschoolers (even after controlling for covariates, such as neonatal health status and sex). In summary, there are distinct health trajectories for women who are highly aggressive and socially withdrawn in childhood, with implications for women's long-term health. Specifically, aggression in girls is likely to lead to health risk behaviors that may also place the next generation at risk for pediatric illness. Results are interpreted in terms of the health-hostility link, best known in adult men and intergenerational models.
Assessment of a portable lactate meter for field use in the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum)

Blood lactate is a predictor of mortality in critically ill humans and animals. Handheld lactate meters have the potential to be used in the field to evaluate the condition of severely injured rhinoceroses but have not been compared with laboratory-based methods. Agreement between a handheld lactate meter and a laboratory method was assessed, as was the stability of rhino blood lactate in the anticoagulant sodium fluoride/potassium oxalate (fluoride/oxalate). Blood samples were obtained from 53 white rhinos that had been immobilised for management reasons. Lactate was measured by means of a handheld meter using whole blood in heparin (WBHEP), whole blood in fluoride/oxalate (WBFO) and fluoride/oxalate plasma (PFO). Results were recorded in both blood (BL) and plasma (PL) modes and compared to an established laboratory method for measuring plasma lactate. To assess the stability of lactate over time, blood lactate in fluoride/oxalate was measured on the handheld meter at intervals for up to 91 h. Agreement was best using WBFO in PL mode, with small bias (−0.16), tight 95% limits of agreement (LOA) (−1.46, 1.14) and a Pc (95% CI) of 0.97 (0.92, 0.99). The agreement was improved for all sample types when using the PL mode compared to the blood lactate (BL) mode. Blood lactate was stable in fluoride/oxalate for 91 h, with a mean change from baseline of 0.15 (−0.178, 0.478) mmol/L (mean, 95% CI). The handheld meter was found to be suitable for field use in white rhinos but provided more reliable results with the device in PL mode. Furthermore, rhino blood lactate was found to be stable in fluoride/oxalate for as long as 3 days.
Cultural Explanations for Racial and Ethnic Stratification in Academic Achievement: A Call for a New and Improved Theory

In this article we assess the literature on cultural explanations for ethno-racial differences in K–12 schooling and academic performance. Some cultural arguments problematically define certain ethno-racial identities and cultures as subtractive from the goal of academic mobility while defining the ethnic cultures and identities of others as additive and oriented toward this goal. We review two prevailing schools of thought that compare immigrant and native minority students: cultural–ecological theory and segmented assimilation theory. Second, we examine empirical research that highlights the complexity of culture, focusing on four domains: (a) the school’s cultural environment; (b) variation in identities and cultural practices within ethnic and racial groups; (c) the multidimensional nature of culture and its variable impact on students; and (d) the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, and gender. This literature—when synthesized—suggests that a coherent theory of culture’s impact on ethnic and racial differences in schooling outcomes must unpack the multiple influences of identity and context more deliberately than previous literature has done. Finally, we call for studies that employ comparative research across groups and understand race and ethnicity contextually, not as mere dummy variables, thereby equipping researchers with the tools to better explain how culture influences schooling and achievement.
Effects of a brief meditation training on negative affect, trait anxiety and concentrated attention

Meditation has been associated with positive psychological outcomes, but few studies have investigated brief interventions. This randomized controlled pilot study assessed the effects of five days of focused meditation on positive and negative affect, state and trait anxiety, as well as concentrated attention in a nonclinical sample distributed in two groups (experimental = 14, 51.8% female, Mage= 23.9; control = 19, 62% female, Mage= 24.9). The instruments used were the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale, State and Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Concentrated Attention Test. The meditation group reduced negative affect and trait anxiety, and also improved correct responses on the attention test, relative to controls. These preliminary findings indicate that even short focused meditation training may help improve some psychological variables. It is discussed that the early manifestation of these benefits may be especially relevant to strengthen the motivation to continue and practice regularly.
Employees' Responses to the Mismatch between Organizations' Espoused Values and Basic Assumptions about Organizational Culture

During the initial phase of the recruitment process, job applicants base their attraction and job choice decisions on the organization‟s espoused values that manifest themselves through the organization‟s use of positive images and signals. Based on this limited amount of data, applicants develop a perceived notion of how well they would fit within that organization. When applicants become employees of that organization and discover a mismatch between their perception of the espoused values and the reality of the basic assumptions of that culture, the results may be detrimental to the employee as well as to the organization. The researcher wanted to test his theory and examine the potential outcomes of the discovery of employees of a mismatch between an organization‟s espoused values and the basic assumptions that exist within the organization. The researcher believed that one of these outcomes was employee turnover. This study used the positivistic multiple case study method to test his theory. The researcher interviewed a total of 17 participants from a variety of occupations and industries from the Midwest region of the United States. This study was able to contribute to the research on recruitment and person-organization (P-O) fit. While the findings supported the researcher‟s theory that employees leave organizations because of a mismatch between initial perceptions of espoused values and the basic assumptions of the organizational culture, additional replications of this study may be necessary to have a theoretical generalization.
My Command, My Act: Observation Inflation in Face-To-Face Interactions

When observing another agent performing simple actions, these actions are systematically remembered as one’s own after a brief period of time. Such observation inflation has been documented as a robust phenomenon in studies in which participants passively observed videotaped actions. Whether observation inflation also holds for direct, face-to-face interactions is an open question that we addressed in two experiments. In Experiment 1, participants commanded the experimenter to carry out certain actions, and they indeed reported false memories of self-performance in a later memory test. The effect size of this inflation effect was similar to passive observation as confirmed by Experiment 2. These findings suggest that observation inflation might affect action memory in a broad range of real-world interactions.
Electromechanical analysis of textile structures designed for wearable sensors

This paper reports electromechanical analysis of basic conductive textile structures designed for wearable sensors. Conductive textile structures usually exhibit two types of resistance: length resistance and contact resistance. Firstly electrical and mechanical properties of unstressed conductive yarn were investigated under practical use conditions. After that three experiments were conducted to examine resistance of single conductive yarn, two overlapped yarns and chain under unidirectional extensile forces.
The big ‘OE’

‘OE’ stands for ‘overseas experience,’ a cultural institution in New Zealand. This rite of passage for young adults is an extended journey overseas. While little examined in academia, OE is clearly understood in everyday life, and well documented in fiction and in literary biographies. The journey is a quest or pilgrimage from one of the world’s most remote countries, to the places familiar in national and family histories, popular media, and in tales from previous OE travellers. This article identifies these young travellers as ‘secular pilgrims’, as they re-enact familiar rituals of departure, arrival and return. Parallels are drawn with the work of Coleman and Elsner on religious pilgrimages. The New Zealanders are undertaking a rite of passage, a ritual, a journey with metaphorical resonances, and while doing so they are collecting narratives of adventure and returning with tokens of place. Their low budgets test the acclaimed national characteristics of independence and initiative. National difference is reflected upon: from a distance myths of place - home - intensify. The return home provides an audience for travel narratives. A rite of passage has been achieved.
Dilution of stereotype-based cooperation in mixed-motive interdependence

This research expands the finding that nondiagnostic information about a target reduces the impact of stereotypes on person perception and social judgment. Specifically, we examined this dilution effect in settings of mixed-motive outcome-interdependence and studied stereotype-based cognition as well as cooperative behavior. Three experiments employing Prisoner's and Chicken Dilemma Games revealed that people cooperate less when category information suggests that the other is competitive and immoral rather than cooperative and honest, but not when nondiagnostic attribute information is added. Moreover, Experiment 3 shows that people are motivated to interpret attribute information as consistent with their stereotype-based beliefs; dilution occurs only when it is impossible to construe attribute information as consistent with the stereotype. Implications to both the person perception literature and interdependence and conflict resolution theories are discussed. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.
Efficient discovery of frequent subgraph patterns in uncertain graph databases

Mining frequent subgraph patterns in graph databases is a challenging and important problem with applications in several domains. Recently, there is a growing interest in generalizing the problem to uncertain graphs, which can model the inherent uncertainty in the data of many applications. The main difficulty in solving this problem results from the large number of candidate subgraph patterns to be examined and the large number of subgraph isomorphism tests required to find the graphs that contain a given pattern. The latter becomes even more challenging, when dealing with uncertain graphs. In this paper, we propose a method that uses an index of the uncertain graph database to reduce the number of comparisons needed to find frequent subgraph patterns. The proposed algorithm relies on the apriori property for enumerating candidate subgraph patterns efficiently. Then, the index is used to reduce the number of comparisons required for computing the expected support of each candidate pattern. It also enables additional optimizations with respect to scheduling and early termination, that further increase the efficiency of the method. The evaluation of our approach on three real-world datasets as well as on synthetic uncertain graph databases demonstrates the significant cost savings with respect to the state-of-the-art approach.
Analysis of barriers to and patients' preferences for CT colonography for colorectal cancer screening in a nonadherent urban population.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate patients' barriers against colorectal cancer screening tests and to assess patients' preferences and cost influences for CT colonography (CTC) in a nonadherent urban subpopulation. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Patients who had been offered colorectal cancer screening but were nonadherent were asked to participate in this questionnaire study. Patients' demographic information was obtained, and patients' reasons for not being screened were explored. Subjects were given an information sheet that described a CTC procedure and then were asked about their willingness to undergo CTC and about other relevant factors, such as fees. RESULTS One hundred seventy-five patients were invited to participate; 53 declined and 54 did not respond, which left 68 subjects to be included in the analysis. After being informed about CTC screening, most (83%) subjects stated that they would be willing to undergo a CTC study. However, 70% stated that they would not be willing to pay out-of-pocket fees if insurance did not cover the study, and even among the 30% who were willing to pay the fees, the average amount they were willing to pay (mean, $244; median, $150) was well below currently charged rates. CONCLUSION Our study suggests that most nonadherent patients would be willing to undergo CTC as long as out-of-pocket fees are reasonable.
Forest/vegetation types discrimination in an alpine area using RADARSAT2 and ALOS PALSAR polarimetric data and Neural Networks

The potential of SAR data in discriminating vegetation/forest types it is here explored using Neural Networks (NN) in an Alpine environment. Amplitude data from two SAR polarimetric sensors, namely RADARSAT2 Standard Quad Polarization (SQP) and ALOS PALSAR Fine Beam Dual (FBD), were used separately and in conjunction to discriminate four vegetation types: conifer forest, broadleaved forest, riparian vegetation, and dwarf pine and shrubs (mainly composed by Pinus mugo species). Results indicate successful separation of needle-leaved from broadleaved and/or riparian vegetation, but scarce ability to discriminate the other two types. ALOS PALSAR produced better results in separating vegetation types with respect to RADARSAT2 reaching in the best case a K Cohen's coefficient equal to 0.88. Results obtained from combination of the two SAR data were successful, but still in the range of those obtained by single scene usage.
Investigating the Factors Affecting Residential Consumer Adoption of Broadband in India

This study aims to explore in detail the factors that affect the consumer behavioral intention to adopt broadband Internet in a developing country perspective. Various attitudinal, normative, and control constructs were identified and investigated for their possible influence on broadband Internet adoption. The empirical data for this study were collected using a self-administered questionnaire that included items related to various attitudinal, normative, and control constructs. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used to test these constructs for their possible influence on Indian consumers’ adoption of broadband Internet. The findings suggest that perceived ease of use (PE), social outcomes (SO), hedonic outcomes (HO), service quality (SQ), facilitating conditions resources (FCR), and self-efficacy (SE) were very significant predictors of Indian consumers’ behavioral intention to adopt broadband Internet. This study has multifold significance. The integrated research framework used in this study is an extension of previous well-established research models (such as Model of Adoption of Technology in Households [MATH], Diffusion of Innovation [DOI], and Theory of Planned Behavior [TPB]) and provides an enhanced comprehension of broadband Internet by the Indian household consumers.
Insights into an Optimization of Plasmodium vivax Sal-1 In Vitro Culture: The Aotus Primate Model

Malaria is one of the most significant tropical diseases, and of the Plasmodium species that cause human malaria, P. vivax is the most geographically widespread. However, P. vivax remains a relatively neglected human parasite since research is typically limited to laboratories with direct access to parasite isolates from endemic field settings or from non-human primate models. This restricted research capacity is in large part due to the lack of a continuous P. vivax in vitro culture system, which has hampered the ability for experimental research needed to gain biological knowledge and develop new therapies. Consequently, efforts to establish a long-term P. vivax culture system are confounded by our poor knowledge of the preferred host cell and essential nutrients needed for in vitro propagation. Reliance on very heterogeneous P. vivax field isolates makes it difficult to benchmark parasite characteristics and further complicates development of a robust and reliable culture method. In an effort to eliminate parasite variability as a complication, we used a well-defined Aotus-adapted P. vivax Sal-1 strain to empirically evaluate different short-term in vitro culture conditions and compare them with previous reported attempts at P. vivax in vitro culture Most importantly, we suggest that reticulocyte enrichment methods affect invasion efficiency and we identify stabilized forms of nutrients that appear beneficial for parasite growth, indicating that P. vivax may be extremely sensitive to waste products. Leuko-depletion methods did not significantly affect parasite development. Formatting changes such as shaking and static cultures did not seem to have a major impact while; in contrast, the starting haematocrit affected both parasite invasion and growth. These results support the continued use of Aotus-adapted Sal-1 for development of P. vivax laboratory methods; however, further experiments are needed to optimize culture conditions to support long-term parasite development.
Working together: innovation and export links within highly developed and embryonic wine clusters

This paper examines innovation and export linkages within two distinct levels of wine cluster development. The aim of the paper, using empirical data from the Australian wine industry, is to demonstrate that the association between innovation and export activity intensifies as the cluster develops. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pattern formation during de novo assembly of the Arabidopsis shoot meristem

Most multicellular organisms have a capacity to regenerate tissue after wounding. Few, however, have the ability to regenerate an entire new body from adult tissue. Induction of new shoot meristems from cultured root explants is a widely used, but poorly understood, process in which apical plant tissues are regenerated from adult somatic tissue through the de novo formation of shoot meristems. We characterize early patterning during de novo development of the Arabidopsis shoot meristem using fluorescent reporters of known gene and protein activities required for shoot meristem development and maintenance. We find that a small number of progenitor cells initiate development of new shoot meristems through stereotypical stages of reporter expression and activity of CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON 2 (CUC2), WUSCHEL (WUS), PIN-FORMED 1 (PIN1), SHOOT-MERISTEMLESS (STM), FILAMENTOUS FLOWER (FIL, also known as AFO), REVOLUTA (REV), ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA MERISTEM L1 LAYER (ATML1) and CLAVATA 3 (CLV3). Furthermore, we demonstrate a functional requirement for WUS activity during de novo shoot meristem initiation. We propose that de novo shoot meristem induction is an easily accessible system for the study of patterning and self-organization in the well-studied model organism Arabidopsis.