Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE EFFECT OF PARENTING STRESS ON CHILDREN'S COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT: EXAMININ G THE VARIABLES OF SEX AND RACE/ETHNIC ORIGIN

Little research has focused on children‘s age, sex, and race/ethnicity as variables that may moderate the relations between parenting stress and children‘s cognitive development. Using Bronfenbrenner‘s (1986) bioecological systems theory as a basis, this study used a sample of mothers and their children who participated in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project to examine the effects of parenting stress when children were 14 months old on children‘s cognitive scores on five measures when children were 24 and 36 months. Hierarchal multiple regression analyses revealed that there was a significant negative association between 14 month parenting stress and 24 and 36 month child cognitive scores. Analyses on four measures indicated that this relation was not moderated by child sex. However, analyses on two measures suggested that European American and African American children showed stronger negative relations between maternal parenting stress and children‘s cognitive outcomes than Mexican American children.
Intertwining to fit in : a grounded theory study of caregivers with school-aged children with FASD

My study aimed to explain how caregivers of school-aged children with FASD manage their children’s schooling. Symbolic interactionism served as the guiding theoretical perspective. I used a Glaserian approach to grounded theory to develop a substantive theory: intertwining to fit in. I collected data through interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. I completed 30 in-depth interviews and 25 hours of participant observation with children’s caregivers between February 2009 and November 2009. I used constant comparative analysis to construct my substantive theory. Intertwining to fit in is a dynamic cycle caregivers of elementary school-aged children with FASD use to resolve their main concerns, which are preventing their children from failing academically and in social interactions and preventing themselves from being regarded as “bad” parents. To intertwine to fit in parents used two strategies, orchestrating schooling and keeping up appearances, while they were regulating the relationships with their children. Caregivers used the strategies to try to achieve academic and social success for their children and to be regarded as “good” parents. Using the strategies successfully reduced the amount of time parents spent regulating their relationships with their children and permitted children more independence. Conditions caregivers encountered, for example key workers, influenced how caregivers used the strategies and related tactics. Using the strategies resulted in caregivers encountering two critical junctures: hitting rock bottom and reaching islands of calm. When hitting rock bottom neither of the strategies were working, children were not succeeding, and caregivers were focused on regulating relationships with their children. Reaching islands of calm occurred when strategies were successful and parents could invest
Sugar Alcohols, Caries Incidence, and Remineralization of Caries Lesions: A Literature Review

Remineralization of minor enamel defects is a normal physiological process that is well known to clinicians and researchers in dentistry and oral biology. This process can be facilitated by various dietary and oral hygiene procedures and may also concern dentin caries lesions. Dental caries is reversible if detected and treated sufficiently early. Habitual use of xylitol, a sugar alcohol of the pentitol type, can be associated with significant reduction in caries incidence and with tooth remineralization. Other dietary polyols that can remarkably lower the incidence of caries include erythritol which is a tetritol-type alditol. Based on known molecular parameters of simple dietary alditols, it is conceivable to predict that their efficacy in caries prevention will follow the homologous series, that is, that the number of OH-groups present in the alditol molecule will determine the efficacy as follows: erythritol ≥ xylitol > sorbitol. The possible difference between erythritol and xylitol must be confirmed in future clinical trials.
Prevalence, Causes and Socio-Economic Determinants of Vision Loss in Cape Town, South Africa

Purpose To estimate the prevalence and causes of blindness and visual impairment in Cape Town, South Africa and to explore socio-economic and demographic predictors of vision loss in this setting. Methods A cross sectional population-based survey was conducted in Cape Town. Eighty-two clusters were selected using probability proportionate to size sampling. Within each cluster 35 or 40 people aged 50 years and above were selected using compact segment sampling. Visual acuity of participants was assessed and eyes with a visual acuity less than 6/18 were examined by an ophthalmologist to determine the cause of vision loss. Demographic data (age, gender and education) were collected and a socio-economic status (SES) index was created using principal components analysis. Results Out of 3100 eligible people, 2750 (89%) were examined. The sample prevalence of bilateral blindness (presenting visual acuity <3/60) was 1.4% (95% CI 0.9–1.8). Posterior segment diseases accounted for 65% of blindness and cataract was responsible for 27%. The prevalence of vision loss was highest among people over 80 years (odds ratio (OR) 6.9 95% CI 4.6–10.6), those in the poorest SES group (OR 3.9 95% CI 2.2–6.7) and people with no formal education (OR 5.4 95% CI 1.7–16.6). Cataract surgical coverage was 68% in the poorest SES tertile (68%) compared to 93% in the medium and 100% in the highest tertile. Conclusions The prevalence of blindness among people ≥50 years in Cape Town was lower than expected and the contribution of posterior segment diseases higher than previously reported in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa. There were clear socio-economic disparities in prevalence of vision loss and cataract surgical coverage in this setting which need to be addressed in blindness prevention programs.
Affordances, barriers, and motivations: engagement in research activity by academics at the research-oriented university in Vietnam

ABSTRACT The importance of academics undertaking research and publishing their research results is emphasised by universities. Engagement in research is recognised as an effective means to increase a university's profile. This study applied a qualitative approach to explore affordances, barriers, and motivations towards the engagement in research experienced by academics at one of the leading universities in Vietnam. Nineteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with academics whose academic rank, discipline, qualification, age, and gender are different. A thematic analysis of the data discovered four institutional factors hindering the engagement in research of academics: financial support for research activities (affordance); teaching load (barrier); research collaboration (motivation); and research policy settings and practices (motivation). The findings revealed that a majority of the respondents were aware of the importance of research but their research productivity is still low because of problems related to such institutional factors. The findings are useful in assisting leaders of the investigated university to understand the research motivation of its academics as well as ascertain barriers to which academics are facing that can be overcome through intervention. Such understanding helps them to improve the policy for research across this university which is predicted to enhance the research productivity of all academics.
Influence of osteopontin, casein and oviductal fluid on bovine sperm capacitation

Abstract Sperm must undergo a process termed capacitation in the female reproductive tract before they are capable of fertilization. Previous studies strongly suggest that capacitation of sperm occurs in the oviduct. The secreted extracellular matrix phosphoprotein osteopontin (OPN) has been positively correlated to fertility in Holstein bull seminal plasma and identified in the bovine oviduct, where we hypothesized it plays a role in sperm capacitation. To determine the effect of OPN on sperm capacitation, sperm were incubated in OPN purified from bovine milk in concentrations ranging from 1 to 20 µg/ml and subjected to dual fluorescence acrosomal and viability staining. Sperm were also incubated in casein (CSN; 1 to 20 µg/ml) and isthmic non-luteal oviductal fluid (INLODF), ampullary non-luteal oviductal fluid (ANLODF) and skim milk. Flow cytometry analysis showed that OPN induced capacitation at low concentration; the largest percentage of capacitated sperm followed after incubation in INLODF. Sperm intracellular calcium levels, an indicator of sperm capacitation, were increased by OPN and INLODF, and OPN had an overall positive effect on sperm viability. There was, however, no effect of any treatment on sperm mitochondrial activity. Experiments utilizing biotinylated OPN and CSN demonstrated that CSN, but not OPN, bound to sperm. The results presented here offer the first direct evidence of the capacitating effect of OPN on bovine sperm and provide confirmation of the increasing number of roles this fascinating protein plays in reproductive biology.
SPHier : Scalable Parallel Biclustering Using Weighted Bigraph Crossing Minimization

Biclustering is used for discovering correlations among subsets of attributes with subsets of transactions in a transaction database. It has an extensive set of applications ranging from Gene co-regulation analysis[4], documentkeyword clustering[12] and collaborative filtering for online recommendation systems[13]. In this paper, we propose optimal biclustering problem as maximal crossing number reduction in a weighted bipartite graph. Based on the problem formulation, we then present SPHier, a novel parallel biclustering algorithm based on weighted bigraph crossing minimization problem. Crossing minimization has been extensively used in Graph Drawing and VLSI Circuit Layouts for reducing wire congestion while its application to scalable parallel biclustering problem, to the best of our knowledge, is being investigated for the first time in this paper. We show that crossing minimization approach provides a simple and intuitive method to identify bi-clusters. Moreover, it is much easier to parallelize with excellent speedup characteristics. We have validated SPHier on synthetic and biological data sets. We show performance results on an AMD Athlon based 32-node Linux Cluster.
The potential of metabolomics for Leishmania research in the post-genomics era

SUMMARY The post-genomics era has provided researchers with access to a new generation of tools for the global characterization and understanding of pathogen diversity. This review provides a critical summary of published Leishmania post-genomic research efforts to date, and discusses the potential impact of the addition of metabolomics to the post-genomic toolbox. Metabolomics aims at understanding biology by comprehensive metabolite profiling. We present an overview of the design and interpretation of metabolomics experiments in the context of Leishmania research. Sample preparation, measurement techniques, and bioinformatics analysis of the generated complex datasets are discussed in detail. To illustrate the concepts and the expected results of metabolomics analyses, we also present an overview of comparative metabolic profiles of drug-sensitive and drug-resistant Leishmania donovani clinical isolates.
Causal laws and the foundations of natural science

In the Transcendental Analytic Kant develops a characteristically striking - and at the same time characteristically elusive - conception of the causal relation. Thus, for example, in a preliminary section (13) to the transcendental deduction Kant introduces the problem by remarking that, with respect to the concept of cause, “it is a priori not clear why appearances should contain something of this kind” (A 90 / B 122); for, as far as sensibility is concerned, “everything could be situated in such disorder that, e.g., in the succession of appearances nothing offered itself that suggested a rule of synthesis - and thus would correspond to the concept of cause and effect - so that this concept would therefore be entirely empty, null, and without meaning” (A 90 / B 123). A memorable paragraph then follows: If one thought to extricate oneself from the difficulty of this investigation by saying that experience unceasingly offers examples of such rule-governedness of appearances, which [examples] provide sufficient inducement for abstracting the concept of cause therefrom and thereby simultaneously prove the objective reality of such a concept, then one is failing to observe that the concept of cause can absolutely not arise in this way. Rather, it must either be grounded completely a priori in the understanding or be entirely abandoned as a mere chimera. For this concept positively requires that something A be such that something else B follow from it necessarily and in accordance with an absolutely universal rule . Appearances certainly provide cases in which a rule is possible according to which something customarily occurs, but never that the result is necessary . To the synthesis of cause and effect there consequently also belongs a dignity that one absolutely cannot express empirically: namely, that the effect is not merely joined to the cause, but rather is posited through it and results from it. The strict universality of the rule is certainly not a property of empirical rules, which, through induction, can possess nothing but comparative universality: i.e., extended utility. Thus, the use of the pure concepts of the understanding would be entirely altered if one wanted to treat them only as empirical products. (A 91-2 / B 123-4)
Early Marketing Matters: A Time-Varying Parameter Approach to Persistence Modeling

Are persistent marketing effects most likely to appear right after the introduction of a product? The authors give an affirmative answer to this question by developing a model that explicitly reports how persistent and transient marketing effects evolve over time. The proposed model provides managers with a valuable tool to evaluate their allocation of marketing expenditures over time. An application of the model to many pharmaceutical products, estimated through (exact initial) Kalman filtering, indicates that both persistent and transient effects occur predominantly immediately after a brand's introduction. Subsequently, the size of the effects declines. The authors theoretically and empirically compare their methodology with methodology based on unit root testing and demonstrate that the need for unit root tests creates difficulties in applying conventional persistence modeling. The authors recommend that marketing models should either accommodate persistent effects that change over time or be applied to mature brands or limited time windows only.
On Gridless Sparse Methods for Line Spectral Estimation From Complete and Incomplete Data

This paper is concerned about sparse, continuous frequency estimation in line spectral estimation, and focused on developing gridless sparse methods which overcome grid mismatches and correspond to limiting scenarios of existing grid-based approaches, e.g., ℓ1 optimization and SPICE, with an infinitely dense grid. We generalize AST (atomic-norm soft thresholding) to the case of nonconsecutively sampled data (incomplete data) inspired by recent atomic norm based techniques. We present a gridless version of SPICE (gridless SPICE, or GLS), which is applicable to both complete and incomplete data without the knowledge of noise level. We further prove the equivalence between GLS and atomic norm-based techniques under different assumptions of noise. Moreover, we extend GLS to a systematic framework consisting of model order selection and robust frequency estimation, and present feasible algorithms for AST and GLS. Numerical simulations are provided to validate our theoretical analysis and demonstrate performance of our methods compared to existing ones.
International organizations (IOs), epistemic tools of influence, and the colonial geopolitics of knowledge production in higher education policy

Abstract While other scholars have analyzed the way that international organizations (IOs) in higher education policy may contribute to neocolonial domination, this paper illuminates not only on how IOs’ epistemic activities promulgate one-size fit all solutions, but centers the colonial structures of knowledge/power that inform the why (or logic) of these IOs’ epistemic activities and their effects. A decolonial analysis of discursive artifacts and tools such as policy reports, performance indicators, and technical assistance, of the OECD and World Bank, suggests that standardized IO policy processes and practices reproduce global inequities. In collusion with other policy actors, these IOs constitute and perpetuate coloniality in global higher education, through enacting a god-eye point of view, colonial difference, and the geopolitics of knowledge. This article proposes a set of questions that may open the possibility of ‘delinking’ from modern/colonial world systems and pushes us to decolonize our imaginaries of the landscape of global HE.
Regulating Consequences: The Effects of Regulatory Focus and Alcohol Expectancies on Alcohol Consumption in a Peer Context

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v LIST OF FIGURES viii LIST OF TABLES ix INTRODUCTION 1 Peer Influence and Differential Susceptibility 2 Regulatory Focus 3 Regulatory Focus and Message Framing 6 Regulatory Focus and Role Models 6 Alcohol Expectancies 8 The Proposed Study 9 Hypotheses 11 METHOD 14 Participants 14 Procedure 14
BIO-132 Mining and Analyzing the Topological Structure of Protein – Protein Interaction Networks

We report a comprehensive evaluation of the topological structure of protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks by mining and analyzing graphs constructed from the popular data sets publicly available to the bioinformatics research community. We compare the topology of these networks across different species, different confidence levels, and different experimental systems used to obtain the interaction data. Our results confirm the well-accepted claim that the degree distribution follows a power law. However, further statistical analysis shows that residues are not independent on the fit values, indicating that the power law model may be inadequate. Our results also show that the dependence of the average clustering coefficient on the vertices degree is far from a power law, contradicting many published results. For the first time, we report that the average vertex density exhibits a strong powder law dependence on the vertices degree for all the networks studied, regardless of species, confidence levels, and experimental systems.
miR-34a Inhibits Migration and Invasion of Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma via Targeting MMP9 and MMP14

Background miR-34a is an important tumor suppressor gene in various cancer types. But little is known about the dysregulation of miR-34a in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC). In this study, we investigate the expression and potential role of miR-34a in TSCC. Methods We evaluated miR-34a expression and its relationship with clinicopathological characters in 75 pairs of TSCC samples, and confirmed the role of miR-34a for predicting lymph node metastases from a further 15 pairs of paraffin-embedded TSCC specimens with stringent clinicopathological recruitment criteria using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The effects of miR-34a on cell proliferation, migration and invasion were examined in TSCC cell lines using Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, wound healing assay and transwell assay, respectively. The effects of miR-34a on the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 9 and 14 were detected by luciferase reporter assays and Western blot analysis. The expression of miR-34a, MMP9 and MMP14 were also confirmed in TSCC samples by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Results miR-34a expression in tumor tissues from TSCC patients with positive lymph node metastases was significantly lower than that with negative lymph node metastases. Overexpression of miR-34a significantly suppressed migration and invasion in TSCC cells and simultaneously inhibited the expression of MMP9 and MMP14 through targeting the coding region and the 3′untranslated region, respectively. Moreover, miR-34a expression in TSCC was inversely correlated with protein expression of MMP9 and MMP14 in the TSCC samples. Conclusions miR-34a plays an important role in lymph node metastases of TSCC through targeting MMP9 and MMP14 and may have potential applications in prognosis prediction and gene therapy for lymph node metastases of TSCC patients.
Reducing Breast Cancer Recurrence: The Role of Dietary Polyphenolics

Evidence from numerous observational and clinical studies suggest that polyphenolic phytochemicals such as phenolic acids in olive oil, flavonols in tea, chocolate and grapes, and isoflavones in soy products reduce the risk of breast cancer. A dietary food pattern naturally rich in polyphenols is the Mediterranean diet and evidence suggests those of Mediterranean descent have a lower breast cancer incidence. Whilst dietary polyphenols have been the subject of breast cancer risk-reduction, this review will focus on the clinical effects of polyphenols on reducing recurrence. Overall, we recommend breast cancer patients consume a diet naturally high in flavonol polyphenols including tea, vegetables (onion, broccoli), and fruit (apples, citrus). At least five servings of vegetables and fruit daily appear protective. Moderate soy protein consumption (5–10 g daily) and the Mediterranean dietary pattern show the most promise for breast cancer patients. In this review, we present an overview of clinical trials on supplementary polyphenols of dietary patterns rich in polyphenols on breast cancer recurrence, mechanistic data, and novel delivery systems currently being researched.
Narrative skills in preschool and first grade children

Σκοπός της μeλέτης ήταν να eξeτάσeι το αναπτυξιακό προφίλ του αφηγηματικού λόγου των παιδιών προσχολικής και πρώτης σχολικής ηλικίας. Αξιολογήθηκαν οι δeξιότητeς παραγωγής eλeύθeρης αφήγησης και οι δeξιότητeς αναδιήγησης 237 παιδιών, 4-5, 5-6 και 6-7 eτών, από διάφορeς πeριοχές της Eλλάδας. Ακόμα, eξeτάστηκe eάν υπάρχeι συσχέτιση μeταξύ των δύο δeξιοτήτων αφηγηματικού λόγου. Ταυτόχρονα, μeλeτήθηκe κατά πόσο τα αναπτυξιακά eπίπeδα (ονοματοθeσία, παράθeση, σύνδeση, αλληλουχία, αφήγηση) που προτeίνονται από το μοντέλο των Stadler και Ward (2005), μπορούσαν να αναδeιχθούν στο συγκeκριμένο δeίγμα. Μέσω τeσσάρων eικονογραφημένων ιστοριών, συλλέχθηκαν αφηγήσeις που στην συνέχeια απομαγνητοφωνήθηκαν, κωδικοποιήθηκαν και βαθμολογήθηκαν ως προς τη μικροδομή και τη μακροδομή τους. Τα αποτeλέσματα έδeιξαν πως οι αφηγηματικές δeξιότητeς των παιδιών βeλτιώθηκαν μe την ηλικία τόσο ως προς την eλeύθeρη αφήγηση όσο και ως προς την αναδιήγηση. Ωστόσο, τα παιδιά όλων των ηλικιακών ομάδων eίχαν καλύτeρeς eπιδόσeις στη δοκιμασία της αναδιήγησης συγκριτικά μe τη δοκιμασία της eλeύθeρης αφήγησης. Eπίσης, τα αποτeλέσματα ανέδeιξαν διαφορές στις eπιδόσeις σe σχέση μe το φύλο, μe τα κορίτσια να eμφανίζουν καλύτeρeς eπιδόσeις από τα αγόρια. Τέλος, βρέθηκe στατιστικώς σημαντική συσχέτιση μeταξύ των eπιδόσeων των παιδιών στην αναδιήγηση και στην eλeύθeρη παραγωγή. Τα αποτeλέσματα συζητούνται σe σχέση την αξιοποίησή τους στην eκπαιδeυτική πράξη.