Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Setting the Stage for Self-Regulated Learning Instruction and Metacognition Instruction in Musical Practice

Over the last two decades, the concept of self-regulated learning (SRL) has guided scientific approaches to understand successful learning in different fields. Self-regulatory processes were shown to explain achievement differences in students, and SRL may effectively improve achievement in students of different proficiency levels (Zimmerman and Schunk, 2011). Self-regulation refers to “self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions that are planned and cyclically adapted to the attainment of personal goals” (Zimmerman, 2000, p. 14). Three interacting learning phases have been described: forethought (characterized by goal setting, strategic planning, self-beliefs), performance phase (with the application of strategies, self-observation), and self-reflection (including self-evaluation, attribution, self-reaction). Self-regulated actions and processes include feedback-loops on the personal, behavioral, and environmental level (Zimmerman, 2000). In the educational literature, the terms SRL and metacognition are sometimes used interchangeably (Dinsmore et al., 2008). Although there is a common conceptual core, metacognition and self-regulation are different constructs with different roots. Metacognition was originally referred to as knowledge about and regulation of one's cognitive activities in learning processes (Veenman and van Hout-Wolters, 2006). Central components are metacognitive knowledge, i.e., one's knowledge or beliefs about the interactions between person, task, and strategy characteristics, and metacognitive skills, i.e., the knowledge required for the regulation of and control over one's learning activities (Brown, 1978; Flavell, 1979; Veenman and Spaans, 2005). Metacognition plays a crucial role in successful learning. A large review study based on a meta-analysis of 179 sources identified metacognition as having the strongest influence on school learning (followed by classroom management, quantity of instruction, and social student/teacher interaction) among 30 potential predictor variables (Wang et al., 1990). As a consequence, metacognitive processes are of great interest for pedagogy in various domains.
Montanide, Poly I:C and nanoparticle based vaccines promote differential suppressor and effector cell expansion: a study of induction of CD8 T cells to a minimal Plasmodium berghei epitope

The development of practical and flexible vaccines to target liver stage malaria parasites would benefit from an ability to induce high levels of CD8 T cells to minimal peptide epitopes. Herein we compare different adjuvant and carrier systems in a murine model for induction of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) producing CD8 T cells to the minimal immuno-dominant peptide epitope from the circumsporozoite protein (CSP) of Plasmodium berghei, pb9 (SYIPSAEKI, referred to as KI). Two pro-inflammatory adjuvants, Montanide and Poly I:C, and a non-classical, non-inflammatory nanoparticle based carrier (polystyrene nanoparticles, PSNPs), were compared side-by-side for their ability to induce potentially protective CD8 T cell responses after two immunizations. KI in Montanide (Montanide + KI) or covalently conjugated to PSNPs (PSNPs-KI) induced such high responses, whereas adjuvanting with Poly I:C or PSNPs without conjugation was ineffective. This result was consistent with an observed induction of an immunosuppressed environment by Poly I:C in the draining lymph node (dLN) 48 h post injection, which was reflected by increased frequencies of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and a proportion of inflammation reactive regulatory T cells (Treg) expressing the tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2), as well as decreased dendritic cell (DC) maturation. The other inflammatory adjuvant, Montanide, also promoted proportional increases in the TNFR2+ Treg subpopulation, but not MDSCs, in the dLN. By contrast, injection with non-inflammatory PSNPs did not cause these changes. Induction of high CD8 T cell responses, using minimal peptide epitopes, can be achieved by non-inflammatory carrier nanoparticles, which in contrast to some conventional inflammatory adjuvants, do not expand either MDSCs or inflammation reactive Tregs at the site of priming.
Acupuncture for systemic lupus erythematosus: a pilot RCT feasibility and safety study

The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of studying acupuncture in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to pilot test the safety and explore benefits of a standardized acupuncture protocol designed to reduce pain and fatigue. Twenty-four patients with SLE were randomly assigned to receive 10 sessions of either acupuncture, minimal needling or usual care. Pain, fatigue and SLE disease activity were assessed at baseline and following the last sessions. Safety was assessed at each session. Fifty-two patients were screened to enroll 24 eligible and interested persons. Although transient side effects, such as brief needling pain and lightheadedness, were reported, no serious adverse events were associated with either the acupuncture or minimal needling procedures. Twenty-two participants completed the study, and the majority (85%) of acupuncture and minimal needling participants were able to complete their sessions within the specified time period of 5–6 weeks. 40% of patients who received acupuncture or minimal needling had ≥30% improvement on standard measures of pain, but no usual care patients showed improvement in pain. A ten-session course of acupuncture appears feasible and safe for patients with SLE. Benefits were similar for acupuncture and minimal needling.
Suppression of prostate cancer induced bone remodeling by the endothelin receptor A antagonist atrasentan.

PURPOSE We examined the effects of atrasentan (endothelin-A receptor antagonist) on bone deposition and resorption markers and on bone scan index. MATERIALS AND METHODS This double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial of hormone refractory prostate cancer patients was done at 74 medical centers in the United States and Europe. A total of 288 asymptomatic patients with hormone refractory prostate adenocarcinoma and evidence of metastatic disease were randomized to 1 of 3 treatment groups, namely 2.5 mg. atrasentan, 10 mg. atrasentan or placebo administered orally daily until disease progression. The main outcomes measures were changes in bone deposition markers (total alkaline phosphatase and bone alkaline phosphatase) and bone resorption (N-telopeptides, C-telopeptides and deoxypyridinoline), and in the bone scan index. RESULTS At baseline markers of bone deposition and resorption were elevated 1.4 to 2.7-fold above respective upper limits of normal. Subjects receiving placebo experienced a 58% elevation in mean total alkaline phosphatase and a 99% elevation in mean bone alkaline phosphatase (p < 0.001), whereas subjects receiving 10 mg. atrasentan maintained stable mean total alkaline phosphatase and bone alkaline phosphatase values compared with baseline. N-telopeptides, C-telopeptides and deoxypyridinoline elevation from baseline were consistently less in patients receiving 10 mg. atrasentan compared with placebo. Similar trends were observed in subjects who received 2.5 mg. atrasentan. Changes in clinical bone scan studies paralleled bone marker changes. CONCLUSIONS Atrasentan suppressed markers of biochemical and clinical prostate cancer progression in bone and demonstrates clinical activity for hormone refractory prostate cancer.
Purification and properties of glutamate synthase from Thiobacillus thioparus

Glutamate synthase was purified about 250-fold from Thiobacillus thioparus and was characterized. The molecular weight was estimated as 280,000 g/mol. The enzyme showed absorption maxima at 280, 380, and 450 nm and was inhibited by Atebrin, suggesting that T. thioparus glutamate synthase is a flavoprotein. The enzyme activity was also inhibited by iron chelators and thiolbinding agents. The enzyme was specific for reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and alpha-ketoglutarate, but L-glutamine was partially replaced by ammonia as the amino donor. The Km values of glutamate synthase for NADPH, alpha-ketoglutarate, and glutamine were 3.0 muM, 50 muM, and 1.1 mM, respectively. The enzyme had a pH optimum between 7.3 and 7.8. Glutamate synthase from T. thioparus was relatively insensitive to feedback inhibition by single amino acids but was sensitive to the combined effects of several amino acids. Enzymes involved in glutamate synthesis in T. thioparus were studied. Glutamine synthetase and glutamate synthase, as well as two glutamate dehydrogenases (NADH and NADPH dependent), were present in this organism. This levels of glutamate synthase and glutamate dehydrogenase were similar in T. thioparus grown on 0.7 or 7.0 mM ammonium sulfate. The sum of the activities of both glutamate dehydrogenases was only 1/25 of that of glutamate synthase under the assay conditions. It was concluded that the glutamine pathway is important for ammonia assimilation in this autotrophic bacterium.
Retinal Neurodegeneration in Wilson’s Disease Revealed by Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography

Background/Objective In addition to cirrhosis of the liver, Wilson’s disease leads to copper accumulation and widespread degeneration of the nervous system. Delayed visual evoked potentials (VEPs) suggest changes to the visual system and potential structural changes of the retina. Methods We used the latest generation of spectral domain optical coherence tomography to assess the retinal morphology of 42 patients with Wilson’s disease and 76 age- and sex-matched controls. We measured peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and total macular thickness and manually segmented all retinal layers in foveal scans of 42 patients with Wilson’s disease and 76 age- and sex-matched controls. The results were compared with VEPs and clinical parameters. Results The mean thickness of the RNFL, paramacular region, retinal ganglion cell/inner plexiform layer and inner nuclear layer was reduced in Wilson’s disease. VEPs were altered with delayed N75 and P100 latencies, but the N140 latency and amplitude was unchanged. An analysis of the laboratory parameters indicated that the serum concentrations of copper and caeruloplasmin positively correlated with the thickness of the outer plexiform layer and with N75 and P100 VEP latencies. Conclusion Neuronal degeneration in Wilson’s disease involves the retina and changes can be quantified by optical coherence tomography. While the VEPs and the thickness of the outer plexiform layer appear to reflect the current copper metabolism, the thicknesses of the RNFL, ganglion cell/inner plexiform layer, inner nuclear layer and the total paramacular thickness may be the best indicators of chronic neuronal degeneration.
Scan registration for autonomous mining vehicles using 3D‐NDT

Scan registration is an essential subtask when building maps based on range finder data from mobile robots. The problem is to deduce how the robot has moved between consecutive scans, based on the shape of overlapping portions of the scans. This paper presents a new algorithm for registration of 3D data. The algorithm is a generalization and improvement of the normal distributions transform (NDT) for 2D data developed by Biber and Strasser, which allows for accurate registration using a memory‐efficient representation of the scan surface. A detailed quantitative and qualitative comparison of the new algorithm with the 3D version of the popular ICP (iterative closest point) algorithm is presented. Results with actual mine data, some of which were collected with a new prototype 3D laser scanner, show that the presented algorithm is faster and slightly more reliable than the standard ICP algorithm for 3D registration, while using a more memory‐efficient scan surface representation. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
MR Spectroscopy in Multiple Sclerosis - A New Piece of the Puzzle or Just a New Puzzle

In the late ‘80s magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) revolutionized the care and monitoring of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). For the first time detailed, high resolution images of the brain, spinal cord and lesions could be made by MRI in vivo, and followed over time. However, the changes detectable on T1or T2-weighted magnetic resonance images are non-specific for the underlying pathology, especially in MS patients, and slow down the enthusiasm. They may reflect edema, demyelination, axonal loss, inflammation, gliosis, remyelination, or Wallerian degeneration in MS.
The Demography of Corporations and Industries

Most analysts of corporations and industries adopt the focal perspective of a single prototypical organization. Many analysts also study corporations primarily in terms of their internal organizational structures or as complex systems of financial contracts. Glenn Carroll and Michael Hannan bring fresh insight to our understanding of corporations and the industries they comprise by looking beyond prototypical structures to focus on the range and diversity of organizations in their social and economic setting. The result is a rich rendering of analysis that portrays whole populations and communities of corporations. "The Demography of Corporations and Industries" is the first book to present the demographic approach to organizational studies in its entirety. It examines the theory, models, methods, and data used in corporate demographic research. Carroll and Hannan explore the processes by which corporate populations change over time, including organizational founding, growth, decline, structural transformation, and mortality. They review and synthesize the major theoretical mechanisms of corporate demography, ranging from aging and size dependence to population segregation and density dependence. The book also explores some selected implications of corporate demography for public policy, including employment and regulation.In this path-breaking book, Carroll and Hannan demonstrate why demographic research on corporations is important; describe how to conduct demographic research; specify fruitful areas of future research; and suggest how the demographic perspective can enrich the public discussion of issues surrounding the corporation in our constantly evolving industrial society. All researchers and analysts with an interest in this topic will find The Demography of Corporations and Industries an invaluable resource.
A Search for Variable Stars and Planetary Occultations in NGC 2301. II. Variability

We obtained R‐band time‐series observations of the young, metal‐rich open cluster NGC 2301 for 12 nights in 2004 February. B‐band images were also obtained, and color‐magnitude diagrams with limits of R = 19.5 and B = 21.5 were produced. Only a small effort was made to determine cluster membership, as our magnitude limits are far deeper than previously published values. Our photometric precision for the brightest 5 mag of sources is 1–2 mmag. We determine that for the ∼4000 stars that have time‐series data, 56% are variable, and of these, approximately 13% are observed to exhibit periodic light curves ranging from tens of minutes to days. We present some examples of the light curves obtained, and produce cuts in variability space based on parameters such as color and amplitude. The percentage of variability is approximately equal across all colors, with the majority of variables having amplitudes of 0.15 mag or less. In general, redder stars show larger variability amplitudes. We find a smooth decline in the number of periodic variables toward longer period. This decline is probably due to a transition from intrinsic to extrinsic variability, and also due in part to our limited observing period of 12 nights. Essentially all the A and F main‐sequence stars in our sample are variable (∼2 mmag and larger), and most present complex light curves containing multiple periods that are suggestive of their inclusion in the δ Scuti and γ Doradus classes. A variable non–cluster member giant and two variable white dwarf candidates are discussed. Our equational description of variability is shown to be an excellent predictive tool for determining the cumulative fraction of variables that will be observed in a photometric survey. Our entire data set is available electronically.
Isolation and identification of Encephatitozoon hellem from an Italian AIDS patient with disseminated microsporidiosis

Microsporidia are primitive mitochondria‐lacking spore‐forming eukaryotic protozoa that infect a wide variety of animals and also humans. Of the five genera (Encephalitozoon, Enterocytozoon, Septula, Nosema and Pleistophora) that cause infections in humans, Enterocytozoon bieneusi. Septula intestinulis, and Encephulitozoon hellem are being increasingly identified in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). E. bieneusi causes gastrointestinal disease, S. intestinulis causes gastrointestinal and disseminated disease, and E. hellem causes ocular as well as disseminated disease. We have established in continuous culture a strain of microsporidia isolated from the urine and throat washings of an Italian AIDS patient and identified it as Encephalitozoon hellem, based on its ultrastructural morphology, antigenic pattern, and polymerase chain reaction‐amplified small subunit ribosomal RNA. We believe that this is the first time that a strain of microsporidia has been isolated from the throat washings of a patient with microsporidiosis.
Metabolomics Reveals Broad-Scale Metabolic Perturbations in Hyperglycemic Mothers During Pregnancy

OBJECTIVE To characterize metabolites across the range of maternal glucose by comparing metabolomic profiles of mothers with high and low fasting plasma glucose (FPG). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We compared fasting serum from an oral glucose tolerance test at ∼28 weeks’ gestation from 67 Northern European ancestry mothers from the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) Study with high (>90th percentile) FPG with 50 mothers with low (<10th percentile) FPG but comparable BMI. Metabolic data from biochemical analyses of conventional clinical metabolites, targeted mass spectrometry (MS)-based measurement of amino acids, and nontargeted gas chromatography/MS were subjected to per-metabolite analyses and collective pathway analyses using Unipathway annotation. RESULTS High-FPG mothers had a metabolic profile consistent with insulin resistance including higher triglycerides, 3-hydroxybutyrate, and amino acids including alanine, proline, and branched-chain amino acids (false discovery rate [FDR]-adjusted P < 0.05). Lower 1,5-anhydroglucitol in high-FPG mothers suggested recent hyperglycemic excursions (FDR-adjusted P < 0.05). Pathway analyses indicated differences in amino acid degradation pathways for the two groups (FDR-adjusted P < 0.05), consistent with population-based findings in nonpregnant populations. Exploratory analyses with newborn outcomes indicated positive associations for maternal triglycerides with neonatal sum of skinfolds and cord C-peptide and a negative association between maternal glycine and cord C-peptide (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Metabolomics reveals perturbations in metabolism of major macronutrients and amino acid degradation pathways in high- versus low-FPG mothers.
Retrospective estimation of Plutonium-239 doses from transfer to the fetus for Mayak PA workers

Abstract Purpose: The estimation of plutonium fetal transfer and the calculation of individual in utero and postnatal doses for the Mayak Production Association (PA) offspring cohort. Materials and methods: The model developed by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) for the transfer of plutonium to the fetus following maternal intakes before and during pregnancy has been adjusted for application to analysis of the fetal transfer of 239Pu for Mayak workers. Improved estimates of fetal to maternal concentration ratios (CF:CM) have been obtained based on a correlation observed between adult offsprings’ measured daily urine 239Pu activity and estimates of their mothers’ systemic activity at conception. Data on 239Pu activity in daily urine samples were collected from 13 selected adults whose mothers worked at the Mayak PA facility during the period from 1948–1953, before and/or during pregnancy. Results: A comparison of measured and modeled excretion data enabled a mean value of 0.18 ± 0.02 (n = 21) to be inferred for the Pu CF:CM ratio, with a coefficient of variation of 60%. Conclusions: Point estimates of the individual in utero and postnatal absorbed doses for the red bone marrow and liver were in the range 2…13 mGy in 95% of the cases for the cohort of 1936 offspring.
THE RELEVANCE OF POLICY VALUES FOR THE CONFIRMATION OF SUPREME COURT NOMINEES

The confirmation votes on the fourteen most controversial Supreme Court nominees of the twentieth century were analyzed. The data supported the conclusion that Senate opposition to Supreme Court nominees is due primarily to a predicted dissatisfaction with the policy-relevant voting of the nominee after confirmation. The policy position of senators supporting confirmation was found to be significantly different from the policy position of senators opposing confirmation even after controls were introduced for the political party and ethical standards position of senators.
Information Content of Insider Trades Before and After the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

ABSTRACT: This study examines the information content of Form 4 filings under the more timely disclosure regime introduced by Section 403 of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Abnormal returns and trading volumes around filings of insider stock purchases are significantly greater after SOX than before. Abnormal trading volumes around filings of insider sales are also greater post‐SOX, on average, but stock returns are not more negative. However, once controlling for pre‐planned transactions, reporting lag, litigation risk, and news following insider trades, I find a negative association between returns around filings of insider sales and SOX. Overall, the evidence suggests that the prompt public disclosures about insider transactions mandated by the new rule are relevant to the pricing of securities. The results are also consistent with SOX and regulatory actions reducing the incentives to sell ahead of privately known negative news.
Adaptive reduced-rank constrained constant modulus beamforming algorithms based on joint iterative optimization of filters

This paper proposes a robust reduced-rank scheme and algorithms for adaptive beamforming based on joint iterative optimization (JIO) of adaptive filters. The scheme provides an efficient way to deal with filters with large number of elements. It consists of a bank of full-rank adaptive filters that forms a transformation matrix and an adaptive reduced-rank filter that operates at the output of the bank of filters. The transformation matrix projects the received vector onto a low-dimension vector, which is processed by the reduced-rank filter to estimate the desired signal. The expressions of the transformation matrix and the reduced-rank weight vector are derived according to the constrained constant modulus (CCM) criterion subject to different constraints. Two low-complexity adaptive algorithms are devised for the implementation of the proposed scheme with different constraints. Simulations are performed to show superior performance of the proposed algorithms in comparison with the existing methods.