Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Betaine Synthesis from Radioactive Precursors in Attached, Water-stressed Barley Leaves.

In wilted barley leaves, betaine accumulates at about 200 nanomoles per 10 centimeters leaf per day. Results with (14)C-labeled precursors were qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with de novo synthesis of this betaine from serine via ethanolamine, choline, and betaine aldehyde and indicated that water stress may increase the activities of all steps in this pathway except the last.Doses (1 micromole) of each (14)C-labeled precursor were supplied as droplets to the tips of attached, 10-centimeter, second-leaf blades of turgid and wilted plants, and the incorporation of (14)C into betaine was followed. From the rates of betaine labeling, estimates were made of the potential capacities (nanomoles per 10 centimeters leaf per day) for the methylation and oxidation steps. Labeling of betaine from [(14)C]choline, [(14)C]ethanolamine, and [(14)C]serine was about 7- to 10-fold greater in leaves wilted for 2 days than in turgid leaves, whereas label from [(14)C]betaine aldehyde appeared in betaine at about the same rate in both turgid and wilted leaves. In leaves wilted for 2 days, the potential capacities for converting [(14)C]ethanolamine, [(14)C]choline, and [(14)C]betaine aldehyde to betaine all approached or exceeded the rate of betaine accumulation (about 200 nanomoles per 10 centimeters leaf per day); in turgid leaves, only the potential for converting betaine aldehyde to betaine exceeded this rate. The rate of conversion of [(14)C]ethanolamine to betaine increased 4-fold after 6 to 10 hours of wilting, which was soon enough to account for the onset of betaine accumulation.
Recommendation : Exploiting Common Author Relations and Historical Preferences

Scientific article recommender systems are playing an increasingly important role for researchers in retrieving scientific articles of interest in the coming era of big scholarly data. Most existing studies have designed unified methods for all target researchers and hence the same algorithms are run to generate recommendations for all researchers no matter which situations they are in. However, different researchers may have their own features and there might be corresponding methods for them resulting in better recommendations. In this paper, we propose a novel recommendation method which incorporates information on common author relations between articles (i.e., two articles with the same author(s)). The rationale underlying our method is that researchers often search articles published by the same author(s). Since not all researchers have such author-based search patterns, we present two features, which are defined based on information about pairwise articles with common author relations and frequently appeared authors, to determine target researchers for recommendation. Extensive experiments we performed on a real-world dataset demonstrate that the defined features are effective to determine relevant target researchers and the proposed method generates more accurate recommendations for relevant researchers when compared to a Baseline method.
Who Wants to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Objective. We examine cognitive, economic, and partisan heuristic theories of why some people express support for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Methods. Data come from a mail survey of 623 residents of central Pennsylvania, a region in which mitigation costs exceed potential benefits from slowing the rate of global warming. Results. Ordinary least squares analysis shows that people who can accurately identify the causes of climate change and who expect bad consequences from climate change are likely to support both government anti‐fossil fuel initiatives and voluntary actions. Economic circumstances and anxieties are not important predictors, but the belief that environmental protection efforts do not threaten jobs for people like the respondent, limit personal freedoms, and hurt the economy is a strong predictor. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to support government efforts to reduce emissions. Conclusions. Cognitive explanations of support for reducing greenhouse gas emissions are more powerful than economic or partisan heuristic ones. People want to reduce emissions if they understand the causes of climate change, if they perceive substantial risks from climate change if average surface temperatures increase, and if they think climate change mitigation policies will not cost them their jobs.
Gender differences in anxiety among Pakistani survivors of suicide bomb blast

This research investigated gender differences in anxiety among Pakistani survivors of suicide bomb blast. The sample was composed of 150 adult residents of Islamabad. 75 participants were live-witnesses of the Marriott hotel suicide bomb blast and 75 participants did not witness it Burns Anxiety Inventory (BAI, 1999) was individually administered to all the research participants after getting written permission from the author for its use in the current research project. The female survivors reported greater anxiety than male survivors of this bomb blast (t = -2.45, df = 148, *p < 0.05). All the participants who directly witnessed the traumatic event of suicide bomb blast reported greater anxiety than those who did not witness it (t = 7.90, df = 148, **p < 0.01). Furthermore, the female survivors of suicide bombing reported more physical symptoms of anxiety as compared to their male counterparts (t = -2.94, df = 148, **p < 0.01). However, no gender differences were found in anxious thoughts and feelings of the survivors; probably because in Pakistani society the women often manifest their emotional distress in somatic form rather than in thoughts and feelings. The findings of this research have implications for promoting our knowledge and understanding of gender related issues of the survivors of traumatic events; such as suicide bomb blasts so that gender-sensitive counseling and therapeutic interventions could be introduced for the management and treatment of such survivors of terrorist attacks. Key words: Survivors, suicide bomb blast, anxiety, live-witnesses, non-witnesses.
Does Computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Help People with Inflammatory Bowel Disease? A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background:Cognitive behavioral therapy may be useful for improving health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of at least some patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), especially those with psychiatric comorbidities. However, cognitive behavioral therapy can be difficult to access. These difficulties can be overcome by computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT). This is a randomized controlled trial of a self-administered CCBT intervention for patients with IBD focused on improving HRQOL. It is hypothesized that CCBT completers will have an improved HRQOL relative to people not allocated to CCBT. Methods:Patients with IBD were randomly allocated to CCBT (n = 113) versus treatment as usual (n = 86). The IBD Questionnaire at 12 weeks after baseline was the primary outcome, while generic HRQOL, anxiety, depression, coping strategies, perceived stress, and IBD symptoms were secondary outcomes. Outcomes were also measured at 6 months after baseline. Predictors of dropout were also determined. Results:Twenty-nine CCBT participants (25.7%) completed the CCBT. The IBD Questionnaire was significantly increased at 12 weeks in CCBT completers compared with treatment-as-usual patients (F = 6.38, P = 0.01). Short Form-12 mental score (F = 5.00, P = 0.03) was also significantly better in CCBT compared with treatment-as-usual patients at 12 weeks. These outcomes were not maintained at 6 months. The predictors of dropout were baseline depression, biological use, lower IBD Questionnaire scores, and not having steroids. Conclusions:Improvements at 12 weeks after baseline were not maintained at 6 months. Future research should aim to improve adherence rates. Moreover, CCBT may not work for patients with IBD with comorbid depression.
Phytophthora infestans Argonaute 1 binds microRNA and small RNAs from effector genes and transposable elements.

Phytophthora spp. encode large sets of effector proteins and distinct populations of small RNAs (sRNAs). Recent evidence has suggested that pathogen-derived sRNAs can modulate the expression of plant defense genes. Here, we studied the sRNA classes and functions associated with Phytophthora infestans Argonaute (Ago) proteins. sRNAs were co-immunoprecipitated with three PiAgo proteins and deep sequenced. Twenty- to twenty-two-nucleotide (nt) sRNAs were identified as the main interaction partners of PiAgo1 and high enrichment of 24-26-nt sRNAs was seen in the PiAgo4-bound sample. The frequencies and sizes of transposable element (TE)-derived sRNAs in the different PiAgo libraries suggested diversified roles of the PiAgo proteins in the control of different TE classes. We further provide evidence for the involvement of PiAgo1 in the P. infestans microRNA (miRNA) pathway. Protein-coding genes are probably regulated by the shared action of PiAgo1 and PiAgo5, as demonstrated by analysis of differential expression. An abundance of sRNAs from genes encoding host cell death-inducing Crinkler (CRN) effectors was bound to PiAgo1, implicating this protein in the regulation of the expanded CRN gene family. The data suggest that PiAgo1 plays an essential role in gene regulation and that at least two RNA silencing pathways regulate TEs in the plant-pathogenic oomycete P. infestans.
Organic acids and/or compound with defined microorganisms to control Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis experimental infection in chickens

The association of human foodborne salmonellosis with poultry products enhanced the efforts to control Salmonella Enteritidis in poultry farms. Dietary organic acid supplementation is one of the measures currently used to reduce the presence of undesirable microorganisms. Another method to control enteric Salmonella in poultry is competitive exclusion using defined or undefined microorganisms products. Organic acids and microbiological methods to accelerate the development of the intestinal microbiota can be used individually or in combination. The present study evaluated the effect of dietary supplementation of an acidifier and of a defined multi-strain microbial mixture (Biomin ® PoultryStar) via drinking water in the control of the intestinal colonization of broilers by Salmonella Enteritidis. Four experiments were performed. The first experiment showed that the organic acids mixture was able to prevent Salmonella Enteritidis colonization of ceca in both inclusion rates applied (p<0.05). In the second and third experiments the probiotic either individually or in combination the acidifier, both in high and low doses reduced the incidence of Salmonella Enteritidis in the cecal contents (p<0.05). In these three experiments, birds were orally challenged. Similar results were obtained in a fourth trial, in which challenge was made by contact.
Pre-eclampsia rates in the United States, 1980-2010: age-period-cohort analysis

Objective To estimate the contributions of biological aging, historical trends, and birth cohort effects on trends in pre-eclampsia in the United States. Design Population based retrospective study. Setting National hospital discharge survey datasets, 1980-2010, United States. Participants 120 million women admitted to hospital for delivery. Main outcome measures Temporal changes in rates of mild and severe pre-eclampsia in relation to maternal age, year of delivery, and birth cohorts. Poisson regression as well as multilevel age-period-cohort models with adjustment for obesity and smoking were incorporated. Results The rate of pre-eclampsia was 3.4%. The age-period-cohort analysis showed a strong age effect, with women at the extremes of maternal age having the greatest risk of pre-eclampsia. In comparison with women delivering in 1980, those delivering in 2003 were at 6.7-fold (95% confidence interval 5.6-fold to 8.0-fold) increased risk of severe pre-eclampsia. Period effects declined after 2003. Trends for severe pre-eclampsia also showed a modest birth cohort effect, with women born in the 1970s at increased risk. Compared with women born in 1955, the risk ratio for women born in 1970 was 1.2 (95% confidence interval 1.1 to 1.3). Similar patterns were also evident for mild pre-eclampsia, although attenuated. Changes in the population prevalence of obesity and smoking were associated with period and cohort trends in pre-eclampsia but did not explain the trends. Conclusions Rates of severe pre-eclampsia have been increasing in the United States and age-period-cohort effects all contribute to these trends. Although smoking and obesity have driven these trends, changes in the diagnostic criteria may have also contributed to the age-period-cohort effects. Health consequences of rising obesity rates in the United States underscore that efforts to reduce obesity may be beneficial to maternal and perinatal health.
Properties and calcium‐dependent inactivation of calcium currents in cultured mouse pancreatic B‐cells.

1. Ca2+ currents were recorded using the whole‐cell mode of the patch‐clamp technique from mouse pancreatic B‐cells kept in culture for 1‐4 days. B‐cells were identified in the cell‐attached mode by their response to a change in the glucose concentration from 3 to 15 or 20 mM or by their inward currents. 2. Only one component of Ca2+ current was observed in these cells, which activated at potentials greater than ‐50 mV and was blocked by nitrendipine (5 microM), and increased in amplitude by CGP 28392 (5 microM). 3. During maintained depolarizations the Ca2+ current inactivated considerably but not completely. Inactivation was most marked at potentials where the Ca2+ currents were large, but in general was slower for currents at potentials greater than 0 mV than at more negative potentials. 4. Two‐pulse experiments showed that the inactivation curve for the Ca2+ current was U‐shaped, returning to unity at potentials approaching the Ca2+ equilibrium potential. Measurements of Ca2+ entry showed that inactivation was dependent on the amount of Ca2+ entering during the pre‐pulse, independent of the pre‐pulse potential. 5. Ca2+ currents were not appreciably slowed when BAPTA, a faster buffer of Ca2+, replaced EGTA in the pipette solution. 6. Replacement of Ca2+ in the external solution by Ba2+ increased the amplitude of the inward current and largely abolished inactivation. Large inward currents through Ca2+ channels were observed in the absence of divalent cations in the external solution (+EGTA), which were presumably carried by Na+. These currents did not inactivate during 150 ms depolarizations, but were increased in amplitude by CGP 28392 (5 microM) and blocked by D600 (30 microM). 7. The observations suggest that normal mouse pancreatic B‐cells have only one type of Ca2+ channel which is dihydropyridine sensitive and inactivates by a mechanism which is almost purely Ca2+ dependent. Inactivation of the Ca2+ current will probably be important in the control of Ca2+ entry during glucose‐induced electrical activity.
Effective Learning

This article describes a case study of a gifted high achiever in learning science. This learner was selected on the assumption that drawing attention to the characteristics of a successful learner may improve learning effectiveness of less successful learners. The first author taught the gifted learner and collected data through participant observation over a 3-year period when the learner was in Grades 8 to 10. The data corpus was composed of audio-recorded lesson observations and interviews, field notes, and written material. We operated in an interpretive paradigm, and data collection, analysis, and interpretation were done in an inductive, cyclic manner associated with the constant comparative method. We identified three general strategies and a number of associated tactics that characterized his successful learning. These strategies are interrogating information, thinking it through, and organizing and linking.
A Reference for Ductus Venosus Blood Flow at 11-13+6 Weeks of Gestation

Objective: To establish reference ranges for ductus venosus (DV) blood flow assessment obtained transabdominally at 11-13+6 weeks of gestation. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on singleton pregnancies with a crown-rump length (CRL) ranging from 45 to 84 mm, normal fetus, and subsequent newborn birth weight appropriate for gestational age. Measurements of DV Doppler variables were performed by experienced sonographers: peak velocity during ventricular systole (S-wave) and diastole (D-wave), nadir during atrial contraction (A-wave), time-averaged maximum velocity (TAmax), pulsatility index for veins (PIV), and peak velocity index for veins (PVIV). Results: A total of 304 fetuses were included. The mean CRL was 60.7 ± 7.2 mm (range: 45.9-75.5). The mean nuchal translucency measurement was 1.4 ± 0.4 mm. The S-wave, D-wave, A-wave, and TAmax values varied significantly with gestational age (p < 0.05) and regression models were constructed for each variable. The remaining variables, systolic/atrial wave ratio, preload index, PVIV, and PIV, did not vary significantly with gestational age within this CRL range. Conclusion: Reference ranges for DV Doppler assessment were established in normal fetuses. These ranges may be a useful tool for evaluation of anueploidy and fetal cardiac function.
TAM: Explaining off-object fixations and central fixation tendencies as effects of population averaging during search

Understanding how patterns are selected for both recognition and action, in the form of an eye movement, is essential to understanding the mechanisms of visual search. It is argued that selecting a pattern for fixation is time consuming—requiring the pruning of a population of possible saccade vectors to isolate the specific movement to the potential target. To support this position, two experiments are reported showing evidence for off-object fixations, where fixations land between objects rather than directly on objects, and central fixations, where initial saccades land near the centre of scenes. Both behaviours were modelled successfully using TAM (Target Acquisition Model; Zelinsky, 2008). TAM interprets these behaviours as expressions of population averaging occurring at different times during saccade target selection. A large population early during search results in the averaging of the entire scene and a central fixation; a smaller population later during search results in averaging between groups of objects and off-object fixations.
Dynamically Variable Line-Size Cache Architecture for Merged DRAM/Logic LSIs

SUMMARY This paper proposes a novel cache architecture suitable for merged DRAM/logic LSIs, which is called “dynamically variable line-size cache (D-VLS cache). ” The D-VLS cache can optimize its line-size according to the characteristic of programs, and attempts to improve the performance by exploiting the high on-chip memory bandwidth on merged DRAM/logic LSIs appropriately. In our evaluation, it is observed that an average memory-access time improvement achieved by a directmapped D-VLS cache is about 20% compared to a conventional direct-mapped cache with fixed 32-byte lines. This performance improvement is better than that of a doubled-size conventional direct-mapped cache ∗ .
MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADING: WAKE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM (WCPSS) 2006-07 and 2007-08

This study examined the distribution of middle school reading and mathematics grades in 2006-07 and 2007-08 and the correlation of students’ classroom grades and End-of-Grade (EOG) scores in 2006-07. Most students (80% or more) received an A, B, or C in reading and mathematics. Among Level IV students, the percentage with an A in the classroom varied by ethnicity. Mathematics grades had a slightly stronger correlation to the newly revised mathematics EOG scores than did reading grades to the 2006-07 reading EOG scores. Middle school grades of A-F had a weaker correlation to EOG scores than that found for standards-based grading and EOG scores at the elementary school level. Schools varied considerably in terms of the percentage of students receiving an A or B who scored at or above grade level on the EOG.
Exploiting time resolution in nanometre CMOS data converters

The challenges of analog electronics in nanometer CMOS have motivated the search for new data converter architectures. This paper is a in introductory survey of new options to implement data converters seizing the high speed digital logic featured by the newest technologies. Classical comparator based ADC's may replaced by ring oscillators or pulse width modulators which are then sampled by Time to Digital Converters (TDC), bridging analog design with custom digital design. Continuous time sigma delta modulators can be enhanced replacing the quantizer by some kind of voltage to time encoder and a high speed sampling digital device. The paper will be supported by some chip examples.
Fertility change in Egypt: from second to third birth

Fertility patterns in countries on the northern shore of the Mediterranean have lowest-low fertility and are very different from those in the South-East of the basin. Recently, however, fertility decline has been spreading rapidly in the latter region. This paper focuses on Egypt, a country that notwithstanding an advanced stage of socio-demographic transition has shown near stagnation in the reduction of fertility levels in the last decade. The first phase of the fertility transition generally has been marked by an increase in the age at marriage; in the long run, however, it will be the diffusion of the smaller family that plays the major role in countries of advanced transition, such as Egypt. The study aims at analyzing the main determinants of the third-birth intensities of Egyptian two-child mothers, applying event-history analysis to the most recent retrospective survey data available for the country. The study’s results show that there are still persistent fertility differential among the country’s social groups. The diffusion of urban-type norms, however, makes crowded and complex household types less feasible to maintain, possibly leading to a convergence in fertility levels to the northern Mediterranean countries. The study also reveals that the preference for a son is weakening among women who have completed secondary education. The findings point to a further decline in the number of large families in the near future; a decline that is intimately associated with the current fertility transition and the promotion of female emancipation.
Cluster Headache and Paroxysmal Hemicrania: Differential Diagnosis

The utility of the differences between cluster headache (CH) and paroxysmal hemicrania (PH) is limited by the considerable overlap of their clinical characteristics. We compared 54 patients with CH and eight patients with PH in terms of demographic features, characteristics of headache attacks, associated autonomic features, temporal forms of disorders, and response to verapamil. According to our results, clinical features that distinguished CH and PH patients were: maximal pain localization, ocular in CH patients and extra-ocular in PH group; mean attack duration was longer and mean attack frequency was lower in CH patients in comparison with PH patients. Conjuctival injection was the only autonomic sign seen more frequently in CH patients. There were more CH patients with episodic and more PH patients with unremitting form of the disorder in examined groups. Although statistical analysis pointed out a significant difference between these clinical features, there was no clinical characteristic that exclusively belonged to one of these headache entities. Demographic characteristics (age, gender, social background), the other headache attack features (nocturnal attacks, interattack tenderness), the other autonomic signs, as well as the response to verapamil did not differ significantly between two groups.