Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Why Can't Zelda Save Herself? How the Damsel in Distress Trope Affects Video Game Players

Why Can’t Zelda Save Herself? How the Damsel in Distress Trope Affects Video Game Players Jared Capener Hansen School of Communications, BYU Master of Arts Research has unearthed an abundance of objectification and hypersexualization of female characters within video games. However, the recurring element of the damsel in distress trope is also harmful to the medium. This cliché of a helpless princess in need of a man to save her is a recurring element of The Legend of Zelda series. This experimental design tested the effects of a prototypical “save the princess” mission on players’ agreement to sexist statements on gender roles, objectification, and female dependency, and examined the factors of self-efficacy and gamer status as potential mediators. Participants played a modified version of a classic Legend of Zelda game, where the genders of the hero protagonist and damsel are manipulated. This 2 x 2 study included male and female heroes rescuing male and female victims in the four different cells. Immediately following the experiment, participants then took a post-test survey to gauge if there was any difference on their agreement to sexist statements. These results were also compared to their previous responses on their self-efficacy scores and their gamer status.
Level set function–based immersed interface method and benchmark solutions for fluid flexible‐structure interaction

Using a hybrid Lagrangian‐Eulerian approach, a level set function–based immersed interface method (LS‐IIM) is proposed for the interaction of a flexible body immersed in a fluid flow. The LS‐IIM involves finite volume method for the fluid solver, Galerkin finite element method for the structural solver, and a block‐iterative partitioned method–based fully implicit coupling between the two solvers. The novelty of the proposed method is a level set function–based direct implementation of fluid‐solid interface boundary conditions in both the solvers. Another novelty is the computation of the level set function from a geometric method instead of differential equations commonly used in level set methods—the novel geometric as compared to the traditional method is found to be more accurate and less time‐consuming. The LS‐IIM is demonstrated as second‐order accurate. Verification study is presented first separately for both the solvers and then together for four fluid‐structure interaction (FSI) problems, with different levels of complexity including lid‐driven flow, channel flow, and free‐stream flow. Benchmark solutions are presented for two class of FSI problems: first, easy to set up and less time‐consuming and, second, a reasonably challenging and complex FSI problem involving sharp edges and forced‐motion of the flexible structure. The benchmark solutions are proposed at steady state for the first problem, after a verification study with two open‐source solvers and, at periodic state, after a validation with published experimental results for the second problem. Our benchmark solutions may be useful for verification study in future.
Diastereoselective construction of a functionalized dihydro-pyridazine-based spirooxindole scaffold via C-3 umpolung of isatin N,N′-cyclic azomethine imine

This study demonstrates an abnormal [3+3] tandem Michael addition/N-cyclization of isatin N,N′-cyclic azomethine imine 1,3-dipoles and 2-arylidene malononitrile that diastereoselectively construct a dihydro-pyridazine-based spirooxindole.
Simple rules govern the diversity of bacterial nicotianamine-like metallophores

In metal-scarce environments, some pathogenic bacteria produce opine-type metallophores mainly to face the host’s nutritional immunity. This is the case of staphylopine, pseudopaline and yersinopine, identified in Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Yersinia pestis respectively. These metallophores are synthesized by two (CntLM) or three enzymes (CntKLM), CntM catalyzing the last step of biosynthesis using diverse substrates (pyruvate or α-ketoglutarate), pathway intermediates (xNA or yNA) and cofactors (NADH or NADPH), depending on the species. Here, we explored substrate specificity of CntM by combining bioinformatics and structural analysis with chemical synthesis and enzymatic studies. We found that NAD(P)H selectivity was mainly due to the amino acid at position 33 (S. aureus numbering) which ensures a preferential binding to NADPH when it is an arginine. Moreover, whereas CntM from P. aeruginosa preferentially uses yNA over xNA, the staphylococcal enzyme is not stereospecific. Most importantly, selectivity towards α-ketoacids is largely governed by a single residue at position 150 of CntM (S. aureus numbering): an aspartate at this position ensures selectivity towards pyruvate whereas an alanine leads to the consumption of both pyruvate and α-ketoglutarate. Modifying this residue in P. aeruginosa led to a complete reversal of selectivity. Thus, opine-type metallophore diversity is mainly mediated by the absence/presence of a cntK gene encoding a histidine racemase, and the presence of an aspartate/alanine at position 150 of CntM. These two simple rules predict the production of a fourth metallophore by Paenibacillus mucilaginosus, which was confirmed in vitro and called bacillopaline.
A TDC-based system for X-ray imaging detectors

This work presents an image acquisition system to be used with Position Sensitive Detectors (PSD). The system is based on a high-resolution Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) and a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The detectors use gas as absorbing medium and make use of two delay lines to identify the coordinates of each detected particle. Reading the position information provided by the delay lines, the system is able to encode the position of incidence for an event in the detector window. The TDC translates the time information coming from the delay lines, while the FPGA is responsible for processing each event, controlling the whole system and communicating with a personal computer. 256 times 256 pixels images are stored into an on-board memory. This resolution is increased to 512 times 512 pixels by using a time multiplexing technique. The maximum data acquisition rate is 1.2 million events per second.
Fiber Bragg grating with a waveguide fabricated in no-core fiber and multimode fiber

A new, to the best of our knowledge, method of fabricating a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) in no-core fiber (NCF) and multimode fiber (MMF) is proposed and demonstrated, achieved by writing an in-fiber waveguide before the grating inscription. This approach makes it possible to fabricate the FBG in NCF and can improve the quality of the existing FBG in MMF. The reflection peak of the FBG with a waveguide fabricated in NCF has a very good side-mode-suppression ratio of 15 dB and a narrow 3 dB bandwidth of 0.44 nm. For the FBG written in MMF, the 3 dB bandwidth of the reflection peak achieved is 0.71 nm, which is highly improved compared with that without a waveguide, which is in the order of a few nanometers. This approach opens new prospects for the applications involving the use of an FBG in various types of optical fibers.
Trichostatin A inhibits proliferation of PC3 prostate cancer cells by disrupting the EGFR pathway

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common type of malignancy to exist in men within developed countries. Androgen deprivation therapy is performed for metastatic and advanced PC. However, the majority of cases of prostate cancer become refractory during therapy, leading to castration-resistant PC (CRPC). Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are key factors in regulating gene transcription and have been associated with cancer development. In the present study the small molecule inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA), which targets HDACs, was demonstrated to inhibit the proliferation of CRPC PC3 cells by disrupting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-STAT3 pathway. The expression of EGFR and STAT3 was downregulated following TSA treatment, and cell cycle arrest was induced by downregulating the expression of cyclin D1 and CDK6, and via retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation. Furthermore, the transcription of cyclin D1 and CDK6 was suppressed by TSA. Apoptosis of PC3 cells treated with TSA was also investigated, and it was revealed that TSA induced apoptosis by upregulating BAX and downregulating BCL-2. The combination of TSA with doxorubicin exerted a synergistic inhibitory effect on PC3 cell proliferation through the induction of apoptosis. The results of the present study revealed a promising epigenetic-based therapeutic strategy that could be implemented in cases of CRPC.
Assessment of Pre-Service Teachers’ Turnover Intentions in Relation to the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals through Teacher Preparation in Southwestern Nigeria

The study which was extracted from a larger study on the predictors of teaching efficacy of pre-service teachers (PRESETs) considered the implications of PRESETs’ turnover intentions in the quest to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through teacher preparation. The paper argued that discussions and directions on using teacher education to achieve SDGs agenda by 2030 in Nigeria should prima facie establish that a significant number of teacher candidates would be motivated to stay in the teaching profession. The study utilized a descriptive survey research design. The sample comprised four hundred and four PRESETs who were selected using purposive sampling technique. Results showed that for every 400 teacher trainee candidates only about 29% are likely to end up in the teaching profession other things remaining the same. The implications of the present study for the achievement of the SDGs are also discussed.
Engaging Young Children in Speech and Language Therapy via Videoconferencing

This chapter focuses on synchronous audio-visual communication technologies, which are best suited for the clinical treatment of young children. It explores the materials and strategies used by speech and language therapists and service users to facilitate engagement in therapeutic interventions via telehealth. The chapter describes practical ways that therapists use physical objects to engage young children via the particular telehealth medium of videoconferencing. It identifies some major ways in which therapists can incorporate objects into therapy sessions conducted via videoconferencing. Therapists tended to show the objects to clients, using either their webcam or document camera. The session involves the use of a game that the therapist has opened on a tablet computer that is within her possession. The client’s task is to verbalise one of the two words that are illustrated: ‘milk’ or ‘yucky’. Everyday technologies, such as videoconferencing, are a widely available resource that can enhance access to specialist speech and language therapy services.
Seismic performance of composite walls with concrete-filled square steel-tube boundary element

Abstract This paper studies the seismic performance of composite shear walls with concrete-filled square steel-tube boundary element and innovative shear connections. Eight specimens were investigated by reversed cyclic load tests. The test parameters were the type of the shear connections, the arrangement of a steel beam in the middle of wall body, the concrete strength and the axial compressive load ratio. The failure mode, hysteretic behaviour, ductility, stiffness and strength degradation, energy dissipation capacity and strains development were studied. The test results show that the hysteresis curves of the composite shear walls were plumper compared with traditional concrete shear walls. Composite shear walls with concrete-filled square steel-tube boundary element have good seismic performance. The strong shear connections had a considerable effect on the seismic performance of this composite shear walls. There was no considerable difference in the effect on seismic performance for the arrangement of a steel beam in the middle of wall body. Finally, the restoring force model for composite walls with concrete-filled square steel-tube boundary element was developed with adequate accuracy.
Anxiety and Behavior: Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in School With a Ten-Year-Old Boy Using the Coping Cat Program

The prevalence of anxiety in school-age children is on the rise. Schools offer a unique opportunity to identify children who struggle with symptoms of anxiety and to provide interventions to reduce anxiety. This project evaluated the results of providing the Coping Cat cognitive behavioral program in a public elementary school with a fourth-grade student named Dawson (a pseudonym) with a history of behavioral problems and a diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Dawson completed 8 sessions (on 7 days) of the 16-session curriculum of Coping Cat in the school setting at a rate of approximately two sessions per week. Despite receiving only 8 of the 16 sessions of the program and with no parent involvement, the Dawson demonstrated improvement in the behaviors measured (e.g., aggression, keeping hands to self, blurting). Results support the use of a brief version of Coping Cat as an effective program for anxiety reduction that may feasibly be implemented in the school setting. Discussion includes implications for application of schoolbased intervention using cognitive behavioral strategies to reduce anxiety symptoms.
Rubrivirga profundi sp . nov . , isolated from deep-sea water , and emended description of the genus

A Gram-staining-negative, rod-shaped, facultatively anaerobic, non-motile and pale-redpigmented bacterium, designated SAORIC-476, was isolated from deep-sea water from the Pacific Ocean. 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses showed that strain SAORIC-476 was most closely related to Rubrivirga marina SAORIC-28 (96.8 % similarity) and formed a robust phylogenetic clade with Rubrivirga marina of the family Rhodothermaceae. Optimal growth of strain SAORIC-476 was observed at 25 C, pH 7.5 and in the presence of 3.0 % (w/v) NaCl. The DNA G+C content of strain SAORIC-476 was 66.2 mol%, and the sole isoprenoid quinone was MK-7. The predominant cellular fatty acids were summed feature 9 (iso-C17 : 1! 9c and/or 10-methyl C16 : 0), iso-C17 : 0, C17 : 1! 8c and iso-C15 : 0. The major polar lipids constituted phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, three unknown phospholipids and four unknown polar lipids. On the basis of taxonomic data obtained in this study, it was concluded that strain SAORIC-476 represents a novel species of the genus Rubrivirga, for which the name Rubrivirga profundi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Rubrivirga profundi is SAORIC-476 (=NBRC 110607=KACC 18401).
The Use of Electronic Components in Railgun Projectiles

This paper deals with experiments and calculations performed in order to investigate the influence of the electromagnetic hardening of payloads in a railgun. This is a complex task: besides the large amplitudes of the in-bore magnetic fields due to the pulsed current, the exit of the projectile from the muzzle and the consequences of plasma arcs have to be considered. At the muzzle the magnetic induction can drop from several Teslas to zero within some microseconds, leading to very high induced voltages and electric fields in the metallic parts of the projectile. On the other hand, the electric contact established by solid armatures tends to develop into electric arcs at high velocities during the launch. These plasma arcs as well as the closing switch transients of the railgun circuit are a source of electromagnetic radiation in a broad spectral range. Some electronic devices were selected and tested with static setups corresponding to the previous conditions. In a first phase a series of static railgun experiments (no projectile movement) was performed. In a second phase, static experiments simulating the muzzle exit conditions were carried out. Finally, the influence of electromagnetic waves emitted during railgun experiments on electronic devices was investigated, using a static setup with a conventional spark gap.
Extracting Palmprint ROI From Whole Hand Image Using Straight Line Clusters

This paper proposes a novel method to extract a palmprint region of interest (ROI) from whole hand images using straight line clusters. The core idea of our method is that the fingers can be easily detected by straight line clusters due to the distinctive appearance of the fingers. In our method, the original whole hand image is first converted to a binary image. In the binary image, we draw many straight lines according to several predefined rules. For one straight line, if there are eight intersection points between this straight line and the hand region, we can conclude that this line passes through four fingers. In this case, it is easy to know the positions of finger joint areas. Then, key point candidates can be further detected in these finger joint areas. In our method, we draw many straight lines to detect finger joint areas, which may result in detecting several different key point candidates in one finger joint area. Thus, a lot of key point candidates may be obtained in four finger joint areas. We then exploit the k-means clustering algorithm to calculate four cluster centers, which are treated as the final four key points. Furthermore, utilizing the distance information among four key points, we can know the position order of four key points. The final key points can be used to construct a coordinate system. In this new coordinate system, after rotation normalization, the ROI can be extracted from the central region of hand. We also collected a database including 16 000 whole hand images. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve 100% localization and extraction accuracy.
Mesenchymal stem cell therapies for intervertebral disc degeneration: Consideration of the degenerate niche

We have previously reported a synthetic Laponite crosslinked poly N‐isopropylacrylamide‐co‐N, N′‐dimethylacrylamide (NPgel) hydrogel, which induces nucleus pulposus (NP) cell differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) without the need for additional growth factors. Furthermore NP gel supports integration following injection into the disc and restores mechanical function to the disc. However, translation of this treatment strategy into clinical application is dependent on the survival and differentiation of hMSC to the correct cell phenotype within the degenerate intervertebral disc (IVD). Here, we investigated the viability and differentiation of hMSCs within NP gel within a catabolic microenvironment. hMSCs were encapsulated in NPgel and cultured for 4 weeks under hypoxia (5% O2) with ± calcium, interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) either individually or in combination to mimic the degenerate environment. Cell viability and cellular phenotype were investigated. Stem cell viability was maintained within hydrogel systems for the 4 weeks investigated under all degenerate conditions. NP matrix markers: Agg and Col II and NP phenotypic markers: HIF‐1α, FOXF1, and PAX1 were expressed within the NPgel cultures and expression was not affected by culture within degenerate conditions. Alizarin red staining demonstrated increased calcium deposition under cultures containing CaCl2 indicating calcification of the matrix. Interestingly matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), ADAMTS 4, and Col I expression by hMSCs cultured in NPgel was upregulated by calcium but not by proinflammatory cytokines IL‐1β and TNFα. Importantly IL‐1β and TNFα, regarded as key contributors to disc degeneration, were not shown to affect the NP cell differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the NPgel. In agreement with our previous findings, NPgel alone was sufficient to induce NP cell differentiation of MSCs, with expression of both aggrecan and collagen type II, under both standard and degenerate culture conditions; thus could provide a therapeutic option for the repair of the NP during IVD degeneration.
Generating LacZ-reporter transgenic mice to identify α1 (XIX) Collagen (Col19a1) expression in Dermal Papilla Cells

It is widely accepted the concept that tissue morphogenesis is mediated by reciprocal interactions between epithelial and mesenchymal cells, whereas the molecular details of these interactions remain largely elusive. The hair follicle (HF) is a mini-organ whose proper morphogenesis is governed by a series of interactions between epidermal and dermal cells. Due to its relatively simple structure, the HF affords an excellent model to decipher the molecular mechanisms of epithelial – mesenchymal interactions. To explore the molecular mechanisms by which Dermal Papilla (DP) cells regulate hair follicle formation, we performed a comparative transcriptome analysis and identified numerous genes preferentially expressed in the DP cells. Among these, a gene encoding type XIX Collagen (Col19a1) has become the focus of our attention because of its extensive evolutionary conservation. We generated Col19a1LacZ reporter mice using CRISPR/Cas9 system to induce homologous recombination to recapitulate Col19a1 expression pattern. In mouse embryos, Col19a1LacZ expression is confined to the DP cells of hair follicles, ring sinus of whiskers, skeletal muscles and basal keratinocyte layer of skin epidermis of limbs and tail. Moreover, Col19LacZ started to be expressed at E14.5 in the dermal condensates of hair germ stage to the DP cells of mature hair follicle but not in the placode stage. Ongoing generation of Col19a1 null mice will ultimately explore the functional role of Col19a1 during HF morphogenesis. From this perspective, it is plausible to expect that future studies will provide additional functional evidence for Col19a1 during development which might be a useful tool to understand the molecular mechanisms undergoing HF stem cell regulation.
A Fully Integrated IEEE 802.15.7 Visible Light Communication Transmitter With On-Chip 8-W 85% Efficiency Boost LED Driver

This paper presents an IEEE 802.15. 7 Physical Layer I (PHY-I) standard compliant visible light communication (VLC) transmitter system-on-a-chip (SoC), enabling the use of ordinary white LED lights as beacons or broadcasters for location-based applications. The mixed-signal SoC integrates a baseband digital signal processing (DSP) unit, a VLC modulator, and a switching boost LED driver with an on-chip power MOSFET. The DSP unit supports various coding schemes as well as both the on-off keying (OOK) modulation and the variable pulse-position modulation specified in the aforementioned standard. The boost LED driver is designed to power a matrix of 4 × 5 LEDs using Li-ion batteries for portable applications. The SoC simultaneously supports VLC and LED illumination with nine dimming levels. Implemented in a 0.35-μm CMOS process with 20-V devices, the SoC achieves a measured VLC data rate of up to 266 kb/s at a package error rate (PER) <; 10% using a 211 -1 PRBS (pseudo random binary sequence) input. The communication distance measured is more than 2 m using no optical lens with the link efficiency of 5 nJ/bit. From an input at 3-5 V, the boost converter generates an output at 6-20 V with a 92% peak efficiency and an 8-W rating.