Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Continua of Biliteracy

Although biliteracy is common worldwide, relatively little scholarly work has attended explicitly to it. This review draws from the literatures on literacy, bilingualism, and the teaching of reading, writing, and second and foreign languages to propose a framework for understanding biliteracy. It argues that the complex array of possible biliteracy configurations can be accounted for by understanding biliteracy in terms of a series of interrelated continua. These continua define the contexts, individual development, and media of biliteracy, and are as follows: micro-macro, oral-literate, monolingual-bilingual, reception-production, oral language-written language, first and second language transfer, simultaneous-successive exposure, similar-dissimilar language structures, and convergent-divergent scripts. An understanding of the intersecting and nested nature of the continua has implications for teaching and research in biliteracy.
Multivariate Contrasts For Repeated Measures Designs Under Assumption Violations

Conventional and approximate degrees of freedom procedures for testing multivariate interaction contrasts in groups by trials repeated measures designs were compared under assumption violation conditions. Procedures were based on either least-squares or robust estimators. Power generally favored test procedures based on robust estimators for non-normal distributions, but was influenced by the degree of departure from non-normality, definition of power, and magnitude of the multivariate effect size.
Latitudinal Variation in Parasitoid Guild Composition and Parasitism Rates of North American Hawthorn Infesting Rhagoletis

ABSTRACT Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae) populations in North America have diverged by exploiting host plants with varying fruiting phenologies in environments that differ markedly in temperature and humidity. As a result, four genetically and ecologically distinct R. pomonella populations that display partial reproductive isolation have evolved. Host shifting by Rhagoletis and similar evolutionary histories could have had cascading effects across trophic levels, influencing the diversity and distribution of associated parasitoid guilds. To establish the basis for a future understanding of the possible effect of divergence in R. pomonella populations on the parasitoids attacking these flies, we surveyed parasitoids from five different species of hawthorns distributed over 15 states in México and 2 states in the midwestern United States. Emerging parasitoids were identified, parasitism rates were calculated, and regional fly and parasitoid emergence schedules were determined. Parasitism rate, emergence schedules, Shannon-Weiner diversity indexes, and species accumulation curves were compared across three main geographical regions. Parasitism levels varied greatly among regions from an overall high of 27.2% in the United States to 5.5% in the Sierra Madre Oriental (SMO) mountains of Mexico, to as low as 0.19% in the Eje Volcánico Trans Mexicano (EVTM). Shannon-Weiner diversity indexes showed that parasitoid species diversity was similar across the distribution range of R. pomonella in Mexico and the United States because of the fact that total parasitism was dominated by only two species, one of them recovered across the whole North American range of hawthorn infesting Rhagoletis. Nevertheless, eight parasitoids were found attacking R. pomonella in Mexico compared with only four collected in the United States. Only two diapausing parasitoid species were shared between the U.S. and Mexican R. pomonella populations: Utetes canaliculatus and Diachasmimorpha mellea. Interestingly, many subtropical parasitoid species, usually associated to flies in the subtropical genus Anastrepha, were recovered in the SMO in low numbers. The wide distribution of U. canaliculatus and D. mellea offers an ideal opportunity to test for a shared biogeography and co-evolution between fly and parasitoids. In this regard, one factor contributing to the success of U. canaliculatus seems to be the wasp's ability to modulate its eclosion time to track regional variation in hawthorn fruiting phenology and host (i.e., fly larvae) availability. Both R. pomonella and U. canaliculatus from southern sites emerged later than insects from northern populations, mirroring seasonal differences in hawthorn fruiting times across Mexico and the United States. These results suggest that molecular studies and crossing experiments could show, as they have for Rhagoletis, recent speciation events for parasitoid species of Nearctic origin that were found to be ecologically tracking environmentally driven divergence of their tephritid hosts.
Input clustering and the microscale structure of local circuits

The recent development of powerful tools for high-throughput mapping of synaptic networks promises major advances in understanding brain function. One open question is how circuits integrate and store information. Competing models based on random vs. structured connectivity make distinct predictions regarding the dendritic addressing of synaptic inputs. In this article we review recent experimental tests of one of these models, the input clustering hypothesis. Across circuits, brain regions and species, there is growing evidence of a link between synaptic co-activation and dendritic location, although this finding is not universal. The functional implications of input clustering and future challenges are discussed.
Synergistic Cooperation between Methamphetamine and HIV-1 gsp120 through the P13K/Akt Pathway Induces IL-6 but not IL-8 Expression in Astrocytes

HIV-1 envelope protein gp120 has been extensively studied for neurotoxic effects that have been attributed to the increased expression of various proinflammatory cytokines in the CNS. Recently we have shown that methamphetamine (MA) also increases expression of proinflammatory cytokines in astrocytes. However, combined effect of gp120 and MA is not known. The present study was undertaken to determine cumulative effect and the mechanism(s)/pathways involved in the functional interaction between gp120 and MA in SVGA astrocytes. Our results clearly suggest that gp120 and MA affect IL-6 but not IL-8 in a synergistic manner and this synergy was mediated by PI3K/Akt and NF-κB pathways. Inhibition of either of these pathways could abrogate the increased expression of IL-6 due to MA or gp120 alone, as well as the increased expression of IL-6 when the astrocytes were treated with both gp120 and MA. These results were confirmed by both, using chemical inhibitors/siRNA as well as western blotting. This study therefore provides novel information regarding the interaction between MA and gp120 in terms of the expression of IL-6 and the mechanisms underlying potential synergy between MA and gp120 in astrocytes.
Dynamic Cell Size Adaptation and Intercell Interference Coordination in LTE HetNets

LTE heterogeneous networks (HetNets) are deployed in areas of high user density in order to increase the capacity in the cellular mobile network. However, they are raising two problems: fixed cell sizes and interference. In our work, we propose a technique, which is maximizing the throughput of the users while considering fairness, dynamically adapting cell sizes and reducing interferences. Moreover, we included the concept of cell selection offsets (CSOs) for the adaptation of the cell sizes and we applied protected subframes, a time domain intercell interference coordination technique in LTE advanced. In our results, we consider the system throughput and the 5-percentile UE throughput and show, that our technique outperforms the best static HetNet configurations achieving a gain up to 16.5% in terms of the fairness based system throughput and a gain up to 37.0% in the 5-percentile UE throughput.
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Breast Cancer

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in staging of early breast cancer is a feasible, accurate and reliable procedure. 90 patients with early breast cancer undergoing Sentinel lymph node biopsy in the Departments of Surgery at King Abdulaziz University and Bakhsh Hospitals between December 2000-2006. The objective of the study is to determine the feasibility, accuracy and technique of Sentinel lymph node biopsy in the management of early breast cancer and to predict axillary lymph node status. 57 patients had stage I breast cancer (63.3%). Different methods were used to localize Sentinel lymph node initially by using combination of lymphazurin blue and radioisotope in 12 patients (13.3%), lymphazurin in 25 patients (27.8%) and methylene blue in 53 patients (58.9%). Sentinel lymph node dentification rate was 98.9%. 60 (66.7%) had lumpectomy while 30 (33.3%) had mastectomy. Frozen section accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of Sentinel lymph node were (96.8%, 84.4%, 100.0%, 100.0%, 97.97%). Local breast recurrence rate was 3 (3.3%). Methylene blue is effective and safe in the detection of sentinel lymph node in patients with breast cancer; it is lower in cost and is readily available.
Biochemical and Genetic Analysis of the Mitochondrial Response of Yeast to BAX and BCL-XL

ABSTRACT The BCL-2 family includes both proapoptotic (e.g., BAX and BAK) and antiapoptotic (e.g., BCL-2 and BCL-XL) molecules. The cell death-regulating activity of BCL-2 members appears to depend on their ability to modulate mitochondrial function, which may include regulation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (PTP). We examined the function of BAX and BCL-XL using genetic and biochemical approaches in budding yeast because studies with yeast suggest that BCL-2 family members act upon highly conserved mitochondrial components. In this study we found that in wild-type yeast, BAX induced hyperpolarization of mitochondria, production of reactive oxygen species, growth arrest, and cell death; however, cytochrome c was not released detectably despite the induction of mitochondrial dysfunction. Coexpression of BCL-XL prevented all BAX-mediated responses. We also assessed the function of BCL-XL and BAX in the same strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with deletions of selected mitochondrial proteins that have been implicated in the function of BCL-2 family members. BAX-induced growth arrest was independent of the tested mitochondrial components, including voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), the catalytic β subunit or the δ subunit of the F0F1-ATP synthase, mitochondrial cyclophilin, cytochrome c, and proteins encoded by the mitochondrial genome as revealed by [rho0] cells. In contrast, actual cell killing was dependent upon select mitochondrial components including the β subunit of ATP synthase and mitochondrial genome-encoded proteins but not VDAC. The BCL-XL protection from either BAX-induced growth arrest or cell killing proved to be independent of mitochondrial components. Thus, BAX induces two cellular processes in yeast which can each be abrogated by BCL-XL: cell arrest, which does not require aspects of mitochondrial biochemistry, and cell killing, which does.
Protecting browsers from DNS rebinding attacks

DNS rebinding attacks subvert the same-origin policy of browsers, converting them into open network proxies. Using DNS rebinding, an attacker can circumvent organizational and personal firewalls, send spam email, and defraud pay-per-click advertisers. We evaluate the cost effectiveness of mounting DNS rebinding attacks, finding that an attacker requires less than $100 to hijack 100,000 IP addresses. We analyze defenses to DNS rebinding attacks, including improvements to the classic “DNS pinning,” and recommend changes to browser plug-ins, firewalls, and Web servers. Our defenses have been adopted by plug-in vendors and by a number of open-source firewall implementations.
Placement and Routing in Computer Aided Design of Standard Cell Arrays by Exploiting the Structure of the Interconnection Graph

Standard cell placement and routing is an important open problem in current CAD VLSI research. We present a novel approach to placement and routing in standard cell arrays inspired by geometric constraint usage in traditional CAD systems. Placement is performed by an algorithm that places the standard cells in a spiral topology around the center of the cell array driven by a DFS on the interconnection graph. We provide an improvement of this technique by first detecting dense graphs in the interconnection graph and then placing cells that belong to denser graphs closer to the center of the spiral. By doing so we reduce the wirelength required for routing. Routing is performed by a variation of the maze algorithm enhanced by a set of heuristics that have been tuned to maximize performance. Finally we present a visualization tool and an experimental performance evaluation of our approach.
What it is all about: topic choices in young children's play

Play gives young children opportunities to develop language and relationships. Friendships and the topics children choose for play can influence the nature of that play, but little is known about how friendship and topic choice impinge on topic maintenance. Topic maintenance is an important conversational skill, without which children can struggle to build relationships and access the type of extended talk which facilitates their language and concept development. In this study, we use a systemic-functional theory of language as a framework for investigating topic choice and topic maintenance in children's play. We recorded 50 pairs of five-to-six-year-old children as they played with unstructured materials (such as pebbles, sets of bottle tops and wood off-cuts) for 30 minutes in two different friendship conditions (high-level friendship (HLF) versus low-level friendship (LLF)). The range of topics across all the dyads showed considerable diversity. However, on average each pair chose only five topics of conversation and most pairs were able to maintain talk about at least one topic over several turns. Most importantly, high-level friends engaged with a chosen topic significantly more than low-level friends. Our results suggest that friendship supports children's engagement in talk and play.
DisruptedDopamineTransmissionandtheEmergenceof ExaggeratedBetaOscillationsinSubthalamicNucleusand CerebralCortex

In the subthalamic nucleus (STN) of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, a pronounced synchronization of oscillatory activity at beta frequencies (15‐30 Hz) accompanies movement difficulties. Abnormal beta oscillations and motor symptoms are concomitantly and acutely suppressed by dopaminergic therapies, suggesting that these inappropriate rhythms might also emerge acutely from disrupted dopamine transmission. The neural basis of these abnormal beta oscillations is unclear, and how they might compromise information processing,orhowtheyarise,isunknown.Usinga6-hydroxydopamine-lesionedrodentmodelofPD,wedemonstratethatbetaoscillations are inappropriately exaggerated, compared with controls, in a brain-state-dependent manner after chronic dopamine loss. Exaggeratedbetaoscillationsareexpressedatthelevelsofsingleneuronsandsmallneuronalensembles,andarefocallypresentandspatially distributed within STN. They are also expressed in synchronous population activities, as evinced by oscillatory local field potentials, in STN and cortex. Excessively synchronized beta oscillations reduce the information coding capacity of STN neuronal ensembles, which maycontributetoparkinsonianmotorimpairment.Acutedisruptionofdopaminetransmissionincontrolanimalswithantagonistsof D1/D2receptorsdidnotexaggerateSTNorcorticalbetaoscillations.Moreover,betaoscillationswerenotexaggerateduntilseveraldays after6-hydroxydopamineinjections.Thus,contrarytopredictions,abnormallyamplifiedbetaoscillationsincortico-STNcircuitsdonot resultsimplyfromanacuteabsenceofdopaminereceptorstimulation,butareinsteaddelayedsequelaeofchronicdopaminedepletion. Targeting the plastic processes underlying the delayed emergence of pathological beta oscillations after continuing dopaminergic dysfunctionmayofferconsiderabletherapeuticpromise.
A randomized controlled trial comparing foster care and institutional care for children with signs of reactive attachment disorder.

OBJECTIVE The authors examined signs of emotionally withdrawn (inhibited type) and indiscriminately social (disinhibited type) reactive attachment disorder in Romanian children enrolled in a randomized trial of foster care compared with institutional care and in a comparison group of never-institutionalized children. METHOD At baseline and when children were ages 30, 42, and 54 months and 8 years, caregivers were interviewed with the Disturbances of Attachment Interview to assess changes in signs of reactive attachment disorder in three groups of children: those receiving care as usual (including continued institutional care) (N=68); those placed in foster care after institutional care (N=68); and those who were never institutionalized (N=72). The impact of gender, ethnicity, and baseline cognitive ability was also examined. RESULTS On the Disturbances of Attachment Interview, signs of the inhibited type of reactive attachment disorder decreased after placement in foster care, and scores were indistinguishable from those of never-institutionalized children after 30 months. Signs of the disinhibited type were highest in the usual care group, lower in the foster care group, and lowest in the never-institutionalized group. Early placement in foster care (before age 24 months) was associated with fewer signs of the disinhibited type. Lower baseline cognitive ability was associated with more signs of the inhibited type in the usual care group and more signs of the disinhibited type in both groups. CONCLUSIONS Signs of the inhibited type of reactive attachment disorder responded quickly to placement in foster care; signs of the disinhibited type showed less robust resolution with foster placement. Lower baseline cognitive ability was linked to signs of reactive attachment disorder.
Types of informal learning in cross-organizational collegial conversations

Purpose – This paper aims to gather empirical evidence for what colleagues from different organizations reported they learned from informal professional learning conversations. Informal learning conversations with colleagues is a powerful yet understudied source of self-directed, professional development. Design/methodology/approach – This study of mixed methods investigated the types of learning 79 leaders from 22 organizations reported they learned via post-conversation surveys from 44 peer-led discussions over a two-year period. Findings – Survey data suggest empirical evidence of five learning outcomes – informational, conceptual, operational, reflective and social learning. The study describes these categories, the overall distribution of these types of learning in the community and how most conversations were “high-yielding” in a particular outcome. Originality/value – To the knowledge of the authors, this study is the first to suggest empirical evidence of categories of learning that participants r.
Randomized Pilot Study Comparing Oral Ibuprofen With Intravenous Ibuprofen in Very Low Birth Weight Infants With Patent Ductus Arteriosus

BACKGROUND. We conducted a prospective, randomized, single-masked pilot study with the principal aim of comparing efficacy and tolerance between oral and intravenous ibuprofen in early closure of patent ductus arteriosus in very low birth weight infants. The possibility of ductal closure with only 1 or 2 doses of treatment was a secondary objective. MATERIAL AND METHODS. Sixty-four very low birth weight patients with echocardiographically confirmed patent ductus arteriosus and respiratory distress were studied. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either oral (group O, n = 32) or intravenous (group I, n = 32) ibuprofen starting on the third day of life. After the first dose of treatment in both groups, echocardiographic evaluation was performed to determine the need for a second or third dose. The rate of ductal closure, adverse effects, complications, and the patient's clinical course were recorded. RESULTS. In each group, 24 (75%) patients were born after 28 weeks' gestation. The rate of ductal closure tended to increase in group O (84.3% vs 62.5%). Closure of the ductus was obtained after 1 or 2 doses of treatment in 19 (70.3%) of 27 patients in group O and 14 (70%) of 20 patients in group I. The adverse effects were increased in group I (31.2% vs 9.3%). There were no significant differences with respect to complications during the stay. Adverse effects were significantly fewer when closure was achieved after an incomplete course of treatment (23.1% vs 76.9%). CONCLUSIONS. In very low birth weight infants, the rate of early ductal closure with oral ibuprofen is at least as good as with the intravenous route. Ductal closure may be obtained with an incomplete course of ibuprofen. Oral ibuprofen is associated with fewer adverse effects. However, a larger sample is needed for more definitive conclusions.
Extending Defensive Distillation

Machine learning is vulnerable to adversarial examples: inputs carefully modified to force misclassification. Designing defenses against such inputs remains largely an open problem. In this work, we revisit defensive distillation---which is one of the mechanisms proposed to mitigate adversarial examples---to address its limitations. We view our results not only as an effective way of addressing some of the recently discovered attacks but also as reinforcing the importance of improved training techniques.
Increased Interleukin-4 and Decreased Interferon Gamma Production in Children with Asthma: Function of Atopy or Asthma?

Both atopy and asthma are claimed to be associated with a Th-2 cytokine pattern. We sought to determine the contribution of atopy and asthma to the observed Th-2/Th-1 imbalance in these conditions. Of 60 children aged 6–16 years that were included in the study, 13 were nonatopic nonasthmatic, 15 atopic nonasthmatic, 14 nonatopic asthmatic, and 18 atopic asthmatic. Atopic children had positive skin prick tests to grass pollens only. All children were studied after an asymptomatic and drug-free period of at least three months. Total IgE was measured in serum. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cultured and stimulated in vitro with phytohemagglutinin and interferongamma (IFN-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) measured in the supernatants. Total IgE was significantly higher in atopic asthmatics compared to nonatopic asthmatics (p = 0.004), and nonatopic nonasthmatics (p = 0.001), but was not different from atopic nonasthmatics (p > 0.05). On the other hand, IL-4 was significantly elevated in atopic asthmatics and in nonatopic asthmatics compared to nonatopic nonasthmatics (p = 0.037 and p = 0.009, respectively). Although atopic asthmatics had lower IFN-γ values than nonatopic asthmatics, the difference did not reach statistical significance. No correlation was detected between any two parameters. Our results suggest that both atopy and asthma contribute to the increased levels of IL-4 and that, whereas nonatopic asthma is associated with increases in both IL-4 and IFN-γ release by mononuclear cells, only atopic asthma is characterized by a Th-2 type cytokine dominance.