Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of Social Media by U.S. Public Sector Emergency Managers: Barriers and Wish Lists

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with U.S. public sector emergency managers to probe barriers to use of social media and reactions to possible software enhancements to support such use. The three most frequently described barriers were lack of personnel time to work on use of social media, lack of policies and guidelines for its use, and concern about the trustworthiness of pulled data. The most popular of the possible technological enhancements described for Twitter are filtering by category of user/contributor, and display of posts on a GIS system with a map-based display.
Teacher-student relationships: a growing field of study.

A substantial percentage of students come to school with a number of stress factors from life circumstances, personal clinical attributes, and typical adolescent challenges. As a result, some students become disengaged from school, are unsuccessful, or drop out of school. School structures are not always equipped to respond to such problems. A mounting collection of research has begun to document the importance of teacher-student relationships in academic success and socioemotional development. Much of this research reveals that relationships between teachers and students can make a vital difference in student success.
Environmental risk factors in prediction of childhood prediabetes.

OBJECTIVE The damage of beta cells occurs during the asymptomatic prodromal period called prediabetes before onset of diabetes mellitus. It is characterized by the presence of islet cell autoantibodies (ICAs). The aim of this study was to find out what environmental factors predict ICA seroconversion in healthy schoolchildren in Lithuania. MATERIAL AND METHODS Sera from 3053 nondiabetic schoolchildren living in Lithuania were investigated for ICAs. ICAs were measured in undiluted sera by indirect immunofluorescence method. All ICA-positive and randomly selected ICA-negative children were invited to participate in the study. Response rate in the families of ICA-positive children was 100% and in ICA-negative-76.5%. Data from 13 ICA-positive and 199 ICA-negative schoolchildren were included in the analysis. Information on the environmental factors was collected via questionnaires. RESULTS Proportions of breastfed children were similar in ICA-positive and ICA-negative schoolchildren. Full cow's milk was introduced at one month of age or earlier more often in ICA-positive than ICA-negative schoolchildren (8.3% and 1.1%, respectively; P=0.05). Cereal before 3 months of age was introduced more often in ICA-positive than ICA-negative schoolchildren (7.7% and 0.5%, respectively; P=0.01). The mothers of cases took medicine during pregnancy more often than mothers of controls did (61.5% and 14.1%, respectively; P<0.001). More than half (53.8%) of ICA-positive children lived in homes where family members were smoking indoors, while this was recorded only for 26.6% of controls (P=0.04). CONCLUSIONS Early introduction of cow's milk and cereal, the intake of medicine during pregnancy, and indoor smoking of family members are risk factors that predict the development of prediabetes among Lithuanian children.
Amino acid transporter SLC6A14 is a novel and effective drug target for pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a solid tumour that is often fatal. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify new drug targets for this disease. Highly proliferating cancer cells have an increased demand for nutrients and, therefore, need to up‐regulate selective amino acid transporters. Here, we investigated which amino acid transporters are up‐regulated in pancreatic cancer and whether any of these transporters has potential as a drug target for this fatal disease.
Control of an Electrical Prosthesis With an SSVEP-Based BCI

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are systems that establish a direct connection between the human brain and a computer, thus providing an additional communication channel. They are used in a broad field of applications nowadays. One important issue is the control of neuroprosthetic devices for the restoration of the grasp function in spinal-cord-injured people. In this communication, an asynchronous (self-paced) four-class BCI based on steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) was used to control a two-axes electrical hand prosthesis. During training, four healthy participants reached an online classification accuracy between 44% and 88%. Controlling the prosthetic hand asynchronously, the participants reached a performance of 75.5 to 217.5 s to copy a series of movements, whereas the fastest possible duration determined by the setup was 64 s. The number of false negative (FN) decisions varied from 0 to 10 (the maximal possible decisions were 34). It can be stated that the SSVEP-based BCI, operating in an asynchronous mode, is feasible for the control of neuroprosthetic devices with the flickering lights mounted on its surface.
Sphingolipids inhibit vimentin-dependent cell migration

ABSTRACT The sphingolipids, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) and sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC), can induce or inhibit cellular migration. The intermediate filament protein vimentin is an inducer of migration and a marker for epithelial–mesenchymal transition. Given that keratin intermediate filaments are regulated by SPC, with consequences for cell motility, we wanted to determine whether vimentin is also regulated by sphingolipid signalling and whether it is a determinant for sphingolipid-mediated functions. In cancer cells where S1P and SPC inhibited migration, we observed that S1P and SPC induced phosphorylation of vimentin on S71, leading to a corresponding reorganization of vimentin filaments. These effects were sphingolipid-signalling-dependent, because inhibition of either the S1P2 receptor (also known as S1PR2) or its downstream effector Rho-associated kinase (ROCK, for which there are two isoforms ROCK1 and ROCK2) nullified the sphingolipid-induced effects on vimentin organization and S71 phosphorylation. Furthermore, the anti-migratory effect of S1P and SPC could be prevented by expressing S71-phosphorylation-deficient vimentin. In addition, we demonstrated, by using wild-type and vimentin-knockout mouse embryonic fibroblasts, that the sphingolipid-mediated inhibition of migration is dependent on vimentin. These results imply that this newly discovered sphingolipid–vimentin signalling axis exerts brake-and-throttle functions in the regulation of cell migration.
Impact of Trends in Primary, Secondary, and Postsecondary Education on Applications to Medical School.: I Gender Considerations

The number of applications to medical schools has been declining at a time when attention is beginning to focus on the potential need to expand the infrastructure of medical education to meet the nation’s growing consumption of health care services. To gain an understanding of the dynamics affecting the availability of medical applicants, the author used data from several decades to study the transitions that occur throughout the process of education—from primary and secondary education to four-year colleges and, ultimately, to medical school application—from the standpoint of individuals’ gender. (A companion article in this issue reports the findings of a parallel study from the standpoint of individuals’ race and ethnicity.) A progressive erosion was found in the level of participation of men in postsecondary education over the past 25 years, and a parallel decline was observed in the percentage of baccalaureate men who sought further education at the doctoral level, including medicine. These dynamics have occurred aside rising levels of achievement of girls in early education, increasing numbers of women in four-year colleges, and high levels of interest among college women in medical education. But despite this peak of interest, women baccalaureates have displayed a low frequency of application to medical schools. Based on these observations and on population trends among 20 year olds, it is projected that the number of women applying to medical school will continue to increase, but only modestly, while the number of men who apply will remain relatively unchanged. The resulting growth will be sufficient to alleviate the recent paucity of medical school applications, but it will not be adequate for the needs that any significant expansion of medical school seats will create nor for the numbers of physicians that a predominantly female profession will require.
School Nurses Save Lives

Vigilance has been central to nursing practice since Florence Nightingale. Often, the nurse’s work of surveillance goes unnoticed and the public never recognizes the value of the nurse’s work. The 1999 Institute of Medicine report on hospital deaths due to preventable errors has lifted the veil shrouding professional vigilance. But how to measure vigilance remained elusive, until the concept, failure to rescue (FTR), was proposed. FTR has taken a prominent role in health care since its adoption as a patient safety indicator by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and as a measure for nursing performance in acute care by the National Quality Forum (NQF). However, its applicability to school nursing has been unexplored. This article provides an initial review of the literature and an analysis of anecdotal stories and media accounts that illustrate professional vigilance in school nursing practice.
DESENTRALISASI FISKAL KONTEMPORER DALAM PERSPEKTIF KEBIJAKAN PUBLIK ISLAM

One of the essential instruments designed for achieving the goals of sharia in Islam is fiscal policy. There are some key elements of Islamic fiscal theory, namely: 1) Islamic Economics, which comprises private sector, social/ voluntary sector, and public sector. The collaboration of these three sectors would provide an ideal Islamic economic institutional framework; 2) Zakat (taxation of income and wealth of a Muslim) as the basis of fiscal system; 3) Implementation of all fiscal instruments which disallow exploitation that results in usury ( riba) , uncertainty (gha r ar ), speculation, sinful (haram) products / services and all forms of meanness. 4) Allocation, distribution and stabilization functions of Islamic economics is administered and presented through all the sectors cooperatively; 5) Public sector does not affect significantly yet essential on condition that it works continuously to ensure optimum allocation of society resources, income distribution, and stability establishing
Stability and transitions in mother-infant face-to-face communication during the first 6 months: a microhistorical approach.

In this study the authors attempted to unravel the relational, dynamical, and historical nature of mother-infant communication during the first 6 months. Thirteen mothers and their infants were videotaped weekly from 4 to 24 weeks during face-to-face interactions. Three distinct patterns of mother-infant communication were identified: symmetrical, asymmetrical, and unilateral. Guided by a dynamic systems perspective, the authors explored the stability of and transitions between these communication patterns. Findings from event history analysis showed that (a) there are regularly recurring dyadic communication patterns in early infancy, (b) these recurring patterns show differential stabilities and likelihoods of transitions, (c) dynamic stability in dyadic communication is shaped not only by individual characteristics (e.g., infant sex and maternal parity) but also by the dyad's communication history, and (d) depending on their recency, communication histories varying in temporal proximity exert differential effects on the self-organization processes of a dyadic system.
Inhibition of Sphingolipid Synthesis by Cycloserine In Vitro and In Vivo

Abstract: d‐ and l‐cycloserine were shown to be irreversible inhibitors of the first enzyme of the sphingolipid pathway, 3‐ketodihydrosphingosine synthetase, in a study using bacterial and brain microsomal enzymes, l‐Cycloserine was shown to be 100 times more inhibitory than the d‐isomer for the brain microsomal enzyme in vitro. In vivo, l‐cycloserine caused a 70% inhibition of brain microsomal enzyme. Following one injection, enzyme activity recovered 80% of normal after 16 hours. Daily dosages of l‐cycloserine on a regimen of intraper‐itoneal injection for 7 days caused a significant reduction in total brain ganglioside and cerebroside plus sulfatide levels.
Interleukin 6 Promoter Polymorphisms in Normal Han Chinese Population

Background Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a cytokine involved in different physiologic and pathophysiologic processes, and circulating levels of IL-6 differ greatly between individuals, but the results have not always been concordant among diverse populations. The aim of present study was to determine the prevalence of the 3 polymorphisms (−174G/C, −597G/A, and −634C/G) in the IL-6 gene promoter region and their effects on inflammatory markers in normal Han Chinese population. Methods A total of 232 subjects (143 men and 89 women; mean age, 51.37 ± 17.63 years; range, 22-88 years) of unrelated healthy Han Chinese in Jinangsu area (south of China) were enrolled. Genotyping of the 3 polymorphisms were performed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism combined with gel electrophoresis and then confirmed by direct sequencing. Results Among the 232 individuals studied, 231 carried the GG wild type of -174G/C; only 1 carried the GC genotype. For -597G/A polymorphism, individuals all carried the GG wild type; the GA or AA genotypes were not detected. The frequencies of -634C/G genotypes CC, CG, and GG were found to be 59.48%, 37.07%, and 3.45%, respectively, the derived allele frequencies for the C and G alleles were 78.02% and 21.98%. There were no significant differences in age, sex, body mass index, or lipids parameters between the -634 CC and CG+GG genotypes. However, individuals with CC genotype showed lower levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and IL-6 than those with CG+GG genotype. Conclusions IL-6 -174G/C and -597G/A are rare, but -634C/G is common in Han Chinese population, and the -634G allele is associated with circulating levels of IL-6 and C-reactive protein.
A corpus-based study of linking adverbials through contrastive analysis of L1/L2 PhD dissertations

The quality of a writing highly depends on cohesion and coherence as they affect the tone of writing to a great extent. Linking adverbials (LAs) are among the types of cohesive devices which help connect ideas in a more smooth way. However, use of linking adverbials is often problematic for non-native speakers of English as they often overuse, underuse or misuse them in their writings. This study aimed to compare LAs used by Turkish native speakers (TNSs) in their English written PhD dissertations with LAs used in PhD dissertations of native English students, and detect if LAs are overused or underused by TNSs. Of all the chapters, conclusion chapters were selected for the analysis. AntConc software was utilized for the quantitative analysis. Frequency counts and log-likelihood calculations were utilized to determine if the frequency differences between two corpora have reached statistical significance. The results indicated a significant overuse of linking adverbials by Turkish doctoral students in their PhD dissertations. The study concluded with discussions of overused LAs as well as pedagogical implications and suggestions to improve teaching practices and materials
CpG Sites Preferentially Methylated by Dnmt3a in Vivo*

Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b are two major de novo DNA methyltransferases essential for embryonic development in mammals. It has been shown that Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b have distinct substrate preferences for certain genomic loci, including major and minor satellite repeats. However, the exact target CpG sites where Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b catalyze DNA methylation remains largely unknown. To identify a CpG site that is specifically methylated by Dnmt3a or Dnmt3b, we screened methylated genomic loci by methylation sensitive restriction fingerprinting using genomic DNA from wild-type, Dnmt3a null, Dnmt3b null, and Dnmt3a-Dnmt3b double null ES cells. Interestingly, one of the CpG sites was preferentially methylated in wild-type and Dnmt3b null ES cells but not in Dnmt3a null or Dnmt3a-Dnmt3b double null ES cells, suggesting that the site-specific methylation was Dnmt3a-dependent. Sequencing results revealed that the isolated CpG site is located within the 1st exon of the G isoform of fibroblast growth factor (Fgf-1.G) on mouse chromosome 18. Exogenous expression of Dnmt3a but not Dnmt3b in the double null ES cells restored DNA methylation of this CpG site. When we examined alternative transcription initiation sites, we determined that another CpG site in the 5′-flanking region of the Fgf-1.A isoform was also methylated specifically by Dnmt3a. Using chimeric constructs between Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b, we further determined that the NH2-terminal regulatory domain of Dnmt3a was responsible for establishing its substrate specificity. These results indicate that certain CpG sites within the Fgf-1 gene locus are preferentially methylated by Dnmt3a but not by Dnmt3b. Selective methylation by a specific member of Dnmt3 may therefore play a role in the orchestration of gene expression during embryonic development.
Endothelial Tight Junctions Are Opened in Cholinergic-Evoked Salivation In Vivo

Blood vessels provide the original supplies for the formation of primary saliva, which is regulated by the tight junctions (TJs) between endothelial cells. Previous studies have shown that blood flow increases with vasodilatation during cholinergic-evoked salivation. However, changes in vascular paracellular permeability and the role of endothelial TJs in salivation are unknown. Here, we established an in vivo paracellular permeability detection system and observed that the endothelial TJs were permeable to 4-kDa fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)–dextran while impermeable to 40- and 70-kDa FITC-dextran under an unstimulated condition in mouse submandibular glands (SMGs). Pilocarpine increased the flux of 4- and 40-kDa FITC-dextran out of blood vessels but did not affect 70-kDa FITC-dextran. Claudin 5, a TJ protein specifically localized in salivary endothelial cells, was redistributed from the apicolateral membranes to the lateral and basolateral membranes and cytoplasm in cholinergic-stimulated mouse SMGs and freshly cultured human SMG tissues. In the transplanted SMGs from epiphora patients, we found that claudin 5 was present in the basolateral membranes and cytoplasm, instead of the apical region in control SMGs. Moreover, the level of phospho–myosin light chain 2 increased within the blood vessels of the pilocarpine-stimulated mouse SMGs and transplanted human SMGs, while the downstream molecule F-actin was reorganized in the endothelial cells of the transplanted human SMGs. Taken together, our findings provide direct visual evidence that the opening of endothelial TJs and the redistribution of claudin 5 are essential events contributing to cholinergic-evoked salivation, thus enriching our understanding of the secretory mechanisms that link blood flow to primary saliva formation by regulating the endothelial paracellular permeability.
One-Factor-Based Exercise Strategies for American Options in Multi-Factor Models

Pricing American equity options in a multi-factor setting is so cumbersome that the typical approach is based on, reduced, one-factor exercise strategies. Practitioners and academics calibrate the model to the European counterpart, but the early-exercise premium is derived from a barrier option or from Black-Scholes, depending only on the stock price. Conventional wisdom dictates that the associated losses are insignificant, a few basis points (bps), but there is no rationale behind it. We challenge this view. We factorize the associated losses in the product of four terms and properly distinguish between a barrier option, which implies a suboptimal exercise policy, and the case of Black-Scholes model, which introduces a misspecified model (but produces lower pricing errors which go either way). Pricing errors are significant (i.e., two-digits bps) only for in-the-money and mid-/long-term American options, in highly skewed models and with larger interest-rate dividend-yield spreads. In-the-money and long-term American options are a "tough call. " Skewed models are associated to stochastic volatility. And the interest-rate dividend spread relates to the early-exercise-premium.
Counting strongly‐connected, moderately sparse directed graphs

A sharp asymptotic formula for the number of strongly connected digraphs on n labelled vertices with m arcs, under the condition m ‐ n ≫ n2/3, m = O(n), is obtained; this provides a partial solution of a problem posed by Wright back in 1977. This formula is a counterpart of a classic asymptotic formula, due to Bender, Canfield and McKay, for the total number of connected undirected graphs on n vertices with m edges. A key ingredient of their proof was a recurrence equation for the connected graphs count due to Wright. No analogue of Wright's recurrence seems to exist for digraphs. In a previous paper with Nick Wormald we rederived the BCM formula by counting first connected graphs among the graphs of minimum degree 2, at least. In this paper, using a similar embedding for directed graphs, we find an asymptotic formula, which includes an explicit error term, for the fraction of strongly‐connected digraphs with parameters m and n among all such digraphs with positive in/out‐degrees. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg. , 2013
Focus on Present Status and Determinants of Dividend Payout Policy: Athens Stock Exchange in Perspective

In this paper we investigate the present status and determinants of dividend policy of firms listed in the Athens Stock Exchange. We find that: a) payout policy is subjected to minor changes through years, b) most firms distribute no special dividends, c) differences between dividend policy of retail firms and that of industrial firms are minor, d) the variables used explain only a small proportion of dividend policy's variability and e) cash flow is the main determinant of dividend policy.