Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How New Technology Influences Parent—child Interaction: The Case of e-book Reading

This article reports on a study focusing on mother—child interactions during e-book reading compared to print book reading. Two different types of e-books were used, commercial and educational. Forty-eight kindergarten children and their mothers were assigned randomly to one of four groups, reading: (1) the printed book Just grandma and me; (2) the electronic commercial book Just grandma and me; (3) the printed book The tractor in the sandbox; and (4) the electronic-educational book The tractor in the sandbox. Compared to the printed book reading, e-book reading yielded more discourse initiated by the child and more responsiveness to maternal initiations. Printed book reading yielded more initiations and responses of mothers. Discourse during printed book reading compared to the digital context showed more expanding talk. Educational e-book reading showed more word meaning than reading the commercial e-book. The study concludes that different reading contexts influence adult—child interactions, and this may in return have different effects on children’s early literacy development.
Brazilian Congress, 2014 elections and governability challenges

This research note examines the results of the 2014 elections focusing on the National Congress. Its main objective is to ponder over common claims and predictions regarding the future of Brazilian politics. Beyond agreements and alliances involved in the electoral dispute, President Dilma Rousseff once again shall face the political challenges and dilemmas of Brazilian presidentialism, namely, how to create and manage government coalitions capable of implementing a coherent political program with a fragmented and heterogeneous Congress. The critical examination of the current hypotheses on the latest elections, especially concerning parliamentary fragmentation and a shift towards the right-wing, will serve as a compass attempting to formulate possible answers to such a fundamental problem in Brazilian politics.
A assimetria na relação entre família e escola pública

The incentive to the relationship between families and public school is a target of public politics, seen as something essential for an efficient learning. This research purpose was to investigate parents' experiences vis-a-vis their relationship with the school where their children study. The participants were school members and 22 students tutors attending the 3rd and 4th grades of elementary school. At first was done a participative observation within the school environment, after semi-structured interviews with the children tutors in their homes, focusing three aspects: the school, the teacher and the school education. The families' backgrounds were carefully taken into consideration, and parents showed different postures towards their relationships with their children schools. A traditional analytical approach was adopted to the data collected. As a result, this relationship was proved to be asymmetric, which seems to contribute to the maintenance of mechanisms of exclusion from public school over part of the underprivileged families.
Ontogenesis of oxytocin pathways in the mammalian brain: late maturation and psychosocial disorders

Oxytocin (OT), the main neuropeptide of sociality, is expressed in neurons exclusively localized in the hypothalamus. During the last decade, a plethora of neuroendocrine, metabolic, autonomic and behavioral effects of OT has been reported. In the urgency to find treatments to syndromes as invalidating as autism, many clinical trials have been launched in which OT is administered to patients, including adolescents and children. However, the impact of OT on the developing brain and in particular on the embryonic and early postnatal maturation of OT neurons, has been only poorly investigated. In the present review we summarize available (although limited) literature on general features of ontogenetic transformation of the OT system, including determination, migration and differentiation of OT neurons. Next, we discuss trajectories of OT receptors (OTR) in the perinatal period. Furthermore, we provide evidence that early alterations, from birth, in the central OT system lead to severe neurodevelopmental diseases such as feeding deficit in infancy and severe defects in social behavior in adulthood, as described in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Our review intends to propose a hypothesis about developmental dynamics of central OT pathways, which are essential for survival right after birth and for the acquisition of social skills later on. A better understanding of the embryonic and early postnatal maturation of the OT system may lead to better OT-based treatments in PWS or autism.
Formaldehyde in brain: an overlooked player in neurodegeneration?

Formaldehyde is an environmental pollutant that is also generated in substantial amounts in the human body during normal metabolism. This aldehyde is a well‐established neurotoxin that affects memory, learning, and behavior. In addition, in several pathological conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, an increase in the expression of formaldehyde‐generating enzymes and elevated levels of formaldehyde in brain have been reported. This article gives an overview on the current knowledge on the generation and metabolism of formaldehyde in brain cells as well as on formaldehyde‐induced alterations in metabolic processes. Brain cells have the potential to generate and to dispose formaldehyde. In culture, both astrocytes and neurons efficiently oxidize formaldehyde to formate which can be exported or further oxidized. Although moderate concentrations of formaldehyde are not acutely toxic for brain cells, exposure to formaldehyde severely affects their metabolism as demonstrated by the formaldehyde‐induced acceleration of glycolytic flux and by the rapid multidrug resistance protein 1‐mediated export of glutathione from both astrocytes and neurons. These formaldehyde‐induced alterations in the metabolism of brain cells may contribute to the impaired cognitive performance observed after formaldehyde exposure and to the neurodegeneration in diseases that are associated with increased formaldehyde levels in brain.
Indian Displacement from the Loess Hills

Indian nations have been thoroughly removed from the Loess Hills of the Missouri River valley. That removal, however, does not conform to the typical story of Indian displacement from the forested East or the Great Plains; it was specific to a time and a place and reflected the changing status of Indian sovereignty in the United States. While it was accomplished with little White-on-Indian violence, it was still coercive and can be seen as an act of ethnic cleansing or developmental genocide.
Thermal compression bonding of 20 μm pitch micro bumps with pre-applied underfill - Process and reliability

Thermal compression bonding (TCB) process in combination with a pre-applied underfill material has been developed and investigated for assembling 20 μm pitch Sn-based micro bumps. It is found bonding force has a profound impact on the joint formation behavior. A low bonding force produces bump joints with heavier underfill entrapment and incompletely reacted solder. A higher bonding force leads to more solder squeezing-out, leaving a thin and completely reacted inter-metallic compound (IMC) layer in the joints. Electrical measurement of the daisy chains on the as-bonded chips does not reveal any significant difference between the samples made with different bonding forces. The reliability of the two types of joints were further studied in two post-bonding tests, namely the resistance measurement of daisy chains at an elevated temperature and stack-level thermo-cycling test. Both tests show a better reliability performance from the bump joints with less underfill entrapment and completely reacted IMC layer.
k-ary search on modern processors

This paper presents novel tree-based search algorithms that exploit the SIMD instructions found in virtually all modern processors. The algorithms are a natural extension of binary search: While binary search performs one comparison at each iteration, thereby cutting the search space in two halves, our algorithms perform k comparisons at a time and thus cut the search space into k pieces. On traditional processors, this so-called k-ary search procedure is not beneficial because the cost increase per iteration offsets the cost reduction due to the reduced number of iterations. On modern processors, however, multiple scalar operations can be executed simultaneously, which makes k-ary search attractive. In this paper, we provide two different search algorithms that differ in terms of efficiency and memory access patterns. Both algorithms are first described in a platform independent way and then evaluated on various state-of-the-art processors. Our experiments suggest that k-ary search provides significant performance improvements (factor two and more) on most platforms.
Training Outcome in Future Professional Voice Users after 18 Months of Voice Training

The goal of this study is to define the long-term influence of vocal hygiene education and the effectiveness of voice training in 46 students. Half of the subjects, called the trained group (n = 23), received vocal hygiene education during 1 school year and voice training during 2 school years (18 months). The other half, also 23 subjects, received neither vocal hygiene education nor voice training as such (called the untrained group). The voice training is made up of technical workshops (30 h a year in groups of 5–8 subjects) and vocal coaching in the radio and drama projects (30 h whole class). In the lectures (30 h) a theoretical background on breathing, articulation, voicing and vocal hygiene was discussed. A multidimensional test battery containing the GRBAS scale, videolaryngostroboscopy, maximum phonation time, jitter, lowest intensity, highest frequency, Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI) and Voice Handicap Index (VHI) was applied before and after 18 months to evaluate the effect of voice training over time. A questionnaire on daily habits was presented before the lectures, and after 18 months to detect the long-term effect of the lectures. The objectively measured voice quality (DSI) of the trained group improved significantly over time (p < 0.001) due to training (p = 0.008), which was not the case in the untrained group. The self-assessed VHI, on the other hand, changed over time (p < 0.001) in both groups. For the trained group the VHI changed from 18.4 to 14.4 and in the untrained group from 20.1 to 15.3. It is important to note that the VHI scores of both groups remained high. The interpretation of the results of the daily habit questionnaire is disturbing: the initial high degree of smoking, vocal abuse, stress and late meals was not influenced by the lectures or training and remained high. This study proves the positive outcome and emphasizes the need for a well-organized voice training program in future professional voice users. However, the lectures and training on vocal hygiene failed to improve voice-conserving habits.
Comparison of EEG Changes in Learning and Overlearning of Nonsense Syllables

A comparison between EEG changes occurring during learning and overlearning of nonsense syllables was made, with emphasis on activity related to occasional errors of well-learned material. Seventeen college students learned 12 nonsense syllables by the serial anticipation method, followed by 20 trials of overlearning. EEGs were recorded simultaneously and analyzed by a Burch Period Analyzer. Increased fast and decreased alpha activity were observed during learning. During overlearning, tracings returned toward control levels. Activity associated with errors during overlearning showed a marked increase in fast and decrease in alpha comparable to the changes noted in earlier stages of learning. The data are discussed in terms of the functional significance of the reticular system.
Laser treatment of solar lentigines on dorsum of hands: QS Ruby laser versus ablative CO2 fractional laser–a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundLentigines solares (LS) on the dorsum of hands are often esthetically disturbing. Q-switched ruby laser treatment is highly effective in the treatment of these lesions. Ablative fractional photothermolysis may be a suitable alternative.We compared the Q-switched ruby laser with ablative CO2 fractional photothermolysis for the treatment of solar lentigines.ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and side-effects of 694nm Q-switched ruby laser (Sinon) with the ablative 10,600nm CO2 fractional laser (Quantel Excel O2) in an intra-individual side-to-side comparison in the treatment of LS on the dorsum of hands.Material and methodsEleven patients were included in the study. The hands of each patient were randomized for treatment with the two laser systems. Three treatment sessions were scheduled at weeks 0, 4 and 8. Evaluations by patients, treating physician and blinded experts were scheduled at weeks 0, 4, 8, 16 and 24.ResultsThe Q-switched ruby laser was significantly more efficacious than the ablative CO2 fractional laser for removing LS on the dorsum of hands (p = 0.01). ConclusionIn this first study on this topic, the Q-switched ruby laser was superior to the ablative CO2 fractional laser in the treatment of lentigines solares on the dorsum of hands.
Sialic acid and receptor expression on the respiratory tract in normal subjects and H5N1 and non-avian influenza patients.

1. Influenza virus binds to cell receptors via sialic acid (SA)–linked glycoproteins. An accurate knowledge of SA expression is important in understanding influenza pathogenesis. The influenza viruses circulating in Hong Kong bind to the SAα2,6Gal receptor whilst avian influenza (such as H5N1) bind to SAα2,3Gal receptors. 2. SAα2,3Gal and SAα2,6Gal are widely distributed in the upper and lower respiratory tract as determined by lectin binding experiments. 3. Expression of SAα2,3Gal in the respiratory tract was correlated with infection of lung and nasopharyngeal tissues by a range of H5N1 viruses. H5N1 infection of both the upper and lower respiratory tract may have important implications on the spread of H5N1 influenza virus from patient to patient. 4. Ex vivo tissue culture models should be used more widely to determine the ability of tissues to be infected with H5N1 viruses.
Factors Influencing Culture Positivity in Pyogenic Vertebral Osteomyelitis Patients with Prior Antibiotic Exposure

ABSTRACT We conducted a retrospective cohort study to evaluate factors influencing tissue culture positivity in patients with pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis exposed to antibiotics before diagnosis. Tissue culture was positive in 48.3% (28/58) of the patients, and the median antibiotic-free period was 1.5 days (range, 0.7 to 5.7 days). In a multivariate analysis, a higher C-reactive protein (CRP) level (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.07 to 1.29) and open surgical biopsy (aOR, 6.33; 95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 35.86) were associated with tissue culture positivity.
Inherited variability in multiple traits determines fitness in populations of an annual legume from contrasting latitudinal origins.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Variation in fitness depends on corresponding variation in multiple traits which have both genetically controlled and plastic components. These traits are subjected to varying degrees of local adaptation in specific populations and, consequently, are genetically controlled to different extents. In this study it is hypothesized that modulation of different traits would have contrasting relevance for the fitness of populations of diverse origins. Specifically, assuming that environmental pressures vary across a latitudinal gradient, it is suggested that inherited variation in traits differentially determines fitness in annual Lupinus angustifolius populations from contrasting latitudinal origins in western Spain. METHODS Seeds of L. angustifolius from three contrasting origins were grown in a common garden. Traits related to more plastic vegetative growth and more genetically conserved phenology were measured, together with estimates of reproductive success. Fitness was estimated by the number of viable seeds per plant. Structural Equation Models were used to infer causal relationships among multiple traits and fitness, separating the direct and indirect effects of morphological, phenological and reproductive traits. KEY RESULTS Phenological, vegetative and reproductive traits accounted for most of the fitness variation. Fitness was highest in plants of southernmost origin, mainly due to earlier flowering. Fitness within each seed origin was controlled by variation in different traits. Southern origin plants that grew to a larger size achieved higher fitness. However, plant size in plants of northernmost origin was irrelevant, but early flowering promoted higher fitness. Variation in fruit and seed set had a greater effect on the fitness of plants of central origin than phenological and size variation. CONCLUSIONS It is concluded that modulation of a functional trait can be relevant to fitness in a given population (i.e. affecting intensity and direction), but irrelevant in other populations. This points to the need to consider integrated phenotypes when trying to unravel local adaptation effects over single traits.
XMMU J174716.1-281048: a quasi-persistent very faint X-ray transient?

The X-ray transient XMMU J174716.1-281048 was serendipitously discovered with XMM-Newton in 2003. It lies about 0.9 degrees off the Galactic Centre and its spectrum shows a high absorption (~8 x 10E22 cm^(-2)). Previous X-ray observations of the source field performed in 2000 and 2001 did not detect the source, indicative of a quiescent emission at least two orders of magnitude fainter. The low luminosity during the outburst (~5 x 10E34 erg/s at 8 kpc) indicates that the source is a member of the ``very faint X-ray transients'' class. On 2005 March 22nd the INTEGRAL satellite caught a possible type-I X-ray burst from the new INTEGRAL source IGR J17464-2811, classified as fast X-ray transient. This source was soon found to be positionally coincident, within the uncertainties, with XMMU J174716.1-281048. Here we report data analysis of the X-ray burst observed with the IBIS and JEM-X telescopes and confirm the type-I burst nature. We also re-analysed XMM-Newton and Chandra archival observations of the source field. We discuss the implications of these new findings, particularly related to the source distance as well as the source classification.
Treatment of Neurotic Depression with a New Antidepressant

A placebo-controlled study was performed to compare the efficacy of trazodone with that of a standard tricyclic antidepressant, amitriptyline, in outpatients suffering from moderately severe to severe neurotic depression. The results of the various psychiatric rating scales and the physicians' overall evaluation of therapeutic response indicate that trazodone is a very effective antidepressant.
From reflex to symbol: Describing, explaining, and fostering communicative competence

The manner in which communicative competence develops during the first two years of life is described with particular emphasis on how caregiver-infant interactions and both the clarity and “readability” of infant behavior contributes to the acquisition of communicative abilities. A seven level model of communication is described which permits different forms and modes of communication (e.g., voice synthesized language) to be taken as indicators of certain levels of competence. The implication of the model for both assessment and intervention purposes is discussed. Several techniques (conditional interactions, interactive coaching, and incidental teaching) that can be used for fostering communicative competence are reviewed.
Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance in Kindergarten: Its Relationship to Academic Performance.

AbstractThis study determined the relationship among children’s perceptions of their competence, teachers’ perceptions of the children’s competence, and the children’s academic performance. Thirty kindergarten children were asked to rate their cognitive and physical competence as well as their perceptions of peer acceptance. Teachers rated the children on the same variables. The Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT) was given to each child as an objective measure of academic performance.Findings revealed significant, positive correlations between the teachers’ ratings of cognitive and physical competence and the MRT measures. There were also significant negative correlations between the child’s rating of perceptions of peer acceptance and the MRT variables as well as the teacher’s ratings of the child’s cognitive competence.The results confirmed earlier findings that kindergarten children are not very good predictors of their own academic competence. The findings are discussed both from a cognitive as well as.
Book reviews : The role of the first language in foreign language learning

effects can best be done comparatively, in one of two ways: either we compare groups or individuals with different NLs learning the same FL, or learners with the same NL learning two different FLs. Ringbom, who uses the first approach, works in Finland, where Finns and Swedish Finns learn the same FL (English) in what is essentially a homogenous educational and cultural setting. Finnish is very different from English, while Swedish is cognate: consequently, we ought to be able to observe some pretty clear differences in ’crosslinguistic influences’ on the English of these two groups of learners. Ringbom cites a wealth of data painstakingly collected in the Finnish situation. With these data he is able to make a number of important factual claims, and at the same time to contribute to the theory of language transfer in contact situations both inside and beyond classrooms. He shows that it is more illuminating to study the FACILITATIVE effects of NL transfer than the interferences. It is not true that in
On a triadic neurocognitive approach of decision-making to addiction

Paradoxical behaviours characterizing an addiction could be understood as the result of a combination between an attempt to cope with dominant painful feelings (e.g., anxiety with low self-esteem) and sub-optimal decision-making prioritizing short-term over long-term consequences. This article focused on decision-making and emphasized that addicts' decisions are determined by immediate outcomes because of abnormal interactions between key neural and cognitive systems: (1) an automatic, habitual and salient information processing mediated by amygdala-striatum dependent system; (2) an intention self-regulatory system forecasting the future consequences of a choice; (3) a interoceptive signals processing system which generates feeling states and in turn plays a strong influential role in decision-making and impulse control processes related to uncertainty, risk, and reward. As a whole, sub-optimal interactions such as a too strong automatic stimulus-driven actions associated with poor intentional control and a state of stress or craving are thought to result in prioritizing short-term consequences at the detriment of the necessary forecast of delayed consequences.