Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characteristics of Larval Anopheline (Diptera: Culicidae) Habitats in Western Kenya

Abstract A longitudinal survey of mosquito larval habitats was carried out in Asembo Bay, western Kenya, during the rainy season of 1998. All pools of standing water along a 700-m transect were sampled twice per week. For each habitat, eight environmental variables were recorded and a sample of anopheline larvae was collected for identification. In total, 1,751 Anopheles gambiae s.l. and 2,784 Anopheles funestus Giles were identified. Identification of An. gambiae s.l. by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) indicated that 240 (14.7%) were An. gambiae Giles and 858 (52.4%) were An. arabiensis Patton; PCR failed to identify 539 (32.9%) specimens. Repeated measures logistic regression analysis indicated that An. gambiae and An. arabiensis larvae were associated with small, temporary habitats with algae and little or no aquatic vegetation. Anopheles funestus larvae were associated with larger, semipermanent bodies of water containing aquatic vegetation and algae. Direct comparison of habitat characteristics associated with either An. gambiae or An. arabiensis revealed that algae were associated more commonly with habitats containing An. gambiae; no other differences were detected. Chi-square analysis indicated that these species were collected from the same habitat more frequently than would be expected by chance alone. Together, these results indicate that An. gambiae and An. arabiensis have similar requirements for the larval environment and that, at least in western Kenya, they do not segregate into separate habitats.
Stress among UK academics: identifying who copes best

Abstract This article examined levels of stress and associated coping strategies among UK academics. Adopting a positive psychology approach, the influence of the character strengths of hope, optimism, gratitude and self-efficacy on stress, subjective well-being (SWB), and mental health was examined in 216 academics in a UK university. The study explored the relationship between coping styles and the work-coping variables of sense of coherence and work locus of control and stress. No significant differences on the stress, well-being and mental health measures were found for participants’ gender, whether in full-time or part-time employment and level of seniority within the university. Participants using problem-focused coping experienced lower levels of stress while dysfunctional coping was a positive predictor of stress. Hope agency, hope pathway, gratitude, optimism and self-efficacy were the strongest positive predictors of satisfaction with life (SWL), while levels of perceived stress negatively predicted SWL. Gratitude, hope agency and self-efficacy positively predicted positive affect, while stress was a negative predictor. Gratitude, hope agency, self-efficacy and optimism were negative significant predictors of negative affect while stress was a positive predictor. Gratitude positively predicted mental health, while stress was a negative predictor and optimism was a significant moderator of the relationship between stress and mental health. Academics with higher levels of gratitude, self-efficacy, hope and optimism report lower levels of stress at work and higher levels of well-being as measured by higher life satisfaction, higher positive affect and lower negative affect. New approaches to stress management training are suggested based on these findings.
Relationship closeness and control as determinants of pleasant amae

Japanese often find it pleasant when someone engages in amae, defined as an inappropriate request with the expectation of acceptance. Using a random sampling survey, we examined why Japanese adults feel good when a friend or an acquaintance engages in amae and when they, themselves, engage in amae. In both situations, positive attitude toward amae predicted more positive emotions. Relationship closeness and feeling of control mediated this association, and perceiving enough resources to grant the request did so only in the friend/acquaintance amae situation. Despite its inappropriateness, amae could be an effective way to seek help and express closeness with others.
The effects of core self‐evaluations and transformational leadership on organizational commitment

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the joint effects of employees’ core self‐evaluations and perceived transformational leadership of their supervisors on employees’ affective commitment to the organization.Design/methodology/approach – Subjects were drawn from a Fortune Global 500 company in Korea. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to explain the variance in organizational commitment.Findings – Core self‐evaluations and transformational leadership positively influenced employees’ organizational commitment. In terms of effect size, organizational commitment was more related to transformational leadership than core self‐evaluations. As for transformational leadership, employees exhibited the highest organizational commitment when their leaders articulated the vision, promoted group goals, and provided intellectual stimulation.Research limitations/implications – The sample of this study is likely restricted to a certain group with similar demograph.
Internet Search Data and Issue Salience: The Properties of Google Trends as a Measure of Issue Salience

Abstract This article examines the conditions required for using Internet search data as measures of aggregate issue salience. Internet data have clear advantages over survey data in terms of cost, availability and frequency. These advantages have led the media and some researchers to use Internet search data as proxies for public opinion. However, these analyses do not present systematic evidence that search data tell us about the general public's views rather than those of an unrepresentative subset. This article outlines a general method for assessing the validity of search data against existing measures, including content validity and criterion validity. To this end, weekly Google search data are tested against Gallup's “most important problem” question. The article finds the salience of four issues, fuel prices, the economy, immigration and terrorism, can be measured in the United States using search data. Weekly measures of issue salience are generated for these issues, from 2004 to 2010, for empirical analysis. The search indices performed less well outside of these domains.
Developmental trends in semantic acquisition: Evidence from over-extensions in child language

Children aged 2 through 6 years and adults were shown a series of pictures including `normal' referents (e.g., cat or car), and unfamiliar combination tokens (e.g., a clock with a telephone handset), which they were asked to identify. There were age-dependent differences in terms of naming (i.e., the number of words and morphemes and linguistic constructions) and criteria for category membership. The older participants used more morphemes and sophisticated linguistic strategies (e.g., descriptive phrases) than the younger participants, and the younger children showed a greater tendency to rely on holistic shape as a category determiner. These disparities suggested that the participants not only employed different strategies by age, but that they also had different criteria for categorization.
A Cross-Sectional Study of the Perceived Stressfulness of Several Life Events

Adults from different age groups (18–24, 30–40, and 65–86) were tested to determine if they differ in their perception of certain stressful life events. Twenty adults from each age group were asked to rate a series of events according to their perceived relative stressfulness; included were events thought to be particularly salient for elderly adults. Amster and Krauss' list of events and Holmes and Rahe's procedure for quantifying stress were used. Group differences were not found for the elderly salient events; however it was found that elderly adults perceive death-related events as less stressful than do younger adults.
The Development of Science Education Research in Brazil and Contributions from the History and Philosophy of Science

Over the last 50 years a new research area, science education research, has arisen and undergone singular development worldwide. In the specific case of Brazil, research in science education first appeared systematically 40 years ago, as a consequence of an overall renovation in the field of science education. This evolution was also related to the political events taking place in the country. We will use the theoretical work of Rene Kaës on the development of groups and institutions as a basis for our discussion of the most important aspects that have helped the area of science education research develop into an institution and kept it operating as such. The growth of this area of research can be divided into three phases: The first was related to its beginning and early configurations; the second consisted of a process of consolidation of this institution; and the third consists of more recent developments, characterised by a multiplicity of research lines and corresponding challenges to be faced. In particular, we will analyse the special contributions to this study gleaned from the field known as the history and philosophy of science.
Loneliness and depression in middle and late childhood: the relationship to attachment and parental styles.

In this study, the author analyzed the relationship between (a) parenting and attachment and (b) self-competence, loneliness, and depression in children aged 8-12 years. The author administered (a) the Argentine Scale of Perception of the Relationships with Parents (M. C. Richaud de Minzi, 2004), (b) the Kerns' Security Scale (K. A. Kerns, L. Klepac, & A. K. Cole, 1996; M. C. Richaud de Minzi, C. Sacchi, & J. E. Moreno, 2001, Argentine adaptation), (c) the Self-Perception Profile for Children (S. Harter, 1985; M. C. Richaud de Minzi et al.), (d) the Dimensions of Depression Profile for Children and Adolescents (S. Harter & M. Nowakowski, 1987), and (e) the Louvain Loneliness Scale for Children and Adolescents (A. Marcoen, L. Goossens, & P. Caes, 1987; M. C. Richaud de Minzi et al.) to 1,019 children (8-12 years of age, 483 boys, 536 girls). Results indicated that attachment and parent-child relationship styles were differentiated constructs. Parents' acceptance promoted secure attachment and positive outc.
Contribution of NK, NK T, γδ T, and αβ T Cells to the Gamma Interferon Response Required for Liver Protection against Trypanosoma cruzi

ABSTRACT In the present work, we show that intracellular Trypanosoma cruzi is rarely found in the livers of acutely infected mice, but inflammation is commonly observed. The presence of numerous intrahepatic amastigotes in infected gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-deficient mice corroborates the notion that the liver is protected by an efficient local immunity. The contribution of different cell populations was suggested by data showing that CD4- and CD8-deficient mice were able to restrain liver parasite growth. Therefore, we have characterized the liver-infiltrating lymphocytes and determined the sources of IFN-γ during acute T. cruzi infection. We observed that natural killer (NK) cells increased by day 7, while T and B cells increased by day 14. Among CD3+ cells, CD4+, CD8+, and CD4− CD8− cell populations were greatly expanded. A large fraction of CD3+ cells were positive for PanNK, a β1 integrin expressed by NK and NK T cells. However, these lymphocytes were not classic NK T cells because they did not express NK1.1 and showed no preferential usage of Vβ8. Otherwise, liver NK T (CD3+ NK1.1+) cells were not increased in acutely infected mice. The majority of PanNK+ CD4+ and PanNK+ CD8+ cells expressed T-cell receptor αβ (TCRαβ), whereas PanNK+ CD4− CD8− cells were positive for TCRγδ. In fact, γδ T cells showed the most remarkable increase (40- to 100-fold) among liver lymphocytes. Most importantly, intracellular analysis revealed high levels of IFN-γ production at day 7 by NK cells and at day 14 by CD4+, CD8+, and CD4− CD8− TCRγδ+ cells. We concluded that NK cells are a precocious source of IFN-γ in the livers of acutely infected mice, and, as the disease progresses, conventional CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and γδ T cells, but not classic NK-T cells, may provide the IFN-γ required for liver protection against T. cruzi.
Family of Soft-Switching Bidirectional Converters With Extended ZVS Range

This paper proposes a family of soft-switching bidirectional converters. In many applications, the bidirectional converters operate over a wide range of duty cycle and load variations. In the proposed converters, in order to extend the zero-voltage switching operation range, two supplemental voltage sources utilizing passive components are implemented in the auxiliary circuit. By using this method, the soft-switching features are ensured for an extensive range of the converter duty cycles. This is achieved independent of the output power value or the converter operation mode, and so, soft switching is ensured within the entire converter operating region. In these converters, all semiconductors components are soft switched, and the auxiliary circuit does not contribute to the complexity of the control circuit. Also, no extra voltage stress exists on the main switches and the voltage stress on the auxiliary switches is lower than the main switches voltage stress. In this paper, the proposed bidirectional buck/boost converter is analyzed and to confirm the feasibility of the proposed method, experimental results of a 150-W prototype converter are presented.
HOXB 7 : A Key Factor for Tumor-associated Angiogenic Switch 1

We had demonstrated previously a functional bridge between altered homebox (HOX) gene expression and tumor progression through HOXB7 transactivation of basic fibroblast growth factor. Here, we have studied whether HOXB7, in addition to basic fibroblast growth factor, may induce other genes directly or indirectly related to neoangiogenesis and tumor invasion. Parental, -galactosidase-transduced, and HOXB7-transduced SkBr3 cell lines were examined for the expression of several growth factors and growth factor receptors involved in the proliferative and angiogenic processes. Vascular endothelial growth factor, melanoma growth-stimulatory activity/growth-related oncogenene , interleukin-8, and angiopoietin-2 were up-regulated by HOXB7 transduction. The exception was angiopoietin-1 expression that was abrogated. Additional analyses included the expression levels of enzymes such as matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 and heparanase, capable of proteolytic degradation of extracellular matrix and basement membranes. Results showed an induction of only MMP-9. The functional implication of such a finding was tested using an in vitro coculture assay in a three-dimensional matrix. A delay of differentiation with persistent nests of proliferating cells was found in endothelial cells cocultured with HOXB7-transduced SkBr3 cells. Tumorigenicity of these cells has been evaluated in vivo. Xenograft into athymic nude mice showed that SkBr3/HOXB7 cells developed tumors in mice, either irradiated or not, whereas parental SkBr3 cells did not show any tumor take unless mice were sublethally irradiated. Comparison of tumor nodules for vascularization by CD-31 and CD-34 immunostaining revealed an increased number of blood vessels in tumors expressing HOXB7. Together, the results indicate HOXB7 as a key factor up-regulating a variety of proangiogenic stimuli. Thus, HOXB7 gene or protein is a target to aim at to inhibit tumor-associated neoangiogenesis, considering the number and the redundancy of proangiogenic molecules that should be targeted one by one to theoretically achieve the same effect.
Amplification of Chlamydia trachomatis DNA by ligase chain reaction

Amplification of Chlamydia trachomatis DNA by polymerase chain reaction was compared with amplification by ligase chain reaction (LCR). Both amplification procedures were able to consistently amplify amounts of DNA equivalent to three C. trachomatis elementary bodies. All 15 C. trachomatis serovars were amplified to detectable levels by LCR, and no DNA from 16 organisms potentially found in clinical specimens or from Chlamydia psittaci and Chlamydia pneumoniae was amplified by LCR.
A Contributing Role for Anti-Neuraminidase Antibodies on Immunity to Pandemic H1N1 2009 Influenza A Virus

Background Exposure to contemporary seasonal influenza A viruses affords partial immunity to pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza A virus (pH1N1) infection. The impact of antibodies to the neuraminidase (NA) of seasonal influenza A viruses to cross-immunity against pH1N1 infection is unknown. Methods and Results Antibodies to the NA of different seasonal H1N1 influenza strains were tested for cross-reactivity against A/California/04/09 (pH1N1). A panel of reverse genetic (rg) recombinant viruses was generated containing 7 genes of the H1N1 influenza strain A/Puerto Rico/08/34 (PR8) and the NA gene of either the pandemic H1N1 2009 strain (pH1N1) or one of the following contemporary seasonal H1N1 strains: A/Solomon/03/06 (rg Solomon) or A/Brisbane/59/07 (rg Brisbane). Convalescent sera collected from mice infected with recombinant viruses were measured for cross-reactive antibodies to pH1N1 via Hemagglutinin Inhibition (HI) or Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The ectodomain of a recombinant NA protein from the pH1N1 strain (pNA-ecto) was expressed, purified and used in ELISA to measure cross-reactive antibodies. Analysis of sera from elderly humans immunized with trivalent split-inactivated influenza (TIV) seasonal vaccines prior to 2009 revealed considerable cross-reactivity to pNA-ecto. High titers of cross-reactive antibodies were detected in mice inoculated with either rg Solomon or rg Brisbane. Convalescent sera from mice inoculated with recombinant viruses were used to immunize naïve recipient Balb/c mice by passive transfer prior to challenge with pH1N1. Mice receiving rg California sera were better protected than animals receiving rg Solomon or rg Brisbane sera. Conclusions The NA of contemporary seasonal H1N1 influenza strains induces a cross-reactive antibody response to pH1N1 that correlates with reduced lethality from pH1N1 challenge, albeit less efficiently than anti-pH1N1 NA antibodies. These findings demonstrate that seasonal NA antibodies contribute to but are not sufficient for cross-reactive immunity to pH1N1.
Explosion Diagrams in Augmented Reality

This article introduces explosion diagrams to Augmented Reality (AR) applications. It presents algorithms to seamlessly integrate an object's explosion diagram into a real world environment, including the AR rendering of relocated objects textured with live video and the restoration of visual information which are hidden behind relocated objects. It demonstrates several types of visualizations for convincing AR explosion diagrams and it discusses visualizations of exploded parts as well as visual links conveying their relocation direction. Furthermore, we show the integration of our rendering and visualization techniques in an AR framework, which is able to automatically compute a diagram's layout and an animation of its corresponding explosion.
Thoracic Epidural Anesthesia and the Patient with Heart Disease: Benefits, Risks, and Controversies

I n the Western world, cardiovascular morbidity is the most common primary cause of death (1,2). Coronary artery disease is a widespread concomitant condition in patients undergoing surgery (1,3). The patient with coronary artery disease is susceptible to myocardial infarction, dysrhythmias, ventricular failure, and cardiac death (1). Patients with chronic cardiovascular disease have a high risk of adverse cardiac outcome after surgery, especially after acute perioperative ischemic events (4). The optimal anesthetic and analgesic management for these patients remains undefined (5). Numerous studies have shown that stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system plays a major role in the development of perioperative myocardial ischemia (6-9). Activation of cardiac sympathetic efferents may reduce myocardial oxygen availability by inducing poststenotic coronary constriction (lo), which can lead to redistribution of myocardial blood flow with a reduction of blood supply to the subendocardium. Myocardial oxygen consumption is increased by tachycardia and increased contractility. This mismatch between oxygen delivery and demand during sympathetic activation can lead to myocardial ischemia, decreased arrhythmia threshold, and ventricular failure. In several patient populations with a high prevalence of coronary artery disease (such as peripheral vascular disease), the use of regional anesthesia has been investigated to improve outcome (11-13). Thoracic epidural anesthesia (TEA) aims at a more specific reversible blockade of cardiac sympathetic efferents and afferents and provides intraand postoperative analgesia or-in the nonsurgical population-effective therapy of angina1 pain (14). This review focuses on TEA and does not examine studies of lumbar epidural anesthesia and cardiac outcome in detail.
The Consequences of Professionalization and Formalization in the Pro-Choice Movement

Resource mobilization theorists have argued that professionalized social movements emerge as more sources offending become available for activists who make careers out of being movement leaders. This paper analyzes organizational case histories from the pro-choice (abortion rights) movement to explore the consequences of professional leadership and formal structure in social movements. Five general propositions are drawn from the case of the pro-choice movement: (1) professional movement activists do not initiate movements and create new tactics; the roles of movement "professional" and movement "entrepreneur" are distinct; (2) professional movement leaders tend to formalize the organizations they lead; (3) formalized social movement organizations (SMOs) help maintain social movements when environmental conditions make mobilization difficult; (4) professional leaders and formalized SMOs stimulate the use of institutionalized tactics; and (5) professionalization and formalization facilitate coalition work.