Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sulphur cycling in a Neoarchaean microbial mat

Multiple sulphur (S) isotope ratios are powerful proxies to understand the complexity of S biogeochemical cycling through Deep Time. The disappearance of a sulphur mass‐independent fractionation (S‐MIF) signal in rocks <~2.4 Ga has been used to date a dramatic rise in atmospheric oxygen levels. However, intricacies of the S‐cycle before the Great Oxidation Event remain poorly understood. For example, the isotope composition of coeval atmospherically derived sulphur species is still debated. Furthermore, variation in Archaean pyrite δ34S values has been widely attributed to microbial sulphate reduction (MSR). While petrographic evidence for Archaean early‐diagenetic pyrite formation is common, textural evidence for the presence and distribution of MSR remains enigmatic. We combined detailed petrographic and in situ, high‐resolution multiple S‐isotope studies (δ34S and Δ33S) using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to document the S‐isotope signatures of exceptionally well‐preserved, pyritised microbialites in shales from the ~2.65‐Ga Lokammona Formation, Ghaap Group, South Africa. The presence of MSR in this Neoarchaean microbial mat is supported by typical biogenic textures including wavy crinkled laminae, and early‐diagenetic pyrite containing <26‰ μm‐scale variations in δ34S and Δ33S = −0.21 ± 0.65‰ (±1σ). These large variations in δ34S values suggest Rayleigh distillation of a limited sulphate pool during high rates of MSR. Furthermore, we identified a second, morphologically distinct pyrite phase that precipitated after lithification, with δ34S = 8.36 ± 1.16‰ and Δ33S = 5.54 ± 1.53‰ (±1σ). We propose that the S‐MIF signature of this secondary pyrite does not reflect contemporaneous atmospheric processes at the time of deposition; instead, it formed by the influx of later‐stage sulphur‐bearing fluids containing an inherited atmospheric S‐MIF signal and/or from magnetic isotope effects during thermochemical sulphate reduction. These insights highlight the complementary nature of petrography and SIMS studies to resolve multigenerational pyrite formation pathways in the geological record.
Triangulation, Emotional Reactivity, and Violence in the Niger Delta

The Niger Delta conflict, for many years, was blamed on myriad forces, including greed, economic exploitation, pollution and ecological damage, resource appropriation and distribution disputes, ethno-religious antagonisms, poverty, unemployment, large-scale infrastructural deficits, corruption, militarization of oil producing communities and election processes, sociopolitical marginalization, cultism, and weapons proliferation. While all of these issues are important, they are not nearly as important as the deliberate roles played by high-level social, economic, and political interests who activated violence as a means to secure economic advantage from the delta’s oil industry. This study shines the light on this small, exclusive, and very powerful group whose actions triggered off the violence and yet are at the center of efforts to institute peace including the current disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) program. I argue that unless the contributions of these powerful interests are carefully teased out and the structures they have built to advantage themselves from the conflict are dismantled, peace will remain elusive in the Niger Delta.
Pregnant women’s awareness and acceptance of epidural anesthesia and its influence on cesarean section rate control in China: A qualitative study

Background: Epidural anesthesia, as an effective pain relief method, could be viewed as an attempt to encourage vaginal delivery and control cesarean section. Increased demand caused by psychosocial factors such as fear of childbirth and labor pain is supposed to be one predictable drive of high cesarean section rate in present China. Little qualitative information on women’s awareness and perceptions of epidural anesthesia was found, but conscious efforts should be focused on this part to help generate policy-making priority. Methods: This study was carried out under an exploratory descriptive design in Bao’an Maternity and Child Health Hospital. Those interested in participating would be invited to focus group discussion or individual interview according to a semi-structured open-ended guide after collecting the participants’ demographic characteristics. The thematic content analysis approach was used for data analysis. Results: Five major themes were identified: 1. the sources to gain information on epidural anesthesia; 2. clinical impact; 3. social impact on awareness; 4. association between epidural anesthesia and cesarean section; 5. attitudes and questions about the current service implementation. Discussions: The interplay between pregnancy knowledge, socio-economic conditions, social support, insurance policy environment, women’s judgment of health care quality influences the ways women acknowledge and utilize epidural anesthesia service. Conclusions: As maternal requested CS due to low pain tolerance emerges gradually, natural labor with epidural anesthesia is a more suitable childbirth option, which is also expected to function in reducing CS rate by service-providers and administrators in the health departments of China besides building up a pain-free labor environment.
Breaching the Human Firewall: Social engineering in Phishing and Spear-Phishing Emails

We examined the influence of three social engineering strategies on users' judgments of how safe it is to click on a link in an email. The three strategies examined were authority, scarcity and social proof, and the emails were either genuine, phishing or spear-phishing. Of the three strategies, the use of authority was the most effective strategy in convincing users that a link in an email was safe. When detecting phishing and spear-phishing emails, users performed the worst when the emails used the authority principle and performed best when social proof was present. Overall, users struggled to distinguish between genuine and spear-phishing emails. Finally, users who were less impulsive in making decisions generally were less likely to judge a link as safe in the fraudulent emails. Implications for education and training are discussed.
Assessing Lexical Development in Bilingual Babies and Toddlers

The introduction of vocabulary checklists for infant acquisition has allowed us to gather detailed information about early lexical growth from a broader number of bilingual children than before and to begin exploring the relation of growth in one language to growth in the other in a range of bilingual learning circumstances. Still, no standardized instruments to date give an adequate picture of normal bilingual development. Norms and milestones based on monolingual experience underestimate bilingual abilities in that they tap only a portion of the bilinguals' knowledge and credit them with less complex conceptualizations than what they actually possess. Double-language measures, like those proposed by Pearson, Fernández, and Oller (1993) and Muñoz-Sandoval, Cummins, Alvarado, and Ruef (1998), are an improvement over single-language measures as they encompass a greater portion of the bilinguals' knowledge, but they do not address the greater complexity of bilingual mental representations. What is needed are norms derived from observations of typically-developing bilingual children, followed up with measures of concurrent and predictive validity. However, bilinguals as a group are so diverse, it will be difficult to decide which subgroup(s) would be the appropriate reference to use for a standardization. In this review of recent studies, the difficulties involved in assessing bilingual vocabularies and recommendations for clinical practice are discussed.
A Multimedia English Learning System Using HMMs to Improve Phonemic Awareness for English Learning

This paper proposes a multimedia English learning (MEL) system, based on Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and mastery theory strategy, for teaching students with the aim of enhancing their English phonetic awareness and pronunciation. It can analyze phonetic structures, identify and capture pronunciation errors to provide students with targeted advice in pronunciation, intonation, rhythm and volume. In addition, the paper also applies the mastery learning to effectively help students practice pronunciation of English words and sentences. Finally, this paper adopts a quasi-experimental design and lasting for 12 weeks and 120 third-graders, aged 9-10 years, from an elementary school in Yunlin County in Taiwan. These students were recruited and randomly assigned as the experimental group and the control group, respectively. The former used the MEL system, while the latter received the conventional English teaching. Research data were collected through the Phonemic Awareness Test and the English Achievement Test. The results showed that the experimental group with low phonemic awareness performed significantly better than the control group in the English Achievement Test.
Physical education teachers as career-long learners: a compelling research agenda

This special edition of Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy is about physical education teachers as learners. My interest in this topic stems from a firm conviction that finding ways to improve teachers’ career-long professional learning is a compelling research agenda. It seems clear to me that the quality of pupils’ learning in physical education is dependent, to a large extent, on the quality of teaching. Similarly, the impact of any curriculum on pupils’ learning is determined by teachers and the ways in which they use, translate and adapt material to meet the needs of their individual pupils. Furthermore, at its best, teaching is an infinitely complex, fluid and dynamic process; a demanding profession whose integrity is founded on teachers who learn continuously throughout their careers. Yet, to date, the primary focus of both policy and research has been the relatively brief process of initial teacher training. It is as if, once trained to statutory standards, teachers’ learning is no longer a pressing concern. However, as Knight (2002) points out, ‘professional obsolescence will soon enfold all except those engaged in life-long learning’ (p. 230). The problem is that physical education teachers don’t become obsolete; instead, they continue to practise for many years. It is worth remembering, for example, that over a 35-year career, a single teacher could teach approximately 30,000 lessons to anything up to 100,000 pupils. I would like to argue, therefore, that improving the quality of teachers’ career-long professional learning is pivotal to improving the quality of physical education. Concerns about the nature and quality of teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) are shared around the world and across curriculum subjects. Borko (2004) describes the professional development that is currently available to teachers Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy Vol. 11, No. 3, November 2006, pp. 203–207
Positive Behavior Support for People with Developmental Disabilities: A Research Synthesis

This book, prepared in response to a request from the United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, reviews the published literature on positive behavior interventions and uses this database to provide four main content areas for research. Positive behavior support (PBS) is defined as an approach for dealing with problem behavior that focuses on the remediation of deficient contexts (such as environmental conditions and/or behavioral repertoires) that by functional assessment are documented to be the source of the problem. The research published on PBS between 1985 and 1996 (n =107 articles) was reviewed with respect to four categories of variables: demographics, assessment practices, intervention strategies, and outcomes. Results indicated that: (1) PBS is widely applicable to people with serious problem behavior; (2) the field is growing rapidly overall, but especially in the use of assessment and in interventions that focus on correcting environmental deficiencies; (3) using stringent criteria of success, PBS is effective in reducing problem behavior in one-half to two-thirds of cases; (4) success rates nearly double when intervention is based on a prior functional assessment; and (5) consumer needs that emphasize comprehensive lifestyle support, long-term change, practicality and relevance, and direct support for consumers themselves are inadequately addressed by the research base. Recommendations are made for bridging the research-to-practice gap. (Contains more than 300 references.)
Correlates of Generalized Trust among Turkish and Greek Cypriots: Evidence from the European Values Survey Data

Using the most recent wave of European Values Survey (EVS) data, this study explores the correlates of generalized trust by comparing Turkish and Greek communities living on the island of Cyprus. The results suggest that, besides confidence in institutions, there are different determinants of trust for each Cypriot community. In comparing Greek and Turkish Cypriots, the results suggest that being married, being older, having an urban residence, being in better health, and participating more in voluntary organizations are correlated with higher levels of generalized trust among Turkish Cypriots, whereas Greek Cypriots who are natives and who have more life satisfaction have higher levels of generalized trust. This study makes a significant contribution by being the first empirical study to test generalized trust among both communities living in the island of Cyprus.
Oxidative Stress and Carcinogenesis: Potential of Phytochemicals in Breast Cancer Therapy

ABSTRACT Breast cancer remains a burden in both developed and developing countries, with higher mortality in developing countries. Attempts to eradicate cancer have not been successful despite the progress made in the development of more novel chemotherapeutic drugs. Reactive-oxygen-species-mediated oxidative stress is known to play a role in breast cancer pathogenesis via genetic and epigenetic modifications, resulting in uncontrolled cell proliferation. Phytochemicals could provide leads for the development of alternative therapeutic agents due to their antioxidant activity, as well as their ability to induce apoptosis in cancer cells. However, most of the studies carried out using in vitro models do not continue with further studies in estrogen-receptor-positive in vivo breast cancer models, or fail to examine the possible biochemical mechanisms of phytochemical-based amelioration. This review examines oxidative-stress-mediated carcinogenesis and the potential of phytochemicals as anticancer agents.
Social network structure of a large online community for smoking cessation.

OBJECTIVES We evaluated the social network structure of QuitNet, one of the largest online communities for behavior change, and compared its characteristics to other known social networks. METHODS Using modern network analysis methods, we identified QuitNet members who were active during a 60-day period, along with their ties. We then derived multiple subgroups, such as key players and integrators, from connections and communication patterns. RESULTS Among 7569 participants, we identified 103,592 connections to other members. Metrics of social network integration were associated with increased likelihood of being female, being older, having been in the system longer, and not smoking. CONCLUSIONS The QuitNet community is a large-scale social network with the characteristics required for sustainability of social support and social influence to promote smoking cessation and abstinence. These characteristics include persistence of members over time, heterogeneity of smoking status, and evidence of rich, bidirectional communications. Some of the influential subgroups we identified may provide targets for future network-level interventions.
Structuralism in India: some issues and observations

Any preliminary statement devoted to introducing and evaluating the prospects of structuralism in India (e.g., see Uberoi 1974) must encounter the above rhetorical question. It is necessary because of the largely less familiar intellectual activity and tradition structuralism may represent for the majority of the Indian social science reader. The problem is only magnified as we approach the university student in a class room, for his skepticism towards the new and the unfamiliar may be stronger-and possibly for some good reasons of common sense. Any proponent’ of this new approach must therefore not only set out to clearly explain what it is that he is proposing, and how could it possibly be connected to the prevailing
Predicting Alcohol Use in Young Adult Males

The prediction of regular controlled versus regular uncontrolled drinking is used to examine the efficiency and adequacy of two social-psychological theoretical formulations. These are Fishbein and Ajzen's Theory of Reasoned Action, and Jessor and Jessor's Problem Behavior Theory. The Fishbein-Ajzen formulation demonstrated significant mediational capacity, but a model which combined variables from both the Fishbein-Ajzen model and Problem Behavior Theory was a significantly better predictor of both drinker status and intentions to get drunk. From a theoretical perspective, these data challenge the adequacy of the Theory of Reasoned Action, in that distal variables from Problem Behavior Theory were found to impact on intentions and behavior independently rather than thought on intentions and behavior independently rather than through the attitudinal and normative components. The extent to which Ajzen's recent Theory of Planned Behavior addresses this inadequacy is discussed. Finally, the authors point out.
EEG Oscillatory States: Universality, Uniqueness and Specificity across Healthy-Normal, Altered and Pathological Brain Conditions

For the first time the dynamic repertoires and oscillatory types of local EEG states in 13 diverse conditions (examined over 9 studies) that covered healthy-normal, altered and pathological brain states were quantified within the same methodological and conceptual framework. EEG oscillatory states were assessed by the probability-classification analysis of short-term EEG spectral patterns. The results demonstrated that brain activity consists of a limited repertoire of local EEG states in any of the examined conditions. The size of the state repertoires was associated with changes in cognition and vigilance or neuropsychopathologic conditions. Additionally universal, optional and unique EEG states across 13 diverse conditions were observed. It was demonstrated also that EEG oscillations which constituted EEG states were characteristic for different groups of conditions in accordance to oscillations’ functional significance. The results suggested that (a) there is a limit in the number of local states available to the cortex and many ways in which these local states can rearrange themselves and still produce the same global state and (b) EEG individuality is determined by varying proportions of universal, optional and unique oscillatory states. The results enriched our understanding about dynamic microstructure of EEG-signal.
A cross-cultural examination of presenteeism and supervisory support

Purpose – The aim of this study was two-fold: first, to examine the noxious effects of presenteeism on employees' work well-being in a cross-cultural context involving Chinese and British employees; second, to explore the role of supervisory support as a pan-cultural stress buffer in the presenteeism process. Design/methodology/approach – Using structured questionnaires, the authors compared data collected from samples of 245 Chinese and 128 British employees working in various organizations and industries. Findings – Cross-cultural comparison revealed that the act of presenteeism was more prevalent among Chinese and they reported higher levels of strains than their British counterparts. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that presenteeism had noxious effects on exhaustion for both Chinese and British employees. Moreover, supervisory support buffered the negative impact of presenteeism on exhaustion for both Chinese and British employees. Specifically, the negative relation between presenteeism and e.
Homology modeling and molecular dynamics simulations of the α1 glycine receptor reveals different states of the channel

Homology modeling is used to build initial models of the transmembrane domain of the human α1 glycine receptor (GlyR) based on the most recently published refined structure of nAChR (PDB ID: 2BG9). Six preliminary GlyR models are constructed using two different approaches. In one approach, five different homopentamers are built by symmetric assembly of α1 GlyR subunits using only one of the five unique chains of nAChR as a template. In a second approach, each nAChR subunit serves as a template for an α1 GlyR subunit. All six initial GlyR constructs are then embedded into a hydrated POPC lipid bilayer and subjected to molecular dynamics simulation for at least six nanoseconds. Each model is stable throughout the simulation, and the final models fall into three distinct categories. Homopentameric GlyR bundles using a single α nAChR subunit as a template appear to be in an open conformation. Under an applied external potential, permeation of Cl− ions is observed within several ns in a channel built on an α chain. Model channels built on non‐α chains have a constriction either near the intracellular mouth or more centrally located in the pore domain, both of which may be narrow enough to close the channel and whose locations correspond to putative gates observed in nicotinicoid receptors. The differences between these three general models suggest that channel closure may be effected by either rotation or tangential tilting of TM2. Proteins 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
USING VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS TO UNOBTRUSIVELY MEASURE REAL-LIFE RISK-TAKING: FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH COMMUNICATION INTERVENTIONS

x INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: PARALLELS BETWEEN VIRTUAL AND REAL BEHAVIOR. 2 Entertainment and play 4 Children’s play and real-life correspondence 4 Virtual gaming environments and real-life correspondence 6 Ecological validity in experiments and interventions 9 Real life experimental studies and virtual-life experimental studies 9 CHAPTER 2: THEORIES OF LEARNING: KEY TO SOLVE 12 Observational learning 12 Social cognitive learning theory 15 Affect and engagement in learning 16 Interactive learning 21 Interactive interventions and risk-taking 24 H1: Interactive video choices will be related to past risk-taking behavior 27 H2: Interactive video choices will predict future risk-taking behavior 27 CHAPTER 3: THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR –THE CURRENT ‘GOLD STANDARD FOR ASSESSING RISK-TAKING COMPARED TO VIRTUAL RISK-TAKING 30 H3: Theory of planned behavior should, consistent with the literature, significantly predict past risk-taking behavior at Time 1 (postdictive) 36 H4: Theory of planned behavior should consistent with the literature significantly predict future risk-taking behavior (UAI) at Time 2 (predictive). 36 The best predictor of future risk-taking behavior is past risk-taking behavior. 37