Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Being that bit older: mature students' experience of university and healthcare education

This study used a phenomenological approach to gain insight into the lives of a small number of mature female students on healthcare programmes at university. The qualitative methods used sought to reveal aspects of that lived experience that would explain why mature students lack confidence in their academic abilities. Data were collected from participants using an in-depth interview, a diary/journal, an open questionnaire and group discussion. The emergent themes showed that mature students see education as a catalyst for change in their lives and feel a tremendous pressure to succeed. With the multiple roles they have to juggle there is not enough time in the day to accomplish all the tasks to the high standard they expect of themselves. These compromises leave the women experiencing feelings of guilt, which seems to be expressed as anxiety about the academic demands of the programme. However, experience of life and the world of work is stated as one of the great advantages of being a mature student, and one that adds to their level of confidence as they prepare to qualify and enter the workforce. Copyright © 2000 Whurr Publishers Ltd.
The effects of castration on the ultrastructure and the iodide-concentrating ability of mouse submaxillary salivary glands.

The submaxillary salivary glands of mice are immature at birth, the convoluted granular tubules (C.G.T.), which are a striking feature of the adult gland, developing at or just before puberty (Brown-Grant & Taylor, 1963). The gland exhibits a sexual dimorphism, the C.G. T. being more prominent in the male but regressing after thyroidectomy or castration. The histological changes occurring in the submaxillary glands following castration have been described by Burgen & Emmelin (1961) and by Shafer & Muhler (1960); ultrastructural changes have been studied by Caramia (1966a, b). Radio-iodide is concentrated in both the submaxillary gland and in the saliva in the mouse, in common with several other species, including man (Cohen & Myant, 1959; Brown-Grant, 1961). The site of iodide concentration in the mouse is the C.G. T. (Logothetopoulos & Myant, 1956). This function of the gland also shows sexual dimorphism, the gland-blood ratios for [1311]iodide being higher in males, in which the C.G. T. form a greater proportion of the total gland, than in females (Llach, Tramezzani & Funes, 1960; Brown-Grant & Taylor, 1963). After castration, in spite of the shrinkage and regression of the C.G. T. which results, the ability of the gland to concentrate iodide is significantly increased, both in vivo (Llach & Tramezzani, 1962) and in vitro (Brown-Grant & Taylor, 1963). In the present work autoradiographic studies of iodide distribution in submaxillary glands of normal mice have been repeated using the isotope 1251. This emits an internal conversion electron of very low energy, permitting higher resolution than was possible in previous studies with 1311 (Logothetopoulos & Myant, 1956; Hausler, Bruns & Kutzim, 1965). Improved autoradiographic techniques (Appleton, 1964; Stumpf & Roth, 1964) have also been used to minimize diffusion artefacts. These studies have been extended to the submaxillary glands of castrate mice. In addition, the changes produced in the C.G. T. by castration have been re-examined by electron microscopy. The ultrastructural and autoradiographic data have been correlated in an attempt to explain the anomalous effects of castration on the submaxillary glands of mice.
DOSSIÊ RECRUTAMENTO POLÍTICO E SELEÇÃO DE CANDIDATOS NAS DEMOCRACIAS CONTEMPORÂNEAS

Na vasta bibliografia especializada sobre os fenomenos politico-partidarios a relacao entre recrutamento politico e selecao de candidatos foi, quase sempre, tratada como duas esferas que estavam temporalmente e objetivamente interligadas. Nesses estudos a selecao de candidatos era, na verdade, uma das dimensoes do processo de formacao das elites politicas. Com o advento do neo-institucionalismo, a separacao entre selecao de candidatos e recrutamento politico se tornou mais evidente. Isso se deu em funcao da percepcao de que instituicoes determinam o comportamento dos atores e nao so que as instituicoes sao formadas por eles. Essa separacao puramente analitica permitiu que os estudos dos processos de selecao de candidatos se descolassem dos de recrutamento, criando assim uma nova frente de pesquisas.
Controlling the cardiovascular response under synchronized ventricular assist device support

Ventricular assist devices are mechanical blood pumps used to provide circulatory support in patients waiting for a heart transplantation. In many cases, when the support lasts for months it may be advantageous to use a pump with a physiological control system to automatically adjust pump output in response to changes in the cardiovascular system (CVS). In this paper, we present a physiological controller for a pulsatile ventricular assist device (PVAD) that controls the device ejection volume considering the heart beat frequency. A mathematical model of the CVS based on analog electric circuits is used to analyze the cardiovascular response under ventricular assistance. The physiological controller is shown to be able to improve simulated hemodynamic conditions.
Caricature Recognition in a Neural Network

In a caricature drawing, the artist graphically exaggerates those features of an individual in proportion to their deviations from the normative or average face. The paradox of caricature recognition is that subjects recognize these distorted drawings of faces better than or equally as well as veridical drawings. The present research explores the caricature paradox by modelling caricature recognition in a neural network. Simulations were used to investigate the perceptual versus memorial bases of caricature recognition (Simulation 1) and examine the effects that familiarity (Simulation 2) and typicality (Simulation 3) have on caricature recognition. Simulation results are interpreted as support for a distinctive access hypothesis of the caricature recognition paradox that emphasizes the interaction between the stimulus properties of the caricature drawing and the underlying veridical face representation.
Assessment of human cartilage glycoprotein 39 (YKL-40), preptin, and nitric oxide in adolescent patients with type 1 diabetes and its relation to cardiorenal affection

Abstract Aim: To evaluate new biomarkers such as YKL-40, preptin, and nitric oxide (NO) in patients with diabetes and to assess its relation to cardiorenal injury. Patients and methods: The study included 62 patients with type 1 diabetes and 30 healthy volunteers. Blood sample was taken for assessment of glycosylated hemoglobin, lipid profile, YKL-40, preptin, and NO. Also, urine sample was taken for analysis of albumin/creatinine ratio. Echocardiography was also done. Results: NO was lower, whereas YKL-40, preptin, and albumin/creatinine ratio were significantly higher in patients with diabetes. NO had a significant negative correlation with LVEDD, LVESD, PWT, LV mass, YKL-40, preptin, and albumin/creatinine ratio. YKL-40 had a significant positive correlation with waist/height ratio, preptin and negative correlation with E/A ratio. Stepwise multiple regression revealed that E/A ratio is the only parameter related to YKL-40. On the contrary, NO and systolic blood pressure are related to preptin. Conclusion: A significant reduction of NO and elevation of YKL-40 and preptin was found in patients with diabetes. A decrease in NO is associated with diastolic dysfunction, LV hypertrophy, and renal impairment, whereas YKL-40 is associated with diastolic dysfunction. An increase in preptin level was associated with hypertension.
Design and performance evaluation of handset MIMO antenna prototypes

This work presents performance evaluation results for four 2×2 multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) prototype antenna configurations with different antenna element spacings and polarization properties. The prototypes are based on a size optimized planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) element which applies a meander structure etched on the metallic patch. Anechoic and reverberation chamber measurements have verified that the simulated performance translates into the manufactured prototypes. The diversity performance of different prototypes is calculated and compared based on different statistical propagation models. Realistic outdoor MIMO transmission experiments at 2.68 GHz show their suitability for spatial multiplexing transmission.
SALSA: improved protein database searching by a new algorithm for assembly of sequence fragments into gapped alignments

MOTIVATION Optimal sequence alignment based on the Smith-Waterman algorithm is usually too computationally demanding to be practical for searching large sequence databases. Heuristic programs like FASTA and BLAST have been developed which run much faster, but at the expense of sensitivity. RESULTS In an effort to approximate the sensitivity of an optimal alignment algorithm, a new algorithm has been devised for the computation of a gapped alignment of two sequences. After scanning for high-scoring words and extensions of these to form fragments of similarity, the algorithm uses dynamic programming to build an accurate alignment based on the fragments initially identified. The algorithm has been implemented in a program called SALSA and the performance has been evaluated on a set of test sequences. The sensitivity was found to be close to the Smith-Waterman algorithm, while the speed was similar to FASTA (ktup = 2). AVAILABILITY Searches can be performed from the SALSA homepage at http://dna.uio. no/salsa/ using a wide range of databases. Source code and precompiled executables are also available. CONTACT torbjorn.rognes@labmed.uio. no
The Returns to Cognitive Abilities and Personality Traits in Germany

We provide the first joint evidence on the relationship between individuals' cognitive abilities, their personality and earnings for Germany. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, we employ scores from an ultra-short IQ-test and a set of measures of personality traits, namely locus of control, reciprocity and all basic items from the Five Factor Personality Inventory. Our estimates suggest a positive effect of so-called fluid intelligence or speed of cognition on males' wages only. Findings for personality traits are more heterogeneous. However, there is a robust wage penalty for an external locus of control for both men and women.
Primary Cilium Depletion Typifies Cutaneous Melanoma In Situ and Malignant Melanoma

Cutaneous melanoma is a lethal malignancy that arises spontaneously or via in situ precursor neoplasms. While melanoma in situ and locally invasive malignant melanoma can be cured surgically, these lesions can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from melanocytic nevi. Thus, the identification of histolopathologic or molecular features that distinguish these biologically distinct lesions would represent an important advance. To this end, we determined the abundance of melanocytic primary cilia in a series of 62 cases composed of typical cutaneous melanocytic nevi, melanoma in situ, invasive melanoma, and metastatic melanoma. Primary cilia are sensory organelles that modulate developmental and adaptive signaling and notably, are substantially depleted from the neoplastic epithelium of pancreatic carcinoma at a stage equivalent to melanoma in situ. In this series, we find that while nearly all melanocytes in 22 melanocytic nevi possessed a primary cilium, a near-complete loss of this organelle was observed in 16 cases of melanoma in situ, in 16 unequivocal primary invasive melanomas, and in 8 metastatic tumors, each associated with a cutaneous primary lesion. These findings suggest that the primary cilium may be used to segregate cutaneous invasive melanoma and melanoma in situ from melanocytic nevi. Moreover, they place the loss of an organelle known to regulate oncogenic signaling at an early stage of melanoma development.
On Revealing the ARQ Mechanism of MSTV

Ensuring a high customer satisfaction by monitoring Quality of Experience (QoE) aspects has become common practice for service providers. Such monitoring solutions, together with underlying QoE models, are mostly limited to measures captured in the core or access network and may thus neglect the QoE impact of recovery mechanisms deployed at client-side, e.g., FEC or ARQ. This limitation makes QoE models prone to mispredict QoE and consequently may lead the operators to misleading interpretations of customer experience. In this paper, we empirically study the behavior of the Microsoft TV Set-top Box (STB) with respect to the deployed ARQ recovery mechanism. As the ARQ implementation details of the STB are proprietary, we implement and simulate three ARQ algorithms of different complexities and evaluate their performance by comparing with corresponding empirical measurements. This comparison reveals insights into the ARQ scheme implemented in the STB. Moreover, it leads us to speculate that MSTV uses simple ARQ schemes which are sufficient to drastically improve the QoE in the presence of a multitude of loss patterns.
Oocytes prevent cumulus cell apoptosis by maintaining a morphogenic paracrine gradient of bone morphogenetic proteins

Paracrine factors secreted by the oocyte regulate a broad range of cumulus cell functions. Characteristically, cumulus cells have a low incidence of apoptosis and we proposed that this is due to oocyte-secreted factors acting in an anti-apoptotic manner. Bovine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC) were aspirated from abattoir-derived ovaries and oocytectomized (OOX) by microsurgical removal of the oocyte. OOX were treated with doses of either denuded oocytes (DO) or various growth factors for 24 hours (± rFSH; 0.1 IU/ml). Proportions of apoptotic cumulus cells were assessed using TUNEL and laser confocal scanning microscopy followed by image analysis. Quantification of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins in OOX was undertaken by western analysis. Oocyte removal led to a significant increase in cumulus cell apoptosis compared with COC controls (35% versus 9% TUNEL positive, respectively; P<0.001). Levels of OOX apoptosis were significantly reversed (P<0.001) in a dose-dependent manner when co-cultured with oocytes. Furthermore, the anti-apoptotic effect of oocyte-secreted factors followed a gradient from the site of the oocyte(s). Growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) had no significant effect on cumulus cell apoptosis. By contrast, cumulus cell apoptosis was significantly (P<0.001) reduced by bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) 15, 6 or 7. Accordingly, levels of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 were high in OOX+DO and OOX+BMP15 and low with OOX+GDF9 or OOX alone, whereas the reverse was observed for pro-apoptotic Bax. DO, BMP15 and BMP6 were also able to protect cumulus cells from undergoing apoptosis induced by staurosporine. FSH partially prevented apoptosis in all treatment groups (P<0.001). Follistatin and a BMP6 neutralizing antibody, which antagonized the anti-apoptotic effects of BMP15 and BMP6, respectively, whether alone or combined, blocked ∼50% of the anti-apoptotic actions of oocytes. These results are the first to demonstrate that oocyte-secreted factors, and particularly BMP15 and BMP6, maintain the low incidence of cumulus cell apoptosis by establishing a localized gradient of bone morphogenetic proteins.
Beta Glucan: Health Benefits in Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

Despite the lack of international agreement regarding the definition and classification of fiber, there is established evidence on the role of dietary fibers in obesity and metabolic syndrome. Beta glucan (β-glucan) is a soluble fiber readily available from oat and barley grains that has been gaining interest due to its multiple functional and bioactive properties. Its beneficial role in insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity is being continuously documented. The fermentability of β-glucans and their ability to form highly viscous solutions in the human gut may constitute the basis of their health benefits. Consequently, the applicability of β-glucan as a food ingredient is being widely considered with the dual purposes of increasing the fiber content of food products and enhancing their health properties. Therefore, this paper explores the role of β-glucans in the prevention and treatment of characteristics of the metabolic syndrome, their underlying mechanisms of action, and their potential in food applications.
Time course of EEG oscillations during repeated listening of a well-known aria

While previous studies have analyzed mean neurophysiological responses to musical stimuli, the current study aimed to identify specific time courses of electroencephalography (EEG) oscillations, which are associated with dynamic changes in the acoustic features of the musical stimulus. In addition, we were interested in whether these time courses change during a repeated presentation of the same musical piece. A total of 16 subjects repeatedly listened to the well-known aria “Nessun dorma,” sung by Paul Potts, while continuous 128-channel EEG and heart rate, as well as electrodermal responses, were recorded. The time courses for the EEG oscillations were calculated using a time resolution of 1 second for several frequency bands, on the basis of individual alpha-peak frequencies (theta, low alpha-1, low alpha-2, upper alpha, and beta). For all frequency bands, we identified a more or less continuous increase in power relative to a baseline period, indicating strong event-related synchronization (ERS) during music listening. The ERS time courses, however, did not correlate strongly with the time courses of the acoustic features of the aria. In addition, we did not observe changes in EEG oscillations after repeated presentation of the same musical piece. Aside from this distinctive feature, we identified a remarkable variability in EEG oscillations, both within and between the repeated presentations of the aria. We interpret the continuous increase in ERS observed in all frequency bands during music listening as an indicator of a particular neurophysiological and psychological state evoked by music listening. We suggest that this state is characterized by increased internal attention (accompanied by reduced external attention), increased inhibition of brain networks not involved in the generation of this internal state, the maintenance of a particular level of general alertness, and a type of brain state that can be described as “mind wandering. ” The overall state can be categorized as a psychological process that may be seen as a “drawing in” to the musical piece. However, this state is not stable and varies considerably throughout the music listening session and across subjects. Most important, however, is the finding that the neurophysiological activations occurring during music listening are dynamic and not stationary.
Replanning: A powerful planning strategy for systems with differential constraints

Motion planning is a fundamental problem in robotics. When the differential constraints of a real robot are also modelled, the produced motions can be more realistic and make better use of the hardware’s capabilities. While it is not known if planning under differential constraints is a decidable problem and complete tractable algorithms are not available, sampling-based planners have been very successful at solving such problems. This thesis describes an online planning strategy which uses a sampling-based planner in a loop. Solutions for problems in static and known environments are computed incrementally through consecutive replanning steps. The robot is guided to the goal by a navigation function which is constantly updated to ensure the robot can explore all of its workspace. Experiments on various systems and workspaces show that the proposed approach can solve harder problems and produce paths of shorter duration compared to state-of-the art offline planners using only bounded memory.
The role of distinct p185neu extracellular subdomains for dimerization with the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor and EGF-mediated signaling

The extracellular domain of p185c-neu can be viewed as a complex structure of four subdomains, two of which are cysteine-rich subdomains. We have investigated the contribution of these distinct p185c-neu extracellular subdomains to p185/epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) heteromer formation and EGF-induced heteromeric signaling. Our studies indicate that at least two separate p185 subdomains, a region spanning subdomains I and II and subdomain IV are involved in association of p185 with the EGFR. We also demonstrated that subdomain IV reduced the heteromeric signaling and transforming activities induced by EGF after associating with EGFR. When 126 aa were deleted from subdomain IV, this small subdomain IV-derived fragment could still lead to heterodimers with EGFR and suppress EGF-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase activation and subsequent transformation abilities. These data provide information about trans-inhibitory mechanisms of mutant p185 species and also indicate that both the entire and a part of subdomain IV may represent a therapeutic target for erbB-overexpressing tumors. Finally, these studies define a basic feature of receptor-receptor associations that are determined by cystine-knot containing subdomains.
Navigating Dangerous Streets: The Sources and Consequences of Street Efficacy

The concept of street efficacy, defined as the perceived ability to avoid violent confrontations and to be safe in one's neighborhood, is proposed as a mechanism connecting aspects of adolescents'“imposed” environments to the choices they make in creating their own “selected” environments that minimize the potential for violent confrontations. Empirical models using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods suggest that street efficacy is substantially influenced by various aspects of the social context surrounding adolescents. Adolescents who live in neighborhoods with concentrated disadvantage and low collective efficacy, respectively, are found to have less confidence in their ability to avoid violence after controlling for an extensive set of individual- and family-level factors. Exposure to violence also reduces street efficacy, although it does not explain the association between collective efficacy and individual street efficacy. Adolescents' confidence in their ability to avoid violence is shown to be an important predictor of the types of environments they select for themselves. In particular, adolescents with high levels of street efficacy are less likely to resort to violence themselves or to associate with delinquent peers.