Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Patterns of Elite Faunal Utilization at Moundville, Alabama

In recent years, zooarchaeological research has begun to examine the roles of animals as part of the suite of symbols employed in the ongoing social, ceremonial, and political dynamics of prehistoric cultural systems. In the southeastern United States, studies of late prehistoric Mississippian chiefdoms have documented differences in species composition and meat cuts associated with particular social contexts of consumption—for instance, ceremonial feasting vs. private meals—and also with gross distinctions in social rank—elite vs. commoner. Differences in the latter reflect elite control of procurement as well as cultural rules that assign meanings to certain species, which in so doing regulates access to their consumption. Faunal samples collected by recent mound excavations at the Moundville site in west-central Alabama provide the basis for an examination of more subtle differences in the consumption patterns of elite residents. Zooarchaeological samples produced by two elite households, although generally similar and fitting expectations for elite consumption well, are distinguished by differences in the distribution of rare species, the role of fish, and possibly by evidence of differences in food waste, distinctions that can be associated with interpretations of these households' relative status in Moundville society drawn from other classes of archaeological data.
Examining Social Support Networks among Athletes: Description and Relationship to Stress

The purpose of this investigation was twofold: first, to describe the social support networks of athletes with respect to who provides what types of support and in what perceived amounts, and second, to compare the support networks of low- and high-stressed athletes. Results indicated that social support is provided by coaches, teammates, friends, and parents, and that each makes a unique contribution to the athletes’ social support network. Coaches and teammates were identified as providing types of support requiring expertise in sports, and friends and parents were identified as providing complementary types of support not requiring such expertise. Few differences were found between the social support networks of low- and high-stressed athletes.
Control of Cytoplasmic Maturation Events by Cytomegalovirus Tegument Protein pp150

ABSTRACT Cytomegalovirus replication depends upon a betaherpesvirus-conserved 150-kDa tegument phosphoprotein (pp150; encoded by UL32) that supports the final steps in virion maturation at cytoplasmic assembly compartments. Amino acid substitutions were introduced into conserved region 1 (CR1) and CR2 of pp150, affecting a region that may interact with nucleocapsids. Two independent CR2 point mutants (N201A and G207A) failed to support viral replication in evaluations by a transient complementation assay or after reconstruction into recombinant viruses. An assembly compartment-like cytoplasmic inclusion developed in UL32 mutant virus-infected cells that was similar to that of wild-type virus-infected cells. The cellular localization of the trans-Golgi marker Golgin-97 suggested differences in the organization of the assembly compartment compared to that of wild-type virus-infected cells. Replication-defective CR2 point mutants exhibited the same phenotype as that of a virus carrying a complete deletion of the UL32 open reading frame in these assays. Electron micrographs of fibroblasts at 3 or 5 days postinfection with a deletion mutant (ΔUL32) grown on UL32-complementing cells showed a similar number and morphology of capsids in the nucleus, but the cytoplasmic region associated with virion assembly appeared highly vesiculated and contained few recognizable nucleocapsids or complete virus particles. These data demonstrate that the principle role of pp150 is to retain nucleocapsid organization through secondary envelopment at the assembly compartment.
Nitrous Oxide Diffusion and the Second Gas Effect on Emergence from Anesthesia

Background:Rapid elimination of nitrous oxide from the lungs at the end of inhalational anesthesia dilutes alveolar oxygen, producing “diffusion hypoxia. ” A similar dilutional effect on accompanying volatile anesthetic agent has not been evaluated and may impact the speed of emergence. Methods:Twenty patients undergoing surgery were randomly assigned to receive an anesthetic maintenance gas mixture of sevoflurane adjusted to bispectral index, in air-oxygen (control group) versus a 2:1 mixture of nitrous oxide-oxygen (nitrous oxide group). After surgery, baseline arterial and tidal gas samples were taken. Patients were ventilated with oxygen, and arterial and tidal gas sampling was repeated at 2 and 5 min. Arterial sampling was repeated 30 min after surgery. Sevoflurane partial pressure was measured in blood by the double headspace equilibration technique and in tidal gas using a calibrated infrared gas analyzer. Time to eye opening and time extubation were recorded. The primary endpoint was the reduction in sevoflurane partial pressures in blood at 2 and 5 min. Results:Relative to baseline, arterial sevoflurane partial pressure was 39% higher at 5 min in the control group (P < 0.04) versus the nitrous oxide group. At 30 min the difference was not statistically significant. Time to eye opening (8.7 vs. 10.1 min) and time to extubation (11.0 vs.13.2 min) were shorter in the nitrous oxide group versus the control group (P < 0.04). Conclusions:Elimination of nitrous oxide at the end of anesthesia produces a clinically significant acceleration in the reduction of concentrations of the accompanying volatile agents, contributing to the speed of emergence observed after inhalational nitrous oxide anesthetic.
Personal Symbols

The focus of this study was to assess the effects of the social environment on the emotional development of two social groups and to monitor distinct psychological characteristics of each group. Personal symbols of private love and hate experiences of 48 political militants and recognized artists from six Western nations were used as sources of data. Statistical analyses yielded significant results indicating that (a) the two groups use different emotional symbols, and (b) there is the possibility the two groups may be viewed as distinct irrespective of the cultural differences of informants within each group.
A meta‐analysis of reflectance confocal microscopy for the diagnosis of malignant skin tumours

Early diagnosis is extremely important for treatment and prognosis of skin cancer. Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a recently developed technique used to diagnose skin cancer. This meta‐analysis was carried out to assess the accuracy of RCM for the diagnosis of malignant skin tumours. We conducted a systematic literature search of EMBASE, PubMed, the Cochrane Library and Web of Science database for relevant articles in English published up to 24 December 2015. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the QUADAS‐2 tool. Statistical analyses were conducted using the software Meta‐Disc version 1.4 and STATA version 12.0. A total of 21 studies involving 3108 patients with a total of 3602 lesions were included in the per‐lesion analysis. The corresponding pooled results for sensitivity and specificity were 93.6% (95% CI: 0.92–0.95) and 82.7% (95% CI: 0.81–0.84) respectively. Positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio were 5.84 (95% CI: 4.27–7.98) and 0.08 (95% CI: 0.07–0.10) respectively. Subgroup analysis showed that RCM had a sensitivity of 92.7% (95% CI: 0.90–0.95) and a specificity of 78.3% (95% CI: 0.76–0.81) for detecting melanoma. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of RCM for detecting basal cell carcinoma were 91.7% (95% CI: 0.87–0.95) and 91.3% (95% CI: 0.94–0.96) respectively. RCM is a valid method of identifying malignant skin tumours accurately.
Continuous Closed-Loop Decoder Adaptation with a Recursive Maximum Likelihood Algorithm Allows for Rapid Performance Acquisition in Brain-Machine Interfaces

Closed-loop decoder adaptation (CLDA) is an emerging paradigm for both improving and maintaining online performance in brain-machine interfaces (BMIs). The time required for initial decoder training and any subsequent decoder recalibrations could be potentially reduced by performing continuous adaptation, in which decoder parameters are updated at every time step during these procedures, rather than waiting to update the decoder at periodic intervals in a more batch-based process. Here, we present recursive maximum likelihood (RML), a CLDA algorithm that performs continuous adaptation of a Kalman filter decoder's parameters. We demonstrate that RML possesses a variety of useful properties and practical algorithmic advantages. First, we show how RML leverages the accuracy of updates based on a batch of data while still adapting parameters on every time step. Second, we illustrate how the RML algorithm is parameterized by a single, intuitive half-life parameter that can be used to adjust the rate of adaptation in real time. Third, we show how even when the number of neural features is very large, RML's memory-efficient recursive update rules can be reformulated to also be computationally fast so that continuous adaptation is still feasible. To test the algorithm in closed-loop experiments, we trained three macaque monkeys to perform a center-out reaching task by using either spiking activity or local field potentials to control a 2D computer cursor. RML achieved higher levels of performance more rapidly in comparison to a previous CLDA algorithm that adapts parameters on a more intermediate timescale. Overall, our results indicate that RML is an effective CLDA algorithm for achieving rapid performance acquisition using continuous adaptation.
p110γ/δ Double-Deficiency Induces Eosinophilia and IgE Production but Protects from OVA-Induced Airway Inflammation

The catalytical isoforms p110γ and p110δ of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase γ (PI3Kγ) and PI3Kδ play an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma. Two key elements in allergic asthma are increased levels of eosinophils and IgE. Dual pharmacological inhibition of p110γ and p110δ reduces asthma-associated eosinophilic lung infiltration and ameliorates disease symptoms, whereas the absence of enzymatic activity in p110γKOδD910A mice increases IgE and basal eosinophil counts. This suggests that long-term inhibition of p110γ and p110δ might exacerbate asthma. Here, we analysed mice genetically deficient for both catalytical subunits (p110γ/δ-/-) and determined basal IgE and eosinophil levels and the immune response to ovalbumin-induced asthma. Serum concentrations of IgE, IL-5 and eosinophil numbers were significantly increased in p110γ/δ-/- mice compared to single knock-out and wildtype mice. However, p110γ/δ-/- mice were protected against OVA-induced infiltration of eosinophils, neutrophils, T and B cells into lung tissue and bronchoalveolar space. Moreover, p110γ/δ-/- mice, but not single knock-out mice, showed a reduced bronchial hyperresponsiveness. We conclude that increased levels of eosinophils and IgE in p110γ/δ-/- mice do not abolish the protective effect of p110γ/δ-deficiency against OVA-induced allergic airway inflammation.
Structural Basis for Sequence Specific DNA Binding and Protein Dimerization of HOXA13

The homeobox gene (HOXA13) codes for a transcription factor protein that binds to AT-rich DNA sequences and controls expression of genes during embryonic morphogenesis. Here we present the NMR structure of HOXA13 homeodomain (A13DBD) bound to an 11-mer DNA duplex. A13DBD forms a dimer that binds to DNA with a dissociation constant of 7.5 nM. The A13DBD/DNA complex has a molar mass of 35 kDa consistent with two molecules of DNA bound at both ends of the A13DBD dimer. A13DBD contains an N-terminal arm (residues 324 – 329) that binds in the DNA minor groove, and a C-terminal helix (residues 362 – 382) that contacts the ATAA nucleotide sequence in the major groove. The N370 side-chain forms hydrogen bonds with the purine base of A5* (base paired with T5). Side-chain methyl groups of V373 form hydrophobic contacts with the pyrimidine methyl groups of T5, T6* and T7*, responsible for recognition of TAA in the DNA core. I366 makes similar methyl contacts with T3* and T4*. Mutants (I366A, N370A and V373G) all have decreased DNA binding and transcriptional activity. Exposed protein residues (R337, K343, and F344) make intermolecular contacts at the protein dimer interface. The mutation F344A weakens protein dimerization and lowers transcriptional activity by 76%. We conclude that the non-conserved residue, V373 is critical for structurally recognizing TAA in the major groove, and that HOXA13 dimerization is required to activate transcription of target genes.
Max-min weighted SIR for MIMO downlink system: Optimality and algorithms

Designing fast algorithms that adapt the transmit and receive power and beamformers to optimize performance for different users is important in wireless MIMO downlink systems. This paper studies the max-min weighted SIR problem in the downlink, where multiple users are weighted according to priority and are subject to a total power constraint. The difficulty of this nonconvex problem is compounded by the coupling in the transmit and receive beamformers, thereby making it hard to optimize in a distributed fashion. We first show that this problem can be optimally and efficiently computed using a fast algorithm when the channels are rank-one. The optimal transmit and receive power and beamformers are also derived analytically. We then exploit the MIMO uplink-downlink duality to adapt our algorithm to compute a local optimal solution for channels with general rank.
High Temperature Stability of Onion-Like Carbon vs Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite

The thermodynamic stability of onion-like carbon (OLC) nanostructures with respect to highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) was determined in the interval 765–1030 K by the electromotive force (emf) measurements of solid electrolyte galvanic cell: (Low) Pt|Cr3C2,CrF2,OLC|CaF2s.c. |Cr3C2,CrF2,HOPG|Pt (High). The free energy change of transformation HOPG = OLC was found positive below 920.6 K crossing the zero value at this temperature. Its trend with temperature was well described by a 3rd degree polynomial. The unexpected too high values of jointly to the HR-TEM, STEM and EELS evidences that showed OLC completely embedded in rigid cages made of a Cr3C2/CrF2 matrix, suggested that carbon in the electrodes experienced different internal pressures. This was confirmed by the evaluation under constant volume of by the ratio for OLC (0.5 MPa K−1) and HOPG (8 Pa K−1) where and are the isobaric thermal expansion and isothermal compressibility coefficients, respectively. The temperature dependency of the pressure was derived and utilized to calculate the enthalpy and entropy changes as function of temperature and pressure. The highest value of the internal pressure experienced by OLC was calculated to be about 7 GPa at the highest temperature. At 920.6 K, and values are 95.8 kJ mol−1 and 104.1 JK−1 mol−1, respectively. The surface contributions to the energetic of the system were evaluated and they were found negligible compared with the bulk terms. As a consequence of the high internal pressure, the values of the enthalpy and entropy changes were mainly attributed to the formation of carbon defects in OLC considered as multishell fullerenes. The change of the carbon defect fraction is reported as a function of temperature.
Study of Compaction in Hot-Mix Asphalt Using Computer Simulations

During the process of compaction in Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA) mixtures, the distance between aggregate particles decreases as they come together and eliminate air-voids. By measuring the inter-particle distances in a cut-section of a HMA sample the degree of compaction can be estimated. For this, a calibration curve is generated by computer simulation technique when the gradation and asphalt content of the HMA mixture are known. A two-dimensional cross section of HMA specimen was simulated using the mixture design information (gradation, asphalt content and air-void content). Nearest neighbor distance methods such as Delaunay triangulation were used to study the changes in inter-particle distance and area distribution during the process of compaction in HMA. Such computer simulations would enable making several hundreds of repetitions in a short period of time without the necessity to compact and analyze laboratory specimens in order to obtain good statistics on the parameters defined. The distributions for the statistical parameters based on computer simulations showed similar trends as those of laboratory specimens. Keywords—Computer simulations, Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA), inter-particle distance, image analysis, nearest neighbor
Evaluation of a program to teach phonemic awareness to young children: A 2- and 3-year follow-up and a new preschool trial.

This article reports a follow-up study of children in Grades 1 and 2 who had been instructed in phonemic awareness in preschool. Compared to a control condition, the trained children were superior in nonword reading 2 and 3 years later and in reading comprehension at 3 years. Control children furnished a disproportionate number of readers dependent on sight word reading. The superiority of the experimental condition did not extend to measures of automaticity in reading. W. A. Hoover and P. B. Gough's (1990) simple view of reading (Reading Comprehension = Listening Comprehension X Decoding) was supported. In a supplementary experiment, preschool children were trained with the program by their regular teachers and showed greater progress in aspects of phonemic awareness than the control condition from the main experiment. However, they did not gain as much as those in the more intensely trained experimental condition.
Client perspectives: The therapeutic challenge of domestic violence counselling – a pilot study

Abstract Aims: This qualitative pilot study explored the perceptions of four female domestic violence clients regarding counselling they had concluded in order to identify a preliminary client-preferred domestic violence counselling approach. Method: Semi-structured interviews asking about significant events during counselling were held. An adapted grounded theory and narrative methodology was used. Results from the analysis were reviewed with two of the participants. Participants were offered additional counselling support if required after the research interview. Results/Findings: Domestic violence clients found starting counselling particularly difficult after years of keeping the abuse to themselves. Participants actively withheld and managed information for several sessions and needed to know they had time to explore their experiences. The counsellor being consistent and non-judgemental, and understanding domestic violence and its effects was helpful. Having a clear ending was appreciated by the part.
The Marketization of Identity Politics

Sociology has begun to question how new genetic sciences affect older ways of constructing and contesting social identity, including forms of identity politics that have brought women and minorities significant gains. This article presents US debates on genetics, identity politics, and race in order to theorize emergent transformations in light of the genomic revolution. Examining recent developments in the realms of pharmaceuticals and ancestry estimation, I argue that traditional forms of identity politics are still actively at work, though they are being marketized in novel ways. This article combines theories of racialization and medicalization to detail how genomics ushers in a subtle new version of identity politics: a pharmaceuticalized citizenship wherein health rights and political participation are co-envisioned in individualistic molecular terms.
Job satisfaction in relation to organisational culture

The aim of this study was to establish whether a relationship existed between the variables job satisfaction and organisational culture of employees within a service organisation. The population comprised of 200 employees of which 40 were excluded from the study due to poor literacy levels. The Culture and Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaires were administered to the sample of 160 employees and 121 usable responses were received. High coefficient alphas were obtained on both the Organisational Culture Questionnaire (OCQ)(0,99) and the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MJSQ) (0,92). Significant differences were found between some biographical variables and responses on the OCQ. A significant relationship was found between scores of the OCQ and the MJSQ. The managerial implications of the findings were further explored in the study. Opsomming Die doel van die studie was om te bepaal of daar ‘n verband tussen die veranderlikes werksbevrediging en organisasie-kultuur van werknemers in ‘n diensonderneming bestaan. Die populasie van die studie sluit al 200 werkenemers in, waarvan 40 nie by die studie betrek is nie weens lae vlakke van geletterdheid. Die Organisasiekultuur en Werkste-vredenheidvraelyste is op die oorblywende 160 werknemers toegepas en 85 bruikbare response is ontvang. Beide die Organisasiekultuur Vraelys (OCQ) (0,99) en die verkorte weergawe van die Minesota Wersbevredigingsvraelys (MJSQ) (0,92) het hoe alfa- koeffisiente opgelewer. Beduidende verskille is gevind tussen sommige biografiese veranderlikes en response op die OCQ. ‘n Beduidende korrelasie is ook tussen die metings van OCQ en MJSQ gevind. Die bestuursimplikasies van die bevindinge is verder in die studie ondersoek.
A Study of Taiwan’s Technical College Students’ English Learning Strategies

Learning Strategies Chiung-Li Li, Sandy Haggard, Shu-Hua Chen Abstract The English proficiency of students in Taiwan’s technical colleges has become increasingly worse over the years. Teachers face the difficult challenge to help improve technical college students’ English proficiency in a short amount of time. In fact, many factors are responsible for EFL college students’ poor English competence. Based on a review of the literature, learning achievement is not only correlated with learning motivation but also with learning strategies. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to determine which learning strategy was most commonly used by technical college students when learning English. Scarcella and Oxford (1992) defined learning strategies as “specific actions, behaviors, steps, or techniques--such as seeking out conversation partners, or giving oneself encouragement to tackle a difficult language task--used by students to enhance their own learning”. Oxford (2003) also showed that when the learner consciously chooses strategies that fit his or her learning style and the L2 task at hand, these strategies become a useful toolkit for active, conscious, and purposeful self-regulation of learning. Also, Oxford classified learning strategies into six groups: cognitive, metacognitive, memory-related, compensatory, affective, and social. Learning strategies can also enable students to become more independent and autonomous lifelong learners. However, students are not always aware of the power of consciously using L2 learning strategies to learn more quickly and more effectively (Nyikos & Oxford, 1993). The research instrument was an English Learning Strategy Scale designed by Li et al. (2006) who revised it from Oxford’s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), and the subjects were 170 students enrolled in the General English course at Meiho Institute of Technology in southern Taiwan. Based on the data collected from the English learning strategy scale, the findings show the ranking of learning strategies employed by the subjects from the highest to the lowest was the compensatory strategy, social strategy, affective strategy, cognitive strategy, memory strategy, and metacognitive strategy. Finally, the researchers drew a conclusion and provided some implications to English learners and instructors.