Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acute behavioral and cardiac effects of alcohol and caffeine, alone and in combination, in humans

The acute behavioral and cardiac effects of alcohol (0, 0.5 and 1.0 g/kg) and caffeine (0, 250 and 500 mg/70 kg), administered alone and in combination, were assessed in eight adult humans. Subjects received all possible combinations twice. Alcohol administered alone disrupted responding in the Digit-Symbol Substitution Test and the Repeated Acquisition and Performance Procedure, increased heart rate, decreased blood pressure, and increased subject ratings of drunkenness. Caffeine administered alone offset performance decrements that emerged across the test session on the Digit-Symbol Substitution Test performance and accuracy of responding in the Repeated Acquisition and Performance Procedure, but never actually enhanced performance and learning. Caffeine administered alone increased blood pressure and increased subjective ratings of drug strength. The most notable effect of the drug combinations was that caffeine partially attenuated the disruptive behavioral effects of alcohol. Combining alcohol and caffeine generally offset the pressor effects observed with the drugs administered alone. By contrast, alcohol-caffeine combinations did not significantly alter breath alcohol levels, heart rate or subject-rated drug effects, relative to the effects of the drugs alone. Across all measures except heart rate, these effects are qualitatively similar to those observed previously with cocaine and -amphetamine in combination with alcohol, documenting a high degree of consistency in the behavioral pharmacology of alcohol-stimulant combinations in humans
Herbivory Differentially Affects Plant Fitness in Three Populations of the Perennial Herb Lythrum salicaria along a Latitudinal Gradient

Herbivory can negatively and selectively affect plant fitness by reducing growth, survival and reproductive output, thereby influencing plant population dynamics and evolution. Latitudinal variation in intensity of herbivory is common, but the extent to which it translates into corresponding variation in effects on plant performance is still poorly known. We tested the hypothesis that variation in the fitness-consequences of herbivory mirror differences in intensity of herbivory among three natural populations of the perennial herb Lythrum salicaria along a latitudinal gradient from southern to northernmost Sweden. We documented intensity of herbivory and examined its effect on survival, growth and reproductive output over two years by experimentally removing herbivores with insecticide. The intensity of herbivory and the effects of herbivory on plant fitness were strongest in the southern population, intermediate in the central population and weakest in the northern population. The mean proportion of the leaf area removed ranged from 11% in the southern to 3% in the northern population. Herbivore removal increased plant height 1.5-fold in the southern and 1.2-fold in the central population, the proportion plants flowering 4-fold in the southern and 2-fold in the central population, and seed production per flower 1.6-fold in the southern and 1.2-fold in the central population, but did not affect plant fitness in the northern population. Herbivore removal thus affected the relative fecundity of plants in the three populations: In the control, seed output per plant was 8.6 times higher in the northern population compared to the southern population, whereas after herbivore removal it was 2.5 times higher in the southern population. The results demonstrate that native herbivores may strongly affect the demographic structure of L. salicaria populations and thereby shape geographic patterns of seed production. They further suggest that the strength of herbivore-mediated selection varies among populations and decreases towards the north.
The Role of Gender, Embedded Questions, and Domain Specific Readings with Learners of Spanish

The present study utilizes readings taken from texts in social psychology to examine the effects by gender of embedded “what” questions and elaborative “why” questions on reading comprehension. During regular class time, 97 advanced second language (L2) learners of Spanish read two different vignettes, either with or without the adjuncts, and then completed a written recall, multiple choice items, and a topic familiarity inventory. Results revealed significant effects of gender and question type for wriftten recall with passage one, which was about first impressions and schemas. Females outscored males with the inserted “why” questions and males outscored females with the inserted “what” questions. No significant effects by gender and embedded questions were found with recall for passage two, concerning implicit personality theory and attribution theory. Additionally, no gender differences were found for the interaction of gender and embedded question type for multiple choice items across both passages. Results are discussed in light of previous research that reports females outperform males on recall tasks for L2 reading. Instructional implications along with suggestions for more research of this nature are offered.
A bootstrapping approach for developing language model of new spoken dialogue systems by selecting web texts

This paper proposes a bootstrapping method of constructing statistical language models for new spoken dialogue systems by collecting and selecting sentences from the World Wide Web (WWW). To make effective search queries that cover the target domain in full detail, we exploit the document set described about the target domain as seeding data. An important issue is how to filter the retrieved Web pages, since all of the retrieved Web texts are not necessarily suitable as training data. We induct an existing dialogue corpus of different domain to prefer the texts of spoken style. The proposed method was evaluated on two different tasks of software support and sightseeing guidance, and significant reduction of the word error rate was achieved. We show that it is vital to incorporate the dialogue corpus, though not relevant to the target domain, in the text selection phase. Index Terms: speech recognition, language model, spoken dialogue system, web text selection.
Social Theory for Coaches: A Foucauldian Reading of One Athlete's Poor Performance: A Commentary

INTRODUCTION A prime goal of elite coaches is the enhancement of sporting performance. To help achieve this goal, coaches recognize the significance of research [1]. Yet it is rare for coaches to draw on research stemming from social theory to enhance their athletes’ performances. Coaches report that impenetrable jargon and unfamiliarity with research approaches are barriers [1]. The principal aim of Jim Denison’s article to introduce and promote Foucauldian theorising to help coaches solve athletic problems is, accordingly, a unique and important contribution for coach education. In this commentary, to augment Denison’s broad aim, I first discuss the value of social theory for enhancing coach knowledge and processes. This is followed by a discussion on how Foucauldian theorising can be used to enhance understandings of the complex social dynamics that occur in coaching contexts, with specific respect to social issues, power relations and ethical quandaries. Finally, I examine Denison’s prime contention that an understanding of Foucault can help coaches solve athletes’ performance problems.
Opportunity-to-Learn Effects on Achievement: Analytical Aspects

A set of methods is proposed for the analysis of opportunity to learn (OTL) in relation to achievement in large-scale educational assessments. The focus is on how to assess the effect of OTL on performance while taking prior performance and other background factors into account. The methods are illustrated with mathematics data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and from the National Education Longitudinal Study. Methods are discussed for combining OTL information, for studying the OTL sensitivity of test items, and for studying OTL effects in the context of multivariate proficiency scores as well as scores from several occasions. Implications for future large-scale educational assessments are discussed.
Approximation schemes via Sherali-Adams hierarchy for dense constraint satisfaction problems and assignment problems

We consider approximation schemes for the maximum constraint satisfaction problems and the maximum assignment problems. Though they are NP-Hard in general, if the instance is "dense" or "locally dense", then they are known to have approximation schemes that run in polynomial time or quasi-polynomial time. In this paper, we give a unified method of showing these approximation schemes based on the Sherali-Adams linear programming relaxation hierarchy. We also use our linear programming-based framework to show new algorithmic results on the optimization version of the hypergraph isomorphism problem.
Improving the accuracy of the structure prediction of the third hypervariable loop of the heavy chains of antibodies

Motivation: Antibodies are able to recognize a wide range of antigens through their complementary determining regions formed by six hypervariable loops. Predicting the 3D structure of these loops is essential for the analysis and reengineering of novel antibodies with enhanced affinity and specificity. The canonical structure model allows high accuracy prediction for five of the loops. The third loop of the heavy chain, H3, is the hardest to predict because of its diversity in structure, length and sequence composition. Results: We describe a method, based on the Random Forest automatic learning technique, to select structural templates for H3 loops among a dataset of candidates. These can be used to predict the structure of the loop with a higher accuracy than that achieved by any of the presently available methods. The method also has the advantage of being extremely fast and returning a reliable estimate of the model quality. Availability and implementation: The source code is freely available at http://www.biocomputing. it/H3Loopred/ Contact: anna.tramontano@uniroma1.it Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Effect of cardiopulmonary bypass on myocardial function, damage and inflammation after cardiac surgery in newborns and children.

UNLABELLED Postoperative measurement of cardiac troponin I, creatine kinase and procalcitonin reflects myocardial damage and systemic inflammatory response after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass in children. Pulse-contour cardiac output technique is a less invasive tool for determining postoperative cardiac function. OBJECTIVE The aim of our study was to investigate myocardial lesions and systemic inflammatory response after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass in children suffering from congenital heart defects. METHODS The elevation of cardiac troponin I (cTnI), creatine kinase (CK) and procalcitonin (PCT) was evaluated in relationship to duration of aortic cross-clamping, incisional trauma and cardiac bypass temperature in 37 paediatric patients. To assess postoperative cardiac function, the cardiac index was measured in 7 children using the PiCCO (pulse contour cardiac output) technique. RESULTS CTnI and PCT both peaked on the day of surgery and slowly decreased postoperatively in case of an uncomplicated course. The median values of both parameters differed significantly from the day of surgery until the fourth postoperative day in children with an aortic cross-clamping time (CCT) longer than 80 minutes or after ventriculotomy in comparison to patients with shorter clamping times or atriotomy only. CK values showed similar results, but were less significant than cTnI. A relationship between cTnI, CK or PCT and the body temperature during cardiopulmonary bypass was not found. The cardiac indices (CI) measured by the PiCCO technique in the first 48 hours after surgery showed normal values. CONCLUSION In summary, perioperative measurement of cTnI, CK and PCT reflects myocardial damage and systemic inflammatory response and allows an improved peri- and postoperative management. PiCCO technique is an excellent, less invasive tool to determine postoperative cardiac function.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Economics Working Paper Series Flight to Quality and Bailouts: Policy Remarks and a Literature Review Flight to Quality and Bailouts: Policy Remarks and a Literature Review

Flight to quality episodes involve a combination of extreme risk-or uncertainty-aversion, weal<nesses in the balance sheets of key financial intermediaries, and strategic or speculative behavior, that increases credit spreads on all but the safest and most liquid assets. Unlike previous episodes, the entire US financial system is currently at the center of the trouble, with no safe haven pockets, w/hich may lead to greater real effects. The US government's credit is still impeccable, w/hich facilitates policies in support of the financial system. Policy must take into account incentives for behavior during the crisis, discouraging excessive prudence, w/hich sometimes implies relegating post-crisis moral hazard concerns to a secondary role.
Kinetics of interferon production in human leukocyte suspensions.

The amount of interferon obtained from a given number of human leukocytes is limited by the fact that synthesis occurs for only 8 to 10 hr after induction by Sendai virus, and the cells are then refractory to further stimulation (Strander & Cantell, 1967). The factors which limit interferon synthesis and control development of the refractory state are not understood. This paper describes the effect on both the final yield and the kinetics of interferon production of adjusting conditions of incubation such as pH and temperature, and of priming with virus or interferon before induction. The procedures used in purification of leukocytes and production of interferon have been published in detail (Strander & Cantell, 1966, 1967). The cells were suspended in Eagle's minimal essential medium (MEM) buffered with 3 mg. /ml. of N-tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl glycine (Tricine, obtained from Calbiochem, Los Angeles, California) instead of phosphate, and the suspensions were supplemented with 5% inactivated (30 min. at 56°) human serum.
Area of residence and alcohol-related mortality risk: a five-year follow-up study.

AIMS To examine differences in alcohol-related mortality risk between areas, while adjusting for the characteristics of the individuals living within these areas. DESIGN A 5-year longitudinal study of individual and area characteristics of those dying and not dying from alcohol-related deaths. SETTING The Northern Ireland Mortality study. PARTICIPANTS A total of 720,627 people aged 25-74, enumerated in the Northern Ireland 2001 Census, not living in communal establishments. MEASUREMENTS Five hundred and seventy-eight alcohol-related deaths. FINDINGS There was an increased risk of alcohol-related mortality among disadvantaged individuals, and divorced, widowed and separated males. The risk of an alcohol-related death was significantly higher in deprived areas for both males [hazard ratio (HR) 3.70; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.65, 5.18] and females (HR 2.67 (95% CI 1.72, 4.15); however, once adjustment was made for the characteristics of the individuals living within areas, the excess risk for more deprived areas disappeared. Both males and females in rural areas had a reduced risk of an alcohol-related death compared to their counterparts in urban areas; these differences remained after adjustment for the composition of the people within these areas. CONCLUSIONS Alcohol-related mortality is higher in more deprived, compared to more affluent areas; however, this appears to be due to characteristics of individuals within deprived areas, rather than to some independent effect of area deprivation per se. Risk of alcohol-related mortality is lower in rural than urban areas, but the cause is unknown.
The Role of Foot Pronation in the Development of Femoral and Tibial Stress Fractures: A Prospective Biomechanical Study

Objective:To examine whether dynamic parameters of foot pronation are risk factors for the development of stress fractures of the femur and tibia. Design:Observational prospective study. Setting:Infantry basic training course. Participants:473 recruits evaluated for stress fractures of the femur and tibia every 2 weeks during 14 weeks of infantry basic training. The final analysis included 405 recruits. Assessment of Risk Factors:Two weeks before commencement of training, the recruits were evaluated during treadmill walking for their subtalar joint kinematics. Five independent variables were measured bilaterally: maximal pronation angle during the stance, pronation range of motion, time from heel strike to maximum pronation, pronation mean angular velocity, and time to maximum pronation as a percent of the total stance time. Main Outcome Measurements:Stress fractures of the femur and tibia. These were considered positive only when proven by imaging. Results:Ten percent of the participants were diagnosed with stress fractures of the femur and tibia. Recruits with longer duration of foot pronation had reduced odds ratio to develop this injury. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance:Longer duration of foot pronation may have a protective effect from stress fractures of the femur and tibia. This finding may promote the understanding of stress fracture pathomechanism, assist in the identification of subjects with increased risk who need augmented monitoring throughout training, and assist in future planning of impact reducing aids.
Critical reflection in the workplace: is it just too difficult?

Purpose – The intentions of this article are to contribute reflections of an empirical account of working with critical reflection within an organisational development programme, addressing the following questions: What space is there for critical reflection in organisational development? What issues are raised for in‐company developers and providers by advocating critical reflection in organisation practice? Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach is taken, presenting an empirical account of a management and organisational development programme that integrated action learning and critical reflection.Findings – The account illustrates difficulties of employing critical reflection within the workplace arising from the more complex power relations between the multiple stakeholders in a commercial context. In particular, dissonance provoked by critical reflection confronts the client with a tension over whether to see organisation members primarily as customers to please or as participants in a ch.
Assessment of Lupin Allergenicity in the Cholera Toxin Model: Induction of IgE Response Depends on the Intrinsic Properties of the Conglutins and Matrix Effects

Background: The well-established murine model of IgE-mediated food allergy, based on oral administration of antigen and cholera toxin (CT), has within the previous years been used to evaluate various food proteins. Nonetheless, little knowledge on the factors that determine the allergenicity of food proteins is available so far. The use of proteins from the legume seed Lupinus albus as food ingredients calls for an evaluation of their allergenic potential, and therefore, we applied the cited model to investigate the putative allergenicity of three lupin protein preparations representing different matrices in which the four types of conglutins are present in varying concentrations. Methods: Weekly, BALB/c A mice were orally immunized with the three lupin protein products together with CT. Total specific antibodies and IgE were determined by ELISA and Western blotting. Results: A dose-dependent Ig response against the analyzed proteins was observed for all three lupin products, while IgE responses against conglutins β, γ and δ, but not against conglutin α, were primarily detected after oral administration of lupin flakes. Whereas no differences among the samples for total specific Ig responses were seen, orally administered lupin flake extracts were much more efficient in inducing a conglutin-specific IgE response compared with fractionated lupin protein products. Conclusions: Although the lupin-specific Ig response induced by coadministration of CT and lupin proteins appears to be dose dependent, the IgE response appears to depend merely on some intrinsic properties of the proteins as well as some factors of the protein matrix.
Teamwork Skills in Actual, In Situ, and In-Center Pediatric Emergencies: Performance Levels Across Settings and Perceptions of Comparative Educational Impact

Introduction Pediatric emergencies require effective teamwork. These skills are developed and demonstrated in actual emergencies and in simulated environments, including simulation centers (in center) and the real care environment (in situ). Our aims were to compare teamwork performance across these settings and to identify perceived educational strengths and weaknesses between simulated settings. We hypothesized that teamwork performance in actual emergencies and in situ simulations would be higher than for in-center simulations. Methods A retrospective, video-based assessment of teamwork was performed in an academic, pediatric level 1 trauma center, using the Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM) tool (range, 0–44) among emergency department providers (physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, paramedics, patient care assistants, and pharmacists). A survey-based, cross-sectional assessment was conducted to determine provider perceptions regarding simulation training. Results One hundred thirty-two videos, 44 from each setting, were reviewed. Mean total TEAM scores were similar and high in all settings (31.2 actual, 31.1 in situ, and 32.3 in-center, P = 0.39). Of 236 providers, 154 (65%) responded to the survey. For teamwork training, in situ simulation was considered more realistic (59% vs. 10%) and more effective (45% vs. 15%) than in-center simulation. Discussion In a video-based study in an academic pediatric institution, ratings of teamwork were relatively high among actual resuscitations and 2 simulation settings, substantiating the influence of simulation-based training on instilling a culture of communication and teamwork. On the basis of survey results, providers favored the in situ setting for teamwork training and suggested an expansion of our existing in situ program.
CD4+ T cells support glial neuroprotection, slow disease progression, and modify glial morphology in an animal model of inherited ALS

Neuroinflammation, marked by gliosis and infiltrating T cells, is a prominent pathological feature in diverse models of dominantly inherited neurodegenerative diseases. Recent evidence derived from transgenic mice ubiquitously overexpressing mutant Cu2+/Zn2+ superoxide dismutase (mSOD1), a chronic neurodegenerative model of inherited amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), indicates that glia with either a lack of or reduction in mSOD1 expression enhance motoneuron protection and slow disease progression. However, the contribution of T cells that are present at sites of motoneuron injury in mSOD1 transgenic mice is not known. Here we show that when mSOD1 mice were bred with mice lacking functional T cells or CD4+ T cells, motoneuron disease was accelerated, accompanied by unexpected attenuated morphological markers of gliosis, increased mRNA levels for proinflammatory cytokines and NOX2, and decreased levels of trophic factors and glial glutamate transporters. Bone marrow transplants reconstituted mice with T cells, prolonged survival, suppressed cytotoxicity, and restored glial activation. These results demonstrate for the first time in a model of chronic neurodegeneration that morphological activation of microglia and astroglia does not predict glial function, and that the presence of CD4+ T cells provides supportive neuroprotection by modulating the trophic/cytotoxic balance of glia. These glial/T-cell interactions establish a novel target for therapeutic intervention in ALS and possibly other neurodegenerative diseases.