Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of School Closures on Equity of Access in Chicago

This study examines the impact of school closures on the sociospatial distribution of equitable access to schooling following the school closure policy pursued by the Chicago Public Schools in 2013. By examining access in terms of proximity between students and schools, the study estimates the changes in accessibility before and after school closings. The change in accessibility is compared with density maps constructed around a number of variables, including population aged 5 through 14 by race and ethnicity, proportion of families with children younger than 18 years old below the poverty level, and crime incidence during the previous 12 months. The overall results suggest that school closing may cause sociogeographic inequality in access to education.
Role conflict, role ambiguity and job satisfaction: Perceptions of the Brazilian controllers

Desde os primordios ate a atualidade, a literatura contabil vem registrando diversas situacoes que propiciam tensoes nos controllers, do tipo conflito e ambiguidade de funcao. O referencial teorico foi composto pelo trabalho seminal sobre a Teoria de Funcao de Katz e Kahn (1970) e pelas evidencias empiricas sobre a evolucao das funcoes do controller. Neste estudo foi utilizada a tecnica de equacoes estruturais, a qual permitiu nao rejeitar as duas hipoteses de pesquisa, evidenciando que o conflito e a ambiguidade de funcao incidem, negativamente, sobre a satisfacao no trabalho dos controllers brasileiros. A amostra foi composta por 114 controllers. Para a coleta de dados foi utilizado um questionario eletronico, que possibilitou capturar informacoes dos respondentes, assim como suas percepcoes quanto aos niveis de conflito, ambiguidade de funcao e satisfacao no trabalho. Para isso, foram utilizados os instrumentos desenvolvidos por Rizzo, House e Lirtzman (1970), e o Job Satisfaction Index apresentado no trabalho de Tarrant e Sabo (2010). Os resultados indicaram que os controllers brasileiros percebem conflito e ambiguidade de funcao quando desempenham suas funcoes. A satisfacao no trabalho dos controllers e afetada com maior intensidade pela ambiguidade de funcao do que pelo conflito, mas apesar de perceber essas duas tensoes, os executivos encontram-se moderadamente satisfeitos com suas atuais condicoes de trabalho.
Probing of NMDA Channels with Fast Blockers

Using whole-cell patch-clamp techniques, we studied the interaction of open NMDA channels with tetraalkylammonium compounds: tetraethylammonium (TEA), tetrapropylammonium (TPA), tetrabutylammonium (TBA), and tetrapentylammonium (TPentA). Analysis of the blocking kinetics, concentration, and agonist dependencies using a set of kinetic models allowed us to create the criteria distinguishing the effects of these blockers on the channel closure, desensitization, and agonist dissociation. Thus, it was found that TPentA prohibited, TBA partly prevented, and TPA and TEA did not prevent either the channel closure or the agonist dissociation. TPentA and TBA prohibited, TPA slightly prevented, and TEA did not affect the channel desensitization. These data along with the voltage dependence of the stationary current inhibition led us to hypothesize that: (1) there are activation and desensitization gates in the NMDA channel; (2) these gates are distinct structures located in the external channel vestibule, the desensitization gate being located deeper than the activation gate. The size of the blocker plays a key role in its interaction with the NMDA channel gating machinery: small blockers (TEA and TPA) bind in the depth of the channel pore and permit the closure of both gates, whereas larger blockers (TBA) allow the closure of the activation gate but prohibit the closure of the desensitization gate; finally, the largest blockers (TPentA) prohibit the closure of both activation and desensitization gates. The mean diameter of the NMDA channel pore in the region of the activation gate localization was estimated to be ∼11 Å.
Psyching Up for a Muscular Endurance Task: Effects of Image Content on Performance and Mood State

There is a shortage of evidence regarding exactly how mental imagery works to enhance performance. This study sought to determine whether it is the imagining of the task that is crucial or simply the positive aspects of a mental image. In the first experiment, 52 male students used task relevant imagery, task irrelevant imagery, or a distraction control procedure before performing an analogue task. Those in the task relevant condition showed significantly greater improvements over baseline. The second experiment involved 142 male students and included assessment of mood state following psyching up. Again the task relevant group showed significantly greater improvements, which were not related to mood states. These findings suggest that the specific content of mental imagery is crucial in determining its effect on performance. The effect does not appear to depend on alterations of mood state and may operate through cognitive preparation.
Measuring policy entitlements at the micro-level: maternity and parental leave in Europe

ABSTRACT Comparative social policy analysis has been shaped by the measurement of policy as a macro phenomenon. However, social policy theories have consistently asserted that policy entitlements vary across class, gender, ethnicity and the life-course. This paper synthesises a number of innovations to produce an approach which allows researchers to explore the policy heterogeneity within populations, across populations and over time. Using the example of maternity and parental leave, policy entitlements are identified through the calculation of financial support an individual would receive if they were to have a child, using a combination of legislative rules with representative survey sample. The results reveal far greater heterogeneity in policy entitlements than existing indicators suggest, with considerable implications for research on maternity and parental leave. This approach is not limited to maternity and parental leave benefits and demonstrates a way to explore comparative social policy in greater depth and detail.
Detecting Sparse Signals in Random Fields, With an Application to Brain Mapping

Brain mapping data have been modeled as Gaussian random fields, and local increases in mean are detected by local maxima of a random field of test statistics derived from these data. Accurate p values for local maxima are readily available for isotropic data based on the expected Euler characteristic of the excursion set of the test statistic random field. In this article we give a simple method for dealing with nonisotropic data. Our approach has connections to the model of Sampson and Guttorp for nonisotropy in which there exists an unknown mapping of the support of the data to a space in which the random fields are isotropic. Heuristic justification for our approach comes from the Nash embedding theorem. Formally, we show that our method gives consistent unbiased estimators for the true p values based on new results of Taylor and Adler for random fields on manifolds, which replace the Euclidean metric by the variogram. The results are used to detect gender differences in the cortical thickness of the brain and to detect regions of the brain involved in sentence comprehension measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Semiparametric Estimation of Covariance Matrixes for Longitudinal Data

Estimation of longitudinal data covariance structure poses significant challenges because the data usually are collected at irregular time points. A viable semiparametric model for covariance matrixes has been proposed that allows one to estimate the variance function nonparametrically and to estimate the correlation function parametrically by aggregating information from irregular and sparse data points within each subject. But the asymptotic properties of the quasi-maximum likelihood estimator (QMLE) of parameters in the covariance model are largely unknown. We address this problem in the context of more general models for the conditional mean function, including parametric, nonparametric, or semiparametric. We also consider the possibility of rough mean regression function and introduce the difference-based method to reduce biases in the context of varying-coefficient partially linear mean regression models. This provides a more robust estimator of the covariance function under a wider range of situations. Under some technical conditions, consistency and asymptotic normality are obtained for the QMLE of the parameters in the correlation function. Simulation studies and a real data example are used to illustrate the proposed approach.
Genome-Wide RNAi Screen Identifies Letm1 as a Mitochondrial Ca2+/H+ Antiporter

In and Out For over 40 years, Ca2+/H+ antiport has been reported across plasma cell membranes and mitochondrial inner membranes, but the molecules responsible for the exchange have not been known. Jiang et al. (p. 144; see the Perspective by Demaurex and Poburko) conducted a genome-wide RNA interference screen in Drosophila and identified a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein, Letm1 (leucine zipper EF–hand-containing transmembrane protein 1), as a mitochondrial Ca2+/H+ antiporter critical for mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake. Furthermore, the gene's mammalian homolog is deleted in Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, a disorder characterized by mental retardation, microcephaly, seizures, hypotonia, and cleft lip or palate. A nuclear-encoded protein is responsible for the uptake of calcium and the export of protons across the mitochondrial membrane. Mitochondria are integral components of cellular calcium (Ca2+) signaling. Calcium stimulates mitochondrial adenosine 5′-triphosphate production, but can also initiate apoptosis. In turn, cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentrations are regulated by mitochondria. Although several transporter and ion-channel mechanisms have been measured in mitochondria, the molecules that govern Ca2+ movement across the inner mitochondrial membrane are unknown. We searched for genes that regulate mitochondrial Ca2+ and H+ concentrations using a genome-wide Drosophila RNA interference (RNAi) screen. The mammalian homolog of one Drosophila gene identified in the screen, Letm1, was found to specifically mediate coupled Ca2+/H+ exchange. RNAi knockdown, overexpression, and liposome reconstitution of the purified Letm1 protein demonstrate that Letm1 is a mitochondrial Ca2+/H+ antiporter.
Personality traits and autobiographical memory: Openness is positively related to the experience and usage of recollections

We examined the relationship between the Five-Factor Model of personality and the experience and overall usage of autobiographical memory in two studies. In both studies we found that Openness was related to the directive and self functions of overall usage. In addition, Openness was related to the vividness, reliving, coherence, and centrality of event to the person's identity and life story of concrete memories in Study 2, whereas this was not found in Study 1. For the remaining “Big Five” personality traits the results were less consistent across studies. Neuroticism was related to the self function in Study 1, but also to the directive function as well as to negative affect of concrete memories in Study 1. Extraversion was positively related to the social function as well as to conversational rehearsal of memories in Study 1, but this was also not replicated in Study 2. Finally, in both studies there were no significant relationships with regard to Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Overall, the findings replicate and extend previous work showing a positive relationship between Openness and the experience and overall usage of autobiographical memory, whereas the roles for the remaining “Big Five” are less clear.
Effects of estradiol on platelet aggregation in cerebral microvessels of mice.

Mice were implanted subcutaneously with a pellet containing 0.5 mg estradiol or with a placebo. Eight to 12 days later platelet aggregation was produced in pial arterioles by injuring their endothelium in vivo with a noxious light/dye stimulus. The time between the onset of the noxious stimulus and the appearance of platelet aggregates was significantly shortened (p less than .02) by estradiol treatment in young (2 month old) mice. The same treatment had the opposite effect in 4-6 month old mice and significantly delayed the onset of aggregation (p = .01). When platelet rich plasma (PRP) was prepared, aggregation by sodium arachidonate was always inhibited in PRP from estradiol treated mice, irrespective of age. Estradiol treatment had no effect on aggregation induced ex vivo by ADP. Thus the enhanced aggregation observed in pial arterioles of young estradiol treated mice may not reflect direct effects of estradiol on the platelet itself. The data are discussed in light of the literature suggesting enhancement of ischemic vascular disease, including strokes, in patients receiving estrogens, and especially high doses of estrogens.
A proof of a conjecture of Buck, Chan, and Robbins on the expected value of the minimum assignment

We prove the main conjecture of the paper “On the expected value of the minimum assignment” by Marshall W. Buck, Clara S. Chan, and David P. Robbins [Random Structures Algorithms 21 (2002), 33–58]. This is an exact formula for the expected value of a certain type of random assignment problem. It generalizes the formula 1 + 1/4 + … 1/n2 for the n by n exp(1) random assignment problem. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg. , 2005
Emotion Regulation and Trait Anxiety Are Predicted by the Microstructure of Fibers between Amygdala and Prefrontal Cortex

Diffusion tensor imaging revealed that trait anxiety predicts the microstructural properties of a prespecified fiber tract between the amygdala and the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex. Besides this particular pathway, it is likely that other pathways are also affected. We investigated white matter differences in persons featuring an anxious or a nonanxious personality, taking into account all potential pathway connections between amygdala and anxiety-related regions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Diffusion-weighted images, measures of trait anxiety and of reappraisal use (an effective emotion-regulation style), were collected in 48 females. With probabilistic tractography, pathways between the amygdala and the dorsolateral PFC, dorsomedial PFC, ventromedial PFC, and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) were delineated. The resulting network showed a direct ventral connection between amygdala and PFC and a second limbic connection following the fornix and the anterior limb of the internal capsule. Reappraisal use predicted the microstructure of pathways to all calculated PFC regions in the left hemisphere, indicating stronger pathways for persons with high reappraisal use. Trait anxiety predicted the microstructure in pathways to the ventromedial PFC and OFC, indexing weaker connections in trait-anxious persons. These effects appeared in the right hemisphere, supporting lateralization and top-down inhibition theories of emotion processing. Whereas a specific microstructure is associated with an anxious personality, a different structure subserves emotion regulation. Both are part of a broad fiber tract network between amygdala and PFC.
The Role of Problem Behaviors in the Pathway from Abuse to Prostitution

The Role of Problem Behaviors in the Pathway from Abuse to Prostitution by Shante Williams MA, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2009 BA, Florida A&M University, 2005 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Policy and Administration Walden University June 2016
Intra-arterial cisplatin and concomitant radiation therapy followed by surgery for advanced paranasal sinus cancer.

OBJECTIVE To report the long-term efficacy of a combined regimen of intra-arterial high-dose cisplatin chemotherapy and concomitant radiation therapy followed by organ-sparing surgery when possible in the treatment of advanced paranasal sinus cancer. DESIGN Review of prospectively collected data. SETTING Academic referral center. Patients Nineteen patients with advanced paranasal sinus malignancies with a minimum follow-up of 2 years. Malignancies included 14 squamous cell carcinomas (74%), 2 adenocarcinomas (10%), 2 adenoid cystic carcinomas (10%), and 1 undifferentiated carcinoma (5%). Sixteen patients (84%) had T4 disease. Intervention Treatment consisted of preoperative radiation therapy (2.0 Gy/fraction per day; total dose, 50 Gy in 5 weeks) given concomitantly with 3 to 4 weekly infusions of intra-arterial cisplatin (150 mg/m(2) per week) and systemic sodium thiosulfate neutralization. The regimen included planned surgery performed approximately 8 weeks after completion of radiation therapy. Ten patients underwent a transcranial anterior craniofacial resection; 1, a medial maxillectomy; and 1, an endoscopic restaging only. RESULTS After a median follow-up of 53 months, actuarial overall survival at 2 and 5 years was 68% and 53%, respectively. One patient died of myocardial infarction during treatment. No other treatment-limiting toxic effect was noted. Although 3 patients had persistence of disease, delayed local failure occurred only in 2 and distant metastasis in 3. Except for cataract in 2 patients, no visual loss developed. CONCLUSION Despite the advanced stage and unfavorable nature of cancer in this cohort, our results indicate that this regimen holds promise and merits further study.
Antiarrhythmic drug action. Blockade of the inward sodium current.

THE mechanisms of action of antiarrhythmic drugs were discussed in these reviews over a decade ago (Rosen and Hoffman, 1973). Since then, important new concepts of the blocking action of drugs have been proposed and tested experimentally. Several attempts at a quantitative voltage clamp analysis of the blocking action of antiarrhythmic drugs have been made. The mechanism of the blocking action of local anesthetics has been studied in nerves to the limit of current electrical techniques—that of gating currents (Cahalan, 1980; Yeh, 1982). The volume of data dictates that we restrict the studies covered. We shall focus on the mechanism of the blockade of the sodium current. We neglect discussion of many otherwise important studies which do not have this focus. Knowledge of the number, kinetics, and relative importance of the individual pacemaker currents is sufficiently incomplete as to limit a discussion on the drug action on the individual currents. Blockade of membrane sodium conductance (GNa) is probably a major mechanism of action of antiarrhythmic drugs. To obtain a quantitative analysis of the kinetic and steady state effects of drugs on the sodium conductance, it is necessary to measure the sodium current, INa, in a stable system with the temperature and extracellular milieu that may be obtained in both normal and diseased tissues in vivo. The strategies that have been exploited for the study of INa in heart muscle include: (1) indirect estimation from Vmax of action potentials, (2) direct measurement of macroscopic sodium currents in multicellular and isolated cell preparations under voltage clamp, and (3) direct recording of unitary sodium conductance using the extracellular patch clamp technique. All these techniques use measurement of electrical properties to assess the binding kinetics of drugs to their receptor site(s). The quantitative precision of these techniques may vary. However, it is important to establish their ability to produce qualitatively similar results.
Effects of Cooling and Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin Supplementation on Body Fluids, Mammary Blood Flow, and Nutrients Uptake by the Mammary Gland in Different Stages of Lactation of Crossbred Holstein Cattle

and in shaded with misty-fan cooling (MFC) as cooled cows. The cows were treated with recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) in early, mid and late lactation with three consecutive injections of rbST 500 mg of rbST (POSILAC) in every 14 days. During the study, ambient temperature at the hottest period daily (1400 hr) in the MFC barn was significantly lower, while relative humidity was higher than that of the NS barn. The temperature humidity index (THI) in both barns ranged from 80.7-85.5 throughout the periods of study. Cows in the MFC barn showed a lower rectal temperature and respiration rate as compared with cows in the NS barn. Milk yield significantly increased in both cooled and non-cooled cows treated with rbST in each stage of lactation. The high milk yield in both groups of animals declined as lactation advanced to late lactation. Increases in mammary blood flow (MBF) accompanied with increases in total body water (TBW), extracellular fluid (ECF), blood volume (BV) and plasma volume (PV) in both cooled and non-cooled cows receiving rbST in each stage of lactation. The mean arterial plasma concentrations for glucose, acetate, β-hydroxybutyrate and triacylglycerol were unchanged but an increase in plasma free fatty acid concentrations in both cooled and non-cooled cows supplemental rbST. The net mammary glucose and triacylglycerol uptakes of cows in both groups markedly increased in mid and late stages of lactation, while no significant changes of the arteriovenous differences (A-V differences) and mammary extraction across the mammarygland were apparent in both cooled and non-cooled cows supplemental rbST. No significant changes in the A-V differences, mammary extraction and mammary uptake for acetate, β-hydroxybutyrate were apparent during rbST supplementation in both cooled and non-cooled cows. These results suggest that the effect of rbST supplementation on milk yield in each stage of lactation of either cooled or non-cooled cows is due to changes in the relative rates of delivery and uptake of nutrients by the mammary gland. The rate of decline in milk yield as lactation advances would be consequences in local changes for biosynthetic capacity within the mammary gland in the utilization of substrates occurring in both cooled and non-cooled cows whether supplemental rbST or not.
Size asymmetry in intraspecific competition and the density‐dependence of inbreeding depression in a natural plant population: a case study in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz, Euphorbiaceae)

The effects of competition on the genetic composition of natural populations are not well understood. We combined demography and molecular genetics to study how intraspecific competition affects microevolution in cohorts of volunteer plants of cassava (Manihot esculenta) originating from seeds in slash‐and‐burn fields of Palikur Amerindians in French Guiana. In this clonally propagated crop, genotypic diversity is enhanced by the incorporation of volunteer plants into farmers’ stocks of clonal propagules. Mortality of volunteer plants was density‐dependent. Furthermore, the size asymmetry of intraspecific competition increased with local clustering of plants. Size of plants was correlated with their multilocus heterozygosity, and stronger size‐dependence of survival in clusters of plants, compared with solitary plants, increased the magnitude of inbreeding depression when competition was severe. The density‐dependence of inbreeding depression of volunteer plants helps explain the high heterozygosity of volunteers that survive to harvest time and thus become candidates for clonal propagation. This effect could help favour the maintenance of sex in this ‘vegetatively’ propagated crop plant.