Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advances in metals classification under the united nations globally harmonized system of classification and labeling

This article shows how regulatory obligations mandated for metal substances can be met with a laboratory‐based transformation/dissolution (T/D) method for deriving relevant hazard classification outcomes, which can then be linked to attendant environmental protection management decisions. We report the results of a ring‐test at 3 laboratories conducted to determine the interlaboratory precision of the United Nations T/D Protocol (T/DP) in generating data for classifying 4 metal‐bearing substances for acute and chronic toxicity under the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling (GHS) criteria with respect to the aquatic environment. The test substances were Ni metal powder, cuprous oxide (Cu2O) powder, tricobalt tetroxide (Co3O4) powder, and cuttings of a NILO K Ni–Co–Fe alloy. Following GHS Annex 10 guidelines, we tested 3 loadings (1, 10, and 100 mg/L) of each substance at pH 6 and 8 for 7 or 28 d to yield T/D data for acute and chronic classification, respectively. We compared the T/DP results (dissolved metal in aqueous media) against acute and chronic ecotoxicity reference values (ERVs) for each substance to assess GHS classification outcomes. For dissolved metal ions, the respective acute and chronic ERVs established at the time of the T/D testing were: 29 and 8 µg/L for Cu; 185 and 1.5 µg/L for Co; and 13.3 and 1.0 mg/L for Fe. The acute ERVs for Ni were pH‐dependent: 120 and 68 µg/L at pH 6 and 8, respectively, whereas the chronic ERV for Ni was 2.4 µg/L. The acute classification outcomes were consistent among 3 laboratories: cuprous oxide, Acute 1; Ni metal powder, Acute 3; Co3O4 and the NILO K alloy, no classification. We obtained similar consistent results in chronic classifications: Cu2O, Ni metal powder, and Co3O4, Chronic 4; and the NILO K alloy, no classification. However, we observed equivocal results only in 2 of a possible 48 cases where the coefficient of variation of final T/D concentrations masked clear comparisons with ERVs. Results support the validity and interlaboratory precision of the United Nations T/DP in establishing GHS classification outcomes for metals and metal compounds and support its use in regulatory hazard‐based systems. Drawing on T/D data derived from laboratory testing of the metal‐bearing substance itself, the T/D approach can be applied to establish scientifically defensible decisions on hazard classification proposals. The resulting decisions can then be incorporated into environmental management measures in such jurisdictions as the European Union. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2011;7:559–576. © 2011 SETAC
A Language-Independent Framework for Software Miniaturization

One of the undesired effects of software evolution is the proliferation of unused components, or components unlikely to be used by a given subset of the applications. As a consequence, the size of binaries and libraries tends to grow. One of the major trends of today’s software market is the porting of applications on hand-held devices or, in general, on devices having a limited amount of resources available. Several forms of refactoring and, in particular, the miniaturization of libraries and applications, are therefore necessary. We propose a framework and a toolkit covering several aspects of software miniaturization, such as removing unused objects and code clones, as well as creating small, cohese libraries refactoring the existing ones. The last step has been implemented using a hybrid approach based on hierarchical clustering, genetic algorithms and hill climbing, also incorporating the developer’s knowledge. Most of the framework activities are language independent (relying on object module analysis) thus they do not require any kind of source code parsing and are applicable to software systems developed with 1 DR AF T different programming languages. The proposed framework has been applied to GRASS, an over 1 million LOCs open source Geographical Information System, reducing of 50% the average number of objects linked by each application, and thus application’s memory requirements.
Profit-maximizing incentive for participatory sensing

We design an incentive mechanism based on all-pay auctions for participatory sensing. The organizer (principal) aims to attract a high amount of contribution from participating users (agents) while at the same time lowering his payout, which we formulate as a profit-maximization problem. We use a contribution-dependent prize function in an environment that is specifically tailored to participatory sensing, namely incomplete information (with information asymmetry), risk-averse agents, and stochastic population. We derive the optimal prize function that induces the maximum profit for the principal, while satisfying strict individual rationality (i.e., strictly have incentive to participate at equilibrium) for both risk-neutral and weakly risk-averse agents. The thus induced profit is demonstrated to be higher than the maximum profit induced by constant (yet optimized) prize. We also show that our results are readily extensible to cases of risk-neutral agents and deterministic populations.
Investigation of the construct validity of a self-report measure of goal commitment

The purpose of this research was to develop an etficient, construct-valid measure of goal commitment. Drawing from a set of 9 unidimensional items, a 4-item unidimensional scale was developed that exhibited a . 71 internal consistency estimate of reliability. This scale showed statistically significant relationships with 3 alternative measures of the same construct: force to attain the goal, self-set goal-assigned-goal discrepancy, and actual goal change. With respect to other constructs in the goal commitment nomological net, the results indicated that the scale was consistently related to performance. Moreover, the pattern of the results with expected antecedents such as goal publicness, monetary incentives, need for achievement, locus of control, and task involvement were statistically significant and in the predicted direction. The major finding emanating from goal-setting research is that difficult goals lead to higher levels of performance than do easy or vague goals (Locke, Shaw, Saari, & Latham, 1981). This finding is predicated on the assumption, however, that there is commitment to those difficult goals. Locke's emphasis on the critical role played by goal commitment has not diminished
Mitochondrial population of mammalian cells. II. Variation in the mitochondrial population of the average rat liver cell during regeneration; use of the mitochondrion as a unit of measurement.

1. The mitochondrial population of the average rat liver cell during regeneration was investigated by counting the mitochondria isolated from liver homogenates prepared in 0.25 m sucrose. 2. The population seemed to decrease in the average cell when the liver was in the process of stimulated growth after partial hepatectomy. 3. Possible chemical and physical changes in the average mitochondrion during regeneration of the liver have been discussed. 4. The mitochondrion as a unit for measurement of chemical constituents present in the mitochondrial fraction has been proposed as a more appropriate basis than other methods of expression.
Tongue Movements and Their Acoustic Consequences in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Objective: The relations between acoustic measures and their articulatory bases have rarely been tested in dysarthria but are important for diagnostic and treatment purposes. We tested the association between acoustic measures of F2 range and F2 slope with kinematic measures of tongue movement displacement and speed in individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and healthy controls speaking at normal and slow rates. Relations between acoustic and kinematic measures and speech intelligibility were examined. Results: As healthy controls reduced their speaking rate, their F2 slopes and movement speeds decreased. In talkers with ALS, acoustic and kinematic variables were associated with changes in speaking rate, characteristic of disease progression. Participants with slow rate had shallower F2 slopes and slower movement speeds than those with normal rate. Relations between F2 range and tongue displacement were weaker. F2 slope, displacement, and duration were correlated with speech intelligibility most consistently. Conclusion: Findings suggested that F2 slope is a useful marker for tracking disease progression in ALS. F2 slope reflects changes in tongue function with disease progression and is linked to speech intelligibility. Changes in movement speed, however, might be the earliest sign of disease in the tongue.
Intergenerational Congruency

The role of parents in transmitting political values to their children is investigated. A survey of parents and their children from two western Canadian urban centers was undertaken. Using a path analysis technique, the authors analyze the multiple roles parents play in transmitting political values and attitudes to their children. Both internal and external components of the family were analyzed with regard to their impact upon parent-child attitudinal similarity. The results show that parents' gender, political activity of the parents, socioeconomic status, and the type of family have an impact on the degree of parent-child political value similarity.
Endothelin-1 Regulates Astrocyte Proliferation and Reactive Gliosis via a JNK/c-Jun Signaling Pathway

Reactive gliosis is characterized by enhanced glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression, cellular hypertrophy, and astrocyte proliferation. The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this process are still largely undefined. We investigated the role of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in reactive gliosis in corpus callosum after lysolecithin (LPC)-induced focal demyelination and in cultured astrocytes. We show that ET-1 levels are upregulated in demyelinated lesions within 5 d after LPC injection, together with enhanced astrocyte proliferation, GFAP expression, and JNK phosphorylation. Infusion of the pan-ET-receptor (ET-R) antagonist Bosentan or the selective ETB-R antagonist BQ788 into the corpus callosum prevented postlesion astrocyte proliferation and JNK phosphorylation. In cultured astrocytes, ET-1-induced activation of ETB-Rs promotes a reactive phenotype by enhancing both GFAP expression and astrocyte proliferation. In the same cells, ET-1 activates both JNK and p38MAPK pathways, and induces c-Jun expression at the mRNA and protein levels. By using selective pharmacological inhibitors, we also provide evidence that ET-1 induces astrocyte proliferation and GFAP expression through activation of ERK- and JNK-dependent pathways, consistent with the previous observation of ET-1-induced activation of ERK (Schinelli et al., 2001). Finally, we show by gain and loss of function that increased c-Jun expression enhances the proliferative response of astrocytes to ET-1, whereas c-jun siRNA prevents ET-1-induced cell proliferation. Our results indicate that the effects of ET-1 on astrocyte proliferation depend on c-Jun induction and activation through ERK- and JNK-dependent pathways, and suggest that ET-R-associated pathways might represent important targets to control reactive gliosis.
Quick, Simple and Reliable: Forced Binary Survey Questions

Consumers are increasingly saturated by market research, which leads to decreasing response rates and an increased danger of response bias. Market researchers thus face the challenge of recruiting respondents, increasing response rates and reducing respondent fatigue by making questionnaires as short and pleasant as possible. One way of achieving this is to replace traditionally used ordinal multi-category answer formats (such as Likert-type scales) with forced binary scales. This proposition is attractive only if it indeed shortens the survey time while not compromising the quality of managerial insights from the data. This study investigates these conditions. Results from a repeat-measurement design indicate that managerial interpretations do not differ substantially between the two answer formats, responses are equally reliable, and that the binary format is quicker and perceived as less complex.
Does Internalizing Society and Media Messages Cause Body Dissatisfaction, in Turn Causing Disordered Eating?

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive influence that internalization of society and media messages has on body dissatisfaction, as well as the prediction influence that body dissatisfaction has on disordered eating behaviors, such as preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint. A total of 324 participants completed the demographic questionnaire, the Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire (Cash, 2001), the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (Heinberg, Thompson, & Stormer, 1995) for women, and the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-Revised-Male-Version (Cusumano & Thompson, 1997) for men, and the locus of control (Rotter, 1966). The results of this study found that high internalization leads to body dissatisfaction, in turn, leading to disordered eating behaviors, such as preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint. This study proposes the implementation of media literacy and education programs that teach college women and men, girls and boys, to think more critically about the media.
Early childhood adversity and later hypertension: data from the World Mental Health Survey.

BACKGROUND Although many studies have indicated that psychosocial factors contribute to hypertension, and that early childhood adversity is associated with long-term adverse mental and physical health sequelae, the association between early adversity and later hypertension is not well studied. METHOD Data from 10 countries participating in the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WHM) Surveys (N = 18,630) were analyzed to assess the relationship between childhood adversity and adult-onset hypertension, as ascertained by self-report. The potentially mediating effect of early-onset depression-anxiety disorders, as assessed by the WHM Survey version of the International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI), on the relationship between early adversity and hypertension was also examined. RESULTS Two or more early childhood adversities, as well as early-onset depression-anxiety, were significantly associated with hypertension. A range of specific childhood adversities, as well as early-onset social phobia and panic/agoraphobia, were significantly associated with hypertension. In multivariate analyses, the presence of 3 or more childhood adversities was associated with hypertension, even when early-onset depression-anxiety or current depression-anxiety was included in the model. CONCLUSIONS Although caution is required in the interpretation of self-report data on adult-onset hypertension, the results of this study further strengthen the evidence base regarding the role of psychosocial factors in the pathogenesis of hypertension.
Perception of control during episodes of eating: relationships with quality of life and eating psychopathology.

OBJECTIVE Experience of loss of control (LOC) during eating is an important indicator of pathology, although this concept has not received a great deal of research attention. The present study explores how quality of life (QoL) is related to LOC during eating. METHOD Three hundred and thirty-nine female university students completed measures of eating pathology, general psychiatric symptomatology, and QoL. They were subsequently categorized according to the degree of LOC experienced during eating into one of five groups: no binge eating (NBE); objective overeating (OOE); objective binge eating (OBE); subjective binge eating (SBE); and a mixed OBE/SBE group (Mixed). RESULTS Individuals who experienced LOC during eating reported significantly poorer QoL and more psychiatric symptoms. DISCUSSION In a nonclinical female sample, LOC during eating appeared to be a more important marker of pathology and poorer self-reported QoL than the amount of food eaten.
Electromyographic Assessment of Functional Symmetry of Paraspinal Muscles during Static Exercises in Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis

Background. The question of how to correct and rehabilitate scoliosis remains one of the most difficult problems of orthopaedics. Controversies continue to arise regarding various types of both symmetric and asymmetric scoliosis-specific therapeutic exercises. Objective. The aim of the present paper was to conduct an electromyographic assessment of functional symmetry of paraspinal muscles during symmetric and asymmetric exercises in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis. Materials and Methods. The study was conducted in a group of 82 girls, mean age 12.4 ± 2.3 years with single- or double-major-idiopathic scoliosis, Cobb angle 24 ± 9.4°. The functional biopotentials during isometric work of paraspinal muscles in “at rest” position and during two symmetric and four asymmetric exercises were measured with the use of the Muscle Tester ME 6000 electromyograph. Results. In general, asymmetric exercises were characterised by larger differences in bioelectrical activity of paraspinal muscles, in comparison with symmetric exercises, both in the groups of patients with single-curve and double-curve scoliosis. Conclusion. During symmetric and asymmetric exercises, muscle tension patterns differed significantly in both groups, in comparison with the examination at rest, in most cases generating positive corrective patterns. Asymmetric exercises generated divergent muscle tension patterns on the convex and concave sides of the deformity.
Rain and the Democratic Window of Opportunity

Segun las nuevas teorias economicas sobre las transiciones politicas, shocks economicos negativos pueden ser una oportunidad para el cambio democratico. Para verificar estas teorias examinamos si cambios democraticos en Africa Subsahariana han sido mas probables despues de recesiones debidas a sequias. Nuestras estimaciones indican que una bajada del PIB del 1 por ciento aumenta la probabilidad de una transicion democratica en unos 1,3 puntos porcentuales.
Violent Offenders on Probation

Using data from a sample of discharged adult probationers, the authors compared the probationers' profiles, sentencing conditions, and outcomes for offenders convicted of domestic violence and other violent crimes. Analyses revealed a number of differences between the two groups, particularly regarding prior substance abuse histories, the length and conditions of probation sentences, and the degree to which probationers committed new offenses against their original victims. Regarding traditional measures of probation outcomes, such as rearrests, technical violations, and probation revocations, there were no differences that could be attributed to the conviction offense. The findings have implications for future research on how domestic violence offenders are handled in probation as well as policy, from the standpoint that domestic violence offenders tend to receive relatively short periods of probation supervision and, despite treatment being frequently ordered, they are more likely to revictimize the same individuals even while under correctional supervision.
Incidence of asthma and net change in symptoms in relation to changes in obesity

The incidence of asthma has been reported to be associated with obesity. An alternative analysis, of net change in prevalence, does not require exclusion of those with asthma at baseline. Follow-up data were obtained from 9,552 participants in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey and the Swiss cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Disease in Adults. Incidence of asthma was analysed by proportional hazards regression, and net changes in symptoms and asthma status by generalised estimating equations, by obesity group. Incidence and net change in ever having had asthma were greater in females than in males, and in participants who remained obese compared with those who were never obese (hazard ratio 2.00, 95% confidence interval 1.25–3.20; excess net change 2.8%, 0.4–5.3% per 10 yrs). The effect of being obese on net change in diagnosed asthma was greater in females than in males, but for net change in wheeze without a cold it was greater in males. The present results are consistent with asthma being more frequently diagnosed in females, especially obese females. These findings may help to explain the reports of a stronger association between asthma and obesity in females than in males.
The Effectiveness of Mental Practice in Improving the Performance of College Trombonists

This study examined the relative effectiveness of mental practice in improving trombone performance. The experiment involved 30 trombonists from three colleges. They were randomly assigned to one of five experimental practice conditions: (1) all physical practice, (2) all mental practice, (3) a combination of physical and mental practice, (4) mental practice with simulated slide movement, and (5) no practice (control). A short étude served as both a pre- and posttest. A one-way analysis of covariance and subsequent Scheffé's Test found three pairs of groups significantly different from each other: (1) combined practice and no practice, (2) combined practice and mental practice, and (3) physical practice and no practice. The results of the study suggest that the use of mental with physical practice can accrue many benefits for the skilled trombonist.
Porting the JMTk memory management toolkit

JMTk is a memory management toolkit written in Java, originally for the JikesRVM Java Virtual Machine. JMTk provides reusable components for the development of allocation and garbage collection algorithms, an efficient implementation of a rapidly growing number of memory management schemes, and is an important enabler for memory management research. A portable version of JMTk will allow the growing body of memory management research done using it to be repeated in different language environments, and to study the different performance characteristics of algorithms across programming languages without the variation in implementation technique that clouds such issues today. This paper describes the process of porting JMTk for use in C/C++ based language runtimes. The portable system uses the gcj ahead-of-time Java compiler and a source transformation technique to produce a version of JMTk that can perform memory management for traditionally compiled systems. It is currently running in a testbed environment, where it provides a comparison between accurate and conservative garbage collection techniques. Incorporation into a Haskell and C# language runtime are in progress. The source transformation tool is currently in use by a team of researchers integrating JMTk into the OVM Java Virtual Machine. This paper describes the architecture and construction of the ported system, the source code transformation process used, and provides the performance results obtained so far.