Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What We See Makes Us who We are: Priming Ethnic Self-Awareness and Advertising Response

The authors propose that “ethnic self-awareness”—a temporary state during which a person is more sensitive to information related to his or her own ethnicity—moderates consumer response to targeted advertising. Ethnic self-awareness occurs when a person engages in a process of self-categorization and uses ethnic criteria as the basis for this categorization. The authors hypothesize that “ethnic primes”—visual or verbal cues that draw attention to ethnicity—direct self-categorization and increase ethnic self-awareness. To test these hypotheses, the authors conduct two experiments. Using 109 Asian and Caucasian participants, Experiment 1 assessed the impact of exposure to an Asian ethnic prime on ethnic self-awareness and on response to targeted television advertising. Exposure to an ethnic prime increased the rate at which participants spontaneously mentioned their ethnicity in self-descriptions (a measure of ethnic self-awareness) and caused participants to respond more favorably to same-ethnicity spokespeople and advertising that targeted their ethnicity. Experiment 2 tested the theory in a print advertising context and extended the design by manipulating the type of ethnic prime participants saw (Asian or Caucasian) and the market that the focal advertisement targeted (Asian or Caucasian). Experiment 2 replicated the findings of Experiment 1 when the focal advertisement targeted Asians, but not when it targeted Caucasians.
What Will My Teacher be Like? Picture Storybooks about Starting School

CHILDREN LEARN A GREAT DEAL about school, what happens at school, and the people they will meet at school as they engage with popular culture, such as television, games and books. One of the issues raised by many children as they contemplate starting school concerns what their teacher will be like. Children's expectations about teachers are important contributors to the relationships that develop between teachers and children. Such relationships are themselves a critical factor in children's school engagement. Examining some of the information that contributes to children's expectations about teachers supports a focus on children's experiences as they start school. This article reports a study of the images of teachers within children's picture storybooks—an accessible form of popular culture about school. A collection of 164 English language picture storybooks spanning 1967–2007 was analysed to explore the representations of teachers in schools. Three areas of analysis were undertaken: how teachers are represented; the dominant images of teachers; and the images that are omitted. The analysis demonstrates the generally benign images of teachers and questions the understandings the books promote about teachers and the roles of teachers in schools.
Effect of injecting sows with prostaglandin F 2 α immediately postpartum on subsequent reproductive performance

At a North Carolina farm, 750 females received either none (control), one, or two injections (each 2 mL, 10 mg PGF 2α) of Lutalyse ® after farrowing. Sows were injected at 7 am or 5 pm on the day of farrowing and 24 hours later if they received two doses. Injections of Lutalyse ® tended to increase the piglet average weight at weaning, 0.29 lb (0.13 kg) for one injection (P=.10), and 0.3 lb (0.14 kg) for two injections (P=.09) compared to piglet average weight for control sows. Neonatal mortality decreased 19% (P=.04) for two injections. Lutalyse ® had no effect on the incidence of disease in sows during lacta-tion, in the sows' wean-to-service intervals, or their survival. he benefit of using PGF 2α (Lutalyse ® Sterile Solution, dinoprost tromethamine) for farowing induction has been recognized by swine producers worldwide for many years. 1 Research on the effect of injecting PGF 2α postpartum is underway and indicates that sows may return to estrus more quickly postweaning, be more prolific in subsequent farrowings, and that injections may prevent vaginal discharges, premature culling, or death of sows. Abad, et al., 2 injected 10 mg PGF 2α (2 mL Lutalyse ®) into sows at weaning (24.8 days) on a farm with no significant reproductive problems and reported conception rate increases of 12.25 percentage points for primiparous sows and 6.14 percentage points for multiparous sows. They also reported fewer (13.5% versus 25.8%) primiparous and fewer (10.4% versus 16.9%) multiparous sows culled for reproductive problems. Gil, et al., 3 injected 10 mg of Lutalyse ® 24–48 hours after farrowing into sows in a herd with a history of vaginal discharges and delayed returns to estrus. Compared to untreated controls, the Lutalyse ®-treated sows showed a reduction in returns-to-service, i.e., failure to conceive, (13.9% versus 24.2%), reduction in the incidence of vaginal discharge (0% versus 2.7%), and increased pigs born alive per sow (11.32 versus 10.77). Subsequently, Gil, et al., 4 reported that when sows were injected with 10 mg of Lutalyse ® on a farm with a history of reproductive problems, fewer sows were culled (1.14% versus 8.19%) and farrowing rate improved (90% versus 74%). Lorenzo, et al., 5 in a study of 207 sows, showed a subsequent increase of 0.44 pigs born alive and improvement in returns-to-estrus (16.8% versus 20.8%), although the results were not significant statistically. Another study by Sanmartin, et al., 6 …
The Golgi Localization of Phosphatidylinositol Transfer Protein β Requires the Protein Kinase C-dependent Phosphorylation of Serine 262 and Is Essential for Maintaining Plasma Membrane Sphingomyelin Levels*

Recombinant mouse phosphatidylinositol transfer protein (PI-TP)β is a substrate for protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent phosphorylation in vitro. Based on site-directed mutagenesis and two-dimensional tryptic peptide mapping, Ser262 was identified as the major site of phosphorylation and Ser165 as a minor phosphorylation site. The phospholipid transfer activities of wild-type PI-TPβ and PI-TPβ(S262A) were identical, whereas PI-TPβ(S165A) was completely inactive. PKC-dependent phosphorylation of Ser262 also had no effect on the transfer activity of PI-TPβ. To investigate the role of Ser262 in the functioning of PI-TPβ, wtPI-TPβ and PI-TPβ(S262A) were overexpressed in NIH3T3 fibroblast cells. Two-dimensional PAGE analysis of cell lysates was used to separate PI-TPβ from its phosphorylated form. After Western blotting, wtPI-TPβ was found to be 85% phosphorylated, whereas PI-TPβ(S262A) was not phosphorylated. In the presence of the PKC inhibitor GF 109203X, the phosphorylated form of wtPI-TPβ was strongly reduced. Immunolocalization showed that wtPI-TPβ was predominantly associated with the Golgi membranes. In the presence of the PKC inhibitor, wtPI-TPβ was distributed throughout the cell similar to what was observed for PI-TPβ(S262A). In contrast to wtPI-TPβ overexpressors, cells overexpressing PI-TPβ(S262A) were unable to rapidly replenish sphingomyelin in the plasma membrane upon degradation by sphingomyelinase. This implies that PKC-dependent association with the Golgi complex is a prerequisite for PI-TPβ to express its effect on sphingomyelin metabolism.
The utility of screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders (scared) as a tool for identifying children at high risk for prevalent anxiety disorders

Abstract The current study examined the utility of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) as a screening tool for the identification of children at high risk for prevalent childhood anxiety disorders. The child version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (KSCID) was used as the diagnostic standard. It was investigated whether SCARED scores are indicative for the presence of generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and social phobia. Five-hundred-and-thirty-seven children aged 7–14 years completed the SCARED. From this sample, 82 children were selected on the basis of their SCARED scores. A subgroup of these children scored relatively high on the generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and/or social phobia scale(s) of the SCARED. A comparison group of children scored relatively low on these SCARED scales. Both groups of children then received the semi-structured interview to assess to what extent they fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for the relevant anxiety disorders. Results provided some support for the predictive validity of the SCARED generalized anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorder subscales. The implications of these findings for the detection of anxiety disorders in normal children are briefly discussed.
Stereoscopic Depth: Its Relation to Image Segmentation, Grouping, and the Recognition of Occluded Objects

Image regions corresponding to partially hidden objects are enclosed by two types of bounding contour: those inherent to the object itself (intrinsic) and those defined by occlusion (extrinsic). Intrinsic contours provide useful information regarding object shape, whereas extrinsic contours vary arbitrarily depending on accidental spatial relationships in scenes. Because extrinsic contours can only degrade the process of surface description and object recognition, it is argued that they must be removed prior to a stage of template matching. This implies that the two types of contour must be distinguished relatively early in visual processing and we hypothesize that the encoding of depth is critical for this task. The common border is attached to and regarded as intrinsic to the closer region, and detached from and regarded as extrinsic to the farther region. We also suggest that intrinsic borders aid in the segmentation of image regions and thus prevent grouping, whereas extrinsic borders provide a linkage to other extrinsic borders and facilitate grouping. Support for these views is found in a series of demonstrations, and also in an experiment where the expected superiority of recognition was found when partially sampled faces were seen in a back rather than a front stereoscopic depth plane.
Cyclin D1 Represses STAT3 Activation through a Cdk4-independent Mechanism*

STAT3 transcription factors are cytoplasmic proteins that induce gene activation in response to cytokine receptor stimulation. Following tyrosine phosphorylation, STAT3 proteins dimerize, translocate into the nucleus, and activate specific target genes. Activation is transient, and down-regulation of STAT3 signaling occurs within a few hours. In this study, we show that cyclin D1 inhibits STAT3 activation. In co-immunoprecipitation and pull-down assays, cyclin D1 was found to associate with the activation domain of STAT3 upon interleukin-6 stimulation. Overexpression of cyclin D1 inhibited transcriptional activation by STAT3 proteins. This effect was not shared by cyclin E, was independent of association with Cdk4, and was unaffected by inhibitors of Cdk4. Whereas cyclin D1 had no effect on the steady-state level of STAT3 proteins in the cytoplasm, it was found to reduce the STAT3 nuclear level in HepG2 cells. These results suggest a model by which cyclin D1 is part of a feedback network controlling the down-regulation of STAT3 activity and highlight a new activity for this cell cycle regulatory protein.
Engineering of Deinococcus radiodurans R1 for Bioprecipitation of Uranium from Dilute Nuclear Waste

Genetic engineering of radiation-resistant organisms to recover radionuclides/heavy metals from radioactive wastes is an attractive proposition. We have constructed a Deinococcus radiodurans strain harboring phoN, a gene encoding a nonspecific acid phosphatase, obtained from a local isolate of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. The recombinant strain expressed an approximately 27-kDa active PhoN protein and efficiently precipitated over 90% of the uranium from a 0.8 mM uranyl nitrate solution in 6 h. The engineered strain retained uranium bioprecipitation ability even after exposure to 6 kGy of 60Co gamma rays. The PhoN-expressing D. radiodurans offers an effective and eco-friendly in situ approach to biorecovery of uranium from dilute nuclear waste.
Continuous software engineering and beyond: trends and challenges

Throughout its short history, software development has been characterized by harmful disconnects between important activities e.g., planning, development and implementation. The problem is further exacerbated by the episodic and infrequent performance of activities such as planning, testing, integration and releases. Several emerging phenomena reflect attempts to address these problems. For example, the Enterprise Agile concept has emerged as a recognition that the benefits of agile software development will be sub- optimal if not complemented by an agile approach in related organizational function such as finance and HR. Continuous integration is a practice which has emerged to eliminate discontinuities between development and deployment. In a similar vein, the recent emphasis on DevOps recognizes that the integration between software development and its operational deployment needs to be a continuous one. We argue a similar continuity is required between business strategy and development, BizDev being the term we coin for this. These disconnects are even more problematic given the need for reliability and resilience in the complex and data-intensive systems being developed today. Drawing on the lean concept of flow, we identify a number of continuous activities which are important for software development in today’s context. These activities include continuous planning, continuous integration, continuous deployment, continuous delivery, continuous verification, continuous testing, continuous compliance,continuous security, continuous use, continuous trust, continuous run-time monitoring, continuous improvement (both process and product), all underpinned by continuous innovation. We use the umbrella term, ``Continuous *'' (continuous star) to identify this family of continuous activities.
The structure of spider's web fast escaping sets

Building on recent work by Rippon and Stallard, we explore the intricate structure of the spider's web fast escaping sets associated with certain transcendental entire functions. Our results are expressed in terms of the components of the complement of the set (the ‘holes’ in the web). We describe the topology of such components and give a characterization of their possible orbits under iteration. We show that there are uncountably many components having each of a number of orbit types, and we prove that components with bounded orbits are quasiconformally homeomorphic to components of the filled Julia set of a polynomial. We also show that there are singleton periodic components and that these are dense in the Julia set.
The role of oxidative stress during inflammatory processes

Abstract The production of various reactive oxidant species in excess of endogenous antioxidant defense mechanisms promotes the development of a state of oxidative stress, with significant biological consequences. In recent years, evidence has emerged that oxidative stress plays a crucial role in the development and perpetuation of inflammation, and thus contributes to the pathophysiology of a number of debilitating illnesses, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, or neurodegenerative processes. Oxidants affect all stages of the inflammatory response, including the release by damaged tissues of molecules acting as endogenous danger signals, their sensing by innate immune receptors from the Toll-like (TLRs) and the NOD-like (NLRs) families, and the activation of signaling pathways initiating the adaptive cellular response to such signals. In this article, after summarizing the basic aspects of redox biology and inflammation, we review in detail the current knowledge on the fundamental connections between oxidative stress and inflammatory processes, with a special emphasis on the danger molecule high-mobility group box-1, the TLRs, the NLRP-3 receptor, and the inflammasome, as well as the transcription factor nuclear factor-κB.
A comparative randomized prospective study to evaluate efficacy and safety of combination of tamsulosin and tadalafil vs. tamsulosin or tadalafil alone in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia.

INTRODUCTION Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and erectile dysfunction are common disorders of advancing age. AIM To evaluate the efficacy and safety of tamsulosin and tadalafil in patients with LUTS due to BPH. METHODS In this prospective randomized study, 133 men complaining of LUTS due to BPH were included. Forty-five patients received tamsulosin 0.4 mg/day alone (Group A), 44 patients received tadalafil 10 mg/day (Group B), and combination therapy (tamsulosin and tadalafil both) was instituted in 44 patients (Group C). After a 2-week medication free run-in period, they were evaluated for International Prostatic Symptom Score (IPSS), International Index of Erectile Function score (IIEF5), quality of life (IPSS QoL), maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), post-void residual urine (PVR) volume, and safety parameters before and at 3 months of treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES There were primary (IPSS, IPSS QoL index, Qmax, and PVR) and secondary (erectile function [EF] domain scores from IIEF5) efficacy end points. Safety assessment included laboratory tests and patient's reporting of adverse event. RESULTS A significant improvement in IPSS score was observed in all the 3 groups A, B, and C (-50.90%, P < 0.05; -33.50%, P < 0.05; and -53.90%, P < 0.05, respectively). IIEF5 score increased significantly in these three groups (+39.28%, P < 0.05; +45.96%, P < 0.05; and +60.23%, P < 0.05, respectively). A significant increase in Qmax and decrease in PVR were also observed (33.99%, P < 0.05; 29.78%, P < 0.05; and 37.04%, P < 0.05) and (-60.90%, P < 0.05; -49.45%, P < 0.05; and -62.97%, P < 0.05, respectively). The QoL scores improved significantly (-73.35%, P < 0.05; -70.26%, P < 0.05; and -79.65%, P < 0.05, respectively). Side effects were dyspepsia, heartburn, headache, flushing, myalgia, and backache. Adverse effect dropout was 3.7%. No participant experienced any severe or serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS In patients with LUTS due to BPH, tamsulosin and tadalafil alone or in combination cause a significant improvement in patients with LUTS. Their EF also improves with these medications. The improvement is better with combination therapy compared with single agent alone.
Old-Age Security Value of Children

Some of the findings of the nine-country "Value of Children Study" pertaining to the perceived value of children in providing old-age security to their parents are presented. To what extent this value is attributed by parents to their children and what benefits are expected from children were assessed in the context of socioeconomic development. Specifically, it was found that with development, the old-age security value of the child decreases, which appears to be a key process contributing to lower fertility as well as to the modification of values concerning the place of the child and the care of the aged in society. Thus, the value attributed to the child forms an explanatory link at the individual level between development and declining fertility.
Halo Effect Contamination in Assessments of Web Interface Design

This paper relies on findings and theory from both the human-computer interaction and cognitive psychology literatures in order to inquire into the extent to which the halo effect contaminates web interface design assessments. As a human cognitive bias, the halo effect manifests itself when a judge's evaluations of an entity's individual characteristics are negatively or positively distorted by the judge's overall affect toward the entity being judged. These distortions and halo-induced delusions have substantial negative implications for rational decisionmaking and the ability to objectively evaluate businesses, technologies, or other humans, and should hence be a critical consideration for both managers and organizations alike. Here we inquire into the halo effect using a controlled, randomized experiment involving more than 1,200 research subjects. Subjects' preexisting affective states were activated using polarizing issues including abortion rights, immigration policy, and gun control laws. Subjects were then asked to evaluate specific interface characteristics of six different types of websites, the textual content of which either supported or contradicted their preexisting affective beliefs. Comparing subject responses to objective control evaluations revealed strong evidence of halo effect contamination in assessments of web interface design, particularly among men. In light of the results, a theoretical framework integrating elements from cognitive and evolutionary psychology is proposed to explain the origins and purpose of the halo effect.
Cell senescence reduced the mechanotransduction sensitivity of porcine angular aqueous plexus cells to elevation of pressure.

PURPOSE To investigate the effect of pressure/flow on the barrier function and protein expression of normal and senescent porcine aqueous humor plexus (AAP) cells, which are the porcine equivalent of human Schlemm's canal endothelial cells. METHODS AAP cells were grown for 2 weeks in physiological (5% O2) or hyperoxic conditions (40% O2) to model cell senescence. Control and senescent AAP cells were subjected to control and elevated hydrostatic pressure gradient of 10 mm Hg for 72 hours. Hydraulic conductivity (HC) and transendothelial electric resistance (TEER) were measured. The expressions of senescence-associated β-galactosidase and DNA damage marker 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were monitored, and the protein expression profile was analyzed by Western blot. RESULTS After 14 days of hyperoxia, AAP cells stained positive for 8-OHdG and β-galactosidase. Pressure elevation/flow resulted in significant increase of HC in control cells (from 1.37 ± 0.12 to 1.64 ± 0.18 μL/mm Hg/min/cm(2), P < 0.05), but not in senescent cells (1.15 ± 0.17 and 1.08 ± 0.10 μL μL/mm Hg/min/cm(2)). TEER changes were consistent with the HC results. Western blot analysis showed that the expression level of myosin light chain, claudin-5, and VE-cadherin significantly reduced under pressure elevation in control cells but not in senescent cells. CONCLUSIONS AAP cells are mechano-sensitive; however, cell senescence rendered the cells less responsive to mechanical stimulus, which may have pathological consequences.
Do Students Want To Be Active

While the literature on active learning demonstrates positive results, adopting this model of teaching involves change for students and faculty. This study examines the reactions of 113 students after a one-semester experiment involving active learning in the classroom to determine student attitudes toward changing classroom expectations. The results, while positive, also indicate areas that need to be addressed by faculty as they change their teaching style to assist students in the transition.
Adaptive estimation of linear functionals in the convolution model and applications

We consider the model Zi = Xi + "i for i.i. d. Xi’s and "i’s and independent sequences (Xi)i2N and ("i)i2N. The density of " is assumed to be known whereas the one of X1 denoted by g is unknown. Our aim is to study the estimation of linear functionals of g, h ,gi for a known function . We propose a general estimator of h ,gi and study the rate of convergence of its quadratic risk in function of the smoothness of g, f" and . Dierent dependency contexts are also considered. An adaptive estimator is then proposed, following a method studied by Laurent et al. [23] in another context. The quadratic risk of this estimator is studied. The results are applied to adaptive pointwise deconvolution, in which context losses in the adaptive rates are shown to be optimal in the minimax sense. They are also applied to pointwise Laplace transform estimation in the standard context and in the context of the stochastic volatility model. Estimation in the context of ARCH-type models lastly illustrates the method. MSC 2000 Subject Classifications. 62G07 - 62M05.