Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the predictability of the U.S. elections through search volume activity

In recent years several researchers have reported that the volume of Google Trends and Twitter chat over time can be used to predict several kinds of social and consumer metrics. From the success of new movies before their release to the marketability of consumer goods to the prediction of voting results in the recent 2009 German elections, Google Trends and Twitter message volume have been treated as indispensable tools for not only recording current social trends, but even for predicting the future. This is surprising, given the significant differences in the demographics of voters and people who use social networks and Web tools. But is there some underline logic behind these predictions or are they simply a matter of luck? With this work we wanted to test their predictive power against the US elections. One could argue that, following the previous research literature, and given the high utilization that the Web and the social networks have in the US, Google Trends and Twitter volume may be able to predict the outcomes of the US Congressional elections. In this paper we report that Google Trends was, actually, not a good predictor of both the 2008 and 2010 elections, and we offer some explanation on why this may be the case. On a forthcoming paper we report on our analysis on Twitter.
The treatment of psychiatric disorder in the community: Report from the Camberwell Needs for Care Survey

Although the estimation of needs for treatment is a prime function of community psychiatric surveys, none has so far measured need directly. The Camberwell Needs for Care Survey is the first such attempt. Needs for treatment were identified in a random population sample from a catchment area in inner South London. Information obtained through SCAN, the Social Role Performance Schedule, the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule and a treatment inventory was assessed by a rating panel in relation to an explicit model of care by using the Needs for Care Assessment- Community Version. Subjects with psychotic disorders received good care and treatment. Subjects with depression often rejected the idea of treatment. Treatment was mainly pharmacological and needs were often unmet, particularly for cognitive or supportive psychotherapy. Subjects with anxiety disorders were less likely to reject treatment but still had a high proportion of needs unmet, as was the case for other disorders.
The Symbolic-Interpretive Perspective on Group Dynamics

A symbolic-interpretive perspective as applied to the study of groups is concerned with understanding how group members use symbols and the effects of symbol usage on individual, relational, and collective processes and outcomes, as well as the manner in which groups and group dynamics themselves are products of such symbolic activity. After reviewing philosophical, theoretical, and methodological foundations of a symbolic-interpretive perspective, we offer a conceptual model and review some representative research that illuminates the nature of symbolic predispositions, practices, processes, and products in groups. We conclude by discussing some of the strengths and challenges of studying group dynamics from a symbolic-interpretive perspective.
Managers' coping resources, perceived organizational patterns, and responses during organizational recovery from decline

This study proposes that individual coping resources and organizational patterns explain the responses of mid-level managers to organizational recovery after decline. The study sample consisted of 252 managers in Israeli enterprises recovering from organizational decline. The responses studied were—citizenship responses, negative responses, the wish to exit and acts to exit the organization. Hypotheses were developed relating these responses to individual coping resources of job involvement, self-esteem and locus of control, and to organizational factors of organic processes, top management support, and organizational opportunities. Findings indicated that most coping resources and organizational patterns correlated with type of response: citizenship behaviors were related to job involvement, internal locus of control, self-esteem and to perceptions of opportunities and organic processes in the organization. They were negatively related to external locus of control. Negative behavior was negatively related to job involvement, self-esteem, perceived organizational opportunities and organic processes. The wish to exit related negatively to job involvement, external locus of control, and perceived opportunities. It related positively to self-esteem. Actual exit behavior was not predicted by the coping resources, nor by organizational factors. Three-stage multiple regression analyses revealed that individual coping characteristics reduced the impacts of organizational factors for most responses. Implications for management are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Abundant IgG4-Positive Plasma Cell Infiltration Characterizes Chronic Sclerosing Sialadenitis (Küttner's Tumor)

Chronic sclerosing sialadenitis (CSS) is a cryptogenic tumor-like condition of the salivary gland(s). While immune-mediated processes are suspected in its pathogenesis, and CSS is occasionally reported to be associated with sclerosing pancreatitis, an IgG4-related disease, the exact immunopathologic processes of CSS remain speculative. In this study, we examined the clinicopathologic findings of CSS (12 cases) in comparison with sialolithiasis (8 cases) and Sjögren's syndrome (13 cases), and tried to clarify whether CSS is an IgG4-related disease or not. Submandibular gland(s) were affected in all cases of CSS. CSS cases could be divided into two types: 5 cases were associated with sclerosing lesions in extrasalivary glandular tissue (systemic type), while only salivary gland(s) were affected in the remaining 7 cases (localized type). In the former type, which showed male predominance, bilateral salivary glands were frequently affected, and eosinophilia and elevations of γ-globulin and IgG in serum were frequently found. Histologically, all cases of CSS showed marked lymphoplasmacytic infiltration admixed with fibrosis and the destruction of glandular lobules. Obliterative phlebitis was found in the affected salivary glands in all cases of CSS. Immunohistochemically, the proportion of IgG4/IgG-positive plasma cells was more than 45% in CSS, while it was less than 5% in controls. The resemblance of the clinicopathologic features of CSS with those of sclerosing pancreatitis suggests the participation of a similar immunopathologic process with IgG4 disturbance in CSS. The abundance of IgG4-positive plasma cells in the lesions would be useful for distinguishing CSS from other forms of sialadenitis.
An Attempt at Adaptive Sampling for Photorealistic Image Generation : Learning Sampling Schemes for Monte Carlo Rendering

We take a machine learning based approach to adaptive sampling for Monte Carlo Rendering, by using geometric and lighting data obtained through prior renders of scenes. Using nonlinear kernels, we trained Support Vector Machines of high accuracy, but complications arose in the labelling of our data, resulting in slightly impractical results for the sampler itself.
A new approach for the oocyte genotoxicity assay: adaptation of comet assay on mouse cumulus–oocyte complexes

Conventional genotoxicity tests are technically difficult to apply to oocytes, and results obtained on somatic cells cannot be extrapolated to gametes. We have previously described a comet assay (original–CA) on denuded mouse oocytes, but, in vivo, oocytes are not isolated from their surrounding follicular cells. Our objective was to develop a comet assay on cumulus–oocyte complexes (COC–CA) for a more physiological approach to study the genotoxicity of environmental factors on oocytes. For COC–CA, whole COC were exposed directly to exogenous agents after ovulation and removal from oviducts. Three conditions were studied: a negative control group, and two positive control groups, one of which was exposed to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and the other group was incubated with cerium dioxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs). With both tests, DNA damage was significant in the presence of both H2O2 and CeO2 NPs compared with the negative control. COC–CA offers an interesting tool for assaying the genotoxicity of environmental agents towards germinal cells. Furthermore, COC–CA is less time-consuming and simplifies the protocol of the original–CA, because COC-CA is easier to perform without the washing-out procedure.
A Different Kind of Child Development Institution: The History of After-School Programs for Low-Income Children.

Over the past decade politicians and policy makers, the media, child development professionals, and parents have focused increasing attention on the after-school hours of children aged 6 to 14, coming to view this daily time period as one of unusual “risk and opportunity” (Hofferth 1995). Attention to the after-school hours has led in turn to renewed interest in a longstanding child development institution, afterschool programs, particularly those serving lowand moderate-income children. This article examines the historical development of after-school programs serving lowincome children, including objectives and practices in each era, formative influences, implementation challenges, and role in children’s lives. In a final section. the author discusses the current pressures facing the after-school field and suggests an appropriate set of purposes and expectations for the coming years.
The Secret’s in the Word Order: Text-to-Text Generation for Linguistic Steganography

Linguistic steganography is a form of covert communication using natural language to conceal the existence of the hidden message, which is usually achieved by systematically making changes to a cover text. This paper proposes a linguistic steganography method using word ordering as the linguistic transformation. We show that the word ordering technique can be used in conjunction with existing translation-based embedding algorithms. Since unnatural word orderings would arouse the suspicion of third parties and diminish the security of the hidden message, we develop a method using a maximum entropy classifier to determine the naturalness of sentence permutations. The classifier is evaluated by human judgements and compared with a baseline method using the Google n-gram corpus. The results show that our proposed system can achieve a satisfactory security level and embedding capacity for the linguistic steganography application.
Quantitative microtiter cytotoxicity assay for Shigella toxin

The cytotoxic activity of Shigella dysenteriae 1 was assayed by exposing HeLa cells in microtiter cultures to dilutions of toxin. Exposure to toxin caused either failure of cells in suspension to attach or detachment of cells from established monolayers. Estimates of toxin potency were made by staining residual cells with crystal violet and visually inspecting the stained plates. Quantitation of the cytotoxic effect was made possible by eluting and spectrophotometrically measuring the stain. The dilution of toxin causing 50% cell detachment, the endpoint chosen for the assay, was estimated from plots of dye absorbance versus toxin dilution. The 50% cell detachment dilution of toxin varied as a function of cell concentration, incubation of toxin with cells in suspension or as established monolayers, and the cell line used for assay. The HeLa cell line was the most sensitive of the cell lines examined. The method was easily utilized to monitor toxin purification and to measure antitoxin neutralization of toxin activity.
Understanding China's Urban Pollution Dynamics

China's ongoing urban economic growth has sharply increased the population's per capita income, lowered the count of people living below the poverty line, and caused major environmental problems. We survey the growing literature investigating the causes and consequences of China's urban pollution challenges. We begin by studying how urban population and industrial growth impacts local pollution levels and greenhouse gas production. As the urban population grows richer, its demand for private transportation and electricity sharply increases. Such privately beneficial activity exacerbates urban pollution externalities. Facing these severe environmental challenges, China's urbanites increasingly demand quality of life progress. We survey the emerging literature investigating the demand for environmental progress in China. Progress in mitigating externalities hinges on whether the powerful central and local governments choose to address these issues. We analyze the political economy of whether government officials have strong incentives to tackle lingering urban externalities. We conclude by discussing future research opportunities at the intersection of environmental and urban economics
Public service motivation and organizational citizenship behavior in Korea

Purpose – The main theme is to investigate whether the distinct classes of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) such as altruism and generalized compliance are shown in the Korean context, and whether public service motivation, job satisfaction and organizational commitment are predictors of OCB in Korean civil servants.Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation modeling (SEM) is applied to survey data of 1,584 civil servants in Korea to examine the relationships between the three predictors and the two dimensions of OCB.Findings – The results indicate the presence of the two dimensions of OCB in the Korean context, and support the relationships between public service motivation and OCB and the relationship between organizational commitment and OCB. However, the direct relationship between job satisfaction and OCB is not confirmed.Originality/value – This paper is the first to analyze the effect of public service motivation on OCB, and shows that public service motivation emerges as a more sig.
The C Terminus of SecA Is Involved in Both Lipid Binding and SecB Binding (*)

Using C-terminal deletion mutations in secA, we localized the previously proposed (Breukink, E., Keller, R. C. A., and de Kruijff, B.(1993), FEBS Lett. 331, 19-24) second lipid binding site on SecA. Since removal of these residues completely abolished the property of SecA to cause aggregation of negatively charged phosphatidylglycerol vesicles, we conclude that the C-terminal 70 amino acid residues of SecA are involved in lipid-binding. The C-terminal 70 amino acid residues of SecA are important for efficient in vitro translocation of the SecB-dependent precursor of PhoE across inverted inner membrane vesicles. Moreover, in vivo studies showed that this region is essential for growth. SecB and a SecB-precursor complex were shown to inhibit the SecA-mediated lipid vesicle aggregation, suggesting that the overall acidic SecB protein binds at or near the second lipid binding site on SecA. This together with the observation that the SecA mutant protein lacking the C-terminal 70 residues had a strongly reduced ability to mediate binding of SecB-precursor complexes to inverted inner membrane vesicles demonstrates that the C terminus of SecA is also involved in SecB binding.
A Meta-Analysis of Response Rates in Web- or Internet-Based Surveys

Response representativeness is more important than response rate in survey research. However, response rate is important if it bears on representativeness. The present meta-analysis explores factors associated with higher response rates in electronic surveys reported in both published and unpublished research. The number of contacts, personalized contacts, and precontacts are the factors most associated with higher response rates in the Web studies that are analyzed.
Prognostic factors and outcome after different types of resection for temporal lobe epilepsy.

OBJECT It is unknown whether different resection strategies for temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) produce alterations in seizure control or neuropsychological performance. METHODS A series of 321 patients who underwent surgery for TLE between 1989 and 1997 was submitted to a uni- and multifactorial analysis of clinical, electrophysiological, neuroimaging, neuropsychological, and surgical factors to determine independent predictors of outcome. Until 1993, most patients with TLE underwent standard anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL); beginning in 1993, surgical procedures were increasingly restricted to lesions detected on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and the presumed epileptogenic foci: for example, amygdalohippocampectomy (AH) or lesionectomy/corticectomy began to be used more often. The mean follow-up duration in this study was 38 months. Two hundred twenty-seven patients were classified as seizure free (70.7%), and 36 patients had rare and nondisabling seizures (11.2%); these groups were summarized as having good seizure control (81.9%). Twenty-four patients attained more than 75% improvement (7.5%), and no worthwhile improvement was seen in 34 cases (10.6%); these groups were summarized as having unsatisfactory seizure control (18.1%). On unifactorial analysis the following preoperative factors were associated with good seizure control (p < 0.05): single and concordant lateralizing focus on electroencephalography studies, low seizure frequency, absence of status epilepticus, concordant lateralizing memory deficit, clear abnormality on MR images, suspected ganglioglioma or dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor (DNT), and absence of dysplasia on MR images. Stepwise logistic regression revealed a model containing five factors that were predictive for good seizure control (p < 0.1): 1) clear abnormality on MR images; 2) absence of status epilepticus; 3) MR imaging-confirmed ganglioglioma or DNT; 4) concordant lateralizing memory deficit; and 5) absence of dysplasia on MR images. Seizure outcome was mainly correlated with diagnosis and clinical factors. No significant differences were found regarding different resection types performed for comparable tumors. Neuropsychological testing revealed better postoperative results after limited resections compared with standard ATL, especially with regard to attention level, verbal memory, and calculated total neuropsychological performance. CONCLUSIONS Different strategies for surgical approaches in TLE result in equally good outcomes. Seizure outcome is mainly dependent on the diagnosis and clinical factors, whereas the neuropsychological results are more beneficial after resections limited to an epileptogenic lesion and focus.
A estrutura fatorial do Teste de Criatividade Figural Infantil

This paper aims to investigate the validity evidence of the Test of Figural Creativity for Children. Factor analysis was performed for a better understanding of the 12 characteristics of creativity assessed by the instrument (Fluency, Flexibility, Elaboration, Originality, Expression of Emotion, Uncommon Perspective, Internal Perspective, Fantasy, Movement, Use of Context, Extension of Boundaries and Expressive Titles). The instrument was administered to students from 1st to 8th grades of elementary school (n=1253, 599 females and 654 males). Factor analysis indicated a structure consisting of four factors (cognitive aspects, enrichment of ideas, cognitive aspects, emotional and creative preparation) which was adopted as a model for interpretation of the instrument considering its consistency with the scientific literature.
Strategies to manage patients with dental anxiety and dental phobia: literature review

Dental anxiety and phobia result in avoidance of dental care. It is a frequently encountered problem in dental offices. Formulating acceptable evidence-based therapies for such patients is essential, or else they can be a considerable source of stress for the dentist. These patients need to be identified at the earliest opportunity and their concerns addressed. The initial interaction between the dentist and the patient can reveal the presence of anxiety, fear, and phobia. In such situations, subjective evaluation by interviews and self-reporting on fear and anxiety scales and objective assessment of blood pressure, pulse rate, pulse oximetry, finger temperature, and galvanic skin response can greatly enhance the diagnosis and enable categorization of these individuals as mildly, moderately, or highly anxious or dental phobics. Broadly, dental anxiety can be managed by psychotherapeutic interventions, pharmacological interventions, or a combination of both, depending on the level of dental anxiety, patient characteristics, and clinical situations. Psychotherapeutic interventions are either behaviorally or cognitively oriented. Pharmacologically, these patients can be managed using either sedation or general anesthesia. Behavior-modification therapies aim to change unacceptable behaviors through learning, and involve muscle relaxation and relaxation breathing, along with guided imagery and physiological monitoring using biofeedback, hypnosis, acupuncture, distraction, positive reinforcement, stop-signaling, and exposure-based treatments, such as systematic desensitization, “tell-show-do”, and modeling. Cognitive strategies aim to alter and restructure the content of negative cognitions and enhance control over the negative thoughts. Cognitive behavior therapy is a combination of behavior therapy and cognitive therapy, and is currently the most accepted and successful psychological treatment for anxiety and phobia. In certain situations, where the patient is not able to respond to and cooperate well with psychotherapeutic interventions, is not willing to undergo these types of treatment, or is considered dental-phobic, pharmacological therapies such as sedation or general anesthesia should be sought.
Application of C1-Esterase Inhibitor During Reperfusion of Ischemic Myocardium: Dose-Related Beneficial Versus Detrimental Effects

Background—Complement activation during reperfusion of ischemic myocardium augments myocardial injury, and complement inhibition with C1-esterase inhibitor (C1-INH) at the time of reperfusion exerts marked cardioprotective effects in experimental studies. Application of C1-INH in newborns, however, was recently reported to have dangerous and even lethal side effects. This study addresses the essential role of dosage in studies using C1-INH. Methods and Results—Cardioprotection by C1-INH was examined in a pig model with 60 minutes of coronary occlusion followed by 120 minutes of reperfusion. C1-INH was administered intravenously 5 to 10 minutes before coronary reperfusion without heparin at a dose of 40, 100, and 200 IU/kg body wt. Compared with the NaCl controls, C1-INH 40 IU/kg reduced myocardial injury (44.1±13.8% versus 76.7±4.6% necrosis of area at risk, P ≤0.05) and significantly suppressed local C3a and C5a generation. Myocardial protection was accompanied by reduced plasma concentrations of creatine kinase and troponin T. In contrast, no beneficial effects were observed when 100 IU/kg C1-INH was used. Furthermore, application of 200 IU/kg C1-INH provoked severe side effects and coagulation disorders. Conclusions—When applied at the correct dose, C1-INH significantly protects ischemic tissue from reperfusion damage. However, overly high doses (≥100 IU/kg) of C1-INH will provoke detrimental side effects, probably via its procoagulatory action.