Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Why Children's Dispositions Should Matter to All Teachers

Early childhood tEachErs guide young children's learning in ways that support their development. Traditionally, foremost in teachers' minds is what knowledge and skills children should acquire. Today, however, many teachers are becoming aware of the pivotal role of dispositions in the education of children. This article examines types of dispositions, their link to children's effective learning, and classroom practices/environments that support them. We emphasize that dispositions and learning experiences are equally important and that teachers can encourage certain dispositions. Dispositions are frequent and voluntary habits of thinking and doing. These habits of mind are not to be confused with mindless habits, such as stopping at a red light (Katz 1993a). Lilian Katz has pondered, spoken, and written about the role of dispositions in children's education for nearly 30 years. She defines " a disposition as a pattern of behavior exhibited frequently. in the absence of coercion. constituting a habit of mind under some conscious and voluntary control. intentional and oriented to broad goals " (1993b, 16). Another important characteristic of children's dispositions is that they are environmentally sensitive—meaning they are acquired, supported, or weakened by interactive experiences in an environment with significant adults and peers (Bertram & Pascal 2002). These significant adults obviously include teachers in early childhood settings. For example , in Reggio Emilia-inspired schools, teachers purposely integrate materials from nature into activities. A large, ordinary tree branch can become the core for cooperative ribbon Denise Da Ros-Voseles, PhD, is an associate professor of early childhood education at Northeastern State University in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. She ponders, researches, and writes about the pivotal role of dispositions in classrooms. a former head teacher, now works with four-year-olds in the Tulsa Public Schools in Oklahoma. An artist herself, she is passionate about arts education. Dispositions are frequent and voluntary habits of thinking and doing.
DHA Effects in Brain Development and Function

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a structural constituent of membranes specifically in the central nervous system. Its accumulation in the fetal brain takes place mainly during the last trimester of pregnancy and continues at very high rates up to the end of the second year of life. Since the endogenous formation of DHA seems to be relatively low, DHA intake may contribute to optimal conditions for brain development. We performed a narrative review on research on the associations between DHA levels and brain development and function throughout the lifespan. Data from cell and animal studies justify the indication of DHA in relation to brain function for neuronal cell growth and differentiation as well as in relation to neuronal signaling. Most data from human studies concern the contribution of DHA to optimal visual acuity development. Accumulating data indicate that DHA may have effects on the brain in infancy, and recent studies indicate that the effect of DHA may depend on gender and genotype of genes involved in the endogenous synthesis of DHA. While DHA levels may affect early development, potential effects are also increasingly recognized during childhood and adult life, suggesting a role of DHA in cognitive decline and in relation to major psychiatric disorders.
Juvenile Crime and Criminal Justice: Resolving Border Disputes

Rising juvenile crime rates during the 1970s and 1980s spurred state legislatures across the country to exclude or transfer a significant share of offenders under the age of eighteen to the jurisdiction of the criminal court, essentially redrawing the boundary between the juvenile and adult justice systems. Jeffrey Fagan examines the legal architecture of the new boundary-drawing regime and how effective it has been in reducing crime.The juvenile court, Fagan emphasizes, has always had the power to transfer juveniles to the criminal court. Transfer decisions were made individually by judges who weighed the competing interests of public safety and the possibility of rehabilitating young offenders. This authority has now been usurped by legislators and prosecutors. The recent changes in state law have moved large numbers of juveniles into the adult system. As many as 25 percent of all juvenile offenders younger than eighteen, says Fagan, are now prosecuted in adult court. Many live in states where the age boundary between juvenile and criminal court has been lowered to sixteen or seventeen.The key policy question is: do these new transfer laws reduce crime? In examining the research evidence, Fagan finds that rates of juvenile offending are not lower in states where it is relatively more common to try adolescents as adults. Likewise, juveniles who have been tried as adults are no less likely to re-offend than their counterparts who have been tried as juveniles. Treating juveniles as adult criminals, Fagan concludes, is not effective as a means of crime control.Fagan argues that the proliferation of transfer regimes over the past several decades calls into question the very rationale for a juvenile court. Transferring adolescent offenders to the criminal court exposes them to harsh and sometimes toxic forms of punishment that have the perverse effect of increasing criminal activity. The accumulating evidence on transfer, the recent decrease in serious juvenile crime, and new gains in the science of adolescent development, concludes Fagan, may be persuading legislators, policymakers, and practitioners that eighteen may yet again be the appropriate age for juvenile court jurisdiction.
Watson–Crick-like pairs in CCUG repeats: evidence for tautomeric shifts or protonation

RNA transcripts that include expanded CCUG repeats are associated with myotonic dystrophy type 2. Crystal structures of two CCUG-containing oligomers show that the RNA strands associate into slipped duplexes that contain noncanonical C–U pairs that have apparently undergone tautomeric transition or protonation resulting in an unusual Watson–Crick-like pairing. The overhanging ends of the duplexes interact forming U–U pairs, which also show tautomerism. Duplexes consisting of CCUG repeats are thermodynamically less stable than the trinucleotide repeats involved in the TRED genetic disorders, but introducing LNA residues increases their stability and raises the melting temperature of the studied oligomers by ∼10°C, allowing detailed crystallographic studies. Quantum mechanical calculations were performed to test the possibility of the tautomeric transitions or protonation within the noncanonical pairs. The results indicate that tautomeric or ionic shifts of nucleobases can manifest themselves in biological systems, supplementing the canonical “rules of engagement. ”
The alcohol deprivation effect in C57BL/6J mice is observed using operant self-administration procedures and is modulated by CRF-1 receptor signaling.

BACKGROUND The alcohol deprivation effect (ADE) is characterized by transient excessive alcohol consumption upon reinstatement of ethanol following a period of ethanol deprivation. While this phenomenon has been observed in rats using both bottle drinking (consummatory behavior) and operant self-administration (consummatory and appetitive "ethanol-seeking" behavior) procedures, ADE studies in mice have primarily relied on bottle drinking measures. Furthermore, the neurochemical pathways that modulate the ADE are not well understood. Therefore, we determined whether the ADE can be observed in C57BL/6J mice using operant self-administration procedures and if expression of the ADE is modulated by the corticotropin releasing factor-1 (CRF-1) receptor. METHODS C57BL/6J mice were trained in a 2-hour operant self-administration paradigm to lever press for 10% ethanol or water on separate response keys. Between operant sessions, mice had access to ethanol in their homecage. Once stable responding occurred, mice were deprived of ethanol for 4 days and were then retested with ethanol in the operant paradigm for 3 consecutive days. Next, to assess the role of the CRF-1 receptor, mice were given intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection (0, 10, or 20 mg/kg) of the CRF-1 receptor antagonist CP-154,526 30 minutes before ADE testing. Additional experiments assessed (i) ADE responding in which the alternate response lever was inactive, (ii) the effects of CP-154,526 on self-administration of a 1% sucrose solution following 4 days of deprivation, and (iii) ADE responding in which mice did not received i.p. injections throughout the experiment. RESULTS Mice exhibited a significant increase in postdeprivation lever responding for ethanol with either a water reinforced or inactive alternate lever. Interestingly, i.p. injection of a 10 mg/kg dose of CP-154,526 protected against the ADE while not affecting lever responding for a sucrose solution. Finally, baseline and deprivation-induced increases of ethanol reinforced lever responding were greater in mice not given i.p. injections. CONCLUSIONS The ADE in C57BL/6J mice can be modeled using the operant self-administration paradigm and increased ethanol self-administration associated with the ADE is modulated by CRF-1 receptor signaling.
Evaluation of cell-free fetal DNA as a second-trimester maternal serum marker of Down syndrome pregnancy.

BACKGROUND Second-trimester cell-free fetal DNA (studied only in pregnancies with male fetuses) is higher in maternal serum samples from women carrying Down syndrome fetuses than in unaffected pregnancies. In this study we evaluated the potential performance of fetal DNA as a screening marker for Down syndrome. METHODS Data on maternal serum fetal DNA concentrations and the corresponding concentrations of the quadruple serum markers were available from 15 Down syndrome cases, each matched for gestational age and length of freezer storage, with 5 control samples. Analyte values were expressed as multiple(s) of the control or population median. Screening performance of fetal DNA, both alone and when added to estimates of quadruple marker performance, was determined after modeling using univariate and multivariate gaussian distribution analysis. RESULTS The median fetal DNA concentration in Down syndrome cases was 1.7 times higher than in controls. In univariate analysis, fetal DNA gave a 21% detection rate at a 5% false-positive rate. When added to quadruple marker screening, fetal DNA increased the estimated detection rate from 81% to 86% at a 5% false-positive rate. CONCLUSIONS Cell-free fetal DNA, measured in maternal serum, can modestly increase screening performance above what is currently available in the second trimester. If and when maternal serum fetal DNA can be measured in pregnancies with both male and female fetuses, the utility and cost-effectiveness of adding it as a Down syndrome screening marker should be assessed.
Cellular Memristive Dynamical Systems (CMDS)

This study presents a cellular-based mapping for a special class of dynamical systems for embedding neuron models, by exploiting an efficient memristor crossbar-based circuit for its implementation. The resultant reconfigurable memristive dynamical circuit exhibits various bifurcation phenomena, and responses that are characteristic of dynamical systems. High programmability of the circuit enables it to be applied to real-time applications, learning systems, and analytically indescribable dynamical systems. Moreover, its efficient implementation platform makes it an appropriate choice for on-chip applications and prostheses. We apply this method to the Izhikevich, and FitzHugh–Nagumo neuron models as case studies, and investigate the dynamical behaviors of these circuits.
Pathogenic and physiological autoantibodies in the central nervous system

Summary: In this article, we review the current knowledge on pathological and physiological autoantibodies directed toward structures in the central nervous system (CNS) with an emphasis on their regulation and origin. Pathological autoantibodies in the CNS that are associated with autoimmunity often lead to severe neurological deficits via inflammatory processes such as encephalitis. In some instances, however, autoantibodies function as a marker for diagnostic purposes without contributing to the pathological process and/or disease progression. The existence of naturally occurring physiological autoantibodies has been known for a long time, and their role in maintaining homeostasis is well established. Within the brain, naturally occurring autoantibodies targeting aggregated proteins have been detected and might be promising candidates for new therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative disorders. Further evidence has demonstrated the existence of naturally occurring antibodies targeting antigens on neurons and oligodendrocytes that promote axonal outgrowth and remyelination. The numerous actions of physiological autoantibodies as well as their regulation and origin are summarized in this review.
The Effects of the E-Book System with the Reading Guidance and the Annotation Map on the Reading Performance of College Students

Novice learners demonstrate marked difficulty in using reading-study systems to read academic textbooks. One notable problem is that the process and constructed knowledge is complex. Novice learners are required to exert considerable effort in applying the process and in remembering the knowledge, resulting in lower motivation and fewer cognitive resources for reading. This study develops an e-book reading system with an integrated reading guidance module and an annotation map, and conducts an experiment for examining the effect of this system on reading, reviewing, navigational performance, and reader behavior. The results show that the annotation map significantly improves reviewing and navigational performance, but not reading performance. Log analysis identifies two problems related to reading guidance: time allocation and learner control. We discuss these results and propose recommendations for future works.
The Arbitrarily Varying Wiretap Channel—Secret Randomness, Stability, and Super-Activation

We define the common randomness-assisted capacity of an arbitrarily varying wiretap channel (AVWC) when the eavesdropper is kept ignorant about the common randomness. We prove a multi-letter capacity formula for this model. We prove that, if enough common randomness is used, the capacity formula can be given a single-shot form again. We then consider the opposite extremal case, where no common randomness is available, and derive the capacity. It is known that the capacity of the system can be discontinuous under these circumstances. We prove here that it is still stable in the sense that it is continuous around its positivity points. We further prove that discontinuities can only arise if the legal link is symmetrizable and characterize the points where it is positive. These results shed new light on the design principles of communication systems with embedded security features. At last, we investigate the effect of super-activation of the message transmission capacity of AVWCs under the average error criterion. We give a complete characterization of those AVWCs that may be super-activated. The effect is thereby also related to the (conjectured) super-activation of the common randomness assisted capacity of AVWCs with an eavesdropper that gets to know the common randomness. Super-activation is based on the idea of wasting a few bits of non-secret messages in order to enable provably secret transmission of a large bulk of data, a concept that may prove to be of further importance in the design of communication systems. In this paper, we provide further insight into this phenomenon by providing a class of codes that is capacity achieving and does not convey any information to the eavesdropper.
Author ' s personal copy Modeling the transmission dynamics and control of hepatitis B virus in China $

Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and is a major global health problem. HBV is the most common serious viral infection and a leading cause of death in mainland China. Around 130 million people in China are carriers of HBV, almost a third of the people infected with HBV worldwide and about 10% of the general population in the country; among them 30 million are chronically infected. Every year, 300,000 people die from HBV-related diseases in China, accounting for 40–50% of HBV-related deaths worldwide. Despite an effective vaccination program for newborn babies since the 1990s, which has reduced chronic HBV infection in children, the incidence of hepatitis B is still increasing in China. We propose a mathematical model to understand the transmission dynamics and prevalence of HBV infection in China. Based on the data reported by the Ministry of Health of China, the model provides an approximate estimate of the basic reproduction number R0 1⁄4 2:406. This indicates that hepatitis B is endemic in China and is approaching its equilibrium with the current immunization program and control measures. Although China made a great progress in increasing coverage among infants with hepatitis B vaccine, it has a long and hard battle to fight in order to significantly reduce the incidence and eventually eradicate the virus. & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
In silico assessment of virulence factors in strains of Streptococcus oralis and Streptococcus mitis isolated from patients with Infective Endocarditis

Purpose. Streptococcus oralis and Streptococcus mitis belong to the Mitis group, which are mostly commensals in the human oral cavity. Even though S. oralis and S. mitis are oral commensals, they can be opportunistic pathogens causing infective endocarditis. A recent taxonomic re‐evaluation of the Mitis group has embedded the species Streptococcus tigurinus and Streptococcus dentisani into the species S. oralis as subspecies. In this study, the distribution of virulence factors that contribute to bacterial immune evasion, colonization and adhesion was assessed in clinical strains of S. oralis (subsp. oralis, subsp. tigurinus and subsp. dentisani) and S. mitis. Methodology. Forty clinical S. oralis (subsp. oralis, subsp. dentisani and subsp. tigurinus) and S. mitis genomes were annotated with the pipeline PanFunPro and aligned against the VFDB database for assessment of virulence factors. Results/Key findings. Three homologues of pavA, psaA and lmb, encoding adhesion proteins, were present in all strains. Seven homologues of nanA, nanB, ply, lytA, lytB, lytC and iga, of importance regarding survival in blood and modulation of the human immune system, were variously present in the genomes. Few S. oralis subspecies specific differences were observed. iga homologues were identified in S. oralis subsp. oralis, whereas lytA homologues were identified in S. oralis subsp. oralis and subsp. tigurinus. Conclusion. Differences in the presence of virulence factors among the three S. oralis subspecies were observed. The virulence gene profiles of the 40 S. mitis and S. oralis (subsp. oralis, subsp. dentisani and subsp. tigurinus) contribute with important new knowledge regarding these species and new subspecies.
Quantification of Mayor Volatile Compounds from Artisanal Agave Distilled: Bacanora

Bacanora is an artisanal beverage distilled from agave, which is manufactured on a small scale in the Sonora state, Mexico. The aim of this study was to identify the major volatile compounds in 77 artisanal Bacanora beverages by gas chromatography, to determine the samples that comply with the Mexican Standards for Bacanora. The samples were collected in 28 municipalities in the area of origin denomination. It was found that only 55.8% of the samples (43) meet the parameters established in the Official Mexican Standards, whereas 44.2% of the samples (34) do not comply: 3 samples for alcohol content, 8 for acetaldehyde, 1 for esters, 11 for methanol and 17 for higher alcohols. Some of the samples do not comply because of more than one analyzed parameter. The Bacanora samples showed great variability among the sampled regions as well as within the same municipalities (p ≤ 0.05).
Serum Uric Acid: Its Relationship to Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors and Cardiovascular Disease, Evans County, Georgia

Analysis of serum uric acid (SUA) data obtained during the second examination of 2,530 persons in Evans County, Georgia, revealed a mean SUA level of 5.7 and 5.6 mg/100 ml for white and black males, respectively, and 4.8 and 4.9 mg/100 ml for white and black females, respectively. The SUA level and ponderal index were negatively correlated in all four race-sex groups. The prevalence of hypertension was greater in hyperuricemics as compared to normouricemics in all race-sex groups. Increased prevalence of coronary heart disease in hyperuricemics was secondary to increased body size. We review hypotheses concerning the relationships between SUA and coronary risk factors, hypertension, and coronary heart disease.
Predicting the Psychosocial Effects of Interpersonal Partner Violence (IPV)

Women's (N = 205) IPV experiences were assessed during their pregnancies, in the year before their pregnancies, and with their previous partners. The study explored whether psychosocial indicators and severity of violence could be predicted from a woman's continuity and history of IPV. Two 4-group classifications—partner (IPV experiences across partners) and time (history of IPV experiences)—and one 2-group classification (IPV or no IPV in the past 6 months) were compared. Both four-group classifications accounted for more variance than did the two-group. Within the four-group classifications, most of the significant differences on psychosocial out-comes and severity of IPV were between the no IPV and chronic IPV groups (IPV experiences with two partners and across three different time periods). However, the groups that also fared poorly were those who experienced recent IPV and continuity of IPV across time with their current partners.
Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution: Research and Practice Design Preservation over Subsequent Releases of a Software Product: a Case Study of Baan Erp

SUMMARY We present the results of two case studies we conducted at Baan in the Netherlands. At the time of conducting the case studies, Baan was part of Invensys plc. (Baan is now owned by SSA Global Technologies.) In these case studies we investigated how companies identify design erosion and address this in their software, a practice we call 'design preservation'. In this study, we selected two subsystems in Baan products that had recently been subjected to extensive maintenance activities because they were eroded. In this paper, we analyze the problems these systems had, how Baan identified that these systems were problematic, and the remedies that were used to address the problems. In addition to confirming some of our earlier conclusions, we have been able to extract some common causes for design erosion problems as well as a number of recommended design preservation practices, which, at least for Baan, have proven to be very effective in strengthening design preservation.