Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Emergent Fossilization

Aging is an inescapable fact of human life. In most areas of our lives, aging leads to an unremarkable, gradual decline in physical ability. For example, no one questions why a 40-year-old runner can no longer compete in the Olympics. As the body ages, metabolism slows, joints wear out, and energy is diminished. Aging also has a uniform natural effect on the learning of new skills. As a result, we are not surprised to find that someone who tries to learn soccer at age 30 makes less progress than someone who begins learning at 12. We approach these gradual agerelated physical declines and losses in learning ability with equanimity, since few of these skills are crucial for everyday functioning. No one would suggest that these declines represent the sudden expiration of an innate ability linked to a specific biological time fuse. However, when we look at the decline in language learning abilities that comes with age, we assume a somewhat different position. We are distressed to find that a 35-year-old Romanian immigrant to the United States is unable to lose her Romanian accent, saying that this may limit her ability to adjust to the new society. We may wonder whether the observed fossilization represents the final expiration of some special gift for language learning. Or we may worry that a 28-year-old graduate student from Japan has trouble learning to use English articles. If these error patterns continue year after year, we say that the language spoken by these immigrants has ‘fossilized’ (Selinker, 1972). Fossilization can also affect the young. For example, American university students in Japan in their twenties often make good progress in learning for two or three years and then level off before attaining native speaker competence. This pattern of acquisitions is seldom reported for students visiting other countries, leading one to wonder what features of Japanese language and culture may be inducing these problems. We
Long-term dietary calcium intake and breast cancer risk in a prospective cohort of women.

BACKGROUND Calcium may potentially influence the risk of breast cancer because of its role in regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. However, prospective studies of calcium intake in relation to breast cancer incidence are sparse. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to prospectively examine and show the association, if any, of dietary calcium intake with risk of breast cancer by estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status of the tumor. DESIGN The Swedish Mammography Cohort is a population-based prospective cohort of 61,433 women who were cancer-free at enrollment in 1987-1990. Dietary calcium intake was assessed with a food-frequency questionnaire at baseline and again in 1997. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate rate ratios (RRs) and 95% CIs, adjusted for breast cancer risk factors. RESULTS During an average of 17.4 y of follow-up, 2,952 incident cases of invasive breast cancer were ascertained. Dietary calcium intake was not associated with risk of overall breast cancer; the multivariate RR for the highest compared with the lowest quintile of calcium intake was 0.97 (95% CI: 0.87, 1.09; P for trend: 0.49). There was a statistically significant inverse trend for ER-negative/PR-negative (ER-/PR-) breast cancer (P for trend: 0.02); the multivariate RR for the comparison of extreme quintiles of calcium intake was 0.66 (95% CI: 0.44, 0.99). Calcium intake was not associated with ER-positive/PR-positive (ER+/PR+) or ER+/PR- tumors. CONCLUSIONS Our findings do not support an association between dietary calcium intake and overall breast cancer risk. The inverse relation between calcium intake and ER-/PR- breast cancer requires confirmation in other studies.
Principals' leadership and teachers' motivation: Self‐determination theory analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between educational leadership and teacher's motivation. The research described here was anchored in the convergence of two fundamental theories of leadership and motivation: the full range model of leadership and self‐determination theory. The central hypotheses were that transformational leadership would predict autonomous motivation among teachers, whereas transactional leadership would predict controlled motivation. The authors further predicted that autonomous motivation would mediate the relations between transformational leadership and teachers' burnout and that controlled motivation would mediate the relations between transactional leadership and burnout.Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaires assessing the variables of interest were completed by 122 Israeli teachers.Findings – Results, based on structure equation modeling, supported the hypotheses, suggesting that leadership styles among school principals play a significa.
STELLAR POPULATIONS OF LATE-TYPE BULGES AT z ≃ 1 IN THE HUBBLE ULTRA DEEP FIELD

We combine the exceptional depth of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) images and the deep GRism Advanced Camera for Surveys Program for Extragalactic Science (GRAPES) grism spectroscopy to explore the stellar populations of 34 bulges belonging to late-type galaxies at 0.8 ⩽ z ⩽ 1.3. The sample is selected based on the presence of a noticeable 4000 Å break in their GRAPES spectra, and by visual inspection of the HUDF images. The HUDF images are used to measure the bulge color and Sérsic index. The narrow extraction of the GRAPES data around the galaxy center enables us to study the spectrum of the bulges in these late-type galaxies, minimizing the contamination from the disk of the galaxy. We use the low-resolution (R ≃ 50) spectral energy distribution (SED) around the 4000 Å break to estimate redshifts and stellar ages. The SEDs are compared with models of galactic chemical evolution to determine the stellar mass, and to characterize the age distribution. We find that (1) the average age of late-type bulges in our sample is ∼1.3 Gyr with stellar masses in the range 106.5–1010 M☉. (2) Late-type bulges are younger than early-type galaxies at similar redshifts and lack a trend of age with respect to redshift, suggesting a more extended period of star formation. (3) Bulges and inner disks in these late-type galaxies show similar stellar populations, and (4) late-type bulges are better fitted by exponential surface brightness profiles. The overall picture emerging from the GRAPES data is that, in late-type galaxies at z ≃ 1 bulges form through secular evolution and disks via an inside-out process.
UNPREDICTABLE OFFSPRING SURVIVORSHIP IN THE DAMSELFLY, MEGALOPREPUS COERULATUS, SHAPES PARENTAL BEHAVIOR, CONSTRAINS SEXUAL SELECTION, AND CHALLENGES TRADITIONAL FITNESS ESTIMATES

Abstract Evolutionary biologists typically assume that the number of eggs fertilized or developing embryos produced is correlated with an individual's fitness. Using microsatellite markers, we document for the first time estimates of realized fitness quantified as the number of offspring surviving to adulthood in an insect under field conditions. In a territorial damselfly whose males defend tree hole oviposition sites, patterns of offspring survivorship could not be anticipated by adults. Fewer than half of the parents contributing eggs to a larval habitat realized any reproductive success from their investment. The best fitness correlate was the span over which eggs in a clutch hatched. Among parents, female fecundity and male fertilization success were poor predictors of realized fitness. Although body size was correlated with female clutch size and male mating success, larger parents did not realize greater fitness than smaller ones. The uncoupling of traditional fitness surrogates from realized fitness provides strong empirical evidence that selection at the larval stage constrains selection on mated adults. Corresponding Editor: C. Boggs
Highly Mass-Sensitive Thin Film Plate Acoustic Resonators (FPAR)

The mass sensitivity of thin aluminum nitride (AlN) film S0 Lamb wave resonators is theoretically and experimentally studied. Theoretical predictions based on modal and finite elements method analysis are experimentally verified. Here, two-port 888 MHz synchronous FPARs are micromachined and subsequently coated with hexamethyl-disiloxane(HMDSO)-plasma-polymerized thin films of various thicknesses. Systematic data on frequency shift and insertion loss versus film thickness are presented. FPARs demonstrate high mass-loading sensitivity as well as good tolerance towards the HMDSO viscous losses. Initial measurements in gas phase environment are further presented.
Identity and Participation in Culturally Diverse Societies: a Multi-disciplinary Perspective

Identity and Participation in Culturally Diverse Societies presents an original discussion in an edited volume of how the links between identity, political participation, radicalization, and integration can provide a scientific understanding of the complex issue of coexistence between groups in culturally diverse societies. • Offers a scientific understanding of the complex issue of coexistence between groups in culturally diverse societies • Utilizes original theory which combines social psychology, sociology, and political science • Includes an original and extensive discussion of combining the concepts of identity and diversity • Innovatively and engagingly employs the latest research and state-of-the-art theory
The psychology of containment: (mis) representing emotional and behavioural difficulties in Australian schools

The number of students in special schools has increased at a rapid rate in some Australian states, due in part to increased enrolment under the categories of emotional disturbance (ED) and behaviour disorder (BD). Nonetheless, diagnostic distinctions between ED and BD are unclear. Moreover, despite international findings that students with particular backgrounds are over-represented in special schools, little is known about the backgrounds of students entering such settings in Australia. This study examined the government school enrolment data from New South Wales, the most populous of the Australian states. Linear and quadratic trends were used to describe the numbers and ages of students enrolled in special schools in the ED and BD categories. Changes between 1997 and 2007 were observed. Results showed an over-representation of boys that increased across the decade and a different pattern across age for boys and girls. Consistent with international findings, these results indicate that trends in special school placements are unrelated to disability prevalence in the population. Rather, it is suggested that schools act to preserve time and resources for others by removing their more challenging students: most typically, boys.
A Novel Molecular Determinant for cAMP-dependent Regulation of the Frog Heart Na+-Ca2+Exchanger*

Na+-Ca2+ exchanger is one of the major sarcolemmal Ca2+ transporters of cardiac myocytes. In frog ventricular myocytes the exchanger is regulated by isoproterenol via a β-adrenoreceptor/adenylate-cyclase/cAMPdependent signaling pathway providing a molecular mechanism for the relaxant effect of the hormone. Here, we report on the presence of a novel exon of 27-base pair insertion, which generates a nucleotide binding motif (P-loop) in the frog cardiac Na+-Ca2+ exchanger. To examine the functional role of this motif, we constructed a full-length frog heart Na+-Ca2+ exchanger cDNA (fNCX1a) containing this exon. The functional expression of fNCX1a in oocytes showed characteristic voltage dependence, divalent (Ni2+, Cd2+) inhibition, and sensitivity to cAMP in a manner similar to that of native exchanger in frog myocytes. In oocytes expressing the dog heart NCX1 or the frog mutant (ΔfNCX1a) lacking the 9-amino acid exon, cAMP failed to regulate Na+-dependent Ca2+ uptake. We suggest that this motif is responsible for the observed cAMP-dependent functional differences between the frog and the mammalian hearts.
MicroRNA-200c inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition, invasion, and migration of lung cancer by targeting HMGB1

MicroRNAs (miRs) play critical roles in cancer development, proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion, and migration through regulating the expression of oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes. Previous studies have indicated that miR-200c acts as a tumour suppressor in various cancers by downregulating high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and thereby suppressing EMT and metastasis. In addition, miR-200c was reported to be downregulated and correlated with poor outcomes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, its functional role in HMGB1 regulation in NSCLC is still unclear. This study aimed to clarify whether miR-200c acts as a tumour suppressor in NSCLC by downregulating HMGB1, which is associated with EMT, invasion, cytoskeleton rearrangement, and migration in vitro and in vivo. In order to demonstrate HMGB1 downregulation by miR-200c, the NSCLC cell line A549 was transfected with miR-200c mimic or inhibitor. The mimic significantly reduced HMGB1 expression and suppressed EMT, invasion, and migration, while the inhibitor generated the opposite effects. Additionally, using xenograft mouse models, we confirmed that HMGB1 overexpression increased tumour EMT. In summary, our results demonstrated that miR-200c could suppress EMT, invasion, and migration of NSCLC cells by downregulating HMGB1.
The role of multiple wildlife hosts in the persistence and spread of bovine tuberculosis in New Zealand

Abstract AIM: To explore how the inclusion of multi-host dynamics affects the predicted prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in possums and other host species following the current best practice for control of TB in large difficult and remote areas, to identify which host species are responsible for changes in predicted prevalence, and whether TB can persist in possum-free host communities. METHODS: Multi-host TB models were constructed, comprising three host species with density-dependent population growth, density-dependent disease transmission and susceptible and infected classes. Models were parameterised for two case studies of current concern in New Zealand, namely chronic TB persistence in a possum-deer-pig complex in extensive forest, and in a possum-pig-ferret complex in unforested semi-arid shrub and grasslands. Persistence of TB in the face of best practice possum control was evaluated from model simulations, and the contribution of different hosts to persistence of TB was assessed by removing each host species in turn from the simulations. A sensitivity test explored how different parameter values affected modelled persistence of TB. RESULTS: The forest multi-host model-predicted amplification of TB prevalence due to the presence of pigs. The presence of pigs and/or deer did not jeopardise the success of best practice possum control in eradicating TB from the system, as pigs and deer are effectively end-hosts for TB. Sensitivity analyses indicated these interpretations were robust to uncertainty in model parameter values. The grassland system model predicted that the multi-host species complex could potentially lead to failure of eradication of TB under possum-only control, due to TB persisting in ferret and pig populations in the absence of possum hosts through reciprocal scavenging, resulting in spillback transmission to possums once their populations had started to recover from control. CONCLUSIONS: With respect to management of TB, for modelled forest habitats, 15 years of effective possum control was predicted to eradicate TB from the possum-deer-pig host community, indicating the current focus on possum-only control is appropriate for such areas. For grassland model systems, TB was predicted to persist in the ferret-pig host complex in the absence of possums, potentially jeopardising the effectiveness of possum-only control programmes. However this outcome depended on the occurrence and rate of pigs acquiring TB from ferrets, which is unknown. Thus some estimation of this transmission parameter is required to enable managers to assess if multi-host disease dynamics are important for their TB control programmes.
From the SelectedWorks of Marcel Adam Just 1990 What one intelligence test measures : A theoretical account of the processing in the Raven Progressive Matrices Test

ion Most intuitive conceptions of intelligence include an ability to think abstractly, and certainly solving the Raven problems involves processes that deserve that label. Abstract reasoning consists of the construction of representations that are only loosely tied to perceptual inputs and instead are more dependent on high-level interpretations of inputs that provide a generalization over space and time. In the Raven test, more difficult problems tended to involve more abstract rules than the less difficult problems. (Interestingly, the level of abstraction of even the most difficult rule, distribution of two values, does not seem particularly great compared with the abstractions that are taught and acquired in various academic domains, such as physics or political science.) The level of abstraction also appears to differentiate the tests intended for children from those intended for adults. For example, one characterization of the easy problems found in the practice items of Set I and in the Coloured Progressive Matrices Test is that the solutions are closely tied to the perceptual format of the problem and consequently can be solved by perceptual processes (Hunt, 1974). By contrast, the problems that require analysis, including most of the problems in Set II of the Advanced Progressive Matrices Test, are not as closely tied to the perceptual format and require a more abstract characterization in terms of dimensions and attributes. Abstract reasoning has been a component of most formal theories of intelligence, including those of traditional psychometricians, such as Thurstone (1938), and more recent researchers of individual differences (Sternberg, 1985). Also, Piaget's theory of intelligence characterizes childhood intellectual development as the progression from the concrete to the symbolic and abstract. We can now see precisely where the Raven test requires abstraction and how people differ in their ability to reason at various levels of abstraction in the Raven problems.
Dissipation in Intercluster Plasma

We discuss dissipative processes in strongly gyrotropic, nearly collisionless plasma in clusters of galaxies (the ICM). First, we point out that Braginskii's theory, which assumes that collisions are more frequent that the system's dynamical timescale, is inapplicable to fast, subviscous ICM motion. Most importantly, the electron contribution to collisional magnetoviscosity dominates over that of ions for short-scale Alfvénic motions with wavelength satisfying l ≤ (λ/)(me/mp)1/4 ~ 1 kpc (where λ is the particle's mean free path, β is the plasma pressure parameter, and me and mp are electron and proton masses). Thus, if a turbulent cascade develops in the ICM and propagates down to scales ≤1 kpc, it is damped collisionally not on ions, but on electrons. Second, in high-β plasma of the ICM, small variations of the magnetic field strength, of relative value ~1/β, lead to the development of anisotropic pressure instabilities (firehose, mirror, and cyclotron). Unstable wave modes may provide additional resonant scattering of particles, effectively keeping the plasma in a state of marginal stability. We show that in this case the dissipation rate of a laminar, subsonic, incompressible flows scales as the inverse of the plasma β parameter. We discuss application to the problem of ICM heating.
The measurement of phenol in urine as an index of benzene exposure.

Abstract The measurement of phenol as a metabolic product of benzene was investigated in relation to its usefulness in evaluating exposures to benzene. Phenol was distilled from the urine and determined colorimetrically by a p-nitroaniline procedure. The average phenol content of normal urine is 30 mg/liter as determined by this method. Concentrations of phenol found in the urine of workers exposed to benzene and benzene-containing solvents were correlated with benzene concentrations in the air of the workrooms. A urinary phenol value of about 200 mg/liter was found for workers exposed to an average of 25 ppm of benzene in air.
Cortical somatosensory evoked potentials and spasticity assessment after botulinum toxin type A injection in children with cerebral palsy.

PURPOSE The mechanism of Botulinum Toxin Type A (BTX-A) action at the neuromuscular junction is well known. But from the introduction of BTX-A, some authors have suggested a central action of BTX-A and possible side effects far from the site of injection. Some studies demonstrate an improvement of cortical SEPs associated with reduction of spasticity after BTX-A injection. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of BTX-A treatment on cortical somatosensory potentials (SEP). MATERIAL AND METHODS A group of twenty nine children ranging from 2 to 17 years old with cerebral palsy were studied. Each patients spasticity level was evaluated before, 2 weeks and 6 weeks after BTX-A injection by the Modified Ashworth Scale and modified Gait Physician's Rating Scale. The SEPs from lower and upper extremities were performed before and between 2 and 6 weeks (19.34 +/- 8.82 days) after BTX-A administration. RESULTS The mean spasitity level was significantly lower 2 and 6 weeks after BTX-A injection. The gait analysis by modified Physician's Rating Scale (PRS) showed significant improvement two weeks and six weeks after BTX-A injection. SEPs results were abnormal before BTX-A injection in 25 children with cerebral palsy. However we didn't find any significant changes of SEPs latencies after BTX-A injection. CONCLUSIONS The results of SEP after BTX-A administration in children with cerebral palsy do not confirm the central action of BTX-A on somatosensory pathways. We did not find any significant changes of SEP latencies associated with clinical reduction of spasticity. It seems that SEP results could support the opinion, that BTX-A does not have any direct central effect on sensory pathways. Remote side effects may be explained by an indirect mechanism due to modification of the central loops of reflexes or to hematogenous spread of BTX-A.
Neuropathy among the diabetes control and complications trial cohort 8 years after trial completion.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of prior intensive diabetes therapy on neuropathy among former Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) participants. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS At the conclusion of the DCCT, subjects in the intensive group were encouraged to maintain intensive therapy, and subjects in the conventional group were encouraged to begin intensive therapy. Thereafter, we annually assessed neuropathy as part of the Epidemiology of Diabetes Intervention and Complications (EDIC) study. Neuropathy was defined using the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument (MNSI). We recorded potential adverse consequences of neuropathy. RESULTS At the first EDIC examination, 1,257 subjects participated in the neuropathy assessment. Consistent with DCCT results, the former intensive group showed a lower prevalence of neuropathy than the conventional group based on positive questionnaire (1.8 vs. 4.7%; P = 0.003) or examination (17.8 vs. 28.0%; P < 0.0001) results. Despite similar levels of glycemic control, symptoms and signs of neuropathy remained less prevalent among the former intensive group compared with the conventional group. At the beginning of the EDIC study, prior intensive therapy reduced the odds of having symptoms and signs of neuropathy using MNSI criteria by 64% (P = 0.0044) and 45% (P < 0.0001), respectively, with similar odds reductions observed for both neuropathic symptoms (51%, P < 0.0001) and neuropathic signs (43%, P < 0.0001) across 8 years of EDIC follow-up. CONCLUSIONS The benefits of 6.5 years of intensive therapy on neuropathy status extended for at least 8 years beyond the end of the DCCT, similar to the findings described for diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy.