Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is another city possible? Towards an urbanised sustainability

Sustainable development has proved to be a most compelling concept, generating enthusiasm across the political spectrum, endorsement from various sectors and industries, and high levels of support from certain individuals. As a corollary, one could argue that the city’s right to exist (Catterall, City 12(3), pp. 402–415, 2008) must now be articulated in terms of sustainability; indeed urban sustainability is an alluring goal for many cities. Unfortunately, the idea’s popularity has not necessarily led to appreciable benefits or improvements for the residents of urban areas, or for those (both human and non‐human) in areas from which cities draw their sustenance. There are even indications that the pursuit of urban sustainability may cause more problems than it solves. We argue that this is, in part, because the sustainable city is often treated as a site wherein particular policies, programmes and strategies may be enacted, with the ‘urban’ prefixed unreflectively to simplistic versions of the concept emphasising bio‐physical environmental goals. Such approaches neglect the city as a complex of social, economic, cultural and political concerns and, consequently, very little progress has been made in terms of synthesising these myriad and often conflicting aims. As an alternative, this paper explores the possibilities associated with treating the urban as a condition, and outlines some of the ways in which cityness contributes to an urbanised sustainability.
Radiosensitizing effects of gemcitabine on aerobic and chronically hypoxic HeLa and MRC5 cells in-vitro

Background: Gemcitabine (2′, 2′-difluoro-2′deoxycytidine, an analogue of deoxycytidine) is a relatively new drug with wide range of anti-cancer activity. In this study, radiosensitizing effects of gemcitabine was investigated on HeLa and MRC5 human originated cell lines under both chronically hypoxic and normoxic conditions using the micronucleus (MN) assay. Materials and Methods: For induction of chronic hypoxia, the cell culture flasks were saturated with N2 gas. To evaluate the radiosensitizing effects, in the presence of the non-genotoxic concentration (1ng/ml) of gemcitabine, cells were exposed to different doses (0.5, 1, 2 Gy) of X-ray in both chronically hypoxic and normoxic conditions. Results: Results showed that there was no significant difference in MN induction under chronically hypoxic and normoxic condition when using 1 ng/ml gemcitabine alone, however in the absence of drug, MN induction was significantly different in irradiated cells (P<0.01). Radiosensitizing effects of gemcitabine in chronic hypoxic condition was greater than normoxic condition in both cell lines (P<0.01), although more pronounced in HeLa cells. Conclusions: Radiosensitizing effects and greater dose modifying factor of gemcitabine under depleted oxygen condition is not clearly understood. It might be due to depletion of deoxynocleotides pools via inhibition of ribonucleotide reductase and mismatched nucleosides incorporation into DNA after radiation exposure. Iran. J. Radiat. Res., 2012; 10(1): 11­18
Correlates of Adult Cancer Patients' Decision-Making Behaviors About Treatment

Abstract This study investigated the ways in which 140 recently diagnosed cancer patients participated in treatment decisions. The most prevalent behavior was the tendency to adopt the recommendations of their physicians without actively participating in decision making, followed by rational vigilant decision making (systematically collecting and processing medical information to find the best choice) and impulsive hypervigilant decision making (unsystematically processing information and choosing the first option). The tendency to adopt the oncologists' recommendations without active participation in decision making was predicted by patients' higher age, external health-related locus of control, and low-to-moderate cognitive abilities. Vigilant decision making was associated with higher cognitive abilities and educational attainment, and hypervigilant decision making was associated with lower cognitive capabilities and an external locus of control. Depression was not related to decision-making behavior. The results indicate a need to adapt the provision of medical information and support in the process of decision making to patients' resources and expectations regarding participation in treatment decisions.
Contemplating spiritual experience: Winnicott's potential space, Tibetan bardo, and liminality

Abstract In this paper, ways of contemplating and accommodating the unfamiliar, especially the “other” of spiritual experience, are considered. Some concepts from psychoanalysis, such as Winnicott's “potential space” and his notion of “holding,” are helpful in comprehending spiritual experiences that can easily be misunderstood, or “flattened out” to use Bion's phrase. Interesting and rather remarkable confluences in these concepts from psychoanalysis and from Tibetan Buddhism (bardo) and cultural anthropology (liminality) are considered in their functions of both enabling and comprehending these extraordinary and often life-enhancing experiences.
Pedagogical content knowledge as reflected in teacher–student interactions: Analysis of two video cases

Despite the theorized centrality of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching, we have little evidence of the relationship between PCK and students' learning and know relatively little about how to help teachers to develop PCK. This study is a preliminary attempt to address these gaps in our knowledge of PCK through exploration of two German physics teachers' classroom instruction in consecutive lessons on optics. We show how video analysis can be used to gather evidence for one aspect of teachers' PCK: their use of content knowledge in interactions with students. We identify three potentially important characteristics of this aspect of PCK: flexibility, richness, and learner-centeredness. By contrasting teachers with high and low gains in student knowledge and interest, we explore potential mechanisms by which this aspect of PCK might affect student outcomes. Because German teacher preparation programs emphasize content more than pedagogical knowledge, these cases contribute to our understanding of the support that teachers with strong content knowledge may need in translating this knowledge into a form useful for teaching.Fachdidaktisches Wissen ist aus theoretischer Sicht besonders zentral fur das Unterrichten. Aus empirischer Sicht gibt es bislang allerdings noch wenig Evidenz fur den Einsatz fachdidaktischen Wissens wahrend des Unterrichtens und seine Bedeutung fur das Lernen von Schulerinnen und Schulern. Auserdem wissen wir wenig daruber, wie Lehrpersonen uber die Zeit fachdidaktisches Wissen entwickeln. Diese Studie ist ein Versuch, diese Wissenslucken zum fachdidaktischen Wissen von Lehrpersonen zu bearbeiten. Dabei wird exemplarisch der Unterricht von zwei deutschen Physiklehrern in aufeinanderfolgenden Stunden zum Thema Optik untersucht. Die Studie zeigt wie Videoanalysen genutzt werden konnen, um Belege fur einen Aspekt des fachdidaktischen Wissens der Lehrpersonen zu sammeln: Ihre Nutzung von inhaltlichem Wissen in der Interaktion mit den Schulerinnen und Schulern. In dieser Studie werden drei potentiell wichtige Charakteristika dieses Aspekts des fachdidaktischen Wissens identifiziert: Flexibilitat, Reichhaltigkeit und Schulerorientierung. Durch die Gegenuberstellung von Lehrpersonen mit hohem und niedrigem Wissens- und Interessenzuwachs wurden potentielle Mechanismen untersucht, durch die dieser Aspekt des fachdidaktischen Wissens die Lernergebnisse von Schulerinnen und Schulern beeinflussen kann. Die Lehrerausbildung in Deutschland betont das inhaltliche Wissen starker als das fachdidaktische Wissen. Die ausgewahlten Falle beschreiben, welche Unterstutzung Lehrpersonen mit einem hohen fachlichen Wissen benotigen, um dieses Wissen so zu verandern, dass es fur das Unterrichten genutzt werden kann. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 1211–1239, 2012
Suspension, Race, and Disability: Analysis of Statewide Practices and Reporting

This analysis of statewide suspension data from 1995 to 2003 in Maryland investigated disproportionate suspensions of minority students and students with disabilities.We found substantial increases in overall rates of suspensions from 1995 to 2003, as well as disproportionate rates of suspensions for African American students, American Indian students, and students with disabilities.The odds ratios for suspension increased for African American students and American Indian students from 1995 to 2003.The odds ratios for students with disabilities varied by disability category and by race. For most disability categories, students with disabilities had higher odds ratios than students without disabilities. Students with emotional and behavioral disorders had the highest odds ratios for suspensions, especially for African American students. Findings from this investigation are discussed and recommendations are provided for practice and future research.
Selective observation of the disordered import signal of a globular protein by in-cell NMR: The example of frataxins

We have exploited the capability of in‐cell NMR to selectively observe flexible regions within folded proteins to carry out a comparative study of two members of the highly conserved frataxin family which are found both in prokaryotes and in eukaryotes. They all contain a globular domain which shares more than 50% identity, which in eukaryotes is preceded by an N‐terminal tail containing the mitochondrial import signal. We demonstrate that the NMR spectrum of the bacterial ortholog CyaY cannot be observed in the homologous E. coli system, although it becomes fully observable as soon as the cells are lysed. This behavior has been observed for several other compact globular proteins as seems to be the rule rather than the exception. The NMR spectrum of the yeast ortholog Yfh1 contains instead visible signals from the protein. We demonstrate that they correspond to the flexible N‐terminal tail indicating that this is flexible and unfolded. This flexibility of the N‐terminus agrees with previous studies of human frataxin, despite the extensive sequence diversity of this region in the two proteins. Interestingly, the residues that we observe in in‐cell experiments are not visible in the crystal structure of a Yfh1 mutant designed to destabilize the first helix. More importantly, our results show that, in cell, the protein is predominantly present not as an aggregate but as a monomeric species.
The Structure of Haplotype Blocks in the Human Genome

Haplotype-based methods offer a powerful approach to disease gene mapping, based on the association between causal mutations and the ancestral haplotypes on which they arose. As part of The SNP Consortium Allele Frequency Projects, we characterized haplotype patterns across 51 autosomal regions (spanning 13 megabases of the human genome) in samples from Africa, Europe, and Asia. We show that the human genome can be parsed objectively into haplotype blocks: sizable regions over which there is little evidence for historical recombination and within which only a few common haplotypes are observed. The boundaries of blocks and specific haplotypes they contain are highly correlated across populations. We demonstrate that such haplotype frameworks provide substantial statistical power in association studies of common genetic variation across each region. Our results provide a foundation for the construction of a haplotype map of the human genome, facilitating comprehensive genetic association studies of human disease.
A Consensus Conference Without Our Consensus

In May 1990, one of us (Abramson) attended the consensus conference on cognitive approaches to depression and discovered she was not part of the consensus. Although the conference was very stimulating, she had a vague feeling of discomfort that went beyond simply disagreeing with some of the consensual recommendations. On reading the report of the conference proceedings, the other (Alloy) experienced the same discomfort. Our discomfort arises from two troublesome themes running through the conference proceedings and subsequent report. First, in both the conference proceedings and report, the scientific rationale for evaluating certain research methods as flawed was largely unstated. Moreover, some research methods (e.g., priming procedures with remitted depressives) whose theoretical status is currently unclear were strongly advocated. We are concerned that a consequence of the consensus report will be that some journal editors, grant reviewers, and investigators may deem certain measures (i.e., those voted a bad rating by conference participants) unsuitable for use in future research although these measures meet currently accepted standards for scientific adequacy and are well suited to test the hypotheses at hand. Another troublesome possibility is that to obtain research funding or publication, investigators may be required to use certain other research methods (i.e., those voted a good rating by conference participants) that are exciting and appropriate for testing certain hypotheses but, nevertheless, theoretically inappropriate for the investigator's purpose. Second, the call for a consensus conference on cognitive approaches to depression appeared to be based, in part, on the premise that these approaches are in trouble. One participant referred to the conference as a "wake" for the cognitive approaches. In contrast, we think there is good reason to believe that cognitive approaches are flourishing.
Memory for metaphors and similes in discourse

Three experiments tested memory for sentences containing either metaphors (“Deserts are ovens”) or similes (“Deserts are like ovens”). Experiments 1 and 2 used forced‐choice recognition memory requiring a choice between the metaphor or simile form of the same sentence. Experiment 3 used cued recall, presenting the sentence stem (“Deserts are __”) and asking participants to fill in the rest. Experiment 1 presented a list of sentences, whereas Experiments 2 and 3 presented each critical metaphor or simile sentence at the end of a brief story that set up a meaningful context for it. As predicted by an extension of Glucksberg's (1991, 1998) attributive categorization model to memory, metaphors were consistently remembered better than similes, and concrete sentences were remembered better than abstract ones, in both recognition and recall. Contrary to predictions, the addition of the meaningful discourse context only slightly improved memory for the more difficult sentences, although it greatly improved correc.
Interviews and biographical time: the case of long‐term HIV nonprogressors

In 1996–1997, I interviewed 30 men and women who, though infected with HIV nearly 10 years earlier, were still not sick and were not receiving treatment. The empirical data drawn from these interviews are used to show how the conditions and context of this research affected the stances adopted by interviewees and led them to centre their comments on their experience of time. The analysis of these data focused on the form of the interview and the conception of time. A typology is proposed of how time was constructed during interviews.
Molecular mechanisms of p21 and p27 induction by 3‐methylcholanthrene, an aryl‐hydrocarbon receptor agonist, involved in antiproliferation of human umbilical vascular endothelial cells

We previously reported that 3‐methylcholanthrene (3MC), an aryl‐hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonist, inhibits the proliferation of human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs; Juan et al., 2006, Eur J Pharmacol 530: 1–8). Herein, pretreatment of HUVECs with p21 or p27 small interfering (si)RNA reduced 3MC‐induced elimination of [3H]thymidine incorporation, demonstrating their essential roles in the antiproliferation of HUVECs. The molecular mechanisms of p21 and p27 involved in the antiproliferative effects of 3MC were elucidated in this study. 3MC time‐ and concentration‐dependently increased p21 and p27 levels, and decreased the protein level of CDK2 with no apparent alteration of p53. Interestingly, 3MC‐mediated p21 and p27 inductions were eliminated by resveratrol, an AhR antagonist, suggesting their AhR dependency, further confirmed by AhR siRNA. Among the relevant pathways, p38MAPK activation sustained the levels of p21 and p27 induced by 3MC, which was eliminated by AhR antagonists and N‐acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant. 3MC concentration‐dependently enhanced not only the consensus dioxin‐responsive element (DRE)‐driven luciferase activity, but also the binding activity of the AhR to the putative DRE derived from the p21 and p27 promoters. A deletion of the DRE (−285/−270) in p21 (−2,300/+8) only partially alleviated the 3MC‐induced luciferase activity unless NAC was added, suggesting that there may be a DRE‐independent mechanism associated with oxidative stress. However, a deletion of the DRE (−660/−645) in p27 (−1,358/−100) almost completely abrogated the activation. Our study demonstrated that both the functional DRE and the phosphorylation of p38MAPK are essential for the induction of p21 and p27, resulting in the antiproliferative action of 3MC in HUVECs. J. Cell. Physiol. 215: 161–171, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The role of estrogen in testis and the male reproductive tract: a review and species comparison

Testosterone and estrogen are hormones important to both sexes. In the adult testis, estrogen is synthesized by Leydig cells and germ cells, producing a relatively high concentration in rete testis fluid and in semen of several species. Estrogen receptors (ER) are present in the testis, efferent ductules and epididymis of most species; however, ERα is reported absent in the testis of a few, including man. ERα is abundant in the efferent ductule epithelium of every species examined to date. Its primary function is the regulated expression of proteins involved in fluid reabsorption. Disruption of ERα , either in the knockout (ERα KO) or by treatment with a pure antiestrogen, results in dilution of cauda epididymal sperm, disruption of sperm morphology, inhibition of sodium transport and subsequent water reabsorption, increased secretion of Cl - , and eventual decreased fertility. Loss of aromatase activity in the ArKO mouse does not result in an ERα KO or antiestrogen phenotype, suggesting that epithelial ERα in the efferent ductules may exhibit ligand-independent activity. In addition to the primary regulation of luminal fluid and ion transport, estrogen is also responsible for maintaining a differentiated epithelial morphology through a mechanism remaining to be discovered. Thus, estrogen or its receptor is important for male reproductive tract function in numerous species.
Influences of Familiarity on the Processing of Faces

Three experiments are reported in which undergraduate subjects made simple perceptual judgements about the faces of familiar and unfamiliar academic staff. Any effects of familiarity in these tasks were assessed by comparison with performance on the two groups of faces when both sets were unfamiliar to student subjects at a different university. In experiment 1 there was no effect of familiarity of the faces on a task requiring judgements of expression, consistent with recent models of face processing in which expression analysis proceeds independently from the analysis of identity. In experiment 2 there was a significant effect of familiarity on a task in which the sex of the faces was judged. This appeared to be due to familiarity acting to facilitate only those faces whose sex was difficult to judge from the picture presented. In experiment 3, significant effects of familiarity were also observed when the task was to distinguish intact faces from jumbled faces. Although the effects of familiarity in experiments 2 and 3 were small and emerged in interactions between item sets and university, they suggest that a simple perceptual hierarchy of the kind proposed by Ellis requires some revision.
A Validation of the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure in Finnish and Estonian Kindergartens

Research Findings: The aim of the study was to examine the applicability and psychometric properties of the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure (ECCOM; D. J. Stipek & P. Byler, 2005) outside the United States. The ECCOM was used to observe 83 kindergarten teachers (49 in Finland and 34 in Estonia) in classroom situations. Self-ratings were obtained of teachers’ teaching practices, curriculum goals, efficacy beliefs, instructional activities, work experience, and group size. The analyses indicated 1-factor solutions for each of the ECCOM dimensions (i.e., Child-Centered, Teacher-Directed, and Child-Dominated) and high reliabilities for all dimensions, subscales (i.e., Management, Climate, and Instruction), and scale items. Evidence was also found for criterion validity. Practice or Policy: The findings of the present study provided support for the ECCOM as a valid and reliable measure of quality of kindergarten classroom processes and practices in cultural and educational settings outside the United States. In addition to being a research tool the ECCOM has high applicability in teacher education and in-service teacher training in professional development programs and interventions aimed at enhancing specific components of teachers’ own practices.
Efficacy and safety of secukinumab in the treatment of moderate‐to‐severe plaque psoriasis: a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled phase II dose‐ranging study

Background Conventional systemic therapies for plaque psoriasis have not fully met the needs of patients, and although current biologic treatments are generally well tolerated, concerns exist with respect to long‐term safety. Interleukin (IL)‐17A is believed to be an important effector cytokine in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and is produced by Th17 cells, a class of helper T cells that act outside the established Th1/Th2 paradigm for regulation of innate and adaptive immunity.
A Contribution to Identification of Novel Regulators of Plant Response to Sulfur Deficiency: Characteristics of a Tobacco Gene UP9C, Its Protein Product and the Effects of UP9C Silencing

Extensive changes in plant transcriptome and metabolome have been observed by numerous research groups after transferring plants from optimal conditions to sulfur (S) deficiency. Despite intensive studies and recent important achievements, like identification of SLIM1/EIL3 as a major transcriptional regulator of the response to S-deficiency, many questions concerning other elements of the regulatory network remain unanswered. Investigations of genes with expression regulated by S-deficiency stress encoding proteins of unknown function might help to clarify these problems. This study is focused on the UP9C gene and the UP9-like family in tobacco. Homologs of these genes exist in other plant species, including a family of four genes of unknown function in Arabidopsis thaliana (LSU1-4), of which two were reported as strongly induced by S-deficit and to a lesser extent by salt stress and nitrate limitation. Conservation of the predicted structural features, such as coiled coil region or nuclear localization signal, suggests that these proteins might have important functions possibly mediated by interactions with other proteins. Analysis of transgenic tobacco plants with silenced expression of UP9-like genes strongly argues for their significant role in regulation of plant response to S-deficit. Although our study shows that the UP9-like proteins are important components of such response and they might be also required during other stresses, their molecular functions remain a mystery.