Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Test Anxiety: Do Gender and School-Level Matter?.

The study investigated differences in students’ reported overall test anxiety before, during, or after test taking among two school-levels and gender. Differences among three test anxiety components (thoughts, off-task behaviors, and autonomic reactions) were also examined. Participants were 725 primary (349 females, 376 males) and 375 middle (180 females, 195 males) school students from a metropolitan city in Turkey. Turkish students’ reported overall test anxiety declined from primary to middle school, with females showing higher test anxiety throughout school years. Whereas students rated thoughts high, autonomic reactions were rated low; followed by off-task behaviors. Female and male students did not differ in thoughts and autonomic reactions. School-level differences were found in off-task behaviors and autonomic reactions. The pattern of Turkish students’ overall test anxiety derived as a combination of thoughts, off-task behaviors, and autonomic reactions was discussed, and educational implications were offered
Evaluation of a multiplex assay for adipokine concentrations in obese children

Abstract Background: Multiplexed bead immunoassays allow simultaneous measurement of adipokines and other hormones in small serum samples, although a validation of this technique with classical methods has not been fully established. The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the characteristics of a multiplexed bead immunoassay obesity panel for insulin and various adipokines with classical methods. Methods: A multiplexed bead immunoassay was performed using serum from 20 obese children at baseline and after reducing their body mass index, and in 25 controls. Insulin, adiponectin, leptin, resistin, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 measured by multiplexed bead immunoassay were compared with results obtained from commercial immunoassays. Correlation, sensitivity, recovery, linearity, performance and imprecision were established for each analyte. Results: The correlation between methods was acceptable for adiponectin, leptin, and insulin with coefficients of 0.75–0.89 (p<0.001). Correlation was weak for resistin (0.54, p<0.001) and poor (r<0.30) for tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6. However, Bland-Altman analysis indicated agreement for insulin methods (bias=–0.07), avoiding direct comparison with other analytes (bias>1.25). The imprecision was similar for both methods (<13%). Multiplexed immunoassay had a broader dynamic range than classical methods (4.94 times). The magnitude of the changes in serum concentrations after weight loss was comparable with both methods for adiponectin, leptin, insulin and resistin, resulting in similar statistical significance. Changes in tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 were detected by classical immunoassays only (p<0.05). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that multiplexed bead immunoassay is more cost effective for measurement of adipokines present in relatively large amounts, diminishing inter-assay variations and reducing the sample volume. Clin Chem Lab Med 2010;48:1439–46.
The precancerous effect of emitted cooking oil fumes on precursor lesions of cervical cancer

Although cooking emission from high‐temperature frying has been deemed a Group 2A carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, little is known about its impact on cervical tumorigenesis. To investigate the precancerous consequence of cooking oil fumes on cervical intraepithelial neoplasm (CIN), a community‐based case‐control study, which takes all known risk factors into consideration, was conducted in Taiwan. From 2003 to 2008, in a Pap smear screening and biopsy examination network, 206 pathology‐verified women with inflammations/atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance or CIN grade‐1 (CIN1) and 73 with CIN2−3 (defined as low‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LGSIL) and high‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HGSIL), respectively); and 1,200 area‐and‐age‐matched controls with negative cytology were recruited. Multinomial logistic regression was applied in the multivariate analysis to determine the likelihood of contracting LGSIL or HGSIL. The risks of the two lesions increased with the increase of carcinogenic high‐risk human papillomavirus DNA load, with a clear dose‐response relationship. Chefs were observed to experience a 7.9‐fold elevated HGSIL risk. Kitchens with poor fume ventilation during the main cooking life‐stage correlated to a 3.7‐fold risk of HGSIL, but not for LGSIL. More than 1 hr of daily cooking in kitchens with poor fume conditions appeared to confer an 8.4‐fold HGSIL risk, with an 8.3‐fold heterogeneously higher odds ratio than that (aOR = 1.0) for LGSIL. Similar risk pattern has been reproduced among never‐smoking women. Our findings demonstrate the association between indoor exposure to cooking fumes from heated oil and the late development of cervical precancerous lesions. This final conclusion needs to be verified by future research.
Effect of exogenous indole butyric acid on root formation and peroxidase and indole-3-acetic acid oxidase activities and phenolic contents in date Palm offshoots

Exogenous indole butyric acid had a significant positive effect on the rooting response of date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) offshoots. IBA-treated offshoots rooted earlier and with a much higher frequency while untreated offshoots rooted poorly, later, and tended to produce fewer roots. The effect of exogenous application of auxin was also reflected in the metabolic changes in offshoots during the rooting process. Pox activity showed a minimum on the sixth day and a maximum on the twelfth day after the root-inducing treatment. Changes of IAA oxidase activity showed a parallel time curve while phenolic contents and auxin protector levels showed an inverse trend. These parameters changed slightly one week later in the untreated offshoots.
Protein Engineering of Toluene Monooxygenases for Synthesis of Chiral Sulfoxides

ABSTRACT Enantiopure sulfoxides are valuable asymmetric starting materials and are important chiral auxiliaries in organic synthesis. Toluene monooxygenases (TMOs) have been shown previously to catalyze regioselective hydroxylation of substituted benzenes and phenols. Here we show that TMOs are also capable of performing enantioselective oxidation reactions of aromatic sulfides. Mutagenesis of position V106 in the α-hydroxylase subunit of toluene ortho-monooxygenase (TOM) of Burkholderia cepacia G4 and the analogous position I100 in toluene 4-monooxygenase (T4MO) of Pseudomonas mendocina KR1 improved both rate and enantioselectivity. Variant TomA3 V106M of TOM oxidized methyl phenyl sulfide to the corresponding sulfoxide at a rate of 3.0 nmol/min/mg protein compared with 1.6 for the wild-type enzyme, and the enantiomeric excess (pro-S) increased from 51% for the wild type to 88% for this mutant. Similarly, T4MO variant TmoA I100G increased the wild-type oxidation rate by 1.7-fold, and the enantiomeric excess rose from 86% to 98% (pro-S). Both wild-type enzymes showed lower activity with methyl para-tolyl sulfide as a substrate, but the improvement in the activity and enantioselectivity of the mutants was more dramatic. For example, T4MO variant TmoA I100G oxidized methyl para-tolyl sulfide 11 times faster than the wild type did and changed the selectivity from 41% pro-R to 77% pro-S. A correlation between regioselectivity and enantioselectivity was shown for TMOs studied in this work. Using in silico homology modeling, it is shown that residue I100 in T4MO aids in steering the substrate into the active site at the end of the long entrance channel. It is further hypothesized that the main function of V106 in TOM is the proper positioning or docking of the substrate with respect to the diiron atoms. The results from this work suggest that when the substrate is not aligned correctly in the active site, the oxidation rate is decreased and enantioselectivity is impaired, resulting in products with both chiral configurations.
Evaluation of the carcinogenicity of inorganic arsenic

Abstract Inorganic arsenic (iAs) at high exposures is a human carcinogen, affecting mainly the urinary bladder, lung and skin. We present an assessment of the mode of action (MOA) of iAs’s carcinogenicity based on the United States Environmental Protection Agency/International Programme on Chemical Safety (USEPA/IPCS) framework, focusing primarily on bladder cancer. Evidence is presented for a MOA involving formation of reactive trivalent metabolites interacting with critical cellular sulfhydryl groups, leading to cytotoxicity and regenerative cell proliferation. Metabolism, kinetics, cell transport, and reaction with specific proteins play a critical role in producing the effects at the cellular level, regardless of cell type, whether urothelium, lung epithelium or epidermis. The cytotoxicity induced by iAs results in non-cancer toxicities, and the regenerative cell proliferation enhances development of epithelial cancers. In other tissues, such as vascular endothelium, different toxicities develop, not cancer. Evidence supporting this MOA comes from in vitro investigations on animal and human cells, from animal models, and from epidemiological studies. This MOA implies a non-linear, threshold dose-response relationship for both non-cancer and cancer end points. The no effect levels in animal models (approximately 1 ppm of water or diet) and in vitro (>0.1 µM trivalent arsenicals) are strikingly consistent. Cancer effects of iAs in humans generally are not observed below exposures of 100–150 ppb in drinking water: below these exposures, human urine concentrations of trivalent metabolites are generally below 0.1 µM, a concentration not associated with bladder cell cytotoxicity in in vitro or animal models. Environmental exposures to iAs in most of the United States do not approach this threshold.
A Chemist's View of Melanogenesis

The significance of our understanding of the chemistry of melanin and melanogenesis is reviewed. Melanogenesis begins with the production of dopaquinone, a highly reactive o-quinone. Pulse radiolysis is a powerful tool to study the fates of such highly reactive melanin precursors. Based on pulse radiolysis data reported by Land et al. (J Photochem Photobiol B: Biol 2001;64:123) and our biochemical studies, a pathway for mixed melanogenesis is proposed. Melanogenesis proceeds in three distinctive steps. The initial step is the production of cysteinyldopas by the rapid addition of cysteine to dopaquinone, which continues as long as cysteine is present (1 μM). The second step is the oxidation of cysteinyldopas to give pheomelanin, which continues as long as cysteinyldopas are present (10 μM). The last step is the production of eumelanin, which begins only after most cysteinyldopas are depleted. It thus appears that eumelanin is deposited on the preformed pheomelanin and that the ratio of eu- to pheomelanin is determined by the tyrosinase activity and cysteine concentration. In eumelanogenesis, dopachrome is a rather stable molecule and spontaneously decomposes to give mostly 5,6-dihydroxyindole. Dopachrome tautomerase (Dct) catalyses the tautomerization of dopachrome to give mostly 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA). Our study confirmed that the role of Dct is to increase the ratio of DHICA in eumelanin and to increase the production of eumelanin. In addition, the cytotoxicity of o-quinone melanin precursors was found to correlate with binding to proteins through the cysteine residues. Finally, it is still unknown how the availability of cysteine is controlled within the melanosome.
The Use of Recombinant Human Growth Hormone in Short Children with Chronic Renal Failure

Regulation of the somatotropic axis is altered in chronic renal failure (CRF) resulting in a secondary syndrome of growth hormone (GH) insensitivity. Secretion of growth hormone estimated by deconvolution analysis is low normal in prepubertal patients and reduced in late pubertal children with CRF. Basal and integrated GH serum concentration measured by RIA is increased due to reduced renal metabolic clearance, whereas the fractional urinary excretion is increased due to damage of renal tubular cells. GH receptor mRNA is decreased (rat) and the serum concentration of GH binding protein (BP) activity is low (man). Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 production rate is reduced, whereas serum concentrations of IGFBPs are increased secondary to reduced renal metabolic clearance. This results in a reduction of free, active IGF-1. Treatment with GH induces a rise in serum IGF-1 concentration and normalizes IGF bioactivity. Clinical studies in prepubertal children demonstrated a dramatic rise in height velocity during the first treatment year and to a lesser extent during the following years. In children on conservative treatment prior to dialysis, mean height SDS improved by 1.5 within two years and by 2.0 within four years. Patients with renal allografts responded in a similar way. Age and pretreatment height velocity SDS are confounding variables for the response to GH. Renal function seems not be altered by recombinant human (rh) GH in patients with CRF, and the number of renal allograft rejection crises seems not to be substantially increased under rhGH treatment in allograft recipients.
Differences in the amount and structure of extractable skin and seed tannins amongst red grape varieties

Background and Aims: Red wine is a very rich source of flavanols, consisting of catechins and oligomeric and polymeric proanthocyanidins (PAs). The aim of this study was to investigate the composition of the fraction of flavanols, which is extractable from the grape into the wine. Methods and Results: Using HPLC-DAD-MS analysis carried out before and after thioacidolysis of wine-like extracts obtained from skins and seeds, the flavanol composition of 20 samples derived from Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Marzemino, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Teroldego was determined. Conclusions: It was confirmed that grape extracts are mainly rich in monomers and small oligomers (mean degree of polymerization <8). Grape seed extracts contained three monomers (catechin, epicatechin and epicatechin gallate) and procyanidin oligomers. Grape skin extracts contained four monomers (catechin, epicatechin, gallocatechin and epigallocatechin), procyanidins and prodelphinidins oligomers. Upper and extension units of PAs were constituted mainly of epicatechin units, with the co-presence of catechin and epicatechin gallate in the seed PAs, and of gallocatechin in the case of skin PAs. The terminal units of the grape PAs were a mixture of five compounds, the same found also as monomers. Catechin gallate, gallocatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate, which are found in other flavanol-rich, plant-derived foods and beverages, were not present in grape extracts. Significance of the Study: The grape variety determines both the amount and the structure of wine flavanols, leading to differences in the composition, which are likely to play an important role in the nutritional and sensorial properties of the wines.
Variáveis internas e externas ao indivíduo que influenciam o comportamento de retenção de sócios no fitness

Este estudo tem como objetivo perceber a influencia do comportamentos dos consumidores na retencao de socios no fitness. Foram recolhidos dados numa Rede nacional de fitness, com uma amostra de 2250 socios, e o tratamento estatistico foi realizado no software SPSS Statistics (v.19.0) atraves de analise descritiva e inferencial. Na analise descritiva recorreu-se a medidas de localizacao, dispersao e forma, a tabelas de frequencias e diagramas de barras. Os resultados indicam que os inquiridos se dividem relativamente aos gastos por mes no clube. Grande parte dos socios treina duas vezes por semana; a duracao do treino e mais de 90 min; recomendaria o seu GHC e o seu grau de satisfacao e elevado. Na analise inferencial recorreu-se a comparacao atraves de testes de Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis e comparacoes multiplas de Dunn, concluindo-se que a atitude dos socios perante a retencao se distingue consoante o genero (o feminino apresenta maior retencao), a idade (os mais novos e mais velhos mostram maior retencao) e o comportamento perante a pratica (os socios que tem uma duracao de treino maior revelam maior retencao). Os resultados indicam que as organizacoes de fitness devem apostar no genero feminino, ja que este apresenta uma retencao superior ao genero masculino, os socios menores de vinte anos e os maiores de sessenta e cinco anos sao os que apresentam uma retencao superior e os socios que referem um treino de maior duracao tambem apresentam uma taxa de retencao maior de quem treina menos tempo. DOI: 10.5585/podium.v1i2. 25
The adaptive immune response in neonatal cerebral white matter damage

Hypotheses that inflammation contributes to neonatal cerebral white matter damage have evolved over the last three decades. The latest, expanded here, suggests that the adaptive immune system contributes to the intensity and duration of the processes that result in damage to cerebral white matter in the fetus and newborn. We propose several mechanisms by which fetal T lymphocytes could be activated during fetal exposure to infection. These include specific recognition of bacterial antigens, specific recognition of autoantigens, polyclonal activation by Toll‐like receptors, and bystander activation by cytokines. Ann Neurol 2006
Effects of CEOs’ Negative Traits on Corporate Social Responsibility

The dark triad, composed of Machiavellianism, psychopathy and narcissism, refers to negative personality traits, which may influence business processes. While negative traits could be an important factor explaining the relationship between a CEO’s immoral and unethical behavior and corporate social responsibility (CSR), there has been minimal research focusing on this relationship. This paper thus attempts to investigate how a CEO exhibiting these negative traits affects CSR, and if an employee’s perception of ethics and social responsibility would mediate the relationship. In addition, this paper considers the moderating effects of an individual performance-based compensation system (IPBCS) between employee’s CSR perception and CSR activities. The data are collected through a survey conducted on 165 employees (companies) in twelve industries. The regression result indicates an inverse relationship between the negative traits of a CEO and an employee’s perception of ethics and social responsibility and CSR activities, and the mediating effect of the perception in the relationship between the negative traits and CSR activities. It also indicates that an IPBCS moderates the relationship between CSR perception and activities. Implications for the study, future research directions, and management approach are discussed.
Singular Integrals, Image Smoothness, and the Recovery of Texture in Image Deblurring

Total variation (TV) image deblurring is a PDE-based technique that preserves edges, but often eliminates vital small-scale information, or {\em texture}. This phenomenon reflects the fact that most natural images are not of bounded variation. The present paper reconsiders the image deblurring problem in Lipschitz spaces $\Lambda(\alpha, p, q)$, wherein a wide class of nonsmooth images can be accommodated. A new and fast FFT-based deblurring method is developed that can recover texture in cases where TV deblurring fails completely. Singular integrals, such as the Poisson kernel, are used to create an effective new image analysis tool that can calibrate the lack of smoothness in an image. It is found that a rich class of images $\in \Lambda(\alpha, 1, \infty) \cap \Lambda(\beta, 2, \infty)$, with $0.2 < \alpha, \beta < 0.7$. The Poisson kernel is then used to regularize the deblurring problem by appropriately constraining its solutions in $\Lambda(\alpha, 2, \infty)$ spaces, leading to new L2 error bounds .
An object-based framework for cloud gaming using player's visual attention

Cloud gaming (CG) has grown to become a serious industry in recent years. In CG the game logic is executed on the cloud and the rendered game frames are streamed to the player's device. However, the relative high bandwidth requirement of CG is still one of its main challenges. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive object-based framework using the player's visual attention which significantly reduces the required bandwidth in comparison to conventional methods, especially in mobile devices that have limited resources. In the proposed framework, each object is encoded independently, providing complete control over its quality. Using attention also helps reduce bitrate while maintaining QoE. The objects are streamed using MPEG 4's BiFS which also gives more control over the objects that are already at the client side. Our experiments show that by using object-based coding together with player attention, at the same bitrate (including overheads such as the overhead of BiFS), the ultimate rendered frames will have considerable higher quality. In this approach, the objects in the line of sight of the player are at their best quality, therefore providing a better quality of experience with minimum bitrate.
A Customer Service Design Case Study: Insights on Customer Loyalty in the Brazilian Food Sector

Marketing managers of local and international food companies have realized that what they offer to customers go well beyond the characteristics and attributes of the products their companies manufacture and market. Service has become an integral part of the offer (Gronroos, 1993); a high service quality improves the company competitiveness, builds customer trust, supports the company brand and other product attributes (Berry & Parasuraman, 1991, p. 12). This paper seeks to investigate whether customer care service perceived quality in the food sector is truly relevant to customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Förderung des Expertiseerwerbs durch das Lernen mit Beispielaufgaben im Biologieunterricht der Klasse 9

Ziel dieser Studie ist es, das Lernen mit biologischen Beispielaufgaben zu optimieren. Zu diesem Zweck wurden Lernende der Klassenstufe 9 durch Lernimpulse, die inhaltsspezifisch und vorwissensangepasst waren, dazu angeregt, sich die Beispielaufgaben intensiver selbst zu erklaren. Zusatzlich wurde untersucht, ob die Motivationsregulation und die Beliefs-Systems einer Versuchsperson das Lernen mit Beispielaufgaben beeinflussen. Es zeigte sich, dass Lernende dieser Altersstufe bereits im Rahmen der durch ihr Vorwissen gegebenen Moglichkeiten selbst erklaren konnen. Vorwissensangepasste Impulse wirkten sich dabei positiv auf den Lernerfolg im Faktenwissen aus. Sie sind somit geeignet, sowohl die Qualitat als auch die Quantitat des Selbsterklarens positiv zu beeinflussen. Auf den Lernerfolg hatte erwartungsgemas der Expertisegrad einer Person den grosten Einfluss auf den Lernerfolg. Von den anderen untersuchten Faktoren wirkten sich lediglich die externale Motivationsregulation und die statischen Beliefs negativ auf den Lernerfolg im Faktenwissen aus.