Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MBNL1–RNA Recognition: Contributions of MBNL1 Sequence and RNA Conformation

Muscleblind‐like proteins (MBNL) are RNA‐binding proteins that bind to the poly(CUG) and poly(CCUG) sequences that are the causative agents of myotonic dystrophy. It has been suggested that as a result of binding to the repeating RNA sequences, MBNL1 is abnormally expressed and translocated, which leads to many of the misregulated events in myotonic dystrophy. In this work, steady‐state fluorescence quenching experiments suggest that MBNL1 alters the structure of helical RNA targets upon binding, which may explain the selectivity of MBNL1 for less structured RNA sites. The removal of one pair of zinc fingers greatly impairs the binding affinity of MBNL1, which indicates that the two pairs of zinc fingers might possibly interact with RNA targets cooperatively. Alanine scanning mutagenesis results suggest that the binding energy may be distributed across the protein. Overall, the results presented here suggest that small molecules that stabilize the helical structure of poly(CUG) and poly(CCUG) RNAs will inhibit the formation of complexes with MBNL1.
The Effect of Preexisting and Manipulated Self-efficacy on a Competitive Muscular Endurance Task

This investigation was designed to determine the effects of preexisting and manipulated self-efficacy on competitive motor performance. Male (n = 46) and female (n = 46) subjects were classified as being high or low in preexisting self-efficacy before the experiment began and were randomly assigned to either a high- or low-manipulated self-efficacy condition in a 2 × 2 × 2 (sex by self-efficacy by manipulated efficacy) design. Efficacy was manipulated by having subjects compete against a confederate on a muscular leg-endurance task where the confederate was said to be either a varsity track athlete (low-manipulated self-efficacy) or an individual who had had knee surgery (high-manipulated self-efficacy). To create aversive consequences, the experiment was rigged so that subjects lost in competition on the two muscular leg endurance task trials they performed. Both preexisting and manipulated self-efficacy were found to significantly influence performance, with preexisting self-efficacy influencing perform.
Pressure Ulcers in the Intensive Care Unit: An Analysis of Skin Barrier Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to determine whether skin barrier factors were associated with the common complication of pressure ulcers (PrUs) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. It is unclear whether skin barrier factors influence the development of PrUs. PATIENT POPULATION:The sample was composed of 102 ICU patients (54 men, 48 women). The patients ranged in age from 23 to 88 years, with a mean age of 55.7 (SD, 19.1) years. METHODS:Demographic variables and the score for the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation IV were recorded on admission. The Braden Scale assessment and measurements of the skin barrier factors were performed daily. Standard care for the prevention of PrUs was strictly administered, and PrUs that developed were evaluated according to the recommendations of the US National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel 2007 (Note: The authors used the 2007 recommendations at the time of their study.). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. RESULTS:The mean score for the Braden Scale was 11.2, and the incidence of PrUs was 31.4%. Lower moisture content of the stratum corneum and higher skin surface pH at the lower sacrum and hip were risk factors for PrUs, whereas scapular and heel skin barrier factors were not. CONCLUSION:Nursing strategies aimed at preventing PrUs should place added emphasis on the lower sacral and hip regions.
Combined exposure to cyanobacteria and carbaryl results in antagonistic effects on the reproduction of daphnia pulex

In aquatic ecosystems, Daphnia are exposed to a wide variety of natural and chemical stressors that can cause interactive effects resulting in an increased impact on aquatic ecosystems. The authors therefore investigated the interactive effects of harmful cyanobacteria (cyanoHABs) with carbaryl in Daphnia pulex, because cyanobacteria have become an important concern for aquatic ecosystems. Daphnia were exposed for 21 d to 4 selected cyanobacteria (Aphanizomenon sp., Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Microcystis aeruginosa, and Oscillatoria sp), carbaryl, and all binary combinations of carbaryl and each individual cyanobacterium. Results were analyzed with both the independent action and the concentration addition model. The estimated median effect concentration (EC50) for carbaryl was comparable between the experiments, ranging from 2.28 µg/L to 5.94 µg/L. The EC50 for cyanobacteria ranged from 13.45% of the total diet ratio for Microcystis to 66.69% of the diet ratio for Oscillatoria. In combination with carbaryl, the response of Daphnia to 3 of the 4 cyanobacteria demonstrated antagonistic deviation patterns (p < 0.05). Exposure to combinations of carbaryl and Cylindrospermopsis did not result in statistically significant deviations from both reference models. The results may have important implications for pesticide risk assessment, underlining the impact of interactive effects on aquatic organisms. Based on these results, the authors suggest that both the independent action and the concentration addition model can serve as a protective approach in risk assessment of carbaryl in the presence of cyanobacterial blooms. Environ Toxicol Chem 2013;32:2153–2158. © 2013 SETAC
Task, Domain, and General Efficacy: A Reexamination of the Self-Efficacy Scale

Self-efficacy is typically viewed as task-specific. Bandura also discussed the concept at a “domain-linked” level and general level. Sherer and his colleagues developed the Self-efficacy Scale to measure general self-efficacy expectancies in education/vocation and social areas. A reexamination of the Self-efficacy Scale indicated that the scale was more intricate than originally reported. It captured aspects of strength, magnitude, and generality of efficacy. The scale showed appropriate relationships to other personality measures. Criterion validity was established as the scale differentiated performance expectations. Evidence for the concept of domain efficacy was reported. The Self-efficacy Scale was a good measure for domain efficacy in the academic area; the scale has not yet been verified as a general efficacy scale. Research should be directed toward exploring the role of the total concept of efficacy in the cognitive process.
Trait Emotional Intelligence and Academic Performance: Controlling for the Effects of IQ, Personality, and Self-Concept

This article analyses the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and academic performance, controlling for the effects of IQ, personality, and self-concept dimensions. A sample of 290 preadolescents (11-12 years old) took part in the study. The instruments used were (a) Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire—Adolescents Short Form (TEIQue-ASF); (b) Children’s Personality Questionnaire (CPQ; Form A, Part A); (c) IQ test TIDI-2; (d) Adaptation Questionnaire (CAI-1); and (e) academic performance. A positive and significant correlation coefficient between trait EI measured by the TEIQue-ASF and general academic performance was found. The TEIQue-ASF showed incremental validity to predict general academic performance, after controlling for intelligence, personality, and self-concept characteristics.
The potential for motivational interviewing to improve outcomes in the management of diabetes and obesity in paediatric and adult populations: a clinical review

Having good intentions to engage in healthy behaviours, to change our lives in a positive direction and make substantial, lasting changes may not always translate into actions or behaviour that is maintained. Motivational Interviewing is a directive person‐centred approach designed to explore ambivalence and activate motivation for change [Miller WR, Rollnick S. Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People to Change Addictive Behaviour. London: Guilford Press, 1991]. A key component of a motivational interviewing conversation is to acknowledge that clients have every right to make no change. It uses a guiding communication style which invites people to consider their own situation and find their own solutions to situations that they identify as problematic that are preventing change. Motivational Interviewing was first introduced in adult health addiction services in the early 1980s. It has developed in the physical health specialties, and in the last 20 years or so attention has turned to the potential of Motivational Interviewing in the paediatric setting and the challenges of using it in families with children at differing ages and developmental stages. This article summarizes studies published from 2006 to 2011 of Motivational Interviewing in individuals across the lifespan with type 1 and type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Nuclear envelope breakdown is under nuclear not cytoplasmic control in sea urchin zygotes

Nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB) and entry into mitosis are though to be driven by the activation of the p34cdc2-cyclin B kinase complex or mitosis promoting factor (MPF). Checkpoint control mechanisms that monitor essential preparatory events for mitosis, such as DNA replication, are thought to prevent entry into mitosis by downregulating MPF activation until these events are completed. Thus, we were surprised to find that when pronuclear fusion in sea urchin zygotes is blocked with Colcemid, the female pronucleus consistently breaks down before the male pronucleus. This is not due to regional differences in the time of MPF activation, because pronuclei touching each other break down asynchronously to the same extent. To test whether NEB is controlled at the nuclear or cytoplasmic level, we activated the checkpoint for the completion of DNA synthesis separately in female and male pronuclei by treating either eggs or sperm before fertilization with psoralen to covalently cross-link base-paired strands of DNA. When only the maternal DNA is cross-linked, the male pronucleus breaks down first. When the sperm DNA is cross-linked, male pronuclear breakdown is substantially delayed relative to female pronuclear breakdown and sometimes does not occur. Inactivation of the Colcemid after female NEB in such zygotes with touching pronuclei yields a functional spindle composed of maternal chromosomes and paternal centrosomes. The intact male pronucleus remains located at one aster throughout mitosis. In other experiments, when psoralen-treated sperm nuclei, over 90% of the zygote nuclei do not break down for at least 2 h after the controls even though H1 histone kinase activity gradually rises close to, or higher than, control mitotic levels. The same is true for normal zygotes treated with aphidicolin to block DNA synthesis. From these results, we conclude that NEB in sea urchin zygotes is controlled at the nuclear, not cytoplasmic, level, and that mitotic levels of cytoplasmic MPF activity are not sufficient to drive NEB for a nucleus that is under checkpoint control. Our results also demonstrate that the checkpoint for the completion of DNA synthesis inhibits NEB by acting primarily within the nucleus, not by downregulating the activity of cytoplasmic MPF.
A Preliminary Study of Classroom Motivators and De-motivators from a Motivation-hygiene Perspective

This study seeks to begin answering two simple questions: “What motivates our students? ” and its corollary, “What prevents our students from being motivated? ” The motivation-hygiene theory (F. Herzberg, Work and the nature of man, World Publishing, Cleveland, OH, 1966), a well-tested theory from organizational psychology, holds that people's motivation stems from two sources: the desire to grow psychologically and the desire to avoid pain or unpleasantness. Previous research shows psychological growth factors serve as motivators, while pain avoidance factors serve as hygiene factors, neutral when present, but de-motivating when absent. Using this theory as a lens, the current study examines student motivation and finds that similar patterns are present in the classroom.
Reversibility of high-affinity binding of methotrexate in L1210 murine leukemia cells.

Abstract The intracellular binding of methotrexate to high-affinity site(s) was examined in L1210 murine leukemia cells in vitro . Following exposure of cells to an extracellular [ 3 H]methotrexate concentration of 2 µm, a peak intracellular level of 10.2 nmol methotrexate per g dry weight was achieved after 20 min. Resuspension of cells in a drugfree medium led to achievement of a steady-state intracellular level of 6.3 nmol/g, dry weight, a level that was constant for up to 120 min. Sephadex G-15 chromatography confirmed that this residual intracellular [ 3 H]methotrexate coeluted with dihydrofolate reductase (assayed at pH 7.8), was nondialyzable, and reverted to a late-migrating peak after boiling. These findings are all consistent with the hypothesis that residual [ 3 H]-methotrexate persisted in a tightly bound complex with dihydrofolate reductase. The reversibility of [ 3 H]methotrexate binding in this complex was examined by resuspending cells after achieving a steady-state intracellular level of 6.3 nmol/g, dry weight, in unlabeled methotrexate at concentrations of 1 to 100 µm for up to 60 min. Rapid loss of [ 3 H]methotrexate from the bound complex occurred at extracellular methotrexate concentrations of 10 µm or greater with release of 90% of intracellular [ 3 H]methotrexate within 60 min. The rate of loss of labeled intracellular drug was a linear first-order function of time at or above concentrations of 10 µm unlabeled methotrexate. An “off” rate constant of -3.8 × 10 -2 /min was calculated; this off rate constant was greater than predicted from experiments with purified dihydrofolate reductase from these cells ( k off = -1.4 × 10 -3 ). These experiments demonstrate the reversibility of methotrexate binding to high-affinity intracellular sites in vitro .
The Justice Structure of the Prison- A Theory and an Intervention

ment and obedience orientation; Stage 2, the instrumental exchange orientation; Stage 3, the interpersonal concordance or &dquo;good boy-nice girl&dquo; orientation; Stage 4, the &dquo;law and order&dquo; orientation; Stage 5, the social contract legalistic orientation; and Stage 6, the universal ethical principle orientation. These stages have been found to occur, and occur in the same age order, in every culture studied (Taiwan, Mexico, Turkey, U. S., Israel). They have been found to correspond to an invariant ; step-by-step movement in the longitudinal development of a group of fifty American males studied every three years from age ten to twenty-
Treatment selection: What do we know?

In this article we review the main findings in psychotherapy research that can contribute to the two goals of the treatment-selection process: (1) facilitating the first phase of therapy and (2) enhancement of final outcome of therapy. Psychotherapy research that contributes directly to treatment selection is scarce since treatment selection as such is seldom the topic of study. Further, guidelines for the practitioner concerning treatment selection have rarely been formulated. In this review we make the explicit attempt to reformulate research findings into suggestions for the clinician for treatment selection.
Special Education Students Exiting the Educational System

In this paper, we describe the problems inherent in current criteria employed by federal agencies for estimating special education graduation and dropout rates. In addition, we present changes in reporting categories proposed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in reporting categories, and discuss the potential implications of these changes for the ways in which special education students may be counted. We examine Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) reports on exiting behavior of special education students. Figures in OSEP's five exiting categories demonstrate NCES's inflated estimates of special education dropouts. Finally, OSEP's use of the “Other Basis for Exiting” category is examined in light of apparent beliefs that cases recorded in this category are undocumented dropouts.
QoE-driven distributed media services in D2D communications underlaying cellular networks

Device-to-device (D2D) communication has been widely studied to improve network performance and been considered as a potential technological component for the next generation communication. As Quality of Experience (QoE) is the major determining factor for the media service, we aim at promoting user's QoE Mean of Score (MOS) value for dynamic cellular networks. In this paper, we focus on the problem of heterogeneous media service distribution in D2D communications underlaying cellular networks. Firstly, we propose an innovative distributed media service scheme based on QoE models that jointly solve the massive media content dissemination issue for cellular networks. Moreover, our work maximizes users' QoE satisfaction by jointly considering media-aware, popularity function and priority function. Then, we propose a novel resource allocation algorithm based on the popularity function to optimize the total users' QoE satisfaction and avoid the influence of D2D interference. Numerical simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed schemes.
Emotional exhaustion and motivation in physical education teachers: a variable-centered and person-centered approach

Burnout in teachers is related to different maladaptive outcomes. This study aimed at exploring the relationship between emotional exhaustion and motivation to teach in 93 physical education teachers. Results showed that teachers report more emotional exhaustion when they are less autonomously motivated, while the opposite relationship was found for controlled motivation. Next, four motivational profiles were identified by means of cluster analyses: (a) a relative controlled group, (b) a relative lowly motivated group, (c) a relative autonomous group, and (d) a relative highly motivated group. The controlled group reported most emotional exhaustion, whereas the relative autonomous and highly motivated group had the lowest scores on emotional exhaustion. The results indicate that being autonomously motivated may function as a “buffer” against the development of emotional exhaustion. This implicates that it is important for politicians, directors, teachers, and teacher educators to consider teachers’ type of motivation to teach to prevent emotional exhaustion.
Social Capital and Entrepreneurial Performance in Russia: A Longitudinal Study

Drawing on the social embeddedness perspective, this article examines the impact of entrepreneurs' social capital on their firm performance in post-Soviet Russia. Based on face-to-face interviews with 75 Russian entrepreneurs in 1995 and follow-up interviews in 1999, the study examines effects of structural embeddedness, relational embeddedness and resource embeddedness on firm performance. The main finding is that relational embeddedness and resource embeddedness have direct positive impacts on firm performance, whereas structural embeddedness has no direct impacts on performance.
Discovering Groups of Time Series with Similar Behavior in Multiple Small Intervals of Time

The focus of this paper is to address the problem of discovering groups of time series that share similar behavior in multiple small intervals of time. This problem has two characteristics: i) There are exponentially many combinations of time series that needs to be explored to find these groups, ii) The groups of time series of interest need to have similar behavior only in some subsets of the time dimension. We present an Apriori based approach to address this problem. We evaluate it on a synthetic dataset and demonstrate that our approach can directly find all groups of intermittently correlated time series without finding spurious groups unlike other alternative approaches that find many spurious groups. We also demonstrate, using a neuroimaging dataset, that groups of intermittently coherent time series discovered by our approach are reproducible on independent sets of time series data. In addition, we demonstrate the utility of our approach on an S&P 500 stocks data set.
Generating structurally complex tests from declarative constraints

This dissertation describes a method for systematic constraint-based test generation for programs that take as inputs structurally complex data, presents an automated SAT-based framework for testing such programs, and provides evidence on the feasibility of using this approach to generate high quality test suites and find bugs in non-trivial programs. The framework tests a program systematically on all nonisomorphic inputs (within a given bound on the input size). Test inputs are automatically generated from a given input constraint that characterizes allowed program inputs. In unit testing of object-oriented programs, for example, an input constraint corresponds to the representation invariant; the test inputs are then objects on which to invoke a method under test. Input constraints may additionally describe test purposes and test selection criteria. Constraints are expressed in a simple (first-order) relational logic and solved by translating them into propositional formulas that are handed to an off-the-shelf SAT solver. Solutions found by the SAT solver are lifted back to the relational domain and reified as tests. The TestEra tool implements this framework for testing Java programs. Experiments on generating several complex structures indicate the feasibility of using off-the-shelf SAT solvers for systematic generation of nonisomorphic structures. The tool also uncovered previously unknown errors in several applications including an intentional naming scheme for dynamic networks and a fault-tree analysis system developed for NASA. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Using a narrative to spark safer sex communication

Objective: College students are a group at risk for contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). While they are generally well informed about STIs, they do not consistently use condoms. An important element in preventing STIs is safer sex communication, especially with a sexual partner. This may be difficult, however, because of a lack of experience in talking about safer sex or because of the absence of suitable role models. In this study, a narrative intervention was tested that was developed to provide receivers with a social script for safer sex communication. Design: An experiment was conducted among college students (N = 225) who were exposed to either a narrative intervention or a non-narrative (brochure) intervention, followed by a post-test questionnaire. In the narrative condition, part of the participants completed a pre-test questionnaire before being exposed to the intervention. Results: Compared to pre-test scores, the narrative positively influenced safer sex communication intentions. The results show no significant differences between post-test scores of the narrative and the non-narrative condition. Mediation analyses showed that narrative processes (identification and transportation) were positively related to safer sex communication. Conclusion: In this study, we investigated both the effects of a narrative intervention on safer sex communication intentions, and the mechanisms of narrative processing underlying these effects. The narrative turned out to be as effective as a brochure version with the same information. Our mediation analyses suggest that narratives can be made more persuasive by increasing the reader’s involvement with the story as a whole, and with one of the characters in particular.