Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does Economic Crisis Reduce Support for Markets and Democracy in Latin America? Some Evidence from Surveys of Public Opinion and Well Being

The severe economic crisis facing several countries in the region over the last couple of years has led many observers to predict a backlash against market policies and even against democracy in the region. An economic crisis of such proportions should also, in theory, have negative effects on subjective well being. Our analysis, based on the Latinobarometro surveys from 2000–2002, finds some unexpected positive trends, as well as notable differences between those countries that suffered from crises and those that did not. Satisfaction with market policies and with the way democracy is working has decreased among all groups except the very wealthy. In contrast, support for democracy as a system of government has increased, suggesting that respondents are increasingly distinguishing between democracy as a system of government, and the manner in which particular governments are performing. We also find evidence of changing attitudes towards redistributive taxation among the wealthy. JEL Codes . D63 (welfare economics, equity, justice, inequality); D84 (information and uncertainty, expectations); I31 (general welfare; basic needs; quality of life); J62 (mobility, unemployment, intergenerational mobility)
Evaluation of the sensitivity of the novel α4β2* nicotinic acetylcholine receptor PET radioligand 18F‐(‐)‐NCFHEB to increases in synaptic acetylcholine levels in rhesus monkeys

18F‐(‐)‐NCFHEB (also known as 18F‐(‐)‐Flubatine) is a new radioligand to image α4β2* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in vivo with positron emission tomography (PET), with faster kinetics than previous radioligands such as 18F‐2‐F‐A85380. The goal of this study was to assess the sensitivity of 18F‐(‐)‐NCFHEB‐PET to increases in synaptic acetylcholine concentration induced by acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.
Experiencing Products in the Virtual World: The Role of Goal and Imagery in Influencing Attitudes versus Purchase Intentions

The research agenda for this article is to examine how individuals process information presented through virtual interaction with a product (object interactivity) and the impact that this has on their purchase intentions if they are looking for an aesthetic experience (browsers) or to find specific information (searchers). It is proposed that the congruency between users' goals and the delivery of product information will influence discursive processing and thus attitudes. However, what is most effective for creating favorable product attitudes is not necessarily most effective in raising purchase intentions. This is because imagery processing should play a more prominent role in affecting purchase intentions because, when estimating their own behavior, people likely run a mental simulation of themselves performing that behavior. It is predicted that object interactivity will evoke vivid mental images of product use regardless of the users' goals and thus increase intentions. The results of four experiments support these hypotheses. Copyright 2003 by the University of Chicago.
Error Estimates for the Numerical Approximation of Dirichlet Boundary Control for Semilinear Elliptic Equations

We study the numerical approximation of boundary optimal control problems governed by semilinear elliptic partial differential equations with pointwise constraints on the control. The control is the trace of the state on the boundary of the domain, which is assumed to be a convex, polygonal, open set in ${\mathbb R}^2$. Piecewise linear finite elements are used to approximate the control as well as the state. We prove that the error estimates are of order $O(h^{1 - 1/p})$ for some $p > 2$, which is consistent with the $W^{1 - 1/p,p}(\Gamma)$-regularity of the optimal control.
A Positive Feedback Loop of lncRNA-PVT1 and FOXM1 Facilitates Gastric Cancer Growth and Invasion

Purpose: The long, noncoding RNA (lncRNA) PVT1 is an important epigenetic regulator with a critical role in human tumors. Here, we aimed to investigate the clinical application and the potential molecular mechanisms of PVT1 in gastric cancer tumorigenesis and progression. Experimental Design: The expression level of PVT1 was determined by RT-qPCR analysis in 190 pairs of gastric cancer tissues and adjacent normal gastric mucosa tissues (ANT). The biologic functions of PVT1 were assessed by in vitro and in vivo functional experiments. RNA protein pull-down assays and LS/MS mass spectrometry analysis were performed to detect and identify the PVT1-interacting protein FOXM1. Protein–RNA immunoprecipitation assays were conducted to examine the interaction of FOXM1 and PVT1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and luciferase analyses were utilized to identify the binding site of FOXM1 on the PVT1 promoter. Results: The lncRNA PVT1 was significantly upregulated in gastric cancer tissues compared with ANTs. High expression of PVT1 predicted poor prognosis in patients with gastric cancer. PVT1 enhanced gastric cancer cell proliferation and invasion in vitro and in vivo. PVT1 directly bound FOXM1 protein and increased FOXM1 posttranslationally. Moreover, PVT1 is also a FOXM1-responsive lncRNA, and FOXM1 directly binds to the PVT1 promoter to activate its transcription. Finally, PVT1 fulfilled its oncogenic functions in a FOXM1-mediated manner. Conclusions: Our study suggests that PVT1 promotes tumor progression by interacting with FOXM1. PVT1 may be a valuable prognostic predictor for gastric cancer, and the positive feedback loop of PVT1-FOXM1 could be a therapeutic target in pharmacologic strategies. Clin Cancer Res; 23(8); 2071–80. ©2016 AACR.
STAT3 promotes survival of mutant photoreceptors in inherited photoreceptor degeneration models

Significance There is a great need for a therapy for inherited photoreceptor degenerations (IPDs) that would be effective irrespective of the affected gene. A treatment that slows photoreceptor (PR) death, even by 10–20%, could greatly extend the years of useful vision of patients with IPD for whom specific treatment is not available. Up-regulation of Stat3 has been reported in the retinas of many IPD models, but whether Stat3 expression is neuroprotective in mutant PRs has not been established. We show that Stat3 plays a strong prosurvival role in two distinct IPD models and that further augmentation of PR Stat3 expression slows PR death. These findings suggest the potential of Stat3 augmentation, for example, by recombinant adenoassociated virus (rAAV) vector-mediated gene therapy, as a treatment for IPDs. Inherited photoreceptor degenerations (IPDs), a group of incurable progressive blinding diseases, are caused by mutations in more than 200 genes, but little is known about the molecular pathogenesis of photoreceptor (PR) death. Increased retinal expression of STAT3 has been observed in response to many retinal insults, including IPDs, but the role of this increase in PR death is unknown. Here, we show that the expression of Stat3 is increased in PRs of the Tg(RHO P347S) and Prph2rds/+ mouse models of IPD and is activated by tyrosine phosphorylation. PR-specific deletion of Stat3 substantially accelerated PR degeneration in both mutant strains. In contrast, increased PR-specific expression of ROSA26 (R26) alleles encoding either WT STAT3 (Stat3wt) or the gain-of-function variant STAT3C (Stat3C) improved PR survival in both models. Moreover, PR signaling in Tg(RHO P347S) mice carrying either a R26-Stat3wt or R26-Stat3C allele demonstrated increased a-wave amplitude of the scotopic electroretinogram. Phosphorylation of STAT3 at tyrosine 705 was required for the prosurvival effect because an R26-Stat3Y705F allele was not protective. The prosurvival role of enhanced Stat3 activity was validated using recombinant adenoassociated virus (rAAV) vector-mediated PR Stat3 expression in Tg(RHO P347S) mice. Our findings (i) establish that the increase in endogenous PR Stat3 expression is a protective response in IPDs, (ii) suggest that therapeutic augmentation of PR Stat3 expression has potential as a common neuroprotective therapy for these disorders, and (iii) indicate that prosurvival molecules whose expression is increased in mutant PRs may have promise as novel therapies for IPDs.
Continuous assessment in a large group of psychology undergraduates

Introduction. A continuous classroom assessment method was applied to a higher education course aimed at a large group of educational psychology students at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Following the Bologna directions and the constructivist model, both declarative and procedural knowledge was taught in the module, and the students were participating in both oral and written activities, individually or in a group, which were at the same time, teaching, learning and assessment activities. Method. The 91 undergraduates of the module were asked to freely answer an anonymous survey at the end of the course. The questions were aimed at providing us with information about the satisfaction level of the students when doing the assessment activities, and about their tendency to procrastinate in our course and in another one with only a final exam as assessment method. Results. Qualitative and quantitative findings suggest that this sort of teaching and assessment system incorporates many advantages as the students enthusiastically welcomed the opportunity to gain so much theoretical and procedural knowledge at the university, and they stated that this methodology was highly motivating, useful for their learning and that it had help them to curb their procrastination. Discussion and Conclusion. The results confirm the adequacy of teaching declarative and procedural curricular content at the university and the satisfactoriness of assessing its learning by applying a continuous method. Moreover, the study shows that the students are glad to participate in experiences like this; they get more involved with the course content and enjoy learning
Breastfeeding and weaning: a look on the experiences of nurses who are mothers

Objetivou-se compreender a vivencia do aleitamento materno e desmame de filhos por maes enfermeiras. Estudo descritivo, exploratorio, com abordagem qualitativa, realizado em Maringa, PA, Brasil, com 10 maes enfermeiras selecionadas atraves do metodo de bola de neve entre novembro de 2011 e janeiro de 2012. Os dados foram coletados por entrevista semiestruturada e analisados segundo a tecnica de analise de conteudo. Emanaram tres categorias: Compreendendo o processo de gestacao e o aleitamento materno no contexto de vida de maes enfermeiras; Delineando o processo de desmame na perspectiva de maes enfermeiras; Aleitamento materno e as demandas profissionais de maes enfermeiras: motivacoes e estrategias utilizadas para o desmame. Considerou-se que o retorno ao trabalho foi a principal causa para o desmame precoce, acarretando sentimentos de frustracao das maes enfermeiras ao nao concretizarem a recomendacao do aleitamento materno exclusivo ate o sexto mes, no plano da vivencia pessoal.
Making ad hoc networks scale using mobility and multi-copy forwarding

Multiuser diversity has been shown to increase the throughput of mobile ad hoc wireless networks (MANET) when compared to fixed networks. We present a different multiuser diversity strategy for packet relaying, which permits more than one-copy (multi-copies) of a packet to be received by relay nodes, thus allowing us to decrease the delay on such networks for a fixed number of total users n. We show that the /spl theta/(1) throughput is preserved by our multi-copy technique when n goes to infinity. In addition, we find that the average delay and variance scale like /spl theta/(n) and /spl theta/(n/sup 2/) respectively for both one-copy and multi-copies techniques. We also show that for a fixed n and by multi-copy forwarding, a maximum bounded delay value can he guaranteed.
Uniparental disomy of chromosome 16 unmasks recessive mutations of FA2H/SPG35 in 4 families

Objective: Identifying an intriguing mechanism for unmasking recessive hereditary spastic paraplegias. Method: Herein, we describe 4 novel homozygous FA2H mutations in 4 nonconsanguineous families detected by whole-exome sequencing or a targeted gene panel analysis providing high coverage of all known hereditary spastic paraplegia genes. Results: Segregation analysis revealed in all cases only one parent as a heterozygous mutation carrier whereas the other parent did not carry FA2H mutations. A macro deletion within FA2H, which could have caused a hemizygous genotype, was excluded by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification in all cases. Finally, a microsatellite array revealed uniparental disomy (UPD) in all 4 families leading to homozygous FA2H mutations. UPD was confirmed by microarray analyses and methylation profiling. Conclusion: UPD has rarely been described as causative mechanism in neurodegenerative diseases. Of note, we identified this mode of inheritance in 4 families with the rare diagnosis of spastic paraplegia type 35 (SPG35). Since UPD seems to be a relevant factor in SPG35 and probably additional autosomal recessive diseases, we recommend segregation analysis especially in nonconsanguineous homozygous index cases to unravel UPD as mutational mechanism. This finding may bear major repercussion for genetic counseling, given the markedly reduced risk of recurrence for affected families.
Exploring the Roles of Social Participation in Mobile Social Media Learning: A Social Network Analysis.

Social media is increasingly becoming an essential platform for social connectivity in our daily lives. The availability of mobile technology has further fueled its importance – making it a ubiquitous tool for social interaction. An emerging mode of learning is the mobile social media learning where social media is used in the mobile learning mode. However, limited studies have been conducted to investigate roles of social participation in this field. Thus, the study investigates roles of social participation in mobile social media learning using the “ladder of participation and mastering”. Participants were students taking an educational technology course in a local university. The study was conducted in a four-month period. Data was collected from discussions while learning among the students using one of the mobile social media platforms, Facebook groups. The data was analyzed using a social network analysis tool, NodeXL. Data was analyzed based on egocentric networks, betweeness centrality, and closeness centrality. The findings revealed that there are four roles of social participation in mobile social media, which are: (i) lurkers; (ii) gradually mastering members/passive members; (iii) recognized members; and (iv) coaches. The findings also indicated that over the course of four months, learners can inter-change roles of social participation – becoming more central or less central in learning discussions. As a result, a roles of social participation scale for mobile social media learning is proposed. Future research could be conducted in other fields to investigate whether mobile social media could be used to promote learning.
Technology as a Catalyst for Change

Abstract This paper presents an analysis of results from an evaluation of The Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning, a professional development program placing technology in the context of student-centered instructional practices. This analysis focuses on the relationship between the professional development and teachers’ use of technology in their classroom and their general instructional practices. The results from this study indicate teachers increased their use of technology in ways viewed as more constructivist, regardless of their broader instructional practices. One possible explanation may be the instructional context of the professional development that teachers experience.
TIME AND METHOD IN COACHING FOR THE SAT

An exhaustive review of studies of coaching for the SAT revealed them to be methodologically flawed in a variety of ways. Despite these flaws and the attendant noise obscuring the results, some definite regularities emerged relating the size of score effects associated with coaching to the amount of student contact time entailed in the coaching programs. Rank-order correlations between these two variables were upwards of . 7 for both SAT-Verbal and SAT-Math. The relationship proved to be nonlinear, however, with arithmetically increasing amounts of score effect being associated with geometrically increasing amounts of student contact time, which in these data may also be serving as a proxy for increasing curriculum emphases on content knowledge and skill development as opposed to item review and practice. Thus, within the limitations of the available fragmentary data, there appear to be diminishing returns in SAT coaching effects, especially in Verbal, According to the logarithmic models fit to the data, the student contact time required to achieve average score increases much greater than 20 to 30 points (on a 200- to 800-point scale) for both SAT-Verbal and -Math rapidly approaches that of full-time schooling.
Perceived Effects of Sexually Explicit Internet Content: The Third-Person Effect in Singapore

This study investigated the third-person effect of pornography on the Internet. The study was conducted in Singapore, a conservative nation that looks askance at sexuality in media. Congruent with the third-person effect, respondents judged pornographic material on the Internet to have a greater impact on others than on themselves. This “perceptual bias” predicted support for censorship. In addition to general tests of the third-person effects of perceptual and behavioral components, the study also examined factors that may enhance or mitigate the third-person effect. Findings revealed evidence for a perceived social distance corollary with children to be more influenced by pornography. The perceived greater effect on children, however, did not increase the likelihood of support for censorship on children. This finding supports McLeod, Eveland, and Nathanson's assertion that perceived likelihood of exposure to content may affect third-person perception.
Netsolve: a Network-Enabled Server for Solving Computational Science Problems

This paper presents a new system, called NetSolve, that allows users to access computational resources, such as hardware and software, distributed across the network. The development of NetSolve was motivated by the need for an easy-to-use, efficient mechanism for using compu tational resources remotely. Ease of use is obtained as a result of different interfaces, some of which require no programming effort from the user. Good performance is ensured by a load-balancing policy that enables NetSolve to use the computational resources available as efficiently as possible. NetSolve offers the ability to look for compu tational resources on a network, choose the best one available, solve a problem (with retry for fault tolerance), and return the answer to the user.
Whole-Brain N-Acetylaspartate as a Surrogate Marker of Neuronal Damage in Diffuse Neurologic Disorders

SUMMARY: Proton MR spectroscopy (1H-MR spectroscopy) is a quantitative MR imaging technique often used to complement the sensitivity of conventional MR imaging with specific metabolic information. A key metabolite is the amino acid derivative N-acetylaspartate (NAA), which is almost exclusive to neurons and their processes and is, therefore, an accepted marker of their health and attenuation. Unfortunately, most 1H-MR spectroscopy studies only account for small 1- to 200-cm volumes of interest (VOI), representing less than 20% of the total brain volume. These VOIs have at least 5 additional restrictions: 1) To avoid contamination from subcutaneous and bone marrow lipids, they must be placed away from the skull, thereby missing most of the cortex. 2) They must be image-guided onto MR imaging–visible pathology, subjecting them to the implicit assumption that metabolic changes occur only there. 3) They encounter misregistration errors in serial studies. 4) The time needed to accumulate sufficient signal-intensity quality is often restrictive, and 5) they incur (unknown) T1- and T2-weighting. All these issues are avoided (at the cost of specific localization) by measuring the nonlocalized average NAA concentration over the entire brain. Indeed, whole-brain NAA quantification has been applied to several diffuse neurodegenerative diseases (where specific localization is less important than the total load of the pathology), and the results are presented in this review.
Vygotsky's Methodological Contribution to Sociocultural Theory

Educators internationally including those working with children with exceptionalities, are recognizing the importance of sociocultural theory and the role played by Lev S. Vygotsky. This article introduces some of his major contributions through an examination of his methodological approach, which differs from traditional Western approaches in a number of ways. Vygotsky used a dialectical approach to analyze the way that symbol and tool use among early humans led to more complex social interactions and to the development of human consciousness. His investigations provide a methodological approach and a theoretical foundation for understanding the unique developmental paths of children with special needs, and they suggest pedagogical approaches designed to meet these special needs.