Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How Orthogonal Are the Big Two of Social Perception? On the Curvilinear Relation Between Agency and Communion

Humans make sense of their social environment by forming impressions of others that allow predicting others’ actions. In this process of social perception, two types of information carry pivotal importance: other entities’ communion (i.e., warmth and trustworthiness) and agency (i.e., status and power). Although commonly thought of as orthogonal dimensions, we propose that these Big Two of social perception are curvilinearly related. Specifically, as we delineate from four different theoretical explanations, impressions of communion should peak at average agency, while entities too high or too low on agency should be perceived as low on communion. We show this pattern for social groups across one novel and five previously published data sets, including a meta-analysis of the most comprehensive data collection in the group perception literature, consisting of 36 samples from more than 20 countries. Addressing the generalizability of this curvilinear relation, we then report recent and unpublished experiments establishing the effect for the perception of individuals and animals. On the basis of the proposed curvilinear relation, we revisit the primacy of processing communion (rather than agency) information. Finally, we discuss the possibility of a more general curvilinear relation between communion and dimensions other than agency.
Association Between a Polymorphism (rs2071214) in Baculoviral IAP Repeat Containing 5 Gene (BIRC5) and Ischemic Stroke in Korean Population

Objective To investigate whether baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) repeat containing 5 gene (BIRC5) polymorphisms are associated with the development and clinical phenotypes of ischemic stroke in Korea population. Methods We enrolled 121 ischemic stroke patients and 291 control subjects. Ischemic stroke patients were divided into subgroups according to the scores of National Institutes of Health Stroke Survey (<6 or ≥6) and Modified Barthel Index (<60 or ≥60). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of BIRC5 (rs3764383 and rs2071214) were selected and genotyped by direct sequencing for all subjects. Multiple logistic regression models (codominant 1 and 2, dominant, recessive, overdominant and log-additive) were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs), 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and p-values. Results In analysis of stroke susceptibility, the genotype and allele frequencies of rs3764383 exhibited no difference between the control group and the ischemic stroke group. SNP rs2071214 was associated with ischemic stroke in the codominant (p=0.003), dominant (p=0.002), overdominant (p=0.005), and log-additive (p=0.008) models, respectively. The G allele frequency of rs2071214 was significantly (p=0.009) associated with susceptibility for ischemic stroke (OR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.12–2.21). However, in the analysis for clinical phenotype, no SNP of the BIRC5 gene was found to be associated with ischemic stroke. Conclusion These results suggest that a missense SNP (rs2071214) of BIRC5 may be associated with the development of ischemic stroke in the Korean population.
What Drives the Smile and the Tear: Why Women Are More Emotionally Expressive Than Men

In this article we examine gender differences in nonverbal expressiveness, with a particular focus on crying and smiling. We show that women cry and smile more as well as show more facial expressiveness in general, but that the size of this gender difference varies with the social and emotional context. We interpret this variation within a contextual framework (see also Brody & Hall, 2008; Deaux & Major, 1987; LaFrance, Hecht, & Paluck, 2003). More specifically, we distinguish three factors that predict the size of gender differences in emotional expressiveness: gender-specific norms, social role and situational constraints, and emotional intensity. These factors interact in different ways for smiling and crying.
Invasive group G streptococcal infections: a review of 37 cases.

BACKGROUND Beta-hemolytic streptococci group A, B, and D which cause many diseases have been well studied. Infection caused by group G Streptococcus has increased in clinical significance, and thus is attracting more physicians attention. This retrospective analysis reports clinical experience with such infections at the Veterans General Hospital-Taipei. METHODS Medical records of invasive group G streptococcal isolates from March 1991 to April 1994 were reviewed. Thirty-seven cases were included. RESULTS There were 33 males and 4 females with a mean age of 67.4. Major underlying diseases included diabetes (24.3%), cardiovascular diseases (21.6%), malignancy (21.6%), bone or joint diseases (18.9%) and cirrhosis of the liver (13.5%). Only 8.1% cases had no underlying disease. The most common portal of entry was the skin (64.9%). There was a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, including cellulitis (32.4%), arthritis or osteomyelitis (16.2%), endocarditis (8.1%), meningitis (8.1%), peritonitis (8.1%), empyema (5.4%) and primary bacteremia (27%). All of these isolates were susceptible to penicillin, oxacillin, cefazolin, clindamycin and vancomycin. Ten patients died, and five of these expired from group G streptococcal infections. CONCLUSIONS Group G Streptococcus is a low virulent microorganism. Clinical improvement after therapy is fast. Poor response to antibiotics should prompt investigation of the underlying diseases or undrained foci of infection.
Biphasic Regulation of Il2 Transcription in CD4+ T Cells: Roles for TNF-α Receptor Signaling and Chromatin Structure1

We describe a novel biphasic regulation of Il2 transcription in naive CD4+ T cells. Few (∼5%) CD4+ T cells transcribe Il2 within 6 h of anti-TCR-β plus anti-CD28 stimulation (early phase). Most naive CD4+ T cells do not initiate Il2 transcription until after an additional ∼12 h of T cell stimulation (late phase). In comparison, essentially all previously activated (Pre-Ac) CD4+ T cells that transcribe Il2 do so with an early-phase response. Late-phase Il2 expression mostly requires c-Rel, CD28, and TNFR signaling. In contrast, early-phase transcription is only partly c-Rel and CD28 dependent and TNFR independent. There was also increased stable DNA accessibility at the Il2 locus and elevated c-Rel expression in resting Pre-Ac CD4+ cells. Upon T cell activation, a faster and greater increase in DNA accessibility as well as c-Rel nuclear expression were observed in Pre-Ac CD4+ cells relative to naive CD4+ T cells. In addition, both acetylated histone H3 and total H3 decreased at the Il2 locus upon rechallenge of Pre-Ac CD4+ T cells, whereas increased acetylated histone H3 with no change in total H3 was observed following activation of naive CD4+ T cells. We propose a model in which nucleosome disassembly facilitates rapid initiation of Il2 transcription in CD4+ T cells, and suggest that a threshold level of c-Rel must be reached for Il2 promoter activity in both naive and Pre-Ac CD4+ T cells. This is provided, at least partially, by TNFR signaling during priming, but not during recall.
Low-dose bioactivity of xenoestrogens in animals: fetal exposure to low doses of methoxychlor and other xenoestrogens increases adult prostate size in mice

The hormonal activity of natural estrogens is influenced by the degree to which they bind to serum proteins. In the pregnant female and in the fetus, greater than 99% of estradiol may be bound by serum binding proteins. Therefore, even though total serum levels of estradiol appear very high in fetuses, we have found that in rodent fetuses, there is a very low free concentration of estradiol (0.2 pg/ml). Naturally occurring variation in fetal serum estradiol predicts differences in numerous postnatal traits, including prostate size. In addition, when this low level of free estradiol was experimentally increased from 0.2 to 0.3 pg/ml during the last third of fetal life, treated male mice showed an increase in adult prostate weight. Fetal exposure to low doses of xenobiotic estrogens by feeding to pregnant females, including the compounds methoxychlor (20 and 2000 μg/kg body weight), DES (0.02 to 2 μg/kg body weight) and bisphenol A (2 and 20 μg/kg body weight), also led to increased prostate weight in adulthood. In contrast, fetal doses of natural estradiol and DES above the physiological range of estrogenic activity, and within a toxicological dose range, led to the opposite outcome, a reduction in subsequent adult prostate weight. This indicates that it may be impossible to assess endocrine-disrupting activities in response to low doses within a physiological range of activity by using high, toxic doses of xenoestrogens in testing procedures. We have developed approaches in vitro to predict the potential estrogenic bioactivity of compounds in the physiologically relevant range in animals and humans. We address the following factors in predicting the final observed endocrine-disrupting effect in the animal: (1) the intrinsic estrogenic activity of a given molecule, (2) the effective free concentration determined by how the molecule is carried in serum, (3) partitioning between aqueous and lipid compartments in body and cell lipids, and (4) absorption and metabolism relative to the route of exposure. The studies and strategies we describe are important in developing criteria for a tiered testing system for the detection of estrogenic chemicals as well as endocrine-disrupting chemicals with different modes of action.
Rubber Hands Feel Touch, but Not in Blind Individuals

Psychology and neuroscience have a long-standing tradition of studying blind individuals to investigate how visual experience shapes perception of the external world. Here, we study how blind people experience their own body by exposing them to a multisensory body illusion: the somatic rubber hand illusion. In this illusion, healthy blindfolded participants experience that they are touching their own right hand with their left index finger, when in fact they are touching a rubber hand with their left index finger while the experimenter touches their right hand in a synchronized manner (Ehrsson et al. 2005). We compared the strength of this illusion in a group of blind individuals (n = 10), all of whom had experienced severe visual impairment or complete blindness from birth, and a group of age-matched blindfolded sighted participants (n = 12). The illusion was quantified subjectively using questionnaires and behaviorally by asking participants to point to the felt location of the right hand. The results showed that the sighted participants experienced a strong illusion, whereas the blind participants experienced no illusion at all, a difference that was evident in both tests employed. A further experiment testing the participants' basic ability to localize the right hand in space without vision (proprioception) revealed no difference between the two groups. Taken together, these results suggest that blind individuals with impaired visual development have a more veridical percept of self-touch and a less flexible and dynamic representation of their own body in space compared to sighted individuals. We speculate that the multisensory brain systems that re-map somatosensory signals onto external reference frames are less developed in blind individuals and therefore do not allow efficient fusion of tactile and proprioceptive signals from the two upper limbs into a single illusory experience of self-touch as in sighted individuals.
IgG3 cryoglobulins in autoimmune MRL-lpr/lpr mice: immunopathogenesis, therapeutic approaches and relevance to similar human diseases.

MRL-lpr/lpr mice spontaneously develop an autoimmune disease resembling systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. One of the unique serological abnormalities in this strain is remarkably high concentrations of cryoglobulins. Analysis of immunoglobulin components in their cryoglobulins has shown selective enrichment of a particular IgG subclass, IgG3. As IgG3 enrichment is also found in two other cryoglobulins, which are induced after injection with bacterial lipopolysaccharides or infection with malaria, IgG3 apparently represents a major source of murine cryoglobulins. Studies on murine IgG3 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have clearly shown that murine IgG3 have the unique physiochemical property to self associate through non-specific IgG3 Fc-Fc interaction, and that most of them can generate monoclonal cryoglobulins. Most strikingly, IgG3 monoclonal cryoglobulins with rheumatoid factor (RF) activity induce extensive pathological manifestations: skin vascular purpura and glomerulonephritis with 'wire loop' lesions. Although the cryoglobulin activity of IgG3 RF mAb is solely responsible for the generation of glomerular lesions (both RF and cryoglobulin activities are necessary for skin vascular lesions), the absence of nephritogenic activity by some IgG3 cryoglobulins supports the idea that qualitative features of cryoglobulins are critical to determine their pathogenic activity. The demonstration of a positive correlation between the production of IgG3 cryoglobulins and the development of lupus nephritis in MRL-lpr/lpr mice further substantiates the pathological importance of cryogenic autoantibodies. On the other hand, it should be emphasised that non-cryogenerating IgG3 autoantibodies may not be harmful, but even protective, as a result of their interaction with pathogenic IgG3 cryoglobulins. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Density Estimation in Several Populations With Uncertain Population Membership

We devise methods to estimate probability density functions of several populations using observations with uncertain population membership, meaning from which population an observation comes is unknown. The probability of an observation being sampled from any given population can be calculated. We develop general estimation procedures and bandwidth selection methods for our setting. We establish large-sample properties and study finite-sample performance using simulation studies. We illustrate our methods with data from a nutrition study.
Diurnal changes in serum triglycerides as related to changes in lipolytic enzymes, (apo) lipoproteins and hormones in normal subjects on a carbohydrate‐rich diet

Abstract. Normal subjects in steady state on a carbohydrate‐rich diet (three equivalent meals a day at 9.00, 13.00 and 17.00 h), show a wave‐like serum triglyceride (TG) pattern with a peak at 14.00 h. Post‐heparin lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity increased from a mean value of 49 mU/ml ± 13 (SD) in the fasting state to 127 mU/ml ± 18 in the fed state (P < 0±005). This was due to an increase in adipose tissue LPL activity which, at 16.30 and 21.30 h, was significantly higher than basal levels (12.3 ± 81.5 and 87.7 ± 23.2 v. 43.3 ± 9.3 mU/g, P < 005 and P < 001, respectively). Skeletal muscle LPL activity was low (5.8 mU/g ± 2.3, mean ± SD) and showed no diurnal change. The observed changes in TG‐hydrolysing capacity in the course of the day might explain the TG‐pattern.
Does amount of weight gain during pregnancy modify the association between obesity and cesarean section delivery?

BACKGROUND Two-thirds of reproductive-aged women in the United States are overweight or obese and at risk for numerous associated adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study examined whether the amount of weight gained during pregnancy modifies the prepregnancy body mass index (BMI)-cesarean delivery association. METHODS A total of 2,157 women aged 18-45 who participated in the 2008-2009 North Carolina Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System had complete information on prepregnancy BMI, maternal weight gain, and mode of delivery on infant birth certificates. Logistic regression was used to obtain odds ratios (ORs) and 95 percent confidence intervals (CIs) to model the association between prepregnancy BMI and cesarean delivery, and a stratified analysis was conducted to determine whether maternal weight gain was an effect modifier of the prepregnancy BMI-cesarean delivery association. RESULTS Obese women had 1.78 times the odds of cesarean delivery as compared with women with a normal BMI (95% CI: 1.44-2.16). When adjusted for race/ethnicity, live birth order, household income, and education, the association increased in magnitude and remained statistically significant (OR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.63-2.43). In stratified analyses, the obesity-cesarean delivery association persisted and remained statistically significant among all maternal weight gain categories. CONCLUSIONS Health care practitioners should stress the importance of achieving a healthy prepregnancy weight and gaining an appropriate amount of weight during pregnancy to reduce the risk of cesarean delivery and other adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Determinants of serum T4 and T3 at the time of diagnosis in nosological types of thyrotoxicosis: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE To characterize thyroid hormone levels at the time of diagnosis in the nosological types of thyrotoxicosis diagnosed in the population and to analyze determinants for serum thyroxine (T4) and tri-iodothyronine (T3). DESIGN Population-based study of thyrotoxicosis at disease onset. METHODS In the period 1997-2000, we prospectively identified all patients diagnosed with incident primary overt thyrotoxicosis in a Danish population cohort and classified patients into ten well-defined nosological types of disease (n=1082). Untreated levels of serum T3, T4, and T3:T4 ratio were compared and related to sex, age, level of iodine deficiency, smoking status, alcohol intake, iodine supplement use, co-morbidity, and TSH receptor antibodies (TRAbs) in multivariate models. RESULTS Graves' disease (GD) patients had much higher levels of T3 and higher T3:T4 ratio at diagnosis compared with other thyrotoxic patients, but with a profound negative association between hormone levels and age. In GD, patients diagnosed in the area with more severe iodine deficiency had lower levels of T3 and T4. TRAb-negative GD patients had biochemically mild thyrotoxicosis. Higher age was also associated with lower degree of biochemical thyrotoxicosis in nodular toxic goiter. We found no association between serum T3 and T4 and sex, smoking habits, iodine supplements, alcohol intake, or co-morbidity in any type of thyrotoxicosis. CONCLUSIONS The study gives new insight into the hormonal presentation of thyrotoxicosis and showed that young age, positive TRAb levels, but also residency in the area with higher iodine intake was positively associated with biochemical disruption in GD.
Reef Island Evolution and Dynamics: Insights from the Indian and Pacific Oceans and Perspectives for the Spermonde Archipelago

Along southwestern Sulawesi, Indonesia, the Spermonde Archipelago comprises some 120 islands of variable size and degree of anthropogenic modification. Comparable to adjacent areas in Southeast Asia, the Spermonde Archipelago is characterized by the congregation of a naturally high marine biodiversity and, at the same time, a high population density influencing the surrounding environmental conditions. As a consequence, during the last decades, research projects that have been carried out in the Spermonde mainly focused on social, ecological, political and economic interactions. However, geological and geomorphological aspects of the coral reef islands are less well understood and there have been few studies undertaken since the pioneering work of Umbgrove, Kuenen and Verstappen in the Indonesian archipelago in the early to mid-20th century. Here we review the existing studies, with a focus on the Spermonde Archipelago, and reconcile them with more recent works on reef island evolution and dynamics from the Indian and Pacific Oceans. This synthesis shows that reef islands in the Spermonde Archipelago are well suited for geomorphological investigations, and provides perspectives for future reef island research in that area that will have global interest. We identify four research priorities: 1) To identify the timing and chronology of island formation; 2) Improved understanding of carbonate budgets and sediment generation that contribute to island building; 3) Document morphological changes in reef islands at seasonal to decadal timescales, and; 4) Quantify the process regime that drives sediment transport and island change with particular focus on the role of different monsoon seasons.
Creating Peace in Our Communities: An analysis of community reconciliation techniques

Given the rise in efforts to resolve race issues in American communities and ethnic conflicts internationally through open communication techniques, I examine ways that these efforts can be carried out more effectively by analyzing the structure of dialogue centered on race at a large university in a rural area of the Southeast. For that purpose, survey data was collected from students before and after they attended an open forum about race and race relations on their campus to determine the impact of the forum on students' perceptions and attitudes regarding race in their community. In addition, I draw from two specific examples of intergroup dialogue to illustrate how communication methods employed in various communities facing conflicts impacted the conflict resolution process. Based on this research, I argue for the development of an improved model to facilitate difficult discussions surrounding conflicts based on race and ethnicity. Thesis Mentor:________________________ Dr. Darin H. Van Tassell Honors Director:________________________ Dr. Steven Engel April 2016 Department of Political Science and International Studies University Honors Program Georgia Southern University Running head: CREATING PEACE IN OUR COMMUNITIES 1
On the stability of church attendance patterns during a time of demographic change : 1965-1988

Demographic changes in the United States over the past 20 years (i.e., the aging of the baby boomers) should have led to an increase in church attendance. However, church attendance patterns during this period have remained relatively stable. It is suggested that this is only possible if (1) baby boomers are not attending church with greater frequency as they age ; (2) age effects are being offset by period effects moving in the opposite direction (a secularization hypothesis) ; or (3) age effects are being offset through a process of intergenerational exchange whereby younger cohorts throughout their life course attend church less frequently than older cohorts. These three possibilities are tested using Bayesian cohort analysis and the General Social Survey data set. Results support the third explanation. The gains associated with the aging of the baby boomers appear to be primarily offset by cohort effects. Specifically, pre-WWII cohorts attend church far more frequently than post-WWII cohorts. Therefore, as members of these older cohorts die and are replaced by younger cohorts, church attendance decreases, thereby offsetting any gains in attendance associated with the shifting age structure of the U.S. population.
Subtraction of correlated noise in global networks of gravitational-wave interferometers

The recent discovery of merging black holes suggests that a stochastic gravitational-wave background is within reach of the advanced detector network operating at design sensitivity. However, correlated magnetic noise from Schumann resonances threatens to contaminate observation of a stochastic background. In this paper, we report on the first effort to eliminate intercontinental correlated noise from Schumann resonances using Wiener filtering. Using magnetometers as proxies for gravitational-wave detectors, we demonstrate as much as a factor of two reduction in the coherence between magnetometers on different continents. While much work remains to be done, our results constitute a proof-of-principle and motivate follow-up studies with a dedicated array of magnetometers.