Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Natural Interactions in Artificial Situations: Focus Groups as an Active Social Experiment

The focus group interviews can provide a unique access to interaction ‘at play’, and can as such serve as a method for investigating the social processes in society (Holstein & Gubrium, 1995, Morgan & Spanish 1984, Meyers & Macnaghten, 1999). Power is an imminent part of the dialogue in interviews (Atkinson & Silverman, 1997; Gubrium & KoroLjungberg, 2005; Kvale, 2006), and in focus groups power relations are even more interwoven with participant interactions than in individual interviews, and are no longer confined to the relation between interviewer and interviewed (Hofmeyer & Scott, 2007). As such focus group data could be framed as on one side a biased by the social setting of the group. On the other side the participant interaction could be viewed as unique data that lets the researcher follow the construction of data. In other words, the focus group interaction can be observed as it were “talk” within a ethnographic study. This dissolves the distinction between interview data and observational data (Halkier, 2010), and as I will argue, between interview-data, observational data and experimental data. More positivistic as well as constructivist approaches do however struggle with what kind of validity focus group data has. This is reflected in questions as to what degree focus group discussions reflect real life situations, and, what can be considered a finding and what is a bias.
Clinical Features and Molecular Analysis of Hb H Disease in Taiwan

Thalassemia is highly prevalent in Taiwan, but limited data are available about the association between genotypes and clinical manifestations in Taiwanese patients with Hb H disease. Here, we studied α-globin gene abnormalities and clinical features in Taiwanese patients with Hb H disease. Of the 90 patients, sixty-four (71.1%) were deletional and twenty-six (28.9%) were nondeletional Hb H disease. The (- -SEA) type of α 0-thalassemia mutation was detected in the majority of patients (>95%). The most common genotype was (- -SEA/-α 3.7), followed by (- -SEA/α cs α). After further investigation of the genotype-phenotype correlation in 68 patients, we found that patients with nondeletional Hb H disease had more severe clinical features than those with deletional Hb H disease, including younger age at diagnosis, more requirement of blood transfusions, and larger proportion of patients with splenomegaly, hepatomegaly or jaundice. This is probably a consequence of the lower hemoglobin levels and the higher Hb H levels. The clinical severity was highly variable even among patients with an identical genotype, and the diversity was much more profound among patients with (- -/α cs α) genotype. Therefore, predicting the phenotype directly from the genotype in Hb H disease remains relatively difficult in Taiwan.
Relative Impacts of Snow and Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies on an Extreme Phase in the Winter Atmospheric Circulation

Abstract In association with extreme anomalies in the extratropical atmosphere, numerical experiments using an atmospheric general circulation model are performed to investigate the relative impact of the anomalous snow with SST anomalies on the atmospheric circulation. Large negative anomalies in the Eurasian snow cover and global SST anomalies observed in 1988/89 are employed as the respective boundary forcings because winter atmospheric states largely shifted in 1989. The model is integrated for half a year from 1 September. Five-member ensemble states are obtained by conducting the light snow (LSNW) run, in which the snowfall was suppressed over eastern Eurasia during the first 3 months with prescribed SSTs, and another experiment, which employed observed SST anomalies instead of snow anomalies (the SST run). The LSNW run simulated dipole (positive in midlatitudes and negative in polar regions) anomalies in 500-hPa height similar to those observed in 1989, although the amplitude was smaller over the N.
NaC1 crystallization at the MgCl2/NaC1 solution boundary–a possible natural barrier to the transport of radionuclides

Abstract Concentration, conductivity, temperature, and flow logs from sixteen brine-filled shafts in northern Germany have shown that the brines in all former potash salt mines exhibit a very sharp stratification into lower Mg-rich brine, an upper layer of Na-rich brine, and groundwater at the top. Laboratory experiments have shown that, at the MgCl2-brine/NaCl-brine boundary, both solutions become oversaturated with regard to NaCl, due to diffusion processes. NaCl therefore crystallizes from the solutions and forms a salt plug in the boundary region, which considerably reduces further diffusion. It is concluded that the observed effects would also take place in shafts. The backfilling material helps to nucleate the halite crystals and provides a structure on which they might be supported. The results of these experiments show that the density boundaries in the brine bodies act as barriers against transport of matter while the formation of a halite plug growing independently at the MgCl2/NaCl-brine interface acts as an additional barrier.
Benchmarking Model of Default Probabilities of Listed Companies

This article presents a benchmarking model for validation of default probabilities of listed companies for Basel II purposes. The model is based on the recent studies on the predictive capability of structural credit risk models. Benchmark ratings and one-year default probabilities are assigned to companies by mapping the term structures of default probabilities of the companies generated by a structural model based on stochastic leverage ratios to the term structures of default rates reported by rating agencies. The empirical results show that the benchmarking model has adequate discriminatory power of ranking credit risk. The association between the benchmark ratings and external credit ratings is statistically significant. Benchmark default probabilities obtained from the model could thus be used as alternative external and independent estimates for comparisons with bank’s internal default probability estimates. Significant deviations from this benchmark provide a reason to review the internal estimates.
Elemental tracers for the study of homogeneous gas phase oxidation of SO2 in the atmosphere

A tracer technique for following the SO4 formation from SO2 oxidation in ambient air is reported. Like SO2, Se is emitted to the atmosphere during coal combustion. Both SO4- and Se-bearing aerosols show similar physical behavior; Se, however, is not formed in the atmosphere. We have used this difference to determine in situ SO4 formation from SO2 oxidation. The technique uses SO4 and Se concentrations measured at two points of an air mass system. Results from samples collected at Mayville, and 530 km downwind at Whiteface Mountain, New York, are reported. Air trajectories were used to isolate two time periods (one each during the summers of 1981 and 1983) when air masses traveled from the high-SO2 emission region in the Midwest to Mayville and then to Whiteface Mountain. Both periods were accompanied by hot and humid conditions across the Northeast and SO4, concentrations of the order of 30 μg/m3. An average SO4 production rate of 1.0 μg/m3/h was obtained. A simple model based on the SO4/Se ratios at a series of sites suggests that the SO2 gas phase oxidation rate was ∼3% per hour.
A game-theoretic view of the fiscal theory of the price level

The goal of this paper is to probe the validity of the fiscal theory of the price level by modelling explicitly the market structure in which households and the government make their decisions. I describe the economy as a game, and I am thus able to state precisely the consequences of actions that are out of the equilibrium path. I show that there exist government strategies that lead to a version of the fiscal theory, in which the price level is determined by fiscal variables alone. These strategies are however more complex than the simple budgetary rules usually associated with the fiscal theory, and the government budget constraint cannot be merely viewed as an equilibrium condition. Copyright The Econometric Society 2002.
Effect of Water Stress on the Growth and Yield of Cotton Crop ( Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Cotton is one of the most important fibre crops playing a key role in economic and social affairs of the world. Water is a critical factor which influences on growth and yield of the cotton crop. Scarcity of water has put tremendous pressure on scientists to introduce drought tolerant cotton varieties. This study was aimed to determine water stress effects on the growth and yield of cotton. The present study was carried out to examine the effect of number of irrigations on the growth and yield of cotton during 2014. The field trial was conducted at the Experimental Fields of Agronomy Section, Agriculture Research Institute, Tandojam, Pakistan. A three replicated Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was employed to layout the experiment having plot size of 2.5 m × 5 m (12.5 m2). Four cotton varieties i.e. NIAB-78, Shahbaz-95, Sindh-1 and TH-224/87 were chosen for this study based on their frequent farmer usage. All the agronomic practices were performed according to standard procedures. Results showed that all the growth and yield components of cotton were significantly (P 0.05) affected by irrigation frequencies. The cotton crop irrigated six times at 21 days interval showed better results with 138.16 cm plant height, 1.45 monopodial branches per plant, 21.83 sympodial branches per plant, 44.58 bolls per plant, 33.86% G.O. T. , and 26.97 mm staple length, 149.84 g seed cotton yield per plant and 2271.16 kg·ha-1 seed cotton yield. This study concluded that variety NIAB-78 showed superiority over Shahbaz-95, Sindh-1 and TH-224/87 in almost all the characters of economic importance, and the cotton crop received 6 irrigations at 21 days interval resulted in significantly economical overall performance as compared with 5 irrigations or 4 irrigations with higher seed cotton yield.
Astrovirus, Reovirus, and Rotavirus Concomitant Infection Causes Decreased Weight Gain in Broad-Breasted White Poults

Abstract Turkey astrovirus type-2 (TAstV-2), turkey rotavirus (TRotV), and turkey reovirus (TReoV) have been implicated as possible causes of enteric diseases and poor production in turkeys; however, numerous studies with each individual virus have failed to reproduce the disease as observed in the field. Therefore, in this study we evaluated the pathogenesis of all possible combinations of one, two, or three viruses in comparison to sham inoculates in 3-day-old turkey poults. Body weights were recorded at 2, 4, 7, 10, and 14 days postinoculation (PI) and were decreased in virus-infected turkeys throughout the experiment as compared to sham inoculates. Although not significantly different from the other virus-exposed groups, the poults exposed to all three viruses had the lowest body weights throughout the experiment. Clinical signs, including huddling, diarrhea, and agitation, were only observed in groups exposed to TAstV-2 and/or TRotV. At 4 days PI, birds from each treatment group were necropsied, and pale intestines with watery contents and undigested feed were observed in the groups that were exposed to TRotV + TReoV or TRotV + TAstV-2 and the group exposed to all three viruses. Minimal microscopic lesions were observed in the intestines of turkeys infected with TAstV-2, TReoV, or a combination of both. In the turkeys infected with TRotV, either alone or in combination with other viruses, mild microscopic lesions were found in all sections of the small intestine and viral antigen was identified by immunohistochemical staining in mature enterocytes. No or very mild lesions were observed in other organs with the exception of the bursa of Fabricius, where mild to severe atrophy was observed in all virus-infected poults examined. Cloacal shedding of TAstV-2 and TRotV was evaluated by reverse-transcription PCR testing of cloacal swabs and minimal differences were observed among the treatment groups.
Ninth Laurits Bjerrum Memorial Lecture: "Small is beautiful"—the stiffness of soils at small strains

The purpose of this lecture is to show how field measurements of displacement around foundations and excavations combined with numerical analysis and recent developments in laboratory techniques have together brought about improvements in the understanding of the stiffness properties of a wide range of soils at the low levels of strain often encountered in practice. Key words: excavations, foundations, weak rock, stiff clay, field measurements, strain, yield, laboratory instrumentation, in situ testing.
Carbon Monoxide-Mediated Activation of Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels Contributes to Mesenteric Vasodilatation in Cirrhotic Rats

Large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (BKCas) are important regulators of arterial tone and represent a mediator of the endogenous vasodilator carbon monoxide (CO). Because an up-regulation of the heme oxygenase (HO)/CO system has been associated with mesenteric vasodilatation of cirrhosis, we analyzed the interactions of BKCa and of HO/CO in the endothelium-dependent dilatation of mesenteric arteries in ascitic cirrhotic rats. In pressurized mesenteric arteries (diameter, 170–350 μm) of ascitic cirrhotic rats, we evaluated the effect of inhibition of BKCa, HO, and guanylyl-cyclase on dilatation induced by acetylcholine and by exogenous CO; and HO-1 and BKCa subunit protein expression. Inhibition of HO and of BKCa reduced acetylcholine-induced vasodilatation more in cirrhotic rats than in control rats, whereas inhibition of guanylyl-cyclase had a similar effect in the two groups. CO was more effective in cirrhotic rats than in control rats, and the effect was hindered by BKCa inhibition. The expression of HO-1 and of BKCa α-subunit was higher in mesenteric arteries of cirrhotic rats compared with that of control animals, whereas the expression of the BKCa β1-subunit was lower. In conclusion, an overexpression of BKCa α-subunits, possibly due to HO up-regulation with increased CO production, participates in the endothelium-dependent alterations and mesenteric arterial vasodilatation of ascitic cirrhotic rats.
Visual control of locomotion.

— How is locomotion controlled? What information is necessary and how is it used? It is first of all argued that the classical twofold division of information into ex-teroceptive and proprioceptive is inadequate and confusing, that three fundamental types of information need to be distinguished and that the information is used in a continual process of formulating locomotor programs, monitoring their execution and adjusting them. The paper goes on to show (1) how steering could be controlled on the basis of the “locomotor flow line” in the optic array, which specifies the potential future course, whether curved or straight, and (2) how stopping for an obstacle could be controlled simply on the basis of the information in the optic array about the time-to-collision and its rate of change. The problems inherent in pedestrian locomotion of controlling footing and balance are discussed and an investigation of visual locomotor programming in the long jump reported.
Facts and values: on the acceptability of risks in children’s sport using the example of rugby — a narrative review

A clash of values has been identified between those who assert that: 1. all childhood injuries, regardless of origin, are inherently undesirable and should be prevented and; 2. those who believe that some measure of injury to children is an acceptable compromise for the physical benefits associated with physical activity and the development of abilities to appraise and deal with risks. A debate regarding whether the tackles and collisions permitted in schools’ rugby represent acceptable risks, and what steps should be taken if they do not, exemplifies the issue. Questions regarding the magnitude of injury risks in sport are issues of fact and can be quantified via the results of injury surveillance studies. Risks are neither high nor low in isolation; they are relatively high or low with reference to other activities or across groups participating in an activity. Issues of the acceptability of a given degree of risk are value dependent. Research regarding perceptions of risk reveals wide variations in the degree of risk people view as acceptable. Factors impacting on risk perception include whether the risks are well known and understood, whether they are ‘dread’ risks and the degree to which people undertake the risks voluntarily and feel they have control over them. Based on the evidence currently available, the risks to children playing rugby do not appear to be inordinately high compared with those in a range of other childhood sports and activities, but better comparative information is urgently needed. Further evidence, however, should not necessarily be expected to result in the resolution of acceptable risk debates—pre-existing values shape our perspectives on whether new evidence is relevant, valid and reliable.
A new set of laboratory-selected Drosophila melanogaster lines for the analysis of desiccation resistance: response to selection, physiology and correlated responses

SUMMARY Artificial selection experiments provide insights into the evolutionary factors that can shape adaptive responses and have previously been utilized to examine the physiological adaptations that can improve survival to desiccation in Drosophila melanogaster. While such studies demonstrate that multiple resistance mechanisms may arise via different base populations and selection regimes, water retention emerges as a key mechanism for desiccation survival. Here, we present the physiological, correlated response and life history data for a new set of selection lines designed for the genetic dissection of desiccation resistance. After 26 generations of selection for desiccation resistance, female survival increased twofold. In contrast to previous studies, the altered resistance was associated primarily with enhanced dehydration tolerance and increased mass and less consistently with decreased rates of water loss. Life history tradeoffs and correlated selection responses were examined and overlap with previously published data. We crossed the resistant selected lines to desiccation-sensitive lines from the same control background to examine how each heterozygous resistant chromosome (excluding four) may improve desiccation resistance and observed that most of the resistance was due to genes on the third and first chromosomes, although interaction effects with the second chromosome were also detected. Results are compared to other selection responses and highlight the multiple evolutionary solutions that can arise when organisms are faced with a common selection pressure, although water loss rate remains a common mechanism in all studies.
Diagnostic Markers for Identifying Sepsis in Patients with SystemicInflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS): A Prospective Study

Sepsis caused by infection remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity among children. Several inflam- matory markers have failed to meet the requirements for early diagnosis of sepsis. We saw the potential value of measur- ing the total leukocyte count and the inflammatory markers C reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin (IL) 6 in patients with SIRS for early identifying of sepsis. Children with SIRS (n = 52) were included in a prospective study. Changes in the total leukocyte count and levels of inflammatory markers and their inter-correlations were evaluated in SIRS and sepsis patients at different time points. Sepsis was recognized in 21% of the SIRS patients. There was a statis- tically significant difference between PCT and CRP levels in the SIRS and sepsis patient groups. In patients with sepsis, the IL6 level at the outset of the study had a mean value of 476.68 ± 955.137 pg/ml, which differed significantly from the mean IL6 level in SIRS patients (51.3 ± 137.5 pg/ml). The IL6 level in sepsis patients decreased significantly after 24 hours. We conclude that SIRS and sepsis patients differed significantly in respect of changes in CRP, PCT and IL6 levels. In view of the relatively small number of subjects in the sepsis group we can only suggest that special attention should be paid to SIRS patients with elevated levels of those indicators. A continuing search for specific and sensitive inflammatory markers and their combinations in SIRS patients is required so that sepsis can be diagnosed early enough.
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS IN CLUSTERS: MODIFIED FAR-INFRARED–RADIO RELATIONS WITHIN VIRGO CLUSTER GALAXIES

We present a study on the effects of the intracluster medium (ICM) on the interstellar medium (ISM) of 10 Virgo Cluster galaxies using Spitzer far-infrared (FIR) and Very Large Array radio continuum imaging. Relying on the FIR–radio correlation within normal galaxies, we use our infrared data to create model radio maps, which we compare to the observed radio images. For six of our sample galaxies, we find regions along their outer edges that are highly deficient in the radio compared with our models. We also detect FIR emission slightly beyond the observed radio disk along these outer edges. We believe these observations are the signatures of ICM ram pressure. For NGC 4522, we find the radio-deficit region to lie just exterior to a region of high radio polarization and flat radio spectral index, although the total 20 cm radio continuum in this region does not appear strongly enhanced. These characteristics seem consistent for other galaxies with radio polarization data in the literature. The strength of the radio deficit is inversely correlated with the time since peak pressure as inferred from stellar population studies and gas-stripping simulations, consistent with the strength of the radio deficit being a good indicator of the strength of the current ram pressure. We also find that galaxies having local radio deficits appear to have enhanced global radio fluxes. Our preferred physical picture is that the observed radio-deficit regions arise from the ICM wind sweeping away cosmic-ray (CR) electrons and the associated magnetic field, thereby creating synchrotron tails as observed for some of our galaxies. We propose that CR particles are also reaccelerated by ICM-driven shocklets behind the observed radio-deficit regions which, in turn, enhances the remaining radio disk brightness. The high radio polarization and lack of precisely coincident enhancement in the total synchrotron power for these regions suggest shearing, and possibly mild compression of the magnetic field, as the ICM wind drags and stretches the leading edge of the ISM.