Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Current Antioxidant Treatments in Organ Transplantation

Oxidative stress is one of the key mechanisms affecting the outcome throughout the course of organ transplantation. It is widely believed that the redox balance is dysregulated during ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) and causes subsequent oxidative injury, resulting from the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, in order to alleviate organ shortage, increasing number of grafts is retrieved from fatty, older, and even non-heart-beating donors that are particularly vulnerable to the accumulation of ROS. To improve the viability of grafts and reduce the risk of posttransplant dysfunction, a large number of studies have been done focusing on the antioxidant treatments for the purpose of maintaining the redox balance and thereby protecting the grafts. This review provides an overview of these emerging antioxidant treatments, targeting donor, graft preservation, and recipient as well.
A case study of DECnet applications and protocol performance

This paper is a study based on measurements of network activities of a major site of Digital's world-wide corporate network. The study yields two kinds of results: (1) DECnet protocol performance information and (2) DECnet session statistics. Protocol performance is measured in terms of the various network overhead (non-data) packets in routing, transport and session layers. From these protocol performance data, we are able to review how effective various network protocol optimizations are; for example the on/off flow control scheme and the delayed acknowledgement scheme in the transport protocol. DECnet session statistics characterizes the workload in such a large network. The attributes of a session include the user who started it, the application invoked, the distance between the user and the application, the time span, the number of packets and bytes in each direction, and the various reasons if a session is not successfully established. Based on a large sample of such sessions, we generate distributions based on various attributes of sessions; for example the application mix, the visit count distribution and various packet number and size distributions.
Present and future evidence for evolving dark energy

We compute the Bayesian evidences for one- and two-parameter models of evolving dark energy, and compare them to the evidence for a cosmological constant, using current data from Type Ia supernova, baryon acoustic oscillations, and the cosmic microwave background. We use only distance information, ignoring dark energy perturbations. We find that, under various priors on the dark energy parameters, LambdaCDM is currently favoured as compared to the dark energy models. We consider the parameter constraints that arise under Bayesian model averaging, and discuss the implication of our results for future dark energy projects seeking to detect dark energy evolution. The model selection approach complements and extends the figure-of-merit approach of the Dark Energy Task Force in assessing future experiments, and suggests a significantly-modified interpretation of that statistic.
Education, Gender, and Economic Development: A Cross-National Study.

This article addresses two issues: Do gender differences in educational expansion have different effects on national economic growth? If so, why? In past comparative research, these issues were either ignored or explained in relation to education's impact on women's participation in the labor force and reproductive behavior. The study presented here analyzed cross-national data on 96 countries from 1960 to 1985 and found clear evidence that in less-developed countries, especially some of the poorest, educational expansion among school-age girls at the primary level has a stronger effect on long-term economic prosperity than does educational expansion among school-age boys. This effect is not mediated by women's rates of participation in the wage labor force or by fertility rates. These findings provide qualified support for institutional theories of education's impact on society.
Are Commodity Prices Useful Leading Indicators of Inflation

Commodity prices have increased dramatically and persistently over the past several years, followed by a sharp reversal in recent months. These large and persistent movements in commodity prices raise questions about their implications for global inflation. The process of globalization has motivated much debate over whether global factors have become more important in driving the inflation process. Since commodity prices respond to global demand and supply conditions, they are a potential channel through which foreign shocks could influence domestic inflation. The author assesses whether commodity prices can be used as effective leading indicators of inflation by evaluating their predictive content in seven major industrialized economies. She finds that, since the mid-1990s in those economies, commodity prices have provided significant signals for inflation. While short-term increases in commodity prices can signal inflationary pressures as early as the following quarter, the size of this link is relatively small and declines over time. The results suggest that monetary policy has generally accommodated the direct effects of short-term commodity price movements on total inflation. While indirect effects of short-term commodity price movements on core inflation have remained relatively muted, more persistent movements appear to influence inflation expectations and signal changes in both total and core inflation at horizons relevant for monetary policy. The results also suggest that commodity price movements may provide larger signals for inflation in the commodity-exporting countries examined than in the commodity-importing economies.
A Polynomial Time Approximation Scheme for Inferring Evolutionary Trees from Quartet Topologies and Its Application

Inferring evolutionary trees has long been a challenging problem for both biologists and computer scientists. In recent years research has concentrated on the quartet method paradigm for inferring evolutionary trees. Quartet methods proceed by first inferring the evolutionary history for every set of four species (resulting in a set Q of inferred quartet topologies) and then recombining these inferred quartet topologies to form an evolutionary tree. This paper presents two results on the quartet method paradigm. The first is a polynomial time approximation scheme (PTAS) for recombining the inferred quartet topologies optimally. This is an important result since, to date, there have been no polynomial time algorithms with performance guarantees for quartet methods. To achieve this result the natural denseness of the set Q is exploited. The second result is a new technique, called quartet cleaning, that detects and corrects errors in the set Q with performance guarantees. This result has particular significance since quartet methods are usually very sensitive to errors in the data. It is shown how quartet cleaning can dramatically increase the accuracy of quartet methods.
An EFQM model self‐assessment exercise at a Spanish university

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the EFQM model self‐assessment in a Spanish university.Design/methodology/approach – A case study methodology is used based on five services provided by a public university in Spain.Findings – The findings show the steps that one university can follow in order to apply this exercise in a successful manner, its benefits, its obstacles and its key factors such as management and employee commitment, and the support to self‐assessment teams (e.g. training, review). Originality/value – The paper provides lessons for managers from other universities who wish to develop a self‐assessment exercise.
Amygdala task‐evoked activity and task‐free connectivity independently contribute to feelings of arousal

Individual differences in the intensity of feelings of arousal while viewing emotional pictures have been associated with the magnitude of task‐evoked blood‐oxygen dependent (BOLD) response in the amygdala. Recently, we reported that individual differences in feelings of arousal are associated with task‐free (resting state) connectivity within the salience network. There has not yet been an investigation of whether these two types of functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures are redundant or independent in their relationships to behavior. Here we tested the hypothesis that a combination of task‐evoked amygdala activation and task‐free amygdala connectivity within the salience network relate to individual differences in feelings of arousal while viewing of negatively potent images. In 25 young adults, results revealed that greater task‐evoked amygdala activation and stronger task‐free amygdala connectivity within the salience network each contributed independently to feelings of arousal, predicting a total of 45% of its variance. Individuals who had both increased task‐evoked amygdala activation and stronger task‐free amygdala connectivity within the salience network had the most heightened levels of arousal. Task‐evoked amygdala activation and task‐free amygdala connectivity within the salience network were not related to each other, suggesting that resting‐state and task‐evoked dynamic brain imaging measures may provide independent and complementary information about affective experience, and likely other kinds of behaviors as well. Hum Brain Mapp 35:5316–5327, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Developing a Day Trip Expectation/ Satisfaction Construct: A Comparative Analysis of Scale Construction Techniques

Abstract The paper is concerned with identifying, and assessing the relative importance of, the determinant attributes of consumers' expectations about, and satisfaction with, day trip destinations by developing an appropriate construct. To this end, a comparative analysis of three different scale construction methods was undertaken. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the free elicitation technique and showed that from the consumer perspective, the secondary features and psychological aspects of destinations were considered to be relatively more important than the primary elements and functional attributes.
Loss of Synaptic D1 Dopamine/N-Methyl-d-aspartate Glutamate Receptor Complexes in l-DOPA-Induced Dyskinesia in the Rat

Glutamate-mediated mechanisms are related to the motor complications of l-DOPA therapy in Parkinson's disease (PD). In striatal postsynaptic densities (PSD), the dopamine D1 receptor (D1R) is part of an oligomeric complex with the glutamate N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), determining the strength of corticostriatal transmission. We studied D1R/NMDAR complex alterations induced by l-DOPA in the 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rat model of PD. l-DOPA-treated hemiparkinsonian rats were determined to be dyskinetic or nondyskinetic based on behavioral testing. D1R/NMDAR assemblies containing NR1-C2 and NR2B subunits were decreased in the PSD of lesioned striatum. Short-term l-DOPA administration improved akinesia and restored the synaptic abundance of D1R, NR1-C2 and NR2B. Prolonged l-DOPA treatment also normalized synaptic D1R/NMDAR complexes in nondyskinetic rats, but remarkably reduced them in the dyskinetic group without changing their interaction. This decrease involved NR1-C2, NR1-C2′, NR2A, and NR2B subunits. The composition of residual synaptic D1R/NMDAR complexes in dyskinetic rats may thus be different from that observed in lesioned rats, suggesting that expression of different motor dysfunctions might be related to the receptor profile at corticostriatal synapses. The levels of D1R/NMDAR complexes were unchanged in total striatal membrane proteins, suggesting that the decrease of these species in the PSD is likely to reflect an altered receptor trafficking. In human embryonic kidney 293 cells expressing the D1R/NMDAR, complex costimulation of both D1R and NMDAR, but not individual receptor activation, promoted internalization, suggesting that development of dyskinesias might be related to agonist-mediated down-regulation of the D1R/NMDAR complex at corticostriatal synapses.
Beyond social constructivist perspectives on assessment: the centring of knowledge

Over the past few decades assessment has been heralded for its key role in the improvement of teaching and learning. However, more recently there have been expressions of uncertainty about whether assessment is in fact delivering on its promised potential. Against this backdrop of uncertainty and circumspection this paper offers a critical reflection on higher education assessment discourses with a particular focus on the discourse of criterion referenced assessment. The central argument is that while the social constructivist perspective has significantly illuminated our understanding of assessment, inadvertently the very object of assessment – knowledge – has been eclipsed. I propose that a fruitful way forward for our assessment practices is the centring of disciplinary forms of knowledge as an explicit component of the object of our assessment. Drawing on sociologists of education – Basil Bernstein and Karl Maton – I stake out some of the theoretical ground for reconceptualising the relationship between knowledge and assessment.
Impaired glucose tolerance

Impaired glucose tolerance is defined as a fasting plasma glucose concentration of less than 7.8 mmol/l and between 7.8 and 11.1 mmol/l two hours after a 75 g oral glucose load. This definition was first established in 1980 by the World Health Organisation, replacing terms such as “borderline” or “chemical” diabetes.1 It is based on long term prospective studies which conclude that individuals with lesser degrees of glucose intolerance are not at risk of microvascular complications such as retinopathy.2 The advent of health promotion clinics and screening programmes is likely to mean higher rates of detection. However, the clinical significance of impaired glucose tolerance remains unclear.3 Should people who are found to have impaired glucose tolerance be followed up, and what treatment, if any, should they receive? Impaired glucose tolerance is common; it affects about 11% of people aged 20-74 years in the United States and 17% of those aged 40-65 years in Britain.4 5 The pathogenesis is controversial, particularly the question of whether it is insulin resistance or insulin deficiency that predominates. (This may have …
Adaptive detection of polynomial-phase signals embedded in noise using high-order ambiguity functions

The parameter estimation of polynomial-phase signals (PPS) has been extensively studied in the literature in view of possible important applications in remote sensing as well as in telecommunications. However, the detection of PPS has not received similar attention. We propose and analyze an adaptive method for the detection of PPS embedded in white Gaussian noise based on the use of the so called product high order ambiguity function.
Investigating Two Aspects of Teachers' Contribution to Classroom Discourse across Proficiency Levels: Corrective Feedback and Use of L1

In EFL contexts where the language learners' input, output, and interactions are primarily provided within the four walls of the classroom, the success of learning depends to a large extent on the righteousness and adequacy of classroom discourse to which the teachers' contribution has a decisive role. Drawing upon this assumption, the present study aimed at investigating teachers' contribution to classroom discourse at two levels of proficiency, namely low intermediate and high intermediate levels, based on two of the five categories proposed by Ellis (2008). In so doing, the discourse of eight English classes at the aforementioned levels taught by four male and female teachers (two classes per teacher, one low intermediate and one high intermediate) was audio-recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively to determine whether the teachers intentionally and professionally modified their contributions to classroom discourse according to the learners' proficiency levels. The analysis of the results revealed that there was no marked and intentional adjustment on the part of participating teachers to the classroom discourse when interacting with the learners at those levels. At the end, the implications of the present study for classroom teachers, teacher trainers, supervisors, and observers were discussed. Normal 0 false false false RU X-NONE X-NONE
Asymmetrical mechanical design for bouncing suppression in RF-MEMS switches

Contact bouncing is among the most critical phenomenon reducing RF-MEMS reliability. This paper shows that very simple changes in switch design permit suppression of contact bouncing upon closure. The proposed asymmetrical design gets two dimples in contact with substrate electrodes successively, instead of simultaneously. This helps the dissipation of kinetic energy and prevents contact re-opening. On top of preliminary ageing prevention, the structure can handle more actuation voltage and then have more contact force compared to symmetrical structures. Experimental demonstration is presented on metal contact switches with more than 2mN contact force, one symmetrical with significant bouncing and the other asymmetrical without any bouncing clearly show the relevance of the approach.
Teaching Operant Conditioning at the Zoo

Psychology instructors often visit zoos with their classes to teach about observational data collection methods and animal behavior. Unfortunately, they do not generally introduce the positive reinforcement training techniques used in zoos as models of applied operant conditioning. In this article, we describe a partnership between Zoo Atlanta and the Georgia Institute of Technology in teaching the principles of operant conditioning to undergraduate students in an experimental psychology class. The experience provided a valuable educational opportunity to students who simultaneously assisted zoo keepers with the management of animals in their care. According to both informal and formal student evaluations, the laboratory was an effective way to convey the principles of operant conditioning in an applied setting.
Subexponential Time and Fixed-parameter Tractability: Exploiting the Miniaturization Mapping

Recently a mapping M, the so-called miniaturization mapping, has been introduced and it has been shown that M faithfully translates subexponential parameterized complexity into (unbounded) parameterized complexity [2]. We determine the preimages under M of various (classes of) problems and show that they coincide with natural reparameterizations which take into account the amount of nondeterminism needed to solve them.
Classification of Stroke Subtypes

This article reviews published stroke subtype classification systems and offers rules and a basis for a new way to subtype stroke patients. Stroke subtyping can have different purposes, e.g. describing patients’ characteristics in a clinical trial, grouping patients in an epidemiological study, careful phenotyping of patients in a genetic study, and classifying patients for therapeutic decision-making in daily practice. The classification should distinguish between ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, cerebral venous thrombosis, and spinal cord stroke. Regarding the 4 main categories of etiologies of ischemic stroke (i.e. atherothrombotic, small vessel disease, cardioembolic, and other causes), the classification should reflect the most likely etiology without neglecting the vascular conditions that are also found (e.g. evidence of small vessel disease in the presence of severe large vessel obstructions). Phenotypes of large cohorts can also be characterized by surrogate markers or intermediate phenotypes (e.g. presence of internal carotid artery plaque, intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery, leukoaraiosis, microbleeds, or multiple lacunae). Parallel classifications (i.e. surrogate markers) may serve as within-study abnormalities to support research findings.
L'impact des changements réglementaires récents sur la qualité perçue de l'audit: Étude exploratoire auprès des préparateurs d'information financière

La qualite, reelle et percue, est au coeur des recentes modifications de reglementation en matiere d'audit legal. Afin d'etudier les facteurs influencant la qualite de l'audit, cette etude developpe un cadre theorique original articule autour de trois dimensions : le deroulement de la mission, les caracteristiques de l'equipe et la reglementation. La methodologie developpee est a la fois qualitative et quantitative et repose sur l'envoi de questionnaires soumis a 131 preparateurs de l'information financiere francais. Les resultats revelent que les preparateurs prennent en consideration l'ensemble des criteres presentes. De plus, bien que les dimensions habituelles de la qualite de l'audit (competence et independance de l'auditeur) soient reaffirmees, cette recherche souligne l'importance de criteres moins developpes dans la litterature. Enfin, cette etude permet d'identifier deux groupes de preparateurs aux perceptions differentes : l'un, majoritaire, au processus cognitif simple centre autour d'une vision centree autour de l'importance du cabinet, l'autre developpant un schema cognitif elabore integrant de nombreuses dimensions de perception.
Phragmites australis + Typha latifolia Community Enhanced the Enrichment of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in the Soil of Qin Lake Wetland

Aquatic plants play an essential role and are effective in mitigating lake eutrophication by forming complex plant-soil system and retaining total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP) in soils to ultimately reduce their quantities in aquatic systems. Two main vegetation types (Phragmites australis community and P. australis + Typha latifolia community) of Qin Lake wetland were sampled in this study for the analysis of TN and TP contents and reserves in the wetland soils. The results showed that (1) the consumption effect of Qin Lake wetland on soluble N was much more significant than on soluble P. (2) The efficiency of TN enrichment in wetland soil was enhanced by vegetation covering of P. australis and T. latifolia. (3) Wetland soil P was consumed by P. australis community and this pattern was relieved with the introduction of T. latifolia. (4) According to the grey relativity analysis, the most intensive interaction between plants and soil occurred in summer. In addition, the exchange of N in soil-vegetation system primarily occurred in the 0–15 cm soil layer. Our results indicated that vegetation covering was essential to the enrichment of TN and TP, referring to the biology-related fixation in the wetland soil.
Expertise and recollective experience: recognition memory for familiar and unfamiliar academic subjects

Two experiments investigated whether expertise effects in recognition memory could be found for different academic subjects. The roles of subjective experience and repetition on such effects were also explored. Experiment 1 showed that overall recognition memory was greater for familiar than for unfamiliar academic words (the expertise effect). Additionally, this effect was attributable to the subjective experience of remembering rather than knowing. Experiment 2 showed that repetition of stimulus items at study eliminated these expertise effects. Previous research has generally failed to find expertise effects in overall recognition memory. The present findings show that expertise effects do occur in overall recognition memory and are associated with the richer memorial experience of remembering rather than knowing.