Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding the rise of Boko Haram and its discontents

Religious extremism has plagued Africa for many years. From its earlier permutation in North Africa in the 1980s and 1990s to its recent expression in East and West Africa, every part of the continent has had its own story to tell about the violence unleashed by religious fanaticism. Boko Haram, a largely domestic group in Nigeria, has become one of the main players on the terror-front in the West African region. Although Boko Haram's grievances are rooted in cultural cleavages and a sense of injustice regarding identity affiliation in Nigeria, the group's activities are increasingly becoming regional involving neighbouring countries such as Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin. Recently the group has been parachuted to the international limelight. The kidnapping of young schoolgirls in Nigeria has suddenly racked the international media's attention, raising issues regarding Boko Haram which have been issues long before the social media increased awareness, especially by using the very popular hashtag #bringbackourgirls, on the social media site, Twitter. Boko Haram, like most insurgent groups in Nigeria, emerged from a background of an age-old conflict, which can be described as a conflict between different identities in the country. It is, however, important to remember that a variety of identities do not necessarily lead to conflicts. The fact that a country has several ethnic or religious groups does not make conflict inevitable; it is only when mobilisation around identities occurs or they are politicised that they constitute the basis for conflict. Within this article, however, it will be noted that the conflict can be attributed to many influences and factors which should be examined and taken into consideration.
Timing of Stressful Life Events Affects Stability and Change of Neuroticism

Neuroticism is a predictor of many health problems. To study the determinants of within–subject change in neuroticism, three hypotheses were tested: (i) subjects who experienced stressful life events (SLEs) show an increase in neuroticism; (ii) high baseline neuroticism moderated this effect; and (iii) recent SLEs had a greater impact on neuroticism than distant SLEs. Data came from the Finnish Twin Cohort. Neuroticism data were collected in 1975 and 1981 and SLEs data in 1981 (n = 21 085). By entering baseline neuroticism as a predictor for neuroticism at follow–up, the outcome measure was change in neuroticism. Changes in neuroticism were predicted from SLE indices or their interaction with baseline neuroticism. Timing of SLEs was taken into account by distinguishing recent from distant SLEs. To control for confounding by shared genes and environments, both within–twin pair and between–twin pair effects were tested for monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs separately. Neuroticism's six–year stability was high (r = .58, p < .001). Exposure to SLEs modestly increased neuroticism (βs > .55, ps < .001), unconfounded by shared genes. This effect was not moderated by high baseline neuroticism. Recent SLEs (.09 < βs < .15) had more impact than distant SLEs (.03 < βs < .11; ps < .01). In conclusion, the findings strongly supported a model of environmentally driven SLEs causing dynamic fluctuations around a person's set point of neuroticism. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
El Cuestionario de Disposición al Engaño en el Deporte (CDED): su aplicación a jóvenes deportistas

The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Disposition to Cheating in Sport Questionnaire (CDED), derived from the Attitudes to Moral Decision-Making in Youth Sport Questionnaire (AMDYSQ-1, Lee, Whitehead and Ntoumanis, 2007). The sample included 110 adolescents (70 boys and 41 girls) with a mean age of 14.65 (Range: 10-19; SD = 2.09 years). The results show that the CDED, composed of the Acceptance of Cheating and Acceptance of Gamesmanship subscales, discriminates the population's variables acceptably and demonstrates an acceptable reliability and factorial validation.
Homo sapiens Is as Homo sapiens Was

Paleolithic archaeologists conceptualize the uniqueness of Homo sapiens in terms of “behavioral modernity,” a quality often conflated with behavioral variability. The former is qualitative, essentialist, and a historical artifact of the European origins of Paleolithic research. The latter is a quantitative, statistically variable property of all human behavior, not just that of Ice Age Europeans. As an analytical construct, behavioral modernity is deeply flawed at all epistemological levels. This paper outlines the shortcomings of behavioral modernity and instead proposes a research agenda focused on the strategic sources of human behavioral variability. Using data from later Middle Pleistocene archaeological sites in East Africa, this paper tests and falsifies the core assumption of the behavioral-modernity concept—the belief that there were significant differences in behavioral variability between the oldest H. sapiens and populations younger than 50 kya. It concludes that behavioral modernity and allied concepts have no further value to human origins research. Research focused on the strategic underpinnings of human behavioral variability will move Paleolithic archaeology closer to a more productive integration with other behavioral sciences.
The rise and fall of EBM.

The rise of Evidence-based Medicine (EBM) has been were never properly addressed—nonetheless CE was widely regarded as a refreshing approach that blew one of the more remarkable phenomena of the British health scene during the 1990s. Tremendous away cobwebs and let in some light. In particular, CE mobilized the enthusiasm of people to come to grips advances have been made in establishing the EBM brand name, obtaining massive government funding, with interpreting clinical data for themselves for use in their own clinical practice. manoeuvring to a position of unchallenged authority within the NHS managerial and political hierarchy But the advocates of clinical epidemiology were ambitious of influence, and grew impatient. A signi(and its priesthood among the BMJ editorial staff )— and promoting EBM as a marketing slogan for ficant change came when the name ‘Evidence-based Medicine’ or EBM was coined in 1992.2 Although lucrative conferences, courses, books, journals, people and organizations. the term involves a calculatedly dishonest misrepresentation,3 this new nomenclature was an immediate The ‘fall’ of EBM is rather different; since it involves a quasi-theological ‘fall from grace’: a loss rhetorical success. EBM effectively labelled itself as rational, objective and altruistic—while any opposiof clinical, scientific and educational integrity, even to the point of a decline into a ‘state of sin’ (if tion was implied to be promoting a practice that is illogical, self-indulgent and opposed to the evidence. seeking and clinging to power at any costs is seen as sinful). This moral decline would—in the normal A set of mission-statements was proposed as definitive of EBM: these took the form of platitudes which course of events—be followed in due course by loss of status, income and power. However, the EBM could not be opposed by any rational person;4 yet these content-free proclamations served to camoubarnacle may prove difficult to dislodge now it has a grip on the minds of politicians and managers. flage controversial ways of operating and marginalize opponents as wicked or crazy. Certainly, the phenomenon is ripe for re-evaluation.
Visual Imagery without Visual Perception

The question regarding visual imagery and visual perception remain an open issue. Many studies have tried to understand if the two processes share the same mechanisms or if they are independent, using different neural substrates. Most research has been directed towards the need of activation of primary visual areas during imagery. Here we review some of the works providing evidence for both claims. It seems that studying visual imagery in blind subjects can be used as a way of answering some of those questions, namely if it is possible to have visual imagery without visual perception. We present results from the work of our group using visual activation in dreams and its relation with EEG’s spectral components, showing that congenitally blind have visual contents in their dreams and are able to draw them; furthermore their Visual Activation Index is negatively correlated with EEG alpha power. This study supports the hypothesis that it is possible to have visual imagery without visual experience. Visual Imagery and Visual Perception. The characteristics and neural basis of visual imagery remain as a fertile field of research. In the last 25 years many authors have dedicated themselves to try to understand the mechanisms underlying the processes of evoking or generate images not directly observed and for which there are no retinian representations: “seeing with the mind’s eye”. The subsiding question is whether those images are based upon contributions from primary visual areas or higher visual areas, or if visual imagery and visual perception share the same mechanisms and cortical areas. When we see an object we can recognise it because the different features of the object are brought together via a binding mechanism. This can be made through the activation of a population of neurons or represented in a hypercolumn in the visual cortex, but being one or the other it has a specific pattern that allows that object to be recognised as unique. But we can also “see” the same object with our eyes closed, and the different features are kept. So the same pattern as before should be activated. How can this be done without retinal inputs? Is it necessary to reactivate all visual areas, namely the
A flexible distributed approach to energy management of an isolated microgrid

This paper studies an energy management problem for an isolated microgrid including photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, batteries and ultracapacitors. A normal form game is proposed for the energy management to maximize the energy utilization ratio of renewable energy sources, extend the battery life and keep the ultracapacitors able to compensate the dynamic variations. The solution of this game represented by Nash equillibrium is analytically derived and proved to be the existing and unique. A simulation platform using data in second is established to study the energy management approach based on probability distrubution funcions. In simulation, the game theory based approach has a comparable performance against the rule based control, while the pre-knowledge of the load demands and weather information is not required. Also the game theory based approach is more flexible than rule based approach under the influence of uncertain weather.
A randomized comparison of the effect of two prelinguistic communication interventions on the acquisition of spoken communication in preschoolers with ASD

A randomized comparison of the effect of two prelinguistic communication interventions on the acquisition of spoken communication in preschoolers with ASD . Yoder, P. & Stone, W. P. ( 2006 ) Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research , 49 , 698 – 711 . Purpose This randomized group experiment compared the efficacy of two communication interventions [Responsive Education and Prelinguistic Milieu Teaching (RPMT) and the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)] on spoken communication in 36 pre-schoolers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Method Each treatment was delivered to children for a maximum total of 24 h over a 6-month period. Spoken communication was assessed in a rigorous test of generalization at pretreatment, post-treatment and 6-month follow-up periods. Results Picture Exchange Communication System was more successful than RPMT in increasing the number of non-imitative spoken communication acts and the number of different non-imitative words used at the post-treatment period. Considering growth over all three measurement periods, an exploratory analysis showed that growth rate of the number of different non-imitative words was faster in the PECS group than in the RPMT group for children who began treatment with relatively high object exploration. In contrast, analogous slopeswere steeper in the RPMT group than in the PECS group for children who began treatment with relatively low object exploration.
Fractal analysis for the ULF data during the 1993 Guam earthquake to study prefracture criticality

Abstract. An extremely large earthquake (with magnitude of 8.2) happened on 8 August 1993 near the Guam island, and ultra-low-frequency (ULF) (frequency less than 1 Hz) electromagnetic fields were measured by 3-axis induction magnetometers at an observing station (with the epicentral distance of 65 km) with sampling frequency of 1 Hz. In order to study electromagnetic signature of prefracture criticality, we have undertaken the fractal (mono-fractal) analysis by means of the Higuchi's method for the ULF data during the 1993 Guam earthquake. Then, it is found that the fractal dimension exhibits five maxima 99, 75, 52, 21, and 9–4 days before the earthquake main shock, which suggests the ULF electromagnetic signature of nonlinear evolution (in the sense of self-organized criticality) taking place in the lithosphere just before the 1993 large Guam earthquake. That is, there take place step-like changes in the lithosphere during the long-term of the order of several months before the main shock.
RANKL Enhances Macrophage Paracrine Pro-Calcific Activity in High Phosphate-Treated Smooth Muscle Cells: Dependence on IL-6 and TNF-α

Background: Vascular calcification is highly correlated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality, and it is associated with inflammation. Receptor activator of NF-ĸB ligand (RANKL) inhibition in vivo has been shown to reduce vascular calcification in a mouse model of atherosclerosis. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that RANKL regulates smooth muscle cell (SMC) calcification by modulating macrophage production of pro-calcific cytokines. Methods: We used a bone marrow-derived macrophage (BMDM)/SMC co-culture system and examined the effects of RANKL on BMDM activation and SMC matrix calcification. Results: Treatment with RANKL alone did not stimulate SMC calcification induced by elevated phosphate. BMDMs differentiated with macrophage colony-stimulating factor and placed in co-culture with SMCs increased phosphate-induced SMC calcification. RANKL added to the BMDM/SMC co-cultures further enhanced SMC calcification. Treatment of BMDMs with RANKL resulted in increased expression of IL-6 and TNF-α. Thus, increased expression of these pro-calcific cytokines in macrophages may mediate RANKL-induced SMC calcification in a paracrine fashion. Addition of neutralizing IL-6 and TNF-α antibodies together with RANKL treatment significantly reduced the RANKL induction of SMC calcification. Conclusion: RANKL activation of pro-inflammatory and pro-calcific pathways in macrophages may contribute to vascular calcification and inflammation.
PENYUSUNAN MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN BERBANTUAN KOMPUTER UNTUK PBL DAN KEEFEKTIFANNYA TERHADAP CTS PESERTA DIDIK SMA

This study aims to investigate: (1) the feasibility of computer-assisted learning media based problem based learning (PBL) on Environmental Pollution materials for high school students of class X, and (2) the effectiveness of instructional media for improving of critical thinking skill (CTS) learners class X SMA Negeri 5 Magelang. This research was adapted from the ADDIE model of development that includes analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate. Products validated by subject matter experts, media experts, educators of Biology, and peer reviewer. Subject of this study is tenth grade students of SMA Negeri 5 Magelang. Collecting data was using questionnaires, observation sheets, and test critical thinking skills. The media according to the validator and the students is classified to the category of good. Instructional media was improved to learners' critical thinking skills effectively, which demonstrated by the significant value of 0:00. This results showed that media computer-assisted learning based PBL is effective for improving of the critical thinking skills of learners.
How People's Motivational System and Situational Motivation Influence Their Risky Financial Choices

People's preferences for risks have been a subject of interest to researchers in both the economy and psychology fields over the last few years. This has given rise to many important findings about the role of psychological factors that influence people's choices. The presented studies focused on the role of motivational systems (described by Higgins in the Regulatory Focus Theory) in explaining people's financial choices. The main goal was to examine the relationship between people's chronic promotion and prevention motivational system and their propensity to (1) invest, (2) undertake investment risks, and (3) assume financial risks in gambling tasks in both the gain and loss decision-making frame. Moreover, we aimed to investigate how chronic motivational systems confronted with situationally induced promotion and prevention motivation would affect people's propensity to invest and embrace financial risks. Two CAWI studies on a Polish national representative sample (N1 = 1093; N2 = 1096) were conducted. The second study consisted of two waves with a 2-week break. The studies provided evidence of higher chronic promotion motivation as well as higher prevention motivation associated with the propensity to invest; however, induced promotion motivation results in a lower propensity to invest compared to induced prevention motivation. Participants with an activated promotion system built more risky portfolios than individuals with an induced prevention system. Moreover, participants with a low chronic promotion system built more risky portfolios than individuals with a high promotion motivation system as long as their prevention system was also low. In terms of gambling decisions in both the gain and loss frame, a higher level of chronic promotion motivation and situationally induced promotion motivation were related to the preference for the non-sure option over the sure one.
Problems of Bias in History Textbooks.

Americans place great faith in textbooks as a means of providing their children with an understanding of American history. To a significant extent, textbooks define and determine what is important in American history. Yet textbooks do not deserve their reputation as impartial educational tools that simply teach students facts and skills. History textbooks incorporate attitudes and ways of looking at the world. In making judgments about what should be included and what should be excluded, and how particular episodes in history should be summarized, textbook authors assign positive or negative interpretations to particular events, thereby asserting a set of values. The fact that these values are often not declared explicitly, but remain implicit, does not make them less powerful. As FitzGerald pointed out more than fifteen years ago, what sticks to the memory from those textbooks [from her schooldays] is not any particular series of facts but an atmosphere, an impression, a tone. And this impression may be all the more influential just because one cannot remember the facts and the arguments that created it. (FitzGerald 1979, 18) In my opinion, the problem with history textbooks is not that they promote a particular understanding of history-it would be impossible to do otherwise-but rather that they pretend rhetorically not to do this. As McLaren argues, "Knowledge acquired in school-or anywhere, for that matter-is never neutral or objective but is ordered and structured in particular ways" (1989, 169). The ideas of German social theorist
Role of the esophageal vagus neural pathway in ionizing irradiation-induced seizures in nitric oxide synthase-1 homologous recombinant negative NOS1-/- mice.

AIM We sought to define the mechanism of total body irradiation (TBI)-induced seizures in NOS1(-/-) mice and amelioration by intra-esophageal manganese superoxide dismutase-plasmid liposomes (MnSOD-PL). MATERIALS AND METHODS We evaluated the role of vagus nerve pathways in irradiation-induced seizures using biochemical, physiologic, and histopathologic techniques. RESULTS Heterozygous NOS1(+/-) mice demonstrated radioresistance similar to wild-type C57BL/6NHsd mice (p=0.9269). Irradiation-induced lipid peroxidation in fetal brain cultures from NOS1(-/-) or wild-type mice was reduced by MnSOD-PL. Right-sided vagotomy did not alter the TBI radiation response of wild-type or reverse the radiosensitivity of NOS1(-/-) mice. Excised esophagus from irradiated NOS1(-/-) mice demonstrated an increased histopathologic inflammatory response compared to C57BL/6NHsd mice. CONCLUSION NOS1(-/-) mice represent a model system for dissecting the developmental abnormalities leading to esophageal-mediated TBI-induced seizures.
Chromatic mechanisms in lateral geniculate nucleus of macaque.

This paper introduces a new technique for the analysis of the chromatic properties of neurones, and applies it to cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus (l.g.n.) of macaque. The method exploits the fact that for any cell that combines linearly the signals from cones there is a restricted set of lights to which it is equally sensitive, and whose members can be exchanged for one another without evoking a response. Stimuli are represented in a three‐dimensional space defined by an axis along which only luminance varies, without change in chromaticity, a 'constant B' axis along which chromaticity varies without changing the excitation of blue‐sensitive (B) cones, a 'constant R & G' axis along which chromaticity varies without change in the excitation of red‐sensitive (R) or green‐sensitive (G) cones. The orthogonal axes intersect at a white point. The isoluminant plane defined by the intersection of the 'constant B' and 'constant R & G' axes contains lights that vary only in chromaticity. In polar coordinates the constant B axis is assigned the azimuth 0‐180 deg, and the constant R & G axis the azimuth 90‐270 deg. Luminance is expressed as elevation above or below the isoluminant plane (‐90 to +90 deg). For any cell that combines cone signals linearly, there is one plane in this space, passing through the white point, that contains all lights that can be exchanged silently. The position of this 'null plane' provides the 'signature' of the cell, and is specified by its azimuth (the direction in which it intersects the isoluminant plane of the stimulus space) and its elevation (its angle of inclination to the isoluminant plane). A colour television receiver was used to produce sinusoidal gratings whose chromaticity and luminance could be modulated along any vector passing through the white point in the space described. The spatial and temporal frequencies of modulation could be varied over a large range. When stimulated by patterns of low spatial and low temporal frequency, two groups of cells in the parvocellular laminae of the l.g. n. were distinguished by the locations of their null planes. The null planes of the larger group were narrowly distributed about an azimuth of 92.6 deg and more broadly about an elevation of 51.5 deg, which suggests that they receive opposed, but not equally balanced, inputs from only R and G cones. These we call R‐G cells. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)