Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Variation and assimilation in German: Consequences for lexical access and representation

The consequences of surface variation in speech on lexical access have recently received considerable attention. The lexical system is intolerant to mismatch between input and lexical representation, but an exception is phonologically regular variation. One example is assimilation of consonants that adopt the place of articulation of adjacent consonants in fast speech. Data are presented from crossmodal form priming experiments in German on regressive and progressive assimilation at word boundaries. The results show that some, but not all forms of lawful variation are tolerated by the lexical system. The consequences of these findings for psycholinguistic and linguistic models, some of which incorporate explanations for regular variation, are discussed.
The Relationship between Hemispheric Laterality and Perception of Musical and Verbal Stimuli in Normal and Learning Disabled Subjects

The purpose of this study was to examine hemispheric laterality in relation to the perception of musical and verbal stimuli in normal and learning disabled (LD) subjects. Dichotic listening tests included a Verbal Test, utilising con- sonant-vowel syllables, a Tonal Test, and a Rhythm Test. Each musical test was divided into three subtests, with tonal and rhythm patterns categorised according to difficulty level. The tests were administered to 38 normal and 38 LD subjects, between grades one and four. Data were analysed by means of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) procedures. Major findings included: (1) significant differences among subject groups in the magnitude but not the direction of laterality; (2) significantly greater absolute cal- advantage (AEA) values for the LD subjects than for the normal subjects on the Verbal Test, composite Tonal Test, and Difficult Rhythm subtest; and (3) significantly greater AEA values for younger than for older subjects on the easy and moderately difficult Tonal subtests.
Aging is associated with endothelial dysfunction in the human forearm vasculature.

OBJECTIVE Our objective was to examine the role of the endothelium in maintaining vascular tone in the basal as well as in the contracted state during aging. DESIGN/PARTICIPANTS Responses to brachial artery infusion of acetylcholine in presence and absence of NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) and to angiotensin II were studied in 11 young and 12 old white subjects. MEASUREMENTS Strain gauge plethysmography was used to measure forearm vascular resistance (FVR). The dose of acetylcholine at 50% maximal observed decrease in forearm vascular resistance (EC50) was significantly higher (11.0 +/- 1.59 vs 7.07 +/- .65 microg/min, respectively; mean +/-SEM; P < .05) and the FVR at maximal acetylcholine effect (Emax) remained greater (12.6 +/- 1.75 vs 7.15 +/- 1.25 mm Hg/100 mL tissue volume/min; P < .02) in old compared with young subjects. Acetylcholine effect was significantly reversed by concomitant administration of L-NAME, as indicated by the increase in EC50 (old, 20.2 +/- 3.69; young, 11.9 +/- 1.68 microg/min). RESULTS There was no age-related difference in sodium nitroprusside-induced decrease in FVR. The EC50 and Emax for angiotensin II-mediated increase in FVR were 7.87 +/- 1.15 and 8.36 +/- 1.00 ng/min (EC50) and 5.30 +/- . 67 vs 6.56 +/-1.25 mm Hg/100 mL tissue volume/min (Emax), and these were not different in old and young subjects, respectively. CONCLUSIONS These data indicate that aging is associated with impaired endothelial- dependent vascular relaxation and that this is selective, with no age-related change in endothelial-independent vascular relaxation or angiotensin II-mediated vascular contraction.
FINANCIAL FACTORS AND THE INTER FIRM DIFFUSION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY: A REAL OPTIONS MODEL

In this paper it is argued that although relatively ignored in the literature, on theoretical grounds, financial factors, in terms of the national financial environment and the cost and availability of external finance, will impact significantly upon the diffusion of new technologies in uncertain worlds. An inter firm model of diffusion built upon a real options approach to a decision making under uncertainty is developed and it is shown how the model predicts that the hazard of technology adoption can differ across firms, industries and countries. The model is then extended to reflect a role for financial factors. Some indication is provided as to how that model may be applied to pre existing data sets upon diffusion in order to test the embodied hypotheses.
The Political Participation of Immigrant Youth in Belgium

Research on the political participation of ethnic minorities routinely reveals that immigrants have lower levels of participation, mainly due to their lower socio-economic status. This article investigates whether younger immigrants also display lower levels of political participation. It is based on a representative survey of 6,330 16-year-olds in Belgium. The results demonstrate that, while young immigrant people do not have lower levels of political participation, there are clear differences: participation is influenced by gender, socio-economic situation, mother tongue and sense of group identity, not by citizenship status, television or religion.
Evidence-based assessment of health-related quality of life and functional impairment in pediatric psychology.

OBJECTIVE To provide an evidence-based review of measures of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and functional impairment, with a specific focus on their use in the field of pediatric psychology. METHODS As part of a larger survey of pediatric psychologists from the Society of Pediatric Psychology e-mail listserv (American Psychological Association, APA, Division 54), 16 measures were selected for this psychometric review. Measures that qualified for the review fell into one of the following three categories: (a) generic HRQOL scales, (b) disease-specific quality of life scales, and (c) functional impairment rating scales. RESULTS Psychometric characteristics (i.e., three types of reliability, two types of validity) were strong for the majority of measures reviewed, with 12 of the 16 measures meeting "well-established" evidence-based assessment criteria. Strengths and weaknesses of existing measures were noted. CONCLUSIONS Recommendations for future work in this area of assessment are presented, including suggestions that further validation and exploration of measure properties such as factor analysis and changes in HRQOL over time be conducted.
Rollout Event-Triggered Control: Beyond Periodic Control Performance

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) resulting from the interconnection of computational, communication, and control (cyber) devices with physical processes are wide spreading in our society. In several CPS applications it is crucial to minimize the communication burden, while still providing desirable closed-loop control properties. To this effect, a promising approach is to embrace the recently proposed event-triggered control paradigm, in which the transmission times are chosen based on well-defined events, using state information. However, few general event-triggered control methods guarantee closed-loop improvements over traditional periodic transmission strategies. Here, we provide a new class of event-triggered controllers for linear systems which guarantee better quadratic performance than traditional periodic time-triggered control using the same average transmission rate. In particular, our main results explicitly quantify the obtained performance improvements for quadratic average cost problems. The proposed controllers are inspired by rollout ideas in the context of dynamic programming.
Teachers' Roles in Promoting Literacy in the Context of Play

This study focuses on the roles teachers undertake to promote literacy in a kindergarten classroom. Five early childhood teachers and their children participated in this study. Data were collected through systematic videotaped observations during the children's play periods. Inductive content analysis was the method used to analyze the data. The results identify, define, and describe the teachers' roles that they assumed in promoting the children's literacy development in the context of children's play. Teacher roles supporting literacy learning in children's play were identified, defined, and described as discussion leader, storyteller, examiner, instructional guide, informer, learning center monitor and decision-maker.
Testing a Conceptual Framework of Responsible Environmental Behavior

Abstract Maryland boat owners (N = 291) in the Chesapeake Bay region were surveyed to examine predictors of general responsible environmental behavior (GREB), representing pro-environmental action on a general level, and specific responsible environmental behavior (SREB), indicated by the percentage of raw sewage boaters discharged from recreational vessels in a sewage pumpout station (SPS). A conceptual framework of responsible environmental behavior, adapted from prior environmental education research, was used as a guide for this investigation. Nineteen independent variables categorized as sociodemographic variables, boating background variables, general environmental variables, specific-issue variables, and situational factors to SPS usage constituted the indicators hypothesized to predict behavior. A stepwise multiple regression analysis yielded 8 predictors of SREB (percentage of waste pumped in a pumpout station) that explained 46% of the total variance. Surprisingly, 3 background variables, includ.
The European Marriage Pattern in the Cities: Variations on a Theme by Hajnal

This study investigates the “European Marriage Pattern” in the cities of northwestern Europe in the early modern and modern periods. It shows the importance of heterogeneity in ways that the two features of the pattern—high age at marriage and high proportions single—were integrated in different types of urban economic settings and across various social groups. The study argues that while demographic consequences of the “European Marriage Pattern” were of fundamental importance, the endurance of the pattern is also explained by its vitality as part of a widespread system of cultural values.
Activity through the Years: Leisure, Leisure Satisfaction, and Life Satisfaction

This study examines participation in leisure physical activity, leisure satisfaction, and life satisfaction from a life course perspective, using self-report data from a stratified random sample of adults living in a midsized Canadian city. Findings indicate that physical activity is most strongly associated with leisure satisfaction in the younger age groups, whereas no consistent age pattern is observed in the relationship between physical activity and life satisfaction. Regression analyses that are controlled for income, education, and age indicate major gender differences in the impact of participation in leisure physical activity on life satisfaction, with participation being more important for females. Path analysis indicates that leisure satisfaction contributes both directly and indirectly to life satisfaction. The findings provide evidence for age variation in sources of life satisfaction apart from leisure, and for important gender differences in the role of physical activity.
Engaging Italian and Australian social workers in evaluation

English For social work researchers, engaging managers and practitioners in evaluation has always proved complex. A recent international seminar facilitated a comparison of challenges and opportunities for undertaking collaborative research evaluations in Italy and Australia. Issues concerning motivation and resistance regarding the evaluation process are discussed, along with the role for social work education. French Pour les chercheurs en travail social, impliquer les managers et les praticiens dans l’évaluation a toujours été complexe. Un séminaire international récent a facilité la comparaison des challenges et des opportunités pour entreprendre des recherches collaboratives sur les évaluations en Italie et en Australie. Les problèmes concernant la motivation et la résistance au regard du processus d’évaluation sont discutés, de même que le rôle de la formation en travail social. Spanish Para los investigadores de trabajo social siempre ha sido una tarea compleja el enganchar a los ‘managers’ y trabajadores en tareas de evaluación. Un seminario internacional reciente ha facilitado una comparación de los retos y oportunidades para colaborar en evaluaciones en Italia y Australia. Se examinan cuestiones de motivación para la evaluación y resistencia a la misma, junto con el papel de la educación en el trabajo social.
β‐Amyloid Vasoactivity and Proinflammation in Microglia Can Be Blocked by cGMP‐Elevating Agents

Vascular damage and reactive gliosis are often found colocalized with amyloid deposits in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain,1 suggesting that the cerebrovasculature may be a clinically relevant site of AD pathology and may contribute to the neuroinflammatory process in AD. Using intact rat aortae in a tissue bath system, we have previously shown that freshly solubilized β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides are able to impair relaxation in response to acetylcholine2 or the nitric oxide (NO) donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP). 3 Furthermore, we have demonstrated that Aβ peptides are able to potentiate the vasoconstriction induced by endothelin-1 (ET-1),4,5 which is one of the most potent cerebral vasoconstrictors in the brain.6 Interestingly, Aβ’s enhancement of ET-1-induced vasoconstriction has been shown to be mediated independently of the presence of an intact endothelium,5 suggesting that the ability of vascular smooth muscle cells to determine the dynamic caliber of the blood vessel may be directly impacted by Aβ. The molecular mechanism of Aβ vasoactivity has been suggested to be mediated via free radicals,2 because superoxide dismutase appears to partially oppose Aβ’s vasoconstrictive effect.5 We have recently shown, however, that the pathway to Aβ vasoactivity is not impacted by the superoxide dismutase mimic and peroxynitrite scavenger MnTBAP,4 catalase, or the water-soluble vitamin E analogue Trolox (data not shown). Furthermore, we have shown that Aβ vasoactivity is not due to an inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity, since inactivation of NOS does not mimic or modulate the vasoactive properties of Aβ. 3 Collectively, these results show that Aβ vasoactivity is not mediated by reactive oxygen species, and they prompted us to search for an alternative mechanism. Soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) is responsible for the synthesis of cGMP, and NO stimulates sGC in underlying vascular smooth muscle cells, resulting in vasorelaxation. This effect is antagonized by ET-1, which has been shown to impede increases in cGMP levels in vessels stimulated with the NO donor SNP. This balance between NO and ET-1 provides one mechanism for control of cerebral vasotonus, and, since we showed that Aβ can oppose NO-induced vasorelaxation and enhance ET-1induced vasoconstriction, we evaluated the possibility that Aβ may oppose the NO/
Long‐term results of periodontal regenerative therapy: A retrospective practice‐based cohort study

AIM Evaluation of the long-term effectiveness of regenerative treatment of intra-bony defects in periodontal practice. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 1,008 intra-bony defects in 176 patients were analysed after using collagen-added deproteinized bovine bone mineral (DBBMc) with or without collagen membrane (CM) or enamel matrix derivative (EMD). Defects were classified as one- and two-wall and as shallow (≤6 mm), moderate (>6 and <11 mm) and deep (≥11 mm). Radiographic bone level changes were evaluated after 1 year, 2 to 4 years and 5 to 10 years. RESULTS Mean radiographic defect fill was 3.8 mm after 1 year and remained stable up to 10 years. Deep and moderate defects showed a higher degree of fill than shallow defects (53.3%, 49.2%, 42.9%). Tooth loss amounted to 2.6%, was dependent on initial defect size (1.2% shallow, 1.4% moderate, 5.7% deep defects) and occurred mainly due to endodontic reasons. CONCLUSIONS Within the limits of the retrospective study design, the findings indicate that periodontal treatment using DBBMc with or without CM or EMD can lead to long-term defect reduction and tooth survival for up to 10 years in the setting of a periodontal practice.
A CHILLY CONFERENCE CLIMATE: THE INFLUENCE OF SEXIST CONFERENCE CLIMATE PERCEPTIONS ON WOMEN'S ACADEMIC CAREER INTENTIONS

Despite women’s increased presence in academia, women are still underrepresented in faculty positions relative to men. Though many obstacles interfere with women’s academic career success, including family responsibilities and disproportionate resources relative to men (Ceci & Williams, 201l; Lewis, 2009), this research focused on the conference context as one potential contributor to women’s academic career intentions. The present research explored the extent to which sexist climate perceptions were related to women’s experiences during the conferences, their coping tactics, and their academic exit intentions relative to men’s. The conference context was chosen because conferences have yet to be empirically examined for their potential to influence women’s consideration of an academic career (Jacobs & McFarlane, 2005). Presenters (63% women) from three national academic conferences completed an online survey. Results showed that the greater representation of women at the conference, the less sexist attendees perceived the conference. Additionally, women who perceived the conference as sexist and silenced during the conference expressed increased intention to exit from academic careers. On the other hand, men who perceived the conference as sexist expressed increased intention to exit from that particular conference, rather than academia. Implications for conference attendees, conferences, and academia are discussed.
2013 Annual Survey of Journalism Mass Communication Enrollments

Enrollments in journalism and mass communication programs in the United States in the fall of 2013 were down from a year earlier for the third year in a row. Enrollments dropped at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels, and the number of freshmen and sophomores were down dramatically from a year earlier. Enrollments in the journalism specialty have dropped, and enrollments in advertising and public relations also have stagnated. While the overall field of communication also seems to be slowing in terms of growth, the subfield of journalism and mass communication has been particularly hard hit.
Association between Hypoxia and Perinatal Arterial Ischemic Stroke: A Meta-Analysis

Background Perinatal arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) occurs in an estimated 17 to 93 per 100000 live births, yet the etiology is poorly understood. Although investigators have implicated hypoxia as a potential cause of AIS, the role of hypoxia in AIS remains controversial. The aim of this study was to estimate the association between perinatal hypoxia factors and perinatal arterial ischemic stroke through a meta-analysis of published observational studies. Patients and methods A systematic search of electronically available studies published through July 2013 was conducted. Publication bias and heterogeneity across studies were evaluated and summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated with fixed-effects or random-effects models. Results A total of 8 studies describing the association between perinatal hypoxia factors and neonatal arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) met inclusion criteria, and 550 newborns with AIS were enrolled. The associations were found for AIS: preeclampsia (OR 2.14; 95% CI, 1.25 to 3.66), ventouse delivery (OR 2.23; 95% CI, 1.26 to 3.97), fetal heart rate abnormalities (OR 6.30; 95% CI, 3.84 to 10.34), reduced fetal movement (OR 5.35; 95% CI, 2.17 to 13.23), meconium-stained liquor (OR 3.05; 95% CI, 2.02 to 4.60), low Apgar score (OR 5.77; 95% CI, 1.66 to 20.04) and resuscitation at birth (OR 4.59; 95% CI, 3.23 to 6.52). Our data did not show any significant change of the mean risk estimate for oxytocin induction (OR 1.33; 95% CI, 0.84 to 2.11) and low arterial umbilical cord ph (OR 4.63; 95% CI 2.14 to 9.98). Conclusions There is a significant association between perinatal hypoxia factors and AIS. The result indicates that perinatal hypoxia maybe one of causes of AIS. Large scale prospective clinical studies are still warranted.
Inclusive Education for Students with Intellectual Disability

This paper traces briefly the evolution of Inclusive Education for students with special education needs (SEN) and discusses some significant challenges in its implementation. While the aim of Inclusive Education is to include all children with SEN in mainstream schools, there are many challenges that have to be overcome for their education to be meaningful. This paper focuses primarily on the inclusion of students with intellectual disability, since they are likely to be the largest number with special education needs in ‘inclusive’ schools. It offers the outline of a curriculum that may be derived from the mainstream one in use, and suggests a model that emphasises the replacement of age / grade placement, as is the present practice, with experience and maturity underpinning learning in persons with intellectual disability. The proposed model needs, of course, to be field-tested. doi 10.5463/DCID.v23i2. 111
Luteal phase support in assisted reproductive technology

Purpose of review The purpose of this review is to discuss luteal support in assisted reproduction and to provide an evidence-based overview of the current options available. Recent findings The luteal phase has been found to be defective in virtually all of the stimulation protocols used for in-vitro fertilization. Common mechanisms such as supraphysiological levels of estradiol, decreased output of luteinizing hormone, inhibition of the corpus luteum and asynchronization of estradiol and progesterone may be involved in insufficient function of the corpus luteum in assisted reproductive technology. Summary Gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist undoubtedly provides benefits in stimulated cycles, however it also has adverse effects, inhibition of the corpus luteum together with supraphysiological hormonal profiles finally leading to luteal phase defects. Luteal phase support with human chorionic gonadotropin or progesterone after assisted reproduction results in increased pregnancy rates. The role of luteal phase support in these cycles has also been recently elucidated. Use of human chorionic gonadotropin for luteal phase support is associated with a marked increase in the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, therefore progesterone is the preferred choice. Data on the benefits of estrogen supplementation are conflicting. Among the routes of progesterone administration, reductions in pregnancy rates are noted on oral administration. In spite of a lack of statistical significance, the intramuscular route seems to be more beneficial than the vaginal route when considering rates of ongoing pregnancy and live birth. Further clarification is needed on the ideal dose, the optimal route and the duration of progesterone administration in assisted reproduction.