Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Children’s Diurnal HPA-axis Activity: Assessment of Temporal Stability and Associations with Parent-child Relationship Qualities and Stress-induced HPA-axis Reactivity and Recovery

While a robust literature links childhood exposure to stressful family environments, hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA-axis) functioning, and mental and physical health outcomes, there is a paucity of research examining associations between parent-child relationship qualities and HPA-axis activity during middle childhood and adolescence. In addition, despite assumptions implicit in the allostatic load literature, little is known about the temporal stability of children’s diurnal cortisol and how children’s cortisol responses to acute stressors are concurrently related to their diurnal cortisol profiles. To address these gaps in the literature, two studies using multi-method, repeated-measures designs were carried out in an ethnically diverse community sample of 47 children aged 8 to 13. Study 1 examined naturalistic associations between two dimensions of the parent-child relationship (parent-child attachment and daily parent-child conflict) and two indicators of diurnal HPA-axis activity (children’s diurnal cortisol slopes and end-of-day cortisol levels) at the between- and within-person levels of analysis. Children’s reports of secure attachment to their fathers moderated the association between fathers’ reports of daily father-child conflict and children’s daily bedtime cortisol levels: Children who reported lower levels of secure attachment to their fathers had higher bedtime cortisol levels on higher conflict days compared to children who reported higher levels of attachment to fathers. Children’s reports of secure attachment to their mothers predicted their diurnal cortisol slopes such that higher levels of secure attachment were associated with flatter slopes. Study 2 used multilevel-model derived intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) to assess short-term temporal stability in four metrics of diurnal cortisol -- waking cortisol levels, the cortisol awakening response (CAR), diurnal slope, and bedtime cortisol levels -- over a range of 2 to 8 sample days. Associations between each diurnal cortisol metric and children’s reactivity to and recovery from the Trier Social Stress Task for Children (TSST-C) were also explored. Overall, children’s diurnal cortisol metrics were moderately stable, with highest stability estimates observed in bedtime cortisol levels and lowest estimates observed in the CAR. Overall, increasing the number of sample days did not improve stability. Better cortisol recovery from the TSST-C was significantly correlated with higher waking cortisol levels, while cortisol reactivity to the laboratory tasks was not associated with any of the diurnal cortisol variables.
Spatial learning sculpts the dendritic arbor of adult-born hippocampal neurons

Neurogenesis in the hippocampus is characterized by the birth of thousand of cells that generate neurons throughout life. The fate of these adult newborn neurons depends on life experiences. In particular, spatial learning promotes the survival and death of new neurons. Whether learning influences the development of the dendritic tree of the surviving neurons (a key parameter for synaptic integration and signal processing) is unknown. Here we show that learning accelerates the maturation of their dendritic trees and their integration into the hippocampal network. We demonstrate that these learning effects on dendritic arbors are homeostatically regulated, persist for several months, and are specific to neurons born during adulthood. Finally, we show that this dendritic shaping depends on the cognitive demand and relies on the activation of NMDA receptors. In the search for the structural changes underlying long-term memory, these findings lead to the conclusion that shaping neo-networks is important in forming spatial memories.
Wiring cost and topological participation of the mouse brain connectome

Significance We analyzed a large dataset of tract tracing experiments to investigate the topological and spatial properties of the mouse brain connectome. We found expensive, topologically integrative hub nodes, which could not be explained by global minimization of wiring cost alone. These “high-participation” hubs mediated communication between functionally specialized and anatomically localized network modules and were associated with high expression of genes involved in cognitive and behavioral processes. We propose that the mouse brain network is selected by simultaneous competitive pressures for wiring-cost minimization and hub-mediated information exchange between network modules. High-participation hubs are expensive but central to global integration of information and, thus, essential for adaptive “higher order” brain functions. Brain connectomes are topologically complex systems, anatomically embedded in 3D space. Anatomical conservation of “wiring cost” explains many but not all aspects of these networks. Here, we examined the relationship between topology and wiring cost in the mouse connectome by using data from 461 systematically acquired anterograde-tracer injections into the right cortical and subcortical regions of the mouse brain. We estimated brain-wide weights, distances, and wiring costs of axonal projections and performed a multiscale topological and spatial analysis of the resulting weighted and directed mouse brain connectome. Our analysis showed that the mouse connectome has small-world properties, a hierarchical modular structure, and greater-than-minimal wiring costs. High-participation hubs of this connectome mediated communication between functionally specialized and anatomically localized modules, had especially high wiring costs, and closely corresponded to regions of the default mode network. Analyses of independently acquired histological and gene-expression data showed that nodal participation colocalized with low neuronal density and high expression of genes enriched for cognition, learning and memory, and behavior. The mouse connectome contains high-participation hubs, which are not explained by wiring-cost minimization but instead reflect competitive selection pressures for integrated network topology as a basis for higher cognitive and behavioral functions.
Talking about rape: South African men's responses to questions about rape

abstract This focus is based on a series of cognitive interviews conducted as part of a broader quantitative study on rape in South Africa. During the process of refining the questionnaire, 20 men from the country's Eastern Cape province, aged between 18 and 49 years, were asked to comment on questions about attitudes towards and practices of non-consensual sex with women. The men were divided in their views but most expressed fairly traditional rape-supportive attitudes. None of the men expressed discomfort with the attitude questions because they did not feel challenged by these ideas. In contrast, the questions about practices, which asked about very specific behaviours, caused conspicuous discomfort. This was largely because they provided a context in which men were confronted with their involvement in non-consensual sexual acts. This focus explores how these men responded to the questions and argues that, despite such discomfort, men are able to speak honestly about rape where anonymity is guaranteed. In the context of working with men to limit violence against women, if conducted appropriately, the process of research can serve to counter discourses that currently legitimate rape and include men in processes of gender transformation.
The need for comprehensive transient analysis of distribution systems

Many surge analysis and design rules have evolved over time to help utilities cope with the complexity of transient phenomena. These rules have been widely applied to simplify analysis by restricting both the number and difficulty of the transient cases that need to be evaluated. On further reflection, however, the implicit assumption that elementary and conservative rules are a valid basis for design has often been shown to be questionable and sometimes dangerous. Indeed, many published guidelines are so misleading and so frequently false that they should only be used with extreme caution, if at all. This article specifically reviews a number of guidelines or suggestions found in various AWWA publications for water hammer analysis and provides a set of warnings about the misunderstandings and dangers that can arise from such simplifications. The authors conclude that only systematic and informed water hammer analysis can be expected to resolve complex transient characterizations and adequately protect distribution systems from the vagaries and challenges of rapid transients.
Supporting exploratory browsing with visualization of social interaction history

This thesis is concerned with the design, development, and evaluation of information visualization tools for supporting exploratory browsing. Information retrieval (IR) systems currently do not support browsing well. Responding to user queries, IR systems typically compute relevance scores of documents and then present the document surrogates to users in order of relevance. Other systems such as email clients and discussion forums simply arrange messages in reverse chronological order. Using these systems, people cannot gain an overview of a collection easily, nor do they receive adequate support for finding potentially useful items in the collection. This thesis explores the feasibility of using social interaction history to improve exploratory browsing. Social interaction history refers to traces of interaction among users in an information space, such as discussions that happen in the blogosphere or online newspapers through the commenting facility. The basic hypothesis of this work is that social interaction history can serve as a good indicator of the potential value of information items. Therefore, visualization of social interaction history would offer navigational cues for finding potentially valuable information items in a collection. To test this basic hypothesis, I conducted three studies. First, I ran statistical analysis of a social media data set. The results showed that there were positive relationships between traces of social interaction and the degree of interestingness of web articles. Second, I conducted a feasibility study to collect initial feedback about the potential of social interaction history to support information exploration. Comments from the participants were in line with the research hypothesis. Finally, I conducted a summative evaluation to measure how well visualization of social interaction history can improve exploratory browsing. The results showed that visualization of social interaction history was able to help users find interesting articles, to reduce wasted effort, and to increase user satisfaction with the visualization tool.
Longitudinal Development of Human Brain Wiring Continues from Childhood into Adulthood

Healthy human brain development is a complex process that continues during childhood and adolescence, as demonstrated by many cross-sectional and several longitudinal studies. However, whether these changes end in adolescence is not clear. We examined longitudinal white matter maturation using diffusion tensor tractography in 103 healthy subjects aged 5–32 years; each volunteer was scanned at least twice, with 221 total scans. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), parameters indicative of factors including myelination and axon density, were assessed in 10 major white matter tracts. All tracts showed significant nonlinear development trajectories for FA and MD. Significant within-subject changes occurred in the vast majority of children and early adolescents, and these changes were mostly complete by late adolescence for projection and commissural tracts. However, association tracts demonstrated postadolescent within-subject maturation of both FA and MD. Diffusion parameter changes were due primarily to decreasing perpendicular diffusivity, although increasing parallel diffusivity contributed to the prolonged increases of FA in association tracts. Volume increased significantly with age for most tracts, and longitudinal measures also demonstrated postadolescent volume increases in several association tracts. As volume increases were not directly associated with either elevated FA or reduced MD between scans, the observed diffusion parameter changes likely reflect microstructural maturation of brain white matter tracts rather than just gross anatomy.
Neuraminidase Inhibitor Susceptibility Testing in Human Influenza Viruses: A Laboratory Surveillance Perspective

Neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) are vital in managing seasonal and pandemic influenza infections. NAI susceptibilities of virus isolates (n = 5540) collected during the 2008–2009 influenza season were assessed in the chemiluminescent neuraminidase inhibition (NI) assay. Box-and-whisker plot analyses of log-transformed IC50s were performed for each virus type/subtype and NAI to identify outliers which were characterized based on a statistical cutoff of IC50 >3 interquartile ranges (IQR) from the 75th percentile. Among 1533 seasonal H1N1 viruses tested, 1431 (93.3%) were outliers for oseltamivir; they all harbored the H275Y mutation in the neuraminidase (NA) and were reported as oseltamivir-resistant. Only 15 (0.7%) of pandemic 2009 H1N1 viruses tested (n = 2259) were resistant to oseltamivir. All influenza A(H3N2) (n = 834) and B (n = 914) viruses were sensitive to oseltamivir, except for one A(H3N2) and one B virus, with D151V and D197E (D198E in N2 numbering) mutations in the NA, respectively. All viruses tested were sensitive to zanamivir, except for six seasonal A(H1N1) and several A(H3N2) outliers (n = 22) which exhibited cell culture induced mutations at residue D151 of the NA. A subset of viruses (n = 1058) tested for peramivir were sensitive to the drug, with exception of H275Y variants that exhibited reduced susceptibility to this NAI. This study summarizes baseline susceptibility patterns of seasonal and pandemic influenza viruses, and seeks to contribute towards criteria for defining NAI resistance.
The Anatomy of the Aortic Root

Objective: Since the aortic root preserving methods are spreading in heart surgery, the importance of aortic root anatomy is increasing. The surgical and anatomical descriptions of the aortic root are not always congruent. Therefore, the present study focuses on the surgical aspects of the aortic root anatomy. Methods: We measured the distances between the three commissures, the distances between the basal point of the sinus and the sinotubular junction and the heights of the sinuses. The circumference of the sinotubular junction and the annuli fibrosi were also obtained. In addition, the volume of every sinus was directly measured. Finally both vertical and horizontal histological sections of annuli fibrosi were made. Results: All measured parameters were averaged and the standard deviation (SD) was calculated, except in the case of the tilt angle. The distance for the right sinus commissures was 18.82 mm (SD 1.93 mm), and that of the non- and left coronary sinus were 17.43 (SD 2.06) and 15.21 (SD 1.88) mm, respectively. The mean height of the right, non- and left coronary sinus were 19.45 (SD 1.91), 17.68 (SD 1.77) and 17.45 (SD 1.39) mm, respectively. These differences between the height of the sinuses determines a mean tilt angle of 5.47° for the sinotubular junction and aortic root base. The mean circumference of the aortic root base and of the sinotubular junction was 69.20 (SD 6.93), and 65.82 (SD 8.31) mm. respectively. Mean volumes of the right, non- and left coronary sinuses were 1.6 (SD 0.34). 1.33 (SD 0.27) and 1.04 (SD 0.23l) ml. According to the histological sections we can say that the histological border of the annuli fibrosi is positioned at the interleaflate triangles. Conclusion: According to the measured data we can state that all parameters follow the pattern in which the right sinus structures had the greatest dimensions followed by the non coronary sinus, and finally the left coronary sinus. The tilt angle for aortic root base and sinotubular junction, and the difference in the diameters could be of hemodynamic and of surgical relevance
Perinatal Acoustic Communication in Birds: Why Do Birds Vocalize in theEgg?

In this review the development of acoustic communication between embryos or between embryos and chicks as well as between embryos/chicks and the breeding parents will be addressed. Special emphasis is given to the impact of embryonic acoustic signals for hatching synchronization. In the Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata L. f. domestica) clicking sound communication is absolutely essential for a synchronized hatching. The mechanism underlying this special case of communication is a synchronization of clicking rates. In a clutch, embryos adapt their clicking rates to each other. Clicking rates of less developed embryos rose faster (acceleration) than clicking rates of more developed embryos (retardation). No evidence was found that vocalization of embryos, chicks and parents improve hatching synchronization. Although, many authors assume that prenatal acoustic interaction by vocalization (an exchange of acoustic signals) exists, in the Muscovy duck it was shown that an acoustic interaction started when the first embryo had hatched. Specific call types serve as communication-releasing signals. Acoustic mother-duckling interaction developed later and gradually during the process of nest-leaving also based on specific call types. Measurements on sound transmission indicate that all embryos within a clutch are in mutual acoustic contact.
Fen bilgisi öğretmen adaylarının bilimsel okuryazarlık yeterliklerinin geliştirilmesinde sosyal yapılandırmacı öğretim tasarımı uygulamasının etkisi

The purpose of this research was to determine whether the use of constructivist teaching design application is more effective for the improvement of prospective science teachers’ scientific literacy competence at the dimensions of nature of science and science-technology-society interaction than that found using traditional teaching design application. The research was based on pretest-posttest control group experimental design and carried out with using senior students from Science Teacher Education Programme of Ataturk Education Faculty of Marmara University through a semester in Science- Technology and Society course. The Test of Basic Scientific Literacy was used as assessment tool and the data derived from that test was analysed quantitatively by statistical techniques. The students in experimental group of research performed the activities held within constructivist instructional design and reported their studies through the semester while the students in control group of research experienced a teachercentered, didactic process. The results arrived showed that the constructivist instructional design application developed prospective science teachers’ level of the nature of science and science-technology-society understandings to a higher degree than that seen using traditional instructional design application Key words: Scientific literacy, nature of science, science-technology-society interaction, constructivism, instructional design.
Fast track program in liver resection: a PRISMA-compliant systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: FT program (FT) is a multimodal approach used to enhance postoperative rehabilitation and accelerate recovery. It was 1st described in open heart surgery, then modified and applied successfully in colorectal surgery. FT program was described in liver resection for the 1st time in 2008. Although the program has become widely accepted, it has not yet been considered the standard of care in liver surgery. Objectives: we performed this systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of using the FT program compared to the traditional care (TC), on the main clinical and surgical outcomes for patients who underwent elective liver resection. Methods: PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Cochran databases were searched to identify eligible articles that compared FT with TC in elective liver resection to be included in this study. Subgroup meta-analysis between laparoscopic and open surgical approaches to liver resection was also conducted. Quality assessment was performed for all the included studies. Odds ratios (ORs) and mean differences (MDs) were considered as a summary measure of evaluating the association in this meta-analysis for dichotomous and continuous data, respectively. A 95% confidence interval (CI) was reported for both measures. I 2 was used to assess the heterogeneity across studies. Results: From 2008 to 2015, 3 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 5 cohort studies were identified, including 394 and 416 patients in the FT and TC groups, respectively. The length of hospital stay (LoS) was markedly shortened in both the open and laparoscopic approaches within the FT program (P < 0.00001). The reduced LoS was accompanied by accelerated functional recovery (P = 0.0008) and decreased hospital costs, with no increase in readmission, morbidity, or mortality rates. Moreover, significant results were found within the FT group such as reduced operative time (P = 0.03), lower intensive care unit admission rate (P < 0.00001), early bowel opening (P ⩽ 0.00001), and rapid normal diet restoration (P ⩽ 0.00001). Conclusion: FT program is safe, feasible, and can be applied successfully in liver resection. Future RCTs on controversial issues such as multimodal analgesia and adherence rate are needed. Specific FT guidelines should be developed for liver resection.
Clustering of nucleosides in the presence of alkali metals: Biologically relevant quartets of guanosine, deoxyguanosine and uridine observed by ESI-MS/MS.

Electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectra of nucleosides, recorded in the presence of alkali metals, display alkali metal ion-bound quartets and other clusters that may have implications for understanding non-covalent interactions in DNA and RNA. The tetramers of guanosine and deoxyguanosine and also their metaclusters (clusters of clusters), cationized by alkali metals, were observed as unusually abundant magic number clusters. The observation of these species in the gas phase parallels previous condensed-phase studies, which show that guanine derivatives can form quartets and metaclusters of quartets in solution in the presence of metal cations. This parallel behavior and also internal evidence suggest that bonding in the guanosine tetramers involves the bases rather than the sugar units. The nucleobases thymine and uracil are known to form magic number pentameric adducts with K+, Cs+ and NH4+ in the gas phase. In sharp contrast, we now show that the nucleosides uridine and deoxythymidine do not form the pentameric clusters characteristic of the corresponding bases. More subtle effects of the sugars are evident in the fact that adenosine and cytidine form numerous higher order clusters with alkali metals, whereas deoxyadenosine and deoxycytidine show no clustering. It is suggested that hydrogen bonding between the bases in the tetramers of dG and rG are the dominant interactions in the clusters, hence changing the ribose group to deoxyribose (and vice versa) generally has little effect. However, the additional hydroxyl group of RNA nucleosides enhances the non-selective formation of higher-order aggregates for adenosine and cytidine and results in the lack of highly stable magic number clusters. Some clusters are the result of aggregation in the course of ionization (ESI) whereas others appear to be intrinsic to the solution being examined.