Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Kera Tone and Voicing

Kera (a Chadic language) has been cited as one of a handful of languages which exhibit long distance voicing harmony between consonants (Rose and Walker 2001, Odden 1994). It has also been claimed that Kera voiced ('depressor') consonants lower the tone of the following syllable (Ebert 1979, Wolff 1987a, Pearce 1998). This paper addresses both of these claims, showing with recordings, pitch tracks and acoustic measurements that although the synchronic phonology includes consonant and tone interaction, it is the tones that are underlying and distinct. It also shows that the controversial account of voice spreading is no longer necessary as the facts can be adequately accounted for by tone spreading, and by voice onset times that correspond to the tone.
Reliability of sexual behavior self‐reports in male couples of discordant HIV status

Seventy‐five male couples, where one member was HIV‐positive and his partner was HIV‐negative, were assessed concerning anal sexual‐risk behavior. Subsequently, the reliability of their self‐reports was determined by two methods: (a) by comparing the separate reports of each member of the couple and (b) by a one week test‐retest of 27 individuals. Both quantitative and qualitative assessment methods were used. Approximately half of the men had practiced anal sex with their serodiscordant partners during the year prior to the interview, and between half and one quarter of those men reported not using protection consistently. After careful analyses of the discrepancies found in the self‐report of the members of some couples, it was established that, for the most part, primary partners confirmed the report of index respondents concerning their sexual behavior with each other. The most frequent reasons for interpartner discrepancies were poor recall of isolated incidents, inaccuracy in limiting responses to t.
Effects of Amiodarone and its Metabolite, Desethylamiodarone, on the Electrophysiologic Properties of Isolated Cardiac Muscle

Summary: The electrophysiologic (EP) effects of chronically administered amiodarone (AM) is known, but the nature of its acute effects are unclear. Whether the delayed onset of AM action is due to its metabolite, desethylamiodarone (DAM), is also uncertain. By standard microelectrode techniques in isolated canine ventricular muscle (VM) and Purkinje fibers (PF) and in rabbit sinoatrial (SA) node and atrium, we therefore studied the comparative effects of AM and DAM, 10−6 M (0.68 μg/ml), 10−5 M (6.8 μ/ml), and 5 × 10−5 M (34 μg/ml), dissolved in ethanol and homologous serum. In VM, PF, and atria stimulated at 1 Hz, AM and DAM had no effect on &OV0312;max, action potential amplitude (APA), or resting membrane potential. At 2–4 Hz, AM exerted a marked use-dependent effect in VM and PF. In atria, 5 × 10−5 M, AM and DAM increased (p < 0.01) action potential duration at 90% repolarization (APD90); the effective refractory period (ERP) increased by 10.5% (p < 0.05 for AM) and 21.6% (p < 0.01 for DAM). In VM, AM increased APD90 by 9.6% (p < 0.01) at 10−6 M, 13.7% (p < 0.01) at 10−5 M, and 16.9% (p < 0.01) at 5 × 10−5 M. The corresponding values for DAM were 5.6% (NS), and 7.3% (p < 0.01), respectively. The ERP in VM was increased significantly by AM but not by DAM at all 3 drug concentrations without a change in APD90/ERP ratio. In PF, AM and DAM decreased APD50 and APD90; the effects were greater than those produced by the superfusion medium, but the degree of shortening in ERP induced by AM and DAM was not. AM and DAM (10−5 and 5 × 10−5 M) increased spontaneous cycle length of rabbit SA node. AM significantly decreased slope of phase 4 depolarization (10.4% at 10−6 M, p < 0.05; 14.5% at 10−5 M, p < 0.01; 24.0% at 5 × 10−5 M, p < 0.01). At 5 × 10−5 M, AM significantly decreased APA, maximum diastolic potential and threshold potential with an insignificant effect on APD100. The data suggest that: (a) AM and DAM exert qualitatively and quantitatively similar EP effects in isolated cardiac muscle, (b) in the case of AM, the delay in repolarization and refractoriness is less striking than that previously reported following chronic drug administration, and (c) the modest increase in ERP occurs essentially by a voltage-dependent mechanism but the drug's use-dependent effects on &OV0312;max suggest a significant class I antiarrhythmic action at fast stimulation frequencies. We conclude that AM and DAM exert complex, acute EP effects in cardiac muscle reflecting changes in repolarization as well as in fast and slow depolarization currents.
Autophagy Induction Results in Enhanced Anoikis Resistance in Models of Peritoneal Disease

Peritoneal carcinomatosis and peritoneal sarcomatosis is a potential complication of nearly all solid tumors and results in profoundly increased morbidity and mortality. Despite the ubiquity of peritoneal carcinomatosis/peritoneal sarcomatosis, there are no clinically relevant targeted therapies for either its treatment or prevention. To identify potential therapies, we developed in vitro models of peritoneal carcinomatosis/peritoneal sarcomatosis using tumor cell lines and patient-derived spheroids (PDS) that recapitulate anoikis resistance and spheroid proliferation across multiple cancer types. Epithelial- and mesenchymal-derived cancer cell lines (YOU, PANC1, HEYA8, CHLA10, and TC71) were used to generate spheroids and establish growth characteristics. Differential gene expression analyses of these spheroids to matched adherent cells revealed a consensus spheroid signature. This spheroid signature discriminates primary tumor specimens from tumor cells found in ascites of ovarian cancer patients and in our PDS models. Key in this gene expression signature is BNIP3 and BNIP3L, known regulators of autophagy and apoptosis. Elevated BNIP3 mRNA expression is associated with poor survival in ovarian cancer patients and elevated BNIP3 protein, as measured by IHC, and is also associated with higher grade tumors and shorter survival. Pharmacologic induction of autophagy with rapamycin significantly increased spheroid formation and survival while decreasing the induction of apoptosis. In contrast, the autophagy inhibitor hydroxychloroquine abrogated spheroid formation with a clear increase in apoptosis. Modulation of BNIP3 and the critical autophagy gene Beclin-1 (BECN1) also caused a significant decrease in spheroid formation. Combined, these data demonstrate how modulation of BNIP3-related autophagy, in PDS and in vitro spheroid models, alters the survival and morphology of spheroids. Implications: Development of BNIP3/BNIP3L-targeting agents or autophagy-targeting agents may reduce morbidity and mortality associated with peritoneal carcinomatosis and sarcomatosis. Mol Cancer Res; 15(1); 26–34. ©2016 AACR.
Kir6.2 Variant E23K Increases ATP-Sensitive K+ Channel Activity and Is Associated With Impaired Insulin Release and Enhanced Insulin Sensitivity in Adults With Normal Glucose Tolerance

OBJECTIVE The E23K variant in the Kir6.2 subunit of the ATP-sensitive K+ channel (KATP channel) is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The present study was undertaken to increase our understanding of the mechanisms responsible. To avoid confounding effects of hyperglycemia, insulin secretion and action were studied in subjects with the variant who had normal glucose tolerance. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Nine subjects with the E23K genotype K/K and nine matched subjects with the E/E genotype underwent 5-h oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs), graded glucose infusion, and hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp with stable-isotope–labeled tracer infusions to assess insulin secretion, action, and clearance. A total of 461 volunteers consecutively genotyped for the E23K variant also underwent OGTTs. Functional studies of the wild-type and E23K variant potassium channels were conducted. RESULTS Insulin secretory responses to oral and intravenous glucose were reduced by ∼40% in glucose-tolerant subjects homozygous for E23K. Normal glucose tolerance with reduced insulin secretion suggests a change in insulin sensitivity. The hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp revealed that hepatic insulin sensitivity is ∼40% greater in subjects with the E23K variant, and these subjects demonstrate increased insulin sensitivity after oral glucose. The reconstituted E23K channels confirm reduced sensitivity to inhibitory ATP and increase in open probability, a direct molecular explanation for reduced insulin secretion. CONCLUSIONS The E23K variant leads to overactivity of the KATP channel, resulting in reduced insulin secretion. Initially, insulin sensitivity is enhanced, thereby maintaining normal glucose tolerance. Presumably, over time, as insulin secretion falls further or insulin resistance develops, glucose levels rise resulting in type 2 diabetes.
Energy-Bandwidth Efficiency Tradeoff in MIMO Multi-Hop Wireless Networks

This paper considers a MIMO multi-hop network and analyzes the relationship between its energy consumption and bandwidth efficiency. Its minimum energy consumption is formulated as an optimization problem. By taking both transmit antennas (TAs) and receive antennas (RAs) into consideration, the energy-bandwidth efficiency tradeoff in the networks is investigated. Moreover, the minimum energy of an equally-spaced relaying strategy is investigated for various numbers of antennas. In addition, the minimum energy over all possible antenna pairs is derived. Finally, the effect of the number of hops on the energy-bandwidth efficiency tradeoff is considered. For a fixed antenna pair, the minimum energy over all possible rates and hop numbers are obtained. Generally, the routes with more hops minimize the energy consumption in the low effective rate region. On the other hand, in the high effective rate region, the routes with fewer hops minimize the energy consumption.
Men in Academic School Psychology: A National Survey.

There is a paucity of research examining the experiences and perceptions of men employed as school psychology academicians. The purpose of this investigation was to ascertain male school psychology academicians' perceptions of their respective academic climates, levels of support, incidences of harassment, and levels of stress, and to compare these results with a previous survey conducted with women in similar positions. A total of 146 male school psychology academicians (41% response rate) completed the 48-item survey entitled, “Men in School Psychology: Academia Questionnaire. '' The findings suggested that men were more likely than women to indicate that climate and opportunities within their department were equal, whereas women indicated that the climate and opportunities tend to favor men. When men indicated that inequalities exist, they reported believing that women were favored. Results are discussed in terms of implications for faculty in school psychology. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ASIC1a Deficient Mice Show Unaltered Neurodegeneration in the Subacute MPTP Model of Parkinson Disease

Inflammation contributes to the death of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson disease and can be accompanied by acidification of extracellular pH, which may activate acid-sensing ion channels (ASIC). Accordingly, amiloride, a non-selective inhibitor of ASIC, was protective in an acute 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) mouse model of Parkinson disease. To complement these findings we determined MPTP toxicity in mice deficient for ASIC1a, the most common ASIC isoform in neurons. MPTP was applied i.p. in doses of 30 mg per kg on five consecutive days. We determined the number of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, assayed by stereological counting 14 days after the last MPTP injection, the number of Nissl positive neurons in the substantia nigra, and the concentration of catecholamines in the striatum. There was no difference between ASIC1a-deficient mice and wildtype controls. We are therefore not able to confirm that ASIC1a are involved in MPTP toxicity. The difference might relate to the subacute MPTP model we used, which more closely resembles the pathogenesis of Parkinson disease, or to further targets of amiloride.
Gender as a moderator of reciprocal consumer behavior

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how purchasing behavior is approached as a customer‐perceived need to reciprocate for services received. The study seeks to examine involvement, knowledge, and identity as predictors of reciprocal consumer behavior. Two components of reciprocity – gratitude and obligation – are expected to mediate the relationships. The effect is expected to be different for men and women.Design/methodology/approach – Wine was chosen as a product category to test the relationships in the models. Data collection was conducted via distribution of surveys to tasting room visitors at six wineries. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.Findings – The impact of knowledge, identity, and involvement were important findings from the research. The differences between males and females with regard to their feelings of gratitude and obligation and the impact on purchasing are pronounced. Obligation to make a purchase had a stronger effect on the purchasing behavior of.
Distinguishing the effects of beliefs and preconditions: The folk psychology of goals and actions

Two studies examined lay people’s understanding of goals and intentional actions, which are key concepts in folk psychology. The studies show how predictions of goals and actions are affected by actors’ beliefs about their abilities and their actual possession of the preconditions required for the actions. In some conditions, the beliefs and the preconditions were contradictory. Actors’ beliefs about their abilities shaped observers’ goal ascriptions, whereas actual preconditions dominated predictions about action accomplishment. Participants judged the relationship between goals and actions to be stronger when preconditions were present. Participants judged that neither beliefs nor preconditions were necessary for the actor to have action fantasies. These studies clarify how folk psychological concepts of desires, beliefs, and preconditions relate to each other and how they relate to attributions of goals and actions. Copyright # 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Differentiating phonological memory and awareness of rhyme: Reading and vocabulary development in children

A study of 4-and 5-year-old children investigated whether measures of phonological memory and rhyme awareness reflect a common phonological processing skill or differentiable phonological abilities. Tests of phonological memory, rhyme oddity detection, reading, vocabulary and non-verbal intelligence were given to the children in each age group. Factor analyses performed on the measures showed that phonological memory and rhyme awareness measures did indeed share a common phonological processing component, but other analyses established that the two types of phonological processing task were nonetheless differentially linked with reading and vocabulary development. The two phonological memory measures taken in the study–non-word repetition and digit span–were significantly related to vocabulary knowledge in both the ages 4 and 5 groups, and to reading achievement at age 5, but not age 4. These findings replicate and extend our earlier findings. In contrast, rhyme awareness scores were not significantly associated with vocabulary knowledge at either age, but were strongly related to scores on one of the reading tests, a multiple-choice measure, at both ages 4 and 5. The pattern of findings indicates that, although there appears to be a common phonological processing component underpinning phonological memory and phonological awareness tasks, the tasks also reflect separate cognitive skills which make differential contributions to reading and vocabulary development.
The hypoxic microenvironment maintains glioblastoma stem cells and promotes reprogramming towards a cancer stem cell phenotype

Glioblastomas are highly lethal cancers that contain cellular hierarchies with self-renewing cancer stem cells that can propagate tumors in secondary transplant assays. The potential significance of cancer stem cells in cancer biology has been demonstrated by studies showing contributions to therapeutic resistance, angiogenesis, and tumor dispersal. We recently reported that physiologic oxygen levels differentially induce hypoxia inducible factor-2α (HIF2α) levels in cancer stem cells. HIF1α functioned in proliferation and survival of all cancer cells but also was activated in normal neural progenitors suggesting a potentially restricted therapeutic index while HIF2α was essential in only in cancer stem cells and was not expressed by normal neural progenitors demonstrating HIF2α is a cancer stem cell specific target. We now extend these studies to examine the role of hypoxia in regulating tumor cell plasticity. We find that hypoxia promotes the self-renewal capability of the stem and non-stem population as well as promoting a more stem-like phenotype in the non-stem population with increased neurosphere formation as well as upregulation of important stem cell factors, such as OCT4, NANOG, and c-MYC. The importance of HIF2α was further supported as forced expression of non-degradable HIF2α induced a cancer stem cell marker and augmented the tumorigenic potential of the non-stem population. This novel finding may indicate a specific role of HIF2α in promoting glioma tumorigenesis. The unexpected plasticity of the non-stem glioma population and the stem-like phenotype emphasizes the importance of developing therapeutic strategies targeting the microenvironmental influence on the tumor in addition to cancer stem cells.
Challenges in the transition to college: the perspective of the therapist back home.

The percentage of "emerging adults" in the United States going on to post-secondary education is at its highest rate ever. Most are successful academically and socially during the transition. Some students do not adapt as well. These students may settle down after an initial assessment and brief treatment on campus. Others seek help from or are referred to a local mental health practitioner. Among the population of highly stressed (often freshman-year) college students, there is a not-insignificant number who leave school. Often a return home is viewed by the teen and family as a "failure. " The clinician must be a person who can see the potential for growth even in these challenging situations, be able to communicate that stance to teens and parents and remind students and their families that true growth takes time.
Perceptual Learning With Tactile Stimuli in Rats: Changes in the Processing of a Dimension

Four experiments with male rats investigated perceptual learning involving a tactile dimension (A, B, C, D, E), where A denotes 1 end of the continuum (e.g., a rough floor) and E the other (e.g., a smooth floor). In Experiment 1, rats given preexposure to A and E learned an appetitive discrimination between them more readily than those not given preexposure. Experiment 2a showed that rats preexposed to B and D acquired a discrimination between A and E more readily than those preexposed to A and E; and in Experiment 2b the same preexposure treatments had no effect on the acquisition of a discrimination between B and D. In Experiments 3a and 3b, rats given preexposure to C learned a discrimination between A and E more readily than those not given preexposure. Experiment 4 demonstrated that preexposure to a texture (e.g., B) that was adjacent to the to-be-discriminated textures (e.g., C and E) facilitated a discrimination between them relative to preexposure to their midpoint (D). These novel perceptual learning effects are interpreted as reflecting a redistribution of processing between the notional elements of the texture dimension.
Gender differences in metabolic risk factor prevalence in a South African student population

Summary We determined selected risk factors for the metabolic syndrome and assessed the metabolic risk status (using IDF criteria) of third-year physiology students at Stellenbosch University (88 males and 178 females). Outcome measures included anthropometry [body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio], blood pressure (BP), resting pulse rate, and fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels. In addition, students completed a lifestyle questionnaire. A number of gender-based differences were found, with male students displaying a greater incidence of risk factors for the metabolic syndrome: 6% of males versus 3% of females displayed a cluster of three risk factors. Twenty-five per cent of female students (but only 14% of males) exhibited waist circumferences above the accepted range, which was positively correlated, for males and females, with both systolic and diastolic BP, and in females only, also with total cholesterol levels. Male students on average exercised more than their female counterparts, but also exhibited poorer eating habits. Average blood triglyceride levels for both male and female students exceeded the accepted threshold (1.85 ± 1.62 mmol/l and 2.15 ± 1.79 mmol/l, respectively). We concluded that metabolic risk factors were evident in a much younger population than commonly expected. Moreover, the gender-specific differences observed may impact on future risk assessment and preventative measures adopted.
Qualitative Steps toward an Expanded Model of Anxiety in Gift-Giving

Previous investigations of interpersonal gift giving have uncovered feelings of anxiety among gift givers. The anxious moments that givers often experience stand in stark contrast to the festive atmospheres and joyous celebrations that surround many gift occasions. Why is gift-giving such a torturous endeavor for so many people? What conditions coincide with the anxious moments that givers often experience? What factors drive this anxiety? These questions are explored in this article, which develops a model based on a self-presentational theory and two sets of qualitative data. The results show that givers become anxious when they are highly motivated to elicit desired reactions from their recipients but are pessimistic about their prospects of success. This article identifies characteristics of recipients, givers, and gift situations that appear to precipitate these anxious moments. Copyright 2000 by the University of Chicago.