Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of an individualized social competence training for children with Oppositional Defiant Disorders/Conduct Disorders

Abstract Objectives: Group-based Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy of children with aggressive behavior has resulted in significant reductions of behavior problems with small to medium effect sizes. We report the efficacy of an individualized Treatment Program for Children with Aggressive Behavior. Method: A within-subject design with two phases (waiting, treatment) was chosen. Sixty boys aged 6–12 years with peer-related aggressive behavior were included. The course of the outcome measures (growth rates) during a 6-week waiting phase was compared with those in the subsequent treatment phase (24 weekly child sessions together with an average of 8 parent contacts) by multilevel modeling. Primary outcome was peer-related aggressive behavior rated by parents. Further outcome measures included parent ratings and patient self-reports of aggressive and prosocial behavior. Results: During the treatment, growth rates for all parent-rated outcome measures were significant (p < .001) and comparison with the waiting phase indicated a stronger decrease in aggressive behavior and a stronger increase in prosocial behavior. For all self-rated outcome measures, growth rates during the treatment were significant (p < .01), but comparison with the waiting phase indicated a stronger decrease only for disturbance of social interaction. Conclusions: The treatment program is an effective intervention for children with peer-related aggressive behavior.
Sequential simulation of thermal stresses in disc brakes for repeated braking

In this paper, an efficient sequential approach for simulating thermal stresses in brake discs for repeated braking is presented. First, a frictional heat analysis is performed by using an Eulerian formulation of the disc. Then, by using the temperature history from the first step of the sequence, a plasticity analysis with temperature dependent material data is performed in order to determine the corresponding thermal stresses. Three-dimensional geometries of a disc and a pad to a heavy truck are considered in the numerical simulations. The contact forces are computed at each time step taking the thermal deformations of the disc and pad into account. In such manner, the frictional heat power distribution will also be updated in each time step, which in turn will influence the development of heat bands. The plasticity model is taken to be the von Mises yield criterion with linear kinematic hardening, where both the hardening and the yield limit are temperature dependent. The results show that during hard braking, high compressive stresses are generated on the disc surface in the circumferential direction which cause yielding. But when the disc cools down, these compressive stresses transform to tensile residual stresses. For repeated hard braking when this kind of stress history is repeated, we also show that stress cycles with high amplitudes are developed which might generate low cycle fatigue cracks after a few braking cycles.
Modeling Content and Membership Growth Dynamics of User-Generated Content Sharing Networks With Two Case Studies

User-generated content sharing networks (UGCSNets), in which members are content contributors as well as users, have had a significant impact on the sharing economy and on society via the sharing and reuse of contents. In a UGCSNet, managing for growth requires a quantitative grasp of how individual members’ participation and sharing affect and are affected by the membership and content volume; these interactions form a dynamic loop. In this paper, a quantitative modeling approach for the loop dynamics of UGCSNet growth is developed by exploiting limited empirical data. A teaching material sharing network serves as a baseline case study, and Wikipedia serves as a validation case for the modeling approach design. The novel modeling approach consists of 1) set of generalized bass diffusion model-embedded stochastic difference equations (GBDSDEs) of the loop dynamics and 2) a quasi-bootstrap-based nonlinear least square method to extract from the limited empirical data and periodically update the model parameters as the UGCSNet evolves. In GBDSDEs, two difference equations describe the number of members and content volume evolution. The stochastic drives consist of measures of individual participation and content uploading. The drive models are an innovative generalization of the bass diffusion model as probabilistic models of known qualitative descriptions regarding how the individual willingness to participate and share is affected by the total membership and content volume. Analyses of the coefficients of determination show good fits between model predictions and actual outcomes for both Smart Creative Teachers Net and Wikipedia growths. Applications of the modeling approach to what-if analyses demonstrate its value to predict and assess the effects of specific managerial strategies—such as the initial content volume and the number of founding altruistic members—on the growth of a UGCSNet.
Gender-based education during clerkships: a focus group study

Objectives One of the goals of the medical master’s degree is for a student to become a gender-sensitive doctor by applying knowledge of gender differences in practice. This study aims to investigate, from the students’ perspective, whether gender medicine has been taught in daily practice during clerkship. Methods A focus group study was conducted among 29 medical students from Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, who had just finished either their internal medicine or surgical clerkships. Data were analyzed in line with the principles of constant comparative analysis. Results Four focus groups were conducted with 29 participating students. Clinical teachers barely discuss gender differences during students’ clerkships. The students mentioned three main explanatory themes: insufficient knowledge; unawareness; and minor impact. As a result, students feel that they have insufficient competencies to become gender-sensitive doctors. Conclusion Medical students at our institution perceive that they have received limited exposure to gender-based education after completing two key clinical clerkships. All students feel that they have insufficient knowledge to become gender-sensitive doctors. They suppose that their clinical teachers have insufficient knowledge regarding gender sensitivity, are unaware of gender differences, and the students had the impression that gender is not regarded as an important issue. We suggest that the medical faculty should encourage clinical teachers to improve their knowledge and awareness of gender issues.
Efficacy of Imatinib in Patients with Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Receptor Alpha–Mutated Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Purpose The incidence of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) harboring platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRA) mutations is low, therefore further investigation of the efficacy of imatinib in this subgroup was needed. Materials and Methods Patients with PDGFRA-mutant GISTs who received imatinib as primary therapy for advanced disease between January 2000 and June 2012 were identified from the GIST registry of Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. Results KIT and PDGFRA genotyping in 823 patients identified 18 patients (2%) with PDGFRA mutations who were treated with first-line imatinib. Exon 18 D842V substitution, non-D842V exon 18 mutations, and exon 12 mutations were detected in nine (50%), four (22%), and five (28%) patients, respectively. Objective response rate differed significantly between patients with the D842V mutation and those with non-D842V mutations (0% [0/5] vs. 71% [5/7], p=0.03). In all patients, median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was 24.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.0 to 57.2) and 51.2 months (95% CI, 37.1 to 65.3), respectively. Significantly, poorer PFS was observed for patients with D842V-mutant GISTs than those with non-D842V PDGFRA-mutant GISTs: median 3.8 months (95% CI, 1.4 to 6.3) versus 29.5 months (95% CI, 18.3 to 40.7) (p < 0.001). Patients with the D842V mutation had poorer OS than those with non-D842V PDGFRA mutations: median 25.2 months (95% CI, 12.7 to 37.8) versus 59.8 months (95% CI, 43.0 to 76.5) (p=0.02). Conclusion Imatinib is active against non-D842V PDGFRA-mutant GISTs, whereas GISTs harboring the D842V mutation are primarily resistant to imatinib.
History of CRISPR-Cas from Encounter with a Mysterious Repeated Sequence to Genome Editing Technology

ABSTRACT Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-Cas systems are well-known acquired immunity systems that are widespread in archaea and bacteria. The RNA-guided nucleases from CRISPR-Cas systems are currently regarded as the most reliable tools for genome editing and engineering. The first hint of their existence came in 1987, when an unusual repetitive DNA sequence, which subsequently was defined as a CRISPR, was discovered in the Escherichia coli genome during an analysis of genes involved in phosphate metabolism. Similar sequence patterns were then reported in a range of other bacteria as well as in halophilic archaea, suggesting an important role for such evolutionarily conserved clusters of repeated sequences. A critical step toward functional characterization of the CRISPR-Cas systems was the recognition of a link between CRISPRs and the associated Cas proteins, which were initially hypothesized to be involved in DNA repair in hyperthermophilic archaea. Comparative genomics, structural biology, and advanced biochemistry could then work hand in hand, not only culminating in the explosion of genome editing tools based on CRISPR-Cas9 and other class II CRISPR-Cas systems but also providing insights into the origin and evolution of this system from mobile genetic elements denoted casposons. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the discovery of CRISPR, this minireview briefly discusses the fascinating history of CRISPR-Cas systems, from the original observation of an enigmatic sequence in E. coli to genome editing in humans.
A Glance through the VPN Looking Glass: IPv6 Leakage and DNS Hijacking in Commercial VPN clients

Abstract Commercial Virtual Private Network (VPN) services have become a popular and convenient technology for users seeking privacy and anonymity. They have been applied to a wide range of use cases, with commercial providers often making bold claims regarding their ability to fulfil each of these needs, e.g., censorship circumvention, anonymity and protection from monitoring and tracking. However, as of yet, the claims made by these providers have not received a sufficiently detailed scrutiny. This paper thus investigates the claims of privacy and anonymity in commercial VPN services. We analyse 14 of the most popular ones, inspecting their internals and their infrastructures. Despite being a known issue, our experimental study reveals that the majority of VPN services suffer from IPv6 traffic leakage. The work is extended by developing more sophisticated DNS hijacking attacks that allow all traffic to be transparently captured.We conclude discussing a range of best practices and countermeasures that can address these vulnerabilities
Big data, smart cities and city planning

I define big data with respect to its size but pay particular attention to the fact that the data I am referring to is urban data, that is, data for cities that are invariably tagged to space and time. I argue that this sort of data are largely being streamed from sensors, and this represents a sea change in the kinds of data that we have about what happens where and when in cities. I describe how the growth of big data is shifting the emphasis from longer term strategic planning to short-term thinking about how cities function and can be managed, although with the possibility that over much longer periods of time, this kind of big data will become a source for information about every time horizon. By way of conclusion, I illustrate the need for new theory and analysis with respect to 6 months of smart travel card data of individual trips on Greater London’s public transport systems.
The East Greenland Current and its impacts on the Nordic Seas: observed trends in the past decade

For the past 30 years, it has been known that dense waters are created in the Arctic Ocean. However, before the late 1980s, observations indicated that Arctic Ocean deep waters only modified the deep water in the Greenland Sea, which was still thought of as the major source of dense water. In the mid-1990s, this picture began to fade. The deep convection in the Greenland Sea weakened and only Arctic Intermediate Water was formed. A deep salinity maximum was reinforced and a temperature maximum emerged at middepth. The densities of the salinity and temperature maxima were those of the deep waters in the Arctic Ocean, and one possibility was that waters below the convection were ventilated by Arctic Ocean deep waters from the East Greenland Current. Between 1998 and 2010, the salinity and temperature of the deep water in the Greenland Sea increased, implying continuous input from the East Greenland Current. Water from the Greenland Sea advected to Fram Strait now has almost Arctic Ocean characteristics and cannot significantly change the outflowing Arctic Ocean waters by mixing in the East Greenland Current, leading to a more-rapid transformation of the deep Greenland Sea water column.
Racial Beliefs, Location, and the Causes of Crime

The aim of this paper is to show that both location and stereotypical racial beliefs matter for explaining the high criminality rate among blacks in cities. In our model, blacks and whites are identical in all respects. However, if, for not economic but extrinsic reasons, everybody (including blacks) believes that more blacks become criminals than whites, then we show that more blacks (for rational reasons) become criminals than whites, earn lower wages and reside in ghettos located far away from legal activities. There is a vicious circle in which blacks cannot escape because both location and labour market outcomes reinforce each other to imply high crime rates among blacks living in cities. This is referred to as the discriminating equilibrium. If there are no such beliefs in the economy, then another equilibrium emerges in which blacks and whites experience the same labour market and crime outcomes and live together. This is referred to as the non-discriminating equilibrium. The key feature of this belief-based model is that multiple equilibria are sustainable only because of space. Indeed, since location is endogeneous, workers who are believed to be criminals have less incentives to locate close to jobs. Since workers that are located further away from jobs have a lower net wage, their risk of capture is lower and hence the incidence of crime is greater. Consequently, if there were no spatial dimension in this economy so that all workers were residing in the same location, multiple equilibria would not emerge and the only sustainable equilibrium would be the non-discriminating one, even if all agents believe that more blacks are criminals than whites. In other words, beliefs alone cannot generate the discriminating equilibrium; it is the presence of both 'negative' beliefs and 'bad' locations that allow the discriminating equilibrium to exist. It is thus our contention that location and beliefs play a major role in explaining the high criminality rate among blacks.
A hierarchy of settlement cues influences larval behaviour in a coral reef sponge

For sessile marine invertebrates, processes contributing to larval release, dispersal, and settlement in favourable habitats are central to patterns of distribution and community structure. We quantified larval release patterns, phototactic behaviour, and settlement in response to environmen- tal cues for the coral reef sponge Luffariella variabilis. Individual sponges released up to 830 larvae d -1 . Larvae displayed phototactic behaviours by swimming upwards after release for brief periods (40 min), after which time most larvae (>95%) exhibited negative phototaxis. Light played a role in determining numbers and rates of larval settlement. Light levels of 56 µmol s -1 m -2 reduced the rate of settlement and inhibited larval settlement by 60% compared to dark controls. However, at lower light levels (0.7 to 0.34 µmol s -1 m -2 ), both time to settlement and numbers of larvae settling were con- sistent with settlement in dark controls. Larval settlement increased in the presence of other larvae, with >95% of larvae settling when placed in treatments with 50 individuals, compared to 50% settlement for treatments containing only 1 individual. The gregarious settlement of L. variabilis lar- vae was associated with conspecific larval settlement cues. Settlement in 'conditioned' water from which 200 larvae had previously settled and subsequently been removed was 80%, compared to 20% in controls. Our study unequivocally demonstrates that a conspecific cue not related to adults or other biotic or abiotic factors induces settlement in larvae. Our observations, the preference of larvae to settle in response to low light levels and of settlement increased by gregariousness, correspond with the cryptic and clumped distribution of L. variabilis in the field.
Towards the Development of a Low-Cost Device for the Detection of Explosives Vapors by Fluorescence Quenching of Conjugated Polymers in Solid Matrices

Conjugated polymers (CPs) have proved to be promising chemosensory materials for detecting nitroaromatic explosives vapors, as they quickly convert a chemical interaction into an easily-measured high-sensitivity optical output. The nitroaromatic analytes are strongly electron-deficient, whereas the conjugated polymer sensing materials are electron-rich. As a result, the photoexcitation of the CP is followed by electron transfer to the nitroaromatic analyte, resulting in a quenching of the light-emission from the conjugated polymer. The best CP in our studies was found to be poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-bithiophene] (F8T2). It is photostable, has a good absorption between 400 and 450 nm, and a strong and structured fluorescence around 550 nm. Our studies indicate up to 96% quenching of light-emission, accompanied by a marked decrease in the fluorescence lifetime, upon exposure of the films of F8T2 in ethyl cellulose to nitrobenzene (NB) and 1,3-dinitrobenzene (DNB) vapors at room temperature. The effects of the polymeric matrix, plasticizer, and temperature have been studied, and the morphology of films determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal fluorescence microscopy. We have used ink jet printing to produce sensor films containing both sensor element and a fluorescence reference. In addition, a high dynamic range, intensity-based fluorometer, using a laser diode and a filtered photodiode was developed for use with this system.
Mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 and 2 in human temporal lobe epilepsy

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a chronic epilepsy syndrome defined by seizures and progressive neurological disabilities, including cognitive impairments, anxiety, and depression. Here, human TLE specimens were investigated focusing on the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex 1 (mTORC1) and complex 2 (mTORC2) activities in the brain, given that both pathways may represent unique targets for treatment.
Cytokine- and TCR-Mediated Regulation of T Cell Expression of Ly6C and Sca-1

Ly6C and Sca-1 (Ly6A/E) are Ly6 family GPI-anchored surface molecules that are differentially expressed by multiple immune populations. Ly6C expression has been used to distinguish short-lived effector CD4+ T cells from memory precursor effector cells, whereas Sca-1 has been used in the identification of CD8+ memory stem cells. This study examines the expression patterns of these molecules and establishes that, in vitro, IL-27, type I IFN, and IFN-γ are potent inducers of Ly6C and Sca-1 in naive mouse CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, whereas TGF-β limits their expression. The induction of Ly6C and Sca-1 by IL-27 and IFN-γ is dependent on STAT1, but not STAT3 or T-bet. In mouse splenocytes, at homeostasis, Ly6C and Sca-1 expression was not restricted to effector cells, but was also found at various levels on naive and memory populations. However, in response to infection with Toxoplasma gondii, pathogen-specific T cells expressed high levels of these molecules and in this context, endogenous IL-27 and IFN-γ were required for the expression of Ly6C but not Sca-1. Together, these findings highlight the TCR-dependent and cytokine-mediated signals that modulate T cell expression of Ly6C and Sca-1 in vitro and in vivo during infection.
Using Modeling Tools to Better Understand Permafrost Hydrology

Modification of the hydrological cycle and, subsequently, of other global cycles is expected in Arctic watersheds owing to global change. Future climate scenarios imply widespread permafrost degradation caused by an increase in air temperature, and the expected effect on permafrost hydrology is immense. This study aims at analyzing, and quantifying the daily water transfer in the largest Arctic river system, the Yenisei River in central Siberia, Russia, partially underlain by permafrost. The semi-distributed SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) hydrological model has been calibrated and validated at a daily time step in historical discharge simulations for the 2003–2014 period. The model parameters have been adjusted to embrace the hydrological features of permafrost. SWAT is shown capable to estimate water fluxes at a daily time step, especially during unfrozen periods, once are considered specific climatic and soils conditions adapted to a permafrost watershed. The model simulates average annual contribution to runoff of 263 millimeters per year (mm yr−1) distributed as 152 mm yr−1 (58%) of surface runoff, 103 mm yr−1 (39%) of lateral flow and 8 mm yr−1 (3%) of return flow from the aquifer. These results are integrated on a reduced basin area downstream from large dams and are closer to observations than previous modeling exercises.
Allocation Policies of Redundancies in Two-Parallel-Series and Two-Series-Parallel Systems

In this paper, comparisons of allocation policies of components in two-parallel-series systems with two types of components are provided with respect to both hazard rate and reversed hazard rate orders. The main results indicate that the lifetime of these kinds of system is stochastically maximized by unbalancing the two classes of components as much as possible. We only assume that the two distributions implied in the model have proportional hazard rates. The same type of comparisons are also given for the dual model, the two-series-parallel systems, but assuming that the distributions implied in the model have proportional reversed hazard rates, and therefore the final conclusion is the opposite; that is, the reliability of the system improves as the similarity between the two parallel subsystems increases.