Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Colorado thyroid disease prevalence study.

CONTEXT The prevalence of abnormal thyroid function in the United States and the significance of thyroid dysfunction remain controversial. Systemic effects of abnormal thyroid function have not been fully delineated, particularly in cases of mild thyroid failure. Also, the relationship between traditional hypothyroid symptoms and biochemical thyroid function is unclear. OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of abnormal thyroid function and the relationship between (1) abnormal thyroid function and lipid levels and (2) abnormal thyroid function and symptoms using modern and sensitive thyroid tests. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS Participants in a statewide health fair in Colorado, 1995 (N = 25 862). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Serum thyrotropin (thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH]) and total thyroxine (T4) concentrations, serum lipid levels, and responses to a hypothyroid symptoms questionnaire. RESULTS The prevalence of elevated TSH levels (normal range, 0.3-5.1 mIU/L) in this population was 9.5%, and the prevalence of decreased TSH levels was 2.2%. Forty percent of patients taking thyroid medications had abnormal TSH levels. Lipid levels increased in a graded fashion as thyroid function declined. Also, the mean total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels of subjects with TSH values between 5.1 and 10 mIU/L were significantly greater than the corresponding mean lipid levels in euthyroid subjects. Symptoms were reported more often in hypothyroid vs euthyroid individuals, but individual symptom sensitivities were low. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of abnormal biochemical thyroid function reported here is substantial and confirms previous reports in smaller populations. Among patients taking thyroid medication, only 60% were within the normal range of TSH. Modest elevations of TSH corresponded to changes in lipid levels that may affect cardiovascular health. Individual symptoms were not very sensitive, but patients who report multiple thyroid symptoms warrant serum thyroid testing. These results confirm that thyroid dysfunction is common, may often go undetected, and may be associated with adverse health outcomes that can be avoided by serum TSH measurement.
The Diversity of the Pollen Tube Pathway in Plants: Toward an Increasing Control by the Sporophyte

Plants, unlike animals, alternate multicellular diploid, and haploid generations in their life cycle. While this is widespread all along the plant kingdom, the size and autonomy of the diploid sporophyte and the haploid gametophyte generations vary along evolution. Vascular plants show an evolutionary trend toward a reduction of the gametophyte, reflected both in size and lifespan, together with an increasing dependence from the sporophyte. This has resulted in an overlooking of the importance of the gametophytic phase in the evolution of higher plants. This reliance on the sporophyte is most notorious along the pollen tube journey, where the male gametophytes have to travel a long way inside the sporophyte to reach the female gametophyte. Along evolution, there is a change in the scenery of the pollen tube pathway that favors pollen competition and selection. This trend, toward apparently making complicated what could be simple, appears to be related to an increasing control of the sporophyte over the gametophyte with implications for understanding plant evolution.
Exposing digital video forgery by ghost shadow artifact

In the digital multimedia era, it is increasingly important to ensure the integrity and authenticity of the vast volumes of video data. A novel approach is proposed for detecting video forgery based on ghost shadow artifact in this paper. Ghost shadow artifact is usually introduced when moving objects are removed by video inpainting. In our approach, ghost shadow artifact is accurately detected by inconsistencies of the moving foreground segmented from the video frames and the moving track obtained from the accumulative frame differences, thus video forgery is exposed. Experiments show that our approach achieves promising results in video forgery detection.
The Bullying Phenomenon: Definition, Prevention, and Intervention

Bullying not only affects victims, but also perpetrators, bystanders, and society at large. Despite concentrated efforts from schools, community organizations, and governing bodies, not only has traditional bullying continued, but bullying has now carried over to cyberspace. Until a better understanding of the motivations behind bullying acts is identified, this phenomenon will continue. This study sought to enhance current knowledge regarding bullying, specifically participant’s understanding of bullying and cyberbullying, and their reaction to being involved in or witnessing bullying incidents. One hundred and eighty-one first and second year students at Mount Saint Vincent University who were enrolled full-time in an arts, science or professional program completed a researcher designed questionnaire. The majority of the participants were female (76.9%) between the ages of 18 and 20. Qualitative analysis, using a modified grounded theory approach, was used to analysis participants’ responses to open ended questions. Quantitative data analysis of dichotomous items was limited to the calculation of means, ranges, and percentages. As the number of participants in the gender, age, university program, and ethnic groups were so skewed, statistical comparisons were not feasible. Participants were divided fairly evenly by geographic region, but Chi square calculations revealed no statistically significant differences between the two groups. The majority of participants (63.9%) reported being bullied, 26.7% reported bullying others and 82.2% reported witnessing bullying incidents. They also had a good understanding of what constitutes bullying, noting that it went beyond physical harm, typically occurred more than once, and was usually intentional. Interventions, unfortunately, only took place 20.5% of the time and of these, slightly over half were viewed as effective in stopping bullying acts. Many reasons for both bullying and stopping bullying behaviours revolved around peer influence; bullies sought peer acceptance via bullying others, and ceased behaviours when peers did not provide the desired attention. Another explanation given for bullying was the bully seeking an increase in self worth and to feel better about themselves by making others feel worse. These results suggest that increasing peer intervention and decreasing peer approval may be an effective method to aid in the discontinuation of bullying behaviours. The results of this study also suggest that an effective preventative approach may be to find other means of increasing potential perpetrator’s self esteem and confidence.
Spatial genetic structure of Aquilegia taxa endemic to the island of Sardinia.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The Mediterranean Basin is one of the most important regions for the Earth's plant biodiversity; however, the scarcity of studies on fine scale patterns of genetic variation in this region is striking. Here, an assessment is made of the spatial genetic structure of all known locations of the three Sardinian endemic species of Aquilegia in order to determine the relative roles of gene flow and genetic drift as underlying evolutionary forces canalizing the divergence of Sardinian Aquilegia taxa, and to see if the spatial genetic structure found fits the current taxonomic differentiation of these taxa. METHODS DNA from 89 individuals from all known locations of Aquilegia across Sardinia was analysed by means of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Both principal co-ordinates analysis (PCoA) and Bayesian clustering analyses were used to determine the spatial genetic structure irrespective of any taxonomic affiliation. Historical effects of gene flow and genetic drift were assessed by checking for the existence of isolation-by-distance patterns. KEY RESULTS STRUCTURE and PCoA analyses revealed a pattern of genetic variation geographically structured into four spatial genetic groups. No migration-drift equilibrium was detected for Aquilegia in Sardinia, when analysed either as a whole or in individual groups. The scenario approached a Case III pattern sensu Hutchinson and Templeton, which is associated with extreme isolation conditions where genetic drift has historically played a dominant role over gene flow. CONCLUSIONS The pattern of genetic variation of Sardinian taxa of Aquilegia indicates that genetic drift has been historically more influential than gene flow on population structure of Sardinian species of Aquilegia. Limited seed dispersal and divergent selection imposed by habitat conditions have been probably the main causes reinforcing post-Pleistocene geographical isolation of Aquilegia populations. The spatial genetic structure found here is not fully compatible with current taxonomic affiliations of Sardinian Aquilegia taxa. This is probably a consequence of the uncoupling between morphological and genetic patterns of differentiation frequently found in recently radiated taxa.
With a Little Help from My Enemy: Comparative Advertising as a Signal of Quality

We extend the theory of advertising as a quality signal, using a model where an entrant can choose to advertise by comparing its product to that of an established incumbent. Comparative advertising, comparing quality of one’s own product to that of a rival’s, empowers the latter to file for court intervention if it believes the comparison to be false or misleading. We show that comparative advertising can be a signal in instances where generic advertising is not viable.
Deliberative Democracy and Electoral Reform in South Africa: A Campus Experiment

ABSTRACT In the transition to an inclusive democracy, South Africa changed its electoral system for the national parliament to proportional representation. Ever since, there have been suggestions of electoral reform. So far, the debate has rarely involved ordinary citizens. This article presents the results of a Deliberation Day on Electoral Reform in South Africa at the University of Cape Town. This campus experiment in deliberative democracy was part of a project-based course for MA students in Political Studies. The outcomes are as predicted in the literature: the knowledge of the 47 student participants increased and their opinions became more coherent. The student participants were highly critical about South Africa’s political system and demanded more accountability through the electoral system. The most striking, and encouraging, outcome was the unanimous support for more deliberation on campus. The findings presented here suggest the potential of deliberative democracy for organising the national debate on electoral reform as well as for communication inside South Africa’s universities.
Hyperglycemia Interacts with Ischemia in a Synergistic Way on Wound Repair and Myofibroblast Differentiation

Background: Hyperglycemia is known to adversely affect the outcome of ischemic insults, but its interaction with ischemia has not been investigated in wound repair yet. In this study, we develop a new animal model allowing to investigate the interaction between hyperglycemia and ischemia during the wound repair process. We focus on myofibroblast differentiation, a key element of wound repair. Methods: Ischemia was inflicted in Wistar rats by resection of the femoral to popliteal arteries on the left side, whereas arteries were dissected without resection on the right side. Full-thickness skin wounds (1 cm2) were created on both feet. Hyperglycemia was induced by injection of streptozotocin. Normoglycemic animals served as control (n = 23/group). Blood flow, wound closure, and myofibroblast expression were measured. Results: Wound closure was significantly delayed in ischemic compared with nonischemic wounds in all rats. This delay was almost 5-fold exacerbated in hyperglycemic rats compared with normoglycemic rats, while hyperglycemia alone showed only a slight effect on wound repair. Delayed wound repair was associated with impaired wound contraction and myofibroblast differentiation. Conclusions: Our model allows to specifically quantify the effect of hyperglycemia and ischemia alone or in combination on wound repair. We show that hyperglycemia amplifies the inhibitory effect of ischemia on wound repair and myofibroblast expression. Our data reveal for the first time the synergic aspect of this interaction and therefore stress the importance of a strict glycemic control in the management of ischemic wounds.
[6]-Gingerol Induces Cell Cycle Arrest and Cell Death of Mutant p53-expressing Pancreatic Cancer Cells

[6]-Gingerol, a major phenolic compound derived from ginger, has anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor activities. While several molecular mechanisms have been described to underlie its effects on cells in vitro and in vivo, the underlying mechanisms by which [6]-gingerol exerts anti-tumorigenic effects are largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the action of [6]-gingerol on two human pancreatic cancer cell lines, HPAC expressing wild-type (wt) p53 and BxPC-3 expressing mutated p53. We found that [6]-gingerol inhibited the cell growth through cell cycle arrest at G1 phase in both cell lines. Western blot analyses indicated that [6]-gingerol decreased both Cyclin A and Cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) expression. These events led to reduction in Rb phosphorylation followed by blocking of S phase entry. p53 expression was decreased by [6]-gingerol treatment in both cell lines suggesting that the induction of Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p21cip1, was p53-independent. [6]-Gingerol induced mostly apoptotic death in the mutant p53-expressing cells, while no signs of early apoptosis were detected in wild type p53-expressing cells and this was related to the increased phosphorylation of AKT. These results suggest that [6]-gingerol can circumvent the resistance of mutant p53-expressing cells towards chemotherapy by inducing apoptotic cell death while it exerts cytostatic effect on wild type p53-expressing cells by inducing temporal growth arrest.
Understanding the Effects of Early Motherhood in Britain: The Effects on Mothers

This paper examines the socio-economic consequences of teenage motherhood for a cohort of British women born in 1970. We employ a number of methods to control for observed and unobserved differences between women who gave birth as a teenager and those who do not. We present results from conventional linear regression models, a propensity score matching estimator, and an instrumental variable estimator that uses miscarriage data to control for unobserved characteristics influencing selection into teenage motherhood. We consider the effects on equivalised family income at age 30, and its constituent parts. We find significant negative effects of teenage motherhood using methods that control only for observed characteristics using linear regression or matching methods. However once unobserved heterogeneity is also taken into account, the evidence for large negative effects becomes much less clear-cut. We look at older and younger teenage mothers separately and find that the negative effects are not necessarily stronger for teenagers falling pregnant before age 18 compared with those falling pregnant between 18 and 20, which could further suggest that some of the negative effects of teenage motherhood are temporary.
Asset Informativeness and Market Valuation of Firm Assets 1

We empirically examine whether market valuations of (cid:133)rm assets are higher when the accounting measurement of these assets provide more information about the e¢ ciency of (cid:133)rm assets in generating future economic incomes (i.e., "asset informativeness"), holding the level of e¢ ciency constant. We proxy for asset informativeness by the R-square from a (cid:133)rm-speci(cid:133)c regression of future earnings on past assets. We document a signi(cid:133)cant (both statistically and economically) positive relation between our measure of asset informativeness and both marginal and average values of (cid:133)rm assets. The relation is robust to alternative estimation methods, and to the inclusion of a variety of measures controlling for (cid:133)rms(cid:146)pro(cid:133)tability, volatility, and risk. Cross-sectionally, we (cid:133)nd that the value of asset informativeness is stronger for growth (cid:133)rms, (cid:133)rms with better shareholder protection, and fewer (cid:133)nancial constraints. We do not (cid:133)nd any signi(cid:133)cant relation between returns and asset informativeness. We interpret these (cid:133)ndings as consistent with the idea that accounting assets provide information about the e¢ ciency of (cid:133)rm decisions that generate future earnings and such information facilitates better decision-making at (cid:133)rm levels and increases (cid:133)rm values.
Nitrogen enrichment, boron depletion and magnetic fields in slowly-rotating B-type dwarfs

Evolutionary models for massive stars, accounting for rotational mixing effects, do not predict any core-processed material at the surface of B dwarfs with low rotational velocities. Contrary to theoretical expectations, we present a detailed and fully-homogeneous, NLTE abundance analysis of 20 early B-type dwarfs and (sub)giants that reveals the existence of a population of nitrogen-rich and boron-depleted, yet intrinsically slowly-rotating objects. The low-rotation rate of several of these stars is firmly established, either from the occurrence of phase-locked UV wind line-profile variations, which can be ascribed to rotational modulation, or from theoretical modelling in the pulsating variables. The observational data presently available suggest a higher incidence of chemical peculiarities in stars with a (weak) detected magnetic field. This opens the possibility that magnetic phenomena are important in altering the photospheric abundances of early B dwarfs, even for surface field strengths at the one hundred Gauss level. However, further spectropolarimetric observations are needed to assess the validity of this hypothesis.
Contagion Channels between Real Estate and Financial Markets

The recent crisis has demonstrated the linkages between asset classes within a country as well as the association between assets internationally. We provide for a better understanding of some of these linkages by conducting an empirical investigation of the channels underlying the risk of contagion between real estate investment trusts (REITs) and stocks in the United States. We test for three financial mechanisms potentially driving contagion. A behavioral dimension in the crisis propagation is also examined by considering investor sentiment and panic risk. We find that contagion prevails between REITs and stocks and that this phenomenon is driven by behavioral and liquidity mechanisms.
Shesher and Welala Floodplain Wetlands (Lake Tana, Ethiopia): Are They Important Breeding Habitats for Clarias gariepinus and the Migratory Labeobarbus Fish Species?

This study aims at investigating the spawning migration of the endemic Labeobarbus species and C. gariepinus from Lake Tana, through Ribb River, to Welala and Shesher wetlands. The study was conducted during peak spawning months (July to October, 2010). Fish were collected through overnight gillnet settings. A total of 1725 specimens of the genus Labeobarbus (13 species) and 506 specimens of C. gariepinus were collected. Six species of Labeobarbus formed prespawning aggregation at Ribb River mouth. However, no Labeobarbus species was found to spawn in the two wetlands. More than 90% of the catch in Welala and Shesher wetlands was contributed by C. gariepinus. This implies that these wetlands are ideal spawning and nursery habitats for C. gariepinus but not for the endemic Labeobarbus species. Except L. intermedius, all the six Labeobarbus species (aggregated at Ribb River mouth) and C. gariepinus (spawning at Shesher and Welala wetlands) were temporally segregated.
Do iPads promote symbolic understanding and word learning in children with autism?

The use of the Apple iPad has skyrocketed in educational settings, along with largely unsubstantiated claims of its efficacy for learning and communication in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Here, we examine whether children with ASD are better able to learn new word–referent relations using an iPad or a traditional picture book. We also examine the hypothesis that presenting multiple, differently colored, exemplars of a target referent will promote adaptive label generalization compared to the use of a single exemplar. Sixteen minimally verbal children with ASD were taught a new word in four within-subjects conditions, which varied by media (iPad vs. book) and content (single vs. multiple exemplar presentation). Children were then tested on the ability to symbolically relate the word to a 3-D referent (real-life depicted object) and generalize it to a differently colored category member (another similarly shaped object). The extent of symbolic understanding did not differ between the two media, and levels of generalization did not differ across conditions. However, presentation of multiple exemplars increased the rate that children with ASD extended labels from pictures to depicted objects. Our findings are discussed in terms of the importance of content to picture-based learning and the potential benefits and challenges of using the Apple iPad as an educational resource for children with ASD.
The (limited) effect of emotional arousal in the regulation of accuracy in eyewitness memory

Abstract Witnesses encoding a crime are likely to feel negative emotions with high arousal, e.g., anxiety or fear. Negative emotions improve memory for central information and impair memory for peripheral information. In this study we explored the effects of emotional arousal and type of information in the regulation of accuracy. The regulation of accuracy allows participants to maximize accuracy, for example, by deciding on the number of alternatives in their response (the plurality option). Participants were induced with high-and low-arousal negative emotions and then shown a slideshow of a crime. Afterwards, they answered questions about central and peripheral contents of the event. Questions followed the basic plurality option procedure. First, participants selected one alternative (single answer); second, they selected three alternatives (plural answer); and, finally, they decided on reporting either the single or the plural answer. Results showed successful manipulation of arousal, and that the regulation of accuracy led to a greater increase in accuracy for peripheral than for central information, but no differences depending on the level of arousal. We also identified two factors that increased accuracy in the plurality option: the ability to discard answers with low chances of being correct and the addition of answers with higher chances of being correct. Either one, or both, can increase witness accuracy.
Do parasite burdens in spring influence condition and fecundity of female mountain hares Lepus timidus?

Mountain hare Lepus timidus populations show unstable dynamics with regular 7–10 year fluctuations in abundance. We tested the hypothesis that parasites destabilise hare dynamics by experimentally reducing parasite burdens and recording female body condition and fecundity. We trapped and radio tagged 42 female hares in April 2000 and 2001 in the Central Highlands of Scotland. Of these, 23 were treated with Ivermectin to remove intestinal parasites and 19 were left untreated as controls. The treated and untreated hares were killed in October together with a second control group of 19 unhandled hares. Treatment with Ivermectin reduced the abundance of the parasite Trichostrongylus retortaeformis and increased the body condition of hares. There was a trend for increased fecundity in treated hares, but this was not statistically significant. Our study demonstrates that parasites can reduce mountain hare condition and may affect their fecundity. We conclude that a host-parasite interaction is a possible mechanism for destabilising mountain hare dynamics.