Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increasing Knowledge of Sexual Abuse

Objective: Child sexual abuse is a significant health problem with potential long-term consequences for victims. Therefore, prevention and education programs are critical. This preliminary study evaluates changes in children’s knowledge of sexual abuse using a school-based train-the-trainer curriculum. Emphasis was placed on developing a curriculum that considered the unique cultural context in Hawai‘i. Method: School staff who had been trained on how to implement the My Body, My Boundaries curriculum, which targets the third to fifth grade, were invited to participate in the study. Three schools agreed; students in third grade classrooms in two schools received the curriculum and students in the third school served as the comparison. Result: Children in intervention schools significantly increased their knowledge of appropriate and inappropriate touch and what to do if they experience sexual abuse. Conclusion: Findings suggest the utility of a train-the-trainer model in social work practice to address sensitive topics such as child sexual abuse.
Constructing Scientific Knowledge in the Classroom

The view that knowledge cannot be transmitted but must be constructed by the mental activity of learners underpins contemporary perspectives on science education. This article, which presents a theoretical perspective on teaching and learning science in the social setting of classrooms, is informed by a view of scientific knowledge as socially constructed and by a perspective on the learning of science as knowledge construction involving both individual and social processes. First, we present an overview of the nature of scientific knowledge. We then describe two major traditions in explaining the process of learning science: personal and social constructivism. Finally, we illustrate how both personal and social perspectives on learning, as well as perspectives on the nature of the scientific knowledge to be learned, are necessary in interpreting science learning in formal settings.
An adaptive impedance force control approach for robotic cell microinjection

Robotic cell microinjection is a technique that employs an automatic method to insert substances into a single living cell with a fine needle. Most available microinjection methods are based on position/velocity tracking, which make it incapable of controlling the injection force. The uncontrolled injection force, however, may destroy the cell and lead to the death of the cell. In this paper, a new adaptive force tracking algorithm within the impedance control framework is proposed to control the injection force applied on the cell. A target impedance is specified in the inner-loop and a trajectory modifying controller is design in the outer-loop for time varying ramp force tracking. The adaptive technique is also used to compensate for the uncertainty of the cell membranepsilas stiffness, the convergence of the system is provably guaranteed. Experiments performed on a laboratorial robotic cell injection system demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.
Quantitative analysis of the proliferation and differentiation of rat articular chondrocytes in alginate 3D culture.

BACKGROUND While articular chondrocytes are among those appropriate candidates for cartilage regeneration, the cell dedifferentiation during monolayer culture has limited their application. Several investigations have indicated the usefulness of alginate, but the topic of proliferation and differentiation of chondrocytes in alginate culture has still remained controversial. METHODS Rat articular chondrocytes were released by enzymatic digestion, plated at 5 x 104 cells/cm2 and culture-expanded. Passaged-5 cells were then cultivated in alginate as 2-mm beads for a period of two months during which the expansion rate and the level of cell differentiation were determined by [3-(A, 5- dimethylthiazolyl- 2-yl)-1, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] assay and real-time PCR analysis respectively and compared with those of chondrocytes in monolayer culture. RESULTS Average population doubling time in alginate cultures (10.04 +/- 0.9 days) tended to be significantly (P<0.05) higher than that in monolayer cultures (2.94 +/- 0.3 days). The period of alginate culture could be subdivided into expansion phase (Days 0-40); during which proliferation appeared to be high and differentiation phase (Days 40-60) during which the expression of cartilage-specific genes including collagen II and aggrecan tended to be upregulated. During both the proliferation and differentiation phases, the expression of collagen I was low. At chondrocytes monolayer cultures, the proliferating cells appeared to have a very low expression level of cartilage-specific genes and a high expression level of collagen I gene during the entire culture period (P<0.05). CONCLUSION It seems that alginate provides conditions in which rat articular chondrocytes are able to undergo proliferation and differentiation in certain time point of cultivation period.
High Potency Antagonists of the Pancreatic Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor*

GLP-1-(7–36)-amide and exendin-4-(1–39) are glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, whereas exendin-(9–39) is the only known antagonist. To analyze the transition from agonist to antagonist and to identify the amino acid residues involved in ligand activation of the GLP-1 receptor, we used exendin analogs with successive N-terminal truncations. Chinese hamster ovary cells stably transfected with the rat GLP-1 receptor were assayed for changes in intracellular cAMP caused by the test peptides in the absence or presence of half-maximal stimulatory doses of GLP-1. N-terminal truncation of a single amino acid reduced the agonist activity of the exendin peptide, whereas N-terminal truncation of 3–7 amino acids produced antagonists that were 4–10-fold more potent than exendin-(9–39). N-terminal truncation of GLP-1 by 2 amino acids resulted in weak agonist activity, but an 8-amino acid N-terminal truncation inactivated the peptide. Binding studies performed using 125I-labeled GLP-1 confirmed that all bioactive peptides specifically displaced tracer with high potency. In a set of exendin/GLP-1 chimeric peptides, substitution of GLP-1 sequences into exendin-(3–39) produced loss of antagonist activity with conversion to a weak agonist. The results show that receptor binding and activation occur in separate domains of exendin, but they are more closely coupled in GLP-1.
The Prevalence of Depression in Male Sex Addicts Residing in the United States

This study evaluated the prevalence of depression among male sex addicts against the general male population. This research utilized the high estimate of 12% for male depression in the general population as reported by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). This research had 418 participants, 220 of whom qualified as male sexual addicts residing in the United States. Participants were recipients of a free sexual recovery e-mail newsletter from www.sexaddict. com. A score of 14 or higher on the Sexual Addiction Screening Test operationally defined sexual addiction. A score of 14 or higher on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) operationally defined depression. Male sex addicts had a 28% prevalence rate of depression. The hypothesis of male sex addicts having higher scores on the BDI was upheld. An exploratory hypothesis, that participants having received treatment for sexual addiction would have lower depression scores, was upheld.
Metabolic dependence of the critical hemolytic volume of human erythrocytes: relationship to osmotic fragility and autohemolysis in hereditary spherocytosis and normal red cells.

Erythrocytes from patients with hereditary spherocytosis (HS) undergo changes in cation and lipid content when incubated in vitro under sterile conditions for 24 hours. These are accompanied by changes in cell volume, osmotic fragility, and the critical volume at which hemoly-sis of the cell occurs. Normal red cells have been found to undergo similar changes but with a longer time scale, the normal taking 36 to 48 hours to achieve the degree of change found in the sphero-cyte at 24 hours. The osmotic fragility of the erythrocyte depends on the relationship of the osmotically active intra-cellular contents of the cell, which determine the cell volume, to the area of the nondistensible membrane. Consequently, the shape of the cell has appeared important to many authors (1-4), since the relative thickness of the cell depends on the ratio of the volume to the available surface area of the membrane. A further phenomenon that is characteristic of the HS cell is that of marked autohemolysis on in vitro incubation (5-7). The mechanism is poorly understood, although it clearly bears a re
Effects of age‐related decline of visual attention, working memory and planning functions on use of IT‐equipment

The effects of age‐related decline of cognitive functions, such as visual attention, working memory and planning functions on use of IT‐equipment were investigated. Older participants (n = 34; aged 65–73 years) were divided into two groups based on AIST‐cognitive aging test (AIST‐CAT) scores. They were then asked to purchase a reserved seat for the Japanese bullet train, using a ticket vending machine. The results showed that: (a) the decline in visual attention caused a disruption in searching for objects on the screen; (b) the decline in working memory interrupted maintaining subgoals; and (c) information related to subgoals; and the decline in planning function, interrupted constructing and maintaining a behavior sequence for operating a ticket vending machine. These results indicate that the age‐related decline of cognitive functions is differentially related to problems with using IT‐equipment.
Ethnic Affirmation Versus Cross-Cultural Accommodation

Chinese bilinguals from Hong Kong responded to three different question-naires in their first or second language of Chinese or English. On some questionnaire items their answers to the English version differed from those to the Chinese version in a more "Western" direction (cross-cultural accommodation); for others, in a more Chinese direction (ethnic affirmation). These outcomes were unaffected by the respondents' level of identification with traditional Chinese culture or by their degree of anonymity vis-a-vis the experimenter conducting the research. An internal analysis of responses to the Rokeach Value Survey revealed that the more important the value to the respondent, the less likely they were to show cross-cultural accommodation. It thus appears that affirmation occurs on important issues in order to buttress the individual's of psychological distinctiveness from other groups (Tajfel, 1974a); compromise is possible on less important matters, presumably more peripheral to the individual's cultural self-concept.
Situation-Behavior Profiles as a Locus of Consistency in Personality

Traditional approaches have long considered situations as “noise” or “error” that obscures the consistency of personality and its invariance. Therefore, it has been customary to average the individual's behavior on any given dimension (e.g., conscientiousness) across different situations. Contradicting this assumption and practice, recent studies have demonstrated that by incorporating the situation into the search for consistency, a new locus of stability is found. Namely, people are characterized not only by stable individual differences in their overall levels of behavior, but also by distinctive and stable patterns of situation-behavior relations (e.g., she does X when A but Y when B). These if … then … profiles constitute behavioral “signatures” that provide potential windows into the individual's underlying dynamics. Processing models that can account for such signatures provide a new route for studying personality types in terms of their shared dynamics and characteristic defining profiles.
Moving Target Classification Technique in Video Sequence

a moving target classification method using Krawtchouk moment and K-means clustering is proposed in this paper in order to achieve effective classification of moving targets. By introducing Krawtchouk moment and K-means clustering, the method can classify the targets into four types and achieves accurate classification results by extrating the low-level Krawtchouk moment invariants of the target images as feature vectors to prevent the influences of the targets scale and posture changes and clustering the feature data obtained according to K-means clustering algorithm with proper parameter. At last, the experiments verify the effectiveness of the method proposed. And result shows that this method has effective classification result. In addition, compared with the methods using Hu moment invariants with K-means clustering and Zernike moment invariants with K-means clustering, the classification rate of the method proposed in this paper is better than the other two methods.
Nobody said it would be easy: ethnolinguistic group challenges to bilingual and multicultural education in New York City

Abstract New York City sets itself apart from many locations in the USA due to its citizens' unparalleled diversity. The degree to which schools either build upon or suppress the backgrounds of their linguistically and culturally diverse students is dependent on the degree to which they can provide an education that is both bilingual and multicultural. This qualitative study considers the challenges to teaching bilingually and multiculturally for Chinese, Haitian Creole, Russian, and Spanish bilingual teachers in New York City. The study considers the challenges specific to each ethnolinguistic group, which are based in their cultural ideologies, transnational histories, immigration experiences, and views of US schools.
Bacillus anthracis Multiplication, Persistence, and Genetic Exchange in the Rhizosphere of Grass Plants

ABSTRACT Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, is known for its rapid proliferation and dissemination in mammalian hosts. In contrast, little information exists regarding the lifestyle of this important pathogen outside of the host. Considering that Bacillus species, including close relatives of B. anthracis, are saprophytic soil organisms, we investigated the capacity of B. anthracis spores to germinate in the rhizosphere and to establish populations of vegetative cells that could support horizontal gene transfer in the soil. Using a simple grass plant-soil model system, we show that B. anthracis strains germinate on and around roots, growing in characteristic long filaments. From 2 to 4 days postinoculation, approximately one-half of the B. anthracis CFU recovered from soil containing grass seedlings arose from heat-sensitive organisms, while B. anthracis CFU retrieved from soil without plants consisted of primarily heat-resistant spores. Coinoculation of the plant-soil system with spores of a fertile B. anthracis strain carrying the tetracycline resistance plasmid pBC16 and a selectable B. anthracis recipient strain resulted in transfer of pBC16 from the donor to the recipient as early as 3 days postinoculation. Our findings demonstrate that B. anthracis can survive as a saprophyte outside of the host. The data suggest that horizontal gene transfer in the rhizosphere of grass plants may play a role in the evolution of the Bacillus cereus group species.
Block Partitioning Structure in the HEVC Standard

High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) is the latest joint standardization effort of ITU-T WP 3/16 and ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 11. The resultant standard will be published as twin text by ITU-T and ISO/IEC; in the latter case, it will also be known as MPEG-H Part 2. This paper describes the block partitioning structure of the draft HEVC standard and presents the results of an analysis of coding efficiency and complexity. Of the many new technical aspects of HEVC, the block partitioning structure has been identified as representing one of the most significant changes relative to previous video coding standards. In contrast to the fixed size 16 × 16 macroblock structure of H.264/AVC, HEVC defines three different units according to their functionalities. The coding unit defines a region sharing the same prediction mode, e.g., intra and inter, and it is represented by the leaf node of a quadtree structure. The prediction unit defines a region sharing the same prediction information. The transform unit, specified by another quadtree, defines a region sharing the same transformation. This paper introduces technical details of the block partitioning structure of HEVC with an emphasis on the method of designing a consistent framework by combining the three different units together. Experimental results are provided to justify the role of each component of the block partitioning structure and a comparison with the H.264/AVC design is performed.
Early Origins of Child Obesity: Bridging Disciplines and Phases of Development - September 30–October 1, 2010

This report summarizes a conference: “Early Origins of Child Obesity: Bridging Disciplines and Phases of Development”, held in Chicago on September 30–October 1, 2010. The conference was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and the Williams Heart Foundation, to achieve the conference objective: forging a next-step research agenda related to the early origins of childhood obesity. This research agenda was to include working with an array of factors (from genetic determinants to societal ones) along a continuum from prenatal life to age 7, with an emphasis on how the developing child deals with the challenges presented by his/her environment (prenatal, parental, nutritional, etc.). The conference offered a unique opportunity to facilitate communication and planning of future work among a variety of researchers whose work separately addresses different periods in early life. Over the span of two days, speakers addressed existing, critical research topics within each of the most-studied age ranges. On the final day, workshops fostered the discussion needed to identify the highest priority research topics related to linking varied early factor domains. These are presented for use in planning future research and research funding.
Characterization of the Influenza A Virus Gene Pool in Avian Species in Southern China: Was H6N1 a Derivative or a Precursor of H5N1?

ABSTRACT In 1997, an H5N1 influenza virus outbreak occurred in chickens in Hong Kong, and the virus was transmitted directly to humans. Because there is limited information about the avian influenza virus reservoir in that region, we genetically characterized virus strains isolated in Hong Kong during the 1997 outbreak. We sequenced the gene segments of a heterogeneous group of viruses of seven different serotypes (H3N8, H4N8, H6N1, H6N9, H11N1, H11N9, and H11N8) isolated from various bird species. The phylogenetic relationships divided these viruses into several subgroups. An H6N1 virus isolated from teal (A/teal/Hong Kong/W312/97 [H6N1]) showed very high (>98%) nucleotide homology to the human influenza virus A/Hong Kong/156/97 (H5N1) in the six internal genes. The N1 neuraminidase sequence showed 97% nucleotide homology to that of the human H5N1 virus, and the N1 protein of both viruses had the same 19-amino-acid deletion in the stalk region. The deduced hemagglutinin amino acid sequence of the H6N1 virus was most similar to that of A/shearwater/Australia/1/72 (H6N5). The H6N1 virus is the first known isolate with seven H5N1-like segments and may have been the donor of the neuraminidase and the internal genes of the H5N1 viruses. The high homology between the internal genes of H9N2, H6N1, and the H5N1 isolates indicates that these subtypes are able to exchange their internal genes and are therefore a potential source of new pathogenic influenza virus strains. Our analysis suggests that surveillance for influenza A viruses should be conducted for wild aquatic birds as well as for poultry, pigs, and humans and that H6 isolates should be further characterized.
Trick behind our speaking ability

United States Noam Chomsky and Morris Halle founded the Generative School of Phonology in the late 1950's. It's basic premises are that phonological structure reflects the linguistic competence of the individual native speaker to compute a phonetic representation for the potentially infinite number of sentences generated by the syntactic component of the grammar and that this competence can be investigated in a serious scientific fashion. The generative point of view has become dominant in the field of linguistics and has had varying degrees of influence on other cognitive sciences. This entry surveys the development of the generative approach over three fifteen-year segments and concludes with current research trajectories. The early work of Chomsky and Halle both embraces and rejects various aspects of the two major schools of American Structural Linguistics inaugurated by Edward Sapir
Granger causality reveals a dominant role of memory circuit in chronic opioid dependence

Resting‐state magnetic resonance imaging has uncovered abnormal functional connectivity in heroin‐dependent individuals (HDIs). However, it remains unclear how brain regions implicated in addictions are related in baseline state without conditioned cues in heroin dependent individuals during opioid maintenance treatment (HDIs‐OMT). Previous connectivity analysis assessed the strength of correlated activity between brain regions but lacked the ability to infer directional neural interactions. In the current study, we employed Granger causality analysis to investigate directional causal influences among the brain circuits in HDIs‐OMT and non‐opioid users. The results revealed a weaker effective connectivity between the caudate nucleus implicated in mediating the reward circuit and other brain regions and also a weaker connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex implicated in mediating inhibitory control. Conversely, HDIs‐OMT exhibited stronger effective connectivity between the hippocampus and amygdala implicated in mediating learning‐memory, and the anterior cingulate cortex involved in mediating inhibitory control while the putamen mediated learned habits, suggesting that the hippocampus and amygdala may propel the memory circuit to override the control circuit and drive the learned habit in HDIs‐OMT. Alterations in learning‐memory and inhibitory control may contribute jointly and form a basis for relapse risk even after a period of heroin abstinence. Sustained neural effect of opioid dependence on methadone maintenance including hyperactivation in the memory circuit and impairment in the control circuit support the role of the memory circuitry in relapse and may help redefine targets for treatment.
Effect of Music Training and Musical Complexity on Focus of Attention to Melody or Harmony

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between music training and musical complexity and focus of attention to melody or harmony. Participants (N= 192) were divided into four groups: university jazz majors (n= 64), other university music majors (n= 64), high school instrumentalists (n= 32), and junior high instrumentalists (n= 32). The musical complexity variable consisted of four levels of melodic complexity and four levels of harmonic complexity each paired for a total of 16 possible combinations all heard by each participant. Each trial consisted of a melodic complexity/harmonic complexity pairing performed by the same performer on jazz piano. Subjects indicated their overall perceived focus of attention for melody or harmony either during or immediately after they listened. A four-factor ANOVA was conducted with two between-subjects factors (order and music-training groups) and two within-subjects factors (melodic complexity and harmonic complexity). Significant differences were found for focus of attention for both melodic complexity and harmonic complexity. Significant interactions occurred between music training and focus of attention. Overall, data showed that as music training increases, so does harmonic focus of attention. March 11, 2005 October 4, 2005