Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prison listeners and self-harm: the development of a multi-disciplinary gendered approach for women in custody

Women in custody represent the minority (5%) of offenders within the overall prison population, although in 2016 women carried out 21% of all acts of self-harm that took place in custody in England and Wales (Ministry of Justice, 2016). To date, reviews of the literature have not considered in detail the role prison peer support may play for women who self-harm in custody. This thesis from a gendered perspective, explores the perceptions and experiences of the Listeners Scheme as a form of peer support and its contribution to supporting women to manage their self-harm in custody. Perspectives are sought from prisoners, staff and listeners as part of an in-depth case study design. Conversely, as an established prison peer support scheme for over two decades, research on the Listener Scheme and its contribution to the support of women who self-harm in custody has yet to be paid significant attention. The research employed a mixed methods approach with a quantitative questionnaire and a variety of qualitative data collection tools, which included a focus group, semi-structured interviews, and observations of the prison site. This thesis proposes the implementation of the Island Model for women who self-harm in custody. Women in the current research prioritised professional support for self-harm above peer support (Listener Scheme) which was an unexpected finding when compared with previous research. This finding led to the development of the Island Model - which includes professional and Listener support - as a way of understanding the value of a multi-disciplinary approach for women who self- harm in custody. Findings also support a gendered approach for women who self-harm in custody and in particular, that the Listener Scheme should incorporate gender-specific elements such as the difficulties women experience with men and the displacement of their mother role to support women who self-harm in custody. It is suggested that these elements should be given a significant focus by the prison estate, to reduce the potential triggers for self-harm for this specific group. The original contributions to knowledge of this thesis is as follows: - The development of the Island Model for understanding how the prison environment in which peer support sits can better support women who self-harm in custody. - Women prioritised professional support for self-harm above peer support (Listener Scheme) when this was provided within a prison site that operates a Therapeutic Community. It is therefore suggested that listeners and staff members should work more closely together to support self-harm, whilst maintaining the confidentiality ethos of the Listener Scheme. - A multi-disciplinary approach for women who self-harm in custody needs to be inclusive of support from staff and peers. - A gendered approach within the Listener Scheme for women who self-harm in custody needs to reflect women's difficulties with men, the displacement of their mother role and their desire for attachment in custody.
Influence of age on cardiac baroreflex function during dynamic exercise in humans.

We investigated the influence of aging on cardiac baroreflex function during dynamic exercise in seven young (22 +/- 1 yr) and eight older middle-aged (59 +/- 2 yr) healthy subjects. Carotid-cardiac baroreflex function was assessed at rest and during moderate-intensity steady-state cycling performed at 50% heart rate reserve (HRR). Five-second pulses of neck pressure and neck suction from +40 to -80 Torr were applied to determine the operating point gain (G(OP)) and maximal gain (G(MAX)) of the full carotid-cardiac baroreflex function curve and examine baroreflex resetting during exercise. At rest, mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate were similar between the younger and older subjects. In contrast, the resting G(OP) and G(MAX) were significantly lower in the older subjects. The increase in MAP from rest to exercise was greater in the older subjects (Delta +20 +/- 2 older vs. Delta +6 +/- 3 younger mmHg; P < 0.001). However, the G(OP) was similar in both groups during exercise because of a reduction in the younger subjects. In contrast, G(MAX) was unchanged from rest and therefore remained lower in older subjects (-0.19 +/- 0.05 older vs. -0.42 +/- 0.05 younger beats.min(-1). mmHg(-1); 50% HRR; P < 0.001). Furthermore, exercise resulted in an upward and rightward resetting of the cardiac baroreflex function curve in both groups. Collectively, these findings suggest that the cardiac baroreflex function curve appropriately resets during exercise in older subjects but operates at a reduced G(MAX) primarily because of age-related reductions in carotid-cardiac control manifest at rest.
The distribution of plants and seed dispersers in response to habitat fragmentation in an artificial island archipelago

Small, old‐growth forest fragments generally have more small‐seeded plants than large patches, due to the disappearance of large seed dispersing vertebrates. This pattern may differ for secondary forest fragments where differential migration ability rather than persistence of seed dispersers may be driving plant community assembly. In this study, we investigated the effect of habitat fragmentation on seed dispersers and plant community structure in regenerating forests.
A Unique Role of RGS9-2 in the Striatum as a Positive or Negative Regulator of Opiate Analgesia

The signaling molecule RGS9-2 is a potent modulator of G-protein-coupled receptor function in striatum. Our earlier work revealed a critical role for RGS9-2 in the actions of the μ-opioid receptor (MOR) agonist morphine. In this study, we demonstrate that RGS9-2 may act as a positive or negative modulator of MOR-mediated behavioral responses in mice depending on the agonist administered. Paralleling these findings we use coimmunoprecipitation assays to show that the signaling complexes formed between RGS9-2 and Gα subunits in striatum are determined by the MOR agonist, and we identify RGS9-2 containing complexes associated with analgesic tolerance. In striatum, MOR activation promotes the formation of complexes between RGS9-2 and several Gα subunits, but morphine uniquely promotes an association between RGS9-2 and Gαi3. In contrast, RGS9-2/Gαq complexes assemble after acute application of several MOR agonists but not after morphine application. Repeated morphine administration leads to the formation of distinct complexes, which contain RGS9-2, Gβ5, and Gαq. Finally, we use simple pharmacological manipulations to disrupt RGS9-2 complexes formed during repeated MOR activation to delay the development of analgesic tolerance to morphine. Our data provide a better understanding of the brain-region-specific signaling events associated with opiate analgesia and tolerance and point to pharmacological approaches that can be readily tested for improving chronic analgesic responsiveness.
The Effect of Ambient Air Pollution during Early Pregnancy on Fetal Ultrasonic Measurements during Mid-Pregnancy

Background Over the past decade there has been mounting evidence that ambient air pollution during pregnancy influences fetal growth. Objectives This study was designed to examine possible associations between fetal ultrasonic measurements collected from 15,623 scans (13–26 weeks gestation) and ambient air pollution during early pregnancy. Methods We calculated mothers’ average monthly exposures over the first 4 months of pregnancy for the following pollutants: particulate matter < 10 μm aerodynamic diameter (PM10), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. We examined associations with fetal femur length (FL), biparietal diameter (BPD), head circumference (HC), and abdominal circumference (AC). Final analyses included scans from only those women within 2 km of an air pollution monitoring site. We controlled for long-term trend, season, temperature, gestation, mother’s age, socioeconomic status, and fetal sex. Results A reduction in fetal AC was associated with O3 during days 31–60 [−1.42 mm; 95% confidence interval (CI), −2.74 to −0.09], SO2 during days 61–90 (−1.67 mm; 95% CI, −2.94 to −0.40), and PM10 during days 91–120 (−0.78 mm; 95% CI, −1.49 to −0.08). Other results showed a reduction in BPD (−0.68 mm; 95% CI, −1.09 to −0.27) associated with SO2 during days 0–30, a reduction in HC (−1.02 mm; 95% CI, −1.78 to −0.26) associated with PM10 during days 91–120, and a reduction in FL associated with PM10 during days 0–30 (−0.28 mm; 95% CI, −0.48 to −0.08) and 91–120 (−0.23; 95% CI, −0.42 to −0.04). Conclusion We found strong effects of ambient air pollution on ultrasound measures. Future research, including more individually detailed data, is needed to confirm our results.
Rawlsian Fairness for Machine Learning

Motivated by concerns that automated decision-making procedures can unintentionally lead to discriminatory behavior, we study a technical definition of fairness modeled after John Rawls' notion of "fair equality of opportunity". In the context of a simple model of online decision making, we give an algorithm that satisfies this fairness constraint, while still being able to learn at a rate that is comparable to (but necessarily worse than) that of the best algorithms absent a fairness constraint. We prove a regret bound for fair algorithms in the linear contextual bandit framework that is a significant improvement over our technical companion paper [16], which gives black-box reductions in a more general setting. We analyze our algorithms both theoretically and experimentally. Finally, we introduce the notion of a "discrimination index", and show that standard algorithms for our problem exhibit structured discriminatory behavior, whereas the "fair" algorithms we develop do not.
Cosmic-Ray Propagation: Nonlinear Diffusion Parallel and Perpendicular to Mean Magnetic Field

We consider the propagation of cosmic rays in turbulent magnetic fields. We use the models of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence that were tested in numerical simulations, in which the turbulence is injected on large scales and cascades to small scales. Our attention is focused on the models of the strong turbulence, but we also briefly discuss the effects that the weak turbulence and the slab Alfvénic perturbations can have. The latter are likely to emerge as a result of instabilities within the cosmic-ray fluid itself, e.g., beaming and gyroresonance instabilities of cosmic rays. To describe the interaction of cosmic rays with magnetic perturbations we develop a nonlinear formalism that extends the ordinary quasi-linear theory that is routinely used for the purpose. This allows us to avoid the usual problem of 90° scattering and enables our computation of the mean free path of cosmic rays. We apply the formalism to the cosmic-ray propagation in the Galactic halo and in the warm ionized medium. In addition, we address the issue of the transport of cosmic rays perpendicular to the mean magnetic field and show that the issue of cosmic-ray subdiffusion (i.e., propagation with retracing the trajectories backward, which slows down the diffusion) is only important for restricted cases when the ambient turbulence is far from what numerical simulations suggest to us. As a result, this work provides formalism that can be applied for calculating cosmic-ray propagation in a wide variety of circumstances.
A Systematic Review of State-Level Social–Emotional Learning Standards: Implications for Practice and Research

Abstract Social–emotional learning (SEL) programs and practices have garnered increased interest over recent years, primarily in response to a preponderance of research regarding universal, targeted, and intensive SEL programs. Along with this interest have come repeated calls for the adoption of standards for SEL at the state level. A systematic review was conducted to examine existing preschool and kindergarten through 12th grade SEL standards across all 50 states within the United States and the District of Columbia. This review included an examination of freestanding SEL standards, as well as those embedded within health, physical education, and/or counseling standards. Coded variables of interest included the specification of age- or grade-related categories (e.g., birth to age 3, grades K–2) and standards alignment with the five Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) core competencies (i.e., self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making). Results demonstrated every state has freestanding preschool SEL standards; however, only 11 states have freestanding SEL standards at the K–12 level. SEL standards were much more prevalent within health education standards across K–12 settings. Implications for practice and research are discussed in relation to the development and appropriateness of age- and grade-level SEL standards.
The effect of using a structured reading framework on middle school students' conceptual understanding within the science writing heuristic approach

The effect of using a structured reading framework on middle school students' conceptual understanding within the science writing heuristic approach. 1 ABSTRACT This study was designed to investigate the impact of using a Structured Reading Framework within the Science Writing Heuristic approach on a summary writing task, and how this framework is related to the development of students' conceptual understanding in the summary writing task. A quasi-experimental design with sixth and seventh grade students taught by two teachers in the middle school was used. Each teacher had four classes with two classes using the Structured Reading Framework (treatment) and the other two classes used the original reading framework (control). A total of 170 students participated in the study, with 83 in the control group (four classes) and 87 in the treatment group (four classes). All students used the SWH student templates to guide their written work and completed these templates during the SWH investigations of each unit. After completing the SWH investigations, both groups of students were asked to complete the summary writing task at the end of each unit. This process was replicated for each of the two units. All student writing samples collected were scored using an analytical framework and scoring matrices developed for the study. A total of 588 writing samples were included in the statistical analysis. Results indicated that the treatment group who used the Structured Reading Framework performed significantly better on the Summary Writing task than the control group. The results suggest that the using of the Structured Reading Framework in prompting and guiding the reading activities within the SWH approach have an impact on the development of conceptual understanding. In addition, it appears that the Structured Reading Framework impacted the development of conceptual understanding in the Summary Writing task by providing a scaffold to assist students' knowledge construction.
Academic Reading: Comparing Students’ and Faculty Perceptions of Its Value, Practice, and Pedagogy

This cross-sectional study at a four-year college explored the alignment between students’ and faculty perceptions and behaviors regarding academic reading. Constructs from the academic reading literature were used to create a 10-item survey, modified slightly for faculty and students to respond to the same prompts. A convenience sample of 848 students and a snowball sample of 63 faculty examined the value of academic reading, academic reading practices, and attitudes toward academic reading pedagogy. Differences in agreement between students and faculty were statistically significant for all items. Students and faculty agree that undergraduate education should make students proficient academic readers, although the faculty mean is significantly higher than the students’. The expert-novice, Dunning-Kruger effect, and disengagement compact are three theories proposed to explain results.
Eliciting information in intelligence interviews through priming : an examination of underlying mechanisms

This study investigated the influence of helpfulness priming on information disclosure. Participants (N = 115) assumed the role of an informant with information about an impending terrorist attack. Subsequently, an interviewer solicited information about the attack using an interview protocol that displayed either high (helpfulness-focused) or low (control) fit with helpfulness. Before the interview, in an ostensibly unrelated experiment, priming of participants’ helpfulness was performed and we assessed cognitive helpfulness accessibility. Priming and interview style did not, individually or in combination, significantly influence information disclosure. However, follow-up analyses showed that the helpfulness-focused interview style was counterproductive— decreasing information disclosure—when interviewees’ helpfulness accessibility was low. This research suggests that interview styles that do not match the interviewees’ temporary (e.g., primed) or chronic (e.g., personal values) level of helpfulness motivation are potentially maladaptive and may counteract the goal of increasing information disclosure.
Do captive male meadow voles experience acute stress in response to weasel odour

The hormonal stress response is adapted to deal with acute (short-term) stressors; however, chronic (long-term) stressors have negative effects on survival and fitness. Field and laboratory evidence suggest that voles respond behaviourally to predator odours. However, it is unknown whether voles mount an acute hormonal stress response to predator odour. We determined whether reproductively active, captive male meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus (Ord, 1815)) mounted a more pronounced hormonal stress response to weasel odour (ermine, Mustela erminea L., 1758), one of their principal mammalian predators, than to nonpredator and control odours. We compared the corticosterone response of captive voles to weasel, jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius (Zimmermann, 1780)), and control odours following acute (20 min) exposure. The hormonal stress response to the treatment odours did not differ, indicating that captive male voles in the reproductive season do not mount an acute stress response to predator odour. We hyp.
Estimating intermittency in three-dimensional Navier–Stokes turbulence

The issue of why computational resolution in Navier–Stokes turbulence is hard to achieve is addressed. Under the assumption that the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations have a global attractor it is nevertheless shown that solutions can potentially behave differently in two distinct regions of space–time $\mathbb{S}$± where $\mathbb{S}$− is comprised of a union of disjoint space–time ‘anomalies’. If $\mathbb{S}$− is non-empty it is dominated by large values of |∇ω|, which is consistent with the formation of vortex sheets or tightly coiled filaments. The local number of degrees of freedom ± needed to resolve the regions in $\mathbb{S}$± satisfies $\mathcal{N}^{\pm}(\bx,\,t)\lessgtr 3\sqrt{2}\,\mathcal{R}_{u}^{3},$, where u = uL/ν is a Reynolds number dependent on the local velocity field u(x, t).
Using multiple imputation to simulate time series: a proposal to solve the distance effect

Multiple Imputation (MI) is a Markov chain Monte Carlo technique developed to work out missing data problems, specially in cross section approaches. This paper uses Multiple Imputation from a different point of view: it intends to apply the technique to time series and develops that way a simpler framework presented in previous papers. Here, the authors' idea consists basically on an endogenous construction of the database (the use of lags as supporting variables supposes a new approach to deal with the distance effect). This construction strategy avoids noise in the simulations and forces the limit distribution of the chain to convergence well. Using this approximation, estimated plausible values are closer to real values, and missing data can be solved with more accuracy. This new proposal solves the main problem detected by the authors in [1] when using MI with time series: the previously commented distance effect. An endogenous construction when analyzing time series avoids this undesired effect, and allows Multiple Imputation to benefit from information from the whole data base. Finally, new R computer code was designed to carry out all the simulations and is presented in the Appendix to be analyzed and updated by researchers.
Anti-radiation damage effect of polyethylenimine as a toll-like receptor 5 targeted agonist

A number of agents are now available for use in protecting against ionizing radiation. These radiation-protective agents, however, have many adverse effects. Efforts have been made to develop new radiation-protective agents for medical application. Here, we investigated whether a compound, polyethylenimine (PEI), which activates Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5)-mediated NF-kB signaling pathways, could have an anti-radiation effect on a mouse model. First, a cell-based screening model for an agonist of TLR5-mediated NF-kB pathway was established and then validated by activation of TLR5-mediated NF-kB luciferase reporter activity with a known TLR5 agonist, flagellin. We found that PEI induced dose-dependent activation of the TLR5-mediated NF-kB pathway, indicating that PEI is indeed a TLR5 agonist. Furthermore, the anti-radiation effect of polyethylenimine was assessed using a γ-ray total body irradiation (TBI) mouse model. Compared with the irradiation control, both survival time and survival rate were significantly improved in mice that received either a low dose of polyethylenimine (P= 0.019) or a high dose of polyethylenimine (P< 0.001). We also observed a positive correlation between animal body weight and survival time in mice that received a low dose of polyethylenimine, a high dose of polyethylenimine and amifostine, over a period of 30 days, r= 0.42 (P< 0.02), 0.72 (P< 0.0001) and 0.95 (P< 0.0001), respectively, while a negative correlation between animal body weight and survival time was observed in the irradiation control (r= –0.89; P< 0.0001). These results indicate that polyethylenimine is a new TLR5 agonist with potential application in offering protection for patients receiving radiotherapy or in radiation-related accidents.