Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Empirical Predictions From a General Theory of Signs

General sign theory (GST) deals with how distinct sign systems are grounded, developed with increasing abstractness over time, and differentiated in efficacies in experience and discourse. GST has 3 components: The theory of true narrative representations (TNR theory) shows that TNRs are unique in being relatively well determined with respect to the real world, well connected to that world and to each other, and generalizable. TNRs provide the essential grounding for the child's first meaningful words. GST also includes a theory of abstraction about how signs of all kinds are vested with content and a theory of systems grammar that incorporates actual bodily referents. GST is compatible with aspects of amodal, indexical, and perceptual symbol theories but predicts certain findings they cannot account for. For example, it differentiates percepts of objects (in their space–time settings) from icons abstracted from those percepts (as in remembering or anticipating the movement of an object) and from fully ge.
How to repair customer trust after negative publicity: The roles of competence, integrity, benevolence, and forgiveness

The purpose of the comprehensive model presented here is to explain the underlying mechanism by which corporations can repair customer trust after negative publicity. The study sets out to examine corporate informational, affective, and functional initiatives managers take to influence three trustworthiness factors—competence, benevolence, and integrity—and to elicit forgiveness. A scenario-based experiment conducted to test the conceptual model found support for most hypotheses. According to the results, rebuilding a trustworthy image and earning consumer forgiveness are crucial steps in repairing consumer trust. A clear pattern of influential factors for different trustworthiness aspects was found, indicating that affective initiatives are the most effective strategy in shaping a corporate image of integrity and benevolence, and that providing sufficient information is a key activity for enhancing consumers' judgment about the firm's competence. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Comparing the effects of nano-sized sugarcane fiber with cellulose and psyllium on hepatic cellular signaling in mice

Aim To compare the effects of dietary fibers on hepatic cellular signaling in mice. Methods Mice were randomly divided into four groups (n = 9/group): high-fat diet (HFD) control, cellulose, psyllium, and sugarcane fiber (SCF) groups. All mice were fed a HFD with or without 10% dietary fiber (w/w) for 12 weeks. Body weight, food intake, fasting glucose, and fasting insulin levels were measured. At the end of the study, hepatic fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 21, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and insulin signaling protein content were determined. Results Hepatic FGF21 content was significantly lowered, but βKlotho, fibroblast growth factor receptor 1, fibroblast growth factor receptor 3, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha proteins were significantly increased in the SCF group compared with those in the HFD group (P < 0.01). SCF supplementation also significantly enhanced insulin and AMPK signaling, as well as decreased hepatic triglyceride and cholesterol in comparison with the HFD mice. The study has shown that dietary fiber, especially SCF, significantly attenuates lipid accumulation in the liver by enhancing hepatic FGF21, insulin, and AMPK signaling in mice fed a HFD. Conclusion This study suggests that the modulation of gastrointestinal factors by dietary fibers may play a key role in both enhancing hepatic multiple cellular signaling and reducing lipid accumulation.
An Analysis of Predictors of Child Sex Offender Types Using Presentence Investigation Reports

The purpose of this study was to differentiate between three types of child sexual offenders—pedophiles, hebophiles, and incest offenders. The sample consisted of 168 convicted sex offenders. The data for the study were gathered from presentence investigation reports used by the court for sentencing proceedings. Using multiple discriminant analysis, eight independent variables were found to significantly discriminate between the three types of sex offenders almost 90% of the time. These variables were sexually victimized as a child, prepubertal victim, seduction motive, age-appropriate relationships, stress, own child as victim, social facade, and anger. Suggestions were made to probation and parole officers in the use of this information.
A Yeast Homologue of Hsp70, Ssa1p, Regulates Turnover of the MFA2 Transcript through Its AU-Rich 3′ Untranslated Region

ABSTRACT Many eukaryotic mRNAs exhibit regulated decay in response to cellular signals. AU-rich elements (AREs) identified in the 3′ untranslated region (3′-UTR) of several such mRNAs play a critical role in controlling the half-lives of these transcripts. The yeast ARE-containing mRNA, MFA2, has been studied extensively and is degraded by a deadenylation-dependent mechanism. However, the trans-acting factors that promote the rapid decay of MFA2 have not been identified. Our results suggest that the chaperone protein Hsp70, encoded by the SSA family of genes, is involved in modulating MFA2 mRNA decay. MFA2 is specifically stabilized in a strain bearing a temperature-sensitive mutation in the SSA1 gene. Furthermore, an AU-rich region within the 3′-UTR of the message is both necessary and sufficient to confer this regulation. Stabilization occurs as a result of slower deadenylation in the ssa1ts strain, suggesting that Hsp70 is required for activation of the turnover pathway.
Stream flow analysis and comparison of base flow separation methods Case study of the Modder River Basin in Central South Africa

The Modder river basin, located in Central South Africa, covers an area of 1.73 Million hectares of land. Stream flow analysis was conducted using four base flow separation methods for a quaternary catchment with drainage area of 92,682 ha, which is the origin of the Modder River. These methods are: the Nathan and McMahon (N&M) method, the Chapman method, the Smakhtin and Watkins method (S&W), and the frequency duration analysis. All the methods gave higher percentage of the low flow component (base flow), except for the S&W method which underestimated it. The N&M filtering equation gave base flow components greater than 66% in 1999 and increased to 84% in 2007 while the Chapman equation gave 65% and 74% in 1999 and 2007, respectively. Similarly, the frequency duration analysis gave 62% in 1999 and increased to 79% in 2007. The frequency duration analysis gave up to 13% lower than the N&M filtering equation. The nine year base flow averages were 69%, 69%, 75% and 43% for frequency duration analysis, Chapman, N&M and S&W filtering equations, respectively. The result showed that the Modder River is largely supplied by the ground water discharge. The result seemed to concur with the fact that for a semi-arid catchment such as the Modder river basin, with an average annual runoff coefficient of approximately 6%, the contribution of annual rainfall to direct runoff seems to be minimal.
Novel Cellular Mechanisms for Neuroprotection in Ischemic Preconditioning: A View from Inside Organelles

Ischemic preconditioning represents an important adaptation mechanism of CNS, which results in its increased tolerance to the lethal cerebral ischemia. The molecular mechanisms responsible for the induction and maintenance of ischemic tolerance in the brain are complex and not yet completely clarified. In the last 10 years, great attention has been devoted to unravel the intracellular pathways activated by preconditioning and responsible for the establishing of the tolerant phenotype. Indeed, recent papers have been published supporting the hypothesis that mitochondria might act as master regulators of preconditioning-triggered endogenous neuroprotection due to their ability to control cytosolic calcium homeostasis. More interestingly, the demonstration that functional alterations in the ability of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) managing calcium homeostasis during ischemia, opened a new line of research focused to the role played by mitochondria and ER cross-talk in the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia in order to identify new molecular mechanisms involved in the ischemic tolerance. In line with these findings and considering that the expression of the three isoforms of the sodium calcium exchanger (NCX), NCX1, NCX2, and NCX3, mainly responsible for the regulation of Ca2+ homeostasis, was reduced during cerebral ischemia, it was investigated whether these proteins might play a role in neuroprotection induced by ischemic tolerance. In this review, evidence supporting the involvement of ER and mitochondria interaction within the preconditioning paradigm will be provided. In particular, the key role played by NCXs in the regulation of Ca2+-homeostasis at the different subcellular compartments will be discussed as new molecular mechanism proposed for the establishing of ischemic tolerant phenotype.
Superoxide dismutase expression attenuates cigarette smoke- or elastase-generated emphysema in mice.

RATIONALE Oxidants are believed to play a major role in the development of emphysema. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to determine if the expression of human copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) within the lungs of mice protects against the development of emphysema. METHODS Transgenic CuZnSOD and littermate mice were exposed to cigarette smoke (6 h/d, 5 d/wk, for 1 yr) and compared with nonexposed mice. A second group was treated with intratracheal elastase to induce emphysema. MEASUREMENTS Lung inflammation was measured by cell counts and myeloperoxidase levels. Oxidative damage was assessed by immunofluorescence for 3-nitrotyrosine and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine and lipid peroxidation levels. The development of emphysema was determined by measuring the mean linear intercept (Lm). MAIN RESULTS Smoke exposure caused a fourfold increase in neutrophilic inflammation and doubled lung myeloperoxidase activity. This inflammatory response did not occur in the smoke-exposed CuZnSOD mice. Similarly, CuZnSOD expression prevented the 58% increase in lung lipid peroxidation products that occurred after smoke exposure. Most important, CuZnSOD prevented the onset of emphysema in both the smoke-induced model (Lm, 68 exposed control vs. 58 exposed transgenic; p < 0.04) and elastase-generated model (Lm, 80 exposed control vs. 63 exposed transgenic; p < 0.03). These results demonstrate for the first time that antioxidants can prevent smoke-induced inflammation and can counteract the proteolytic cascade that leads to emphysema formation in two separate animal models of the disease. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that strategies aimed at enhancing or supplementing lung antioxidants could be effective for the prevention and treatment of this disease.
Uncovering Enhancer Functions Using the α-Globin Locus

Over the last three decades, studies of the α- and β-globin genes clusters have led to elucidation of the general principles of mammalian gene regulation, such as RNA stability, termination of transcription, and, more importantly, the identification of remote regulatory elements. More recently, detailed studies of α-globin regulation, using both mouse and human loci, allowed the dissection of the sequential order in which transcription factors are recruited to the locus during lineage specification. These studies demonstrated the importance of the remote regulatory elements in the recruitment of RNA polymerase II (PolII) together with their role in the generation of intrachromosomal loops within the locus and the removal of polycomb complexes during differentiation. The multiple roles attributed to remote regulatory elements that have emerged from these studies will be discussed.
Three essays in transition economics

This paper investigates the relationship between official development assistance, foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic investment in landlocked and less studied young economies of Central Asia. It is important for donor countries to understand whether their investments induce foreign direct investment or not. If they do, it creates ground for public-private partnership. If they do not, then it points to reassessing mechanisms to ’aid architecture’. For public multinational enterprises, it is important to gain positive public opinions and further explore new markets. For governments, it is crucial to devise policies to favor foreign transfers that bring more welfare improvements. Our results from seemingly unrelated regression for regional sample demonstrate that: (a) foreign aid and FDI are complementing flows, and, (b) we found crowding-in effect: domestic investments increase FDI and vice versa, but not foreign aid. We conclude that there is evidence of public-private investment partnership. JEL Classification: F21, F30, P33, O11
Islands and despots

This paper challenges a conventional wisdom: that when discussing political systems, small is democratic. And yet, can there be paradises without serpents? The presumed manageability of small island spaces promotes and nurtures dispositions for domination and control over nature and society. In such dark circumstances, authoritarian rule is a more natural fit than democracy. By adopting an inter-disciplinary perspective, this paper argues that small island societies may be wonderful places to live in, as long as one conforms to a dominant cultural code. Should one deviate from expected and established practices, the threat of ostracism is immense. Formal democratic institutions may and often do exist, and a semblance of pluralism may be manifest, but these are likely to be overshadowed by a set of unitarist and homogenous values and practices to which many significant social players, in politics and civil society, subscribe (at least in public).
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging activity and connectivity and cognitive outcome in traumatic brain injury.

IMPORTANCE The study of brain activity and connectivity at rest provides a unique opportunity for the investigation of the brain substrates of cognitive outcome after traumatic axonal injury. This knowledge may contribute to improve clinical management and rehabilitation programs. OBJECTIVE To study functional magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities in signal amplitude and brain connectivity at rest and their relationship to cognitive outcome in patients with chronic and severe traumatic axonal injury. DESIGN Observational study. SETTING University of Barcelona and Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, Barcelona, and Institut Guttmann-Neurorehabilitation Hospital, Badalona, Spain. PARTICIPANTS Twenty patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) were studied, along with 17 matched healthy volunteers. INTERVENTIONS Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging data were acquired. After exploring group differences in amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), we studied functional connectivity within the default mode network (DMN) by means of independent component analysis, followed by a dual regression approach and seed-based connectivity analyses. Finally, we performed probabilistic tractography between the frontal and posterior nodes of the DMN. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Signal amplitude and functional connectivity during the resting state, tractography related to DMN, and the association between signal amplitudes and cognitive outcome. RESULTS Patients had greater ALFF in frontal regions, which was correlated with cognitive performance. Within the DMN, patients showed increased connectivity in the frontal lobes. Seed-based connectivity analyses revealed augmented connectivity within surrounding areas of the frontal and left parietal nodes of the DMN. Fractional anisotropy of the cingulate tract was correlated with increased connectivity of the frontal node of the DMN in patients with TBI. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Increased ALFF is related to better cognitive performance in chronic TBI. The loss of structural connectivity produced by damage to the cingulum tract explained the compensatory increases in functional connectivity within the frontal node of the DMN.
How General Is General Strain Theory? Assessing Determinacy and Indeterminacy across Life Domains

This article explores how assumptions of determinacy and indeterminacy apply to general strain theory. Theories assuming determinacy assert that motivational conditions determine specific forms of deviant adaptations, whereas those assuming indeterminacy propose that a given social circumstance can predispose a person toward many forms of deviance. The authors propose that strain theory posits a strong tendency for the domains in which stresses occur to match those in which delinquency takes place. This is a source of determinacy. Drawing on stress spillover and aggression displacement arguments, the authors also discuss sources of indeterminacy—or domain crossover effects. The tendency toward domain matching that is tempered by stress spillover and aggression displacement is what the authors refer to as soft determinacy. The authors derive hypotheses from their soft determinacy argument and test them on a sample of middle school students. The results support the arguments and suggest that discussion of soft determinacy is worthy of further attention.
Teaching Policy Practice: A Hands-On Seminar for Social Workers in Israel

The current question in social work discourse is no longer whether all social workers should be trained in policy practice, but how to train them. This article describes a three-semester long seminar in policy practice for social workers studying for their MSW at a university in Israel. The seminar sought to train the participants to integrate direct and policy practice in their daily professional activities. The article presents the findings of a controlled, pre-post, mixed-methods evaluation of the seminar. The findings show that the seminar increased the participants' sense of self-efficacy and their actual involvement in policy practice and that it brought a number of other benefits to them, their workplace, and the relation between the two.
The Association Between Social Disorganization and Rural Violence Is Sensitive to the Measurement of the Dependent Variable

A widely cited study by Osgood and Chambers appeared to extend the generalizability of social disorganization theory to youth violence in rural areas. The results of a very similar study we conducted, however, did not show support for social disorganization, and we concluded that the theory may not be as robust an explanation for rural youth violence as believed. In the current article, we take an important first step in addressing the conflicting findings by examining three likely methodological reasons for the inconsistent results: spatial autocorrelation, sample composition, and measurement of the dependent variable. Multiple tests suggest the first two explanations do not influence the results. Our analyses do indicate, however, that the association between social disorganization and violence in rural areas is sensitive to how the dependent variable is measured. We conclude that scholars should not rely solely on official crime data from rural areas when testing sociological and criminological theories.
Extracurricular activities and high school dropouts.

Previous research on high school dropouts has typically examined the relationship between a student's attributes and dropping out, but research on the more "voluntary" or behavioral attributes associated with dropping out of high school has been limited. The findings presented here indicate that participation in certain extracurricular activities (athletics andfine arts) significantly reduces a student's likelihood of dropping out, whereas participation in academic or vocational clubs has no effect. When all activities are examined simultaneously, only athletic participation remains significantly related to dropping out. Furthermore, participation in athletics and in fine arts serve as key intervening variables in the dropout process, magnifying the direct relationships between race, gender, academic ability, and dropping out. These findings persist even after crucial "dropout" forces (such as race, socioeconomic status, and gender) and "pullout forces" (such as employment) are controlled.
A preliminary study of the effect of ECRG4 overexpression on the proliferation and apoptosis of human laryngeal cancer cells and the underlying mechanisms

Human esophageal cancer-related gene 4 (ECRG4) is a potential tumor suppressor gene isolated from human esophageal epithelial cells. Studies have shown that ECRG4 effectively inhibits the proliferation of tumor cells and induces apoptosis. However, the role of ECRG4 in laryngeal cancer has not yet been clearly defined. In this study, a human laryngeal cancer cell line stably overexpressing ECRG4 was established. The effect of ECRG4 on the proliferation and apoptosis of laryngeal cancer cells and the associated mechanisms were investigated. The Hep-2 human laryngeal carcinoma cell line exhibited a low basal level of ECRG4 expression and was selected for the present study. The eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA3.1-ECRG4 was constructed and introduced into Hep-2 cells by transfection reagents. Western blot analysis, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence staining confirmed high-level expression of ECRG4. The 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay and colony formation assay showed that ECRG4 over-expression suppressed the proliferative capacity of laryngeal cancer cells in vitro. Cell cycle analysis showed that ECRG4 induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase. Flow cytometric analysis and Hoechst staining demonstrated that overexpres-sion of ECRG4 significantly induced apoptosis. Western blot analysis confirmed that Bcl-2-associated X protein, cleaved-caspase-3 and cleaved-poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase were upregulated in the apoptotic process, whereas B-cell lymphoma 2 was downregulated. In conclusion, overexpression of ECRG4 inhibited laryngeal cancer cell proliferation and induced cancer cell apoptosis. Therefore, ECRG4 exhibits potential as an effective target in gene therapy for laryngeal cancer.
Deep Tracking: Seeing Beyond Seeing Using Recurrent Neural Networks

This paper presents to the best of our knowledge the first end-to-end object tracking approach which directly maps from raw sensor input to object tracks in sensor space without requiring any feature engineering or system identification in the form of plant or sensor models. Specifically, our system accepts a stream of raw sensor data at one end and, in real-time, produces an estimate of the entire environment state at the output including even occluded objects. We achieve this by framing the problem as a deep learning task and exploit sequence models in the form of recurrent neural networks to learn a mapping from sensor measurements to object tracks. In particular, we propose a learning method based on a form of input dropout which allows learning in an unsupervised manner, only based on raw, occluded sensor data without access to ground-truth annotations. We demonstrate our approach using a synthetic dataset designed to mimic the task of tracking objects in 2D laser data — as commonly encountered in robotics applications — and show that it learns to track many dynamic objects despite occlusions and the presence of sensor noise.