Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anaphoric devices in written and spoken narrative discourse: Data from Catalan

In this study, we focus on pronominal anaphora and we investigate the referential properties of null and overt subject pronouns in Catalan, in the semi-spontaneous production of narrative spoken and written texts by three groups of speakers/writers (9–10, 12–13, and 15–16 year olds). We aimed at determining (1) pronoun preferences for a specific type of antecedent; (2) their specialization in a certain discourse function; and (3) whether the pattern is affected by text modality (spoken vs. written texts). We analyzed 30 spoken and 30 written narrative texts, produced by the same 30 subjects, divided into the age groups mentioned above. Results seem fairly consistent across age groups and modalities, showing that null pronouns tend to select antecedents in subject position and are well specialized in maintaining reference, while overt pronouns offer a less clear pattern both in their selection of antecedents and in the discourse function they perform. Our findings partially support those of previous research on other null-subject languages, in particular, the Position of Antecedent Hypothesis (PAH) formulated by Carminati (2002) for Italian.
Can There Be Validity Without Reliability?

Reliability has traditionally been taken for granted as a necessary but insufficient condition for validity in assessment use. My purpose in this article is to illuminate and challenge this presumption by exploring a dialectic between psychometric and hermeneutic approaches to drawing and warranting interpretations of human products or performances. Reliability, as it is typically defined and operationalized in the measurement literature (e.g., American Educational Research Association [AERA], American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education, 1985; Feldt & Brennan, 1989), privileges standardized forms of assessment. By considering hermeneutic alternatives for serving the important epistemological and ethical purposes that reliability serves, we expand the range of viable high-stakes assessment practices to include those that honor the purposes that students bring to their work and the contextualized judgments of teachers.
TOPICAL DORZOLAMIDE FOR TREATMENT OF CYSTOID MACULAR EDEMA IN PATIENTS WITH CHOROIDEREMIA

Purpose: To determine the value of a topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitor on the macular thickness and function in choroideremia patients with cystoid macular edema. Methods: Two choroideremia patients with cystoid macular edema, observed by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, were treated with a topical form of carbonic anhydrase inhibitor. Examinations performed before and during treatment included best-corrected visual acuity by using the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study charts and contrast sensitivity measured with briefly presented grating targets and the Pelli–Robson letter contrast sensitivity chart, microperimetry, and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Results: The 2 choroideremia patients treated with dorzolamide 2% formulation had a noticeable reduction in macular thickness by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. This reduction was found in both eyes after 2 months of treatment. After an additional 3 months of the same treatment regimen, a more noticeable reduction in macular thickness was observed. The two study patients had improvement of their visual acuity, in at least one eye, on Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study charts, but no clinically significant changes for the other measures of visual function. Conclusion: The present study shows the potential efficacy of topical dorzolamide for treating choroideremia patients with cystoid macular edema.
Hypothesis: A Potential Role for the Vasa Vasorum in the Maintenance of Vein Graft Patency

Autologous saphenous vein is the most commonly used conduit for coronary artery bypass surgery with more than 50% grafts occluding within 10 years. In conventional preparation the vein undergoes considerable surgical trauma with damage to the outer layers during harvesting. Within these regions are situated the vasa vasorum and small vessels providing oxygen and nutrients to the vessel wall. Certain vasa vasorum terminate in the vessel lumen where it is suggested that they have a physiological role. Preservation of the vasa vasorum of saphenous veins used as bypass conduits may play an important role in the maintenance of graft patency.
Chemotherapy and chemoimmunotherapy in disseminated malignant melanoma.

Treatment of metastatic melanoma with cytotoxic drugs is still associated with low response rates and high toxicity. The most effective single agents in metastatic melanoma produce response rates between 15 and 20%. Combined schedules based on dacarbazine (DTIC), carmustine (BCNU), cisplatin and vinca alkaloids produced objective response rates between 25% and more than 40%; adverse effects, however, were severe and prolongation of survival remains uncertain. Cytokines were therefore introduced as melanoma treatment, with initial high expectations. Interferon (IFN)-alpha as a single treatment produced an overall response rate of 10-15% in melanoma patients. Clinical and experimental results suggest that the antitumour activity of IFN is mainly related to its antiproliferative effect; immunomodulatory effects were not substantiated in clinical investigations. Adoptive immunotherapy of metastatic melanoma has been established by use of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells plus interleukin-2 (IL-2) or high dose IL-2 alone. Clinical trials of adoptive immunotherapy showed objective response rates of 20-25% in disseminated melanoma, and response rates could be further improved by the combination of IL-2 with IFN-alpha. Clinical trials with combined IFN or/and IL-2 and cytostatic drug therapy started a few years ago and have yielded promising initial results. The combination of IFN-alpha with dacarbazine was effective in over 50% of treated patients, leading to complete or partial remissions in 28% and stabilization of the disease in an additional 28% of more than 400 patients treated so far. Recently, a new generation of multidrug combinations including IFN-alpha and/or IL-2 has been initiated with overall response rates of more than 50% in several reports. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Attention, Space, and Action: Studies in Cognitive Neuroscience

Attention, space and action, Humphreys, Duncan & Treisman studies in cognitive neuroscience. Part 1 Visual selective attention: visual attention mediated by biased competition in extrastriate visual cortex, R. Desimone sensory gain control as a mechanism of selective attention, Hillyard, Vogel & Luck a computational theory of visual attention, C. Bundesen how do we select perceptions and actions? , Rees & Frith human brain imaging studies. Part 2 Attention and perceptual integration: feature binding, attention and object perception, A. Treisman converging levels of analyses in the cognitive neuroscience of visual attention, J. Duncan crossmodal links in spatial attention, Driver & Spence. Part 3 Spatial representation and attention: place cells, navigational accuracy, and the human hippocampus, O'Keefe, Burgess, Donnett, & Maguire neural representation of objects in space - a dual coding account, Humphreys human cortical mechanisms of visual attention during orienting and search, Corbetta & Shulman. Part 4 Visual attention and action: neuropsychological studies of perception and visuomotor control, A.D. Milner. neuropsychological studies of perception and visuomotor control, Tipper, Howard & Houghton. Part 5 The control of attention: prefrontal cortex and the neural basis of executive functions, E.K. Miller task switching, Allport & Wylie positive and negative priming of task-set sustained attention deficits in time and space, Robertson & Manley interactions between perception and action systems - a model for selective action, R. Ward.
Drought Response in Wheat: Key Genes and Regulatory Mechanisms Controlling Root System Architecture and Transpiration Efficiency

Abiotic stresses such as, drought, heat, salinity, and flooding threaten global food security. Crop genetic improvement with increased resilience to abiotic stresses is a critical component of crop breeding strategies. Wheat is an important cereal crop and a staple food source globally. Enhanced drought tolerance in wheat is critical for sustainable food production and global food security. Recent advances in drought tolerance research have uncovered many key genes and transcription regulators governing morpho-physiological traits. Genes controlling root architecture and stomatal development play an important role in soil moisture extraction and its retention, and therefore have been targets of molecular breeding strategies for improving drought tolerance. In this systematic review, we have summarized evidence of beneficial contributions of root and stomatal traits to plant adaptation to drought stress. Specifically, we discuss a few key genes such as, DRO1 in rice and ERECTA in Arabidopsis and rice that were identified to be the enhancers of drought tolerance via regulation of root traits and transpiration efficiency. Additionally, we highlight several transcription factor families, such as, ERF (ethylene response factors), DREB (dehydration responsive element binding), ZFP (zinc finger proteins), WRKY, and MYB that were identified to be both positive and negative regulators of drought responses in wheat, rice, maize, and/or Arabidopsis. The overall aim of this review is to provide an overview of candidate genes that have been identified as regulators of drought response in plants. The lack of a reference genome sequence for wheat and non-transgenic approaches for manipulation of gene functions in wheat in the past had impeded high-resolution interrogation of functional elements, including genes and QTLs, and their application in cultivar improvement. The recent developments in wheat genomics and reverse genetics, including the availability of a gold-standard reference genome sequence and advent of genome editing technologies, are expected to aid in deciphering of the functional roles of genes and regulatory networks underlying adaptive phenological traits, and utilizing the outcomes of such studies in developing drought tolerant cultivars.
Cardiovascular responses evoked from the fastigial region of the cerebellum in anaesthetized and decerebrate rabbits.

1. The rostral and caudal regions of the fastigial nucleus (f.n.) in both anaesthetized and decerebrate rabbits have been stimulated electrically while monitoring phrenic nerve activity, heart rate, blood pressure and blood flow to the kidney and hindlimb in addition to recording renal sympathetic nerve activity. 2. Stimulation of the rostral region of the f.n. in the anaesthetized and decerebrate rabbit produced a silencing of phrenic nerve discharge, either no change in heart rate or a vagally mediated bradycardia and a pressor response associated with vasoconstriction in both renal and femoral beds which resulted from an increase in sympathetic vasomotor tone. 3. Stimulation of the caudal region of the f.n. in the anaesthetized rabbit evoked apnoea and a bradycardia which was partially attenuated by vagal blockade. Also, a depressor response was obtained with no change in renal vascular resistance, a transient inhibition of renal sympathetic nerve discharge and a vasodilation in the hindlimb resulting from the withdrawal of sympathetic vasoconstrictor tone. In contrast, electrical stimulation of the same site in the unanaesthetized decerebrate rabbit evoked an increase in central inspiratory drive, a tachycardia and a pressor response with vasoconstriction in both vascular beds. The cardiac and vascular responses were abolished after sympathetic blockade. 4. Administration of a small dose of anaesthetic to the decerebrate preparation did not affect the direction of the cardiovascular or central respiratory responses evoked from the rostral f.n. but reversed the pattern of response elicited from the caudal f.n. to that seen in the intact anaesthetized rabbit. 5. The results of the present study suggest the existence of two separate regions associated with the f.n. which can influence the cardiovascular system in the rabbit. Furthermore, it would seem that the cardiovascular responses evoked from the vicinity of the caudal and rostral poles of the f.n. are mediated by two distinct pathways which might suggest two separate functional roles for the cerebellum in cardiovascular control in the rabbit.
Adaptation of the Children's Friendship Training Program for Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

ABSTRACT Previous research attests to the marked impairments in social functioning exhibited by children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), suggesting that such children are in need of social skills intervention. Recently, an existing evidence-based manualized behavioral treatment for improving children's friendships was implemented and demonstrated to be effective with children aged 6–12, diagnosed with FASD. In the present report, we describe methods for adapting this behavioral intervention in line with the specific cognitive and behavioral deficits seen in children with FASD and other developmental disabilities to enhance treatment efficacy.
Hope, Agency, or Disconnect

Social cohesion and agency in Blacks have not been sufficiently explored in a culturally relevant context. The current study (n = 242 Black college students) explores the concept of racial cohesion, or the intersection of racial identity, common fate destiny, and sociopolitical agency by determining the psychometric properties of the Racial Cohesion Questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis established that the Racial Cohesion Questionnaire had two factors, Racial Agency and Psychological Cohesion. Additionally, racial ambivalence and disconnect was measured by the Black Racial Dissonance Inventory, which was determined using exploratory factor analysis. Racial cohesion and dissonance were also investigated for their relationship with community engagement and racism stress.
Music Therapy for Patients Who Have Undergone Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant

Objectives. This study examines the short- and long-term QOL benefits of a music therapy intervention for patients recovering from hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Methods. Ninety allogeneic HSCT patients, after transplant, were randomized to receive ISO-principle (i.e., mood matching) based music therapy (MT; n = 29), unstructured music (UM; n = 30), or usual care (UC; n = 31) for four weeks. The ISO principle posits that patients may shift their mood from one state to another by listening to music that is “equal to” the individual's initial mood state and subsequently listening to music selections that gradually shift in tempo and mood to match the patient's desired disposition. Participants in MT and UM groups developed two audio CDs to help them feel more relaxed and energized and were instructed to use the CDs to improve their mood as needed. Short-term effects on mood and long-term effects on QOL were examined. Results. MT and UM participants reported improved mood immediately after listening to CDs; the within-group effect was greater for UM participants compared to MT participants. Participant group was not associated with long-term QOL outcomes. Conclusions. Music listening improves mood acutely but was not associated with long-term benefits in this study.
A Fine-Grained Control Flow Integrity Approach Against Runtime Memory Attacks for Embedded Systems

Runtime attacks on memory, such as buffer overflow based stack smashing and code reuse attacks, are common in embedded systems. Control flow integrity (CFI) has been acknowledged as one promising approach to protect against such runtime attacks. However, previous CFI implementations suffer from coarse granularity (which can be circumvented by an advanced attack model) and high-performance overhead. In this paper, first, we present an approach to enforce fine-grained CFI at a basic block level, named basic block CFI (BB-CFI), which aims to defend against aforesaid attacks. The key idea is to verify the target address (TA) of control flow instructions (CFINs) (e.g., call, ret, and imp), which may be modified by the adversary. BB-CFI contains two stages: 1) offline profiling of the program-to extract the control flow information and 2) runtime control flow checking-to verify the TA of CFINs using the extracted information. We also handle the exceptional cases (e.g., multithreading, C++ exception, and longjump) that are found in complex binaries. Second, we propose an architectural design of control flow checker (CFC), which monitors the program execution during runtime to enforce BB-CFI. For proof of concept, we implement the CFC in field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Our method does not require the modification of the source code or the instruction set architecture. The experimental results demonstrate that BB-CFI is effective against runtime attacks, with 100% verification accuracy. The CFC implementation on FPGA shows <;1% performance overhead and a small dynamic power consumption of 78 mW, with very small area footprint.
THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SHEARWISE AND TRANSVERSE QUASI-GEOSTROPHIC VERTICAL MOTIONS TO BAROCLINIC CONVERSION by

The local energetics perspective of cyclogenesis focuses on quantifying the factors governing the tendency of eddy kinetic energy (EKE) associated with baroclinic disturbances. One of the largest components governing the evolution of EKE is the baroclinic conversion term, which represents the conversion between available potential energy and EKE. In the presence of a thermally-direct vertical circulation, the baroclinic conversion term is positive and thus serves as a source of EKE. The nature of thermally-direct circulations suggests that transverse quasi-geostrophic (QG) vertical motions would be largely responsible for the vertical motions associated with the baroclinic conversion process. However, previous work by Martin (2006) showed that shearwise QG vertical motions dominate the cyclogenesis process from the basic state variables perspective. Thus, it is possible that the energetics and basic state variable perspectives of cyclogenesis could be largely described by different species of vertical motions. To investigate which species of QG vertical motion dominates the local energetics perspective of cyclogenesis through the baroclinic conversion process, a case study of two cyclones that developed nearly simultaneously over the North Pacific during October 2004 is considered. Two integration methods are used to track the contributions of shearwise and transverse QG vertical motions to the baroclinic conversion associated with each system: 1) A box-integration method that tracks the contributions within the geographic vicinity of each cyclone, and 2) A volume-integration i
Fruits and Vegetables and Endometrial Cancer Risk: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Endometrial cancer is the most common female gynecological cancer in the United States. Although obesity is a well-established risk factor, the role of other dietary factors is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to summarize and quantify the current evidence for fruit and vegetable intake and endometrial cancer by conducting a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Searches were conducted to identify relevant papers published up to June 2006 in various databases. We included peer-reviewed manuscripts published in any language. Random and fixed-effects pooled risk estimates were estimated. We found one cohort study and 16 case-control studies evaluating various aspects of consumption. The random-effects summary estimates (95% CI) comparing high vs. low categories of intake reported were 0.71 (0.55–0.91) for total vegetables based on 10 studies, 0.85 (0.74–0.97) for cruciferous vegetables based on seven studies, and 0.90 (0.72–1.12) for total fruit based on 14 studies. For 100 g/day intake, summary ORs were 0.90 (0.86–0.95) for total vegetables, 0.79 (0.69–0.90) for cruciferous vegetables, and 0.97 (0.92–1.02) for total fruit. Excluding studies not meeting certain quality criteria provided similar results. The current evidence, based solely on case-control studies, with less than half being population-based, suggests a modest inverse association with vegetable consumption, particularly for cruciferous vegetables. We did not find any cohort studies evaluating fruit and vegetables separately. No firm conclusion can be drawn at this time in the absence of additional well-conducted population-based studies and, particularly, prospective data.
The risk of carriage of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in food animals in dynamic populations

Abstract Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes are foodborne pathogens of global importance. We assessed their risks and associated factors in a highly dynamic population of animals. Animal and environmental samples were collected from dairy cattle, sheep, camel and chickens at either the farms or the abattoirs. The pathogens were detected using a combination of bacterial enrichment culture and real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Data on putative risk factors were collect and analysed for their significance of association with these pathogens. Salmonella spp. were detected at higher proportions in sheep faeces and sheep carcasses in comparison to cattle faeces (odds ratio = 2.4 and 2.2, respectively). This pathogen was less common in milk or carcasses samples from cattle or chickens. Sheep and camel carcass samples were highly contaminated with Salmonella spp. Faecal samples from cattle had the most diverse serovars of Salmonella enterica including S. Newport, S. Haifa, S. Kedougou, S. Kentucky, S. Mbandaka and S. Goettingen. Exotic serovars in sheep included S. Eastbourne, S. Chester and S. Kottnus. Serovars that were shed in camel faeces included S. Newport, S. Bovismorbificans and S. Infantis. In all sampled populations, detection of Salmonella spp. was more likely during warmer months than cold months. Listeria monocytogenes was not common in the targeted populations and was detected at a rate of 2.4%, mainly from sheep carcasses. The study highlights the role of food animals as reservoirs of pathogens across boundaries since all feed are imported in that population from different parts of the world.