Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pupil Dilation and EEG Alpha Frequency Band Power Reveal Load on Executive Functions for Link-Selection Processes during Text Reading

Executive working memory functions play a central role in reading comprehension. In the present research we were interested in additional load imposed on executive functions by link-selection processes during computer-based reading. For obtaining process measures, we used a methodology of concurrent electroencephalographic (EEG) and eye-tracking data recording that allowed us to compare epochs of pure text reading with epochs of hyperlink-like selection processes in an online reading situation. Furthermore, this methodology allowed us to directly compare the two physiological load-measures EEG alpha frequency band power and pupil dilation. We observed increased load on executive functions during hyperlink-like selection processes on both measures in terms of decreased alpha frequency band power and increased pupil dilation. Surprisingly however, the two measures did not correlate. Two additional experiments were conducted that excluded potential perceptual, motor, or structural confounds. In sum, EEG alpha frequency band power and pupil dilation both turned out to be sensitive measures for increased load during hyperlink-like selection processes in online text reading.
Diabetic patients: their knowledge and perception of oral health

Objectives : The objectives of the study were to: 1 assess the knowledge and awareness of diabetic patients of their risk for systemic and oral diseases as complications associated with diabetes, 2 to assess their attitudes toward sustaining good oral health through proper oral hygiene and regular dental check-ups, and 3 to the extent that they are aware, to determine how they became aware. Methods : Two hundred self-administered questionnaires were distributed to assess the main objectives of the study. Only completed questionnaires were used in the current study data analysis. Results: A majority of the participants had Type 2 diabetes (58%). The awareness of diabetic patients of their increased risk for oral diseases is low compared to their awareness of systemic diseases. Their attitude toward maintaining good oral health was also not to desired standard. Of the participants, 50% brushed their teeth once daily and 66% never used dental floss. Regarding participants’ sources of awareness, 37% learned from dentists and 45% through other media sources. Conclusions : Diabetic patients are found to have little knowledge of their increased risk for oral diseases. In order to promote proper oral health and to reduce the risk of oral diseases, health professionals in both the dental and medical fields need to take the responsibility to develop programs to educate the public about the oral manifestations of diabetes and its complications on oral health.
Quantifying Spatial Variability of Selected Soil Trace Elements and Their Scaling Relationships Using Multifractal Techniques

Multifractal techniques were utilized to quantify the spatial variability of selected soil trace elements and their scaling relationships in a 10.24-ha agricultural field in northeast China. 1024 soil samples were collected from the field and available Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn were measured in each sample. Descriptive results showed that Mn deficiencies were widespread throughout the field while Fe and Zn deficiencies tended to occur in patches. By estimating single multifractal spectra, we found that available Fe, Cu and Zn in the study soils exhibited high spatial variability and the existence of anomalies ([α(q)max−α(q)min]≥0.54), whereas available Mn had a relatively uniform distribution ([α(q)max−α(q)min]≈0.10). The joint multifractal spectra revealed that the strong positive relationships (r≥0.86, P<0.001) among available Fe, Cu and Zn were all valid across a wider range of scales and over the full range of data values, whereas available Mn was weakly related to available Fe and Zn (r≥0.18, P<0.01) but not related to available Cu (r = −0.03, P = 0.40). These results show that the variability and singularities of selected soil trace elements as well as their scaling relationships can be characterized by single and joint multifractal parameters. The findings presented in this study could be extended to predict selected soil trace elements at larger regional scales with the aid of geographic information systems.
Community Reactions to Campaigns Addressing Crystal Methamphetamine Use among Gay and Bisexual Men in New York City

Crystal methamphetamine (aka “crystal meth”) use with high-risk sex has become an emerging health problem for gay and bisexual men in New York City since the late 1990s. Public health campaigns were eventually developed to encourage gay and bisexual men to avoid or reconsider using crystal meth. Reactions to three campaigns were measured with a cross-sectional survey administered in 2004. Among an ethnically-diverse sample of 971 gay and bisexual men, 61.8% reported seeing the campaigns. Those who reported ever using crystal meth, recent use, and recent use with sex were significantly more likely to have seen the campaigns. In general, white men, HIV-negative men, and men not currently using crystal meth responded more positively to the campaigns than their counterparts; yet, more men of color reported having discussions with partners and friends about their crystal use as a result of these campaigns. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.
Preparing and Partnering with Families to Support the Adoption of Children from Foster Care

ABSTRACT This investigation evaluated the effectiveness of a pre-placement education and preparation curriculum (PREP) for prospective foster/adoptive parents in improving attitudes toward children with prenatal substance exposure and their substance-using birth parent and increasing willingness to adopt these children. Participants included 1,836 prospective parents seeking adoption through foster care who received three 3-hour sessions of PREP. Prospective parents completed questionnaires assessing their knowledge about important issues involved in adopting a child from foster care, attitudes, and willingness to adopt children with a variety of characteristics. Changes from pre- to post-intervention were examined. Results indicated significant increases in self-reported knowledge; significantly more positive attitudes toward substance-abusing parents and children with prenatal substance exposure; and significantly increased willingness to adopt children with a variety of potential difficulties, including children with serious behavior problems, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and a biological history of mental illness. In sum, findings suggest that prospective adoptive parents who attended the PREP sessions felt better prepared by the end of training with regard to issues related to adoption of high-risk foster children with special needs, particularly those with prenatal substance exposure.
Removal Mechanisms in Constructed Wastewater Wetlands

The use of constructed wetlands is a relatively new technology but the system is gaining popularity due to its low tech system for treating wastewater (DeBusk, 1999b ). Constructed wetlands have found to be effective in treating domestic wastewater where municipalities are concerned with reducing suspended solids, organic matter, phosphorus, nitrogen, and pathogens. Constructed wetlands mimic natural wetland systems but can have greater control with what purposes the wetland serves (Lorion, 2001). The purpose of constructed wetlands is to remove contaminants. These contaminants if exposed to receiving streams pose health hazards to the general public, aquatic organisms, and the environment. Suspended solid removal is important in wastewater treatment for the survival of the receiving stream for which discharging. If vast amounts of solids are present sunlight will not be able to reach plants and oxygen levels in the water will decrease and cause harm to the receiving stream (Murphy, 2007). The removal of organic matter is also very important due to decreased oxygen levels that can result in receiving streams. Recent movements and stricter regulations have been in the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus which contribute to eutrofication in receiving waters. The presence of pathogens and metals are major health concerns which make removal very important. The understanding of the mechanisms that drive removal of these contaminants is crucial with what type of constructed wetland being selected and whether suitable for a specific location.
Unrestricted Hepatocyte Transduction with Adeno-Associated Virus Serotype 8 Vectors in Mice

ABSTRACT Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors can mediate long-term stable transduction in various target tissues. However, with rAAV serotype 2 (rAAV2) vectors, liver transduction is confined to only a small portion of hepatocytes even after administration of extremely high vector doses. In order to investigate whether rAAV vectors of other serotypes exhibit similar restricted liver transduction, we performed a dose-response study by injecting mice with β-galactosidase-expressing rAAV1 and rAAV8 vectors via the portal vein. The rAAV1 vector showed a blunted dose-response similar to that of rAAV2 at high doses, while the rAAV8 vector dose-response remained unchanged at any dose and ultimately could transduce all the hepatocytes at a dose of 7.2 × 1012 vector genomes/mouse without toxicity. This indicates that all hepatocytes have the ability to process incoming single-stranded vector genomes into duplex DNA. A single tail vein injection of the rAAV8 vector was as efficient as portal vein injection at any dose. In addition, intravascular administration of the rAAV8 vector at a high dose transduced all the skeletal muscles throughout the body, including the diaphragm, the entire cardiac muscle, and substantial numbers of cells in the pancreas, smooth muscles, and brain. Thus, rAAV8 is a robust vector for gene transfer to the liver and provides a promising research tool for delivering genes to various target organs. In addition, the rAAV8 vector may offer a potential therapeutic agent for various diseases affecting nonhepatic tissues, but great caution is required for vector spillover and tight control of tissue-specific gene expression.
Basal Abelisaurid and Carcharodontosaurid Theropods from the Lower Cretaceous Elrhaz Formation of Niger

We report the discovery of basal abelisaurid and carcharodontosaurid theropods from the mid Cretaceous (Aptian—Albian, ca. 112 Ma) Elrhaz Formation of the Niger Republic. The abelisaurid, Kryptops palaios gen. et sp. nov., is represented by a single individual preserving the maxilla, pelvic girdle, vertebrae and ribs. Several features, including a maxilla textured externally by impressed vascular grooves and a narrow antorbital fossa, clearly place Kryptops palaios within Abelisauridae as its oldest known member. The carcharodontosaurid, Eocarcharia dinops gen. et sp. nov., is represented by several cranial bones and isolated teeth. Phylogenetic analysis places it as a basal carcharodontosaurid, similar to Acrocanthosaurus and less derived than Carcharodontosaurus and Giganotosaurus. The discovery of these taxa suggests that large body size and many of the derived cranial features of abelisaurids and carcharodontosaurids had already evolved by the mid Cretaceous. The presence of a close relative of the North American genus Acrocanthosaurus on Africa suggests that carcharodontosaurids had already achieved a trans-Tethyan distribution by the mid Cretaceous.
Innovation and Leadership

Ensuring that organizational innovation generates value increasingly requires effective marketing management. Prior studies, however, report conflicting effects of chief marketing officer (CMO) leadership on how well the firm exploits innovation. These inconsistencies may be associated with firm-level innovation effort, customer focus, and industry type. We analyze archival data from 587 interviews with global CEOs to explain the effect of CMO leadership on outcomes of organizational innovation. CMO leadership of the firm’s primary innovation mode is positively associated with product–market innovation effort but not marginal revenue from innovation. CMO leadership also moderates the relationship between customer focus and innovation revenue. Predictive validity testing shows that these effects are especially important for service firms. The benefits of CMO-led innovation have specific limitations that firms must consider for organization-wide innovation efforts.
Regulation of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Palatal Fusion

During palatal fusion, the midline epithelial seam between the palatal shelves degrades to achieve mesenchymal confluence. Morphological and molecular evidence support the theory that the epithelial-mesenchymal transition is one mechanism that regulates palatal fusion. It appears that transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling plays a role in palatal EMT. TGFβ3 is the main inducer in palatal fusion and activates both Smad-dependent and -independent signaling pathways, including the key EMT transcription factors, Lef1, Twist, and Snail1, in the MEE prior to the palatal EMT program. The roles and interactions among these transcription factors will be discussed.
Product Market Competition and Upstream Innovation: Evidence from the U.S. Electricity Market Deregulation

Abstract This paper studies the innovation response of upstream technology suppliers when their downstream buyers transition from regulation to competition. By modeling the impact of the 1990s U.S. electricity deregulation on patenting, we find that after deregulation, the net competition effect (comprising the pure competition and the escape competition effect) decreased innovation by 18.3% and the appropriation effect increased innovation by 19.6%. Other deregulation factors have led to a 20.6% decline. In aggregate, after deregulation, innovation by the upstream technology suppliers has declined by 19.3%, and upstream innovation quality and generality have declined as well.
Properties of Chimeric Prostacyclin/Prostaglandin D2 Receptors: Site‐Directed Mutagenesis Reveals the Significance of the Isoleucine Residue at Position 323

Abstract Mouse prostacyclin (mIP) receptors transiently expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells activated both adenylyl cyclase and phospholipase C, with a 33‐fold preference for signaling through Gs. The prostacyclin (IP) receptor agonists cicaprost, iloprost, carbacyclin, and prostaglandin E1 showed a similar order of potency for activation of both signaling pathways in cells transiently transfected with the mIP and the chimeric prostacyclin/prostaglandin D2 (IPN‐VII/DPC and IPN‐V/DPVI‐C) receptors. Substitution of the carboxyl‐terminal tail of the prostacyclin receptor with the corresponding region of the mDP receptor (IPN‐VII/DPC) produced a receptor with increased coupling to both Gs and Gq. However, this increased G‐protein coupling was lost in the IPN‐V/DPVI‐C receptor. The observation that both these chimeric receptors can activate phospholipase C indicates that the carboxyl‐terminal tail of the IP receptor is not entirely responsible for its ability to couple to Gq. Site‐directed mutagenesis studies suggest that isoleucine at position 323 in the IPN‐VII/DPC receptor plays an important role in mediating the increased potency of this chimeric receptor.
Hong Kong patients' knowledge of stroke does not influence time-to-hospital presentation

A prospective interview of consecutive patients admitted with acute stroke was conducted over an 8-week period to study the influence of patients' knowledge of stroke on time to presentation in Hong Kong. Early arrival was defined as within 6h of symptom onset. The patients' general knowledge of stroke was fair, and early arrival was seen in 40 (56.3%) of 71 patients. Early presentation was associated with male sex (P= 0.028) and a lower initial Glasgow coma scale score (P= 0.072), but not with age, a better general knowledge of stroke, a previous history of stroke or transient ischaemic attack, Rankin score upon discharge, and level of education. On the other hand, late presentation was associated with a belief in permanent disability (P= 0.056). Thus, improving the general knowledge of stroke among Hong Kong people may not reduce delay in hospital presentation of stroke patients.
Cascaded TCP: Applying pipelining to TCP for efficient communication over wide-area networks

The bandwidth utilization in traditional TCP protocols (e.g., TCP New Reno) suffers over high-latency and high-bandwidth links due to the inherent characteristics of TCP congestion control. Conventional methods of improving throughput cannot be applied per se for streaming applications. The challenge is exacerbated by “big data” applications such as with the Long Wavelength Array data that is generated at a rate of up to 4 terabytes per hour. To improve bandwidth utilization, we introduce layer-4 relay(s) that enable the pipelining of TCP connections. That is, a traditional end-to-end connection is split into independent streams, each with shorter latencies, that are then concatenated (or cascaded) together to form an equivalent end-to-end TCP connection. This addresses the root cause by decreasing the latency over which the congestion-control protocol operates. To understand when relays are beneficial, we present an analytical model, empirical data and its analyses, to validate our argument and to characterize the impact of latency and available bandwidth on throughput. We also provide insight into how relays may be setup to achieve better bandwidth utilization.
From Lab Bench to Innovation: Critical Challenges to Nascent Academic Entrepreneurs

University research laboratories are important sources of the inventions and discoveries that become significant innovations with broad economic and societal impact. Invention alone is not innovation; innovation is the long, hard work of taking new technologies and bringing them to commercialization. There are many pathways for the dissemination of new knowledge that arises from basic research at universities, ranging from traditional methods such as publication and training students to licensing technology to established firms or new ventures. One way to transform new knowledge into valuable innovations is for university researchers to undertake the creation of new firms based on their discoveries through academic entrepreneurship. The problem is that university scientists and inventors with a discovery made at a laboratory bench face challenges beyond those experienced by traditional high-technology venture founders: they must finish creating the technology before they can begin using it (Jensen and Thursby, 2001; Pisano, 2006). Academics typically start with inventions so immature that their commercial success cannot be predicted (Jensen and Thursby, 2001). Academic entrepreneurship is an emerging and developing phenomenon, and there is a growing body of literature about new ventures based on university academic. However, limited research has been directed toward nascent academic entrepreneurs (NAEs) to understand the key challenges of bringing innovations to market. The majority of this work has focused on the institutional experience rather than the academic entrepreneurs and their individual experiences (Rothaermel et al., 2007). Within the broader fields of entrepreneurship and innovation, it has been argued that high-potential startups such as academic ventures should receive particular attention from scholars (Davidsson and Gordon, 2011). The following research addressed this gap. Nascent academic entrepreneurship involves more than transforming an invention into a commercialized innovation. It is about the genesis of ideas and the emergence of opportunities, the birth of new organizations, their evolution into new companies, and the transformation of scientists into leaders. It also is about providing the foundation for future innovation by others. Though nascent academic entrepreneurship is increasing in frequency, it is not well understood. The dissertation examines this important topic.
Somatic Hypermutation and Diverse Immunoglobulin Gene Usage in the Human Antibody Response to the Capsular Polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae Type 6B

ABSTRACT Combinatorial cloning and expression library analysis were used to determine the expressed human antibody repertoire specific for the capsular polysaccharide (PS) of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 6B. Sequence analysis of 55 6B-specific antibody Fab fragments isolated from six vaccinated donors reveal that different individuals used a variety of heavy and light chain germ line variable (V) region genes to form pneumococcal capsular PS (PPS) 6B-specific paratopes. Within each donor, however, the response was more restricted, with five of the six donors using at most one or two gene pairs to form combining sites. Analysis also indicated that although the response in each donor was oligoclonal in terms of variable gene usage, the combination of extensive somatic hypermutation, deletion of germ line-encoded residues, insertion of non-germ line-encoded residues, and intraclonal isotype switching generated a surprising degree of paratope diversity within the individuals analyzed. In contrast to previously studied PS-specific responses, we find that the PPS 6B repertoire makes use of a diverse collection of heavy-chain and light-chain V region gene products to form specific paratopes, with no apparent tendency for conservation of immunoglobulin gene usage between individuals.
Direction hole-filling method for a 3D view generator

Depth image-based rendering DIBR technology is an approach to creating a virtual 3D image from one single 2D image. A desired view can be synthesised at the receiver side using depth images to make transmission and storage efficient. While this technique has many advantages, one of the key challenges is how to fill the holes caused by disocclusion regions and wrong depth values in the warped left/right images. A common means to alleviate the sizes and the number of holes is to smooth the depth image. But smoothing results in geometric distortions and degrades the depth image quality. This study proposes a hole-filling method based on the oriented texture direction. Parallax correction is first implemented to mitigate the wrong depth values. Texture directional information is then probed in the background pixels where holes take place after warping. Next, in the warped image, holes are filled according to their directions. Experimental results showed that this algorithm preserves the depth information and greatly reduces the amount of geometric distortion.
Proposal for classifying organisms related to Mycoplasma laidlawii in a family sapromycetaceae, genus Sapromyces, within the mycoplasmatales.

SUMMARY: It is proposed that a second family be re-established within the Mycoplasmatales for those strains not requiring sterol. Following the nomenclature of Sabin, who first made this proposal, the sewage strains of Laidlaw and Elford are renamed Sapromyces laidlawii and assigned to a family Sapromycetaceae. The status of strains not requiring sterol is discussed, including that of sewage A and B. In the light of recent evidence the pig isolates, originally named Mycoplasma granularum, seem to belong to the genus Sapromyces. Recently described tissue-culture isolates, as yet unnamed, represent another species within the Sapromycetaceae. It is questionable whether the organisms classified as M. laidlawii var. inocuum deserve the status of a named variety of S. laidlawii.