Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Emotional intimacy, sexual desire, and sexual satisfaction among partnered heterosexual men

In spite of a mostly positive impact of emotional intimacy on sexual desire and satisfaction, emotional merging and the safety and comfort of emotional closeness have been linked with diminished sexual desire. Aiming at a better understanding of the role of intimacy in male sexuality, this paper explored (1) a likely mechanism behind the association between emotional intimacy and sexual satisfaction and (2) whether there is empirical evidence of a negative impact of intimacy on sexual desire. Among 506 heterosexual Croatian men (M = 38.2 years, SD = 8.43) currently living with their partners who participated in a large-scale online survey carried out in 2011, sexual satisfaction was dependent on both intimacy and sexual desire. Emotional intimacy was strongly associated with the partner-centered component of personal sexual satisfaction, pointing to a possible mechanism through which intimacy affects sexual well-being. Despite employing different analytical approaches and controlling for age and the length of intimate relationship, no evidence was found of a negative association between relationship intimacy and male sexual desire. Our study supports the notion that intimacy has an important and positive role in male sexuality.
Linking English First Additional Language teaching and learning with outcomes-based education: what is really happening?

The re-birth of South Africa in 1994 brought about the realization of new educational policies. The Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) approach was introduced in 1998 to advance teaching and learning of various Learning Areas in schools in South Africa. This article addresses the implementation of Outcomes-based Education (OBE) to facilitate the learning and teaching of English as a First Additional Language (EFAL) in Grade eight. It focuses on township schools in the Lejweleputswa District in the Free State province, previously under the Department of Education and Training. The introduction of OBE in South Africa aims to initiate an era of meaningful teaching. With an OBE approach, teaching and learning activities have the aim of empowering learners to succeed in "real life" after completing school. One of the main aims of using a language, for example English, is to develop communicative competence in that language. English though, is the first language of only 8,2% of South African citizens (Statistics South Africa, 2001: 14). Most learners in South Africa need to enroll for EFAL. The manner in which OBE is implemented in Grade eight EFAL classrooms is vital to the academic success of these learners. English as the language of learning, the acquisition of English as second (or even third) language, as well as OBE has been researched before. This study is unique in the way that it addresses the direct influence of the OBE approach on the teaching and learning process in Grade 8 EFAL classrooms. Keywords : English first additional language, EFAL classrooms, Outcomes-based Education Journal for Language Teaching Vol. 39(2) 2005: 306-319
Selective Cerebral Volume Reduction in Rett Syndrome: A Multiple-Approach MR Imaging Study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Previous studies have examined volumetric abnormalities in Rett syndrome (RTT), using MR imaging and focusing on selective changes. However, these studies preceded the identification of MECP2 as the gene mutated in most RTT cases. We studied regional brain volume changes as noted by MR imaging in girls with RTT who had mutations in the MECP2 gene and more or less severe clinical outcomes to further characterize the neuroanatomy of RTT and its correlations with clinical severity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Complementary semiautomated Talairach- and voxel-based approaches were used to study spoiled gradient-recalled acquisition sequence MR imaging scans from 23 girls with MECP2 mutations/RTT, including a pair of discordant monozygotic twins and 25 age-matched control girls. Both absolute and relative volumetric changes were examined to account for the well-documented global reduction in brain volume seen in RTT. RESULTS: Absolute volumetric reductions were observed throughout the brain in RTT. Selective/relative decreases in parietal lobe gray matter, particularly in the dorsal parietal region, and mild, diffuse reductions in cortical white matter were observed in the RTT group compared with control subjects. In girls with RTT and a more severe phenotype, anterior frontal lobe volumes were relatively more reduced. Twin comparisons revealed selective preservation of the occipital cortex. CONCLUSION: Selective reductions of dorsal parietal gray matter and preservation of the occipital cortex seem to be basic neuroanatomic features of RTT, whereas preferential reduction of the anterior frontal lobe appears to be a correlate of clinical severity in this disorder. The most affected brain regions include those that may underlie key functional deficits observed in RTT.
Relicensing as a Secondary Market Strategy

Secondary markets in the information technology industry, where used or refurbished equipment is traded, have been growing steadily. For original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in this industry, the importance of secondary markets has grown in parallel, not only as a source of revenue, but also because of their impact on these firms' competitive advantage and market strategy. Recent articles in the press have severely criticized some OEMs who are perceived to be actively trying to eliminate the secondary market for their products. Other OEMs have policies that enhance their secondary markets. The goal of this paper is to understand how an OEM's incentives and optimal strategies vis-a-vis the secondary market are shaped contingent on her relative competitive advantage, product characteristics, and consumer preferences. The critical trade-off that we examine is whether the indirect benefit from maintaining an active secondary market (the resale value effect) can outweigh the potentially negative effect of the sales of used products at the expense of new product sales (the cannibalization effect). To that end, we develop a durable good model where the OEM can directly affect the resale value of her product through a relicensing fee charged to the buyer of the refurbished equipment. We analyze the OEM's strategy in both the monopoly and the duopoly cases, characterize the optimal relicensing fee set by the OEM, and draw conclusions on the conditions that favor stimulating or deterring the secondary market. This paper was accepted by Candace A. Yano, operations and supply chain management.
Determination of initiation of DNA replication before and after nuclear formation in Xenopus egg cell free extracts

Xenopus egg extracts prepared before and after egg activation retain M- and S-phase specific activity, respectively. Staurosporine, a potent inhibitor of protein kinase, converted M-phase extracts into interphase- like extracts that were capable of forming nuclei upon the addition of sperm DNA. The nuclei formed in the staurosporine treated M-phase extract were incapable of replicating DNA, and they were unable to initiate replication upon the addition of S-phase extracts. Furthermore, replication was inhibited when the staurosporine-treated M- phase extract was added in excess to the staurosporine-treated S-phase extract before the addition of DNA. The membrane-depleted S-phase extract supported neither nuclear formation nor replication; however, preincubation of sperm DNA with these extracts allowed them to form replication-competent nuclei upon the addition of excess staurosporine- treated M-phase extract. These results demonstrate that positive factors in the S-phase extracts determined the initiation of DNA replication before nuclear formation, although these factors were unable to initiate replication after nuclear formation.
Protective effects of vitamin A against the genotoxicity of NNK, a nicotine-derived N-nitrosamine.

In this investigation, the effect of vitamin A on 4-(methyl-nitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) induced genotoxic damage in rat liver was studied and correlated with NNK metabolism and DNA single strand breaks (DNA-SSBs). Male adult Fischer rats were fed a vitamin A deficient diet for 8 weeks and then divided into two sub-groups. Rats in group Ia and group Ib were fed vitamin A supplemented and vitamin A deficient diets respectively for an additional 4 weeks. Rats were then treated with a single i.p. injection of NNK (25-100 mg/kg) and subjected to partial hepatectomy 1 week later. After 72 h, liver perfusions were performed for cell preparation. Non-hepatectomized rats were used as controls (group IIa and IIb, consisting of rats fed vitamin A supplemented and deficient diets respectively). In non-hepatectomized rats (groups IIa and IIb), micronucleus (MN) frequencies were not significantly increased. This confirms the importance of cell proliferation for MN formation. In rats fed a vitamin A deficient diet and subjected to partial hepatectomy (group Ib), a significant increase of MN was observed (2.2 +/- 0.3, 5.7 +/- 0.9, 12.8 +/- 3.8 and 21.2 +/- 4.3% for control, 25, 50 and 100 mg NNK/kg body wt respectively). In rats fed a vitamin A supplemented diet (group Ia) we have observed a significant decrease of MN induction, as compared to rats fed a vitamin A deficient diet (group Ib) (2.7 +/- 1.0, 2.9 +/- 0.9, 9.7 +/- 2.7, 14.8 +/- 3.2% for control, 25, 50 and 100 mg NNK/kg body wt respectively). Freshly isolated hepatocytes from rats fed vitamin A deficient and supplemented diets but without NNK treatment in vivo were used to study NNK metabolism and DNA-SSBs. Results showed that hepatocytes isolated from rats fed a vitamin A supplemented diet (group C) metabolized NNK less effectively than hepatocytes isolated from rats fed a vitamin A deficient diet (group B) (NNK metabolism was decreased by 0.5-fold in group C as compared to group B). This inhibition was observed only with the NNK activation pathway, alpha-carbon hydroxylation, but not with a deactivation pathway: pyridine-N-oxidation. DNA-SSBs induced by NNK were also reduced in hepatocytes isolated from rats fed a vitamin A supplemented diet as compared to hepatocytes isolated from rats fed a deficient diet. These reductions were 7.8, 12.4 and 4.5% after 6 h of elution and 9.1, 8.5 and 3.0% after 9 h of elution for 1, 5 and 10 mM NNK respectively. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Cleaved Fragments Prediction Algorithm (CFPA) application to calpain and caspase in apoptosis and necrotic cell death

The activation of cysteine proteases, calpain and caspase-3, which orchestrate the two major types of cell death, necrosis and apoptosis in various neurological and neurodegenerative disorders, drive cleavage of susceptible cellular proteins whose Breakdown Products (BDPs) can be utilized as biochemical markers; these markers can distinguish the molecular root causes among different types of neural cell death. There is an immense need to make such distinction between calpain and caspase-dependant dominated types of cell injury which is crucial in order to identify the injury mechanisms; thus, creating opportunities for neurotherapy development. Calpain protease is activated in various necrotic and apoptotic conditions generating calpain-specific cleaved fragments, while caspase-3 is predominantly activated in neuronal apoptosis generating caspase-3-specific cleaved fragments. Yet, despite the difference in cleavage specificity between calpain and caspase, some cellular proteins are dually susceptible to both proteases in some neurotoxic challenges such as hypoxia-hypoglycemia and excitotoxin treatment. During their activation, it is difficult to identify the resulting fragments despite the advanced experimental proteomics techniques in the field of degradomics. Current approaches rely on experimental techniques involving western blotting technique coupled with protein sequencing to identify the sequence specific and fragmentation site of the specific BDP(s). The main purpose of this work is to establish a new efficient and accurate methodological tool based on dynamic programming to predict those BDPs computationally with an algorithm of space complexity O(mn) and time complexity O(NN'mn), where the comprised parameters correspond to number of protein sequences, number of consensus sequences, length of each protein sequence, and length of each consensus sequence, respectively. The current algorithm is based on a modification of the Cleaved Fragments Prediction Algorithm (CFPA) and achieves high homology with experimental results.
Reconstruction of crash pulse of a vehicle involved in central localized collision based on Morlet wavelets

A wavelet-based approach is presented in this paper to reconstruct acceleration pulse of a vehicle involved in a crash event. The described method for time-frequency analysis is based on techniques which investigate both: time and frequency components of a signal being considered. It is achieved in this work by application of Morlet wavelet properties. Major frequency components which are included in the original acceleration pulse are identified. Subsequently, their times of occurrence are detected as well. Those steps are necessary for multiresolution analysis which leads to creation of a scalegram of the reference signal. Finally, having full insight into the time-frequency components of the analyzed characteristics, the reconstruction of the reference signal is executed - superposition principle allows to combine major signal components yielding the reproduced crash pulse. The comparative analysis between the current method's outcome and the behavior of a real car is performed and reliability of the actual methods and tools is evaluated.
The architecture of the Festival speech synthesis system

We describe a new formalism for storing linguistic data in a text to speech system. Linguistic entities such as words and phones are stored asfeature structuresin a general object called an linguistic item. Items are configurable at run time and via the feature structure can contain arbitrary information. Linguistic relations are used to store the relationship between items of the same linguistic type. Relations can take any graph structure but are commonly trees or lists. Utterance structures contain all the items and relations contained in a single utterance. We first describe the design goals when building a synthesis architecture, and then describe some problems with previous architectures. We then discuss our new formalism in general along with the implementation details and consequences of our approach.
Political parties and corruption: Reflections on the Italian case 1

Political corruption can be considered as a means by which money influences politics. In the classic studies the causes of corruption have usually been identified in the characteristics of the principal actor in the political system: the party. Samuel Huntington, in particular, has linked the development of corruption to party weakness during phases of growing political participation. Corruption spreads in those specific paths to modernization in which popular participation in political decision-making is not immediately accompanied by a strengthening of those institutions, such as political parties, which should filter and direct collective demands: ‘the weaker and less accepted the political parties, the greater the likelihood of corruption’.
Nurse Lecturers’ Perception and Teaching of Spirituality

The concept of spirituality and its centrality within nursing’s philosophy of caring has been widely debated for the past three decades. Attempts have been made not only to define spirituality but also to examine the potential benefits that spiritual care may have for patients, such as the provision of hope in times of illness. Although UK nursing bodies have identified spiritual care as an area of nursing competency, there has been increasing concern recently about the discrepancy between the teaching of spiritual care and the delivery of it in practice. It is currently unclear whether spirituality is being taught in the classroom. Debates have centred on how a complex concept such as spirituality can be effectively incorporated within the curricula and what types of teaching methods should best be used, and how assessments are conducted in this area to demonstrate competency. This paper reports on the findings of a pilot study conducted in a university school of health studies. The aim of the study was to gain insight into nursing lecturers’ views on the meaning of spirituality and the methods of teaching and assessing it, within the undergraduate and postgraduate nursing programmes in the school. The findings revealed that nurse lecturers’ views on spirituality were diverse; there was a lack of formal preparation of lecturers to teach spiritual care; lecturers who attempted to incorporate spirituality into their teaching appeared to do so through a process of trial and error; and it was unclear how or whether spirituality was taught to students on a consistent basis either in the classroom or in clinical areas.
Cognitive Development, Sex, and Abstractness In Grade One Word Recognition

AbstractThe effects of global cognitive development, sex, and word abstractness on young readers' word recognition were explored. A three-way analysis of variance on word recognition scores indicated that noun words were recognized more frequently than non-noun words (p = 0.01): subjects with high cognitive development recognized more words than children with lower cognitive development (p = 0.08); and females recognized more words than males (p = 0.18). The two-way and three-way interactions were not significant (p > 0.30).
Multilingual i-Vector Based Statistical Modeling for Music Genre Classification

For music signal processing, compared with the strategy which models each short-time frame independently, when the long-time features are considered, the time-series characteristics of the music signal can be better presented. As a typical kind of long-time modeling strategy, the identification vector (i-vector) uses statistical modeling to model the audio signal in the segment level. It can better capture the important elements of the music signal, and these important elements may benefit to the classification of music signal. In this paper, the ivector based statistical feature for music genre classification is explored. In addition to learn enough important elements for music signal, a new multilingual i-vector feature is proposed based on the multilingual model. The experimental results show that the multilingual i-vector based models can achieve better classification performances than conventional short-time modeling based methods.
Multilevel relationships between organizational-level incivility, justice and intention to stay

Abstract This study extends incivility theory and research by applying multilevel theory and analysis to explain the effect of group-level incivility on intention to remain. Previous research has shown that experiencing workplace incivility is associated with adverse individual well-being and behaviour, such as turnover intentions, but the majority of research has been at the individual level of analysis. Consequently it is unknown whether incivility is also a group-level phenomenon, and what the effects of group-level incivility are on the individual. Results from over 34,000 employees working in 179 organizations across Australia and New Zealand showed that target reports of incivility could be aggregated to the level of the organization to form a shared stressor, incivility environment, which affected employees’ intention to remain over and above their personal experience of incivility. This shared or environmental incivility also had a cross-level interaction effect on the negative relationship between individual incivility and intention to remain, highlighting the importance of context on targets of incivility. The role of interactional justice climate was also examined and the data are consistent with justice having a mediating effect on the cross-level relationship between environmental incivility and intention to remain. The findings are relevant to studies of bullying and harassment.
Introduction New contributions to the science of economics: a new research program of a simultaneous equilibrium versus disequilibrium approach and some basic results

A long Introduction provides a composite methodological standard of 25 elements (concepts, theorems and basic relationships) which actually represent in analysis a system of general stable equilibrium in economics and other social sciences. In practice, the same composite standard refers to a possible regime of a free, just and stable economy and society. This double composite scientific objective standard was used to examine the content of the Memorial Lectures presented by nine Laureates who received the Nobel Prize in Economics from 1969 to 1974. Specifically, the purpose was to see how much these lectures have contributed to the clarification and the solution of the major problems of our time.
Enhancement of in vivo and in vitro murine immune responses by the cyclophosphamide metabolite acrolein.

Cyclophosphamide (CY)-mediated immunoenhancement has been attributed to the inhibition of suppressor T-cell generation. In order to exert its effects on the immune system, metabolic activation of CY is required. The metabolite of CY responsible for its immunoenhancing properties are not known. Two reactive metabolites of CY which may inhibit suppressor T-cell generation are phosphoramide mustard and acrolein, compounds known to primarily bind to DNA and sulfhydryl groups, respectively. The objective of this study was to determine whether acrolein and/or phosphoramide mustard are capable of enhancing the immune response in a manner similar to CY. Administration of 100 mumol/kg of acrolein, i.v. , to female C57BL/6 x C3H F1 mice 1 day before antigen exposure (sheep red blood cells) resulted in a 50% increase in the delayed-type hypersensitivity response (foot pad swelling). The Day 4 primary humoral immune response to sheep red blood cells was also increased by 88 and 60% after the administration of 30 and 100 mumol/kg acrolein 1 day before sensitization with sheep red blood cells. Exposure of splenocyte cultures to 3 x 10(-7) and 10(-6) M 4-hydroperoxy-CY or acrolein produced significant increases in the in vitro T-dependent antibody-forming cell response. In contrast, the antibody-forming cell response of cultures exposed to 3 x 10(-8) - 10(-4) M phosphoramide mustard did not increase above control levels. These results suggest that acrolein is responsible for the CY-induced enhancement of the immune response. Moreover, the enhancement may be produced by the binding of acrolein to sulfhydryl groups of molecules of cells required for the generation of suppressor T-cells.