Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Latent Growth Moderated Mediation Model of Math Achievement and Postsecondary Attainment: Focusing on Context-Invariant Predictors

Math proficiency is a strong predictor of postsecondary attainment, yet cross-national comparative assessments show that U.S. students consistently score below many of their peers, especially those in East Asia. Similar math achievement disparities exist across ethnic/racial groups within the U.S., where Asian American students routinely outperform their White and Hispanic counterparts. The stability of math achievement rankings within and across countries suggests that several predictors are transportable and context-invariant, as they forecast math achievement even following striking shifts in contextual characteristics, such as country of residence, language, or school system. We evaluated a multiple mediator model of math achievement and postsecondary attainment that incorporates several of these predictors, using cross-sectional international data (PISA-2012) and longitudinal U.S. data (NELS and ELS). In all samples and data sets, the model explained substantial portions of the variance in educational outcomes. Parents’ educational aspirations for their children were strongly associated with students’ own aspirations which, in turn, were powerful predictors of math achievement and postsecondary attainment—both directly, and through their influence on important mediators such as math self-perception. Longitudinal relations identified in an older national dataset (NELS) were generally cross-validated in ELS. Moreover, in both data sets, construct relations were found to be largely invariant across racial/ethnic groups. Although additional research is needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying group disparities, the outstanding fit of the model (across samples and data sets) provides the empirical foundation for educational interventions that are likely to help all students, regardless of their ethnicity or national origin.
Treatment of complex regional pain syndrome in adults: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials published from June 2000 to February 2012

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a disabling pain condition with sensory, motor and autonomic manifestations. Uncertainty remains about how CRPS can be effectively managed. We conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for treatment and prophylactic interventions for CRPS published during the period 2000–2012, building on previous work by another group reviewing the period 1966–2000. Bibliographic database searches identified 173 papers which were filtered by three reviewers. This process generated 29 trials suitable for further analysis, each of which was reviewed and scored by two independent reviewers for methodological quality using a 15‐item checklist. A number of novel and potentially effective treatments were investigated. Analysing the results from both review periods in combination, there was a steep rise in the number of published RCTs per review decade. There is evidence for the efficacy of 10 treatments (3× strong – bisphosphonates, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and graded motor imagery, 1× moderate and 6× limited evidence), and against the efficacy of 15 treatments (1× strong, 1× moderate and ×13 limited). The heterogeneity of trialled interventions and the pilot nature of many trials militate against drawing clear conclusions about the clinical usefulness of most interventions. This and the observed phenomenon of excellent responses in CRPS subgroups would support the case for a network‐ and multi‐centre approach in the conduct of future clinical trials. Most published trials in CRPS are small with a short follow‐up period, although several novel interventions investigated from 2000 to 2012 appear promising.
Balancing Profit and People: Corporate Social Responsibility in Business Education

This qualitative study’s purpose was to evaluate how undergraduate business students’ perspectives, skills, and behaviors evolved through corporate social responsibility (CSR) education taught with a focus on critical thinking and sustainable problem solving. Business schools are struggling to incorporate CSR into their curriculum despite interest from students and pressure from accreditation agencies. This article primarily contributes practical tools for business schools teaching students to apply critical thinking skills and concepts gained through their business education to develop solutions to economic, social, and environmental problems. Instructors taught the following topics: definitions of CSR, the triple bottom line, stakeholder theory, exposure to social problems, businesses’ roles in exacerbating or mitigating social problems, specific sustainable solutions companies and nonprofit organizations have implemented, and analysis of public companies’ sustainability reports. Topics were taught using critical thinking tools, such as a decision-making model, a funneling exercise, a root problems activity, and reflection and metareflection. The instruction followed a specific teaching model to promote critical thinking skills development, which can be implemented by other faculty. We found CSR concepts motivated students by giving them the tools and confidence in their abilities to solve meaningful problems and learning outcomes for both CSR and critical thinking were achieved.
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ( TRMM ) Data are Improving Our Understanding of the Global Energy and Water Cycle

TRMM passes over Cyclone Nargis (left figure) as it moves along the southern coastal region of Burma on 3 May 2008. Instantaneous rainfall rates from the TRMM Microwave Imager (outer swath) and the Precipitation Radar (inner swath) are superimposed on the cloud imagery from the Visible Infrared Scanner. Total accumulated precipitation (right figure) for the period 27 April to 4 May 2008 from Nargis and precursor rain systems. Rainfall totals were derived from the TRMM multi-satellite 3-hourly precipitation product (images produced by Hal Pierce, National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Goddard Space Flight Center). See article by S. Braun on page 6.
Different clonal dispersion in the rostral and caudal mouse central nervous system.

We have performed a systematic clonal analysis to describe the modes of growth, dispersion and production of cells during the development of the mouse neural system. We have used mice expressing a LaacZ reporter gene under the control of the neuron specific enolase promoter to randomly generate LacZ clones in the central nervous system (CNS). We present evidence for (1) a pool of CNS founder cells that is not regionalized, i.e. give descendants dispersed along the entire A-P axis, (2) an early separation between pools of precursors for the anterior and posterior CNS and (3) distinct modes of production of progenitors in these two domains. More specifically, cell growth and dispersion of the progenitors follow a relatively coherent pattern throughout the anterior CNS, a mode that leads to a progressive regionalization of cell fates. In contrast, cell growth of progenitors of the SC appears to involve self-renewing stem cells that progress caudally during regression of the mode. Therefore, at least part of the area surrounding the node is composed of precursors with self-renewing properties and the development of the trunk is dependent on pools of stem cells regressing from A to P. Taken together with our analysis of the cell growth changes associated with neuromere formation (Mathis, L., Sieur, J., Voiculescu, O., Charnay, P. and Nicolas, J. F. (1999) Development 126, 4095-4106), our results suggest that major transitions in CNS development correspond to changes in cell behavior and may provide a link between morphogenesis and genetic patterning mechanisms (i.e. formation of the body plan).
Tamper Detection for low cost RFID Tags: Using Watermarking with Chaotic Mapping

Low cost RFID tags pose unique security and privacy challenges. There is an unresolved issue however of data tampering. Here we propose a watermarking based tamper detection solution for low cost RFID tags where the Object Class (OC) and the Serial number (SN) field of an RFID tag are used as the cover medium. Additionally, the use of a chaotic map (i.e. Skew Tent Map) in the watermark embedding algorithm makes this solution more secure. Unlike existing watermark based solutions, our proposed solution offers increased security and can detect tampering anywhere in the RFID tag (e.g. both in the EPC Manager and the Object Class field of an RFID tag), not just a portion such as the Object Class or the EPC manager. This proposed solution conforms to the EPC-Class1 Generation2 specification.
Goal-Directed Self-Talk Used During Technical Skill Acquisition: The Case of Novice Ultimate Frisbee Players

Even though goal-directed self-talk is a key element in self-regulated learning, providing instruction and giving feedback during technical skill acquisition, few studies have explored the specific functions with which it might enhance learning and improve performance. Therefore, immediately after a training session, 32 novice Ultimate Frisbee players (Mage = 22.88, SD = 9.71) were asked to report as many self-instructions as they remembered using before task execution, after unsuccessful throws, and after successful throws. A hierarchical content analysis indicated that players used mainly instructional self-talk in all situations. However, instructional self-talk was aimed at technical aspects before their throws; at negative reinforcement, error detection, and technical adjustment after unsuccessful throws; and at positive reinforcement and technical transference after successful throws. Other functions of self-talk were confidence-enhancement and goal-promotion. Overall, we discussed that goal-directe.
Real-time scheduling with regenerative energy

This paper investigates real-time scheduling in a system whose energy reservoir is replenished by an environmental power source. The execution of tasks is deemed primarily energy-driven, i.e., a task may only respect its deadline if its energy demand can be satisfied early enough. Hence, a useful scheduling policy should account for properties of the energy source, capacity of the energy storage as well as power dissipation of the single tasks. We show that conventional scheduling algorithms (like e.g. EDF) are not suitable for this scenario. Based on this motivation, we state and prove optimal scheduling algorithms that jointly handle constraints from both energy and time domain. Furthermore, an offline schedulability test for a set of periodic or even bursty tasks is presented. Finally, we validate the proposed theory by means of simulation and compare our algorithms with the classical earliest deadline first algorithm
The effects of changes in the environment on the spatial firing of hippocampal complex-spike cells

Using the techniques set out in the preceding paper (Muller et al., 1987), we investigated the response of place cells to changes in the animal's environment. The standard apparatus used was a cylinder, 76 cm in diameter, with walls 51 cm high. The interior was uniformly gray except for a white cue card that ran the full height of the wall and occupied 100 degrees of arc. The floor of the apparatus presented no obstacles to the animal's motions. Each of these major features of the apparatus was varied while the others were held constant. One set of manipulations involved the cue card. Rotating the cue card produced equal rotations of the firing fields of single cells. Changing the width of the card did not affect the size, shape, or radial position of firing fields, although sometimes the field rotated to a modest extent. Removing the cue card altogether also left the size, shape, and radial positions of firing fields unchanged, but caused fields to rotate to unpredictable angular positions. The second set of manipulations dealt with the size and shape of the apparatus wall. When the standard (small) cylinder was scaled up in diameter and height by a factor of 2, the firing fields of 36% of the cells observed in both cylinders also scaled, in the sense that the field stayed at the same angular position and at the same relative radial position. Of the cells recorded in both cylinders, 52% showed very different firing patterns in one cylinder than in the other. The remaining 12% of the cells were virtually silent in both cylinders. Similar results were obtained when individual cells were recorded in both a small and a large rectangular enclosure. By contrast, when the apparatus floor plan was changed from circular to rectangular, the firing pattern of a cell in an apparatus of one shape could not be predicted from a knowledge of the firing pattern in the other shape. The final manipulations involved placing vertical barriers into the otherwise unobstructed floor of the small cylinder. When an opaque barrier was set up to bisect a previously recorded firing field, in almost all cases the firing field was nearly abolished. This was true even though the barrier occupied only a small fraction of the firing field area. A transparent barrier was effective as the opaque barrier in attenuating firing fields. The lead base used to anchor the vertical barriers did not affect place cell firing. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
In Vivo Induction of Apoptosis by Fucoxanthin, a Marine Carotenoid, Associated with Down-Regulating STAT3/EGFR Signaling in Sarcoma 180 (S180) Xenografts-Bearing Mice

Previous in vitro researches have showed that fucoxanthin, a natural carotenoid isolated from sargassum, can inhibit proliferation or induce apoptosis in human neuroblastoma, hepatoma, leukemia, colon carcinoma, prostate cancer or urinary bladder cancer cells. But the precise mechanism by which fucoxanthin exerts anticarcinogenic effects is not yet fully understood. In this study, we performed an in vivo study to investigate the anti-tumor effect and mechanisms of fucoxanthin on xenografted sarcoma 180 (S180) in mice. Results revealed that fucoxanthin significantly inhibited the growth of sarcoma at the dose of 50 or 100 mg/kg. TUNEL analysis showed that the number of positive cells in the fucoxanthin-treated group was higher than that in the control group. Western blotting analysis also revealed the suppressed expression of bcl-2 and enhanced expression of cleaved caspase-3 by fucoxanthin. In addition, immunohistochemistry analysis and Western blotting analysis showed that fucoxanthin significantly decreased the expressions of survivin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Most importantly, fucoxanthin inhibited the expressions of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and STAT3 and phosphorylated STAT3 proteins. These results indicated that in vivo induction of apoptosis by fucoxanthin is associated with down-regulating STAT3/EGFR signaling in S180 xenografts-bearing mice.
Sequential Defaults and Incomplete Information

We propose a multi-firm first-passage credit model in which investors have incomplete information. In this model, investors observe neither a firm's value nor its default barrier. The model accounts for the short term risk inherent in default events, the market-wide impact of defaults on security prices due to counterparty relations among firms, and the cyclical default correlation effects observed in credit markets. We explicitly calculate the pricing trend and the arrival intensity of the kth-to-default. These results furnish (1) tractable reduced form formulae for arrival probabilities of sequential dependent defaults and prices of multi-name credit derivatives and (2) an algorithm for the simulation of sequential unpredictable default times.
Obsessive–Compulsive Symptoms and Related Sex Differences in Brain Structure: An MRI Study in Dutch Twins

Neuroimaging studies have indicated abnormalities in cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits in obsessive–compulsive disorder patients, but results have not been consistent. Since there are significant sex differences in human brain anatomy and obsessive–compulsive symptomatology and its developmental trajectories tend to be distinct in males and females, we investigated whether sex is a potential source of heterogeneity in neuroimaging studies on obsessive–compulsive symptoms. We selected male and female twin pairs who were concordant for scoring either high or low for obsessive–compulsive symptoms and a group of discordant pairs where one twin scored high and the co-twin scored low. The design included 24 opposite-sex twin pairs. Magnetic resonance imaging scans of 31 males scoring high for obsessive–compulsive symptoms, 41 low-scoring males, 58 high-scoring females, and 73 low-scoring females were analyzed and the interaction of obsessive–compulsive symptoms by sex on gray matter volume was assessed using voxel-based morphometry. An obsessive–compulsive symptom by sex interaction was observed for the left middle temporal gyrus, the right middle temporal gyrus, and the right precuneus. These interactions acted to reduce or hide a main effect in our study and illustrate the importance of taking sex into account when investigating the neurobiology of obsessive–compulsive symptoms.
Growth and development in preterm infants fed long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids: a prospective, randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES A randomized, masked, controlled trial was conducted to assess effects of supplementing premature infant formulas with oils containing the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, arachidonic acid (AA; 20:4 n6), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6 n3) on growth, visual acuity, and multiple indices of development. METHODS Infants (N = 470) with birth weights 750 to 1800 g were assigned within 72 hours of the first enteral feeding to 1 of 3 formula groups with or without long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids: 1) control (N = 144), 2) AA+DHA from fish/fungal oil (N = 140), and 3) AA+DHA from egg-derived triglyceride (egg-TG)/fish oil (N = 143). Infants were fed human milk and/or Similac Special Care with or without 0.42% AA and 0.26% DHA to term corrected age (CA), then fed human milk or NeoSure with or without 0.42% AA and 0.16% DHA to 12 months' CA. Infants fed exclusively human milk to term CA (EHM-T; N = 43) served as a reference. RESULTS Visual acuity measured by acuity cards at 2, 4, and 6 months' CA was not different among groups. Visual acuity measured by swept-parameter visual-evoked potentials in a subgroup from 3 sites (45 control, 50 AA+DHA [fish/fungal]; 39 AA+DHA [egg-TG/fish]; and 23 EHM-T) was better in both the AA+DHA (fish/fungal; least square [LS] means [cycle/degree] +/- standard error [SE; octaves] 11.4 +/- 0.1) and AA+DHA (egg-TG/fish; 12.5 +/- 0.1) than control (8.4 +/- 0.1) and closer to that of the EHM-T group (16.0 +/- 0.2) at 6 months' CA. Visual acuity improved from 4 to 6 months' CA in all but the control group. Scores on the Fagan test of novelty preference were greater in AA+DHA (egg-TG/fish; LS means +/- SE, 59.4 +/- 7.7) than AA+DHA (fish/fungal; 57.0 +/- 7.5) and control (57.5 +/- 7.4) at 6 months' CA, but not at 9 months' CA. There were no differences in the Bayley Mental Development Index at 12 months' CA. However, the Bayley motor development index was higher for AA+DHA (fish/fungal; LS means +/- SE, 90.6 +/- 4.4) than control (81.8 +/- 4.3) for infants </=1250 g. When Spanish-speaking infants and twins were excluded from the analyses, the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory revealed that control infants (LS means +/- SE, 94.1 +/- 2.9) had lower vocabulary comprehension at 14 months' CA than AA+DHA (fish/fungal) infants (100.6 +/- 2.9) or AA+DHA (egg-TG/fish) infants (102.2 +/- 2.8). There were no consistent differences in weight, length, head circumference, or anthropometric gains. CONCLUSION These results showed a benefit of supplementing formulas for premature infants with AA and DHA from either a fish/fungal or an egg-TG/fish source from the time of first enteral feeding to 12 months' CA.
Gene Expression Profile of Glioblastoma Peritumoral Tissue: An Ex Vivo Study

The gene expression pattern of glioblastoma (GBM) is well documented but the expression profile of brain adjacent to tumor is not yet analysed. This may help to understand the oncogenic pathway of GBM development. We have established the genome-wide expression profiles of samples isolated from GBM tumor mass, white matter adjacent to tumor (apparently free of tumor cells), and white matter controls by using the Affymetrix HG-U133 arrays. Array-CGH (aCGH) was also performed to detect genomic alterations. Among genes dysregulated in peritumoral white matter, 15 were over-expressed, while 42 were down-regulated when compared to white matter controls. A similar expression profile was detected in GBM cells. Growth, proliferation and cell motility/adhesion-associated genes were up-regulated while genes involved in neurogenesis were down-regulated. Furthermore, several tumor suppressor genes along with the KLRC1 (a member of natural killer receptor) were also down-regulated in the peritumoral brain tissue. Several mosaic genomic lesions were detected by aCGH, mostly in tumor samples and several GBM-associated mosaic genomic lesions were also present in the peritumoral brain tissue, with a similar mosaicism pattern. Our data could be explained by a dilution of genes expressed from tumor cells infiltrating the peritumour tissue. Alternatively, these findings could be substained by a relevant amount of “apparently normal” cells presenting a gene profile compatible with a precancerous state or even “quiescent” cancer cells. Otherwise, the recurrent tumor may arise from both infiltrating tumor cells and from an interaction and recruitment of apparently normal cells in the peritumor tissue by infiltrating tumor cells.
Beyond Gold Stars: Improving the Skills and Engagement of Struggling Readers through Intrinsic Motivation

ABSTRACT The current pilot study assessed the impact of a motivational intervention on the task-avoidant behaviors, task-engagement behaviors, and skill growth of elementary-age readers attending a remedial summer reading program. We randomly assigned students (ages 7–10) either to an experimental condition (n = 24) that integrated strategies emphasizing autonomy and mastery into 2 specialized reading curricula or to a control condition (n = 23) that coupled the same curricula with material rewards. Analysis of pre- and posttesting revealed that relative to the control group the intervention group made significantly greater gains on measures of high-level reading skills and exhibited significantly more task-engagement behaviors. We discuss implications for future research and education, especially in relation to the relevance of such interventions for preventing stagnation in struggling readers’ skill development.
Correlation between Personality Traits and Language Learning Strategies among IUS Students

Success in a second language learning and ultimate attainment in target language can be associated with the concept of personality traits. Personality of a learner can impact the overall success in second language learning. Language learning strategies also can impact successful second language acquisition to a great extent. These two trends, although not closely related, when considered in a second language classroom can significantly help students in their endower while learning second language. 70 students from International University of Sarajevo participated in the research. The Five Factor model questionnaire was distributed in order to determine students’ personality traits, which is composed of Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism (Costa & McCrae, 1992), and for language learning strategies we used the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). The results showed that students exhibited very high preferences for social learning strategy. Students’ dominant personality trait was Openness to Experience. The results also showed that there is a significant relationship between the predominant personality traits and language learning strategies of the respondents.