Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Culture and Attitude: A scholarship, mentoring and professional development program to increase the number of women graduating with engineering degrees.

Industry, media, and academia desire a more diverse engineering workforce. In response to those needs, faculty at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SD Mines) established the Culture and Attitude (C&A) program in fall 2010 with the support of a National Science Foundation S-STEM award. The program provides scholarships for academically bright and financially needy women, and also recognizes the need to change the fundamental paradigm (culture) for recruiting, and retaining students, particularly women, in engineering. To that end, the C&A program created a strong mentoring program, one that advocated a transformational approach to serving women in engineering. The program began as a collaboration between Metallurgical and Industrial Engineering programs and expanded to the Mechanical Engineering program in year 3. Students were required to meet with a mentor and their advisor at varied frequency throughout the semester based on their academic standing and class. They were also required to attend professional development activities, professional society meetings, and social activities with the entire C&A group once a month. The professional development and social activities included both technical (laboratory) and social (teamwork) confidence building exercises. Program analysis was performed using traditional metrics (retention, the percentage of female enrolled and graduated) along with focus groups, longitudinal tracking, and examining student typology through Hermann Brain Dominance Inventory (HBDI). Students in the program were compared to the population that graduated from other engineering programs on campus. The retention, enrollment, and graduation rates of women increased in the initial five year period. Particularly noteworthy were the typology data, and focus group reactions to the program. HBDI results show that women at SD Mines think differently than their male counterparts, and majors with a greater percentage of women graduates received more than just the typical analytical engineering typology. C&A participants who received the scholarship in all three majors were more diverse in their typological preference. In other words, the participants were more entrepreneurial, highly detailed, empathetic engineers, a goal of the Engineer of 2020. Results from the focus groups showed that the professional activities were valued, but social activities were valued more. These findings became clearer in the focus group sessions where students indicated that the social activities allowed time for scholars to make social connections across academic disciplines. While much has been learned through approaching gender and intellectual diversity, much work remains before sustainable progress is made. Plans are now being developed to strengthen the program by incorporating service learning components as well as curricular changes for a broader institutionalization of the C&A program on campus.
Bladder growth and development after complete primary repair of bladder exstrophy in the newborn with comparison to staged approach.

PURPOSE We assessed bladder growth and dynamics following complete primary repair of bladder exstrophy (CPRE) compared to the staged approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS We reviewed the records of 16 boys and 7 girls who underwent CPRE within 3 days of life from 1996 to 2004 and compared them to the records of 8 boys and 6 girls treated with a staged repair from 1979 to 1996. Screening methods included voiding cystourethrogram, radionuclide cystogram and urodynamic study. We estimated growth curves for bladder capacity following repair in each group, and compared percent predicted bladder capacity (PPBC), compliance and detrusor overactivity between the CPRE and staged repair groups following bladder neck reconstruction. RESULTS Bladder capacity in the staged repair group was 69.8 ml (95% CI 46.7-104.4) immediately after bladder neck reconstruction and increased by 15.0% per year thereafter (95% CI 6.2-24.5, p = 0.002). In the CPRE group bladder capacity was 29.0 ml (95% CI 21.3-39.5) initially and increased by 28.9% per year thereafter (95% CI 17.4-41.5, p <0.001). PPBC started at 45.6% (95% CI 35.7-55.5) and increased 1.2% per year (95% CI -1.1-3.5, p = 0.29) following repair for all genders and surgery groups. Compliance was 124.4% (95% CI 22.6-310.7, p = 0.01) greater in the CPRE group at all times following repair. Detrusor overactivity was present in 0 of 19 patients in the CPRE group and 6 of 13 (46%) in the staged group (exact p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS Within the CPRE group bladder stability was universal, and sphincter electromyography was normal suggesting no neuromuscular compromise of the pelvic floor. At early followup, our results suggest that PPBC is equivalent irrespective of gender or management. Further objective evaluation is needed in both groups.
Macroeconomic variables and the performance of the Indian Stock Market

In this paper we analyze relationships among selected macroeconomic variables and the Indian stock market. By employing a vector error correction model, we find that three long-term equilibrium relationships exist among these variables. Our results suggest that domestic inflation is the most severe deterrent to Indian stock market performance, and domestic output growth is its predominant driving force. After accounting for macroeconomic factors, the Indian market still appears to be drawn downward by a residual negative trend. We attribute this to economic mismanagement, since the size of the downward pull mitigates after 1990, coinciding with the beginning of Indian economic reforms.
Intracellular traffic to compartments for MHC class II peptide loading: signals for endosomal and polarized sorting

Summary: In this review we focus on the traffic of MHC class II and endocytosed antigens to intracellular compartments where antigenic pep‐tides are loaded. We also discuss briefly the nature of the peptide loading compartment and the sorting signals known to direct antigen receptors and MHC class II and associated molecules to this location, MHC dass II molecules are expressed on a variety of polarized epithelial and endothelial cells, and polarized cells are thus potentially important for antigen presentation. Here we review some cell biological aspects of polarized sorting of MHC class II and the associated invariant chain and the signals that are involved in the sorting process to the basolateral domain. The molecules involved in sorting and loading of peptide may modulate antigen presentation, and in particular we discuss how invariant chain may change the cellular phenotype and the kinetics of the endosomal pathway.
Production of germline chimeric chickens, with high transmission rate of donor‐derived gametes, produced by transfer of primordial germ cells

Germline chimeric chickens were produced by transfer of primordial germ cells from White Leghorn to Barred Plymouth Rock, and vice versa. Blood was collected from stage 13–15 embryos and primordial germ cells were concentrated by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation. Approximately 200 primordial germ cells were injected into the bloodstream through the dorsal aorta of stage 14–15 recipient embryos from which blood had been drawn via the dorsal aorta prior to the injection. Intact embryos were also prepared as recipients for White Leghorns only. The manipulated embryos were cultured in recipient eggshells until hatching. Germline chimerism of the chickens reaching maturity was examined by mating them with Barred Plymouth Rocks and donor‐derived offspring were identified based on their feather color. The efficiency of production of germline chimeras was 95% (19/20). When primordial germ cells were transferred from White Leghorn to Barred Plymouth Rock, the average frequency of donor‐derived offspring was 81% for three male chimeras (96% for one female chimera), and it was ∼3.5 times higher for transfer in the opposite direction (23% for 6 male chimeras). Removing blood from recipient embryos prior to primordial germ cell injection enhanced the frequency of donor‐derived offspring by 10% in resulting male chimeras. Male chimeras produced donor‐derived offspring more frequently (∼3.8 times) than female chimeras. Increases, decreases, or no changes were observed in the frequency of donor‐derived offspring from the germline chimeras with increasing age. Male to female ratio of the offspring derived from the donor primordial germ cells did not deviate significantly in male and female chimeras, suggesting that primordial germ cells that have different sex from recipient embryos could not differentiate into functional gametes. The technique for primordial germ cell transfer employed in this experiment is simple to perform and resulted in the efficient production of germline chimeras with high transmission rates of donor‐derived gametes. This system provides a powerful tool for avian embryo manipulation. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Genetic Connectivity in the Broadcast-Spawning Coral Acropora digitifera Analyzed by Microsatellite Markers on the Sekisei Reef, Southwestern Japan

Worldwide decline has been observed in coral populations due to environmental changes at both regional and global levels. Since corals have a typical metapopulation structure, the recovery of severely disturbed local populations depends on larval recruitment from outside the disturbed region. Therefore, the connectivity among local populations may play a key role in the disturbance/ recovery dynamics of coral populations. On the basis of the simulation of surface currents, derived from ocean currents, we hypothesized that the genetic connectivity of coral populations is weak between the northern and southern regions of Sekisei Reef, Japan. To test this hypothesis, the connectivity of the population of the broadcast-spawning coral Acropora digitifera, one of the dominant corals in the Sekisei Reef, was analyzed at six sampling sites that were 5–25 km apart by using six microsatellite markers. The degree of genetic differentiation of A. digitifera was very low among all the sites (FST from -0.006 to 0.015), and no evidence was found in support of our hypothesis. The relative lack of genetic differentiation of A. digitifera among the sites may be attributable to the large effect of wind-driven surface currents, which highly vary on an annual basis, on coral larvae or to the time gap between simulation based on ocean current patterns and accumulation of genetic differences. Considering the pattern of the genetic connectivity of A. digitifera in the Sekisei Reef, the sites that are located within less-disturbed areas may act as larval sources and should, therefore, be preserved.
Spectral moments analysis of /s/ coarticulation development in Finnish-speaking children

In Finnish, coarticulatory effects of vowels readily appear in the production of the fricative /s/(S). In this developmental study, spectral moments analysis was used to compare young children’s productions of S in symmetrical vowel (V) contexts (e.g. /iSi, uSu, ySy, ɑSɑ/) with similar adult productions. The subjects were children in three age groups while adult speakers served as control group. Spectral moments were computed at 11 equidistant timepoints in the subjects’ S tokens which were highpass-filtered at 700Hz. The results revealed that there were significant differences in the effects of vowel context on the acoustics of S between adults and children and also between the 3 groups of children. The findings suggest that there are salient developmental stages in children’s progress toward adult-like phonetic realisations of S and that adult-like phonetic features of sibilants may appear in children’s speech somewhat later than generally assumed.
Genetic and epigenetic studies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Abstract The identification of genetic and epigenetic factors that are associated with an increased risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or that modify the age of onset or rate of progression, requires a multimodal research strategy, facilitated through international collaboration. The discovery of several ALS genes strongly linked to RNA biology, the proteasome pathway, and axonal transport suggest they have an important role in pathogenesis, but the immense complexity of these processes is also apparent. The increasing rate of genetic discoveries brings the hope of designing more targeted and efficacious therapies.
Senescent fibroblast-derived Chemerin promotes squamous cell carcinoma migration

Aging is associated with a rising incidence of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), an aggressive skin cancer with the potential for local invasion and metastasis. Acquisition of a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) in dermal fibroblasts has been postulated to promote skin cancer progression in elderly individuals. The underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unexplored. We show that Chemerin, a previously unreported SASP factor released from senescent human dermal fibroblasts, promotes cSCC cell migration, a key feature driving tumor progression. Whereas the Chemerin abundance is downregulated in malignant cSCC cells, increased Chemerin transcripts and protein concentrations are detected in replicative senescent fibroblasts in vitro and in the fibroblast of skin sections from old donors, indicating that a Chemerin gradient is built up in the dermis of elderly. Using Transwell® migration assays, we show that Chemerin enhances the chemotaxis of different cSCC cell lines. Notably, the Chemerin receptor CCRL2 is remarkably upregulated in cSCC cell lines and human patient biopsies. Silencing Chemerin in senescent fibroblasts or the CCRL2 and GPR1 receptors in the SCL-1 cSCC cell line abrogates the Chemerin-mediated chemotaxis. Chemerin triggers the MAPK cascade via JNK and ERK1 activation, whereby the inhibition impairs the SASP- or Chemerin-mediated cSCC cell migration. Taken together, we uncover a key role for Chemerin, as a major factor in the secretome of senescent fibroblasts, promoting cSCC cell migration and possibly progression, relaying its signals through CCRL2 and GPR1 receptors with subsequent MAPK activation. These findings might have implications for targeted therapeutic interventions in elderly patients.
The product of a newly identified gene, gInF, is required for synthesis of glutamine synthetase in Salmonella.

The product of a newly identified gene, glnF, which is distinct from the glutamine synthetase structural gene (glnA), is required for synthesis of glutamine synthetase [L-glutamate:ammonia ligase (ADP-forming), EC 6.3. 1.2[ in Salmonella typhimurium and probably in Escherichia coli. Salmonella strains with ICR (2-chloro-6-methoxy-9-[3-(2-chloroethyl)aminopropylamino]acridine dihyodrochloride)-induced (frameshift) mutations in glnF are glutamine auxotrophs; they have less than 10% oof wild-type glutamine synthetase activity or antigen and are unable to derepress the synthesis of the enzyme. The mutant allele is recessive to the wild-type allele, indicating that the glnF gene encodes a diffusible product. Mutant glnF strains have normal activities of all proteins involved in covalent modification of glutamine synthetase: adenylyltransferase (EC 2.7.7.42), PII, uridylyltransferase, and uridylyl removing enzyme. In addition, they have glutamate synthase (EC 1.4.1.13) and glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.4) activities. Thus, glnF does not encode the structure of any of these proteins. The above evidence suggests that the product of the glnF gene is (or produces) a positive regulatory factor that is required for synthesis of glutamine synthetase; it indicates that auto-regulation cannot account for control of the synthesis of glutamine synthetase in Salmonella.
Fiscal-Food Policies are Likely Misinformed by Biased Price Elasticities from Household Surveys: Evidence from Melanesia

Fiscal-food policies use taxes to alter relative food prices so as to change diets and are suggested for reducing non-communicable diseases in the Pacific. Price elasticity estimates used by advocates of fiscal-food policies are often biased and may make policy makers too optimistic about small taxes on unhealthy food and drink inducing big changes in diets. The bias is illustrated using the example of the demand for soft drinks in a household survey from the Solomon Islands, with further evidence from Papua New Guinea. About one-third of consumer response to soft drink price variation in the Solomon Islands is on the quantity margin, with two-thirds on the quality margin. If the quality response is wrongly treated as a quantity response to price—as in most studies—the price elasticity of soft drink demand is exaggerated by a factor of two in Papua New Guinea and three in the Solomon Islands.
Room-Temperature Ferromagnetic Property in MnTe Semiconductor Thin Film Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

MnTe layers of high crystalline quality were successfully grown on Si(111) and Al2O3(0001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. We have investigated the structure, magnetic and electric transport properties of MnTe layers by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer, physical properties measurement system (PPMS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Characterization of MnTe layers on Si(111) and Al2O3(0001) substrates by X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed a hexagonal structure of polycrystalline growth for MnTe/Si(111) and epitaxial growth for MnTe/Al2O3 (0001), respectively. Investigation of magnetic properties for MnTe layers showed ferromagnetic properties above room temperature unlike antiferromagnetic bulk MnTe materials. The great irreversibility between zero-field-cooling and field-cooling magnetization were observed. Apparent ferromagnetic hysteresis loops are measured at room temperature. In electro-transport measurements, the temperature dependence of resistivity revealed a noticeable semiconducting behaviors and showed a conduction via variable range hopping (VRH) at low temperature. From XPS results, we assume that the origin of ferromagnetism in samples may be due to the breaking of superexchange antiferromagnetic correlations between Mn spin moments arising from Tellurium vacancies.
Food Intake in Healthy Young Adults: Effects of Time Pressure and Social Factors

Some factors influencing food intake and subjective responses to meals were assessed in 2 groups (n=40 and n=36) of healthy university students. Both groups were studied for 6 days and included both “structured” and “unstructured” times. A questionnaire was completed by all subjects at 3 h intervals while awake. The questionnaires asked the subjects to state the factors that led them to choose to eat or not to eat a meal in the previous 3 h. If they ate a meal, they were required to describe the type of meal eaten and their responses to it—their hunger before it, their enjoyment of the meal itself, and their degree of satisfaction afterwards. Subjects were also asked to describe the type of meal that they would like to have eaten (the desired meal) in the absence of any restraints due to time pressure, cost, and so on. In the first group, 3 “structured” (working) and 3 “unstructured” (rest) days were chosen. Consistant with our previous studies, structured days, as compared to unstructured days, were associated with smaller meals and less positive subjective responses to them. Also, the meals that were eaten were often smaller than those that were desired, or were even missed altogether, due to time pressure. Not only were the meals eaten on unstructured days larger and rated, to by the subjects more positively, but also there was an additional positive effect if the meal played a social role. In the second group, 6 days were chosen, during which there were structured and unstructured 3 h periods. Many of the findings (with regard to reasons for eating or not eating a meal, and the effect of meal size upon subjective responses to it, for example) were the same as in the first group. However, the effect of structured vs. unstructured 3 h periods was significantly less marked than the effect of structured vs. unstructured days that had been found in the first group, and effects due to social factors and time pressure were less reliably present. The results indicate that food intake is affected by whether the whole or only part of the day is “structured” or “unstructured. ” These findings might be relevant to some problems faced by the workforce, in general, and by night workers, in particular.
Non-Ocular Circadian Oscillators and Photoreceptors Modulate Long Term Memory Formation in Aplysia

In Aplysia californica, memory formation for long-term sensitization (LTS) and for a more complex type of associative learning, learning that food is inedible (LFI), is modulated by a circadian clock. For both types of learning, formation of long-term memory occurs during the day and significantly less during the night. Aplysia eyes contain a well-characterized circadian oscillator that is strongly coupled to the locomotor activity rhythm. Thus, the authors hypothesized that the ocular circadian oscillator was responsible for the circadian modulation of LFI and LTS. To test this hypothesis, they investigated whether the eyes were necessary for circadian modulation of LFI and LTS. Eyeless animals trained during the subjective day and tested 24 h later demonstrated robust long-term memory for both LFI and LTS, while eyeless animals trained and tested during the subjective night showed little or no memory for LFI or LTS. The amplitude of the rhythm of modulation in eyeless animals was similar to that of intact Aplysia, suggesting that extraocular circadian oscillators were mainly responsible for the circadian rhythms in long-term memory formation. Next, the authors investigated whether the eyes played a role in photic entrainment for circadian regulation of long-term memory formation. Eyeless animals were exposed to a reversed LD cycle for 7 days and then trained and tested for long-term memory using the LFI paradigm. Eyeless Aplysia formed significant long-term memory when trained during the projected shifted day but not during the projected shifted night. Thus, the extraocular circadian oscillator responsible for the rhythmic modulation of long-term memory formation can be entrained by extraocular photoreceptors.
An Experimental Comparison of Rater Performance on an SP-Based Clinical Skills Exam

Background: Research has provided only limited information regarding how best to structure rater training and the best rating formats for a standardized-patient (SP) based assessment. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of rater discussions as an expert rater training method and to compare the expert's rating of recorded video performances with real-time SP ratings on both a global and checklist evaluation instrument. Methods: We implemented an experimental study of a discussion-based expert rater training method to compare generalizability and interrater reliability of trained experts, untrained experts, and SP raters in a 4th-year clinical skills exam. Results: In terms of reliability, SP raters did as well as expert raters on the checklist and better than expert raters on global ratings. For the expert raters, training via a discussion method did not significantly improve the reliability of checklist ratings or global ratings. Within the experts groups, those with checklists performed better than those with global ratings. Conclusions: For SP-based exams designed to assess basic clinical skills, SP ratings appear to perform as well or better than expert ratings. Discussion-based expert training yielded no improvements in expert rater performance, and expert checklist scores generated more reliable results than the expert global rating scores.