julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Student and teacher ratings of instructional quality: Consistency of ratings over time, agreement, and predictive power.
2015-09-21

Prior research has shown that the agreement between teacher and student ratings of instructional quality is, at best, moderate, and the associations between measures of instructional quality and outcomes such as standardized achievement are typically small and somewhat mixed across both perspectives. One explanation for these low-to-moderate associations is the assumption that teacher and student ratings are not perfectly stable over time. By using a manifest-latent state-trait model, the present study investigated the following topics in a sample of 5th-grade students (74 classes) from vocational track schools: (a) the time consistency of teacher and student instructional quality ratings in math lessons over multiple measurement time points; (b) the agreement among teachers and students for time consistent rating components and single time point ratings; and (c) the predictive power of consistent rating components and single time point ratings with regard to a standardized math achievement test, and math self-concept. Results of multilevel factor analyses with 3 measurement time points over a period of 3 months showed a moderate-to-high time consistency for both teacher and student ratings. Furthermore, the agreement among teacher and student ratings regarding classroom management and goal clarity was higher for the consistent rating components than for ratings at single measurement time points, whereas this pattern was not found for support of autonomy. Finally, student consistent rating components predicted students’ pretest adjusted math achievement and self-concept. The effect sizes for ratings at single measurement time points varied within quality dimensions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Frequent DPH3 promoter mutations in skin cancers
2015-09-21

Recent reports suggested frequent occurrence of cancer associated somatic mutations within regulatory elements of the genome. Based on initial exome sequencing of 21 melanomas, we report frequent somatic mutations in skin cancers in a bidirectional promoter of diphthamide biosynthesis 3 (DPH3) and oxidoreductase NAD-binding domain containing 1 (OXNAD1) genes. The UV-signature mutations occurred at sites adjacent and within a binding motif for E-twenty six/ternary complex factors (Ets/TCF), at -8 and -9 bp from DPH3 transcription start site. Follow up screening of 586 different skin lesions showed that the DPH3 promoter mutations were present in melanocytic nevi (2/114; 2%), melanoma (30/304; 10%), basal cell carcinoma of skin (BCC; 57/137; 42%) and squamous cell carcinoma of skin (SCC; 12/31; 39%). Reporter assays carried out in one melanoma cell line for DPH3 and OXNAD1 orientations showed statistically significant increased promoter activity due to -8/-9CC > TT tandem mutations; although, no effect of the mutations on DPH3 and OXNAD1 transcription in tumors was observed. The results from this study show occurrence of frequent somatic non-coding mutations adjacent to a pre-existing binding site for Ets transcription factors within the directional promoter of DPH3 and OXNAD1 genes in three major skin cancers. The detected mutations displayed typical UV signature; however, the functionality of the mutations remains to be determined.
Long-range quantum gate via Rydberg states of atoms in a thermal microwave cavity
2015-09-21

We propose an implementation of a universal quantum gate between pairs of spatially separated atoms in a microwave cavity at finite temperature. The gate results from reversible laser excitation of Rydberg states of atoms interacting with each other via exchange of virtual photons through a common cavity mode. Quantum interference of different transition paths between the two-atom ground and double-excited Rydberg states makes both the transition amplitude and resonance largely insensitive to the excitations in the microwave cavity "quantum bus" which can therefore be in any superposition or mixture of photon number states. Our scheme for attaining ultralong-range interactions and entanglement also applies to mesoscopic atomic ensembles in the Rydberg blockade regime and is scalable to many ensembles trapped within a centimeter sized microwave resonator.
Three-terminal stand-alone superconducting terahertz emitter
2015-09-21

We report on the electrothermal behavior and the terahertz emission properties of a stand-alone Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 intrinsic Josephson junction stack contacted in a three-terminal configuration. One terminal is used as a collective ground while the other two, contacting the stack from its right and left side, allow to vary the current injection profile. At high bias, a hot spot forms in the stack. Its appearance and position can be controlled by varying the ratios of the injected currents. Depending on this ratio, the emitted power can vary by an order of magnitude. Further, for a given total injection current, the device allows to vary the emission frequency on a 10% level by altering the injection profile. The overall tunability of the emission frequency, varying also the total bias current, is on the order of 20%.
Versatile Ln2(μ-NR)2-Imide Platforms for Ligand Exchange and Isoprene Polymerization
2015-09-21

Bimetallic rare-earth-metal imide complexes Ln2(μ2-Ndipp)(μ3-Ndipp)[(μ2-Me)2AlMe](AlMe4)2 (3-Ln; Ln = Y, La, Ce, Nd; dipp = 2,6-diisopropylphenyl) have been obtained from the reaction of Ln(AlMe4)3 (1-Ln) with Li(NHdipp) (2). X-ray diffraction studies of toluene-soluble 3-Ln revealed an unusual Ln[{(μ2-Me)2AlMe}(μ3-Ndipp)]Ln moiety as the most striking feature. Facile salt-metathetical exchange of the tetramethylaluminato ligands in 3-Ln with K(L) (L = N(SiMe3)2, Cp′) allowed for the isolation of Ln2(Ndipp)2[N(SiMe3)2]2(AlMe3) (4-La), partially exchanged Ln2(Ndipp)2(Cp′)(AlMe4)(AlMe3) (5-La, Cp′ = C5Me4SiMe3), and Ln2(Ndipp)2(Cp′)2(AlMe3) (6-La). Attempted cleavage of the AlMe3 moiety in 3-Ln with THF led to C–H bond activation of one of the isopropyl methine moieties to produce Ln2(μ2-Ndipp)[(μ3-NC6H3-2-CMe2-6-iPr)Al(μ2-Me)2](AlMe4)2 (7-La). Selective cleavage of the bridging AlMe3 "cap" was achieved by addition of DMAP (DMAP = 4-dimethylaminopyridine) to produce [Ln(μ2-Ndipp)(AlMe4)(DMAP)]n (8-Ln; Ln = La, Ce) and concomitantly DMAP·AlMe3. The organoaluminum-free compounds [Ln(μ2-Ndipp){N(SiMe3)2}(DMAP)]2 (9-Ln; Ln = La, Ce), [Ln(μ2-Ndipp)(Cp′)(DMAP)]2 (10-La), and [Ln(μ2-Ndipp)(OAr)(DMAP)]2 (11-Ln; Ln = La, Ce; Ar = 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenyl) were obtained via reactions of 8-Ln with K(L) (L = Cp′, N(SiMe3)2, OAr). In the presence of activators [Ph3C][B(C6F5)4] and [PhNMe2H][B(C6F5)4], AlEt2Cl complexes 3-Ln, 5-Ln, and 7-Ln initiate the polymerization of isoprene to yield PIPs with narrow molecular weight distributions, involving new imido-supported bimetallic catalysts.
Age and Vascular Burden Determinants of Cortical Hemodynamics Underlying Verbal Fluency
2015-09-22

Based on these findings, one might hypothesize that increased fronto-parietal processing may represent age-related compensatory reorganization during increased cognitive demands. Vascular burden factors, such as hypertension, may contribute to regional cerebral hypoperfusion. These neural and vascular hemodynamic determinants should be investigated longitudinally and combined with other markers to advance the prediction of future cognitive decline and dementia.
Gender differences in experiential and facial reactivity to approval and disapproval during emotional social interactions
2015-09-22

Negative social evaluations represent social threats and elicit negative emotions such as anger or fear. Positive social evaluations, by contrast, may increase self-esteem and generate positive emotions such as happiness and pride. Gender differences are likely to shape both the perception and expression of positive and negative social evaluations. Yet, current knowledge is limited by a reliance on studies that used static images of individual expressers with limited external validity. Furthermore, only few studies considered gender differences on both the expresser and perceiver side. The present study approached these limitations by utilizing a naturalistic stimulus set displaying nine males and nine females (expressers) delivering social evaluative sentences to 32 female and 26 male participants (perceivers). Perceivers watched 30 positive, 30 negative, and 30 neutral messages while facial electromyography (EMG) was continuously recorded and subjective ratings were obtained. Results indicated that men expressing positive evaluations elicited stronger EMG responses in both perceiver genders. Arousal was rated higher when positive evaluations were expressed by the opposite gender. Thus, gender differences need to be more explicitly considered in research of social cognition and affective science using naturalistic social stimuli.
MECHANISMS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY: Impact of isolated TSH levels in and out of normal range on different tissues
2015-09-22

Routine treatment of thyroid cancer (TC) includes long-term suppression of TSH. The necessity of this treatment in low- and intermediate-risk patients as well as the extent of TSH suppression is currently under discussion. A literature search was performed to illustrate the role of TSH in extrathyroidal cells and to identify potential reasons for different effects of exogenously suppressed and endogenously low TSH levels. Although adverse effects of subnormal and supranormal TSH blood levels on heart and brain have not been consistently found, studies show a clear negative effect of suppressed TSH levels on bone mineral density. Experimental data also support an important role of TSH in the immune system. The ability of levothyroxine ( l -T 4 ) to regulate TSH levels and triiodothyronine levels in a physiological manner is limited. Reduction of circadian changes in TSH levels, decrease of thyroid hormone-binding proteins, prevention of potential compensatory increases of TSH levels (e.g., in old age), and unresponsiveness of TSH-producing cells to TRH on l -T 4 treatment might cause adverse effects of suppressed TSH levels. In view of the adverse effects of aggressive TSH suppression, achieving the suggested levels of TSH between 0.9 and 1 mU/l in the treatment of low-to-intermediate risk TC patients appears justified.
Hegel’s Naturalism: Mind, Nature, and the Final Ends of Life, by Terry Pinkard.
2015-09-22

‘Naturalism’ is not a clearly defined term in philosophy. It can be used in many different ways. The kind of Hegelian naturalism that Terry Pinkard outlines in his recent book is not, unsurprisingly, any kind of reductive physicalism or supervenience theory of mental properties. Instead, in his book Pinkard develops an overall account of the Hegelian category of Geist (mind/spirit — henceforth translated as spirit). According to this account, the defining characteristic of (human) spirit is not, as contemporary theories of the mental would have it, something like phenomenal consciousness. Rather, spiritual creatures are natural creatures that at the same time essentially have a kind of problematic, detached relation to their animal nature. This is what makes them free, and what compels them, furthermore, to aim at overcoming this inner tension and returning to a state which Pinkard calls ‘being at one with oneself’ (pp. 8, 18, and passim). Accordingly, Pinkard’s Hegelian account of spirit consists in a narrative which traces the continuous human struggle to establish social, political, and ethical structures that enable us to be at one with ourselves as free subjects. This narrative does not have a proper happy ending, as it is one of Pinkard’s central theses that being at one with oneself is not a state which the modern agent can ever fully accomplish. Rather, it requires continuous struggle and endeavour, and to engage in this struggle just is what it means to be a free, spiritual creature. In what sense this account can be considered naturalistic will be discussed in more detail below. At the very least, one can say that on Pinkard’s account, spirit’s relation to nature is a constitutive element of spirit itself.
Spatial distribution of FMISO in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas during radio-chemotherapy and its correlation to pattern of failure
2015-09-23

Our data suggest that selective dose painting to hypoxic tumour subvolumes requires adaptation during treatment and sufficient margins. An alternative strategy is to escalate the dose to the gross tumour volume, accepting lesser escalation of dose outside hypoxic areas if indicated by constraints for organs at risk.
Evolution of the mammalian middle ear: a historical review
2015-09-23

Abstract Here we present a brief, historical review of research into the mammalian middle ear structures. Most of their essential homologies were established by embryologists, notably including Reichert, during the 19th century. The evolutionary dimension was confirmed by finds of fossil synapsids, mainly from the Karroo of South Africa. In 1913, Ernst Gaupp was the first to present a synthesis of the available embryological and paleontological data, but a number of morphological details remained to be solved, such as the origin of the tympanic membrane. Gaupp favoured an independent origin of the eardrum in anurans, sauropsids, and mammals; we support most of his ideas. The present review emphasizes the problem of how the mammalian middle ear structures that developed at the angle of the lower jaw were transferred to the basicranium; the ontogenesis of extant marsupials provides important information on this question.
Diabetes Mellitus and Prediabetes on Kidney Transplant Waiting List- Prevalence, Metabolic Phenotyping and Risk Stratification Approach
2015-09-23

The prevalence of DM or prediabetes on kidney transplant waiting list is as high as 55%, with more than one third of patients previously undiagnosed. Oral glucose tolerance test is mandatory to detect all patients at risk. Metabolic phenotyping allows for differentiation of underlying pathophysiology and provides a basis for early individual risk stratification and specific intervention to improve patient and allograft outcome.
Dyson-Schwinger approach to Hamiltonian quantum chromodynamics
2015-09-23

The general method for treating non-Gaussian wave functionals in the\\nHamiltonian formulation of a quantum field theory, which was previously\\nproposed and developed for Yang--Mills theory in Coulomb gauge, is generalized\\nto full QCD. For this purpose the quark part of the QCD vacuum wave functional\\nis expressed in the basis of coherent fermion states, which are defined in term\\nof Grassmann variables. Our variational ansatz for the QCD vacuum wave\\nfunctional is assumed to be given by exponentials of polynomials in the\\noccurring fields and, furthermore, contains an explicit coupling of the quarks\\nto the gluons. Exploiting Dyson--Schwinger equation techniques, we express the\\nvarious -point functions, which are required for the expectation values of\\nobservables like the Hamiltonian, in terms of the variational kernels of our\\ntrial ansatz. Finally the equations of motion for these variational kernels are\\nderived by minimizing the energy density.\\n
Dominant Optic Atrophy plus phenotype caused by a deep intronic mutation and a modifier variant in the OPA1 gene
2015-09-23

Summary Mutations in OPA 1 are a common cause of dominant optic neuropathy ( DOA ). Recent studies suggest that ~20% of patients carrying OPA 1 mutations have additional neurological deficits ( DOA plus phenotype). Such patients frequently carry missense mutations in the GTP ase domain of OPA 1 suggesting a gain‐of‐function effect as a major mechanism. We and others recently reported a series of DOA plus patients with biallelic OPA 1 mutations as an alternative disease mechanism. Notably most cases were compound heterozygous for a null allele and the Ile382Met variant. The latter is not per se pathogenic but rather acts as a hypomorphic modifier allele that reinforces phenotypic expression in patients with null mutations on the opposite allele. In one biallelic DOA plus family we identified a deep intronic mutation ( DIM ) that causes a constitutive activation and inclusion of a cryptic frameshift‐inducing exon into OPA 1 mRNA . Consistent with the DIM representing a null allele we observed reduced OPA 1 protein amounts to about 50% of normal. Applying antisense oligonucleotides targeting the splice acceptor site of the DIM in patient fibroblasts we could efficiently rescue splicing of the mutant mRNA and re‐establish intermediate OPA 1 protein levels.
Oops, scratch that! Monitoring one’s own errors during mental calculation
2015-09-24

The feeling of error (FOE) is the subjective experience that something went wrong during a reasoning or calculation task. The main goal of the present study was to assess the accuracy of the FOE in the context of mental mathematical calculation. We used the number bisection task (NBT) to evoke this metacognitive feeling and assessed it by asking participants if they felt they have committed an error after solving the task. In the NBT participants have to determine whether the number presented in the middle οf a triplet corresponds to the arithmetic mean of the two outer numbers (e.g., 07_16_25) with a Yes/No answer. Our results show that FOE reports were strongly correlated with arithmetic errors and numerical properties of the NBT, suggesting that the FOE accurately represents the error. This finding indicates that even very fast metacognitive feelings are reliable when it comes to evaluating one's own mental performance. Moreover, our results suggest that the occurrence of FOEs is determined by the fluency with which each triplet was solved and the post-decision evaluation processes that occurred after the NBT was solved. Additionally, we asked participants to report their confidence in the given answer for the cases where they did not report FOEs. Participants reported less confidence for the (objectively) incorrect answers than for the (objectively) correct ones, suggesting that in cases where they did not have a conscious FOE they still were able to implicitly detect their errors. Remarkably, confidence was also determined by the fluency of the NBT.
Primary tumour standardised uptake value is prognostic in nonsmall cell lung cancer: a multivariate pooled analysis of individual data
2015-09-24

18 F-fluoro-2-deoxy- d -glucose positron emission tomography (PET) complements conventional imaging for diagnosing and staging lung cancer. Two literature-based meta-analyses suggest that maximum standardised uptake value (SUV max ) on PET has univariate prognostic value in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We analysed individual data pooled from 12 studies to assess the independent prognostic value of binary SUV max for overall survival. After searching the published literature and identifying unpublished data, study coordinators were contacted and requested to provide data on individual patients. Cox regression models stratified for study were used. Data were collected for 1526 patients (median age 64 years, 60% male, 34% squamous cell carcinoma, 47% adenocarcinoma, 58% stage I–II). The combined univariate hazard ratio for SUV max was 1.43 (95% CI 1.22–1.66) and nearly identical if the SUV threshold was calculated stratifying for histology. Multivariate analysis of patients with stage I–III disease identified age, stage, tumour size and receipt of surgery as independent prognostic factors; adding SUV (HR 1.58, 95% CI 1.27–1.96) improved the model significantly. The only detected interaction was between SUV and stage IV disease. SUV seems to have independent prognostic value in stage I–III NSCLC, for squamous cell carcinoma and for adenocarcinoma.
Support for linguistic macrofamilies from weighted sequence alignment
2015-09-24

Significance This article reports findings regarding the automatic classification of Eurasian languages using techniques from computational biology (such as sequence alignment, phylogenetic inference, and bootstrapping). Main results are that there is solid support for the hypothetical linguistic macrofamilies Eurasiatic and Austro-Tai. Unlike comparable previous work, these findings do not depend on manual assessments of etymological facts. This study contributes to ongoing efforts to push the limits of linguistic reconstruction further back in time, and thus to open a window into the pre-Neolithic human past. The methodological approach pursued here can be seen as a statistically informed and automatized version of Joseph Greenberg’s mass lexical comparison, which yielded intriguing results regarding deep genetic relations between languages but has remained controversial among experts.
The Ubiquitin-like Modifier FAT10 Is Selectively Expressed in Medullary Thymic Epithelial Cells and Modifies T Cell Selection
2015-09-24

Abstract HLA-F adjacent transcript 10 (FAT10) is a cytokine-inducible ubiquitin-like modifier that is highly expressed in the thymus and directly targets FAT10-conjugated proteins for degradation by the proteasome. High expression of FAT10 in the mouse thymus could be assigned to strongly autoimmune regulator–expressing, mature medullary thymic epithelial cells, which play a pivotal role in negative selection of T cells. Also in the human thymus, FAT10 is localized in the medulla but not the cortex. TCR Vβ-segment screening revealed a changed T cell repertoire in FAT10-deficient mice. Analysis of five MHC class I– and II–restricted TCR-transgenic mice demonstrated an altered thymic negative selection in FAT10-deficient mice. Furthermore, the repertoire of peptides eluted from MHC class I molecules was influenced by FAT10 expression. Hence, we identified FAT10 as a novel modifier of thymic Ag presentation and epitope-dependent elimination of self-reactive T cells, which may explain why the fat10 gene could recently be linked to enhanced susceptibility to virus-triggered autoimmune diabetes.
2νββ decay of 76Ge into excited states with GERDA phase I
2015-09-24

Two neutrino double beta decay of Ge to excited states of Se\\nhas been studied using data from Phase I of the GERDA experiment. An array\\ncomposed of up to 14 germanium detectors including detectors that have been\\nisotopically enriched in Ge was deployed in liquid argon. The analysis\\nof various possible transitions to excited final states is based on coincidence\\nevents between pairs of detectors where a de-excitation ray is\\ndetected in one detector and the two electrons in the other.\\n No signal has been observed and an event counting profile likelihood analysis\\nhas been used to determine Frequentist 90\\\\,\\\\% C.L. bounds for three\\ntransitions: : 1.6 yr,\\n : 3.7 yr and : 2.3 yr. These bounds are more\\nthan two orders of magnitude larger than those reported previously. Bayesian\\n90\\\\,\\\\% credibility bounds were extracted and used to exclude several models for\\nthe transition.\\n
Analysis of Membrane‐Protein Complexes by Single‐Molecule Methods
2015-09-24

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and single-particle tracking (SPT) methodologies are powerful techniques to study the diffusion and interaction of membrane proteins in artificial or cellular membranes. In this chapter, the two methods are introduced, compared, and examples of their application to the study of membrane-protein complexes are given. The concept of total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) is described in detail. The chapter explains the principles of TIRF microscopy for single-molecule imaging and the theory behind single-particle detection and tracking, together with the methods of analysis currently used. It then talks about some key applications of single-particle imaging to the study of protein stoichiometry and kinetics in membranes. The single-molecule brightness analysis, originally introduced by Schmidt et al., is based on the comparison of the fluorescent intensity of a cluster of fluorophores with the brightness of a single fluorophore.