Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An NOS3 Haplotype is Protective against Hypertension in a Caucasian Population

The endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene (NOS3) has been implicated in the development of hypertension, although the specific role of variants and haplotypes has not been clarified. In this study, the association of three polymorphisms (promoter T786C, intronic 4a/b, and nonsynonymous G894T) was tested in a case-control sample of 230 patients with essential hypertension and 306 healthy controls. Haplotype analysis was also performed. The mutant allele a∗ of the 4a/b polymorphism showed a protective effect against hypertension under a dominant model (odds ratio = 0.64, 95% confidence interval (0.44–0.93)), although this effect was not significant after the adjustment for covariates (P = 0.06). The estimated frequency of the haplotype composed of the T786∗, 4a∗, and G894∗ alleles was significantly higher in controls (5.5%) compared to cases (2%). These results indicate that although individual NOS3 polymorphisms are not associated with hypertension, a rare haplotype of the gene might be protective against the development of hypertension.
Role of dietary phosphate restriction in chronic kidney disease

Patients with progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD) develop positive phosphate balance that is associated with increased cardiovascular risk and mortality. Modification of dietary phosphate is a commonly used strategy to improve outcomes but is complicated by the need for adequate dietary protein. Surprisingly, the evidence for patient‐level benefits from phosphate restriction is tenuous, and the justification for using any phosphate binder for pre‐dialysis patients is questionable.
An exploration of leadership experiences among white women and women of color

Purpose – The specific aims for this paper are to deal with the conflicting research findings associated with the factors that influence the success of female leaders while using race (African American) as the core variable in this paper.Design/methodology/approach – A literature review was done. An empirical survey was designed and pre‐tested for face validity, relevance, clarity of items, and ease of administration and response. Two versions of the survey were pilot tested with two focus groups.Findings – The analysis centered on racial differences between Caucasian and African American female leaders. Chi‐square test was used for the primary original data, and t‐test for the mean subgroup scores obtained in Likert‐type items. The primary finding is that while Caucasian women and African American women face similar gender obstacles, the factors that determine their paths to success differ significantly.Research limitations/implications – The present study provides an excellent starting point to infuse r.
Role of oxidative stress in myocardial hypertrophy and failure.

see Ref. 9). Recent progress in understanding the Introduction mechanisms that mediate myocardial remodeling at the cellular level has led to evidence that reactive In the setting of hemodynamic overload, there are progressive changes in myocardial structure and oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress play a central role in regulating the phenotype of cardiac function that are referred to as myocardial remodeling. This process is characterized by ventmyocytes and fibroblasts. In this brief review, we will discuss the experimental evidence for the role ricular enlargement, alterations in chamber geometry and pump dysfunction. At the cellular of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of myocardial remodeling leading to heart failure and delve into level, the changes in ventricular structure in heart failure include myocyte growth, loss of myocytes the potential cellular mechanisms by which ROS and oxidative stress might contribute to this disease via apoptosis or necrosis and/or myocyte slippage, the latter perhaps caused by degradation of fibrillar process. collagen struts due to activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Pump dysfunction may result from loss of functional myocytes and/or a ROS and Antioxidant Enzymes shift in myocyte contractility in part due to reexpression of fetal isoforms involved in contraction In the myocardium, as in other tissues, antioxidant enzymes protect cells by maintaining superoxide (e.g. -myosin heavy chain) and/or calcium homeostasis (e.g. sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca ATPanion (O2) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at low levels (Fig. 1). Three known types of superoxide ase). Ultimately, progressive remodeling can result in clinical heart failure, a syndrome associated with dismutase (SOD) are present in mammalian tissues (for review see Ref. 10). MnSOD, which is encoded disabling symptoms, exercise limitation and death. Increasing evidence from experimental models of on the nuclear genome but localizes to mitochondria via a mitochondrial targeting sequence, heart failure supports the concept that there is increased oxidative stress in the failing heart, and makes up >70% of the SOD activity in the heart and >90% of the activity in cardiac myocytes. that this contributes to the pathogenesis of myocardial remodeling and failure (for recent review The remaining SOD consists primarily of Cu/ZnSOD,
A model of infant speech perception and learning

Infant speech perception and learning is modeled using Echo State Network classification and Reinforcement Learning. Ambient speech for the modeled infant learner is created using the speech synthesizer Vocaltractlab. An auditory system is trained to recognize vowel sounds from a series of speakers of different anatomies in Vocaltractlab. Having formed perceptual targets, the infant uses Reinforcement Learning to imitate his ambient speech. A possible way of bridging the problem of speaker normalisation is proposed, using direct imitation but also including a caregiver who listens to the infants sounds and imitates those that sound vowel-like.
A systematic review of dropout from organized sport among children and youth

Leisure constraints theory was used as a framework to systematically review factors associated with dropout of organized sport among children and adolescents. Keyword searches for the population, context and construct of interest (i.e. dropout) identified articles from the entire contents of the following databases: Academic Search Complete, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and SPORTDiscus. The initial search yielded 557 studies, and 43 met the selection criteria. Most studies focused solely on adolescents, and 89% of participants were male. Most studies were cross-sectional using quantitative approaches. Almost 30 different sports were included in the reviewed studies; however, the most represented sports were soccer, swimming, gymnastics and basketball. Findings from this review indicated that intrapersonal and interpersonal constraints are more frequently associated with dropping out of sport than structural constraints. Although many discrete factors associated with dropout were identified, five major areas emerged: lack of enjoyment, perceptions of competence, social pressures, competing priorities and physical factors (maturation and injuries). Rarely were the interrelationships between factors or the underlying dimensions of factors examined. Future research would benefit from mixed-methods and prospective approaches. These approaches would allow children and youth to explain how their experience of sport shaped their motives to dropout and allow researchers to probe the extent to which affordances and motives for participation aligned with athletes’ reasons for dropping out.
Similarity, Connectionism, and the Problem of Representation in Vision

A representational scheme under which the ranking between represented similarities is isomorphic to the ranking between the corresponding shape similarities can support perfectly correct shape classification because it preserves the clustering of shapes according to the natural kinds prevailing in the external world. This article discusses the computational requirements of representation that preserves similarity ranks and points out the relative straightforwardness of its connectionist implementation.
Quantifying equivocation for finite blocklength wiretap codes

This paper presents a new technique for providing the analysis and comparison of wiretap codes in the small blocklength regime over the binary erasure wiretap channel. A major result is the development of Monte Carlo strategies for quantifying a code's equivocation, which mirrors techniques used to analyze forward error correcting codes. For this paper, we limit our analysis to coset-based wiretap codes, and give preferred strategies for calculating and/or estimating the equivocation in order of preference. We also make several comparisons of different code families. Our results indicate that there are security advantages to using algebraic codes for applications that require small to medium blocklengths.
Liquor Is Quicker

Akers’s Social Structure-Social Learning Theory (SS-SL) has recently been criticized for dealing with social structural factors as exogenous variables rather than integrating them into propositions that specify the learning processes better. For example, Morash has argued that SS-SL has largely ignored the ways in which gender structures institutions, interactions, and behaviors and takes Akers to task for ignoring feminist theories. This research uses Core Alcohol and Drug Survey data from a subsample of White unmarried college students from eight diverse campuses throughout the United States to examine how conflict structured by gender affects differences in the use of alcohol before sex. The research specifically examines Akers’s claim that social learning variables (in this case, anticipated reward and risk of harm) will substantially mediate the effects of structural variables rather than modulate or moderate them. The policy implications of the research are discussed.
Mapping of RNA- temperature-sensitive mutants of Sindbis virus: complementation group F mutants have lesions in nsP4

Temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of Sindbis virus belonging to complementation group F, ts6, ts110, and ts118, are defective in RNA synthesis at the nonpermissive temperature. cDNA clones of these group F mutants, as well as of ts+ revertants, have been constructed. To assign the ts phenotype to a specific region in the viral genome, restriction fragments from the mutant cDNA clones were used to replace the corresponding regions of the full-length clone Toto1101 of Sindbis virus. These hybrid plasmids were transcribed in vitro by SP6 RNA polymerase to produce infectious transcripts, and the virus recovered was tested for temperature sensitivity. After the ts lesion of each mutant was mapped to a specific region of 400 to 800 nucleotides by this approach, this region of the cDNA clones of both the ts mutant and ts+ revertants was sequenced in order to determine the precise nucleotide change and amino acid substitution responsible for each mutation. Rescued mutants, which have a uniform background except for one or two defined changes, were examined for viral RNA synthesis and complementation to show that the phenotypes observed were the result of the mutations mapped. ts6 and ts110 had a single base substitution in nsP4, resulting in replacement of Gly by Glu at position 153 or position 324, respectively. It is of interest that nsP4 contains the Gly-Asp-Asp motif characteristic of a number of viral replicases, and this, together with the fact that all RNA synthesis in ts6-infected cells and, to a lesser extent, in ts110-infected cells shut off when the cells were shifted from a permissive to a nonpermissive temperature, suggests that nsP4 is the virus polymerase. ts118 was a double mutant. It contained a single base substitution in nsP2, resulting in replacement of Val by Ala at position 425 that resulted in the formation of minute plaques, but not in a reduction in the plaque number at the nonpermissive condition. The second change, a substitution of Gln by Arg in ts118 at residue 93 in nsP4, had little apparent phenotype on its own, but in combination with the change in nsP2 led to a ts phenotype. Thus, in each case the mutation responsible for the temperature sensitivity of the three known complementation group F mutants lay in nsP4. In addition, the result with ts118 suggests that nsP2 and nsP4 may interact with each other in a complex.
Applications of Self-Efficacy Theory to the Career Assessment of Women

This article reviews the applicability of self-efficacy theory to the career assessment of women. The article begins by summarizing Bandura's self-efficacy theory, including its particular relevance to women's career development. Next, the domains of occupational, scientific—technical, and mathematics self-efficacy are reviewed, followed by those represented by Holland's RIASEC model and Rooney and Osipow's (1992; Osipow, Temple, & Rooney, 1993) Task-Specific Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale (TSOSS). The article concludes with a review of work on the relationship of self-efficacy to vocational interests and on counseling implications of self-efficacy theory.
Adrenergic receptor gene polymorphism and left ventricular reverse remodelling after cardiac resynchronization therapy: preliminary results.

AIMS Several factors can influence the extent of left ventricular (LV) reverse remodelling after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with heart failure (HF). Polymorphism in genes involved in cardiac remodelling, namely beta-adrenergic receptors (ARs), may have a role. We studied the influence of beta-1 Arg389Gly, beta-2 Arg16Gly, and beta-2 Gln27Glu ARs gene polymorphisms on the magnitude of reverse remodelling response to CRT and its possible correlations with the incidence of appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) shocks. METHODS AND RESULTS Beta-ARs were assessed in 101 patients with HF due to idiopathic (50.5%) or ischaemic (49.5%) dilated cardiomyopathy, undergoing CRT for standard indications [left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 23.5 ± 7.5%, QRS ≥ 120 ms]. Left ventricular ejection fraction was measured by echocardiography at baseline, 6 months after CRT, and periodically afterwards. The LVEF change from baseline was of 3.1 ± 11 units among Gln27Gln, 8.3 ± 10.4 units among Gln27Glu, 11 ± 6.4 units among Glu27Glu carriers (P = 0.018 for Gln27Gln vs. Glu27Glu carriers), and 8.8 ± 9.8 units among Gln27Glu + Glu27Glu carriers (P = 0.006 vs. Gln27Gln). Gln27 homozygotes had a higher incidence of appropriate ICD shocks for fast ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation. CONCLUSION Beta-2 Gln27Glu ARs gene polymorphism may influence LV reverse remodelling after CRT with Glu27Glu carriers showing the greatest improvement. It may also influence the incidence of malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmias.
Coordinated behavior between visually coupled dyads

We describe how visually coupled people start their synchronized behavior with two visual coupling conditions: view-swapping and view-blending. In the view-swapping condition, two people's views are changed from the first-person perspective so that both see their partner's views. The view-blending condition allows people to see the blended view of both views. We report the results of different coordinated strategies to start synchronization that is observed in different conditions. In terms of the time required to start synchronization, view-swapping outperforms view-blending.
A novel defense mechanism against sybil attacks in VANET

Security is an important concern for many Vehicular Ad hoc Network (VANET) applications. One particular serious attack, known as Sybil attack, against ad hoc networks involves an attacker illegitimately claiming multiple identities. In this paper, we present a simple security scheme, based on the difference in movement patterns of Sybil nodes and normal nodes, for detecting Sybil nodes in VANET. Our approach is distributed in nature because all nodes contribute for detection of Sybil nodes in VANET and it scales well in an expanding network. In this approach, each Road Side Unit (RSU) calculates and stores different parameter values (Received Signal Strength, distance, angle) after receiving the beacon packets from nearby vehicles. The reason for choosing the angle as one of the parameters is that it will always be different for two vehicles (not moving side-by-side), even if they have same values for distance and received signal strength (RSS) with reference to a RSU. The combination of the parameters makes our detection approach highly accurate. After a significant observation period, these RSUs exchange their records and calculate the difference of the parameters. If some nodes have same values for the parameters during this observation period, these nodes are classified as Sybil nodes. Our preliminary simulation results show 99% accuracy and approximately 0.5% error rate, lower as compared to existing techniques.
Pre-Service Teachers' Use of Images in Integrating Environmental Sustainability Lessons

Pre-Service Teachers' Use of Images in Integrating Environmental Sustainability Lessons Environmental sustainability is a topic widely discussed in the field of science education, yet, few entities have committed to developing environmental sustainability education standards. The Washington State Department of Education has created K-12 Integrated Environmental and Sustainability Learning Standards (IESLS, 2009), which align with current research and practices in environmental and sustainability education. This study focuses on the perceptions of secondary pre-service teachers about the use of images to teach environmental sustainability topics integrated in their content area. The research explores the question what secondary pre-service teachers' perceptions of sustainability and using images to teach environmental sustainability topics in their content area are. The participants were comprised of secondary pre-service teachers enrolled in an instructional methodology course from a small university in the Pacific Northwestern United States. Teaching environmental sustainability and integrating lessons using images had a noticeable impact on pre-service teachers' perceived future teaching practices. Participants also changed beliefs over the course of the study about using images to teach environmental sustainability topics.
Comparison of Subcuticular Suture Materials in Cesarean Skin Closure

Aim. Comparison of the rate of wound complications, pain, and patient satisfaction based on used subcuticular suture material. Methods. A total of 250 consecutive women undergoing primary and repeat cesarean section with low transverse incision were prospectively included. The primary outcome was wound complication rate including infection, dehiscence, hematoma, and hypertrophic scar formation within a 6-week period after operation. Secondary outcomes were skin closure time, the need for use of additional analgesic agent, pain score on numeric rating scale, cosmetic score, and patient scar satisfaction scale. Results. Absorbable polyglactin was used in 108 patients and nonabsorbable polypropylene was used in 142 patients. Wound complication rates were similar in primary and repeat cesarean groups based on the type of suture material. Skin closure time is longer in nonabsorbable suture material group in both primary and repeat cesarean groups. There was no difference between groups in terms of postoperative pain, need for additional analgesic use, late phase pain, and itching at the scar. Although the cosmetic results tended to be better in the nonabsorbable group in primary surgery patients, there was no significant difference in the visual satisfaction of the patients. Conclusions. Absorbable and nonabsorbable suture materials are comparable in cesarean section operation skin closure.
Fast conservative garbage collection

Garbage collectors are exact or conservative. An exact collector identifies all references precisely and may move referents and update references, whereas a conservative collector treats one or more of stack, register, and heap references as ambiguous. Ambiguous references constrain collectors in two ways. (1) Since they may be pointers, the collectors must retain referents. (2) Since they may be values, the collectors cannot modify them, pinning their referents. We explore conservative collectors for managed languages, with ambiguous stacks and registers. We show that for Java benchmarks they retain and pin remarkably few heap objects: < 0.01% are falsely retained and 0.03% are pinned. The larger effect is collector design. Prior conservative collectors (1) use mark-sweep and unnecessarily forgo moving all objects, or (2) use mostly copying and pin entire pages. Compared to generational collection, overheads are substantial: 12% and 45% respectively. We introduce high performance conservative Immix and reference counting (RC). Immix is a mark-region collector with fine line-grain pinning and opportunistic copying of unambiguous referents. Deferred RC simply needs an object map to deliver the first conservative RC. We implement six exact collectors and their conservative counterparts. Conservative Immix and RC come within 2 to 3% of their exact counterparts. In particular, conservative RC Immix is slightly faster than a well-tuned exact generational collector. These findings show that for managed languages, conservative collection is compatible with high performance.
Predictive significance of early giftedness: the case of precocious reading

Results of a longitudinal study of 59 10-12 year olds who had been precocious readers when first tested at 5-6 years of age suggest that extraordinary early achievement in reading predicts above-average, but not necessarily extraordinary, ability in reading and related skill areas during the middle elementary school years. This study illustrates theoretical and methodological issues that must be addressed in other investigations of early development of giftedness
Social Dominance Threat: Examining Social Dominance Theory's Explanation of Prejudice as Legitimizing Myths

Social dominance theory (SDT) suggests that prejudice legitimizes and maintains the existing social hierarchy. Consistent with an SDT explanation, it was predicted that (a) perceptions of threat to the existing social hierarchy and (b) social dominance orientation (SDO) would be related to stronger beliefs in stereotypes and "legitimizing myths. " In addition, this analysis tests SDT's predicted interaction between perceptions of threat and SDO. It was predicted that for high SDO individuals the relation between perceptions of intergroup threat and the endorsement of legitimizing myths would be stronger than for low SDO individuals. These predictions were examined using a national probability General Social Survey archival data set. The results were consistent with our predictions and suggest that social dominance theory compliments and augments other threat theories of prejudice.