Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coal burning leaves toxic heavy metal legacy in the Arctic

Toxic heavy metals emitted by industrial activities in the midlatitudes are transported through the atmosphere and deposited in the polar regions; bioconcentration and biomagnification in the food chain mean that even low levels of atmospheric deposition may threaten human health and Arctic ecosystems. Little is known about sources and long-term trends of most heavy metals before ≈1980, when modern measurements began, although heavy-metal pollution in the Arctic was widespread during recent decades. Lacking detailed, long-term measurements until now, ecologists, health researchers, and policy makers generally have assumed that contamination was highest during the 1960s and 1970s peak of industrial activity in North America and Europe. We present continuous 1772–2003 monthly and annually averaged deposition records for highly toxic thallium, cadmium, and lead from a Greenland ice core showing that atmospheric deposition was much higher than expected in the early 20th century, with tenfold increases from preindustrial levels by the early 1900s that were two to five times higher than during recent decades. Tracer measurements indicate that coal burning in North America and Europe was the likely source of these metals in the Arctic after 1860. Although these results show that heavy-metal pollution in the North Atlantic sector of the Arctic is substantially lower today than a century ago, contamination of other sectors may be increasing because of the rapid coal-driven growth of Asian economies.
Making a connection: randomised controlled trial of family centred music therapy for young children with autism spectrum disorder

Young children with autism spectrum disorder vary greatly in their social and communication skills, from non-verbal and difficult to engage socially, to using some sentences and showing social interest in other people. For those children who are nonverbal and difficult to engage socially, there is minimal evidence to help parents and early childhood intervention service providers determine which interventions will most successfully foster the social communication development of these young children. There is, however, increasing awareness in the literature of the positive impacts a strong parent-child relationship can have on social communication development in both typically developing children and children with ASD. The use of music therapy to assist children with autism to develop social communication skills has a long history, dating back to the 1960s. While the use of music therapy with children who have social communication impairments has been widely described, evidence into the effectiveness of music therapy with children with autism spectrum disorder has primarily taken the form of case studies, small quasi experimental research and small experimental designs. This mixed-methods study aimed to investigate whether family-centred music therapy positively influenced the social communication development of preschool aged children with severe autism spectrum disorder. 23 children between the ages of 3 and 6 years and their families were randomly allocated to either the treatment group or the control; with each participant receiving 16 weeks of family-centred music therapy sessions which took place in the family home. A variety of data was collected including 4 standardised measures, 1 non-standardised measure, a survey of the use of music in the home, and a structured interview with the participating parent. Quantitative analysis showed that children in the treatment group made improvements in the quality of their social interactions in the home and community, as well as their level of engagement within the music therapy sessions. The qualitative and mixed data analysis suggested that there were also improvements in the closeness of the parent-child relationship. Further, parents were able to adapt music activities to support their child in various activities in the home and community. These outcomes provide preliminary support for family-centred music therapy’s effectiveness in promoting developmental change in children’s social communication skills, and fostering greater closeness in the parent-child relationship.
The biosynthesis of mannosyl-1-phosphoryl-polyisoprenol in Micrococcus lysodeikticus and its role in mannan synthesis.

Previous studies from this laboratory have shown that crude, cell-free extracts of Micrococcus lysodeikticus catalyze the incorporation of mannose from GDPmannose into three lipids1 and a mannan.2 Two of the lipids have been identified as a-D-mannosyl-(1 - 3')-diglyceride and a-D-mannosyl-(l - 3)-a-D-mannosyl(1 - 3')-diglyceride.1 In this communication, the results of studies on the structure of the third mannose-containing lipid are presented. All the available evidence indicates that the structure of this compound is mannosyl-l-phosphoryl
The Classroom Practices Observation Study

The Classroom Practices Observational Study conducted by The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT) examined the instructional and curricular practices used with gifted and talented students in regular elementary classrooms throughout the United States. This article describes the procedures used in this study and the results obtained from systematic observations in 46 third or fourth grade classrooms. The observations were designed to determine if and how classroom teachers meet the needs of gifted and talented students in the regular classroom. Two students, one gifted and talented and one average ability student, were selected as target students for each observation day. The Classroom Practices Record (CPR) was developed to document the types and frequencies of differentiated instruction that gifted students receive through modifications in curricular activities, materials, and teacher-student verbal interactions. Descriptive statistics and chi-square procedures were used to analyze the CPR data. The results indicated little differentiation in the instructional and curricular practices, grouping arrangements, and verbal interactions for gifted and talented students in the regular classroom. Across five subject areas and 92 observation days, the observed gifted and talented students experienced no instructional or curricular differentiation in 84% of their instructional activities.
The Promise and Perils of E-Learning

The digital revolution is transforming culture, communication, and commerce, but nowhere is faith in technology% power more clearly demonstrated than in the classroom. E-learnhg is about much more than just plugging in a classroom computer. Some advocates predict that computers and modems will replace pencils and books and others believe that brick-and-mortar schools (and all but elite universities) will soon be obsolete. In a recent article for Education Week, Peter J. Stokes, vice president of Eduventures.com, a market-research company in Boston, describes elearning as,
Classroom context and aggression: Understanding the effects of and change in classroom social structure

Peers relations have been regarded as a powerful developmental context that can influence multiple aspects of children's functioning and well being (Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 2006). Given that to a great extent these peer interactions take place within classrooms, this particular social context is an essential domain for the study of children’s socialization. The present dissertation sought to further our understanding of the multiple effects that the classroom may have on children’s social development, particularly for antisocial behaviour. Through a series of three interrelated studies, the classroom was examined as a fundamental context of experience and measurement, as a predictor of individual development, and as dynamic system that changes over time. These issues were addressed in a sample of 1594 Colombian children, who were assessed at four time points during a school academic year. The first study (Chapter 1) describes a statistical technique that capitalizes on the valuable information that peer-nomination-based assessments provide about individual members of the classroom, while ensuring the reliability and validity of the measures. Particularly, a regression-based technique that corrects scores obtained from sociometric and peer assessments to prevent the risk of bias due to differences in classroom size (i.e., number of nominators) is proposed and examined. The advantages of the regression-based technique over the widely-used standardization technique, in terms of practicality, efficiency, and interpretability are presented. The second study (Chapter 2) examined the effect of classroom cohesion and aggression-related norms on changes in individuals’ aggressive behaviours across the school year. Results from this study revealed that classroom norm salience predicted higher and increasing levels of students’ aggression. In addition, it was found that classroom cohesion prevented direct forms of aggression, while it enhanced conformity to aggression norms in girls. Finally, the third study (Chapter 3) explored how classroom norm salience changes over the course of the school year and to what extent teachers’ cognitions and behaviours explain such changes. Evidence indicates that teachers’ support prevented classroom norm salience from increasing over time. Results from these studies are discussed in light of their practical implications for interventions directed at preventing aggression and promoting social competence in the school context.
HIV-1 Protease Inhibitors and Clinical Malaria: a Secondary Analysis of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group A5208 Study

ABSTRACT HIV-1 protease inhibitors (PIs) have antimalarial activity in vitro and in murine models. The potential beneficial effect of HIV-1 PIs on malaria has not been studied in clinical settings. We used data from Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group A5208 sites where malaria is endemic to compare the incidence of clinically diagnosed malaria among HIV-infected adult women randomized to either lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r)-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) or to nevirapine (NVP)-based ART. We calculated hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals. We conducted a recurrent events analysis that included both first and second clinical malarial episodes and also conducted analyses to assess the sensitivity of results to outcome misclassification. Among the 445 women in this analysis, 137 (31%) received a clinical diagnosis of malaria at least once during follow-up. Of these 137, 72 (53%) were randomized to LPV/r-based ART. Assignment to the LPV/r treatment group (n = 226) was not consistent with a large decrease in the hazard of first clinical malarial episode (hazard ratio = 1.11 [0.79 to 1.56]). The results were similar in the recurrent events analysis. Sensitivity analyses indicated the results were robust to reasonable levels of outcome misclassification. In this study, the treatment with LPV/r compared to NVP had no apparent beneficial effect on the incidence of clinical malaria among HIV-infected adult women. Additional research concerning the effects of PI-based therapy on the incidence of malaria diagnosed by more specific criteria and among groups at a higher risk for severe disease is warranted.
A Critical Examination of the Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Transformational Leadership

The buoyant research interest in the constructs emotional intelligence (EI) and transformational leadership (TFL) is a testament to the crucial role of emotional skills at work. EI is often described as an antecedent of TFL, and several empirical studies report a positive relationship between these variables. On closer inspection, however, there may be methodological factors, such as common method variance, that potentially undermine the validity of findings. Using a multi-rater assessment (N = 227), this study sought to overcome the problem of method variance, whilst at the same time evaluate its potential presence by comparing same-source and non-same-source data. Findings suggest that, when using a strong methodological design, no relationship between EI and TFL is found. Thus, these findings renew the demand for scientific rigour in the design of studies to enhance their validity. The theoretical ramifications of this study are such that management scholars need to re-conceptualize the relationship between EI and TFL.
Children as Peer Researchers: Reflections on a Journey of Mutual Discovery

This article is based on a small-scale study evaluating the work of an emotional literacy project in the North West of England. It focuses on the research process and the challenging experience of involving children as peer researchers. The author draws on theoretical and epistemological insights from feminism and the sociology of childhood to explore some of the enduring tensions and contradictions facing adults involved in children’s research. The primary intention is to use post-research reflections to raise questions and stimulate debate amongst children’s researchers rather than offer solutions. © 2010 The Author(s). Children & Society © 2010 National Children’s Bureau and Blackwell Publishing Limited.
FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION OF THE GIANT FIBER SYSTEM OF LUMBRICUS

MORE OR LESS elaborate systems of nerve fibers much larger than any others in the same animal have been evolved several times, apparently independently, in the animal kingdom. They exist among certain but not all groups of the cestodes, nemerteans, annelids, crustaceans, cephalopods, enteropneusts, cephalochordates, and vertebrates. They exhibit a diversity of organization. Some are confined to the central nervous system, others are peripheral; some are simply very large ordinary neurons, others consist of compound fibers representing the fused axons of several cells. Complex combinations of these conditions exist and of course a variety of synaptic
Salt-Stress Response Mechanisms Using de Novo Transcriptome Sequencing of Salt-Tolerant and Sensitive Corchorus spp. Genotypes

High salinity is a major environmental stressor for crops. To understand the regulatory mechanisms underlying salt tolerance, we conducted a comparative transcriptome analysis between salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive jute (Corchorus spp.) genotypes in leaf and root tissues under salt stress and control conditions. In total, 68,961 unigenes were identified. Additionally, 11,100 unigenes (including 385 transcription factors (TFs)) exhibited significant differential expression in salt-tolerant or salt-sensitive genotypes. Numerous common and unique differentially expressed unigenes (DEGs) between the two genotypes were discovered. Fewer DEGs were observed in salt-tolerant jute genotypes whether in root or leaf tissues. These DEGs were involved in various pathways, such as ABA signaling, amino acid metabolism, etc. Among the enriched pathways, plant hormone signal transduction (ko04075) and cysteine/methionine metabolism (ko00270) were the most notable. Eight common DEGs across both tissues and genotypes with similar expression profiles were part of the PYL-ABA-PP2C (pyrabactin resistant-like/regulatory components of ABA receptors-abscisic acid-protein phosphatase 2C). The methionine metabolism pathway was only enriched in salt-tolerant jute root tissue. Twenty-three DEGs were involved in methionine metabolism. Overall, numerous common and unique salt-stress response DEGs and pathways between salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive jute have been discovered, which will provide valuable information regarding salt-stress response mechanisms and help improve salt-resistance molecular breeding in jute.
Methodologies for Evaluation of Note-Based Music-Retrieval Systems

There have been many proposed music-retrieval systems, based on a variety of principles. How the effectiveness of these systems compares is not clear. The evaluation of some systems has been informal, without the rigor applied in other areas of information retrieval, and comparison of systems is difficult because of the lack of a common data set, queries, or relevance judgments. In this paper we explain how we collected artificial and expert music queries and name-based relevance judgments, and describe software we developed for collection of manual relevance judgments. Together with a collection of downloaded musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) files, these sets of queries and relevance judgments provide valuable tools for measuring music-retrieval systems. As an example of the value of these tools, we use them to compare the effect of using the expert queries and manual judgments to that of the artificial queries and manual judgments used in our earlier experiments.
Intraparenchymal Tension Pneumatocele Complicating Frontal Sinus Osteoma: Case Report

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCEA relatively rare condition of intraparenchymal tension pneumatocele secondary to a frontal sinus osteoma eroding posteriorly and breaching dura mater is described. The scanty body of literature on this subject is briefly summarized, and the importance of this condition as a result of its life-threatening but readily treatable intracranial mass effect is outlined. CLINICAL PRESENTATIONThe patient presented with acute deterioration in conscious state and lateralizing signs from the mass effect of gas under tension. Two weeks earlier, he had experienced vague and subtle changes in personality noticeable only to his family. INTERVENTIONThe patient was cured by a frontal craniotomy, partial excision of the osteoma, and suture repair of the dural defect after evacuation of the pressurized air cavity. CONCLUSION This rare condition should be urgently treated in the event of acute deterioration. To prevent a life-threatening situation from arising, elective surgery should be considered for patients known to have air sinus osteomas that are at risk of erosion into the cranial cavity.
Through the wormhole: tracking invisible MPLS tunnels

For years, Internet topology research has been conducted through active measurement. For instance, Caida builds router level topologies on top of IP level traces obtained with traceroute. The resulting graphs contain a significant amount of nodes with a very large degree, often exceeding the actual number of interfaces of a router. Although this property may result from inaccurate alias resolution, we believe that opaque MPLS clouds made of invisible tunnels are the main cause. Using Layer-2 technologies such as MPLS, routers can be configured to hide internal IP hops from traceroute. Consequently, an entry point of an MPLS network appears as the neighbor of all exit points and the whole Layer-3 network turns into a dense mesh of high degree nodes. This paper tackles three problems: the revelation of IP hops hidden by MPLS tunnels, the MPLS deployment underestimation, and the overestimation of high degree nodes. We develop new measurement techniques able to reveal the presence and content of invisible MPLS tunnels. We assess them through emulation and cross-validation and perform a large-scale measurement campaign targeting suspicious networks on which we apply statistical analysis. Finally, based on our dataset, we look at basic graph properties impacted by invisible tunnels.
Development of curcumin as an epigenetic agent

The clinical benefits of curcumin as a single agent were demonstrated in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer in a phase 2 study despite pharmacokinetic analysis showing a much lower plasma concentration of curcumin in humans than in vitro. The diverse and broad biological activities of curcumin are mediated through direct interaction of curcumin with target proteins as well as epigenetic modulation of target genes, supported by evidence that curcumin modulates gene expression in a time‐ and concentration‐dependent manner in human cancer cells. This review delineates the novel mechanisms of curcumin as an epigenetic agent through its interaction with histone deacetylases, histone acetyltransferases, DNA methyltransferase I, and microRNAs. Accumulating data support curcumin's functionality in modulating multiple biological processes at low concentrations through its activity as an epigenetic agent. The development of curcumin as an epigenetic agent warrants further preclinical and clinical studies to explore its diversity and efficacy in cancer treatment and in combination with other anticancer agents. Cancer 2010. © 2010 American Cancer Society.
Stimulation of deoxyribonucleic acid replication fork movement by spermidine analogs in polyamine-deficient Escherichia coli

We examined the rate of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) replication fork movement in polyamine-deficient cells of Escherichia coli by two independent techniques. DNA autoradiography was used to directly visualize the length of DNA produced during a given time interval, and replication rates were calculated. The amount of DNA synthesized after blocking protein synthesis also allowed calculation of replication rates. We found that the DNA chain elongation rate in polyamine-deficient cells was about half that of putrescine- or spermidine-supplemented cells. We also found that spermidine homologs of increasing chain length, when present at equal intracellular concentrations, exhibited a decreasing ability to support growth and the rate of DNA replication fork movement. The kinetics of recovery of DNA synthesis from the polyamine-deficient state were also investigated. A new rate of DNA synthesis was reached about 20 min after addition of spermidine to polyamine-limited cells. The rise in the rate of DNA synthesis was preceded by a rise in the intracellular concentration of spermidine.
Who is watching over you? The role of shared identity in perceptions of surveillance

Two studies were conducted to investigate the role of social identity in appraisals of the purpose and acceptance of surveillance. In Study 1 (N = 112), a survey study demonstrated that there is a negative relationship between identification with one's city and the extent to which public closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance is perceived as an invasion of privacy. This relationship was mediated by perceptions that the purpose of surveillance is to ensure safety. Study 2 (N = 139) manipulated identity salience at the sub-group and superordinate level and the source of surveillance. Results demonstrated that surveillance originating from fellow sub-group members was perceived as less privacy invading than surveillance originating from the superordinate group, but only when that sub-group identity was salient. No differences in perceptions of privacy invasion were found when the more inclusive identity was made salient. We argue that whether surveillance is perceived as an invasion of privacy depends on the perceived social relationship with the source of the surveillance—surveillance is perceived as more acceptable when it originates from a group with which one identifies or shares an identity. Practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article was published online on 25 February 2009. An error was subsequently identified. This notice is included in the online and print versions to indicate that both have been corrected 12 January 2010.