Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender Invariance in the Impacts of Pre-College Scholastic Factors and Self-Regulated Learning Variables on the Academic Attainment of Undergraduate Students.

The aim of this study was to report the development and testing of a model explaining gender differences in the interrelationships among aptitude measures, high school mathematics and science preparation, college academic level, motivational and self-regulatory variables, and grade point average using structural equation modeling and multiple groups analysis for undergraduate females (n=312) and males (n=158). Data were gathered using a new instrument entitled Learning Strategies and Study Skills survey (Ruban and Reis, 1999). First, the study investigated gender differences in precollege scholastic and academic factors, motivation, self-regulation, and academic achievement of postsecondary students. Second, the study simultaneously examined the interrelationships among these cognitive and noncognitive variables for the entire sample of students and for males and females within the structural modeling framework. Tests of interrelationships helped to attain a more complete understanding of the factors that impact college students academic performance, and whether these factors exert similar or differential influence on the academic attainment of males and females. Results of the study provide support for gender invariance for the measurement and structural model for males and females. Even though no gender differences were found, interesting patterns emerged regarding the impacts of precollege scholastic and academic factors and self-regulated learning factors on college academic achievement among male and females collegians. These paths of influence are interpreted in terms of social cognitive theory and research conducted within the framework of gender differences. (Contains 2 figures, 6 tables, and 92 references.) (Author/SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Gender Invariance in the Impacts of Pre-College Scholastic Factors and Self-Regulated Learning Variables on the Academic Attainment of Undergraduate Students PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Lilia Ruban University of Houston D. Betsy Mc Coach University of Connecticut Sally M. Reis University of Connecticut U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDU ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. El Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy.
Bone-conducted Vestibular-evoked Myogenic Potentials Before and After Stapes Surgery.

OBJECTIVE To identify whether stapes surgery causes otolith dysfunction using bone-conducted vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs). STUDY DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING Hyogo College of Medicine Hospital. PATIENTS Twenty primary ears (19 otosclerosis, 1 congenital stapes fixation) in 17 patients (2 men, 15 women; mean age 51 yr, range 20-68 yr) who had normal cervical VEMP (cVEMP) and ocular VEMP (oVEMP) results with bone-conducted stimulation were included. INTERVENTION Stapes surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Both VEMP tests with bone-conducted stimulation were performed before and after stapes surgery. The normalized p13-n23 amplitude of cVEMPs and the nI-pI amplitude of oVEMPs were measured within 3 months after stapes surgery. Then, the asymmetry ratio (AR) was calculated to examine the effect of surgery on otolith function. RESULTS Seven patients complained of temporary dizziness postoperatively, but their symptoms disappeared within approximately a week. Deterioration of VEMPs of the operated ear was not seen in any ears. Significantly greater amplitude compared with the opposite ear was found for cVEMP in one ear and oVEMP in two ears after the surgery. Their VEMP results recovered to the normal range at 6 months postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that stapes surgery causes no or undetectably small otolith dysfunction from the perspective of VEMP evaluation.
Performance characterization of prelinking and preloadingfor embedded systems

Application launching times in embedded systems are more crucial than in general-purpose systems since the response times of embedded applications are significantly affected by the launching times. As general-purpose operating systems are increasingly used in embedded systems, reducing appli-cation launching times are one of the most influential factors for performance improvement. In order to reduce the application launching times, three factors should be considered at the same time: relocation time, symbol resolution time, and binary loading time. In this paper, we propose a new application execution model using a combination of prelinking and preloading to reduce the relocation, symbol resolution, and binary load overheads at the same time. Such application execution model is realized using fork and dlopen execution model instead of traditional fork and exec execution model. We evaluate the performance effect of the proposed fork and dlopen application execution model on a Linux-based embedded system using XScale processor. By applying the proposed application execution model using both prelinking and preloading, the application launching times are reduced up to 71% and relocation counts are reduced up to 91% in the benchmark programs we used.
HIV enteropathy: comparative morphometry of the jejunal mucosa of HIV infected patients resident in the United Kingdom and Uganda

Aims—To compare jejunal mucosal morphometry in HIV infected patients resident in London and Uganda. Patients—Twenty HIV positive patients from London and 16 from Uganda were studied, and compared with HIV negative control subjects from both sites. Methods—Stools and biopsy specimens were examined for enteropathogens. Surface area to volume (S:V) ratio was estimated morphometrically, mean crypt length of jejunal biopsy specimens was measured, and HIV infected cells detected immunohistochemically were quantified. Results—Enteric pathogens were detected in none of the London patients, and in three Ugandan patients. S:V ratio was lower, and mean crypt length higher, in the specimens of London patients than in normal subjects, but there was no difference in S:V ratio or mean crypt length between Ugandan patients and controls. A negative correlation was present between S:V ratio and mean crypt length in all biopsy specimens analysed. HIV infected cells were detected only in lamina propria. Conclusion—Infection of cells in the lamina propria of the jejunum with HIV stimulates crypt cell proliferation, and a fall in villous surface area. The mucosal response to HIV is masked by other pathogens in the African environment.
Muscarinic and nicotinic receptors raise intracellular Ca2+ levels in rat carotid body type I cells.

1. The effects of cholinergic agonists upon intracellular free Ca2+ levels ([Ca2+]i) have been studied in enzymically isolated rat carotid body single type I cells, using indo‐1. 2. Acetylcholine (ACh) dose‐dependently increased [Ca2+]i in 55% of cells studied (EC50 = 13 microM). These [Ca2+]i rises were partially inhibited by atropine or mecamylamine. 3. Specific nicotinic and muscarinic agonists also elevated [Ca2+]i in a dose‐dependent manner (nicotine, EC50 = 15 microM; methacholine, EC50 = 20 microM). 4. While the majority of the ACh‐sensitive cells responded to both classes of cholinergic agonist, 29% responded exclusively to nicotinic stimulation and 9% responded exclusively to muscarinic stimulation. 5. In the presence of nicotinic agonists, Ca2+i responses were transient. In the presence of muscarinic agonists, Ca2+i responses consisted of an initial rise, which then declined to a lower plateau level. 6. Nicotinic responses were rapidly abolished in Ca(2+)‐free medium, suggesting that they are dependent on Ca2+ influx. 7. The plateau component of the muscarinic‐activated response was also abolished in Ca(2+)‐free conditions. The rapid initial [Ca2+]i rise, however, could still be evoked after several minutes in Ca(2+)‐free medium. Muscarine also increased Mn2+ quenching of intracellular fura‐2 fluorescence. These data suggest that the full muscarinic response depends on both Ca2+ release from intracellular stores and Ca2+o influx. 8. The results indicate that, in rat carotid body type I cells, both nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors increase [Ca2+]i, but achieve this via different mechanisms. ACh may therefore play a role in carotid body function by modulating Ca2+i in the chemosensory type I cells.
Relationships of hopelessness, depression and previous suicide attempts to suicidal ideation in alcoholics.

The risk of suicide in alcoholics is high (1), and Rushing (2) has concluded that 7-21% of alcoholics eventually commit suicide, compared with approximately 1% of the general population. Explanations of the high suicide rate among alcoholics have ranged from psychoanalytic observations that alcoholism itself is a form of selfdirected hostility (3) to empirical contrasts between the demographic characteristics of nonsuicidal and suicidal alcoholics (4). One of the most supported contentions is that alcoholics are suicidal because they are depressed (5-8). Ho•vever, Beck et al. (9), in studying a sample of 126 alcoholic and 252 nonalcoholic attempted suicides, found that hopelessness, defined in terms of negative expectancies for the future, was a stronger correlate of stficidal intent than was depression. The relationship bet•veen suicidal intent and depression was accounted for mostly by hopelessness. In reviewing measures of suicidal risk, the Task Force of the Center for Studies of Suicide Preventions at the National Institute of Mental Health
Starting with a degron: N-terminal formyl-methionine of nascent bacterial proteins contributes to their proteolytic control

Generally, the synthesis of proteins in bacteria as well as in eukaryotic mitochondria and chloroplasts starts with formyl-methionine (fMet). The formyl group of Met is subsequently removed by ribosome-associated peptide deformylase (PDF) during translational elongation. The function of the transient formylation of the initiator Met residue, beyond enhancing the interaction with translation initiation factors, has remained enigmatic. Varshavsky and colleagues now report, in the current issue of Microbial Cell , that fMet is a determinant of a novel N-terminal degradation signal (N-degron) that targets nascent proteins for degradation in Escherichia coli by a new branch of the bacterial N-end rule pathway, termed the fMet/N-end rule pathway [1].
Multi-level Parallelism for Time- and Cost-Efficient Parallel Discrete Event Simulation on GPUs

Developing complex technical systems requires a systematic exploration of the given design space in order to identify optimal system configurations. However, studying the effects and interactions of even a small number of system parameters often requires an extensive number of simulation runs. This in turn results in excessive runtime demands which severely hamper thorough design space explorations. In this paper, we present a parallel discrete event simulation scheme that enables cost- and time-efficient execution of large scale parameter studies on GPUs. In order to efficiently accommodate the stream-processing paradigm of GPUs, our parallelization scheme exploits two orthogonal levels of parallelism: External parallelism among the inherently independent simulations of a parameter study and internal parallelism among independent events within each individual simulation of a parameter study. Specifically, we design an event aggregation strategy based on external parallelism that generates workloads suitable for GPUs. In addition, we define a pipelined event execution mechanism based on internal parallelism to hide the transfer latencies between host- and GPU-memory. We analyze the performance characteristics of our parallelization scheme by means of a prototype implementation and show a 25-fold performance improvement over purely CPU-based execution.
The impact of risk and resiliency factors on the adjustment of children after the transition from primary to secondary school

The transition from primary to secondary school represents a significant rite of passage for many young people in the UK every year. However, this transition has been linked to negative educational, social and emotional outcomes for some pupils. This longitudinal study aimed to better understand the characteristics of pupils who are most vulnerable to negative outcomes at this time. A multi-variate approach was adopted to investigate the risk and resilience factors most predictive of adjustment to secondary school. The study also explored the combined impact of pre-transfer risk and resilience factors upon post-transfer school adjustment by examining possible moderator relationships. A longitudinal non-experimental relational design was adopted. Over 130 pupils completed resilience and school adjustment questionnaires both pre- and post-transfer. Teachers also reported on pupils’ school adjustment and risk/resilience at these times.The factors consistently found to be most predictive of Teacher-Rated School Adjustment were mainly risk factors (Behaviour and Maths Attainment), whilst the variables identified as most predictive of the Pupil-Rated School Adjustment outcomes were predominantly resilience factors (Support, Self-Efficacy, Emotional Sensitivity and Emotional Impairment). Findings also suggest that high levels of specific resilience factors in primary school alone may leave pupils with Special Educational Needs less prepared for the significant changes they face in their new schools. Findings both extend and challenge previous research and emphasise the importance of considering both teacher and pupil perspectives when assessing the effects of transitions on school adjustment outcomes. The implications of findings for education professionals are considered.
Infants Learn What They Want to Learn: Responding to Infant Pointing Leads to Superior Learning

The majority of current developmental models prioritise a pedagogical approach to knowledge acquisition in infancy, in which infants play a relatively passive role as recipients of information. In view of recent evidence, demonstrating that infants use pointing to express interest and solicit information from adults, we set out to test whether giving the child the leading role in deciding what information to receive leads to better learning. Sixteen-month-olds were introduced to pairs of novel objects and, once they had pointed to an object, were shown a function for either the object they had chosen, or the object they had ignored. Ten minutes later, infants replicated the functions of chosen objects significantly more than those of un-chosen objects, despite having been equally visually attentive during demonstrations on both types of objects. These results show that offering information in response to infants’ communicative gestures leads to superior learning (Experiment 1) and that this difference in performance is due to learning being facilitated when infants’ pointing was responded to, not hindered when their pointing was ignored (Experiment 2), highlighting the importance of infants’ own active engagement in acquiring information.
Proteomics Analysis of Insulin Secretory Granules*S

Insulin secretory granules (ISGs) are cytoplasmic organelles of pancreatic β-cells. They are responsible for the storage and secretion of insulin. To date, only about 30 different proteins have been clearly described to be associated with these organelles. However, data from two-dimensional gel electrophoresis analyses suggested that almost 150 different polypeptides might be present within ISGs. The elucidation of the identity and function of the ISG proteins by proteomics strategies would be of considerable help to further understand some of the underlying mechanisms implicated in ISG biogenesis and trafficking. Furthermore it should give the bases to the comprehension of impaired insulin secretion observed during diabetes. A proteomics analysis of an enriched insulin granule fraction from the rat insulin-secreting cell line INS-1E was performed. The efficacy of the fractionation procedure was assessed by Western blot and electron microscopy. Proteins of the ISG fraction were separated by SDS-PAGE, excised from consecutive gel slices, and tryptically digested. Peptides were analyzed by nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS. This strategy identified 130 different proteins that were classified into four structural groups including intravesicular proteins, membrane proteins, novel proteins, and other proteins. Confocal microscopy analysis demonstrated the association of Rab37 and VAMP8 with ISGs in INS-1E cells. In conclusion, the present study identified 130 proteins from which 110 are new proteins associated with ISGs. The elucidation of their role will further help in the understanding of the mechanisms governing impaired insulin secretion during diabetes.
Optimal and Efficient Parametric Auctions

Consider a seller who seeks to provide service to a collection of interested parties, subject to feasibility constraints on which parties may be simultaneously served. Assuming that a distribution is known on the value of each party for service---arguably a strong assumption---Myerson's seminal work provides revenue optimizing auctions [12]. We show instead that, for very general feasibility constraints, only knowledge of the median of each party's value distribution, or any other quantile of these distributions, or approximations thereof, suffice for designing simple auctions that simultaneously approximate both the optimal revenue and the optimal welfare. Our results apply to all downward-closed feasibility constraints under the assumption that the underlying, unknown value distributions are monotone hazard rate, and to all matroid feasibility constraints under the weaker assumption of regularity of the underlying distributions. Our results jointly generalize the single-item results obtained by Azar and Micali [2] on parametric auctions, and Daskalakis and Pierrakos [6] for simultaneously approximately optimal and efficient auctions.
The Role of Sulfur Dioxide in the Regulation of Mitochondrion-Related Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis in Rats with Isopropylarterenol-Induced Myocardial Injury

The authors investigated the regulatory effects of sulfur dioxide (SO2) on myocardial injury induced by isopropylarterenol (ISO) hydrochloride and its mechanisms. Wistar rats were divided into four groups: control group, ISO group, ISO plus SO2 group, and SO2 only group. Cardiac function was measured and cardiomyocyte apoptosis was detected. Bcl-2, bax and cytochrome c (cytc) expressions, and caspase-9 and caspase-3 activities in the left ventricular tissues were examined in the rats. The opening status of myocardial mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) and membrane potential were analyzed. The results showed that ISO-treated rats developed heart dysfunction and cardiac injury. Furthermore, cardiomyocyte apoptosis in the left ventricular tissues was augmented, left ventricular tissue bcl-2 expression was down-regulated, bax expression was up-regulated, mitochondrial membrane potential was significantly reduced, MPTP opened, cytc release from mitochondrion into cytoplasm was significantly increased, and both caspase-9 and caspase-3 activities were increased. Administration of an SO2 donor, however, markedly improved heart function and relieved myocardial injury of the ISO-treated rats; it lessened cardiomyocyte apoptosis, up-regulated myocardial bcl-2, down-regulated bax expression, stimulated mitochondrial membrane potential, closed MPTP, and reduced cytc release as well as caspase-9 and caspase-3 activities in the left ventricular tissue. Hence, SO2 attenuated myocardial injury in association with the inhibition of apoptosis in myocardial tissues, and the bcl-2/cytc/caspase-9/caspase-3 pathway was possibly involved in this process.
Ultrafine Particle Concentrations in a Hospital

Ultrafine particles (UFP) may contribute to the morbidity and mortality associated with exposure to ambient particles, but few data are available on ultrafine particle numbers in indoor air, where susceptible subjects spend most of their time. We measured particle number, UFP size distribution, and total suspended particulate (JSP) mass in three locations: (I) a medical floor in a large tertiary care hospital, (2) outdoor air above a construction site outside the hospital, and (3) an environmental exposure chamber with purification of intake air. Mass and number concentrations were recorded continuously in each location over 70–110 h. Mean ± SD particle (p) numbers were 3.63 ± 1.l5 } 103 p/cm3 in the hospital, 3.05 ± 6.65 } 104 p/cm3 outside, and 5.86 ± 2.11 } 102 p/cm3 in the environmental chamber. In the hospital, particle number and mass declined during the evening hours when the unit was less active, with the particle number as low as 1.15 } 103 p/cm3. Particle numbers peaked (2.78 } 104 p/cm3) in the morning hours when activity on the unit was the most intense. “Spikes” in fine particle number were often not accompanied by increases in TSP mass. In the hospital, a distinct population of ultrafine particles (median diameter approximately 23 nm) was observed during the lunch hour, suggesting a change in particle source during this time. Outdoor fine particle numbers above the construction site were highly variable, reaching peaks of greater than 1.7 } 106 p/cm3. These data suggest that, in the indoor environment, particle numbers and size distribution vary with intensity and type of local activity, and significant peaks in particle number are not detected with daily averages. Monitoring of particle mass may be an inaccurate measure of exposure to ultrafine particles indoors.
AKE in Clustered Ad Hoc Networks

Efficient authenticated group key establishment is the pre-requirement for having group-wide encrypted communications in wireless ad hoc networks. Clustering has brought scalability to ad hoc networks in many ways, now we look at its benefits to group key agreement. Several solutions for authenticated key establishment (AKE) in clustered ad hoc networks are surveyed. A new solution for clustered AKE is presented, one that is based on AT-GDH and the broadcast group key protocol. This new protocol is found to be very efficient with a communication complexity logarithmic to the number of clusters.