Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bayesian Semiparametric Stochastic Volatility Modeling

This paper extends the existing fully parametric Bayesian literature on stochastic volatility to allow for more general return distributions. Instead of specifying a particular distribution for the return innovation, nonparametric Bayesian methods are used to flexibly model the skewness and kurtosis of the distribution while the dynamics of volatility continue to be modeled with a parametric structure. Our semiparametric Bayesian approach provides a full characterization of parametric and distributional uncertainty. A Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling approach to estimation is presented with theoretical and computational issues for simulation from the posterior predictive distributions. An empirical example compares the new model to standard parametric stochastic volatility models.
A Preliminary Discussion of the Kinematics of BHB and RR Lyrae Stars Near the North Galactic Pole

The radial velocity dispersion of 67 RR Lyrae and BHB stars that are more than 4 kpc above the galactic plane at the North Galactic Pole is ≈ 110 km s − 1 and shows no trend with Z (the height above the galactic plane). Nine stars with Z ≤ 4 kpc show a smaller velocity dispersion (40 ± 9 km s − 1 ) as is to be expected if they mostly belong to a population with a ﬂatter distribution. Both RR Lyrae stars and BHB stars show evidence of stream motion; the most signiﬁcant is in ﬁelds RR2 and RR3 where 24 stars in the range 4.0 ≤ Z ≤ 11.0 kpc have a mean radial velocity of − 59 ± 16 km s − 1 . Three halo stars in ﬁeld RR 2 appear to be part of a moving group with a common radial velocity of − 90 km s − 1 . The streaming phenomenon therefore occurs over a range of spatial scales. The BHB and RR Lyrae stars in our sample both have a similar range of metallicity ( − 1.2 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤− 2.2). Proper Motions of BHB stars in ﬁelds SA 57 (NGP) and the Anticenter ﬁeld (RR 7) (both of which lie close to the meridional plane of the Galaxy) show that the stars that have Z < 4 kpc as well as those with Z > 4 kpc have a Galactic V motion that is < − 200 km/s and which is characteristic of the halo. Thus the stars that have a ﬂatter distribution are really halo stars and not members of the metal-weak thick-disk.
Urine catecholamines in paediatrics

In paediatric clinical practice, tests for urinary catecholamines and their metabolites are most often requested to aid in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with neural crest tumours, particularly neuroblastomas. Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumour in children. Each year 80–90 new patients are diagnosed in the UK, most of them infants or toddlers. Neuroblastoma usually arises from either the adrenal medulla or the paravertebral sympathetic chain. It shows a wide variety of biological activity and has a correspondingly diverse range of presenting features and subsequent prognoses. Younger patients below 18 months of age generally have less aggressive forms of the tumour and require less intensive treatment, and indeed some children may not require any treatment as the tumour can spontaneously remit. In contrast, older children often present with more advanced and biologically aggressive forms of the disease and outcome is often poor despite very intensive treatment. The presenting symptoms are usually dictated by the site of the primary tumour, sites of metastatic disease (bone marrow, bone, lymph nodes, liver, skin, brain and lungs) and possible hormone secretion. A suspicion of neuroblastoma is most typically raised in a child found to have abdominal, mediastinal or bone masses, or in a child with non-specific symptoms of lethargy, weight loss, recurrent infections or fever. Neuroblastoma should also be considered in any child with Horner's syndrome, opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome or a persistent limp. Phaeochromocytoma is another tumour which secretes catecholamines and can be either benign or malignant. These tumours are extremely rare in childhood, with only one or two new cases diagnosed in the UK each year, usually in teenagers. Presenting symptoms include sweating, palpitations, syncope, tremor and weight loss, which are all related to catecholamine secretion, although occasionally patients present with mass effect from the tumour. These patients often have hypertension, …
Molecular Mechanism of Convergent Regulation of Brain Na+ Channels by Protein Kinase C and Protein Kinase A Anchored to AKAP-15

Activation of D1-like dopamine (DA) receptors reduces peak Na(+) current in hippocampal neurons voltage-dependent in a manner via phosphorylation of the alpha subunit. This modulation is dependent upon activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and requires phosphorylation of serine 573 (S573) in the intracellular loop connecting homologous domains I and II (L(I-II)) by PKA anchored to A kinase anchoring protein-15 (AKAP-15). Activation of protein kinase C (PKC) also reduces peak Na(+) currents and enhances the strength of the PKA modulatory pathway. Here we probe the molecular mechanism responsible for the convergent effects of PKA and PKC on brain Na(v)1.2a channels. Analysis of the interaction of AKAP-15 with the intracellular loops of the Na(v)1.2a channel shows that it binds to L(I-II), thereby targeting PKA directly to its sites of phosphorylation on the Na(+) channel by specific protein-protein interactions. Mutagenesis and expression experiments indicate that reduction of peak Na(+) current by PKC requires S554 and S573 in L(I-II) in addition to S1506 in the inactivation gate. In addition, PKC-dependent phosphorylation of S576 in L(I-II) is necessary for enhancement of PKA modulation of brain Na(+) channels. When S576 is phosphorylated by PKC, the increase in modulation by PKA activation requires phosphorylation of S687 in L(I-II). Thus, the maximal modulation of these Na(+) channels by concurrent activation of PKA and PKC requires phosphorylation at four distinct sites in L(I-II): S554, S573, S576, and S687. This convergent regulation provides a novel mechanism by which information from multiple signaling pathways may be integrated at the cellular level in the hippocampus and throughout the central nervous system.
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Produce the Same Types of ‘Laugh Faces’ when They Emit Laughter and when They Are Silent

The ability to flexibly produce facial expressions and vocalizations has a strong impact on the way humans communicate, as it promotes more explicit and versatile forms of communication. Whereas facial expressions and vocalizations are unarguably closely linked in primates, the extent to which these expressions can be produced independently in nonhuman primates is unknown. The present work, thus, examined if chimpanzees produce the same types of facial expressions with and without accompanying vocalizations, as do humans. Forty-six chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) were video-recorded during spontaneous play with conspecifics at the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage. ChimpFACS was applied, a standardized coding system to measure chimpanzee facial movements, based on FACS developed for humans. Data showed that the chimpanzees produced the same 14 configurations of open-mouth faces when laugh sounds were present and when they were absent. Chimpanzees, thus, produce these facial expressions flexibly without being morphologically constrained by the accompanying vocalizations. Furthermore, the data indicated that the facial expression plus vocalization and the facial expression alone were used differently in social play, i.e., when in physical contact with the playmates and when matching the playmates’ open-mouth faces. These findings provide empirical evidence that chimpanzees produce distinctive facial expressions independently from a vocalization, and that their multimodal use affects communicative meaning, important traits for a more explicit and versatile way of communication. As it is still uncertain how human laugh faces evolved, the ChimpFACS data were also used to empirically examine the evolutionary relation between open-mouth faces with laugh sounds of chimpanzees and laugh faces of humans. The ChimpFACS results revealed that laugh faces of humans must have gradually emerged from laughing open-mouth faces of ancestral apes. This work examines the main evolutionary changes of laugh faces since the last common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans.
Soybean Development: The Impact of a Decade of Agricultural Change on Urban and Economic Growth in Mato Grosso, Brazil

In this research we consider the impact of export-driven, soybean agriculture in Mato Grosso on regional economic growth. Here we argue that the soybean sector has served as a motor to the state’s economy by increasing the demand for services, housing, and goods, and by providing a source of investment capital to the non-agricultural sector. Specifically, we show that each square kilometer of soybean production supports 2.5 formal sector jobs outside of agriculture, and the equivalent of approximately 150,000US in annual, non-agricultural GDP. We also show that annual gains in non-agricultural employment and GDP are closely tied to soybean profitability, and thus vary from year to year. However, while this article highlights the potential of the agricultural sector as a driver of regional economic growth, it also acknowledges that this growth has been sustained by profits determined by externally set prices and the rate of exchange, and that future growth trajectories will be susceptible to potential currency of market shocks. We also show that while Mato Grosso’s economic growth has come at a significant cost to the environment, value added by the agriculture sector, directly and indirectly, has surpassed the value of the CO2-e emitted through land clearings.
A Conceptual Model and a Metaphor of Everyday Privacy in Ubiquitous Computing Environments

We present a unified model of everyday privacy in ubiquitous computing environments, designed to aid system designers and administrators in conceptualizing the end-user privacy experience. The model accounts for the influence of societal-scale forces, contextual factors, and subjective perception on end-user privacy. We identify notice and consent as the fair information practices of greatest everyday utility to users, as they gradually engender the user’s conceptual model of ubicomp privacy. Navigating the regular deluge of personal information collection events in ubicomp requires that notice be minimally intrusive and consent be implicitly granted by a persistent, situationspecific set of user preferences. We extend our model into an interactional metaphor called situational faces, designed to mitigate the complexity of privacy for the end-user. When encountering a situation, a user engages the appropriate face, a metaphorical abstraction of a set of privacy preferences.
Inverse Reinforcement Learning in Partially Observable Environments

Inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) is the problem of recovering the underlying reward function from the behavior of an expert. Most of the existing IRL algorithms assume that the environment is modeled as a Markov decision process (MDP), although it is desirable to handle partially observable settings in order to handle more realistic scenarios. In this paper, we present IRL algorithms for partially observable environments that can be modeled as a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP). We deal with two cases according to the representation of the given expert's behavior, namely the case in which the expert's policy is explicitly given, and the case in which the expert's trajectories are available instead. The IRL in POMDPs poses a greater challenge than in MDPs since it is not only ill-posed due to the nature of IRL, but also computationally intractable due to the hardness in solving POMDPs. To overcome these obstacles, we present algorithms that exploit some of the classical results from the POMDP literature. Experimental results on several benchmark POMDP domains show that our work is useful for partially observable settings.
Asymmetric Compute-and-Forward with CSIT

We present a modified compute-and-forward scheme which utilizes Channel State Information at the Transmitters (CSIT) in a natural way. The modified scheme allows different users to have different coding rates, and use CSIT to achieve larger rate region. This idea is applicable to all systems which use the compute-and-forward technique and can be arbitrarily better than the regular scheme in some settings.
The adoption and impact of EDI in Dutch SMEs

Tests a recent model, developed by Iacovou et al. (1995), of the adoption and integration of electronic data interchange (EDI) systems. The model includes three factors as determinants of EDI adoption: perceived benefits, organizational readiness and external pressure. Factors were measured in 137 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Netherlands. Measuring instruments were developed and used in structured interview sessions with the managers of these small businesses. The responses from the 83 non-adopters support the validity of the model in predicting intent to adopt EDI. All three factors were found to be significant in the predicted direction. The responses from the 54 EDI adopters showed that the factors expected benefits and external pressure could significantly explain the adoption of EDI. However, external pressure seems to be the dominant factor to explain the adoption of EDI by small businesses. The results of the EDI adopters show also that there was no significant relationship between the level of integration of EDI (internally and externally), with the actual benefits adopters received from utilizing EDI. More integrated systems did not offer higher direct or indirect benefits.
cis-Acting Element-specific Transcriptional Activity of Differentially Phosphorylated Nuclear Factor-κB*

Phosphorylation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) subunits emerges as a mechanism by which transcriptional activity of nuclear NF-κB complexes is regulated in an inhibitor κB-independent fashion. As the main transactivator, the p65 subunit of NF-κB has an outstanding position in the hierarchy of NF-κB proteins. p65 is a multiply phosphorylated protein with phosphorylation sites in the C-terminal transactivation domain and the N-terminal Rel homology domain (RHD). In this study, we describe two previously non-reported phospho-acceptor sites within the p65 RHD. We show that differential phosphorylation of serine residues within the RHD modulates transcriptional activity in a cis-acting element and promoter-specific context, thus leading to a phosphorylation state-dependent gene expression profile. RelA-/- mouse embryonic fibroblasts reconstituted with wild-type p65 or p65 phosphorylation-deficient mutants showed a distinctive expression profile of synthetic κB-dependent reporters as well as endogenous genes. Hypophosphorylated p65 did not display cis-acting element-specific changes in DNA binding or dimerization behavior. This study shows for the first time that site-specific phosphorylation can target a transcription factor to a particular subset of genes.
A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial Evaluating the Effect of Nystatin on the Development of Oral Irritation in Patients Receiving High-Dose Intravenous Interleukin-2

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) has been used to treat patients with metastatic melanoma and renal cell cancer for nearly two decades, and much progress has been made in ameliorating its adverse effects. One bothersome adverse effect, oral pain or oral irritation, is usually treated with an oral antifungal antibiotic, nystatin. The authors performed a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 64 patients to evaluate the effect of prophylactic administration of nystatin or placebo on the development of oral irritation in patients receiving high-dose intravenous IL-2. No difference was found between patients randomized to receive nystatin or placebo in their rates of development of oral irritation, the severity of IL-2 adverse effects, the duration of their treatment, the rate of development of positive studies for oral yeast, or their pattern of experiencing other adverse effects. Thus, patients who receive high-dose intravenous IL-2 should not be treated prophylactically with nystatin to prevent oral irritation, and clinicians should seek evidence of the presence of oral thrush before using antifungal agents to treat oral pain in these patients.
Isoscapes of plant δ13C in the northern forests: Addressing the question of inter-tree and -site variability in Pinus sylvestris L. tree rings from Finnish Lapland

Copyright © 2018 by The Geochemical Society of Japan. ratio) in tree-ring d13C by changes in carbon assimilation rate. Additional guidance for using the d13C chronologies as records of the past climatic variability are obtained from temporal correlations between the isotopic chronologies and meteorological records. The value of tree-ring d13C chronologies in indicating variations in different climate variables depending on site conditions is frequently demonstrated (Saurer et al., 1995; McCarroll and Pawellek, 2001; Treydte et al., 2009; Gagen et al., 2011; Young et al., 2010, 2012; Loader et al., 2013a). Apart from climate forcing affecting the tree-ring d13C on multiple timescales, the d13C series are known to exhibit offset in their absolute d13C values (Leavitt, 2010). The offsets are observed not only between the sites but also between the trees. However, the origins of d13C variations in plant tissue are not yet understood (Yang et al., 2015). Since the inter-tree and -site variability in d13C data are often sizeable compared to the temporal d13C variability (Gagen et al., 2011), the offsets increase the uncertainty in isotopic chronology. Moreover, their extent needs to be addressed when combining the d13C data collected from different sites and/or trees, and when developing datasets of tree-ring d13C series. In paleoclimate Isoscapes of plant d13C in the northern forests: Addressing the question of intertree and -site variability in Pinus sylvestris L. tree rings from Finnish Lapland
Right ventricular septal pacing preserves long-term left ventricular function via minimizing pacing-induced left ventricular dyssynchrony in patients with normal baseline QRS duration.

BACKGROUND Right ventricular septal (RVS) pacing is an alternative to right ventricular apical (RVA) pacing, but there is limited information about its influence on long-term left ventricular (LV) synchrony and function. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 55 patients undergoing dual-chamber pacemaker implantation with normal QRS duration and preserved LV function at baseline were included in the study. The right ventricular lead was implanted on the septum where it would produce the shortest QRS duration possible in 40 patients and in the apex in 15. The time-to-peak systolic velocity (T(sys)) was measured in 12 segments of the LV wall by tissue Doppler imaging. After a long (approximately 4 years) follow-up period, the LV ejection fraction (LVEF) decreased significantly in patients with RVA pacing but not in those with RVS pacing. Paced QRS duration was significantly shorter during RVS than RVA pacing. T(sys) dispersion among the 12 LV segments was significantly smaller during RVS than RVA pacing. There was a positive correlation between the paced QRS duration and T(sys) dispersion (R=0.65, P<0.0001). The pacing-induced decrease in LVEF was positively correlated with the degree of T(sys) dispersion (R=0.42, P=0.008). CONCLUSIONS RVS pacing guided by the paced QRS morphology preserves long-term LV function via minimizing LV dyssynchrony.
A PRECISE DISTANCE TO IRAS 00420+5530 VIA H2O MASER PARALLAX WITH THE VLBA

We have used the Very Long Baseline Array to measure the annual parallax of the H2O masers in the star-forming region IRAS 00420+5530. This measurement yields a direct distance estimate of 2.17 ± 0.05 kpc (an error of less than 3%), which disagrees substantially with the standard kinematic distance estimate of ∼4.6 kpc (according to the rotation curve of Brand & Blitz), as well as most of the broad range of distances (1.7–7.7 kpc) used in various astrophysical analyses in the literature. The three-dimensional space velocity of IRAS 00420+5530 at this new, more accurate distance implies a substantial noncircular and anomalously slow Galactic orbit, consistent with similar observations of W3(OH) (Xu et al. and Hachisuka et al.), as well as line-of-sight velocity residuals in the rotation curve analysis of Brand & Blitz. The Perseus spiral arm of the Galaxy is thus more than a factor of 2 closer than previously presumed, and exhibits motions substantially at odds with axisymmetric models of the rotating Galaxy.
3 4 The O-methyltransferase SrsB catalyzes the decarboxylative methylation of 5 alkylresorcylic acid during phenolic lipid biosynthesis by Streptomyces griseus 6 7 8

(JB06406-11R) 1 Full-length paper 2 Section: Enzymes and Proteins 3 4 The O-methyltransferase SrsB catalyzes the decarboxylative methylation of 5 alkylresorcylic acid during phenolic lipid biosynthesis by Streptomyces griseus 6 7 8 Chiaki Nakano, Nobutaka Funa, Yasuo Ohnishi*, and Sueharu Horinouchi. 9 10 Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The 11 University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan. 12 13 Running title: Decarboxylative methylation of alkylresorcylic acid 14 15 16 *Corresponding author: 17 Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The 18 University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan 19 Tel: +81 3 5841-5123; Fax: +81 3 5841-8021; E-mail: ayasuo@mail.ecc. u-tokyo.ac. jp 20 21 Deceased on 12th July 2009. 22 23 24 25 Copyright © 2012, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved. J. Bacteriol. doi:10.1128/JB.06406-11 JB Accepts, published online ahead of print on 13 January 2012
Rural black women's agency within intimate partnerships amid the South African HIV epidemic

In a particular way, the HIV pandemic exposes the prevailing gender relations and the definitions of male and female gender roles, both in intimate relationships and in the wider society. The HIV pandemic reveals the contradictions between women's legal rights and the persistence of women's cultural and sexual subordination. It reflects the impact of poverty, gender roles, culture and religion. Although HIV and AIDS cuts across class, South African rural black women's infection risk seems particularly high since they suffer notably from subordination and socio-economic hardships. Negotiating safer sex in marriage or intimate partnerships is very difficult for them in view of the traditional spaces in which they find themselves, where patriarchal structures are pervasive. Based on data obtained from a case study, this paper examines socio-cultural constraints to rural women's sexual agency in a patriarchal social order. These rules are based on a patriarchal code of respect, which is still pervasive in many aspects of the community under investigation. In terms of gender relations, the patriarchal code of respect is founded on an assumed ‘naturalisation’ of the two genders and the natural superiority of the male over the female. In terms of sexuality it is translated into male sex-right. The fear of HIV infection is omnipresent and results in unmarried women engaging in the negotiation of their wants and needs. Owing to the patriarchal code of respect, married women are perceived as having no choice in negotiating safer sex and are forced to put their lives at risk in contracting HIV. Unmarried women have greater although not endless choices in this regard. Although the study participants unexpectedly displayed a rather negative perception of other women, in order to strengthen women in their proximal environment the HIV epidemic may be seen as a vehicle for building solidarity among women in the community.