Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sex Bias in Autism

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder with unknown exact etiology. Interestingly, it affects males more than females in a striking ratio (4:1), respectively. This biased ratio served as a clue to search about the factors that are sex linked and hence sex hormones and X chromosomes were good candidates. Although understanding the basic sex dimorphism in male and female brains is essential to understand autism pathology. Theories regarding the biased sex ratio in autism have been raised, and some have been supported by evi dence from human studies. Furthermore, sex-linked genetic dysregulation has also been reported in autism. In this chapter, an overview of what is known about sex bias in autism is reviewed, emphasizing the importance of carrying on in uncoding the sex bias in autism.
Continuidades y discontinuidades en la experiencia laboral de mexicanas y dominicanas en Estados Unidos

This paper contrasts the work experiences of two groups of Latin American immigrant women (Mexicans and Dominicans) in two subsectors of reproductive services in the home (domestic work and care). It highlights the socio-institutional and socio-demographic factors framing the experience. Precarious working conditions, sanctioned by the institutionality of the labor-regime and the domestic sphere as a workplace, are the factors that lend the greatest continuity to these experiences. The dissimilarities are derived from the interplay between immigration status and labor regime due to the different roles played by these two migratory flows in the context of Latin American migration to the United States, certain socio-demographic traits of the societies of origin, and the differential subjective meaning attributed to such activities.
Identity-sensitive Word Embedding through Heterogeneous Networks

Most existing word embedding approaches do not distinguish the same words in different contexts, therefore ignoring their contextual meanings. As a result, the learned embeddings of these words are usually a mixture of multiple meanings. In this paper, we acknowledge multiple identities of the same word in different contexts and learn the \textbf{identity-sensitive} word embeddings. Based on an identity-labeled text corpora, a heterogeneous network of words and word identities is constructed to model different-levels of word co-occurrences. The heterogeneous network is further embedded into a low-dimensional space through a principled network embedding approach, through which we are able to obtain the embeddings of words and the embeddings of word identities. We study three different types of word identities including topics, sentiments and categories. Experimental results on real-world data sets show that the identity-sensitive word embeddings learned by our approach indeed capture different meanings of words and outperforms competitive methods on tasks including text classification and word similarity computation.
Low Resource Dependency Parsing: Cross-lingual Parameter Sharing in a Neural Network Parser

Training a high-accuracy dependency parser requires a large treebank. However, these are costly and time-consuming to build. We propose a learning method that needs less data, based on the observation that there are underlying shared structures across languages. We exploit cues from a different source language in order to guide the learning process. Our model saves at least half of the annotation effort to reach the same accuracy compared with using the purely supervised method.
Effect of vitamin D supplementation on insulin kinetics and cardiovascular risk factors in polycystic ovarian syndrome: a pilot study

To assess the effect of vitamin D supplementation on parameters of insulin sensitivity/resistance (IS/IR) and insulin secretion in subjects with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). A prospective double-blind randomized control trial was conducted to assess the effect of vitamin D on insulin kinetics in women with PCOS. The trial was conducted in a tertiary care research hospital. A total of 36 subjects with PCOS, aged 18–35 years, were included in this study. Vitamin D3 4000 IU/day versus placebo was given once a month for 6 months and both groups received metformin. IS (by whole-body IS index or Matsuda index), IR (by homeostasis model assessment IR (HOMA-IR)), and insulin secretion (by insulinogenic index; II30) were the main outcome measures. Secondary outcome included blood pressure (BP), lipid profile, disposition index (DI), and vascular stiffness. Out of 36 subjects who consented, 32 completed the study. Subjects were randomized into two groups: group A (n=15; metformin and vitamin D 4000 IU/day) or group B (n=17; metformin and placebo). Oral glucose tolerance tests with 75 g glucose were carried out at baseline and 6 months after supplementation. Hypovitaminosis D was observed in 93.8% of all subjects with mean serum 25 hydroxy vitamin D level of 7.30±4.45 ng/ml. After 6 months of vitamin D supplementation, there was no significant difference in any of the parameters of IS/IR (area under curve (AUC)–glucose, AUC–insulin, insulin:glucose ratio, HOMA-IR, Matsuda index, insulinogenic index, and DI), II30, and cardiovascular risk factors between the two groups. Supplementation of vitamin D, at a dose of 4000 IU/day for 6 months, did not have any significant effect on parameters of IS/IR and insulin secretion in subjects with PCOS.
Business Growth and Marketing Management Practices amongst Manufacturing Smes from Australia's Business Longitudinal Survey Business Growth and Marketing Management Practices amongst Manufacturing Smes from Australia's Business Longitudinal Survey

1 Acknowledgments The permission of the Australian Statistician to use confidentialised data from the federal government's Business Longitudinal Survey, and to publish findings based on analysis of that data, is gratefully acknowledged. Responsibility for interpretation of the findings lies solely with the author. Abstract The principal objectives in this paper are to compare and contrast marketing management practices for a longitudinal sample of 871 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Australian manufacturing sector that have embarked upon different development pathways; and to examine possible connections between SME growth and the choice of marketing management practices. The results indicate that the marketing management practices that appear to have a strong positive relationship with growth are: a product orientation, use of budget (sales) forecasting, use of formal strategic or business plans, performance comparisons with other businesses and use of formal networking. The findings generally do not support prescribing the marketing concept as it applies to large companies but do tend to support Carson and Gilmore's (2000) Situation Specific Marketing concept as it applies to SMEs. The findings also tend to suggest that, in the SME context, network marketing should be incorporated into the traditional marketing paradigm rather than displacing it as part of the relational marketing paradigm.
A National Survey of Teachers on Antiretroviral Therapy in Malawi: Access, Retention in Therapy and Survival

Background HIV/AIDS is having a devastating effect on the education sector in sub-Saharan Africa. A national survey was conducted in all public sector and private sector facilities in Malawi providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) to determine the uptake of ART by teachers and their outcomes while on treatment. Methodology/Principal Findings A retrospective cohort study was carried out based on patient follow-up records from ART Registers and treatment master cards in all 138 ART clinics in Malawi; observations were censored on September 30th 2006. By this date, Malawi's 102 public sector and 36 private sector ART clinics had registered a total of 72,328 patients for treatment. Of these, 2,643 (3.7%) were teachers. Adjusting for double-registration caused by clinic transfers, it is estimated that 2,380 individual teachers had ever accessed ART. There were 15% of teachers starting ART in WHO clinical stage 1 or 2 with a CD4-lymphocyte count of ≤250/mm3 and 85% starting in stage 3 or 4. By 30th September 2006, 1,850 teachers were alive on ART (3.5% of all teachers in Malawi). The probability of being alive on ART at 6-months, 12-months, 18-months and 24-months after treatment initiation was 84%, 79%, 75% and 73% respectively. Retention in treatment was better for women (adjusted HR = 1.8) and in those starting ART in WHO Clinical Stage 1 and 2 (adjusted HR = 1.8). Conclusion/Significance Rapid scale up of ART has allowed 2,380 HIV-positive teachers to access life-prolonging treatment. There is evidence that this intervention can help to mitigate some of the shortages of teaching personnel in resource-poor countries affected by a generalised HIV epidemic.
Comparison of software development life cycles: a multiproject experiment

A variety of life cycle models for software development are generally available. Many of the variations were composed to overcome problems in the classic waterfall model. However, it is generally difficult to compare and contrast the methods and very little literature is available to guide developers and managers in making choices. Moreover, in order to make informed decisions, developers require access to real data that compares the different models and the results associated with the adoption of each model. An experiment in which 15 software teams developed comparable software products, using four different development approaches (V-model, incremental model, evolutionary model, and extreme programming), is described. Extensive measurements were taken to assess the time, quality, size, and development efficiency of each product. The experimental data collected and the conclusions related to the choice of method, its impact on the project and the quality of the results, are presented.
The role of subjective well-being in mediating the psychological impact of obesity

Background: There is an ever increasing population of obese people worldwide (Kelly et al., 2010), with associated increased costs in terms of morbidity and mortality (Berrington de Gonzelez et al., 2010), so there is a need for appropriate public health interventions. Subjective well-being (SWB) has been identified as facilitating health and longevity (Diener & Chan, 2011), so may be a useful mediator to counteract the negative effects of obesity.Aims: Two major aims of the study were; to identify the facets of SWB that protect against psychological ill-health in the obese and those that activate change.Method: A mixed-methods approach was taken that included both quantitative cross-sectional survey data based on validated constructs that combine to measure SWB and qualitative longitudinal data based on unstructured interviews. The ideographic approach brought a narrative to the nomothetic data and elevated the study from the ‘what’ to the ‘why’. Two key samples were selected; adolescents (N = 549) and obesity surgery candidates (N = 125) to represent the spectrum of obesity experience.Results: Findings support the study’s aims in highlighting the role of SWB correlates in mapping the pathway to progress in the regulation of obesity. The alignment of the constructs and the configuration of the models accounted for up to 51% of the variance in life-satisfaction, and up to 73% of the variance in self-esteem. Qualitative analysis suggested emerging themes either reflected in the constructs used in the study, or concepts raised in the literature review, such as cognitive dissonance, and illustrated adaptive and maladaptive behavioural processes to the challenges of obesity.Conclusion: Salient outcomes provide recognition of; the physical appearance anxiety measure (PASTAS), as an identification marker for maladaptive problems at a critical phase of adolescent development; the role of optimism for agentic shift towards a positive perspective; and the understanding that controlled anti-depressant drug use may facilitate freedom and empowerment for adaptive purposes in a severely obese population.
A Miniaturized Broadband Multi-State Reflectometer Integrated on a Silicon MEMS Probe for Complex Permittivity Measurement of Biological Material

A fully integrated broadband multi-state reflectometer (MSR) covering both 2- and 16-GHz bands is developed using microelectromechanical systems and monolithic-microwave integrated-circuit technology for complex permittivity measurement of biological material. The MSR consists of a dual-band phase-locked loop, a power amplifier, a directional coupler, an impedance tuner, two RF power detectors, and a micromachined silicon planar probe with an open-ended coaxial aperture. All the active and passive circuit components have been integrated on the micromachined probe platform in a small form factor of ${\hbox {6.8 mm}}\ \times \ {\hbox {50 mm}}\times \ {\hbox {0.6 mm}}$. To cover a broad bandwidth ranging from 2 to 16 GHz, the circuit components have been designed with multi-octave characteristics. The performance of the fabricated reflectometer has been verified by comparing the measured permittivities of 0.9% saline, pork muscle, and pork fat with the reference data. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a miniaturized active integrated broadband reflectometer for complex permittivity measurement of biological material.
The Secrets of the Nearest Starburst Cluster. II. The Present-Day Mass Function in NGC 3603

Based on deep Very Large Telescope Infrared Spectrometer and Array Camera JHK photometry, we have derived the present-day mass function (MF) of the central starburst cluster NGC 3603 YC (Young Cluster) in the giant H II region NGC 3603. The effects of field contamination, individual reddening, and a possible binary contribution are investigated. The MF slopes resulting from the different methods are compared and lead to a surprisingly consistent cluster MF with a slope of Γ = -0.9 ± 0.15. Analyzing different radial annuli around the cluster core, no significant change in the slope of the MF is observed. However, mass segregation in the cluster is evidenced by the increasing depletion of the high-mass tail of the stellar mass distribution with increasing radius. We discuss the indications of mass segregation with respect to the changes observed in the binned and cumulative stellar MFs and argue that the cumulative function, as well as the fraction of high- to low-mass stars, provides better indicators for mass segregation than the MF slope alone. Finally, the observed MF and starburst morphology of NGC 3603 YC are discussed in the context of massive local star-forming regions such as the Galactic center Arches cluster, R136/30 Dor in the LMC, and the Orion Trapezium cluster, all providing resolved templates for extragalactic star formation. Despite the similarity in the observed MF slopes, dynamical considerations suggest that the starburst clusters do not form gravitationally bound systems over a Hubble time. Both the environment (gravitational potential of the Milky Way) and the concentration of stars in the cluster core determine the dynamical stability of a dense star cluster, such that the long-term evolution of a starburst is not exclusively determined by the stellar evolution of its members, as frequently assumed for globular cluster systems.
Embodied interpretation: Assessing the knowledge produced through a dance-based inquiry

INTRODUCTION : Although the field of social work has experienced an exponential increase in the use of arts-based methodology, the way in which knowledge shared through artful presentations is understood by audience members remains understudied. As arts-based inquiry often involves active co-construction of meanings between researchers, participants and audiences, it is crucial for social work researchers to scrutinise the process of meaning making by audience members. In this article, we explore how audience members make sense of research findings presented through improvisational dance and how the provision of information about the dance may influence viewer responses. METHODS : A personal experience with self-injury documented in a creative poem was represented through the performance of improvisational dance pieces and assessed by two groups of viewers, with and without knowledge of the topic of the dances. The viewers were prompted to interpret the dances by reflecting on the feelings, thoughts and perceptions they had while watching the performance. A thematic analysis was conducted to compare and contrast the responses of the two groups FINDINGS : By comparing the interpretations of informed and uninformed viewers, we suggest that interpretation can be influenced by normative, socially constructed assumptions that hinder empathic and action-inspiring engagement. CONCLUSION : We conclude the article with a discussion of potential implications for social work research, practice and education.
Designing software architectures to facilitate accessible Web applications

The Web application is increasingly a platform of choice for complex business software and online services. However, it remains a challenge to ensure that the Web application is easy, efficient, and effective for people with disabilities. Accessibility requires that users with disabilities, including those who are blind, have low vision, or have mobility impairments, are able to use the applications effectively and with a reasonable amount of effort. Although there has been important progress in recent years in describing the relationship between architecture and usability, the topic of architectural support for accessibility has not been adequately addressed. Based on our experience in designing Web applications for the United States Social Security Administration, we have begun to identify guidelines for architectures that support accessibility. This paper describes common accessibility problems encountered in Web applications and explains how architecture can help address these problems through reusable accessible objects, supplementing information in links, buttons, and labels, assisting in access to Web page visual information, handling errors, and providing time-out notification and recovery. It also discusses the critical role of architecture in supporting the best way of meeting the needs of diverse user groups: multiple dynamic views of the user interface.
Multipartite control of the DNA translocase, Mfd

ATP-dependent nucleic acid helicases and translocases play essential roles in many aspects of DNA and RNA biology. In order to ensure that these proteins act only in specific contexts, their activity is often regulated by intramolecular contacts and interaction with partner proteins. We have studied the bacterial Mfd protein, which is an ATP-dependent DNA translocase that relocates or displaces transcription ECs in a variety of cellular contexts. When bound to RNAP, Mfd exhibits robust ATPase and DNA translocase activities, but when released from its substrate these activities are repressed by autoinhibitory interdomain contacts. In this work, we have identified an interface within the Mfd protein that is important for regulating the activity of the protein, and whose disruption permits Mfd to act indiscriminately at transcription complexes that lack the usual determinants of Mfd specificity. Our results indicate that regulation of Mfd occurs through multiple nodes, and that activation of Mfd may be a multi-stage process.
Agile Government and Global Market-Driven E-Commerce: The Cases of Denmark, France, and Germany

This paper analyzes the nature of e-commerce policy actions in three European countries. Compiling the European Union and national policy instruments into four groups (regulation and legislation, knowledge diffusion, economic incentives, and e-government), France is viewed as a front-runner with early Minitel applications but losing steam during the e-commerce rush. Germany is the European e-commerce powerhouse with a late entry as an adopter. Denmark is an example of the early adopting Nordic countries. The palette of European e-policy topics includes industry networks, efficiency of existing business operations, and digital integration among companies, citizens, government, and peer-to-peer use following a demand-driven roadmap to e-commerce diffusion.
The Epl1 and Sm1 proteins from Trichoderma atroviride and Trichoderma virens differentially modulate systemic disease resistance against different life style pathogens in Solanum lycopersicum

Fungi belonging to the genus Trichoderma, commonly found in soil or colonizing plant roots, exert beneficial effects on plants, including the promotion of growth and the induction of resistance to disease. T. virens and T. atroviride secrete the proteins Sm1 and Epl1, respectively, which elicit local and systemic disease resistance in plants. In this work, we show that these fungi promote growth in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants. T. virens was more effective than T. atroviride in promoting biomass gain, and both fungi were capable of inducing systemic protection in tomato against Alternaria solani, Botrytis cinerea, and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst DC3000). Deletion (KO) of epl1 in T. atroviride resulted in diminished systemic protection against A. solani and B. cinerea, whereas the T. virens sm1 KO strain was less effective in protecting tomato against Pst DC3000 and B. cinerea. Importantly, overexpression (OE) of epl1 and sm1 led to an increase in disease resistance against all tested pathogens. Although the Trichoderma WT strains induced both systemic acquired resistance (SAR)- and induced systemic resistance (ISR)-related genes in tomato, inoculation of plants with OE and KO strains revealed that Epl1 and Sm1 play a minor role in the induction of these genes. However, we found that Epl1 and Sm1 induce the expression of a peroxidase and an α-dioxygenase encoding genes, respectively, which could be important for tomato protection by Trichoderma spp. Altogether, these observations indicate that colonization by beneficial and/or infection by pathogenic microorganisms dictates many of the outcomes in plants, which are more complex than previously thought.
Search Algorithm with Learning Ability for Mario AI -- Combination A* Algorithm and Q-Learning

Computer Games are extremely challenging benchmarks for artificial intelligence in general. They need dynamic path planning in dynamic environments, learning ability and cooperative behaviors. We focus on Mario AI benchmark that evaluates AI controllers which is made by participants. To challenge the benchmark, we discuss the cooperative intelligence. It is difficult that agents obtain an optimal action rule in Mario AI benchmark because of large state space and time limit and so on. In this article, we add learning ability to search algorithm. It would be one kind of cooperative intelligence. We focus on A* algorithm for Search algorithm and Q-learning for learning ability. By some experiments, we show that the proposed method works well in MarioAI.
Cooperative coding based retransmission protocol for cognitive radio networks by exploiting hybrid ARQ

This paper deals with the retransmission protocol design for cognitive radio networks by exploiting the primary hybrid ARQ. In contrast with previous work that focuses on cancellation based retransmissions, we propose a novel cooperative coding based retransmission protocol for cognitive radio networks. The design objective is to improve the throughput of the primary user and create the transmission opportunity for the secondary user. By exploiting the primary retransmission appropriately, the knowledge on primary packet which is required by the cooperative coded retransmission can be obtained without any non-causal assumption. Performances on the proposed protocol are analyzed mathematically, and verified by numerical results.