Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Validation of the Childhood Career Development Scale Among Italian Middle School Students

During early adolescence, individuals engage in exploring educational opportunities, beginning to develop a career identity, contemplate future careers, and make tentative career decisions. Choices made during this period may have a strong effect on one’s academic and career future, and in many countries, young adolescents must make important and sometimes final academic and career choices that impact the rest of their lives. Despite this, research on early adolescence is severely lacking. To address this gap, a validation study of the Childhood Career Development Scale (CCDS) was conducted with a young adolescent Italian sample. Consistent with previous research with younger samples, support was found for an eight-factor structure of the CCDS. Convergent validity was supported by positive associations with exploration, students’ ideas, attitudes, and behaviors regarding their academic and career future and career self-efficacy. These findings support Super’s dimensional model of childhood career development through early adolescence as originally theorized.
A Multifaceted Examination of the Central Processes Underlying Vestibular Compensation

The vestibular system provides us with sensory information that is essential for maintaining balance and stability. When sensory input is lost due to unilateral vestibular damage (UVD), our ability to maintain stable gaze and posture becomes compromised. Over time, vestibular function is partially restored through a process known as vestibular compensation, which is associated with the rebalancing of activity in the vestibular nuclear complex (VNC) of the brainstem. However, the physiological mechanisms associated with vestibular compensation remain elusive. We addressed several different experimental objectives pertaining to plasticity and sensory adaptation associated with vestibular compensation. First, we demonstrated that systemic manipulation of γ-amino-butyric acid type B (GABAB) receptors altered the course of vestibular behavioural recovery within the first several hours after UVD. Second, we showed that immunohistochemical labeling of the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor subunit GluR4 was elevated in the VNC on the intact compared to
Pengaruh Lingkungan Kerja terhadap Kinerja Karyawan pada Bagian Produksi melalui Motivasi Kerja sebagai Variabel Intervening pada PT. Trio Corporate Plastic (Tricopla)

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh lingkungan kerja terhadap kinerja karyawan pada bagian produksi melalui motivasi kerja sebagai variabel intervening pada PT. Trio Corporate Plastic (Tricopla). Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif dan populasi yang digunakan sebanyak 52 orang. Sampel yang digunakan menggunakan teknik sampel jenuh dan dianalisis dengan teknik analisis SEM ( Structural Equation Modeling). Dari hasil penelitian dan pembahasan dapat ditarik kesimpulan bahwa Lingkungan Kerja berpengaruh terhadap Motivasi Kerja; Lingkungan Kerja berpengaruh terhadap Kinerja Karyawan; Motivasi Kerja berpengaruh terhadap Kinerja Karyawan; dan Motivasi Kerja terbukti sebagai variabel intervening antara pengaruh Lingkungan Kerja terhadap Kinerja Karyawan.
Strathclyde International Business Unit Working Paper 2002 / 02 Explaining the Export Intensity o f Multinational Subsidiaries : an EU-based Empirical Study

This paper provides explanations for the export patterns of multinational (MNE) manufacturing subsidiaries. Drawing on the results of a large-scale mail survey undertaken in four EU countries (Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the UK), the paper tests formally the determinants of export intensity. This is an under-researched area, despite the well understood complementarities between foreign direct investment (FDI) and exporting in the strategies of MNEs and their subsidiaries. The paper makes a specific contribution to the promising, yet underdeveloped, research on the relationship between subsidiary strategies and their trade patterns. A key finding is that host country characteristics impact on export intensity. Quite plausibly, subsidiaries located in smaller markets tend to be considerably more export-oriented than those located in larger EU economies. Export intensity is also positively related to a number of subsidiary characteristics, namely, greenfield mode of entry, subsidiary size, and to the Rationalised Manufacturer and Product Mandate subsidiary types; and negatively related to age of subsidiary, specialised capabilities in product development and strategic decision-making autonomy. Descriptive statistics revealed that high exportintensive affiliates have high levels of intra-group trade and import a high proportion of their imports. The results have important policy implications, casting doubts on conventional measures for promoting exports, and suggesting instead policy measures to support creative and innovative subsidiaries and to improve their embeddedness. Contact author: Professor Stephen Young Department of Marketing University of Strathclyde Stenhouse Building 173 Cathedral Street Glasgow G4 0RQ Email: stephen.young@strath.ac. uk Phone: ++ 44 (0)141 548 3146 Fax: ++ 44 (0)141 552 2802 *CEMPRE – Centro de Estudos Macroeconómicos e Previsão – is supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal, through the Programa Operacional Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (POCTI) of the Quadro Comunitário de Apoio III, which is financed by FEDER and Portuguese Funds. Ana Teresa Tavares would like to acknowledge the support of the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal.
Retinoids activate proton transport by the uncoupling proteins UCP1 and UCP2

In mammalian brown adipose tissue, thermogenesis is explained by uncoupling mitochondrial respiration from ATP synthesis. Uncoupling protein‐1 (UCP1) is responsible for this uncoupled state, because it allows proton re‐entry into the matrix and thus dissipates the proton gradient generated by the respiratory chain. Proton transport by UCP1 is regulated negatively by nucleotides and positively by fatty acids. Adrenergic stimulation of brown adipocytes stimulates lipolysis and therefore enhances uncoupling and thermogenesis. Adrenergic stimulation also boosts ucp1 gene transcription. Since retinoic acid also promotes ucp1 gene transcription and its structure makes it a possible activator of UCP1, we hypothesized that retinoic acid, like noradrenaline, could have a dual action and trigger the activity of the protein UCP1 itself. Here we show that retinoic acid strongly increases proton transport by UCP1 in brown adipose tissue mitochondria and that it is much more potent than fatty acids. These data are corroborated with yeast mitochondria where UCP1 was introduced by genetic manipulation. The yeast expression system allows the comparison of the UCP1 with the newly described homologues UCP2 and UCP3. The search for regulators of UCP2 has demonstrated that it is positively regulated by retinoids in a pH‐dependent manner.
Transient Outward Current Prominent in Canine Ventricular Epicardium but Not Endocardium

Previous studies have denied the presence of a transient outward current (Ito) in ventricular myocardium of dog, sheep, and calf. Using conventional microelectrode techniques, we provide evidence for a significant contribution of Ito to epicardial, but not endocardia], activity of canine ventricular myocardium. The epicardial action potential when compared with that of endocardium shows a smaller phase 0 amplitude, a much more prominent phase 1, and a phase 2 amplitude that is greater than that of phase 0. Epicardial action potentials, unlike those of endocardium, display a "spike and dome" morphology that becomes progressively more accentuated at slower stimulation rates. Using the restitution of phase 1 amplitude as a marker for the process responsible for the spike and dome phenomenon, we were able to delineate two exponential components: 1) a slow component that recovers with a time constant of 350-570 msec and 2) a fast component with a time constant of 41-85 msec. The slow component was largely abolished by 1-5 mM 4-aminopyridine, an Ito blocker. The fast component was diminished by 4-aminopyridine, but it was also inhibited by ryanodine and by Sr2+ replacement of Ca2+, which are interventions known to inhibit the Ca2+-activated component of Ito. Following 4-aminopyridine and Sr2+ or ryanodine treatment, the epicardial responses more closely resembled those of endocardium. In summary, the data demonstrate a marked heterogeneity of active membrane properties in canine ventricular muscle. These observations may aid in understanding the basis for rate-dependent changes in the T wave of the ECG, supernormal conduction in ventricular muscle, the greater sensitivity of epicardium to ischemia, and the rate dependence of some cardiac arrhythmias.
Technology use to support employment-related outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disability: an updated meta-analysis

Objectives The aim of this study is to update and extend an original meta-analysis which included papers published up to and including 2003 and investigated the impact of technology use on employment-related outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disability. Methods Following on from the original meta-analysis, this study is a meta-analysis of pertinent single-subject experimental design studies conducted from 2004 to 2016 and employs the same metric methods as the original contribution. Results The results are generally consistent with those of the original meta-analysis, namely, applied cognitive technology effectively supports employment-related outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disability. Nevertheless, significant differences in the intervention effects were found (a) between groups of individuals with varying levels of disability, and (b) between interventions utilizing technology with and without universal design features. Conclusions In line with the original contribution, applied cognitive technology seems to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to better achieve employment-related outcomes. More research is needed though to explore the impact of different types of technology on employment-related outcomes.
Voids in the simulated local Universe

We use simulations of the formation and evolution of the galaxy population in the local Universe to address the issue of whether the standard theoretical model succeeds in producing empty regions as large and as dark as those observed nearby. We follow the formation of galaxies in a A cold dark matter universe and work with mock catalogues that can resolve the morphology of Large Magellanic Cloud sized galaxies, and the luminosity of objects six times fainter. We look for a void signature in sets of virialized haloes selected by mass, and in mock galaxy samples selected according to observationally relevant quantities, such as luminosity, colour or morphology. We find several void regions with diameter 10 h - 1 Mpc in the simulation where gravity seems to have swept away even the smallest haloes we were able to track. We probe the environment density for the various populations and compute luminosity functions for galaxies residing in underdense, mean density and overdense regions. We also use nearest-neighbour statistics to check possible void populations, taking L * spirals as reference neighbours. Down to our resolution limits, we find that all types of galaxies avoid the same regions, and that no class appears to populate the voids defined by the bright galaxies.
Should I report? The role of general and sexual orientation-specific bullying policies and teacher behavior on adolescents’ reporting of victimization experiences

ABSTRACT Empowering students to report peer victimization is a major part of bullying intervention. Nevertheless, although bullying often can be discriminatory (e.g., homophobic), there remains limited attention to how issues of diversity relate to students reporting their victimization experiences. Among 572 students in four Chilean high schools, we tested a model in which multiple factors predicted students’ consistency of reporting victimization. Students who perceived having a sexual orientation/gender identity-specific antibullying policy reported less frequently hearing teachers or staff make homophobic comments, and students who perceived having a general antibullying policy reported that teachers and staff more frequently intervened against homophobic behavior. In turn, hearing teachers and staff make fewer homophobic comments and seeing them more frequently correct homophobic behavior related to students reporting stronger trust in their teachers and staff. Finally, stronger trust in teachers and staff was associated with more consistently reporting victimization experiences.
Examples of c/Critical Coaching: An Analysis of Conversation Between Cooperating and Preservice Teachers

As student populations become culturally and linguistically diverse, mismatches between students and the mostly White teaching force create challenges for schools and teacher education programs. This article—drawing from the Coaching With CARE project and building on research valuing the role of cooperating teachers (CTs) in supporting critical, socially just teaching—examines c/Critical conversations between CTs and preservice teachers (PTs) to highlight ways CTs may bring critical understandings into mentoring work. Findings show that using tools like retrospective video analysis (RVA) and responsive critical discourse analysis (CDA) helped provide space for some CTs to engage in critical discussions of traditional power hierarchies within the classroom, the roles they and their students assume in societal power structures, and ways those understandings may affect their classroom teaching. The examples also demonstrate the challenges facing teacher educators who hope to engage in similar work and importance of professional development for CTs that includes critical reflection on their own identities and power.
Human Action Recognition and Localization in Video Using Structured Learning of Local Space-Time Features

This paper presents a unified framework for human actionclassification and localization in video using structuredlearning of local space-time features. Each human actionclass is represented by a set of its own compact set of localpatches. In our approach, we first use a discriminativehierarchical Bayesian classifier to select those space-timeinterest points that are constructive for each particular action.Those concise local features are then passed to a SupportVector Machine with Principal Component Analysisprojection for the classification task. Meanwhile, the actionlocalization is done using Dynamic Conditional RandomFields developed to incorporate the spatial and temporalstructure constraints of superpixels extracted aroundthose features. Each superpixel in the video is defined by theshape and motion information of its corresponding featureregion. Compelling results obtained from experiments onKTH [22], Weizmann [1], HOHA [13] and TRECVid [23]datasets have proven the efficiency and robustness of ourframework for the task of human action recognition and localizationin video.
Antidiabetic effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Carthamus tinctorius L. in alloxan-induced diabetic rats

Background: Carthamus tinctorius L. (Compositae) has been used in Iranian traditional medicine for treatment of diabetes. In this study, anti-diabetic effect of its hydroalcoholic extract was compared with that of glibenclamide. Methods: Male white Wistar rats were randomly allocated into four groups of six each: nondiabetic control; diabetic control; diabetic treated with hydroalcoholic extract of Carthamus tinctorius (200 mg kg-1 BW); diabetic rats treated with glibenclamide (0.6 mg kg-1 BW). Alloxan was administered (120 mg kg-1 BW), intraperitoneally to induce diabetes. Fasting blood samples were collected three times, before injection of alloxan, two weeks and six weeks after injection of alloxan and fasting blood sugar (FBS), Hb A1C, insulin, cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, VLDL-C, triglyceride, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were measured each time. Results: FBS, triglyceride, cholesterol, LDL-C and VLDL-C had a meaningful decrease in diabetic rats treated with Carthamus tinctorius and diabetic rats treated with glibenclamide as compared with diabetic rats with no treatment. Insulin level increased significantly in diabetic groups received treatment (glibenclamide or Carthamus tinctorius L) in comparison with diabetic group with no treatment. The histological study revealed size of islets of Langerhans enlarged significantly consequentially as compared with diabetic rats with no treatment. The extract appeared non toxic as evidenced by normal levels of AST, ALP and ALT. Effects of administrating glibenclamide or extract of Carthamus tinctorius L on all biochemical parameters discussed above showed no difference and both tend to bring the values to near normal. Conclusion: These results suggested that the hydroalcoholic extract of Carthamus tinctorius possesses beneficial effect on treatment of diabetes.
Model-based On-line Handwritten Digit Recognition

This paper presents a hidden Markov model (HMM) based approach to on-line handwritten digit recognition using stroke sequences. In this approach, a character instance is represented by a sequence of symbolic strokes, and the representation is obtained by component segmentation and stroke classification. The component segmentation is based on the delta lognormal model of handwriting generation. The symbolic strokes are used for HMM multiple observation training or recognition. A training and recognition experiment has been conducted using the above techniques.
Holocene and deglacial ocean temperature variability in the Benguela upwelling region: Implications for low‐latitude atmospheric circulation

[1] Mg/Ca analyses of G. bulloides and abundances of N. pachyderma (left coiling) from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 175 Hole 1084B in the Benguela coastal upwelling system document lower sea surface temperatures during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), Younger Dryas, mid-Holocene, and Little Ice Age in the southeastern Atlantic. Taking into consideration the possible effects of differential carbonate dissolution, the Mg/Ca data indicate Younger Dryas temperatures 2°–3°C cooler than those of the early Holocene and LGM temperatures 4°–5°C cooler than those of the early Holocene. The cool interval during the deglacial period at Hole 1084B matches the timing of Younger Dryas shifts in Cariaco Basin and Greenland Ice Sheet records and that of a nearby alkenone record. Comparison of mid-Holocene cooling at Hole ODP1084B with other high-resolution records of Holocene and last deglacial sea surface temperatures from the tropical Atlantic implies consistent basin-wide changes in atmospheric circulation. A brief period of 1.5°–2°C cooling between 17.8 and 17.2 ka, if related to Heinrich event 1, is consistent with a previously hypothesized tropical origin of all Heinrich climate change events.
TVET empowerment effects within the context of poverty, inequality and marginalisation in Palestine

Abstract The international TVET literature stresses the role of TVET in development. UNESCO’s 2015 Recommendation envisioned TVET contribution to sustainable development as ‘empowering individuals, organizations, enterprises and communities and fostering employment, decent work and lifelong learning’. This paper illustrates the achieved functionings and agency of VET graduates in relation to their well-being in a marginalised Palestinian context. The paper concentrates on the empowerment effect on the graduate as achieved agency while highlighting the other achieved functionings, which contribute to well-being and human development.
Extended-Release Niacin/Laropiprant Improves Overall Efficacy of Postprandial Reverse Cholesterol Transport

Objectives— Postprandial atherogenic lipoproteins, characterizing high-risk patients, correlate positively with cardiovascular events. Although the effect of niacin on fasting lipids is well established, its impact on atheroprotective reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) pathway and on functional features of circulating lipoproteins during the postprandial state remains indeterminate. Approach and Results— We evaluated RCT pathway during postprandial phase in dyslipidemic patients displaying a low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol phenotype. Ten subjects on stable statin therapy received 1 g/20 mg extended-release niacin/laropiprant (ERN/LRPT) for 4 weeks followed by 2 g/40 mg ERN/LRPT for additional 8 weeks. At each experimental period, postprandial hypertriglyceridemia and major steps of RCT, including cholesterol efflux from human macrophages, cholesteryl ester transfer protein–mediated cholesteryl ester transfer, and hepatic HDL-cholesteryl ester selective uptake were evaluated. Equally, the capacity of postprandial HDL particles isolated from patients before and after ERN/LRPT treatment to mediate RCT to feces was evaluated in vivo in human apolipoprotein B/cholesteryl ester transfer protein double transgenic mouse model. Compared with baseline, ERN/LRPT significantly reduced postprandial hypertriglyceridemia (incremental area under the curve-triglyceride: −53%; P=0.02). Postprandial increase in endogenous plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity was completely abolished after ERN/LRPT treatment. Despite a slight reduction in plasma cholesterol efflux capacity from human THP-1 macrophages, evaluation of global RCT efficacy by combining both ex vivo and in vivo approaches indicate that postprandial HDL particles formed under ERN/LRPT therapy displayed a greater capacity for HDL-mediated RCT to feces. Conclusions— ERN/LRPT treatment efficiently attenuates atherogenic postprandial lipemia and stimulates HDL-mediated cholesterol return to the liver and elimination into feces during postprandial phase, thus maintaining an efficient removal of cholesterol from the body.
A comparative randomized trial to assess the impact of oral contraceptive pretreatment on follicular growth and hormone profiles in GnRH antagonist-treated patients.

BACKGROUND This randomized controlled trial was designed to assess the impact of oral contraceptive (OC) scheduling with a GnRH antagonist (ganirelix) regimen on the ovarian response of women undergoing recombinant FSH (rFSH) stimulation for IVF, compared with a non-scheduled ganirelix regimen and a long GnRH agonist (nafarelin) protocol. METHODS A total of 110 women was treated with an OC and ganirelix, 111 with ganirelix alone and 111 with nafarelin. The OC (containing 30 microg ethinylestradiol/150 microg desogestrel) was taken for 14-28 days and stopped 2 days prior to the start of rFSH treatment. Primary efficiency parameters were the number of cumulus-oocyte complexes (per attempt) and the number of grade 1 or 2 embryos (per attempt). RESULTS In terms of follicular growth and hormone profiles, the OC-scheduled antagonist regimen mimicked the agonist regimen rather than the (non-scheduled) GnRH antagonist regimen. In the OC-scheduled GnRH antagonist group and the nafarelin group (versus the non-scheduled antagonist group), pituitary suppression was more profound at the start of stimulation (P < or = 0.001), there was a slower start of follicular growth (P < or = 0.001), longer stimulation was required (11.7 and 10.3 days respectively versus 9.4; P < or = 0.001), and more rFSH was used (2667 and 2222 IU versus 1966 IU; P < or = 0.001). In the three groups, the number of oocytes was similar (13.1, 12.9 and 11.5 respectively; not significant) as well as the number of good quality embryos (5.1, 5.7 and 5.0 respectively; not significant). CONCLUSION OC treatment prior to the rFSH/ganirelix regimen can be successfully applied to schedule patients, although more days of stimulation and more rFSH are required than with a non-scheduled GnRH antagonist regimen.