Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward green mobility: the evolution of transport

We envisage a transport system producing zero emissions and sparing the surface landscape, while people, on average, range hundreds of kilometres daily. We believe this prospect of ‘green mobility’ is consistent in general principles with historical evolution. We lay out these general principles, extracted from widespread observations of human behaviour over long periods, and use them to explain past transport and to project the next 50 to 100 years. Our picture emphasizes the slow penetration of new technologies of transport, adding speed in the course of substituting for the old ones in terms of time allocation. We discuss in increasing detail railroads, cars, aeroplanes, and magnetically levitated trains (maglevs).
Evaluation of THM-Grown CdZnTe Material for Large-Volume Gamma-Ray Detector Applications

Over 25 1-cm3 CdZnTe crystals produced using the Traveling Heater Method at Redlen Technologies have been characterized. The charge carrier mobility and lifetime, and charge carrier transport uniformity of each crystal were measured using alpha particles. Some of the crystals were made into coplanar-grid detectors and their performance characterized using 662 keV gamma rays. The average electron mobility-lifetime product for these crystals was found to be a factor of about five times greater than that measured from crystals obtained over the last decade from two other commercial crystal growers. The coplanar-grid detectors produced from the material typically achieved an energy resolution at 662 keV near 2% FWHM when operated at room temperature. This is comparable to the best coplanar-grid detectors commercially produced today.
Surviving a Dry Future: Abscisic Acid (ABA)-Mediated Plant Mechanisms for Conserving Water under Low Humidity

Angiosperms are able to respond rapidly to the first sign of dry conditions, a decrease in air humidity, more accurately described as an increase in the vapor pressure deficit between the leaf and the atmosphere (VPD), by abscisic acid (ABA)-mediated stomatal closure. The genes underlying this response offer valuable candidates for targeted selection of crop varieties with improved drought tolerance, a critical goal for current plant breeding programs, to maximize crop production in drier and increasingly marginalized environments, and meet the demands of a growing population in the face of a changing climate. Here, we review current understanding of the genetic mechanisms underpinning ABA-mediated stomatal closure, a key means for conserving water under dry conditions, examine how these mechanisms evolved, and discuss what remains to be investigated.
Confidence Measure for Automatic Face Recognition

This paper deals with the use of confidence measure for Automatic Face Recognition (AFR). AFR is realized by the adapted Kepenecki face recognition approach based on the Gabor wavelet transform. This work is motivated by the fact that obtained recognition rate on the real-world corpus is only about 50% which is not sufficient for our application, a system for automatic labelling of the photographs in a large database. The main goal of this work is thus the proposition of the post-processing of the classification result in order to remove the “incorrectly” classified face images. We show that the use of confidence measure to filter out incorrectly recognized faces is beneficial. Two confidence measures are proposed and evaluated on the Czech News Agency (CTK) corpus. Experimental results confirm the benefit of the use of confidence measure for the automatic face recognition task.
Observational Goals and Behavior Unitization: A Reexamination

Abstract In two studies, we found that perceivers with different observational goals—learning an actor's task, forming an impression of her, or no specific goal—picked up qualitatively different information while viewing the actor's ongoing behavior. Because we used a between-subjects design and analysis, our results rule out a demand-characteristics interpretation that may explain a similar finding in earlier research. We also found that the explicit goal of learning a task or forming an impression (relative to having no specific goal) led to the selection of less information overall from the observed behavior. Finally, in contrast to previous work on this topic, we found that the goal of learning a task did not lead perceivers to select more information than did the goal of forming an impression. Implications of these findings and future research possibilities are discussed.
Depression and Type 2 Diabetes Over the Lifespan: A Meta-Analysis

We read with interest the meta-analysis by Mezuk et al. (1) on the bidirectional relationship between diabetes and depression. In their report, the authors examined whether having depression increases risk of type 2 diabetes and the inverse relationship, namely, whether having type 2 diabetes increases risk of depression. The authors concluded that depression was associated with a 60% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes but that there was only a modest (15%) increased risk of depression in individuals with type 2 diabetes. While we welcome this report, we would argue that there are a number of important methodological and conceptual issues that …
Differences in Mental Abilities between Musicians and Non-Musicians

Psychometric performance on different aspects of primary mental abilities (verbal comprehension, word fluency, space, closure, perceptual speed, reasoning, number and memory) was compared in 35 adult musicians and non-musicians. Significant differences could not be revealed for either mean full-scale scores or for specific aspects of intelligence, except verbal memory and reasoning. While performance on verbal memory was reliably higher for the musicians than for the non-musicians, non-musicians performed significantly better on all four subscales of Cattell’s Culture Free Intelligence Test, Scale 3. This latter finding is consistent with the assumption that musical talent may be associated more with intuitive rather than logical thinking. Musicians’ superior performance on verbal memory supports the notion that long-term musical training exerts beneficial effects on verbal memory, which is most likely due to changes in cortical organization.
The Creative College Student: An Unmet Challenge

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Effect of ciliostatic factors from Pseudomonas aeruginosa on rabbit respiratory cilia

Heat-stable factors released by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in culture supernatants inhibit functional cilia of rabbit tracheal epithelium. Chloroform extraction removed heat-stable factors from stationary-phase culture supernatants. The extracts contained at least seven components separable by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). Cilioinhibitory components were identified as a phenazine derivative, pyo compounds (2-alkyl-4-hydroxyquinolines), and a rhamnolipid, also known as a hemolysin. Fluorescence and absorption spectra, relative migration on TLC, staining characteristics, and gas chromatography were the basis for identification. Inhibitory concentrations of each active component were established by quantitative measures of percent motility and beat frequency. Corresponding damage to ciliary ultrastructure was examined by electron microscopy. The pyo compounds produced ciliostasis at concentrations of 50 micrograms/ml, but without obvious ultrastructural lesions. The phenazine derivative also inhibited ciliary motility and caused some membrane disruption, although at substantially greater concentrations of 400 micrograms/ml. Limited exposure of tracheal explants to the rhamnolipid resulted in ciliostasis which was associated with altered ciliary membranes. More extensive exposure to rhamnolipid was associated with removal of dynein arms from axonemes. Pyocyanin at a concentration of 0.5 mg/ml did not inhibit ciliary beating under our conditions. The data suggest that the pyo compounds are the most effective per weight ciliostatic factors released by P. aeruginosa and rhamnolipid is the most destructive of cilia ultrastructure. By interfering with normal ciliary function, these ciliostatic factors may enable P. aeruginosa to more easily colonize the respiratory tract.
Specific language impairment: a convenient label for whom?

Background The term ‘specific language impairment’ (SLI), in use since the 1980s, describes children with language impairment whose cognitive skills are within normal limits where there is no identifiable reason for the language impairment. SLI is determined by applying exclusionary criteria, so that it is defined by what it is not rather than by what it is. The recent decision to not include SLI in DSM-5 provoked much debate and concern from researchers and clinicians. Aims To explore how the term ‘specific language impairment’ emerged, to consider how disorders, including SLI, are generally defined and to explore how societal changes might impact on use the term. Methods & Procedures We reviewed the literature to explore the origins of the term ‘specific language impairment’ and present published evidence, as well as new analyses of population data, to explore the validity of continuing to use the term. Outcomes & Results and Conclusions & Implications We support the decision to exclude the term ‘specific language impairment’ from DSM-5 and conclude that the term has been a convenient label for researchers, but that the current classification is unacceptably arbitrary. Furthermore, we argue there is no empirical evidence to support the continued use of the term SLI and limited evidence that it has provided any real benefits for children and their families. In fact, the term may be disadvantageous to some due to the use of exclusionary criteria to determine eligibility for and access to speech pathology services. We propose the following recommendations. First, that the word ‘specific’ be removed and the label ‘language impairment’ be used. Second, that the exclusionary criteria be relaxed and in their place inclusionary criteria be adopted that take into account the fluid nature of language development particularly in the preschool period. Building on the goodwill and collaborations between the clinical and research communities we propose the establishment of an international consensus panel to develop an agreed definition and set of criteria for language impairment. Given the rich data now available in population studies it is possible to test the validity of these definitions and criteria. Consultation with service users and policy-makers should be incorporated into the decision-making process.
Political expertise and the development of attitude consistency.

The development of consistency between political attitudes among those who are relatively expert in the political domain is presumed to follow from the fact that such individuals think about political issues frequently and do so in a relatively systematic or principled manner. We conducted a study to examine this hypothesis, varying the frequency with which subjects thought about the implications between pairs of issues. We then examined whether within-subject correlations between subsequently generated judgments of where various political candidates were located on the issue pairs increased as the pairs' implications were judged more frequently. As expected, we found that candidate inferences on issues were more predictable between issue pairs the more frequently expert subjects had thought about the implications between those issue pairs. Less-expert subjects showed no effect of frequency of thought about implications between pairs of issues. Procedural learning in making issue implication judgments was.
THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF ORGANIZATIONAL TRUST IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEADER MEMBER EXCHANGE AND ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATIVENESS

The paper focuses on the mediating effect of organizational trust and its cognitive and affective components on the impact of leadership relationship on different forms of organizational innovativeness such as product, market, behaviour, process and strategy. The empirical data was collected in a public organization (n=757) in Lithuania in 2013. A series of regression analysis suggest that organizational trust has partially mediating effect on the studied relationship. Leadership relationship and organizational trust have the strongest explanative power for behaviour innovativeness. In particular, the affective component of organizational trust influences the effect of leadership relationship on this form of innovativeness. Besides, affective trust plays a more significant role than cognitive trust in increasing processes innovativeness. However, cognitive trust is more powerful in accounting for development of product innovativeness. The authors discuss managerial implications to the studied sector organizations and suggest some directions for further research. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.5755/j01.em. 19.2. 8356
Work-life conflict and facilitation among Australian Muslim men

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore work-life conflict and work-life facilitation among employed Muslim men, a growing ethno-religious minority in Australia. Design/methodology/approach – The study is guided by the interpretive paradigm and is qualitative in nature. The primary data collection method was semi-structured in-depth interviews and 20 participants participated in the study. Findings – Australian Muslim men experience both work-life conflict and facilitation simultaneously; however, facilitation is reported more frequently. Work flexibility, work and family support, and religiosity promote work-life facilitation. In contrast, workload and work hours lead to feelings of conflict, with workload being the stronger antecedent. Importantly, religious values and beliefs are an underpinning influence on participants’ experiences. Research limitations/implications – The study is conducted with a small sample and hence, lacks the power to generalise findings to the broader Muslim male popu.
Novel Antiangiogenic Effects of the Bisphosphonate Compound Zoledronic Acid

Bisphosphonate drugs inhibit osteoclastic bone resorption and are widely used to treat skeletal complications in patients with tumor-induced osteolysis. We now show that zoledronic acid, a new generation bisphosphonate with a heterocyclic imidazole substituent, is also a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis. In vitro, zoledronic acid inhibits proliferation of human endothelial cells stimulated with fetal calf serum, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (IC50 values 4.1, 4.2, and 6.9 μM, respectively), and modulates endothelial cell adhesion and migration. In cultured aortic rings and in the chicken egg chorioallantoic membrane assay, zoledronic acid reduces vessel sprouting. When administered systemically to mice, zoledronic acid potently inhibits the angiogenesis induced by subcutaneous implants impregnated with bFGF [ED50, 3 μg/kg (7.5 nmol/kg) s.c. ]. These findings indicate that zoledronic acid has marked antiangiogenic properties that could augment its efficacy in the treatment of malignant bone disease and extend its potential clinical use to other diseases with an angiogenic component.
Public–private partnership in the provision of basic education in Ghana: challenges and choices

Growing private‐sector participation in basic education service delivery in many developing countries has led to calls for greater partnership arrangements with the public sector to improve access for poor and disadvantaged groups. In Ghana there is some interest in forging closer public–private partnerships to improve access for children who have been out of mainstream education or have difficulty accessing public schools. By examining three examples of non‐state provision that have had links with the public sector to improve access, this paper evaluates the impact of such partnerships to draw lessons for policy and practice. An important conclusion the paper draws is that for public–private partnerships that serve the needs of disadvantaged groups to work, it is important that they take into account both the diversity and context‐specific educational access needs of the groups concerned.
Inhibition of osteoblast function in vitro by aminobisphosphonates

Bisphosphonates are analogues of pyrophosphate, a key physicochemical inhibitor of mineralisation. We examined the direct actions of bisphosphonates on the function of cultured osteoblasts derived from rat calvariae. Treatment with zoledronate, the most potent bisphosphonate studied, reduced osteoblast number at concentrations ≥100 nM and was strongly toxic at 10 µM, causing a threefold decrease in osteoblast viability after 2 days and a 90% decrease in cell numbers after 14 days. In control osteoblast cultures on plastic, abundant formation of ‘trabecular’ mineralised bone matrix nodules began after 10 days. Continuous exposure to zoledronate inhibited bone mineralisation at concentrations as low as 10 nM. Pamidronate and clodronate exerted similar effects but at higher doses (≥1 and ≥10 µM, respectively). Short‐term or intermittent exposure of osteoblasts to zoledronate and pamidronate (1–10 µM) was sufficient to inhibit bone mineralisation by ≥85%. Zoledronate but not pamidronate or clodronate also strongly inhibited osteoblast alkaline phosphatase activity at concentrations ≥100 nM and soluble collagen production at concentrations ≥1 µM. We additionally studied the effects of zoledronate on osteoblasts cultured on dentine, a bone‐like mineralised substrate, observing similar inhibitory effects, although at concentrations 10–100‐fold higher; this shift presumably reflected adsorption of zoledronate to dentine mineral. Thus, zoledronate blocked bone formation in two ways: first, a relatively non‐toxic, selective inhibition of mineralisation at concentrations in the low nanomolar range and second, a cytotoxic inhibition of osteoblast growth and function at concentrations ≥1 µM. Although no data are available on the bisphosphonate concentrations that osteoblasts could be exposed to in vivo, our results are consistent with earlier observations that bisphosphonates may inhibit bone formation. J. Cell. Biochem. 106: 109–118, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
In Multiple Myeloma Clonotypic CD38 − /CD19 + /CD27 +  Memory B Cells Recirculate Through Bone Marrow, Peripheral Blood and Lymph Nodes

It is believed that myeloma cells are derived from a germinal center (GC) or post GC B cell. The GC B cell can differentiate into both a memory B cell and a plasma cell (PC). In this study, we investigated the recirculating potential of memory B cells clonally related to the myeloma PC (termed clonotypic). The V(H)DJ(H) immunoglobulin gene rearrangement of the myeloma clone was identified for 10 myeloma patients and allele-specific oligonucleotides (ASO) IgH RT-PCR assays were designed for each patient. Memory B cells (CD38- /CD19+ /CD27+) and their subsets defined by the monoclonal antibodies CD62L, CCR6, CXCR4, CXCR5, CCR7 were flow-sorted as single cells and analyzed by ASO RT-PCR analysis. In addition, aspirated peripheral lymph nodes (PLN) of 7 myeloma patients in complete or partial remission were analyzed for the presence of clonotypic cells. Circulating clonotypic memory B cells were identified in PBMNC of 7/10 patients and both CD62L positive and negative clonotypic memory B cells were identified. Furthermore, comparable frequencies of clonotypic cells were found in the CCR6 +/- and CXCR4 +/- memory B cell subsets, whereas all clonotypic memory and later stage B cells were CXCR5 positive. In accordance with their immunophenotype, clonotypic memory B-cells were identified in peripheral blood, bone marrow and PLNs. Clonotypic memory B-cells were present in the majority of myeloma patients and seem to have the same diverse recirculating/homing capacity as normal memory B cells.
Emotions of cognitive dissonance

Basic emotions correspond to bodily signals. Many psychologists think that there are only a few basic emotions, and that most emotions are combinations of these few. Here we advance a hypothesis that the number of principally different emotions is near infinite. We consider emotions as mental states with hedonic content, indicating satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Our hypothesis is that a large number of emotions are related to the knowledge instinct (KI, or a need for knowledge). Contradictions between knowledge and bodily motivations, between various elements of knowledge are known as cognitive dissonances. We suggest that specific emotions are involved with cognitive dissonances. The number of cognitive dissonances is combinatorial in terms of elements of knowledge. Correspondingly, the number of these knowledge-related emotions is very large. We report experimental results indicating that emotions of cognitive dissonance exist. We propose that these emotions are different from basic emotions in principle, and outline future research directions toward showing that their number is large.
Cardiovascular homeostasis dependence on MICU2, a regulatory subunit of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter

Significance Hypertension increases the risk for development of abdominal aortic aneurysms, a silent pathology that is prone to rupture and cause sudden cardiac death. Male gender, smoking, and hypertension appear to increase risk for development of abdominal aortic aneurysms by provoking oxidative stress responses in cardiovascular tissues. Here we uncovered unexpected linkages between the calcium-sensing regulatory subunit MICU2 of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter and stress responses. We show that naive Micu2−/− mice had abnormalities of cardiac relaxation but, with modest blood pressure elevation, developed abdominal aortic aneurysms with spontaneous rupture. These findings implicate mitochondrial calcium homeostasis as a critical pathway involved in protecting cardiovascular tissues from oxidative stress. Comparative analyses of transcriptional profiles from humans and mice with cardiovascular pathologies revealed consistently elevated expression of MICU2, a regulatory subunit of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter complex. To determine if MICU2 expression was cardioprotective, we produced and characterized Micu2−/− mice. Mutant mice had left atrial enlargement and Micu2−/− cardiomyocytes had delayed sarcomere relaxation and cytosolic calcium reuptake kinetics, indicating diastolic dysfunction. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of Micu2−/− ventricular tissues revealed markedly reduced transcripts encoding the apelin receptor (Micu2−/− vs. wild type, P = 7.8 × 10−40), which suppresses angiotensin II receptor signaling via allosteric transinhibition. We found that Micu2−/− and wild-type mice had comparable basal blood pressures and elevated responses to angiotensin II infusion, but that Micu2−/− mice exhibited systolic dysfunction and 30% lethality from abdominal aortic rupture. Aneurysms and rupture did not occur with norepinephrine-induced hypertension. Aortic tissue from Micu2−/− mice had increased expression of extracellular matrix remodeling genes, while single-cell RNA-seq analyses showed increased expression of genes related to reactive oxygen species, inflammation, and proliferation in fibroblast and smooth muscle cells. We concluded that Micu2−/− mice recapitulate features of diastolic heart disease and define previously unappreciated roles for Micu2 in regulating angiotensin II-mediated hypertensive responses that are critical in protecting the abdominal aorta from injury.