Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plasma MicroRNAs as sensitive and specific biomarkers of tissue injury.

BACKGROUND MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, small noncoding RNAs. Because of their size, abundance, tissue specificity, and relative stability in plasma, miRNAs hold promise as unique accessible biomarkers to monitor tissue injury. METHODS We investigated the use of liver-, muscle- and brain-specific miRNAs as circulating biomarkers of tissue injury. We used a highly sensitive quantitative PCR assay to measure specific miRNAs (miR-122, miR-133a, and miR-124) in plasma samples from rats treated with liver or muscle toxicants and from a rat surgical model of stroke. RESULTS We observed increases in plasma concentrations of miR-122, miR-133a, and miR-124 corresponding to injuries in liver, muscle, and brain, respectively. miR-122 and miR-133a illustrated specificity for liver and muscle toxicity, respectively, because they were not detectable in the plasma of animals with toxicity to the other organ. This result contrasted with the results for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase, which were both increased with either organ toxicity. Furthermore, miR-122 exhibited a diagnostic sensitivity superior to that of ALT when the results were correlated to the liver histopathologic results. The miR-124 concentration increased in the plasma of rats 8 h after surgery to produce brain injury and peaked at 24 h, while the miR-122 and miR-133a concentrations remained at baseline values. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that tissue-specific miRNAs may serve as diagnostically sensitive plasma biomarkers of tissue injury.
Knowledge sharing role in IT outsourcing

Knowledge has emerged as a strategically significant resource to organization. In recent studies, there has been much interest in knowledge sharing between service receiver and service provider through an outsourcing partnership and its effect on information technology (IT) outsourcing success. Besides the frequent cited reasons of economic and technological benefits for IT outsourcing there is a growing concern of organizations evaluating its success or activity involved in IT outsourcing. Knowledge sharing is considered as one of the major motives of outsourcing partnership based on trust to ensure partnership quality. This study examines the relationship between knowledge sharing and IT outsourcing success. We argue that knowledge sharing is positively associated with IT outsourcing success. This paper further reports on the ongoing empirical work conducted on both public and private organizations in Malaysia that have outsourced their IT functions. We seek to investigate the issue of knowledge sharing from the service receiversâ€™ perspective. It is anticipated that our research will elucidate the importance of knowledge sharing for both practitioners and knowledge management researchers, lens on IT outsourcing.
Factor structure invariance and discriminant validity of the Self-Curiosity Attitude-Interest scale

This study evaluated the factor structure of the Self-Curiosity Attitude-Interest (SCAI) scale. We conducted analyses of the configural, metric, and scalar factor invariance of the SCAI using data from three groups of participants with varying levels of fluid intelligence. We also explored the relationship between fluid intelligence and self-curiosity. The results provided support for the previously identified two-component factor structure of the SCAI (Aschieri & Durosini, 2015). The factor structure was invariant across the different levels of participant intelligence. Furthermore, as expected, regression analyses did not yield a significant relationship between self-curiosity and fluid intelligence. Limitations of this study and areas for future research are discussed.
Related Factors of Age-Appropriate Immunization among Urban-Rural Children Aged 24-35 Months in a 2005 Population-Based Survey in Nonsan, Korea

Purpose This study was aimed to determine the status and related factors of age-appropriate immunization among urban-rural children aged 24-35 months in a 2005 population-based survey in Nonsan, Korea. Materials and Methods We conducted household survey and provider check using questionnaire and checklist to obtain data on immunization status for children, aged 24-35 months. Age-appropriate immunization was defined as status of receiving the fourth diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (4 DTP), 3 Polio, the first measles-mumps-rubella (1 MMR) doses, and the 4 : 3 : 1 series. Results Age-appropriate immunization rates were 51.7% for 4 DPT, 88.0% for 3 Polio, 87.9% for 1 MMR, and 50.3% for the 4 : 3 : 1 series. First-born children, lower perceived barrier scores, and higher perception of immunization data were significantly related to age-appropriate immunization. Conclusion The findings indicated that age-appropriate immunization rate could be improved by implementing reminder/recall service and providing the knowledge about immunization. Identification and consideration related factors would improve immunization rate and age-appropriate immunization.
Stability, change, and determinants of self-esteem during adolescence and emerging adulthood

This research studied the development of self-esteem through adolescence and emerging adulthood. It also analyzed sex differences and the role of family and peers in developmental trends in self-esteem. Data comes from a longitudinal study in which we administered the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale to 90 Spanish boys and girls at ages 13, 15, 17, and 21 years. Results showed a linear increase in self-esteem, higher for boys than for girls, during adolescence and emerging adulthood. Initial variability was related to care received from the mother during childhood, whereas the increase in self-esteem throughout adolescence and emerging adulthood was related to peer attachment.
In utero exposure to helminth and mycobacterial antigens generates cytokine responses similar to that observed in adults.

Neonates exposed to parasite antigens (Ags) in utero may develop altered fetal immunity that could affect subsequent responses to infection. We hypothesized that cord blood lymphocytes (CBL) from offspring of mothers residing in an area highly endemic for schistosomiasis, filariasis, and tuberculosis in Kenya would either fail to respond or generate a predominantly Th2-associated cytokine response to helminth and mycobacterial antigens (PPD) in vitro compared to maternal PBMC. Kenyan CBL generated helminth Ag-specific IL-5 (range 29-194 pg/ml), IL-10 (121-2,115 pg/ml), and/or IFN-gamma (78 pg/ml-10.6 ng/ml) in 26, 46, and 57% of neonates, respectively (n = 40). PPD induced IFN-gamma in 30% of Kenyan CBL (range 79-1,896 pg/ml), but little or no IL-4 or IL-5. No Ag-specific IL-4, IL-5, or IFN-gamma release was detected by CBL obtained in the United States (n = 11). Ag-driven cytokine production was primarily CD4-dependent. Cytokine responses to helminth and mycobacterial Ags by maternal PBMC mirrored that observed in neonates. CBL from helminth infected and/or PPD-sensitized mothers produced more Ag-specific cytokines compared to CBL from uninfected mothers (P < 0.05). These data demonstrate that the human fetus develops similar patterns of cytokine production observed in adults and indicates that prenatal exposure may not lead to tolerance or altered fetal immunity.
Propaganda vs . education : a case study of hate radio in Rwanda

: This chapter discusses whether education limits or exacerbates the effects of statesponsored propaganda on political violence. It provides evidence for the hypothesis that basic education can limit the effectiveness of propaganda by increasing access to alternative media sources. It builds on the case study of the Rwandan genocide in work done by Yanagizawa-Drott (2011), and shows that the propaganda disseminated by the “hate radio” station RTLM did not affect participation in violence in villages where education levels, as measured by literacy rates, were relatively high. A discussion of the potential underlying mechanisms driving the results is presented. The methodological challenges of identifying causal effects of mass media and propaganda are also described, including recent innovations using statistical methods that may be used to overcome those challenges. Abstract and Keywords This chapter discusses whether education limits or exacerbates the effects of statesponsored propaganda on political violence. It provides evidence for the hypothesis that basic education can limit the effectiveness of propaganda by increasing access to alternative media sources. It builds on the case study of the Rwandan genocide in work done by Yanagizawa-Drott (2011), and shows that the propaganda disseminated by the “hate radio” station RTLM did not affect participation in violence in villages where education levels, as measured by literacy rates, were relatively high. A discussion of the potential underlying mechanisms driving the results is presented. The methodological challenges of identifying causal effects of mass media and propaganda are also described, including recent innovations using statistical methods that may be used to overcome those challenges. The sample consists of a subsample of 351 Rwanda villages with a literacy rate above 52 percent (top tertile) among Hutu household heads. All regressions include commune fixed effects and radio propagation controls (latitude, longitude, and second-order polynomials in village mean altitude, village altitude variance, distance to the nearest RTLM transmitter). Additional controls are population density in 1991, distance to major town (log), distance to major road (log), distance to border (log), slope of village dummies (north, east, west). Standard errors in parentheses, clustered at the commune level. For a data description, see Yanagizawa-Drott (2011).
Bilingual Children's Acquisition of English Verb Morphology: Effects of Language Exposure, Structure Complexity, and Task Type

This study investigated whether bilingual-monolingual differences would be apparent in school-age children’s use and knowledge of English verb morphology and whether differences would be influenced by amount of exposure to English, complexity of the morphological structure, or the type of task given. French-English bilinguals (mean age = 6;10) were given a standardized test with two production probes and a grammaticality judgment probe for English verb morphology. Results indicated that all three factors—exposure, complexity, and task type—influenced how closely bilinguals approached monolingual norms. These results are consistent with Gathercole’s (2007) constructivist model of bilingual acquisition for the exposure and complexity effects. The task effects can be explained in view of cognitive differences in processing between bilinguals and monolinguals and, thus, are also argued to be compatible with a constructivist model. The implications of bilingual-monolingual differences for language assessment are discussed.
Effective antituberculous therapy in a patient with CLIPPERS: New insights into CLIPPERS pathogenesis

Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) is a brainstem relapsing-remitting inflammatory disease. To date, no treatment besides corticosteroids has been shown to be effective to treat relapses. We report a patient with CLIPPERS initially misdiagnosed with CNS tuberculosis who presented with brainstem attacks responsive to antituberculous therapy.
Channel estimation for ultra-wideband communications

This paper deals with channel estimation in ultra-wideband communications operating in a multipath environment and in the presence of multiaccess interference. The channel parameters are the attenuations and delays incurred by the signal echoes along the propagation paths. Time-hopping modulation with binary symbols is assumed. The estimation method is based on the maximum-likelihood criterion and is applied to two different scenarios: either with known symbols (DA estimation) or with unknown symbols (NDA estimation). The effects of the estimation errors on the performance of a RAKE receiver are assessed by simulation by comparing the receiver bit-error rate with either perfect channel estimates or imperfect estimates as obtained from the proposed algorithms. The results show that the degradations are tolerable as long as the number of users is limited. They also show that the DA method has an edge over the NDA in that it can handle a larger number of users for a fixed degradation. The number of users that can be accommodated in practice is found for some values of the system parameters.
Linking Perceived Organizational Frustration to Work Engagement

The study examined the link between perceived organizational frustration and work engagement and the moderating roles of sense of calling and psychological meaningfulness in this link. Primary and postprimary (high) school teachers (N = 207) from Southeast Nigeria were sampled for the study. Consistent with our propositions, perceived frustration was found to be negatively related to work engagement. Sense of calling and psychological meaningfulness were positively related to work engagement. The results of the moderated regression analyses showed that teachers with high sense of calling were found to be more engaged with their work regardless of perceiving high organizational frustration than their counterparts with low sense of calling. More so, teachers with high psychological meaningfulness were reported to be more engaged with their work despite experiencing high organizational frustration than their counterparts with low psychological meaningfulness. The results of the study suggest that enhancement of sense of calling and work meaningfulness among teachers is desirous, as they could ensure positive work behaviors even in the presence of challenging work environment.
Fast identification of poroelastic parameters from indentation tests

A novel approach is presented for the identification of constitutive parameters of linear poroelastic materials from indentation tests. Load-controlled spherical indentation with a ramp-hold creep profile is considered. The identification approach is based on the normalization of the time-displacement indentation response, in analogy to the well-known one-dimensional consolidation problem. The identification algorithm consists of two nested optimization routines, one in the time-displacement domain and the other in a normalized domain. The procedure is validated by identifying poroelastic parameters from the displacement-time outputs of finite element simulations; the new identification scheme proves both quantitatively reliable and fast. The procedure is also tested on the identification of the constitutive parameters of gelatin gel and bone from experimental indentation data and succeeds in providing quantitative results almost in real time.
Letters to the Editor Perceptual Access and Knowledge

Since its introduction by Koenig, Clément and Harris in 2004, the selective trust paradigm has been widely used to explore children's developing epistemic understanding. Lucas and Lewis [2010] provided a welcome and long overdue critique of the procedure, exploring the conditions under which one might validly test a child's epistemic understanding. One important aspect of epistemic awareness is the appreciation of how experiences lead to knowledge, or, as Lucas and Lewis [2010] put it, 'who is likely to know what in each unique learning situation' (p. 169). This forms the basis for their argument that any valid test of epistemic awareness should include a good reason for the inaccurate speaker's inaccuracy. Somewhat surprisingly, they discount the use of perceptual access as a plausible reason. Instead, they find solutions in a lack of exposure to common information (such as might be seen in foreign – or fantasy – speakers), or in a lack of expertise in a particular domain of knowledge (such as a speaker who is good at vocabulary but bad at spelling). Their dismissal of perceptual access reasons for inaccuracy is needlessly limiting. Lucas and Lewis [2010] argued that the kind of inaccuracy caused by a lack of perceptual access is temporary, and describe it as knowledge as a state. Instead, they are interested in children's understanding of long-term, stable states of knowledge, or knowledge as a trait. In either case, whether ignorance is obtained by a failure to see the target object, or whether it's obtained by being a foreign speaker, it is a temporary state. Happily, we always have the possibility of filling the gaps in our knowledge, however long we might have struggled with them. It is not clear how the length of time a speaker suffered ignorance is of critical importance in judging epistemic awareness. Children's understanding of the more subtle nuances of domains of knowledge or expertise are certainly important [see Danovitch & Keil, 2004], but these are not the only conditions in which children can reveal their appreciation of the link between experience and knowledge.
Inhibition of M Current in Sensory Neurons by Exogenous Proteases: A Signaling Pathway Mediating Inflammatory Nociception

Inflammatory pain is thought to be mediated in part through the action of inflammatory mediators on membrane receptors of peripheral nerve terminals, however, the downstream signaling events which lead to pain are poorly understood. In this study we investigated the nociceptive pathways induced by activation of protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR-2) in damage-sensing (nociceptive) neurons from rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG). We found that activation of PAR-2 in these cells strongly inhibited M-type potassium currents (conducted by Kv7 potassium channels). Such inhibition caused depolarization of the neuronal resting membrane potential leading, ultimately, to nociception. Consistent with this mechanism, injection of the specific M channel blocker XE991 into rat paw induced nociception in a concentration-dependent manner. Injection of a PAR-2 agonist peptide also induced nociception but coinjection of XE991 and the PAR-2 agonist did not result in summation of nociception, suggesting that the action of both agents may share a similar mechanism. We also studied the signaling pathway of M current inhibition by PAR-2 using patch-clamp and fluorescence imaging of DRG neurons. These experiments revealed that the PAR-2 effect was mediated by phospholipase C (PLC). Further experiments demonstrated that M current inhibition required concurrent rises in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration and depletion of membrane phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2). We propose that PLC- and Ca2+/PIP2-mediated inhibition of M current in sensory neurons may represent one of the general mechanisms underlying pain produced by inflammatory mediators, and may therefore open up a new therapeutic window for treatment of this major clinical problem.
The neolithic revolution and contemporary variations in life expectancy

This research advances an evolutionary theory and provides empirical evidence that shed new light on the origins of contemporary differences in life expectancy across countries. The theory suggests that social, economic and environmental changes that were associated with the Neolithic Revolution affected the nature of the environmental hazards confronted by the human population, triggering an evolutionary process that had a significant impact on human longevity. The empirical analysis shows that a significant portion of contemporary variations in life expectancy across countries can be traced to the differences in the time passed since the ancestors of the population of each country experienced the Neolithic Revolution.
The Molecular and Cellular Basis of Taste Coding in the Legs of Drosophila

To understand the principles of taste coding, it is necessary to understand the functional organization of the taste organs. Although the labellum of the Drosophila melanogaster head has been described in detail, the tarsal segments of the legs, which collectively contain more taste sensilla than the labellum, have received much less attention. We performed a systematic anatomical, physiological, and molecular analysis of the tarsal sensilla of Drosophila. We construct an anatomical map of all five tarsal segments of each female leg. The taste sensilla of the female foreleg are systematically tested with a panel of 40 diverse compounds, yielding a response matrix of ∼500 sensillum–tastant combinations. Six types of sensilla are characterized. One type was tuned remarkably broadly: it responded to 19 of 27 bitter compounds tested, as well as sugars; another type responded to neither. The midleg is similar but distinct from the foreleg. The response specificities of the tarsal sensilla differ from those of the labellum, as do n-dimensional taste spaces constructed for each organ, enhancing the capacity of the fly to encode and respond to gustatory information. We examined the expression patterns of all 68 gustatory receptors (Grs). A total of 28 Gr–GAL4 drivers are expressed in the legs. We constructed a receptor-to-sensillum map of the legs and a receptor-to-neuron map. Fourteen Gr–GAL4 drivers are expressed uniquely in the bitter-sensing neuron of the sensillum that is tuned exceptionally broadly. Integration of the molecular and physiological maps provides insight into the underlying basis of taste coding.
A geography-free routing protocol for wireless sensor networks

In wireless sensor networks, it is critical to provide the data delivery services between sensors and the data collection unit (called sink). Some of the existing approaches require location or II) information which is quite expensive. For those without location or ID information, the usage of the collected information is rather limited. In this paper, we propose a geography-free coordinate system, called GREENWIS, to assist routing. In GREENWIS, sensors are identified by a 4-tuple with which messages are universally transmitted. Our analysis and experiments show that GREENWIS is reliable and power efficient compared with existing approaches.
Mechanisms for ENSO Phase Change in a Coupled GCM

The mechanisms leading to El Nino onset and termination in the ECHAM4/OPA coupled GCM are assessed and compared to observations and existing ENSO paradigms. At the equator as well as off equator, the patterns and timing of modeled El Nino composites are in good agreement with those observed. Heat content of the west Pacific is confirmed as a precursor to ENSO phase change, and the present work emphasizes the role of its northern off-equator part (west North Pacific (WNP) region, 58-158N, 1208-1708E). The associated heat content changes appear to be dominated by a local Ekman pumping (or forced Rossby waves) rather than the accumulation of remotely generated free Rossby waves, as proposed by many theories. The heat content decrease in the WNP region, which triggers El Nino termination, is due to the negative feedback of the atmospheric Gill's response to the increased equatorial SST in the east Pacific, in agreement with most paradigms (delayed, recharged, west Pacific oscillators). The present study introduces the advection of the off-equator signal to the equatorial waveguide by the mean currents of the western Pacific as an additional process. A similar feedback (with opposite sign) also seems to drive the modeled El Nino onset, favoring a too strong and regular biennial ENSO in the model. This is due to the stronger-than-observed Walker circulation that isolates the WNP region from other remote influences (like monsoons). The model also exhibits ''aborted'' ENSO events where the warming peaks in late spring instead of late autumn and is quickly terminated by the Gill's negative feedback. The abort event occurs too frequently in the coupled model due to too strong and too zonal a convergence zone south of the equator (''double ITCZ''). It bears some resemblance to the spring 1993 warming, when the southern Tropics were also warm. The results of this paper provide additional insight into the El Nino seasonal phase lock mechanisms.