Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender Effects on Phonological Processing and Reading Development in Northern Sotho Children Learning to Read in English: A Case Study of Grade 3 Learners.

Gender differences in reading development are a global phenomenon, with girls typically performing better than boys. Some studies have reported gender differences favouring girls in reading comprehension in South Africa, but little systematic evidence exists about gender differences in the cognitive-linguistic abilities that underlie reading development. This study investigated the effect of gender on phonological processing and reading development in Northern Sotho–English bilingual children. Grade 3 learners who received their literacy instruction in English were tested on various phonological processing and reading measures. Phonological awareness was assessed using phoneme isolation and elision tasks. Phonological working memory was assessed using memory for digits and non-word repetition tests while rapid automatised naming was tested using rapid letter, rapid digit, rapid object and rapid colour naming tasks. Reading achievement was assessed with various word reading tasks and with a fluent reading task. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed that gender had a significant effect on the phonological processing and reading abilities of Northern Sotho– English bilingual children. Girls performed significantly better than boys on all the reading measures, as well as on some aspects of phonological processing. The findings provide behavioural evidence in support of biological theories of gender differences, in that girls seemed to have developed some of the cognitive-linguistic skills associated with reading before boys. The girls also coped better with tasks that required increased cognitive processing. This study suggests that sex differences in reading development cannot be ignored in South Africa and need to be addressed in future curriculum development.
Composition of isolated synaptic boutons reveals the amounts of vesicle trafficking proteins

High-definition view of the synapse Individual neurons communicate with one another via their synapses, so to understand the nervous system, we need to understand in detail how the synapses are organized. Wilhelm et al. present a quantitative molecular-scale image of the “average” synapse populated with realistic renditions of each of the protein components that contribute to the inner workings of neurons. Science, this issue p. 1023 A model of the “average” synapse shows ~300,000 proteins and all organelles in the correct copy numbers, sizes, and positions. Synaptic vesicle recycling has long served as a model for the general mechanisms of cellular trafficking. We used an integrative approach, combining quantitative immunoblotting and mass spectrometry to determine protein numbers; electron microscopy to measure organelle numbers, sizes, and positions; and super-resolution fluorescence microscopy to localize the proteins. Using these data, we generated a three-dimensional model of an “average” synapse, displaying 300,000 proteins in atomic detail. The copy numbers of proteins involved in the same step of synaptic vesicle recycling correlated closely. In contrast, copy numbers varied over more than three orders of magnitude between steps, from about 150 copies for the endosomal fusion proteins to more than 20,000 for the exocytotic ones.
A large foodborne outbreak of norovirus in diners at a restaurant in England between January and February 2009

SUMMARY An outbreak of gastroenteritis affected at least 240 persons who had eaten at a gourmet restaurant over a period of 7 weeks in 2009 in England. Epidemiological, microbiological, and environmental studies were conducted. The case-control study demonstrated increased risk of illness in those who ate from a special ‘tasting menu’ and in particular an oyster, passion fruit jelly and lavender dish (odds ratio 7·0, 95% confidence interval 1·1–45·2). Ten diners and six staff members had laboratory-confirmed norovirus infection. Diners were infected with multiple norovirus strains belonging to genogroups I and II, a pattern characteristic of molluscan shellfish-associated outbreaks. The ongoing risk from dining at the restaurant may have been due to persistent contamination of the oyster supply alone or in combination with further spread via infected food handlers or the restaurant environment. Delayed notification of the outbreak to public health authorities may have contributed to outbreak size and duration.
Feature-based detection of bugs in clones

Clones bear the risk of incomplete bugfixes when the bug is fixed in one code fragment but at least one of its copies is not changed and remains faulty. Although we find incompletely fixed clones in almost every system, it is usually time consuming to manually locate these clones inside the results of an ordinary clone detection tool. In this paper, we describe in how far certain features of clones can be used to automatically identify incomplete bugfixes. The results are relevant for developers to locate incomplete bugfixes-that is, defects still existing in the system-and for us as clone researchers to quickly find examples that motivate the use of clone management.
Human Cytomegalovirus Gene Expression in Long-Term Infected Glioma Stem Cells

The most common adult primary brain tumor, glioblastoma (GBM), is characterized by fifteen months median patient survival and has no clear etiology. We and others have identified the presence of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) gene products endogenously expressed in GBM tissue and primary cells, with a subset of viral genes being consistently expressed in most samples. Among these viral genes, several have important oncomodulatory properties, regulating tumor stemness, proliferation, immune evasion, invasion and angiogenesis. These findings lead us to hypothesize that a specific HCMV gene signature may be associated with GBM pathogenesis. To investigate this hypothesis, we used glioma cell lines and primary glioma stem-like cells (GSC) infected with clinical and laboratory HCMV strains and measured relative viral gene expression levels along several time points up to 15 weeks post-infection. While HCMV gene expression was detected in several infected glioma lines through week 5 post-infection, only HCMV-infected GSC expressed viral gene products 15 weeks post-infection. Efficiency of infection across time was higher in GSC compared to cell lines. Importantly, HCMV-infected GSC outlived their uninfected counterparts, and this extended survival was paralleled by increased tumorsphere frequency and upregulation of stemness regulators, such as SOX2, p-STAT3, and BMX (a novel HCMV target identified in this study). Interleukin 6 (IL-6) treatment significantly upregulated HCMV gene expression in long-term infected glioma cultures, suggesting that pro-inflammatory signaling in the tumor milieu may further augment HCMV gene expression and subsequent tumor progression driven by viral-induced cellular signaling. Together, our data support a critical role for long-term, low-level HCMV infection in promoting survival, stemness, and proliferation of GSC that could significantly contribute to GBM pathogenesis.
Threat or Challenge? Intensified Job Demands and the Moderating Effect of Differentiated Transformational Leadership

THREAT OR CHALLENGE? INTENSIFIED JOB DEMANDS AND THE MODERATING EFFECT OF DIFFERENTIATED TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP Benjamin Bass Old Dominion University, 2017 Director: Dr. Konstantin Cigularov Over the past 30 years, industrialized democracies have experienced major economic change due to globalization, economic instability, and rapid technological innovation. To remain viable, organizations maximize flexibility through strategies like downsizing, just-in-time inventory, and temporary labor. Consequently, employees face heightened responsibility, variable workloads, and rising job insecurity. While these demands are stressful, at times, some may represent an exciting challenge. Recently, researchers started studying how the long-term intensification of work affects employees via intensified job demands. This dissertation builds on their efforts by exploring short-term job demand intensification. Specifically, the transactional model of stress and the job demands-resources model were utilized to examine how a) intensified job insecurity, b) intensified decision-making and planning (IDP), and c) work intensification influence employee burnout and work engagement. It was hypothesized that all intensified job demands would be positively associated with burnout while potential challenge demands, like IDP, would positively predict work engagement. Further, drawing upon the intrinsic linkage between transformational leadership (TL) and environmental uncertainty, it was theorized the effects of intensified job demands would be differentially moderated by the four, core TL dimensions such that supportive dimensions (e.g., individualized consideration) would act as buffers whereas others, like inspirational motivation, would act as motivational boosters. A total of 443 full-time workers recruited through MTurk responded to two surveys administered 30 days apart. Each intensified job demand was positively related to burnout and intensified job insecurity negatively predicted work engagement, whereas IDP did not. Interestingly, the bivariate work intensification—work engagement relationship was negative, but became positive after controlling for core self-evaluations. Contrary to expectations, inspirational motivation, idealized influence, and individualized consideration reverse-buffered the effects of intensified job insecurity and work intensification on burnout and work engagement such that these dimensions exacerbated both intensified job demands’ negative effects. Further, exploratory analyses detected several three-way interactions. Overall, the aforementioned findings contribute to the nascent literature on intensified job demands as well the more studied, but still incomplete construct of TL. Moreover, this study sheds light on a number of practical implications regarding employees’ experiences with intensified job demands and the modern nature of work.
XMM-NEWTON OBSERVATIONS OF SDSS J143030.22 − 001115.1: AN UNUSUALLY FLAT-SPECTRUM ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS

We present XMM-Newton observations of the type 1 active galactic nucleus (AGN) SDSS 1430 − 0011 (z = 0.1032). The low signal-to-noise ratio spectrum of this source obtained in a snap shot Chandra observation showed an unusually flat continuum. With the follow-up XMM-Newton observations, we find that the source spectrum is complex; it either has an ionized absorber or a partially covering absorber. The underlying power law is in the normal range observed for AGNs. The low flux of the source during Chandra observations can be understood in terms of variations in the absorber properties. The X-ray and optical properties of this source are such that it cannot be securely classified as either a narrow-line Seyfert 1 or a broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxy, adding to the group of sources in the “in-between” class.
A Comparative Study of Gene-Expression Data of Basal Cell Carcinoma and Melanoma Reveals New Insights about the Two Cancers

A comparative analysis of genome-scale transcriptomic data of two types of skin cancers, melanoma and basal cell carcinoma in comparison with other cancer types, was conducted with the aim of identifying key regulatory factors that either cause or contribute to the aggressiveness of melanoma, while basal cell carcinoma generally remains a mild disease. Multiple cancer-related pathways such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, cell invasion and metastasis, are considered, but our focus is on energy metabolism, cell invasion and metastasis pathways. Our findings include the following. (a) Both types of skin cancers use both glycolysis and increased oxidative phosphorylation (electron transfer chain) for their energy supply. (b) Advanced melanoma shows substantial up-regulation of key genes involved in fatty acid metabolism (β-oxidation) and oxidative phosphorylation, with aerobic metabolism being far more efficient than anaerobic glycolysis, providing a source of the energetics necessary to support the rapid growth of this cancer. (c) While advanced melanoma is similar to pancreatic cancer in terms of the activity level of genes involved in promoting cell invasion and metastasis, the main metastatic form of basal cell carcinoma is substantially reduced in this activity, partially explaining why this cancer type has been considered as far less aggressive. Our method of using comparative analyses of transcriptomic data of multiple cancer types focused on specific pathways provides a novel and highly effective approach to cancer studies in general.
Complementarities Between Information Technology and Human Resource Practices in Knowledge Work

This study presents a framework of complementarities between specific Human Resources (HR) and Information Technology (IT) practices, and validates this framework empirically. We conceptualize a system of HR-related work practices (facilitating HR) and system of IT-related practices (facilitating IT) that are specific to knowledge workers. We examine the interaction between facilitating HR practices and facilitating IT practices in the productivity outcomes of firms in knowledge-intensive industries. We also examine the quantitative firm productivity impacts of IT investment and facilitating HR-related work practices in the context of a specific type of knowledge work: the work of IT professionals. Linking separate datasets, we utilize objective economic metrics and managers’ subjective assessments of firm productivity improvements to assess the effect of HR-IT alignment on firm productivity.
Impact of contrast modification on human feeling: an objective and subjective assessment

Images are powerful means of communication. Adding images to documents, websites, magazines, helps attracting the attention and providing an immediate feeling about the content of the document itself. At the same time, images can be used to influence the attitude of the reader. In the digital era it is easier than ever to create and share multimedia documents making extensive use of visual data. Furthermore, it is extremely easy to modify and adapt the images in order to make them more suitable to convey a concept. These modifications may simply consist in focusing the attention on a specific part of the image, to heavier manipulations such as changing the visual appearance or the contents to bias the opinion of the observer. This creates a rising interest for the availability of automatic blind tools able to detect possible modifications of images, and to correlate these modifications with the relevant impact on the viewer. This paper proposes an example of application of these concepts that exploits a tool for automatic detection of contrast modifications and analyzes their impact on human feeling. The results of instrumental and subjective studies are presented and discussed.
Are Automatic Conceptual Cores the Gold Standard of Semantic Processing? The Context-Dependence of Spatial Meaning in Grounded Congruency Effects

According to grounded cognition, words whose semantics contain sensory-motor features activate sensory-motor simulations, which, in turn, interact with spatial responses to produce grounded congruency effects (e.g., processing the spatial feature of up for sky should be faster for up vs. down responses). Growing evidence shows these congruency effects do not always occur, suggesting instead that the grounded features in a word's meaning do not become active automatically across contexts. Researchers sometimes use this as evidence that concepts are not grounded, further concluding that grounded information is peripheral to the amodal cores of concepts. We first review broad evidence that words do not have conceptual cores, and that even the most salient features in a word's meaning are not activated automatically. Then, in three experiments, we provide further evidence that grounded congruency effects rely dynamically on context, with the central grounded features in a concept becoming active only when the current context makes them salient. Even when grounded features are central to a word's meaning, their activation depends on task conditions.
Development and Validation of the High Capacity Model of Resilience and Well-being Scale 21 (H-CAP 21)

The research on resilience has been hampered from a lack of a specific definition that can operationalized for measurement. The High Capacity Model of Resilience and Well-Being (H-CAP21) is a new theoretical model that defines specific traits that create states of resilience and well-being for use as a screening tool in clinical and nonclinical settings. Norming was completed across two studies with a total population of 1442 participants comprised of a clinical population of inpatient psychiatric patients and a non-clinical population of adult midcareer graduate students. A four-factor model represented by a 21-item scale was confirmed as a best fit. Individual subscales yielded alpha’s from . 75-. 92, convergent validity with the Resilience Scale and discriminatory validity with and Obsessive Passion subscale and the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Criterion-related validity exhibited a positive directional relationship between the subscales with the criterion (cumulative GPA) and significant correlations with the overall scale score and commitment subscale. However, the remaining subscales did not reach a level of significance with the criterion. Further exploration of the H-CAP 21 will expand the type and setting of the populations the instrument is assessed with to include clinical populations, military applications, self-regulation, and motivation. The H-CAP 21 is believed to have clinical utility as a psychometrically sound screening tool.
Species Choice for Comparative Genomics: Being Greedy Works

Several projects investigating genetic function and evolution through sequencing and comparison of multiple genomes are now underway. These projects consume many resources, and appropriate planning should be devoted to choosing which species to sequence, potentially involving cooperation among different sequencing centres. A widely discussed criterion for species choice is the maximisation of evolutionary divergence. Our mathematical formalization of this problem surprisingly shows that the best long-term cooperative strategy coincides with the seemingly short-term “greedy” strategy of always choosing the next best single species. Other criteria influencing species choice, such as medical relevance or sequencing costs, can also be accommodated in our approach, suggesting our results' broad relevance in scientific policy decisions.
OXADMs: The Comparison with the Existing Device

This paper introduces a new optical device model named as an optical cross add and drop multiplexer (OXADM) which has potential use in CWDM metro area networks. The device uses the concepts of combination of optical add/drop multiplexing and optical cross connect between two main transmission lines in order to implement the wavelength routing operation. MEMS optical switches are integrated in the device to make it re-configurable. With excellent features, the device is particularly designed to improve network efficiency, flexibility and survivability. The device can be used in point to point, ring or mesh network topology to provide functionality such as routing, supervision, transport, multiplexing and restoration of client digital signals processed predominantly in the optical domain. The wavelengths on each optical trunk can be switched between each other while implementing add and drop functions simultaneously. We do a comparison between OXADM with the previous devices such as, OXC, TRN and OXN. The limitation occurs in OXADM as compare with OXC is also studied analytically in the respect of scalability (in term number of ports and operating wavelengths).
Studies of the antineoplastic activity and metabolism of -(N)-heterocyclic carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazones in dogs and mice.

Summary The antineoplastic effects of α-( N )-heterocyclic carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazones were studied in dogs with lymphosarcoma, and some of their metabolic features were studied in both mice and dogs. Significant regression (38 to 72%) of tumor masses occurred in dogs treated with i.v. doses of 2 to 6 mg of the sodium salt of 1-formylisoquinoline thiosemicarbazone per kg for a maximum of 5 consecutive days. These doses produced moderate anemia and leukopenia. In a chihuahua with lymphoblastic lymphosarcoma, the water-soluble sodium salt of 5-hydroxy-2-formylpyridine thiosemicarbazone, given in dosages up to 5 mg/kg twice a day for 2 days during each treatment, produced more than 80% reduction in tumor masses and circulating blasts without affecting normal blood elements. The tissue distribution of radioactivity was studied in mice after the i.p. injection of 1-formylisoquinoline thiosemicarbazone labeled with either 1- 14 C, 3′- 14 C, or 35 S. The greatest activity occurred in the intestine (24 to 40%), liver (4 to 12%), and stomach (2 to 6%). Lesser amounts were present in other tissues, but about 40% was found in the residual carcass at the end of an 8-hr period. Of the label from the 3′- 14 C compound, 20% was excreted in the urine and 2.8% in the feces in 16 hr. During an 8-hr period, approximately 2% of the radioactivity was present in the respiratory CO 2 when side-chain labeled (3′- 14 C) but not ring labeled (1- 14 C) agent was administered. In dogs, the half-life of radioactivity in the blood from labeled 1-formylisoquinoline thiosemicarbazone was about 4 hr. Between 28 and 46% of the label was excreted in the urine during a 48-hr period. Significant amounts of unchanged drug could not be detected in the urine. Desulfuration was extensive, affecting 75% of the total metabolites in urine collected more than 11 hr after administration of the thiosemicarbazone. Between 11 and 16% of the side chain was cleaved from the molecule both by apparent azoreductase action leading to urea and thiourea and by hydrolysis to yield semicarbazide and thiosemicarbazide. About 13% of the urinary metabolites were in the form of glucuronides, conversion to these presumably occurring after some change such as hydroxylation.
Teacher perspectives on intervention sustainability: implications for school leadership

ABSTRACT Sustainable use of academic classroom interventions is a cause for concern in the field of special education. This study examined factors that encouraged and/or deterred sustainable use of classroom interventions. Furthermore, data were collected on factors that assist teachers to implement new interventions with high perceived fidelity. A total of 174 special education teachers from two school districts completed a survey to provide feedback on interventions they had been trained on in the last two academic years. Results for both districts had several similarities. A majority of teachers sustained interventions that they perceived improved student academic outcomes and were easy to implement. Teachers identified lack of planning time followed by the need for regular training as the most important factors contributing to their perceived implementation fidelity. However, a majority of interventions teachers provided feedback on were not evidence-based practices.