Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chemosensory Stimulation of Luteinizing Hormone Secretion in Male Siberian Hamsters (Phodopus sungorus)1

Abstract Male Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) housed in long days (LD), but not short days (SD) release luteinizing hormone (LH) when exposed to females. This study examined whether this response is specific to a female and identifies the source of a stimulus that induces LH release. Serum concentrations of LH, testosterone (T), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and cortisol were examined in all experiments. T concentrations mirrored the LH response; FSH and cortisol were unchanged in response to all stimuli. Exposure to an LD female, irrespective of her reproductive status, but not an SD female, elicited LH release. Exposure to another male did not trigger LH release. Males released LH when allowed physical contact with an anesthetized female, but not when separated from a normally active female, suggesting that tactile or nonvolatile chemosensory stimuli elicit LH release. Urine and secretions collected from the vagina as well as oral, midventral, perineal, and rectal glands, elicited marked behavioral responses in male P. sungorus. Despite these behavioral responses, only feces from females elicited LH release in males. Males released LH in response to feces extracted from the rectum and to cotton swabs that had been rubbed against the rectal mucosa, suggesting that a component of rectal secretions may trigger LH release in male Siberian hamsters. Taken together, these data and previous data from our laboratory indicate that both the production of and the response to a pheromone that triggers the selective release of LH is regulated by day length.
Proteome Analysis of Bovine Longissimus dorsi Muscle Associated with the Marbling Score

The breeding value of marbling score in skeletal muscle is an important factor for evaluating beef quality. In the present study, we investigated proteins associated with the breeding value of the marbling score for bovine sirloin to select potential biomarkers to improve meat quality through comparative proteomic analysis. Proteins isolated from muscle were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. After analyzing images of the stained gel, seven protein spots for the high marbling score group were identified corresponding to changes in expression that were at least two-fold compared to the low marbling score group. Four spots with increased intensities in the high marbling score group were identified as phosphoglycerate kinase 1, triosephophate isomerase, acidic ribosomal phosphoprotein PO, and capping protein (actin filament) Z-line alpha 2. Spots with decreased intensities in the high marbling score group compared to the low score group were identified as 14-3-3 epsilon, carbonic anhydrase II, and myosin light chain 1. Expression of myosin light chain 1 and carbonic anhydrase 2 was confirmed by Western blotting. Taken together, these data could help improve the economic performance of cattle and provide useful information about the underlying the function of bovine skeletal muscle.
Grade 6 English First Additional Language teachers’ perceived preparedness for pedagogical content knowledge in writing education

iv Opsomming . vi List of Figures . xii List of Abbreviations . xiii Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 1.1 Rationale . 1 1.2 Research question . 4 1.3 Research approach and design . 4 1.4 Structure of the thesis . 5 Chapter 2: Literature review . 7 2.
LEARNING BY THINKING : OVERCOMING THE BIAS FOR ACTION THROUGH REFLECTION

Research on learning has primarily focused on the role of doing (experience) in fostering progress over time. Drawing on literature in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, we propose that one of the critical components of learning is reflection, or the intentional attempt to synthesize, abstract, and articulate the key lessons taught by experience. In particular, we argue that purposeful reflection on one’s accumulated experience leads to greater learning than the accumulation of additional experience. We explain this boost in learning through self-efficacy: reflection builds confidence in the ability to achieve a goal, which in turn translates into higher rates of learning. We test the resulting model experimentally, using a mixed-method design that combines two laboratory experiments with a field experiment conducted in a large businessprocess outsourcing company in India. We find that individuals who are given time to reflect on a task improve their performance at a greater rate than those who are given the same amount of time to practice with the same task. Our results also show that if individuals themselves are given the choice to either reflect or practice, they prefer to allocate their time to gaining more experience with the task– to the detriment of their learning.
Unraveling the apparent magnitude threshold of remote earthquake triggering using full wavefield surface wave simulation

Empirical studies with earthquake catalogs suggest that large events (M > 5) are rarely triggered in significant numbers by passing surface waves at remote distances from main shocks. Triggered, small (M < 5) earthquakes are routinely associated with the passage of surface waves from large (M > 7) main shocks. Since large earthquakes involve larger rupture areas, we study the spatial and temporal characteristics of dynamic stress change for clues. Using a 3D finite element method, we model the complete wavefield from the 2002 M= 7.9 Denali earthquake recorded near the Wasatch Front in Utah, where details about triggered seismicity are known. In particular, we load our model with a displacement seismogram to acquire a time series of the stress change tensor and model failure of a representative normal fault based on these stress changes. We note that the stress‐change regime varies rapidly between favoring strike‐slip, thrust, and normal faulting, with durations lasting ∼1–4 s. We find that these stress regimes usually affect only some fraction of a fault surface at any given time. Stress amplitudes also vary, meaning that ideal conditions for triggering are short‐lived and spatially limited. Stress conditions can also rapidly reverse to regimes that inhibit slip. Given these stressing conditions, we conclude that it may be difficult for a larger rupture area to experience the temporally and spatially coherent stress change necessary to develop into a large magnitude earthquake.
Cardiovascular risk factors and disease management in type 2 diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of cardiorenal risk factors, their management in a routine clinical setting, and the actual achievement of international guideline targets in a large cohort of type 2 diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A multicentric cross-sectional study was performed in the Campania region in Italy to evaluate cardiorenal risk factors and their management in light of international guidelines. Overall, 28,550 diabetic patients were screened in the 21 participating centers; 847 (348 male and 449 female) patients with type 2 diabetes and a clinical diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy were recruited. RESULTS Of these subjects, 749 had microalbuminuria and 98 had macroalbuminuria. Targets for blood pressure, HbA(1c), LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides were reached in, respectively, 17.5, 32.3, 30.7, 47, and 55.2% of the patients. Chronic renal failure (glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min) was revealed in 41% and anemia in 23.8% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to investigate a large cohort of type 2 diabetic patients with early and moderate diabetic nephropathy strictu sensu. Notably, impaired renal function can be often diagnosed in these patients even in the presence of microalbuminuria. Thus, clinical diagnosis of diabetic nephopathy allows us to identify a group of patients at very high cardiorenal risk, for whom care is really difficult. We suggest that a correct diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy should always be made and that sodium intake and anemia should be routinely evaluated in these patients.
Treatment of Popliteal (Baker) Cysts With Ultrasound-Guided Aspiration, Fenestration, and Injection

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of ultrasound-guided aspiration, fenestration, and injection as a treatment in patients with symptomatic popliteal cysts. Hypothesis: Ultrasound-guided aspiration, fenestration, and injection (UGAFI) is an effective and safe treatment option for symptomatic popliteal cysts. Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Level of Evidence: Level 3. Methods: Patients who received a UGAFI of popliteal cysts from 2008 to 2011 were identified. Preaspiration (PA) and follow-up Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores, cyst recurrence, complications, cyst complexity, and size were obtained and compared for statistical significance. UGAFI involved aspiration of fluid through a spinal needle, fenestration of the cyst walls and septations, and injection of 1 mL (40 mg) triamcinolone (Kenalog) and 2 mL 0.5% bupivacaine (Sensorcaine) into the decompressed remnant. Results: The mean PA WOMAC score (48.55) improved significantly at final follow-up (FFU) to 17.15 (P < 0.0001) for 47 patients. Within the WOMAC subcategories, there was also a significant difference in pain (PA, 10.68; FFU, 3.94; P < 0.0001), stiffness (PA, 4.51; FFU, 1.77; P < 0.0001), and physical function (PA, 31.34; FFU, 12.17; P < 0.0001). There were 6 reaspirations for recurrence (12.7%), and 1 patient underwent unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. There were no infections or other complications. Conclusion: Significant clinical improvement in patients with symptomatic popliteal cysts can be achieved via UGAFI as the sole treatment. Clinical Relevance: UGAFI is a safe and effective option as the sole treatment modality for symptomatic popliteal cysts.
Angiotensin Receptors, Autoimmunity, and Preeclampsia1

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-induced hypertensive disorder that causes substantial maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Despite being a leading cause of maternal death and a major contributor to maternal and perinatal morbidity, the mechanisms responsible for the pathogenesis of preeclampsia are poorly understood. Recent studies indicate that women with preeclampsia have autoantibodies that activate the angiotensin receptor, AT1, and that autoantibody-mediated receptor activation contributes to pathophysiology associated with preeclampsia. The research reviewed here raises the intriguing possibility that preeclampsia may be a pregnancy-induced autoimmune disease.
Syntactic variation in ‘need’-constructions in Estonian dialects

The article contributes new data and findings to the growing field of corpus-based dialect syntax research. The focus of the paper is on variation in ‘need’-constructions (tarvis/vaja olema + nominal complement/infinitive ‘need to’) based on the corpus of Estonian dialects. Our purpose was to demonstrate the complex nature of syntactic variation, constrained geographically, individually or by language-internal factors. The study takes a corpus-based quantitative approach to observing the geographical spread of linguistic units. We apply conditional inference tree and random forests models to capture the (co)varying parts of the construction studied. Our results show that variation in different parts of constructions is influenced by different factors, both geographical and language-internal. Lexical variation (adverb tarvis ‘need’ or vaja ‘need’) and omission of the copula are clearly geographically distributed, while omission of the experiencer is determined mainly by language-internal factors. However, the study has also found extensive inter-individual differences.
To my family and in memory of my father

Cover illustration: Coat of arms and location of the two Swedish counties Småland (lat. Smolandia) and Hälsingland (lat. Helsingia or Helsinglandia) wherefrom the two corneal disorders described in this thesis originate. Published articles and figures have been reprinted with the permission of the copyright holders. To my family and in memory of my father Turmoil accompanies every great change.holm P: Dystrophia Helsinglandica-corneal morphology, topography and sensitivity in a hereditary corneal disease with recurrent erosive episodes. Manuscript .
Approaching MISO Upper Bound: Design of New Wireless Cooperative Transmission Protocols

While various cooperative protocols have been developed for the simple scenario with one source-destination pair, most of them still suffer a significant loss compared with the optimal multiple-input single-output (MISO) upper bound. The diversity-multiplexing tradeoff will be used as the criterion for performance evaluation. In this paper, we propose two new half-duplex decode-forward cooperative transmission protocols, whose performance can approach the optimal MISO bound, and achieve a better diversity-multiplexing tradeoff when compared with existing cooperative protocols, particularly for large multiplexing gains. Firstly, a simple protocol of cooperative transmission is devised by combining opportunistic strategies with non-orthogonal transmission. When the number of relays is large, the proposed opportunistic decode-forward cooperative protocol can approach the optimal MISO upper bound. Due to the inter-relay interference constraint, each relay can only be used once, which limits the achievable diversity gain. Such an observation motivates our second transmission protocol which can further push the performance of cooperative transmission close to the optimal upper bound. Secondly, a relaying protocol is proposed for a four-node network where two multiple-antenna relays alternately forward messages to the destination when they can successfully cancel the inter-relay interference using the zero forcing method. Monte-Carlo simulation has also been provided to demonstrate the performance of both protocols and comparable ones.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Synergy Studies of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Isolates from Patients with Cystic Fibrosis

ABSTRACT Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a newly emerging pathogen being detected with increasing frequency in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). The impact of this multidrug-resistant organism on lung function is uncertain. The optimal treatment for S. maltophilia in CF patients is unknown. We studied the in vitro activity of ten antimicrobial agents, and conducted synergy studies by using checkerboard dilutions of eight pairs of antimicrobial agents against strains isolated from 673 CF patients from 1996 to 2001. This represents approximately 7 to 23% of the CF patients in the United States who harbor S. maltophilia annually. Doxycycline was the most active agent and inhibited 80% of 673 initial patient isolates, while trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole inhibited only 16%. High concentrations of colistin proved more active than high concentrations of tobramycin and gentamicin. Serial isolates (n = 151) from individual patients over time (median, 290 days) showed minimal changes in resistance. Synergistic or additive activity was demonstrated by trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole paired with ticarcillin-clavulanate (65% of strains), ciprofloxacin paired with ticarcillin-clavulanate (64% of strains), ciprofloxacin paired with piperacillin-tazobactam (59% of strains), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole paired with piperacillin-tazobactam (55% of strains), and doxycycline paired with ticarcillin-clavulanate (49% of strains). In all, 522 (78%) isolates were multidrug resistant (i.e., resistant to all agents in two or more antimicrobial classes) but 473 (91%) of these were inhibited by at least one antimicrobial combination (median, four; range, one to eight). To determine appropriate treatment for patients with CF, it is important to monitor the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility, and clinical impact of S. maltophilia in this patient population.
Cardiometabolic Biomarkers in Young Black Girls: Relations to Body Fatness and Aerobic Fitness, and Effects of a Randomized Physical Activity Trial

There is little evidence from randomized trials showing that physical activity alone influences biomarker profiles in youths. This study tested two hypotheses: (i) that elevated body fatness and poor fitness would be associated with unfavorable levels of cardiometabolic biomarkers in 8–12-y-old black girls (n = 242) and (ii) that a 10-mo PA intervention would have favorable effects on the fatness-related cardiometabolic biomarkers. At baseline, all fatness indices (i.e., percent body fat, visceral adipose tissue, BMI, and waist circumference) were significantly (P < 0.05) associated with unfavorable levels of insulin, glucose, systolic BP, diastolic BP, triglycerides, C-reactive protein (CRP), and fibrinogen. Aerobic fitness was significantly (P < 0.05) associated with favorable levels of insulin, CRP, fibrinogen, and HDL2. The PA intervention had significant and favorable effects on fitness, fatness, and two biomarkers—resting heart rate and LDL cholesterol. More research is needed to clarify what types of interventions can enhance the cardiometabolic health of youths.
Approach motivation, goal pursuit, and reward-related neural responses : a combined experience-sampling and fMRI approach

1 Acknowledgments. 2 List of Tables. 8 List of Figures. 14 Chapter I: General Introduction. 21 1.1. Research Overview. 21 1.2. Reward and Motivation. 21 1.3. Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory. 22 1.4. Reward Processing. 26 1.5. BAS Sensitivity and Reward Processing. 29 1.6. Real-World Experience and Reward Processing. 30 1.7. Goal Pursuit. 32 1.8. BAS Sensitivity, Positive Affect, and Goal Pursuit. 34 1.9. Unipolar Depression. 35 1.10. Bipolar Disorder. 43 1.11. Older Adults. 48 1.12. Summary of Literature. 49 1.13. Summary of Empirical Chapters. 49 Chapter II: The Pursuit of Everyday Goals. 52 2.
Micro-prosodic control in cantonese text-to-speech synthesis

This paper describes a pioneer study on prosodic control for Cantonese text-to-speech synthesis. We attempt to establish a set of segment-level duration rules and contextdependent F0 profiles and apply them to a syllable-based concatenative speech synthesizer which uses TD-PSOLA as prosodic modification technique. The prosodic features are extracted by statistical characterization of a large amount of speech data. Subjective listening test shows that the micro-prosodic control results in a marginal but consistent improvement in perceptual naturalness.
Haloviruses HF1 and HF2: Evidence for a Recent and Large Recombination Event

ABSTRACT Haloviruses HF1 and HF2 were isolated from the same saltern pond and are adapted to hypersaline conditions, where they infect a broad range of haloarchaeal species. The HF2 genome has previously been reported. The complete sequence of the HF1 genome has now been determined, mainly by PCR and primer walking. It was 75,898 bp in length and was 94.4% identical to the HF2 genome but about 1.8 kb shorter. A total of 117 open reading frames and five tRNA-like genes were predicted, and their database matches and characteristics were similar to those found in HF2. A comparison of the predicted restriction digest patterns based on nucleotide sequence with the observed restriction digest patterns of viral DNA showed that, unlike the case for HF2, some packaged HF1 DNA had cohesive termini. Except for a single base change, HF1 and HF2 were identical in sequence over the first 48 kb, a region that includes the early and middle genes. The remaining 28 kb of HF1 showed many differences from HF2, and the similarity of the two genomes over this late gene region was 87%. The abrupt shift in sequence similarity around 48 kb suggests a recent recombination event between either HF1 or HF2 and another HF-like halovirus that has swapped most of the right-end 28 kb. This example indicates there is a high level of recombination among viruses that live in this extreme environment.
A System of Reaction Diffusion Equations Arising in the Theory of Reinforced Random Walks

We investigate the properties of solutions of a system of chemotaxis equations arising in the theory of reinforced random walks. We show that under some circumstances, finite-time blow-up of solutions is possible. In other circumstances, the solutions will decay to a spatially constant solution (collapse). We also give some intuitive arguments which demonstrate the possibility of the existence of aggregation (piecewise constant) solutions.
Self-Affirmation Among the Poor

The poor are universally stigmatized. The stigma of poverty includes being perceived as incompetent and feeling shunned and disrespected. It can lead to cognitive distancing, diminish cognitive performance, and cause the poor to forego beneficial programs. In the present research, we examined how self-affirmation can mitigate the stigma of poverty through randomized field experiments involving low-income individuals at an inner-city soup kitchen. Because of low literacy levels, we used an oral rather than written affirmation procedure, in which participants verbally described a personal experience that made them feel successful or proud. Compared with nonaffirmed participants, affirmed individuals exhibited better executive control, higher fluid intelligence, and a greater willingness to avail themselves of benefits programs. The effects were not driven by elevated positive mood, and the same intervention did not affect the performance of wealthy participants. The findings suggest that self-affirmation can improve the cognitive performance and decisions of the poor, and it may have important policy implications.
Scalp-recorded-EEG-based BFCN for Diagnosing AD and FTD Patients andObserving their Prognoses: Preliminary Results

In order to develop an easier and more inexpensive tool than using MEG and fMRI for diagnosing neurological diseases such as AD and FTD and checking their prognoses in future, we constructed scalp-recorded-EEGbased brain functional connectivity networks (BFCNs), and preliminarily compared Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients, their prognoses and control subjects by the BFCNs. The present comparison among AD, FTD and older controls roughly supported the previous findings for synchronization likelihood values, unweighted graphs, clustering coefficient and characteristic path length. However, there were reverse differences in small-worldness. For AD and FTD, there were several electrode positions with higher betweenness centrality than the older controls. It might be suggested that we should investigate the betweenness centrality in more details.
Evaluating childhood and adulthood victimization as predictors of psychotic disorders: findings from a nationwide study of women in jail

Abstract Incarcerated women experience high rates of childhood victimization and adulthood interpersonal violence, which have been identified as risk factors for psychotic-spectrum disorders. This study included 491 women in jail, who completed structured diagnostic interviews and questionnaires concerning past victimization. Interpersonal violence in adulthood was a significant mediator of the association between childhood victimization and 12-month prevalence of any psychotic disorder. These findings demonstrate the importance of assessing victimization in childhood and adulthood relative to psychosis among women in jail.