Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Beamline Stability Measurements with a Stretched Wire System in the FFTB

Beamline stability is of great importance for future linear colliders where tolerances generally are in the micron to sub-micron range. A stretched wire system in the sealed FFTB tunnel at SLAC was used to monitor beamline motion with a sub-micron resolution. In future linear colliders low frequency changes of the beamline alignment (< 0.1 Hz) lead to untolerable quasistatical misalignments and betatron oscillations. Since it requires time to correct those errors, it is very important to determine how often corrections are needed. The authors present the measurements, discuss the systematics of the stretched wire system and compare the observations with the ATL-model for ground motion.
L1 Influence on the Acquisition of L2 Collocations: Japanese ESL Users and EFL Learners Acquiring English Collocations.

This study investigated first language (L1) influence on the acquisition of second language (L2) collocations using a framework based on Kroll and Stewart (1994) and Jiang (2000), by comparing the performance on a phrase-acceptability judgment task among native speakers of English, Japanese English as a second language (ESL) users, and Japanese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. The test materials included both congruent collocations, whose lexical components were similar in L1 and L2, and incongruent collocations, whose lexical components differed in the two languages. EFL learners made more errors with and reacted more slowly to incongruent collocations than congruent collocations. ESL users generally performed better than EFL learners (lower error rate and faster speed), but they still made more errors on incongruent collocations than on congruent collocations. Interestingly, however, the L1 effect was not apparent on the ESL users' reaction time. The results suggested that (a) both L1 congruency and L2 exposure affect the acquisition of L2 collocations with the availability of both maximizing this acquisition; (b) it is difficult to acquire incongruent collocations even with a considerable amount of exposure to L2; and (c) once stored in memory, L2 collocations are processed independently of L1. Possible differences in acquiring congruent and incongruent collocations are discussed.
Using a quitline plus low-cost nicotine replacement therapy to help disadvantaged smokers to quit

Objectives: To trial an intervention in a real-life setting to motivate low-income smokers to try to quit. The intervention under trial was the addition of subsidised nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to a standard population quitline service. Design: Participants were low-income smokers, recruited “cold” via either a letter in the mail or a flyer inserted in a local newspaper. The intervention group received the usual service of multisession counselling from the quitline plus access to heavily subsidised NRT. A comparison group received the usual quitline service only. Participants were followed up at 3, 6, and 12 months. Trial participants were also compared with a sample of general callers to the quitline. Results: The offer of subsidised NRT recruited more than twice as many low-income smokers than the offer of the cessation service alone (intervention group n = 1000; comparison group n = 377). 63% were first-time callers to the quitline. Intervention respondents showed higher levels of nicotine dependence than comparison group respondents. Comparisons of quitting data were confounded by the differences in the respondents at baseline. 73.5% of smokers in the intervention group tried to quit compared to 61.0% in the comparison group. Unadjusted quit rates were higher in the intervention group than in the comparison group at 3 months and 6 months but not at 12 months. Conclusions: Disadvantaged smokers were easily engaged to call the quitline, particularly when offered subsidised NRT. Disadvantaged smokers using the quitline, with and without subsidised NRT, achieved cessation outcomes comparable to other studies of “mainstream” smokers.
Genital image, sexual anxiety, and erectile dysfunction among young male military personnel.

INTRODUCTION More than a third of young military personnel report experiencing some level of erectile dysfunction (ED). Preoccupation with body image, particularly genitals, is a distraction that can influence sexual anxiety (SA) and sexual functioning problems (SFPs), particularly ED. AIMS This study assessed the relationships between male genital self-image (MGSI), SA, and ED in a sample of male military personnel age 40 or younger. METHODS Data were from a larger study on SFPs in military populations. This sample consisted of 367 male military personnel age 40 or younger. Hierarchical regression analyses and process modeling using mediation analysis were performed to examine the effects of MGSI on ED with SA as an intermediate variable. We predicted that SA would mediate the relationship between MGSI and ED. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES ED severity was assessed with the International Index of Erectile Function. MGSI was assessed using the MGSI Scale. SA was assessed with the SA subscale of the Sexual Needs Scale. RESULTS As hypothesized, greater satisfaction with MGSI was predictive of significantly lower SA (F[8, 352] = 4.07, P = 0.001) and lower ED (F[8, 352] = 13.20, P = 0.001). Lower levels of SA were predictive of lower levels of ED (F[8, 354] = 21.35, P < 0.001). Additionally, results also revealed a significant indirect effect of MGSI on ED through SA (b = -0.07, standard error = 0.03, confidence interval = [-0.14,-0.02], P < 0.05), indicating mediation of MGSI on ED via SA. CONCLUSIONS This study underscores the complex etiologic basis of SFPs, particularly ED, and highlights the importance of considering psychologic contributors to ED, such as SA and MGSI. Strategies aimed at reducing SA may be useful in improving ED in young military populations and are worth considering as complements to strategies that improve SFPs.
An examination of recreational divers' underwater behaviour by attitude–behaviour theories

The increasing demand for dive tourism activities has resulted in concerns over scuba divers' incremental impacts on the underwater marine environment. Hence, there is a need to better understand the antecedents of scuba divers' underwater behaviour. This study applied theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and norm activation theory (NAT) of altruistic behaviour in examining the relationship between diving attitude, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms and personal norms (PNs) with responsible underwater behaviour among scuba divers. Using the combination of purposeful and convenience samplings, data were collected from divers (N = 413) who visited the top five most attractive islands in Malaysia. The results supported the use of TPB as a basis for explaining the underwater behaviour of divers. Among the four constructs examined, attitude and PNs were found to be of paramount importance in influencing pro-environmental behaviour. This study also validated the exploratory dimensions that constitute the measurement constructs for scuba diving attitude and responsible underwater behaviour. Scuba diving stakeholders should emphasise continuous education and an integrated programme of marine conservation to enhance divers' attitude and personal commitment towards pro-environmental behaviour. These are crucial for the sustainability of the scuba diving industry.
Nephrologist care and mortality in patients with chronic renal insufficiency.

BACKGROUND For patients with chronic renal insufficiency, rates of referral to nephrologists are highly variable, and little is known about the effect of such consultation on clinical outcomes. We sought to determine whether early or frequent access to nephrologist care prior to the initiation of dialysis was associated with a difference in mortality rates in the first year after dialysis began. METHODS We identified all patients in the New Jersey Medicaid and Medicare programs who began maintenance dialysis during a 6-year period and who had been diagnosed with renal disease more than 12 months prior to dialysis. Use of nephrologist services was documented during this 1-year period, along with other clinical and sociodemographic variables. The outcome measure of our analysis was mortality in the first year after initiation of dialysis. RESULTS From multivariate analyses, we found that patients who did not see a nephrologist until 90 days or less before initiation of dialysis had a 37% higher likelihood of death in the first year of dialysis compared with patients with earlier referral (95% confidence interval, 1.22-1.52; P<.001). Similarly, those who saw a nephrologist on fewer than 5 occasions in the year prior to dialysis had a 15% higher mortality rate in the first year of dialysis compared with those who had had 5 or more nephrologist visits (95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.28; P =.01). CONCLUSIONS For patients with long-standing renal disease, earlier consultation with a nephrologist and more frequent specialist encounters is associated with lower mortality in the first year of dialysis. These findings need to be confirmed in younger and less indigent patients as well.
An alcohol binding site on the neural cell adhesion molecule L1

Prenatal ethanol exposure causes fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in part by disrupting the neural cell adhesion molecule L1. L1 gene mutations cause neuropathological abnormalities similar to those of FASD. Ethanol and 1-butanol inhibit L1-mediated cell–cell adhesion (L1 adhesion), whereas 1-octanol antagonizes this action. To test the hypothesis that there are alcohol binding sites on L1, we used 3-azibutanol and 3-azioctanol, the photoactivatable analogs of 1-butanol and 1-octanol, to photolabel the purified Ig1–4 domain of human L1 (hL1 Ig1–4). 3-Azibutanol (11 mM), like ethanol, inhibited L1 adhesion in NIH/3T3 cells stably transfected with hL1, whereas subanesthetic concentrations of 3-azioctanol (14 μM) antagonized ethanol inhibition of L1 adhesion. 3-Azibutanol (100–1,000 μM) and 3-azioctanol (10–100 μM) photoincorporated into Tyr-418 on Ig4 and into two adjacent regions in the N terminus, Glu-33 and Glu-24 to Glu-27. A homology model of hL1 Ig1–4 (residues 33–422), based on the structure of the Ig1–4 domains of axonin-1, suggests that Glu-33 and Tyr-418 hydrogen-bond at the interface of Ig1 and Ig4 to stabilize a horseshoe conformation of L1 that favors homophilic binding. Furthermore, this alcohol binding pocket lies within 7 Å of Leu-120 and Gly-121, residues in which missense mutations cause neurological disorders similar to FASD. These data suggest that ethanol or selected mutations produce neuropathological abnormalities by disrupting the domain interface between Ig1 and Ig4. Characterization of alcohol agonist and antagonist binding sites on L1 will aid in understanding the molecular basis for FASD and might accelerate the development of ethanol antagonists.
How to measure driving ability under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and why

Car driving performance is easily disrupted as a consequence of the use of alcohol and/ or (il)licit drugs. Various aspects of vehicle handling have been used to measure drug effects, including: lateral position deviation, steering wheel handling, speed control, use of pedals and headway control. Alcohol, as well as producing changes in physiological measures of heart rate, significantly affected measures of vehicle handling. Similar impairments have also been found during the day following nocturnal use of hypnotics. The direction of drug effects on car handling skills is facilitated by appropriate methodological strategies for the monitoring of driver impairment. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An amino acid has two sides: A new 2D measure provides a different view of solvent exposure

The concept of amino acid solvent exposure is crucial for understanding and predicting various aspects of protein structure and function. The traditional measures of solvent exposure however suffer from various shortcomings, like for example the inability to distinguish exposed, partly exposed, buried, and deeply buried residues. This article introduces a new measure of solvent exposure called Half‐Sphere Exposure that addresses many of the shortcomings of other methods. The new measure outperforms other measures with respect to correlation with protein stability, conservation among fold homologs, amino acid‐type dependency and interpretation. The measure consists of the number of Cα atoms in two half spheres around a residue's Cα atom. Conceptually, one of the half spheres corresponds to the side chain's neighborhood, the other half sphere being in the opposite direction. We show here that the two half spheres correspond to two regions around an amino acid that are surprisingly distinct in terms of geometry and energy. This aspect of protein structure introduced here forms the basis of the Half‐Sphere Exposure measure. The results strongly suggest that in many respects, a 2D measure is inherently much better suited to describe solvent exposure than the traditional 1D measures. Importantly, Half‐Sphere Exposure can be calculated from the Cα atom coordinates only, which abolishes the need for a full‐atom model to calculate solvent exposure. Hence, the measure can be used in protein structure prediction methods that are based on various simplified models. Half‐Sphere Exposure has great potential for use in protein structure prediction and analysis. Proteins 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Effect of Testing on Student Achievement, 1910–2010

This article summarizes research on the effect of testing on student achievement as found in English-language sources, comprising several hundred studies conducted between 1910 and 2010. Among quantitative studies, mean effect sizes range from a moderate d ≈ 0.55 to a fairly large d ≈ 0.88, depending on the way effects are aggregated or effect sizes are adjusted for study artifacts. Testing with feedback produces the strongest positive effect on achievement. Adding stakes or frequency also strongly and positively affects achievement. Survey studies produce effect sizes above 1.0. Ninety-three percent of qualitative studies analyzed also reported positive effects.
Testing Independent Component Patterns by Inter-Subject or Inter-Session Consistency

Independent component analysis (ICA) is increasingly used to analyze patterns of spontaneous activity in brain imaging. However, there are hardly any methods for answering the fundamental question: are the obtained components statistically significant? Most methods considering the significance of components either consider group-differences or use arbitrary thresholds with weak statistical justification. In previous work, we proposed a statistically principled method for testing if the coefficients in the mixing matrix are similar in different subjects or sessions. In many applications of ICA, however, we would like to test the reliability of the independent components themselves and not the mixing coefficients. Here, we develop a test for such an inter-subject consistency by extending our previous theory. The test is applicable, for example, to the spatial activity patterns obtained by spatial ICA in resting-state fMRI. We further improve both this and the previously proposed testing method by introducing a new way of correcting for multiple testing, new variants of the clustering method, and a computational approximation which greatly reduces the memory and computation required.
FACTORS IMPACTING THE ACADEMIC CLIMATE FOR LGBQ STEM FACULTY

There is limited information available regarding factors that contribute to the academic advancement of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) communities. In this project, we employ data from the 2010 State of Higher Education for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People, and our aim was to assess the experiences of LGBQ faculty from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Survey responses from 279 LGBQ faculty members across multiple departments were analyzed through chi-square and binary logistic regression. Our findings from this national study identify several factors influencing the academic climate and subsequent career consequences of LGBQ faculty, and department-level analyses suggest these climate factors may be particularly relevant to the STEM fields. We propose that the comfort of LGBQ faculty members is a valuable measure for advancing the retention of LGBQ STEM faculty members, and we show that both exclusionary behavior and being “out” are factors that negatively impact this measure. We provide potential best practices to improve the academic climate for STEM faculty members, thereby advancing both their persistence and their influence on mentoring prospective LGBQ STEM students.
How to Create a Support Network for National Board Certification Candidates

he National Board for Professional Teaching StanT dards (NBPTS) was established in 1987 and is supported by the U.S. Department of Education and private funding. Its mission is to operate a national voluntary system to assess and certify teachers who meet its rigorous standards of teaching performance, including a high level of professional commitment, subject area expertise, responsible monitoring of student learning, frequent reflection on the teaching practice, and interaction with fellow teachers as members of learning communities. The certification process is designed to engage teachers in teaching for individual student attainment. (For comprehensive information, see the NBMS Web site at <www.nbpts.org>; see also McLean 1999.) Several education organizations endorse National Board certification, including the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, the National Commission on Teaching and America‘s Future, and Pi Lambda Theta, the International Honor Society and Professional Association in Education. Updated certification and licensure standards for several states reflect the learner-centered orientation emphasized by NBMS. Standards are being incorporated into preprofessional teacher education programs, school-university partnerships, graduate education programs, and inservice learning opportunities for teachers (Amold and Sikula 1999; Auton, Browne, and Futrell 1998; Blackwell and Diez 1999; Browne, Freund, and Futrell 1999; DarlingHammond 1996; Darling-Hammond 1999; Dilworth and Imig 1995; Ingvarson 1998; Moss and Schutz 1999; Weiss and Weiss 1998). The certification process requires that each candidate develop a school-site portfolio reflecting various aspects of teaching. Candidates show evidence of teaching practice through student work artifacts, videotapes of classroom interaction, and written reflective commentaries. A few common characteristics, such as use of group work in class, family involvement in the classroom, and participation in educational activities beyond the classroom, must be shown by all candidates in all certification areas, whether early childhood education, elementary school, middle school, or high school. Candidates must also pass a written examination on age-appropriate and content-appropriate teaching strategies.
State-dependent retrieval effects with social drugs.

Summary The interactions between alcohol and social stimulants (e.g. caffeine and nicotine) are generally regarded as complex, with antagonistic, synergistic, and mixed effects being reported. These social drugs are frequently ingested in close temporal proximity, yet relatively little is known about the cognitive effects of such drug combinations. Several experiments are reported in which moderate doses of alcohol, caffeine and nicotine were administered to groups of subjects in a state-dependent learning design. The results demonstrate the dissociative effects of alcohol-caffeine and alcohol-nicotine combinations on learning and recall. Hence a significant proportion of everyday forgetting could be due to state-dependent learning effects, particularly since drug combinations offer an increased range of dissociation possibilities.
Presence of Ctenocephalides canis (Curtis) and Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché) Infesting Dogs In the City of Aguascalientes, México

Abstract Prevalence and seasonal distribution of Ctenocephalides canis (Curtis) and Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché) infestations in urban dogs of the city of Aguascalientes, Mexico, were studied. Between January and December 2007, 863 dogs in the Municipal Canine and Feline Control Center were examined. Overall prevalence of infestation was 12% (95% CI 10–14). Seasonal distribution revealed that prevalences in spring and summer were highest, while autumn and winter had lower prevalences. Two infestation peaks were observed, i.e., in April (17.7%) and July (18.9%). A positive correlation was detected between prevalence and temperature during the winter season (P < 0.05). Prevalence in relation to gender showed that males were more frequently infested, 14% (95% CI 11–17), than females, 9.4% (95% CI 7–13); hair length did not affect differences in prevalence. Six hundred twenty-nine fleas were examined; 62% were C. canis and 38% C. felis. Dogs infested with only C. canis were 48% (95% CI 38–58), while 18% were infested only with C. felis (95% CI 11–27); the remainder, 34% (95% CI 24–44), had mixed infestations.
Why go modular? A review of modular A‐level Mathematics

Summary Modular A‐level courses, indeed modular forms of assessment in many areas of education, have gained in popularity over the past few years. This research looked at data collected as part of the ALIS (A‐level Information System) project. In particular, the attitudes, future academic intentions and attainment of students gaining a grade in A‐level Mathematics were compared, by gender, between those who followed a modular course and those who were assessed at the end of two years of study. The two groups were found to have a similar average GCSE grade, but overall, the final A‐level grades of those assessed modularly were half a grade higher than their linearly assessed contemporaries. Possible reasons for these differences are discussed. The types of teaching style employed in modular and non‐modular A‐level courses were compared. Initial findings suggest that modularly assessed courses are relying even more on a didactic approach.