Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applications of Text Analysis Tools for Spoken Response Grading

This study explores the potential for automated indices related to speech delivery, language use, and topic development to model human judgments of TOEFL speaking proficiency in second language (L2) speech samples. For this study, 244 transcribed TOEFL speech samples taken from 244 L2 learners were analyzed using automated indices taken from Coh-Metrix, CPIDR, and LIWC. A stepwise linear regression was used to explain the variance in human judgments of independent speaking ability and overall speaking proficiency. Automated indices related to word type counts, causal cohesion, and lexical diversity predicted 52% of the variance in human ratings for the independent speech samples. Automated indices related to word type counts and word frequency predicted 61% of the variance of the human scores of overall speaking proficiency. These analyses demonstrate that, even in the absence of indices related to pronunciation and prosody (e.g., phonological accuracy, intonation, and stress), automated indices related to vocabulary size, causality, and word frequency can predict a significant amount of the variance in human ratings of speaking proficiency. These findings have important implications for understanding the construct of speaking proficiency and for the development of automatic scoring techniques.
Quantitative traits of carcass from lambs finished in feedlot system and slaughtered at different body conditions

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the genotypes and body condition on the carcass dressing of lambs finished in feedlot. Twenty-four Santa Ines and 24 ½ Dorper × ½ Santa Ines crossbred lambs averaging 19.8 kg of weight and 103 days old were used in the trial. The adaptation period to the facilities and diet was of 14 days. The animals received complete ration with 30% of manicoba hay (Manihot pseudoglaziovii) and 70% of concentrate. The experimental design consisted of a completely randomized 2 × 3 factorial design (two genotypes and three corporal conditions) with different number of replicates. No differences between genotypes for the quantitative carcass traits studied were observed, except for the percentage of internal fat, fat thickness in the fat condition and dressing of the leg and rib in the intermediate corporal condition. The effect of the body condition within the genotype increases the internal fat percentage, fat thickness, compactness index of the carcass and weights of the saleable cuts, except for the weight of the neck in Dorper × Santa Ines crossbred lambs.
Anatomy of rat semaphorin III collapsin‐1 mRNA expression and relationship to developing nerve tracts during neuroembryogenesis

Semaphorin III/collapsin‐1 (semaIII/coll‐1) is a chemorepellent that exhibits a repulsive effect on growth cones of dorsal root ganglion neurons. To identify structures that express semaIII/coll‐1 in developing mammals, we cloned the rat homologue and performed in situ hybridization on embryonic, neonatal, and adult rats. The relationship between semaIII/coll‐1 mRNA distribution and developing nerve tracts was studied by combining in situ hybridization with immunohistochemistry for markers of growing nerve fibers. At embryonic day 11, semaIII/coll‐1 expression was restricted to the olfactory pit, the basal and rostral surface of the telencephalic vesicle, the anlage of the eye, the epithelium of Rathke's pouch, and the somites. At later developmental stages, semaIII/coll‐1 mRNA was found to be widely distributed in neuronal as well as in mesenchymal and epithelial structures outside the nervous system. Strong expression was found in the olfactory bulb, retina, lens, piriform cortex, amygdalostriatal area, pons, cerebellar anlage, motor nuclei of cranial nerves, and ventral spinal cord. After birth, mesenchymal staining decreased rapidly and expression became progressively restricted to specific sets of neurons in the central nervous system (CNS). In the mature CNS, semaIII/coll‐1 mRNA remains detectable in mitral cells, neurons of the accessory bulb and cerebral cortex, cerebellar Purkinje cells, as well as a subset of cranial and spinal motoneurons. The temporal and spatial expression pattern of semaIII/coll‐1 mRNA and its relationship to emerging nerve tracts suggests that semaIII/coll‐1 is involved in guiding growing axons towards their targets by forming a molecular boundary that instructs axons to engage in the formation of specific nerve tracts. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Organisation of the tectorotundal and SP/IPS‐rotundal projections in the chick

The organisation of the neural projections from the optic tectum and pretectal nuclei complex, n. subpretectalis / n. interstitio‐pretecto‐subpretectalis (SP/IPS), to the nucleus rotundus (Rt) in chicks was studied by using retrograde tracing techniques. After the injection of fluorescent retrograde tracers, rhodamine‐conjugated latex microspheres, fluorescein‐conjugated latex microspheres, True Blue, Fluoro‐Gold, or rhodamine B isothiocyanate, into different regions of Rt and its middorsal extension, the nucleus triangularis (T), the distribution of retrogradely labelled neuronal cell bodies in the tectum and pretectal nuclei was assessed. Both the ipsilateral and contralateral tectorotundal projections were found to be organised topographically in as much as different sublaminas of the stratum griseum centrale (SGC) project in an orderly manner to Rt and T. The deepest stratum of SGC overlapping into the stratum album centrale projects to T. Deep SGC projects to the dorsal Rt and superficial SGC to the ventral Rt. A band running through the centre of Rt receives input from the central sublamina of SGC, and the caudal central Rt receives input from a deeper sublamina than does the rostral central Rt. The SP/IPS projects to the ipsilateral Rt only and the projection order is dorsal SP to dorsal Rt, ventral SP to ventral Rt and middle SP to the central band of Rt. The neurones in IPS and the nucleus of the tractus tectothalamicus project to T. Thus, Rt and T receive topographically both tecto‐ (excitatory) and SP/IPS‐ (inhibitory) projections. The possible functional implications for parallel information processing in these projections are discussed. J. Comp. Neurol. 394:171–185, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Suplementação dietética de fitase sobre o metabolismo de nutrientes de frangos de corte

The experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of phytase enzyme supplementation in diets on the metabolizable energy (ME) and on the apparent ileum digestibility coefficients of the dry matter, crude protein, calcium and phosphorous, and to determine the deposition of ashes, calcium and phosphorous on the tibia of broilers. It was used 350 Ross male broilers from 16 to 25 days of age distributed in a complete randomized design with five diets and ten replicates of seven birds per each experimental unit. The diets which were corn and soybean meal based were formulated considering the availability of metabolizable energy, crude protein, lysine, calcium, and available phosphorus according to the nutritional matrix of phytase enzyme, and supplemented with 0.5% of chromium oxide. The diets were the following: positive control; negative control 1; negative control 2; negative control 1 + 250 ftu; negative control 2 + 500 ftu. The phytase enzyme supplementation at levels of 250 and 500 ftu/kg of diet improved the energetic values of the diets by 36 and 54 kcal/kg of dry matter, respectively. The use of phytase improved the digestibility coefficients of crude protein and phosphorus, whose highest values were obtained with supplementation of 500 ftu/kg of diet. The phytase supplementation improved coefficient of digestibility and phosphorous retention reducing excreted phosphorous and increasing composition of phosphorous in the tibia of the birds, mainly for the broilers fed diet supplemented with phytase (500 ftu/kg). The phytase supplementation (500 ftu/kg) improves the digestibility coefficients of crude protein and phosphorous, improves the retention of phosphorus and reduces phosphorus excretion of broilers.
Parallel patterns and trends in functional structures in extinct island mammals.

Endemic mammalian species on islands are generally known to have followed a different evolutionary pathway than their mainland relatives. General patterns, such as body size trends, have been described regularly. However, most island mammal species are unique and each of them is adapted to a specific local niche as part of an equally specific ecological assemblage. Therefore, comparing island species across taxa, islands and time is inherently dangerous without understanding the adaptational value of the studied feature in the compared taxa and without taking the ecological setting of the taxa into account. In this contribution, general and recurring patterns are described per taxon. Some features, like body mass change and sturdy limbs, are relatively general, whereas most features, like bone fusions and change of orbital axis, occur only in a very few taxa. Some features are even contradictory, such as brain size and degree of hypsodonty, with each taxon having its own particular design. In conclusion, general patterns are more often than not just trends and need to be applied with caution.
Monocytes affect cell‐cycle progression but not baseline frequency of sister chromatid exchanges of pig lymphocytes

The effect of pig monocytes (MNs) on the baseline frequency of sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) and cell‐cycle progression of pig lymphocytes was studied in plasma leukocyte (PLCs) and whole blood leukocyte cultures (WBCs). No variation in SCE frequency was observed between control WBC and PLC, nor did the addition of pig MNs to PLCs modify the baseline frequency of SCEs. Cell proliferation was slower in PLCs than in WBCs. Variations in cell‐cycle progression of pig lymphocytes from PLC were observed both in the absence and presence of adherent cells in the culture. In MN‐free cultures, lymphocytes proliferated faster than in parallel PLC cultures. However, when MNs were seeded into the cultures, cell‐cycle progression gradually slowed as a function of the concentration of adherent cells present in the cultures. This finding shows that pig MNs modulate the in vitro cell‐cycle progression of pig lymphocytes in a dose‐dependent manner and that the low baseline SCE frequency of pig lymphocytes is independent of the presence or absence of MNs in the culture. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 33:86–90, 1999 © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Online Instruction with Universal Design for Learning in the Synchronous K-8 Classroom

v LIST OF TABLES . viii LIST OF FIGURES . ix CHAPTER 1. DEFINING A RESEARCH AGENDA FOR ONLINE LEARNING WITH K-8 STUDENTS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION. 1 2. AN EXAMINATION OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING IN SYNCHRONOUS ONLINE K-8 CLASSROOMS . 38 3. PREPARING K-8 TEACHERS FOR ONLINE INSTRUCTION USING UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING . 66 REFERENCES . 88 APPENDICES A. SUMMARY OF EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATIONS FOCUSING ON ONLINE INSTRUCTION AND INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES . 104 B. ENVIRONMENTAL TOOL . 129 C. TEACHER OBSERVATION TOOL . 133 D. STUDENT TOOL . 140
Changes in Hemolymph Glutathione Status After Variation in Photoperiod and Light-irradiance in Crayfish Procambarus clarkii and Procambarus digueti

Abstract This work studied the effect of light-stressors, irradiance and photoperiod length on the status of hemolymph glutathione in two species of crayfish, Procambarus clarkii and Procambarus digueti. Adult animals of each species were submitted to two experimental approaches: (1) two batches of each species were placed under low or high light irradiant conditions of light–dark (LD) 24 h cycles of two different photoperiod lengths, one normal LD 12:12 and one extreme LD 20:4 low and high irradiance for 10 weeks. Time-dependent light changes on hemolymph glutathione concentration were determined throughout the entire experimental period; and (2) three batches of the two species were submitted to independent treatments consisting of the same LD 12:12 cycles of high and low irradiance and 20:4 high-irradiance LD cycles. Reduced and oxidized glutathione hemolymph concentrations were determined and total glutathione was calculated. In addition midgut glutathione reductase activity in both species was determined. The two species showed different hemolymph glutathione reactivity and glutathione status for the two light parameters. Dissimilar responses of both species, as well as the rate of mortality of P. digueti represent specific differences in the metabolic responses, as well as tolerance to photo-oxidative stress produced by light. The role of glutathione in the tolerance of crayfish to photo-oxidative stress is discussed.
Reactions of trans-3-chloroacrylic acid dehalogenase with acetylene substrates: Consequences of and evidence for a hydration reaction

Various soil bacteria use 1,3-dichloropropene, a component of the commercially available fumigants Shell D-D and Telone II, as a sole source of carbon and energy. One enzyme involved in the catabolism of 1,3-dichloropropene is trans-3-chloroacrylic acid dehalogenase (CaaD), which converts the trans-isomers of 3-bromo- and 3-chloroacrylate to malonate semialdehyde. Sequence analysis suggested a relationship between the heterohexameric CaaD and the bacterial isomerase, 4-oxalocrotonate tautomerase (4-OT), thereby distinguishing CaaD from a number of dehalogenases whose mechanisms proceed through an alkyl- or aryl-enzyme intermediate. In this study, the genes for the α- and β-subunits of CaaD have been synthesized using a polymerase chain reaction-based strategy, cloned into separate plasmids, and the proteins expressed and purified as the functional heterohexamer. Subsequently, the product of the reaction was confirmed to be malonate semialdehyde by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, and kinetic constants were de.
Sugar/osmoticum levels modulate differential abscisic acid-independent expression of two stress-responsive sucrose synthase genes in Arabidopsis

Sucrose synthase (Sus) is a key enzyme of sucrose metabolism. Two Sus-encoding genes (Sus1 and Sus2) from Arabidopsis thaliana were found to be profoundly and differentially regulated in leaves exposed to environmental stresses (cold stress, drought or O(2) deficiency). Transcript levels of Sus1 increased on exposure to cold and drought, whereas Sus2 mRNA was induced specifically by O(2) deficiency. Both cold and drought exposures induced the accumulation of soluble sugars and caused a decrease in leaf osmotic potential, whereas O(2) deficiency was characterized by a nearly complete depletion in sugars. Feeding abscisic acid (ABA) to detached leaves or subjecting Arabidopsis ABA-deficient mutants to cold stress conditions had no effect on the expression profiles of Sus1 or Sus2, whereas feeding metabolizable sugars (sucrose or glucose) or non-metabolizable osmotica [poly(ethylene glycol), sorbitol or mannitol] mimicked the effects of osmotic stress on Sus1 expression in detached leaves. By using various sucrose/mannitol solutions, we demonstrated that Sus1 was up-regulated by a decrease in leaf osmotic potential rather than an increase in sucrose concentration itself. We suggest that Sus1 expression is regulated via an ABA-independent signal transduction pathway that is related to the perception of a decrease in leaf osmotic potential during stresses. In contrast, the expression of Sus2 was independent of sugar/osmoticum effects, suggesting the involvement of a signal transduction mechanism distinct from that regulating Sus1 expression. The differential stress-responsive regulation of Sus genes in leaves might represent part of a general cellular response to the allocation of carbohydrates during acclimation processes.
Indices, domains and homophonous forms

Heidi Harley’s ‘On the identity of roots’ makes a solid and compelling contri­ bution to our understanding of linguistic roots. Moving away from vague pre­ theoretical conceptions, which were largely based on morphological treatments of the topic, the paper scrutinises the very concept of root as an element partici­ pating in derivations. To my mind, Harley presents a theoretically coherent and empirically exciting approach to linguistic roots. The paper’s theoretical coher­ ence is achieved by dwelling on the consequences of a ‘syntax­all­the­way­down’ model for the nature of roots, and, furthermore, by taking the separationist and distributed character of Distributed Morphology to its logical consequence: roots must be made distinct from their morphological realisations; roots must also be unburdened from any a priori conceptual content – this, in turn, being a residual assumption from models comprising a lexicon as a list where form and interpre­ tation are non­structurally and pre­derivationally paired. The empirical success of Harley’s approach is, of course, her both accounting for true root allomorphy and explaining why e.g. physics and physical (in the sense of ‘bodily’) share a root but no common conceptual content. My perspective on the matter has been virtually identical to that of Harley – see Panagiotidis (2011a), Acquaviva and Panagiotidis (2012), and Panagiotidis (2015); both approaches owe a lot to Marantz (1997) and (2000), Acquaviva (2009) and Borer (2009). I will therefore assume her account is correct and will focus on three issues arising from Harley’s account of roots. a. How we (and native speakers) can distinguish between “homophonous” roots – if roots are indices and if root allomorphy is real, b. What the domain of obligatory idiosyncratic interpretation is: we need to look at the notion of ‘root­derived’ words and distinguish this matter from the (non­)obligatoriness of compositional interpretation, c. What roots really are, if not composed of UG features.
Metabolic pathways of trichothecenes

Trichothecenes are a group of mycotoxins mainly produced by the fungi of Fusarium genus. Consumers are particularly concerned over the toxicity and food safety of trichothecenes and their metabolites from food-producing animals. The metabolism of T-2 toxin, deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV), fusarenon-X (FX), diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS), 3-acetyldeoxy-nivalenol (3-aDON), and 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-aDON) in rodents, swine, ruminants, poultry, and humans are reviewed in this article. Metabolic pathways of these mycotoxins are very different. The major metabolic pathways of T-2 toxin in animals are hydrolysis, hydroxylation, de-epoxidation, and conjugation. After being transformed to HT-2 toxin, it undergoes further hydroxylation at C-3’ to yield 3’-hydroxy-HT-2 toxin, which is considered as an activation pathway, whereas transformation from T-2 to T-2 tetraol is an inactivation pathway in animals. The typical metabolites of T-2 toxin in animals are HT-2 toxin, T-2 triol, T-2 tetraol, neosolaniol (NEO), 3’-hydroxy-HT-2, and 3’-hydroxy-T-2, whereas HT-2 toxin is the main metabolite in humans. De-epoxidation is an important pathway for detoxification in animals. De-epoxy products, DOM-1, and de-epoxy-NIV are the main metabolites of DON and NIV in most animals, respectively. However, the two metabolites are not found in humans. Deacetyl can occur rapidly on the acetyl derivatives, 3-aDON, 15-aDON, and FX. DAS is metabolized in animals to 15-monoacetoxyscirpenol (15-MAS) via C-4 deacetylation and then transformed to scirpentriol (SCP) via C-15 deacetylation. Finally, the epoxy is lost, yielding de-epoxy-SCP. De-epoxy-15-MAS is also the main metabolite of DAS. 15-MAS is the main metabolite in human skin. The review on the metabolism of trichothecenes will help one to well understand the fate of these toxins’ future in animals and humans, as well as provide basic information for the risk assessment of them for food safety.
Fibroblast-Negative CD34-Negative Cells from Human Adipose Tissue Contain Mesodermal Precursors for Endothelial and Mesenchymal Cells.

There is considerable evidence that stem/progenitor cells reside in the vasculature during the prenatal and postnatal stages. The stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of human adipose tissue is markedly rich in blood vessels, and it is a source of mesenchymal/stromal cells (MSCs). Therefore, we hypothesized that, in addition to MSCs, the SVF may contain other mesodermal precursors. However, the SVF has a high content of CD34+ cells with high proliferative capacity, which can prevent the growth of the most quiescent cells. By using an antifibroblast (FIB) antibody coupled to microbeads, we show that ∼90%–95% of the nonhematopoietic CD34+ cells were retained in the CD45−FIB+ fraction. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that the CD45−FIB−CD34− cell fraction expressed higher mRNA levels of KDR and GATA2 than its complementary CD45−FIB−CD34+ cell fraction, which contained the SVF endothelial cells. Surprisingly, when CD45−FIB−CD34− cells were cultured in endothelial growth medium, the.
Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei F19: Survival, Ecology and Safety in the Human Intestinal Tract - A Survey of Feeding Studies within the PROBDEMO Project

Lactobacillus paracasei F19 is an emerging probiotic strain that shows considerable promise for use in functional foods for intestinal health. In a multicentre European research project, human feeding trials provided an insight into the ability of this strain to survive gastric transit and transiently colonize the human intestinal tract. Analysis of the faecal microbiota in healthy human volunteers showed that a proportion of the subjects carried a strain indistinguishable from L. paracasei F19 naturally within their intestines. When consumed in different foods, L. paracasei F19 survived gastric transit in healthy infants, adults, and elderly subjects. The bacterium transiently colonized both the colonic lumen and mucosa. Molecular analysis of faecal and colonic biopsy samples from children fed the probiotic showed that L. paracasei F19 did not perturb the population dynamics of other major populations of bacteria in the intestinal microbiota. This strain was well tolerated by young children, healthy adults, adults with milk-hypersensitivity and elderly subjects infected with Helicobacter pylori.
Software and hardware for measurements systems

The problem of measurement of various technological and experimental object parameters is fundamental in production and the realization of scientific research in the educational process. Today, the all over the world, the use of IBM-compatible PC equipment for information storage and processing is massive. As a software interface for immediate recording of experimental data the software delivered, which is used for analog signal digitization, often introduces a number of disadvantages: e.g. the impossibility of obtaining output data in the required units of measurements; the impossibility of simultaneous operation with several variables at the interface of the analog-to-digital converter. With the purpose of elimination of these indicated disadvantages the authors have developed a universal system for the experimental data recording and processing.
A new species of Neoseiulus Hughes, with records of seven species of predatory mites associated with date palm in Saudi Arabia (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

Eight species of phytoseiid mites are reported from date palm orchards in Saudi Arabia. Seven of them were first records forthis country: Neoseiulus bicaudus (Wainstein), N. conterminus (Kolodochka), N. makuwa (Ehara), N. rambami (Swirski &Amitai), Proprioseiopsis asetus (Chant), P. messor (Wainstein), P. ovatus (Garman). Neoseiulus makuwa and P. asetus arerecorded from the Middle East and North Africa for the first time. One new species is described from Bermuda grass, Neoseiu- lus saudiensis n. sp. The new species is most similar to Neoseiulus alpinus (Schweizer) and N. marginatus (Wainstein). A key for identification of the included species is provided.