Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CONSTRAINTS ON DARK ENERGY MODELS FROM RADIAL BARYON ACOUSTIC SCALE MEASUREMENTS

We use the radial baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements of Gaztañaga et al. to constrain parameters of dark energy models. These constraints are comparable with constraints from other “nonradial” BAO data. The radial BAO data are consistent with the time-independent cosmological constant model but do not rule out time-varying dark energy. When we combine radial BAO and the Kowalski et al. Union Type Ia supernova data, we get very tight constraints on dark energy.
Protein Profiles for Muscle Development and Intramuscular Fat Accumulation at Different Post-Hatching Ages in Chickens

Muscle development and growth influences the efficiency of poultry meat production, and is closely related to deposition of intramuscular fat (IMF), which is crucial in meat quality. To clarify the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle development and IMF deposition in chickens, protein expression profiles were examined in the breast muscle of Beijing-You chickens at ages 1, 56, 98 and 140 days, using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ). Two hundred and four of 494 proteins were expressed differentially. The expression profile at day 1 differed greatly from those at day 56, 98 and 140. KEGG pathway analysis of differential protein expression from pair-wise comparisons (day 1 vs. 56; 56 vs. 98; 98 vs. 140), showed that the fatty acid degradation pathway was more active during the stage from day 1 to 56 than at other periods. This was consistent with the change in IMF content, which was highest at day 1 and declined dramatically thereafter. When muscle growth was most rapid (days 56–98), pathways involved in muscle development were dominant, including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy, cardiac muscle contraction, tight junctions and focal adhesion. In contrast with hatchlings, the fatty acid degradation pathway was downregulated from day 98 to 140, which was consistent with the period for IMF deposition following rapid muscle growth. Changes in some key specific proteins, including fast skeletal muscle troponin T isoform, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 and apolipoprotein A1, were verified by Western blotting, and could be potential biomarkers for IMF deposition in chickens. Protein–protein interaction networks showed that ribosome-related functional modules were clustered in all three stages. However, the functional module involved in the metabolic pathway was only clustered in the first stage (day 1 vs. 56). This study improves our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle development and IMF deposition in chickens.
Of Roses and Jasmine – Auto-ethnographic reflections on my early bilingual life through China’s Open-Door Policy

ABSTRACT China’s Open-Door Policy has brought significant changes in terms of economic, education and cultural development both inside and outside China, creating valuable opportunities for understanding the cultural stereotypes Asians and Westerners have about each other. In this paper, I interrogate my experiences as an English as a foreign language (EFL) learner and then as a lecturer in multilingual and multicultural environments from the early 1990s until a lecturer in a Chinese university in the twenty-first century. My series of auto-ethnographic dialogues between a cast of characters, recalling experiences, perceptions and emotions provides readers with opportunities to actively respond to the text. Through this auto-ethnographic memoir and performance, I hope to contribute to new directions for narrative research in intercultural contexts.
Patterns of Aggressive Behaviour and Victimization in Adolescents

The objective of the presented research was to find the family determinants for undertaking the aggressor or victim role. The obtained results enabled the description of environmental (family-related) and developmental factors that have a bearing on the formation of perpetrator or victim identity. For that purpose, two groups of variables were identified. The first group included child-independent variables shaping the socio-economic status of the family (parents' education, material status, number of siblings), while the second group pertained to the patterns of attachment to each parent. The sample consisted of 120 adolescents aged 13 to 20. The research tools were Mini - DIA, the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment - IPPA, and Buss-Perry aggression questionnaire. The results revealed a number of determinants for persons involved in perpetration or victimization, such as the type of relationship with parents (secure or insecure pattern), personal experience of being in the victim or aggressor role, and the level of hostility. The resulting "determinant bundles" may inform professionals in their work with adolescents in the field of prevention or therapy.
Reply Response to Ahlbom et al . Comments on Hardell and Carlberg Increasing Rates of Brian Tumors in the Swedish National Inpatient Register and the Causes of Death Register

We thank Ahlbom et al., the authors of [1] for their interest in our paper [2]. Since this is an important issue, the letter deserves a comprehensive and thorough response. Some authors use brain tumor incidence data from Sweden to dismiss evidence of an increased risk for brain tumors associated with the use of mobile and cordless (wireless) phones as published in peer-reviewed scientific literature.
Similarity in the influence process: The belief-value distinction.

An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that when a belief was at issue, agreement from a dissimilar other would increase judgmental confidence more than agreement from a similar other; whereas when a value was at issue, agreement from a similar other would be more influential. The subjects judged either the relative academic success of two students (belief) or which of the two they liked more (value). The subjects were given an evaluation of the students by another subject who they had been led to believe was similar or dissimilar to themselves in terms of his style of judging other people. In all cases, the evaluation subjects received agreed with their own. The results supported the predictions.
Ant colony optimisation–direct cover: a hybrid ant colony direct cover technique for multi-level synthesis of multiple-valued logic functions

The use of non-binary (multiple-valued) logic in the synthesis of digital systems can lead to savings in chip area. Advances in very large scale integration (VLSI) technology have enabled the successful implementation of multiple-valued logic (MVL) circuits. A number of heuristic algorithms for the synthesis of (near) minimal sum-of products (two-level) realisation of MVL functions have been reported in the literature. The direct cover (DC) technique is one such algorithm. The ant colony optimisation (ACO) algorithm is a meta-heuristic that uses constructive greediness to explore a large solution space in finding (near) optimal solutions. The ACO algorithm mimics the ant's behaviour in the real world in using the shortest path to reach food sources. We have previously introduced an ACO-based heuristic for the synthesis of two-level MVL functions. In this article, we introduce the ACO–DC hybrid technique for the synthesis of multi-level MVL functions. The basic idea is to use an ant to decompose a given MVL function into a number of levels and then synthesise each sub-function using a DC-based technique. The results obtained using the proposed approach are compared to those obtained using existing techniques reported in the literature. A benchmark set consisting of 50,000 randomly generated 2-variable 4-valued functions is used in the comparison. The results obtained using the proposed ACO–DC technique are shown to produce efficient realisation in terms of the average number of gates (as a measure of chip area) needed for the synthesis of a given MVL function.
Molecular characterisation of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase of Porcellio scaber and its expression in sternal epithelia during the moult cycle

SUMMARY The anterior sternal epithelial cells of the terrestrial isopod Porcellio scaber transport large amounts of calcium during the formation and resorption of intermittent calcium carbonate deposits. Recent investigations on epithelia involved in mineralisation processes suggest a role of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) in transcellular calcium transport. We present the first molecular characterisation of a SERCA within a crustacean mineralising epithelium. We cloned the SERCA from a cDNA library of the anterior sternal epithelium and used in situ hybridisation to compare the expression of the SERCA mRNA between three different moulting stages. The full-length SERCA cDNA has an open reading frame of 3006 nucleotides. The deduced 1002 amino-acid polypeptide has a predicted molecular mass of 109.7 kDa and 87% identity to the SERCA of Procambarus clarkii axial muscle isoform. In situ hybridisation confirmed expression within the anterior sternal epithelium and revealed an increase in SERCA mRNA abundance from the non-transporting, early premoult stage to the calcium transporting, late premoult and intramoult stage. The results support previous indications of a contribution by the smooth endoplasmic reticulum to transcellular calcium transport and suggest a transcriptional regulation of SERCA activity.
Non-small cell lung cancer evaluated with quantitative contrast-enhanced CT and PET-CT: Net enhancement and standardized uptake values are related to tumour size and histology

Background Personalized cancer therapy remains a challenge. In this context, we attempted to identify correlations between tumour angiogenesis, tumour metabolism and tumour cell type. To this aim, we used single=phase multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and hybrid positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) to determine whether net enhancement and standardized uptake value (SUVmax) were correlated with tumour size and cytology in patients affected by non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Material/Methods Our study included 38 patients (30 men, 8 women, mean age 70) with a NSCLC measuring between 3 cm and 7 cm, using a 16-slice multidetector CT (Brilliance Philips) and with PET-CT (Biograph 16 Siemens Medical Solutions). The following lesion parameters were evaluated: maximum diameter, medium density before contrast injection (CTpre), medium density after contrast injection (CTpost average), density in the most enhanced part of the lesion after contrast (CTpost max), net enhancement, SUVmax, age, and cytology. Correlation coefficient and p-value were computed for each pair of variables. In addition, correlations were computed for each pair of variables, and for all combinations of tumour types. We focused on subsets of data with more than 10 observations, and with correlation r>0.500 and p<0.05. Results A weak correlation (r=0.32; p=0.048) was found between SUVmax and tumour size; the correlation was stronger for masses larger than 31 mm (r=0.4515; p=0.0268). No other correlations were found among the variables examined. Conclusions Our data may have prognostic significance, and could lead to more appropriate surgical treatment and better treatment outcome.
Rethinking innovation and development: Insights from the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in India

Sustaining innovation for development requires rethinking the notion of the poor as passive beneficiaries of the products of others’ innovation. Recent thinking in development studies and in the literature on innovation points to the need for the poor to be active participants in the innovation process, a view that has independently gained ground through grassroots innovation networks. This paper looks at the evolution of a commons-based agricultural innovation – the System of Rice Intensification in India, to show how a systemic approach to innovation could benefit not just the poor but all the actors in an innovation system. This, however, requires institutional changes and a reconfiguration of agricultural research that would enable knowledge flows between research and non-research actors. Building innovation capacity in the system through a learning focus on actors and their institutional innovations and relating to the poor as users in user-centric approaches are suggested as ways forward.
Immune Cells in Cancer Therapy and Drug Delivery

Recent studies indicate the critical role of tumour associated macrophages, tumour associated neutrophils, dendritic cells, T lymphocytes, and natural killer cells in tumourigenesis. These cells can have a significant impact on the tumour microenvironment via their production of cytokines and chemokines. Additionally, products secreted from all these cells have defined specific roles in regulating tumour cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and metastasis. They act in a protumour capacity in vivo as evidenced by the recent studies indicating that macrophages, T cells, and neutrophils may be manipulated to exhibit cytotoxic activity against tumours. Therefore therapy targeting these cells may be promising, or they may constitute drug or anticancer particles delivery systems to the tumours. Herein, we discussed all these possibilities that may be used in cancer treatment.
HST images of B2 radio galaxies: A link between circum-nuclear dust and radio properties? ?

Almost 60% of the B2 low luminosity radio galaxies have been observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. We present an analysis of the dust features, which are often present in the form of circum-nuclear disks or lanes, and show that there are correlations between radio source and dust properties. It is found that nearby radio sources in which a jet has been detected tend to have dust more often than sources without jets; the dust is often in the form of disks or lanes. Moreover the radio jets are close to perpendicular to the disk or lane in the weaker radio sources (with P< 10 24 WHz 1 ). In stronger sources the orientation eect appears to be weak or even absent. Also the dust masses found in the weaker radio sources are smaller than in the stronger ones (log M=M 3 against 5 respectively). More generally it appears that there is a correlation between dust mass and total radio power (for those sources in which dust has been detected); we show that this correlation is not induced by redshift.
An Analysis of the Basic Processes of Formation and Change of Placebo Expectations

Placebo effects are the measurable psychological, biological, and behavioral changes that can result from expecting a treatment to be effective. Here we argue that not all expectations are created equally and there is much to learn by clarifying the psychological processes that underlie the expectations that cause placebo effects. It is proposed that the formation and change of placebo expectations can be understood from the standpoint of a general psychological model describing the basic processes of mental change. Specifically, we use the Elaboration Likelihood Model to explain how placebo-relevant variables (e.g., doctor’s lab coat, drug price, number and color of pills, patient’s mood) can work to affect expectations. Clarifying the antecedent processes responsible for placebo expectations leads to new insights regarding placebo effects, including their durability, directionality, and ability to alter subsequent behaviors (e.g., treatment adherence). A key point from our approach is that expectations causing placebo effects can be formed under high or low thought. High-thought expectations should be more likely to resist change, last over time, predict placebo effects better than low-thought expectations, and have a greater likelihood to alter subsequent behaviors. We conclude by describing a variety of theoretical innovations that this new conceptualization raises and suggest novel paths for research and application.
It's Complicated: Facebook Users' Political Participation in the 2008 Election

In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, social network sites such as Facebook allowed users to share their political beliefs, support specific candidates, and interact with others on political issues. But do political activities on Facebook affect political participation among young voters, a group traditionally perceived as apathetic in regard to civic engagement? Or do these activities represent another example of feel-good participation that has little real-world impact, a concept often referred to as "slacktivism"? Results from a survey of undergraduate students (N = 683) at a large public university in the Midwestern United States conducted in the month prior to the election found that students tend to engage in lightweight political participation both on Facebook and in other venues. Furthermore, two OLS regressions found that political activity on Facebook (e.g., posting a politically oriented status update, becoming a "fan" of a candidate) is a significant predictor of other forms of political participation (e.g., volunteering for an organizing, signing a paper or online petition), and that a number of factors--including intensity of Facebook use and the political activity users see their friends performing on the site--predict political activity on Facebook. Students' perceptions regarding the appropriateness of political activity on Facebook, as well as the specific kinds of political activities they engaged in and witnessed within the site, were also explored.
Financially Interlinked Business Groups Maitreesh Ghatak

Financial interlinkage, in the form of cross-holding of equity and debt between rms, characterizes business groups in many countries. We suggest that such nancial interlinkage can be viewed as a way to solve credit rationing caused by asymmetric information. If rms possess better information about each other than a bank, then business groups can be a mechanism to induce rms to sort on the basis of this information. Banks can offer a menu of contracts that vary in the extent of nancial interlinkage to induce rms to self-select on the basis of the equilibrium composition of the business groups they can form.
A GWAS follow‐up of obesity‐related SNPs in SYPL2 reveals sex‐specific association with hip circumference

A novel single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associated with morbid obesity was recently identified by exome sequencing. The purpose of this study was to follow up this low‐frequency coding SNP located within the SYPL2 locus and associated with body mass index in order to reveal novel associations with obesity‐related traits.
Seasonal migration of ITCZ precipitation across the equator: Why can't GCMs simulate it?

The secondary meridional circulation induced by convective momentum transport (CMT) within the ascending branch of the Hadley circulation is a missing dynamical mechanism that can cause common failure of general circulation models (GCMs) in simulating seasonal migration of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) precipitation maximum across the equator. This failure is manifested by the model bias that the precipitation peak remains north of the equator during November–March. The CMT‐induced secondary circulation, characterized by strong downward motion along the equatorial belt and upward motion south and north of the belt, tends to modify the meridional distribution of precipitation with the strongest impacts during boreal winter and spring. A 20‐year GCM simulation with the CMT parameterization successfully reproduces the observed seasonal migration of the ITCZ precipitation across the equator with the peaks near 8°N during boreal summer and near 8°S during boreal winter.
Chandra Observation of the Persistent Emission from the Dipping Source XB 1916–053

We present the results of a 50 ks long Chandra observation of the dipping source XB 1916-053. During the observation two X-ray bursts occurred, and the dips were not present at each orbital period. From the zeroth-order image we estimate the precise X-ray coordinates of the source with a 90% uncertainty of 0. ″6. In this work we focus on the spectral study of discrete absorption features, during the persistent emission, using the High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer on board the Chandra satellite. We detect, for the first time in the first-order spectra of XB 1916-053, absorption lines associated with Ne X, Mg XII, Si XIV, and S XVI and confirm the presence of the Fe XXV and Fe XXVI absorption lines with a greater accuracy than the previous XMM EPIC pn observation. Assuming that the line widths are due to a bulk motion or a turbulence associated with the coronal activity, we estimate that the lines are produced in a photoionized absorber 4 × 1010 cm from the neutron star , near the disk edge.
Federalism and Historical Voting on the U.S. Supreme Court

ABSTRACT A large body of scholarship has sought to explain the influences on the Supreme Court's decision-making. However, much of this research focuses on the modern era. Given the Court's institutional weaknesses in early American history, there is good reason to believe that early Supreme Court justices behaved differently than their contemporary counterparts. This article develops a dataset of federalism cases from 1789 to 2007 in order to analyze the role of ideology in the Court's federalism decisions throughout different eras of American history. This area of law is particularly useful for comparison given the early and enduring saliency of the boundaries between state and federal authority. The data reveal evidence that ideological voting developed over time as the Court paid more attention to legal and political factors as it developed its institutional legitimacy throughout the 1800s.
Using Statistical Image Model for JPEG Steganography: Uniform Embedding Revisited

Uniform embedding was first introduced in 2012 for non-side-informed JPEG steganography, and then extended to the side-informed JPEG steganography in 2014. The idea behind uniform embedding is that, by uniformly spreading the embedding modifications to the quantized discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients of all possible magnitudes, the average changes of the first-order and the second-order statistics can be possibly minimized, which leads to less statistical detectability. The purpose of this paper is to refine the uniform embedding by considering the relative changes of statistical model for digital images, aiming to make the embedding modifications to be proportional to the coefficient of variation. Such a new strategy can be regarded as generalized uniform embedding in substantial sense. Compared with the original uniform embedding distortion (UED), the proposed method uses all the DCT coefficients (including the DC, zero, and non-zero AC coefficients) as the cover elements. We call the corresponding distortion function uniform embedding revisited distortion (UERD), which incorporates the complexities of both the DCT block and the DCT mode of each DCT coefficient (i.e., selection channel), and can be directly derived from the DCT domain. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is verified with the evidence obtained from the exhaustive experiments using a popular steganalyzer with rich models on the BOSSbase database. The proposed UERD gains a significant performance improvement in terms of secure embedding capacity when compared with the original UED, and rivals the current state-of-the-art with much reduced computational complexity.