Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Role of L2 Grit and Foreign Language Enjoyment in Chinese EFL Learners' Willingness to Communicate at an EMI University

The effects of intrapersonal characteristics and environmental factors on students’ second language (L2) learning have been prevailing topics among researchers. Nevertheless, insufficient attention has been paid to the variable L2 grit, which is generally regarded as a positive trait predictive of academic success. Therefore, aiming to fill in the previous gap, this study illustrates a quantitative methods study that focuses on the following issues: (1) What are the correlations between L2 grit, foreign language enjoyment, and English-Medium Instruction (EMI) university students’ L2 WTC in the classroom? (2) How do L2 grit and foreign language enjoyment predict EMI university students’ L2 WTC in the classroom? Three adopted scales were used to collect the required data. After that, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were employed to further analyze the data. The results reveal that L2 grit does not serve as a predictive factor for students’ L2 WTC, while foreign language enjoyment can predict students’ L2 WTC positively to a significant extent. This research may contribute to second language learning and teaching by demonstrating the interrelationships among three essential academic achievement predictors.
A Spectral Approach to Consecutive Pattern-Avoiding Permutations

We consider the problem of enumerating permutations in the symmetric group on $n$ elements which avoid a given set of consecutive pattern $S$, and in particular computing asymptotics as $n$ tends to infinity. We develop a general method which solves this enumeration problem using the spectral theory of integral operators on $L^{2}([0,1]^{m})$, where the patterns in $S$ has length $m+1$. Kre\u{\i}n and Rutman's generalization of the Perron--Frobenius theory of non-negative matrices plays a central role. Our methods give detailed asymptotic expansions and allow for explicit computation of leading terms in many cases. As a corollary to our results, we settle a conjecture of Warlimont on asymptotics for the number of permutations avoiding a consecutive pattern.
The Putative Natural Killer Decoy Early Genem04 (gp34) of Murine Cytomegalovirus Encodes an Antigenic Peptide Recognized by Protective Antiviral CD8 T Cells

ABSTRACT Several early genes of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) encode proteins that mediate immune evasion by interference with the major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) pathway of antigen presentation to cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL). Specifically, the m152 gene product gp37/40 causes retention of MHC-I molecules in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Golgi intermediate compartment. Lack of MHC-I on the cell surface should activate natural killer (NK) cells recognizing the “missing self. ” The retention, however, is counteracted by the m04early gene product gp34, which binds to folded MHC-I molecules in the ER and directs the complex to the cell surface. It was thus speculated that gp34 might serve to silence NK cells and thereby complete the immune evasion of MCMV. In light of these current views, we provide here results demonstrating an in vivo role for gp34 in protective antiviral immunity. We have identified an antigenic nonapeptide derived from gp34 and presented by the MHC-I molecule Dd. Besides the immunodominant immediate-early nonapeptide consisting of IE1 amino acids 168-176 (IE1168-176), the early nonapeptide m04243-251 is the second antigenic peptide described for MCMV. The primary immune response to MCMV generates significant m04-specific CD8 T-cell memory. Upon adoptive transfer into immunodeficient recipients, an m04-specific CTL line controls MCMV infection with an efficacy comparable to that of an IE1-specific CTL line. Thus, gp34 is the first noted early protein of MCMV that escapes viral immune evasion mechanisms. These data document that MCMV is held in check by a redundance of protective CD8 T cells recognizing antigenic peptides in different phases of viral gene expression.
Indirect selection on female extra-pair reproduction? Comparing the additive genetic value of maternal half-sib extra-pair and within-pair offspring

One specific hypothesis explaining the evolution of extra-pair reproduction (EPR) by socially monogamous females is that EPR is under indirect selection because extra-pair offspring (EPO) sired by extra-pair males have higher additive genetic value for fitness than the within-pair offspring (WPO) a female would have produced had she solely mated with her socially paired male. This hypothesis has not been explicitly tested by comparing additive genetic value between EPO and the WPO they replaced. We show that the difference in additive genetic breeding value (BV) between EPO and the WPO they replaced is proportional to the genetic covariance between offspring fitness and male net paternity gain through EPR, and estimate this covariance with respect to offspring recruitment in free-living song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). Recruitment and net paternity gain showed non-zero additive genetic variance and heritability, and negative genetic covariance. Opposite to prediction, EPO therefore had lower BV for recruitment than the WPO they replaced. We thereby demonstrate an explicit quantitative genetic approach to testing the hypothesis that EPR allows polyandrous females to increase offspring additive genetic value, and suggest that there may be weak indirect selection against female EPR through reduced additive genetic value for recruitment of EPO versus WPO in song sparrows.
Analysis of Pseudo-Decentralization and Financial Dependency in the Implementation of Regional Autonomy in Sumedang Regency of Indonesia

This study examines the phenomenon of pseudo-decentralization and financial dependence in the context of regional autonomy implementation in Sumedang Regency, Indonesia. Using a case study approach and analyzing financial data from 2019-2022, this research investigates the extent to which Sumedang Regency relies on central and provincial governments for financial resources. The findings reveal a high level of financial dependence due to limited income sources provided by the central government to regions like Sumedang. Despite this dependency, Sumedang Regency has successfully executed development programs and received awards, partly due to effective political lobbying by regional leaders. However, this reliance on local elites may hinder the achievement of decentralization objectives and lead to unequal development outcomes. As a recommendation, the central government is urged to focus on implementing fiscal policies that distribute more lucrative and equitable financial resources to all regencies and cities, promoting genuine decentralization and fair development.
Intraoperative Monitoring of Brain Tissue Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide Pressures Reveals Low Oxygenation in Peritumoral Brain Edema

Brain edema and swelling often complicate surgery for brain tumors. Its pathophysiology is unclear, as is the relationship with brain tissue oxygenation. Our hypothesis was that brain edema around tumor is cytotoxic type caused by impaired local tissue oxygenation due to increased local tissue pressure. Therefore, we monitored brain tissue oxygen pressure (ptiO2) and carbon dioxide pressure (ptiCO2) in 19 patients undergoing craniotomy for removal of a brain tumor and specifically studied the effect of decompression by dura opening and by tumor removal with respect to the presence of brain swelling. Before craniotomy, multiparameter sensors were inserted into the peritumoral brain tissue guided by MRI-based stereotaxy. In eight patients who had severe brain swelling upon opening of the dura mater, ptiO2 immediately rose from 7 ± 8 mm Hg to 24 ± 15 mm Hg (P < 0.05), whereas in patients who did not have swelling, ptiO2 went from 16 ± 9 to 18 ± 10 mm Hg after opening of the dura. The mean ptiO2 of all patients at the start of resection of the tumor was 18 ± 11 mm Hg, and increased to 30 ± 15 mm Hg after resection was completed (P < 0.05). The effect on ptiO2 of raising the FiO2 to 1.0 was limited in this group of patients, as an increase greater than 50% was found in only six of twelve patients. Notably, in six patients, sensor malfunctions or associated hardware problems occurred, prohibiting useful data acquisition. We conclude that brain tissue oxygenation is reduced in the peritumoral area and improves after local tissue pressure relief, especially in patients with brain swelling. Thus, ischemic processes may contribute to brain edema around tumors. Intraoperative ptiO2 monitoring may enhance the safety of neuroanesthesia, but the high incidence of failures with this type of sensor remains a matter of concern.
Two new genera of Cyclida (Crustacea: Maxillopoda: Branchiura) from the Cisuralian (Lower Permian) of Southern Urals (Russia)

: Skuinocyclus juliae gen. et sp. nov. from Lower Permian limestones of the Shakhtau Reef (Sterlitamak, Republic of Bashkortostan) is the second discovery of a member of the order Cyclida in the Permian of Russia and the oldest member of the family Hemitrochiscidae. Based on the material described by K ramarenKo (1961) as Cyclus miloradovitchi from the Lower Permian (Asselian) of the Chelyabinsk Region (Southern Urals), we also established Uralocyclus gen. nov., which has significant morphological differences with the genus Cyclus , to which it was originally assigned.
Consequences of falling in older men and women and risk factors for health service use and functional decline.

OBJECTIVES (1) to examine consequences of falls in older men and women and (2) to examine risk factors for health service use and functional decline among older fallers. METHODS the study was performed within the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. In 1998/1999, potential risk factors were assessed during the third data collection. In 1999/2000, 204 community-dwelling persons (> or =65 years) who reported at least one fall in the year before the interview, were asked about consequences of their last fall, including physical injury, health service use, treatment and functional decline (i.e. decline in functional status, social and physical activities). RESULTS as a consequence of falling, respondents reported physical injury (68.1%), major injury (5.9%), health service use (23.5%), treatment (17.2%), and decline in functional status (35.3%), and social (16.7%) and physical activities (15.2%). Using multivariate logistic regression, specific risk factors for health service use after falling could not be identified. Female gender (OR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.5-5.1), higher medication use (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.0-2.2) and depressive symptoms (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.3-2.8) were independently associated with functional decline after falling. Depressive symptoms (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.2-3.3) and falls inside (OR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.1-6.5) were risk factors for decline in social activities, while female gender (OR = 2.7, 95% CI = 1.1-7.0) and depressive symptoms (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.2-3.0) were risk factors for decline in physical activities after falling. CONCLUSIONS almost 70% of the respondents suffered physical injury, almost one-quarter used health services and more than one-third suffered functional decline after falling. No risk factors were found for health service use needed after falling. Female gender, higher medication use, depressive symptoms and falls inside were risk factors for functional decline after falling.
Relationships between sprinting, agility, and jump ability in female athletes

Abstract The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between various field tests in female athletes. Altogether, 83 high school soccer, 51 college soccer, and 79 college lacrosse athletes completed tests for linear sprinting, countermovement jump, and agility in a single session. Linear sprints (9.1, 18.3, 27.4, and 36.6 m) and agility tests (Illinois and pro-agility) were evaluated using infrared timing gates, while countermovement jump height was assessed using an electronic timing mat. Pearson's product – moment correlation coefficients (r) were used to determine the strength and directionality of the relationship between tests and coefficients of determination (r 2) were used to examine the amount of explained variance between tests. All of the performance scores were statistically correlated with each other; however, the coefficients of determination were low, moderate, and high depending on the test pairing. Linear sprint split times were strongly correlated with each other (r = 0.775 to 0.991). The relationship between countermovement jump height and linear sprinting was stronger with the longer distances (27.4 and 36.6 m) than with the shorter distances (9.1 and 18.3 m), and showed a stronger relationship within the college athletes (r = −0.658 to −0.788) than high school soccer players (r = −0.491 to −0.580). The Illinois and pro-agility tests were correlated (r ≥ 0.600) with each other as well as with linear sprint times. The results of this study indicate that linear sprinting, agility, and vertical jumping are independent locomotor skills and suggest a variety of tests ought to be included in an assessment protocol for high school and college female athletes.
Associations of cohort and socio-demographic correlates with transitions from alcohol use to disorders and remission in metropolitan China.

AIMS To examine socio-demographic associations of transitions from alcohol use to disorders and of remission from disorders in metropolitan China. DESIGN AND SETTING Face-to-face interviewing by trained lay-interviewers on a multi-staged, clustered sample from the general population of Beijing and Shanghai, China. PARTICIPANTS A total of 5201 adults aged 18-70 years and with household registration. MEASUREMENTS World Mental Health version of Composite International Diagnostic Interview. FINDINGS Lifetime prevalence estimates for alcohol use, regular use (at least 12 drinks in a year), DSM-IV abuse and dependence with abuse were 65.4%, 39.5% (60.4% of ever-drinkers), 4.6% (11.6% of regular users) and 0.9% (20.4% of lifetime alcohol abusers), respectively. These estimates were higher among respondents from the recent cohort; 64.3% and 36.9% respondents with a history of lifetime abuse and dependence respectively had remitted. The number of socio-demographic associations for the onset of each transitional stage decreased from alcohol use to alcohol dependence. Onset of ever-use was more common in respondents who were male, 18-50 years of age, with middle education level and never married, but less common among the previously married and students. First onset of regular use among those with ever-use was more common in respondents who were male, less than 50 years of age and never married, but less common in students. Being male and less than 50 years of age was associated with more alcohol abusers among regular users. CONCLUSION This study was the first to reveal in a Chinese population that qualitatively different risk factors might operate during the different stages of progression from alcohol use to disorders. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying these differences in order to guide prevention programmes.
Ensemble‐based targeting experiments during FASTEX: The effect of dropsonde data from the lear jet

In this study we evaluate the performance of the Ensemble Transform (ET) technique, which is one of several targeting methods used in real time during the Fronts and Atlantic Storm‐Track EXperiment (FASTEX). ‘Targeted’ observations were taken adaptively in those upstream areas identified in real time as most relevant for improving the initial conditions for forecasts of synoptic‐scale storms developing downstream. the upstream areas were identified as regions where the effect of extra observations at a future analysis time could produce the largest decrease in the largest likely forecast error at a preselected later verification time at a given downstream location. the ET technique selects these observational areas out of a large number of possible deployment locations of observational resources via a linear transformation of an ensemble of forecasts.
Is there a tacit acceptance of student samples in marketing and management research?

The evaluation criteria for most marketing and management journals underline the importance of student samples' characteristics and how well they represent the population being studied. However, the predominance of student samples in empirical marketing and management research is sufficient proof of the divergence between theoretical requirements and practical implementation. Despite the theoretical and empirical objections, several authors claim that there is a noticeable tacit acceptance of student samples, even in top research societies. However, generalisations are only feasible if the replication of research is carried out with non-student subjects. This paper analyses the status quo of the usage of student samples in the most reputable marketing and management research journals. In doing so, we want to resume the discussion on student sampling, which has been dormant during the last few years. Our results provide some evidence that top-tier journals still rely strongly on student samples.
Synthesis of Fault Tolerant Reversible Logic Circuits

Reversible logic is emerging as an important research area having its application in diverse fields such as low power CMOS design, digital signal processing, cryptography, quantum computing and optical information processing. This paper presents a new 4*4 universal reversible logic gate, IG. It is a parity preserving reversible logic gate, that is, the parity of the inputs matches the parity of the outputs. The proposed parity preserving reversible gate can be used to synthesize any arbitrary Boolean function. It allows any fault that affects no more than a single signal readily detectable at the circuit's primary outputs. Finally, it is shown how a fault tolerant reversible full adder circuit can be realized using only two IGs. It has also been demonstrated that the proposed design offers less hardware complexity and is efficient in terms of gate count, garbage outputs and constant inputs than the existing counterparts.
Quantitative Measurement of Cerebral Perfusion with Intravoxel Incoherent Motion in Acute Ischemia Stroke: Initial Clinical Experience

Background:Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) has the potential to provide both diffusion and perfusion information without an exogenous contrast agent, its application for the brain is promising, however, feasibility studies on this are relatively scarce. The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility of IVIM perfusion in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Methods:Patients with suspected AIS were examined by magnetic resonance imaging within 24 h of symptom onset. Fifteen patients (mean age was 68.7 ± 8.0 years) who underwent arterial spin labeling (ASL) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) were identified as having AIS with ischemic penumbra were enrolled, where ischemic penumbra referred to the mismatch areas of ASL and DWI. Eleven different b-values were applied in the biexponential model. Regions of interest were selected in ischemic penumbras and contralateral normal brain regions. Fast apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) and ASL cerebral blood flow (CBF) were measured. The paired t-test was applied to compare ASL CBF, fast ADC, and slow ADC measurements between ischemic penumbras and contralateral normal brain regions. Linear regression and Pearson's correlation were used to evaluate the correlations among quantitative results. Results:The fast ADCs and ASL CBFs of ischemic penumbras were significantly lower than those of the contralateral normal brain regions (1.93 ± 0.78 &mgr;m2/ms vs. 3.97 ± 2.49 &mgr;m2/ms, P = 0.007; 13.5 ± 4.5 ml·100 g-1·min-1 vs. 29.1 ± 12.7 ml·100 g-1·min-1, P < 0.001, respectively). No significant difference was observed in slow ADCs between ischemic penumbras and contralateral normal brain regions (0.203 ± 0.090 &mgr;m2/ms vs. 0.198 ± 0.100 &agr;&mgr;m2/ms, P = 0.451). Compared with contralateral normal brain regions, both CBFs and fast ADCs decreased in ischemic penumbras while slow ADCs remained the same. A significant correlation was detected between fast ADCs and ASL CBFs (r = 0.416, P < 0.05). No statistically significant correlation was observed between ASL CBFs and slow ADCs, or between fast ADCs and slow ADCs (r = 0.111, P = 0.558; r = 0.200, P = 0.289, respectively). Conclusions:The decrease in cerebral blood perfusion primarily results in the decrease in fast ADC in ischemic penumbras; therefore, fast ADC can reflect the perfusion situation in cerebral tissues.
Fast exact and quasi-minimal minimization of highly testable fixed-polarity AND/XOR canonical networks

The authors introduce fast exact and quasi-minimal algorithms for minimal fixed polarity AND/XOR canonical representation of Boolean functions. The method uses features of arrays of disjoint cubes representations of functions to identify the minimal networks. These features can drastically reduce the search space and provide high quality heuristics for quasi-minimal representations. Experimental results show that these special AND/XOR networks, on the average, have a similar number of terms to Boolean AND/OR networks while there were functions for which AND/XOR circuits were much smaller. The circuits generated are much more testable. <<ETX>>
Semaphorin 4D/Plexin-B1–mediated R-Ras GAP activity inhibits cell migration by regulating β1 integrin activity

Plexins are cell surface receptors for semaphorins and regulate cell migration in many cell types. We recently reported that the semaphorin 4D (Sema4D) receptor Plexin-B1 functions as a GTPase-activating protein (GAP) for R-Ras, a member of Ras family GTPases implicated in regulation of integrin activity and cell migration (Oinuma, I., Y. Ishikawa, H. Katoh, and M. Negishi. 2004. Science. 305:862–865). We characterized the role of R-Ras downstream of Sema4D/Plexin-B1 in cell migration. Activation of Plexin-B1 by Sema4D suppressed the ECM-dependent R-Ras activation, R-Ras–mediated phosphatydylinositol 3-kinase activation, and β1 integrin activation through its R-Ras GAP domain, leading to inhibition of cell migration. In addition, inactivation of R-Ras by overexpression of the R-Ras–specific GAP or knockdown of R-Ras by RNA interference was sufficient for suppressing β1 integrin activation and cell migration in response to the ECM stimulation. Thus, we conclude that R-Ras activity is critical for ECM-mediated β1 integrin activation and cell migration and that inactivation of R-Ras by Sema4D/Plexin-B1–mediated R-Ras GAP activity controls cell migration by modulating the activity of β1 integrins.
Question Answering on Freebase via Relation Extraction and Textual Evidence

Existing knowledge-based question answering systems often rely on small annotated training data. While shallow methods like relation extraction are robust to data scarcity, they are less expressive than the deep meaning representation methods like semantic parsing, thereby failing at answering questions involving multiple constraints. Here we alleviate this problem by empowering a relation extraction method with additional evidence from Wikipedia. We first present a neural network based relation extractor to retrieve the candidate answers from Freebase, and then infer over Wikipedia to validate these answers. Experiments on the WebQuestions question answering dataset show that our method achieves an F_1 of 53.3%, a substantial improvement over the state-of-the-art.