Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ethical and Professional Issues in Career Assessment on the Internet

The growing use of the Internet by professionals and laypeople alike, together with rapidly improving technology, has resulted in dramatic growth of assessment Web sites. Although these tests are being used for a number of purposes, their employment for career-related assessment and decisions seems to be prevailing. This development stems from the search for easy-to-obtain, free (or inexpensive) aids to assist in decision making; a general awareness and acceptance of the Internet as a legitimate informative; and professional and nonprofessional site owners' exploitation of the provision of remote testing services. Although empirical research generally supports the psychometric properties and utility of Internet-based assessment, there are numerous ethical and professional issues involved. A large listing of concerns is presented, followed by a recommendation to take action in three concomitant directions: focused legislation (including international conventions), Internet-specific training for professionals, and public education aimed at increasing awareness and understanding.
Fast winner search for SOM-based monitoring and retrieval of high-dimensional data

Self-organizing maps (SOMs) are widely used in engineering and data-analysis tasks, but so far rarely in very large-scale problems. The reason is the amount of computation. Winner search, finding the position of a data sample on the map, is the computational bottleneck: comparison between the data vector and all of the model vectors of the map is required. In this paper a method is proposed for reducing the amount of computation by restricting the search to certain small-dimensional subspaces of the original space. The method is suitable for applications in which the map can be computed off-line, for instance, in data monitoring, classification, and information retrieval. In a case study with the WEBSOM system that organizes text document collections on a SOM, the amount of computation was reduced to about 14% of the original, and even to 6.6% when approximations were utilized.
Knowledge Globalization Within and Across the People’s Republic of China and the United States

The study examines globalization within and across China and the United States in conjunction with a portrayal of the nature of the scholarly endeavors over the past 10 years in the two preeminent educational research journals of these countries. By extensive analyses of topics, methodology, and citations the research clarifies the global and local forces at work within and across countries, including the types of internationalization occurring between the United States and People’s Republic of China. The findings suggest that globalization involves forces in transaction with one another—local forces addressing national interests and international forces seeking a comparative perspective primarily tied to local interests. The findings highlight the insularity of each country’s scholarly endeavors and how research is skewed toward western scholarship.
Use of an Orthotopic Xenograft Model for Assessing the Effect of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Amplification on Glioblastoma Radiation Response

Purpose: The influence of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) amplification on glioblastoma patient prognosis following definitive radiotherapy has been extensively investigated in clinical studies, and yet the relationship between EGFR status and radiation response remains unclear. The intent of the current study was to address this relationship using several EGFR-amplified glioblastoma xenografts in an orthotopic athymic mouse model. Experimental Design: We examined the effect of radiation on the survival of nude mice with intracranial xenografts derived from 13 distinct patient tumors, 7 of which have amplified EGFR. Mice with established intracranial tumors were randomized to sham treatment or 12-Gy radiation in six fractions delivered over 12 days. Results: For six of the xenografts, radiation of mice with intracranial tumor significantly extended survival, and four of these xenografts had EGFR amplification. For seven other xenografts, radiation treatment did not significantly extend survival, and three of these, including GBM12, had EGFR amplification. Similar to EGFR, the tumor genetic status of p53 or PTEN did not show preferential association with radiation-sensitive or radiation-resistant xenografts whereas hyperphosphorylation of Akt on Ser473 was associated with increased radioresistance. To specifically investigate whether inhibition of EGFR kinase activity influences radiation response, we examined combined radiation and EGFR inhibitor treatment in mice with intracranial GBM12. The combination of oral erlotinib administered concurrently with radiation resulted only in additive survival benefit relative to either agent alone. Conclusions: Our results indicate that EGFR amplification, as a biomarker, is not singularly predictive of glioblastoma response to radiation therapy, nor does the inhibition of EGFR enhance the intrinsic radiation responsiveness of glioblastoma tumors. However, efficacious EGFR inhibitor and radiation monotherapy regimens can be used in combination to achieve additive antitumor effect against a subset of glioblastoma.
Can Narratives of White Identity Reduce Opposition to Immigration and Support for Hard Brexit? A Survey Experiment

Britain’s vote to leave the European Union highlights the importance of White majority opposition to immigration. This article presents the results of a survey experiment examining whether priming an open form of ethno-nationalism based on immigrant assimilation reduces hostility to immigration and support for right-wing populism in Britain. Results show that drawing attention to the idea that assimilation leaves the ethnic majority unchanged significantly reduces hostility to immigration and support for Hard Brexit in the UK. Treatment effects are strongest among UK Independence Party, Brexit and White working-class voters. This is arguably the first example of an experimental treatment leading to more liberal immigration policy preferences.
English lexical stress, prominence and rhythm

English speech rhythm is closely associated with the patterns of lexical stress and prominence in a stream of speech. Older varieties of English (OVEs), such as British and American English, which usually operate as the model in English language teaching, are often described as ‘stress-timed’, meaning the time between stressed syllables is more or less equal, in comparison with ‘syllable-timed’ languages (e.g., French or Cantonese), for which the time between successive syllable onsets is more or less equal. The usefulness of this distinction, however, has been disputed; e.g., Cauldwell (2002) talks about ‘functional irrythmicality’ in English speech. Cutler (1984) explains that native speakers of English focus on stressed syllables when listening to a stream of speech as part of the decoding process; i.e., for native speakers, lexical stress and the rhythm of the incoming signal play an important part in perception. Couper-Kuhlen and colleagues (e.g., Auer, Couper-Kuhlen, & Muller, 1999) have shown that speech rhythm plays an important part in the coordination of turn-taking in conversation. Anderson-Hsieh and Venkatagiri (1994) argue that speakers’ intelligibility will be affected if they do not sufficiently weaken English unstressed syllables. Such research indicates that the differences in the lexical stress and/or speech rhythm patterns of learners of English, or speakers of New Varieties of English (NVEs) which are not ‘stress-timed’, could create difficulties in comprehension and cooperative interaction for native speakers of OVEs and also, plausibly, for other speakers of English if they are using similar strategies. However, whether the majority of speakers of English in the world have a speaker of an OVE as their target interlocutor is coming increasingly under question. This chapter gives an overview of English lexical stress, prominence and speech rhythm in OVEs, including theoretical approaches to their description, and includes suggestions for pedagogical approaches for the English language classroom.
Electrical Coupling between Interneurons with Different Excitable Properties in the Stratum Lacunosum-Moleculare of the Juvenile CA1 Rat Hippocampus

Electrical coupling among GABAergic interneurons is believed to play an essential role in shaping synchronized brain network activity related to cognition and behavior. We have studied the rules governing the electrical coupling between hippocampal interneurons located in stratum lacunosum-moleculare of the CA1 hippocampus. The most frequently recorded interneuron subtype had short multipolar dendrites and a dense local axonal arborization, typical of neurogliaform cells. Electrical excitability in this class of interneurons was heterogeneous. Although injection of small current steps evoked late spiking, larger steps triggered different types of firing patterns. Trains of action potentials ranged from clearly adapting to highly irregular, with clustered or mostly regular spikes. Electrotonic and action potentials could be propagated to the coupled cells; the coupling coefficient for electrotonic signals was 0.035, which compared with 0.005 for action potentials. Electrical coupling was reversibly blocked by application of carbenoxolone. Multiple simultaneous recordings indicated that interneurons with similar and different firing patterns were electrically coupled. This visual impression was quantitatively confirmed by principal component analysis applied to variables related to membrane excitability. In fact, the probability of finding electrically coupled neurons in our sample was not dependent on the excitable properties of the cells tested and was ∼0.34. The presence of diffuse electrical coupling among hippocampal interneurons of stratum lacunosum-moleculare with different excitability is a novel finding with important implications. For example, the promiscuity of electrical connections may endow inhibitory networks with a large degree of flexibility and regulate the computational power of the hippocampus during different synchronized states.
Complex Patterns of Association between Pleiotropy and Transcription Factor Evolution

Pleiotropy has been claimed to constrain gene evolution but specific mechanisms and extent of these constraints have been difficult to demonstrate. The expansion of molecular data makes it possible to investigate these pleiotropic effects. Few classes of genes have been characterized as intensely as human transcription factors (TFs). We therefore analyzed the evolutionary rates of full TF proteins, along with their DNA binding domains and protein-protein interacting domains (PID) in light of the degree of pleiotropy, measured by the number of TF–TF interactions, or the number of DNA-binding targets. Data were extracted from the ENCODE Chip-Seq dataset, the String v 9.2 database, and the NHGRI GWAS catalog. Evolutionary rates of proteins and domains were calculated using the PAML CodeML package. Our analysis shows that the numbers of TF-TF interactions and DNA binding targets associated with constrained gene evolution; however, the constraint caused by the number of DNA binding targets was restricted to the DNA binding domains, whereas the number of TF-TF interactions constrained the full protein and did so more strongly. Additionally, we found a positive correlation between the number of protein–PIDs and the evolutionary rates of the protein–PIDs. These findings show that not only does pleiotropy associate with constrained protein evolution but the constraint differs by domain function. Finally, we show that GWAS associated TF genes are more highly pleiotropic. The GWAS data illustrates that mutations in highly pleiotropic genes are more likely to be associated with disease phenotypes.
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology Open Access Diabetes (db/db) Mutation-induced Endometrial Epithelial Lipoapoptosis: Ultrastructural and Cytochemical Analysis of Reproductive Tract Atrophy

Background: The diabetes (db/db) mutation in C57BL/KsJ mice promotes a progressive cytolipidemia within the endometrial epithelial (EE) layer of the female reproductive tract which results in premature cellular and organ atrophy. The current studies focus on the ultrastructural and cytochemical changes which promote nuclear apoptosis and cytostructural disruption following the expression of endometrial hypercytolipidemia which promotes diabetes-associated organoinvolution and manifest infertility.
On the Scaling Window of Model RB

This paper analyzes the scaling window of a random CSP model (i.e. model RB) for which we can identify the threshold points exactly, denoted by $r_{cr}$ or $p_{cr}$. For this model, we establish the scaling window $W(n,\delta)=(r_{-}(n,\delta), r_{+}(n,\delta))$ such that the probability of a random instance being satisfiable is greater than $1-\delta$ for $r r_{+}(n,\delta)$. Specifically, we obtain the following result $$W(n,\delta)=(r_{cr}-\Theta(\frac{1}{n^{1-\epsilon}\ln n}), \ r_{cr}+\Theta(\frac{1}{n\ln n})),$$ where $0\leq\epsilon<1$ is a constant. A similar result with respect to the other parameter $p$ is also obtained. Since the instances generated by model RB have been shown to be hard at the threshold, this is the first attempt, as far as we know, to analyze the scaling window of such a model with hard instances.
The Effect of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Chitosan Gel on Full Thickness Skin Wound Healing in Albino Rats: Histological, Immunohistochemical and Fluorescent Study

Background Wound healing involves the integration of complex biological processes. Several studies examined numerous approaches to enhance wound healing and to minimize its related morbidity. Both chitosan and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were used in treating skin wounds. The aim of the current work was to compare MSCs versus chitosan in wound healing, evaluate the most efficient route of administration of MSCs, either intradermal or systemic injection, and elicit the mechanisms inducing epidermal and dermal cell regeneration using histological, immunohistochemical and fluorescent techniques. Material and Methods Forty adult male Sprague Dawley albino rats were divided into four equal groups (ten rats in each group): control group (Group I); full thickness surgical skin wound model, Group II: Wound and chitosan gel. Group III: Wound treated with systemic injection of MSCs and Group IV: Wound treated with intradermal injection of MSCs. The healing ulcer was examined on day 3, 5, 10 and 15 for gross morphological evaluation and on day 10 and 15 for histological, immunohistochemical and fluorescent studies. Results Chitosan was proved to promote wound healing more than the control group but none of their wound reached complete closure. Better and faster healing of wounds in MSCs treated groups were manifested more than the control or chitosan treated groups. It was found that the intradermal route of administration of stem cells enhanced the rate of healing of skin wounds better than the systemic administration to the extent that, by the end of the fifteenth day of the experiment, the wounds were completely healed in all rats of this group. Histologically, the wound areas of group IV were hardly demarcated from the adjacent normal skin and showed complete regeneration of the epidermis, dermis, hypodermis and underlying muscle fibers. Collagen fibers were arranged in many directions, with significant increase in their area percent, surrounding fully regenerated hair follicles and sebaceous glands in the dermis of the healed areas more than in other groups. Conclusion MSCs enhanced the healing process of wound closure more than chitosan gel treatment. Furthermore, MSCs injected intradermally, were more efficient in accelerating wound healing than any other mode of treatment.
Gender differences in financial socialization in the home—An exploratory study

Recent literature has stressed the need for research examining the causes of females in general having lower levels of financial literacy than males. This paper uses social cognitive theory of gender development as a framework to propose differing financial socialisation of children in the home by gender as a possible cause of gender differences later in life. Evidence is found of gender based differences in the financial socialisation of eleven to fourteen year olds. Findings include more frequent parent-child discussions being correlated to more positive financial attitudes, but not to saving behaviour. Saving behaviour of children is influenced by attitudes to money along with the presence of parents when spending, which is subject to a same sex gender bias for girls, with large effect sizes. Girls are over 200% more likely to state they save some of their pocket money if their mother is present when they spend their pocket money, compared to having no parent present. This difference does not exist for male children. When a boy is with both parents when spending, they are 245% more likely to report saving some of their pocket money then when neither parent is present. Having a father present when spending does not yield significantly different results to when no parent is present. These findings of gender biased financial socialisation in the home are important considerations for the design of school-based financial literacy programmes. Specifically, these programmes should consider a goal of encouraging discussion and questioning gender based attitudes and roles in the home. They are also important findings in terms of going some way to explaining the existence of a gender difference in financial knowledge in adulthood.
Analysis of robustness in heterogeneous ad hoc networks

This paper studies an original approach to combine route and path recovery process in heterogeneous ad hoc networks (Zigbee and WiFi technologies) in order to increase the ad hoc network robustness. It proposes multi-redundancy architecture based on IEEE and IEFT protocols, which is able to manage the fault detection on primary communication path and then to switch to an alternate path in case of failure. The three recovery policies (link-to-link, end-to-end path and segment path) are studied and compared through an analytical approach. Evaluation shows the segment recovery interest, and the advantage to monitor the primary path at routing level by multipath routing protocol rather than to monitor it at transport level by transport protocol.
Source-channel rate optimization for progressive image transmission over block fading relay channels [Transactions Papers]

In this paper, we are concerned with the design and analysis of joint source-channel coding schemes for block fading channels with relay-assisted distributed spatial diversity. Assuming a progressive image coder with a constraint on the transmission bandwidth, we formulate a joint source-channel rate allocation scheme that maximizes the expected source throughput. Specifically, using Gaussian as well as BPSK inputs on flat Rayleigh fading channels, we lower bound the average packet error rate by the corresponding mutual information outage probability, and derive the average throughput expression as a function of channel code rates as well as channel SNR for both a frequency-division multiplexing-based baseline system without relaying, and a half-duplex relay system with a decode-and- forward protocol. At high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), for the systems considered in this paper, we show that our rate optimization problem is a convex function of the channel code rates, and we show that a known recursive algorithm can be used to predict the performance of both systems.
Molecular Subtype Classification Is a Determinant of Non-Sentinel Lymph Node Metastasis in Breast Cancer Patients with Positive Sentinel Lymph Nodes

Background Previous studies suggested that the molecular subtypes were strongly associated with sentinel lymph node (SLN) status. The purpose of this study was to determine whether molecular subtype classification was associated with non-sentinel lymph nodes (NSLN) metastasis in patients with a positive SLN. Methodology and Principal Findings Between January 2001 and March 2011, a total of 130 patients with a positive SLN were recruited. All these patients underwent a complete axillary lymph node dissection. The univariate and multivariate analyses of NSLN metastasis were performed. In univariate and multivariate analyses, large tumor size, macrometastasis and high tumor grade were all significant risk factors of NSLN metastasis in patients with a positive SLN. In univariate analysis, luminal B subgroup showed higher rate of NSLN metastasis than other subgroup (P = 0.027). When other variables were adjusted in multivariate analysis, the molecular subtype classification was a determinant of NSLN metastasis. Relative to triple negative subgroup, both luminal A (P = 0.047) and luminal B (P = 0.010) subgroups showed a higher risk of NSLN metastasis. Otherwise, HER2 over-expression subgroup did not have a higher risk than triple negative subgroup (P = 0.183). The area under the curve (AUC) value was 0.8095 for the Cambridge model. When molecular subtype classification was added to the Cambridge model, the AUC value was 0.8475. Conclusions Except for other factors, molecular subtype classification was a determinant of NSLN metastasis in patients with a positive SLN. The predictive accuracy of mathematical models including molecular subtype should be determined in the future.
May I help you?: Design of Human-like Polite Approaching Behavior

When should service staff initiate interaction with a visitor? Neither simply-proactive (e.g. talk to everyone in a sight) nor passive (e.g. wait until being talked to) strategies are desired. This paper reports our modeling of polite approaching behavior. In a shopping mall, there are service staff members who politely approach visitors who need help. Our analysis revealed that staff members are sensitive to "intentions" of nearby visitors. That is, when a visitor intends to talk to a staff member and starts to approach, the staff member also walks a few steps toward the visitors in advance to being talked. Further, even when not being approached, staff members exhibit "availability" behavior in the case that a visitor's intention seems uncertain. We modeled these behaviors that are adaptive to pedestrians' intentions, occurred prior to initiation of conversation. The model was implemented into a robot and tested in a real shopping mall. The experiment confirmed that the proposed method is less intrusive to pedestrians, and that our robot successfully initiated interaction with pedestrians.
Arctigenin Inhibits Lung Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer by Regulating Cell Viability and Metastatic Phenotypes

Arctigenin (ARC) has been shown to have an anti-cancer effect in various cell types and tissues. However, there have been no studies concerning metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, we investigated the anti-metastatic properties of ARC on colorectal metastasis and present a potential candidate drug. ARC induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in CT26 cells through the intrinsic apoptotic pathway via MAPKs signaling. In several metastatic phenotypes, ARC controlled epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through increasing the expression of epithelial marker E-cadherin and decreasing the expressions of mesenchymal markers; N-cadherin, vimentin, β-catenin, and Snail. Moreover, ARC inhibited migration and invasion through reducing of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 expressions. In an experimental metastasis model, ARC significantly inhibited lung metastasis of CT26 cells. Taken together, our study demonstrates the inhibitory effects of ARC on colorectal metastasis.