Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plague dynamics are driven by climate variation

The bacterium Yersinia pestis causes bubonic plague. In Central Asia, where human plague is still reported regularly, the bacterium is common in natural populations of great gerbils. By using field data from 1949–1995 and previously undescribed statistical techniques, we show that Y. pestis prevalence in gerbils increases with warmer springs and wetter summers: A 1°C increase in spring is predicted to lead to a >50% increase in prevalence. Climatic conditions favoring plague apparently existed in this region at the onset of the Black Death as well as when the most recent plague pandemic arose in the same region, and they are expected to continue or become more favorable as a result of climate change. Threats of outbreaks may thus be increasing where humans live in close contact with rodents and fleas (or other wildlife) harboring endemic plague.
Law and grace in Saint Augustine: a fresh perspective on mindfulness and spirituality in behaviour therapy

The secular, acceptance-based philosophy of third wave behaviour therapy has easily absorbed the notion of mindfulness that originated in Eastern spirituality, entailing a secularised approach to transcendence. The present article seeks to connect mindfulness with existing efforts to integrate the Western client's spirituality into psychotherapy. For that purpose, we show how Christian grace theology and mindfulness theory overlap in the way they construe transcendence and self. Both approaches enhance openness to experience and deemphasise verbal control as a tool for personal progress. It is argued that awareness of this overlap can make it easier for the therapist to understand and appreciate the client's religious perspective. It can also help turn a client's spirituality into a relevant personal strength for therapy. Finally, explaining the overlap can enhance the credibility of mindfulness interventions with traditional Christian clients and make these interventions relevant to their spiritual concerns.
Using Context-Based Correlation in Network Operations and Management

Network operation consists to a large degree of reaction to activities happening in the network. Better knowledge of the network at any time allows more appropriate reactions. On the example of intrusion detection, we show how context-based correlation of such activities can provide a more detailed view of the network in shorter time. We first present how we model context and then describe the architecture of the Stanford University CEP context-based correlator. Correlation is specified as event patterns in a declarative language that allows us to specify what needs to be detected, instead of specifying how it should be detected. CEP introduces the concept of causal context to intrusion detection. The correlator is able to process events on-line, as they are generated and it can be reconfigured at dynamically. We then show how it increases detection rate, reduce false alarms, and detect large-scale attack pattern at an early stage.
Reactive oxygen species‐induced activation of ERK and p38 MAPK mediates PMA‐induced NETs release from human neutrophils

Neutrophils/polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), an important component of innate immune system, release extracellular traps (NETs) to eliminate invaded pathogens; however understanding of the role of signaling molecules/proteins need to be elucidated. In the present study role of p38 MAPK and extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) against phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate (PMA) induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and NETs formation has been investigated. Human neutrophils were treated with PMA to induce free radical generation and NETs release, which were monitored by NBT reduction and elastase/DNA release, respectively. PMA treatment led to the time dependent phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and ERK in PMNs. Pretreatment of PMNs with SB202190 or U0126 did not significantly reduce PMA induce free radical generation, but prevented NETs release. Pretreatment of PMNs with NADPH oxidase inhibitor (diphenyleneiodonium chloride) significantly reduced free radical generation, p38 MAPK and ERK phosphorylation as well as NETs release, suggesting that p38 MAPK and ERK activation was downstream to free radical generation. The present study thus demonstrates ROS dependent activation of ERK and p38 MAPK, which mediated PMA induced NETs release from human neutrophils. J. Cell. Biochem. 114: 532–540, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Influence of Ammonium on Growth, Metabolism, and Productivity of a Continuous Suspension Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell Culture

A recombinant DNA Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line which produces tissue‐type plasminogen activator (t‐PA) was cultivated continuously in suspension with a constant dilution rate of 0.5 day−1. The cultivation consisted of four phases with four different ammonium chloride concentrations (0,2.5, 5, and 7.5 mM) in the feed medium, causing a reactor ammonium concentration of up to 8 mM. Cell growth was not inhibited by these high ammonium concentrations, as cell densities of around 2.3 × 106 cells mL−1 were established. In contrast, the production of t‐PA was reduced under high ammonium concentration. The decrease in specific t‐PA production could be due to either a negative ammonium influence on productivity or a limitation of medium components, e.g., amino acids. Cell metabolism was changed under high ammonium concentrations, seen most clearly by a decrease in specific ammonium production by a factor of 8 and an increase in specific alanine production of 30%.
Repositioning a University through NCAA Division I-A Football Membership

Past research concerning the effects of college athletics has concentrated on examining the effects of on-field success on increased donations to the university and increased enrollment applications. This research examines the effects of a university’s move to NCAA Division I-A football membership on marketing variables, such as attitudes toward the university, perceptions of the university, and behavioral intentions regarding attendance at sporting events and donating money. Members of three important stakeholder groups (students, alumni, and area residents) responded to questions dealing with a university’s recent move to Division I-A football. With respect to overall perceptions of I-A football and reactions to the University’s recent move to I-A, students, alumni, and the general public believe that I-A football is more prestigious than I-AA football. Further, I-A football status can create a positive image for a university, can attract students to attend the university, is the best sport for fosterin.
Analyses of rotational singularities in ferret visual cortex

Activity maps of spatial orientation, obtained by intrinsic optical imaging of the mammalian visual cortex, show the formation of pinwheel-like structures that rotate either clockwise or counterclockwise around zero dimensional points called singularities. Any research that is oriented towards exploring the formation and physiological role of these singularities during an experiment requires an automated tool that can rapidly identify the location of these singularities. In this work we have developed such a tool that looks for the existence of singularities for a certain radius at every pixel location in the angle map. Using data from eleven ferrets, the number of singularities identified was a function of the search radius (0.03325, 0.04665, 0.05985, 0.07315, 0.08645, 0.09975, 0.11305, and 0.12635 mm) and level of image smoothing used. For a given smoothing value, the number of singularities decreased with increasing radius. But the rate of decrease was greater with less smoothing. The more the original image was smoothed, the fewer singularities were identified at a given radius. The trade off between search radius and image smoothing can be partially attributed to spatial sampling resolution.
Bounding Teacher Decision Making: The Threat of Intensification

One common limitation in most reform efforts is an understanding of the relation among teachers' work, decision making, and the construction of school knowledge. This study attempts to fill this gap by examining how critical theories of teachers' work both inform and are informed by an analysis of two case study middle schools. Findings from this study suggest that many of the decisions that teachers make are based on their attempt to contain the threat of intensification. Such a self-regulatory process shaped decisions in the areas of planning, grading, and classroom management and fostered a defensive form of school knowledge that is fact oriented, routinized, and mundane. Particularly troubling is the finding that this defensive form of knowledge was most pronounced in classes with large numbers of students of color
Politeness and power: Making and responding to 'requests' in institutional settings

This article aims to explore the usefulness of politeness theory in understanding institutional discourse in power-laden contexts and how politeness strategies are realized in discourse practices which are closely related to institutional norms. It is also concerned to establish the relationship between the use of redressive linguistic forms and institutional power and the extent to which participants with externally 'given' power employ mitigation while at the same time claiming power in relation to their 'clients'. On the basis of data recorded in three diverse British institutional contexts, i.e., magistrates courts, doctors' surgeries, and the reception area of a police station, it is argued that: (i) politeness theory is a useful way of approaching institutional discourse which can enable us to begin to define more explicitly the nature of institutional norms and to interpret interactional behavior in power-laden institutional settings; (ii) informative and interpersonal modes of linguistic communication interpenetrate in the discourse practices of institutional settings that differ substantially in the ways in which such relationships are manifested and negotiated; and (iii) not only do redressive linguistic forms provide a powerful means of encoding these crucially important relational and interpersonal elements of language but powerful institutional members make extensive use of politeness strategies.
A Strategy for Fighting International Islamist Terrorists

The U.S. strategy for combating international Islamist terrorists must be based on an understanding of the terrorists' behavior and the process of radicalization to violence. This process includes four dimensions: a sense of moral outrage, interpreted in a specific way, which resonates with one's personal experiences, and is channeled through group dynamics, both face-to-face and online. The threat has evolved over the past decade. The process of radicalization continues in a hostile physical environment, but it is enabled by the Internet, resulting in a disconnected, decentralized social structure. The threat of this “leaderless jihad” is self-limiting because of its confining structure and the lack of appeal of its utopian ideal. It will probably fade away for internal reasons, if not sustained by overly aggressive tactics construed as a “war on Islam. ” The appropriate strategy against this threat is to contain and neutralize the radicalization process along its four dimensions.
Predictors of Reading in Urdu: Does Deep Orthography Have an Impact?

The aim of this study was to establish the extent to which rapid automatized naming (RAN) and non-word repetition (NWR) tasks predict reading fluency and reading accuracy in Urdu. One hundred sixty (8–9 years) children attending two types of schools (Urdu and English medium schools) were distributed into two groups, a control and a reading disability group on the basis of teacher’s report. The results confirmed the role of RAN in predicting reading fluency in both groups. The role of NWR as a predictor of accuracy was also confirmed, although the strength of the relationship was modulated by RAN in the reading disability group. There are no tests available to identify children with reading problems in Urdu. Our study supports the validity of NWR and RAN tasks for the purposes of screening for reading deficits. The performance results also confirm the original grouping based on teacher reports. The study further highlights the importance of medium of instruction and increased oral language input in learning to read. © 2014 The Authors. Dyslexia published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Key Messages Reliability of teacher reports in screening for reading difficulties in the classroom. Appropriateness of non-word repetition and rapid automatized naming tasks for establishing reading problems in Urdu. School type and exposure to instruction influences reading skills.
Plain Language and Organizational Challenges

Changing the language in an organization is a major organizational change. In this article, I discuss some of the organizational challenges for one specific language change implementation, taking the stance that language change must be treated as any other organizational change for it to have an effect. I work with the case of the Danish tax authorities’ language project aimed at producing more readable letters. The empirical data that I work with are two qualitative informant interviews. One recorded at the language project’s headquarters where they lay out the general lines for the project, and the other at the payment center where they use the revised letters.
Can General Strain Theory Help Us Understand Violent Behaviors Among People with Mental Illnesses?

Recent work suggests that violence among people with mental illnesses is not simply due to the symptoms and comorbidities that define mental illness. We further this work by examining the extent to which strains or stressors explain the link between mental illness and violence. Specifically, we apply general strain theory (GST) to a longitudinal sample of adults with mental illnesses to investigate the lagged effects on violence of several strain measures, while controlling for mental illness symptoms, substance abuse, past violence, and other key variables. Parental drug abuse from childhood and stressful life events across the life course predict violence in adulthood. In a prospective model, relationship strain from an earlier time period significantly predicts changes in later self-reported violence. The results shed light on the ability of criminological frameworks to explain violence among people with mental illnesses.
Negotiating a sexy masculinity on social networking sites

Social networking sites have emerged as spaces for both young men and women to portray themselves in sexualized ways, raising questions about how young men construct masculinity while embracing a kind of sexual self-objectification. In this case study analysis, a heterosexually identified male college student guides another male undergraduate on a tour of his MySpace profile in front of a video camera, supplementing the visual data with his own interpretations. The analysis focuses on how the young man takes up, or subverts, hegemonic masculinity in his sexual displays online. Data illustrate how irony is highly adaptive for perpetuating hegemonic masculinity on social networking sites, allowing men to collaborate using digital artifacts to socially construct an intractable kind of masculinity as they explore unconventional forms of sexual expression. The study also suggests that a heightened emphasis on public attention to the self is a critical lens for understanding shifting constructions of gender and sexuality in the millennial generation.
AN INVERSION THEOREM FOR CLUSTER DECOMPOSITIONS OF SEQUENCES WITH DISTINGUISHED SUBSEQUENCES

Certain enumeration problems may be expressed in terms of sequences possessing a specified number of subsequences which are elements of a prescribed set of distinguished sequences. We obtain an inversion theorem which expresses the required generating function in terms of one connected with the set of overlapping distinguished sequences called clusters. Techniques are given for determining the cluster generating function both in the general case and in the case in which combinatorial methods are more effective. By specialising the set of distinguished sequences we may solve a number of classical permutation and sequence problems. A number of other examples is also given. A particular type of sequence, called a cluster, which is a linearly ordered collection of overlapping distinguished sequences, emerges as a useful combinatorial device. The value of the approach lies in the fact that the overlapping structure of distinguished sequences is accounted for in a natural way. Accordingly, once appropriate clusters have been defined in terms of some set of distinguished sequences, the clusters may be enumerated separately, without reference to the manner in which they are distributed in actual sequences. The main counting lemma, given in Section 2, expresses the required generating function in terms of the generating function for clusters. A general expression for the cluster generating function is given in Section 3. In certain cases it is possible to obtain the cluster generating function by combinatorial means. This is discussed in Section 4, where a number of applications is presented. We solve a number of sequence problems which have been treated already by a variety of methods. The solutions presented here, however, are motivated directly from the common combinatorial structure of the problems. The inversion theorem, which connects the desired generating function with the cluster generating function, rests only on the Principle of Inclusion and Exclusion. Moreover, the cluster generating function often may be written down immediately by purely combinatorial reasoning using elementary arguments. This fact is reflected in the exposition by our deliberate suppression of the routine algebraic details of substituting the cluster generating function into the inversion theorem, since these details may be supplied by the reader and their inclusion merely obfuscates the essential simplicity of the arguments.
Processor scheduling for multiprocessor joins

A family of practical algorithms is presented to schedule join execution in a shared-memory multiprocessor environment. The algorithms are based on page connectivity graphs and determine when to read each data page into memory and how to schedule page joins on the available processors. The goal is to overlap page reads with parallel join execution in such a way that both the number of processors and total duration of join processing time are minimized. Upper and lower bounds are derived on the number of processors required to complete join execution in optimal time. A description is given of a general strategy for generating read schedules that it is conjectured can be processed in minimal time (over all read schedules on any number of processors) and a family of practical algorithms utilizing an arbitrary number of lookahead steps to approximate this general strategy. <<ETX>>
The Multiple Disability Implicit Association Test

The authors report the psychometric properties of the Multiple Disability Implicit Association Test (MDIAT) using the updated implementation procedure and scoring algorithm provided by Greenwald and colleagues. Undergraduate students (N = 249) completed the four disability condition IATs composing the MDIAT in addition to several self-report scales assessing constructs of interest (e.g., explicit attitude toward persons with disabilities, socially desirable responding, cognitive ability). Consistent with previous research, MDIAT effect scores indicated implicit preference for persons without a disability relative to persons with a disability for four disability conditions and a composite score. MDIAT scores were not related to socially desirable responding or cognitive ability. However, “practice” effects previously found under the conventional scoring algorithm were replicated with the improved scoring algorithm. Finally, scores on the MDIAT were not related to an explicit measure of attitude, the Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale. Although the modifications and new scoring algorithm attenuated some problems found in the previous administrations of the MDIAT (e.g., confounds from socially desirable responding), the practice effect persisted. Until more is known about the underlying processes responsible for the decline in IAT effect scores across administrations, those using the MDIAT should interpret only the composite effect score.
Genetic Adaptation vs. Ecophysiological Plasticity of Photosynthetic-Related Traits in Young Picea glauca Trees along a Regional Climatic Gradient

Assisted population migration (APM) is the intentional movement of populations within a species range to sites where future environmental conditions are projected to be more conducive to growth. APM has been proposed as a proactive adaptation strategy to maintain forest productivity and to reduce the vulnerability of forest ecosystems to projected climate change. The validity of such a strategy will depend on the adaptation capacity of populations, which can partially be evaluated by the ecophysiological response of different genetic sources along a climatic gradient. This adaptation capacity results from the compromise between (i) the degree of genetic adaptation of seed sources to their environment of origin and (ii) the phenotypic plasticity of functional trait which can make it possible for transferred seed sources to positively respond to new growing conditions. We examined phenotypic variation in morphophysiological traits of six seed sources of white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss) along a regional climatic gradient in Québec, Canada. Seedlings from the seed sources were planted at three forest sites representing a mean annual temperature (MAT) gradient of 2.2°C. During the second growing season, we measured height growth (H2014) and traits related to resources use efficiency and photosynthetic rate (Amax). All functional traits showed an adaptive response to the climatic gradient. Traits such as H2014, Amax, stomatal conductance (gs), the ratio of mesophyll to stomatal conductance, water use efficiency, and photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency showed significant variation in both physiological plasticity due to the planting site and seed source variation related to local genetic adaptation. However, the amplitude of seed source variation was much less than that related to plantation sites in the area investigated. The six seed sources showed a similar level of physiological plasticity. H2014, Amax and gs, but not carboxylation capacity (Vcmax), were correlated and decreased with a reduction of the average temperature of the growing season at seed origin. The clinal variation in H2014 and Amax appeared to be driven by CO2 conductance. The presence of locally adapted functional traits suggests that the use of APM may have advantages for optimizing seed source productivity in future local climates.
Fuzzy Rule-Based Evidential Reasoning Approach for Safety Analysis

This paper aims at proposing a framework for modelling the safety of an engineering system with various types of uncertainties using a fuzzy rule-based evidential reasoning (FURBER) approach. In the framework, parameters used to define the safety level, including failure rate, failure consequence severity and failure consequence probability, are described using fuzzy linguistic variables; a fuzzy rule-base designed on the basis of a belief structure is used to capture uncertainty and non-linear relationships between these parameters and the safety level; and the inference of the rule-based system is implemented using the evidential reasoning algorithm. A numerical study of collision risk analysis for a kind of offshore platform is used to illustrate the application of the proposed approach.