Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Background music can aid second language learning

The presence of music can both help and hinder performance on a concurrent cognitive task. Music that is low in complexity has been associated with improved performance on language learning tasks, although previous studies have typically used artificial stimuli or tested only short-term recognition. The present study examined the effect of background music as part of an ecologically valid two-week second language learning trial. Participants took a beginners’ CD-based course in either Mandarin Chinese or Arabic, and matched groups (age, gender, verbal intelligence, musical training and working memory ability) were randomly assigned to a CD that contained accompanying music or not. Individuals who chose to learn Chinese performed better on all outcome tests compared to those who learned Arabic. Within the Chinese learners, those who received music CDs performed significantly better on tests of recall and translation compared to those who received no music CDs. No music effects were observed in the Arabic learners or on pronunciation ability in Chinese. This study demonstrates that the presence of certain music can facilitate the first stages of language learning in the real world.
Influence of Included Angle and Sill Slope on Air Entrainment of Triangular Planform Labyrinth Weirs

Aeration of water downstream of weirs is caused by air being carried by the overfalling jet into the downstream receiving pool. The air entrainment characteristics of straight weirs have been measured and analyzed by a number of investigators. However, labyrinth weirs, where the weir sill is not straight in planform, thus increasing their length, have received little attention in this respect. This paper investigates the effect of varying the weir-included angle and the weir sill slope on the air entrainment rate of a triangular labyrinth weir. It is demonstrated that the air entrainment rate of a triangular labyrinth weir is better than that of an equivalent straight weir and that this advantage becomes more pronounced as the weir sill slope increases. Regression equations were obtained for triangular labyrinth weirs relating the air entrainment rate to drop height, weir discharge, weir-included angle, and weir sill slope.
No Effect Level of Co-Composted Biochar on Plant Growth and Soil Properties in a Greenhouse Experiment

Abstract: It is claimed that the addition of biochar to soil improves C sequestration, soil fertility and plant growth, especially when combined with organic fertilizers such as compost. However, little is known about agricultural effects of small amounts of composted biochar. This greenhouse study was carried out to examine effects of co-composted biochar on oat ( Avena sativa L.) yield in both sandy and loamy soil. The aim of this study was to test whether biochar effects can be observed at very low biochar concentrations. To test a variety of application amounts below 3 Mg biochar ha −1 , we co-composted five different biochar concentrations (0, 3, 5, 10 kg Mg −1 compost). The biochar-containing compost was applied at five application rates (10, 50, 100, 150, 250 Mg ha −1 20 cm −1 ). Effects of compost addition on plant growth, Total Organic Carbon, N tot , pH and soluble nutrients outweighed the effects of the minimal biochar amounts in the composted substrates so that a no effect level of biochar of at least 3 Mg ha
Effect of feed sources and feeding system on milk production and marketing in the Babille district of East Hararghe zone, Ethiopia.

he aim of this article is to presents findings of research investigating the impact of feed sources and feeding system on milk production and milk marketing in the Babille district of Eastern Hararghe zone. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire which was administered to 152 randomly selected sample dairy cow keepers in the district. Data was analyzed using descriptive analysis and regression analysis. Data from regression analysis demonstrated that the different factors had a different effect on the milk produced. The factors with strongest influence on the milk yield were dry fodder, green fodder, labor and number of cows. Feed is set to remain the most important and manageable component of commercial livestock production. Results clearly show that, in addition to dry fodder, the green fodder obtained through thinning of sorghum and maize highly affects milk production positively. Hence, ways of integrating cereal production with dairy production and efficient utilization of existing feed sources should be needed. So if energy dense sources of feed is adopted for the dairy producers in the study area, they may diversify their feed sources and could lessen risk related livestock feed and livelihood. The cost of feeds and unimproved feeding system is also constraint in livestock production of the study area.
Sphingopeptides: dihydrosphingosine‐based fusion inhibitors against wild‐type and enfuvirtide‐resistant HIV‐1

Understanding the structural organization of lipids in the cell and viral membranes is essential for elucidating mechanisms of viral fusion that lead to entry of enveloped viruses into their host cells. The HIV lipidome shows a remarkable enrichment in dihydrosphingomyelin, an unusual sphingolipid formed by a dihydrosphingosine backbone. Here we investigated the ability of dihydrosphingosine to incorporate into the site of membrane fusion mediated by the HIV envelope (Env) protein. Dihydrosphingosine as well as cholesterol, fatty acid, and tocopherol was conjugated to highly conserved, short HIV‐1 Env‐derived peptides with no antiviral activity otherwise. We showed that dihydrosphingosine exclusively endowed nanomolar antiviral activity to the peptides (IC50 as low as 120 nM) in HIV‐1 infection on TZM‐bl cells and on Jurkat T cells, as well as in the cell‐cell fusion assay. These sphingopeptides were active against enfuvirtide‐resistant and wild‐type CXCR4 and CCR5 tropic HIV strains. The anti‐HIV activity was determined by both the peptides and their dihydrosphingosine conjugate. Moreover, their mode of action involved accumulation in the cells and viruses and binding to membranes enriched in sphingomyelin and cholesterol. The data suggest that sphingopeptides are recruited to the HIV membrane fusion site and provide a general concept in developing inhibitors of sphingolipid‐mediated biological systems. —Ashkenazi, A. , Viard, M. , Unger, L. , Blumenthal, R. , Shai, Y. Sphingopeptides: dihydrosphingosine‐based fusion inhibitors against wild‐type and enfuvirtide‐resistant HIV‐1. FASEB J. 26, 4628–4636 (2012). www.fasebj. org
Is Temperament or Behavior a Better Predictor of Preoperative Anxiety in Children?

The relation between parent-rated temperament and behavior and observer-rated child preoperative anxiety was examined in 61 children undergoing a day surgery procedure. Parents completed measures of child temperament and behavior prior to surgery. Child preoperative anxiety was observer-rated throughout the day surgery process. Results demonstrated that subscales of the child temperament measure had relatively lower internal consistencies. Subscales from measures of temperament and behavior showed the expected convergent validity in the assessment of inhibition and impulsive constructs, respectively. The anxious-shy subscale from the behavior measure was the only subscale that significantly predicted child anxiety at anesthetic induction (r = .24). Parent-rated measures of child behavior may be useful in identifying children at risk of developing preoperative anxiety.
Universals and Cultural Differences in Recognizing Emotions

Moving beyond the earlier nature-versus-nurture debate, modern work on the communication of emotion has incorporated both universals and cultural differences. Classic research demonstrated that the intended emotions in posed expressions were recognized by members of many different monkeys could not express thought (for more recent developments, see Allen, 2003). SiS is an overarching scientific hypothesis that unifies diverse findings about spoken language perception and production. The evidence for it is derived both from comparative research that taps the natural abilities of nonhuman animals and from behavioral, developmental, and biological studies of humans. Much basic research remains to be done. Knowledge gained from this research will yield both a model of language function and an account of spoken language as part of the human genetic endowment.
Strange new world: applying a Bourdieuian lens to understanding early student experiences in higher education

Occupational therapy pre‐registration education stands at the intersection of the fields of health and social care and higher education. UK Government agendas in both fields have seen an increase in the number of students entering with non‐traditional academic backgrounds, a group noted to experience particular challenges in negotiating the transition to, and persisting and succeeding within, higher education. Drawing on data from an ongoing longitudinal case study, a Bourdieuian lens is applied to exploring the early educational experiences of a group of these students during their first year of study and highlights a number of key issues, including the high‐value status of linguistic capital and its relationship to understanding the rules governing practices within the learning environment, the processes via which students manage to adapt to or interestingly, to resist, the dominant culture of the field, and some of the barriers to finding a foothold and legitimate position within the new field.
3 Thermoregulation at Rest and during Exercise in Healthy Older Adults

Epidemiological evidence of increased mortality among older men and women resulting from hyper- and hypothermia should not be interpreted as implying that aging per se confers an intolerance to environmental extremes. Relatively few studies have attempted to delineate the effects of chronological age from concomitant factors (such as decreases in VO2max, lowered habitual activity levels, alterations in body composition, etc.) in determining thermoregulatory responses to rest and exercise in hot environments. When the effects of chronic diseases and sedentary life-style are kept to a minimum, heat tolerance appears to be minimally compromised by age. VO2max is more important than age in predicting body temperature during exertion, even though some of the physiological mechanisms associated with heat dissipation (especially control of skin blood flow and distribution of cardiac output) are closely associated with chronological age. Dehydration effects may be magnified in older individuals, and rehydration may be compromised by age-related differences in thirst sensitivity and renal function. The efficacy of various interventions in improving thermoregulatory responses of older individuals (e.g., aerobic training and heat acclimation) has not been studied adequately. Older men and women are capable of acclimating to hot conditions, but the time course of physiological changes underlying acclimation with age may be different. Another intervention that holds promise is hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women, which acutely affects temperature regulation and control of body fluids in a positive direction. The chronic effects of hormone replacement therapy on thermoregulation during exercise and environmental stresses are not known. Tolerance to cold exposure under resting conditions may be less dependent on age and aerobic fitness than on body composition. Studies of older and younger subjects exercising in cold environments are lacking altogether, including important studies into the possible preventive effects of regular physical activity on physiological responses to cold stress.
Evaluation of discrepancies in weights of fresh and fixed specimens in breast surgery: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND Handling of breast specimen is not well monitored and there is limited data on the impact of fixative solutions on specimen weights. Weight of resected breast tissue acts as a guide for future reconstructive and symmetrisation procedures. The aim is to quantitatively evaluate the discrepancies in weight of fresh breast specimen and the weight of specimen after being kept in a fixative solution for a variable length of time. METHODS Single centre retrospective cohort study including patients undergone breast surgery for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes between January of 2013 and June 2015. Demographic details were collected from case notes, pathology reports and operation room management information system (ORMIS). RESULTS A total of 229 patients with a median age of 63 [interquartile range (IQR) 51-73] years were included. The median body mass index (BMI) was 27.9 (IQR 24.3-31.75) kg/m2. Median weight of the fresh specimens was 104 (IQR 44-535) g and that of fixed specimen was 99 (IQR 43-525) g (P value <0.05, Wilcoxon test). The variation was not unidirectional and factors which were important in influencing this variation were: inclusion of overlying skin and larger specimens (P value <0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). Age, BMI, duration of preservation in fixative solution and density of breast did not have significant influence. CONCLUSIONS Fixative solution does have significant influence on breast specimen weights. This is more pronounced with heavier specimens and those including overlying skin. It is advisable to measure the weight and volume of fresh breast specimen to aid future surgery with best aesthetic outcome.
Epidemiology of colorectal cancer in Turkey: A cross-sectional disease registry study (A Turkish Oncology Group trial).

BACKGROUND/AIMS This study aimed to determine the epidemiological characteristics of colorectal cancer in Turkey. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this multicenter, prospective, and cross-sectional registry study, data for 968 patients with colorectal cancer from 21 centers in 7 geographic regions were analyzed. RESULTS Diagnosis was colon cancer in 662 (68.4%) and rectum cancer in 306 (31.6%) patients. In total, 60.9% of patients was male; mean age was 58.9±12.6 years. Among patients, 15.0% was drinking alcohol, 17.5% was smoking, 1.5% had familial history of polyposis, 15.0% had diabetes mellitus, 1.0% had inflammatory bowel disease. Fruit and vegetable consumption was low (<3 times/week) in 35.5% and red meat consumption was high (≥3 times/week) in 47.4% of the patients. Median time-to diagnosis was 3.0 months and 4.0 months for patients with colon and rectum cancer, respectively. Mean body mass index was >25 in all group of patients. Distal rectum (61.3%) and sigmoid colon (36.8%) were the most common locations of cancer, for rectum and colon respectively. In total, 85.6% of patients were operated; 25.8% had emergency surgery. Low anterior resection rate was 64.2% in rectum cancer. In majority (89.8%) of the patients with rectum cancer who received preoperative treatment, conventional chemo-radiotherapy regimen was given. pTNM staging at diagnosis showed that stage III and IV patients were in majority (35.9% and 29.7%, respectively). CONCLUSION Colon cancer is more frequent than rectum cancer in Turkey. Colorectal cancer patients are diagnosed at later stages. Most of the cases were operated. Interregional differences for risk factors are worthwhile for evaluation in future trials.
A Canadian French Adaptation of the Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire: Cross-cultural Validation and Gender Differences

The first objective of this study is to present different aspects of the reliability and validity of the Canadian French adaptation of the Agoraphobic Cognition Questionnaire (ACQ). A second objective is to determine the dimensionality of the Canadian French version (ACQ-FC) in comparison to the factorial solutions uncovered in the American and Dutch versions. The third objective is to present gender differences in the agoraphobic group. Results suggest that the ACQ-FC and ACQ have similar internal consistency, temporal stability, construct validity, and discriminative validity. The ACQ-FC uncovers a two-factor model, which is similar to the American and Dutch models. As such, the ACQ-FC shows cross-cultural validity with the ACQ. This study demonstrates that the multidimensional construct is not culturally bound.
Oncogenes and Tumor Suppressors Sprouty 2 Drives Drug Resistance and Proliferation in Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is notoriously resistant to therapy, and the development of a durable cure will require the identification of broadly relevant regulators of GBM cell tumorigenicity and survival. Here, we identify Sprouty2 (SPRY2), a known regulator of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK), as one such regulator. SPRY2 knockdown reduced proliferation and anchorage-independent growth in GBM cells and slowed xenograft tumor growth in mice. SPRY2 knockdown also promoted cell death in response to coinhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the c-MET receptor in GBM cells, an effect that involved regulation of the ability of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) to drive cell death in response to inhibitors. Analysis of data from clinical tumor specimens further demonstrated that SPRY2 protein is definitively expressed in GBM tissue, that SPRY2 expression is elevated in GBM tumors expressing EGFR variant III (EGFRvIII), and that elevated SPRY2 mRNA expression portends reduced GBM patient survival. Overall, these results identify SPRY2 and the pathways it regulates as novel candidate biomarkers and therapeutic targets in GBM. Implications: SPRY2, counter to its roles in other cancer settings, promotes glioma cell and tumor growth and cellular resistance to targeted inhibitors of oncogenic RTKs, thus making SPRY2 and the cell signaling processes it regulates potential novel therapeutic targets in glioma. Mol Cancer Res; 13(8); 1227–37. 2015 AACR.
Design and Analysis of High Performance Novel 3T XOR Gate based 32-bit Adder at 28nm Technology

In this paper, we designed and simulated a low power one bit, 8-bit and 32-bit full adder circuits namely Novel 10T, N14T, FA24T, CPL (complementary pass-transistor logic) and DPL (double pass-transistor logic). All the adders are tested by using one bit, 8-bit and 32-bit ripple carry adder architecture using Tanner EDA tool version 13.0. The one bit Novel 10T, N14T, XOR/XNOR function technique has been used for the generation of full adders. The proposed design successfully works with the buffering circuit in the full adder design. All full adder circuits are simulated withT-SPICE using 28nm Technology with 500 Mega Hertz frequency at 0.9 volt supply voltage. Due to lesser length requirement in the individual transistor, all the design of adders require lesser area as compared to existing design results in the tables. There is also improvement in terms of power, delay and power-delayproduct (PDP).
DNA words based on an enhanced algorithm of multi-objective particle swarm optimization in a continuous search space

In this paper, particle swarm optimization algorithm in a continuous search space is implemented to generate a set of DNA words. A single swarm with 20 particles is used to find the best solution (gbest). Here, each particle has a number of sub-particles which is referred as the number of sequences to be designed. Overall, the particle which has the optimum fitness value is considered as the best solution. Fitness value of a particle is computed from the average value of all the applied objective functions. The solution obtained from this algorithm is found to be better as compared with other approaches. Furthermore, it has a fast convergence towards the optimum fitness value.
Organizational Commitment in Nepalese Settings

This study examines the three-dimensional organizational commitment (OC) concept (Meyer & Allen, 1997) in Nepal. Standardized questionnaires were administered to a heterogeneous sample of 103 employees of four different Nepalese organizations (bank, food corporation, telecommunication, and an airline). Exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses replicate the dimensionality of OC, i.e., the three facets of commitment (affective, normative, and continuance commitment) could be found also in a developing country with a cultural background very different from the places where the commitment concept was originally formulated. Antecedents and consequences of organizational commitment were investigated by multiple regression analyses. Continuance and normative commitment were both explained by job characteristics, i.e., by the perception of the job as interesting, affective commitment could not be explained with the set of variables used in this study. However, it is affective commitment which particularly accounts for variance in search intentions as well as in turnover intentions.
Fuzzy partitioning using a real-coded variable-length genetic algorithm for pixel classification

The problem of classifying an image into different homogeneous regions is viewed as the task of clustering the pixels in the intensity space. Real-coded variable string length genetic fuzzy clustering with automatic evolution of clusters is used for this purpose. The cluster centers are encoded in the chromosomes, and the Xie-Beni index is used as a measure of the validity of the corresponding partition. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is demonstrated for classifying different landcover regions in remote sensing imagery. Results are compared with those obtained using the well-known fuzzy C-means algorithm.
Attitudes of Egyptian Teachers towards Computers

Appraisal of teacher attitudes towards computers has gained importance following the widespread availability of microcomputers in schools all around the world. This study aims at investigating Egyptian teachers' attitudes towards computers in terms of gender and years of teaching experience. Attitudes of a sample of 118 public school teachers, 53 (45%) male and 65 (55%) female, were assessed using ‘The Attitude Towards Computer Instrument’ (ATCI), developed by Shaft et al (2004), which is a Likert type instrument with three factors of affective, cognitive, and behavioral. The gathered data were analyzed using an analysis of variance (ANOVA). Findings showed that the Egyptian public school teachers' attitudes towards computers are positive. There were no significant differences in terms of gender and teaching experience. Recommendations for further research are provided.