Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inhibitory control in preschool predicts early math skills in first grade

Preschoolers’ inhibitory control and early math skills were concurrently and longitudinally examined in 255 Chinese, African American, Dominican, and Mexican 4-year-olds in the United States. Inhibitory control at age 4, assessed with a peg-tapping task, was associated with early math skills at age 4 and predicted growth in such skills from age 4 to age 6 among these ethnic minority children after adjusting for ethnic background. Chinese children outperformed other groups on inhibitory control at age 4 and early math skills across ages. Mediation analyses indicated that their advanced inhibitory control at age 4 partially accounted for their advantage in early math skills concurrently at age 4 and longitudinally at age 6, highlighting the role of inhibitory control in the early math skills of ethnic minority children.
Malignant giant-cell tumor of bone with lymph node involvement in a cat

Th e present study describes giant-cell tumor of bone (GCToB) with lymph node involvement in a 5-year-old crossbred cat. Th e animal was referred to the surgery clinic with progressive subcutaneous swelling in the left proximal femoral region, severe lameness, constipation, and dysuria. A moderately fi rm, subcutaneous, palpable mass, 9 cm in diameter, was observed, and biopsy samples were taken. Histopathologically, the mass was constituted by ovoid-shaped mononuclear cells intermixed with many multinucleated giant cells (MGC). Immunohistochemically, the giant cells were positively stained with antivimentin, and the same cells were negative for antidesmin and anti-S100 staining. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity in tumor cells was evaluated and the tumor was diagnosed as malignant GCToB; the cat was euthanized. Macroscopically, while the regional lymph nodes were intact, giant cells were found in the left popliteal lymph node during microscopy. Although a few cases of GCToB have been reported in cats, the case herein displays, for the fi rst time, evidence of lymph node involvement during the process of metastasis.
Hematotoxicity in Workers Exposed to Low Levels of Benzene

Benzene is known to have toxic effects on the blood and bone marrow, but its impact at levels below the U.S. occupational standard of 1 part per million (ppm) remains uncertain. In a study of 250 workers exposed to benzene, white blood cell and platelet counts were significantly lower than in 140 controls, even for exposure below 1 ppm in air. Progenitor cell colony formation significantly declined with increasing benzene exposure and was more sensitive to the effects of benzene than was the number of mature blood cells. Two genetic variants in key metabolizing enzymes, myeloperoxidase and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase, influenced susceptibility to benzene hematotoxicity. Thus, hematotoxicity from exposure to benzene occurred at air levels of 1 ppm or less and may be particularly evident among genetically susceptible subpopulations.
Influence of Sport Education on Group Cohesion in University Physical Education.

The Sport Education (SE) curricular model incorporated within university physical education Basic Instruction Program (BIP) may increase group cohesion. This study’s purpose was to identify student perceptions of a BIP course taught within SE, and investigate group cohesion in differing activity content. Participants included 430 students enrolled in 25 BIP classes delivered in SE. A mixed method design included multiple data collection: critical incident, interview, and Physical Activity Group Environmental Questionnaire (PAGEQ). Lifetime skill and competitive sport class participants reflected more group cohesion than exercise class participants. Exercise class participants reported lower task cohesion than other groups, p < . 05. Sport participants reported higher social cohesion than lifetime skill participants, whose responses were higher than exercise participants, ps<. 05. Findings from critical incident and interview data provided further support for the PAGEQ results. We suggest that exercise class.
Development and Validation of the Basketball Offensive Game Performance Instrument

The purpose of this study was to design and validate the Basketball Offensive Game Performance Instrument (BOGPI) that assesses an individual player’s offensive game performance competency in basketball. Twelve physical education teacher education (PETE) students playing two 10-minute, 3 vs. 3 basketball games were videotaped at end of a basketball unit in one physical education teaching methods course. Two investigators independently coded each player’s offensive game behaviors with BOGPI. The interrater reliability of the BOGPI was 99% and the alpha reliability coefficient for the total scale of the BOGPI was . 95. The content validity evidence of the BOGPI was established by six experienced experts’ judgment. The results of this study indicate that the BOGPI is a theoretically sound and psychometrically supported measure that can be used by researchers and teacher educators to assess the preservice teachers’ offensive game performance ability in basketball.
Highly efficient gene knockout by injection of TALEN mRNAs into oocytes and host transfer in Xenopus laevis

ABSTRACT Zinc-finger nucleases, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and the CRISPR/Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated proteins) system are potentially powerful tools for producing tailor-made knockout animals. However, their mutagenic activity is not high enough to induce mutations at all loci of a target gene throughout an entire tadpole. In this study, we present a highly efficient method for introducing gene modifications at almost all target sequences in randomly selected embryos. The gene modification activity of TALEN is enhanced by adopting the host-transfer technique. In our method, the efficiency is further improved by injecting TALEN mRNAs fused to the 3′UTR of the Xenopus DEADSouth gene into oocytes, which are then transferred into a host female frog, where they are ovulated and fertilized. The addition of the 3′UTR of the DEADSouth gene promotes mRNA translation in the oocytes and increases the expression of TALEN proteins to near-maximal levels three hours post fertilization (hpf). In contrast, TALEN mRNAs without this 3′UTR are translated infrequently in oocytes. Our data suggest that genomic DNA is more sensitive to TALEN proteins from fertilization to the midblastula (MBT) stage. Our method works by increasing the levels of TALEN proteins during the pre-MBT stages.
Different Strokes for Different Folks: Entrepreneurial Narratives of Emotion, Cognition, and Making Sense of Business Failure

This multiple case study of eight entrepreneurial narratives of failed businesses examines how narratives that express different emotional states (folks) reflect different efforts to make sense of failure experiences (strokes). Our comparisons of the narratives’ emotional content (describing emotional states at the time of business failure and presently) revealed some new insights. First, high negative emotions motivate making sense of a loss, while high positive emotions provide cognitive resources to facilitate and motivate making sense of the failure event. Second, emotion–focused coping helped deal with negative emotions. Finally, sensemaking was also facilitated by cognitive strategies that focused attention on the failure event and promoted self–reflection.
Why Trust Matters: Declining Political Trust and the Demise of American Liberalism

Why Trust Matters: Declining Political Trust and the Demise of American Liberalism. By Marc J. Hetherington. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004. 208p. $35.00. Fifteen years after the signing of the Social Security Act, this already broad government program was expanded. With the amendments of 1950, an additional 10 million additional people were covered, including some of the poorest—domestic and agricultural workers. By using the payroll tax to support Social Security payments, citizens saw the program as one to which they contributed and from which they should receive. Even in very different times 55 years later, Americans continued to support this approach to public pensions. Despite comparatively low levels of trust in government and decades of antitax and antigovernment movement successes, President George W. Bush's efforts to privatize Social Security fell flat.
Soluble lectin-like oxidized low density lipoprotein receptor-1 in type 2 diabetes mellitus This study was supported by funding from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (Grant HKU 7585/05M). Published, JLR Papers in Press, April 12, 2008.

The lectin-like oxidized low density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) can be proteolytically cleaved and released as soluble forms (sLOX-1). We have determined serums LOX-1 in type 2 diabetes and evaluated the effect of glucose and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) on sLOX-1 in vitro and in vivo. Endothelial cells were incubated with glucose or AGEs, and sLOX-1 in cell medium was measured. Serum sLOX-1 was measured in 219 diabetic patients and 187 controls by ELISA. The effect of lowering glucose and AGEs on sLOX-1 was determined in 38 poorly controlled diabetic patients after improvement in glycemic control. Incubation of endothelial cells with AGE-BSA led to a dose-dependent increase in sLOX-1, whereas the effect of glucose on sLOX-1 was less marked. Serum sLOX-1 was 9% higher in diabetic patients compared with controls (P < 0.01). In the poorly controlled patients, serum sLOX-1 decreased by 12.5% after improvement in glycemic control (P < 0.05). The magnitude of reduction in sLOX-1 correlated with the improvement in hemoglobin A1c and AGEs but not with the reduction in oxidized LDL.XXX sLOX-1 level is increased in type 2 diabetes. Both glucose and AGEs are important determinants of LOX-1 expression, and lowering glucose and AGEs leads to a reduction in sLOX-1.
Audience Taste Divergence over Time: An Analysis of U.S. Movies' Box Office in Hong Kong, 1989–2004

Foreign media products often go through processes of local reception when they travel to another culture. This article provides a quantitative and longitudinal analysis of local reception by focusing on the notion of cross-culture predictability, or the degree to which the performance of a set of media products in a foreign market can be predicted by their performance in the domestic market. Analysis of box office performance of U.S. movies in Hong Kong from 1989 to 2004 finds that the tastes of Hong Kong and U.S. audiences have diverged over the years, a trend particularly robust among certain types of movies.
A Signature Pedagogy in Doctoral Education: The Leader–Scholar Community

Since 2005 there has been an explosion of interest and debate about alternative futures for the doctorate in education. The authors take the debate from the abstract to the concrete by describing a signature pedagogy in doctoral education that combines theory, applied scholarship, and the wisdom of practice in new ways. They describe leader–scholar communities, whose goal is to assist and support students to conduct applied research in local educational contexts. They argue that leader–scholar communities are particularly useful for helping doctoral students persist to graduation, become socialized into a new identity as leader–scholars, and bridge the gap between what is learned at the university and what is practiced in schools.
The Spanish 15-M Movement: a consensual dissent?

Abstract Since May 2011, the Spanish 15-M Movement (commonly referred as los indignados [the outraged]) has become a major player in the domestic political scenario. Public opinion data reveal that there is a cross-sectional support for the 15-M among the general population in Spain, affecting people of different ages, genders, employment situations and levels of urbanization. The data present a “movement of dissent” and confirm the crisis of the consensual culture of the Spanish political transition from Franco's regime to democracy. The 15-M challenges previous consensus and expresses the need to reform or to overcome the close-knitted institutional map designed by the elites driving the transition. The outraged movement advances and leads a new political culture based on widespread social dissent. Our data suggest an imbalance between the cultural and the political impact of the 15-M, and how this tension will be a central element of cultural and civic life in the next decades in Spain.
Detection of bacteria in endodontic samples by polymerase chain reaction assays and association with defined clinical signs in Italian patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS The presence of selected bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Tannerella forsythensis, Treponema denticola) in infected root canals was studied using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, and the association of bacteria with clinical signs of endodontic disease was assessed. The null hypothesis, that no difference could be observed between clinical signs of apical periodontitis and a specific bacterial strain, was tested. METHODS Microbial samples were obtained from 62 teeth in 54 patients with endodontic disease. For each tooth, clinical data including patient symptoms were collected. Teeth were categorized by diagnosis as having acute apical periodontitis (AAP, teeth with clinical symptoms but no periapical radiolucency, n=22), chronic apical periodontitis (CAP, teeth with radiolucency but no clinical symptoms, n=15) or exacerbated apical periodontitis (EAP, teeth with symptoms and radiolucency, n=25). Seventy-one percent of cases were primary endodontic infections, and 29% were recurrent ('secondary') endodontic infections (failing cases). PCR assays were used to detect the presence of the selected bacteria. RESULTS T. denticola and E. faecalis were each detected in 15 of 62 samples (24%), P. gingivalis in 8 samples (13%), P. intermedia in 5 samples (8%), and T. forsythensis in 4 samples (7%). T. denticola was detected in 56% of teeth with EAP. E. faecalis was found in 60% of teeth with CAP and in 72% of teeth with secondary infection. Statistical analysis demonstrated an association of CAP and secondary endodontic infection with the presence of E. faecalis. (P<0.01). EAP was associated with the presence of T. denticola (P<0.01). CONCLUSION T. denticola was associated with symptomatic endodontic disease in the presence of apical bone resorption. E. faecalis was associated with treatment failures. We suggest that these species may play critical roles in endodontic pathology.
Treatment Outcomes for Older Adults Who Abuse Substances

A Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Knowledge Application Program based on cognitive-behavioral and self-management treatment approaches and targeted to older adults with substance abuse was provided through a community behavioral health center. A sample of 199 adults aged 50 and above participated in the 18-session program. Observations were made at intake and 6 months after intake. Program completers versus noncompleters differed significantly over time, favoring completers with regard to decreased use of nonmedical prescription drugs, improved cognitive functioning, improved mental health, increased vitality, and lack of bodily pain. Significant time effects were noted in participants’ decreased use of alcohol and binge drinking, reduced stress, fewer emotional problems, a decrease in having to reduce important activities, and increased prescription of medication for psychological problems. Participants also reported significant improvement in their social functioning, and their physical health and emotional problems had less impact on what they were able to do.
Fault isolation for linear non-minimum phase systems using dynamically extended observers

This article is devoted to the design of fault isolation observers (FIOs). Their purpose is to detect and isolate faults occuring in linear systems by means of only a single, specifically parameterized observer. While parameterizations for such observers have been proposed for minimum phase systems, we generalize the existing results to linear systems without such restrictions. To achieve stable fault isolation, we introduce virtual system extensions, which enable stable isolation despite right half-plane zeros. These virtual augmentations are then realized by dynamically extended fault isolation observers (DFIOs). Apart from that, the proposed design allows to isolate both actuator and sensor faults. The applicability of the proposed approach is shown in both simulations and lab experiments with a gantry crane.
Adolescent-Parent Attachments Family Problem-Solving Styles†

Variation in exploratory and collaborative behavior among family members define different problem-solving styles or "paradigms" in families. Similar characteristics distinguish patterns of attachment within dyads. This suggests an association between these phenomena. The hypothesis was tested in a laboratory study of families with young adolescents. Using the Reiss Card Sort Procedure (CSP) and a newly developed scheme for classifying adolescent attachments, it was demonstrated that particular problem-solving styles were linked to specific patterns of adolescent-parent attachments. An association of paradigms and attachment patterns may afford a new perspective on the dialectical interplay between individual and family development. The probabilities of paradigm-attachment association could prove useful when choosing an intervention model for family therapy.
Microbiological analysis and starter culture growth in retentates.

Pasteurized skim milk was concentrated by UF to 2-, 4-, and 5-fold. The retentates were evaluated for microbiological quality, heat treatments to inactivate microorganisms, and lactic acid bacterial starter culture activity. Aerobic mesophilic bacterial counts in raw milk decreased from an initial 1.4 x 10(6) to 3.9 x 10(2) cfu/ml after pasteurization. During UF, counts increased from 3.9 x 10(2) cfu/ml UF, counts increased from 3.9 x 10(2) cfu/ml in pasteurized milk to 1.4 x 10(3), 1.4 x 10(4), and 1.8 x 10(4) cfu/ml in 2-, 4- and 5-fold retentates, respectively. Psychrotrophic bacterial counts decreased from 9.9 x 10(5) cfu/ml in raw milk to 3.7 x 10(1) cfu/ml in pasteurized milk and gradually increased to 1.0 x 10(2), 2.5 x 10(2), and 1.4 x 10(3) cfu/ml in 2-, 4-, and 5-fold retentates, respectively. Thermophilic bacterial counts remained less than 10 cfu/ml in all samples. Skim milk and retentates inoculated with five starter cultures at 1% failed to decrease the pH below 4.6 in (2-, 4- and 5-fold). The 4- and 5-fold retentates inoculated with Lactococcus lactis spp. cremoris or Lactococcus lactis spp. lactis cultures were partially coagulated with pH greater than 5.6. In general, the pH of retentates remained higher than that of skim milk. Clotting of uninoculated samples was observed, and a spore-forming contaminant, tentatively characterized as Bacillus cereus and capable of clotting milk at a pH greater than 6, was isolated from the clotted samples. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The Importance of Behaviour in the Maintenance of Anxiety and Panic: A Cognitive Account

The theoretical and empirical basis of commonly accepted propositions concerning the role of behaviour in the practice of behavioural psychotherapy for anxiety problems is considered. A number of problems are identified, and an alternative, more explicitly cognitive hypothesis is described. According to this cognitive account, there is both a close relationship and specific interactions between “threat cognitions” and “safety seeking behaviour”. For any individual, safety seeking behaviour arises out of, and is logically linked to, the perception of serious threat. Such behaviour may be anticipatory (avoidant) or consequent (escape). Because safety seeking behaviour is perceived to be preventative, and focused on especially negative consequences (e.g. death, illness, humiliation), spontaneous disconfirmation of threat is made particularly unlikely by such safety seeking behaviours. By preventing disconfirmation of threat-related cognitions, safety seeking behaviour may be a crucial factor in the maintenance of anxiety disorders. The implications of this view for the understanding and treatment of anxiety disorders are discussed.
A successive approximation vector quantizer for wavelet transform image coding

A coding method for wavelet coefficients of images using vector quantization, called successive approximation vector quantization (SA-W-VQ) is proposed. In this method, each vector is coded by a series of vectors of decreasing magnitudes until a certain distortion level is reached. The successive approximation using vectors is analyzed, and conditions for convergence are derived. It is shown that lattice codebooks are an efficient tool for meeting these conditions without the need for very large codebooks. Regular lattices offer the extra advantage of fast encoding algorithms. In SA-W-VQ, distortion equalization of the wavelet coefficients can be achieved together with high compression ratio and precise bit-rate control. The performance of SA-W-VQ for still image coding is compared against some of the most successful image coding systems reported in the literature. The comparison shows that SA-W-VQ performs remarkably well at several bit rates and in various test images.
Incremental Sequence Learning

Deep learning research over the past years has shown that by increasing the scope or difficulty of the learning problem over time, increasingly complex learning problems can be addressed. We study incremental learning in the context of sequence learning, using generative RNNs in the form of multi-layer recurrent Mixture Density Networks. While the potential of incremental or curriculum learning to enhance learning is known, indiscriminate application of the principle does not necessarily lead to improvement, and it is essential therefore to know which forms of incremental or curriculum learning have a positive effect. This research contributes to that aim by comparing three instantiations of incremental or curriculum learning. We introduce Incremental Sequence Learning, a simple incremental approach to sequence learning. Incremental Sequence Learning starts out by using only the first few steps of each sequence as training data. Each time a performance criterion has been reached, the length of the parts of the sequences used for training is increased. We introduce and make available a novel sequence learning task and data set: predicting and classifying MNIST pen stroke sequences. We find that Incremental Sequence Learning greatly speeds up sequence learning and reaches the best test performance level of regular sequence learning 20 times faster, reduces the test error by 74%, and in general performs more robustly; it displays lower variance and achieves sustained progress after all three comparison methods have stopped improving. The other instantiations of curriculum learning do not result in any noticeable improvement. A trained sequence prediction model is also used in transfer learning to the task of sequence classification, where it is found that transfer learning realizes improved classification performance compared to methods that learn to classify from scratch.