Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dying for the group: Towards a general theory of extreme self-sacrifice

Abstract Whether upheld as heroic or reviled as terrorism, people have been willing to lay down their lives for the sake of their groups throughout history. Why? Previous theories of extreme self-sacrifice have highlighted a range of seemingly disparate factors, such as collective identity, outgroup hostility, and kin psychology. In this paper, I attempt to integrate many of these factors into a single overarching theory based on several decades of collaborative research with a range of special populations, from tribes in Papua New Guinea to Libyan insurgents and from Muslim fundamentalists in Indonesia to Brazilian football hooligans. These studies suggest that extreme self-sacrifice is motivated by identity fusion, a visceral sense of oneness with the group, resulting from intense collective experiences (e.g., painful rituals or the horrors of frontline combat) or from perceptions of shared biology. In ancient foraging societies, fusion would have enabled warlike bands to stand united despite strong temptations to scatter and flee. The fusion mechanism has often been exploited in cultural rituals, not only by tribal societies but also in specialized cells embedded in armies, cults, and terrorist organizations. With the rise of social complexity and the spread of states and empires, fusion has also been extended to much larger groups, including doctrinal religions, ethnicities, and ideological movements. Explaining extreme self-sacrifice is not only a scientific priority but also a practical challenge as we seek a collective response to suicide, terrorism, and other extreme expressions of outgroup hostility that continue to bedevil humanity today.
RDF2PT: Generating Brazilian Portuguese Texts from RDF Data

The generation of natural language from Resource Description Framework (RDF) data has recently gained significant attention due to the continuous growth of Linked Data. A number of these approaches generate natural language in languages other than English, however, no work has been proposed to generate Brazilian Portuguese texts out of RDF. We address this research gap by presenting RDF2PT, an approach that verbalizes RDF data to Brazilian Portuguese language. We evaluated RDF2PT in an open questionnaire with 44 native speakers divided into experts and non-experts. Our results suggest that RDF2PT is able to generate text which is similar to that generated by humans and can hence be easily understood.
Redox variations in Mauna Kea lavas, the oxygen fugacity of the Hawaiian plume, and the role of volcanic gases in Earth’s oxygenation

Significance Volcanic degassing at Mauna Kea volcanoes decreases the oxidation state of both Fe and S in the magmas, consistent with recent results from Kilauea volcano. The least degassed magmas from Mauna Kea are more oxidized than midocean ridge basalt magmas, possibly due to plate tectonic cycling of material from the oxidized surface to the deep mantle, which is then returned to the surface as a component of buoyant plumes. If the degassing trend observed for Mauna Kea applies to basaltic systems more broadly, decompression does not lead to significant changes in the reducing capacity of the exsolved gases and thus cannot explain the rise of oxygen at the Archean/Proterozoic boundary. The behavior of C, H, and S in the solid Earth depends on their oxidation states, which are related to oxygen fugacity (fO2). Volcanic degassing is a source of these elements to Earth’s surface; therefore, variations in mantle fO2 may influence the fO2 at Earth’s surface. However, degassing can impact magmatic fO2 before or during eruption, potentially obscuring relationships between the fO2 of the solid Earth and of emitted gases and their impact on surface fO2. We show that low-pressure degassing resulted in reduction of the fO2 of Mauna Kea magmas by more than an order of magnitude. The least degassed magmas from Mauna Kea are more oxidized than midocean ridge basalt (MORB) magmas, suggesting that the upper mantle sources of Hawaiian magmas have higher fO2 than MORB sources. One explanation for this difference is recycling of material from the oxidized surface to the deep mantle, which is then returned to the surface as a component of buoyant plumes. It has been proposed that a decreasing pressure of volcanic eruptions led to the oxygenation of the atmosphere. Extension of our findings via modeling of degassing trends suggests that a decrease in eruption pressure would not produce this effect. If degassing of basalts were responsible for the rise in oxygen, it requires that Archean magmas had at least two orders of magnitude lower fO2 than modern magmas. Estimates of fO2 of Archean magmas are not this low, arguing for alternative explanations for the oxygenation of the atmosphere.
Rethinking the Modern Prince: Partisanship and the Democratic Ethos

This article lays out and defends the role of political parties in cultivating a democratic ethos among citizens. It argues that citizens' commitment to the democratic idea of self-rule requires positive conviction of the worth of collective political agency, and suggests that this conviction draws on three main sources, characterised as normative, motivational and executive. The article shows theoretically why parties are able to cultivate all three sources in a way no other political actor can match, thus constituting a unique and indispensable mode of civic engagement. Moreover, it proposes that the widely noted shortcomings of parties in contemporary democracy leave this basic capacity unimpaired, indeed that certain important developments herald renewed opportunities.
FGF23 promotes myocardial fibrosis in mice through activation of β-catenin

Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) has been reported to induce left ventricular hypertrophy, but it remains unclear whether FGF23 plays a role in cardiac fibrosis. This study is attempted to investigate the role of FGF23 in post-infarct myocardial fibrosis in mice. We noted that myocardial and plasma FGF23 and FGF receptor 4 were increased in mice with heart failure as well as in cultured adult mouse cardiac fibroblasts (AMCFs) exposed to angiotensin II, phenylephrine, soluble fractalkine. Recombinant FGF23 protein increased active β-catenin , procollagen I and procollagen III expression in cultured AMCFs. Furthermore, intra-myocardial injection of adeno-associated virus-FGF23 in mice significantly increased left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and myocardial fibrosis, and markedly upregulated active β-catenin, transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), procollagen I and procollagen III in both myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemia/reperfusion (IR) mice, while β-catenin inhibitor or silencing of β-catenin antagonized the FGF23-promoted myocardial fibrosis in vitro and in vivo. These findings indicate that FGF23 promotes myocardial fibrosis and exacerbates diastolic dysfunction induced by MI or IR, which is associated with the upregulation of active β-catenin and TGF-β.
Comparison of the effects of dietary supplementation of flavonoids on laying hen performance, egg quality and egg nutrient profile

ABSTRACT 1. The aim of this experiment was to compare the effects of dietary supplementation of hesperidin, naringin and quercetin on laying hen performance, egg quality and egg yolk lipid and protein profiles. 2. A total of 96 Lohmann White laying hens weighing an average of 1500 g at 28 weeks of age were randomly assigned to a basal diet and the basal diet supplemented (0.5 g/kg) with either hesperidin, naringin or quercetin. Each treatment was replicated in 6 cages in an 8-week experimental period. Data were analysed using one-way analysis of variance. 3. None of the dietary flavonoids affected laying performance and eggshell quality. Hesperidin and quercetin supplementations decreased albumen and yolk indexes. 4. As compared to the control group, egg yolk cholesterol content decreased and egg yolk protein content increased in response to dietary hesperidin and quercetin supplementation. The mean egg yolk cholesterol (mg/g) and protein (g/100 g) contents were 10.08/14.28, 16.12/14.08, 14.75/15.04 and 15.15/14.85 for the control group and groups supplemented with naringin, hesperidin and quercetin, respectively. 5. Egg yolk lipid and protein profiles were variable. 6. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of hesperidin or quercetin could be used in the diets during the early laying period to reduce egg yolk cholesterol and increase egg yolk protein, which may be attractive to consumers.
Bayesian Approaches to Distribution Regression

Distribution regression has recently attracted much interest as a generic solution to the problem of supervised learning where labels are available at the group level, rather than at the individual level. Current approaches, however, do not propagate the uncertainty in observations due to sampling variability in the groups. This effectively assumes that small and large groups are estimated equally well, and should have equal weight in the final regression. We account for this uncertainty with a Bayesian distribution regression formalism, improving the robustness and performance of the model when group sizes vary. We frame our models in a neural network style, allowing for simple MAP inference using backpropagation to learn the parameters, as well as MCMC-based inference which can fully propagate uncertainty. We demonstrate our approach on illustrative toy datasets, as well as on a challenging problem of predicting age from images.
Bank Capital Structure, Regulatory Capital, and Securities Innovations

Since late 1993, nonfinancial corporations have used financial instruments that permit them to treat preferred-stock dividends as tax-deductible interest. Bank holding companies (BHCs), however, did not issue these trust-preferred securities (TPS) until 1996, when the Federal Reserve qualified them as Tier-1 capital. We delineate and test five, not mutually exclusive, hypotheses by: (1) analyzing the stock-market's reaction to the Fed's ruling and to TPS filings and (2) comparing BHCs that issued TPS with those that did not. We find that regulatory capital requirements, tax savings, and uninsured sources of funds had significant positive effects on BHCs' demand for capital and that the market responded favorably to TPS filings. Our event-study findings are contrary to prior empirical results in that we find a positive market reaction to equity offerings.
Prognostic significance of pulmonary hypertension in patients with cystic fibrosis

Background and objective: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is frequently found in advanced parenchymal lung diseases like cystic fibrosis (CF), but the role played by PH in the clinical outcome of CF patients remains unclear. The aim of this study is to determine the influence of PH on survival in the CF population by meta-analysis. Methods: Publications addressing the associations between PH and overall survival (OS) or other clinical characteristics in CF patients were selected from electronic databases. Odds ratios (ORs) or mean differences (MDs) were used to estimate the association between PH and the clinical characteristics. The hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were abstracted or calculated to evaluate the association between PH and CF survival outcome. Subgroup analyses were also conducted. Results: Seven studies including 2141 CF patients who met the inclusion criteria were included in our meta-analysis. With respect to clinical features, PH was significantly associated with lower PaO2 (P < .001), higher PaCO2 (P = .02), lower forced expiratory volume in 1 second percent (P < .001) and lower forced vital capacity percent (P < .001). However, PH had no significant impact on CF patients’ OS (HR = 1.29, 95% CI 0.81 to 2.06, P = .283). Furthermore, subgroup analyses also showed no evidence of prognostic role of PH in CF patients (all P values >.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the presence of PH was strongly correlated with worse blood-gas parameters and worse lung function, but surprisingly had no significant prognostic value on survival among CF patients. Further large-scale and prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Assessing the impact of bibliographical support on the quality of medical care in patients admitted to an internal medicine service: a prospective clinical, open, randomised two-arm parallel study

To assess and quantify the impact of the literature in diagnostic decisions and treatment of patients admitted to an internal medicine service using the methodology of evidence-based medicine. From November 2012 to February 2013, patients who were hospitalised in the internal medicine service of Regional Hospital of Lugano (Switzerland) and generated questions on medical care were randomly assigned to two groups: an ‘intervention group’ (supported by the literature research) and a ‘control group’ (not supported by the literature research). The information obtained from the literature was submitted by email to all members of the medical team within 12 h after asking the question. Two hundred and one participants, from 866 patients hospitalised in the analysed period, divided into intervention (n=101) and control (n=100) groups, generated questions. In the intervention group, bibliographical research was possible for 98 participants. The medical team accepted the results and implemented the research for 90.8% of these participants (89/98). Statistical analyses were carried out on the intention-to-treat and on the per-protocol populations. Bibliographical research had a significant protective effect on transfer to an intensive care unit (relative risk (RR)=0.30; 95% CI 0.10 to 0.90; χ2=5.3, p=0.02) and hospital readmissions were also influenced by bibliographical research (RR=0.42; 95% CI 0.17 to 1.0; χ2=3.36, p=0.05) in the intention-to-treat population. Our results point out the importance of bibliographical support on the quality of medical care. In particular, they show its possible impact on clinical outcome. Trial registration number EOC Registry (registration number: 14–055).
Chronotropic Response and Cognitive Function in a Cohort at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease.

The objective of this study was to examine the association of chronotropic response (CR) and heart rate (HR) recovery- two indices of cardiovascular function within the context of a graded exercise test- with cognitive performance in a cognitively healthy, late-middle-aged cohort at risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ninety participants (age = 63.52±5.86 years; 65.6% female) from the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention participated in this study. They underwent graded exercise testing and a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment that assessed the following four cognitive domains: Immediate Memory, Verbal & Learning Memory, Working Memory, and Speed & Flexibility. Regression analyses, adjusted for age, sex, and education, were used to examine the association between CR, HR recovery, and cognition. We found significant associations between CR and cognitive performance in the domains of Immediate Memory, Verbal Learning & Memory, and Speed & Flexibility. In contrast, HR recovery was not significantly associated with cognitive function. The association between CR and cognition persisted even after controlling for HR recovery. Together, these findings indicatethat, in a cognitively normal, late-middle-aged cohort, CR is a stronger correlate of cognitive performance than HR recovery. Overall, this study reinforces the idea that cardiovascular health plays an important role in cognitive function, specifically in a cohort at risk for AD; and that interventions that promote vascular health may be a viable pathway to preventing or slowing cognitive decline due to AD.
Hybrid III-V on Silicon Integrated Distributed Feedback Laser and Ring Resonator for 25 Gb/s Future Access Networks

We report on a fully integrated hybrid III–V on a silicon distributed feedback laser integrated with a ring resonator. We demonstrate an enhanced extinction ratio up to 5 dB at 25 Gb/s of the distributed feedback laser when the ring-resonator is finely tuned. We validated the transmitter with a 20-km transmission with only 2.5-dB penalty and 20-dB power budget.
Effect of Propionibacterium freudenreichii on Salmonella multiplication, motility, and association with avian epithelial cells1

&NA; We investigated the effects of a probiotic bacterium, Propionibacterium freudenreichii, on Salmonella multiplication, motility, and association to and invasion of avian epithelial cells in vitro. Two subspecies of P. freudenreichii (P. freudenreichii subsp. freudenreichii and P. freudenreichii subsp. shermanii) were tested against 3 Salmonella serotypes in poultry, namely, S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium, and S. Heidelberg, using co‐culture‐, motility, multiplication, cell association, and invasion assays. Both strains of P. freudenreichii were effective in reducing or inhibiting multiplication of all 3 Salmonella serotypes in co‐culture and turkey cecal contents (P ≤ 0.05). P. freudenreichii significantly reduced Salmonella motility (P ≤ 0.05). Cell culture studies revealed that P. freudenreichii associated with the avian epithelial cells effectively and reduced S. Enteritidis, S. Heidelberg, and S. Typhimurium cell association in the range of 1.0 to 1.6 log10 CFU/mL, and invasion in the range of 1.3 to 1.5 log10 CFU/mL (P ≤ 0.05), respectively. Our current in vitro results indicate the potential of P. freudenreichii against Salmonella in poultry. Follow‐up in vivo studies are underway to evaluate this possibility.
Fatigue Damage Evaluation through Stiffness Measurements in Boron-Epoxy Laminates

Stiffness reductions, resulting from fatigue damage, were measured for unnotched [±45]s, [0/90] s, and [0/90/ ±45 ] s boron/epoxy laminates. Deg radation in the various in-plane stiffnesses (Exx, Byy, Gxy) were measured using a combination of uniaxial tension, rail shear, and flexure tests. An attempt was made to predict stiffness loss at failure from a secant modulus criterion. Damage growth and stiffness loss were load-history dependent, hence, the secant modulus criterion is not a valid criterion for general application.
Analysis of Fiber Micro-buckling in Elastomeric Composites

The fiber micro-buckling and postbuckling response of finite-strain, fiber-reinforced elastomeric composites is investigated using finite element analysis of a representative unit cell. The unit cell model is used to investigate the effect of matrix modulus and fiber volume fraction on the buckling response of elastomeric composites that are subjected to macroscopic compression strains of up to 10% as commonly encountered in flexible composite hinges used to deploy lightweight space structures.
Overexpression of Semaphorin-3E enhances pancreatic cancer cell growth and associates with poor patient survival

Semaphorin-3E (Sema3E) is a member of an axon guidance gene family, and has recently been reported to contribute to tumor progression and metastasis. However, its role in pancreatic cancer is yet unknown and uncharacterized. In this study, we showed that Sema3E is overexpressed in human pancreatic cancer, and that high Sema3E levels are associated with tumor progression and poor survival. Interestingly, we also observed Sema3E expression in the nucleus, even though Sema3E is reported to be a secreted protein. Overexpression of Sema3E in pancreatic cancer cells promoted cell proliferation and migration in vitro, and increased tumor incidence and growth in vivo. Conversely, knockout of Sema3E suppressed cancer cell proliferation and migration in vitro, and reduced tumor incidence and size in vivo. Moreover, Sema3E induced cell proliferation via acting through the MAPK/ERK pathway. Collectively, these results reveal an undiscovered role of Sema3E in promoting pancreatic cancer pathogenesis, suggesting that Sema3E may be a suitable prognostic marker and therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer.
Emergent methods to synthesize and characterize semiconductor CuO nanoparticles with various morphologies – an overview

Nanotechnology can be defined as the science and engineering involved in the design, synthesis and application of materials and devices on the nanometer scale. It is not in itself a single emerging discipline, but rather a meeting of several traditional sciences such as chemistry, physics, materials science, biology and engineering to bring together the required expertise needed to develop these new technologies. The unique properties of nanoscale materials provide benefits in remediation, pollution prevention, and efficient use of resources; however, the greatest contribution to green chemistry is likely to be the new manufacturing strategies available through nanoscience. So, the present review mainly focuses on the synthesis of semiconductor CuO nanomaterials from different starting materials by adopting various routes such as vapor-solid, vapor-liquid-solid, solid-liquid, etc. to reveal the morphological features of the precursor.
Photo-Attachment of Biomolecules for Miniaturization on Wicking Si-Nanowire Platform

We demonstrated the surface functionalization of a highly three-dimensional, superhydrophilic wicking substrate using light to immobilize functional biomolecules for sensor or microarray applications. We showed here that the three-dimensional substrate was compatible with photo-attachment and the performance of functionalization was greatly improved due to both increased surface capacity and reduced substrate reflectivity. In addition, photo-attachment circumvents the problems induced by wicking effect that was typically encountered on superhydrophilic three-dimensional substrates, thus reducing the difficulty of producing miniaturized sites on such substrate. We have investigated various aspects of photo-attachment process on the nanowire substrate, including the role of different buffers, the effect of wavelength as well as how changing probe structure may affect the functionalization process. We demonstrated that substrate fabrication and functionalization can be achieved with processes compatible with microelectronics processes, hence reducing the cost of array fabrication. Such functionalization method coupled with the high capacity surface makes the substrate an ideal candidate for sensor or microarray for sensitive detection of target analytes.
“Where Did This [PrEP] Come From?” African American Mother/Daughter Perceptions Related to Adolescent Preexposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Utilization and Clinical Trial Participation

Despite the demonstrated effectiveness of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce incident HIV infections, PrEP’s potential as an HIV prevention strategy for adolescent populations is unknown. This study assessed perceptions of adolescent PrEP use and clinical trial participation among African American women and their adolescent daughters. We conducted focus group discussions with 15 African American mother/daughter pairs (N = 30). Findings suggest a general lack of PrEP awareness, favorable attitudes toward adolescent PrEP use, altruistic attitudes regarding research participation among daughters, and less favorable attitudes toward adolescent clinical trial participation among mothers. Study findings have the potential to inform strategies that provide equitable access to HIV scientific advances among African American women and girls and promote informed parent–child research decision making.