Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selective opening of the blood-tumor barrier by a nitric oxide donor and long-term survival in rats with C6 gliomas.

OBJECT The response of brain tumors to systemic chemotherapy is limited by the blood-tumor barrier (BTB). Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated in the regulation of vascular permeability and blood flow. The authors evaluated the effects of exogenous NO, which was released from a short-acting NO donor (Proli/NO), and those of NO metabolites on the capillary permeability of tumors and normal brain tissue by using quantitative autoradiography in a C6 glioma model in rats. METHODS The Proli/NO was infused at a wide dose range (10(-2) to 10(-12) M) either intravenously or into the internal carotid artery (ICA) and demonstrated substantial tumor-selective increases in blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability in response to various-sized tracers ([14C]aminoisobutyric acid, [14C]sucrose, [14C]dextran). Internal carotid artery or intravenous administration of sodium nitrite had a comparable effect on BTB permeability. The NO effect on microvascular permeability could be obtained without causing hemodynamic side effects. The effect of NO on the efficacy of carboplatin chemotherapy was investigated in intracerebral C6 gliomas. Simultaneous intravenous infusions of Proli/NO (10(-6) M) and carboplatin (20 mg/kg) led to long-term survival in 40% of rats harboring intracerebral C6 gliomas compared with control animals receiving ICA or intravenous infusions of carboplatin, Proli/NO, or vehicle alone. No residual tumor was demonstrated on histological or magnetic resonance imaging studies performed in rats treated with Proli/NO and carboplatin, and no toxicity was observed. CONCLUSIONS This new approach demonstrated the in vivo efficacy and safety of NO and nitrite in enhancing the delivery of systemically delivered radiolabeled tracers and carboplatin into rat gliomas. The NO-induced tumor-selective BBB disruption and intravenous carboplatin chemotherapy may be more efficacious than current chemotherapy strategies against brain tumors.
Indigenous Participation in Australian Sport: The Perils of the ‘Panacea’ Proposition

The argument that participation in sport among disadvantaged populations can produce positive outcomes in wide range of areas has been a consistent theme in academic literature. It is argued that sport participation can promote women’s empowerment, sexuality, lifestyle, peacemaking, youth development, poverty reduction and conflict resolution. Similarly, in Australia, participation in sport among Indigenous Australians has been proffered as a ‘panacea’ for many Indigenous problems; from promoting better health and education outcomes, to encouraging community building, good citizenship and entrepreneurship. Parallel to this has been a focus on documenting and analysing sport participation among Indigenous Australians in elite sport which often concludes that Indigenous Australians have an innate and ‘natural ability’ in sports. These two assumptions, first, that sport participation can help realise a wide range of positive social outcomes; and second, that Indigenous Australians are natural athletes, have driven significant public investment in numerous sport focused programs. This paper questions these assumptions and outlines some of the challenges inherent with an emphasis on sport as a solution to Indigenous disadvantage. We highlight how participation in sport has often been tied to ambitious, ill-defined and, in terms of evaluation, often elusive social outcome goals. Second, we also argue that there is limited research to indicate that participation in either elite or grassroots level sport has led to any discernible social progress in addressing inequality. We contrast historical Indigenous participation in a range of sporting codes to demonstrate the influence of factors beyond the ‘natural ability’ and ‘born to play’ propositions. Finally, we outline six ‘perils’ associated with viewing sport as a panacea; including how privileging sport can not only perpetuate disadvantage by reinforcing stereotypes and also contribute to a diversion of attention and resources away from other approaches that have been proven to have a greater positive social impact.
A Consumer Values Orientation for Materialism and Its Measurement: Scale Development and Validation

This article reviews the construct and measurement of materialism and concludes that materialism is appropriately conceptualized as a consumer value. The development of a values-oriented materialism scale with three components--acquisition centrality, acquisition as the pursuit of happiness, and possession-defined success--is described. In validation tests high scorers (compared with low scores) desired a higher level of income, place greater emphasis on financial security and less on interpersonal relationships, preferred to spend more on themselves and less on others, engaged in fewer voluntary simplicity behaviors, and were less satisfied with their lives. Copyright 1992 by the University of Chicago.
Bmc Complementary and Alternative Medicine Mosquito Larvicidal Activities of Solanum Villosum Berry Extract against the Dengue Vector Stegomyia Aegypti

Background: Vector control is facing a threat due to the emergence of resistance to synthetic insecticides. Insecticides of botanical origin may serve as suitable alternative biocontrol techniques in the future. Although several plants have been reported for mosquitocidal activity, only a few botanicals have moved from the laboratory to field use, because they are poorly characterized, in most cases active principals are not determined and most of the works are restricted to preliminary screening. Solanum villosum is a common weed distributed in many parts of India with medicinal properties, but the larvicidal activity of this plant has not been reported so far.
An investigation of methods of parameter tuning for Q-Learning Fuzzy Inference System

This paper investigates four methods of implementing a Q-Learning Fuzzy Inference System (QFIS) algorithm to autonomously tune the parameters of a fuzzy inference system. We use an actor-critique structure and we simulate mobile robots playing the differential form of the pursuit evasion game. Both the critique and the actor are fuzzy inference systems. The four methods come from the fact whether it is necessary to tune all the parameters (i.e. all the premise and the consequent parameters) of the critique and the actor or just tune their consequent parameters. The four methods are applied to three versions of the pursuit evasion games. In the first version just the pursuer is learning. In the second version, the evader uses its higher maneuverability and plays intelligently against a self-learning pursuer. In the final version, both the pursuer and the evader are learning. We evaluate which parameters are best to tune and which parameters have little impact on the performance.
DCM Frequency Control Algorithm for Multi-Phase DC-DC Boost Converters for Input Current Ripple Reduction

In this paper, a discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) frequency control algorithm is proposed to reduce the input current ripple of a multi-phase interleaved boost converter. Unlike conventional variable duty and constant frequency control, the proposed algorithm controls the switching frequency to regulate the output voltage. By fixing the duty ratio at 1/N in the N-phase interleaved boost converter, the input current ripple can be minimized by ripple cancellation. Furthermore, the negative effects of the diode reverse recovery current are eliminated because of the DCM characteristic. A frequency controller is designed to employ the proposed algorithm considering the magnetic permeability change. The proposed algorithm is analyzed in the frequency domain and verified by a 600 W three-phase boost converter prototype that achieved 57% ripple current reduction.
A Proposal for Comparative Genomics in Support the modENCODE Project

This paper proposes the sequencing of 8 additional fruitfly and 7 nematode species selected specifically for their potential to enhance modENCODE’s goal of complete functional annotation of DNA elements in the genomes of Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans. While the modENCODE Project is pursuing that goal primarily by systematic, largescale experimental analyses, those experiments are already being guided and enhanced by available comparative genomics data. It is our thesis that additional sequencing will greatly improve our ability to identify functional elements in the D. melanogaster and C. elegans genomes especially in conjunction with experimental data being generated by modENCODE. These species were chosen to fill “phylogenetic discovery gaps” – the absence of sequence data at critical evolutionary distances identified by recent theoretical and empirical studies as ideal for functional annotation. We present evidence for the need for additional species, the rationale for our particular choice of evolutionary distances and species and an analysis of the likely benefit of these sequences to modENCODE.
Educational Climates of High Schools: Their Effects and Sources

This contextual analysis demonstrates that (1) a number of dimensions of the educationa climates of schools have moderate effects on the mathematics achievement and college plans or students, with relevant individual attributes controlled; (2) several indicators of "intellectual" or "cultural" facilities of the community and measures of school curriculum and facilities do not qualify as sources of variations in climate effects; and (3) the degree of "parental involvement in and commitment to the school" is the ore contextual variable which is a source of climate effects. The educational implications of the results are discussed.
Ethical challenges encountered on learning/volunteer abroad programmes for students in international development studies in Canada: youth perspectives and educator insights

Abstract Learning/volunteer abroad programmes are increasingly popular in international development studies (IDS), and educators recognise the importance of quality preparation and debriefing sessions for students travelling to the Global South. In this paper, we examine the findings of a 2007–2011 Canada-wide study by Tiessen and Heron of student participants in learning/volunteer programmes, and the relational and ethical issues the youth encountered abroad. Building on materials and methods employed by IDS faculty and programme facilitators that appear most effective in helping students reflect on and analyse their experiences, we conclude with some suggestions for improving the ethics dimension of international experiential learning programmes. Résumé Les programmes de stages internationaux sont de plus en plus populaires dans les études du développement international, et les enseignants reconnaissent l'importance des séances de préparation pré-départ et de bilan-retour pour les étudiants qui participent à de tels stages en pays en voie de développement. Dans cet article, nous examinons les données d'une enquête canadienne menée par Tiessen et Heron auprès de participants à ces programmes durant la période de 2007 à 2011 pour cerner les problèmes relationnels et éthiques qu'ils ont rencontrés durant leur stage. En nous appuyant sur le matériel et les méthodes utilisés par les enseignants et les animateurs pour faire réfléchir les étudiants sur leur expérience, nous proposons des mesures pour améliorer la dimension éthique de ces programmes d'apprentissage pratique.
SPEECH PERCEPTION IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: A SUGGESTED MODEL

In recent work on second language acquisition, reference has been made to the learner's second language “production grammar” and “perception grammar,” since decoding skills seem to be acquired before encoding skills. However, the postulation of two basically separate grammars for any language can pose problems. A model of speech perception and production is suggested here which attempts to account for different rates of acquisition of perceptual and productive skill in the second language, without assuming the existence of two separate second language grammars. In Neisser's model of speech perception, Stage One could correspond to a “perception grammar”; however, it cannot be strictly called a “grammar. ” In Stage Two the second language grammar used in decoding the utterance is the same as that used in production of the second language utterance. The discrepancy between perception and production in second language acquisition can be accounted for by assuming the existence of a preliminary stage of speech perception, in which decoding is not based upon syntactic rules, but upon a feature analysis and hypothesis formation. Some principles which may be used in analyzing the utterance in this preliminary stage are discussed and related to some research findings in second language acquisition.
Automated WordNet Construction Using Word Embeddings

We present a fully unsupervised method for automated construction of WordNets based upon recent advances in distributional representations of sentences and word-senses combined with readily available machine translation tools. The approach requires very few linguistic resources and is thus extensible to multiple target languages. To evaluate our method we construct two 600-word testsets for word-to-synset matching in French and Russian using native speakers and evaluate the performance of our method along with several other recent approaches. Our method exceeds the best language-specific and multi-lingual automated WordNets in F-score for both languages. The databases we construct for French and Russian, both languages without large publicly available manually constructed WordNets, will be publicly released along with the testsets.
The impact of ballot access restrictions on electoral competition: evidence from a natural experiment

Measuring the effect of ballot access restrictions on electoral competition is complicated because the stringency of ballot access regulations cannot be treated as being exogenous to candidates’ entry decisions. This paper exploits the 1968 U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down Ohio’s ballot access law as a natural experiment to overcome the endogeneity problem. The evidence from difference-in-difference estimations suggests that the court’s decision and the accompanying sharp decrease in Ohio’s petition requirements resulted in major parties facing a significant increase in competition from third party and independent candidates.
Sterols of the Green‐Pigmented, Freshwater Raphidophyte, Gonyostomum semen, from Scandinavian Lakes

Sterols are a class of membrane‐reinforcing, ringed lipids which have a long history of examination in algae as a means of deriving chemotaxonomic relationships and as potential lipidic biomarkers. The Raphidophyceae represent a class of harmful, bloom‐forming, marine and freshwater algae. To date, there have been four published examinations of their sterol composition, focusing primarily on brown‐pigmented, marine species within the genera, Chattonella, Fibrocapsa, and Heterosigma. Lacking in these examinations has been the species Gonyostomum semen Ehrenb. , which is a green‐pigmented, freshwater raphidophyte with a worldwide distribution. The goal of this study was to examine the sterol composition of this nuisance alga, determine the potential of using its sterol profile as a biomarker, and finally to determine if there is any intraspecific variability between isolates. We have examined 21 isolates of G. semen from a number of Scandinavian lakes, and all were found to produce two major sterols, 24‐ethylcholesta‐5,22E‐dien‐3β‐ol and 24‐ethylcholest‐5‐en‐3β‐ol, and 24‐methylcholest‐5‐en‐3β‐ol as a minor sterol; the presence of 24‐ethylcholesta‐5,22E‐dien‐3β‐ol differentiates G. semen from brown‐pigmented, marine raphidophytes which generally lack it. The results of this study indicate that isolates of G. semen from geographically separate lakes across Finland and Scandinavia have the same sterol biosynthetic pathway, and that there is no evolutionary divergence between the isolates with regard to sterol composition. The sterols of G. semen are not considered to be useful biomarkers for this particular organism because they are commonly found in other algae and plants.
A memristor-based nonvolatile latch circuit

Memristive devices, which exhibit a dynamical conductance state that depends on the excitation history, can be used as nonvolatile memory elements by storing information as different conductance states. We describe the implementation of a nonvolatile synchronous flip-flop circuit that uses a nanoscale memristive device as the nonvolatile memory element. Controlled testing of the circuit demonstrated successful state storage and restoration, with an error rate of 0.1%, during 1000 power loss events. These results indicate that integration of digital logic devices and memristors could open the way for nonvolatile computation with applications in small platforms that rely on intermittent power sources. This demonstrated feasibility of tight integration of memristors with CMOS (complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor) circuitry challenges the traditional memory hierarchy, in which nonvolatile memory is only available as a large, slow, monolithic block at the bottom of the hierarchy. In contrast, the nonvolatile, memristor-based memory cell can be fast, fine-grained and small, and is compatible with conventional CMOS electronics. This threatens to upset the traditional memory hierarchy, and may open up new architectural possibilities beyond it.
Understanding the relationship between coaches' basic psychological needs and identity prominence and their commitment, positive affect, and intentions to persist.

This study tested the degree to which coaches’ basic psychological need fulfillment and identity prominence were associated with their positive affect, commitment, and intentions to persist. In total, 413 coaches with an average of 14 years’ experience served as participants and completed an online survey that included six sections: Demographics, basic psychological needs, identity prominence, positive affect, commitment, and intentions to persist. The present study findings provide initial support for the links from coaches’ basic psychological needs and identity prominence to their positive affect and commitment. In contrast, the findings did not provide support for the relationship between coaches’ basic psychological need fulfillment and their intentions to persist or the association between their identity prominence and intentions to persist. The results offer an explanation of the mechanisms that may play a role in facilitating coaches’ optimal functioning.
Moving in a Hierarchized Landscape Changing Border Regimes in Central Kalimantan

Transnational mobility is a common feature among borderland communities. Central Borneo has been a relatively fluid and open riverine-based socio-cultural and economic space since the arrival of colonial states, without much interference from the establishment of international boundaries on local cross-border mobility practices. This applies to the Kenyah, a cluster of related ethnic groups occupying the Apokayan plateau in East Kalimantan (Indonesia), who are historically an integral part of the socio-cultural and economic fabric throughout the major riverine systems of Sarawak (Malaysia). Despite the relative absence of states, Central Borneo has not escaped the onslaught of social differentiation embedded in nation-state identities. The penetration of Sarawak’s logging industry has brought the terrestrial re-ordering of the Bornean landscape away from the relative egalitarian social order of river basins into hierarchical social relations embedded in capitalistic modes of production. This has brought about the construction of the Kenyah’s visibility as an “Indonesian underclass“ inside Sarawak.
Visualization, direct isolation, and transplantation of midbrain dopaminergic neurons

To visualize and isolate live dopamine (DA)-producing neurons in the embryonic ventral mesencephalon, we generated transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of the rat tyrosine hydroxylase gene promoter. In the transgenic mice, GFP expression was observed in the developing DA neurons containing tyrosine hydroxylase. The outgrowth and cue-dependent guidance of GFP-labeled axons was monitored in vitro with brain culture systems. To isolate DA neurons expressing GFP from brain tissue, cells with GFP fluorescence were sorted by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. More than 60% of the sorted GFP+ cells were positive for tyrosine hydroxylase, confirming that the population had been successfully enriched with DA neurons. The sorted GFP+ cells were transplanted into a rat model of Parkinson's disease. Some of these cells survived and innervated the host striatum, resulting in a recovery from Parkinsonian behavioral defects. This strategy for isolating an enriched population of DA neurons should be useful for cellular and molecular studies of these neurons and for clinical applications in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
Automatic Reading of Vehicle Numbers from Number Plate

Automatic reading of number plate in vehicles is a character recognition system, which detects the characters from the segmented number plate of the vehicle image. The work presented in this paper is to segment the characters initially from the number plate followed by recognition of the segmented characters. The skew corrected and noise free number plate image is initially segmented into its constituent parts to obtain the characters individually through projection profile technique. Later the segmented individual characters are subjected to recognition using template matching technique. Experimentation is carried out to find the recognition efficiency from the segmented number plate of the vehicle image obtained under different environment conditions.
INFINITE GRADED FREE RESOLUTIONS

The idea of associating a free resolution to a finitely generated module was introduced in two famous papers by Hilbert in 1890 [Hi1] and 1893 [Hi2]. He proved Hilbert’s Syzygy Theorem 4.9, which says that the minimal free resolution of every finitely generated graded module over a polynomial ring is finite. Since then, there has been a lot of progress on the structure and properties of finite free resolutions. Much less is known about the properties of infinite free resolutions. Such resolutions occur abundantly since most minimal free resolutions over a graded non-linear quotient ring of a polynomial ring are infinite. The challenges in studying them come from: