Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding Media Cultures: Social Theory and Mass Communication

Marxism and Mass Communication Research Debates within Political Economy and Ideology - Raymond Williams, Glasgow University Media Group and Stuart Hall Habermas, Mass Culture and the Public Sphere Critical Perspectives within Audience Research Problems in Interpretation, Agency, Structure and Ideology Marshall McLuhan and the Cultural Medium Space, Time and Implosion in the Global Village Baudrillard's Blizzards Postmodernity, Mass Communications and Symbolic Exchange Perspectives in Media Cultures and Social Theory
Effects of First and Second Generation Calcium Channel Blockers on Diastolic Function of the Failing Hamster Heart: Relationship with Coronary Flow Changes

&NA; Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) have variable efficacy in the treatment of heart failure. We hypothesized that modulation of left ventricular diastolic pressure (LVDP) may play a role in the variable efficacy of CCBs in this condition. Isolated perfused hearts from 200‐ to 250‐day‐old UM‐X7.1 cardiomyopathic hamsters (failing hearts) and age‐matched Syrian hamsters (normal hearts) were studied. After recording of heart rate, coronary flow (CF), LVDP and left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), hearts were exposed either to verapamil or diltiazem (1 nM‐10 &mgr;M), mibefradil (1 nM‐1 &mgr;M) or clentiazem (1 nM‐10 &mgr;M). Mechanical increase in CF (+2 to +10 ml/min) was carried out using a roller pump. Mechanically‐augmented flow led to an increase in coronary perfusion pressure (+40 to +90 mm Hg), LVSP (+5 to +40 mm Hg) and LVDP (+5 to +25 mm Hg). CCBs‐induced increment of coronary flow led to a difference in their cardiac response. In normal hearts, the negative inotropic response was more important with diltiazem and verapamil. Failing hearts did not demonstrate increased inotropic sensitivity to first‐generation CCBs. On the contrary, at clinically relevant concentrations, verapamil resulted in the most pronounced impairment of LVDP followed by diltiazem while mibefradil and clentiazem, at clinically relevant concentrations, preserved LVDP. Such findings provide an additional explanation for the variable efficacy of CCBs in heart failure.
Gramsci is Dead: Anarchist Currents in the Newest Social Movements

List Of Figures Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Doing It Yourself: Direct Action Currents In Contemporary Radical Activism 2. Tracking The Hegemony Of Hegemony: Classical Marxism And Liberalism 3. Tracking The Hegemony Of Hegemony: Postmarxism And The New Social Movements 4. Utopian Socialism Then . 5. And Now 6. Ethics, Affinity, And The Coming Communities 7. Conclusion: Utopian Socialism Again And Again Notes References
The human repeated insult patch test in the 21st century: A commentary

The human repeated insult patch test (HRIPT) is over half a century old, but is still used in several countries as a confirmatory test in the safety evaluation of skin sensitizers. This is despite the criticism it receives from an ethical perspective and regarding the scientific validity of such testing. In this commentary, the HRIPT is reviewed, with emphasis on ethical aspects and where the test can, and cannot, contribute in a scientifically meaningful manner to safety evaluation. It is concluded that where there is a specific rationale for testing, for example, to substantiate a no-effect level for a sensitizing chemical or to ensure that matrix effects are not making an unexpected contribution to sensitizing potency, then rigorous independent review may confirm that an HRIPT is ethical and scientifically justifiable. The possibility that sensitization may be induced in volunteers dictates that HRIPTs should be conducted rarely and in cases where the benefits overwhelmingly outweigh the risk. However, for the very large majority of HRIPTs conducted concerning the risk of skin sensitization, there is neither scientific justification nor any other merit.
Three sorting nexins drive the degradation of apoptotic cells in response to PtdIns(3)P signaling

LST-4/SNX9, SNX-1, and SNX-6 together drive the degradation of apoptotic cells, as PtdIns(3)P effectors, during Caenorhabditis elegans development. By inducing regional membrane curvature and maintaining RAB-7 GTPase on phagosomes, these three sorting nexins stimulate the fusion of endocytic organelles with phagosomes.
Weight-for-Height Values and Limb Anthropometric Composition of Tube-Fed Children With Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy

Objective. Research has shown that growth retardation among children with quadriplegic cerebral palsy (CP) is often attributed to feeding dysfunction and malnutrition. The study compared weight-for-height values and limb anthropometric composition of nasogastric and gastrostomy tube-fed children with quadriplegic CP with those of orally fed children with quadriplegic CP and normal children, to examine the plausible effects of tube feeding on weight-for-height, fat, and muscle values for children with quadriplegic CP. Methods. Triceps, anterior mid-thigh, and medial calf skinfold thicknesses and the corresponding circumferences of the right or less affected side were measured. The subjects consisted of 119 normal children and 62 orally fed and 48 tube-fed children with quadriplegic CP. Body weight and height were recorded. For children with CP whose height could not be measured, height was estimated from the ulna length. Weight-for-height z scores, limb skinfold thicknesses, fat areas, skinfold-corrected muscle girths, and muscle areas of the children were compared. Results. Tube-fed children with CP had normal mean weight-for-height z scores. Weight-for-height z scores of the orally fed children with CP were significantly below those of normal children and tube-fed children with CP. For children with CP, whereas triceps skinfold thickness seemed to predict the mid-upper arm fat area correctly, leg skinfold thicknesses seemed to overestimate the corresponding fat areas. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that triceps skinfold thicknesses had good correlation (r = 0.86) and the presence of CP had nonsignificant correlation with mid-upper arm fat areas. Multiple regression analysis of fat areas with skinfold thicknesses and the presence of CP, however, showed that CP was correlated negatively (partial correlation of CP: thigh, −0.45; calf, −0.53) with thigh and calf fat areas. Although skinfold-corrected mid-upper arm muscle girths of children with CP were quite similar to those of normal children, leg muscle girths were much reduced for both orally fed and tube-fed children with CP. The apparent thickening of leg skinfold thicknesses among children with CP probably was attributable to disproportional leg muscle wasting, with resulting reduced internal circumference of the subcutaneous fat layer. For tube-fed children with CP, skinfold thicknesses and fat areas were increased significantly, although their leg skinfold-corrected muscle girths and areas remained reduced. Conclusions. Skinfold thickness may overestimate the fat area in the affected limb with significant muscle wasting for children with CP. The condition was particularly obvious in the leg, where muscle wasting was prominent. Because leg muscles represent approximately one quarter of the normal body weight, low weight-for-height values among children with CP can be caused by leg muscle wasting attributable to disuse atrophy, which is unlikely to be correctable with tube feeding. Tube feeding may improve body weight mainly through fat deposition.
Judging jury service: results of the North Carolina administrative office of the courts juror survey.

This study examined venirepersons' and jurors' levels of satisfaction with jury service. Surveys were distributed to all persons who reported for state court jury service during two one-week periods in each North Carolina county. Questions concerned satisfaction with various aspects of jury service, the effects of service, hardships experienced, details of and reactions to cases heard, and basic demographic information. Responses were obtained from 82 of the 100 counties and 4,654 venirepersons (of whom 1,478 served as jurors). Consistent with prior research on juror experiences, results generally revealed high levels of satisfaction and positive opinions about various aspects of jury service. Service did not influence opinions about the courts for most respondents, and those whose opinions changed tended to become more positive about jury service. Suggestions for future research emphasize giving higher priority to publishing unpublished research on jury experience, explaining the high satisfaction levels observed in samples of jurors, and examining the impact of trial reform on juror satisfaction levels.
High-mobility ultrathin strained Ge MOSFETs on bulk and SOI with low band-to-band tunneling leakage: experiments

For the first time, the tradeoffs between higher mobility (smaller bandgap) channel and lower band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) leakage have been investigated. In particular, through detailed experiments and simulations, the transport and leakage in ultrathin (UT) strained germanium (Ge) MOSFETs on bulk and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) have been examined. In the case of strained Ge MOSFETs on bulk Si, the resulting optimal structure obtained was a UT low-defect 2-nm fully strained Ge epi channel on relaxed Si, with a 4-nm Si cap layer. The fabricated device shows very high mobility enhancements >3.5/spl times/ over bulk Si devices, 2/spl times/ mobility enhancement and >10/spl times/ BTBT reduction over 4-nm strained Ge, and surface channel 50% strained SiGe devices. Strained SiGe MOSFETs having UT (T/sub Ge/<3 nm) very high Ge fraction (/spl sim/ 80%) channel and Si cap (T/sub Si cap/<3 nm) have also been successfully fabricated on thin relaxed SOI substrates (T/sub SOI/=9 nm). The tradeoffs in obtaining a high-mobility (smaller bandgap) channel with low tunneling leakage on UT-SOI have been investigated in detail. The fabricated device shows very high mobility enhancements of >4/spl times/ over bulk Si devices, >2.5/spl times/ over strained silicon directly on insulator (SSDOI; strained to 20% relaxed SiGe) devices, and >1.5/spl times/ over 60% strained SiGe (on relaxed bulk Si) devices.
Crossroads between Culture and Mind: Continuities and Change in Theories of Human Nature

The relationship between "mind" and "culture" has become a prominent and fashionable issue in psychology during the last quarter of the twentieth century. The conflict is between those who see the human mind as being generated from and an intimate part of culture and those, usually termed cognitivists, who view the mind as essentially separate from the environment. Gustav Jahoda traces the historical origins of this conflict to demonstrate that thinkers' preoccupation with the relationship between mind and culture is not new. The salient issues began to crystallize three centuries ago in Europe in the form of two distinct traditions whose contrasting conceptions of human nature and the human mind still remain the focus of current debates.The dominant tradition was produced by the scientific approach that had proved so successful in the physical realm. This view, associated with the Enlightenment, holds that mind is an essential part of nature and subject to its fixed laws. As a result of the influence of external factors such as climate and ecology, mind creates culture but remains essentially unchanged. The opposite view, which dates back to Vico and was espoused by anti-Enlightenment thinkers, is that the mind is separate from nature, an entity that both creates and is extensively modified by culture in a constant cycle of mutual determination.The growing prestige of experimental psychology has led to a heated debate between supporters of the rival traditions: is psychology a science or a cultural discipline? Jahoda identifies the current form of this debate as but a phase in psychology's long fascination with the role that culture plays in the formation of the mind, which has led to the recent emergence of cultural psychology. "Crossroads between Culture and Mind" is a formidable achievement by one of Europe's most distinguished and erudite psychologists. "
Exploring anti-TGF-β therapies in cancer and fibrosis

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is a multifunctional cytokine, with important roles in maintaining tissue homeostasis. TGF-β signals via transmembrane serine/threonine kinase receptors and intracellular Smad transcriptional regulators. Perturbed TGF-β signaling has been implicated in a large variety of pathological conditions. Increased TGF-β levels have been found in patients with cancer, fibrosis, and systemic sclerosis, and were correlated with disease severity. In cancer, TGF-β mediates tumor invasion and metastasis by affecting both tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment including fibroblast activation and immune suppression. Furthermore, TGF-β is a strong stimulator of extracellular matrix deposition. On the basis of these observations, small molecule inhibitors of the TGF-β receptor kinases, neutralizing antibodies that interfere with ligand–receptor interactions, antisense oligonucleotides reducing TGF-β expression, and soluble receptor ectodomains that sequester TGF-β have been developed to intervene with excessive TGF-β signaling activity in the aforementioned disorders. Here, we review the current state of anti-TGF-β therapy in clinical trials.
Three essays on economic interactions under bounded rationality

The issues explored in this work concern economic interactions under bounded rationality. Each chapter considers these interactions from different angles. The first chapter characterizes the optimal contract designed by an ordinary profit-maximizing monopoly when facing diversely bounded rational agents. The second chapter analyses the interaction between fully and boundedly rational agents in situations where their interests are perfectly aligned. Finally, the third chapter studies a model where a team of agents with limited problem-solving ability face a disjunctive task over a large solution space. Estratto: Ogni capitolo di questo lavoro di ricerca considera diversi temi concernenti interazioni economiche in presenza di razionalitá limitata. Il primo capitolo propone il contratto ottimale di un monopolio ordinario il quale massimizza il suo profitto in un contesto in cui gli agenti sono caratterizzati da diversa razionalitá limitata. Il secondo capitolo analizza l’interazione tra agenti con razionalitá piena e quelli con razionalitá limitata nel caso in cui i loro interessi siano perfettamente allineati. Infine, il terzo capitolo analizza un modello in cui un gruppo di agenti con limitata capacitá di risolvere problemi affronta un compito disgiuntivo su uno spazio di soluzione di grandi dimensioni.
Coping with Workplace Ostracism: The Roles of Ingratiation and Political Skill in Employee Psychological Distress

The study reported here examined the relationship between workplace ostracism and employee psychological distress (i.e. job tension, emotional exhaustion, and depressed mood at work) by focusing on the joint moderating effects of ingratiation and political skill. Data from a two‐wave survey of 215 employees in two oil and gas firms in China indicated that as predicted, workplace ostracism was positively related to psychological distress. Moreover, the findings showed that when employee political skill was high, ingratiation neutralized the relationship between workplace ostracism and psychological distress, but when it was low, ingratiation exacerbated the relationship.
NLP-based metadata extraction for legal text consolidation

The paper describes a system for the automatic consolidation of Italian legislative texts to be used as a support of an editorial consolidating activity and dealing with the following typology of textual amendments: repeal, substitution and integration. The focus of the paper is on the semantic analysis of the textual amendment provisions and the formalized representation of the amendments in terms of meta-data. The proposed approach to consolidation is metadata--oriented and based on Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques: we use XML--based standards for metadata annotation of legislative acts and a flexible NLP architecture for extracting metadata from parsed texts. An evaluation of achieved results is also provided.
Hierarchical Factoring in a Standardized Achievement Battery

This study was concerned with the factorial validity of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). Previous research identified a strong general factor for this battery, which was taken as evidence of redundancy among the subtests. Hierarchical factor analysis was done with a subset of the standardization data to explore the presence of second-order group factors. The results supported the construct validity of the Language and Mathematics subscales, though a degree of factorial complexity was found in both. Verbal and Visual Information group factors were also identified. Extension of the ITBS general and group factors to subtests of the Cognitive Abilities Test supported the interpretations made of the various group factors.
PARTICIPATORY JOURNALISM PRACTICES IN THE MEDIA AND BEYOND

This article is a contribution to the debate on audience participation in online media with a twofold aim: (1) making conceptual sense of the phenomenon of participatory journalism in the framework of journalism research, and (2) determining the forms that it is taking in eight European countries and the United States. First, participatory journalism is considered in the context of the historical evolution of public communication. A methodological strategy for systematically analysing citizen participation opportunities in the media is then proposed and applied. A sample of 16 online newspapers offers preliminary data that suggest news organisations are interpreting online user participation mainly as an opportunity for their readers to debate current events, while other stages of the news production process are closed to citizen involvement or controlled by professional journalists when participation is allowed. However, different strategies exist among the studied sample, and contextual factors should be considered in further research.
Development and Validation of a Risk Score to Predict QT Interval Prolongation in Hospitalized Patients

Background—Identifying hospitalized patients at risk for QT interval prolongation could lead to interventions to reduce the risk of torsades de pointes. Our objective was to develop and validate a risk score for QT prolongation in hospitalized patients. Methods and Results—In this study, in a single tertiary care institution, consecutive patients (n=900) admitted to cardiac care units comprised the risk score development group. The score was then applied to 300 additional patients in a validation group. Corrected QT (QTc) interval prolongation (defined as QTc>500 ms or an increase of >60 ms from baseline) occurred in 274 (30.4%) and 90 (30.0%) patients in the development group and validation group, respectively. Independent predictors of QTc prolongation included the following: female (odds ratio, 1.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.1–2.0), diagnosis of myocardial infarction (2.4 [1.6–3.9]), sepsis (2.7 [1.5–4.8]), left ventricular dysfunction (2.7 [1.6–5.0]), administration of a QT-prolonging drug (2.8 [2.0–4.0]), ≥2 QT-prolonging drugs (2.6 [1.9–5.6]), or loop diuretic (1.4 [1.0–2.0]), age >68 years (1.3 [1.0–1.9]), serum K+ <3.5 mEq/L (2.1 [1.5–2.9]), and admitting QTc >450 ms (2.3; confidence interval [1.6–3.2]). Risk scores were developed by assigning points based on log odds ratios. Low-, moderate-, and high-risk ranges of 0 to 6, 7 to 10, and 11 to 21 points, respectively, best predicted QTc prolongation (C statistic=0.823). A high-risk score ≥11 was associated with sensitivity=0.74, specificity=0.77, positive predictive value=0.79, and negative predictive value=0.76. In the validation group, the incidences of QTc prolongation were 15% (low risk); 37% (moderate risk); and 73% (high risk). Conclusions—A risk score using easily obtainable clinical variables predicts patients at highest risk for QTc interval prolongation and may be useful in guiding monitoring and treatment decisions.
Killing Begets Killing: Evidence From a Bug-Killing Paradigm That Initial Killing Fuels Subsequent Killing

Killing appears to perpetuate itself even in the absence of retaliation. This phenomenon may occur in part as a means to justify prior killing and so ease the threat of prior killing. In addition, this effect should arise particularly when a killer perceives similarity to the victims because similarity should exacerbate threat from killing. To examine these ideas, the authors developed a bug-killing paradigm in which they manipulated the degree of initial bug killing in a “practice task” to observe the effects on subsequent self-paced killing during a timed “extermination task. ” In Studies 1 and 2, for participants reporting some similarity to bugs, inducing greater initial killing led to more subsequent self-paced killing. In Study 3, after greater initial killing, more subsequent self-paced killing led to more favorable affective change. Implications for understanding lethal human violence are discussed.
Sliding Mode Driving Strategy for Four-switch Three-phase Brushless DC Motor

Reviewing the direct current control of four-switch three-phase brushless DC motor (BLDCM), to theoretically explore the system operating mechanism in more depth, the paper put forward a novel sliding mode driving strategy. The uniform mathematic description equations of four-switch three-phase BLDCM were represented and six kinds of operating modes (mode1-mode6) were divided up into two groups, mode2, mode3, mode4, and mode5 classified as the first one and mode1, mode4 as the second one. With mode2 and mode1 taken for the examples of the first group and the second group respectively, the fundamental description equation and the standard state space description in every mode were provided, whereas the sliding mode plane, the convergence conditions and the sub-mode division in each mode were discussed. The system analytic solution derived the qualitative conclusions that the convergence domain in any mode was not the whole state space but a small subclass including the reference stable value. Furthermore an engineering method to calculate the system convergence domain of the sliding mode plane based on the Taylor series expansion was also introduced. To verify the feasibility of the plan, a complete simulation system in Matlab6.5/Simulink was built and the system convergence domain was determined. The whole theoretical analysis and the simulation results revealed the validity and reliability of the strategy
LYSOSOMAL PHYSIOLOGY IN TETRAHYMENA

Log-phase Tetrahymena were washed and resuspended in a dilute salt solution supplemented with glucose, acetate, pyruvate, or carmine, as desired, and then incubated for 5 h. Intra- and extracellular activities of acid phosphatase, α-glucosidase, and ribonuclease were assayed. Extracellular activities were corrected for proteolytic degradation. The three nutritive substrates affected both the amount and pattern of extracellular enzyme release, but carmine had no effect. Intracellular activities declined early in the starvation period, but partially recovered with time, particularly α-glucosidase activity. Acetate reduced the decline in acid phosphatase activity; acetate and glucose enhanced the recovery of α-glucosidase activity; carmine had no effect on intracellular enzyme activities. Protein content changed little and was unaffected by the addition of substrates. Glycogen content increased during incubation; acetate and glucose enhanced the increase.